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In 2022, the Vienna Philharmonic's New Year's Concert could once again take place in front of an audience. However, 2G-plus rules and an FFP2 mask requirement applied throughout the Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde building in Vienna. Standing room was not offered this year and the number of seats in the Golden Hall was limited to 1,000.

Daniel Barenboim performed with the Vienna Philharmonic as a young pianist as early as 1965, and he has also conducted them since 1989. He already took the podium at the tradition-steeped New Year's Concert in 2009 and 2014. Barenboim's engagements as head of the Berlin State Opera Unter den Linden and the Staatskapelle Berlin, as founder and director of the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra, and as a pianist show him to be a true musical citizen of the world. As such, he is also an exceptionally good fit for Vienna's world-class orchestra and the message of the New Year's Concert: hope, friendship and peace for the whole world.

At the start of the new year, the Vienna Philharmonic once again presented a cheerful, upbeat and contemplative program of symphonic waltzes, polkas and marches by the Strauss dynasty and its contemporaries. The 2022 program showed a clear reference to the fantastic and fairytale-like. In addition to the phoenix, a siren and an indeterminate number of brownies and nymphs, there was also Johann Strauss' waltz "One Thousand and One Nights".

Six pieces had their premiere at a New Year's concert in 2022. The "Phoenix March", the Polka mazur "The Siren" and the Polka française "Nymph Polka" were performed by Josef Strauss. Eduard Strauss was represented with the quick polka "Kleine Chronik", Carl Michael Ziehrer with the waltz "Nachtschwärmer" and Joseph Hellmesberger with the character piece "Heinzelmännchen" among the repertoire novelties.

There is the 50th anniversary of the UNESCO World Heritage Convention to celebrate in 2022, which Austria also joined 30 years ago. In the intermission film of the concert, the twelve Austrian World Heritage sites showed themselves from their best side. Schönbrunn Palace in Vienna, on the World Heritage List since 1996, was also the setting for the ballet interlude with ten dancers from the Vienna State Ballet to the waltz "One Thousand and One Nights." The second performance was created at the Spanish Riding School, which has been designated as a UNESCO Intangible World Heritage Site since 2015. Eight magnificent Lipizzaner stallions and their riders demonstrated the high school of classical horsemanship to Josef Strauss's "Nymph Polka".

The phoenix, a very special bird from ancient Greek mythology, burns at the end of its life cycle, only to rise again from its ashes. The Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra paid tribute to it twice. The concert began with the "Phoenix March", followed by the waltz "Phoenix Swing". Such a concert opening - with a march and a waltz - should be a sign. It is to be hoped that a rebirth and renewal in the new year can really take place.

Martina Topley Bird’s new studio album ‘Forever I Wait’, features collaborations and arrangements from Robert Del Naja of Massive Attack, Euan Dickenson, Rich Morel, Christoffer Berg, Benjamin Boeldt and Tiadiad.

'Forever I Wait' is Topley-Bird’s fourth long awaited studio album and her very first self-produced and curated piece of work to date. The album, set for a digital release on September 10th, with a vinyl LP available to pre-order now, captures an extensive journey confronting, exploring, analysing and reflecting on the devastating fragilities of life as it ultimately seeks to make peace with what life is.

A sentient and sensual presence framed Tricky’s trip-hop pioneering white label debut release, Aftermath. Hauntingly unique and immediately recognisable, that voice became the defining timbre of a new music movement. Behind this voice was mysteriously soft-spoken, London-born Martina Topley-Bird, whose exquisite voice came to inspire and infuse other pioneering artists across all genres.

“It’s a trip through different emotional states and frequencies, mostly dark, from insecurity and desire, all the way through to serenity and acceptance with themes that resonate from my young teens all the way through till today. Things that I’ve seen and things I’ve felt and worked through, although sometimes I sense them trying to return”

“Forever I Wait”, as the title alludes, was written and re-written over a long period of time.

“I had to change my way of relating to music and the music industry in order to make the record I wanted to make.…and that took time. And I took the time I needed. I started in London, moved and lived in America for the first time in my life, then briefly moved back to London and finished the record in Spain.”

“After trying to work on a new record for a couple of years, I came to a realisation that in order to move forward I had to separate the concept and vision I had for this record from me as a person. I had to shift my perspective. That was a big personal win and the beginning of “Forever I Wait.”

'Forever I Wait' leans on a multitude of tense sounds, dubby atmospherics and natural instrumentation to demand the listeners attention leading to over two decades of observations, experiences and musical sacrifices. It is a bi-product of the new perspective featuring carefully selected and tailored supporting arrangements from a handful of collaborators including Robert del Naja (Massive Attack), Rich Morel (Deep Dish), Christoffer Berg (Fever Ray) and Benjamin Boeldt (Adventure).

A truthful expression of desire and heartache “Forever I Wait “Is Topley Bird’s most precise and accurate album to date.

EXTLP ist stark im bombastischen Rave-Sound verwurzelt, aber es gibt viel mehr als nur rasenden Techno und halsbrecherische Breakbeats auf diesem Album. Auf den 15 Tracks reissen Modeselektor durch mutierende Crunk-Verzerrungen, glitchige Dub-Meditationen und Neon-Synthie-Pop. EXTLP wartet mit einem Staraufgebot an Gästen aus der ganzen Welt auf, darunter Dub-Veteran Paul St. Hilaire, die britische Rapperin Flohio, die Avant-Pop-Regelbrecherin Catnapp und der legendäre Einstürzende Neubauten-Frontmann Blixa Bargeld. Nach dem Mixtape "Extended" und den drei darauf folgenden EPs ist EXTLP der letzte Teil der vielleicht produktivsten Phase von Modeselektors gesamter Karriere.

Boy Harsher’s latest release, ‘The Runner (Original Soundtrack)’, is an exorcism.

Augustus Muller and Jae Matthews’ fifth release entitled ‘The Runner (Original Soundtrack)’ is not a traditional album. Rather, it is the soundtrack to a short film, also entitled ‘The Runner’. The film, written, produced, and directed by the duo, is a searching horror film, attached to a meta-style “documentary” about Boy Harsher’s recording process. The album includes several distinct components: cinematic arrangements, vocal features, and of course classic Boy Harsher dark pop.

Both the album and short film will be released in January 2022.

Last year, in the midst of the obvious chaos (the global pandemic), but additionally with Jae’s MS diagnosis, Augustus started working on moody, cinematic sketches. It was uncertain what these pieces would become, other than catharsis. In Jae’s period of convalescence, she kept thinking about this sinister character: a woman running through the woods. Together, they developed this idea further into a film. They were unable to tour, a drastic (and isolating) shift in their career, and making ‘club music’ did not feel right. But there was so much they needed to get out. The next Boy Harsher release would be a reconciliation of this time. The album processes feelings of universal anxiety and the confrontation of at home illness. A necessary expulsion during a time of unrest.

The album opens with “Tower”. The only track on ‘The Runner (Original Soundtrack)’ that Boy Harsher has previously played live, but never recorded. The song is an incantation, with its pulsing synth and Jae’s begging vocals. A spell about desire and impending destruction. Jae asks 'But are you honest? Do you trust? You trust in me?' Questions answered by her desperate yells. It starts both the film and the soundtrack with a heavy presence.

