Suche:sea

Stars align and Oli Heffernan brings his ever-(d)evolving Ivan The Tolerable to Riot Season for two LPs of sublime entropic drift.
Having this time recruited Christian Alderson (The Unit Ama) on drums, John Pope (Ponyland) on double bass, Kevin Nickles (Ecstatic Vision) on flute and saxophone and Ben Hopkinson on electric piano - both works were recorded as a quintet almost instantaneously, the players barely brushing or breathing a note before the whole thing was done.

The first LP, Vertigo, is all claustrophobic, dense and disorientating - like Sun Ra sitting in with Exploding Star Orchestra
Whereas the second LP, Water Music, is the music of lapping waves, becalmed, creaking hulls, circling birds and gentle winds. - Equal parts Laraaji and Natural Information Society
Bob Fischer (Electronic Sound Magazine) on ‘Water Music’
"A summer's afternoon daydream of an album. Beautifully soothing psychedelic jazz overflowing with raga delights...immerse yourself in its charms"

John Hubner (Complex Distractions) on ‘Vertigo’
“An expansive collection of free-flowing sound and mood bringing to mind Coltrane (John and Alice) as well as the great Albert Aylor, while touching on the forward thinking compositions of Rob Mazurek's Exploding Star Orchestra. From the titanic soundscape of "New Worlds On Earth" to the Marc Moulin touches of "Liquid Voices" and the mysterious eccentricities of "Swimming", 'Vertigo' hangs in the air long after the final note plays.”

The only album to soundtrack both late-'70s Minneapolis lounges and a Travis Scott x Dior fashion show. Recorded in a host of living rooms with only a Fender Rhodes piano, a Donca Matic Mini Pops drum machine, and Senrick's wide-eyed, 20-year-old voice, the 1977 LP disappeared into the wild and joined the Wendigo in Minnesota lore. A provocative mix of marina soul, easy listening, and loner folk, Dreamin' is a sanguine sliver of the American private mind garden. Harsh winters coupled with a relative lack of interest amongst siblings allowed Chuck Senrick years of unfettered access to the family piano in their Farmington, Minnesota, home. Learning both by ear and by instruction, Senrick began gigging professionally at age 15, joining John Zimmer and the CR4 for a weekly rundown of Allman Brothers, Blind Faith, and Cream covers at the Sea Girt Inn in Lake Orchard. Tapping into James Taylor's pop-chart achievements in songwriting and enunciation, Senrick composed the bulk of the songs featured on Dreamin' before graduating from Farmington High School. At 20, Senrick migrated 30 miles north to the Twin Cities to pursue music full-time. Using borrowed equipment and borrowed living rooms, a string of informal recording sessions generated the quarter-inch tape for Dreamin'. "I didn't know how to do it," Senrick says about producing an album. "I just knew it could be done." Constructed with vocals, Fender Rhodes, and an assortment of rhythm presets on his Donca Matic Mini Pops drum machine, a mere 200 copies of the private-press masterpiece were stamped and sleeved and sold hand-to-hand at performances. Chuck's wife Lesli illustrated the album cover_a pen-to-paper portrait of her husband against the backdrop of the Minneapolis Skyline, she and their newborn son situated on a nearby knoll. Any plans for a re-press were quashed when producer Bruce W. Hansen lost the reels during a messy divorce. "I was a kid with big ideas and not much hope to do anything but play," Senrick said of the Dreamin' era. "It still amazes me that people are interested in it."

Am 19. November 1984 wurde „Unter falscher Flagge“, das zweite Album der Toten Hosen, veröffentlicht. Um diesen 40. Geburtstag gebührend zu feiern, erscheint am 15.11.2024 „Unter falscher Flagge 1984 – 2024: Die 40 Jahre-Jubiläumsedition“ in opulenter Ausstattung mit 16 Bonustracks, drei davon bislang unveröffentlicht!

Nachdem die Band mit ihrer gerade mal ein Jahr zuvor rausgekommenen Debüt-LP 1983 in erster Linie in der Punkszenen für Aufsehen sorgte, wurde die zweite Scheibe auch erstmals von der sich seriös gebenden Musikpresse wahrgenommen. Für viele, die gehofft hatten, dass sich der Spuk mit der Düsseldorfer Radautruppe schnell wieder von selbst erledigen würde, gab es ein bitteres Erwachen. Die Hosen hatten hörbar die immer noch rudimentären Kenntnisse ihrer Instrumente erweitert, kaschierten das mit aggressiver Spielfreude und deutlich mehr durchgetretenem Gaspedal als noch auf dem Erstlingswerk.

Dadurch und unzählige wilde Konzerte in immer voller werdenden Clubs zementierten sie allmählich ihren Ruf als chaotische aber ernstzunehmende Band.

