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Glasgow's Work For Love have once again descended deep into the cellars of Thee J Johanz early 90’s DAT recordings and pulled a companion selection to 2017's Declassified EP.

This time they've come back up the ladder clutching a sultry yet sturdy triple-tracker, a little snapshot detailing the full spectrum of house and techno hybridisation that was rife in the rave at the time. The EP kicks off lovingly lamenting the second summer of love with the proto house jam of Tender Tales which features Johanz himself giving his best Sleazy D impression on vox whilst masterfully tickling the 303 to several squelchy climaxes.

Flip over for Desire, a curled-lip 4am weird and wonky warehouse destroying techno leviathan that captures the stark minimalism of yer best Axis records and ads a real touch of John Carpenter esque menace to the affair. Bringing things to a close is the refreshing twinkly pulse of Prophet to say goodnight

Dynamic British pop trio Flawes are set to release their second album ‘One Step Back, Two Steps Forward’ On June 9, 2022. With its taut production, skittering percussion and effortlessly woven textures, ‘One Step Back, Two Steps Forward’ offers a sense of euphoria to its listeners. Featuring 10 brand new tracks, it’s a driving-with-the-top-down record, one that has propulsive rhythms, yearning guitars and choruses that soar.

"If you’ve ever wondered what Catharsis covering The 13th Floor Elevators might sound like, wonder no longer—and that’s only the start!" - Decibel Magazine GELD make their Relapse Records debut with their third full length, Currency // Castration! The Australian band distills a despairingly hellish vision of the world into a thundering crack to the temple through an unsparing fusion of hardcore’s bleakest violence with metal’s ruthless strength-through-conviction. GELD's abrasive take on the genre is distorted through a lense of fuzzed out psych soundscapes; vocals truly sound like unhinged barks, while guitars, bass, and drums crash against one another frenetically, each track burning brighter and brighter. Every moment of Currency // Castration is urgent. Tracks such as “Chained to a Gate” edge and scratch at a relief that is ultimately denied, toying with the nightmarish promise of a breakdown that never comes. Elsewhere, "Cut You Down" pulses with frantically itching riffs that stream forth. "Fog of War" snaps and snarls; while "Secret Prison" evinces the honed physique of Japanese hardcore fed through the broken brain of someone on a years-long Rrröööaaarrr-era Voivod spin-out. Despite the band's innovative approach to the genre, GELD makes no pretensions at being “interesting” for interesting’s sake - As vocalist Al Smith puts it, “One of the most boring things people can do is try to dress up what someone else has already contributed to a genre and make it ‘clever’… We’re more interested in finding our own position.” With Currency // Castration, GELD offers no promise of a higher purpose or resolve. Rather, they lean into dissociation, finding truth and meaning in the transcendental joy of simply escaping, surviving, existing.

DMX Krew unearths the lost Cold War LP.

Created for 1983. Created in 2003. Released in 2023. In mistrust and blindness mankind wages a COLD WAR, East against West in a spiraling cycle of mindless escalation. For 40 years the madness continues until it reaches its inevitable climax, NUCLEAR WAR.

Armageddon is achieved at the push of a button, millions of lives are destroyed. Those who are spared struggle for survival in the bleak conditions of NUCLEAR WINTER.

Acid rain destroys the landscape, darkness falls across the face of the
earth and hope is lost as the population falls prey to radiation sickness and cancer. Deep underground, the last survivor works feverishly in his isolated laboratory. A lone scientist attempting desperately to save mankind, he uses occult technology and deep-frozen human tissue to create a group of 12 radiation-resistant HUMAN CLONES.

They set forth to rebuild and repopulate the planet, whilst the scientist continues his work to improve and strengthen mankind. He develops a technique to fuse his own living flesh with the transistorized mind of a supercomputer, transforming himself into FUTURE MAN. Synergy of man and machine. Having transcended his mortal condition, he is now deemed ready to meet THE ELOHIM, a race of super-evolved aliens who created mankind 40000 years ago and have been watching and waiting ever since for the day when man at last becomes enlightened.

They descend from the heavens in their storship telling Future Man to
rejoice, for the trials of mankind are over and they sing to him of their long wait and THE GOLDEN AGE which is about to begin. Future Mom and the Clones are taken on board the spacecraft whereupon the Elohim transport them through the STAR GATE to a planet paradise where they are able to live in peace and happiness and once again become prosperous and many.

Myriad Path takes us down JUNO's many roads of style, texture, and mercurial sonic (r)evolution, where catchy chaos meets elaborate compositions in the band's trademark uncompromising style. The record is a biting and fiercer sequel to the debut album “Young Star” (Jazzland Recordings, 2020), with the band becoming more conceptual and showing a darker side of JUNO than we have heard before.

The album ranges from dissonant sounds in the face of fierce drum grooves and explosive rap to big, dreamy pop choruses, floating improvisation, and beautiful harmonies. Surrealism, caricatured over-the-top scenarios, vulnerability and inner turmoil create a zig-zag pattern of textual and musical revelation, which integrates the listener into JUNO's multifaceted reality.

On Myriad Path, the band members' individual voices are displayed more clearly than ever before, and the music takes inspiration from, among others, the experimental and progressive Rock in Opposition scene, pop stars Charli XCX and Caroline Polacheck, hip-hop legends such as The Notorious B.I.G. and Kendrick Lamar, as well as the groundbreaking poet and musician Moor Mother.

When JUNO debuted with the single "Mike" in 2020, they were already one of the country's most sought-after live bands, and since their inception they have played over a hundred concerts at festivals and venues across Europe. The band made waves at both By:Larm and Trondheim Calling, and was also selected to represent Norway in the showcase festival Nordic Jazz Comets in 2022. The unusual line-up with two vocalists, tenor saxophone, double bass and drums gives the music an unmistakable and immediately identifiable sound.

The debut album "Young Star" (Jazzland Recordings, 2020) received uniformly excellent reviews from the Norwegian and foreign press. In the same year, they also received the Subjekt award for "Artist of the Year".

Black + White Haze Vinyl. With a sound that was swampy, primal and modern-urban all at once_as much in the tradition of rock n' roll and punk rock as it was a rejection of those things, the Scientists' formula was as universal as it was specific to their own experience. The themes of getting wasted, driving around in hotted-up cars, being trapped in crap jobs, and paranoia were their subject matter. Machine throb bass and drums with jagged car-wreck guitars were their modus operandi. Fitting into no place or time they spurned all but the most rudimentary and elemental of rock structures to create a sound all their own. Quadruple CD includes their complete studio recordings, live recordings, and a previously unissued set from Adelaide UniBar, plus dozens of previously unpublished photographs, discography, and fold out Perth Punk family tree. Double LP version boils the box down to 22 essentials, plus unpublished photographs, discography, and fold out Perth Punk family tree.




















t 20 THIS IS MY HAPPY HOUR LIVE AT ADELAIDE UNIBAR
u 21 FIRE ESCAPE [LIVE AT ADELAIDE UNIBAR]
[v] 22 WHEN WORLDS COLLIDE [LIVE AT ADELAIDE UNIBAR]
[w] 23 RAVER [LIVE AT ADELAIDE UNIBAR]
[x] 24 THE SPIN [LIVE AT ADELAIDE UNIBAR]
[y] 25 CLEAR SPOT [LIVE AT ADELAIDE UNIBAR]
[z] 26 REV HEAD [LIVE AT ADELAIDE UNIBAR]
[xa] 27 SET IT ON FIRE [LIVE AT ADELAIDE UNIBAR]
[xb] 28 BURN OUT [LIVE AT ADELAIDE UNIBAR]
[xc] 29 THIS LIFE OF YOURS [LIVE AT ADELAIDE UNIBAR]
[xd] 30 SOLID GOLD HELL [LIVE AT ADELAIDE UNIBAR]
[xe] 31 BLOOD RED RIVER [LIVE AT ADELAIDE UNIBAR]
[xf] 32 DON'T LIE TO ME [LIVE AT THE LOFT]

[xh] 34 MELODRAMATIC TOUCH [LIVE AT STOREY HALL]
[xi] 35 SLOW DEATH [LIVE AT STOREY HALL]
[xj] 36 STRANGERS IN THE NIGHT [LIVE AT THE SYDNEY UNI]
[xk] 37 I'VE HAD IT [LIVE AT LE TOTE]
[xl] 38 GONNA MAKE YOU [LIVE AT THE PRINCE OF WALES HOTEL]
[xm] 39 WHEN WORLDS COLLIDE [LIVE AT SYDNEY TRADE UNION CLUB]
[xn] 40 GHOST TRAIN [LIVE AT THE PRINCE OF WALES HOTEL]
[xo] 41 THE OTHER PLACE [1985 FLEXI DISC]
[xp] 42 SHE CRACKED [1985 FLEXI DISC]

Nein, so richtig hatte keiner mit dem Erfolg von „Crucchi Gang“ gerechnet. Das Mitte 2020 erschienene Debütalbum des gleichnamigen Bandprojekts basierte schließlich nicht auf irgendeinem ausgeklügelten Business-Plan, sondern auf einer spontanen Idee von Musikmanagerin Charlotte Goltermann, Element of Crime-Sänger und Autor Sven Regener sowie Francesco Wilking (Die höchste Eisenbahn, Tele).

Deutschsprachige Musiker und Musikerinnen singen ihre eigenen Songs auf Italienisch. Mit auf der ersten Platte waren Von Wegen Lisbeth, Faber, Sophie Hunger und viele mehr.

