A song is a song until it isn't, until it's pushed to its limits and beyond to become harder, faster and more dissonant. The music on Oneida's 17th full-length album, Expensive Air, all started as tightly structured, melodic rock songs _ very much in line with the non-stop bangers of Success from 2022 _ but along the way, they changed. Bobby Matador sketched the structures of these songs from his home base in Boston, then sent the demos to Oneida's New York contingent: Kid Millions, Hanoi Jane, Shahin Motia and Barry London. "We were working out the songs in New York without Bobby. We would start out riding the riffs, and then Shahin and Jane would add wild, out-of-tune licks," said Kid Millions. "It seemed so perfect." Oneida has long straddled gray-area boundaries between the NYC punk/psych/rock world and the art/experimental world, playing at gritty rock clubs and elevated cultural institutions, including the Guggenheim, MoMA PS1, ICA London, MassMOCA and the Knoxville Museum of Art. The band has been known for extended live improvisational performances, collaborating onstage with Mike Watt, members of Flaming Lips, Portishead, Boredoms, Yo La Tengo, Dead C, Godspeed You! Black Emperor, and many others. Oneida's members juggle a wide variety of other music projects. Drummer Kid Millions has played with Spiritualized, Royal Trux and Boredoms and releases solo compositions under his own name and as Man Forever. Shahin Motia founded noise - punk's Ex-Models and currently plays in Knyfe Hits. Kid and Fat Bobby perform and release music as People of the North, and Bobby's outside projects New Pope and Nurse & Soldier each released new albums in 2023. Oneida's previous album, Success, came after a four-year hiatus, unleashing the band's pent up creative energy in a set of catchy, accessible, nearly poppy songs. Song structure remained important in the run up towards Expensive Air, but so was the instinctual, improvisatory interplay that has always been a part of Oneida's process. The band had been playing live together for two years, sharpening its attack and pushing its songs to go harder, faster and wilder. Oneida recorded Expensive Air in three sessions scattered across 2023, convening at Colin Marston's Menegroth The Thousand Caves studio in Woodhaven, Queens, whenever they had a few songs ready. Marston and the band mixed the album in February 2024 at Menegroth. The new album expands on what Oneida achieved with Success, but also pushes past it, laying down irresistible song structures then blowing them to psychedelic bits. "I found myself thinking about this record as a darker, looser, louder, counterpart to Success," Bobby explains. "Both records charge forward from the jump and mix the elliptical with the blunt, and longing with self-mockery. But Success is like laughing in a car gunning carelessly through an ice storm, and Expensive Air is how you laugh at yourself as the car spins into the ditch, or a tree. Same trip, but a little closer to the bone."
Suche:sel
King Of None is a stoner rock group from Helsinki, Finland. Formed in 2013, their signature sound fuses heavy riffs and raspy vocals with progressive elements and psychedelic soundscapes. With three self-released ep’s, the group's sound has evolved from having a ‘90s desert stoner rock feel to include more wide-ranging psychedelic and progressive influences from their own musical pasts, while maintaining the same riff-worshipping attitude. They have received international attention in the underground stoner rock scenes and became known for their energetic and captivating live performances.