„Unter falscher Flagge 1984 – 2024: Die 40 Jahre-Jubiläumsedition“ erscheint in einer aufwendigen, auf 7.000 Exemplare limitierten und nummerierten Auflage. Das Hardcover-Gatefold-Deluxe-Book enthält das Album als 180g-Vinylschallplatte und CD sowie eine Bonus-CD mit 16 Bonustracks, die rund um die Original-Veröffentlichung auf Singles, Maxis und diversen Demos erschienen. Die Demoversionen von „Shake Hands“, „Betrunken im Dienst“ und „Der Mord an Vicky Morgan“ wurden erstmals aus den Untiefen des DTH-Archives exklusiv für diese Jubiläums-Edition ausgegraben!

Das aufwendig gestaltete Booklet im LP-Format enthält auf satten 32 Seiten eine Vielzahl bislang unveröffentlichter Fotos, historisch wertvoller Presseartikel und weitere Schmuckstücke aus der Sammlung der beteiligten Musiker. Darüber hinaus steht die Band Kolja Podkowik, einem der weltweit renommiertesten Tote Hosen-Sachverständigen, in einem langen, intensiven und ungeschminkten Interview Rede und Antwort über die Geschehnisse rund um den langsamen Aufstieg der fünf Düsseldorfer Glücksritter.

CD1
1. Spiel mir das Lied vom Tod
2. Liebesspieler
3. Letzte Wache
4. Der Abt von Andex
5. Der Mord an Vicky Morgan
6. Im Hafen ist Endstation
7. Unter falscher Flagge
8. Sekt oder Selters
9. Der Schandfleck
10. Betrunken im Dienst
11. Shake Hands
12. Warten auf Dich
13. Im Hafen ist Endstation 2

CD2
1. Spiel mir das Lied vom Tod
2. Es ist vorbei
3. Till To The Bitter End
4. Seafever
5. Hofgarten
6. Hip Hop Bommi Bop
7. Faust in der Tasche
8. Head Over Heels
9. La Historia Del Pescador Pepe
10. Schöne Bescherung
11. Vom Surfen und vom Saufen
12. Der Schandfleck - Demo
13. Unter falscher Flagge - Demo
14. Shake Hands - Demo
15. Betrunken im Dienst - Demo
16. Der Mord an Vicky Morgan - Demo

Sometimes, in order to readjust yourself, you need to free yourself from what you know best and detox from your constantly connected life. In the case of Philipp Lorenz, it specifically came down to embracing the countless possibilities that buzz around the edges of today’s dance floors, sealing himself off from any new music, and leaving his familiar setting in Berlin in favor of making new experiences in Italy’s capital.

Lorenz is best known as one half of producer duo Feeling Valencia and the founding member of acclaimed club
outfit Gheist. Under the newfound Bi Disc moniker, he now reveals a musical spectrum that aims at nothing less
than offering the most authentic version of himself.

“Pieces, Falling“ marries the analog with the electronic, and hints at the numerous musical influences of the
renowned composer. Mixed by famed German producer Olaf Opal, the result is a beautiful, deeply personal, and triumphant album filled with cluttered collages made from strings, manic drumming, field recordings, vocals, and layered melodies. Where other producers try to effectively build their songs to something anthemic, Bi Discs debut delivers one elaborate, victorious climax instead, where nothing feels forced but deeply felt.

Hitting their tenth release, Heels & Souls Recordings journey to South Africa reissuing Hot Slot Machine’s pioneering and sought after self-titled album from 1992. Cultivating a sound and vibe that took South Africa by storm in the early '90s, the six track LP took influence from the genres that drifted over the Atlantic from the US and UK. From house and R&B, through to soul, hip-hop and reggae - creating a rhythm-driven, bass-heavy blend of them all, repackaged with a township flavour.

Known to many as Joe Nina, Makhosini Henry Xaba’s early forays into production would help lay the foundation for the infectious, groove-laden genre that would go on to be labelled as kwaito. With two albums already under his belt as T. McCool and King Rap, aged just 16 Makhosini wrote and produced Hot Slot Machine with the help of Gerdes Chessman - an LP that was far beyond both its time and his youthful years.

Striving to imitate the heavy house sounds inbound from the UK and America, artists like Blackbox and Ten City became big influences. Hot Slot Machine radiates with those impressions, providing something unique in South Africa in the early ‘90s. Leaning more into house and hip hop than the disco-flavoured bubblegum rhythms, the tracks were richer in sound, heavier on the synths and powered by rattling basslines.

