Cerca:sard
Having burst onto the scene with his stunning debut release on Influence back in July, and with Aaron Jay’s label continuing to fly the flag for this exciting producer, Easy returns and this time with partner in crime – Geeks. This Belgium duo are beginning to create a stir in the dnb scene with heavy support from Fabio, who played three of the forthcoming tracks from this ep on his Rinse FM Show in October 2018. Also getting support from LTJ Bukem and radio play/premiere of Steady from Skank and Bass plus Big Bud and Stunna were showcasing some of the tracks at this year’s Sun and Bass Festival in Sardinia. The future is looking bright for these two talented producers!
elected DJ feedback:
Fabio – ‘Wkd tunes’
LTJ Bukem – ‘Feelin Natural and Shadows’
Doc Scott – ‘Thanks for the beats’
Random Movement – ‘Wow these tracks are fire’
Ben Soundscape – ‘Nice EP, fav track is Shadows’
Born in Cagliari (Sardinia, Italy) in 1975, Irene Nonis started playing the guitar at the age of 13 and wrote her first songs at 17. Her influences come from the American soul, with variations towards jazz and bossa (Sade, Paul Weller, Astrud Gilberto, Johnny Marr). Her voice shines in the two new tracks included in this 7'': "This Love" is a blue-eyed soul track that moves between Northern Soul and Motown, while "Night Stuff" has more of a 70's London nocturnal atmosphere, with a great bass line.
James Place returns with his new LP "Still Waves To A Whisper" (the fourth release on Umor Rex). Flitting between the dreamworld of hauntological synth music and hypnotic techno functionality, Still Waves To Whisper showcases James Place's continuing development of dramatic (and varied) sound worlds.
Musically, Still Waves To A Whisper contains both some of the most immediately danceable and straight up beautiful tracks of James Place's career. Utilising voice samples from the same source as his last album, Voices Bloom, opener 'Known Cry' is a heavenly coda of sunlight bursting through clouds, warm synths drifting across restrained pulses. 'Timing and Lighting' went through countless live iterations before the current version was tracked for this album, a tunneling exploration of rhythm with a dose of sardonic humor. 'Move In Blue (Homeward Mix)' is James Places' rework of a track from 2017's Voices Bloom, obsessively remixed and revisited, here littered with additional melodies and populated by newly sampled voices. Closing track 'Names' is perhaps the most outright beautiful James Place recording to date. A stripped back rework of a live version of Living On Superstition's 'Another Mourning In America', the tune is based on a melodic line written after the studio recorded version. Interwoven with a sampled vocal, and rinsed of all of the original song, 'Names' is left behind a stark and compelling descendant. The digital release includes a remix of 'Move In Blue' by Persuasion aka Devon Hansen.
The title, Still Waves To A Whisper, stems from a conversation between Place and another artist on methods to ease anxieties and the benefits of a focused practice. The hope's for this music to continue that conversation on a larger scale.
All songs written, produced and recorded by Phil Tortoroli between 2015 — 2018 in Brooklyn, NY. Vocals by Sam Sally and an unknown guest.
Mastered by Rafael Anton Irisarri at Black Knoll Studio, NY. Photos & Design by Daniel Castrejón.
'Garage bands suddenly obtain cult status and become the antithesis of their initial appeal'
Garage Class were a group of reluctant outliers who produced one of the finest contributions to the wave of UK DIY music that emerged during the late 70s and early to mid-80s.
Hailing from Alsager in North West England and comprised of Tim Shutt (vocals) Phil Murphy (lead guitar) Clive Williams (guitar) Lynne Sanders (bass) and Phil Bourne (drums / bass on studio recordings) Garage Class originally went by the name of The Pits before their then manager Steve Hurt imposed an alias which, though unpopular within their ranks, would nevertheless reflect the shambolic art they would eventually capture on their first and only single.
As The Pits the group offered a loutish inflection on glam-punk flamboyance, evoking Johnny Thunder hitting the north and remaining disowned yet undeterred in a dreary old boozer. But as Garage Class the group distilled a roughcast and homespun primitivism that felt quintessentially their own. In this they proved too unruly to be assimilated into any wider scene. Early gigs descended into acrimony and recognition proved elusive. Yet what they managed to make back then now sounds like an extraordinary article of underdog ambition.
