Search:step by step

Lo! Soul’ is the fifth solo album from Roddy Woomble, following on from
his acclaimed debut, ‘My Secret Is My Silence’ (2006), ‘The Impossible Song
& Other Songs’ (2011), ‘Listen To Keep’ (2013) and ‘The Deluder’ (2017).
The record sees Woomble continue his unique and restless trajectory, gently
stepping away from his previous acoustic/folk intentions in favour of a more
explorative light, prevalent on 2020’s ‘Everyday Sun’ EP, which featured largely
spoken word pieces over an ambient, mediative soundtrack.
Produced and mixed by collaborator and Idlewild bandmate Andrew Mitchell (aka Andrew Wasylyk), ‘Lo! Soul’ was recorded remotely between Roddy’s
home in the Hebrides and Andrew’s studio in Dundee throughout 2020 while
Scotland was locked-down.
Roddy explains: “Andrew describes moments of the album as ‘Dystopian-pop’
which I think is as good a description as any. Lockdown gave me the sense of
a collective melancholy, a shared remoteness and isolation - that has been a
guiding influence throughout all the songs. It is the most unusual record I have
made, and made in the most unusual way.”
Across his twenty-five year career, ‘Lo! Soul’ may well be Woomble’s most inventive, creative album to date. From undulating synths and ambient soundscapes in the abstract narratives of ‘Atlantic Photography’ and ‘Secret Show’,
the sun-tinged horns of ‘Architecture in LA’, a mellifluous Mellotron or perhaps
a piano chime. Here, the path is embedded with Roddy’s words delicately unearthing the known and never known.

VISION welcomes bass music producer and two times scratch world champion DJ Ride from Lisbon.

"For the last year I've been working really hard on my favorite project so far. ENRO is beats, hip hop, drum and bass, scratch and everything i want to say right now. A love letter for the dark and sweaty clubs we all miss so much. I produced, mixed and scratched it, and for me it's more than just a record, it's a mixtape, it's a beat tape, it's whatever you want to call it, it's the dopest thing I ever did."

There’s a mystique in things that appear in threes. In Greek mythology it represents harmony, wisdom and understanding: for Pythagoras it’s the smallest number needed to create a pattern, the perfect combination of brevity and rhythm, while in literature there’s no story without a beginning, middle and end or past present and future. Summed up in the Latin phrase omne trim perfectum, for Southampton based songwriter Ian Miles (Guitarist/Songwriter with UK band, Creeper) the perfect trio presents itself as Degradation, Death and Decay. Inspired by performance art of the 70s and Halloween — taking cues from the visual legacies of Robert Rauschenberg and Serbian film maker Marina Abramovic while musically drawing on bands such as Conor Oberst, Leonard Cohen, R.E.M and The Cure — this first full-length is more art horror project than album. “I never really seen this as a solo project because I’ve been writing and recording acoustic music since I was about 15. I low key released some very old songs way before Creeper started and even during,” says Miles about choosing to step out on his own. “I don’t want to be the focus of this record, it’s not about me so I have decided to hide me. I want people to solely focus on the art.” Layered with haunting vocals and a myriad of rhythmic textures, Miles sets out to explore one of natures most habitual cycles: our individual journeys though life, that life eventually coming to an end and acceptance, striving to give the listener full control over the art rather than focus on the inherently human force behind the mask.

Yellow Vinyl

The first release on Optimo Music founder JD Twitch’s new compilation-focused label Cease & Desist will be a collection of pioneering turn-of-the-90s British “Bleep & Bass” techno tracks curated by author and music journalist Matt Anniss.

Join The Future: UK Bleep & Bass 1988-91 is a partner product to Anniss’s critically acclaimed book on the foundations of British dance music’s ongoing love affair with sub-bass, Join The Future: Bleep Techno and the Birth of British Bass Music. The book, which was published by Velocity Press in December and features a foreword by JD Twitch, documents in vivid detail the previously untold story of the Yorkshire-pioneered style and the impact it had on the development of UK dance music.

The compilation is the first to focus on Bleep & Bass since the sound’s heyday in the late 1980s and early ’90s. It features a mix of historic cuts, period classics, overlooked gems and unreleased material. It was mastered for release by Warp Records co-founder and Forgemasters member Rob Gordon, a producer, remixer and studio engineer who arguably did more than anyone else to define the sub-heavy sound of the style.

Gordon also contributed a previously unheard version of Alfanso’s “Dub Feels Nice”, a near mythical track he produced in 1991 that has never received a proper commercial release. The cut has been a secret weapon for a handful of Sheffield DJs for almost 30 years, most notably Gordon’s fellow Forgemasters member Winston Hazel. Fittingly, the compilation also includes the original unreleased instrumental version of Tuff Little Unit’s Steel City classic “Join The Future”.

Many of the other tracks on the compilation are rare, hard to find or have not been issued on vinyl or digital since their initial release. It opens with Unique 3 and the Mad Musician’s “Only The Beginning” – the 1988 A-side of the first ever Bleep record – and also includes tracks and remixes from fellow scene pioneers Ital Rockers (an early alias of dub hero Iration Steppas), Nightmares on Wax, Cabaret Voltaire and DJ Martin and DJ Homes, the previously unheralded Chapeltown duo behind the influential Leeds-based studio and record label BASSIC.

Elsewhere on the compilation you’ll find Birmingham producer Demonik’s sought-after debut single “Layrinthe”, a hard-to-find cut from Bedford-based men of mystery Original Clique, two classic cuts from the vaults of influential Midlands label Network Records and a glassy-eyed slab of Bleep/deep house fusion from 100 Hz.

Join The Future: UK Bleep & Bass 1988-91 will be released on double vinyl and digital download. The 10-track vinyl version features an insert with extensive liner notes by Matt Anniss. It also comes with a code to download the 12-track digital download version. The compilation will be released by Cease & Desist on March 25th 2020.

Listening to the story of Canadian duo cleopatrick is a bit like hearing the plot of the best, most righteously validating coming-of-age film never made. Two friends meet aged four in Hicksville, Nowheretown (real name: Cobourg, Ontario, population 19,000), grow up completely inseparable, form a band and, against numerous obstacles, blossom into a genuine, global underground sensation. There are heroes and villains, highs and lows and, crucially, some of the most poetic plot twists that could seem almost too perfect, were they not completely true. Take the story of 2017 breakthrough track ‘hometown’ for example. “It’s one of the craziest, most ironic things that’s ever happened,” begins vocalist and guitarist Luke Gruntz. “I was going to college because I was too scared to put all my chips in the band pile, and that’s what ‘hometown’ is about: it’s a song about feeling like we’re doing all this stuff and we’re working so hard and we’re just never going to be heard. It’s literally a song about people probably never hearing our songs. And then by some act of the universe, that song ended up unlocking all the doors for us.” Today, cleopatrick has logged 77 million streams and counting - all from an increasingly dedicated fanbase who’ve found the duo, completed by drummer Ian Fraser, their own way: no major label, no big budget, just two best pals knuckling down, cementing a unique sonic alchemy and filling a space of honest, empathetic yet undeniably heavy-hitting rock music that they’d been searching for themselves for years. Between multiple sold out tours in Canada, the US and the UK/EU and appearances at Lollapalooza, Austin City Limits and Reading/Leeds, the pair have been crafting BUMMER: a debut album that sees cleopatrick harness all the magic they’ve been brewing over their two-decade friendship and funnel it into a record that aims to reinvigorate the rock landscape from the ground up. Taking the ethos of their New Rock Mafia collective - a group of friends and fellow bands, united in making a more inclusive, equality-driven space in rock music - and imbuing it with the sonic ambition and ferocity of a record designed to be played hard and loud, it’s an album about two friends, who’ve been with each other since the formative first steps that adorn ‘BUMMER’’s heartwarming cover image and made something that’s a testament to the power of sticking to your guns.

