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Forest Moss Colored Vinyl. Edition of 500 copies. (Whirring Marvels In) Consensus Reality is the new album by Eluvium - the renowned moniker of prolific modern composer, Matthew Robert Cooper . Taking initial inspirations from T.S. Eliot 's The Waste Land and Richard Brautigan 's All Watched Over By Machines Of Loving Grace , (Whirring Marvels) inherently deals both with humankind's need for meaning, and the emergence of algorithms reflecting the feedback loops of humankind's interactions with machines themselves. This complicated relationship that we have with technology, automations, and algorithms - and the influence they in turn have on shaping our image of the world - is the mechanized heart and soul of an album that almost instantly establishes itself as a peak in Eluvium 's inimitable catalog. During the writing process for (Whirring Marvels In) Consensus Reality , Cooper began experiencing shoulder and arm pain that rendered his left arm increasingly debilitated. This inspired new compositional methods that blended varying degrees of electronic automations with traditional songwriting. Lyrical themes were built using algorithms to cull content from a notebook filled with years of scribbled thoughts, poems, considerations, conspiracies, scientific notions, and notes on the spirit of existence. Employing musicians from all around the world - including members of the American Contemporary Music Ensemble ( ACME ), Golden Retriever , and the entire Budapest Scoring Orchestra - much of the music was conducted and recorded remotely via teleconference during the global COVID lockdowns of 2020 and 2021. This approach to composing served as an unintended but serendipitous challenge for an album inspired by the complicated convenience of technology. (Whirring Marvels In) Consensus Reality blends an ornate combination of ingredients to construct a narrative of our dynamic invention; technological advancement; loneliness and isolationism; and unchecked idealism in a world of never-ending growth. The resulting hope that somehow emerges is itself a marvel of innovation and inspiration.

'Hold Sacred' ist für das amerikanisch-britisch-deutsche Trio Esben And The Witch ein mehrfacher Neustart. Die Songs entstanden an einem Rückzugsort bei Rom und sind atmosphärisch, fast spirituell, grüblerisch und sanft, fast Ambient, ohne Live-Schlagzeug, während die Instrumentals aus einfachen, spärlichen Gitarren und Tasten bestehen. Aufgenommen ohne externe Produzenten und Tontechniker ist es eine Reminiszenz an frühe Tage, als E&TW ihre Songs im Schlafzimmer aufnahmen. Nach dem Ausflug zum französischen Metal-Label Season Of Mist mit schweren Post-Punk- und Metal-Texturen erscheint das neue Werk wieder auf dem eigenen Imprint Nostromo Records.

Already a multi award-winning and established artist, with a growing global reputation, South African artist Bokani Dyer presents his newest record ‘Radio Secheba’ - due for release on digital, CD & LP vinyl formats on 12th May 2023 via Brownswood Recordings.

This 15-track album continues Dyer’s creative journey of making rich and immersive music which places him amongst the new wave of South African jazz artists, including the likes of Siya Makuzeni and Nduduzo Makhathini.

‘Radio Sechaba’ provides an intimate view into South Africa’s multifaceted people - and an opportunity for global connection through music. The meaning behind ‘Sechaba’ in the album title is nation. The record hones into the related topics of nation-building and unity and this is no ordinary topic for Dyer, who was born into a Botswanan community in exile from apartheid. The title of this thought-provoking album echoes that of “Radio Freedom” - the voice in exile of the African National Congress.

Dyer’s career highlights include acclaim as a solo artist (including being named the Standard Bank Young Artist Award winner for Jazz in 2011) and with his trio (the Bokani Dyer trio’s Neo Native won the South African Music Award for Best Jazz Album in 2019). Bokani features on the opening track of the critically acclaimed Johannesburg scene jazz compilation, ‘Indaba Is’ - released in early 2021. Bokani played at the 2022 North Sea Jazz Festival in Rotterdam, Netherlands, was a part of the South African Songbook (2019) at the Lincoln Centre USA, London Jazz Festival (2015), headlined the Cape Town International Jazz Festival (2015) and held an artistic residency at the Bird’s Eye jazz club in Basel, Switzerland (2014).

Fans of Coltrane will certainly dig this historical 1970s spiritual jazz album from Argentina which left an everlasting imprint in the local jazz scene. From the eerie "Blues para un cosmonauta" —which could easily fit in the Twin Peaks soundtrack—, to the majestic "Líneas Torcidas" or the mid-tempo groove of "Mi amigo Tarzán", new landscapes in jazz are explored without hiding, at moments, the musicians' bebop pedigree. Venturing into unchartered dimensions, the album breaks with traditionalism and combines jazz and new electronic instruments into a contemporary concept that is both cosmic and sensual, a sound where timbre and space play a crucial role. Here, no track sounds like the other.

The charismatic, multifaceted saxophone player Horacio "Chivo" Borraro is joined here most notably by Fernando Gelbard —who pioneered electronic keyboards and analog synths in Argentina, playing here Fender Rhodes and Minimoog— and Brazilian musician Stenio Mendes —who plays the 12-string craviola and contributes two tracks. Jorge González on bass and Néstor Astarita on drums —both part of Gato Barbieri's rhythm section in the early 60s— and Chino Rossi —responsible for much of the unusual percussion and special effects that give the album its unprejudiced aura— complete the line-up of Blues para un Cosmonauta.

Death/Thrash Metal classic reMastered! A strong Master album re-issued.
Since the dawn of human intellectualism, self-aware individuals have sought solitude. Paul Speckmann of Master finds his own solidarity in
expressing apathy towards society. Lets acknowledge the introspective impact of Master’s 1998 release “Faith is in Season.”
Crusty bass lines and tom-centric drumming push “Faith is in Season” forward with a reliable tempo, coupled with intermittent guitar leads and Speckmann’s defiant screeches define Master’s new production - consistent and comprehendible Death Metal. This is further polished with thoughtful song intros that highlight each individual member’s musicianship. This foundation supports the guitar melodies and lyrical concepts.

Compositionally, each instrument in Master is worth its own weight in gold while also not overshadowing each other. This is a self-evident
testament to Speckmann’s exemplary leadership because the band line-up on “Faith is in Season” was relatively brief.

Similar to 1990’s contemporaries like Vader or Obituary, Master solidified their craft with “Faith is in Season” and has since strayed minimally.

VERVE BY REQUEST SERIE: remastert vom analogen Originalband, audiophiles 180-Gramm-Vinyl von Third Man Pressing/Detroit, Gatefold-Sleeve.

Durch die letztjährige Grammy-Nominierung der Jazzharfenistin Brandee Younger sind in jüngster Zeit viele Jazzfans wieder auf das schmale, dafür aber umso erstaulichere Œuvre ihres großen Vorbilds Dorothy Ashby aufmerksam geworden. Ihr wohl exzentristischstes, zugleich aber unglaublich zugängliches Album nahm sie 1970 für Cadet Records auf: “The Rubáiyát Of Dorothy Ashby”. Auf ihm vertonte sie Vierzeiler des persischen Dichters Omar Chayyām (1048-1131), wobei sie auf reizvolle Weise Spiritual Jazz, Funk und Blues mit Elementen asiatischer und afrikanischer Musik verschmolz. Neben ihrer Harfe spielt Ashby hier auch die japanische Koto und sang.

Dorothy Ashbys ”The Rubáiyát Of Dorothy Ashby” erscheint am 12. Mai zeitgleich mit der verschobenen LP Archie Shepp - Kwanza (Verve By Request) 00602448476180.

FOR FANS OF: LOUNGE-MUSIC, PACHA, AMBIENT MUSIC.
Sommer, Sonne, Ibiza-Feeling: IBIZA BEACH BEATS ist die ultimative Chill-, Relax- und Lounge Music Compilation im LP-Format; gepresst in schneeweißem Vinyl. 24 Tracks, emotionale cool-down Klänge für Ibiza-Lovers.

About the album TEKHENU: Holistic, soundscape storyteller The Allegorist takes inspiration from the ancient world for her fifth studio album, set for release on her label Awaken Chronicles.

A sonic fable titled TEKHENU, it continues the trajectory that the Berlin-based electronic producer and sound-designer has been following since the beginning – conceptualising narrative-heavy LPs centered around mythical lands. Her new works depict a lost protagonist and her spiritual, inward search across ten enrapturing chapters.

The title of the LP is a nod to the towering monoliths by the ancient Egyptians. Known to most by their Greek-given name “obelisk”, they stand tall around the world and it’s their global dispersion that inspired The Allegorist for the title of the album, seeing it as an allegory of a common bond, a point of connection. The Tale of TEKHENU, for the seekers Written by The Allegorist TEKHENU For the seekers

Originally released as a digital single only available through Jungle Fire's Bandcamp page in the summer of 2020, their version of the Ray Barretto Latin Funk classic "Together" was put out in support of Black Lives Matter and acknowledgment that African culture has been the backbone, soul and spirit of societal fabric since the dawn of humanity. A song whose message and spirit always united and ignited the audience, it was a much-needed offering to fans at a time of escalated urgency in the sociopolitical climate. Now in 2023, F-Spot Records is proud to announce its official vinyl release alongside a previously unreleased track, "Movin' On" (originally recorded by Ray Camacho), on the flip. Often performing "Together" during their live shows as an instrumental interlude, it was only right to do the song justice by inviting long-time collaborator and frequent F-Spot featured singer Jamie Allensworth to join on lead vocals. Performing as a guest with the band numerous times and being a part of So-Cal's funk and soul community ranging from Orgone, Night Owls, and Mestizo Beat, Allensworth delivers a high-energy performance that keeps up with Jungle Fire's signature sound of blazing percussion, heavy beats, and fuzzed out guitars. On side B Allensworth is featured again, stepping up the energy even more into the full-on Latin Funk party, "Movin' On." Cut at a faster tempo and more drive than the original, Jungle Fire is the only group we can think of that can deliver this kind of performance, matched with Allensworth's gritty yet soulful lead, to bring you two sides of serious heat that the band has consistently brought over the past decade.

Cavernous, mystical beat tribalism from the GT zone; loose yet conscious-minded dub-wise runnings land on planet Earth. Murderous tempos create fiery, twisted percussion dances, lifted and buried in blazing licks of dabbed bass-weight. 808 moves left to right, upside down, with a melodic, hypnosis-minded sway. DEEP transforms waves of metallic drum machines, isolated melodies, and wooden beats into rooted sonic spiritualism recalling distant, future bygone eras. Hand made cover artwork.

In hand-stamped, paper taped sleeve.

Are you ready to embark on a wild ride through the sonic wonderland of ‚Life Of Phoroma‘? This isn‘t your average V/A extended player compilation – it‘s a pulse-pounding journey through chaos, confusion, and pure eclecticism that‘ll take you beyond just dancing.

Terra Magica Rec. sixth release is a passionate ode to the fusion of EBM and psychedelic, perfectly blending lightning-fast new age and tribal hypnotic soundscapes with 1980s synth atmospheres high on Trance.

It’s Electronic Disco gone Techno gone HiNRG gone wrong folks! Enjoy. The SH-101‘s aggressive cuts, the Sequential Circuits‘ mesmerizing melodies, and the heavily processed Neumann TLM 193 vocals seamlessly weave in and out of acid-ish and electro breakbeat grooves, „Why am I suddenly standing at Tokyo Teleport Station? What happend to my last week?“ Welcome to relaxed Rave-basslines and lo-fi rhythms that will intoxicate your senses.

Get loose and fall into your next portal of unexpected spiritual flows. Catch your six unique tracks for a highly eclectic journey through mysterious and magical moments. So strap in and become one with the sound, because ‚Life Of Phoroma‘ is your roller coaster ride to unforgettable sonic adventures.

The trio Amiira of Klaus Gesing, Björn Meyer and Samuel Rohrer has returned after a layoff of six years since their debut LP. It would be unwise to expect for them to pick up exactly where they left off, given all the turbulent change that the world has encountered since this time, and indeed the new Album Curious Objects reflects a clear expansion of the players’ abilities. The fundamentals that guided the
debut album – spatiality, refined coolness, the non-verbal “narrative” quality - are still very much present, but are this time reinforced with an even more pronounced feeling of communicating across wide
physical and conceptual spaces. Altogether, Curious Objects is a potent antidote for spiritual and musical fatigue; especially
recommended for those who have already left behind the limitations posed by genres. It is more than the sum of its parts, and its crossing of numerous different boundaries never feels like the goal in and of
itself: instead, all this activity feels like a tool for unlocking and decoding even more supposedly irreconcilable qualities and ideas.

Blue Spirits was the last of trumpeter Freddie Hubbard’s 1960s studio albums for Blue Note. This bluesy and spirited offering featured five evocative Hubbard originals including “Soul Surge,” “Outer Forces,” and “Jodo,” each given a richly textured arrangement for an ensemble including four horns.

This stereo Tone Poet Vinyl Edition was produced by Joe Harley, mastered by Kevin Gray from the original analog master tapes, pressed on 180g vinyl at RTI, and packaged in a deluxe gatefold tip-on jacket.t

Brooklyn-based Malik Hendricks does a fine line in raw, deep but visceral house sounds that cannot fail to make an impact both physically and emotionally. He has done so on the likes of Bliss Point, Coloring Lessons and Darker Than Wax before now and here arrives on People Of Earth with more compelling cuts. 'Move On Up' is a steamy and sweaty house thumper with impassioned vocal swirls, 'All Mine' layers in some heavenly melodies that manage to uplift the mood in a subtle fashion and 'Feeling Like Larry' references the great Mr Heard, surely, with its balmy cosmic pads and spiritual house depths. 'The Way' (feat Tane) is licked with acoustic guitar riffs that bring to mind open-air dancing by the Med.

In the words of Bill Brewster - DJ History

‘At the turn of the 1990s, there were few more successful New York house producers than Victor Simonelli. Under a dizzying array of aliases – Solution, NY’s Finest, Groove Committee, Critical Rhythm and Cloud 9 being amongst the better-known – the Brooklyn-born DJ/producer delivered a string of underground club hits during the city’s early ’90s house boom.’

BTG presents “Victor Simonelli: The Early Years Vol 1” a collectors edition double Vinyl release - 2 X 12’s in each Vol

Launching the first Behind The Groove collectors edition vinyl series is New York’s finest Victor Simonelli with ‘The Early Years Vol 1 & 2’ double Vinyl releases. Featuring seminal house tracks such as Cloud 9’s ‘Do You Want Me’, Solution’s ‘Feel So Right’, Instant Exposure’s ‘Wanna Be With You’ and rare mixes of Raiana Page and EZ-AL, this collection brings together classic and rare Victor Simonelli cuts that reflect the early raw energy and buzz of the New York House scene. With ‘Vol 2” scheduled to follow shortly after, this is the most comprehensive collection of rare Simonelli cuts that firmly establishes his esteemed role in 90s House Music as well as introducing new fans to his inimitable sound.

