Ltd. Gtf. Silver & Black 3 LP, one side edged.. Leadfinger aus Australien sind eine 2-Gitarren-Rock'n'Roll-Band. Ihre Einflüsse reichen in die Rock- und Punk-Ära der 70er & 80er Jahre, durch die klassischen Stones- und Dylan-Platten der 60er Jahre, den Blues und darüber hinaus. Songwriter /Gitarrist Stewart Cunningham spielte seine Gitarre im Sydney Underground der 1990er Jahre in Rockbands wie Brother Brick, The Yes Men & Asteroid B-612. Cunningham gründete Leadfinger im Jahr 2006 , seit 2008 eine Twin-Gitarren-Rock-n'Roll-Band mit einem 4-köpfigen Line-Up. Nach 5 Alben gingen sie im Oktober 2017 auf ihre erste Europatournee. Die Geschichte von Silver & Black begann nicht lange danach, als der Sänger und Songwriter der Band, Stewart Cunningham, krank wurde und Lungenkrebs diagnostiziert wurde. Nach fast 2 Jahren Behandlung und während der Covid-Lockdowns gelang es der Band, das neue Album aufzunehmen. Silver & Black markiert den letzten Schritt im Triumph über ernsthafte Widrigkeiten. Die Killer-Riffs und Songs des Albums sind über Cunninghams oft reflektierende Textthemen miteinander verbunden und erforschen die Herausforderungen und Erfahrungen des wirklichen Lebens, mit denen sich viele identifizieren werden. Die melodischen Gitarrenlinien von Cunningham und Michael Boyle werden durch Harmoniegesang ergänzt, der das Album weit über die Standard-Rockkost hinausführt. Silver & Black ist ein musikalischer Beweis für die Entschlossenheit und die Widerstandsfähigkeit von Leadfinger und dem Anführer der Band, Stewart Cunningham. Es ist passend, dass es das bisher stärkste und erfolgreichste Album der Band ist.
Buscar:sydney blu
Pure Space Records welcomes a newly emerging Naarm (Melbourne) producer, Dividens with his EP ‘Blueprints’. Across four tracks Dividens masterfully guides us through the fringes of modern drum n bass, eerie Dub and restrained Jungle styles.
Starting strong, ‘Audio Blueprint’ provides a fast and erratic baseline cushioned only by a deep, squelching synth. It’s a textural and delicately refined track, with each sound finding its perfect place with twisted effect.
Completing the A-side, in confidence, is ‘Rollin Smoke’. An acid tinged take on electro, composed with trancey pads and tight percussion.
Flipping over we find ‘Bionic’, luscious pads swirl amongst a deep sub bass rhythm before free-falling into stints of breakbeat. The ominous tone of the track is coloured by the disorienting vocals; lean in and let the bass hold your feet firmly on the ground.
Finally, ‘Tell Dem’ rounds out the release with a tasteful amount of dub. Here a mass of swamp-like synths envelop you completely, while the tight break patterns elevate the energy through to the final moments of the release.
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Tracks written, produced and mixed by Dividens on Wurundjeri Land. Pure Space and Dividens both acknowledge the traditional custodians of this land and pay our respects to their elders past, present and emerging. Sovereignty was never ceded.
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Pure Space Recordings is the label venture from the beloved radio show hosted by Andy Garvey, and produced by Mija Healey which has broadcast weekly on Eora Nation (Sydney) radio station FBi Radio for over four years. The label focuses on Australian music both for home listening and that made for the club.
Aufgang is back with its 3rd album, “Broad Ways”, slated for release in November 2021
With this 3rd album, the franco-lebanese duo perpetuates its winning alchemy by drawing on the psychic and collective traumas of recent History at the crossroads between European and Middle Eastern cultures.
What more was there to prove for the Aufgang duo since their re-invention of US techno a few years ago through the means of organic instruments like piano + drums, and releases on Infiné & BlueNote/Decca ?
Maybe that they would from now on independently take onto themselves, the full conception and distribution of their body of work, supported by a collective of visual-arts creators, dancers, and emerging talent-incubators (Bi:Pole/Believe/ BigWax/Alter-K)...
