* Each cassette comes with an individually hand-printed silk screen cardboard case and DL code, craftily designed by Damien Tran.
* Renowned for her tracks featured in Richie Hawtin's game changing DE9 Transitions mix, Akiko Kiyama reveals her another side under her new alias Aalko on No Man Is An Island. This is her Kebko Music label's fourth instalment and her fifth album. It is a culmination of Kiyama's recent practices in a wider music spectrum, going well beyond her minimalistic techno characteristic. It covers a variety of styles as she demonstrates her knack for breaks and ambient, reflecting her early influences from Ninja Tune and Warp. Each cassette comes with an individually hand-printed silk screen cardboard case and DL code, craftily designed by Damien Tran. Also, No Man Is An Island EP is set to be released on vinyl in this winter.
* Kebko Music is Tokyo-based Akiko Kiyama's independent music label focusing on releasing avant-garde music which is not bounded by any specific genres but embraces the whole range of techno, experimental music, field- & live-recordings and classical music. The label owner established her name by Richie Hawtin featuring her track in his well-known DE9 Transitions mix in 2005. Since then, her music style has gradually changed to explore the edge of electronic music. The core of the label is based on small handcrafted editions of cassette tapes. It aims to give a chance for all of artists and listeners to explore their musical experience and creativity.
Art pop meets Mongolian throat singing, Blade Runner meets Walter Carlos (Clockwork Orange), Tom Dissevelt and Kid Baltan (Bowie's favourite band) meet Tame Impala.
The fifth album from Marsmobil has been hailed by many as their best yet. With closer ties to Minx' (2006) than the last two albums, Fairytales Of The Supersurvivor' returns to Marsmobil's signature strength of wondrously brilliant songs ( And The Fishes In The Ocean', Shadows Of The Inner Light') that blend off-the-wall cinemascope sounds with dazzling beats and punchy, powerful hooks to create uniquely distinctive art pop anthems.
As always with Marsmobil, Roberto Di Gioia writes, plays, sings and programs everything himself. Here, as on Minx', he's brought in support from a fabulous singer - the very wonderful Amber Lin, who contributes vocals on four songs. All the cover illustrations are also by Di Gioia.
Multi-instrumentalist Roberto Di Gioia needs little introduction. The curious can explore his biography, discography and extensive lists of projects and collaborations as musician and songwriter (see below) for an impression of the hugely diverse achievements of this multi-talent and brilliant musician.
As a topical heads-up, Roberto Di Gioia is also the founder of the German jazz supergroup Web Web and released the album Oracle' in September 2017. The second Web Web album will follow in early 2018, hard on the heels of the fifth Marsmobil release. Di Gioia also wrote and produced Teufelswerk' for DJ Hell and contributed virtually all the songs on Hell's latest album, Zukunftsmusik'.
* Fully embracing its penchant for explorative music, DAC Records invites Alex Augier.
* His work offers a cross-cutting musical perspective, allowing hybrid aesthetics that includes sound and visual components. These components interact within the stage area, taking the form of singular audiovisual performances.
* This time, Germination, his first solo EP, is purely musical work composed of organic, visceral, living sounds, both fragile and mighty. The electronic music is free of constraints imposed by the dedicated instruments. Embodied by large dynamic ranges and a constantly moving temporality, Germination tells an evolving process, in full bloom, with its share of mutations and strange directions.
* Germination is composed of four tracks, including one remix by Roly Porter. In the same vein as Alex Augier, the co-founder of Subtext Recordings explores the experimental music boundaries, both electronically and instrumentally
Nach zwei ausverkauften 7inch Singles, Festivalauftritten auf so ziemlich jedem namhaften deutschen Musikfestival und Opener-Slots für Bands wie Balthazar, Future Islands oder Battles veröffentlicht das Kölner Quartet Xul Zolar mit - Fear Talk am 19.01.2018 seine Debut LP
auf dem von der Band mit-gegründeten Label Asmara Records. Um diese Vision in die Realität umzusetzen hat sich die Band sowohl mit dem Kölner Produzenten Marvin Horsch (Woman, Keshavara) zusammengetan, als auch die Besetzung mit Dennis Enyan zum Quartett erweitert.
Vielleicht ist es kein Zufall, dass die Musik auf Fear Talk, dem Debütalbum der Kölner Band Xul Zolar eine gewisse malerische Qualität aufweist. Immerhin hat sich die Band nach einem Maler aus dem 20. Jahrhundert benannt, dem Argentinier Xul Solar (mit bürgerlichem Namen Oscar Agustín Alexander Schulz Solari).
Genau wie die Bilder der Impressionisten vermittelt ihre Musik ein Gefühl der Nostalgie und Unmittelbarkeit und versprüht eine Aura, die man romantisch nennen könnte. Trotz der deutlich hörbaren Einflüsse von Künstlern wie The Smiths, Talking Heads oder sogar Phil Collins, ist Fear Talk - das vom visionären Kölner Produzenten Marvin Horsch aufgenommen wurde - ein Album auf der Höhe der Zeit, wie der Einsatz stark prozessierter Vocals, an frühen Dubstep erinnernde Sub-Kick Samples und von Electronica beeinflussten Clicks-and-Cuts belegt. Das Alte wird verbogen, verformt und in etwas völlig Neues verwandelt.
Textlich kreist das Album um persönliche Themen wie Liebe und Verlust, wenngleich auf höchst abstrakte und metaphorische Weise. Doch das Persönliche ist immer schon politisch und findet niemals in Isolation des Individuums von seiner Umgebung statt. Dies spiegelt sich auch im Titel des Albums, Fear Talk, wieder, der sowohl als Anspielung auf die wachsende Unsicherheit einer Generation verstanden werden kann, als auch als Kommentar zu der weltweit um sich greifenden Panikmache durch Populisten und Demagogen, die der Zeit, in der Fear Talk entstanden ist, ihren düsteren Stempel aufgedrückt hat.
