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The Late Night Tales compilation is a bit of a ‘stealth’ project for me personally. I’m very proud of it, but at the time, I probably didn’t appreciate it as much as I do now because there was so much going on. You do these things in-between touring and you don’t really have time to reflect on them because you’re immediately onto the next thing. It’s nice to know that it’s getting re-released. George Evelyn - Nightmares on Wax May 2024 This ain't no normal nightmare, kid. This is Nightmares On Wax, aka DJ EASE, aka George Evelyn. Born under a bad sign, with lino in hand, Mr. Evelyn went forth into the world and breakdanced (brokedance?). It's what you did in the 80s when you were young, loved hip hop and couldn't rap for toffee. When house arrived they turned their clever hands to it. Bleeps and beats is what it was. That's what everyone said. But there was always a bit more than a bunch of bleeps to what Nightmares On Wax did. The north never really took the name very seriously (Sweet Exorcist even named their album Clonk as a pisstake). Then George flipped the script and went and did Smokers Delight, the beats not so much seminal as semolina: gloopy and slow and sweet and lovely. And now we have this: a 2024 reissue of his seminal Late Night Tales compilation. Tom Scott's 'Sneakin' In The Back' — one of the most sampled beats in hip hop — makes an appearance in its full glory, while Quincy Jones, the inspiration for NOW's 'Nights Interlude', backs up the classics with ‘Listen (What It Is)’. Evelyn's hip hop sensibility is to the fore throughout and nowhere is this more evident than on ‘Intergalactic Throwdown' by former Freestylers' DJ, Mad Doctor X. And can we forget the sublime version of the Classic IV's 'Spooky' by darling Dusty? No, we can't. Finally — oh, finally! — there is the now-traditional cover version, with George serving up a soupy version of 'Brothers On The Slide' that gives a nod of respect to the original British funk soul brothers, Cymande. This ain't no nightmare at all: it's Nightmares On Wax.

Tangential Music is pleased to present the new album from veteran Spanish DJ and producer, Dj Toner (aka Antonio Herrera). Alongside his co-writer/arranger Daniel Molina and with guests that include the legendary Blue Note Records innovator Erik Truffaz and Grammy winning flautist and saxophonist Jorge Pardo, he has created a 10 track collection of slow-burning instrumentals that straddle the worlds of hip hop, jazz and electronica.

With a personal, precision tooled approach to his craft, the Andalusian has offered up an album of finely modelled downbeat moods.

At first glance, ‘Out Side’ is made up of recognisably superior hip hop instrumentals but if you listen carefully, and with patience, one can hear a craftsman at work. A wooden box is just a box until you look closer. The hidden joints, the perfect lining up of the grain, the years of artisanal graft and laser-focussed attention to detail that go into making something that has nothing present, that doesn’t deserve to be there. This is how Dj Toner operates.

The two singles that preempt the album’s release reveal different sides of his craft. ‘Camina’ struts with tough intentions. Soundtrack-y in an exploitation police drama manner, the get-out-of-my-way drum break and tension-filled chords suggest the bad cop, Erik Truffaz’s piercing lyrical trumpet lines, the good. The Afro-jazz horns led second release ‘Surprise’ is an altogether more playful, sunbaked affair. Sensual and slow-burning, there’s still an edge but it’s too hot to quarrel.

Dj Toner’s minimalist attitude to creation is shared with his co-composer Molina - an individual’s contribution may be cut to the bone, leaving just its aura or tone. The echo of a piano, a single blast of tuneful wind from a flute, a perfectly positioned drum hit.

Since the Wu-Tang Clan’s RZA began applying his beatmaking prowess to movie soundtracks, the hip hop instrumental has been acknowledged as something to listen to, as much as being used as a DJ tool or backing for an MC. Dj Toner’s instrumentals can, therefore, be seen as soundtracks. Soundtracks to his life and craft, vignettes of his environment in both the urban sprawl and the wider and slower spaces of “el campo”.

The sweet-tempered jazz-blues of ‘La Rimosa’ is a gentle welcome to the album. A simple, laid back groove with the most romantic of piano hooks that one could imagine Common dropping rhymes on. You’re kept on your toes with the odd purposeful moment of discordant interruption but the tender heart of the composition is never far away.

‘O’Beat’ hints at John Coltrane with the sparse but full-sounding upright bass before a head-snap break leads into a curious piano groove, a vintage organ swirls into a psychedelic fractal, whilst the bluesy female vocal snippets add the spice, that zing in the Granadan gazpacho.

The flamenco guitar driven ‘Flama’ is an excellent example of intricate sample placement and musicality. Old school (school yard) scratch interludes, sweet piano hooks, a minimalist but knife sharp flute contribution from Jorge Pardo, and the crunchiest of drums taking us for an intriguing walk round the corner.