Undeniably infectious and unquestionably well put together, the album contains six hits and no misses. With the chunky hip house grooves of ‘Rhythm’, ‘Unchain My Heart’ and ‘Shake Ya Down’, running side by side with the low slung, magnetic bounce of ‘Lookin’ Mix’, ‘I’ll Be Ready’ and ‘Lovin’ Mix’.

Sadly the tapes were long lost, so the wizards Sean P and Justin Drake ripped and restored the album, with Justin giving it a well-deserved remaster. Licensed from Gallo with the blessing of Makhosini, this truly must-have LP now comes complete with a printed inner sleeve housing liner notes and never-before-seen photography.

Original copies changing hands for £50+ on Discogs. Remastered and reissued for the first time since 1992!

London-based DJ and producer Steven Julien’s career has always been about contrasts. Across a decade of releases on labels including Eglo and his own Apron Records, as well as club sets around the world, he’s consistently mixed light and dark, soft and heavy, yin and yang. From rough-edged house and techno to laid-back soul and boogie, or meditations on his familial and musical heritage with 2018’s Bloodline LP Julien’s music has always moved between moods, styles and emotions.

That eclecticism also defines Julien’s upcoming instalment in !K7’s iconic DJ-Kicks mix series. Featuring a broad spectrum of artists including Ryuichi Sakamoto, DāM-FunK and Todd Edwards, alongside a selection of his own exclusive productions, Julien takes us on an imagined journey from day to night: from a bucolic afternoon in nature to heady domestic vibes before a big night out, and finally the euphoric embrace of the dancefloor itself.

Julien describes his creative approach to DJing in general, and this mix in particular, as letting his energy and intuition guide him - it’s only on listening back to the finished session that he realised how often he mixes tracks in key, creating smooth transitions from one moment to the next.

That instinctive approach, where seamless mixing becomes second nature, speaks to Julien’s decade of appearances in DJ booths around the world: he cites sets at Ormside Projects in London, Doka and De School in Amsterdam, or Mitsuki in Tokyo as specific inspirations for this mix. Julien describes the feeling he’s tried to capture on tape as an out-of-body energy: just letting loose, and being yourself. “When you get in that position of doing what’s true to you, playing what’s true to you” he says, “people just resonate with that.”

Continuing our quest to get all of the classic early AMT albums released on vinyl, we turn to 2004’s 'Mantra Of Love’, and with the help of Makoto Kawabata’s studio wizardry, we’ve made it possible.

This latest instalment in the ‘Acid Mothers Temple Vinyl Archives - First Time On Vinyl’ series (as with the three previous SOLD OUT releases in the series) have all been meticulously put together with the help of Makoto Kawabata with the original CD artwork recreated for these vinyl editions from archive photos stored in the vaults at the Acid Mothers Temple in Osaka, Japan and the original audio remastered by James Plotkin.

Here’s what others had to say upon it’s original CD only release back in 2004 …

“Acid Mothers are strong folk. You'd think they'd tire quickly, all tucked away on their island, strewn about on tree roots while baking their lungs and throats to a knotty green tinge. But instead of waltzing through life like hippies, they manage to not only tour and put out records every year, but also to fill those albums with 30-minute jams and assorted freakouts. And while evil jam bands would fill that space with guitar work taken from the Classic Rock Manual of Clichés, Makoto Kawabata and company assault listeners with frighteningly dense walls of white noise, psychedelic swirl effects and, yes, even guitar solos-- albeit ones that are more Merzbow or Keiji Haino than Gary Rossington. Truly, AMT's endurance and threshold for cosmic lashings are both worthy of admiration.

But how much AMT can you take in one sitting? If there's anything this band has taught us-- via records such as 2002's Electric Heavyland and the ferocious Acid Mothers Temple & the Melting Paraiso U.F.O-- it's that they're not afraid to reach for the upper regions of consciousness. On Mantra of Love, they offer two titles over the course of one hour, never faltering along the way, and it's as if we listeners are just brief visitors passing through a never-ending, spontaneous group trip. For all I know, Kawabata has hundreds of hours of this stuff on his hard drive-- at any single moment, this record's sheer volume of sound is a clamor to behold. However, if you aren't dialed into that the particular space AMT inhabits (for me, it's the mystical fire-baptism standby), you might not hear their glorious noise for all the, well, glorious noise.

