Cerca:summer inc

Repress.

Back in print and just in time for summer relaxation. It's hard to believe this album came out over 10 years ago. Back then we thought it was too rough for consumption, were we wrong! Today, “Songs” can be heard on hundreds of playlists around the world and still attracts listeners with its unique sonic grit. It became a template for LOFI producers and has even been featured in multiple Thrasher skate videos. Its appeal continues to cross genres and remains entirely random, but unmistakably Dwight. If you missed out on this album the first time, it's your chance to get that first PPU restoration of Dwight's solo songs from the 80s. This is the restoration that took over 2 years and included; phones held up to speakers, cassette to 1/4 reel transfers, Tascam manipulations, scotch tape, and a pair of scissors.

Dwight Sykes aka Sporty Cat, was born February 27, 1956 in Nettleton, Mississippi. At the age of two Dwight and family moved to Kalamazoo, Michigan where he would remain for most of his younger years. At the age of nine Dwight started his musical career singing background vocals with a spiritual group, Airs of Harmony, Jr., now known as the Michigan Nightingales. After three years of signing, Dwight started playing guitar. He joined his first r&B band, The Kenyatahs, at age thirteen and then played for five years with the group. Following the break up of the group and the death of his mother, Dwight enlisted in the U.S. Army. During that time he played guitar and drums for the band 100% Pure Poison. They played throughout Germany for 18 months. After being honorably discharged, and back in the states, Dwight started playing in numerous local Michigan bands including Domain, and Chaos. Eager to write his own material, Dwight created the group Jahari. They toured for a couple of years in the Michigan area until another break-up. Still under the Jahari alias, Dwight wrote "Situations" which received respectable air-play on Michigan local radio stations, WKMI, WQXC, WRDR, WKZO and WKDS. Dwight now resides near Atlanta, Georgia. He continues to write and produce songs on his Tascam 464 four track console. Although he uses other avenues to provide for the upkeep of himself and son, his love of music keep the hope alive that he will one day get that big break in the music business. Dwight Sykes - Songs Volume One is a collection of material written, produced and recorded by Dwight Sykes on 4-Track Cassette, in his home studio L.U.S.T. Productions.

Drumcode hits 300 releases as the brilliant Mha Iri returns to the label for her second EP, 'Bombay'. Since debuting on Drumcode just a year ago with 'Never Go Back To Sleep', (her contribution to the debut Elevate compilation series and one of the best-selling techno tracks of 2023), the Scottish producer has rapidly established herself as one of Drumcode's most exciting new artists. A stellar debut EP followed in September with 'The Unexpected', before 'Bell' her cut on A-Sides Vol.12 charted #1 in Beatport's techno Top 100. Due to its success Drumcode chose it for the Change The Beat remix competition, and the remix from YOZÉ is a highlight on the latest 'Elevate Vol.II'. Amidst an impressive touring schedule which will include Awakenings main stage, Junction 2, Tomorrowland and Drumcode's Mysteryland main stage takeover this summer, Mha Iri has been active at Drumcode showcases, playing Watergate in Berlin and more recently the massive Drumsheds show in London. It was there her spit-fire new EP 'Bombay' shined in the huge halls of techno. A hypnotiser of the highest order, the title track is a fully-loaded barrage of tribal techno, crushing drums and vocals that unite for arguably Mha Iri's strongest track on DC to date. We can't wait to see this one launch. Pairing beautifully is 'Existence', a galloping slice of peak-time fare elevated by a rousing vocal.

Nova Vida is a unique producer's album project injecting new life into classic songs, colouring them with the broad palette that are DJ / Producer Chris Bangs’ influences from his lifetime in music. 10 classic songs have been given the distinctive Nova Vida treatment, Ritmo Da Vida features unknown vocalists and musicians Chris has discovered and incorporated into the project from around the globe. Drawing on Bangs' influences such as Sergio Mendes and the sounds of Brazil, Samba, Bossa etc thru Classic British Pop, 70’s West Coast and beyond Nova Vida fuses all of the above with ten truly classic songs taking them into new musical arenas they haven't previously graced.

The first single “My Only” ft Klei came out in July 2023 on limited vinyl, got lots of club plays , specialist radio support and spent a month on the Jazz FM A List. The album already has serious upfront tastemaker support many who are digging Empty Faces (Vera Cruz) , the sublime instrumental Affirmation and the sultry samba vocal version of Stormy. Our favourite in the BDQ office is Each and every one, its fabulous, the whole album is just perfect for summer 2024. We here at BDQ are privileged to release this album on the label, as usual vinyl will be super limited.

A decade after releasing their debut EP through Planet Mu's Timesig imprint, Speed Dealer Moms—a collaborative electronic music project with a fluid line-up commonly made up of Aaron Funk, John Frusciante and Chris McDonald—are set to make their long-awaited return this summer with a new offering entitled SDM-LA8-441-114-211. The 3-track EP, arriving June 11 through Evar Records, offers a glimpse into the treasure trove of Speed Dealer Moms' unreleased material, with each song title alluding to the date in which it was recorded and in how many takes.

Over the years, Speed Dealer Moms have considered various ideas on how to release more of their unorthodox recordings in unconventional ways, with their latest to arrive in the format of a limited edition vinyl pressing. Although a lot has changed since first sharing their intricate creations with the world in 2010, Speed Dealer Moms have routinely gotten together whenever schedules and circumstances allowed, picking up wherever they last left off creatively and adding to their growing archive of recordings. While there are plenty of reminders that time is both irrelevant and an illusion—especially in the fickle music business where trends are fleeting—the chemistry these collaborators exhibit in the studio has no expiration date, offering a purity in approach that reflects the cherished importance of creating in the moment and subsequently celebrating timeless music.

During the writing process, which includes in-depth discussions and days of programming, Speed Dealer Moms record live to stereo with no overdubs or edits, improvising arrangements that often feel composed. In the same spirit of prodigal IDM acts such as Autechre and Luke Vibert, each Speed Dealer Moms session pushes the limits of what an arsenal of modular synthesizers and other machines are capable of, creating tracks that are driven by mathematics, mechanical understanding and musical spontaneity alike. As exemplified by their forthcoming Evar release, each recorded session captures an undeniable magic that is both distinctive and hard to describe, creating a listening experience that transcends genre lines and sonic boundaries.

Club music culture necessarily shifted gears in many ways during and after the course of the pandemic. Older participants found their way into other interests and younger participants took new reigns to orient spaces they felt good inside of. The agenda for the music, and the cultural industry surrounding it at large, took a more frivolous and “fun” turn. Clubs needed to recoup lost money, people needed more refreshing catharsis for their nightlife escape, and in some pockets scattered around the globe a newer and younger cadre of producers/promoters/DJ’s pulled optical cues from a scattering of “darker” influences to give an alternate aesthetic to the aforementioned “vibes” culture. In the midst of this, a large polarization of conceptual energy shifted within the compositional and utilitarian machinations of the club music culture leaving behind the brooding and cerebral placeholders for different kind of enjoyable hedonism. Terrestrial Paradise’ “Artificial Hell” harkens to another prescient time before that shift occurred. “Artificial Hell’ might just be an illustration of what all of this fun escapism encapsulates.

Terrestrial Paradise is the latest moniker from Montreal come Los Angeles based producer Jaclyn Kendal. Having developed and cemented her sonic positionality with releases on North American labels like Ascetic House and Summer isle over the years, as well as a series of monolithic live sets, Bank is pleased to announce Kendal’s Terrestrial Paradise first full length album “Artificial Hell”. Over the course of nine recordings, “Artificial Hell” gives a master class in pressurized industrial techno of the slower variety. Fitting with the legacy of Bank’s output since it’s inception, Terrestrial Paradise’s aesthetic sensibilities sit within the canon of a certain tinge of club music imbued with a sense of natural grit, sans pretense.

“Artificial Hell” nods to artists like Scorn, Regis, and 400 PPM while maintaining it’s own territory in the landscape of cerebral and brooding rhythmic techno. Ominous, mechanistic drones sit above succinctly exacted percussion composition and sound design. Throughout “Artificial Hell”, Kendal shows her proficiency with the push and pull of building and releasing tension. On tracks like “Salvation” and “Relativity” she melds her synth wash wallscapes with driving percussion, serving as both a hint and counterpoint to the the entirety of the latter part of the album taking on spartan ambient compositions as a way to keep the listener in a subdued stasis. This album is a statement piece from a long time participant in the North American underground music sectors. It reminds the listener through perilous, considered rhythms and darker drone impositions to cement themselves back into a place where not
everything is always a good time.

She loves jazz, art and fashion and last summer she wrote her very first song. If you are an undeniable fan of Jaqueline Taeib, Cleo, Suzanne Gabriello, Gillian Hills, Catherine Spaak, Sylvie Vartan, Francoise Hardy, Sheila, "Rodin" will most certainly take you right back in time. Camille sings about love, life and loneliness, an original composition about the love affair between Auguste Rodin and his student Camille Claudel and also includes a fantastic cover song from an artiste we all adore, NINO FERRER's "Alexandre"

Worst Case Scenario started out in 1994 with Justin Trosper and Brandt Sandeno from Unwound as another of the many bands they formed together. That summer was a little slow for Unwound’s hoped-for tour schedule so they decided to start another hardcore-influenced band while working day jobs. As they began practicing in the basement of the Olympia punk house “Lucky 7”, long time friend and roommate Chris Jordan jumped in as the vocalist. Sandeno soon recruited his college friend, Scott Larsen, that had recently moved from Minneapolis. They quickly wrote about an album’s worth of songs and recorded them with Tim Green at the Red House for a “demo tape” that Tobi Vail released on her tape label, Bumpidee. 1995 saw another Tim Green recording with 7-inch records on Lookout Records and Troubleman. This LP contains all of the forementioned material. In 1996 they recorded a full length record with “Seasick” Steve Wold in Olympia for Vermiform which resulted in the self-titled vinyl LP and The Complete Works of Worst Case Scenario CD collection a year later. WCS played a few random shows, mostly in Olympia, with friends’ touring bands from 1994-96 and set up a national tour for the summer of ’97. Shortly before the tour Jordan was injured in a random accident and then Larsen broke his wrist in a work accident, rendering the band unable to embark on the tour. To cap it off, the one sheet of paper that had all the venues’ contacts for the tour was destroyed in a laundry related incident and the band was unable to properly cancel the tour. Apropos to their name. They disbanded amicably later that year with members moving away from town and taking on more demanding tour and work schedules.

"Nonesuch Records releases Rectangles and Circumstance, an album of ten songs co-written and performed by Caroline Shaw and Sō Percussion. The album follows their 2021 Grammy Award–winning Nonesuch debut, Narrow Sea, and their first record as a band, 2021’s Let the Soil Play Its Simple Part, with Shaw on vocals backed by Sō – Eric Cha-Beach, Josh Quillen, Adam Sliwinski, and Jason Treuting. Grammy-winning engineer Jonathan Low (The National, Taylor Swift) co-produced with them on both Let the Soil… and Rectangles and Circumstance. Sō and Shaw’s upcoming performances will be announced soon.

Sliwinski says in the new album’s liner notes, “After a few years of touring Let the Soil Play Its Simple Part together, with a pandemic in between, we came to record our second album, Rectangles and Circumstance, as a road-tested band who knew each other’s strengths, weaknesses, and tendencies intimately.” He continues, “Most of the songs started with instrumental pieces or fragments of pieces from Jason or Eric.

“As both a songwriter and a classical composer, Caroline is accustomed to writing lyrics as well as setting them. Going over texts with her is like working on music: I collect a handful of poems and send them over to her, waiting to see if anything catches her interest, then I modify my search based on her feedback,” Sliwinski says. “For this album, Caroline, Eric, and I sourced a group of nineteenth-century poems that shaped its expressive mode and ended up using verses by Christina Rosetti, Emily Brontë, Emily Dickinson, Gertrude Stein, and William Blake … The lyrics on this album by members of the band contain wordplay that explores the same profound feelings explored by Blake and Dickinson.”

Caroline Shaw is a musician who moves among roles, genres, and mediums, trying to imagine a world of sound that has never been heard before but has always existed. She is the recipient of the 2013 Pulitzer Prize in Music, several Grammy awards, an honorary doctorate from Yale, and a Thomas J. Watson Fellowship. She has worked with a range of artists including Rosalía, Renée Fleming, and Yo-Yo Ma, and she has contributed music to films and TV series including Fleishman Is in Trouble, Bombshell, Yellowjackets, Maid, Dark, and Beyoncé’s Homecoming. In addition to her albums with Sō, Nonesuch has released her two Grammy-winning albums Orange (2019) and Evergreen (2022), both of which feature Attacca Quartet. ‘Two-Step’, the first of Shaw’s songs with Ringdown, her duo with Danni Lee, to be released on Nonesuch is available now.

For twenty years and counting, Sō Percussion has redefined chamber music for the twenty-first century through an “exhilarating blend of precision and anarchy, rigor and bedlam” (New Yorker). Their commitment to the creation and amplification of new work, and their extraordinary powers of perception and communication, have made them trusted partners for composers including David Lang, Julia Wolfe, Nathalie Joachim, Bryce Dessner, Dan Trueman, Kendall K. Williams, Angélica Negrón, Shodekeh Talifero, claire rousay, Leilehua Lanzilotti, Bora Yoon, Olivier Tarpaga, and many others. Sō has recorded more than twenty-five albums, including a performance of Steve Reich’s Mallet Quartet on the Nonesuch record WTC 9/11. Its members are the Edward T. Cone performers-in-residence at Princeton University. Sō Percussion’s educational and community work includes the Sō Laboratories concert series and the Sō Percussion Summer Institute, an intensive two-week chamber music seminar for percussionists and composers.
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Over the course of a couple of years in the mid-1970s, several musicians from the St. Louis, Missouri area gave notice to club and festival crowds that they were there to rock the house down. Their cover and original songs were accentuated by a bedrock rhythm section, heavy guitar riffs and tasty solos, topped off with powerful vocals. Rockers that witnessed them agree—Back Jack created solid songs and high-energy performances. Beginning in 1971 as Trellis, the band members changed their name to Back Jack when they saw the bumper sticker that Kim McKinney’s dad, Jack McKinney, distributed during his election bid for the Mayor of Pacific, Missouri, home of the core three-piece band: Kim McKinney, Mike Collier, and Hans Myers (RIP). The 1974 version of Back Jack was active from very early 1974 to late-fall of 1974. The core three-piece band, Collier, McKinney, and Myers, recorded several tracks during their tenure and four of those tracks are included on this release. Temporary band members not on the recordings were Gary Reed (piano, RIP), Greg Witt (guitar, keyboards), Paul Cockrum (guitar), and Bill Niehoff (drums). The four-piece, 1975 version of Back Jack was a merging of members of Back Jack 1974 (Mike Collier and Kim McKinney) and another local band, Osage Lute (Jeff Ballew and Mike Lusher). They were active from late-fall of 1974 to late-summer of 1975. Four of the tracks on the Back Jack LP were recorded by these four musicians.

Are you ready to hear the best live band of the early ‘70s? We at Real Gone Music have been privileged and proud to release Fanny’s four classic Reprise albums, each a tuneful testament as to why they were the first all- female band signed to a major label. But there has always been a piece missing from the Fanny fable; for while the band hooked up with big-time producers and engineers like Richard Perry, Todd Rundgren, and Geoff Emerick, their studio albums never really were able to capture the sheer excitement they could generate in concert. However, buried away in a vault thousands of miles away from their Los Angeles base there long lay a recording that could make the Fanny myth a reality, one that could provide the emphatic answer as to why these four ladies were the hottest ticket on the Sunset Strip during the early ‘70s. Now, over 50 years later, its time—and their time—has come. Live on Beat-Club ’71-’72 presents the two sets Fanny recorded for the German TV show, mastered by Mike Milchner of Sonic Vision from hi-res mono files taken from the original videotape. Aside from the incendiary and incredibly tight performances, what immediately becomes apparent is that all four of these women were powerhouses in her own right. June Millington’s stringbending Les Paul wizardry, her sister Jean’s driving, melodic bass lines and Janis Joplin-esque vocals, Nickey Barclay’s intricate yet somehow rocking keyboard work, and Alice de Buhr’s precise, piston-like drumming punctuated by ferocious fills—put together Fanny was an overwhelming display of talent, Yet somehow, as these shows reveal, live they were greater than the sum of their parts. That’s why getting these recordings released has long been a crusade for Alice, and why June tells the story in the accompanying liner notes (which feature contributions from June, Jean, and Alice) that the engineer who was assigned to do the transfers of all the Beat-Club material told her that their material was the best in the vault, better even than Hendrix. We are releasing this invaluable archival recording on juicy peach vinyl and on CD with a bonus track of the soundcheck to boot. Essential for a full understanding of ‘70s rock!

