quête:s nation

Ein Sinfonieorchester. Komponisten aus der Welt des Metal. Ein wilder Dirigent. Ein wirklich einzigartiger Solist. Attitüde und Talent. Ein Album und eine Live-Show. Das ist Bright & Black mit Eicca Toppinen, Kristjan Järvi und Baltic Sea Philharmonic.

Metal und Orchestermusik, zwei parallel existierende Welten, prallen endlich aufeinander und ein noch nie gehörter Sound entsteht. In einem beispiellosen Schritt verschmelzen die Welt des Metal mit der Welt des Orchesters, indem die in der Metal-Szene verwurzelten Autoren direkt für das Orchester komponieren, was diesem ein völlig neues Set an Farben gibt, um eine Serie von neuen Klängen zu erzeugen. Mit einem Knall. Die vom Baltic Sea Philharmonic unter der Leitung von Kristjan Järvi und der Solistin Eicca Toppinen aufgeführten Kompositionen stammen von Eicca Toppinen (Apocalyptica), Fredrik Åkesson (Opeth), Erik Danielsson (Watain), Nico Elgstrand (Entombed AD), Tomas Haake/Dick Lövgren (Meshuggah), Jacob Hellner und Kristjan Järvi.

Die vollständige Dolby Atmos-Produktion des Albumprojekts wurde im Herbst 2022 im Studio des Estnischen Nationalradios in Tallinn aufgenommen. Produziert von Jacob Hellner. Aufgeführt von Baltic Sea Philharmonic. Dirigent: Kristjan Järvi. Orchestrierungen von Jonny Abraham. Abgemischt in Stockholm von Jacob Hellner und Stefan Glaumann.

Ein Sinfonieorchester. Komponisten aus der Welt des Metal. Ein wilder Dirigent. Ein wirklich einzigartiger Solist. Attitüde und Talent. Ein Album und eine Live-Show. Das ist Bright & Black mit Eicca Toppinen, Kristjan Järvi und Baltic Sea Philharmonic.

Metal und Orchestermusik, zwei parallel existierende Welten, prallen endlich aufeinander und ein noch nie gehörter Sound entsteht. In einem beispiellosen Schritt verschmelzen die Welt des Metal mit der Welt des Orchesters, indem die in der Metal-Szene verwurzelten Autoren direkt für das Orchester komponieren, was diesem ein völlig neues Set an Farben gibt, um eine Serie von neuen Klängen zu erzeugen. Mit einem Knall. Die vom Baltic Sea Philharmonic unter der Leitung von Kristjan Järvi und der Solistin Eicca Toppinen aufgeführten Kompositionen stammen von Eicca Toppinen (Apocalyptica), Fredrik Åkesson (Opeth), Erik Danielsson (Watain), Nico Elgstrand (Entombed AD), Tomas Haake/Dick Lövgren (Meshuggah), Jacob Hellner und Kristjan Järvi.

Die vollständige Dolby Atmos-Produktion des Albumprojekts wurde im Herbst 2022 im Studio des Estnischen Nationalradios in Tallinn aufgenommen. Produziert von Jacob Hellner. Aufgeführt von Baltic Sea Philharmonic. Dirigent: Kristjan Järvi. Orchestrierungen von Jonny Abraham. Abgemischt in Stockholm von Jacob Hellner und Stefan Glaumann.

'Reet' is a lost treasure of late 1960s folk/psych-folk. The only album she ever put to tape, with clear pure voice and guitar. luckily recorded by Andres Raudsepp in 1969.

Reet will be loved in the same breath as ;Sibylle Baier, Vashti Bunyan, Molly Drake, Bridget st John, Reet Hendrikson deserves wider listening and recognition.

Reet Hendrikson was born in Estonia only months before the "great escape" into exile in 1944. Brought up and educated in Sweden, she went to study in the US in 1967 on a Fulbright scholarship, before she made her mark as an Estonian musician in Canada. While her arrangements of Estonian folksongs on the guitar reflected the styles of the sixties, her voice and choice of material sounded authentic and made a connection with ages past.

When Hendrikson arrived in Canada in 1968 via the US, her Estonian was native-like because of the high quality of Estonian schools in Sweden. She was thus able to characterise the identity of young ex-patriate Estonians – especially those born in exile from Soviet occupation – in a new and meaningful way. A formal musical background allowed her to create the arrangements that accompanied her simple but pure singing voice. Having heard her under northern Muskoka pines at an Estonian summer seminar, it didn't takeAndres Raudsepp ( of raindeer records)long to bring her to a recording studio. "Reet – Estonian folksongs" appeared in 1969.

Hendrikson soon found her way to the scholarly atmosphere of Boston where, as a multi-instrumentalist, she joined a group of musicians who favoured traditional folk music. Back in Sweden in the 1980ies, she was invited to join a scholarly society of Estonian young women, which she led during musical sessions. She visited Estonia as frequently as possible, trying in particular to be helpful to Estonian musicians by providing sheet music and much-needed repertoire from the Swedish National Radio Archives, where she worked for a while..

