quête:roya

Impatiently returning to the golden age of Ecuadorian musica national, this second round of retrievals is more of a selectors’ affair: less reverent, more free-flowing, with more twists and turns. There is no let-up in musical quality, maintaining the same judicious, heart-piercing balance between emotional desolation and dignified endurance, the same bitter-sweet play between affective excess and musical sublimity.

This time around, the woman steal the show. Laura and Mercedes Suasti were child stars, with an exclusive Radio Quito contract. Unlike nearly all the men here, they lived long and prospered: Mercedes died last year, at the age of 93. Gladys Viera and Olga Gutierrez both came to Ecuador from Argentina. To start, Gladys plugged the scandalous new Monokini swimwear; Olga performed for visiting British royalty in 1962. Olga was glamorous but tough. She would make little of the amputation of one of her legs: ‘I don’t sing with my leg.’ She is accompanied on our opener by quintessentially reeling, sultry musica national: haunted-house organ, twinkling xylophone, Guillermo Rodriguez’ heart-plucking guitar-playing, and lilting, dance-to-keep-from-crying double-bass. ‘Sometimes I think that you will leave me with no memories,’ she sings, ‘that you hold only disappointments in store for me… In the future your love will search me out, full of regret. By then it will be too late, there will be no consolation, only disappointment awaiting you.’

Other highlights include the two contributions of Orquesta Nacional: Ponchito Al Hombro, like an off-the-wall forerunner of the Love Unlimited Orchestra, beamed into the tropics from an unknowable time and space; and the tone poem Atahualpa, a mystical yumbo invoking Quito’s most ancient inhabitants, the Kichwa. Also the tremulous, gypsy-flavoured violin-playing of Raul Emiliani, who arrived in Quito from Italy, suffering PTSD from the Second World War; the inscrutable, sardonic experimentalism of organist Lucho Munoz; and the mooing and whistling of Toro Barroso — school of Lee Perry — in which a muddy bull dashes home to his darling chola, fearless, full of desire.

Lavishly presented, with a full-size, full-colour booklet, with transporting art-work and expert notes. Luminous sound, by way of Abbey Road, D&M and Pallas.

Music For Dreams signal the summer with the debut LP from Ibizan royalty DJ Pippi & Willie Graff, released digitally on May 27th with the physical version following on the 8th July. The latest bounty from the Danish label’s long and fruitful relationship with the White Isle, Follow Your Dreams is a twelve plate tapas packed with the assorted styles and flavours of the Balearic sound - a complex blend delivered with a warmth, feeling and tone which bring it all together as a whole.

Collaborating on and off over the past fifteen years, with resulting singles gracing the likes of Compost, Leng and Archipelago, DJ Pippi and Willie Graff posses a unique combination of Balearic heritage; one an Italian export who helped originate the sound and style of the genre through his legendary DJ sets at the likes of Pacha and KU in the eighties, the other a trailblazing talent born on the island, who started his residency at Pacha in summer 2000 at the tender age of 17. Their intergenerational entente speaks to Pippi’s unyielding passion for sonic progression and the musical maturity of Graff, as well as a shared love of the soulful side.

By now Nicola Loporchio aka Nico Lahs has a discography that has become respected and sought after among DJs and music lovers in dance music across the globe.

Whether it be deep, atmospheric, jackin' or jazz-flecked deep house, it's all firmly rooted in house music tradition, something that Nico Lahs masters with ease.
With releases on labels like Moods & Grooves, Delusions Of Grandeur, Ovum, HotMix, Adeem plus many more, he shows no sign in slowing down either.

Ancestors Call is a musical story told in two parts. Filled with melodic and spiritual deep house, sitting somewhere between classic deep house and the spiritual end of house royalty Ron Trent's output.

Just like his previous releases Nico is a producer that has both the confidence to blend late night deep house vibes with soulful dance floor magic. It's house music that is very honest.

