Cerca:terr

Dub Inc, one of the most famous French reggae bands, is back with a new studio album! For ten years, the musicians and singers have been sharing on stage their inimitable sense of melody, sincere lyrics and human ethics. They managed to get fans all over the world (from the US to North Africa, Germany, Portugal etc) and collaborate with the most prestigious international artists (Tiken Jah Fakoly, David Hinds, Tarrus Riley...) With their unique mix of reggae, dancehall, kabylian and world music, the band, led by singers Bouchkour et Komlan, delivers his universal message around the planet, advocating for diversity and spreading their explosive energy!

Repress!

European version of the long overdue LOS CRUDOS Discography collection. LOS CRUDOS, formed in Chicago's Pilsen neighbourhood in the early 90's, are a Latino punk band with a strong socio-political message and an extremely militant DIY attitude. During their first incarnation, spanning the years 1991 to 1998 the band self-released their own records, printed their own merch, booked their own shows and toured relentlessly around the world. From South America to Japan including a 3 month European tour in the winter of 1996. They spoke to the freaks the outsiders and the minorities and were not afraid of confronting the white middle class punk who reigned supreme during the terrible 90's. A time which will not be remembered for their hardcore output except for a few exceptions, in which CRUDOS are surely included. Their sound, far from being a copycat of whatever flavour of the month was reigning at the time was heavy rooted in the golden years of European and Latino American ferocious hardcore punk. With bands as IMPACT, WRETCHED, OLHO SECO, TERVEET KADET or MASACRE 68 as obvious influences in a time when the simple mention of any of those bands (or any non English speaking bands really) was usually met with a laugh or a joke. They sang in Spanish, with aggression and conviction and that made their message spread out widely, reaching thousands of Spanish speaking punks both in Latino America and Spain as well as inside USA where third generation Latino kids surely were missing a voice within the punk scene. The band split up in 1998 after a really intense year of touring and reformed in 2008. The band will be undertaking their first ever Scandinavian tour in July/ Agust 2016. This collection, originally released as a benefit for MRR magazine last year, includes all the LOS CRUDOS output plus compilation tracks as well as a couple demo tracks and an unreleased song. The European version comes in a gatefold sleeve and brings a 40 page booklet with flyers and the lyrics of all songs.

Track list: 1. Tiempos De La Miseria 2. Me Robaron 3. Crudo Soy 4. La Madres Lloran 5. Eliminación 6. Desde Afuera 7. Asesinos 8. Se Ve En Tu Cara 9. Cipayos, Traidores y Vendidos 10. Sin Caras 11. No Estoy Convencido 12. Curiosidad 13. ¿Por Qué? 14. Tú Lo Enseñaste 15. Lucha Para Que Te Escuchen 16. Corrido Jodido 17. Escaleras 18. Llegan Empujando 19. Nada Cambia 20. Achicados 21. En Mi Opinión 22. No Te Debo Nada 23. Levántate 24. La Caída De Latinoamérica 25. Nos Quieren Como Siempre 26. No Me Vengan A Salvar 27. Déjanos En Paz 28. Tierra De Libertad 29. Victorias y Ganancias 30. Unidad Prohibida 31. That's Right We're That Spic Band 32. Poco a Poco 33. Suéltalo 34. Migra Violencia 35. Viejos Patéticos 36. Del Pasado Al Presente 37. Esto No Trae Precio 38. A Los Inseguros 39. Tomando Los Golpes 40. No Existen Palomas Blancas En Mi Barrio 41. No Va A Haber Revolución 42. ¿Quién Es El Pendejo Más Grande? 43. ¿Qué Pasó Con La Paz? 44. Metiendo Sal En La Llaga 45. ¿Vas A Regresar? 46. Hardcoregoismo 47. Naciste Con Voz 48. Ilegal, ¿Y Qué? 50. Identidad Perdida 51. Vendedores De Dolor 52. 500 Anos 53. ¿Ahora Quién Se Queja? 54. Lengua Armada 55. ¿Qué Paso Con La Paz? (Alt. Version) 56. Peleamos 57. Escupiendo En Tu Propia Cara 58. Que Te Conviene 59. Me Lo Paso Por El Culo 60. Cobardes 61. Desde El Barrio 62. Sin Título 63. Somos Peligrosos 64. No Se Acabó 65. Lo Que Queremos 66. ¿Qué Me Importa? 67. Mediocre