Reet Hendrikson died in Stockholm in the autumn of 2000.

Original Sufferhead beginnt mit einer minimalen Improvisation mit Felas neuer Band Egypt 80 und steigert sich dann zu einer kühnen, komplex strukturierten Afrobeat-Hymne, die die Situation der Massen in Nigeria anprangert. "Lasst uns zusammen ein schönes Lied singen", schlägt Fela vor, während der Refrain parallel zu der lebhaften Melodie seines Saxophons erklingt. Mit Hilfe des Refrains zählt er dann die Probleme auf, die das Volk plagen: keine Wasserversorgung, exorbitante Lebenshaltungskosten, keine Gesundheitsversorgung, zweistellige Inflationsraten. Die "großen, großen Leute" haben das Volk zum Sarg des Staatschefs gemacht: Nach der Plünderung und Verbrennung von Felas Kalakuta Republic 1977 schrieb Fela mehrere musikalische Antworten, in denen er die schuldige nigerianische Regierung direkt angriff, darunter diese traurige Hommage an seine Mutter, Coffin for Head of State. Nachdem seine Mutter an den Komplikationen der Verletzungen gestorben war, die sie erlitten hatte, nachdem sie während des Überfalls auf Kalakuta aus einem Fenster geworfen worden war, trugen Fela, seine Frauen und seine Anhänger den Sarg seiner Mutter zum Eingangstor der Armeekaserne: ein mutiger Akt des Trotzes.

"Coffin For Head of State" ist Felas düstere Anklage gegen diejenigen, die "durch Jesus Christus, unseren Herrn" das afrikanische Volk korrumpieren, bestehlen und berauben. Der wummernde, gleichmäßige Beat und die sich wiederholende Struktur des Liedes ahmen den Marsch zur Kaserne nach, während der Text Felas überwältigende Trauer über den Verlust seiner Mutter und den Zustand seines geliebten Nigerias direkt anspricht: eine Nation von ewig Leidenden. Seid nicht passiv, fordert er: Steht auf für eure Rechte.

Die B-Seite, Power Show, baut auf dem gleichen Thema auf und hebt die Unterdrückung der Massen durch die herrschende Klasse hervor. Der Text handelt von einem reichen Mann in einem schicken Auto, der an den Straßenrand ranfährt, um einen armen, allein reisenden Mann zu beschimpfen. Fela nennt dies die "Power Show" und prangert das Verhalten an. So verhält man sich nicht gegenüber seinen Mitmenschen.

Original Sufferhead war im Box Set #5 enthalten, das von Chris Martin und Femi Kuti kuratiert wurde. Das Album wurde auf opakem, hellgrünem Vinyl neu gepresst und ist untergebracht in einer bedruckten Innen- und single sleeve Außenhülle.

In O.D.O.O. singt Fela über die Auswirkungen der militärischen Machtübernahme und die Zerstörung der jungen afrikanischen Demokratien seit der Unabhängigkeit - insbesondere der jungen Demokratien, die nach langen Auseinandersetzungen und manchmal sogar Kriegen mit den Kolonialmächten ihre Unabhängigkeit erkämpft und gewonnen haben. Er sagte, dass Putschisten, wenn sie an die Macht kommen, Namen annehmen wie: Nigerianischer Oberster Militärrat, Ghanaischer Erlösungsrat, Libyscher Revolutionär usw. In den meisten Fällen wurden die Putschversuche von den ehemaligen Kolonialmächten geplant und finanziert. Für diejenigen, die sich dessen nicht bewusst sind, schafft die Präsenz des Militärs auf der politischen Bühne die Illusion einer friedlichen "demokratischen" Partizipation und einer funktionierenden Regierung. Zumal der größte Teil der täglichen Regierungsarbeit von Zivilisten geleistet wird, die den Militärchefs unterstehen. Für Fela besteht die Aufgabe der Streitkräfte unter normalen Umständen darin, die zivile Regierung zu verteidigen und zu unterstützen, und nicht darin, sie zu stürzen oder die Aufgaben eines Regierungszweiges an sich zu reißen, weil sie kein politisches Mandat haben. Das Gegenteil zu tun - das bedeutet "überholen". Jede Vorstellung von einem wohlhabenden und friedlichen Land, in dem das Militär an der Spitze der Macht steht, ist eine Illusion.

