Big techno electro release ! First track goes gentle Techno, a good base, very Drumcode style... Then second track, goes Electro Techno in a french style:Swinging and mental. B side opens with a hard techno industrial progressive bomb... and finally EP ends with a cool original reverbless kicker, electro feeling. Progressive as well... 4Tunes to mix and 4 tunes offering a cool variety of sound.... even if same speed:)
Hot on the heels of last year’s drone masterpiece, The Free Territory (FTR 457), comes this hot bowl of noodles from Manchester’s most elegantly wasted quintet. And while there might be apt comparisons to be made to some of the best current psych purveyors, the central thrill provided by these sounds makes me think of naught but prime Bay Area ballroom scene acid spew.
The guitar lines unspool like electrical cables filled with acid punch, and remain crackling in the air for moments longer than you imagine they can remain afloat. The keys have a bit of a German overtone, but it’s the same sort of one that led to the flash of Popol Vuh’s United Artist albums (which are themselves, at heart, paeans to the Bay.) The sound here is the sort of thing true believers recall as the highest moments of Man in live concert flight. Raging, raving guitars to soak your soul once and for all.
Don’t fear the downpour. Revel in it.
-Byron Coley, 2020
As darkness falls, once familiar territory is rendered alien and foreboding; full of weird and terrifying possibilities. These are Night Lands.
Recorded live in the rehearsal room last December, the newly expanded 4 piece Dead Sea Apes lock into spooky nocturnal grooves, augmented by Nik Rayne (The Myrrors) who was over in the UK for the recording of 'Night Lands'
Night Lands is comprised of 3 off-the-cuff improvised pieces, where Dead Sea Apes effortlessly mind meld with Rayne. Taking for a deep knowledge and love which you can hear seep through - At times Amon Duul (both!) at others times Earth with touches of what you imagine the Velvet Underground sounded like in the DOM - all touched with the presence of Bo Anders Persson
Obviously is the new album from beloved band Lake Street Dive. It includes the new single ‘Nobody’s Stopping You Now’, a letter of encouragement from lead vocalist Rachael Price to her teenaged self, co-written with bassist Bridget Kearney. Lake Street Dive has figured out how to write tunes that reflect this particularly turbulent chapter in our shared history. The album track ‘Making Do’, which was released at the end of last year, speaks to the world that future generations are inheriting while exploring the lasting impacts of climate change and our responsibility to address it (featuring a cameo from Senator Ed Markey who co-sponsored the Green New Deal).
As Price puts it, “You’re trying to express your anxieties, your feelings, your sadness, your happiness, all of these things – your authentic state of being in a song. But you’re also trying to create something people will listen to over and over again. That’s the unique fun thing about music, putting these messages into three and a half minute snippets, dropping whatever truth we can and hoping it’s the type of thing that people want to ruminate on.”
Obviously was produced by Grammy Award-winning producer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist Mike Elizondo who is best known as a songwriting collaborator for Dr. Dre, Eminem, and 50 Cent and has also served as a record producer for Fiona Apple, Mary J. Blige, Carrie Underwood, and 21 Pilots, among many others. Utilizing Elizondo’s hip-hop record-making expertise coupled with the permanent addition of keyboardist Akie Bermiss, Lake Street Dive’s wide-ranging taste in pop, rock, R&B, and jazz have blended together to make an impressively cohesive sound, combining retro influences with a contemporary attitude. “We’ve been a band for so long that we didn’t want to just become a feedback loop of our own ideas,” recounts Kearney. “It felt like a really good time to bring another person like Mike Elizondo, and he really opened us up. He encouraged us to make bolder arrangement choices, take those chances and try those things. The record really is a success in what we set out to do: continue to challenge ourselves, continue to grow, and do things we’ve never done before.”
The members of Lake Street Dive founded the group in 2004 while attending the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston. The band features Rachael Price (lead vocals), Mike “McDuck” Olson (trumpet, guitar), Bridget Kearney (bass) and Mike Calabrese (drums) as well as their newest member Akie Bermiss (keyboards), who has been a touring member of the group since 2017. Since the band’s inception, they have released six studio albums. Their 2018 self-produced record, Free Yourself Up, debuted at #4 on the US’s Top Album Chart and charted #8 on the Billboard 200. In addition, the album’s hit single ‘Good Kisser’ peaked at #5 at Americana radio and appeared in the Top 20 at AAA radio, both career peaks for the band. The group has toured worldwide performing at major music festivals including Bonnaroo, New Orleans Jazz Festival and Newport Folk Festival while preforming alongside artists such as T Bone Burnett, The Avett Brothers, Robert Finley, Jack Johnson and Trombone Shorty.
