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2024 Repress

The year could not be complete without having a new release from the man behind the hat - KÖLSCH. He returns to SPEICHER following a phenomenal year of touring that took his DJing from the top of the Eifel Tower to the main stage of Tomorrowland. His IPSO imprint evolved into a global event and he released together with TIGA 'HAL', one of the biggest tracks of this summer.

For SPEICHER 106, he takes an unexpected turn with EMOTICON. Found sounds take on new sonic form and the result is an unconventionally unique groove odyssey. LITTLE DEATH is anything but tragic or small. A choir chant explodes over top of an enchanting house beat which elevates over time to an almighty apex that we have learned to love and rely on from KÖLSCH.

2024 Repress

Siberian born and since 2010, a proud resident of Naples where her musical journey began, Anfisa Letyago has brought to the next generation of techno DJ/producers a sincerity and passion few others can. Of which she is successfully channeling to an incredible growing fanbase. From her releases on Drumcode, Rekids and her newly minted imprint N:S:DA, Kompakt are ecstatic to welcome her to our long running SPEICHER series.

“Keep Flight” is bare and punishing. Taking cues from the greats – think early Hood, Broom or Surgeon – Anfisa takes us down a relentless wormhole fortified by a pulsing vocal and EBM synth. In contrast, the flip side “Rhythm Tension” is a more slowed down, acid squelched affair where Anfisa’s vocals keep the vibe fully in check for those feel good moments everyone is currently needing in a DJ set.

Anfisa Letyago stammt ursprünglich aus Sibirien und ist seit 2010 stolze Einwohnerin von Neapel, wo sie auch ihre musikalische Reise begonnen hat. Sie hat der nächsten Generation von Techno-DJs und -Produzenten eine Aufrichtigkeit und Leidenschaft vermittelt, die nur wenige andere haben. Diese Leidenschaft hat sie erfolgreich an ihre stetig wachsende Fanbase weitergegeben. Nach Veröffentlichungen auf Drumcode, Rekids und ihrem neu gegründeten Imprint N:S:DA freuen wir uns sehr, Anfisa als Gast in unserer langjährigen KOMPAKT Extra/SPEICHER-Reihe begrüßen zu dürfen. "Keep Flight" ist so einfach wie gnadenlos. Erinnerungen werden wach an einige der ganz Großen - an den frühen Hood, Broom oder Surgeon. Anfisa führt uns in ein unerbittliches Wurmloch, dessen Sog durch eindringliche Vocals und EBM-artige Synthies noch verstärkt wird. Im Gegensatz dazu ist die Rückseite "Rhythm Tension" ein entschleunigter Acid-Mahlstrom, bei der Anfisas Gesang für genau die Wohlfühlmomente sorgt, die wir alle derzeit in einem DJ-Set brauchen.

Welcome our dear listeners to the second vinyl record from Rewind Ltd!

We never cease to amaze you with our wonderful specialities of music tracks prepared by our talented residents and new names. On this disc you will find beautiful jazzy deep house that will immerse you in an atmosphere of relaxation and meditation. And if you want to dance, we have prepared for you a brilliant disco and groovy house vibe that won't leave anyone indifferent!

Our Rewind Ltd vol.1 compilation is a bright, rich, intense mix of music with shiny synths at the front, disco motifs in the centre, and danceable crunchy vibes at the end. It's a real cocktail for our listeners who love variety and quality music. We have gathered the best guys from all over the country to create this musical masterpiece for you. So don't miss this chance and savour our wonderful specialities of music!



Comes as 180 gram Viny only!

repress !

The birth of rock steady portrayed in a consummate collection from the vaults of Federal Records

Most of them drawn directly from Ken Khouri's master tapes this miscellany of cool rock steady includes marvellous music from the originator of the genre, the one and only Lynn Taitt, alongside an array of Jamaica's greatest singers and vocal harmony group

American rhythm & blues fervour, boosted by a multitude of sound systems playing 78rpm records on increasingly larger sets, gripped Jamaica from the late forties onwards but, towards the end of the decade, the American audience began to move towards a somewhat softer sound. The driving rhythm & blues discs became increasingly hard to find and the more progressive Jamaican sound system operators, realising that they now needed to make their own music, turned to Kingston's jazz and big band musicians to record one off custom cut discs. These were not initially intended for commercial release but designed solely for sound system play on acetate or 'dub plates' as they would later be termed. These 'specials' soon began to eclipse the popularity of American rhythm & blues and the demand for their locally produced music proved so great that the sound system operators began to release their music commercially on vinyl and became record producers. Clement Coxsone' Dodd, Duke Reid 'The Trojan' and Prince Buster, who operated his Voice Of The People Sound System, were among the first to establish themselves in this new role and the nascent Jamaican recording industry now went into overdrive.

In 1954 Ken Khouri had numbered among the first far sighted entrepreneurs to produce mento records with local musicians (mento is Jamaica's original indigenous music) before progressing to opening Jamaica's first record manufacturing plant. Three years later he moved his operation to Foreshore Road (later renamed Marcus Garvey Drive) where, with the assistance of the inestimable Graeme Goodall, he updated and upgraded his recording studio. The importance of this enterprising move was critical to the development of Jamaican music and its influence both profound and far reaching.

"It was Ken Khouri's Federal Recording Studio, the womb that gave birth to the talented writers, artists and musicians that gave Jamaica its musical identity." Prince Buster

Federal Records was not only the place for the sound system men to record their music but it was also where they had their records manufactured and, consequently, the company enjoyed a near total monopoly on recording and record pressing in Kingston. In 1963 Ken Khouri sold his one track board to Clement 'Coxsone' Dodd, who established Studio One, and Ken imported the first stereo equipment to Jamaica and Federal began making stereo records. The following year WIRL (West Indies Records Limited) opened but the competition served to drive the company on to higher heights. Ken Khouri continued to work on his own productions and, in 1966, the seven inch release of Hopeton Lewis' 'Take It Easy', recorded under the guidance of Trinidadian guitarist Lynn Taitt, ushered in the rock steady era.

These two essential albums showcase a stunning selection of well known hits, and not so well known rarities, from the vast Federal catalogue. All tracks have been transferred direct from the master tapes and assembled with the invaluable assistance of Ken Khouri's son, Paul Khouri, who generously gave Dub Store unlimited access to the Federal tape vaults. The extensive liner notes feature extracts from extensive interviews with Paul Khouri whose knowledgeable recollections of working on Marcus Garvey Drive, not only as a producer but as an engineer and musician, are illuminating and educational. Both sets present an insight into the birth and growth of Federal Records and the Jamaican recording industry and are essential to an understanding of the real roots of reggae music.

