Search:super flu

Edita's fourth vinyl release contains three tracks already released digitally, Stereocalypse's engaging version of Prince's The Future, Freshim's 90s rave reinterpretation of Supertramp's "Goodbye Stranger," and the elegant vision of Kajagoogoo's "Oh to Be Ahh" by maestro Roman Flugel, plus, as a bonus vinyl only, a brilliant Red Axes version of "Locomia," the band of the same name that hit Spain in the 80s.

"Raise your swords up high: BLOODBOUND march into a powerful future with Field Of Swords, out November 21st via Napalm Records. Twenty years after the release of their debut album, the Swedish warriors stand taller than ever on the front line of epic power metal, delivering their most modern work yet. Most recently drawn to the Viking era, the latest concept album Field Of Swords turns the page to another chapter in history, moving past the year 1066 and into the Middle Ages. As warfare evolves and the significance of forging iron with carbon leads to superior swordsmen, the bloodstained battlefields show new, grim faces, leaving room for more of BLOODBOUND’s vivid storytelling that continues to thrill audiences at countless live shows around the globe. BLOODBOUND’s first release with Napalm Records adds another 11 captivating battle hymns to their repertoire. A diverse record with aggressive songs and epic tracks alike, their eleventh album also contains some of the band’s fastest material ever written. The opening title track, “Field Of Swords”, immediately storms into BLOODBOUND’s signature sound, braiding stories of glory with a sweeping blend of melodic and heavy power metal. The dominant “As Empires Fall” follows the crusaders east and powerfully depicts said glory in epic battle in contrast with sacrifices made on the way. “Defenders Of Jerusalem” cleverly expands on the topic of loss, leaving listeners to wonder which side is holding their heads up high in the face of imminent defeat. Catchy flutes have the heroes take heart in “The Code Of Warriors” to guide them into the “Land Of The Brave” and Field Of Swords to new heights at the same time. “Light In The Sky” further illustrates BLOODBOUND’s battle scars turned electrifying sound, while the mature “Teutonic Knights” opens up the bleak reality of the tragedy that undoubtedly accompanies this battle-torn era of history. Yet, “Forged In Iron”, “Pain and Glory”, and “Born to be King” hold their ground as equally unforgettable tunes, all leading up to the brilliant finale: Brittney Slayes of powerhouse Canadian band UNLEASH THE ARCHERS joins “The Nine Crusades” as another valuable fighter to lead Field Of Swords to greatness. BLOODBOUND’s latest triumphant march impressively illustrates the importance of purpose and perseverance with heroic tales in shining heavy metal armor.

Green Vinyl. Twenty-five years after their first recording, Panzerpappa - perhaps Norway's most cordial avant-prog ensemble - felt the time had finally come to release their first-ever concept album. In 2025 the band will launch Landsbysladder, their eighth studio release. Landsbysladder is Norwegian for "village gossip" and the album comprises seven instrumental pieces centred on the themes of rumours, tales, and gossip in a small village - a musical chronicle of minor and major dramas unfolding in a tight-knit community where everyone knows everyone - or at least thinks they do. Landsbysladder tells a vivid story without uttering a single word. The music shifts between open, melodic passages and sudden bursts of intensity, drive, and complexity. Tempo changes, rhythmic twists, and harmonic detours mirror the unpredictable way gossip can spread, grow, and shift the mood in an instant. The album features several distinguished guest musicians: renowned folk artist Rannveig Djonne on diatonic accordion, seasoned performer Silje Hveem Lofthus on flute, internationally acclaimed soloist and professor Håkon Stene on tuned percussion, Håkon Borve on the rarely heard contra-alto clarinet, and last but not least, jazz luminary Ståle Storlokken - known from Elephant9, Terje Rypdal, Motorpsycho, and Supersilent - on synthesizer.

【Record Day 2025 Item】
Akira Miyazawa, a master of Japanese jazz who left behind such important works as “Yamamegyo”, “Iwana” and “Kiso” a work that recalls the original
landscape of Japan, has created a unique work based on “ninkyo eiga uta”, “enka” and “gunka”, with all songs arranged by Masao Yagi in jazz rock/rare
groove style!

The theme of “Abashiri Bangaichi” is supported by an inert flute, giving it an Ethiopian funk flavor. The Latin jazz-rock style of “Ryutensha” with its impressive
congas and vibraphone. “Zatoichi Lullaby” which starts with a superb groove from the introductory drum break and features a smooth and lustrous saxophone...
each of these songs is a unique Japanese groove sound spectacle with a mysterious combination of sounds.

Regrettably, the personal credit for “Soul Leon” is unknown, but its tight sound image and strong groove have led some to suggest that it may have been recorded
on the eve of the formation of Sound Limited, given the timing of its release in 1969.

Embrace The Abandon is the new project by THE MON, the solo vision of Urlo, vocalist, bassist, and founding member of the Italian heavy-psych veterans Ufomammut.

Structured in two complementary chapters — Songs of Abandon (November 7th, 2025) and Songs of Embrace (March 6th, 2026) — the project tells a journey of duality: loss and surrender on one side, acceptance and rebirth on the other.
The first chapter, Songs of Abandon, is perhaps the most intimate and vulnerable work Urlo has ever created.
Born in a moment of solitude and personal darkness, the album originated from a radical exercise: writing one song a day, for nine consecutive days, using only acoustic guitar and voice.
A collection of stripped-down, emotionally raw ballads. Rooted in acoustic textures and intimate songwriting, these songs explore loss, vulnerability, and the quiet spaces left behind — a personal exorcism of what could have been but never was.
Later, these sketches were shaped into fully realized tracks, with lyrics and subtle layers of sound — not to overwhelm, but to underline the fragile, raw atmosphere that pervades them. The result is a stripped-down, emotionally charged collection that embodies an inner search: the power of music as a tool to face abandonment, to dig into oneself, and ultimately to glimpse the possibility of an embrace.
With Embrace The Abandon, THE MON reaffirms itself as one of the most personal and uncompromising projects.
It is a body of work that fuses vulnerability and strength, speaking directly to the listener with sincerity, leading them through shadow towards light.
An intimate yet powerful sound experience, intertwining the minimalism of acoustic folk with the dark, visionary tension that has always defined Urlo’s artistic path.

The perfect accompaniment to that deep fall feeling, Frank Maston's beloved 2025 single finally gets its long overdue vinyl release! As our friends New Commute articulated beautifully, "Foreign Affairs" drifts through London fog and Paris shimmer, its avant-lounge glow wrapping each melody in a wistful ache. On B-side "Liaison," ghostly strings and a solitary piano paint a deserted twilight shoreline, Pacôme Henry's distinct 16mm cinematography hovering nearby." We've pressed just 500 of these gorgeous records so, be quick, Maston always flies.

Originally written for a film Maston was scoring in 2024, he decided to keep it aside for himself. And, well, us all. The song has a vibe Maston has previously flirted with; he wanted to dive in...all the way: "The arrangement is huge, definitely the biggest I've written, and it merited live musicians playing together. Also another experiment, to do it with all live musicians playing my arrangements. I wanted to make something that you'd want to put on when you bring a date back to your place. It's on the edge of sappy but that's sort of the point. I decided to give myself an unlimited budget - just spend whatever was necessary to get the right musicians and record it the best way possible."

It's this dedication to sonic perfection which Maston is rightly lauded for. We couldn't not put this on a cute wee 7" when we heard it.

The A side, "Foreign Affairs", is a brilliant, Bacharach-esque romp with a bit of that unapologetically romantic Morricone angle. Says Frank: "I was trying to synthesize that sort of jazzy/sexy/classy/romantic mature sound, where the edginess is in these surprising chord changes and subtle arrangement cues."

A wonderful complement, the flipside "Liaison", evokes Martin Denny, but Eden's Island was in Frank's head, too. He wanted to take a deep dive into that exotica sound - a genre he'd referenced a bit but never fully committed to - so the piece is lavished with those big sighing strings and a pretty lush arrangement. Happily, it all sounds super rich. Also, "Umiliani is always a reference for this sort of thing (Il Corpo etc.), That almost mechanical arrangement of things moving together and a simple melody over it (something I nicked from Ennio)".

The two songs were recorded in Paris and London in the summer of 2024. Aside from the rhythm section and piano, there's vibraphone, a full string section, trombones and alto and concert flutes. "Liaison" boasts strings, vibraphone, a female choir and tenor sax. Maston played piano and acoustic guitar but that's it (as opposed to playing basically everything on Tulips). His friend Oscar Sholto Robertson played drums and percussion whilst Maston mainstay Elie Ghersinu (formerly of L'Eclair) played bass.

The theme for a lot of Maston's titles is that they have two meanings. So "Foreign Affairs" is both a reference to him living abroad and the idea of constant cultural diplomacy and then there's this sexy/cheeky interpretation of foreign affairs in a literal way - "an affair abroad, ooh la la!". The artwork for this 7" single has Roman campaign flags, referencing the foreign affairs in sort of a sassy way. There's a violence implied. But then if you look from a bit of a distance it looks like a bouquet of flowers. So Frank thought it went with the spirit of the title. Also, he's used a lot of roman motifs now so he kept that theme going, even with the terracotta cover.

This is a vitally important project for our Frank. He explains why, here: "For whatever reason, these songs really resonated with me. I feel like they are either the end of a stylistic era for me or the beginning of a new one. They're sonically the culmination of what I'd been working towards and trying to get better at since I started. If I heard this when I was making Tulips I would have said "YES! *This* is what I want to be doing!". So that's the essence of it. It's a statement and the intended reaction is "This is really good, but why now?". Like the edge to it is the context of someone making this sort of thing in 2025, which I think is a huge strength. The real heads will get it. My music always has like a 2-3 year latency until people really catch onto it, and these ones will have a nice payoff I think."

We couldn't put it better ourselves. So we haven't.

SML is the quintet of bassist Anna Butterss, synthesist Jeremiah Chiu, saxophonist Josh Johnson, percussionist Booker Stardrum, and guitarist Gregory Uhlmann. Their second album, How You Been, finds the supergroup of prolific composer/producers pushing ever further into the hyperrealist, collectivist approach to music creation nascently explored on their debut Small Medium Large, which was lauded as "awe-inspiring" by Glide, "exuberant" by the Los Angeles Times, and "an exciting milestone" by Pitchfork. As SML has evolved and spread out in space-time, their fluencies, both as an improvising unit in performance and as a production team in the studio, have sharpened. At inception the band inspired disparate but distinctive artist comparisons like Essential Logic, Oval, Herbie Hancock"s Sextant, and electric Miles Davis, as well as assorted genre touchpoints like Afrobeat, kosmiche, proto-techno and new-jazz. With How You Been their work manages to both collapse and explode such derivatives, displaying a new, high resolution version of SML, fully-flowered into a new strain of sound, bound to incite its own copycats in due time.

Long-time NuNorthern Soul contributor, B.J. Smith is a man in demand, dividing his time between solo work, playing guitar in Crazy P man James Baron’s popular JIM outfit, collaborating in a variety of well-regarded projects (Smith & Mudd, Bison and White Elephant amongst them) and composing for TV. Due to this impressive list of musical commitments, solo releases have been few and far between of late, with Smith’s most recent NuNorthern Soul release, a stripped back version of his Big Sur single, dropping late 2023.

It's been ever longer since he delivered a volume in his popular and ongoing Dedications To The Greats series, where the singer-songwriter and composer successfully turns his hand to other people’s songs. Since debuting the series on NuNorthern Soul in 2013 via revelatory and inspired covers of tracks by Mos Def and the Pharcyde, Smith has covered cuts by Outkast, Prefab Sprout and Soul II Soul.

On volume four, Smith’s first volume in the series for five years, he delivers a “cover of a cover” – a revolutionary and imaginative interpretation of Billy Swan’s ‘Don’t Be Cruel’, itself a version of a song first made famous by Elvis Presley. It was their mutual love of Swan’s version that brought Smith together with the release’s most prominent guest artist, Joe Harvey-Whyte, whose lilting, bittersweet and deeply emotive pedal steel performances can be heard across the EP.

Smith provides three contrasting takes. The EP is led by the ‘Mother Earth’ version, a slowly unfurling epic in which waves of effects-laden pedal steel and sun-splashed picking acoustic guitars usher in Smith’s eyes-closed vocalisations, settling into a groove reminiscent of his collaborative work with long-time friend and collaborator Paul ‘Mudd’ Murphy that showcases Harvey-Whyte centre stage to joyful effect. As the 14-minute epic progresses, we’re treated to long, languid electric guitar solos, percussion-laden slow-motion builds and hazy, stretched-out organ solos. It’s a breathlessly brilliant concoction that’s a million miles away from either Swan or Presley’s versions.

In contrast, the similarly epic ‘Earth Heart’ version – available in full vocal and instrumental takes – pushes the song front and centre. Following an extended build up, where Tamar Osborn’s gorgeous and fluid flute motifs rub shoulders with languid guitar solos and Harvey-Whyte’s pedal steel, Smith takes to the mic, delivering an emotive performance of the song’s heartfelt lyrics over a hushed, slow-motion groove. The track builds in waves as it progresses, with Smith layering up instrumentation as it rolls towards a fine conclusion.

Completing a superb package is the ‘Root Heart Version’, a Balearic-meets-Americana take built around shuffling drums, toasty bass guitar, extended pedal steel instrumentation, flashes of flute and Smith’s sun-bright acoustic guitar. Loved-up and more than a little saucer-eyed, it’s a bona-fide sunset delight.

Originally released on Mon 22 August 2005, the Furries’ third and final album to be recorded by Epic Records, Love Kraft is to be reissued on double vinyl, 2CDs, including the 22-track bonus CD, Kiss Me With Apocalypse and digital formats on Fri 24 October 2025 via the Cardiff-based independent label, Strangetown Records. Four previously unheard tracks are drawn from the vaults, including the squidgy ELO-stomp of drummer, Daf Ieuan-led Rock ‘N’ Roll Flu, plus the distorted space-jam of Cae Marw, the band’s deep-bass sketch of Palo Alto and ghostly, percussive morsel of Bedw Arian.

The album followed six previous albums by the band, including their statement debut album, Fuzzy Logic in 1996, melding an attention-demanding mix of literary, narcotic and musical influences. Maintaining a shape that was ill-fitting in the jigsaw of other 90’s guitar bands, their follow-up, UK Top Ten album, Radiator brought the hooky squelch of the bona fide indie dancefloor classic, The International Language of Screaming. The next decade saw the release of the first Top 20-charting, Welsh language album, Mwng (2000), followed by further experimentation and commercial success with Rings Around The World (2001) and Phantom Power (2003).

Love Kraft’s sense of cohesion, collaboration and free-flow of rich harmony has been credited to the five-piece escaping Wales to record in the shimmering heat of Figueres, Catalunya. Bringing famed Beastie Boys producer, Mario Caldato Jr along with them for the ride, the travelling band’s stay in the Catalonian hometown of Salvador Dali included found sounds, boozy petrol stations, gastronomic revelations and, finally, a rich album of strings, synths and opulent vocal harmonies.

While eventually finding their way to Baha, near to Rio di Janeiro to mix the album Love Kraft’s story began in Wales and Pleasure Foxxx Studios, where the band began to craft the album’s songs. Embracing the landmark of a seventh album, notably coming after the 2004 release of their first ‘best of…’ package, Songbook: The Singles, Vol. 1, Super Furry Animals pooled ideas and affected further democracy in their songwriting, taking a load off traditional lead-writer and front man, Gruff Rhys, and sharing in lead vocal duties (aside from the microphone-averse bassist, Guto Pryce).

Love Kraft was the first Super Furry Animals album recorded to hard disc instead of multi-track tape, and found the band typically explorative and open to happenstance. Zoom’s opening splash into the recording studio’s swimming pool is accompanied by the on-location, pool table samples found elsewhere on the album.

Updated packaging features the original, meticulously built diorama design by long-time collaborator Pete Fowler. Constructed by hand in his studio, complete with bulb-lit illumination, then photographed, the sleeve’s depiction of a monolith-rich desert landscape reflects the sense of other space and time depicted by Love Kraft’s woozy songs. The final sleeve design again comes courtesy of Mark James.

Auf 500 Stück limitierte 2025er Nachpressung vom 2013er La Luz Debütalbum auf rotem Vinyl. LA LUZ aus Seattle sind cool. Doch ihre Art der Coolness hat nichts mit Distanz oder Arroganz zu tun; es ist eine Laune und irgendetwas in ihrer Musik passt zum düsteren, unwirklichen Duft sterbender Monde und Schatten. Diese Art von Coolness. Was LA LUZ da besonders macht, ist die Verkörperung des am wenigsten definierten Eckchens des menschlichen Daseins: Sehnsucht und die flüchtige Erleichterung, die mit tiefster Sehnsucht einhergeht. Auf Spanisch steht LA LUZ für ,Licht" und das ist der perfekte Ausblick, wenn die Songs der Band eigentlich in die gegenteilige Richtung streben. Doch wenn man die Texte ausblendet - eine gute Entschuldigung, den vierteiligen Harmonien noch mehr Gehör zu schenken - findet man die Unwegbarkeiten und Schmerzen von Liebe und Verlust und die Gewissheit, dass nichts im Leben für immer ist, vorgetragen mit einer perfekt ausbalancierten Heiterkeit, die fast den Eindruck entstehen lässt, dass am Ende doch alles Sinn macht. Im letzten Frühjahr begaben sich LA LUZ in einen dunstigen Trailerpark, um ,It's Alive" mit ihrem Freund und Toningenieur Johnny Goss aufzunehmen. Vom ersten Drumroll und den unheimlichen Akkorden von ,Sure A Spring" an - einem angekratzten Popjuwel, das das Album einläutet - bewegt sich das Album wie eine langsame Fahrt auf schwieriger Strecke, die sich schlängelt und abfällt, während sich das Terrain verändert. ,What Good Am I?" erinnert mit dem Leadgesang und den dazu passenden Harmonien an den Superhit von MAZZY STAR. Mittendrin findet sich der Titeltrack. ,It's Alive" ist ein klingender Rocker mit unheimlichem Refrain, einem großen Batzen ,ooohs" und einer umschweifigen Geschichte, die die vernebelte Logik vom Rest des Albums aufgreift. Zwei Instrumentalstrücke, ,Sunstroke" und ,Phantom Feeling" zeigen, dass die Band über den echten Surf Sound Bescheid weiß und passen perfekt zum unterkühlten Herzschmerz um sie herum.

The Keith Tippett Group's Dedicated to You, But You Weren't Listening is a landmark in cutting edge fusion/avant-jazz. A vital and profoundly adventurous Jazz-Rock record that still swings very hard, it was first released on Vertigo in 1971.

Original copies are now very tricky to score and, as most of you really should know, it’s aged ridiculously well.

A legendary work, this Be With re-issue has been newly remastered from the original Vertigo master tapes, demonstrating just why this deserves to be back in press. The stunning gatefold jacket fully restores Roger and Martyn Dean's original, arresting album artwork to complete this must-have reissue.

Alive and bursting with a joyful energy that has to be heard to be believed, Dedicated to You, But You Weren't Listening flirts with perfection. It's truly magical and forever essential.

A brilliant jazz pianist, composer, arranger and bandleader "who could make the outlands of modern music feel like the most hospitable of places" (The Guardian), Keith Tippett's second album is oft-regarded as his Canterbury album.

Indeed, not only does he draw heavily on Soft Machine members past, present and future but the album title itself archly references a Soft Machine composition. Ray Babbington handles bass alongside Neville Whitehead and the drums are shared between Brian Spring (Nucleus), Robert Wyatt(!) and Phil Howard (who would go on to replace Wyatt in Soft Machine). Gary Boyle (Isotope) is on guitar whilst the great percussionist Tony Uter is enlisted for his conga and cow bell expertise. Elton Dean on Alto Saxello, cornetist Marc Charig and Nick Evans on trombone round out this quite stunning ensemble.

