Cerca:surround sound

It's a pertinent start-point because, in many ways, God Is Luck exists firmly within that realm, many of the songs pulled directly from improvisation before being twisted into the mysterious shapes we find here on the finished record.

Recorded between the summer of 2020 and the summer of 2022, God Is Luck is an exercise in artistic freedom. The songs came quickly and easily by design, the whole point of the record and the approach to simply let go.

The third Bad History Month LP - following the Pitchfork-championed Old Blues (2020) - where aspects of the new album mirror the shape of Sprecher's previous work, its creation was an altogether different experience for the Philadelphia-viaBoston songwriter. He describes it as a collaboration with 'luck', the freeform nature of the recording resulting in a process that felt "fun and easy and fearless in a way that recording had never been."

"God is Luck means you can control reality by choosing your perspective to always see the luck, which makes you the god of your own reality," Sean Sprecher says of his latest record. With that notion at its core, Bad History Month's latest adventure finds twisted new ways to tell age-old tales. Even in its most fearless compositions, buried within dense fog, it strives for goodness; freedom from fear, love for friends, surrounding yourself with those who inspire.

Kraut synth funk explosion from the sci-fi, library & soundtrack specialists.

DIY funksters break into museum, steal modular moog and record proto-electro-punk with dusty live drums, wild percussion and out-of-control analog synth sequencing onto Tascam 8-track tape.

Following their debut 'Space Voyage' for Warner Chappell's music library and the outernational soundtrack LP 'Occhio Occhio', the U.K. based trio return with a darker, heavier edge on their new full-length 'Synchronization'.

The soundtrack to a strange and mysterious dystopian future Immersed in the sounds of arpeggiated vintage synths, full fat drum breaks and fuzz guitars. At times the album is reminiscent of post punk with hints of boom bap hip hop and as the album progresses the listener is transported to the dance floors of Berlin's underground raves. In an age that sees AI increasingly omnipresent, Eleven76 take control of the technology, creating a hybrid, genre spanning, production style that could only come from their hive mind.

The trio surrounded themselves with an enviable array of vintage synths and modern classic studio toys, with Paul Elliott and Anthony Donje at the helm of patching, connecting and bringing these analog beasts to life, while Timmy Rickard continued to lay down the grooves as the heart of the rhythm section. The result is SYNCHRONIZATION, of synth and drums, pictures and sounds, man and machine – and of your heart and brain if you're ready to get synchronized.

Vielleicht ist es Dir gar nicht bewusst, aber irgendwann, an einem beliebigen Tag, in einer beliebigen Woche oder in einem beliebigen Monat, hast Du die Musik von Trevor Rabin gehört. Vielleicht war es im Radio, als einer der größten Rockhits aller Zeiten, "Owner of a Lonely Heart" von Yes, gespielt wurde, oder auf einem seiner mehr als 100 Film- oder TV-Soundtracks, oder sogar als Titelmelodie für NBA-Basketball auf TNT. Jetzt kehrt er mit "Rio" zurück, seinem ersten Soloalbum mit Gesang seit "Can't Look Away" von 1989. Es ist ein Meisterwerk der Ideenfindung in Kombination mit unbändigem musikalischem Können, und Rabins Fähigkeiten als musikalischer Geschichtenerzähler sind allgegenwärtig. Es ist ein Album voller Überraschungen, großartiger Melodien, dramatischer Veränderungen und unglaublicher Musikalität.Erhältlich als Ltd CD+Blu-ray Mediabook & Ltd Deluxe Gatefold Red 180g 2LP + Blu-ray (inklusive 8-seitigem LP-Booklet), beide mit Bonusmaterial, 5.1 Surround Sound & Liner Notes. Auch erhältlich als Standard CD Jewelcase, Gatefold 180g Black 2LP+LP-Booklet, Ltd Gatefold Transparent Sun Yellow 180g 2LP+LP-Booklet und als Digital Album.