British producer Patrick Tipler spent his formative years immersed in psychedelia as a bassist and guitarist in various bands and groups. The arrival of synthesizers –along with his move to Bristol– radically changed his vision of sound and impacted on his musical direction with the force of an asteroid. This shockwave subsequently saw the birth of Delay Grounds.

After releasing the outstanding 'Onomatopoeia' Pressure Dome, 2020 and 'Upcycling' Tropopause, 2021, Delay Grounds’ output has made it clear for all to see that Tipler’s sound design skills are second to none, and with just two releases to his name he has already transformed himself into an artist to watch very closely.

Today Patrick joins the Lapsus crew to present 'Genus', a five track EP that he says "is my most personal release to date, something I've always carried inside and wanted to produce, but had never managed to articulate before". On 'Genus', Delay Grounds preserves the essence of his sound but takes things a step further, with a form ofmaximalist electronica, sprouting powerful torrents of high-pitched and ruff-as-rock avant-techno, glitches and mutant sound elements, combined with sweet and delicate melodies in the purest IDM style. Polishing is provided by sound engineer Nick Earle, with whom Patrick has recorded and remarkably treated a kit of "deconstructed drums" especially for the occasion.

‘Genus’ is 30 minutes of astral travelling, an experience perhaps analogous to what we would feel if we opened a vault, containing music from a lost civilization.

Freestyle Records will release Dan Berkson's debut LP, Dialogues, on September 17th on LP & digital.

Following a move to London and an immersion in the city's deep house scene, Dan Berkson's subsequent rediscovery of his earliest musical foundations and the drawing of inspiration from London's buzzing contemporary jazz scene would lead to Dialogues - an accomplished and rewarding body of work pulled together during his final days in London before relocation to California.

"It was inevitable that Dan Berkson would make a jazz album like Dialogues: joyful, danceable, entertaining, driven by the pleasure principle, and filled with virtuosity. It represents Berkson's experiences in London, where jazz is a living, breathing, dancing scene. It's his love letter to the city, bristling with British talent such as bassist Andrea di Biase (Heidi Vogell, Maria Chiara Argiro, Bruno Heinen) and drummer Jon Scott (Kairos 4Tet, Sons Of Kemet, Mulatu Astatke) and recorded in his final days in the city before relocating to California. It's also rich with history: the musical journey that brought him to this point covers almost 40 years and 4,000 miles.

Berkson received lessons from Chicago boogie-woogie veteran Erwin Helfer - who in turn had learned alongside foundational legends such as Mahalia Jackson and Glover Compton. In 2001 he came to the UK, throwing himself into the deep house scene of East London, his duo with James What signing to Steve Bug's legendary Poker Flat.

But eventually he felt that he'd achieved what he could in the house format. Rediscovering the piano and discovering that jazz provided him the opportunity to keep learning, he enrolled in Trinity College in South London just as South London's jazz scene was exploding into the public consciousness.

Dialogues is a jazz album, not an electronic one – but all the groove-based influences, from the rootsy blues and ragtime of his youth, through the funk he played at college and the house he imbibed in London can be heard, as can his love of the studio as an instrument and mixdowns that suit a club soundsystem. Detroit dons Theo Parrish and Moodymann are every bit as important to this record as Charlie Haden, Carla Bley, Keith Jarrett, Ornette Coleman, Jimmy Giuffre, and Herbie Hancock. There's 50s and 60s cool modernism (just listen to the elegant ripples of "Sketches"), there's 70s funk fusion ("Unity" kicks things off with a spring in its step), and of course there's the pumping blues heart of "Live Bait". Above all else, though, it's a personal document: a life of music and collaboration crystalised in a magical, transitional moment. Where Dan goes next musically is as uncertain as anything in these times... but this one record tells you everything you need to know about where he's been."

Toolroom founder and Grammy-nominated producer Mark Knight announces his new album Untold Business: 13-track collection of vocal house music which aims to inject a much-needed dose of meaning and longevity into the world of dance music.

Mark Knight has gone back to his roots on his new album Untold Business, reprising the sounds and records that made him the artist he is today. Diving through his extensive collection of classic Funk, House, Soul and Disco records from the 1970s and 80s has provided the bedrock for the album, which is an homage to the soulful, vocal-led house music that Mark first fell in love with in the 90s.

Step forward Mark Knight with a collection of meticulously crafted, positive, life-affirming records with a focus on real instrumentation and properly crafted songs that will stand the test of time. Untold Business is the antithesis of the functional, cookie-cutter dance music that has become increasingly ubiquitous over the years, and it sounds absolutely glorious.

Lead single ‘Everything’s Gonna Be Alright’ features vocals from Beverley Knight as well as the London Community Gospel Choir, who together bring a powerful message of positivity, solidarity and hope: themes that echo throughout the rest of the album.

“I wanted to write a song of hope as we come out of this incredibly tough time. I feel that musicians and producers have a responsibility to provide the soundtrack to people’s lives, and with this glimmer of hope on the horizon, I wanted this song to be a moment of positivity for the future ahead.” Mark Knight

From the string section, to the 14-piece London Community Gospel Choir, to the incomparably brilliant Beverley Knight on lead vocals – Mark worked with some incredible musicians on the single: an approach that informs his approach for the entire album. Untold Business features further collaborations with the likes of Shingai (Noisettes), Michael Gray, Robert Owens and many more.

In addition to the 10 new tracks recorded especially for the album, Untold Business also includes three of Mark’s singles from 2020, including one of the biggest releases of his career to date. All 4 Love was a collaboration with Rene Amesz and Tasty Lopez which became firmly lodged on the Radio 1 A list for six weeks with worldwide success following soon after. Picking up more than 10 million streams on Spotify it was without doubt one of the biggest house records of the year. Also included here are ‘If It’s Love’ - a joyous celebration of a soulful house sound that came to prominence in the 90s – and ‘Tonight’, which took inspiration from the brisk, looping, filtered house music of the early 00s.

Crepuscule presents a brand new collaborative project by Julie Campbell (aka LoneLady), Stephen Mallinder (Wrangler, Cabaret Voltaire) and Benge (Wrangler, John Foxx). Titled Clinker, the first 800 copies of the 6 track mini album have been pressed in turquoise vinyl.

‘The project began a couple of years ago,’ explains Julie. ‘Benge had these great sketches that were beats and synth patterns, so those were the starting point. I really went to town adding lots of guitar layers and experimenting with different sounds. On some tracks the guitar is deft and rhythmic, as if mimicking sequencer patterns. On others it’s a deconstructed noise-based approach - scratching strings, making fitful, heavy chunks, howls and scrapings of noise and texture.’

Due to competing solo commitments for all 3 members the tracks disappeared into hard drive exile for a couple of years. Julie continues: ‘Last year we revisited the mixes and Stephen added his trademark mysterious and menacing vocals. Now we find ourselves with a finished piece of work. I thought of the name Clinker as I love its meaning: 'stony residue from burnt coal'. This seemed liked an apt description of both industrial and creative processes, and a nice nod to the industrial North of England.’