“Broad Ways” could be translated as «in many ways» in the sense that there are many ways of seeing the world, and that everything is not binary and that on the contrary, our lives are shaped by the each other’s own paradigms...
In this clever mix of experimental techno, lyrical prowess and melodies in the Arab tradition, can one imagine a future that would solve the world’s current contradictions in a boiling magma so complex of which Edgar Morin would be proud... Following this unique trademark, this art of mixing influences and cultures, along the New York, Paris, Lebanon and now Sydney axis... how far will they go?
According to Pitchfork, AUFGANG “blends piano, drums and electronic music with virtuosity, with one foot in the club and the other in the conservatory.”
Rami KHALIFÉ, composer and pianist, transcends the classical heritage of his years studying at the Juilliard School in NYC and the Middle Eastern origins of his masterful family: his father Marcel KHALIFÉ is a major composer and musician in the Arab world.
The drummer and producer Aymeric WESTRICH has an instinctive DIY approach and infuses his music with his knowledge of urban and electronic cultures, developed with Kery James, Cassius, Phoenix and more recently Lomepal.
Taking their inspiration from multiple artistic movements and currents, from the Disco of the mythical Larry Levan to the poetry of Oum Kalthoum, these two free electrons have created their sound between Paris, Beirut and New York, in reaction to the frenetic energy of big cities, as if in an effort to prevent this energy from corroding their freedom. It’s a unique experience born from the sublime diversity of these two masterful approaches.
After humble lo-fi beginnings in the Australian Art-Pop Underground, Donny Benet has expanded his cult-like following across the Globe with a resonant Array of danceable Repertoire dealing with Love- and Affection. New album "Mr Experience" marks a new chapter, informed by a wealth of musical- and personal development.
For Mr Experience, Donny envisioned a Soundtrack to a Dinner-Party- Set in the late 1980's. While his earlier Recordings drew Inspiration from DIY Pop Conspirators such as Ariel Pink & John Maus, Donny channelled the Stylings of Bryan Ferry & Hiroshi Yoshimura as the Impetus for new Material, evident on the Intimacy found on ‘Girl Of My Dreams’ and it's lush production- with a soothing whistle-along Chorus for good Measure!
Sincerity has been a key component of Donny Benet’s output since the beginning. His songs deal with genuine Emotion served on a kitsch Platter. An alter-ego manifested in the beginning of the 2010's, Donny has blurred the Lines of Artifice to create a back- Catalogue that can embrace- and challenge, often simultaneously, - the notion of Irony in Art.
"Mr Experience" moves further away from ironic Notions as Donny explores lyrical- and musical themes which embody Observations of Maturation in his audience, his tightknit musical Community- and himself. While ‘mature’ is a term that often rings hollow as an album descriptor, the term couldn’t be more apt for Mr Experience.
Previous album The Don was created with the luxury of time. The phenomenal Response to that Album across Europe- and the United States - fuelled by accompanying Music Videos clocking in Views in the Millions- meant that there were scant Windows of Opportunity to write- and record a follow-up.
With a legacy in Sydney’s music community, working with Sarah Blasko, and tightknik collaborators Jack Ladder & Kirin J Callinan, Donny Benet is accustomed to collaboration on the Stage- and in the Studio, mostnotably on the 2014 full-length release Weekend At Donny’s.
“There is such immense talent evident in every aspect of the Donny Bene experience - the vision of the character, the steadfast adherence his narrative and the musicality of Benet himself all combine to makesomething truly genius.” - Double J, Australin.
“Donny Benet makes feminine music for everybody” - Vice, Netherlands.
“The Don does not sound like amusical copying machine”. - 3voor12 National, Netherlands.
“The set was punctuated with virtuosic solos and exquisite harmonies, and added another layer of genius to the show.
We almost couldn’t handle it... Donny for president!" - Indie Berlin.
“Everyone loves Donny Benet” - Feature in Gonzai, France.
“Phenomenal Australian Showman... Offers Top-Class Dance Music with Virtuose-Bass Guitar- and Keyboard Parts & incredible Sound-Colour feel.” - Podujatie.sk, Slovakia.
