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The Glass Passenger is the second album by American alternative rockers Jack’s Mannequin. It captures frontman Andrew McMahon during a darker period, after he was diagnosed with leukaemia. Some painful subjects are woven into the pop- rock and orchestral sounds. From the slow-burning “Spinning” to the razor sharp single “Swim”, it’s a versatile and colourful album.

Jack’s Mannequin is the side project of Andrew McMahon from pop punk band Something Corporate. They recorded three albums during their existence. McMahon crafted some incredible pop songs for the band.

The album, which also contains bonus track “Miss California”, is available as a limited edition of 2500 individually numbered copies on silver vinyl.

Modern sounds for the 21st century featuring modal, progressive and esoteric contemporary jazz from the UK, Spain, Netherlands, Finland, USA, Belgium, Canada, South Africa, Sweden, Germany & Italy.

The first 12 volumes of our hugely popular Spiritual Jazz series have unearthed a wealth of historic recordings in the genre, collating a variety of works from the '50s to the '80s by artists from all around the world.

And so, with Volume 13, we turn our attention to what's happening NOW.

Over the course of 24 tracks and spanning 2 x 2LPs, we present an overview of the contemporary exponents of Spiritual Jazz; musicians who are intent on bringing something personal to the table, as much as they recognize the importance of those who have paved the way for them. We feature music recorded within the past 20 years and from 15 different countries, including modern classics from veterans Steve Reid and Idris Ackamoor, providing a vital link between the past masters and the enlightened new generation.

It's pioneers such as John Coltrane, Sun Ra, Pharoah Sanders et al, with their innovations in reaching another plane of consciousness that was and remains uppermost in the minds of exponents of Spiritual Jazz. Fittingly, several of the artists featured on this compilation, such as Cat Toren and David Boykin, are practitioners of the art of music therapy and sound healing, and have absolute conviction in the role of song as solace. The pioneers may no longer be with us, but their saintly selves loom large, shining a light in the darkness, inspiring many a brave new disciple today, as this album will testify: the new wave of jazz is gathering pace and still sounds fresh, vibrant and as relevant as ever.

Following the release of the single of the same name, Dutch duo Tunnelvisions return to Disco Halal with new EP ‘Gold Teeth’, out on Friday 27th November.

A three-track release, ‘Gold Teeth’ opens with an extended version of the title track, an infectiously feelgood house number, characterised by driving synths, busy percussion and catchy vocals. Next up, ‘Hyperfocus’ is a slow-burning progressive house cut that unfurls steadily across its six minutes. Closing things out, ‘Heat Wave’ harnesses an old school house vibe, characterised by deep bass and fluttering percussive elements.

Speaking about the EP, Tunnelvisions says: “We’re proud to present you our next EP called ‘Gold Teeth’. Three tracks combining our percussional and synthpop influences into something we’re very excited about.”

With an unmistakable ear for imaginative, melodic themes and entrancing rhythms, Tunnelvisions hit the sweet spot by seamlessly fusing worldly influences with analog synthesisers.

A diverse collection of tracks, ‘Gold Teeth’ sees Tunnelvisions skilfully explore various shades and tones on the house music spectrum.

Modern sounds for the 21st century featuring modal, progressive and esoteric contemporary jazz from the UK, Spain, Netherlands, Finland, USA, Belgium, Canada, South Africa, Sweden, Germany & Italy.

The first 12 volumes of our hugely popular Spiritual Jazz series have unearthed a wealth of historic recordings in the genre, collating a variety of works from the '50s to the '80s by artists from all around the world.

And so, with Volume 13, we turn our attention to what's happening NOW.

Over the course of 24 tracks and spanning 2 x 2LPs, we present an overview of the contemporary exponents of Spiritual Jazz; musicians who are intent on bringing something personal to the table, as much as they recognize the importance of those who have paved the way for them. We feature music recorded within the past 20 years and from 15 different countries, including modern classics from veterans Steve Reid and Idris Ackamoor, providing a vital link between the past masters and the enlightened new generation.

It's pioneers such as John Coltrane, Sun Ra, Pharoah Sanders et al, with their innovations in reaching another plane of consciousness that was and remains uppermost in the minds of exponents of Spiritual Jazz. Fittingly, several of the artists featured on this compilation, such as Cat Toren and David Boykin, are practitioners of the art of music therapy and sound healing, and have absolute conviction in the role of song as solace. The pioneers may no longer be with us, but their saintly selves loom large, shining a light in the darkness, inspiring many a brave new disciple today, as this album will testify: the new wave of jazz is gathering pace and still sounds fresh, vibrant and as relevant as ever.

Available as 2 x 2LP sets each with gatefold sleeves, extensive liners, download card & pics inside.

No other pairing in the history of Darkwave ever matched the unfettered creativity, resolve, and DIY attitude from the collaboration between the two creative minds that compromise Lebanon Hanover.

The meeting of the Swiss musician Larissa Georgiou, aka Larissa Iceglass and British artist William Maybelline a decade ago in the latter’s hometown of Sunderland in the UK, was a monumental occasion, reverberating throughout the European music scene and even across the Atlantic.

Lebanon Hanover would emerge from the peak of the world-wide minimal wave revival, with their 2011 split 7-inch record with La Fete Triste issued as the catalog debut of Europe’s most ubiquitous Techno-Industrial EBM labels, Aufnahme + Wiedergabe

With Berlin as their new physical home, William and Larissa would soon, however, join the Fabrika Records family. From here, they would go on to release two full-length albums through the Athens based label, starting in early 2012 with their winter debut LP The World Is Getting Colder, and it’s All Hallows Eve follow up Why Not Just Be Solo.

It was Lebanon Hanover’s 2013 third studio outing Tomb for Two that would go on to cement the duo’s legacy, with the album’s single “Gallow Dance” becoming a post-punk anthem for the times, with artwork became the band’s defacto logo. Not only that, the song “Sadness is Rebellion”, also featured on the album, became the band’s official Mantra.

Two years would pass before the release of 2015’s critically acclaimed fourth record, “Besides the Abyss”. In the intervening years, William and Larissa, initially a couple, would find other partners, and relocate to Athens.

Meanwhile, Lebanon Hanover as a live act would expand rapidly in popularity, exceeding capacity during their performances at Wave Gotik Treffen in Leipzig, and performing sold-out shows across Europe and the UK.

With the playful Babes of the 80s maxi-single released in the interim, three years would pass before the next record from Lebanon Hanover, with 2018’s Let Them Be Alien, the band’s fifth studio album.

At the dawn of the global pandemic, where dystopian nightmares that were only ever seen before within the pages of books and flashes of silver screen celluloid, has become a daily reality, a new kind of darkness envelops the world. It was at this Lebanon Hanover returned, sharing a glimmer of hope with the single “The Last Thing,” the duo’s first song from their forthcoming sixth studio album Sci-Fi Sky.

Spanning an epic journey across ten tracks that wander through industrial landscapes, and ascend beyond the atmospheric aether, Sci Fi Sky is Lebanon Hanover’s most cohesive artistic statement to date. With their icy hearts on their sleeves, this is the culmination of a decade’s worth of musical creativity radiating from the minds of both Iceglass and Maybelline, and altogether an otherworldly beacon of hope in a time of sheer darkness.

Nino Lepore hails from South Italy, and is best known for his self-titled LP from 1986, as well as for his uncredited work on Dancer Record. The 'Chok Musik' 12" from Best Record Italy focuses on two productions from his sole LP, and in the titular track, sexualized funk basslines join a disco drum strut, as guitar riffs shimmer and brass and string orchestrations swirl deliriously between filmic romance and symphonic madness. And after a breakdown into percussive chaos, smooth piano solos alternate with passages of sizzling sax. As for "Bad Time," an introduction of decaying gongs leads to a broken beat groove, with strings evoking atmospheres of exotic noir and horns soloing softly over subdued funk bass motions and distant flashes of guitar. There are jazz rock breakdowns into liquid riffing and flamboyant brass, and during handclap climaxes, horns swell towards the sky.

Though Club Band's "Club is My Passion" was written as a radio jingle, it is nonetheless a dancefloor bomb. As was the case in 1987, Best Record Italy presents the track as a vocal and instrumental version, and in the vocal cut, marimbas dance aside swinging funk guitars as claps fire over pianos and hard hitting disco drums. Brass leads mesmerize the mind before the the track drops into a minimal verse, where electro rhythms and slap basslines flow beneath a cool masculine croon, which is at times supported by backing vocal and whispers of funk guitar. During ascendant choruses, erotic screams and diva dreams coalesce as computronic tracers spread out in every direction. And in excising most of the vocals, the accompanying instrumental version pushes ever closer towards dancelfoor detonation.

Legendary pedal steel player Susan Alcorn presents her music as curated and arranged by cellist and composer Janel Leppin. This recording is from a live performance from her residency at Issue Project Room in July 2012. Leppin’s arrangements and curation emotes the brilliance, transparency and resonance of the pedal steel guitar. Through this ensemble, the mastery of Susan Alcorn's compositions shine.

Susan Alcorn has taken the pedal steel guitar far beyond its traditional role in country music. Having first paid her dues in Texas country & western bands, she began to expand the vocabulary of her instrument through her study of 20th century classical music, visionary jazz, and world musics. Struck by the music of Messiaen she began transcribing classical music from recordings and scores on her instrument. Soon, she began to combine the techniques of country-western pedal steel with her own extended techniques to form a personal style influenced by free jazz, avant-garde classical music, Indian ragas, Indigenous traditions, and various folk musics of the world. By the early 1990s her music began to show an influence of the holistic and feminist “deep listening” philosophies of Pauline Oliveros. As her records gained a cult following she moved to Baltimore, MD. She performs internationally and is a key figure in the free improv scene in the US.

Janel Leppin is a core member of the Washington, D.C. experimental, jazz, punk and improvisational scenes and is a celebrated visual artist as a weaver. DownBeat Magazine describes her as “An absolute virtuoso”, NPR Music says “instrumental intimacy swept up in arrangements that cluster around her voice, as delicate and as imposing as a sheet of falling ice.”. Janel leads and writes for her free jazz sextet, Ensemble Volcanic Ash “a rarity..ahhh-vant garde at it’s finest." -Capital Bop. Leppin and Alcorn also recorded the composition “Thick Tarragon” by Eyvind Kang from the album Visible Breath on Ideologic Organ. Leppin appears as a string arranger on many recordings on labels from Dischord Records to Sacred Bones.

Early support by Alienata, Cyan85, Laurent Garnier, Marcel Dettmann, Swarm Intelligence, SLAM, OM Unit and many more!

As VOITAX enters its eighth year as a label, co-founder Christoph Siegert aka Masha Motive steps up to the plate with his first solo material - "The Imponderable Bloom". Having played a highly in uential role in whittling the label's established signature sound, the German producer chose to take his time to hone in on his craft, before dropping any production of his own. The result - a studiously crafted expedition filled with dominant breaks, dense bass and swelling ambience, flirting between the realms of jungle, dubstep and down tempo.

It doesn't happen too often that you come across someone with Sam's composure and artistry at such a young age. 22 year old Sam De Nef has been in music for a while as lead singer of indie outfit 'Danny Blue and the Old Socks', but It wasn't until last year he started thinking of a solo career. Influenced by a generation of songwriters he listens to every day, Sam felt an urge to follow his own path and write genuine songs he could play all by himself and at any time, unadorned and without pretence.