Victor Simonelli is one of the early kings of NYC sampling In house music. The real deal - Victor danced at the legendary David Mancuso’s Loft sessions and developed a serious appreciation for good music. He interned for Arthur Baker at his renown Shakedown Studios (where Arthur worked with the iconic Afrika Bambatta on the seminal dance floor ’Planet Rock’ track) and went on to release hugely influential releases on seminal NYC labels 4th Floor and Nu Groove. Victor’s music was championed by the hugely celebrated iconic House Music DJ pioneers, Larry Levan and Tony Humphries at Paradise Garage & Zanzibar/WBLS/Kiss FM respectively.

Revered as a New York house heavyweight and prolific producer since the turn of the 1990s, Victor Simonelli grew up in Brooklyn, NYC, nurtured by a music loving family, with an avid record collecting father who also worked as a local party DJ. He took music lessons in piano, drums, guitar and bass, before discovering his first love, tuning into NY’s Radio Mix Shows on WBLS, WKTU and WRKS,98.7 Kiss FM) where he discovered the art of mixing and in his own words, ’I just simply got lost in the music’.

Graduating from NYC’s Centre For Media Arts, Victor got an internship in the legendary producer, Arthur Baker’s Shakedown Studios. Soon graduating to editing, mixing and then producing he worked for artists David Bowie, Quincy Jones, Debbie Harry, Sinead O’Connor and Talking Heads. Teaming up with fellow NYC producer Lenny Dee to become the Brooklyn Funk Essentials, they released records ‘Critical Rhythm’ and ‘Subliminal Aurra’ on 4th Floor before Victor went solo as Groove Committee releasing the classic ‘I Want You To Know’ on the legendary Nu Groove Records. Paradise Garage legend, Larry Levan broke ‘I Want You To Know’ rocking 2 copies on his last tour of Japan whilst King of NY House Music,Tony Humphries broke Victor’s new ‘Feels So Right’ across New York on his WBLS/Kiss FM Mastermix show and at his legendary Zanzibar club sessions. It was only a matter of time before Victor’s name became synonymous with quality House music ensuring a worldwide platform for his productions.

In the early 90s alongside his own productions, Victor Simonelli worked on high profile projects, including James Brown’s album, “Love Overdue” BeBe and CeCe Winans single featuring Mavis Staples “I’ll Take You There” and Quincy Jones’ “I’ll Be Good To You” featuring Chaka Khan and the legendary Ray Charles. Never straying too far from his clubland roots, Victor worked with Danny Tenaglia on his classic “The Harmonica Track”.

DJ gigs across the world started flooding in and Victor found himself recording for a dizzying array of labels including Tribal America, Sub-Urban, Bassline, King Street Sounds and Vibe, under a wide range of aliases. He also produced, wrote and remixed for artists such Nile Rodgers (Chic), Afrika Baambata, Hall & Oates, Frankie Knuckles, Kerri Chandler, Madonna and Michael Jackson. Famed for his own productions “It’s So Good” by Creative Force, “I Know A Place” as Sound Of One - the first release on Roger Sanchez One Records -, “Dirty Games” as well as the “Street Players Vol 1 EP”, Victor went on to set up Suburban Records with Tommy Musto and Bassline Records with two other partners. Notable releases on this label include “Do You Feel Me”, Connie Harvey’s gospel inspired, “Thank You Lord”, Urban Blues Project’s “Deliver Me”, Colonel Abrams “Not Gonna Let”, and Mone’s “Better Way”. Never ceasing to produce, DJ, run his own label and host radio shows like Groove Lift, Victor has worked with virtually every NYC producer and has nurtured a next generation talents including Angel Moraes, Jazz ‘N’ Groove, Urban Blues Project, Harlem Hustlers, Jay Jay and Julius Papp. Victor’s releases have also been used on M&S’s “Salsoul Nuggett” hit and Eddie Amador’s underground smash ‘House Music’.

In the late 90’s Victor launched his new Westside Productions, notable for the “Latin Impressions 1 & 2” releases, opened up a studio in Italy as he found himself increasingly working in Europe and now divides his time between New York and Italy. Suffice to say his unique sound of uplifting and spiritual music has kept him at the forefront of House Music and he is credited as one of its leading exponents with his string of classic releases and remixes.

Behind the Groove, branches out from its digital platform to embark on a programme of releases from the iconic pioneer producers of House Music. Esteemed for their high quality features and mixes that continue to explore, celebrate and venerate the contributions of highly respected, scene-shaping Labels, Artists, DJs and Special Events, BTG seeks to bring these talents and tales to the attention of the wider community. Unlocking the stories surrounding the pivotal roles they played and continue to play today in shaping the underground music scene we have come to know and love.

BTG presents “Victor Simonelli: The Early Years Vol 1” a collectors edition double Vinyl release, released on May 12th 2023. ‘Vol 2” follows on May 26th 2023 . These releases are the most comprehensive collection of rare Victor Simonelli cuts that firmly establish his esteemed role in 90s House Music and introduces new fans to his carefree sound.

Without a doubt, Kiriku is the hottest upcoming producer of contemporary Balearic Beat music of this year.
Kiriku lives between London and Ibiza, two poles which are well audible in his versatile style, ranging from
groovy Downtempo to clubby House. Uplifting Balearic atmospheres meet jazzy club vibes, featuring loose
drum programming, jazzy chords, bouncy basses, laid back vocals and sophisticated sampling. From song
structures to straight up club track, his tunes always combine electronic and acoustic instruments, which
results in a throughout warm and organic feel.

His new EP for The Magic Movement is co-produced and mixed by The Magic Movement' label head
honcho Noema, who gave "Washingtonia" an extended balearic club treatment. If you liked Dj Gregory's
"Elle" back in the days, this will be right up your alley. "Santa Rita" features the vocalists Monblume , Yalisaxx on Saxophone and comes with an bouncy uptempo club version of Brazil' own Kurup. "Jacaranda" features Hallyx on Vocals and is accompanied by a remix by no one else then legendary Balearic Beat DJ, poducer and label owner Chris Coco, who gave the track a dubby and extended chill-out sunset-sound treatment. Smell the sea, and feel the sky. Let your soul and spirit fly!

Over a decade since its inception, Wave Temples continues to refine and refract the project’s visionary mythopoetic exotica. Panama Shift presents a 20-track kaleidoscopic star map inspired by “the euphoric cults, both then and now, that come and go in the vast ritual of night.” Bleached keys, devotional synth, and driftwood percussion align in minimalist vignettes shaded by tape hiss and field recordings of streams, waves, wind, and birds.
Dedicated to the late Japanese-born American anthropologist Yosihiko H. Sinoto (whose portrait graces the cover), famed for his excavations throughout the Pacific and French Polynesia, the album embodies a similarly voyaging spirit: “chasing ancient mysteries… and rekindling with the esoteric journey of the human spirit.” This is music of forgotten shores, sea air, and saltwater shrines, echoing in shells scattered across the altars of Atlantis.

Meg Myers is the epitome of divine feminine energy and magic, transforming her sound through deep introspection via spiritual awakening. Through her work, she has built a reputation for creating beyond the limits of typical genres, as is the case with her new album, TZIA. From songs such as “Me” and “My Mirror,” she embodies spiritual and musical transcendence. Weathers is not your typical alternative rock band. Inspired by the counterculture of the 80’s and 90’s, the group has garnered a reputation for creating introspective songs that resonate with the masses. Their newest album, Are We Having Fun? builds on the foundation they’ve laid for themselves, but with a new edge. With unforgettable melodies and themes throughout, including a feature from The Maine’s John O’Callaghan, Weathers continues to inspire and speak to those who need it.

We at Real Gone Music
were so knocked out by The
Skipper and The Skipper
at Home, the two Black
Jazz-label releases we put
out from Henry Franklin,
that we hunted down the
rights to his next record,
Tribal Dance, recorded in
1977 for the little-known
Catalyst label. You will find
many of the same players
that made Franklin’s two Black Jazz albums so intense
and enjoyable, including saxophonist Charles Owens,
trombonist Al Hall, Jr., and guitarist Kenneth Climax,
along with West Coast jazz stalwarts like percussionist
Sonship and pianist Dwight Dickerson. As the title
indicates, Tribal Dance leans a little more spiritual, but
without losing the pulsing drive of its predecessors
(and how could it, with The Skipper
at the helm on bass!). Never before
reissued on vinyl, with original
gatefold artwork intact…and pressed
at Gotta Groove Records where we
made the Black Jazz records!

Reggae Collected is compiled from the broad world of Jamaican artists, groups and its diaspora. This brand new compilation contains early reggae by Jimmy Cliff, classics from Third World, Peter Tosh, Toots & The Maytals, Steel Pulse, Black Uhuru, lovers-rock from Dennis Brown, Linton Kwesi Johnson, Gregory Isaacs, Yellowman and the #1 hit from Althea & Donna “Uptown Top Ranking” which was championed by BBC Radio 1 DJ John Peel.

The album Reggae Collected is part of the Collected compilation series, which is a collaboration between Universal Music and Music On Vinyl. The compilations bring together the biggest and best names of its genre, combined with forgotten hits and less discovered gems, giving the listener an experience of both nostalgia, and uncovering new musical grounds at the same time.

The 2LP Reggae Collected is available as a limited edition of 2000 individually numbered copies on yellow (LP1) and light green (LP2) coloured vinyl and includes an insert.

Recital presents »As Above, So Below, a new album from French multi-instrumentalist Delphine Dora. Over the past decade, from poetry reading, chansons, organ performances, tape compositions and so on, each album in Dora’s lush discography feels like a feather from a different bird. A keen ability to defy any singular “sound,” always diving to different depths.

»As Above, So Below« centers around mystic piano and voice recordings. In a distinct gothic landscape, each of the nine tracks float into one another. From verdant piano works that revolve like beautifully stretched out miniatures, expanding and bending like shadows across the floor, to foggy vocal arrangements hovering above beds of rural field recordings. Quiet synthesizers crawl in the backdrops, never disturbing the spirit of the piano motions.

On the track »Cantique spirituel,« Dora, from a cloud of her phantasmal caroling, recites a poem by German author Novalis (1772-1801). »Blindly we strayed in night’s confusion…« This poetic essence is found throughout the album… »gladness and grief alike consume.«

»As Above, So Below« was produced and mixed by the brilliant British musician Andrew Chalk, whose presence tints the air throughout Dora’s album. Chalk ornaments the pieces with additional instrumentation, along with Jean Noël Rebilly playing clarinet.

Harmony Rec. has closed one chapter and is boldly opening another with its next release, HARMONY011. This latest offering not only presents a fresh redesign of their upcoming vinyl releases with an added screen-printed PVC sleeve but also introduces a new artist hailing from the collective's hometown of Prague.

Trevor Linde (@trvlnd), a member of the Polygon crew responsible for some of the most vibrant events in Prague from 2013 to 2016, has honed his sound design skills and perfected heart-stopping live performances ranging from cinematic ambient to techno. His latest EP, "Whispering Thru The Mask," showcases three indisputable techno compositions with characteristic rigidity and tripping percussions that will make your head spin.

In addition to Linde's tracks, two of the EP's offerings have been expertly revised by Harmony's own Shoal. These versions submerge the listener into an even deeper mood than the original mixes.

Die schwedische Industrial-Kultband DEATHSTARS meldet sich mit ihrem neuesten Output "Everything Destroys You" endlich zurück.
Verstärkte Angst, zerstörerische urbane Partynächte, Dystopie und glatter Glamour - ihr vielfältiges musikalisches Spektrum reicht von elektrischen, blitzschnellen Highways voller Spaß, Action und Adrenalin bis hin zu Dunkelheit und tiefschwarzem Humor.

"Der Grund, warum es so lange gedauert hat, ist, dass wir einfach eine Pause wollten - und brauchten - nach dem intensiven Touren und so weiter, und obendrein ist die Pandemie passiert, so dass die Touren verschoben wurden und die Veröffentlichung mit ihnen, so dass es sich fantastisch anfühlt, endlich 'Everything Destroys You' präsentieren zu können", sagt Nightmare Industries.

"'Everything Destroys You' ist das Gesicht der Exzesse unserer opulenten Nächte in der Stadt. Wir schreiben immer über unser Leben, und es gibt keine Fiktion, Spiritualität oder Seele im Mark von DEATHSTARS", sagt Whiplasher. "Es ist einfach nur das vernarbte Großstadtleben im Rohzustand."

Das fünfte DEATHSTARS-Album wurde von Nightmare Industries bei Black Syndicate in Stockholm, Schweden, produziert und von Jay Ruston (Stone Sour, Uriah Heep, Anthrax, Steel Panther, Fall Out Boy) in Los Angeles, USA, gemischt und gemastert.

"ARCHETYPES COLLIDE demand repeated listening, mixing everything from Linkin Park and Bring Me The Horizon to The Chainsmokers, and Stranger Things-style retro synths, into a unique musical identity. A collection of singles and EPs drew a devoted fanbase and the attention of Oshie Bichar, bassist for Beartooth. Bichar enlisted his management, and the pair took Archetypes Collide under their wing. Soon after, SiriusXM's Octane got behind songs like ""Your Misery,"" ""Becoming What I Hate,"" and ""Above It All."" The band appeared on major festivals like Aftershock, Louder Than Life, and Welcome To Rockville, toured with genre giants The Amity Affliction, and crafted an ambitious self-titled debut album for Fearless Records. Archetypes Collide spent several weeks in the first part of 2022 making their inaugural full-length, with a super team surrounding them to execute their vision. Bichar produced alongside Nick Ingram (Dayseeker, Convictions, Hawthorne Heights) at Capital House Studio in Ohio. Additional production came from Jon Eberhard (Skillet, I Prevail, Until I Wake); The Plot In You frontman Landon Tewers lent a creative hand as well. The resulting album, mixed by Jeff Dunne (Ice Nine Kills, Wage War, Make Them Suffer), captures the vibrant spirit of the 2010s-era Warped Tour with a postmodern edge. It's a diverse but singular mission statement, brimming with authenticity and hope. ARCHETYPES COLLIDE aren't bound by preconceived notions or limitations. As single Kyle Pastor explains simply: ""Why not take every shot, in every direction, under the umbrella of hard rock and metal? "

Sophomore album from Tenerife based trio, LAGOSS (Gonçalo F. Cardoso, Mladen Kurajica and Daniel García).

Moving away from their megamix vignette based first volume, the trio now experiments with a more song based approach whilst still keeping their trademark jam infused tropicalia and electronic freak outs with an offering to their 1970’s sci-fi masters – enter the lift to the stars.

First proposed by Russian rocket scientist Konstantin Tsiolkovsky and taken to mystical literary heights by Arthur C. Clark in his 1979 book Fountains of Paradise, the concept of a space lift takes a spiritual turn here, with LAGOSS chronicling its construction, right here and there on a near future version of their Island of Tenerife, in the Canary Archipelago.