Donny has toured Europe five times since the start of 2018 and has played in the UK, Austria, Germany, Slovakia, France, Netherlands, Spain, Portugal, Belgium, Denmark, Switzerland, Czech Republic, Greece and Sweden. The Don will revisit Europe twice in 2020, once for his own headline shows in May then back again in August for festivals!
- A1: Eons Away (Feat. Tennyson)
- A2: I Forgot
- A3: Grass Amulet (Feat. Ningen)
- A4: Time Travels (Feat. Little Green)
- A5: Sunset River
- A6: Adventure Song
- A7: Like Lightning
- A8: Feather Light (Feat. Little Green)
- A9: Déjà Vu
- A1 0: Big Dreams
- A11: World Building
- A12: Been Surfing (Feat. Richard Henry Gye)
- A13: Endlessly Dancing (Feat. Lia)
- A14: Sun Blisters
Ocean Tales, Julien's second Santpoort album on Friends of Friends, takes another step into his past while artistically leaping forward. Steel-toned kalimba melodies that glint like sunlight on crystalline waves, poignant piano, resonant bass lines, soulful blues guitar - Julien plays them all to create richer, more layered lo-fi composition sof hip-hop, electronic, ambient, and blissful psych-pop, accenting many with chirping birds and recorded sounds from nature. He also collaborates with musicians like Canadian electronic duo Tennyson and Sydney songstress Little Green, the dewy-eyed lyrics of everyone involved conveying the inherent longing at the center of Julien's Santpoort project more powerfully than ever before.
Thirteen turbocharged tracks indebted to the pleasures and pitfalls of their lives in the modern city of Sydney and to the the first and second waves of international extreme music freaks and loonies: pure fucking aggression. The Oily Boys have graced us with a beast of an album that swells between direct, gripping, tangible hardcore punk and near nauseating psychedelia and throb which at moments feels like either ritual trance or a nervous breakdown. Cro Memory Grin contains near equal measures of tension and release; an exercise in high catharsis. It’s rare that a punk record can give the listener anywhere near the same intoxicating feel of an “everything louder than everything else” live show, but that’s what Oily Boys have done. That lightning in a bottle feeling of excitement, chaotic energy, delirium, presence in a moment and frenzied flight into a mind state both frightening and ecstatic. The stone has been carved, the fire has been lit, and this is it... Cro. Memory. Grin. *** Best played LOUDEST ***
Planetself&Daniel Crawfordfeat.Blurum13/Edsevenfeat.Colonel Red
The Chosen / Freaky (Meet Me Halfway)
Planetself return with ‘The Chosen’, an exciting new collaboration with LA-based producer extraordinaire Daniel Crawford (known for his creative mixtapes and live work with artists such as Raphael Saadiq and Mary J Blige). The track also features the vocal talents of legendary US underground wordsmith Blurum13.
Planetself producer Inkswel became aware of Daniel Crawford’s work through his latest album ‘Revolution’ on Wicked Wax and his well-renowned ‘Flip Wilson’ mixtape series. He then asked Crawford to remix a track from the Planetself back catalogue, but this turned into a complete flip and rework manifested as a new song we are now proud to unleash on the world.
‘The Chosen’ is all about the newest generation of kids coming up who have been chosen by the universe to be a part of this crazy time on our planet. Our people’s evolution to bring about change and revolution in a time that we need it like we’ve never needed it before! They hold within them the love and light and strength needed to turn this world around. It’s up to all of us. If you are here now this includes you. We are all The Chosen.”
Sit back and absorb the soul-drenched, feel good vibes of ‘The Chosen’. Let the sound move you to make a positive change in the world today.
EDSEVEN
Sydney DJ/Producer Edseven has built a rock solid reputation over the last 15 years, sharing the stage DJing with the likes of Gilles Peterson, Peanut Butter Wolf, Norman Jay, IG Culture and many more across Australia, Berlin, Detroit and Amsterdam.
Always eclectic, his selections joining the dots between styles and eras with skill and respect – never losing focus on the dancers.
His latest release ‘Freaky (Meet me halfway)’ is no different. A djembe led future soul burner blessed by the legendary London vocalist Colonel Red’s scorching voice with Canadian duo Potatohead People flipping it into a dripping 80’s Boogie track.
