quête:silence

Swedish vinyl only label Kvalia Records breaks a 9-month silence by introducing a meticulously executed 3 track ep by DJ Nobu and Artefakt. Hiiro consists of two original, psychedelic techno trips produced by DJ Nobu, and one re-interpretive sonic journey by Artefakt.

Dear listeners, here's the next episode of the Hamburg Spinners story: "Der Magische Kraken" ("The Magic Octopus")

This time Hamburg Spinners left their home port for an underwater expedition to the open ocean diving for unheard tunes, finger snappers and floaters. Always in danger of encountering the Magic Octopus, a voracious entity who feeds on harmonies, rhythms and breaks -in a word the whole arsenal any musician is lost without and damned to drown in a sea of deadly silence and endless darkness... Listen yourself, enter a different world and witness how the Hamburg Spinners are getting carried away and drawn into the depths. A 20.000-mile plunge into the sea. Honestly! Had you ever thought that one can sink this low?

"Der Magische Kraken" is the sophomore album of the Hamburg Spinners, a contemporary soul, mod-jazz and R&B outfit based in Hamburg. Their sound blends floating Hammond organ lines, kinetic, driving grooves, funky breaks, and slicing, economic improvisation. The quartet features Carsten Meyer on Hammond B-3, Dennis Rux on guitar, David Nesselhauf on bass, and Lucas Kochbeck on drums. It was cut live on two weekends in April 2021 in Hamburg's Yeah!-Yeah!-Yeah!-Studios. The chemistry was right and in a truly democratic process ideas were fleshed out, arrangements were done on the spot. A will to collective playing whilst always sticking to the rudimentary basics was in the air. Thus the music could spread out like the arms of an octopus. And though there are limits on the sound of the Hammond organ quartet creativity can burst out & find its way to overcome the limits. Reminiscences of down-to-the-bone songs by Timmy Thomas or Phoenix might come to one's mind when listening to the new Hamburg Spinners album.

Never change a winning team: Meyer's soulful organ sound is buoyed by Rux's warm and gripping guitar sound, Nesselhauf's dynamic bass lines and Kochbeck's tight in-the-pocket drumming.

'Yet today is all we have In silence she speaks The rivers below Valleys and peaks As a pale shelter once cherished The shadows we mourn Have all but perished '

'A Pale Shelter' is a trio collaboration between zake, City of Dawn, and Ossa. Two tracks feature close friend Benoît Pioulard. Mastered by Rafael Anton Irisarri.

Simona Zambolis first album on Mille Plateaux "Ethernity" is a piece of haunting music - vibrating, pulsing and cutting through the concrete and the chaos at the same time, when you listen close enough. The album is a journey through trans-reality, not only as a melancholic drama, but also as a travel to alien worlds, hence as a necessity of an electronic intervention. "Ethernithy" is radical fictioning in a non-expressive, non-melancholic and ultrablack sense. Profound music demands blackness, not silence. When we speak of communication or mediation, the reference is always that of the mystical tradition of the via negativa; mediation and communication always imply the dissolution of sender and receiver, leaving not only the message that is the gulf or abyss, but a perception out there, which senses should be able to recognize and even love.

Black vinyl pressing of the now sold out RSD 2020 reissue.

Cascade was originally released oct 1993 the first single from the now highly regarded LIFEFORMS album. Cascade went on to chart in the UK top 40 at No.27 and has continued to be regarded as an early piece of classic Electronica. Twenty-seven years later FSOL rebuild and create ten new compositions inspired by the original. The familiar electronic swamp of FSOL and engineer Yage can be heard as the tracks journey through fragmented melodies of the original composition.

The Japanese-born duo Miho Hatori and Yuka Honda relocated to New York and christened themselves with the band name Cibo Matto, which is Italian for “crazy food”. The band teamed up with drummer Sean Lennon, percussionist Duma Love and drummer Timo Ellis for their second studio album Stereo Type A, which was originally released in 1999. It was the last album before the group disbanded a few years later, until their 2011 reunion. With this album Cibo Matto received praise for combining styles and genres such as heavy metal, pop and hip hop, while the album was also described by critics as “eclectic, hot and funky”. It was the band’s way of breaking down stereotypes.

There's always been a bit of a "no frills" feel to Developer's output. The Los Angeles producer specializes in the kind of functional, no-nonsense techno that comes into its own when played over booming club sound system and as a label owner has truly nurtured his Modularz imprint into one of The homes for contemporary American techno. This release is consistent with the labels on going output of warehouse bangers. Straight up tribal influenced, dark, hypnotic, rhythmic techno music for the wicked.

By now you’re probably familiar with our wildly popular Brown Acid series of rare, lost and unreleased proto-metal and stoner rock singles from the 60s-70s. In the endless pursuit of those glorious gems, we often uncover equally brilliant rarities from the late-70s to late-80s Golden Age of Heavy Metal that also just must be heard, but they don’t fit the series’ aesthetic. Scrap Metal, Volume 1 collects some of the greatest unknown and lost Heavy Metal tracks, long buried beneath the avalanche of the era’s classic output.
We all know the old adage that history is told by the winners. But sometimes the losers tell the best stories. And while none of these bands found fame and fortune, this artifact and the volumes to come are testament to the enduring power of heavy music. You can hear the blood, sweat and beers that went into each of these singles. The recordings may be low budget, but the inspiration and talent is immutable. Not only are the amps turned up to 11, the boyish sexual innuendo is cranked to 69. You can hear the convergence of influences — NWOBHM, thrash, glam metal, doom, etc — colliding at once as the era birthed a wellspring of subgenres.
Many of these singles are self-released and were thus limited to a small run of copies. Those that remain are hoarded by collectors and sold for exorbitant amounts. We’ve collected the best of the best for you here. As with Brown Acid, all of these tracks are licensed legitimately and the artists all get paid. Because it’s the right thing to do.
LINER NOTES:
Rapid Tears launch this series with the perfect christening. The Toronto, ON quintet’s 1981 single “Headbang” is such the pinnacle of heavy metal madness that it almost sounds like a spoof. There’s also enough of the rapid-fire sputum that inspired Metallica to bang the head that doesn’t, as such, engage in said practice, to be found on the band’s sole full length Honestly. But “Headbang” is a straightforward glammy anthem for the ages.
Air Raid’s “69 In A 55” may be lyrically so sophomoric that it’s actually pretty clever, but this 1983 Bay Area power metal single is loaded with sleek Judas Priest riffs and interwoven melodies that are downright sublime. The band’s sole release, the 2-song Rock Force 7” features a curious band photo in which 3 band members — dolled up in Crüe makeup and leather — are sexually menacing the lead singer/guitarist tied to a bed. Another low budget highlight is when singer/guitarist Tommy “Thrasher” Merry imitates a delay effect on his vocals as he sings, “tonight!...tonight...night.”
Hades’ “Girls Will Be Girls” has a real demo cassette feel to its vastly uneven mix, but the energy to the performance makes this an undeniable keeper. The long running Paramus, NJ quintet’s 1982 2- song debut 7” titled Deliver Us From Evil features this blistering thrasher dominated by shimmering leads and confident vocals that show why the band went on to near-fame on Metal Blade Records.
Resless don’t need no T to prove that they’ve got “The Power” with this 1984 driving mid-tempo rocker in the vein of Mötley Crüe and Ratt. The River Vale, NJ quartet’s tight crunch wails all over Bon Jovi posers but it’s the band’s unique and subtle deployment of background vocals that gives this rager its staying power.
Pittsburgh, the Steel City, is home to Don Cappa, a band that pays tribute to the burgh, the metal, and the awesomeness of both with “Steel City Metal.” Their lone single, issued in 1987 with only 300 copies released, sounds like the work of some serious steel driving men, with a drummer who might’ve forgotten to wear a hard hat one too many times on the construction site.
The Beast has more of a punk feel to their aggressive “Enemy Ace” track from the 4-song Power Metal EP from 1983 — something like Dr. Know meets D.O.A. But their look, artwork and lyrics all prove that Heavy Metal is where their hearts lie. And this hook filled monster delivers repeated lines like, “I command them all in my lofty realm,” with commendable conviction.
Dead Silence from Denver, Colorado, debuting in 1984 is not to be confused with Dead Silence from Denver, Colorado, who also debuted in 1984. The former a workman’s hard rock bar band, the latter a political peace punk band and neither knowing of the other’s existence throughout their tenure. The pre-internet days were a marvel, indeed.This Dead Silence spits out a slick, Nugent tinged rocker called “Can’t Stop” about life on the road.
The Danger Zone is, by all accounts, not the place to be. And, Hazardous Waste of Boston, MA saw fit to add their two cents on the matter with this 1986 single that combines Van Halen’s flashy musicianship with NWOBHM aggression that sounds so awesome it teeters on itself entering the “Danger Zone.”
Czar’s heavy, doomy “Iron Curtain” single from 1982 hearkens to the sleazy sounds of Saint Vitus and Pentagram with its cranked up DOD Distortion pedal in a Peavey combo amp guitar tone and meaty, barking vocals. The upstate NY quintet only issued this 2-song single, but its driving rhythm, nosedive whammy-bar guitar solos and comparatively mature Cold War subject matter show they had real potential.
Not much is known about Real Steel’s majestic “Viking Queen” from 1987, other than it rocks hard and the 7” 45 sells for upwards of a grand on the collectors market. The Flint, Michigan band recorded at the home studio of local radio personality Bill Lamb, who primarily released Christian Gospel recordings. So, perhaps the band was struck down by a bolt of lightning shortly after this rare single’s release. Whatever the case may be, it’s a must have for fans of classic metal mayhem.

Time fortifies the bonds between us. Since emerging in 2018, Light The Torch have grown stronger in lockstep together as a band and as friends. Through this growth, the Los Angeles, CA trio—Howard Jones vocals, Francesco Artusato [guitar], and Ryan Wombacher [bass]—only enhanced every aspect of their signature sound. Upheld by head-spinning seven-string virtuosity, yet also anchored to skyscraping melodies, the group crafted twelve no-nonsense and no-holds-barred metallic anthems on their 2021 second full-length album, You Will Be The Death of Me [Nuclear Blast].
“The past few years have helped me to become much more personal in my writing,” explains Howard. “Even though I’m kind of a loner, this band became real family. My experiences with Ryan and Fran inside and outside of the band truly bonded us. I think it shows in this album, it truly represents who we are as a group.”

“Every second on this record was thought-out,” adds Fran. “Howard’s performance gives me chills, because it feels so alive. There’s so much emotion in it. I know the guy very well at this point, and our friendship is a big part of Light The Torch.”That friendship cemented over the course of the past three years. The group shot out of the gate as a contender on their full-length debut, Revival. It bowed at #4 on the Billboard US Independent Albums Chart and at #10 on the Hard Rock Albums Chart in addition to receiving acclaim from Revolver, Outburn, and many more. “Calm Before the Storm” racked up a staggering 14.5 million Spotify streams, while “The Safety of Disbelief” remains one of SiriusXM Octane’s all-time most requested songs. They also crisscrossed North America and Europe on tour with the likes of Trivium, Avatar, In Flames, Ice Nine Kills, Killswitch Engage and August Burns Red to name a few.

In late 2019, an idea for the title track “Death of Me” kickstarted the creative process. The guys returned to Sparrow Sound in Glendale, CA to once again work with the production team of Josh Gilbert and Joseph McQueen [Bullet for My Valentine, As I Lay Dying, Suicide Silence].This time around, they also welcomed Whitechapel’s Alex Rudinger on drums. “He’s incredible,” says Fran. “He was exactly what we needed.”Now, they kick down the door for You Will Be The Death of Me with the single “Wilting In The Light.” Howard’s instantly recognizable vocals soar over a sweeping riff and rolling beat before culminating on a massive luminous hook, “Over and over again we struggle. We’re wilting in the light, and we stumble in the dark.”“It has a different vibe and a very interesting riff,” observes Howard. “I love it when listeners can take what they want from a song. This was a special one for us.”