The album moves freely through ideas and moods akin to the world imagined by Arthur C. Clarke. It conveys a new story by sonically imagining future civilizations in a faux ethnographical exercise whilst exploring current ideas of technology, religion and alternative history by creating its own particular insular sound world.

The album counts with the participation of dear friends such as a synth solo by Spencer Clark (Monopoly Child Star Searchers et all.) and a punchy, full blown remix by Muqata’a. Altogether creating a unique collection of eerie musical moments made of sub tropical moods and cyber exotica jams from a band that keeps growing and evolving into their very own personal sound.

Enter Tenerife in the late 21st Century, meet the Aquachachos and Guayechi, and ascend!

Mikail Tafari aka Congo Natty aka Conquering Lion aka X Project aka Rebel MC is back.
After releasing his acclaimed 31 track album last October on digital platforms, he comes with a 9 track double LP featuring the more uptempo tracks & Mixed Double CD Mixtape.
He created the tracks with his ‘Resistance Band’, featuring a rich talent of the established & new global artists from Brazil, Japan, Jamaica via Deptford & Tottenham. It crosses genres of Drum & Bass, Reggae, Jazz & shows the Rootz of Jungle. The Resistance Band include The cream of reggae: Courtney Melody, Reggie Stepper, Junior Delgado, Daddy Freddie & Carroll Thompson. The new school of uk vocal talent: Maverick Sabre, Eva Lazarus, Akala, Klashnekoff & Logic & the new jazz school : Shabaka Hutchins, Nubya Garcia on sax & Amrit Kaur on sarangi. Plus international artists: from Brazil – Monkey Jhayam, Japan : Junglists Youths, Fikir Amlak & Krar Collective from Ethiopia, but all have their rootz in Jungle.

Set to represent the global diaspora and giving a voice to the people on the upcoming album, Congo tells the most important story jungle music can tell whilst documenting the uprising and reflecting on where mankind, culture and the journey is at in 2023.

With a five decade deep discography spanning seminal and timeless releases like Street Tuff, Tribal Bass & Wickedest Sound (as Rebel MC), Junglist, Get Ready, Code Red, Under Mi Sensei, Get Wild, Kunta Kinte and more, Congo has played a founding and hugely influential role in one of the most phenomenal, boundary breaking music movements the UK has ever known.

Remaining on the front line of the musical rebellion to this day, Mikail understands jungle’s power to unite and break barriers. Weaving positive affirmations of his spiritual life as a Rastafarian into his song writing, he has been an consistent protagonist in the jungle uprising since the early 90s. Forever humble, he seeks to spread more positivity and encourage unity, whilst focusing on the new generation who will carry his torch into the next five decades.

Continuing to spread the Congo Natty message as a performer, musician, label owner, pioneer, revolutionary, humanitarian and father, Ancestorz (Rootz Of Jungle) is set to be his most personal, ambitious, timeless and expert album to date and his finest chapter yet.

Lost in the depths of space, AAKAARA takes listeners on a journey to the outer limits of the sonic universe with their latest album “Obsidian Promises”. Blending influences from punk and metal, EBM, architectural design and certain celestial objects, AAKAARA offers a fresh take on industrial techno.

This body of work is dark and brooding, full of haunting and thought-provoking soundscapes. Metallic and cold one moment, blisteringly hot the next. Pounding drums create searing rhythms, acid-drenched synths weave abrasive textures, and noise permeates the stereo field. Inspired by the mysterious and alluring world of black holes, the producer explores the beauty of extremes through sound. “If you know my work or me,” AAKAARA says, “it’s no secret that I have a spiritual connection to, and an obsession with, black holes.

It’s not about doom and gloom, but about beautiful extremes: infinite calmness, ultra-high energy, being deeply centered, and inevitable attraction.” “I try to sonify this in a naive sense. It isn’t an attempt at science; it’s a way for me to practice a makeshift spirituality about these entities through craft and functional dance music for people.”

Spirituality and stellar inspiration were essential to AAKAARA’s life during the three years they spent between Los Angeles and London, while writing this album. It provided a sonic home during a period of transition, when they didn’t feel at home and didn’t have access to a studio.

Everything was made “in the box” using only Ableton 10. After collecting guitar pedals and amplifiers for years, AAKAARA has shifted away from a hardware-focused mindset and is now more invested in the conceptual framework, narrative, and cultural implications of their work. Visuals also play an integral role in this maximalist experience.

The outer sleeve (front and back cover) conveys the “big ideas” visually, while the companion poster includes custom typography, detailed drawings, symbol design, and poetry. The poetry provides a textual counterpoint to the lyric-less music, written in parallel but later stages of the production process. The visual identity of this work is inseparable from the music, describing it in an integral way. It’s the other side of the coin, not simply an accompaniment. With its spiritual connection to the infinite and mysterious, “Obsidian Promises” harnesses the beauty and intensity of celestial entities as musical inspiration, transforming the science into mystical, narrative-driven sonic experience. Get ready for a ride through the unknown as AAKAARA’s latest offering takes you on a high-energy trip through the black hole’s playground.

"Akuphone is proud to present the Jerusalem-based improvisational trio Leviot and its hypnotizing debut album. Leviot (Hebrew for “Lionesses”) is a brainchild of multi-faceted musician and composer Yael Lavie, who’s joined by classically trained percussionist and music teacher Cnaan Canetti, and synth enthusiast Yishay Seroussi. The project is a result of Lavie’s ongoing explorations beyond the restraints of classical kanun playing and fascination with electronic sound and modern composition. Initially started following her experience performing and recording with Spiritczualic Enhancement Center, in Leviot, Yael gives up rehearsed pieces in favour of improvised sets, based on virtuous interpretation by Cnaan and Yishay. The three have been active since 2019, playing their immersive shows in a wide variety of settings, venues and festivals. The trio’s debut release is a live session, recorded in late 2020 at Mazkeka Studios (Jerusalem) for the lockdown edition of the annual Zikuk Festival. It’s a meditative improv piece in five parts that combines and melts boundaries between the traditional and the experimental, the primal and the futuristic. With setup as the foundation of the piece and Lavie’s graphic score as the road map, Leviot takes off on a cosmic journey between deep drones, whispering chimes, mesmerizing Arab melodies, pulsating rhythms and iridescent ambient patterns."

RED VINYL EDITION On the 15th anniversary of its original release, Mais Um revisit a lost classic fromthe catalogue of one of Brazil's most regarded and influential contemporarysongwriters, Lucas Santtana. Presented on vinyl and on streaming platforms forthe first time ever (remastered by German dub shaman, Stefan Betke/Pole) andfeaturing Tom Zé and manguebeat pioneer, Gilmar Bola 8, Lucas Santtana's 3Sessions In A Greenhouse fused psyched-out samba and baile funk with originalBlack Ark-style studio distortion and spiritual dub dread, laying the foundationsfor his seminal Sem Nostalgia LP five years later, and in the process,establishing Santtana as an elemental force of Brazil's current new wave.

In the Detmold area (Westphalia, Germany), there wasn‘t much going on for metal fans in the first half of the eighties. Fortunately, the members of two bands met in 1982 in a chip shop and recognized their common preference for hard music by their long hair, leather jackets and moustaches, which were good manners at that time. In this moment SACRAFICE were born, who subsequently became local heroes - of course influenced by the NWOBHM that was just spilling over into Germany, but also by the usual suspects like Black Sabbath, Deep Purple, Rainbow or Kiss, as well as Judas Priest and the early Accept.

Two unusual choices were made at once: In the spirit of Def Leppard or Led Zeppelin, the band name was deliberately changed - i.e. NOT Sacrifice, but Sacrafice. And they decided not to make the typical demo tape, but a 12“ EP on their own. This one is called „The First Experience WIth The Unknown“ and can be bought here and now on Discogs for 120 Euro and more used.... But already the book „Heavy Metal Made In Germany“, which was published in the nineties via Iron Pages, lists the record as „Top German Metal Rarity“.
No wonder, because the quite aggressive heavy rock and metal knows how to please even today - or maybe especially today - and reminds us of the upbeat mood of the German metal scene in the first
half of the eighties. This is also true for the three live tracks, which have been elaborately restored in days of work.

Another house number are the tracks of the follow-up band TranQuilL
(that‘s right, that‘s the correct spelling). The mostly overlong songs can be classified as heavy prog. Due to various circumstances these pearls remained (as good as) unreleased. Again, a lot of time and work was invested in restoring and mastering these private studio recordings (there are six long TranQuill songs on the CD version, while there was only room for two tracks on the LP, without losing sound quality).
As always, the printed inlay contains liner notes (actual interview with a former band member). Photos and other illustrations.
The CD version of the Golden Core re-release has already received very good reviews in Rock Hard and Good Times, among others!

Taking his cue from seminal mix albums of days gone by, Glenn Astro is back with a compilation of original productions from a cast of fictional artists on Nothing Is Real. Across 13 tracks, the Tartelet mainstay celebrates the thrill of discovery which came as standard listening to new entries in series’ like X-Mix and DJ Kicks, moving between head-nodding downtempo, ambient techno, broken beat and all manner of chill-out room delights. You might be left wishing artists such as DJ 1999, Mental Trance and Eye Soul8r had actual discographies to go and explore, but as Astro himself is keen to point out, “nothing is real.”

Astro has never been shy to embrace classic tropes and tones in his past albums for Tartelet, Apollo and Ninja Tune, but he’s drawing on a different set of influences for this album and embracing the flexibility afforded by using imagined aliases for varied production styles.

“I had the idea to do a mixtape, preferably with unknown dance tracks that also reflect that whole 90s/early 00s vibe,” Astro explains. “Instead of digging for some records that haven’t been sourced yet or trying to find those ‘forgotten’ treasures, I made the tracks myself. That way I had full control over BPMs, feel and the whole arrangement of tracks. I thought of a few alter egos and started producing the tracks in the order that I intended to play them in a mix. In the end a whole compilation of tracks emerged.”

While the concept might suggest you’re going to hear a lot of over- familiar sounds, don’t be fooled. Astro is inspired and inquisitive, channeling the experimental spirit of the 90s and early 00s when electronic music was still continually being redefined in all kinds of micro-scenes. In many cases, Astro’s productions slip into the cracks between genres rather than specifically mimicking a style.

Even if the reference points are detectable, the end result is a curious blend as indebted to ambiguity as the overall concept of the compilation. Like the spine-tingling sensation of hitting play and awaiting the waves of unknown sonics on one of those seminal mixes, you never know exactly what you’re going to get as you take the trip through Nothing Is Real.

Shannon, and veteran electronic producer and remixer producer Dave Clark, best-known for his Sparky moniker, and as one-half of the production/remix team Optimo (Espacio).

First emerging in 2015 with a couple of compilation appearances, Kübler-Ross released their debut, self-titled album in 2020. Originally released as a limited-edition cassette on the Glasgow label Akashic Records, the album — now resequenced and released on vinyl via Suction Records’ minimal synth sublabel Ice Machine — is a collection of tracks recorded over a three year period in a variety of studios, rehearsal rooms, and gigs, documenting the musical variety and ferocity of their incendiary live performances. The Akashic tape, despite being low-key, under-the-radar, and released in limited quantity, managed to earn them a Long List nomination for SAY (Scottish Album of the Year) for 2020.

Standout cut “Bridges”, first released in 2015, is synthpop perfection — sitting comfortably alongside classics from the first wave of UK electronic classics by Thomas Leer and Robert Rental, John Foxx, and even early Depeche Mode. It’s not the only synthpop track on the record, but the album is dominated by a more tough, raw, and punk spirit, featuring aggressive female vocals, live drums + bass guitar, and judicious use of crude analog synthesizers and tape delay fx. Think Liaisons Dangereuses meets Suicide, and you’re beginning to get close…

Available digitally, and on limited vinyl LP in a reverse-board jacket. We’ve also pressed up a special edition with an additional bonus 7”, featuring covers of songs by US minimal synth oddball John Bender,and Australian industrial mavericks SeveredHeads. The special edition LP and 7” are on pink-vinyl LP + green-vinyl-7”, and strictly limited to 200 copies. Both versions include a Bandcamp download card inside.

ULTRADISC ONE-STEP BOX SET OF BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN'S 1973 DEBUT PLAYS WITH AUDIOPHILE SOUND: LIMITED TO 7,500 NUMBERED COPIES.

1/4" / 15 IPS analogue master to DSD 256 to analogue console to lathe

Teeming with identifiable characters, youthful romanticism, vivid narratives, and sophisticated arrangements, Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J. is a personal postcard from the heart, soul, and mind of a rock ’n’ roll lifer bent on discovering his world and what lays beyond it. The 1973 album establishes many of the signature themes and sounds Bruce Springsteen would embrace throughout his unparalleled career. No wonder a majority of the songs — “Blinded by the Light,” “Lost in the Flood,” “Spirit in the Night” included — remain staples of the New Jersey native’s fabled concerts.

Sourced from the original analog master tapes, pressed at RTI on MoFi SuperVinyl, and strictly limited to 7,500 numbered copies, Mobile Fidelity's UltraDisc One-Step 180g 33RPM LP set is the definitive-sounding version of Springsteen’s daring debut. Afforded the benefits of SuperVinyl’s nearly non-existent noise floor, Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J. plays with a clarity, directness, and emotionalism that practically whisks you into the New York office in which Springsteen — accompanied by then-manager Mike Appel — played a few originals for legendary Columbia Records executive John Hammond and earned a record deal.

That solo-centric aspect of Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J. — credited only to Springsteen and featuring only a handful of accompanying musicians — helps make it unique in his catalogue. So do the acoustic-based frameworks, revealed on this pressing with newly exposed detail, nuance, and immediacy. The music emerges with an openness that gives flight to the Boss’ storytelling. His words flow with unbridled, stream-of-conscious pacing and vibrant imagery; they pay homage to and update a tradition established by Bob Dylan, Woody Guthrie, and Jack Kerouac. Equally important, Springsteen’s still-underrated vocal performances can now be appreciated in full-range fidelity. Earnest, transparent, and sincere, his singing comes across with an urgency that distinguishes him from the era’s singer-songwriter mold and a raw energy that underlines his unflinching belief in rock ’n’ roll.

Recorded in just three weeks, Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J. also stands out by way of its insightful artwork. Designed by Grammy winner John Berg, the inviting cover is appointed with images of the local landmarks, beachfronts, and geography that provide the backdrops for some of the songs. Those graphics are complemented by the beautiful packaging of Mobile Fidelity’s UD1S edition. Tucked in a sleek slipcase, the LP is housed in a special foil-stamped jacket with faithful-to-the-original graphics. In every way, this reissue is made for listeners who prize sound quality and who want to engage themselves in everything involved with this invigorating album.

An aspirational declaration by a then-23-year-old musician who was already a seasoned veteran of the Jersey Shore bar-band scene, Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J. can in many ways be seen as a semi-fictional autobiography released more than four decades before Springsteen penned his official tome. Elaborate, descriptive, and absorbing, Springsteen’s lyrics spark with the enthusiasm and exuberance of a wide-eyed adventurer ready for possibility, excitement, and fun — but who is also mindful of loss, pain, and disappointment. Words often tumble and collide like dice spilling from a jar; shaken and fully intact, they pour forth with purpose and without self-conscious concern.