Die anhaltenden Skandale und die Korruption auf höchster Ebene, die alle Regime seit der Unabhängigkeit kennzeichnen, tragen dazu bei, Felas Desillusionierung und sein Misstrauen gegenüber dem Militär ins rechte Licht zu rücken. Er weist auf die Zweideutigkeit hin, daß die Verfassungen der neuen unabhängigen afrikanischen Nationen an die Verfassungen der scheidenden Kolonialherren angelehnt sind. Identifiziert das als Ursache der Probleme. In seiner sarkastischen Art bezeichnet Fela das, was in Afrika als Regierung durchgeht, als: '…soldier go! Soldier come!' Damit meint er, dass die Institution, die die militärische Struktur geschaffen hat, die Armee absichtlich dorthin gebracht hat, um ihr koloniales Werk fortzusetzen. Um die Not der Afrikaner unter einer solchen Diktatur deutlich zu machen, führt Fela eine Liste von Liedern an, die er geschrieben hat und in denen er die Ungerechtigkeiten des Systems kritisiert: Kalakuta Show! Mr. Follow-Follow! Zombie! Shuffering und Shmiling! Leider sind es die armen Massen, die am meisten unter der Misswirtschaft und Korruption der Regierung leiden. Von klein auf müssen afrikanische Kinder lernen, wie man in einem System überlebt, in dem man nicht weiß, woher die nächste Mahlzeit kommt - keine soziale Sicherheit, keine Bildung etc.

Trotz all dieser Rückschläge versuchen die Afrikaner weiterhin, ihre Kinder zu erziehen. Die Kinder wachsen auf, nehmen feste Jobs an, um ihr Leben zu verbessern, sparen hier und dort, um zu überleben. Letzten Endes jedoch machen die Ereignisse der Misswirtschaft verschiedener Verwaltungen alle Opfer und Abstriche, die der Einzelne zur Verbesserung seines Lebens macht, nutzlos.

O.D.O.O. war im Box Set #5 enthalten, das von Chris Martin und Femi Kuti kuratiert wurde. Das Album wurde auf grünem, transparentem Vinyl neu gepresst und mit einem bedruckten Inlay versehen in einer single sleeve Außenhülle.

- Ltd. Col. LP: (Transparent Green Vinyl)

Seine Remixe klassischer Werke aus dem Album "Timeless" wurden von der französischen Tageszeitung "Libération" als "die Zukunft der Klassik" gefeiert. Nun präsentiert der Produzent William Rezé aka Thylacine auf seinem Album "Thylacine (And 74 Musicians)" elf neue Stücke zwischen klassischer und elektronischer Musik, die er zusammen mit großem Orchester und klassischen Gastmusikern aufgenommen hat. Für seine elektronisch-orchestralen Klanglandschaften ließ er sich von klassischen Komponisten wie Albéniz, Mozart oder Vivaldi inspirieren, vertont aber auch die beiden eigenen Stücke "Polar" und "War Dance" völlig neu. Unterstützt wird er dabei von der Arrangeurin und Dirigentin Uèle Lamore, dem Orchestre National des Pays de la Loire, den Maîtrise des Pays de la Loire (einem Kinder- und Jugendchorprojekt), dem Gitarren-Star Thibault Cauvin und Geiger Luka Faulisi. Aufgenommen wurde das Album im Théâtre du Quai in Angers (Frankreich).

A new name in the Dutch rock scene. Old acquaintances, new songs, a new album, a new adventure... the past ten years have been dominated by 4 full albums in a row, numerous performances (see selection below), rave reviews in the (inter)national press and all under the name BYT (aka BloYaTop).

The switch to a new band name was obvious when the band entered into collaboration with producer MARIO GOOSSENS (Triggerfinger) and the choice was made to return to the roots of rock music, resulting in a week of live and analog recordings in the already
legendary TRYPOUL RECORDING STUDIOS, allowing the band to capture the live energy for which they are known. Mastering took place in New York by none other than Fred Kevorkian, where greats such as Iggy Pop, Maroon 5 and many others had already found
their way.

Originally released in 1984, following the band"s evolution from the Southern Death Cult, to Death Cult, and then simply The Cult, Dreamtime finds the outfit featuring Ian Astbury and Billy Duffy, pivoting from their goth and punk roots into something eclectic, aspirational, and adventurous. Rife with lyrical references to the indigenous cultures of the Americas and Australia, and set against a more bombastic and muscular musical backdrop, Dreamtime hints at what would envelop the band over the next four decades, a dedication to their wholly unique songwriting, both musically and thematically, and the frenzy that was soon to come with the release of Love only a year later. "Spiritwalker," the first single from the album, hit #1 on the U.K."s independent chart.

Originally released in 1984, following the band"s evolution from the Southern Death Cult, to Death Cult, and then simply The Cult, Dreamtime finds the outfit featuring Ian Astbury and Billy Duffy, pivoting from their goth and punk roots into something eclectic, aspirational, and adventurous. Rife with lyrical references to the indigenous cultures of the Americas and Australia, and set against a more bombastic and muscular musical backdrop, Dreamtime hints at what would envelop the band over the next four decades, a dedication to their wholly unique songwriting, both musically and thematically, and the frenzy that was soon to come with the release of Love only a year later. "Spiritwalker," the first single from the album, hit #1 on the U.K."s independent chart.