Released in 1984, four years after it was originally recorded, the Terminal Tokyo single is an unlikely triumph of exceptional messthetic punk. Though raw and unpolished the songs here are precariously pop-minded and indisputably anthemic. The titular A-side reveals the dry and detached drawl of Shutt aka The Subliminal Kid, a sharp, jaded and poetic voice that has some of the most iconic lines never heard in punk. Accompanied by second-hand guitars, on-the-fly handclaps and a chorus like a terrace chant this is the cult hit that never was, a heroically artless masterpiece that has all the ragged character and misfit euphoria of Swell Maps and The Buzzcocks if they were more impulsive and boisterous, and left to their own devices in the remote margins of a Cheshire town. The original B-side is here substituted for I Got Standards, a track that, until now, has somehow remained unreleased. An ideal twin to Terminal Tokyo there's the same brusque and dog-eared quality to the band's delivery, as well as the same upfront emphasis on strong hooks and insistent momentum. Yet again, Shutt is on impeccable form, perfecting an inflated, adolescent antagonism that has all the sardonic, malcontented charm of similarly 'shirty' buggers like Dan Treacy (Television Personalities), Patrik Fitzgerald and Mark Perry (Alternative TV).
Although never accepted in their own time both tracks represent a brief but inspired moment of fervent imperfection, one that epitomized the best of a diffuse and autonomous underground movement spearheaded by The Desperate Bicycles and built upon by the likes of Amos & Sara, The Homosexuals, The Cleaners From Venus and Family Fodder. Like them Garage Class were situated at a point where punk, art, humour and a sense of stubborn independence all intersected.
In the years since Terminal Tokyo has accumulated a retrospective appeal among certain trusted circles, with Jon Dale celebrating the single in his exhaustive and essential Story of UK DIY for Fact Magazine, and original copies regularly changing hands for a foolish forty quid or so. With this inaugural release on the Outer Reaches label Terminal Tokyo is not only restored for the very first time but given a worthy expansion courtesy of JD Twitch (Optimo).
Continuing his own fascination with the fringe history of UK DIY - documented on his own outstanding compilation Cease & Desist: DIY! (Cult Classics From The Post Punk Era 1978-1982) and in his re-edits of Crass Records classics for an early release on RVNG INTL - Twitch reinterprets I Got Standards as an incisive, dubwise outing that pictures Jaki Liebezeit and Muslimgauze on a bender in England's provinces, tasked with remixing the raw product of local punks. A new slant on Garage Class' crude magnificence, built to play loud on contemporary soundsystems.
Although the latter part of 1980 spelled the end for Garage Class with members moving on to other projects (Bourne fell in with The Colours Out of Time, Murphy went on to front The Regular Guys and Shutt eventually left to form Happy Refugees) this reissue attempts to give their fleeting time together and the unique single statement they made the treatment it deserves. If this means Garage Class have obtained cult status, their initial appeal remains. Just listen for yourself.
- A1: Henry Mancini - The Evil Theme
- A2: Roger Webb - Moonbird
- A3: Eden Ahbez - Eden's Island
- A4: Lee Hazelwood - The Nights
- A5: Nora Dean - Ay Ay Ay Ay (Angle-Lala)
- B1: Yello - Great Mission
- B2: Quarteto Em Cy With Tamba Trio - Aleluia
- B3: Lena Platonos - Bloody Shadows From A Distance
- B4: Ray Davies - I Go To Sleep
- B5: Alfred Schnittke - Piano Quintet, V
- C1: Agnes Obel - Stretch Your Eyes (Ambient Acapella)
- C2: The Bulgarian State Radio & Television Female Choir - Pilentze Pee (Pilentze Sings)
- C3: Agnes Obel - Glemmer Du
- C4: Agnes Obel - Bee Dance
- C5: Sibylle Baier - The End
- D1: Michelle Gurevich - Party Girl
- D2: Can - Oscura Primavera
- D3: David Lang - I Lie
- D4: Nina Simone - Images (Live In New York 1964)
- D5: Agnes Obel - Poem About Death
to Me, Sounds Have Always Been More Interesting Than Words,' Says Agnes Obel. i Love It When The Voice Becomes An Instrument And You Almost Forget It's A Human Voice.' Never Is This More Apt Than On This Beautifully Programmed And Bewitching Selection Of Music.
