With "To the Westcoast / My Fate (Revisited)" by Ara Pacis we are proud to officially release two of the most exciting AOR tracks hailing from Germany.
Ara Pacis, a group from the island Föhr in the North Sea, was originally founded in 1971. Initially influenced by blues and classic rock by The Rolling Stones, The Who, and the like, they were also inspired by bands such as Steely Dan as well as the German/British group Lake. However, Ara Pacis created a style of their own when their privately pressed and self-distributed "To the Westcoast" LP was released in 1979. The songs were mainly characterized by two-part guitar riffs by Töns Brautlecht-Deppe and Wolfgang Schiffner, who also were the core songwriters of the band.
The freshly remastered single starts with the title track "To the Westcoast". Due to its sunny and yacht-y vibe it is easily amongst the best and most authentic tunes out of the "Westcoast rock" genre recorded in Germany. With family connections in California, lead singer Töns Brautlecht-Deppe was able to create and capture the feeling of the Pacific sea shore just perfectly.
The single is backed with a revised studio version of "My Fate". Here, lead singer Töns Brautlecht tells his story about getting into playing guitar as a young boy. The track is also featured on the album but the version we present on the 7" vinyl is an unreleased, even quite funky and more powerful take. It was recorded in 1981 at the Rüssl studio in Hamburg where Brautlecht had just started to work as an engineer.
As the "To the Westcoast" LP was released during a time when styles like New Wave, Synth Pop and Punk became popular in Germany and the interest in organic and soulful rock declined, Ara Pacis' debut remained relatively unnoticed until today and even the Krautrock collector's scene does not seem to be fully aware of this hard to find gem yet of which only 1000 copies were originally pressed. The band is still kept in good memory by their fans as a quite legendary live act and although they officially split in 1982, the group still served their fan base with revival concerts in 1990 and 2002 plus a website with full band story and lots of images from the early days.
We hope this single sheds new light on this great band. It is limited to 350 copies and released in a beautiful picture sleeve which shows the original LP artwork.
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Black Vinyl[23,66 €]
During the 13 years of existence of our label we have managed to turn many a dream project into reality and reissued countless numbers of forgotten and overlooked gems. There has, however, been one dream we've chased for years that is now finally manifesting itself on vinyl - the albums of the most remarkable Finnish post rock band Magyar Posse and especially the second of their three records, Kings of Time. Magyar Posse's debut album We Will Carry You Over The Mountains (2001) was already an impressive, ambitious work in which the band effortlessly mixed Goblin and Ennio Morricone influences into their melodic and atmospheric blend of instrumental post-something. It was, though, the second album Kings of Time, that took the band from the darlings of the local alternative music press to such levels of artistic expression that even the mainstream media had to pay attention. The album, consisting of seven untitled songs, sounds like music to an imaginary sixties new wave film that mixes Soviet space drama with spaghetti western gunfights on a scorching hot desert, all covered with slavic melancholy. The record was released originally covered in a striking red and black 20's Soviet avantgarde style cover design. The Svart Records vinyl reissue comes in a blue cover that better reflects the changed times. The vinyl also includes a booklet full of memorabilia and text that look back to the creation of this spectacular album.
Ltd Yellow Vinyl[25,42 €]
During the 13 years of existence of our label we have managed to turn many a dream project into reality and reissued countless numbers of forgotten and overlooked gems. There has, however, been one dream we've chased for years that is now finally manifesting itself on vinyl - the albums of the most remarkable Finnish post rock band Magyar Posse and especially the second of their three records, Kings of Time. Magyar Posse's debut album We Will Carry You Over The Mountains (2001) was already an impressive, ambitious work in which the band effortlessly mixed Goblin and Ennio Morricone influences into their melodic and atmospheric blend of instrumental post-something. It was, though, the second album Kings of Time, that took the band from the darlings of the local alternative music press to such levels of artistic expression that even the mainstream media had to pay attention. The album, consisting of seven untitled songs, sounds like music to an imaginary sixties new wave film that mixes Soviet space drama with spaghetti western gunfights on a scorching hot desert, all covered with slavic melancholy. The record was released originally covered in a striking red and black 20's Soviet avantgarde style cover design. The Svart Records vinyl reissue comes in a blue cover that better reflects the changed times. The vinyl also includes a booklet full of memorabilia and text that look back to the creation of this spectacular album.
