Buscar:so what

Twenty-five years later, Little Plastic Castle feels like a greatest hits collection. Her highest charting release on Billboard (peaking at #22) and containing her third Grammy nomination for Best Rock Performance - Female (“Glass House”), Ani DiFranco’s ninth studio album shows the Little Folksinger grappling with her independent career bubbling up into the mainstream — dissection of her fashion choices, a new expanded listenership encroaching on the die-hards, examination of what it means to sell out — encapsulated in singalongs so indelible that they’re staples of her live set decades later. This 25th Anniversary Edition sees a new remaster by Heba Kadry, the addition of three bonus tracks mixed by Tchad Blake, and a new CD package and first-time release on vinyl (2 LP). To make Little Plastic Castle, Ani returned to one of her favorite places to record in that era—the live-in studio the Congress House in Austin, Texas. In this relaxed setting she commented, "This album seemed to happen more organically than earlier studio releases." Ani is joined by drummer Andy Stochansky and bassist Jason Mercer who played with her on her 1997 tours, as well as bassist Sara Lee who toured with Ani in 1996. LPC also prominently features outside musicians including drummer Jerry Marotta (Peter Gabriel, Indigo Girls), a horn section composed of three Austin session musicians who add flavor to "Little Plastic Castle" and "Deep Dish," and trumpeter Jon Hassell (Brian Eno, Talking Heads) providing the sustained subtle solo on the 14-minute final track "Pulse." The three bonus tracks are recordings of Ani playing with the rhythm section of Sara Lee and Jerry Marotta, a trio that never reassembled after their single day of tracking. Though Ani described it as “the most light-hearted album I’ve made in a long time,” this record covers a wide range of topics — the impermanence of existence ("Fuel"), mutual respect ("Pixie"), forgiveness ("As Is"), drugs (“Two Little Girls”) — and emotions.

Das erfolgreiche Debüt Album der Göteborger Melodeath-Szene Pioniere für kurze Zeit als limitierte 2-farbige Nachpressung – solange Vorrat reicht!

For the third time to the house of Sakskøbing we are witnessing return of a close friend to the label, Portland-based Aaron Carlson who goes by the moniker ac$. This legend of a human being has crafted a 5 audio pieces which has been made on his modular machines at his home studio and showcases a good range of what I believe we call house music. With the first release he has done for the label that went out in the year 2017 and marks a 6-year friendship between the artist and all of us fellas who hold his music dear to the hearts. The record turned out to be warm, personal and true to the artist’s vision you’ll agree if just like us you have been following the man’s sound output over the years. Very importantly it teaches that bean curd is not only good for your body but for the mind as well and let’s not even start to count how many things you can do with it. You know what they say…

Raveena Aurora’s debut album was released on EMPIRE in 2019. As she wrote on social media the evening of its release, “What a dream to be able to give u this piece of my soul.”

The album features 12 songs exploring themes of sexuality, womanhood, and her Indian heritage. Raveena cites Sade, Corinne Bailey Rae, Minnie Riperton, and Indian singer, Asha Puthli, as inspirations.

Following releases on Love On The Rocks and Pinchy & Friends (the massive 'Leave Your Life' and 'Strings of Eden' which now goes for big bucks on Discogs) Alex Kassian arrives with the first release on the new label from the Test Pressing team.

Lead track 'Voices' arrives in three mixes that run from an expansive journey, to a pure club version, followed by the ambient excursion 'Lifestream' - an electronic piece focussing on what Alex does best, quality production with amazing sounds and melody. This is the first in a three part series of Alex Kassian releases building to an album next year.

Bruce Falkian is a world famous contemporary artist who exhibits at the world's most prestigious art galleries and fairs. Bruce Falkian moonlights as an agent of espionage against the Terrorism Industrial Complex. Wait... what?

To understand Bruce Falkian we first must understand the link between image and war. In the late 1800s the precursor to the video camera was invented. It was directly inspired by guns, specifically, Samuel Colt's Revolver. It borrowed not only its barrel mechanics, swapping bullets for exposures, but its terminology too. Load, point, scope, aim, shoot, flash. The camera and the gun, united by cordite, would go on to prove the most efficacious tools in shaping the modern world.

The 20th century was a laboratory when it comes to killing and image making, glorified through Hollywood and the Western genre. Propaganda would prove highly effective in creating and sustaining support for militaries fighting for ideological global control. Devised first in the aptly title 'Propaganda' (1928) by Edward Bernays, a nephew of Sigmund Freud, Advertising and Public Relations became the leading media industries, learning how to control the population through images, usually just to buy random crap they didn't need, but other times to overthrow democratically elected politicians in foreign countries. Eventually Western Liberal Democracy assumed domination, built of course on the enslavement of all peoples and nations who didn't fall in line with its specific ideas of living. The Red Scare inspired countless anti-leftist, anti-communist works of art throughout the Cold War, notably and most bizarre, funding the abstract expressionist movement as a non-ideological alternative to socialist realism art. When the Soviet Union fell, Western Liberal Democracy was able to promulgate its unhindered views around the world through its various media empires and actor states. Is it a coincidence that a third of the almost $85 billion dollar global camera equipment market is represented by the greatest propaganda beast the world has ever seen, the USA?

Guns are dangerous because of the obvious. Images are dangerous because we are bad at perceiving what is real (as any jump scare, deepfake, newsreel will attest to.) Videos aren't technically real, they are only a collection of rapidly changing static images which give the illusion of movement. It's easy for us to collectively decide that a video is real, because that's the way our brains perceive reality. People who lead the world of media understand this, which is how they are able to control us, make us invade foreign countries, vote for specific politicians, feel ugly or fat etc. However, ubiquitous as they are, it seems that the image is in crisis. It seems that we've run out of them. Or perhaps our understanding of an image is changing, with the aid of near instantaneous text-to-image AI technology. So what does this mean for guns? What does this mean for war? How will images be used as an aid to war in the 21st century? It remains to be seen, but Bruce Falkian will be a useful agent.

NOW Music is proud to present the next instalment in our ongoing ‘Yearbook’ series, NOW – Yearbook 1978; 85 tracks from a magical year in Pop! The 85 track special edition CD is housed in ‘hard-back-book’ packaging, including a 28-page booklet featuring a summary of the year, a track-by-track guide, a quiz, and original singles artwork. NOW – Yearbook 1978; 46 tracks on a 3LP set pressed on translucent pink vinyl - from a magical year in Pop!