Two songs on ‘The Runner (Original Soundtrack)’ feature vocalists other than Jae Matthews. He allows a distinct sound for both vocalists and really leans into the possibility of divergent genres. “Machina”, is a HI-NRG homage, performed by Mariana Saldaña of Boan, and “Autonomy” a new wave tribute, performed by Cooper B. Handy of Lucy. Augustus Muller fully embraces the soundtrack ethos, by creating fictional ‘bands’ to generate additional content.

‘The Runner (Original Soundtrack)’ is exactly what’s in the name: a soundtrack. At first the shape of the release was nebulous - yet once realized the album is dynamic. It serves as the story of the running figure and her musical accompaniment. Those expecting a traditional release will be surprised, but not disappointed.

With the release of SOUL FOOD 3, KOGNITIF exquisitely completes the SOUL FOOD trilogy and invites you for this feast he started 7 years ago.

Your host is generous and consistent: Punch for starters, chill for the main course and groovy cake for dessert, all of which sprinkled with Electro vibes, Hip-Hop beats, soul and blues. The basics of any healthy diet.

Chef's special suggestion ?

...Have some more Good Mood !

Grey Vinyl

Polymorphism Records continue their intercultural and cross-genre work with their third release E Source. Female vocals return to the label with four original tracks by Russian artist Sestrica, who brings in her characteristic emotional narrative. A remix by Konx Om Pax and
a rework by Antwood make up the crew boarding on a galactic grey/silver vinyl.

PM003 takes off with electro-to-techno beats fuelled by a mild, wrapping acid melody in Today We Meet, where the uplifting countdown to launch can be felt. Sentimental Value gets
us deeper into the spatial trip. Darker samples and a heavier bassline give extra gravity to the anthem of the journey across sonic galaxies. Floating to slow, surrounding sounds and loops we land on a calmer planet called Intention. Its tidal sensation is created by an
orchestral combination of meditative vocals and other layers of composition. New Era enters an orbit of elegant syncopation within a rotating reverb stardust. Ancestral beeps subtly acknowledge legacy to be taken forward to the next odyssey.

Musician and graphical artist Konx Om Pax from Glasgow beautifully introduces nostalgia to New Era with playful breaks and scratches, getting us back to our roots in this excursion visiting alien territoires. Sestrica’s vocals from her original track are drawn into the remix as
echoing words rendering a mysterious aura, travelling through a deep trance of diverse yet harmonic rhythms and effects. A journey within a journey.

Canadian producer Antwood’s rework of side A jumps into an epic vortex of more experimental, unexpected sounds. The album-closer builds up towards absolute chaos, to then create a vacuum to emptiness. A supermassive (tribute to black holes intended) drop
leads to the last minutes of the EP: up tempo cyber-influenced sounds that bring us to a bright futuristic landscape ironically far from a dystopian prophecy.

Purely coincidental fact: the last track of PM002’s originals being Crisis Apparition and its homologue in PM003 New Era, hope seems to be peeking through current times to send an accidental message with this first series of the label.

Mind the overuse of Space metaphors; in this year 2021 where humans are going farther and further in exploring new places out there, it is a tribute and celebration to discover new musical journeys like this out here, on Earth.

Environmental sustainability and social justice are core values of Polymorphism Records. Following their strong interest in contributing to a good cause, shown from the early days, all Bandcamp digital sales are donated to projects such as Team Trees or The Ocean Cleanup.meet f B3 E Source side A (Antwood rework)

A year after his debut on Atomnation, Milio unveils his exceptional first album Nachtzon. Due for release on October 8th, the 12-track album showcases the Dutchman's flair for escapist melodic sounds.

Email van den Dungen started this solo alias in 2020 after previous success as part of the Tunnelvisions duo. But he has ways been a skilled pianist from a musical family, which explains why his well-crafted, emotive melodies always make such an indelible mark. He has a love of beautiful voicings, coloring, melody and harmonies. Personal relationships and close friendships also instill his music with a sense of fun and honest connection and he is someone who spends hours honing his craft, practicing theory and growing ever more conformable with his array of both vintage and modern synths, pianos, guitars and drums. All of this translates to this debut album, which is an expansive affair stuffed with gorgeous grooves and real musicality.

Nachtzon is a widescreen record that proudly wears its heart on its sleeve.

REPRESS!

Marcos Valle - Mentira

Valle is a Brazilian singer, instrumentalist, songwriter and record producer of the highest order. His roots lie in Bossa Nova and he was one of the youngest talents in the scene, extensively touring the USA and residing there for many years. Valle's music crosses touches many styles including samba, rock, soul, jazz, boogie and disco.

Signed by Odeon in 1963, he recorded ten studio albums for them between 1964 and 1974. He also recorded for Verve, Warner and Som Livre among others.

Mentira is a re-record of his own song 'Mentira Carioca' - released four years earlier by Odeon - and appears on his 1973 LP 'Previsão Do Tempo' on Odeon.


Toni Tornado - Me Libertei

This is the second track that we have re-issued by the one and only Toni Tornado, master of Brazilian Funk.

His career began as 'Tony Checker', lip syncing to rock 'n' roll hits and touring extensively outside of Brazil. Whilst in New York he met Tim Maia and became involved in the 'Black Rio' movement. Toni also worked with Ed Lincoln and Antonio Adolfo amongst many others. He had a successful acting career and starred in many soap opera's.

It appears alongside 'O Jornaleiro' on his sought after BR-3 LP from 1971 on Odeon. 'Me Libertei' has never been released on a 7.

Ambassador's Reception head-honcho Stevie Kotey has started sorting out his archives. Relaunching the label and assuming the pseudonym Steamy Windows he's been dusting off and souping up crowd-pleasing cuts by the score. The first fruits of this labour to be made public will be One Of Those Nights – a collaboration with cool Californian dude, Woolfy – King Of The Sun-Baked Balearic Boogie. The two of them turning in a breathless bedroom berserka of balmy, heat-stroked, blue-eyed electro street soul – suitable for fans of Apiento, Harriett Brown and Lexx' Cosmic Shift long-player. Its bass bumping bionically, keys and guitar blown in like a breeze.

Percussion-like seashells gently washed and made to shine by the tide. While Woolfy's whispers are the male equivalent of Brenda Ray's intimate coo. I've been privy to six mixes that range from a beatless ambient calm – showing off the electric axe work and celestial synthetic flute – to bottom-end bolstered dub. L.U.C.A's Quirky Version puts the beat right up front – big snares behind treated vocal fragments. Gating everything for a trippy, serenely stoned glide. Taken altogether this sextet forms a kind of suite, finally refocusing on the love song at its root.

Dr.Rob (Ban Ban Ton Ton)


b 02: One of Those Nights (Beach Hotdog) feat. Woolfy
c 03: One of Those Nights (No Vox) feat. Woolfy
d 04: One of Those Nights (L.u.c.a Quirky Version) [feat. Woolfy & L.u.c.a]
[e] 05: One of Those Nights (Green Mix) [feat. Woolfy]
[feat. Woolfy]

Gwendoline, is a duo-antihero of the Rennes indie scene. Sensitive loosers and jaded start-up nation greats, Micka and Pierre shape their own style, a dark shlag wave in a percussive and poetic spoken-word style, with counter discussions as their primary source of inspiration, looking at those around them. Between fatalistic lyrics, self-deprecation, sarcasm and bitterness of the world's mediocrity, their sincere cold-wave is the symbol of a disenchanted youth and the perfect soundtrack to protest.

