Cerca:still talk

48 tracks on a 3-LP collection – including: Queen, The Police, Blondie, Abba, Elton John, Donna Summer, Chic, The Boomtown Rats, The Clash, Meat Loaf, Pretenders, Billy Joel,

Electric Light Orchestra, The Specials, The Selecter, Gary Numan, The Buggles…

Plastic Estate is a contemporary synth-pop act from Wales, UK.

With an onus placed on atmosphere and refinement, the duo evoke a rich palette of romance and lustre with their polished marque of pop music.

They have garnered support from the likes of Simon Le Bon of Duran Duran, KEXP and BBC Radio, and played sold-out shows with the likes of LA Priest, Home Counties, and Real Lies, as well as playing at large regional festivals like Ritual Union and Sŵn Festival.

Having previously released a 7” and LP with Avant! Records, they are now releasing their second album on 11th October with new tracks gaining critical acclaim being added to BBC Radio Wales’s ‘Welsh A-List’.
Their sophomore album hails a new era for the act; moving away from darker sonic roots, their sound has progressed to a brighter, more polished aesthetic with fresh influences from the ‘Hi-Fi luxury’ of West Coast Sound, and the gloss of 2010s Chillwave.

What’s more, ‘Code d’Amour’ makes you wonder: What is Pop today?

For many years it has been synonymous with melody, harmony and emotions. These days it seems to be still about emotions but not very good ones, probably because the world is as ugly as it’s ever been, have you noticed?

But what about the fundamental role of popular music which is to represent and at the same time to celebrate and enforce the ties of social living? What about the good times?

Yes, there is a lot to be changed and to fight for but good vibes are not just for recreational use, they can literally build a sense of community among people. If you are looking for that kind of sound right now, you should look no further.

FFO: Talk Talk, Blue Nile, Spandau Ballet, Ian Broudie’s Care, Small Black, Alan Palomo of Neon Indian, Wild Nothing.

On Still + Bright, her highly-anticipated follow up to, Wary + Strange, Amythyst Kiah shares a dozen songs that mark an evolution in her sound. Kiah says, “With this album, I’ve always been incredibly interested in stories and philosophy. Lots of the songs are inspired by the cosmos, space, meditation, and mindfulness. It’s a way to piece out what it means to be a human being in the modern world. It’s the general idea that we should all have the freedom to decide what path we want to choose.” Still + Bright is produced by Butch Walker (Fall Out Boy, Green Day, Weezer) and features special guests including SG Goodman, Avi Kaplan, and Billy Strings. All of the songs were brought to life by Kiah and co-writers, including Sean McConnell, Avi Kaplan, Sadler Vaden, and Tim Armstrong, among others. Still + Bright is set for release on October 25, 2024. “Years in the making, Still + Bright explores what it means to be a human being in the modern world. Songwriting is my way to marry big, overarching philosophical ideas and questions into a musical, more organized arrangement. Inspired by the cosmos, space, meditation, and mindfulness – this record directly challenges religious and political dogma, stating that we should all have the freedom to decide what path we want to choose.” Recently Kiah featured in Salon talking about her love of country and bluegrass music and was included in a New York Times T Magazine spotlight and documentary: The Next Generation of Black Folk Singers. Her episode of PBS’ The Express Way with Dulé Hill aired nationally on April 30, Kiah is featured in Episode 2: “Appalachia”. She recently appeared on a panel at the Television Critics Association Press Conference which was attended by over 200 television critics around the globe. This June she will be on the road opening for Iron & Wine.

2024 Reissue

"Ballyturk" is the new album by Teho Teardo, and his first release after "Still Smiling" (SPECULA004), the succesful collaboration with Blixa Bargeld. Includes contributions by some great musicians like Joe Lally (bass player in Fugazi), Lori Goldston (played with Nirvana) and Nick Holland from the Balanescu Quartet!

In 2007 an Italian film festival invites Mouse on Mars to score a film of their choice. The organizers claim to be able to clear the rights for any movie the band chooses. Werner Herzog’s fictional documentary Fata Morgana, which merges footage of several desert explorations by Herzog and his team into one continuous association, has long been a band’s favorite. The film comes with a soundtrack by Mozart, Leonard Cohen, Third Ear Band and field recordings. Andi Toma and Jan St. Werner are sent a DVD to Düsseldorf and start working. The idea is to score the film in real time so instrumentation has to be readily at hand: guitar, percussion, electronics, mouth harp, pedals, software, tapes, samplers. Once the arrangement for the three-part film is sorted Mouse on Mars bring their score to stage. Herzog Sessions is performed twice: first when the band still thought the rights had been cleared, and a second time at London’s Southbank Center knowing that Herzog would have never approved a new score.

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Mouse On Mars – London Queen Elizabeth Hall soundtracking Werner Herzog.
By Mike Diver, 24.04.2009

Filmed in 1971, Fata Morgana is perhaps not one of Herzog’s best-known works (think Grizzly Man, Rescue Dawn, et cetera…), but then Mouse on Mars have never been ones to embrace the mainstream, quietly letting their modern, experimental take on krautrock do the talking over the years, thus producing some quietly brilliant electronica that far outweighs their modest profile.

The film itself is not altogether dissimilar to the wonderful, Phillip Glass-scored Koyaanisqatsi, with sweeping landscape shots and no obvious plot or narrative, though Fata is concentrated purely in one place – in and around the Sahara Desert, switching from images of barren wasteland to desert tribes and dead, skeletal cattle.

The obvious thing to do when soundtracking such powerful imagery is to vie for dreamy electronic soundscapes which can be sustained for a long period, and whilst this ambient shoegaze approach was present and correct (also carefully constructed and highly effective), Mouse on Mars added a human element to the performance, incorporating a live dimension by using and looping guitars, harmonicas, processed vocals and even a live horn player (quite possibly a flugelhorn. Look it up if you don’t believe me) for the final section of the film.

Some of the most interesting points arose when the duo suddenly switched from solemn, ambient tones to glitchy, bouncing electro (reminiscent of their more upbeat work) whilst on the same film shot – causing the audience mood to flick from tripped-out bliss to attentive semi-wired, utterly subverting any idea of a narrative the film may have possessed. Clever stuff.

Ranging from sinister to surreal to humorous, all the moods portrayed in Fata Morgana were successfully matched by Mouse on Mars’ live rescore – no mean feat. The duo also went above and beyond the call of duty with their own soundtrack, adding a fascinating personal signature to an already unique film.

Opaque Mango Colored Vinyl. RIYL: Black Milk, Kendrick Lamar, Kamasi Washington, Mos Def, Blood Orange, Milo, Pharcyde, Blackalicious, Anderson Paak. Richmond, Virginia-based artist McKinley Dixon has always used his music as a tool for healing, exploring, and unpacking the Black experience in order to create stories for others like him. For My Mama And Anyone Who Look Like Her, Dixon's debut album on Spacebomb, is the culmination of a journey where heartbreak and introspection challenged him to adapt new ways of communicating physically and mentally, as well as across time and space. The language accessibility aspect of this project draws right back to communication and connecting," Dixon explains. "I think about the messaging, and how this can be a way for another Black person, someone who looks like me, to listen to this and process the past. Everything I've learned about communication for this album culminates with this bigger question about time. Is time linear when you're still healing and processing? Westerners look at time travel as something to conquer or control - it's a colonizer mindset. That's ignoring how time travel can be done through stories and non-verbal communication, and doesn't acknowledge how close indigenous people are to the land and the connections groups have because they've existed somewhere for so long. Storytelling is time travel, it's taking the listener to that place. Quick time travel. Magic." Never relying solely on beats, Dixon taps into a hybrid of jazz and rap, pulling in an array of piercing strings, soulful horns, percussion, and angelic vocalists throughout the album-plus features by Micah James, Lord Jah-Monte Ogbon, Pink Siifu, and more. Jazz instrumentals add a level of uncertainty, with the sounds and shifts evoking a lot of emotion and vulnerability. It's an energy he describes as "Pre-Kendrick Lamar To Pimp A Butterfly," the era when rap adopted more live instrumentation. The best way to sum up this album is: I was sad, I was mad, and now I'm alive," Dixon explains. "These things I talk about on the record have had harmful and brilliant effects on my timeline, and have forced me to be cognizant of the fact that living is complex. Rap has allowed me the language to communicate, and be someone who can communicate with people from all over. Knowing how far I've come, I think people will find trust in the message I'm sending."

"The acclaimed 2007 album reissued on 1LP clear vinyl. Taken from the original 2007 masters when Pete Doherty was at the pinnacle of his creative powers, ‘Shotter’s Nation’ followed in the footsteps 'Down In Albion’, the band’s debut album, and Doherty’s first album outside of his first band - the era-defining Libertines. Both were met with commercial and critical acclaim, breaking into the top 10 of the album charts.

‘Shotter’s Nation’ is unmistakably Doherty. Melodic, stark, catchy, raw, brilliantly unique - his music has always created an unflappable loyalty from his many fans, remaining timeless, yet still sending a nostalgic excitement through its listeners. The album also features four songs co-written by Doherty’s then-girlfriend Kate Moss who also regularly performed live with them.

The approach to the recording and release of the album was an escape from Doherty’s previous methods. Stephen Street (The Smiths, Blur, Morrissey, The Cranberries) took over producer duties from The Clash's Mick Jones, and it was and his first album released by a major label, Parlophone."

“Do you still believe it?” John Ross asks that question after journeying through the wreckage. The genesis of Dulling The Horns goes back to late 2022, when Ross began workshopping new material during soundcheck on the ILYSM tour. Last summer, Wild Pink decamped to western Massachusetts to reunite with engineer Justin Pizzoferrato. Ross decided to record Dulling The Horns live in the room, in an effort to capture Wild Pink’s onstage style — rawer, grainier. Gone are the glimmering atmospherics and studio affectations of recent Wild Pink outings. Instead, Ross’ voice is haggard against the humid distortion coating every song. “I wanted to make economical songs,” Ross explains. “Music that is very much at its core three or four people rocking.” If before, Wild Pink took notes from Springsteen and Petty, they’ve now entered their Crazy Horse era. On Dulling The Horns, you can hear him rediscovering the fire in real time. Tropes discarded along the roadside, songs pulled from the formative DNA of rock music, all filtered through years of messy fog. “There is no answer to these problems,” Ross says, having eventually yielded. But as far Dulling The Horns is concerned, there’s at least one path forward: Burn it all away, and keep moving. The album was mixed by Alex Farrar in Asheville NC, mastered by Greg Obis in Chicago, IL and is out in October on Fire Talk.

“Do you still believe it?” John Ross asks that question after journeying through the wreckage. The genesis of Dulling The Horns goes back to late 2022, when Ross began workshopping new material during soundcheck on the ILYSM tour. Last summer, Wild Pink decamped to western Massachusetts to reunite with engineer Justin Pizzoferrato. Ross decided to record Dulling The Horns live in the room, in an effort to capture Wild Pink’s onstage style — rawer, grainier. Gone are the glimmering atmospherics and studio affectations of recent Wild Pink outings. Instead, Ross’ voice is haggard against the humid distortion coating every song. “I wanted to make economical songs,” Ross explains. “Music that is very much at its core three or four people rocking.” If before, Wild Pink took notes from Springsteen and Petty, they’ve now entered their Crazy Horse era. On Dulling The Horns, you can hear him rediscovering the fire in real time. Tropes discarded along the roadside, songs pulled from the formative DNA of rock music, all filtered through years of messy fog. “There is no answer to these problems,” Ross says, having eventually yielded. But as far Dulling The Horns is concerned, there’s at least one path forward: Burn it all away, and keep moving. The album was mixed by Alex Farrar in Asheville NC, mastered by Greg Obis in Chicago, IL and is out in October on Fire Talk.

Rubblebucket’s new album explores one particular year from the band’s past known as the Year Of The Banana. Frontwoman Kalmia Traver has a personal practice of naming each year since 2011. However, in 2015 (Year Of The Banana) Kalmia’s romantic relationship with Rubblebucket co-founder Alex Toth fell apart, and that year was spent peeling off psychological layers in search of the sweetness that would allow the friendship, and the band, to continue. “People get obsessed with the albums that were never finished because the band couldn’t stay together,” Kalmia says. “But Year Of The Banana is the album that did get finished.” So Rubblebucket is celebrating 15 years as a band with a record about the year it almost ended. Rubblebucket is still a through-and-through art rock dance band, virtuosic experimental musicians with a pop sensibility along the lines of Talking Heads, Prince, or Kate Bush. But there’s nothing retro about Rubblebucket’s sound; they’re mixing electronics with real instruments, especially horn sections (Alex plays trumpet, Kalmia sax) and they feel at home in the same universe as Caroline Polachek, SZA, or Chappell Roan. Listening to Year Of The Banana, it’s impossible to overlook how joyful it is, how full of hope. The album speaks to the power of transforming and adapting relationships in a time when the world needs it most. The album has a transforming effect, inspiring us to face ourselves and radically keep loving each other, assuring us that the unpredictable process has potential to feel as free and sweet as peeling a banana on the dance floor.

Ein Nachfolger zur 2016 erschienenen Country-Rock-Compilation "Cosmic American Music"! Dieser zweite Band geht weit über Gram Parsons' Country-Rock-Vision hinaus und erforscht die twangigen Falsettos und kommerzielle Neugier, welche auch die Eagles aufsteigen ließ. Obwohl verwurzelt im Westküsten-Folkrock der späten 60er Jahre, präsentierte diese neue Generation einen "Safe-for-the-suburbs"-Sound, der von den politischen Unruhen der Hippie-Ära geprägt war. 20 Tracks, zwei LPs im Klappcover.

Neon Sky Vinyl!. Ein Nachfolger zur 2016 erschienenen Country-Rock-Compilation "Cosmic American Music"! Dieser zweite Band geht weit über Gram Parsons' Country-Rock-Vision hinaus und erforscht die twangigen Falsettos und kommerzielle Neugier, welche auch die Eagles aufsteigen ließ. Obwohl verwurzelt im Westküsten-Folkrock der späten 60er Jahre, präsentierte diese neue Generation einen "Safe-for-the-suburbs"-Sound, der von den politischen Unruhen der Hippie-Ära geprägt war. 20 Tracks, zwei LPs im Klappcover.

Stockholm repper Patrik Eriksson is a proponent for deep and loopy techno, under his Dold moniker the DJ/producer delivers all manner of introverted compositions, moments designed for home and club that resonate with an evocative and redoubtable simplicity. His catalogue of releases on co-run label Arsenik are an ongoing dialogue with live partner Kuf and a selection of well-known peers, stripped down techno that conveys a cogent message with its straight talking approach.

The Revival Recordings (BAS 014) is another vinyl feather in Dold's cap, a five track release that takes the relay from his developing opus and sprints assuredly on. A1 Work Me pairs mercurial hi-hats with subaquatic squeaks, while its successor keeps tempo and switches its leitmotif for hollow, metallic repetitions. The temperature rises with Solid Solitude, the A3 banger that's likely to make its way into many a closing set towards the end of summer. The B side takes a darker turn with Insight (B1), a slower, more philosophical entry suggestive of breezy Scandinavian nights. B2 points its arrow in another direction still, more urban, more clubfloor, shuffling acid beats that tie the record and Dold's many-faceted influences together in a neat package. There's a bit of everything here, and a hint at both Dold's capacity as a producer and what might be yet to come. A promise of compelling techno from the north that's sure to put his star on the rise.

Jaz Karis is getting ready to take off. The South London singer and songwriter has been making waves with her silky voice and lyrical, candid pen since her first EP back in 2017, building herself up steadily over the years. 2024 will see the long-awaited arrival of Jaz Karis' debut album, Safe Flight, . It's a record that spans a breadth of sonics: slinky Afrobeats, gleaming R&B, warm gospel, shimmering flecks of pop, hiphop, jazz and amapiano, all woven through with the glowing thread of Jaz's signature soulful feeling. "Soul to me is a feeling," she explains, "All I want to do with my music is evoke feelings."