“More Than Dreaming” opens up the record with gut-punching guitar and another knockout hook. Elsewhere, airy keys wrap around chugging distortion on the title track “Death Of Me.” Regarding the latter, the frontman goes on, “Most people have some source of grief in their lives. It’s relatable, and it was appropriate for the song.”After the melodic melancholia of “Come Back To The Quicksand,” Light The Torch recharge the 1987 Terence Trent D’Arby classic “Sign Your Name” as the record’s climax. Shimmering keys bleed into an overpowering verse before it snaps into the immortal chorus beefed up with thick distortion. “Howard stayed at my house with me and my wife for the entire recording of the album,” recalls Fran. “I like to cook, and one night during the first week of pre-production I made everyone dinner. A compilation with ‘Sign Your Name’ started playing, and I thought, ‘I can do a version that would sound awesome!’ Howard knew and loved the song too. For as crazy as it sounded, it worked so well.”
In the end, the bond between Light The Torch burns brighter than ever in the music as they deliver a definitive statement with You Will Be The Death Of Me.

“We wanted to make a fully listenable and fun album that doesn’t let up,” Howard leaves off. “At the same time, we’re showing some heart, passion, and connection. It’s what we’ve always intended to do with this band.”

Mr. Käfer and Phlocalyst are adding their own chapter to the saga with their collaborative album Now / Again to be released via Melting Pot Music. The vibe of the 12 tracks is chill. The kicks, snares and basslines are crisp but relaxed. Wrapped up in warm melodic layers and led by the distinctive sound of Phlocalyst's trumpet. The Flemish producer grew up in Ghent and relocated to Munich where he plays in a classic orchestra - a rather uncommon day-job for a lofi producer with more than 2 million monthly listeners on Spotify. Mr. Käfer was born in Salzburg – the hometown of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Crack Ignaz – to an Austrian mother and an Algerian father. Today he lives in Cologne. In his music he fuses influences from boom-bap to jazz to traditional North-African music. The album artwork was created by Cologne-based artist Giza One.

Red Vinyl

nown for her delicate compositions, soaked in dream-like surrealism, Icelandic musician Sóley has attracted a huge following since launching her solo career back in 2010. Her 2012 single ‘Pretty Face’ went on to generate an enormous amount of buzz, and quickly became a viral sensation. Now, with three solo LPs under her belt, Sóley is preparing to debut a completely new sound via the release of her new concept album, Mother Melancholia, on October 22nd.

Described by the artist as "Nosferatu meets Thelma and Louise in a vampire church under the watchful eye of David Lynch", Mother Melancholia is the soundtrack to the end of the world as we know it. As a self-confessed news addict, Sóley became obsessed with the idea that the world is ending. Having surrounded herself with real-life stories of global warming and patriarchal politics she couldn’t shake the feeling that she was going to die. This feeling was so all encompassing that it sparked the idea for a new project. Could there be a soundtrack for the last days of humans on earth? How would that sound?

“I read books about possible dystopian worlds and started writing poems about irrational and in love characters who live in gray and cold imaginary loneliness. In each other’s burning arms. Walking in circles with no way out” she explains. “After all, the album reflects our life here and now. Our life and reality is a kind of dystopian world.”

Whilst writing the album, which serves as a tongue-in-cheek eulogy to our planet, Sóley began reading about ecofeminism, a branch of feminism which uses the concept of gender to analyse the relationship between humans and the natural world. Ecofeminism emphasizes that both women and nature must be respected but also separated. Since the beginning of time, the natural world has been synonymous with female identity, phrases like Mother Nature are commonplace. “The patriarchy views women as volatile and hysterical. Earth and women are either our saviours or our destroyers,” explains Sóley. “It’s so easy to abuse the earth, like the patriarchy has abused women since the dawn of time, then ask for forgiveness afterwards and promise they´ll never do it again”.

The new album sees Sóley move away from the indie-pop of her previous releases. She began by experimenting with writing songs on the accordion, allowing her a new sense of freedom in her writing. The process allowed her to broaden her horizons even further and experiment with a whole range of new and exciting sounds. “I bought myself a theremin as I was really excited about the unpitched sound and there is no perfect pitch during the end of days,” she laughs. “I also bought a mellotron, my first moog and a cello and taught myself how to play each of them. All of these new instruments are particularly suitable for the kinds of aesthetic inconveniences which I have learned to embrace.”

Album opener ‘Sunrise Skulls’, one of the most cinematic moments on the album, was inspired by the Me Too and SlutWalk movements and tells the story of a group of women who rise up and fight the patriarchy. ‘Blows Up’, a track that would be at home on any horror soundtrack, is a sarcastic love letter from the Earth to humans. Standout track ‘Desert’ is an incredibly moving song dedicated to the next generation. “It’s about the guilt you feel, as a mother, for having children and leaving them on the frontline. My daughter, for example, will take over this inevitable war” explains Sóley.

In true soundtrack style, the album flows through the end of the world in chronological order, closing with the Earth’s final moments. ‘Sundown’ is a dark piano ballad detailing human kind’s final day on Earth. “And everyday, I dig my own grave, and as I dive in you´ll hold my hand” she sings, over twinkling piano and swirling synths. We then hear the world end on ‘XXX’, a dark and swirling soundscape that swells before fading to silence. On ‘Elegía’ the silence then turns to the sound of the ocean, as we hear the Earth, like a woman finally free from a violent relationship, healing on her own.

Mother Melancholia is the mark of an artist confidently striding into more experimental territory. With a lengthy and successful career behind her, Sóley felt compelled to try something new and express the real her. The music might be shrouded in darkness but it’s a move that fills her with joy and freedom. “I hope that people not only enjoy the new sound, but also that Mother Melancholia might raise some questions in people, particularly women,” she says. “I’m under no illusions that this album will change the world but I hope that people can connect with the idea”.

Born in 1999, Charlie Hickey grew up in South Pasadena,
just minutes from Downtown Los Angeles. Raised by two
singer-songwriter parents, Charlie’s second language was
music since day one. As early as grade school, he was
making sense of the world through songwriting, and by
middle school he was writing, recording and performing
songs that attracted a community of collaborators and could
silence a room.
 A turning point for Charlie came at around the age of
thirteen, when he covered a song by then up-and-coming
artist Phoebe Bridgers, who was still in high school herself.
The two quickly became friends and collaborators, setting
Charlie on an exciting new musical path. Years later,
Bridgers introduced Charlie to songwriter, drummer, producer
and her bandmate Marshall Vore, who noticed something
special about Charlie. The two began writing and recording
songs together, and soon Charlie dropped out of school to
work on his music full-time.
 Charlie Hickey’s first proper single was ‘No Good at Lying’
and it’s the first track on ‘Count The Stairs’. The Marshall
Vore-produced track introduces us to Charlie’s evocative
storytelling and features Phoebe Bridgers on backing vocals.
“I’m no good at lying / on my back or through my teeth / but
I’m good at dreaming / I can do it in my sleep,” he sings over
hushed guitars and a whimsical banjo, searching for truth as
his unconscious mind runs wild and bleeds into reality. It’s a
slow, quiet, and understated peek to the world of Charlie
Hickey, who is barely of legal drinking age, but taps into such
universal themes that showcase a wisdom beyond his years
and exudes promise for what’s to come.

Born in 1999, Charlie Hickey grew up in South Pasadena,
just minutes from Downtown Los Angeles. Raised by two
singer-songwriter parents, Charlie’s second language was
music since day one. As early as grade school, he was
making sense of the world through songwriting, and by
middle school he was writing, recording and performing
songs that attracted a community of collaborators and could
silence a room.
 A turning point for Charlie came at around the age of
thirteen, when he covered a song by then up-and-coming
artist Phoebe Bridgers, who was still in high school herself.
The two quickly became friends and collaborators, setting
Charlie on an exciting new musical path. Years later,
Bridgers introduced Charlie to songwriter, drummer, producer
and her bandmate Marshall Vore, who noticed something
special about Charlie. The two began writing and recording
songs together, and soon Charlie dropped out of school to
work on his music full-time.
 Charlie Hickey’s first proper single was ‘No Good at Lying’
and it’s the first track on ‘Count The Stairs’. The Marshall
Vore-produced track introduces us to Charlie’s evocative
storytelling and features Phoebe Bridgers on backing vocals.
“I’m no good at lying / on my back or through my teeth / but
I’m good at dreaming / I can do it in my sleep,” he sings over
hushed guitars and a whimsical banjo, searching for truth as
his unconscious mind runs wild and bleeds into reality. It’s a
slow, quiet, and understated peek to the world of Charlie
Hickey, who is barely of legal drinking age, but taps into such
universal themes that showcase a wisdom beyond his years
and exudes promise for what’s to come.

A Paean to Wilson is still arguably Vini Reilly and the Durutti Column's most important and consistent piece of work since the demise of the original and seminal Factory Records in the early 1990's. On this release we have the ‘F4 Heaven Sent’ tracks released on vinyl for the first time. They first appeared in 2005 via Wilson's project F4, as being the fourth version of Factory Records. Originally it was download-only release, Heaven Sent (It Was Called Digital, It Was Heaven Sent). A six track CD of personal dedications by Vini ironically the last piece is titled Anthony. Originally this was commissioned for the MIF (Manchester International Festival) where it was premiered in July 2009. Vin had already composed pieces for Tony to listen to whilst he was ill in hospital and it was from here that the project developed. This release belatedly coincides with the new Paul Morley Biography ‘Manchester with Love: The Life and Opinions of Tony ...’Ever critical of Vini's voice, but ever a fierce champion of his talent, the late Tony Wilson would surely appreciate this instrumental tribute by The Durutti Column. ‘Near the beginning of the final night of the Durutti Column's 70-minute international festival tribute to Tony Wilson, A Paean to Wilson, guitarist Vini Reilly announced that he wouldn't be singing: "So you won't have to put up with my awful voice and schoolboy lyrics." If Wilson was with us, he would have chuckled. The Granada presenter-turned-Factory Records boss spent years urging his first signing to stop singing, and concentrate on the virtuosity that led Red Hot Chili Pepper John Frusciante to call Reilly "the greatest guitarist in the world". Two years after his death, Wilson got his way, one of many lovely touches in a very personal, emotional and often warmly funny musical tribute. Wilson signed Joy Division and Happy Mondays, yet never gave up on this cult band he adored, working with them even after his legendary label went bankrupt. A complex man, Wilson was an academic thinker who revelled in Steve Coogan's affectionate, Alan Partridge-style send-up of him. And this tribute was no different. At one point, Reilly known for melancholy launched into something resembling an Irish jig. "Tony loved to laugh," he explained. "He loved absurdities." After the humour came exquisitely mournful music. With Reilly and drummer Bruce Mitchell augmented by bass, keyboard, violin, electric piano, drum machine and trumpet, the band's beautiful pieces reflected Wilson's love of rock and classical. Reilly's plangent guitar work showed grief's emotional spectrum, from sadness to overdriven anger. As in life, Wilson had the last word, his recorded voice expounding thoughts on socialism with an eerie echo. Silence followed as Manchester pondered the loss of one of its truly larger-than-life characters. Then everybody cheered.' Dave Simpson The Guardian 20/7/09

Spiritczualic Enhancement Center are a "spectral trance-jazzensemble with a psychedelic-punk methodology", as they define themselves - an eclectic group of 15 musicians, almost a collective, from Germany, Israel, Iran, USA, Turkey, UK, Russia and former Yugoslavia. Landing on Kryptox, with their 4th record (the others were self released) this is musical material the bandrecorded in several sessions in Romania and the Czech Republic, inside a church in Hamburg and while staying with a commune inrural Denmark over the last years.

absent origin’ reassembles and reimagines recordings and musical
scores composed by Mira Calix, globally, over the past decade. It’s a
collage album about edges and borders, cutting and tearing, and
composing new combinations that point to an audio visual manifesto for the 21st Century.

“Like Duchamp, I had started out wanting to make an album, or box, of approximately all the things I produced. In the end, I realised - as much as a collage is the coupling of two or more realities, it also offers the means to examine the materials and culture of an era, questioning and expanding its borders.” - Mira Calix

Every song on the album was created by applying a different collage
process relating to a different visual artist, spanning the history of collage to contemporaries of the practice. The sonic materials are subjected to a myriad of processes; layered, synthesised, constructed and assembled into electronic melodies, textures and complex, frisky dance rhythms that are constantly shifting in surprising ways. absent origin employs collage to make sense of the current moment of displaced voices, disjunction and political unrest.