Ein Zwischenspiel & eine Liebeserklärung Geübt, geordnet, wahrscheinlich inszeniert gingen die Beatles im Sommer 1969 über den Zebra Streifen der Abbey Road - 55 Jahre später sind es Brezn und Semmeln, die die vier Oberammergauer Bergschafe über die Kreuzung locken. Die Beatles gingen nach rechts, die Schafe gehen nach links. Wo sie sich treffen? Natürlich auf dem neuen Album von Maxi Pongratz. "I mecht an Landla hean" schiebt sich zwischen Solo-Album zwei und drei wie ein Zwischenspiel. Es ist ein Innehalten und Besinnen auf die Ursprünge, eine Liebeserklärung an die Volksmusik. Schon viel zulange versucht der Heimatsound, Volksmusik wieder 'cooler" zu machen. Sie muss aber nicht 'cool" gemacht werden. Sie ist das, was sie ist: Folk. Was sie nicht braucht - Heimat. Sie kann überall zu Hause sein. In den Melodien von David Bowie und Tom Waits, zwischen den Zeilen von Wir sind Helden, selbst im Dance-Schlager eines Gigi d"Agostino (bei Maxi Pongratz mit Hackbrett-Intro). Maxi Pongratz hat in seinem Repertoire gekramt und erste Kompositionen ("Eiseckla"), übermitteltes Liedgut ("Ich und der Mond", "Landlerrunde") und seine All-Time-Favorit-Coversongs zusammengetragen. So haben sich auf "I mecht an Landla hean" zwölf vorwiegend instrumentale Songs versammelt und es passiert das, was meistens passiert, wenn sich Musikanten spontan an einem (Wirtshaus-)Tisch zusammenfinden - jede*r bringt etwas mit und am Ende wird getanzt.
Sweet soul and sentimental music has never really gone out of style, and in the particular cases of the innovative wave of 1950's filin era Cuban boleros, or 1960's Nuyorican street soul, they both remain a thriving beacon of timelessness and universality, capturing a particular style of breezy Caribbean romantic music that has stubbornly thrived in the tough concrete landscape of New York City.
Perhaps there is some love in the heart of the city, as the new ensemble La Triunfadora has managed to tap into something of significant substance on their debut recording, Clasicos Sentimentales Para Una Nueva Generación. Co-produced by band leader Benjamin R. Juliá and renowned talent William Holland aka Quantic (recorded and mixed at the latter's Selva Recording studio in Brooklyn), the group has managed to capture the essence of this reemerging style of classic music, while further injecting their own inspired vision of experimental and psychedelic arrangements.
On A-side display for this debut 7-inch release on Names You Can Trust are two canonized Cuban boleros from maestro composer and guitarist Cesar Portillo De La Luz, stacked together in an old school continuous medley, and transformed with lush orchestration that has the talented musicians sparkling behind the duet of lead vocalists Candace Camacho and bandleader Juliá.
The B-side jumps from 1950's filin into Ralfi Pagan's iconic 1969 latin soul masterpiece "Hijo De Mama." Once again La Triunfadora peppers in just enough exquisite arrangements and musicianship to transform the original into something fresh, yet still guided from an analog sensibility, and ultimately performed with a familiar romanticism that these classic lovers' songs have managed to express over the decades to different generations.
Lucta from Milan finally unleash their debut album ‘Eterna Lotta’ which follows the demo 'Black Magic Punk’ from way back in 2018. The 9 track album takes you by the throat and never lets go. The music rages with a fierce atonal guitar tone and drums that push each track to its limits but it’s the vocals that really make this special. They are passionate and enraged and spat out in Italian. The band mixes the furious years of Italian hardcore from the 80’s, Rudimentary Peni and some classic pogo punk with a sense of paranoia to the overall sound. ‘Eterna Lotta represents the continuous internal and external struggle with life: from social interactions to self expectations and how everyone deals with it in eternal conflict. Lucta is the Latin word for "fight" and Lotta fully embraces every aspect of their lives. The band are outcasts, freaks, queers and punks and will forever fight for rights for those that need a voice and push towards a better future.' Limited to 500 copies on pink vinyl.