Green Vinyl

For its fifth release, french label The Bass Academy goes back into time!!! Originally written by legendary Man Parrish, "Boogie Down Bronx", a cult classic from 1984, sees a mighty resurrection with a "fresh mix" rework from UK Electro veteran Bass Junkie. Not the first time Phil Klein (Battle Trax, Breakin' Records) remixes Man Parrish as he committed in 2002 the heavy “Bass Junkie's Boogie Down Bass Mix” of “Hip Hop Re Bop”. Today, he serves up an uncompromising electro funk mayhem made of old schoolish samples, vintage synth melodies, retro congas, relentless scratches and pounding 808 beats. This brand new Sci-Fi anthem, enhanced with the legitimate legacy from the past, will invite you for some irresistible B-Boy breakdancing movements on the linoleum!!! Tuuuuuunnne! On the flipside, Phil teams up once again with long time partner in crime Simon “The Dexorcist” Brown. Together, as Gods Of Technology, (Battle Trax), they revisit another untouchable song, “Future Computer”, an exclusive to TBA track written by Jamie Jupitor and published in 2017 (TBA02). Metallic sororities melt with nasty vocoder sequences and imparable whispers turn the cut into an ode to the dancefloor thanks to harsh and hammering beats. What a timeless monster in pure West Coast tradition! With abrasive outings to appear on the forthcoming months including an incredible album with Matt Whitehead on Dominance Electricity, Phil Klein definitively returns to studios stronger than ever, putting a end to a short blackout. Rush in this hypnotizing collector 12”, limited as usual to 150 copies as it marks one of Phil Klein’s best releases to date!

Simoncino is back again on SKYLAX with the volume 2 of the Resurrection series ! The made in Perugia prodigy delivers us once again 3 titles paying homage to the sound of chicago, the fabulous triplet lost tape 1, 2 & 3. On A1, the aptly named Lost tape 1 us leads into the meanders of the jungle house in direct tribute to the great marshall Jefferson all sprinkled with some "detroit" sauce, this peaktime track will delight the most humid and demanding dancefloors. Lost tape 2 is more airy with these sparkling bells and its bass that lifts your guts, mental we tell you ! A bit as if paris gray was remixed in a hovering dub version. On lost tape 3, it is clearly the quintessence of the spirit of simoncino, his genius. This way of creating a universe that is both a tribute to the original chicago house and the italian dream house straight from the 90s. Completely trippy. And cherry on the cake on B2, we have a remix of the now classic "on the dancefloor", a title created in collaboration with Merwyn Sanders from Virgo Four (Chicago), from Detroit legend : Marcellus Pittmann ! 9 mn of pure madness. The Detroit - Chicago axis has never been so obvious. A must. Comes out on clear vinyl. Note that on the label's bandcamp, with the purchase of the vinyl, you can get 1 exclusive bonus track (& what a track !) : Simoncino & Merwyn Sanders of Virgo Four "On The Dance Floor" (Marcellus Pittman smooth remix).

In collaboration with Croatian label Sareni Ducan, Discom proudly presents an official reissue of a very rare self-titled album of Yugoslavian 80’s funk band Boom Selekcija.

Boom Selekcija was a short-living group of musicians from Belgrade, active from 1979 to 1983. They recorded their debut and only album for the label Diskos in 1983 and after that disbanded. The line-up included musicians from Boban Petrovic’s backing band and Silva Delovska from Kim Band on vocals. The quality of recorded material and the complete lack of information about the band set them as a cult act among DJs and crate diggers. This is one of the albums which makes you ask ”What is this?” when you hear it, but nobody around could tell you an honest answer.

A side of the record begins with a track called Moje Cake (eng. My Tricks). It is a groovy theme with mellow vocals-a story of the poser who thinks he is very interesting. The same groove continues in the song Rokenrol Štipaljke (Rock And Roll Easy Girls) where friends are preparing for a crazy go out in a discotheque. It ends in a Balearic atmosphere in the songs Studentski San ( eng. A Student’s Dream)- a song about dreaming luxurious life on the Adriatic coastline) and Vladina Gitara (eng. Vlad’s guitar)-a nice dreamy guitar instrumental in the 70’s Yugoslavian style.

Equally groovy and interesting B side portrays naive and charming 80’s Belgrade: discotheques, parties, girls, tough guys, urban stories about real-common people and their destinies … all packed with such style and grace like you are in New York City suburbs in the late ’70s and enjoy perfect funk/soul musicianship. In this sense, you can hear: amazing slap bass by Vladan Mracic in the song Zuljas Me ( eng. You Are Going To My Nerves); cool funky guitar licks by Aleksandar Stefanovic in the song Bora Klej; authentic soul singing style of Mile Perisic and beautiful electric piano solo of Oliver Polak in song Frizerka Nada (eng. Nada, The Hairdresser) and convincing funk rhythm drumming by Zoran SImovski all way through.

This record will remain a significant point for investigating Yugoslavian funk history and it will be welcomed on every dance floor in the world that favors lesser-known grooves. We hope that we will manage to bring it closer to the younger audience and show how people used to live and have a good time in Belgrade and Yugoslavia.

Thanks to this lovingly presented reissue from Past Inside The Present, you can own The Lower Lights by 36 in just about whatever coloured vinyl you wish: This is the Past Inside The Present translucent red version with others also available on Juno. It's an album first put together by the label back in 2019 shortly after 36 had finished a year-long 'Audio Diary' project. Not all of the tracks they wrote in that time make the cut, but the best 10 do. They are direct, absorbing and energetic ambient soundscapes that are emotionally charged and demanding of your attention.

In the five years since Creep Show’s acclaimed Mr Dynamite album was released it’s fair to say that we’ve all been through a fair bit. Sitting here, in 2023, things don’t seem to be getting any better. There’s the cost of living crisis and political meltdowns; we're in deep water with global warming and to top it all there’s a war on our doorstep.

Back in 2018 everything seemed less complicated. Sure, there was stuff to get riled about, but we knew nothing about what was to come. Mr Dynamite was a fairground ride into the dark corners of a world that was on the brink of being blitzed in a blender. It was a record teetering on the edge. Five years down the line you’d expect the follow-up, Yawning Abyss, would double-down and bring the white-knuckled, teeth-gritted fury of the last five years to the boil. And yet….

