This first release inaugurates Sistema Infinito, a new platform by Sabla created as a space for a more continuous release flow and for exploring different angles within his sound. SI 00 sets the tone for a shifting direction while remaining connected to previous work.
The first track, Zerozero, shares its name with the release itself and reflects it sonically. An exercise in bass minimalism, defined by quasi-weightless low-end pressure and reduced, suspended form.
Punti leans closer to Sabla’s previous outputs, where skeletal drums and percussion wander throughout the 7 minutes.
Punto Uno and Punto Due sit on side B, creating 15 mins of atmospheric texture. They extend the conceptual axis of Sistema Infinito, where the same material resolves into different structural states.
All of these sounds operate as a starting point for forthcoming SI releases, creating a flux of recurring and evolving sounds and ideas.
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Back in 1994 Ellis Dee self-released this mighty 12", a rather sought after release from his incredible backcat. I have wanted to repress this for years now but his discography is so big that its taken blinking years to finally get to this point... but so chuffed we got it sorted.
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Shinichi Koboyashi’s music as Bot1500 has such a beautiful signature to it. Using the layers and language of ambient IDM, artfully arranged pads & chords and crisp vectored breaks, he’s been creating a beautiful and highly individual sound.
The Black Sea, His first album since 2022’s Surreal on AD93’s sister label Lith Dolina, spaces things out more and focuses inward with a palette of minimalism and increased emotional resonance. It’s been a focus for Shinichi across his self-published studio work in the last few years.
The album’s tracks feel increasingly rooted in the principles and logic of dub. Utilising more space, more silence, and more focus on the simplicity and elegance of the composition folded into radiant arrangements of melody, snare, shade and echo.
The sea is both an inner landscape and a geographic image that hangs over the record’s mood. A dark humid summer night, like that on Japanese coasts. A small boat sails aimlessly. An eerie tone, but with a glimpse of beauty. The water is melancholic, enveloping, and endless.
Each track is written at 140bpm save for last track “White Flocks” at 120, for the image of heading south to close out.
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Der Soundtrack zur irischen Komödie ""The Spin"" (2024) in der Regie von Michael Head, der zahlreiche Auszeichnungen bei diversen unabhängigen Filmfestivals von Belfast über Chicago bis Toronto gewann und auch auf dem Filmfest Bremen lief. Die Originalmusik wurde von Mark McCausland (McKowski) komponiert und produziert und enthält Gastbeiträge von: Howe Gelb, Jolie Holland, John Parish, Nick Power, Dave Murphy, Pieta Brown, Dead Goat, Steve Wickham, Gemma Doherty, Laura McFadden, Brenock O’Connor und Drew McConnell. Die LP erscheint auf farbigem Ecomix-Vinyl, bei der jedes Format ein Unikat ist.
We are very happy to welcome Lb Honne from Switzerland to the Smallville circle, bringing a superb 4-tracker for the special dancefloors. Including a full Cover Artwork by Stefan Marx.
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Clear Vinyl mit blauer Marmorierung. Das luxuriöse Atelier Ryza (Original Soundtrack Trilogy)-Vinyl-Boxset enthält 45 Songs auf drei LPs, darunter die beliebtesten musikalischen Highlights aller drei Spiele. Jede Vinyl-Schallplatte steckt in einer polylined Innenhülle und befindet sich in vollständig illustrierten Covern mit Rücken. Das Set beinhaltet außerdem ein 24-seitiges Booklet mit Konzeptzeichnungen, Charakter-Artworks, Liedtexten sowie Liner Notes auf Englisch und Japanisch. Alles ist in einer hochwertigen, schweren Box verpackt, die diese Sammlung zu einem echten Must-have für jeden Fan des Spiels, seiner Kunst und natürlich der Musik macht, die immer ein wesentlicher Bestandteil des Erfolgs der Atelier Ryza Secret Trilogy war.Die Atelier-Serie ist ein JRPG-Franchise mit dem Thema Alchemie, entwickelt von GUST und seit 1997 laufend. Die ,Secret Trilogy" umfasst die Videospiele Atelier Ryza: Ever Darkness & the Secret Hideout (2019), Atelier Ryza 2: Lost Legends & the Secret Fairy (2020) und Atelier Ryza 3: Alchemist of the End & the Secret Key (2023). Sie ist die erste Reihe innerhalb der Atelier-Serie, die über mehrere Titel hinweg dieselbe Protagonistin zeigt. Die Geschichte folgt einem gewöhnlichen Mädchen, Reisalin ,Ryza" Stout, die die Alchemie entdeckt und gemeinsam mit ihren Freunden ein Sommerabenteuer erlebt, welches ihr persönliches Wachstum durch diese Erfahrungen widerspiegelt. Alle drei Titel im neu veröffentlichten Atelier Ryza Secret Trilogy Deluxe Pack bieten Verbesserungen hinsichtlich Bedienkomforts sowie zusätzliche Inhalte, um die ,Secret"-Reise weiter aufzuwerten.