He started recording demo's during the March lockdown, swiftly landed a record deal and started recording his debut with Nicolas Rombouts (Dez Mona, Ottla, Stef Kamil Carlens) and PJ Decraene (Rhinos are People too) - also his live band - in an old house in the French Vosges mountains.

The first tracks he released did not go unnoticed at national radio, press and streaming playlists alike. Sam is a prolific writer and lyricist, he recorded a 7 track debut mini album, expected in February. We are instantly struck by his stunning vocals, his versatility and maturity as a songwriter, embracing the classics but never without transcending their influence.

Sam De Nef's first solo project is a vehicle to tell his own stories and write songs that come to him in the most natural way. His debut mini album is an inspired collection of visceral folk and singer songwriter tunes, drenched in nostalgia. He's inspired by the likes of Dylan, Jack Kerouac, Leonard Cohen and Karen Dalton, but displays a unique voice and decidedly steers clear of platitudes.

"On my first trip to Serbia, visiting my girlfriends family, I discovered a whole new world in music. People played their songs around the diner table. What I saw was a family sharing food, alcohol and stories everyone could relate to. This experience opened up a new window, the wind blowing inspiration. I want to tell stories and touch people with simple songs and colorful language."

There is a directness and intimacy throughout each of the record's 23 minutes, which both sparks universal melancholy and makes Sam De Nef's debut very personal.

Overcoming all manner of obstacles and finally raising £16,000 via their committed fanbase through Kickstarter, in November 2019 fast rising rockers Mason Hill recorded 11 songs at Riverside Studios in Glasgow, with Scott Taylor later travelling to New York to track his vocals at the legendary Electric Ladyland Studios. Titled in acknowledgement of struggles overcome, the result is Against The Wall, the most hard-hitting and engaging debut album to emerge from the British rock scene in 2020.
From its seductive, inviting opening notes, Against The Wall is an enthralling, spellbinding distillation of everything Mason Hill have learned in their 7 year history. It opens, in dramatic fashion, with the self-explanatory Reborn, climaxing with the lyric, “No more pain, I feel reborn”, a declaration of intent and purpose which sets the tone for what is to follow.

Another lyric encapsulating the defiant resolve of Against The Wall, is the opening line of the stirring, impassioned Hold On. “Wake up, wake up,” Scott Taylor sings. “Did you really think I'd disappear?” That same swagger runs through the album’s gritty title track, an anthemic modern rock masterclass to file alongside the likes of Shinedown and Alter Bridge. Their influence can also be detected in the beautifully bruised climactic epic Where I Belong, where Taylor sings, “I know who I am, and I know where I’ve been” before Bird launches into a stunning solo that recalls Guns N’ Roses legend Slash at his most lyrical.

Overcoming all manner of obstacles and finally raising £16,000 via their committed fanbase through Kickstarter, in November 2019 fast rising rockers Mason Hill recorded 11 songs at Riverside Studios in Glasgow, with Scott Taylor later travelling to New York to track his vocals at the legendary Electric Ladyland Studios. Titled in acknowledgement of struggles overcome, the result is Against The Wall, the most hard-hitting and engaging debut album to emerge from the British rock scene in 2020.
From its seductive, inviting opening notes, Against The Wall is an enthralling, spellbinding distillation of everything Mason Hill have learned in their 7 year history. It opens, in dramatic fashion, with the self-explanatory Reborn, climaxing with the lyric, “No more pain, I feel reborn”, a declaration of intent and purpose which sets the tone for what is to follow.

Another lyric encapsulating the defiant resolve of Against The Wall, is the opening line of the stirring, impassioned Hold On. “Wake up, wake up,” Scott Taylor sings. “Did you really think I'd disappear?” That same swagger runs through the album’s gritty title track, an anthemic modern rock masterclass to file alongside the likes of Shinedown and Alter Bridge. Their influence can also be detected in the beautifully bruised climactic epic Where I Belong, where Taylor sings, “I know who I am, and I know where I’ve been” before Bird launches into a stunning solo that recalls Guns N’ Roses legend Slash at his most lyrical.

Andrew Kötting is one of the UK’s most highly regarded film makers, having worked on films such as ‘Gallivant’ (1996), ‘Swansdown’ (2012), ‘Edith Walks’ (2017) and many more. His new film, ‘The Whalebone Box’, was released in 2019. The soundtrack is composed by Andrew Kötting, Riz Maslen (Grand Theft Auto, Neotropic, Small Fish With Spine) and Oliver Cherer (Gilroy Mere, Dollboy).
For the soundtrack to ‘The Whalebone Box’, Kötting used various pieces of music by Dollboy,
The Assistant and musician Riz Maslen among others. Kötting chopped, processed and repurposed the songs for the film’s soundtrack, described as “a gentle, savage, unnerving warm bath of noise, music and references that is an integral part of the film and as much Andrew as it is the original tracks.”
The tracks were then remixed again by Cherer and Maslen for this 2LP release on Invada Records.
Pressed on ‘One Disc Green, One Disc Blue’ coloured vinyl and housed in a deluxe spinedsleeve with printed insert included.

A guitarry hybrid of AZITA’s edgy rock / soul / R&B sound. Grooving good times, acerbic exchanges overheard in the street, shifts in community, the losses you will carry always, dark recesses late at night that echo with a wonder you've never felt before. Life.
All instruments played by AZITA; the wackest, most AZITA-harmonious sounding pop album yet.
For those who find the passage of time a one-way process of attrition, here’s good news for you. In the eight years since AZITA’s last long-player her fevered brain has barely rested and the proof is a new album of unbounded physical and mental activity, music and entertainment, entitled ‘Glen Echo’.
The worlds of the previous AZITAs have left their unmistakable essence. Her singular conception of pop music - the idiosyncratic songs, singing and playing that have graced seven acclaimed releases - is in verdant recurrence on ‘Glen Echo’, blossoming anew, cutting sharply in the spirit and image of her everevolving, always questioning style.
Writing and arranging on keyboards since the time of her solo debut, AZITA focused on guitars for this set of songs. Not simply for swagger or a fresh approach to soloing but as part of a way to elide expected singer-songwriter tropes, to democratically populate the sound-stage in equal partnership instead.
This is a key aspect of the ‘Glen Echo’ sound, one that determined another new choice - AZITA playing everything on the album herself.
Previous long-players ‘Enantiodromia’, ‘Life On the Fly’ and ‘How Will You?’ were achieved via close work with players and engineers who took the compositions from the demo to a finished form. Invariably though, something would get lost in the transmigration somewhere. With ‘Glen Echo’, AZITA comes through fully, jaggedly, most vividly, owning her intention entirely in the dialogue of singing and playing her rock and rhythm and blues.
The lyric sheet is riddled with language that circles, through the many moments of life, aspects of the passage of time, the pre-empted dreams and strangeness of the present and the way we invent an idealized past in response to the changes, guiding the narrative... where? It’s all banded together by AZITA’s wit, equal parts droll and dire, her dispassionate view of fates and outcomes for all of us here together on the planet, textured with unique, cinematic details and sudden dives into a deeply felt, utterly OG sense of soul.
In ‘Glen Echo’ are a multitude of sounds - all the moments in a life: the good time grooves, acerbic exchanges in the street, shifts in community and generosity, moments of loss you know you will carry forever, reflection upon unknown futures and pasts, the dark recesses late at night that echo with a wonder you’ve never felt before. You name it, AZITA’s got some sweet and sour theme music for it.

‘Island’, the latest album from Oscar-nominated composer and
songwriter Owen Pallett, released on Domino / Secret City
Records (Canada).
Almost entirely acoustic, ‘Island’ begins with 13 darkened
chords and was recorded live at Abbey Road Studios with the
London Contemporary Orchestra. The introduction is the sound
of waking up alone and on the shore of a strange land. What
follows is a shimmering and luscious orchestral album that
draws across the full breadth of Pallett’s discography, from
‘Heartland’’s Technicolor to the glittering, fingerpicked guitar
that marked Pallett’s first records with their trio, Les Mouches.
In addition to Pallett’s Grammy Award-winning work with
Arcade Fire, Pallett’s commissions have included string, brass
and orchestral work for Last Shadow Puppets, The National,
The Mountain Goats, Christine and arrangements for Frank
Ocean, Caribou, R.E.M., Linkin Park, Sigur Rós, Taylor Swift and
the Pet Shop Boys.
Since the release of ‘In Conflict’ (2014), Pallett has earned an
Oscar nomination for their film scoring work on Spike Jonze’s
‘Her’ and an Emmy for Sølve Sundsbø’s ‘Fourteen Actors Acting’.
Their score for Matt Wolf’s ‘Spaceship Earth’, a documentary
about a crew who spent two years quarantined inside a replica
of Earth’s ecosystem called BIOSPHERE 2, is out now.

I’ve known Alex Bleeker my entire life. Well, okay, maybe not since I was born, but there’s no doubt that I’ve shared a fair bit of memories with him over the years. We’ve acted in high school productions of Shakespeare together, gone on late-night diner runs, argued about which Weezer album is the band’s best, and swapped mutual appreciation for the music of Yo La Tengo on car rides careening around the snaky suburbia of our hometown. Just like his Real Estate bandmates Martin Courtney and Julian Lynch, we attended high school in the New Jersey enclave of Ridgewood, a place where sticky summer days yielded cool nights with a glow so nocturnal that you can practically hear the fireflies buzzing off of this sentence alone.

Indie rock—a type of music that can easily be made or listened to in someone’s garage—often dominates teenage suburban preoccupations, and both Alex and I were no exception. You can hear this legacy of listening on his new album Heaven on the Faultline, which departs from his last full-band outing as Alex Bleeker and the Freaks, 2015’s Country Agenda. Whereas that album had a more full-bodied explicitly folk-y feel, Heaven on the Faultline finds Bleeker getting back to his homespun roots over the course of its 13 songs, from the jangly guitar pop of New Jersey heroes the Feelies and YLT’s hushed, acoustic reveries to the open-hearted folk rock that marks so much of the Grateful Dead’s early catalog.

Written and recorded over the last several years, Heaven on the Faultline’s songs were initially recorded straight to GarageBand in Bleeker’s bedroom before receiving further studio refinement in co-producer Phil Hartunian’s Tropico Beauty space in Los Angeles. With contributions from Confusing Mix of Nations’ Josh Da Costa, Cameron Stallones of Sun Araw, singer-songwriter Kacey Johansing, and Parting Lines’ Tim Ramsey, Heaven on the Faultline achieves a warm and intimate feel that defines Bleeker’s mission for the album: “I wanted to capture the moment in which I fell in love with making music to begin with. This is music for myself—me getting back to music for music’s sake.”

The unsteady times we live in certainly creep into view on Heaven on the Faultline. The deceptively easygoing “D Plus” was written on the day of President Donald Trump’s inauguration with the cursed event in mind, while the anxiety of climate change hovers just above the lovely guitar loops of “Felty Feel.” “The album is very much about dealing with the anxiety of a sense of impending doom,” Bleeker states while discussing the album’s portentous vibes. “When is the hammer going to fall? How do we go forward in the face of such anxiety and experience the complexity of life?”

Tough questions with few answers, but try not to stress too much. It’s possible to experience such existential doubt while also enjoying the simple pleasures that life has to offer, and that ethos is square at the heart of Heaven on the Faultline. It defines who Alex Bleeker is, too, and is one of many reasons why I’m proud to have known this special person and artist for so long.