Earth, Wind & Fire’s sixth studio album That’s the Way of the World rose to No. 1 on both the Billboard 200 and Top Soul Albums charts. It was also the soundtrack for a 1975 motion picture of the same name. They won a Rock Music Award for the album in the category of Best Rhythm and Blues Album. The album is filled with gems ranging from the sweat funk of “Shining Star” to the gorgeous ballad “Reasons”.
On ‘Human Samling’ Norwegian saxophonist/composer Harald Lassen shows that his growing acclaim and reputation as a unique creative force within Norwegian jazz is not only justified but plain for all to hear.
He once again demonstrates a deft handling of the experimental and adventurous without complete abandonment of melody, harmony or pulse.
Beginning with the mellow opener, “Before You Came”, there is a feeling of both nostalgia and yearning. The single “Berry Joy” sways between languid grooves and playing peek-a-boo with the shadows, a memorably melodic foray with impeccable playing.
“Voyager” swaggers and jitters, its eyes always on the horizon, moving forward. “Thinkwalk” is an atmospheric excursion, complete with the sounds of nature, like church music for the pantheist, other tracks include “Stella”, which begins with a twinkling piano
riff and proceeds to rapidly evolve into a melodic jazz pop classic.
His ultra-reliable and always impressive band maintain a perfect synchronicity, not merely in terms of metrics, but also in terms of the prevailing musical winds, sailing in unison towards the same destination, never becoming lost in their own peregrinations, but remaining distinct individuals rather than mere tools for Lassen’s imagination.
Solo album by the great pianist Tete Montoliu recorded in 1971 and released on SteepleChase in 1986.
“El Grand Señior from Catalonia” was the way Dexter Gordon used to introduce Tete Montoliu to the audience at Club Montmartre in the ‘60s. Vincente Montoliu Massana, better known as Tete Montoliu (1933-1997) was born blind and learned to play piano at age 7 by Braille method.
He studied music at the Conservatori Superior de Música de Barcelona (1946-1953). His remarkable international career took off in 1956 when Lionel Hampton invited him for his big band and since then Tete played all over the world with host of jazz luminaries.
“Listen to the superb interaction between a man and his piano in the utmost sublimity...Montoliu shares the same pulse, sincerity, talent with his illustrious predecessors Art Tatum and Earl Hines...” - Pierre Steve
British artist Robin Rimbaud (Scanner) traverses the experimental terrain between sound and space connecting a bewilderingly diverse array of genres. Since 1991 he has been intensely active in sonic art, producing concerts, installations and recordings, the albums Mass Observation (1994), Delivery (1997), and The Garden is Full of Metal (1998) hailed by critics innovative and inspirational works of contemporary electronic music. Committed to working with cutting edge practitioners he has collaborated with Bryan Ferry, Wayne McGregor, Mike Kelley, Carsten Nicolai, Michael Nyman, Steve McQueen, Laurie Anderson and Hussein Chalayan, amongst many others.
Rimbaud first met Belgian artist Hans Op de Beeck at Le Fresnoy Studio national des Arts Contemporains when they were both Visiting Professors in 2012. Op de Beeck lives and works in Brussels, Belgium and creates sculpture, installations, video, photography, animated films, drawing, painting, and writing. His various works show the viewer non-existent, but identifiable places, moments and characters that appear to have been taken from everyday life.
The artists found an immediate creative connection, and a year after meeting Staging Silence (2) was completed. In 2019, they returned to the theme and created Staging Silence (3).
Each of the films is realised through the same principles, as two pairs of anonymous hands construct and deconstruct fictional interiors and landscapes on a mini film set of just three-square metres in size. The films take the viewer on a visual journey through depopulated, enigmatic and often melancholic, but nonetheless playful, small-scaled places, which are built up and taken down before the eye of the camera.