Fear Talk wurde im Sommer und Herbst 2016 von Marvin Horsch (Woman, Keshavara) im Gottesweg, Köln aufgenommen und produziert. Gemischt wurde das Album von Marius Bubat (Coma) und Jan-Philipp Janzen (Von Spar, Cologne Tape), gemastered von Robin Schmidt. Die Album PR übernimmt Nordic By Nature, Berlin. Das erste Video wird premiert von Intro.de.
"Happy Freedom Tour 2017
präsentiert von INTRO, DIFFUS Magazin & Musikbox
24.11.17 Köln, Arthefter
01.12.17 Essen, Hotel Shanghai
05.12.17 Hamburg, Über & gefährlich
06.12.17 Berlin, Kantine am Berghain
07.12.17 Leipzig, Kulturzentrum So&So
08.12.17 Stuttgart, Kellerclub
09.12.17 Frankfurt am Main, Lotte Lindenberg
Tour 2018 TBA
This mix-tape by the Hawaiian DJ - now resident in New Orleans by way of Tokyo - was passed around on a C-60 till it became a Big Easy legend. 'Boom bap, dusted instrumentals, and the odd slide guitar pop tune'.
The amazing Romeo and Jermaine - Big Chiefs from different ends of the city -came together to celebrate their shared devotion to the deep roots of NO's 'Indian' culture. Vocals and percussion only but these guys deliver a fearsome wallop. Ooooh na na.
LP incl CD
Garden of Love' one of the first single tracks feat Peter Hook (New Order) On the cover of their new album Malamore, their first album for Because Music, Lionel and Marie Limiñanas are back in black, and looking ineffably cool, standing next to a classic silver Fifties trailer, shot at a beach festival in the French town of Paulilles by the Spanish border, just 30 minutes drive from the duo's home town of Perpignan. They'd been playing a DJ set, only with 45 rpm vinyl - Sixties punk, Italian pop, movie soundtracks and Seventies rock tracks,' they recall. The picture syncs well to the colour of Malamore, like the artwork of a movie soundtrack. The lettering on the cover is significant too.
Blue fabric-covered deluxe replica gatefold with circle cut on the front and white hot stamp, printed paper inner-sleeve and black vinyl. includes CD (inserted in a clear pvc wallet) the new album! vinyl tracklisting : Side A: Sous le sable, Lasso, Fontaine de lait, Seeds, Les loups, Je ne mâche pas mes mots Side B : Twix, Nuit debout, Piscine, Fille à papa, Langue The internationally celebrated artist, award winning singer and composer Camille releases 'OUÏ' her fifth studio album and first for Because Music on June 2nd. Recorded over a year in La Chartreuse, a 14th century monastery-turned-artist's residence in Avignon, France 'OUÏ' is a cornucopia thrumming with folk, hymns, ballads, pop, lullabies and breathtaking a cappella. 'The story of the album is like this, moving from the arcane drums' - percussion is used throughout as the bedrock - 'to the treble and harmonics and light in my voice.' An instrument of exhilarating range and phenomenal power, Camille's voice provides all the vocal parts on 'OUÏ'. 'All the voices are telling a story,' she says, 'and I am all the voices. Co-produced by Camille with two of her longtime collaborators, composer and multi-instrumentalist Clement Ducol and sound and mixing engineer Maxime Leguil, and featuring the versatile Moog analogue synthesiser, 'OUÏ' is a work with a pulse. 'It really resonates,' says Camille, 'On some songs there are no drums, just this sub-bass like a kick drum, which leads the way and gives it a beat.' While she sets out to write politically charged songs inspired by drum-driven French traditional dances, that reflect upon the country's recent, tragic events, she was equally led to something peaceful, vowel-oriented and vibrational in her exploration of sound. The latter explains the album's title, 'Oui' - ooo...eee - a playfulness with sounds and language, a breaking free from its oft imposed restrictions.
Hailing from Mali, Amadou Bagayoko and Mariam Doumbia first met as children at Mali's Institute for the Young Blind—both lost their vision at an early age. It was here that they started performing in the institute's Eclipse Orchestra, eventually marrying and began recording together in the '80s.
Over the span of three decades Amadou (guitar and vocals) and Mariam (vocals) developed an international following having recorded eight full-length albums and toured around the world. Their album Welcome To Mali (2008) was nominated for the Best Contemporary World Music Album' at the 52nd Grammy Awards. Tour highlights for the duo include supporting U2 on their U2 360 Tour, performing at the 2010 World Cup for FIFA's Kick-Off Celebration and performing alongside major acts across multiple genres such including Blur, Coldplay and Pink Floyd's David Gilmour.
The album also includes the hit single Bofou Safou,' which Stereogum calls the funk, the whole funk, and nothing but the funk.' The band discussed La Confusion and performed new music on a recent stop at KCRW's Morning Becomes Eclectic' during their recent sold out North American seventeen city headline tour — watch HERE. The band played major markets including New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, Washington D.C., Philadelphia, Montreal.
Amadou & Mariam recently released the Bofou Safou EP via Because Music. The EP includes the first two La Confusion singles, Bofou Safou' and Filaou Bessame,' alongside remixes of the EP's title track by Fatima Yamaha, Africaine 808, Henrik Schwarz and more. The term bofou safou' is a Bambara (the Malian national language) nickname given to nonchalant young men who would rather dance than work. Of the new EP, the group notes, We really like the remixes that were made for the EP. You get to hear our music in a different form, which is great. All five remixes manage to catch the essence of our song while really pushing those enticing afro pop and electronic vibes further.'