Larry Fitzmaurice

William The Conqueror have paid their damn dues.
Like the sportsman cutting chipped teeth in the
lower leagues before shooting to the very top, this
band have lugged all the amps, placated the inhouse sound guy for an easier life, their nails dirty,
their hair unkempt. Enough.
Except it’s never enough, because despite their
slinky, swampy, razor-sharp, blues-drenched, guitar
thrashed alt. rock songs that form new album
‘Maverick Thinker’ and suggest that the door is
opening for bigger rooms and broader audiences,
it’s those sticky basement bar stages where the
songs have always shed a skin and come alive.
The record put the three piece behind the glass at
Sound City Studios in LA, treading the same carpet
as the likes of Nirvana, Johnny Cash, Neil Young,
and Fleetwood Mac and they might well have
inhaled the spirit of them all.
William The Conqueror’s protagonist is Ruarri
Joseph who knows his way around a melody and a
verse. Joseph’s wryness suggests life just ain’t
plain sailin’ and he fizzes that sigh and lament into
something that breathes heavy with heart and with
soul.
Vinyl format comes in a gatefold sleeve with
printed inner sleeve and digital download card.

After numerous successes across nearly every notable MC/DJ battle of the late 90's and early 00's, followed by their poignant debut, First Born (2001), and the innovative follow-up, E&A (2004), Eyedea & Abilities expanded upon their reputation for multi-dimensional lyricism and production, establishing the duo as a progressive and integral part of the underground hip-hop sound. In 2009, they re-emerged with rap-punk vocals, gutted guitar riffs, and synthesized drum beats on By The Throat, their final studio release before Eyedea's untimely passing in 2010. Together, the experimental and philosophical rapper Eyedea, synchronizing with the precision and ingenuity of producer/turntablist Abilities, curated a raw form of escapism that still resonates ten years later. While a song like "Spin


Cycle" delicately unravels the barriers of human intimacy, “Smile” immerses us into the horrors of poverty and hardships, and our society's obliviousness to them. In each track, Abilities compliments Eyedea’s fluctuating patterns by maintaining ranges from each

side of the spectrum, ensuring their advanced creation still stands as a testament of their dedication to the craft. Now, the long out-of-print vinyl is being reissued for the 10 year anniversary on a custom formulated watercolor swirl vinyl, wrapped art paper jacket of original watercolor artwork by Michael Gaughan with film lamination finish, full color printed record sleeve, insert with full album lyrics and free download card.

Second album released on Insanity Records from London based/Bedford born pop/soul singer. This is the follow up to 2018's gold certified 'Lighting Matches'. A 14 track album whose production credits include Dan Grech, Eg White and Lostboy among others. Single LP on black vinyl and standard CD. Plenty of radio support across all the singles released so far: 'Little Bit Of Love', 'Amen', 'Something Better', 'Oh Please' and 'This Is The Place'. Digital campaign. Video plays across MTV/Vevo/Tik Tok. Online/social media activity. Ads, features, interviews ad reviews across all press. TV promo includes Graham Norton Show interview and performance plus more to follow. TV ad campaign. Pending UK tour dates. Poster campaign and database mailout.

Legowelt teams up with medieval music expert Jimi Helinga once again for a new album in their 'para-academic' Zandvoort & Uilenbal project. Folk Triumfator is the successor to the cult 2016 GERUIS UIT SOMBERDORP in which they return to appropriate historical instruments and mix it with 'modern'synthesizers. We can hear a medieval Hurdy Gurdy, A Victorian Harmonium, a 1950's Mixtur Trautonium, an electro acoustic thumb harp and much more, all mingled and amalgated into the unique Zandvoort & Uilenbal sound. It all crackles and squeaks like an old haunted ship drifting into a foggy sinister harbour while being obsvereed by Ligottian clown puppets. We can write how conceptual and arty this all is but let's just say this is hardcore dark ambient with lots of medieval drone space jazz influences to trip your mind out into a region where time and your opinions cease to exist.

Since 2005, Swedish sound artist Dag Rosenqvist has released 30 albums, EP’s and cassette tapes in different constellations, the main one being Jasper TX that was put to rest 2012. Other constellations include From The Mouth of The Sun, de la Mancha and The Silence Set. He has also collaborated with Machinefabriek, Mike Weis, Aaron Martin and Simon Scott and released albums on Miasmah, Fang Bomb, Experimedia and Kning Disk.

To start a second year, Laaps is glad to have his new album on board, a new turn on the Dag Rosenqvist's works, it could be a soundtrack and it should be. Between "Blade Runner", "Stranger Things", and "Dark", Dag Rosenqvist has made his own chapter.

John Norum might be best known for being the guitarist in the Swedish hard rock band Europe, but he has simultaneously maintained a successful solo career. Face The Truth is his second album, released in 1992, five years after debut Total Control. The record features Glenn Hughes (of Black Sabbath and Deep Purple fame) on vocals for several songs, as well as guest appearances by Joey Tempest (Europe) and Mikkey Dee (Motörhead). A true hard rock all- star effort, that also includes Norum’s cover version of Thin Lizzy’s song “Opium Trail”. It is available on coloured vinyl for the first time, as a limited edition of 1500 individually numbered copies on blue marbled vinyl.

File Under: Jazz / Contemporary Jazz - For fans of Ryuichi Sakamoto, Boards of Canada, Linda May Han Oh, Supersilent, Nels Cline, Makaya McCraven, and Haruka Nakamura! Born in Pinsk, Belarus in 1984 and immigrating to Canada in 1992 with the collapse of the USSR; Alexei Orechin has been actively shaping musical environments with his current projects No Seas, a solo project for guitar and tape, and leading his own ensemble incorporating jazz, chamber, and experimental elements into his compositional work. A diverse talent that is reflected in the company he has shared the stage with: Nas, Akae Beka, Rana Mansour, Shad, Yaadcore, and Sina Bathaie. He has played in USA, Mexico, Europe, and Russia. Performances include the TD and Montreal Jazz Festivals, Caribana, Irie Music Festival, Tirgan Festival, and Pride Toronto. His music for film has been featured at TIFF, CFC, NFB and the Warsaw Jewish Film Festival. He has been featured on CBC, Noisey, Global News, The Star, Dub Rockers, Huffpost, Afropunk, and Relix magazine. 2020 saw the premier of '1992 Ambient', a 45-minute long composition that is a 'therapeutic experiment in slowly melting sound and colour; representing the acculturation and restructuring oneself through emigrating from Russia to Canada in 1992'. 2021 will also see the release of his debut full length album Mirages; an album that showcases his diverse and ever evolving style of composition, ranging from moments of melodic solitude to fractal experimentalism.

Comes with printed innersleeve and download code. Limited 300. "Musician, composer and one of the most revered figures for today's younger generation of experimental and alternative Arabic music scenes, Kamilya Jubran (text, oud & vocals), collaborates with long standing musical partner, composer, accomplished trumpet player and seasoned electronic musician Werner Hasler (trumpet & electronics). In Wa (Arabic for and), their third album together as a duo, Kamilya Jubran and Werner Hasler continue to interrogate their listening and their expression, their research and their desires, to unravel a musical universe of possibilities; "a unison of timbres, cultures complementing, the complicity of verses, and modes and languages confronting each other" in the duo's own way of communicating respective origins and contemporaneity. Lyrical, within a sound full of contrast and ornamentation, they pursue an expansion of their repertoire with imaginative interpretation and improvisation." Originally released in CD and digital by Everest Records (Switzerland). Vinyl issued in collaboration with Akuphone. Vinyl mastering by Mark Gergis.

A jazz musician playing spirituals? In a sense that is what Louis
Armstrong has been doing all along. Anyone who has ever read a
history of jazz knows that there’s supposed to be a relationship
between jazz and spirituals, jazz and work songs, jazz and the
blues. The patterns which the sax and reed sections use in swing
band arrangements are drawn from the “call” (the preacher) and
“response” (the congregation) patterns used in churches. This
album clearly shows Armstrong’s heritage and what an outstanding
and versatile musician he was.

"The Queen", they called her and Dinah Washington's regality
was nowhere more apparent than in the recording studio,
where she was uncompromising in her demands for the best in
material and in backing. She is marvelous in this recording,
which dates from 1957, for not only did she have some great
standards to sing in arrangements by Quincy Jones and Ernie
Wilkins, two of the best around at that time, but she also had
behind her a star-spangled band (the trumpet section alone is
sufficient indication of its quality) that gave her every
opportunity to be at her best.

"Sassy" Sarah Vaughan was a singer whose respect from fellow
artistes was as great as her popularity with fans. No less a
personage than Frank Sinatra once said, with tongue firmly in
famous cheek, that "Sassy is so good that when I listen to her I
want to cut my wrists with a dull razor." Vaughan certainly had
the smoothest voice of her generation. She could swoop from
the highest of notes down to the depths. The material
showcased here ranges from 1945 to 1959 and majors on
excerpts from the Great American Songbook like Nice Work If
You Can Get It, tackled here in 1950 with George Treadwell
and his All-Stars.

Ella Fitzgerald was, by any yardstick, a remarkable singer. She
had achieved much by the time she signed to the newly created
Verve Records in 1956, but it was the genius of Norman Granz,
her personal manager and Verve founder, in suggesting she
tackle the material of great contemporary composers in themed
albums that sent her career into orbit. As the New York Times
wrote on her passing in 1996, "These albums were among the
first pop records to devote such serious attention to individual
songwriters, and they were instrumental in establishing the pop
album as a vehicle for serious musical exploration." The song
selections ranged from standards to rarities, and the eight-title
series represented an attempt by Fitzgerald to cross over to a
non-jazz audience that may have been unaware of the talents
she first committed to vinyl in 1935.

Bobby Would LP#2. Wistful waltztime psychobeat for warding off / wallowing in the 2020-21 Weltschmerz. Swelling and smearing the vision of 2018’s skeletal rock’n’roll heartbreaker Baby, most of the songs here are ballads – minimalist, ultra-hypnotic but lavishly melodic space-punk lullabies and bright, bruised expressions of jingle-jangle mourning. Highs, lows and heavenly blows. BW’s guitar is, more than ever, a thing of fearsome and filigree beauty, moving effortlessly from misty, mellifluous DIY pop-dreams to wailing vertiginous whiplash leads and dazed, epiphanic, angels-wept metha-drone, ringing in infinity - and tethered to this earth only by his beloved monotone, numbed-out, serial-killer croon. Spinning in its own orbit, but with recognisable dabs - perhaps - of Phantom Payn / JG39, Les Rallizes Denudes, Gary War, Peter Gutteridge’s Pure...and of course Bobby’s own work in Heavy Metal and Itchy Bugger.