2024 Repress

Escape Music are pleased to announce the release date for long awaited Turkish Delight studio album titled “Volume 1" with 500 limited edition double Vinyl “Side A+B Snowy White colour and side C+D Skull Gold colour” all will be numbered 1-500! ‘Turkish Delights Volume One’ celebrates the absolute joy that Escape Music co-owner Khalil Turk has for the kind of music he loves so much and has spent the last thirty and then some years championing. Indeed, his enthusiasm for a new band or a new song today is no different from when I first met him in the mid ‘80’s. I lost count of the number of phone calls he made to me when I was working for ‘Kerrang!’ magazine, where he would excitedly tell me ‘Dave, you just have to listen to this! It’s brilliant! You’ll love it!’ before playing me something over the phone – new and often obscure - he had picked up on his international record buying trips. Nine and a half times out of ten he’d be right!! Khalil’s quality control has been such that the record label he co-founded with fellow melodic rock enthusiast Barrie Kirtley in 1995 remains reliably and solidly in place all these years later. Escape continues to deliver monthly doses of quality hard rock, melodic rock and AOR to a very devoted following. Khalil had first entered the music business in the early ‘90’s, effectively as a talent scout for the German owned Long Island label. However, after the company folded, Turk felt that, rather than look at opportunities with other labels, he had the enthusiasm and now had rather more knowledge of the inner workings of the music business to put something together himself alongside the equally enthusiastic and astute Kirtley. We’ve seen hundreds of solid album releases from a huge variety of acts (including AXE, Steve Walsh (Kansas), John Elefante (Kansas), Lonerider, Shadowman, Alliance, Pinnacle Point, Mass, Heartland, Grand Illusion, Overland, Last Autumn’s Dream, Punky Meadows, ColdSpell, Chris Ousey, Ozone and Touch, to name just a few) as well as reissues (from Aviator, Sugarcreek, Jon Butcher Axis, Franke And The Knockouts, FM, Tantrum and Surrender, Zon, Hanover Fist etc) ever since. So here we are, over twenty-five years since that first Escape Music album appeared hot off the presses (Heartland’s ‘III’ album in November 1995, if you’re asking) and this collection of songs, personally chosen by Khalil, reiterates that pure joy he still possesses for the music he is utterly immersed by. With material from the pens of Steve Overland (FM), Chris Ousey (Heartland), Steve Morris (Export/Ian Gillan/Heartland), Mick Devine (Seven), Steve Newman (Newman/Compass) and Tommy Denander (Radioactive) there’s also a list of musicians culled from Khalil’s contact book that, quite frankly, is VERY impressive. Just a few names appearing on ‘Turkish Delights’ to throw at you include Ronnie Platt (Kansas), Billy Greer (Streets/Kansas), Billy Sheehan (Talas/David Lee Roth/Mr Big), Gary Pihl (Sammy Hagar/Boston/Alliance), Gene Black (Device), Jeff Pilson (Dokken), Jeff Scott Soto, Chris Childs (Thunder), Mike Slamer (City Boy/ Streets/Seventh Keys/ Steelhouse Lane) Joel Hoekstra (Whitesnake/Joel Hoekstra’s 13), Mark Mangold (American Tears/Touch/ Drive, She Said), Mark Stanway (Magnum), Mat Sinner (Sinner), Marco Mendoza (Thin Lizzy/Whitesnake/Journey), Ricky Phillips (The Babys/Bad English/Styx), Robin Beck, Robin Mc Auley (Grand Prix/MSG), James Christian (House Of Lords) Steve Overland (FM), Jerome Mazza (Pinnacle Point/solo), Terry Brock (Strangeways) and Vince DiCola (‘Transformers’/Thread/Storming Heaven). This is a cast of thousands. Well, it at least appears that way! It’s a very interesting package and, as Khalil would surely say, you’ll love it! - Dave Reynolds / August 2022. Produced by Khalil Turk for Turkish Delight Productions / Mixed and Mastered by Stephen DeAcutis at Sound Spa Studio, New Jersey, USA / *Mixed by Andy Zukerman / *Mastered by Fredrik Folkare / **Mixed and Mastered by Brian J Anthony (Vinyl Only) - Artwork Design by Hugh Syme (Rush/Bad English/Elton John) - Turkish Delights: The Musicians are: Ronnie Platt: Lead vocals (Kansas) / Billy Greer: Lead vocals (Kansas/Seventh Keys/Streets) / Jeff Scott Soto: Lead and backing vocals (Talisman/Yngwie Malmsteen/Trans-Siberian Orchestra) / Robin McAuley: Lead and backing vocals (Michael Schenker Group/Grand Prix/solo artist) / Chris Ousey: Lead vocals and Backing vocals (Heartland/Ousey-Mann/Virginia Wolf/Ozone)/ Jerome Mazza: vocals (Pinnacle Point/Steve Walsh) / James Christian: Lead and backing vocals (House Of Lords)Terry Brock: Lead vocals (Strangeways/Kansas) / Lee Small: Lead and backing vocals (Phenomena/Lionheart/Shy) / Mick Devine: Lead and Backing vocals (Devine Intervention/7/solo artist) / Ronnie Romero: Lead and backing vocals (Rainbow/Michael Schenker Group) / Tony Harnell: Lead vocals and backing vocals (TNT/Westworld/Starbreaker/Morning Wood) / Steve Overland: Lead and backing vocals (Lonerider/FM/Shadowman/solo artist) / Robin Beck: Backing vocals (solo artist) / Matt Sinner: Bass (Primal Fear/Sinner) / Joel Hoekstra: Guitars (Whitesnake/Trans-Siberian Orchestra/13) / Mike Slamer: Guitars (City Boy/Streets/Seventh Key/Steelhouse Lane) / Jeff Pilson: Bass (Foreigner/Dokken) / Gary Pihl: Guitars (Sammy Hagar/Boston) / Steve Morris: Guitars and Keyboards (Heartland/Lonerider/Ian Gillan Band/Shadowman) / Gene Black: Lead Guitars (Tina Turner/Rod Stewart/Device) / Billy Sheehan: Bass (Mr Big/The Flood/Talas) / Tracy Ferrie: Bass (Stryper/Boston) / Ricky Phillips: Bass (Baby’s/Styx/Bad English) / Rocky Newton: Bass (Michael Schenker Group/Lionheart) / Josh Devine: Drums (One Direction/Levara/Devine Intervention) / Takeaki Itoh: Bass (Pinnacle Point) / Jim Kirkpatrick: Slide guitar (FM/The Flood/Bernie Marsden Band) / Chris Childs: Bass (Thunder/Lonerider) / Steve Mann: Keyboards (Michael Schenker Group/Lionheart/Ousey/Mann) / Vince DiCola: Keyboards (Rocky4/Staying Alive/Transformers/Storming Heaven/Thread) / Mark Mangold: Keyboards (Touch/American Tears/Drive She Said) / Alessandro Del Vecchio: Keyboards (Revolution Saints/Edge Of Forever/Hardline) / Stevie D: Lead guitar / Marco Mendoza: Bass (Whitesnake/Thin Lizzy/Journey) / Jimmy Nicholas: B3 (Faith Hill/Kenny Loggins/Van Zant/Jim Peterik/Juice Newton) / Tommy Denander: Guitars and keyboards (Radioactive/Steve Walsh/Robert Hart)) / Brain J Anthony: Bass (Steve Walsh/Lonerider/Robert Heart/Robbie LeBlanc) / Brian Tichy: Drums (Whitesnake/Dead Daisies/ Foreigner) / Mark Stanway: Keyboards (Magnum/Grand Slam) / Robin Beck: Backing vocals (solo artist) / Nikolo Kotzev: Lead guitars (Brazen Abbot/Robin Gibb) / Fredrik Folkare: Guitars (Unleashed/Heartwind) / Mikael Rosengren: Keyboards (Heartwind) / Steve Newman: Guitars/keys/backing vocals (Newman/Compass) / Eric Ragno: Keyboards (Baby’s/Joe LynnTurner) / Fredrik Bergh: Keyboards (Talk Of Town/BloodBound) - CD Track listing: Intro; Live Again; Crazy Days; Bad Enough; Never Will Forget; Harder They Fall; Get Out Of Here; Believe; Hangman Blues; State Of Mind; Belly Of The Beast*; Holy Water; Sweet Serenity; Take It Away; Bad To Good. Vinyl Track listing: Intro; Live Again; Crazy Days; Bad Enough; Never Will Forget; Harder They Fall; Get Out Of Here; Believe; Hangman Blues; State Of Mind; Belly Of The Beast*; Holy Water; Sweet Serenity; Take It Away; Bad To Good; The Year 2000; Frozen Rose

Anjunabeats is pleased to announce the self-titled debut album from JODA, aka Jono Grant and Darren Tate. JODA are a fresh musical pairing with shared DNA. Both together and apart, Jono Grant and Darren Tate have been there, done that and bought the vintage synth gear to celebrate.

Grant is one-third of Above & Beyond who, over the course of a two-decade career, have established themselves as one of the biggest electronic groups in the world. Eight studio albums (including one as vocal trance group OceanLab and two acoustic reworks), 17 compilation albums, a film score and nearing 100 singles speak to an output as varied as it is prodigious.

Their label Anjunabeats is home to a bustling community of artists with over twenty years of catalogue. As a classically trained musician, songwriter, producer and hitmaker, Tate is an OG Top of the Pops-botherer. In the early Noughties, at the outset of his career, he appeared on the show three times, once with Angelic, his collaboration with Judge Jules and the latter’s wife, performing classic trance banger It’s My Turn, then twice under the name Jurgen Vries.

