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Lewis Taylor's legendary magnum opus: The Lost Album. "Now you're talking. That's my favourite LT album. Unlike all of the others, there isn't anything about it that embarrasses me." Straight from the genius's mouth. What can we say about this? Well, it's the most requested record ever at Be With Towers. The Lost Album was the intended follow-up to his first album but Island rejected it for fear of "confusing" the marketplace and its conception of Lewis as a soul artist. Their loss. It's a breezy sunset masterpiece.

The genesis of this incredible record needs unpicking a bit. Lewis stopped promoting the first album after a year and went home to record a completely different record that was the most un-R&B album you could probably ever hear: "I pushed in such an extreme direction the other way with what eventually became The Lost Album. It was a knee-jerk reaction to a perceived ‘trapped in R&B’ feeling I was going through at the time. Some people around me were in favour of it and others weren’t. In the end I think I lost confidence in it and did Lewis II instead." We did at least get Lewis II, which is a remarkable album, and he kept Island happy...for a bit. Not long after, Lewis was dropped. And what was to become The Lost Album could've been...er...lost. Forever.

Thankfully, however, Lewis and longtime partner Sabina Smyth revisited those scrapped demo tracks in 2003. They decided to re-arrange, re-record and then self-release them. So it was that the brand new version of The Lost Album finally dropped in late 2004. It's sheer perfection, and we don't say that lightly. The Lost Album was a fully 50/50 collaboration between Lewis and Smyth. As well as production, Sabina did a lot more writing on it, from the melody to "Listen Here" to the chord sequence for "Let's Hope Nobody Finds Us." Thankfully, Sabina is credited this time around.

No, it's not straight up "soul music" in the vein of his previous work. Yet, in its perfectly formed suite of one dozen songs, The Lost Album is dripping in soul. It's so warm, so effervescent and so alive with possibilities. It features deep, fresh imprints on well-loved, accessible sounds. It's a proper 70s style double album. Just one listen and the musical influences on The Lost Album are fairly self-explanatory, as Lewis recently told us, but it's always nice to hear that, in case we were in any doubt, he was definitely channeling Love, Yes, Brian Wilson, CSN, Laura Nyro and, of course, Todd Rundgren. The influences don't end there: "I’m particularly fond of my bass playing on that album, there’s a lot of Chris Squire going on which is cool."

Deep orchestral opener "Lost" is a sublime, harp-laced, string drenched gem, a cinematic, melancholic Axelrod-esque mini-epic that simply beguiles. Written by Smyth, it evokes Donny Hathaway's celestial "I Love The Lord, He Heard My Cry" from Extensions Of A Man. The only problem is the brief 90 seconds running time. It segues into the classic Brian Wilson-meets-power-pop-rock splendour of "Listen Here" which, with its outstanding extended harp-licked beatless intro, sounds like the younger cousin to Boston's "More Than A Feeling". We then drift into the ringing guitars of classic 70s rock anthem "Hide Your Heart Away". It's Lewis's personal favourite, "especially the multi-tracked guitar solo – I was listening to Boston at the time, which was fun." A-ha!

A new version of the heart-stopping, shoulda-been-a-massive-pop-hit "Send Me An Angel" opens Side B before the arrival of, in Lewis's completely correct words, "the clear standout, "Leader of the Band"; the perfect distillation of everything that album was trying to achieve." Soaring, piano-led Rundgren-esque power pop that makes the hairs on the back of your next stand on end. Truly, otherworldly. This is pure pop for now (and then) people. The simple jangly brilliance meets experimental prog-rock of "Yeah" sounds like simultaneously like prime CSNY and late 90s Radiohead (if they'd had a slightly more accessible bent and could write better tunes).

Oh, you wish The Beach Boys had continued writing amazing songs beyond Holland? Well, allow us to point you in the direction of the downlifting stunner "Please Help Me If You Can" and the warm textures and brilliant atmospherics of goosebump-inducer "Let’s Hope Nobody Finds Us". Words can't really describe the sheer beauty of these songs. So we'll stop trying. Just listen. Listen, listen, listen. Closing out this remarkable side of music, the accidentally Balearic "New Morning" should be blasting out at every sunrise set in Ibiza, this summer and forevermore.

