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* The Menahan Street Band includes members of The Roots, Budos Band, Lee Fields and The Expressions and The Dap-Kings...an all star Brooklyn line up!

* First album in 9 years.

*LPs are In gatefold sleeve and contain download code.

* MSB tracks have been the foundation for some of modern hip-hop's most successful beats; their music has been sampled by the likes of Eminem, Jay-Z, Kendrick Lamar, Travis Scott, 50 Cent, Curren$y, to name a few.

Menahan Street Band, a veritable supergroup of some of today's most prolific songwriters, arrangers, and producers return with this beat-forward, cinematic masterpiece.

Their unique brand of instrumental soul has not only been the foundation for some of modern hip-hop's most successful beats, it has also become the perennial soundtrack and veritable vibe-generator for countless parties, art shows, and restaurants throughout NYC and abroad.

While this album carries the aesthetic torch that MSB has skillfully woven into the tapestry of their DNA, it also delves deeper into the experimental, exotic sounds that fill many of the coveted Sound Library and Soundtrack LPs of the late sixties and early seventies - an amalgamation of moog synths, electric pianos, drum machines, and a bevy of analog instrumentation, that ebb and flow in lush swells of Morriconian grandeur.

"Dreamwalks" as well as the other songs on "A Dive Into the Subconscious" musically reflect the emotional level of memories and experiences of the producer. Drips Zacheer deals with central issues of his life, such as family, friends, travel and also fears and tries to reach the subconscious of his listeners through this sound game. The appropriately playful cover designs come from the Berlin artist and illustrator Rahel Süßkind.
Drips Zacheer is a real beatgeek on the midi controller. The 25-year-old musician has been producing hip-hop instrumentals for almost ten years, which are based on LoFi, Chill-Hop, BoomBap, jazz and also progressive rock and Bossanova. Until he was 19 he grew up in Chalkida, the capital of the Greek island of Evia, until he moved to Rhethymno on Crete to study audio engineering. He started out in 2011 as a producer for a befriended hip-hop crew, and in 2016 he began producing beats for himself. Since then he has established himself as one of the most relevant producers in the Greek beat scene and with his choice of sounds shows that he has a knack for vinyl samples and harmonic arrangements. His upcoming album "A Dive Into the Subconscious" makes it clear that instrumentals are not only used as a background for rappers, but have earned their own standing in the scene. Drips Zacheer produces beats to listen and linger - a little journey into your own subconscious.

A rare treat for Drumcode faithful: A-Sides Vol.10 is set to drop in December, the second edition of the beloved series to come in 2020.

Fuelled by the extra time and space to be creative during lockdown, Drumcode’s collective of artists have stepped up. Across 17 contributions, the producers have gone deeper into their sonic repertoire, crafting powerful, yet reflective works that capture the range of the label’s sound.

Jay Lumen leads the way with a rousing riff-driven weapon, ‘Galactic Rainbow’, while Ramon Tapia brings us the muscular gem ‘Drum Control’, mixing up ruffneck techno with a barrage of synapse-tickling synths in the second half. Both rousing highlights of the compilation.

Victor Ruiz, Drumcode’s most prolific contributor in 2020, dishes up ‘Love Story’, led by a huge vocal lead. Zimmz also returns with ‘Tension’, which deftly combines deep squelchy grooves with a silky synth interlude. Thomas Hoffknecht follows up his debut on Vol.9 with ‘Escape’, keeping listeners on their toes with dynamic, choppy shifts throughout. Veerus joins with another stirring addition ‘I Know’, reinforcing why Beyer rates him so highly.

Elsewhere a string of debutants feature: buzzy newcomer Lilly Palmer gives us ‘Amnesie’, a brilliantly pummelling and eerie cut; Alex Lentini & Stomp Boxx serve up ‘Expanders’ mixing up drone effects, trippy vocals and an unsettling melody line; and Patrik Berg’s ‘Activated’ is full-bodied techno that drops down into funky rhythms.

Long-time DC family member Bart Skils brings his A-game with the thrilling no-nonsense ‘Solid State’ that hits like a steam train. Likewise, Alan Fitzpatrick who brings a momentous slab of techno energy with ‘Rochus’, while Thomas Schumacher, now feeling like a regular on the imprint, crafts another dark techno opus, this time in collaboration with CAITLIN.

There’s even a special appearance by the chief Adam Beyer, who makes a welcome return with the progressive-tinged ‘Changes’, driven by organic tones and spacey atmospherics. The track stands as his first original contribution to A-Sides since 2017.

‘No Limits’ is a record that has been causing waves since 2019 when it was originally released on Gladys Pizarro’s Launch Entertainment imprint.

Born out of an inspired studio session in 2018 between Danism, Train and DJ Rae, the song immediately felt special, evoking memories of the heyday of the soulful NYC sound. The production and, in particular, the sublime vocal delivery from DJ Rae made it stand out and the NYC-based Launch Entertainment seemed the perfect home for it. The record was a hit on the soulful house scene with heavy support from Louie Vega, Todd Terry, Francois K, Terry Hunter, CJ Mackintosh, Mr V, Sandy Rivera, DJ Spen, Brutha Basil, Sy Sez, Richard Earnshaw and loads more.

Fast forward to 2021 – and in partnership with SoSure Music - ‘No Limits’ is set for release on vinyl with the unquestionable expertise of Danny Krivit laying down a signature re-edit of this soulful house gem. Looping up DJ Rae’s vocals to expert effect at the beginning of his edit, Krivit amps up the anticipation for that sensuous, soulful house drop as twinkling keys reverberate from ear to ear. This is emotive house at it’s very best. The full length and original Vocal Mix graces the B-side.

With this release Danism, Train and DJ Rae also launch their DTR project alias. With the continued success of ‘No Limits’ plus brand new material set to follow throughout the year on Launch Entertainment it makes sense to cement their initial collaboration into something more solid. Danism, Train, DJ Rae combine as the DTR Project with Danny Krivit on remixes duties. A delightful combination to kickstart 2021.

Introducing the first 7" single from bassist & composer Shay Hazan and his quintet from Tel-Aviv, Israel.

Dedicated to saxophonist Albert Beger, a mainstay of Israeli jazz and Hazan mentor, 'Berber's Cha Cha' is an uptempo piano-led waltz, redolent of classic Prestige Records soul-jazz, especially when some urgent horn charts turn up the heat. It's a corker!

While on the underbelly, 'Old Tart' sounds like nothing less than a lost gem from the Brecht/Weil songbook. Lugubrious and magnificent, this world-weary vocal cut is more than a match for the nominal A-side.

Destined for the hippest jukeboxes in the hippest joints in the country, this milestone tenth release in Jazzman's estimable JAZZ45 series keeps standards impossibly high.

Our JAZZ45 label features original artwork and original music on each and every release, and are limited to just 600 copies worldwide!

To celebrate their first decade of existence, Sunderland’s ironic punk trio, Toy Dolls, issued
retrospective Ten Years Of Toys, but rather than using the standard-issue “Greatest Hits”
formula, the group chose to re-cut nuggets from their career so far, using the then-current
line-up of frontman Olga, bassist Dean Robson and drummer Martin Yule. Thus, tracks like
“Dougy Giro,” “Fiery Jack” and “Glenda And The Test Tube Baby” are given new leases of
life with a brighter, fuller sound and the inclusion of hard-to-find tracks such as “I’ve Got
Asthma” and “Tommy Kowey’s Car” add to the appeal.