The imagery for this album all pertains to identity and travel - IDs, lanyards, nostalgia-tinged film footage - and in turn, it all alludes to the path that Jaz Karis is on. Safe Flight finds an accomplished, assured artist reflecting on where she's been and ready to step up to the next level: a star on the rise but still deeply down to earth. At once soulful, vibey and poignant, this is an album about embracing possibility, admitting mistakes, and trusting the process. "It's about getting free," Jaz says with a smile, "And it's not that I have it all figured out now or anything, but I'm on this learning curve. There's something exciting about being on the journey."

Futurismo proudly present a celebration of the Paisley Underground scene with TWISTED DREAM MACHINE The Paisley Underground / California’s Psychedelic Renaissance: 1982-1986, the next volume in their Altered Vision compilation series.

This collection draws from the neo psychedelic movement that took hold in California during the early to mid 80’s, one that melded the psychedelia, country, garage rock, avant-garde and pop of the 60’s with the DIY ethos of the then burgeoning punk scene, a hypnotic amalgamation of sound that came in staunch contrast to the blown out sonic excesses of the time.

Twisted Dream Machine takes you on a trip from the city to the desert, as the kaleidoscope of noise drifts from the The Dream Syndicate’s Velvet Underground inspired take on Crazy Horse and The Three O’Clock’s chiming baroque powerpop, to Rain Parade’s dreamy Beatlesesque melodies and the Bangles hook-laden Love inspired pop. Also featured are the wondrous sounds of Green On Red, The Long Ryder’s, Game Theory, True West, Thin White Rope and others highly worth your attention. If you are not familiar with some of the bands here, you will surely question how that is possible. The Paisley Underground, if anything, encapsulated a certain musical mindset, an outlook where the past and the future would collide in the moment. This thread would bond the bands, yet each honed it’s own sound in a twisted incarnation of the seeds planted two decades earlier. Whilst the ‘scene’ did remain contained, its influence did in fact spread throughout mainstream culture as the Bangles stuck a chord into the heart of MTV, whilst Prince took inspiration from the movement in his own songwriting and the naming of Paisley Park, as well as signing The Three O’Clock to his label and writing one of the Bangles biggest hits.

As you listen to the tracks on Twisted Dream Machine you will be reminded that there is still music left to discover and inspire, this compilation is aimed to hopefully delight longtime fans, as well as ignite a passion for those new to the bands. The Paisley Underground was the sound of neo psychedelic rock, it was subterranean pop...in

the classic sense, it was alternative rock before the term existed, a distillation of the fundamentals present at the dawn of rock ‘n’ roll, with a twist. The bands of the Paisley Underground may have been writing out of their own time, but as you listen to them in today’s context these songs should be heard as landmarks, rather than throwbacks. After all, nothing this good should stay underground. This 2xLP comes on limited edition coloured vinyl, it is housed in a gloss laminated outer sleeve with colour inner sleeves and contains a large fold-out poster with unseen photos and liner notes by Lisa Fancher of Frontier. Also available on CD with Gloss laminated Sleeve and Fold Out Poster.

Two brand new tracks by The Courettes on PINK coloured vinyl. Both tracks will also feature on the band's next album, The Soul Of... The Fabulous Courettes, in slightly different form! "We worked with Richard Gottehrer, who for us is like a songwriter god!" says Flavia. "He worked at the Brill Building and co-wrote 'I Want Candy'. A mutual friend played him 'Keep Dancing' and he left a message on my phone saying, 'I love your track and I really dig the lyrics'. He ended up mixing 'Keep Dancing' and 'Boom Boom Boom'." "Because I'm the one most responsible for the lyrics, I actually allowed myself to open up to some personal things," admits Flavia. "We lost both of our fathers. My father died of COVID. But my relationship with my father was non-existent. He abandoned me and my sister. It was a very difficult relationship and it's not so easy for me to talk about it. 'Keep Dancing' is about his death and how he still has a power over me and bringing me down and what it's like to break free from that. You know, some parents are cruel." "It's a special subject to sing about and to make pop music out of," says Martin. "It's actually celebrating moving on and I think that's really fantastic. 'Keep Dancing' is absolutely smashing." "Life is so fragile," smiles Flavia. "But what are you supposed to do? I'd rather dance."

Empty Empty is Cinema Paradiso's 3rd album. Cinema Paradiso functions as a trio without a leader, consisting of Kurt Van Herck (Brussels Jazz Orchestra, Dizzie Gillespie Big Band, Bert Joris Quartet), Eric Thielemans (A Snare is a Bell, EARR, Talking About the Weather) and Willem Heylen (KRAKk, Aki, Sargam).

After his guest contributions on several tracks during the recording sessions that resulted in the compilation of the first two albums (Volume I and Volume II), Jozef Dumoulin (Lidlboj, The Red Hill Orchestra, True Company) was involved in the entire creation and recording process of Empty Empty.

Now focusing on original compositions (along with some Indian chants and a piece by Claude Debussy), this album also distinguishes itself from the previous two albums by presenting a new sonic landscape. Blending the rich timbres and textures of both the acoustic and electric sonic worlds of the musicians, we were looking to get a strong, direct, full sound that still retains enough detail and acoustic warmth.

The album was recorded and mixed by Joris Caluwaerts (Stuff) at his Finster Studio in Antwerp.

Mind Lines, the second record from Silver Scrolls, is the follow-up to 2020's Music for Walks. Dave Brylawski (Polvo, Idyll Swords) and Brian Quast (Polvo, the BQ's) once again team up with producer and de facto third Scroll Greg Elkins, to make an album that plants you firmly in your rock feelings. All of them. Classic rock, psych rock, indie rock, post rock, pre rock. Rock as hell.

Mind Lines. Follow them. Inspiration, spotted in the wild, lured out of dusty record bins and chased down scum alleys and garden paths, sounds stalked and collected, wrestled and arranged, until everything is in its proper place and the final LP is as it should be. Or shouldn't be. Nine minute and seventeen second radio hits. Indie rock drum solos. Whatever. Whatever dumped from the butterfly net of their collective unconscious. Whatever stumbled through the door of their open minds. Whatever works.

At this point in their collective music careers, the Scrolls are free to emulate, ignore, or destroy convention, as they see fit. Dave and Brian have seen enough, the Mind Lines have been drawn, traced... The songs are as classic as they are brand new. Yesterday chasing tomorrow. Noon is the verse, midnight the chorus. and right now is the bridge. The Scrolls chug deep from the fountain of spooky tooth, shooting sparks through their teeth. Let's go.

On Mind Lines, the Silver Scrolls are still walking, shredding, open to whatever comes next. The music came down from the mountain. Please stay a while.

Almost three decades on from their last release, Acid Jazz forefathers Galliano are back with news of their new LP ‘Halfway Somewhere’ which is being released on Gilles Peterson’s Brownswood Recordings on 30 August.

Born out of London’s underground clubs and warehouse parties of the mid to late eighties, with the debut single on the Acid Jazz label in 1988, Galliano came out of a culture that spanned music, dance, fashion, art, design, and the written word.

When they arrived as the first act on Gilles Peterson’s Talkin’ Loud label in 1990 with ‘Welcome to the Story’ (produced by Chris Bangs who invented the term Acid Jazz) dressed in Gabicci sweaters, beads and skullcaps they captured a scene built on re-invention. “We were all playing around with what we could get our hands on whether that was a seventies book on Jamaican style or old Last Poets and Watts Prophets records,” says Gallagher. “We’d been recycling things for a few years but suddenly everything had coalesced and you’ve got an amalgam that seemed quite solid.”
For their first album since 1997, Rob Gallagher and his partner, vocalist Valerie Etienne, are joined by Galliano stalwarts Ernie McKone on bass, Crispin Taylor on drums, and Ski Oakenfull on keys (with guests including saxophonist Jason Yarde and percussionist Crispin ‘Spry’ Robinson).

Where the old Galliano recycled records they heard at clubs, today they are responding to the kaleidoscopic global jazz scene - from Total Refreshment Centre in London to International Anthem in Chicago. More than forty years since they came together, Galliano are still only ‘Halfway Somewhere’, but listening to the album they are obviously having fun getting there. “I think the stars have to be aligned when you redo things,” says Gallagher. “Coming at it from this door is very different to the door we came into back then. But once it's existing it is something. But I’m still not sure what that something is.”

Almost three decades on from their last release, Acid Jazz forefathers Galliano are back with news of their new LP ‘Halfway Somewhere’ which is being released on Gilles Peterson’s Brownswood Recordings on 30 August.

Born out of London’s underground clubs and warehouse parties of the mid to late eighties, with the debut single on the Acid Jazz label in 1988, Galliano came out of a culture that spanned music, dance, fashion, art, design, and the written word.

When they arrived as the first act on Gilles Peterson’s Talkin’ Loud label in 1990 with ‘Welcome to the Story’ (produced by Chris Bangs who invented the term Acid Jazz) dressed in Gabicci sweaters, beads and skullcaps they captured a scene built on re-invention. “We were all playing around with what we could get our hands on whether that was a seventies book on Jamaican style or old Last Poets and Watts Prophets records,” says Gallagher. “We’d been recycling things for a few years but suddenly everything had coalesced and you’ve got an amalgam that seemed quite solid.”
For their first album since 1997, Rob Gallagher and his partner, vocalist Valerie Etienne, are joined by Galliano stalwarts Ernie McKone on bass, Crispin Taylor on drums, and Ski Oakenfull on keys (with guests including saxophonist Jason Yarde and percussionist Crispin ‘Spry’ Robinson).

Where the old Galliano recycled records they heard at clubs, today they are responding to the kaleidoscopic global jazz scene - from Total Refreshment Centre in London to International Anthem in Chicago. More than forty years since they came together, Galliano are still only ‘Halfway Somewhere’, but listening to the album they are obviously having fun getting there. “I think the stars have to be aligned when you redo things,” says Gallagher. “Coming at it from this door is very different to the door we came into back then. But once it's existing it is something. But I’m still not sure what that something is.”

The impact, influence, and importance of Run-D.M.C.'s self-titled debut – the album that invented hardcore hip-hop and bridged rap, rock, and funk in then-unparalleled ways – cannot be measured. The first full-length record released by Profile Records, the 1984 set permanently changed the sound of music, broadcast streetwise wisdom to every corner of the country, and made the notion of a one-man band a distinct reality. Bolstered by an incendiary blend of staccato deliveries, stark beats, aggressive exchanges, evocative hooks, and socially conscious messages, Run-D.M.C. still hits listeners in the jaw with the same intensity it did nearly 40 years ago when it could be heard booming from ghetto blasters carried around city blocks nationwide.

Sourced from the original master tapes, pressed on MoFi SuperVinyl, and strictly limited to 3,000 numbered copies, Mobile Fidelity's 180g SuperVinyl 33RPM LP is the definitive-sounding version of the groundbreaking work cited by Rolling Stone as the 378th Greatest Album of All Time. This reissue also represents the first time this gold-certified effort has been presented in audiophile quality. Benefitting from the ultra-low noise floor, superb groove definition, and dead-quiet surfaces of SuperVinyl, Run-D.M.C. now plays with a clarity, immediacy, punchiness, and directness worthy of the artistry, urgency, and intellect of the trio's material.

The brilliance of Russell Simmons and Larry Smith's production comes into view as if the music is being broadcast on a giant system in a small club — only more focused, lively, and unlimited. Free of dynamic constraints and fatiguing harshness, this LP invites you to turn up the volume and experience the raw, rough, invigorating songs that changed the look, sound, and feel of hip-hop overnight. Think the trio’s sparse framework of drum machines, tag-team rhymes, keyboard accents, and turntable scratches is stuck in the mid-80s? Spin MoFi’s SuperVinyl LP and gain new appreciation for the music, messages, and production on display on Run-D.M.C.

Recorded in the wake of two successful and pioneering singles, both included on the album, Run-D.M.C. effectively took a sheet of coarse-grit sandpaper to the polish, sheen, and linear presentation of all the hip-hop that preceded it. Stripped to bare-bones foundations, the songs grab your attention and shake you by the collar with a combination of industrial-leaning rhythms, staggered deliveries, dance drama, and hard, minimalist percussion. Then there are the lyrics.

The LP broadcasts a smart mix of boots-on-the-ground reports, uplifting advice, and then-nascent b-boy culture. In one fell swoop, its narratives and music rendered the scene’s proclivity toward glamor and softness passé. Run-D.M.C.’s tough, cool-minded fashion sense showed the trio walked its talk and gave fans — particularly those living in long-ignored urban areas — heroes which with they could identify. Kangol hats, black jeans, leather jackets, Adidas sneaks, and gold chains were the new currency.

In every regard, Run-D.M.C. signifies the birth of modern hip-hop. Never more obviously than on the groundbreaking “Rock Box,” where rap and rock were first fused. As the first hip-hop video to receive regular rotation on MTV, the track eviscerated racial and social boundaries, awakened musicians and listeners to new possibilities, and redefined both popular music and, ultimately, popular culture. As the Roots’ Questlove has stated, it “ knocked down many obstacles, enabling hip-hop to become the new gospel."

Such teaching includes the real-world scripture of “Hard Times,” utopian hopefulness of “Wake Up,” and observational truths of “It’s Like That.” Released as the group’s debut single well before its eponymous album, the latter tune established themes and outlooks Run-D.M.C. would embrace during its career. Namely, the keen awareness of various prejudices, economic ills, and disruptive violence as well as the knowledge that education, self-motivation, and hard work were the ways to escape disadvantages and disillusionment.

Inspired and inspirational, the song reflects the spirit and shrewdness that courses throughout Run-D.M.C. That includes a detailed account of the trio’s not-so secret weapon (“Jam-Master Jay”), purpose statement (“Hollis Crew (Krush-Groove 2)”), and a revolutionary hybrid autobiographical narrative-dis track (“Sucker M.C.’s (Krush-Groove 1)”) widely regarded as one of the best hip-hop songs ever created. The same can be said for every moment on Run-D.M.C.

MoFi SuperVinyl
Developed by NEOTECH and RTI, MoFi SuperVinyl is the most exacting-to-specification vinyl compound ever devised. Analog lovers have never seen (or heard) anything like it. Extraordinarily expensive and extremely painstaking to produce, the special proprietary compound addresses two specific areas of improvement: noise floor reduction and enhanced groove definition. The vinyl composition features a new carbonless dye (hold the disc up to the light and see) and produces the world's quietest surfaces. This high-definition formula also allows for the creation of cleaner grooves that are virtually indistinguishable from the original lacquer. MoFi SuperVinyl provides the closest approximation of what the label's engineers hear in the mastering lab.

"Even God Has A Sense Of Humor" is the long-awaited follow up album to Maxo's critically acclaimed 2019 release Lil Big Man. Across the 14-tracks, Even God Has A Sense Of Humor pays tribute to the mercurial nature of life and includes features from Liv.e, keiyaA, LastNameDavid, and Melanie Charles along with the previously released singles "Free!," produced by Dev Morrison and "48," produced by Madlib and featuring Pink Siifu. The FADER recently sat down with Maxo to discuss the album, which they described as having "a defiant glow, like a bronze statue still standing after an intense tornado."

Born Maxamillian Allen, Even God Has A Sense Of Humor finds Maxo earnest, full-hearted, and lyrically agile. His delivery punches as he poetically unpacks the trials and blessings that have marked the last three years since Lil Big Man, his stirring and meditative debut album. “Life is always gonna be life-ing,” Maxo says, speaking to the spiritual lessons that inspired this new project and an album process that has revealed to him the many ways in which he’s divinely protected.

The album’s striking cover features three casted sculptures of Maxo by legendary NYC-based artist artist John Ahearn, photographed by the rapper’s friend Steven Traylor. The image both preceded the music and set the tone for the record’s overall aura. Experiencing the casting process—which required long periods of stillness for form, and breathwork to avoid claustrophobia—became a metaphor about ego death for Maxo. “I had to go to a space where I was just not there,” he says. As the molding was poured over his body and the voices of those in the room became distant, Maxo’s inner world came into focus. “By the time it hardened, it seemed like the sculpture had risen to be 20 feet above where it was first— almost like it grew tall,” he explains. EGHASOH, in its aural ebbs and flows, honest questioning, profound revelations, and elegant verse, is Maxo standing spiritually tall following a period of challenges with family and friends.