The following years saw more musical adventures, more Top 40 UK hits (12 in total) and more pseudonyms, including the trance-facing DT8 Project. In 2003, the pair managed to sync their schedules to work on a couple of tracks, ‘Let The Light Shine In’ and ‘Nocturnal Creatures’. Clearly, there was chemistry here. But as the pair’s respective careers subsequently took them off round the world in opposite directions, reconnecting other than fleetingly was never easy. Then in 2019 Tate returned to his trance roots and signed to Anjunabeats for his DT8 Project releases.

Several Years Ago, the Disco Records Dj Crew Members Got Their Hands on a Couple of Original 70s Obscurities, While These Standout Records Shone Brightly in Their Own Right, the Team Finally Decided to Put Them Out as Those Obscure Old Records Fetch Eye-Wateringly High Prices on the Second-Hand Market. Due to Popular Request & Lovingly Mastered to the Highest Possible Standards, They Are Now Available to Play and Share in Very Special Moments at Parties Around the World. This Will Surely Be One of the Most Keenly Anticipated Disco Release of the Year. for Our First Release, We Are Extremely Proud to Bring You at Last, Three Very Hard to Find Disco Anthems on Sides a & B in Their Glorious Full Extended Versions...

Repress

Needing no introduction, The Chemical Brothers make a very special appearance on Phantasy with a limited-edition vinyl pressing of Erol Alkan’s triumphant remix of ‘Goodbye’, a highlight from their recent, Grammy-nominated album, ‘For That Beautiful Feeling’.

Masterfully bridging soulful vocals and widescreen techno with their typical psychedelic edge, Alkan’s interpretation demonstrates his unique brotherhood with Tom Rowlands and Ed Simons. Across a near ten-minute journey, Alkan pushes the Brothers’ irresistible synth line further into dissonant analogue bliss, which coupled with celestial breakdowns, already counts as a personal favourite in the London DJ and producer’s diverse, enviable back catalogue of reworks. The other side of the record includes Alkan's previously unreleased instrumental.

Relapse Records präsentiert die Wiederveröffentlichung des einflussreichen TECHNO ANIMAL-Albums The Brotherhood of the Bomb (featuring Justin Broadrick (Godflesh, Jesu,u.a.) & Kevin Martin (The Bug)), das erstmals 2001 erschien. Das Album, das von Broadrick komplett neu gemastert wurde, ist zum ersten Mal überhaupt auf LP erhältlich!

Bevor The Brotherhood of the Bomb überhaupt konzipiert wurde, wurde das britische Duo TECHNO ANIMAL bereits von den Beastie Boys unterstützt und veröffentlicht, arbeiteten mit Alec Empire und den damals noch jungen Dälek zusammen, blieben aber dennoch fast völlig unbekannt.

Ob sie nun als Pioniere des Industrial Metal mit Godflesh oder als Vertreter des knirschenden Noise-Rock mit GOD bekannt waren, die verschiedenen Aspekte von TECHNO ANIMAL sind in The Brotherhood of the Bomb spürbar. TECHNO ANIMAL galten damals als zu laut für Hip-Hop-Fans und zu hip-hoppig fürNoise-/Metal-Fans und waren ihrer Zeit wirklich voraus.

Icelandic musician and visual artist Sunna Margrét is set to release her debut full-length album, Finger on Tongue, via No Salad Records. Citing influences from krautrock legends CAN and Neu!, outsider synth pop artist The Space Lady and electronic music pioneers Suzanne Ciani and Eliane Radigue, Finger on Tongue is a masterclass in experimental pop, capturing an authentic Icelandic essence through its electronic and spellbinding sounds. Some tracks offer softness and peace while others invite you to dance, and the album homogeneity is precisely ensured by the rigorous approach to writing.

Gatefold Sleeve / 180g Vinyl

Returning to the well of Roger Doyle once again, his “Babel” project spans a decade of composition work before its’ initial release in 1999 as a 5CD set. Over 100 pieces and almost 50 collaborators it marks a journey through a virtual tower of Babel with each piece corresponding to a room within an imagined giant tower city. For the 25th Anniversary vinyl edition Doyle has revisited it- remastering it and providing its first vinyl edit - 80 minutes spread across two 180gm LP’s - rounding out the package with extended liner notes and a download code to the full 6 hours.

We’ve previously explored Roger’s Operating Theatre days and the idea for this project came in the early nineteen eighties while Doyle was heavily involved with the experimental theatre group. Working with emerging technologies and across a variety of genres he realised that he would be unlikely to achieve an overarching compositional style. Instead deciding to make a virtue out of the fact that he composed so schizophrenically, he wished to create a musical alphabet out of short abstract sounds with these sounds being analogous to phonemes in speech. With Blade Runner and sci-fi embedded in the zeitgeist of the times he came to the idea of the Tower of Babel as both a futuristic skyscraper and also an embodiment of language.

In the spring of 1990 Babel was finally begun and kept growing until it reached over 6 hours of music and was released in 1999.A large-scale musical structure making use of many technologies and music languages, with each piece of music being thought of as a 'room' or place within an enormous tower city. Each track in the main section corresponds to a virtual sonic architecture. The pieces are divided into two kinds: aural representations of actual spaces like The Dressing Room, The Stairwell and Mr. Brady's Room alongside internalised dream spaces like the Room Of Rhetoric, the Spirit Levels and the Mansard childhood memory room. Listeners can navigate their way differently through this virtual building at each hearing. As a supplement to the Babel Tower KBBL - the fictitious radio station – broadcasts a number of shows. Each has its own style and atmosphere. Collaborating with DJs, actors, writers and singers, KBBL is made to sound like a real radio station with ads, traffic reports and phone-ins.

Examples of the connections within the project can be found via the architecture were the saxophonist in the off-stage dressing room is rehearsing for her solo in the concert-hall (heard in Pagoda Charm) or the room off the stairwell, where the sounds of piano lessons and apartment life can be heard and the apartment where a muffled KBBL can be overheard At a molecular level The Iron Language Alphabet is a sound alphabet containing tiny fragments of sound representing letters or characters of an alien alphabet. This sound alphabet can be heard scattered through other pieces like The Room of Rhetoric, Pagoda Charm and in KBBL in Johnny’s Body at 002. Other molecular scatterings can be found in Cantilena where two songs sung by Operating Theatre’s Elena Lopez in KBBL are exploded and re-arranged to form new entities.

Doyle’s Babel celebrates language - a slight variation on the Biblical morality tale - and musical expression in all its variety.

Omit’s in/Sec is “new,” but not new. Recorded in 2013, the masters lost in the label’s murky somewheresville that always shows up when moving. For those who don’t know, Omit is an experimental electronics artist from New Zealand’s south island who, since 1990, has released thirty-some xerographed cassettes and CDrs in the Dead C orbit for those who do. It’s not enough to say that in/Sec is an ambient masterpiece bringing to mind a John Carpenter soundtrack performed by the Hub because listening to it engineers new species. The infectious and corrupting sounds synthesize new life forms in your brain's enzymes. If you specialize in a niche too much, you are prey to predators outside, but Omit never goes for low-hanging fruit and isn't simulating anything. I can vomit a better looking face than the ones on these little fuckers eating my brain right now. In this century that flatters itself to be of drinking age, it is a queer thing we haven’t come face to face with aliens. There is a time for everything and they're all intermixed. Besides the xenobiological effects, Omit constructs your sentiment through timbral concepts that repeat and shift with minimal reference to harmony, melody, key, or mode. Streams jump and skitter, knitting tightly high and low in a dense rattling driven to the long and most plaintive tones amongst the countless gizmos (that’s including you, but not “you”). This one is for big fans of Anode/Cathode, Ikue Mori, Papa Srapa, Fronte Violeta, and Insignia refrigerators.