Ranging from hyper-realistic fictional land and cityscapes to absurd, almost surreal, dreamscapes, the various locations are connected by the sense of mystery and melancholy that pervades them. And at every moment Rimbaud's score is amplifying and illustrating these moments, from tragedy to nostalgia, witty to optimistic.
Introspective and lyrical, Staging Silence offers us a world of mystery and intrigue, held together by nature and time. This is a very humane works experienced at a time when many of us feel disconnected from the world around us. The peculiar silence that permeates this hauntingly beautiful work is very much an illustration of our times, anticipating a future in the past. Staging Silence is an exquisite study in dreamlike abstract ambience, a kaleidoscope of sounds and tones that engage the head and the heart.
In the cinema, the composer must go to meet the filmmakers, enter their world, but without giving up his own. This is the difficulty or the paradox of music for the image. By collaborating with directors from a wide variety of backgrounds, I think I have indirectly discovered a lot about myself. It helped me to progress, to explore territories that were not naturally mine. Cinema is a laboratory where I have sought to construct original orchestral formulas combining Corsican polyphonies, musicians from jazz, variety, classical, or even rappers. Like the world today, a fragmented world where all cultures mingle. So said Bruno Coulais, one of the most innovative composers of contemporary cinema, during the tribute paid to him in 2011 at the Cinémathèque de Paris
In 1978, Bruno Coulais, a young composer of concert works, discovered in film music a new means of expression, a way of bringing the demands of his writing to the masses. François Reichenbach, then Josée Dayan, Jacques Davila, Souleymane Cissé or Laurent Heynemann, first on television and then in the cinema, lead him of his own accord in the discovery of this new world.
In 1995, he composed the music for Microcosmos. This centimeter-scale initiatory journey offers him the opportunity to reveal the full dimension of his writing. He injects into his score a strange lyricism, between wonder and fantasy, confirming the lesson learned from François Reichenbach: "to any documentary image, music brings a part of fiction".
The success of Microcosmos established the musician and made him the indispensable composer of other natural tales, notably alongside Jacques Perrin (Le Peuple migrateur, Oceans, Les Saisons, etc.). Other long-term relationships will be forged, in particular with Benoît Jacquot, with whom he has worked for more than a decade, not to mention Frédéric Schoendoerffer, James Huth or Jean-Paul Salomé.
In addition to great popular successes such as Les Choristes, Brice de Nice or Sur La Piste Du Marsipulami, it is hardly surprising that this insatiable curiosity has found in the animated cinema the most inspiring playgrounds, in particular through his collaboration with two exceptional designers, Henry Selick and Tomm Moore.
The first, American director of The Nightmare Before Christmas produced by Tim Burton, invites Bruno Coulais to sign in 2009 the magnificent score of Coraline (film nominated for the Oscars). 10 years later, he is about to find him for a new and beautiful Wendell & Wild adventure. For Irishman Tomm Moore, Bruno Coulais has already composed the music for two Oscar-nominated films, The Secret of Kells (2009) and Song Of the Sea (2014), and in 2020 he will sign the score for Wolfwalkers.
Whether it is about author's films or more mainstream films, Bruno Coulais maintains the same standards, always considering his art as a window open to the world. Much less wise than it seems, he reveals in it a gift of a modern alchemist and a very personal way of mixing the most diverse cultures in universal harmony at work.
Repress
Alexander Robotnick (aka Maurizio Dami) is an Italian electronic musician. He made his debut on the Italian music scene as the founding member of Avida, a dance-cabaret band featuring Daniele Trambusti and Stefano Fuochi.In 1983 he attained international popularity with his track Problemes d'amour, published first by the Italian label Materiali Sonori and then by Sire-Wea. Problemes d'amour went on to become a cult track of the disco scene. It became quite an import hit in America's underground club scene, and sparked the mini-LP Ce N'est Qu'un Debut that same year (originally released on Materiali Sonori in 1984 (Italy). It consists of 6 captivating tracks including the hit Problemes d'amour as well as the track Dance boy dance which has appeared on other cult disco compilations.
Back in 2018, Four Flies Records unearthed the previously unheard 'Africa Oscura', considered by many as the "dark side" of 'Zoo Folle' – Giuliano Sorgini's masterpiece (reissued by Four Flies Records in 2016) – and partly recorded during the same session in 1974.