In 2017, they recorded their first album by locking themselves up for a fortnight to compose everything in one go, feeding off their daily environment in Rennes, numerous evenings spent at the bar and the anxieties of our time. At first self-produced on Bandcamp, this album "Après c'est Gobelet!" is pressed in confidence on vinyl in June 2020 on the Spanish indie label Dead Wax Records, whose stocks run out before the end of the year and which is now unavailable in France.

At the end of 2020, Gwendoline has also seen the doors of the Trans Musicales open to her, a favourite of Jean-Louis Brossard, for a live show at the Ubu, captured by FIP & Culturebox and accompanied by Maëlan and Romain, their stage accomplices.

Written without pretension and ambition, the duo is surprised by the interest shown in the project, between their programming at the Transmusicales, and the feedback from the press including major international media (KEXP, France TV, Les Inrocks, Post Punk Magazine...).

A video clip was released in April 2021 to illustrate one of their flagship tracks, the heady and heady "Chevalier Ricard", which was also a favourite of Franck Vergeade, music editor of Les Inrockuptibles (January 2021).

Gwendoline is the project from Micka (a.k.a. Mikoune) and Pierre (a.k.a. Daniel).

Based in Rennes, musically influenced by the classic cold wave which originated in their country, precarious and aimless, they shape Gwendoline to their own image.

Pure DIY ethics, quick recordings at their home studio.

Dark lyrics, self-mockery, criticism, sarcasm derived from the world’s mediocrity.

Hypernatural, comprises of Dan Whitford, better known as one of the pillars of Melbourne heavyweights Cut Copy, Mirko Vogel, the engineer extraordinaire who has recorded for Modular and Room40, and Mike Gamwell, also known as Knightlife, who’s racked up several releases on Cut Copy’s own Cutters Records. You could say their roots are in Melbourne, Australia, but it seems unfair to pinpoint the trio to any specific location.

That’s because their sound lies somewhere deep in misty forests, or half-remembered dreams and subconscious wells of ancestral emotion. The transformative power of these 7 tracks was no accident however. The music was pieced together during two trips - one to the remote Swedish coast and another to the Scottish highlands. The three producers used a set of guidelines that allowed each of them to compose and arrange tracks separately yet collectively, like a connected Oblique Strategy. They took inspiration from the stark beauty of their natural surroundings, which had a huge effect on the music they were making.

The resulting tracks inhabit a world of their own, full of shimmering arpeggios and drifting pads, taut drums and sound effects. The opening track Longboat cruises into view with white noise washes and galley master rhythms, conjuring Old Norse battleships and a sense of sailing the open sea, destination unknown. The single Stormfront is a depth-charged deep house burner, bristling with atmospheric energy and rolling like thunder. With its cascading synth arpeggios and weighty drops, it swells like moody clouds on the horizon and releases tension like the first rain of a summer storm.

Hypernatural particularly succeeds in its world-building, and there’s a cohesion to the tracks despite their many differences in tempo and style. Spirit Walk joins marimbas with modular pulses, as well as slide guitar and snappy shakers, to bring out some Ry Cooder swagger. Unknown Caller taps into the phone line at the speed of 5G, sending breakbeats down the wire on a cold calling mission to recruit ravers for the next after hours. But there are also tracks nodding to blissed-out comedowns and daydreams. Both Changing Tides and New Dawn slow down time to an introspective moment, a catch of the breath, the witness to a beautiful moment. Album closer Valley harks back to classic rave-era ambient, an avalanche of optimism down a majestic mountainside.

Hypernatural evokes panoramic vistas and serene countryside, and you could certainly imagine it soundtracking a hike along coastal hills, or a field at a festival. But it also resides beyond the pastoral, finding a home in airport departure lounges and autobahn service stations, until it eventually settles down inside us - even without the headphones on.

Stormfront
Hypernatural’s single Stormfront is a depth-charged house-tempo burner, bristling with atmospheric energy and rolling like thunder. With its cascading synth arpeggios, raindance incantation and weighty drops, it swells like moody clouds on the horizon, and releases tension like the first rain of a summer storm.

MOTOR CITY SCENE, also released as Stardust, by American saxophonist PEPPER ADAMS and trumpeter DONALD BYRD, was recorded in 1960 and released on the Bethlehem label. Donald Byrd and Pepper Adams—and their ace band, including Kenny Burrell, Tommy Flanagan & Paul Chambers—deliver what is one of the finest performances of “Stardust” you’ll ever hear on this album. And that’s just the first track; this is Donald Byrd hitting his first peak, and summoning a band behind him that was formidable, and deft.

Punchline: Enjoy this first single "Waiting For A Star To Fall" from swedish allstar band AT THE MOVIES, doing unique cover versions of their favourite movie songs. Taken from their upcoming album "The Soundtrack of Your Life - Vol. 2" and with members from Pretty Maids, HammerFall, King Diamond, The Nightflight Orchestra, Therion and more! 1. SINGLE - 12.11.21 „Waiting for a star to fall“ 2. SINGLE - 19.11.21 „Last Christmas“ 3. SINGLE - 10.12. „(I Just) Died In Your Arms“ 07.01.22 on album release day): - „Heaven Is A Place On Earth“ FOCUS TRACK: „(I Just) Died In Your Arms“ "Everyone has their own memories and associations with the great songs of the classic films of the 80s and 90s! AT THE MOVIES put the Corona-related time in quarantine to good use and put their soft spot into action, creating unique new interpretations of these classic Soundtrack hymns. The initial spark for this project was ignited by Chris Laney (PRETTY MAIDS), who chatted about the idea with his musician colleagues Allan Sørensen (PRETTY MAIDS, ROYAL HUNT) and Morten Sandager (PRETTY MAIDS, MERCENARY) as well as Björn ""Speed"" Strid (THE NIGHT FLIGHT ORCHESTRA, SOILWORK) and AT THE MOVIES was born. Metal-Heavyweights such as Pontus Norgren (HAMERFALL), Pontus Egberg (KING DIAMOND, WOLF) and Linnéa Vikström Egg (KAMELOT, THERION) as well as illustrious guests such as Ronnie Atkins (PRETTY MAIDS), Jacob Hansen (producer of VOLBEAT, PRIMAL FEAR) and Bruce Kulick (ex-KISS) completed the project, from which the albums ""The Soundtrack Of Your Life"" with Vol.1 (eighties) and Vol.2 (nineties) emerged. Featured are evergreens such “No Easy Way Out”, “Maniac”, “St. Elmo's Fire "", ""The Power Of Love "", ""The Heat Is On"", ""The Neverending Story"", ""The One And Only "", ""(I Just) Died In Your Arms"", ""(You Drive Me) Crazy"", ""Heaven Is A Place On Earth "", ""Crush "", ""I've Been Thinking About You"" and ""Venus""- all catchy tunes that you know and love, in a new, exciting and fascinating metal outfit. "

