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Jones hat mit "Piano Solos For Friends And Loved Ones" (2003) und "Vol. 2" (2007) bereits zwei Solo Piano-Alben veröffentlicht, die es physisch nur bei Konzerten oder über den eigenen Webshop gab. Das vorliegende neue Werk – auf CD und LP jeweils auf unterschiedlichen Instrumenten eingespielt – erscheint in beiden Versionen mit einem Poster mit Sleevenotes vom Künstler. Ein QR-Code auf dem Poster gewährt Zugriff auf ein 36-Seiten Booklet und Notenblätter zu 5 der Songs.

Deraps's sophomore album ''Viva Rock N' Roll'' is a trip back to the greatest years of Classic Rock music. The album features a nostalgic but unique sound & vibe, with dominant guitar riffs & solos, angelic vocal harmonies, deep & emotional, as well as fun lyrics, catchy musical hooks and choruses, and a variety of songs & styles that will keep you excited from beginning to end. With it's raw feel & mix, Deraps bring back authenticity, liveness & groove to Rock N' Roll, topped with a fully hand drawn cover artwork that delivers a powerful message. A breath of fresh air in the Rock genre, and in today's music.

Ltd edition in transparent yellow vinyl!



The Mystery Lights 2nd outing on Daptone's rock subsidiary, Wick, sees them digging deeper into their cavern of influences, taking on tips from Suicide, The Kinks and Television as they look to build on their already party fuelled, raucous sound.

The Mystery Lights story begins in 2004 in the small town of Salinas California when friends Michael Brandon and Luis Alfonso -whose shared fondness for groups like The Mc5, Velvet Underground, Dead Moon, and The Fall (just to name a few) -decided to join forces and craft their own brand of unhinged rock and roll. From there they spent the better part of 10 years touring relentlessly before migrating to Queens, New York in 2014.

With a live show known for its raw, visceral energy and relentless assault –leaving little to no stoppage between songs –they barreled through countless NYC haunts and DIY venues, quickly amassing a fervent local following. The buzz soon caught the attention of Daptone Records execs who were in the beginning stages of launching a new rock-centric imprint, Wick Records. Impressed by the groups’ musicianship, groove, endless supply of energy, and understanding of musical history the Mystery Lights were quickly signed to Wick. Though a rock band at heart, the parallels to what Daptone Records had traditionally looked for in their Soul artists was undeniable. Soon sessions were booked with Producer/Engineer Wayne Gordon, and the release of their debut single “Too Many Girls” b/w “Too Tough to Bear” launched to mass critical fanfare.

Upon the release of their self-titled full-length on June 24th 2016 The Mystery Lights were quickly crowned “one of New York’s finest garage rock bands” by NME. Extensive touring, including multiple stops in Europe, Asia and Australia followed which found the group graduating from support slots at hole-in-the-wall clubs to headlining stages at major festivals worldwide.

After two years of break-neck, non-stop touring, the group settled back into Queens to prepare for their second full-length record, Too Much Tension(out May 2019). With Wayne Gordon in the producer’s chair and several intense writing sessions under their belt the group were back at Daptone’s House of Soul and ready to track. While keeping the hard-hitting approach of the first LP, Too Much Tension finds the group digging deeper into their well of eclectic influences, enriching their sound without echoing the past. Mixing the eerie, insistent synth sounds of groups like The Normal and Suicide, the energy and swagger of punk’s golden age, the pop sensibility of The Kinks, and the stark, deliberate execution of Television -The Mystery Lights are taking their idiosyncratic brand of rock and roll to dizzying new heights.

K.K. Hammond is a slide guitar playing songstress living in the backwoods of the UK. She takes her influence from the Delta Blues players of the 1930s, the roots music of Appalachia and its ancestors fusing the vibe of the swamp with a sprinkle of Southern gothic horror, K.K. writes traditionally inspired roots music but twists it her own unique way for an untapped sound that appeals to contemporary music listeners as well as classic blues fans.

K.K's music has garnered critical acclaim worldwide as well as airplay on a multitude of blues radio shows internationally. This includes the Cerys Matthews BBC Radio 2 Blues Show and the award winning Gary Grainger Blues Show.
A video of K.K. playing a slide guitar cover of "Nothing Else Matters" with her good friend Kaspar "Berry" Rapkin accompanying her on banjo was shared by Metallica on their official TikTok and described by them as "Incredible"!

K.K.’s biggest success to date arose from the release of her debut album Death Roll Blues. The vinyl and CD run sold out via pre-order prior to the album's official release date. Upon its release, the album hit the #1 spot in the UK iTunes Blues chart and subsequently bagged another #1 spot in the US iTunes Blues chart. It also exceeded her expectations by breaking into the #12 spot in the mainstream iTunes charts (across all genres) and the #18 spot in the UK iTunes mainstream chart. It was also the #3 best seller of all time for an iTunes Blues album pre-sale. Death Roll Blues also enabled K.K.’s first breakthrough into the Billboard Blues Charts with a #7 position.

K.K.'s has also had some great successes with her self produced and directed music videos. The music video for Heart Shaped Box winning a multitude of awards including wins at the Video Nasties Genre Film Festival, the David Film Festival in Turkey, the Euro Music Video Song awards, the Anatolia Film Festival, The Golden Wheat Awards, as well as K.K. receiving an honorable mention at the London Director Awards.
U.K. born, K.K. took an interest in guitar, Americana and roots Blues from an early age. She spent some years exploring the back roads of the USA eventually settling in the remote, forested English Countryside, where she works her farm. A self-professed hermit living in an isolated spot in the woods, K.K. enjoys exploring the wilderness surrounding her home to seek inspiration for her song writing.

Take a deep dive into the dimmest depths of the swamp where Southern gothic horror and slide guitar come together in unholy matrimony. K.K. Hammond is a slide guitar playing songstress living in the backwoods of the UK. She takes her influence from the Delta Blues players of the 1930s, the roots music of Appalachia and its ancestors fusing the vibe of the swamp with a sprinkle of Southern gothic horror, K.K. writes traditionally inspired roots music but twists it her own unique way for an untapped sound that appeals to contemporary music listeners as well as classic blues fans

Inspired by Abba, early AC/DC, Beefheart and the dark heart of outsider pop, The Beyond and the Better Way is a record featuring warped orchestrations, extended autobiographical rants and sumptuous performances by a collection of Glasgow's (and Ireland's) finest musicians and singers The Gorgeous Pouting Mr AR is a pseudonym for Ronan Breslin - a recording studio owner, composer and academic who teaches sound and music at The Glasgow School of Art.

Ronan comes from an Irish family of musicians, with the most notable being his brother Niall Breslin, who helmed the iconic Irish band "The Blizzards" before becoming a highly regarded mental health podcaster and now presenter on BBC Radio 3. Niall's stellar guitar playing features on many of this record's tracks. The recording will be released on the 23rd May via Strength in Numbers Records on vinyl and digital platforms and will be accompanied by an online collection of song- related essays (aka rants). The album is distributed by Last Night From Glasgow. "The songs explore OCD, politics, anxiety, grief, regret, rage, lost love, but also reflect on joyous moments that define the transition from fearful child to fuck- you adolescence and finally reluctant adulthood. The album title song 'The Beyond and the Better Way' is morbidly confessional; however, it is also a statement of resilience, positivity and optimism for the human condition. There is always a better way." - Ronan Breslin

Twelve years on from the release of their debut album This Life, Dublin indierap trio The Original Rudeboys are back to play a sold-out show in the 3Olympia Theatre in April 2025, coupled with a limited edition run of first time vinyl pressings of debut album "This Life" One could say that indie- rap trio "The Original Rudeboys" were ahead of their time. Once sniffed upon, a strong Irish accent is prominent in most breakout Irish acts at the moment (Fontaines DC, Kneecap, Gurriers, LYRA, Curtisy). The Original Rudeboys were doing this 15 years ago, and their stand-out hit 'Stars In My Eyes' was met by thousands of fans across Europe when they supported The Script, or headlined their own arena tours. The Original Rudeboys: Reunion Show in the 3Olympia this April sold out straight away which is a testament to the staying power their music still has in Ireland.

Speaking on the incredible feat, the band said; "We never thought a show was ever going to happen for us again nevermind at somewhere as prestigious as the Olympia theatre. We have played 5 of our own headline shows there but to add 1 more to the history books over 10 years on is truly a blessing and we are very grateful to everyone who made it happen, we can't wait to do it again." With the reunion show being in such high demand that it was an instant sellout, the band also wanted to give back to the fans another way. They are releasing a limited vinyl pressing of their debut album "This Life". This album was never released on vinyl before and will contain one extra bonus track - a new release from the band, hinting at what's to come. "We started in the music industry on the backend of the physical media decline but to see it come full circle and the rise in fans buying vinyl records is very promising. The magic of having something tangible as fans ourselves is not lost on us and to be able to listen back to this album with the crackle of the needle gives it an extra bit of magic we didn't know it needed.

'Heartstrings' is the fourth album from London-based Snowpoet, led by the creative partnership of Lauren Kinsella and Chris Hyson Since their debut EP in 2014, the band has built a devoted audience drawn to their emotionally rich songwriting, intricate production, and distinct sonic identity. With 'Heartstrings', they take a bold step forward, writing and recording in the studio as a collective for the first time, capturing the raw immediacy of live performance while expanding their sound with lush textures, layered harmonies, and deeply personal storytelling. "We wanted to capture the moment to create something that feels real, unfiltered, and alive," says Chris Hyson.

This album marks an evolution in Snowpoet's approach. Instead of the fragmented process of previous records, 'Heartstrings' was born in the moment, with the full band improvising, shaping, and refining ideas together in real time. The result is an album that feels alive - organic, immersive, and deeply human. Sonically, the group leans into rich, analogue synth tones, intricate drum textures, and a dynamic push- and- pull between electronic and acoustic elements. Lyrically, it is their most personal work to date, weaving themes of life, loss, and renewal with poetic honesty. "The sound of this record is richer, bigger, more expansive, representative of the culmination of everything we've done so far," reflects Lauren Kinsella. At the heart of 'Heartstrings' is a powerful contrast - moments of deep emotional weight balanced with luminous joy. Songs like "Host" dive into themes of grief and the body as a vessel for experience, while tracks like "New Tree" radiate warmth and rebirth. The band's signature harmonies and layered production give the album a three- dimensional quality, pulling the listener into a space where vulnerability and beauty coexist. With 'Heartstrings', Snowpoet solidifies their position as one of the most innovative and emotionally resonant bands in the UK's jazz- adjacent and electronic-acoustic crossover scene. This is an album for listeners who crave depth, sonic richness, and lyrical honesty.