Re-issue as double vinyl in slip sleeve! Frank Bornemann has transformed the story of the French national heroine Jeanne d’Arc to an impressive musical journey into the 15th century. Next to spoken word passages the music primarily captivates with its atmospheric
arrangements that open up a new chapter in the Eloy cosmos. The press puts the work under the same category as Pink Floyd’s “The Wall” and the Who’s “Tommy”, confirming the powerful intensity of the songs and praising the audiophile quality.

We Release JAZZ is so happy to announce the fourth Bruno Spoerri release in the WRWTFWW discography, this time focusing on the Swiss legend’s unheard jazz catalogue. The pristine 6-track album Musiques Légères (1976-1982) is available as a limited edition half speed mastered biovinyl LP housed in a heavy 350gsm sleeve with superb design by Nicolas Eigenheer and the classic WRJ obi.

Swiss jazz and electronic music pioneer Bruno Spoerri unveils a treasure trove of never-before-released songs in this rare archival collection recorded between 1976 and 1982 that includes collaborations with the fabled Radio Suisse Romande-backed music ensemble GIR (Groupe Instrumental Romand) which featured the crème de la crème of Helvetic forward thinking musicians with an international reputation. The super team of instrumentalists / composers represented Swiss national radio in endeavors that spanned a vast array of music genres such a jazz, pop, experimental music, or what they referred to as “musiques légères” (light music), their very own brand of jazz and funk infused easy listening. One notable member of GIR was drummer extraordinaire Stuff Combe that We Release JAZZ collectors will know from his Stuff Combe 5 + Percussion LP.

Musique Légères (1976-1982) offers a marvelous blend of easy listening jazz, joyful synth improvisations, and soulful funk ballads, a testament to Bruno Spoerri’s multifaceted talents and ability to approach various genres while keeping his very personal and very magical touch. Among the hidden gems on the carefully curated collection is the immensely catchy "Prince Karl", an undeniable hit that truly deserves to be heard.

This is the fourth Bruno Spoerri release from WRWTFWW, following the synth heavy and galactic Voice of Taurus and The Sound of the UFOs, and the compilation of unreleased experimental tracks Rare & Unreleased 1971-1998.
Musiques Légères (1976-1982) is pressed on biovinyl, a sustainable alternative to traditional vinyl. Biovinyl replaces petroleum in S-PVC by recycling used cooking oil or industrial waste gases, resulting in 100% CO2 savings in bio-based S-PVC production. Furthermore, it is 100% recyclable and reusable, embracing the circular economy ideology.

Harm’s Way is Duck Ltd.’s most intuitive and organic album yet, the result of keen observation, self-possessed songwriting, and a collaborative spirit. Building on the successes of their previous releases, the deeply relatable album displays a band operating at a nuanced, lyrical and musical best.

Ducks Ltd. make inviting and frenetic guitar pop for when life feels overwhelming. While the band’s songs are ostensibly breezy, a palpable anxiety boils underneath that communicates something deeper about everyday existence. On their latest album Harm’s Way, the Toronto duo of Tom McGreevy and Evan Lewis hones in on interpersonal and societal collapses, urban decay, and the near-impossibility of keeping a level head when everything around you seems to be falling apart.

“They’re songs about struggling,” says singer and lyricist McGreevy (who also plays bass and rhythm guitar). “About watching people I care for suffer, and trying to figure out how to be there for them. And about the strain of living in the world when it feels like it's ready to collapse.” 

Even with its often dark subject matter, Harm’s Way is Ducks Ltd.’s most vividly rendered and collaborative collection yet. It’s an undeniable evolution for the band, not just in how these songs soar, but in their entire writing and recording processes. Composed on tour while supporting acts like Nation of Language, Illuminati Hotties, and Archers of Loaf, the album displays the band’s finely tuned songcraft and well-earned, road-tested confidence. “When we got signed, we had played maybe five or six shows ever. After last year, it’s in the hundreds. That experience can change your perception of your own music and songwriting,” says McGreevy. “In the past when we got stuck on a song we had a tendency to look at our favourite records to see how they tackled it. But now, instead of asking ‘what would Orange Juice do?’, we’d ask, ‘what would we do?’.” Lewis adds, “We have this really great thing where every decision with the band is filtered through both of us. Here especially, we really figured out how to make something that truly sounds like us.”