Jetzt folgt mit „Fellini“ die zweite Runde. Sie ist eigentlich eine nahtlose Fortsetzung der ersten, denn auch Wilking und Reising fanden Gefallen an den kleinen Fluchten aus dem Alltag – und entschieden sich, ohne große Pause weiterzumachen. Diesmal sind Musiker und Musikerinnen wie Tocotronic, Tristan Brusch und
Antje Schomaker dabei und interpretieren ihre Songs auf Italienisch.

Das Album macht Lust darauf, sofort südwärts zu reisen. Es ist gleichzeitig der Beweis dafür, dass Musik eine Sprache ist, die man auch dann versteht, wenn man die eigentliche Sprache nicht versteht. Klingt kompliziert? Ist es überhaupt nicht.
Setzen Sie sich in ihren Lieblingssessel. Schließen die Augen. Schenken Sie sich einen Drink ein. Wenn Sie rauchen, zünden Sie sich eine Zigarette an. Wenn nicht, holen sie sich ein Eis aus der Gefriertruhe. Und jetzt drücken Sie auf die Abspieltaste – capirete cosa voglio dire.

Im Zentrum von Grandbrothers Musik stand schon immer die Verbindung von Altem und Neuem. Auf ihrem vierten Album "Late Reflections", welches am 14. April auf City Slang erscheint, stellen sie nun ihr Schaffen in Verbindung zu einer Institution, die ihrer eigenen Musik sieben Jahrhunderte vorausgeht: der Kölner Dom.

Das ikonische Monument gotischer Architektur, UNESCO-Weltkulturerbe und Deutschlands meistbesuchte Sehenswürdigkeit, diente als Aufnahmestudio für das neue Album des deutsch-schweizerischen Duos. Das Ergebnis ist ein Album mit einem präzisen Sinn für Geschichte und Architektur, ein Album, das die räumlichen Eigenschaften dieses prachtvollen Baus zum Teil seiner hypnotischen Komposition selbst werden lässt und in Klang überführt. Für ein Konzeptalbum ist "Late Reflections" eindringlich und immersiv, und es stellt ebenso viele Fragen, wie es Antworten gibt: Was bedeutet es für Musik, mit Architektur und Raum zu interagieren? Wie klingt eigentlich eine Kirche, die seit Jahrhunderten wegen ihrer Opulenz verehrt wird? Was kann zeitgenössische Kunst aus 700 Jahren Geschichte ziehen? Und wie können Musiker ihren eigenen kompositorischen Ansatz nach mehr als einem Jahrzehnt frisch und unverbraucht halten? Von Beginn an haben Grandbrothers Musiktraditionen in Frage gestellt. So gelang es dem vor mehr als einem Jahrzehnt in Düsseldorf gegründeten Klavierduo mit seiner vielschichtigen Musik immer wieder, die Grenzen zwischen Ambient, Minimal und Electronica zu verschieben. Das Ergebnis klingt immer anders, doch immer geprägt durch die außergewöhnliche Zusammenarbeit zwischen dem deutsch-türkischen Pianisten Erol Sarp und dem Schweizer Elektroniker und Software-Entwickler Lukas Vogel. Auf bisher drei Alben – Dilation (2015), Open (2017) und All The Unknown (2021) – zog das Duo seine besondere Inspiration aus einer konzeptuellen Beschränkung: Jeder Klang, jede Note stammt von nur einem einzigen Instrument – dem Konzertflügel.

3 Feet High and Rising is the debut studio album by hip hop trio De La Soul and was released on March 3, 1989

It marked the first of three full- length collaborations with producer Prince Paul, which would become the critical and commercial peak of both parties. Critically, as well as commercially, the album was a success. It contains the singles, "Me Myself and I", "The Magic Number", "Buddy", and "Eye Know".

The album title came from the Johnny Cash song "Five Feet High and Rising". It is listed on Rolling Stone's 200 Essential Rock Records and The Source's 100 Best Rap Albums. When Village Voice held its annual Pazz & Jop Critics Poll for 1989, 3 Feet High and Rising was ranked #1. It was also listed on the Rolling Stone's

The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. Released amid the 1989 boom in gangsta rap, which gravitated towards hardcore, confrontational, violent lyrics, De La Soul's uniquely positive style made them an oddity beginning with the first single, "Me, Myself and I". Their positivity meant many observers labeled them a 'hippie' group, based on their declaration of the 'D.A.I.S.Y. Age' (Da. Inner. Soul. Yall).

Sampling artists as diverse as Hall & Oates, Steely Dan and The Turtles, 3 Feet High and Rising is often viewed as the stylistic beginning of 1990s alternative hip hop (and especially jazz rap).

Repress!

It can take a while for an artist to find their musical voice. For Alex Andrikopoulos, it’s been a journey that’s taken the best part of two decades. Now he’s set to mark a major milestone in his transition from record store owner, label co-founder and DJ to producer with the release of his long-promised first solo album for Leng, Waving. The Greek artist first joined the Leng Records roster in the autumn of 2020 and has since gone in to release the acclaimed ‘Punta Allen’ EP for the imprint. Before that, he spent the first decade of the century running the popular Radical Sounds record shop in Athens, before refocusing on running Quantized Music with fellow DJ/producer Tolis Q and developing his DJ career, where his unique blends of disco, house and techno tracks earned him bookings at some of Europe’s most storied clubs.

Waving, which appears on the back of a handful of fine EPs for a variety of labels, is his boldest and strongest statement yet as a musician and producer. Created with a little help from guest musicians and collaborators including keyboardist Artis Boriss, bassist Brotha Gilla, percussionists Ilario Arnel and Harold Perez, pianist Luciano Ledesma and guitarist Alex Searle, the album brilliantly blurs the boundary between 21st century disco, afternoon-ready downtempo grooves, and the kind of dancefloor-minded Balearic fare that’s devilishly difficult to pigeonhole.

Fittingly, the set begins with previous single ‘Punta Allen’, an eight-minute chunk of organic dancefloor goodness which slowly unfurls before rising towards and gorgeous and joyous conclusion, and ends with the squelchy, slo-mo cosmic funk of ‘Patrol Di Caribe’, where trippy synthesizer lines, layered percussion and more tuneful style pan style lead ins catch the ear.

In between, highlights are plentiful, from the driving, piano solo-laden dub disco brilliance of ‘Down My Soul’ and the languid, sun-kissed, beach-ready downtempo grooves of ‘The Jamail Pass’, to the rubbery, pitched-down electrofunk of ‘Window Spells’ (featuring a fine lead vocal from Max Giovara, the flash-friend, dubwise Balearic funk of ‘Waving’, and the throbbing brilliance of ‘La Di Da Di’, whose crunchy Clavinet lines, fluid electric piano solos, snappy drums and pulsating, arpeggio-style bass encapsulate all that is good about the album.

The digital edition of the album also comes bundled with eight more tracks not featured on the double-vinyl LP. Featuring the same blend of expansive musicality, organic drums and dancefloor nous, this octet effectively extends the album via a string of similarly playable, club-ready and sofa-friendly tracks. Standouts include the non-stop, nu-disco-meets-house excellence of ‘Large Stacks’, Hammond-laced head-nodder ‘Take The High Road’, horizontal Balearic funk shuffler ‘Prezend’ and hazy, vocal-sporting dub disco roller ‘Angels of Rhythm’, which previously appeared on the flipside of Lex’s ‘Punta Allen’ 12”.

As the siren’s song echoes out of systems worldwide, perhaps we are (re)turning to the liquid age of dance; with natural ephemera such as moss, sentiments for ecology such as swamps, and mercurial aspects of water all absorbing the aesthetic forefront. A return to nature, a deep dive under the lily pads. Here Marijn with her debut EP guides our plunge, a trip previously taken via her podcasts on Kulture Lab, where you can also find her previously released music.

Whispers from the ethereal plane drift around the headspace, a rumble in the distance of sound traversing the water, voices to guide and to keep you from floating too far from the line. Audio hallucinations are aplenty when submerged, a serenity of space, yet distant growls assure that peace is not always 2 be found. The melancholia within the daydream, the pang of loss caught in reflections, internal and from the water, with the lily pads floating above as a guiding entity, an anchor, something to hold. Under the lily pads we rumble.

On the flip everyone’s fav casual breaks n rave hooligan Luca Lozano asks the recurring thought within dance music, a question we quest, yet rarely want the answer. Abstraction via squeaks and tweaks, you better bop your bleepin’ head to this 1.

‘Leave A Message’ leaves the tranquil waters disturbed and rippling to the outer edges, providing jumps for the lily pads to ride on the incoming tide, with the ebb and flow making way for a storm surge. Aka big beats are the best, a notion the directly honest final track ‘Made (Drums)’ follows, bringing a twisted jack attack logic to a deranged assembly of samples, a manic orchestra of tumbling drums who have conspired to freak out, albeit with cute bubbles underneath to revel in the allure of sonic mania.

Following on from Melodic Motion, Martin Matiske returns to Bordello A Parigi with a track that first appeared over a decade ago. Released on his first album on Stilleben, “Dimension Phantasy” has been dusted down and given a new lease of life.

This extended version bubbles with the same energy as the original. Steady kicks give way to scaling chords as a racing piece of future gazing brilliance takes hold.

Melodies are addictive, yet cold, with a common ground between disco and electro being forged. Sharing the 12” real estate are two good friends, each offering their own remix. Captain Mustache is a musician who can turn his hand to any style.