TOWNES VAN ZANDT STUDIO SESSIONS FROM 1974 AVAILABLE ON VINYL FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER In 1974, Townes Van Zandt recorded what would have been his seventh album, ‘Seven Come Eleven’. Business issues prevented its release until the recordings surfaced two decades later as ‘The Nashville Sessions’. To commemorate the 50th anniversary of the beginning of Van Zandt’s turbulent musical career and launch of a major catalogue reissue programme, Charly has restored and re-mastered ‘The Nashville Sessions’ to present a stunning document of the folk-blues master at his absolute peak. “These are songs that tap into the timeless myth of the American troubadour, a place where wandering souls tramp the byways of their homeland...” Restored and mastered to vinyl from the original tapes provided by producer and manager Kevin Eggers. Full colour LP sleeve with original Milton Glaser portrait cover. Fully illustrated inner with detailed sleeve notes by Uncut magazine journalist Rob Hughes. Part of Charly’s 50th anniversary programme celebrating the start of Van Zandt’s career. All original Poppy and Tomato albums which Townes Van Zandt recorded at the peak of his career will be newly re- mastered, restored and lavishly repackaged and available on CD & limited edition 180g heavyweight vinyl. The death of Townes Van Zandt in 1997 at age 52 robbed the world of a troubled genius as well as one of America’s finest songwriters. His reputation and popularity has grown greater by the year inspiring books, a documentary and renewed interest from the media, passionately loyal fans and contemporaries such as Willie Nelson, Merle Haggard and Emmylou Harris who have covered his songs to the upper-reaches of the American charts. “From Neil Young and Willie Nelson, Bono and Bob Dylan (who reportedly once said that Townes was “in some ways the better writer”) to Tindersticks and Mudhoney, songwriters and musicians speak of Townes with reverence.” MOJO MAGAZINE “He was the best songwriter and most riveting solo performer I’ve ever seen.” STEVE EARLE “An effortless masterclass in emotionally effecting Americana”.
The FIXX has been heralded as one of the most innovative bands to come out of the “MTV” era. For four decades, the style and substance of the band has always created a special connection with its audience. The FIXX’s themes are often complex, introspective and thought-provoking, but not without widespread mass appeal. The band has garnered three #1 hits, five more in the Top 5 and a dozen which reached the Top 10. With millions of albums sold worldwide, songs such as “One Thing Leads To Another,” “Red Skies” and “Saved By Zero” remain everyday staples on the playlists of the Rock, AAA and Alternative radio stations that continue to break new acts inspired by the era that The FIXX helped to define. The FIXX’s classic lineup remains intact, Cy Curnin (vocals), Jamie West-Oram (guitar), Rupert Greenall (keyboards), Dan K. Brown (bass guitar) and Adam Woods (drums). The alt rock pioneers return with their new studio album EVERY FIVE SECONDS,their first in nearly a decade, on June 3, 2022!
Balamii resident and Sticky Tapes-founder Theo Everyday arrives with a huge debut on Cheeky Sneakers, seamlessly blending the worlds of jungle, electro and trance with his signature sauce of nostalgic and futuristic hyper-funk.
Having curated the Sticky Tapes mix series and label - supporting music from artists such as Stones Taro, Om Unit, Jossy Mitsu and Lobster Theremin label head Asquith - the DJ and producer knows a thing or two about merging differing styles and energies. The Holsten FM EP plays out like a three hour club set; placing classic UK sounds at its foundation and throwing multi-coloured paint all over them.
'The Way You Feel' makes use of the pitched-vocal, SoundCloud hyper-pop aesthetic with hardcore-piano stabs and heartstring-tugging cheese wrapped within a huge low-end swinging bassline. A great lights-up tool to leave them with a smile on their face. The classic rave energy is maintained on the EP title track - a stripped-back cut of ragga jungle-step that's as meditative as it is devastating.
From golden-era rave and jungle future-mutations to heads-down club sounds, 'Every Body's Talking (Well Let's Talk)' is a strobe-light power sequence for when things are in full swing, before 90s breakbeat and trance join forces on a 'Six and Two Threes' hands-in-the-air moments.
Breaks-littered dream sequences that feel like a warm hug follow on 'Summer Lie In' - its chopped melodies and stirring atmospherics causing ripples within the pond of paradise - before 'Mod Cons' closes with a squelching cut of acid-electro on a killer digi-only exclusive.