Three years after the release of her successful debut album 'Alma', Munichbased singer, pianist, and composer Alma Naidu unveils her long-awaited self-produced new album 'Redefine' She presents 13 original songs that showcase remarkable emotional depth, musical diversity, and intensity. The album features a wide range of arrangements, from classic band settings to string orchestras and intimate voice-and-piano solo pieces. It explores themes such as friendship, love, personal growth, and thought- provoking topics like equality and the redefinition of gender roles. The record is further enriched by collaborations with renowned artists, including Mark Lettieri (Snarky Puppy), Raphaela Gromes, Nils Landgren, Jason "JT" Thomas, Lisa Wulff, and Simon Oslender.

THEE ALLYRGIC REACTION are a fuzz'n'Farfisa-powered 60's garage punk outfit from San Diego, CA USA! While they specialize in fuzz stompahs that will move your feet, they will also melt yer mynd with minor key psych madness! They are also leaders in the emerging "protest garage" scene, with songs that address the import topics of today's over aged teen scene!They have a maraca-breaking wyld live set, but also managed to sit still long enough to record their debut LP for Soundflat Records As every band does, they argued over the title for the LP, and finally settled on one that NO ONE likes, simply, "Thee Allyrgic Reaction"! All four lads grew up in the 80s Charmkin Scene, witnessing first-hand groups like the Unclaimed, The Primates, The Miracle Workers, The Tell- Tale Hearts, The Cynics, The Gruesome, Lyres, The Chesterfield Kings, The Fleshtones and The Brood! (and about a 100 more not named here!) The boys are THRILLED with their new LP on Soundflat, which was recorded over a two day period, and required nine California burritos, three pizzas, two cases of beer, and several cans of wine.

The record features 11 original compositions, as well as their own version of their favourite UNCLAIMED-song. One of the originals is an ode to Peter Maniette of the Crimson Shadows and Wylde Mammoths. So what do they sound like? They certainly pull from the farfisa'n'fuzz blasters of the past, but also employ some 12 string, harpsichord, harp and a few other surprises. They are a little folk, a little psych and LOT of garage punk! The group records at Earthling Studios in the San Diego area, which features an array of vintage gear, including an 8- track from Sunset Sound that was used on Forever Changes. That's how you say "MO-JO"!!!

Mr Bongo proudly presents the third album by Melbourne/Naarm multi-instrumentalist, Don Glori, entitled ‘Paper Can’t Wrap Fire’. A kaleidoscopic genre-surfing odyssey that brings together the worlds of jazz, soul and funk. Feeling both contemporary and classic, familiar yet novel, it’s an assured third release that sees an artist in full flight, showcasing their creative prowess and the uniqueness of their musical voice.

Steering in a new direction, Don Glori (aka Gordon Li) has delved headfirst into his songwriting with ‘Paper Can’t Wrap Fire’. Deftly showcasing his talents as a writer and bandleader, he brings with him a whole host of friends from the creative crossroads that is Naarm. It’s an album enriched with more soul, R&B, and funk-oriented songs than his previous jazz-rooted productions, yet there’s still plenty of jazz material for those familiar fans of Don's earlier works.

The album’s title is an old Chinese proverb, roughly translated as 'you can’t deny the truth'. This underlying thread is woven between the songs. “A lot of them are in some way about truth-seeking, observations and the masks you put on to deal with life (hence the cover art)”, Don mentions. Take, for instance, the sensational soul single 'Brown Eyes' featuring silky lead vocals by ML Hall. A dissection of the minority experience, and the power and comfort in building those communities. Elsewhere, 'Disaster' is a satirical take on the structures serving everyone but the artists, and 'Flicker' tackles notations of truth and clarity after introspection.

To marry that meaning with the level of musicianship on these tracks is what really stands out. Don has set out his stall here as an artist who can write songs that hit home in the heart, as much as they do in the head. It’s a journey infused with a glistening jazz finesse, layered with nourishing vocal harmonies and powered by an instantly relatable human soul.

Recorded over two hot summer days in Rolling Stock Studios in Collingwood, Naarm, the lineup of musicians is built up of Don's friends and family. Featuring the backbone team of Tim Cox, Al Kennedy, Joel Trigg, Robyn Cummins and Lachlan Thompson, who were part of Don's touring band before he relocated to London, and a stunning selection of vocalists in the form of ML Hall, Ruby Dargaville, Isadora Lauritz, and Bianca Kyriacou. Also gracing the album are trumpeter extraordinaire Audrey Powne, saxophonist Joshua Moshe, and Alcides Neto who sprinkles some Brazilian magic into the record.

Taking influence from artists including Azymuth, SAULT, Jordan Rakei and Lynda Dawn, as well as from London musical beacons such as NTS and Total Refreshment Centre, Don has run with this, leaned in and come out with a record truly unique to himself and his distinctive core, with no mask necessary.

La Pambelé Unveils Nací Mestizo, A Bold New Album Reviving Salsa with a Contemporary Twist Bogotá’s heavy guaguancó orchestra, La Pambelé, proudly presents their highlyanticipated second studio album, Nací Mestizo, now available on all major digital platforms as of November 27th. This album pays tribute to the golden era of salsa, particularly the 1970s, while breathing new life into the genre with modern lyrics and stories that resonate deeply with Latin communities.

All while maintaining a distinct Bogotan essence that highlights the city’s unique cultural flavor. Nací Mestizo seamlessly blends the timeless salsa brava sound with contemporary themes, reflecting the everyday lives of people across Latin neighborhoods. The album’s songs capture the struggles, passions, and joys of ordinary people, presented through the vibrant rhythms of salsa, creating a musical experience that connects the past with the present. Building on Their Rising Popularity Prior to the album’s release, La Pambelé debuted the singles “Amargura” and “Perdí mi Corazón”, which quickly captivated audiences and set the stage for the full album's success. The band’s electric performance of these tracks at the MedPlus Coliseum in Bogotá, before an audience of 22,000 attendees awaiting Marc Anthony, was met with enthusiasm as fans danced and applauded.

This moment marked a significant milestone for the orchestra, cementing their place as a rising force in the global salsa scene. Additionally, La Pambelé’s growing visibility has been marked by their appearances at major festivals such as Salsa al Parque and features on prominent radio stations, including Radio Nacional de Colombia and Latina Stereo. These platforms have helped introduce La Pambelé’s signature sound to a wider audience, building anticipation for the release of Nací Mestizo and reaffirming their influence in Colombia’s tropical and alternative music scenes. A Contemporary Salsa Sound with Classic Roots La Pambelé’s unique blend of traditional salsa brava and contemporary Latin storytelling is showcased through their distinctive nine-piece orchestra, which includes piano, conga, flute, trumpet, trombone, timbales, bongos, and baby bass. The dynamic vocals of Miguel RoRebolledo and Lorena Contento elevate the album’s themes, creating a sound that invites listeners to their feet and onto the dance floor. Under the direction of Camilo Toro Morato, the orchestra has honed its signature style, pushing the boundaries of salsa while staying true to its roots. As a proud defiance of stereotypes about Bogotá’s musical abilities, La Pambelé’s name pays homage to legendary Colombian boxer Kid Pambelé, symbolizing resilience and strength.

The name also draws from the Bantú language, meaning "defender of one's own," reinforcing the band’s connection to their Colombian heritage and pride in their distinctive sound. Global Recognition and Continuing Influence Since the release of their self-titled debut album in 2022, La Pambelé has gained international recognition, especially within the vinyl collector community. Theirdebut album was released in both 45” and LP vinyl editions, further solidifying their unique position in the contemporary salsa movement. Influenced by salsa greats such as Markolino Dimond, Eddie Palmieri, Edy Martínez, and Ismael Miranda, La Pambelé has carried forward the torch of salsa brava with passion and innovation. Nací Mestizo marks a significant evolution in the orchestra’s journey, melding the old and the new, and cementing La Pambelé as a driving force in the future of salsa music. A Collector’s Dream With their 2022 debut album garnering international recognition, La Pambelé’s vinyl releases—including 45” and LP editions—have become coveted items for salsa collectors worldwide. Their music is a bridge between classic salsa traditions and a modern vision, appealing to seasoned fans and new listeners alike. About La Pambelé La Pambelé is a heavy guaguancó orchestra from Bogotá, Colombia, known for their vibrant, rhythm-driven sound that blends 1970s salsa brava with modern Latin influences. With a unique nine-piece lineup and powerful vocals, the band continues to break boundaries, defying expectations and inspiring audiences around the world

Salty Millers einziges Album ist ein verstecktes Juwel der Yachtrock-Szene, das 1980 in begrenzter Auflage erschien. Aufgenommen mit Mitgliedern der legendären Yachtrock-Combo The Embers, mischt die LP Soul, Disco und Midtempo-Stepper zum charakteristischen Szenetanz, dem Shag. Durchdrungen von pazifischen Sounds und gefühlvollen Streichern dient die LP sowohl als Liebesbrief an die goldenen Yachtrock-Jahre als auch als Ausreisser, der die Konventionen überschreitet. Während viele Songs nostalgische Yachtrock-Themen wie Liebe und Freude feiern, bieten andere mit einem nachdenklicheren Unterton eine seltene Abkehr vom traditionell sonnendurchfluteten Geist des Genres. Lang ersehnte, in den AIR Studios neu remasterte und geschnittene Neuauflage mit neuen Liner Notes.