The band, fortified by this strong sense of sonic identity and a self-assurance in their new material—and in contrast to their critically acclaimed 2021 debut Modern Fiction and 2019 EP Get Bleak, both self-recorded and self-produced in a Toronto basement—wanted to bring Harm’s Way to life in a new city, with an outside producer, and with some of their favourite musicians. “We realised that so many of our favourite bands who are making guitar music right now are from Chicago,” says McGreevy. Working with producer Dave Vettraino (Dehd, Deeper, Lala Lala), they enlisted a marquee cast of Windy City collaborators to round out the tracks on Harm’s Way, including: Finom’s Macie Stewart (violin, string arrangements); Ratboys’ Marcus Nuccio (drums on most tracks); Dehd’s Jason Balla (who helped arrange the backing vocals, to which he also contributed); and backing vocals from Julia Steiner (Ratboys), Nathan O’Dell (Dummy), Margaret McCarthy (Moontype), Rui De Magalhaes (Lawn), and Lindsey-Paige McCloy (Patio). The band’s touring drummer, Jonathan Pappo, and bassist Julia Wittman also appear on the LP.

Ducks Ltd. are a band that already thrives on skirting the edges of buoyant jangle pop and driving power pop, and the duo credits these collaborators with helping to push their sound even further. “Historically our process has been really tightly controlled and insular. On this record, we worked with people who we trusted with a pretty wide range of musical backgrounds and they had approaches and ideas that helped open up the record's sonic palette,” explains McGreevy. “Jason thinks about backing vocals in a totally different way than I do and is super intuitive with melodic ideas. Julia and Margaret have a really deeo understanding of harmony. Macie and Dave were comfortable with the idea of improvising string parts which took some of those layers in some surprising directions. Dave also has an amazing ability to create atmosphere on a recording, and encouraged us to use a bunch of different techniques, tones, and processes to achieve that.”

Harm’s Way’s lush, melodic swagger is clear from the first notes of opener “Hollowed Out.” A song about living with decline (inspired by a Toronto sinkhole), its bright, indelible catchiness serves in contrast to its lyrical unease. Anchored by Lewis’ shimmering electric guitar, “The Main Thing” laments growing apart from a person whose views you once shared while managing to toss in references to both the unglamorous lives of middle relief baseball pitchers and the occult. Other songs split the difference between country and krautrock, like the rollicking “Train Full of Gasoline,” which uses the 2013 Lac-Mégantic rail disaster in Quebec as a metaphor for self-destructive patterns. Meanwhile, “Deleted Scenes” mourns the absence of someone no longer in your life (even if for very good reasons) and recalls The Cure at their most direct, and closer “Heavy Bag” employs enveloping, mournful strings to evoke a sense of how misery frequently loves company.

Culled from three 1985 gigs in the UK during a transitional and transcendent time in the band’s story, Sonic Youth’s The Walls Have Ears appeared / disappeared as a 2LP set in 1986, not just a live album but an artful tapestry full of live experimentation with songs, between-song tape segues, darkness, humor and audio verité. It’s now issued for the first time officially under the band’s auspices.

The ’85 shows were the second time the band appeared on UK soil, Brits now getting juiced to the mythos of the emerging guitar-slinging American independent underground; an art / punk band from NYC sporting casual attitudes and tees sporting Bruce Springsteen, Madonna, and Prince made some good press copy on top of their bludgeoning stage appearance. Paul Smith of the newly-founded Blast First label acted as an overseas diplomatic envoy for Sonic Youth through their SST years as well as issuing their classic 1988 Daydream Nation outside the USA. However the Smith-produced ‘bootleg’ of their ’85 UK gigs surfaced much to everyone’s surprise, just before EVOL was to be released. It turned out to be a marker of the group’s dissatisfaction that ultimately led to the release’s deletion, and the band and Smith parting ways after Daydream.

In this 2LP set brimming with primitive classics like ‘The Burning Spear,’ ‘Death Valley 69,’ and ‘I’m Insane’ (uncredited on sleeve), segues and live guitar changes ooze together threaded by Madonna tapes and vocal loops off the board (somewhat a necessity for distraction until the band had a full fledged stage crew to prepare guitars). The first two sides of Walls are massive, cavernous, with newly-drafted drummer Steve Shelley. SY tear it up especially on one trash-fi excerpt of ‘Blood On Brighton Beach’ (actually ‘Making The Nature Scene’) from a legendary outdoor gig November 8th where Thurston Moore, Kim Gordon and Lee Ranaldo’s guitars treble-blast dissonant shockwaves over the black-stoned beach of Quadrophenia fame.

The record’s second slab spotlights an April 1985 at London’s Hammersmith Palais and was one of the final appearances live of Bob Bert on drums, again featuring some molten takes on ‘Brother James,’ ‘Flower’ (listed as ‘The Word (E.V.O.L.)’), and others. This document remains an essential representation of some lean and mean years of the quartet’s throttling march out into the world. (by Brian Turner)

Culled from three 1985 gigs in the UK during a transitional and transcendent time in the band’s story, Sonic Youth’s The Walls Have Ears appeared / disappeared as a 2LP set in 1986, not just a live album but an artful tapestry full of live experimentation with songs, between-song tape segues, darkness, humor and audio verité. It’s now issued for the first time officially under the band’s auspices.