The final side opens with the vaguely Beatlesey "Say I Love You". It's just classic, soaring pop-rock songwriting and should strictly be canonical. It's that good. The sassy, Stonesy swagger of "See My Way" injects enough rock'n'roll attitude to compensate for the rest of record's peace-loving, AOR sun-dappled vibe whilst album closer, "One More Mystery", emerging out of the rubble of the previous track, comes on initially like a Baroque-Pop George Harrison before piling crunching drums and screeching guitar solos atop the dreamy harmonies til close.

When asked what it means to have these records available on vinyl for the first time, Lewis is in no doubt: "It’s great and it’s really nice to be able to offer fans a different listening experience. There’s a whole other dimension with vinyl that taps into that whole nostalgia thing, well for me anyway. Something about the physical aspect of pulling it out of the sleeve and putting it on, it does tend to make you feel like you’re more engaged."

Lewis was adamant that he wanted all new artwork for The Lost Album vinyl sleeve and his brief was just the sort of classic tropical-beach-at-sunset you’d want to see on the front of a record that sounds like this. On the finished sleeve, the beach at sunset is just where we start out, before heading up through the painterly clouds and heading out into the stars. And yes, the lettering is a definite subtle nod to all those in-between-period Beach Boys bootlegs we all love. Simon Francis's sensitive mastering combines with Cicely Balston's precise cut for Alchemy at AIR Studios so the album sounds appropriately outstanding. The immaculate Record Industry double LP pressing will ensure this previously lost masterpiece stays forever found.

"Commemorating the 25th anniversary of Sir Georg Solti’s passing “The Greatest Recording Of All Time” Now sounding better than ever before
Transferred and remastered in HD sound at 24bit / 192kHz from the original two-track stereo mastertapes.
The first all-new transfer in over twenty-five years.
The first-ever stereo production of Wagner’s Ring cycle, still considered the benchmark today."

New York City's loudest band A Place to Bury Strangers have had their intense live performance captured and immortalized directly to 12” wax. The post-punk legends are the 9th & latest entry in the Live at Levitation archival vinyl series. “Levitation 2021 was our second show as a new band and I felt so psyched to bring the new band members to such an epic festival. It was like a homecoming for me. Bob Mustachio was doing lights and playing with Ringo Deathstarr, Kikagaku Moyo & the Black Angels all on the same bill had me so rev’d up and excited. I knew it had to be an epic show. I remember right when we started I was flailing around so much like a freak on speed that I almost flung my guitar off the stage. By the time we got out into the crowd I thought I was gonna pass out. I remember we rented this PA speaker from Rock N Roll Rentals and for some reason they trusted us with this top of the line like $5000 12” monitor that we rolled around in the crowd while I was screaming at the top of my lungs. I love Levitation and Austin Psych Fest. They are always a UFO of a good time.” - Oliver Ackermann (APTBS)

In March 2022, EMPIRE assembled some of Africa's finest singers and songwriters, the musical equivalent of Ocean's Eleven, at a writing camp in San Francisco. The result is Where We Come From, Vol. 1, a 15-track compilation featuring Afrobeats royalty Wande Coal, Tiwa Savage and Olamide as well as Tanzanian duo Navy Kenzo, Cape Verde's June Freedom and a host of other stars across Nigeria and Ghana - KiDi, Fireboy DML, Kizz Daniel, Tolani and more. The sounds traverse East, West and South of the continent, incorporating drill, amapiano, trap and Afrobeats in fashioning an album that at once sandwiches luxury between lust and love while also being a flagpost to hedonism. The cover art, created by Nigerian artist Dricky Stickman, incorporates all 15 songs into the final product, illustrating unity, community and culture. “This project ‘Where We Come From, Vol. 1’ is a perfect example of music having no limitations,” Kareem Mobalaji, Regional Head West Africa said. “Yes we are from Africa, but we are truly determined to reach the entire world with our voice, which is music.”

Repress!

One of the gems on the smash hit album 'Soulmatic', Purple Disco Machine & Boris D'Lugosch's, 'Love For Days' gets the remix treatment three ways.

First up the master Kenny Dope - crisping up that shuffling rhythm with some added percussion and synthesiser arps to turn what was already a peak time soulful anthem, into a close to 8 minute extended journey drawing you in more and more with each build up and breakdown. Next up the PDM offers up an extended mix of the original, a welcome sight for those DJs on the club scene who have been rinsing this since the album dropped last year.

Finally, Motez takes you into raunchy, r&b tinged, garage territory, really honing in on Karen Harding's incredible vocals whilst incorporating brooding pads and sweeping fx's to create a special twist on the original.


