Cerca:rhythm storm

Drum To Death is a collection of 11 experiments by Peter Kernel and their favourite drummers. Throughout 2020-2023 Peter Kernel invited eleven of their most esteemed drummers to send them rhythms with which they composed these eleven tracks. Each song was written and dedicated to the inherent drummer as an ode of appreciation to the beat creator. These eleven songs come together as a unique collection of an odd collaboration based on appreciation for different styles and people, a microworld made of different feelings, patterns, colours, intentions and attitudes. The album features collaborations with Bernard Trontin (The Young Gods), Cosmic Neman (Zombie Zombie), Beatrice Graf, Domi Chansorn, Ema Matis, Tam Bor, Hugo Panzer, Julian Sartorius, Kevin Shea (Storm & Stress, Lydia Lunch), Simon Berz, Simone Aubert (Hyperculte, Massicot).

IT Recordings finally comes back with a new release, offering a sequel to its sound-vision.

This Various Artists project is a culmination of the refinement of IT Recordings sound-vision, guaranteeing a spacey atmosphere filled by groovy low riffs.

Eric Fetcher’s composition is the starting point of this 4-tracks story, made of a distinct atmosphere associated to some dynamically sequenced kicks.

Then follows Alexis Vogel’s Divergence made of a bright melodic synth, groovy low end and varied rhythmic patterns maintaining an intense energy throughout the track.

The 3rd composition is a fast paced rolling cut designed by Corium, that marks the highest point of this 4-tracks story.

Finally Matthieu Benjamin’s Early Mornings is the perfect conclusion to this EP, maintaining the groove of the previous tracks. A refreshing breeze after the storm, makes this project a consistent and diversified tool for the dancefloor.

Milanese techno shaman MAIKE DEPAS travels from the dark to the dreamy side of the dance floor on his EP "Euphoria" (out 24 November on The Innovation Studio)

"Techno emissary Maike Depas storms back onto the scene with 'State of Techno', a bold fusion of past and present influences set to reshape dance floors in 2023." (Magnetic Mag)

"State of Techno is the Milanese producer's visionary work fusing 80's and 90's sounds through a modern lens creating an exhilarating release weaving through 30 years of underground club music." (The Brvtalist)

On the back of the breaky Grand Prix 2049 anthem "Midnight Ride", Milanese techno shaman MAIKE DEPAS (Michelangelo De Pasquale) travels from the dark ("We Move", "Inner Voices" and "Techno Appeal") to the dreamy side ("Midnight Ride" and "Green Hornet") of the dance floor on his EP "Euphoria", coming out on 24 November via The Innovation Studio. One foot in stoic Schranz techno of Chris Liebling"s CLR, the other one in eschatological goa trance of Dragonfly Records, never going under 134 BPM, Depas strikes the perfect balance between dystopia and utopia. "This is my idea of what the ravers want to listen inside the club's Depas reckons.

"Euphoria has two sonorities: the dark vibe, and the dreamy one. This is my idea of what the ravers want to listen inside the club's Maike Depas

With the complex arrangements of the past Depas-releases left out and the trusted workhorse a custom-made pitch black Roland TR-909 from 1983 responsible for doing the heavy lifting in the drum sections, "Euphoria" is a beat-heavy affair that draws its relentless drive and rhythmic richness from merging polyrhythmic patterns merged with streamlined melodies and nifty vocal samples such as the double entendre "quiero jugar una horas mas" (Engl. "I want to play one hour more") on the no-holds-barred hard trance number "Techno Appeal", and the riveting juxtaposition of mesmerizing female vocals and handclaps of roaring crowds in hypnotic "Inner Voices".

"These demoniac figures resemble human transformation and the idea of achieving euphoria through esotericism's Maike Depas

However, when it comes to Depas, there is always more to his music than merely being dead set on setting the dance floors on fire. The antler-wearing figures and witches" circles depicted in the artwork hint at Depas" invitation for the clubbers to let his music move them far beyond the physical world. "These demoniac figures resemble human transformation and the idea of achieving euphoria through esotericism's

Brontez Purnell has been making music since the ‘90s. The Southern-raised, Oakland-based American musician and writer has centered his queerness and Blackness in projects Gravy Train!!! and Younger Lovers as well as in his award-winning books ‘100 Boyfriends’ and ‘Since I Laid My Burden Down’. He is also a dancer, film maker and choreographer.
CRYSTAL CLEAR VINYL.
Hot on the heels of recent 7” singles for Sub Pop, PPM and his first solo electronic record ‘No Jack Swing’ (Dark Entries / Papi Juice), Brontez returns in DIY-punk band formation for a new album entitled ‘Confirmed Bachelor’, out Sept 15th on Upset The Rhythm. These twelve songs presented are of the no-time-wasted variety. Fuzzed-out pop songs, hotly delivered from the heart, often sassy, sometimes sappy, always snappy! Brontez’s band includes the multifaceted talents of Vice Cooler (who also produced and mixed the album), Sean Teves (of Younger Lovers) on drums, Kevin Preston (Prima Donna, Green Day) on guitar, Aaron Minton (Prima Donna) on piano and saxophone, and Laena Myers-Ionita on violin. The album was recorded in Los Angeles at The VCR earlier this year.
‘Bachelors Theme’ opens ‘Confirmed Bachelor’ and sets the scene perfectly with the heady, rush along swoon “That's when I heard the doctor singing to me, "Son; you got all those boys in love, I wish I knew what you were saying to them. Their storming castles are coming for you!” It’s a tour de force of bop and bravado. This is what the album does so well, it sweeps you off your feet first, making its lyrical disclosures all the more affecting.
‘Rude Life’ begins in lilting, measured contemplation. “You're the rudest boy I know, and I've a real rude life” confesses Brontez as the violin laces through his vocal. This is all shook up at the halfway mark though when the adrenaline kicks in and the drums pummel. ‘Sky Opens Up’ similarly dials up the tumbling, careening clamour and energy buzz. ‘Hellish Banger’ is more of slow dance meets grunge reverie. The album also boasts an amazing spiraling auto-tuned cover of The Amps ‘Bragging Party’. ‘No Cigarettes / Stay Monkey’ is pulse-grabbing rally of unadorned declarations split into two fleeting sketches.
‘Hey Boy’ and ‘Boy With Butterfly Wings’ are more reflective in intent, both yearning and unapologetically poetic. In fact the little details observed in the lyrics across the whole album are quietly elegiac; winter nights, electric bills, ticking clocks and many allusions to hauntings only lending pathos to the love-drunk / lovelorn axis of the record. ‘Confirmed Bachelor’ is a hot wonder, upbeat, witty and ever-lively only with a forlorn core, a resolute focus and defiant honesty. It’s a rare triumph, a record you can dance your Friday night away to, whilst the songs’ subtly work on your emotions from the inside out.
of it all. Jagged riffs, bubblegum bounce and Brontez’s vocal effortlessly racing to dizzying effect.

Sean La’Brooy is an Australian producer and composer currently based in New York, who’s work traverses ambient, jazz and house music. He is the co-founder of Australian ambient label Analogue Attic Recordings. With this release, La’Brooy has hooked up with the Scissor and Thread label to put out Merchant - five dreamy and versatile tracks featuring his distinct style of harmonically complex pads mixed with jazz-influenced instrumental melodies and solos. Snow Storm starts the journey, coupling field recordings with snippets of gentle jazz lines and wandering percussion. Cargo is the most dancefloor-oriented of the release, and locks into a driving groove early on, featuring various synth and piano fragments to add and flow through the track. Pilot is a track that also finds an off-kilter groove, embellished with dubbed-out percussion by fellow Australian Joseph Batrouney and samples. Storage too features a guest—New York based drummer Leo Yucht—who delivers a rolling breakbeat which is intertwined with live percussion, airy pads and snippets of piano to build a rich atmosphere. The closing piece is Helipad, a dubby bassline providing the anchor for an intricate rhythm of bongos and synth to support a light-as-a-feather melody.

It has been five long years since the Brazilian power metal kings Angra released their last album "Ømni". was released. Now the band is finally back with new music and once again proves their exceptional position as unique as unique bands in the genre.
Angra's unmistakable sound - the fusion of classic-virtuosic power metal with progressive with progressive elements and rhythms - comes to its perfect perfect development and makes "Cycles Of Pain" a highlight for every a highlight for every fan of sophisticated,
first-class metal.
The long-standing line-up of the band, which was founded in 1991, is joined has been joined since 2013 by the former Rhapsody of Fire singer Fabio Lione, who again delivers an incredible performance. incredible performance. Mix and mastering of "Cycles Of Pain" were once again done by Dennis Ward (Helloween, Magnum, Firewind).

It has been five long years since the Brazilian power metal kings Angra released their last album "Ømni". was released. Now the band is finally back with new music and once again proves their exceptional position as unique as unique bands in the genre.
Angra's unmistakable sound - the fusion of classic-virtuosic power metal with progressive with progressive elements and rhythms - comes to its perfect perfect development and makes "Cycles Of Pain" a highlight for every a highlight for every fan of sophisticated,
first-class metal.
The long-standing line-up of the band, which was founded in 1991, is joined has been joined since 2013 by the former Rhapsody of Fire singer Fabio Lione, who again delivers an incredible performance. incredible performance. Mix and mastering of "Cycles Of Pain" were once again done by Dennis Ward (Helloween, Magnum, Firewind).

