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Chìsake Algonquin: to chant; to conjure; to cast a spell; this generally involves a shake-house, or shaking tent, in which the conjurer goes into a trance; the conjurer then has an out-of-body experience, going into the future to predict coming events, or into the past; as well as going into any locality in the universe to seek out someone or something generally practiced for ancestral divination.

The unaccompanied flute pieces within this album are adaptations of Anishinaabeg shaking tent chants. The Anishinaabeg also known as Anishinaabe are a group of culturally related Indigenous peoples that reside in areas now called Canada and the United States. They include the Odawa, Saulteaux, Ojibwe (including Mississaugas), Potawatomi, Oji-Cree and Algonquin peoples. The word Anishinaabeg translates to "people from whence lowered". The Anishinaabeg origin myths describe their people originating by divine breath.

The shaking tent or conjuring lodge was the setting for a divinatory rite performed by specially trained shamans otherwise known as Chìsakewininì. During the shaking tent ceremony the Chìsakewininì would construct a special cylindrical framework typically of birch or spruce uprights planted in the ground with respective wood hoops to bind it together. This created a tensile structure of which birch bark, deer skin, or cloth was used as a covering. Rattles of caribou and deer hooves, or cups of lead shot, were tied to the frame. The floor was usually softened with freshly cut spruce boughs. The vertical axis of the shaking tent represents the realm of mediating beings, while the horizontal axis the earth or world of humans. The Chìsakewininì would enter the shaking tent at night and once inside would not be visible from onlookers. The singing of chants and drumming would summon the Chìsakewininì's spirit helpers, whose arrival was signified by animal cries and erratic tent shaking. During this transcendent state, the Chìsakewininì could dispatch these spirit helpers or Manidò to distant regions to answer questions from the onlookers about the most auspicious places to hunt, the well-being of a distant relative, and what would happen in the future.

The chants were usually sung using vocables before, during, and after the Chìsakewininì entered the shaking tent. Like many other similar divination ceremonies, singular or collective, the opening chants begin lyrically. They gradually turn to more reductive abstract structures midway and then end in lyrical chants. This symbolizes the performer and listener leaving the external literal world, entering a more abstract state of mind, and then returning. Traditionally all songs were carved on birch bark for record-keeping with mnemonic pictographs or other marks for future use. Tally mark clustering, sometimes used for song-keeping throughout the Anishinaabeg, is used for this album's track titles and numerical sequence.

The album intro begins with the shaking of a necklace of otter penis bone, fish spine, bear teeth, elk teeth and deer hide, gifted from Algonquin Elder Ajawajawesi. It is meant to focus the listener's attention before the flute pieces begin. The warble or multi-phonic oscillation prevalent in the middle tracks traditionally represented the "throat rattling" vocalization of the tonic note or sometimes known as the horizon of which the melody floats off of. Due to the repetition of multi-phonic oscillation the performer will breathe erratically creating an altered state correlating with the Chìsakewininì ceremonial actions. All songs are repeated seven times to signify the seven sacred directions: east, south, west, north, above/sky, below/earth, and center.

Mondo is proud to present the soundtrack to Santa Monica Studio's GOD OF WAR. Composed by Bear McCreary, the soundtrack to GOD OF WAR is truly epic and emotionally powerful. This album features some of Bear's most beautiful compositions to date, bouncing back and forth between solemn and sublime.

Featuring original artwork by Jeff Langevin, and pressed on 2x BLACK 180 gram Vinyl , both the game and the soundtrack are modern masterpieces.

Seit ihrer Gründung im Jahr 2008 hat sich die moldawische Progressive Modern Metal-Macht INFECTED
RAIN rund um Multi-Talent und Frontfrau Lena Scissorhands zu einem der aufregendsten Szene-Acts
entwickelt. Mit ihrem frenetisch gefeierten 2019er Album „Endorphin“ gewann die Band weltweit eine
treue Fanbase für sich, welche sich nun mit Spannung auf den heiß erwarteten Nachfolger, „Ecdysis“,
freuen darf. Vom ersten Ton an elektrisiert das Album mit messerscharfen Riffs, kosmischem Elektro,
Lena‘s Schatzkammer an stimmlichen Fähigkeiten sowie lyrisch tiefgehenden Themen, die von Depression
und Verlassenheit bis hin zur allumfassenden Realität reichen. Die Band scheint eine Metamorphose zu
durchleben, während sie gekonnt Extreme Metal mit progressiven Groove und dunklen, eindringlichen
Melodien verbindet.
Erneut von Voluta Valentin produziert, demonstriert „Ecdysis“ auf sehr erfolgreiche Weise ultramoderne
Brutalität, ohne dabei auf Emotion und Melodie zu verzichten – und präsentiert INFECTED RAIN auf
einer neuen Ebene, der sich langjährige Anhänger der Band und zahlreich neue Fans ebenfalls anschliessen
dürften

