Phoenix-based DJ and producer Paul West lands on eudemonia with a stellar 5-track EP, seamlessly picking up right where his impressive debut Blue Sun on Rocky Hill left off.
The record delivers a wonderful blend of breakbeats, house, electro, and Detroit techno, keeping the energy raw, warm, and deeply atmospheric throughout. The A-side builds intensity towards its third track, the spacey title track "Nebulae". Flipping over to the B-side, the journey comes to a close with the playful, melodic tones of „Stardust".
Here come two unearthed scorchers from the 90s era of UK Dub. Shades Of Black also known as Jonah Dan and Paul Fox on the riddim, mix and vocals. On the A side, one finds ‚Free Again‘, a conscious vocal piece including two dubs calling for freedom and equality. It has never been released as such, and only sounds like Aba Shanti-I were able to beat down cuts of this one dubplate style. The side B holds ‚Fight For The Right‘ an anti-war hymn from the late nineties, which seems to be unfortunately just as relevant today. A crunch with the needle and let the time traveling begin. 90s SALUTE !
Grooved throughout, built for dancing, no filler. Solid.! Liro on Bosom LTD with four deep, dubby cuts. Viaje Circular opens loose and circular, percussion looping under a warm bass. Ritmo Atemporal tightens up, minimal touches, hi-hats doing the work. La Pausa on the flip, dub chords, space to breathe. Los Tatas closes heavier, more percussive drive.
“Negative Music / The Poorest! If they still know silence at all, then only as holes in the continuum of noise…” — Günther Anders, 1965
Editions Mego presents GETGETGET, a new release by Thomas Brinkmann which serves as an inquiry into silence, code, and the limits of perception.
The title GETGETGET references the trilogy of ‘Get’ lp’s made by Rehberg under his PITA moniker; Get Out, Get In and Get On. The music is based on material by Rehberg and Brinkmann morphing these two identities into a third colour, a disappearing color.
Emerging from a live performance at the label’s 30th anniversary in Berlin, the work unfolds as both sonic artifact and conceptual system: a study in what remains when sound is reduced, extracted, and reconstituted.
Taking inspiration from Günther Anders’ notion of “negative music”—composition through absence—Brinkmann’s approach aligns with Heinrich Böll’s idea of “collected silence”: silence not as void, but as a material framed against the constant pressure of noise. In GETGETGET, pauses are not gaps but structural elements, cut from a continuum and reinserted as signals.
The two side long tracks weave a dark abstract and ‘twisted’ presence where the ghosts of the machines and their operators fuse into a fantastical whole. One can hear traces of both Brinkmann and Rehberg logic which seems to fuse in a hallucinatory manner.
Brinkmann’s work reflects a broader condition: the translation of material processes into informational ones. As images detach from bodies and code separates from matter, sound too loses its fixed resonance. What remains is circulation—of signals, of data, of meaning—within systems that increasingly define perception itself.
GETGETGET is an album where absence is equal to presence, a metaphor with suggestive tones of the influence Rehberg had and continues to have in the world of the radical experimental electronic avant garde. The “zero” is not empty; it is what makes everything else work.
We worked closely with surviving members of The Nerves, Paul Collins and Peter Case along with Jack Lee's daughter Cynthia to bring The Nerves - Best Collection to you.
Unlike previous releases that often relied on secondary copies or rips from vinyl and CDs, we were able to locate the original source recordings and have Warren Defever master/remaster them at Third Man Mastering in Detroit for this release. This is what makes this record so special—it features the definitive versions of these tracks as they were originally intended, some have not been heard since the day they were recorded. We hope you enjoy it.
We worked closely with surviving members of The Nerves, Paul Collins and Peter Case along with Jack Lee's daughter Cynthia to bring The Nerves - Best Collection to you.
Unlike previous releases that often relied on secondary copies or rips from vinyl and CDs, we were able to locate the original source recordings and have Warren Defever master/remaster them at Third Man Mastering in Detroit for this release. This is what makes this record so special—it features the definitive versions of these tracks as they were originally intended, some have not been heard since the day they were recorded. We hope you enjoy it.
,Prophetic Perfect Tense" ist das neue Album von Oren Ambarchi bei Kou Records. Der australische Gitarrist und Komponist gilt als eine der unermüdlichsten und einfallsreichsten Persönlichkeiten der experimentellen Musik der letzten drei Jahrzehnte. Als Gründer von Black Truffle Records und versierter Kollaborateur, der bereits mit Keiji Haino, Jim O'Rourke, Johan Berthling und Andreas Werliin - präsentiert sich Ambarchi hier in seiner reduziertesten Besetzung: Solo-Gitarre, zwei Seiten, zwei Takes, minimale Effekte. Während seine Studioalben typischerweise konzeptionelle, vielschichtige Werke mit Gastmusikern waren, bricht ,Prophetic Perfect Tense" dieses Muster vollständig - nach seinen eigenen Angaben ist es das konventionellste Soloalbum mit Gitarrenklang, das er je aufgenommen hat, und das, was im Studio der Live-Energie seines ,Ghosted"-Trios am nächsten kommt. Aufgenommen im Studio Dede in Tokio im Januar 2026 und produziert von Randall Dunn, begann das Album als Akt hartnäckiger Zurückhaltung - irgendwo zwischen Joao Gilberts leisem, selbstbetiteltem Album von 1973 und Alemu Agas ,Bägänna"-Sessions. Doch sobald das Band durch eine Leslie-Box, einen Fender Twin und einen Ampeg B-15 in einen Telefunken-24-Spur-Recorder lief, entstand etwas ganz anderes: ein lockerer, abstrakter Shuffle, warm und dreidimensional, bei dem Verstärkerbrummen, Saitenquietschen und Raumgeräusche unverändert blieben. Beide Seiten in einzigen Takes. Ein Gitarren-Overdub wurde auf Randalls Drängen hin hinzugefügt. Eine Platte, die wie ein Raum klingt, nicht wie ein Studio. Aufgenommen, abgemischt und produziert von Randall Dunn. Gemastert von Ben Greenberg. Dolby-Atmos-Mischungen von Ben Greenberg. Lackschnitt von Paul Gold bei Salt Mastering. Cover-Artwork ,Untitled, 1977" von Kazuko Miyamoto, Foto mit freundlicher Genehmigung des Nachlasses von Kazuko Miyamoto / Zürcher Gallery, NY. Porträt auf der Rückseite von Ken Langraf