Maxo’s writing process has always been rooted in imagery, observation, and capturing moments. Growing up in Southern California, Maxo spent a lot of time combing through old family photo albums, some of whose contents have become the artwork for prior releases. But his fascination with visual memento is less about nostalgia or remembering, and more about exploring concepts of growth, healing, and cycles. His artistry is intentional and deeply sensitive: “If I’m not feeling it, I’m not gonna record.” While his past records openly grappled with emotional turbulence, anger and depression, EGHASOH is Maxo’s acceptance stage: “I can't really judge nothing. I can't sit up and be mad at shit because everything is, everything is kind of coexisting,” he says.

Musically, EGHASOH is an impressive evolution from Maxo’s earlier, unornamented lo-fi projects. With an emphasis on jazzy instrumentalism and soothing, intricate vocals from both the artist and featured chanteueses Liv.e, Melanie Charles, and keiyaA, EGHASOH is a welcome and beautifully complex sonic effort. Its contributors include a range of musicians: Pink Siifu, LastNameDavid, Madlib, GrayMatter, Karriem Riggins, Beat Butcha, Lance Skiiiwalker, and more. The album was executive produced by Mount Kimbie’s Dom Maker.

“Nobody talks about the fact that we’re changing as we get older... Everybody just acts like you supposed to know,” Maxo says on album standout, “Face of Stone”. It's moody bassline meets a cinematic accordion melody that paradoxically both broods and uplifts—a fitting production choice that mirrors the song’s story. “I’m seeing how this world is chipping you and withering your bones,” Maxo says. “I’m talking about myself, talking about my bro. But it’s never nothing you gonna do that’s a one stop shop in this life. You gotta keep staying diligent and consistent.” For Maxo, Even God Has a Sense of Humor is nothing more than another moment on the timeline of his offerings of self-expression as an artist—one whose sole intention is to, in his words, develop as a human being and heal.

Human Worth are proud to present the killer second album ‘Celestial Devastation’ from UK supergroup COWER, featuring members of The Ghost of a Thousand, Petbrick, USA Nails, Yards, The Eurosuite and JAAW, with a portion of proceeds donated to charity. Featuring the musical might of Tom Lacey (Yards, The Ghost of a Thousand), Wayne Adams (Petbrick, JAAW, Big Lad) and Gareth Thomas (USA Nails, The Eurosuite) Cower is a collaborative project of 3 friends celebrating a lifetime of music exploration together. Each bringing their own distinct flavour to this new record, which pushes the boundaries even more than their acclaimed debut ‘BOYS’, exploring further into the realms on gothic darkness, but still with a real kick, highlighting the trio’s noise roots.

Recorded, mixed and mastered at Bear Bites Horse Studio by Wayne Adams, ‘Celestial Devastation’ explores the idea of technology becoming the guiding light in our lives, for better or worse. In the words of the band’s lyricist Tom Lacey “We give up a lot of decision making to the algorithm more and more, so these songs are an attempt to make sense of that. I think that kind of power speaks to certain type of men, they seem to want to try and harness it, make others see it’s value, so this record speaks a lot to tech bros and the weird cult of silicon valley.” Human Worth have pressed up a limited run of ‘Celestial Eco Mix’ vinyl, housed in a gorgeous package designed by Thomas Lacey using MidSommar AI – linking perfectly with the album’s themes. Featuring a super high gloss cover, with additional photographic inserts illustrated by Daniel Holloway. 10% of all proceeds will be donated to Hackney Foodbank, supporting people in crisis or trapped in poverty with compassion and dignity.

‘The Oakland band’s wide-ranging debut is a whirlwind of biting critique, nervy post-punk guitars, and absurdist humor. Rarely does a first record speak with such a trenchant voice.’ 7.5 PITCHFORK
‘Post-punk lovers have a new act to follow" - PASTE
Fake Fruit’s visceral indie rock operates so firmly in the present that it’s transportive and unmooring. The Oakland trio’s songs careen with volatile energy and lead singer Ham D’Amato’s lyrics are enveloped with acerbic humor and resonant perceptiveness. Though their new LP Mucho Mistrust is a sly reference to a beloved Blondie lyric, the title encapsulates both the anxieties of daily life, a bloodless music industry, and global capitalism as well as the clear-eyed skepticism needed to rebel against it. Across 12 propulsively unpredictable tracks, the album is both their most collaborative and most immediate yet.
Following the 2021 release of Fake Fruit’s self-titled debut LP, the band’s personal lives hit a turbulent and transformational period. “There were big life changes and I was so close to boiling over,” says D’Amato. “I left a bad relationship, entered a more stable and loving one, got diagnosed with alopecia, and I'm turning 30 soon too.” This personal upheaval was channeled into the explosive lead single “Mucho Mistrust.” The track is simultaneously disorienting and direct, with clanging guitars from Alex Post, off-kilter drums from Miles MacDiarmid, and D’Amato snarling, “How you gonna blame me / when you could’ve done something about it / it’s not right / How you gonna marinate me / in shitty things overnight.” She explains, “This song was a snapshot of how I got through a difficult year.”
Recorded live at the Bay Area’s Atomic Garden studio with producer Jack Shirley (Deafheaven, Home Is Where), the band’s palpable ferocity shines throughout the record. Single “Más o Menos” is searing punk, with buzzsaw guitars and surging bass. It’s a clenched-fist song, one where D’Amato sings, “I decided to assert myself / After I lost all my sense of self.” Later in the track, D’Amato, who is Chicana, sings in Spanish, “¡No me hables! / ¡No escuchare!” While some of these songs deal in heartbreak, they are charged with way bigger themes. “There's also wanting to break up with capitalism and feeling upset about things politically,” says D’Amato.
For the band, these themes are personal. “I'm managing us while I'm in between changing diapers in my day job as a nanny,” says D’Amato. “Everyone in the band still believes in it and is motivated to keep wading through the bullshit.” On this album, they had no choice but to bet on themselves and each other. No track broadcasts their evolution better than the single “Cause of Death,” which morphs from a gorgeous sax-laden banger to something cathartic and anthemic.
As adventurous and righteous as Mucho Mistrust gets, there’s still an inviting core that never takes itself too seriously. From the ripping “Cause of Death,” which self-deprecatingly takes aim at anxiety and indecision, to the searing title track, Fake Fruit imbue their songs with humor and heart. “Our band is fun,” says D’Amato. “My number one coping mechanism for all of life is to joke about it. Even when the album talks about serious things, I am proud of how funny it can be.”

Next up on Aris is a particularly special one - Ireland's first electronic music 12''- Carrier Frequency's Telecaster Man, a particularly Irish take on the acid house sounds of the late 80's, that still does the job 35 years later. ''A nine minute tune with two chords, it's just f-ckin' madness mostly - distortion and drum machines.'' simply put by one of the artist himself, but it's much more really. The record originally released in 1989 was a collaborative effort featuring the talents of Mr. Spring, Leo O'Kelly of 70's folk heroes Tir Na nOg, and Trevor Knight of 80s synth pop band Auto Da Fe, Mr. Spring, a veteran of pirate radio since his early teens and the local go to studio guy for dreamers and the Depeche Mode and Talk Talk clones of the time, spearheaded the project. Drawing from his extensive experience and technical prowess, Spring had already established his own studio in 1987, equipped with state-of-the-art gear including an Atari sequencer and an Akai s900 sampler. They decided to work together on it as Spring says ''We wanted to get a Cabaret Voltaire sound to it and have a bit of fun.'' Fueled by a shared passion for experimentation and sonic exploration and inspired by the dynamic energy of the club scene and the rapidly evolving sounds of electronic music, the late-night recording sessions in Spring's studio characterized by spontaneity and innovation. The result of their collaboration was ''Telecaster Man,'' a nine-minute tour de force combining distorted guitars, hypnotic rhythms, and pulsating synthesizers. The 12 inch comes with the original and Sinewave mixes plus a new Mr. Spring remix from the original multi tracks rounding it out with the replication remix and a bonus acapella. Full colour sleeve and comes with extended liner notes.

Cinderella's album Still Climbing is a testament to the band's enduring legacy in the realm of hard rock. This fourth and last studio album was released in 1994, combined gritty guitars with Tom Keifer's signature raspy vocals making it an authentic rock record. The track ""Hot & Bothered"" first appeared on the soundtrack of 90s comedy film Wayne's World, which starred Mike Meyers and Dana Carvey. Further standout songs from the album are ""Bad Attitude Shuffle"", ""Freewheelin"" and ""Through The Rain"". Still Climbing includes an insert with lyrics.

“Todavía No”, La Paloma’s debut album, consolidates the young band from Madrid as one of the realities of the current scene. Undoubtedly, it’s definitely a bold step forward in all senses: compositional, interpretative, and artistic. Noise-rock to combat all the noise out there.

In “Una idea, pero es triste”, their celebrated debut EP, La Paloma expounded something very serious, but they explained it only once. Five songs that instantly connected with an audience eager for new references. In “Todavía no” there is more depth; here practically each cut shows a different shade of being La Paloma. “Tiré una piedra al aire” is far from “Algo ha cambiado”, but both are unequivocally La Paloma. Surely, this is something that can be attributed to the baggage acquired during this time lapse, but it certainly speaks very well of the artistic ambition of a band to which now seems to have no ceiling.
We are not, therefore, facing a mere extension of their 2021 EP, although musically they pick it up from where they left off. “Todavía no” is an accessible and contagious work, equal qualities shared with “Una idea, pero es triste”. It’s a work that conveys discontent and liberation, ambition and boredom. In large part, it’s due to the accredited ability of its composers Nico Yubero and Lucas Sierra to observe the world with the right dose of skepticism and disappointment, avoiding tormented gesticulation.
The presentation tour that followed the publication of the EP was extensive and led La Paloma to defend their songs throughout the Spanish geography, as well as visits to Portugal, Mexico and the United States. That state of grace was transferred to the studio, where they tried to reflect their live sound and proposal. With an elegant production and without undue frills, the mission of preserving the sharp fang shown in concert halls was achieved, ensuring, in turn, that the elements, arrangements and the proposal of each instrument were heard crystal clear.
Right from the start, we notice in the sequence many of the virtues that make La Paloma one of the most advantaged groups of the current scene: gushing guitars, the solidity of its rhythm section with Rubén Almonacid on bass and Juan Rojo on drums and the color tone provided by the voices of Nico and Lucas, who share the vocal tasks on alternate tracks.
But there’s more: songs that destroy the most generic canon of noise-rock to take it to little-explored territories, frantic guitar games and a cascade of imaginative arrangements. It combines popular song constructions with unpredictable structures that prevent you from anticipating what twist is to come next, making listening experience exhilarating and addictive.
“Todavía no” is a tightly cohesive album, a remarkable fact considering the two creative inputs from which the band draws from and the artistic ambition with which they faced the building of this work. Because we are talking about a complete work, conceived as such. The first chords of “Sigo aquí” sound and the disorganization of reality… is still disorganized, but somehow it makes sense now.

LOS ANGELES—To celebrate the 40th anniversary of the celebrated Talking Heads and Jonathan Demme’s concert film Stop Making Sense, the set will be re-released as a 2LP and 2CD/Blu-ray set this summer.

Released last year, the sold-out Deluxe Edition of the soundtrack will return as a 2-LP black vinyl on Rhino and 2-LP crystal clear vinyl at retail. Both variants feature a 12-page booklet with liner notes from all four band members –Tina Weymouth, David Byrne, Chris Frantz, and Jerry Harrison—and band photos. The 2CD/Blu-ray version includes the entire 28-page booklet from last year’s Deluxe Edition and a Dolby Atmos mix of the complete concert, mixed by Jerry Harrison and E.T. Thorngren, who also mixed the original release. Both will be available on July 26. Pre-order now.

The band appeared together for a sold-out screening and Q&A last night at the Pantages Theater, the same theater at which Stop Making Sense was recorded. They were joined by Blondshell, who performed “Thank You For Sending Me an Angel.” Another special screening with the band will occur in Brooklyn at the King’s Theater on June 13, with the Q&A hosted by Questlove and The Linda Linda’s performing “Found a Job.” The two events cap off a banner year of celebrations for what many consider to be the best concert film of all time.

The inspiration for Stop Making Sense came when director Jonathan Demme saw Talking Heads perform during the band’s 1983 tour for Speaking in Tongues. Afterward, he approached them with the idea of making the show into a concert film. They agreed and worked together over the next few months to finalize the details. Ultimately, Demme filmed three shows at Hollywood’s Pantages Theater in December 1983 to create Stop Making Sense.

The concert film presents a retrospective of the band up to that point, with a performance that weaves together songs from all six of its studio albums. The show progresses methodically, opening with Byrne onstage performing “Psycho Killer” alone with a drum machine. After each song, he’s joined by a new band member until Weymouth, Frantz, and Harrison are all on stage with him. The group continues to grow throughout the concert as members of the stellar touring band are added: keyboardist Bernie Worrell, percussionist Steve Scales, guitarist Alex Weir, and backup singers Lynn Mabry and Ednah Holt.

The band performs 18 songs in Stop Making Sense, including its recent single at the time, “Burning Down The House.” That summer, the song was in heavy rotation on radio and MTV, helping the song become the band’s first top 10 hit in America. It was, however, a different song from Speaking in Tongues that was destined to deliver one of the film’s signature moments. Talking Heads would perform “Girlfriend Is Better” wearing the now iconic, oversized suit inspired by costumes worn in traditional Japanese theater. For good measure, a picture of David Byrne in the suit also graces the album cover.

Stop Making Sense focuses mainly on music by Talking Heads but does include a few songs recorded outside the band: “Genius Of Love” by Tom Tom Club, “What A Day That Was” and “Big Business” from Byrne’s 1981 album, The Catherine Wheel. Limited edition vinyl versions of both of these albums, along with Harrison’s The Red And The Black, were released for this year’s Record Store Day.

When it arrived in September 1984, Stop Making Sense was an artistic and commercial triumph. The film had people dancing in theatre aisles, and the soundtrack sold over two million copies. Just last year, the Library of Congress added Stop Making Sense to the National Film Registry in recognition of its cultural, historical, and aesthetic significance.

Weymouth praises Demme as a collaborator: “…Jonathan was a very enthusiastic, highly adaptive, and imaginative guy who was just as good a listener as he was a talker and collaborator. From the get-go you just got the impression he was as flexible as he was disciplined. Being team players, that boded well for a great relationship and a great film!”

Harrison says the film still holds up today: “To me, Stop Making Sense has remained relevant because the staging and lighting techniques could have been created in a much earlier time period. For example, Vari-Lights, lights with motors to re-aim them, had just come into vogue. Had we used them, there would have been a timestamp on the film, and it eventually would have felt dated...The absence of interviews, combined with the elegant and timeless lighting, created a film that can be watched over and over.”

Byrne says it’s interesting that this album was – for many people – an introduction to Talking Heads. “We had done a live album before this, but coupled with the film, and with the improved mixes and sound quality, this record reached a whole new audience. As often happens, the songs got an added energy when we performed them live and were inspired by having an audience. In many ways, these versions are more exciting than the studio recordings, so maybe that’s why a lot of folks discovered us via this record.”

Frantz recalls the sheer joy surrounding the entire Stop Making Sense experience. “I’m talking about real, conscious, transcendent joy… I’m talking about what the Southern gospel people call ‘getting happy,’ which means ‘to be filled with the Spirit.’ That is what happened to us onstage every night, and from my seat behind the drums, I recognized that this was happening to the audience too. Joy was visible in front of me and all around me every night.”

Animals on Psychedelics welcomes Swiss/Tunisian producer Ish for its 9th release, with another suitably lysergic 3 track EP.

A1 kicks off with vintage Sci-fi mind exploration samples and quickly evolves into a pulsating and accelerated acid trance rumpus, with the sample weaving its way around the tracks main goan filtered synths and throbbing bass, for a perfect, reflective end of night closer.