Vielleicht ist es Dir gar nicht bewusst, aber irgendwann, an einem beliebigen Tag, in einer beliebigen Woche oder in einem beliebigen Monat, hast Du die Musik von Trevor Rabin gehört. Vielleicht war es im Radio, als einer der größten Rockhits aller Zeiten, "Owner of a Lonely Heart" von Yes, gespielt wurde, oder auf einem seiner mehr als 100 Film- oder TV-Soundtracks, oder sogar als Titelmelodie für NBA-Basketball auf TNT. Jetzt kehrt er mit "Rio" zurück, seinem ersten Soloalbum mit Gesang seit "Can't Look Away" von 1989. Es ist ein Meisterwerk der Ideenfindung in Kombination mit unbändigem musikalischem Können, und Rabins Fähigkeiten als musikalischer Geschichtenerzähler sind allgegenwärtig. Es ist ein Album voller Überraschungen, großartiger Melodien, dramatischer Veränderungen und unglaublicher Musikalität.Erhältlich als Ltd CD+Blu-ray Mediabook & Ltd Deluxe Gatefold Red 180g 2LP + Blu-ray (inklusive 8-seitigem LP-Booklet), beide mit Bonusmaterial, 5.1 Surround Sound & Liner Notes. Auch erhältlich als Standard CD Jewelcase, Gatefold 180g Black 2LP+LP-Booklet, Ltd Gatefold Transparent Sun Yellow 180g 2LP+LP-Booklet und als Digital Album.

Vielleicht ist es Dir gar nicht bewusst, aber irgendwann, an einem beliebigen Tag, in einer beliebigen Woche oder in einem beliebigen Monat, hast Du die Musik von Trevor Rabin gehört. Vielleicht war es im Radio, als einer der größten Rockhits aller Zeiten, "Owner of a Lonely Heart" von Yes, gespielt wurde, oder auf einem seiner mehr als 100 Film- oder TV-Soundtracks, oder sogar als Titelmelodie für NBA-Basketball auf TNT. Jetzt kehrt er mit "Rio" zurück, seinem ersten Soloalbum mit Gesang seit "Can't Look Away" von 1989. Es ist ein Meisterwerk der Ideenfindung in Kombination mit unbändigem musikalischem Können, und Rabins Fähigkeiten als musikalischer Geschichtenerzähler sind allgegenwärtig. Es ist ein Album voller Überraschungen, großartiger Melodien, dramatischer Veränderungen und unglaublicher Musikalität.Erhältlich als Ltd CD+Blu-ray Mediabook & Ltd Deluxe Gatefold Red 180g 2LP + Blu-ray (inklusive 8-seitigem LP-Booklet), beide mit Bonusmaterial, 5.1 Surround Sound & Liner Notes. Auch erhältlich als Standard CD Jewelcase, Gatefold 180g Black 2LP+LP-Booklet, Ltd Gatefold Transparent Sun Yellow 180g 2LP+LP-Booklet und als Digital Album.

2023 Repress

2001, the first year of the 21st century, but especially for many born in the 60's, 70's and 80's, the year that was surrounded with an aura of "the Future" and which became symbol of the new and unknown things that life has in store, the starting year of a new transgression period in both scientific, cultural and spiritual evolution. In that year Transllusion recorded music in the Dimensional Waves Productions studio of which till date two known productions saw a release: "The opening of the Cerebral Gate" and shortly after that the mysterious "L.I.F.E." album on Rephlex. More than 15 years later, an unknown wave resurfaced, washing up an incomparable emotional state of electronic depth. Music from the Future rooted in an underwater Afro-futurist realm and the grandiose cosmological truths. This time rushing over us in a much more personal, reflective and more introspective way, yet leaving behind sonic confusion. We now know who was responsible for all these futuristic recordings perfectly reflecting what the year 2001 stood for, James Stinson can be seen as one of the last few techno musicians from his generation that lived up to the high expectations of moving forward, finding the unknown and embracing the future without reliving the past. This recently discovered DAT-tape, using his Transllusion alias, is the 3rd outing of the project and, surrounded with an even brighter aureole than the previous recordings, confirms the status of its producers mastermind. No further details are known, except for the project name written on the tape, but these intimate moments in the studio tell us what the future sounds like according to James Stinson!