,Altarpiece H. af K." ist das neue Album von Eric Wubbels bei Kou Records - Komponist, Pianist, Co-Direktor des New Yorker Wet Ink Ensembles und Preisträger des Ernst von Siemens-Komponistenpreises 2023, einer der renommiertesten Auszeichnungen in der zeitgenössischen Musik. ,Altarpiece H. af K." hat seinen Namen und seinen inspirierenden Geist den Gemälden ,For the Temple" von Hilma af Klint entlehnt - monumentale Werke, die für einen Raum konzipiert wurden, der noch gar nicht existierte, gerichtet an einen zukünftigen Zuhörer. Wubbels begegnete ihnen 2018 im Guggenheim und ließ diese Begegnung in ein Stück einfließen, dessen vollständige Umsetzung sieben Jahre in Anspruch nehmen sollte: von einer E-Mail aus der Pandemiezeit an die Fagottistin Dana Jessen, in der er etwas Einfaches vorschlug - Multiphonik, Überlagerungen, vielleicht einen Kanon -, über Live-Auftritte in der Fairchild Chapel, bei Elastic Arts und in einer existentialistischen Kirche in Atlanta bis hin zu einer Aufnahmesession im Dezember 2025 im Power Station Studios in Midtown Manhattan, dem Raum, in dem ,Like a Virgin" und ,Let's Dance" entstanden sind. Die Besetzung - drei Fagotte, gespielt von Dana Jessen, Ben Roidl-Ward und Katherine Young - ist rein akustisch: keine Live-Bearbeitung, keine Elektronik. Was du hörst , ist das Instrument selbst, bis an seine Grenzen getrieben. Wubbels' Komposition nutzt die Fähigkeit des Fagotts zu Multiphonik und mikrotonaler Modulation, um sich überlappende Spektren aufzubauen, die voll und ganz aus den grundlegenden akustischen Eigenschaften der Instrumente entstehen - Obertöne, Differenztöne und Schwebungsfrequenzen, die den drei Musikern im selben Raum entlockt werden und einen seltenen Raum zwischen den spektralen Welten von Scelsi und Dumitrescu und dem anhaltenden physischen Gewicht von Sunn O))) einnehmen. Über zwei lange Sätze (Reh. A und Reh. C) hinweg häufen sich diese dichten, vibrierenden Spektren zu etwas an, das sich zwischen Stillstand und Vorwärtsdrang bewegt und an der Schwelle zwischen Tonhöhe und Rauschen schwebt. Das Stück gipfelt nicht in einer Auflösung, sondern in einer Transformation durch anhaltende Aufmerksamkeit. Aufgenommen, abgemischt und produziert von Randall Dunn. Gemastert von Ben Greenberg. Dolby Atmos-Mischungen von Ben Greenberg. Lackpressung von Paul Gold bei Salt Mastering. Cover-Artwork von Thomas Hooper; Porträt auf der Rückseite von Julie Bell.
,Reona" ist das Debütalbum von REONA bei Kou Records - Stepptänzerin, Metal- Percussionistin, Improvisatorin und eine der originellsten Klangkünstlerinnen der heutigen Zeit, weltweit. Das Album wurde im Januar 2026 an zwei Tagen im Studio Dede aufgenommen und von Randall Dunn produziert. Es fängt REONAs ganzkörperliche Performance in Echtzeit ein: Stepptanzschuhe und ein Holzbrett als rhythmische Grundlage, überlagert von Metallblechen, Ketten, Edelstahlschalen, Plastiktüten, Lautsprechern und einem ganzen Arsenal an gefundenen und handgefertigten Objekten, die im Laufe jahrelanger Auftritte gesammelt wurden. Die Instrumente tragen ihre eigene Geschichte in sich - ein Schild aus Okinawa, auf dem die Warnung vor nicht detonierten Bomben steht, ein Schild einer Transportfirma aus dem Jingisukan-Topf-Museum in Iwamizawa, eine Festglocke, die zu Beginn der COVID-Ära erworben wurde, südindische Essgeschirr, ein Ölkännchen aus Taiwan. Stampfen, kratzen, berühren, schlagen, blasen, stöhnen - REONA nutzt alles voll aus, von ihren Beinen bis zu ihrem Mund, und lässt dabei die Grenze zwischen Tanz und Percussion, Körper und Instrument verschwinden. Ihre Praxis befindet sich an einer selten besetzten Schnittstelle: die japanische Noise-Tradition von Merzbow und Otomo Yoshihide auf der einen Seite, die perkussive Körperlichkeit von Milford Graves und Han Bennink auf der anderen - ohne Präzedenzfall dafür, was passiert, wenn diese beiden Welten in einem einzigen Körper aufeinandertreffen. Track 7, M108, enthält einen Gastauftritt von Atsuo - dem Schlagzeuger der legendären japanischen Rockband Boris - in einer Kollision zweier unterschiedlicher, aber verwandter Ansätze zu Rhythmus und Noise.? Aufgenommen, gemischt und produziert von Randall Dunn. Gemastert von Ben Greenberg. Dolby-Atmos-Mischungen von Ben Greenberg. Lackschnitt von Paul Gold bei Salt Mastering. Cover-Artwork ,Legend of the Snow Spirit" von Kazuki Tomokawa; Porträt auf der Rückseite von Allison Brant.
Industrial noise terrorists LARD, the legendary collision of Jello Biafra and Ministry masterminds Al Jourgensen and Paul Barker, return with the long-awaited repress of their 1990 full-length masterpiece, The Last Temptation of Reid.
A vicious fusion of industrial metal, punk rock, political outrage, and black humor, The Last Temptation of Reid remains as relevant, confrontational, and sonically devastating today as it was when it first detonated over three decades ago. From the opening assault of “Forkboy” (later featured on the Natural Born Killers soundtrack) to the twisted brilliance of “Pineapple Face,” “Drug Raid at 4 AM,” and their unhinged reinvention of “They’re Coming to Take Me Away,” (originally performed by Napoleon XIV), LARD created a collection of songs that still sounds unlike anything before or since.
This new edition has been worth the wait. After production setbacks and multiple rounds of test pressings, Jello Biafra personally halted the project to completely remaster the album, ensuring it finally received the sonic treatment it deserved. The result is the best-sounding vinyl edition of The Last Temptation of Reid ever released. As a special bonus, this edition now includes bonus one sided 12” vinyl of “I Am Your Clock.” Originally a UK exclusive 12”, it’s never been repressed until now.
Originally released on Alternative Tentacles in 1990, The Last Temptation of Reid captured the paranoia, hypocrisy, corruption, and media madness of its era with razor-sharp wit and a patented wall of noise and sonic wizardry. The unsettling truth is that it may hit even harder today.
Industrial noise terrorists LARD, the legendary collision of Jello Biafra and Ministry masterminds Al Jourgensen and Paul Barker, return with the long-awaited repress of their 1990 full-length masterpiece, The Last Temptation of Reid.
A vicious fusion of industrial metal, punk rock, political outrage, and black humor, The Last Temptation of Reid remains as relevant, confrontational, and sonically devastating today as it was when it first detonated over three decades ago. From the opening assault of “Forkboy” (later featured on the Natural Born Killers soundtrack) to the twisted brilliance of “Pineapple Face,” “Drug Raid at 4 AM,” and their unhinged reinvention of “They’re Coming to Take Me Away,” (originally performed by Napoleon XIV), LARD created a collection of songs that still sounds unlike anything before or since.
