quête:tam tam

Cutting their teeth as teens in a West Bromwich bedroom, The Sea Urchins were nothing like the heavy metal that seemed to fill every bar in the UK Black Country. Fringe haircuts, perfect trousers, suede jackets and infectious tambourines gave plenty of hints as to their youthful ambition, but nothing could fully prepare you for just how utterly spellbinding these songs would be. Compiling their fanzine-only flexi material with the full complement of singles for Sarah Records, Stardust runs chronologically from late 1986 to the middle of 1989, beginning with the singles split for Clare Wadd’s Kvatch and Matt Haynes’ Sha La La, before hitting the first of what would be an even hundred releases from the new label Wadd and Haynes would form - Sarah.

The song that launched a legendary label and defined a sound, a scene, a place and time; “Pristine Christine” still rings out as immediate and magical today as it did on first listen. What a glorious jangly rush racing around the corners of pop’s history! The band would reach such heights time and again over the course of this three year burst. The melancholy swinging folk of “Everglade” and it’s wonderfully yearning vocal; the organ-fueled british invasion garage rock sing-a-long of “Solace”; the playful psych pop of “A Morning Odyssey”; the acoustic sweep of “Wild Grass Pictures”; the perfectly named “Summershine” leaving you with a ramshackle smile out on the dancefloor. All of it is just so filled with delicate humanity, yet somehow absolutely perfect.

As Bob Stanley said about the shimmering ballad “Please Rain Fall” while bestowing it with NME Single Of The Week (an honor also bestowed upon “Pristine Christine”), “think of some variations on the word marvelous and you’re most of the way there.”

In their time, they might have seemed wildly out of step, but it’s not crazy to say that things could have been very different for the likes of Radiohead, The La’s, and Oasis without The Sea Urchins. Liner notes by Television Personalities legend Dan Treacy.

Orange Vinyl

Cutting their teeth as teens in a West Bromwich bedroom, The Sea Urchins were nothing like the heavy metal that seemed to fill every bar in the UK Black Country. Fringe haircuts, perfect trousers, suede jackets and infectious tambourines gave plenty of hints as to their youthful ambition, but nothing could fully prepare you for just how utterly spellbinding these songs would be. Compiling their fanzine-only flexi material with the full complement of singles for Sarah Records, Stardust runs chronologically from late 1986 to the middle of 1989, beginning with the singles split for Clare Wadd’s Kvatch and Matt Haynes’ Sha La La, before hitting the first of what would be an even hundred releases from the new label Wadd and Haynes would form - Sarah.

The song that launched a legendary label and defined a sound, a scene, a place and time; “Pristine Christine” still rings out as immediate and magical today as it did on first listen. What a glorious jangly rush racing around the corners of pop’s history! The band would reach such heights time and again over the course of this three year burst. The melancholy swinging folk of “Everglade” and it’s wonderfully yearning vocal; the organ-fueled british invasion garage rock sing-a-long of “Solace”; the playful psych pop of “A Morning Odyssey”; the acoustic sweep of “Wild Grass Pictures”; the perfectly named “Summershine” leaving you with a ramshackle smile out on the dancefloor. All of it is just so filled with delicate humanity, yet somehow absolutely perfect.

As Bob Stanley said about the shimmering ballad “Please Rain Fall” while bestowing it with NME Single Of The Week (an honor also bestowed upon “Pristine Christine”), “think of some variations on the word marvelous and you’re most of the way there.”

In their time, they might have seemed wildly out of step, but it’s not crazy to say that things could have been very different for the likes of Radiohead, The La’s, and Oasis without The Sea Urchins. Liner notes by Television Personalities legend Dan Treacy.