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

Guzzle the momentum. Slap the door behind you. Run faster. The feeling pure. The attention fried. Rush from left to right. Repetition. Doorbells ringing. Where do I stand? Organizational chaos is a theory that predicts the here, the now, the never before seen or known. My attention is as pure as it is fried. Thrilled to announce that Thrills In +41 welcomes us with sheer brilliance. Let's Purifry The Attention. Solidified action. Embrace the filter. You feel it? Kicks and incredulous rhythmic action. Stuttered chopped vocals. A dash of madness and you're there. Open the door. National discoveries are about to be found. Discovery 70D is a gateway to a new portal known as... Skipman. Pull it in. Acidic drops drop harder than acid drops when you drop it because it's hot right now in the midst of this after-summer delight. Long sentences stretch like honey clinging on to your buttered knife as you make yourself toast because we're all toasted and we wrote a poem called d'Ache together that one night. Ahhh, the beat goes on. It's basically a Visual Illusion. An ambient setting wraps up this rap. Imagine tender vocals summoning the night over the howls of dusty vinyls and the digital embodiment of contemporary music making machines. We are a music making machine.

Repress!

Landing next on Toolroom is our most recent instalment in our 4-track vinyl sampler with some of our biggest recent releases including Kurd Maverick vs Adeva, Friend Within, Retna, Toolroom head-honcho, Mark Knight and label favourite, GW Harrison.

First up is Kurd Maverick vs Adeva who makes a huge return with the infectious 'In & Out My Life'. A straight up cut of 90's house & rolling tech house influences mixed into one, sampling cuts from the feel-good classic 'In & Out My Life' by Adeva, turning the original on its head.

Next on the sampler is fresh heat incoming from DJ and producer Friend Within, the artist behind previous toolroom hits 'Lonely', 'The Truth' and 'Waiting'. Having been a secret weapon of choice for the likes of Paul Woolford, John Summit, Dombresky and Danny Howard to name a few, 'Monkeys Bars' has been bubbling for months and is now set to blow!

London based producer Retna returns to the label with Mark Knight as the pair deliver a debut collab that's been carving up dance floors worldwide in 2022. 'What I Need' takes things to the next level, focusing on Retna’s raw, arpeggiated synth line that cuts through the records tough, chunky bassline and groove. Throw in Mark Knight's magic touch for creating top-quality, club focused productions that'll tear through any system it's played through, and you'll get their latest outing – 'What I Need'.

Abode resident DJ and frontrunner GW Harrison completes the package with latest outing, ‘Feels Good’, enlisting the powerful voice of Laura Davie, the vocalist behind some of Toolroom’s most popular releases from Mark Knight’s ‘If It’s Love’ to Illyus and Barrientos’ ‘Disco Hearts’. Feels good’ offers a summertime piano house belter featuring a staunch bassline and pumping groove that pushes that euphoric, hands in the air feeling to the max.

Four killer cuts that you will not want to miss, this is ‘Toolroom Sampler Vol. 3’!


Radio:

Radio plays on Radio 1 from Danny Howard, Sarah Storie, Pete Tong
Alongside plays on Kiss Fm, Toolroom Radio, Sirius Xm, Data Transmission Radio, Radio 1 Dance Anthems, Radio 1 Party Anthems, Rinse Fm, Select Radio, Tomorrowland Radio


DJ Support:

Danny Howard, Annie Mac, Mistajam, Pete Tong, Charlie Hedges, Kraak & Smaak, Maxinne, Todd Terry, Alex Preston, Full Intention, Rudimental, Alaia & Gallo, Illyus & Barrientos, Johan S, David Penn, Sam Divine, Riva Starr, Claptone, Nice7, Dario D’attis, Mousse T, S-Man, Huxley, Dombresky, Gorgon City, Pirupa, TCTS, Alan Fitzpatrick, Low Steppa

Repress!

Having initially forecast his production energy into his own Tartan imprint, Wallace’s music quickly developed a cultish following among record collectors and influential DJs including Gilles Peterson, Optimo, Hunee and Ryan Elliott. Another supporter has been CWPT’s founder Palms Trax, who, following releases on Studio Barnhus and Rhythm Section, snatches four highly sought-after tracks for the seventh release on the label, each showcasing Wallace’s inimitable and enviable skills as an engineer and a willingness to stoke the sort of organic euphoria that DJs dream of igniting.

Amongst the curios, rarities and other finds that have peppered Palms Trax’s sets this past summer, it’s title track ‘Willow’ that has levitated entire club and festival dance floors like few others. Escalating from a disco percussion loop, ‘Willow’ soon brings on high-energy melodies and a captivating sense of something more ethereal, seemingly reinvigorating old tricks with exciting new flavours: if you only raise your hands to one climactic snare roll this year, we ask you to make it this one.

This refreshing intersection between flourish and function is felt even more heavily on ‘Breathe’, a contemporary electronic battle weapon whose breaks-and-bassline arrangement fluctuates between weightless wonder and heavy business. Frontloaded with the detail and atmosphere of a vintage Chems or Leftfield cut, 'Breathe' exhales then explodes all the skill and reverie of the most memorable 90s techno.

Wallace appears to dip into the chillout room for the swampy rhythm of ‘Masada’, before proving his slow-motion mettle, a Sergeant Peppering of psychedelia creating true hedonistic density and groove. In conclusion and on the contrary, ‘River Dancers’ maintains subtle hypnosis at a similar pace with much less, employing simple timbres and a stuttering, innocent vocal inflection to conjure wide-eyed whimsy far downstream from the EP’s earlier, maximal wonders.

DJ Support: Danny Howard, Annie Mac, Mistajam, Pete Tong, Charlie Hedges, Kraak & Smaak, Maxinne, Todd Terry, Alex Preston, Full Intention, GW Harrison, DJ Rae, Rudimental, Alaia & Gallo, Illyus & Barrientos, Johan S, David Penn, Sam Divine, Riva Starr, Claptone, Nice7, Dario D’Attis, Mousse T, S-Man, Huxley, KC Lights, Friend Within, Dombresky, Gorgon City, Chris Lake, Format:B, Pirupa, TCTS, Alan Fitzpatrick, Low Steppa, Mat.Joe, Raumakustik, Eskuche


Kicking things off on our next 4-track vinyl sampler series is Toolroom's very own Martin Ikin who returns to the label with ‘Make U Sweat’! He was the Best-selling Tech House artist on Beatport in 2020 and 2021 and has over 1m monthly listeners across streaming platforms. Recent studio collabs have included Noizu and Joshwa and tours have seen him travel far and wide to the US, Brazil, Bali, Ibiza, Italy, Croatia and of course, his hometown of London. This new record is the follow up to 'Oscill8' that dropped in March 2023 and sits in a similar lane, in that it's pure, unadulterated club weaponry! Next up is Italian house legend Flashmob with the frenetic, high-energy club vibe of new cut ‘My Body’. Flashmob's sound, production and go-for-broke DJ sets have changed with the game, embracing the vitality of new house music rather than hankering after sentimental sunsets. His ethic and aesthetic move relentlessly forward, using the old and new to craft unique sonic alchemy from big festivals like Tomorrowland to the intimacy of small clubs on the international circuit. ‘My Body’ is typical of Flashmob's current sound, combining solid drums and some insane synths and fx, alongside an earworm vocal sample that results in yet another memorable club cut from an established master. Canadian Tech House maestro Nathan Barato debuts on Toolroom kicking off the B-side to the vinyl alongside studio partner, Matheo Velez with 'Weapon'. A record that has already caught the attention of the underground elite with Michael Bibi premiering the track at his first appearance back at DC-10 in Ibiza last Summer. Both artists are enjoying great success across key labels such as Viva, Circus, Snatch and RAWthentic. This is an addictive, bumpy club track

that packs a huge punch on the dance floor and actually features Nathan's very own 'Move me… Rock me' vocals! Rounding things off is UK DJ/producer duo, Jenn Getz & Alfie who are residents at Dubai's #1 nightlife destination, Soho Garden, where they warm up for legends such as Sonny Fodera, MK, Claptone, Solardo & Fisher on a weekly basis. In their relatively short 3 year career they have already released on Solotoko, Abode and Toolroom Trax and now debut on Toolroom with 'Vibration'. Both girls are incredibly passionate about house music and are also big advocates for a life centered around well-being and meditation, and the idea of this record was to combine their 2 passions in life, so they proceeded to co-write these original lyrics to accompany the track, which in itself is very inspiring! This is a super cool club record that will excite fans and DJ's alike, welcome to the Toolroom Family, Jenn Getz & Alfie!

Countless radio plays on Radio 1 from Danny Howard, Sarah Storie, Pete Tong Other notable radio plays – Kiss FM, Toolroom Radio, Sirius XM, Data Transmission Radio, Radio 1 Dance Anthems, Radio 1 Party Anthems, Rinse FM, Select Radio, Tomorrowland Radio

Favorite Recordings presents Faché, a new long awaited EP by Voilaaa, including 3 brand new tracks from the Afro-Disco maestro, and tasty exclusive versions. This is also a first taste of the upcoming 4th album, which is planned to be released in September this year. The EP opens with “Faché”, and it includes all the elements of Voilaaa’s famous style and skills: killer Afro-Disco production with heavy bass, hot percussions and playful horns and keyboards, coming with French spicy vocals by longtime partner Pat Kalla. A dub version is provided then. Next track is “Trouble Travel”, which is displayed in a “Garage Version” fully exclusive to this release and perfectly tailored to kill any dancefloor. It features upraising singer Nai-Jah collaborating for the first time with Voilaaa. On the B-side, you’ll find a surprising and blowing version of Jamiroquai’s “Too Young to Die”. The classic hit taking a new life in a Tropical perfect suit, with stunning Creole vocals by Olivya (Dowdelin). Voilaaa is back and ready to delight your summer!!



c A3. Trouble Travel (Garage version) feat. Nai-Jah

Frederiksberg Records was founded in New York in 2013 by Danish video journalist and music lover Andreas Vingaard. The name, Frederiksberg, is the part of Copenhagen where Andreas grew up and rst discovered his passion for music. As a collector of vinyl records, he's travelled extensively to acquire fresh sounds - Sudan, Ethiopia, Togo, Benin, Trinidad among other places.
The idea for the label emerged when Andreas befriended renowned Jazz saxophonist, Carsten Meinert. Committed to telling the story of Meinert's music the right way, Andreas resolved to take full ownership of the To You re-release (2015). The result has been a rollercoaster journey of running an independent record label.
Frederiksberg Records, with roots in Scandinavian Jazz, will include a wide spectrum of genres - electronic, disco, ambient and more.

In the lineage of their constant exploration of high-quality progressive stoner rock, MY DILIGENCE proudly stands as one of Belgium's most prominent Heavy Psych bands. The Brussels-based trio elegantly combines catchy harmonies and compelling riffs, captivating listeners over the years. Following the success of "The Matter, Form and Power," MY DILIGENCE makes a powerful return with their 4th album, "Death.Horses.Black." on Listenable Records. After an acclaimed European tour, including memorable performances at Hellfest 2023, Alcatraz Metal Festival (2022 and 2023), and DesertFest Antwerp in 2022, the band immersed themselves in the Sainte-Marthe studio in Paris throughout the winter, collaborating with renowned producer Francis Caste (Hangman's Chair, Regarde les Hommes Tomber...). Exploring darker themes, this album marks a turning point in the band's history. The long and profound compositions guide the listener through unexpected territories, creating an auditory experience akin to a lucid dream or trance, oscillating between hope and ultimate darkness. Get ready to dive into this captivating universe as MY DILIGENCE embarks on a tour starting late May, joining the Scottish band DVNE for dates in France and Switzerland, culminating on June 11 at the Orangerie du Botanique in Belgium. The band will enthusiastically continue with Summer festivals, including Mystic Festival (PL) and Motocultor (FR). Stay tuned, as MY DILIGENCE promises an unforgettable musical experience at every stage of their journey.

Tuk Smith & The Restless Hearts is an American rock band from Nashville founded and fronted by former Biters leader Tuk Smith, originally from Atlanta, now living in Nashville. The band released their debut single "What Kinda Love" on January 10, 2020 and were also added as an opening act for The Stadium Tour with Def Leppard and Mötley Crüe on the same day. Then came the onset of Covid 19. “When the pandemic hit, it was like hitting the reset button on my music career” recalls Tuk, “everything got taken away…album campaign, stadium tour, record deal. The world was in lockdown, and the only way to escape was to throw myself into writing. My thoughts began exploring the past, and the inspiration for the songs just came in tidal waves.”
The new collection is a rock ‘n roll silver lining that came out of the solitude and reflection of the pandemic. Ballad Of A Misspent Youth is the new single (and subsequent album of the same name) released summer of 2022 on Tuk’s new record label MRG, through Virgin Music. Tuk explains, “I decided to make a rock and roll record for me and what I like because there was no label, there was no committee involved…just me and my stories. I wanted to create a setting and an authentic feeling about everything. I reunited with long-time friend Dan Dixon and recorded these songs in his garage studio, and there is a purity to the work that came from all the circumstances of that time.” Growing up as an outsider in rural Georgia, Tuk found solace in hardcore punk acts like Black Flag and The Exploited. From there, Smith branched out into exploring seventies New York bands like The Dead Boys and New York Dolls, which lead him across the sea where he embraced first-wave British acts like The Buzzcocks and the Clash. Smith wasn’t just a casual fan of these acts, he was obsessed with them and traced their lineage with fervent dedication. “I was always into the Clash growing up and Mick Jones’ favorite band was Mott The Hoople, so through the years I ended up developing a love of the first wave of British glam, power pop and things like that,” he explains. Soon Smith was forming his own acts, touring relentlessly and building a following with his high-energy live shows, including his tour of duty as lead singer for the Biters, who he fronted for nearly a decade. He offers “Then after being on the road for years, I had a reckoning about where I was at and the future ahead. …I realized the only way to achieve something meaningful was to be a good songwriter…that clicked. I went on a musical diet where I stripped the obscure stuff away, and I really started focusing on the greats. When I started clicking that it was just about the songs, things changed. I had already put my 10,000 hours in the van to play in the dive clubs, but then I put my 10,000 hours into figuring out how to write. I also started working with other songwriters. I humbled myself… it was an education, like going to school.” Tuk elaborates, “I wanted to kind of branch out musically and do different things, and I figured to go solo would be better. My manager actually suggested I call my new band “The Restless Hearts” and that's what he would call me all the time. It was the title of a Biters song that people loved and I’d seen a few restless hearts tattoos at our shows along the way… and so Tuk Smith & The Restless Hearts was born. I was in a period where I changed everything including the way I lived my daily life. I experimented with different ways to tap into positive/creative energy…it was an evolving overall process (and still is).” Tuk summarizes, “Things used to be about debauchery, and now they’re more about dedication. I mean, I was always driven, but I was sometimes focusing on the wrong things. Now I focus on the music and the craftsmanship of writing and producing and performing. “