The ’85 shows were the second time the band appeared on UK soil, Brits now getting juiced to the mythos of the emerging guitar-slinging American independent underground; an art / punk band from NYC sporting casual attitudes and tees sporting Bruce Springsteen, Madonna, and Prince made some good press copy on top of their bludgeoning stage appearance. Paul Smith of the newly-founded Blast First label acted as an overseas diplomatic envoy for Sonic Youth through their SST years as well as issuing their classic 1988 Daydream Nation outside the USA. However the Smith-produced ‘bootleg’ of their ’85 UK gigs surfaced much to everyone’s surprise, just before EVOL was to be released. It turned out to be a marker of the group’s dissatisfaction that ultimately led to the release’s deletion, and the band and Smith parting ways after Daydream.

In this 2LP set brimming with primitive classics like ‘The Burning Spear,’ ‘Death Valley 69,’ and ‘I’m Insane’ (uncredited on sleeve), segues and live guitar changes ooze together threaded by Madonna tapes and vocal loops off the board (somewhat a necessity for distraction until the band had a full fledged stage crew to prepare guitars). The first two sides of Walls are massive, cavernous, with newly-drafted drummer Steve Shelley. SY tear it up especially on one trash-fi excerpt of ‘Blood On Brighton Beach’ (actually ‘Making The Nature Scene’) from a legendary outdoor gig November 8th where Thurston Moore, Kim Gordon and Lee Ranaldo’s guitars treble-blast dissonant shockwaves over the black-stoned beach of Quadrophenia fame.

The record’s second slab spotlights an April 1985 at London’s Hammersmith Palais and was one of the final appearances live of Bob Bert on drums, again featuring some molten takes on ‘Brother James,’ ‘Flower’ (listed as ‘The Word (E.V.O.L.)’), and others. This document remains an essential representation of some lean and mean years of the quartet’s throttling march out into the world. (by Brian Turner)

Ai Phoenix album debut on vinyl for the first time. This record was originally self-released in 1998, and picked up a year later by Oslo based label dBut Records for a wider release. The 3 piece band rose quickly in the norwegian underground scene, getting a lot of airplay on national radio, touring and continued making critically acclaimed records for Racing Junior and later Glitterhouse Records in Germany.

It was made at home on 4-track cassette, but still showcased a band full of confidence in both songwriting and production, and even though it was never released on streaming platforms, it has remained a favorite among those who bought the album more than 20 years ago.

COTONETE is back!

After releasing numerous and now collectable standalone singles, plus some now famous collaborations with Dimitri from Paris, 2019 saw Parisian based 8 piece, Cotonete release their first long player in 15 years! Under the guidance of Melik Bencheikh from Paris’ rare record emporium, Heart Beat Vinyl. The dark moody mover "Super-Vilains" came out to great success on Heavenly Sweetness.

After playing some packed live shows around France and the UK, including the acclaimed Sunday at Dingwalls in Camden, hosted by Gilles Peterson and Patrick Forge. Somewhere along this part of the journey, they came across the Brazilian music legend and vocal powerhouse, Di Melo. He softened their souls, and from this love affair came the album "Atemporal". Released on Favourite Recordings, this 8 track album would end up being sampled by Canadian superstar Drake, for his 2023 album ‘For All the Dogs Scary Hours
Edition’.

So now into 2024, and we have Cotonete full length number two. They’ve enlisted the producer Guts to guide them towards sunshine, groove, warmth and all the colours in his rainbow. With their tongues firmly in their cheeks, the album is titled ‘Victoire de la Musique’ - a dig at the annual French music award ceremony. Taking the band deep, producer Guts showed them new and exciting rhythms from all corners of the world. The record’s first example of this is ‘Venezuela’, a track directly inspired by the jazz funk from the great Caribbean nation.

Other key musical exploration on the record can be attributed to the late composer Francis Lai. On ‘Cinq Pour L'aventure’ - an almost 15 minute epic monster showcasing the band’s love for 70's French movies soundtracks. “L’aventure c’est l’aventure”, was a movie by one of the most famous French directors Claude Lelouch The single from the soundtrack was sung by French music superstar Johnny Halliday.

Guests are scattered very tastefully across the album, on the only cover version of the record, the Brazilian master Jorge Ben’s ‘Bebete Vãobora’, Sabrina Malheiros was invited to lend her lungs. The daughter of Azymuth’s Alex Malheiros helps join perfectly the dots from a band that are without a doubt Cotonete’s biggest influence. Brazilian jazz funk, now with an added French touch.

On ‘Day in Day Out’ a powerful performance is given from Leron Thomas on vocals and trumpet. Perhaps also known for his role as the musical director for Iggy Pop and touring member of his band. This track is an already tried and tested dance floor filler, emphasizing just how tight the band really can play - the track even found its way into BBC Music’s Craig Charles’ ‘Track Of The Year’ selection.