Clear Vinyl mit blauer Marmorierung. Das luxuriöse Atelier Ryza (Original Soundtrack Trilogy)-Vinyl-Boxset enthält 45 Songs auf drei LPs, darunter die beliebtesten musikalischen Highlights aller drei Spiele. Jede Vinyl-Schallplatte steckt in einer polylined Innenhülle und befindet sich in vollständig illustrierten Covern mit Rücken. Das Set beinhaltet außerdem ein 24-seitiges Booklet mit Konzeptzeichnungen, Charakter-Artworks, Liedtexten sowie Liner Notes auf Englisch und Japanisch. Alles ist in einer hochwertigen, schweren Box verpackt, die diese Sammlung zu einem echten Must-have für jeden Fan des Spiels, seiner Kunst und natürlich der Musik macht, die immer ein wesentlicher Bestandteil des Erfolgs der Atelier Ryza Secret Trilogy war.Die Atelier-Serie ist ein JRPG-Franchise mit dem Thema Alchemie, entwickelt von GUST und seit 1997 laufend. Die ,Secret Trilogy" umfasst die Videospiele Atelier Ryza: Ever Darkness & the Secret Hideout (2019), Atelier Ryza 2: Lost Legends & the Secret Fairy (2020) und Atelier Ryza 3: Alchemist of the End & the Secret Key (2023). Sie ist die erste Reihe innerhalb der Atelier-Serie, die über mehrere Titel hinweg dieselbe Protagonistin zeigt. Die Geschichte folgt einem gewöhnlichen Mädchen, Reisalin ,Ryza" Stout, die die Alchemie entdeckt und gemeinsam mit ihren Freunden ein Sommerabenteuer erlebt, welches ihr persönliches Wachstum durch diese Erfahrungen widerspiegelt. Alle drei Titel im neu veröffentlichten Atelier Ryza Secret Trilogy Deluxe Pack bieten Verbesserungen hinsichtlich Bedienkomforts sowie zusätzliche Inhalte, um die ,Secret"-Reise weiter aufzuwerten.
Originally released in 1981 on the New Jersey-based Debbie Label, Sweet Magic is the one and only album by Lee McDonald. Produced by Ron Foster -
best known as a member of Ecstasy, Passion & Pain—the album is widely regarded as a standout modern soul classic, covering everything from uplifting
Philly-style dancers to sweet and mellow slow jams.
The album also features superb arrangements that update well-known classics into vibrant Philly soul, including The Carpenters’ smash hit “We’ve Only Just
Begun” and Ecstasy, Passion & Pain’s “I’ll Do Anything For You.” This reissue is pressed on limited yellow-colored vinyl inspired by the album’s iconic
illustrated sleeve, long cherished by rare groove collectors.
Transparent orangenes Vinyl. Unter dem Titel "II - Incarnate" legen SHAYTAN ihr zweites Album vor - und festigen ihren Mix aus Doom/Stoner und klassischem Heavy Metal mit orientalischen Einflüssen. Wo das Debüt "Chapter One" (2024) noch als Beschwörungsformel diente, steht das zweite Album für die Manifestation allen Übels in düsteren, aber auch melodischen Klängen. Musikalisch bleibt die Band ihren Wurzeln treu, erweitert den Sound aber durch noch atmosphärischere Klangbilder, die auch durch den intensiveren Einsatz von Hammondorgel und wuchtigeren Bass-Sound getragen werden. Die Produktion stammt von Charles Greywolf (Hammer King, Godslave).