A quick recap? No problem. Wrangler + John Grant = Creep Show. And Creep Show? “A band of musical misfits who have found a voice or two”, says Wrangler’s Ben “Benge” Edwards, whose Bond villain studio on the edge of a moorland is Creep Show Grand Central as well as home to an analogue synth arsenal that could sink ships.

Wrangler have known each other for a while. Tunng’s electronics wizard Phil Winter and Cabaret Voltaire’s trailblazing, pioneering frontman Stephen Mallinder go way back, while Phil and Benge crossed paths in the 21st century when they seemed to be increasingly in the same venues at the same times. Meanwhile, Mal had been living in Australia since the mid-90s and when, in 2007, he returned to the UK his old pal Phil suggested he meet Benge and the three of them immediately began working together.

Wrangler collectively bumped into Grant at their soundcheck for Sheffield’s Sensoria Festival in 2014 where they were playing with Carter Tutti. A friendship blossomed and when they were invited to perform together for Rough Trade’s 40th anniversary show at London’s Barbican in 2016, well, they jumped at the chance... and Creep Show was born.

Let’s talk about the new album... What is the ‘Yawning Abyss’? You might well ask. According to Mal, it’s “a cosmic event horizon that I can see from my attic window when stand on a chair”. Yeah. Thanks.

“On this album”, offers Benge, feet firmly on the floor, “Wrangler wrangled some vintage synths, mostly Roland, Moog, and the ‘Crystal Machine’ - then John Grant joined in the fun at Memetune Studios where lots of musical experiments were carried out. Then Mal and John ran off to Iceland with the master tapes and recorded a load of madcap vocals. Back at Memetune, me and Phil were left to try and make sense of it all. Which wasn’t hard because what they did in Iceland was totally magnificent.”

Which kind of brings us back to where we began. You’d imagine ‘Yawning Abyss’ would be blowing steam out of its furious ears. Mr Dynamite but kicking a wasps nest. Repeatedly. And yet…

Opener ‘The Bellows’ comes on like a modular ‘Radio Ga Ga’, the singalong ‘Moneyback’ (“You want your money back? / I didn’t think so”) sounds like Godley & Creme’s ‘Snack Attack’ meets Prince Charles And The City Beat Band (“Pennies, pounds, dollar bills, signed agreements, death wills”). ‘Yahtzee!’ is an unhinged electro breakdance party in four minutes and nine seconds.

Where Mr Dynamite was menace, a mélange of mangled voices, with Grant and Mallinder being heavily treated, pitched up or down, rendering their contributions largely indistinguishable, Yawning Abyss takes a more direct approach. You hesitate to say feelgood, but there’s a skip in the step here for sure.

The title track plays John Grant’s vocal straight. Completely. It’s good, so very good. Like ‘Axel F’ covered by Vangelis. The delicious shimmering synths of ‘Bungalow’ also plays those Grant pipes with a straight bat. ‘Matinee’ delves into darker, very funky territory. With Mal upfront it comes on like ‘The Crackdown’. Choice lyric: “You are starting to breakdown / And it’s so fun for me to see / You should have thought of that / You should have come prepared / You can see what’s happening and you look a little scared”.

So, you know, not all feelgood. But it does feel good. It’s probably best to draw your own conclusions... This is Creep Show after all.

• CLASSIC LATE 80S DIGI-ROOTS SET FROM THE LEGENDARY WAILING SOULS PRODUCED BY KING JAMMY

• “STORMY NIGHT” TAKES IT’S PLACE IN A LONG LINE OF CLASSIC WAILING SOULS ALBUMS FOR GREENSLEEVES STRETCHING FROM ‘81’S “FIRE HOUSE ROCK” TO THE RECENT ALBOROSIE PRODUCED “BACK A YARD”.

• INCLUDES THE HIT SINGLE “DOG BITE”

• RE-MASTERED AND RE-SEQUENCED WITH NEW COVER ART

Der für den BRIT und den Ivor Novello Award nominierte Singer-Songwriter Tom Grennan wird sein mit Spannung erwartetes drittes Album "What Ifs & Maybes" am 16. Juni 2023 veröffentlichen. "What Ifs & Maybes" zeigt Tom Grennan auf dem Höhepunkt seiner Kreativität. Es ist zweifellos das größte, mutigste und beste Album seiner erfolgreichen Karriere. Vor kurzem beendete Tom seine erste Headliner-Tour mit einem außergewöhnlichen Konzert in der Londoner O2-Arena, bei dem er über 180.000 Zuschauer in ganz Großbritannien
und Europa hatte.

- Celebrating 20 years since the release of ‘Neon Nights’
- ‘Neon Nights’ saw Dannii Minogue enter her imperial pop phase, with four consecutive UK Top Ten singles and UK Club Number ones
- The album entered the UK Top 10 and reached Gold Sales
- This picture disc features the Official Bootleg Edition track listing, with 2 key mash-up versions following the trends of the day. The CD+DVD with bonus track, music videos & BBC performances
- Begin to Spin Me Round mashes Dannii’s I Begin To Wonder with Dead or Alive’s Number One hit You Spin Me Round (Like A Record)
- Don’t Wanna Lose This Groove mashes Dannii’s Don’t Wanna Lose This Feeling with Madonna’s Into The Groove, her first formally approved sample usage
- Features new mash-up artwork by Argentinian graphic artist and collagist Molokid

For his third album, 'Love You, Drink Water', Awir Leon opens a more direct and personal window on his music. The album is about inner monsters, the search for meaning, failure and hope. The music he proposes plays with the porosity of the lines, because it is at the same time complex, rich, stripped, raw, without compromise, and without pretense. It wants to express in the most vulnerable way what it means to be alive today.

Often compared to renowned explorers such as James Blake, Frank Ocean or Thom Yorke, Awir has spent the last two years travelling the world as the opening act for another great spirit, French artist Woodkid, on an international tour for his latest album S16. During this tour, Awir decided to write this new album, testing and perfecting the songs in front of a large audience that knew nothing about his music.

It is both this audacity and the constant desire to jump into the void that makes Awir an artist apart.
The seemingly simple title, which sounds like a joke, actually hides something much more vital and human.