In November 2021, Portland-born rapper Aminé released his latest project, TWOPOINTFIVE. The twelve-track release finds Aminé using the project to explore new sonic territory. This exploration is best evidenced by the project’s lead single "Charmander,” the video for which was lauded by GQ as the "Most Menswear-y Music Video of 2021" for its incredible styling and featured by Pitchfork as one of the best music videos of October 2021. After six months of anticipation, Aminé has prepared a vinyl offering for fans of the project to add to their collection for the very first time. Since its release, the album has amassed over 100 million streams and garnered praise from Billboard, Complex and Highsnobiety, in addition to the aforementioned support from Pitchfork and GQ. The vinyl will be sold online this summer and in-store with select retail partners. Speaking on the project, Aminé shares: "The POINTFIVE projects are the breaks in between albums where I give myself the freedom to make music without expectations, focusing instead of spontaneity and the best of what comes from stream of conscious creation, which is why they arrive unexpectedly without a long rollout. It’s an opportunity to create for my day one fans the way I used to in my bedroom. Thanks for listening." TWOPOINTFIVE takes inspiration from various strains of club and dance music, synthesized in a way that feels distinct to Aminé and his brand of clever lyricism. TWOPOINTFIVE acts as the second act to his 2018 project ONEPOINTFIVE, which is also lead with an introduction from Rickey Thompson and arrived in between Aminé's debut album Good For You and sophomore album Limbo. ONEPOINTFIVE solidified Aminé's status as a hitmaker in the modern hip-hop landscape with tracks like "REEL IT IN" and "BLACKJACK." Listen to TWOPOINTFIVE above and stay tuned for more from Aminé coming soon. Full Press Report PDF - Artist Bio - PR Report

In November 2021, Portland-born rapper Aminé released his latest project, TWOPOINTFIVE. The twelve-track release finds Aminé using the project to explore new sonic territory. This exploration is best evidenced by the project’s lead single "Charmander,” the video for which was lauded by GQ as the "Most Menswear-y Music Video of 2021" for its incredible styling and featured by Pitchfork as one of the best music videos of October 2021. After six months of anticipation, Aminé has prepared a vinyl offering for fans of the project to add to their collection for the very first time. Since its release, the album has amassed over 100 million streams and garnered praise from Billboard, Complex and Highsnobiety, in addition to the aforementioned support from Pitchfork and GQ. The vinyl will be sold online this summer and in-store with select retail partners. Speaking on the project, Aminé shares: "The POINTFIVE projects are the breaks in between albums where I give myself the freedom to make music without expectations, focusing instead of spontaneity and the best of what comes from stream of conscious creation, which is why they arrive unexpectedly without a long rollout. It’s an opportunity to create for my day one fans the way I used to in my bedroom. Thanks for listening." TWOPOINTFIVE takes inspiration from various strains of club and dance music, synthesized in a way that feels distinct to Aminé and his brand of clever lyricism. TWOPOINTFIVE acts as the second act to his 2018 project ONEPOINTFIVE, which is also lead with an introduction from Rickey Thompson and arrived in between Aminé's debut album Good For You and sophomore album Limbo. ONEPOINTFIVE solidified Aminé's status as a hitmaker in the modern hip-hop landscape with tracks like "REEL IT IN" and "BLACKJACK." Listen to TWOPOINTFIVE above and stay tuned for more from Aminé coming soon. Full Press Report PDF - Artist Bio - PR Report

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.

EVERYBODY LOVES THE SUNSHINE is more than a classic.
It is “THE” summer anthem, one of the most covered and sampled Soul tunes by Roy Ayers and the Ubiquity family. This vinyl re-release has been eagerly awaited by music lovers worldwide.

This version was originally recorded as a cover version, produced by Soulciety Records for their label band project named The Soulsociety.

The performance was recorded with the original songwriter and producer of the song, Mr. legendary vibes controller and Soul superstar Roy Ayers.

This recording follows the original 70s feel and instrumentation of the 1976 version, but this time also features Roy Ayers prominently on lead vocals.

Another big difference compared to all other versions by Roy and Ramp is the fact that this version is arranged and produced as a midtempo track.

It will fit perfectly into any DJs set with a focus on Soul, Funk or Hip Hop.

For the first time ever, this classic is now available on a SEDSOULCIETY RECORDINGS 7” vinyl,
including the previously unreleased instrumental version on the flip side with added extra vibes by the master himself.

Originally released in 1976, the War compilation album Greatest Hits contains a monster set of Chicano funky grooves from L.A., most of which forever transformed the sound of funk. The album includes most of the band's best cuts — such as "Slippin Into Darkness," "Cisco Kid," "World Is A Ghetto," "All Day Music," "Me & Baby Brother," "Why Can't We Be Friends," and "Low Rider." One of the hippest funk, rock and soul groups on the Cali scene of the '70s, who just kept on making great music as the years went on!

Now with our 45 RPM release, plated and pressed at QRP, the best-sounding version of this historic album gives listeners an even richer sonic experience. The dead-quiet double-LP, with the music spread over four sides of vinyl, reduces distortion and high frequency loss as the wider-spaced grooves let your stereo cartridge track more accurately.

Clean, balanced, richly detailed. Just the way an Analogue Productions reissue should sound.

Listening to The Softies has always felt like peeking into a diary, with no personal detail spared. Lyrically the band documents a lovelorn heart in every manifestation, and hope is the bright silver lining adorning each song. As the third Softies album, Holiday in Rhode Island KLP119 presents a more accessible view to the humble honesty of their emotive universe. When Holiday in Rhode Island was originally released in Sept. 2000, it had been three and a half years since The Softies previous album Winter Pageant [KLP061]. In that time Jen and Rose's introspective musings are reborn, sparkling with renewed vision, both musically and spiritually. The trademark harmonies between Jen Sbragia (All Girl Summer Fun Band) and Rose Melberg (Tiger Trap, Gaze) simply shimmer, brighter than ever before, benefiting from strong yet simple arrangements and excellent production (at a house on Galiano Island near Victoria, British Columbia) by Dave Carswell and John Collins. The beautiful surroundings and supportive production crew inspired The Softies to extend their minimalist blueprint of two delicately jangling guitars and two crystalline voices to include acoustic guitar embellishment on "Just a Day," "You and Only You;" piano and sparse drums on "Me and the Bees;" a xylophone makes subtle appearances here and there. Holiday in Rhode Island is a stunning artistic accomplishment from these two much heralded pop icons.

Bel Canto returns with a new album In 2024, a new chapter unfolds in the history of one of the true pioneers in the electronic music genre - the Tromsø duo, Bel Canto. The upcoming album, 'Radient Green' expected before the summer, brims with creative and musical abundance. It sounds fresh and new while drawing from the unmistakable sonic landscape of the band's remarkable musical treasury, which includes mega-hits like 'Shimmering, Warm & Bright' and the Spellemannpris-winning 'Magic Box,' to name a few. The journey has been long, with many notable names contributing to the process, including Gilles Martin, who co-produced the band's first two albums, Erik Ljunggren, and Matias Tellez, who has mixed the new album. It's been 22 years since Bel Canto last released an album, but now it’s finally due.

Radiant Green by Bel Canto, released 26 April 2024, includes the following tracks: "Lifeworld ", "Train Window Girl ", "Lake Ice ", "The Winds Of The Milky Way " and more.

This version of Radiant Green comes as a 1xCD.

With the buzz around her building, Priddy made her biggest splash with the 2021 release of her debut album, The Eternal Rocks Beneath. The 10 self- penned tracks are delivered with a maturity and depth that belie the fact that this is her first full length release. At times tender, at times carrying a darker edge, the stories she weaves are transporting. Not surprising then that Nick Drake, John Martyn, Tunng and Scott Matthews are amongst her many influences.

The album was recorded over a 2-year period at Rebellious Jukebox studios, a little basement studio hidden beneath inner-city Birmingham and presided over by masterful producer Simon Weaver. The ensemble cast of musicians, including a sweeping string section, occasionally cut through by raw electric guitar and drums, as well as Richard March (Pop Will Eat Itself) on double bass and Mikey Kenny on fiddle, enhance Priddy's command of melody and lyricism and provide the perfect backdrop for the feelings of nostalgia and timelessness that underpin the record. Many of the songs were written during Priddy's teenage years and early twenties and reference themes of childhood and distant memories.

The title, 'Eternal Rocks Beneath' reflects this is Priddy's first album; the culmination of her earlier life experiences and the bedrock for whatever follows next.

Finally, the stand-out cuts of Rasa’s 1978 LP feature on 45 for the first time - ‘When Will The Day Come’, coupled with ‘Within The Sound’. Back in the summer of ’78, when London McDaniels and his brother Chris frequented a Krishna temple to take advantage of the weekly open feasts, the heads of the temple soon learnt the duo were Berklee College Of Music students and asked them to record an album of contemporary Hare Krishna worship songs. The result was Everything You See Is Me by Rasa, a jazz funk laced classic that’s gained notoriety amongst record collectors across genres, steered by the sons of singer-songwriter Eugene Mcdaniels. Produced and composed by guitarist London McDaniels, with Chris McDaniels on vocals and drums, and lyrics written by Hare Krishna devotee Andrew Marks, the album is coveted by beat heads, rare groove, soul, and balearic heads alike. The songs feature an A-list collective of session players including bassist Anthony Jackson and trumpeter Randy Brecker and have been a sample-source for numerous hip-hop records including Common’s ‘Take It Ez’, Black’ Rob’s Can I Live’ and BDP’s ‘Beef’.

FIRST OFFICIAL REISSUE OF ONE OF THE MOST SAMPLED TURKISH RECORDS IN 45 YEARS! SAMPLED BY RAP LEGENDS LIKE SCARFACE OF THE GETO BOYS. TURKISH PSYCHEDELIC MASTERPIECE FROM 1980

Licensed from "Warner Records Sweden" and remastered from original material in Warner Record's vaults by Shawn Joseph at Optimum Mastering Bristol. 180 gr heavyweight vinyl Manufactured in Optimal Berlin.
Recorded between Istanbul and Stockholm, it captures the era between Okay Temiz's Don Cherry Trio touring and his own band Oriental Wind's sensational debut.
Mentioned distinctive elements have elevated the record to 'cult' status among record collectors, sample enthusiasts, and diggers around the world.
By 1980, Okay Temiz had already embarked on a series of dynamic collaborations and sound experiences with Don Cherry as a member of the Don Cherry Trio. This period included a noteworthy summer in the early '70s at Dartmouth College in New Hampshire, hosted by Jon Appleton, a notable American composer and visionary in electro-acoustic music.
"During that summer, Jon asked me, 'What kind of sound do you have in mind?' I had already given this considerable thought, using a tape recorder to capture sound frequencies influenced by the moon's position. Jon Appleton's question made me think about the extension of 'Organic Music Theory,' which we were exploring with Don Cherry at the time."
In 1982, Okay Temiz recorded the most comprehensive answer to 'What is Turkish Jazz?' at the Montreux Jazz Festival (CAZLP 004) with his band Oriental Wind, featuring Bobo Stenson (of the Jan Garbarek - Bobo Stenson Quartet), Palle Danielsson (of the Peter Erskine European Trio), and Lennart Åberg (of the Scandinavia New Jazz Group).
In 1980, without fully realizing he was navigating between these two worlds, Okay Temiz entered Stockholm's renowned Metronome studios to record the 'sound in his mind' as a solo artist.

`Drummer of Two Worlds` is a star map of Okay Temiz's musical worlds. Blending elements from the grand piano to his handmade drums, and from the amplified Berimbau to his cowbell array, weaving Turkish rhythms like 9/8 and 7/8 with the universality of 4/4, it presents a unique sound narrative that resonates with the dimensions of a well-traveled mind."

Haluk Damar

To celebrate 50 years of this mighty band - A brand new studio album by the legendary Johnny Moped! Green vinyl limited to 425 copies! First up, that title - Quonk! What's that all about? Johnny - I have no idea where the name Quonk! come from! it seemed rather weird for a possible album title. Slimy - Incidental noise that's picked up _. We are a bit like that _ Johnny Moped's Quonk! is very Quonk le Donk (saucepan lid landing on head) and it's available soon from all Damaged record outlets. Marty - This one's for Toad really. It was his call and it's a great title for a Moped album. Robot - The band suffers from Quonking pretty regularly, so we thought we'd make a whole album of it. It's been five years since your last album Lurrigate Your Mind. How come it's taken so long to write and record this one? Johnny - it must have taken up to five months to rehearse for that album. Around the same time as previous albums. Slimy - Toads are slow moving creatures. Marty - Because we're old and very very lazy. Robot - That's pretty quick for us, it was over 30 years between 'Rock 'n' Roll Rookie' and Cycledelic. We wanted to make sure it passed quality control before letting it loose on the world. It sounds like you had a fun time recording it. Is that the case or was it more painful this time round? Johnny - We did have a lot of fun recording those albums starting from Real Cool Baby and Lurrigate Your Mind. Classic albums! I have enjoyed recording all of our albums from Cycledelic up to our latest album (problems aside!) Slimy - Creating Quonk! was fun _ always thrills me when the sounds come together _ Johnny and his band have a plethora of tunes. Yeah! It was alright. Marty - Bits were really easy and other bits were really hard. A lot of the songs on any Moped album really only take shape in the studio. And Dick Crippen helps a lot with how they turn out. I'm very proud of this album and the band and Johnny have worked really hard to make the best record we can. Robot - Yeah it's always fun making a Moped record. Johnny's totally at home in the studio environment...and the pub across the road. Give him the lyrics, he takes hold and delivers the goods in one take. There are some brilliant songs on the new LP. Can you tell us what 'Oh Jane' is about? Johnny - Jane is a traveller on that song, nothing to do with an ex-girlfriend of the same name! Slimy - That's about Johnny's love life. Marty - Over to you Rob.. Robot - Johnny wrote it about his love affair with a certain TV starlet who spends most of her time cruising around the world. I'll give you a clue - it ain't Susan Calman! 'Things May Happen' is being released as a single. What inspired you to write that song? Johnny - I did not write 'Things may happen', that is a Slimy Toad song; but I did not have a problem with it being released as a single. Slimy - The extraordinary lightness of being ... just the path and what's on it. Marty - This is Toad's one and it's a cracker! Robot - I think it's about the possibility of London buses running on time, or Crystal Palace winning a trophy. Johnny turned 70 last year, celebrating in style with a gig at London's 229 Venue. Some people have said it was the best Moped gig ever. How was it from your point of view? Johnny - Yes it was a gig at the 229 club to remember for all the right reasons, it was a blinder of a gig. Slimy - I thought Johnny's birthday gig was a rip-roaring success _ I enjoyed it _ The next Moped gig will be the best Moped gig ever and the one after that. Marty - It's not the best gig as far as how we performed. But as far as the turn out and the size of the crowd that came along to celebrate Johnny's birthday it was the best vibe of all the gigs for certain for me. Robot - Yeah I think it was up there with the Koko gig a few years back, great sound and a great crowd, yeah one of the best. This year marks the 50th year of Johnny Moped. What have been the high (and low) points for the band in the last five decades? Johnny - Not much was happening with the band gigwise. we were in hiatus between 2006 up to 2016 when we were getting gig bookings thick and fast, including mini-German tours and three dates in Norway and one in Sweden. Slimy - The constitution of these thoroughbred punk rockers is testimony to getting up and rocking out _ Johnny is not stopping he's class. Marty - I've only been in the band since 2017 and before that was the driver and shit carrier and before that a fan and also the band are my mates. So not one low point for me at all. Robot - I don't recall any low points...being in the band is one long high. You'll be back out on the road this summer. Any message for fans who'll be coming to see you? Slimy - You better believe it! You enjoyed that you bums or I'll kill you! Tomcats! Marty - Be afraid. Be very afraid! Robot - Enjoy the show...things may happen!