The identity of Deep Drive comes in large part from the way Zummo moves through the world. Using his smartphone, he records daily fragments: of daydreams and conversations, signage and slogans, moments that that strike him as insightful, odd, amusing, thereby creating a sonic collage of rhythms, melodies and voices. His deep baritone is imbued with laconic humour, and Deep Drive's track titles riff off his messaging. "Prepare For Docking" refers to the Staten Island ferry and the spectacle of humdrum city movements, but also suggests the nautical deep or even extraterrestrial life, with otherworldliness woven deep into the sound. "It's not a recital," says Zummo, of this way of working, "it's a movie." Deep Drive, then, is an album about the totality of the artistic process, seen from a generous and honest vantage point. The record was recorded in Copenhagen alongside Mabe Fratti, Sebastian K, Peter Broderick and Joseph Carvell

Los Angeles dream merchants return with a re-release of classic tracks initially from the 1994 debut “Nearfield”. This new interpretation entitled “Dissolve” includes different mixes and a never-before-heard track, “Skywards”. Closedown stand out as one of the most curiously overlooked. This four-piece from Los Angeles was one of America’s earliest shoegaze bands; some even say they were the first. Emerging from currents of drenching spectral etherealism, Closedown pin you down permanently with swelling whirlpools of brilliant sounds. The comparison to other bliss-rock bands is inevitable, yet such analogies overlook the uniqueness of Closedown’s musical conception.

Recorded by award-winning mastering engineer Kevin Gray's record label, Anthony Wilson's Hackensack West is Cohearent Records' follow-up to Kirsten Edkins' Shapes & Sound album. Produced by Joe Harley and recorded all-analogue/all-tube at Gray's studio, Cohearent Recording, the AAA vinyl release is pressed on 180-gram vinyl at RTI and housed in a deluxe tip-on gatefold jacket.

From the liner notes:

The week before these sessions in the summer of 2023, I sat down each morning with the goal of composing one new song by day's end. I knew I'd soon be in the room with my dear friends Gerald Clayton, John Clayton, and Jeff Hamilton, three musicians whom I trust the most, and with whom I've played the most over the last couple of decades. I tried to imagine themes that would feel natural to us, the kinds of songs we could simply dive into without much thinking. When we headed to Kevin Gray's studio to record, I brought seven new songs along with me. Five are included on this album.

"Daido" is dedicated to Japanese photographer Daido Moriyama, who became known in the late 1960s for his grainy, sometimes blurry, high-contrast black and white images made throughout Japan. I love his pictures taken on the streets of various Tokyo neighbourhoods such as Shinjuku. His portrait of a menacing stray dong, from his series "A Hunter," is the kind of picture that, seen just once, is unforgettable. These days Daido is still out on the street making pictures, at the ripe young age of 85.

"Verdesse" has a sinuous, chorinho-like melody and rhythmic feel. The tune seems to weave and bob playfully in a space of brightness the way a grapevine seems to curl towards the sunlight. So I named it after a wine grape native to the pre-Alpine region of Isère, near Grenoble in eastern France, that makes a particularly delicious and drinkable white wine.

I wrote "Sunday," well...on Sunday. It unfolds slowly, like a good Sunday does when there's nothing to do, you can sleep in, you've got your person beside you, and you just relax into the day.

"The Lands" is dedicated to a family very dear to my heart: that of tenor saxophonist Harold Land. My mother met Harold when they were both teenagers growing up in San Diego, California. The two of them became lifelong friends, and a little later, Harold enjoyed a fruitful musical association and close friendship with my father, Gerald Wilson. Harold, his lovely wife Lydia, and their son Harold Jr. were extended family for us; they looked after me with love and care. Some of my first gigs ever as a young guitarist were with Harold's incredible band that included Oscar Brashear, Billy Higgins, Richard Reid, and Harold Land Jr.

I've loved Todd Rundgren's "Marlene" since I first heard it on his epic double-album Something/Anything. With its tender, well-contoured melody buoyed by a few special harmonic surprises, it almost seems like something from the pen of Burt Bacharach. It tells such a complete musical story. Rundgren's recorded version has a beautiful endlessly repeating tag. So we played the melody simply, and used the tag as a small staging area for a bit of improvising.

Hackensack West is our alias for engineer Kevin Gray's studio Cohearent Recording, a place inspired by Rudy Van Gelder's first studio in Hackensack, New Jersey. Located inside Van Gelder's parents' home, the musicians played in the living room! It was there, in 1954, that Thelonious Monk recorded his classic tune "Hackensack," a "contrafact" melody over the chord changes to the Gershwins' "Oh, Lady Be Good!" In contrafact-like fashion, my own bebop-spirited melody "Hackensack West" seems to nod toward the changes of a few recognizable standards, without corresponding to any particular one.

Out of print as a stand-alone release for decades since its original 1974 issue. Produced by George Harrison, Shankar Family & Friends is an almost-forgotten masterwork – an emotional and sonic pact between two like-minded souls to both advance their spiritually minded bond and unite musical styles, cultures, and sounds in wondrous fashion Contributions from Ringo Starr, David Bromberg, Billy Preston, Nicky Hopkins, Jim Keltner, Klaus Voorman, and a host of virtuosic Indian musicians add to a diverse album that melds Eastern and Western traditions; encompasses jazz, funk, bhajan, Indian, and pop; and represents the spirit and breadth of Harrison's Dark Horse Records imprint.

Memorable contributions from an A-list of American and English musicians — Ringo Starr (drums), David Bromberg (electric guitar), Billy Preston (organ), Nicky Hopkins (piano), Jim Keltner (drums), Klaus Voorman (bass), Robert Margouleff (Moog), Malcolm Cecil (Moog), Tom Scott (saxophone) included — add to the richness of a set that melds Eastern and Western traditions. These “names” mesh with a host of Indian virtuosos — Alla Rakha, Ashish Khan, Kamala Chakravarty, Hariprasad Chaurasia included — who turn Shankar Family & Friends into a journey laced with percussive, string, and vocal components that aren’t soon forgotten.

Throughout, Shankar Family & Friends remains true to its title — a mesmerizing record named to reflect the group participation approach of its creators. The idea started when Shankar told Harrison about a ballet he wrote. The Beatle, who first met Shankar in June 1966 — roughly a year after Harrison became interested in Indian music after overhearing it in a restaurant while filming Help! — immediately was convinced they needed to record it. Harrison’s staunch admiration of Shankar and serious approach to Eastern styles are reflected throughout the album.

Indeed, for Harrison, Shankar Family & Friends marks the culmination of a years-long effort to master the sitar, study Hinduism, and incorporate elements such as drones, unusual chords, and expressive picking into his own songs. The seeds of this unique collaboration can be heard in Beatles works such as “Norwegian Wood,” “Love to You,” and “Within You Without You.” Both musicians were also fresh from performing at the 1971 Concert for Bangladesh shows. Yet Shankar Family & Friends remains entirely unique in each visionary artist’s history — and ultimately, led to a collaborative tour Harrison and Shankar staged across North America.

Encompassing jazz, funk, bhajan, Indian, and pop, Shankar Family & Friends is thematically split into halves. Side One reveals Shankar’s uncanny ear for melody — even when applied to Western forms. The lead-off “I Am Missing You,” the first single ever released by Dark Horse Records and reportedly the first pop composition Shankar completed, underscores his skills as a composer and global ambassador. Beautifully sung across three octaves by his sister-in-law, Lakshmi Shankar, the devotional song features multiple drummers and production that mirrors Phil Spector’s Wall of Sound approach. Harrison plays autoharp and guitar; Starr sits in on drums; Scott handles flute and soprano saxophone. It’s the inviting start of a musical adventure teeming with color, majesty, and mysticism.

A second version of the track — designated with a “(Reprise)” tag — appears minutes later. Unfolding in different ways, it follows a folk ballad structure stitched together with Indian instrumentation. Here, according to Shankar, the musicians “attempted to convey the sounds and atmosphere of Vrindavan, the ancient holy place where Krishna grew up.” Both renditions speak to the cross-continental fusion that came so naturally to Harrison and Shankar, whose oversight on the side’s other vocal tracks ensures listeners familiar with Western methods gain easy access to the hypnotic allure of his native country’s music.

