Search:sk 9

Fiat Lux return with Desire & Belief, their third album of new material this millennium, following their acclaimed comeback LPs Saved Symmetry and Twisted Culture. The trio—Steve Wright, Will Howard, and David P Crickmore—combine modern production with vintage synths and instruments rooted in their Polydor-era beginnings to craft ten tracks that span cinematic atmospheres, synth-pop anthems, and moody electronica. Tracks like "Clear Sky " and "Turn Me Around" offer hook-laden synth-pop, while "Summer Solstice " and "Am I Dreaming " delve into ambient and darker tones. Desire & Belief is a natural progression for Fiat Lux—retaining the spirit of their 1980s Northern roots in synth, goth, and indie, yet confidently stepping into new sonic territory for long-time fans and new listeners alike. RIYL: Blancmange, OMD, Scary Thieves, Tears For Fears

ome songs are simply too good to leave alone.

Original Gravity Records returns with a fresh take on one of the most enduring songs in Jamaican music as Donnoya Drake breathes new life into "You Don't Love Me (No No No)."

The song's remarkable journey begins with Bo Diddley's 1955 recording "She's Fine, She's Mine," before evolving into Willie Cobbs' blues classic "You Don't Love Me." It was then embraced in Jamaica, where it became a foundation stone of the island's musical heritage through Dawn Penn's original Studio One recording.

Rather than recreating any single version, Donnoya Drake's recording draws together the defining moments in the song's evolution. The unmistakable Bo Diddley-inspired riff, popularised by Willie Cobbs, is reimagined by the horn section, while the middle eight pays tribute to Dawn Penn's original Jamaican arrangement. The result is an infectious ska recording that honours every chapter of the song's evolution while bringing a fresh energy of its own.

On the flip, Prince Alphonso & The Fever present "You Don't Love Me Pt.2", an instrumental version that proved far too good to keep in the vault. Stripping away the vocals allows the arrangement to shine in its own right, creating the kind of infectious ska instrumental that selectors and DJs are always searching for.

Produced by Original Gravity Records founder Neil Anderson, the single continues the label's tradition of creating new recordings inspired by the golden era of Jamaican music—not as museum pieces, but as vibrant records made for today's dancefloors. Respectful of the past while unmistakably original, this is another release that bridges the gap between vintage authenticity and fresh interpretation.

For the 10th Anniversary of the iconic and unique For Honor, Kid Katana Records teamed up with Ubisoft to bring you this high quality album on an exclusive double vinyl. With over 35 million players since its release, For Honor has kept on bringing new content in the game, enriching the players’ experience with new Heroes, Factions and Music to keep the battle for survival and honor alive.


The physical edition is a premium 2LP designed in close relationship with the game's creative team:


● Track selection handpicked by For Honor team, including 2 new tracks (Year 10 exclusive) and a track never released before from Y1 Season 7
● 2 Golden vinyls
● Exclusive cover art with glossy effect on the logo
● Exclusive 16-page booklet with insights on each faction’s music, liner notes
from the game’s creative team and composers Luc St-Pierre, Danny Bensi and
Saunder Jurriaans



The tracklist is a selection of music from the 10 seasons of the game, one side per faction:

BBE Music’s celebrated J Jazz compilation series reaches its fifth and final volume in early 2026, culminating in a track list that maintains the exceptionally high standard first set with volume one back in 2018. This final volume features a selection of tracks that is as diverse as it is deep, reflecting the rich and varied Japanese jazz scene that spanned from the late 1960s to the late 1980s, a golden era of innovation and creativity. J Jazz volume 5 sees compilers Tony Higgins and Mike Peden dig ever deeper into their respective record collections to reveal tracks that encompass myriad styles including white hot jazz funk fusion from Toshiyuki Honda (Eastern Legacy) and Mikio Masuda (Sonic Barrier), super rare ethnic jazz crossover by Christal Zone - their one-off 45 promo release from 1971, Rai Rai, a deconstructed and abstract jazz classic by Yasuhiro Kohno with his solo piano rendition of My Favourite Things, and Mile and Half’s skin-tearing, shredding freak-out from their mega rare private press album.

A track that is so relentless, it leaves the listener in need of oxygen and a Valium. These hand-picked selections sit alongside other specially chosen numbers that embrace hard-driving samba (Seiichi Nakumura’s Judy’s Samba), epic head-nodding soul jazz (Masaru Imada’s World Line), psychedelic private press fusion (Aoyama Gakuin 101’s Fervor), angular post-bop tear-ups (Akira Miyazawa’s Nijimasu), intense and insistent fusion (Motohiko Hino’s Olive Step), serene cinematic pianism (Hideo Ichikawa’s On the Trade Wind) and tripped-out hallucinogenic tribal funky jazz (Masahiko Sato’s Garandoh’s Africa to Africa). Most of the tracks on this collection are being reissued for the first time, many of them only available previously on extremely limited and mega-rare private press or independent releases. J Jazz volume 5 is a fitting end to a compilation series that helped create a new audience and appreciation of Japanese jazz Some of the albums the tracks are drawn from are featured in the large format book J Jazz: Modern and Free Jazz from Japan 1954-1988, by Tony Higgins and Mike Peden, published by BBE Music in 2024. With almost 7000 words of extensive sleeve notes, J Jazz volume 5 comes in a triple 180g vinyl set inside a deluxe gatefold sleeve with obi strip, and comes with a 4-page insert, with photographs from the renowned Tokyo Jazz Joints project. It is also available as a double CD and digital download. Mastered at the Grammy-nominated Carvery Studio by Frank Merritt, this latest collection is a worthy successor to the preceding four volumes that set the bar so high. The J Jazz series is curated for BBE Music by Tony Higgins and Mike Peden.

Edena Gardens unleash their most expansive work to date. Quintessence is structured in 4 parts as a Magnum Opus—the ancient alchemical process of transformation. But this is not a work of high fantasy. It is a seismic meditation. A study of deep time, weighted matter, and the crushing gravity of change. Quintessence is massive. 79+ minutes of tethered magnitude, carved into six sprawling tracks. The trio pushes further down into the void, discovering new dimensions. Each piece allow the form to stretch. To break its own boundaries. Shifting terrains and unpredictable geometry. The core remains unhurried: A slow, relentless, unabridged crawl. This sort of alchemy demands patience, allowing every sonic mutation to breathe, shift, and solidify in a new atmosphere.

Recorded by Jonas Munk (Causa Sui), the sound is rooted in a natural, anchored production, as if the band is right in front of you: Causa Sui drummer Jakob Skøtt drives the pulse and adds ghostly, sparse treatment to the mix. Nicklas Sørensen (Papir) weaves angular guitar geometry over the deep sediment of Martin Rude’s bass and baritone strings. Martin also supplies the original artwork, spreading across 4 panels (one for each vinyl side), coloured by Jakob Skøtt: A work in its own right. The final work is a massive, physical expanse: Their Quintessence.