This new edition has been worth the wait. After production setbacks and multiple rounds of test pressings, Jello Biafra personally halted the project to completely remaster the album, ensuring it finally received the sonic treatment it deserved. The result is the best-sounding vinyl edition of The Last Temptation of Reid ever released. As a special bonus, this edition now includes bonus one sided 12” vinyl of “I Am Your Clock.” Originally a UK exclusive 12”, it’s never been repressed until now.
Originally released on Alternative Tentacles in 1990, The Last Temptation of Reid captured the paranoia, hypocrisy, corruption, and media madness of its era with razor-sharp wit and a patented wall of noise and sonic wizardry. The unsettling truth is that it may hit even harder today.
Underoath reinvents the balance between chaos and harmony with each successive release. Their compositions, conjured from creative tension, become iconoclastic anthems. Even when the band almost combusts, the crackling energy coalesces into something deeply resonant for millions.
Each time they have a chance to do something safe, Underoath challenges themselves instead, with integrity and attitude. Their pair of gold albums and three Grammy nominations stand in stark defiance of the idea of commercial compromise. The Underoath catalog weaponizes noise, aggression, and ambiance as skillfully as melody.
They're Only Chasing Safety is the fourth studio album by American melodic hardcore band Underoath. It was released on June 15, 2004, through Solid State Records. Following the release of their third studio album, The Changing of Times (2002), half of the band's members were replaced. After finalizing the line-up with vocalist Spencer Chamberlain, the band recorded They're Only Chasing Safety with producer James Paul Wisner (Dashboard Confessional, Further Seems Forever, Paramore). In the heavy and punk music scene, the album is considered a watershed moment. The blend of heavy metal and hardcore influences with a strong pop/punk sensibility spawned a new branch of heavy music. The sound eventually became synonymous with the screamo scene of the mid-2000s. The record went gold in 2011.
Riding the least likely commercial success of the 90s with Modern Rock chart topper "Pepper," Austin odd rockers Butthole Surfers returned to the studio in 1998 for the followup, After The Astronaut. Leaning further into experiments with electronics, hip-hop, acid grooves, and the otherwise unusual, the result is a dizzying orbital trip expanding the idea of what's possible in rock music.
Disputes between the Butthole Surfers and Capitol Records left the album unreleased, while the band regrouped and re-recorded some of the material for 2001's Weird Revolution, released through Hollywood Records. After The Astronaut collected dust, eventually developing a mythic status.
A quarter century later, Butthole Surfers are realizing their vision for After The Astronaut. Newly mixed by guitarist/producer Paul Leary, After The Astronaut corrects the record on the band's activity in the late 90s with a bold, idiosyncratic evolution of their sun-fried psychedelia.
Animative is new work by composer, producer, saxophonist and synthesist Josh Johnson (SML, Jeff Parker ETA IVtet, Flea and The Honora Band), his third album under his own name, and his first for International Anthem/Nonesuch. The album further advances Johnson deep into a territory he has been exploring for years: live-processed electro-acoustic takes on deconstructed rhythmic jazz. The ten track album - co-produced by Johnson and Paul Bryan, featuring contributions from Meshell Ndegeocello, Macie Stewart, Marquis Hill, Ben Lumsdaine, and more - is a marvel of electro-acoustic innovation that combines compositional brilliance and technological ambition into a mesmerizing blend of skeletal soul-jazz, post-bop, electronic minimalism, and dreamy ambience.
Animative is new work by composer, producer, saxophonist and synthesist Josh Johnson (SML, Jeff Parker ETA IVtet, Flea and The Honora Band), his third album under his own name, and his first for International Anthem/Nonesuch. The album further advances Johnson deep into a territory he has been exploring for years: live-processed electro-acoustic takes on deconstructed rhythmic jazz. The ten track album - co-produced by Johnson and Paul Bryan, featuring contributions from Meshell Ndegeocello, Macie Stewart, Marquis Hill, Ben Lumsdaine, and more - is a marvel of electro-acoustic innovation that combines compositional brilliance and technological ambition into a mesmerizing blend of skeletal soul-jazz, post-bop, electronic minimalism, and dreamy ambience.
Originally released in 2014, Tales from the Realm of the Queen of Pentacles is now being reissued on limited-edition gold vinyl.
The album tells a story of the intersection of the material world and the world of the spirit. Includes fan favorites "I Never Wear White" and "Crack in the Wall,” plus "Song of the Stoic" and “Don't Uncork What You Can’t Contain,” and "Horizon", written for Vaclav Havel.
Produced and arranged by Gerry Leonard, the album features an illustrious group of musicians including longtime Vega bass player Mike Visceglia and drummer Doug Yowell, bass player Gail Ann Dorsey and drummer Zachary Alford (David Bowie), bass player Tony Levin (Peter Gabriel), drummer Jay Bellerose (T-Bone Burnett), and Larry Campbell (Bob Dylan) who plays banjo, mandolin, and cymbal throughout the album. Additional contributions feature drummer Sterling Campbell (David Bowie, B52s) and Alison Balsom, the virtuoso principal trumpet for the London Chamber Orchestra. Catherine Russell, known for her work with David Bowie and Paul Simon, adds background vocals.
The strings were recorded in the Czech Republic with the Smichov Chamber Orchestra. The album was mixed by Grammy Award-winning engineer Kevin Killen.
Mit „Ski Aggu Musik“ beginnt Ski Aggu das nächste Kapitel seiner Karriere. Nach seiner Pause präsentiert
er sich erwachsener und facettenreicher, ohne seine unverkennbare Party-DNA zu verlieren. Zwischen dem
roughen, 2016-codierten Dubstep von „GELD“, der melancholischen Club-Euphorie von „Verschwommen“
und dem kompromisslosen Abriss von „Hardtekk Tutorial“ zeigt das Album die ganze Bandbreite seines
Sounds. Laut Aggu steckt darin sein gesamtes Leben – entsprechend persönlich, elektronisch und direkt
fällt die Albumreise aus. „Ski Aggu Musik“ erscheint am 23.10.2026 und ist unter anderem als durchsichtige
1LP-Vinyl erhältlich.
At the foot of the mountain. Our gaze is inclined toward the summit.
Toward the ascent. The destination that awaits us.
From the valley, we look up at the summit: our destination. But also the path: the true destination.
We can already trace our route, and we are already imagining ourselves walking up there. Along the small ridge, just above the tree line. There, we take a short break and look for the exact spot in the valley where we were standing earlier. It is strange to grasp that we have actually climbed this mountain. To look down from up here at the place where we were just moments ago – the same place we looked up from, toward the place where we are standing now.