The original work portrays a fictional and mysterious continent, providing a soundtrack tinged with dark
moods and cosmic shades. 'Africa Oscura' was entirely recorded by the composer, who played all instruments in his studio in Rome. This resulted in a formal spareness, a minimalism that gives it a
modern quality, something which makes it stand the test of time, or at least resonate with contemporary taste.
Since its release, 'Africa Oscura' has become a classic – a pivotal release not only within Sorgini's discography, but also one that made his name more known and accessible to a new generation of music professionals, DJs and fans of electronic music.
Four Flies have thus decided to celebrate its modernity with a double 12" featuring 7 reworks by six of Italy's most visionary DJs/producers: Jolly Mare, L.U.C.A. (aka Francisco), pAd, Painé, and Quiroga & Dario Bass.
The original tracks have been reworked with different approaches, sometimes into full reinterpretations, and with demanding dance floors in mind. The result is a stunning collection of electronic, cosmic, downtempo and Balearic reworks that preserve the spirit of the original versions while projecting them into the future.
Next up on MOM is another exploration of the link between art and music. This time it is dance performance. The musical artist is Okkre (Uge Pañeda) producer of the Spanish duo LCC, who have released two albums on the celebrated Austrian imprint, Editions Mego. Okkre is a composer of soundtracks, DJ and she is currently immersed in researching her "landscapes series" project, connecting countries and cultures that are seemingly unconnected to each other through field recordings... MOM 012 is the soundtrack to a very special performance named ÉPICA. Directed by Barcelona based choreographer Aimar Pérez Galí, it was premiered at Sonar 2017. EPICA brings clubbing culture inside the theatre, to deliver a highly energetic performance, joining bodies, sound and voices of historic and political dissidence. It is about communication between bodies (without language) and the liberty of being on the dancefloor. Freedom of movement, expression and happiness through music! Okkre has provided a startling soundtrack. This soundtrack complements the performance of the dancers beautifully but also deserves to be listened on its own. It is both powerful and dramatic, fitting the title. The music of the soundtrack has been adapted for its imminent release on vinyl. The piece begins with the rhythmic movement of beats, which provides a structured backdrop. They are complemented by a swirling bassline. Overlayed percussion of differing styles comes in and out. Harsh almost metallic synths enter after a few minutes, which also have the sensation of breathing. Later on, powerful synths battle sturdy cymbal assisted percussion. In the latter stages, everything gets even more intense techno feel and the A Side ends with dense dark synths. The music is alive! While the other side gently mixes a melodic bassline that moves like the wind with intertwined chorus and voices, which appeal to the spirit of the artistic work, evoking space for feeling and touching. At the same time, insistent beats offer a club feeling. Scary yet empowering strings create a hypnotic atmosphere alongside falling keys and vocal impressions. The final few minutes provides a strong climax to the record. This features hammering beats, a circling bass and powerful keys. A mighty performance! ÉPICA is indeed epic.
In early 2018, Nathan Jenkins returned from the coast of Arrábida to his new home studio in a cottage tucked behind the grand hotel setting of Wim Wenders’ Lisbon Story. Breaking for lunches under a Datura tree in the garden and a far cry from the Finsbury Park basement flat he rented the previous year, a set of recordings followed that galvanised into an EP - ‘We Had A Good Time’. Music informed by out-of-town trips in a 1987 Renault 9 Super, Pitchfork attributed “remarkable healing powers” to lead song ‘Hula’.
After leaving London for a spell in Portugal, Nathan lost his taste for the night life and drew a line under a long-running NTS radio show. Much of the time spent abroad was dedicated to a longstanding collaboration with Westerman, whose album they recorded in a remote part of the Algarve countryside in 2019. Nathan’s own discography opened in 2007 with ‘Pet Sounds: In The Key Of Dee’, before pivoting in a more electronic direction via ‘Get Familiar’ and ‘Young Heartache’. From the sampledelia of 2011’s ‘Too Right’, the new wave and rave of ‘Say Arr Ee’ to the Robert Wyatt-influenced ‘Love Me Oh Please Love Me’, he’s mapped a deliberately peculiar path. 2015’s ‘Rooster’ was Eno & Byrne’s ‘Bush Of Ghosts’ given a shangaan-electro lick and clip. While Nathan’s partnership with fellow out-there pop auteur Jesse Hackett, as Blludd Relations, staggered like a half-cut Prince.