Black vinyl with Starlight Sparkle effect. Barry "Epoch" Topping returns with the long-awaited soundtrack to BIRDCAGE. The widely celebrated game is the debut release of POLYGON BIRD Games. BIRDCAGE is a fast-paced, vertical scrolling shoot 'em up that blends the explosive action of 90s arcade classics, with modern gameplay and storytelling. What is the value of a bullet, when you wield a sword? While players have been praising BIRDCAGE for transferring retro aesthetics into modern times, the incomparable soundtrack is always pointed out for the same reasons. Entering Barry Topping, who gained recognition for the famous Paradise Killer game soundtrack and lately continued to spread those funky city pop vibes with his very own project The Needs. But for BIRDCAGE it was time to stray from his "trademark sound" and explore a different sonic space he had always been passionate for as well.
A standout drummer in the Japanese jazz scene of the 1950s and 1960s, Hideo Shiraki recorded this album in Berlin in 1965. The album, featuring a new arrangement of the classic "Matsuri no Genzo" and the original composition "Alone, Alone and Alone" by the young Terumasa Hino, is now set to be reissued in the "Spin This Now!" series.
Vor zehn Jahren gründeten drei Mitarbeiter von JI's Market and Cafe die Band Styrofoam Winos. Lou Turner, Trevor Nikrant und Joe Kenkel fanden zueinander durch ihre gemeinsame Begeisterung für Bob Dylan, Patti Smith, Leonard Cohen und Country-Platten aus dem Schnäppchenkorb. Sie beflügelten sich gegenseitig in ihrer Begeisterung und waren total aus dem Häuschen bei jedem neuen Song, den sie entdeckten. Nachdem ein Freund weggezogen war und ein Schlagzeug zurückgelassen hatte, lernten alle drei Winos, Schlagzeug zu spielen. Die ersten Versuche im gemeinsamen Songwriting entstanden aus Jam-Sessions und Erasure Poetry, bei der man Wörter in alten Büchern schwärzte, um neue Gedichte zu schaffen. Sie sangen alle mal die Leadstimme und tauschten regelmäßig die Instrumente. Michael Hurley zum ersten Mal zu sehen, hinterließ einen bleibenden Eindruck und gab der Band einen ihrer kreativen Leitsterne. Jahre später gab Snock den Winos selbst seinen Segen, ihre Kassette mit Coverversionen seiner Songs zu veröffentlichen. Die Styrofoam Winos sind immer mit dem Strom geschwommen, was ,Any River" zu einem passenden Titel für ihr neues Album macht, dem Nachfolger von ,Real Time" aus dem Jahr 2024. Ihre spielerische Herangehensweise wird durch das Können erfahrener Musiker untermauert, die bereits viele hundert Konzerte gespielt haben - sowohl gemeinsam als auch als Tourmitglieder von Ryan Davis and the Roadhouse Band, MJ Lenderman and the Wind und als Solokünstler. Das ist eine ihrer größten Stärken, die man gar nicht hoch genug einschätzen kann: Sie sind extrem gute Musiker! Wenn drei talentierte Menschen eine so tiefe Chemie entwickeln, ist das Ergebnis einfach grandios. Jeder Song auf ,Any River" entstand aus Jam-Sessions in Turners und Nikrants Heimstudio, und schon bald folgte ein gemeinsames Google-Dokument mit den Texten. Sie nahmen in Louisville auf - ihr erstes Album außerhalb von Nashville - zusammen mit Roadhouse-Bandkollege und Equipment Pointed Ankh-Mastermind Jim Marlowe. Marlowes zurückhaltende Produktion brachte die einzigartige Synergie der Band voll zur Geltung. Das führt zu einem weiteren wesentlichen Punkt dieser Band. Es gelingt ihnen, eine perfekte Balance zwischen Ehrfurcht und Respektlosigkeit gegenüber den musikalischen Traditionen zu finden, in denen sie arbeiten. Ihr Wissen über den Kanon ist gelehrt, aber diesem Wissen folgt immer ein Augenzwinkern. Kein Moment auf der Platte verkörpert dies besser als das Trompetensolo in ,New Friend". Es ist eine geschickte Darbietung, aber die Art und Weise, wie Kenkel unter die Tonika absinkt, bevor er die letzten Noten des Solos auflöst, ist urkomisch. Bei Live-Auftritten spielt er das Solo Note für Note auf einer Kazoo, während er gleichzeitig Schlagzeug spielt. Diese Musik stammt von erfahrenen Verwandlungskünstlern, die sich einer einfachen Kategorisierung entziehen und dennoch sofort wiedererkennbar bleiben.