Barang Bang Records Archive Series vol. 1
Previously unreleased recordings
Compiled by Gianmarco Liguori
Bernie McGann - alto sax
Kim Paterson - trumpet
Bobby Gebert - piano (side A)
Andy Brown – bass
George Neidorf – drums
Recorded by Trevor Graham in Sydney, Australia (copyright 1966)
There is no more engaging nor distinctive alto saxophone sound on the planet than McGann’s.
Sydney Morning Herald
McGann takes the language of Bebop then bends and stretches it to fit the contours of his own remarkable im-agination.
The Wire
Bernie McGann’s sound is exciting and physical, as heated as any post-coltrane modernist.
Downbeat
A lost treasure of Antipodean jazz
This compilation documents part of an exciting period in Australasian jazz. Recorded in Sydney, 1966, we can hear Bernie McGann was already one of the great Australian jazz stylists. At the time, the only publicly available recording he made was two tracks on the Jazz Australia compilation (1967) (CBS BP 233450).
Two years earlier, McGann was living in Auckland, New Zealand (1963-64). It was here that he worked regular-ly with Kim Paterson, Andy Brown and pianist Dave MacRae, and the basis of this band came into being.
‘Lazy Days’, ‘Chuggin’, and ‘Sky’ were salvaged from a cassette in Kim Paterson’s collection, one of the few remaining copies. Originally intended for a radio broadcast, the master tapes were reportedly destroyed after the session.
‘Rhythm-a-Ning’ and ‘When Will The Blues Leave?’ were taped by Trevor Graham at the Wayside Chapel in King’s Cross. Graham was a Sydney music journalist and ally of the avant garde, with the foresight to capture some of what was happening at the time.
This album is also notable for a rare appearance by the mysterious American drummer George Neidorf (mis-spelt as ‘Neidori’ in the liner notes on the first Soft Machine album), an early influence on drummer Robert Wyatt.
Field recordings of a major artist in strong company – a lost treasure of Antipodean modern jazz.
Turned on by a new dawn of chemical love, Sydney dance-funk combo Bellydance laid down their sampledelica blueprint in 1991, thinking in parallel with Weatherall's revelatory work with Primal Scream. A candy flip of streetsoul, festival jam band and Chip Monck's cautionary brown acid address, 3 Days Man! was primed for open fields and discotheques, in an age when the deejay was royalty.
With an elastic lineup that boasted up to 9 members, Bellydance synchronised more with the club scene than the city's straight-ahead pub rock racket, naturally recruiting hometown heroes Peewee and John Ferris to remix their multi-track concoction. A certified party closing anthem, the brother's sun-smacked breakbeats elevate a collective consciousness beyond the clouds.
Originally issued on Regular Records sub-label Boomshanka Music as a precursor to their album One Blood, the now sought-after 12" sports characteristic artwork from Mambo visionary and Mental As Anything co-founder Reg Mombassa. Instigated by Sydney selector Ben Fester, this Efficient Space reboot arrives fashionably late to Woodstock's 50th anniversary but just in time to help soothe universal division.
After humble lo-fi beginnings in the Australian Art-Pop Underground, Donny Benet has expanded his cult-like following across the Globe with a resonant Array of danceable Repertoire dealing with Love- and Affection. New album "Mr Experience" marks a new chapter, informed by a wealth of musical- and personal development.
For Mr Experience, Donny envisioned a Soundtrack to a Dinner-Party- Set in the late 1980's. While his earlier Recordings drew Inspiration from DIY Pop Conspirators such as Ariel Pink & John Maus, Donny channelled the Stylings of Bryan Ferry & Hiroshi Yoshimura as the Impetus for new Material, evident on the Intimacy found on ‘Girl Of My Dreams’ and it's lush production- with a soothing whistle-along Chorus for good Measure!
Sincerity has been a key component of Donny Benet’s output since the beginning. His songs deal with genuine Emotion served on a kitsch Platter. An alter-ego manifested in the beginning of the 2010's, Donny has blurred the Lines of Artifice to create a back- Catalogue that can embrace- and challenge, often simultaneously, - the notion of Irony in Art.