One of two songs composed after label president Clive Davis cited the need for a radio-friendly single, the opening “Blinded by the Light” provides an unforgettable introduction. It flares with a blend of confidence, fun, and poetry that helps define Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J. Crackling with wiry guitars, funky chords, Clarence Clemons’ cool-toned saxophone, and action-packed lyrics, the shuffle simultaneously expands and contracts — and establishes Springsteen as a master of rhyme, alliteration, and breathless expression. The thread continues on “Growin’ Up.” Steered by ascending piano lines, soulful grooves, and frisky rhythms, the coming-of-age confessional is at once rebellious and controlled, fearless and vulnerable, honest and boastful. It is a tale to which multiple generations still relate.

Such universality has always been a Springsteen trademark. It surfaces throughout Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J., as does another Boss hallmark: the importance of friendship and tight bonds. These concepts relate to the fact many of the songs — see the feverish “Does This Bus Stop at 82nd Street?,” strutting “It’s So Hard to Be a Saint in the City,” and tender “For You,” the latter complete with brilliant Hammond organ shading — are directly tied to the friends, acquaintances, places, and happenings he knew. “Lost in the Flood,” whose cinematic drama and epic scope hint at the directions Springsteen would pursue on his next LP, extends that familiarity while addressing the kind of socially conscious issues with which he’s forever been associated.

Balancing the label’s vision of him as a folk-based singer-songwriter and his own desire to play rock ‘n’ roll with a full band, Springsteen never again made a record like Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J. One of the most captivating debuts in history, it heralds the start of a legacy whose import Springsteen seemingly foretells on “Blinded by the Light”: “He’s gonna make it tonight.” And how.

repressed !

A lot can happen in 15 years. Few things manage to thrive for a decade and a half, especially in music. But a scrappy, left of center, Bay Area house music label, Dirtybird, has managed to do just that. Claude VonStroke, Dirtybird’s founder, is marking this 15-year milestone the only way he knows how… working. This year, VonStroke will throw two dozen-plus parties, three festivals (including the famous Dirtybird Campout), host his traveling Dirtybird BBQ series in major cities across the US, publish a coffee table book, release a seasonal clothing line, stage art shows, produce a fly on the wall docu series...and kick it all off by releasing a new album, out February 21st.

What began as a free party, turned basement record label, has morphed into a truly thriving community whose familial, fun and welcoming vibe has won over hearts and minds across the world. And while Dirtybird has grown and evolved, VonStroke’s core focus on music remains unwavering. The new album ‘Freaks & Beaks’ is a celebration of quirky innovation and a relentless pursuit of something new and fresh, while hearkening back to the freewheeling spirit that inspired the launch of his label. This is a project that draws upon the inspirations of family, old friends, new fans and proper dancefloors.

Claude will let his flock wet their beaks while they wait in anticipation of the new album with two new singles demonstrating the breadth of the dance music landscape explored on the record. Youngblood touches on the deeper sides of Claude VonStroke, a throwback to the label’s early days, featuring local LA music house talent Wyatt Marshall, while All My People in the House is a dancefloor heater that is sure to unite new and old Dirtybird fans together.

Today, Claude also delivers fans part one of an intimate video series, shot by his sister Emily (an accomplished filmmaker), documenting the creation of ‘Freaks and Beaks’, celebrating this historic milestone and taking a deeper dive into the day to day life of Claude VonStroke on the road.

‘Freaks and Beaks’ is the fourth artist album and sixth full-length project from Claude VonStroke. He approached the album with a new process, including committing to daily creative time, experimenting with a lot of new hardware and having fun creating a huge amount of sketches. He made music on many levels of gear all the way from complex modular synths to simple drum apps on his iPad. Keeping it all DIY, he sampled his own voice and his two children on several tracks as well. He allowed himself to breathe while creating over 130 ideas, which were whittled down to the finished 11 album tracks.

Freaks & Beaks nods at the inspirations that underpin VonStroke’s world, inside jokes between him and Justin Martin (FlubbleBuddy), unused experimental live sessions (Session A), playful noodling on synths (Alpine Arpline), obscure French producers (Frankie Goes To Bollywood), championing new talent (Youngblood), irreverent self-aware humor (Birthday Messages) and genre inspirations that range from ghetto tech and drum n bass to hip-hop and breaks. This is VonStroke’s love letter to the vibrancy and genre diversity that have made Dirtybird such a singular label.

Recorded with a who's who of fusion titans including trumpeter Eddie Henderson, bassist Stanley Clarke, and keyboardist Herbie Hancock, Dance of Magic channels the lessons drummer Norman Connors learned in the employ of Pharoah Sanders, Sam Rivers, and Sun Ra, marshalling Latin rhythms, electronic textures, and cosmic mysticism to create non-denominational yet deeply spiritual funk-jazz. The sprawling 21-minute title cut spans the entirety of the record's first half, capturing a monumental jam session that explores the outer edges of free improvisation but never steps past the point of no return.

Connors' furious drumming is like a trail of bread crumbs that leads his collaborators back home. The remaining three tracks are smaller in scale but no less epic in scope, culminating with the blistering "Give the Drummer Some." by Jason Ankeny

Heralding 2023 from way out west, Monde UFO land on Quindi with a distinctive album of dream pop vignettes and outer rim punk exotica.
Hailing from the same Californian heat haze as recent Quindi signings Bondo, Monde UFO have manifested in the past four years through a series of DIY releases including their 2021 album 7171 and last year's set of Fugazi covers, 4 Songs. The loose fit project centres around the singing, playing and songwriting of Ray Monde and Kris Chau and features Kern Haug on drums. The resulting sound arrives as a resourceful analog of plush 60s pop captured through the modest means of a truly independent musical endeavour.
The sound rendered on Vandalized Statue touches on dubby atmospherics, the lilting breeze of bossa nova and the introverted muse of US indie rock, but the end result is a natural, cohesive whole centered around the songwriting. Imagine the girl from Ipanema sat toking in a comfortable spot in the corner of the dive bar while someone weaves her a tall tale or two, and you might be somewhere in the right direction. The stories in the lyrics unfurl as meandering narratives taking you through everyday exchanges and far-fetched, cosmic scenarios alike. At every turn the cosy musicality gives everything a relatable, homespun charm, even as the mixing desk becomes a mess and the lo-fi FX crash into each other.
The album will be fronted by three singles which reflect the wide reach of Monde UFO's sound. 'Visions of Fatima' is one of the more melancholic pieces on the album, fronted by laconic organ and centring on cracked vocals with an off key charm that indirectly evokes Jeffrey Lee Pierce. 'Government Employee' is a sun-kissed trip of low-key lounge surrealism, bizarro storytelling and shuffling exotica splendour which broadly defines the woozy mood of Vandalized Statue. 'Garden Of Agony' is a more delicate but no less dreamy piece matching electric tremolo with acoustic fingerpicking balladry which hides its considerable depths behind a seemingly simple arrangement.
At once intimate and projected into the cosmos, Monde UFO add to the particular path Quindi is taking through hidden corners of independent music with a romantic, restless spirit.

Arch Enemy sind das Nonplusultra des schwedischen Retro-Thrash/Death. Die Nordländer knüppeln sich Old-School-Banger-Riffs von Slayer- und Destruction-Format mit einer Leichtigkeit und Spielfreude von der Seele, dass die Nackenmuskulatur fast von selbst zu rotieren beginnt und schaffen es erstaunlicherweise, zwischen den Kettensägen-Akkordfolgen immer wieder zweistimmige melodische Licks einzufügen, die mehr als einmal an frühe Iron Maiden-Platten und sphärische Death-Songs erinnern. Aufgewertet wird Stigmata durch die großartigen Songideen und den wunderbar aggressiven, aber nie überzogenen Gesang. Und das Beste ist: Die Jungs können spielen wie die Hölle. Mastermind Michael Amott (Spiritual Beggars/ex-Carcass) und sein Bruder Christopher sind eines der besten Gitarrenduos in der Metalszene und verstehen es, ihre technischen Fähigkeiten eindrucksvoll, aber immer songdienlich einzusetzen. Ein absolutes Muss für Thrash/Death-Fans!'Stigmata (Re-Issue 2023)' ist in 2 Formaten erhältlich.- Schweres 180g Vinyl schwarz und farbig, inklusive 2-seitigem Einleger- Special Edition CD, die in einem "PocketPac" (umweltfreundliche Verpackung) und einem 16-seitigen Booklet kommt

Arch Enemy sind das Nonplusultra des schwedischen Retro-Thrash/Death. Die Nordländer knüppeln sich Old-School-Banger-Riffs von Slayer- und Destruction-Format mit einer Leichtigkeit und Spielfreude von der Seele, dass die Nackenmuskulatur fast von selbst zu rotieren beginnt und schaffen es erstaunlicherweise, zwischen den Kettensägen-Akkordfolgen immer wieder zweistimmige melodische Licks einzufügen, die mehr als einmal an frühe Iron Maiden-Platten und sphärische Death-Songs erinnern. Aufgewertet wird Stigmata durch die großartigen Songideen und den wunderbar aggressiven, aber nie überzogenen Gesang. Und das Beste ist: Die Jungs können spielen wie die Hölle. Mastermind Michael Amott (Spiritual Beggars/ex-Carcass) und sein Bruder Christopher sind eines der besten Gitarrenduos in der Metalszene und verstehen es, ihre technischen Fähigkeiten eindrucksvoll, aber immer songdienlich einzusetzen. Ein absolutes Muss für Thrash/Death-Fans!'Stigmata (Re-Issue 2023)' ist in 2 Formaten erhältlich.- Schweres 180g Vinyl schwarz und farbig, inklusive 2-seitigem Einleger- Special Edition CD, die in einem "PocketPac" (umweltfreundliche Verpackung) und einem 16-seitigen Booklet kommt

My name is King So So.

I am, because you are.

I created the Disco in the Sky solely for you, and it is now, finally ready for your glorious arrival. Here, I will welcome you, to dance in the light with me, where you will have fellowship with me, and with one another, and gone will be the days of darkness. Listen, I now stand at your door, Hippie Dance. I am knocking. If you have an ear, hear my voice and let me in. Grant me the pleasure and honour to sit with all of you, and I will allow you to sit with me on my throne in the Sky. Hear what the Spirit of So So says to you: Come dance in the Disco in the Sky, and swim in the Lake of Sweet Dreams with me and there I will manifest myself to you. If you love me, I will give you my Word that I will teach you all things sound and bring you memories of the light for you to return to the Sky. Peace I leave with you. Summon your friends, Hippie Dance. Tell them that I am waiting for all of you. I am ready for you. Tell them to arise! Tell them to go forth to the Disco in the Sky where we will be together until the Kingdom goes.

Yours, like I am, sincerely, King So So“

Fans of the innovations and originality that sprang from the L.A. underground of the late 1970s and ’80s often ask, “What’s Paul B. Cutler been up to?” A vital participant in the Los Angeles music scene of that period as bandleader, songwriter, musician and producer, Cutler’s work—in particular his guitar playing— with The Consumers, 45 Grave, Vox Pop and The Dream Syndicate is still admired by fans and an influence on anyone interested in that period and the styles that developed from it. In 2014, “Ryan Adams contacted me and wanted to form a band. He loved 45 Grave, he wanted to do some goth / punk, whatever you want to call it. That’s right up my alley. He’s amazingly talented and inspiring to work with. We did that for a while, and I wrote a bunch of songs.” Enthused about his new material, Cutler continued recording songs with just his signature electric guitar style and vocals. As this was developing, another vet of the early L.A. scene—Brad Laner of Medicine and Savage Republic—got in touch with Cutler. Soon Laner was mixing, co-producing, playing keyboards as well as adding the rhythm section. The overall process took some time, with songwriting beginning in 2014. When reflecting on the music that comprises Les Fleurs, “To me, and it does not sound like it, but because of the philosophy I had while producing it, it’s punk. I come from the original punk, before it was a genre. Before it was a ‘sound.’ When I got to LA in 1977 there were about twenty, maybe thirty bands and they all sounded very different. The Screamers, The Deadbeats, so many different takes on what music could be. There was no chance for commercial success so we all just did what we wanted. I never stopped. So philosophically I consider this punk rock, made in its original spirit although nobody would recognize it as such. I am a punk to this day.” So that, dear reader, is the basic story. Now it’s up to you to see what you recognize in Paul B. Cutler’s Les Fleurs.

Crown the Empire haben sich in den letzten zehn Jahren kontinuierlich als eine Naturgewalt in der Rockwelt etabliert. Sie haben die Bühne mit Slipknot, A Day To Remember, Dance Gavin Dance, Black Veil Brides, Falling in Reverse, Underoath und vielen anderen geteilt.
Bis heute hat die Band vier Studioalben veröffentlicht und wurde von Alternative Press, Billboard, Kerrang!, Nylon, Rock Sound und anderen gelobt. Der beeindruckende Katalog hat ihnen 825M Streams weltweit eingebracht.
DOGMA, produziert und gemischt von Zach Jones (Fever 333, Poorstacy, Scene Queen, Nova Twins), ist ihr bisher vielfältigstes Album, das von Angst, existenzieller Identität, Isolation und Entschlossenheit geprägt ist und Features von Courtney LaPlante (Spiritbox) und Remington Leith (Palaye Royale) enthält. Um die Veröffentlichung zu feiern, wird Crown The Empire in diesem Frühjahr mit der texanischen Hard-Rock-Band Nothing More auf Tour gehen.

Andrew Hargreaves’ Tape Loop Orchestra makes his first mark of the year with a post-rock deep dive that continues the themes of his ‘Liminal Live’ (2020) tape.

’Temporal In-Between’ is presented as a conceptual soundtrack to a metaphysical road trip, a journey through infinitely open space imbued with phantomatic energies”. Hand-in-hand with the cover art by collaborator Keith Ashcroft, the two-part record evokes its subject with a lesser- heard (as in, have we heard him do this before?) use of electric guitar and a patented grasp of liminal, hypnagogic atmosphere to summon sustained arcs of phased chords and an almost wind- played motorik momentum that makes it feel like gliding over unlit moors at night.

The spirits of Eno & Fripp colour proceedings as TLO’s elliptical tape loop system accretes and unfurls its information in slow motion from the shimmering keys and guitar strokes of ‘Upsurge’, and its gorgeous transition to heart-in-mouth sensations, and the soothing plangency of ’Situated Presence’, where signature choral motifs are found occluded by the atmosphere, parting thru the clouds occasionally, but more often pushed to the background, as though heard from a distance like phosphorescent city lights spied from its meridian. More simply; dream food for fans of Romance, The Caretaker, Eno.

Brazilian singer, guitarist and actor Seu Jorge returns with an intimate and stripped back session and album, a collaboration with his close friend and kindred spirit Rogê, for new UK based, direct-to-disc record label, Night Dreamer.