Clear Vinyl

Portico Quartet Terrain (Extended) – Live in Studio One: An Abbey Road 90th Session. Gondwana Records and Portico Quartet announce a strictly limited edition collectors-item. Featuring an expanded version of their long-form composition Terrain and re-arranged for the Portico Quartet Ensemble and recorded live in Studio One.

Terrain (Extended) features an expanded version of the composition re-arranged for the Portico Quartet Ensemble – a subtle re-configuration of the band that features a string quartet - and which allowed for the composition's deeper textures and resonances to be fully explored, along the way expanding the dialogue between tranquillity and a subtly unsettling melancholy, that makes Terrain such a beautiful, powerful piece.

9th November 2021 was a very special session. The band (who had first recorded at Abbey Road for their second album Isla back in 2009), brought long-term collaborator, recording and mix engineer, Greg Freeman over from Berlin to work with Abbey Road's Chris Bolster and the resulting concert film Terrain (Extended) - Live in Studio One An Abbey Road 90th Session received it's world premiere broadcast on the Gondwana Youtube channel on Thursday 20th October. Now Gondwana Records is super proud to announce the ultimate collector's edition of this special recording. Limited to just 1500 individually numbered and stamped LPs and 1000 CDs.

Recorded live at Abbey Road Studio One. Mixed in Berlin by the band's longterm collaborator Greg Freeman. Audio mastered by John Davis at Metropolis Studios. Vinyl cut by John Davis at Metropolis Studios

Available only on beautiful transparent clear (disc one) and crystal clear (disc two) vinyl pressed at Optimal in Germany

A joint release by LA's Hippos In Tanks and Montreal's Arbutus Records, the Darkbloom EP is a thrilling split by d'Eon and Grimes. Harnessing the dark energy of her sophomore album Halfaxa, along with the shimmering dream pop of her debut Geidi Primes, Grimes' side represents a synthesis of her two sonic personalities. Displaying a level of clarity and craftsmanship heretofore unseen in her releases, Boucher presents a stunning new collection of ethereal dreamscapes that expand her creative palette without compromising the spectral presence she is known for. Following the Middle-Eastern-tinged R&B of 2010's Palinopsia, d'Eon broadens his stylistic breadth through reference to a number of electronic genres - for example, he simultaneously incorporates elements of Chicago footwork and new jack swing, but surprises the listener with strange forays into bygone genres such as UK drum and bass and trip hop. Presently available worldwide on CD and Digital formats, Darkbloom will be available on vinyl, for the frst time in many territories, on May 20th, 2016.

Pleasure Pool are Finn O’Hare, Andrew Robertson and a rolling cast of Glasgow-based musicians, performers and artists. They sound like nothing else to have come out of Glasgow recently, exploring the territory between live performance and club culture through their collaborative ethos and party-starting attitude. Their debut EP, Night Scars, arrived in early March 2020 and now comes Love Without Illusion, Pleasure Pool’s debut album, released on Optimo Music.

Love Without Illusion adds layers of complexity and introspection to Night Scars’ squarely dance floor-focused brew, though the record still oozes danceable energy. Open Hours is like opening a door and finding a party already in full swing, an assortment of recurring Pleasure Pool motifs – echoing, dubbed-out vocals, gorgeous, impossibly airy synth melodies, louche percussion, cowbells, rising and falling flecks of trumpet – all introduced in short order. Lick The Bag, which prominently features vocalists Chloe Charlton and Raissa Pardini, has a controlled chaos befitting its morning-after-the-night-before name.

The rest of the album rides this glimmering, night-magic mood at varying frequencies, with the title track a gentle storm of grandiose walls of synth and pulsing vocal fragments. The slow and low flickering funk of album closer Zero Hours pulls all that has come before it together to end things in the woozy bliss of a walk back home in warm, gentle sunlight.