Yes here we are 50 years on from year zero 1976 (where did that go!!!). To celebrate this and the fact we are all still here and talking about the importance of the Punk Rock movement i put together an album under the banner Punk Rock Daze. The title reflects it was all such a daze, as it ran by so fast and also as a reminder of an old Malcolm McLaren remark that came to mind. That when the band and management were discussing the look and name of the Sex Pistols forthcoming album ‘Never Mind The Bollocks’. Malcolm remarked, lets sell it as you would sell washing powder, bright, simple and with fluorescence colours. Great idea so here is my homage to that thought.
So I hope you enjoy the gesture and here’s to another 50 years of Alchemy, Joyousness and
instruction (Anarchy, Chaos and Destruction).
- The very first Live album by The Liminanas
- 1 Hour concert performed & recorded on October 24th , 2025 in Paris at Centre Pompidou during the Because Beaubourg Event .
- Album artwork by Smith who did the visuals of the live performance.
Originally released in 2008 on Ezekiel Honig’s own Anticipate Recordings, Surfaces of a Broken Marching Band finds the artist refining a compositional language rooted in the methodologies of musique concrete, ambient, and beat research. Working from a palette of environmental recordings, instrumental fragments, and soft electronic treatments, Honig pushes the source material into an array of sympathetic forms ranging from pillow-soft, lowercase ambient to diffuse downtempo and minimal house. For its reissue on Keplar, the album has been remastered by Kassian Troyer (D&M), bringing a new clarity to its intricate, low-lit architectures.
Throughout the record, serving almost as audiographic guideposts, are faint but insistent gestures toward propulsion, an abiding and recurrent 4/4 pulse that guides the music laterally and instantiates a slow negotiation between its various elements. This music invites close listening precisely by not revealing itself all at once, allowing small collisions of timbre and subtle shifts in emphasis to carry the weight. The traces of lived environments that remain embedded in the mix - distant crowds, sounds of transit, the indistinct acoustics of interiors in flux - expand the frame without breaking its intimacy, creating a potent dislocation between the nearness of the sound and the scale of its sources.
Rather than foregrounding any single voice, this is music that distributes attention equally across its materials, allowing background details to assert their presence as much as melody or rhythm. Honig presents listeners with an astute practice that’s concerned less with building from the ground up than with uncovering what happens when disparate textures and structures are brought into close contact with one another. (Alex Cobb, 2026)
Near the end of fifth grade, Eli Edwards’ mom gave him $20 and told him to go find a friend. His team had won its soccer game that day, so they were out celebrating at a local pizza parlor with games. But, more importantly, there had been one other Black kid that day on the pitch in Spanaway, WA, a Tacoma suburb and military-base town at the rainy northwest corner of the United States. That kid just happened to be Xayvien Young. An instant deep connection was formed between Edwards and Young—Eli and Xay, as they prefer to be called were inseparable— and now twelve years later they are the electrifying, boundary-skipping duo Casi.
Along the way, Eli had relocated to Los Angeles with the indie rock band Enumclaw he had helped found, but he found himself flying home maybe a little too much. He was ostensibly visiting his girlfriend, but he spent most of his time with Xay. They cut tracks in every bit of free time they found until they had an epiphany: Maybe this music they’d made together for a dozen years was actually something special. Casi’s 10-track, self-titled debut out on Carpark Records is the electrifying proof they needed.
On the record, they enthusiastically explore every musical interest they have ever had—explosive hip-hop and unbridled hardcore, high-gloss nü metal and a little bit of emo—as a pair. These songs don’t ignore genre lines; they delight in destroying them, in finding ways to slam hip-hop and hardcore, emo and nü metal together until it seems illogical that they were ever apart. Take “Jumper,” where heavy metal guitars and face-kicking drums stir the moshpit for rabid verses about crushing ICE and the lessons you learn riding the poverty line. And take closer “Bridges,” where the melodic imprint of Deftones meets the relentless confessions of Death Grips. Here are the hard, funny, and loud stories of two 23-year-olds, screaming about the world over a breathless composite of all the music they’ve ever loved.