- A1: I Will Always Love You (Alternate Mix) 5:03
- A2: I Have Nothing (Film Version) 4:56
- A3: I'm Every Woman (Clivilles & Cole House Mix I Edit) 5:42
- A4: Run To You (Film Version) 4:18
- B1: Queen Of The Night (Film Version) 3:15
- B2: Jesus Loves Me (Film Version) 1:07
- B3: Jesus Loves Me (A Capella Version) 4:52
- B4: I Will Always Love You (Film Version) 4:34
- C1: I Have Nothing (Live) 6:52
- C2: Run To You (Live) 4:47
- C3: Jesus Loves Me / He's Got The Whole World In His Hands (Live) 10:38
- C4: Queen Of The Night (Live) 5:35
- D1: I Will Always Love You (Live) 6:15
- D2: I'm Every Woman (Live)
Sony Music feiert das 25-jährige Jubiläum des legendären Soundtracks "Bodyguard" mit der Veröffentlichung von Whitney Houston - I Wish You Love: More From The Bodyguard am 17. November 2017. Die brandneue Whitney Houston Sammlung enthält eine großartige Auswahl von Live- und Studioaufnahmen - viele davon bisher unveröffentlicht oder bisher nicht erhältlich, welche die größten Erfolge der Künstlerin dokumentieren. Auf dem neuen Album I Wish You Love: More From The Bodyguard finden sich noch nie veröffentlichte Live-Aufnahmen von Whitneys berühmter "Bodyguard"-Tour (1993-1995), dazu noch nie gehörte Versionen der Musikstücke aus " Bodyguard", ein Remix von "I'm Every Woman", zusätzliche Grafiken und vieles mehr. Das Album wird als CD und digital veröffentlicht.Einige der Höhepunkte des Albums sind ein Alternative Mix von "I Will Always Love You" mit einem gesprochenen Intro von Whitney alias Rachel Marron, eine noch nie veröffentlichte Acapella-Version von "Jesus Loves Me" und eine Live-Aufnahme des nur selten gespielten "Run To You". Außerdem enthalten sind Film- und Live-Versionen von "I Will Always Love You", "I Have Nothing", "Queen of The Night".
"Clinamen" is the random and unpredictable movement of atoms, which inexplicably change direction during their fall and thus encounter each other. From this chance encounter, the divine does not arise but actually dies, since the atom is nothing more than the aggregation of infinitesimal parts of matter, converging into unity. From this one, from this singular, from this self, I want to escape. Having abandoned the vain glory and hope of passions, I strive towards the sacred, for the gods themselves are also made of atoms. In this sacred secularism of mine, in this exodus from myself, I finally recognize the truth: there is no difference between us and them. Everything converges into a single point, which is the whole. And I find peace. You will find the rhythmic and unpredictable chaotic tale of the atomic fall towards oneself. As the infinitesimally small and the infinitesimally large come to coincide in the creative moment, even time bends and adapts in the service of this imperceptible revelation. Through post-tribe sounds of ancient remiescence to the most contemporary clubbing subculture, passing through an exasperated minimalism that leaves no detail behind. Complex, elegant, profound. Open to any change
- A1: Show Me (The Lexicon Of Love - Half-Speed 2023 Mastered At Abbey Road By Miles Showell)
- A2: Poison Arrow
- A3: Many Happy Returns
- A4: Tears Are Not Enough
- A5: Valentine's Day
- B1: The Look Of Love
- B2: Date Stamp
- B3: All Of My Heart
- B4: 4 Ever 2 Gether
- B5: The Look Of Love (Part Four - The Route To Lexicon)
- C1: Overture*
- C2: Surrender (Phonogram Demo)
- C3: Show Me (Phonogram Demo)
- C4: Tears Are Not Enough (Phonogram Demo)
- D1: Tears Are Not Enough (Steve Brown 12")
- D2: Alphabet Soup (Steve Brown 12")
- D3: Theme From 'Man Trap
- E1: Tears Are Not Enough (Original 7" - Lexicon Plus)
- E2: Poison Arrow (Jazz Mix)
- E3: The Look Of Love (Special Remix)
- F1: Overture (The Lexicon Of Love Live At Hammersmith Odeon, November 1982)
- F2: Show Me
- F3: Many Happy Returns
- F4: Tears Are Not Enough
- G3: All Of My Heart
- H1: Valentine's Day
- H2: 4 Ever 2 Gether
- H3: Poison Arrow
- G1: Date Stamp
- G2: The Look Of Love
1 LP[36,93 €]
Zur Feier des 40-jährigen Jubiläums wurde die Studioversion von ”The Lexicon of Love” von ABC in den Abbey Road Studios als Half Speed-Version neu gemastert! Das Album enthält einige seltene Tracks und Konzertauftritte, die noch nie zuvor auf Vinyl veröffentlicht wurden! Diese Neuauflage von ”The Lexicon Of Love” wird als 4LP+BluRay und auf schwarzen Vinyl (Half Speed Master) am 04.08 veröffentlicht.