And now, knowing what it is like to be up here, we remember what we imagined it would be like back then. What we believed it would mean to stand here.
Along the way, our gaze wanders back and forth. Up toward the mountain, down into the valley, sometimes only at our shoes. We keep walking, one step after another. Our thoughts detached. Our body functioning purely mechanically.
Step left. Step right. Step left. Step right.
Our mind has completely detached itself, and our thoughts race at an immense speed. They summon the most different moments. Moments from our lives. Moments that shaped us, that made us who we are. Or are we perhaps simply trying to understand who we are and how we got here?
It is strange that reaching the summit and looking down could make us believe that we have finally reached, or are striving toward, some superior, triumphant position. When in fact, it is really only about looking at the path we inevitably have to take. Processing impressions from a certain distance. Reconsidering what we have experienced, without losing sight of what lies ahead.
Our gaze turns back toward the summit.
Is there a destination?
An ascent? A summit? A descent? The return?
Or is it only about the insights we encounter along the way?
Am Fuß des Berges. Unser Blick ist zum Gipfel geneigt.
Auf den Aufstieg. Das Ziel, das uns erwartet.
Vom Tal aus blicken wir auf den Gipfel: unser Ziel. Aber auch den Weg: das wahre Ziel. Unsere Route kann man jetzt schon abstecken, und wir stellen uns bereits vor, wie wir dort oben laufen. Über den kleinen Grat, leicht oberhalb der Baumgrenze. Dort machen wir eine kleine Pause und suchen genau die Stelle im Tal, an der wir vorhin noch standen. Es ist verrückt, zu begreifen, dass wir diesen Berg tatsächlich hinaufgestiegen sind. Von hier oben auf den Ort hinunterzusehen, an dem wir eben noch waren – an denselben Ort, zu dem wir hinaufgeblickt haben, als wir noch dort unten standen. Und jetzt, da wir wissen, wie es ist, hier oben zu sein, erinnern wir uns daran, was wir uns damals darunter vorgestellt haben. Was wir geglaubt haben, es würde bedeuten, hier zu stehen.
Unterwegs wandert unser Blick hin und her. Hinauf zum Berg, hinunter ins Tal, manchmal nur auf unsere Schuhe. Wir gehen weiter, einen Schritt nach dem anderen. Unsere Gedanken losgelöst. Unser Körper funktioniert rein mechanisch. Schritt links. Schritt rechts. Schritt links. Schritt rechts.
Unser Geist hat sich völlig losgelöst, und unsere Gedanken rasen mit einer ungeheuren Geschwindigkeit. Sie rufen die verschiedensten Momente herauf. Momente aus unserem Leben. Momente, die uns geprägt haben, aus denen wir geworden sind, wer wir sind. Oder versuchen wir vielleicht einfach nur zu verstehen, wer wir sind und wie wir hierhergekommen sind?
Es ist schon seltsam, dass das Erreichen des Gipfels und der Blick nach unten uns glauben lassen könnten, dass wir endlich eine überragende, triumphale Position erreicht haben oder anstreben würden. Dabei geht es doch eigentlich nur um den Blick auf den Weg, den wir zwangsläufig beschreiten müssen. Eindrücke mit etwas Abstand zu verarbeiten. Erlebtes noch einmal Revue passieren zu lassen, ohne den Blick nach vorne zu verlieren.
Unser Blick wendet sich wieder dem Gipfel zu. Gibt es ein Ziel? Einen Aufstieg? Einen Gipfel? Einen Abstieg? Die Rückkehr? Oder geht es nur um die Erkenntnisse, die uns unterwegs begegnen?
Cristina Camargo broke onto the Brazilian boogie scene in 1980 with the single "Moral Tem Hora", penned by the by then already famous brothers Marcos and Paulo Valle. They were soon joined by the arranger/producer/musician powerhouse Robson Jorge and Lincoln Olivetti, who worked with practically all the big MPB stars from Jorge Ben and Gal Costa to Caetano Veloso and Gilberto Gil. Armed with the endless possibilities that the burgeoning Brazilian music scene provided, the group went into the studio and produced the eponymous debut album Cristina Camargo.
The result is a very special record built around that successful single that does what Brazil does best: blending their own musical heritage with sounds in vogue in the rest of the world, in this case the boogie disco that was all the rage in the USA in the first half of the 1980s. Expect endearing choirs, tight grooves, and a killer production value on par with the big-budget studios up north.
Cristina Camargo is available as a limited edition on yellow vinyl and includes an insert with lyrics.
A cache of unreleased, on-the-fly sonic orphans from the São Paulo underground and Hurtmold veteran, composed entirely at home alone between 2004 and 2025 and built from simple samples. Now housed on a single tape for general consumption, it delivers hazy, cyclical rhythms, spontaneous sampler alchemy, and low-end grooves heavy enough to make you swivel.
XKatedral ist stolz darauf, ein neues Album in voller Länge von Label-Mitbegründerin Maria W. Horn zu präsentieren. ,Melting Pillars of Snow" ist eine Sammlung neuer Kompositionen der renommierten schwedischen Komponistin, geschrieben für Kontrabassblockflöte, Sho, Percussion, E-Gitarre, Gesang und Elektronik, gespielt von Horn zusammen mit einem Kammerensemble bestehend aus Anna Petrini, Mattias Hallsten, Magdalena Meitzner und Mats Erlandsson. Das Album enthält außerdem eine Erzählung von Horn sowie einen Gastauftritt von Michael Gira auf der ersten Single ,Scythe of Saturn". Für ,Melting Pillars of Snow" ließ sich Maria von W. G. Sebalds Roman ,Die Ringe des Saturn" inspirieren, einer poetischen Reflexion, die einem namenlosen Erzähler folgt, der an der Küste von Suffolk in England umherwandert. Während sich die Landschaft allmählich verändert, thematisiert der Text auf vielfältige Weise den Lauf der Zeit und die Distanz zwischen Vergangenheit, Gegenwart und Zukunft und spiegelt dabei sowohl weitreichende zeitliche Maßstäbe wie die Zyklen der Jahreszeiten und die tiefe historische Zeit als auch mikroskopisch kleine Momente und Fragmente wider. Mit den Kompositionen auf dieser Veröffentlichung beschwört Maria ein ähnliches Gefühl der Stille herauf - eine Umgebung, in der die Bewegung der Zeit selbst beleuchtet und beobachtet werden kann. Das Instrumentarium auf diesem Album ist Horns bislang ambitioniertestes: Sie ergänzt ihre gewohnte Palette aus maßgeschneiderter algorithmischer Synthese und elektronischer Bearbeitung um eine komplexe Auswahl an Perkussionsinstrumenten, Blasinstrumente, die an beiden Enden des musikalischen Spektrums spielen, sowie E-Gitarre, um so einen spiralförmigen, spektralen Klangteppich durch den gesamten Frequenzbereich zu weben. Die Perkussionistin Magdalena Meizner spielt spezielle Techniken auf dem Obertondreieck, dem Dubachi, den Pauken und dem Tam-Tam sowie auf gestimmten Weingläsern und gestrichenen Crotales. Die von Anna Petrini gespielte tieftönige Kontrabassblockflöte und das von Mattias Hallsten gespielte hochfrequente Sho fügen kontrastierende Akkordarrangements hinzu, die in strengen metrischen Strukturen eingebettet sind. Das Ensemble wird durch Mats Erlandsson vervollständigt, der auf E- und Akustikgitarren spielt und dabei von sanften Arpeggio-Figuren zu düsteren Drones und Feedback-Heulern wechselt.