"La Le Lo" begins as a lengthy psychedelic ballad sung by Cotton Casino (who doubles on "beer & cigarettes"), who is accompanied by her own ghostly backing vocals. The band is playing a mantra as Casino waxes earth-mother stylings to the moon. The serenity is broken by a patented AMT rave led by Kawabata's electric sitar (!) solo. Ace rhythm section Tsuyama Atsushi ("monster bass") and Koizumi Hajime hold things together, as does the generally decent recording quality (not a given for these guys), but the real money is in effects-- lots and lots effects. Much like France's Richard Pinhas or AMT's countrymen in Les Rallizes Denudes and High Rise, the band understands the collaborative power of solo + overdriven Moog sirens and screams. And, also like those artists, Acid Mothers can go on all night if need be. About 25 minutes into this piece, any hell that hadn't already broken loose gets its due, and the band speeds to a fiery climax before winding down into glimmering astro-ambience.

The second track, "L'Ambition dans le Miroir", also begins as a minor ballad featuring Casino's haunting solo vocal. The Mothers set her up with a faux-blues drag and a thick buffer of synth-rays; when Casino actually enters, she fights for airtime with an array of falling stars and cosmic dust. However, this time there is no overwhelming solo to power the comedown. Casino intermittently coos in the background while droning horns keep the auxiliary pixie haze from evaporating. As they showed on In C and La Novia, AMT are more than adept at creating calmer storms-- listeners just have to catch them in the right light. Mantra of Love doesn't necessarily capture the most inspired moments in their canon but as usual with this band's records, it's rarely at a loss for moments of horror or grandeur.”

Acid Mothers Temple & The Melting Paraiso U.F.O. : Cotton Casino - Vocal, Beer & Cigarettes - Tsuyama Atsushi - Monster Bass, Vocal, Cosmic Joker - Higashi Hiroshi - Synthesizer, Dancin' King - Koizumi Hajime - Drums, Percussion, Sleeping Monk - Kawabata Makoto - Guitar, Bouzouki, Electric Sitar, Violin, Hammond Organ, Speed Guru

Experience the soulful and funky gospel sounds of the Howard Lemon Singers with the reissue of their 1977 album, Seasons, originally released by TK Records' Gospel sub-label Gospel Roots. Now reissued on vinyl for the first time through Regrooved Records, this album masterfully blends traditional gospel with modern soul elements, showcasing the Howard Lemon Singers at their most dynamic and inspirational.

Featuring rich vocal harmonies and uplifting messages, Seasons invites listeners on a spiritual journey through life's varying stages, emphasizing renewal, celebration, and introspection. Among the standout tracks is "You Are Somebody," a powerful anthem that resonates deeply with its message of affirmation and empowerment. The vinyl reissue preserves the original essence of the album, enhancing the audio quality to highlight the depth and warmth of the studio recordings.

Perfect for both avid gospel enthusiasts and newcomers, this reissue of Seasons by The Howard Lemon Singers is not just a record—it's a celebration of faith, resilience, and the human spirit. Add this pivotal piece of gospel heritage to your collection and let the timeless beauty of their music inspire you throughout the seasons of your life.

The brainchild of drummer/producer Chiminyo, NRG is more than just an album, label or event. It’s a concept. Born out of a conversation about the UK Jazz scene (is it really jazz?) Chiminyo concluded that this musical expression is less about ‘jazz’ and more about energy (NRG).
So with this in mind, he set about to explore, celebrate and harness this NRG in its purest form. No labels, no promoters, no industry, no control. Just Chiminyo and members of his musical community exchanging (strictly improvised) NRG with audiences and capturing the spontaneous beauty to be shared with the world.
This third edition, NRG 3, features an all-star line-up. Modular synth wizard and Ariwo band leader Pouya Ehsaei, electro synth-pop artist and incredible keyboard/synth player Maria Chiara Argiró, and Hak Baker's trumpet player Sam Warner. And you can really feel the vibrant NRG of the capital pulsating throughout. Raucous dance-floor stompers such as 'Enter the Dragon' and 'Fred not Again' are beautifully contrasted with the dreamy, cinematic 'Avalon'. And the addition of instrumental and vocal guests on the night really adds a special touch. 'Stories Untold' opens with flautist Lluis Domènech Plana's lyrical exploration on bamboo flute before developing into an up-tempo house inspired dance tune, whilst Nadeem Din Gabisi's 'Fire' presents a unique perspective on a trap groove that you simply couldn't imagine outside of the context of NRG 3, and towards the end of the track the audio cuts to camera audio due to an issue with the desk recording, a magical moment that puts you in right there in the room and reminds you that this was a live gig!
It is incredible to think this record is improvised, because each tune comes across as a carefully sculpted master-piece, a clear testament to the incredible musicians on the line-up.

Since yeyeh brought them together in 2019 to record their first collaborative album, Swallow a Party, Oceanic and Greetje Bijma have become firm friends.

When they gathered in Studio Het Rode in Roderwolde for three days of improvised recordings based on existing ideas, Oceanic and Bijma set out to create music, through a mixture of voice and electronics, inspired by the mental sounds and images that appeared when they thought about the Wadden Sea’s celebrated landscapes. Extended improvisations were recorded, before Oceanic edited them down and they collaborated shaped the finished versions with added texture and structure.