Here the French producer remains true to the Matiske’s version, adding layers of warmth while maintaining the Springtime coolness of beats and harmonies. The flip is given over to Play Paul, a trailblazing figure in electronics. BPMs are reduced as sweetened lines take flight in the “Oh Lord! Remix”. Arpeggiators rumble before bold keys and heartfelt vocals enter in this emotive reinterpretation. The finale strips back lyrics to focus on those succulent synthesizer sounds. A celebration of past, present and future on one very special release.

The Other Maria represents the character trait each of us has inside within ourselves. The silent part of us that we try to regulate, keep restrained from others and managed just beyond reach from the rest of the World. It represents the compartmentalized potential to do, say and respond with great chaotic harm, despite all unfortunate consequences. It is a full release feeling that we sometimes quietly envy as we witness with disgust and disapproval.

Widely considered a character flaw to many, yet, some would relish in the opportunity that could summon such an unpredictable internal animal. Every life has two parallel parts. The one for "them", the version of yourself that abides by all the acceptable and expected rules of engagement - often a side that is given credit on face value. The side that achieves progress through peaceful and less confrontational means. The one you use to survive.

And the other side, the one for you. An uncompromising, unthinkably ruthless version that knows no limit. That knows no fear. The side of yourself that tells you yes, when you know that "no" is the better answer.

The Other Maria isn't about comfort. It is about hard truth, but also recognizing raw emotions that stem from feeling undeniably free.

And what could one do with such a dark, yet wonderworking ability - when the absence of fear and consequence presides over the judicious process leading to an enviable fate - convinced that all actions are pure, justified, direct, but conniving. The feeling of relieved of all guilt and accountability?


But as diabolical as it can be and appear. Along with the negative static, there can be progress. As true imposes are exposed, so does the transparency of reality. A precious truth that's needed to fully understand the severity of the situation.
And with this, comes a valuable knowledge from a low level in which one once descended. Dreadfulness is softened to predictability.

- Jeff Mills, April, 2023

Edition of 500 copies. Comes with download code and insert.

' Funkadelic touring the vast Caribbean coastline of Venezuela, together with Afrosound and Grupo Bota, with endless supplies of Aguardiente and other substances, in a “Back to the future” setting. ' ....?

Lola's Dice's debut album is the result of a radical musical transmutation, marked by the phenomenon of massive Venezuelan emigration. The songs contained in "Pura maldad" expose the current point of that process with amazing detail. Rhythms that were considered exclusively "traditional" and almost untouchable back home (Tamborera, Gaita) get twisted, stretched and pushed beyond any imaginary limit, while being combined with healthy doses of Disco, Funk, Electro, Techno and their Caribbean counterparts, Merengue, Salsa and Compass.

Having taken their first steps in the key of Funk-Rock, things first took a turn after the leader Javier Bohorquez met Venezuelan producer Alex Figueira (Fumaça Preta, Conjunto Papa Upa, etc) at a show and he handed him a business card. The tropical psychedelic sound Figueira was specialized on spoke immediately to Javier, as it did combine many of the crazy and groovy elements he loved from the most "out there" Funk (a la Funkadelic), with the countless Caribbean rhythms he had been exposed to, having grown up in Venezuela.

After the first EP "Viaje al centro del ritmo", where everything acquired a decisive tropical tone, a further eccentric exploration of the music of their homeland became inevitable. The subsequent single "Cacri 'e Playa / Sr Cartujo" clearly showed where things were moving towards.

“Pura Maldad” is a true tropical lysergic trip, and while you see vibrant colors and things move in very strange ways, the sun never seizes to shine. Despite its profoundly experimental character, the album proves very useful to anyone in need of getting a party started, maintained or fully blown up, depending at what point of the evening it’s played.

Artwork by Colombian artist Kevin Simón Mancera.

Produced by Alex Figueira at Heat Too Hot, Amsterdam.

The second instalment in the 45 RELOVED series sees acclaimed world-electronic duo Dengue Dengue Dengue diving into the most intriguing side of Giuliano Sorgini, an undisputed heavyweight of Italian library music with cult soundtracks under his belt, such as The Living Dead at the Manchester Morgue and Zoo Folle.

The original ‘Oasi nella giungla’ (which translates as Oasis in the Jungle) comes from the highly sought after Africa Oscura (Dark Africa), a sublime collection of tracks originally intended for use in television, all of which were recorded by Sorgini in the mid-70s by overdubbing synths, drums (both acoustic and electronic), a wide variety of percussion instruments, and field recordings.

Back in 2019 Four Flies paid tribute to Africa Oscura with two EPs of remixes by Italian producers from the cosmic/Balearic electronic scene. Four years later, Dengue Dengue Dengue’s mind-blowing rework of ‘Oasi nella giungla’ offers a great opportunity not only to go back to the fantastic sound of that album, but to fully appreciate the tribal element in Sorgini’s music.

In the hands of the Peruvian duo, the sonic geography of ‘Oasi nella giungla’ magically shifts from the depths of Africa to those of the Amazon rainforest, and the tribal percussions of the Savannah turn into an equatorial cumbia full of mystery and mystical echoes. The result is a mesmerizing fusion of tropical rhythms, dub, house and psychedelia, with an ancestral vibe that is perhaps even more pronounced than in the original track. Co-curated with Little Beat More.

The HAVEN white label series is back after a year's break with the fifth instalment of the infamous Sardonic Tonality compilation series - this time with three newcomers to the imprint and one existing label artist visiting the series for the first time.

The A1 kicks off the record with Otautahi (Christchurch) local techno legend Keanu Raves - a regular DJ at HAVEN events in their hometown. Booming kicks, rolling percussion, and emotive synth work come together in this perfect dance-floor killer that's already been making the rounds at Aotearoa warehouse raves and outdoor parties. Following up is Valerie Ace on the A2 with a tripped-out slab of techno weight. Eerie synth textures, creeping vocal whispers and pounding drum rhythms combine in another delight for all club creatures from the promising German producer.

On the flip French production demon Draugr revisits the label again following on from his Nine Nights EP at the end of 2021. Menacing melodies, charging drum work and ominous atmospheres pour out of yet another industrial-tinged mammoth from the Parisian nightmare weaver. Ending the record is the label debut of Berlin-based Puerto Rican heavyweight Xiorro. Off-beat bass, hypnotic percussions, and grungy synth blasts close out the compilation with another certified club weapon.

Like the winged half-man/half-bull that dominates its outrageous cover, Cleveland Eaton's Half And Half is a mutant bass-heavy monster that absolutely slays. Incredible jazz-funk from 1973, it's been largely overlooked for decades, and unfairly so. This is just sensational music - a crate digger's delight. It's super funky throughout, with lots of layers, jazz breaks for days, dripping with style and gritty class. This is the first reissue of what has been a hard to find record for many years; it's long overdue. Joyous music for mind, soul and body.

Cleveland Eaton was a revered bassist who played an active role in the backing of Count Basie, the Donald Byrd Quintet, The Ramsey Lewis Trio, Terry Callier and Minnie Riperton; amongst many, many others. Half And Half was the first album released under his own name, initially released as a private press record on his - awkwardly named - Cle An Thair Records. It was then picked up by Gamble & Huff for Gamble Records. Varied, string-adorned and with stupid funky grooves, it's just exceptionally good.

Whilst Half And Half is treasured for its famously brilliant interpretations of gold funk-soul standards, Eaton proves an imaginative composer in his own right. Indeed, the album opens with a striking original; the earthy, laconic jazz-guitar-funk fusion of "Keep It Funky". Cleveland and co. do exactly that. Up next is a properly moving cover of Aretha Franklin's eternal "Day Dreaming". The flute and guitar combo truly achieve celestial greatness here. "Here Comes Funky Lou" rides a bassline from the Gods and a driving soul-jazz groove allows the track to go off in all sorts of directions. Serene guitar soul of the breezy variety one moment, crazy hectic violin-driven wig outs the next, courtesy of Ed Green who played with Dorothy Ashby and Alice Coltrane.

His blistering two track salvo of Stylistics covers to close out this A-Side of A-Sides will leave your jaw dropped, and they're likely the reason you're here for this. And why not? "Betcha By Golly Wow", which uses a bed of acidy synths and harmonica to create a unique atmosphere, is on some next level business. Melancholic, wistful, beautiful. "People Make the World Go Round" is so good, dripping in wonderful horns and ace percussive breaks, it could even be regarded as the definitive version. Seriously!

Opening Side B, War's gigantic "Slipping Into Darkness" is tightly tailored to Eaton's funky flute fusion arrangement whilst the insistent "Missing You" is a swaggering horn-heavy version of Luther Ingram's track from the Dilla/Ghostface-linked LP, I've Been Here All The Time. The creeping, screeching guitar-drenched original "John's Groove" features more fantastic horn lines and neck-snapping percussion whilst "The Love Gangster", written by Bill Wyman and Stephen Stills for his seminal Manassas LP, contains a heavy break with slick drums high in the mix and fuzzy guitars.

The album closes with two more Eaton originals. Written with Johnny Guitar Watson, "Lie" is one hell of a funky string and guitar-driven gem whilst the wild, celebratory "Ah Movin' On" cleverly quotes "Wade In The Water" (which he'd recorded with Ramsey Lewis in 1966) folding it into his new free-jazz composition. A message to his old boss, perhaps, as a sign-off?