"Mr Experience" moves further away from ironic Notions as Donny explores lyrical- and musical themes which embody Observations of Maturation in his audience, his tightknit musical Community- and himself. While ‘mature’ is a term that often rings hollow as an album descriptor, the term couldn’t be more apt for Mr Experience.
Previous album The Don was created with the luxury of time. The phenomenal Response to that Album across Europe- and the United States - fuelled by accompanying Music Videos clocking in Views in the Millions- meant that there were scant Windows of Opportunity to write- and record a follow-up.
With a legacy in Sydney’s music community, working with Sarah Blasko, and tightknik collaborators Jack Ladder & Kirin J Callinan, Donny Benet is accustomed to collaboration on the Stage- and in the Studio, mostnotably on the 2014 full-length release Weekend At Donny’s.
“There is such immense talent evident in every aspect of the Donny Bene experience - the vision of the character, the steadfast adherence his narrative and the musicality of Benet himself all combine to makesomething truly genius.” - Double J, Australin.
“Donny Benet makes feminine music for everybody” - Vice, Netherlands.
“The Don does not sound like amusical copying machine”. - 3voor12 National, Netherlands.
“The set was punctuated with virtuosic solos and exquisite harmonies, and added another layer of genius to the show.
We almost couldn’t handle it... Donny for president!" - Indie Berlin.
“Everyone loves Donny Benet” - Feature in Gonzai, France.
“Phenomenal Australian Showman... Offers Top-Class Dance Music with Virtuose-Bass Guitar- and Keyboard Parts & incredible Sound-Colour feel.” - Podujatie.sk, Slovakia.
Donny has toured Europe five times since the start of 2018 and has played in the UK, Austria, Germany, Slovakia, France, Netherlands, Spain, Portugal, Belgium, Denmark, Switzerland, Czech Republic, Greece and Sweden. The Don will revisit Europe twice in 2020, once for his own headline shows in May then back again in August for festivals!
On his new record "Companionship", London-based Soft-Rock, Soul and Disco artist Joel Sarakula keeps the mood easy and the grooves deep. Ten new songs see Sarakula develop a deeper, more introspective lyrical style from his previous works as he celebrates and laments friendships, love and loneliness. Interspersed with a few standout up-tempo tracks to keep the ship sailing, "Companionship" is a chill-out album and listening experience of the highest order.
"Companionship" opens with "Midnight Driver", a driving soft-rock fantasy where the narrator laments his partner's nocturnal habits: 'When she's coming up, it gets me down'. The Californian sun-kissed guitars, vocal stylings and percussion all help to set a cinematic mood which unsurprisingly also makes it a great driving song. On the introspective "King Of Clowns", Sarakula creates a pop song that calls to mind the craftmanship of Hall & Oates and Elvis Costello. Both an admission of guilt and an unapologetic statement of intent, his low vocal careens in the dangerous divide between self-pity and self-parody: "My bad decisions worked out for a while, I'd do my dance tried to make you smile, I'll never wise up it's just the way I am". These confessions all occur over a down-tempo funk groove complete with some vintage synthesizer musings that makes the track ready to be sampled for a hip-hop record.
"Sunshine Makes Me" steps straight out of its mid-1970s swimming pool, heavily dripping in jazz fusion to dry off in the cold light of today's sunshine. The chorus is a mantra of desire, needs and reality that sees Sarakula sing 'Sunshine makes me lose my mind, thirty degrees and my eyes get so wide. Dreaming big and living slow, don't you know that time is on our side". On "Companionship", Joel Sarakula, prolific writer, producer, performer and multi-instrumentalist finally unleashes his chill-out pretensions. In this follow up to the critically acclaimed "Love Club" (2018) he develops a deeper and more mature compositions and production style. His love of all things vintage extends to a devotion to analog synthesizers and on "Companionship" you can hear a genuine love of synthesis that at moments is reminiscent of 70s synth production pioneers Todd Rundgren and George Duke.
Joel Sarakula will tour "Companionship" through Europe and the UK this Spring and Summer 2020 with his musical companions. Born in Sydney, based in London and a true internationalist, Sarakula tours with pickup bands sourced from each territory he plays in: a Barcelona band for Spain, a Berlin band for Germany and so forth. This cross-cultural exchange is a sly nod to the golden era of the 1960s and 1970s when travelling US pop, soul and blues artists would do the same.