Thumbing Thru Foliage is a blunted journey through YUNGMORPHEUS’ mind where personal lyrics intertwine with socio-political themes and tongue in cheek humour. Produced entirely by ewonee. Lead single ‘Fistfulofgreens’ grooves on a g-funk-esque plain and is an assured mission statement - “original man who got the game plan, I aint switching my hands inside these strange lands” whilst also sharing some intimate insight “I don’t ever answer questions that the feds askin, they were cuffin’ my mama, you know I had to blast them”. Second single ‘Sovereignty’ takes a more soulful turn with ceremonial strings and r&b samples ringing under braggadocious bars. Third single ‘Middle Passage’ is a more introspective cut - sombre vocal and piano loops are juxtaposed with neck snappin’ energetic drums. Describing the project in his own words, YUNGMORPHEUS says, “Peace peace, I consider this album a call to action of sorts. The world is rife with distractions and oppressive tactics but niggas move through it nonetheless ! Respect to ewonee for providing a beautiful backdrop for me to get some much needed shit off my chest. Maneuver through the foliage yall... Power to all black people ! Salute to those who listen”. ewonee adds, “Growing up like we did in this corporation Neegas deal with a lot. Usually gotta go through the mud to get to the greens. Good comes with the bad and vice versa, learning how to adjust is a must. Hope y’all get that from this. Roll up count up and mount up. PEACE”. YUNGMORPHEUS is an American rapper and record producer, originally from Miami but now based in LA. He has released music on Leaving Records and Rap Vacation as well as collaborating with Pink Siifu, Fly Anakin, Koncept Jack$on and Ohbliv. Previously supported by Okayplayer, XLR8R, Bandcamp, DJ Booth, Tiny Mix Tapes, Earmilk, BBC6 Music, Dublab, NTS and Worldwide FM. ewonee is an American Multi-instrumentalist, Producer, Beat-maker & Audio engineer from New York. Part of the Mutant Academy crew and also involved with the Beat Haus Show, ewonee has previously produced & collaborated with the likes of Your Old Droog, Fly Anakin, Reginald Chapman and Koncept Jack$on.

Mike Lundy, Lemuria, Aura. This trifecta of inimitable Hawaiian acts descended upon Honolulu’s state-of-the-art Broad Recording Studio in late 1979 to create what have now become the most coveted Hawaiian funk/soul/jazz albums of the era.

But whereas Lemuria functioned as a short-lived studio band and Mike Lundy saw little success from his album’s release, Aura — comprised of eight siblings from the Mendoza family — remained a key figure in the nightlife scene of Hawaii of the 1970s and early 1980s.

Each tune on their 1979 LP showcases the band’s unmatched musical talent that continues to astonish listeners in the 21st century, including Juno Records: “Raw funk… honey-coated soul… grooves and big smiles… lavish Hayes-level horns… dynamic and luxurious full-spectrum harmonies. Stunning.” Available on vinyl and digital for the first time since its initial release, Aura is a rare example of an album that in today’s crowded reissue landscape really does live up to its mystique.

Mike Lundy, Lemuria, Aura. This trifecta of inimitable Hawaiian acts descended upon Honolulu’s state-of-the-art Broad Recording Studio in late 1979 to create what have now become the most coveted Hawaiian funk/soul/jazz albums of the era.

But whereas Lemuria functioned as a short-lived studio band and Mike Lundy saw little success from his album’s release, Aura — comprised of eight siblings from the Mendoza family — remained a key figure in the nightlife scene of Hawaii of the 1970s and early 1980s.

Each tune on their 1979 LP showcases the band’s unmatched musical talent that continues to astonish listeners in the 21st century, including Juno Records: “Raw funk… honey-coated soul… grooves and big smiles… lavish Hayes-level horns… dynamic and luxurious full-spectrum harmonies. Stunning.” Available on vinyl and digital for the first time since its initial release, Aura is a rare example of an album that in today’s crowded reissue landscape really does live up to its mystique.

From Nanakuli comes a simple yet stunning ode to the islands with “Hawaii Is Beautiful”, composed and performed by Mike Kahikina. Previously unreleased, “Hawaii Is Beautiful” has been restored and remastered from original master tapes.

Kahikina played an active role in Hawaii’s music scene in the 1970s and 80s, writing and performing protest songs in support of sovereignty for the Kingdom of Hawaii and land rights for Kanaka Maoli, or native Hawaiians. Featured in the 1988 music documentary Hawaiian Rainbow is Kahikina’s song “Who Came First” which provides a clear, poignant message: “Who came first to Hawai‘i? All of us kanaka’s. And how come us kanaka’s, we no own the aina?” Kahikina later served as state representative on the Hawaiian Homes Commission from 2011-2019, championing Native Hawaiian’s rights to homestead lands and pressuring the state government to provide better access to and higher quality of housing for kanaka.

Despite the frustration and fiery feelings he expressed in his protest songs (check out his song “I Am A Native” with Nelson Waialae, written in protest of kanaka who were evicted from Waimea Valley), Kahikina still had plenty of room for songs of love and aloha for his home, including a rare 45 devoted to the art of surfing (“Ocean Rider”, recorded under the name Ka’ala). “Hawaii Is Beautiful” is a shimmering statement of Kahikina’s aloha for his home; a palm-trees-are-swaying tribute to the natural beauty of the Hawaiian Islands.

From Nanakuli comes a simple yet stunning ode to the islands with “Hawaii Is Beautiful”, composed and performed by Mike Kahikina. Previously unreleased, “Hawaii Is Beautiful” has been restored and remastered from original master tapes.

Kahikina played an active role in Hawaii’s music scene in the 1970s and 80s, writing and performing protest songs in support of sovereignty for the Kingdom of Hawaii and land rights for Kanaka Maoli, or native Hawaiians. Featured in the 1988 music documentary Hawaiian Rainbow is Kahikina’s song “Who Came First” which provides a clear, poignant message: “Who came first to Hawai‘i? All of us kanaka’s. And how come us kanaka’s, we no own the aina?” Kahikina later served as state representative on the Hawaiian Homes Commission from 2011-2019, championing Native Hawaiian’s rights to homestead lands and pressuring the state government to provide better access to and higher quality of housing for kanaka.

Despite the frustration and fiery feelings he expressed in his protest songs (check out his song “I Am A Native” with Nelson Waialae, written in protest of kanaka who were evicted from Waimea Valley), Kahikina still had plenty of room for songs of love and aloha for his home, including a rare 45 devoted to the art of surfing (“Ocean Rider”, recorded under the name Ka’ala). “Hawaii Is Beautiful” is a shimmering statement of Kahikina’s aloha for his home; a palm-trees-are-swaying tribute to the natural beauty of the Hawaiian Islands.

Das zweite Tensnake-Studioalbum "L.A." erscheint nun endlich auf Vinyl. Benannt nach der Metropole an der US-Westküste, in der der Hamburger DJ und Produzent sechs Jahre lang eine Liebesbeziehung erlebte, huldigt Tensnake mit den 14 Tracks seine Liebe zum Pop, was sich besonders in dem Pointer Sisters-Cover "Automatic" widerspiegelt, das allein auf Spotify bereits über 5 Mio. Streams zählt und damit - nach seinem Klassiker "Coma Cat" (2010) - sein zweitmeistgestreamter Hit ist. Tensnakes Zeit in L.A. brachte ein exzellentes House-Pop-Album mit zahlreichen Vocal-Ohrwürmern und entspannten Instrumentals hervor.

Rebuke returns to Drumcode with a trio of timeless dancefloor weapons.
The Irishman’s ‘Rattle’ was a standout of 2019, judged by DJ Mag as their no.22 top track of the year and is etched in the Drumcode discography as one of the most original releases to date. A valued part of Adam Beyer’s extended collective; he would have made his Drumcode event debut at WMC in Miami this March. Without a doubt, a sophomore EP was always on the cards.

‘Instatik’ kicks the work into gear, a rugged, reverb-heavy cut with industrial drums that pump like pistons and an undulating synth effect that makes you feel like you’re on a turbo-charged rollercoaster. ‘Livewire’ has the trademark Rebuke brain-scrambling stamp on it, a flurry of steelyard percussion bring the track to life, before a low-end melody swells to attention, rubbing shoulders deliciously with driving drumlines, for an uplifting second half. The title track ‘Obscurity’ is a dark slice of techno funk, filled with synapse-tickling arpeggios, before a rollicking groove takes hold and launches the track home at full-flight. Another thrilling and innovative release to add to the Rebuke canon.

“I think 2020 will go down in history as the craziest year of our lifetime. The future is still pretty unknown right now and things are drastically changing week to week. With that in mind, I felt ‘Obscurity’ would be a fitting title for my second Drumcode EP. It represents the state of being unknown, unclear or difficult to understand – feelings I’m sure most of us are going through right now. Most the tracks aside from ‘Livewire’ were written in quarantine; ‘Livewire’ was written right before the virus shut the world down, in a hotel room in Lima, Peru in January. This EP is my favourite to date as I think it shows a different side to my musical palette, whilst still developing the signature sound heard in all my music.” – Rebuke

Ceramic’s 2nd EP presents New Delhi based artist Shantam’s wonky and groovy take on beat. 4 diverse and swirling tracks make up 3fer-disco. I hear a lot of Luke Vibert and early Warp/ IDM influences channeled into modern modular techniques.

pink vinyl limited to 500
Insides’s music shimmers and tingles with the tantalising promise of a different direction that UK pop could’ve gone: future-facing and fresh, rather than nostalgic regurgitation.” Simon Reynolds, author and music critic, writing in  Euphoria re-issue liner-notes in 2019

“A sound still as dew fresh, dawn dazzled and shot through with luscious darkness as it was nigh on three decades ago.” Neil Kulkarni, The Wire, 2019

Insides are Julian Tardo and Kirsty Yates. They first recorded together in the early 90s as Earwig, and released an album, 'Under My Skin I am Laughing', which brought them to the attention of 4AD. Earwig morphed into Insides and  two further albums were released on 4AD’s Guernica imprint: ‘Euphoria' (1993) and 'Clear Skin' (1994). In 2019 ‘Euphoria' was reissued for US Record Store Day by Beacon Sound, and was hailed as a lost treasure by discerning outlets. 

'Soft Bonds' is Insides’ first release for 20 years. It’s the sound of heart-stopping slow motion, blood rushes, fingers digging into bruised flesh, and sleeping with clenched fists.

“We found some things that were recorded a long time ago. We added some things that have been haunting us for for years and recorded some other ideas that we’d just thought of. Recording started at home in 2012, and continued every now and then in our studio, on trains, in the Greek island of Naxos and while wandering around Cissbury Ring, Chanctonbury Ring and Devil’s Dyke in the South Downs. We finally walked away from the recordings in late 2019 and decided to release a small run of CDs and LPs on our own Further Distractions label.

'Soft Bonds' is about the past haunting the present, and gripping onto your crumbling sense of self. It’s informed by the spirit of This Heat/This Is Not This Heat, Patty Waters, Annette Peacock, Eartheater, Mhysa, Hailu Mergia, Scott Walker and Arca.”

The first track to be released, 'Ghost Music', was also the first to be finished and came about by scrapping the original structure, leaving only the trace elements. Working in the negative space that’s left behind, where rhythms are pulses and heartbeats and melodies are memories, it’s insistent, staring, but not shouting. Almost absent, or heard from another room. The video uses footage of Kirsty and Julian filmed and used in live shows in 1993 and cut with more recent footage from 2016. The past haunts the present.