The monumental fourth album from Pittsburgh’s heaviest…’Absolvere’ takes a dark conceptual journey into the realm of the human mind and the modern condition. With a pulverising production from Christian Donaldson (Shadow of Intent, Cryptopsy, Ingested) and a beautiful striking red & black artwork, the standard edition is available in 3 variants of vinyl, along with a jewel case cd. To add some spicy sauce, the band have also added two variants of a special ‘Crimson’ edition of the album artwork - featuring two special vinyl variants and an Amaray box cd.

The monumental fourth album from Pittsburgh’s heaviest…’Absolvere’ takes a dark conceptual journey into the realm of the human mind and the modern condition. With a pulverising production from Christian Donaldson (Shadow of Intent, Cryptopsy, Ingested) and a beautiful striking red & black artwork, the standard edition is available in 3 variants of vinyl, along with a jewel case cd. To add some spicy sauce, the band have also added two variants of a special ‘Crimson’ edition of the album artwork - featuring two special vinyl variants and an Amaray box cd.

The monumental fourth album from Pittsburgh’s heaviest…’Absolvere’ takes a dark conceptual journey into the realm of the human mind and the modern condition. With a pulverising production from Christian Donaldson (Shadow of Intent, Cryptopsy, Ingested) and a beautiful striking red & black artwork, the standard edition is available in 3 variants of vinyl, along with a jewel case cd. To add some spicy sauce, the band have also added two variants of a special ‘Crimson’ edition of the album artwork - featuring two special vinyl variants and an Amaray box cd.

And here we go again. After making his self-titled label debut in 2019 followed up by the super limited cassette tape "Sport EP" in 2020 Mint Huus is finally back on Cheezy Crust Records - and he's back on vinyl!

Exploring "Odd Radio Circles" we see Mint Huus catering an array of four cuts, once again covering and exploring a spectrum of superbly driving, high quality electronic club music of a timeless quality which is nothing short of a truly epic manifestation of the German artists production standard and value which is up to par with the genres greats.

Sparse, yet melodic, bouncing, yet dreamy from the very start the Mainz / Germany-based producer effortly amalgamates a highly functional Electro foundation, beautifully arranged vintage retro synth layers and ever bubbling Acid modulations to further carve out and create a distinct sonic realm and niche which, due it's innate drive and well comforting depth, is set to excel way beyond the confined boundaries of the Electro genre and gain praise and recognition on many dancefloors all around the globe.

Steering his dance label, Frank Music, all the way through the last decade, Johannes Albert would like to welcome a bunch of new and old friends for its 10 years anniversary. Berlin’s Amount steers the ship into contemporary disco waters with his „Dphrase". All hands on deck please! The Captain Of Your Heart is more than a good friend. He is the boss from Zürichsee actually. We „L.ove“ his Synth Pop all the way. Darmstadt’s finest Levitation Venue are back with the calm yet groovy „Everything’s Good“. Now we set sail for the flipside. High waves and a storm comes up on the floor when Johannes drops his „Dynamo“. A very 90s informed rave affair! Sir Iron Curtis takes over the realm and shows a little respect for classic Electro. We travel to „Münster West“. The sea calms again with the bittersweet symphony of Max Lessig’s „Make me cry“. We reach safe havens. To the next 10!

The multiple award winning action-adventure game God Of War was first released in
2005, but became such an instant hit, that Santa Monica Studio created seven more versions of the game. The most recent one, released in 2018 for the PlayStation
4, focusses on main character Kratos’ journey in the Greek world together with his son Atreus, following a path of vengeance as a result of being tricked into killing his family by Olympian gods.