2 x 180 gr heavy weight vinyl in deluxe matte-finish Gatefold cover + Download Card) Flowers From The Ashes is the latest multi-artist project to bear the acclaimed Stroboscopic Artefacts imprimatur. Silvia Kastel, Andrea Belfi, Marco Shuttle, Ninos Du Brasil, Alessandro Adriani, Chevel, Lucy, Lory D, Caterina Barbieri & Neel Flowers From The Ashes is the latest multi-artist project to bear the acclaimed Stroboscopic Artefacts imprimatur. There is a sensibility of decadence and corroded grandeur etched within its four album sides, reminding us that historically 'decadent' times have nonetheless resulted in some of the boldest acts of individual and collective creativity. Like the 'floral' theme that has remained a consistent feature of S.A.'s graphic presentation, the music here equally presents fragility and intensity in a way that really drives home this visual metaphor for good, while still holding out the promise that similar creations will be seeded in the near future.Though many of the artists involved have set of residence outside of their native Italy, all contribute here to make a captivating portrait of a shared spirit and cultural memory. The album opens with 'Errori,' deceptively fragile sonic ornaments crafted and suspended in space by Blackest Ever Black artist Silvia Kastel. This is followed closely by the mellifluous, warming glow of percussionist Andrea Belfi's 'Spitting & Skytouching,' and then by the resolute electric bass patterns and luminous fog of 'Lux et Sonus,' from Eeri label head Marco Shuttle. Hospital Productions alumnus Ninos du Brasil open the B-side with a similarly dense, amorphous construction built from tribalistic chants and rhythmic patterns, to be followed by Mannequin label boss Alessandro Adriani's 'You Will Not Be There For The End,' showcasing his distinctive take on the 'paranoiac breakdance' aesthetic of classic EBM. S.A. veteran Chevel rounds out the first record in the program by interlacing several percolating synth lines together into a richly conversational piece.The journey continues with 'Starving The Mind,' an undulating mini-epic from S.A. founder Lucy that is animated by his signature balance of seductiveness and concentration. The bright, biting acid synth tones of 'PRV-HH3-X', by Lory D, then takes a sharp right turn into an invisible metropolis ruled by reflective high fashion and hidden intrigue. The imposing architecture of 'Virgo Rebellion,' designed by modular synth futurist Caterina Barbieri, acts as an excellent companion piece, and sets up the closing '4G' from Spazio Disponibile co-founder Neel - a crepuscular serenade that accurately sums up much of the foregoing activity.

To start the year 2014, Stroboscopic Artefacts bring you SA021 - a remixes selection of tracks from Lucy's forthcoming LP Churches Schools and Guns. In presenting four of the album cuts in altered impressions, SA021 helps the label keep on re-examining the timbres, tones and textures of techno.

First up is the unsettled edit of 'Catch Twenty Two' by the young Italian producer Shapednoise. The infamous Heller novel of the same name (though in numerals rather than letters) was a satirical rampage through the futility and tragedy of conflict; this is also a rampage, littered with opaque utterances of sonic thrust, stood stoutly on an unpredictable and emotional structure of aural dissonance. Following this is the Italian maestro Donato Dozzy and his presentation of 'The Illusion of Choice'. The track bounds along like a train through the jungle, powered by a distant rumble and purring synths. Skittering and melodic percussion sounds a little like birds; the drums are made of rawhide, strong, insistent, controlled. Third in line is the remix of 'Laws and Habits' by Milton Bradley. This cut is hypnosis with little regard - not an accident, but effortless. Metallic distortion buzzes like bees across your head, zipping across the top of delicate hi-hats and an elastic groove. This is a walk through the 4am night, appreciative of the glimmering streetlamps, and fearful of nothing. Last is Eomac's rework of 'The Self As Another', bringing the record to a resonant conclusion. One half of label favourite Lakker, the Irish producer begins with a melody line cut from razor-sharp cloth. The pulsating beat is dressed in metallic shimmer, confidently pursuing a dangerous course. And yet there is a pause amid this brief insistence, a moment of perspective, perspicacity. The record considers its place, and asks for contemplation.

With a selection this strong, and of such ideas and identities, this contemplation is surely a worthy vice. This may be a prelude to the full record, but it is a cut made of vehement conviction.

The third release for Stroboscopic Artefacts in 2014, SA22 is the new cut from Italian producer Chevel. 'One Month Off' is an EP built around the abstract themes of construction, starting with demolition and ending on perspective. Opening track 'One Month Off' combines a warm thump with skittering percussion. Ragged cymbals build pressure. As the track continues to strut, through insistence as much as confidence, it gives out. 'The Wall', next up, is perhaps misleadingly a more unsettled affair. There is little linear impetus, a panoply of syncopated beats and foreign noises from the undergrowth. This is a wall of multitudinous surface, a front concealing the unsettled and unsure within. 'Cave Dwellings' is a more organic construct, building from the traditional basics of a kick drum and hi hat. Like the opening number this is a confident piece, but the Caves resonate with greater darkness and menace. The kick squelches at the bottom, the snare drips; glistening echoes bound through the chamber. 'Marker Shop' is fourth up, uniting disparate urges and glorious moods. The beat is uncomfortable, and repeatedly gives way. The record closes on 'Viewpoint', a piece of warmer perspective. It is not, however, a calm scene: in many ways this is a view of something more unsettled than what has come before. It is both jungular and industrial, an uncompromising marriage of nature and noise. Chevel lands, then, on SA, with a discussion of construction and constructs.

His partnership with the label has already resulted in a collaboration with Modern Heads, as well as one of the first entries in the Monad series, and now a fascinating new EP that showcases his talent for testing the limits of perception.
Alistair Wells is a producer whose current work is synonymous with a kind of benevolent intensity: he excels at sculpting tonally rich and percussively complex tracks that seem to both enlighten and confront. Under his most well-known alias as Perc, he has established a deep roster on his Perc Trax label to carry out a similar-minded program, and has built up a formidable arsenal of EPs and singles in the wake of enigmatic LPs like 2011's Wicker & Steel. His 'eclectic-yet disciplined' methodology practically guaranteed he would eventually come into the orbit of Stroboscopic Artefacts. His partnership with the label has already resulted in a collaboration with Modern Heads, as well as one of the first entries in the Monad series, and now a fascinating new EP that showcases his talent for testing the limits of perception.

The ominously titled opener "Death of Rebirth" - a title hinting at some form of hellish repetition - starts things off with a sense of dark premonition. Yet, in signature Perc style, that aura of uneasiness beckons listeners to explore further rather than to flee from it: in this context, the reliable 4/4 kick drum throb is the only means of orienting oneself or angling through a glassy and metallic labyrinth where foreign objects conspire to make previously unimagined percussive noises. "Negative Space" is a variation upon this theme of trying to maintain focus within a foreign environment bristling with strange enticements and potential dangers: with the kick pattern from the previous pice still acting as a trusty guide, new sound forms arise at every turn: a novel sort of hybridized piano / gamelan tone, a shuddering assembly line, and snaking delay feedbacks. Like dub music meant to be listened to in a hall of mirrors, "Negative Space" induces a heady feeling of multiplying realities.

The closing "Ma", if translated into Japanese, can mean "space / pause" and thus acts as a nice complement to "Negative Space." However, this massive, side-long audio force field dispenses with the previous tracks' steady pulse, and suggests a rigorous act of ritual contemplation taking place in the midst of phenomenal chaos and challenging blows to the body. "Ma" succeeds in modernizing the industrial-era rhythmic invocations of artists like Z'ev, achieving an almost classical solemnity without sacrificing Perc's usual love for cleverly maniuplated electricity. Altogeher, 'Ma' is an eye-opening, ear-infliltrating statement that will warp your understandings of time and space in a most exquisite way.