DJ Support:

Aeroplane (Aeropop / Eskimo Recordings), Klingande / Kungs / Michael Calfan c/o (Unity Group Promo Sorter), Autograf (Counter Records), Treasure Fingers (Psycho Disco! / Fool's Gold), Malente (Southern Fried Records), Satin Jackets c/o (Eskimo Recordings / N.E.W.S.), Eric Sharp (9G Records), Gregor Salto c/o (Spinnin' Records), DJ Blake Jarrell (Armada Music), Jerome Price (Throne Room Records), DJ Licious (Spinnin' Records), Travis Emmons (Weapons Music), Electronic Youth (KMS), Solidisco (Fool's Gold / Ultra) :: Mark Knight c/o (Toolroom Knights), Mike Mago (Boemklatsch), Muzzaik (Spinnin' / Toolroom), The Disco Boys (We Play Music), Trevor Mac (Jalapeno Sound System), Ferdinand Weber (Spinnin' Deep), LCAW (Ultra), Plastic Plates (Sweat it Out), Mark Lower (Nurvous), Don Diablo c/o (Axtone / Spinnin' Records), Eton Messy, Après (Love & Other Records), Spada (Ego Music / Hysterical), Eelke Kleijn (Spinnin' / Suara), Horsemeat Disco (Strut Records / K7! Records), Horsemeat Disco (Strut Records / K7! Records), Adriana Lucia (Get Physical), Broc Roc (Dj B-Roc of The Knocks), Chordashian (Mullet Records), Hector Romero (Saw Recordings), Just Kiddin (Nervous Records)

Idris Elba c/o (Connaisseur Records / 7Wallace), Klingande / Kungs / Michael Calfan c/o (Unity Group Promo Sorter), Shiba San c/o (Suara / CUFF), Malente (Southern Fried Records), Rudimental (Asylum / Big Beat), Sirus Hood (Under No Illusion / Dirtybird), Marc Spence (This Ain't Bristol / Skint), Martin Solveig c/o (Spinnin' Records), Horsemeat Disco (Strut Records / K7! Records), Riva Starr c/o (Hot Creations), Mike Mago (Boemklatsch), Kokiri (Love & Other), Fred Falke (Work It Baby Records), Claptone c/o (Exploited), Roger Sanchez (Stealth Records / Astrx), Don Diablo c/o (Axtone / Spinnin' Records), Icarus (FFRR / SubSoul), Pezzner (Dirtybird), Jourdan Bordes (Phonetic Recordings), Mahalo (Toolroom / Bunny Tiger), AC Slater (Night Bass), Chordashian / Felix Feygin (Mullet Records), Fei-Fei Wang, Kristina Sky (Ultra / Armada), Thee Cool Cats (Toolroom / Bunny Tiger), Solidisco (Fool's Gold / Ultra), Infected Mushroom c/o (HOMmega Productions), DJ Blake Jarrell (Armada Music),Travis Emmons (Weapons Music), Human Life (LIFEX / Exploited), Treasure Fingers (Psycho Disco! / Fool's Gold), Hector Romero (Saw Recordings), and Danny Howard (BBC Radio 1 / Nothing Else Matters)

After four years, De Lichting is back with a new double album: Drie Nul Drie!

This fresh addition to the infamous compilation series revolves around a central theme: The 303 Acid Bassline.

The double LP format has always been the weapon of choice for the crew when it comes to implementing diversity in their musical story.

Despite the 303 being a rather limited concept, everyone within the collective finds a unique way to approach this classic element that has been rinsed for decades.

From the typical techno bomb of “MJM002” to the sneaky after hours tech gem “5421”, or the Detroit influenced chill-out cut “Tool”, the album bursts with playfulness and creativity, while coming together logically sound wise.

Little Roy’s WOKE UP is a four song Zion I Kings showcase style ep with dub mixes by JAH David Goldfine.Few singer songwriters of his generation have maintained a recording career as consistently masterful as Little Roy.

His timeless classics “Prophecy” and “Tribal War” are among the most versioned songs in the reggae songbook. With a career now spanning six decades, every new Little Roy release raises the Rastafari musical banner another notch higher with no end in sight.

On WOKE UP, the Zion I Kings are complemented in fine style by musicians and vocalists who rank among the finest in reggae. These include, on drums, Roberto Sanchez and Aston Barrett Jr. who is joined by lead guitarist Lamont “Monty” Savory on the title track. Horns are by Okiel Mcintyre and Zoe Brown is featured on flute. Barbara Naps and Madeline Singer join JAH David on the background vocals.In 2023, Zion High Productions is celebrating twenty years of “crucial Rastafari music for these crucial times”.