Langsam, schnörkellos und größtenteils instrumental - auf ,Orphans" wendet sich Art Feynman nach innen. Das Album, das als ,Musik zum Nebenbei-Hören" konzipiert ist, soll den Alltag begleiten und die Atmosphäre untermalen, ohne konzentrierte Aufmerksamkeit zu erfordern. Es bewegt sich durch den Raum wie ein Windspiel - weniger etwas, dem man folgt, als etwas, das man spürt. Es sind intime, einsame Erkundungen, Skizzen, die sich weniger komponiert als vielmehr entdeckt anfühlen, und doch strahlen sie eine stille emotionale Klarheit aus. Während sich Feynmans frühere Arbeiten oft auf komplexe Grooves und dichtes Zusammenspiel stützten, ist ,Orphans" entwaffnend still, geduldig und beruhigend. Zu Beginn des Albums kann man sich fast vorstellen, wie Feynman über einem 4-Spur-Recorder sitzt, Melodien auf einem kleinen Casio nachspielt und seinem Instinkt folgt, wohin auch immer er ihn führt. Der Eröffnungstrack ,Soft Reminder" entfaltet sich mit einer sanften Orgelmelodie, die zu gleichen Teilen melancholisch und neugierig ist; ihre Töne verweilen in der Luft, anstatt voranzutreiben, und legen sich so mühelos im Raum nieder, wie sie zur stillen Reflexion einladen. An anderer Stelle vermittelt ,Soup Song" eine Art hausbackenen Minimalismus, wobei sein beharrliches Orgelmuster an den frühen, experimentierfreudigen Geist von Terry Rileys ,A Rainbow in Curved Air" erinnert. ,Always In Need of Something" verweist auf die verspielten, suchenden Qualitäten von Francis Bebey, wobei seine zyklische Phrasierung eine stille, menschliche Unruhe unter der Oberfläche andeutet. Durchgehend sammeln sich Klänge und Texturen sanft an und formen ebenso sehr eine Atmosphäre wie eine Reihe eigenständiger Kompositionen, wobei sie subtil die emotionale Temperatur des Raums verändern, den sie einnehmen. Das späte Herzstück des Albums, ,Ice Bath", einer der wenigen Momente mit Gesang, bietet eine subtile These: "It slowed me down / That's what I needed / For a new beginning." Der Song fühlt sich wie ein Wendepunkt an, eine Akzeptanz der Stille als notwendige Voraussetzung für Veränderung. Er geht nahtlos über in ,The Condition of New Things", ein wunderschön skizzenhaftes E-Gitarrenstück, das im offenen Raum nachhallt, wobei jede Note mit sorgfältiger Absicht platziert ist und an einige von Jeff Parkers Soloarbeiten erinnert. Der Abschluss-Track ,Plastic Flowers" schwebt herein, getragen von Vocoder-gefiltertem Gesang und einem zarten Bett aus Gitarre und Synthesizer. "To trick the eye but still touch the heart", singt Feynman - eine Zeile, die stillschweigend das Ethos des Albums umrahmt. Wie Licht, das im Laufe eines Tages über eine Wand wandert, mögen diese Aufnahmen bescheiden sein, in ihrer Einfachheit sogar illusionartig, doch ihre emotionale Resonanz ist unbestreitbar.

Starting with the sleeve, reminiscent of comic book style album covers from the 70’s and 80’s like The Upsetters “Return of the Super Ape” and Scientist’s “Scientist Encounters Pac Man”, you know this album is straddling the decades of ska, rocksteady, dub and reggae. King Zepha recorded vocals, sax, woodwinds, keyboards, guitar and percussion at his home studio, with his fellow touring band members adding “the stuff I can’t do particularly well” backing vocals, brass, double bass and drums

Black Screen Records once again teams up with composer Chris Christodoulou and Hopoo Games for a vinyl repress of the classic original soundtrack to Risk of Rain 2. At the request of Christodoulou, the new edition of the triple vinyl comes on heavy 180g black wax, the way he enjoys the format the most. The set is housed in a beautiful trifold sleeve with the original artwork illustrated by Italian artist Daniele Giardini. All 20 songs have been carefully remastered by Christian Bethge (Risk of Rain, Deadbolt, Divinity: Original Sin II, A Plague Tale) for the vinyl format. With Risk of Rain 2 the classic multiplayer rogue-like returns with an extra dimension and more challenging action. No run will ever be the same with randomized stages, enemies, bosses, and items. Play solo, or team up with up to four friends to fight your way through hordes of monsters, unlock new loot, and find a way to escape the planet. In his third collaboration with Hopoo Games, Chris Christodoulou returns to the Risk of Rain franchise adding another dimension to the game's music-verse. This two-hour-long genre-bending release spans from foreboding electronica to pounding progressive metal and features all music from the game and then some.

No Use For A Name were one of the first bands on Fat Wreck Chords and remain a cornerstone of the label roster. Their unique take on California punk/skate punk emphasized equally innovative and catchy melody, paired with top-flight musicianship. Of course, a lot of what made this possible was the vocal range and imaginative song writing of Tony Sly. Despite his tragic passing in 2012, Tony's presence can still be felt today, as his influence is evident in the work of many other artists. Leche Con Carne is a blistering punk rock record, the band's third studio album, and a blend of Bad Religion-esque riffage and edgy vocals that hit between singing and yelling. The record features some of the bands' biggest hits, the love song "Soulmate", the story-telling cautionary tale "Justified Black Eye", and the popular Bob Marley cover of "Redemption Song." 30 years since its first release, Leche Con Carne feels as omnipotent as ever. An essential Fat Wreck Chords release, and a classic album in the No Use For A Name discography. Produced by Ryan Greene (NOFX) and Fat Mike, Features hit singles "Soulmate," "Justified Black Eye," and "Redemption Song", for fans of Bad Religion, The Offspring, Green Day, Grape coloured 2026 vinyl.

Wormwood ist eine 2014 gegründete Metal-Band aus Stockholm, die für ihre unverwechselbare Verschmelzung von Extreme Metal, atmosphärischer Tiefe und filmischem Storytelling bekannt ist. Durch die Verbindung von unheimlichen Klanglandschaften, skandinavischer Melancholie, Folk-Elementen und roher Rock-Intensität hat sich die Band eine einzigartige Identität geschaffen, die beim Publikum weltweit großen Anklang findet.

Mit vier Alben in voller Länge, einer EP und einer Live-Veröffentlichung – sowie der kommenden EP „Å“ – hat Wormwood ein beeindruckendes und sich stetig weiterentwickelndes Repertoire aufgebaut. Die Band wurde zweimal bei den schwedischen P3 Gold Awards als „Bester Rock-/Metal-Act“ nominiert, erreichte hohe Platzierungen in den offiziellen schwedischen Charts und erntete breite Anerkennung von internationalen Rock- und Metal-Medien, einschließlich häufiger Platzierungen auf weltweiten „Album des Jahres“-Listen.
Wormwoods Ruf reicht weit über das Studio hinaus. Die Band ist ausgiebig in ganz Europa aufgetreten, hat bei großen Festivals gespielt und Clubtourneen als Headliner bestritten, während sie sich stetig eine treue internationale Fangemeinde aufgebaut hat – insbesondere in Deutschland, Frankreich, den Niederlanden, Großbritannien und den USA. Ihre starke digitale Präsenz und ihre filmischen, hochwertigen Musikvideos verstärken ihre globale Reichweite und visuelle Identität zusätzlich.
Abgemischt und gemastert vom renommierten Produzenten Sverker Widgren (Wing Studios, Stockholm), verbindet der Sound von Wormwood ausgefeiltes Songwriting und musikalisches Können auf höchstem Niveau mit einer rauen, authentischen Note. Angetrieben von kraftvollen Melodien, atmosphärischer Fülle und emotionaler Intensität, erweitert die Band weiterhin kreative Grenzen und behält dabei eine klare künstlerische Vision bei.

Wormwood zählt heute zu den faszinierendsten und zukunftsweisendsten Acts der schwedischen Metal-Szene und vereint Kritikerlob, internationales Wachstum und einen Sound, der sie von anderen abhebt.

Wormwood ist eine 2014 gegründete Metal-Band aus Stockholm, die für ihre unverwechselbare Verschmelzung von Extreme Metal, atmosphärischer Tiefe und filmischem Storytelling bekannt ist. Durch die Verbindung von unheimlichen Klanglandschaften, skandinavischer Melancholie, Folk-Elementen und roher Rock-Intensität hat sich die Band eine einzigartige Identität geschaffen, die beim Publikum weltweit großen Anklang findet.