Dedicated to You, But You Weren't Listening presents a collective of superhuman musicians really, *really* enjoying themselves in the studio. The sheer exuberance of the performance is totally infectious. It's wild, energetic, atmospheric and, bluntly, bordering on chaotic at points. In a word, it's beautiful.

Robert Wyatt's drumming opens the record with a bang on the majestic Be With favourite "This Is What Happens". Some have described his work here as "easily the most inspired of his career on record." It's an ultra-funky conga-driven groove that truly sparks via the duelling interplay between the three horn players. In the background, Keith's insistent piano, in conversation with those unignorable drums, is the anchor that keeps this piece rollicking away. Breathtaking.

The epic, energetic "Thoughts to Geoff" is a 10-minute jammer that tends towards the dissonant and improvisational but becomes more fluid, laconic and melodic as it unravels. The interplay between soloists and ensembles is particularly dazzling here - blazing solos by Evans, Charig and Tippett himself in a flourish of angular arpeggios interspersed with chordal elocution. Phew.

Up next, the no less-urgent Mingus-referencing "Green and Orange Night Park" is a soaring example of ambitious jazz mixed with rock aggression, with Dean strutting his stuff by launching into a scorching solo. An absolutely jaw-dropping piece. Arguably the highlight of this album of huge highlights!

Though much of the album tends to fall on the raucous side ("Gridal Suite" approaches free-jazz at its most chaotic and, dare we say it, "difficult"), there are a few more sedate, at times spacey numbers, such as the deeply impressionistic "Five After Dawn". The rhythmically complex "Black Horse" is the most accessible track here, a sort of swinging Big Band number with tight grooves, soaring horn & reed melodies, a sizzling Boyle guitar solo and tasty electric piano riffs from Tippett. An hypnotic climax to a staggering record.

This Be With edition of Dedicated to You, But You Weren't Listening has been re-mastered from the original Vertigo master tapes, Simon Francis’ mastering working together with Cicely Balston's cut at Abbey Road Studios to weave their usual magic with these wonderful recordings. The stunning gatefold sleeve has been restored in all its brainchild glory so you know you're dealing with the definitive reissue, here. Now, are you listening?

Burnski's Pilot takes flight once more with another journey into the heart of minimal and tech house, this time with Joolmad at the buttons. He is a UK artist making bold moves on the likes of Pillz and TSOL where he has showcased a contemporary take on the classic tech sound. 'Superlative' opens up here with bouncy drums and steel percussion to get things moving then 'Wobbler' gets more playful with some twisted acid lines and silky synth wisps that keep things trippy. 'Gone For' is more of a straight up driver with thudding kicks and warped sirens and 'Yurgen' has a woozy late night fluidity to it.

Spanish label MATE always deals in house that is deep but seriously musical and classy. Glenn Davis is next up to keep that tradition going and does so with spine-tingling vocal soul on opener 'To Believe,' which taps into classic early Chicago sounds. 'Reality Check' is a balmy follow up with painterly synths and persuasive stabs, while 'True To Yourself' rides on a gentle broken beat with Italo piano chords adding a retro 90s feel. Completing the trip is the deep space odyssey 'Don't Be Misled', which is infused with glowing, golden chords and super soft and fluffy acid modulations.

Give It Up Or Turnit a Loose (Edit) by James Brown b/w Web (Edit) by Hampton Hughes / Give It Up or Turnit a Loose (Bonus Breaks) by James Brown| Galaxy Sound Company — GSC45-044, test pressing | The long-running @galaxy_sound_company imprint has been responsible for some superb re-edits over the years, most of which are pleasingly purist in tone — meaning they are pro rearrangements with no added effects but & needless new beats or cheap trickery like so many out there— making any of their releases cop-on-site. & as you can hear from the test pressing, the 44th in the stellar series delivers yet again.

Side A is a masterclass in breakbeat editing of a b-boy classic sample source. Yes, there are many killer JB edits out in the universe, but when you see that the legendary Black Cash & Theo AKA Thelonious Beats take a turn, you know you gotta cop this mutha on site. Here the edit master bravely returns to one of the main sources of the dawn of hip-hop — JB’s comp “In The Jungle Groove” which was released in 1986 to capitalize on it’s popularity in the genre at the time. The comp is named for a breakdown section that appears in “Give It Up Or Turnit a Loose” which is the workout we have here. JB quiets the band down to handclaps, footstomps & congas played by Johnny Griggs. After he raps a little, JB cues legendary drummer Clyde Stubblefield back in, followed by bassist Bootsy Collins & the rest of the band. JB wasn’t intentionally trying to create a perfect batch of hip-hop samples in the late 60s & early 70s, but he couldn’t have succeeded any better if he had been. This edit may enter well-worn territory but he uniquely delivers an edit that showcases why it inspired so many & still delivers the goods to help you get your party started off right & quickly.

Next up on the flipside we are treated to an edit of “Web” by Hampton Hughes, from his 1974 David Axelrod produced & arranged album “Northern Windows”. Heads will recall it as the core sample for “Off the Record” by Hieroglyphics, from the 1998 LP “3rd Eye Vision”. This jazz-funk burner features a stellar line-up:
Piano/keyboards = Hawes
Trumpet = Allen DeRienzo, Snooky Young
Trombone = George Bohanon
Sax/flute = Jackie Kelso, Jay Migliori, William Green
Electric Bass = Carol Kaye
Drums = Spider Webb

But wait, GSC ain’t done yet! We get some bonus beats from the A-side. Another reason why doubles are highly recommended when you need assistance in your set.

Lucas Chantre, aka WORLD BRAIN, last graced us with a solo release half a decade ago, with 2019’s Peer 2 Peer. As its name suggests, that album explored the promise and perils of universal connectivity via quirked-up songwriting and instrumental psychedelia. His new release, Open Source, deepens this internal and external journey. Bursting beyond the four walls of ‘bedroom pop’ and reflecting a move from Berlin to Paris—where much of the album was recorded—and on to Brussels, the album has a jazzy, cinematic scope (as on the Brubeck-inspired march “Fromage collatéral,”) enveloping the listener in a cosmic-pastoral audiosphere.

There are still many tones that evoke the software sounds of decades past (the exemplar here is “cAPTCHA,” whose virtual marimba and vocalese suggest a breathless, Exotica-inspired introduction .mov for the information superhighway) but the palette has become richer and more organic, lead by the woodwinds which play a major role throughout, with flute provided by labelmate Martha Rose. (On the aforementioned “cAPTCHA” one also hears the world-class whistling talents of the incomparable Molly Lewis.)

Yet the single most noticeable new element may be the use of Chantre’s native French, sung by his sister on “Ville fleurie” and the gorgeous, fluttering “Minute papillion” (the title an idiomatic injunction to slow down!) Chantre initially wrote these lyrics in English, but felt something wasn’t quite right, only realizing what was off when he heard them sung in another language. That spirit of discovery – of finding a new spark in returning home – suffuses Open Source. It invites us to play, beckons us to relax, reminds us to find serenity amidst the churn of the present: minute papillon, dans le tourbillon.

Rivet’s new album for Editions Mego is an uplifting and joyous affair coming in the wake of tragedy and disenchantment. It is yet another rebirth from an artist willing to take a step back and reprise the current situation he is in. Mika Hallbäck has a long credible history in the Swedish underground. First recognised for his industrial techno works under the Grovskopa moniker he worked privately on more experimental works that eventually came out as On Feather and Wire, an album released on Editions Mego in 2020. After much acclaim for this bold new direction that blended electronic abstraction, pop and industrial forms into a heavy synthetic trip two tragedies struck. One was the passing of label boss Peter Rehberg and then the passing of his dog Lilo, who was as close as a companion one could have. These events led to the release of the more unsettling follow up L+P-2 (Lilo and Pita minus two) on Midnight Shift Records in 2023. Peck Glamour sees Rivet return to the reawakened Editions Mego with an album of optimism inspired by reconciliation with loss and further explorations of new mental/sonic realms.

Hallbäck defines his approach as not being married to any particular machine, instrument, process or genre. However he holds a particular affinity to sampling, of which, he says, provides the dirt and grit amongst what would otherwise be pristine, generic machine music. The contemporary crate digging method of scouring obscure download music bogs for unique sounds was his preferred research practice.

Peck Glamour is an album full of tracks brimming with the excitement of exploration. It's the results of a mind informed by punk, industrial, techno, dancefloor, disappointment, trauma and rebirth. Here the synthetic and authentic is viewed simply as the same means of human rationale and expression.

The opening, ‘Catch Up to Light’, sets the scene with ecstatic and odd fluorescent vocals sliding amongst crystalline likembe whilst synths swirl amongst the external festivities. ‘Orbiting Empty Cocoon’ is somewhat a homage to the alien sound worlds of The Orb, one which takes the listener deeper into a mind melting array of teased potential as visual elements are executed in a mask of audio wizardry and euphoric staccato rhythms, the later being a nod to Singeli music. ‘Patitur Butcher’ is more dance frontal utilising the Ghatam drum and a YouTube rip of a Chinese language lesson. ‘Plastic Bag Putain’ was made during the beginning of Russia's invasion of Ukraine and should be clear of its intent. ‘All that Heaven Allows’ is a marimba cover of an imaginary Love Parade anthem. 'Kyrie Geire’ potentially briefly fills the void left by the demise of Coil. The entire trip of Peck Glamour is sewn up with ‘We left before we came’ whereby extraneous recordings of double bass player Gregory Vartian-Foss (tuning/strumming/moving the bass) are superimposed with local field recordings to create a gorgeous bed of sounds acting as an exciting exit music to this sharp collection of cinematic ear excursions.

Miles Davis' Final Collaboration with Arranger Gil Evans Yields Watershed Innovations: Flamenco-Themed Sketches of Spain Spins Graceful Webs of Sound and Emotion Mobile Fidelity's UltraDisc One-Step 180g 33RPM LP Set Brings Out the Record's Full Spectrum of Color: 65th Anniversary Edition Pressed at Fidelity Record Pressing and Strictly Limited to 5,000 Numbered Copies 1/4" / 15 IPS analogue master to DSD 64 to analogue console to lathe Miles Davis and Gil Evans bridged styles and collaborated on high-concept projects three different times during their celebrated careers. For their final act, they created Sketches of Spain, a peak moment in each luminary's legacy.

The transformative album weds Spanish themes, lush orchestrations, romantic timbres, and Davis' lyrical methods in a tender ceremony that resonates more than six decades after its original release. Part of Mobile Fidelity's Miles Davis restoration series, this 1960 landmark has been afforded the ultimate white-gloves treatment for its 65th anniversary. Sourced from the original master tapes, strictly limited to 5,000 numbered copies, and pressed at Fidelity Record Pressing, this UltraDisc One-Step 33RPM 180g LP set dramatically expands the soundstages and eradicates a dryness that many critics found inhibitive to the record's enjoyment. You can now hear the full-range responsiveness of the woodwinds, strings, and percussion, all of which come alive with superior definition and detail.

The beautiful presentation of this UD1S set befits the record's historical importance. Housed in a deluxe slipcase, it features a special foil-stamped jacket and faithful-to-the-original graphics that illuminate the splendor of the 1960 LP. This reissue is made for discerning listeners who desire to fully immerse themselves with the album. And who wouldn't want to go deep with Sketches of Spain? Whether it is the somber mood piece "Concierto de Aranjuez," renowned for Davis' flugelhorn performance, or the folktale-based "Solea," Sketches of Spain transfixes with playing, ideas, and innovations exclusive to this incomparable effort. It's one reason why Mobile Fidelity's engineers took all available measures to insert listeners into the space originally occupied by Davis, bassist Paul Chambers, drummer Jimmy Cobb, percussionist Elvin Jones, and an 18-piece orchestra. The results are as breathtaking as the music.

Multi-note motifs, brief improvisational solos, fanfare sweeps, and contrapuntal exchanges inform flamenco-spiced pieces. Davis' famous Harmon-muted trumpet is complemented by an assortment of bassoons and French horns. Heard together, they create pleasing contrasts and sounds (pp, mf, ppp) that get to what resides at the heart of Sketches of Spain: color. Seldom, if ever, did Davis ever so expressively and liberally paint with color. And in Evans, he has a likewise-minded partner to help draw out tones, shades, layers, and textures. What they achieved continues to draw praise from the global music community in the 21st century. Ranked #358 on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time, deemed "a work of unparalleled grace and lyricism" by noted scribe J.D. Considine, bestowed a five-star review from DownBeat, and noted by Q to have taken "jazz in a new direction," the Grammy Award-winning effort has never been better.Miles Davis' Final Collaboration with Arranger Gil Evans Yields Watershed Innovations: Flamenco-Themed Sketches of Spain Spins Graceful Webs of Sound and Emotion Mobile Fidelity's UltraDisc One-Step 180g 33RPM LP Set Brings Out the Record's Full Spectrum of Color: 65th Anniversary Edition Pressed at Fidelity Record Pressing and Strictly Limited to 5,000 Numbered Copies 1/4" / 15 IPS analogue master to DSD 64 to analogue console to lathe Miles Davis and Gil Evans bridged styles and collaborated on high-concept projects three different times during their celebrated careers.

For their final act, they created Sketches of Spain, a peak moment in each luminary's legacy. The transformative album weds Spanish themes, lush orchestrations, romantic timbres, and Davis' lyrical methods in a tender ceremony that resonates more than six decades after its original release. Part of Mobile Fidelity's Miles Davis restoration series, this 1960 landmark has been afforded the ultimate white-gloves treatment for its 65th anniversary. Sourced from the original master tapes, strictly limited to 5,000 numbered copies, and pressed at Fidelity Record Pressing, this UltraDisc One-Step 33RPM 180g LP set dramatically expands the soundstages and eradicates a dryness that many critics found inhibitive to the record's enjoyment. You can now hear the full-range responsiveness of the woodwinds, strings, and percussion, all of which come alive with superior definition and detail. The beautiful presentation of this UD1S set befits the record's historical importance. Housed in a deluxe slipcase, it features a special foil-stamped jacket and faithful-to-the-original graphics that illuminate the splendor of the 1960 LP.

This reissue is made for discerning listeners who desire to fully immerse themselves with the album. And who wouldn't want to go deep with Sketches of Spain? Whether it is the somber mood piece "Concierto de Aranjuez," renowned for Davis' flugelhorn performance, or the folktale-based "Solea," Sketches of Spain transfixes with playing, ideas, and innovations exclusive to this incomparable effort. It's one reason why Mobile Fidelity's engineers took all available measures to insert listeners into the space originally occupied by Davis, bassist Paul Chambers, drummer Jimmy Cobb, percussionist Elvin Jones, and an 18-piece orchestra. The results are as breathtaking as the music. Multi-note motifs, brief improvisational solos, fanfare sweeps, and contrapuntal exchanges inform flamenco-spiced pieces. Davis' famous Harmon-muted trumpet is complemented by an assortment of bassoons and French horns. Heard together, they create pleasing contrasts and sounds (pp, mf, ppp) that get to what resides at the heart of Sketches of Spain: color. Seldom, if ever, did Davis ever so expressively and liberally paint with color. And in Evans, he has a likewise-minded partner to help draw out tones, shades, layers, and textures. What they achieved continues to draw praise from the global music community in the 21st century. Ranked #358 on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time, deemed "a work of unparalleled grace and lyricism" by noted scribe J.D. Considine, bestowed a five-star review from DownBeat, and noted by Q to have taken "jazz in a new direction," the Grammy Award-winning effort has never been better.

Monaberry Vinyl 002 ain knit from Sears. All artists wear it because it stretches for fit and it‘s styled for fashion.
Super Flu, NIIXII, Made In TLV, Goom Gum x Dancing On Lego and Derun are pretty savvy. They know how to dress fashionably
and comfortably. The second VA vinyl fills the bill. Consider the selection: 4 tracks, patterns and styles. And the Perma-Prest
baseline: it‘s a Monaberry polyester and triacetate knit for stretch comfort around the collar, across the shoulders and body.
Everybody has the comfort features that make music comfortable. See these great-looking Monaberry shirts now at most
stores, in the regular and Big and Tall catalogs

Fletcher heads up the Social Currency label but you may also know him from his superb work with Mosaic boss Steve O'Sullivan. It's no wonder then that he calls up his dub techno buddy for the second outing here. They kick off with 'Flutter' which is a minimal dub masterpiece with light and airy synths, yep, fluttering up top above rooted, rolling drums. Fletcher then goes it alone for 'From A Different Place' which is a little more anxious in its loops but still has gorgeous melodies streaming through the mix. 'This Day Has Been Too' is another fine solo cut that explores insular and inward moods with great deftness.

Mobile Fidelity's UltraDisc One-Step 180g 45RPM 2LP Set Plays with Authoritative Tonality, Airiness, and Clarity:
Pressed on MoFi SuperVinyl and Strictly Limited to
3,000 Numbered Copies
1/4” / 15 IPS Dolby A analogue master to DSD 256 to analogue console to lathe

Joni Mitchell is the only artist who could’ve made Hejira. The legendary singer-songwriter said as much when discussing the album decades after its release. Yet that fact seemed obvious from the moment the gold-certified effort streeted in fall 1976. An adventurous travelogue, probing narrative, and offbeat homage to freedom, Hejira remains an inimitable entry in the catalog of recorded music — a spare, gorgeous, meditative series of sonic vignettes comprised of floating harmonic pop, cool jazz, soft rock, and sensitive vocal elements that beckon feelings of motion, discovery, and self-examination.

Sourced from the original analog master tapes, pressed at Fidelity Record Pressing on MoFi SuperVinyl, and strictly limited to 3,000 numbered copies, Mobile Fidelity's UltraDisc One-Step 180g 45RPM 2LP set presents the record ranked the 133rd Greatest of All Time by Rolling Stone with definitive detail, richness, accuracy, and directness. Marking the first time the revered LP has received audiophile treatment, it's one of six iconic 1970s Mitchell records Mobile Fidelity is reissuing on vinyl and SACD.

Playing with a virtually nonexistent noise floor, dead-quiet surfaces, and superior groove definition, this collectible reissue reproduces in enveloping fashion the tones, textures, and craftsmanship that help Hejira function as the equivalent of a liberating trip down an open road with nothing but blue sky, natural landscape, and fresh air in the immediate vicinity. Passages bloom, carry, decay as they do amid an acoustically optimized environment. Soundstages extend far, wide, and deep, with black backgrounds and pinpoint images adding to the realism.

The reference-grade immediacy, airiness, and presence put in transparent perspective Mitchell’s dense strings of words, stream-of-conscious-like phrasing, and unhurried albeit forward momentum. Likewise, the instrumental contributions of her A-list support musicians — a cast that includes L.A. Express members John Guerin, Max Bennett and Tom Scott, plus Neil Young, Victor Feldman, and Abe Most — emerges with breathtaking clarity and dimensionality.

While Mitchell, whose intimate vocals and abstract guitar parts center everything, Mobile Fidelity's restoration of Hejira further reveals the visionary breadth of guitarist Larry Carlton and bassist Jaco Pastorius. Though heard on only four tracks, Pastorius' fretless bass epitomizes the fluid, subtle, flexible, roomy, and shape-shifting characteristics of songs that often appear to transpire out of nowhere akin to the formation of a puffy cumulus cloud overhead. In sync with Mitchell’s voice, Pastorius’ fusion hovers and floats, suspended in a fog you want to deeply inhale. The "grace notes" Mitchell desired on Hejira can now be heard in full. Ditto the luxurious tapestries of alinear lines, fills, and supplements unreeled on Carlton’s six-string.