The Debut album from Finnish band Graven Sin is a modern classic of godly, Doom-laden Heavy Metal. Veil of The Gods is etched in granite via Svart Records on November 2023 Pristine new Finnish band Graven Sin stomp proudly on the shoulders of giants with their ravishing debut album, Veil of The Gods. Immaculate Heavy Metal, expertly delivered with stunning finesse and elegant Doom perfection, Veil of The Gods is a classic in the making. Rarely has a new band sounded so timeless, serving up a godly platter of first-class Heavy Metal, that Graven Sin seem chiselled in granite to sit side by side at a table with the greats from the very get go. From the galloping charge of opening barn-stormer Morrigan, with jaw dropping solo guitars courtesy of riff master Ville Pystynen, the epic and anthemic She Who Rules Niflheim with soaring vocals from Greek vocalist Nicholas Leptos to the formidable double bass canter of Ville Markkanen’s drums on songs like Beyond Mesopotamia, Graven Sin knows the true riddle of steel. Throughout Veil of The Gods’ eleven cast-iron tracks, we can trace veins of recent Finnish greats such as Sentenced, Amorphis, Reverend Bizarre or their nordic counterparts Grand Magus from Sweden, but there is much more at play here. Graven Sin offers up heavy, doom laden orthodox Heavy Metal in the true, chugging, monumental sense of the term. The knowledge and prowess of Heavy Metal craft on display in Veil of The Gods is second to none, from the Maidenesque command of melody to the swarthy Manowar rhythms, herculean Deep Purple keys and Messiah like Candlemass-rich voice of astonishing vocalist Leptos, these are songs to be inscribed into stone tablets. Where pitch dark mythical themes and occult leanings of the lyrics bring to mind the Heavy Metal running through Black Metal bands like Dissection, the song arrangements swing from gallop to thundering, head-banging mid-sections with such magnificence, you would think you were in the hands of a band with decades of heritage behind their backs. A “where have you been all my life moment” awaits Heavy Metal fans of all shades when Graven Sin hits the speakers, delivering a sound that cuts glass and steel. A refreshing tour–de-force through everything Heavy Metal is loved for, not shrinking from the dark but embracing it with gusto and fierce bravado. Veil of The Gods shows us that real metal lives forever, if crafted with true spirit and belief. Hear the cry of the seer of doom, by heeding Morrigan’s call now: Ville Pystynen - guitar, bass Nicholas Leptos - vocals Ville Markkanen - drums

The Debut album from Finnish band Graven Sin is a modern classic of godly, Doom-laden Heavy Metal. Veil of The Gods is etched in granite via Svart Records on November 2023 Pristine new Finnish band Graven Sin stomp proudly on the shoulders of giants with their ravishing debut album, Veil of The Gods. Immaculate Heavy Metal, expertly delivered with stunning finesse and elegant Doom perfection, Veil of The Gods is a classic in the making. Rarely has a new band sounded so timeless, serving up a godly platter of first-class Heavy Metal, that Graven Sin seem chiselled in granite to sit side by side at a table with the greats from the very get go. From the galloping charge of opening barn-stormer Morrigan, with jaw dropping solo guitars courtesy of riff master Ville Pystynen, the epic and anthemic She Who Rules Niflheim with soaring vocals from Greek vocalist Nicholas Leptos to the formidable double bass canter of Ville Markkanen’s drums on songs like Beyond Mesopotamia, Graven Sin knows the true riddle of steel. Throughout Veil of The Gods’ eleven cast-iron tracks, we can trace veins of recent Finnish greats such as Sentenced, Amorphis, Reverend Bizarre or their nordic counterparts Grand Magus from Sweden, but there is much more at play here. Graven Sin offers up heavy, doom laden orthodox Heavy Metal in the true, chugging, monumental sense of the term. The knowledge and prowess of Heavy Metal craft on display in Veil of The Gods is second to none, from the Maidenesque command of melody to the swarthy Manowar rhythms, herculean Deep Purple keys and Messiah like Candlemass-rich voice of astonishing vocalist Leptos, these are songs to be inscribed into stone tablets. Where pitch dark mythical themes and occult leanings of the lyrics bring to mind the Heavy Metal running through Black Metal bands like Dissection, the song arrangements swing from gallop to thundering, head-banging mid-sections with such magnificence, you would think you were in the hands of a band with decades of heritage behind their backs. A “where have you been all my life moment” awaits Heavy Metal fans of all shades when Graven Sin hits the speakers, delivering a sound that cuts glass and steel. A refreshing tour–de-force through everything Heavy Metal is loved for, not shrinking from the dark but embracing it with gusto and fierce bravado. Veil of The Gods shows us that real metal lives forever, if crafted with true spirit and belief. Hear the cry of the seer of doom, by heeding Morrigan’s call now: Ville Pystynen - guitar, bass Nicholas Leptos - vocals Ville Markkanen - drums

In March of 2020, after learning that a dear friend’s life was coming to an end, Johansing sat down and in one sitting wrote the song “Daffodils”. An elegiac tribute to someone facing death with grace and curiosity, the lyrics confront Johansing’s own mortality by observing the brief lifespan of a Hlower. Only a week later when the world came to an abrupt standstill, she soon found herself processing this recent loss while trying to make sense of a new global reality. Across the ensuing months, Johansing found herself increasingly untethered by a world of isolation and political upheaval.

Having been a frequent touring member of bands like Hand Habits and Fruit Bats, and often being called into the studio to lend her harmonies and multi-instrumental talents to records, Johansing’s phone no longer rang. Living in Los Angeles she feared her musical community was vanishing, as friends and collaborators continually announced they were leaving the city. It was in returning to her piano nightly that she found the greatest solace, feverishly writing the songs that would be collected on her next album. Resulting from this new sense of time and focus was a deepening of her songwriting. As Johansing recalls, “I felt like a metamorphosis happened during that time. There was a lot of personal growth and healing.”

Throughout Year Away Johansing traverses uncharted emotional landscapes brought upon by the changes occurring all around her. The forced self-reflection of the moment is aptly captured by “Old Friend”, featuring an aching melody and swooning production that recalls the best of Harry Nilsson. The epic piano and saxophone-driven “Smile with My Eyes” addresses the loss of community as friends became distant and political divides between family grew. On “Smile” Johansing pushes her vocals further than ever, expanding her range and using her peerless voice as the singular instrument it is. Facing the loss of a family home due to environmental destruction, “Shifting Sands” is marked by soaring Hlutes, Hield recordings and glassy synthesizers that nod to Japanese New Age.

“Daffodils”, the stunning album centerpiece, is built from a pastiche of looping samples, swirling Mellotron and dazzling vibraphone. “Keep your heart open wide, you never know your time / Keep your heart wild, true Hlower child”, Johansing sings as she says goodbye to an elder, while the band reaches a grief-stricken crescendo of woodwinds and chiming bells. On the title track, Johansing takes listeners on an eerily meditative journey of collective experiences. “I wanted to keep the progression simple and repetitive so that musically we could add new elements little by little, while the emotional tone of the lyrics becomes increasingly more strained and expressive”. The song grows to a fever pitch as Johansing sings higher than she thought possible; the tension of the repeating chords Hinally resolving into a hopeful coda as multiple soloists weave around each other.

Amidst heavier themes, Johansing still leaves room for her love of irresistible pop melodies and lush production. The driving “Last Drop” and mid-tempo “Valley Green” are two of her catchiest songs to date. On the former Johansing sings the anthemic chorus, “As if it were the last drop, and nothing ever lasts forever / As if it were the last stop, too far out to come back ever”, longing for a love that she’ll never take for granted, while also admitting that she doesn’t always know how good she has it. “Valley Green” features shimmering layers of 12- string guitars, stacked horns and an impeccable solo by co-producer and multi- instrumentalist Tim Ramsey (Vetiver, Fruit Bats), hinting at a love for bands like NRBQ.

Having been eager to capture the initial spark of songwriting, Johansing booked time at Highland Park’s 64 Sound Studio the week that it reopened. Over the course of three days, she and her band gathered basic tracks for 10 songs, before returning home to Hinish the record with Ramsey. Setting forth to make an album that paid homage to the music that kept them company during the months spent alone together, the duo pulled inspiration from a wide net including Burt Bacharach, John Carroll Kirby & Haruomi Hosono. Ramsey’s newfound love of early digital synthesizers dovetailed effortlessly with Johansing’s fondness for classic 70’s horn and string arrangements, creating a sound that is distinctly modern yet warm and familiar.

Once again Johansing called upon some of the Hinest players of Northeast Los Angeles’ vibrant music community to lend a hand with the record. The 70s R&B-folk of “Watch It Like a Show” features an electric guitar solo from Hand Habits’ Meg Duffy, while album closer “Endless Sound” boasts backing vocals from electronic musician Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith and swooping Indian-inspired violins from Amir Yaghmai (HAIM, The Voidz). The record shines brightly thanks to an ace mix from veteran producer Rob Schnapf (Beck, Elliott Smith, Cat Power), woodwinds from Logan Hone (John Carroll Kirby, Eddie Chacon), and a featured rhythm section of drummer Josh Adams (Jenny Lewis, Bedouine) and bassist Todd Dahlhoff (Feist, Devendra Banhart). Recorded across multiple studios including LA’s famed Sunset Sound, the album remains steadfastly buoyed by the adept engineering of Tyler Karmen (MGMT, Alvvays).

Though born of turbulent times, Year Away is ultimately interested in moving forward. The album ends with “Endless Sound,” where Johansing laments seismic global changes, (“The water is hotter, the mighty thaw / The current’s reversing, the last are lost”) but vows to keep going (“No storm can take me down / Endless light, endless sound”). It’s Year Away’s resilience that shines through despite the darkness. It’s a sound all her own and Johansing’s most cohesive set of songs yet.