Mit vier Alben in voller Länge, einer EP und einer Live-Veröffentlichung – sowie der kommenden EP „Å“ – hat Wormwood ein beeindruckendes und sich stetig weiterentwickelndes Repertoire aufgebaut. Die Band wurde zweimal bei den schwedischen P3 Gold Awards als „Bester Rock-/Metal-Act“ nominiert, erreichte hohe Platzierungen in den offiziellen schwedischen Charts und erntete breite Anerkennung von internationalen Rock- und Metal-Medien, einschließlich häufiger Platzierungen auf weltweiten „Album des Jahres“-Listen.
Wormwoods Ruf reicht weit über das Studio hinaus. Die Band ist ausgiebig in ganz Europa aufgetreten, hat bei großen Festivals gespielt und Clubtourneen als Headliner bestritten, während sie sich stetig eine treue internationale Fangemeinde aufgebaut hat – insbesondere in Deutschland, Frankreich, den Niederlanden, Großbritannien und den USA. Ihre starke digitale Präsenz und ihre filmischen, hochwertigen Musikvideos verstärken ihre globale Reichweite und visuelle Identität zusätzlich.
Abgemischt und gemastert vom renommierten Produzenten Sverker Widgren (Wing Studios, Stockholm), verbindet der Sound von Wormwood ausgefeiltes Songwriting und musikalisches Können auf höchstem Niveau mit einer rauen, authentischen Note. Angetrieben von kraftvollen Melodien, atmosphärischer Fülle und emotionaler Intensität, erweitert die Band weiterhin kreative Grenzen und behält dabei eine klare künstlerische Vision bei.

Wormwood zählt heute zu den faszinierendsten und zukunftsweisendsten Acts der schwedischen Metal-Szene und vereint Kritikerlob, internationales Wachstum und einen Sound, der sie von anderen abhebt.

Mit seiner außergewöhnlichen Virtuosität und poetischen Klangsprache gehört Bruce Liu, Gewinner des
Internationalen Chopin-Klavierwettbewerbs 2021, zu den faszinierendsten Pianisten seiner Generation. Auf
seinem neuen Album „Lunaris“ präsentiert Liu ein Programm, das ihn von seiner intimsten, visionärsten
und atmosphärischsten Seite zeigt:
Im Zentrum von „Lunaris“ stehen Beethovens legendäre Sonaten „Mondschein“ und „Waldstein“. Rund um
diese Meisterwerke entfaltet sich ein Programm voller atmosphärischer Dichte und emotionaler Tiefe, das
ikonische Klavierwerke mit verborgenen Schätzen verbindet. Chopins geliebtes Nocturne, Debussys schimmernde „Rêverie“ und Bachs zeitlose Klangsprache treffen auf selten eingespielte Werke von Mompou,
die ekstatische Intensität Skrjabins und die hypnotische Schönheit von Cages „Dream“. Zeitgenössische
Klangfarben von Agnes Obel und Ligeti verleihen dieser musikalischen Reise eine frische und überraschende
Dimension.
Mehr als ein klassisches Recital-Album ist „Lunaris“ ein immersives Hörerlebnis, cineastisch, nächtlich
und zutiefst persönlich. Inspiriert von Poesie, Malerei und dem Geheimnis der Nacht erschafft Bruce Liu
mit jedem Werk einen Raum voller schwebender Zeit, Licht und Fantasie.
„Es ist nicht nur eine Auswahl von Werken, die ich liebe, sondern auch mein Versuch, eine neue Art des
Hörens und Erlebens von Klang zu erschaffen, die in mir gewachsen ist. Diese Atmosphäre der schwebenden
Zeit sowie das Nebeneinander von Intimität und Distanz sind Dinge, die ich in meiner täglichen Beziehung
zum Instrument wiedererkenne.“ – Bruce Liu
Gelobt für seine „elfengleiche Virtuosität“ (Le Monde) und seine „Eleganz und Leichtigkeit des Anschlags“
(The Guardian), entführt Liu sein Publikum in eine faszinierende Welt aus mondlichtdurchfluteter Reflexion,
Fantasie und Transzendenz.

Der Begriff „Classic Rock“ existiert in den USA schon seit vielen Jahren, doch in Deutschland musste sich diese Bezeichnung nach und nach etablieren. Er umfasst das Spektrum zwischen AOR und Hardrock mit vielen Facetten. In diesem Vinylboxset findet man diese Bandbreite. Über MOLLY HATCHET muss man kaum Worte verlieren. Zusammen mit LYNYRD SKYNYRD zählt man zu den erfolgreichsten und wichtigsten Southern Rock Bands und ist auch heute noch aktiv.
RICK DERRINGER ist leider 2025 gestorben, hat uns aber nicht nur mit seiner ersten Band THE MCCOYS („Hang On Sloopy“) unsterbliche Musik geliefert, sondern vor allem als Solokünstler. Dieses Schaffen wird auf der LP „Beyond The Universe“ zusammengefasst. JOHNNY BLACK kommt eigentlich aus dem Punk, aber auch in diesem Segment gibt es Gruppen, die man anderweitig verorten kann. Seine von der Presse hochgelobte LP enthält einen zugänglichen Mix aus Classic Rock, Hardrock und 70s Rock – teilweise hitverdächtig. Etwas mehr Aufmerksamkeit muss man der Band FLOATING OPERA schenken, deren einzige LP einen anspruchsvollen Mix aus Classic Rock, Krautrock und Progrock aufweist. Das passte perfekt in die ausklingenden Siebziger und gerade beginnenden Achtziger. FLOATING OPERA ist die versteckte Geheimwaffe in diesem Boxset. Alle LPs wurden für Vinyl gemastert!

Continuing the primordial descent that kicked off in earnest with their 2023 debut album, Pulsations From the Black Orb, ASTRIFEROUS return with their second full-length, Atavistic Unraveling. Much like that celebrated debut, the Costa Ricans’ sophomore album is perfectly titled: truly, the sensations one finds spread across this dread landscape are an Atavistic Unraveling. Thankfully, ASTRIFEROUS’ foundation has changed little – the swarming morbidity of early ’90s Finnish death metal fused with classic South American madness – but there are (dread) developments that prove the band are just now hitting their stride.

Despite its title, Atavistic Unraveling shows ASTRIFEROUS at their tightest and sharpest, with chops and execution meeting at a nexus of impossibly horrific proportions. Duly armed, the quartet take their songwriting to strange, skronking lengths, rendering their angularity both an unsettling and utterly attacking thing. Likewise, the slight cleaning-up of production has paid dividends, allowing these malformed ruminations to fully seep into the listener’s psyche – mangling the mind, wracking the body – whilst emerging with just enough linear propulsion to land the record on the right side of art rather than riff salad.

Collectively, these changes have made ASTRIFEROUS even more world-eating than before, further cementing their homeland’s death metal scene as one of the most potent around. Atavistic Unraveling awaits those who dare…

Spectral death metal conjurations will grasp you with their doom-tinged tendrils from the onset of this record. The gritty, booming riffs open a chasm of darkness for the punishing drums to cast skulls into. Met by otherworldly vocals, this is certain to grip any fan of sepulchral music with its enchanting and intense abyssal atmosphere. Do not be fooled by the slower lumbering moments into thinking this will be an easy listen. Stampeding ferocity and wild madness soon erupt from the charnel openings to give a burst of frantic psychopathy to the experience. Churning doomed violence and convulsive bestial onslaughts entwine around each other to project forth arcane death metal violence with huge dynamics and an utterly savage feeling to every second. With a natural, organic production to convey the filthy nature of the music perfectly; this is not a record that will hold your hand rather drop you into a void of souls with malicious intentions.

From the devastating drum work and monstrous riffing to the wickedly contorting bass lines; each instrument complements the others in this storm of triumphant vitriol while the commanding vocals spew malice to superb effect. The low end murmurings and rusted blades of the leads are an idyllic balance of inhospitable sounds that will surely satisfy any real underground lunatic seeking dark music. These five pieces clock in at 35 minutes and the sheer intensity is upheld for every second. Crypt-lurking doomed despair and utter ferocity become companions while the groove of the more mid tempo sections tie everything together. There is certainly nothing missing for an impactful and memorable experience. Allowing itself to decay and reform throughout; you will see, hear, feel, smell and maybe even taste the stages of cranial decay and the anguish of the brain matter breaking down into nothingness. This is a record which doesn’t follow predictable patterns nor rules but wildly possesses you with the malignant spirits from death metal’s darkest corners…

Recorded April 17 and 18, 1993, at the Union Grove Baptist Church, Ozark, Alabama.