We've worked on this reissue for 3.5 years, spending the whole time making it sound super sharp and looking as perfect as it possibly can. An absolute must-have for fans of soulful jazz-funk, Half And Half was mastered for vinyl by Simon Francis and cut by Pete Norman at Final Tweak. The bizarre artwork, mutant beast and all, was restored at Be With HQ over many painstaking months! Hopefully, this new edition, a real labour of love, should bring Cleveland Eaton into the homes and record boxes of many more people.

Tidal Waves Music proudly presents ‘Fly By Night’ for the FIRST TIME on vinyl (the album was only released as a limited compact disc back in the early nineties).
This unique record comes as a deluxe 180g vinyl edition (strictly limited to 500 copies) with obi strip.NonReturnable.

This vinyl edition also features the original painted front cover artwork by Virgil Grady (known for his work with Tribe records) and back photography by acclaimed Detroit scene photographer & author Barbara Barefield, whose work has appeared in many renowned publications such as The New York Times, LA Times, People magazine and countless others.

Released exclusively for Record Store Day 2023 (UK/Europe) and available in participating stores on April 22, 2023.

Wendell Harrison was born in Detroit in 1942 where he began formal jazz studies for piano, clarinet and tenor saxophone. At 14, while still in high school, Harrison started performing & recording professionally with artists such as Marvin Gaye, Grant Green, Sun Ra, Hank Crawford … and many others.

In 1971, Harrison began teaching music at Metro Arts (a multi-arts complex for youth) where he also connected with Marcus Belgrave, Harold McKinney and Phil Ranelin…soon after they formed the (now
legendary) Afro-centric TRIBE record label and artist collective. TRIBE used the Metro Arts complex as a vehicle to convey a growing black political consciousness. Wendell Harrison also published the very popular TRIBE magazine, a publication dedicated to local and national social and political issues, as well as featuring artistic contributions such as poetry and visual pieces.

In 1978 Harrison and McKinney co-founded REBIRTH, a non-profit jazz performance and education organization, in which many notable jazz artists have participated. Around the same time Wendell Harrison
also created the WENHA record label and publishing company, which released many of his (now classic) recordings as well as those of other artists, such as Phil Ranelin, Doug Hammond and Reggie Fields (The Real ShooBeeDoo).
In the early 1990s, Wendell Harrison was awarded the title of “Jazz Master” by Arts Midwest. This distinction led Harrison to collaborate with fellow honorees and gave him the chance to tour throughout the UnitedStates, Middle East and Africa. Even to this day Wendell Harrison's recordings for the TRIBE, WENHA and REBIRTH labels have a large worldwide fanbase.

It is on WEHHA in 1990 that Harrison released (and self-produced) the opus: ‘Fly By Night’ which we are proudly presenting you today. ‘Fly By Night’ is a monster of an album featuring an all-star line-up that
includes Doug Hammond (Mingus, Lonnie Liston Smith) on drums, Kirk Lightsey (Chet Baker, Calvin Keys) on piano, Cecil McBee (John Hicks, Pharoah Sanders, Alice Coltrane) on bass, Jaribu Shahid (Sun Ra) on contrabass and Pamela Wise (Tribe) on Piano. Harrison is killing it here with this selected ensemble (guys he grew up with in Detroit in the late 50’s, when hard bop was the thing and Miles and Coltrane were the heroes of the day). This group of talented veterans are taking this classic album to unseen heights.

On ‘Fly By Night’ the gloves come off…no more jazzy-funk or poppy-jazz. Wendell picks up his tenor for one tune but the remainder of the sessions he performs on clarinet. Wendell’s mastery coaxes the sweet piquant sound of the instrument and as it re-emerges in the contemporary jazz scene. The eight handpicked tunes demonstrate the fertile new directions Wendell Harrison has been working on, combing standards with a fresh new approach.

On these amazing recordings (recorded at the Rebirth Studios in Detroit) the listener is invited to experience a synthesis of what has been and what is now. The record shows Wendell’s trademark proficiency. All of the above makes this incredible record both timeless and as relevant today as it was back when it was initially
released.

'Malombo music is an indigenous kind of music. If you listen to it, you can feel that it can heal you, if you’ve got something wrong. It’s healing music.'
Lucky Ranku

"Lucas ‘Lucky’ Madumetja Ranku (1941-2016) was one of the greatest African guitarists of his generation. He first made his name with the Malombo Jazz Makers – the successor group to the legendary Malombo Jazzmen, formed in Mamelodi township by guitarist Philip Tabane, drummer Julian Bahula and flautist Abbey Cindi. When Tabane left the Jazzmen in 1965, Bahula and Cindi called on Lucky to replace him, and the Malombo Jazz Makers were born. Building on the popularity and success of the original Malombo Jazzmen, the Malombo Jazz Makers become immensely popular, touring widely, winning numerous jazz competitions, and recording two successful albums for the Gallo label.

The deep and hypnotic Down Lucky’s Way was their third album. Recorded in 1969, it was the first Malombo Jazz Makers album to feature additional instruments, and the first to feature Abbey Cindi on soprano saxophone as well as flute. But more than anything else, Down Lucky’s Way is a transfixing showcase for Lucky Ranku’s sui generis guitar virtuosity. Quite different from their previous recordings, the album shifted the Jazz Makers’ sound toward hypnotic, extended compositions, layered by organ bass and guitar overdubs. Of all the Malombo Jazz Makers recordings, Down Lucky’s Way is the deepest of mood, and the richest of vision.

However, through one of the erasures that are ubiquitous in South African musical history under apartheid, it seems that the record may not ever have been properly issued. Original copies are outrageously rare – only a few are known among collectors. When we asked Lucky about the album, he was unaware it had ever been released, and had never seen a copy. Perhaps it was pulled; perhaps it was pulped; perhaps Gallo simply took their eye off the ball. Nobody knows, but it is not impossible that the apartheid authorities were involved, for by 1969, the Malombo Jazz Makers were well known to them.

Julian Bahula’s introduction of malopo drums to the music of the original Malombo Jazzmen was a moment of crucial political and cultural radicalism for South African jazz. Traditionally used by BaPedi people for healing, the malopo drums of Malombo music re-centered jazz
around indigenous sounds and culture, and over the next decade, the Malombo Jazz Makers became deeply involved in political opposition to apartheid. Their recovery of indigenous sounds made them the musical standard bearer for the Black Consciousness movement, and they toured South Africa clandestinely with the writer and anti-apartheid activist Steve Biko. They also broke apartheid laws by playing with the white rock group Freedom’s Children, sometimes appearing on stage in masks or made up with UV paint to avoid detection by the authorities; they appeared regularly at the rule-bending Free People’s Concerts organized by David Marks, where Marks’ clever exploitation of a loophole – mixed audiences were prohibited from attending ticketed concerts where anyone was being paid, but the law said nothing about private functions played by artists for free – meant people could come together in defiance of apartheid laws. The notorious Special Branch would raid their concerts; Lucky remembered police storming an auditorium, throwing smoke bombs.

Eventually the political situation became too dangerous, and the band were being actively sought by the police. Though Abbey Cindi remained in South Africa, both Julian Bahula and Lucky Ranku went into political exile in the UK, where Bahula founded the group Jabula with Lucky and former members of Cymande, Steve Scipio and Michael ‘Bami’ Rose. With Jabula, Julian and Lucky worked tirelessly for the anti-apartheid movement, raising funds and awareness all over Europe and in the US. They played with Dudu Pukwana’s Spear in the joint formation Jabula-Spear, and worked together in Bahula’s Jazz Afrika formation, and Bahula organized the first Concert for Mandela in 1984 (it was Jabula that supplied the chorus for The Special A.K.A.’s hit single ‘Nelson Mandela’). Lucky also played and recorded with Chris McGregor’s South African Exiles Thunderbolt group. After the fall of apartheid, they both remained living and working in the UK. In 2012 the South African government awarded Julian Bahula the Gold Order of Ikhamanga for his cultural work during the struggle against apartheid.

Until his death in 2016, Lucky continued to play with countless groups and musicians. putting together the band Township Express with Pinise Saul, and leading his own African Jazz Allstars. The influence of his playing on the international perception of South African township music was immense, and he was held in the highest regard by his peers – ‘Lucky was a guitarist who could bring any house down’, said Michael ‘Bami’ Rose.

But despite his continuous presence on the UK live circuit over four decades, Lucky Ranku never recorded an album as leader. And so as well as restoring an important lost piece of South African musical heritage, Down Lucky’s Way is a precious opportunity to hear one of Africa’s foremost guitarists stretching out, in focus and in his element."

First issue since 1969 of the Malombo Jazz Maker’s unknown third album.
Liner notes featuring interviews with Julian Bahula and Lucky Ranku.
Fully licensed from Julian Bahula.

“Crystal Motion” were a vocal quartet of Cape Verdean descendancy from New Bedford Massachusetts. The group’s original members being lead vocalist “Kevin Gomes”, Kevin’ s cousin, Rodney “Skeeta” Santos, Daniel “Buddy” Monterio and John Paris, the man responsible for coining the group’s eventual performing name “Crystal Motion”.

Entering a local now defunct recording studio “Metcalf’s” the grouped recorded the Kevin Gomes penned demonstration song, the sweet soul ballad “There’ll Be Another”.