Brian Auger’s Oblivion Express was the phoenix that rose from the ashes of sixties combo The Trinity. Fusing R&B, jazz, soul and funk, keyboard maestro Brian Auger created a new breed of music that took the US and the UK by storm. Auger’s unique experimentation culminated in rhythm-infused jazz funk that united Black and white ’70s audiences. The 6 studio albums that make up Complete Oblivion illustrate the group’s diverse musical influences and progression, from the 1970 self titled debut’s heavy jazz-rock to the jazz fusion, latin and disco tinged Reinforcements from 1975 - this process no doubt powered by the groups’ evolving line up, which included guitarists Jim Mullen and Jack Mills, drummers Robbie McIntosh & Steve Ferrone, bassists Barry Dean and Clive Chaman and vocalist Alex Ligertwood. The musical highlights within Complete Oblivion are many, but particular highlights to mention have to be Total Eclipse (Oblivion Express), Fill Your Head With Laugher (A Better Land), the blistering cover of Eddie Harris’ Freedom Jazz Dance (Second Wind), the Barry Dean composition Whenever You're Ready, the version of Marvin Gaye’s Inner City Blues (Closer To It), Beginning Again (Straight Ahead) and the mind bending keyboard tour de force Brain Damage (Reinforcements). Given the groups legendary status among fellow musicians such as Zucchero and Herbie Hancock, DJ’s like Kenny Dope and Gilles Peterson and Auger’s legion of fans worldwide - that mission was fully accomplished - or to put it another way, in the words of super fans The Beastie Boys: “Those who remain oblivious to the obvious delights of Brian Auger’s Oblivion Express do so at their own risk!”

Betamax of The Comet Is Coming and Pete Bennie of Speakers Corner Quartet are Coma World. They have come together again to produce a further batch of rhythmically enlightened Dystopian Jazz, alongside illustrious graphic and sound artist Raimund Wong (Floating World Pictures) for this record - 'Coma Wong' (out 6 October 2023 on Byrd Out). The storm clouds are gathering at sea, with the white horses dancing ever faster on the waves. Coma World chose to ride out the tempest, sail up, speeding along together towards who knows what… Expect drums precision engineered with just the right degree of insouciance, drone-bathed sounds rippling and depth charge bass that explodes beneath the surface across 12 tracks. The Wire on their first album, the self-titled ‘Coma World’: “a bold drum ‘n’ bass affair, a nervy meeting between dub and jazz experimentations with new channels explored track by track”. Tom Ravenscroft on BBC 6 Music on ‘Calamari’ from the new album: “I think this is like my favourite track right now… Love it.”

Brian Auger"s Oblivion Express was the phoenix that rose from the ashes of sixties combo The Trinity. Fusing R&B, jazz, soul and funk, keyboard maestro Brian Auger created a new breed of music that took the US and the UK by storm. Auger"s unique experimentation culminated in rhythm-infused jazz funk that united Black and white "70s audiences. The 6 studio albums that make up Complete Oblivion illustrate the group"s diverse musical influences and progression, from the 1970 self titled debut"s heavy jazz-rock to the jazz fusion, latin and disco tinged Reinforcements from 1975.

A resurgent Dog Meat Records is thrilled and proud to release a new album by a resurgent rock'n'roller and an old friend, PAT TODD and his band THE RANKOUTSIDERS. The seventh album by LA's finest rock'n'roll band comes some 36 years after the label's first dalliances with Pat, back when he fronted the legendary Lazy Cowgirls. The new album shows that Pat has lost none of his spark, that his voice and songwriting have only gotten stronger, and that he's got another killer band behind him, one that mixes classic '70s punk rock roots with country, blues and rock'n'roll in a manner that sits somewhere between Exile on Main Street and LAMF. The new album is highlighted as usual by Pat Todd's fantastic songs. A prolific writer with an eye on life in the margins - whether they be in small towns or the big sprawling city he has called home for 40 years - Todd routinely hits the mark where youth and the advancement of age find common ground in alienation and wilfulness. Pat knows that rock’n’roll is not necessarily a young person's game, and nor is it a glamourous one; the name he gave this band accurately points to where he and they are coming from. New originals like 'All We Have To Show', the horn-riffing rocker 'Living In A World of Hurt' and the raucous country-folk punker 'Goodbye to the World' are up there with anything he has ever written, and the Rankoutsiders play them even better than ever. Indeed, a couple of choice covers - a version of 'Hi Ho Silver Lining', sung by guitarist Nick Alexander and cut before Jeff Beck's unfortunate passing, and a version of David Johansen's old heartbreaker 'Donna' cut before word of Martin Scorsese’s Johansen documentary got out - shows by comparison to the original versions just how well these guys can crank it out. *** For over 20 years - from the early 80s to the early 00’s- Pat Todd fronted the undisputed Los Angeles roots-punk kings: THE LAZY COWGIRLS. Having landed in LA from the mid-west-meets-the south outpost of Vincennes, Indiana early in the decade, the Cowgirls sparked a new LA punk scene; their live album Radio Cowgirl was the first release on scene prime mover SFTRI -and ultimately inspired a resurgence of classic 1976 Ramones/Saints/ Heartbreakers-style punk that stretched across the US into Europe, Japan and elsewhere, inspiring bands like the New Bomb Turks, Oblivions, Teengenerate, Onyas and countless others. THE LAZY COWGIRLS were but a memory in 2006 when PAT TODD and the RANKOUTSIDERS’ 28 song double-disc debut, The Outskirts of Your Heart was released. Where most bands would have exhausted their creative gas to fumes with such an ambitious first release, this was only the beginning for the RANKOUTSIDERS. Prior to the new album Sons of the City Ditch, the RANKOUTSIDERS have released six full-length albums (yes, some are double discs) and over a dozen singles and EPs and have more releases queued up. Each and every one of them is a testament to Pat’s personal vision of raw, high energy rock’n’roll infused with elements of country and rhythm & blues, and documentary proof that the RANKOUTSIDERS are one of the hottest rock'n'roll bands on the planet. Indeed, it must be said the RANKOUTSIDERS truly are a band: energetically flanking Pat stage left is long-time guitarist and vocalist Kevin Keller; to the right is guitarist and founding member, Nick Alexander- the cool, calm and collected eye of the storm; bassist Steven Vigh holds the lower frequencies in check with steadfast authority, pushing the chorus to the next harmonic level, while drummer Walt Phelan drives the engine hard while keeping the band on the rails.

A resurgent Dog Meat Records is thrilled and proud to release a new album by a resurgent rock'n'roller and an old friend, PAT TODD and his band THE RANKOUTSIDERS. The seventh album by LA's finest rock'n'roll band comes some 36 years after the label's first dalliances with Pat, back when he fronted the legendary Lazy Cowgirls. The new album shows that Pat has lost none of his spark, that his voice and songwriting have only gotten stronger, and that he's got another killer band behind him, one that mixes classic '70s punk rock roots with country, blues and rock'n'roll in a manner that sits somewhere between Exile on Main Street and LAMF. The new album is highlighted as usual by Pat Todd's fantastic songs. A prolific writer with an eye on life in the margins - whether they be in small towns or the big sprawling city he has called home for 40 years - Todd routinely hits the mark where youth and the advancement of age find common ground in alienation and wilfulness. Pat knows that rock’n’roll is not necessarily a young person's game, and nor is it a glamourous one; the name he gave this band accurately points to where he and they are coming from. New originals like 'All We Have To Show', the horn-riffing rocker 'Living In A World of Hurt' and the raucous country-folk punker 'Goodbye to the World' are up there with anything he has ever written, and the Rankoutsiders play them even better than ever. Indeed, a couple of choice covers - a version of 'Hi Ho Silver Lining', sung by guitarist Nick Alexander and cut before Jeff Beck's unfortunate passing, and a version of David Johansen's old heartbreaker 'Donna' cut before word of Martin Scorsese’s Johansen documentary got out - shows by comparison to the original versions just how well these guys can crank it out. *** For over 20 years - from the early 80s to the early 00’s- Pat Todd fronted the undisputed Los Angeles roots-punk kings: THE LAZY COWGIRLS. Having landed in LA from the mid-west-meets-the south outpost of Vincennes, Indiana early in the decade, the Cowgirls sparked a new LA punk scene; their live album Radio Cowgirl was the first release on scene prime mover SFTRI -and ultimately inspired a resurgence of classic 1976 Ramones/Saints/ Heartbreakers-style punk that stretched across the US into Europe, Japan and elsewhere, inspiring bands like the New Bomb Turks, Oblivions, Teengenerate, Onyas and countless others. THE LAZY COWGIRLS were but a memory in 2006 when PAT TODD and the RANKOUTSIDERS’ 28 song double-disc debut, The Outskirts of Your Heart was released. Where most bands would have exhausted their creative gas to fumes with such an ambitious first release, this was only the beginning for the RANKOUTSIDERS. Prior to the new album Sons of the City Ditch, the RANKOUTSIDERS have released six full-length albums (yes, some are double discs) and over a dozen singles and EPs and have more releases queued up. Each and every one of them is a testament to Pat’s personal vision of raw, high energy rock’n’roll infused with elements of country and rhythm & blues, and documentary proof that the RANKOUTSIDERS are one of the hottest rock'n'roll bands on the planet. Indeed, it must be said the RANKOUTSIDERS truly are a band: energetically flanking Pat stage left is long-time guitarist and vocalist Kevin Keller; to the right is guitarist and founding member, Nick Alexander- the cool, calm and collected eye of the storm; bassist Steven Vigh holds the lower frequencies in check with steadfast authority, pushing the chorus to the next harmonic level, while drummer Walt Phelan drives the engine hard while keeping the band on the rails.