"One day my three-year-old niece said goodbye to me with the exact words "I love you, drink water". It came out of nowhere, and I thought it was the most thoughtful thing anyone had ever said to me. It was like an epiphany; it was exactly what I wanted to express through my songs.

For Awir Leon, constant research and sincerity are the main drivers of a music that is undeniably singular and powerful. Music that he shapes and dances gracefully over chasms, as if it were necessary to make failures into new points of escape towards vitality.

Love You, Drink Water is silk sewn in pain, a raw and resilient jewel.

Spanning some eight albums and multiple line-ups, "All Ages" contains the very best of Bad Religion"s Epitaph years. It includes live versions of "Do What You Want" and "Fuck Armageddon..." with artwork that is culled from original show flyers! The lyrics sheets are also the original hand-written versions; some of which were scribed on bedroom walls!

Lost soul phenomenon Lewis Taylor's Numb finally arrives on double vinyl! One of UK soul’s most fascinating artists, most enigmatic figures and most under-appreciated talents, Andrew Lewis Taylor is a prodigious multi-instrumentalist and eclectic polymath. He enjoys a fiercely loyal following which, over the years, has included celebrity champions like Bowie, Elton and D'Angelo. Numb is Taylor's sixth album, initially released on his own label Slow Reality (an anagram of his name) and licensed to Be With for this long-awaited physical edition. It captures Taylor's wholly unique, intoxicating take on lush, late-night psychedelic soul music.

Lewis wrote and recorded these 10 brand new tracks after a 17 year break from making music, although the album came together over a two-year period. The years away have done nothing to dull Taylor's unique musical vision. He still astounds. The lyrical themes, however, have shifted. Understandably, more than a decade and a half of soul searching and unflinching self-examination cannot fail to influence this most honest of songwriters, and boy does it show. Numb marks a return to the darker, more mysterious side of his output: "Brian Wilson-channels-Smokey Robinson atmospheres", as Mojo put it recently.

After playing a rapturously received gig at the Bowery Ballroom in NYC in 2006, Lewis unceremoniously walked away from music and disappeared completely. An interview in 2016 shed light on some of the reasons for Taylor’s withdrawal from the business, but there was no hint of a return anytime soon. Then in June 2021, news emerged out of the blue that he was readying new music alongside Sabina Smyth with whom he had worked first time around.

On Numb, Lewis deftly balances stark, soul-bearing lyrics with moody mid-tempo pop-soul sheen. He deals candidly with depression, mental turmoil, even thoughts of suicide - clearly more personal than Taylor's earlier songs. The music is rich, warm and layered, with infectious melodies and hooks that stick with you. A true grower of an LP, it really does reward repeated listens. As Jim Irvin in Mojo reflected, "despite the depths these plumb, it's a curiously uplifting experience, unfurling like a concept album about life's challenges with an optimistic beauty at its heart."

Triumphant dubwise horns ring out yet, almost instantly, “Final Hour” takes on a dark, downbeat vibe. With lyrics that confront (and, seemingly, confound) death head-on, Lewis ensures the groove is still there, the beats still swing and your head still nods, strings glissade. Woven around delicate yet insistent piano and subtle strings over a killer bassline, the title track “Numb” is a good example of the lyrical themes throughout the album. As Taylor reflects, "So removed I feel no pain / And for all I know I could be having the time of my life" with a coda that feels very much in conversation with Brian Wilson's finest harmonies. "Feels So Good" is sophisticated 90s-sounding soul of the highest order. The music and vocals feel simultaneously optimistic and despondent. Downlifting. A neat trick, and one Lewis has been so adept at over the years. "Apathy" is a mini-epic, a symphonic-soul gem which builds and glides and, eventually, soars. “Worried Mind" is another slow-builder, creeping out the gate in a sketchy, discordant fashion before climbing to half-crescendo but never quite breaking free of its disorientating restraint.

The brighter "Please" presents a more hopeful mood, with the refrain "I still believe" ringing out as Lewis harmonises with himself. "Brave Heart" quietly struts from step one, as Lewis's falsetto swaggers over a downtempo backdrop with ace echoey drums, beautiful strings and serene electric guitar. Closing out Side C, "Is It Cool" answers its own (non-) question with a spellbinding five and a half minutes of swoonsome deep soul that oscillates between a restrained, barely-there backdrop and a lushly full musical accompaniment of acoustic and electric guitar and organ over bass and slick drums. The penultimate track "Nearer" is a magical, soul-stirring ballad in which Lewis sings of reaching a sweet salvation and achieving a peace of mind. If the hairs on the back of your neck aren't standing up by the midway point, you might need to check your pulse. Album closer and true tear-jerker "Being Broken" places Lewis's gorgeous voice high in the mix and the wordless falsetto and melodies invite you to ponder what Pet Sounds might sound like if it were refashioned as a dubby 21st Century electronic soul album. Astonishing.

Simon Francis’s vinyl mastering spreads out the ten tracks over a double LP so, as ever, nothing is compromised. And as usual, the records have been cut by Cicely Balston at Air Studios and pressed at Record Industry. Turn it up and let the Lewis Taylor sound envelop you.

Stoned Part I was the first self-released album from lost soul phenomenon Lewis Taylor. His third album proper, it was initially released on his own label Slow Reality in 2002 and it's been licensed to Be With for this long-awaited double LP release, its first ever vinyl edition. The songs are varied, hook filled and outstanding. Beloved by his legions of diehard fans, it's nothing short of a masterpiece.

After parting ways with Island, and without a label deal, Lewis went back to his home studio and began to record Stoned Part I in 2001. Co-written and co-produced with longtime collaborator Sabina Smyth, Lewis sings and plays all the instruments on this beautiful, emotional and very human album. It represents Lewis at his most accessible and finds him in the middle ground between his two Island releases. In some ways, Stoned Part I distills the best of his musical sensibilities. The flawless production is dense, layered and very early-2000s slick. The bottom end is thick, funky and sexy.

The complex, proggy-soul of title track "Stoned" opens the album and instantly captivates. Deep swinging funk with truly sweet soulful vocals, complemented by wah-wah guitar and swelling acidic synths. As Lewis himself told us, the ad libs at the end of the track were a nod to Paul McCartney at the end of "Hey Jude". Fan favourite "Positively Beautiful" has shades of Curtis and Marvin; its richly layered harmonies propelled by a simple, metronomic click-track that gives way to a more fully fleshed beat for the magnificent coda.