Love Without Illusion is a dazzlingly complete expression of Pleasure Pool’s intoxicating sound and vision. Dive on in and explore.

Limited Turkey Gravy Brown Vinyl is for Indies only. FOR FANS OF The Meters, Booker T. & The M.G.s, New Mastersounds, Soulive, Jimmy Smith, Khruangbin. First Re-issue pressed at Gotta Groove Records! Pressed on exclusive 'Turkey Gravy Brown' vinyl. Produced and recorded by Colemine label owner, Terry Cole. The LP that started it all, and the first ever re-issue pressed at Gotta Groove! Bread & Butter, the first full length LP on Colemine Records and the debut of The Jive Turkeys, is nothing but funky, soulful instrumental goodness from start to finish. Bread & Butter clearly established The Jive Turkeys as the initial benchmark for the old-school funk revival in the Midwest. Fans of The Meters, Booker T. & The M.G. s, and the funk revival sound will surely dig what The Jive Turkeys are puttin down! Also Available From The Jive Turkeys: The Jive Turkeys 7”, Funky Turkey / Funky Brewster 7", BA / Chickenfoot 7" // Tracks: 1. The Funky Turkey 2. The JT Strut 3. Soul-Hi 4. Chickenfoot 5. Straight Fire 6. Bill Collector 7. Stamp 8. Funky Brewster 9. Talkin' That Talk 10. Grimmin' 11. B.A. 12. Otis Lament

Emotional Response presents Elektronik Body Girl, a musical alter-ego of artist Shelbatra Jashari, with production by soFa elsewhere. Spontaneously born out of 2 souls in an imaginary industrial wasteland of earthly survivors, this Belgo-Albanian postpunk extravaganza is perfectly suited for our unreal times.

Infused with raw attitude and improvisational approach, Shelbatra is an artist, dancer, performer, and singer in search of challenges and expressive forms into new territory, with an individual way in dealing with the ""empowering feminine" and its representation - a vision central to her artistic creation.

Teaming up with Brussels based soFa DJ, they debut an EP of challenging story-telling comes backed with a wonderfully conjured beatdown remix by label associate, Tolouse Low Trax, to act as a seal of (dis)approval.

First known as a DJ and selector and then compilation curator of the "elsewhere" series of albums across multiple labels - including Emotional Response (ERS042) - soFa recent collaborations as Mameen 3 on Bongo Joe, CCCVVV on Strangelove Music and the highly praised album with Houschyar and Okay Temiz on Second Circle, has established him as a producer of repute in an incredibly short time space.

Taking a production backseat to underpin Jashari's performance, his percussive, atmospheric oeuvre allows her vocals to explore roots in both Kosova and Belgium, molding a focus on the art of "the other" or the outsider. Outside the "normality"", a different energy is heard. Exploring elements of the human body, the human condition and its representation in various "thinking" systems and political contexts, EBG is manifestation in sound and movement.

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".

Death Is Not The End launch sub-label 333 with a first-time vinyl reissue for the late Devon Russell's Darker Than Blue LP - put together as a tribute to the great Curtis Mayfield. First issued in 1993 but featuring material originally recorded as far back as 1979, the collection includes a cast of prominent players across it's 10 tracks - featuring musical contributions from Sly Dunbar, Aston "Family Man" Barrett, Earl "Wire" Lindo, Dean Fraser, Bobby Ellis, Leroy "Horsemouth" Wallace, Prince Lincoln Thompson and many others - plus production & arrangment from Earl "Chinna" Smith, Sly Dunbar & King Tubby's Firehouse Crew alongside Russell himself. Limited to 333 copies.

"The concept for Darker Than Blue dates back to 1979. Returning from South Amerrica with my partner (in duo Lloyd & Devon) Lloyd Robinson, we did "Red Bum Ball" which had been a massive hit in the 60's. It was around this time that Earl Chinna Smith (of The Wailers and Soul Syndicate fame) approached me with the idea of re-making some Curtis Mayfield songs. "Darker Than Blue" was the first track we did, followed by "Move On Up" in 1981, both of which received great reviews.