Hot on the heels of his preliminary EP on Stroboscopic Artefacts, Embryo, which paved the way to the present album, and two years after the landing of his 2016-released inaugural LP, Montagne Trasparenti, Mannequin helmsman Alessandro Adriani returns with his highly anticipated full-length debut for SA, Morphic Dreams. Throughout eleven cuts painstakingly executed but lacking not an iota of the fresh, spontaneous oomph that made his sound stand out of the crowd of techno producers to have emerged over the past decade, Adriani lays the foundations to a suspended sound imaginarium, governed by its own rules and principles of gravity. Revolving around the notions of sublimation and quest for inner balance, Morphic Dreams is comprised of four distinct sequences, conceived and designed as reflections of four mental states, each of them linked to the four alchemical elements i.e. Water, Earth, Air and Fire here represented by the A, B, C and D-sides. Fluid and enveloping, the A-side bathes the listener in some zero-G uterine vortex, pitching and rolling from the slo-burning exotic sensuality and tribal spell of The Tropical Year to the trunk-bending, arpeggiated fast-track pulse of Storm Trees, through Raindances feverish electro swing. Entering a further abrasive, minerally rich phase, the B-side unleashes Adrianis dark side with optimum conviction. Deeply anchored in earthly materiality, this new evolution stage starts off to the frantic Italo bass of Dissolving Images, rushing headlong into a kaleidoscopic maelstrom of fractured reflections and nasty Giallo-like ambience. The delirious body stretch sequence then rather abruptly swerves onto a calmer flux with Dust/Mist, a much enticingly hip-swaying collaboration with Simon Crab, ex-member of the seminal 80s UK industrial-experimental band Bourbonese Qualk, before Casting The Runes engulfs us into a tormented world of swollen eeriness and disquieting esoterism. Back to a widescreen showcase of droney distortions, nasty acid swashes and other quirky drum programming, Hors De Combat opens a new chapter, shortly followed by the playful bass intricacies and modular jeu-de-piste of Invisible Seekers, featuring Avian affiliate and longtime friend Shawn OSullivan. A further mind-expanding piece, C-side closer Crow deploys its blackened wings wide and high as a chaos of martial percussions and liquefying synths slivers crash past the red-hot skyline. A fluttering melodic interlude, Things About To Disappear blazes a clean trail for Make Words Split And Crack to flourish, slowly but surely blooming into a nonstop grandiose twelve minute-shy finale geared up with the stirring cacophonic force of a Ligetian symphony and something of an epic-scale Kubrickian soundtrack.

Integrating equal parts black metal savagery and rock n' roll defiance, Vancouver’s WORMWITCH saw their debut album, "Strike Mortal Soil", released worldwide through Prosthetic Records on May 12th, 2017. Hailing from Vancouver, Canada, an early incarnation of the group was more of a hardcore/punk band but as the band’s influence of Celtic Frost, Darkthrone and Disfear started showing up more in their music, they chose to rebrand themselves as Wormwitch. In October of 2015, they released their first EP, The Long Defeat. In early 2016, No Clean Signing premiered a new track, Coffin Birth, describing it as a “high-octane rush of deep, grinding riffs, piston-driven drumming, and thundering bass, with a heavy-as-hell production.” It was then that they caught the attention of Prosthetic Records and soon a worldwide deal was struck.

Next up on FT, young sound-king Nick León with an incredible 5 track EP. Miami-based León forms his massive world of sound production and design into Future Times shapes. The EP follows up releases on labels like NAAFI and Tra Tra Trax (and more) with a planet of sounds and modes, crossing back and forth into techno and his polyrhythmatic styles. The A-Side plays like a scene, all three tracks connected and growing, meshing classic synth pop hooks and serious percussion dexterity in "Blue Data" and "Scavenger Hunt", along with a stripped down pearl to start things off with in "Igneous Drums". B-Side sees the anthemic, levitating techno of "Gum Tree" and a collaboration with Miami's Greg Beto (NI UN PERO, LIES) in the tunnel-driving, splacked electro cut "Sewer System" - TIP!

Limited Edition

Venom: Let There Be Carnage is highly anticipated 2021 superhero film featuring the Marvel Comics character Venom. It is intended to be the second film in Sony’s Spider-Man Universe and the sequel to Venom (2018). The film is directed by Andy Serkis from a screenplay by Kelly Marcel, based on a story she wrote with Tom Hardy who stars as Eddie Brock / Venom alongside Michelle Williams, Naomie Harris, Reid Scott, Stephen Graham, and Woody Harrelson.

After their first album “Vertigo” (2018), the Paris-based musicians making up BLOW are back with the indie-pop album “Shake the Disease”. Produced by Crayon, this surprising new chapter is a collec- tion of purer, more organic sounds with a somewhat 70’s/80’s tilt. A return to basics, one that doesn’t turn its back on reality.

The changes are radical as the need was strong to surprise people including themselves, to think outside the box. They went for radical changes: a new method of song writing, a new musical genre, a new way of working, ... But the group’s fans should be reassured: even if the electronics have given way to a more rock-inspired sound, and the chords are a bit richer, and even if the bass, the driving element of each song, is stronger than ever, “Shake the Disease” is pure BLOW.

In terms of the lyrics, a common thread appears: duality. Without ever giving way to schizophrenia, this duality of “what I’d like to be” versus “what I really am” stands at the center of the chessboard. Legitimate and healthy questions give rise to life changes that almost all of us ask ourselves when en- tering into our thirties, just like the members of BLOW. Coming to terms with all this mentally without losing our instincts or our spontaneity, is the guiding idea behind this second album.
Coming back strong, BLOW started dropping uplifting single and live session «Full Delight» and more recently «One Life», both supported in France and abroad by Greenroom, Tsugi radio, The Inde-pendent, Ones to Watch, Hotmix, Brain, Vanyaland, Kulturnews, Laut.de, DetektorFM...
This third extract is «Shake The Disease», a laid back single coming along with a COLORS session including breathtaking performances from Quentin (singer of BLOW) and the only featuring of the album, praised female songwriter and singer Anna Majidson from French duo HAUTE (also featured on COLORS a few years back).

The seventh album, The Night Before, by the Belgian band Hooverphonic was originally released in 2010 and marked a new period in their existence. Singer Geike Arnaert left the band and was replaced by Noémie Wolfs. The new formation worked out well, since the album went platinum in Belgium. The two singles “The Night Before” and “Anger Never Dies” entered the top five of the Flemish single chart.

The Night Before is available on black vinyl.

3-LP on 180-gram vinyl, housed in a two-piece box. Limited-Edition of 9,000 (WW). Liner Notes By Jesse Jarnow & Michael Parrish. Audio timing and speed correction by Plangent Processes and newly mastered by Jeffrey Norman. Available for the first time on Vinyl. Not available in other official physical or digital formats. Produced for release by David Lemieux.

A mandatory disc for those who loved Europe and Fair Warning, but highly recommended for those who love good music of those years.“ METAL HAMMER (IT), Andrea Lami „OUT OF THIS WORLD has it all. An album and musicians who will give you total happiness!“ METAL INTEGRAL (F), Laudrome „This album was just sheer enjoyment from start to finish“ METAL TEMPLE (ISR), Will Travers "1988 saw the release of Swedish hard rock superstars EUROPE‘s fourth album entitled “Out Of This World”, which has sold over 3 million units to date and contains hits such as “Open Your Heart”, “Superstitious” and “Let The Good Times Rock” . Ex-EUROPE guitarist Kee Marcello intends to tie in with that era’s style with his new formation that he recruited the perfect companion for: FAIR WARNING-vocalist Tommy Heart. Their self-titled debut album was mixed by Ron Nevison (KISS, OZZY OSBOURNE), who had also refined the aforementioned EUROPE classics in 1988. So they connected all of the obvious dots, with a neverending list of renowened musicians joining in on the recordings. Don Airey (DEEP PURPLE) contributed the keyboards on four songs, while the rhythm section is complemented by Darby Todd (GARY MOORE, THE DARKNESS) and Ken Sandin (ALIEN). Every track of their debut work deserves undivided attention, be it the anthemic “Twilight”, the gripping “Lightning Up My Dark”, the timeless “Warrior” or the amazing ballad “Only You Can Teach Me How To Love Again”. This epic piece makes melodic rock dreams come true and sounds modern while traditional at the same time. Kee Marcello is a genius in his field and carries that certain something in his blood, so wonderfully and emotionally implented by Tommy Heart‘s vocals. OUT OF THIS WORLD is the new star in Melodic Rock heaven, a liaison that has yet a lot left in store. "

After years spent living on opposite sides of the Atlantic world events threw Laura Mary Carter and Steven Ansell of Blood Red Shoes back together into what has become the must fruitful era of their 17 years together.