A copy of this song was eventually submitted to the recently formed Independent Recording Studio, “Omega Sound Productions” in Philadelphia, PA. The label was owned by Frank Fioravanti who having just hit paydirt with William DeVaughn’s smash hit “Be Thankful For What You Got” continued with his policy of supporting up and coming talent and upon hearing Crystal Motion’s demo decided to offer them a recording contract. Although deciding against using their submitted demonstration song (which was to remain unissued) Fioravanti chose to record the group on a song he had co-written with another Philly writer and recording artist Pal Rakes, the title of the song was “You’re My Main Squeeze (Part 1 & 2)” an exciting disco dance orientated song that Frank released on them in 1975 on his Sound Gems label imprint. The song became a minor hit in Boston MA, Providence RI and Philadelphia areas also receiving extensive airplay in Atlanta GA and Houston TX. John Paris was to leave the group being replaced by a longtime friend of the other group members Douglas “Dougie” Mendes. With attention coming from the producers of “American Band Stand” and “Soul Train” the group toured the East coast circuit throughout 1975 and 1976 in preparation for an upcoming album project which was never finished before lead singer Kevin Gomes left for unforeseen personal reasons and ultimately the group broke up. Little did “Crystal Motion” know at the time but their solitary 45 release was finding a new audience across the pond in the UK with “You’re My Main Squeeze” being championed by inspirational DJ Colin Curtis in the hallowed halls of Blackpool Mecca, a timeless classic that never fails to bring a smile to the listening audiences faces even to this day.

Returning to the groups unfinished Sounds Gems album project only one track was ever completed, the Fioravanti/Rakes composition “Million Dollar Baby” which along with “There’ll Be Another” has been licensed from their respective owners and paired together for a long overdue 45 release for your delectation. With ‘Crystal Motion’s’ “You’re My Main Squeeze” cult and anthemic status being forever assured with Northern/Modern Soul devotees we’d like to think the discovery and release of these two slightly differing Sweet Soul offerings will garner and enhance the group’s wider appeal with the growing aficionados of the Chicano, Group Harmony and Lowrider genres, Enjoy.

Kelsea’s fourth album, SUBJECT TO CHANGE, arrived on September 23, 2022. The first single, “HEARTFIRST,” quickly took over airwaves, and was the “most added song at country radio” the week of its release. Most recently, Kelsea earned a GRAMMY® nomination for “Best Country Solo Performance” for “HEARTFIRST.” Kelsea Ballerini is ready to continue making history in 2023 and beyond. The two-time Grammy nominee previously teased Subject To Change in April, and said that the '90s-tinged "Heartfirst" set the tone for what's to come. "There is a lot of nostalgia to this record," she said. "It does sound really '90s-inspired, '90s country and '90s pop... I really just wanted to start this next chapter with something that feels good. It's breezy, it's happy, and I hope people hear that."

The Monsterican Dream is the second studio album by Finnish metal band Lordi, released in 2004. It features an overall heavier sound with a grimmer look to the band than Lordi's first album Get Heavy. This follow-up is produced by Hiili Hiilesmaa, who worked with HIM, Sentenced and Amorphis amongst others.

The album spawn two singles; "My Heaven Is Your Hell" and "Blood Red Sandman", peaked at number four in the Finnish album charts and was certified Platinum. It was re-released in Finland as a limited edition on DVD, which included Lordi's short film The Kin.

The Monsterican Dream is available on vinyl for the first time as a limited edition of 666 individually numbered copies on translucent red coloured vinyl. The album is housed in a gatefold sleeve and includes an 8-page booklet.

The legendary 1964 rehearsal collaboration receives its first official issue Restoration and Mastering by Grammy®-winning engineer Michael Graves Packaging contains rare photos plus liner notes from Jorma Kaukonen Jorma Kaukonen (later of Jefferson Airplane and Hot Tuna) met a singer named Janis Joplin at a hootenanny in San Jose, California, in the fall of 1962. Over the following years, Janis would call on Jorma to accompany her at gigs. As they continued to play together, the Bay Area was changing musically and developing into the legendary San Francisco scene to which both Janis and Jorma would be integral. During a rehearsal for a show in North Beach, Jorma started his reel-to-reel machine to capture what they were working on. For decades, this recording was the stuff of legend, with inferior, multi-generational transfers making their way through select collector’s circles. Now, for the very first time, it is available officially, with the blessing and cooperation of both the Janis Joplin Estate and Jorma Kaukonen. The Legendary Typewriter Tape: 6/25/64 Jorma’s House contains this legendary recording, featuring Restoration and Mastering from acclaimed, Grammy®-winner Michael Graves. The tracks include Joplin on vocals, Kaukonen on guitar, and Jorma’s wife Margareta typing away intermittently in the background. This may have just been a rehearsal, but it is so much more. Featuring Joplin originals, as well as blues classics, The Legendary Typewriter Tape is an intimate glimpse into two major artists at the beginnings of what would become highly influential careers. As Jorma says in his liner notes: “This is indeed a window into a simpler time when the music truly was everything.” Available on CD and Digital December 2, 2022, the release will also be available on vinyl exclusively for Record Store Day Black Friday, November 25, 2022 Enjoy being a fly on the wall and revel in the magic of The Legendary Typewriter Tape.

Recycled Col. LP

McKinley Dixon calls the late Toni Morrison the greatest rapper of all time; and the way he tackles topics like survival, violence, and religion within the expansive landscape of the Black experience, evokes her novels. It is from the title of Morrison‘s Beloved trilogy where he finds the title of his new album with City Slang Records: Beloved! Paradise! Jazz!? Musically his household was defined by “artists whose first name was Mary,” including Mary J. Blige and gospel duo Mary Mary. Discovering Outkast was formative for Dixon, deepening his love for hip-hop while he also grew curious about the more theatrical rock of groups of the day, bands like My Chemical Romance and Panic! At The Disco that his Maryland friends introduced him to. “Those groups also helped me with my sense of longing, since their music reflected a sense of longing,” he says. Eventually he channelled these competing influences into a debut EP he released in 2013. With time, his music became his primary means of self-expression, whether discussing Blackness or his own relationship with healing. Across his next releases, his style evolved and his confidence grew, especially when it came to live instrumentation. His 2021 debut album For My Mama and Anyone Who Look Like Her was a game changer, as Dixon set his sights on heartache and grief. “I was making these really dense and chaotic songs, stuffing whatever thought I had into five and a half minutes,” Dixon says of that project. Beloved! Paradise! Jazz?! is an attempt at channeling different impulses. Sometimes rough and other times delicate, this record is a journey into is a journey into the psyche of McKinley Dixon, with all of the of the attendant peaks and valleys.

The name NxxxxxS (pronounced "N-Five X-S”) sounds like it could be an equation, or a mystery. But to begin to unravel the identity of the French producer who just signed to Because Music and Mad Decent (the label founded by Diplo), you first have to look for clues on YouTube and Soundcloud, where so many underground artists have found a place to hone their craft. In the ten years preceding the release of his second album Short Term Agreement in 2023, NxxxxxS built up a solid reputation for himself in the international vaporwave, vaportrap & phonk scenes. This is no small feat considering he didn’t have any real knowledge of production or composition before deciding to take on these classic genres of “Internet music”.
The Paris native first gained exposure when he started making beats on YouTube, taking his inspiration from American rappers of the blog era - when artists, especially in hip hop, used digital technology to break away from traditional distribution models - like Mac Miller or Odd Future. Building on this initial success, NxxxxxS turned to Soundcloud, an essential platform for music enthusiasts, tastemakers or anyone on the lookout for the sounds of tomorrow.
Following in the footsteps of The Alchemist and other producers of the same ilk, NxxxxxS soon became one of the pioneers of vaporwave and vaportrap music. Featured prominently in modern productions, these styles originated on social media platforms such as Reddit or Tumbler in the 2010’s and are recognisable by their frequent use of commercial samples ranging from the 70’s to the 2000’s (taken from jingles, lounge, jazz or elevator music). Altered, chopped up and slowed down to around 60 to 70 BPM to match hip-hop standards, the music offered a critique or satire of capitalism, consumer society and any culture that grew out of it, most notably yuppies from the 80’s.
NxxxxxS put his own spin on the recipe by creating a new world filled with soaring melodies and countless references to movies and horror scenes, and eventually released his debut album Fujita Scale (a scale used to measure the damage inflicted by tornadoes) in 2014. The album reached a worldwide audience because of its composer’s story and of the secrecy around his French nationality, and even won over unexpected fanbases such as the highly closed off Chinese market. Fujita Scale landed on one of China's streaming platforms, making NxxxxxS an identifiable artist in Asia who went on to tour his album three times across the continent.

NxxxxxS kept the ball rolling, collaborating on a new series of more accessible projects, which aimed to be less niche in terms of the references or sub-genres they tapped into, so he could find a new audience. This led to his first hits, “Synthetic Corporation” - which would also become the name of his label - “Remember Last Summer” and “Formatted Excess”, as well as his most popular track to date, “Playa Shit”, with over 11M streams on Spotify. The upcoming album’s title, Short Term Agreement, is a playful reference to his unyielding desire for independence and productivity, and his eagerness to preserve the personal freedom he turned into strength.
Yet NxxxxxS is never one to refuse support, and he has now joined forces with Because Music & Mad Decent to further establish himself as a producer at the international level - alongside Diplo especially, who is a case in point - so that this understated and ever prolific artist can meet his ambitions of widening his audience and have his name known by all.
And so the tracks on Short Term Agreement serve as the foundation for NxxxxxS' new identity, featuring a rich and diverse array of sounds thanks to the numerous guests involved: London rapper Jeshi - a new British rap phenomenon also freshly signed to Because Music, French rappers 8ruki & Bitsu, Canadian Freddie Dredd and American underground talents Pollari . Avoiding the pitfalls of a compilation-like producer album, NxxxxxS has once again carved out his own style from the modern hip hop rule book.