Nowhere is this more evident than on Dream, Nightmare & Dawn (Music for a Ballet), the side-long piece that served as the genesis for Shankar Family & Friends. Launched with an airy overture and unfolding across three movements, the mostly wordless suite features everything from call-and-response interplay and classical lyricism to uptempo dance figures, stacked rhythms, and intoxicating grooves. Blurring the lines between contemporary and traditional, and Western and Eastern, the inspirational work is the exclamation point on a record that defined “world music” well before the term became co-opted as a catch-all genre.

Miles Davis' boundlessly influential On the Corner was so far ahead of its time upon release in 1972, the jazz cognoscenti rejected its groundbreaking concoction as middling in nature. Yet time has a way of righting wrongs and shifting views by adding needed context and perspective to visionary ideas, music, and approaches — the likes of which fill Davis' boldest and most controversial — undertaking. Designed to bring the focus back on the groove and bottom-end frequencies, the funk-loaded On the Corner revolutionized jazz. It also set new standards for record production, presaging remixing and electronica by more than a decade. And the work has never sounded more thrilling thanks to this very special pressing.

Sourced from the original master tapes and pressed on MoFi SuperVinyl, Mobile Fidelity's numbered-edition 180g 33RPM SuperVinyl LP of On the Corner exposes the internal mechanisms, free-associated playing, and then-unmatched studio techniques in vivid fashion. The low end, crucial to every composition here, is both heard and felt, with locked-in bass lines and low-range percussion conveyed as taut, solid, and visceral passages. You can discern the multiple layers of rhythm Davis employed on complex tracks such as "Black Satin," as On the Corner stands as his first effort to use overdubbing and multiple tape machines. As a pioneer, Davis likely would’ve loved MoFi’s groundbreaking SuperVinyl profile that features the lowest-possible analogue noise floor as well as pristine transparency, dead-quiet surfaces, and superb groove definition.

New degrees of spaciousness and airiness — equally important to the musique concrete arrangements — give the impression Davis and Co.'s creations float in space. Instruments are portrayed in three-dimensional manners, rhythmic loops retain tonal purity, and horn solos skitter across an extra-wide soundstage that takes listeners into Columbia's Studio E. Mobile Fidelity's SuperVinyl LP captures Teo Macero's innovative production — and the trumpeter's cutting-edge aural collages — in definitive fashion.

Heavily inspired by Sly and the Family Stone, On the Corner portrays street vibes and remains Davis' Blackest-sounding record. The conscious attempt to connect with youthful audiences tapped into rock and funk is evident not only on the colorful cartoon cover art depicting hot-pants and zoot-suit revelers, but in the music's emphasis of recurring drum and bass grooves. Distinct from Davis' earlier fusion experiments, the record's long-misunderstood set dials back improvisation in favor of beats, loops, and atmospherics that generate trance-like effects. While Davis utilizes his band for core duties — Chick Corea and Herbie Hancock prominently figure — he also relies on an all-star cast of side-men for concentrated soloing and additional support.

With rhythm providing the basic foundation, other notes fall into place, with their positioning steered by Macero and Davis' editing-room techniques. Looking to the manipulation-based work of Karlheinze Stockhausen and teaming with Stockhausen disciple Paul Buckmaster, Davis re-imagines what grooves constituted and could accomplish throughout On the Corner. The shapes of the songs become completely transformed as they progress. Faint melodies, spacey chords, chunky riffs, wah-wah fills, and repeated motifs bounce in and out of a sonic funhouse that wouldn't be out of place at a Harlem block party.

Exotic, intrepid, and filled with Davis' "jungle sound," On the Corner remains daringly hip more than four decades later.

..and this is how an endless summer night's dream sound! Puestel meets his alter ego Friebe again! Can you imagine that this whole song came to Rico Friebe in a dream?!

In that dream, he was sitting in a strange living room, playing a live set with very odd, weird and partially never-seen-before equipment while everyone was annoyingly talking to him (while performing) – one person right next to him even told him that he frequently manages to eat glass by accident. WTF?!

According to all this obscurity, he tried to escape into his performance, just looking straight into a weird countertop electronic device that created sound and suddenly he played this completely unknown song with these special vocals kicking in and he immediately fell in love with and got lost in it, forgetting all about the strange situation he was in – the distracting voices around him fell into a mute state.

Shortly afterwards, he woke up and kept trying to remember all the details, the lyrics, the melody, the production, just anything, wandering around like a maniac. Finally, all of it went pretty well and you're now listening to a dream composition. Magic everywhere!

One could be forgiven for getting that familiar feeling when listening to the music of Ghost Woman. And that's not just because songwriter & multi-instrumentalist Evan Uschenko is deeply steeped in classic guitar-led rock & pop songwriting (more on that later), it's that the music was, by design, intended to be evocative. But not evocative, however, of any one thing; what separates the music of Ghost Woman from a great many other bands working today is his openness to non-specificity. He's not trying to impart any sort of message to the listener; instead, the hope is that one will find themselves luxuriating in nuances of how the music is delivered, and the feelings it stirs up for each individual.

For the past couple of years Ghost Woman has been Evan Uschenko's outlet for his interest in songwriting and recording, which began after a number of years spent playing as a sideman in various Canadian indie ensembles, most notably in the Michael Rault band, a group that displays a similar affinity for perfectly dialed, partially yesteryear-looking guitar pop. Following 2022's self-titled


debut, issued by UK-based Full Time Hobby to great critical acclaim, Anne, If presents a slightly more expansive vision of what Ghost Woman can offer.

decade-plus together, the four-piece - Julia Shapiro (guitar, vocals), Lydia Lund (guitar, vocals), Gretchen Grimm (drums, vocals), and Annie Truscott (bass, vocals) - have created a resonant body of work. Live Laugh Love is a natural continuation. Against the bizarre backdrop of the past few years, Chastity Belt remained a supportive space for the members to grow and experiment, drawing on the ingredients most essential to their process since the beginning: authenticity and levity. Recorded over three sessions in as many years (January 2020, November 2021 and 2022), the focus became more about enjoying their time together in the studio than making it feel like work. Their ease and familiarity with engineer Samur Khouja in LA, who also recorded their last album, made for a particularly enjoyable process. Once completed, they returned to renowned engineer Heba Kadry who mastered the album. Album opener "Hollow" sets the tone with a gently driving rhythm while guitar layers stream like sun rays through an open car window. A warmth radiates through Shapiro's voice, even while grappling with feeling lost and stuck. "The older I get," Shapiro says of the lyrics, "the more I realize that I might just always feel this way, and it's more about sitting with the feeling and accepting it, rather than trying to fight it." That wisdom seems to anchor Live Laugh Love . Chastity Belt has never shied from navigating the spectrum of difficult emotions, and an existential thread weaves throughout the subject matter. And yet the songs feel more grounded than ever; there's a sense of quiet confidence and self-assurance that comes with being less numb and more present. Facing discomfort takes more fortitude, after all. Live Laugh Love finds the members in their prime as musicians. Their parts trace intricate patterns over one another, but there's room to breathe between the layers. Everyone contributes to the writing, sometimes switching instruments, and for the first time, all four members sing a song. It's never been more apparent that they are creative siblings, cut from the same belt. "We've been playing music with each other for over a decade," says Shapiro, "so it really does feel like we're all fluent in the same language, and a lot of it just happens naturally." "Laugh" seeks in the balm of friendship, aware of the anticipatory nostalgia that hits during a good time that you're already missing before it's gone; the heavier guitar tones on "Chemtrails" streak ominous chord progressions over Grimm's precision timekeeping, lamenting memories that won't fade easily. During a transitional time, Truscott came across a note in their phone that read, "it's not hard all day, just sometimes," which inspired a poignant line in the chorus of "Kool-Aid," their first song as lead vocalist on a Chastity Belt recording. Another standout, "1-90 Bridge" shines with a silvery melody that soars as Lund belts one of the most resounding moments on the album: "Tell your girlfriend she's got nothing to fear/I'm set in my head/My body's a different story." The track "Blue" saunters nonchalantly with a wink; you can almost hear Shapiro's smile as she sings "Faking it big time/So I can hit my stride/Man, it feels good to be alive," channeling early Chastity Belt channeling early '90s before channeling the late Elliott Smith in a spiral of distortion and insight: "Don't get upset about it/It's gonna pass/Tell all your friends about it/They're gonna laugh." "We have such a strong sense of each other's musical inclinations" says Lund. "I think this allows for a lot of playfulness...we can kinda surprise each other, like a good punchline would."