To celebrate 50 years of this mighty band - A brand new studio album by the legendary Johnny Moped! Green vinyl limited to 425 copies! First up, that title - Quonk! What's that all about? Johnny - I have no idea where the name Quonk! come from! it seemed rather weird for a possible album title. Slimy - Incidental noise that's picked up _. We are a bit like that _ Johnny Moped's Quonk! is very Quonk le Donk (saucepan lid landing on head) and it's available soon from all Damaged record outlets. Marty - This one's for Toad really. It was his call and it's a great title for a Moped album. Robot - The band suffers from Quonking pretty regularly, so we thought we'd make a whole album of it. It's been five years since your last album Lurrigate Your Mind. How come it's taken so long to write and record this one? Johnny - it must have taken up to five months to rehearse for that album. Around the same time as previous albums. Slimy - Toads are slow moving creatures. Marty - Because we're old and very very lazy. Robot - That's pretty quick for us, it was over 30 years between 'Rock 'n' Roll Rookie' and Cycledelic. We wanted to make sure it passed quality control before letting it loose on the world. It sounds like you had a fun time recording it. Is that the case or was it more painful this time round? Johnny - We did have a lot of fun recording those albums starting from Real Cool Baby and Lurrigate Your Mind. Classic albums! I have enjoyed recording all of our albums from Cycledelic up to our latest album (problems aside!) Slimy - Creating Quonk! was fun _ always thrills me when the sounds come together _ Johnny and his band have a plethora of tunes. Yeah! It was alright. Marty - Bits were really easy and other bits were really hard. A lot of the songs on any Moped album really only take shape in the studio. And Dick Crippen helps a lot with how they turn out. I'm very proud of this album and the band and Johnny have worked really hard to make the best record we can. Robot - Yeah it's always fun making a Moped record. Johnny's totally at home in the studio environment...and the pub across the road. Give him the lyrics, he takes hold and delivers the goods in one take. There are some brilliant songs on the new LP. Can you tell us what 'Oh Jane' is about? Johnny - Jane is a traveller on that song, nothing to do with an ex-girlfriend of the same name! Slimy - That's about Johnny's love life. Marty - Over to you Rob.. Robot - Johnny wrote it about his love affair with a certain TV starlet who spends most of her time cruising around the world. I'll give you a clue - it ain't Susan Calman! 'Things May Happen' is being released as a single. What inspired you to write that song? Johnny - I did not write 'Things may happen', that is a Slimy Toad song; but I did not have a problem with it being released as a single. Slimy - The extraordinary lightness of being ... just the path and what's on it. Marty - This is Toad's one and it's a cracker! Robot - I think it's about the possibility of London buses running on time, or Crystal Palace winning a trophy. Johnny turned 70 last year, celebrating in style with a gig at London's 229 Venue. Some people have said it was the best Moped gig ever. How was it from your point of view? Johnny - Yes it was a gig at the 229 club to remember for all the right reasons, it was a blinder of a gig. Slimy - I thought Johnny's birthday gig was a rip-roaring success _ I enjoyed it _ The next Moped gig will be the best Moped gig ever and the one after that. Marty - It's not the best gig as far as how we performed. But as far as the turn out and the size of the crowd that came along to celebrate Johnny's birthday it was the best vibe of all the gigs for certain for me. Robot - Yeah I think it was up there with the Koko gig a few years back, great sound and a great crowd, yeah one of the best. This year marks the 50th year of Johnny Moped. What have been the high (and low) points for the band in the last five decades? Johnny - Not much was happening with the band gigwise. we were in hiatus between 2006 up to 2016 when we were getting gig bookings thick and fast, including mini-German tours and three dates in Norway and one in Sweden. Slimy - The constitution of these thoroughbred punk rockers is testimony to getting up and rocking out _ Johnny is not stopping he's class. Marty - I've only been in the band since 2017 and before that was the driver and shit carrier and before that a fan and also the band are my mates. So not one low point for me at all. Robot - I don't recall any low points...being in the band is one long high. You'll be back out on the road this summer. Any message for fans who'll be coming to see you? Slimy - You better believe it! You enjoyed that you bums or I'll kill you! Tomcats! Marty - Be afraid. Be very afraid! Robot - Enjoy the show...things may happen!

From the early ‘90s to the turn of the millennium, Gabrielle was one of the UK’s most successful and beloved artists. With two unforgettable #1 smashes (‘Dreams’ and ‘Rise’), a back catalogue full of Top 10 hits, two albums which reached 4 x Platinum status, two BRIT Awards, two MOBOs and an Ivor Novello, everything she touched seemed to turn to gold. In recent times, Gabrielle has enjoyed a remarkable resurgence, one that proves that timeless, empowering songwriting and a distinctive voice that is the very definition of soul will never go out of fashion.
The first single from the album, "A Place in Your Heart" will be released on the 18th January (9:30am timed release), and will be premiered on BBC Radio 2 - Zoe Ball that morning. The new single retains Gabrielle's signature sound, opening with her instantly recognisable vocal and provides an anthemic hook fans will no doubt sing along to.
A big part of that resurgence comes from the love shown to her by the current wave of iconic artists. Adele recalls being inspired by the lyric “Dreams can come true” as a child and has been a life-long fan of Gabrielle since, saying, “I remember being mesmerised by her, so pure and so delicate and gentle with her voice and in the way she moved.” And when Adele’s own dreams came true, she returned to her first inspiration and invited Gabrielle to join the bill for her two rapidly sold-out Hyde Park shows in the summer of 2022. The result was a sea of faces - some older fans, but many more who would’ve been too young to remember her the first time around - singing Gabrielle’s songs back to her.
Another high-profile supporter emerged that same year. Stormzy invited Gabrielle to cameo in his ambitious video for ‘Mel Made Me Do It’, where she joined a host of artists including Dave, Little Simz, Headie One and Jazzie B. She was also referenced in its midpoint monologue, when ‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’ star Michaela Coel narrated Wretch 32’s words: “Gabrielle once told us dreams can come true, and that sentence emancipated the minds of our pioneers.”
2018’s ‘Under My Skin’ in 2018 was heralded as “a heartfelt comeback” by The Guardian on its way to the Top
10. It wasn’t long before she was discovered by a brand new audience too, winning fans with a memorable stint as Harlequin in ‘The Masked Singer’ in 2021.and followed by ‘Do It Again’, an album of which mixed original songs, new takes on all-time classics, and her interpretations of more modern pop favourites from the likes of Billie Eilish, Harry Styles and Rihanna. It shot to #4 on the Official Album Chart - Gabrielle’s highest chart position in twenty years.

With Gabrielle’s star again in ascendance and her high profile live presence, 2024 seems the perfect time to release a new album. She’s consolidated her original audience and found a whole new one.
Autumn / Winter 2023 saw Gabrielle embark upon the ‘30 Years of Dreaming’ headline tour which was extended to a phenomenal 33 dates following overwhelming public demand. Many shows sold-out more than six months in advance, including London’s prestigious Royal Albert Hall.

The immediate successor to ska, the soulful, melodic sound of rock steady first developed during the long hot Jamaican summer of 1966 and reigned supreme thereafter for two glorious years before finally being superseded by the more energetic style of reggae.

Despite its relatively brief period as the island’s national sound, the rhythms of many of its biggest hits have continued to influence and inspire music-makers to the present day, resulting in renewed interest in the sub-genre among record buyers in recent years.

This superb 2xLP vinyl collection features 24 of the most popular recordings of the rock steady era, including the UK hits, ‘007’, ‘Train To Skaville’ and ‘It Miek’ and The Maytals’ anthemic dance-filler, ’54 46 That’s My Number’.

Pressed on high quality 140gm vinyl and presented in a stylishly designed sleeve, the album not only provides the ideal introduction to this hugely popular and influential sound, but is also a must for established fans of the Jamaican sub-genre, with many of the tracks appearing on vinyl for the first time in decades.

Warehouse Find!

Eddy & Dus are long standing and highly respected Croatian DJ and production duo Eddy Ramich and Zvonimir Dusper. They've been responsible for many classic remixes on labels such as Compost, Especial and Schema but after a long hiatus we're happy to say the boys are back, on their best form yet and now we can present to you the mighty A From B.
In its original form A From B is some kind of mutant afro techno
deep house jam that could probably only ever be conjured up in
Zagreb. It's almost as if all those incredible festivals that
dominate the Croatian coastline every summer have spawned their own new genre of house music where tropical beats clash with classic techno and blunted jazz sits right alongside the deepest disco. A From B could be seen as something of a flag-bearer of this genre- bending antics, evoking images of packed dancefloors dancing under the starry skies in the warm night air. Or something. Who better to take on the remix than one of the masters of true deep and soulful house, Osunlade himself. Knowing a thing or two about delivering legendary DJ sets at Dalmation festivals his Yoruba Soul Remix drips with the kind of musicality and integrity that many can only aspire to.
Finally we have a brilliant dub version of the original, going
heavy on the beats, keeping things tribal and hypnotic for those
heavier moments when all you want is to get locked into the groove.

Nick Llobet (they/them) was ready to throw in the towel. Llobet, who grew up in South Florida, learned to play guitar at a very young age, dabbling in everything from classical, blues, classic rock, and flamenco. They'd spent much of their early 20s searching for their voice as an artist and as an individual, as well as for a musical community Llobet would eventually move to Brooklyn, but after three years of looking for a hopeful artistic breakthrough, they spent much of their time in seclusion, consumed by social anxiety and imposter syndrome-and they were considering abandoning songwriting completely. One day, while commuting through Penn Station en route to their partner's family home in Virginia (that would also lead to the crucial purchase of a secondhand Tascam cassette recorder), they noticed Patti Smith sitting alone, waiting for a train. The typically shy Llobet decided to approach the icon, who was, in turn, delighted to see that Llobet was carrying a guitar. At the end of their interaction, Smith offered some parting wisdom: "She wished me luck and said, 'Practice hard, Nick.'" Llobet took her advice to heart, and this chance encounter kicked off a personal and artistic rebirth. They started performing as youbet, a play on their last name, and began "changing their vision for what a song could be." youbet's debut, Compare & Despair, a delightful gem of a record that showcases Llobet's propensity for freewheeling whimsy and emotional intensity. In May 2019, inspired by a song-a-week writing group that produced Compare & Despair, Llobet started a second club in which contributors would upload that week's song to a private Bandcamp. Invigorated by this small musical collaboration, the feedback, and the accountability, Llobet wrote 18 songs throughout the duration of the club, twelve of which became Way To Be. After this songwriting marathon, Llobet spent 2020 focusing on instrumental guitar work and political engagement. By the summer of 2021, they were ready to revisit the Way To Be tracks. Over the next year-and-a-half, Llobet worked on the record relentlessly, refining the lyrics, recording, and arrangements from their apartment. Llobet self-produced Way To Be and describes the process as an enormous, labor-intensive undertaking that felt akin to "making a whole film." Along the way, Llobet was joined by collaborators, including Julian Fader (Ava Luna), Adam Brisbin (Buck Meek), and Daniel Siles. Across Way To Be's 12 delightfully off-kilter tunes, Llobet uses wordplay and tongue-in-cheek humor to obliquely explore dysfunctional relationships, regret, self-confidence or the lack thereof, queerness, and self-discovery. Fuzzy at the edges and filled with playful, kinetic arrangements, Way To Be is a bridge into the entrancing world of youbet. You won't want to leave.

Aural Imbalance has enjoyed a colourful and celebrated journey through music over the years, taking in ambient soundscapes, deep house and of course, a pioneering role in atmospheric drum & bass. With Spatial, he has unearthed a pure, varied musical prowess seldom seen, with the ability to control both the lighter aspects of the mix as well as expert breakbeat craft. Infinity Spectrum showcases the breadth of talent Aural Imbalance possesses in one incredible package, not to be missed.

A1 - Aurealis
Opening the album with a wonderfully serene track, Aural Imbalance delicately rolls out his trademark smooth ambience with building cymbals and an energetic break merging perfectly in the mix - along with a great, pounding undertone of bass. Riddled with old-school sensibilities, Aurealis layers the building blocks until the track opens up further through a superbly lush breakdown, blooming like a flower in the summer sun before the breaks return.

A2 - Glistening Stars
Washing strings and the chitter-chatter of playful effects introduce Glistening Stars, before familiar, crisp old school breaks steal the limelight. A happy earworm melody soon reveals itself, and the breaks are gradually filtered back in following an other amazing breakdown before the melody takes on new life. Packed with detail and soul, this track will repeat on you long after you've moved on.

B1 - Alpha
Curious, apprehensive tones punctuate a fascinating intro, with a deep old school bassline creeping out first to greet us, before the hi-hat laden break loses its inhibitions and roams free.
Crafting a deliciously textured atmosphere, Aural Imbalance continues to showcase the breadth of his production techniques in his Spatial form, flecking the track with sumptuous melodies to create yet another gem.

B2 - Stargazers
This piece opens with a special blend of quiet, epic serenity, evoking hope and wonder as amen cymbal work and a stabbing snare-heavy break pattern rise and fall in the surrounding symphony. The quietly musical bassline plays a key role in the aural world-building here, complementing the breaks it harmonises with superbly. Aural Imbalance allows the composition to breathe and flourish for a superbly executed final act. Delightful.

C1 - Slow Motion
Introduced with quietly filtered breaks, Slow Motion dials back the pace with a break pattern which relaxes the snare while still maintaining a playful energy as the kicks and bass bumble along below. A uniquely atmospheric yet eccentric melody takes shape with dreamy pads filling the backdrop, and calming scatterings of echoing effects colliding and combining to generate a blissful collage of sound.

C2 - Apparition
Switching up the vibe we have Apparition, which boldly utilises long, tranquil yet purposeful pad work before an immense break pattern riddled with stark snares and a jumpy bassline which rides the smothered kickdrums so well, they appear to be fused as one. The breaks on this are truly special and will move the discerning dancefloor for sure, Aural Imbalance continuing to reveal a never-ending depth to his sound.

D1 - Artificial Satellite
Introduced with smooth synths and DJ-friendly hi hats, Artificial Satellite sees Aural Imbalance laying down a fresh showcase of old-school breakbeats, laced with that inimitable Spatial flavour. A swirling low-key sci-fi vibe punctuates the breakdown before the beats re-emerge. A deep, brooding bassline pulses beneath throughout, while the perfectly executed breaks enjoy their final flourish.

D2 - Unknown Forces
Finally, up steps Unknown Forces for a blistering finale to the LP. Aural Imbalance is at his amen-editing best here with a truly superb showcase of analogue break patterns to nourish the ears and set pulses racing on the dancefloor. Deep bass elevates the gentle intro before thumping kicks begin an epic workout, chopped to perfection with synths and strings flying gracefully above. We couldn't have a Spatial LP without an amen banger could we? What a way to end

Words by Chris Hayes (Spatial/Red Mist)

Nick Llobet (they/them) was ready to throw in the towel. Llobet, who grew up in South Florida, learned to play guitar at a very young age, dabbling in everything from classical, blues, classic rock, and flamenco. They’d spent much of their early 20s searching for their voice as an artist and as an individual, as well as for a musical community. Llobet would eventually move to Brooklyn, but after three years of looking for a hopeful artistic breakthrough, they spent much of their time in seclusion, consumed by social anxiety and imposter syndrome—and they were considering abandoning songwriting completely. One day, while commuting through Penn Station en route to their partner’s family home in Virginia (that would also lead to the crucial purchase of a secondhand Tascam cassette recorder), they noticed Patti Smith sitting alone, waiting for a train. The typically shy Llobet decided to approach the icon, who was, in turn, delighted to see that Llobet was carrying a guitar. At the end of their interaction, Smith offered some parting wisdom: “She wished me luck and said, ‘Practice hard, Nick.’” Llobet took her advice to heart, and this chance encounter kicked off a personal and artistic rebirth. They started performing as youbet, a play on their last name, and began “changing their vision for what a song could be.” youbet’s debut, Compare & Despair, a delightful gem of a record that showcases Llobet’s propensity for freewheeling whimsy and emotional intensity. In May 2019, inspired by a song-a-week writing group that produced Compare & Despair, Llobet started a second club in which contributors would upload that week’s song to a private Bandcamp. Invigorated by this small musical collaboration, the feedback, and the accountability, Llobet wrote 18 songs throughout the duration of the club, twelve of which became Way To Be. After this songwriting marathon, Llobet spent 2020 focusing on instrumental guitar work and political engagement. By the summer of 2021, they were ready to revisit the Way To Be tracks. Over the next year-and-a-half, Llobet worked on the record relentlessly, refining the lyrics, recording, and arrangements from their apartment. Llobet self-produced Way To Be and describes the process as an enormous, labor-intensive undertaking that felt akin to “making a whole film.” Along the way, Llobet was joined by collaborators, including Julian Fader (Ava Luna), Adam Brisbin (Buck Meek), and Daniel Siles. Across Way To Be’s 12 delightfully off-kilter tunes, Llobet uses wordplay and tongue-in-cheek humor to obliquely explore dysfunctional relationships, regret, self-confidence or the lack thereof, queerness, and self-discovery. Fuzzy at the edges and filled with playful, kinetic arrangements, Way To Be is a bridge into the entrancing world of youbet. You won’t want to leave.