Mit dem kommenden Album setzten Surfaces ihren Weg in diesem Jahr fort, nachdem ihr weltweit bekanntes
Album „Pacifico“ aus dem Jahr 2021 mit der herausragenden Single „Wave Of You“ und den Kollaborationen „Sheesh!“ und „Come With Me“ weltweit über 2,8 Milliarden Streams erreicht hat. Jetzt konzentrieren
sich Forrest und Colin auf das nächste Kapitel ihrer musikalischen Karriere.
Um ihren Sound neu zu definieren und ihr Handwerk zu perfektionieren, haben sich die beiden in einem
Haus in Joshua Tree zurückgezogen, um mit neuen Sounds zu experimentieren und Aufnahmen zu machen.
Inspiriert von Künstlern wie Tame Impala und Tom Misch, wagten sich Surfaces aus der Norm heraus und
schufen einige ihrer bisher innovativsten Werke. Mit ihren neuesten Singles „I Can’t Help But Feel“ und
jetzt „What’s Been On Your Mind?“ geht das Duo seinen Weg weiter und macht neugierig auf das Album
”Hidden Youth”, das das am 20.01.2023 auch auf Vinyl erscheint.

Eclectic Italian quartet Eugenia Post Meridiem are ready to reveal their sophomore full-length record, a rather magnificent musical masterpiece. The gloriously kaleidoscopic, dazzling celebration of sound ‘like i need tension’ is available everywhere now. Demonstrated over eight tracks, the all encompassing, musical odyssey, ‘like i need tension’ features initial single ‘willpower’; which burst across our radar with lashings of personality, and became the introduction to the now familiar Indie outfit. Next up was the punchy and fearless ‘around my neck’ and last but by no means least came the intriguing, alluring ‘whisper’, the calm before the sophomore album storm. Gifted with a further five previously unheard gems, listeners certainly have plenty to sink their teeth into. With focus track ‘crucial spring’ traversing the spectrums of shadow, the progressive and percussive ‘unchained will’, the slow voluminous ballad ‘ocean flows’ and the infectious, chaotic energy of ‘tiny perspectives’ and ‘mazes of gazes’. Oozing with iridescence, flavour and texture, there’s something to suit all manners of music fans. Completed over a span of two years plus a two week post-lockdown writing and recording stint, it was then that like i need tension truly came to life in a small converted barn near the village of Montaldo Bormida, in northern Italy. “It was a totally collaborative process... All the composing was done together, right there in the room.” and thus, like i need tension was born. “Tension is a powerful force. It drives things forwards, its friction producing interesting and unexpected results. Above all, it fuels creativity, inspiring and focusing in equal measure.” Such togetherness and chemistry as a band truly shines through across the eight track project. There’s a bold, fearless tenacity to experiment and to go against the tide as each track is filled with quality, curiosity and ingenuity. With purpose and intention studded throughout, like i need tension is as poetic and reflective as it is meditative and utterly transcendent. Placing its roots somewhere in the mystical universe of Hiatus Kaiyote, Christine and the Queens, PYJÆN and Tame Impala. Eugenia Post Meridiem’s sound holds an intrinsic synergy, refreshingly intangible, allowing space for the listener’s own interpretation and understanding. The depth they venture as a collective rewards those who journey beyond the initial passive listening. With technical structures, composition and developed time signatures just waiting to be unearthed, depicted and understood, Eugenia Post Meridiem offer a treasure trove for the adventurous and devoted musical palate yet still remain accessible and incredibly generous to all those who decide to listen. “And so it is that all eight tracks hang together beautifully, linked not by some overarching concept or narrative, but simply a band exploring their talent and the vast space afforded by an open-minded approach.”