One of the bands that helped build the great Austin, TX music scene (the 'live music capital of the world'), Demian was actually Bubble Puppy with a new name and sound. While Bubble Puppy was classic psychedelia, Demian was hard rock in the vein of bands like Atomic Rooster. Recorded live-in-studio at L.A.s legendary 'Record Plant' studio in 1970, Demain was also one of the first bands to feature dueling lead guitars. Despite the high quality of the songs and the local buzz this album generated at the time, due to mismanagement, Demian soon faded into the record collecting beyond.

Credited as one of the best late '60s German psych-rock albums, Bokaj Retsiem's ('meister Jakob' in reverse) Psychedelic Underground is an eccentric, soulful, acidn and fuzzy rockin' essay that clearly prefigures a part of the krautrock movement. Featuring Rainer Deigner, former guitar for the '60s beat German group Former Bonds, as the only credited musician and composer on this album (although other musicians assisted him on bass, keyboards, and that B3 Hammond and Leslie sound), this is basically Rainer's freaked-out tribute to his favorite children's song, 'Meister Jakob,' consisting in trippy instrumental sections, furiously savage E-guitar crescendos, amazing psych-rock improvisation, with just a hint of '60s US psych-garage. A real enthusiastic psych-kraut trip for fans of Vanilla Fudge, Hendrix,and Iron Butterfly.

Remastered Limited Blue Vinyl with Gatefold Sleeve.
Includes A2 poster and 3 art prints of each individual band member.

Way back in 1982, Battersea based mod heroes The Direct Hits had released one single on Dan Treacy’s Whamm! record label, ‘Modesty Blaise’ earlier in the year. This was singled out in the music press as not just one of your average Jam crash / bang /wallop mod revivalist tunes.
Live gigs showed they had a mighty powerful set of catchy mod / pop tunes in the back pocket. Whamm! were struggling to provide the funds to record an album, the songs were too good not to commit to a full 12’ set, so the Direct Hits pooled their limited resources and self financed a very cheap one day recording session in a tiny studio in Tooting, South London called Broadway Sound.
Early on the morning of August 12th 1982 the band, comprising of Colin Swan, Geno Buckmaster, Brian Grover and their trusty roadie ‘Robbo’ assembled at the tiny studio to begin recording as many of their songs as they could get down on tape for the tiny budget they had scraped together. As most of the songs were already well rehearsed thanks to the band’s busy live schedule, the recording of the first nine songs on this disc were finished by mid afternoon without any problems. Throughout the late afternoon and early evening the band toiled over scant overdubs with limited keyboard facilities and a distinct lack of musical ability. The recordings immediately came to life however, when Colin Swan and Geno Buckmaster’s stage-honed tight harmonies were added, there was no time for vocal overdubs, and the mixing was completed by midnight. Tired and worn out, the band ventured out into the cold night air happy with the days work, clutching the precious reel to reel tape.
Two weeks later the band came back with a friend producing, and recorded the three final tracks featured on this album which have a more rounded slightly less raw sound. All three were completed in an afternoon. Almost two years later they re-recorded some of these songs, and along with a handful of new songs from the pen of Buckmaster and Swan, recorded their ‘Blow Up’ debut album at Rendezvous Studios in Sydenham, South East London, released on Whaam! Records in August 1984.
So what you have here are the roots of some of these great songs. A few didn’t make it to the first album those that did, as you will hear, stayed reasonably faithful to the original arrangements.
The Broadway Recording Sessions take you right back to where it all started!

The ultimate pressings of the Beach Boys discography from Analogue Productions!
Original mono mix produced by Brian Wilson
One of 10 titles featuring 33 1/3 mono and stereo remastered editions: Surfin' USA, Surfer Girl, Little Deuce Coupe, Shut Down Vol. 2, All Summer Long, Today!, Summer Days (And Summer Nights!!), Beach Boys Party!, Pet Sounds and Smiley Smile
Mastered by Kevin Gray at Cohearent Audio, most from the original master tapes or best sources available
Lacquer plating by Gary Salstrom and 180-gram vinyl pressing by Quality Record Pressings!

"It was Pet Sounds that blew me out of the water…I love the album so much. I've just bought my kids each a copy of it for their education in life. I figure no one is educated musically 'til they've heard that album." – Paul McCartney

"All of us, Ginger (Baker), Jack (Bruce), and I consider Pet Sounds to be one of the greatest pop LPs to ever be released. It encompasses everything that's ever knocked me out and rolled it all into one." – Eric Clapton

"For those in search of an original mono in pursuit of sonic quality, search no more. This Analogue Productions pressing is now the definitive pressing and the one we chose to feature at our Classic Album Sundays events to honour the 50th anniversary of Pet Sounds, an album that helped change the course of pop music." — Colleen ‘Cosmo' Murphy, Classic Album Sundays

"Overall though, this new reissue is the best sounding of all. The bottom end has more weight and solidity and the instrumental separation and front to back layering is nothing short of astonishing compared to the pleasing mush offered up by other editions. ... Pet Sounds belongs in every serious rock record collection and if you're going to have but one version this one from Analogue Productions is the one to have." — Music = 11/11; Sound = 11/11 - Michael Fremer, AnalogPlanet Read the whole review here.

"What I can say is that Kevin Gray has been able to extract every last bit of information from whatever tape is in the box, and present it in a way that is pleasing and natural to the ear. ... in my opinion, the Analogue Productions pressings are now THE definitive issue of each Beach Boys album, and will be my reference copies until if and when something better comes along — which may be never." — Lee Dempsey, Endless Summer Quarterly, Summer 2015 Edition

To meet the standards of Analogue Productions, our Beach Boys album reissues had a mission to achieve: Present the band's music the way that Brian Wilson — famed co-founder, songwriter and arranger — intended. Mono mixes created under Wilson’s supervision were how the surf rockin’ California crew rose to fame! And we’ve got ‘em!

For the early part of the Beach Boys' career, all of their singles were mixed and mastered and released only in the mono format — they didn't release a single in stereo until 1968. In those days, hits were made on AM radio in mono. And the mono of those times worked well for Wilson, who suffers from partial deafness. In fact, for their first 13 albums, Wilson originally turned in all the final mixed Beach Boy albums to Capitol Records only in mono. The mono mixes were where Wilson paid intense attention, and the dedication paid off!

We’ve taken 10 of the most classic, best-sounding Beach Boy titles ever and restored them to their mono glory!

But there’s no disputing that the close harmonies and one-of-a-kind rhythms of hits like “Surfer Girl,” “In My Room,” “Little Deuce Coupe” and more lend themselves naturally to stereo. So we’ve got your 2-channel needs covered with prime stereo mix versions as well.

Mastered by Kevin Gray, most from the original master tapes, and plated and pressed by Quality Record Pressings, the finest LP pressing facility in the world, these are awesome recordings to experience. And the look of each album befits its sonic superiority! Presented in "old school" Stoughton tip-on jackets, these time honoured favourites shine brighter than the originals!

Pet Sounds is famous for its use of multiple layers of unorthodox instrumentation as well as other cutting edge audio techniques for its time. It's considered the best Beach Boys album, and one of the best of the 1960s. The group here reached a whole new level in terms of both composition and production, layering tracks upon tracks of vocals and instruments to create a richly symphonic sound.