In the vibrant streets of Tembisa, South Africa, amidst the sprawling urbanity connecting Johannesburg and Pretoria, the story of Moskito began. Formed in 2001 by Mahlubi "Shadow" Radebe and the late Zwelakhe "Malemon" Mtshali, the group first emerged as a powerhouse of pantsula dancers. However, their undeniable passion for music soon led them down a new path_ one that would cement their place in kwaito history. Spending countless hours on the street corners of their township, where they were born and raised, Shadow and Malemon danced and sang with an infectious energy that attracted crowds. It wasn't long before the duo decided to channel their talents into a kwaito group, and after adding friends Patrick Lwane and Menzi Dlodlo, Moskito was born. (Pantsula dancing emerged in the 1950s among Black South Africans in townships and continually evolved until it became intertwined with kwaito music culture. The stylized, rapid foot movements and characteristic low-dancing became associated with kwaito as it took over South African urban culture into the early 2000s.) With limited resources, the group displayed immense creativity, recording demos using two cassette decks and instrumental tracks from other artists. They would rap and sing over an instrumental playing on one deck while the second deck records their performance. Their determination paid off when they submitted their demo to Tammy Music Publishers, who were captivated by Moskito's style. "Kwaito was the thing `in' at the time. If you did music you did kwaito. We wanted to fit in and actually it was easy," says Radebe. "We didn't have engineers in the group, so the first time in a real studio was with Percy and Thami to record Idolar." That same year, the group released their debut album, Idolar, under Tammy Music. The album was an undeniable success reaching gold status selling over 25,000 units and earning them a devoted fan base across South Africa and neighboring countries like Botswana, Swaziland, Namibia and Zimbabwe. Moskito collaborated with industry legends such as Chilly Mthiya Tshabalala, who was known for his work with Thiza and Spoke "H." They drew inspiration from Thami Mdluli a.k.a Professor Rhythm, who had dominated the disco scene back in the 80s and 90s. Mdluli helped with musical arrangements and executive produced the album and signed on producer-engineer Percy Mudau, while Shadow and Malemon took pride in composing most of their songs. Like many of the rising kwaito artists of the time, they didn't have music production or engineering backgrounds so they required support from engineers together their ideas down on tape. They were inspired from South African kwaito icons like Trompies, Mdu, Mandoza, and Arthur Mafokate, alongside international heavyweights like Snoop Doggy Dogg, Dr. Dre, 2Pac, and R. Kelly, Moskito created a sound that was uniquely theirs_a perfect blend of local flavor and global influence.

Show Your Power” music was part of a studio session with Nickodemus & Costa Rican rising star & versatile producer Barzo. Produced around the time Nickodemus was working on his album "Soul and Science". After many weeks of searching for the right vocalist Nickodemus finally connected with Ghanian vocalist Zongo Abongo who collaborated on 3 of his songs. Musically, "Show Your Power" is an uptempo joint with hard hitting afro-Caribbean beats & Rhythms, a UK inspired dub bassline & ska horns.

On the flip side, Mr. Doris shows his diversity also in the studio with good friend & producer Much Maligned for this heavy hitting Afro-Caribbean dance-floor shaker "Want Some More"

Carwyn Ellis & Rio 18 release their new album "Fontana Rosa". Possibly the world's only musical group to fuse Latin music of all kinds with the Welsh language, this time Rio 18 draw inspiration from slightly different musical corners, including Chicano Soul, Nuyorican pop, and Salsoul disco plus Latin sounds filtered through the cultural spectrum of the USA.

Most significantly though, the album was among the last ever to be recorded by the acclaimed producer Liam Watson at his legendary studio and shrine to all things analogue, Toerag Studios - a huge inspiration and influence on Rio 18's Carwyn Ellis. The "Fontana Rosa" sessions saw Ellis draw together an all-star band at the fabled studio which is perhaps best known through its place in the White Stripes history.

Talking about the story and gestation of the album, Carwyn said:

"I was in Mexico City with Baldo Verdú when I heard that Toerag Studios in London was going to close. It came as a shock - Toerag and Liam Watson, its owner and resident producer had been a massive influence on me. Liam, along with Edwyn Collins, had taught me much of what I know about recording, had hired me as an instrumentalist on countless sessions and had helped me to get started when I began my own solo career. And over the years, I'd still go in to record with Liam whenever the opportunity arose. When I heard that Liam was shutting up shop, I took it upon myself to try and ensure he went out with a musical bang. I rounded up the best band I could get: the aforementioned Venezuelan percussion wiz and singer, Baldo Verdú: American drummer, multi-instrumentalist and producer Shawn Lee: the Isle of Wight's finest drum and percussion master, producer and composer Rupert Brown (whom I'd originally met at Toerag many moons ago): Elan Rhys, one of Wales's finest voices and long term collaborator with Rio 18, as well as being one third of the wonderful folk group, Plu: and Kassin - my Brazilian brother from Rio de Janeiro, bassist and producer with artists such as Jorge Ben, Caetano Veloso, Gilberto Gil and a multitude of others, including Carwyn Ellis & Rio 18.

So this was my dream team, assembled to make beautiful music one more time at Toerag (I have to add at this point that Shawn and Rupert hit it off so well at our sessions that they booked their own session shortly afterwards! Look out for the brilliant Shawn Lee's Toerag Orchestra 'Percussion Discussion' album). Toerag, if you're not familiar with the place, made its name as London's foremost analogue studio for some 30 years, recording directly to tape which in essence means musicians playing live, together in a room until they get it right. And the sound? Oh the SOUND!! And this is all Liam Watson's doing, his sonic aesthetic - a real master engineer. The studio is perhaps best known as the place where the White Stripes recorded their monster hit album 'Elephant' but for me it's where I got to record with James Hunter, Lay Low (from Iceland), Quruli (from Japan), Fabienne Delsol (from France) and made many lasting friendships, learnt a great deal about popular music, as well as making a bunch of my own best recordings with Colorama.

Over the course of five days we laid down as much music as we could. We had some visitors too: guitar slinger Little Barrie (Primal Scream, The The and Liam Gallagher among other things, but also my dear bandmate in Edwyn Collins's band): sax and flute maestro Jim Hunt (Amy Winehouse, Primal Scream, Duffy and very many others): and Diego Laverde Rojas, the Colombian Latin harp virtuoso.

This time the music had a slightly different edge - although we still maintained our Brazilian/Welsh connection on 'Deffro'r Dydd' (written with and sung by Elan Rhys), our Cumbia vibe and some Merengue ('Mariposa' and 'Te Adoro', sung by Baldo Verdú) and even a traditional Afro-Venezuelan tune ('La Quichimba', again sung by Baldo) - the main influence for me this time was Latin music as recorded in the USA, both new and old. 'No More Secrets' is a straight up slice of Salsoul disco, while 'Hei Ti' is a punky funky but of Nu Yorican pop somewhere between ESG and the Beastie Boys. But one of my main influences in the last couple of years has been the current wave of Chicano Soul coming from California, particularly via the Penrose and Big Crown labels. I was turned on to this music when I was in Japan in early 2023 - Takashi-san at Pleased To Meet Me Records in Nara played me the Altons' 'Float' and I was hooked!

And that music has a similar aesthetic to Toerag: music recorded live to tape by excellent engineers, performed by fine musicians and singers. So our songs 'Impossible', 'Heartbreaker' and 'Lovesick' are very much in this vein. And that just leaves the title track, 'Fontana Rosa'."

The record is largely sung in Scots language, one of Scotland’s three official languages along with Gaelic and English. “Scots gives me a way of expressing myself which is connected directly with the landscapes I love. It brings the songs alive and it is a fascinating language. The name of the record is in Scots - Forefowk means the people who came before, or ancestors. When we say ‘mind me,’ we can mean a few things- remind, remember, watch over or care for me. The record explores how tradition needs to be constantly reconnected with, built upon, looked after, and shared.”
Quinie sings with a style inspired by Scottish Traveller singers. “I began singing unaccompanied Scots Song in 2015 after hearing Scots Traveller singer Sheila Stewart on the radio. Initially I felt like I shouldn't sing these songs because I'm not a Traveller, and I saw people around me doing that in a way that made me uncomfortable. But on the other hand this music made sense to me and I felt driven to learn. Over the years I have met Traveller friends who taught me that settled people sharing these songs could contribute to raising awareness. Scottish Travellers are marginalised and discriminated against in modern Scotland, despite being custodians of so many of our important traditions. So I started to perform them and tell this story. From there I built on my repertoire and started writing my own songs”.
To develop this record, Quinie travelled across Argyll with her horse. They went on a pilgrimage of sorts through the ancient landscapes of the West of Scotland to explore the interconnected relationships between people, ancestors, animals, and place. The album’s vinyl release is accompanied by a book and film, documenting this unusual research process.
Forefowk, Mind Me was recorded in August 2024 at The Big Shed in Highland Perthshire with support from Creative Scotland. Quinie is accompanied by an ensemble of musicians: Ailbhe Nic Oireachtaigh (viola), Oliver Pitt (duduk, bouzouki, percussion), Harry Górski-Brown (small pipes, violin), and Stevie Jones (double bass, recording, and mixing). Each of these artists brings their own distinctive voice, bridging contemporary experimental practice with worlds of traditional and early music.

Deerhoof haben sich schon vor langer Zeit als eine der großartigsten Rockgruppen des Planeten etabliert - wer das für übertrieben hält, hat noch nicht genug Zeit damit verbracht, Deerhoof zu hören - das wahnsinnig erfinderische Quartett behandelt jedes seiner neuen Alben als eine Gelegenheit zur kreativen Wiedergeburt. Und doch sind sie irgendwie auch zutiefst zuverlässig, eine seltsame, aber wahre Beschreibung für eine Band, die so kreativ rastlos ist. Man weiß nie, wie ein neues Deerhoof-Album klingen wird, außer dass es immer nach Deerhoof klingen wird. Die Band wird durch solche Paradoxien definiert, wie "Noble and Godlike in Ruin" erneut bestätigt. Ihr neuestes Album ist entweder ein Porträt einer Welt, die in monströsen Hass, Entmenschlichung und Dollarzeichen abgleitet, oder ein eindringliches Selbstporträt der Band als Monster: ein intelligentes, sensibles, hybrides Wesen, das unermüdlich von Liebe singt, sich aber zunehmend von dieser Welt entfremdet. Die Musik ist fröhlich und ahnungsvoll, kybernetisch und zutiefst menschlich, alles zugleich. Streicher, die an avantgardistische Kammermusik und klassische Horrorfilm-Soundtracks erinnern, prallen auf Gitarren- und Basslinien. Das Schlagzeug ist manchmal gefiltert und klingt fast elektronisch, aber kein Computer könnte einen so funkigen und dynamischen Rhythmus erzeugen, bei dem jede winzige Variation von einem Snare-Schlag zum nächsten Welten der Möglichkeiten vermittelt. An der Spitze steht die unnachahmliche Altstimme von Satomi Matsuzaki. Eine Stimme der Einsamkeit, deren schlichte Ruhe seltsam außerhalb des Mahlstroms der Band zu stehen scheint, zu dem sie mit ihren zackig-präzisen Bassläufen selbst beiträgt. Als Einwanderin der ersten Generation in den USA hat sie nie versucht, ihren japanischen Akzent oder ihre Karaoke-esken Vortrag zu verbergen. Auf "Noble und Godlike in Ruin" wirkt dies abwechselnd als Ausdruck von Einsamkeit und als kühle Provokation gegenüber Systemen der Unterdrückung und Kontrolle. ,Kindness is all I needed from you", singt sie auf dem epischen Albumabschluss ,Immigrant Songs`. ,But you think we're in your house." Nicht lange danach explodiert der Song, sein eng gewickelter Art-Pop macht Platz für mehrere Minuten heulenden Lärm. Auch wenn das Thema düster sein mag - wie könnte es anders sein - tragen die Songs trotzigen Optimismus in ihrer Weigerung, sich den Konventionen oder überlieferten Weisheiten zu beugen. Da ist diese berühmte Zeile von Dylan Thomas über das Wüten gegen das Sterben des Lichts: "Noble and Godlike in Ruin" fühlt sich ein wenig so an. Die Welt mag untergehen, aber Deerhoof gehen schwungvoll unter.