We’ve mentioned them before but it’s on ‘Sweetband’ that we can feel that Wu-Tang dread hanging off its shoulders. A brooding orchestral number with powerful horns and a cavernous piano hit. The title of the piece is in stark contrast to the dark shadows of the tune.

Erik Truffaz returns in fine form on the super lethargic jazz-funk-hop of ‘The Day’. His instantly identifiable muted trumpet sound paints dazzling colours over the more earthy tones of the filtered down keys as a rubbery upright bass keeps the forward momentum. Dj Toner’s ‘Blessed Are The Weird People’ album, was rated in Jazz Magazine as one of the 20 jazz albums of 2021, so he isn’t some dilettante when it comes to playing with the complex hues of jazz but he does like to strip it to its bare essentials.

‘Fanega’ sees a gorgeous flute contribution from Jorge Pardo. An eerie boom-bap groove with sprinkles of electronic pulses and washed out chords is the canvas on which the award-winning multi-instrumentalist evokes the heat shimmer of the savannah.


‘Esperanza’ translates as ‘hope’ in English and this lovely slow, swinging jazzy groove really does provoke feelings of positivity and belief. Sublime vibraphone and another stunning trumpet offering from Erik Truffaz, take us on a journey of warm days and possibilities, the shuffling drums and sweet chord patterns are nicely finished off by a tranquil horn chorus towards its unhurried end.

‘Under Beat’ ends on a beefy boom-bap groove with a liquid funk bassline, elegant synth strings and old school scratching. Again, there’s that undisputable soundtrack edge, action and motion, the smell of the city.

There you have it, 10 tracks that go beyond the surface, deep into the dedicated craft of Dj Toner. Decades of experience and collaboration purified and refined into beat-heavy emotions, listen closely or crank it up, it’s down to you!

Re-press expected soon: The Action Is Go Deluxe Edition, celebrates the band’s 4th album and debut of
guitarist Bob Balch and drummer Brant Bjork, which was originally released on 7 October,
1997.Produced by White Zombie’s J. Yuenger and recorded at the legendary Sound City Studios and also
at Grandmaster Studios in Los Angeles, California, The Action Is Go is considered a classic of the '90s and
a pillar for the "stoner rock" movement. Highlights include the lead single "Evil Eye", which was featured
on the soundtrack for Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 2 and is included on the reissued version released 4
September 2020 alongside live staples "Grendel, Snowman,” “Hogwash” and “Saturn III”. This limited
edition 1,000 unit double LP run is cut at 45 RPM for maximum heaviness and the gatefold package
design includes never before seen photos of the band. Also included is a bonus Sparkle vinyl 7” of
“Swami’s Last Command” and an alternate version of “Module Overload” recorded during The Action Is
Go album sessions, both of which were previously only available on the European pressing of the original
album. Both the LP and 7” feature newly remastered audio for optimum fidelity.

Eclectic Beats Music release number 6 comes in the form of a vinyl 7” single with two Latin broken beat cuts!
The A side is a collaborative remix from Born74 and Fradinho, twisting Jorge Ivan Martin’s original track “Yo Tambien Baile La Conga” into a broken beat remix, enhancing the Latin flavours with a dance floor direction, topped up with Frank Santiuste’s trumpet solos.
On the B side, Fradinho digs out one of his earlier unreleased Latin tracks and gives it a broken beat flavour, with a Funk fusion through the bass line and synth solos and brass hits.

Jorge Ivan Martin bio

Cuban musician, composer, arranger and music teacher, Jorge Ivan Martin, spent 13 years teaching Tres in Cuba.
He is now based in Spain and still lectures at some universities in Madrid.
As a musician, Jorge blends Bossa, Reggae, traditional Cuban music with Jazz and Funk and is a Latin Grammy nominated artist with several other nominations and awards.
He has collaborated with a plentitude of Latin artists and also invited the trumpet player Frank Santiuste to add some flare to the Born74 and Fradinho remix on the “Latin Broken Beats” release.

Born74 bio

Andrew Nicholas, known as Born74, delves into the fusion of funk and Nu Jazz.
His music has been released on various labels such as Tru-Thoughts, Acid Jazz, Eclectic Beats Music, Ramrock Records, and Colin Colin presents.
Born74 has collaborated with Arema Arega (Havana Cultura), ONJ (jazz re-freshed, Tru-Thoughts), and Mark Norton (The Fantastics, BBE Records).
Additionally, Born74 is a member of The Earthsouls.
Noteworthy remix credits include Str4ta (Gilles Peterson), Nimbus Sextet (Acid Jazz), and Fradinho (Eclectic Beats).
Born74's tracks have been featured on jazz compilations like Jazz Dance Fusion (Z Records) and Sol Vibrations (MJDC).