Still keeping things pacey and sci-fi, B1 guides us into more traditional trance territory, with lighter 808 kick drums and a progressive arpeggiated synth line that links up with his paranoid friend half way through for some machine talk , before metallic bass and electric guitar mates comes barging in to abruptly end all chat.

B2 continues the trip and lands us on an unexplored planet deep in the outer universe. Pensive, melancholic and breaksy IDM frequencies transmit through our vessels radio, whilst a woman reminds us that we still have our 'Body's' as we float in space.

LOS ANGELES—To celebrate the 40th anniversary of the celebrated Talking Heads and Jonathan Demme’s concert film Stop Making Sense, the set will be re-released as a 2LP and 2CD/Blu-ray set this summer.

Released last year, the sold-out Deluxe Edition of the soundtrack will return as a 2-LP black vinyl on Rhino and 2-LP crystal clear vinyl at retail. Both variants feature a 12-page booklet with liner notes from all four band members –Tina Weymouth, David Byrne, Chris Frantz, and Jerry Harrison—and band photos. The 2CD/Blu-ray version includes the entire 28-page booklet from last year’s Deluxe Edition and a Dolby Atmos mix of the complete concert, mixed by Jerry Harrison and E.T. Thorngren, who also mixed the original release. Both will be available on July 26. Pre-order now.

The band appeared together for a sold-out screening and Q&A last night at the Pantages Theater, the same theater at which Stop Making Sense was recorded. They were joined by Blondshell, who performed “Thank You For Sending Me an Angel.” Another special screening with the band will occur in Brooklyn at the King’s Theater on June 13, with the Q&A hosted by Questlove and The Linda Linda’s performing “Found a Job.” The two events cap off a banner year of celebrations for what many consider to be the best concert film of all time.

The inspiration for Stop Making Sense came when director Jonathan Demme saw Talking Heads perform during the band’s 1983 tour for Speaking in Tongues. Afterward, he approached them with the idea of making the show into a concert film. They agreed and worked together over the next few months to finalize the details. Ultimately, Demme filmed three shows at Hollywood’s Pantages Theater in December 1983 to create Stop Making Sense.

The concert film presents a retrospective of the band up to that point, with a performance that weaves together songs from all six of its studio albums. The show progresses methodically, opening with Byrne onstage performing “Psycho Killer” alone with a drum machine. After each song, he’s joined by a new band member until Weymouth, Frantz, and Harrison are all on stage with him. The group continues to grow throughout the concert as members of the stellar touring band are added: keyboardist Bernie Worrell, percussionist Steve Scales, guitarist Alex Weir, and backup singers Lynn Mabry and Ednah Holt.

The band performs 18 songs in Stop Making Sense, including its recent single at the time, “Burning Down The House.” That summer, the song was in heavy rotation on radio and MTV, helping the song become the band’s first top 10 hit in America. It was, however, a different song from Speaking in Tongues that was destined to deliver one of the film’s signature moments. Talking Heads would perform “Girlfriend Is Better” wearing the now iconic, oversized suit inspired by costumes worn in traditional Japanese theater. For good measure, a picture of David Byrne in the suit also graces the album cover.

Stop Making Sense focuses mainly on music by Talking Heads but does include a few songs recorded outside the band: “Genius Of Love” by Tom Tom Club, “What A Day That Was” and “Big Business” from Byrne’s 1981 album, The Catherine Wheel. Limited edition vinyl versions of both of these albums, along with Harrison’s The Red And The Black, were released for this year’s Record Store Day.

When it arrived in September 1984, Stop Making Sense was an artistic and commercial triumph. The film had people dancing in theatre aisles, and the soundtrack sold over two million copies. Just last year, the Library of Congress added Stop Making Sense to the National Film Registry in recognition of its cultural, historical, and aesthetic significance.

Weymouth praises Demme as a collaborator: “…Jonathan was a very enthusiastic, highly adaptive, and imaginative guy who was just as good a listener as he was a talker and collaborator. From the get-go you just got the impression he was as flexible as he was disciplined. Being team players, that boded well for a great relationship and a great film!”

Harrison says the film still holds up today: “To me, Stop Making Sense has remained relevant because the staging and lighting techniques could have been created in a much earlier time period. For example, Vari-Lights, lights with motors to re-aim them, had just come into vogue. Had we used them, there would have been a timestamp on the film, and it eventually would have felt dated...The absence of interviews, combined with the elegant and timeless lighting, created a film that can be watched over and over.”

Byrne says it’s interesting that this album was – for many people – an introduction to Talking Heads. “We had done a live album before this, but coupled with the film, and with the improved mixes and sound quality, this record reached a whole new audience. As often happens, the songs got an added energy when we performed them live and were inspired by having an audience. In many ways, these versions are more exciting than the studio recordings, so maybe that’s why a lot of folks discovered us via this record.”

Frantz recalls the sheer joy surrounding the entire Stop Making Sense experience. “I’m talking about real, conscious, transcendent joy… I’m talking about what the Southern gospel people call ‘getting happy,’ which means ‘to be filled with the Spirit.’ That is what happened to us onstage every night, and from my seat behind the drums, I recognized that this was happening to the audience too. Joy was visible in front of me and all around me every night.”

Seit mehr als zwei Jahrzehnten verfolgen Dr. Dog ihre Hingabe an die Alchemie des Musikmachens. Als es an der Zeit war, ihr elftes Studioalbum aufzunehmen, wählte die aus Philadelphia stammende Band einen vielschichtigen Prozess aus, der eine tiefere Synergie zwischen den fünf Mitgliedern (Bassist Toby Leaman, Lead-Gitarrist Scott McMicken, Rhythmusgitarrist Frank McElroy, Keyboarder Zach Miller und Schlagzeuger Eric Slick) erforderte. Diese Reise begann mit einer gemeinsamen Session in einer Hütte in den Wäldern von Pennsylvania, von wo aus Dr. Dog sich nach und nach ihren Weg zu dem fröhlich-unbefangenen Psych-Rock ihrer neuen, selbstbetitelten LP bahnten. McMicken übernahm bei "Dr. Dog" zum ersten Mal in der Geschichte der ausgesprochen egalitären Band das Ruder als Produzent, abgemischt wurde das Album vom mehrfachen Grammy-Gewinner Matt Ross-Spang (Jason Isbell, Drive-By Truckers). Getreu dem eklektischen Geist, der die Band schon immer beseelt hat, wechseln die 11 Tracks auf "Dr. Dog" von Soul über Surf-Rock bis hin zu symphonischem Pop mit einer Ausgelassenheit, die durch die wiederbelebte kreative Energie beflügelt wurde. Ihr erstes komplettes Album seit "Critical Equation" von 2018 zeigt Dr. Dog als eine Band, die noch immer, nach über zwanzig Jahren ihrer Karriere, zusammenwächst und sich weiterentwickelt.

One mere year after their previous pitch-black sounding album Krypt, LA outfit Male Tears is back with a new full-length and – oh boy – everything is changed.

The used-to-be duo is now a four piece with James Edward as the sole founding member remaining and apparently this new line-up helped the original vocalist to shapeshift again.
Remember their very first debut album from 2021 and those dark synthpop sounds?

With their upcoming fourth album (in only three years), this American electronic-pop act from Southern California doubles the stakes once again and where Krypt was all about being goth and gloomy and disturbingly paroxysmal, Paradisco is somehow quite the opposite.

Eight new tracks of pure italo disco, hi-NRG and freestyle bliss that pick up where the band left off three years ago to pursue much darker realms. Now that the quest for darkness is done, it is time to polish our nails and dress up for the night-out cause there’s more in life than feeling sorry for yourself. Yes you will need to cut out the deadwood but there is no change in stillness.

So join Male Tears and their new arsenal of bangers and floor fillers with assertive titles such as Out of my Life, Regret 4 Nothing and Leave it Alone.

Get yourself wrapped up in one warm cover of delicate nostalgia and reborn romanticism, driven by sounds that pay homage equally to Miko Mission and Ken Laszlo, Lisa Lisa and Exposé and, well yeah, even The Smiths because say what you wanna say but you simply cannot not love The Smiths.

Embrace the vintage vibes that organically propagate from this new record’s grooves and get in the mood for this new course in full-on 1980’s Pop.

One mere year after their previous pitch-black sounding album Krypt, LA outfit Male Tears is back with a new full-length and – oh boy – everything is changed.

The used-to-be duo is now a four piece with James Edward as the sole founding member remaining and apparently this new line-up helped the original vocalist to shapeshift again.
Remember their very first debut album from 2021 and those dark synthpop sounds?

With their upcoming fourth album (in only three years), this American electronic-pop act from Southern California doubles the stakes once again and where Krypt was all about being goth and gloomy and disturbingly paroxysmal, Paradisco is somehow quite the opposite.

Eight new tracks of pure italo disco, hi-NRG and freestyle bliss that pick up where the band left off three years ago to pursue much darker realms. Now that the quest for darkness is done, it is time to polish our nails and dress up for the night-out cause there’s more in life than feeling sorry for yourself. Yes you will need to cut out the deadwood but there is no change in stillness.

So join Male Tears and their new arsenal of bangers and floor fillers with assertive titles such as Out of my Life, Regret 4 Nothing and Leave it Alone.

Get yourself wrapped up in one warm cover of delicate nostalgia and reborn romanticism, driven by sounds that pay homage equally to Miko Mission and Ken Laszlo, Lisa Lisa and Exposé and, well yeah, even The Smiths because say what you wanna say but you simply cannot not love The Smiths.

Embrace the vintage vibes that organically propagate from this new record’s grooves and get in the mood for this new course in full-on 1980’s Pop.

"1996-97? Yeah, that’s when New York was still NEW YORK!

That was around the time we really started to get hold of exotic herbs. Copper Haze, hydroponic! The vibes in the studio were always lovely. I had hair at the time! Dread-Locs down to my shoulders... I was still rockin’ the Wallabees, or British Walkers as we called them - representing for Brooklyn and my West Indian roots!

There was no social media, no supervision, nobody all up in our business… It was classic "mind your own business" NYC Vibes! I was DJing at a lot of the hot clubs and THE hottest afterhours in the city. There were nights when I saw Micheal Douglas roll into the afters with Grace Jones - they were there to party and unwind and I was there dropping the dope tracks for the people.

When it was studio time, with my homie Matt Echols...I was probably setting things off with some quality herbage, a big ass bag of Funyuns and my trusty SP-1200, lol. I had picked up some tips and tricks from Todd Terry and by '96-'97 I was a Shaolin with it myself! This was around the time tracks like "Flowers" and "Only Love Can Break Your Heart (Dub)" were tearing up the clubs. I wanted to be able to get my ideas out with no problem, and by then I had a lot of confidence...

Being able to Dj in some of the hottest NY hot spots at the time, I was able to really see what worked and what didn't on the dancefloor. The best House Dancers from around the world and around the Tri-State area would be at my jams. I'm talking Ejoe, Voodoo Ray, maybe kids from the Mop-Top Crew... I was definitely taking note of the kind of rhythms and sounds that would make them go crazy on the dancefloor!

And that's how we went about it - I laid down the rhythms that made it happen in my sets and translated the vibes I was picking up from NYC itself. Matt threw down musically and we were just being as creative and inventive as possible! But we always kept in mind that our job was to make the people on the dancefloor jump!

A lot of the jams from those days got signed to various record labels, we dropped a lot of them on our own label...and some of them ended up in the archives - until now!"

- DJ Romain

Enjoy The Ride Records is happy to share an exclusive variant of the Milan Records release of Euphoria (Original Score from the HBO Series), Music by Labrinth.

Written and recorded in close collaboration with the Euphoria writer and director Sam Levinson, Labrinth‘s original compositions feature prominently throughout the hit HBO series as a sonic companion to the show’s angst-driven narrative and intoxicating visuals. The resulting 26-track collection is a genre-blending mix of gospel, soul, and electronic influences, indicative both of Labrinth’s imitable style as well as the show’s deeply moving storyline.

Of the album, Labrinth says, “My experience with Euphoria has made me a better musician. It was a dream come true to give wings and add magic to the different storylines. It was a collaborative effort among Sam Levinson, the crew, and the cast – I only added texture to an already phenomenal show. I hope that anyone who listens to the music embraces feeling something.”

Euphoria follows a group of high school students as they navigate love and friendships in a world of drugs, sex, trauma, and social media. The ensemble cast of Euphoria includes actor and singer Zendaya, Maude Apatow (Girls), Angus Cloud, Eric Dane, Alexa Demie, Jacob Elordi, Barbie Ferreira, Nika King, Storm Reid, Hunter Schafer, Algee Smith and Sydney Sweeney (Sharp Objects).

Euphoria is an American adaptation of an Israeli show of the same name, and all episodes are written by Sam Levinson (Assassination Nation), who also serves as executive producer.

The Enjoy The Ride Records Exclusive variant, ""Night Sky Blue,"" is limited to 1,000 copies. Euphoria is housed in a silver foil stamped & numbered soft-touch gatefold jacket with spot gloss and also contains a full-color insert.

Veiga lands straight on the dancefloor, no ambiguity about it. Spurred by the guys from RS Produções, he's been honing his DJ skills since he was 17 (currently 23), initially with partner Nunocoox, who gave him even more motivation. Production came naturally sometime in 2020. We venture: maybe one of the good things coming out of the lockdown? Summer of '22, his debut at Musicbox (at the Príncipe monthly residency) is recorded as a festive, lively set, punctuated by the kind of crowd shouts only heard when things go really happy and sweaty. Since then, Veiga's name has been spotted regularly in the afro club scene, growing in reputation

This side of kuduro, "Leandro" is as expressive as it gets, with percussive forces pulling in deceitfully different directions, much in the same style as the slower form of tarraxo. But we can call this house, yeah? No niceties, however: little over 3 minutes and the track abruptly cuts into silence, exuding the raw power of something made for the mix, not in the least "for the people". In a similar pragmatic mode, the stabs in "Sem Nome" get the party started unannounced. Full mode, for the duration. Minimal groove, broken beats and emotive highlights. "Boiler Room" may be wishful thinking, an interpretation of what is required to rock the place or, ultimately, just a title to wrap up the project. In any case, here's a feisty vocal-and-whistle driven stormer, building up to perfection over three and a half minutes. All elements exactly where they belong. Relentless pace in "X de Destroi", a dark side operation, unreal ambiance, breakneck beats, a purgation?

The title "Tudo É No Guetto" contains all the necessary theory. Everything happens in the ghetto. This uplifting house slab celebrates life as it is, freezing hardships for a moment, the ghetto seen as welcoming, a natural place to be. Vocals stashed away in his cell phone come from the animação crew Os Twinni (he joined them for a while). Clipped, repeated and manipulated to convey the very simple feeling of good times. Veiga himself talks about growing up with minimum resources but still happy. That is the memory he retains from being a kid in the ghettos of Amadora, just outside of Lisbon, born to a Cape Verdean father and Portuguese mother. Though the music sounds carefree and the message is chilled, let us not be tempted to rebrand Reality.

- 10TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION OF TESS PARKS DEBUT ALBUM.
- GOLD VINYL, GATEFOLD SLEEVE, HANDWRITTEN LYRIC BOOKLET.
A native of Toronto, Tess Parks moved to London, England at the age of seventeen where she briefly studied photography before deciding to focus on music.
Tess made an impression on industry legend Alan McGee, founder of Creation Records, albeit the timing of their meeting could hardly have been less ideal; McGee was no longer involved in music and Tess was due to move back to Toronto. After moving back to her hometown in 2012, Tess formed a band on the advice of McGee and less than a year after their meeting, he returned to music with his new label, 359 Music.
Tess became one of his first signings and released her debut record ‘Blood Hot’ in November 2013 to excellent reviews. One reviewer described her as “Patti Smith on Quaaludes”. Others have mentioned her “gauzy psychedelic sound” and“smouldering voice”.
Alan McGee himself said: “She’s only 24 and is already an amazing songwriter... she just doesn’t quite know she is yet ... her most beautiful quality is her lack of ego. Tess is an amazing lady”.
‘Blood Hot’ is inimitably confident. It’s slow and psychedelic at times, while being loud and ready to fill a stadium at others. There isn’t a moment on the album that isn’t relatable or that doesn’t ring to the tune of a timeless classic to be talked about for years to come (the same way people discuss The Velvet Underground or My Bloody Valentine records today).
Her cult-like following has turned into a movement. And Tess is gladly leading us all back into that space within ourselves, both deeply personal and entirely universal. Incredibly relevant yet timeless.Cool and anti-cool. An enigma that doesn’t need solving. Tess Parks is as she’s always been. Her best work is already out there. And her best yet is still to come.