An overview of Laraaji's earliest works, "Glimpses of Infinity" gathers selections from his 1978 debut "Celestial Vibration" and six additional studio sessions from the era. Full of discovery and wonderment, "Glimpses of Infinity" is a miraculous chronicle of new age's most fabled artist.
d KALIMBA 1 (GLIMPSE)
d KALIMBA 1 (GLIMPSE)
- A1: Sin Que
- A2: The Grunt
- A3: Poking Fun
- A4: Combat Unit
- A5: One, Two
- A6: The Morning After
- A7: Mr Xy
- A8: The Walt
- B1: Funky Jazz
- B2: Stop
- B3: Hoeee!
- B4: Join The Sla
- B5: War!
- B6: Track 15
- B7: Amped Up!
- C1: Exit Patty, Enter Tonya
- C2: Casio
- C3: You Know Me
- C4: Make My Funk
- C5: The Fire Dance
- C6: Where's Tonya
- D1: My Comrades
- D2: Get On The Floor
- D3: The Race
- D8: Perfect!
- D4: Capturing The Ghost
- D5: Urban Guerrilla
- D6: Walk On By
- D7: Talk Show Ho
Embarking on an unconventional premise for a beat tape is par for the course for Detroit native Waajeed, who thrives on breaking conventional boundaries. Known as the self-titled futurist Producer, DJ, and UMA Director, Waajeed typically pushes forward, but some narratives demand retrospection. Enter the compelling saga of Patricia Hearst, AKA Patty Hearst—an emblematic American tale—reimagined against the backdrop of 30 raw Hip Hop productions crafted between 2005.
Incredibly rare Latin grooves reissued for the very first time on vinyl. Vision Divina is produced by New York City Latin music legend, Larry Harlow. Full of blazing
horns and wondrous drum rhythyms this title is sure to keep any dancefloor shaking. Originally issued on the legendary Coco Records imprint and long overdue for reissue with O.G. copies selling for $200+ when available.
Repress!
Under the leadership of acclaimed French beat digger and producer Guts, Dakar became the creative centre of an exceptional encounter between "All Stars" musicians from Cuba, Africa and France: the 'Estrellas' A tribute to Afro- Cuban culture, between new versions of finely selected songs and original compositions.
- A1: I Desire (Dave Vocal Version)
- A2: Love Declaration
- A3: Pieces Of Glass
- A4: Dancing To The Fall Of The Berlin Wall
- B1: Love Via Computer
- B2: Planet 21
- B3: Just One Look
- B4: Metropolis
- B5: Secret Lies
- C1: And You (Linndrum Version)
- C2: Erotica
- C3: Machine Language
- C4: Watching You
- C5: Run Away
- D1: My Suburban Playground (Extended Remix)
- D2: She Fades Away
- D3: Beats Like A Machine
- D4: Time Fades To Nothing
Formed by high school buddies Andreas Gregor and David Rout, Techniques Berlin started in 1984 experimenting with synthesizers, drum machines and guitars. In the early stages, the band was heavily influenced by UK new romantic acts The Human League, Visage, Yazoo, OMD and Depeche Mode, as well as rising Canadian synth-pop bands Rational Youth, Men Without Hats and Trans-X. It took them a few years to master their electronic toys and create a unique blend of addictive electro-pop melodies and beautifully crafted alternative beats.