Fradinho bio

Fradinho (Rui Fradinho) is Lisbon born Portuguese, having lived in London for 12 years and returning to Portugal in 2020.
Rui's musical base stems from a diverse range of music: rock to pop, house to techno, through jazz, soul, funk, world music, hip hop, drum and bass and from breakbeat to his main passion and current music production focus, broken beat / bruk / nu jazz.
Rui runs his own record label, Eclectic Beats Music, with 6 vinyl releases, and has released remixes for artists like Sentinel793 (Universal Magnetic), Deborah Jordan (Futuristica Music), Str4ta (Colin Curtis Presents), David Borsu (Broadcite) amongst other artists and labels.
Highlights of his DJ career so far (other than his 6-year residency at Sociedade Anonima), are the Bicaense Cafe and Lux club in Lisbon. Earlier in 2017, he did a stint on London’s Back2BackFM, playing at Dalston’s Club Makossa, the BBE Store in East London, closing the Chill Out Gardens stage in Portugal’s Boom Festival 2018, DJ’ed at Gilles Peterson’s first edition of We Out Here festival in 2019, played Lisb-On festival in 2022 and currently guests at Birmingham’s BrukUp broken beat night (having played there 5 times with Adam Rock, Laura Crossley, Bruk Boogie Kru, Marcia Carr & Kwai and Yoofee).

repressed !

Gorillaz started the year with Episode 1 - ‘Momentary Bliss ft. slowthai and Slaves’ - of Song Machine, a whole new concept from one of the most innovative bands around. Now, six episodes in, Noodle, 2D, Murdoc and Russel have visited Morocco and Paris, London and Lake Como, as well as travelling all the way to the moon, and Gorillaz is ready to bring you the full collection titled Song Machine: Season One - Strange Timez, out on 23rd October 2020.

Song Machine is the ongoing and ever-evolving process which has seen Gorillaz joined by an expanding roster of collaborators captured live in Kong Studios and beyond. The result is an expansive collection of tracks embracing a myriad of sounds, styles, genres and attitudes from a breath-taking line-up of guest artists including Beck, Elton John, Fatoumata Diawara, Georgia, Kano, Leee John, Octavian, Peter Hook, Robert Smith, Roxani Arias, ScHoolboy Q, Slaves, Slowthai, St Vincent and 6LACK.
To date the project has seen over 100million streams on all tracks already and the band’s biggest period of sustained growth across both listenership and fanbase growth. All this before the album has even been announced!

Virtual band Gorillaz is singer 2D, bassist Murdoc Niccals, guitarist Noodle and drummer Russel Hobbs. Created by Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett, their acclaimed eponymous debut album was released in 2001. The BRIT and Grammy Award winning band’s subsequent albums are Demon Days (2005), Plastic Beach (2010), The Fall (2011), Humanz (2017) and The Now Now (2018). A truly global phenomenon, Gorillaz have achieved success in entirely ground-breaking ways, touring the world from San Diego to Syria, winning numerous awards including the coveted Jim Henson Creativity Honor.

The band are recognised by The Guinness Book Of World Records as the planet’s Most Successful Virtual Act.












j 10. Désolé (feat. Fatoumata Diawara) Extended Version

Repress!

Landing next on Toolroom is our most recent instalment in our 4-track vinyl sampler with some of our biggest recent releases including Kurd Maverick vs Adeva, Friend Within, Retna, Toolroom head-honcho, Mark Knight and label favourite, GW Harrison.

First up is Kurd Maverick vs Adeva who makes a huge return with the infectious 'In & Out My Life'. A straight up cut of 90's house & rolling tech house influences mixed into one, sampling cuts from the feel-good classic 'In & Out My Life' by Adeva, turning the original on its head.

Next on the sampler is fresh heat incoming from DJ and producer Friend Within, the artist behind previous toolroom hits 'Lonely', 'The Truth' and 'Waiting'. Having been a secret weapon of choice for the likes of Paul Woolford, John Summit, Dombresky and Danny Howard to name a few, 'Monkeys Bars' has been bubbling for months and is now set to blow!

London based producer Retna returns to the label with Mark Knight as the pair deliver a debut collab that's been carving up dance floors worldwide in 2022. 'What I Need' takes things to the next level, focusing on Retna’s raw, arpeggiated synth line that cuts through the records tough, chunky bassline and groove. Throw in Mark Knight's magic touch for creating top-quality, club focused productions that'll tear through any system it's played through, and you'll get their latest outing – 'What I Need'.