7" Originally released in 1987 on Australian label Big Home Productions both tracks were later re-released in 1990 on Sarah Records together with the Goes so Slow single as a five track 7 inch EP titled Nothing Ever Happens.
This is the first time that the single has been released in the UK in it’s original format.
Even As We Speak is an indie band from Sydney, Australia. Formed in the mid 1980s, founding members Matthew Love (guitar, banjo, vocals) and Mary Wyer (vocals, guitar) were later joined by Rob Irwin (bass) Anita Rayner (drums, banjo, mandolin), Julian Knowles (guitar, keyboards, production), and Paul Clarke (guitar, vocals).
After a series of vinyl releases on Australian independent labels including Phantom Records, and success on the Australian indie scene, they came to the attention of BBC Radio 1 DJ John Peel who started to play the band’s ‘Goes So Slow’ Phantom Records release on his show. This brought them to the attention of UK audiences and began a relationship with UK indie label Sarah Records. The band released several singles and an album on Sarah Records, three of which reached the Top 5 of the Melody Maker and New Musical Express UK independent music charts in 1992 and 1993.
Bristol’s Sydney returns to Black Acre with two Jazz infused cuts featuring saxophonist Guy Hobley and emerging guitarist Charlie J-W. One of Gilles Peterson’s Future Bubblers, Sydney is a live artist and traditional instrument enthusiast who debuted on Black Acre with a Swaziland inspired debut mini-album entitled ‘Ode to eSwatini’ earlier this year, showcasing an eclectic mix of broken beat and Jazz.
Now the Bristolian returns with two collaborations featuring two vibrant Jazz and Blues musicians - Guy Hobley on the saxophone and guitarist Charlie J-W. “With the record being South American influenced the titles and artwork are based on a garden in Mexico named Las Pozas. Paraíso meaning paradise and Dahlia being the native flower toMexico found in the Las Pozas garden" – Sydney Conceptualized during Sydney’s first session as a Future Bubbler using one distorted PA speaker in a room full of the new generation year 3 bubblers with Gilles Peterson present, ‘Paraíso ft. Guy Hobley’ flutters into place with shuffling percussion, reverberating piano fills and smooth sax melodies from Guy Hobley whilst underlying world instrumentation operates throughout, including bongos, claves and shakers.
Created in one afternoon alongside fellow band member and friend Charlie J-W, ‘Dahlia’ gives a warming aural experience with a Nina Leão vocal sample, cantering south American drums, a mix of traditional guitar strums, pedal hits and accordion strikes, all glued together with stylish synth stabs.
Support from:
Gilles Peterson,Jamz Supernova, Bradley Zero, Moxie, Horse Meat Disco
* Mirae Arts presents Hush Residence. We are joined by old friends and new comrades from the Kantō underground.
* C-Kay is co-founder of the Tokyo-based collective Space Baghdad and resident DJ of Constant Value. C-Kay is typically busy shaking dance floors with her hypnotic DJ sets, but also producing music for experimental labels such as Subsist Records and Constant Value Records.
* Saraam is a Tokyo-based sound artist, performer, and DJ under the Constant Value banner. Saraam is also a resident of the yearly Tokyo Festival of Modular.
* Katsunori Sawa and Damaskin return to Mirae Arts in their usual noisy disguises.
* Hush Residence is a compilation featuring four experimental techno tracks from Katsunori Sawa, C-Kay, Damaskin, and Saraam. Mastered by James Plotkin.
* Artwork illustration is done by Sydney based architect, Patti Bai.
* Vinyl pressed at the highly reputable Gotta Groove Records, Cleveland, Ohio.
* Comes with polybag packaging
Do you like Love songs After spending a lifetime spent avoiding this subject in song, Joel Sarakula finally admits that he does. On his new album "Love Club" Sarakula relives the golden age of Soulful and Romantic Pop music and connects it with a modern aesthetic. While a deeper message of love and peace flows through the record, Joel Sarakula is no old fashioned hippie: ",Love Club' is about connecting to reality and re-framing the idea of romantic love and loss in the present, loveless age ". Featuring eleven songs touching all genres from disco to blues, from soul to soft-rock, Joel Sarakula's "Love Club" is a profound pop statement.