No record so soulful would be complete without a trip to the UK. Omar, London’s Godfather of New Soul pops in. Having recorded with artists like; Courtney Pine, Level 42 & Erykah Badu, in his distinctive smooth style, he blesses the track ‘What Did Run You For?’ The final vocal visitor is Gystere Peskine, a Parisian based musical hero, who shows off his retro future funk feels on ‘O Ceu es Preto’ - which literally translates as ‘the sky is black’ - although given the hugely uplifting and almost Gospel Soul of this Russian/Brazilian singer, he
has us seeing things far brighter.

Cotonete have endeavored to build a worldwide rainbow warrior team of merry boys and girls. Fighting the brave fight to shine light towards the fact that music will always win…. "Victoire de la Musique" - a symphony of spring, songs of the new world, a "Victory Of Music”

Daniel Land's new album, "Out of Season", is his most ambitious record to date, a series of reflections on history, memory, and post-Brexit Britain, which was inspired by his return to the landscapes of his youth – the rugged, underpopulated west coast of Somerset. The album was written and partly recorded in Daniel’s studio in a static caravan, overlooking the coast, during the period when the UK was tearing itself apart over its relationship to Europe. "I didn't set out to write about Brexit", Daniel says, "I have a kind of horror of political music. But I couldn’t escape the atmosphere of the time – this strange, distorted version of ‘Englishness’ in the national psyche. I’ve always been interested in memory and nostalgia; Brexit illustrates the dangers of taking seductive, possibly false memories at face value”. Songs like “White Chalk”, “Island of Ghosts”, and the album’s title track, represent a series of attempts to reclaim an older, more peculiar idea of England which, Daniel says has been “Lost in the nationalist mythmaking of the past decades” – the island of misfits and outsiders exemplified by the works of Derek Jarman, for example, whom Daniel was rediscovering while working on the album. “I must have read 'Modern Nature' ten times over the years”, Daniel says. “What I love about Jarman is that he had a deep, abiding love for England, but it was a very complicated, critical and a very queer kind of love. That was very much my mood, going into the making of this album”. Like Jarman’s work, "Out of Season" probes national identity whilst also displaying resolutely queer themes throughout. Daniel’s voice – once described by The Guardian as "The spawn of Elizabeth Fraser and Anthony Hegarty” – is less heavily reverbed than before, bringing to the fore his often-confessional lyrics, inspired by the frankness of modern queer poets like Andrew McMillan, Seán Hewitt, and Ocean Vuong. A lyrical highlight is the gorgeous “Southern Soul”, a deceptively straightforward recounting of a decades-old hookup with a closeted guy from his hometown which, Daniel says, “Serves as a metaphor for everything I’m talking about in the album”. And in keeping with the album’s nods to the heroes of gay literature, Daniel’s self-styling of the album as a “Dream Pop Album on National Themes” deliberately references the full title of Tony Kushner’s era-defining play "Angels in America", whose central character is namechecked in the hook-laden “Lemon Boy” – a song which must surely stand as Daniel’s most deliciously pop moment yet. Lauded by Mark Radcliffe, Guy Garvey, Tom Robinson, and many others, Daniel Land makes music that, in the words of BBC Radio 1, "You can't help but think the late John Peel would have loved".

Achtung, Babyboomers und Digital-Ureinwohners: Fettes Brot doktert sich mit der hausinternen Zeitmaschine retour in die hinteren Jahre des vorherigen Jahrtausends und buddelt die ersten vier eigenen 90s-Hip Hop-Meilensteine wieder aus. Anders ausgedrückt: Es gab ein Leben vor dem Internetz - und die Vorstadtkrokos von Fettes Brot planschten damals schon im Haifischbecken Musikindustrie. Doch, wer weiß das noch? Auf den FeBro-Konzerten der letzten 10 Jahre lief kaum mehr 'classic material' als "Jein", "Nordisch By Nature" und "Da Draussen", die Tonträger bis 2000 gab's seit fünf Sommern nur noch 2nd Hand zu kaufen und null davon je legal-digital. Nur: die Bevölkerung braucht das. Zum Glück hören die 3 Partypiepen manchmal sogar zu und schworen sogleich Besserung. Das Brot der frühen Jahre erscheint endlich wieder in vier frischen Portionen auf LP - neu gemastert in old school Stereo, erweitert um einen Batzen Bonüsse (B-Seiten, Remixe, Features, Demos und Live-Perlen), verziert mit luftigen Lebenslügen der 3, ergänzt um reichlich zwielichte Zeitzeugenberichte und zugeschüttet mit einem Füllhorn verschollener Fotos.

AUF EINEM AUGE BLÖD (1995):
- Der Deutschrap-Klassiker - das erste Fettes Brot Album gibt es nun endlich wieder auf Doppel Vinyl!
- Original-Album inklusive "Meh' Bier", "Nordisch by Nature" (9-minütige Originalversion!) und mit Gastauftritten von Fischmob, Eißfeldt (aka Jan Delay), Der Tobi & Das Bo, u.a.
- Weinrotes+hellblaues Doppelvinyl, Remastered, um Fotos und Essays erweitertes Artwork und mit MP3-Downloadcode des ganzen Albums plus 7 zusätzlichen digitalen Bonustracks!