The Wiregrass Singers' Dewey Williams began learning the shape-note tradition in his childhood. He studied under Judge Jackson, who authored the landmark 1934 hymnbook The Colored Sacred Harp. In 1971, Williams formally organized The Wiregrass Sacred Harp Singers to preserve the music full-time. This unified troupe began touring nationally and leading workshops, which ultimately launched them onto stages at the Smithsonian and Newport folk festivals up until Williams' passing in 1995 when the group disbanded. The African-American Sacred Harp tradition in the Wiregrass region has steeply declined since the start of the 21st century, due to an aging generation of singers, and today it is largely sustained through archival preservation and occasional multi-book singing meetups.

This raw recording, made at the Union Grove Baptist Church, Ozark in mid-April 1993 finds the group singing from B. F. White’s The Sacred Harp (1844), which together with his brother-in-law William Walker’s Southern Harmony (1835) formed the musical backbone of generations of Southern music and Southern musical styles.

"On almost any Sunday between the months of March and October, the season most conducive to travel and outdoor dinner-on-the- grounds, Sacred Harp devotés join with fellow songsters at the County Line Church in Slocomb, or the Mount Sinai Church in Henry County, or the Union Grove Baptist Church in Dale County, or at any one of a dozen or so churches in the southeast Alabama counties of Barbour, Coffee, Dale, Geneva, Houston and Pike, to form the square and sing fa-sol-la. Approximately fifteen African-American Sacred Harp singings occur annually in the Wiregrass region of southeast Alabama. A singing tradition characteristically associated with white culture in the Deep South, southeast Alabama has enjoyed a vibrant African-American Sacred Harp tradition for well over a century.

On a day of a typical African-American Sacred Harp Singing, the participants arrive casually in the late morning, seat themselves in the square according to voice part, and begin to sing. A dinner break occurs in the early afternoon, and the singers enjoy a covered-dish "dinner-on-the-grounds" (or in the church basement) prepared by the women. The most intense and emotional singing typically occurs after the dinner break. Each singer takes a turn leading the song of his choice. He walks to the middle of the square, calls out the song's page number and waits for the designated tuner to key the song. Singers are discouraged by the other singers from repeating a song that has already been sung, or "used." This proscription is often dispensed with, however, if the singer is particularly young, particularly old, or if the song has special significance to the individual song leader (perhaps the favorite song of a recently deceased relative).

Every singer is given an opportunity to lead a song. Often, older or more infirm singers will request younger singers to lead their songs for them. The motions of the song leaders are highly stylistic and often emotional. Young children are taught in singing school to mark time with their right arm while holding the book in their left. Typically, a singer will stand in place at the center of the square while leading the singing of the notes. When he begins to lead the lyrics portion of the song, he will often begin to "walk time," rhythmically pacing from one side of the square to the other, being careful never to turn his back on the tenor section. This "walking time" is unique to the African-American tradition. As a singer grows more confident he develops his own distinctive leading style. During fuguing songs in particular, he may gesture to each section of the square as its part joins in. Skilled song leaders often elicit applause or other emotional responses from the group. Occasionally a singer may fall into a state of spiritual ecstasy and "get happy." The episode might include a personal testimonial followed by a repeat of the last verse or refrain from the previous song. The singings break up around 5 P.M."
—Henry Willett, 1997 credits

Skyjack — the borderless five piece band spread across South Africa and Switzerland — announce their fourth studio album, Let The Sky Open Under Your Feet, out 3rd July.

Recorded in December 2025 at a secluded studio outside Stellenbosch, South Africa, the album captures the vibrant live energy of the band at its most expansive — drawing together free improvisation, South African jazz traditions, chamber music, kinetic groove, and ecstatic collective interplay into a singular body of work.

“This record is a very articulate representation of our sound, having grown deep roots into the earth with high branches reaching upward and outward”, says bassist Shane Cooper. “My desire is always to create sonic universes that can envelope the listener.”

The album’s title comes from a line in a poem by the 13th-century Persian poet Rumi, reflecting the music’s balance between groundedness and transcendence. Here, Skyjack move fluidly between meditative improvisation and lush orchestration across twelve tracks of free-spirited, cosmic journeying. Inspired both by the cultural traditions and natural environments of South Africa, Let The Sky Open Under Your Feet is a testament to the band’s intuitive connection and innate musical curiosity.

It arrives just over a year after Light Cycle (2024), a short gap that reflects the momentum built on tour. After exchanging sketches remotely across two continents, the band reunited in Johannesburg in late 2025, workshopped the new material onstage across South Africa, and then headed directly into the studio, where much of the album was recorded live in first takes — preserving the looseness and unpredictability central to Skyjack’s sound.

Comprised of Kyle Shepherd (piano), Shane Cooper (bass), Jonno Sweetman (drums), Andreas Tschopp (trombone), and Marc Stucki (saxophones), Skyjack first formed in Cape Town in 2013 during a fertile moment in South African jazz, as a new generation of musicians pushed against rigid genre definitions and opened the music outward toward broader sonic possibilities. Over the past decade, the band has built a singular sound drawing equally on South African groove traditions and European improvisation.

Individually, the members move between jazz, electronic music, film scoring, rock, hip-hop and experimental composition, with collaborations spanning artists including William Parker, Lionel Loueke, Zim Ngqawana, Ben LaMar Gay, Jorge Rossy, Shabaka Hutchings, William Kentridge, Makaya McCraven and Sylvie Courvoisier.

Since their self-titled debut in 2015, followed by The Hunter (2019) and Light Cycle (2024), the group has developed a reputation for immersive live performances and music that continuously reshapes itself in motion — rooted in what they describe as “warm menacing African grooves,” while refusing fixed stylistic borders.

There is a strong sense of place running through 'North West Tonight', as God Colony aka Crack Copies label heads and Liverpool-raised duo James Rand and Thomas Gorton sketch out a hazy, after-hours portrait of their hometown. Drawing on 80s new wave melodies and rough-edged club rhythms, the EP balances sounds of yore with present-day energy. There is crunchy, disrupted bass on 'The Column', backlit broken beat on 'Middle Eye' and more sun-kissed depths on 'Rhyll Sun Centre'. 'The Paradox' stands out as a darker, more edgy and club-ready sound while the rework by Sasha stretches the track into something built for wide-eyed dancefloors.

The Goblin Walk is an invitation to trace the footsteps of the eponymous creature through five swampy, dubby, liquid techno interpretations from four different artists. Label head Caldera opens with the gently underlapping space chug of 'Today', followed by Traevor's 'Reef' which turns marimba into a dubbed-out bass meditation. Caldera then features again under his Loop LF alias with 'Tiz', which pairs spectral sonic sketches with whimsical melodies that drift and float as if in a gravity-free zone. Streetfaxx then unearths a long-lost 2013 Cologne track, its patient rhythmic progression untouched by the passing years, before ambient textures take centre stage in Nightwaif's 'Xmas1 (vocal dub)' as tape experiments float over deep sub-bass, caught somewhere between 1980s new age and modern ambient minimalism. A compelling, exploratory world of sound.

Children, the one and only instrumental song that breaks all the rules, created by Robert Miles. The netherlands producers Tinlicker signed the new remix of Children.