When Eli was in Los Angeles, Xay missed his friend. But in his absence, he also felt the spark of inspiration. Music was something that had just been their childhood hobby, but now Eli was in a rock band that had press accolades and tours. He got serious about the craft. Eli would write about the dislocation and isolation he felt in California, while Xay would document the hardships of being a young Black man with a complicated family while working menial jobs in Spanaway.
This isn’t a coming-of-age album for Casi; it is, instead, a raw and riveting snapshot of that process, painful as it can be. “Eleven87” is a breakup song, a soul beat springing beneath arching emo vocals. And “Intrusive Thoughts” treats that topic like a punching bag, Eli and Xav fighting against the mental habits that keep them down. These 10 songs instantly close that gap.
Soul Jazz Records celebrate 25 years of working in partnership with Studio One with brand new editions of FIVE of their best-selling CLASSIC Studio One collections all released on limited-edition one-off pressing coloured double vinyl. Also available in new limited-edition card wallet CD editions. The new edition featured albums are Studio One Funk, Studio One Dub, Studio One Ska, Studio One Roots and Studio One Classics.
A blistering collection of non-stop Ska classic tunes featuring classic cuts from the originators of Ska alongside a heavy dose of superb rarities from the might vaults of 13 Brentford Road - pure fire! This compilation features classic tracks from The Skatalites, Bob Marley & The Wailers, Delroy Wilson alongside super-rare tracks from the likes of Ken Boothe, The Maytals, Jackie Mittoo, Tommy McCook and many more. Clement ‘Sir Coxsone’ Dodd’s musical empire was founded on Ska, the first explosive and most exciting music to come out of newly independent Jamaica. This album is a celebration of the music of Studio One Records’ seminal Ska releases and features a who’s who of some of the most important artists in the history of reggae music.
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Die vollständigen originalen Studioaufnahmen des aus San Diego stammenden, über Boston geformten Alternative-Trios - remastert, restauriert und in einem opulenten Boxset vereint. Wait A Lifetime versammelt die unvergleichlichen Alben der Band Junk und This Afternoon Malady sowie R.I.P., erweitert um ihr unvollendetes drittes Album, Singles, Split-Veröffentlichungen und Beiträge zu Compilations. Das begleitende 68-seitige Booklet zeichnet die gesamte Geschichte anhand eines Essays von Nina Cocoran und Dutzender zeitgenössischer Fotos nach. Alles ist untergebracht in einer beeindruckenden, kaschierten und lackierten Box. Sink in die Erde - und flieg.
Die vollständigen originalen Studioaufnahmen des aus San Diego stammenden, über Boston geformten Alternative-Trios - remastert, restauriert und in einem opulenten Boxset vereint. Wait A Lifetime versammelt die unvergleichlichen Alben der Band Junk und This Afternoon Malady sowie R.I.P., erweitert um ihr unvollendetes drittes Album, Singles, Split-Veröffentlichungen und Beiträge zu Compilations.Das begleitende 68-seitige Booklet zeichnet die gesamte Geschichte anhand eines Essays von Nina Cocoran und Dutzender zeitgenössischer Fotos nach. Alles ist untergebracht in einer beeindruckenden, kaschierten und lackierten Box.Sink in die Erde - und flieg.
ProleteR returns with a warm and playful blend of swing and nu jazz.
The first single, “Things of the Past,” introduces the album with a smooth fusion of neo-soul and sampling, enhanced by subtle swing elements. “Do It” (focus track) leans into a more vibrant electro-swing energy, featuring Lyre le Temps, a major figure in the global electro-swing scene.
The worldwide tour kicks off in the US this May and August, before heading to Europe in September (20 shows) alongside Blockhead and Arms & Sleepers.
Mauro Pawlowski's 'Unspectacular Times' is the sound of an artist completely at ease with himself, and with the world, in all its ordinary, unglamorous beauty. Ten songs rooted in everyday observation and emotion, produced by Scorpio Twins (Stephane Misseghers and Bruno Coussée) with a full 24-carat 80s gloss: lush synths and basslines.