Calix’s recording sessions from all over the world are the many
fragments we hear across the album; from India to Tasmania, Jordan to Belgium, China to Uganda, her former home of South Africa, to her
current home in Britain. Slicing into these are further recordings of
vocalists, percussionists, choirs, orchestras, quartets and soloists, never appearing in the form in which they were originally intended. The record is a polyphony of predominantly diverse female voices held together by pulsating baselines, haunting electronic sounds and orchestrated melodies and with them, we travel.

The album fizzes with a political energy and the interconnectedness of
everything. At this moment in time, there is an impossibility of separating one thing from another; the effect is strange and not exactly reassuring.

Collage suggests infinite possibilities and each track here is a singularly unique compositional combine, a dizzying hall of mirrors with its own unlikely harmony, its own distinctive rhythm. On ‘absent origin’, collage becomes the tool to make sense of a present that is often anything but.

2LP in printed inner sleeves with 5mm spine outer, printed insert and
digital download code.

Dave Chappelle's viral video "8:46". The video was YouTube's top trending video of 2020 with over 30 million views. The video and subsequent album are a searing rumination in the aftermath of the murder of George Floyd that ignited worldwide outrage and led to protests on race inequality, police brutality and the criminal justice system. Filmed in Ohio on June 6, during the COVID-19 lockdown, "8:46" addresses one deadly plague, while in the grips of another. The B-side of the album features poet Amir Sulaiman's performance of "My Insides Out" and "We Must Win," also recorded in Ohio. It also includes "White Noise," 8 minutes and 46 seconds of silence in remembrance of George Floyd and the countless victims of police brutality and systemic racism. The album cover and artwork features performance and backstage photos from Chappelle's performance as well as images from various George Floyd protests in Los Angeles, CA, all taken by Grammy-nominated artists and photographer Mathieu Britton.

THULCANDRA worship the golden age of Swedish death metal with A Dying Wish! Swedish death metal veterans THULCANDRA are back! Since its foundation in 2003 by Steffen Kummerer (mastermind of Obscura), THULCANDRA has established themselves in the European extreme metal scene. Now, the black death metal outfit is about to release their fourth studio album after six years of silence. A Dying Wish was produced, mixed and mastered at Unisound Studio by the renowned Dan Swanö (Dissection, Opeth, Bloodbath, Katatonia and more) and will be released on October 29, 2021 via Napalm Records. It’s again a journey back in time to the origins of the genre, as it was musically and visually shaped by bands like Dissection, Entombed, Sacramentum and Unanimated. On their new album, A Dying Wish, the four-piece around Steffen Kummerer once again draws the listener into dark and cold soundscapes.

Red Vinyl

From the Brvtalist:

The Brvtalist is pleased to premiere a new track from Radical G. The prolific Belgian producer returns with a massive new LP titled, The Deserted Kingdom. The album contains 10 original tracks including the new Horrorist collab and in addition the full package comes with 8 remixes from Arnaud Rebotini, Imperial Black Unit, David Carretta, B1980, Shlømo, Hadone, Lokier and CJ bolland.

A massive release featuring some of the biggest and best from across the industrial, techno and EBM spectrums, very few artists can successfully navigate all these worlds but Radical G has done it again. With our crushing premiere today of “Chaos and Silence” to the pulse pounders from Hadone and Schlømo, this one has it all.

Clap de fin for the "Cabinet des Curiosités" : 15th and last episode of Vol.1 with The Architect.

Since last fall, Al'Tarba has been able to mix his talents with those of a beatmaker, a producer or a rapper, for hybrid experimental collaborations, composed with 4 hands or more, mixing styles and sounds. In November 2020, somewhere in France, we could hear the noise of some machines breaking a silence of lead, due to the general fever of the cultural scene. In a studio-laboratory looking like a "Cabinet des Curiosités", where far-fetched ideas are piled up on as many dusted shelves, Al'Tarba and his instruments were still running at full speed.

Anxious to find the antidote, a handful of beatmakers, producers and rappers, all gathered under the aegis of the Toulouse-based scientist, have been fine-tuning, week after week and month after month, the ingredients of their new serum. Over the seasons, they have unveiled, with regular intake, hybridizations of composed styles. Between sharing sounds, ideas, sample loops and vocal takes, like a "Cabinet des Curiosités" containing a thousand and one unusual objects.

On this foggy road and until the lightning, crossed Mounika, Structural Anomaly, Aguirre and Prometheus, Yous MC, Beus Bengal, Goomar, DeZordre, ProleteR, Degiheugi, K.D.S and Stabfinger, DJ Low Cut, DJ Nix'on, Sarbacane, Mani Deïz, Slim Paul and Grin. The day when the echo of the party is heard again in the distance, the sky is discovered the time of a new story. The clouds finally dissipate, for the last chapter of this first volume.

Between two rocks, the sea and its blue, bathed in sunlight. On the horizon, the authentic "Orange Sea" sailing in the distance. It is Al'Tarba and The Architect who arrive against all odds, to tell us the last story of the "Cabinet des Curiosités", first volume. The Architect, overproductive beatmaker and informed digger, knows how to take his audience on a journey through the world and styles. A last collaboration which promises the great crossing, its hot and ardent breath like fire, bell sound of the beginning of summer found and its epics.

Melancholy of a past world and dreamlike flights of fancy, hope of the world after, will rub shoulders in a double-vinyl album that will bring together the entire adventure. Pre-orders are now open !

So many bright perspectives, which would even let us foreshadow a forthcoming release of Al'Tarba's second solo album on I.O.T Records: "La Fin des Contes".

Lofi-Schwergewichte Mr. Käfer & Phlocalyst ordnen die “metaphysics of a jazz thing” neu – um Gang Starrs Genre-definierenden Klassiker „Jazz Thing” aus dem Jahr 1990 zu zitieren. Obwohl die Fusion aus Hip-Hop und Jazz schon einen langen Weg beschritten hat, gibt es immer noch neue Routen zu entdecken und neue Geschichten zu erzählen. Mr. Käfer und Phlocalyst schreiben ihr eigenes Kapitel mit dem kollaborativen Album Now / Again, das über Melting Pot Music erscheint. Kicks, Snares und Basslines sind crispy, die 12 Tracks haben dennoch einen entspannten Vibe - verpackt in warme melodische Layer und getragen von Phlocalysts unverwechselbarem Trompeten-Sound.
Der flämische Produzent wuchs in Gent auf und lebt nun in München, wo er im klassischen Orchester spielt – ein ziemlich ungewöhnlicher Day-Job für einen Lofi-Produzenten mit mehr als zwei Millionen monatlichen Hörern auf Spotify. Mr. Käfer ist in Salzburg geboren – der Heimatstadt von Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart und Crack Ignaz – als Sohn einer österreichischen Mutter und eines algerischen Vaters. Heute lebt er in Köln. In seiner Musik mischt er alles von Boom-Bap über Jazz hinzu traditioneller, nordafrikanischer Musik. Das Album-Artwork wurde von der Kölner Künstlerin Giza One gestaltet. Now / Again ist als Vinyl-LP und Digitalalbum erhältlich.

Die zweifache GRAMMY-Preisträgerin Natalie Hemby gilt als eine der bemerkenswertesten Songwriterinnen
der Musikbranche, die hinter den Kulissen einen Hit nach dem anderen kreiert. Jetzt steht sie kurz vor dem
Durchbruch, mit der Veröffentlichung ihres zweiten Studioalbums ”Pins and Needles” am 8. Oktober.
Bekannt für ihren vielseitigen Sound und ihre Geschichten, die ihr acht Nummer-1-Singles einbrachten,
erkundet Hemby auf ihrem Album Einflüsse von Tom Petty über Sheryl Crow bis hin zum Rock und Roots
der frühen 90er Jahre: Musik, mit der sie aufgewachsen ist. In den 11 Tracks liefert Hemby unkonventionelle Texte gepaart mit ihrer genialen Wortwahl, Ohrwurm-Hymnen, herzzerreißenden Balladen bis hinzu
tiefgründigen Rock-Songs. Hemby schafft Songs, die sich wie kostbare Momente anfühlen, an die man sich
gerne erinnert.

Lo! Soul’ is the fifth solo album from Roddy Woomble, following on from
his acclaimed debut, ‘My Secret Is My Silence’ (2006), ‘The Impossible Song
& Other Songs’ (2011), ‘Listen To Keep’ (2013) and ‘The Deluder’ (2017).
The record sees Woomble continue his unique and restless trajectory, gently
stepping away from his previous acoustic/folk intentions in favour of a more
explorative light, prevalent on 2020’s ‘Everyday Sun’ EP, which featured largely
spoken word pieces over an ambient, mediative soundtrack.
Produced and mixed by collaborator and Idlewild bandmate Andrew Mitchell (aka Andrew Wasylyk), ‘Lo! Soul’ was recorded remotely between Roddy’s
home in the Hebrides and Andrew’s studio in Dundee throughout 2020 while
Scotland was locked-down.
Roddy explains: “Andrew describes moments of the album as ‘Dystopian-pop’
which I think is as good a description as any. Lockdown gave me the sense of
a collective melancholy, a shared remoteness and isolation - that has been a
guiding influence throughout all the songs. It is the most unusual record I have
made, and made in the most unusual way.”
Across his twenty-five year career, ‘Lo! Soul’ may well be Woomble’s most inventive, creative album to date. From undulating synths and ambient soundscapes in the abstract narratives of ‘Atlantic Photography’ and ‘Secret Show’,
the sun-tinged horns of ‘Architecture in LA’, a mellifluous Mellotron or perhaps
a piano chime. Here, the path is embedded with Roddy’s words delicately unearthing the known and never known.

Kylesa is an American heavy metal band that was formed in Savannah, Georgia. Their music incorporates experimentalism with heavy riffs, drop-tuned guitars and elements of psychedelic rock. The group was established in 2001 by the former members of Damad, with the addition of guitar player Laura Pleasants who is from North Carolina. The band has since undergone line up changes; the remaining original members are Phillip Cope and Laura Pleasants. In 2006, the band added two drummers (Carl McGinley of Unpersons, from Savannah, and Jeff Porter). Eric Hernandez (of Capsule, from Miami) joined in 2008 to replace Porter. The dual drum tracks are often panned strongly to the right and left.

Composed by the Capcom Sound Team, Masami Ueda, Makoto Tomozawa and Akira Kaida, Resident Evil’s brooding score became a benchmark for horror games, giving the original genre-defining masterpiece a persistent and unnerving sense of claustrophobia.

Each soundtrack has been remastered specifically for this release and will be pressed onto audiophile heavyweight, deluxe double-vinyl 180g LPs on black vinyl.

• Long lost 1968 album from visionary South African jazz composer incorporating traditional African music sources and instruments.

• Officially licensed from the Nxumalo family and reissued with inner sleeve containing archival photographs and new liner notes by Francis Gooding.

Gideon Nxumalo’s Gideon Plays might just be the most mythologised and sought-after LP in the whole South African canon. A sophisticated bop excursion with a distinctive African edge, it was only Nxumalo’s second LP as leader, despite his crucial place in South African jazz history. Pianist Nxumalo was a visionary jazz composer who had recorded regularly during the 1950s, and his 1962 Jazz Fantasia album was the first South African jazz recording to incorporate traditional African musical sources and instruments. But he was also the country’s most significant radio presenter and jazz tastemaker – from 1954 onwards, he had worn the nickname ‘Mgibe’ to introduce ‘This Is Bantu Jazz’, South African radio’s premier jazz show.

But in the aftermath of the Sharpeville Massacre in 1961, Nxumalo had been side-lined from radio play, and was eventually sacked for playing records with political meanings. By 1968, he had not been heard on record or airwave for several years. Gideon Plays was a celebrated return to the studio for one of South Africa’s best loved and most forward-thinking jazzmen, and it showcases Nxumalo’s deep understanding of jazz, his brilliant touch as a composer, and his commitment to bringing South Africa’s indigenous sound into the music.

However, it was released on the tiny JAS Pride label owned by production impresario Ray Nkwe, and after one pressing in 1968, Gideon Plays fell into the undeserved silence that has obscured so much of the South African jazz discography. It has since become a legend: hardly more than a rumour, it has been bootlegged by the unscrupulous, changed hands for eye-watering sums, and has scarcely been heard outside the circles of the most committed South African jazz devotees. It goes without saying that it has never been released outside South Africa, and even now only a handful of original copies are known to have survived.