Bio:
Tinlicker are Utrecht based duo Micha Heyboer and Jordi van Achthoven who have been crafting their computerized soul together since 2013. Before joining forces, they individually honed their skills as part of world renowned drum 'n bass act Black Sun Empire (Heyboer) and as producer, songwriter and music editor for many artists (Van Achthoven). Their previous experience was apparent from day one of their collaborative project, resulting in an impressive
string of highly mature and deeply emotive tracks. Since starting working together they’ve quickly become a household name in the world of electronic dance music previously releasing on Armada,
mau5trap, Anjunafamily and Astralwerks. They have released their first full length album 'This Is Not Our Universe' last fall and released their remix album this past spring from the likes of Dosem, Joris Delacroix and Grum.

Lonely Man's Dream marks a milestone for Forager Records: our tenth release, and perhaps our most personal. More than a compilation, it is a self-portrait. A reflection of the musical obsessions, late-night discoveries, and restless digging that have defined this label from our first record to this latest one.

Spanning the dreamy psychedelic folk of the 1970s to the cool shimmer of 1980s synth pop, Lonely Man's Dream traces a decade of curatorial wandering. Eleven artists. Eleven songs. Each one rare, obscure, or otherwise lost to the margins of music history. Among them, two tracks surface here for the very first time: “Never Say Goodbye” by Cocktails and Dreams, a synth pop transmission from Norway, luminous and weightless as the skies on the cover. “True Love” by Keith Jones, a drum machine backed demo that pulses with a late night intimacy.

What unites these songs across genre and era is the same quality we have always chased; a transporting ache, the sound of someone searching, or the feeling of a memory you can't quite place. Like every record before it, this one asks nothing of you but your full attention and an open ear.

Ten releases in, we are still looking for the same thing we started with. We hope you feel it too.

* Featuring a selection of songs sourced from rare records of the 70s & 80s reissued for the first time.
* Includes 2 unreleased songs from the 80s
* Original artwork by Eric Thompson
* Very limited initial first pressing

This 7" was pressed on pink wax in amount of 200 copies.

Funky Mamas and Papas Recordings returns to its roots and releases another 7" after the well-received ones (Michał Martyniuk, After 'Ours and Pezda/Ryć). Once again we have something unique!

Stachun Bebach, aka Stanisław Pańta and Bruno Jasieński

The double single "Byk / Składak" is based on recordings from a two-day, improvised recording session at Dwa Domy Studio in the summer of 2023.

They met a few years earlier, on stage, during Stach's first jam at Warsaw's Spatif, and began a dialogue that developed through regular performances, as a duo and in larger ensembles.

The session was recorded at a crucial time for both of them – when Stach was starting college and Bruno was expecting the birth of his child.

The second album from Chicago based Brigette Calls Me Baby firmly establishes them as a band to watch. It's fair to say that they are a band that takes a lot of influence from 1980s UK indie in general and The Smiths in particular. Opening track 'There's Always' finds vocalist Wes Leavins channelling Morrissey's finer moments; and in particular those moments when Morrissey was in thrall to the crooners of the 1950s. This is particularly poignant in relation to the themes that run through the album, most notably the idea that certain moments in your history shape your very being for the rest of your life. Clearly hearing certain records has shaped Brigette Calls Me Baby as much as those all important life-change moments. That's not to say this a band that isn't ploughing its own furrow, songs like "Slumber Party" with its relentless bassline and dance influenced drums show a band that can mix its influences are create something unique. "I Can Take The Sun Out Of The Sky' might have those darkened crooning tones from Leavins, but they can't keep a lid on the sheer positivity that his band is generating, it has the feel of a real summer anthem.

Inspired by Kenneth Grahame's 'Wind in the Willows', the sonic endeavours of Mole have so far given us two cassettes (Before I Glare Up At The Sun Through The Top Soil and Mole's Uninvited Guests) and a top class library CD of covers. With ‘For Red Riverbank’, The Sprigs return to bison for their first full length LP, this time joined by Ratty and Badger to form a full three piece band, and to help Mole take on the developers working above ground…

Armed with guitars, pipes, samples and bric-a-brac, it’d be easy for the Sprigs to succumb to a totally romanticised nostalgia for an imagined British folkloric tradition. There’s enough of it going around. Instead, the gang create a ramshackle, ruddy faced blend of introspective hibernation, real-world anxiety and some absolutely knee slapping, joy inducing tunes. It’s a masterwork of folk collage - where beautiful straight-to-tape guitar sketches are cut up amongst British labour history with the help of Leon Rosselson and Ash Reid, giving way to waves of depression and relief in equal measure. Such is life!

In a world currently defined by unrest, uncertainty, and cultural fracture, acclaimed saxophonist, composer, and bandleader Isaiah Collier returns with Joy, a 5-track EP that reframes one of humanity’s most nuanced emotions both as a devotional grounding and political act.

Collier’s deeply personal compositions present joy as an act that isn’t rooted in escapism or abstraction, but rather, as something hard-won rooted in lived experience, shaped by transformation, and sustained through connection. Throughout the album’s five compositions, Collier positions joy as a guiding light during challenging times, an expression of challenging yourself to utilize your gifts, an affirmation of love and discovery, and as an affirmative source of reassurance.

“We are in a paradoxical time, where so much is being revealed to us,” Collier shares. “Everything feels political from every scope… our collective hearts feel the heaviness in the air. Yet I say to you all—don’t despair. For right now, the most political thing we can do is share joy.”

That ethos is made clear in the opening title track and lead single “Joy.” A pulsing rhythmic motif anchors the melody with a sense of both searching and certainty. Collier conceived the piece around 3 years ago reflecting on a time where many people in his life were experiencing loss of family and friends and experiencing profound life transitions. “Everything just felt like it was falling apart with no aim in sight,” he reflects. “Yet, there is a light at the end of it all.”

As he played the chords with a sense of urgency, he could feel the vibration of yellow in the piece. That initial triplet motif serves as the guiding light on the piano and the only word Collier could hear was Joy. In addition to Collier at the helm singing and playing piano and tenor sax on the track, it features an expansive 11-piece ensemble with a full horn and string section allowing Collier’s propensity for composition and arrangement to shine with an eclectic sonic palette.

“Landscape of Dreams” finds Collier serendipitously leaning into utilizing his gifts as a multi-instrumentalist. While he had a sketch of the piece going into the studio, a traffic delay caused musicians to be late arriving at the studio. Never one to waste time in the studio environment, Collier stepped into new creative territory and took up the challenge of executing playing all instruments himself as an act of trust and experimentation. “I’ve never done this before, and so it was a leap of faith for me,” he asserts. “I always dream of doing stuff like this, and being part of the small percentage of people who can do it like Prince, Steve Lacy, Frank Zappa, and Stevie Wonder. The end result finds Collier immersed in a hypnotic soundscape playing layered flutes, drums, Metatron, Wurlitzer, and auxiliary percussion.

Another layer of joy is revealed in “Where I’m Loved” that serves as a love letter and leaning into the process of stepping into the willingness to explore life and love with a partner. On the intimate meditation of vulnerability and connection, Collier's vocal prowess is on full display, exerting effortless falsetto reminiscent of D’Angelo over soulful Wurlitzer and guitar as he crosses over into more R&B-inspired realms. “I believe everyone deserves this feeling or to honor the memories of it. Furthermore, I believe you should also go where you’re celebrated and not tolerated.”

“When the Dust Settles” captures the electricity of live collaboration and Collier further steps out of being confined to any specific genre. He had just gotten a microKORG keyboard from co-producer Sonny Daze and was exploring the vast array of sounds on the instrument. Collier plays synth bass on the microKORG joined by the electrifying improvisation of Cole Runge on guitar and the combustible rhythm of his brother Jeremiah Collier on drums with additional post-production work from Sonny Daze.

The album’s final track “God’s By Your Side” reflects on perseverance and artistic legacy, directly inspired from the passing of D’Angelo, whose life’s work was a huge part of Collier’s childhood growing up in the late 90s and early 00s. With gospel flavor and direct influence both from D’Angelo’s vocal and instrumental arrangements, the track speaks to resilience and persistence in the face of obstacles—an affirmation of source and reassurance. “And what’s better than having God by your side, right?” asserts Collier.