Joel Sarakula has travelled the world in search of his muse, experiencing everything from being a victim of Caribbean carjackings to performing in the remote fishing villages of Norway, via the dive bars of Europe and the US. It was the hodge-podge musical tapestry of England's capital that finally drew him to a settling point, in the wake of seemingly never ending run of shows. With personal tastes that span from the more avant-garde to soul and pop greats like Sly Stone, Todd Rundgren and Hall & Oates, there are clear nods to contemporaries like Unkown Mortal Orchestra, Erlend Oye and Toro Y Moi in terms of ambition and style.
With his last two albums "The Golden Age" and "The Imposter" collecting strong radio plays at BBC Radio 2, BBC 6, BBC London, XFM Joel Sarakula has been play-listed nationally in Europe including Flux FM, WDR 5, Radioeins, Bayern 2, Deutschlandfunk and Deutschland Kultur Radio in Germany as well as in Benelux and Italy and Spain. He is a regular fixture on the live festival and club circuit in the UK, Europe and internationally including appearances at SXSW, Primavera Sound, Glastonbury, The Great Escape, Liverpool Sound City, Scala London, Tallinn Music Week, V-ROX (Vladivostok) and Reeperbahnfestival Hamburg.
"Love Club" is Sarakula's bold and unashamedly emotional next step. In essence the album is a homage to the soulful singer & songwriter artistry of the Seventies filtered through a darker contemporary lens - fitting for these uncertain times. "I always shied away from generic love songs," the Sydney, Australia born songwriter admits, "but on this record I embraced the subject wholeheartedly... and intellectually, looking at themes of love, lust, loneliness and everything in-between." Take the first single "In Trouble", co-written with Michele Stodart of The Magic Numbers, as the best example for Joel Sarakula's unique, and honest approach to making music. "We Used To Connect" questions the changing nature of relationships in our social-media addicted world: 'We used to connect in the real world too, now the touch of your hand is a digital cue'.
"Coldharbour Man", on the other hand, examines the identity of the song's narrator and the artist vs. fan dynamic all wrapped up in a disco love song: "There's a lot going on in this particular track. I feel my writing has grown emotionally...", explains Joel Sarakula. "Just best to listen yourself and make up your own interpretation!: 'We met in a song come to life like some fantasy cliché, though I'm known for my moves in the dark you flooded sunshine on my day'. Then there's "Baltic Jam", capturing romantic love and loss in authentic 70s confessional singer & songwriter style and of course "Dead Heat", a song about how there is struggle in the most perfect relationship pairings as the match is so even: "I recall an ex-girlfriend of mine... when we first met, we thought we hated each other but we eventually flipped that emotion and realised we had a deep passion and love for each other, there just was a lot of underlying sexual tension!" : 'It's a battle we could only win, if we lose. We'd be stronger if these lonely ones became two'.
More than a year in the making, Joel Sarakula recorded "Love Club" in various studios around London and Berlin capturing soulful performances from his many musical comrades on vintage analogue equipment. "This record has truly been a labour of love. Recording and privately sharing these performances amongst my collaborators started to feel like a bit like a club - I guess that lead to the album title! I was surprised how much I actually enjoyed the 'love-making process' and I look so much forward to playing these new songs on stage with my band." We can't wait, Joel Sarakula.
Uber picked up this beautiful mellowed out pop song by Shining Bird for a vinyl release after becoming totally captivated by its warm laid back Balearic feel. Shining Bird hail from Austinmer a coastal town just south of Sydney, Australia. They are a collective of friends who got together over their love of the sea, Australian cinema, Dennis Wilson's "Pacific Ocean Blue" Lp and the great Australian poet Henry Lawson. The second track Stitzing/Wipeout is another great alternative pop song in the same vein as Destroyer with the song blending into a 5 min piece of psyched out ambient. On the flip side Coyote remix Distant Dreaming into a horizontal percussion led dubby contemplative trip with pitched down vocals and a throbbing bassline. Uber continuing its crusade of finding and releasing music that captures their Balearic ethos.
