The slow, sweeping majesty of "Lewis IV" is all moody atmosphere, featuring dense, richly textured music and heavenly multi-tracked harmonies. The stop-you-in-your-tracks incredible "Send Me An Angel" could have been a huge AM radio hit, beautifully crafted sophisticated soul-pop songwriting in the vein of the very best Sade records. Yep! *That good* The smooth, psychedelia-lite "Til The Morning Light" is a gorgeous, sun-dappled love song, layered with Lewis' distinctive honey drenched vocals and, again, the type of record you could've easily heard all over the radio at the time of initial release.

The remarkable, wide-eyed "Shame" packs so many shifting styles into one song, it has to be heard to be believed. Opening in a laconic, breezy style, not unlike a Dallas Austin or Rodney Jerkins produced R&B hit of the day, it morphs into a heavy psych-soul Soulaquarians wig-out (the solo bearing an uncanny resemblance to Carlos Santana’s on "She’s Not There") before elegantly sliding into string-assisted symphonic soul and then back around again. And again. Sheer brilliance. The sublime, gentle head-nod funk-soul of "When Will I Ever Learn" (Part 1) is a strikingly well-turned-out tune, a neat, sweet bass-driven guitar-soul jam that ensures our jaw won't be leaving the floor anytime soon. "Lovin’ U More" sounds like a classic turn-of-the-century Neptunes production, the likes of which they'd lay on for JT BITD. A Latin-tinged groover with more than a little Nile Rodgers-driven slick funk stylings, it's yet another instant Lewis bomb with those gorgeous harmonies and chart-friendly irresistible key-changes to boot. Another indisputable (non-)HIT!

The funky seductive swagger of "From The Day We Met - Part II" opens the final side of wax, giving way to the gigantic buzzing synth-funk beast "Lovelight", a track so insouciantly mighty it should have been a massive hit for someone. Wait, what's that? Robbie Williams covered it? Ah, OK, well, I guess that says something about the effortless pop genius contained within. Containing a seemingly unnoticed nod to Kraftwerk’s "Computer World", it's Lewis's favourite song on the album. It's easy to hear why: "Sabina’s production totally nails it. I love the restraint and the subtlety, and that mixture of warmth and sweetness from the singing against the slightly cold, yet beautiful airy-ness of the backing track." To close this phenomenal album, the twisted electronic soul of "Sheneverdid" marries Lewis's beautiful falsetto to his virtuoso playing and an easy-cum-ominous musical backdrop. Stunning.

Simon Francis’s vinyl mastering, approved by Lewis himself, presents the eleven tracks over a double LP so, as ever, it sounds sensational. The records have been cut by Cicely Balston at Air Studios and pressed at Record Industry. Allow Lewis Taylor to get you Stoned.

For MAN ON MAN, the duo of boyfriends Roddy Bottum (Imperial Teen, Faith No More) and Joey Holman (HOLMAN), 2021 was a monumental year. Without knowing exactly what they were making the year prior, the couple had recorded a batch of songs while traveling across the country to be with their ailing mothers during the pandemic, both of whom passed away in the span of just 6 months. The songs that came out during this time celebrated the love they have for each other while championing the queer scenes they surround themselves with. They are deeply intentional and their overall message is rooted in the Queer experience – songs about gay love, pride, acceptance, self-empowerment, and appropriation. The tracks would eventually appear on their self-

Umse is back und größer! "Wachstum"

"Warum wie Tausende Deppen ganz plötzlich aufhören zu rappen // die Leute hängen doch an den Scheiben so wie Autovignetten."
"Wachstum"

Umse macht das Rap-Ding nicht erst seit gestern. Shows zwischen Flensburg und Luzern, youtube-Videos mit 300.000+ Clicks, 2 Alben und 2 EPs Alles dagewesen. Trotzdem ist für ihn die Zeit nicht stehen geblieben. Der Titel seines Debütalbums auf Jakarta Records ist Programm: "Wachstum".

Drei Jahre hat Umse an seinem neuen Album zusammen mit Hausproduzent Deckah geschraubt, aber "es brauch halt seine Zeit bis die Soundästehtik reift", denn etwas "zu verfassen was bleibt heißt eben ackern und schaffen". Das heißt nicht, dass Umse alles anders macht als in den vergangenen Jahren. Es gibt weiterhin "kein Strassendrama mit Handschusswaffen", kein Hipsterrap, keine Dubstepremixe, "keine Sandys und Mandys für den Chorus". Stattdessen besinnt sich Umse auf insgesamt 14 Tracks auf das was ihm "einfach so liegt: Nice Rhymes auf en Beat": zeitlose Musik ohne Redundanz, dafür gewohnt frisches, intelligentes Wortspiel - zugleich aber auch kein "90ties Revival sondern ein Style Überbleibsel".

Das Album wird auf allen Formaten erscheinen, die ersten 150 Kopien der Vinylausgabe auf farbigem Vinyl.

In Times New Roman... is raw, at times brutal and not recommended for the faint of heart. And yet, it’s perhaps the most beautiful and definitely the most rewarding album in their epic discography. Founder Joshua Homme's most acerbic lyrics to date are buoyed by the instantly identifiable QOTSA sonic signature, expanded and embellished with new and unprecedented twists in virtually every song. With In Times New Roman… we see that sometimes one needs to look beneath scars and scabs to see beauty, and sometimes the scabs and scars are the beauty.

In Times New Roman... is raw, at times brutal and not recommended for the faint of heart. And yet, it’s perhaps the most beautiful and definitely the most rewarding album in their epic discography. Founder Joshua Homme's most acerbic lyrics to date are buoyed by the instantly identifiable QOTSA sonic signature, expanded and embellished with new and unprecedented twists in virtually every song. With In Times New Roman… we see that sometimes one needs to look beneath scars and scabs to see beauty, and sometimes the scabs and scars are the beauty.

In Times New Roman... is raw, at times brutal and not recommended for the faint of heart. And yet, it’s perhaps the most beautiful and definitely the most rewarding album in their epic discography. Founder Joshua Homme's most acerbic lyrics to date are buoyed by the instantly identifiable QOTSA sonic signature, expanded and embellished with new and unprecedented twists in virtually every song. With In Times New Roman… we see that sometimes one needs to look beneath scars and scabs to see beauty, and sometimes the scabs and scars are the beauty.