“Pop loving the sound of itself to death. And hating the fact that it can’t stop loving.” Rob Young, The Wire, 1993

“...they seemed to be creating an entirely new version of pop. Their hooks were unmistakable, in that they triggered movement like perpetual-motion clockwork. Their grooves were sparse and spectral and nagged at you like breakbeats but made your heart and hair-follicles dance more than your feet. Their music was amniotic, ebbing and alive with iridescent melodic detail and lyrics that turned the turmoils and trauma of love into the sweetest searing honesty you’d been privy to since you first heard the Supremes.” Neil Kulkarni, The Quietus, 2011

The Sushitech label turned 15 years old in 2020 and to celebrate this milestone Yossi Amoyal has put together the Fluere compilation across four discs, plus this extended fifth part, titled Fatum. Juan Atkins' remix of 'Someone' by Killer Loop takes up residence on the A-side of this three tracker, all swirling, warm pads and spiralling filters, the percussion almost leaning towards disco with its syncopated handclaps, although the overall effect is as shiny and futuristic as you would expect from this Detroit legend. Flip it over for Terry Brookes' 'Breaking Cycles', a calm spoken word narration providing a meditational mantra to accompany the chugging house foundations, full of gentle tease. 'Limits of Likeness' by MSL completes the package with restless electro machinations and shifting clouds of synth floating across its horizon. Sheer bliss all round.

No other pairing in the history of Darkwave ever matched the unfettered creativity, resolve, and DIY attitude from the collaboration between the two creative minds that compromise Lebanon Hanover.

The meeting of the Swiss musician Larissa Georgiou, aka Larissa Iceglass and British artist William Maybelline a decade ago in the latter’s hometown of Sunderland in the UK, was a monumental occasion, reverberating throughout the European music scene and even across the Atlantic.

Lebanon Hanover would emerge from the peak of the world-wide minimal wave revival, with their 2011 split 7-inch record with La Fete Triste issued as the catalog debut of Europe’s most ubiquitous Techno-Industrial EBM labels, Aufnahme + Wiedergabe

With Berlin as their new physical home, William and Larissa would soon, however, join the Fabrika Records family. From here, they would go on to release two full-length albums through the Athens based label, starting in early 2012 with their winter debut LP The World Is Getting Colder, and it’s All Hallows Eve follow up Why Not Just Be Solo.

It was Lebanon Hanover’s 2013 third studio outing Tomb for Two that would go on to cement the duo’s legacy, with the album’s single “Gallow Dance” becoming a post-punk anthem for the times, with artwork became the band’s defacto logo. Not only that, the song “Sadness is Rebellion”, also featured on the album, became the band’s official Mantra.

Two years would pass before the release of 2015’s critically acclaimed fourth record, “Besides the Abyss”. In the intervening years, William and Larissa, initially a couple, would find other partners, and relocate to Athens.

Meanwhile, Lebanon Hanover as a live act would expand rapidly in popularity, exceeding capacity during their performances at Wave Gotik Treffen in Leipzig, and performing sold-out shows across Europe and the UK.

With the playful Babes of the 80s maxi-single released in the interim, three years would pass before the next record from Lebanon Hanover, with 2018’s Let Them Be Alien, the band’s fifth studio album.

At the dawn of the global pandemic, where dystopian nightmares that were only ever seen before within the pages of books and flashes of silver screen celluloid, has become a daily reality, a new kind of darkness envelops the world. It was at this Lebanon Hanover returned, sharing a glimmer of hope with the single “The Last Thing,” the duo’s first song from their forthcoming sixth studio album Sci-Fi Sky.

Spanning an epic journey across ten tracks that wander through industrial landscapes, and ascend beyond the atmospheric aether, Sci Fi Sky is Lebanon Hanover’s most cohesive artistic statement to date. With their icy hearts on their sleeves, this is the culmination of a decade’s worth of musical creativity radiating from the minds of both Iceglass and Maybelline, and altogether an otherworldly beacon of hope in a time of sheer darkness.

As Dense & Pika, Alex Jones and Chris Spero have garnered an enviable reputation for making devastating club ordnance that finds the sweet spot between dark, mysterious house and roaring, brawny techno. With over a decade of material under their belt, Jones and Spero are set to release their first studio length debut album, ‘Colour Burn’ via London major imprint BMG on 4th December, home to the likes of Leftfield, The Prodigy, Holy Ghost and Faithless.

‘Colour Burn’ is a 13-track composition crossing through downtempo house and electronica, built as a conceptual sonic representation of the pair’s live audio and visual set up. The album is a step away from harder and faster material and a move towards a more leftfield sonic trajectory, featuring a handful of impressive heavyweight features of Jones & Spero’s musical heroes who have informed the Dense & Pika output.

Released today, album moment ‘Honey’ features the master of sensual, slow-burn techno, Matthew Dear whose contribution to ‘Honey’ arrives in vocal form – a breathy, brooding ensemble of spoken word that glues perfectly with the duo’s trademark rough and textured sound palette. It helps turn what Alex calls “a headsy, dusty piece of housey tech” into something sensual and otherworldly.

Dark and smouldering, it seems to the suck the air out of the room like a tightly packed subterranean dancefloor deep in the throes of night. Glitched out percussion and fizzling hi-hats feel caustic against the track’s low-end frequencies. The thumping bassline and kick drum combination delivers punch and pressure to the mix in a true Dense & Pika format. Matthew’s sauntering vocal contribution guides the track into a deep and hypnotic groove well equipped for any late-night excursion. “The boys sent over a lengthy jam, but there was that simple loop that stood out and had me hooked. I put it on repeat and let the mind and pen wander. It’s a bit of cosmic abandonment, brazenly sung by a professional of the night.” Matthew Dear

Elsewhere on the LP, standout track ‘Hidden’ features the drums of Sepultura’s legendary metal icon Igor Cavalera resulting in a fabulous frenzy of percussion and driving rhythm. The equally momentous and unforgettable ‘Control’ features the heavily robotic vocoder of Leftfield’s Neil Barnes aiding and abetting in its quest to be a high-octane, twisted rave jam.

The impressive features on ‘Colour Burn’ are an insight into the hugely artistic and visionary A&R skills of Alex and Chris and the start of a new chapter for Dense & Pika kicking off with the long-awaited release of their first studio length album.

* The Menahan Street Band includes members of The Roots, Budos Band, Lee Fields and The Expressions and The Dap-Kings...an all star Brooklyn line up!

* First album in 9 years.

*LPs are In gatefold sleeve and contain download code.

* MSB tracks have been the foundation for some of modern hip-hop's most successful beats; their music has been sampled by the likes of Eminem, Jay-Z, Kendrick Lamar, Travis Scott, 50 Cent, Curren$y, to name a few.

Menahan Street Band, a veritable supergroup of some of today's most prolific songwriters, arrangers, and producers return with this beat-forward, cinematic masterpiece.

Their unique brand of instrumental soul has not only been the foundation for some of modern hip-hop's most successful beats, it has also become the perennial soundtrack and veritable vibe-generator for countless parties, art shows, and restaurants throughout NYC and abroad.

While this album carries the aesthetic torch that MSB has skillfully woven into the tapestry of their DNA, it also delves deeper into the experimental, exotic sounds that fill many of the coveted Sound Library and Soundtrack LPs of the late sixties and early seventies - an amalgamation of moog synths, electric pianos, drum machines, and a bevy of analog instrumentation, that ebb and flow in lush swells of Morriconian grandeur.

Main Source’s paean to the simple pleasures of relaxing with friends is built over two tried-and-tested samples. The dreamy, swoony sounds of Vanessa Kendrick’s timeless ‘90% of Me is You’ is ever-present during this stone-cold classic, while Sister Nancy’s unmistakeable ‘Bam Bam’ lends several elements to the mix. Throw in some Skull Snaps and Sweet Charles and you’ve got the perfect soundtrack for a roll call of Large Professor’s nearest and dearest.

There are plenty of reasons why so many regard ‘Breaking Atoms’ as an all-time classic album, and the sheer variety of singles lifted from it is chief among them. Large Professor was happy to roam over varied topics at a time when many rappers had a manic focus on one thing.

And where better to hang out with friends than at a barbecue? ‘Live at the Barbecue’ is rightly regarded as one of the best posse cuts of all time, and famous for showcasing the debut of one Nasty Nas. While he delivers a dope verse full of quotables over drums from Bob James’ oft-plundered ‘Nautilus’, credit is also due to the other guests. Fatal and Akinyele aren’t disgraced in this company, and Large Professor tops it off with a rare verse of pure brag-rap.

An undisputed entry in the pantheon of head-nod hip-hop, this is its first official UK release, and another debut on 7”.

• Samples Sister Nancy’s unmistakeable ‘Bam Bam’

• Taken from the all-time classic album ‘Breaking Atoms’

• Features the debut of Nas

A new ship of fools sails on Bolombia lands! These strange people seem to celebrate the whole jazz universe and african idioms, but they've never been in Africa. The great continent, more than physical, is a mental place of encounter and psychedelic skids. Neurotic and schizoid sorcerers, a furious wind drags them towards the total effervescence of the groove: an unprecedented cauldron of dangerous substances, hybrid styles and influences mixed with secret recipe. Their music is an explosive bubble of expressions, a feverish, impulsive and unstoppable ritual. A cosmic attitude, such as Heliocentrics or Embryo, marries the majestic and floating sounds of synths and psych organs, acidified by toxic dub sparks and deadly funk forays. A crazy horn section travels without maps from Sun-Ra and Ethiopian echoes, hard-bop reminiscenses, to sudden and virulent Balkanisms, making this soup an indecipherable combination of flavors.

This is Dorothy Ashby's debut album, originally released in 1957 by the Regent label. Recognized as the woman who gave the harp a Jazz Voice, here Ashby is at the head of a highly distinctive combo featuring Frank Wess on flute, Eddie Jones or Wendell Marshall on bass and master Ed Thigpen on drums. The Jazz Harpist is an unprecedented mix of evocative classic sounds and jazz soul, awarded by Allmusic as her first and best album, period!

Long-awaited reissue for this cult percussive funk album from 1968, consisting of a 20 minutes bluesy suite on side A backed by 3 latin-jazz flavoured dancefloor fillers on side B: an absolute smasher for all afro-funk connoisseurs!

Remastered Limited Blue Vinyl with Gatefold Sleeve.
Includes A2 poster and 3 art prints of each individual band member.

Way back in 1982, Battersea based mod heroes The Direct Hits had released one single on Dan Treacy’s Whamm! record label, ‘Modesty Blaise’ earlier in the year. This was singled out in the music press as not just one of your average Jam crash / bang /wallop mod revivalist tunes.
Live gigs showed they had a mighty powerful set of catchy mod / pop tunes in the back pocket. Whamm! were struggling to provide the funds to record an album, the songs were too good not to commit to a full 12’ set, so the Direct Hits pooled their limited resources and self financed a very cheap one day recording session in a tiny studio in Tooting, South London called Broadway Sound.
Early on the morning of August 12th 1982 the band, comprising of Colin Swan, Geno Buckmaster, Brian Grover and their trusty roadie ‘Robbo’ assembled at the tiny studio to begin recording as many of their songs as they could get down on tape for the tiny budget they had scraped together. As most of the songs were already well rehearsed thanks to the band’s busy live schedule, the recording of the first nine songs on this disc were finished by mid afternoon without any problems. Throughout the late afternoon and early evening the band toiled over scant overdubs with limited keyboard facilities and a distinct lack of musical ability. The recordings immediately came to life however, when Colin Swan and Geno Buckmaster’s stage-honed tight harmonies were added, there was no time for vocal overdubs, and the mixing was completed by midnight. Tired and worn out, the band ventured out into the cold night air happy with the days work, clutching the precious reel to reel tape.
Two weeks later the band came back with a friend producing, and recorded the three final tracks featured on this album which have a more rounded slightly less raw sound. All three were completed in an afternoon. Almost two years later they re-recorded some of these songs, and along with a handful of new songs from the pen of Buckmaster and Swan, recorded their ‘Blow Up’ debut album at Rendezvous Studios in Sydenham, South East London, released on Whaam! Records in August 1984.
So what you have here are the roots of some of these great songs. A few didn’t make it to the first album those that did, as you will hear, stayed reasonably faithful to the original arrangements.
The Broadway Recording Sessions take you right back to where it all started!