Lost soul phenomenon Lewis Taylor's Numb finally arrives on double vinyl! One of UK soul’s most fascinating artists, most enigmatic figures and most under-appreciated talents, Andrew Lewis Taylor is a prodigious multi-instrumentalist and eclectic polymath. He enjoys a fiercely loyal following which, over the years, has included celebrity champions like Bowie, Elton and D'Angelo. Numb is Taylor's sixth album, initially released on his own label Slow Reality (an anagram of his name) and licensed to Be With for this long-awaited physical edition. It captures Taylor's wholly unique, intoxicating take on lush, late-night psychedelic soul music.

Lewis wrote and recorded these 10 brand new tracks after a 17 year break from making music, although the album came together over a two-year period. The years away have done nothing to dull Taylor's unique musical vision. He still astounds. The lyrical themes, however, have shifted. Understandably, more than a decade and a half of soul searching and unflinching self-examination cannot fail to influence this most honest of songwriters, and boy does it show. Numb marks a return to the darker, more mysterious side of his output: "Brian Wilson-channels-Smokey Robinson atmospheres", as Mojo put it recently.

After playing a rapturously received gig at the Bowery Ballroom in NYC in 2006, Lewis unceremoniously walked away from music and disappeared completely. An interview in 2016 shed light on some of the reasons for Taylor’s withdrawal from the business, but there was no hint of a return anytime soon. Then in June 2021, news emerged out of the blue that he was readying new music alongside Sabina Smyth with whom he had worked first time around.

On Numb, Lewis deftly balances stark, soul-bearing lyrics with moody mid-tempo pop-soul sheen. He deals candidly with depression, mental turmoil, even thoughts of suicide - clearly more personal than Taylor's earlier songs. The music is rich, warm and layered, with infectious melodies and hooks that stick with you. A true grower of an LP, it really does reward repeated listens. As Jim Irvin in Mojo reflected, "despite the depths these plumb, it's a curiously uplifting experience, unfurling like a concept album about life's challenges with an optimistic beauty at its heart."

Triumphant dubwise horns ring out yet, almost instantly, “Final Hour” takes on a dark, downbeat vibe. With lyrics that confront (and, seemingly, confound) death head-on, Lewis ensures the groove is still there, the beats still swing and your head still nods, strings glissade. Woven around delicate yet insistent piano and subtle strings over a killer bassline, the title track “Numb” is a good example of the lyrical themes throughout the album. As Taylor reflects, "So removed I feel no pain / And for all I know I could be having the time of my life" with a coda that feels very much in conversation with Brian Wilson's finest harmonies. "Feels So Good" is sophisticated 90s-sounding soul of the highest order. The music and vocals feel simultaneously optimistic and despondent. Downlifting. A neat trick, and one Lewis has been so adept at over the years. "Apathy" is a mini-epic, a symphonic-soul gem which builds and glides and, eventually, soars. “Worried Mind" is another slow-builder, creeping out the gate in a sketchy, discordant fashion before climbing to half-crescendo but never quite breaking free of its disorientating restraint.

The brighter "Please" presents a more hopeful mood, with the refrain "I still believe" ringing out as Lewis harmonises with himself. "Brave Heart" quietly struts from step one, as Lewis's falsetto swaggers over a downtempo backdrop with ace echoey drums, beautiful strings and serene electric guitar. Closing out Side C, "Is It Cool" answers its own (non-) question with a spellbinding five and a half minutes of swoonsome deep soul that oscillates between a restrained, barely-there backdrop and a lushly full musical accompaniment of acoustic and electric guitar and organ over bass and slick drums. The penultimate track "Nearer" is a magical, soul-stirring ballad in which Lewis sings of reaching a sweet salvation and achieving a peace of mind. If the hairs on the back of your neck aren't standing up by the midway point, you might need to check your pulse. Album closer and true tear-jerker "Being Broken" places Lewis's gorgeous voice high in the mix and the wordless falsetto and melodies invite you to ponder what Pet Sounds might sound like if it were refashioned as a dubby 21st Century electronic soul album. Astonishing.

Simon Francis’s vinyl mastering spreads out the ten tracks over a double LP so, as ever, nothing is compromised. And as usual, the records have been cut by Cicely Balston at Air Studios and pressed at Record Industry. Turn it up and let the Lewis Taylor sound envelop you.