Agnes' 2010 Debut Album Philharmonics Went Platinum In France And Belgium And, Unsurprisingly, Quintuple Platinum In Her Native Denmark, Where She Also Won Five Danish Music Awards (equivalent To The Brits) In 2011. The Follow-up Aventine, Released In Late 2013, Was Imbued With The Same Measured Calmness As Her Debut. It Went Platinum In Belgium And Gold In Denmark And France.
For The Mix You Have In Your Hands It Feels Almost As If Agnes Has Scoured The World Looking For Kindred Spirits - Or Kindred Songs. There's A Quietude About It All, The Antithesis Of A Rush Hour, Like A Frozen Lake On A Sunday Morning. This Is Aided By A Veritable Cornucopia Of New Obel Material, Including A Haunting Reading Of Danish Song 'glemmer Du', Inger Christensen's 'poem About Death' Set To Original Music, And An Agnes Original, 'bee Dance'.
Among Them, There's The Enigmatic Jamaican Singer Nora Dean Who Weighs In With The Hypnotic And Slinky Duke Reid Production, 'ay Ay Ay Ay (angie-lala)' And The Sparse, Sardonic 'party Girl' By Michelle Gurevich, So Good It Inspired The Eponymous French Movie. There Are The Plangent Voices, The Bulgarian Folklore Choir, Nina Simone, Ray Davies And Agnes Herself, Ringing True. Somehow, Ms Obel Makes Even Makes The Electronic Tracks Bow To Her Needs As With Yello Whose 'great Mission' Is More Martin Denny Than Underworld And Cult Greek Composer Lena Platonos' 'bloody Shadows From A Distance' Pulses Gently Rather Than Throbs And Can's Recently Rediscovered 'obscura Primavera', Unusually Hushed.
"i Was Surprised At How Much Time I Ended Up Spending On This. I Collected All The Songs Together With My Partner Alex And We Just Spent Time Listening To Records, Trying To See What Would Fit Together. Some Of The Music I've Included Here Is On Mixtapes We Made When We Were Just Friends As Teenagers. Each One Of The Tracks Produces Stories In My Head." - Agnes Obel, February 2018
Oddball space disco/fnk tracks, composed between 1970 and 1985. Big tip!
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A master of the mixing board, from the late 60s until the 90s Bernard Estardy was the wizard of French musical recordings. As head of CBE studios, he shaped everything from Gérard Manset's concept albums to Claude François' hit singles, Françoise Hardy's delicate tear-jerkers and Michel Sardou's soul-stirrers. This giant' had his hand in the whole range of mainstream French music by making his studio a veritable playground for experimentation. His legendary album La Formule du Baron,' released in 1969, and the eight LPs of production music he made between 1974 and 1978 for Tele Music are vivid proof. In the CBE studio, which she runs today, his daughter Julie Estardy discussed his singular career.
Wolkenbett EP is brought to you by Claude Steiner and Yannick Sardi. Together they form Elektro Baboushka, a music project born as a result of the duo's close friendship and joint discovery of electronic music. Inspired by bands like Yello, Kraftwerk, and Depeche Mode, Elektro Baboushka developed their own style: a blend of ambient and downbeat spiced with jazz grooves and minimal. Musically trained in guitar and piano, Claude plays the guitar and builds loops while Yannick accompanies him with vocals and keyboard. Wolkenbett EP features two massive originals and an intricately deep remix by Sleep is Commercial's Andrea Ferlin.