“It’s been a loooong time since we both lived in the same city”, explains Steven. “I mean we actually wrote this album in LA at Laura’s place, then came to the UK to record it…and then everything went nuts”.

Realising very quickly that they wouldn’t be able to release the album or tour until the world returned to some kind of normality, the band found their energies quickly spilled over into other projects. Laura-Mary started a podcast, Never Meet Your Idols, with her best friend in LA, interviewing everyone from Zack Snyder to Mark Lanegan to CHVRCHES. It is now about to start its third season. Steven started applying his love of electronic music by writing and producing other alternative artists like Circe, ARXX, Aiko and XCerts, racking up millions of streams in the process.

Having worked together on Laura–Mary’s forthcoming solo mini album Town Called Nothing and restless from the lack of touring, the duo started jamming out in rehearsal rooms, which led to the light-speed writing, recording and release of the impossibly-titled Ø EP in the summer of 2021. Which concludes what the band call an “off year”.

And that brings us back to GHOST ON TAPE. It appears that like David Lynch’s The Lost Highway, nothing is linear in the world of Blood Red Shoes. Written and recorded before their most recent EP, GHOSTS ON TAPE is a huge jump into new terrain for the band. Musically and emotionally their most mature work, it is a complex, imaginative, and very gothic development on their sound. Musically, it leaves almost no trace of their former selves.

John Murry’s third album is starlit and wondrous, like being wrapped in the softest black velvet. It’s an album of startling imagery and insinuating melodies, of cold moonlight and searing heat. It’s a record that penetrates to the very heart of you, searing with its burning honesty, its unsparing intimacy and its twisted beauty.

‘The Stars Are God’s Bullet Holes’ is not an album for an ordinary world, because it’s not an ordinary album. It’s an album to dive deep into and submerge yourself in, and to emerge from aware that this world is a remarkable place, and that John Murry is a remarkable artist.

Concrete Castles is a female-fronted group, who started as a cover band accumulating over 1 Million YouTube Subscribers & 60+ videos with over 1 Million views. On this original track, the band enlisted guest vocals from their close friend Anthony Green from Circa Survive, and the result is both triumphant vocals and radiant energy. This is the opening track on the record because it’s the best introduction to the band as it unfolds with a delicate balance of sensitivity & defiance.

Soundtrack from Academy Award-nominated actor Ethan Hawke’s 2001 film Songs written by Wilco’s Jeff Tweedy with the score performed by Tweedy and Glenn Kotche Featuring two previously unissued bonus tracks and available on CD and (for the first time) Vinyl. Includes performances by Wilco, Billy Bragg, Robert Sean Leonard, “Little” Jimmy Scott, and more Packaging features new liner notes from Ethan Hawke, Glenn Kotche, and a conversation between Jeff Tweedy and Grammy®-winning set producer Cheryl Pawelski “It was pivotal for me. There was a burst of creativity that continues to this day because I took the last remaining guardrails off of what I’d been willing to allow myself to do.” –Jeff Tweedy The same year of his Oscar®-nominated performance in Training Day, Ethan Hawke made his full-length film directorial debut with Chelsea Walls (starring Kris Kristofferson, Uma Thurman, Vincent D’Onofrio, Robert Sean Leonard, and more). A fan of Wilco, Hawke approached Jeff Tweedy about scoring the film, and Tweedy agreed. Around this time, Tweedy had collaborated with musician and producer Jim O’Rourke (Sonic Youth, Stereolab) for a special live performance. As fate would have it, O’Rourke had been working with Glenn Kotche, and O’Rourke introducing Tweedy to Kotche would lay the groundwork for the trio’s work together on the debut album by their band, Loose Fur. Tweedy also asked Kotche to work with him on an improvised soundtrack to the movie he had agreed to score.













[m] 13. Finale (Extended) [Bonus Track]
[n] 14. Promising [Bonus Track]

Rare recordings featuring Carla J Easton & friends with guests Duglas T
Stewart (BMX Bandits) and Eugene Kelly (Vaselines) - This album was
shelved and never saw the light of day but now, for the frst time ever,
these recordings are re-mastered and presented to you on vinyl.In 2011,
Carla J Easton fnished her MFA at Glasgow School of Art armed with a
batch of newly written songs and wanted to start a band - Calling on longtime collaborator Sita Pieraccini and childhood friend Debs Smith, fat
rehearsals ensued and a frst gig was booked at The Arches in Glasgow
Aptly, the night the would debut as TeenCanteen was called The Love Club. Not
long after, Emma Kullander would join the ranks and the 4 headlined Henry's
Cellar Bar in Edinburgh. Through word of mouth, the place was packed. With only
5 songs to their name, a tentative version of All The Lovers by Kylie Minogue was
thrown in as a last minute encore before the band delved into replaying their song
Friends.Studio time was booked at the fedgling 45 A Side in Glasgow resulting in
the recording of How We Met (Cherry Pie), You're So Analog, Under My Cover and
Friends.Calling on mentors from the Glasgow music scene – Duglas T. Stewart
(BMX Bandits) and Eugene Kelly (The Vaselines) turned up to be part of this
session. Duglas, joining TeenCanteen on a heart rendering duet for the song
Under My Cover, and Eugene, providing a blistering electric guitar solo on You're
So Analog.Hearing themselves on record for the frst time, and with Easton's
repertoire for songs growing more, they quickly returned to the studio for another
weekend.Recording the songs Atlas, Fireworks (which would go on to be covered
by BMX Bandits on their album BMX Bandits in Space), It could Be Beautiful and
One More Night, TeenCanteen were ready to release into the world with an
album's world of recorded material.
This is the sound of four friends making music together, learning as they go. At
its core are the luscious three- part harmonies TeenCanteen would go on to
develop further and be known for.
It's not perfect. It's not polished. It's the sound of something new.
It was the precursor to the glorious full pop sound the band would introduce to
the world when their debut album Say It All With A Kiss was released on Last
Night From Glasgow.This is how it starts.

It’s a sign of definite quality when a band can look back at a career which started as early as 1972 (!) and are still capable of thoroughly awing their fans with every new album. Magnum deliver this kind of quality on a regular basis and are set to prove their outstanding position once again with their latest studio offering ‘The Monster Roars’. Even after difficult months marked by pandemic-related concert cancellations, contact restrictions and uncertain perspectives for the whole music industry, the English rock act have succeeded in creating a vibrant, homogeneous work that impresses its listeners from the first to the last note and includes a number of surprises.