Red Vinyl[32,31 €]
Olympia“ entstand während der Pandemie und beschreibt schwierige Zeiten. Umgeben von Nebel und Gefühlen, die in Wirklichkeit Momentaufnahmen einer fast allbestimmenden Schwere.Bittere Ironie des Schicksals als Stilelement seiner Texte; Zenith des Scheiterns. Am Ende schaut man nur noch YouTubeVideos. Liegt rum, versinkt in alten Sport-Videos und lässt gelähmt die Stunden verstreichen. Während Menschen auf dem Bildschirm in 47 Sekunden 100 Meter Schwimmen und damit ihr komplettes Leben und die Welt verändern, bekommt man selbst nichts mehr auf die Reihe. Totaler Stillstand. Das Bild ruckelt.
Zwischen Apathie, Slo-Motion-Sadness und Geschwindigkeitsrekorden entsteht der Drang, etwas derart
Destruktives in etwas Konstruktives zu transformieren. Ein Ziel, das Betterov auf seinem Debütalbum erreicht hat. „Olympia“ sucht nach Gründen und spendet Hoffnung. Es geht um Liebe, um verlorene
Liebe, um den Wunsch, jemand anderes zu sein, sich selbst zu finden. Die Sehnsucht, Teil einer Gruppe zu sein. Nur um am Ende zu erkennen, dass die eigene Unangepasstheit eigentlich die größte Stärke ist.Gemeinsam mit befreundeten Musikern ist unter Aufsicht des Producer-Duos Tim Tautorat (Pharrell, Herbert Grönemeyer, AnnenMayKantereit) und Dennis Borger (Razz, Anoki, Trille) in den Berliner HansaStudios eine Scheibe entstanden, deren dichter, kompromisslos rauer und doch einnehmender Sound viel
mehr nach Band, als desperatem Alleinunterhalter klingt. Guter Move.
Black Vinyl[29,37 €]
Olympia“ entstand während der Pandemie und beschreibt schwierige Zeiten. Umgeben von Nebel und Gefühlen, die in Wirklichkeit Momentaufnahmen einer fast allbestimmenden Schwere.Bittere Ironie des Schicksals als Stilelement seiner Texte; Zenith des Scheiterns. Am Ende schaut man nur noch YouTubeVideos. Liegt rum, versinkt in alten Sport-Videos und lässt gelähmt die Stunden verstreichen. Während Menschen auf dem Bildschirm in 47 Sekunden 100 Meter Schwimmen und damit ihr komplettes Leben und die Welt verändern, bekommt man selbst nichts mehr auf die Reihe. Totaler Stillstand. Das Bild ruckelt.
Zwischen Apathie, Slo-Motion-Sadness und Geschwindigkeitsrekorden entsteht der Drang, etwas derart
Destruktives in etwas Konstruktives zu transformieren. Ein Ziel, das Betterov auf seinem Debütalbum erreicht hat. „Olympia“ sucht nach Gründen und spendet Hoffnung. Es geht um Liebe, um verlorene
Liebe, um den Wunsch, jemand anderes zu sein, sich selbst zu finden. Die Sehnsucht, Teil einer Gruppe zu sein. Nur um am Ende zu erkennen, dass die eigene Unangepasstheit eigentlich die größte Stärke ist.Gemeinsam mit befreundeten Musikern ist unter Aufsicht des Producer-Duos Tim Tautorat (Pharrell, Herbert Grönemeyer, AnnenMayKantereit) und Dennis Borger (Razz, Anoki, Trille) in den Berliner HansaStudios eine Scheibe entstanden, deren dichter, kompromisslos rauer und doch einnehmender Sound viel
mehr nach Band, als desperatem Alleinunterhalter klingt. Guter Move.
- 1: Flounder
- 2: Once Upon A Time
- 3: Fight
- 4: Fisherman
- 5: Illsebill.com & Marcel De Champignon
- 6: Bruno The Architect
- 7: Mantje Mantje
- 8: Illsebill Blues
- 9: Interlude
- 10: Timpe Te Shuffle
- 11: Servus Servus Schuhplattler
- 12: No
- 13: How Could That Be?