On returning to Jamaica from a UK tour in 1986, my good friend King Tubby had taken on five men from my school of music, from which the Firehouse Crew were born. Within 3 years they had matured to become Jamaica's No.1 instrumental band, winning the Rockers award. Then in the spring of 1990, together we managed to record the album "Money, Sex & Violence", during a tour of the UK & France, on which we did Mayfield's "Give Me Your Love". The track was played to Steve Barrow who suggested we do more Curtis tracks.

Sly Dunbar and I have known each other for as long as I can remember. We grew up in the same hood and used to jam regularly in our youth. I told Sly about the further Mayfield tracks I wanted to do and he agreed that it would be a good idea. So Sly, myself and The Firehouse Crew went to work at the Leggo Studios in Kingston, Jamaica and created the remaining tracks for the Darker Than Blue LP, a tribute to Curtis Mayfield.

We grew up on the sounds of Curtis Mayfield and The Impressions. Everyone in Jamaica loved them. His death was a terrible thing, but while there is life, there is hope."
- Devon Russell, 1994.

333, under license from Prestige Elite Records Ltd.

Purple Vinyl Limited

Nach dem großartigen Erfolg ihres Best Of-Albums „Magic Diamonds“, das auf ihrem eigenen Label „Rare Diamonds Productions“ veröffentlicht wurde und auf Anhieb Platz 8 der Deutschen Charts erreichte, kündigt Metal-Queen DORO Pesch nun eine Neuauflage ihres 1998er Werks „Love Me In Black“.

Das Album erscheint als Doppel-LP in violetter Farbeund birgt – neben den 14 ursprünglich enthaltenen Songs – zudem mit „Terrorvision (Desert Storm Remix) und der Elec-Trick Radio Version des Titelsongs „Love Me In Black“ zwei Bonus Tracks.

"Brilliantly remastered picture LP / LP / CD with new stunning artwork!

A1 taken from VA – 110 Below – No Sleeve Notes Required (110 Below, 1995)
A2 taken from VA – Assemblage Volume Two (Extreme, 1996)
A3 taken from Nonplace Urban Field – Golden Star (Incoming!, 1996)
B1 taken from VA – Le Sacre Du Printemps (Gonzo Circus, 1994)
B2 taken from VA – X-X Section (Extreme, 1991)
B3 taken from VA – Directions 2 (Direction Music, 1989)

An Other Voices Records / Kontakt Audio Co-operation Release

Compiled by Terry Bennett and Oleg Galay
Re-mastered by Višeslav Laboš
Artwork by Oleg Galay"

"Brilliantly remastered picture LP / LP / CD with new stunning artwork!

A1 taken from VA – 110 Below – No Sleeve Notes Required (110 Below, 1995)
A2 taken from VA – Assemblage Volume Two (Extreme, 1996)
A3 taken from Nonplace Urban Field – Golden Star (Incoming!, 1996)
B1 taken from VA – Le Sacre Du Printemps (Gonzo Circus, 1994)
B2 taken from VA – X-X Section (Extreme, 1991)
B3 taken from VA – Directions 2 (Direction Music, 1989)

An Other Voices Records / Kontakt Audio Co-operation Release

Compiled by Terry Bennett and Oleg Galay
Re-mastered by Višeslav Laboš
Artwork by Oleg Galay"

Chicago-born composer, producer and arranger Charles Stepney is known to some for his work with Earth, Wind & Fire, Deniece Williams, and Ramsey Lewis, or for his work with Chess Records in the 1960s, where he was an essential creative force behind seminal recordings by Rotary Connection, Minnie Riperton, Marlena Shaw, Muddy Waters, Howlin Wolf, Terry Callier, The Dells, The Emotions, and many many more. In the decades since his untimely death in 1976, the presence of his name in liner notes and on vinyl labels has become a seal of quality for record collectors, music historians, and aficionados, while his sound has been used by countless samplers in the hip-hop world including Kanye West, A Tribe Called Quest, The Fugees, MF Doom, and Madlib. But in comparison to the post-mortem renown of his sound, or the music he created and the artists he supported while he was alive, Stepney is a greatly under-appreciated figure... a genius relegated to the shadows.