Recorded and cut direct-to-disc on Thursday 22nd & Friday 23rd August 2019 at Artone Studio, Haarlem, The Netherlands. Brazilian singer, guitarist and actor Seu Jorge turns to brother-in-arms Rogê, for their first ever album recording, celebrating 25 years of friendship and companionship as part of the latest instalment on UK based, direct-to-disc record label, Night Dreamer.

From concept to completion in four days, the Night Dreamer session commits a lifetime of collaboration and companionship to record for the first time, encapsulated by ‘Caminhão’ - the first song the duo ever wrote together 25 years ago.

Similar to his breakout album and Bowie homage, The Life Aquatic Studio Sessions, the new record is stripped back and raw but with an altogether different ambition - to create a 'classic Brazilian record'. Featuring both Seu Jorge and Rogê on guitar and vocals it also enlists the additional talents of two of Brazil’s most sought-after percussionists, Peu Meurray and Pretinho da Serrinha.

The seven original compositions recall the pairs plaintive and idiosyncratic melancholy and draws on the likes of Brazilian greats like Milton Nascimento, Gilberto Gil and orge Ben.

From Rio De Janeiro in Brazil, Jorge’s success has been witnessed by close friend Rogê – a story which has seen Jorge go from humble beginnings in Rio to working with the likes of Beck and Bowie, and starring in major film and television productions. Well known for his acting roles in,

City of God and the current Netflix hit series Irmandade (Brotherhood), it was Wes Anderson’s A Life Aquatic film that global audiences first saw Jorge on the screen performing as a troubadour strumming Portuguese-language covers of David Bowie classics. All in all, Seu Jorge has been a pioneering force in revitalising Brazilian popular music across the globe.

A songwriter, composer and musician in his own right, Rogê has received a Latin Grammy Nomination for ‘Na Veia’, his collaboration with samba legend Arlindo Cruz. With a strong catalogue of 7 albums and countless collaborations with Brazilian and international producers, Rogê represents the new generation of artists of the Brazilian Popular Music movement and has been instrumental in the pair building an archive of unrealised songs, sketches and ideas, some of which ultimately comprise the backbone of this session.

Like eavesdropping on a campfire session, the one-take direct-to-vinyl process at Artone captures the intensity of the duo’s relationship, setting the conditions for an extraordinarily intimate recording.

Following their much loved NTS radio shows and parties of the same name, the highly rated DJ/producers re:ni and Laksa have announced a brand new label, also called RE:LAX.

On ‘Body Score’ Laksa continues to traverse the same 150bpm territory as his releases for Hessle Audio and Timedance, but here we also find influences from his job as a social worker.

Chiseling bass weight, swung beats/loops and FX into new shapes with confident hands, ‘Body Score’ conjures mental images that’re equal parts wild humid rainforest and dystopian industrial complex.

‘Soulz’ sets the agenda from the outset; Featuring pumelling gut-punch bass and frenetic percussion, this tightly-wound ball of energy takes you deep into a dank cerebral vortex.

Acknowledging the darkside of life – 'Bodies' samples the psychiatrist Bessel van der Kolk.

Like an ancient ritual, ‘Mind’ evokes scenes of drummers whipping dancers up into a frenzied higher spiritual state, and with its huge snare adding head-cracking accents, the unstoppable momentum thunders along ‘til the very last bar.

Early support from the likes of Pearson Sound, Zenker Brothers, Darwin and Om Unit.

As some of you may know, Alice Coltrane was a legendary pianist, composer, spiritual leader, and the wife of John Coltrane, the most venerated and influential saxophonist in the history of jazz. In 1967, four years after meeting John, he died of liver cancer, leaving Alice a widow with four small children. Bereft of her soul mate, Alice suffered sleepless nights and severe weight loss. At her worst, she weighed only 95 pounds. She had hallucinations in which trees spoke, various beings existed on astral planes, and the sounds of “a planetary ether” spun through her brain, knocking her into a frightening unconsciousness.

The critical event of this period was not that Alice fell into the nadir of her existence, but rather that she experienced tapas, a vital period of trial. These tapas (a Sanskrit term she used to describe her suffering) helped prepare Alice for the spiritual ally she found in Swami Satchidananda, an Indian guru, with whom Alice made her first trip to India. On her second trip there, Alice had a revelation instructing her to abandon the secular life and become a spiritual teacher in the Hindu tradition – so she moved out West – eventually opening the Shanti Anantam Ashram on 47 acres she’d bought in Agoura Hills, California.

Steven Wilson, four-time Grammy nominee, multi-instrumentalist,
producer & founder member of Porcupine Tree, released his critically
acclaimed third solo album 'The Raven Refused To Sing' in 2013, reaching
#28 in the UK charts & #3 in Germany
In 2017, he shot back into the charts with his fifth solo album 'To The Bone' at #3
in the UK & #2 in Germany, which built on the success of fourth solo album 'Hand.
Cannot. Erase.', which reached #13 in the UK & #3 in Germany.
Originally released in 2011, 'Grace For Drowning' is the second solo album from
Wilson. A more experimental & more eclectic record it built on the artistic inroads
he forged with 2009's exceptionally well- received Insurgentes. It is a modern
homage to the late 60's & early 70's spirit of using the album as an artist's primary
means of expression; combining jazz, classical & psychedelic music to create
"journeys in sound".
'For me the golden period for music was the late sixties & early seventies, when
the album became the primary means of artistic expression, when musicians
liberated themselves from the 3- minute pop song format & started to draw on
jazz & classical music especially, combining it with the spirit of psychedelia to
create "journeys in sound". So, without being retro, 'my album is a kind of homage
to that spirit. There's everything from Ennio Morricone- esque film themes to
choral music to piano ballads to a 23- minute progressive jazz- inspired piece' -
Steven Wilson

Veteran artist Sebra Cruz releases his debut album ‘Don't Worry Psy Happy’ on DJ Tennis’ revered Life & Death imprint. The daring eleven track LP is as experimental as it is definitive and encapsulates the Italian spirit in perfect style.

The LP follows two previously teased singles; ‘Margaret’, an ode to Cruz’ girlfriend which is a deeply passionate and expressive melodic house offering and album title ‘Don’t Worry Psy Happy’ a hedonistic, tripped out soundscape.
The lead track ‘Sunfish’ is a melange of powerful synths overlaid with sporadic vocals and a swinging breakbeat which make the record the perfect soundtrack for early morning dancefloor euphoria.

The album continues its genreless motif and is hard to pin down. It broaches a variety of styles including cinematic and ambient leaning sonics such as ‘Optimist’ and ‘Poliziesco’, the latter which includes Gabriele Fabbri’s atmospheric guitar riff throughout.

‘The Siebel Road To Mars’ is a similarly powerful yet emotive record which samples current Italian President Sergio Mattarella between the piano and the extraterrestrial sound palette. Continuing with the more abstract tracks ‘Flying Junior’, which was named after Cruz’ own sailboat, emulates the peacefulness and tranquillity of the sea. It’s yet another reflection of Sebra Cruz’ artistic personality.

Juxtaposing the calm and serene records from the album, ‘AltreCose’, inspired by the energy of the Neapolitan people during Sebra’s DJing residency in the 90s, is a more high energy disco-infused record. Similarly ‘When Life Was Slow’, released on Life & Death back in 2020, is another upbeat dance interpretation and a tribute to Cruz’ passion for Italian composers from the 60s and 70s.

Speaking about the album Sebra says: “What emerges is in my opinion an album with predominantly Italian spirit, disco, house with both edgy and gentle influences. I never decide what to do first, I simply follow my spur of the moment instinct. Releasing an album for Life & Death is cool because I've always had huge respect for Manfredi.”

Sebra Cruz and DJ Tennis have a long lasting and trusting collaborative relationship exhibited by the former's numerous releases on Tennis’ Life and Death label. DJ Tennis’ encyclopaedic musical brain and shared passion for Italian composers perfectly complements Sebra’s stylings.

Striking an impeccable balance between abstract and obscure sonics and more methodical and conventional melodies, 'Don't Worry Psy Happy’ is a body of work that exquisitely expresses Sebra Cruz’ personality via different worlds and mediums.

Repress

One of Moonshine Recordings' flagship artists, Radikal Guru is going from strength to strength for more than a decade and 2020 is a further proof of it. With the fourth full-length LP release on the horizon, the outstanding
Polish talent ascertains his status as one of he most relevant figures in the international Dub and Dubstep scene once more.

The new project including vocal talents like Junior Dread, Marina P, Troy Berkley or India's up and coming vocalist Lady Skavya encapsulate the musical versatility and collaborative spirit of the sound system veteran alongside spirited instrumentals in various levels of intensity - ranging from meditative bass lines to apocalyptic turbosteppers.

Radikal Guru's digital dub sound signature presents itself in a variety of musical forms in his latest project 'Beyond The Borders' - a testament to his years of experience in lighting up dancefloors around the world. Music with a message nested on monumental heavyweight foundations, his fourth LP deals uplifting and conscious anthems to a set of speakers near you with a high-grade set of vibrations.

Ten meticulous productions designed to make you move as well as to reflect, a journey for body, mind and soul - features a multinational list of guest artists from India, Germany, Italy, Russia, Brazil and France.

Electronic sounds come to life, infused with gratuitous amounts of soul warmed by live instruments and murderous arrays of echo chambers and 808's. Perfectly placed drum fills and vocal fragments to top it all off in style, a masterclass in modern dub production seeking its equal. Bridging both physical and mental borders, Radikal Guru's latest LP release is sure to be heard, felt and enjoyed for time to come

Slovak-Hungarian musician Adela Mede explores the interplay between voice and technology with field recordings. She sings in three languages (Slovak, Hungarian and English). Intimate ambient utterances with themes of spiritual growth accompanied by experimental electronics with a wide scope of influences; from minimalism to folklore. Initially released in early 2022 to universal acclaim on digital and cassette, Night School is extremely excited to share Szabadság on vinyl. Mastered by Rupert Clervaux for vinyl, the clearer format teases out new nuances in the music, revealing a physicality and permanence to Mede’s first masterwork.

"Szabadság is a navigation. This debut by Adela Mede, recorded in her family home on the Slovakian border with Hungary, searches through the personal, familial, cultural, folkloric and geographic of her past and present.

Examining both the vulnerability and determination of her voice - as it leaves the lips, raw, and in the ways it can be transformed with digital processing - the embodied memories of language, of utterance, are explored.

Airy, open sound worlds and tentative strings of improvised naked vocal transform themselves into insistent repetition. Fizzing, sparkling electronics are set against the beautiful grainy depth of field recordings. The locations, these places, are found and lost - home is found and lost - in a dance of fragmented vocal harmonies. Three languages (English, Hungarian, Slovak) weave a song of spring, nature, forgiveness, togetherness and rebirth.

On Garden Party, Rose City Band"s country psychedelic rock evokes the wide-open spaces of the American west and free spirits who call it home. Led by acclaimed guitarist and vocalist Ripley Johnson, Rose City Band are some of the best players in contemporary rock: pedal steel guitarist Barry Walker, keyboardist Paul Hasenberg, bassist Dewey Mahood (aka Plankton Wat), drummer Dustin Dybvig, and features Sanae Yamada of Moon Duo on Synthesizer. Garden Party is both a celebration of summer and all it brings: friends gathering at backyard BBQs, cold beers on a hot porch, 12-foot sunflowers, and an exaltation of the value and respite of a moment of calm; the pleasures of time in the garden to appreciate the beauty of a contorted carrot, or a morning on a stoop watching a hummingbird. Freedom, contentment, and joy were the sources for the songs; they certainly bring the listener right there. From the soaring guitar solos to the driving rhythms, the elegant pedal steel lines to the organ grooves, Garden Party has a live band"s energy captured in exquisite detail. Garden Party is an invitation, a welcoming hand extended, and a joyous ride. Like all great music, the album taps into the listeners" emotional center and takes them to their happy place - their sunny spot. Recorded at Center for Sound, Light, and Color Therapy in Portland and mixed by John McEntire, the band"s sounds surround and embrace you. Garden Party"s last two tracks feature special guest Sanae Yamada (Moon Duo) who added some synth magic to the final two tracks. Ripley says it best "I always like when an album starts in one place and ends in another" What a beautiful journey it is!

On Garden Party, Rose City Band"s country psychedelic rock evokes the wide-open spaces of the American west and free spirits who call it home. Led by acclaimed guitarist and vocalist Ripley Johnson, Rose City Band are some of the best players in contemporary rock: pedal steel guitarist Barry Walker, keyboardist Paul Hasenberg, bassist Dewey Mahood (aka Plankton Wat), drummer Dustin Dybvig, and features Sanae Yamada of Moon Duo on Synthesizer. Garden Party is both a celebration of summer and all it brings: friends gathering at backyard BBQs, cold beers on a hot porch, 12-foot sunflowers, and an exaltation of the value and respite of a moment of calm; the pleasures of time in the garden to appreciate the beauty of a contorted carrot, or a morning on a stoop watching a hummingbird. Freedom, contentment, and joy were the sources for the songs; they certainly bring the listener right there. From the soaring guitar solos to the driving rhythms, the elegant pedal steel lines to the organ grooves, Garden Party has a live band"s energy captured in exquisite detail. Garden Party is an invitation, a welcoming hand extended, and a joyous ride. Like all great music, the album taps into the listeners" emotional center and takes them to their happy place - their sunny spot. Recorded at Center for Sound, Light, and Color Therapy in Portland and mixed by John McEntire, the band"s sounds surround and embrace you. Garden Party"s last two tracks feature special guest Sanae Yamada (Moon Duo) who added some synth magic to the final two tracks. Ripley says it best "I always like when an album starts in one place and ends in another" What a beautiful journey it is!

Abstraxion once again delivers another twist to his exotic musical tale with "Trance Body Music". A four track collection of 90’s-infused club rockets. Hi-NRG sounds that traverse the trance-techno-rave intersection.
Lead single ‘Whole’ is a distorted and relentless number that hammers along with skewed vocal chops and lashings of bounce. ‘Gold’ however, is a more pushy heads-down affair. It's ramped BPM and vocals muster dewy-eyed Bonzaimemories, whilst harnessing the free spirit of the resurging eurodance movement.
Next out of the rave cannon comes ‘Force’, with its fierce tempo, jittering synth stabs and playful melody working together to create a tidy dancefloor moment. The show is brought to a close with the bubbling title track Trance Body Music. A perfect, almost soothing, finale to a wonderfully energetic adventure.