God of War received universal acclaim for its story, design, graphics, combat system, characters and music. It was awarded ‘Game of the Year’ by numerous media outlets and award shows. God Of War (2018) performed well commercially, selling over five million copies within a month after its release. It became one of the best-selling PlayStation 4 games.

The official soundtrack won a BAFTA Award and is composed by Bear McCreary. It is set up around themes he created around primary characters in the game. Inspired by Viking folk music, McCreary used exotic instrumentation and languages from various Northern European folk traditions. It resulted in a score featuring deep choirs, pounding drums, shrieking brass and features Faroese singer-songwriter Eivør (Pálsdóttir). The American composer Bear McCreary is best known for his work on TV shows like Battlestar Galactica, Outlander, The

Third time’s a charm. Or a chant in this case.“Antologia De Música Atípica Portuguesa” is back.Following two sold out volumes, the unplanned trilogy comes to a close with chants and hymns whilst continuing to merge music genres and presenting them as a world building concept.

If the first two volumes were dedicated to work (“O Trabalho”) and regions (“Regiões”), it only made sense to close the trilogy with ceremonial music, connecting the real – each musicians’ creation – with a fantasied celebration of Portuguese folk, traditions, and ghost methods within these unusual anthems.

If you’ve listened to Niagara before, you probably felt this whole ceremonial thing going on. A perfect opener then, for this volume with Niagara’s deep dive into proto religious-ambient music with “Paulo, Apolo e Pedro”. It sets the tone for the next 35-minutes of ethereal like songs. Either you listen to musicians working within their natural habitat (João Pais Filipe or Filipe Felizardo) or feel them exploring new areas in their realm (Niagara, Joana Guerra or Serpente), this third volume manages to combine eight of the best underrated visionaries working in current day Portugal.

In the past, “Antologia da Música Atípica Portuguesa” created an imaginary folktale where current day creations could live with the idea of archive or fake-folk. This volume forgets the world building and actually lives in it. Because this is the real Portugal. This is our folk. These are our chants. Embrace the otherworldly.

The debut release from a London duo weaving vibrant patchworks of dance floor debris, from line-dancehall to hopscotch breaks. Enter the world of Angel Rocket…BIG TIP!

Angel Rocket is the eclectic new project from Angel Hunt (Good Morning Tapes) & Peter Rocket (BEAM). As dual specialists in new-clear fusion, primordial blooze and glittering bass-bin pressure, Angel Rocket is a match made in heaven.

The AM003 EP is a masterclass in playful dance floor navigations, charting territory from dancehall and techno to blissful Balearic plod, and beyond. It's the perfect release for Accidental Meetings debut wax release after a string of impressive cassette tapes & forward thinking compilations.

'Pomelo Fog' is a 100bpm wormhole with warm reese-bass expansions and washes of serotonin-soaked pads incubating a new mutant techno-dancehall variant.

'Oyster Perpetual' boasts an immaculate palette of harsh, tactile mid-highs and glossy bass swoops, sitting pretty between the realms of 100bpm Dembow and 200bpm Jungle.

Next in line is 'Tunnelrunners Unltd'; a pop’n’lock maze of funkee wall banging 4x4 techno with a noizy, UK-inspired lean.

'Foamstone Hoedown' closes the record, its low-slung Balearic wobble and weirdo 5th World polyrhythms gently beaming listeners back down to earth.