Over the last ten years, Matsuli Music has been proud to present some of the greatest lost and found jazz recordings in South African history – but we have never presented a rarer, lesser known album than the mighty Gideon ‘Mgibe’ Nxumalo’s Gideon Plays.

“40 years ago my international career started for real when I got
a call from the musical mastermind Thad Jones, asking me to
join his new big band project Ball of Fire in Milan, Italy.
“Guess if I said yes!
“Since then I have walked winding musical paths and I still do.
“As the pandemic started to spread, I got stranded at home in
Skillinge Sweden from 13 March 2020.
“Many many months later, I can present something I’ve never
done before, a solo performance. Only me, myself and my
trombone in a beautiful-sounding church not far away from
where I live with my wife Beatrice, Ingelstorp Kyrka.
“I do not really know exactly when the idea got stuck in my head
but I guess around Christmas 2020. Having spent a strange but
personally wonderful year being at home, I suggested a solo
recording to my wife, and she thought it was a great idea.
“I called the priest in the church, named Maria, and she
immediately said ‘Yes, go for it. I will see to it that the church is
heated and ready for you.’
“The first time was almost a shock. Such a beautiful sound,
making the tone of my trombone just fly through time and
space. Beatrice and I looked at each other in silence, knowing
that this can become something special.
“I picked a wide range of songs and hymns for these occasions
and it felt very special to be able to record it in a wonderful room
with only one person in the audience, the one I love the most.
“All the songs have a special meaning to me, whether they are
songs I sang in church as a child or just picked them up on the
way. One is even written by one of my ancestors, Israel
Kolmodin.
“They present a side of me that is always there, but not always
to be seen. I hope you like it.
“Love, Nils.” - Nils Landgren

Dark Star Safari is a musical entity comprised of Jan Bang, Erik Honoré, Eivind Aarset, Samuel Rohrer and John Derek Bishop. Their second fulllength offering Walk Through Lightly is the first to feature all five musicians together in the studio from the outset, making for a more organic refinement upon their already established methodology: gradually sculpting distinct songs out of collective improvisations, or using the raw material from initial recordings as the basis for more carefully articulated compositions. The final mix is one that invites few stylistic comparisons to other musical peers, and in fact few comparisons to existing genres. Though this second offering from the project is frosted over with a Scandinavian sense of spatiality and
melancholy, it’s best listened to without considering any origin points, geographic or otherwise: from the opening moments of “Walk Through Lightly,” listeners will feel as if teleported directly into the middle of an enigmatic film-in-progress.
The album opener immediately and successfully sets the table for what is to follow. The electronic and acoustic instrumentation is pensive, but not passive, with restrained scrapes and stridulations in the background combining with backwards-looped passages and perlescent or granulated sound effects to better emphasize the carefully arranged latticework of guitar, percussion, strings, and bass. In some places, such as on “Father’s Day” and “Measured Response,” the silences or breaths between passages are pronounced enough to be an instrument in their own right (and an elegant confirmation of the fact that silence is also a conveyor of information). This nuanced production, which wisely opts for intimacy instead of relying on overdone "instant atmosphere generators" like lengthy reverb, provides just enough tension to contrast with the sense of elevation provided by Bang’s vocal contributions: smoky, evanescent, and impressionistic recitations offering not snapshots of specific events, but rather complete emotional environments for the listener to hover through and explore.
Within these environments, the lyrical imagery focuses upon coming to grips with sudden transformations on both micro and macro levels (the opening “this was a perfect place / till we lost our way” from “Patria” or the foreboding “Poems that explore / Their silence / Crush their violence / Now their time ends” from “Measured Response.”) It focuses as well upon coming to thresholds or crossings, be they physical crossroads or internal states of mind, or both (see especially the striking turns of phrase from “Murmuration.”) With such things in mind, it’s only natural that there would be consideration of dreaming as well, and indeed four different titles on the LP make different reference to a dream or dream state, seemingly valuing dreams as part of the continuum of consciousness rather than something totally cut off from waking experience.
Given the sense of foreboding, anticipation, and even unease that these kinds of subjects often bring with them, the spare and un-hurried music is all the more intriguing, especially when the eponymous finale arrives and the percolating sound bed seems to hint at a coming resolution, but then leaves the listener with more questions than answers. By competently fusing a mature, economical approach to sincerely romantic lyrical themes, Walk Through Lightly is a rare accomplishment.

"Flower Studies", the enchanting third album by Australia’s Blue Chemise, consists of eight intimate, delicate and touching ‘études’, reflecting Mark Gomes’ introspective musings on a series of floral studies by 19th-century French photographer Adolphe Braun (1812-1877).

Behold whither eventually
Imposing sounds and a grandiose bleakness
Majestic flowers in centuries-old photographs
And silences where heather grows

No story, only depictions of flowers
Nature filtered through a temperament
The suggestion of poetical ideas
Nature draws the imagination to infinity

Paysages composés
Like beautiful melodies
Nature’s great harmony
Is that of an immense and divine keyboard

The diffused freshness of budding greenery
A cult for flowers
Privately eavesdropping on nature
To hear the voices of the trees

— Mark Gomes (Blue Chemise)

Around the year, the sturdy red brick walls of an old Cable Factory stand there like a mountain, facing weathers of all kinds rising from the Gulf of Finland. It might be freezing winter winds whipping the whole shore line into submission, fog heavy as concrete, or the relentless sun of the summer months, softening the asphalt to a boiling point. Whatever the weather may be, the narrow courtyard of the old factory embraces those musicians, who are looking to get down. They gather from all directions, making their way towards a pair of doors that lead towards a flight of stairs, again through a few doors all the way to the last portal, where an open padlock and a loosely hangin crossbar signal that Cold Diamond & Mink are inside, locked in a groove.

Who could it be with them this time, perhaps the jazz prophet Jimi Tenor beaming out of his space ship, maybe it's the golden voiced knight of soul Tuomo "Pratt" Prättälä, the number one trumpet wielding dandy Jukka Eskola or the saxman Pope Puolitaival, who loses nothing in coolness compared to the former? The reel to reel is always there in the monitoring room, catching each analog layer of sound, even the silences and banter between takes. Seppo lays down the guitar and tries to catch the riff on organ instead, Jukka throws a rare tune on the turntable, hoping to guide their unit through that wobbly chorus, Sami waits there bass in hand, maybe already thinking about the next production.

After a whole lot of playing instruments, arranging and taking care of business, after the moon has travelled around the old industrial building for some rotations, Carlton Jumel Smith comes waltzing through those same doors. There's a handful of unnamed tracks waiting for him. He sits there listening and then starts writing, maybe echoes of soul classics from his own record collection in New York projecting inside his mind. Then the tape is rolling again. Starting with a short intro rap Carlton lets it out, singing on the edge of shouting "Woman you made me...". After the vocals are in the can, Carlton ascends out of the basement and heads out to entertain an audience somewhere. Some months later, after the mix is said and done, there's the question of the instrumentals. It seems they're pretty good as they are. And here they are.




d 04: Help Me (Save Me From Myself) Instrumental

Detroit's Sean Deason drops the second release in our New Detroit Deep series, following Hazmat's Infinite Silence ep. Sean has delivered an ep of classic Detroit Techno and Breakbeat, showcasing all the Detroit Techno elements of groove and soul.

Love returns with 'Lavender', the follow up to the Canadian crooner’s LP, 'Night Songs' (Taxi Gauche Records, February 2020).
A reflective timeline of dusty folk, 'Lavender' aims to capture the modern loneliness of the 21st century. A sorrowful soundtrack, inspired by the production of great crooners and folk artists of the 70s/80s like Cohen, Lightfoot, and Nick Drake, to name a few, Love achieves a similar quality on Lavender. Like a Chris Isaak trapped in a David Lynch film, Love’s haunted
vocals guide the listener through poetic verses on the archetypes of love and truth, posthumous poetry by his grandfather circa 1930s, and escapism, all melting and flowing into a pool of celestial wisdom.
Acoustic guitars sweep across desolate sonic landscapes of global narcissism, social media and the universal need for connection. Hypnotic bass grooves and lush 3D string ensembles, wrap the listener in a familiar cinematic romance, embraced and mystified. 'Lavender' explores the universal threads that make us feel and experience what we do, in a time when the need to peer into ourselves has never been more important. 'Lavender' draws you inwards, like staring up at the stars at night, or standing alone with the silence of the forest, 'Lavender' wants you to find your own meaning. Self-recorded in a variety of spaces through out Turtle Island (Canada & The USA). Specifically, Toronto Island, a basement in Edmonton, AB, various apartments and motels in Los Angeles and around the United States, on a road trip west via the Trans-Canada highway and ending at a cabin in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains.


“There’s a lonesome vibe to his brand of heartland rock, evoking late nights on a deserted road, or neon-lit streets just after a rainstorm.” (Brooklyn Vegan)

'A Mythology of Circles' is the new album from Brooklyn-based composer and musical artist Faten Kanaan, her first to be released on Fire Records. Cyclical patterns and 'variation through repetition' are central to Faten's music. Harmony and counterpoint are composed intuitively and treated as narrative tools- with sound, silence, and the resulting mystical relationship between notes used as gestures to tell a wordless story. The album is separated into a 'dusk to evening' side, and an 'underworld/dream-state' side; highlighting the myths of Ishtar, Inanna, Orpheus, Persephone, and others. Inspired by cinematic forms and mythological story structures: from sweeping landscapes and quiet romances, to patterned tensions and dream sequences; Faten brings an earthy, visceral touch to electronic music. In symbiosis with technology is an appreciation for the vulnerability of human limitations and nuances. All the sections are played in real time, neither looped nor sequenced- allowing for subtle changes to unfold. The use of VST sampled choral voices in this album embodies the forlorn state of technological acceleration, and the desire to return to a vulnerable human sound. The album art also explores a complicated relationship with technology: the statue comes from a series of digital replicas, returning in its last stage to a more intimate and handmade feel. Composed, produced and mixed by Faten Kanaan, the album was mastered by Heba Kadry (Bjork, Ryuichi Sakamoto, Julianna Barwick). "Strangely haunting yet beautiful bouquet of nocturnal, electronic blooms ranging from poignant ambient vignettes to chamber-like pop, from Brooklyn's Faten Kanaan- a gifted musical story-teller" Boomkat

Featuring Joep’s first three releases + bonus material, as a special Super Deluxe Vinyl Box Set of 7 LPs.

Type O Negative is an American goth-metal band formed in Brooklyn in 1989 by Peter Steele (lead vocals, bass), Kenny Hickey (guitar, backing vocals), Josh Silver (keyboards, backing vocals), and Sal Abruscato (drums, percussions), who was later replaced by Johnny Kelly. Slow, Deep and Hard is their debut studio album, released in 1991 on Roadrunner Records. The album, originally titled None More Negative and released in 1990 under the group’s former name Repulsion, launched the band’s career. The album has a rawness that was prominent in Peter Steele’s previous band, Carnivore, but it incorporates elements that became standard for Type O Negative, merging styles including doom metal, gothic rock, new wave and industrial music.
Slow, Deep and Hard is a semi-autobiographical album with heavy amounts of black humour, based on a failed relationship in which the vocalist/bass guitarist Peter Steele was involved. In keeping with the band’s notable humour, the album’s cover artwork is a blurred image of sexual penetration. According to guitarist Kenny Hickey, Steele based a riff of “Gravitational Constant: G = 6.67 x 10 – 8 cm – 3 gm – 1 sec – 2” (later known as “Gravity”) from the theme song of the 1964 American sitcom The Munsters. For the 30th anniversary of Slow, Deep and Hard, Roadrunner Records in conjunction with Run Out Groove, is reissuing the debut on vinyl in all it’s remastered glory.