In other words, NxxxxxS’ constant evolution has brought us this much closer to solving the mystery that is his name.

Factory Benelux presents a limited edition 180gm vinyl singles collection by Marcel King, best known for his sparkling 1984 dance single ‘Reach For Love’ on Factory Records, as well as the youthful vocalist on ‘SadSweet Dreamer’ by Sweet Sensation, a UK number one back in 1974 Limited to just 1000 copies, Reach For Love: Singles 1983-88 features both sides of the infectious electro single co-produced by Bernard Sumner (New Order) and Donald Johnson (A Certain Ratio) and released as Fac 92 in April 1984, as well as a previously unreleased demo for ‘Love To Shine’, the planned follow-up single on Factory produced by Tony Henry of 52nd Street. (NON-RETURNABLE).

The album also features ‘Hollywood Nights’, a later single cut by Marcel with Gee Bello of Light of the World, along with a rare US remix of ‘Reach For Love’ by noted New York DJ Mark Kamins, and extended dub and instrumental versions.

King was invited to record for Factory in 1983 by Joy Division/New Order manager Rob Gretton, a devotee of soul and black music, and prime mover behind the famous Hacienda nightclub. ‘Rob was a massive fan of Marcel and thought he was as good a singer as Michael Jackson,’ explains Tony Henry. Not just a gifted and
plaintive soul singer, King also wrote both sides of his Factory single, ‘Reach For Love’ and ‘Keep On Dancin’, both paeans to perseverance and enduring Hacienda classics.
A classic video clip for the single, filmed at The Hacienda with local breakdancing crews, is available in.

Alas ‘Reach For Love’ was destined to remain an underground hit rather than a chart topper. Rob Gretton blamed Factory’s disdain for conventional promotion. ‘At Factory we still basically believe that you don’t have to hype a group in any way, and that a record should success on its own. But it’s getting increasingly difficult.
We put a record out by Marcel King and it’s hardly sold at all. The charts are wide open to hyping and marketing.’

Adds Bernard Sumner: ‘Marcel was an incredibly talented guy, but a tragic figure. He used to sleep in a car in Moss Side and was a bad heroin addict.’ A troubled but pioneering artist, Marcel sadly passed away in 1995 after suffering a brain haemorrhage.
1000 copies only of FBN 47 will be available on Record Store Day on 22 April 2023, pressed on 180gm black vinyl. The sleeve is based on original artwork for the Factory single and also includes a press interview with Marcel from 1984.

Morgan Wallen veröffentlicht sein mit Spannung erwartetes zweites Album „Dangerous“. Der Künstler schrieb die Songs zum größten Teil selbst und wurde in dieser Zeit zum ”am schnellsten aufsteigenden jungen Star des Landes” (Variety). Morgan sagt über sein Album „Ich wollte auch, dass die Lieder mehrere Lebensphasen ansprechen und mehrere verschiedene Klänge haben, je nach meinen Einflüssen und je nachdem, was mir Spaß macht.“ Das Doppelalbum spiegelt somit den unverkennbaren Sound, den Wallen und Produzent Joey Moi auf seinem Platinum Debüt-Album „If I Know Me“ geschaffen haben, wider. Als Vorgeschmack auf „Dangerous“ sind bereits 8 Songs erschienen, darunter die Single „Somebody‘s Problem“ sowie die beiden aktuellen Country-Radio-Singles von Wallen - Top 3 ”More Than My Hometown” und Top 30 ”7 Summers”. Außerdem ist die Country-Album-Version der 3X Platinum Diplo-Kollaboration ”Heartless” enthalten. Künstler wie Ashley Gorley, Shane McAnally, Eric Church und Jason Isbell wirkten bei „Dangerous“ mit. Außerdem sind selbstverständlich Morgan’s engste musikalische Vertraute Hardy, Ernest und Ryan Vojtesak dabei. Wallen ist der Künstler des Country Genres mit den meisten Streams auf allen Plattformen, welche sich auf weit über 3 Billionen belaufen. Außerdem wurde er im November 2020 mit dem CMA Award als „New Artist of the Year“ ausgezeichnet.

Ein zentrales Album für die heutige Zeit: hell, frei, unnachgiebig, optimistisch. Brain Worms ist das bisher vollste und makelloseste Album von RVG. Auf "Brain Worms" wird deutlich, dass die Band in bester Form ist. Der Album-Opener 'Common Ground' gibt den Ton an für das, was kommen wird; ein glänzendes, mitreißendes, schlagkräftiges Album mit allen geliebten RVG-Merkmalen. Vagers Stimme ist ungefiltert und souverän wie immer, wenn sie ihre cleveren, nicht ganz ironischen Texte vorträgt. Hier fühlen sich diese Texte jedoch viel weniger resigniert und sehnsüchtig an, sondern viel mehr trotzig und fröhlich. Tambourine" ist der einzige Covid-Song, den Vager schrieb, als sie "versuchte, keine Covid-Songs zu schreiben", und es ist ein schmerzhaft ehrliches Porträt der Trauer inmitten der Isolation. Brain Worms" erzählt die nur allzu bekannte Geschichte eines Menschen, der in den Kaninchenbau des Internets fällt und Trost in Verschwörungen findet. Nothing Really Changes" ist ein Keyboarder-lastiges New-Wave-Ding, während das abschließende "Tropic of Cancer" mit Vagers selbstbewusstem neuen Manifest glänzt: Ich weiß, wie ich bin, und ich weiß, wie ich werde. Wenn du denkst, ich bin seltsam, hast du noch nichts gesehen. Bloxham, Nolte und Wallace erwecken Vagers Songwriting mit Bravour zum Leben. Aufgenommen in den Londoner Snap Studios mit James Trevascus (Nick Cave & Warren Ellis, PJ Harvey), strotzen alle zehn Tracks vor üppigen Klängen, klaren Absichten und der Magie einer Akustikgitarre, die einst Kate Bush gehörte und die ihr von Tears for Fears geschenkt wurde (die, so die Legende, "Everybody Wants to Rule the World" darauf geschrieben hat). Die vier Bandmitglieder - Leadsänger und Gitarrist Vager, Gitarrist Reuben Bloxham, Schlagzeuger Marc Nolte und Bassist Isabele Wallace - sind so selbstbewusst wie noch nie bei RVG. Sie haben ihre Einflüsse hinter sich gelassen, sich selbst vorangetrieben und neue Dinge ausprobiert. Und sie haben ein Album gemacht, das sie nach allem, was sie sagen, als ihr bestes bezeichnen können. Brain Worms" fühlt sich an wie die Antithese zu dem, was eine Post-Pandemic-Platte leicht sein könnte. Für eine Band, die bereits Musik über das Zurückgezogensein schrieb, "wir waren deprimiert und gingen auf unseren ersten beiden Alben nicht nach draußen", gab die erzwungene Isolation und die Zeit zum Nachdenken Vager Raum, über alles zu schreiben, was sie wollte. Und es stellte sich heraus, dass sie bereit war, über Akzeptanz zu schreiben. "Wenn wir nur ein weiteres Album machen könnten, wäre es dieses", sagt Vager. Rolling Stone: "Eine Visitenkarte für Außenseiter... dynamischer und vitaler Post-Punk" The Guardian: "Eine der vitalsten Bands der australischen Szene von heute.

Returning after three years, the husband and wife duo of Alexi Erenkov and Alison Alderdiceaka. The Saxophones have announced the arrival of their third album, To Be A Cloud, for 2nd June 2023. Out today is the first single to be taken from it, Desert Flower, featuring a video directed by Rainbow Tunnel. "Alison wants me to try therapy, "says Alexi. “She’s a therapist herself, but I’ve never been to one. The idea of going makes me very uncomfortable. I don’t like being vulnerable in front of strangers. So, instead of confronting my discomfort, I look for an easier path. It’s never easier and it’s always unsatisfying or destructive. “Desert Flower” is about avoidance and fear impeding personal growth and the deepening of relationships. The album itself was recorded at Phil Elverum’s (The Microphones, Mount Eerie) Unknown Studio in Anacortes, WA last autumn. A former Catholic church where the pair lived during 24/7 recording sessions, time was no object as they experimented and developed the sound of the record. Its magical setting and ample space provided natural acoustics for Alexi’s arresting vocals which were recorded live to 24-track tape, suspending them in an ambiguous historical and chronological context between analogue and digital. Enhanced by Alison’s percussion alongside the bass and keys of Richard Laws, together they made the most of the studio’s many instruments which fill out and bookend their exploration of the billions of years of evolution that have led to this moment in time.