DeForrest Brown Jr., the writer and producer behind Speaker Music, describes Techxodus as "abstracting Blackness through information overload". On the album he explores the intersection of tech, Blackness and resistance via music taken from his archived live shows, which are then edited, ordered and reassembled in the studio. The main line of inquiry that feeds into Techxodus is Drexciya, whose myths have informed much recent afrofuturist creativity. DeForrest researches and reimagines the artifacts and stories of Drexciya with new maps, ideas and music, particularly reflecting on the 'Seven Storms', seven albums that came out in quick succession around the death of Drexciya member James Stinson, which seemed to herald Drexciyans in the attack mode. The artwork by Abu Qadim Haqq, who also created artwork for Drexciya, links the work too, with Deforrest re-orienting charts and timelines familiar from Drexciyan mythology, working up clues to all possible environments where Drexciyans could survive, from the depths of the Atlantic, to oceanic islands or even outer space. Like Sun-Ra, another touchstone of Afrofuturist music, it might be that the Drexciyans wanted to leave the planet they hated. With these elements, DeForrest creates a soundtrack for an alternate history, a sort of sci-fi sonic fiction which threads together the sonic warfare and mythos of the Drexciyan records with ideas and references to Ishmael Reed's 'Mumbo Jumbo', which tracks the story of 'Jes Grew', an audio virus, back to the coastal black cities of Alabama and the American South. Musically the album is as intense as its inspirations. DeForrest skilfully hand-plays rhythms which amalgamate trap and jazz drumming, but feel at times like orca-song as they pulse through the thick waves of digital sound. Equally the music evokes the ocean, with deep cold drones, or as if it's floating through time like in 'Holosonic Rebellion' which mixes in recordings of African Warriors. Sometimes there is an energetic turbulence as on 'Jes Grew', where punched-in passages of jazz brass bounce against DeForrest's drums to create a weird disassembled jazz. Towards the end the album begins to feel like a spaceship taking off, the rushes of ascending noise and distortion, distant Southern Gospel Vocals feel like music that's leaving earth. Listen to it without the references or feed your imagination; this is a powerful and immersive original work from one of electronic music's most unique creators.

Rare Montreux festival sessions from 1982.
Live Album by Detroit/Tribe Jazz Icon Reggie Fields.
Featuring an All-Star Line-up.
First ever vinyl reissue.
180g BLACK vinyl limited to 500 copies (w/obi strip) . Non-Returnable.



The Real ShooBeeDoo (AKA Reggie Fields) has always been a consistent name on the Detroit jazz scene … Fields who played with Pharoah Sanders while he was living in Motor City, worked with Sun Ra in the late 1970s and early 80s and who was also a close associate of the Afro-centric TRIBE label and artist collective, leaving his marks on a few essential TRIBE sessions such as Phil Ranelin’s “The Time Is Now!” as well as Ranelin & Wendell Harrison’s masterpiece “A Message From The Tribe”. It was Wendell Harrison who gave Fields the chance to record his landmark solo album (Reminiscing from 1981) to be released on his Wenha imprint. Reggie chose to record under his moniker “The Real ShooBeeDoo” because he built a rock-solid reputation as an internationally acclaimed performer under that name.



In 1982 he embarked on a European tour and performed at various clubs in countries such as Germany, Holland, Belgium, Italy, Switzerland, Luxemburg, France and Norway. This ecstatic touring vibe can later be heard on his fantastic ‘‘Live at Montreux Jazz Festival, 1982” album (simply called ‘Good To Go’).



“Good To Go” which we are proudly presenting you today features 10 tracks consisting of smooth Jazz-rumbas, French avant-garde jazz vocalizations, bass lines that can blow through walls as if they were made from paper, foot stomping rhythmic beats, lyrics that are pure poetry and ecstatic beats that took the crowd on a musical trip that ended in them raving for more. Playing before a large and enthusiastic crowd, Reggie’s spiritual cosmic free-flowing rhythms took the audience by storm…and the stakes were high because the bill was pretty impressive, he shared the stage with some of the biggest names in the genre (the festival bill also included Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie and Sonny Rollins).



Also…a quick closer look at the cast of all-star players featured on the album is most likely to be enough to get an impression that this is a very special record. Detroit preferred pianist Earl Van Riper brings his rich musical experience to the table that he perfected during his collaborations with Marcus Belgrave, Eddy ‘Cleanhead’ Vinson, Dinah Washington, Wes Montgomery and countless others. On the tenor saxophone we have Robert Barnes known for his work with Donald Bird…and last but not least we have Tani Tabbal on drums who is famous for his performances and recordings with Roscoe Mitchell and Sun Ra!



All of the above makes this rare album a total must-have that just begs for a prominent place in your record collection.



Tracklist:

Jumping With The Bellboy , Dark Eyes , Qu'est Ceque C’est , Do You Call that Friendship , Oo Shoobee Doo , Crazy She Calls Me , Have You Met Miss Jones , Ye Brac Hareesee , Hit That Jive Jack , Too Late Now

Rotterdam rising star Danou P steps up to Jamie 3:26’s label with a three-track EP of emotive deep house.

The title track ‘Allez Hoop’ is deep, moody and somewhat reminiscent of an electronic ‘Riders On The Storm’. Lush strings, analogue leads, classic Rhodes and a barely containable synth sequence stacked on top of a driving groove.

‘Jazz Dummy’ sees Danou P collaborate with fellow Rotterdam based artist Kems Kriol. It’s a classic sounding track drenched in live percussion and that good old M1 saxophone.

Closing out the EP ‘So Fruit’ is an homage and inside joke gone wrong in a good way. Funky electric piano stabs and rhythmic synths in a sandwich of punchy drums and thick bass. It pays tribute to an absolute classic track and features an epic flute solo by Moises Toscano Fuentes.

Paul Hillery's third compilation in this series of rare and hard to find grooves is as much a geographical journey as it is a musical one. With acts, artists and tracks linked to London, Florida, Atlanta, the Netherlands, Switzerland, California, India and Germany and more this compilation is very much proof of the global language that is music. With many of the recordings only previously existing on sold out and obscure private pressings and small runs on indie labels this collection of tracks really is a must have. Complementing the previous two albums curated by Paul Hillery we really do get to see and hear the history of studio recordings from a plethora of touring and travelling troubadours, jobbing composers and song-writers, session musicians, producers and engineers. Again, as with the previous two volumes in the 'Children of the Sun' series, this is an eclectic gathering of styles and genres that have been curated into an accessible fusion of Jazz, Rock, AOR and Folk tinged grooves that all have soul. With many tracks getting a first time digital release this 3 LP album sits nicely alongside the previous albums in the series and rates as an essential compilation for any serious lover and collector of music. In Paul Hillery's words: "Let us gather one more time on another journey through the rhythmic sands of time, traversing continents and genres one track at a time. Taking in joyful places and wide-open spaces while dropping out to the musical pulse that unites us all An album to remind us that we are all made of stardust with more to connect than drive us apart, for . . . We Are The Children of the Setting Sun"

Rare Jazz-Funk album from 1978 by Headhunters founder.
Featuring an all-star line-up including Herbie Hancock.
Originally released in 1978 on Tobisha EMI Japan.
First vinyl reissue outside of Japan released in collab w/Totown Records. Comes with double side insert.

Paul Jackson (born in Oakland, California in 1947) needs little introduction. Paul began playing bass at the age of nine and was considered by many of his teachers to be a musical prodigy. Jackson was known as a “Musician’s Musician” and shaped a sound that launched a new direction in contemporary music: the so-called ‘Pulse Playing’, a trademark sound of close-meshed funk grooves combined with sensational rhythms. With this innovative approach, he influenced entire generations of jazz and funk musicians to come. Paul’s compositions were sampled by big acts from the likes of Prince, TLC, Mobb Deep and NWA…just to name a few.

Paul Jackson was a founding member of the Headhunters under Herbie Hancock (THE group responsible for their ground-breaking fusion and jazz-funk compositions that took the world by storm in the 70’s). The solid union between Hancock and Jackson has been especially evident in the many international tours they have made together…not to mention that he participated on most of the Headhunters albums and Herbie’s solo albums.

Paul has also worked as a producer and as a studio/live musician alongside acts such as Santana, Sonny Rollins and The Pointer Sisters. He was a frequent guest performer at renowned international festivals such as the Montreux and Newport events. Jackson’s composing has not gone without recognition and was nominated for Grammy Awards in 1974, 1975 and 1976. Like other highly talented, creatively motivated engineers of music, Paul has expanded his career to other mediums such as playing on blockbuster movie soundtracks such as “Death wish” and “Dirty Harry”.

Paul Jackson also wrote five solo albums worth listening to – including the monster of an album that is known as “Black Octopus” which is considered to be a kind of lost Headhunters album.

His debut album “Black Octopus” saw the light of day in 1978 and is a total piece of art filled with abstract sticky funky grooves, floating electric piano playing, strong thumping bass lines, raw heavy drums and amazing vocal acrobatics (Jackson himself takes vocals in 3 out of 5 songs, and his soulful singing voice strikes an emotional chord that does not go unnoticed).

On “Black Octopus” you’ll also find some of the best all-star musicians from the likes of Alphonse Mouzon (Roy Ayers, Betty Davis, Azar Lawrence)…and last but not least fellow Headhunters Bennie Maupin and Herbie Hancock himself.

With “Black Octopus” Paul Jackson wrote the book on how a jazz-funk-fusion album should sound like. The fact that the album was only distributed in Japan at the time (Jackson resided in Tokyo since the late 70’s, where he passed away in 2021) continues to increase its reputation as an album that is VERY hard to find. This is a must-have gem…not only for fans of jazz, funk and rare grooves, but also for DJs and collectors around the globe.

Whitney did more than turn Whitney Houston into a pioneering sensation known around the world by her first name. Originally released in June 1987, the singer's blockbuster sophomore record became the first album by a female artist to debut at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart — a position it claimed for a total of 11 weeks en route to selling more than 10 million copies in the U.S. The Diamond platinum effort also contains four No. 1 Hot 100 hits that, when combined with the three chart toppers from her 1985 debut, gave her seven consecutive No. 1 singles — an accomplishment that no other artist has accomplished. Commercially and creatively, Whitney stands on hallowed ground — especially now that the record plays with a sound that puts into perspective just how extraordinary, engaging, and vital Houston's music remains.


Mastered from the original master tapes and pressed on MoFi SuperVinyl at RTI, Mobile Fidelity's 180g 33RPM SuperVinyl LP of Whitney invites listeners to experience the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee's pivotal album in audiophile quality for the very first time. Free of the dynamic limitations and tonal flatness prevalent on prior vinyl and CD pressings, it lets the music breathe and reveals the copious detail, nuance, and texture within the immaculately produced songs. MoFi's SuperVinyl profile offers further advantages in the forms of a nearly inaudible noise floor, dead-quiet surfaces, and superb groove definition.