In the Andes of Peru, in a valley formed by the Huallaga River, lies the city of Huanuco. There, a little over fifty years ago, the emblematic cumbia band Los Darlings de Huánuco was born, and since then their compositions have gone around the world, bringing their homeland to the ears of music lovers and collectors. Adversities kept them away from music for two decades, but in spite of this, they marked a parallel path and created their own history in the maximum splendor of Peruvian cumbia. In a valley formed by the Huallaga River lies a temperate land located on the eastern slopes of the central Andes of Peru: Huánuco. A little more than seventy years ago, in that land of mountains and starry skies at almost 2,000 meters above sea level, Juan Nájera was born. A multifaceted musician by profession, he did not always have the privilege of being able to dedicate his life to music. For almost ten years he ran a family hardware store in Huánuco and then a mechanic shop on La Marina Avenue in Lima. He was also a truck driver. A decade of military dictatorships in Latin America made the artist's path very hard in the region, and Peru was no exception. Nájera was only nineteen when his first son was born. He had to make a living and the possibilities for entrepreneurship were slim. But if we go back in history, Juan Nájera was, first and foremost, a boy who dreamed of becoming a musician. Later, he was a boy who made it. Los Darlings de Huánuco managed to cross borders, not only in the capital of Peru, but also abroad. There are many collectors and music lovers around the world who seek and appreciate their songs, musical gems that have toured different latitudes and have managed to position this band from the Peruvian countryside in the most remote places on the planet. In a country characterized by its centralism, where opportunities in the countryside are much scarcer than in the capital, where the foreigner is greeted with more warmth than the local, and where getting ahead, especially in the musical field, implies an extraordinary effort, Los Darlings de Huánuco managed to take their sound to where they never thought it would be possible. From the Andes to the skyscrapers, from the heart of Huánuco to the immensity of other continents.

* The first release on Entire Records, in the shape of the soundtrack score to Academy-nominated 1976 documentary about the Bakhtiari tribe composed and performed by G.T. Moore and Shusha Guppy

* Available on vinyl for the first time since its original release.

* Musically encompassing Persian-flavoured and folk-tinged instrumentals and Farsi-language a-capellas.

* G.T. Moore is a singer and songwriter whose career stretches back to the late 60s when he was a member of folk band Heron. In the mid-70s he formed G.T. Moore and the Reggae Guitars. Later in his career, he would work with the likes of Lee Perry, Johnny Nash and Poly Styrene.
After 50 years in the music business, Gerald (G.T.) is still effortless bridging musical genres.

* Shusha Guppy, born in Tehran, was a talented writer, editor, songwriter, and singer.
Between 1971 and 1995, she recorded over ten albums of both Persian and Western folk songs.
She passed away in 2008.

Louis Philippe und The Night Mail sind zurück mit einem neuen, fesselnden Album, auf dem die Songs wieder einmal makellos sind. Die Reise geht dieses Mal weiter, weg vom Klassischen, hin zum Unerwarteten. Neue Synthesizer und Claps machen das Ganze unmittelbar und plötzlich, während Stimmen wie aus luftiger Höhe und scheinbar spielerisch-furchtlos durch das Album rufen. Neben den üblichen Geschichten, die man sich so erzählt, gibt es eine geheime, parallele Version der Pophistorie, die von den wahren Enthusiasten und Eklektikern geschrieben wurde. Von jenen, für die ein Dauerbrenner wie Pet Sounds nicht nur Anlass zu endlosen Behauptungen über seine Außergewöhnlichkeit war, sondern auch mündete in einer Aneinanderreihung harmonischer Reichtümer, die bis ins einundzwanzigste Jahrhundert reicht. In diesem alternativen Universum ist Philippe Auclair alias Louis Philippe, anglo-französischer Singer-Songwriter sondergleichen, seit vier Jahrzehnten eine bewunderte Größe. Philippes musikalische Anfänge liegen als Pop-Protagonist und Haus-Produzent bei Mike Always legendärem Label él Records. Von hier aus führten ihn seine Ausflüge in den Shibuya-Sound und zur Zusammenarbeit mit Leuten wie Bertrand Burgalat, Dave Gregory von XTC, Sean O"Hagan von High Llamas und Stuart Moxham von Young Marble Giants bis hin zu seinen jüngsten Abenteuern mit The Night Mail. The Night Mail kamen vor zehn Jahren zusammen, um ein Album mit dem unterschätzten Post-Glam-Genie John Howard aufzunehmen. Nach diesem einmaligen Projekt verbrachten sie ein paar Abende in London, um als Begleitband für Robert Forster und Louis Philippe zu spielen, und schlossen dabei eine Allianz mit Letzterem, die 2020 zu ihrem ersten gemeinsamen Album Thunderclouds führen sollte. Angesichts der Komplexität, den reichhaltigen Sound dieses Albums auf der Bühne zu realisieren, holte Philippe seinen langjährigen Partner, musikalische Koryphäe und Multiinstrumentalist Danny Manners an Bord.

Calibro 35 unleash a limited 7" feat Piero Umiliani's Italo-Cosmic-Disco classic 'Discomania' and Azymuth Brazilian-Disco stormer 'Jazz Carnival' on the B-side. Calibro 35 continue their journey into the world of cinematic jazz-disco-funk with the release of a new 7" featuring two afro-disco stormers. On the A side Calibro 35 deliver an heavily afro-funk infused version of Piero Umiliani's Italo-Cosmic-Disco classic 'Discomania' while on the flip side the Milanese band drop an equally explosive B-side with their own reinterpretation of Brazialian-Disco hit 'Jazz Carnival' by Azymuth. Both songs are taken from the highly anticipated new album 'Exploration' that drop June 06 worldwide via Record Kicks. The 7" is limited to 500 copies worldwide and is an instant's collector item. Described by Rolling Stone as "the most fascinating, retro-maniac and genuine thing that has happened to Italy in the past few years," Milan-based Calibro 35 enjoy a worldwide reputation as one of the coolest independent bands around. Active since 2007, during their long career, they 1 have been sampled by Dr. Dre on Compton ("One Shot One Kill" feat. Snoop Dogg), Jay-Z ("Picasso Baby"), The Child of Lov & Damon Albarn ("One Day"), and Demigodz ("The Summer Of Sam"). They 2 have played major venues and festivals all over Europe, and as unique musicians, they have collaborated with, among others, PJ Harvey, Mike Patton, John Parish, Stewart Copeland, and Rokia Traoré.

Claire Chicha aka Spill Tab is feeling more free than ever before. The LA-based, French-Korean songwriter and producer,has spent the past five years as spill tab honing a sound that is as raw-edged as it is refined, channelling low-slung guitar-strumming confessionals as well as the earworming melodic hooks of anthemic pop to produce a heady and distinctive mix.

Following the 2019 release of her intimate and infectious debut single “Decompose”, Spill Tab has evolved her spill tab project through three EPs: 2020’s synth-pop influenced Oatmilk, 2021’s playful, uptempo Bonnie, featuring Gus Dapperton and Tommy Genesis, and 2023’s co-produced, sonically-intricate Klepto, which gleefully meanders from the Hiatus Kaiyote-influenced jazz freakouts of “CRÈME BRÛLÉE!” to the guitar-chugging thump of “Splinter”. Live, meanwhile, Spill Tab has been tapped for her explosively energetic presence to open the North American leg of popstar Sabrina Carpenter’s tour, as well as touring through Australia with alt-rock trio Wallows.
With “PINK LEMONADE”, opening single from her forthcoming debut album “ANGIE” , spill tab’s freewheeling sound finds its fullest expression, harnessing this onstage experience and recorded experimentation with her bass-weight and pitched-up vocals. Here we find Chicha only ever chasing that “weird thing”, fizzing with an infectious enthusiasm and intricate musicianship. “The best songs come from writing the main idea in a day, as it’s so instinctual,” she says, such as “PINK LEMONADE” recorded “from a clip taken out of a 40-minute jam that we then chopped and spliced”.
Born to her French Algerian composer father and Korean pianist mother, Claire Chicha spent her early childhood in the mixing room of her parents’ LA post-production studio, bringing coffees to artists as they tracked scores for exciting new projects. “I hung out in that studio all the time until I was around 10 years old, absorbing jazz music my dad was into and classical music that my mom loved,” Chicha says. “My mom had a big hand in making me an adventurous kid, always trying new things from piano to harp and violin, forever soaking up new sounds.”

At 12, Chicha’s life was uprooted as she relocated to Thailand to live with her mother’s family following the collapse of her parents’ business after the 2008 recession. What followed was an unstable and formative few years of early teenagedom, navigating new cultures and life changes. In Thailand, Chicha began learning guitar to cover the Paramore and Green Day tracks she had grown to love while also becoming immersed in Thai traditional music. After a year, she moved once more to live with her aunt in Paris and there she was introduced to the classic sound of Serge Gainsbourg and Édith Piaf before ultimately returning to LA following the untimely death of her father.