Visually, the packaging of this UD1S set complements its identity as the copy to own. Housed in a deluxe slipcase, the LPs come in foil-stamped jackets with faithful-to-the-original graphics. This version is for listeners who desire to become immersed in everything about Hejira, including the unforgettable album cover — a pastiche of 14 different photos Mitchell used a Camera Lucida to assemble into one image that’s anchored by a portrait of her in a stoic pose — and the interior shots of Mitchell skating on a frozen Wisconsin lake wearing a pair of black skates, black shirt, and fur cape.

The notion of skating, feeling an awakening wind whipping against your face, and losing yourself to the surroundings are extremely apt for Hejira, which Mitchell wrote after a sequence of trips and relationships prompted her to reflect on the complicated conflicts between independence and marriage, success and satisfaction, duty and desire — and, more specifically, “the cost of being a woman.” The Canadian native delved into such themes before. But never as she does on Hejira, whose liberating, running-away aura doubles as another of Mitchell’s rejections of tradition as well as a suggestion of a better alternative.

At once observational and personal, expansive and insular, cheerful and poignant, Hejira spans a sea of human conditions, emotions, and circumstances. It addresses drifting, isolation, pleasure, place, time, and surroundings with strikingly poetic discourse matched with music that, save for the crooned ballad “Blue Motel Room,” forgoes conventional structures and choruses.

The jazz-based arrangements, marked by scaled-down percussion and all manner of bent, rounded, and unsettled notes, hint that Mitchell has no exact destination in mind. Excursions such as the moody “Furry Sings the Blues,” funky “Coyote” and edgy “Black Crow” throw open previously locked doors to possibility and journey. They signal it’s time for a welcome departure from norms and the past, one that leads to a heightened sense of clarity and perspective. Or, as Mitchell said upon choosing the album title, it’s time for “leaving the dream, no blame.”

In this episode of Didschn, Super Flu, Marc Werner, Gustavo Ibarra, and Xotto all wake up in the same house—strangers to one another, yet oddly familiar. Outside the windows: nothing. Just endless white fog, no sky, no ground, no exit. Each room in the house seems tailored to a specific memory. Marc hears a melody he hasn’t written yet. Gustavo sees pages from a book he never published. Xotto finds paintings he doesn‘t remember creating. Super Flu, silent and calm, senses the rhythm of the place—like the entire house is part of a song stuck on repeat. They soon realize they’re trapped in a loop—a cycle built from fragments of their unrealized futures. Every attempt to escape resets the house. The key lies in finishing what was never started. A song. A word. A brushstroke. As they collaborate, the fog lifts. And just before waking—Super Flu whispers: „Some loops aren’t broken. They’re completed.

Side A sees Italian brothers Marco and Riccardo Augeri back on Ten Lovers Music as The Robinson with two superb Deep House tracks Vibrasoul and Slow Thinking, both have their usual jazzy edge to them. Onto side AA and we have South African El Payo with Italy’s Stefano De Santis guesting on Rhodes and Solina. Living A Dream is a superb jazzy number for the dancefloor. Takahiro Fuchigami is up next with Southern Breeze, another broken beat masterpiece from Japan’s rising star who has recently had a release on Jazzy Sport. Rounding off side AA is George John from Germany with Anton Mangold on flute, a beautiful track to end our 51st release.

Ma Ze Music welcomes back the quality pairing of UV & Nenor for a new selection of original cuts that were recorded between the Middle East and Scandinavia. Between them they have plenty of styles in their arsenal and here combine them with bold analogue synths, percussion with a tribal twist and some special guest collaborations. 'Arayot' is a real bass odyssey with spaced-out melodies and marimbas alongside Ophir "Kutiman" Kutiel's drums. 'Tanim' brings some moody and psychedelic voodoo funk with hard-hitting drums, edgy clavinets and a magnificent synth lead by Romano, while the icing on the cake is a superb flute solo by Shlomi Alon. Emotional tension and groove come together perfectly here on what might be UV & Nenor's best yet.

Venice-based DJ and collector Zaffa is next up on the ever-superb Scruniversal label with a couple more delightful disco dancers. 'Trip Through The Galaxy' is a slow-motion cosmic trip that is vast in scale and high on soul thanks to the warm vocal that floats amidst funky riffs and glowing keys. Things stay just as sensuous and steamy on the flip with 'Supernova Child', another fluid and funky jam with oodles of synth magic and gentle grooves all soothing mind, body and soul. The real kicker is the vocal samples that add extra spaced-out funkiness.

Limited Vinyl Box Set including 6x olive 12” vinyl & download code

Cocoon Recordings presents: Cocoon Compilation V

Back for the summer season, Cocoon Recordings proudly unveils the next chapter in its iconic compilation series. With its 22nd edition, Cocoon Compilation V once again bridges past and future, showcasing the essence of electronic music’s constant evolution. True to the spirit of the label, this handpicked collection delivers a diverse, emotional, and forward-thinking selection that drifts through shimmering currents, pulsating machinery, and moments of pure release.

Delenz & Zeitstill set the tone with “Place To Be”, a smooth and warm opener that invites the listener into a meditative microcosm. What starts as dreamy minimalism steadily unfolds into deep, shimmering depth. A sublime invitation to get lost in sound. Superpitcher takes us further into the mist with “Dream B”, an ethereal and cinematic dreamscape that floats between melancholy and magic. Its stretched textures and hypnotic pacing form a gentle passage into inner space.

The energy intensifies with Patrice Bäumel’s “Nat”, a sophisticated tension-builder with a subtle pulse and haunting atmospheres. Sound waves that breathe, evolve, and subtly command movement. Sawlin switches gears with “Der Jasager”, a deep technoid beast that hits with low-end pressure, modulated percussions, and gritty textures and spooky features. Raw, physical, and unrelenting.

A bright contrast comes from DC Salas and his track “Escapism.” Psychedelic, synth-heavy, and effortlessly groovy, it channels the playful side of electronic storytelling. It channels a trancy 90s flair with its vibrant energy, brilliant use of choir bits, and irresistible vibe that transports you back to a golden era. With Tal Fussman’s “Eyes”, we’re taken into euphoric territory. This stomper is a conversation between piano and strings, rising above crisp grooves, weaving emotion and momentum with finesse.

On the second half of the journey, legendary Ken Ishii teams up with Yuada to deliver “Split Second,” a bold, wild and crazy techno excursion full of mechanical grace and Japanese precision. An ode to organized chaos. Marcel Fengler’s “Aura” follows, powerful and deep, pushing air like an engine through tunnels of tension and light. The blend of rhythm and sentiments is a masterclass in functional elegance and states of mind.

Impérieux brings us “Kala,” a track both twisted and beautiful. Its detuned hypnotic melodies and skewed harmonics are unsettling in the best way while the unconventional rhythms cloak the entire track in a mysterious aura. It creaks and twists toward transcendence, underscored by primordial flute sounds. A fractured lullaby for the club. Joe Metzenmacher injects wildness and attitude into the mix with “Da Freak.” Fuzzy, distorted synths collide with a funky bassline, sharp guitar stabs, and mad bleep effects, bringing the raw groove and dancefloor chaos of a bygone funk era into a futuristic setting.

Joseph Capriati debuts on Cocoon with “Cosmopop” and surprises with an unexpected stylistic shift. Capriati explores a more melodic, emotionally driven sound. Subtle harmonies meet a warm, rolling groove. It’s a bold and personal statement, showing a new side of an artist who continues to evolve beyond expectations. To close, Matthias Schildger offers “Distorter,” a raw and emotional cut that leaves room to breathe while keeping the mind spinning. It begins with beautiful pads, before distorted kicks drop in, yet the track retains a certain tenderness, like the feeling of sitting at a tranquil, untouched nature spot, surrounded by the beauty of the world. A grand finale to a compilation that refuses to settle.

From sunrise moments to peak-time madness, Cocoon Compilation V captures the full spectrum of what dance music can be. Transcendent, visceral and endlessly evolving. This isn’t just a collection of tracks. It’s a curated experience for the body, the mind and the soul.

b A2 Let's Try = Let's Try!; Written-By [Original Score Written By] – Koji Kondo
[c] A3 お花畑にて = In The Flower Garden; Written-By [Original Score Written By] – Koji Kondo

[e] A5 対クッパ戦 = Battling Bowser; Written-By [Original Score Written By] – Koji Kondo

[g] A7 Super Pipe House = Super Mario House; Written-By [Original Score Written By] – Koji Kondo








[p] B7 ごきげんスター = Irrepressible Star; Written-By [Original Score Written By] – Koji Kondo









[z] C5 ねぇねぇジーノごっこしようよ = Play "Save The World" With Me!; Written-By [Original Score Written By] – Koji Kondo



[xd] D1 土管からコンニチハ = Greetings From The Pipes; Written-By [Original Score Written By] – Koji Kondo






[xk] E1 Long Long Ago… = Long, Long Ago...; Written-By [Original Score Written By] – Koji Kondo
[xl] E2 ちょっとドキドキ = A Little Anxious; Written-By [Original Score Written By] – Koji Kondo







[xt] F2 対 クリスタラー戦 = Battling Culex; Written-By [Original Score Written By] – Nobuo Uematsu
[xu] F3 クリスタラー戦での勝利 = Victory Over Culex; Written-By [Original Score Written By] – Nobuo Uematsu
[xv] F4 クリスタラーの会話 = Conversation With Culex; Written-By [Original Score Written By] – Nobuo Uematsu





[yb] G5 オノレンジャー参上 = The Axem Rangers Bust In; Written-By [Original Score Written By] – Koji Kondo
[yc] G6 クッパ城（其ノ弐） = Bowser's Keep (Second Visit); Written-By [Original Score Written By] – Koji Kondo





[yi] H5 お・し・ま・い・! = The End!; Written-By [Original Score Written By] – Koji Kondo


[b] A2 Let's Try = Let's Try!; Written-By [Original Score Written By] – Koji Kondo
[c] A3 お花畑にて = In The Flower Garden; Written-By [Original Score Written By] – Koji Kondo

[e] A5 対クッパ戦 = Battling Bowser; Written-By [Original Score Written By] – Koji Kondo

[g] A7 Super Pipe House = Super Mario House; Written-By [Original Score Written By] – Koji Kondo








[p] B7 ごきげんスター = Irrepressible Star; Written-By [Original Score Written By] – Koji Kondo









[z] C5 ねぇねぇジーノごっこしようよ = Play "Save The World" With Me!; Written-By [Original Score Written By] – Koji Kondo



[xd] D1 土管からコンニチハ = Greetings From The Pipes; Written-By [Original Score Written By] – Koji Kondo






[xk] E1 Long Long Ago… = Long, Long Ago...; Written-By [Original Score Written By] – Koji Kondo
[xl] E2 ちょっとドキドキ = A Little Anxious; Written-By [Original Score Written By] – Koji Kondo







[xt] F2 対 クリスタラー戦 = Battling Culex; Written-By [Original Score Written By] – Nobuo Uematsu
[xu] F3 クリスタラー戦での勝利 = Victory Over Culex; Written-By [Original Score Written By] – Nobuo Uematsu
[xv] F4 クリスタラーの会話 = Conversation With Culex; Written-By [Original Score Written By] – Nobuo Uematsu





[yb] G5 オノレンジャー参上 = The Axem Rangers Bust In; Written-By [Original Score Written By] – Koji Kondo
[yc] G6 クッパ城（其ノ弐） = Bowser's Keep (Second Visit); Written-By [Original Score Written By] – Koji Kondo





[yi] H5 お・し・ま・い・! = The End!; Written-By [Original Score Written By] – Koji Kondo

Germany's iconic deep funk collective digs into a new soundscape: "A Higher Frequency" was recorded with a nine-piece live to tape at legendary MPS studio in the Black Forest, adding an airy, jazzy flavour to their trademark raw and breaks-heavy funk. Ten tracks full of spiritual grooves, soulful themes, loose funkiness and organic interplay, captured with state-of-the-art 1960s gear in a super-vibey room - but the title A Higher Frequency is not just about the pristine analogue sound quality of the recording, it is also a reference to a trancendant wavelength where minds meet and music connects.

Together with long-time friends and collaborators Daniel Kimaz on flute and Guillame Métenier, who worked his magic on the studio's historic Bösendörfer grand piano and Hammond organ, the group spent a week in the Black Forest, with full focus on the mission to capture the live energy and togetherness of the ensemble.

The result is an album bursting with positive energy and power, rooted in a universal funk groove with excursions into many colourful branches like outernational, cinematic, soulful jazz, psychedelic & disco.

The common thread is a propulsive, driving-forward feel: "Open The Gate" welcomes us with hard-hitting breakbeats and dramatic crime brass, followed by the cool groovin' piano-led soul jazz of "Get Loose", while "Spinning" takes us on a ride through cinematic horn choruses and folky-psych flute and guitars. "Back And Better" is Nichola Richards' time to shine, laying her sweet vocals over the sparse hiphop-infused soul beat to tell a comeback story. "Sweet Company" is a lighthearted uptempo tune inspired by TV and library themes of the 1960s. The swampy groove of "Sparks Of Joy" best reflects the fun of the band playing together and "Phantom Power" combines a trademark Mocambo breakin' theme with an unusual instrument, an electric phin from Thailand – a nod to the many so-called "world music jazz" recordings that the MPS studio gave birth to. On "Can't Stop This Fire", soul singer Carlton Jumel Smith from New York City takes over the mic as a special guest and brings the house down with a heavy funk delivery. "When We Roll" builds another highlight where bouncy drums play off disco-jazz horn themes and finally, the gospel-flavoured cine-soul epic "Homebound" drives it all home.

The vinyl record comes in a limited first edition in hand-made tip-on sleeve.

»Ich denke immer wieder aufs Neue darüber nach, wie ich mich als Schlagzeug-spielender Bandleader so positionieren kann, dass das Instrument eine tragende Funktion einnimmt, dies aber auf eine musikalische Weise geschieht und auf keinen Fall als Zurschaustellung von Virtuosität«, sagt Wolfgang Haffner. Diese Haltung zieht sich als roter Faden durch seine gesamte Karriere - und auch durch »Life Rhythm«, sein zehntes Album auf ACT.

Und obwohl Haffners Musik gängigen Vorstellungen virtuoser Schlagzeug-Leader ganz bewusst widerspricht, steht das Instrument diesmal besonders im Fokus. Ausgangspunkt dafür war Wolfgang Haffners allererstes Solokonzert im Jahr 2022 auf Schloss Elmau. Er erinnert sich: »Das war eine Wahnsinns-Herausforderung bei der ich auch vor der Entscheidung stand: Spiele ich jetzt eine Stunde Schlagzeugsolo? Natürlich nicht! Also habe ich habe eine Menge melodisch klingender Perkussionsinstrumente eingebaut, Passagen live geloopt, mit Echos und Delays gearbeitet – im Grunde wie im Studio, nur eben auf der Bühne.« All dies brachte Haffner dazu, sich noch einmal auf ganz intensive Art mit dem Thema mit dem Instrument zu beschäftigen, welches ihn sein Leben lang begleitet. Und so haben alle Stücke auf »Life Rhythm« diesmal ihren Ursprung, nicht wie sonst bei Haffner, am Piano, sondern am Schlagzeug.

Das Ergebnis dieses Prozesses kann man gleich zum Auftakt von »Life Rhythm« auf dem Titeltrack erleben: Das Stück basiert auf einem hypnotischen Groove, bei dem nicht die Becken, wie sonst im Jazz üblich, die Time angeben, sondern vor allem die Trommeln. Das dieser Groove direkt Phil Collins und besonders an dessen Stück »Take Me Home« erinnert, ist kein Zufall: Collins' Art, Drum-Parts zu elementaren Teilen des Songwritings zu machen, ist bis heute eine von Haffners größten Inspirationen. Und auch jedes weitere der elf sehr kompakten, Song-haften Stücke auf »Life Rhythm« öffnet eine eigene Welt des musikalischen Schlagzeugspiels: Mal mal trocken-reduziert mit Besen wie auf »Balance«, poppig bei »Joy of Life«, mit filigranen Becken-Grooves, dezenter Elektronik und Percussion auf »Eternity« oder minimalis-tisch bis kurz vor der Stille in »Silence and Sound«.

Das aus all diesen Stilistiken ein so stimmiges Ganzes ent-steht liegt daran, das Wolfgang Haffner diese im Laufe seiner Karriere bis in die Tiefe durchdrungen hat - an der Seite von stilbildenden Charakteren wie Al Jarreau, Chaka Khan, Pat Metheny, Jan Garbarek, Esbjörn Svensson, Nils Petter Molvaer, Albert Mangelsdorff, Ricardo Villalobos und vielen, vielen mehr. All diese Kollaborationen haben Wolfgang Haffners Voka-bular am Instrument und auch als Komponist geprägt und die da-mit verbundenen, unterschiedlichsten Stile sind gleichermaßen Teil seiner musikalischen Persönlichkeit.

Vielseitigkeit und höchste Musikalität sind auch die Eigen-schaften, die Wolfgang Haffner und seine Mitmusiker auf »Life Rhythm« verbinden. Die Basis bildet ein bestens einges-pieltes Trio zusammen mit Keyboarder Simon Oslender, selbst auch Drummer und Bandleader, und Thomas Stieger, einem der gefragtesten deutschen Bassisten in Pop wie Jazz. Dazu kommen Trompeter Sebastian Studnitzky, Mitstreiter Haffners seit seinem ACT-Debüt »Shapes« und der Finne Arto Mikälä, eine echte Entdeckung in Sachen Klangvielfalt an der Gitarre. Diese Band herausragender Allrounder erweitert Haffner um eine Reihe musikalischer Charaktere, die der Musik ihre ganz eigene Farbe verleihen: Nils Landgren, Freund und Weggefährte seit mehr als 20 Jahren, Saxofon-Ikone Bill Evans, Sting-Gitarrist Dominic Miller, Balkan-Beat-Star Shantel, Bass-Feingeist Nicolas Fiszman, Oud-Virtuose Thomas Konstantinou und Bruno Müller, einer der besten deutschen Jazzgitarristen.

»Life Rhythm«, sagt Wolfgang Haffner, »ist für mich eine Fortsetzung, keine Wiederholung«. Die Musik trägt mit ihrer Wärme, Kraft und Klarheit die charakteristische Handschrift, die Haffner mit seinen Alben und auf tausenden von Konzerten in mehr als 100 Ländern zum wohl populärsten Schlagzeug-spielenden Leader Europas gemacht hat. Und gleichzeitig ist es eine Evolution seiner Musik. Gut möglich, dass Haffners Erfolg genau darin begründet ist, dass seine Musik immer etwas Ver-trautes und etwas Neues beinhaltet und dass Haffner sein Publikum so immer »mitnimmt« im Fluss seiner Ideen - und in einem gemeinsamen »Lebensrhythmus«

An album for sleeping and waking, walking and driving, hunting and fishing, for loitering outside a roadhouse on the haunted tundra. Okay in elevators, not great for dinner. On Caveman Wakes Up, Friendship’s new album and second for Merge Records, the band’s historically capacious definition of country music grows wider still. Shambolic guitars are offset by flute pads, bleary poetry is set against a Motown rhythm section, a song about Jerry Garcia and First Lady Betty Ford fades out with a drum solo, like if Talk Talk came from a dingy Philadelphia basement and was fronted by James Tate. Songwriter Dan Wriggins’ ragged baritone cuts through eleven murky, swirling country-rock songs with profound lyrical substance and sincerity. Like an alarm clock incorporated into the edge of a dream, Caveman Wakes Up belongs equally to the conscious and subconscious mind, fraught with background, steeped in reference and experimentation, delivered casually and as a dire warning, dedicated, above all, to music’s creative soul. Over the years, dedication has paid off. Friendship has become a kind of reverse supergroup,
wherein the band itself and each individual member are located centrally in an increasingly prominent scene of young folk and country musicians and songwriters. Drummer Michael Cormier O’Leary leads the instrumental collective Hour and, along with bassist Jon Samuels, runs Dear Life Records, home to friends and peers who count Friendship as a major influence including MJ Lenderman, Florry, and Fust. (Samuels also plays lead guitar in MJ Lenderman and the Wind). Guitarist Peter Gill’s band 2nd Grade records prolifically. Wriggins began writing the songs of Caveman Wakes Up on a downtuned classical guitar of Lenderman’s and finished on a barely tuned piano in an apartment he shared with Sadurn’s G DeGroot.
In the summer of 2023, Wriggins had just left the Iowa Writers’ Workshop, where his love for poetry and mistrust for the academic poetry world grew in tandem. A relationship fell apart, and Wriggins crashed for several weeks at Lenderman and Wednesday’s Karly Hartzman’s home in North Carolina, where he recorded the first demos of “Resident Evil,” “All Over the World,” and “Love Vape.” Wriggins returned to Philadelphia, and the band got to work on new ideas, finally tracking the album in five days with engineer Jeff Ziegler (Mary Lattimore, War on Drugs). Wriggins recorded vocals with Love the Stranger engineer Bradford Kreiger, and organ, violin (Jason Calhoun), and flute (Adelyn Strei) were recorded by Lucas Knapp in a West Philadelphia church.