The second release for Glasgow label Full Dose features two dancehall laced productions from Ayrshire via Kingston by Lucchesi. The Burro EP is uncompromising in approach & heavyweight in sound, reminiscent of The Bug on Rephlex, circa 2003. Vinly only. Single sided 12' with insert.
Alan Abrahams aka Portable aka Bodycode is an artist very much defined by his past and his journey from South Africa to Paris via Berlin and Lisbon has seen him develop into a critically acclaimed producer, singer and video artist working with some of the biggest players in house and techno.Part of his constant drive to evolve and challenge himself, this autumn Abrahams launches new project RANGEr, teaming up with London label Waella's Choice for the debut release. The five tracks on Portable Presents RANGEr are a delicate mélange of jazz , soul and electronic and one of Abraham's most explicit nods to his South African roots.
On the A-side, the EP makes a steady start with 'Bazokonwaba' accompanied by a lullaby from South African a capella group Korus, hailing from the small township of Mbekweni in the Western Cape. They also feature heavily on the EP's most exuberant moment in 'Nomaliso' - already a favourite in Esa's recent Boiler Room - and the more languid B-side opener 'Indaba' with a choir of cowbells all harmonizing in unison. 'Reset' and 'Vessel' provide a self-reflective conclusion to the EP, holding their own as instrumentals with Cameroonian bass player Stan on bass and Parisian saxophonist Chisneg lending a hand on the latter. Early support from Tama Sumo, Lakuti, Gilles Peterson, Rinse FM, Esa, Stamp The Wax, Dimensions Recordings
Version Galore is a newly found label, deeply rooted in the music culture. We bring you the selected reworks / versions from the top producers in the game, showing lots of respect and care for the original, but elevating it's spirit and taking it somewhere else. It's all about the dialogue of cultures and the idealistic desire to pass the music legacy on! No half-measures, played-out tunes, lazy cuts, or boring "808-kick boosting" biz!
K2 is an alias of someone who you should be very familiar with by now, especially if interested in quality house music. No clues He the music legend from Baltimore, one of the most versatile and technically-gifted DJs on the scene, a master of CDJs, who singlehandedly restored public's interest in gospel music with his ultimate dance bomb "Work It Out". Still Hesitant Ok we'll help you - it's the one and only Karizma!
A-side is a pure fire-starter! One of those tunes that works perfectly in any surrounding, location, context, club. Here Karizma flips a version of a certain African-American work song, which catchy refrain just seem to resonate with anyone, while the rough dirty beats with the cheeky start/pause technique destroy the dance floor! Essential party tool!
On B-Side the maestro travels in time to grace us with a retro-futuristic workout on the edge of jazz-fusion / prog-rock & Italo-disco. "In Spite Of" is a peculiar, yet beautiful combination of hypnotic chord progressions, step-sequenced synthetic bass-lines, the virtuoso dialogue of electric guitar and electric violin (yes), spiced up with African percussion and forceful beats, all working together in harmony in accordance with the intricate time signature of the song! That's Karizma at his most Balearic!
A first-ever collection of the highly sought after and largely previously unheard recordings of the one of Turkish pop and rocks best kept secrets - featuring the two rare has hen's teeth 1 Numara 7' singles (which fetch in excessive of £200 on certain internet auction sites) - including a previously unreleased extended version of Evren The missing component in the history of Turkish pop and one of the earliest exponents of Turkish electronic music alongside Ilhan Mimaroglu and Bülent Arel, Gökçen Kaynatan electrified the rock and roll scene of the late 50s/early 60s - sending teenagers wild with his custom built guitars and back lines - helping charge the climate for the birth of Anatolian rock. Then, from the sanctuary of his private studio, he revolutionised the industry with his pioneering use of electronics whilst hanging the sonic wallpaper in the living rooms of an entire generation of telly addicts as in house composer of choice for Turkey's first national television channel TRT 1. Despite having a modest discography of only four 7' singles to his name his influence is a major current that flows through over 50 years of Turkish pop culture. Compiled with unparalleled access to his private studio vault, Finders Keepers proudly presents the first-ever collection of Gökçen Kaynatan's pioneering early electronic works. Featuring a selection of his experimental pop and rock recordings dating from as early as the 1968 it features both of the highly sought after 1 Numara singles - including a never before heard extended version of Evren - as well as previously unheard archive material and songs recorded for and broadcast exclusively on TRT 1 - most of them never to be repeated. In helping Gökçen end his self-imposed 44-year exile from the record industry we can now share with you the first of these important recordings from a genuine maverick who helped shape the face of modern Turkish music, as well as shedding some light on the rise of one of Anatolian rock and pops must fruitful and experimental periods that began with the arrival (and subsequent explosion) of domestic synthesisers on the Turkish scene.
That we live in a world changed is beyond question. Since 2015's Zenith, Berlin-based songwriter Molly Nilsson has surrendered to the world, traveling from Mexico to Glasgow, observing the changing socio-political landscape and imagining a better world. For an artist who has so successfully created her own environment and gradually let others in, her 8th studio album Imaginations sees Nilsson directly engaging with her surroundings, engendering change and allowing love in. Imaginations dreams big, recasting storming, stadium-sized pop into the internal language of the solo auteur. Imaginations is not escapism, it's a kaleidoscope and an alternative view, an agent of change.Opener Tender Surrender encapsulates Imaginations, a tango on the ruins of the past, like many of Nilsson's best songs a collision between the political and personal. Though potentially a love song, there's a glowing anger in the lines I want your ruin, I want destruction, I won't be through until we mend this...' this is rapturous transformation, order and chaos. Molly has built an almost 10 year career on perfectly summing up how we feel and this is no different... Who else could write a song about privilege (Let's Talk About Privileges) and make a heart-rending chorus of It's never being afraid of the police, it's expecting every thank you, every please.' The artist's vision on this album is perhaps more forceful than the emotionally fragile moments of previous album Zenith, at times exemplified on songs like Memory Foam, a bright, driving pop song that belies themes of nostalgia and the past, reminding us that Molly alone can make us feel so welcome in loneliness. If there's overt anger in songs like Money Never Sleeps, an anthem for a post-capitalist utopia if ever there was one, there's also seams of optimism sewn into the album's genetic code. Any revolutionary will tell you that anger alone achieves nothing - Nilsson's mission on Imaginations is to offer some alternatives we can hold close. Not Today Satan is a song about accepting love as the agent of change, Don't be sad, but do get mad at all the small men who act so tall, in the end they always fall, there ain't no sin in giving in to love, that's just how we're winning the fight.' Love can be visceral, a weapon with which to fight the power.On Imaginations Molly is recasting her interior monologue as a prism through which to see the world, a means to live differently and to reject the status quo. We can Think Pink, change our destiny together. This is an optimism about the future when we need it the most. New boys, new girls.. give me your smile and I'll give you mine' Clearly, we are living through a transformation but with alchemists like Molly Nilsson, we're never alone in the process.