Stand-out tracks include Camouflage and Condition Collapsing. ‘I’d forgotten how liberating it is to play bass guitar on something,’ enthuses Mal. ‘It compliments Julie’s beautifully angular guitar, and Benge and me ripping up live percussion onto the sound of machines… As a collection of tracks these benefited from a lengthy gestation, as they follow no particular trend and were allowed to twist and turn to develop a life of their own. After successive cycles we suddenly drew it all together so the tracks have a sense of completion and identity.’

‘The real fun for me was during the mixing process when Mal and I looked at each other as the rawness of the tracks hit us on the big studio monitors,’ adds Benge. ‘We knew we had something untameable, and wanted to preserve that feeling of edgy rawness in the mixes.’

The cover image is by Julie Campbell, with overall design by Twilight. The vinyl edition comes with a digital copy (MP3).

Nantais by adoption, the Australian Will Guthrie is a discreet star of the international scene of free, experimental and improvised music; over the past fteen years, he has developed an open and personal approach to drums and percussion, skillfully blurring the lines between his brilliant jazz upbringing, his passion for traditional musics, and his inexhaustible interest in experimental and noise creation, with a pronounced taste for a physical and raw approach to sound. With thousands of performances and some fty albums to his credit, the Australian regularly dispenses his vibratory art solo or alongside the best of improvisation; From Oren Ambarchi to Roscoe Mitchell via Jérôme Noetinger, Anthony Pateras, David Maranha, Ava Mendoza, Jean-Luc Guionnet, Keith Rowe or even Mark Fell. In recent months Guthrie has performed with Tunisian singer Ghassen Chiba, toured as part of “All Around”, a performance with Danish dancer choreographer Mette Ingvarsten and founded the Ensemble Nist-Nah, a gamelan orchestra, in the company of eight other percussionists, out of which Black Truf e published an album, with a second on the way. He also found the time to put in shape a second volume of “People Pleaser”, a discographic act between an autographical assessment, the parenthesis and the musical UFO. A singular exercise in Guthrie's discography, “People Pleaser”, a series initiated in 2017, sees the Australian partially put down his drumsticks and wear a producer cap for a result offering a resolutely singular perspective of / on his work with a very personal dimension. On the rst volume, with a cover signed Stephen O'Malley sets the tone by diverting the chamaré Warhol infulenced visual of the album “Unit Structures” by Cecil Taylor. The portrait of the free jazz pianist has been replaced by passport photos of Guthrie. The result is a diversion into a fairly “Pop” aesthetic whose musical content works in a fairly similar way. Four years later, the cover art's undertones are slightly darker and Guthrie hasn't aged a bit on his new passport photo. The twelve tracks of this second “People Pleaser” combine and arrange eld recordings, heady loops, twists, musical quotes stuck on bedside records, recorded moments captured during travels, ghosty voices from low- lands, a police interview tape and imagined exotic sounds ... Guthrie could walk us for hours on his hard drive like looking at a photo album but he chose to build pieces based on this very personal sound material, much like a mixtape, with special care given to how sounds articulate, overlap and collide. He thus invites his heroes and his friends to join him in skilfully chiseled and nely edited imaginary jams. The rst to take pleasure in this “People Pleaser” is undoubtedly its author as some of his nds are enjoyably playful; we are there embarked in an addictive sound patchwork at high speed where a Balinese Squarepusher is propelled via a defective cathode ray tube in a temple where the happy marriage of the saxophone and the gong is celebrated before this too short respite is interrupted by a sustained hip hop rhythm. The multiplicity and variety of sources give the whole a very pop format and the way in which Guthrie combines sounds, textures, rhythms and vocal elements quickly takes on a narrative dimension and poses this exercise between hip hop and a very personal plunderphonic, evoking as much J Dilla or RZA as the irreverent inventiveness of People Like Us or Wobbly. Will Guthrie has never been in as good company as on a solo album, he also lists on the cover the list of friends, heroes, members of his family and countries who inspired him and to whom he pays homage / collage on this new disc; An aesthetic exercise apart in his discography, both in nitely personal and self-centered and resolutely turned towards what animates him, the aptly named “People Pleaser” reveals the music DNA of the Australian and can be listened to on repeat.

“Friends! I am so pleased to announce ‘A Night At The Little Los
Angeles’ - the 4-track version of ‘Sundowner’. Recorded at
home and in my back shed - aka The Little Los Angeles - in
suburban Kansas during the summer and winter seasons of
2017 and 2018. This is quite simply the sound of me alone in a
room with a four-track to catch my songs as they fell out of my
mouth. When I later went into a proper studio to make
‘Sundowner’ my goal was to capture the essence of these initial
recordings, and here you will now have access to the very
essence I was chasing.

“In many ways, this feels like a proper album to me, as it’s my
initial attempt to capture the Kansas sunset and put it into
sound, whereas ‘Sundowner’ was an attempt of an attempt. I
love and am proud of them both, of course, but am happy to -
for the first time - share this vulnerable side of my songwriting
process with the public. Many of my favorite recordings have
been made inside of an artist’s home without regard of the
outside world, but instead deep in their own world that they’re
creating in real time. And with that - I’d like to invite you into my
own little world here and now and ask you to please... step
inside of... and spend ‘A Night At The Little Los Angeles’!” -
Kevin Morby

Released in 2020 on Dead Oceans, ‘Sundowner’, with Morby’s
distinctively conversational and reflective writing style, was
received with open arms and was beloved by fans and critics
alike. Pitchfork lauded it as “a vision of the Midwest that feels
mythical and enormous.” ‘Sundowner’’s vision was further
fleshed out in comprehensive features in Vanity Fair, New York
Magazine, Stereogum, The FADER, Vice, Aquarium Drunkard,
and more.

In addition to traditional music publications, Morby appeared on
Adult Swim’s Fishcenter and Office Hours with Tim Heidecker.
Morby also made his network television debut on CBS This
Morning, where he performed the songs ‘Campfire’ and
‘Sundowner’ as part of a special joint performance with his
partner and fellow songwriter Katie Crutchfield, aka
Waxahatchee.

Featuring an impressive list of collaborators, including Ty Segall and
members of Woods, Cibo Matto, Sharon Van Etten’s band, Wand,
Heatwarmer, Mega Bog and Bonnie “Prince” Billy, ‘Geist’ is the
follow-up to Shannon Lay’s 2019 Sub Pop debut, ‘August’, which
featured friends and collaborators Ty Segal (whose band Shannon
played in) and Mikal Cronin.

‘Geist’ feels like a window - or a mirror - into possibilities of the self
and beyond. Shannon Lay’s new album is tender intensity, placeless
and ethereal. It exists in the chasms of the present -- a world
populated by shadow selves, spiritual awakenings, déjà vu and past
lives. “Something sleeps inside us,” Lay insists on the opening track,
and that’s the guiding philosophy throughout. A winding, golden,
delicate thread of intuition that explores the unknown, the possibility.
Its title, ‘Geist’, the German word for spirit, is rife with an otherworldly
presence, the suggestion of another. The promise that you are never
alone.

Lay tracked vocals and guitar at Jarvis Tavinere of Woods’ studio,
then sent the songs out to multi-instrumentalists Ben Boye (Bonnie
“Prince” Billy, Ty Segall) in Los Angeles and Devin Hoff (Sharon Van
Etten, Cibo Matto) in New York; trusting their musical instincts and
intuition. She then sent those recordings to Sofia Arreguin (Wand)
and Aaron Otheim (Heatwarmer, Mega Bog) for additional keys, while
Ty Segall contributed a guitar solo on ‘Shores’.