In addition to featuring extreme clarity and immediacy, this numbered-edition reissue does wonders for the attribute that inspired more than 20 million people around the globe to add Whitney to their record collections: that inimitable voice. Houston's trademark mezzo-soprano — an acrobatic instrument equally capable of taking off on fantastic flights and unwinding for hushed meditations — benefits from the fantastic airiness and transparency afforded by this meticulously restored edition. Whitney has never sounded or looked better. The crossover landmark deserves nothing less.

Issued just two years after Houston's breakthrough debut, Whitney immediately signalled the genre-defying singer's intent to continue to push ahead and expand her palette. Shot by photographer Richard Avedon, the album cover depicts an iconic image of Houston — captured with a gleaming smile, bright eyes, teased-out afro, toned arms, and a right hand that appears to wave a friendly hello — whose active, athletic profile stands in contrast to the extremely formal sit-down shot of her that graces her '85 record. The change is telling: Whitney overflows with unfettered joy, rhythmic vibes, and deep-seated emotions that forever endeared her to the hearts and minds of countless listeners — and which set the standard for the wave after wave of divas that followed in her footsteps.

It's no coincidence that the first track on Whitney is the declarative "I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me)." Like Michael Jackson's "Billie Jean" and Madonna's "Material Girl," the feel-good smash is one of the quintessential '80s gems — a lithe, melodic, celebratory release of pent-up energy and loneliness that glides across club floors, shouts to the rooftops, and shrugs off any concerns about vulnerability or embarrassment. Houston's swooping voice moves in sync with the sleek beats and dipping-and-diving synths. She practically takes her fellow musicians by their hand and leads them in a blissful dance that nobody would dare sidestep. Focusing on Houston's singing — a task made challenging only because of the impossible-to-ignore hooks and grooves — showcases the virtuosic facets of not only her register but her control, discipline, smoothness, and warmth.

That she replicates those feats for the entirety of the nearly 53-minute-long album makes Whitney that much more special. Houston reaches back and channels her childhood gospel training on the R&B-flared "So Emotional"; effortlessly slips into Quiet Storm mode on the duet with her mother, gospel great Cissy Houston, on "I Know Him So Well"; flirts with smooth jazz and collaborates with tenor saxophonist Kenny G on the lush "Just the Lonely Talking Again"; conjures dreamscapes and shadow-boxes with supple funk on a romantic cover of the Isley Brothers' "For the Love of You"; and, for the majestic power ballad "Didn't We Almost Have It All," displays the sky-scraping reach of her vocals amid a grand arrangement made even bigger by Houston's sweeping performance and triumphant finish.

Houston's once-in-a-generation talents weren't lost on the adoring public, radio deejays, or industry experts. In addition to harbouring four No. 1 hits and receiving nominations for four Grammy Awards, Whitney generated another Top 10 success in the guise of the Afro-Cuban-leaning "Love Will Save the Day." The album also netted Houston four American Music Awards; two Billboard Music Awards; back-to-back People's Choice Awards; a Soul Train Award; and various other accolades. It all makes the crux of the Washington Post's July '87 review of the album appear prophetic: "Her voice sounds stronger still and the songs are varied but so consistent she could garner 10 Top 10s out of a field of 11."


That claim still holds true. A brilliant fusion of pop, R&B, smooth jazz, and soul, Whitney is a showstopper – and one of the key reasons Houston is the most-awarded female artist of all time.

Bob Dylan was at several crossroads in the mid-1970s. Artistically, he was largely written off as being past his prime. Emotionally, he was suffering through a painful divorce from his then-wife Sara Lowndes. Creatively, he appeared at a stalemate, his previous decade's unprecedented run of transformational brilliance finished. Then came Blood on the Tracks.

A start-to-finish cycle that documents a lover's pursuit of, entanglement with, and loss of a woman, the bracingly intimate 1975 effort remains one of the most encompassing break-up albums ever made and ranks as the most personal statement of the Bard's career. To hear it is to experience the agony, frustration, trauma, highs, lows, confusion, sadness, and, ultimately, requisite redemption associated with intimate relationships gone astray. Dylan maintains it's a work of fiction, but it's evident close-vested autobiographical premise is what helps make it universal: It's the icon singing through tears, going out of his mind, battling hallowing emptiness, firing shots across the bow, and accepting culpability. It is, in short, a consummate expression of love's darker sides and the consequences of what happens when dreams unravel.

As part of its Bob Dylan catalogue restoration series, Mobile Fidelity is thoroughly humbled to have the privilege of mastering the iconic LP from the original master tapes and pressing it on dead-quiet LP at RTI. The end result is the very finest, most transparent analogue edition of Blood on the Tracks ever produced – and the first-ever proper analog reissue. Fantastically presenting both the solo acoustic and band-supported songs with the utmost clarity, dynamics, presence, immediacy, spaciousness, imaging, and balance, this version shines a high-powered light on the fluid vocal phrasing, timbral shifts, functional rhythms, and inward-looking strumming that contribute to every song here serving as a wound-exposing confessional.

For all the melancholic pain, unresolved questions, shattered memories, wasted times, unrequited dialogues, and weary regret within, Blood on the Tracks remains as daring as it is reflective. Rather than follow for a monotone caustic vibe, Dylan's songs burrow into the subconscious for the manners in which they are even-keeled, mellow, and occasionally, even peaceful. Dignity, honour, poignancy, and fairness – all traits uncommon in any situation in which partners dissolve histories, change hearts, and attribute blame – instil the record with equilibrium on par with the consistency of the flowing melodies.

Throughout, tunes come on and proceed as if they could continue forever, Dylan spinning poetic verses and conversations amidst finely tied knots of acoustic notes, chords, and fills, the deceivingly simple architecture conjuring the intertwined refractions of a bezeled jewel, various angles, colours, and textures conjoining into a gorgeously inseparable whole. Backed by Tony Brown's flexible albeit subtle bass, Buddy Cage's country-streaked pedal-steel guitar, and Paul Griffin's soul-baring organ – an instrument used to shadow, tuck-point, and illuminate here as effectively as any time in rock history – Dylan pours soulful emotion, open his veins, and bleeds.

Ranked 16 on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time, and replete with existential thought, piercing directness, raw singing, and majestic arrangements,

Given the sonic and artistic merit of this album, we anticipate huge demand.

Penguin Cafe kündigen heute ihr fünftes Studioalbum Rain Before Seven... an, das am 7.Juli 2023 bei Erased Tapes erscheinen wird.

Eine zuversichtliche Grundstimmung durchzieht das fünfte Studioalbum von Penguin Cafe, Rain Before Seven…, wobei es sich keinesfalls um jenen extrem selbstbewussten, fast schon prahlerischen Optimismus handelt, sondern eher um so eine auf bescheidene Art hoffnungsvolle Grundhaltung, die man den Menschen auf der Insel ja häufiger nachsagt. Auch wenn alle Anzeichen das Gegenteil behaupten, spürt man hier sofort diese Gewissheit, dass sich alles doch noch irgendwie zum Guten wenden wird. Vermutlich zumindest.

Der Titel des Albums geht auf eine alte Bauernregel zurück, wobei die gereimte Vorhersage – „… fine before eleven“: ab 11 Uhr also wieder alles klar – auf ein baldiges gutes Ende hindeutet, vollkommen unabhängig davon, was die Wissenschaft sagt: „Ich habe diesen Spruch in einem Buch entdeckt. Davor hatte ich ihn noch nie gehört“, erzählt Arthur Jeffes, der Kopf von Penguin Cafe. „Er hat so einen dezent optimistischen Beigeschmack, und das gefällt mir sehr. Man verwendet ihn heutzutage kaum noch, aber der Reim beschreibt tatsächlich Wetterphänomene in England, die vom Atlantik aus über die Insel ziehen.“

Angefangen beim leinwandgroßen und schwärmerischen Eröffnungstitel „Welcome to London“, der mit einem Augenzwinkern auf Morricone anspielt, bis hin zum „Goldfinch Yodel“, jenem „Maibaum-Banger“ (um es mit Arthurs Worten zu sagen), mit dem das neue Album ausklingt, zieht sich ein angenehmes Gefühl von Leichtigkeit und Lebensmut durch den Longplayer, unterfüttert mit der Ausgelassenheit exotischer Rhythmen. Alles wirkt spielerisch und verspielt, und selbst der Titel ist eine Anspielung – auf A Matter of Life… aus dem Jahr 2011, der letzten Veröffentlichung, deren Titel in eine Ellipse mündete Jenes Debütalbum von Penguin Cafe diente einst als Bindeglied und Brücke – zwischen dem legendären Penguin Cafe Orchestra, das einst Arthurs Vater Simon Jeffes leitete, und dem gefeierten Nachfolger, als dessen Mastermind seither Arthur verantwortlich zeichnet.

„Ich glaube, das wirklich Neue an seinem Ansatz bestand darin, spannende und schräge Ideen zu nehmen – und dann seltsame Dinge damit anzustellen“, meint Arthur, „dabei aber konstant im Blick zu haben, dass es hinterher auch schön klingt und emotional ansprechend bleibt.“ Dieses Ethos lebt weiter in der Musik von Penguin Cafe: „Dazu haben wir uns entschlossen, als ich daran anknüpfte, schließlich spielen wir die Sachen meines Vaters und machen dazu auch neue Musik, die im selben Klanguniversum angesiedelt ist. Das bedeutet, dass ich gewissermaßen moralisch dazu verpflichtet bin, den ursprünglichen roten Faden im Auge zu behalten – und dafür zu sorgen, dass wir nicht plötzlich in Richtung Thrash-Metal abbiegen.“

Dennoch waren die rhythmischen Elemente, die zum Teil sogar an elektronische Sounds erinnern, noch nie so präsent und tonangebend wie auf Rain Before Seven…, was durchaus auch dem Co-Produzenten Robert Raths geschuldet ist. „Find Your Feet“ etwa hat ein Beat-Fundament, das weit über einen bloßen Pulsschlag hinausgeht. Abgemischt von Tom Chichester-Clark, blitzt an Stellen wie diesen etwas auf, das Arthur selbst als „fast schon elektronischen Vibe“ bezeichnet, um dann ganz aufgeregt zu ergänzen: „Es geht vor allem auch einfach ums Spaßhaben, was auf den letzten drei Alben nicht so zu hören war.” Extrem ausgelassen klingt auch „In Re Budd“, das dem verstorbenen Ambient-Urgestein Harold Budd gewidmet ist. Arthur erfuhr von dessen Tod an jenem Tag, als er diesen feierlichen Ohrwurm komponierte, dessen Synkopen deutlich komplexer sind, als sie auf den ersten Blick wirken. Auf einem präparierten Klavier gespielt, wobei die Filzstücke dem Track zusätzlichen Bounce verleihen, setzt Jeffes hier auf einen Afro Cuban Cafe-Vibe – was wunderbar zum widerspenstigen Geist des verstorbenen Budd passt.