Joy is a through-and-through expression of the arc of joy in its truest form. Joy transcends fleeting happiness and is conscious gratitude shaped by taking chances, leaning into your gifts, fostering community, and lived experiences.

“Joy is partially happiness,” Collier explains. “But to me it means happily being grateful for family, friends, lovers, teachers, and good times. These are the things that anchor us.”

The release of Joy comes off the heels of significant momentum for Collier, whose work continues to garner accolades and resonate across cultural spheres. He was featured on the cover of DownBeat’s April 2025 issue, where he was named “The Next Sax Giant,” and profiled on NPR’s Jazz Night in America for his ambitious 13-movement interdisciplinary suite The Story of 400 Years, that traces 400 years of Black American History. He released two full-length albums in 2024 with The World Is on Fire highlighted in The New York Times’ Fall Arts Preview and The Almighty named among the publication’s Best Jazz Albums of the year.

Beyond performance and recoding, Collier’s influence is recognized in broader cultural and intellectual spaces as he was the recipient of the Jazz Journalists Association’s 2025 Up and Coming Artist of the Year Award, the 2024 Chicagoan of the Year in Jazz, and was named a Steve Jobs Archive Fellow joining an elite cohort of the next generation of artistic visionaries through a yearlong program.

In addition to the release of Joy, Collier is touring his “Collier Plays Coltrane” program throughout 2026 in honor of John Coltrane’s centennial. Rather than presenting Coltrane’s expansive catalog as repertory, Collier approaches this music as something living, reshaping it in real-time with a sense of space and improvisational dialog reflecting both reverence to the past and present times.

2026 Repress

Nachdem Taake seit über drei Jahrzehnten die Balance zwischen Tradition und Innovation hält, bleibt die Band kompromisslos unabhängig und erweitert zugleich kontinuierlich ihre eigenen kreativen Grenzen. Diese unbeirrbare Vision findet auf dem neunten Studioalbum *En Skog av Nidstang* einen neuen Ausdruck. Die vergangenen Jahre zunehmender Isolation - losgelöst von zeitgenössischen Trends und weitgehend unbeeinflusst von anderer Musik - haben den kreativen Antrieb des Songwriters Hoest nur noch verstärkt. Das Ergebnis sind vier ausladende Kompositionen, die sich auf natürliche Weise aus der inspirierten Geisteshaltung entwickeln, die bereits hinter dem von der Kritik gefeierten Album *Et Hav av Avstand* aus dem Jahr 2023 stand. Die Aufnahmen zu "En Skog av Nidstang" wurden südlich von Bergen in den moosbedeckten Wäldern rund um die Insel Borgoy abgeschlossen. In jener Landschaft, die einst vom vom Schicksal gezeichneten norwegischen Maler Lars Hertervig dargestellt wurde, suchte Taake bewusst die konzentrierte Abgeschiedenheit der Umgebung. Dabei verließ sich die Band weniger auf moderne Technologie oder übermäßigen Studioaufwand als vielmehr auf Intuition, Rückzug, Kreativität und die meisterhafte Beherrschung der grundlegenden Werkzeuge ihres Handwerks. Und das Ergebnis klingt unverkennbar nach Taake: Rücksichtslose, rasende Riffs treffen auf düstere Schwermut, eisige Melodien entstehen aus roher Intensität, und Momente trostloser Reflexion gehen nahtlos in ungezügelte Aggression über. Das Resultat ist ein Album, das die anhaltende Kraft einer kompromisslosen künstlerischen Vision feiert - der Beweis dafür, dass Taake auch nach 33 Jahren nichts von seiner Vitalität, Eigenständigkeit und Relevanz eingebüßt hat.

Nachdem Taake seit über drei Jahrzehnten die Balance zwischen Tradition und Innovation hält, bleibt die Band kompromisslos unabhängig und erweitert zugleich kontinuierlich ihre eigenen kreativen Grenzen. Diese unbeirrbare Vision findet auf dem neunten Studioalbum *En Skog av Nidstang* einen neuen Ausdruck. Die vergangenen Jahre zunehmender Isolation - losgelöst von zeitgenössischen Trends und weitgehend unbeeinflusst von anderer Musik - haben den kreativen Antrieb des Songwriters Hoest nur noch verstärkt. Das Ergebnis sind vier ausladende Kompositionen, die sich auf natürliche Weise aus der inspirierten Geisteshaltung entwickeln, die bereits hinter dem von der Kritik gefeierten Album *Et Hav av Avstand* aus dem Jahr 2023 stand. Die Aufnahmen zu "En Skog av Nidstang" wurden südlich von Bergen in den moosbedeckten Wäldern rund um die Insel Borgoy abgeschlossen. In jener Landschaft, die einst vom vom Schicksal gezeichneten norwegischen Maler Lars Hertervig dargestellt wurde, suchte Taake bewusst die konzentrierte Abgeschiedenheit der Umgebung. Dabei verließ sich die Band weniger auf moderne Technologie oder übermäßigen Studioaufwand als vielmehr auf Intuition, Rückzug, Kreativität und die meisterhafte Beherrschung der grundlegenden Werkzeuge ihres Handwerks. Und das Ergebnis klingt unverkennbar nach Taake: Rücksichtslose, rasende Riffs treffen auf düstere Schwermut, eisige Melodien entstehen aus roher Intensität, und Momente trostloser Reflexion gehen nahtlos in ungezügelte Aggression über. Das Resultat ist ein Album, das die anhaltende Kraft einer kompromisslosen künstlerischen Vision feiert - der Beweis dafür, dass Taake auch nach 33 Jahren nichts von seiner Vitalität, Eigenständigkeit und Relevanz eingebüßt hat.

White Vinyl. Having balanced tradition and innovation for over three decades, Taake remains fiercely independent while continually pushing its own creative boundaries. That uncompromising vision finds new expression on the ninth full-length album, En Skog av Nidstang. Past years of increasing isolation, detached from contemporary trends and largely removed from the influence of other music, the creative drive of songwriter Hoest has only intensified, resulting in four expansive compositions that flow naturally from the inspired mindset behind 2023's critically acclaimed Et Hav av Avstand. The recordings for En Skog av Nidstang were completed south of Bergen, in the moss-covered forests around the island of Borgoy. In the surroundings depicted by the ill-fated Norwegian painter Lars Hertervig, Taake embraced the focused seclusion of the landscape, relying less on modern technology or studio excess, but on intuition, confinement, creativity, and a mastery of the rudimentary tools of the trade. And it sounds unmistakably like Taake. Reckless thrashing riffs mix with brooding gloom, chilling melodies emerge from violent intensity, and moments of desolate reflection give way to untamed aggression. The result is an album that celebrates the enduring power of an unyielding artistic vision; proof that, after 33 years, Taake remains as vital, distinctive and relevant as ever.

White Vinyl. Having balanced tradition and innovation for over three decades, Taake remains fiercely independent while continually pushing its own creative boundaries. That uncompromising vision finds new expression on the ninth full-length album, En Skog av Nidstang. Past years of increasing isolation, detached from contemporary trends and largely removed from the influence of other music, the creative drive of songwriter Hoest has only intensified, resulting in four expansive compositions that flow naturally from the inspired mindset behind 2023's critically acclaimed Et Hav av Avstand. The recordings for En Skog av Nidstang were completed south of Bergen, in the moss-covered forests around the island of Borgoy. In the surroundings depicted by the ill-fated Norwegian painter Lars Hertervig, Taake embraced the focused seclusion of the landscape, relying less on modern technology or studio excess, but on intuition, confinement, creativity, and a mastery of the rudimentary tools of the trade. And it sounds unmistakably like Taake. Reckless thrashing riffs mix with brooding gloom, chilling melodies emerge from violent intensity, and moments of desolate reflection give way to untamed aggression. The result is an album that celebrates the enduring power of an unyielding artistic vision; proof that, after 33 years, Taake remains as vital, distinctive and relevant as ever.