Celebrate the incredible music from the first half of the 70s with this brand-new 2LP collection packed with the era’s most iconic hits.
LP1 kicks off with Queen’s ‘Killer Queen’, followed by Elton John’s timeless ‘Goodbye Yellow Brick Road’ and Mott The Hoople’s anthemic ‘All The Young Dudes’. Glam-rock favourites from Sweet, Mud and Wizzard sit alongside Pilot’s feel-good ‘Magic’ and David Essex’s distinctive ‘Rock On’. Side Two turns up the guitars with Rod Stewart’s ‘You Wear It Well’, Free’s legendary ‘All Right Now’ and Bachman-Turner Overdrive’s ‘You Ain’t Seen Nothin’ Yet’. Alice Cooper’s rebellious ‘School’s Out’, Status Quo’s ‘Down Down’ and Thin Lizzy’s ‘Whisky In The Jar’ continue an incredible run of rock classics before Bob Dylan closes the LP with ‘Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door’.
LP2 opens with Paul McCartney & Wings’ epic ‘Band On The Run’, before Simon & Garfunkel’s ‘Bridge Over Troubled Water’ and Billy Joel’s ‘Piano Man’ showcase some of the decade’s finest songwriting. Harry Nilsson’s unforgettable ‘Without You’ and Terry Jacks’ ‘Seasons In The Sun’ lead into soulful classics from Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes and The Stylistics. Side Two opens with Neil Diamond’s enduring ‘Sweet Caroline’ and Carly Simon’s ‘You’re So Vain’, before Diana Ross’ ‘Ain’t No Mountain High Enough’ and Stevie Wonder’s ‘Signed, Sealed, Delivered I’m Yours’ launch an irresistible run of soul and dancefloor favourites. Barry White’s ‘You’re The First, The Last, My Everything’, George McCrae’s ‘Rock Your Baby’ and The Three Degrees’ ‘When Will I See You Again?’ lead into Michael Jackson’s beautiful ‘Ben’, bringing this celebration of 1970–1974 to a memorable close.
Das Wiener Kollektiv TAKESHI'S CASHEW präsentiert sein neues, drittes Album "Planet Odyssey 64". Nach weltweiten Tourneen mit ihren ersten beiden Alben, gönnte sich die Band eine kreative Pause und kehrt nun mit neuem Sound zurück. Der bisherige analoge Cosmofunk der Band wurde um Electro-Einflüsse erweitert. Die sechs Musiker experimentierten mit alten Synthesizern, ließen sich von vintage Computerspielen inspirieren und schufen so ein neuartiges Klanguniversum. Ihre besondere Spielfreude brachte die Idee für eine Art Konzeptalbum namens "Planet Odyssey 64" hervor. Zahlreiche Bands kreisen nach ihrem zweiten oder dritten Album um Fragen der Standortbestimmung - auch Takeshi's Cashew mussten eine Weiche stellen bzw. wollten ein Konzept: nun treffen - back to the 90s - Mittelalterwelten auf Game Boy & Nintendo 64. Wie die loopbasierten Klangwelten der ersten Konsolen oder die höfischen Tanzmusiken, arbeiten Takeshi's Cashew auf Planet Odyssey 64 ebenfalls mit zyklischen Figuren. Nicht nur 8-Bit-Games erzeugten ihre Atmosphären mit reduzierten Mitteln - auch die Wiener Instrumentalisten haben ihre Werkzeugkiste im Vergleich zum bisherigen Ouvre komprimiert. Di verwendeten Leitmelodien und Chiptunesounds gedenken Videospielikonen wie "The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time" oder "Pokémon Saphir Edition". Das rhythmische Amalgam hingegen formt ein Hybrid aus synthetischen Elementen und organischen Bausteinen. Präsent im Klangraum steht ein vorwärts kippendes Krautrock-Gerüst samt E-Bass und Schlagzeug. Die zweite Säule übernimmt ein monophoner Bass-Synthesizer namens Roland SH-101. Völlig verabschiedet haben sich Takeshi's Cashew trotzdem nicht von ihrer originären Herangehensweise, dem Jam. So entstand z.B. binnen eines Tages der vibrierende "Operator" auf dem alten Moog-Synthesizer eines Familienmitgliedes. Im Kern dient diese Musik als Transzendenzapparat, die Hörer*innen kehren mit heiterer Verwandlung von dieser Odyssey zu sich selbst zurück. Möglich auf klarem Vinyl, als analoges Tape, auf CD im Digi-Sleeve oder als Album Digital.
Vier Jahre brodelte es im Berliner Untergrund: Nach zwei DIY-Tape-Releases durchbrechen SEK die Flanke und präsentieren mit Wallensteins Garage ihr erstes Album auf Vinyl ein Debüt, das gleichermaßen Geschichtserzählung, Konzeptalbum und ausufernde Jam-Session ist. SEK benannt nach den Anfangsbuchstaben der Nachnamen ihrer Mitglieder - Paul-Willy Stoyan (Gavial, Jacke Schwarz), Georg Edert (Elder, Gaffa Ghandi) und Lucas Kazzer (Gaffa Ghandi, Borders Down) - vereint drei Musiker, die seit Jahren in der Berliner Underground-Szene aktiv sind. Ihre gemeinsame Sprache findet sich zwischen Improvisation, historischer Erzählung und druckvollem Rock. Was die drei verbindet, ist weniger ein gemeinsamer Stil als die Lust am Ausprobieren: ausufernde Proben, lange Improvisationen und die Suche nach Klanglandschaften, die ebenso sperrig wie eingängig sein können. Was 2022 während des pandemiebedingten Lockdowns mit stundenlangen Jams begann, entwickelte sich in den vergangenen vier Jahren zu einer eigenwilligen Mischung aus Psychedelic Rock, Krautrock und einer Prise Prog. Die Band selbst nennt diesen Sound augenzwinkernd HOR Historian Oriented Rock: Musik, die historische Stoffe nicht illustriert, sondern in Klang übersetzt. Die Inspiration für die Songs stammt aus dem Dreißigjährigen Krieg (16181648), insbesondere aus dem Leben des böhmischen Feldherrn Albrecht Wenzel Eusebius von Wallenstein und den Ereignissen rund um die Schlacht bei Lützen (1632). Das musikalische Arsenal ist ebenso vielseitig wie die erzählte Geschichte: verfuzzte Gitarren mit wabernden Delays treffen auf einen galoppierenden Bass und treibende Drums, getragen von träumerischen Keyboards. Immer wieder öffnen sich freie, fast chaotische Passagen, in denen Harmonie und Rhythmus auseinanderbrechen wie Schlachtordnungen, die im brutalen Nahkampf ihre Form verlieren. An anderer Stelle schaffen sanfte Mandolinenklänge Momente der Ruhe, bevor sie sich in schwere, schmerzvolle Trauermusik verwandeln, inspiriert von Doom und Drone Metal. Zwischen hypnotischen Grooves, improvisatorischer Freiheit und cineastischer Dramaturgie erschaffen SEK einen Sound, der Vergangenheit nicht nachstellt, sondern neu erfahrbar macht. Die Platte erscheint auf Exile On Mainstream als schwarzes Vinyl mit beigelegter CD. Genre: Krautrock, Psychedelic, Alternative Für Fans von: Elder, Gentle Giant, Amon Düül, Zahn.