Collaged, rhythmic alternatives. Syncopated avant-garde sambas. Off kilter Sci-Fi jazz. Think Asha Putli in the spot at the Star Wars cantina. Arty, angular. Rich, but uncluttered. Frenetic, electric, blurring the boundaries between what is sampled, what is played. Nathan’s is a wilfully weird Pop, showcased in 2016 on his album ‘Loop The Loop’. Wayward but woven with hooks that come out of nowhere. Lyrical, often beautiful, solos on violin, oboe and desiccated guitars. Songs that demonstrate a nose-thumbing playfulness, a refusal to sit still. Where there’s always the urge to interrupt a carnival beat with a burst of galloping horse hooves. Or juxtapose ambient chords with a kazoo.
A roll call of Nathan’s broader musical adventures encompasses work with Paul Epworth, Sampha, Westerman and Nilüfer Yanya. Commissioned remixes reach from Dita Von Teese to Model 500, Tricky, Todd Terje and Lee “Scratch” Perry. Solo efforts gracing labels Honest Jon’s, R&S, Young Turks, Whities and The Trilogy Tapes. ‘Blue Pedro’, on the latter, making it into Crack Mag’s Top 100 Tracks Of The Decade.
In 2012 Nathan started his own label, DEEK Recordings, assuming the role of inhouse producer to collaborators. The imprint’s tagline and aesthetic - Pop, not slop! - is illustrated by an ongoing playlist of the same name and further explored in a series of compilations where Nathan and friends cover and reinterpret unsung ‘unclassics’ from alt. country to obscure 80s European arthouse scores, bouncing between Captain Beefheart, The Pixies, Sade and Mazzy Starr. DEEK’s roster is equally eccentric, non-linear and pop-literate. Laura Groves and Nautic - the realization and crystallization of a shared love for the Cocteau Twins.
12” pressed on crystal clear vinyl.
Following the release of the single of the same name, Dutch duo Tunnelvisions return to Disco Halal with new EP ‘Gold Teeth’, out on Friday 27th November.
A three-track release, ‘Gold Teeth’ opens with an extended version of the title track, an infectiously feelgood house number, characterised by driving synths, busy percussion and catchy vocals. Next up, ‘Hyperfocus’ is a slow-burning progressive house cut that unfurls steadily across its six minutes. Closing things out, ‘Heat Wave’ harnesses an old school house vibe, characterised by deep bass and fluttering percussive elements.
Speaking about the EP, Tunnelvisions says: “We’re proud to present you our next EP called ‘Gold Teeth’. Three tracks combining our percussional and synthpop influences into something we’re very excited about.”
With an unmistakable ear for imaginative, melodic themes and entrancing rhythms, Tunnelvisions hit the sweet spot by seamlessly fusing worldly influences with analog synthesisers.
A diverse collection of tracks, ‘Gold Teeth’ sees Tunnelvisions skilfully explore various shades and tones on the house music spectrum.
Overcoming all manner of obstacles and finally raising £16,000 via their committed fanbase through Kickstarter, in November 2019 fast rising rockers Mason Hill recorded 11 songs at Riverside Studios in Glasgow, with Scott Taylor later travelling to New York to track his vocals at the legendary Electric Ladyland Studios. Titled in acknowledgement of struggles overcome, the result is Against The Wall, the most hard-hitting and engaging debut album to emerge from the British rock scene in 2020.
From its seductive, inviting opening notes, Against The Wall is an enthralling, spellbinding distillation of everything Mason Hill have learned in their 7 year history. It opens, in dramatic fashion, with the self-explanatory Reborn, climaxing with the lyric, “No more pain, I feel reborn”, a declaration of intent and purpose which sets the tone for what is to follow.
Another lyric encapsulating the defiant resolve of Against The Wall, is the opening line of the stirring, impassioned Hold On. “Wake up, wake up,” Scott Taylor sings. “Did you really think I'd disappear?” That same swagger runs through the album’s gritty title track, an anthemic modern rock masterclass to file alongside the likes of Shinedown and Alter Bridge. Their influence can also be detected in the beautifully bruised climactic epic Where I Belong, where Taylor sings, “I know who I am, and I know where I’ve been” before Bird launches into a stunning solo that recalls Guns N’ Roses legend Slash at his most lyrical.