strumentalist Teddy Lasry's story is noteworthy not just in regards to the music he released, but in the ways approached the craft of composing and experimenting with sounds and sonics.
Always intrigued with the capabilities of instruments, their groove and their feel, it was very much his family’s influence that helped to fuel these life long affections. As a performer in a parisien cabaret, Teddy’s father Jacques would mingle with giants like Serge
Gainsbourg and Charlie Chaplin (impressed by his ability to improvise, Chaplin wanted him to become his accompanist, but the pianist politely refused). Jacques and his wife (Teddy’s mother Yvonne), would later become members of the innovative experimental group Les Structures Sonores, and surround their children’s lives with sounds. Electronic music was still in its infancy and Les Structures Sonores, with their resonators that produced long, mysterious tones, were deemed ‘cosmic’. It was the era of the launching of the first Russian Sputnik and every time a radio or television station wanted music for their science fiction programs, they turned to one of their compositions. Showing a natural ability with multi instrumentalism, Teddy was rewarded with a spot in the band, allowing him to really explore unconventional methods of composition.
Following a brief stint with Ariane Mnouchkine's avant-garde Théâtre du Soleil after graduating school, Teddy joined the pioneering prog band Magma, with whom he would record three groundbreaking records during the early 1970s (According to former member
Laurent Thibault, their album Mëkanïk Dëstruktïẁ Kömmandöh and its sound were strong influences on David Bowie during the recording
of Low and Iggy Pop’s The Idiot at Hérouville). Despite the successes with these projects, Teddy was constantly searching for new ways
of expressing himself through music, leading him into the beginnings of a solo career that would last the better part of three decades.
Teddy’s transition into his solo career came with contrasting fortunes, in that he was now becoming a music to image composer but with the unfortunate realisation that his eyesight was gradually worsening (due to being diagnosed with retinitis pigmentosa at an early age). Nonetheless, his solo career would begin in 1975, and for the rest of the decade his sound would become increasingly mired in electrified Funk-Fusion and its endless sonic possibilities. The resulting music would serve to highlight Teddy’s love affair with the possibilities found within tireless instrumentation, with the flute and particularly synthesisers becoming a mini-obession of his (he once spent a 7,000 Francs loan, which was meant to be spent on fixing his roof, on synths).
To this day Teddy continues to record and experiment with music, a passion which in many ways has never left his sid, even at the age of 75. His career was one that was fuelled by innate curiosity and an intrinsic desire to discover new methods of expressionism, be it through the realms of Jazz-Funk, ambient electronics, Swing music or indeed through the medium of instrumentation itself. On this compilation, we look to encapsulate the essence of his innovative sound, and from start to finish a sense of his ingenious approach to composing structure and mood is made abundantly clear. The funk-jazz fusion style that embodied the majority of his 70s work is on full display here, with the vibrant flute driven "Los Angeles", the Miles Davis inspired "Blue Theme", the progressive and driving
"Chamonix", and the deeply intricate "Krazy Kat", along with one of his finest 80s slow jams, "Funky Ghost". Two cuts off the ‘Back To
Amazonia’ album are also featured (Teddy’s last album including his Prophet T8, Yamaha DX7 and Oberheim drum machines). "Raising
Sun in Bali" and the title piece both emphasise an ever present passion for synthesisers. "Birds of Space", a standout track off the e=mc2 album, closes the comp, and is a fitting way to end this journey.
Pulled together in close collaboration with Teddy and his family, this collection of songs looks to introduce new listeners to his work and we are proud to present this limited and carefully remastered compilation on vinyl, including extensive liner notes.