On 'Mirror, Reflect,' Amy O returns to form as she documents her transition into motherhood in the early days of the pandemic. Initially conceived as a lo-fi endeavor to record songs made with friends in those days of uncertainty, 'Mirror, Reflect' is an intimate and exploratory work that weaves collected home and field recordings with shimmering synths and Oelsner's playful lyricism. A stalwart presence in the indie-pop underground since 2012, Oelsner shifted her approach to record making on 'Mirror, Reflect' to emphasize process over product, with the resulting songs born out of a myriad of home sessions, song-a-day projects, songwriting workshops and online collaborations. This kind of patchwork, home-spun approach was familiar to Oelsner, who made her name with her sparkling, homemade pop songs before releasing three studio albums, including her most recent album, 2019's Shell. 'Mirror, Reflect' gently shrugs off the sheen of those studio albums, as an early prenatal recording of Oelsner's daughter's heartbeat opens the record in the near-ambient instrumental prelude of "Honey" -- a wonderfully nuanced dispatch from the dog days of summer that's under-bellied by both the precarity and beauty of the early months of infancy and new motherhood. Oelsner's knack for finding magic in the mundane is also deeply apparent on "Dribble Dribble," where the stick-with-you nature of the playful rhyme schemes of the children's books that became a regular part of her literary intake are worked into a lilting reflection on resilience, destruction and loss. Oelsner's initiation into motherhood is inseparable from the poetic heart of 'Mirror, Reflect', but the album is also largely informed by the shifts in Oelsner's relationship to herself. Through playful and emotionally acute observations, Amy O turns the potentially contractive experiences of motherhood, isolation, family and aging into a freewheeling work where ephemerality and humor collide over her deft lyrical phrasing, musicality and her keen observations turned poetic revelations.

MISSILES fire off their debut album "Weaponize Tomorrow" on Svart Records Malmö’s MISSILES are set to release their inaugural album, "Weaponize Tomorrow", on May 10, 2024, under the banner of Svart Records. The members of MISSILES are no new kids on the block. Coming from punk, rock, and metal, as well as surf and rather diverse backgrounds, they all answered to the call of their good friend Gabriel Forslund - sincerely interested in doing something new and exciting together. The band's trajectory began with a 7" single released by the Swedish label Fetish in 2016. Initially viewed as a project, MISSILES have organically evolved into a fully dedicated band with a laser-guided focus, causing shock waves in the underground with their jet-fuel genre-clash. Combining abandoned sounds with new inventions on “Weaponize Tomorrow”, MISSILES promises to both pat you on the head and stab you in the back, delivering a unique blend of post-punk with a touch of goth rock. The band’s lineup consists of: Gabriel Forslund (vocals and guitar) Jens Rasmussen (drums) Tobias Augustsson (synthesizers) Sebastian Gadd (guitar) Linus Larsson (bass) MISSILES claim their debut is a one-of-a-kind album, truly a loved bastard. ”Weaponize Tomorrow” will appeal to those who enjoyed the certain “je ne sais quoi” found in the New Wave movement, a line of thought that is liberating to hear today when artists go to the bank with a genre description. MISSILES couldn’t be bothered; it’s rock, it’s pop, its punk, it’s je ne sais quoi. Hard to pin down, but undeniable to freak out to, "Weaponize Tomorrow" is a high yield blast wave that will leave MISSILES hot on the tongues of those looking for a sudden and dramatic, incendiary kick. A gut smashing future shock that will resonate across diverse musical landscapes, “Weaponize Tomorrow” will be the perfect atomic cocktail for fans of Wipers, Dead Moon, The Birthday Party, The Gun Club and even modern iconoclasts Molchat Doma and Beastmilk. Keep your finger on the button for MISSILES‘ explosive debut out on May 10, 2024.

Warehouse Find! Test Pressing!

Time for one of Freerange's longest standing regular producers to return to the label for his first EP in three years. The Stepping Tones EP is absolutely classic Shur-I-Kan from start to finish with two original tracks plus a remix from the very excellent Berlin newcomers Kim Brown.

The title track opens with a big, bold, bouncing bassline and driving groove but as we hear the arrangement unfold the layers of keys build and drop bringing the trademark Shur-I-Kan musicality and energy to the track. In our opinion this is one of his strongest tracks yet and we're pretty sure this will be a firm favorite this summer, set to be heard everywhere from Croatian boat parties to Dalston basements and beyond.

Up next we have Kim Brown with their remix of Stepping Tones and what a job! The Berlin duo have made a big impact the last couple of years with their incredibly deep and beautiful Spring Theory and People's Republic releases on Just Another Beat. Completely sublime downbeat deep house is the key here, owing as much to ambient and orchestral music as to the rough and raw lo-slung club beats we're hearing from labels such as Dial and Smallville. Their remix brings rugged drums, dubby keys and lush strings to the fore with the addition of a twisted, filtering vocal enhancing the warm glowing sunrise vibe which emanates from this track.

Conundrum closes the EP with another deep, jazzy and cinematic Shur-I-Kan masterpiece and once again he layers up the textures and harmonic elements slowly and expertly, introducing the little hooks over time until before you know it you're bathed in a warm shower of lushness with tingles running down your spine.

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

Rising London R&B/Neo Soul Artist Releases Debut Mixtape. After the breakout success of singles "green eyes" and "waste your time" - backed by Gilles Peterson, Jamz Supernova, Jamie Cullum, Alexander Nut, Touching Bass and many more - Summer Pearl announces her debut mixtape. Marking her first full release in three years, the mixtape is her most ambitious and accomplished project to date, complete with guest appearances from UK music royalty, including an enchanting feature from soul and reggae luminary Liam Bailey and heavyweight productions from brokenbeat virtuoso Kaidi Tatham.

Saltburn is the 2023 black comedy psychological thriller film
written, directed, and co-produced by Emerald Fennell. The film stars a student (Barry Keoghan) at Oxford University, who finds himself drawn into the world of a charming and aristocratic classmate (Jacob Elordi), who invites him to his eccentric family’s sprawling estate for a summer never to be forgotten.

The film became one of the most-streamed films upon its streaming release on Amazon Prime Video in December 2023. It received critical acclaim and several accolades, including nominations for two Golden Globe Awards and five BAFTA Awards.
The music was created by Anthony Willis, who previously scored Fennell’s Promising Young Woman among others. Saltburn is available as a limited edition on white & black marbled vinyl and includes an insert.

Finally available again – in a special new psychedelic splatter vinyl limited edition of 600 copies! Kvartetten Som Sprängde (The Quartet That Exploded) “Kattvals” (“Cat Waltz”). A reissue of one of the most beautiful and sought after psych rock, progressive pre-jazz rock instrumental albums ever recorded in Sweden. Originally released during the summer of 1973 by the obscure Gump label. Powered by a C-3 organ, Ludwig kit and 50-watt Marshall head with a home-built cabinet, this skilled 3-piece (not a quartet) absolutely soars and blast away heavenly. The delicate use of the studio echo-chamber lends a magical, gossamer reverb to the whole sound. Includes a 4-page insert with rare photos and extensive liner notes by Reine Fiske (Dungen).

Emptyset present ash — a new collection of sound experiments developed over the last three years and assembled in Bristol during summer 2023.

The work draws on the project's roots in structural percussion and physical sonics, employing spatialised recording techniques and an array of analogue hardware,evoking the transformative and sculptural properties of sound.

The release marks a return for the collaborative duo of James Ginzburg and Paul Purgas, following Ginzburg's work within the exploratory performance group Osmium and Purgas' extensive research into the history of India's first electronic music studio. It brings them back to Bristol where the project first began, channeling the echoes of the city's sound system culture and resonant musical continuum, anchoring their sound within its formative origins.

Launching on October 20th through Subtext Recordings as the 50th release for the label, there will be a series of live shows including Berlin Atonal on September 16th and London's Village Underground on November 5th, their first live show in the city in over a decade. Emptyset will also be bringing together a special day of sound and performance across multiple venues in Bristol planned for Spring 2024.

METAL HAMMER - 8/10 review. FOR FANS OF : Lustmord, Om, Sunn O))) . “An exercise in freeform ambience, ritualistic repetition and the rapturous, womb-like power of bass…strange and affecting. We remain lucky to share in the great man’s vision.”

It’s a dream diary narrating a passage through Summer Isle where Flying Saucer Attack are wafting out of a window, a distant Fairport Convention are being remixed by dub master Adrian Sherwood, celestial scanners Tangerine Dream are trying to drown out Bert Jansch and Hawkwind are playing Steeleye Span covers, all prised out of time yet bound to its singularity.

Released periodically on three of 2024’s full moons – April 23rd’s Pink Moon, July 21st’s Buck Moon and October 17th’s Hunter Moon – the three-album cycle, “Triptych”, is (Steve Von Till from Neurosis) Harvestman’s most ambitious undertaking yet.

Guest musicians including Al Cisneros of Sleep / OM who plays bass on one track for each LP, of which he will also mix a dub version on the B-Side of each LP. Dave French of Yob, Sanford Parker and Wayne from Petbrick all make appearances.


Released periodically on three of 2024’s full moons – April 23rd’s Pink Moon, July 21st’s Buck Moon and October 17th’s Hunter Moon – the three-album cycle, “Triptych”, is (Steve Von Till from Neurosis) Harvestman’s most ambitious undertaking yet.

Guest musicians including Al Cisneros of Sleep / OM who plays bass on one track for each LP, of which he will also mix a dub version on the B-Side of each LP. Dave French of Yob, Sanford Parker and Wayne from Petbrick all make appearances.

It’s a dream diary narrating a passage through Summer Isle where Flying Saucer Attack are wafting out of a window, a distant Fairport Convention are being remixed by dub master Adrian Sherwood, celestial scanners Tangerine Dream are trying to drown out Bert Jansch and Hawkwind are playing Steeleye Span covers, all prised out of time yet bound to its singularity.

Bone White opaque + Black Galaxy effect vinyl in dub style jacket (jacket sleeve with centre hole cut out so label shows throug
Drawn to the megaliths, ruins and ancient sites mapped out along the British and European mainland’s geographical and psychic landscapes, the folklore and apocrypha forever resurfacing as portals from a rational world, “Triptych” is a meditation forged from traces and residues, and an hallucinatory recollection of artists who have tapped into that enduring otherworldliness embedded within us all.

Woven together from home studio recordings that span two decades, this fifth outing as Harvestman finds parallels with nature’s cycles not just in its release dates but in the repeated structure that binds each album, like an imprint refracted though three separate strata. “Part One”, as with the forthcoming Parts Two and Three, starts on a collaboration with Om bassist and long-term friend of Steve’s, Al Cisneros, with a dub take opening the B-Side. Here, the opening track “Psilosynth" orbits a grandfather-clock mechanism passing through a nebula haze, all waved on by an acid-fried deity. From there on, “Part One” journeys through the elegiac “Give Your Heart To The Hawk”, with the sampled poetry like a documentary retrieved from a long-lost world, Philip Glass wistfully attending a rescue beacon from the far corner of the universe on Coma, as well as percussion recordings performed by Steve and friend Dave French (drummer of Yob) on a rusted torn open stock tank outside Steve’s barn, treated bagpipes and old reel-to-reel recordings, all reiterated across the next volumes in ever more out-there contexts.

If “Triptych” is a multi- and extra-sensory experience, it extends to the remarkable glyph-style artwork of Henry Hablak, a map of correspondences from a long-forgotten ancient and advanced civilization. As with “Triptych” itself, it’s an echo from another time, an act of binding, a guide to be endlessly reinterpreted, and a signpost to the sacred that might not indicate where to look, but how.

You get older, you have a family, and you start to slow down-that's how things are supposed to go, right? Not for Montreal band Corridor, who have returned on their fourth album, Mimi, with a sound and style that's more widescreen and expansive than anything that's preceded it. The follow-up to 2019's Junior is a huge step forward for the band, as the members themselves have undergone the type of personal changes that accompany the passage of time; even as these eight songs reflect a newfound and contemplative maturity, however, Corridor are branching out more than ever with richly detailed music, resulting in a record that feels like a fresh break for a band that's already established themselves as forward-thinkers. Mimi immediately recalls the best of the best when it comes to indie rock-Deerhunter's silvery atmospherics immediately come to mind, as well as the spiky effervescence of classic post-punk-but despite these easy comparisons, Corridor remain impossible to pin down from song to song, which makes Mimi all the more thrilling as a listen. "The goal was to work differently, which is the goal we have every time we work on a new album-to build something in a new way," Robert explains. "This time, we took our time." And so in the summer of 2020, Corridor's members-Robert, vocalist/bassist Dominic Berthiaume, drummer Julien Bakvis, and multi-instrumentalist Samuel Gougoux-holed away in a cottage to engage in the sort of creative experimentation that would lead to Mimi's ultimate creation. Corridor tinkered with the songs' raw parts digitally and remotely over the next few years, with co-producer Joojoo Ashworth (Dummy, Automatic) lending their own specific talents in the theoretical booth. The process was a byproduct of not having access to their rehearsal space due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but also a result of the four-piece leaning harder into incorporating electronic textures than on previous records. "For a long time, we identified as a guitar-oriented band, and the goal of making this whole record was trying to get away from that," Berthiaume states. Berthiaume also describes Mimi as a record about "getting older" and "figuring out new parts of life"-but despite any claims of transitional growing pains from the band, Mimi is a record bursting with new energy and life, a vibrance that's owed in no small part to Gougoux joining the band full-time after pitching in on live performances in the past. "I come more from a background of electronic music, so it was nice to involve that with the band more," he explains, and Mimi contains a distinct rhythmic pulse reminiscent of classic era-post-punk's own melding of dance and rock textures. Over bright, chiming guitars and ascending synths, Robert addresses his looming mortality on "Mourir Demain": "I wrote it when my girlfriend and I were shopping for life insurance," he laughs. With our little daughter growing up, we also considered making our will. I said to myself, 'Oh shit, from now on I'm slowly starting to plan my death." Don't mistake this as music about dead ends, though, as Mimi embraces and champions unfettered creativity while paving a way for Corridor's own bright future. "We just focused on making a record that sounded the way we wanted," Gougoux exclaims while discussing the band's aims. "There were no limitations when it came to what was possible."

Repress!

It's five years since we first released Yosi Horikawa's 'Vapor' album. To commemorate the occassion, we're releasing the album on vinyl for the very first time, also including a previously unreleased bonus track, 'Yoggo'.

The devil is in the details. And Yosi Horikawa understands this perhaps better than most musicians from his generation, crafting compositions with broad appeal that also withstand the most intricate scrutiny. Originality has always been a rare currency in the creative arts, and having honed his voice over the years Yosi has plenty of it to give to those willing to listen.

The RBMA graduate has collaborated with artists such as Jesse Boykins III, Dorian Concept & Daisuke Tanabe, performed at Glastonbury, Sónar, Mutek, Dimensions, Low End Theory, Ninja Tune's Solid Steel & Boiler Room, featured in Time Out Tokyo, XLR8R, Dummy & more, and received acclaim and support from the likes of Benji B, Tom Ravenscroft, Fulgeance, DJ Food and Gilles Peterson, with whom he has worked with on several projects since the release of 'Vapor', for Brownswood, Worldwide Festival & Worldwide FM respectively, producing a regular feature, 'Soundscape with Yosi Horikawa'.