It’s a sign of definite quality when a band can look back at a career which started as early as 1972 (!) and are still capable of thoroughly awing their fans with every new album. Magnum deliver this kind of quality on a regular basis and are set to prove their outstanding position once again with their latest studio offering ‘The Monster Roars’. Even after difficult months marked by pandemic-related concert cancellations, contact restrictions and uncertain perspectives for the whole music industry, the English rock act have succeeded in creating a vibrant, homogeneous work that impresses its listeners from the first to the last note and includes a number of surprises.

Dodging Dues is a startlingly expansive record “startling” in part because it’s relatively short (seven songs, all but one hovering around the four minute mark), but also because it traverses so many moods and styles: languid and dreamy one moment, surging and intense the next. Garcia Peoples (these days a six-person band) “hit their stride” a long time ago, but here they seem to be hitting a di­erent one, working themselves loose of in‑uences (though this tree has roots: traces of Thin Lizzy, of more arcane bits of U.K. folk-prog, of vintage Meat Puppets in some of the softer passages) while at the same time opening themselves up to their own individual strangeness, becoming ever more singular and ever more free.

Copenhagen based label Escho release “Escho 15 år: Burgers for my new life” - an extensive compilation of exclusive material for their 15th anniversary (2005-2020). The compilation gathers music by all the currently active artists of Escho - both Danish and international - 27 artists in total. Contributing artists for the compilation are (in alphabetical order): Anders P Jensen, August Rosenbaum, Astrid Sonne, Baby In Vain, BishBusch, The Bleeder Group, Bona Fide, Collider, Dane TS Hawk, Eric Copeland, Excepter, First Hate, Gullo Gullo, Homies, iB101, Iceage, Joanne Robertson, Kh Marie, Liss, Puyain Sanati, Small White Man, Smerz, Søren Kjærgaard, Thulebasen, Varnrable, Yangze and Ydegirl. About Escho and the compilation: The Escho sound was born 15 years ago in small apartments around Enghave Plads, a slightly run-down square at the west end of Vesterbro, Copenhagen, past the kebab shops and the porno shops and the drunks. A few years earlier, as teenagers, several members of the Escho crew had made extremely strange, crisp metal in a very popular band. Escho was a promoter and booking agent as much as it was a label in the early days. They put on small shows to foster and hype the local scene and they brought important performers from all over the world to Copenhagen for the first time. Black Dice, Gang Gang Dance, White Magic, Excepter, Hype Williams, Boredoms, Charles Hayward, they rippled through Copenhagen after they came. Eric Copeland stayed for months. Lorenzo Senni, now well known as a vanguard dance producer, brought his high-school hardcore band to Copenhagen. Escho found and asked these artists to play. And Escho played their humble part in giving sound back to the world. Iceage, Posh Isolation and the Mayhem scene went global. Escho is a lot about being in Denmark, what that sounds like, and projecting it for anyone to hear. Across its releases, Escho’s aesthetic has allowed for the amateurish and the obsessive, the soft and the hard. Escho is about the power of shared experimental experience. Escho has been going for such a long time that the kids who started it are now twice as old as they were when they came up with the name, the idea, the desire to start something. Much younger people, generations younger, work at the label. The world has transformed since then. Escho was born in a period of time where alternative and underground music existed on a private, separate plane to mass culture, and it now finds itself in a time where mass culture and the underground are porous. Tribalism and niche knowledge has been blended by the internet, erasing the border between mainstream and underground modes. Alternative thinking takes many forms now, and new artists continue to expand and interpret the sound of Escho, carrying with them the same curiosity that lit the first Escho sparks 15 years ago. As a whole, this compilation — it is important to note — is jagged in form and tone. It is not even close to a conventional scene compilation, where the sound of a clan flows together. This record doesn’t flow like that. And this, fittingly, makes this anniversary album a ‘classic’ Escho release, because conventions about form and presentation are thrown out the window and new conventions proposed. It is a reminder that Escho quietly remains an ongoing art project as much as anything else. More than its form and tone, however, this compilation is jagged because it is a document of today. It is not final, or conclusive in any way, because the contours of contemporary music are boundless. It’s jagged because Escho has been to a million shows, and put on a million shows, and still loves going to shows. It is a picture of pluralism, discovery and openness. It makes a case for having ears, and making art, and propagating this so that successive generations of young people do it too. This is exactly as it was in the beginning






















[v] 22 First Hate – Vampire Boy ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ [2020 Demo]

Grey Marbled Vinyl
Mit unerschütterlicher Hartnäckigkeit hat die undurchdringliche Schwermetall-Hartkernfabrik HATEBREED eine weitere eiserne Guss- und Schallwaffe mit dem Gewicht des falschen Selbst hervorgebracht. Es ist keine Überraschung, dass ihr achtes, abendfüllendes Album das Ergebnis des üblichen Schweißes und Blutes ist, das HATEBREEDs einzigartige Nische in der Musikwelt seit über zwei Jahrzehnten zementiert hat. Bekannt für ihre Fähigkeit, ihren Fans eine intensive und kathartische Veröffentlichung zu bieten, haben HATEBREED ihren Schreibstil durch diesen Albumzyklus herausgefordert, um Material zu produzieren, das in einer zeitgenössischen Welt, die von Überreizung, emotionaler Dämpfung und mangelnder sozialer Geduld überflutet ist, außergewöhnlich gut zu vergleichen ist. "Weight Of The False Self' ist eine perfekte Darstellung von HATEBREED im Jahr 2020, ein frischer Ansturm von baldigen Klassikern mit all den Elementen, die Sie vom ersten Tag an hierher geführt haben", erklärt Gitarrist Frank Novinec. Fast jedes Individuum trägt ein metaphorisches Gewicht in Bezug auf sein emotionales Konstrukt. Unsere Erfahrungen prägen, wer wir werden, und im Laufe der Zeit entsteht allmählich eine schwere Last, die wir immer weiter mitschleppen. Für viele von uns wird die Last so groß, dass wir uns schwer tun, von unten herauszukommen, geschweige denn uns zu bewegen.

Es sind diese Kämpfe, die sich durch das Gewicht des falschen Selbst übersetzen lassen. "Ob man es sieht oder nicht, jeder trägt eine Last. Die Musik, die wir lieben, hilft uns, diese Last zu tragen", erklärt Sänger Jamey Jasta. Stücke wie "Cling To Life" liefern ein Wortspiel, das normalerweise bedeutet, sich verzweifelt an die letzten Atemzüge zu klammern, aber hier zeigen diese Worte, dass es nach wahrem Verlust und Trauer aufrichtige Erleichterung bringen kann, sich an die Idee von Glück und Zukunft zu klammern. Am anderen Ende des philosophischen Spektrums präsentiert die erste Single "Instinctive (Slaughterlust)" nicht nur ein neues Vokabular-Wort, sondern schreit auch nach der Kraft, die von unseren Verteidigungsmechanismen ausgeht, wenn wir in eine Ecke gedrängt werden. Wenn jemand von seiner Vergangenheit verfolgt wird, von einer anderen Person, oder wenn er nur sein eigenes Territorium verteidigt, ist es nur eine Frage der Zeit und der Entfernung, bis er zu einer wilden, ursprünglichen Bestie explodieren kann. "Es sollte verboten sein, ein so schweres Lied zu machen", beschreibt Bassist Chris Beattie. Das Lied "Wings Of The Vulture" ist eine Metapher für all die negativen Kräfte der Natur, des Schicksals und der Menschheit, die hoffen, uns in einigen unserer schwächsten Momente zu erbeuten, indem sie auf den Tod von etwas Sinnvollem warten. "A Stroke Of Red" berührt, entgegen dem, was auf den ersten Blick scheint, das Konzept, die Wahl zu haben, sich selbst oder anderen zu schaden. "Auge um Auge, aber das macht jeden blind. Wenn man einmal diesen dunklen, gewalttätigen Weg gegangen ist, gibt es kein Zurück mehr.