If it's really a post-genre world, why does everything sound the same? The two halves of Tampa rap duo They Hate Change_Dre (he/him) and Vonne (they/them)_first came together in front of the apartment complex where they both lived as teens. Dre had just moved down from Rochester, NY; Vonne was trying to sell him bad weed. It was clear from the start that the two listen to music differently from most people_they're sonic omnivores, obsessive deep-divers, lovers of rare and radical sounds. Starting as kids trawling the internet for tracks, they've been collecting music from around the world and across the decades, amassing a shared sonic knowledge so deep that "encyclopedic" barely begins to cover it _ not just the East Coast hip-hop that Dre grew up on, or the hyperlocal bass-music variants like jook (the Gulf Coast's twerkably raunchy answer to house) and crank (think "Miami bass meets NOLA bounce"), but also drum `n' bass, Chicago footwork, post-punk, prog (they're, like, seriously into prog), grime, krautrock, emo, and basically any genre on the map. Once they graduated to DJs on the Tampa DIY scene _ which includes everything from punk rock house parties to the black "teen nights" that pop up in rec centers and ballrooms _ they figured out how to pull all these disparate sounds together into a cohesive style. More importantly, they figured out how to make it something people will actually move to. When they made the transition to rapping and making beats, they brought that pleasure-seeking approach to sonic experimentation with them. "With this album, Vonne says, "it's really like, okay, you know how you talk about the internet breaking down borders? Here's what that actually sounds like. It's not just a hip-hop record with a couple more weird sounds. You want homegrown DIY? This is a record that was written, produced, and recorded in a 150-squarefoot bedroom from the least cool city you could think of." Finally, New is what a truly post-genre musical landscape is supposed to be: building deep connections that transcend outdated distinctions between them, spilling over with the joy of exploration and possibility, and daring other artists to think broader, go deeper, take bigger risks. Let the rest of them keep playing by the old rules_They Hate Change will keep changing the game.

On December 2th Svart Records will release the slowly gestated second album by the mystical Finnish progressive rock group Getsemane, who describe themselves as performing music "molded from the jawbones of a pike", in reference to the Kalevala where Väinämöinen built his first kantele The group first got together in 2009 in the Tampere area to perform live music for a fire theatre. After the shows they decided to continue as a band finding ever more polyrythmic and progressive ideas still drawing from the Kalevala mythos and eccentric psychedelic visions. Getsemane self-released their eponymous debut album in 2015, and the follow-up Viimaa is due for release this December. Best known for their dynamic live shows, the group's new album is full of unusual time signatures, meandering melodic lines and ethereal landscapes, not forgetting hard rocking in the best 70s style. Those that are into classic prog rock in the lines of Haikara, Tabula Rasa or King Crimson will feel immediately at home. The first single off the album, Varma kuolema ("Certain death") is a good representative of the entire album. According to the band, the song gives "A gruesomely honest but a cradling, positive vibe of the meaninglessness of life."

For the second chapter in Vala series two Swedish natives have been invited to give their brumal take on the label’s output. On the A-side Härdstedt leaves no much to question with a subtly psychedelic roller “Esrange” whereas Arkajo provides a groovy remix of that particular track with a spice of familiar drum programming trickery. Both staying legitimately true to their own recognizable sound. On the B-side Kaspiann continues from where Vala 1 was left to and provides two wintry sea inspired tracks to leave room for the next chapter in series of unfolding surprises.

In 1997, after a lengthy hiatus, Echo & The Bunnymen returned to the fore with 'Evergreen', revealing the brighter side of the band, and standing up with any of their earlier work.The self-produced album was recorded at The Doghouse in Henley-On-Thames with additional strings, horns and vocal arrangements recorded at Abbey Road.

The album saw the band rightfully return to the UK album charts at #8, with 3 singles ('Nothing Lasts Forever', 'I Want to Be There When You Come' and 'Don't Let It Get You Down') entering the UK top 50. 'Nothing Lasts Forever' (with backing vocals and tambourine by Liam Gallagher) has grown to become one of the band's most enduring and well-loved songs - a UK Top 10 and a fan favourite to this day.

To celebrate its 25 year anniversary, London Records releases 'Evergreen' on vinyl for the very first time, with a limited first pressing in solid white vinyl. There is also a new remastered and expanded 2 CD edition, taking in studio b-sides, live and acoustic sessions and previously unreleased versions across 33 tracks.