Based in Berlin Max Newton & Matalo! have delivered percussion heavy funk and gritty Nuyorican rhythms on both GAMM and Take Away Records.
Their new release on Omena LTD continues on the same path and adds deep house and breezy latin flavours.

U-Bahn at Midnight sets things off sounding like a classic MCDE house jam with ringing melodies and sharp horns.
Walkin' On uses that classic Freddie Hubbard sample we all love and makes it even more classy.
On the flip Pao de Acucar vs Vesuvius is a 110% feel-good and summery TUNE, and finally Brooklyn Survivor ends things on a jazzier note with its deliciously deep, Disco-House groove.

A mighty fine way to close the Omena LTD series.

Wenn die Dämmerung auf das Land der tausend Seen fällt, werden die Schleier zwischen unserer Realität und der Anderswelt dünner im Zwielicht der Wälder und Sümpfe. In solchen Momente gelangen Geschichten wie "das Märchen, das es nie gab" in die Texte und Musik von TENHI. Auf ihrem sechsten Album "Valkama", was unter anderem so viel wie "Hafen" oder "Zuflucht" bedeutet, erzählen die Finnen von einer die ursprünglich als Märchen gedachten Reise aus einem brennenden, vom Krieg zerrissenen Dorf über dunkle Gewässer zu einer Insel der Toten. Auf dieser Insel, die in der finnischen Folklore Verisurma ("der Ort für diejenigen, die den Blut-Tod erlitten haben") genannt wird, wohnen diejenigen, die im Krieg starben oder mit einer Klinge getötet wurden. An den Ufern vergießen sie für immer ihr Blut. Doch in den zehn Jahren, in denen TENHI an dem Album arbeiteten, sickerte zunehmend die blutige Realität mit ihren aktuellen Schrecken und Kriegen in die Märchenwelt ein. Jahr für Jahr spürten die Musiker, wie ihre Geschichte immer wirklicher erschien. Schließlich war ein Pegelstand erreicht, an dem die Band beschloss, ihren Kurs zu ändern. Obwohl noch immer Anklänge an das ursprüngliche Werk hörbar und im Artwork auch sichtbar sind, fühlt sich das finale Album ruhiger, harmonischer und sogar heller an als die erste Fassung. Die Band hätte kaum einen passenderen Namen als TENHI wählen können. Das alte finnische Wort bezeichnet einen "Ältesten" oder "Schamanen". Während die Schamanen des finnischen Nordens unter anderem als Vermittler zwischen ihrer Gemeinschaft und der Geisterwelt dienten, sind TENHI musikalische Grenzgänger zwischen dunklem Folk und Folkrock, die sogar bis in die elektrifizierte Welt des Metal hinein wirken. Dies legt zwar einen Vergleich mit WARDRUNA und HEILUNG nahe, doch nur im spirituellen Sinne und nicht in Hinblick auf den Stil. TENHI wurden im Jahr 1996 von Gitarrist und Sänger Tyko Saarikko ins Leben gerufen. Ein paar Jahre später stieß Ilmari Issakainen zur Band. Gemeinsam bilden die beiden Musiker den kreativen Kern der Gruppe. Nach der Selbstveröffentlichung ihres Demos "Kertomuksia" (1997) und der MCD "Hallavedet" (1998) trafen die Finnen 1999 mit dem Debütalbum "Kauan" auf Anhieb einen Nerv. Ins neue Jahrtausend starteten TENHI dann mit einer weiteren MCD namens "Airut:ciwi" (2000). Es folgte eine Reihe von Alben, die von "Väre" (2002) über "Maaäet" (2006) und "Airut:aamujen" (2006) bis zu "Saivo" (2011) reichte. Mit jedem neuen Album vergrößerten die Finnen ihre treue Fangemeinde, die aus diversen musikalischen Richtungen kommt. TENHI verbanden von Anfang an akustische Instrumente und traditionelle Töne mit Strukturen aus der zeitgenössischen Rockmusik. Während das Vorgängeralbum "Saivo" zuletzt verstärkt in Richtung Ambient und Panorama-Soundtrack tendierte, kehrt "Valkama" zu Songstrukturen zurück - wenn auch oft mäandernd und im epischen Format. "Valkama" kommt mit den typisch finnischen Gefühlen der Sehnsucht und anhaltender Melancholie daher. Doch trotz der hörbaren Dunkelheit bieten TENHI ein musikalisches Antidot für die Schrecken der modernen Welt an. Im Zwielicht der Welt des Nordens ist "Valkama" der Silberstreif am Horizont, der innere Geborgenheit und Frieden verspricht.