In Times New Roman... is raw, at times brutal and not recommended for the faint of heart. And yet, it’s perhaps the most beautiful and definitely the most rewarding album in their epic discography. Founder Joshua Homme's most acerbic lyrics to date are buoyed by the instantly identifiable QOTSA sonic signature, expanded and embellished with new and unprecedented twists in virtually every song. With In Times New Roman… we see that sometimes one needs to look beneath scars and scabs to see beauty, and sometimes the scabs and scars are the beauty.

In Times New Roman... is raw, at times brutal and not recommended for the faint of heart. And yet, it’s perhaps the most beautiful and definitely the most rewarding album in their epic discography. Founder Joshua Homme's most acerbic lyrics to date are buoyed by the instantly identifiable QOTSA sonic signature, expanded and embellished with new and unprecedented twists in virtually every song. With In Times New Roman… we see that sometimes one needs to look beneath scars and scabs to see beauty, and sometimes the scabs and scars are the beauty.

A tale of two Indians recorded in Cologne, Stockholm & Berlin.
Anurag Choudhary & Pawas Gupta are Non Solo.
Friends from more than two decades, these gentlemen decided to bring together their knowledge of music at Anurag's apartment in Stockholm back in 2008. Anurag’s life journey took him to Stockholm,
Sweden and Pawas’ culminated in Berlin, Germany; both cities a cultural and a musical powerhouse in their own right. Anurag, a professionally trained Flautist (bamboo Flute or “Bansuri”) in the traditional Hindustani Classical Music and Pawas, someone who has been exploring the realms of electronic music since 1997 as a DJ and releasing records under different monikers since 2007 decided to bring in their forces on a gloomy Stockholm afternoon.

You may ask, why Non Solo? Well, for obvious reasons!
In traditional Indian classical music you are trained as a soloist, mastering a single instrument and each instrumentalist has a deep understanding of the common syntax and rules of engagement that produce some brilliant duets. Both Anurag and Pawas have been pursuing their solo music careers and mastering their craft. However, ‘Non solo’ brought these two (soloists) together to collaborate on something that has not been done before in this way so two soloists coming together and forming NON SOLO.
It all started over a “Fika” which translates to “ a concept, a state of mind, an attitude and an important part of Swedish culture. Many Swedes consider that it is almost essential to make time for fika every day.
It means making time for friends and colleagues to share a cup of coffee (or tea) and a little something to eat” in Anurag’s favourite Cafe, not to forget his exquisite palette for Coffee. After a short brainstorming on how to create something new and fresh without it being too cliched and with the help of impeccably roasted coffee beans that were freshly brewed, the men decided to jam it out to see where this goes.

The first attempt resulted in the second track on the record “Svar” which means “note or tone” which was a one take track. Motivated and excited, they both decided to continue working on this project.
A few months later Anurag visited Pawas' previous Studio in Cologne to record, where Sarang, Tandav and Bhoop were born. Even though the creation had happened, they felt it wasn't the right time to put
it out there just yet. However, time flew by and after almost 14 years of waiting, the men came back to what they had created and decided it was now the time to release it.
The title track “Sarang” is inspired by raga Brindavani Sarang, where Anurag infuses the romantic and mystical flavour of this raga with his flute and Pawas brings his deep repertoire of electronic grooves and
atmospheric sounds to create an intelligent track that touches the listeners.
Svara is inspired by raga Hansadhwani (translated ‘svan song’ or ‘sound of swan’) is an endearing melange of Indian classical and house music.
Tandav is a high energy track based on a variation of Sarang raga. With Pawas’ in-depth knowledge of both Indian classical percussion and electronic music….. This track combines multiple rhythmic layers
manifesting in one exhilarating track that is filled with polyrhythmic cadence and interludes.
Bhoop is melancholy and nostalgia infused into one melodious offering inspired by raga Boopali laid over a bed of organic drums and bass.

The Feel:
Svara is falling in love, the feeling you get when you are walking after that first wonderful date, smile on your face and so much anticipation and joy in the heart for all that excitement that is about to come.
Sarang is being in love, when you start to experience all those emotions you didn’t know even existed inside your heart. It is a complete journey.
Bhoop has a tinge of melancholy, longing and missing each other , while Taandav is coming back together after a long time away from each other. Re-discovering each other and re-experiencing all those
emotions at an even deeper level and celebrating the togetherness, be it in friendship or relationship.
Non solo is first in its kind to bring the melodious/musical depth inspired by the raga traditions to the exhilarating rhythmic world of deep house and electronica.
Available now in your favourite digital store and on limited edition Vinyl with an exquisite typographic artwork by Shantanu Suman in collaboration with Masala Movement's Manoj Kurian!

How about you forget for a moment all the things you thought you knew about Saroos, okay? First of all, let’s forget about all the other projects these guys are part of. Why? Because thinking of The Notwist, Driftmachine, Lali Puna, Tvii Son, to name “only” half a dozen things, might be misleading in this case. What’s more, please make sure to forget the fact that they’re mostly filed under “instrumental,” “post-rock dub,” or “kraut-flavored indie-tronica,” you know, all that. And most importantly, let’s forget that they’re a closed, three-minded system: a fixed and fully committed entity of three. No more!

Known to reinvent themselves in less drastic ways, Christoph Brandner, Max Punktezahl and Florian Zimmer, have opened the floodgates to COLLABORATION – making things open, porous, different, new, in many ways, on their quietly explosive latest album “Turtle Roll”.

Announced by 2021 singles “Tin & Glass” feat. Ronald Lippok and aptly titled “Frequency Change” feat. Leila Gharib aka Sequoyah Tiger, the sixth full-length sees the Berlin threesome add another handful of vocal guests along the way – thus turning into shape-shifting full bands and/or temp quartets, perfectly at home in about as many genres as there are tracks on the LP.