High Llamas present Hey Panda - a modern pop music/deep listening experience that could only issue forth from their personal quadrant of the galaxy. Hey Panda projects soulfully through an enervating abstract of today"s popular music; the sound of the Llamas" stately melodies and expressive ditties laid open - blissfully shattered - with drums and vocals hitting different, burning sounds and contemporary production twists pulling the ear at every turn. For the past few decades, High Llamas have trafficked in contemporary pop sounds directed toward the avant end of the spectrum as much as not. But here the message was clear. Llamas" composer-in-residence Sean O"Hagan was determined to let go. Hey Panda does just that, with a set of tunes reflecting on multiple levels how definitions change over the course of a lifetime, radiating an optimism derived from the diverse conundrums of today. Eight years since their last release, the pop musical Here Come The Rattling Trees, High Llamas have reinvented themselves again, mixing their peerless harmonic voice with what Sean regards as the "extraordinarily good" production sounds of today on Hey Panda. Choosing not to look backward to former golden ages celebrated in earlier Llamas eras, Sean"s instead found himself opened up by the sounds of music brought into the house by his adult children and the sounds encountered at sessions for which he"s recently written arrangements. In addition to the more traditional contributions he made to The Coral"s Sea of Mirrors album, plus his score for the Safdie brothers" 2022 film production, Funny Pages, Sean"s drawn great inspiration through working with Fryars, Rae Morris, King Krule, Pearl and The Oyster, while also soaking up the work of Tierra Whack and Chicago"s Pivot Gang, and being cheered on from a distance by longtime admirer Tyler The Creator. Thus, Sean"s producer procedural has evolved again, with upgrades first detected in his 2019 solo effort, Radum Calls, Radum Calls. With a cover of Billie Eilish"s "Wish You Were Gay" arranged for Bill Callahan and Bonnie Prince Billy"s Blind Date Party, along with his COVID-era solo single, "The Wild Are Welcome", Sean has leveled up again and again, leading to the delirious revelations of Hey Panda. Hey Panda"s wide reach is aided by two co-writes from Bonnie "Prince" Billy, (who bonded with Sean over a shared love of gospel soul during writing sessions), guest vocals from Rae Morris and Sean"s daughter Livvy, production twists from Fryars and the stalwart, flexible presence of High Llamas. For all of its sense of departure, Hey Panda is a movement in the High Llamas oeuvre that"s been a long time in development. Aspects of soul music were addressed at the time of Can Cladders; similarly, aspects of electronic dance music were in the mix in the late 90s, around the time of Cold and Bouncy. But nothing up to now has refocused the music of High Llamas so completely. Sharing the impulse of late-period Miles Davis and Quincy Jones, with further inspiration from Steve Lacy, SZA, Sault, No Name and Ezra Collective, among many others, Sean O"Hagan and High Llamas are living joyfully in the new and the now, with Hey Panda.

Transnational Speedway League ist Clutch’s allererste Album Veröffentlichung (1993) und wurde bis dato nie auf Vinyl veröffentlicht. Es ist das nächste Album in unserer Clutch Collector’s Serie. Clutch’s Gitarrist, Tim Sult, war federführend inder Neuentwicklung dieses Albums. Das Album ist remastered und die farbige LP wurde auf 180 gr Vinyl gepresst. Das Artwork ist von Dan Winters (dem ursprünglichen Grafiker) und Tim Sult neu interpretiert worden. Der Hochglanzdruck des Albumcovers auf einem Spezialpapier lässt Teile des Gatefold Covers fast metallisch erscheinen. Wie üblich beinhaltet das Album einen nummerierten und von den Bandmitgliedern handschriftlich unterzeichneter Kunstdruck ist vielleicht das wichtigste Element fuer den potentiellen Käufer. Clutch Fans weltweit werde sich um diese limitierte Auflage von 7,500 Stück reißen.

Including soundtracks of : Castlevania / Castlevania II: Simon's Quest / Moai kun / Akumajō Special: Boku Dracula-kun!

Was bekommt man wenn man Black Metal, Classic Rock, Punk, Goth und Rock'N'Roll in einen Topf wirft? Alfahanne. Die schwedische Band veröffentlicht ihr fünftes Album, nun wieder auf Dark Essence/Karisma. 10 schweißtreibende, musikalische Brandsätze die zwischen Kvelertak, Turbonegro, norwegischen Black Metal und Motörhead pendeln - mit schwedischem Gesang. Das Album vereint Punk-Attitüde, Melodie und Groove mit einer düsteren Atmosphäre, die irgendwie sowohl an die 80er als auch an die Anfänge des Black Metal erinnert. Wenn man so edle und berüchtigte Gäste wie Nattefrost (Carpatian Forest), Spellgoth (Horna), Nattfursth (Sorhin) und Doedsadmiral (Nordjevel) einbezieht, hat man einen explosiv, apokalypischen Molotov-Cocktail. Zu haben auf CD und klassisch, schwarzem Vinyl!

"Soul artist Bettye Swann was born in Shreveport, USA on October 24, 1944 and spent her first nineteen years in Louisiana. She moved to California and signed a deal with Money Records, recording her breakthrough hit ""Make Me Yours"" in 1967, which is still her biggest selling record. After the contract expired, she signed to Capitol Records and teamed up with producer Wayne Shuler and recorded a R&B version of Hank Cochran's country song ""Don't Touch Me"". On this comprehensive self-titled double album, compiled by Mark Ainley, classic songs such as ""Tell Me Like It Is"", ""Stand By Your Man"", ""(My Heart Is) Closed For The Season"", ""Willie & Laura Mae Jones"" plus 18 heartfelt soul songs showcase Bettye's unique voice. Bettye Swann is available as a 2LP and includes an insert with liner notes written by Tim Tooher. "

Bettye Swann by Bettye Swann, released 29 March 2024, includes the following tracks: "I'm Lonely For You", "Little Things Mean A Lot", "Just Because You Can't Be Mine", "Sweet Dreams" and more.

This version of Bettye Swann comes as a 2xLP. This release comes with (a) Insert(s).

Das Stockholmer Rocktrio REACH verfeinert in Zusammenarbeit mit dem renommierten Frankfurter Musikproduzenten Christian Schneider seinen einzigartigen Sound und vermischt spielerische Elemente mit rohem musikalischen Talent. Dieses besondere Markenzeichen erwacht bei den explosiven Live-Auftritten zum Leben, bei denen ihre Leidenschaft für Musik und Improvisation unvergessliche Erlebnisse für das Publikum schafft. Das neue Album ist ein echter Beweis für die bemerkenswerte Kunstfertigkeit und Kreativität von REACH und ihr Talent, dramatische Erzählungen in ihre Musik einzuweben. Die Band lässt sich von realen Ereignissen inspirieren und fügt dunkle, fesselnde Wendungen hinzu, um zum Handeln und Nachdenken über aktuelle Themen aufzurufen. PROPHECY ist randvoll mit spannenden und manchmal unerwarteten Einflüssen aus einem breiten Spektrum an Genres.

Whitney Houston’s self-titled debut album has few parallels. Viewed solely through the lens of sales numbers, Whitney Houston is a watershed statement on par with the most commercially successful and culturally dominant LPs ever released. Having sold more than 14 million copies in the U.S. and upwards of 25 million units worldwide, the 1985 LP became the equivalent of the television show or blockbuster film that everyone collectively experiences and discusses. Nearly four decades later, it’s lost none of its appeal or magnetism — and its artistic significance and historical import have only grown.