Overcoming all manner of obstacles and finally raising £16,000 via their committed fanbase through Kickstarter, in November 2019 fast rising rockers Mason Hill recorded 11 songs at Riverside Studios in Glasgow, with Scott Taylor later travelling to New York to track his vocals at the legendary Electric Ladyland Studios. Titled in acknowledgement of struggles overcome, the result is Against The Wall, the most hard-hitting and engaging debut album to emerge from the British rock scene in 2020.
From its seductive, inviting opening notes, Against The Wall is an enthralling, spellbinding distillation of everything Mason Hill have learned in their 7 year history. It opens, in dramatic fashion, with the self-explanatory Reborn, climaxing with the lyric, “No more pain, I feel reborn”, a declaration of intent and purpose which sets the tone for what is to follow.
Another lyric encapsulating the defiant resolve of Against The Wall, is the opening line of the stirring, impassioned Hold On. “Wake up, wake up,” Scott Taylor sings. “Did you really think I'd disappear?” That same swagger runs through the album’s gritty title track, an anthemic modern rock masterclass to file alongside the likes of Shinedown and Alter Bridge. Their influence can also be detected in the beautifully bruised climactic epic Where I Belong, where Taylor sings, “I know who I am, and I know where I’ve been” before Bird launches into a stunning solo that recalls Guns N’ Roses legend Slash at his most lyrical.
Father John Misty is the nom-de-plume of Josh Tillman, who
has been recording and releasing solo albums under his own
name since 2003 and who recently left Seattle’s Fleet Foxes
after playing drums with them from 2008-2011.
When discussing Father John Misty, Tillman paraphrases Philip
Roth: “‘It’s all of me and none of me, if you can’t see that, you
won’t get it.’”
‘Fear Fun’, Father John Misty’s album from 2012 and now
available again through Sub Pop, began gestating during what
Tillman describes as an “immobilizing period of depression” in
his former Seattle home, when he had lost interest in
songwriting and wound up finding his voice by writing a novel.
After breaking from Seattle and settling in a spider-infested
Laurel Canyon treehouse, Tillman spent months demoing
songs, eventually liberating himself from his creative impasse.
With the help of LA producer/songwriter/pal Jonathan Wilson, a
wealth of talented musicians kicking around LA and producer
Phil Ek (who everyone knows has worked with Built to Spill,
Modest Mouse, Band of Horses, Fleet Foxes), ‘Fear Fun’
blossomed into a fully-formed expression of Tillman’s
unrestrained vision.
‘Fear Fun’ consists of such disparate elements as Waylon
Jennings, Harry Nilsson, Arthur Russell, All Things Must Pass
and Physical Graffiti, often within the same song. Tillman’s
voice has never been better and often sounds like Roy Orbison
at his most joyous, while the music maintains a dark,
mysterious yet playful, almost Dionysian quality.
Lyrically, his absurdist fever dreams of pain and pleasure elicit,
in equal measures, the blunt descriptive power of Bukowski or
Brautigan, the hedonist-philosophy of Oscar Wilde and the
dried-out wit of Loudon Wainwright III.
6-panel digipack CD. Gatefold LP.
Father John Misty is the nom-de-plume of Josh Tillman, who
has been recording and releasing solo albums under his own
name since 2003 and who recently left Seattle’s Fleet Foxes
after playing drums with them from 2008-2011.
When discussing Father John Misty, Tillman paraphrases Philip
Roth: “‘It’s all of me and none of me, if you can’t see that, you
won’t get it.’”
‘Fear Fun’, Father John Misty’s album from 2012 and now
available again through Sub Pop, began gestating during what
Tillman describes as an “immobilizing period of depression” in
his former Seattle home, when he had lost interest in
songwriting and wound up finding his voice by writing a novel.
After breaking from Seattle and settling in a spider-infested
Laurel Canyon treehouse, Tillman spent months demoing
songs, eventually liberating himself from his creative impasse.
With the help of LA producer/songwriter/pal Jonathan Wilson, a
wealth of talented musicians kicking around LA and producer
Phil Ek (who everyone knows has worked with Built to Spill,
Modest Mouse, Band of Horses, Fleet Foxes), ‘Fear Fun’
blossomed into a fully-formed expression of Tillman’s
unrestrained vision.