Abode resident DJ and frontrunner GW Harrison completes the package with latest outing, ‘Feels Good’, enlisting the powerful voice of Laura Davie, the vocalist behind some of Toolroom’s most popular releases from Mark Knight’s ‘If It’s Love’ to Illyus and Barrientos’ ‘Disco Hearts’. Feels good’ offers a summertime piano house belter featuring a staunch bassline and pumping groove that pushes that euphoric, hands in the air feeling to the max.

Four killer cuts that you will not want to miss, this is ‘Toolroom Sampler Vol. 3’!


Radio:

Radio plays on Radio 1 from Danny Howard, Sarah Storie, Pete Tong
Alongside plays on Kiss Fm, Toolroom Radio, Sirius Xm, Data Transmission Radio, Radio 1 Dance Anthems, Radio 1 Party Anthems, Rinse Fm, Select Radio, Tomorrowland Radio


DJ Support:

Danny Howard, Annie Mac, Mistajam, Pete Tong, Charlie Hedges, Kraak & Smaak, Maxinne, Todd Terry, Alex Preston, Full Intention, Rudimental, Alaia & Gallo, Illyus & Barrientos, Johan S, David Penn, Sam Divine, Riva Starr, Claptone, Nice7, Dario D’attis, Mousse T, S-Man, Huxley, Dombresky, Gorgon City, Pirupa, TCTS, Alan Fitzpatrick, Low Steppa

Over the past decade Tuccillo has steadily honed his craft as a producer and is now widely known and beloved for his contemporary twist on raw groove driven House music which has found a home on the likes of Nu Groove, Kwench, Melodeum, Holic Trax his own Unblock label and of course Kaoz Theory where he returns here following 2023’s ‘The Waves’ EP.

Title-cut ‘Sundown’ leads the release on a deep house tip with a swinging drum groove, airy chord sequences, intricate filtered vocals and a funk-infused bass line. ‘Holding On’ then shifts gears into Chicago House territory via a bouncy bassline and dubbed out vocal chops, intertwined with a playful organ melody, tension building strings and skippy percussion.

‘Whatever’ then opens the b-side with a more stripped-back feel, laying focus on crisp, low-slung drums, hypnotic atmospherics, choppy dub stabs and an amalgamation of vocal murmurs. ‘Velvet City’ then concludes the EP, encapsulating the core aesthetic of deep house with wandering jazzy keys, ethereal pads, organic drums and rumbling subs all silkily ebbing and flowing amongst one another.

If you can judge an artist's quality by the company they keep, then FaltyDL is up there with the best of them. The label history of the producer known to his friends as Drew Lustman reads like a "who's who" of 21st century electronic music imprints - Ninja Tune, Unknown to the Unknown, Planet Mu, Studio Barnhus, the list goes on.

WithIn the Wake of Wolves, we can now add Central Processing Unit to this illustrious roster. The Sheffield label joins the party at a notable juncture - while FaltyDL has kept up an impressive clip of releases throughout his career,In the Wake of Wolvesis both the NYC-based producer's first LP for two years and his first full-length release away from his own Blueberry Records for almost a decade.

In the Wake of Wolvesproves to be both a great match for CPU and also further evidence of the label's burgeoning sonic palette. While CPU has built its reputation on top quality electro joints, recent releases have delivered adventurous electronica experiments (Proswell'sPeople Are Giving And Receiving Thanks At Incredible Speeds), hard-wired breakbeat techno (Baby T'sI Against I) and golden-age synth explorations (twenty-fifth anniversary reissues of Bochum Welt'sDesktop RoboticsandFeelings on a Screen, both of which first emerged via the legendary Rephlex Records).In the Wake of Wolvestakes things further still - this is a brilliantly genre-voracious record, one which marries the rhythmic cut-and-thrust that we have long known FaltyDL for with all manner of adventurous stylistic choices.

Those familiar with the FaltyDL experience will recognise the trademark blend of synthetic grit and harmonious softness in album opener 'I Need You'. This could pass for Four Tet or even Hannah Diamond at points, the steady build of pulsing synths and looped vocals recalling a more mysterious version of the PC Music sound. 'I Need You' stands shoulder-to-shoulder with any of FaltyDL's other great atmospheric album openers - no small feat given the competition. 'Further', the following number, is yin to 'I Need You's yang. This is a pulsating track which gleefully skitters between machine-funk, tubing darkside bass and breakcore-adjacent drum programming, all of which is peppered with some genuinely beautiful work in the higher synths.