For the first time ever, Michael Jackson’s ‘Thriller’ is available on red & black marble vinyl, celebrating the world’s biggest-selling album and the first album to be certified triple Diamond by the RIAA. Released in 1982, Thriller changed pop music forever, featuring seven U.S. Top 10 hits including “Billie Jean,” “Beat It” and “Thriller,” and helped Michael win a record-setting eight Grammy Awards in one night.
La Dispute is an American post-hardcore band formed in Grand Rapids, Michigan in 2004. The band consists of vocalist Jordan Dreyer, guitarist Chad Sterenberg, drummer Brad Vander Lugt, bassist Adam Vass, and guitarist Corey Stroffolino. Known for their intense and emotionally charged sound La Dispute has released five studio albums to critical acclaim, including “Somewhere at the Bottom of the River Between Vega and Altair” (2008), “Wildlife” (2011), and “Panorama” (2019). Their music often explores themes of loss, grief, and human relationships through a series of interconnencted stories. La Dispute has developed a devoted fanbase and is known for the powerful, unforgettable live performances.
Das Wiener Kollektiv TAKESHI'S CASHEW präsentiert sein neues, drittes Album "Planet Odyssey 64". Nach weltweiten Tourneen mit ihren ersten beiden Alben, gönnte sich die Band eine kreative Pause und kehrt nun mit neuem Sound zurück. Der bisherige analoge Cosmofunk der Band wurde um Electro-Einflüsse erweitert. Die sechs Musiker experimentierten mit alten Synthesizern, ließen sich von vintage Computerspielen inspirieren und schufen so ein neuartiges Klanguniversum. Ihre besondere Spielfreude brachte die Idee für eine Art Konzeptalbum namens "Planet Odyssey 64" hervor. Zahlreiche Bands kreisen nach ihrem zweiten oder dritten Album um Fragen der Standortbestimmung - auch Takeshi's Cashew mussten eine Weiche stellen bzw. wollten ein Konzept: nun treffen - back to the 90s - Mittelalterwelten auf Game Boy & Nintendo 64. Wie die loopbasierten Klangwelten der ersten Konsolen oder die höfischen Tanzmusiken, arbeiten Takeshi's Cashew auf Planet Odyssey 64 ebenfalls mit zyklischen Figuren. Nicht nur 8-Bit-Games erzeugten ihre Atmosphären mit reduzierten Mitteln - auch die Wiener Instrumentalisten haben ihre Werkzeugkiste im Vergleich zum bisherigen Ouvre komprimiert. Di verwendeten Leitmelodien und Chiptunesounds gedenken Videospielikonen wie "The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time" oder "Pokémon Saphir Edition". Das rhythmische Amalgam hingegen formt ein Hybrid aus synthetischen Elementen und organischen Bausteinen. Präsent im Klangraum steht ein vorwärts kippendes Krautrock-Gerüst samt E-Bass und Schlagzeug. Die zweite Säule übernimmt ein monophoner Bass-Synthesizer namens Roland SH-101. Völlig verabschiedet haben sich Takeshi's Cashew trotzdem nicht von ihrer originären Herangehensweise, dem Jam. So entstand z.B. binnen eines Tages der vibrierende "Operator" auf dem alten Moog-Synthesizer eines Familienmitgliedes. Im Kern dient diese Musik als Transzendenzapparat, die Hörer*innen kehren mit heiterer Verwandlung von dieser Odyssey zu sich selbst zurück. Möglich auf klarem Vinyl, als analoges Tape, auf CD im Digi-Sleeve oder als Album Digital.
Im Jahr 2026 feiert Big Crown Records sein zehnjähriges Jubiläum. In zehn Jahren kann viel passieren, und das ist auch geschehen. Aus sehr bescheidenen Anfängen hat sich Big Crown zu einem der angesehensten Independent-Labels der Welt entwickelt - mit einem unglaublich talentierten internationalen Künstlerstamm und einem unvergleichlichen Katalog zeitloser Musik. Leon Michels und Danny Akalepse gründeten Big Crown im Jahr 2016 mit einem einfachen Leitgedanken: gute Musik zu veröffentlichen, an die sie glauben - unabhängig vom Genre. BCR10 - Ten Years of Big Crown ist eine Mischung aus Retrospektive und Aktualität: bewährte Perlen aus dem Backkatalog, gemischt mit grundsoliden Stücken aus den neuesten Alben. Eine Doppel-LP mit ausgewählten Titeln von Bacao Rhythm & Steel Band, Lady Wray, Brainstory, Derya Yildirim & Grup ímcek, El Michels Affair, Thee Lakesiders, Dave Guy, Les Imprimés, Homer, Thee Marloes, Lee Fields & The Expressions, Bobby Oroza, Marco Benevento, The Shacks, Paul & The Tall Trees, Thee Heart Tones, Surprise Chef, 79.5, Liam Bailey und Holy Hive. Einen tieferen Einblick in die Geschichte von Big Crown vermittelt auf perfekte Weise der Begleittext des einzigartigen Journalisten und DJs Jeff Mao.
Yr Knives is a Chicago instrumental quartet built around two very different guitar voices. The band came together sideways: composer Paul Karner wanted guitarists Andrew Trim and Brian Sulpizio to play disparate parts on a recording of his own, and when the two finally rehearsed together, a band fell into focus. Trim leads the groups Hanami and Retroreflector; Sulpizio is the constant behind Health and Beauty. Anchoring them are two Chicago mainstays, bassist Douglas McCombs (Tortoise, Eleventh Dream Day) and drummer Quin Kirchner. Two of them come up as rock and roll players, two as jazz players, and the music lives in how closely they listen across those languages.