Conventional keyboards and guitars were combined with exotic touches of orchestrated strings, bicycle bells, buzzing organs, harpsichords, flutes, Theremin, Hawaiian-sounding string instruments, Coca-Cola cans, barking dogs, and more. It wouldn't have been a classic without great songs, and this has some of the group's most stunning melodies, as well as lyrical themes which evoke both the intensity of newly born love affairs and the disappointment of failed romance (add in some general statements about loss of innocence and modern-day confusion as well). The spiritual quality of the material is enhanced by some of the most gorgeous upper-register male vocals (especially by Brian and Carl Wilson) ever heard on a rock record. "Wouldn't It Be Nice," "God Only Knows," "Caroline No," and "Sloop John B" (the last of which wasn't originally intended to go on the album) are the well-known hits, but equally worthy are such cuts as "You Still Believe in Me," "Don't Talk," "I Know There's an Answer," and "I Just Wasn't Made for These Times." It's often said that this is more of a Brian Wilson album than a Beach Boys recording (session musicians played most of the parts), but it should be noted that the harmonies are pure Beach Boys (and some of their best).

VH-1 named Pet Sounds as the No. 3 album in the Top 100 Albums in Rock 'n' Roll History, as judged in a poll of musicians, executives and journalists. It's been ranked No. 1 in several music magazines' lists of the greatest albums of all time, including NME, The Times and Mojo Magazine. It was ranked No. 2 in Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time list.

Mouse on Mars, the Berlin-based duo of Jan St. Werner and Andi Toma, approach electronic music with an inexhaustible curiosity and unparalleled ingenuity. ‘AAI’ (Anarchic Artificial Intelligence) takes their fascination with technology and undogmatic exploration a quantum leap further.
Emerging from a primordial ooze of rolling bass and skittering electronics, hypnotic polyrhythms and pulsing synthesizers propel the listener across the
record’s expanse. Hidden in the duo’s hyper-detailed productions is a kind of meta-narrative.
Working with AI tech collective Birds on Mars and former Soundcloud
programmers Ranny Keddo and Derrek Kindle, the duo collaborated on the creation of bespoke software capable of modelling speech; text and voice from writer and scholar of African Studies Louis Chude-Sokei and DJ/producer Yağmur Uçkunkaya were fed into the software as a model, allowing Toma and Werner to control parameters like speed or mood, thereby creating a kind of speech
instrument they could control and play as they would a synthesizer.
The album’s narrative is quite literally mirrored in the music - the sound of an artificial intelligence growing, learning and speaking. This exploration of artificial intelligence as both a narrative framework and compositional tool, allowing the duo to summon their most explicitly science-fiction work to date. Original artwork by Casey Reas, inventor of the computer graphics language Processing.
Recently, Mouse on Mars received the 2020 Holger Czukay Prize for Pop Music.
Mouse on Mars have been regularly streaming performances throughout 2020, partnering with organizations like Goethe-Institut, Haus der Kulturen der Welt, Conditions of a Necessity and others and will continue these in 2021.
‘AAI’ is available on grey or black double LP packaged in a single sleeve with full colour insert / lyrics. CD comes with 8-panel poster booklet.
“Andi Toma and Jan St. Werner continue to create soundscapes that blur the line between programming and live musicianship, and sometimes between Earth and outer space.” - AV Club
“Enthralling and impossible to categorize.” - Pitchfork
“Sustained and ephemeral electronic sounds conjure unearthly open spaces… It’s not a song; it’s sound as a temporal phenomenon, a few minutes of sculpted attention.” - The New York Times

Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom is the official soundtrack to the 2020 Netflix original film of the same name about “Mother of the Blues” Ma Rainey. The album features score music by critically-acclaimed saxophonist, instrumentalist, composer, bandleader and educator Branford Marsalis, as well as newly-recorded covers of both popular Ma Rainey tracks and blues and jazz standards from the era. The multi-GRAMMY Award® winner brings over four decades of experience across stylistic boundaries to the project, imbuing the film with an authentic 1920s Chicago soundscape. The film was directed by George C. Wolfe and stars Viola Davis and Chadwick Boseman. It is lauded by critics and moviegoers alike, and it is expected that Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom will be a favorite at many 2021 award ceremonies. Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom is available to watch on Netflix now.

For a band that resists repeating itself, picking up lessons from a decade prior is the strange route Cloud Nothings took to create their most fully-realized album. Their new record, The Shadow I Remember, marks eleven years of touring, a return to early songwriting practices, and revisiting the studio where they first recorded together.

In a way not previously captured, this album expertly combines the group’s pummeling, aggressive approach with singer-songwriter Dylan Baldi’s extraordinary talent for perfect pop. To document this newly realized maturity, the group returned to producer Steve Albini and his Electrical Audio studios in Chicago, where the band famously destroyed its initial reputation as a bedroom solo project with the release of 2012 album Attack on Memory.

Another throwback was Baldi’s return to constant songwriting à la the early solo days, which led to the nearly 30 demos that became the 11 songs on The Shadow I Remember. Instead of sticking to a tried-but-true formula, his songwriting stretched out while digging deeper into his melodic talents. “I felt like I was locked in a character,” Baldi says of becoming a reliable supplier of heavy, hook-filled rock songs. “I felt like I was playing a role and not myself. I really didn’t like that role.” More frequent writing led to the freedom in form heard on The Shadow I Remember. What he can’t do alone is get loud and play noisily, which is exactly what happened when the entire band— bassist TJ Duke, guitarist Chris Brown, and drummer Jayson Gerycz—convened.

The band had more fun in the studio than they’ve had in years, playing in their signature, pulverizing way, while also trying new things. The absurdly catchy “Nothing Without You” includes a first for the band: Macie Stewart of Ohmme contributes guest vocals. Elsewhere, celebrated electronic composer Brett Naucke adds subtle synthesizer parts.

The songs are kept trim, mostly around the three-minute mark, while being gleefully overstuffed. Almost every musical part turns into at least two parts, with guitar and drums opening up and the bass switching gears. “That’s the goal—I want the three-minute song to be an epic,” Baldi says. “That’s the short version of the long-ass jam.”

Lyrically, Baldi delivers an aching exploration of tortured existence, punishing self-doubt, and the familiar pangs of oppressive mystery. “Am I something?” Baldi screams on the song of the same name. “Does anybody living out there really need me?” It’s a heartbreaking admission of existential confusion, delivered hoarsely, with an instantly relatable melody.

“Is this the end/ of the life I've known?” he asks on lead single and album opener “Oslo.” “Am I older now/ or am I just another age?” Despite the questioning lyrics, the band plays with more assurance and joy than ever before. The Shadow I Remember announces Cloud Nothings’ second decade and it sounds like a new beginning.

For a band that resists repeating itself, picking up lessons from a decade prior is the strange route Cloud Nothings took to create their most fully-realized album. Their new record, The Shadow I Remember, marks eleven years of touring, a return to early songwriting practices, and revisiting the studio where they first recorded together.

In a way not previously captured, this album expertly combines the group’s pummeling, aggressive approach with singer-songwriter Dylan Baldi’s extraordinary talent for perfect pop. To document this newly realized maturity, the group returned to producer Steve Albini and his Electrical Audio studios in Chicago, where the band famously destroyed its initial reputation as a bedroom solo project with the release of 2012 album Attack on Memory.