By now you’re probably familiar with our wildly popular Brown Acid series of rare, lost and unreleased proto-metal and stoner rock singles from the 60s-70s. In the endless pursuit of those glorious gems, we often uncover equally brilliant rarities from the late-70s to late-80s Golden Age of Heavy Metal that also just must be heard, but they don’t fit the series’ aesthetic. Scrap Metal, Volume 1 collects some of the greatest unknown and lost Heavy Metal tracks, long buried beneath the avalanche of the era’s classic output.
We all know the old adage that history is told by the winners. But sometimes the losers tell the best stories. And while none of these bands found fame and fortune, this artifact and the volumes to come are testament to the enduring power of heavy music. You can hear the blood, sweat and beers that went into each of these singles. The recordings may be low budget, but the inspiration and talent is immutable. Not only are the amps turned up to 11, the boyish sexual innuendo is cranked to 69. You can hear the convergence of influences — NWOBHM, thrash, glam metal, doom, etc — colliding at once as the era birthed a wellspring of subgenres.
Many of these singles are self-released and were thus limited to a small run of copies. Those that remain are hoarded by collectors and sold for exorbitant amounts. We’ve collected the best of the best for you here. As with Brown Acid, all of these tracks are licensed legitimately and the artists all get paid. Because it’s the right thing to do.
LINER NOTES:
Rapid Tears launch this series with the perfect christening. The Toronto, ON quintet’s 1981 single “Headbang” is such the pinnacle of heavy metal madness that it almost sounds like a spoof. There’s also enough of the rapid-fire sputum that inspired Metallica to bang the head that doesn’t, as such, engage in said practice, to be found on the band’s sole full length Honestly. But “Headbang” is a straightforward glammy anthem for the ages.
Air Raid’s “69 In A 55” may be lyrically so sophomoric that it’s actually pretty clever, but this 1983 Bay Area power metal single is loaded with sleek Judas Priest riffs and interwoven melodies that are downright sublime. The band’s sole release, the 2-song Rock Force 7” features a curious band photo in which 3 band members — dolled up in Crüe makeup and leather — are sexually menacing the lead singer/guitarist tied to a bed. Another low budget highlight is when singer/guitarist Tommy “Thrasher” Merry imitates a delay effect on his vocals as he sings, “tonight!...tonight...night.”
Hades’ “Girls Will Be Girls” has a real demo cassette feel to its vastly uneven mix, but the energy to the performance makes this an undeniable keeper. The long running Paramus, NJ quintet’s 1982 2- song debut 7” titled Deliver Us From Evil features this blistering thrasher dominated by shimmering leads and confident vocals that show why the band went on to near-fame on Metal Blade Records.
Resless don’t need no T to prove that they’ve got “The Power” with this 1984 driving mid-tempo rocker in the vein of Mötley Crüe and Ratt. The River Vale, NJ quartet’s tight crunch wails all over Bon Jovi posers but it’s the band’s unique and subtle deployment of background vocals that gives this rager its staying power.
Pittsburgh, the Steel City, is home to Don Cappa, a band that pays tribute to the burgh, the metal, and the awesomeness of both with “Steel City Metal.” Their lone single, issued in 1987 with only 300 copies released, sounds like the work of some serious steel driving men, with a drummer who might’ve forgotten to wear a hard hat one too many times on the construction site.
The Beast has more of a punk feel to their aggressive “Enemy Ace” track from the 4-song Power Metal EP from 1983 — something like Dr. Know meets D.O.A. But their look, artwork and lyrics all prove that Heavy Metal is where their hearts lie. And this hook filled monster delivers repeated lines like, “I command them all in my lofty realm,” with commendable conviction.
Dead Silence from Denver, Colorado, debuting in 1984 is not to be confused with Dead Silence from Denver, Colorado, who also debuted in 1984. The former a workman’s hard rock bar band, the latter a political peace punk band and neither knowing of the other’s existence throughout their tenure. The pre-internet days were a marvel, indeed.This Dead Silence spits out a slick, Nugent tinged rocker called “Can’t Stop” about life on the road.
The Danger Zone is, by all accounts, not the place to be. And, Hazardous Waste of Boston, MA saw fit to add their two cents on the matter with this 1986 single that combines Van Halen’s flashy musicianship with NWOBHM aggression that sounds so awesome it teeters on itself entering the “Danger Zone.”
Czar’s heavy, doomy “Iron Curtain” single from 1982 hearkens to the sleazy sounds of Saint Vitus and Pentagram with its cranked up DOD Distortion pedal in a Peavey combo amp guitar tone and meaty, barking vocals. The upstate NY quintet only issued this 2-song single, but its driving rhythm, nosedive whammy-bar guitar solos and comparatively mature Cold War subject matter show they had real potential.
Not much is known about Real Steel’s majestic “Viking Queen” from 1987, other than it rocks hard and the 7” 45 sells for upwards of a grand on the collectors market. The Flint, Michigan band recorded at the home studio of local radio personality Bill Lamb, who primarily released Christian Gospel recordings. So, perhaps the band was struck down by a bolt of lightning shortly after this rare single’s release. Whatever the case may be, it’s a must have for fans of classic metal mayhem.

Hungry Shells, the seventeenth entry in RVNG Intl.’s intergenerational collaborations series FRKWYS, brings together vocalist, multi- instrumentalist, and sound artist Ka Baird with avant-garde composer and radical performance art pioneer Pekka Airaksinen. Recorded six months before Pekka’s passing, Hungry Shells alchemizes separate but similar spiritualistic practices, canvassing Baird’s voice and synthesizer rituals and Airaksinen’s lysergic sound explorations into startling, surreal landscapes.