- 14: The End
- 15: No1
- 16: Nosferatu
- 17: Last Tango Of Harry The Hamster (Monologue)
- 18: Harry Sanchez
- 19: Maharani
- 20: Dmitri
- 21: Return Of Hans Schmitz
- 22: Slacker's Fanfare
Am besten immer schön zwischen alle Stühle setzen, das ergibt - nicht zwangsläufig, aber oft - die interessantere Musik. Und im Falle von Kuhn Fu definitiv die lustigere. Seit 2012 hat die Band um den Gitarristen Christian Kühn eine singuläre und sehr eigensinnige Form von Jazzrock (oder Rockjazz) entwickelt, zwischen Parodie und einer großen Ernsthaftigkeit, mit der sie gegen musikalische Scheuklappen anspielt. Kühns mit John Dikeman (Saxofon), Tobias Delius (Saxofon, Klarinette), Ziv Taubenfeld Bassklarinette), Sofia Salvo (Saxofon), Esat Ekincioglu (Bass) und George Hadow (Drums) international besetztes Ensemble spielt die vor Melodien und kompositorischen Ideen überbordenden Stücke, als ginge es ums Ganze. Die Komik, die in der Musik Kuhn Fus immer präsent ist, nimmt ihr nichts von ihrer Intensität. "Ich liebe tonale Musik", erzählt Christian Kühn. "Tonal gespielt und dann überspitzt, darum geht es, deswegen klingt es immer wieder mal parodistisch." Parodie - aber auch Klamauk. Auf Jazz Is Expensive erzählt Kühn das Märchen "Vom Fischer und seiner Frau" noch einmal neu und anders. Der Vortrag Kühns trägt sein Übriges bei: Mit forciertem deutschem Akzent wird auf Englisch die Geschichte zu einem modernen Märchen umgeformt. Hauptfigur ist der Fischer Marcel De Champignon, ein Hornspieler, der auf der Suche nach der perfekten Melodie ist - "the melody that makes millions". Diesen Wunsch soll ihm der Fisch erfüllen, "Bruno the Architect" der Name.
In August she is releasing her solo debut "Changes Like the Weather in the
Mountain", consisting of her songs wrapped in electric guitar, wurlitzer, fiddles
and some high- pitched choir voices. Selma's music reveals an admiration for
Norwegian and English folk music, as well as containing an airy energy from
somewhere unknown – moving from an open space like big mountain into the
hidden rooms in one's heart.Selma is already known in the folk-scene in Norway
as a member of bands such as Norwegian Grammy nominated Masava and
Norwegian Grammy winner Morgonrode. She has toured and worked with artists
like Frokedal & Familien, Kristian Kristensen, Siv Jakobsen and the Switch. Her
musical work has been acknowledged by many, lastly featured as the theme song
in the Viaplay series Furia.
Growing up in the suburban university town of As, Selma French was exposed to
folk music from an early age, playing violin and Hardanger fiddle all her life, as
well as making songs on guitar. The list of musical inspirations is long, from
Linda Perhacs, Nick Drake, Fairport Convention and Judee Sill, to Frokedal,
Susanne Sundfor, Sandy Denn and The Roches.
Artists:
Selma French: vocals, acoustic guitar
Anja Lauvdal: synths, wurlitzer
Christian Winther: el-guitar
Andreas Winther: drums
Spills is the debut album from Spairs (made up of Jonn Penney and Dan
Worton of Ned's Atomic Dustbin) and features mighty riffs, emotion and
rock/moshability one would expect from such pedigree
This prolific lyricist, combined with the multi- instrumentalist talent that is Dan
Worton, has created something very special. This isn’t a Ned’s Atomic Dustbin
side project, this is a totally new beast born out of lockdown.
Holy Now is one of the finest indie bands to have emerged from Sweden
in recent years
Perfect yet deliberately off, dreamy indie pop with Julia Olanders voice at the
center. On August 26th, they'll release their new album via Lazy Octopus Records
(AOP, Therese Lithner, MANKIND etc.)
2018 debut album "I Think I Need The Light" and follow-up EP "It Will All End In
Tears" were acclaimed both internationally by prominent media, such as Gold
Flake Paint, Gorilla Vs Bear and Line of Best Fit.
On the band's second studio album "Dream of Me", out this fall via Lazy Octopus,
the building blocks remain: crisp reverb-drenched guitars, dreamy choruses and a
very analog feel. It also showcases a new side of the band that is more
withdrawn, dressed in sparse soundscapes, with a lot of focus on lyrics, a song
for anyone who wears their heart on the outside.
Danish quartet Kindsight make the kind of music that feels like a summer
kiss in an autumn breeze
Pointed out as "your new favourite band" by UK tastemakers For The Rabbits their
highly anticipated debut LP 'Swedish Punk' arrives in March on Rama Lama
Records (Melby, Steve Buscemi's Dreamy Eyes, Wy etc.). The debut is packed with
charming and infectiously catchy noise- jangle- pop melodies full of exuberant
optimism and coming-of-age tales. Inspiration comes from acts such as Pixies,
Cocteau Twins, Snail Mail, Big Thief and more.