As a whole, ‘Geist’ is both esoteric and accessible. Songs range from
a concise, pared-back cover of Syd Barrett’s tilt-a-whirl-esque ‘Late
Night’, to the meditative, Dune-inspired ‘Rare to Wake’, to the mostly
a-cappella ‘Awaken and Allow’, which channels Lay’s deep Irish
roots, a moment of reflection, before a drop happens - its intensity
mirroring the anticipation and anxiety that come with taking the first
step to accepting change for yourself. And the title track ‘Geist’, a
song about the power living in all of us, is a love song to the
possibility of healing, an ode to falling into the arms of what you’re
becoming. It’s a glimpse into the parts of yourself you have yet to
meet.

Initial copies of the LP pressed on Sun Yellow coloured vinyl.

Rising Dublin post-punks - SCATTERED ASHES - follow the runaway success of previous single: “Love Is Not An Option”, with news of a new EP: ‘Parallel
Lines’.

Released on their own Fatal Vision label, the three track EP sees the Irish quartet stepping out of the shadows with a clutch of new material, plus a maverick reimagination of “Love Is Not An Option” by Soft Boy Record's Wastefellow. Available digitally on all services and with huge support from BBC Radio 6, KEXP and RTE 2fm the EP will now be available as a special limited blood-red 12”
vinyl.

This new album 'Make a Film' by Palmbomen II can be viewed as a (faux) crash course in filmmaking plus the soundtrack to score your first movie. A beautiful double vinyl album with a step-by-step course on writing, directing and shooting your first film. To make it easy, Palmbomen included 24 tracks that set the right mood for different scenes. From Medium Melancholy to Slightly Dark.

FOUR STROKE BARON return with their third full length studio album ‘Classics’, mixed by Devin Townsend and brimming with catchy riffs and unforgettable choruses. Having streamlined into a duo, Kirk Witt and Matt Vallarino cast a sardonic eye over the human condition - as seen through their own uniquely distorted lens, and told via tales involving a murderous rampage at a kegger while dressed as a knight, to being trapped in a casino during a robbery whilst on acid, and other such adventures. They are our guides as we traverse the filthiest folds in the dark underbelly of Reno, Nevada; illuminating the darkest corners of their twisted psyches with their upbeat and insanely catchy pop hooks.

Having scraped off the detritus of their city, rubbed the crust from their eyes and molded it into the heavy pop songs you hear before you today, they enlisted the only person they knew who could add the extra layer of embellishment that the album required. Enter Devin Townsend. They gave him only one instruction for producing Classics: go as hard and insane as possible. The added textures brought in by Townsend during mixing elevate these 10 tracks to another level.

If you’re unsure of what constitutes a classic, a good place to start is with FOUR STROKE BARON’s 2020 release, Monoqueen, which features covers of the likes of Chvrches, The Beatles and Death Grips. Sometimes it’s necessary to allow time to pass to reveal the true nature of a classic track; FOUR STROKE BARON have shaved the waiting time all the way down to zero. Hit play - the classics are all there waiting for you.

Longpigs were the alternative rock band who came to prominence in the 1990s Britpop scene
with their breakout debut album ‘The Sun Is Often Out’. Fronted by Crispin Hunt, the group also
featured guitarist Richard Hawley, Simon Stafford on bass and drummer Andy Cook.
• Originally released in 1999 on U2’s Mother label, ‘Mobile Home’ was the band’s second and final
release. Highlights include the singles ‘Blue Skies’ and ‘The Frank Sonata’ and the Stephen Street
produced track ‘Gangsters’.
• The album is now issued on vinyl for the very first time, pressed on 180g heavyweight clear vinyl,
housed in a UV gloss sleeve.

Ryan James Ford is back on Clone Dub Recordings with his promising first full length album! After relocating to Berlin Ryan realized how much influence the soil of his home town have on him. Exshaw, Canada, where the home of Heart Mountains begin. Ryan has tried to capture his youth and musical influences over the years. Growing up in an area were the interaction of man and technology was more than palpable. Stories of haunted areas... swimming in the cold, strong current river with people disappearing... going to raves in the nineties. Exploration, optimism, youth and and living there forever... His memories of Exshaw are all translated in the sound design and programming on this 14 track album ranging from almost cinematic pieces to full on dancefloor belters. Artwork by Delphine Lejeune & Jonathan Castro.

To mark EPM’s 20th anniversary we’ve been releasing a series of EPs, each one focussing on a different genre. In May we brought you a taste of Techno with Robert Hood, Ben Sims, James Ruskin and Mark Broom each delivering their distinct production skills, whilst this September sees the release of our second EP bringing together cuts by some of Electro’s leading lights - The Advent & Zein Ferreira, Carl Finlow, Detroit’s Filthiest and Modulator (a.k.a. Freddie Fresh).

For the third and final EP in the series we turn our attention to House music, and once again we’ve commissioned four brand new and exclusive tracks from artists who we’ve had the pleasure to work with over the years.

First up is none other than a Detroit Techno founding father and the TechnoSoul innovator himself Eddie Fowlkes, who delivers a classy opener in ‘1-2-3’ that’s deep yet vibrant and showcases his legendary status. Next is a fellow Motor City modernizer, Jon Dixon whose musicianship and productive talent takes him from jazz to techno which he skilfully brings to ‘Mack & Bewick’. Motech Records’ founder DJ 3000 brings us the spirit of ‘Summer 1995’ as he briefly steps away from techno to give us this uplifting sun-drenched stunner. Final track ‘The Beat’ comes from Rico & Sonny, the pseudonym of Chicago based DJ duo and production team of Adam Stolz and the talented Tim Baker, recorded before his devastating and untimely passing. His music lives on and we’d like to dedicate this EP to him.

The ‘EPM20’ compilation which features all the tracks from the EPs plus additional cuts from a host of other artists and EPM friends will follow this autumn.

For Wilkes-Barre’s One Step Closer - the concept of home is complicated. “I’ve never felt so distant in my life,” vocalist Ryan Savitski screams on the lead single “Pringle Street,” a place in his hometown that binds the album’s lyrics to both a precise location and feeling of displacement. On their first ever full-length album and debut for Run For Cover This Place You Know, the band offers a modern comingof-age story about growing up and grasping both the known and the unknown.

One Step Closer started in 2016 and in their short five years, Savitski, along with drummer Tommy Norton, bassist Brian Talipan and guitarists Ross Thompson & Grady Allen have come into their own as a modern hardcore mainstay. Their 2019 EP ‘From Me To You’ countered existing trends in exchange for a more melodic sound in the vein of bands like Turning Point and Title Fight. They went on to open for Have Heart at the band’s now legendary reunion shows that summer, and joined bands like Knuckle Puck and Turnstile on tour before pausing to write their debut album.

This Place You Know grapples with the weight of themes like isolation, depression, and loss - all amplified by driving bass lines, emphatic guitar riffs and unwavering drumming performed by the band. From the first moments of album opener “I Feel So,” the stakes are made clear by the anchoring lyric ‘this place you know, sometimes it hides the truth and lets people go” - One Step Closer is attempting to resolve the unresolvable anguish of moving on from everything you once knew.