Vampa were just kids, 13-14 years old, when they recorded and released their raw and very Iron Maidenesque 45 back in 1982. DIY all by themselves… The lyrics (sung in Swedish) is the ultimate hate for school-anthem. The boredom and frustration of (barely) teenage kids totally sick of school and its teachers has rarely been captured in a better and more enjoyable way. Even though the lyrics are in Swedish the language that grabs the listener as the needle is dropped into the groove is universal. Original 45 is near impossible to find. On The Dole Records found the members, got loads of rare photos that fills up the printed inner sleeve.
Comes with new original artwork by Swedish artist Oscar Nordblom, the guy behind the notorious Jobcentre Rejects-drawings
File under: ”beyond essential to any serious rock’n’roll fan”.

LIMITED TRANSPARENT RED WITH BLACK SWIRLS DOUBLE VINYL

Nine years after it’s initial release, 'The Ripper At The Heaven's Gates Of Dark' is back. The original black vinyl and CD editions sold out pretty quick, and have been a constant source of repress requests ever since. So, at Makoto’s personal request here it is. And I agree with him that it’s definitely the best AMT studio album from that short lived four piece line up.

With the exception of the album's opener 'Chinese Flying Saucer' and it's unashamedly obvious musical references to Led Zeppelin II (hello 1969!) the rest of the album locks into a much more laid-back groove than on recent AMT releases. This dynamic shift is best displayed on the 22 minute jam, 'Shine On You Crazy Dynamite' and also the album's closer 'Electric Death Mantra'. The band opt for less frantic explosions of electric guitar overload and fuzz, replacing those elements with a more epic, blissed-out and at times brooding Japanese psychedelia, with more emphasis on acoustic guitars, sitar, organ, synthesiser and at times, really trippy vocals (most prevalent on 'Back Door Man Of Ghost Rails Inn'), recalling the twisted psychedelics of early Pink Floyd. Yet still, their sound remains so expansive that it is easy to become totally immersed in this album.

Epic in proportions, cloaked in a cosmic haze and shimmering in a synth utopia. 'The Ripper At Heaven's Gates Of Dark' maintains AMT's status as masters of out-of-this-world music and reveals their darker side of the moon.

Acid Mothers Temple & The Melting Paraiso U.F.O. at the time of this recording were :Tsuyama Atsushi : monster bass, voice, soprano sax, cimpo flute, soprano recorder, acoustic guitar, cosmic joker Higashi Hiroshi : synthesizer, dancin'king Shimura Koji : drums, latino cool Kawabata Makoto : electric guitar, electric bouzouki, sitar, organ, percussion, electronics, speed guru

Recorded at Acid Mothers Temple, Japan Produced & engineered by Kawabata Makoto
Digital mastered by Yoshida Tatsuya.

Today, The Wytches announce their third album Three Mile Ditch. The album features the recently released single “Cowboy” which marked their return after four years away and to celebrate the announcement they share new single “A Love You’ll Never Know”. The track is accompanied by a music video by Mark Breed and he explains,

“The music video format was a long process. Making the set was incredibly fun with Kristian crafting most of the miniatures.I then had to film the green screen band performance within the set before recording the edited version onto my VHS camera. Finally I shot the finished edit inside the view finder.”

The album recorded with Luke Oldfield at Tile House Studios will be released on their own label Cable Code Records on Friday 2nd October.

“This is the first thing that I've ever been proud of for longer than a week,” says The Wytches frontman Kristian Bell of the band’s latest album Three Mile Ditch. This sense of vigour and enthusiasm coming from Bell about the band’s third album is matched by its contents. The album is an explosive collection of 10 tracks that weaves seamlessly between gut-wobbling monster riffs, swampy rock, slick surf, and finely tuned songcraft. It’s also the result of a band coming back from the brink of collapse.

The band’s early trajectory was a steep and speedy one as they quickly established themselves as one of the country’s most exciting and pulverising new bands. Major festival slots stacked up at places such as Glastonbury, SXSW, Reading and Leeds, and British Summertime with the Strokes. As did the tours across the US with METZ, traversing Europe with Fat White Family and Death Grips. They garnered support from BBC 6 Music, DIY, MOJO, NME and more. However, when the ascent to the stratosphere is moving at such a speed, there’s a risk of burning out and imploding, and the band came close to this.

They were on the rocks for a while, unsure of themselves and if the band should - or even could - go on. “I had it in my head that this kind of thing only really happens once and to try it again might be a big waste of time,” Bell reflects. However, despite the difficulties, the powerful pull of the band was too great to ignore.

“We had an album’s worth of songs that was some of our best material. The mission became to complete a Wytches album rather than get The Wytches back on the touring circuit. This album helped us make the decision to try it again.”

For a band that resists repeating itself, picking up lessons from a decade prior is the strange route Cloud Nothings took to create their most fully-realized album. Their new record, The Shadow I Remember, marks eleven years of touring, a return to early songwriting practices, and revisiting the studio where they first recorded together.

In a way not previously captured, this album expertly combines the group’s pummeling, aggressive approach with singer-songwriter Dylan Baldi’s extraordinary talent for perfect pop. To document this newly realized maturity, the group returned to producer Steve Albini and his Electrical Audio studios in Chicago, where the band famously destroyed its initial reputation as a bedroom solo project with the release of 2012 album Attack on Memory.

Another throwback was Baldi’s return to constant songwriting à la the early solo days, which led to the nearly 30 demos that became the 11 songs on The Shadow I Remember. Instead of sticking to a tried-but-true formula, his songwriting stretched out while digging deeper into his melodic talents. “I felt like I was locked in a character,” Baldi says of becoming a reliable supplier of heavy, hook-filled rock songs. “I felt like I was playing a role and not myself. I really didn’t like that role.” More frequent writing led to the freedom in form heard on The Shadow I Remember. What he can’t do alone is get loud and play noisily, which is exactly what happened when the entire band— bassist TJ Duke, guitarist Chris Brown, and drummer Jayson Gerycz—convened.

The band had more fun in the studio than they’ve had in years, playing in their signature, pulverizing way, while also trying new things. The absurdly catchy “Nothing Without You” includes a first for the band: Macie Stewart of Ohmme contributes guest vocals. Elsewhere, celebrated electronic composer Brett Naucke adds subtle synthesizer parts.

The songs are kept trim, mostly around the three-minute mark, while being gleefully overstuffed. Almost every musical part turns into at least two parts, with guitar and drums opening up and the bass switching gears. “That’s the goal—I want the three-minute song to be an epic,” Baldi says. “That’s the short version of the long-ass jam.”

Lyrically, Baldi delivers an aching exploration of tortured existence, punishing self-doubt, and the familiar pangs of oppressive mystery. “Am I something?” Baldi screams on the song of the same name. “Does anybody living out there really need me?” It’s a heartbreaking admission of existential confusion, delivered hoarsely, with an instantly relatable melody.

“Is this the end/ of the life I've known?” he asks on lead single and album opener “Oslo.” “Am I older now/ or am I just another age?” Despite the questioning lyrics, the band plays with more assurance and joy than ever before. The Shadow I Remember announces Cloud Nothings’ second decade and it sounds like a new beginning.

LIMITED TRANSPARENT BLUE WITH BLACK SWIRLS DOUBLE VINYL HOUSED IN A NEWLY REDESIGNED FULL COLOUR GATEFOLD SLEEVE/JACKET.

Nine years after it’s initial release, 'The Ripper At The Heaven's Gates Of Dark' is back. The original black vinyl and CD editions sold out pretty quick, and have been a constant source of repress requests ever since. So, at Makoto’s personal request here it is. And I agree with him that it’s definitely the best AMT studio album from that short lived four piece line up.

With the exception of the album's opener 'Chinese Flying Saucer' and it's unashamedly obvious musical references to Led Zeppelin II (hello 1969!) the rest of the album locks into a much more laid-back groove than on recent AMT releases. This dynamic shift is best displayed on the 22 minute jam, 'Shine On You Crazy Dynamite' and also the album's closer 'Electric Death Mantra'. The band opt for less frantic explosions of electric guitar overload and fuzz, replacing those elements with a more epic, blissed-out and at times brooding Japanese psychedelia, with more emphasis on acoustic guitars, sitar, organ, synthesiser and at times, really trippy vocals (most prevalent on 'Back Door Man Of Ghost Rails Inn'), recalling the twisted psychedelics of early Pink Floyd. Yet still, their sound remains so expansive that it is easy to become totally immersed in this album.

Epic in proportions, cloaked in a cosmic haze and shimmering in a synth utopia. 'The Ripper At Heaven's Gates Of Dark' maintains AMT's status as masters of out-of-this-world music and reveals their darker side of the moon.

Acid Mothers Temple & The Melting Paraiso U.F.O. at the time of this recording were :Tsuyama Atsushi : monster bass, voice, soprano sax, cimpo flute, soprano recorder, acoustic guitar, cosmic joker Higashi Hiroshi : synthesizer, dancin'king Shimura Koji : drums, latino cool Kawabata Makoto : electric guitar, electric bouzouki, sitar, organ, percussion, electronics, speed guru

Recorded at Acid Mothers Temple, Japan Produced & engineered by Kawabata Makoto
Digital mastered by Yoshida Tatsuya.

For a band that resists repeating itself, picking up lessons from a decade prior is the strange route Cloud Nothings took to create their most fully-realized album. Their new record, The Shadow I Remember, marks eleven years of touring, a return to early songwriting practices, and revisiting the studio where they first recorded together.

In a way not previously captured, this album expertly combines the group’s pummeling, aggressive approach with singer-songwriter Dylan Baldi’s extraordinary talent for perfect pop. To document this newly realized maturity, the group returned to producer Steve Albini and his Electrical Audio studios in Chicago, where the band famously destroyed its initial reputation as a bedroom solo project with the release of 2012 album Attack on Memory.

Another throwback was Baldi’s return to constant songwriting à la the early solo days, which led to the nearly 30 demos that became the 11 songs on The Shadow I Remember. Instead of sticking to a tried-but-true formula, his songwriting stretched out while digging deeper into his melodic talents. “I felt like I was locked in a character,” Baldi says of becoming a reliable supplier of heavy, hook-filled rock songs. “I felt like I was playing a role and not myself. I really didn’t like that role.” More frequent writing led to the freedom in form heard on The Shadow I Remember. What he can’t do alone is get loud and play noisily, which is exactly what happened when the entire band— bassist TJ Duke, guitarist Chris Brown, and drummer Jayson Gerycz—convened.

The band had more fun in the studio than they’ve had in years, playing in their signature, pulverizing way, while also trying new things. The absurdly catchy “Nothing Without You” includes a first for the band: Macie Stewart of Ohmme contributes guest vocals. Elsewhere, celebrated electronic composer Brett Naucke adds subtle synthesizer parts.