Voller Zorn und brennendem Hass, doch gleichzeitig auch erfüllt vom prallen Leben und mit Momenten erstaunlicher Schönheit - IMHA TARIKATs drittes Album "Hearts Unchained - At War with a Passionless World" deutet seine internen Widersprüche und Konflikte bereits im Titel an. Das Album ist um einen Kern aus typisch deutschem Black Metal entstanden, der ebenso präzise wie trocken und humorlos auf jeglichen Bombast und die oft folkloristischen Untertöne seines nordischen Gegenstücks verzichtet. Dabei stößt IMHA TARIKATs lyrischer und musikalischer Vordenker Kerem Yilmaz alias Ruhsuz Cellât erneut mit seinen einzigartigen Kompositionen auch in tiefere Schichten und unerforschte Dimensionen vor. Während er seinem körperlich schwer fordernden Gesangsstil noch mehr brutal die Kehle zerfetzende Ansätze hinzufügt, bilden ein furioses Drumming sowie das unerbittliche Peitschen von frostig klirrenden Gitarrensaiten das mal eiskalte und dann wieder glühend heiße Fundament von IMHA TARIKAT. Doch während sich Yilmaz' Songs durch die schwarze Leere des Alls winden und drehen, tauchen aus dem Nichts überraschend strahlende Momente und Soli auf, die ihre Ursprünge eher im Heavy Metal, hartem und okkultem Rock und sogar einer Messerspitze Punk haben. Textlich funktionieren IMHA TARIKAT weiterhin als eine Art von verschlüsseltem Tagebuch, in dem Yilmaz seine persönlichen Erfahrungen, sein menschliches Wachstum und seine Faszinationen festhält: "Ich habe mich buchstäblich in den Wahnsinn getrieben, um eine absolut authentische Erfahrung zu erschaffen", beschreibt der Sänger und Gitarrist den Aufnahmeprozess von "Hearts Unchained". Von daher liegt es nahe, dass "Hearts Unchained - At War with a Passionless World" von inneren Konflikten, seelischem Leid, eskalierenden Emotionen, aber auch von Katharsis und Erlösung handelt. Der brutale schwarze Sound von IMHA TARIKAT war von Anfang an auch als eine Art von emotionalem Druckventil für den Bandgründer Kerem Yilmaz konzipiert. Seine brennende musikalische Leidenschaft zeigt sich ebenso in der rasanten Entwicklung, die Yilmaz' Songwriting mit jeder neuen Veröffentlichung offenbart und das in mehrere Richtungen gleichzeitig expandiert. Während bereits die erste EP "Kenoboros" 2017 einen hervorragenden Eindruck hinterließ, eroberte die Band auf dem folgenden Demo "Son Mistisizm" (2018) hörbar neues Terrain. Mit dem 2019er Debütalbum "Kara Ihlas" und ihrer folgenden Black Metal Supernova "Sternenberster" (2020) erreichten IMHA TARIKAT dann neue Höhepunkte. Es passt ins Bild, dass es den Deutschen mit "Hearts Unchained - At War with a Passionless World" gelingt, einen weiteren Gipfel zu erklimmen. IMHA TARIKAT sind drauf und dran, die Welt in schwarze Flammen zu setzen und "Hearts Unchained - At War with a Passionless World" ist der Funke, der alles entzündet. Bevor alle Gefühle zu Asche und Schlacke zerfallen, lasst sie lieber brennen!