In the late 80s, Techniques Berlin played live on a regular basis and their 3 self-released tapes received frequent local airplay in Canada. Despite their moderate success, the band failed to secure a record deal. Eventually both members had developed a strong interest in the burgeoning electro-industrial scene. Dave and Andreas founded !Bang Elektronika and were working with Digital Poodle as live drummers. Both of these projects were soon picked up by record labels. Techniques Berlin played their last show in November of 1991 at the University of Toronto, debuting the last track they had recorded, fittingly called ‘Time Fades to Nothing’. Or so they thought…
The proliferation of Internet radio and streaming music platforms introduced the band to a new generation of fans, enabling Techniques Berlin to stage a remarkable comeback. Within the next years they released the compilation “Suburban Playgrounds and Concrete Beaches” (Fabrika Records), recorded a new album “Breathing” (Nadanna) in 2018 and offered a series of shows in Toronto, Montreal, Mexico City and Leipzig.
“The Language of Machines” compiles a selection of original recordings between 1985 and 1991, including some favourite tunes like ‘Dancing to the Fall of the Berlin Wall’, ‘Metropolis’, ‘Watching You’ and a few unreleased tracks/versions. Limited edition of 500 copies on double vinyl with gatefold sleeve.
a 1 I Desire Dave Vocal Version
j 10 And You LinnDrum Version
o 15 My Suburban Playground [Extended Remix]
It’s been said before - in my house, at least - but all the best punk music right now hails from the land Down Under. Stiff Richards, Split System, C.O.F.F.I.N., Polute… that’s before we even get into that ‘Smoko’ band and a whole heap of other mullet-wearing reprobates. To this stack of names, we must add another: Cutters. It’s a raucous squall they make, that’s for sure. Much like setting off rockets at a petrol station, they’re beautifully, terrifyingly explosive - ‘Psychic Injury’ is their second album, following 2021’s gleefully cacophonic ‘Modern Problems’. Much like their aforementioned fellow Aussies, you can trace some of their stomp back to the UK’s 70s pub rock scene, a good chunk of their chutzpah to Chris Bailey and Kim Salmon, and even more to the fact that hardcore feels once more like a re-energised scene filled with purpose and drive (...and other words that rock hacks use to make it clear that certain noises are Really Fucking Important Right Now). They’re among the finest exponents of this stuff and it’s a joy to hear it. With titles like ‘Landlord Nation’ and ‘An Ode To Shoplifting’, it doesn’t take a genius to identify their targets; with lyrics like ‘I’m the first of many suckers’ you can tell they’re not above self-deprecation, even as they rage gloriously about a system that’s rigged against us. The album drips - like an icicle in the Sahara - with righteous rage, and even when that anger feels knowingly futile (“I hate the public / Get away from me”), it’s delivered with such wide-eyed venom that it still feels potent as fuck. Whether operating a top velocity or through brutal rifferama, ‘Psychic Injury’ delivers in spades. Apply it to your ears forthwith
- A1: Deià Dream
- A2: Ọ̀sanyìn (Feat Maikel Alberto Salazar)
- A3: La Mujer Serpiente (Feat Lido Pimienta &Amp; Oliwa)
- A4: Quiero Que Mami (Feat Verito Asprilla)
- A5: Limones (Feat Oliwa, Numu &Amp; Semblanzas Del Rio Guapi)
- B1: Deià Dream Ii
- B2: Selam (Dub)
- B3: Salta La Cuerda (Feat Huaira)
- B4: Song Of The Wind
- B5: Selam (Feat Etsegenet Mekonnen)
- B6: Waves