Sykheljende Lûden (Frisian for “breathing sounds”), wears its central inspiration lightly, with many of Bijma’s startling and expressive vocalisations and Oceanic musical motifs subtly hinting at tidal flows, bird calls, and the comforting feeling of home that the environment stirs in both artists.

Bruno Sanchioni releases "Capture EP 2" on Art Max Records. Bruno Sanchioni, a pioneer of electronic music and the mastermind behind legendary projects such as Age Of Love, BBE, and Bazz, returns with Capture EP 2, a follow-up that promises to make a lasting impact. Following the enthusiastic reception of the first installment, this new EP promises to be a unique sonic journey, where punchy acid sounds intertwine seamlessly with melodic and hypnotic atmospheres.

Capture EP 2 once again showcases Bruno Sanchioni's singular talent, as he skillfully blends boundless creativity with a deep respect for the roots of electronic music. Each track is crafted with his trademark originality, offering surprises at every turn while staying true to the spirit of his early works. The EP captures that timeless energy that has always been at the core of his musical approach.

This new EP, coming soon on Art Max Records, is much more than just a sequel. It is a brilliant showcase of Bruno Sanchioni's ability to innovate while remaining deeply rooted in a sonic tradition he masters to perfection. This EP stands as a must-have for those looking to rediscover the essence of an era, reimagined with the unique touch of one of the genre's true masters.

Lily Seabird is a perceptive songwriter who can channel moments when everything feels raw and overwhelming into something healing and galvanizing. With Alas, the Burlington, VT-based artist's sophomore album, she confronts grief with palpable clarity on tracks that careen from delicate folk to blistering indie rock. While it's her second LP, it serves as a proper introduction to an undeniable and idiosyncratic voice. "Alas, sounds way more like me," she says. "This is the album I wanted to make in the first place." Though Seabird is now known as a solo artist and collaborator in Burlington's vibrant music community as the bassist for Greg Freeman and other acts, her journey started in Pennsylvania when she picked up the saxophone as a kid. At 14, she learned guitar and started performing as Lily Seabird. After a brief stint in New York City playing in bands, she moved to Vermont, which has been her home since 2018. "When I came to Vermont, I was playing solo a lot but then I started a band with Greg Freeman," she says. "Since 2018, it's been me and Greg and a bunch of different casts of characters have been in the band since then it's an ever-evolving thing. It's just us playing my songs."The songs on Alas, came from a particularly unmoored period for Seabird. "I wrote this album in 2021 and 2022 on the road, trying to figure out who I am," she says. "A lot of them also deal with the time when my close friend passed away. The title Alas, meant a lot to her." Even if the songs don't always directly tackle this specific loss, there's a sense of mourning in how relationships change and dissolve. Take "Grace," a reflection on female friendship, which features the lines, "I hope she's happy now she should be 25 / She taught me something that I thought I'd always hide." Elsewhere, the knotty and unpredictable "Dirge" finds her singing, "I don't know if I believe in god / I don't know if I know how to go on." Seabird and Benny Yurco produced Alas, which was recorded at Burlington's Little Jamaica Studios with Freeman and drummer Zack James (Benny Yurco). It's a quietly expansive album full of subdued, organic textures and moods. Songs like "Cavity" are lush and inviting with silky guitar and Seabird's expressive saxophone playing. The 10 songs on Alas, stretch out and leave space for introspection and deep listening with some tracks taking nearly seven minutes to mesmerizingly unfold. It's a remarkably assured and vital statement from one of the most promising new songwriters alongside peers Merce Lemon, Squirrel Flower, and Allegra Krieger."The album is about loss, coming of age, and sadness but there are also all these moments where happiness takes over," says Seabird. "It can be two things at once: life isn't just pain and sadness, there's also joy. They can all exist at the same time. Alas, is an expression of grief but it's also for letting go."

Aussie techno innovator Alpharisc returns to Mutual Rytm for a second standout EP.

Shane Yates, aka Alpharisc, has been living and breathing techno for over 30 years. He first began producing in the mid-90s and has amassed a fine hardware collection that lends his sounds a raw, rugged feel. After breaking through with the Wetmusik party and label collective, he has let his music do the talking and isn't afraid of colouring it with a hint of nostalgia. Previous material has come via several notable labels over the years, but his most recent outings have been on SHDW's Mutual Rytm imprint, with his solo EP 'Ram Face' from 2023 becoming an underground favourite alongside a fine outing as part of the label's 'Federation Of Rytm II' and 'Federation Of Rytm III' compilations. Once again, he returns in style, uncovering an impactful selection of gems across his new 'Remain Seated' EP.