‘Fear Fun’ consists of such disparate elements as Waylon
Jennings, Harry Nilsson, Arthur Russell, All Things Must Pass
and Physical Graffiti, often within the same song. Tillman’s
voice has never been better and often sounds like Roy Orbison
at his most joyous, while the music maintains a dark,
mysterious yet playful, almost Dionysian quality.
Lyrically, his absurdist fever dreams of pain and pleasure elicit,
in equal measures, the blunt descriptive power of Bukowski or
Brautigan, the hedonist-philosophy of Oscar Wilde and the
dried-out wit of Loudon Wainwright III.
6-panel digipack CD. Gatefold LP.
‘PEACEMEAL’ is yet another reinvention for Ron
Gallo - a human being on a lifelong chase of
himself and using music as the main vehicle.
On his third LP, he exits the noisy confines of the
garage and goes outside where there’s no limit to
embracing all aspects of himself.
The result is a colourful hodgepodge of 90’s hiphop, r&b, weirdo pop, jazz and punk. The sounds
change but the sense of humanity, humour and a
truly eccentric worldview is the common thread in
all of Gallo’s music.
Mostly written and recorded during a period of
self-isolation in summer 2019, it’s an uncanny
foreshadowing of the global situation that was to
come and give all the songs a new meaning. This
is feel-good music that attempts to confront and
understand human existence.
Ron Gallo just wants to be himself, destroy
expectations and encourage you to do the same in
a world that does just about everything to try and
box us in - not to mention, this is his best most
fun one yet.
William The Conqueror have paid their damn dues.
Like the sportsman cutting chipped teeth in the
lower leagues before shooting to the very top, this
band have lugged all the amps, placated the inhouse sound guy for an easier life, their nails dirty,
their hair unkempt. Enough.
Except it’s never enough, because despite their
slinky, swampy, razor-sharp, blues-drenched, guitar
thrashed alt. rock songs that form new album
‘Maverick Thinker’ and suggest that the door is
opening for bigger rooms and broader audiences,
it’s those sticky basement bar stages where the
songs have always shed a skin and come alive.
The record put the three piece behind the glass at
Sound City Studios in LA, treading the same carpet
as the likes of Nirvana, Johnny Cash, Neil Young,
and Fleetwood Mac and they might well have
inhaled the spirit of them all.
William The Conqueror’s protagonist is Ruarri
Joseph who knows his way around a melody and a
verse. Joseph’s wryness suggests life just ain’t
plain sailin’ and he fizzes that sigh and lament into
something that breathes heavy with heart and with
soul.
Vinyl format comes in a gatefold sleeve with
printed inner sleeve and digital download card.
Frontman of Nottingham punk band Kagoule, Cai Burns, returns as Blood Wizard. Arriving with no fixed direction, Blood Wizard is a project that sees Burns explore himself as a brand new entity, an artist beyond boundaries and preconceptions.
First single ‘Breaking Even’, showcases Burns’ impeccable songwriting skills and acts as the perfect introduction to this exciting project. With jangled, stop-and-go instrumentation, it is sheer artistic satire with an added charm.
Burns says about ‘Breaking Even’: “Breaking Even is a song about doing a lot for someone, changing yourself to fit their ideas of you but not getting the same in return. It's a satirical commentary on the effect that can have on a friendship or relationship”
Western Spaghetti, out 5th March 2021 via Moshi Moshi Records. Filled with crisp hooks, it is an album that has a predominant folk undertone that also expertedly navigates through various textures and dark melodies. There was not an album in
mind when Burns first started recording with Tom Towle at Random Recording Studio - just fragments of songs that all came together when the world paused in the spring and Burns realised that what he had been working on over the last few months could become a full record. The structure of the album follows suit, chopping and changing between harder-edged sounds and acoustic meanderings.
There is a forward honesty and a witty wryness to Blood Wizard. “Hooray to the big news, got my mouth around the spoiled fruit” he sighs on Fruit, a song about keeping happy for your friends’ achievements while your life feels static. Meanwhile, Total Depravity’s stand-out, bittersweet lyric “I’m never going to get that jacket back” pinpoints a singular moment amongst an anxious blur and a time he cannot return to. The infectious and fuzzy Carcrash draws on the weird ways love can be displayed, whilst in stark contrast, the subdued Somehow I Knew tells of the people you’ve never got to know.