“I had to become a real people person to fit in everywhere I was moving, and it immersed me into so many different styles of music,” she says. “I went from listening to the nasal singing of Thai traditional music at muay thai fights in Bangkok, to emotive classic French songs. It definitely informed the need to experiment with my sound as I became more interested in making music.”

At high school in LA, Chicha joined one of the country’s foremost show choirs and realised a natural aptitude for stagecraft and performance as she sang medleys in competitions throughout the US. Going on to study Music Business at NYU, Chicha found a love for the alternative soul and singer-songwriting of the likes of Moses Sumney and Bon Iver, as well as developing her own sound while spending summers interning as an A&R at Atlantic Records and being exposed to the gamut of New York’s live music scene.

“I was going to so many shows as an A&R intern and seeing just how much a lot of music sounded alike,” she says. “It made me realise I wanted my music to feel different, to cut through the noise but still make something that felt honest to me.”

Beginning to independently release tracks, Soill Tab gradually built a loyal fanbase with the release of wistful early numbers “Calvaire” and “Cotton Candy” and soon found herself signed to a major label. Yet, as her career progressed through the COVID pandemic the demands of a corporate major began to conflict with her own searching style. “My last two EPs were under contract and it felt like I was always chasing the carrot,” she says, “I felt a certain pressure to put out tracks quickly and find that ‘hit’. It wasn’t the right environment to truly make what I wanted.”

Ultimately parting ways with her label, Chicha began work on a new album, exploring new sounds and ideas with her LA-based community of collaborators like producer David Marinelli, Solomonophonic, Wyatt and Austin and John DeBold, without expectation. “It became this beautiful experience of only following ideas that I really believed in and exploring all the musical avenues I hadn’t before,” she says. “I’ve never been more excited about songs and I’ve never felt like a project is more mine.”

Writing and recording while touring with Sabrina Carpenter and Wallows, Chicha road-tested her new tracks to see what might land best with an audience who had likely never heard her music before. “You have to win people’s hearts as an opener and you can see what resonates and what doesn’t,” she says. “I would watch people fall in love or not and it’s usually always the song you’re having the most fun with that does the best. That’s what I put on the record.”

« Angie », Spill’s Tab debut album is relased on because Music and expected for May 16th release.

Wairunga finds the Freddy juggernaut digging deep to debut five songs and revisit two classics captured in an outdoor performance sans audience but with wild weather elements playing an important creative role in producing this unique live album.

Recorded in Wairunga, high above Waimarama Beach in New Zealand, it is place etched into the DNA of Fat Freddy’s Drop who’ve roamed here for over 20 years; to party, relax between tours, make a song Wairunga Blues in its honour and even to get married. Farmed by the Parker family for a century, Wairunga is an oasis of green pasture and native tree filled valleys that fall away to the ocean below.

In inimitable Freddy's fashion the new tunes run a gamut of genre busting styles. Coffee Black is layered with cosmic hot buttered soul and cinematic wigged out psyche-blues while Shady continues Freddy's Afro-Acid adventures with Fitchie’s beat-making tapping into a South African township brand of techno Freddys experienced on tour.

Bush Telegraph is a reggae classic featuring MC Slave aka Mark Williams on the mic with freshly minted yum char spiced rhymes of hope. The other new tracks Leave Your Window Open and Dig Deep are loose rhythmic experiments that the band have been working on for a long time. Versions were developed, rehearsed, but then set aside – dismissed, demonised - only to be revived with new energy in some future moment of creative cohesion. The results are loose-limbed; broken and bruised beats smashing into subterranean bass and twisted up melodies.

Bones and Wairunga Blues are the two classics from Freddy's vast back catalogue. Off the Blackbird album, Bones has aged beautifully - like a fine wine - the song’s component parts matured and melded together in harmony and balance. DJ Fitchie rates this 2021 vintage superior to the 2013 original. Wairunga Blues has been a work-in-progress since it was released on Bays in 2015. Kuki dials up some appropriately off-kilter keys to match the wonky-funk laid down by Fitchie’s bass line and the horns. It’s a mighty comeback – and a fitting tribute to this magical place.

For customers of the Rush Hour shop, this item ships for its may 23rd release date. Any items ordered along with this will ship then also

A classic returns. Mystery, one of The RAH Band’s most beloved albums, celebrates its 40th anniversary with this long-awaited reissue - the album's first time on vinyl since its original 1985 release.

The RAH Band, the brainchild of producer and arranger Richard Anthony Hewson, has been synthesizing jazz, funk, and electronic pop into out-of-this-world tracks since the late 1970s. Mystery marked an important moment in Richard's career, following on from The Crunch & Beyond (1978), RAH (1980), and Going Up (1983). With this album, Hewson took his pop songwriting and commercial success to new heights while never compromising his unique and unbound production style.

At the heart of the album are eight perfectly crafted pop songs, each standing strong on its own, with no filler in sight. The lead single, Are You Satisfied?, set the tone for the album’s jazz-funk evolution, but it was Clouds Across The Moon, with its futuristic narrative of love and longing across the cosmos, that became a chart-topping phenomenon, reaching #6 in the UK. The track’s space-age storytelling cemented its place in pop history, with many still recalling that 1985 Top of the Pops performance as the moment they fell in love with The RAH Band - if you know, you know.

From the dreamy synth-jazz of Float, a club and radio favourite to this day, to the smooth saxophone solo on Out On The Edge, recently featured on Steven Julien (aka Funkineven)'s DJ Kicks mix, Mystery remains an essential album four decades later - a testament to the genius of one of the most quietly influential songwriter-producer-arrangers of our time.

Outtakes is a retrospective album featuring nine previously unreleased tracks
from Micke Bjorklof & Blue Strip - This unique collection contains songs,
recorded over the years but for various reasons, were left off past albums,
capture the band's evolving sound and dedication to blues-rock excellence
We usually had a few extra songs when we went into the studio to record the album in
case some of the songs didn't "take off" as expected. Sometimes the direction of
production can also change as the process progresses, which affects the album as a
whole. However, a lot of effort has been put into these songs and they have been
carefully prepared for the album and produced to completion. It is at least justified to
give them another chance to reach listeners, and we felt they deserved a platform of
their own. Although the songs are from different eras, I think they formed a very good
and balanced whole" says Micke Bjorklof.
Spanning from the early 2000s to the present, Outtakes showcases the shifting styles
and influences of one of Finland's most celebrated blues-rock bands. Outtakes is not
only a collection of rare tracks but also a kind of time travel through the arc of the
band's musical and sonic evolution from the early 2000s to the present day. Each
song reflects the shifting moods, styles, and influences the band has embraced over
the years, capturing the essence of one of Finland's most celebrated blues-rock bands
over 30-year journey in the blues-rock scene.

In 2012 Gruff Rhys embarked on a solo 'investigative concert tour' through the heart of America following the route taken by his distant relative John Evans. Every night he presented songs augmented by a power point presentation that detailed his relative's unbelievable history, along with any new piece of information that had come his way during the day. He was ultimately looking for Evans's lost unmarked grave. Along with many major cities, the tour took him to play shows at the Mandan and Omaha tribe reservations, a Missouri vineyard, villages that no longer exist and lay at the bottom the Mississippi river and a New Orleans bordello. What transpired from that ‘investigative concert tour’ was a 2014 album, American Interior, plus a book, film and exhaustive tour of the same name. With the aid of the dusted-off power point presentation, Gruff Rhys and a full band revisits the project in 2025 to perform the songs that formed both the album, and the soundtrack to the film.

Gruff says of the reissue -

“Revisiting American Interior 11 years later, feels very prescient. In following the unusual story of explorer John Evans (1770-1799) it becomes clear that faked narratives can have profound and unpredictable consequences in real life. His barely believable journey of verification in searching through continental scale wilderness for a fictitious Welsh speaking tribe believed to be living on the Great Plains of North America (an ancient folk tale perpetuated by the Elizabethan court following the subjugation of Wales, to make colonial claims on behalf of the British on the Americas) had a dramatic political effect on the fledgling USA and a devastating impact on himself and some of those who helped him on his way. I wrote an album of songs inspired by his life; American Interior, which also served as a soundtrack to a documentary film based on a book that detailed his journey, intertwined with my own investigative concert tour, all three of which I worked on simultaneously during a 2-year fever 2012-14. By far the most ambitious undertaking I’ve ever attempted. Living with one foot in the 18th century, wearing the same clothes (for cinematic continuity) for that entire period, left me pretty exhausted. (Imagine a cold extra from The Revenant movie). It took me a while to process the whole experience and its lessons and feel I owe it to my former self to take these songs back on the road for a couple of months and re-tell the story for a new decade. To celebrate it further Rough Trade will reissue a remastered version of the album with previously unreleased tracks.”

In 2012 Gruff Rhys embarked on a solo 'investigative concert tour' through the heart of America following the route taken by his distant relative John Evans. Every night he presented songs augmented by a power point presentation that detailed his relative's unbelievable history, along with any new piece of information that had come his way during the day. He was ultimately looking for Evans's lost unmarked grave. Along with many major cities, the tour took him to play shows at the Mandan and Omaha tribe reservations, a Missouri vineyard, villages that no longer exist and lay at the bottom the Mississippi river and a New Orleans bordello. What transpired from that ‘investigative concert tour’ was a 2014 album, American Interior, plus a book, film and exhaustive tour of the same name. With the aid of the dusted-off power point presentation, Gruff Rhys and a full band revisits the project in 2025 to perform the songs that formed both the album, and the soundtrack to the film.

Gruff says of the reissue -

“Revisiting American Interior 11 years later, feels very prescient. In following the unusual story of explorer John Evans (1770-1799) it becomes clear that faked narratives can have profound and unpredictable consequences in real life. His barely believable journey of verification in searching through continental scale wilderness for a fictitious Welsh speaking tribe believed to be living on the Great Plains of North America (an ancient folk tale perpetuated by the Elizabethan court following the subjugation of Wales, to make colonial claims on behalf of the British on the Americas) had a dramatic political effect on the fledgling USA and a devastating impact on himself and some of those who helped him on his way. I wrote an album of songs inspired by his life; American Interior, which also served as a soundtrack to a documentary film based on a book that detailed his journey, intertwined with my own investigative concert tour, all three of which I worked on simultaneously during a 2-year fever 2012-14. By far the most ambitious undertaking I’ve ever attempted. Living with one foot in the 18th century, wearing the same clothes (for cinematic continuity) for that entire period, left me pretty exhausted. (Imagine a cold extra from The Revenant movie). It took me a while to process the whole experience and its lessons and feel I owe it to my former self to take these songs back on the road for a couple of months and re-tell the story for a new decade. To celebrate it further Rough Trade will reissue a remastered version of the album with previously unreleased tracks.”