The opener 'Peace Be With You' is a straight-up techno weapon with urgent synth flashes peeling off the groove like a police siren. The drums hit hard in true Alpharisc style before 'Hail' builds on that with a more hard-edge groove topped with frosty waves of white noise that electrify the dance floor. 'Remain Seated' brings a hint of trance-leaning energy with its bright sheets of synth lighting up the driving drums and saw-tooth bass loops. Next, 'Look At This' is another brilliantly forceful techno sound with slamming drums and rusty synth loops, layering melancholic pads up top and adding a cerebral edge, while closer 'In Your Mind' is from the Jeff Mills school of synth-laced and serene deep techno with lush pads radiating cosmic light. As a bonus, digital-only cut 'Expedition' brings some backlit celestial synth work to a rubbery and pummelling drum pattern for pure techno escapism.

Lili Holland-Fricke and Sean Rogan’s debut album “dear alien” is a constellation of radiant improvised impulses, imagined in lucent fragments of cello, guitar and voice. Spacious, tender and glistening with rich electronic distortion, the record melds a spectrum of processed and natural sound as the artists invite listeners into their dreamlike world of synergetic introspections.

Cultivated through a shared spirit of resourcefulness and play, “dear alien” emerges as an organic meeting place in the compositional output of British-German experimental cellist Lili Holland-Fricke and Manchester-born guitarist and producer Sean Rogan. Having studied their respective instruments at the Royal Northern College of Music, both artists have flourished in eclectic solo and collaborative projects, creating intricate and intimate spheres of sound with a deep appreciation for songwriting and improvisation.

Holland-Fricke’s transition from the classical world to writing her own material, and later vastly expanding her palette with electronics, first converged with Rogan’s distinctive flair for production in 2022 on her EP “birdsong for breakfast” and single ‘draw on the walls’. Now, the duo present an album envisioned through true ‘50/50’ collaboration during the summer of 2023, written across two intensive weeks of improvising and experimenting at Rogan’s Greenwich home studio. A convergence of the artists’ sounds and influences, the music was fostered by the idea of making an album with ‘no plan’ and their shared recent discovery of Arthur Russell, to whom the final track is dedicated.

“dear alien” assembles eight compositions that emerged naturally as the duo created sketches with cello and pedals, guitar, tape loops and poetic vocal musings, forming songs that explore themes of waiting, circling back around, and glitchy communication. Moments of drifting through pillowy layers of sound contrast with saturated visions of electronic modification, where the record’s glowing instrumental contours are pushed to the extremes.

The plaintive shades of ‘half blue’ and meandering deliberations of ‘slow thing’ are teased by the friction of static signals and a sense of ever-mutating sonic mass – a sensibility most acutely realised in ‘dawning’, where cello-vocoder eruptions grow in magnitude, the absence of sound between them burdened with something sinister and unspoken. As the artists expand on this piece, ‘It’s the sound equivalent of squeezing your eyes shut to shield against the brightness of something you don’t want to see, only to find that each time you open them again the world is not softening but getting more relentlessly overwhelming, to the point of being totally blinding.’

Three tracks with lyrics – ‘at first’, ‘dear alien’ and ‘seem asleep’ – refract the album’s wistful and melancholic colours into poetic imagery and metaphors, ushering in reflections on relationship tensions and someone close feeling unknown, with hints towards wider unsettled feelings about climate change. In the spirit of lyrical improv, ‘seem asleep’ compiles lone lines from Holland-Fricke’s journals into a cut-and-paste collage around hopeful patience or futile lingering – either way conjuring a softness that welcomes the hazy ambience of ‘for a. r.’, the final composition which soundscapes the summer days spent making the album. As the artists describe of this track, ‘The music kind of leads somewhere, but then kind of leads nowhere, and just meanders around where it is, content to just be walking in a circle back to where it started.’