At the summer party on the occasion of my soon-to-be 80th birthday, many friends came. As it said on the invitation: 'The Eschenau Chaos Band will play.' While the party was going on, people asked me when that band would be playing, and I replied: 'Now! You are that band', and I randomly handed out all of these instruments. Hartmut Geerken was clued in and had brought some as well - Sun Ra's Sun Harp among others. I started with a moroccan hand drum, bendir, and off it went. Unpractised." - Herman De Vries Herman de Vries, born 1931 in Alkmaar, is a Dutch visual artist who has been living in Eschenau in the Steigerwald region (Franconia, Germany) since 1970. Having started out as an Art Informel painter in the 1950s, his interests shifted in the ensuing years, and in the 1970s, he became focused on found objects from nature and their rtistic-philosophical qualities and implications. He has made paintings, collages, texts, sculptures, installations, a.o., and has dealt with plants, earth, and other parts of nature from botanical, medical, historical, as well as psychedelic viewpoints.Recording made on June 18, 2011, in Eschenau. Edition of 300 with liner notes by Herman de Vries and photos of the event on the back sleeve.
This special collector's edition electronically reproduced stereo 7' single (only 200 copies), comes in two fantastic coloured vinyl options (100 x red vinyl and 100 x purple vinyl). A refreshingly new take on mono to stereo conversion. Elvis fans growing up in the 1960's and 1970's unwittingly listened to his 1950's catalogue in electronically reprocessed stereo, love it or loathe, it was pretty much all there was back then unless you could afford to track down expensive mono copies. To better understand where the electronically reprocessed stereo versions originate from, we need to go back to 1961, at which point RCA had begun the process of taking Elvis' 1950's mono masters and converting them into a stereo sounding effect. By 1960 when Elvis returned from the army, he was recording in true stereo and as far as RCA were concerned, mono was a thing of the past. You just need to listen to the sound quality of the 1960 'Living Stereo' version of the 'Elvis Is Back' album, to appreciate just how much the recording industry had moved on in just two years. Such was the demand for stereo records in the early 1960's most major labels had created their own process for converting mono into stereo or 'fake' stereo as it became known, with some labels producing better results than others. Opinions on Elvis' 1960's electronically reprocessed stereo versions are mixed, with some recordings making the transition from mono to stereo effect better than others. Some DJ's actually preferred playing the electronically reprocessed stereo versions, believing they gave a wider fuller sound on the dancefloor. By late 1970's, RCA had once again begun to re-issue original mono masters, giving many fans their first opportunity to hear how these tracks were originally issued. By the time compact discs had arrived on the scene in the 1980's, electronically reprocessed stereo was well and truly dead and buried. Very few electronically reprocessed stereo recordings ever made it onto a digital format and the few that did are now highly collectible. Recorded at RCA Studio 1, New York on the 30th of January 1956, My Baby Left Me is a driving powerhouse rockabilly masterpiece with a real Sun Records vibe to it (produced by Steve Scholes with Elvis on vocals and acoustic guitar, Scotty Moore on electric guitar, Bill Black on bass and D.J. Fontana on drums). Our flip side Blue Moon Of Kentucky is another rockabilly classic which first appeared as the opposite side to That's All Right (Sun 209) in 1955 (Elvis' first single). Blue Moon Of Kentucky was recorded on the 7th of July 1954 at Sun Records (produced by Sam Phillips with Elvis on vocals and acoustic guitar, Scotty Moore on electric guitar and Bill Black on bass). Both tracks have been painstakingly re-engineered to create a stereo effect sound. The result is a bigger, sharper sound that jumps straight outta the grooves at ya! One reviewer described the process as - it's as if a veil has been lifted off the tracks'. Both tracks are taken from the forthcoming album titled 'Elvis Presley - The 50's In Stereo' (mono to stereo re-visited). For best results play this killer double-sider very loud!!!