Gatefold 2LP (clear vinyl) with etching on side D, insert, padded inner sleeves and protection sleeve (300 copies)

Wenn die Dämmerung auf das Land der tausend Seen fällt, werden die Schleier zwischen unserer Realität und der Anderswelt dünner im Zwielicht der Wälder und Sümpfe. In solchen Momente gelangen Geschichten wie "das Märchen, das es nie gab" in die Texte und Musik von TENHI. Auf ihrem sechsten Album "Valkama", was unter anderem so viel wie "Hafen" oder "Zuflucht" bedeutet, erzählen die Finnen von einer die ursprünglich als Märchen gedachten Reise aus einem brennenden, vom Krieg zerrissenen Dorf über dunkle Gewässer zu einer Insel der Toten. Auf dieser Insel, die in der finnischen Folklore Verisurma ("der Ort für diejenigen, die den Blut-Tod erlitten haben") genannt wird, wohnen diejenigen, die im Krieg starben oder mit einer Klinge getötet wurden. An den Ufern vergießen sie für immer ihr Blut. Doch in den zehn Jahren, in denen TENHI an dem Album arbeiteten, sickerte zunehmend die blutige Realität mit ihren aktuellen Schrecken und Kriegen in die Märchenwelt ein. Jahr für Jahr spürten die Musiker, wie ihre Geschichte immer wirklicher erschien. Schließlich war ein Pegelstand erreicht, an dem die Band beschloss, ihren Kurs zu ändern. Obwohl noch immer Anklänge an das ursprüngliche Werk hörbar und im Artwork auch sichtbar sind, fühlt sich das finale Album ruhiger, harmonischer und sogar heller an als die erste Fassung. Die Band hätte kaum einen passenderen Namen als TENHI wählen können. Das alte finnische Wort bezeichnet einen "Ältesten" oder "Schamanen". Während die Schamanen des finnischen Nordens unter anderem als Vermittler zwischen ihrer Gemeinschaft und der Geisterwelt dienten, sind TENHI musikalische Grenzgänger zwischen dunklem Folk und Folkrock, die sogar bis in die elektrifizierte Welt des Metal hinein wirken. Dies legt zwar einen Vergleich mit WARDRUNA und HEILUNG nahe, doch nur im spirituellen Sinne und nicht in Hinblick auf den Stil. TENHI wurden im Jahr 1996 von Gitarrist und Sänger Tyko Saarikko ins Leben gerufen. Ein paar Jahre später stieß Ilmari Issakainen zur Band. Gemeinsam bilden die beiden Musiker den kreativen Kern der Gruppe. Nach der Selbstveröffentlichung ihres Demos "Kertomuksia" (1997) und der MCD "Hallavedet" (1998) trafen die Finnen 1999 mit dem Debütalbum "Kauan" auf Anhieb einen Nerv. Ins neue Jahrtausend starteten TENHI dann mit einer weiteren MCD namens "Airut:ciwi" (2000). Es folgte eine Reihe von Alben, die von "Väre" (2002) über "Maaäet" (2006) und "Airut:aamujen" (2006) bis zu "Saivo" (2011) reichte. Mit jedem neuen Album vergrößerten die Finnen ihre treue Fangemeinde, die aus diversen musikalischen Richtungen kommt. TENHI verbanden von Anfang an akustische Instrumente und traditionelle Töne mit Strukturen aus der zeitgenössischen Rockmusik. Während das Vorgängeralbum "Saivo" zuletzt verstärkt in Richtung Ambient und Panorama-Soundtrack tendierte, kehrt "Valkama" zu Songstrukturen zurück - wenn auch oft mäandernd und im epischen Format. "Valkama" kommt mit den typisch finnischen Gefühlen der Sehnsucht und anhaltender Melancholie daher. Doch trotz der hörbaren Dunkelheit bieten TENHI ein musikalisches Antidot für die Schrecken der modernen Welt an. Im Zwielicht der Welt des Nordens ist "Valkama" der Silberstreif am Horizont, der innere Geborgenheit und Frieden verspricht.