Homer Steinweiss has an incredibly storied career in music that started when he was just a teenager. He's drummed for nearly every "retro soul" group that mattered and his distinctive stickwork helped blend the raw-but-receptive soul sound back into the mainstream via the likes of Amy Winehouse & Sharon Jones. He's now one of the most in demand drummers in the world, playing with Jonas Brothers, Clairo, Solange, Adele, and Bruno Mars to name a few. With his debut solo release Ensatina, Homer is stepping to the forefront as both musician and producer. His new record is a re­ection of who he is now and a testament to how struggle often brings about a needed change. In 2020 Homer had to reckon with considerable emotional turbulence; at the same time that his band Holy Hive broke up, a personal relationship of 20+ years fell apart putting Homer in an uncertain place mentally. The fallout was signi‑cant enough for him to seek professional help. "I was going through these super manic highs and then very depressive lows," Homer describes. "And being in all that, it's just so tough to imagine that the other side is there, that it'll be ok." But, with time, professional help, and support from friends and family, Homer made it through and has been forever changed. This album is a product of that period of his life. The ‑rst song from these sessions, "Now That It's Over" perfectly sums up Homer's triumph through those tough times. It's a song of changing perspective and contemplation with haunting vocals from Hether and Flikka. "Paul (Castelluzzo_ aka, Hether), as a friend, saw me through these highs and lows," Homer points out. "I only had the one line, 'Now that it's over, I'm alright,' but he felt that lyric so much that he wrote all these sections and lyrics and basically completed the song. It was like he was writing to me." Hether also features on album standouts "Deep Sea", a modern love song, "Start Select", a juxtaposition of inspiration and melancholy, and "Forever and Ever and Ever and Ever" which is an incredible contemporary take on the B side soul ballad. Homer uses his innate gift for bringing seemingly opposing energies together on "Racecar Driver", pairing the vocals of Hether & long time friend and collaborator KIRBY to make a genre challenging banger. KIRBY also graces the album opener "Rollin'", an airy, warm-weather invoking song that her raspy voice perfectly compliments. He puts his drumming front and center on "So Get Up!", a bottom heavy infectious track that MINOVA's vocals turn into an instant hit that is sure to smash speakers. On "Wishing Well" & "Hide It Behind the Light I'm Shining Through" Homer is joined by girl named GOLDEN, who's unique voice effortlessly ‑nds the pocket in each tune. The man on trumpet, and fellow Big Crown label mate Dave Guy, puts his incomparable playing on the album closer "Goldie" which Homer says is the part of the movie where the credits roll. Making this album was a refuge for Homer and it put him back on track. Ensatina is a glimpse into the different energies and in­uences that make Homer tick. To say he was always much more than a drummer would be an understatement, and this ‑rst solo offering is just the beginning of his next chapter.

Homer Steinweiss has an incredibly storied career in music that started when he was just a teenager. He's drummed for nearly every "retro soul" group that mattered and his distinctive stickwork helped blend the raw-but-receptive soul sound back into the mainstream via the likes of Amy Winehouse & Sharon Jones. He's now one of the most in demand drummers in the world, playing with Jonas Brothers, Clairo, Solange, Adele, and Bruno Mars to name a few. With his debut solo release Ensatina, Homer is stepping to the forefront as both musician and producer. His new record is a re­ection of who he is now and a testament to how struggle often brings about a needed change. In 2020 Homer had to reckon with considerable emotional turbulence; at the same time that his band Holy Hive broke up, a personal relationship of 20+ years fell apart putting Homer in an uncertain place mentally. The fallout was signi‑cant enough for him to seek professional help. "I was going through these super manic highs and then very depressive lows," Homer describes. "And being in all that, it's just so tough to imagine that the other side is there, that it'll be ok." But, with time, professional help, and support from friends and family, Homer made it through and has been forever changed. This album is a product of that period of his life. The ‑rst song from these sessions, "Now That It's Over" perfectly sums up Homer's triumph through those tough times. It's a song of changing perspective and contemplation with haunting vocals from Hether and Flikka. "Paul (Castelluzzo_ aka, Hether), as a friend, saw me through these highs and lows," Homer points out. "I only had the one line, 'Now that it's over, I'm alright,' but he felt that lyric so much that he wrote all these sections and lyrics and basically completed the song. It was like he was writing to me." Hether also features on album standouts "Deep Sea", a modern love song, "Start Select", a juxtaposition of inspiration and melancholy, and "Forever and Ever and Ever and Ever" which is an incredible contemporary take on the B side soul ballad. Homer uses his innate gift for bringing seemingly opposing energies together on "Racecar Driver", pairing the vocals of Hether & long time friend and collaborator KIRBY to make a genre challenging banger. KIRBY also graces the album opener "Rollin'", an airy, warm-weather invoking song that her raspy voice perfectly compliments. He puts his drumming front and center on "So Get Up!", a bottom heavy infectious track that MINOVA's vocals turn into an instant hit that is sure to smash speakers. On "Wishing Well" & "Hide It Behind the Light I'm Shining Through" Homer is joined by girl named GOLDEN, who's unique voice effortlessly ‑nds the pocket in each tune. The man on trumpet, and fellow Big Crown label mate Dave Guy, puts his incomparable playing on the album closer "Goldie" which Homer says is the part of the movie where the credits roll. Making this album was a refuge for Homer and it put him back on track. Ensatina is a glimpse into the different energies and in­uences that make Homer tick. To say he was always much more than a drummer would be an understatement, and this ‑rst solo offering is just the beginning of his next chapter.