Kicked off by the motoric B-funk (Berlin represent) of the Lippok-assisted “Tin & Glass,” complete with retro-futuristic effects, spoken declarations, and non-terrestrial vibes, it might not be Daft Punk playing at their house, but a byobv (vibe) house party of musical minds isn’t too far off, actually! Once again as much a mixtape as an album, the mood, vibe, and color changes with every new collaborative tune: From ethereally soothing and dreamy (“The Mind Knows” feat. Solent from Canada) to clap-driven and wildly hypnotic (that pounding “Mutazione,” featuring vocals and rhymes courtesy of Eva Geist from Italy) and almost radio-ready (“current, bass-heavy alternative indie hits only!”), when that stadium-sized oomph of “Frequency Change” feat. Sequoyah Tiger arrives around halfway in.

Elsewhere, Japanese guest Kiki Hitomi (WaqWaq Kingdom) adds exotic ecstasy to the hypothermic beatscapes of “The Sign,” while Ukrainian vocalist Lucy Zoria pushes poetic layers over “Southern Blue”’s wonky foundation that hardens and finds more direction with each round the beat clock takes – until it’s impossible to escape that undertow. “My baby makes it better,” sings Caleb Dailey on the faithful and still-loving “Being with You,” a sepia, softly churning look back by the US songsmith, a sweetly shimmering ode to a relationship.

Speaking of foursomes, there’s four instrumental tracks scattered throughout the new LP – ranging from a painting in crystal clear colors of night (“Organ of Recall”) to the highly dramatic sonic tapestry of “Thicket” (actually feat. vocals as well). Before the perfect goodbye of slow-moving album closer “Here Before,” “Passed Out” sounds like Odd Nosdam finding his feet after blacking out on a German carnival.

Titled after a surf maneuver that allows you to break through the crests on the way out, Saroos have skipped the obvious waves with “Turtle Roll” – creating their own kind of sonic “Hang Ten” by adding 7 new voices to the mix.

Bringing their story to the present, The Boo Radleys new single, "Seeker", introduces the band’s eighth album. Where last year’s album, joyful in tone yet brooding with heavyweight lyrical themes, came together as an exploration of the isolated ideas of each member, Eight is, according to vocalist and co-songwriter, Sice formed of songs recorded “purposefully to appear together on an album.” Before adding, “There is also a greater depth of integration, which means that it’s more difficult to tell which member of the band the song originated with.”

Reflecting on "Seeker", the new album’s opening track, written about leaning on those we trust to share life’s highs and lows, bassist and co-songwriter, Tim Brown says: “This song started out as a three-chord synth pop tune and mutated into a brassy bop courtesy of trumpeter, Nick Etwell. The electric guitar flourishes were added by Louis Smith before Sice added layers of backing vocals which help drive the song along and bring it to its joyful conclusion.”

Zach Phillips und Olia Eichenbaum lernten sich 2018 online kennen und begannen schnell mit der Remote-Zusammenarbeit in Frankreich und Brooklyn. Zunächst arbeiteten sie unter dem Namen Pearly Gates zusammen und tourten 2019 durch Westeuropa. Nach einem Jahr Pause entstand das gesamte 'Perfect Angels' Album innerhalb eines knappen Monats während der Pandemie, wobei die Remote-Overdubs von Olia und ihren Gästen etwas mehr Zeit in Anspruch nahmen. Es wurde vollständig auf Tascam 388 1/4" 8-Spur-Band aufgenommen, wobei Computer nur während der Overdubs, des Mixings und des Masterings eingriffen.

Long out-of-print release available digitally for the first time. Extensive notes by a local writer in English and French. Previously unpublished family photos. Urbanized traditional music at a dance-floor-friendly tempo. The very definition of an "Awesome Tape From Africa". Roger Bekono made a deep mark in the contemporary history of Cameroonian music through the four-on-the-floor, ribald intensity of bikutsi. The Ewondo-language dance-pop style that forms an undulating tapestry of interlocking triplet rhythmic interplay came to international prominence in the European "world music" scene as the 90s began. But the relentless sound of bikutsi developed in Yaoundé at the hands of Bekono and many others, as it developed from a village-based singing style performed mostly by women into a cosmopolitan music force that rivaled the popularity of established musics like Congolese rhumba, merengue and makossa. With his unique—some say suave—voice, Bekono contributed much over a period of more than 10 years as part of the evolution of this traditional rhythm-turned-urban dance movement. Bekono worked with legendary producer Mystic Jim, who had built a prolific home studio along with a crack team of musicians. They joined as part of the production of his self-titled album, which became known locally as "Jolie Poupée," the name of the album's lead single and most popular song. For "Jolie Poupée" Mystic Jim programmed the kick or bass drum, adding effects to have a heavier bass. Overall the album represented a new level of finesse and professionalism for his second release. In the middle of 1989, Jolie Poupée was released by the label Inter Diffusion System and aggressively hit the radio, discos and national television. The music video for the title track was on loop on TV. It felt like everyone was talking about it, even artists in adjacent music scenes like makossa. The album came out on vinyl and cassette and remains Bekono's best-selling recording to this day. With Jolie Poupée Bekono finally made an impact outside Cameroon as the record captured listeners in some Central African countries like Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Republic of Congo and Sao Tome & Principe. In these countries, we find the Fang or Mfan people (also known as Ekang), Bantu-speaking ethnic groups that are also found in Cameroon. This umbrella language group includes the language in which bikutsi is mainly sung. Most of Bekono's songs are in French, Ewondo (of which Beti is a dialect) and Pidgin. The four songs on Jolie Poupée are all considered bikutsi classics. On September 15, 2016, Bekono died of a long illness at the age of 62. In the wake of his passing the media published a wave of tributes, thanking him for what he did for Cameroonian music. He was an admired musician, songwriter and guitarist, and some of his old colleagues and some of the new generation of performers showered Bekono with vibrant tributes via social media, many of which noting something to the effect of: "The artist dies but his works remain."

Nazamba & Dubsetters kicked off this new Finnish Dub & Sound label in a superb style recently and what better way to follow that up than with the reggae master, smoking king and weed aficionado Linval Thompson. This might sound like one of his classic lost cuts from the 70s but it is actually an all new tune from the Jamaican reggae icon. Dubsetters provide the gentle, percussive rhythms which are organic and deep, with Linval's smooth mic work up top adding to the global conversation about the decriminalization of cannabis. Flip it over for an even more mellow and dubbed out sound on the b-side.