Dieses Lied ist eine dunkle Leinwand; ich verlasse meinen Körper, um schreckliche Dinge auf einer anderen Ebene zu tun, und komme zu mir selbst zurück, um daraus zu lernen, so dass man diesem dunklen, fleischlichen Verlangen niemals nachgibt", erklärt Jasta. Das Album-Artwork des renommierten Heavy-Metal-Künstlers Eliran Kantor zeigt einen Mann, der an der massiven Skulptur einer Steinbüste herummeißelt. In Kantors klassischem Malstil, der durch den Lehm von Aufruhr und Traurigkeit bricht, beginnt ein Licht durch den Fels zu scheinen, während der Bildhauer sein Gesicht von den blendenden Strahlen der Heilung abwendet. Das Bild kombiniert visuell die Themen des Albums, nämlich den emotionalen Kampf und die Überwindung des Schmerzes, nachdem Schichten von Depression, Angst, Verrat und Herzschmerz die Seele eines Menschen verhärtet haben. Im Laufe von mehr als 20 Jahren und 8 Alben ist der Schreibprozess für eine Band wie HATEBREED in ihren Wurzeln sicher geblieben, aber dennoch hat sie sich nach knackigen und überzeugenden Stücken mit progressivem Sound umgeschaut, die dem Mix hinzugefügt werden sollen. Es gibt Wellen von frischen Klängen, während das massive Fundament, auf dem HATEBREED stehen, weiterhin stark gehalten wird. "Auf diesem Album habe ich mich wirklich angestrengt und mich dazu gebracht, die Dinge umzuschreiben, bis sie besser waren, bis es klickte. Ich habe mich aus dieser Komfortzone herausgerissen. Im Zeitalter der Altlasten, in dem die Bands so viele Hits aus ihrem Katalog bei Shows spielen müssen, hören wir gerne, dass die Fans neue Songs verlangen, wenn wir live spielen", erklärt Jasta, "wir haben mit diesem Album wirklich unsere Stärken ausgenutzt". "An fleischigen Rippen und adrenalingeladenen Trommeln mangelt es auf dieser Platte nicht. Ich bin stolz darauf, dass wir durchweg einen Soundtrack liefern, zu dem man in seinem Wohnzimmer moshen und seine Wohnung zerstören kann", erklärt Schlagzeuger Matt Byrne. Bei der erneuten Aufnahme des Albums mit Hilfe von ZEUSS erlebte die Band ein Gefühl der Herausforderung und des Durchbruchs, das es ihr ermöglichte, eine neue Ebene des Klangs zu erreichen.

Nachdem er mehrere Jahre lang mit der Band gearbeitet hat und während er normalerweise seine Zeit mit Bands verbringt, die einen ziemlich anderen Sound haben, ist Zeuss in der Lage, HATEBREED zu testen und ihre bereits berüchtigte Schwingung zu erweitern. "Es war wirklich großartig, wieder mit Zeuss an diesem Projekt zu arbeiten. Ich liebe die Art und Weise, wie die Gitarren klingen", kommentiert Gitarrist Wayne Lozinak. Im Laufe der Zeit scheint die Qualität der Produktionstechnologie immer besser zu werden und ein sicheres und produktives Nest zu schaffen, in dem das Album

Written and produced by Curtis Mayfield, Sparkle is the soundtrack album for the 1976 Warner Bros. motion picture starring Irene Cara.

The songs on the soundtrack feature the instrumental tracks and backing vocals from the film versions, with Aretha Franklin's voice taking the place of the original lead vocalists.

In 2020 Brooklyn's Holy Hive introduced us all to something we didn't know we needed. Homer Steinweiss' thickly pocketed drumming paired with Paul Spring's floaty falsetto vocal produces a sound that's like a salve. It's been dubbed Folk Soul and Holy Hive not only expertly overlay the more apparent musical aspects of folk and soul-but they also draw from the more profound: being able to pull traditions from the past and make them their own. When Homer wasn't playing drums for Lady Gaga or Adele or Bruno Mars, he'd produce Paul's solo folk records. Along with original bassist and frequent collaborator Joe Harrison, these sessions proved to be Holy Hive's foundation. And their fi rst record, Float Back to You, expertly combined what each musician does best: Paul's heady, reflective approach to folk with Homer's universal classic soul sound. With their new record released on Big Crown, Holy Hive's beautifully simple-and-sparse Folk Soul sound is back-but updated. With new influences and the challenge of creating and capturing music during a global pandemic, this new self-titled album, is more personal, more reflective. They describe three distinct phases when piecing together Holy Hive: this first stage was pre-pandemic in California while traveling as a group, then-like the rest of us-they were separated, creating together but apart, and lastly an explosion of output once they reunited in New York. There is a natural but subtle evolution for Holy Hive on this record. Homer and Paul drew from new and maybe more obscure-yet-honest influences. It's still very much Folk Soul-how could it not be. But, like all artists, they've taken in what they've made and how they've made it, only to push it into new places. We know of Holy Hive's ability to lyrically convey the abstract and complex in poetic and palatable ways. But where the first record was soulfully silver-tongued with chill songs about love and affection, Holy Hive widens the lens with these novel influences, reflecting the points both Homer and Paul are in their own lives.

LTD. CLEAR PINK & BLUE SPLATTER VINYL

In 2020 Brooklyn's Holy Hive introduced us all to something we didn't know we needed. Homer Steinweiss' thickly pocketed drumming paired with Paul Spring's floaty falsetto vocal produces a sound that's like a salve. It's been dubbed Folk Soul and Holy Hive not only expertly overlay the more apparent musical aspects of folk and soul-but they also draw from the more profound: being able to pull traditions from the past and make them their own. When Homer wasn't playing drums for Lady Gaga or Adele or Bruno Mars, he'd produce Paul's solo folk records. Along with original bassist and frequent collaborator Joe Harrison, these sessions proved to be Holy Hive's foundation. And their fi rst record, Float Back to You, expertly combined what each musician does best: Paul's heady, reflective approach to folk with Homer's universal classic soul sound. With their new record released on Big Crown, Holy Hive's beautifully simple-and-sparse Folk Soul sound is back-but updated. With new influences and the challenge of creating and capturing music during a global pandemic, this new self-titled album, is more personal, more reflective. They describe three distinct phases when piecing together Holy Hive: this first stage was pre-pandemic in California while traveling as a group, then-like the rest of us-they were separated, creating together but apart, and lastly an explosion of output once they reunited in New York. There is a natural but subtle evolution for Holy Hive on this record. Homer and Paul drew from new and maybe more obscure-yet-honest influences. It's still very much Folk Soul-how could it not be. But, like all artists, they've taken in what they've made and how they've made it, only to push it into new places. We know of Holy Hive's ability to lyrically convey the abstract and complex in poetic and palatable ways. But where the first record was soulfully silver-tongued with chill songs about love and affection, Holy Hive widens the lens with these novel influences, reflecting the points both Homer and Paul are in their own lives.