Back on Swamp Green coloured vinyl! The album that broke Teenage Bottlerocket to the punk rock masses, They Came From The Shadows burst onto the scene in 2009, like a runaway train on greased rails. Featured in Alternative Press as a "Band You Need To Know," the album became a punk rock classic, with hits like "Skate or Die" and "Bigger Than Kiss." The most rocking thing to come out of Wyoming since, well... ever, Teenage Bottlerocket have taken pleasure in showing everyone just how potent and exhilarating that fresh, gimmick-free punk rock can be. On their debut Fat Wreck Chords release (third full-length), They Came From the Shadows is comprised of 14 straight forward punk rock gems, laced with the unforgettable melodies that have become the calling card of TBR. In the tradition of the Ramones (leather jackets and all), TBR brought an unrelenting barrage of fast-paced anthems that will no doubt serve as the soundtrack for a generation. Produced by Jason Livermore at the Blasting Room (Rise Against, Descendents) Features hit singles "Skate Or Die" (bands #1 song) and "Bigger Than Kiss" For fans of Ramones, Screeching Weasel, Descendents, The Queers, The Lillingtons

"Motorway City" is a superb, driving-based collection of library music. The tracks on this album were all written between the mid-60s and the early 80s to hymn car travel, back when the petrol-operated motor car was seen as the transport mode of the future, when motorways were new and thrilling. It was car travel’s golden age.
The tracks are highly collectable rarities from the libraries of De Wolfe, Chappell and Hudson. It has been compiled by Bob Stanley of Saint Etienne who has also written the informative sleevenotes. It stretches from mod movers to proto-ambient, something for every car journey.

Library music soundtracked the many short films that extolled the virtues of TopTray restaurant at Watford Gap or the comfortable leather seats in an Alpine Sunbeam. These tunes illuminated the joys of motor travel, and were given titles such as ‘Fast Lane’, ‘Super City’ and ‘Clearway’.
Many of these tracks seem time specific. The sun peeks over the horizon for Basil Kirchin’s ‘Through New Territory’; Reg Tilsley’s ‘Hold The Road’ is so bright at midday that you’ll need to wear shades to stop the sun getting in your eyes; John Fiddy’s ‘City Skyline’ has to be seen (and heard) at dusk.

Ex-Soft Machine Karl Jenkins provides the tense ‘Wheeling’, and Peter Reno’s thunderous ‘Convoy’ shifts the mood up a gear. Maybe you should risk nudging the speed up, 80-plus, to the soundtrack of Alan Hawkshaw’s ‘Fuel Injection’ or Simon Park’s mellow-but-dynamic ‘Big Road’.
Beautifully packaged in a gatefold sleeve, "Motorway City" could be the soundtrack to your summer holiday.

Pacific Northwester Drew Sullivan is the man behind the Slow Dancing Society and on his latest album, he interrogates nostalgia with clearer eyes while sculpting analogue glow, treated guitar and patient ambience into scenes that breathe. Tracks drift like headlights through snow - hums, howls, bass rumbles, rain-veiled keys all feature, each motion subtle, deliberate and devastating. The record's power lies in restraint: chord changes feel meteorological, melodies arrive as messages, then vanish. It's ambient music with a spine, grief without spectacle. By the time 'Blue Suburban Skies' lifts into Twin Peaks-levels of ache, Sullivan has rebuilt a world you want to hide away in forever.

Soul Music legend Candi Staton returns to her down-home Alabama roots on her 32nd album, Back to My Roots. The twelve-track Americana set features an array of Staton-penned originals and some well-chosen covers.

"These songs represent my roots," Staton adds as she reflects on her many trials and triumphs. "Even the new songs on some level represent something I've experienced and that's what real soul music is about." Back to My Roots was produced by Staton with her second eldest son, Marcus Williams, a professional drummer who has toured with the likes of Peabo Bryson, Isaac Hayes, and Tyler Perry. They brought in Mark Nevers of Lambchop fame, who produced three of Staton’s prior Americana albums for Honest Jon’s and Thirty Tigers, to sweeten certain tracks. “Some of the first songs I ever heard were songs like `Peace in the Valley’ and `It’s Gonna Rain,’” says Staton. “The new songs or cover songs are tracks that remind me of that era when I was growing up as a child and evolving as a young woman. That’s why I named the album Back to My Roots because I’m going back to the roots that made me who I am.”

Staton received the Americana Music Association UK’s highest honour, the International Lifetime Achievement Award, at the UK Americana Music Awards ceremony at Hackney Church in London last year for her southern soul work that stretches from her 1969 Muscle Shoals hits to her more recent collaborations with the likes of Americana kings Jason Isbell and John Paul White.
The album opens with a mid-tempo Bonnie Raitt-styled contemporary blues “I Missed the Target Again” that finds Harry Connick Jr.’s longtime guitarist Jonathan DuBose Jr. (aka the Prophesying Guitarist) showing off his skills that set the tone for the song and the album.

Staton’s older sister, Maggie Staton Peebles (who alongside Staton was a member of the Jewel Gospel Trio in the 1950s), joins her for two duets. The first, “It’s Gonna Rain,” features just a drum, steel guitar and vocals. “My mother used to sing that song to us all the time when I was a child,” Staton recalls. “It’s a really soulful kind of song I wanted to revisit.” They then take turns leading Thomas Dorsey 1939 gem “There Will Be Peace in the Valley” that Elvis Presley popularized in the 1950s.

“Hang on in There” is a new, mid-tempo song that has an old school gospel flavour and features vocals from veteran bluesman, Larry McCray.
While in Europe in 2023 for her farewell concert tour that took her to the Glastonbury Festival and Love Supreme, Staton and her British band, PUSH, went into a London studio to record a new version of The Rolling Stones’ 1972 gem, “Shine A Light.” “I love the way that came out,” Staton says. “We put a big choir on it and put our own twist on it.”
From there, Staton revives another Thomas Dorsey classic, “The Lord Will Make a Way Somehow,” with a bluesy vibe. When Al Green started recording gospel in the early 1980s, he re-introduced this song into the culture.

“God’s Gonna Use Me Anyway” is a new mid-tempo blues with subtle Caribbean influences.

The mood takes a turn on “1963.” It’s a poignant, spoken-word reflection on September 15, 1963, when four black girls were killed in the Birmingham Church bombing. “I was in the city that day and I remember the chaos and horror after the bombing,” Staton recalls. “Just thinking of how racism and hatred caused those men to kill those girls was so emotional for me that I could only do it in one take.”

It's a perfect segue into "Reach Down and Touch Heaven," a haunting, plea for divine intervention into the affairs of mankind. "That's straight Baptist," she says. "I used to be a church pianist back in the 1960s. I've never played piano on one of my records before so that's a unique song for me because I’m finally playing on one of my records. The message of that song is about the homeless. It came to me when a homeless person on the street asked me for $5. When God touches your heart to help somebody else that’s heaven to God’s hears. So, when we reach into our purse or wallet to help someone, we’re touching heaven."

Staton offers love as an antidote to hate on the bouncy, Motown-styled, “Love Breakthrough.”

Her publicist brought Aaron Frazer & the Flying Stars of Brooklyn NY’s 2017 cut “My God Has a Telephone” to Staton’s attention. She shifts the track from a retro 1960s groove to more of a 1980s Malaco Records arrangement, a subtle but distinct variation. Staton brought in her longtime friend and STAX Records legend, William Bell (“I Forgot to Be Your Lover” and “Trying to Love Two”), to add raspy seasoning to the track.