Pekka Airaksinen, who left this realm for another in May 2019, is recognized as a pioneering composer both in and outside his native Finland’s fringe art community. A founding member of the late 60s art and music collective The Sperm, Airaksinen discovered Buddhism in the early 1970s, eventually establishing a number of meditation centers around Finland. Throughout his career Airaksinen embraced a degree of obscurity and anonymity that was inspired by his Buddhist learnings, and afforded him complete creative freedom. As he explained, “The less success you have, the more time there is to develop things.”

Ka Baird, who found her musical footing in Chicago playing in Spires That In The Sunset Rise before moving to New York to pursue her solo career, has developed a practice based in forms of active and engaged embodiment. Inspired by Charlemagne Palestine’s Body Music, Baird’s performances explore physical extremes as a catalyst for charged immediacy and presence. “I’m interested in the

places between precision and something unrestrained,” she told The Wire in 2019. Drawing on minimalism’s ecstatic deployment of duration and endurance, her recordings explore the outer limit sounds of her voice and its synthesis with developing music technology.

Airaksinen and Baird convened in Utrecht in the fall of 2018 to write, rehearse, and record Hungry Shells ahead of a performance at the Dutch festival institution Le Guess Who? Sessions took place between contemplative walks along the city’s medieval canals, and, for Airaksinen, lengthy meditations in his hotel room. Early on in the trip, Pekka shared ODO with Ka, a collection of Buddhist parables that he divinely received while meditating. After translating several of these texts from Finnish to English the duo used them as text for the album, and a sort of psychic foundation.

West coast new romantic icon Riki returns with her 2nd simulacrum of pitch-perfect synth-pop, aptly titled for the precious substance it is: Gold. Inspired by notions of symbolic power, letting go, and transmutable realms of the heart, the album further refines her rare gift for making swooning melancholia as anthemic as it atmospheric. Working with Telefon Tel Aviv co-founder Josh Eustis at his Pasadena studio, the sessions unfolded fluidly and fruitfully, focusing on “quieter moments” and refining the record’s palette and voice. Occasional interruption from a nearby flock of wild parrots infused a mood of California dreaming, purple sunsets dissolving into deepening neon night.

West coast new romantic icon Riki returns with her 2nd simulacrum of pitch-perfect synth-pop, aptly titled for the precious substance it is: Gold. Inspired by notions of symbolic power, letting go, and transmutable realms of the heart, the album further refines her rare gift for making swooning melancholia as anthemic as it atmospheric. Working with Telefon Tel Aviv co-founder Josh Eustis at his Pasadena studio, the sessions unfolded fluidly and fruitfully, focusing on “quieter moments” and refining the record’s palette and voice. Occasional interruption from a nearby flock of wild parrots infused a mood of California dreaming, purple sunsets dissolving into deepening neon night.