'Further' sets the scene for several of the more club-facing cuts here. 'Minds Protection' similarly features all manner of strange percussive sounds to surprise the ear, and it also boasts a thrilling mid-section in which the bottom falls out the track to incorporate a short snippet of blown-out junglism. With its tunnelling low-end and clattering drums, 'Full Spectrum' kicks off a delightful run of grime-influenced joints which take cues from Mr. Mitch, Logos and many of those other producers who took the Eski sound to exciting new places in the 2010s. 'Forget Me Not', the album's longest track which is placed three spots from the end, feels like the record's climactic point - a pitter-patter post-house joint that has a hint of Caribou in its DNA, it'll take the clubs by storm.

But as much as FaltyDL may consistently bring the heat in terms of the beat programming, the thing which has long marked Lustman out as a special talent is the musicality of his compositions. No matter how much drums clatter or bass bangs, FaltyDL always hooks the ear back in with a sonorous synth or pleasing nugget of melody. Nowhere is this more apparent than onIn the Wake of Wolves' more weightless numbers, each startling in their prettiness. 'Half Spectrum' is a new-era beat track packed full of ear candy; the keening keys of 'GasGas' are potent with feeling; and on the album's closer, the evocatively-titled 'Mila Stans In A Meadow For The First Time Eating Strawberries', we get a gorgeous synth vignette that joins the dots between the modern mastery of Yung Sherman and the most emotionally affecting moments of Aphex's Twin's catalogue.

At once wistful and hopeful, archival and futuristic, FaltyDL's brilliantly unpredictableIn the Wake of Wolvesis a feather in the cap for both this seasoned producer and the Central Processing Unit label.

RIYL: AFX, Bochum Welt, Mark Fell, Mrs Jynx, Boards of Canada

Keeping things fresh, we celebrate the Medellín - Bristol connection with none other than Verraco. Sonic pipelines have been running with full force between our two cities for some time, and Breathe... Godspeed embodies a shared obsession for shaping futures and dancefloors through evocative club acrobatics.

Exploring the intersection between sacred and the erotic, this four-track EP is propelled by visceral sound design, dipping into a variety of styles and paces.

Verraco constructs groove like no other: while covering mind-altering Techno to gut-punch bass music, he takes sheer dancefloor euphoria up to dizzying heights with a unique radiance.

"It seemed that if I didn’t somehow repeat the process of greatness, and do so immediately, multiple times away to satisfy playlist and binge watch culture, then I “wasn’t shit”. After a while I was like “nah this doesn’t feel good,… I don’t know if I am finding joy in this”. I would record songs and not release them, obsess over sessions recorded in my home with 30 takes of vocals and wake up only to delete them. When it began to feel right I found solace in an epiphany that I was not obligated to operate at any other wavelength. I am moving on a different type of time, and that doesn’t expire." -Cavalier

For heads of a certain time period of NYC hip-hop, Brooklyn born, New Orleans-based rapper and songwriter, Cavalier was the one that got away. The outrageously talented artist whose name and reputation preceded him everywhere you went in the scene. The rapper who everyone knew was so dope that he had to blow, but who never seemed concerned with any of that. The pretty boy draped in Polo who stole every live show with a feather in his hair and a mouth full of gold fronts. The cat so dedicated to his own independence that even indie labels stopped trying to sign him and projects came when they came, but when they came they were undeniable.


Cavalier was THAT guy for a lot of us; a silver-tongued philosopher with an eye for the poignant details of black life and a delivery as effortless as a young Ken Griffey’s swing. All that said, it never really felt like Cav had that moment in the spotlight that we always assumed was coming. After chiseling away through headier cult corners of the NYC hip-hop scene Cavalier was recognized for his memorable co-pilot to Quelle Chris’ 2013 Mello Music debut, Niggas Is Men. The critically acclaimed LP helped propel Quelle Chris into the forefront of indie hip-hop (and also happened to be the first production credits for Messiah Muzik). Cav followed up with his first full length, Chief, which sports a notable Raekwon feature but also early work from producers like Ohbliv and Tall Black Guy. A relocation to New Orleans and partnership with producer/vocalist Iman Omari yielded two more projects: 2015’s Lemonade EP and Private Stock in 2018. Great records all; eagerly sought by collectors and signal boosted by influential media like OkayPlayer, Solange’s Saint Heron, and Pitchfork. Cavalier’s bonafides have never been in question, but his new album Different Type Time feels like a revelation—a sonic suspension bridge between his rich history and the artform’s future.

Different Type Time doesn’t sound like the future though, its vibrations are somewhere all their own. It sounds like jazz, like a conversation overheard in roti shop, or a pool hall, or the foyer of your old building on a fall day, front door propped open with a brick. The blues is in there too, and the south—the American South, and theGlobal South, and South Brooklyn. It’s not that it sounds like the past, but you can hear everything that came before in the thick of the basslines and the yearning of the keys. Different Type Time also doesn’t sound like now, it sounds like RIGHT NOW; the bounce of the lyrics like the staccato of basketball in the park, carried on a spring breeze.