Besides writing and producing music, Yosi is a highly skilled sound engineer, working with prestigious architects, fashion brands, and technology firms as well as designing speakers for bars and clubs. He's also composed numerous jingles and theme songs for radio stations to science exhibitions. Such is his diversity and originality, he was the subject of an RBMA film documentary in 2014, 'Layered Memories'.

Following his debut EP on Eklektik Records, two EPs were released on First Word prior to this, his debut album, 'Vapor'. 17 tracks from the Japanese sound designer and producer that weave together diverse field recordings and sample sources, with rhythms and melodies, creating something that defies stylistic boxing. Echoes of dance music, hip hop and musique concrete can all be found amid the sounds of nature and everyday life that underpin the grooves of the music. 'Vapor' is an album in the old-fashioned sense, a tightly-woven sonic journey that benefits from repeat listens.

'Vapor' was named amongst 2013 Albums of the Year lists in Fact Magazine and The Japan Times.

"A sonic masterpiece and an entirely new pathway in to the matrix of emerging electronic creativity. Every piece on the album sounds boundless and full of texture & colour imaginable"

Earmilk: "A serendipitous mishmash of electronic, hip hop beats, and a litany of genres that fall in that spectrum with a liberal dose of acoustic magic

Conceived, written and recorded during the COVID pandemic, "King Perry" was produced by Daniel Boyle, and features guest performances from Greentea Peng, Shaun Ryder, Tricky, Marta, Rose Waite and Fifi Rong. Two tracks were also co-produced with Tricky, who releases Perry"s last recorded performances on his False Idols label. Record producer, composer, singer, and pioneer of the dub music genre Lee Scratch Perry passed away in August 2021. His influence over popular music since the 1970s is hugely significant, with artists including Bob Marley & The Wailers, The Clash, Beastie Boys, Max Romeo, Junior Murvin and The Orb all enriched by Perry"s legendary touch, innovative studio techniques and production style.

They were one of the few racially and sexually integrated bands on the scene. Vocalist Pauline Black wrote about sexism, racism, and social issues. Their debut release was the AA side of the Specials single 'Gangsters' in the summer of 1979, which just consisted of Neol Davies and John Bradbury (of The Specials) before quickly forming a full band by the end of the year. Releasing their follow up single On My Radio' which reached No. 6 in the UK charts. Their debut album 'Too Much Pressure' was released in February 1980 getting to No. 5 in the UK charts, which also included two further hit singles 'Three Minute Hero' and 'Missing Words'.

Best Of Bruce Springsteen is a collection of original songs spanning his storied 50-year recording career, from 1973's Greeting from Asbury Park, NJ to 2020's Letter To You. It will be available as an 18-track set across 2 LPs or 1 CD - and digitally as an expanded 31-song package. The collection will span early-career favorites like "Growin' Up" and "Rosalita (Come Out Tonight)," staples of Springsteen's live shows from "Dancing In The Dark" to "The Rising," best-selling breakouts like "Born To Run" and "Hungry Heart," as well as recent releases "Hello Sunshine" and "Letter To You." Here, these career-spanning works appear together in one set for the first time. The packaging includes archival photos and a new essay.

On the outskirts of Bratislava, in the pulsating shadows of a refinery's burning chimneys, on the plot of a family house, there stood a small shack. Initially, it housed trials in domestic mushroom growing. Later, after a makeshift acoustic touch-up - lining the walls with old cardboard egg cartons - it became a shelter for music. Sensitive, evocative, nostalgic, lo-fi music by a man named Cadillac Face.

Today we would probably use the term 'safe space', but back then it was (in Cadillac's words) kutica, a cubbyhole. He hid there from a world that ached. Here, Cadillac secretly smoked, sang, and composed. And tried not to go crazy from anxiety. He wrote music unlike anything during his time.

Here, he struggled. With sound (unable to adjust it to his liking), with instruments (which he couldn't bring himself to play), with the world (with which, understandably, he was at odds).

Cadillac Face was a man who didn't belong here.

He wrote and sang in English (in a post-socialist and early-capitalist Slovakia, when command of English was no matter of course); he also wrote in Slovak (blogs and diaries, which, due to a stream-of-consciousness and surrealist style, were as incomprehensible as they were immersive and intimate); gave advice to teenagers (to their quasi-banal questions on talking forums about relationships, life and adolescence, where they were often met with ridicule and mockery); he composed electronic and noise music (at a time when no one had a clue what the abbreviation DAW meant).

This Cadillac's compilation album is not aiming to compete with/replicate Noizy Days - a compilation of Cadillac's contributions to the project Noize Konspiracy. Underground compilations circulated through a local proto-social network. Borderline music without rules - open but often inaccessible. There, Cadillac contributed mostly with experimental-electronic compositions. Noizy Days was compiled by Ďuro Ďurček, one of the initiators of Noize Konspiracy. Both Ďuro and Cadillac have been dead for years.

Songs For The Trees is a selection from Cadillac's songwriting. The most intimate of his intimate recordings. Cadillac at his most fragile, brittle, and quiet. The most romantic, the most tormented, the most painful and direct of his songs I know.

Cadillac became an anthropomorphic grotesque tree. Neither broadleaf nor conifer. Or perhaps it's a candle slowly incinerating – bored, sad, playing the guitar. A tragicomedy. Sometimes it kindles what it doesn't mean to, and it can't put itself out. Or can it?

Yes! Tommy Guerrero’s revered Return Of The Bastard gets its first ever vinyl reissue. Endearingly simple but beautifully beguiling, it's lo-fi dusty break business with the most elegant guitars this side of Vini Reilly and Gabor Szabo. Tommy's breezy drum-machine guitar-soul should be prescribed to soothe an aching world. By rights, he should also be a Balearic god. Here's 14 tracks of drop-dead laconic beauty, all of them combining to create this unheralded masterpiece. Working with Tommy directly, the LP has been fully remastered and sounds as dazzlingly, heartbreakingly beautiful as it did back in 2007.

Coolly opening the album, "And The Folklore Continues" can be said to be both a titular and actual nod to his past work. As ever, there's heavenly Latin guitar stylings that make you swoon and the melancholic vibe is accentuated by the addition of some melodic wordless vocals from Tommy. Just divine. The sparkling "La Califas Perdido" follows, all dreamy melodic guitars and twinkling vibes over dusty drums and a fine bassline. The shuffling, conga-assisted "I Would Go With You" is a gentle, romantic gem whilst the brief but beautiful "No Time For Time" feels in a hurry to let us know that Tommy can work with more propulsive rhythms. In this case, they underpin Tommy's gorgeous, shimmering guitars wonderfully well.

The head-nod funk of "Calling For Ya!" (get it?) features Curumin delivering the clever title as a hypnotic vocal refrain peppered throughout, all hung around some buried spoken word vocals and gorgeous cello work from Lenny Gonzalez. "Bloodinthemud" is a low-down gritty funk workout whilst "Zapata's Boots" is a total low-key groover, all Latin percussion and Morricone muscle aided by a whistled Spaghetti Western melody. The startling instrumental "Mosaic Man" closes out the side with a lean slice of mellifluous, virtuoso guitar bliss.

The reflective "What Have I Been Doing Since I Was Gone?" opens the B-side in glorious fashion, the type of melancholic melodic head music that should soundtrack a bright walk on a cold winter's day. The hypnotic groover "Paper Switchblade" is a razor-sharp fuzz-funk whilst the beautifully downbeat "Never Forget To Remember" is a kaleidoscopic kalimba-koolout. Galloping cop-funk breaks workout "Run With The Hunted" is a rollicking ride and it's followed by the fresh chiming guitar funk of "New Terrain".

The upbeat and bright "40 Summers", featuring congas from Alfredo Ortiz, is as clean and poppy as Tommy gets and it really is a look he wears incredibly well. Just straight up guitar pop. "The Simple Man" a gorgeous, melancholic ballad, closes out the record with deeply yearning vocals from Tommy, a rarity and a treasured one at that.

Meticulously remastered and cut by both Simon Francis and Cicely Balston respectively, it has been pressed to the highest possibly quality at Record Industry in Holland. The original and iconic sleeve, designed by Natas Kaupas, has been restored here at Be With HQ as the finishing touch to this long overdue re-issue.

The Norwegian heavy metal band TNT released their fifth studio album Realized Fantasies in 1992. With a level of musicianship higher than the average glam metal band, Norway's TNT offered a prog-tinged take on pop-metal due largely to the stunning vocal range of lead singer Tony Harnell and the guitar technique of Ronni Le Tekrø. On this record, Joe Lynn Turner (ex-Rainbow, Yngwie Malmsteen and Deep Purple) can be heard as a background vocalist. Realized Fantasies is available as a limited edition of 750 individually numbered copies on crystal clear & turquoise marbled vinyl and includes an insert.

Realized Fantasies by Tnt, released 12 April 2024, includes the following tracks: "Mother Warned Me ", "Rain ", "Rock 'N Roll Away ", "All You Need " and more.

This version of Realized Fantasies comes as a 1xLP. This release comes with (a) Insert(s).

The vinyl is pressed as a marble, clear & turquoise disc.

Formed in 2011 by drummer Drew Rizzo, Midnite Hellion took shape with the addition of bassist and vocalist Rich Kubik in 2016. The band entered Pyramid Sound Studios in Ithaca, NY in August 2019 with producer Alex Perialas (Anthrax/S.O.D, OverKill, Testament, Joe Bonamassa). Recording for Kingdom Immortal was completed in six days. The vinyl mastering was cut at Infrasonic Sound by Daniel Bacigalupi (Barry Gibb, Dolly Parton, Stray Cats, Willie Nelson). Midnite Hellion toured the US with Anvil in summer 2022 for 39 dates supporting Kingdom Immortal. The band has recently completed a second US leg with Anvil for an additional 25 dates in spring 2023. Kingdom Immortal contains eight brand-new cuts of New Jersey-style Heavy Metal and was produced by Alex Perialas (OverKill, Anthrax/S.O.D, Testament) and recorded at Pyramid Sound in Ithaca, NY. It was.

"Kingdom Immortal" by Midnite Hellion includes the following tracks: "Phantomland", "Speed Demon", "Army Of The Dead" and more.

repressed !

'Due to an unforeseen pricing increase at the pressing plant, this products price has been updated. Any copies purchased before the pricing update will be honoured at the original price'

Arriving at the height of the antipodean summer, after the traditional series of short delays – and where would we be without delay lets face it – we here Echo Chamber Sound and Run It Red are proud to present the vinyl component of our first compilation LP. Featuring 9 tunes across two plates, and including exclusive tunes from from Bukkha and LQ, as well as a showstopping remix from RSD and star turns from X-Nation Pugilist & Tamen, this is our most ambitious statement to date, and we hope you enjoy it as much as we have enjoyed pulling it all together.

From the propulsive immediacy of the bass and drums’ taut groove, it’s clear something has changed in Broken Chanter's world. Thudding, powerful odes to the strength of collectivity and togetherness, David MacGregor’s Broken Chanter bristle with energy and empathy on their incendiary third album Chorus Of Doubt. Recorded (and produced) by Paul Savage over 2023’s spring and summer months in Chemikal Underground’s in-house studio Chem 19, Chorus Of Doubt is fuelled by a burning desire to resist an encroaching, global tide of misery, informed by a wide-eyed sense of solidarity and the searing truth that a universal humanity is the only path out of darkness.

Featuring frequent collaborators Charlotte Printer, Bart Owl and Martin Johnston, Broken Chanter’s world is populated by hope and vitriol rendered in ecstatic rock music, terse agit-Funk and soaring choruses.

The most immediate Broken Chanter record to date, Chorus Of Doubt is David MacGregor’s open love letter to never giving up, a personal road map out of collective lethargy.

Second Compilation Of New Music By Ex-Sarah Records Bands! Under The Bridge 2 is the sequel to the celebrated 2022 compilation album that reunited groups and songwriters who had once recorded for cult label Sarah Records. The new album showcases the continuing creativity of a special group of musicians who have never rested on their laurels. Bigger and more expansive than the first album, Under the Bridge 2 is a double LP, containing twenty brand new tracks. There is a huge range of material here, from intense, dark chamber pop to dense shoegaze to out-and-out indiepop. Exciting new groups are unveiled: The Gentle Spring (a new project by Michael Hiscock of The Field Mice); Vetchinsky Settings (a collaboration between Mark Tranmer and James Hackett of The Orchids); and Mystic Village (which features new songs by Robert Cooksey of The Sea Urchins). You will also see familiar starry names like Even As We Speak, The Orchids and Secret Shine - bands whose line-ups have remained mostly unchanged since the 1990s. And there are established bands who didn't appear on the first album but are now represented - bands like Action Painting! and The Hit Parade. Most of the tracks are exclusive and unreleased: there's the first new song from The Catenary Wires since 2021, a brand new fizzbomb from Jetstream Pony, a haunting instrumental from GNAC. The emphasis of Under The Bridge is on the new. The bands' shared history means they have a shared aesthetic, even a shared ethos - they all believe that the future is more important than the past. They are as independent and as uncompromising as ever, but they are still uncynical - and still excited about what Pop Music can be. Under The Bridge 2 is available as ltd vinyl double LP, CD and digital download. It will not be on streaming sites. CDs and LPs include a 12 respectively 24-page illustrated colour booklet.

Recorded by award-winning mastering engineer Kevin Gray's record label, Anthony Wilson's Hackensack West is Cohearent Records' follow-up to Kirsten Edkins' Shapes & Sound album. Produced by Joe Harley and recorded all-analogue/all-tube at Gray's studio, Cohearent Recording, the AAA vinyl release is pressed on 180-gram vinyl at RTI and housed in a deluxe tip-on gatefold jacket.

From the liner notes:

The week before these sessions in the summer of 2023, I sat down each morning with the goal of composing one new song by day's end. I knew I'd soon be in the room with my dear friends Gerald Clayton, John Clayton, and Jeff Hamilton, three musicians whom I trust the most, and with whom I've played the most over the last couple of decades. I tried to imagine themes that would feel natural to us, the kinds of songs we could simply dive into without much thinking. When we headed to Kevin Gray's studio to record, I brought seven new songs along with me. Five are included on this album.

"Daido" is dedicated to Japanese photographer Daido Moriyama, who became known in the late 1960s for his grainy, sometimes blurry, high-contrast black and white images made throughout Japan. I love his pictures taken on the streets of various Tokyo neighbourhoods such as Shinjuku. His portrait of a menacing stray dong, from his series "A Hunter," is the kind of picture that, seen just once, is unforgettable. These days Daido is still out on the street making pictures, at the ripe young age of 85.

"Verdesse" has a sinuous, chorinho-like melody and rhythmic feel. The tune seems to weave and bob playfully in a space of brightness the way a grapevine seems to curl towards the sunlight. So I named it after a wine grape native to the pre-Alpine region of Isère, near Grenoble in eastern France, that makes a particularly delicious and drinkable white wine.

I wrote "Sunday," well...on Sunday. It unfolds slowly, like a good Sunday does when there's nothing to do, you can sleep in, you've got your person beside you, and you just relax into the day.

"The Lands" is dedicated to a family very dear to my heart: that of tenor saxophonist Harold Land. My mother met Harold when they were both teenagers growing up in San Diego, California. The two of them became lifelong friends, and a little later, Harold enjoyed a fruitful musical association and close friendship with my father, Gerald Wilson. Harold, his lovely wife Lydia, and their son Harold Jr. were extended family for us; they looked after me with love and care. Some of my first gigs ever as a young guitarist were with Harold's incredible band that included Oscar Brashear, Billy Higgins, Richard Reid, and Harold Land Jr.

I've loved Todd Rundgren's "Marlene" since I first heard it on his epic double-album Something/Anything. With its tender, well-contoured melody buoyed by a few special harmonic surprises, it almost seems like something from the pen of Burt Bacharach. It tells such a complete musical story. Rundgren's recorded version has a beautiful endlessly repeating tag. So we played the melody simply, and used the tag as a small staging area for a bit of improvising.