1990's Recurring, the fourth and final studio album by Spacemen 3, is often considered the introduction of two brilliant solo projects (Spectrum and Spiritualized) rather than the work of a functioning band. While Spacemen 3's departing statement surely reveals a deep divide within the S3 camp – each side of the LP was written by Sonic Boom and Jason Pierce separately and, unlike previous releases, the two do not play on each other's songs – Recurring maintains a cohesive, dreamy feel with its chief sonic officers backed by fellow travelers Will Carruthers, Mark Refoy and Jon Mattock.

Opening saga "Big City (Everybody I Know Can Be Found Here)" marries ambient haze with narcotized indie rock, while "I Love You" manages to arrange a beautiful flute alongside a defiantly throbbing bass track. "Hypnotized," a reimagined fuzz-pop hymn, would become the group's first entry in the UK Singles Charts. Recurring lays bare the essence of Spacemen 3's persistent sound, rooted in both aural expansion and phenomenal songwriting.

Includes download card and new insert with liner notes by Marc Masters.

Double LP pressed on yellow and sky blue vinyl ("Feld & Fluss") Dorfromantik is a relaxing building strategy and puzzle game in which you place tiles to create ever-growing, idyllic village landscapes. With Dorfromantik, you can immerse yourself in a quiet, peaceful world at any time and take a break from everyday life. At the same time, the game offers a challenge for those who are looking for one: To beat the highscore, you need to carefully plan and strategically place your tiles. The original superchill Dorfromantik soundtrack by Laryssa Okada (Manifold Garden OST), Pygoscelis and Only Sound is totally living up to game's intention and atmosphere. It is inspired by the warm and nostalgic memories of a childhood spent between city and countryside. These soothing and relaxing tracks created from a wide arrangement of different instruments and musical styles will take you on a peaceful but nonetheless dynamic journey through joyful soundscapes. Dorfromantik was developed by four students from the Berlin University of Applied Sciences (HTW Berlin): Luca Langenberg, Sandro Heuberger, Timo Falcke and Zwi Zausch. The full version of the video game was officially launched in April 2022. It is the winner of multiple prizes and received positive reviews throughout the press. The physical boardgame even won the acclaimed "Game of the Year" award in 2023. What a whirlwind of success! Time to sit down, relax and listen to the unmatched Dorfromantik soundtrack on beautiful, coloured vinyl.

Barker's debutalbum Utility (on Berghain's Ostgut Ton label) was something of a sensation in the world of electronic music when it was released. Utility made numerous Best of 2019 year's end lists, including Pitchfork (8,2 review), The Quietus, DJ Mag, Resident Advisor (Recommends) and others. It also earned title of Mixmag's Album of The Year 2019. Now its finally time for the follow-up Stochastic Drift on Smalltown Supersound. And where Barker on Utility was "using ambient materials to remake techno" as Pitchfork's Philip Sherburne wrote, he takes this approach even further here creating - as the title suggests - a dreamy stochastic drift and beautiful freeform float.

Barker's debutalbum Utility (on Berghain's Ostgut Ton label) was something of a sensation in the world of electronic music when it was released. Utility made numerous Best of 2019 year's end lists, including Pitchfork (8,2 review), The Quietus, DJ Mag, Resident Advisor (Recommends) and others. It also earned title of Mixmag's Album of The Year 2019. Now its finally time for the follow-up Stochastic Drift on Smalltown Supersound. And where Barker on Utility was "using ambient materials to remake techno" as Pitchfork's Philip Sherburne wrote, he takes this approach even further here creating - as the title suggests - a dreamy stochastic drift and beautiful freeform float.

If every significant artist has an underrated gem in its catalog, then Mirage is that album for Fleetwood Mac. An obvious return to relative simplicity after the dramatic tension of Rumours and experimental ambitions of Tusk, the 1982 album finds the band re-grouping after a brief hiatus and again climbing to the top of the charts. Extremely well-crafted, well-produced, and well-performed, the double-platinum effort distills the group’s hallmark strengths into a filler-free set that never runs short of addictive pop hooks or daft accents.

Sourced from the original analog master tapes, pressed at Fidelity Record Pressing in California, and housed in a Stoughton jacket, Mobile Fidelity’s numbered-edition 180g 45RPM 2LP set presents Mirage in reference sound for the first time. The efforts co-producers/engineers Ken Caillat and Richard Dashut went to capture the splintered albeit formidable band can be heard with stunning accuracy, range, depth, and detail.

Though Rumours understandably gets a permanent spot in the audiophile hall of fame, the smooth, clear, and dynamic sonics on Mirage confirm that the record that stood as Fleetwood Mac’s last effort for five years deserves a place in the same vaunted arena. The presence and imaging of Mick Fleetwood’s percussion alone on this reissue might have you wondering how this slice of soft-rock bliss has gone under-noticed for decades. Other prized aural aspects — separation, definition, impact, tonal balance — are also here in spades.

Like much surrounding Fleetwood Mac in the 1980s, arriving at Mirage was not easy. Caillat searched for studios located outside of Los Angeles on a mission to change up the vibe of the band’s prior recording sessions. Everyone settled on Le Chateau in France, where relations between some members remained icy — and cooperation with the producers strained. Battles with exhaustion, bitterness, and addiction further informed the proceedings at the 18th century complex in the French countryside, where even communal meals were allegedly eaten in silence.

Inevitably, the feelings that co-producer Lindsey Buckingham, Stevie Nicks, Christine McVie, and company harbored — as well as the situations in which they found themselves — drifted into the songwriting. In its rapid ascent to rock-star royalty status, Fleetwood Mac drifted apart, embarked on solo pursuits, and found it was lonely at the top. Emptiness, the illusion of dreams, the longing for love, the want to escape to bygone times of innocence and happiness: Such themes inform a majority of the narratives. Even if the lyrics regularly take a back seat to easygoing arrangements that allow Mirage to come on like a refreshing breeze on a sunny summer afternoon.

Home to three Top 25 singles in the U.S. and having occupied the pole position of the Top 200 album charts for five weeks, Mirage rightfully resonated with the mainstream and attracted listeners on both sides of the pond. And how, via a smart blend of sugary melodies, warm harmonies, interlaced notes, nimble rhythms, taut structures, and passionate vocals. Not to mention the presence of what arguably remains Nicks’ signature song, the biographical “Gypsy,” a meditation on the loss of her close friend Robin Anderson that teems with majesty, mystery, and mysticism — and which gets an assist from Buckingham’s shaded tack piano and richly strummed guitar chords.

Its ranking as an all-time classic aside, that No. 12 hit has plenty of company when it comes to brilliant pop turns on Mirage. On the subject of Nicks, the raspy singer gets a little bit country on “That’s Alright.” Its clip-clopping pace and two-stepping progression complement subtle vocal swells that emerge during the final verse of a tune that is ostensibly about leaving but still conveys forgiveness and grace. And what would a Fleetwood Mac record be without Nicks drawing on the tools of the supernatural — cards, dreams, wolves, and the like — on the twirling “Straight Back.”

Despite the potency of Nicks’ primary contributions, Mirage seemingly unfolds as a tight competition between Buckingham and McVie — and one that ultimately ends in a draw. Buckingham’s salvos include the contagious “Can’t Go Back,” a yearning to time-travel back to the past that’s complete with hall-of-mirrors backing vocals; “Oh Diane,” out-of- left-field ear candy sweetened with hiccupped vocals and salt-and-pepper-shaken grooves; the chiming “Eyes of the World”; and “Empire State,” a delightfully fluttering track whose high-range vocals, lap harp notes, and ringing xylophones hint at the galaxies of sound that would erupt on Tango in the Night.

Then there’s McVie. As elegant, understated, and coolheaded as she’s ever been on record, she pours her heart out on cuts that revolve around her inevitable split with Beach Boy Dennis Wilson. In the process, she punctuates Mirage with a characteristic not always associated with catchy pop music: emotional weight, and the sense of dreaded acceptance in the face of dreams deferred.

“I wish you were here/Holding me tight,” McVie sings over a delicate melody on the album-closing piano ballad “Wish You Were Here.” Though they hoped otherwise, for the members Fleetwood Mac, distance and separation were always close at hand. Believing otherwise, inviting nostalgia, and pretending everything was fine only amounts to a mirage.

Although still very much a secret, Oakland, California's Justin Pinkerton has perfected and expanded his Futuropaco project to a stunning degree over the past seven years. The one-man band is deeply rooted in Pinkerton's masterful drumming, which builds on the legacy of 1960's and 1970's legends such as Tony Allen and Jaki Liebezeit. But he's an accomplished multi-instrumentalist as well, and the Futuropaco sound is a colourful fusion that sees him throw fuzz guitars, flutes, vintage synthesizers and Anatolian string instruments into the mix - seemingly without much effort. The second and final volume of the "Fortezza Di Vetro" series feels like a conclusion, the sound of an artist reaching his creative zenith. It's an experimental album, yet immediately seductive in its energy - channeling the vibey art-rock of Tortoise, Black Sabbath riffage and vintage Italian film music in equal measures. It's such a refined and esoteric blend, yet hits so directly. It's simply impossible not to crank the volume knob once this slab of vinyl is on the turntable, followed by immediate head nodding. Buy the ticket, take the ride. Justin Pinkerton is a vastly talented rhythmsmith, best known as a member of Californian stoners Golden Void. On this project he plays all the other instruments too so he can do what he blooming well feels. And it's not as if the drum solos go on for twenty minutes like those of John Bonham and his pale imitators. Nope. Into tracks that are both jam-packed and concise, Pinkerton has squeezed his love of vintage Italian library music, classic krautrock and heavy psych rock. At one point it suggests Grails have been performing super-speed cover versions of fusion-era Miles Davis with Adrian Younge on production. -The Quietus Futuropaco returns in a big way with Fortezza di Vetro, a buzzing, groove-heavy album that expands on what came before while staying true to the project's origins. Dizzying, fuzzed-out psych with just the right amount of melancholy for good measure. Justin Pinkerton and Futuropaco have done it again. Fantastico! -Complex Distractions

Geniusz, Minor Talent, Generational Talent. Let the old folks fight it out. Sharp Pins are too busy staying up late watching vampire movies. Fathers and Children of the Revolution. Finally cartographed and designed by the actual Youth in Revolt "Nothing Stands in their way, they ARE the face of today". How can you tell you've been in the presence of the Sharp Pins? You see their sticker on yr phone, yr car, yr guitar, yr drums, yr bass, yr clarinet, yr flugelhorn, yr tuba, yr dog - its a MOD MOD WORLD, we're just living in it. 14 tracks 33RPM. Sharp Pins is the super solid lo-fi noise pop project of talented Chicago musician Kai Slater of Lifeguard and Dwaal Troupe."Radio DDR" originally released at home as a Hallogallo tape. "Youth Revolution Now".

On his Discrepant debut Memotone aka Bristolian Will Yates collects some unreleased recordings under a most aptly titled name - »Pruning« - following a healthy stream of releases for such esteemed labels as Black Acre, The Trilogy Tapes or Soda Gong.

Considering the process of pruning as a practice of selective removal, the album takes its name at face value never falling into a mere collection of tossed off material or random B-side assemblage, making it a cohesive listen throughout its disparate timeframe and evasions.

A statement about Memotone's vision itself, »Pruning« veers closer to his Fourth World/ECM/Exotica meets Sci-fi transmutations in alignment with what would be expected from a Memotone release on Discrepant. »Moss Zone« briefly sets the tone with a warm but queasy synth bedsheet that flows into the »Weird Figures« cyber- jungle, all small twinkling percussions and rainforest pads slowly rising. 'Riders' brings the synth-flute to an early Warp meets John Hassell's »City: Works of Fiction« scenario that pops up again in more disrupted form on »Wisdom MOTHER«. »Not What I Thought's« skewed tropical guitar gets going on lo-fi percussion and dissonant synth chords while »Jim Starling and The Inverse Church« bring to mind »Autoditacker« era Mouse on Mars going jazz-fusion. Or what we should expect from their Smalltown Supersound stint. »Beach Scene« is exactly it, as the sun sets into »Come In Don't Mind the Ghost« summer night's stars with all the allure of Stereolab.

Alluring, that's exactly it. Do come in.

Demonstrating the poignant power of experience + human connection + innate musicality + operating in the present moment, Jeff Mills' Spiral Deluxe collective unveil their second album - The Love Pretender. Driven by the free expression and creativity of improvised performance, Spiral Deluxe is an electronic jazz fusion project comprised electronic music visionary Jeff, along with legendary keyboardist Gerald Mitchell (Underground Resistance/ Los Hermanos), Japanese rocker Yumiko Ohno (Buffalo Daughter/Cornelius) on Moog synthesizer and the Japanese bassist, adopted New Yorker, Kenji "Jino" Hino - son of Terumasa Hino, the world famous jazz trumpeter. Together, the four key players formed a band centred around completely improvised journeys through sound.

During their unrestrained performances, what Jeff describes as sonic "conversations" arose between the musicians, as they each contributed to full-length live shows, and studio sessions. Within the boundless parameters of freeform spontaneity, they developed an unspoken understanding of one another, finding balance and poise within the unplanned performances. The resulting recordings have been used for three releases so far: Two EPs, Kobe Session (2016) and Tathata (2017), and their debut album Voodoo Magic in 2018. With The Love Pretender, we're presented with another stunning collection of "tracks" extracted from one long improv session.

With each musician proficient in their specialism and, of course, an all-out music lover, the communication between the group members became almost telepathic. Very little preparation was needed, and their performances flowed naturally and organically. This can be heard, and felt, throughout The Love Pretender. Tracks like 'The Soloist' evolve effortlessly, each new shift subtly influenced by one of the musicians nudging the conversation into a different phase, and the rest responding accordingly, or vice versa. It's music that embodies the true nature of mindfulness and letting go of fear. In their unstructured, liberated cocoon the artists thrive and create musical moments that have, fortunately, been captured for us all to immerse ourselves in. Jazzy notes fill the air, combined with electronic bass, synthesised beats, sparkling keys and an all-round warm and welcoming atmosphere, with the slight edge you can only get from improvised performance.

Sylvain Luc's posthumous appearance on the album is of significance too. The French guitarist died in March 2024 at the age of 59. His natural flair adds another dimension to the album, bringing a touch of that laid back 1980s American California Coast feeling to tracks such as 'Society's Man'. These contributions to the LP, recorded separately, add character - a final sprinkling of humanity to complement the aliveness and presence of this body of work. Three other musicians also added their creative energy to the project. They were; TOKU, a Japanese jazz musician who specialises in wind instruments, especially the cornet, trumpet and flugel horn. And there's Masa Shimizu, who also has wide-ranging with the guitar, as well as being a producer.

Themes on the album include the optimism one can have by simply trusting the process and trusting that everything will work out in the end. By playing together in the way they do, Spiral Deluxe place their trust in the mystery of what will happen next. Getting comfortable with not knowing is key to a sense of peace with regard to the future and this energy is vital to their collective musical output. By embracing the notion of the unknown, you become an eternal optimist, living in the moment, rather than projecting into the future. This cultivates excitement, an antidote to anxiety.

Meanwhile, the title alludes to the shifts and changes that have occurred in today's society, whereby it's possible to achieve success through pretending. The superficiality, and falsehood, that can often be presented via social media, can lead to questions about what's real and what's not. From AI to the fake personas that populate the dominant platforms, The Love Pretender speaks to a process that is symbolic of the time we're living in. Behaviour that has become acceptable in today's world, which may not have been as welcomed a few decades ago. But this is part of the cycle of life...

Jeff's intention with this music is to present it in high-fidelity, to be listened to over and over and over again. In post-recording he worked for hours to ensure the audio quality was as high as it could be. The goal is to create music that people can live with their entire lives, from his solo work to these masterful improvisations. Music that comes to life, music that has a voice we can replicate with our own vocals. Expressive, unstructured, and alive...

With The Love Pretender Jeff Mills continues his mission to experiment with music outside the bounds of what is typically expected. It's freeing, enlivening, vibrant and uniquely human. As ever, Jeff's visionary outlook and bold approach to musical performance and recording has produced a body of work that epitomises his often revolutionary capabilities. There's no pretending here, just pure unadulterated sonic transmissions from a wonderfully daring, inspiring and optimistic ensemble...

Repress!

VERY LTD 100 COPIES UK

‘Indian Wedding Sweetmeat Celebrations’ transparent Yellow vinyl.** Ten years on from its original release, Ample Play Records will release, the ground breaking ‘Cornershop And The Double ‘O’ Groove Of’ album by Cornershop feat. Bubbley Kaur on vinyl for the first time. The LP, pressed as a stunning limited edition of 500 copies on ‘Indian Wedding Sweetmeat Celebrations’ sticky transparent Yellow vinyl in a gatefold sleeve with poster insert, will be available via mail order direct from the group and in all good independent record shops from 3rd December 2021. Cut for vinyl at optimum levels by Fluid Mastering, the same clever folk who mastered both the celebrated ‘England Is A Garden’ and ‘England Is A Garden Instrumentals’ albums. It’s a vinyl release that Rough Trade Shops have petitioned us for years to action and we’re pleased to report they consider the audio results to be “topknotch, an amazingly defined cut”. After many a time in the studio, under lab conditions Cornershop originally released the album in 2011 featuring the incredible double sugar-coated vocals of Bubbley Kaur. When Tjinder and Bubbley decided to work with each other, she had not recorded a note of music. They had met very fleetingly, years ago at a cellar gathering in Preston Lancashire, where Tjinder & Benedict studied. So it was much surprise when a taxi driver friend introduced him to a lady that liked singing, worked in a local launderette, and was the same lady he had met in a northern cellar bar. They then met a good many times at Tjinder’s house where they would listen to and discuss traditional Punjabi Folk Music, and slowly Bubbley came out writing her own original lyrics, which were set to a varied range of modern musics. ‘Natch’ was the first song she recorded, followed by ‘Topknot,’ and together they became the first double ‘A’ single on Rough Trade Records. The complete recordings were made in their own good time. Tjinder explains “There was no need to quickly put the album out, but there was a need to make it top rank and evergreen, especially as I have wanted to do an album like this for 20 years.” Benedict & Tjinder set up their own label, Ample Play in 2009 to release the highly acclaimed album ‘Judy Sucks A Lemon For Breakfast.’ The way Tjinder & Bubbley met was like a hindi movie script, and the outcome of the music is like an Asian version of The Kids From Fame – totally upbeat, giving rise to new ways of expressing yourself.