REISSUE - from original press release: For three decades the reclusive Revolutionary Army of The Infant Jesus (RAIJ) have confounded musical classification and studiously declined every invitation to explain their unique form of musical and artistic experimentation. Initially the Liverpool outfit built their reputation on their extraordinary immersive multi-media performances combining multiple layers of visual imagery, elements of ritual, enigmatic samples, field recordings and mesmeric live music. Their cult status was further reinforced with the release of the now much sought-after two studio albums The Gift of Tears (1987) and Mirror (1990) and two EP collections, Liturgie Pour La Fin Du Temps (1992) and Paradis (1995). After an 18-year hiatus the appearance of a new RAIJ album, and the apparent relaxation of their strict vow of silence, are generating predictable excitement and expectancy. Beauty Will Save the World does not disappoint. RAIJ's intoxicating mix of ethereal beauty, dazzling soundscapes and oblique mystery reach new levels of intensity and subtlety. The album title - a quote from Russian novelist Fyodor Dostoevsky - is one of the many literary, cinematic and spiritual references underpinning RAIJ's unexpected comeback. Founder members Paul Boyce, Jon Egan and Les Hampson, joined by a fresh wave of collaborators, have crafted an album of unique beauty and originality. Prolonged silence seems to have deepened rather than dimmed their creative impulse. As ever it is the breadth of musical genres, cultural references, borrowings and retrieved sounds that define the RAIJ aesthetic, but there is also a more consistently meditative and melodic strain that underpins the album's integrity and purpose. In a rare insight into the RAIJ's creative method, Jon Egan explains: "Although our work takes elements and inspiration from many disparate sources we have never viewed it as deconstruction. We are looking for the thread that connects every manifestation of beauty, however fragile, transitory and seemingly accidental. " In addition to the album release on Occultation, RAIJ's second coming also includes a live performance at this year's Greenbelt Festival and the re-release on vinyl of The Gift of Tears by California-based label Feral Sounds. "There is renewed interest and appreciation of our music and that's great", said Leslie Hampson. "We have never tried to cultivate obscurity or anonymity, we simply wanted to avoid having to explain and justify a creative process that isn't necessarily premeditated. Isn't it enough to listen to and experience it?"

After a year of silence, UK-based band Trash Boat
returned in February with their new single, ‘He’s So
Good’, a song about familial ties being destroyed
by people not being able to accept LGBTQ
members of their family.
The song set the stage for Trash Boat’s new
album, ‘Don’t You Feel Amazing?’, which was
produced by Grammy Award-winning producer
Jason Perry (Molotov, Don Broco, McBusted).
The album tackles more serious issues (sexuality,
drugs, hate) than their previous two releases and
sonically expands from their pop punk roots,
bringing in influences that range from metal to hiphop.
For fans of Don Broco, Boston Manor, Trophy
Eyes.

Something special from Studio Barnhus: Acapella versions of every! single! track! from Off The Meds’ self-titled debut album released in late 2020. The Swedish-South
African super group’s front man and vocalist Kamohelo Khoaripe standing alone in the spotlight this time, his unique Zulu-Tsotsitaal-English flow lovingly recorded and processed by the Off The Meds production team. Each track comes with a short/sweet musical introduction, fully optimised for the modern professional discjockey. Out now as a super limited hand-stamped 12'' vinyl .

Ltd Black Vinyl Gatefold edition + 32 Page Booklet + Download Code

The LP contains original compositions by Ryuichi Sakamoto, Pascal Comelade, Laurie Spiegel, Lyra Pramuk, Chassol, Nicolas Godin and Pierre Rousseau, Pedro Vian and Pierre Bastien, Visible Cloaks, Kelman Duran, Raul Refree, Lucrecia Dalt, Lafawndah.

+ a booklet with writings by contemporary thinkers like Shumon Basar, François J. Bonnet, and pictures by, Araki, Juergen Teller, Elizaveta Porodina, Dani Pujalte, P Jack Davison, Zhong Lin, Alessandra Sanguinetti, Adrià Cañameras, Javier Tles among others. Lacquer cut by Josh Bonati & Mastered by Rashad Becker

'PRSNT' is a unique global artistic project combining the input of artists across the worlds of music, video and written word which acts as a statement on how we, as consumers, engage with music in the 21st century. Vital electronic musicians including Ryuichi Sakamoto, Lafawndah, Lyra Pramuk, Lucrecia Dalt and Visible Cloaks have each contributed tracks, which are approximately 32 seconds long.

The concept was devised by Created By Us and the Barcelona-based label Modern Obscure Music. They read a study which identified that the overwhelming volume of instantly accessible information online is shortening attention spans and altering how audiences engage with music digitally. Their curiosity about the state of online consumption developed further on discovering that around a third of all listeners using digital platforms skip to the next track, within the first 30 seconds of playing.

Each musician was given a fascinating challenge to create engaging compositions with real artistic merit, inside the confines of this shortened span. Akin to Brian Eno's famous Windows 95 start-up music, the time constraints are crucial, and the compositions are deceptively complex and more substantial than expectations of their nano nature would suggest.

'PRSNT' acts as a critique of flighty feed culture, but is simultaneously constructive, providing something which is either proposed solution, or "if you can't beat 'em join 'em" resignation. Every artist has interpreted the brief differently, resulting in an intriguing blueprint for the potential future of digital music. Could abbreviated micro compositions satisfy, inspire and nourish like their longer counterparts? They certainly take up much less of listeners' busy lives, which are often spent tackling ever-increasing workloads.

Die weltbekannte Band aus Island ist mit ihrem elften Studioalbum, dem hoch emotionalen "Mobile Home", zurückgekehrt und veröffentlicht damit ihr erstes Album seit 2018. Das Kollektiv beweist einmal mehr die Meisterhaftigkeit, seine künstlerischen Grenzen zu erweitern, indem sie eines ihrer ambitioniertesten und kraftvollsten Alben seit Jahrzehnten veröffentlichen. Für ihr neuestes Album holten sich GusGus die VÖK-Sängerin Margrét Rán zur Hilfe, um ihren Stil zu erweitern und den Sound des Kollektivs so frisch wie immer zu halten. Das 9-Track-Album bietet eine Mischung aus elektronischem Rock, Ambient, Darkwave, Downtempo und Synthpop. GusGus besser denn je!

World-renowned group GusGus have returned with their 11th studio album, the highly emotive Mobile Home, marking their first album release since 2018. The collective once again prove their commitment to pushing their artistic boundaries as they release one of their most ambitious and powerful albums in decades. For their latest record, GusGus call on VÖK’s lead singer Margrét Rán to help expand their style, keeping the collective’s sound as fresh as ever. The 9-track album features a concoction of electronic rock, ambient, darkwave, downtempo, and synthpop.

After announcing a new album in October 2020, GusGus wowed fans with their first single “Higher,” offering a first taste of how VÖK’s impactful vocals mesh seamlessly with GusGus’ intelligent and powerful electronic production. “Higher” was soon followed up with the darker, downtempo “Stay The Ride” and the bright and energetic synth work on “Our World.” The three captivating singles each received equally remarkable music videos courtesy of founding members Arni & Kinski, the directing team known for working with the likes of Sigur Rós, Kiasmos, Ólafur Arnalds, Of Monsters and Men, and more.

Every track on Mobile Home doubles as a window into a futuristic dystopian world that has been overtaken by machines. A nod to the rise of technology and ever-growing uncertainty surrounding automation, the album explores themes of solitude, rebellion, science fiction, hedonism, pleasure, and anger. Swirling within this world is a disconnected, aching soul who is on the verge of slipping into complete dementia. Forgotten purpose and goals but continues to be driven by the hedonistic default program of material consciousness; sensually self-indulgent and engaged in the pursuit of pleasure alone. In Mobile Home, GusGus challenge themselves like never before, resulting in a wonderfully chaotic reflection of the ongoing war between soul and machine.

With Mobile Home, GusGus show the quality and sonic diversity of the singles pervades throughout the full LP, while preserving the melodramatic themes that tie its 9 tracks together. “Simple Tuesday” showcases the group’s aptitude for blending contemporary electronic production with pop sensibilities while keeping an optimistic tonality at the forefront. Meanwhile, “Love Is Alone” and “Original Heartbreak” offer a slower, more pensive take on synthpop, and evoke feelings of solitude and deep melancholia. “Silence” and “The Rink” boast some of GusGus’s more experimental production, each alternating between radio-ready vocal verses with inventive and exciting synth elements. GusGus closes Mobile Home with “Flush,” an instrumental score that leaves the listener riding high as they finish the LP.

“I don’t want to be a product of my environment. I want my environment to be a product of me.” The debut LP from Ocean City Maryland’s Jarhead Fertilizer is a hot dose in your veins. Our modern dystopian reality meets a brutal mixture of death and grind with primitive groove with blistering low end. On Product of My Environment, Jarhead Fertilizer makes a simple statement. Death is easy. Life is hard

Mit "I May Never See You Again" veröffentlicht der iranische Komponist, Musiker und Virtuose der Kamanche-Geige, Saba Alizadeh am 08. Juli 2021 sein erstes Album auf dem neu gegründeten Hamburger Label 30M. Wie schon auf seinem Debütalbum "Scattered Memories" aus dem Jahr 2019 vermischt der 37-jährige Saba Alizadeh seine instrumentale Virtuosität mit sphärischer Elektronik, Samples persischer Musikinstrumente und Feldaufnahmen aus seiner Heimatstadt Teheran. Geboren 1983 in Teheran als Sohn des weltberühmten Tar- und Setar-Virtuosen Hossein Alizadeh, studierte Saba die iranische Kamanche-Geige mit Saeed Farajpoury und Keyhan Kalhor sowie Fotografie und später experimentelle Klangkunst mit Mark Trayle am California Institute of the Arts, Los Angeles. Geprägt von den konzeptuellen Herangehensweisen, wie sie dort gelehrt wurden, basiert Saba Alizadeh seine Musik auf iranischen Traditionen und Skalen, um sie im nächsten Schritt zu dekonstruieren und zu abstrahieren. Im Ergebnis begeistern die neun meist instrumentalen Tracks auf "I May Never See You Again" als klanglich ausdifferenzierte Meditationen über das Thema Erinnerung - einerseits wird die Glaubwürdigkeit und Belastbarkeit der eigenen Erinnerung musikalisch seziert, andererseits geht Saba Alizadeh z.B. in dem Track "Silences Inbetween" durchaus auch konzeptuell vor, wenn er die Atempausen der Stille in Reden von Diktatoren aus vergangenen Zeiten in akustischen Hallräumen so sehr verstärkt, dass diese Stille als Distortion hörbar wird. "Wie", fragt Saba Alizadeh, "hätte sich die Weltgeschichte verändert, wenn das Publikum in diesen Atempausen nicht andächtig geschwiegen, sondern aufbegehrt hätte?" Das Schweigen der Massen, davon berichtet "Silences Inbetween", ist also keineswegs bloß neutraler Klang oder Geräusch, sondern es besteht aus hochgradig aufgeladenen Schwingungen, die, an historischen Orten bis zur Unkenntlichkeit amplifiziert, von einer (nicht eingetretenen) Utopie berichten, einem anderen Verlauf der Weltgeschichte. Es ist in diesem Sinne vermutlich eine Fügung des Schicksals, dass sich Saba Alizadeh 2016 in Berlin mit Andreas Spechtl, dem Sänger der Band Ja, Panik anfreundete, kurz bevor Spechtl im Rahmen einer Artist Residency für ein einige Monate nach Teheran zog. Andreas Spechtl wurde im deutschsprachigen Raum vor allem dank seiner Songtexte berühmt, in denen er die Wörter ähnlich abstrakt dekonstruiert wie Saba Alizadeh die Musik. Auf "I May Never See You Again" kollaborieren Spechtl und Alizadeh auf den beiden Tracks "Phasing Shadows" und "Touch". Saba Alizadeh kollaborierte zudem noch mit der elektroakustischen Soundkünstlerin Rojin Sharafi, einer gebürtigen Iranerin, die mittlerweile in Wien lebt. Mit ihr komponierte Saba den Track "Hybrid". Nicht zuletzt wegen der anhaltenden Pandemie arbeiteten die beiden virtuell zusammen, indem sie sich Tonspuren über das Internet austauschten - auch daher der Titel "Hybrid". Mit seinen handverlesenen Kollaborationen und vor allem dank seines ausdifferenzierten Klangraums ist "If I Ever See You Again" bereits jetzt eines der herausragenden elektroakustischen Alben des Jahres. Beeinflusst von iranischer Harmonik, Musique concrète und ausgefeilter, zukunftsweisender Beat Science stehen die insgesamt neun Songs von Saba Alizadeh für einen unfassbar spannenden Akt gegenseitiger Inspiration - wenn sich iranische Skalen und westliches elektroakustisches Verständnis kraftvoll vereinigen.

Two artists that have previously released works on Past Inside the Present come together for this anonymous split album. With this record we want listeners to go in blind, without ego or expectation, with the sole focus on what truly matters: the music. The artists will remain anonymous until the vinyl sells out and then we will reveal all.