"We Can Live Together is the first full LP by Earthtones on Wonderwheel. The title is a message, a prayer, and a vision for humanity. It is a reminder that we are in this life together, that love binds us all, and it is only the ideologies and social systems built to prohibit our ability to recognize how close we are that hold us back. We can live, together. The record is based in Folkloric Futurism, a movement that explores the convergence of global folk traditions with technology. Channeling the influence of proto House & Techno pioneers like Mr. Fingers, Kevin Saunderson and Inner City, Earthtones combines analog synthesizers & vintage drum machines with folkloric vocals and instrumentation in a way uniquely his own. It's a celebration of the intersection of past and future, here and there, ancestry and technology. It celebrates themes of spirituality, feminism, love, and most of all, peace. Highlights include "Ọ̀sanyìn", a prayer to the Orisha Ossain, with Maikel Alberto Salazar of rumba super-group Obbatuké on vocals. Recorded in Santiago De Cuba, the track is evocative of Mala's classic "Mala In Cuba" album that broke down barriers between electronic music & traditional music. "La Mujer Serpiente", having seen a sellout 7" last year features Polaris prize winning artist Lido Pimienta-behind the live cumbia rhythms, bass synths, analog keys, 808 drums & guitars, the vision of this track is one of uplifting womxn and femmes everywhere. Ancestral and contemporary Colombian voices are present on the mid-tempo dancefloor track that is the single "Limones" with Semblanzas Del Rio Guapi, Oliwa & the chugging analog rap soundscapes of "Quiero Que Mami" with Verito Asprilla . The album also touches into ambient moments ("Song of the Wind" , Waves") – inspired by friends Carlos Nino, Matthew David, Colloboh and the vibrant West Coast environmental sound movement. credits
g 07: Selam (Dub) [feat. Etsegenet Mekonnen]
Vol 1[14,24 €]
Come Play With Me and Breed Media are excited to present Come Play With Breed, Vol. 2. Featuring D5, Graft, Hannah Rowe and Mica Sefia, the 10” compilation spotlights the Northern Hip Hop and Soul scenes respectively. On the A-side, D5’s upbeat UK Rap opener, “What’s That”, is followed by Graft’s reflective Jazz-influenced Hip Hop track “Vows To The Art.” Hannah Rowe opens the B-side with an addictive fusion ballad for old souls. Finally, Mica Sefia closes the release with a powerful narration on her experiences as a black woman.
Artist Bios:
D5
Hailing from Leeds, West Yorkshire, D5 draws influence from the likes of Drake, Skepta and Brent Faiyaz and his sound flits between moody R&B and upbeat Rap that oozes a calm confidence. Elements of genres such as Garage, UK Rap and US Hip-Hop intertwine neatly to create his signature style. A style that crystalised on his 2020 EP Channel 5. Consisting of 8 songs, all helmed by producer and close friend CSHARP, the project is D5 at his most personal and led to the video for lead single ‘Silence’ premiering on Link Up TV and garnering him his highest streams to date. However, before ‘Channel 5’ D5 had created the EP If Only We Could Go Outside during the height of the pandemic. The track ‘Movies’ received airplay from the esteemed BBC Radio 1 Presenter Melvoin Odoom. With backing from the likes of GRM Daily and DJ Target spinning 2022 single ‘What’s Up’ on BBC Introducing, D5’s star is surely set to rise as he continues to develop his artistry. In addition to this, he has opened up for the likes of Novelist and fellow hometown hero Graft, proving with every successive performance and release that he is worthy of being a headline act.
Graft
Graft, winner of MOBO Unsung and BBC Three's The Rap Game UK, has propelled himself to national recognition for his unwavering sense of self and musical talent. Hailing from the vibrant city of Leeds, Graft’s topical and poetic approach to songwriting takes inspiration from genres such as Hip Hop, Neo-Soul, Jazz and Alternative Rap. This fusion of inspiration has seen him grace the stage at the acclaimed Reading and Leeds Festival, and has collaborated with esteemed brands such as Adidas, Virgin Media, Boohoo and Leeds United. Now with this national acclaim, Graft prepares for the release of his highly anticipated EP, Golden Child.