Repressed LP on Neon Orange Vinyl, includes download card. It feels like someone left the light on in the studio and it all just ran itself, there had been a funky human input earlier in the day but, by a Darwinian machine-led kind of osmosis, the tracks recorded spent the wee small hours self-reducing and simplifying themselves. Marinated in music. “I believe more in the scissors than I do in the pencil,” said Truman Capote. ”Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication,” opined Leonardo da Vinci much earlier in proceedings. Yes, it’s the space around the object, what you leave out that makes what you leave in so important. ESG know this. Sure they can play the game but it’s the swagger of the groove and the minimal topping – like an anti-cup cake – that makes this unique New York sisterhood so appealing on ‘Keep On Moving’. Sampled on TV ads, lauded by critics and swooned over on the dancefloor, ESG’s post-punk took out the grunge and polished the basics. Cut them open and “less is more” is written all the way through. ‘Keep On Moving’ was released over ten years ago to much praise (Q said it was “even better” than 2002’s much loved ‘Step Off’). ESG had been sparring partners for PiL and early hip hop and four years after the ‘Off’, they were onto something new – rhythm as core, reflective storylines about relationship management, sensuality and insanity gather around the bass fix but they’re much blurrier than the incessant beats. Inadvertently they unmask techno and glitch and leave out any kind of superfluous fluff. It’s hard and temple throbbing. Turn it up. And keep moving. “If there's one tune which sums up ESG's enduring lust for life, it's the beautifully-judged Black Flag/early techno crossover of the closing 'Gimme A Blast'.” The Guardian 5/5 // “This album's every percussive aspect has been honed to impart the maximum amount of pleasure.” The Observer // “Despite their influence on younger bands (you can hear LCD Soundsystem's knobbly grooves on ‘Insane’), ESG still sound like nothing else.” The Guardian

Our 2022 reissue of Don Julian and the Larks’ 1974 LP Super Slick made fans of rare ‘70s soul and funk very happy, and this release is gonna do the same. Bandleader Don Julian followed the lead of Isaac Hayes, Curtis Mayfield et al. in scoring the 1973 blaxploitation film Savage!; the reasons Julian’s score didn’t hit like Superfly or Shaft are, one, the film didn’t do as well, as it was a Philippine-based B-movie funded and distributed by Roger Corman’s New World Pictures, and, two, the soundtrack came out on the lightly-distributed Money Records label. Dig the fantastic flute work from Jimmy Vinson…and the ten-plus minute title theme is just plain funkin’ filthy. Blood orange pressing limited to just 750 copies!

Berlin’s Moses Yoofee Trio have confirmed details of their first new material since their 2023 mini-album, Ocean. ‘WHIP.wav’ will be released digitally on October 18, 2024, and represents the first taster for their debut full-length, MYT, set to be released by Nils Frahm’s LEITER on February 7, 2025. The German group recorded much of the album over ten days in April 2024 at Glaswald Studios, in the countryside outside Stuttgart, before returning to Berlin to polish the results and record two further tracks at LEITER’s Funkhaus studio. Available on vinyl and via all digital platforms, the album was produced by the trio with long-time collaborator and mixing engineer oh.no.ty. ‘WHIP.wav’, the original version of which was previously shared to social media to great response, is a perfect showcase for the band’s unique brand of sophisticated jazz, its laidback summer grooves lit up by Moses’ fluid piano lines, while drummer Noah Fürbringer’s deft rhythms lock in with Roman Klobe-Barangă‘s understated bassline. At just 100 seconds long, it’s also as succinct and straightforward as MYT’s title – and indeed many of its tracks – which reveals a lot about the Moses Yoofee Trio. The new album’s tracks display a remarkable determination to distil their work to its essence, allowing their prodigious talents and graceful versatility to flourish in uncluttered surroundings. Their goals, they state concisely, are “emotions, moments and bangers”, and careful attention was paid to arrangements to ensure nothing superfluous made the cut. Before coming together as a band, all three members were already deeply involved in the music scene, touring, recording, and producing for a wide range of artists and bands. They connected in 2020 when Moses met Roman at Berlin’s Jazz Institute, and it was the latter who suggested they jam with his friend Noah, who was living in southern Germany at the time but frequently visited Berlin. Amid the extended lockdowns of the Covid-19 pandemic, the trio embraced the chance to fully immerse themselves in the creative process. Since then, Moses Yoofee Trio have cultivated an extraordinary reputation for their shows, and this year they won the German Jazz Prize’s prestigious Live Act of The Year award. Recent highlights include a 2,500-capacity Elbjazz Festival booking beside Hamburg’s harbour, a riotous appearance at London’s Jazz Festival, and an intimate gig before 200 people at the German capital’s now redundant Tempelhof Airport on the rooftop of an air traffic control tower. Despite their own work as a trio, all three musicians remain busy elsewhere, with Moses, like Roman, often working with chart-topping Berlin-based Peter Fox, a frontman for reggae/dancehall/hip hop crossover act SEEED, and accompanying him on his extensive solo tours. Noah, meanwhile, plays with another renowned artist, German-American rapper Casper, as well as Sweden’s acclaimed Petter Eldh and German comedian / actor / musician Teddy Teclebrhan.

Ginnels never let up. Though it has been, staggeringly, eight long years since the last irresistible jangle pop transmission under the Ginnels moniker, nothing much has changed in Mark Chester's approach when it comes to the practice of music making, even if much everything else for Chester has seen considerable flux – he's now a father of two, and most shockingly of all for an indie popster of his ilk, gainfully employed. "It definitely started the same way all Ginnels stuff starts," Chester explains, "which is just me looking through five years of phone demos and going 'that's a decent song' and 'that's a decent song', and if you keep that up then you have a full album."

The man himself might be coyly committed to making his process sound as pedestrian as possible, but from the moment the delicate chiming introduction of album opener 'The Body Was Gone' goes widescreen – revealing an expanded sonic palette richer in timbre and exponentially wider in scope than anything Chester has let out into the world thus far – it is apparent that "The Picturesque" is poised to be less than parochial in its sonic purview.

From here, "The Picturesque" plays like a gauzy road trip Super 8 footage cutting between scenes of sunset at Monument Valley and B-roll from around middle-Ireland, entirely soundtracked by some enchanted mixtape of heretofore unheard B sides from REM, XTC and The Go-Betweens, unexpected guest appearances from the surprisingly together-sounding ghost of Johnny Thunders and snippets from your coolest friends' unreleased instrumental experiments. All liberally rippled with Chester's unique ear for melody and appetite for the unexpected when it comes to crafting guitar parts. And this, by design, feels like a Guitar Record, above all else.

For all its effortlessly sticky lyrical and melodic twists, "The Picturesque" separates itself within the mighty Ginnels catalogue in both the dexterity in playing and diversity in tone on show across these 12 tracks. And 12, of course as we know, being the optimum number of tracks for any LP to have, so bonus points for that too.

Time for the second release in our series with the super OG, Mr. Bobby Aitken. Bobby and his band the Carib Beats produced a whole lot of stuff for release thru WIRL back in the late '60s. One of the best is this great rocksteady adaptation of Curtis’ classic “Keep On Pushing”, with Lloyd (Robinson) and Glen (Brown) on vocals. On the flip side of this is one of the rarest Carib Beats tunes, titled “Soul Special.” This is a cool instrumental with some charming flute playing (we love flute!), only ever released as the flip of “Crying Time” (still available), a brutally rare 45 that only exists in tiny numbers as a UK test pressing, never making it to full release.

The Tonarium is an idiosyncratic instrument comprising of two sets of modular synthesizers: Serge by Random Source, and another one by Bugbrand, both of which operate alongside a mixer constructed by Piotr Ceglarek and Jan Dybała. This intertwinement facilitates precise control over audio and CV signals and integrates technology with analog sound, offering the artists a distinctive sonic palette to delve into.

The present record unfolds in two parts, each exploring the fluctuating nature of sound. Both equally contribute to the work’s immersive imaging characterized by sound intensity, continuity and endless flow. Within its sonic tapestry lies a space for listeners to uncover subtle nuances, pulsations, and moments of harmony flickering through each chord’s firm surface.

In Part I, a formidable force consisting of chord progressions pierced by abrupt shifts and transitions unfolds. This deliberate disruption of harmonic continuity invites listeners to immerse themselves fully in each musical entity, uncovering the intricate details of the chords’ overtonal structure, drifting and steadily glimmering inside their glowing cores.

Part II, on the other hand, presents a more closed form—a recurring four-chord motif that evolves and transforms with each iteration until it finally fades out into whisper-like serenity. Here, the bass pulsates with greater intensity, like a wave enveloping the listener in a froth of feelings, which prevails and swells throughout the composition. In contrast to Part I, it exudes a sense of warmth and intimacy, inviting listeners to reflect over the dimensions of their own inner landscapes.

The Tonarium is to serve as a conduit for expression—a vessel through which the artist Aleksandra Slyz is enabled to channel her creativity and emotion into the music. Both Part I and II of the work have the capacity to drag listeners into a sonic odyssey that transcends time and space, therefore leaving an indelible impression on one’s trembling soul.

Performed & recorded on December 18-19th 2023 while in residence at The New Media Laboratory in Katowice, Poland.

Organized by The Soundscape Foundation

Composed & produced by Aleksandra Słyż

Mastered by Rashad Becker

Photographies by Kacper Krzętowski

Design by Maks Posio

Executive production by Christian Di Vito

"Adrian Younge Presents: Black Dynamite (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)" is the first official release from composer and producer Adrian Younge. The album, inspired by the great blaxploitation soundtracks of the 1970s, is the meticulously crafted sonic accompaniment to the cult classic, Black Dynamite. Younge commands the Rhodes electric piano, Hammond organ, Hohner Clavinet, harpsichord, synthesizer, vibraphone, guitar, bass, flute, sax, cello, and more to craft a singular vision of the era. Recorded and mixed by Adrian Younge at Linear Labs, the preeminent analog studio of Los Angeles, CA.

Auf 12“-Vinyl ab dem 31.01.2025 und digital ab dem 14.02.2025 auf allen Streaming Plattformen.

Paula Carolina steht wie kaum eine andere Künstlerin für die neue Rebellion des Indie Pop: roh, ungeschliffen, laut und doch voller Feingefühl. Ihre Erfolge sprechen für sich: Mit über 30 Millionen Streams als Künstlerin und Hits wie „Schreien“ (15 Millionen Streams, über 9.000 TikTok-Creations) hat sie sich längst vom Geheimtipp zu eine der wichtigsten Stimmen ihrer Generation entwickelt. Sie trift den Zeitgeist, ohne ihm hinterherzulaufen.

Ihre Musik ist ein Spagat aus NDW, Punk und Indie, der live noch intensiver wirkt – ein Sound, der in den Moshpit treibt und gleichzeitig eine Hand ausstreckt, um festzuhalten, was sonst verloren geht.

2024 hat sie nicht nur Clubs ausverkauft, sondern auch die großen Festivalbühnen bespielt: Hurricane, Southside, und mehr. Vor Tausenden von Menschen war sie die, die den Lärm machte – und alle Stimmen zusammenführte. Dieses Live-Album ist genau das: ein Stück Gemeinschaft, ein Mitschnitt der Nächte, in denen die Bühne zum Safe Space wurde, für all jene, die mehr suchen als nur Pop. Es ist ein Reisetagebuch ihrer wilden Tour, ein rohes, ungeschliffenes Dokument voller schreiender Gitarren, treibender Drums und dieser Stimme, die mal schreit, mal flüstert und in jedem Ton die Gegenwart einfängt.

Es gibt Musik, die berührt, und es gibt Musik, die aufrüttelt. Paula Carolina macht beides - und live erst recht. Ihre "Willkommen in der Realität"-Tour 2024 war nicht nur ein lauter, treibender Zug durch die Clubs des Landes, sondern ein greifbares Bekenntnis zu echten Momenten. Nächte, die nachhallen, in denen aus Fremden eine Gemeinschaft wurde, die zusammen tanzte, lachte und schrie. Genau dieses Gefühl ist jetzt konserviert auf Vinyl.

With lyrics that "give a voice to the feelings of people who often get left out of
popular discourse and pop culture" (NPR), Oliver Anthony became the first artist
in history to debut at No. One on the Billboard charts without previously having a
song on the charts with his hit song "Rich Men North of Richmond." The song has
been streamed more than 153 million times on YouTube and has tallied more
than 433 million across all streaming platforms. He is the first living male
songwriter to chart 13 songs simultaneously in Billboard's Top 50 Digital Song
Sales. Five of his other songs have made iTunes' Top 10, including "Ain't Got a
Dollar," which also claimed the No.One spot on Spotify's Viral 50 list.
In April, he released his first studio album, Hymnal Of A Troubled Man's Mind; the
dynamic 11-song collection "hits on an emotional, nostalgic musing of childhood
joy compared to adulthood strife. These ideas expound on facets of human
existence untouched by the political realm, no matter which camp you find
yourself on" (American Songwriter). Produced by Grammy winner Dave Cobb, the
album was praised by fans and critics for its "homespun sound" that shines light
on "his grainy, soulful vocal with acoustic guitars, bass and fiddle" (Billboard).
"Helmed by Nashville super- producer Dave Cobb, the 18- track collection is rife
with stories of addiction, depression, faith, and fury as Anthony documents the
decade leading up to his unexpected rise to stardom (it also features eight Bible
verses as interludes). A stark departure from "Richmond" in some ways and
others not, the album is proof that his viral moment wasn't a fluke." -
"This album represents the most pure and transparent view inside my heart and
soul that I could offer. While Richmond was the song that got my name out in the
public, these songs represent the true foundation of the music that got me
through life up until now" - Oliver Anthony Music

Dienne creates hazy pieces of music full of the melancholy of remembrance and loss combining analogue instruments with reverb-drenched vocals and shimmers of processed electronic sources. Her new album "Conducturis" emerges as a sensory exploration of the human spirit and the boundless horizons of artificial intelligence.

"Abundant in beauty and rich in disturbances" serves as the guiding principle for Belgian composer, Dienne, as she builds songs and soundscapes that portray the images and stories that play behind her eyes.

Combining analogue instruments like the oboe, the piano, and the flute with reverb-drenched vocals and shimmers of processed electronic sources, she creates hazy pieces of music full of the melancholy of remembrance and loss.

Her debut album Addio (2022) was released on Nicolás Jaar's Other People imprint. Addio is a 32-minute study on loss and mourning. Following the death of her grandmother due to Covid-19, and unable to say a proper goodbye due to travel restrictions, Dienne set out to give her "Addio" through musical form. The result is a deeply intimate work that channels classical instrumentation through foggy electronic experimentation.

Memories, biographies, and family histories merge in this simultaneously somber and optimistic work which plays out like a universal and comforting ode to lost loved ones. Her second album, Conducturis, accompanies an immersive film installation delving into speculative fiction, conceptualized by Mira Sanders and Cédric Noël. Conducturis will be released on Cortizona at the end of January 2025.

Conducturis is an immersive film installation project that delves into the realms of speculative fiction, employing the cinematic language of the road movie to envision the ramifications of constructing an artificial brain within the Swiss landscape.

Following their encounters with key figures in the Human Brain Project during an art research expedition in Geneva from 2019 to 2020, conceptualized by Cédric Noël & Mira Sanders, they stumbled upon a remarkable discovery: a hidden fiber-optic cable linking Geneva to Lugano.

Anchored at both ends by the Human Brain Project in Geneva and the CSCS (Centre Suisse de Calcul Scientifique) in Lugano, this conduit facilitated the transmission of intricate brain simulations from the imposing computational hub in Lugano to Geneva via a 'superconductor' cable.

While the nuances of this fiber network eluded the naked eye, Sanders & Noël meticulously pored over maps, gathered endless data, and traversed the terrain. In crafting "Conducturis", they chose to portray an immersive journey along this IT infrastructure connecting Geneva and Lugano, exploring the curious allure of dreaming about artificial landscapes.

The accompanying originalscore by Dienne invites audiences to delve into the intersection of human creativity and machine intelligence. Guided by the principle of being "abundant in beauty and rich in disturbances", Dienne embarks on a sonic exploration of the Swiss landscape, translating its ethereal beauty and technological wonders into evocative musical compositions.

"How can a human sound like a machine?"

This intriguing question lies at the heart of Dienne's artistic endeavor. For her, the soundtrack of "Conducturis'' transcends mere musical notes; it embodies a profound philosophical exploration into the essence of human creativity amidst the rise of artificial intelligence.

Similarly, "How can a human being compose like a machine?" serves as a pivotal inquiry guiding Dienne's creative journey. As she navigates the delicate boundary between human expression and machine cognition, she skillfully intertwines the pulsating rhythms of data transmission with the haunting melodies inspired by artificial landscapes.

Drawing inspiration from the cinematic aesthetics of the road movie genre, as envisioned by Sanders & Noël in their speculation on the construction of an artificial brain, Dienne weaves a sonic tapestry that transports listeners on a contemplative journey through mountains, lakes, and cities.

Each track for "Conducturis" becomes a testament to the fusion of brain and landscape, inviting audiences to ponder the limitless potential of human imagination.

As audiences immerse themselves in the evocative world of "Conducturis", Dienne's soundtrack serves as a guiding force and perfect companion, leading them through a transcendental experience where reality and imagination merge, and the symphony of human and machine harmonizes seamlessly.

"Conducturis" emerges as a sensory exploration of the human spirit and the boundless horizons of artificial intelligence. With Dienne's soundtrack as its heartbeat, this project invites audiences to embark on a voyage of discovery, where the echoes of human creativity reverberate across the digital frontier.

The great deep house maestro Alton Miller is one of the most underrated names in the game if you ask us. The long-time innovator still turns out supremely designed sounds as this one on Mister Bear evidences. 'Afrika Alright' opens with smoky, soulful vocals and lovely flute melodies next to wispy synth explorations, 'Dub Afrika' pads it out with some extra pillowy low ends, then 'Hang On' brings some bright xylophone melodies and jumbled percussion to a more Afro tinged house shuffler. Last of all is 'Super Hero' with its whimsical synth leads and interesting sound designs adding rich detail to a dusty deep house groove. Timeless stuff as always from Miller.

Music To Varnish Owls By. Does Geoff Bastow have a claim for the best album title of all time? It's certainly up there. It's also one of the hardest to find library funk records. But don't let the eye-catching name fool you into thinking this isn't serious business.

As a key member of Giorgio Moroder's team, the legendary Geoff Bastow shouldn't need any introduction. You'll be familiar with his singular brilliance as the brains behind the much-sampled boogie/disco classics "You Don't Like My Music (Hupendi Muziki Wangu?!)" and "Don't Stop", released by his group, K.I.D.

But 1975's Music To Varnish Owls By is where it all began for our hero.

It's packed with incredibly soulful, soothing music that - despite being utilised a few times by Knxwledge - remains still largely un-mined. So, beat-makers, get cracking. And instead of that hyper-rare original, spend that £300 on something else.

Born in 1949, Bastow was a Munich-based English songwriter and record producer. Originally working as a guitarist and pianist in dance bands around his home county of Yorkshire, he moved to London in the early 1970s and then Munich in around 1976. He was one of the main architects of the Munich disco sound of electronic innovator Giorgio Moroder and also released heaps of killer library records for legendary labels like Bruton (with brother Trevor), Impress, JW Music Library and the Munich-based Sonoton between the 1970s-2000s. Bastow died tragically young, in Berlin, Germany on 16 March 2007, at the age of just 57. But he left behind a truly incredible electronic music legacy. He deserves to be much better known and this reissue should bring him to a fair few more ears. Let's see why...