Another throwback was Baldi’s return to constant songwriting à la the early solo days, which led to the nearly 30 demos that became the 11 songs on The Shadow I Remember. Instead of sticking to a tried-but-true formula, his songwriting stretched out while digging deeper into his melodic talents. “I felt like I was locked in a character,” Baldi says of becoming a reliable supplier of heavy, hook-filled rock songs. “I felt like I was playing a role and not myself. I really didn’t like that role.” More frequent writing led to the freedom in form heard on The Shadow I Remember. What he can’t do alone is get loud and play noisily, which is exactly what happened when the entire band— bassist TJ Duke, guitarist Chris Brown, and drummer Jayson Gerycz—convened.

The band had more fun in the studio than they’ve had in years, playing in their signature, pulverizing way, while also trying new things. The absurdly catchy “Nothing Without You” includes a first for the band: Macie Stewart of Ohmme contributes guest vocals. Elsewhere, celebrated electronic composer Brett Naucke adds subtle synthesizer parts.

The songs are kept trim, mostly around the three-minute mark, while being gleefully overstuffed. Almost every musical part turns into at least two parts, with guitar and drums opening up and the bass switching gears. “That’s the goal—I want the three-minute song to be an epic,” Baldi says. “That’s the short version of the long-ass jam.”

Lyrically, Baldi delivers an aching exploration of tortured existence, punishing self-doubt, and the familiar pangs of oppressive mystery. “Am I something?” Baldi screams on the song of the same name. “Does anybody living out there really need me?” It’s a heartbreaking admission of existential confusion, delivered hoarsely, with an instantly relatable melody.

“Is this the end/ of the life I've known?” he asks on lead single and album opener “Oslo.” “Am I older now/ or am I just another age?” Despite the questioning lyrics, the band plays with more assurance and joy than ever before. The Shadow I Remember announces Cloud Nothings’ second decade and it sounds like a new beginning.

The Martha’s Vineyard Ferries - ‘Suns Out Guns Out’ Over the course of two prior releases — 2010’s ‘In The Pond’ (Sickroom) and 2013’s ‘Mass Grave’ (Kiam) — The Martha’s Vineyard Ferries quietly carved out a high-IQ corner of the U.S. rock underground reserved for taut, deathly catchy songs that showcased deft (if get-to-the-point) instrumentation. That the band have been kinda/sorta under the collective radar has more to do with their being otherwise occupied (more on that in a minute) than a lack of artistic ambition; they’ve slayed before and after a long break, they’re back to slay again. So you’re wondering, what could possibly take precedence in real life terms over playing in a band this awesome? Much as I hate to compare and contrast, part of the dilemma is that the principals of The Martha’s Vineyard Ferries — commonly referred to by their fans as “the Fuckin’ Ferries”, “The Martha’s Vineyard Ferries” by everyone else --- are in too many awesome bands already. Guitarist/vocalist Elisha Wiesner has previously set the world on fire with the Massachusetts sextet Kahoots and earlier this year released a 63 song (!) digital masterclass in songwriting under the John Pancake nom de plume. Drummer/vocalist Chris Brokaw has previously pounded on things for heavyweights including but not limited to Codeine, The New Year and Obnox, though there’s a fair chance you’ve also heard his guitar/vocal performances, both solo and with Come (as well as an impossibly long list of contributions to the likes of The Lemonheads, Dirtmusic, Thurston Moore, Consonant and more). Bassist/vocalist Bob Weston is internationally renowned for his sternum-crushing work on behalf of Shellac, Volcano Suns and sound manipulation tactics for Mission Of Burma (I’ve not heard any of the above, but I’m told they’re all “ok, if you’re into that sort of thing”) Add to this workload the tiny matter of the 3 players having spent most of the last 7 years living in 3 different time zones, it’s nothing short of a miracle the 3rd and finest Martha’s Vineyard Ferries album could pass for the sustained effort of 3 men who’ve been locked up together all this time, writing and recording a powerful statement to rival anything in their collective catalogs (I’m thinking of a scenario kind of like “The Lighthouse”, except there’s 3 men instead of two and there’s more guitars than birds, but maybe the occasional bird, as you tend to get a few of them near the water).

The self-titled, full-length debut from Bones Owens is a selection of songs both gloriously gritty and undeniably euphoric. In a bold departure from the moody Americana of his acclaimed EPs Hurt No One and Make Me No King, the Missouri-bred musician’s first release with Thirty Tigers delivers a powerful sound deeply inspired by ’60s garage-rock, Hill Country blues, and the swampy roots-rock of bands like Creedence Clearwater Revival (“the first record I remember stealing from my dad when I was ten and just starting to play guitar,” according to Owens). A potent showcase for his formidable guitar work—a talent he’s displayed in performing with artists as eclectic as Yelawolf and Mikky Ekko— Bones Owens arrives as a full-tilt expression of Owens’ wildest impulses, all swinging rhythms, and swaggering riffs. Featuring heavily playlisted hits like “White Lines” and “Keep It Close,” Bones Owens came to life at The Smoakstack in Owens’ adopted hometown of Nashville. With production from studio owner Paul Moak—a five-time Grammy Award nominee who’s also worked with Joy Williams, Marc Broussard, and The Blind Boys of Alabama. “This album really came from opening for some good people over the last few years, from feeding off that energy from the crowd and wanting to write more songs that would feel exciting to play live,” says Owens, who’s recently toured with Reignwolf and Whiskey Myers. “It felt like the right approach to keep the production simple and record everything to tape - I think it creates a good type of nervousness that brings out the best in everyone. Nobody wants to be the one to mess up the take. Besides, all my favorite records were made that way. You can’t fake that sound.”

Country music has chased piety, poetry, and much else, but The Social World is unapologetic hardcore, beer-sodden country music reduced to its core values. No faking. No pretension.
Spare, unornamented, and straight from the heart, the songs on the “Social World” of Rodger Wilhoit are all that’s holy and true in beerhall country music. The instrumentation is only as full as it needs to be. The singing is careworn and deeply sincere. There’s nothing tentative or lukewarm in Wilhoit’s music. It isn’t going to meet you halfway.
It seems that there’s always more to discover. Most copies of Social World and Rodger’s singles were probably sold off the bandstand 40 or 50 years ago. They were among the thousands of records by local artists on local labels sold off local bandstands all across the country. Most ended up in garage sales, thrift shops, or landfill. But every so often, an artist will be resurrected, and find a new audience. Rodger Wilhoit is one such singer. At a time when most mainstream Nashville country music sounds so contrived and empty, it takes an artist like Rodger Wilhoit to remind us what it’s really all about.

The term 'tourbillon' has two meanings - it is the French word for "whirlwind" and also a device used in watchmaking to improve the accuracy of a timepiece. Both definitions feel apt when listening to Tourbillon, the latest release on Central Processing Unit from Australian producer Tim Koch. Following on from Koch's CPU debut Spinifex back in 2018 - an album that initially emerged via minidisc - Tourbillon is a four-track EP which dazzles with its perpetual-motion post-IDM productions.

These tracks draw you into their webs by forming dense interlocking sonic patterns over the course of several minutes. While the rhythmic programming and lattice of alien percussion tones can appear discombobulating at first, Koch also bewitches the listener with the slyly melodic synth work that he laces throughout Tourbillon.