Their debut, Begin Yr Singing, centers on two overdriven guitars merging into something neither could produce alone, over a rhythm section that can lock a groove or let it drift. The result is exploratory but grounded, "a searching music," in Trim's words, that asks questions it doesn't always answer and shifts from one performance to the next. Recorded live in a single room at Chicago's Palisade studio with Nick Broste engineering and mixed by Cooper Crain with Sulpizio, the six tracks draw on Sonny Sharrock, Neil Young and Crazy Horse, Albert Ayler, Erik Satie, and Television. The band has toured supporting The Messthetics.
For the first time ever, Michael Jackson’s ‘Thriller’ is available on red & black marble vinyl, celebrating the world’s biggest-selling album and the first album to be certified triple Diamond by the RIAA. Released in 1982, Thriller changed pop music forever, featuring seven U.S. Top 10 hits including “Billie Jean,” “Beat It” and “Thriller,” and helped Michael win a record-setting eight Grammy Awards in one night.
It’s that time of year again! Are your copies of “Now! That’s What I Ca l Christmas” and “A Motown Christmas” finaly feeling worn out? Strut has the ideal antidote this year, as we dive into the world of festive records made by African artists spanning the late 1960s to the 1980s with our new Krismasi: Christmas Sounds From Africa compilation.
Taking in music from across the continent from Nigeria and Ghana to South Africa and Zimbabwe, Krismasi draws from a wide range of sounds from fun novelty records and spur-of-the-moment jams to spiritual and gospel favourites. Featured artists include Ghanian great Kwadwo Donkoh with a meditative highlife praise song from his much-loved Christmas Africana album. Elsewhere, pop star turned pastor, Jerry Boifraind, has some fun with a song celebrating seeing friends at Christmas and Nigerian pop favourite Martha Ulaeto features with the lilting lead track from her own Christmas Africana release. We pick out some choice Central and East African sounds with Kakai Kilonzo’s bri liant Kilimambogo Brothers Band and Congolese legend Baba Gaston’s Orchestra Baba National capturing the joy of the festive season. We stop off in Zim for a rare Dorothy Masuka acoustic piece and one of the country’s great musicians post-independence, Paul “Dr. Love” Matavire with ‘Christmas Yaswedera’ (‘Christmas Is Near’). Township jazz star Reggie Msomi appears with a joyous township instrumental and, fina ly, we couldn’t release a Christmas co lection without some carols. Here we include here a great version of ‘Mary’s Boy Child’ by UK-based Nigerian highlife musician Flash Dominci and a hi-octane funky medley of favourite festive hymns by Ghana’s Oscar Suley.
The compilation is the first in-depth co lection of rare African Christmas recordings, uncovering a rich and often overlooked chapter of the continent's musical history. Krismasi is available on Red & White Inkplosion Vinyl LP and CD. Vinyl restoration is by Colin Young at See Why Audio, mastering is by Frank Merritt at The Carvery, and the album features striking new artwork by Liam Large.
Jakob Bro, Brian Blade, Craig Taborn, Chris Cheek, Jesper Zeuthen, Anders Christensen, Larry Grenadier & Marcus Gilmore, playing compositions by Paul Motian and Jakob Bro.
The album was recorded in a single session at New York’s Power Station with engineer James Farber, following a week-long residency at the Village Vanguard.
‘Danish guitarist and composer Jakob Bro is celebrated for his pure reflective expression and penchant for celestial textures, effortlessly distilling and refining quiet sonics. At the Village Vanguard, he leads an impressive group – featuring two bassists and two drummers – for a nearly week-long residency.
‘The perfectly poised, ambient-leaning soundworld that characterizes Bro’s compositions was discomposed and distended by this octet, probing thrilling sounds and providing ample opportunity to create spontaneously. It was an exhilarating jazz night with some of the most esteemed players out there.’ ()
Wildweeds Volume II is the followup to Wildweeds (2021), Loren Connors’ first art book, and continues a series of limited artist’s books from Recital devoted to his work outside of music. Following Night of Rain, the book returns to the fragile flower forms of the original Wildweeds, but in a more expansive and varied collection of paintings, drawings, and haiku. Across 108 pages of full-color, hardbound printing, thin stems wander through enormous fields of white, blooming in eruptions of radiant yellow, blue, green, red, and violet. Some pages are nearly empty. Others retain stains, folds, shadows, and the physical disturbances of the original works. The result is a rare survey of Connors’ art, gathering years of paintings and drawings that have largely existed in isolation into one continuous sequence.
The haiku appear throughout the white space as small interruptions, sometimes nearly swallowed by the page. “wandering / into the sky / April mist.” They do not caption the paintings so much as drift alongside them, creating another kind of line, pause, and disappearance. The effect is deeply consonant with Connors’ music: the brief guitar poems of Airs, the shadowed miniatures of Lullaby, and the many other recordings and editions that have established his singular language across decades. A note from Connors’ guitar can hover on the edge of audibility, its beauty emerging through restraint and duration; the paintings possess the same fragility. A line bends, a flower appears. Colors pool and then recede into the surrounding white.
For this volume, Connors mailed hundreds of paintings and drawings as they were being made, arriving in folders with little concern for preservation or presentation. New drawings arrived often, another envelope every few weeks for a year. From this accumulation, the book was photographed, edited, sequenced, and arranged into its present form. In the preface, Yuko Otomo places Connnors’ work within the tradition of Haiga, the Japanese practice of bringing haiku and visual art together. She writes of Mujo, or impermanence, and Ku, or emptiness: the open, shifting space in which things appear and disappear. A flower blooms, a leaf falls, a line fades into the page. Francis T. Patnaude, Jr. describes Connors’ artistic impulse as an attempt to “give form to the formless.” Wildweeds Volume II is an opportunity to spend time inside his quietly accumulated body of visual work: a monograph giving sustained form to years of paintings and drawings. Portrait photograph by Suzanne Langille; art photography and design by Sean McCann.
The Oak Ridge Boys are paying tribute to their favorite songs without losing sight of their gospel roots in a stunning and inspiring new album, Buried Treasures. Produced by Anderson East and executive produced by Dave Cobb, Buried Treasures gathers together classic songs made popular by seminal voices such as Louis Armstrong and Nat King Cole, as well as essential songs written by Billy Joe Shaver, Paul Simon, and Bill Withers. The vocal group’s spiritual side shines through on recordings of “Deep River,” “How Great Thou Art,” and “Softly and Tenderly,” yet there’s also a hint of romance in the enduring ballad, “You Are So Beautiful.” The album’s only new song, “Buried Treasure,” was written specifically for the project by GRAMMY Award-winning songwriter Aaron Raitiere. “Every song on the album is about something that’s dear to us,” Oaks member Duane Allen says.
'Hive Mind are excited to have worked with Rio de Janeiro based label QTV, to bring you this retrospective from the cosmic joker of contemporary Brazilian music, Negro Leo.