Released in 2019. His debut studio album includes the successful "Otra Noche Mås” remix featuring Farruko. Wheeler first became widely known after a video of him singing went viral in 2016, after which he began pursuing a career as a musician. Signing with Dynamic Records in 2018, Platónico was released the following year, executively produced by DJ Nelson. 2 LP/Colored Vinyl: LP 1 - White Marble + LP 2 - Red Marble.

ENG Immerse yourself in the psychedelic and rock universe of Woodstock with this event double vinyl! Find the icons of the counter-culture of the end of the 60"s who marked their generation: Joan Baez, Bob Dylan, The Beatles, Donovan, The Turtles, The Zombies, Status Quo, The Pretty Things, The Foundations, Ravi Shankar

Pollux - Locus

Pollux strikes again with this banger, a solid deep groove as we're used to, the drive in this one is really massive.

Lovely mysterious female vocals and a great solid melodic lead, all this in a wonderfull stunning atmosphere.

This track has got it all, great vibe, lush sound, a strong production.

Pollux & Faber - Pulse

With Pulse, the guys continue on the elan of predecessor Tam Unanimem, a "dark" deep bassline which reminds a bit to the classic "Barbarella" although it's different, but it's nice to have :)

An additional strong deep bass-melody and catchy lead are keeping "this whopper" going !

Leach - Cernunnos

No interduction needed for this guy who already earned his stripes with several releases. We go way back so we're very proud to have him and his newest track "Cernunnos" on Castor, a MASSIVE groove, nice build up & break with a great vocal. "Cernunnos" grabs hold of your attention and doesn’t let go ! Guaranteed Floorfiller !!!

Pollux - Restless

This one's got that typical "Pollux Sound", a pumping deep groove, a

heavenly arpeggiator and bombastic lead in a "Progressive" atmosphere, makes you long to dance ...

Social Joy Records presents Natural Lateral's new album "Tapestry of life", a superb excursion in fusion jazz with a wonderful blend of electronics and subtle elements of spiritual Jazz.

Undeniably on the rise after the success of their first album, "Cogito Ergo Jam", which received support from the British Jazz scene and was featured on Gilles Peterson's BB6 broadcast,the North London Based collective goes a step further this time by carefully crafting a new release of a tapestry of music stemming from rich jam sessions at the Lazy Robot Studio and representing the band's phenomenal musical canvas. Echoing jazz legends like Azymuth, Roy Ayers, Alice Coltrane and Miles Davis by paying tribute to those who paved the way but always searching for new musical territories, this six-track LP is moving, thought-provoking and engaging. It is a musical questing where each band member searches for meaning through sounds and rhythms - giving a new life to Jazz music and dropping the full spectrum of a vibrant tapestry of life into the listener's ears.

The band's work ethic is based on a sense of freedom in the studio filled with live jam sessions where it's all about "catching a moment" and letting the inspiration flow. "We just want to feel a sense of freedom and connection through playing. In the studio, it's the music which connects us all, and we just want to allow that process to unfold".

Favorite Recordings presents a reissue of Lucas Arruda's first album, Sambadi.

Lucas Arruda’s born in 1983, in a Brazilian state called Espírito Santo, near Rio de Janeiro. Coming from a musical family (his dad and older brother are musicians) he started playing and listening to music very young. At the age of 13, he was also playing professionally already.
After studying electric guitar and playing in various bands, Lucas passion quickly turned into Rhodes and keyboards, expanding his musical range of skills. At the same time he started a project called Du Black, with his older brother Thiago, quickly receiving various local support from people like Ed Motta, William Magalhães (Banda Black Rio), Robert Lamm (Chicago) or Hyldon (Brazilian soul legend).
From the growing notoriety obtained, the band began to work with various other artists and singers such as Tamy Macedo, or Bossa Nova’s legend, Leila Pinheiro, leading Lucas to build a recording studio with Thiago in 2011. Now 2 years after he launched this home-studio, here comes “Sambadi”, first solo album by Lucas Arruda!
On this recording he also started to team up with Fabricio di Monaco (Modo Solar), who clearly became a fundamental piece, as Lucas relates: “Fabricio introduced me to Pascal Rioux at Favorite Recordings, as they released his EP few years ago. He’s a brilliant musician and a great human being.”
In Lucas’ words, Sambadi is highly inspired by Rio de Janeiro. As for the musical side, the album almost sounds like a tribute to his longtime heroes like Stevie Wonder, Curtis Mayfield, Marcos Valle, Azymuth, or Robson Jorge & Lincoln Olivetti. And Lucas also humbly concludes: “I really hope to honor all the guys who influenced me.”