“On August 5th 1962, after 300 years of British rule, which had soaked the earth of the island in blood, Jamaica was finally independent. The country that the British left behind was certainly a place of widespread poverty and deep inequality, but there seems to have been a real burst of confidence that came with independence. Newsreels of the day show well-dressed crowds reacting with enthusiasm and excitement, and the era found its perfect soundtrack in the boldness and exuberance of ska music, which was erupting all over the island.

This optimistic mood found probably its greatest artistic expression in the music of the Skatalites, who formed in June 1964 as a kind of Jamaican supergroup. Philip “Justin” Yap was a young, upcoming producer who had used members of the Skatalites for his first tunes, recorded either at RJR (Radio Jamaica and Redifussion) or at Federal studios. As Steve Barrow documented in the sleevenotes for Pressure Sounds’ reissue of the classic “Ska-Boo-Da-Ba” album, Justin had also befriended Clement “Coxsone” Dodd, and when Coxsone opened his own Studio One facility in December 1963, Justin immediately switched most of his production work to this new recording room. Studio One opened just in time to catch the formation of the Skatalites, and is where Justin recorded most of his classic Skatalites sides. He also recorded lots of excellent instrumentals with a smaller brass section, still mainly using members of the Skatalites, but crediting instead the composer or arranger of the tune. Combined with Coxsone’s own recordings, these productions for Justin’s Top Deck and Tuneico labels really captured the members of the Skatalites at their magnificent best in the unique atmosphere of Studio One.”

Everybody's still talking about the good ol 'days! A rough and rugged collection of ol' dirty classics that have inspired swarms of killer beats. A head nod to the sounds of Shaolin, the twelve chambers of Shanghai'd Soul have moved lyrical chefs and production geniuses alike to compose some of their most ominous hip-hop. Gods and Earths a like will appreciate the raw funk and smoother-than-a-Lexus soul that come to gether like Voltron on this special compilation. As sampled b y J. Cole, The Game, Cappadonna, The Avalanches, Kanye West, Hudson Mohawke, Anderson.Paak, Loyle Corner, Meek Mill, T.I., Quavo, Danny Brown, and hundreds more.

Everybody's still talking about the good ol 'days! A rough and rugged collection of ol' dirty classics that have inspired swarms of killer beats. A head nod to the sounds of Shaolin, the twelve chambers of Shanghai'd Soul have moved lyrical chefs and production geniuses alike to compose some of their most ominous hip-hop. Gods and Earths a like will appreciate the raw funk and smoother-than-a-Lexus soul that come to gether like Voltron on this special compilation. As sampled b y J. Cole, The Game, Cappadonna, The Avalanches, Kanye West, Hudson Mohawke, Anderson.Paak, Loyle Corner, Meek Mill, T.I., Quavo, Danny Brown, and hundreds more.

Released in 1999 on Taylor Deupree’s 12k label, »optimal.lp« was the debut album by Dan Abrams under his Shuttle358 moniker. For its 25th anniversary, Keplar presents it on vinyl for the first time with three previously unreleased tracks—the digital version also includes a alternative version of »Tank«—as well as a new artwork recreated by Daniel Castrejón and a remaster by Andreas LUPO Lubich based on the original pre-masters that were been restored and cleaned up for the reissue project by Abrams. »optimal.lp« was inspired by the rich tradition of ambient music and the rhythmic complexity of 1990s electronica while also sharing many traits with the then-emerging clicks’n’cuts movement, making it a true sui generis piece of work—both informed by tradition and visionary, idiosyncratic and seminal for many artists after him.

Abrams developed an interest in ambient music when he was still a child, scouring through cassette tapes of environmental sounds, new age music, and world percussion. Discovering Brian Eno’s »Thursday Afternoon« as a young teenager marked a turning point for him. »It gave me the idea that ambient music could be an intentional creative act, that tone itself is a legitimate form of expression,« he says today. During the 1990s, he increasingly immersed himself in the electronica scene and the output of labels such as Instinct, where Deupree worked as an Art Director and released his first records as Human Mesh Dance. Abrams found a home on 12k after sending Deupree a demo tape that would later evolve into »optimal.lp,« released as the label’s fifth catalogue number.

Abrams was still in college when he started experimenting with a sound module, his laptop and a mixer as well as a MIDI card and a small controller. »Each note was composed in MIDI and played back when I was ready to record,« he explains his working process at the time. »The tracks could be replayed, but the sound interactions with glitches and noise would be a little different each time. I decided to base the concept of the album on these interactions.« Each piece started with a single sound or tone that, as Abrams puts it, already contained the entire composition: »I let these interactions guide me, and tried to complement them as I added sounds. It’s a conversation of sorts with the medium.«

While refining this technique that he would go on to use on every album until 2004’s »Chessa,« reissued by Keplar in 2021, he also used the first-ever Native Instrument product, the Generator soft synth, to write the record’s title track—possibly making it the first album on which it was being used. »optimal.lp« is marked by this curious interplay of cutting-edge technology, the limitations with which every college student with a small budget is faced, and boundless creativity. »I’ve talked with other artists about how we feel about our early work,« Abrams says today. »We all agreed that there were elements that remain a part of us in a timeless way, despite our techniques—or lack thereof—at the time. ›optimal.lp‹ has a lot of things that will always be with me, that are me. I think I left some clues in there for my future self.«

This sense of timelessness remains tangible after a quarter of a century after the album’s original CD release and is even being expanded upon by the vinyl reissue, which is complemented by three pieces that were made while Abrams was working on the album. The digital release even features an entirely new take on the original album’s final piece, »Tank.« While Abrams let one of the masters go through his customised reverb unit when preparing the reissue, he started recording the results of this accidental dialogue between past and present. It’s a fitting tribute to an album whose delicate circular rhythms, rich textures, and ethereal melodies are precisely so exhilarating because their interplay seems to suspend the passing of time altogether.

Introducing Jahnah Camille (pronounced Hannah), a young artist emerging from the DIY scene of Birmingham, Alabama. Camille's songs capture the rollercoaster of teenage angst, heartbreak and introspection over a well-made bed of driving guitars and catchy, compact melodies. A five-track EP infused with anxiety and grit, i tried to freeze light, but only remember a girl, is a shining introductory project smoothed over by Camille's sugar-sweet voice and cutting lyricism. Much of the EP's songs were written and recorded while Camille was still in high school, taking trips back and forth from Atlanta to record. In the time following, Camille dug into the local DIY scene, steadily gaining an impressive resume of opening slots as she cut her teeth supporting acts like Clairo, Soccer Mommy, Cryogeyser and Wednesday as they came through town. Now 19 years old, Camille delivers an excellent snapshot of those uncertain and wildly hopeful late teen years. i tried to freeze light captures Camille approaching heartbreak and self-perception from a variety of angles-each track playing slightly with genre and cadence and infused with influence from her musical heroes, like Liz Phair and Fiona Apple. The EP pulls at a range of alternative rock and pop threads, there's the 90s alternative rock opener "flesh" and the country-gaze-tinged "roadkill." Camille then softens on the swooning synth-layered ode to love lost, "elliot," before relaxing into a folksy, acoustic "paper doll."I wanna talk and not spill out carnival sounds" Camille confides on closer "carnival sounds"--a track that illuminates the singer's art-pop influences and knack for revealing tender and at times searing admissions through her lyricism. While misunderstandings color the emotional sentiment of the EP, Camille's artistry and expression come through clear as day on i tried to freeze light, presenting her as a promising young voice with real talent and a hunger for musical experimentation.

Pirates Press Records is proud to present the new LP by 45 Adapters, entitled Unstoppable. The long-running New York City "Maximum Oi 'n B" combo are a band that lives by a few credos. "Dress Well, Drink Heavily." "Don't Trust Anyone Who Doesn't Dance." These values are on full display within the grooves of Unstoppable. Singer Pickabar & bassist Carlos are back with three new recruits to the band, and the group sounds revitalized, laying down the album in just two days at Noisy Little Critter studio with Mike Bardzik at the helm. Regarding the sentiments of the title track and lead single, Pickabar elaborates, "'Unstoppable' is about rock 'n roll and how much it shapes our lives. I've been hooked since I was a teenager and I still feel that same electric thrill listening to it, playing it, even talking about it_ There's something deeper that goes back to the root of what it means to be human. And I'm stoked to be even a tiny part of that." After fifteen years and numerous EPs, singles, splits, and collections, 45 Adapters are finally releasing their first proper LP. Longtime listeners and new fans alike are bound to agree that Unstoppable, at long last, is their definitive statement, and the record that fully captures their acclaimed live energy.

"Strawberry Seed, Big Bill’s third full-length LP, represents evolutionary growth for the Austin rock band. While the album includes some of the snide anthems they’re known for in songs like “Poverty of Wires,” “Throw it Away,” and “Political Meat,” much of the album feels warmer, with layers of acoustic guitar, synthesizers, piano, and background singers adding texture to their esoteric sound. Even when they go for the familiar angular riffs and propulsive drums—provided by former White Denim drummer Jeff Olson, who joined the band in 2020 and produced most of this record—the topics are more relatable than ever before, and more political, too. “Poverty of Wires” hits directly with post-punk fervor and a lyric about how rich people are always sick of talking about the poor, and “Political Meat” rails against a depressingly familiar cycle: “politely critique; get spit out like mouthwash and rinse and repeat.”

On Strawberry Seed, Big Bill is more mature and more self-assured, but you’ll never take the anxious energy out of the punk."

Julius Rodriguez returns with his 2nd LP on Verve Records. The album is made up of exciting new original material and a cover of Dijon’s “Many Times”. Guest features from Keyon Harrold, Nate Mercereau, and Georgia Anne Muldrow. “This album for me embodies the meaning of "Evergreen." With the differing worlds that are presented by each track, I still aim to be fully honestly myself in my expression - maintaining my voice in any variation of musical climate. With this, I hope to carry on the importance of prioritizing the music itself, rather than letting a genre or label create a preconceived connotation of the music. The genre is me.”

We're old and familiar friends. These compositions represent the thing that happens when we get together. They aren't representative of one individual, one moment in time, or one chain of decisions. Some are ancient refrains, beginning life as habits and warm-ups, in-jokes; others are distilled jams; more still are refined from MIDI sketches and ideas whistled into voice notes. On whatever terms these elements become something we're happy to stand in front of you and play, to put on record, so be it.” So ANTA describe the process behind 2024's Organesson. Characteristic of the Bristolian Sci-Prog quartet, the record weaves together mesmerising, muscular riffs in insanely loud compositions that extend well into excess. Less typical is the polarisation at play, where granular polymeters will yield in an instant to passages of one or two-note simplicity. The record strides from one raging refrain to the next, lurching between devastation, joy, chaos, and stirring the themes accumulated along the way in exposition. “It comes down to those precious sweaty hours” the group suggest, “in which we get to vibrate these sounds into your face and chest, and you can dance and laugh with us. This is the stuff we remember and plan for, the moments we talk about the most when writing these songs.” ANTA's live shows, ceaseless onslaughts of deafening riffs, have been notable for maintaining the same intense energy among festival crowds or to three people in a basement. Walls of amps going full-pelt. Pounding, ornate drums and metals, wherein drummer James King is relentless in discovering strange and mighty rhythms. Full-drawbar organs, electric pianos, piercing synths from keys-man Alex Bertram-Powell. Joe Garcia's growling bass that strides rather than walks. Ben Harris' all-encompassing, dizzying guitars. Hypnotic, communal, compelling, indefinite energy. Organesson is the latest effort to put this feeling on record.

‘Empires into Sand’ is the first album of new material from Normil Hawaiians in 40 years. The group first refined their sound during the early 80s, hitting on a pastoral experimentalism that drew on ambient drone, motorik impulse and post-punk pep.
‘Empires into Sand’ came together in the familiar manner of their original three albums, with improvisation and nuance informing the blueprint of the tracks. It was with the official release of this last record ‘Return of the Ranters’ (originally recorded in 1984/85, but then unconsciously shelved) in 2015 by Upset The Rhythm that led to the group reconnecting with the intention of playing music together again. Normil Hawaiians played a launch show for that ‘lost album’ and followed that up with more concerts, including an appearance at Supernormal, a residency at the Edinburgh Festival, gigs at Cafe OTO. They were even chosen by Richard Dawson to perform with him in London.
Throughout this time, Normil Hawaiians revisited their original songs for live performance. However for a group always so interested in evolving their sound, it came as no surprise that they shirked at the idea of a faithful retread. The band pushed their songs into new inventive dimensions, still progressive at core, but now imbued with a cosmic uncanny. A cinematic approach that was always quietly present has come to the fore. The quaint weirdness of folk song, the humanity of communal practice and the group’s ecological mindedness have all found a place in Normil Hawaiians’ current sound world.
When Normil Hawaiians write and record music they prefer to gather in a remote location and live together for a while, such is their communal ethos. Being far-flung across the UK, the Family Hawaii (numbering seven key members) decided to encamp to Tayinloan, a small village on the west coast of the Kintyre peninsula in Scotland. They set up their own studio in an isolated, windswept house overlooking the sea and started the tape rolling. Noel Blanden from the band explains the process neatly: “we set up and began playing, slowly and patiently, allowing the music to take its own shape based on where we were staying and our ongoing friendship. We recorded for days, capturing everything. A lot of new and rich ideas began to emerge”.
Normil Hawaiians took their time to develop these threads at their own pace, allowing songs to mutate and settle over months. Simon Marchant deftly produced and recorded the album whilst also performing in the band, this marked the first time the band had total control of their own sound. The last few years has seen the band reconvene in Herne Bay, Faversham, London and Leith to record new parts, constantly responding to the changing form of these quietly spectral songs of defiance.
‘Empires into Sand’ incorporates samples from old rehearsals and live music into the new finished pieces, this is in continuum with their previous records. Snippets of sound from the static of short wave radio and satellite transmissions also embellish the work. In fact the whole album is stitched together with interludes, creating an acutely immersive 45 minutes. ‘Exiles’ opens the album amid swirling atmospheres, synth flights and recordings of Vilnis Egle (father of Zinta Egle from the band) retelling his experience of fleeing his home in Latvia during Soviet occupation in 1942. George Bikandy also features on this track talking about his flight from Syria in 2014. ‘Ghosts of Ballochroy’ is a winding river of a song featuring a lively discourse in Scots courtesy of Rodney Relax. There’s a commitment to truth telling present across this hopeful album populated with angels, incoming tides, long shadows and the rose-washed sun. “From our broken windscreen, we feel the breeze” soars Guy Smith triumphantly over the driving beat of ‘Waterfalls : Bedford 330’. ‘Big City Sky’ flutters and sparkles with rapid synth runs, tape-looped drums and Jimmy Miller’s commanding vocal. With ‘In The Stone’ Zinta’s melody is deliberately jagged and blunt, exaggerated by octave-layered vocals and interjections from Guy.
This is thought-provoking, boundary-bothering music. Honest in intent, a solidarity of vision. The album’s title is derived from a poem by band member Mark Tyler, who sadly passed away during the recording process and the transience of life is felt heavily throughout. Noel best coins the group’s wish for the album: “we wanted to create an album that acknowledges our history and also reflects who we are today. We remained true to ourselves and we wanted to make something beautiful without removing the edges.” ‘Empires into Sand’ certainly does that, it’s an echo from the past, an echo from the future.

About 10 years ago I tried to contact Dutch artist and scientist Felix Hess, when he was still alive, but never got a reply. Years later, in 2022, I was talking to Frans de Waard, who told me he was administering the sound archive of the late Hess together with Mark Poysden. Together we started working on an album to celebrate his life and many accomplishments. It includes selections from all the highly collectible Frogs releases from the 80's and 90's, while the artwork is sourced from his Zenga collection, unifying his two greatest passions.