Part 2 dives deeper and adds additional layers of melody that tie the whole release firmly together. With Nico Lahs talented songwriting, his evolution is endless and bright...

Ancestors Call is something you listen to from start to finish, each song building a musically expansive story.

• The premium cuts by the legend that is Link Wray remastered on limited coloured vinyl with free CD
• Stunning artwork by Sophie Lo
• Liner notes by Author Nina Antonia.

It will surely come as no surprise that Quentin Tarantino picked up on Link Wray’s ‘Rumble’ and ‘Ace of Spades’ for the movie ‘Pulp Fiction’. The brooding guitar man; born in North Carolina in 1929, as Fred Lincoln Wray Jnr, hails from pulp territory - the mythic Americana of rock n’ roll. Wray’s mother, from whom he inherited his striking appearance, was a Shawnee Indian, his father was a street corner preacher and grandpa did some jail time. Whilst having contracted tuberculosis when serving in the Korean war affected Wray’s vocals, his guitar playing mostly did the singing for him, but he wasn’t always volatile - ‘Lillian’ and ‘Alone’ revealing the heart beneath the tough exterior. Fiercely independent, when the rock n’ roll boom burst, Wray fashioned a 3-track home studio from a chicken shack and largely extricated himself from the music business although he would continue to record and play, stating ‘Money don’t rule me, record companies don’t own me.’ Nothing owned Link Wray but he owned rock n roll. Though the era of monochrome had ended, Link cast a long shadow, drawing admiration from the likes of Neil Young, Keith Moon and Pete Townshend who noted of Wray ‘He is the king, if it hadn’t been for Link Wray and ‘Rumble’, I would never have picked up a guitar.’ Though often marginalised throughout his career, Wray was like the night, an unquantifiable influence on successive generations of guitarists who sought to scorch rather than soothe. In November 2005, Bob Dylan was just about to step out on stage at the Royal Hall Albert, when he learned that Link had struck his final chord. In tribute to the great man, Dylan commenced his set with ‘Rumble.’

'I Don't Know Why' is Kraak & Smaak's debut single from their legendary album 'Juicy Fruit', and it's an outstanding collaboration with Grammy-nominated soul royalty - Mayer Hawthorne.

It's a true meeting of minds which is exactly what you'd expect from these two class acts. Kraak & Smaak throw down the gauntlet in a popping boogie track with the Tuxedo frontman delivering his signature sweet and catchy soul melodies over the top. Sublime!

The flip sees another jewel in the K&S arsenal. The album version of their hit single 'My Mind's Made Up', which features live band member and regular collaborator Berenice van Leer, is a more funked up spin on the original. Nonetheless it brings more fire to play with on this one-off 7" release.


b B: My Mind's Made Up (Album Version) feat. Berenice van Leer

It’s not often that an artist creates something so unique
and unpredictable that an entire genre is created
because of it, but here we are, Scene Queen and
‘BIMBOCORE’ have arrived.

 Fed up with a genre of music filled with gatekeepers
and judgmental hard rock purists, Scene Queen has
unleashed the most daring, provocative, indefinable
music the world has ever seen.

 Songs like ‘Pink Rover’ and ‘Pink Panther’ are as
daring and raunchy as they are inclusive and
community building.

 In Scene Queen’s world, one can wear pink and like
‘girly things’ while gutturally screaming relatable lyrics
over a metal riff.

 Blending metal, hard rock, and explosive pop, Scene
Queen is making music for a genreless TikTok
generation - the alt kids, the misfits, and the ones that
don't fit in.

 With a heavy following on TikTok and a wildly
entertaining live show that is an experience of a
lifetime, ‘BIMBOCORE’ is the debut of a young scene
kid emerging into the leader of a movement.

 For fans of Ashnikko, Bring Me The Horizon, Poppy.
 Recently performed at Reading & Leeds Festival and
The Great Escape. Upcoming touring with Palaye
Royale (US) and Wargasm (UK).