Dazzle rolled deep. Very deep. In the 1980s, it wasn't unusual for the Milwaukee-based group to show up at various Midwest night clubs in a caravan of 30-40 cars and vans. Their live following was hard won over a career that spanned 20+ years, many line up changes, and a handful of project names. Friends, family, and fans made the journey with them weekend after weekend, a testimony to both the musical prowess of the group and the tight-knit community that they emerged from.

Donald Smith, band leader, was there the whole time - joined by many of his siblings and friends - first as founder of the Ghetto Players, a early 70's nine-piece which also included siblings Michael, Ronald, and Charles. They played hard funk in the style of early Kool and the Gang, and although they sadly left no recordings, the strength of their live act managed to catch the eye of local Milwaukee R&B music entrepreneur Cobie Joe Payne. Cobie had made a couple of records locally in the early/mid 70s as a singer, including the impossibly weird and amazing rare afro-blues-funk 45 "Sweet Thing", but had never enjoyed national success. When the Ghetto Players disbanded in the early-mid 70s, Donald soon put together a new group, C on the Funk (the 'C' referring to lead vocalist and sibling Charles), under Payne's tutelage. Sister Lorrie Smith came in as the drummer, the line-up being fleshed out by brothers David and Melvin Johnson, and friend Robert Mitchell. After a few years as a strictly live attraction, they drove to Chicago and produced a single, "In the Disco" / "A Place" for Payne's small record label Sweet Thang Records in 1980. Lacking the financial backing needed to supply the local R&B disk jockey's "promotional fees" , this single sadly languished in obscurity, gathering dust inside the local tavern jukeboxes and manilla promo envelopes that comprised Payne's DIY distribution network.

C on the Funk were traveling the Mid West extensively at this point, and making some important friends on the road. Ike Wiley Jr. of the Dazz Band/Kinsman Dazz took particular interest and the band was re-christened Dazzle, partially as a tie-in with Dazz, partially to embrace the new sounds that would distinguish the 70s disco scene from what record collectors and DJs would now refer to as the "Boogie" era. There no doubt was a stigma attached to the word "Disco" as the eighties began, and as we see in this collection C On the Funk's "In the Disco" is remixed and transformed into the psychedelic synth instrumental of Dazzle's "Disco's Out", a title which embodies both the next-step approach Smith and company were pushing for, and humorously comments on the state of black dance music in the early 1980s. The Dazzle recording, done in Chicago in 1982, updated the sound and featured an expanded line up, most notably a second synth player (Charles Washington), and a percussionist/second lead vocalist (Greg McDonald). The added synth textures and deep percussive grooves give the Dazzle recordings an elegant late night vibe that resonate just as well in a good pair of headphones as they do on the dance floor. The trance inducing cough syrup-warble of "Explain" may best exemplify this here. Sadly, a pressing flaw in the 12" halted production and promotion, and the EP and the songs within were lost to the ages. The group, having done a much better line in the live music business, followed that path instead all the way to the early 90s. --bio provided by andy noble

4th Press - 600 copies only

It didn't take long for Błoto to become a thing, shrouded by underground secrecy. First, there was the gig during Spring Break 2019 in Poznań where the Blue Note club was packed to the brim. That event gave momentum to 4 more performances in Warsaw and Wrocław, with no music released at that time. Then, the first pressing of the vinyl was sold out within 24 hours without any single nor cover revealed.

The word about Błoto has spread, increasingly gaining ground, reaching Japan, where the album will also be available on CD. No one expected such a turn of events. In fact, neither did the band itself; after all, Błoto came to being accidentally, yet naturally, like a puddle after a rainy day.

It all started in the summer of 2018 when EABS was touring and the band had a day off. As they were approaching Tricity, people were getting off and eventually there were only four musicians. An evening off, a well-tuned rhythm section on the road, harmonious as can be, and a great deal of creative potential within the members of Błoto band forming at that very moment stirred up common enthusiasm. The album was created without much deliberation, stemming from the need of the heart and the joy of making music together. As a result, 90 minutes of music was recorded of which about 40 made it to “Erozje”.

The music is deeply rooted in brutal hip-hop grooves, referring to the sound of 90’s New York. Dirty and uncompromising, this music’s strength lies in the drums and bass as its sound refers to classics such as Wu-Tang Clan and Company Flow. Radical in a sense, it also captures the atmosphere of the times in which it is created. The times of the planet on the verge of disaster, distinct social divisions, hate speech, growing nationalism, police brutality, nepotism, and various political deals. All this is happening before our eyes. The soil of the world as we know it is eroding right now.