Face-punching, neck-breaking, spine-twisting Dutch Death Metal! Sepiroth is a brutal old-school Death Metal band from Sliedrecht, the Netherlands. The band has been founded in 2003 by drummer Damiën and guitarist Chris. In 2007 the band released their first 3-track e.p. ‘Dying For Hatred’ followed in 2011 by their first full length ‘Breaking The Codes Of Silence’. With the years the band progressed and became a solid force to be reckoned with on stages all over the world. In 2015 the band released their second full length album ‘Uninvolved’. The album was a concept about the UN forces witnessing the horrors of the civil war in former Yugoslavia. The UN-blue album cover raised a lot of questions and controversy because people failed to miss the link of the cover with the lyrical content. In 2020 Sepiroth signed a deal with Petrichor for the release of their third full length ‘Condemned To Suffer’. It will see the light in June 2021. With the current line-up, Sepiroth wants to take their crushing Death Metal to the stages of world with more power and strength than ever before. Blurb IG#1: Sepiroth is an old school Death Metal band from the Netherlands. For fans of old Obituary, Deicide, Immolation and Sinister! Blurb IG#2: Sepiroth is an old school Death Metal band from the Netherlands. For fans of old Obituary, Deicide, Immolation and Sinister!

Acid tribe, progressive and menta long tunes for a maximum pleasure !

Primal Scream frontman Bobby Gillespie, alongside solo artist and Savages vocalist Jehnny Beth, presents this stunning debut solo project collection - exploring loss, miscommunication and emotional inarticulacy that a married couple experience as they realise that their relationship is breaking down.



‘Utopian Ashes’ draws on the tradition of country soul classics, such as Gram Parsons and Emmylou Harris’s ‘Grievous Angel’ and George Jones and Tammy Wynette’s ‘We Go Together’, to deal with the heavy realities of love turning sour. It’s an album for people who have dealt with the inevitable sadness that comes with age and acknowledged the realities of life. There is no sweetening of the pill, but it does achieve what should be the goal of all good art: to make us feel less alone. And while it’s not autobiographical, it channels heartfelt truth from the songwriters’ own experiences.



In addition to Bobby Gillespie and Jehnny Beth, the album features Johnny Hostile (bass) alongside Primal Scream trio Andrew Innes (guitar), Martin Duffy (piano) and Darrin Mooney (drums).

KAMA Kollektiv ist eine multinationale Gruppe um die junge finnische Sängerin und Trompeterin Kirsi-Marja "Kiki" Harju. Das Wort KAMA ist finnisch für "Dinge" oder "Zeug", und es beschreibt, worum es in der Musik der Band geht: die kleinen Dinge des Lebens, die oft so leicht übersehen werden. Kiki erzählt Geschichten - einige auf Finnisch, einige auf Englisch - über Liebe und Verwandlung, Wälder und Tiere, kleine alltägliche Freuden und eine mystische, romantische Sicht auf die Natur. Die Musik ist eine hypnotisierende Mischung aus Jazz, nordischem Folk und Indie-Pop. Sie nimmt die Zuhörer mit auf eine Reise in märchenhafte Länder und intensive Gefühle. Die Band ist in Amsterdam beheimatet, aber Kikis Songs sind voller Erinnerungen an die wunderschönen Landschaften, dunklen Wälder und den eisigen Frost ihrer Heimat Finnland. Der Titel des ersten Albums des KAMA Kollektiv ist KOTI, ein finnisches Wort für "Zuhause".

The latest collection by Cascadian resident loscil aka Scott Morgan is a stunning meditation on light, shade, and decay, sourced from a single three-minute composition performed by a 22-piece string orchestra in Budapest.
The subsequent recording was lathe-cut on to a 7-inch, then “scratched and abused to add texture and color,” from which the entirety of Clara was sampled, shape-shifted, and sculpted. Despite their limited palette, the compositions summon a sense of the infinite, swelling and swimming through luminous depths. Certain tracks percolate over narcoleptic metronomes while others slowdive in shimmering shadowplay, sounding at times like some noir music of the spheres.
Although Morgan's compositional premise for Clara was quite defined, the resultant work is wonderfully opaque and spatial, equal parts lush and lurking, traced in fine-grained gradients and radiant silences. The album's title comes from the Latin for ‘bright': a fitting muse for this masterpiece of celestial electric currents and interstitial ether, where “shadows are amplified and bright spots dimmed.”

Reissue on vinyl of the seventh PJ Harvey studio album White Chalk. The album was produced by PJ Harvey, Flood and John Parish and originally released in September 2007. White Chalk features the singles ‘When Under Ether’, ‘The Piano’ and ‘The Devil’. Reissue is faithful to the original recording and package, with cutting by Jason Mitchell at Loud Mastering under the guidance of original co-producer John Parish.

Beautiful orange & yellow sunburst vinyl - Solstice '21 sees twelve bright lights of independent electronic music mark the coming Summer Solstice. In such dark days, the age-old practice of celebrating the move from shadow to light, feels steeped in a renewed symbolic power. Solstice '21 marks this significant moment with a rich array of musical offerings. Reflective, lively, and always powerful, this collection is spun with modern twists of an ancient thread. Rotator - This is the first outing under this moniker from Justin Owen, also known under the alias Licit, as well as being a protagonist in the world of modular synthesis as the man behind the Abstract Data modules; Letters from Mouse - "Bubbling analogue synthesis from Scotland." This analogue synth maestro and inimitable broadcaster (aka The Magic Window), boasts a string of quality releases, including the recent highly acclaimed album An gàrradh, also on Subexotic; Cub/cub - "Cub/cub explores the world in-between nostalgia and nihilism, analogue and digital, real and false; creating evocative and mournful musical collages." First discovered on Boards of Canada forum Twoism, Cub/cub's two debut releases with Subexotic demonstrated his considerable talent to mix fascinating texture with beguiling melody. With an astonishing follow-up album coming soon, his rising star feels unstoppable; Orbury Common - "aural ephemera from the home of the orbs." This mysterious duo from the West of England are blessed with delightful musical cunning; their brilliant debut on Subexotic lifted the lid, and this offering reaffirms exciting times lie ahead; Onepointwo - "Minimal electronics, abstract radio signals and dystopian soundscapes are proceeded from both digital and analogue sources." A creator of intricate yet powerful collage, with finely wrought motifs that repeat and build to create a shimmering psychedelic impact. This is Onepointwo's glorious trademark. Spell-binding releases already exist on Woodford Halse, Poeta Negra, Lotus, as well as an imminent powerhouse album forthcoming on Subexotic; Giants of Discovery - "Experimental electronica with the occasional noisy guitar thrown in." Giants of Discovery's ability to get to grips with the musicality of his subject, has lead to previous exquisite sojourns into realms such as Victorian cosmic horror and Greek mythology, as well as an equally fantastical, towering follow up album on Woodford Halse; Wonderful Beasts - "A Wonderful collaboration between boycalledcrow and Xqui." Their playful interaction finds ways of crafting acoustic fragments into unexpected kaleidoscopes of sound. With beguiling debuts on cult label Wormhole World (soon to be followed up by an extraordinary new album on Subexotic), there is a kind of breathless magic about everything they do; Dogs versus Shadows - Electronic Sound Magazine says "A rare example of gamekeeper turned poacher...a welter of impressive electronica." Lee Pylon's ability to straddle a wealth of uncompromisingly inventive creations, and his broadcasting prowess as the much loved Kites & Pylons, is already the stuff of legend. A multitude of releases across many labels including Subexotic, Woodford Halse, Miracle Pond, Third Kind, Submarine Broadcasting, Sensory Leakage, provide a glittering treasure trove of work; Counter Silence - A stalwart of Subexotic, Counter Silence's sparkling and wistful musical work very much stands alone in temperament and style. 2020's Pathways EP on Subexotic remains a precious oasis, imbued with a haunting solitude that lives on in the memory; Transient Visitor - "All music unlocked by Alex Cargill (C.O.I. Central Office of Information) and Martin Jensen (The Home Current)." These two intercontinental maestros (well Sidcup & Luxembourg) boast impressive solo back catalogues across many labels (including Castles in Space, Polytechnic Youth, Woodford Halse). Their newly conceived collaborative Transient Visitor project, brought about the superb TV1 album in 2020 - we can see the sparks fly again in this welcome 2021 return; Simon Klee - "Natural, Electric, Organic Psychedelic - Sounds, noise and psychedelic beats." Klee's playful alchemy engages the mind and spirit, as witnessed in a flurry of top quality releases in recent times (e.g. Subexotic, ANR, Woodford Halse), and there is a visceral joy in his work that is perfectly placed for a midsummer celebration. Klee also produces a truly excellent mixcast and increasingly essential tape label, both under the guise of Anticipating Nowhere; Rupert Lally - "Hailing originally from England but now based in Switzerland, Guitarist, Percussionist and Electronic Musician Rupert Lally began his career as a Sound Designer and Composer for Theatre and TV, before launching his solo career in 2005. Since then his releases have blurred the boundaries between electronic and acoustic music." Lally's consistently brilliant work is always a highlight of the electronic music calendar, including recent stellar works across many labels such as Spun Out Of Control, Third Kind, Woodford Halse, and Modern Aviation.

Ltd White Vinyl Gatefold edition + 32 Page Booklet + Download Code

The LP contains original compositions by Ryuichi Sakamoto, Pascal Comelade, Laurie Spiegel, Lyra Pramuk, Chassol, Nicolas Godin and Pierre Rousseau, Pedro Vian and Pierre Bastien, Visible Cloaks, Kelman Duran, Raul Refree, Lucrecia Dalt, Lafawndah.

+ a booklet with writings by contemporary thinkers like Shumon Basar, François J. Bonnet, and pictures by, Araki, Juergen Teller, Elizaveta Porodina, Dani Pujalte, P Jack Davison, Zhong Lin, Alessandra Sanguinetti, Adrià Cañameras, Javier Tles among others. Lacquer cut by Josh Bonati & Mastered by Rashad Becker

'PRSNT' is a unique global artistic project combining the input of artists across the worlds of music, video and written word which acts as a statement on how we, as consumers, engage with music in the 21st century. Vital electronic musicians including Ryuichi Sakamoto, Lafawndah, Lyra Pramuk, Lucrecia Dalt and Visible Cloaks have each contributed tracks, which are approximately 32 seconds long.

The concept was devised by Created By Us and the Barcelona-based label Modern Obscure Music. They read a study which identified that the overwhelming volume of instantly accessible information online is shortening attention spans and altering how audiences engage with music digitally. Their curiosity about the state of online consumption developed further on discovering that around a third of all listeners using digital platforms skip to the next track, within the first 30 seconds of playing.

Each musician was given a fascinating challenge to create engaging compositions with real artistic merit, inside the confines of this shortened span. Akin to Brian Eno's famous Windows 95 start-up music, the time constraints are crucial, and the compositions are deceptively complex and more substantial than expectations of their nano nature would suggest.

'PRSNT' acts as a critique of flighty feed culture, but is simultaneously constructive, providing something which is either proposed solution, or "if you can't beat 'em join 'em" resignation. Every artist has interpreted the brief differently, resulting in an intriguing blueprint for the potential future of digital music. Could abbreviated micro compositions satisfy, inspire and nourish like their longer counterparts? They certainly take up much less of listeners' busy lives, which are often spent tackling ever-increasing workloads.

Quietschbunte Indie-Pop-Tunes Nachdem das letzte Tune-Yards-Album "I can feel you creep into my private life" 2018 auf 12 Songs Themen wie Geschlechterteilung, Politik, Feminismus und die nach wie vor um sich greifende Umweltverschmutzung behandelte, hinterfragen sich Merrill Garbus und ihr langjähriger Mitstreiter Nate Brenner auf dem fünften Studioalbum "sketchy." selbst. "We had really been non-stop hustling," reflektiert Merrill, die zwischen 2009 und 2018 vier hoch gelobte Alben als Tune-Yards veröffentlicht hat, durchgängig auf Tour war und zusätzlich noch den Score zum surrealistischen Boots Riley-Film "Sorry To Bother You" kreierte. Ihre eigene Rolle in den von ihr so verhassten, eingefahrenen Systemen, lähmte Merrill, ohne Idee, wie sie nun weitermachen sollte. Inspiriert vom Buch der Beastie Boys und von Questloves "Creative Quest" machte sich das Duo daran täglich für mehrere Stunden in ihrem Proberaum zu jammen, um sich ähnlich wie Athleten vor einem Wettkampf zu trainieren. Dabei tauschten sie Computer-Samples gegen Live-Instrumente ein (Merrill an den Drums, Nate am Bass) und schon nach kurzer Zeit entstanden die ersten neuen Songs. Das Ergebnis ist ein farbenfrohes und fröhliches Album mit Lyrics, die es in sich haben.