Mezzrow sind nach 30 Jahren zurück! Sie haben sich in den späten Achtzigern einen Namen in der Thrash Metal-Szene mit ihren von der Kritik hochgelobten Demotapes "Frozen Soul" und "Cross of Tormention" erspielt.
Im Jahr 1990 veröffentlichten sie ihren Debütklassiker "Then Came the Killing" über Active Records, eine Tochtergesellschaft von Music for Nations.
Das Album gilt noch heute als eine der besten, wenn nicht die beste Thrash-Metal-Veröffentlichung aus Schweden und Skandinavien. Dieses legendäre Album wurde zusammen mit allen Demos neu gemastert und im Mai 2022 über Hammerheart Records veröffentlicht. Im Jahr 2021 stieg Mezzrow wie ein Phoenix aus der Asche auf, als Bassist Conny Welén (ex- Hexenhaus) und Sänger Uffe Pettersson (ex-Rosicrucian) beschlossen, ein neues Zeichen in der Thrash Metal-Welt von heute zu setzen.
Zusammen mit den neuen Gitarristen Magnus Söderman (Nightrage) und Ronnie Björnström (ex-Defiatory, ex-Aeon) wurden neue Killersongs geschrieben, die puren Thrash Metal der Spitzenklasse
darstellt.

Mezzrow sind nach 30 Jahren zurück! Sie haben sich in den späten Achtzigern einen Namen in der Thrash Metal-Szene mit ihren von der Kritik hochgelobten Demotapes "Frozen Soul" und "Cross of Tormention" erspielt.
Im Jahr 1990 veröffentlichten sie ihren Debütklassiker "Then Came the Killing" über Active Records, eine Tochtergesellschaft von Music for Nations.
Das Album gilt noch heute als eine der besten, wenn nicht die beste Thrash-Metal-Veröffentlichung aus Schweden und Skandinavien. Dieses legendäre Album wurde zusammen mit allen Demos neu gemastert und im Mai 2022 über Hammerheart Records veröffentlicht. Im Jahr 2021 stieg Mezzrow wie ein Phoenix aus der Asche auf, als Bassist Conny Welén (ex- Hexenhaus) und Sänger Uffe Pettersson (ex-Rosicrucian) beschlossen, ein neues Zeichen in der Thrash Metal-Welt von heute zu setzen.
Zusammen mit den neuen Gitarristen Magnus Söderman (Nightrage) und Ronnie Björnström (ex-Defiatory, ex-Aeon) wurden neue Killersongs geschrieben, die puren Thrash Metal der Spitzenklasse
darstellt.

Brainticket was an obscure Krautrock band born out of a 60's jazz group featuring Belgian born keyboardist Joel Van Droogenbroeck, based in Switzerland. The leader went for a fortunate solo career after the former group disbanded, reaching a cult status especially in Italy with a series of sought after libraries. Released in 1978 on Cenacolo, Images Of Flute In Nature is pure magic translated in music. Conceived by Joel with a little help from vocalist Carole Muriel (an American performer already involved in Brainticket and Drum Circus), the album is literally a deep connection between kosmische music, ambient and ethno-global rhythms.

Das Debut Album der 2019 gegründeten Thrasher SINTAGE!

High Roller Records, purple vinyl, ltd 250, insert, includes a download code & poster

On their first album, Me:You--a new collaboration between Mourning A
BLKstar co-founders RA Washington and LaToya Kent--presents a
simmering, enigmatic brew full of groove, distortion and haze
In contrast to the pointed lyrics and wide- ranging genre blend of Mourning
BLKstar, Me:You dunks music in a swirling brew of drum beats, guitars, bass,
synth, and tape loops, revealing an immersive world that spotlights a woman who
loves hard, with nods to punk, jazz and R&B. Along with Washington's production
and Kent's vocals, Field Tapes in Der Trash features contributions from Jah Nada
(of Obnox and Bloody Show, who released a winning collaboration with
Washington on Astral Spirits last year) and Laura B.

I"ve been focused on who I am in my music, but now I"m exploring where I am," Alfa Mist says. "I"m asking: how did I get here?" This is the journeying question that underpins Alfa"s fifth album, Variables. Traversing luscious, big band swing, head-nodding boom-bap rhythms and yearning vocal melodies, the record is expansive, soulful and moving, in both body and spirit. On Variables, his second release for ANTI-, Alfa achieves his most fully-realised, expressive musical work to date, coupling his keen ear for looping, memorably emotive piano melodies with intuitive grooves and a free-flowing jazz improvisation. Since the release of his first full-length project Nocturne in 2015, Alfa has established himself as one of the UK"s most focused, indemand and distinct musical voices. He has worked with the likes of Jordan Rakei and Tom Misch. Artists look to him for his unique blend of intimate bedroom production and expansive jazz group orchestration, since Alfa is yet to be boxed into a specific genre. His music spans everything from hip-hop beat-making to producing for artists such as rapper Loyle Carner, composing neo-classical works for the London Contemporary Orchestra, and reworking tracks from composer Olafur Arnalds and pioneering jazz label Blue Note. The return to live shows has been a welcome one for Alfa and his fans, resulting in an extensive tour throughout UK and Europe. Including a sold-out headline show at the Barbican in London. Alfa Mist will be touring Europe, UK and North America in 2023 again. It is a balance between feeling and perfectionism that ultimately gives Alfa"s music its depth and capacity for repeated listening. It is also an ethos that has enabled his remarkable work-ethic to date. "I"ve never been a "one album every four years" artist - I want to put out new projects every year," he says. "Music is an extension of my life; it is the practice of creating."

Since its beginnings, Hypnótica Colectiva has always shown a special interest in the music recorded and released in the city of Detroit.

A place with which we have both a blood and spiritual bond because of what occurred there socially and artistically during the 20th century.

This love led us to become ambassadors of what was happening there on a musical level, holding cultural events to screen documentaries translated into Spanish, as well as a number of themed sets at our events, dedicated motor city sections in our record shop or recently lectures on the history of the city and its music at the Museum of Illustration and Contemporary Art of Valencia (Muvim).

The time has now come to bring all this history, this musical influence, to the editorial section of our label HC records.

Detroit Legacy was born from the idea of capturing these influences on vinyl. Seeking artists from all over the world who share this passion that inspires them to create their music, what we can define as the universal Neo-Detroit.

For this first edition or first volume, the collective has enlisted in its ranks creators affiliated to the label who have shown us in their careers, this influence and this feeling.

Paul Cignol opens the record with Distance. From Dublin he offers us a track of warm sequences inspired by Deep Techno, with deep pads responding to organ keys and a subtle touch of 303.

Mallorcan LLuis Barcelo Sureda is responsible for the second track Funk Station. With a Techno Soul character that we might hear from Detroitish labels like Acacia or producers like Blake Baxter.

A real eminence in Techno is the Catalan Don Alex Martín, who already released in the mid-90s on Monssieur Garnier's label (France Communications). The Barcelona native brings his wealth of experience and wisdom through Megatech, which transports us to the spectrum of Derrick May’s Transmat who, in his day, was nicknamed "The Innovator". This track provides agile sequences of complex syncopated rhythms, combining with a dreamy Michigan style synth.

The anthem of the album comes from Ghent. The sublime Belgian creator, Mariska Neerman, once again makes our hairs stand on end and our hearts melt with a heavenly composition entitled Stellium.

No one interprets Neo-Detroit quite like Mariska, whom we baptise as a sovereign heiress of the genre in the world. If we have to think of an influence for this piece, we go straight to the genius of Detroit, the one and only Jeff Mills, in his most symphonic and harmonic facet of tracks released on his label Axis Records such as "The March", A Universal Voice That Speaks To All That Will Listen or A New Found Sense Of Being.

Some of these songs have been re-interpreted by world class philharmonic orchestras such as the Montpellier Philharmonic Orchestra at the 2005 Blue Potential (Pont Du Garde). Mariska's score in this song fuses organ keys with harmonic layers and violin - favourite instruments of the Detroitian extraterrestrial - with a harmonic result of strength and hope. An authentic anthem of classic emotional Techno.

Old School electro takes centre stage with the Master from Terrassa Ivan Arnau a.k.a. Dark Vektor. In the influence of Juan Atkins (the creator) as Cybotron or Model 500 and later creators who developed this sound like Aux 88. Metaverso Frik is a great recital of a urban poetry created and interpreted by Ivan, to completely devastating effect.

Croatian Bojan Jascur a.k.a. N-TER, closes the vinyl with We Will Emerge, in a exercise of vindication, a common weapon in the context of Detroit music. Raging, trippy electro in the purest style of Cosmic Force or Dynarec.

This first tribute to 8 Mile doesn't end with the vinyl, as 2 digital bonus tracks are included in the release.

We return to Barcelona with Pastin Futon in another sequence of consecutive oscillated rhythms oscillated much like Kevin Saunderson (The Elevator) in his day and the Techno Groove that we know today.

The most robotic touch of the release is the closer with this synthetic jigsaw puzzle of a track with echoes of the 1967 Detroit Riot, the Detroit Rebellion. Again produced by another Barcelona native, The Bandit (Dj Spy / Util Records). The sequences are very reminiscent of Arpanet and Drexciya.

The idea for the cover comes from Motor City itself by Jon Yowell, first cousin of HC records founder and head of HC records David Verdeguer.

Born, raised and a lifelong resident of Detroit, Jon is an enormously talented musician capable of writing lyrics, performing them on the mic and manipulating a number of stringed instruments as well as the drums, where he is a true master.

The cover is a tribute to the formative backgrounds of many of the city's musicians in every sonic trend. Wayne State University in the capital of Michigan.

Founded in 1868, it has offered didactic teaching to many of the city's musicians.

Not all of Detroit's creators went to university, and even less so when talking about Techno, many artists are self-taught or learned in a non-academic way, but it seems to us a good base to begin to highlight the origins of the city's music in a historic building, where those who have the opportunity to learn about music have been and continue to be educated.

The adapted designs are the work of our image manager Dani Requeni.

Mastering by Steve Voidloss at Black Monolith Studios in London (UK).

Beautiful, soulful jazz record by Jimetta Rose and The Voices of Creation, a Los Angeles-based community choir, a mainstay of the local scene. Highly recommended!!

The Voices of Creation are a community-based choir led by vocalist, songwriter, arranger, producer and mainstay of the Los Angeles scene Jimetta Rose. Made up of a multigenerational group of mainly non-professional singers backed by some of the city’s finest musicians,their music marries hip strains of gospel with layers of jazz, soul and funk. While aspects of their music might recall Kamasi Washington, The Staple Singers or Sly Stone, Jimetta’s unique vision has resulted in new spiritually-charged forms of music whose whole-hearted embrace of love, joy and peace act as sonic healing balms for the soul.

For Jimetta - whose resume includes collaborations with Miguel Atwood Ferguson, Georgia Anne Muldrow, Sa-Ra Creative Partners, Angel Bat Dawid, Shafiq Husayn, MED and Blu - the very act of creation was part of a healing process: “I was very low at the time and I wrote most of the songs going through hardship. But I found comfort in the songs and a way to adjust my mindset to where things got better. So I thought ‘if this music works for me, maybe it will work for other people’ I believe that every person has their own voice and their own note and that we can use our voices to heal ourselves. That’s the intention behind creating the project.”

After putting out a call on social media for people interested in joining her choir she was met with a sea of replies. Members were chosen in less-than conventional fashion: “I recruited people based on their interest in healing themselves and others, not necessarily on their musical experience or being seasoned performers” she says. Among those accepted into the ever-evolving collective, which was begun initially as a community choir, were the likes of Sly Stone’s daughter Novena Carmel, better known as a radio DJ for KCRW’s flagship breakfast show. Jimetta’s upbringing in the Pentecostal church, where she was a youth choir director, fed into her otherwise intuitive teachings of her songs and arrangements to the inexperienced members with help from the group’s seasoned organ player/co-musical director Jack Maeby.

Produced by Mario Caldato Jr. (Beastie Boys, Seu Jorge) and his wife Samantha Caldato the results show the incredible sense of togetherness and communal spirit that the group had built up over time in the rehearsal sessions. The six tracks of their debut album, a mixture of originals and rearranged covers, are performed in a wide-eyed mix of styles that reflect Jimetta’s vision for borderless music: “It’s new black classical music,” she explains. “It’s all the hodgepodge of being an African American but also with creativity and vision for the future. It has a taste of what is to come and what we can do. What we have gone through and who we are now.”

The group’s propensity for warm and buoyant sonics finds representation on album opener Let The Sunshine In, a sparkling rework of the Sons and Daughters of Lite’s deep jazz classic. Their version finds the group’s dynamic group harmonies offset with Allakoi Peete’s nimble afro-percussive touches and plenty of soul- drenched keys courtesy of pianist Quran Shaheed and organ player Jack Maeby. A similarly uplifting take on Rahsaan Roland Kirk’s choral jazz classic Spirits Up Above follows, with Maeby’s groove-laden organ lines inspiring some gorgeous group harmonies as well as prime solo turns from the likes of Kellye Hawkins, Zavier Wise, Tamara Blue, and Khalila Gardner.

Another Sons and Daughters of Lite cover follows as Jimetta leads the choir in the groove-drenched ode to self-affirmation Operation Feed Yourself. Written as a series of mantras for everyday living, the Jimetta-penned composition How Good It Is harnesses the full transformative power of music to generate a stirring and joyful ode to positivity - it’s chanted declarations bringing out some of the group’s most deeply-felt and affecting vocal performances over some superlative piano and organ accompaniment with a surprise feature vocal from Novena Carmel.

Jimetta’s talent for re-imagining songs in her own light is highlighted in Answer The Call, her vivid re-telling of Funkadelic’s Cosmic Slop: “When I listened to the original song, the Mom in the story was really going through it. I thought of how I could turn this into a song that can encompass the glorification of all mothers and I thought of the Egyptian cosmic goddess Nut. To that mother we’re all the seeds planted in the garden. Answering the call in your life is literally that. Finding out exactly what you’re here for through your heart.”

The album finishes with the standout original gospel number Ain’t Life Grand. Over swaying organs and clapped percussion Jimetta’s lyrical mantras serve to emphasise the good feelings that come to those with a grateful heart. Good feeling is an apt descriptor for the mood of the album as a whole. Its shining positivity provides a welcome ray of light in an increasingly dark world. “It’s a shortcut if you will to the better feelings” Jimetta says. “The hope that we need to keep pressing forward. We are saturated and inundated with images of chaos and destruction, death and hatred. There’s so much we can witness. So, I want to make sure that there is a representation sonically of the other parts that are still there to witness so that we can continue to build those things. So that the systems we support actually reflect what we want to experience. So it’s like: “Don’t give up and Let The Sunshine Into You” and then find out what your purpose is and answer the call.”

"A refracted audio book soundtracking the bathing culture of the Ottoman Baths in Budapest, cut-up from Dalia Neis' metaphysical thriller 'The Swarm' ( The Elephants Press, 2023).
This is the fourth iteration of the Transdanubian odyssey, beginning in Dali Muru & The Polyphonic Swarm's LP, before drifting into book form, radio show, and now audio book.
This limited-edition vinyl is an updated, revised version of the original NTS show broadcasted in January 2022."