Deranged Records and Forward! Records will release Wildhoney's first LP, Sleep Through It. The group formed in late 2011, aiming to write pop songs with the energy and malcontent of hardcore punk, but without its entrenched masculinity. The five-piece has since become one of the loudest—and sweetest—bands in its hometown of Baltimore. Sleep Through It expands on two excellent 7-inches and one cassette EP, drawing influences from '60s girl groups, '80s post punk, indie pop, and shoegaze. New songs like first single "Fall In" showcase just how well Wildhoney combines wall-of-sound power with delicate passages and gorgeous vocal melodies. Older songs such as "Super Stupid" and "Seventeen" return on the LP, newly realized and sounding better than ever. Throughout the album, the group's blasts of distortion and use of dense textures are balanced with beautiful pop tunes and chiming guitar work. The swirl of noise surrounding singer Lauren Shusterich's voice is not unlike the best of the Cocteau Twins, or even Deerhunter, especially on the soaring title track. Sleep Through It was recorded at Beat Babies Studio in Woodstock, Md., with Chris Freeland (Lower Dens, Wye Oak). The album is Wildhoney's first with synthesizers and features liberal amp and pedal experimentation. The recording process was intense and fast, cramming lots of work into a small amount of time. That hectic schedule is impossible to hear on the LP, which unravels at its own dreamy pace.

Two Times Juno awards listed and 2 times Polaris price listed, Canadian Soul Star Tanika Charles unleash the new album "Reason To Stay that drops on May 16 via independent soul label Record Kicks. Reasons To Stay is Tanika Charles' fourth full-length album, and her most introspective to date. Where her songs have typically touched on romantic love and heartache, the core love and loss of this record is family focused. It has taken years for Tanika to be able to publicly reflect on the childhood trauma and family breakup that occurred during her teens. The majority of the album was composed by Tanika with the tight knit team of Scott McCannell (Lydia Persaud, Henry Nozuka), Kyla Charter (Aysanabee) and Chino de Villa (Jessie Reyez). Kelly Finnigan of the Monophonics joined in to mix the bulk of the project and apply some trademark analogue grit to Tanika's sheen. Guests include Quebec-based Soulful singer/songwriter Clerel on the last track "Win", as well as Toronto soul artists Aphrose and Claire Davis providing additional vocals. "I love this album. I love singing these songs. I love that it's made me step outside of my comfort zone. It's forced me to face the root causes of my own insecurities that I carry to this day. Why am I striving so hard to seek validation, and why take it so personally when it doesn't come? That distortion has prevented me from celebrating my own successes at times. This album is me trying to change that." "I love the conversations that have begun with these songs. It's about childhood trauma, but it's not a victim story. I'm doing well, despite the baggage I carry. I want others to be able to carry theirs too." In the last few years, Canadian Soul/R&B powerhouse Tanika Charles has transformed from an emerging solo artist to a commanding performer and bandleader, cementing her status as a staple in the Canadian soul scene. Her previous studio albums - "Soul Run" (2017), "The Gumption" (2019), and "Papillon De Nuit" (2022) - have propelled her to international acclaim, earning her two JUNO nominations, two Polaris Prize listings, and a growing global fanbase. Extensive touring across North America and Europe has further solidified her reputation, with standout performances at festivals such as Trans Musicales in France, Fusion Festival in Germany, Mostly Funk & Soul Festival and Jazz Festival in the UK, Holy Groove Festival in Switzerland, and Canarias Jazz Festival in Spain. She has also shared the stage Estelle, Mayer Hawthorne, Haitus Kayote, Lauryn Hill, Bedouin Soundclash and Macy Gray. Tanika's meteoric rise and undeniable artistry have been widely championed by outlets such as KCRW, KEXP, BBC6 Music, Exclaim!, CBC Music, Uncut Mag, PopMatters, Albumism .. further solidifying her position as a global soul sensation.

Ein Album zum Schlafen und Wachen, zum Gehen und Fahren, zum Jagen und Fischen, zum Herumlungern vor einer Raststätte in der verwunschenen Tundra. In Fahrstühlen okay, zum Abendessen nicht so toll. Auf Caveman Wakes Up, dem neuen Album von Friendship und ihrem zweiten für Merge Records, wird die historisch weit gefasste Definition von Country-Musik noch weiter gefasst. Shambolische Gitarren werden durch Flötenpads ausgeglichen, trübe Poesie trifft auf eine Motown-Rhythmusgruppe, ein Song über Jerry Garcia und die First Lady Betty Ford wird mit einem Schlagzeugsolo ausgeblendet, als käme Talk Talk aus einem schmuddeligen Keller in Philadelphia und würde von James Tate gespielt. Der zerklüftete Bariton des Songwriters Dan Wriggins schneidet durch elf düstere, wirbelnde Country-Rock-Songs mit tiefgründiger lyrischer Substanz und Aufrichtigkeit. Wie ein Wecker, der am Rande eines Traums eingebaut ist, gehört "Caveman Wakes Up" gleichermaßen zum bewussten und zum unterbewussten Verstand, voller Hintergründe, durchdrungen von Referenzen und Experimenten, beiläufig und als düstere Warnung vorgetragen und vor allem der kreativen Seele der Musik gewidmet. Im Laufe der Jahre hat sich diese Hingabe ausgezahlt. Friendship ist zu einer Art umgekehrter Supergroup geworden, in der die Band selbst und jedes einzelne Mitglied im Zentrum einer zunehmend prominenten Szene junger Folk- und Country-Musiker und Songwriter steht. Der Schlagzeuger Michael Cormier O'Leary leitet das Instrumentalkollektiv Hour und betreibt zusammen mit dem Bassisten Jon Samuels das Label Dear Life Records, das Freunde und Kollegen beherbergt, die Friendship zu einem wichtigen Einfluss zählen, darunter MJ Lenderman, Florry, und Fust. (Samuels spielt auch die Leadgitarre bei MJ Lenderman and the Wind). Die Band 2nd Grade des Gitarristen Peter Gill ist ebenfalls aktiv und macht zahlreiche Aufnahmen. Wriggins begann mit dem Schreiben der Songs von "Caveman Wakes Up" auf einer verstimmten klassischen Gitarre von Lenderman und beendete es auf einem kaum gestimmten Klavier in einer Wohnung, die er mit G DeGroot von Sadurn teilte. Im Sommer 2023 hatte Wriggins gerade den Iowa Writers' Workshop verlassen, wo seine Liebe zur Poesie und sein Misstrauen gegenüber der akademischen Poesiewelt gleichzeitig wuchsen. Eine Beziehung ging in die Brüche, und Wriggins übernachtete mehrere Wochen in North Carolina im Haus von Lenderman und Karly Hartzman (von Wednesday ), wo er die ersten Demos von "Resident Evil", "All Over the World" und "Love Vape" aufnahm. Wriggins kehrte nach Philadelphia zurück, und die Band machte sich an die Arbeit, um neue Ideen zu entwickeln. Schließlich nahmen sie das Album in fünf Tagen mit Tontechniker Jeff Ziegler (Mary Lattimore, War On Drugs) auf, den Gesang mit Bradford Kreiger, dem Techniker von Love the Stranger. Orgel, Geige (Jason Calhoun) und Flöte (Adelyn Strei) wurden von Lucas Knapp in einer Kirche in West Philadelphia aufgenommen. Textlich bewegt sich "Caveman Wakes Up" auf vertrautem Friendship Terrain - das Heilige wird profaniert und das Profane geheiligt. "Caveman Wakes Up" zeigt Friendships besonderes Genie für visionäre Arrangements, die über Generationen hinweg dem Folk-Rock-Kanon von Neil Young, Joni Mitchell und Emmylou Harris ebenso verpflichtet sind wie Indie-Größen wie Yo La Tengo und den Merge-Labelkollegen Lambchop oder Zeitgenossen wie Lomelda und ML Buch. Mehrere der Songs verwenden Fade-Outs, die im Text von "Love Vape" scherzhaft erwähnt werden, und es gibt andere Elemente, die von Motown und 70er-Jahre-Balladen übernommen wurden: festgefahrene Schlagzeugmuster, Bassintervalle, gefühlvolle Streicherarrangements. Jede Referenz wird über das Genre hinausgeschoben, verwirbelt und wiederholt, zu etwas Neuem, das eindeutig zum Friendship-Sound gehört. Bei "Free Association", "Artex" und "Wildwood in January" ist der Groove so festgelegt, dass andere Klänge nahtlos kommen und gehen können: Mellotron-Flächen, Klavierwirbel und -stiche und klare Gitarrenmelodien, wimmelnde Texturen, die sich als Einheit tarnen. "Caveman Wakes Up" das bisher am weitesten fortgeschrittene Werk von Friendship, ein weiterer Beweis für die Hingabe und Sorgfalt der Band.