Afro-Finnish band Maajo return with their third album, "Water of Life," a fluid celebration of various influences. Supported by two preceding singles, "Better Days" and "Unelmissani," the album is the group's first release with the Brooklyn, NY-based tastemaker label Wonderwheel Recordings. Maajo's signature Afro-Balearic sound meets late eighties new age and fusion, with touches of modern soul. The addition of two band members, Waina and Gilbert K, as well as featuring artists Issiaka Dembele and Ismaila Sané, has rooted the album's stories in a diverse range of backgrounds, featuring vocals in no less than six different languages.

Gilbert K's drum grooves pay tribute to the late Tony Allen's legendary heritage and the percussion experiments on a more melodic and atmospheric tip. Cold synth pads and 303 squeaks blend with warm guitars, fretless bass, and Issiaka Dembele's sublime kora harps and balafon mallets. "Water of Life" shows a band at its maturation point, reaching the cross-cultural coalescence of Finnish-African sound that's ready for the dancefloor or home-listening.

The three vocalists take centre-stage on the album: Waina hails from Zambia and sings in Nyanja, English and Finnish; a renowned musician in Zambia for over two decades who now calls Finland home, Waina wrote a song that reached the finals of the 2020 Afrimusic contest. Gilbert K primarily sings in his native Mauritian Creole while comprising part of the percussion line. He made his way to Finland by way of South Africa and China, eventually winning the Voice of Finland show. Gilbert K has played with such legends as Tony Allen, Andy Summers, Diana King, and Suzanne Vega. Ismaila Sané is from the Casamance region of Southern Senegal and sings in Wolof (a widely-spoken language in West Africa) on "Ndekete," and in Jola (a smaller language in Casamance) on "Èwàn".

Maajo is a sonic, linguistic, and cultural melting pot that has come together in Tampere, Finland, like a tropical breeze from the cold north. Their musical explorations lead from equatorial soundscapes to the woods and moods of their native Scandinavia. African influences, electronic beats and organic rhythms, ethereality and the sounds of nature all make up the patchwork sound of Maajo.

Not only is Maajo's music a way of travelling to faraway places, the songs themselves have travelled all over the globe. Maajo has evolved from a sample-based electronic music project to a full-sized band, including African vocalists and musicians. The group has put out two full-length albums and three EP's on Queen Nanny records, in addition to a release on German label Permanent Vacation. Maajo has received the remix treatment from artists such as Luke Vibert and Call Super, and has toured festivals and clubs internationally. The band has built a dedicated international following having been championed by the likes of Gilles Peterson (Worldwide FM), Tom Ravenscroft (BBC Radio 6), and Tim Sweeney (Beats In Space), while they've been featured by KEXP (Song of the Day), Resident Advisor, Ransom Note, and Pan-African Music.