2024 Repress

DVS1 returns to his own imprint HUSH with his unique sonic palette of beats and rhythms, delivering stripped-down and slow-building tracks with remarkable clarity, easily imagined to be played on massive sound systems. HUSH 06 features DVS1's trademark sound with his interplay of elements rising and falling, fluid percussions seamlessly weaving in and out of the arrangements, highlighting an ever-shifting emphasis that draws its energy from minimalistic features.

‘BRAT’, Charli XCX’s sixth studio album, will be released on Friday 7th June and is available for pre-order now on Vinyl and CD with the full tracklist available.

‘BRAT’ is the eagerly awaited follow up to 2022’s ‘CRASH’, which reached number 1 on the UK’s official album chart, and promises to be an exhilarating club record built around high art references and social commentary.

Avant-pop and electronic superstar Charli XCX has become an iconic figure in the arts, having

helped expand the landscape of popular music over the last decade by seamlessly traversing the underground and mainstream with her artistic output. Over the course of a trailblazing career, the multi-hyphenate creative has earned critical acclaim for her innovative style and

entrepreneurial spirit and seen her forward-thinking approach reshape pop culture in the process.

Her lasting impact was cemented last year when Charli was honoured with the Visionary Award at the annual Ivor Novellos in London, while she also received the Powerhouse Award at Billboard’s Women In Music ceremony in Los Angeles in March.

Repress 2025

Huey Mnemonic (Detroit) and D. Strange (Chicago) are not only interested in the future, but they offer a stark reminder of an ever desolate present.

Their split EP State of Emergency (via Mnemonic’s Subsonic Ebonics label) sonically structures a bleak narrative across 4 electro-laden tracks from the midwest-based producers.

The escapade begins with “Black Manta Corps”, Huey’s classically styled 808 programming accompanying modulated analog synth play up front, while a stirring crescendo of soundtrack-esque chords provides cover from the rear. “Red Alert” offers the juxtaposition of funk-tinged bounce to a searing siren lead. Midway we’re offered a brief moment of repose with Huey demonstrating a masterful computer-funk bridge before the sirens’ sobering tone returns.

D. Strange continues the journey lacing haunting synth interplay that steadily stacks the tension alongside stimulating melodies, chest-pounding bass, and scattered triplets on “Exoframe”. While “Drapetomania” closes things out with zipping percussion, a mutated bass line, and atmospheric droning pads panning like a shadow creeping closer and closer…

The eighth and latest slate of refined retro-futuristic synth-pop by Liz Wendelbo and Sean McBride aka Xeno & Oaklander is named after and inspired by "the study of what not to do, a negative image of a positive, the other side, the other:" Via Negativa (in the doorway light). Recorded in the fall of 2023 at their modernist Connecticut home fashioned into a two-story synthesizer laboratory and mixing studio, the album is uniquely visionary in spirit yet precision in execution, a contrast central to the duo's enduring chemistry. Embryonic piano sketches were translated to nuanced modular systems, which McBride weighted with "harmonic padding," tuned percussion, and a spectral transfer device capable of "rendering spasms of rhythmic overtonal filigree." Despite the technological complexity of their craft, emotively the songs require no deciphering - these are technicolor widescreen anthems of the cybernetic age. The eponymous opening track sets the pace, soaring sleekly over glittering synths and call-and-response vocals about arias, shattered light, and faces in stereo. From there the record expands and contracts, cycling through a gallery of moods and masks, animated by the band's fascination with drama, "the idea of personae," and theatrical characters. Track by track, a murky, tragic backstory reveals itself: forlorn figures navigating a treacherous mercury mine, alternately poisoned by fumes or buried in collapsing caverns. The tension between Teutonic, utopian synthetic pop and lyrical narratives of ghosts in silos, ruined mills, and the traumas of mineral excavation creates a compelling friction, alternately futurist and obsolete, elevated and subterranean. Wendelbo describes the music's polarities perfectly: "The heavy machinic din of extraction in contrast with the enchantment of the mined precious gems and metals." From bilingual odes to bloodstones ("O Vermillion") to cosmic chrome dance floor classics ("Lost & There" "The present tense can never feel real / So many pasts conspire in the burning sun") to strutting EBM sensualities ("Actor's Foil"), Xeno & Oaklander re-prove themselves masters of the axis of technology and poetry, snaking cables and synesthesia, mining melodies and myths across 15 years of focused artistry. Theirs is a muse still gilded and gleaming, burnished red and silver, attuned to "the unobservable, the unfamiliar, that which you don't see directly."