With governments finally admitting that UFOs do in fact exist, and humanity attempting to heal from a state of recent crisis, the timing couldn’t be more appropriate for the newest addition to the HYPOCRISY catalog: WORSHIP, due to be released Fall 2021 via Nuclear Blast Records. Aptly titled, the album cover shows a mass of humans reaching up mindlessly to the sky as glowing spaceships shaped like the HYPOCRISY crosses sigil beam down to descend upon earthen civilizations and Mayan temples. Designed by artist Blake Armstrong (Kataklysm, In Flames, Carnifex, etc.), WORSHIP’s artwork speaks to the history of the relationship between humanity and extraterrestrials. “They’re coming back to collect,” explains founder and HYPOCRISY mastermind Peter Tägtgren.
A track entitled CHEMICAL WHORE breaches the subject of pharmaceutical addiction, and those who engineer it. “We are all chemical whores. We regularly consume prescriptions and drugs because we think we need it; we use one pill to heal the damage done by another medicine... it’s a vicious cycle.” Musically, it’s the only song that was written by all 3 core members of the band and translates into a recognizable, mid-tempo HYPOCRISY sound much like ERASER or FRACTURED MILLENIUM. Traveling from Sweden to Russia, the band also shot an official music video for CHEMICAL WHORE.
The DEAD WORLD music was written by Peter Tägtgren’s son, Sebastian. “We actually started to write an album together, something like 11 or 12 songs, but we never put any vocals in there and we just sort of set it aside. Then when I started writing HYPOCRISY I realized I really liked the song… it feels fresh. I think my kid got some new blood in there.” While the song comes equipped with a modern feel, the writing is still old fashioned at its core. Going into detail about the illuminati and black ops government, the lyrics examine how miserable these figureheads and theories can make us. “Call it fantasy, call it sci-fi, there are plenty of conspiracies in the world but I find these ones interesting,” explains Tägtgren.
GREEDY BASTARDS is another track outlined by simplicity and catchiness. Chugging riffs encapsulate a sound that almost verges on the realms of thrash while still keeping its feet firmly planted in the world of death metal. The lyrics touch on the greed and methods of control that we see various governments around the world today; how they manipulate people against one another and abuse the masses.
For Tägtgren, the inspiration to write new HYPOCRISY comes in waves. “I believe we were out on tour for another project and I began to get hungry again. I started spitting out some new riffs and when I had 7-8 songs done, I invited the rest of the guys to join me and contribute, and from there we started putting everything together. We had a break for a few months, continued recording, went back on tour… it never stops. There was a lot of jumping back and forth, and then COVID came and things got really weird.”
Tägtgren was one of the many musically inclined who was forced into sudden isolation upon the onset of COVID 19, only for Tägtgren, this is common practice when creating new songs. “A lot of things in the world stopped, and it was time to finish everything I hadn’t finished.” As usual, all recording and mixing took place at Tägtgren’s home studio in Sweden.
It has been 8 long years since the last record, and HYPOCRISY fans can feel the itch. WORSHIP is 11 tracks of precise, ferocious musicianship. Commonly inspired by the fusion of the modern and the ancient, HYPOCRISY has once more found a way to combine innovative ideas with classic sound in order to deliver something metalheads can enjoyably consume with awe and brutal vigor. HYPOCRISY is Peter Tägtgren (Lead Guitar & Vocals), Mikael Hedlund (Bass Guitar), and Reidar “Horgh” Horghagen (Drums).

We used to enjoy presenting Chapelier Fou's work using the idea of music in the form of a treasure hunt. However, while the phrase in itself it still just as relevant today, we would never have imagined that it would become such an integral part of one of his albums. Or two of his albums to be perfectly exact - Méridiens and Parallèles. Two records with twelve songs each which answer each other back in the form of anagrams. They are like the two sides of the same planet - similar but simultaneously so different. They need to be discovered one after the other taking the time necessary to travel through the sound territories produced by his imagination. The starting point is a sombre night in Uqbar… Chapelier Fou's opening reference to Borgès was obviously not made by chance. He subsequently confided in us the objective of his diptych, namely to combine reality with fiction to question certainties and our relationships with the imaginary sphere. He has continued with his traditional classical-contemporary electronic approach which, although now known to a wide audience, has the advantage of opening up a whole range of possibilities right up to the infinite scale. Moving away from an "État Nain" (Dwarf State) to take refuge on an asteroid...Throughout Méridiens, each composition can be seen as a universe in itself or a specific landscape with its own temporality. Proof of this is the introduction to the chamber music format composed for and performed by only strings which can only be given the date we want to give it. This is "État Nain" in which violins are played like guitars. In some parts we find the spirit of the Penguin Cafe Orchestra and the idea of cheering up classical instruments and not taking everything too seriously. In other parts, we find something close to a mischievous and childish unplugged grunge anthem that could be from the French series Les Shadoks. This mischievous view of things is shown to full effect in Am Scharchtensee. The introduction shows Chapelier Fou's whole classical universe and mastery of orchestration in which "modular" electronics provide a subtle and discreet backdrop. Then, the record suddenly switches to a surrealist dialogue between these classical sounds and modular synthesizers with the flavour of the German pioneers Kluster/Harmonia to name but one example. Timelessness and imaginary places. La vie de cocagne confirms this choice of total freedom. It's traditional music with old sounds, a kind of forgotten bourrée (old French dance) in which electronic sounds disturb the established order and thus reach another musical dimension. Le méridien du Péricarde followed by Désert de Sonora push this idea of a trompe l'oreille and a hall of mirrors even further. The latter track ends almost like a catchy 80s melody and we can no longer find any logical meaning. We let ourselves be carried away by this profusion of madness and are a little amazed by this mastery of sound, composition and space. It sometimes all seems like a succession of conjuring tricks. Chapelier Fou takes not being serious very seriously indeed. The end song Everest trail is the perfect conclusion, a deadpan track in which the primary aspect of a totally classical melody in all its straightness is underpinned by a permanent exchange of electronic tweets which mocks the main musical posture. This impertinence harks back to Pierre Schaeffer who directed the ORTF's very serious experimental department in another era and allowed the development of Jacques Rouxel's series Les Shadoks thus introducing the general public to the notion of concrete music. This is also perhaps why Louis Warynski's stage name is French – because he has opted to use his French musical heritage. Thus the first singles selected from this album, Constantinople with its groovy and jazzy allure and Le Triangle des Bermudes evoke composers like Michel Magne or Michel Colombier both of whom have totally open minds and consider all music to have the same importance, namely that of sound. In absolutely all the tracks that make up Méridiens, you will find at least one detail - a pattern, melody, sometimes a simple sound - that will draw you back to explore it a little more. And the words are carefully weighed for sure. It's quite simple. This is undoubtedly his most hypnotizing and catchy album. Chapelier Fou has become a complete master of his own universe. He draws the start and finish lines himself and no one can follow him in a field that now belongs to him alone. Composed imaginary spheres, illustrated territories...Music is just as meaningful as the more visual arts. Therefore the artwork of Méridiens had to project each of the twelve tracks considered individually and not just the whole album as such. Chapelier Fou therefore asked his old friend the contemporary artist Corentin Grossman to create twelve windows to represent glimpses of the twelve worlds composed for the record. Windows or mirrors when it comes to that? You can never be sure of anything...Space OK. But what about time? The years go by and sometimes we forget that fact. But a simple glance back is often enough to gently touch the time that has passed. It is over 10 years since his first official record and he has been composing, recording and sharing his music for almost 20 years. 20 years is a long time. It makes some people look old while others fall into reassuring but sterile nostalgia. Chapelier Fou, on the other hand, has released his most ambitious project and tried to take a higher view of his discography that was itself nevertheless irreproachable. Although the journey is over we can see Parallèles universes on the horizon. Chapelier Fou has announced 12 additional tracks which are like echoes of the compositions on Méridiens' and will be released on the album Parallèles next spring. They are neither twins nor opposites – they are instead totally original new compositions which go further in exploring a universe which is already richly abundant.