Originaire de Mongolie, The HU ne ressemble à aucun autre groupe de rock dans le monde. Depuis leur sortie, le groupe s'est hissé à la première place du Billboard World Albums Chart, à la première place du Top New Artist Albums, et au Top 5 mondial du Hard Rock Music Album Chart. Ils ont effectué de nombreuses tournées dans le monde avec des spectacles à guichets fermés en Europe, au Royaume-Uni et aux États-Unis. Après le succès de l'album The Gereg, qui a non seulement débuté à la première place, mais dont les succès rock viraux «Wolf Totem» et «Yuve Yuve Yu» ont atteint le Top 10 des radios rock. The Hu sont de retour avec un nouvel album, Rumble of Thunder. Cet album relie le monde à la culture mongole et à ses valeurs fondamentales uniques de préservation de la nature et de connexion spirituelle avec la terre.

What on earth has happened to gothic rock? This was the thought burning in Joakim Knutsson’s mind, and he felt that something needed to be done to save the much-loved genre from going down the drain. He embarked on this mission with the aim to create something special but also something faithful to the original ideals of the 80’s gothic genre. “I wanted a band that would be an occult mix of The Lords Of The New Church, Adam and the Ants, John Carpenter and Billy Idol”, says Knutsson, “The end result turned out heavier, bloodier and darker than that, but that was probably our destiny anyway.” With a little help from prominent members of the Swedish metal and punk community the idea recently took a solid form. Today the band together sums more than 250 years of knowledge in music and pop culture - knowledge they shamelessly put to use in their own creation. Here they are: die Oberherren. The Gothic rock band the world has been waiting for since the golden age of the 80s. Kept strictly under wraps until now, die Oberherren feature members of the rock and metal royalty in Sweden, with past or current membership in bands such as The Coffinshakers, Ghost, The Mobile Mob Freakshow, Gehennah and many more. The band snatched their ominous-sounding moniker from the intellectual group that operated at the turn of the 20th century, by whom their lyrics are also heavily influenced. “Anarchistic, occult and apocalyptic imagery with prophets of war, armageddon, decadence and love – these themes and ideas are even more actual today than the original ‘overlords’ could ever dream of over a hundred years ago”, comments Knutsson. The debut album Die By My Hand, set for release on January 27th 2023 on Svart Records, is a collection of eight songs that are adorned with infectious hooks and laced with vintage darkness. The apocalyptic celebration will commence this Friday, Sept 7th, with the release of the first single off the album titled The Horned One Stabs.

What on earth has happened to gothic rock? This was the thought burning in Joakim Knutsson’s mind, and he felt that something needed to be done to save the much-loved genre from going down the drain. He embarked on this mission with the aim to create something special but also something faithful to the original ideals of the 80’s gothic genre. “I wanted a band that would be an occult mix of The Lords Of The New Church, Adam and the Ants, John Carpenter and Billy Idol”, says Knutsson, “The end result turned out heavier, bloodier and darker than that, but that was probably our destiny anyway.” With a little help from prominent members of the Swedish metal and punk community the idea recently took a solid form. Today the band together sums more than 250 years of knowledge in music and pop culture - knowledge they shamelessly put to use in their own creation. Here they are: die Oberherren. The Gothic rock band the world has been waiting for since the golden age of the 80s. Kept strictly under wraps until now, die Oberherren feature members of the rock and metal royalty in Sweden, with past or current membership in bands such as The Coffinshakers, Ghost, The Mobile Mob Freakshow, Gehennah and many more. The band snatched their ominous-sounding moniker from the intellectual group that operated at the turn of the 20th century, by whom their lyrics are also heavily influenced. “Anarchistic, occult and apocalyptic imagery with prophets of war, armageddon, decadence and love – these themes and ideas are even more actual today than the original ‘overlords’ could ever dream of over a hundred years ago”, comments Knutsson. The debut album Die By My Hand, set for release on January 27th 2023 on Svart Records, is a collection of eight songs that are adorned with infectious hooks and laced with vintage darkness. The apocalyptic celebration will commence this Friday, Sept 7th, with the release of the first single off the album titled The Horned One Stabs.