The songs are kept trim, mostly around the three-minute mark, while being gleefully overstuffed. Almost every musical part turns into at least two parts, with guitar and drums opening up and the bass switching gears. “That’s the goal—I want the three-minute song to be an epic,” Baldi says. “That’s the short version of the long-ass jam.”

Lyrically, Baldi delivers an aching exploration of tortured existence, punishing self-doubt, and the familiar pangs of oppressive mystery. “Am I something?” Baldi screams on the song of the same name. “Does anybody living out there really need me?” It’s a heartbreaking admission of existential confusion, delivered hoarsely, with an instantly relatable melody.

“Is this the end/ of the life I've known?” he asks on lead single and album opener “Oslo.” “Am I older now/ or am I just another age?” Despite the questioning lyrics, the band plays with more assurance and joy than ever before. The Shadow I Remember announces Cloud Nothings’ second decade and it sounds like a new beginning.

Shake Your Money Maker, the classic debut album from The Black Crowes has received the super deluxe treatment for its 30th anniversary. Hours of audio from the original studio sessions and live shows have now been curated under by brothers Chris and Rich Robinson and album producer George Drakoulias. The new collection features 5 unreleased songs including the should have been a single studio track “Charming Mess” along with studio recording covers of Humble Pie’s “30 Days In The Hole” and John Lennon’s “Jealous Guy”. The set also includes 2 previously unreleased demos from when the band was originally called Mr. Crowe’s Garden and liner notes penned by David Fricke.

The original album has been newly remastered from the original tapes.

Also unearthed were the original multitrack tapes from the band’s homecoming concert. Recorded over two nights at Atlanta, GA’s Center Stage, the full concert is now available for the first time ever. Previously, only the live version of “She Talks To Angels” was released from this show.

Shake Your Money Maker, the classic debut album from The Black Crowes has received the super deluxe treatment for its 30th anniversary. Hours of audio from the original studio sessions and live shows have now been curated under by brothers Chris and Rich Robinson and album producer George Drakoulias. The new collection features 5 unreleased songs including the should have been a single studio track “Charming Mess” along with studio recording covers of Humble Pie’s “30 Days In The Hole” and John Lennon’s “Jealous Guy”. The set also includes 2 previously unreleased demos from when the band was originally called Mr. Crowe’s Garden and liner notes penned by David Fricke.

The original album has been newly remastered from the original tapes.

Also unearthed were the original multitrack tapes from the band’s homecoming concert. Recorded over two nights at Atlanta, GA’s Center Stage, the full concert is now available for the first time ever. Previously, only the live version of “She Talks To Angels” was released from this show.

Lancaster had initially cut his musical teeth with the avant-garde on New York’s Lower East Side in the 1960s (famously on sessions with pianist Dave Burrell and drummer Sunny Murray) and in Paris during the ‘70s after an appearance at the Actuel festival but, throughout his career, his path was built around community engagement, positivity and “the Philly jazz sound, Germantown style.” He became an ambassador for the music of the City Of Brotherly Love, starting his own Dogtown label, helping launch the Philly Jazz imprint and campaigning tirelessly to improve the circumstances of the city’s street musicians. Lancaster’s sessions for Black Fire were planned following a gig at Caverns Jazz Club in Washington DC. “Jimmy Gray of Black Fire and I originally met during the ‘riotous blisters’ of the late Sixties there,” explained Lancaster. “We became the best of friends.” Backed by a band of Philly musicians including percussionist Keno Speller and Baba Robert Crowder (drummer for Olatunji and Art Blakey), the album also featured the Drummers From Ibadan led by Tunde Kuboye, another influential figure dedicated to community jazz with whom Lancaster had bonded while teaching in Lagos. The result was a free-flowing set of spirituality and positivity, built around full band groove workouts, solo pieces and heavy African roots. “We had big fun documenting this music,” remembered Lancaster. The message of the album remains as relevant today as ever, “I dedicate this album to all African Americans in the USA. To the youth, I ask ‘What does it profit a man to gain the whole world and lose his soul?’”

Crepuscule presents La Jungle, a brand new electropop single by acclaimed Belgian DJ, producer and remixer Buscemi, featuring with vocal and lyrics by compelling newcomer Lauvé.

The vinyl single is a limited edition edition of 500 copies in orange vinyl, with cover photography by Laura Levasseur.

Since 2001 Buscemi (real name Dirk Swartenbroekx) has released eight solo long players as well as mix albums for Blue Note and Ministry of Sound, and also film and television soundtracks.

Remix clients include Melody Gardot, Isabelle Antena, Calexico, Hooverphonic and Nicola Conte. Seaside, his 2003 collaboration with Isabelle Antena from signature album Camino Real, remains a perennial favourite around the globe. His eighth studio album, Luna Misteriosa, was issued by Crepuscule in 2018.

Hard-edged retrofuturist synthpop track La Jungle heralds forthcoming album Mistral du Sud (TWI 1250) and features guest vocals from Lauvé, formerly of Brussels electronic pop duo P.A.N.T.H.E.R. “La Jungle is about a man-eater,” explains Lauvé (pronounced lo-vay). “She seduces her prey, little by little – then either devours him, or drives him away. It’s a song that allows a woman to have control over the game of seduction. It’s empowering, I hope – but with a hint of recklessness too.”

Ultra rare 1979 KBD-style punk rock from Piteå – a small town situated in the very north of Sweden. Rock Set are buzzing of small town boredom and fuck authority attitude. The name Rock Set was inspired by UK pubrockers Dr Feelgood’s Roxette -a few years before Per Gessle took the Roxette moniker to the top of the Billboard chart. “Piteå Kommun” never reached the Billboard chart but over time it has generated a cult following amongst punk rock aficionados all over the world. Original copies are nowadays changing hands for hundreds of dollars. A fact easily understood when hearing Rock Set’s perfect mixture of punk-, mod- and garage-rock.
In the late fall of 2020 OTD traveled to Piteå in order to find the members of Rock Set. A license deal was made and in true OTD fashion the sound recordings were remastered and carefully restored. Many photos from the band members’ private photo albums are seen on the printed inner sleeve. Liner notes by Peter Kagerland. Turquoise vinyl.
File under: ”beyond essential to any serious rock’n’roll fan”.

Country music has chased piety, poetry, and much else, but The Social World is unapologetic hardcore, beer-sodden country music reduced to its core values. No faking. No pretension.
Spare, unornamented, and straight from the heart, the songs on the “Social World” of Rodger Wilhoit are all that’s holy and true in beerhall country music. The instrumentation is only as full as it needs to be. The singing is careworn and deeply sincere. There’s nothing tentative or lukewarm in Wilhoit’s music. It isn’t going to meet you halfway.
It seems that there’s always more to discover. Most copies of Social World and Rodger’s singles were probably sold off the bandstand 40 or 50 years ago. They were among the thousands of records by local artists on local labels sold off local bandstands all across the country. Most ended up in garage sales, thrift shops, or landfill. But every so often, an artist will be resurrected, and find a new audience. Rodger Wilhoit is one such singer. At a time when most mainstream Nashville country music sounds so contrived and empty, it takes an artist like Rodger Wilhoit to remind us what it’s really all about.

We are starting 2021 with this incredibly beautiful and critically acclaimed track by Deborah Jordan, from her latest album ‘See In The Dark’ and this outstanding rework and extended edit by the songs original producer Marc Rapson. The extended edit is an exquisite journey through the original into an instrumental with stunning piano flourishes, magical strings and soaring vocals, continuing the journey of this unique and timeless track, which has been described as Deborah’s Magnum Opus. Rapson’s new Rework evokes memories of our most endeared hip-hop beat makers (Dilla, Q-Tip, Pete Rock) and takes us deep with masterful piano textures, resampled voices and the warmest bass you would have heard in years.The bonus track ‘Senses’, a standout from Deborah’s album, has also received the Rapson touch with a perfect hip-hop swing and ridiculous bass line which is exclusive to this vinyl release.

As Plankton Wat, Dewey Mahood uses his considerable
guitar prowess to deliver an album that encompasses
both the wild, seeking energy of free-improvisation and
the deliberate arrangements of more traditional
composition.
With his deft and stylistically varied playing, Plankton
Wat’s ‘Future Times’ escapes psychedelic tropes and
chemical fuelled alterations and instead celebrates an
escape into the natural world.
‘Future Times’ taps into psychedelia’s counter-cultural
heritage as music for protest, liberation and imagining
new ways of being in this world.
“Pastoral drones and swirling psychedelia” - Pitchfork
Known for his guitar prowess in modern psychedelic
music, specifically with Eternal Tapestry as well as
Edibles, Elephant Factory Galaxy Research and Gärden
Söund among others.
‘Future Times’ was recorded at Mahood’s home studio
Solar Commune, with additions from Dustin Dybvig
(Horse Feathers & Edibles) and Victor Nash (Flash Hawk
Parlor Ensemble). Features Ash Dybvig on flute.
LP comes on red or black vinyl packaged with download
code and insert.
“Mahood’s lonesome universe is definitely a psych-folk
monster on the sly… Mahood’s gone far into the burrow
of psychedelia for an album that’s caustic and tender,
bittersweet and effervescent.” - Raven Sings the Blues

As Plankton Wat, Dewey Mahood uses his considerable
guitar prowess to deliver an album that encompasses
both the wild, seeking energy of free-improvisation and
the deliberate arrangements of more traditional
composition.
With his deft and stylistically varied playing, Plankton
Wat’s ‘Future Times’ escapes psychedelic tropes and
chemical fuelled alterations and instead celebrates an
escape into the natural world.
‘Future Times’ taps into psychedelia’s counter-cultural
heritage as music for protest, liberation and imagining
new ways of being in this world.
“Pastoral drones and swirling psychedelia” - Pitchfork
Known for his guitar prowess in modern psychedelic
music, specifically with Eternal Tapestry as well as
Edibles, Elephant Factory Galaxy Research and Gärden
Söund among others.
‘Future Times’ was recorded at Mahood’s home studio
Solar Commune, with additions from Dustin Dybvig
(Horse Feathers & Edibles) and Victor Nash (Flash Hawk
Parlor Ensemble). Features Ash Dybvig on flute.
LP comes on red or black vinyl packaged with download
code and insert.
“Mahood’s lonesome universe is definitely a psych-folk
monster on the sly… Mahood’s gone far into the burrow
of psychedelia for an album that’s caustic and tender,
bittersweet and effervescent.” - Raven Sings the Blues

Jon Hester returns to Radio Slave’s Rekids label with the second instalment of his ‘Converge’ LP, ‘Converge - Part II’.

The second part of 2020’s ‘Converge - Part I’, a body of music which saw enthusiastic responses from the likes of Surgeon, Lauren Flax, DJ Bone, Anthony Parasole and Jus-Ed to name just a few, sees the Berlin-based DJ/Producer and dancer generously expand on and refine his slick vision of techno on one of electronic music’s key labels.

By encompassing warm and soulful textures within club focussed grooves, Hester continues to explore the far reaches of both the musical cues picked up from his years as a dancer and formative time spent in the Midwest US, connecting influences from Chicago, Minneapolis, and Detroit.
Stretched across a double LP, the album opens with the spacious and icy ‘Stealth’ followed by the machine communications of ‘Artificial Intelligence’. The B-side sees a whirlwind of the synthetic in ‘Instant’ before ‘Contact’ swiftly picks up the pace with it’s warbling pads and slippery percussion.