This special collector's edition electronically reproduced stereo 7' single (only 200 copies), comes in two fantastic coloured vinyl options (100 x red vinyl and 100 x purple vinyl). A refreshingly new take on mono to stereo conversion. Elvis fans growing up in the 1960's and 1970's unwittingly listened to his 1950's catalogue in electronically reprocessed stereo, love it or loathe, it was pretty much all there was back then unless you could afford to track down expensive mono copies. To better understand where the electronically reprocessed stereo versions originate from, we need to go back to 1961, at which point RCA had begun the process of taking Elvis' 1950's mono masters and converting them into a stereo sounding effect. By 1960 when Elvis returned from the army, he was recording in true stereo and as far as RCA were concerned, mono was a thing of the past. You just need to listen to the sound quality of the 1960 'Living Stereo' version of the 'Elvis Is Back' album, to appreciate just how much the recording industry had moved on in just two years. Such was the demand for stereo records in the early 1960's most major labels had created their own process for converting mono into stereo or 'fake' stereo as it became known, with some labels producing better results than others. Opinions on Elvis' 1960's electronically reprocessed stereo versions are mixed, with some recordings making the transition from mono to stereo effect better than others. Some DJ's actually preferred playing the electronically reprocessed stereo versions, believing they gave a wider fuller sound on the dancefloor. By late 1970's, RCA had once again begun to re-issue original mono masters, giving many fans their first opportunity to hear how these tracks were originally issued. By the time compact discs had arrived on the scene in the 1980's, electronically reprocessed stereo was well and truly dead and buried. Very few electronically reprocessed stereo recordings ever made it onto a digital format and the few that did are now highly collectible. Recorded at RCA Studio 1, New York on the 30th of January 1956, My Baby Left Me is a driving powerhouse rockabilly masterpiece with a real Sun Records vibe to it (produced by Steve Scholes with Elvis on vocals and acoustic guitar, Scotty Moore on electric guitar, Bill Black on bass and D.J. Fontana on drums). Our flip side Blue Moon Of Kentucky is another rockabilly classic which first appeared as the opposite side to That's All Right (Sun 209) in 1955 (Elvis' first single). Blue Moon Of Kentucky was recorded on the 7th of July 1954 at Sun Records (produced by Sam Phillips with Elvis on vocals and acoustic guitar, Scotty Moore on electric guitar and Bill Black on bass). Both tracks have been painstakingly re-engineered to create a stereo effect sound. The result is a bigger, sharper sound that jumps straight outta the grooves at ya! One reviewer described the process as - it's as if a veil has been lifted off the tracks'. Both tracks are taken from the forthcoming album titled 'Elvis Presley - The 50's In Stereo' (mono to stereo re-visited). For best results play this killer double-sider very loud!!!
Album includes the singles Drew Barrymore' and Love Galore' featuring Travis Scott.
The recent release of the Love Galore' single and video were met with rave reviews from fans and critics alike, including Pitchfork, Stereogum, Billboard, Vibe and more. The Fader calls the track a smooth collaboration... SZA and Travis Scott display a magnetic chemistry (in the video)...,' while Paper summarizes the song as a perfect breezy springtime jam for your Carrie-Bradshaw-at-her-MacBook moods, and if you haven't caught major feelings for SZA by the time the song is over then we really have nothing further to discuss.'
SZA, one of the redefining voices of today's contemporary music era, entered the music scene in 2012 with her first critically acclaimed EP, See.SZA.Run. Following that, she released S in 2013 and Z in 2014, both to rave reviews. In 2013, SZA signed to Top Dawg Entertainment, being the first female artist to join the label. SZA wrote and performed on Rihanna's Anti Single Consideration' in 2016 and helped write Nicki Minaj and Beyonce's Feelin Myself' in 2014.
Born in Maplewood, New Jersey as Solána Rowe, SZA grew up listening to classic and avant-garde jazz, alternative, and rap. She renamed herself finding inspiration within the Supreme Alphabet: the 'S' stands for savior or sovereign, the 'Z' for zig-zag, and the 'A' for Allah.
After a first year of activity with 3 beautiful single reissues, SOL DISCOS presents its first album, with the compilation Message In Our Music, selected by WAXIST. Focusing on Modern-Soul genre, the selection ranges from 1976 to 1983 and gathers a nice selection of independent and private press records, all officially licensed.
From the David Nathan's downtempo previously unreleased version of "Ain't Nothing Like The Love", to the beautiful Glen Missick's gospel dancer "Message In Our Music", the album aims at providing to the listener a glimpse of the wide spectrum of productions that exist in this musical genre.
Some of these beauties are officially reissued on vinyl for the very first time, including some highly sought after records such as "Deep Inside Of You" by The Harden Brothers, "My Dream" by Harvell Guiton, or "Love With Me" by Don Scott.
The album has been fully remastered by The Carvery in the UK, and features liner notes for each of the songs, plus exclusive pictures provided by the involved artists & producers.
The Second Single of Prins Thomas brand new - 5th Album - gets unveiled with a Remixes and Bonus Beats by our dear friends - The Pilotwings ! Tracklist: PTM003A_Prins Thomas - Lunga Strada (The Pilotwings _Bubble-Zouk_ Remix) PTM003B_Prins Thomas - Lunga Strada (The Pilotwings Bonus Beats) Thomas on 'Lunga Strada' : The track that took me the longest to complete hence the 'long road". Personal favourites The Pilotwings from Lyon sent over 2 ridiculously good and fun remixes
Ernie Hawks' debut album "Scorpio Man" is nearly here, and about to be released during the first quarter of 2018. The way will be paved with a fresh 7" single that lifts the gritty jazz funk of "Scorpio Walk" from the album on the A side and pairs it up with the mystic groover "Message of Love", a non-LP track only available on this release.
As the track to start up the upcoming album, "Scorpio Walk" rushes on like a manic villain from an art house spy film. A groove made of a murmuring fuzz bass and a surf guitar is suddenly released into heavenly choruses, where the man of the hour lifts the ambiance with a series of lyrical flute solos.
"Message of Love" sounds like an homage to the gently pulsing library music funk from the mid 1970's. Ernie's flute lead is accompanied by bubbling Fender Rhodes, which carries the track forwards like a shy cousin of Michel Sardaby's "Welcome New Warmth". Seductive male vocal wailing haunts in the background, while the track proceeds without haste in its realm of lost budget X-rated movie soundtracks.