Although he doesn’t rap on DTT, Quelle Chris plays a pivotal role; producing eight songs and serving as associate producer/consigliere to Cav throughout the creative process. “There is no time wasted in explaining things when I collaborate with Quelle. He understands the universe I am in and the realities I want to create. He’s in them. And I don’t think I can envision one without him,” Cavalier explains. Messiah Muzik, Wino Willy, Ohbliv, Ahwlee, Child Actor, Fushou and several other producers round out the credits, all lending their talents to the album’s spaciously soulful sound. At the center of all these alchemies is Cavalier, nimbly dancing in and out of pockets like a sidewalk game of jumprope. Different Type Time is a masterclass in this thing we call hip-hop; daring and original, yet always standing deeply rooted in the culture.

Frederiksberg Records was founded in New York in 2013 by Danish video journalist and music lover Andreas Vingaard. The name, Frederiksberg, is the part of Copenhagen where Andreas grew up and rst discovered his passion for music. As a collector of vinyl records, he's travelled extensively to acquire fresh sounds - Sudan, Ethiopia, Togo, Benin, Trinidad among other places.
The idea for the label emerged when Andreas befriended renowned Jazz saxophonist, Carsten Meinert. Committed to telling the story of Meinert's music the right way, Andreas resolved to take full ownership of the To You re-release (2015). The result has been a rollercoaster journey of running an independent record label.
Frederiksberg Records, with roots in Scandinavian Jazz, will include a wide spectrum of genres - electronic, disco, ambient and more.

Artist and musician Gillies Adamson Semple explores the material resonance of drone
on new vinyl-only album Volumes.

In 2022, Gillies Adamson Semple made a pilgrimage to the Valère Basilica in the Swiss Alps to play the oldest functioning pipe organ in the world. Built in 1435, this unique instrument is the centrepiece of this sensitive and stirring 6-track release, tracing the elemental themes of spirituality, anatomy, ecological collapse, and the nature of listening in its glacial minimalist drones.

Drawing inspiration from the long-form compositions of Sarah Davachi and Kali Malone, Volumes was built from in-situ recordings Semple made in Switzerland, with the aim of capturing the physical qualities of the sound, from the stops and pedals to the air rushing through the organ’s ancient pipes. Treated like sculptural material and re-assembled at Semple’s London studio in the tradition of musique concrète, the tracks evoke a sense of exquisite timelessness, at once part of and floating free of their environment.

As Semple explains: “What I like about the organ is that you can make it feel very physical. It has all these mechanical parts that sound really beautiful. And the piece is never performed. It is something that is rooted in the site. The whole pilgrimage to see this organ in Switzerland ended up acting like that, where you’re going to this very sacred place to see this specific instrument, but all you’re taking back is recording.”

Released on vinyl via Fourth Sounds, Volumes was initially conceived as the soundtrack to Semple’s 2023 exhibition of the same name at Cedric Bardawil in London.

Edition of 200 with risograph insert, liner notes by Anton Spice. Fully remastered for vinyl.

very dope.

With this EP an attempt is made at documenting the vibrant action happening during the late 1970s and early 1980s in the Pioneer Valley area of Western Massachusetts, US. The story is richer than the snapshot we present here, and a more detailed account is to be found in the accompanying book that can be purchased separately.

The Five Colleges in Hampshire County congregated a vast student population that inevitably interacted with the towns in the area. Bars, music and record stores, live music and a lot of experimentation and free thinking. Hampshire College, especially, promoted new approaches to teaching, subjects that might be considered radical by some even today, although a more favourable context would now surely exist for openly debating such topics as American Indians, Kayak Design, Black Oral Tradition, Food Management, etc. And the music? The immediate "punk effect" motivated the creation of numerous bands, many short lived, others evolving into New Wave / Power Pop territory, eventually crossing into Post-Punk experimentation. What is captured in "Noho EP" is a more electronic disposition, favoured by the existence of EMS gear and other equipment at Hampshire College and University of Massachusetts. We chose to focus on a group of musicians who, for a time, played together in different combinations under the loose umbrella of the Tekno Tunes label and the structure around it.

These musicians come from very different backgrounds and the nucleus portrayed here consisted of Christopher Vine, Elliott Sharp, James Whittemore and Nicholas Brown.

Of the several line-up changes The Scientific Americans went through, it was actually only the duo of Chris Vine and Jim Whittemore who recorded "Among Bodge Watt". Never before released, it is a companion piece to their track "El Salvador" available on the 1981 ROIR tape-album "Load & Go!". The Sci Ams were founders of the Tekno Tunes label and also created the Tekno Tours "concert promotion agency", under which name they exposed local audiences to bands such as The Stranglers, The Slits, Pylon, Pere Ubu, The Psychedelic Furs, The Bush Tetras, Steel Pulse, etc. Their own sound kept progressing but at its best there's a solid dub undercurrent, pretty obvious in "Among Bodge Watt".