Félicia Atkinson: »Ni envers ni endroit que cette roche brûlante (Pour Georgia O’Keeffe)« (2021)

Félicia Atkinson’s Ni envers ni endroit que cette roche brûlante (Pour Georgia O’Keeffe) is approached as a meditation, not as meditative music, but as a reflection on the art of creation: how to inhabit one’s creation, how to convey it, domesticate it and live with it. Drawing inspiration from the artist Georgia O’ Keeffe, both in her work as a painter and in the houses in which she lived in New Mexico, and even in the landscapes that surround them, Félicia Atkinson has composed a piece that evokes and celebrates, in a poetic and holistic way, the mystery of art, the somnambulic oscillation that accompanies the act of creating. Blending fragmentary voices, islands of piano, electronic textures and patterns, and field recordings, Félicia Atkinson’s music is sincere and inspired, a meditation, then, but also a lesson we sometimes forget: being an artist is not an activity, even less a profession, it’s a singular way of approaching the world and, in so doing, densifying it.

Richard Chartier: »Recurrence.Expansion« (2020)

Richard Chartier’s music takes up residence at the frontiers of the audible, on the edge where sound diffracts into an inter-dimensionality where sounds, space, listening and silence recombine in an arborescence of becomings that present themselves to us and then disappear. The space-time in which Richard Chartier’s music unfolds is a stretched space-time, barely emerging in the world of sound. The delicacy, precision and accuracy of the composition Recurrence. Expansion lies precisely in this dialogue between a shape that is exposed and developed in an inspired and masterful way, and the sonic biotope in which this shape develops. It is from such an encounter that the singularity of Richard Chartier’s music emerges, music of attentive listening, but also sensitive, inhabited music, a music of discreet metamorphosis.

German musician Mary Yalex debuts on A Strangely Isolated Place depicting a storied transition from our recognizable surroundings, into a vision of the future.

With releases and music styles across a variety of labels over the years, it has been Yalex’s more experimental ambient work that has stood out amongst her catalog, and in Fantasy Zone, we find Mary fine-tuning this sound to reflect the work of a true architect of storytelling, mood and atmosphere.

Drawing influences from her day-to-day surroundings, Fantasy Zone begins with more vivid pieces; softer melodies and clearer instrumentation, represented as much in song titles such as Air, After Rain Comes Sun, and Half Light of Dawn. The second half of the album transitions into a future state, as Yalex draws on darker manifestations - perhaps intrinsically influenced by the state of the world, and in particular her love of nature, we play witness to more storied, haunting atmospheres, distant voices and slowly shifting gravitational chord movements. Dystopian-bound or pure fantasy, Yalex depicts a future that mirrors some of the more poignant, thought-provoking work of great synthesizer soundtracks of the past.

The mystery continues to deepen, as you hear whispers beckoning you out to the sea...

After refining their dark and seductive vision of alternative/gothic metal to surreal, cinematic levels with three EPs and a full-length album, The Cause of Shipwreck, behind them, the Assen-based Blackbriar continue to set their sails towards the future in 2023, signing with Nuclear Blast Records and working towards their second full-length album, again accompanied by long-time collaborator Joost van den Broek.