Uun returns to his imprint Ego Death with an EP that showcases his progression in both sound design and atmosphere. The A side kicks things off with On The Concept Of Irony, a broken beat assault which serves as a mission statement with it's scattered snares and vocal samples. The Tangled Web continues this mood but with a more intense structure, heavy on hypnotic synths that weave in and out of the tracks percussive framework. Where as the A side is the logical extension of the first three Ego Death releases, the B side serves to showcase a deeper atmosphere while maintaining Uun's preference for dense arrangements. The Other features a haunting ethereal pad that floats above a broken kick pattern and a bed of clicks, pops, and field recordings. The closing track, Absurd Existence, forges all the elements of the artist's sound into perhaps his most melodic work to date. It is therefore senseless to think of complaining since nothing foreign has decided what we feel, what we live, or what we are.' - Jean-Paul Sartre
Carl Gari is a group of three from Munich: Jonas Yamer, Till Funke and Jonas Friedlich. They released their well received and idiosyncratic debut (NPR mentioned it as one of the 50 best albums in 2016) on The Trilogy Tapes, for which they collaborated with Egyptian singer and spoken word artist Abdullah Miniawy. For the second release on Permanent Vacation they perfected their unique blend of psychedelic ingredients, dubbed out drums, drony sounds and a general hazyness. The mystic chants of Abdullah, who is also featured on two tracks, weave themselves into the band's lively sound texture. Apart from that Carl Gari showcase the diversity of their analogue driven and melodic approach to electronic music through four beautifully detailed tracks.
Cryovac Recordings seeks out characters that give depth to the soundscape of Detroit's Underground. Cryovac individuals believe in their path and stand for their art. Ray7 is a multifaceted musical being surviving an ever evolving technosphere. He is an unknown hero that holds his own sonicly on any side of the planet. Ray7 provides the power needed for the Cryovac machine to hatch a new plot. Cryovac exists due to the efforts of craftsmen and artists that work together to make something unique
Side A starts with an ancient Zulu chant that provides protection as well as a funky sort of techno break pop. The next track grinds in to a ruff and gritty narration of ghetto mind-set under the influence of classic electro. A constant roll moves the last track into addition and subtraction inside of a spartan groove that breaks and turns with strength.
Side B opens with a busy 4/4 be-bop lackadaisically drifting with dreamy synth over the chatter of voice, hi-hats, and reverb broken down by a 303 buzzing. Track two is a dark and sloppy incomprehensible subliminal sing-a-long building and ebbing around a stark kick and clap.
To celebrate the upcoming 20th Birthday of Virus Recordings we bring you two classic old-school tracks from our catalog!!
* ''What's the Difference' Optical Taken from the 20YearsOfOptical LP release from 2016...the long awaited single release of an old school hidden gem from the DnB pioneer.
* 'Medicine Remix' Widely regarded as a seminal development in the Neurofunk genre, Matrix brings you a slice of super cool drum and bass future funk with his classic remix of Ed Rush & Optical's first Virus single from 1998
Granny13 opens with Nicola Ratti's 'Odd Doubt'. With the use of a modular system and tape loops, a broken rhythm is obtained by parallelism between single sound signals as LFO one or processed tapes.On the second side, Giovanni Lami's 'Johnny Leech' is made with a small bunch of equipment, just a chaotic hand-made synth (cacophonator) and a memoryman, working mainly on static electricity and leakage current in the synth used without any kind of power supply.
Reviews
The Wire
''Two Italian mucisians share a split single of glitchy fun and everyone goes some happy. Lami s piece uses a defective unplugged synthesizer to make huzzing chitters that have a kind of rhythm in spots. Ratti s contribution is a bit more structured it sounds like a record of accordion miniatures broken into pieces, then glued back together with little pieces of felt stuck onto it. Which would definitely be a pretty hep thing to hear.''
Textura
''Some releases qualify as art objects as much as musical collections, a case in point this recent seven-inch vinyl outing featuring material by Nicola Ratti on one side and Giovanni Lami on the other. That shouldn't be interpreted to mean that the musical content isn't worthy of one's time, as it assuredly is, but more to emphasize how striking the sleeve artwork by Opora is and how effectively it complements the musical content.Mastered by Giuseppe Ielasi and issued in an edition of 150 copies, the release opens with Odd Doubt, a concise experimental setting by the Milan-born Ratti, who's issued material on labels such as Anticipate, Preservation, Die Schachtel, and Entr'acte and who's presently working with Ielasi in the project Bellows, with Attila Faravelli as Faravelliratti, and with Enrico Malatesta and Faravelli in ~Tilde. Though Ratti started out as a guitar player, his current focus is more on beat-analog experimentation and sound installation. In Odd Doubt, Ratti's modular system and tape loops generate broken rhythms that varyingly call to mind dub-techno, even if dub-techno of an extremely wonky variety. Off-beat chords, crackle, and snare strikes add to the dubwise flavour of the material, though ultimately it registers as more of an experimental exploration than straight-up dub exercise.The flip side features Johnny Leech by Lami, a one-time photographer now known as both a field recordist and a musician focusing on soundscaping and sound-ecology. In his contribution to the seven-inch, Lami's chaotic hand-made synth (cacophonator) and memoryman give birth to blustery smears of static electricity that ultimately mutate into an Oval-like array of ripples and scratches. Johnny Leech is so removed from anything conventionally musical, it makes Odd Doubt sound like a Top 40 pop song. Like Ratti's piece, Lami's is short, so short, in fact, it gives the impression of being an excerpt from a larger sound art work. Here's a release where the abstract nature of the musical content matches its visual presentation.December 2014''
Vital Weekly 951