* 2022 Repress ** Profondo Nero compiled by Cinema Royale

Profondo Nero narrates a storyline that goes beyond the borders of Italy’s musical legacy. Cutting across the face of Italo disco’s leftfield musicians between the early and late ‘80s, Profondo Nero champions a multi-faceted sound that nods to the blueprint of Italo disco but tries to dig deeper. The music is unmistakably Italo disco but moves away from the familiar classic sound. Amsterdam based collector Cinema Royale stitches together eleven tracks from 1983 – 1989, celebrating a sound he fittingly describes as ‘leftfield Italo’.

The compilation connects the dots between soulful disco (Louise Freeman – Mirage), synth-pop (Mark – Dreamland), electro-rap (Loukas Thanos – Jazzburger), breaks (Santoro – Lover Message), 80s dub disco (Jet Set – Love Break), Balearic (Isamar & Compañia ‎- No Estas), boogie (Tom Hooker – Talk With Your Body) and proto-house (International Music System - An English ’93).

Profondo Nero’s title salutes the legendary oeuvre of Italian horror director Dario Argento. His Profondo Rosso (1975) is a classic example of exquisite cinematic storytelling, boasting courageous colors, expressionist camera angles and an unforgettable Goblin score forming the ingredients for an intriguing piece of art. Profondo Rosso’s music, created the spark for a new Dekmantel Records endeavor led by Amsterdam based experimental film score connoisseur, record collector and DJ Cinema Royale.

For those in the know of underground Amsterdam music culture, Arne Visser aka Cinema Royale is among the city’s longest standing record collectors. Born to an Italian mother and Dutch father, Arne was brought up on a diet of Italo disco in the 80s. Cinema Royale explains: ‘For Profondo Nero I took a plunge into the lesser known fringes of Italo disco. From there I tried to connect, among others, San Francisco boogie, Balearic, Japanese late era Italo-electro and synth-pop funk. I hope you can hear what I had in mind: an infectious showcase of my take on traditional Italo disco that will hopefully get a lot of listeners itching for a spin. It’s fair to say that lately this particular sound has seen a reappraisal and renewed interest.

As a party-starting collection for entry-level connoisseurs or suave but lazy types, I hope Profondo Nero can be an education. I’m not claiming I’m the first DJ or collector to do so, but I did try do present something special by digging deep.’ It wasn’t my goal to unearth the most obscure tracks, instead I wanted to compose a compilation that takes you on a journey.
‘In my opinion the best DJs create something extraordinary out of illogical selections by combining music against all odds and showing different kind of moods along the way. There’s a certain amount of arrogance involved: you take the music out of its original context. But by doing so in a very conscious way, you might be able to enhance the power of the individual records. Hopefully each song on Profondo Nero provides an intimate and memorable experience.’

By now Nicola Loporchio aka Nico Lahs has a discography that has become respected and sought after among DJs and music lovers in dance music across the globe.

Whether it be deep, atmospheric, jackin' or jazz-flecked deep house, it's all firmly rooted in house music tradition, something that Nico Lahs masters with ease.
With releases on labels like Moods & Grooves, Delusions Of Grandeur, Ovum, HotMix, Adeem plus many more, he shows no sign in slowing down either.

Ancestors Call is a musical story told in two parts. Filled with melodic and spiritual deep house, sitting somewhere between classic deep house and the spiritual end of house royalty Ron Trent's output.

Just like his previous releases Nico is a producer that has both the confidence to blend late night deep house vibes with soulful dance floor magic. It's house music that is very honest.

Ancestors Call is something you listen to from start to finish, each song building a musically expansive story.