On the second disc, ‘Circadian Slip’, custom-built for dancefloor pandemonium, continues with off-kilter leads and vocal snippets before ‘Shadows’ brings eerie syncopation to the proceedings. In the final stretch, ‘Silver’ maintains steady energy into the twilight hours, and the gorgeous ‘Wonder’ closes out the LP beautifully, providing a soft landing to an exceptional journey through Hester’s sound.

‘Working With God’ is the new studio album from Melvins, featuring the 1983 line-up of Buzz Osborne, Dale Crover and Mike Dillard. This is the first time the trio have recorded together since ‘Tres Cabrones’.
‘Working With God’ is Melvins’ 28th (yes, 28th) full-length studio release and their first since 2018’s ‘Pinkus Abortion Technician’.
The band have been one of the most lauded hard rock bands to have helped develop the Grunge and Sludge scenes.
The new album is one of their most melodic and playful records - not just another ‘metal’ record, this will translate easily to hard rock and even mainstream rock fans as well.
The songs on the album are originals except for their take on Harry Nilsson’s classic ‘Fuck You’ and the well-known ‘Good Night Sweetheart’ that finishes off the album.
Released alongside the reissue of two classic Melvins albums on coloured vinyl.

Compliation of some of Aretha’s classic early hits.

Raleigh Ritchie releases his highly anticipated second album, ANDY. A twelve track project, Andy sees Bristol born and London-hailing Raleigh holding a colossal magnifying glass to himself. Over the production, for the most part, from long-term collaborator Chris Loco but also, the incredibly talented GRADES on “Time In A Tree” and “27 Club”, Raleigh leaves no stone unturned. The album is a creation of heartbreakingly honest songs that seamlessly fuses sweeping soul and mellow R&B with forward-thinking electronica and gutsy orchestral moments. (Raleigh has become well known for working with the sensational Rosie Danvers and Wired Strings.) This is a truly powerful record, a long-awaited return that packs a poignant punch.

It has been four years since Raleigh aka Jacob Anderson, released his inaugural debut album You’re A Man Now Boy but fans have not been left wanting. When he wasn’t releasing music, performing at his sold out show at Shepherds Bush Empire, or alongside Stormzy in his iconic Glastonbury headline, featuring on Gang Signs & Prayer, Stormzy’s critically acclaimed debut, or acting as Grey Worm in the hit HBO series Game Of Thrones, he was and is “Andy”.

‘The Darkest Skies Are The Brightest’ is Anneke van Giersbergen’s 23rd career album. It was created in a time of personal crisis, with just an acoustic guitar and basic recording gear, in a small house near the woods just outside of Anneke’s hometown, and it grew into something much bigger. Lyrically, and musically, the award-winning Dutch artist lays her soul bare with the most evocative record of her career – captivating song-stories told with acoustic guitars, strings, horns, percussion, and Anneke's hypnotic vocal harmonies, combined with surprising departures into swampier, foot-stomping grooves.

Legendary Viking Metal Pioneers EINHERJER Re-Release their Groundbreaking Debut! The seminal work of the pioneering viking metal masters EINHERJER has stood the test of time and has a legacy that continues to this day. The 1996 classic album Dragons Of The North has paved the genres path for years to come and will now be re-released after 25 Years! Available as Black Vinyl Gatefold LP, as well as Blue/White Vinyl Gatefold LP (limited to 300 copies), this is a must have for fans of early northern viking metal with black metal inspired production and sound!

The self-titled, full-length debut from Bones Owens is a selection of songs both gloriously gritty and undeniably euphoric. In a bold departure from the moody Americana of his acclaimed EPs Hurt No One and Make Me No King, the Missouri-bred musician’s first release with Thirty Tigers delivers a powerful sound deeply inspired by ’60s garage-rock, Hill Country blues, and the swampy roots-rock of bands like Creedence Clearwater Revival (“the first record I remember stealing from my dad when I was ten and just starting to play guitar,” according to Owens). A potent showcase for his formidable guitar work—a talent he’s displayed in performing with artists as eclectic as Yelawolf and Mikky Ekko— Bones Owens arrives as a full-tilt expression of Owens’ wildest impulses, all swinging rhythms, and swaggering riffs. Featuring heavily playlisted hits like “White Lines” and “Keep It Close,” Bones Owens came to life at The Smoakstack in Owens’ adopted hometown of Nashville. With production from studio owner Paul Moak—a five-time Grammy Award nominee who’s also worked with Joy Williams, Marc Broussard, and The Blind Boys of Alabama. “This album really came from opening for some good people over the last few years, from feeding off that energy from the crowd and wanting to write more songs that would feel exciting to play live,” says Owens, who’s recently toured with Reignwolf and Whiskey Myers. “It felt like the right approach to keep the production simple and record everything to tape - I think it creates a good type of nervousness that brings out the best in everyone. Nobody wants to be the one to mess up the take. Besides, all my favorite records were made that way. You can’t fake that sound.”

Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom is the official soundtrack to the 2020 Netflix original film of the same name about “Mother of the Blues” Ma Rainey. The album features score music by critically-acclaimed saxophonist, instrumentalist, composer, bandleader and educator Branford Marsalis, as well as newly-recorded covers of both popular Ma Rainey tracks and blues and jazz standards from the era. The multi-GRAMMY Award® winner brings over four decades of experience across stylistic boundaries to the project, imbuing the film with an authentic 1920s Chicago soundscape. The film was directed by George C. Wolfe and stars Viola Davis and Chadwick Boseman. It is lauded by critics and moviegoers alike, and it is expected that Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom will be a favorite at many 2021 award ceremonies. Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom is available to watch on Netflix now.

Limited

LOVE IS A STREAM :: 10 year anniversary edition. Remastered by Stephan Mathieu. Design by Farbod Kokabi.

Jefre Cantu on Guitar & Electronics. With Lisa McGee, John Twells, and Maxwell August Croy on vocals. Orginally released October, 2010 on TYPE records, UK.

From the original press release: As a member of San Francisco legends Tarentel and Type’s premier astral travellers The Alps, Jefre Cantu-Ledesma is hardly a new addition to the label, so it’s hard to believe that ‘Love Is A Stream’ is his first Type solo album. Previously releasing on Arbor, Spekk and his own Root Strata imprint, this latest album marks his journey into the beautifully cacophonous world of dream pop. Shoegaze music has been much maligned in recent years, probably due to its rebirth and subsequent explosion of popularity (which gave rise to hundreds of young bands aping the over twenty-year-old sound). However it was only a fragment of the genre that these bands attempted to re-create, and on ‘Love Is A Stream’ Cantu, instead of focusing on tired weeping melancholy ballads, focuses solely on expansive, almost noise-ridden hopefulness. This is the kind of noise we fell in love with when My Bloody Valentine blew our ear drums performing ‘Loveless’, or the kind of harmonic excess we heard on hundredth listen to Catherine Wheel’s ‘Ferment’, but taken into deeper, more abstract realms. ‘Love Is A Stream’ is dedicated to love itself, and the dreamy, shimmering blown-out textures might at first sound like white noise before they ultimately give way to blissful harmony and hidden melody. Underneath the grit and growl are hidden guitar parts, synthesizer drones and even vocals (provided by Lisa McGee, John Twells and Maxwell August Croy) that succeed in swelling the dense, tape-saturated songs to heady new heights and belie any influences they might have. On each listen the mind strips away another layer of dust and bones to reveal haunting and deeply moving beauty. The world might be spiralling into despair, but Jefre Cantu-Ledesma has brought us a record that isn’t afraid to share the love. All that’s left to do is drown in it.

Brainstory is back with a pairing of tunes that the world's top sommelier couldn't hold a candle to. This gorgeous two-sider features the two vocal songs from their otherwise instrumental forthcoming EP, Ripe. On Side A, Seasons showcase Brainstory's sunny California soul and mixes in a touch of Roy Ayers east coast energy. The result is an infectious and uplifting tune penned at the beginning of quarantine with the hope of finding a brightside in the trouble the world is facing. Sibe B, Bye Bye, is another stone cold B side ballad from the group that gave us Dead End. The Darling Dears of Rialto have recorded what is sure to become another staple in sweet soul sets around the globe. But, in true Brainstory fashion this tune is uniquely theirs. Elements of psych, hip hop and jazz distance it from their soul-loving peers.

A spectacular Hi-Life album with funky digital touches from the great Ghanaian producer Frimpong Manso.

Recorded in 1987 at Ghana Films Studio in Accra, the album Boafo Ne Nyame, that we can translate as “Helper is god”, is led by the great and sweet voice of K. Adusei.

Five long tracks filled with hypnotic hi-life grooves and many funk inflexions that go way beyond lots of standard riffing of modern Afro Funk. The track “Asem De Ye So” (There's a problem on us) is a dancefloor-friendly song, already known from connoisseurs and maybe a future anthem when the clubs will reopen!

Manso Frimpong was born Feb 21st at Nkawkaw and sadly died Nov 23rd 2016 in Kumasi.

Detroit electro legend DJ Di'jital returns to TRUST with a second volume of raw and banging techno bass jackers. Injected with Juke, breakbeats, and a hefty dose of UR-style electric sweat music, 'ElectroHop II' is an essential weapon in the assault DJ's arsenal.

New HOUSEWAX LTD. 18 comes from Lowres. Big release for Spring!

We were playing the track ‘Common Ground’ out and it was getting the dance floor hot! It was an instrumental at the time and Renato Paris was in the dance (a singer that EVM has been working with, plays keys with Moses Boyd and is one of Gilles Peterson's one to watch) he came up and asked, “What's This?” grabbed the mic, peak time and layed down this dope freestyle vocal, it was a jaw drop kinda moment for us all! That was it, we had to make it happen! So we linked up Renato and Duke and it became the lead track on the EP. An infectious song that literally drips in soul and future R&B, and just fits perfectly over the strings on this killer broken beat track! It’s one that will stick in your head and make you play it twice!

The whole EP is nothing short of quality. From the sultry jazzy Bruk vibes of '2017 Heat Wave' to the monstrous club track ‘ Nighthawks’ an up front stomper with live drums and a bassline that'll make you shiver inside that funky top line.

‘Got My 606 Back’ has been getting rinsed by the Summer dance Forever crew’s KC The Funkaholic and was well received by dancers worldwide when it was used for an SDF promo earlier in the year. We’ve since had many of them asking when this is coming out! This one is a real body mover, sweat towel advised!

Finishing up on ‘IFZ Shuffle’ a wicked little house shuffler that almost takes you back to the 90’s. It has this sweet piano breakdown that then introduces synths and congas until the groove kicks back in again. This track and the whole EP for that matter, works in a multitude of situations. It wont fail!

Drumcode LTD gets a relaunch with the first original EP since 2018. Sweden’s Patrick Seich returns following ‘Rivers Will Turn’, his blistering collaboration with Sebastian Mullaert in 2016. This time a debut link up with Sandra Mosh is on the cards, a fellow underground mainstay of the Swedish techno scene, with caps at Berghain and Sonár Reykavik also to her name.

The four-track offering is a colourful trip through a range of techno moods. ‘Relicta’ is a trippy concoction driven by papery drums and ricocheting synths. ‘Terma’ is brimming with bouncy peak-time spirit. ‘Red Flag’ takes a tougher turn, pummelling with 2am intensity. ‘Square Side’ is a delicious head caver, driven by an unrelenting synth lead.