Sourced from the original master tapes, pressed at RTI on MoFi SuperVinyl, and strictly limited to 4,000 numbered copies, Mobile Fidelity's 180g SuperVinyl LP of Whitney Houston presents the breakthrough in audiophile sound for the first time. The signature traits Houston exhibits on every song — her three-octave range, radiant warmth, personal conviction, impossibly controlled register — come across with exceptional clarity, focus, and presence. Free of artificial ceilings and constricted dynamics, this reissue plays with an openness, airiness, and balance that put the singer’s once-in-a-lifetime instrument and immortal artistry into proper perspective.

It does the same for the songs’ cascading melodies and captivating arrangements. Individually produced by one of four renowned industry veterans — Kashif, Micheal Masser, Jermaine Jackson, and Narada Michael Walden — each composition feels grander, closer, more genuine. A vocal spectacular, Whitney Houston benefits from the high-end characteristics of SuperVinyl, which include a nearly inaudible noise floor, superb groove definition, and dead-quiet surfaces. This is how an album that changed the direction of popular music — opening previously inaccessible doors for Black artists; bringing smooth-singing vocalists back into the mainstream; kickstarting a movement that soon included several “divas” who would command the charts through the early 21st century — should look and sound.

Though Houston’s seemingly effortless performances suggest otherwise, creating the record Rolling Stone ranks as the 257th Greatest Album of All Time wasn’t easy. Nearly 18 months were required to identify songs suitable for a still-unknown singer who did not fit into the conventional frameworks of the mid ‘80s. Confident, powerful, and prodigiously talented, Houston would forge her own parameters with Whitney Houston. In the process, she obliterated the stubborn lines between R&B and pop, Black and white radio. She dared to reimagine who could be a superstar and then went out and defined the role. Recorded for nearly $400,000 and released on Valentine’s Day, the LP exceeded the wildest expectations of those most closely associated with it — save for Houston and her family.

Having made her first public appearance at the age of 11 singing at a Baptist church, Houston understood pressure and knew her way around, inside, and through a song. The invaluable guidance and support she received from her mother, Cissy, an accomplished gospel vocalist who backed Aretha Franklin and Elvis Presley, are on display throughout Whitney Houston. They arrive in the types of authoritativeness, discipline, and diction rare for even most seasoned veterans — and unheard-of for a 21-year-old newcomer. Houston brings a soulful elegance, understated glamour, and in-the-moment rapture to every note. Moving up, down, or staying in the middle of the vocal ladder; channelling softness or sweetness; showing restraint or increasing the volume, she is a marvel of emotionalism, a dynamo who can seamlessly transition from one mood to another within a verse.

Though the 10-track LP largely concerns itself with the ballad tradition, Houston covers the bases, getting into an R&B groove on the fleet “Thinking About You,” turning up the heat on the duet “Take Good Care of My Heart,” and investing the contagious dance-pop confection “How Will I Know” with all the anxiety, hope, energy, and enthusiasm its lyrics demand. Featuring her mom on background vocals and Houston’s pitch-perfect tone, uncanny precision, and skyscraper highs (no AutoTune here, friends), the synth-based anthem propelled Whitney Houston into the stratosphere, the vocalist into regular MTV rotation, and the term “crossover” into popular parlance. The double-platinum single reached No. 1 on the Hot 100, Hot R&B, and Adult Contemporary charts — a trifecta that foreshadowed accomplishments that would ultimately crown Houston as the most-awarded female artist of all time.

Whitney Houston became the first album by a Black female performer to top the Billboard charts. It remained there for 14 non-consecutive weeks en route to claiming the title of the best-selling LP of 1986. It stands as the first debut and first album by a solo female artist to spawn three No. Hits, as well as the first album by a Black female artist to top the year-end charts in Australia and Canada. These are just a handful of the accolades — along with four Grammy nominations — that surround a set that also contains the unforgettable ballad “Saving All My Love,” string-accompanied “Greatest Love of All,” and sensual “You Give Good Love.”

As TIME observed in an article written two years after the album took the world by storm: “This is infectious, can't-sit-down music, and her performance dares the listener not to smile right back.” We’re still smiling.

This Is Street Funk” is part of a new series aimed at vinyl buyers who want a genre specific compilation to excite their ears. They will appeal to long-standing, discerning music acolytes and recent converts alike. Two sides of fantastic music, at an affordable price, hand-picked with TLC from Ace and its associated catalogues.

Compiled by Dean Rudland, who also writes the liner notes, “This Is Street Funk” brings you 14 tracks of hard hitting, heavy funk, and sums up the sound of 70s Black America. A combination of fatback drums, syncopated bass, rhythmic guitars and explosive vocals.

The line-up of tracks includes classics from the Fatback Band and Millie Jackson, dancefloor favourites from Billy Garner and Billy Sha-Rae and screaming organ instrumentals from the Fame Gang and Larry & Tommy.

This is fourteen tracks that defy you to start dancing.

SKRAECKOEDLAN - four bearded Swedes who's forged their unique sound of progressive stoner rock in the cold northern forests. Previous album Earth was a massive domestic success as it hit the hard rock charts in Sweden. We expect SKRAECKOEDLAN to continue growing as new fans discover Vermilion Sky, out after five years of silence. Five years. Is that a long time to wait? Generally speaking, yes. Probably. Well, maybe. Time is after all relative, so there surely isn't a fail-safe answer.

SKRAECKOEDLAN - four bearded Swedes who's forged their unique sound of progressive stoner rock in the cold northern forests. Previous album Earth was a massive domestic success as it hit the hard rock charts in Sweden. We expect SKRAECKOEDLAN to continue growing as new fans discover Vermilion Sky, out after five years of silence. Five years. Is that a long time to wait? Generally speaking, yes. Probably. Well, maybe. Time is after all relative, so there surely isn't a fail-safe answer.

New super-band featuring desert rock legends Mario Lalli, Brant Bjork, Sean Wheeler and Ryan Güt !!! The first release from this band of pioneering Desert rock musicians captures the band and its purest form exercising the desert born ethic and approach of rock improvisation, psychedelic and flowing, heavy and explorative. The foundation of Mario Lalli's grooving heavy bass lines and meditative themes with a intuitive guitar work with Brant Bjork and percussion of Ryan Güt set the scene for Sean Wheeler's poems and songs capturing the dark and beautiful stories and images of life in the Mojave desert of Southern California. This is a representation of desert rock in its purest form. A very special live performance in Gold Coast Australia.

Violet vinyl, limited to 400 copies. New super-band featuring desert rock legends Mario Lalli, Brant Bjork, Sean Wheeler and Ryan Güt. The first release from this band of pioneering Desert rock musicians captures the band and its purest form exercising the desert born ethic and approach of rock improvisation, psychedelic and flowing, heavy and explorative. The foundation of Mario Lalli's grooving heavy bass lines and meditative themes with a intuitive guitar work with Brant Bjork and percussion of Ryan Güt set the scene for Sean Wheeler's poems and songs capturing the dark and beautiful stories and images of life in the Mojave desert of Southern California. This is a representation of desert rock in its purest form. A very special live performance in Gold Coast Australia.

Wiederveröffentlichte 2024er Pressung dieses unglaublichen Garagenrockwerkes! "The Ultimate Gospel Blues Trash experience recorded in 2001 London on the EMI Redd 17 desk (Abbey Road Studios) by Liam Watson this is pure Dirty ,your parents would not like it' Primitive Rock'n'Roll swearing and blood spiting preaching Raw Garage punk mixed up LO-FI Trash out of control Blues Trash at its best" - RBM, VVR Nach der Trennung vom Wrestling Rock'n'Roll Project Lightning Beat-Man musste der Beat-Man ins Krankenhaus und sah mit eigenen Augen den Tod. Jetzt, Jahre später, ist er zurück mit neuen Kumpels und einer neuen Mission: der Gospel Blues & Trash Mission. 1983 begann er als Ein-Mann-Band, für dieses Album heuerte er die Un-Believers an (Gery Mohr und Robert Butler von den Miracle Workers, Janosh von den Monsters und Gringo Starr, der auch bei den Never Heard Of'Ems, Lightning Beat-Mans Backing Band, spielte) und ging zusammen mit Liam Watson (Bristols, Masonics, Headoats_) in Londons berühmtes Toe Rag Studio, um diesen speziellen Swamp-Blues-Sound auf die Platte zu bekommen. Predigtlieder, Lieder über das Töten von Nachbarn, Predigten über das Abschneiden von Fingern, Lieder über den Gang ins Gefängnis, den Gang aus dem Gefängnis und sogar über das Verlieben und den Gang in die Hölle. Mach dich bereit für eine Menge Slide-Gitarren-Action und Mundharmonikagedröhne, Blues im Stil von Howling Wolf und Gun Club-ähnlichen Trash-Rock'n'Roll. Schwarze LP, Insert, Download Code