Human Error was born out of a collective jam by Chris Vine, Elliott Sharp, Jim Whittemore and Nick Brown. Elliott Sharp had moved to Northampton in August of 1978 and naturally became involved in the local music scene, hooking up first with Whittemore at a hi-fi audio store where he worked at the time. Basement jams followed stimulating conversations, and other musicians joined the sessions. "Clandestinator" sounds gorgeously loose, an effortless groove coming from a quasi-dub set-up. Nothing here seems calculated, the music just flows, contagious and irregular as the handclaps in the mix.

The Higher Primates later evolved into a "proper" band but started as Nick Brown's solo project. The Primates only ever released a (now sought-after) 7" single in 1980 (on the Tekno Tunes label, precisely). Both tracks on "Noho EP" were recorded the following year and never released until now. "Auto Music in the Disco Dub Style" is self-explanatory, with a steady, mid-tempo TR808 beat running through, supporting synth squelches, echoes and reverbs, a fat bassline, dissonant melodic lines and odd vocal snippets. Kind of a DJ tool when the concept was barely in place. The more uptempo "Teresa Variations" adds a Fender Jazz bass and Selmer sax to the electronics. It actually sounds more "Disco", even with the robotic, unintelligible vocals. On top of this, the vibe is sealed by the overall Radiophonic Workshop analogue strangeness applied to a dance beat.

A sparsely documented yet iconic era for Ted Milton's psycho-funk afro punk fake no-wave pogo jazz group Blurt has been brought to life with an expansive collection of restored versions of live performances. Captured on early camcorders during the frenzy of counter-cultural activity that characterised Europe around the fall of the Iron Curtain, these recordings of Blurt, recently posted by fans on YouTube, are a visceral reminder of a scene whose influence is writ large on today's alternative music culture.

Ted Milton's trio have produced an impressive string of albums, not to mention his numerous solo recordings. Featuring 15 tracks spanning their extensive discography from their 1980 debut single – also the title of this collection – “My Mother Was A Friend Of An Enemy Of The People” to 1999’s “Eat Up Your House”, this live collection of performances have been digitised by whatever means available. The original sound captured by the inbuilt microphones of these camcorders and the videos concerned are in many cases the only documentation of an iconic era whose zeitgeist was so masterfully epitomised for many by Blurt.

Refurbished / restored/ repurposed using new AI tools there is a spectral roughness to them but surfing on these reconstructed waveforms, the inimitable machinations of Blurt ride out once again, emerging from a pixilated oblivion to put into perspective the peculiar absurdity of our human condition.

Another Michael's next chapter begins with Pick Me Up, Turn Me Upside Down, their new album due out this spring on Run For Cover Records. Following last year's sibling album Wishes to Fulfill, Pick Me Up is a more expansive output, patiently unfolding to reveal an exploratory side that brings new hues into the band's vibrant sound. Helmed by lead singer/songwriter Michael Doherty and producer/bassist Nick Sebastiano-along with signature contributions of multi-instrumentalist/vocalist Alenni Davis, drummer Noah Dardaris, and longtime engineer/co-producer/confidante Scoops Dardaris-Pick Me Up, Turn Me Upside Down came to life over three years of intermittent writing and recording sessions that proved unexpectedly fruitful. The band decamped at Headroom Studios in Philadelphia, PA, as well as the same Ferndale, NY house where they made their debut LP, 2021's New Music and Big Pop. The songs on Pick Me Up, Turn Me Upside Down often take the knack for melody that defined Wishes To Fulfill and apply it to left turns like the hypnotic quasi-krautrock of "I've Come Around To That," the sparse balladry of the title track, or the pulsating synth explorations of "The Diner's Spoon." The album's world is weirder and more improvisational, like in the twisting ends of "Hub of Dreams" or the spontaneous performances of "Like I Won A Car"-but Doherty's warm singing and conversational lyricism always keep things grounded. On Pick Me Up, Turn Me Upside Down, the band didn't set out to capture the all encompassing, existential value of music, but they did contribute to it-offering more songs to the world, and with them, chances to create one of those moments.

"Tools of Oppression / Rule by Deception" ist das neue Album von The Hope Conspiracy. Das Album wurde von Kurt Ballou und Zach Weeks in den God City Studios produziert. Das Artwork für die Veröffentlichung stammt von dem gefeierten Künstler Alexander Heir (Death/Traitors).