''Granny Records is from Greece, but the two musicians here are from Italy, of which I don't I heard from Giovanni Lami before. His piece is called 'Johnny Leech' and he uses a hand-made synth known as the cacophonator and a memory man (a delay machine), 'working mainly on static electricity and leakage current in the synth used without any kind of power supply'. It makes up for a nice piece of chaotic lo-fi sound, which is put forward through methods of improvisation. Quite a nice piece and it fits the format very well. The crackling of vinyl surely adds an extra layer. Nicola Ratti uses a modular synth and tape loops, of what seems to be percussive material, but the rhythm is broken down and the whole thing has a nice gentle feel to it, even when it bumps, clicks and glides, but the synth makes it more subtle. Here too one could say this perfect for a 7": one doesn't have the idea that this is cut from a longer part as is not unusual with this kind music. Especially Ratti seems to have worked out his music as a composition, which is very nice. (FdW)''Vital Weekly 951''Granny Records is from Greece, but the two musicians here are from Italy, of which I don't I heard from Giovanni Lami before. His piece is called 'Johnny Leech' and he uses a hand-made synth known as the cacophonator and a memory man (a delay machine), 'working mainly on static electricity and leakage current in the synth used without any kind of power supply'. It makes up for a nice piece of chaotic lo-fi sound, which is put forward through methods of improvisation. Quite a nice piece and it fits the format very well. The crackling of vinyl surely adds an extra layer. Nicola Ratti uses a modular synth and tape loops, of what seems to be percussive material, but the rhythm is broken down and the whole thing has a nice gentle feel to it, even when it bumps, clicks and glides, but the synth makes it more subtle. Here too one could say this perfect for a 7": one doesn't have the idea that this is cut from a longer part as is not unusual with this kind music. Especially Ratti seems to have worked out his music as a composition, which is very nice. (FdW)''Vital Weekly 951''Granny Records is from Greece, but the two musicians here are from Italy, of which I don't I heard from Giovanni Lami before. His piece is called 'Johnny Leech' and he uses a hand-made synth known as the cacophonator and a memory man (a delay machine), 'working mainly on static electricity and leakage current in the synth used without any kind of power supply'. It makes up for a nice piece of chaotic lo-fi sound, which is put forward through methods of improvisation. Quite a nice piece and it fits the format very well. The crackling of vinyl surely adds an extra layer. Nicola Ratti uses a modular synth and tape loops, of what seems to be percussive material, but the rhythm is broken down and the whole thing has a nice gentle feel to it, even when it bumps, clicks and glides, but the synth makes it more subtle. Here too one could say this perfect for a 7": one doesn't have the idea that this is cut from a longer part as is not unusual with this kind music. Especially Ratti seems to have worked out his music as a composition, which is very nice. (FdW)''
* Making his debut on Subaltern with SUBALT014 is Estonian producer Bisweed, famous for his trippy and intricate sound design and original take on bass music. A psychotropic journey into the weald, this is a typically dark and surreal release from the well-established Subaltern imprint.
* Shelter
Sinister sounds welcome the listener to the journey as we enter the weald. Dark synths lead into weighty bass-lines, embedded in driving percussive elements and a spine-chilling atmosphere. Tasteful orchestral elements accompany before reaching a climax of tribal percussion and pure bass. Bisweed's musical sensibility and dance-floor know-how blend symbiotically to create this heavy yet soulful bass music masterpiece.
* Swamp
Going deeper, haunting textures guide the listener into a pulsating implosion of low frequencies, which is bound to shake up the dance as well as your expectations of a quiet night in. Rumbling and chopping wobbles complete a captivating piece of sound system music. Tread lightly so you don't sink in too deep - the swamp might just consume you.
* Dolmen feat. Mentha
Like stepping into a clearing, Dolmen lightens the mood - but only ever so slightly. Chanting voices hail the listener, as wide planes of sound unfold into a bass-heavy yet deep stepper. Subtly and slowly, Bisweed is masterfully transitioning into a soothing and melodic vibe, featuring label head honcho Mentha on Guitar.
Rat Life Records presents Serial Error a Project by Credit 00, Jacob Korn & Sneaker. This outfit was brought to life in 2013 when Red D called for some New Beat style tracks for his "Our Beat Is Still New" Compilation. Flying a bit too low under the radar ever since Rat Life decided to reissue Drum Abuse on a Super Sound Maxi Single. The Track was made in Jacob Korn's headquarter studio / synthesizer museum. The task distribution was hit quickly: Jacob squeezing the acid out of his huge Formant modular system, Credit 00 beating the drums on the Boss DR 660 and Sneaker throwing his unique vocals on top!
'Afro Rock Vol. 1' is one of the most important compilations of heavy original '70s Afro funk and soul to be released in recent years. Originally surfacing on Duncan Brooker's indie Kona label in early 2001, the album single-handedly kick-started the thirst among jazz, funk and soul fans and 'diggers' to rediscover lost music from Africa made during the '60s and '70s from a time when many countries were gaining independence and celebrating a Pan-African identity within their music. The album was one of the first to reach a far different audience to the traditional 'world music' market and spawned many further projects and labels in its wake. A year later, the 'Nigeria 70' compilation surfaced on Strut and labels like Soundway and Analog Africa would continue to unearth amazing lost gems from the Motherland.The album is testament to the determined work of Brooker following several research trips, especially to East Africa - Kenya and Zaire. It brought to light East Africa's finest funk band, Air Fiesta Matata, led by the recently deceased Steele Beautttah, 'The Nigerian James Brown' Geraldo Pino from Port Harcourt in Nigeria, and the storming Afro jam 'Yuda' by Dackin Dackino, a previously unreleased gem from Zaire discovered on a discarded reel. The album has remained influential since its release with tracks appearing on other Afro compilations and on TV and the big screen - Jingo's 'Fever' featured in Kevin McDonald's 2006 hit film, 'Last King Of Scotland'.Out of print since 2015, the album is being reissued on Strut in its original form with the extra dynamite unreleased psychedelic cut by Kenya's Ishmael Jingo, 'Keep On Holding On' taken from the original master tape. The package features the original sleeve notes by Duncan Brooker along with new additional notes providing further background to the album and tracks.