"Something Soft", das zweite Album der irischen Post-Punk-Brandstifter M(h)aol, ist alles andere als soft. Von der ersten Note des Eröffnungsstücks von "Something Soft" bis zu den verzerrten Schreien des letzten Stücks fühlt sich die Platte antagonistisch gegenüber dem Konzept der Sanftheit an, klanglich und thematisch. Es ist eine unapologetische Annäherung an intersektionellen Feminismus, Tierschutz, Konsum und den Kampf um einen Platz in einer Welt, der es an Empathie mangelt. Was M(h)aol bietet, ist Katharsis in zwei Formen: die Art, die man bekommt, wenn man anderen gegenüber offen ist, und die Art, die man bekommt, wenn man mit Recht etwas kaputt macht. Wut und Empathie effektiv zu kanalisieren ist ein Akt der Widerstandsfähigkeit, und um "Something Soft" zu machen, mussten M(h)aol besonders widerstandsfähig werden. Nach ihrem gefeierten Debüt "Attachment Styles" änderte sich das Line-up von M(h)aol und bestand nun aus dem Kerntrio Constance Keane (Schlagzeug/Gesang, sie/ihr), Jamie Hyland (Bass/Gesang, sie/ihr) und Sean Nolan (Gitarre, er/ihm). Dieser Prozess veränderte die Herangehensweise der Band an das Songwriting und die Auftritte und führte zu einem unerwarteten Durchbruch. "Something Soft" zeichnet sich durch einen dringlicheren Sound aus, der sich eng um den Rhythmus von Hyland und Keane legt. In Songs wie "Pursuit" und "Snare" verbindet sich Keanes Gesang mit dem Schlagzeug, als würden ihre Worte durch ihr Spiel zum Leben erweckt und direkt aus ihrem Körper kommen. Vor dem Hintergrund dieser ängstlichen und schwadronierenden Tracks nimmt ihre Stimme den Raum eines inneren Monologs ein, in dem sie von einem angespannten Heimweg und von der Misogynie im Green Room aus einer Position der drolligen Beobachtung heraus erzählt - eine universelle Erfahrung, die in spezifischen Details wiedergegeben wird. Wie seine Vorgänger "Attachment Styles" und die "Gender Studies" EP wurde auch "Something Soft" von Jamie Hyland aufgenommen. Es ist die technisch ausgefeilteste der bisherigen M(h)aol-Aufnahmen, denn die Band, zu der auch Sarah Deegan vom Pixie Cut Rhythm Orchestra am Bass gehört, zog in das Dubliner Ailfionn Studio, wo sie die räumlichen Gegebenheiten und das Studio-Equipment nutzten, um ihrem Sound mehr Nuancen zu verleihen. Die zusätzlichen Sessions und das Können hinter den Reglern waren ein Segen, aber für eine Band, die es gewohnt ist, unter extremem Zeitdruck zu arbeiten, war dies eine unerwartete Herausforderung: Konnten M(h)aol das Gefühl der Unmittelbarkeit beibehalten, das ihre Musik bis zu diesem Zeitpunkt geprägt hatte? Songs wie "DM:AM" zerstreuten diese Sorge schnell, indem sie innerhalb von 20 Minuten aus einem Drone entstanden, den Nolan spielte, während Hyland ihr Aufnahme-Equipment aufbaute und sich beeilte, den Song einzufangen, sobald Keane und Deegan dazukamen. Eine der geisterhaften Hymnen von "Something Soft", "1800-Call-Me-Back", begann als Scherz, dass die Band einen Fußballgesang schreiben sollte, wurde aber weitaus komplexer - die köstliche Balance aus Chaos und Klarheit, die sie gefunden haben, wäre ohne Zeit unmöglich gewesen. "I Miss My Dog" ist weniger spontan, aber seine Meditation über Trauer baut sich in einem halsbrecherischen Tempo auf, von Rückkopplungen über Keanes Schlagzeugspiel und Gesang bis hin zu einem spektakulären Schluss, der die Trauer in Bass und Gitarre erstickt, eine der größten technischen Leistungen von M(h)aol bis heute. Der Feinschliff unterstreicht den schelmischen Charme von M(h)aol und lässt das Intime hymnisch wirken, indem persönliche Erfahrungen genutzt werden, um die allgemeinen Systeme, unter denen wir leben, zu beschreiben. Für diejenigen, die sich in den Songs von M(h)aol wiedererkennen, ist das Hören von "Something Soft" wie ein Sprung in einen lang laufenden Chat-Thread, voller Wut und Humor.

"Amazing! Like stumbling on a treasure-trove of unheard Charlie Patton and Blind Willie McTell 78s, but imbued with the spirit of Mahlathini and Ladysmith." Joe Boyd

'But for this compilation of rescued songs masterfully restored from rare 78 rpm shellacs, few could imagine the diversely beautiful roots of Zulu Guitar Music emerging during the period 1950 – 1965. Story-tellers and master musicians appropriate outlaw personae, re-purpose country and western, Hawaiian and other styles, to stretch and challenge our notion of “the Zulu guitar”.

Twenty-five songs (18 on vinyl) plunge us into the depths of the migrant experience. Translations in the liner notes offer us glimpses of pugnacity, melancholy and heartache, all coloured by the paternalism that circumscribed the singers’ apartheid-dominated lives.

The early *mbaqanga* undertow in many of the songs subverts the wanderlust of Country and Western music into a fugitivity burdened by nostalgia. Something irretrievable has been lost, prompting a blending of ideas and cultures to make sense through thankless acts of musical divination. Inadvertently they have been thrust into the role of the antihero, where outwitting competition for lovers is as important as evading the Black Jacks (apartheid’s municipal cops) and their informants.

Considering the politically repressive period that this music emerges from, we can surmise that the specificity in the storytelling went a long way towards evading censure. But even when words are absent, there is a narrative arc suggested by the musical expression.

With most of the master tapes wilfully destroyed or lost, modern transcription and restoration techniques from the original shellac discs present the original sound most likely more clearly than ever heard before.'

Produced for reissue by Chris Albertyn and Matt Temple at Matsuli Music and Siemon Allen at Flatinternational.
Artwork design by Siemon Allen.
Liner note and translations by Kwanele Sosibo.
Audio restoration and lacquers by Frank Merritt at The Carvery and pressed at Pallas, Germany.
Original 78rpm recordings sourced from the collections of Chris Albertyn at Matsuli Music, and Siemon Allen at the Flatinternational Archive.

TOTEMIC MODULATIONS, UNEARTHED FROM WIND AND WORDS

“The album Chênes mainly brings together songs. These songs are narratives of scenes that unfold in the forest, or in the city but with animal and plant protagonists. One song also tells the story of a solitary walk in the mountains. They are like zoomed-in snapshots of the world of insects, amphibians, birds, and mammals. They are also celebrations of growing life, and the pleasure and joy it brings.

Composed over the course of about two or three years, it was a deliberate choice to bring them together for this album, even though they were not initially connected to one another. One of them is an exception and is more of a collection of vocalizations and cries without actual words, composed in a language incomprehensible to humans because it is nonverbal.

This collection of imitated chants and sung songs had to be illustrated by the collages of my friend Fen. Even though the stories describe real species and elements, they are indeed imagined tales. Her collages are, too. There’s also the violin that adds a wandering touch to the pieces, and other instruments that shape the environment and setting of these stories. Bells, bird calls, whistles, flutes, jaw harp, harmonica — all imitate more or less imaginary species. Each has its role and its life, down to the horsehair of the bow that rubs the strings of my violin to bring forth the sound.

Chênes is a title that pays homage to trees I love so much, though without preference over others. They have embodied several giants that I’ve often come across, greeted, and embraced” ~ Roxane Métayer

A fully licensed, analogue reissue -- sure, on cassette and not on vinyl, that's a
long story -- of the first Index LP, originally released in 1967
The "Black Album" is one of the all-time holy grails of psychedelia, with originals going
for more than $4,000. It is an album "with a really druggie sound, full of feedback and
fuzzy guitars. The vocals, when present, are not easily heard. The cover of 'Eight Miles
High' is very good, probably one of the best cover versions I have ever heard. The
original songs all follow a similar pattern as the covers, with hazy guitar riffs and loud
rhythms. The last track is particularly noisy and unstructured. Hidden in amongst the
echoing canyons of sound there's some really snotty punk attitude wrapped up in
trippy velvet fuzz."
This record is magnificent-- bizarre, atmospheric, amateurish (in the best of all
possible ways). It has a wonderful bleak sound, both droning and murky... the atonal
sound of 1960's rock that would leave the most lasting impression on what would
become future punk, post-punk and indie rock artists.
"Much has been written about this incredible band. Much of it isn't true. Index was
formed in the early spring of 1967 in Grosse Pointe, Michigan. I was 18 years old
when I met a chain-smoking 16-year-old named Gary Francis. Our conversation soon
got around to rock and roll. He told me that he and his friend, John Ford, were forming
a band. I told him that I played drums and we arranged a jam session at John's home
on Lakeshore Drive. Our first meeting was incredible. Our sound was full and
powerful. John's lead guitar techniques were fresh and innovative. After our first
sessions we knew we had something special. Index was born. Soon we hit the local
'sock hop' circuit, playing at high schools and teen clubs in the area. We poured our
unique sound out at The Hideout, Undercroft and G.P. War Memorial every weekend.
One afternoon John pulled out a new album he had been listening to. It was a new
band with a mind-shattering sound called 'The Jimi Hendrix Experience.' John played
some songs he had written inspired by this 'psychedelic' sound. Over the next few
days, 'Fire Eyes,' 'Shock Wave' and 'Feedback' were written. This album was recorded
in December of 1967 at the Ford estate. It is recorded in mono with literally one
microphone and with all instruments and vocals recorded at the same time. The cover
photo is of founders of a singing group John joined at Yale. The stiff, board- like
figures seem to characterize the exact opposite of this musical collection. This
reissue is taken from the original recordings. Nothing has been added and all songs
are in their original length. Over the years various bootleg copies of this album have
surfaced but this is the original work." --Jim Valice

15th Anniversary Edition. Lime Green Vinyl. When Dinosaur Jr. reunited, more than 20 years after their formation and legendary dissolution, the worry was that these guys were just flogging the back catalog, taking the old show on the road as a marketing gimmick. But the 2007 release of Beyond gave a hearty Marshall-driven "F**K YOU!" answer to those inquiring ears. Restoring the sound established by the unassailable hat-trick gambit of their first three albums -- Dinosaur, You're Living All Over Me, and Bug -- Beyond continued the band's march into rock greatness by making old ears smile and new ears bleed afresh. And then came Farm, the 9th full length record by the original line-up: J Mascis, Lou Barlow, and Murph. If Beyond was Dinosaur Jr.'s return to form, Farm is proof that Dinosaur Jr. could (and still do, to this day!) deliver timeless, exhilarating rock music. Farm encompasses Dinosaur Jr.'s signature palette: soaring and distorted guitar, unshakable hooks, honey-rich melodies. At times wholly 70's guitar-epic, at times perfect for sitting by a babbling brook with Joni and Neil, these songs get into your head and stay there, bouncing happily around. The ear-catching "Plans" is nearly seven minutes of classic whipped-topping rock dessert, while "I Don't Wanna Go There" is a meat-and-potatoes main dish, mixing unapologetic lead guitar with straight-ahead delivery a la James Gang or Humble Pie. This expanded deluxe edition of Farm features four songs never pressed to vinyl and never given worldwide release:"Houses", "Whenever You're Ready" (The Zombies Cover), "Creepies" (Instrumental), and "Show". "Whenever You're Ready", a cover of classic pop-rockers The Zombies, is impossibly good for a hidden gem; Murph stomps in with a sledgehammer to the kit, J and Lou layer low-end and fuzz like two halves of one brain, and right when things feel biggest, airy and colossal, there's J with a lightning bolt of a guitar solo. Pure electricity and melody like only he can make. Recorded in J Mascis' Bisquiteen studio in Amherst, Massachusetts, Farm was produced by Mascis himself, and delivers the singular, unique energy of one of America's greatest living rock bands.