Formed in 2012 by Zora Cock, René Boxem, Bart Winters, and Frank Akkerman, they crafted their first single in 2014 with “Ready to Kill,” but it was 2015’s second single “Until Eternity” that truly propelled them into the scene. A sweeping track with an equally compelling and beautiful video, it continues to draw many to the act with over 18.1 million views since its debut. Taking advantage of the growing buzz surrounding the band, they independently recorded and released their first EP, Fractured Fairytales, as well as acquiring a second guitarist in Robin Koezen. This EP layed down an impressive foundation for the band’s ethereal and breathtaking sound and brought about new opportunities for the act, including tour dates in The Netherlands, Germany, Belgium, France, Switzerland, Czech Republic, Hungary, and more, where the band played alongside Epica, Halestorm, In This Moment, Delain and MaYan. To keep moving ahead with full control of their creative ideals, the band successfully crowdfunded their follow-up EP, We’d Rather Burn, and brought it to life in October 2018. This EP would be the first time the band worked alongside esteemed producer Joost van den Broek to arrange and produce the effort, and this fruitful collaboration allowed Blackbriar’s whimsical and enigmatic sound to reach new sonic heights. Released the same day as their self-made video for “I’d Rather Burn,” this EP showcased a stronger sense of dreamy atmosphere and brought listeners beautifully grim tales of witches, banshees, and sea sirens. In the time following, keyboardist Ruben Wijga (ex-Re-Vamp) took a larger role within the band and began playing shows, after being involved in the songwriting process since Fractured Fairytales.

A busy 2019 followed, the band released a haunting single in May entitled “Snow White and Rose Red.” A duet with Ulli Perhonen, their take on the Grimm’s fairytale featured striking cinematic visuals to accompany the spellbinding track. Continuing to dig deeper into fairytale realms, Blackbriar closed the year with their third EP, Our Mortal Remains. Ever-sharpening their intoxicating blend of storytelling and breathtaking musicianship, the EP brought about new live exposures for the act as well. Small, sold out tours with Epica in 2019 and 2020, as well as a sold out opening for Delain’s Apocalypse & Chill release show in Utrecht followed, with more future plans then being put on hold due to COVID-19. Championing their continued independence, which included everything from songwriting, maintaining their web presence, overseeing merch, as well as shooting and producing their own videos and photos, Blackbriar reached out to their ever-growing and loyal fanbase for assistance to make their full-length album a reality in 2020. Fans fervently heeded the call, reaching the € 25,000 goal in under 24 hours and ending with a total of € 70,000 and achieving all five stretch goals. An impressive accomplishment for an independent act, which also showcases a strong internet presence with over 214,000 YouTube subscribers and 46.1 million channel views as well as 27.6 million Spotify streams and 150,000 monthly streamers on the platform.

What comprises a dream?

An astral plane of our own making where thoughts, love, and desires of the inner mind abound with irreverence - ripe with connection & perspective beyond constraints of time, set, and setting.

Azu Tiwaline exists within the wonders of these interstitial worlds, diving deeper towards inner sanctums of mystic imagination, sublime intrigue, & profound understanding on her second full length LP “The Fifth Dream”.

Released again through her beloved partnership with I.O.T Records, “The Fifth Dream” finds Azu painting an expansive vision towards unified multitudes, mercurial realities, & abundant inner sanctums.

Where her first album “Draw Me a Silence” was a loving ode to her family & upbringing in the form of an elegant diptych, “The Fifth Dream" is the enactment of actualizing her roots into new routes, taking her multifaceted identity into new means of communication towards herself, the world, & the cosmic unknowns that surround her.

Throughout The Fifth Dream’s 54-minute runtime, we hear all elements of the uniquely transcendental sound that Azu is beloved for worldwide. “Antennae Opening”, “Blowing Flow”, & “Amen Dub” embody her talents for tectonic, dubwise soundscapes that channel the innately maternal elements of bassweight into bold & abstracted pulsations, indebted to the most psychedelic & body activating ends of dubstep.

Still attuned to the spatial awareness of dub sonics but giving way to the hypnotic syncopation & synaptic frequencies of techno, “Reptilian Waves”, “Long Hypnosis”, & “Mei Long” bring forth her spectacular expertise for entheogenic rave rhythms - guiding us warmly towards trance-inducing hyper states of dance & delight. Fluctuating between an adventurous velocity and enveloping stasis, the expansive abyssal planes of “Golden Dawn”, “Night in Palm Tree”, & “Canope Imaginaire” conjures a wondrously invigorating rhythmic enlightenment & celestial comprehension - simultaneously moving us forward, inwards, & outwards through Azu’s uniquely omnidirectional & kaleidoscopic musical visions.