Where everything around us seems to demand maximum volume and instant outrage, Pawlowski turns that logic quietly inside out. These are songs about love that sneaks up on you, desire that builds in an art gallery, and a Nobel Prize winner falling off his bike and giving a thumbs up. Small moments, but in Pawlowski's hands, that's where everything worth paying attention to actually lives.
Guest appearances from Brianne Dunne (Daryl Hall & John Oates) and Pol Coussée, a Belgian saxophonist who found his way from London to Toronto and has played alongside Barry White and Isaac Hayes.
Following the 70s-tinged 'Eternal Sunday Drive', his second album on Unday Records 'Unspectacular Times' is Pawlowski's most pop focused to date. His most recent chapter in a career that has taken him from Evil Superstars to dEUS, through theater, dance, film and more alter egos than most artists have albums.
Nobody knew. Not the crowd packed into Circolo Kessel that Sunday evening, not even the six musicians on stage. When Giardini di Mirò played on March 19, 2023, it was supposed to be just another homecoming show in Cavriago, the kind of night where you play for the people who’ve known you longest. Some were missing from the audience, though: “Our closest friends stayed home to watch the football match tonight,” Jukka quipped from the stage. “But that’s fine, we’ll deal with them tomorrow.” In hindsight, even Juventus fans who celebrated their 1–0 victory over Inter made the wrong choice.
Seventy minutes in, all the instruments converged into a one-chord riff, driven by the drums and punctuated by screaming guitars. A repetitive rhythm that paired brutal volume with hypnotic precision. Even those at the back of the room felt it: that trance-like state where sound becomes physical. Then the wall of sound collapsed. Guitar feedback lingered in the air for a few seconds before fading into nothing.
This was the last sound Giardini di Mirò made. They haven’t played since, and there are no plans to do so again. But in that moment, nobody knew.
The closing song that night was also the opener of their debut full-length, recorded more than two decades earlier. Its title, A New Start, carries an unintended irony the band would likely appreciate. It is also oddly fitting that their final show took place in the same building where they began. Circolo Kessel, previously known as Calamita, served as the band’s rehearsal space for many years. Yet since their rise to becoming one of Europe’s defining post-rock acts, they had never performed a concert there.
In a fortunate coincidence, Markus Mathis – a longtime fan who had recorded several of their shows before – also captured this final concert using two room microphones and a feed from the mixing desk.
Quasi Casa is the complete, unfiltered document of that night: an “official bootleg” spanning over 70 minutes of purely instrumental music, drawing on material from across their entire career, from the earliest releases to Del Tutto Illusorio. It captures, with striking clarity, the intensity that defined the band’s live performances.
Rather than simply uploading the recording and calling it a day, the band chose to assemble a physical release as a parting gift to their fans. The double LP includes a 16-page booklet with extensive liner notes and visual material.
Grünes Vinyl. TAIHR ist eine bunte Truppe, nicht nur weil zwei der Mitglieder aus Chile stammen und eine lateinamerikanische Prise in die Musik mit einfließen lassen, sondern auch weil alle MusikerInnen verschiedene stilistische Backgrounds haben. Neben Indie-/ Progressive- und Alternative Rock sind auch Jazz, Funk und Math Rock wichtige Legierungselemente des musikalischen Amalgams aus welchem Taihr gegossen ist. Diese Elemente verleihen Taihr einen ganz eigenen Sound und eine phonetische Tiefe, in die jeder eintauchen kann, ungeachtet jeglicher Genre-Konformitäten.
It’s Been Awful marks the moment Isaiah Rashad fully becomes his own genre.
The Top Dawg Entertainment visionary returns with his third studio album, expanding his sonic world beyond hip-hop into cosmic jazz, psychedelic guitar rock, Soulquarian neo-soul, and flashes of genre-blurring experimentation.
Featuring SZA, Dominic Fike, and Julian Sintonia, Rashad delivers his most vulnerable and fully-realized work yet after five transformative years, an unfiltered reflection on addiction, growth, self-confrontation, and redemption.
Strut Records presents a brand new reissue of the 1975 Brian Auger’s Oblivion Express original album Reinforcements. A gem from the later years of the Oblivion Express band, Reinforcements sees Auger evolve from his early ‘70s jazz-rock fusions towards smoother jazz funk sophistication, continuing his journey from the previous year’s Straight Ahead.