Und schließlich wäre da noch das bereits erwähnte „Welcome to London“, das seinen Titel erhielt, als sich die Welt gerade wieder zu öffnen begann und die Menschen auch wieder Fernreisen antreten durften. Jeffes, der somit nach langer Zeit endlich wieder einen Fuß auf britischen Boden setzen konnte, war sofort beeindruckt von filmischen Soundtrack-Qualitäten (à la John Barry) dieses Stücks, als er mit dem Taxi von Heathrow nach West-London fuhr und zur Musik die opulente, in Dämmerungslicht getauchte Metropolenkulisse auf sich wirken ließ. Hier kann man deutlich die eingangs erwähnte Zuversicht raushören – und dazu vielleicht auch einen Hauch von bissiger Ironie: „Robert Raths hat der Sache noch eine Nuance hinzugefügt, die ich interessant finde, weil doch so viele Londoner ursprünglich gar nicht aus London stammen. Man schlägt also in London als Zugezogener auf, man weiß noch nicht, zu welchem Lager man sich zugehörig fühlen soll, und dann wird man auf der Straße überfallen und ausgeraubt – und in dem Licht betrachtet, hat dieses ‘Welcome to London’ doch einen eher sarkastischen Beigeschmack.“

Voyager Gold Vinyl

On Jupiter, Brooklyn trio Upper Wilds voyage deeper into the cosmos, mapping out the overwhelming enormity of the universe in soaring hooks and blistering noise. The third installment in the trio"s exploration of our solar system looks to its largest planet for a daring exploration of scale and perspective. New York underground mainstay Dan Friel"s melodic gifts and wry lyricism are magnified and propelled ever outwards by the thundering rhythm section of bassist Jason Binnick and drummer Jeff Ottenbacher, all immersed in rippling fuzz. Just like its namesake, Jupiter stands as Upper Wilds most colossal offering in their catalog. The raw power of their music is amplified to titanic proportions, sky-clawing riffs invoking the sheer awe that the heavens inspire. More than any Upper Wilds album before it, Jupiter makes humanity"s endeavors in space exploration an inseparable part of its sonic DNA . Recorded with Travis Harrison at his studio Serious Business in Brooklyn (Guided By Voices, Dope Body, The Men), the trio"s live recordings are inspired by the Voyager Golden Record - a double LP launched with the 1977 Voyager probe spanning field recordings to compositions by J.S. Bach and Laurie Spiegel. While the Voyager Golden Record"s intended audience may have originally been the extra-terrestrial beings that might encounter the probe, Upper Wilds bring cosmos-seeking sounds back to earth with a record made for and about humanity. Jupiter finds comfort in space"s unending expanse. Far from feeling defeated by the smallness of our existence in the face of an uncaring universe and ever-expanding infinite, Upper Wilds capture the power of creativity to extend our lifespans far beyond our limited time on earth

GRAMMY NOMINATED AFRO-FUSION SINGER, SONGWRITER, AND PERFORMING ARTISTE The Nigerian singer-songwriter, Burna Boy, was born Damini Ogulu on the 2nd of July, 1991 in Port Harcourt city, Nigeria to Bosede and Samuel Ogulu and he is the only son and eldest of three children.

He started producing music when he was ten years old. After graduating from college, Burna relocated to London to attend university. After two years, he dropped out and moved back to Nigeria to pursue his passion. Coming from a family where music was loved but where a greater premium was placed on education, he spent most of his summer holidays in the UK and in language immersion summer camps in France, Togo and Cote d'Ivoire, before finally moving to the UK where he picked up the Brixton Patois accents which have become a signature in his music.

Young Damini attended Montessori International primary school in Port Harcourt (1993-2002) and Corona Secondary School, Lagos (2002-2008). It has always been music for Burna Boy as observed by his mum when he was still a teenager. She recounts that he was always hanging around his Grandfather, listening to classical music; little wonder his role model later became the man his grandfather managed, Fela Anikulapo Kuti.

His quest for knowledge took him outside the shores of Nigeria to the United Kingdom to study Media Technology at the University of Sussex (2008–2009) and Oxford Brookes University (2009–2010) to study Media Communications and Culture.

Thereafter, he did a one-year internship with Rhythm 93.7 FM Port Harcourt before officially launching his professional music career when he was signed on to Aristocrat records - prompting a permanent relocation to Lagos.

Burna Boy has released a series of EPs, singles, mixtapes, and albums including 2018’s extraordinary “Outside”. The award-winning collection led to Burna’s U.S breakthrough, debuting at #3 on Billboard’s “Reggae Albums” chart, which was partly fueled by the blockbuster single/video, “Ye”. His most recent album, “African Giant”, released in July 2019 has garnered praise from both Nigerian and international media.

Furthermore, the “African Giant” album got nominated for the 62nd Annual Grammy Award in the Best World Album category. Burna is among the contemporary African music’s brightest stars and also the pioneer of an enigmatic genre he simply dubs “Afro-fusion”. The gifted singer-songwriter got featured on American songstress Beyonce's curated Lion King soundtrack, “The Gift”. He also recently took home the 2019 BET Best International Act Award and 2019 MTV Europe Music Award for “Best African Act”.

SLY & THE FAMILY STONE: One of the most innovative groups popular music has ever known, the band that instigated a musical revolution! Black and white, male, and female, SLY & THE FAMILY STONE were the first- and still the most significant - integrated combo in the history of popular music.

Founded in November 1966 by Sly Stone by merging The Stoners with his brother Freddie’s Stone Souls, this new sound was a unique and unprecedented fusion of Soul, Funk, Rock, R&B and Psychedelia. Sly himself was a master musician who wrote, arranged, and produced all the group’s material, fashioning ingenious musical arrangements with a blend of syncopated rhythm, pop melody, lowdown funk and unorthodox harmony.

And he chose the best players in the San Francisco Bay Area to implement this outrageous musical vision. With the compilation STONE SOUL we are focusing upon their rarely heard roots and the earliest examples of the style that would take the music world by storm. This fascinating set includes the complete recordings of FREDDIE AND THE STONE SOULS, early solo experiments by SLY and ROSE STONE, the very first SLY AND THE FAMILY STONE studio session that predates their signing with Epic Records, and the tremendous 1968 demo ‘Man Does Not Live’. Also featured are the gospel sounds of THE HEAVENLY TONES, whose members would provide vocal backgrounds on multiple Family Stone albums and later become known as Little Sister.

So Ride the Rhythm and let the music take your mind

SLY & THE FAMILY STONE: One of the most innovative groups popular music has ever known, the band that instigated a musical revolution! Black and white, male, and female, SLY & THE FAMILY STONE were the first- and still the most significant - integrated combo in the history of popular music.

Founded in November 1966 by Sly Stone by merging The Stoners with his brother Freddie’s Stone Souls, this new sound was a unique and unprecedented fusion of Soul, Funk, Rock, R&B and Psychedelia. Sly himself was a master musician who wrote, arranged, and produced all the group’s material, fashioning ingenious musical arrangements with a blend of syncopated rhythm, pop melody, lowdown funk and unorthodox harmony.

And he chose the best players in the San Francisco Bay Area to implement this outrageous musical vision. With the compilation STONE SOUL we are focusing upon their rarely heard roots and the earliest examples of the style that would take the music world by storm. This fascinating set includes the complete recordings of FREDDIE AND THE STONE SOULS, early solo experiments by SLY and ROSE STONE, the very first SLY AND THE FAMILY STONE studio session that predates their signing with Epic Records, and the tremendous 1968 demo ‘Man Does Not Live’. Also featured are the gospel sounds of THE HEAVENLY TONES, whose members would provide vocal backgrounds on multiple Family Stone albums and later become known as Little Sister.

So Ride the Rhythm and let the music take your mind

Exit North are: Japan co-founder, solo artist Steve Jansen, Swedish singer songwriter Thomas Feiner, pianist Ulf Jansson, and renowned Swedish producer/multi-instrumentalist Charlie Storm. Their 2nd studio album 'Anyway, Still' continues the quartet's appetite for exploring provocative song structures. Weaving classic elements such as piano and strings into the layered threads of the bands material. Where intimacy and atmospherics give way to powerful dynamics, animated rhythms and grooves, driving distortions and crescendos in cinematic scale. Like excavators with uncompromising autonomy, Exit North relish the exploration of every nuance and detail of the recorded performance. Artwork contains full lyrics. " Exit North is truly about generating an aural gravity that pulls the best out of its participants. Those who admire Jansen's instrumental, experimental solo output, as well as his song-based work with Japan and Rain Tree Crow, will find much to enjoy on Book of Romance and Dust. Similarly, the audience Feiner has cultivated with his group Anywhen and its acclaimed recording The Opiates, will encounter a related, spacious aesthetic. LP limited to 500 copies on 180gm black vinyl with a gatefold sleeve (release date is later in July).

Penguin Cafe kündigen heute ihr fünftes Studioalbum Rain Before Seven... an, das am 7.Juli 2023 bei Erased Tapes erscheinen wird.