Opening track 'Estranger' is a fine example of this combination. The first section here is a blend of blown-out drum sounds which comes off like an industrial electro tune run through a meat grinder. However, the track soon blossoms with the introduction of some amazingly atmospheric synth pads, and the two contrasting elements come together for a strange and rather beautiful whole.

'Estranger' finds a mirror-image in Tourbillon's final cut 'Hankert', a track in which more of those gurgling percussive tones play off the rich chord progressions that chirrup away in the background. Between 'Estranger' and 'Hankert' we get two propulsive grooves in the form of 'Disfugue' and 'Dreitark'.

How, then, to contextualize such unique material? Calum Gunn's recent outing for CPU is a good point of comparison, and the electronics here bang and whirr in a manner which nods to the post-IDM innovations of artists like μ-Ziq. One can also see Tourbillon as descended from acts like Cabaret Voltaire, the industrial electronics innovators from CPU's home city of Sheffield. However, Tourbillon is ultimately an EP which exists in its own lane, an open-minded and open-hearted set which runs with the futurist spirit of CPU and Koch's previous home of Merck Records.

Australian producer Tim Koch returns to Sheffield's Central Processing Unit with Tourbillon, an EP of otherworldly post-IDM productions.

RIYL: μ-Ziq, Calum Gunn, Proswell, Modeselektor

At an age of plastic and digital screen reigning, when it is almost impossible to feel anything in front of a contemporary art piece, it is still possible to be moved by a drum machine …. and a keyboard……

There are still artisans and sunday painters who will put a little of their troubles and their humanity at the service of their art. Certainly a merchant of colors in a previous life, Med paints his songs with a Benedictine patience, distilling its doubts in its small pop compositions with soft water reflections where everyone could see themselves as in a mirror.

MED is Médéric Gontier, guitarist of Tahiti 80, first solo effort. Where the band had not often ventured outside English, Med uses the French language and caresses it in the direction of its melodies. Produced with the help of Pedro Resende, these are ten pieces both aerial and aquatic, light but finally of a real consistency.

Immediately pop («Dans ses yeux»), reminiscent of the great French composers of the sixties («Avec toi») and with them that of the English of Broadcast to Vanishing Twin («Muzak»).

It’s a bit time for the Norman to make a pause and for that, to put his nose out, it’s freetime, the one of those who will never claim to be better than the others but whose records will be kept close to the heart.

Limited

LOVE IS A STREAM :: 10 year anniversary edition. Remastered by Stephan Mathieu. Design by Farbod Kokabi.

Jefre Cantu on Guitar & Electronics. With Lisa McGee, John Twells, and Maxwell August Croy on vocals. Orginally released October, 2010 on TYPE records, UK.

From the original press release: As a member of San Francisco legends Tarentel and Type’s premier astral travellers The Alps, Jefre Cantu-Ledesma is hardly a new addition to the label, so it’s hard to believe that ‘Love Is A Stream’ is his first Type solo album. Previously releasing on Arbor, Spekk and his own Root Strata imprint, this latest album marks his journey into the beautifully cacophonous world of dream pop. Shoegaze music has been much maligned in recent years, probably due to its rebirth and subsequent explosion of popularity (which gave rise to hundreds of young bands aping the over twenty-year-old sound). However it was only a fragment of the genre that these bands attempted to re-create, and on ‘Love Is A Stream’ Cantu, instead of focusing on tired weeping melancholy ballads, focuses solely on expansive, almost noise-ridden hopefulness. This is the kind of noise we fell in love with when My Bloody Valentine blew our ear drums performing ‘Loveless’, or the kind of harmonic excess we heard on hundredth listen to Catherine Wheel’s ‘Ferment’, but taken into deeper, more abstract realms. ‘Love Is A Stream’ is dedicated to love itself, and the dreamy, shimmering blown-out textures might at first sound like white noise before they ultimately give way to blissful harmony and hidden melody. Underneath the grit and growl are hidden guitar parts, synthesizer drones and even vocals (provided by Lisa McGee, John Twells and Maxwell August Croy) that succeed in swelling the dense, tape-saturated songs to heady new heights and belie any influences they might have. On each listen the mind strips away another layer of dust and bones to reveal haunting and deeply moving beauty. The world might be spiralling into despair, but Jefre Cantu-Ledesma has brought us a record that isn’t afraid to share the love. All that’s left to do is drown in it.

Transparent Red Vinyls

"Iza jinjô ni… Shôbu!” Be prepared for the battle!

Wayô Records and SNK Corporation are pleased to announce their first collaboration project! For the coming of the new Samurai Shodown game from the legendary fighting game series, we are proud to present the international release of its soundtrack in both CD and Vinyl formats!

With its beautiful Japanese instruments, the music of Samurai Shodown (2019) combines the power of modern times with the spirit from the roots of the series, performed by the best traditional Japanese players, including the legendary HIDE×HIDE duo! This soundtrack features the theme song Revive the Soul and each of the character themes, for a total of two hours of epic music!

The original soundtrack on Vinyl includes 19 tracks on two 180g LP red-marbled discs in separate sleeve into a gatefold package.

Wyvern Lingo are ready to reveal another taste of their highly-anticipated second album ‘Awake You Lie’, in the shape of record opener ‘Only Love, Only Light’. “This album is so much about us comforting each other. It’s about being in your late-twenties, when all the pieces are starting to settle into place and you worry whether or not you’ve made the right moves” - Wyvern Lingo, October 2020. ‘Awake You Lie’ will be released on Friday 26th February. Recorded in JRS studios in Berlin pre-COVID, with the final tweaks managed in lockdown Ireland, ‘Awake You Lie’ comes almost two years to the day after their widely acclaimed, Choice Music Prize-nominated, debut album. The tracks released thus far, accompanied by videos filmed in both Berlin and Bray, show a band brimming with confidence in their sound, relaxed in their environment, but still ready to ask hard questions about their place in the world. To describe Wyvern Lingo as ‘tight-knit’ wouldn’t even cover it - they have long debunked the myth that you can’t choose your family. After all, the band was formed in Bray in a teenage world of self-discovery, soundtracked by the 60's/70's music of their parents, and the 90's/00's R'n'B of their childhood. If anything, the band - Caoimhe Barry, Karen Cowley and Saoirse Duane - are closer than ever two years on from their first album, a steely, us-against-the-world determination that has its roots in their origin story. If the self-titled first album caught the band on the cusp of transitioning from folky songstresses to R’n’B/alt-pop influenced players, then ‘Awake You Lie’ sees Wyvern Lingo fully immersed in who they are as a band - superb musicians and supernatural harmonisers with a gimlet eye to spear the ever shifting mores of modern relationships, both intimate and platonic. The album title - ‘Awake You Lie’ - is taken from a line in the new song ‘Aurora’, the phones-aloft, showstopper that closes side 1 of the record. The band add: “A recurring image during this album writing process was light, the lack thereof, and wanting to see things more clearly, for ourselves and others. We called the album "Awake You Lie" because it evokes an image of night-time when someone should be sleeping but can’t, due to restlessness or worry..