Hackensack West is our alias for engineer Kevin Gray's studio Cohearent Recording, a place inspired by Rudy Van Gelder's first studio in Hackensack, New Jersey. Located inside Van Gelder's parents' home, the musicians played in the living room! It was there, in 1954, that Thelonious Monk recorded his classic tune "Hackensack," a "contrafact" melody over the chord changes to the Gershwins' "Oh, Lady Be Good!" In contrafact-like fashion, my own bebop-spirited melody "Hackensack West" seems to nod toward the changes of a few recognizable standards, without corresponding to any particular one.

Organic, electric, freeform. Pete Jolly's Seasons is comprised of melodies and textures composed live and without pretense—its grooves contain a complete and divine listening experience that surpasses all others of the era in which it was originally released, coming as close to transcendent musical meditation incarnate as one could possibly imagine. Seasons is an unsung masterpiece of ensemble groove and stellar musicianship, equally unsurpassed and inspired in its quiet excellence

While Seasons never had significant commercial success upon its release, it has since amassed a cult following, leading collectors to pay top dollar for copies of the rare record. Out of print since 1971, it has only been reissued once on CD.

In his liner notes accompanying this release, Dave Segal puts the album’s massive demand in perspective: “British label owner Jonny Trunk put up an original pressing of the LP for sale for an undisclosed but large sum on Instagram in January 2023, and it sold in five minutes. With Seasons back in circulation, maybe Pete Jolly will finally gain the broader audience that his phenomenal skills merit,” writes Segal. “If nothing else, it serves as a valuable lesson to artists: venturing outside of your comfort zone can bring the most interesting, enduring results.”

Remastered from the original analog master tapes by Kevin Gray at Coherent Mastering, this record not only foreshadows the roots of hip-hop but manages to embody the richness of a full album listening experience that few records can offer. Its timeless appeal is rare—and its dynamic range sets it apart as an album that straddles both the jazz and pop worlds in a way that almost no others can. Sit back, relax, and enjoy the changing and complex colors of Seasons for the first time ever since its initial release.

Organic, electric, freeform. Pete Jolly's Seasons is comprised of melodies and textures composed live and without pretense—its grooves contain a complete and divine listening experience that surpasses all others of the era in which it was originally released, coming as close to transcendent musical meditation incarnate as one could possibly imagine. Seasons is an unsung masterpiece of ensemble groove and stellar musicianship, equally unsurpassed and inspired in its quiet excellence

While Seasons never had significant commercial success upon its release, it has since amassed a cult following, leading collectors to pay top dollar for copies of the rare record. Out of print since 1971, it has only been reissued once on CD.

In his liner notes accompanying this release, Dave Segal puts the album’s massive demand in perspective: “British label owner Jonny Trunk put up an original pressing of the LP for sale for an undisclosed but large sum on Instagram in January 2023, and it sold in five minutes. With Seasons back in circulation, maybe Pete Jolly will finally gain the broader audience that his phenomenal skills merit,” writes Segal. “If nothing else, it serves as a valuable lesson to artists: venturing outside of your comfort zone can bring the most interesting, enduring results.”

Remastered from the original analog master tapes by Kevin Gray at Coherent Mastering, this record not only foreshadows the roots of hip-hop but manages to embody the richness of a full album listening experience that few records can offer. Its timeless appeal is rare—and its dynamic range sets it apart as an album that straddles both the jazz and pop worlds in a way that almost no others can. Sit back, relax, and enjoy the changing and complex colors of Seasons for the first time ever since its initial release.

Originally rumoured to be a double album the plan was shot down - Dave Thompson in conversation with Melanie managed to work out what it would look like and here we present all newly mastered the deluxe version. Woodstock and Glastonbury Fayre icon Melanie had been working with Easy Action on the deluxe vinyl and CD rerelease of one of the most legendary albums in her long catalogue prior to her very sad passing. In 1972, Melanie and her producer and husband Peter Schekeryk began work on what she intended to be her most ambitious album yet. Stoneground Words was to be a double album - the first such statement from any female rock artist. It would also be the first worldwide release on Neighborhood Records, the label she and Schekeryk established in 1971 - another first, as she entered territory into which only The Beatles, The Stones and The Moody Blues had previously stepped. Even more crucially, however, it was her personal response to the enormous success, earlier in the year, of the hit "Brand New Key" - "the bicycle song," as so many people recall it. Stoneground Words returned to the drawing board. Ten songs were selected; the remainder were placed to one side; and the album was released to generally positive reviews which included Melody Maker's assertion that it was "the most sophisticated she's made. The naiveté of the past has been replaced by deeper, more comprehensive methods of expression." She is the first to admit that the new edition of Stoneground Words is not a true facsimile of the original. The paperwork for all three projects, after all, disappeared long ago, as did the tapes ("who knows where?"). Stoneground Words will be released in March 2024 by Easy Action/Neighbourhood Records o Issued for the very first time as a double LP o Completely remastered. o Limited pressing on Pink Vinyl, CD Presented in large deluxe gatefold sleeve with full colour booklet o Brand new artwork o Originally recorded in New York in 1972 and released on Melanie's own Neighbourhood Records label.

When the grunge explosion of the early `90s elevated Seattle's flannel-clad misfits out of the divey clubs of downtown and into the mainstream, a new generation of restless artists filled the void left in the Pacific Northwest's underground music scene. The under-21 crowd making music in the wake of Nevermind seemed even less enamored with the slick production values, classic rock nods, and testosterone-fueled moshing culture that came with the Zeitgeist, favoring their own kind of Revolution Summer-style pivot away from the popular sounds of the era towards a more emotionally nuanced, melodic, and inclusive style of punk. The Puget Sound trio Lync perfectly captured the spirit of that era, blending the passionate chaos of the DC and San Diego scenes with the rough-hewn DIY pop sensibilities of Olympia's thriving indie community into one unified sound. Though they were only a band for two years, they helped define the next era of the Northwest underground, inspiring countless other artists and instigating the creation of beloved records from the region. After being out of print for over a decade, the band's sole LP These Are Not Fall Colors has been remastered and expanded into a 2xLP with the inclusion of "Can't Tie Yet"_a compilation track from the album's recording session_into a deluxe edition available courtesy of Suicide Squeeze Records. Originally released on K Records in the summer of '94 just a few months before the band called it quits, These Are Not Fall Colors is a boisterous collection of scrappy basement-show anthems played on duct-taped-together gear. Led by the off-kilter melodies of late singer/guitarist Sam Jayne and hammered into place by the driving bass of James Bertram and drum battery of David Schneider, the album's eleven songs channel that undefinable sound of the early `90s before descriptors like "post-hardcore" and "emo" became pejorative terms. Sure, you get a sense of the more sophisticated mid-tempo punk approach on songs like "B" and "Silverspoon Glasses," and maybe catch wind of wistful songwriting on "Pennies to Save" and "Cue Cards," but Lync seemed to cull their ideas from whatever bits of inspiration they could find in the gray gloom and geographic isolation of western Washington, absorbing it all and churning it together into a style uniquely their own. Despite Lync's short existence, modest aspirations, and DIY approach, their work had a ripple effect. Jayne would go on to make music under the moniker of Love As Laughter. Built to Spill's Doug Martsch was so enamored by the album that he enlisted Bertram and Schneider to serve as his rhythm section on the There's Nothing Wrong with Love tour. These Are Not Fall Colors engineer Phil Ek would go on to help record and produce records by Fleet Foxes, Band of Horses, and The Shins. Early bassist Isaac Brock and These Are Not Fall Colors album art contributor Jeremiah Green would go on to form Modest Mouse. Bertram and Green would also go on to form the revered indie rock group Red Stars Theory. At times it feels like you could pick any major Northwest indie rock group from the `90s and `00s and trace their DNA back to Lync. The deluxe edition of These Are Not Fall Colors comes pressed on 180g vinyl and packaged in a gatefold cover with printed inner sleeves and expanded artwork by Jesse LeDoux. The 2xLP also features an 18x24 poster with extensive liner notes by Brian Cook. Altogether, this new version of These Are Not Fall Colors not only brings this celebrated classic back into analog libraries of old fans, it also provides new context and appreciation for Lync's ongoing impact on both a local and international level.

People Museum's full length album Relic was written and demoed shortly after hurricane Ida displaced our community for many weeks in the late summer of 2021. The first three days of work brought 3 of the album's core songs, including the title track of the record - Relic. Each song on the record contains layers of storytelling that speak to our city while also speaking to personal stories of love, loss, the unknown, catharsis, persistence. Living in New Orleans, we often take for granted the unique magic that is our community, something that the uncertainty of a natural disaster placed in the forefront of our minds. Relic is an attempt to bottle our collective histories, our memories and experiences, our love for our city. A way to hold tightly to the gift we have while we have it. The album uses New Orleans as a character - a lover who nourishes us and breaks our heart. A friend - ever contradictory but always worth fighting for, and someone who will inevitably leave an imprint on your heart.

In our 20th celebration year we welcome back Loz Goddard! It’s been quite a while since we last saw him on our label. With his standout debut collab release with Harry Wolfman in 2016 he has developed a unique mix of electronica, deep soundscapes and lush organic Deep House on labels such as “Oath”, “Razor N Tape”, “Church”, “Outplay” and “Apparel Music”. Now he finally returns with a mini album that features beautiful crafted ambient and electronica cuts paired with three upbeat tracks that will for sure shake the dance floors in and outdoors this summer! Enjoy!

In his own words, here are some insights on the influences and production process of these six pieces:

The release is named after a night in the White Hotel in Salford watching Skee Mask. At the time I had a bunch of unfinished ambient ideas as a result of making “Balloon Tree Road” (out on Oath). There were a lot of ideas I still loved that didn’t get finished for that release, so I set about finishing them late 2022 & early 2023 with the view to releasing an EP or ‘mini album’ that was again angled a bit more towards home-listening.

The more upbeat tracks are newer jams that I created in 2023. I wanted to include a few club-ready tracks on the record as well, so the release appeals to DJ’s as well as home listeners. I approached the production much like my past two records on Oath, with lots of live drum elements, some sampling and a mixing approach which keeps everything sound warm and organic. It’s rough round the edges - as has been the case with my productions of late - and offers a nice contrast to my DJ sets and radio shows at the moment, in which I am playing mostly Deep/Progressive House, Breaks & Techno. There’s some influence on the title track from the Deep & Lo-Fi House sound of artists like Baltra & Mall Grab, and I have taken influence from all the breaks I’ve been playing in DJ sets for ‘How’s This for a Vague Song Title’.

All tracks mastered by Salz Mastering in Cologne. Photography & Art by Break 3000.

After making waves with their 2020 self-titled debut LP (championed by the late, great DJ and synth/wave connoisseur Silent Servant), Toronto’s Analytica return to Suction Records’ minimal synth sub-label Ice Machine, for the second full-length LP, “Strategy Of Tension”. Comprised of kosmische synth artist Gabe Knox and electro-industrial performer David Lush, Analytica is a synth-pop duo who confront the race-to-the-bottom ethos of our time, but utilizing sounds and tools from the early ‘80s synth-DIY era.

The album was recorded to a 6-track cassette portastudio in a two week session in Summer 2022, and mixed down live to tape in an afternoon. Analytica pair classic, holy grail analog synthesizers like the ARP Quadra, Roland System 100, and ARP 2600, with uncommon analog rhythm machines including the Univox SR-95, Soundmaster ST-305, Roland TR-77, and Korg KR-55B. The result is Strategy of Tension: a stinging rebuke to cynical political actors and a reminder that the only thing to fear is fear itself.

- Bananarama celebrate over 40 years at the top with the release of 'Glorious - The Ultimate Collection'. With 40 tracks selected by Sara and Keren themselves, the double CD album revisits every decade of the band's career, with hits including Cruel Summer, Venus, Love in the First Degree, Only Your Love, Preacher Man, Move in My Direction and more, along with two new singles, Feel The Love (released October 18) and Supernova.
- The 1LP edition features 16 tracks : singles + new remixes of classic hits and "Feel the Love" & "Supernova "for the first time on vinyl.
- Bananarama are THE original girl group. They're featured in Guinness World of Records for the most internationally charted hits by an all female band, with in excess of 30+ million sales worldwide.

VINYL (* versions on vinyl for the first time )

John Coltrane's landmark 1961 jazz album My Favorite Things was born of the same recording sessions that yielded a majority of the albums Coltrane Plays the Blues (1962), Coltrane's Sound (1964), and Coltrane Legacy. That My Favorite Things was recorded in less than three days was in itself, remarkable. This record marked a significant turning point in Coltrane's career and showcased his distinctive playing style, which continues to inspire and influence musicians to this day. Coltrane's playing on My Favorite Things can be described as innovative, exploratory, and deeply emotive. The unforced, practically casual soloing styles of the assembled quartet — which includes Coltrane (soprano/tenor sax), McCoy Tyner (piano), Steve Davis (bass), and Elvin Jones (drums) — allow for tastefully executed passages à la the Miles Davis Quintet, a trait Coltrane no doubt honed during his tenure in that band, notes AllMusic. Coltrane was known for pushing the boundaries of jazz and expanding the possibilities of the saxophone as an instrument. Throughout the album, Coltrane's improvisations are characterized by their intensity, virtuosity, and sheer creativity. The title track is a modal rendition of the Rodgers and Hammerstein song "My Favorite Things" from The Sound of Music. Coltrane's use of modal playing made him a pioneer — modal jazz emphasizes improvisation over specific chord progressions. Coltrane's modal approach allowed him to explore a broader range of tonal colors and to create more open and expansive musical landscapes. Each track of this album is a joy to revisit. The ultimate listenability may reside in this quartet's capacity to not be overwhelmed by the soloist. As a soloist, the definitive soprano sax runs during the Cole Porter standard "Everytime We Say Goodbye" and tenor solos on "But Not for Me" easily establish Coltrane as a pioneer of both instruments. In 1998, My Favorite Things received the Grammy Hall of Fame award. The album attained gold record certified status in 2018, having sold 500,000 copies. We've given this definitive reissue of such a landmark album the presentation it deserves: Mastered directly from the original master tape by Ryan K. Smith at Sterling Sound and cut at 45 RPM. Pressed on 180-gram vinyl at Quality Record Pressings, and housed in tip-on old style gatefold double pocket jackets with film lamination by Stoughton Printing.

The cheekiest band in the land is back with ROCKMAKER, The Dandy Warhols' 12th studio album. Produced and recorded by the band at their studio/funhouse The Odditorium in Portland, OR, ROCKMAKER sees the "Bohemian Like You" hitmakers celebrate their 30th year together with a sprinkle of glitter on their grime. Accompanied by guests Debbie Harry, Slash, and Pixies' Frank Black, The Dandy Warhols wrangle paranoia, untangle anxious discontent, and lust after life while the dance grooves go deeper, heady drones get weirder, and riffage fit for bong rips hammers. ROCKMAKER is the Dandy's clearest statement yet, at no sacrifice to their outré leanings. This is the sound of outsider alt-psych fixtures looking in as the walls come down.

Rockmaker by Dandy Warhols, released 15 March 2024, includes the following tracks: "Teutonic Wine", "I'd Like To Help You With Your Problem (Feat. Slash)", "Root Of All Evil", "Love Thyself" and more.

This version of Rockmaker comes as a 1xCD.

Debut album by Korean psychedelic fuzz masters and the perfect introduction to Sanullim’s unique world.

Formed in the early 70s by the three Kim brothers while they were still in University, Sanullim managed to release their first album in 1977 despite censorship, misunderstanding from their record company and rudimentary recording techniques problems. Fuelled by piercing psychedelic fuzz guitars, Farfisa styled garage organ, keyboards and sweet melodies, the created a very unique sound, unheard in Korea at the time. Including some of their most iconic songs like “Already Now” and “"Likely Late Summer" (famous for its inclusion on the “Love, Peace & Poetry” series.