Light-hearted opener "The Rough With The Smooth" contains a killer open drum break and is basically guitar-drenched flute-laced piano-funk. However, the first genuine highlight, "Beautiful People", is just majestic. Reflective, pastoral and silky smooth - as the title suggests, it's just straight beautiful; a chiming, deeply soulful instrumental that has to be heard to be believed. Sampled by Knxwledge but nobody else of note, which is crazy. Slo-mo soul beat "Tumbleweed" is another stone cold track just desperate to be laced by a skilled MC. Laconic, lysergic funk with nostalgic overtones, the guitar is prominent but the flute and glock really elevate it to perfection.

"Bits And Bats" is clav-enhanced Blaxploitation-esque street-funk with tough bass and crunchy drums that, despite its hardness, manages to flirt with breeziness. All in all, sumptuous, pounding wah-wah brilliance. Another huge one, up next. The insistent piano-funk head-nodder "A Change Of Pace" is a total sleuth-funk jammer, with a wonderfully soft snare and more hypnotic, melancholic flute lines. Man, we'd love to hear Alchemist chop this up. It even sounds a bit like Bastow was keeping things thoro with this one. Closing out Side A, the bright and breezy Bossa of "Janelle" makes it a perfect run of six untouchable gems. As elegant as it is sleazy, it sounds like it could've been on the classic KPM greensleeve, Piano Viberations.

Side B opens with the Ramsey Lewis-inspired "Time And A Half", a deceptively simple bass, drums and piano workout, decorated with stylish percussion with some great chord changes and hints of drama via a great bass solo. The heavy "Supersplash" is a doped-out drama suite with fuzzy wah-wah guitars, electric piano and glock. "Fillet Of Soul" is a catchy wah-wah propelled shuffle with piano and vibes, super dynamic but also incredibly chill.

"Well Above Average" is exactly that, a funky instrumental that serves as a straight ahead guitar-soul workout. Oozing bass-driven class, it gets better with every listen. Some open drums for your delectation, too. The fuzzy clav-and-vibes funk of "The Clan" - also understandably sampled by Knxwledge - is a monster head-nod slow jam whilst, seeing us out, the uber-relaxed "Sing Song" rounds things off in bright fashion with its slow but insistent clav, electric piano and glock greatness. Swoon.

As ever, the audio for Music To Varnish Owls By has been carefully remastered by Be With regular Simon Francis, ensuring it sounds better than ever. Cicely Balston's expert skills have made sure nothing is lost in the cut whilst the records have been pressed to the highest possible standard at Record Industry in Holland. The original, iconic sleeve has been restored here at Be With HQ as the finishing touch to this long overdue re-issue.

DJ Plead and rRoxymore with a debut collab of rhythmelodically restless productions, infusing limber, freewheeling styles with subtly psychedelic balearic melodics.

After meeting for the first time in 2019, Hermione Frank and Jarred Beeler got together at Frank's Berlin studio, slowly sculpting fractal geometries before finally adding the finishing spit and polish at Beeler's parents’ house in Sydney. Marking some of the first original material from either in a minute, the EP knits the duo’s rhythmic fascinations in three ways.

‘Celestial’ splices a rolling 4/4 with quicksilver polyrhythms and zippy melodic motifs swept into hand-clap trills, imagining something like Olof Dreijer re-shaping Joe’s angular syncopations. ‘Read Wrong’ follows to foreground a thumb piano on a more pendulous, sub-weighted flex, inflected with DJ Plead’s signature palette of drum sounds and canny orchestral flashes at the right moments, dipping like D1’s more melodic works or that forthcoming Nídia & Valentina Magaletti pearl.

The duo save their most hard-hitting for last, sliding speedy, dembow-inspired geometries through green-tinted clouds of electronics on a UKF-compatible offbeat threaded with swooping subs and flighty flutes. The momentum never lets up, but the two producers manage to evoke a mood that's as suited to a late-nite solo thing as it is to peak time wreckage. In other words; deceptively effortless gear that hits harder the louder it gets.

The Blues and the Abstract Truth is not just a landmark album in Oliver Nelson's career but in the history of jazz itself

The album features an incredible ensemble of top-tier jazz musicians, often referred to as a "supergroup": Oliver Nelson (alto saxophone, tenor saxophone), Freddie Hubbard (trumpet), Eric Dolphy (alto saxophone, flute), George Barrow (baritone saxophone), Bill Evans (piano), Paul Chambers (bass), Roy Haynes (drums). The early 1960s were marked by a shift from the hard bop of the 1950s to more experimental forms, including modal jazz, free jazz, and the incorporation of avant-garde elements. Musicians like John Coltrane, Ornette Coleman, and Charles Mingus were all pushing the boundaries of jazz, and Oliver Nelson's work fits within this broader movement: in this album there's a perfect combination of modern compositional techniques, virtuosic performances, and emotional depth make it an essential listening experience for any jazz fan. It captures the moment when jazz was evolving into new, exciting directions while staying connected to its roots in the blues. The Blues and the Abstract Truth is considered one of the essential albums in modern jazz where Oliver Nelson's compositional style blends hard bop, modal jazz, and blues influences with sophisticated harmonic structures and striking arrangements. The album is noted for ts rich orchestration despite having a relatively small ensemble with use of textures and colours, particularly in tracks like "Stolen Moments," created a new standard in azz arranging.

A1 Northern Lights
Darkly, tense tones take center stage as Northern Lights kicks the LP off, introduced with an eerie synth before classic, striking old school breaks that aficionados will recall from the likes of John Bs Secrets drop, chopped expertly by our Spatial duo to create a quietly vengeful beat pattern with heavy kicks and a unique stuttering detail. Circling menacingly around the mix we are treated to swathes of choral detail, subtle vocal samples and shimmering ambience..

A2 Sunset on Mars
Showcasing the strengths of both producers through a delightfully rich atmosphere, Sunset on Mars opens with soothing echoed effects that ooze a welcoming sense of wonder. Delicate in composition yet still packing a punch, the breaks sit over a sumptuous deep sub bassline which carries our journey through simple key melodies, vivid mood-changing synths superbly to create a pure, wholesome atmospheric bliss.

B1 Totality
Dominant hats and cymbals surf the peaks of the mix early in Totality, detailed old school breakbeats quickly seizing our attention constructed with an effortless attention to detail. A stark, thick atmosphere is carved from a broad backdrop of sound blending vocals and synths, enveloping the listener with a dense, bleak soundscape that develops continually as the breaks roll on with memorable intent.

B2 Reincarnation
A deeply evocative, interstellar intro opens Reincarnation, generating images of lonely spacewalks with trademark Spatial aplomb. The vibe continues through a barrage of heavy analogue amens which crush the mix, edited with a chunky, commanding panache. The listener can picture pillars of isolation and thundering defiance dancing in duality as the elements weave their way fluidly throughout.

C1 Seraphim
Into an intense, epically atmospheric piece next as Seraphim channels the spirit of yesterday for a journey into the souls core via scene-trademark Hot Pants breaks, a moody 808 bassline and swirling atmospheric pads, melodies & synths. Layered with detailed FX demanding repeated listens to soak it all in, Seraphim is a special track which will take over your setlist and the journey home.

C2 Prism of Light
Sit back and relax to another slice of classic atmospheric bliss with Prism of Light, opening with a DJ-friendly hi hat intro before melodic synths generate an instantly unforgettable late-90s vibe. Hot Pants breaks drive us forward with a wondrously simple yet effective mix of 2 step and double kick edits, as blissful ambient washes and vocal hits are drizzled over the mix. Delightful.

D1 Harmonic Function A uniquely constructed beat pattern guaranteed to move you opens Harmonic Function, building up from rushing cymbals and hats intertwined with a fantastic crunchy, metallic half-time snare. Throw in a slew of mournful melodies and blanketed pad work around the mix and youre left with a superbly laid back yet danceable piece from ASC & Aural Imbalance, continually innovating in their music as ever on Spatial.

D2 Fade to Grey
Old school rhythms are on the agenda as our duo close out the album with a tense, meandering exploration through space, circling the planets through mellowed out beats before a layer of dense, analogue breaks are added to the mix as the atmosphere escalates. Exquisitely programmed vocals provide texture and feeling, while an understated bassline rumbling on below, completing a timeless collage of sound.

Words by Chris Hayes (Spatial / Red Mist)

The Boysnoize Records catalogue contains more than a decade of milestones in the life of Angeleno DJ and producer PILO. His signatures—a focus on sound design, and a digital crunch evocative of hardware rather than software—are present from the very beginning, but the evolution of Pilo’s skill and sophistication is clear as he stretches from electro to experimental to techno and back again in a slowly oscillating gradient. Yet despite his dozen or so releases in just as many years, G.L.A.M. (dropping November 8th, 2024 from BNR) is Pilo’s first proper album. That the record embraces the cyclical nature of time is apropos; the artist’s journey towards self-actualized mastery always ends with a new beginning.



Over the eight tracks of G.L.A.M., Pilo reaches deep into the dream that first ignited the passion that has driven him since. For a chosen few internet-connected American teens in the aughts, the sounds of European electro (and electroclash) trickled down their ethernet cables and instilled a fantasy of exotic, sartorial, sexually-fluid hedonism that felt a world away from the hard-edged masculinity of the hip-hop and skate cultures dominant at home. Pilo opens G.L.A.M. expressing this idealized fantasy with the track “Superstar DJ,” channeling the tongue-in-cheek self-celebritizing of Miss Kitten and The Hacker’s seminal work. “I’m a superstar, come meet me at the bar,” hiss Pilo’s heavily effected vocals, over a bassline of chopped mentasm synths driven by a swift, club-ready rhythm. The fingerprint of 2000’s electro a la International Deejay Gigolo Records is recognizably present, yet Pilo is too adept, too confident in his studio abilities to let his tracks rely on the retro. A great joy of this album is the future-facing richness of its production, always nodding to its spiritual guide of the past, while constantly breaking new sonic ground.



G.L.A.M. continues with “Girls Rule The World,” its vicious, droning bassline and sticky, titular hook making it the perfect electroclash soundtrack for a revenge plot on an ex-boyfriend. “What you Want” offers an instrumental exercise in “synthesizers are the new guitars,” and Pilo’s FX chops really shine as he warps and distorts his sounds into an undiscovered dimension existing somewhere between both. “Loverboy” enters the more melodic, Legowelt-inspired realm of electro, pushing above and beyond the foundation of analogue minimalism with flourishes of impressive sound design to construct something both climactic and cathartic. Scopa lends her perfect coldwave sprechgesang to titular track “G.L.A.M.,” with Pilo’s vocal processing offering surprises throughout and his FX chains wielded as instruments unto themselves.



On the track “A Slow Thinning Halo,” Pilo might be conjuring the haunting vocal chops and chiptune simplicity of early Crystal Castles, but the whiplash snap of his drums and sizzling production are all his own. “Spend the Night” is G.L.A.M.’s least nostalgic—and most unashamedly pop—offering, with the mic being passed between Sana and DEEVIOUS (previously featured on Pilo and Boys Noize’s 2023 track “Pvssy.”) DEEVIOUS’ sultry singing rides atop the bassline as it hypnotically struts across the floor, while Pilo’s skillful arrangement, deft rhythm programming, and atmospheric control elevate the songcraft into full-spectrum worldbuilding.



As the penultimate track, the contemporaneity of “Spend the Night” serves as transition away from the album’s previous, past-leaning exercises, allowing Pilo to step fully into the future with “One Last Embrace.” The closing track still references aughts sounds, but it borrows so widely and prolifically that Pilo’s reassemblage can only be described as singular. Here, Pilo pushes his engineering into psychoacoustic territory, as the eerie, beautiful melancholy of “One Last Embrace” explodes into a thrashing bassline that warbles like a drowning memory, struggling against the sinking weight of time. Pilo allows it to survive for 16 electrifying, gut-wrenching bars before letting go. In G.L.A.M., as in Pilo’s career, as in life, every ending can only be a new beginning.

Sasha continues his current hot streak with a new single on Last Night On Earth alongside Jody Barr, with a killer Einmuisk Remix on the flip.

Pioneering electronic force Sasha has found plenty of success in recent creative partnerships. The Last Night On Earth founder has worked with the likes of Super Flu and Sentre and dropped a steady stream of fresh solo sounds such as 'Florian Drift' and 'How to Wear Raybans Well'. All this means he continues to lead the melodic house and techno scene from the front with expertly crafted sounds. Here, he works with Jody Barr who has long been close to this label having also established himself with music on Krankbrother, Configurations Of Self and Nofitstate. He heads up Portable Minds and is renowned for his rugged, hardware-centric sound.

'Phaxon' is a beautifully elegant affair with shimmering chords rising and falling over a serene electronic groove. It's packed with smart sound design and subtle touches that make it glow from start to finish as the emotions build and sweep you up into a delightful dance floor reverie.

Hamburg's Einmusik has a cultured techno sound that has lit up his own self-titled label as well as the likes of Diynamic and Sincopat. His version is more rugged with a darker feel thanks to the rasping bassline that rumbles below. There is still plenty of great chord work but the whole track is a little more direct for poignant club deployment.

Al Jarreau hat immer gesagt, dass er Al Jarreau-Musik singt, und er war wirklich einzigartig: Seine sechs Grammy-Awards und neunzehn Nominierungen als "Bester Sänger" decken nicht weniger als drei Kategorien ab – Jazz, Pop und R&B – mit anderen Worten, musikalische Genres interessierten ihn nicht wirklich. "Musik mag für andere Leute in Kategorien fallen, und ich verstehe das", sagte er, "aber für mich gilt: Wenn ich einen Song mag, muss ich ihn machen, und das war's. Wenn du zu meinen Konzerten kommst, setze ich mich auf deine Schulter und flüstere dir etwas ins Ohr. Ich öffne den Geist und gehe durch viele Türen." Diese Art von reichhaltigen, beschreibenden Bildern beschwört die Höhenflüge der stimmlichen Fantasie herauf, zu denen sein Gesang jederzeit fähig war. Er konnte einen Song plötzlich in neue und unerwartete Richtungen lenken. Er erklärte es immer so: "Wenn es ein Rückgrat für das gibt, was ich tue, dann ist es die Jazz-Umgangssprache."

Musik, Klänge und Rhythmus schienen ihn zu durchströmen, und das war kein Wunder. 1940 in eine musikalische Familie geboren, war er ein überdurchschnittlicher Student und schloss sein Studium mit einem Bachelor of Science in Psychologie und anschließend einem Master in beruflicher Rehabilitation ab. Und doch war die Musik nie weit von ihm entfernt. In den späten 1960er Jahren schloss er sich einem Trio an, das vom Pianisten George Duke geleitet wurde, und arbeitete daran, das Singen zu einer Vollzeitbeschäftigung in Los Angeles zu machen.

Zu diesem Zeitpunkt hörte ihn Siggi Loch, der damals ein hochkarätiger Manager bei Warner Brothers Records (WEA) war und später ACT Records gründete. "Ich sah Al Jarreau 1974 zum ersten Mal im Troubadour in Los Angeles und war sofort von seiner Stimme und seiner Bühnenpräsenz gefesselt", erinnert er sich. "Am nächsten Tag ging ich zu Mo Ostin, dem Präsidenten der WEA, um ihn davon zu überzeugen, ihn zu unterschreiben." Nach anfänglichen Widerständen erhielt Loch grünes Licht und 1975 erschien Jarreaus Debütalbum für WEA, "We Got By". "Ich habe Al nach Deutschland gebracht, bevor er in den USA Erfolg hatte", fährt Loch fort. "Al trat drei Nächte lang in Hamburg auf und ich schaffte es, Michael Naura, den Chef der Jazzabteilung des NDR, davon zu überzeugen, den dritten Abend für die Live-TV-Übertragung aufzunehmen." Diese Show machte Al über Nacht in Deutschland berühmt, und seitdem hat er immer einen besonderen Platz in den Herzen des deutschen Publikums. "We Got By" gewann den Preis der Deutschen Schallplattenkritik und seine erste Deutschlandtournee füllte große Konzertsäle.

Es folgte "Glow" (1976), das in Europa erneut gut ankam und einen zweiten Preis der Deutschen Schallplattenkritik gewann, in den USA aber nicht so gut ankam: "Das richtete sich an ein 'Smooth Jazz'-Publikum", so Loch. "Es hat Al nicht vor einem Live-Publikum eingefangen. Also bat ich darum, dass seine nächste Veröffentlichung ein Live-Album sein sollte. Mo Ostin stimmte widerwillig zu", und "Look to the Rainbow" wurde in Europa ein Riesenerfolg, "Als es in den USA veröffentlicht wurde, wurde es Al's Durchbruchsalbum und brachte ihm seinen ersten Grammy ein, also ist es wirklich richtig zu sagen, dass seine Karriere vor allem in Deutschland begann!", sagt Loch.

Jarreaus langjährige Zusammenarbeit mit dem NDR veranlasste Jörg Achim Keller, Chefdirigent der NDR Bigband, 2016 eine Zusammenarbeit mit dem Sänger vorzuschlagen: "Eine Produktion mit der Musik von Al und Ellington zu machen, war etwas, was ich schon seit Anfang der 2000er Jahre machen wollte", erinnert er sich. "Die Reaktion von Al war von Anfang an sehr positiv." Jörg bereitete eine Liste von einigen hundert Ellington-Titeln vor, und wie sich Jarreau später erinnerte: "Wir gingen einfach die Liste durch, und es war ein Fall von 'Oh, der funktioniert für mich' und 'Lass uns das als alten Darm-Blues machen – was für mich wichtig war, war, mich in der Musik wiederzufinden und vielleicht eine andere Art von Aussage über Ellington zu machen, damit die Leute die Musik auf eine andere Art und Weise hören konnten. alles, was sie vorher gehört hatten."

Beim Schreiben der Charts achtete Jörg darauf, Jarreaus Herangehensweise an das Material zu respektieren, indem er ihm Raum ließ. Tracks wie "I'm Beginning to See the Light" oder "I Got It Bad (and that Ain't Good)" geben den Solisten der Band ebenfalls Spielraum, um ihr Bestes zu geben. "Das sind hochentwickelte, intelligente Solisten, die mit jedem auf der Welt spielen können", sagte Jarreau. "Sie pushen mich, und ich liebe den Push, und sie lassen mich wie eine echte Sängerin klingen!"

Jarreau und die Band tourten in der zweiten Hälfte des Jahres 2016 mit der Musik, "Es gab immer noch einige Feinabstimmungen während der Tour, von Konzert zu Konzert", fügte Jörg mit einem Lächeln hinzu. "Er liebte es, diese Balladen zu singen – und jede hatte ein anderes Gefühl. "Am Sonntag" war ihm aber sehr wichtig. Diese Tabelle wurde zweimal überarbeitet, bevor er schließlich damit zufrieden war! Bei einigen Songs entschied er sich für einen reinen Balladenstil – 'I Got It Bad (and that Ain't Good)', einige Melodien wurden in eine Pop/R&B-Tasche gesteckt ('Lush Life', 'Come Sunday') und er liebte das 'Old Gutbucket Blues'-Feeling von 'I Ain't Got Nothing but the Blues'."

Rückblickend auf diese Sessions und Tour sagt Jörg: "Es waren Al's Stil und Persönlichkeit, die alles zusammenhielten. Das Ganze war eine echte Kombination aus der musikalischen Meisterschaft von Jarreau und Ellington – es hat das Publikum in ganz Europa angesprochen, sie liebten das Programm." Dieses Gefühl teilt auch Siggi Loch, der Jarreau mit der NDR Bigband in Paris erwischte: "Es war offensichtlich, dass er es wirklich genoss, diese Musik aufzuführen, und er tat es mit so viel Energie und Emotion, es war eine Freude zu sehen und zu hören. Leider verstarb Al nur wenige Monate später."