"Kunst zu kreieren ist für mich ein ständiger Kampf den Fokus zu behalten; denn wir leben in einer Zeit voller Unterbrechung und Zerrüttung, äußert sich die Tune-Yards Sängerin Merrill Garbus über ihr sechstes Album "Better Dreaming". Mit einer klaren Haltung zu Antifaschismus, Befreiung und Anderssein präsentiert das neue Album einige der eingängigsten und funkigsten Pop-Momente von Tune-Yards bisher - und ja, tanzen kann man dazu auch. Die Songs entstanden für Garbus und ihren Bandkollegen und Partner Nate Brenner mit ungewöhnlicher Leichtigkeit - sie ließen die Musik einfach fließen und folgten jeder kreativen Spur, die sich ergab. Nach der Isolation in der Pandemie und der langen Pause von Tourneen und Live-Shows war das Bedürfnis, sich von Musik bewegen zu lassen, stärker denn je. Auch die einzigartige Erfahrung, ein menschliches Wesen heranwachsen zu sehen, prägte den Entstehungsprozess. Ihr gemeinsames Kind, heute drei Jahre alt, ist auf dem Song "Limelight" zu hören - ein Song, der aus gemeinsamen Tanzmomenten zur Musik von George Clinton entstand. Die Songs wurden als Duo aufgenommen und basieren - mit einer Ausnahme - auf Merrills Drum-Loops und Rhythmusstrukturen, ähnlich wie auf ihren frühen Alben_Ç»"Bird-Brains"_Ç»und_Ç»"W H O K I L L". Der Opener_Ç»"Heartbreak"_Ç»baut riesige Vokalharmonien um einen druckvollen Beat aus Klicks, Pops, Samples und gedubbten Snares. Garbus besingt darin Herzschmerz als Antrieb, als Herausforderung - Zeilen wie "Watch me survive another heartbreak"_Ç»wirken wie ein Aufruf zum Weitermachen. Das treibende_Ç»"How Big is the Rainbow"_Ç»setzt auf Four-on-the-Floor-Rhythmus und versprüht Disco-House-Energie - mit der Atmosphäre eines queeren Club-Hits voller Strobo und Intensität. "Better Dreaming"_Ç»ist ein kraftvolles Manifest für Selbstliebe, kollektives Handeln, Befreiung auf der Tanzfläche sowie die Hoffnung auf eine bessere Zukunft. Angesichts der Herausforderungen und Unsicherheiten der Gegenwart stellt sich Tune-Yards die Frage: Wie viel echte Energie und Freude lassen sich durch Musik überhaupt transportieren? Mit seinem mitreißenden, lebensbejahenden Art-Pop für eine Welt im Umbruch macht_Ç»"Better Dreaming"_Ç»genau das.

"Kunst zu kreieren ist für mich ein ständiger Kampf den Fokus zu behalten; denn wir leben in einer Zeit voller Unterbrechung und Zerrüttung, äußert sich die Tune-Yards Sängerin Merrill Garbus über ihr sechstes Album "Better Dreaming". Mit einer klaren Haltung zu Antifaschismus, Befreiung und Anderssein präsentiert das neue Album einige der eingängigsten und funkigsten Pop-Momente von Tune-Yards bisher - und ja, tanzen kann man dazu auch. Die Songs entstanden für Garbus und ihren Bandkollegen und Partner Nate Brenner mit ungewöhnlicher Leichtigkeit - sie ließen die Musik einfach fließen und folgten jeder kreativen Spur, die sich ergab. Nach der Isolation in der Pandemie und der langen Pause von Tourneen und Live-Shows war das Bedürfnis, sich von Musik bewegen zu lassen, stärker denn je. Auch die einzigartige Erfahrung, ein menschliches Wesen heranwachsen zu sehen, prägte den Entstehungsprozess. Ihr gemeinsames Kind, heute drei Jahre alt, ist auf dem Song "Limelight" zu hören - ein Song, der aus gemeinsamen Tanzmomenten zur Musik von George Clinton entstand. Die Songs wurden als Duo aufgenommen und basieren - mit einer Ausnahme - auf Merrills Drum-Loops und Rhythmusstrukturen, ähnlich wie auf ihren frühen Alben_Ç»"Bird-Brains"_Ç»und_Ç»"W H O K I L L". Der Opener_Ç»"Heartbreak"_Ç»baut riesige Vokalharmonien um einen druckvollen Beat aus Klicks, Pops, Samples und gedubbten Snares. Garbus besingt darin Herzschmerz als Antrieb, als Herausforderung - Zeilen wie "Watch me survive another heartbreak"_Ç»wirken wie ein Aufruf zum Weitermachen. Das treibende_Ç»"How Big is the Rainbow"_Ç»setzt auf Four-on-the-Floor-Rhythmus und versprüht Disco-House-Energie - mit der Atmosphäre eines queeren Club-Hits voller Strobo und Intensität. "Better Dreaming"_Ç»ist ein kraftvolles Manifest für Selbstliebe, kollektives Handeln, Befreiung auf der Tanzfläche sowie die Hoffnung auf eine bessere Zukunft. Angesichts der Herausforderungen und Unsicherheiten der Gegenwart stellt sich Tune-Yards die Frage: Wie viel echte Energie und Freude lassen sich durch Musik überhaupt transportieren? Mit seinem mitreißenden, lebensbejahenden Art-Pop für eine Welt im Umbruch macht_Ç»"Better Dreaming"_Ç»genau das.

Yuno's full-length debut, Blest, out May 16 on Sub Pop, finds the enigmatic indie-pop visionary transforming the emo-tinged suburban malaise of his 2018 Moodie EP into more expansive, widescreen pop drama - suited for big moves and bigger stages. The kaleidoscopic sound he devised as a millennial hermit in his childhood bedroom in Florida has since broadened his horizons, taking him on tour with Unknown Mortal Orchestra and Superorganism, and soundtracking various series for Netflix and HBO. Imbued with elements of dream-pop, rock, trap, and psychedelia, his eclectic songs serve as bids for love and connection, which especially in the fractured era of social media, have resonated with many listeners who find solace in his vulnerability. Yuno's superpower lies in the way he mines a multitude of genres for their pop potential and surfaces with a tapestry that feels novel and fresh. Take, for instance, "Blest," the immediate, blissful, and bright title track, which is inspired by Rich Harrison-breakbeats and Neptunes-esque jangle. Or the breezy single, "True," in which Yuno moderates a lover's quarrel with slick, trap percussion. Amid the breakbeated dream-rock of "Gimme Ocean," he introduces his guitar solo with a searing emo scream, run through an EarthQuaker Devices pedal. Don't let his sanguine aura or his sherbet pink wardrobe fool you; he can shred as hard as he wants to when he wants to. All songs on Blest were written and performed by Yuno, co-produced by Yuno and Frank Corr (Morning Silk), who also contributed keyboards, drums, and guitar throughout the record, with additional production and instrumentation by Patrick Wimberly (Chairlift) at The CRC in Brooklyn, and Nick Sanborn (Sylvan Esso) at Betty's in Durham, NC. Blest was mixed by Steve Vealey and mastered by Joe La Porta.

Die aus der estnischen Metalszene stammende Band PRIDIAN wird ihr Debütalbum "Venetian Dark" über Century Media Re-cords veröffentlichen. Ihr moderner, energiegeladener und atmosphärischer Metalcore mit futuristischem Einschlag erinnert an Genre-Größen wie Northlane, Spiritbox und Architects. Beim Songwriting legen PRIDIAN den Schwerpunkt auf cineastisches Storytelling und ein starkes narratives Konzept in ihren Texten, ihrer Musik und ihren visuellen Elementen. "Wir wollen Songs schreiben, nicht nur instrumentenbasierte Musik. Wir könnten technische Sachen schreiben, weil wir alle unsere Instrumente beherrschen, aber gute Songs, interessante Strukturen und gute Geschichten sind wichtiger."Der Albumtitel "Venetian Dark" wurde von einer Farbe inspiriert, die sich in Jörgs Kopf festsetzte und sich langsam zu ihrer end-gültigen Form mit den allgemeinen Themen des Albums entwickelte. Das Album wurde komplett von PRIDIAN geschrieben und produziert, die viel individuelle und gemeinschaftliche Arbeit in die Entwicklung der Tracks gesteckt haben. Tracks wie "Out For Blood", "DINY" und "Void Resonance" vereinen chaotische, energiegeladene Riffs mit EDM-artigen Synthies, krachenden Break-downs und atmosphärischen Elementen. PRIDIAN schöpft aus dem Metalcore der 2010er-Ära, dem Djent und dem von Deftones inspirierten Post-Hardcore und lässt sogar eine Korn-ähnliche Nu-Metal-Kante erkennen, vor allem beim schweren, aber ein-gängigen "Darker Tides". Das Zwischenspiel "Synthetic Salvation" unterstreicht den kühnen Ansatz der Band, wie Laur erklärt: "Einige Tracks sind mehr Produktion als Song... das ist kein Metal, aber das ist mir egal. Es ist uns egal, was andere sagen." Abgemischt von Matt Thomas (Kingdom Of Giants, Invent Animate), bietet "Venetian Dark" eine hochmoderne Produktion in Be-zug auf Ausgewogenheit und Modernität. Venetian Dark" ist als Standard CD Jewelcase, als limitierte transparent blau-schwarz marmorierte LP, sowie als digitales Album erhältlich.