"Water of Life" is out on Wonderwheel Recordings October 14th, 2022, both digitally and as an exclusive, limited-run 2xLP.




d 04: Better Days (Kumba) feat. Waina & Gilbert K

#PF005 ITRIA VOL.3 is a slow techno-inspired cosmic journey that condenses in a single orbit a great cast of artists coming from different galaxies. It marks an evolution in sound and mood, taking us to a deeper and more visceral dimension.
The first track by Interstellar Funk is a 100% pure electronic mind-trip, a machined groove where thoughts still roam frenetically paves the way for a more intimate experience.
Tamburi Neri’s downtempo track shapes a space-time portal in which to sink; their sound is like a beat echoing from the bottom of the chest and spreading to the tips of the fingers softly.
For the first time, Salamanda co-works with Polifonic framing a Korean unknown soundscape, an ambient loop track through which we break away from this dimension and move towards the exotic.
Hiver restore a connection with reality through their pulsating bass. The heartbeat speeds up, but we still float into a dreamy techno atmosphere.
Claudio PRC & ZIPPO come into play with a powerful combination of techno textures that gets us to resurface and awaken the senses.

2022 Repress

After a few nice but largely unnoticed 12"s for lower-profile labels, Dürerstuben is ready to make a serious maneuver, and Pampa is pleased to provide them with the proper platform. The Sheets of Rane EP is the Berliner duo's most sophisticated statement yet, imbuing cold programmed sounds with a glowing human touch and a penchant for melody. A1 'Gscheids Planet' unfolds with a deceptive intro, click-clackety downtempo stomps and crunchy snares beneath a tender vocoder coo, just when some muted guitar plucks crescendo into a burst of robo-synths. Although three minutes have passed, only now does the song reveal its true nature, a summery tune with rich synths that billow in the wind. Then, as its title indicates, 'Haeckles Kosmos' further explores Dürerstuben's fascination with the unlimits of outer space. This star system in particular has a very tropical flair, punctuated with bouncy parallel fifths straight out of the Italo Orient. In between movements, the duo makes some brief non sequiturs into piano balladry, the kind that force a smile (and a record deal) out of DJ Koze. Finally, venturing even further into jacking territory, 'Freiherr in der Wall' hinges upon syncopated, sometimes faltering beatbox rhythms, a swaggering bassline and fluttering arpeggiation. Coupled with hand-played chords, this is a prime example of how Dürerstuben can tame the beast machine and let irregularities be strengths. If you can get down with Metro Area, Zapp, Tensnake, and yes, even Survivor, then pick this one up.

Clear Vinyl

"Monstas brings out our street and theatrical sides to a fiasco, combining Grime/Dub MC's and tunes to make a Soundtrack-like experience. The release also marks an end of a Trilogy - which allows us to wrap up our sonic architect skills, and to start from scratch, to dive deep in the unknown - audio and visually."
- TRAKA

As a true reference cultural media, Trace completes its musical offer with a first collection of 3 vinyls! Find the cream of Salsa selected by Trace and journalist Osman Jr. With Tito Rodriguez-Setenta-The Alegre All Star....

One of the 'holy grails' of 1960s Cuban music was not recorded, produced or released in Havana or New York; in fact it was made in Lima, Peru under interesting if somewhat unexpected circumstances. Pianist Alfredo "Alfredito" Valdés Jr. (May 31, 1941, Havana - January 23, 2016, New York), one of the most important figures in Latin music, came from an illustrious musical family in Cuba. In 1956, he emigrated to New York with his family, making him one of the forerunners of Cuban-based salsa music in the US. Three years later at age 18 Alfredito joined Arsenio Rodríguez and his conjunto; then in 1961 Ray Barretto recruited him for his Charanga La Moderna. Alfredito kept himself very busy, studying music and literature during the day and playing at night with the bands of Tito Puente and Machito as well as Arsenio and Barretto. He was a quick reader and writer of music and displayed an impressive versatility and level of skill on the piano. It was precisely these qualities, combined with random chance, that saw Alfredito become substitute pianist for Machito and His Afro-Cubans for a tour that would take him to Colombia and Peru for a number of engagements in the winter of 1964 and into the new year. While in Lima, several problems arose with the Argentine businessman and tour promoter Mauricio Támara who took the Machito gang to the Peruvian capital but forfeited their pay and left them stranded and penniless to fend for themselves in December of 1964.