Valentina Villarroel is a sound artist and phonographer who explores the intricate dynamics within various Southern ecosystems. Her work revolves around the profound potential of acoustic ecology, particularly in the face of encroaching real estate development on natural spaces. She also delves into the consequences of sound pollution on numerous species, contributing to their decline or disappearance. In recent years, her focus has extended to urban soundscapes and significant sonic events, such as the October 18th protest in Chile. With a solid background in bioacoustics applied to both human and animal well-being, Valentina assumes the role of co-director at AOIR Sound Laboratory. There, she spearheads an interdisciplinary initiative that centers sound as its core element. This includes the creation of the sonic cartography portal aoir.cl, as well as the development of handmade electronic devices like the Bowerbankii and the creation of various experimental microphones.

Returning to the action and spectacle that have captured moviegoers around the world, Transformers: Rise of the Beasts take audiences on a ‘90s globetrotting adventure with the Autobots and introduce a whole new faction of Transformers – the Maximals – to join them as allies in the existing battle for earth. It's the seventh instalment in the Transformers live-action film series. Directed by Steven Caple Jr. and starring Anthony Ramos and Dominique Fishback, the film was released in June 2023. The soundtrack was in hands of Jongnic Bontemps, who gave the film a new sound. The score also features a reimagining of familiar musical compositions from the earlier movies by Steve Jablonsky. Bontemps felt his goal was influencing the score from the first five films directed by Michael Bay, but as the movie takes place after the events of Bumblebee (2018), which deviated from the timeline of the original films, he also needed to provide new fresh music. During the soundtrack's production, different musical styles were experimented with. However, Bontemps said they quickly realized that ""an organic, orchestral, emotional score, that sound we are all familiar with, and has such a deep history, goes a long way for we as the audience to connect with these robots."" Transformers: Rise of the Beasts (Expanded Edition) is available as a limited edition of 500 individually numbered copies on Autobots Red (LP1) vs Decepticons Purple (LP2) coloured vinyl. The vinyl edition features 5 bonus tracks and it includes a 4-page booklet with liner notes by the director, composer, and music executive of Paramount."

Transformers: Rise of the Beasts by Jongnic Bontemps, released 29 March 2024, includes the following tracks: "Autobots Enter", "More Than Meets the Eye", "Museum Heist", "Fallen Hero" and more.

This version of Transformers: Rise of the Beasts comes as a 2xLP. This release comes with (a) Booklet.

The vinyl is pressed as a red disc. Another vinyl is pressed as a purple disc.

Anna Gréta goes gentle...into her second album on ACT, “Star of Spring”. The Reykjavik-born pianist, singer and a songwriter, who has lived in Stockholm since 2014, has her own way of approaching the art of quiet, artful, deeply personal songs, often drawing inspiration from the beauty and power of Iceland’s natural landscape. Her 2021 ACT debut "Nightjar in the Northern Sky" was named after a bird, and this follow-up album lands gracefully on a flower, the “glory of the snow”, also known as the "star of spring", which symbolises the ending of winter and the arrival of spring.

But look closer, and there are always other levels of meaning. Her "Nightjar”, the rare bird she once saw in front of the northern sky, was a metaphor for the search for the things which are special and essential. In fact, almost all of Anna Gréta's lyrics have more than one significance, and her storytelling has now taken a leap forward on "Star of Spring". She says of the little flower on the title track: "I wasn't just inspired by the way it takes over the meadows in spring and turns them from green to blue, but also by the fact that it blooms because it is compelled to do so. It cannot do anything else."

Anna Gréta's starting point to creating music was and is the piano. She first studied classical music, then switched to jazz. She only started singing later, when she was writing the songs for Nightjar and wanted to express herself in words. Anna Gréta's debut as a singer, pianist and songwriter earned her international acclaim: Downbeat Magazine called it „an album with the metamophoric diversity of a year’s seasons and a voice like the everchanging colours of the Northern lights“, France Musique “a remarkably immersive experience” and Jazzwise “starkly beautiful”.

On "Star Of Spring" Anna Gréta has further developed her individual style. Her vocal lines can resemble piano motifs, often doubling them and resonating with an impressively quiet vibrato, sometimes quirkily reminiscent of Björk, at other times with the brooding ease of Norah Jones. The album also bears a very distinctive production style. For each of the songs, Anna Gréta has created her own little world of choirs, rhythmic textures and various smartly used keyboard instruments. The album ranges from the hymnal and elegiac - in "She Moves" or in the title track - to the playful and cheerful "Space Time" or the extremely pared-down melancholic ballad "Denouement". And even if the general mood of the music exudes above all warmth and comfort, Anna Gréta also deals with serious topics, such as the forced birth control of women in Greenland during the 60s and 70s in the song "The Body Remembers".

There is a directness of expression and emotionality, even sensuousness about the new album, and that is not least because Anna Gréta’s band has developed and become a properly played-in unit with the experience to take this album’s more complex arrangements in its stride. The sheen and brightness of her piano playing is contrasted with a deeper voice, that of her father Sigurður Flosason's bass clarinet, on three tracks. "This album is more playful and experimental," she says. "A lot of things were easier for me than on the first album. And while I was still completely focussed on my own world then, now I was even more conscious and aware of what was going on around me."

The result is music that is rooted in jazz, but at the same time goes far beyond it in a very subtle and deeply touching way.

Spaceship is Mark S. Williamson, a musician, sound artist, film maker and educator based in Todmorden, West Yorkshire. His work is often made in response to his environment, working on location, combining
field recordings with electronic and acoustic instrumentation, usually recorded outside, amid the landscape and weather. Mark has recorded for wiaiwya, Apollolaan, the Dark Outside and his own Forged River Recordings. "Williamson is building desire tunnels, churning through the layers of rock and soil to find his conclusions." - The Wire // "...the droning synthesizer waves conjure up something spectral and eerie, stretching out like the wi de horizon..." - The Quietus // "Beautiful." - Hannah Peel

It’s obvious listening to Sarah Shook and the Disarmers’ clear-eyed, biting, and unafraid songs that integrity is the most important thing to the Chapel Hill, North Carolina, country-punk outfit. “A lot of artists are in this industry for fame, recognition, and money but those things don’t mean anything to me,” says bandleader River Shook. “Songwriting is it for me. It’s the only real healthy coping mechanism I've ever had. It’s life-saving. I don't care about any superficial things when I’m making a record.” On their resonant fourth album Revelations, produced by Shook and out March 29 via Thirty Tigers, these raw and resilient tracks come first. Throughout, Shook’s deft storytelling documents regular people getting by and keeping on, all presented without filter or pretension. In 2022, Shook was remarkably productive. They released two albums: debut solo indie rock record Cruel Liars under the moniker Mightmare (Kill Rock Stars) and a third Disarmers full-length called Nightroamer (Thirty Tigers). Compared to every Disarmers record before that, which captured the in-the-room energy of the band with live recorded songs, the latter LP was instead more of a product of the studio with meticulous tracking sessions and an outside producer. While that effort was well-received, Shook believed the songs on Revelations deserved a more direct approach. “Since the Disarmers started in 2015, our strength has always been in our live performance,” says Shook. “To me, an album should capture the essence of a band. With this new set of songs that are all super special to me, I didn't trust anybody else to capture the songs and decide how to best serve each song.” Shook, who honed their production skills with their Mightmare LP and Izzy Ryder’s debut record, confidently took the reins during a blistering recording session, capturing 10 songs in two days. For Shook, it was paramount the recordings match the band’s tangible live ferocity because these songs boast their most immediate lyrics yet.