The album closes with the wistful, “In God’s Hands We Rest Untroubled,” that was originally written and recorded by the late country star, Lari White, who died in 2017 at the age of 52. “Lari sent me that song to consider at least ten years ago and I always loved it,” Staton says. “The record label didn’t want it on the album or something, so I just held it.”
Staton says, “I grew up hearing a lot of these old songs when they were new songs. I toured with the Jewel Gospel Trio in the 1950s and we got to know people like Mahalia Jackson, Sam Cooke and others who sang these types of songs. So, I’m sort of paying tribute to them and the influence they had on me by refreshing these songs and making new songs in the old style.”’

,AGON" ist das Regiedebüt von Giulio Bertelli und feierte auf den Filmfestspielen von Venedig 2025 Premiere. Der Film wurde mit dem Luciano-Sovena-Preis für die beste unabhängige Produktion sowie dem FIPRESCI-Preis (Internationaler Verband der Filmkritiker) ausgezeichnet. Er begleitet drei Sportlerinnen bei ihrer Vorbereitung und ihrem Wettkampf bei den LUDOJ 2024, fiktiven Olympischen Spielen, in ihren jeweiligen Disziplinen - Judo, Fechten und Sportschießen. Inspiriert von den historischen Figuren Kleopatra, Jeanne d'Arc und Nadezhda Durova werden diese Frauen vor dem politischen, sozialen, technologischen und physischen Hintergrund dargestellt, der den Spitzensport und die Höchstleistungen in diesen Disziplinen prägt. AGON untersucht eine zeitgenössische Darstellung der Widersprüche dieser Sportarten, die als Friedensübungen für den Krieg begannen, während ihre Disziplinen institutionell bereinigt, zu harmloser globaler Unterhaltung umgestaltet und schließlich in neuen digitalen Arenen gänzlich entmaterialisiert werden. Die Veranstaltungen bei LUDOJ finden nicht in Sportarenen statt, sondern in Tonstudios, ohne Live-Publikum. Diese spartanischen Räume werden nur von Athleten, Sportfunktionären und dem Filmteam bevölkert, die jede audiovisuelle Informationsebene einfangen. In dieser Umgebung wird jeder Mattenaufprall, jedes Schwertgeklirren und jeder Schuss bis ins kleinste Detail erlebt. Tom Wheatleys Filmmusik begann als konzeptioneller Spiegel dazu. Er nahm drei Musiker, von denen jeder einen einzigartigen Ansatz für sein Instrument verfolgte, wobei jedes Instrument eine Ausdruckssprache besitzt, die sich auf die jeweilige Sportart bezieht: Percussion für Judo, Cello für Fechten, Saxophon für Gewehrschießen. Hinzu kamen klaustrophobische analoge Elektronik und Dudelsäcke, um einen Zustand jenseits des Wettkampfs darzustellen: Krieg. Die reichhaltigen, detailreichen Signale dieser Musiker wurden live im Studio extrem bearbeitet, wodurch sich die Musik zeitweise in eine Grauzone zwischen Filmmusik, Sounddesign und Geräuschaufnahmen bewegte. ,Ich sah eine wesentliche Parallele zwischen dem Sportler und dem Musiker. Dass man diese Werkzeuge hat, die man durchs Leben trägt und die komplexe Nutzungsgeschichten in sich bergen. Diese Techniken und Traditionen werden erlernt und mit zeitgenössischen Technologien kombiniert, um neue Potenziale zu erschließen. So wie Alex Sokolov zu ihrer Waffe steht, so steht Jean-Luc Guionnet zu seinem Saxophon. Aus diesem Modell entstanden viele Ideen, die den Grundstein für die Filmmusik legten: die Anwendung der Gestik des Degenfechtens auf Utes Bogen; die ,gestimmte Luft` sowohl des Gewehrs als auch des Saxophons; die Übernahme des Judo-Konzepts des Schwerpunkts und dessen Anwendung auf eine Form rhythmischer Schwerkraft bei Seijiro. Es war eine reichhaltige Fundgrube" - Tom Wheatley ,So wie in der Welt von AGON Realismus und Fiktion verschwimmen, hat Tom dasselbe für die Filmmusik erreicht und die Grenze zwischen der akustischen Landschaft des Films und der Musik verwischt, wobei er den theoretischen Rahmen des Films selbst respektierte." - Giulio Bertelli











[k] 11REZ (GAME MUSIC) [BONUS TRACK]
[l] 12COURT (ROUGH SKETCH) [BONUS TRACK]
[m] 13PORK CHOP PLOT [BONUS TRACK]
[n] 14AGON TRAILER [BONUS TRACK]

Limited Edition 20th anniversary re-issue of _And the Battle Begun, 2xLP featuring a newly remastered version of album plus unreleased live recordings in a gatefold jacket with gold foil. Four new live songs include fan favorites "Apparition", "In Her Drawer" and "Only for the Night" Rx Bandits' landmark album ...And the Battle Begun marked a defining creative leap for the band, channeling intricate musicianship, dynamic arrangements, and socially charged lyricism into one of the most influential independent rock records of its era. Originally released in 2006, the album captured the band at a creative crossroads - expanding far beyond the ska-punk roots they emerged from and embracing a broader spectrum of progressive rock, jazz fusion, reggae, dub, psych, and melodic experimentation. The result was a deeply ambitious and emotionally resonant album whose impact continues to be felt twenty years later. In celebration of the album's 20th anniversary, Sargent House will release a limited-edition deluxe double LP featuring a newly remastered version of the full album alongside four previously unreleased live recordings, housed in a special gold foil gatefold jacket. The re-issue also commemorates the first album ever released by the label, honoring the lasting legacy of a record that continues to inspire listeners and stands as a defining chapter in Rx Bandits' history.

Limited Edition 20th anniversary re-issue of _And the Battle Begun, 2xLP featuring a newly remastered version of album plus unreleased live recordings in a gatefold jacket with gold foil. Four new live songs include fan favorites "Apparition", "In Her Drawer" and "Only for the Night" Rx Bandits' landmark album ...And the Battle Begun marked a defining creative leap for the band, channeling intricate musicianship, dynamic arrangements, and socially charged lyricism into one of the most influential independent rock records of its era. Originally released in 2006, the album captured the band at a creative crossroads - expanding far beyond the ska-punk roots they emerged from and embracing a broader spectrum of progressive rock, jazz fusion, reggae, dub, psych, and melodic experimentation. The result was a deeply ambitious and emotionally resonant album whose impact continues to be felt twenty years later. In celebration of the album's 20th anniversary, Sargent House will release a limited-edition deluxe double LP featuring a newly remastered version of the full album alongside four previously unreleased live recordings, housed in a special gold foil gatefold jacket. The re-issue also commemorates the first album ever released by the label, honoring the lasting legacy of a record that continues to inspire listeners and stands as a defining chapter in Rx Bandits' history. 2LP Vinyl colour is Eco Citrus!

Sir Richard Bishop returns for a new sponítaneous six-string meshing of people"s music, recollections and psychic intentions. Are y"all ready for some Hillbilly Erotica? Migration from last album"s Ragas to this new Erotica is another chapter in Bishop"s progress, drifting via songs into the further frontiers of his pappy"s hometown sounds, trancing over and out in their hand-me-down clothes. As with the ragas, the "rotica"s hung round the neck of John Fahey"s infamous dubbing of certain tradiítional American folk sounds as "American Primitive." A perfectly good thought, but Sir Richard picks his own axe and chose a separate path. Rushing through gutters & picking pickled brains in the saucy head waters of the down-low & literal American primitive, his hillbilly music is a mash of brined cultural inheritance, mini-ragas and moonshine-drunk savagery breaking out on the frets. As a conception for Sir Rick"s acoustic guitar music, it"s a dynamite means and frame, centering his improvisations in a place overflown with pagan desire and unbound in deliverance. Here he flies up and down the neck, his manner less pristine, yet more exquisite, a flailing, flowing-on-the-river medley through stubborn whitewater turbulence, post-grass and folk"s classical gas. Anybody who takes a snort of this here Hillbilly Erotica will find a frankly spellbinding richness of intent and execution in their ear-mouths. And may thereafter find brain and blightness. It"s fine!