- Debut full-length & first RFC release for One Step Closer
- Previous touring & show history with Have Heart, Turnstile, Knucklepuck, Fiddlehead
- US & international touring to follow album release in fall
- Music videos for “Pringle Street,” “Chrysanthemum” & “Time Spent, Too Long”

UK multi-instrumentalist and story-teller Mara Simpson's new album In This Place will be released on September 24th, 2021. A heady blend of alt-folk, analogue synth and classical composition, In This Place is a tale of quiet rebellion, and taking back control. Fittingly, the new album marks the start of another new journey for Mara. In This Place will be the first record to be released on Downfield Records, a non-profit imprint set up by Simpson, placing artists at it’s centre. “I want to try and promote transparency and equality, assist other artists to get public funding and to ‘pay’ forward the time and resources I’ve benefited from,” she says. The label’s mission is to see musicians paid fairly and release records through a creative and joyous process.

Whilst the struggles of 2020 will go down in history, for Mara it was 2019 that was the tough one. A year spent consumed by worry, whilst in and out of hospital with her one year old daughter, had left Mara feeling like she was playing a constant game of catch up with a world that wouldn’t slow down. With songs ready to be recorded for her new album, she headed into the studio. “I stepped into the studio not needing my hand held, just my voice heard” explains Mara, who quickly came to the realisation that she was working in a toxic environment. Enough was enough

It was whilst waiting for a train that she had the sudden realisation that the album she was recording would never see the light of day. Struck by an overwhelming feeling of failure, Mara began to ruminate on the time and money she had wasted but then something clicked. “Perhaps it’s something about train stations, the coming and the goings, that allows a stagnating frame of mind the grace and space to clear” she says. “The funny thing is, upon realising failure, the despair I’d been feeling was now replaced with something else...Relief”.

Feeling re-energised, Mara called her dream producer Ellie Mason, of Voka Gentle, and together the pair began working on a new record. “I’ve been more hands-on with this album than I’ve ever been, taking a much more active role in production. Throughout the whole process Ellie has heard my voice, and been open to any possibility” explains Mara. “We’ve stumbled across golden moments, recording four part harmonies in Brighton’s oldest church, using every drum there is in Brighton Electric, layering New Zealand bird song with tape delayed piano, all thanks to her nurture, playfulness and kindness” she continues.

Album opener ‘Serena’, named after the apartment building in Brighton where Mara’s daughter was born, is based on the experience of becoming a mother and the responsibility of making important healthcare decisions. “How will I know how to love you” she sings over undulating synths and sparse piano chords. Title-track ‘In This Place’ is about the confrontation between mother and new-born child. The ‘sizing-up’ of one another as they embark on a new journey together. “When I left home to travel around the world and was so worried about breaking my Mum’s heart,” says Mara. “I just remember her saying that your children are never yours to keep. This is a song about the rawest of loves, and the fact that however much we love someone, they are never ours, and the beauty in that.”

In addition to the experience of motherhood, the songs on In This Place take inspiration from a wide range of places, including Mara’s ‘second home’ New Zealand. ‘Christchurch’, written in response to the Christchurch Mosque shootings in 2019, layers New Zealand birdsong on top of swirling piano and moving choral vocals. ‘Fault Lines’ was inspired by The Waitangi treaty. Signed in 1840 in New Zealand by the British Crown and Maori chiefs. The British understood that the Maori were signing over land that the British could now govern and effectively ‘own’, however to the Maori people it is impossible to own land, in the same way that you can’t ‘own’ air. “We live and die, the land remains and we are just it’s keepers for the very short time we are here. This song is about us not owning this earth - how can we? We are only the guardians of it while we are here” says Mara.

Backed by a band of accomplished musicians (Jools Owen (Bears Den) on drums, James Smith (Anaïs Mitchell) on banjo, Alexandra Hamilton-Ayres on clarinet and strings by Poppy Ackroyd) on In This Place, Mara sounds the most confident she’s ever sounded. With her new material, Mara Simpson hopes to promote a gentle, yet radical shift toward kindness and it’s this warmth that can be both heard and felt across her new record.

A Civil Rights activist who marched alongside Jesse Jackson, preacher for Earth Wind & Fire, Stax recording artist, “Family Feud” contestant, Stephen Curry soundtracker, high school drop out, and Kanye samplee, Pastor T. L. Barrett stuffed a dozen lives into one. His signature 1971 spiritual soul jam “Like A Ship” has transcended its humble South Side Chicago beginnings, rediscovered by Leon Bridges and Beck and described by Radioheadʼs Colin Greenwood as “The most euphoric celebratory music that makes you want to jump around the house and explode with joy.” This box is the definitive statement on Barrettʼs two decades of recordings, 49 tracks spread across five LPs, including Like A Ship, Do Not Pass Me By Volume 1 & 2, I Found The Answer, plus a bonus album of singles and sermons, a 10,000 word blow-by-blow, and illustrated discography.

10 tracks of beautiful Hip Hop music produced by Vienna Producer Mez & French producer 20Syl.

"We made this album after running into each other on tour in Brazil then again in France. We kept talking about needing to do a project together then eventually met up on my homies farm in Southern Oregon in the U.S. and made this record. Being in the same space and recording in the age of sending verses back and forth seemed a bit crazy in a sense but we really wanted to catch a real vibe of 2 mc’s in sync and where a real moment and connection was captured. We spent 7 days eating bomb food, living, laughing, writing, recording, and just vibing.

We asked for beats from a bunch of folks but ended up feeling the overall vibes of Mez, a Vienna based producer who I previously worked with on my solo material and whose beats just hit us and Rita as the perfect instrumentation to the album we wanted to create. The incredibly talented homie 20Syl (Hocus Pocus, C2C, AllttA) who I also had worked with before and who Rita collaborated with on his group's (C2C) album came in with 2 joints to round it out. We also got some amazing features from our folks Destani Wolf, Wes Restless, and the ever dope Georgia Anne Muldrow."

LP Vinyl include two exclusive remixes by Moar & Mossy P

Welcome aboard! We're about to slide into the wide musical landscapes of True Flavas Band. Please take place on your seat, enjoy the smell of a cup of Douchka black tea , close your eyes, the train's door is shutting then the locomotive pulls the heavyweight transSiberian slowly.
The Journey starts to reach the "Polar Circle" and its deep soaring atmosphere, snowy forest and the steppes' flatness. Now You recognize, that it's all about immersive laidback
funk. The band breaks with the white screen view blowing up at the wagon's window, crosses some more urban ensembles with the uptempo "Take It Straight", the intriguing "Estonia" and "Ghlmly". The expression touches climax offering a view from the mountain's
top in "4Hero" and "Double Trouble" with transversal dynamic and flight sensations. The four musicians offer nights full of stars and aurora borealis moments in tracks like "Gamekeeper" and "Jazz'N'Bass". At the end "Countryside" brings us into a gradual rise of leftfield ambience sustained by Krautrock guitars and Gregorian like chants, hypnotic.
With this first LP on Stereophonk, True Flavas Band show ten beautiful, fine and wellmatured pieces. Strong of a rich musical experience and influences, the quartet from SaintPetersburg composed by Roma (drums), Danik (keyboards and electronics), Dima (bass) and Alexey (guitar) have evolved since 2005 to achieve a perfect combination. TrueFlavas performed with artists such as Tricky, Dj Vadim, Dj Krush, Theo Parrish, Badbadnotgood, Gaslampkiller, Fatima, Themselves, Jimi Tenor... and toured all over Russia.