Maze & Lindholm, widely critically acclaimed since their first LPWhere The Wolf Has Been Seen-released by Aurora Borealis in 2018-bring out yet another aspect of their ever fruitful collaboration.While their debut album was constantly balancing between contemplation and anxiety (never quitepitch dark but often on the fence between extremelycontrasted moods) the live rendition of theirnew opus offers a profound sonic meditation.

A River Flowing Home To The Seanever tries tocompete with the world's deafening din nor embraces its inherent violence-as "Where The Wolf Has Been Seen" often did-but rather emphasises a certain relation to silence while magnifying it.Celebrating its rarity and approaching its own production as an intimate yet enthralling experience. As opposed to a river forming into a torrent, the piece flows at a quiet paceand invites us toexperience a state of inner tranquility.

Perila (Aleksandra Zakharenko) left her native Russia six years ago, landing in Berlin. Finding her place almost immediately - first at Berlin Community Radio and through that amongst a group of like-minded creative individuals (including her current flatmates Special Guest DJ and exael) - she started a regular practice of working on an expressionistic "sonic diary" of field recordings and electronic sound research for her own pleasure. When the opportunity arose to create her own podcast series, WET (or Weird Erotic Tension) was born. Upon hearing her evocative and atmospheric music layered with friends Nat Marcus and Inger Wold Lund's erotic spoken word poetry, Sferic Records asked to release it, and Perila - a project name originally used for her BCR show - truly came to be. Aleksandra, who was raised in St. Petersburg, has been involved in music since childhood thanks to her melomaniac father. She's been both drummer and singer in local bands in Russia, and is also the co-founder of radio.syg.ma - one of the first online stations in Russian focusing on experimental sounds - but Perila is something else entirely. You could loosely describe it as ambient, but her soundworld is so specific and transportative, filled with detail and movement, it's more akin to hauntological musique concrète, touched by song. Her fascination with voice and language - she studied English literature at university - is still evident, although that's now her voice, her texts, her crooning you can hear on the Everything Is Already There cassette (Boomkat Editions, 2020), her processed breaths on the Meta Door L cassette (Paralaxe Editions, 2020). The Wire Magazine got it right when they said about Irer Dent that, "Sensuality is presented as a secret pass to a higher consciousness." For her debut album, How Much Time it is Between You and Me?, released via Smalltown Supersound on June 11th, Aleksandra takes inspiration from the concept of time, which she felt keenly during the pandemic. Recorded primarily in September 2020 in a rural village in France - her only travel during the first year of the pandemic period - surrounded by mountains but otherwise alone with no internet, her perception of time there differed immensely. She describes the trip as, "an immersive experience into self," viewed through a "silence prism" where everyday sounds usually ignored felt amplified. While her work has always dealt in intimacy - be it the private thrills of WET or the audible closeness of our surroundings - the organic response and consistent feedback she gets for Perila made Aleksandra recognize a longing, a need for it in today's world. Intent on creating work based in honesty and tenderness, Perila's practice also explores how we feel music and emotion throughout the body and how sound can help to release it. How does the sound enter a body and travel through it? Where does movement start? How do you reach and unblock emotional clusters with the help of sound and deep listening of the body responses? Aleksandra likes to describe her music and performances as trips - thick narratives drifting along sound to get closer to self. Let Perila guide you through this journey.

'New limited 12” from XCPT posse coming under label headz new alias: Sativa Club. Three tracks exploring a wide spectrum of jungle inspired club music.

Phonato Riddim spreads instantly a bulging bag of breaks merged harmonically with heavyweight drum patterns, room quaking subs, and synapse bending vocal samples emerging forcefully from hazy soundscapes. Sound of Silence opens the flip side in a beatless smoky environment where blurry hypnotic frequencies quickly get squashed in a rolling drum break. Finally, the 176 bpm full-throttle payoff of Amen Drake: slabs of processed amens, paradroid percussions, gently layered synth lines and fucked up wet-dream vocals.

Hypnotic dubwise galore on both sides.'

In the Forest of the Dreaming Dead” is UNANIMATED’s debut album which was released in 1993 on no Fashion Records. After numerous bootleg versions and countless mistakes in either the tracklisting or the layout, it is the first time that this classic piece of Swedish Black/Death Metal history is available in its full glory, but with a fresh remastering by Patrick Engel (Asphyx, Candlemass, Darkthrone) and extensive liner-notes by Chris Dick (Decibel Magazine, US). The vinyl comes in a Ltd. Triple Gatefold 2LP with an Etching on Side D (Coverartwork of “Fire Storm”) and 4-pages LP-Booklet. This format also includes a cover of the Venom classic “Buried Alive”, which was only available on the original pressing of “In the Forest of the Dreaming Dead” (1993

Outside Ludlow / Desert Disco is the first major solo release from Australian performer-composer Sam Dunscombe, now based in Berlin after residing for the past decade in San Diego and Tokyo. A virtuoso clarinettist who has performed in composed and improvised settings with artists such as Klaus Lang and Taku Sugimoto, their practice also embraces computer music, lo-fi electronics and field recordings, in addition to their long-term commitment to archiving, studying and performing the work of Romanian spectralist composer Horatiu Radulescu.
The two side-long pieces presented on this LP began from a chance encounter in a specific geographic location (documented in the photographs that grace the record’s sleeve). Exploring California’s Mojave desert with a friend, Dunscombe made the unlikely discovery of a tangle of quarter-inch tape snared on a cactus. The digitised version of this tape, variously edited and processed, as well as Dunscombe’s own transcription and embellished performance of some of its material on Hammond organ, makes up one of the main ingredients of the LP’s first side. The other is a field recording of the area outside the ghost town of Ludlow, where the tape was found, where haunted silence is punctuated by freight trains and clusters of explosions from gold mines and the local marine corps. Far from any kind of documentary approach, the resulting composition reaches back to the smeared atmospherics and overdriven tape crunch of Hands To, Small Cruel Party or Joe Colley, before the Hammond organ rises up to cast a spectral shimmer reminiscent of 1960s tape music classics like Arne Nordheim’s ‘Warszawa’.

On ‘Desert Disco’ (its title perhaps a clue to the content of the mysterious tape), Dunscombe zeroes in on a single fragment of the tape, accompanying it with analogue synthesis to craft an immersive work based on a single chord. Throughout the course of this work, the monolithic opening sonority gradually splits apart, revealing an infinity of rhythmically phasing lines that swarm like a cloud of insects and patter like falling rain, placing Dunscombe’s piece in a lineage of patient electronic exploration that includes landmarks like Costin Miereanu’s Derives and the contemporary work of Jim O’Rourke.

Limited edition vinyl with images by Sam Dunscombe and design by Lasse Marhaug. Mastered by Joe Talia at Good Mixture, Berlin.

LP edition of the sold out CD/Pamphlet from 2016. The score by Schmid, reading by Landry, and edited/produced by McCann. Includes a big poster of The St. Francis List.

Emily Martin and Derek Baron on St. Francis (Feb. 2021):

What does it mean to pray? To address someone, to plead for something, to welcome humiliation and failure: Please, let me forget about the China Chalet parties, please let there be no countries and no war, please let me love you. Is prayer iteration, or just repetition: My god, my god, my god, my god… To know spleen you just have to be down to be humiliated. But do we know for sure that we are miserable? How do we know?

This is how it has to go. We listened to this for the first time together in May 2017, while driving from Chicago to New York along the I-80 in Pennsylvania, stopping at the rest area that I later mistook for the famous picture of American “culture.” We stayed at a hotel and may have ordered a pizza. Content first, then, content again. Went inside and drank wine in relative silence, burping. Recognizing the sacredness in the plot of Friends. A choral melisma representative of holy Joy.

The dreams of moving through a convoluted space of passages, staircases, open courtyards, rooms just glimpsed past a door. It doesn’t seem possible that you can get from one place to the next but according to the logic of the dream you do. I think this has to do with how each little unit of ‘content’ happens at a different distance from your ear. The holiness of the periphery. That you can catch a shard of history if you only find the right distance to stand from the painting.

But prayer is also like the magic language we were talking about — faith that words do something more than just mean — they have the capacity to effect change in the world, and not just in the like, “words change ppl’s minds” kind of way, but in that the words themselves actually have agency. Form: sing-along.

Aparde’s new album, Alliance sees the German
musician retreat from his recent experimentations
with avant-gard pop music back into the world of
deep, and oftentimes dark, electronica. For his
previous album, Hands Rest, Aparde ventured
outside Berlin’s club scene through the use of his
voice, which gave his music a softer and more
intimate edge. Alliance is no less intimate, except
this time the musician’s vulnerability seeps through
the cracks rather than taking center stage.
As impressive sonically as it is technically, Aparde
used a mixture of electronic sounds, analogue
equipment and his own voice either as a sound
element or lyrical component to explore this duality
of sound. “This album was about focusing on
something that calmed me down and brought me
away from reality,” says Aparde. When the musician
says ‘away from reality’, he doesn’t mean into
dreamy, ethereal soundscapes, but rather a deep
dive into dystopian atmospheres of drone sounds
and chewed-up drum machines. Alliance’s second
track, Allies has a dire beginning and one might
even be tempted in skipping it if it weren’t for
Aparde’s hushed voice shining through the
shadows, melancholic yes, but also warm. Despite
the album’s focus on electronic gear the music isn’t
exactly dance-able, tracks have a ruminative pace,brooding even, “I wanted to make the tracks with
more breathing space between the atmosphere
and silence. There are fewer elements but more
impact, I think,” says Aparde.
Things change gears toward the middle of
Alliance, with both Lined and The Shift representing
the colder, club-ier tracks of the album. For
both of these tunes, any emotionality gets
converted into a dense and thumping energy that
is released in a cathartic fashion. It is, as Aparde
describes, music “for you to move to when you
have a good moment or a mental crisis”. But
Aparde doesn’t leave it at that frequency; he closes
off the album courageously by letting listeners in,
once again, to his own world and emotions. While
still a driving electronic track, Hole is framed
around melancholic piano keys that bring the
mood down, and prepare listeners for Know you,
the album’s most intimate, and vulnerable piece. “I
never felt alright,” Aparde admits open-heartedly
on the track.
With Alliance, Aparde brings listeners deep into
his soul, a soul that is at times conflicted and
agitated and at times low-key and solemn. And as
he does so, the listener’s own mood is muted and
lifted in a journey of quest, dance and healing.

Silent Room, the duo formed by Enzo Carniel and Filippo Vignato is a conversation.
Between the piano of the first and the trombone of the second, two living forces of the
European jazz scene; between France and Italy; between acoustics and electronics. A
patient dialogue initiated on the benches of the conservatory in Paris, which was nourished
by the music of German trombonist Albert Mangelsdorff (to whom the duo paid homage for a
concert at the Cité des Arts in 2014), musical moments shared as a group (Enzo Carniel's
sextet at the Jazz à la Villette festival in particular) and in pairs - for numerous concerts
given on both sides of the Alps - before perfecting their common grammar, giving birth to
their own repertoire, creating their own space.

This first album, Aria, released on the Franco-Japanese label MENACE, was recorded in the
setting of the Villa Cicaletto in Tuscany, whose Silent Room the duo made their own in
September 2019. Carniel had just released Wallsdown, the third elegiac disc of his House of
Echo project (Jazz & People, 2020) and Vignato of an intense live duo recorded with
American cellist Hank Roberts (Ghost Dance, on CamJazz in 2019).

The album is carried by simple melodies, tenuous threads on which the two improvisers who
have slowly got to know each other crisscross and let their voices express themselves. Aria
can refer to the opening of Bach's Goldberg variations, to sung opera arias, but above all to
any expressive melody that develops the imagination. Aria is also the air in Italian: the air
that comes from the breath, the air that fills the room, the air that vibrates and is transformed
into sound. The repertoire is therefore this collection of Arias composed by Enzo Carniel and
Filippo Vignato.