Hannah Rowe
Hannah Rowe’s emotional range transcends generations; the young singer writes about experiences and shifts in life, offering all listeners a sense of reflection within her rich, authentic, jazz-infused sound. Hannah is backed by a group of highly accomplished musicians who happen to be her adored closest friends. After finding one another at university, Sam Hughes on guitar, Luke Harrison on bass, Owen Moriarty on keys and Charlie Tanner on drums intertwined their varied influences to paint their own alluring and soulful sound - one difficult to define, but has been said to resemble the likes of Raye, Lianne La Havas, Moonchild and Yebba.
Mica Sefia
Liverpool born, Leeds-based future-soul Queen Mica Sefia endorses the interpretive nature of music as an art to be studied and related to by the public. Mica’s own exploration of self-expression solidified her passion in the production of a timeless and authentic style of music. Preferring to keep her lyricisms and narrative open to interpretation, Mica relates to a balanced approach to songwriting, in which her music remains subjective, but retains its emotive sensitivity. Mica’s music leans into the genres of Alt Soul, Rock and Jazz intertwining them to create atmospheric sounds and textured layers.
Reissue 2024
Still' Is A 4 Track Ep And Is The First New Music From Mazzy Star Since 2014. The 12' Includes Three New Tracks Along With An Alternative Version Of 'so Tonight That I Might See' From The Artists Biggest Selling Album Of
The Same Name From 1993, Which Also Featured The Seminal Hit Record 'fade In To You'. Mazzy Star Is Best Known For The Song fade Into You' Which Brought The Band Some Success In The Mid-1990s And Was The Group's Biggest Mainstream
Hit, Earning Extensive Exposure On Mtv, Vh1, And Radio Airplay. Roback And Sandoval Are The Creative Center Of The Band, With Sandoval As Lyricist And Roback As Composer Of The Majority Of The Band's Material.
- A* | Blood (1:08)
- A1: Bullies Of The Block (4:55)
- A2: Everything’s Everything (3:47)
- A3: Shammy’s (4:16)
- A** | Heat Mizer (1:08)
- B1: Six Tray (4:39)
- B2: Danger (3:58)
- B3: Inner City Boundaries (4:39)
- B* | Bomb Zombies (1:06)
- C1: Cornbread (4:21)
- C2: Way Cool (4:22)
- C3: Hot Potato (4:30)
- C4: Mary (3:45)
- C5: Park Bench People (4:59)
- D1: Heavyweights (6:11)
- D* | Tolerate (1:01)
- D2: Respect Due (3:53)
- D3: Pure Thought (3:14)
2024 Repress
Innercity Griots, the second album from Freestyle Fellowship, is perhaps *the* essential West Coast left-field rap album of the early ’90s. Released in 1993 on 4th & Broadway, it’s a towering, progressive hip-hop masterpiece that expanded rap’s boundaries through lyrical elevation and production innovation. Their talent was ahead of everybody else by light years. This is pure b-boy jazz.
The original single vinyl LP is now hideously scarce, and of course the sound suffers from not being officially released as a double. This Be With re-issue fixes both problems, and for completeness also includes “Pure Thought” from the CD version of the album. This incredible display of imaginative hip-hop sounds better than ever.
Freestyle Fellowship were some of the earliest technically dazzling rappers to come out of California. Mikah 9, P.E.A.C.E., Aceyalone and Self Jupiter - along with DJ Kiilu - forged their famed lyrical dexterity in the ultra-competitive crucible of the Good Life Cafe. Founded in Leimert Park, South Central LA in December 1989, this earthy health-food store and cafe was where the city’s finest microphone fiends would gather to showcase their freestyle skills at the Thursday night open-mic.
Innercity Griots has been described as the Rosetta Stone for rap styles. The group’s dense, vibrant wordplay and enviable interplay quickly earned the attention and respect of the city’s hip-hop underground. Frenetically trading acrobatic rhymes with agility and grace, the Fellowship used their voices as instruments like true virtuosos, spraying improvised raps like a Coltrane sax solo.