Set in Mumbai’s underground rap scene, Gully Boy is inspired by the lives of Mumbai rappers Naezy and Divine (a.k.a. Naved Shaikh and Vivian Fernandes respectively). Ever since Indians started protesting or expressing dissent about an existing political system, songs have always been a major weapon, and Gully Boy, lyrically and musically, is a triumph!
The soundtrack features Bollywood superstar Ranveer Singh, who plays the titular Gully Boy, rapping himself, along with a bouquet of writers ( Divine, Naezy, Spitfire, Rishi Rich, Raghu Dixit, Karsh Kale, Midival Punditz, Vivieck Rajagopalan, Dub Sharma, Sez On The Beat, Jasleen Royal, Ankur Tewari, Mikey McCleary, Kaam Bhaari, Ace, Ishq Bector, Prem & Hardeep, Major C), either performed on screen by various artists or playing out in the background.
Gully Boy’s music is the hallmark of change in Bollywood.

With North Star, Viking Metal pioneers EINHERJER release their eighth studio album on February 26, 2021, proving their status as the pioneers of blending Nordic Black Metal and Folk Metal genres once again. The album marks the band’s return to Napalm Records after 25 years, and their release of the legendary Dragons Of The North album (1996). The Norwegian metal outfit remains musically true to themselves and reinforces their exceptional position. North Star was recorded in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic at the in-house Studio Borealis, owned by founding member and mastermind Frode Glesnes. The raw production ties in seamlessly with its predecessor Norrøne Spor and makes North Star probably the most powerful EINHERJER album to date! North Star is EINHERJER's musical mission towards something bigger - the search for guidance by the North Star in a constantly changing world that is searching for stability. The album’s opener, "The Blood And The Iron", peppered with uncompromising double-bass thunderstorms, pulls the listener in from the very first second, while "Stars" stomps through atmospheric soundscapes with dark chords. "West Coast Groove" underlines EINHERJER's technical songwriting sophistication with finest guitar solos. North Star will be available in black, blue/white inkspot and limited gold vinyl editions (gold limited to 300 copies). Founded in Norway in 1993, the band has significantly influenced the way of Viking Metal in the following years with Dragons Of The North - 25 years later, EINHERJER are stronger than ever and are bursting with energy on North Star! 1. SINGLE - EN Stomping drums and gloomy guitar chords, paired with ice-cold vocals by singer and guitarist Frode Glesnes - "Stars" draws the listener into the icy, dark world of EINHERJER! 2. SINGLE - EN With powerful double bass grooves, a catchy chorus and technically skilled guitar solos, EINHERJER are more uncompromising and harder than ever on "The Blood And The Iron"! 3. SINGLE - EN Old school vibes meet dark Viking Metal atmosphere in "West Coast Groove" - EINHERJER are in top form and still prove their status as genre pioneers after more than 25 years!

When I think I refused the first one, what an unconsciousness! "It was in these terms that Serge Gainsbourg expressed, in 1977, his joy at seeing his talents as a composer finally associated with the adventures of Emmanuelle, embodied on screen by the sensual Sylvia Kristel. For a long time, he bit his fingers for declining the offer to compose the soundtrack for the first part of the erotic saga. In France, only one 45 rpm appeared on Philips in 1977, regrouping the song "Goodbye Emmanuelle" and the instrumental "Emmanuelle and the Sea". However, Goodbye Emmanuelle's soundtrack was released in October 1977 as a nine-track LP reserved for the Asian market (Japan and Hong Kong). Enriched with two bonus tracks, this extremely rare LP is finally available in the UK. Reviews in London Macadam, and L’Echo Ads London Macadam and L’Echo

Crepuscule presents La Jungle, a brand new electropop single by acclaimed Belgian DJ, producer and remixer Buscemi, featuring with vocal and lyrics by compelling newcomer Lauvé.

The vinyl single is a limited edition edition of 500 copies in orange vinyl, with cover photography by Laura Levasseur.

Since 2001 Buscemi (real name Dirk Swartenbroekx) has released eight solo long players as well as mix albums for Blue Note and Ministry of Sound, and also film and television soundtracks.

Remix clients include Melody Gardot, Isabelle Antena, Calexico, Hooverphonic and Nicola Conte. Seaside, his 2003 collaboration with Isabelle Antena from signature album Camino Real, remains a perennial favourite around the globe. His eighth studio album, Luna Misteriosa, was issued by Crepuscule in 2018.

Hard-edged retrofuturist synthpop track La Jungle heralds forthcoming album Mistral du Sud (TWI 1250) and features guest vocals from Lauvé, formerly of Brussels electronic pop duo P.A.N.T.H.E.R. “La Jungle is about a man-eater,” explains Lauvé (pronounced lo-vay). “She seduces her prey, little by little – then either devours him, or drives him away. It’s a song that allows a woman to have control over the game of seduction. It’s empowering, I hope – but with a hint of recklessness too.”

On his first full length effort, singer / songwriter Mav Karlo, otherwise known as Menno Versteeg, offers up a much more elaborately realized, yet no less intensely intimate body of work. With its gracefully sparse arrangements, the album centres on Versteeg’s lyrical storytelling, revealing a narrative voice deeply attuned to the beauty in the ordinary and routinely overlooked. Strangers Like Us closely documents an especially tough period in Versteeg’s life but the album ultimately showcases an undeniable courage in its commitment to truth-telling and unsparing self- examination. He is supported by spirited guest performances from Katy Goodman of Vivian Girls (on vocals), Charlie Spencer of Dizzy (keys, drums) and Versteeg’s Hollerado bandmate Nixon Boyd (guitar, bass). Album produced by Chris Coady (Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Amen Dunes, Beach House) and recorded at Sunset Sound and Sonic Ranch. Menno Versteeg is the owner of Royal Mountain Records and a former member of both Hollerado and Anyway Gang.

Directed by Just Jaeckin, the creator of Emmanuelle, starring Françoise Fabian, Madame Claude is inspired by the fictionalized memories of Fernande Grudet, the sulphurous instigator of the most famous luxury prostitution network in Pompidolian France. The totally disco-funk Original soundtrack of this film released on screens in 1977 from Serge Gainsbourg is sublimated by the immense arranger- Jean-Pierre Sabar". Without forgetting the generic song of Madame Claude “Yesterday, Yes a Day” interpreted by Jane Birkin. Reviews in London Macadam, and L’Echo Ads London Macadam and L’Echo

Varèse Sarabande is thrilled to announce the upcoming vinyl release of the soundtrack for the Netflix film The Trial of the Chicago 7, written and directed by Academy Award®-winning filmmaker Aaron Sorkin (Molly’s Game, The Social Network). The vinyl tracklist is comprised of ten original score selections by three-time Golden Globe®-nominated composer Daniel Pemberton and two original songs performed by breakthrough Polydor recording artist Celeste. Pemberton and Celeste co-wrote the film’s focus track “Hear My Voice.”

Machine is the second studio album by the American industrial metal band Static-X, released in 2001. The album can be considered post-modern metal, as it features electronics and industrial effects, and not just a pinch of electronic gadgetry. Critics and fans responded positively to this album, which peaked at #11 on the Billboard 200 charts. The song “Black and White” provided the album’s first single and music video, followed by “This Is Not”. The third single “Cold” is used on the soundtrack of the film Queen of the Damned. Machine is available as a a limited edition of 1000 numbered copies on transparent red vinyl.