'The music on this retrospective, which draws together songs from his 14 albums, EPs and singles released since 2012, ranges widely and wildly across genres and styles, from the urgent and angular no-wave inspired punk-funk of Niños Heroes or Ilhas de Calor, through the psychedelic hoedown of Noite Invertida or the beautiful and delicate Esferas and on to the maximalist hyperpop of more recent works like RELA or Desejo de Lacrar. Negro Leo consistently confounds, confuses, disturbs and provokes.
'His music is explicitly and fiercely Brazilian and draws on the history of black Brazilian music for inspiration - Gilberto Gil and Tropicalism, Itamar Assumpção and the Vanguard Paulista, Funk Carioca, the Boi's rhythm from the northern carnivals, the samba of the streets and the country - it's all thrown into the mix, along with free-jazz, noise and various chunks of non-Brazilian pop. Leo's music and songs serve as an essential documentation of the country's rapidly shifting social fabric in the digital age, a time in which the country and its people feel lost in a "jungle of pixels".
'Some of these surreal songs can feel overwhelming at times, like a wall of noise full of unfamiliar sounds and rhythms, but there's an unapologetic punk spirit behind it all, alongside a genius composer. It's worth pushing through the that sense of overwhelm to the place where the beauty and complexity of the composition and songwriting shines.'
Finnish-American guitarist Raoul Björkenheim and Norwegian drummer Paal Nilssen-Love join forces on their new album PING, released by We Jazz Records on 30th October on LP, CD and digital formats. Recorded in Helsinki, the album finds the seasoned duo firing on all cylinders and delivering a remarkable set of contemporary free music.
PING brings together nine excursions beyond “guitar + drums” and way beyond “free jazz”. That being said, those are still good touching points for the music that is wild, imaginative, raw, yet also at times delicate and introspective. Friends and collaborators for decades in groups such as the lauded Scorch Trio, Raoul and Paal have the history and the trust to create memorable and original improvised music that stuns and moves the curious listener.
Raoul Björkenheim (b. 1956) is a Finnish-American guitarist and composer who has been creating original music for the past four decades living in New York City and Helsinki, where he is presently based. Describing his on-going work as investigative guitarism, he is best known for an expressionistic and lyrical guitar style. Björkenheim’s eclectic discography numbers 50+ albums, ranging from ambient soundscapes to visceral free jazz, from duo to big band. His large-scale works for symphony orchestra have yet to be recorded, and he has also composed scores for over ten films and dance productions. Björkenheim has collaborated musically with Bill Laswell, Toshinori Kondo, William Parker, Mats Gustafsson, Hamid Drake, Ingebrigt Håker Flaten, Gerald Cleaver, Henry Kaiser, Lukas Ligeti, Morgan Ågren, Paul Schütze, Edward Vesala and Juhani Aaltonen, for the labels ECM, Rune Grammofon, Cuneiform, Tum Records and Long Song records. Björkenheim has been awarded various prizes including the Emma prize for best jazz recording of the year, and been nominated three times for the Nordic Music Award.
Paal Nilssen-Love (b. 1974) is a Norwegian drummer, composer, bandleader, and producer known for his central role in Scandinavian free jazz and improvised music. Since the mid- 1990s, he has appeared on more than 280 albums, including 70 released through his label, PNL Records. He has performed with influential groups including Atomic, The Thing, Peter Brötzmann’s Chicago Tentet, Scorch Trio, and Frode Gjerstad Trio, and collaborates regularly with artists such as, Ken Vandermark, Akira Sakata, Otomo Yoshihide, David Murray, Arto Lindsay and more. Paal Nilssen-Love’s fascination with traditional and experimental music has taken him around the world. Since his first visit to Ethiopia in 2009, he has built strong connections with musicians and artists in Addis Ababa, leading to collaborations, performances, teaching, and artist exchanges with Norway. Since his first trip to Brazil in 2013, he has returned regularly, developing collaborations with artists and musicians across the country. His musical explorations have also brought him to Tsugaru and Aomori in northern Japan, where he has developed an interest in the region’s traditional music. Nilssen-Love is also an active organizer and educator. He started both Oslo’s all-Ears festival, the Blow Out festival and FRAM Kunstfest, and has led workshops internationally and in Norway.
Five Special were a five-man harmony vocal group from Detroit whose members included Mike Pattillo, Steve Harris, Zeke Stanley, Greg Finlay and Bryan Banks (the younger brother of Dramatics’ main man Ron Banks). The aim of these five young men was to create a group with the potential of anyone of its members to be able to step up to sing lead on any given song, something which they went on to achieve to great aplomb.
Ron Banks was very instrumental in the founding of Five Special introducing them to his long-time friend Charles “Chuck” Underwood, a one-time former road manager of the Dramatics and by then the owner of the independent T.E.A.I Record Corporation label (T.E.A.I being an abbreviation for “Tellin’ Everybody About It”). Five Special’s first release for T.E.A.I was the 1976 joyously uplifting dancer “The More I Get To Know You” a Jimmy Roach and Marcella Henderson composition featuring Bryan on lead, released as a part I and part II deemed to be a more disc-jockey friendly practice at the time. The record was popular with radio stations throughout the Detroit metropolis leading Chuck to precure a deal with Polygram which resulted in the song gaining release on their nationally distributed Mercury label. A second Five Special Mercury release followed in 1977, the Jimmy Roach penned mellifluous “(Let’s Stop Making) Small Talk” backed with the Ron Banks/Paul Clark penned psychedelic soul styled “Oh, Oh (Look What We’ve Done)” with Greg Finley and Zeke Stanley exchanging tenor and baritone parts throughout.
Through our ongoing working relationship with T.E.A.I Soul Junction have gained access to some previously unissued master tapes on Five Special which were recorded for an intended album project that was never finished. From these tapes we took “The More I Get To Know You” in its 5:50 minutes entirety (not split into parts 1 & 2) backed with the previously unissued mid-tempo delight “You Got To Be The One That I Love” with interchanging leads from Bryan and Steve coupled with the released psychedelic soul “Oh, Oh (Look What We’ve Done)” with interchanging leads between Greg and Zeke, catalogue number SJ565, currently a very popular release amongst Collectors and DJ’s alike. For our second and follow up Five Special 45 release, we have chosen to lead with the gorgeous, previously unissued “Two OF A Kind” penned by Ron Banks with lead vocals being provided by Steve Harris. The B-side of this release opens with another unissued psychedelic song, the Ron Banks/Chuck Underwood composed “Stone Chain Reaction” featuring punchy interchanging lead vocals from Greg Finley and Zeke Stanley, this is coupled together with the released mid 1970’s sweet soul masterpiece from the pen of Jimmy Roach “(Let’s Stop Making) Small Talk” making this yet another quality three track release from Soul Junction.