Svart Records proudly presents Sonny Rollins with the Heikki Sarmanto trio, in an extremely rare live performance at Finland Festival in the summer of 1972. Available for the first time, fifty years after it was initially recorded, this incredible show features Sarmanto on the Fender Rhodes electric piano, his brother Pekka Sarmanto on bass and Esko Rosnell on drums. Legend of American Jazz, “Saxophone Colossus” Sonny Rollins hand picked Heikki Sarmanto and his Finnish trio for this night of improvisation and mutual respect that culminated in years of collaboration after. The music conjured throughout this live extravaganza is everything a Jazz aficionado could have hoped for, with extensive improvisations and incredible soloing by the musicians. Two standards and one original by Rollins, which last between sixteen and twenty-four minutes, illustrate both the quartet’s vibe and supreme virtuosity. Taking place at the magnificent Finlandia Hall, an architectural marvel, which was completed only a few months earlier, and recorded by the YLE (The Finnish Broadcasting Company), this legendary concert has been expertly mastered by Pauli Saastamoinen at the infamous Finnvox Studios in 2022 to perfectly highlight the magic that was in the air all those years ago. Rollins seems to be especially in high spirits throughout the show and his powerful and expressive playing, full of humor, is simply marvelous. He even manages to quote some hints of Jean Sibelius’ “Finlandia” tone poem as a tribute to the venue. Through our tireless efforts at Svart Records to preserve our musical culture, you can now be re-introduced to an important piece in the jigsaw of Finnish Jazz history, immortalised on double vinyl gatefold and CD and both limited to only 1000 copies.

Various Artists - A Giant Has Nowhere To Go: Tongue Master Records Presents Selections From Comes With A Smile (2000-2006) LP + 7' + 4 page booklet insert describing the legacy of the magazine, 500 only pressed. A vinyl only release. "A Giant Has Nowhere To Go: Tongue Master Records Presents Selections From Comes With A Smile (2000-2006)" is a celebratory vinyl-only release drawn from the magazine's sixteen cover-mounted compilation CDs. Across some 300 tracks, the magazine presented previously unheard tracks from its eclectic array of interviewees drawn from the worlds of the Singer Songwriter, Americana, Post-Rock, Electronica, and all things Indie. Comes With A Smile's designer/editor Matt Dornan's association with Tongue Master Records began with the first TM 7" and has continued to the present day. In some ways the association has come full circle with this curated release. The selections on this album represent the place where the worlds of Tongue Master and CWAS converge. Most remain exclusive to the magazine, and all appear on vinyl for the first time. Side one features artists who appear in the Tongue Master discography - from established masters Mark Eitzel, Mark Mulcahy and Howe Gelb to the equally idiosyncratic stylings of New York's The Scene Is Now, Athens' Sigmatropic (featuring Edith Frost) and London's cinematic The Real Tuesday Weld. The latter revisits a CWAS favourite, featuring a newly recorded vocal by Sephine Llo, exclusive to this release. Other contributions include intimate demos from Eitzel and Gelb (better known in embellished form by American Music Club and Giant Sand respectively), to standalone gems like Mulcahy's "Elephantine" (which gives this collection its title) and the bruised avant-garde blues of The Scene Is Now's "The Word". The tracks on side two and the accompanying 7" are a diverse selection drawn from the 16 CDs CWAS issued between 2000 and 2006 that reflect and complement the oeuvre of Tongue Master Records. Here you will find the dense literature-infused art-folk of Lullaby For The Working Class, the sparse acoustic balladry of Nina Nastasia and the curious Matmos-enhanced stylings of veteran polymath and fellow New Yorker David Grubbs. In their wake comes an epic jazz-tinged duel between Douglas McCombs's Brokeback and sometime labelmates Chicago Underground Duo, and the raw gothic Americana of Blanche. The LP concludes with a haunting lo-fi lament by the sorely missed Jason Molina in his Songs: Ohia guise. The 7" presents two further gems: a concise edit of the lengthy title track from a 2005 12" tour EP from CWAS regulars The American Analog Set, and an acoustic rendition of a track from the album 'The Great Destroyer' by shapeshifting veterans Low from the same year. Together the 14 tracks hint at the breadth of the CWAS archive, a treasure trove from a not-too-distant musical past. With full lyrics, a special four page insert tracing the history of the magazine, and an Alex Wharton Abbey Road cut, this quality release is a testament to the legacy of CWAS. 'Probably the best independent music magazine in the world '- ESQUIRE // Tracks: SIDE ONE: 1 The Scene Is Now - 'Words' (3:10) 2 Howe Gelb - 'Wolf Pup' (4:42) 3 Mark Mulcahy - 'Elephantine' (4:12) 4 Sigmatropic featuring Edith Frost - 'Haiku 4 (Alt)' (2:31) 5 Mark Eitzel - 'Bought A Book' (3:36) 6 The Real Tuesday Weld featuring Sephine Lo - 'Dreaming of You' (3:47). SIDE TWO: 7 Lullaby For The Working Class - 'In Defense Of Abstractions' (3:18) 8 Nina Nastasia - 'I Will Never Marry' (3:29) 9 David Grubbs- 'Aging Young Lovers' (2:53) 10 Brokeback With Chicago Underground Duo- 'Chomsk, Live!' (7:08) 11 Blanche -'Never Again (Demo)' (3:26) 12 Songs: Ohia - 'Untitled' (3:01). 7" SIDE 3: The American Analog Set - 'Everything Ends In Spring (Edit)' (4:41). SIDE 4: Low - 'Walk Into The Sea (acoustic version)' (3:07) For indie stores only!

Warehouse find!

Teenage Fanclub have announced news of their tenth studio album, Endless Arcade, released 5th March. Even if we weren’t living through extraordinarily troubling times, there is nothing quite like a Teenage Fanclub album to assuage the mind, body and soul, and to reaffirm that all is not lost in this world.

Endless Arcade follows the band’s ninth album “Here”, released in 2016 to universal acclaim and notably their first Top 10 album since 1997; a mark of how much they’re treasured. The new record is quintessential TFC: melodies are equal parts heart-warming and heart-aching; guitars chime and distort; keyboard lines mesh and spiral; harmony-coated choruses burst out like sun on a stormy day.

In the 1990s, the band crafted a magnetically heavy yet harmony-rich sound on classic albums such as “Bandwagonesque” and “Grand Prix”. This century, albums such as “Shadows” and “Here” have documented a more relaxed, less ‘teenage’ Fanclub, reflecting the band’s stage in life and state of mind, which Endless Arcade slots perfectly alongside. The album walks a beautifully poised line between melancholic and uplifting, infused with simple truths. The importance of home, community and hope is entwined with more bittersweet, sometimes darker thoughts - insecurity, anxiety, loss.

Such is life. But the title track suggests, “Don’t be afraid of this endless arcade that is life.”

A preview from the album came in February 2019 with Raymond’s ‘Everything Is Falling Apart’, an online single released at the outset of a six-month tour and a highlight of Endless Arcade.

Everything is falling apart? Well, yes, but the song was written long before COVID-19 arrived. Neither was Raymond’s inspiration political or social, but more, “the entropy in the universe, the knowledge that everything eventually decays,” he explains. But Raymond says relax. Or rather, “Relax, find love, hold on to the hand of a friend”.

Fortunately, Endless Arcade was virtually finished by the time lockdown was announced, bar the odd tinker under the engine hood. It seems timely, given how everyone had to initially stay home under lockdown, that the album starts with Norman’s ‘Home’, though it was chosen in part because of its opening line: “Every morning, I open my eyes...” The album’s longest track (at seven minutes) typifies TFC’s relaxed groove, culminating in Raymond’s peach of a guitar solo.

Norman’s search for ‘home’ could be literal: after all, he’s been living in Canada for the last 10 years. But it’s also figurative. Like Norman’s other Endless Arcade songs – The Sun Won’t Shine On Me’, ‘Warm Embrace’, ‘I’m More Inclined’, ‘Back In The Day’ and ‘Living With You’ – his words on ‘Home’ are etched by loss and yearning. “Without going into too much detail, the last eighteen months have been challenging for me on an emotional level,” he admits. “But it’s been cathartic channelling some of these feelings and emotions into song.”

In contrast, Raymond’s songs – he’s also responsible for ‘Come With Me’, ‘In Our Dreams’, ‘The Future’ and ‘Silent Song’ – are philosophical and questing. As he sings in ‘The Future’: “It’s hard to walk into the future when your shoes are made of lead”, but he’s still going to try, “and see sights we’ve never seen.”

In the band’s own near future, they’re already planning another new album given they can’t yet tour the one they’re releasing now. Welcome back, Teenage Fanclub, unafraid of this endless arcade that is life.

Warehouse find!

Teenage Fanclub have announced news of their tenth studio album, Endless Arcade, released 5th March. Even if we weren’t living through extraordinarily troubling times, there is nothing quite like a Teenage Fanclub album to assuage the mind, body and soul, and to reaffirm that all is not lost in this world.

Endless Arcade follows the band’s ninth album “Here”, released in 2016 to universal acclaim and notably their first Top 10 album since 1997; a mark of how much they’re treasured. The new record is quintessential TFC: melodies are equal parts heart-warming and heart-aching; guitars chime and distort; keyboard lines mesh and spiral; harmony-coated choruses burst out like sun on a stormy day.

In the 1990s, the band crafted a magnetically heavy yet harmony-rich sound on classic albums such as “Bandwagonesque” and “Grand Prix”. This century, albums such as “Shadows” and “Here” have documented a more relaxed, less ‘teenage’ Fanclub, reflecting the band’s stage in life and state of mind, which Endless Arcade slots perfectly alongside. The album walks a beautifully poised line between melancholic and uplifting, infused with simple truths. The importance of home, community and hope is entwined with more bittersweet, sometimes darker thoughts - insecurity, anxiety, loss.

Such is life. But the title track suggests, “Don’t be afraid of this endless arcade that is life.”