The Altered Hours have just announced details of their second full length album ‘Convertible’. The Irish group have just signed with Pizza Pizza Records and the 8 track album is set for release in May 2021. Following on from some successful headline tours across Europe supporting their debut album & some blistering EP’s along the way, the group found themselves looking for the next step in their ever- evolving journey. Having previously recorded in Anton Newcombe’s Berlin studio for their debut singles & ending up in the infamous Funkhaus studios to lay down what would become their debut album ‘In Heat Not Sorry ’, the band decided once again to



change the approach & take their new songs back to the privacy of their own studio space on the outskirts of Cork City. The new LP ‘Convertible’ is the result of countless late night/early morning sessions that took place over the past 2 years. Choosing to self produce and engineer this record was a conscious choice as the band felt an urge to take what they had learned on the road & in various studios previously, and condense all of this energy back into the boiling pot of their own rehearsal space.

The group have been a part of some exciting movements since the beginning and their path has been an organic one. They quickly became known in their hometown for taking over an ex-government building in the heart of Cork city, turning into a studio and creating a hub for the scene that surrounded them. The years that follow shine a light on the relentless energy of this group and unwavering love for playing shows anywhere & everywhere. Having been invited to perform at Liverpool Psych Fest numerous times, supporting the Brian Jonestown Massacre, selling out venues, churches & clubs, playing rip-roaring DIY shows in friends’ basements, getting joined by members of Spacemen 3 on stage and more recently, being invited by fellow Irish rockers Fontaines D.C to join them on their 2019 European tour playing sold out shows in venues like The Bataclan, Paris & Paradiso, Amsterdam. It’s been a wild ride for The Altered Hours so far & their music keeps evolving & growing as the experiences build. This is a group with the spirit of music deeply ingrained in them and a passion for making rock music something that you can believe in.

Their second full length album ‘Convertible’ is a window into the band’s idiosyncratic tendencies, a closer look into how their writing & sound continuously moves forwards while somehow remaining rooted in their own unique world all at once. The Altered Hours seem born to be an underground affair, something that they wear with pride and this album is a wonderful culmination of their DIY upbringing, their unfiltered rock ‘n’ roll spirit along with a confident stride into personal songwriting.

A Fable is Tigran Hamasyan’s first solo album after having recorded three previous albums as a leader. Released in 2011 it was hailed for the rare maturity of an all young musician to deliver such a landmark recording. At that time the pianist has been identified as one of the most important jazz revelations by critics impressed by his artistry. Well known for the way he fuses potent jazz improvisation with the rich folkloric music of his native Armenia, Tigran once again borrowed from the rich tradition he inherited and made a giant step with A Fable. Hamasyan gives a stunning one-man show with definite nods to Monk and Miles Davis, to Liszt and Debussy, while creating a space that is distinctly his.

Once again we teamed up with Ubisoft to bring the music of high-tech action game Watch Dogs: Legion to good ol’ fashioned vinyl. This triple LP set features original score tracks by Stephen Barton and tracks “Rainfall (feat. Tiana Major9)” by Brit Award-winning Stormzy and “In the Jungle” by Baby Knoxx.

Watch Dogs: Legion builds on the open-world stealth-action gameplay of its predecessors, delivering a never-before-seen gameplay innovation. Players can recruit and play as anyone they see in the iconic city of London: an MI6 agent, a tough bare-knuckle fighter, or an inconspicuous old lady.

Composer Stephen Barton has amassed an enviable AAA credits list, including co-composition on Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (with Harry Gregson-Williams), the Titanfall series, Apex Legends, and Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order. For Watch Dogs: Legion’s pulse-pounding original score, Barton blends a dizzying array of electronic and percussive elements, with flashes of breakbeat and layers of atmospheric ambience.

25 tracks specially mastered for vinyl will be pressed onto three audiophile-quality, heavyweight 180g discs.

Five sides include music, with the sixth side featuring a custom etching of the iconic DedSec pig mask. LPs will be housed in a deluxe triple gatefold.

Take One is the cinematic debut release from the minds of Hampshire born emcee Deeflux and seminal producer Kraze. Created through a chaotic and turbulent life journey, the project was born out of the collective need to change direction musically by both artists.
The results are an accomplished and often brutally honest prose, overlaid across a wide range of soundscapes sca-ling the spectrum of alternative rap music. Themed around cinema, each track tells a story like a window into the ar-tists lives covering a range of topics and emotions with Deeflux’s trademark labyrinthine wordplay weaving effortlessly over Kraze’s diverse production.
The LP, originally intended as a mixtape and picked up and pressed by Broke Records was fraught with tragedy. From faulty metal work, lost livelihoods and the eventual loss of all stock it sadly never saw the proposed release until now. Certain Sound received a phone call out of the blue after the stock was
re discovered and have re packaged with the full intended “Directors Cut” as downloadable content in a limited run of coloured and heavy weight black vinyl.
Take your seats and enjoy the show! Artist Bio - Deeflux
Deeflux comes from a diverse musical background. After falling in love with heavy metal at 6 years old he spent his early years as a song writer and guitarist in ska, punk and metal bands before re discovering hip-hop in college where he used the college computers to start his journey beat making.
Finding his voice at 18 he began to craft his style. Influenced by his home town stable of graffiti writers, MCs and beatmakers. he went from working with Reklews (BLAH) to collaborating worldwide on projects such as Oddio Kin.
He has a number of physical releases with his group C O R N E R S (Deeflux, Beit Nun and Benny Diction), live group Natural Selection and last year released 52 singles with his long running DJ Miracle (Boot Records).

Kraze is somewhat of a musical prodigy. In his early teens he was at the epicentre of the first wave of grime and Began DJing on pirate radio & producing music. He eventually landed an artist development deal with EMI & later Sony/ATV.
He was responsible for Devlin’s standout London City and earned two cuts on
his Bud, Sweat and Beers album. During his time with EMI & Sony, he worked with producers such as Naughty-boy, Mojam & Stargate and a variety of artists before eventually leaving the industry to pursue other opportuni-ties. Take One will be his first solo release.

Introducing Cutcross, created to champion the melting pot of bass-centric sounds teetering around 140 bpm. Heading up the concept is Sicaria Sound, a DJ duo who since their inception set out to explore and expand on the possibilities of these sounds whilst spotlighting underground artists. Cutcross is therefore their next step in supporting the forward-thinking music that they've drawn for when curating sets.

Partners in crime Ebb & Texture by way of New Zealand are at the helm of CXT004. Featuring a solo track each plus two collaborative efforts, all four tracks pack a punch via plenty of low-end and lively breaks.

Davide Piras is an Italian producer with a penchant for the tougher, rougher side of British bass music. Creating music under the moniker DJ Chupacabra, Piras has been picked up by labels like Haws and Dr Banana in the past year, and now makes his debut for Time Is Now with more deep raw cuts.

The EP hits hard with deep tech, breaks and rumbling bass. "Grimer" kicks off with sparse, staccato beats for heads down business before the expansive two step of "Rockstar". With its eclectic use of samples and ominous swelling bassline, it's a solid club roller.

Funky, earworming house is the game of B-side opener "Killalot" which hints just a little of an acidic edge. "Morbid" is a heady stepper with plenty of ear teasing melody and atmosphere. The EP closes with a crescendo in "Croissant", which has a chunky minimal deep tech beat and booming bassline which is destined to send the dancefloor wild.

Killer tracks by Draconian Steps. A project by Jeremy Rodriguez and Ron Morelli for the first of 2 - 12''s under the name ''Circus of Death''. The tracks were recorded at Devon Analogue Studio in the UK. Wrangled in from a weekend of long studio jams. Bleak overdriven analogue business from start to finish. 3 - 909 cuts crunched out and pushed way into the red. Limited edition, so don't sleep on these!!