Adorned with sampled field recordings of her deeply inspiring home in the desert of El Djerid in South Tunisia, Azu opens a portal into the synergistic inner sanctums of being, self, and the world around us that’s essential to her work as an artist - from the macro levels of humanity’s naturally intimate connection to the Earth we share, down to each of our own micro levels of culture, ancestry, and belonging. All of this is alchemized through a combination of timeless Saharan knowledge & modern cybernetic tools, creating new dimensions of bewitching, euphonious sonic energy. This is music that gives back as much as the listener wants to give themselves unto it - detailed and layered, orbiting a steady core as ethereal swirls and intonations of the natural world embrace us warmly within a spellbinding journey.

8 of the album’s 9 tracks feature a deep level of collaboration from innovative Franco-Iranian percussionist Cinna Peyghamy. Cinna’s use of Tombak, the principle drum of Iranian music throughout time, is beautifully sonorous - channeling the passion of centuries of Southwest Asian rhythm & expression into his own personalized flourishes, with Azu adding her own electrifying frequencies & undiluted artistic freedom to their shared interplay. This profoundly communicative diasporic essence is transmuted between Azu & Cinna, their expression, & the listener. Both are music lovers, intimately connected to their respected Iranian and Tunisian cultures - concurrently acknowledging the wisdom of their resonant pasts, while proudly bringing the sounds of their heritage into the present & future.

“The Fifth Dream” embodies a cosmic anodyne for those feeling caught in between life’s abyssal inbetweens, whilst aiming for a consonant awareness of where our home truly lies in the swells of life’s spiritual maelstrom. This dream belongs at once to none & to many, that of a common language unified in concentric depth - finding beauty in all aspects of our world, and ultimately, within oneself.

Raz started working on the album Tyrants in 2017 and
mixed the finished version in 2021. The writing process
began with listening to sketches and sound-files he
had collected throughout the past years, which he had
not yet given up on. The album is thus a natural
continuation of his previous works and showcases
Raz’s unique sound design coherently. His increased
focus into composition and arrangement is highlighted
even further in this release.


In the oblivious environment surrounding his hideaway
lake cabin he produced an album that is rich and
diverse in its sonic palette, ranging from harshly
distorted synth-peaks, cinematic soundscapes, all the
way to avant-garde contemporary classical, and jazz
music. It is an album that invites the listener to explore
and discover not just the intimate self: it is also a very
personal, intuitive observation and reflection on the
world that we are living in today.


Certain instruments are very prominent. An old piano
that was left in Raz’ apartment by a friend that he
found joy in playing.

One can hear a certain curiosity in
the performance of this newly found, dust layered
treasure (Bardot). Sonically the album is an attempt to
blend acoustic sound recordings with synthesized
sounds, and to blend musical genres into one. It is an
acoustic expression of the transformative times we are
living in, a realm of mankind being mastered by
technology.

The gap of this transformational process is
a glitchy moment of time. It is portrayed on the front
cover image of the album, by glitch artist Azamat
Akhmadbaev.

With a heavy-hoofed gallop, the gargantuan High on Fire bash out towering dimensions of sound on the highly-anticipated Surrounded by Thieves. Burning down the pillars of time with quadrupled intensity, High on Fire inject tonal infectiousness as the mammoth, plaster-cracking guitar and throaty war cries of founding member Matt Pike (Sleep) interlock with elephantine bass grooves and cannon-like percussion, creating the last word in paralysis by sheer volume.

A side brings an acid Speedcore light kick, surrounded by rave sounds and some angel chants... The flip makes you nervous !

Nervous Flight also exist on PCP 935. From 1994... but here full side sounds better really !!!