In vielerlei Hinsicht schließt sich mit "Ellington" ein Kreis: Es fühlt sich sehr richtig an, dass Jarreaus letztes Album auf ACT veröffentlicht wird, dem Label, das von Siggi Loch gegründet wurde, dessen starkes und unerschütterliches Eintreten für den Sänger ihn ursprünglich auf den Weg zum Superstar brachte. Und die Tatsache, dass es vom NDR und seiner hauseigenen Bigband aufgezeichnet wurde, ist eine passende Erinnerung daran, dass es sich um eben jenen Sender handelte, dessen TV-Sendung Jarreau einst über Nacht in Deutschland berühmt gemacht hatte. Darüber hinaus wurde "Ellington", genau wie "Look to the Rainbow", das Jarreaus internationales Durchbruchsalbum war, auch live aufgenommen. Manchmal gibt es Verbindungsfäden zwischen Ereignissen, die auf den ersten Blick in keinem Zusammenhang zu stehen scheinen, und das Ergebnis erweist sich nicht nur als besonders und magisch, sondern auch bedeutungsvoll und tief berührend. Das ist hier auf jeden Fall der Fall.



Stuart Nicholson, Musikjournalist und Autor

15 years onwards from the original release in October 2009, "This Is …" by Gizelle Smith & The Mighty Mocambos remains a classic in its genre. Upfront, raw and melodic, this super sister funk album has not aged at all. Now, in 2024, it is time for a proper re-release with unreleased bonus tracks, rare remixes and a limited edition double vinyl album. Welcome to the deluxe version of "This Is …" by Gizelle Smith & The Mighty Mocambos.

Read here what the original release sheet said about the album:

"Strong album – packs a serious punch" Craig Charles Funk and Soul Show, BBC 6 Music

"A breath of fresh air" Keb Darge

"Really amazing stuff, full of killers" Nick / Record Kicks

"Definitely recommended" Peter Wermelinger, Funky & Groovy Music Records Lexicon

"What a fantastic album – this is proper funk" Tobias Kirmayer, Tramp Records

Ever since their first collaboration on the "Mocambo Funk Forty Fives" compilation, things have gained momentum for Gizelle Smith, the "Golden Girl of Funk", and the much respected Hamburg-based label and live band The Mighty Mocambos. Their first single "Working Woman" became an overnight smash and a prime-time club favourite of funk & soul DJs from all over the world. Initially released on the Finnish private press label Old Capital, producer legend and Grammy nominee Kenny Dope (Masters at Work, Bucketheads) picked up and remixed the song for his own label Kay Dee Records. Gizelle Smith & Mocambo now step up with a full-length album of bonafide sister funk. In the days of digital recording and Pro Tools editing, they show true exception to modern techniques and create their highly regarded, unique and raw soul sound, by making use of simple dynamic microphones and reel-to-reel tape machines. In a genre which is often littered with overused clichés of the past, the charismatic Gizelle Smith adds a lot of her own flavour rather than slavishly copying icons of bygone decades. The result is a refreshing alternative to post-millenium plastic pop without being a mere retro rip-off. From the heavy and determined "Gonna Get You" to vulnerable, gospel-tinged laments such as "Coffee High", "This Is Gizelle Smith & The Mighty Mocambos" is just as deeply rooted in the music from the golden era of soul as it is a modern masterpiece in its own right. Blazing horns, soulful guitars, driving drums and basslines combined with Gizelle's gripping and powerful voice all weave together to create a long player that is varied and coherent at the same time.

Features Unreleased Studio Sessions, Alternate Versions, Live Recordings, Rarities, And 36-Page Book With New Photos & An Extensive Conversation Between Joni & Cameron Crowe

Sourced From Original Stereo Reels, Nagra Film Recordings, Multi-track Tapes, Radio Airchecks & Cassette Tapes

Throughout the latter half of the seventies, Joni continued to creatively break ground with her fearless and fluid exploration of jazz. Rather than tread the same path, she challenged and reinvented her style with a folk fusion like no other. Ascending to an unrivaled sonic peak, this innovative sound took shape across the gold-certified HEJIRA 1976, the gold-certified double-LP DON JUAN’S RECKLESS DAUGHTER [1977], her collaboration with Charles Mingus entitled MINGUS [1979], and live album SHADOWS AND LIGHT [1980]. Channeling the thrill and excitement of these records, she delves even further into this season on JONI MITCHELL ARCHIVES, VOL. 4: THE ASYLUM YEARS (1976-1980), due October 4th.

Available as a 6CD, 4LP (featuring Joni's personal favorites from the 6CD set), and digitally, this comprehensive and essential set spans one of the most prolific periods of her storied career. It boasts powerful live tracks from her time in Bob Dylan’s Rolling Thunder Revue during 1975 and 1976 Tour of the United States. It pulls back the curtain on the music by showcasing early recordings and alternate takes from the respective sessions for HEJIRA, DON JUAN’S RECKLESS DAUGHTER, and MINGUS. It covers the Bread & Roses Festival as well as the Anti-Nuclear Rally. Finally, VOL. 4 chronicles her 1979 tour, even showcasing two tracks from that year’s Tour Rehearsals. Not to mention, it showcases her versatility and adaptability, housing collaborations with everyone from Herbie Hancock and Jaco Pastorious to Wayne Shorter and Pat Metheny.

Vol. 4 culls the previously-unissued material from original stereo reels, cassette tapes, CD-Rs, and even a radio broadcast. Newly mixed tracks came from multi-track tapes, while a handful of hi-res digital tracks have been sourced from the Bob Dylan Archives.

Each version includes a book with never-before-seen photos and liner notes comprising a deep dive discussion between Mitchell and longtime friend Cameron Crowe. As part of their candid conversation, she shares intimate anecdotes, memories, and stories from that five-year creative run.

ZEKE ist eine Punkrock- und Hardcore-Institution, die 1992 in Seattle gegründet, immer noch aktiv ist. Sie machen das, was sie am besten können: lauten, schnellen und schweren Punkrock mit einem Hauch von Blues. In Anlehnung an Motörhead brachten ZEKE aber ein gewisses Punkrock- und Hardcore-Element in das Genre, das viele Bands nach ihnen aufgegriffen haben.
RPM Online schrieb, „Zeke sind wirklich, wie keine andere Band auf der Welt“ und „It's not fast, its fucking hypersonic hardcore“, während Maximum Volume empfiehlt „... they are the kings of the underground.“ Vive le Rock aus Großbritannien freut sich, dass „das Quartett dem Brexit den Stinkefinger zeigen wird“ und auch das Ox Fanzine aus Deutschland bestätigt: „Sie sind in Topform, so wie wir sie 1996 bei „Super Sound Racing“ gefeiert haben.“ Mit den Originalmitgliedern Blind Marky Felchtone (Gesang und Gitarre) und Donny Paycheck (Schlagzeug) sowie Jason Freeman (Bass) und Jeff Hiatt (Gitarre) ist „Snake Eyes“ so kompromisslos wie eh und je, mit einem furiosen Wirbelwind-Rhythmus als Fundament und eine Flutwelle schneller Gitarren. Feltchtones messerscharfe Stimme ist sogar noch giftiger als vor zwei Jahrzehnten. Beim Titeltrack ‚Snake Eyes‘ verlangsamt die Band das Punk-Tempo etwas zugunsten einer hochoktanigen Rock-Affäre, die an Hellacopters erinnert aber trotz allem zu schnell bleibt. Auf der B- Seite gibt es pure Intensität mit 'The Knife' und man kann sich vorstellen, wie ZEKE einen durch die Nacht fahren und tun, was auch immer sie im Hintergrund tun. Wenn es vorbei ist, fühlt man sich benommen und verwirrt. Wie einer dieser Masochisten, die den Schmerz lieben, will man sich diesem erneut hingeben.
Die Titel sind nicht auf den Streaming-Plattformen verfügbar.

Two seminal 12" mixes of a pair of enormous tracks from Surface. Housed in the super-rare and - until now - French-only picture sleeve of the eternal "Falling In Love", we've backed that classic with Be With's favourite deconstructed mix of the swirling electronic soul / synth-driven slow jam "Happy". These sought-after versions have never been paired on the same record before. This fresh Be With edition ensures these legendary tracks now sound, looks and feel as sensational as they deserve to. You know what to do...

American post-disco/R&B trio Surface were a New Jersey vocal group made up of Bernard Jackson, David Townsend and David Conley. The majesty of boogie ballad "Falling In Love" was their first single, released in 1983 on Salsoul Records. The mellow magic of this track is loved the world over; it's a feel-good smooth boogie jam that's forever coveted. The slick, crystal clear beat, the legendary minimoog bassline, the melody, Karen Copeland's superb vocal, the great flute solo (referenced on the cover) all of it is literally perfect and beautifully encapsulates that mid 80s international club vibe. This here is the original Shep Pettibone mix in its entirety - it's the only one you really need.

Flip for the legendary "Love Mix" of 1987 hit single “Happy". You all know the original. At least, you *should* all know it. But the "Love Mix" is a deconstructed, boldly produced mix which is the one the heads have turned to for so long. Yet, in our opinion, its hypnotic groove has flown under the radar for too many years. This killer remix begins with Jackson's spine-tingling isolated vocal, cleverly subverting expectations by actually delivering the first words of the original's second verse "You must be Heaven sent...Sent into my life...And I compliment you baby...Baby" before a heavy 808 drum kicks hard with echoey handclaps. It's super sparse and a dubbed out slow-mo boogie banger like no other. The synth bass, atmospheric synth pads and synthesized flute glide in and out with effortless style and the whole thing is a wonder to behold.

It's a slow jam, for sure, but crafted in the straight up funk tradition, using the digital tools of the day and this sparser than sparse version almost sounds like a precursor to UK Street Soul. A unique combination of undeniable funk, electro beats and an earnest, youthful tenor; it should be slamming out of every jeep forevermore.

Simon Francis remastered the original audio for both tracks and Cicely Balston's precise cut for Alchemy at AIR Studios ensures this 12" well and truly slaps. The immaculate Record Industry pressing will ensure this incredibly sought-after treasure finds a home in many more collections, this and every year. Simply flawless.

2024 Repress

Undoubtedly the darlings of electro-pop, Satin Jackets finally unveil their debut artist album, 'Panorama Pacifico' featuring a string of cameos from vocalists familiar and exotic, jetting in from LA, Berlin, London, Belgium and Australia.

Scaling the heights of the Hype machine from their first release to the latest, and clocking up almost ten million plays on spotify, Satin Jacket's original brand of diva funk and smooth disco has whetted the tastebuds of the likes of Majestic Casual and i-D mag who said the duo's "super sexy, infectious house music is filled with the vibe of summertime." Their smash single, 'You Make Me Feel Good' has accumulated close to three million plays on Soundcloud (soundcloudsatinjackets/you-make-me-feel-good) and Youtube concurrently.

"The idea came from our character, Mr. Satin Jackets, who's been travelling the world quite a bit the past two years," explained Tim Bernhardt, the founder of the duo. "Four continents, about twenty countries in, he's on the West Coast and takes a break. He watches the ocean to put his mind at ease and out pours Panorama Pacifico."

This idyllic perspective is launched by the vocals of Scavenger Hunt, the Los Angeles-based electro-pop 4-piece, charted by Billboard and featured by the likes of Nylon mag. They explain about their contribution, "Feel Good' feels like jumping into a cool pool on a hot summer day- refreshing, exhilarating and sexy." Nigerian born and Birmingham based UoB's Got Talent winner, IsaacO contributes to 'Keep Moving On'. He explains it's, "a song about having a nonchalant attitude towards life regardless of what it throws at you. Best listened to on a nighttime drive on the highway."

The album also takes a peek into the past successes of Satin Jackets, with last year's smash single, 'Shine On You' featuring UK born and Berlin based talent Esser, dubbed by Clash magazine as "an exploratory glimpse into the mind-expanding side of Satin Jackets' electronics," and recent single 'We Can Talk' featuring vocals from Emma Brammer.

Further new collaborations include Ghent-based collective I will, I swear, Melbourne's Kids At Midnight and diamond in the rough of Belgian pop Marble Sounds. Fellow Eskimo artist and Greek producer NTEIBINT and KLP from Australia also feature. Each plots a similar narrative about the struggles of love. "'Say You' is about being afraid of being happy,' explains Jane Elizabeth Hanley AKA Kids At Midnight; 'Coast To Coast' is "a sweet love song that could also work on the dancefloor," says George Bakalakos AKA NTEIBINT; and Emma Brammer explores the concept of, "the exciting and painful first love - maybe it's not so good for you but it feels historical."

Pieter Van Dessel of Marble Sounds digs further on 'Find Out'. "The lyrics 'Shut your eyes, and you'll find out' started as a reference to childhood memories: as kids we often had to close eyes when somebody wanted to surprise us with a gift. But it can also mean that you could learn more about reality when you disconnect and close your eyes, instead of gathering (too) much information."

Three quarters of the tracks are fresh and introduce exciting guest vocalists and producers. These are complemented by the much-loved staples from the duo, 'Girl, Forever' and 'You Make Me Feel Good'. Tim of Satin Jackets explains, "We're ending the journey of this album with 'You Make Me Feel Good',

German music producer, Tim Bernhardt and lead performer Den Ishu are Satin Jackets. Their eponymous live show has relentlessly toured the US, Canada, Mexico and Europe, opening their fluid pop appeal and accessible four-to-the-floor groove up to the world at large. Their debut album, 'Panorama Pacifico' is set for release on 8th April on their home label, Eskimo Recordings. The Belgian imprint has been a purveyor of disco, house and everything in between for over fifteen years.

The principles of pleasure radiate a knowing, carnal heat throughout the genre-fluid sound of LSDXOXO. His decade of dedication to the sensibility of underground club culture has brought forth club classics interwoven with pop music hooks and subversive, tongue-in-cheek lyrics.

After four years of what LSDXOXO, real name RJ Glasgow, calls a period of “healing and self-discovery,” he is consolidating his multiplicitous sound with one compelling masterstroke: the debut album DOGMA, to be released on his own imprint F.A.G. DOGMA marks a complete paradigmatic shift: it is a poetic and fantastical performance, a route for deep escapism through an expanded musical palette including piano and guitar, and a deeply personal confessional through a fresh approach to songcrafting.

Within DOGMA, RJ meditates on the interlinked qualities of fame, infamy, lust and submission, as he rediscovers a pure, unadulterated approach to music-making, all the while adopting a futurist approach to pop music appreciation. RJ’s unmistakable signatures—the smutty dancefloor caller, the maker of irresistible bangers, the latter-day electroclash and DnB nostalgist—take on even more shades and intricacies. Despite his widespread acclaim as a collaborator with and songwriter for other artists, RJ strips DOGMA down almost exclusively to himself, carving out intentional space as a chameleonic vocalist and performer. He breathes life into the album with private thoughts, external fears and a red thread through personal themes that crystallise the album’s narrative from front to back.

The album’s promo single “Bloodlust” offers angsty, intimate indie-tronica, and musings on the intoxicating nature of love and infatuation. The lead single “Ghost” reaches beyond RJ’s Philadelphia origins to find itself in the deep south, in a sultry fever dream of coquettish R&B featuring backing vocals from close collaborator Kelela. Elsewhere on the album futuristic love, pensive pop earworms, evocative vintage dance styles and sleazy club tracks intermingle. While the DOGMA era will eventually explore remixes and reworks, the album is RJ’s purest embrace of himself and his artistry.

RJ first garnered attention as LSDXOXO in New York City with his on-the-pulse Soundcloud edits and then as part of the cult GHE20GOTH1K collective. His DJ sets and productions quickly earned him acclaim across globally-linked underground scenes. His decision to shift from sampled vocals to picking up the pen and microphone pushed his reach out to the stratosphere; his association with XL Recordings via the Dedicated 2 Disrespect EP in 2021 was a turning point for the burgeoning superstar.

This multiplicity of the LSDXOXO sound has led to enviable co-signs. These include being selected as the opening DJ for Beyoncé’s German Renaissance tour dates, remixing Lady Gaga, Pink Pantheress and Shygirl and producing five tracks for Kelela's highly acclaimed 2023 album for Warp Records, Raven. His fully-realised live show has also taken to the stage, serving fierce charisma to huge audiences at festivals including Primavera, Nuits Sonores and Rewire.

“The Firebird” is a ballet and orchestral concert work by the Russian composer Igor Stravinsky. It was written for the 1910 Paris season of

Sergei Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes company based on the Russian fairy tales of the Firebird and the blessing and curse it possesses

for its owner. The Firebird’s mortal and supernatural elements are distinguished with a system of leitmotifs placed in the harmony dubbed

“leit-harmony”. Stravinsky intentionally used many specialist techniques in the orchestra, including ponticello, col legno, flautando, glissando,

and flutter-tonguing. Set in the evil immortal Koschei’s castle, the ballet follows Prince Ivan, who battles Koschei with the help of the magical Firebird.

Recorded in 1961 by The Columbia Symphony Orchestra.

This version in limited pressed on Solid Orange vinyl.

Legions Of Doom, die Doom-Metal-Supergroup mit Mitgliedern von The Skull, Trouble, Saint Vitus und Corrosion Of Conformity mit einer brandneuen, limitierten 7inch auf Tee Pee Records. Ursprünglich für das dritte The Skull-Album vorgesehen, begannen die Arbeiten an 'All Good Things' vor dem Tod von Eric Wagner (Ex-Trouble) im Jahr 2021. Es übernahm Karl Agell (Lie Heavy, C.O.C., Blind) die Vocals, unterstützt von The Skulls Ron Holzner (ebenfalls Ex-Trouble) am Bass, Lothar Keller an der Gitarre und Henry Vasquez (Druma), wobei Scott Little an der Gitarre und David Snyder (Trouble, BlackFinger) noch mit an Bord waren. Texte über Hoffnung und Geduld krönen einen flüssigen, schweren Groove und ein knackiges Refrain-Riff in aufrichtiger Metal-Manier. Auf dem Deep Purple-Cover 'Into The Fire' auf der B-Seite verleiht die Band einem Klassiker ihren eigenen Stil - Rock und eine Hommage an die Wurzeln des Doom im Swing-Groove der frühen 70er. Black & Purple-Splatter-Vinyl.

Crack Cloud has always been something beyond a rock band: both profound and grand, vaporous and elusive. The first iteration of Crack Cloud was formed nearly a decade ago as a proxy-rehab outlet on the fringes of Calgary. Over time, two EPs and accompanying visual pieces were produced out of the residence known as Red Mile. By 2017, several members had relocated to Vancouver, working out of harm reduction centers and low-barrier shelters. Sobriety, self-reformation and the idealism of their work further formed an ethos for Crack Cloud. It was during these years that the band produced their astounding 2020 album Pain Olympics. At once, their vision became expansive, cinematic. Now, Red Mile is a bit of a homecoming. Members have returned to Calgary. But Calgary/home has become a liminal space, a place of flux. After a decade of personal and collective growth, what does home even mean? Red Mile is, for them, something like samsara: a return and a rebirth. Red Mile's sound breathes expansive energy into the circuitous, street bound sonics of Crack Cloud's prior material. Fizzling synths intertwine with chiming pianos. Songs layer like Russian nesting dolls; one may find a Ramones chorus set within a desolate Western prog soundtrack only to watch it erupt into a joyous anthem. Real-ass guitars _ alternately lilting, scuzzy and soaring _ ring out across wide sun-bleached spaces. In 2024, the cumulative effect is (in rock instrumentation terms) naturalistic. Any whiff of embalmed nostalgia is absent. Even the close of the album - a winding, almost Jerry Garcia guitar noodle that leads us out of Red Mile - is delivered without sentimentality. Principal songwriter Zach Choy's lyrics are cutting but merciful, with a sharp self-awareness that never slides into self-satisfaction. Crack Cloud as artists are critical _ and ultimately as forgiving _ of themselves as they are the melting world around them. The songs balance an easy charm and cathartic power: affirming life without denying death. Recorded predominantly between the outskirts of Joshua Tree California, and Calgary, Alberta, this record is informed by a bittersweet mélange of old and new. The sprawling, novelistic structures of their previous albums are condensed and sharpened, while maintaining their refusal to delve into superficiality. Through playful melodies and elliptical guitar soliloquy, they deliver a final product of exceptional depth and distinctly unprecious warmth. Crack Cloud have produced a mature, vital work that interrogates the platitudes of the rock-n-roll lifestyle, but ultimately exalts its sacredness. Red Mile's de facto thesis statement "The Medium" is itself a rock song meditation: an ode to the form and its practitioners. This genre that _ typical, repeatable, corporatized as it can be _ somehow still has the power to help us live through life. We see the dusty sentiment of "I love rock and roll" exhumed, taken apart, and stitched back together. It's a song guided by faith _ if the medium helps us proclaim our love today, it's worth protecting from derision tomorrow. We live in an era where music seems to love hitting its head against the wall. Crack Cloud's Red Mile is the sound _ the feeling! _ of the bricks giving way.