“I was born here” said Alice Cooper, “and so was the sound and spirit of Alice Cooper.” Named for the city that launched the original Alice Cooper group, “Detroit Stories” followslast year’s “Breadcrumbs” EP as a modern-day homage to the toughest and craziest Rock n Roll scene there ever was. Alice Cooper and Bob Ezrin gathered some legendary Detroit musicians (Wayne Kramer, Johnny “Bee” Badanjek, Paul Randolph and many more) in a Detroit studio to record “Detroit Stories”, Alice Cooper’s new album that celebrates that spirit for a new era. Finally, it would not be a proper collection of Detroit tales if it didn’t include a few songs featuring the Original Band members, Mike Bruce, Dennis Dunaway and Neal. Joe Bonamassa also makes an appearance on the intro track “Rock ‘n’ Roll”. If 2019’s “Breadcrumbs” EP laid down the trail to the city, “Detroit Stories” drives like a muscle car right down Woodward Ave. Discover Detroit Stories as they were meant to be told. Available across 5 formats: CD / CD+DVD / 2LP Black, Boxset. Boxset inclues CD, T-shirt, Face Mask, Torch Light, 3 Stickers. Expected reviews across the broadsheets and tabloids. Daily Mail already picked this album as one of their 2021 albums to look out for! Current single playlisted at BCR2.

Limited double gatefold LP version (16 tracks) of the exciting new release from hip hop legends A Tribe Called Quest.

A Tribe Called Quest - Q-Tip, Phife Dawg (who passed away on March 22nd, 2016), Ali Shaheed Muhammad, Jarobi White - the groundbreaking 90's group that forever transformed the urban music landscape reunited on their first and last studio album together in eighteen years. Guests on ''We got it from Here...Thank You 4 Your Service''

Arthur Alexander’s mid-60s releases for Monument and Sound Stage 7 under the supervision of Fred Foster in Nashville failed to register on the charts but are highly regarded, none more so than these sides cut on his first session for the company. The released tracks from the session, ‘(Baby) For You’ and ‘The Other Woman (In My Life)’, were more country-sounding.

These two wonderful soul songs remained in the vaults until an Ace CD in 2001 and have picked up admirers ever since. To own them on vinyl will be a vintage soul lover’s thrill.

Hailing from Medellin, Colombia, Killabeatmaker is a Global Bass DJ / Producer, audio engineer, singer and songwriter; a multi-faceted artist you'll be hearing a lot about in the near future. Drawing his inspiration from his Afro-Colombian and Indigenous roots, Killabeatmaker efficiently mixes traditional sounds and rhythms with urban beats and raw club music. His EP "Matiela Suto" is an homage to the diversity of Colombia's people and cultures, packed with progressive house buildups, Nigerian club music influences and enchanting female voices.

Cumbia, the music and the dance synonymous with Colombia, has been around almost since the 17th century. Today, it’s a badge of identity for Colombians everywhere, but is now also enjoying a global renaissance; filling dance floors and captivating a new generation of music fans.

Originally released by World Circuit as two separate albums – ‘Cumbia Cumbia’ in 1989 and ‘Cumbia Cumbia 2’ in 1993 - this collection brings together some of the greatest recordings made by Colombia’s legendary record label, Discos Fuentes, between 1954 and 1988.

Discos Fuentes was founded in Cartagena in 1934 by the visionary musician, arranger and producer, Antonio Lopez Fuentes. It was the first important record label in the country and grew into a company of immense significance for Colombian music, responsible for thousands of hits and scores of legendary singers and musicians over six decades. Fuentes hand-picked his musicians and singers then meticulously arranged, produced and recorded their music in-house.

This collection presents thirty of these three-minute-masterpieces, showcasing the gamut of styles that make up the distinctive and irresistible cumbia sound; a sound typified by a loping 2/4 gait and a pulsing rocksteady bassline, overlaid with heavy rural percussion, brass, accordion, clarinet, electric guitar and vocals. Disc 1 features a broad range of cumbia styles with recordings from 1960 through to 1988, whilst disc 2 digs further into the classics of the past focusing almost exclusively on the 1950s and 1960s.

Featuring cumbia’s biggest hits from Rudolfo y su Tipica, Gabriel Romero, Sonoro Dinamita and Armando Hernandez, ‘Cumbia Cumbia 1 & 2’ is a flawless collection from the Golden Age of Cumbia.

Montreal-based producer & DJ Slick Shoota brings us Function, his debut LP and first solo release on the Teklife imprint. A native of Norway known for his renowned Oslo club night Ball Em Up, he's been a member of the elite crew since 2015, contributing tracks to the label's compilations such as On Life Vol. 2 and VIP Trax. Using a unique palate that combines both traditional footwork drums and eclectic otherworld sonics, this album expands on the signature sound he's been brewing during the course of his career, celebrating his longtime love of the Chicago soundscape, with a healthy helping of UK rave, jungle, and vibes from other fast paced club realms. Slick starts the record off with Hovercraft, a big burly mutant rap beat riding a glowing titanic wave of jungle subbass, with vicious hi-hats stabbing through the mix. Desire Path follows with hysterical horns cruising along a stampede of erratic Chicago percussion. A glitchy, malfunctioning computer meets drumline stomps on See Me Flex, resulting in a psychotic, yet psychedelic sci-fi soundscape. Ultra-distorted hardcore kicks open up Jellyneck, dropping straight into a dungeon of ghostly vocals and headlong toms. Warehouse 2K opens up the B-side with R&B chops and lasers floating on a charming cloud of pulsating pads. Mad doppler sirens loop around your head on Delahaze, as distant clangs and crashes fight an impatient, throbbing bassline. Classic rave atmospheres are met with Slick's elegant sound design on MTL Hardcore, his ode to his adoptive city. The album closes off with Special Tek, channeling the signature quirky drum sounds of the late DJ Rashad over a pounding, fast paced house beat, a wonderful nod to the Windy City and its influential sonic culture. Carving out his own sound from the legacies of Chicago, the UK, and other underground club hotspots, Slick Shoota has found his own recognizable voice within these realms of dance music, and this LP serves as documentation of that solidified voice. Years of studying the masters and immersing himself with their work has clearly paid off, and he's respectfully taking these sounds he loves in exciting new directions. Bridging gaps both historical and geographical, Function marks a pivotal point in his career, and is clear evidence that Slick Shoota is vital member of the legendary Teklife family.

It’s hard not to notice such an unforgettable sleeve, and if the music it protects is half as memorable as the artwork, you know you just have to hear it. We don’t think you’ll be disappointed because yes, this is the majestic 1971 album Un Muñeco De Madera, courtesy of the shadowy Sola, and it sounds exactly as you’d want it to. Originally released on RCA in Mexico, it’s kaleidoscopic Acapulcan-funk.

The album’s endless grooves are propelled by softly rocking, quasi-library funk breaks. Vocally, Sola is in step with the 60s French pop-chanteuse style, but of course her lyrics are delivered in sensuous Spanish. Her voice is beautiful. Pillowy soft and tender, it can suddenly explode in mystical anger. These are ten tracks of moody, mysterious vibes that stir the spirit and sooth the soul.

The LP was written, arranged and directed by prolific Spanish composer Manuel Alejandro, the man behind an incredible number of now classic Latin love songs from the 60s, 70s and 80s. As for Sola herself, next to nothing is known about the Mexican singer except the occasional whisper heard in only the darkest corners of the annals of music history. It’s said that upon growing disillusioned with the music industry she ended up in a convent of Carmelite Sisters. Fitting perhaps, given that Un Muñeco De Madera is a spiritual wonder of a record.