Legendary guitarist Steve Hackett presents his brand new live audio/visual extravaganza, with the release of ‘Foxtrot at Fifty + Hackett Highlights: Live in Brighton’. Filmed & recorded live on his 2022 UK tour, in the coastal city of Brighton, this release documents Steve and his band celebrating the 50th anniversary of the much-loved Genesis album ‘Foxtrot’. Played in full, this album features fan favourites including ‘Watcher Of The Skies’ and ‘Supper’s Ready’. The show also features a set of Hackett solo material, including ‘The Devil’s Cathedral’ from his latest studio album ‘Surrender of Silence’, and the powerful ‘Ace of Wands’. Mixed by Chris Lord-Alge & mastered by Ten Jensen at Sterling Sound. Available on Ltd 2CD+Blu-ray & Ltd 2CD+2DVD, both including the full show (in 5.1 surround sound) as well as behind the scenes interviews. Also available as a Ltd 180g 4LP edition featuring individual printed disco-bags inside a slipcase.

Der legendäre Gitarrist Steve Hackett präsentiert sein brandneues audio-visuelles Live-Spektakel mit der Veröffentlichung von "Foxtrot at Fifty + Hackett Highlights: Live in Brighton". Gefilmt und live aufgenommen auf seiner 2022 UK-Tournee in der Küstenstadt Brighton, dokumentiert diese Veröffentlichung Steve und seine Band bei der Feier des 50-jährigen Jubiläums des beliebten Genesis-Albums "Foxtrot". Auf diesem Album sind Fan-Lieblinge wie "Watcher Of The Skies" und "Supper's Ready" zu hören. Die Show enthält auch ein Set mit Hackett-Solomaterial, darunter 'The Devil's Cathedral' von seinem letzten Studioalbum 'Surrender of Silence' und das kraftvolle 'Ace of Wands'. Gemischt von Chris Lord-Alge und gemastert von Ten Jensen bei Sterling Sound.Erhältlich auf Ltd 2CD+Blu-ray & Ltd 2CD+2DVD, beide mit der kompletten Show (in 5.1 Surround Sound) sowie Interviews hinter den Kulissen. Auch erhältlich als limitierte 180g 4LP Edition mit individuell bedruckten Disco-Bags im Schuber.

Legendary guitarist Steve Hackett presents his brand new live audio/visual extravaganza, with the release of ‘Foxtrot at Fifty + Hackett Highlights: Live in Brighton’. Filmed & recorded live on his 2022 UK tour, in the coastal city of Brighton, this release documents Steve and his band celebrating the 50th anniversary of the much-loved Genesis album ‘Foxtrot’. Played in full, this album features fan favourites including ‘Watcher Of The Skies’ and ‘Supper’s Ready’. The show also features a set of Hackett solo material, including ‘The Devil’s Cathedral’ from his latest studio album ‘Surrender of Silence’, and the powerful ‘Ace of Wands’. Mixed by Chris Lord-Alge & mastered by Ten Jensen at Sterling Sound. Available on Ltd 2CD+Blu-ray & Ltd 2CD+2DVD, both including the full show (in 5.1 surround sound) as well as behind the scenes interviews. Also available as a Ltd 180g 4LP edition featuring individual printed disco-bags inside a slipcase.

Der legendäre Gitarrist Steve Hackett präsentiert sein brandneues audio-visuelles Live-Spektakel mit der Veröffentlichung von "Foxtrot at Fifty + Hackett Highlights: Live in Brighton". Gefilmt und live aufgenommen auf seiner 2022 UK-Tournee in der Küstenstadt Brighton, dokumentiert diese Veröffentlichung Steve und seine Band bei der Feier des 50-jährigen Jubiläums des beliebten Genesis-Albums "Foxtrot". Auf diesem Album sind Fan-Lieblinge wie "Watcher Of The Skies" und "Supper's Ready" zu hören. Die Show enthält auch ein Set mit Hackett-Solomaterial, darunter 'The Devil's Cathedral' von seinem letzten Studioalbum 'Surrender of Silence' und das kraftvolle 'Ace of Wands'. Gemischt von Chris Lord-Alge und gemastert von Ten Jensen bei Sterling Sound.Erhältlich auf Ltd 2CD+Blu-ray & Ltd 2CD+2DVD, beide mit der kompletten Show (in 5.1 Surround Sound) sowie Interviews hinter den Kulissen. Auch erhältlich als limitierte 180g 4LP Edition mit individuell bedruckten Disco-Bags im Schuber.