*Original artwork in hard cardboard sleeve
*Sourced from the original masters
*Insert with liner notes by Hugh Dellar (Shindig!) and rare photos / memorabilia

“Their debut album featured a blistering fuzz guitar sound that bleeds in and out of the mix as well as what sounds like a tinny Farfisa set behind the sweetest of pop vocal melodies, and the nine tracks stretch out into strangely hypnotic diversions. It’s easy to grasp how psych and garage heads coming to these tracks cold would find much to dig here, and also simple to see how the recordings could be mistaken for something cut many years earlier” – Hugh Dellar (Shindig!)

Debut album by Korean psychedelic fuzz masters and the perfect introduction to Sanullim’s unique world.

Formed in the early 70s by the three Kim brothers while they were still in University, Sanullim managed to release their first album in 1977 despite censorship, misunderstanding from their record company and rudimentary recording techniques problems. Fuelled by piercing psychedelic fuzz guitars, Farfisa styled garage organ, keyboards and sweet melodies, the created a very unique sound, unheard in Korea at the time. Including some of their most iconic songs like “Already Now” and “"Likely Late Summer" (famous for its inclusion on the “Love, Peace & Poetry” series.

*Original artwork in hard cardboard sleeve
*Sourced from the original masters
*Insert with liner notes by Hugh Dellar (Shindig!) and rare photos / memorabilia

“Their debut album featured a blistering fuzz guitar sound that bleeds in and out of the mix as well as what sounds like a tinny Farfisa set behind the sweetest of pop vocal melodies, and the nine tracks stretch out into strangely hypnotic diversions. It’s easy to grasp how psych and garage heads coming to these tracks cold would find much to dig here, and also simple to see how the recordings could be mistaken for something cut many years earlier” – Hugh Dellar (Shindig!)

Recorded in October 1959, with heroin a caustic presence, In Milan is the first of the albums Chet Baker cut in Europe, revisiting West Coast cool jazz nuggets with drummer Gene Victory and a set of local players, including bassist Franco Serri and pianist Renato Sellani, bolstered by saxophonists Glauco Masetti and Gianno Basso on select tracks. Bop favourites such as Charlie Parker & Miles Davis’ ‘Cheryl’ and Davis’ ‘Tune Up’ are handled with care, and there’s a fine take of ‘Line For Lyons,’ which Baker first recorded as a member of Gerry Mulligan’s Quartet, with a great solo by Serri. It’s Baker at his best – thoroughly excellent!

First compiled as a double CD in 2002, Moon's Milk (in Four Phases) is a suite of four EPs that Coil released seasonally via their in-house Eskaton imprint across 1998. The line-up for these sessions were John Balance, Peter "Sleazy" Christopherson, Drew McDowall, and William Breeze. Recorded primarily at their home studio in Chiswick, London on the eve of a permanent relocation to the small seaside town of Weston-Super-Mare, the collection has long loomed as a pivotal and pinnacle work in the group's discography, but has never been officially reissued, or repressed on vinyl. Time has only ripened its tapestry of regal strangeness. Arranged sequentially in tribute to the equinoxes and solstices, Moon's Milk captures Coil at a revelatory crossroads, leaning deeper into improvisation, spontaneity, and sound design. "Moon's Milk or Under an Unquiet Skull" initiates the proceedings on Spring Equinox, a two-part netherworld organ séance woven from vocal drones, cathedral keys, seasick strings, and opiated undertow. From there, Summer Solstice skews lighter but no less incantational, with Balance embracing his voice-as-instrument across lucid dream torch songs ("Bee Stings"), purgatorial spoken word ("Glowworms/Waveforms"), sultry chamber pieces ("Summer Substructures"), and falsetto ravings ("A Warning From The Sun (For Fritz)"). Autumn Equinox exudes more of a pensive and twilit mood, from the Rose McDowall-sung folk ballad "Rosa Decidua" ("I hear your voice sing near to me / I've put away the poisoned chalice (for now) / And lie down amongst the flowerbeds") to hall-of-lords hallucination "The Auto-Asphyxiating Hierophant" to the liminal string-plucked classic "Amethyst Deceivers," featuring excellent alien guitar by Breeze layered with Balance's oft-quoted couplet: "Pay your respects to the vultures / For they are your future." The album's final chapter, Winter Solstice, is its most swooning, remote, and ceremonial. Opener "A White Rainbow" stirs strings, layered choral vocals, and shivering rhythm into an imploding burial hymn. "North" oscillates bleakly, a ghost in the machine murmuring opaque prophecy ("This black dog has no owner / This black dog has no odour"), while "Magnetic North" is its inverse, a guided meditation of gently flickering software and surreal chakra poetics ("Red rose filling the skull / Yellow cube in the lower pelvis / Silver moon crescent below the navel"). The suite fades to grey with a traditional English carol ("Christmas Is Now Drawing Near"), rendered like an executioner's song by Rose McDowall's doomed, beautiful voice. The Dais box set includes the entirety of the rare Moon's Milk Bonus Disc CD-R / 2019 Threshold Archives Copal CD, which includes three collaborations with Thighpaulsandra. This material is as rich and intoxicating as the previous four phases, ranging from electro-acoustic singing bowl rituals ("Copal") to dissonant electronic recitations of visionary Angus MacLise poetry ("The Coppice Meat") to ominous classical melancholia ("Bankside"). Once again, Coil confirm the vastness of their confounding, infinite alchemy, explored and refined across decades of experimentation - both sonic and bodily. From postindustrial to post-everything, theirs is an art untethered, in the wilds of its own design.

- Bananarama celebrate over 40 years at the top with the release of 'Glorious - The Ultimate Collection'. With 40 tracks selected by Sara and Keren themselves, the double CD album revisits every decade of the band's career, with hits including Cruel Summer, Venus, Love in the First Degree, Only Your Love, Preacher Man, Move in My Direction and more, along with two new singles, Feel The Love (released October 18) and Supernova.
- The 1LP edition features 16 tracks : singles + new remixes of classic hits and "Feel the Love" & "Supernova "for the first time on vinyl.
- Bananarama are THE original girl group. They're featured in Guinness World of Records for the most internationally charted hits by an all female band, with in excess of 30+ million sales worldwide.

VINYL (* versions on vinyl for the first time )

Chase Smith aka the W.T. Records and Apartment associate and documentary filmmaker Christa Majoras are back as brainwave research center with their second full length, Mosaic. Once again the sonically inquisitive pair mix up analogue synths with electro-acoustic experiments, epic and adventurous soundscapes and plenty of raw texture, hooky pop melodies and innocent rhythms. Along the way the duo take influence from their heroes including Ennio Morricone, John Carpenter and Kraftwerk on a record that was laid down in the back of Smith's synthesizer repair shop. It's an absorbing listen once more from this increasingly vital pair.

After humble lo-fi beginnings in the Australian Art-Pop Underground, Donny Benet has expanded his cult-like following across the Globe with a resonant Array of danceable Repertoire dealing with Love- and Affection. New album "Mr Experience" marks a new chapter, informed by a wealth of musical- and personal development.

For Mr Experience, Donny envisioned a Soundtrack to a Dinner-Party- Set in the late 1980's. While his earlier Recordings drew Inspiration from DIY Pop Conspirators such as Ariel Pink & John Maus, Donny channelled the Stylings of Bryan Ferry & Hiroshi Yoshimura as the Impetus for new Material, evident on the Intimacy found on ‘Girl Of My Dreams’ and it's lush production- with a soothing whistle-along Chorus for good Measure!

Sincerity has been a key component of Donny Benet’s output since the beginning. His songs deal with genuine Emotion served on a kitsch Platter. An alter-ego manifested in the beginning of the 2010's, Donny has blurred the Lines of Artifice to create a back- Catalogue that can embrace- and challenge, often simultaneously, - the notion of Irony in Art.

"Mr Experience" moves further away from ironic Notions as Donny explores lyrical- and musical themes which embody Observations of Maturation in his audience, his tightknit musical Community- and himself. While ‘mature’ is a term that often rings hollow as an album descriptor, the term couldn’t be more apt for Mr Experience.

Previous album The Don was created with the luxury of time. The phenomenal Response to that Album across Europe- and the United States - fuelled by accompanying Music Videos clocking in Views in the Millions- meant that there were scant Windows of Opportunity to write- and record a follow-up.

With a legacy in Sydney’s music community, working with Sarah Blasko, and tightknik collaborators Jack Ladder & Kirin J Callinan, Donny Benet is accustomed to collaboration on the Stage- and in the Studio, mostnotably on the 2014 full-length release Weekend At Donny’s.



“There is such immense talent evident in every aspect of the Donny Bene experience - the vision of the character, the steadfast adherence his narrative and the musicality of Benet himself all combine to makesomething truly genius.” - Double J, Australin.

“Donny Benet makes feminine music for everybody” - Vice, Netherlands.

“The Don does not sound like amusical copying machine”. - 3voor12 National, Netherlands.

“The set was punctuated with virtuosic solos and exquisite harmonies, and added another layer of genius to the show.
We almost couldn’t handle it... Donny for president!" - Indie Berlin.

“Everyone loves Donny Benet” - Feature in Gonzai, France.

“Phenomenal Australian Showman... Offers Top-Class Dance Music with Virtuose-Bass Guitar- and Keyboard Parts & incredible Sound-Colour feel.” - Podujatie.sk, Slovakia.

Donny has toured Europe five times since the start of 2018 and has played in the UK, Austria, Germany, Slovakia, France, Netherlands, Spain, Portugal, Belgium, Denmark, Switzerland, Czech Republic, Greece and Sweden. The Don will revisit Europe twice in 2020, once for his own headline shows in May then back again in August for festivals!

First Word Records is proud to bring you 'The Essance' - the classic debut album by Essa (formerly known as Yungun), originally released in 2004, now released on vinyl & digital for the first time, 20 years on!

A lyricist, lawyer and a Londoner, legendary MC Essa has earned praise over the years from artists such as Nas and Mark Ronson, as well as performing and recording with legends like De La Soul, Wu-Tang Clan, Guru, Slum Village and Pharoahe Monch.

This 15-track album is considered one of the greats to emerge during UK Hip Hop's "golden era"; a vibrant time for the genre when artists such as Ty, Jehst, Roots Manuva, Klashnekoff, Skinnyman, Task Force, Doc Brown and Foreign Beggars were garnering huge fanbases, and an eco-system of shops like Deal Real, club nights like Kung Fu, labels like Lowlife, and stations like Itch FM were prevalent, while BBC 1Xtra was a mere infant.

'The Essance' includes production and features from luminaries such as Harry Love, Mr Thing, Lewis Parker, Kyza, Devise & Ben Grymm, to name a few.

Esteemed author Musa Okwonga says on the reissue liner notes "the most startling thing about 'The Essance' was its range. Yungun (Essa) was one of the few MCs who could perfectly walk the paths of hope and melancholy with equal ease, whose artist name belied the wisdom of his lyrics. Beyond that, his delivery was supremely self-assured, filled with a swagger he could always justify.

Yungun's gifts also extended to the stage, where he was one of the best young actors that many of his contemporaries had seen, and to languages, which saw him writing and rhyming in Spanish with a notable flourish. He was also someone who constantly walked between two worlds, excelling in one of the country's most competitive academic environments during the day and then delivering a soaring radio set by night. Raised in a vibrant vein of North London, endlessly curious about the world around him, Yungun's fine ear for music and passion for the variety of life made him someone who could reach all audiences.

'The Essance' is a beautifully-woven meditation on the human condition, one which takes you from the dancefloor to the summer afternoon barbecue to the bathroom mirror; yet it is also the opening statement of a unique career."

In the words of Essa himself "my key goal for this album was to span so many moods and styles that I couldn't be categorised, leaving me free to then go in whatever direction I chose. I was almost too successful with this – I would later struggle to pin down my own identity, both on and off the mic, as a rapper slash lawyer, of mixed-heritage, blessed to be able to enter many circles but feeling truly at home in none. As I write this, twenty years (plus a marriage and several children) on, I finally feel more at peace with being undefinable, and am getting better at bringing my full, authentic self into as many aspects of life as I can. I am grateful to be able to look both back and forward, with equal passion."

'The Essance' was followed with a collaborative album with DJ Mr Thing ('Grown Man Business'), then some years later on First Word with 'The Misadventures of a Middle Man' in 2014. There's also a forthcoming project in the works, due for release Summer 2024 with all-new material produced by Pitch 92. Both these releases also coincide with the 20th anniversary of the First Word label (named "label of the year" at the 2019 Worldwide Awards).

A timeless piece of work, 'The Essance' is true-skool boom bap through and through that stands up two full decades later, from the ethereal anthem 'Liquid Love', to the uptempo bounce of 'Dancing Shoes', to the grit of 'The Big Idea', to the thought provoking 'What Eye See Pt.2', to bangers like 'Push' or 'Spit Fire', this is an essential addition to the collection of any discerning hip hop head.

'The Essance' is due to be released on vinyl & digital worldwide on February 23rd 2024.

Delicate and beautiful music from the combined forced of the recently ubiquitous East-Coast psychedelic combo Elkhorn and Pelt’s Mike Gangloff, laying down two epic raga-like performances captured on a 2022 collaborative tour. Gangloff—fresh from the triumph of his VHF solo fiddle album Evening Measures—has found a distinct instrumental voice, blending drone music and trad influences in way that really advances the tradition into new areas. “East Dauphin Suite” builds patiently on the interlocking acoustic guitars of the Elkhorn duo, with Gangloff’s hardanger fiddle carrying the melody over the top. The sound is a neat riff on American primitive, with just enough Appalachian-style touches via Gangloff’s careful glissandos cutting through the Vuh-type chords and patterns to create a unique and supremely melodic hybrid. “Summerfield Raga” takes things further out, with more microtonal variation in the embroidery, with assertive bowing and an increased energy level. Pressed in Chicago and housed in an amazing jacket by Jake Blanchard.

Discover the 3rd Album of The emblematic Crew Africanism All Stars led by Bob Sinclair and featuring, among others, Yves Larock, Joachim Garraud, Tony Allen, David Guetta... Includes the Hits "Summer Moon", "Viet Dao REmix" and "Sye Bea"

Dez Dare ventures further into the void than ever before on his 4th album and the 1st to be released via God Unknown Records, ‘A Billion Goats. A Billion Sparks. Fin.’. On past records Dare has fought beasts and beats alike, waging a fuzz war and tackling the biggest topics the world has to face; Doom scrolling, capitalist demagogues, a passionate dislike of the beach in summer. On this record he leaves the sardonic frustration behind for sarcastic existentialism, zeroing in on the big philosophical questions, and the pedantic shards of nonsense that make up our existence. Piling up the synths, noise boxes and guitar pedals, Dez set about building a soundscape of noise and ideas around the nature of reality, time, and how we interact with them. From the music you would play in your last moments, to the reverse Darwinism of modern society, to arguing with time itself, and very boring people talking at you, all is covered here for the aspiring existentialist. The self-produced Australian has spent over 3 decades producing music, releasing and touring bands, and doing live sound for z-grade metal bands. Growing up in the coastal town of Geelong (Djilang) in Australia, he was introduced to the DIY punk and rock scene at 15 and this community and the ideas rooted in the underground music scene have guided his output and ethics throughout his career. This year Dez will be joining forces with label titans God Unknown (Cassels / Duke Garwood / James Johnston + Steve Gullick / KLÄMP / Oneida / Oneida / Laura Loriga / Monster Magnet / Wellwater Conspiracy Soundgarden + Monster Magnet) and will be producing a deluxe version of the release that will include a 12 page comic illustrated by long time collaborator Mike Keane. Across the drone of noise and washed out guitars of the final track, ‘A Billion Voices Screaming, Hello Void!’, the chant repeats “We all return to where we begun...” which encapsulates the message that Dare delivers. We are all made from the same stardust and we all return to the universe that spat us out, we just need to enjoy the many shards of nonsense on that swift descent into the void...with wizards painted on the side." MAXIMUM ROCKNROLL "Early 90s-inspired take on DEVO punk... high energy sucker punches on your ear." Weirdo Shrine "Sludgey-grungey-fuzzed psychedelic-noiserock... I like the fact that despite all the edgy complexity, catchy songs emerge again and again."