An exquisite pairing of talent, the duo of Carla Olson and Gene Clark. The feeling
of spontaneity and closeness of spirit engulfs all of the cuts here. Olson's strident
and powerful vocals mesh beautifully with Clark's slightly world- weary, soulful
performances. As for the material, both songwriters obviously put their best foot
forward here. Olson's The Drifter and Are We Still Making Love are excellent
country-folk outings. Clark contributes one of his finest later compositions, Gypsy
Rider, a multi- leveled song that can easily be viewed as autobiographical.
Chemistry is the operative word here. The only sad thing is that So Rebellious a
Lover was to be the only studio effort by the duo before Clark passed away in
1991. This record is important not only for what it is, but for what it could have
become.

After Joao Selva, Dowdelin, The Bongo Hop, Underdog Records continue their exploration of the Black Atlantic with IREKE.Ecstatic brass, 70’s keyboards, elastic guitars, round bass and world percussion: from this sonic heritage, Ireke makes a unique fusion, enhanced by the audacious contribution of his dub science, and a few electronic touches

IREKE

Ireke? Sugar cane in Yoruba. Like her, the duo loves tropical climates and intoxicating rhythms, quick to liberate the bodies gathered on a dancefloor. Afrobeat urgency, funk suppleness, dub alchemy, highlife jubilation: with Tropikadelic, Ireke summons the heritage of the masters and the audacity of machines to give life to new sonic territories. At the crossroads. For the love of groove.

From the West, with their ears to the Black Atlantic, Julien Gervaix and Damien Tes- son are both children of the collective and of improvisation, playgrounds for these complete multi-instrumentalists.

The first one puts his talents of arranger-saxophonist at the service of the Nantes collective Soulshine and of numerous formations - in turn funk or rhythm’n blues - where swinging is the rule.This is notably the case of the afrobeat group Walko, in which Julien Gervaix had the honour of sharing the stage and the studio for several years with Kiala Nzavotunga, guitarist extraordinaire for Fela Kuti and Egypt 80. Meanwhile, Damien Tesson was being trained as a dubmaster-guitarist-arranger at the reggae roots school with the digital option of the Vendée collective Shi Fu Mi Temple.This initiation led Damien Tesson to join, among others, the Nantes-based group BIBA (Bingy Band) and then to collaborate with Jideh High Elements, a key figure on the international dub scene, Roberto Sanchez and the team of his Lone Ark Studio, as well as Sana Bob, a famous reggae singer from Burkina Faso.And then, life being well done, the paths of Julien Gervaix and Damien Tesson ended up crossing within the jazz-funk combo Playtime, before meeting again in the Vendée a few years later.

With an obvious tropism for Afro-Latin grooves, tropical colours, electronic tricks and furious swaying, the two musicians create Ireke like a glass of well arranged rum. Here’s to us, here’s to you! As if guided by the spirit of the plant, Ireke toasts the immense richness of these danceable rhythms, true generators of life, connection and energy.

Like Legba, the Yoruba orisha of intersections and crossroads, Ireke thrives in the between worlds.Aware of the lineage of goldsmiths who preceded them, Ireke

knows his classics and humbly draws inspiration for Tropikadelic from the musical genius of Pat Thomas, Poly-rythmo Orchestra, King Tubby,Tony Allen, Fela Kuti, Maître Gazonga, Ernesto Djédjé or the Vikings of Guadeloupe. Ecstatic brass, 70’s keyboards, elastic guitars, round bass and world percussion: from this sonic heritage, Ireke makes a unique fusion, enhanced by the audacious contribution of his dub science, and a few electronic touches patiently flushed out in the studio - which the duo considers as an instrument in its own right.

Finally, to give voice to his compositions, on Tropikadelic, Ireke calls upon an army of serious enthusiasts, each member of which has come up with his or her own lyrics. Thus, alongside Ireke, we find the groove griot Pat Kalla (“Femme qui Danse”,“Love Is Jokin”), the Franco-Laotian reggaeman Amatah Keo (“Man Bo Diak”), the Vendée- based Agnès Hélène (“Petit à Petit”,“Oh Ma Chérie”) and Charly Sanga (“Bas Les Masques”,“Oh Ma Chérie”), the Burkinabè lion Sana Bob (“Métissage”) as well as the Nantes soulman Jy Cooly (“Kinkeliba”).

For the duo, music is above all a collective practice, an active liberation, a rhythmic approach to letting go, a source of communicative joy... In short, groove is the weap- on! And Ireke knows how to use it.

Easily one of the greatest roots reggae albums of all time, Soul Rebels resulted from the intensive partnership brokered by the group and maverick producer, Lee 'Scratch' Perry. It was the first Wailers 'concept' album, conceived as a long-player based on a rebellious theme, rather than a collection of isolated singles, and the presence of the Barrett brothers in the rhythm section pointed the way for greater glories to come. The Wailers first formed as an unruly five-piece in 1963, with Junior Braithwaite as lead singer and Beverley Kelso an early member, sometimes replaced by Cherry Green. During their long tenure at Studio One, Bob Marley gradually shifted to the lead vocal role and the robust core of Marley, Peter Tosh, and Neville Livingston, aka Bunny Wailer, soon emerged as the mainstays of the group. Perry was involved with the Wailers at Studio One, using their talents for backing vocals on some of his solo work, but the partnership that yielded Soul Rebels was in an entirely different league. The title track, Tosh's anguished "400 Years and "Corner Stone" are legendary for their intense power; "It's Alright" set the template for the later "Night Shift," "My Cup" was an individual barebones reading of James Brown's "I Guess I'll Have To Cry Cry Cry," while the playful "Try Me" and "No Water" are suggestive odes. Tosh's dejected "No Sympathy" and the spirited "Soul Almighty" are other winners and the "Cloud 9" revamp "Rebel's Hop" is another joy. All killer, no filler!

Drop a needle on Psyché's debut double-sider – the debut album is out on May 19th – and you'll see visions, or rather Mediterranean visions, be they of waves of heat shimmering above dunes of sand, or of women dancing around a bonfire on a rocky plain, or of bushy cliffs overlooking emerald-green and turquoise sea. The name Psyché is of course ancient Greek for 'soul' or 'mind',signifying the band's love of psychedelic funk, but also the wide range of Mediterranean influences – from Southern Europe to the Balkan Peninsula, and from Anatolia to the Maghreb – that provide an endless source of inspiration for their hypnotic sound and minimalist style.

Psyché members Marcello Giannini (Guru, Nu Genea, Slivovitz), Andrea De Fazio (Parbleu, Nu Genea, Funkin Machine) and Paolo Petrella (Nu Genea) have been active in the Naples music scene for almost two decades, most notably during the first wave of the new Neapolitan Power movement (Slivovitz, Revenaz Quartet). Over the years they have often crossed paths and collaborated on side projects in various genres (math-rock duo Arduo and, more recently, Italo-disco duo Fratelli Malibu), before working together as the rhythm section of Nu Genea's live band. Following their first tour with Nu Genea in 2018, they started Psyché with the intent of exploring more minimalist styles and making musicwith just a few elements.

A unique combination of psychedelia, groove and improvisation, the music of Psyché goes back to the roots of our future; it evokes visions of a mythical past, blending centuries-old music traditions and mixing them with modern genres. Like a warm Mediterranean breeze, it travels across lands, seas and eras, distilling essential rhythms and cosmic pulsations.

"Cumbia Mahàre", on side A of the 7-inch, dives deep into the origins of rhythm, drawing us into the movements of an imaginary ritual dance (the term mahàre was used in Southern Italian dialects to indicate witches). Through the interplay between minimal synths and exhilarating rhythmic patterns of drums, percussion, guitar and bass, Psyché take a fresh and bold approach to contemporary afrobeat and cumbia fusion.

"Ophis", on side B, is a mesmeric blend of African, Balkan and Turkish rhythms and sounds. Ethereal vocalizations and warm, hypnotic bass lines combine with psychedelic riffs and haunting melodies on guitar to evoke ancient cultures whose spiritslithers like a snake across the dunes of a sun-scorched desert.

Repress!

Outstanding free jazz session recorded in 1973 in Paris by Chicago outfit BAG.

It was Lester Bowie, trumpeter with the Art Ensemble of Chicago, who suggested that the Black Artists' Group (BAG) should head for Paris. In 1972 several members of BAG took his advice and flew to France for an extended stay. The following year a concert featuring saxophonist Oliver Lake, trumpeters Baikida Carroll and Floyd LeFlore, drummer Charles Bobo Shaw and trombonist Joseph Bowie (Lester's younger brother) was recorded and subsequently issued as In Paris, Aries 1973, a strictly limited edition LP on the group's own label.

Since the formation of Black Artists' Group in 1968, the home of this multidisciplinary arts collective had been St Louis, Missouri, the city where the Bowie brothers had grown up. It was there that Lester Bowie had started to investigate the expanding horizons of jazz before moving, in 1966, to Chicago where he joined the recently established Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM). His close friend Oliver Lake visited Bowie, attended AACM concerts and meetings and was inspired not only by their artistic vision and integrity but also by their efficient organisation. In Chicago musicians were making things happen for themselves, taking control of their own destinies and giving shape to their lives as creative artists.

In June 1969, the Art Ensemble of Chicago had taken their music to France. During the preceding decade Paris had established a reputation for audiences that were unusually well-informed and open-minded, receptive to the uncompromising music of black American innovators such as Cecil Taylor, Ornette Coleman, Albert Ayler and Sun Ra. The city that had nurtured not only Cubism and Surrealism, but also Jean-Luc Godard and contemporary cinema's Nouvelle Vague was well prepared for the sonic collage forms and stylistic dislocations of the Art Ensemble. During that same month violinist Leroy Jenkins, trumpeter Leo Smith and saxophonist Anthony Braxton also arrived in Paris, three further emissaries from the AACM.

The adventure of collective improvisation resonated with the Parisian zeitgeist. Enthusiastic audiences attended their concerts and coverage in the media. In Paris, Aries 1973 offers an isolated and fascinating glimpse into that phase of the group's existence. The album is dedicated to the memory of Kada Kayan, a bassist who had hoped to make the trip from St Louis to France but, tragically, had grown ill and died. His absence adds special poignancy to the sound of the bass when it appears on this recording, played by Baikida Carroll. Listeners keen to hear Kayan himself in the company of Lake, Bowie, Shaw, LeFlore and Carroll should seek out Red, Black and Green by the 10-piece Solidarity Unit, Inc. That album, recorded on 18th September 1970 and dedicated to Jimi Hendrix, who died on that day, features an earlier version of Shaw's composition 'Something to Play On.'

In Paris, Aries 1973 reveals BAG's musical affinities with the Art Ensemble of Chicago. Both groups preserved an independently minded approach to the notion of free jazz and a carefully filtered awareness of pan-African musical practices, while their creative interest in space, mobile structure, chance occurrences and simultaneity also suggests parallels with the concerns of leading experimental composers working at that time. These performances in Paris of Shaw's 'Something to Play On' and Lake's 'Re-Cre-A-Tion,' plus two collective compositions/improvisations, display the dedication to structural fluency and sensitivity to coloration that accompanied BAG's unorthodox group dynamics and their unconventional instrumental combinations. In this case the musicians embrace congas, log drums, marimbas, woodblocks, cowbells and gongs. This is not a showcase for solos, but a shape-shifting and multi-centred statement of togetherness, quest and discovery. Removed from BAG's original multidisciplinary context the music still exudes an exhilarating spirit of collaborative exploration and shared excitement.

‘’Ace Todmorden label makes a significant discovery on its own doorstep: a superb cache of ‘loner folk’ songs recorded in the early-70s by Hebden Bridge’s answer to Nick Drake’’ UNCUT PLAYLIST

"This is music that can confidently hold its own with pioneers such as Davey Graham, Michael Chapman, Bert Jansch and Jackson C Frank, as influenced by jazz, blues and steel guitar as any of the old songbook classics from ancient Albion.” Benjamin Myers
"Defiantly Northern and out of this world" Folk Radio

Anti-counter culture loner folk from a teenage attic in the heart of rural Northern hippiedom.
Today the valley town of Hebden Bridge in West Yorkshire is world-renowned as something of a bohemian backwater. It wasn’t like this back in the late 1960s and the early 1970s, when a disparate selection of radicals, drop-outs, heads, musicians, artists and writers started to be attracted to the Calder Valley. Local lad and future poet laureate Ted Hughes called the area “the fouled nest of industrialisation”.
Over time, those seeds of radicalism and collectivism ensured Hebden Bridge evolved into a place where people could be themselves and all shades of individual oddness not only tolerated but actively encouraged. But back at the turn of the dreary 1970s it remained a monochrome world defined by its unforgiving surrounding landscapes, where the old gritstone over-dwellings were stained with soot and rain lashed down for weeks.
It was here that Trevor Beales, who was born in 1953, grew up, and from where he drew musical and lyrical inspiration.
Perhaps it was this dual nationality heritage, unusual in the valley’s largely white working class population at the time, that gave the teenager Trevor Beale’s music an outsider’s perspective. The discovery of Bob Dylan, Django Reinhardt, The Byrds and James Taylor at a young age, lead to him picking up a guitar at the age of ten, and he was soon writing his own originals and performing them at local (though often remote) folk clubs and pubs.
Recorded in the attic of the family home at Ivy Bank in Charlestown on the verdant wooded slopes at the edge of Hebden Bridge between 1971 and 1974, these early recordings are collected here for the first time and mark Trevor Beales long-overdue solo debut.
In these songs is a suffer-no-fools sense of realism that is defiantly Northern, yet also expresses a worldliness that belies Beales’ young years, whilst also showcasing an inherent storyteller’s ear for narrative. Here is a postcard from the past at that crucial musical period of transition, when the idealistic exponents of the 1960s emerged into an austere new decade that was to be shaped by strikes, rising unemployment and economic upheaval.
Two aspects of this music make it remarkable: Beales’ natural ability showcases a sophisticated guitar-picking style that was leagues ahead of many of his (older, more recognised) contemporaries. This is music that can confidently hold its own with pioneers such as Davey Graham, Michael Chapman, Dave Evans, Bert Jansch and Jackson C Frank, as influenced by jazz, blues and steel guitar as any of the old songbook classics from ancient Albion.
Secondly, his lyrics are a far cry from either the naïve bedroom scribblings of a teenager who has barely left his upland home, nor do they fall foul of the type of lazy cliches and sub-Tolkien imagery that was still in abundance in the early 1970s. Most remarkably the earliest songs here were laid down less than a year after he left school (an unearthed report written by his headteacher on July 3rd 1970 noted he had “a considerable ability and interest in music”, though his education ended abruptly when he simply walked out of a science lesson one sunny day while at sixth form, never to return).
Trevor’s music is grounded in reality – his reality. ‘Then I’ll Take You Home’, for example, considers the Guru Marajai, who encouraged his acolytes to give over their worldly possessions, yet who drove a Rolls Royce and lived like a playboy. Unsurprisingly, this latest in a long line of spiritual charlatans found several followers in Hebden Bridge, and Beales casts a disdainful eye over the growing popularity for such false prophets.
With its ancient narratives and propensity for myth-making, folk has certainly produced it’s fair share of cult figures who have enjoyed rediscovery or career resurgence and with this debut compilation of home recordings, rescued from cassette tapes, Trevor Beales might just be the latest addition. Certainly he was the real deal.
Crucially, Beales' music is never jaded or cynical, but instead possesses a poet’s ear, a strong sense of self and some sound critical faculties. And much of it recorded at an age when he could neither vote nor order a pint of heavy.
Trevor Beales died suddenly and unexpectedly on March 29th 1987, aged 33. He left behind Christine and their young child Lydia.