Dies ist wahre akustische Gewalt, die sich gegen politische Spaltung, wirtschaftliche Manipulation, Kriegsgewinnlerei, Medienpropaganda und andere abscheuliche Formen globaler Unterdrückung richtet. Luftschutzsirenen heulen auf, während die ahnungsvollen "Those Who Gave Us Yesterday" und "The Prophets and Doom" wie brennende Schrapnells explodieren. Der Höllenritt geht weiter mit "A Struggle For Power" und "Live In Fear", zwei bösartigen Blasts, die vor Bosheit und Verachtung nur so strotzen. "Shock By Shock" und "Of A Dying Nation" leiten die doomig-düstere Schwere ein
und drosseln das Tempo auf ein mittelschnelles Sperrfeuer. "Confusion/Chaos/Misery" zieht das Tempo an und geht mit verbrannter Erde auf die soziopolitischen Alpträume los, die uns alle umgarnen, während "Broken Vessels" die Opioid-Krise und die Sucht als Ganzes thematisiert. Dies führt zu "The West Is Dead", einer dystopischen Hardcore-Hymne mit vielen Hooks, und dem epischen Schlussstück "The Specter Looms"; ein unheilvoller Soundtrack zum stetigen Niedergang unserer modernen Zeit.Keine Frage, The Hope Conspiracy ist zurück, um eine kalte, harte Aussage über die Existenz in der Endzeit zu treffen.

"Tools of Oppression / Rule by Deception" ist das neue Album von The Hope Conspiracy. Das Album wurde von Kurt Ballou und Zach Weeks in den God City Studios produziert. Das Artwork für die Veröffentlichung stammt von dem gefeierten Künstler Alexander Heir (Death/Traitors).

Dies ist wahre akustische Gewalt, die sich gegen politische Spaltung, wirtschaftliche Manipulation, Kriegsgewinnlerei, Medienpropaganda und andere abscheuliche Formen globaler Unterdrückung richtet. Luftschutzsirenen heulen auf, während die ahnungsvollen "Those Who Gave Us Yesterday" und "The Prophets and Doom" wie brennende Schrapnells explodieren. Der Höllenritt geht weiter mit "A Struggle For Power" und "Live In Fear", zwei bösartigen Blasts, die vor Bosheit und Verachtung nur so strotzen. "Shock By Shock" und "Of A Dying Nation" leiten die doomig-düstere Schwere ein
und drosseln das Tempo auf ein mittelschnelles Sperrfeuer. "Confusion/Chaos/Misery" zieht das Tempo an und geht mit verbrannter Erde auf die soziopolitischen Alpträume los, die uns alle umgarnen, während "Broken Vessels" die Opioid-Krise und die Sucht als Ganzes thematisiert. Dies führt zu "The West Is Dead", einer dystopischen Hardcore-Hymne mit vielen Hooks, und dem epischen Schlussstück "The Specter Looms"; ein unheilvoller Soundtrack zum stetigen Niedergang unserer modernen Zeit.Keine Frage, The Hope Conspiracy ist zurück, um eine kalte, harte Aussage über die Existenz in der Endzeit zu treffen.

‘Haw-Right Now’ is a monster track, from Patrice Rushen’s 1974 debut LP “Prelusion” featuring the tightest bass and drum groove you could imagine over which she and saxophonist Joe Henderson play incredible lines. A massive jazz dance track.

It is backed by the chunky jazz funk of ‘Kickin’ Back’ –originally released in 1976 as an early 12 inch single on the back of club plays.

"Tools of Oppression / Rule by Deception" is the new full length album by The Hope Conspiracy. The album was engineered by Kurt Ballou and Zach Weeks at God City Studios. Artwork for the release was created by acclaimed artist Alexander Heir (Death/Traitors). This is true sonic violence aimed at political division, economic manipulation, war profiteering, media propaganda and other vile forms of global oppression. Air raid sirens wail as the foreboding "Those Who Gave Us Yesterday" and "The Prophets and Doom" explode forth like burning shrapnel. The hell ride continues with "A Struggle For Power" and "Live In Fear", two vicious blasts supercharged with malice and contempt. "Shock By Shock" and "Of A Dying Nation" introduce doom and gloom heaviness, grinding down the tempo to a mid-paced barrage. "Confusion/Chaos/Misery" picks up the pace, going scorched-earth policy on the sociopolitical nightmares that ensnare us all while "Broken Vessels" plows into overdrive about the opioid crisis and addiction as a whole. This leads to "The West Is Dead" a dystopian hook laden hardcore anthem, and epic closer "The Specter Looms"; An ominous soundtrack to the steady decline of our modern age. There is no question, The Hope Conspiracy is back to make a cold hard statement about existence in the end times.