The album Symposium Musicum is developed from field recordings, interviews, and observations collected in the villages of Podolínec, Lomnička, Levočské Vrchy, and Kolačkov - all areas of the eastern and north-eastern Slovakia with significant Romani enclaves. The pieces resulting from these interactions encourage the listener to tune in for a delicate negotiation of language, (audible) gesture, and storytelling.

The collaboration with the local participants appears lighthearted and whimsical on the records, but this seeming easiness is clearly a result of devoted fieldwork planning and committed post-production. The curated compositions represent and emphasize not only performative aspects of the acoustic activities but also point attention to seemingly non-productive aspects of creation, such as silence, hesitation, observation, perception, or waiting.

Sound experiment and preservation is not the only goal of the project. Some of the records capturing acoustic activities in peculiar places but also carry an element of social novelty that accompanied their making - according to the locals in Lomnička, the recording visitors were the first non-Romani persons who spent the night in the village.

In many instances, these recordings explore liminal spaces that have lost their original function (a church ruin or an out-of-business grocery store) and became a lively territory for acoustic exploration and playful reciprocity. For instance, in track 7, "Kavka", local children used crackling leaves as percussion devices.

Such moments betray a high level of engagement in the subtle details of the recorded spaces and their social ecologies. According to the creators, their creative processes involve "a social sound practice" as an attitude towards exploring sound in its social setting.

Symposium Musicum leaves behind many aesthetic conventions of sound capture and what is considered "musical", including the usual notions of a linguistic unit, narrative, memoir, and play. Instead, it engages in a self-reflective questioning of the way we listen to the world around us.

This project invites us to experience places outside the divided sociolinguistic provinces, resulting from multigenerational displacement and neglect of the Romani communities from the explored areas. The result is in many ways revelatory and poetically impactful.

*The product of a move from South Carolina to Berkeley, CA and the subsequent extended separation from loved ones, Toro Y Moi's third full-length, Anything in Return, puts Chaz Bundick right in the middle of the producer/songwriter dichotomy that his first two albums established.

*There's a pervasive sense of peace with his tendency to dabble in both sides of the modern music-making spectrum, and he sounds comfortable engaging in intuitive pop production and putting forth the impression of unmediated id.

*The producer's hand is prominent- not least in the sampled "yeah"s and "uh"s that give the album a hip-hop-indebted confidence- and many of the songs feature the 4/4 beats and deftly employed effects usually associated with house music. Tracks like "High Living" and "Day One" show a considerably Californian influence, their languid funk redolent of a West Coast temperament, and elsewhere- not least on lead single, "So Many Details"- the record plays with darker atmospheres than we're used to hearing from Toro Y Moi. Sounding quite assured in what some may call this songwriter's return to producer-hood, Anything in Return is Bundick uninhibited by issues of genre, an album that feels like the artist's essence.

*Born and raised in Columbia, South Carolina, Chaz Bundick has been toying with various musical projects since early adolescence. Having spent his formative years playing in punk and indie rock acts, his protean Toro Y Moi project has been his vessel for further musical exploration since 2001. During his time spent studying graphic design at the University of South Carolina, Chaz became increasingly focused on his solo work, incorporating electronics and allowing a wider range of influences- French house, Brian Wilson's pop, 80s R&B, and Stones Throw hip-hop- to show up in his music. By the time he graduated in spring 2009, Chaz had refined his sound to something all his own. Music journals across the board touted his hazy recordings as the sound of the summer, and he released his debut album, Causers of This in early 2010.

*Since then, Bundick has proven himself to be not just a prolific musician, but a diverse one as well, letting each successive release broaden the scope of the Toro Y Moi oeuvre. The funky psych-pop of 2011's Underneath the Pine evinced an artist who could create similar atmospheres even without the aid of source material and drum machines. His Freaking Out EP, a handful of singles and remixes, and a retrospective box-set plot points all along the producer/songwriter spectrum in which he's worked since his debut, and Anything In Return is another exciting offering that shows he's still not ready to settle into any one genre.

After the acclaimed ΠΟΛΙΣ, Subheim returns with RAEON; a collection of eight new tracks for lonely evenings and long night drives. With RAEON, Subheim continues to expand into the sonic territory he has steadily been exploring since 2015’s Foray, the album that marked the project’s shift towards moodier, highly textured, lofi compositions through the use of sampling and heavy audio manipulation. While this EP feels like a natural continuation of the producer’s most recent work, it is intentionally stripped of any percussive elements, with the focus being entirely placed on space and melody.

Each composition feels like a distant, fading memory that unfolds faster than you expect it to and dissolves into an echoing nothingness before you’re able to hold on to it for more than a few seconds. Much like a long-distance train passing by or perhaps like a song you might hear in your sleep.

Every piece serves as a different chapter of the same open-ended narrative; one where stillness, grief and hope simultaneously coexist in perfect harmony. Intentionally imperfect, naturally gritty, spacious as ever, this new record balances between fragility and conviction, and once more illustrates the deeply human side of its creator.

In contrast to some of the producer’s darker work, RAEON is filled with an undertone of bittersweet hopefulness and a strong desire for new life. With the juxtaposition of nostalgic, synthesized, analog sounds and neoclassical elements, Subheim strikes the perfect balance between past and future, between melancholy and hope. And while the closing track is almost ironically called “Forget”, its ending will leave you longing for more and wondering what else is there.

‘Y Dydd Olaf’, which is sung entirely in Welsh,
apart from one song penned in Cornish, draws
inspiration from Owain Owain’s 1976 novel of the
same name. The book is set in a dystopian future
where robots enslave the human race through the
use of medication, while Gwenno’s album covers
such themes as patriarchal society, governmentfunded media propaganda, cultural control,
technology, isolation and the importance of
minority languages.
 ‘Y Dydd Olaf’ was initially released by Peski
Records in October 2014, before being released
worldwide in 2015 by Heavenly Recordings.
 Now available on crystal clear vinyl. Includes
digital download of ‘Y Dydd Olad’ plus nine bonus
tracks of remixes and rarities.
 “This record demands what’s left of your time.” - Q
(★★★★)
 “Blissful, dreamy psychedelia, full of twinkling
electronics and metronomic drums.” - Evening
Standard (★★★★)
 “Language as a metaphor for political defiance…
floats beautifully over the krautrock/space-rock
soundscape, a Goldfrappian album you should
hear.” - The Sunday Times (★★★★)