Time for some rare late 70s soul royalty out of Memphis, Tennessee, a top rung rarity on the collector scene, Coco & Ben - Good Feelin'. Ben Robinson was recently tracked down by friends of the label Daniel Mathis and Robert Garcia, lucky for the world he was still sitting on the tapes for this slightly longer take (as well as some unreleased tracks) allowing us to cut this disco floater as a nice loud 12" for the first time, now sounding better than it ever has, don't sleep on the flip either. Utterly essential record.

2023 re-issue, 140g vinyl, reproduction of the classic Tele Music sleeve, full colour insert with liner notes and archive photographs

Wow! Tonio Rubio's Rhythms is a stone-cold killer, a heavyweight library breaks LP and the inaugural release in Be With's new partnership with legendary French library label Tele Music. Yes, you lucky people, there's lots to come. For this extremely special 50 year anniversary re-issue, we've reproduced the classic Tele Music sleeve with a full colour insert featuring rare photographs, fresh liner notes and personal memories of Tonio from the likes of Jean-Claude Vannier, Jean-Claude Petit and Janko Nilovic.

Sumptuous opener “Latin Leitmotiv” is all funky phasing effects and a killer montuno, with what sounds like piano and bass in tandem, stoking straight up Latin fire. The gritty hard funk of blaxploitation groove "Red Medium" is dripping in wah-wah attitude and head-nod oddness. The atmospheric, exotica-tinged "Dead Slow" emulates the languid, sensual afro groove of Quincy Jones’ wild masterpiece “Gula Matari” whilst the proggy, electric jazz fusion epic "Rock 73" is 9+ minutes of moody, rolling menace.

But the *real* highlight of this cult classic - and why it has long been *so* desirable - is the devastating, deep, hypnotic minimalist groove of "Bass In Action N°1". Very much in conversation with Quincy's rendition of "Hummin'", the loping, rumbling bassline and sweet electric piano over clean, crisp drums making it one of those tracks that sounds like a hip-hop beat 20 years ahead of time. Sensational. “Bass In Action N°2“ features Tonio's own vocal scat performance. Remarkable.

Antonio "Tonio" Rubio Garcia got his start playing the double bass in jazz clubs. In 1962, Tonio joined the Golden Stars, the first backing band of France’s teenage idol Johnny Hallyday. A genius musician with a unique guitar sound, he played on standards of French chanson including Serge Gainsbourg and Brigitte Bardot’s "Bonnie and Clyde", Françoise Hardy’s "Tous les Garçons et les Filles", Gainsbourg and Jane Birkin’s "Je T’aime, Moi Non Plus" and Serge and Charlotte Gainsbourg’s infamous "Lemon Incest". Tonio also lent his brilliance to such legendary figures as Janko Nilovic, Jean-Claude Petit, Hervé Roy, and Jean-Claude Vannier. The latter remembers Tonio as “a secretive, mysterious man, with an endearing personality, albeit difficult to reach out to. His virtuosity as a bass player allowed me to write very innovative basslines, because he was able to play any of my eccentricities!”

The audio for Rhythms has been remastered by Be With regular Simon Francis whilst Christopher Stevenson has brought the original and iconic Tele Music sleeve back to life in all its striking glory as the finishing touch to this long overdue re-issue.

From over the hills and far away, the cobblers and their boots are here to stay. The sartorial scallywags return with another collection of kaleidoscopic, Italo-tinged party pleasers.

First off the block, London royalty Super Drama team up with homeboy Kayroy for ‘Something New’, a cut of propulsive glitterball synth-funk, with just the right amount of cowbell. Next up, Italy’s Disco Mortale and Futuristant take us for a tour of the dark side, with cyborg vocoders
and cyberpunk arpeggios painting a vivid dreamscape of neon and steel. ‘Until Forever’ flirts the line between sinful and sincere, abandoning you to the rise of the machines, and a dance-off to the death!