While in Australia conducting research for his PhD thesis on the aerodynamics and motion of returning boomerangs in 1975, Felix Hess heard frog choruses for the first time. The hills, close to Adelaide, generating amazing natural rhythms and waves of spatial sounds. He started traveling to the outback to record similar frog choruses, camping in quit places to enjoy these wonderful nightly concerts.

Mystified by how the waves and rhythms of frog choruses could emerge without a conductor or a score and by the physics of this method of communication, he started to research the phenomenon in 1982 by designing and building small electronic sound creatures that could respond to each other in a similar way. These creatures and his various other installations earned him international acclaim.

During the 1990s, Hess was invited to Japan many times to present his work and he became interested in Zen Buddhism. One summer evening in 2001 he visited a museum in Berlin and saw actual Zen art for the first time. Overwhelmed by the extraordinary power radiating from this and similar artworks he became addicted to Zenga and gradually built up one of the world's most representative collections of hanging Zen scrolls. A collection he named Kaeru-An (Frog Hut) to honor his original teachers, the frogs

Original pioneers of rare groove, PUSH, make a welcome return with an existing and exciting album. Originally released in 2004, now 20 years later it’s still alive and kicking. “Push People” is a cross pollenation of classic underground rare groove and contemporary feel good funk n' soul in the shape of heartfelt songs and incredible instrumental pieces. PUSH emerged from the underground London club scene in 1987, where they were at the heart of a community that thrived on JB inspired Funk, Blaxploitation soundtracks and raw soul-jazz. Push toured Europe and Japan and were regulars onstage at Gilles Peterson's legendary Dingwalls’ Talking Loud & Saying Something sessions. They have worked with the likes of Style Council's Paul Weller and Mick Talbot and have long provided the soulful foundation for the regular European tours of US divas like Candi Staton and Marlena Shaw. The triumvirate of key band members Crispin Taylor (drums), Ernie McKone (bass) and Mark Vandergucht (guitar) also doubled up as the rhythm section for the innovative Galliano – a conscious and wayward band that sold in excess of 800, 000 albums. PUSH are one of the mainstays of the Eighties Rare Groove and Acid Jazz scene alongside Brand New Heavies, Young Disciples and Soul II Soul. PUSH is on a mission, bringing a breath of fresh air and a wealth of musical experience into a very popular scene for people that "Feel the Funk!"

witching seaside ambience for a sound shaped by inner-city living, Atelier’s second full-length studio album, Lights Towards The Exit, channels the mood of a sleepless cityscape.
Lights Towards The Exit is Atelier’s second full-length studio album. After the release of Varsam Court at the end of 2019 on Lossless, run by mentors and friends Mathias Schober and Thomas Herb, the duo experimented with different ideas in the studio, and at the start of 2020 a common thread began to appear between a few of the tracks which laid the foundation for the sound of their second album.
Both Alexander and Jas moved to Berlin in the period before the release of Varsam Court from their hometown of Cape Town, South Africa, where their first album was written and recorded. Moving provided some challenges, particularly with what was the most essential equipment to bring from their previous studio set-up, but those limitations proved to be useful in incorporating new instruments and techniques to the recording process.
Lights Towards The Exit was written and recorded in different spaces in Berlin – from bedrooms in apartment blocks to three different studios across the city. The different locations all had a specific ambience – such as 4th- and 5th-floor bedrooms with busy street views; a studio with no windows in a typical old Berlin backyard complex forever under threat of being sold and gentrified; and a bigger studio with windows on the opposite side of the corridor overlooking the backyard of a mechanic workshop. The final details and edits were completed in Atelier’s current studio, in a contrasting area surrounded by office blocks, plazas, 9-5ers and, most importantly, their friends and colleagues.
Swapping the mountains, sea and seclusion for tall buildings, backyards and a new community, Lights Towards The Exit channels the sensation of being surrounded by people, but still feeling like you're on your own. The album was written through three years of cold winters, sweaty summers and a period where the world stood still during the pandemic. Frustrated with the cease of momentum, but still optimistic, Atelier disappeared from public view, abandoning social media to focus on recording, songwriting and experimentation.
It was a difficult time: the duo longed to perform and continue producing music, and the imposed limitations sometimes felt like an impossible obstacle. Ultimately, though, this would provide inexpected inspiration and influence the sound and direction of the new album.
The sound of Lights Towards The Exit is not a departure from their first album, but a progression: influenced by the new surroundings in the duo’s adoptive city, Atelier’s second album is an ode to first-time experiences, new languages, challenges, club culture and the shift from youth to maturity, as well as a balm to those stuck somewhere in between.
The overall sound is a lift not in tempo, but in energy, matching the openness needed to make a new start in a new place.

DJ and producer David Holmes is welcomed to the Late Night Tales fraternity with an evocative collection of personal songs and music, peppered with exclusive new material and rare gems. By now, I think we all know David Holmes, right There's acid house Holmes, with bone-rattling Chicago jams and Detroit destroyers, break-digger Holmes responsible for the grittily shaking 'Let's Get Killed' and seminal Essential Mix compilation (which brought Sixto Rodriguez to people's attention, and then there's soundtrack Holmes. His most enduring and vital source of musical inspiration - cinema - plugged into David's rst solo record 'This Film's Crap, Let's Slash the Seats' and inspired 2000's 'Bow Down to the Exit Sign', created as the soundtrack to a not-yet-made movie. Ofcial soundtracks have been bountiful, including scores for Soderbergh's Out Of Sight and Ocean's trilogy, '71, Hunger and Good Vibrations. In a series of personal songs sung by himself, David's last solo album 'The Holy Pictures' explored inuences of La Düsseldorf, The Jesus and Mary Chain and early Brian Eno. His Unloved collaboration with Keefus Ciancia and Jade Vincent then took us on a musical journey full of raw 60s pop-noir, psychedelia and French Ye Ye with a contemporary twist. Somehow he's also found time to produce records by Primal Scream and Jon Spencer Blues Explosion. Unsurprisingly, for someone au fait with matters cinematic, this Late Night Tales conjures up its own mindmovies. It's not only packed with the judiciously selected nuggets for which his mixes are noted but also stuffed with original material, including collaborations with BP Fallon and Jon Hopkins and an amazing new reading of 10cc's 'I'm Not In Love' by Holmes-produced Song Sung. In fact, there's a Celtic thread running through the whole journey with Stephen Rea's reading of an extract from Seamus Heaney's AENEID BOOK VI - Elsewhere Anchises. Among the other gems included here are David Crosby's lush 'Orleans', Buddy Holly's celestial 'Love Is Strange' and the Children Of Sunshine's 'It's A Long Way To Heaven'. David Holmes loves music. It's a way of expressing the sometimes inexpressible or the inconsolable, a questing desire to nd out just what is over the next hill. It's no surprise to learn he's a keen walker. Always on the move, headphones on, lost in some reverie or piece of music, the soundtrack to his life, the stuff that feeds his imagination. I walk a lot. It's amazing for listening to music: your phone or your emails aren't going and you're just in the forest listening to music. It's so intimate. Anyway, I was listening to the KLF's Chill Out album, which still sounds amazing, but it triggered an idea with concrete sounds through travelling and movement. And one of the things I was trying to do was to use this idea not just break up the moods but also as a metaphor for moving through life and arriving in different destinations or arriving at different stages in different parts of your life. Memory, Love, Living, Family, Friendship, Healing, Death and The Afterworld are some of the themes I wanted to explore within this record. Although these strong themes and tracks are personal to me, I also wanted it to be a great listen that was unpredictable yet had a seamless ow - a journey that was personal to me yet to the listener a great compilation of music that they may or may not have heard before. I hope I've succeeded in the later.' David Holmes 2016

New Zealand's Marlon Williams has quite simply got one of the most extraordinary, effortlessly distinctive voices of his generation-a fact well known to fans of his first, self-titled solo album, and his captivating live shows. An otherworldly instrument with an affecting vibrato, it's a voice that's earned repeated comparisons to the great Roy Orbison, and even briefly had Williams, in his youth, consider a career in classical singing, before realizing his temperament was more Stratocaster than Stradivarius. But it's the art of songwriting that has bedeviled the artist, and into which he has grown exponentially on his second album, Make Way For Love, out in February of 2018. It's Marlon Williams like you've never heard him before-exploring new musical terrain and revealing himself in an unprecedented way, in the wake of a fractured relationship. In early December, Williams and his longtime girlfriend, musician Aldous (Hannah) Harding, broke up. While personally wrenching, the split seemed to open the floodgates for Williams as a writer. "_I wrote about fifteen songs in a month," he recalls. Sure enough, while Make Way For Love draws on Williams' own story, in remarkably universal terms it captures the vagaries of relationships that we've all been through: he bliss (opener "Come To Me"); ache ("Love Is a Terrible Thing"); nagging questions ("Can I Call You"); and bitterness ("The Fire Of Love", whose lyrics Williams says he "agonized over" more than any). And there's "Nobody Gets What They Want Anymore", a duet with Harding, recorded after the two broke up, with Williams directing Harding's recording via a late-night long distance phone call. "We finally got to talk it out," he adds. "We still love each other very much."If "breakup record" is a trope-and certainly it is-then Marlon Williams has done it proud. Like the best of the lot, Make Way For Love doesn't shy away from heartbreak, but rather stares it in the face, and mines beauty from it.

"Named for the band’s third lease on life, Third Wind finds Gulfer at a unique moment in their ten-plus year career. When they started in 2011, Gulfer played scrappy, complex math rock influenced by the emo revival. But in 2024 they’ve emerged almost unrecognizable, while still retaining the spirit of what made them all fall in love with Gulfer in the first place.

Third Wind’s stylistic turns are emphasized by deeper texture and simpler songwriting, influenced by the reemergence of 90s alternative and shoegaze. With a new emphasis on atmosphere and more straightforward composition, Gulfer give themselves space to explore audaciously.

Album opener “Clean” gets as close to pop as the band has ever been, where “No Brainer” dabbles deftly in downer rock that asks “what even is my fucking place in the world? "Bold juxtapositions feature elsewhere on Third Wind: pop-punk bruiser “Too Slow” stops on a dime before evolving into a slow burning drum n bass passage, all within two minutes. And then there’s “Heartshape”, a downright love song shrouded in virtuosic performance and electric-acoustic counterpoint. Although these contrasts could be construed as aimless fiddling, their seamlessness is the true essence of Third Wind, indicative of a sage band with a renewed love for what they do."

Mammoth Penguins are a 3-piece indie powerhouse, showcasing the songwriting and vocal talents of Emma Kupa (Standard Fare) backed up by the noisiest rhythm section in indie pop. May 2024 sees the release of their fourth album Here on Fika Recordings. After 2019’s big, bold and confident There’s No Fight We Can’t Both Win, and the initial shock of the global pandemic cancelling a trip to SXSW in 2020, the band returned to the studio in the summer of 2021 to start recording. The new record leans into a raw pop-punk power-trio sound more than ever, with a deep growl in layered guitars and bursts of percussion and harmony. The songs and artwork explore themes about finding a place for yourself and familiarity with people and places. Although it turns back towards a classic three-piece sound, the band weren’t restricted by that palette, adding finishing touches of percussion, extra guitars and backing vocals in short bursts in a garden shed, and also bringing in gorgeous strings to sweeten the title track. The sound builds on the band’s first album, Hide and Seek, which was released with the much-loved and sorely missed Fortuna POP! in 2015. The follow-up LP John Doe in 2017 was an ambitious concept album, exploring the feelings of loss and anger at a man who fakes his own death only to return years later, expanding well beyond the 3-piece rock‘n’roll template, with washes of strings, synths and samples. The ‘Penguins have been smashing it at some high-profile support slots in the lead up to this album release, including at Allo Darlin’s joyous reunion at Islington Assembly Hall (Oct 2023) and Muncie Girls last ever London show (Dec 2023). They play the Leicester Indiepop all-dayer and Wales Goes Pop in March, before heading out on tour in support of the new album in May. Those big singalong choruses need your voice shouting back from the crowd with joy and defiance. Mammoth Penguins are Emma Kupa (guitar, vocals), Mark Boxall (bass, vocals) and Tom Barden (drums, vocals). Reminiscent of the pop melodies of The Beths, the indie dissonance of Land of Talk, and the guitar forward slacker rock of Weezer, Mammoth Penguins marry heart-ache indiepop with spiky guitars and Emma’s frank confessional songwriting. “wonderfully awkward indie pop with a literate flair, sounding a lot like a Weezer record or even a more feminine Wedding Present” Clash // “eminently relatable earworms” Brooklyn Vegan // “one of the finest examples of simple and true indie rock around” All Music // “her characterful voice still carrying masses of charm and the messier, grungey approach bringing a strength all of its own, aided by a clutch of cheerful hooks and riffs that contrast nicely with lyrics dealing mostly with heartbreak and misery” Drowned In Sound

Limted version on 2LP transparent violet vinyl in gatefold sleeve, 300 copies! ‘Lefto presents Jazz Cats' is back with volume 3 and still doing what it does best: putting you in the front row of what the thriving Belgian jazz scene currently has to offer and revealing a melting pot of the musical talent.



'Lefto presents Jazz Cats' is back with volume 3 and still doing what it does best: putting you in the front row of what the thriving Belgian jazz scene currently has to offer and revealing a melting pot of the musical talent coming out one of the smallest countries in Europe. Never change a winning team they say, so we're happy to have Belgian DJ and eclectic connoisseur Lefto on board again.

Although you expect thecompilation to be talking jazz, volume 3 explores a broader array of styles, genres, and sounds than ever before, arriving at a point where the 'young cats' of today don't bother no more. It may focus on the Belgian scene, but let's face it, seeing the influences, this one could be compiled from all over the world. From the empowering and bittersweet voices of Oriana Ikomo and Adja, over the more acoustic-electronic productions of Moodprint, Ciao Kennedy, Kassius and echofarmer. It's even expanding the Jazz Cats universe to dub and bass-heavy tracks with Kin Gajo and Le Ministère, Ethio-jazz from Azmari, while sending you back to earth with bodies' swirling sax and drums. That saxophone still rings in your ears when you end up in the orbit of the march-like drums of Bodem, Orson Claeys' piano testing your ability to follow him, slamming the breaks to go smooth cruisin' with HONEY (Morricone meets Khruangbin, anyone?), to crashing in a raging tempo on that last track of Bruno x Soet x Moene. And there you are, back with us.



2018's 'Lefto presents Jazz Cats' included tracks from some of Belgium's biggest hitters, including Black Flower, STUFF. De Beren Gieren and Glass Museum who have all gone on to receive global acclaim. The album was given the accolade of 'Album of the Week' on Worldwide FM and also received further radio support from Jazz FM in addition to numerous glowing reviews. The 2022 follow-up 'Jazz Cats volume 2' paved the way for a new generation inspired by its peers, entering another era of very talented individuals and collectives. Maybe even more so than 4 years before. It uncovered a beautiful balance of more established but also obscure musicians and artists. Opening up to electronics and dance, enter bands like ECHT!, Stellar Legions and TUKAN. Thrilling innovative soundscape grooves and jazz fusion with Bandler Ching and L?p?GangGang, not to forget about the weaving musical odyssey that is M.CHUZI. In addition, there's the balanced unease of One Frame Movement, the laidback 'acoustic electronica' of Boombox Experiments, the classic funky jazz stylings of Cargo Mas and cinematic The Brums, all of these have set volume 2 on the map as an essential release for any jazzhead with a passion for new sounds.

Tastemaker, selector, curator, DJ and producer, these words often get mentioned when Lefto's name pops up in discussions. And rightly so. If you've ever had the pleasure to listen to one of his incredible Boiler Room sets or one of his many radio shows, you'll know why. Famed for his gloriously eclectic taste on the decks, he switches effortlessly between hip hop, funk, breaks, neck-snapping beats, future bass, South-American influences, bruk riddims, some wild African rhythms and of course, jazz.