Over the past few years orchestral instrumental music from outside the classical establishment has become huge, and Neil Leiter and Margaret Hermant of the Belgian Echo Collective have witnessed the evolution and extraordinary rise of this movement right up close. They've worked with some of the most important players, including Stars Of The Lid, Dustin O'Halloran and Adam Wiltze's A Winged Victory For The Sullen and O'Halloran's solo projects, as well as Jóhann Jóhannsson. And though the Echo Collective members themselves very much do come from within the classical music establishment, they don't care which side of the fence they are seen to be on. It was this which grabbed the attention of German music hub !K7's new sub-label 7K! - who have signed them for a two album deal: first to release the Amnesiac reinterpretation, then for a record of Echo Collective's own compositions. Not only that but they have been signed for publishing by Mutesong, which led to a hook-up with Mute mainstays Erasure, re-arranging and re-recording their latest album World Be Gone with classical instrumentation backing Andy Bell's vocals. This ability to flow easily from black metal to Radiohead, from Erasure to Stars Of The Lid shows exactly what kind of musicians Echo Collective are. The album, which features artwork by the renowned photographer and artist Roger Ballen, will be released on 30 March on CD, 2LP and digital platforms.
- New album by belgian band Echo Collective covering Radiohead's classic Amnesiac'.
- Perfect balance between classical, neoclassical & indie.
- Past and ongoing collaborations include Erasure, A Winged Victory for the Sullen, Stars of the Lid, Johann Johannsson and Dustin O'Halloran.
- Echo Collective have produced, arranged and performed on Erasure's upcoming album due to release early March on Mute.
- Artwork by renowned photographer / artist Roger Balle.
Ernie Hawks' debut album "Scorpio Man" is nearly here, and about to be released during the first quarter of 2018. The way will be paved with a fresh 7" single that lifts the gritty jazz funk of "Scorpio Walk" from the album on the A side and pairs it up with the mystic groover "Message of Love", a non-LP track only available on this release.
As the track to start up the upcoming album, "Scorpio Walk" rushes on like a manic villain from an art house spy film. A groove made of a murmuring fuzz bass and a surf guitar is suddenly released into heavenly choruses, where the man of the hour lifts the ambiance with a series of lyrical flute solos.
"Message of Love" sounds like an homage to the gently pulsing library music funk from the mid 1970's. Ernie's flute lead is accompanied by bubbling Fender Rhodes, which carries the track forwards like a shy cousin of Michel Sardaby's "Welcome New Warmth". Seductive male vocal wailing haunts in the background, while the track proceeds without haste in its realm of lost budget X-rated movie soundtracks.
After "III" Dusty Kid is back with a new album that is a trip and homage through and for his native land, Sardegna. "The Arsonist" anticipates this trip from its most dramatic part, touching upon an issue that haunts the island every summer: arsons. Setting itself apart from the contemporary techno music trends 'The Arsonist Part II" delves into 90's trance, reminiscent of legendary Jam&Spoon and rave parties. An intense explosion of pathos reminding us of the glorious Loveparade to describe a dangerous situation, a desperate attempt to save the Sardinian land. The pathos peaks with "Doa" when the fire leaves behind utter desperation and desolation, ashes and smoke. "Doa" is another stage in this new journey for Dusty Kid. It is an emotional and melancholic stop, drenched in the magic of the spaghetti western genre, honoring Morricone that has always been the artist's idol. The track is dedicated to the date of July 18, 1983, when in the north ofSardegna the worst arson happened; here 9 people lost their lives and 15 reported terrible burns in the attempt to extinguish the fire. This has later become the European date to raise awareness against forest fires. The EP ends on the balearic notes of "Serpentara', little abandoned island in the south east of Sardegna, that represents a small batch of land that is untouched by men, their doings and their fires. 'Serpentara' recalls the likes of "Sueno Latino', the summer of love '88 and Ibiza, when ravers wanted to take a break from the hysteric acid house and needed softer and dreamier sounds. Dusty Kid is back with a masterpiece that cannot be missed, a perfect soundtrack to the Summer of 2015.
Zaquoir alias Matthias Groß is a producer and musician currently living in Leipzig. After sending us more than 10 GIGABITES of great music, we sat down together and tied a selection of his really eclectic styles of production together into one LP, creating some sort of showreel created in the timespan of over 15 years.
Zaquoir himself sees the record as a reminiscent mood of a donkey in the Sardinian sun and describes the record as a trip in itself, allowing the listener to traverse the lines of various acoustic landscapes.
The tracks on the LP where produced in six different places, including a historic house in the centre of Vilnius, the artist residency "Blumen" in Leipzig, a French-German art association and a village in Northern Bavaria.