Gatefold 2LP (clear vinyl) with etching on side D, insert, padded inner sleeves and protection sleeve (300 copies)

Following in the footsteps of his famed brother Madlib, Oh No has become one of the most celebrated independent hip-hop artists of the 21st century. His storied career has included not only rap success but an impressive resume behind the boards, with production credits for Mos Def, Freddie Gibbs, De La Soul, Action Bronson, Talib Kweli, Ab-Soul, and more. An innovator in the art of sampling with a history of exploring diverse source material, Oh No is now back with Good Vibes / Bad Vibes, a new instrumental album deconstructing the work of iconic vibraphonist Roy Ayers. A split collection with two thematically distinct halves, the album is entirely constructed from the early, jazz-centric realm of the Ayers archive. Good Vibes is "light and vibrant, with colorful layers radiating under the sun shine,” Oh No explains, while Bad Vibes contains “dark murky atmospheric tones for the angry moments, those times when it’s necessary to step in the mud.”

Donovan Woods was curious: What if he re-recorded Both Ways, his acclaimed 2018 record that won him a Juno Award for contemporary roots album, and distilled its 12 songs to their bare essence? An “acoustic reimagining,” if you will. “We started from scratch,” he says, from the instrumentation to his vocals to a fresh understanding of the heartache and regret that underpinned those songs. “There are no recording elements carried over from that album. It’s all brand-new.” Woods ended up with The Other Way, his album that brims with inspired interpretations of Both Ways that are intimate yet startling in their urgency. Released on May 3, 2019 on Meant Well, this release is a reminder of why the Canadian artist has become such a sought-after songwriter whose work has been recorded by Tim McGraw (“Portland, Maine”) and Lady Antebellum’s Charles Kelley (“Leaving Nashville”), with Spotify streams approaching nearly 90 million. You’ve always been able to hear and connect with Woods’ words. But an odd sensation washes over you when the varnish is wiped off of Woods’ songs. Somehow the lyrics burrow with even greater resonance and then linger like little smoke rings. For a producer, Woods enlisted ace guitarist Todd Lombardo, who produced Woods’ song “Portland, Maine” in 2015 and wrote and played most of the guitar parts on Kacey Musgraves’ Grammy-winning Golden Hour. Woods gave Lombardo artistic license not only to change the chords and song structures but to overhaul the arrangements with acoustic instruments and Lombardo’s luminous guitar work as the centerpiece. “I think this album draws out the pain and the darkness of these songs,” Lombardo says. “The record is about loss and failure and feeling like you fucked it up, and there’s no mistaking that. You hear every single word – and feel it, too.” Coming on the heels of “Go to Her,” Woods’ first song of 2019, The Other Way is so revelatory that it makes you wonder why he didn’t try this approach sooner. “It’s always been an interesting idea to me, especially when you’re an artist like me who inherently disappoints some people anytime your sound gets bigger,” Woods says. “But a really good song is a good song in any arrangement. It’s like a beautiful hardwood floor. You can put any furniture in there, and it’s going to look good.”

Eine ins Ohr gehende Mischung aus hintergründigem Songwriting, warmem Pop, Soul und einer Prise Americana, und natürlich der einmaligen Stimme von Jenny Lewis, das ist „Joy’All“, das fünfte Solowerk der Künstlerin. Das Vorgängeralbum „On The Line“ (2019) wurde auf der Rolling-Stone-Liste der 100 besten Alben des Jahres geführt.

Die in Las Vegas aufgewachsene Singer-Songwriterin war zuvor schon Bandmitglied bei Rilo Kiley, The Postal Service, Jenny & Johnny und Nice As Fuck, und hat mit Größen wie Beck, Ringo Starr, St. Vincent, Vampire Weekend, She & Him, Brandon Flowers, Bright Eyes, Elvis Costello, Wavves und Bill Murray gearbeitet. Zuvor war sie als junge Schauspielerin in zahlreichen Kinofilmen und TV-Serien zu sehen.

Die erste Single aus dem neuem Album, „Puppy And A Truck“, bekam weltweite Aufmerksamkeit, weil darin niemand geringeres als Harry Styles zu sehen ist, für den Lewis einige Konzerte eröffnete.
Der intime, warme Live-Sound des Albums ist Markenzeichen des achtfachen GRAMMY-Preisträgers und Produzenten Dave Cobb (John Prine, Brandi Carlile, Chris Stapleton, Jason Isbell), mit dem Jenny das Album im legendären RCA Studio A in Nashville aufnahm.