With two former Oblivion Express drummers joining Average White Band, there are obvious comparisons to draw as several tracks lean into groove-driven arrangements and polished mid-’70s production.Never one to follow a predictable path, Auger crafts a steadfast, stylish album that captures the evolving sound of the era, offering a rich snapshot of mid-’70s British soul and jazz-funk.
A fan favourite, the album also marks the return of vocalist Alex Ligertwood (later of Santana), whose soulful delivery is a highlight of many Oblivion Express recordings.
He is joined by Jack Mills (guitar), Lennox Langton (percussion), Dave Dowle (drums), and new addition Clive Chaman (bass, flute) – a family affair with their various kids joining for the cover shoot, the full cast adorned in an array of fine mid-‘70s tank tops.
Album highlights include the heavy funk instrumental jam ‘Brain Damage,’ a dynamic, keyboard-driven showcase of Auger’s virtuosity alongside the burning latin jazz workout ‘Something Out of Nothing’ and soaring closer ‘Future Pilot’ taking us from our present day troubles to “thread the skies to a new location.”
‘Big Yin’ is a heartfelt tribute to former drummer Robbie McIntosh following his untimely death. As with all Auger albums, the energy is nothing but positive and soulful – his back cover quote states “May the love you bring to this world be reflected upon you.”
This new Strut reissue of Reinforcements is curated by Greg Boraman of Impressive Collective in collaboration with Brian and Karma Auger. Fully remastered from the original tapes by United Archiving’s Bill Smith, it is presented as a high-quality single LP replica edition.
Strut presents the second studio album from Brian Auger’s Oblivion Express and a firm favourite with Auger aficionados, the “little known masterpiece” A Better Land from 1971. Marking a clear evolution from their more jazz-rock leaning debut, the band shifts into a mellower direction on these tracks, echoing the feel of Befour released in the Trinity's later years. A Better Land embraces warmer, more melodic and understated compositions, primarily written by guitarist Jim Mullen. With its languid and spacious approach, the album brings an grounded message to make the most of the simple pleasures in life with a hopeful, but wary, eye to the future. Musically, Auger brings acoustic guitars, country rock melodies and three-part vocal harmonies into his musical palette. Key tracks include the groove-driven title track ‘A Better Land’, the sparse ‘Dawn of Another Day,’ (sampled by Air and Black Milk among others) while ‘Fill Your Head With Laughter’ returns to Auger's trademark driving Hammond-led sound, akin to early Traffic.
The record features the Brian Auger’s unique sound on organ and electric piano, joined by Jim Mullen on guitar, Barry Dean on bass and Robbie McIntosh on drums and percussion, with Auger, Mullen and Dean all contributing vocals. Mullen co-wrote seven of the album’s nine tracks, with additional contributions from Alan Gorrie (later of Average White Band). These songwriters should take immense pride in their work as Auger’s favourite singer of all time, Sarah Vaughan, recognised the quality of these compositions by covering three of them; ‘Trouble’, ‘On “Thinking It Over’, and ‘Tomorrow City’ for her 1972 album A Time in My Life. This new official Strut reissue is curated by Greg Boraman of Impressive Collective in collaboration with Brian and Karma Auger. Fully remastered by Cosmic Audio, it is presented as a high-quality single LP replica edition.
Transparent gelbes Vinyl. IN THE TEMPLE präsentiert sich noch einmal abwechslungsreicher und kreativer als das Vorgängerwerk. Malerische Neo-Psych-Klangteppiche treffen auf eingängige 60s-Rocknummern und erzeugen vielschichtige Atmosphären zwischen Tiefe und Leichtigkeit. Die Band erweitert ihr Klangspektrum um aus Alltags- und Naturgeräuschen gestaltete Klangkulissen, die besonders die Jam Parts bereichern. Smokemaster liefern mit IN THE TEMPLE wieder einen bunten Blumenstrauß und beweisen auf charmante Weise, wie organisch sich die verschiedensten Ideen, Klangfarben und Emotionen in einer modernen Psych Rock-Platte miteinander verbinden lassen. Es gibt also viel zu entdecken. Die Band wünscht gute Reise.