Spectra! represents a lone, anomaly release by illusive producer and recording artist J. Walker of Perth, Western Australia. Recorded and produced in 2016, Spectra! comprises a collection of 12 instrumental works composed in response to an imagined brief investigating the refined shades and pigments of colour.
Whilst stylistically somewhat comparable to library music recordings from Europe released throughout the 1980’s, Walker’s compositions never step too closely toward facsimile. Instead, they maintain a unique sense of identity, one closer akin to a born-too-late contemporary interpretation of the sentimentality and lost moods that allowed library music it’s point of difference and charm in the first place. Unlike many modern artists who flirt with the past, Walker isn’t concerned with carbon copying the sound palate and tape hiss of yesterday. In these works, antecedent emotional and harmonic bodies are given new life and form by means of modern studio hardware, musical equipment and compositional techniques. Recommended for fans of the Coloursound Library and Joël Vaandroogenbroeck.

'The Works and Days: The Black Sections' is a sound collage album that emerged out of the production material of the film, The Works and Days (of Tayoko Shiojiri in the Shiotani Basin). The film — winner of the Encounters Golden Bear for Best Film at the 2020 Berlinale — is the second feature of C.W. Winter & Anders Edström. It is an eight-hour fiction shot for a total of twenty-seven weeks, over a period of fourteen months, in a village population forty-seven in the mountains of Kyoto Prefecture, Japan. It is a geographic description of the work and non-work of a farmer. A portrait, over five seasons, of a family, of a terrain, of a sound space, and of a duration. The film was named one of the Ten Best Films of the Year by critics at: Artforum, Cargo, Cinema Scope, Desistfilm, Filo, La Internacional Cinéfila, Mubi, Nobody, Senses of Cinema, and Sight & Sound.

The film is accompanied by this LP, TheWorks and Days: The Black Sections, by C.W. Winter, and the photo book, Shiotani, by Anders Edström. The album features musical excerpts from Tim Berne & Bill Frisell, Tony Conrad, Graham Lambkin, Mary Jane Leach, Alvin Lucier, Phill Niblock, Folke Rabe, Éliane Radigue, and Akio Suzuki. Producing, editing, and recordings by C.W. Winter. Mastered by Stephan Mathieu.

Winter & Edström’s first feature, The Anchorage, won a Golden Leopard at Locarno Film Festival and won the Douglas E. Edwards Independent/Experimental Film/Video Award from the Los Angeles Film Critics Association. It was named one of the Ten Best Films of the Year by critics at Cinema Scope, Film Comment, Senses of Cinema, Variety, and Indie Wire and was named Best First Film of the Year by The New York Times. Their first film, a documentary short called One Plus One 2 was made in collaboration with the late British guitarist, Derek Bailey. Their film/video work has shown at such venues as the Institute of Contemporary Art (Boston), Centre national de la photographie (Paris), Kunstmuseum Wolfsburg, Fotomuseum Winterthur, NRW-Forum (Düsseldorf), the Harvard Film Archive, Anthology Film Archives, the Wexner Center for the Arts (Columbus), Centre de cultura contemporània de Barcelona, the Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography, and the National Museum of Modern Art (Kyoto).

C.W. Winter was born in California. In 2020, he completed his DPhil in Art Practice & Theory at The Ruskin School of Art at the University of Oxford. He received his MFA from California Institute of the Arts where he studied closely under Thom Andersen, James Benning, and Allan Sekula. His writing has appeared in Cinema Scope, Moving Image Source, Purple, and Too Much. He lives in the United Kingdom where he is currently a Visiting Professor at the Royal College of Art and a Lecturer at the University of Oxford.

Side A excerpts:
“Thursday, May 5, 1977 & Friday, May 6, 1977: Part 4” Performed by Tony Conrad. Used by arrangement with The Tony Conrad Estate
“Sethwork” Performed by Phill Niblock. Used by arrangement with Phill Niblock
“What?? (Second Version)” Performed by Folke Rabe. Used by arrangement with the Folke Rabe Estate
“Pipe Dreams” Performed by Mary Jane Leach. Used by arrangement with Mary Jane Leach
“What?? (Second Version)” Performed by Folke Rabe. Used by arrangement with the Folke Rabe Estate
“2011” Performed by Tim Berne & Bill Frisell. Written by Tim Berne. Published by Party Time Music BMI. Recording courtesy of Minor Music Records/Screwgun Records

Side B excerpts:
“Ceremoniolose” Recorded by Graham Lambkin. Used by arrangement with Graham Lambkin
“Kugiuchi” Performed by Akio Suzuki. Recorded live for TheWorks and Days Used by arrangement with Akio Suzuki
“Music on a Long Thin Wire (Side A)” Performed by Alvin Lucier. Used by arrangement with Alvin Lucier
“A Third Trombone” Performed by Phill Niblock. Used by arrangement with Phill Niblock
“Triptych: Part 1” Performed by Éliane Radigue. Used by arrangement with Éliane Radigue

Recorded live in Atlanta in early 2020 in the final hours before the stages
of the aching world fell dark, Fully Plugged In celebrates the sweat filled
nights, the communal noise, the profound physical presence at the
heart of rock and roll.
Daniel Romano and The Outfit embody the classic swagger of classic Rolling
Stones, the epic, electric, eternal folk of prime Fairport Convention, the primal
freedoms released by the original punks, the intimate, personal emotions celebrated by classic country, boldly reinventing Romano’s rich songbook.
Julianna Riolino, who’s voice blends so perfectly with Romano’s own, steps
powerfully into the spotlight at key moments, ripping open the song in ‘Rhythmic Blood’ and ripping open your heart in the country weeper ‘The One That
Got Away (Came Back Today)’.
Hear, here - wild sounds, genius song-writing, ebullient drumming, exuberant musicality, and disparate influences are powerfully, uniquely synthesized.
Shockingly united. Fully Plugged In.

With COVID restrictions now easing, and fresh off the back of their ongoing in-lockdown Quarantine Series, as well as EP + album releases from Calder Valley upstarts The Lounge Society and cult singer-songwriter Stephen Fretwell respectively – the studio is now re-open and Speedy are back to doing what they do best: releasing one-off 7”/digital singles.

The latest band to be welcomed into label boss Dan Carey’s Streatham HQ is the 5-piece London based alt-pop band moa moa comprised of James Ratcliffe (guitars, keys, vox), Connor James (keys, guitar), Sophie Parkes (sax, vocals), Dan Byrne (bass) and Matt Taylor (drums).

Having sent the label a collection of demos during lockdown – of mainly finished songs – the one which caught Carey’s ear was actually a 20-second snippet of just an idea really – which the band had included in what they had sent over. ‘I know it sounds mad’ says the producer – ‘but I just knew there was something in it.’ Meaning in true Speedy style the band and producer alongside engineer Alexis Smith had to build the song around the single motif from scratch on the day – having previously never met before, in what turned out to be a mammoth 13-hour recording session.

‘It was scary and exciting in equal measures going into it’ says the band, ‘but Dan and Lex create such a safe, encouraging creative space, and from that, we somehow came out with a moa track we're all happy with.’

The resulting track ‘Coltan Candy’ is 4 + minutes of hook-laden sunshine alt-pop that layers and builds, perfectly reinforcing the band’s manifesto of marrying ‘unconventional songwriting with pop-leaning sensibilities’, channelling (amongst others) Unknown Moral Orchestra, XTC and MGMT with contemporary R & B influences into something seamless and new. And it’s catchy as hell.