Crack Cloud has always been something beyond a rock band: both profound and grand, vaporous and elusive. The first iteration of Crack Cloud was formed nearly a decade ago as a proxy-rehab outlet on the fringes of Calgary. Over time, two EPs and accompanying visual pieces were produced out of the residence known as Red Mile. By 2017, several members had relocated to Vancouver, working out of harm reduction centers and low-barrier shelters. Sobriety, self-reformation and the idealism of their work further formed an ethos for Crack Cloud. It was during these years that the band produced their astounding 2020 album Pain Olympics. At once, their vision became expansive, cinematic. Now, Red Mile is a bit of a homecoming. Members have returned to Calgary. But Calgary/home has become a liminal space, a place of flux. After a decade of personal and collective growth, what does home even mean? Red Mile is, for them, something like samsara: a return and a rebirth. Red Mile's sound breathes expansive energy into the circuitous, street bound sonics of Crack Cloud's prior material. Fizzling synths intertwine with chiming pianos. Songs layer like Russian nesting dolls; one may find a Ramones chorus set within a desolate Western prog soundtrack only to watch it erupt into a joyous anthem. Real-ass guitars _ alternately lilting, scuzzy and soaring _ ring out across wide sun-bleached spaces. In 2024, the cumulative effect is (in rock instrumentation terms) naturalistic. Any whiff of embalmed nostalgia is absent. Even the close of the album - a winding, almost Jerry Garcia guitar noodle that leads us out of Red Mile - is delivered without sentimentality. Principal songwriter Zach Choy's lyrics are cutting but merciful, with a sharp self-awareness that never slides into self-satisfaction. Crack Cloud as artists are critical _ and ultimately as forgiving _ of themselves as they are the melting world around them. The songs balance an easy charm and cathartic power: affirming life without denying death. Recorded predominantly between the outskirts of Joshua Tree California, and Calgary, Alberta, this record is informed by a bittersweet mélange of old and new. The sprawling, novelistic structures of their previous albums are condensed and sharpened, while maintaining their refusal to delve into superficiality. Through playful melodies and elliptical guitar soliloquy, they deliver a final product of exceptional depth and distinctly unprecious warmth. Crack Cloud have produced a mature, vital work that interrogates the platitudes of the rock-n-roll lifestyle, but ultimately exalts its sacredness. Red Mile's de facto thesis statement "The Medium" is itself a rock song meditation: an ode to the form and its practitioners. This genre that _ typical, repeatable, corporatized as it can be _ somehow still has the power to help us live through life. We see the dusty sentiment of "I love rock and roll" exhumed, taken apart, and stitched back together. It's a song guided by faith _ if the medium helps us proclaim our love today, it's worth protecting from derision tomorrow. We live in an era where music seems to love hitting its head against the wall. Crack Cloud's Red Mile is the sound _ the feeling! _ of the bricks giving way.

This album was recorded in Philadelphia in 1977 by Rare Feelings, a band led by Rick Mason, who was fully involved as songwriter, arranger, and producer while also supporting the band's groove as bassist. This is a superb example of one of the few soul and funk hard diggers that every hard digger has wished to have and has been lucky enough to acquire, and it is a masterpiece that is numbing not only in its sound but also in its vintage-inspired artwork! Rick Mason's bass roars, the organ and horns fold in and out, and a faintly haunting vocal (?) enters, blended with an exquisite psychedelic feel. The opening track "Rare Feelings" (A1) blends exquisite psychedelic sensation with slap bass, swirling intro, raging horns and organ, and then suddenly changes the tone to mid-tempo with the intertwining of bewitching vocals again. The song suddenly changes to a mid-tempo and leads to "Dope" (A2) with its bewitching vocals, a sound that is worthy of being called rare groove! The instrumental number "Metamorphosis Funk" (B2), which features not only bass and organ, but also continuous drum fill-in, fast cutting guitar and solo, and flute lead, is sure to get the floor going! This is the first official reissue in the world!

Archeo Recordings' rewarding relationship with Tony Esposito continues on AR027, as the label provide a remastered reissue of his transcendent fusion-pop masterpiece "Pagaia" alongside a trio of brand new reworks from Perugia's mighty Feel Fly. Whether you're looking for cosmic house, mellow acid, trancey techno or dubby downbeat, these remixes have you covered, and the original remains a true work of art. Available in all good record stores on 12th July as a 50 copy super limited edition on Solid Blue Vinyl (including gadget scarf) and limited black vinyl edition.
50 copy Solid Blue Vinyl Edition (including gadget scarf), and also limited black vinyl run "Pagaia" hails from the Neapolitan percussionist's 1982 LP Tamburo, his first release for the brilliant Bubble imprint. Though the album delights and excites from start to finish, dancing through jazz-funk, Mediterranean pop, slow disco and smooth fusion, it's "Pagaia" which is first among equals. Esposito's nuanced hand drums lay the foundation for Claudio Pizzale, Sara Borsarini and Simona Pirone's wordless vocals, a life affirming chorus which carries us onto the swell of bass, piano and horns which drive the track through four and a half minutes of emotional release. Emphatic and expressive, the track transports the listener into a state of body moving rapture, all driven by Tony's rhythmic fluency. The song found its way into Italian living rooms over the credits of TV show Domenica In, and found its way into club culture thanks to fanatical support from the likes of Daniele Baldelli, who even included it on his first official Cosmic compilation.
Following a string of essential releases for the likes of Internasjonal, International Feel and New Interplanetary Melodies, Daniele Tomassini, better known as Feel Fly, now joins the Archeo family with a trio of contemporary club translations of the killer "Pagaia". The Perugian's "Cosmical Remix" extends that familiar introduction into a deep and DJ-friendly blend of drum and voice, awash with airy reverb and augmented by additional percussion, building through the original piano and bass into the churn of a dance floor wormhole. Driven by an unstoppable sequencer throb, the interpretation skirts the dark side of space before landing in the light of the miracle, those heavenly vocals and lush keys leading the way. The "Instrumental Cosmical Remix", not entirely instrumental, but utterly cosmical nonetheless, sees Daniele serve a tense and tracky arrangement of his first rework, perfect for deep space exploration. Stripped of the joyful exuberance of the original, this variation is a complex blend of shadowy trance idents and the mature techno we'd expect from the likes of François K. Not content with soundtracking either side of the peaktime, Feel Fly serves up a third version, following the Compass Point through a musical map of club-dub to turn out an immersive interpolation of deep bass, spring reverb and stabbing keys that sits perfectly beside the Rhythm & Sound catalogue. Each interpretation is an emphatic demonstration of Tomassini's musical talent, production prowess, and stylistic range, and furthermore a fitting tribute to the lasting genius of Esposito's original.

Wendel Harrison, whose style evolved with the times from "Tribe" to "Wenha," discovered a male soul singer in his hometown of Detroit, William Odell Hughes. This is the first album of William Odell Hughes (1981), a male soul singer discovered by Wendel Harrison in his hometown of Detroit, who evolved his style with the times from "Wenha" to "Wenha". The vocals are extended and sung with great grace from the high tones to the low back, and the mellow soul number "Where Am I" (M3) to the sticky 80's funk "Super-Funk-A-Ga-La-Listic-Freak" (M4) featuring synths, "Super-Funk-A-Ga-La-Listic-Freak" (M5), "Super-Funk-A-Ga-La-Listic-Freak" (M6), and "Super-Funk-A-Ga-La-Listic-Freak" (M7). (M4), and the disco-boogie killer tune "Cruisin'" (M1), the highlight of the album, all of them are full of floor-like sounds that concentrate the best parts of the early 80's! Of course, "Wendel Harrison" also provides full support as an executive producer and contributes a wide range of parts from songwriting to saxophone, flute, and chorus. This mega-rare album has been matured over 40 years and is finally being reissued for the first time in the world!

This work has become more popular in recent years because of its gentle style. Of particular note is the masterpiece "Walk The Way Of The New World," which is beautiful to the core due to the balance between the mellow electric piano melody, light flute, a flowing track with female scat, and Madhubuti's heroic poetry. The plaintive and mystical tone of the song is ear-catching. The funky, high-speed jazz of "Talking Stick" and the fast-paced title track "Rise, Vision, Comin" are also superb. This is a masterpiece of an album that is even better than "Medasi".

„Drifts and Surfaces“ ist ein dreiteiliges Set, wobei jedes Werk aus Auftragsarbeiten hervorgeht und durch gemeinsame Themen vereint wird: der Fluss zwischen ephemerer Bewegung und alltäglichem Stillstand, das Paradoxon von außergewöhnlicher und alltäglicher Schönheit und der Ehrgeiz und Müßiggang, der das Leben im 21. Jahrhundert ausmacht Saxl nutzt weiterhin kammermusikalische Ensembles neben analogen Synthesizern und digitalen Experimenten und vertieft sich dabei in strukturelle Emotionen und die lebendigen Details kleiner Handlungen. Während ihre bahnbrechende LP „The Blue of Distance“ (2021) Feld-Aufnahmen aus den Adirondacks und dem Lake Superior verarbeitete, stammt Saxls Quellenmaterial hier vor allem aus Live-Percussion und anderen Instrumenten. Das Projekt begann 2018 im Brooklyner Stadtteil Red Hook in dem Proberaum, den sich Saxls Band mit dem Percussion-Trio Tigue teilt. Später im selben Jahr spielten sie gemeinsam eine Residency und nahmen das Stück auf. 2021 begann sie ein neues Auftragswerk mit Third Coast Percussion aus Chicago. Der Titel „Drifts“ bezieht sich auf den Roman von Kate Zambreno aus dem Jahr 2020, in dem die Protagonistin von der Arbeit von Chantal Ackerman fasziniert ist, die die typisch weiblichen, unsichtbaren Formen der häuslichen Arbeit als ebenso wertvoll darstellt wie Tätigkeiten, die gemeinhin als produktiv angesehen werden. Saxl stellt „Drifts“ im Geiste dieser feministischen These auf: „Es fühlt sich an, als gäbe es hier eine kleine Reihe von Frauen, die diese Idee erforschen und kleine Aktionen feiern, von denen ich hoffe, dass ich deren Arbeit fortsetze.“ Das letzte Stück, „Surfaces“, wurde vom Guggenheim Museum in Verbindung mit der Alex Katz-Retrospektive im Jahr 2022 in Auftrag gegeben. Die Gruppe - bestehend aus Henry Solomon am Baritonsaxophon, Robby Bowen am Glasmarimbaphon und Saxl - lehnt sich an leichte, nachdenkliche Töne an, die von der Gegenwartsbezogenheit des bahnbrechenden Malers inspiriert sind. Katz' Arbeit beschäftigt sich mit der optischen Wahrnehmung von „schnell vergehenden Dingen“, wie der Liminalität der Dämmerung, wenn die Umrisse eines Objekts beginnen, undeutlich zu werden. „Die Art und Weise, in der sich unsere Wahrnehmung der Dinge verändert, nicht weil sie sich verändern, sondern weil wir uns verändern“, erklärt Saxl. „Ich wollte, dass sich diese wirklich kleinen Veränderungen dramatisch anfühlen, um die imaginäre Bewegung in seinen Gemälden widerzuspiegeln.“ Tritt man zurück, um „Surfaces“ innerhalb des Sets zu betrachten, findet Saxl den Strom, der sich durch die gesamte Arbeit zieht, das Konzept des Selbst als Teil von etwas Größerem. „Katz‘ Darstellung mehrerer Generationen von New Yorker Künstlern hat mich dazu inspiriert, darüber nachzudenken, dass es kein individuelles ‘Ich' als Künstler gibt, ohne die Künstler, die vor mir kamen, und die Gemeinschaft der Künstler, mit denen ich zusammengewachsen bin. Die Grenzen zwischen uns verschwimmen, und ich habe das Gefühl, dass ich auf einer verwobenen Oberfläche getragen werde, die von der Gemeinschaft um mich herum gebildet wird. Gleichzeitig weiß ich aber auch, dass ich mich irgendwann nach innen wenden und allein hinausschwimmen muss.“

TIPP! :)

For the latest Cognitiva release the label present the 4th release of their Point of View series which focuses on dance floor-oriented sounds, this time they invite the marvellously talented Dr. Sud to deliver a wondrous, jazz laden odyssey, which entices as much as it delights - with some expert remixes to boot….
Dr Sud is the main alias of Gregorio Marigliano, an Italian music maker who was raised in Berlin. Marigliano’s music revolves around the principles of Jazz-meets-Dance music, drawing up the rich tradition that has come before in bringing a high level of musicality and ingenuity within his tunes. Moving fluidly between rhythms and feels, as Dr Sud he captures the imagination with thought provoking and captivating sequences, striking a fine balance between depth and danceability. Harmonies and groove play a key part within his music, such as was highlighted on his 2023 EP ‘Heading South’, coming courtesy of the Q1E2 imprint. This record really highlighted his profound abilities and deep set affection for instrumentation but also mood and tone, and it left many waiting for his next release with baited breath.

‘Point of View 4’ continues forth with the supreme feels that permeated through ‘Heading South’, with the key movement onwards being the inclusion of some killer remixes from Gary Superfly, Broke One, Turbojazz and Reekee. Two original cuts, ‘Breakfast Sun’ and ‘Desert Wind’, lead Sides A and B respectively, and do much to help create a distinctive balance and bookend kind of feel to the record. ‘Breakfast Sun’ begins with a wondrous polyrhythm to get things going, a lone vocal sample thrown in for good measure, and before long we are joined by some delicate but hyper precise melodic features. The slow drawn out chords contrast superbly with the short sharp stabs, acting in accordance with the drums, with the first breakdown providing space for the keys to really flourish and take over. The breakout back into the core rhythm allows for a lead synth line to emerge, and provide those bountiful feels we were all yearning for. The remixes do much to add flavour and some diverse alternative perpectives on the original, with the Turbojazz/Broke One remix taking things in a house-y leaning direction, with the hats and kicks shifting the rhythmic perspective towards sun kissed horizons. The Gary Superfly remix however takes things into a much more cosmic space, with a punchy acid line weaving within the underbelly of the track, providing that late night dance feel for club land scenarios.

On the B Side, ‘Desert Wind’ kicks things off, and once again the drums here start us off in a winning space. The groove is so delicate, poised and perfected, and when the first breakdown arrives the chords come into view, and its glorious to say the least. This track focuses on a much more smooth melodic sequence, with a greater emphasis placed on the lead line, but its just as impactful and soulful as the EPs opener. Delicate waterfall style keys shift in and out of view, providing an overall picture of sonic beauty that we can get behind time and time again. To wrap things up, the Reekee remix of ‘Desert Wind’ comes into view, with this track again moving into dance floor realms with a swinging garage beat that feels unstoppable, shifting and moving between the lines with a joyous ease.

Dr Sud may be a producer to keep a keen eye on, with this latest EP certainly doing that sentiment a great level of justice. This EP provides not only two beautiful original cuts from the man himself, but some imaginative remixes that honour the originals and provide us with an record that will linger long in the memory. For home use, down by the rivera, or in the club, this one has the lot…..

Burnski's Constant Black kicks with yet more robust tech house for considered dance floors. This one comes from the ever-present underground stalwart Diego Krause and he opens with 'Bound', a perfectly driving and deep cut with slinky drums and smart vocals that are brought to life with sci-fi synth effects. 'Munro' is brilliantly lithe and elegant, with wispy synth motifs peeling off a super smooth and slinky groove. 'Phantom' ups the pace with a little more tech house urgency but still plenty of deftly designed cosmic pads. 'Flux' shuts down with kinetic, tightly coiled drum funk and popping neon colours. Great work all around from Krause.

"For A Fleeting Moment" is the result of the dialogue between the Swiss photographer Simone Kappeler and the Japanese musician Tomotsugu Nakamura initiated by IIKKI, between March 2023 and May 2024.

Tomotsugu Nakamura is a musician and graphic designer residing in Tokyo, Japan. His primary artistic practice is to compose music with some fragments of minimal acoustic and electronic tones and some field recordings. In Concert, he he has played with various genre of musicians and his works have been released by Kaico, Audiobulb Records, and more recently by the French label LAAPS.

Born in 1952 in Frauenfeld (Switzerland) where she lives and works, Simone Kappeler started taking pictures at the age of 11. After studying German literature and art history, she studied photography at the Zurich University of the Arts. During a three-month trip to the United States in 1981, she took her first pictures using cheap cameras, especially the Diana camera.
Hasselblad, Leica, Diana, Brownie, Polaroid, disposable camera, expired or infrared films, since 1970, Simone Kappeler has explored all types of photographic techniques. Her work, experimental and poetic, reveals to us the curiously foreign world that surrounds us.
Since 1982, ongoing projects in southern France and the Grisons.1982/83, studio in New York, conceptual photography and Super 8 films. 1983/84, theater photographer, Schauspielhaus Zürich. 2009, six-week photographic study of Japan, 2015 studio in New York. Her work was the subject of a first monograph: "Seile. Fluss. Nacht. Fotografien 1964–2011", edited by Hatje Cantz and is regularly exhibited in Galleries and Museum in Europe and United States.
For A Fleeting Moment is her first book gathered exclusively a part of her wide polaroid works from 2011 to 2023.

Fine Art Book, Ltd. to 700 copies:
Hardcover book printed on Glossy Modern Paper 170g/m2 // 104 pages, 19cm x 22.5cm, 66 photos // Front cover points and back cover logo embossed // Selective UV varnish // Hand-numbered.

We are happy to continue our series of Electric Bird reissues in collaboration with King Record with the a killer jazz-funk release, saxophonist Toshiyuki Honda's "Burnin' Waves", originally released in 1978. Son of jazz critic Toshiyuki Honda, the Japanese composer was a skillful flute and saxophone player, and in the 70's he worked with George Otsuka and the Burning Waves ensemble. In the 1980s he worked with Chick Corea, Tatsuya Takahashi, and Kazumi Watanabe, lead his own ensemble, Super Quartet as well as being a member of the ensemble Native Son. His 1978 debut album "Burnin' Waves" boasts with hectic saxophone explorations over funky bass and happy keyboards, making it one of the grooviest releases of the Electric Bird catalog, now available on vinyl again for the first time!

Formed in 1971 by guitarist John Evan-Jones and his bassist brother Trevor, obscure British prog-rock act Jonesy had a shifting line-up and unusual elements, Chicago-born Jimmy Kaleth’s battery of keyboards including a Mellotron. Sophomore set Keeping Up saw Trevor return to the fold, along with drummer Plug Thomas, fresh from sessions with Supertramp; guitarist Ray Russell’s lush string arrangements and Alan Bown’s plaintive trumpet and flugelhorn add extra musical dimensions. Capturing the group at their most eclectic, Keeping Up is a must for Mellotron fans and all lovers of pop, jazz, and blues-tinged prog.