Eine zuversichtliche Grundstimmung durchzieht das fünfte Studioalbum von Penguin Cafe, Rain Before Seven…, wobei es sich keinesfalls um jenen extrem selbstbewussten, fast schon prahlerischen Optimismus handelt, sondern eher um so eine auf bescheidene Art hoffnungsvolle Grundhaltung, die man den Menschen auf der Insel ja häufiger nachsagt. Auch wenn alle Anzeichen das Gegenteil behaupten, spürt man hier sofort diese Gewissheit, dass sich alles doch noch irgendwie zum Guten wenden wird. Vermutlich zumindest.



Der Titel des Albums geht auf eine alte Bauernregel zurück, wobei die gereimte Vorhersage – „… fine before eleven“: ab 11 Uhr also wieder alles klar – auf ein baldiges gutes Ende hindeutet, vollkommen unabhängig davon, was die Wissenschaft sagt: „Ich habe diesen Spruch in einem Buch entdeckt. Davor hatte ich ihn noch nie gehört“, erzählt Arthur Jeffes, der Kopf von Penguin Cafe. „Er hat so einen dezent optimistischen Beigeschmack, und das gefällt mir sehr. Man verwendet ihn heutzutage kaum noch, aber der Reim beschreibt tatsächlich Wetterphänomene in England, die vom Atlantik aus über die Insel ziehen.“



Angefangen beim leinwandgroßen und schwärmerischen Eröffnungstitel „Welcome to London“, der mit einem Augenzwinkern auf Morricone anspielt, bis hin zum „Goldfinch Yodel“, jenem „Maibaum-Banger“ (um es mit Arthurs Worten zu sagen), mit dem das neue Album ausklingt, zieht sich ein angenehmes Gefühl von Leichtigkeit und Lebensmut durch den Longplayer, unterfüttert mit der Ausgelassenheit exotischer Rhythmen. Alles wirkt spielerisch und verspielt, und selbst der Titel ist eine Anspielung – auf A Matter of Life… aus dem Jahr 2011, der letzten Veröffentlichung, deren Titel in eine Ellipse mündete Jenes Debütalbum von Penguin Cafe diente einst als Bindeglied und Brücke – zwischen dem legendären Penguin Cafe Orchestra, das einst Arthurs Vater Simon Jeffes leitete, und dem gefeierten Nachfolger, als dessen Mastermind seither Arthur verantwortlich zeichnet.



„Ich glaube, das wirklich Neue an seinem Ansatz bestand darin, spannende und schräge Ideen zu nehmen – und dann seltsame Dinge damit anzustellen“, meint Arthur, „dabei aber konstant im Blick zu haben, dass es hinterher auch schön klingt und emotional ansprechend bleibt.“ Dieses Ethos lebt weiter in der Musik von Penguin Cafe: „Dazu haben wir uns entschlossen, als ich daran anknüpfte, schließlich spielen wir die Sachen meines Vaters und machen dazu auch neue Musik, die im selben Klanguniversum angesiedelt ist. Das bedeutet, dass ich gewissermaßen moralisch dazu verpflichtet bin, den ursprünglichen roten Faden im Auge zu behalten – und dafür zu sorgen, dass wir nicht plötzlich in Richtung Thrash-Metal abbiegen.“



Dennoch waren die rhythmischen Elemente, die zum Teil sogar an elektronische Sounds erinnern, noch nie so präsent und tonangebend wie auf Rain Before Seven…, was durchaus auch dem Co-Produzenten Robert Raths geschuldet ist. „Find Your Feet“ etwa hat ein Beat-Fundament, das weit über einen bloßen Pulsschlag hinausgeht. Abgemischt von Tom Chichester-Clark, blitzt an Stellen wie diesen etwas auf, das Arthur selbst als „fast schon elektronischen Vibe“ bezeichnet, um dann ganz aufgeregt zu ergänzen: „Es geht vor allem auch einfach ums Spaßhaben, was auf den letzten drei Alben nicht so zu hören war.” Extrem ausgelassen klingt auch „In Re Budd“, das dem verstorbenen Ambient-Urgestein Harold Budd gewidmet ist. Arthur erfuhr von dessen Tod an jenem Tag, als er diesen feierlichen Ohrwurm komponierte, dessen Synkopen deutlich komplexer sind, als sie auf den ersten Blick wirken. Auf einem präparierten Klavier gespielt, wobei die Filzstücke dem Track zusätzlichen Bounce verleihen, setzt Jeffes hier auf einen Afro Cuban Cafe-Vibe – was wunderbar zum widerspenstigen Geist des verstorbenen Budd passt.



Und schließlich wäre da noch das bereits erwähnte „Welcome to London“, das seinen Titel erhielt, als sich die Welt gerade wieder zu öffnen begann und die Menschen auch wieder Fernreisen antreten durften. Jeffes, der somit nach langer Zeit endlich wieder einen Fuß auf britischen Boden setzen konnte, war sofort beeindruckt von filmischen Soundtrack-Qualitäten (à la John Barry) dieses Stücks, als er mit dem Taxi von Heathrow nach West-London fuhr und zur Musik die opulente, in Dämmerungslicht getauchte Metropolenkulisse auf sich wirken ließ. Hier kann man deutlich die eingangs erwähnte Zuversicht raushören – und dazu vielleicht auch einen Hauch von bissiger Ironie: „Robert Raths hat der Sache noch eine Nuance hinzugefügt, die ich interessant finde, weil doch so viele Londoner ursprünglich gar nicht aus London stammen. Man schlägt also in London als Zugezogener auf, man weiß noch nicht, zu welchem Lager man sich zugehörig fühlen soll, und dann wird man auf der Straße überfallen und ausgeraubt – und in dem Licht betrachtet, hat dieses ‘Welcome to London’ doch einen eher sarkastischen Beigeschmack.“

Cable Ties are a fierce, tense rock’n’roll trio. They take the three-minute punk burner and stretch it past breaking point to deliver smouldering feminist anthems. Post-punk and garage rock hammered together by a relentless rhythmic pulse. Jenny McKechnie channels her struggles into songs that resonate deeply, giving voice to feelings often buried in modern life. Shauna Boyle and Nick Brown are a rhythm section anchored in Stooges primitivism, relentlessly hammering out a bedrock for McKechnie’s guitar pyrotechnics and vocal wallop. Three friends summoning a rhythmic tide to deliver anthems that turn latent anxieties into a rallying cry.

The band has been committed to an inclusive feminist and political outlook since its inception in 2015, exploring issues of gendered violence, colonialism, and sexual assault. The band members have been involved in benefit shows, organized DIY festivals, and volunteer with Girls Rock!, a not-for-profit organization that aims to empower female, trans, and gender non-binary youth in music.
Cable Ties are dedicated to their local community and independent networks, and to playing diverse and inclusive shows. They have toured Australia a number of times and have developed into a lean and efficient touring band who deliver powerful and meaningful shows. Their debut self-titled album, released in 2017 on Poison City Records, was a Triple J feature album and album of the week on 3RRR, with strong support nationally from community radio. They have also self released three 7” singles which have all sold out. The debut album is on its third vinyl pressing.

The band toured UK/Europe in 2017 supporting Jen Cloher, and played Punk’d Festival in Berlin. They returned to the UK in May 2019 to play The Great Escape and shows with Tropical Fuck Storm and Amyl & the Sniffers. In Australia they played Bigsound 2018 and festivals such as the national Laneway Festival tour in 2018, Boogie Festival 2018, The Plot 2017, and Meredith Music Festival in 2016. Cable Ties have supported artists such as Joan Jett, The Kills, Camp Cope, and Cash Savage. They won Best Hard Rock Act at the 2017 National Live Music Awards and were nominated in five categories. They won the Corner Music Award in 2017, have been nominated for eight Age Music Victoria awards, and were longlisted for The Australian Music Prize 2017.

-2023 Repress-

Following his acclaimed Scars of Intransigence album of 2014, Emile Facey (Plant43) is back on terra Shipwrec. On skeletal rhythm supports strings and bass intertwine, link and disappear. Facey performs audio alchemy, transforming cold chords into organic warmth, transfiguring electrical impulses into palpable emotion. Frigid currents flow through bright bars, ephemeral percussion snap at heels of soaring keys as Plant 43 draws you deeper and deeper into the bare and beautiful brilliance of Grid Connection.

With BloodPact 11xxx27 & Mystics present their first installment on ZHARK. Dense, oppressive and gloomy atmospheres meet hard hitting heavy percussions, violent rhythmical and fragmented vocals underline a constant sentiment of ferocity and nostalgia. The Napoli based duo deliver 6 powerful energetic and deeply emotional electronic explorations.

Over the past five years, Mark has forged a unique identity in underground drum’n’bass, alloying traditional junglist motifs and electroacoustic ambience through a series of singles on A Colourful Storm and Unterton. A Colourful Storm now presents the culmination of his work and debut album, a shapeshifting expression of luminescence and rhythmic complexity.

Mark’s ambitions with Integrier Dich Du Yuppie (2017) and The Least Likely Event Will Occur In The Long Run (2018) reflected upon the relationships between - and division of - people, place and power. Now he responds with two pieces featuring his signature skittering drums, seismic sub-bass and atmospheric passages recalling Roland Kayn, Luigi Nono and Bernard Parmegiani. Moonlight shines, choral voices appear from above. Arresting, unnerving tranquility.

Recommended for fans of Eli Keszler, Hiro Kone, Torsten Pröfrock and Kali Malone.

Deejay Jah Thomas was one of the creative figures making a dramatic impact on the Kingston sound system scene of the late 1970s and early 80s, the rhythms he laid at Channel One studio with the Roots Radics helping to steer reggae towards the emerging dancehall style. Voicing and mixing his work at King Tubby’s studio, typically with the young upstart engineer known as Scientist, Thomas was another champion in the realm of dub, his re-makes of vintage Studio One and Treasure Isle rhythms part of the process. In A Dub Explosion is a thrilling comp of tough dubs, mixed by Scientist & the King. A great listening experience!