Eine ins Ohr gehende Mischung aus hintergründigem Songwriting, warmem Pop, Soul und einer Prise Americana, und natürlich der einmaligen Stimme von Jenny Lewis, das ist „Joy’All“, das fünfte Solowerk der Künstlerin. Das Vorgängeralbum „On The Line“ (2019) wurde auf der Rolling-Stone-Liste der 100 besten Alben des Jahres geführt.

Die in Las Vegas aufgewachsene Singer-Songwriterin war zuvor schon Bandmitglied bei Rilo Kiley, The Postal Service, Jenny & Johnny und Nice As Fuck, und hat mit Größen wie Beck, Ringo Starr, St. Vincent, Vampire Weekend, She & Him, Brandon Flowers, Bright Eyes, Elvis Costello, Wavves und Bill Murray gearbeitet. Zuvor war sie als junge Schauspielerin in zahlreichen Kinofilmen und TV-Serien zu sehen.

Die erste Single aus dem neuem Album, „Puppy And A Truck“, bekam weltweite Aufmerksamkeit, weil darin niemand geringeres als Harry Styles zu sehen ist, für den Lewis einige Konzerte eröffnete.
Der intime, warme Live-Sound des Albums ist Markenzeichen des achtfachen GRAMMY-Preisträgers und Produzenten Dave Cobb (John Prine, Brandi Carlile, Chris Stapleton, Jason Isbell), mit dem Jenny das Album im legendären RCA Studio A in Nashville aufnahm.

Oorsprong is a tube, a line in a forest, a sound sculpture. Acoustics to be revealed. Activated by entering, it becomes a giant flute producing a tone that is so low, the body crashes into waves of pure pressure instead of sound. Untranslatable energy. CERCHI CERCHI by Lukas De Clerck (FKA: Bloedneus & de Snuitkever) is a quest in a forest to find traces of that untranslatable sound, its impact, its imprint, its memory. A hide and seek in which the body is concealed in the instrument, becoming its second voice, hidden but exposed.


I
whistling, organ pipe, voice
A whistle, a whisper, a play of breath. Echoes of a low pulse, colliding into each other.
Party in the background, a coach blows a whistle, a haunting scream echoes the whistling from inside, kids returning from a party.

II
voice, whistling
To give away your voice, a gesture. The initiative for an introduction.
Birds chirping, an F16 piercing through the sky.

III
kaval
A circular breath gently caresses a line of circles, making its surface ringing.
Birds chirping, voices of kids, kids shouting, the door of Oorsprong closes.

IV
oorsprong, two bass recorders
When tuning becomes rhythm, when rhythm becomes a beat of breath. A beat underneath the beating of tones. Feedback of flutes.
The clanging of 2 bass recorders, the ventilator of Oorsprong is turning on.

Recorded live on Wednesday, November 6, 1974 at Composers Forum in Albany, The Arts Center on the Campus of the Academy of the Holy Names, Albany, New York.

Performed by the S.E.M. Ensemble. Recorded by Steve Cellum. Tape transferred by Garry Rindfuss. With liner notes and then some by Mary Jane Leach. Mastered by Jim O'Rourke at Steamroom. Design by Antoine Verhaverbeke. Cover by Andrew Roth: »Untitled (Julius Eastman)«, c.1980.

Standing in a Greyhound Bus station, wearing a Sylvester t-shirt and huge duct-tape-covered glasses, Baltimore ’s Dan Deacon doesn't invoke the image of a composer to the other bus riders. The two suitcases he loads under the bus, which accompany him from city to city, hold the sweat-and-grime-soaked electronics that he uses to craft his raging, maxed-out party music and light show. After 12 tours and 300+ shows in little over 2 years, the gear is beaten and battered, but the show and the energy it produces is anything but.

Dan Deacon has garnered a reputation in the underground as an intense performer and classic showman. The table top full of pedals, a sine wave generator, vocoder and casio blasting through the PA, joined by a makeshift light board with various bulbs and green skull strobe light, make his all out dance-til-you-drop performance a complete experience.

But it isn't all fancy feet and bouncy beats. Deacon is a classically trained composer with a Masters degree in electro-acoustic composition. He has released 7 albums from 2003 to 2006, but those self-produced recordings do not contain the vocal-based experimental pop that he has fine-tuned in live performance. His latest full length, Spiderman of the Rings is the first album bridging the gap between party performer and genuine composer. A mixture of his live show dance anthems, intricate instrumentals and humorous monologues, 'Spiderman of the Rings' establishes Dan Deacon as a new type of entertainer in the contemporary underground.