Eric D. Johnson rarely lingers at one location too long. As a kid growing up in the Midwest, Johnson's family moved around a lot, but it wasn't until he became a touring musician years later that motion became a central part of his identity. That transient lifestyle stoked an enduring reverence for the world he watched pass by through a van window. A sense of place is a unifying theme he's revisited with Fruit Bats throughout its many lives. From the project's origins in the late '90s as a vehicle for Johnson's lo-fi tinkering to the more sonically ambitious work of recent years, Fruit Bats has often showcased love songs where people and locations meld into one. It's a loose song structure that navigates what he calls "the geography of the heart." "The songs exist in a world that you can sort of travel from one to another," says Johnson. "There are roads and rivers between these songs." Those pathways extend straight through the newest Fruit Bats album, aptly titled A River Running to Your Heart . Self-produced by Johnson_a first for Fruit Bats_with Jeremy Harris at Panoramic House just north of San Francisco, it's Fruit Bats' tenth full-length release and one that finds the project in the middle of a creative resurgence. After two decades of making music, hard-earned emotional maturity has seeped into Johnson's songs, resulting in a more complex sound that's connected with audiences like no other previous version of Fruit Bats. A River Running to Your Heart represents the fullest realization of that creative vision to date. It's a sonically diverse effort that largely explores the importance of what it means to be home, both physically and spiritually. And while that might seem like a peculiar focus for an artist who's constantly in motion, for Fruit Bats, home can take many forms_from the obvious to the obscure. Lead single "Rushin' River Valley" is a self-propelled love song written about Johnson's wife that clings to the borrowed imagery of the place where she grew up in northern California. Then, there's the gentle and unfussy acoustic ballad "We Used to Live Here," which looks back to a time of youthful promise and cheap rent. But the wistful "It All Comes Back" is perhaps the most stunning and surprising track on the album, Johnson's production skills on full display. Built upon intricate layers of synths, keyboards, and guitars, it's a pitch-perfect blend of tone and lyricism that taps into our shared apprehensions and hopes for a post-pandemic life. "We lost some time / But we can make it back / Let's take it easy on ourselves, okay?" sings a world-weary but ultimately reassuring Johnson in the song's opening lines. It's the kind of performance that makes you hope Fruit Bats stays in this one place, at least for a little while longer.

BLUE & BONE VINYL

Eric D. Johnson rarely lingers at one location too long. As a kid growing up in the Midwest, Johnson's family moved around a lot, but it wasn't until he became a touring musician years later that motion became a central part of his identity. That transient lifestyle stoked an enduring reverence for the world he watched pass by through a van window. A sense of place is a unifying theme he's revisited with Fruit Bats throughout its many lives. From the project's origins in the late '90s as a vehicle for Johnson's lo-fi tinkering to the more sonically ambitious work of recent years, Fruit Bats has often showcased love songs where people and locations meld into one. It's a loose song structure that navigates what he calls "the geography of the heart." "The songs exist in a world that you can sort of travel from one to another," says Johnson. "There are roads and rivers between these songs." Those pathways extend straight through the newest Fruit Bats album, aptly titled A River Running to Your Heart . Self-produced by Johnson_a first for Fruit Bats_with Jeremy Harris at Panoramic House just north of San Francisco, it's Fruit Bats' tenth full-length release and one that finds the project in the middle of a creative resurgence. After two decades of making music, hard-earned emotional maturity has seeped into Johnson's songs, resulting in a more complex sound that's connected with audiences like no other previous version of Fruit Bats. A River Running to Your Heart represents the fullest realization of that creative vision to date. It's a sonically diverse effort that largely explores the importance of what it means to be home, both physically and spiritually. And while that might seem like a peculiar focus for an artist who's constantly in motion, for Fruit Bats, home can take many forms_from the obvious to the obscure. Lead single "Rushin' River Valley" is a self-propelled love song written about Johnson's wife that clings to the borrowed imagery of the place where she grew up in northern California. Then, there's the gentle and unfussy acoustic ballad "We Used to Live Here," which looks back to a time of youthful promise and cheap rent. But the wistful "It All Comes Back" is perhaps the most stunning and surprising track on the album, Johnson's production skills on full display. Built upon intricate layers of synths, keyboards, and guitars, it's a pitch-perfect blend of tone and lyricism that taps into our shared apprehensions and hopes for a post-pandemic life. "We lost some time / But we can make it back / Let's take it easy on ourselves, okay?" sings a world-weary but ultimately reassuring Johnson in the song's opening lines. It's the kind of performance that makes you hope Fruit Bats stays in this one place, at least for a little while longer.

Pink Blue Marbled Vinyl

Angelo is an EP, named after a car, featuring nine songs Brijean have crafted and carried with them through a period of profound change, loss, and relocation. It finds percussionist and singer Brijean Murphy and multi-instrumentalist/producer Doug Stuart processing the impossible the only way they know how: through rhythm and movement. The months surrounding the acclaimed release of Feelings, their full-length Ghostly International debut in 2021 which celebrated tender self-reflection and new possibilities, rang bittersweet with the absence of touring and the sudden passing of Murphy's father and both of Stuart's parents. In a haze of heartache, the duo left the Bay Area to be near family, resetting in four cities in under two years. Their to-go rig became their traveling studio and these tracks, along with Angelo, became their few constants. Whereas Feelings formed over collaborative jams with friends, Angelo's sessions presented Murphy and Stuart a chance to record at their most intimate, "to get us out of our grief and into our bodies," says Murphy. They explored new moods and styles, reaching for effervescent dance tempos and technicolor backdrops, vibrant hues in contrast to their more somber human experiences. Angelo beams with positivity and creative renewal _ a resourceful, collective answer to "what happens now?". Angelo the car is a 1981 Toyota Celica they got off Craigslist during their first stint in Los Angeles, where Murphy and Stuart have since settled. "Such a bro-y, `80s dude car, it's been super fun to drive around in a new town," Murphy says. "He's older than us, he's a classic, he's got a story." It is a spiritual vehicle with a cinematic appeal, first dropping them off in an alleyway for the scene-setting intro, "Which Way To The Club." The question is quickly resolved by "Take A Trip" as a cruising bassline mingles with crowd sounds, hand-claps, cuíca hiccups, whip-cracks, even a horse neigh. Brijean have found some club on this cross-dimensional trip - the kind of imagined space or chamber within one's self capable of "shifting a fraction of who you are," says Murphy. They wrote the track with the simple intention to be "as free as we could be," adds Stuart, likening the flip on the B section to a realm unlocked: "What if the world changed completely? You open the door to a new room." Next is "Shy Guy," a motivational anthem for the wallflowers among us. Murphy sets up the daydream: "We are in junior high, we're on the dance floor, what's going down, who is dancing, who is not, how are we gonna make them dance?" The narrator, the MC, hypes up the room as conga-driven rhythms bounce between languid synth and guitar lines. "Show me how to move...I feel something...I know you feel it too," Murphy sings sweetly, calling back to the opening lines of Feelings, and this time the audience chants it back. It is easy to picture Brijean performing this one - something they only got to do a handful of times until more recently, opening shows for Khruangbin and Washed Out, an experience they found informative. Murphy explains, "It was inspiring to be out there and let loose more. To see how people can expand their expression on stage gave me more liberty with how I viewed my musicianship. My role for so long was to be a backup percussionist, so why would I ever leave the drums, you know? But then after playing all these runs, you see these artists and realize you can, you have permission." "Angelo" and "Ooo La La" deliver the danciest stretch in Brijean's catalog to date. The title track adopts a deep house pulse replete with strings, hi-hats, and kicks. The latter opts for a funkier groove that foregoes verses in favor of warbled hums and extended breakdowns. What follows is perhaps the duo's dreamiest run, a comedown initiated with the honey-hued interlude "Colors" drifting into "Where Do We Go?", a tropicália reverie where Murphy contemplates the passage of time and space. It all culminates in "Caldwell's Way," a fond farewell to their Bay Area community - "a part of my life that I knew couldn't come back," says Murphy. Above shimmering organ sounds, lush strings, and the birdcall of their former neighborhood, she wistfully articulates the uncertainty of moving on by remembering the characters dear to them. There's the wisdom of their neighbor, Santos, who refused payment when helping them move out: "I'd rather have 100 friends than 100 dollars." And the song's namesake, Benjamin Caldwell Brown, a friend and club night cohort for many years. "I'm only miles away, maybe I'm just feeling lonely," the line resigns to warm nostalgia, and "Nostalgia" runs the closing credits to this healing and transportive collection.

We’re still harvesting the fruits of those past days in seclusion, the cabin fever induced creative outbursts, ideas that would probably have never surfaced without these enforced trips to our inner minds. Lockdown transcendence.

“Don’t Cry” by Italo-Brazilian DJ producer Stephan Barnem and Futuristant is another impressive testament of those days. Secluded in Stephan’s studio in Northern Italy, the duo subconsciously conjured the spirits of one of their mutual favorite bands, Depeche Mode and created a fierce, boombappy Neo New Wave smasher contrived to send rays of hope into the darkest corners of this mad world. We had to add a gratuitous beatless version to the EP that amplifies the cinematic depth and healing potency of this song.

If “Don’t Cry” echoes the dark brooding euphoria of Depeche Mode’s “Music For The Masses” era, the flipside cut “Elysium” harks back to the synthwave happy days of their debut “Speak & Spell”. It’s a wonderfully careless track that’s bringing a dearly needed breeze of fresh air to today’s discerning dancefloors.

Boys don’t cry for me Argentina. Save your tears for another day.

Wir ernten immer noch die Früchte jener vergangenen Tage in Abgeschiedenheit, der vom Lagerkoller verursachten kreativen Ausbrüche, Ideen, die ohne diese erzwungenen Reisen in unser Inneres wahrscheinlich nie entstanden wären. Lockdown-Transzendenz.

„Don’t Cry“ des italo-brasilianischen DJ-Produzenten Stephan Barnem und Futuristant ist ein weiteres beeindruckendes Zeugnis jener Tage. In der Abgeschiedenheit von Stephans Studio in Norditalien, beschwor das Duo unbewusst die Geister einer ihrer gemeinsamen Lieblingsbands, Depeche Mode, herauf und schuf einen wilden, boombappigen Neo-New-Wave-Smasher, der Licht in die dunkelsten Ecken dieser verrückten Welt senden wird. Wir mussten der EP eine Beatless-Version von “Don’t Cry” hinzufügen, die die filmische Tiefe und heilende Kraft dieses Songs noch verstärkt.

Wenn „Don’t Cry“ die dunkle, grüblerische Euphorie von Depeche Modes „Music For The Masses“-Ära widerspiegelt, erinnert der Flipside-Cut „Elysium“ an die Happy Synthwave-Tage ihres Debüts „Speak & Spell“. Es ist ein wunderbar sorgloser Track, der den dringend benötigten frischen Wind auf die anspruchsvollen Tanzflächen von heute bringt.

Boys don’t cry for me Argentina. Save your tears for another day.

Spawning from the Manchester music scene in 2008 and now sucking in members from all over the UK, the Riot Jazz Brass Band is a nine-piece genre-mashing, foot stomping party behemoth bringing the love buzz to ears and feet all over the world

New album RIOT JAZZ MAKES PEOPLE HAPPY is the culmination of a 15- year mission to spread joy and get people moving. With three trumpets, three trombones, sousaphone and drums bringing the noise and MC Chunky conducting the chaos, the result is a gleeful cacophony encompassing jazz,hip hop, drum 'n' bass, trap, grime and more.

The intoxicating sound and spirit of the Riot Jazz Brass Band, as well as its deep commitment to exploring all sorts of musical genre, has seen it tapped to collaborate with a variety of top artists and play at festivals across Europe.

One of the most established festival bands on the circuit with appearances at Glastonbury (West Holt Stage), Womad (Big Top), Jazz Sous Les Pommier (France) to Soundwave (Croatia) and everything in between. Recent UK tour last April/May all across the country.

Out of the many artists, both new and established, that Futurepast has welcomed to its family, Spanish producer and DJ Eduardo De La Calle is one that we can definitively call a legend. His vast discography includes many of dance music's most appreciated labels, so we're humbled to present a full EP from him.

His EP "Kardama" emerged as the winter of 2022 bled into 2023, a period where he'd actually been producing more downtempo works, so "Kardama" is his most recent take on techno; a genre he is certainly well-versed in with over 25 years experience.

As a reflective work, De La Calle processes emotions and thoughts with analog methods, reverse delays and pedals on "Kardama". The emotions that he holds close to himself show up in the detail that sits deeper within each track.

"I simply make music with the intention of feeling better" says De La Calle, "it is a therapy for my mind and for my spiritual state. Through a creative process, I feel calm and useful for the world and for myself."

On Giver Taker, the gorgeous debut album by Anjimile, death and life are always entwined, wrapping around each other in a dance of reverence, reciprocity, and, ultimately, rebirth. Giver Taker is confident, intentional and introspective. Anjimile Chithambo (they/them, he/him) wrote much of the album while in treatment for drug and alcohol abuse, as well as while in the process of living more fully as a nonbinary trans person. Loss hovers over the album, whose songs grieve for lost friends ("Giver Taker") and family members ("1978") along with lost selves ("Maker," "Baby No More," "In Your Eyes.") But here, grief yields an opening: a chance for new growth. Each song on the album is its own micro-journey, adding up to a transformative epic cycle created in collaboration with bandmate Justine Bowe of Photocomfort and New-York based artist/producer Gabe Goodman. "1978" and "Maker" both begin as Sufjan Stevens-esque pastoral ballads with Chithambo's mesmerizing voice foregrounded against minimal instrumentation and swell into the realm of the majestic through the addition of warm, steady instrumentation (informed by the mix of 80's pop and African music Chithambo's Malawi-born parents played around the house) and harmonies by Bowe. "In Your Eyes" starts out hushed and builds to a crescendo via a mighty chorus inspired by none other than the Lion King. The allusion is fitting: each song encapsulates a heroic voyage, walked alone until accompanied by kindred souls. The choirs present throughout are equally deliberate. Chithambo grew up as a choir boy himself, and several songs (notably "Maker") grasp not only towards reconciliation between his trans identity and his parents' strong religious beliefs, but towards reclaiming his trans identity as an essential part of his own spirituality.