With the bulk of the album’s production handled by The Earthquake Brothers, and Bambawar, Daddy-O, and Edman taking over for some of the tracks, Innercity Griots dances between organic and programmed music, largely forgoing sampling and instead built around live jazz jams. The likes of Freddie Hubbard’s “Red Clay” and Miles Davis’s “Black Comedy” were used more as templates for house band The Underground Railroad Band to spiral out from. As Pitchfork noted in their recent 9.0 review of this classic album, “Freestyle Fellowship embodied the style and spirit of jazz on a molecular level. They shared the effortless cool and tough countenance of the great bebop players from the ’50s without verging into jazz-rap parody. Their innate jazziness felt tangible and hard-earned”.
The unusual approach to the music was matched by the Fellowship’s lyrics. Eschewing the tired rap tropes of the time, this multifaceted album instead explores their ruminations on greed and homelessness, weed, sex, survival, insecurity and tribalism.
Remastered by Simon Francis for double vinyl and cut by Pete Norman, we hope this long-overdue re-issue of Innercity Griots satisfies the legions of fans that have since been bewitched by the majesty of this record. It should also introduce some new listeners to yet another overlooked classic.
Having been ‘discovered’ working in Liverpool’s Probe
Records during the punk rock explosion of the late 1970s,
Pete Burns found himself fronting his own band,
Nightmares In Wax who mutated into the more familiar
Dead Or Alive, eventually bringing Pete into the UK pop
mainstream, and a star was born.
Bringing together two-self-released 1982 singles and a collection
of early versions of Hi-NRG tracks which would eventually find
their way onto the band’s debut album, ‘Let Them Drag My Soul
Away’ showcases the blossoming of one of the 80s pop scene’s
most colourful characters. Unapologetic, unfiltered, loud and
proud – Pete Burns singularly brought a punk rock mindset to the
pop paradigm, providing a much needed antidote to the sexless
Thatcherite stars beginning to dominate the UK pop charts
during the middle of the decade – this collection of recordings
captures something of that spirit and the energy of the driving
force behind it.
Pressed on deep red vinyl and housed in a cover photograph by
Dead Or Alive’s then manager Francesco Mellina, ‘Let Them
Drag My Soul Away’ presents a last glimpse at a pre-stardom
Pete, and a long overdue back story accompaniment for fans and
collectors alike.
2024 Reissue
Acht Jahre lagen zwischen "Dem Feuer Der Gaben" und "Desintegration" , aber die Band ist nicht komplett zu Asche verbrannt, sondern steigt aus dieser erneuert empor. Ein bisschen Glut leuchtete immer still und heimlich im Dunkel der Vergangenheit vor sich hin. Entstanden ist gleich ein ganzes Album, das seine Reise im Jahr 1989 beginnt und seine Hörer im Hier und Jetzt wieder ausspuckt. Ein Album, das seinen Ausgangspunkt in eben jenem Jahr nimmt, in dem nicht nur die Mauer fiel und das sogenannte Ende der Geschichte ausgerufen wurde, sondern auch Disintegration von The Cure erschien. Siebert, selbst im Osten der Republik groß geworden, und schon immer von westlicher New-Wave und Postpunk-beeinflusster Popmusik begeistert, blickt in der Echokammer der Gegenwart zurück in die Zeit der großen Versprechen, die schon damals unerfüllt im Hallraum der Toms und den monotonen Basslinen im Disconebelnirvana verschwanden. Versprechen auch einer Befreiung, die in einem ideologiekritischen Sinne vielleicht immer schon hohl waren, heute jedoch ferner scheinen denn je. Folgerichtig nennen Klez.e ihr viertes Album Desintegration, Auflösung, Zerfall. Womöglich kein Zufall. CD und LP wieder regulär erhältlich!




