Growing up as a child, his father would have the sounds of jazz flowing through the speakers. Which led him to bars around town to hear the latest jazz ensembles. Falling in love with the genre, he would later refine his knack for record digging and fine ear for music working at Belgium's legendary Music Mania record store in his hometown Brussels. Which makes that Lefto is consistently a couple steps ahead. He doesn't wait for the next thing to land in his lap, but actively seeking it out.

Lefto on Jazz Cats volume 3:
"Another release in less than two years! I am very impressed by the amount of creative "jazz" talent we've managed to compile over the last couple of years. Thanks to the internet, young musicians find inspiration from around the globe and incorporate diverse influences into their work. Given the history and heritage of jazz in this country, it has managed to create a healthy jazz scene supported by festivals, venues, press, and labels. Therefore, I am very proud to present to you the thirdinstallment of Jazz Cats. This compilation is dedicated to the young and hardworking musicians who are the present and the future of Belgium's jazz scene."

If blue is the color of sadness, or the best color to reach authenticity, R.Y.F. – the project of the Italian singer-songwriter and musician Francesca Morello, based in Ravenna – goes even further with the new album Deep Dark Blue. Deep Dark Blue is an underwater album, maybe it is even a deep-sea album. The sound is dark and muffled, as if we were in a sort of cradle, a blue bubble, a sea cocoon in which to wrap ourself ves to regenerate and achieve peace, but whose casing also conveys energy. Born following a dazzling baptism in the mesmerizing sea of Stromboli, in Sicily, Deep Dark Blue is an album of suffering and healing which confirms R.Y.F.‘s destabilizing power. According to her: ”Sometimes I experience moments of great suffering, in the last two years caused by my wife’s health problems. I was “broken inside” and I didn’t know if I would be able to go back to the way I was before. Deep Dark Blue tells how I felt and how I would like to rebuild myself. I still talk about the freedom to love, but I also felt the need to talk about suffering, and I tried to do all this with irony, in the most joyful way possible. And it worked. That’s why this is also a healing album”. In Deep Dark Blue there are also some important guests, underlining R.Y.F.’s rise in her international career. They are Moor Mother, Skin (Skunk Anansie) and Alos (aka Stefania Pedretti, formerly OvO and Allun), united by feminism, queerness and political activism, to get precious artistic affinities stronger in these hard times of new repression that we are experiencing. Deep Dark Blue arose from software and analog instruments and was then developed with Maurizio “Icio” Baggio (The Soft Moon, Boy Harsher), who also took care of recording, production, mixing and mastering at the music studio La Distilleria in Bassano del Grappa. Matteo Vallicelli (The Soft Moon, Death Index) participated in the production of some tracks. Although it flows with compact fluidity, the album highlights R.Y.F.‘s mastery in expressing herself through different stylistic genres. There is a dark electro-punk common thread, but there are also blackness (Run Run Run), alt-metal guitars on dance house structures (Can I Can U feat. Skin), industrial doom (Deep Dark feat. Alos) and other experiments (the instrumental interludes Droplets and Sirene). The variety of sounds corresponds to a spontaneous variety of topics. The theme of suffering opens and closes the tracklist with Blue and Deep Dark feat. Alos, almost as if to represent a first contact with the water and the culmination reaching the bottom of the abyss, and is approached both with a smile on the lips in the sexy Lies and from a more authorial perspective in the heartfelt Violent Hopes and December 25th, the first songs on the album to have been written. Deep Dark Blue by R.Y.F. is an immersion from which you emerge different from your old self, some kind of magical creature in a new form, but it is first of all an electric shock from which one is violently happy to be struck.

If the setting is right, magic will happen. And so, this record came into being. Sunburned Hand of the Man, three decades into their one of a kind run, still possess the ability to amaze, stupefy and astound - even themselves. Recorded over a week at Big Blue, Adam Langellotti’s (Kurt Vile & The Violators) studio/house, "Nimbus" sees the band's amorphous lineup produce results such as high-test workouts, cryptic readings & a choice cover (Sun City Girls). A record that this band could only produce in 2024 and the required next step for the devoted fan base and or those interested in doing some self-work in an unconventional setting.

"Nimbus" by Sunburned Hand Of The Man includes the following tracks: "Ishkabibble Magoo", "Lily Thin", "Walker Talker" and more.

If the setting is right, magic will happen. And so, this record came into being. Sunburned Hand of the Man, three decades into their one of a kind run, still possess the ability to amaze, stupefy and astound - even themselves. Recorded over a week at Big Blue, Adam Langellotti’s (Kurt Vile & The Violators) studio/house, "Nimbus" sees the band's amorphous lineup produce results such as high-test workouts, cryptic readings & a choice cover (Sun City Girls). A record that this band could only produce in 2024 and the required next step for the devoted fan base and or those interested in doing some self-work in an unconventional setting.

"Nimbus" by Sunburned Hand Of The Man includes the following tracks: "Ishkabibble Magoo", "Lily Thin", "Walker Talker" and more.

Nia Archives is the star at the forefront of the latest era of jungle. Since her emergence in 2020, her collagist soundscapes have helped bring the sound to a new generation of clubgoers (though fair warning: don’t call her a “revivalist” – she’s the first to point out that the scene never went away). So when it comes to talk of the 24-year-old producer, DJ, singer and songwriter’s much-anticipated debut album, the odds are you’re thinking of a full-length record of weightless jungle tracks with basslines so intense they’ll leave your ears ringing.

But the reality of the Bradford-born, Leeds-raised artist’s first ever album – while very much replete with that exquisite jungle sound she does so well – is also doing something a little different. On the thrilling and freeing Silence Is Loud, Nia Archives is looking to make music for beyond the rave. As she explains: “I think music can be experienced in different ways, and there’s different kinds of music for different scenarios. Say you’re at a festival listening to music with thousands of other people, that can feel really uniting. But then you might listen to an album on your own in the bus, or in a taxi; and this project is definitely more a record to sit and listen to than a collection of club tracks.” Nia is intent that Silence Is Loud is taken in as a full body of work of something “more song-focussed, putting interesting sounds on jungle.” It means that this is a record which finds gloomy Britpop, warm Motown, soaring indie, a love for Kings of Leon’s Aha Shake Heartbreak, skittering IDM, Madchester, classic rock, old skool hardcore and more, woven and fused into her ragga and junglist tapestry, all layered with feeling, imbued with her songwriterly lyricism about loneliness, relationships, family, navigating her 20s, and the intense potential power of silence.

The vast sonic palette on Silence Is Loud comes down to Nia’s broad array of influences through her life. With her Jamaican heritage, Nia remembers hearing jungle as a child via her nana, as well as at Bradford Carnival, where she was drawn to the soundsystem culture, dancing carefree on the floats in the parade. The first album she ever bought was Rihanna’s debut, Music of the Sun, and she also went to Pentecostal church back then, and was obsessed with gospel. Aged 16, she moved to Manchester, where she didn’t really know anybody: and so, her solution to meeting people was going out. “Partying was a huge part of my life,” she says, “They used to do little freestyle cyphers at the house parties and I would join in – that’s kind of how I got into singing.” She had found music boring at school, but in meeting all these new people she became interested in making her own music as a hobby. “I was making boom-bap kind of stuff which I didn’t really like in the end,” she laughs, “My lyrics are quite deep, so on a hip-hop beat it all sounds really depressing. I wanted people to dance to my music.” And so she began experimenting with faster tempos alongside that melancholy songwriting, teaching herself how to make beats on Logic: “It’s all been a lot of trial and error, really.”

Nia went to study music in London, and was also interested in visual art, making collages and VHS: “Before the music, I was trying to make a visual archive of my life and the people around me,” she explains, “And then my music was like my diary, and a sonic archive, as well.” Hence, she paired the word “archives” with her middle name, Nia. To this day, in her spare time she’s working on pulling together a documentary on the global nature of the jungle scene.

Back on those first two EPs, Headz Gone West (2021) and Forbidden Feelingz (2022), she honed that junglist sound, painting it with new flecks of colour and vibrance. It was only after she started releasing work that she realised pursuing music could be a viable life path for her. The decision has been paying off ever since. Nia Archives placed third in the prestigious BBC Sound Poll for 2023, alongside garnering a nomination for the Brit Awards’ Rising Star prize, plus wins at the DJ Mag, NME, the MOBOs and Artist and Manager Awards. She has also toured the world – be it North America, Europe or Asia – and even opened a show in London as part of a little something called Beyoncé’s Renaissance World Tour. She’s renowned as a party-starter in her own right, too, with takeovers at Glastonbury, Warehouse Project and her own Bad Gyalz day event. She’s done official remixes for the likes of Jorja Smith, had a huge summer hit with her Yeah Yeah Yeahs rework ‘Off Wiv Ya Headz’, and worked with brands like Corteiz, Nike, Flannels, Burberry, FIFA and Apple. In just three years, it’s fair to say that Nia Archives has become a need-to-know name in dance music.

But Nia is not interested in being one fixed thing. Building on the terrain from her third EP, Sunrise Bang Ur Head Against Tha Wall, the universe of Silence Is Loud is not totally unfamiliar territory; but it’s still emblematic of a bolder scope than we’ve heard from the artist before. Working with Ethan P. Flynn (the songwriter and producer known for his work with FKA twigs and David Byrne), the resulting record is an impressive feat of deftly-sculpted textures; sometimes big and euphoric, like the wobbly, lusty bass of ‘Forbidden Feelingz’, or elsewhere notably gentle and quiet – see: the gorgeous, surprisingly drumless ‘Silence Is Loud (Reprise)’, a heartfelt number that sits somewhere in the school of Adele. “I really sharpened my songwriting skill on this project,” Nia says, “I was really intentional about what I was writing about, and I really loved co-producing with Ethan. His process is so different to anyone I’ve worked with before, and he’s got a kind of DIY set-up like me.” Flynn’s flat overlooks the Barbican, adding that unquantifiable futurist urban quality that the area holds to the music. The pair enjoyed the collaborative process so much that the album was done within three and a half months.

Perhaps this is why Silence Is Loud maintains an exuberant immediacy while still being sleek and spacious, interspersed with flourishes of metallic beats, lush melody and topped with her sugary but powerful vocal, floating over it all. There is an intimacy to the record, perhaps in part due to Nia writing most of her lyrics while sitting in bed in her flat in Bow (once a bedroom producer, always a bedroom producer). You can hear it on the refrain for lead single ‘Crowded Roomz’, which finds rippling guitar lines cutting taut through the beats as Nia refrains: “I feel so lonely crowded rooms.” The song is an examination of life on tour, constantly surrounded by people, but not necessarily those she can be herself around; more than that, the track is exemplary in the category of sad bangers.

Silence Is Loud often finds itself in that push and pull between melancholy and euphoria. There’s a celebration of her unconditional love for her younger brother (the title track), a rumination of an evening with an Irish boy she met by Temple Bar (‘Cards On The Table), or a letter to herself on the light and airy ‘Unfinished Business’, even coming to terms with a lover having a past they haven’t quite processed yet (“nobody comes with a clean slate”). The latter was recorded the week after a music festival, and accordingly captures Nia’s vocal in its not quite healed, husky state.

Nia’s work is always a snapshot of where she’s at when she’s making it. This might not be the debut album you were expecting, but that’s what makes Silence Is Loud so special. Nia Archives has learned the rules of her sound, and is unafraid to break them, pushing jungle and herself into new, unchartered territories that, in turn, go some way to map the history of the greats of British dance music. More than that, it plants her firmly in that lineage.

The ashtrays in the music cellar are getting cold. Nobody coughs, that Beer tastes stale, and the disco ball spins in slow motion the sequins are missing. Only a small illuminated sign shines on the counter. Tonight: LO FAT ORCHESTRA – New Wave HIT-MACHINE from Schaffhausen, Switzerland. The band – three men with a sense of well-being Melodies – sets off on a ghost ride. “I’m not your dancer,” sings Chrisi Schmid, the singer behind it powerful synthesizer that writes the lyrics without them to write down. "I'm not your fucker." I'm not your puppet, you clown. This is the essence of the new Lo-Fat album “LFO_09”, which contains eight songs. That the name of the album just as well could come from a UFO is consistent. You don't have to Wanting to fit in or be cool for the sake of being cool. If in doubt, for the doubt. “I was afraid to talk to you,” sings Chrisi in the song “Sound,” and his Synth hops a wild dance. “I was afraid I wouldn’t like you. And I didn’t want to be like you.” The band still doesn't need a guitar. The bass works for two (the new bassist is Dominic Rubli). Drummer Daniel Zimmermann switches seemingly effortlessly between high-speed, Ballade scene and assembly line. “Love is for free,” sings Chrisi in the wonderful ballad “Good Times”. “This place is killing me.”

French producer Panthera steps up to Melodize with a pair of Italo inspired cuts that come remixed by the legendary Lauer and Endrik Schroeder.

Panthera prefers to remain secretive about his identity, but his music has plenty of people talking. It has come out on labels such as Bordello A Parigi, Polaris and Correspondant so far and contains a distinct, synth-heavy, euphoric sound.

This is evident from the beginning with ‘Hustle’, a colourful and cosmic cut with rich melodies, occasional vocal touches and shimmering arps. They bring sugary rushes of joy to the mid-tempo nu-disco drums and will douse dance floors in subtle euphoria. Remixing this one is the underground stalwart Lauer, who always brings his retro style to his disco and house on labels such as Permanent Vacation and Running Back. His version is faster and more direct, though still packed with starry melodies and subtle synth motifs that bring it to life.

Panthera’s ‘Western Union’ then brings more raw percussion and slapping drums but again takes flight through the cosmos on sleek synth lines with hints of 80s nostalgia. It’s a track that is always on the rise and full of bright, irresistible melodic suspense. Remixer Endrik Schroeder also hails from France and is a fast-rising talent with credits on the taste-making Bordello A Parigi, Ritmo Fatale, and Roam Recordings. He flips the original into a more propulsive and urgent nu-disco weapon with crashing drums and synth loops spiralling around the track as extra melodies fall like stardust to light up the groove.

There is real quality as well as plenty of feel-good energy to these four shiny, synth-heavy tracks.

Repress!

He made remixes matter more than the original songs. He introduced dramatic, forceful horns to rap’s sonic discussion. It almost goes without saying that Pete Rock is among the greatest hip-hop producers of all time, and Soul Brother #1 is still crafting timeless music. Now back on vinyl for the first time in years, Pete’s acclaimed album NY’s Finest features an impressive lineup of vocalists, including Wu-Tang emcees Raekwon and Masta Killa, Jim Jones, Little Brother, Styles P, Redman, Max B, Papoose, and more. Entirely produced by Pete Rock, the album is a modern masterpiece from a legendary artist. This repress also includes the bonus track “It’s So G” featuring Roc Marciano, a lost treasure from the NY’s Finest sessions that wasn’t on the original tracklist.

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

Ratboys have been recording and releasing music for over a decade, but their newest album, The Window, marks the first time they’d ever traveled outside their home base of Chicago to make a record, journeying to the Hall of Justice Recording Studio in Seattle to work with producer Chris Walla.

The sessions with Walla (Death Cab for Cutie, Tegan and Sara, Foxing) struck the perfect balance between preparation and experimentation, injecting new life into the band’s style of soft-hearted Midwestern indie rock with an ever so subtle Americana twist. The solidified Ratboys lineup stretched and expanded their vision in the studio, adding unexpected elements and instruments like rototoms, talkboxes, and fiddles. The result is Ratboys’ most sonically diverse record, shifting wildly from track to track. It flexes everything from fuzzy power pop choruses on “Crossed That Line” and “It’s Alive!” to
a warm country twang on “Morning Zoo” to mournful folk on the titular track. After more than ten years and four studio albums, The Window finally captures Ratboys as they were always meant to be
heard—expansive while still intimate, audacious while still tender—the sound of four friends operating as a single, cohesive unit. This release comes with a Download Code.