The longest-tenured Irish punk band is undoubtedly Stiff Little Fingers –
who have been bashing and thrashing since 1977
And the vinyl, “Live at Rockpalast 1980”, shows that the band remained a vital live
band (and also, stayed true to their roots) throughout the ‘80s, despite a five-year
hiatus smack dab in the middle of the decade. Singer/guitarist Jake Burns has
been the band’s leader since their inception – with bassist Ali McMordie standing
right alongside Jake most of the time – which saw Stiff Little Fingers being a part
of the first- wave of Euro punk bands, which included the lofty likes of the Sex
Pistols, the Clash, and the Damned, the Buzzcocks, the Jam, etc. And in the
process, Stiff Little Fingers issued such classic punk LP’s as “Inflammable
Material”, “Nobody’s Heroes” and “Go for It” plus the punk anthems “Alternative
Ulster", “Suspect Device” and “At the Edge”. Jake Burns still remembers: "The
place was packed and the audience were with us from the first note. They were
wonderful, singing and bouncing along. It really felt like a "home game" to use a
football analogy. I thought we played really well too, apart from a slight timing
mistake during "Back to Front", a new song we were still learning. (See if you can
spot my giving Jim the "look of death" at that point! LOL!)."
THE UK DOOM LEGENDS PERFORMING TRACKS FROM THEIR CLASSIC
DEBUT ALBUM LIVE IN BRADFORD, 1989
Creators, pioneers & purveyors of the whole Gothic Doom Metal scene which
subsequently came to prominence in the early 90's, Britain's Paradise Lost rose
from humble Northern roots to become one of the UK's leading artists in the
metal genre throughout the decade & beyond, remaining as relevant & revered as
ever to this day after a career spanning over three decades. The band's first two
albums were released on Peaceville, in the shape of 1990's influential deathly
debut 'Lost Paradise', followed up by the more atmosphere- focussed genre
classic, 'Gothic' in 1991.
'Live Death' features a band still in their formative years, with an early showcase
of their raw potential from Bradford Queens Hall, 1989, in their home county of
West Yorkshire, England. From an era of what was still an evolving & blossoming
extreme metal scene, Paradise Lost already displayed an advanced maturity to
their compositions & a developing style of their own, as the quintet perform a set
containing tracks featured on their debut album, the masterpiece of death metal
that is 'Lost Paradise', with tracks such as 'Frozen Illusion' & 'Rotting Misery'.
This edition of 'Live Death' is presented on black vinyl, featuring the original cover
art.
"Bywater Call will be among the best new bands of the decade" - Nathalie
Leblond of Blues Quebec Toronto-based, 2020 Maple Blues Awards
nominees for Best New Artist, Bywater Call's self-titled debut album was
released in Canada, USA, Europe and Australia on November 22, 2019
The album received rave reviews across all territories and placed #1 on the Roots
Music Report Canada Top 50 for 11 straight weeks and continues to place today.
It was featured as album of the month on the IBBA chart, gained repeated top 5
placement on the International/ US Rock Blues, and top 20 placement on the
International/US Blues RMR charts.Bywater Call are geared to released their longawaited sophomore album 'Remain'. This album is for fans of roots/ blues rock
bands such as Tedeschi Trucks band, Marcus King, Beth Hart, and alike.
OVERVIEW: Lande Hekt’s natural state of being is in the writing of a song. Having crafted politically aware, heart-on-sleeve, punchy yet tender, punk-flecked songs with her band Muncie Girls, Lande turned her hand to an even more personal songwriting approach as she embarked on writing a solo record - 2021’s ‘Going to Hell’. The debut full-length documented her experience coming out as gay. It set out her stall as a solo artist with supreme storytelling abilities and a knack for understatedly luminous melodies. Lande’s music sits beautifully alongside such essential artists as The Wedding Present, The Sundays, The Replacements, Sleeper and Sharon Van Etten
Three cassettes from The Koreatown Oddity: two maxisingles (‘Aggro Crag’ and ‘MISOPHONIA LOVE’) and a
custom edition of Ktown’s latest album, ‘ISTHISFORREAL?’.
Cassettes designed by Ktown and his close circle -
collaborators Mark Bijasa and Skyler Dufelmeier.
All three cassettes are exclusive to the UK. Aggro Crag sold
out within a day when it first dropped in the US.
Dominique Purdy, aka The Koreatown Oddity, is a Los
Angeles MC / producer who is also a rapper, producer,
filmmaker, writer and humourist.