‘Lyrically, the tune is darker and more direct than our other stuff’ says James (Ratcliffe), ‘even if it’s offset by everything else going on in the music. The main hook of the song is the lyric "Coltan Candy" which refers to a mineral that has been mined unethically for decades in Africa for the production of electronic circuits in the West. I’m making some pretty OTT comments about corruption, technology, and the failures of institutions in the West, but also asking some questions about our own involvement and inability to do anything about it.’
Regardless of the seriousness of the content the band just feel relieved to have finished the track. ‘Even up to the night before the session we had 20 seconds of music that we were jamming into what sounded like an awful country track…so, it’s fair to say that the whole process really helped us to focus and make decisions!’
Coltan Candy. The sweet sound of the summer.

Hoodoo is the sixteenth studio album by Swiss hardrock/ heavy metal band Krokus. The album was successful across Europe, charting in Switzerland, Germany Greece and France. Hoodoo is packed with big hooks, arena ready anthems and catchy hard rock songs. It includes a cover of the Steppenwolf song “Born to be Wild”.

Big Daddy Wilson, the well-respected North Carolina-born bluesman, who
made his name on the European scene with acclaimed albums like Love Is
The Key (2009) Thumb A Ride (2011), I’m Your Man (2013), Time (2015) and
2017’s Neck Bone Stew has walked a winding road to finally come to record
these Hard Time Blues.
With the release of Deep In My Soul in 2019, Daddy Wilson felt his music and
career had come full-circle in style. “I see it as a journey,” he said of his incredible backstory.
“It’s the journey of a man who found himself deep in this beautiful music called
the blues and finally, after 25 years, made it back home... But the road did not
end there, and Wilson’s new album is taking things even a few steps further:
“Hard Time Blues - Is a reflection of the time we are living in right now and all
the anxieties that life brings....Corona, Poverty, Injustice and other hardships.
It also embraces the different styles of Big Daddy Wilson, Blues, Soul, R & B,
Country and Gospel .
Like Willie Dixon says:” Blues is the Root, everything else is the fruit.” My intent
with this album was to show a more modern side of Big Daddy Wilson. To reach
out a bit more, to use the Soul and R & B that has influenced me throughout
the years. But I still wanted to be true to the blues and my spiritual roots.
The song “ HARD TIME BLUES” came to me by way of Eric Bibb and Glen Scott.
A beautiful blues song, spiced with the spirit of Soul and R & B and blessed with
the Mojo of Glen Scott. This song is also blessed with the Troubadour spirit: the
story telling of the great Eric Bibb.
This album is full of LOVE, FAITH and HOPE, this is my TESTIMONY. So I thought
it be fitting to call the album” HARD TIME BLUES”.
I just want to reach out to as many people as I can, with this message: put a
little Love in your heart.....we need each other.” Big Daddy Wilson

Bunny Lee as producer. Prince Jammy as engineer. The Aggrovators making the tracks. A Holy Trinity of Jamaican Music. Throughout the years, recorded music has been shaped by some enduring partnerships between producer and engineer, such as Teo Macero and Fred Plautt for Miles Davis, Jerry Wexler and Tom Dowd for Atlantic Records, and George Martin and Geoff Emerick for the Beatles. But possibly none were as prolific as the collaboration between Bunny 'Striker' Lee and Prince Jammy at King Tubby's Studio between 1976 and 1982.

In 1977 and 1982 respectively, Conflict Dub and Dubbing In The Front Yard were released in London as white labels in extremely limited quantities. The two LPs found the triumvirate of Lee, Jammy and The Aggrovators on perfect form, with driving instrumentals, flashes of vocal beauty, and mixes that ripped apart and rebuilt traditional notions of sonic structure. Due to the nature of their limited release (not to mention the lack of artwork and even titles) the two dub LPs quickly disappeared into that mythic realm of records whispered about by only the most hard-core reggae collectors. This release is the first-ever reissue of these sought after LPs, and contains all the original songs in both vinyl form (double LP set with both albums on the original labels) and a lush double pack cd with 3 extra bonus tracks. The sleeve notes are by Diggory Kenrick with amazing photos by Howard Johnson, director of the influential Channel 4 documentary 'Deep Roots Music'.

The 3 CD bonus tracks are all remixes. Two from Paolo 'Dubfiles' Baldini for the Dubbing in the Front Yard set. One for Conflict Dub by Diggory Kenrick.

In 2018, Pressure Sounds celebrated its 100th album release since it's founding in 1995. In that time, the label has been responsible for unearthing and celebrating some of the rarest, most influential and unique Jamaican records ever cut.

Ready to chant down Babylon with musical fire and brimstone, none other than Bukkha returns to the revered Moonshine Recordings with a truckload full of sound system music in Roots Dub and Stepper style. Ten organic heavyweight cuts on 2x12" - strictly dubwise, no compromise!

Originally from the US and now residing in Spain, a musical veteran with a career spanning more than a decade, it's safe to say Bukkha runs things when it comes to fuelling sound systems. On top of his long-standing involvement in the thunderous Moonshine Rec. discography, the prolific artist maintains a consistent record of top-shelf releases on numerous famed record labels within the global melting pot of Dub-influenced dance music, including System Music, Dub-Stuy, Lion Charge, and so on. His 'In Roots Vol. 1' debut LP features seven talented guest artists from around the globe, the extended Dub family in full force and effect - connected to Bukkha through previous projects, shared tours and overall engagement in the scene. The symbiotic nature of the collaborations can be heard and felt as big stacks of speakers lend their voice to the musical message. Rebellious sounds for the healing of the nation. In a conscious stepper style, the release marches through original future classics - whether instrumental or led by the Rastafarian teachings of Mowty Mahlyka, anthem brass melodies by JahWind All-Stars, harmonica meditation by Hazeldub or Don Fe's notoriously brilliant flute virtuosity. With true to the roots delay and reverb effects in the original Dub fashion, the album pays tribute to the technique pioneered by the likes of King Tubby, nothing less than a next-generation torchbearer. Sound system music, as timeless as its cultural heritage.

The Frank OST LP made its debut on transparent green vinyl for Record Store Day 2015 and quickly sold out.

The album comprises Stephen Rennicks's song based soundtrack to Leonard Abrahamson's fantastical black comedy featuring Michael Fassbender as the masked leader of doomed avant-rock group, The Soronprfbs.

The music press were quick to laud FRANK as one of their top soundtracks of 2014, with Mojo placing it at No.3 in their

Top Ten for the year and Record Collector giving it 5*, while public fascination with its Beefheart-esque sound has ensured cult status. The songs, sung mainly by Fassbender, veer from manic comedy to heart-breaking pathos and the

vinyl release was specially recompiled to feature all the songs, most of the incidental music

and an exclusive for vinyl version of 'Frank's Most Likeable Song.... Ever'.

Givin' It Back is the ninth album released by The Isley
Brothers on their T-Neck imprint in 1971. After years of having white Rock acts covering their most famed material, particularly, 'Shout' and 'Twist And Shout', the Isleys decided to do the same to music made famous by white artists such as Stephen Stills, Eric Burdon and Neil Young.

Among the songs they covered were 'Spill The Wine',
'Love The One You're With', the social commentary medley of 'Ohio' and 'Machine Gun' (from Jimi Hendrix), 'Fire And Rain' by James Taylor and Bob Dylan's 'Lay

The Isleys' perseverance paid off when their covers of 'Love
The One You're With', 'Lay Lady Lay' and 'Spill The Wine' became charted hits. Bill Withers plays guitar on the Isleys