"As Bill Orcutt’s most mature and exhilarating LP to date, Music for Four Guitars was a slab of undeniable Apollonian beauty. Its approachability and obvious novelty landed it not only on the year- end lists of every key-pushing codger in the underground in 2022, but also on NPR in the form of the Bill Orcutt Guitar Quartet, an ensemble assembled to perform this music and featuring Wendy Eisenberg, Ava Mendoza, and Shane Parish in addition to Orcutt. But while their Tiny Desk Concert gave a whiff of the quartet’s easy intimacy, the sterile confines of the virtual recital medium still left a puzzle unsolved: how might these brutally mannered bricks of minimalist counterpoint sound on a stage in front of actual breathing bodies?" "This was the question foremost in my mind when I first saw the quartet in San Francisco a few months before this double live LP was recorded. I was already familiar with the prowess of Eisenberg and Mendoza, two of the most technically intimidating shredders to blast out of the noise/improv underground, and knew Parish as the mastermind behind the epic translation of Orcutt's quartet recordings into a fully notated score. I was ready to be 'blown away'—and I most assuredly was. The quartet navigated Orcutt's jaggedly spiraling right angles into the shining core of the compositions with joyous ease, faithful to the originals in nearly every way (though their tempos were slightly ramped up, Blakey style, to communicate their breathless rush). The renditions were flawless, stellar and inspiring. I had expected nothing less." "Which leads us to this album, Four Guitars Live, recorded in November of 2023 at Le Guess Who? festival during the quartet’s first European tour. The true essence of this set is not simply in its faithfulness to the source compositions, but in the group's easy familiarity (no doubt the result of weeks on the road) and the generosity of their improvisations, both collective and solo. Orcutt, clearly cognizant of both the caliber of his collaborators and the singularity of their voices, has given everyone room to stretch out, and all have delivered some of their most moving passages to date." "One of this record's great thrills for me is imagining a listener, perhaps unfamiliar with the outer limits of contemporary guitar improvisation (or the Tzadik catalog), slammed into catatonia by Mendoza's liquefying lines on Out of the corner of the eye, then revived and healed by the languid, breathy lines of Parish's unaccompanied, spaced-out breakdown of the track's main theme, finally only to be crushed by Eisenberg’s staggering extended solo on Only at dusk (somehow channeling both Eugene Chadbourne and Buck Dharma)." "There's another peak, which begins at the end of side B, in Orcutt's own languid solo, encapsulating the flowing focus of his recent solo LPs, and serving as an introduction to the next side's ensemble tour de force, the psychic heart of the album, On the horizon: its melodic core passing first to Orcutt, launching into a sublime solo turn by Eisenberg, a duo of Parish and Mendoza, before parachuting back into the ensemble for a smashup rendition of Barely visible and Glimpsed while driving (renamed Barely driving) knitted together with an softly bubbling ensemble improvisation. The transfer is orchestrated yet seamless, its tonal form undeniable even in the presence of obvious dissonance." "The breadth of Four Guitars Live gives lie to the false notion that agile, polytonal improv is necessarily without soul, is necessarily inaccessible. Rather, Four Guitars posits a human avant-garde music that the most conservative will recognize as virtuosic and revel in its classic intervals, boiling counterpoint, and precisely- layered facets. Even the rockers in your life might dig it, so why not pass it on?"—Tom Carter

Everybody's still talking about the good ol' days! A rough and rugged collection of Numero Group classics that have inspired swarms of killer beats. A head nod to the sounds of Shaolin, the thirteen chambers of Shanghai'd Soul have led a generation of lyrical chefs and production geniuses to compose some of their most ominous hip-hop. Bound by heavy drums, moody chords, and haunting melodies, Gods and Earths alike will appreciate the raw funk and smoother-than-a-Lexus soul that come together like Voltron on this special compilation.

Everybody's still talking about the good ol' days! A rough and rugged collection of Numero Group classics that have inspired swarms of killer beats. A head nod to the sounds of Shaolin, the thirteen chambers of Shanghai'd Soul have led a generation of lyrical chefs and production geniuses to compose some of their most ominous hip-hop. Bound by heavy drums, moody chords, and haunting melodies, Gods and Earths alike will appreciate the raw funk and smoother-than-a-Lexus soul that come together like Voltron on this special compilation.

Miles Davis' A Tribute to Jack Johnson is the best jazz-rock record ever made. Equally inspired by the leader's desire to assemble the "greatest rock and roll band you have ever heard,” his adoration of Johnson, and Black Power politics, Davis created a hard-hitting set that surges with excitement, intensity, majesty, and power. Bridging the electric fusion he'd pursued on earlier efforts with a funkier, dirtier rhythmic approach, Davis zeroes in on concepts of spontaneity, freedom, and identity seldom achieved in the studio — and just as infrequently accepted by the mainstream.

Sourced from the original analog master tapes, pressed on MoFi SuperVinyl, and housed in a Stoughton jacket, Mobile Fidelity's 180g LP reissue brings it all to fore with startling realism. Benefitting from SuperVinyl’s nearly inaudible noise floor, superb groove definition, and clean, ultra-quiet surfaces, this 180g LP showcases everything — from the bold tonality of the headliner's white-hot trumpet solos to the decay of crashing cymbals, carry of wiry guitar notes, and echoes of the studio — in reference fashion.

Bristling with exuberance, Davis' high-register passages explode with authority and commanding presence. Around him, a barrage of urgent backbeats, knifing riffs, and supple bass lines emerge amidst black backgrounds. One of the most prominent differences long-time fans will notice is how much more aggressive, immediate, and vibrant the music sounds, with those aspects central to the composer's original desires.

Utilizing wah-wah and distortion, the go-to instrumentalist of the performances— guitarist John McLaughlin — attacks with a nasty edge, slashing style, and vicious streak that allows A Tribute to Jack Johnson< cross the until-then-impenetrable divide between rock and jazz. Davis puts both feet in the former camp and erases any gap. The stories of the record’s creation are nearly as legendary as the sounds within: Two sessions, multiple jams, different sets of musicians (several uncredited), and near-miraculous production perfectionism that made it all appear cohesive.

The least-well-known masterpiece of Davis' career, the 1971 record — seamlessly assembled and spliced together by producer Teo Macero — was a victim of limited record-label promotion. Audiences also didn’t immediately know what to make of its original cover art — faithfully replicated here. In addition, the powers that be at Columbia Records were directing the public’s attention to Miles at Fillmore, a completely different kind of album guided by two keyboardists. A Tribute to Jack Johnson practically lives in a different universe, one from the future. To many listeners who did manage to hear it — among them critic/musician Robert Quine, Stooges leader Iggy Pop, and renowned critic Robert Christgau — it surpassed everything that came before.

Indeed, Davis treated it as a personal manifesto: An opportunity to salute the Black championship boxer admired for his threatening image to the establishment and impeccable taste in clothes, cars, women and music. Davis explains in the liner notes his affinity for Johnson — a stance mirrored by the defiant music, which hits with a prize fighter's force and reflects the graceful elegance with which a pugilist navigates the ring — and closes the album with a Johnson quote read by Brock Peters.

Inspired not only by Johnson but by Jimi Hendrix and Sly Stone, Davis changed his approach and his band. He surrounds himself with a cadre of musicians in their 20s and, in the case of bassist Michael Henderson, a 19-year-old fresh from touring with Stevie Wonder. Henderson gives Davis what he requested: boogie-based grooves that don’t lose shape or direction. Soprano saxophonist Steve Grossman, drummer Billy Cobham, and organist Herbie Hancock adhere to a similar aesthetic that prizes brazenness, innovation, and energy.

In that vein, during a portion of “Yesternow,” Davis segues into a separate performance (which became known in its entirety as “Willie Nelson”) played by guitarists McLaughlin and Sonny Sharrock, bass clarinetist Bernie Maupin, keyboardist Chick Corea, bassist Dave Holland, and drummer Jack DeJohnette. Dig it!

Talking with jazz scholar Bill Milkowski — who himself noted how McLaughlin’s unrestrained style, decibel-forward volumes, and rapid-fire power chords engendered himself to the rock crowd at the same time that his harmonics and syncopation still definitely made him a jazz player — guitarist Henry Kaiser summed up part of the appeal of A Tribute to Jack Johnson as well as anyone, saying: “It’s a jazz record that way way more open than other jazz records at the time, but still not free jazz. McLaughlin’s rhythm guitar playing on ‘Right Off’ — the use of different chords in a rock shuffle than what anybody had used before — was revolutionary.”

And to think that’s just one aspect of a record that contains multitudes. “Never let them forget it.” Indeed.

HAZE is honoured to present you a new EP by Bruno Pronsato. The tracks are full of acid arps, atonal and jazzy textures, vocal chops, swingy percussions resulting in precise and groovy masterpiece. Bruno showcases his passion, excellence and addiction, delivering pulsating still pure minimal 4-tracker. Must have!

Chicago hip-hop outfit Angry Blackmen made up of Quentin Branch & Brian Warren (ABM) have been stretching their arms and tapping into different sounds since they smashed onto the scene with their debut single “OK!” in 2017. A prime introduction starring two emcees showing they deserve to wield the microphone and do so with good cause. Then barely a month later ABM released sophomore single ‘Riot!’ a complete shift in sound that still housed the foundation set in ‘OK!’ A few years later the duo would drop their debut project ‘Talkshit!’ which saw them amass the following they have today.
‘The Legend of ABM’ immediately smacks the listener in the eardrum leaving no second wasted and jumping straight to the point. The 11-track adventure truly presents an expression of hip-hop that we haven’t seen before, infusing multiple sounds with the 50-year old genre. To go even deeper, Quentin Branch & Brian Warren are teaching a masterclass in top-notch poetic lyricism, creating both accessible and mind-bending music. “Stanley Kubrick” has both heroes shattering the beat with their braggadocio for what is just the appetizer to prepare the listener for what’s to come in the next ten tracks. ‘Sabotage’ tells the story of two Black men hustling through the trenches of capitalism and the effect that this journey has on them. While the album exudes catchy wordplay and spine-splitting production, if you lift up the hood, ABM is spinning a tale of depression, existentialism and self-reflection that isn’t always pretty. “Dead Men Tell No Lies” is another mutation in sound for the duo, where the industrial sounds clash, violently yet perfectly together with a blistering hook harkening to the end of time. Warren & Branch’s raw poetry educates the listener of the pre-apocalyptic world we’re already living in throughout this project. ‘The Legend of ABM’ is not an excursion for the weak, the production is meant to snap your spine in half, the lyrics from Quentin & Brian are pathos-infused and relatable to anyone simply trying to survive.

Die Essenz der ersten beiden Whispering Sons Alben.

Das dritte Album der fünfköpfigen belgischen Post-Punk-Gewalt Whispering Sons um die charismatische Sängerin Fenne Kuppens schichtet einen mitreißenden Ozean an Emotionen, Energien und Geschichten auf.
Nach dem düsteren 'Image' (2018) und dem minimalistischen 'Several Others' (2021) stellt das dritte Album eine Neuausrichtung und ein Umdenken dar. Aufgenommen in der Nähe von Eindhoven und an der Nordseeküste ist 'The Great Calm' nicht nur ein Album, das einen Ozean von Emotionen, Stimmungen, Energie und Geschichten umspannt, sondern auch eine Folge der gezeitenähnlichen Veränderungen innerhalb der Gruppe aus Brüssel, die wieder zu fünft ist.

DOG BEACH is Merryn Jeann’s first full length album, produced by Rob Ellis, comparing her directely with his previous collaborators.

Rob Ellis is a record producer, composer, arranger and musician who has been acting for about 40 years and during which he's had the honor to work with such notable artists as PJ Harvey, Marianne Faithfull, Scott Walker, Nick Cave, Warren Ellis, Brian Eno, Thom Yorke, Anna Calvi, ...

About working with Merryn : "In every instrumental phrase that she arrived at and each line of her vocal delivery Merryn's enthusiasm and very individual creativity comes across brilliantly I think... whilst still managing to retain an expression of deeply felt heart and soul... a rare combination in my experience, and a match for any of my aforementionel, much admired collaborators."

"The days in the studio were endlessly creative and playful... and subsequently very exhilarating... by the end it felt like we had really gone through something extremely special, and I believe the resulting LP strongly reflects that." Rob Ellis

Album was recorded over 5 weeks in England, including musicians such as Jim Barr (Portishead), Ben Christophers (Bat For Lashes) or Patrick J. Pearson (Daughter, LYR) but also Christelle Canot aka Confuse, half of IN CASE OF FIRE recently signed to Steve Budd’s prestigious record producer agency.

Merryn Jeann is a Naarm/Melbourne and Bundjalung Country/Byron Bay Shire based singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. She has crafted a genre-bending, dreamy world of soundscapes that bear an enticing musical wisdom.

Sitting somewhere between Caroline Polachek, Cat Power, Weyes Blood, Feist, and Kelsey Lu, Merryn Jeann’s sound is fueled by authenticity. Her raw and honest self packaged into intricate and reflective morsels, many of which are yet to be revealed.

She played Glastonburry at the beginning of her career with the band TORA.

UK and international promo by Whiteboard PR.

A second LP will be recorded in 2025 again with Rob Ellis at the production.

Side projects : OSOO with Kyson & Chris Hill, IN CASE OF FIRE

World Of Echo are proud to announce the long-awaited reissue, on 17th February, of the self-titled debut album by Bristol’s Movietone. Originally released in 1995 by Planet Records and reissued on CD in 2003 by The Pastels’ Geographic Music imprint, this is the first time Movietone has been reissued on vinyl. An expanded double-LP edition, it includes the extra tracks from the 2003 CD (their first two singles, and an unreleased demo of “Chance Is Her Opera”), and adds three more unearthed gems: demos of “Alkaline Eye” and “She Smiled Mandarine Like”, and an early take of “Late July”, recorded in a garden by Dave Pearce (Flying Saucer Attack) in 1993. Taken together, this is the definitive collection of music from the first phase of one of Bristol’s most remarkable groups.

Movietone was the cumulation of a series of events, explorations, and discoveries, starting at secondary school – the group’s core membership of Kate Wright, Rachel Brook, Matt Elliott and Matt Jones met at Cotham School in Bristol. As for many other groups, their early years were all about experimenting, and finding ways to ‘make do’, a DIY sensibility that would inform Movietone through their decade-long lifespan. From formative rehearsals in a shed in the garden of Brook’s family home, to recording early material to four-track in Redland Library, and on into the Whitehouse and Mr Grin’s studio sessions for their debut album, Movietone’s music fell together in a creatively unpredictable, yet conceptually rigorous manner.

By the time they released Movietone, they’d found a home with Bristol’s Planet, run by author Richard King and James Webster, who had both released their first two singles, “She Smiled Mandarine Like” and “Mono Valley”. There was other music happening around them in Bristol, too, from the Jones brothers’ avant-rock outfit Crescent (who were Movietone’s closest conspirators), through Elliott’s jungle/electronica project Third Eye Foundation, and Brook and Elliott’s membership of Flying Saucer Attack. A closely knit community, Movietone are the centre of this nestling architecture of groups.

The vision in the music, mostly, belongs to Wright, but Movietone ran in democratic creative consort. Listening back to Movietone, you can hear this democracy in action through the wildness of the music, which is balanced by the poetics of Wright’s lyrics and melodies. Full of half-captured memories and entangled abstractions, there’s an elliptical, ruminative quality to much of the writing here that shows the deep influence of the Beat Generation writers, along with a twilight environment captured in the songs that’s pure third-album Velvets, Galaxie 500, early Tindersticks, Codeine. Unpredictable interventions – the crashing glass in “Mono Valley”, the sudden explosions of “Orange Zero” – point towards the noise blowouts of My Bloody Valentine, the unpredictability of Sonic Youth; Wright’s understated vocal cadence suggest a deep, embodied understanding of John Cage’s Indeterminacy.

Movietone would go on to make three fantastic albums for Domino – Night & Day (1997), The Blossom Filled Streets (2000) and The Sand & The Stars (2003) – and their Peel Sessions were released early in 2022 by Textile. Still held in high regard by artists like Steven R. Smith, and The Pastels, whose Stephen McRobbie once described them as “one of the great unknown English groups,” it’s an absolute thrill to listen to Movietone anew – still inspired, still seductive, still magic, still mysterious.