Much-loved single and title-track “Un Muñeco De Madera” opens the album. It introduces us to Sola’s sparkling Latin-funk, bursting with swaggering grooves sewn by tight drums, sweeping strings and lush keys. It’s followed by the serene but melancholic bossa groove of “Oye Mamá, Oye Papá” and the strings and guitar of “He Bajado Al Infierno” that hold up vocals reaching for an eternal truth. With full-on soundtracky feels, the rolling keys underpinning the Morricone-esque soundscape of “En Ellos Creo” will give you goosebumps. The gorgeous “Soy Rebelde” (“I’m Rebellious”), sets its gentle, piano-led delivery in delicate contrast to the lyrical sentiment.

Perhaps Sola’s most well-known track, the exotic bossa of “Tabu, Tabu”, is a formidable groove. Elegant bongos, prominent bass, delicate acoustics and a persistent flute blend with Sola’s unique voice; sinuous, sassy and forceful at the same time. The stunning “La Última Palabra”, while not literally the album’s last word, is nevertheless a stirring statement of strutting Latin soul, with more musical ideas packed into this one song than the entirety of most long-players.

If you hadn’t decided already, the final two tracks that are the funk-fuelled “Bada-Bada-Ba” and the horn-heavy percussive masterclass “Únete A Mi” will leave you in no doubt that this is one very special record.

Mastered with great respect by Simon Francis, cut by the master Pete Norman and with that sleeve lovingly restored by the Be With team, this re-issue ensures that Un Muñeco De Madera now sounds, looks and feels as beautiful as it deserves to.
: Un Muñeco De Madera (LP)

Digging deep through old and new, Basso captures arcane woodland fusion, serene electronic suites and wide eyed Balearic bliss on this first Growing Bin compilation.

This collection celebrates those precious records which land in your life on their own terms. Even the most advanced digger will admit that chance is the secret ingredient in any successful haul. Sure, it helps if you know where to look, but if you arrive a day early at that secluded second hand shop, or an hour late at the convention, you might miss out on a rare sight of sound. But there are still ways to skew the odds in your favour. Even in the most crowded urban environment, a solitary tree soon becomes a nest, and Basso's fostered an abundant garden in his Hamburg hometown. A decade on and the Growing Bin is a safe haven for those exquisite sounds crowded out of the mainstream, the rare birds with the most striking song.

'Coffee' comes right after cocoa in the bin's headquarter, though start your morning with One Tongue and be prepared for a different kind of day. A witch's brew spiced with a hint of Durian and the early bird, this 1990 composition could be the blueprint for the Teutonic trance dancers beloved by the Salon set. A more meditative magic flows through the A2, a smooth blend of fusion guitar, softly syncopated drums and counterpoint keys from one time art-rockers Inandout. This Growing Bin favourite from their '93-95' LP sounds right at home beside the majestic melodies and spheric bass of Matthias Raue's 'Brücke am schwarzen Fluss 2'. Taken from the soundtrack to a TV drama filmed in Mali, this digital homage to African rhythm shimmies in step with New Age dancers from Mkwaju Ensemble and Louis Crelier. The A-side ends with the unbridled optimism of Kosmische maverick Hardy Kukuk. The synthesist hit the studio with friends Karsten Raecke and Andreas Schneider in 86, coalescing crystalline electronics and gentle guitar into tender chord progressions suited for sun bathing beside the Sea of Tranquility.

The second side slinks into motion with the deep beauty and sincere spoken word of Frank Suchland's 'Schnee', a subtle body in a cocoon of reverb which takes Sade's 'I Never Thought I'd See The Day' to another level of placidness. Melancholic Germans Die Fische met in Cairo for the first time, and 'Conversation Of Everyday Lovers' could be the theme for that great city. Underpinned by primal percussion and a restrained groove, the track twists and turns between a trio of ineffable motifs, eternal combinations to the catacombs of Abusir. From there we go sublime, soaring skywards with a ten minute triumph from Hugh Mane. Balancing concentric sequences and space age synth riffs atop an irresistible breakbeat and bubbling bassline, the British producer finds a sensuous sweet-spot between fellow Growing Bin affiliates Krakatau and Singu.

Lucky are we who hear the Bin's sounds.
Patrick Ryder

Yellow Vinyl

Hawaii's legendary Latin superstar Rolando Sanchez & Salsa Hawaii's smash hit "ALOHA MAMBO" Vinyl 7" EP will be released worldwide after its debut in Japan. The jacket illustration by Tammy Yee invites you to a Latin Paradise in Honolulu as you groove to vibrant Latin beats, island-style.

Rolando Sanchez
Rolando Sanchez & Salsa Hawaii
Rolando Sanchez is an award-winning songwriter/producer of Hawaii's leading Latin Jazz, Latin Rock, Salsa percussionists, singer-songwriters, and the owner of RSC Music. Originally from Nicaragua, he began his career in the suburbs of San Francisco and moved to Hawaii in 1984.

He has shared the stage with many of the best of Latin musicians including Tito Puente, Pet & Sheila Escovedo, and regularly appears at BLUE NOTE HAWAII, a mecca of island jazz. In addition, he hosts a live radio show, "LA ONDA LATINA," every Sunday on KNDI-AM1270, featuring the hottest mix of Latin Music in the islands.

He is a leader in the Hawaii-Latino world that connects his hometown of Nicaragua in Central America, to New York, California and Hawaii with a Latin sound infused with island flavors.

A few years ago, a certain Robin Schulz released a DJ mix on SoundCloud. Hailing from the town of Osnabrück, Germany and completely unknown at the time, he dubbed his mix “Wenn Träume fliegen lernen”, referencing the Peter Pan movie “Finding Neverland”. Seven years down the line, Robin Schulz hasn’t only found his Neverland, but keeps adding new chapters to his fairy tale.
Take this one, for instance: Robin Schulz is now the only German artist in the country’s chart history with three diamond-certified singles. Following “Prayer in C“ and “Waves“, his hit single “Sugar“ is the latest to officially reach this rare feat. Add his 275 gold and platinum awards in 30 markets, sales in excess of 20 million and nearly 8 billion global streams and you get the idea why the German DJ and producer is considered an exceptional phenomenon.
It should come as no surprise that he didn’t get there by accident. That also goes for his coming fourth album “IIII”, slated for a February 26 release. Over the course of three years, the creative powerhouse that is Schulz created ideas and worked tirelessly on the album whilst touring all around the world. “Of course, I’m absolutely stoked about gaining the third diamond award in my career”, Robin shares. “However, in my head I’m still that bloke from Osnabrück who wants to make it out there with his creative vision. With that ambition, I also approached my new album.” Some of the album’s songs are already well familiar – “Speechless” (feat. Erika Sirola)”, “All This Love” (feat. Harloe), “Rather Be Alone” (feat. Nick Martin & Sam Martin), “In Your Eyes” (feat. Alida), “Alane” (feat. Wes) and the current single “All We Got” (feat. Kiddo). Another 11 tracks are still to see the light of day and Robin is looking forward to releasing them soon: “I can’t wait to share the new cuts with you. I really hope you’ll love them as much as I do”, he says.
Robin is ready to write the next chapter of his very own fairy tale.





e 5. All We Got (feat. KIDDO) Explicit