A crime is committed on board the Orient-Express. During the journey, Hercule Poirot finds himself surrounded by a group of singular characters, all suspects, each with their own secrets and motivations, as he attempts to solve the murder that has just taken place. The soundtrack was composed by Jean-Luc Briançon (Abigoba, Kurtz Mindfields), assisted by Roman Perreton and featuring a host of guests from Nuage7 Studio. This soundtrack is coloured with mystery, suspense and cinematic atmospheres to take you irresistibly on board this Orient Express to the end of the journey ...

Funkiwala Records presents CUBANGLA - the sixth album by London fusionistas LoKkhi TeRra.
Following on from their hugely successful collaboration with UK afro-beat ambassador Dele Sosimi on 2018's "Cubafrobeat"(mixing afrobeat and Cuban Rumba/Timba), this album sees them return to their Bangla-Afro- Latin-Jazz-Roots.
8 tracks of 21st century London groove – from Sufi Samba to Baul Blues to Bengali folk-Son to Bangla Roots Reggae to London Descargas - recorded in between tours, sessions and collaborations – a true celebration of traditions taking on new forms as they travel and co-exist. In these divided times, their collective musical journey has never been so relevant.

Background
Kishon Khan's Lokkhi Terra have been blending the musical traditions that surround them in London, for many years now.
"Stunning Headliners... A majestic multi-cultural blend of sounds... effortlessly builds bridges between rolling Indian raga rhythms, Afro-Cuban grooves, Acid Jazz/funk and free flowing improvisation" (Timeout London).

The band is composed of musicians who take seriously the different languages of the different genres they mix. Each in their own right play with calibre purist outfits. Members have collaborated with the likes of Hugh Masekela, Tony Allen, Ibrahim Ferrer, Johnny Clarke, Orlando Poleo, Africa Express, Jazz Jamaica, Ska Cubano, Giles Peterson's Havana Cultura, Kyle Eastwood, Bellowhead, Akram Khan to name a very few.
The tracks on this album were gigged for a number of years before being recorded, with the exception of the last 2 tracks which were recorded in 2015 just before performing at Womad and Songlines Encounters.
With CUBANGLA the band has come round full circle – a journey that started a decade ago with their debut No Visa Required (2010). An urban London view on the musical world.

BOTANICA is the newly established Japanese label created by DJ/ Producer, Iori Wakasa. It was formed for him to utilize it as a foundation for the realization of his own unique, artistic expression.
And now, he has the pleasure to announce his label’s inaugural title with the release of his own BOTANICA EP.

Born in 1988 in a rural Japanese city surrounded by mountains and the sea with a mild climate, Iori grew up playing RPGs with a father who was a devoted game aficionado. And he was introduced to electronic music through game music from an early age and formed his musical sensibilities through playing the classical piano around the same time.

Influenced by the spirituality and idiosyncrasies of punk rock and ethnic and indigenous music in his youth, also gradually influenced by the Tokyo club scene and the music, it didn't take him long before
he made the choice to start DJing at the age of 17 and soon afterwards, started exploring the path of music production as a form of self-expression.

Iori set up Botanica to convey 2 main concepts of 'presenting music that provides each listener with their own viewpoint' and ‘to construct a fusion between 'nature' and 'man-made objects and human
activity’. Through the experience of traveling around Japan, Europe and Asia and connecting with people of different languages and cultures, he became to appreciate that music transcends all languages and grooves, and the framework in which he would like to shape his perspective and embody it as his way of life is what he envisions as the vital expression for BOTANICA, The two tracks and the artwork included in this first EP are the first steps towards hopefully chronicling the story of the vortex that he resides in now and the new forest that he plans to weave in the future with his label.