A preview from the album came in February 2019 with Raymond’s ‘Everything Is Falling Apart’, an online single released at the outset of a six-month tour and a highlight of Endless Arcade.

Everything is falling apart? Well, yes, but the song was written long before COVID-19 arrived. Neither was Raymond’s inspiration political or social, but more, “the entropy in the universe, the knowledge that everything eventually decays,” he explains. But Raymond says relax. Or rather, “Relax, find love, hold on to the hand of a friend”.

Fortunately, Endless Arcade was virtually finished by the time lockdown was announced, bar the odd tinker under the engine hood. It seems timely, given how everyone had to initially stay home under lockdown, that the album starts with Norman’s ‘Home’, though it was chosen in part because of its opening line: “Every morning, I open my eyes...” The album’s longest track (at seven minutes) typifies TFC’s relaxed groove, culminating in Raymond’s peach of a guitar solo.

Norman’s search for ‘home’ could be literal: after all, he’s been living in Canada for the last 10 years. But it’s also figurative. Like Norman’s other Endless Arcade songs – The Sun Won’t Shine On Me’, ‘Warm Embrace’, ‘I’m More Inclined’, ‘Back In The Day’ and ‘Living With You’ – his words on ‘Home’ are etched by loss and yearning. “Without going into too much detail, the last eighteen months have been challenging for me on an emotional level,” he admits. “But it’s been cathartic channelling some of these feelings and emotions into song.”

In contrast, Raymond’s songs – he’s also responsible for ‘Come With Me’, ‘In Our Dreams’, ‘The Future’ and ‘Silent Song’ – are philosophical and questing. As he sings in ‘The Future’: “It’s hard to walk into the future when your shoes are made of lead”, but he’s still going to try, “and see sights we’ve never seen.”

In the band’s own near future, they’re already planning another new album given they can’t yet tour the one they’re releasing now. Welcome back, Teenage Fanclub, unafraid of this endless arcade that is life.

Lanterns On The Lake kündigen ihr neues Album 'Versions Of Us' an, das am 2. Juni über Bella Union erscheint. Die selbstproduzierte fünfte Studio-LP folgt auf das 2020 für den Mercury-Prize nominierte Album 'Spook the Herd'.

Die neun Songs werfen große Gedanken auf, die sich mit den Möglichkeiten des Lebens auseinandersetzen, und der Frage, ob wir unser Schicksal ändern können oder dazu verdammt sind, dieselben Fehler im Leben immer und immer zu wiederholen. Die Stimme von Songwriterin Hazel Wilde liegt schwer über den Songs, die mit melodischen Gitarren, aufwühlenden Vintage-Synthesizern und verträumten Streichern musikalisch und textlich neues Terrain erkunden.

Mental health Probleme und persönliche Konflikte innerhalb der Band hatten einen großen Einfluss darauf, dass eine erste Version des Albums bereits frühzeitig Gestalt annahm, dann aber doch so nicht erschien. Die Band verwarf die Arbeit von fast einem Jahr und ging zu Song-Demos zurück, bei denen nur Hazel Wilde mit Philip Selway von Radiohead am Schlagzeug und an den Percussions neu begann.

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

Die Detroiter Post-Punk-Band Protomartyr kündigt heute ihr neues Album "Formal Growth In The Desert" für den 2. Juni bei Domino an und präsentiert die erste Single 'Make Way'.

Protomartyr, bestehend aus dem Sänger Joe Casey, dem Gitarristen Greg Ahee, dem Schlagzeuger Alex Leonard und dem Bassisten Scott Davidson, sind zu einem Synonym für bissige, impressionistische Assemblagen aus Politik und Poesie, Wahrem und Schrägem geworden. Casey beschreibt das zugrundeliegende Thema von "Formal Growth In The Desert" als ein 12-Song-Testament über das "Weitermachen mit dem Leben", selbst wenn es sich unmöglich hart anfühlt. Die stimmungsvolle Lead-Single/Video "Make Way" ist gleichzeitig der Eröffnungstrack von "Formal Growth In The Desert", in dem sich Casey zu Beginn des Albums direkt mit der Tragödie auseinandersetzt: “Welcome to the haunted earth // The living after life // Where we chose to forget // the years of the Hungry Knife.” Das begleitende Video, bei dem Trevor Naud Regie führte, ist eine beeindruckende filmische Meisterleistung. Über das Video sagt Naud: "Es gibt eine bewusste Verbindungslinie zwischen den Videos zu "Make Way" und 2020's "Worm In Heaven". Die beiden Songs fühlen sich zusammengehörig an. Deshalb wollte ich, dass die Videos sich so anfühlen, als würden sie in der gleichen Welt existieren. Es gibt verschiedene Ebenen von Experimenten, die alle in einer geschlossenen Umgebung stattfinden. Wir wissen nicht, was mit der Welt da draußen passiert ist, aber es gibt einen Unterton, dass irgendwas nicht stimmt."

Known for its groundbreaking techno releases, Infrastructure New York, is relaunched! Celebrating 27 years of Function releases this year and the label's 25th anniversary, the label will serve as an outlet for his new material, reissues of out-of-print classics from Synewave, Sandwell District and Ostgut Ton (and of course, Infrastructure), as well as developing new artists. As a member of the Sandwell District collective, David Sumner aka Function, from 2007 onward was instrumental in cultivating and ushering in a new sound of dark, cerebral hypnotica - forcing the hand of change in global techno. Green EP serves as a testament to this, further exploring these depths. The EP pays homage to the day when David arrived in Berlin with his green suitcase where his record "Isolation" on Sandwell District was released, hitting the ground running and springboarding into an incredibly successful career, becoming a stalwart DJ/producer, after years as a struggling artist. Green EP encapsulates the same raw power and hypnotic energy of his genre-defining Sandwell District releases Isolation, Anticipation and Variance, updated with a modern flair. Subject f (Function) has clearly transcended, as expressed through the opening track "Initiation" arriving at his "New Designation". On the b-side Function communicates his divine alignment through the broken beat, etheric "Aeternum (Meridian)". Finally, Function closes Green EP with a live extraction of "Desire and Memory", a brooding club stormer in contrast to the more experimental leanings of the original version, which appeared on Rrose's label Eaux. One thing is clear: Function is back on track and more on form than ever!

"Ihr seid jetzt beide Gefangene des Robotov-Imperiums!"
Die dritte und letzte umfangreiche Box mit Audio-Abenteuern bei denen Tom Baker den Doktor gibt. Die zum ersten Mal auf Vinyl in limitierter Auflage veröffentlichte 10LP-Box enthält jeweils ein exklusives Porträt des vierten Doktors, welches von Tom Baker handsigniert ist. Limitiert auf nur 1.200 Exemplare weltweit und präsentiert auf 10 (!) abwechselnd schwarzen und grünen Vinyl-LPs. Das Audio-Abenteuer kommt mit Susan Jameson als Mrs Wibbsey und Richard Franklin als Mike Yates. Zu den Nebendarstellern gehören David Troughton, Michael Jayston, Simon Shepherd, Terrence Hardiman, Joanna David, Sophie Ward, Andrew Sachs und Nerys Hughes. Alle im Original-Sound begleitet vom bekannten Doctor Who-Thema aus dem BBC Radiophonic Workshop.
Die Box kommt mit 10 wunderschön individuell illustrierte LP-Hüllen mit Besetzung und Credits für jede der fünf Geschichten. Ein 16-seitiges, vollfarbiges Booklet enthält Liner Notes und Illustrationen des Doktors, die im Laufe dieser fünf Abenteuer entstanden sind.

Limitierte Auflage: honiggold-farbene Vinylschallplatte, alternatives Cover-Artwork, 2 Einleger mit Bildern und Texten, antistatische Innenhülle. SHE KEEPS BEES, Jessica Larrabee und Andy LaPlant (auch privat ein Paar), fanden 2006 zusammen, ein garagig, souliges Blues-Rock Duo aus Brooklyn, NY. Nach einigen selbstveröffentlichten Aufnahmen, sorgte hierzulande erst ,Eight Houses", ihr jüngstes, im September 2014 über BB*ISLAND erschienenes und vielgelobtes Album für größeres Aufsehen, sowie die darauf folgenden Konzerte. "Nests" ist das Debüt des Vollzeit-Duos. Aufgenommen 2008 in ihrem Brooklyn Appartement, mit einem Fünfdollar-Verstärker und einer akustischen Gitarre aus einer Satanisten-WG ist das ein neu zu entdeckendes Juwel in Sachen bassloser Boy-Girl-Duo-Sound und Bedroom-Blues. Howlin Wolf und Millie Jackson könnten hier Taufpaten gewesen sein. Cat Power, frühe PJ Harvey, The Kills sind auch nicht weit. Jessica Larrabee hat mit ihrem rauhen, beseelten Gesang und ihrem intuitiven Gitarrenspiel eine sehr eigene Intensität und Präsenz. Ihre betörend schlafwandlerische Stimme ist durch und durch soulful. Ihr Partner Andy La Plant ergänzt das mit seinem direkten, wie zurückgenommenem Schlagzeugspiel kongenial. LaPlant kümmert sich dabei auch um die Produktion. Die Selbstbeschränkung der Mittel sowie der Ort an dem sie aufnehmen ist sicher ein Vorteil. ,Nests" ist ein New York Album und She Keeps Bees Musik ist wirklich blank bis auf die Knochen, bestimmt von weiblicher Stärke und Emotion, und buchstabiert alten Blues: Minimal, dunkel, roh, heilend.