‘Aggro Crag’ contains three oddball singles which were
inspired by making art on a shoestring. Transparent green
cassette.
‘ISTHISFORREAL?’ is a sketch show / mockumentary
concept album about realising that the things you thought
were real are actually different. Clear cassette.
‘MISOPHONIA LOVE’ contains a remix of the title track
which is a tongue-in-cheek love song about him and his girl
who has misophonia. The tracks on this cassette are all
exclusive to tape. Transparent pink cassette.
For fans of Danny Brown, Quelle Chris, Knxwledge, Reggie
Watts.
Ktown has collaborated with artists such as Benny Sings,
Ras G, Quakers, J Rocc and many more.
Press - Reviews & features in The Line of Best Fit, Loud & Quiet, Clash,
Earmilk, The Needle Drop.
Radio - 6 Music (Album Of The Week), 2SER, RTR.
The Southern state’s musical giants have always had their own distinct recipe for
American roots: spiced with jazz, steeped in swamp-blues and cooked up a little
differently by every artist who performs it. As a second- generation child of the
Bayou State, Kenny Neal has taken his own inimitable guitar, gale-force harp and
roadworn voice all over the globe. But in 2022, the Grammy- nominated blues
master’s latest album, Straight From The Heart, finds him drawn by the siren call
of his hometown and musical ground zero, Baton Rouge.“This is the first album
I’ve ever recorded on my own turf, and it truly came straight from the heart,” says
Neal, who both led and produced a crack team of local musicians at his own
Brookstown Recording Studios. “All the tributaries of the blues converge here,
flowing into one rich tradition.”You’ll hear all of Neal’s travels in Straight From The
Heart, but this latest album brings it all back home in every sense. Lining up in the
studio alongside his Baton Rouge compadrés, the respect that Neal commands
on the scene also drew some special guests, including hot- tip blues sensation
Christone ‘Kingfish’ Ingram (who co-writes and plays stinger guitar on Mount Up
On The Wings Of The King), pop royalty Tito Jackson (on Two Timing) and two
songs with Rockin’ Dopsie Junior & The Zydeco Twisters. You’ll even hear Neal’s
supremely talented daughter Syreeta drive the vocal outro of Two Timing.“It was
like a family reunion,” says Neal of the good-natured sessions. “It was excellent
because I had all the musicians that grew up under me here in Baton Rouge. And
just being in my own studio, not worrying about the clock.”Straight From The
Heart is a fitting title for a record that salutes the many loves of Neal’s life.
There’s the brass-driven opener Blues Keep Chasing Me, which tips a hat to his
recently departed friend, Lucky Peterson. There’s the touching piano-led Someone
Somewhere, which salutes his beloved father, harp master Raful Neal, who put
him on this path. Elsewhere, Neal’s deep love for every side of his home state is
underlined by the zydeco chop of Bon Temps Rouler and New Orleans, whose
lyrics reference everything from “sippin’ on Hurricane” to “sittin’ on the Bayou
catching catfish”. Faced with such an open-hearted record, it’s impossible not to
reciprocate. And as the world opens up and Kenny Neal embraces his natural
habitat of the road, this Louisiana icon will bring a little bit of that Baton Rouge
spirit onto every stage he treads. “It don't cost nothing to share a little love and a
little respect,” he says. “And we can all rise above…”
The latest album from Randy Randall, guitarist and multi-instrumentalist
of tireless Los Angeles experimental punk duo No Age, Sound Field Vol
2020, continues the iconoclastic weirdo ripper's series of audiovisual
urban excursions in a contemplative set of ambient compositions
exploring the abandoned expanse of pandemic-era Los Angeles
"Vol. 2020 is named as such (and not 'Vol. 2') because of the massive psychic
shift that occurred at the beginning of the global pandemic and subsequent
lockdown," says Randall. The project took root in the earliest days of lockdown, as
the absence of perennial, man- made din revealed the secret lives and hidden
contours of the world without us: The cacophony of birds on empty boulevards;
the rhythmic click cycles of unmanned escalators; PA announcements
reverberating back into themselves across abandoned transportation terminals;
nocturnal choruses of wildlife reverberating across hillsides under a planeless
sky.We listened inwards, too, recontextualizing ourselves as we reckoned with an
abrupt and collective halt never thought possible in our lifetime, as if someone
had pressed mute on the world. Little did we know what would come. With no
choice but to confront the present, we gave ourselves over to a brief moment of
fear mixed with wonderment, alone, together.




