Flip that wax and step on the gas because Gabto reunites with collaborator Kauan Marco for the colossally cool ‘Ki Ko Ho’. These brilliant Brazilians have delivered a bonafide gem, complete with drums that hit you in all the right places, and a killer synthesiser solo – brilliant stuff.

For the cherry on top, Marching Machines bring their intoxicating and hypnotic flavour of Belgian chug and psychedelic dark disco to the table with the festival-ready epic ‘Seraphic’ – molto bene! An electrifyingly eclectic and adventurous collection of toe-tappers and hip snappers, made with love and coming soon to a discoteca near you.

Albrecht Schraders erstes in kompletter Eigenregie produziertes Album "Soft" fasziniert nicht nur mit einem eindrucksvoll breiten Sound- und Genre-Spektrum, in der die kompositorische Handschrift Schraders immer erkennbar bleibt, sondern auch mit Texten, die so konkret wirken wie selten zuvor: "Als ich noch jung war / Ging es mir seltsam." Mit "Soft" gelingt Albrecht Schrader ein Album von nicht nur inhaltlicher sondern gerade auch musikalischer Vielfältigkeit, das hierzulande seinesgleichen suchen dürfte. Es schließt selbstbewusst an die Tradition von Popmusik an, die sich schon immer um die Fusion von komplexer und bis ins Detail präzise auskomponierter Musik mit gleichzeitig vorzeigbarer Catchiness und Pop Appeal (Du wunderst dich über den Zeitpunkt, Cardigan of Love) gekümmert hat. Und es wirkt so, als hätte Schrader den Faden, der 2015 mit der ersten Single "Leben in der Großstadt" begann, mit seinem kommenden Album "Soft" im Jahr 2023 nun endlich entrollt. Von 2016 bis 2019 leitete Schrader für das "neo magazin royale" das Rundfunktanzorchester Ehrenfeld. Albrecht Schrader schreibt und produziert Musik für Theater, Film, Fernsehen, Games und andere Künstler*innen.

Tyranny and Mutation is the second studio album by American hard rock band Blue Öyster Cult, released on February 11, 1973, by Columbia Records. The album was recorded at the Columbia Studios in New York City during the year before and was produced by Murray Krugman and Sandy Pearlman. On May 12, 1973, the album peaked at #122 on the Billboard 200.

The song “Baby Ice Dog” features lyrics by singer/poet Patti Smith (who was keyboardist Allen Lanier’s girlfriend at the time), who would make several lyrical contributions to the band’s repertoire during its career. The song “The Red & The Black”, with lyrics referencing the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, is a renamed, re-recorded version of “I’m on the Lamb But I Ain’t No Sheep” from the same-titled debut album. The song was later covered by the Minutemen and Band of Susans.

Celebrating its 50th anniversary, Tyranny and Mutation is available as a limited edition of 2000 individually numbered copies on translucent blue coloured vinyl.

In Western thought and culture, voice without speech is viewed as irrational and dangerous. Across myth and history, these voices must be contained or prohibited due to the threat they pose on social order. Female, animal, artificial and inanimate, lamenting, screaming, dreaming, mumbling. Fugitive voices, entangled in a parallel ‘nonhuman history’ coming together to create a chorus. Future Chorus is based on a collection of readings, spoken word, nonlinguistic sound, poetry, MCing, and animal sound, combined with machine learning processes to generate a genderless voice speaking a nonhuman language. The vocal database and AI voice became the raw material for five remixes by AGF, Chino Amobi, Harrga, Savvas Metaxas, Trustfall and Lafawndah. The project was conceived and curated by writer, theorist and practitioner Eleni Ikoniadou, a Senior Tutor at the Royal College of Art and member of the art collective AUDINT. The album is released by Hypermedium in collaboration with MAENADS — Anne Duffau, Eleni Ikoniadou, Aphroditi Psarra — a platform for collaborative art projects, musical, visual, performative or text based, releasing work that seeks to inhabit polyvocal narratives, group joy, alternative worlds or subjectivities, spontaneous collective ruptures.