If the duo advocates with this album its jazz heritage - that of improvisation and
conversation, of freedom and virtuosity - and claims to be Carla and Paul Bley, Keith Jarrett,
Gary Valente, Albert Mangelsdorff, Ornette Coleman or John Surman; it also explores the
contemporary colors of electronic music, ambient and Japanese minimalism. The use of the
prepared piano, Fender Rhodes and synthesizers colors the sound space of the acoustic
piano and trombone. The eponymous composition that opens the album in acoustic, closes
it in an electronic version, illuminating the path of the duo between the two universes.

In the almost plant-like composition "In All Nilautpaula", Enzo Carniel evokes the water lily
(in Sanskrit) coming to purify the water around him. On "Babele", Filippo Vignato invokes the
great question of language: thanks to Arias, and therefore melodies, language becomes
universal through music, and only the sensory experience counts.

Born from Carniel and Vignato's desire to create a sound space that would be filled with as
many melodies as silence, a place for listening, dialogue and meditation, Aria is one of those
rare records that contain entire worlds.

Songs zu schreiben ist für Toby Whyle eine Selbstverständlichkeit, im Musikkosmos ist er seit langer Zeit ein bekanntes Gesicht. Neu ist die Erkenntnis, dass Songwriting für ihn einer der wenigen Wege ist, die grelle, schnelllebige Außenwelt auszublenden. "A Mood Of Its Own" ist der Anfang eines neuen Abenteuers, auf das sich Toby erstmals alleine begibt. Vorbehaltlos setzt er sich den Anziehungskräften von elektronischer Musik und Gitarrenpop aus, umkreist beide immer wieder knapp, lässt sich aber nie ganz fangen. Jeder Song folgt dabei einer eigenen Umlaufbahn, gewährt neue Einblicke in Tobys Gedankenwelten.

Der Titel "A Mood Of Its Own" entstammt einer Textzeile der ersten Single "No One Moves", mit der Toby gleich mal auf dem ersten Platz der Radio FM4 Charts landete. Der Song beschreibt eine Schreibblockade, die zweite Single "Quiet The Silence" begleitet das Auseinanderdriften zweier Menschen, "Pity" erzählt von Stolpersteinen und einem Neubeginn und "How It Feels" von der Suche nach Konstanten in einer schnelllebigen Welt. Auf seiner ersten Solo-EP zeigt Toby Whyle die volle Bandbreite seines Songwritings, lässt einen oft energiegeladen aber nachdenklich zurück. Gemeinsam mit Produzent Maximilian Walch hat Toby unterschiedliche Stimmungen eingefangen, auf das Wesentliche reduziert und eine verbindende Ästhetik geschaffen.

Five years after the release of ‘Pressure Loss’ the modern master of electronic minimalism Nicola Ratti returns to Where To Now? in collaboration with Japanese MC ‘MA’, for a suite of submerged, outsider Trip-Hop.

‘Shinkai’ meets at the crossroads of the gloomy sonic snapshot world of Tricky, the South London DIY avant pop bloom of Curl/Mica Levi, the outer fringes of Hip-Hop heralded by the Anticon crew, and the deep textured minimalism of Machinfabriek.

‘Shinkai’ heralds the first time Nicola Ratti has worked with a vocalist, and MA’s unique brand of ritualistic vocal methods and experimental approaches to intonation and inflexion only enhances Ratti’s otherworldly soundscapes. The depth of meaning behind MA’s lyrics further expands this sprawling sound world, revealing a twisted beauty, a deep insight into the melancholic world MA reflects upon within his abstract wordplay – on ‘Suiso’ MA laments above Ratti’s mourning electronics….

“A ship with the wind in the sails erased a path to the skies.

Gone forever,
In sandy finality,
A scene never to be repeated,
Never to be understood.

Never to hatch,
Dreams of never continuing beyond the crossroads
A painting dissipates as the allure runs dry
Without consulting the dusk, dawn never arrives.

Agonising over the silence brought on by a stumble,
Attacked from all angles until I find my ground once more.
What comes next does not matter - just as long as it comes.
A not-so-distant-future, born from certain uncertainty.

Let me face it with wavering reservations,
Bury me in it
My sins left unanswered
Cover the snow on which it falls.

An unthawing aquarium.
An unanswering aquarium.

Hiding, evolving, recollecting, transferring,
A precarious contradiction befalls.
Timeframes cut, edited and replaced with resentment
The ritual aesthetics of a secret ceremony.

The thoughts of once again,
Fills me with dread and rage.
Painted in blood.

Alas, it was fun...”

On the surface this is an unlikely (yet inspired) collaboration – MA has been a part of the Tokyo Hip-Hop underground for many years, over which time he has stylistically leapt into noisier, more experimental territories. We have Rabih Beaini to thank for shining a light on MA’s talents, with the 2019 LP ‘AMA’ being released on Morphine records, and Beaini opening new doors for experimentation and collaboration.

‘Shinkai’ was composed and recorded between January and April 2020. The pair had met a couple of times in Japan first and then in Europe, undertaking a live collaborative experiment combining sounds and words that had not been designed to be performed together, ‘Shinkai’ reflects the fluidity of this encounter and is in essence a consequence of it.

Ratti assigns the following poetic grounding to the intentions and thematic form of the album – “Shinkai means deep sea, a place most of us will never see except on the surface. The sea depths do not belong to us, they are not places for us, we do not know them and they disturb us, they are a material that we can look at without seeing. I have always thought that height, verticality in general, was not a familiar dimension except in relation to our physicality. The horizon reassures us, the depth disturbs us. The Italian language is written and read horizontally, from left to right, the Japanese language can be written vertically and read from right to left. Does the horizon still reassure us?”

Otto A Totland's modern compositional elements are most widely recognized as half of the Norwegian duo Deaf Center, where his melancholic, intricate piano work provides haunting relief to the beds of noise and deep strings from Erik K Skodvin. Pinô is the first full-length release by Totland, though his solo work has been released once, as the 5-minute A-side of Sonic Pieces 7inch Harmony From the Past. Otto's previously brief vignettes are now expanded into a fully personal realization of his own style.
Initial track Open fills itself with heavy, knowing pauses that quickly become overwhelmed with the desire to understand what's to come. Each silence leads into quick flutters of keys, preparing the listener for a vast terrain of giddy beauty, bleak depths, and true contentedness. Pinô quickly recalls deep winter; in front of a fireplace for days on end, you lose how far along you've ventured into the 18 tracks without any idea how far is left to go. The experience feels inevitable, with no other option but to curl up somewhere cozy and appreciate the sense of timelessness that Totland has created. His album is a haunting modern compositional treasure, expressed through instrumentals completely unique to Totland and captured masterfully by Nils Frahm at Durton Studios.
With Pinô, Otto A Totland appears out of the Norwegian landscape, sharing an achievement that will provide a relief during the brooding winter darkness. Though a highly personal endeavor, the recognizable continuation of Totland's compositions will attract fans of Deaf Center, and the cinematic and classical components of his solo work will hold sway for those familiar with Harold Budd or Dustin O'Halloran.

The Pinô 2nd edition LP comes in a reversed cardboard jacket, printed in- and outside with full tone colours and holds printed innersleeves with the original artwork.

Absolute Body Control is back with new material after more than ten years. The legendary minimal-synth-wave duo formed in 1980 by Dirk Ivens (The Klinik, Dive, Sonar) and joined a bit later by Eric van Wonterghem (Insekt, Monolith) has been working together again and got finished a new EP. Six songs that fuse their classic sound with a theme that reflects the times of change that humanity is going through.

For the first time ever this 27 track double album collects all of their singles on Red Rhino and Beggars Banquet/Situation Two on Vinyl. A mandatory compilation that also includes the bonus 7 inch originally appeared on the first ltd version of the 1986 album ‘Paint Your Wagon’ (Paint Your Wagon/More Jipp), an alternative and harder rendition of ‘Beating My Head’ (originally appeared o the Ep ‘This Today’) and ‘Russia’ from the 1984 Ep ‘Hollow Eyes’. Red Lorry Yellow Lorry were one of the most successful independent bands of the 80’s with their dark and often manic rhythms.

Dalhous end the 5-year silence with the long awaited follow up to 2016's House Number 44, presenting the second volume of The Composite Moods Collection. "Point Blank Range" reinterprets the established narrative with an inverse look at the proceedings. Taking the “point of view of the disease", the perspective is now turned inside out, revealing an alternate account from the eyes of the photographed subject of House Number 44. If Vol.1 was a documented presentation of another person's condition, Vol.2 takes the listener behind the facade.

From the outset, the album offers a narratively uncooperative stance, weaving together layers of anxiety and painful specificity that often overtly manifests the psychotic protagonist's stormy interior state. A clearly subjective assault, which is made evident right from opening track 'Transceivers' through to the imploding nature of 'Intramuscular Administration’, to the vulnerable, psychedelic mania of 'Open As A Glade Unfolding'. Continuing to work within the framework of a soundtrack-like structure, Dalhous ramps things up to provide the aural equivalent of sound and picture, manifesting an almost quasi-visual experience.

The entire record can be listened to as a continuous piece, each track seamlessly linked together as though part of an interconnecting nervous system. Where House Number 44 offered airy, widescreen soundscapes of detached detail, Point Blank Range presents an altogether different form. Creating airtight vacuums of agitated twitching feeling, tracks are pulled to the forefront of the stereo field, continually mutating their densely painted neurochemical hallucinations with a breadth of sound previously unheard on previous releases.

Listeners will be able to decipher nods to long standing soundtrack influences from composers such as Fabio Frizzi, with his use of strikingly bold and haunting melodies, to Tangerine Dream’s distinctively foggy atmospheres of The Keep. There are moments that evoke the nihilistic drones of Brian Gascoigne’s soundtrack to Phase IV, and the more horrific passages of metal clanging ambience from the likes of Chu Ishikawa with his scores for Shinya Tsukamoto.

After their former record label Blackest Ever Black disbanded, Dalhous found themselves out on a limb. It took 5 years to find a new home with Denovali. Given the unusually extended period between records, Dalhous had the time to dive deeper into the material, rendering a level of experimentation previously unavailable to them. Over 4 hours of material was created, a total of 1TB of data. Countless revisions to the track listing ensued with some of the unused material being reutilised in the making of the final chapter in the trilogy to form a direct companion piece.

Two bodies dancing hot in the New York City winter before being pushed inside for the rest of 2020. Two hearts that, in the span of 6 months, faced the loss of both of their mothers, the matriarchs that bore them to this planet full of wonder. They held on tight to the beauty of living, together. With this shared language and the confines of quarantine they lost and loved even harder. Battling packed boxes and lost jobs, the two celebrated their tragic journey with broad shoulders forcing power chords and the harmonized chants of utter release. They huddled together for the future while leaking their hearts into pop melodies that collide effortlessly with both a shared melancholy and simultaneous hope. MAN ON MAN (also M.O.M.) is a new gay lover band made up of Joey Holman (HOLMAN) and Roddy Bottum (Faith No More, Imperial Teen, CRICKETS, Nastie Band). Their upcoming self-titled record, MAN ON MAN, is infused with indie-rock distortion and soaked in gay pop confidence while still maintaining the dry acerbic sense of humor they both share. M.O.M.'s music videos take their magical collaboration to another level with otherworldly cinematographic dimension, and of course, the subversive playfulness of two gay lovers unmistakably flirting with their audience and each other. Upon the release of their debut single, “Daddy”, their video (chock full of the pair dancing seductively in their white briefs) was removed from YouTube for violating their “sex and nudity policy.” At this moment, the band solidified their political visibility as queer artists who are not ok with being silenced or removed from history because of their age or size. Bottum told Rolling Stone, “There’s enough representation in the gay community of young, hairless pretty men." Roddy and Joey’s love for each other and their own bodies, histories, and truths are what make this project so tender and lovable. MAN ON MAN’s music transcends both genre or decade, creating a timeless appeal for so many kinds of listening. The varied influences and textures of the record are a meditation on the myriad of emotions of lockdown, as well as this particular moment in their own lives, collectively and independently. The shoegaze whirlpools of “Stohner” transition into the square wave synths of “1983” with ease, while tracks like “It’s So Fun (To Be Gay)” open us up to a new type of queer anthem for the 2020s.