Mother of Mars is the latest evolution of Vito & Druzzi, two New Yorkers who have provided the 21st century with some of its most innovative dance music. The duo first came to fame as the rhythmic backbone of The Rapture, NYC pioneers who found global fame with their angular post-punk and howling disco. Since then Vito & Druzzi have had a prolific career as remixers and producers, producing leftfield disco killers for a range of labels including Warp and Throne of Blood. Seed 2 Sky - their first release as Mother of Mars - sees the duo fuse live krautrock drums with pulsating synth loops, creating two epics of space and rhythm that owe a debt to '70s kosmische pioneers like Tangerine Dream.
Continuing the very successful 'From The Vault' series of classic, previously unreleased Rolling Stones live shows this release is taken from their performance at Roundhay Park in Leeds, England on 25 July 1982. This show was the last concert on their 1982 European Tour in support of 1981's acclaimed 'Tattoo You' album which would be their last live tour for seven years. About half of the 'Tattoo You' album is included in the set including the hit single 'Start Me Up'. This would be the last Rolling Stones show to feature Ian Stewart on piano. The footage has now been carefully restored and the sound has been newly mixed by Bob Clearmountain for this first official release of the show.Key Selling Points: Simultaneous release on DVD, SD Blu-ray, DVD+2CD and DVD+3LP. The 'From The Vault' series is now firmly established with Rolling Stones fans and has been very well received by critics. Full length concert of The Rolling Stones performing at their very best. Includes 'Under My Thumb,' 'Black Limousine,' 'Let's Spend The Night Together,' 'Beast Of Burden,' 'Honky Tonk Women,' 'Jumpin' Jack Flash,' 'Angie,' 'Tumbling Dice,' 'Miss You,' '(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction,' 'Start Me Up,' 'Shattered,' 'Brown Sugar' and many more!
We are very excited to present the new collabo release between Cosmic Compostions and Jitwam's selftitled album " ".
Born in Assam, Gauhati, in Northeast India, but currently based in New York's storied borough of Brooklyn, Jitwam spent his formative years in New Zealand and Australia, before living in monasteries in Thailand, orphanages in South Africa, and washed out apartments in London. Of everywhere and nowhere, his music draws influence from a litany of iconoclasts including, but not limited to RD Burman, Moondog, The Velvet Underground, Yayoi Kusama, Jay Electronica, Jay Dilla, Moodymann, Leon Thomas, Madlib and Asha Bhosle.
Across " (selftitled)", he utilizes knowledge acquired through years spent digging through dusty crates, and talents honed as a multi-instrumentalist, producer, and vocalist. A series of stumbling, jazz/soul-rooted beat sculptures, each buried beneath a haze of fuzzy psychedelia, broken microphone blues, and articulated through a freestyled process he describes as "first thought, best thought", " (selftitled)" solidifies Jitwam's spot as a major emerging talent.
Recalling the fourth world dreamscapes explored by oddball songwriters like Connan Mockasin, Clarence Clarity, Jai Paul, Silicon, and Unknown Mortal Orchestra, it represents a time of transition and remembrance for Jitwam, while still fulfilling the core qualities he looks for in song. In his words, "Music is a refuge. A shelter from the storm. A place you can go to close your eyes."
Since he first shared his music with IZWID Records boss Kutmah at a Brainfeeder afterparty in London, Jitwam has released through Leaving Records, Cosmic Compositions, and The Jazz Diaries (the label he co-runs with Casey Van Reyk and Nigel Mphisa). He's also written with Inkswel (BBE) and Paul White (R&S), featured on Moodymann's K7! "DJ-Kicks" compilation and been championed by Gilles Peterson, Alexander Nut, Andrew Jervis (Bandcamp), and Funkineven. Mainly mixed and mastered by Matthewdavid at Stones Throw studios in Los Angeles, " (selftitled)" will be available on vinyl and digital formats.
The Blink single is a labour of love spanning over 2 years evolving from Reshape's Live Series. The 'Tunnel mix' takes its title from being road tested at the now closed Tunnel Club in Paris and both tracks are a homage to early UK and Detroit techno which Redshape holds fond memories of from his youth.
Kalakuta Soul Records joins forces with waf80music to proudly present Kai Niggemann's solo debut, an all original album of outrageous poetically abstract music created live and without overdubs on a Buchla 200e Electric Music Box, one of the rarest and most sought after electronic music instruments. Working on the platform since 2013, Kai Niggemann has become one of Germany's leading artists who perform live with a Buchla 200e. His style is an electro-acoustic storytelling, a clubby dreamscape and a poetically-abstract kraut-infused energetic mix of new Elektronische Musik with contemporary club culture. Nerds love the technology and clubbers love the throbbing drive of the basslines. It's all improvised and recorded live in Berlin — yet it sounds meticulously crafted in a dark basement studio throughout the entire last winters. Kai is a member of the 30-piece kraut-noise-jazz collective "The Dorf" and the electronics duo "The Last Books" (with Achim Zepezauer), performs and records with Mia Zabelka (Vienna) as "Redshift Orchestra", cofounded the internet-computermusic "European Bridges Ensemble" (EBE, e-b-e.eu) and the electroacoustic duo "Resonator". His most recent releases were the CD/vinyl "Lux" (feat. the noise drone artist N), "EviL/EvyL" and the cassette "Made in Österreich" with The Dorf (feat. Caspar Brötzmann & FM Einheit (Ex-Einstürzende Neubauten) or "Thinking Light" by Redshift Orchestra (duo with Mia Zabelka). He performed concerts with Mia Zabelka (Wien), Yoshio Machida (JP), Trap & Zoid (BE), Stian Westerhus or Shahzad Ismaily (with The Dorf) among many others.