'The Pure Land' means in Japanese 'Gokuraku-Jodo (= a space where you can live in bliss)', but in English it is closer to 'utopia' or 'paradise'. However, 'The Pure Land' is a musical work that evokes a
hypnotic and pleasant euphoria through the gradual layering of multiple rhythms and soft particles of spatial sound design. It is also shaped with the aim of liberating the listener and guiding them towards their primal self.

In contrast, 'Lunar Down' expresses the changes that occur in the human state of mind during the extended period from moonrise to moonset especially when the moon sets from its zenith and is completed with a focus on maximum dance floor impact via an inner voice that resonates in the brain that echoes throughout a well-textured bass line and rhythm track.

The artwork for the front cover of this EP was created by SHINOZAKI HILOSHI, an illustrator who has been traveling and painting to express his true way of life that he learnt in the 10+ years of commuting between Tokyo (the end) and the Hawaii Islands (the beginning), and the graphic designer hiro, who stands by Iori`s side as his life partner and as the person who understands him the best. Iori`s first steps are complemented by the label design and art direction by graphic designer hiro, who stands by his side as his life partner and most understanding partner, and the proof is the physical cut, which is presented as the foundation for the future.

Matching expansive ambience with environmental sound, Chihei Hatakeyama’s new album continues Field Records’ exploration of Japan and the Netherland’s shared approach to water management. As with Sugai Ken’s 2020 album Tone River, a specific project becomes Hatakeyama’s area of focus - in this case the Hachirōgata Lake in Akita Prefecture.

Previously the second largest body of water in Japan, the government ordered extensive drainage work of Hachirōgata Lake after the second world war with the help of Dutch engineers Pieter Jansen and Adriaan Volker. After the project was completed in 1977, reclaimed land took up eighty percent of Hachirōgata Lake’s total size. As a result, a new ecosystem was established as plants spread from surrounding areas, bringing with them a wider variety of birds and other wildlife.

Hatakeyama’s approach to this unique subject matter took in field recordings from particular locations around the lake - the drainage channels, the Ogata bridge, grassland conservation reserves and other key areas. The aquatic subject matter and sonic material is a natural fit for Hatakeyama’s accomplished sound, which has featured on numerous solo works for labels including Kranky, Room40 and his self-run White Paddy Mountain.

From the intimate intricacies of the sampled material to the glacial expanses of droning synthesis and languid guitar, Hatakeyama creates a tangible environment which at once reflects the settings around Hachirōgata Lake, while offering the listener any number of imagined scenes to observe in their mind’s eye.

The show, which rolled over the open-air stage of the Greek Theatre night after night in the late summer of 1963, attracted fans as if on a pilgrimage to the mountains of Hollywood. Many who could not get hold of a map climbed the surrounding trees to be able to admire the Calypso man at least from a distance.

Also on the lookout and with sound equipment at the ready were the people of the company RCA, which released the eagerly awaited album the following year. Some of the songs like the wriggling "Zombie Jamboree", "Look Over Yonder" and the wonderfully dripping Schmonzette "Try To Remember" were previously only available as studio versions. Most of the other numbers were brand new and sounded for the first time in a sparkling live atmosphere, which is authentically reproduced on this record.

Here a laugh as a receipt for a casual saying, there a rumble of boards, then again concentrated silence of a spellbound listening audience - something like this only happens on stage.

For Belafonte connoisseurs, these recordings are regarded as the crowning glory of the artistically highly productive phase of the years 1959 to 1963. Of the many good albums, this is one of the best.

Personnel: Harry Belafonte (voc); Howard Roberts (cond); William Eaton (clavietta); Ernest Calabria, Jay Berliner (g); John Cartwright (b); Percy Brice (dr); Ralph MacDonald (perc), choir and orchestra