Following March’s 9696 Dream mixtape and July’s Flex Time EP, this new album sees 96 Back shine the spotlight on his own vocals for the first time, at points (such as on lead single ‘9 To Find 6’) operating fully in the realms of experimental pop. At other times, such as on ‘Teach Me Tenderness’ and ‘Feel Hard’, 96 Back stretches and processes his vocals to almost breaking point, while album closer ‘Melt You’ sees him duet with past collaborator Iceboy Violet, ending Love Letters on a sombre but romantic note. That’s not to say Love Letters is fully removed from the dancefloor, however: tracks like ‘Don’t Die’ and ‘Love Compact’ are precision-tooled for the club, while the likes of ‘Felzin’ and ‘Vibrant Colours’ continue to explore the intricate but emotive electronics that 96 Back has been so successful with in the past. More varied and vivid than any of 96 Back’s releases to date, Love Letters feels like a coming of age moment. It casts its net incredibly wide at points, and it’s an album full of ambition, but it meets every challenge it sets itself — as affecting in its quieter, tender moments as during its dramatic peaks. In 96 Back’s words: “This is a record I feel like I’ve been trying to write for years, it feels like the most accurate body of work to match the ideas in my mind. Trying to project a lot of the records I hold very dear to me through this lens, interpreting how they sound to me and merging them with ideas of finding the drama and excitement in the full spectrum of emotions on the tip of my tongue, that’s what ended up being Love Letters, Nine Through Six.”

Cult American ambient label Past Inside The Present looks to New York City-based composer Christina Giannone for her new full length Glazed Vision, which is pressed to nice heavy 160 gram transparent clear vinyl. This is her third full length following 202's The Faint and a collaborative work also last year, and it is another development of her dark, heavy, drone fulled ambient landscapes. These are lo-fi, foggy tracks that hang in mid air and make you feel like you're doing the same as only the most subtle of shapeshifting chords brings a sense of motion. It is bleak yet beautiful and never less than hugely absorbing.