Fünf Jahre nach "Footprints In The Rock" melden sich die unbesungenen NWOBHM-Helden TRESPASS mit einem großartigen neuen Album namens "Wolf At The Door" zurück. Das Album umfasst Themen, die ihnen am Herzen liegen - insbesondere Umweltthemen - und wurde von Gründungsmitglied, Gitarrist und Sänger Mark Sutcliffe in seinem Heimstudio geschrieben und später in den Crooks Hall Studios in der Wildnis von Suffolk aufgenommen. Nigel Palmer (Raging Speedhorn, Satan's Empire) gab dem Ganzen dann in Lowland Masters den letzten Schliff. Diese typisch britische Umgebung half Trespass dabei, ihren charakteristischen NWOBHM-Zwillingsgitarren-Sound beizubehalten, während die Rhythmusgruppe
einen Drive und eine Energie an den Tag legt, die sie direkt in die 20er Jahre zurückversetzt. Das Artwork von Mark Wilkinson (Iron Maiden, Judas Priest) gibt dem Album den letzten Schliff und wird sowohl die Fans der alten Schule als auch die neuen nicht enttäuschen. Trespass wurde 1979 in Sudbury, Suffolk, von Mark Sutcliffe (Gitarre, Gesang) und seinem Bruder Paul am Schlagzeug gegründet. Die Band hatte Anfang der 80er Jahre als Teil der New Wave of British Heavy Metal Erfolg und wurde von der Kritik gelobt, obwohl sie nur ein paar Singles und eine EP - die kultige Bright Lights" von 1981 - veröffentlicht hat. Songs wie "One Of These Days", "Stormchild" und "Bright Lights" haben sich einen Namen gemacht.

One day, you wake up with a cloud in your head. You feel out of place and uninspired, and juggle so many worries the balance is skewed. That was Armin van Buuren three years ago. He put so much love and passion into his work and found it hard to cope with the fact that not everyone can be pleased. Something needed to change. So, he reformed his life routines, took up meditation to calm the storm and did everything he could to negate the numbness. And what he ended up with was a newfound love for music and an incredible three-part album: Feel Again.

From "No Fun" and "Computers Take Over The World" to "One More Time", "Come Around Again" and "Roll The Dice", the Feel Again album sonically represents the journey of an artist extraordinaire radically looking for harmony within himself. Its 34 tracks may be different in terms of sound, but together, they reflect an equilibrium that could only come from a man in balance.

From reconnecting to friends, family, and fans to finding inner peace, Feel Again means acknowledging harsh truths, finding out what really matters and letting that power a new step forward. Because in the evergreen words of Armin van Buuren himself, “we're still learning and will never stop learning till the day we die”.

Feel Again is available as a deluxe limited edition box set, including 3 LP's, which are housed in printed innersleeves. The set also includes 5 exclusive Armin van Buuren lithos. This deluxe boxset is limited to 3000 individually numbered copies on turquoise marbled (LP1), white marbled (LP2), and orange marbled (LP3) vinyl.

Repress!

Back in the washing machine for another high intensity Tekno wash cycle of gorgeous percussive mayhem with one more carefully selected EP from the vast Spiral Tribe repertoire. This time “Stormcore 2” from Crystal Distortion aka Simon Carter takes us on a high speed stroll with 4 tracks set at a solid 180bpm all throughout. Another masterful expose of early hardcore/tekno production techniques with endless layering and intertwining of percussive elements skillfully unfolding throughout long build ups of raw rhythmic intercourse. Aesthetically pioneering to say the least. Meticulously remastered down the street from Sound Metaphors at Manmade mastering.

Edition OF 500 copies, Comes with insert and download code.

An album that sounds like The Menahan Street Band playing in a tropical jungle, at dawn, right at the point when the first rays of sunlight penetrate the dark depths of the forest. During the 2022 summer of natural disasters, under an unprecedented heatwave, and haunted by news reports of ancient relics, sunken ships, and hunger stones resurfacing as rivers dried-up all-over Europe, Amsterdam based multi-instrumentalist producer Alex Figueira started to hear uncanny metallic vibrations And eerie melodies of untraceable origins, day and night. He recalls nightmares of winged creatures inside timeless structures of Escherian architectures playing cosmic instruments amidst tropical storms
and acid rains. As the visions came more often, his wife reported that he babbled during his sleep about South American demon Yurupari. Soon, Alex found himself in a sleepless state and decided to cleanse the studio, with hallowed rites and
the intense burning of Palo Santo. After almost burning the studio down, he turned to his neighbourhood’s most experienced psychic, seeking answers. He was told there were “cosmic entities” trying to manifest a message “too complex for us to understand in this dimension” and the only way he could find peace was to deliver those messages in a decipherable form. It was then he decided to transmute his hallucinations into music, an all-or-nothing cathartic solution.

Alex entered a feverish dream, fuelled by the kaleidoscopic motion of the cosmos, ancient meteor showers, and visions of forgotten interstellar South American gods. He remembers very little of the work, but the outcome is this record. Entirely composed, recorded, produced, and mixed in a frenetic nine-day studio stint.

How the experts describe it:

”Just when outernational vinyl vampires thought they had it all sewn up, the metronomic makeshift
magician known as Alex Figueira unravels the entire fabric of your record collection to expose a gaping
hole where PUNKUMBIA and Transplant-Tropicalia should be. Reducing an expansive palette of
influences to a recipe that tastes wildly exotic but comfortably over-familiar, Alex’s roles as both
scavenger and chef, bookend a whole ensemble of other highly adept musical personalities in between.
Discover this record NOW, or wait until all your friends (or enemies) recommend it to you later.”
Andy Votel (Finders Keepers)

“Incendiary, lysergic takes on South American and Caribbean music from one of the scene's truly
authentic and eccentric producers. You can always count on Venezuelan-born, Amsterdam-based,
multi-instrumentalist, music-fanatic Alex Figueira to surprise and innovate, whilst consistently keeping it
true and real. The former Fumaça Preta drummer & front-man's debut solo album does not disappoint!”
Miles Cleret (Soundway)

“The one man band Alex Figueira comes through with some major flavors on this one. Cumbia beats and
psychedelic elements with that Latin touch of soul & Funk!”
Kenny Dope (Masters at Work)

“I really respect Alex Figueira’s DIY ethos. From running his own little funky recordstore to running his
own label and making his own music by playing every instrument himself. I was already a fan of the song
“Aprende” which he released on 7 inch and with“Mentallogenic” he takes it a step further in that same
vibe. From songs like “La Culebra” making use of a vocoder in his typical latin sound to songs like
“Serious” playing with rhythmic changes and topping it off with some synth flavors. A lovely and fun
album”.
Antal (Rush Hour).

Als "Mr. Isaacs" 1977 erstmals als LP-Vinyl erschien, war der Grundstein für die internationale Karriere zum Superstar des Reggae gelegt. Unter der Federführung von Produzent Ossie Hibbert und seinen Musikerkollegen von den Revolutionaries wurde der Interpret Gregory Isaacs zum Markenzeichen im Albumformat! - Mit einigen seiner größten Songs wie "Set The Captives Free", "Slave Master" (im Kultfilm "Rockers" prominent vertreten), "Storm" (der Riddim kommt in über 75 Versionen zum Einsatz), "Smile", "Get Ready" (Reggae-Cover des Rare Earth Hits), kommt der Longplayer dieser Tage als Kevin Metcalfe Remaster als 9-Track Originalalbum in einer Fan-Edition mit Sleeve Notes und bedruckter Innenhülle inklusive großformatiger Fotos.

Among the most important full-length album works from one of reggae’s greatest singers, "Mr. Isaacs" shows the great Gregory Isaacs in the prime of his career in 1976/1977. Better known for his love songs, Isaacs was equally adept at cultural themes. The tracks "Set The Captives Free" and "Slave Master" are among the most popular in his catalogue, the latter immortalized on film in the movie 'Rockers'. The track "Storm" became an early favourite in the dancehall, its rhythm track (aka the Storm riddim) is re-imagined no fewer than 75 times over the last 40 years. Gregory Isaacs love of Rocksteady shines in his cover of the Silvertones’ "Smile", and his soulful side comes through on a cover of The Temptations’ "Get Ready". The breadth of material on "Mr. Isaacs" is the hallmark of a reggae classic!

Further facts and collector's info:
- The album was one of the first titles ever distributed by VP Records, "Mr. Isaacs" reissue coincides with the label’s 40th anniversary celebrations.
- This pressing features the earliest known cover art and producer Ossie Hibbert’s original Earthquake labels, as found on the pre-release edition.
- "Mr. Isaacs (Remastered)" comes with a printed inner sleeve featuring extended liner notes by Harry Hawke plus a great artist photo on the other side

Formed in 2007 in the Dolomite Alps region of Italy with a deep admiration for their native country’s hardcore punk luminaries in La Quiete and Raein, as well as eighties and nineties cult heroes in Negazione, Wretched and Indigesti. STORMO’s steady rise from unassuming beginnings has been one of consistently stirring song writing. Having amassed over 400 shows across Europe and the UK - including support slots to Converge, Full of Hell and La Dispute, as well as appearances at Fluff Fest - STORMO’s next chapter sees the band fully come of age. Lyrically, Endocannibalismo was written entirely in the band’s native tongue; partly as a byproduct of the albums nocturnal and instinctive writing process and partly in honour of their history as a band. Recorded and mixed by Giulio Favero (Zu) for mixing before being placed in the hands of Giovanni Versari at La Maesta for mastering, Endocannibalismo’s 11 tracks possess a crystalline clarity to service STORMO’s surging blastbeats, spiralling rhythms and noise punk cacophony, whilst staying true to the each songs deep seated primal nature. Seeking to tie together the whole process visually, STORMO took to artificial intelligence when creating Endocannibalismo’s art. Utilising specific prompts, the AI render was put through stages of mutation before culminating in its final form. A haunting graphic representation of living beings in a state of constant death and rebirth.