Voller Zorn und brennendem Hass, doch gleichzeitig auch erfüllt vom prallen Leben und mit Momenten erstaunlicher Schönheit - IMHA TARIKATs drittes Album "Hearts Unchained - At War with a Passionless World" deutet seine internen Widersprüche und Konflikte bereits im Titel an. Das Album ist um einen Kern aus typisch deutschem Black Metal entstanden, der ebenso präzise wie trocken und humorlos auf jeglichen Bombast und die oft folkloristischen Untertöne seines nordischen Gegenstücks verzichtet. Dabei stößt IMHA TARIKATs lyrischer und musikalischer Vordenker Kerem Yilmaz alias Ruhsuz Cellât erneut mit seinen einzigartigen Kompositionen auch in tiefere Schichten und unerforschte Dimensionen vor. Während er seinem körperlich schwer fordernden Gesangsstil noch mehr brutal die Kehle zerfetzende Ansätze hinzufügt, bilden ein furioses Drumming sowie das unerbittliche Peitschen von frostig klirrenden Gitarrensaiten das mal eiskalte und dann wieder glühend heiße Fundament von IMHA TARIKAT. Doch während sich Yilmaz' Songs durch die schwarze Leere des Alls winden und drehen, tauchen aus dem Nichts überraschend strahlende Momente und Soli auf, die ihre Ursprünge eher im Heavy Metal, hartem und okkultem Rock und sogar einer Messerspitze Punk haben. Textlich funktionieren IMHA TARIKAT weiterhin als eine Art von verschlüsseltem Tagebuch, in dem Yilmaz seine persönlichen Erfahrungen, sein menschliches Wachstum und seine Faszinationen festhält: "Ich habe mich buchstäblich in den Wahnsinn getrieben, um eine absolut authentische Erfahrung zu erschaffen", beschreibt der Sänger und Gitarrist den Aufnahmeprozess von "Hearts Unchained". Von daher liegt es nahe, dass "Hearts Unchained - At War with a Passionless World" von inneren Konflikten, seelischem Leid, eskalierenden Emotionen, aber auch von Katharsis und Erlösung handelt. Der brutale schwarze Sound von IMHA TARIKAT war von Anfang an auch als eine Art von emotionalem Druckventil für den Bandgründer Kerem Yilmaz konzipiert. Seine brennende musikalische Leidenschaft zeigt sich ebenso in der rasanten Entwicklung, die Yilmaz' Songwriting mit jeder neuen Veröffentlichung offenbart und das in mehrere Richtungen gleichzeitig expandiert. Während bereits die erste EP "Kenoboros" 2017 einen hervorragenden Eindruck hinterließ, eroberte die Band auf dem folgenden Demo "Son Mistisizm" (2018) hörbar neues Terrain. Mit dem 2019er Debütalbum "Kara Ihlas" und ihrer folgenden Black Metal Supernova "Sternenberster" (2020) erreichten IMHA TARIKAT dann neue Höhepunkte. Es passt ins Bild, dass es den Deutschen mit "Hearts Unchained - At War with a Passionless World" gelingt, einen weiteren Gipfel zu erklimmen. IMHA TARIKAT sind drauf und dran, die Welt in schwarze Flammen zu setzen und "Hearts Unchained - At War with a Passionless World" ist der Funke, der alles entzündet. Bevor alle Gefühle zu Asche und Schlacke zerfallen, lasst sie lieber brennen!

Mondo, in partnership with WaterTower Music, is proud to present Michael Giacchino's absolutely brilliant score to Matt Reeves’ highly anticipated THE BATMAN. Featuring the music of Academy, Emmy and Grammy Award-winning composer Michael Giacchino, whose credits feature some of the most popular and acclaimed film projects in recent history, including THE INCREDIBLES, COCO, JOJO RABBIT, RATATOUILLE, STAR TREK, JURASSIC WORLD, ROGUE ONE: A STAR WARS STORY, SPIDER-MAN: HOMECOMING, and WAR FOR THE PLANET OF THE APES. This is the fifth film Reeves and Giacchino have collaborated on.

Giacchino proves himself, once more, as one of the greatest living composers, by introducing a powerful and instantly canonized new theme to one of the most musically iconic superheroes. When director Matt Reeves heard the theme for the first time, he was with film producer Dylan Clark. “I was blown away!” He exclaimed. “It was so emotional. The two of us literally cried…it was amazing.”

Though it's not only the world's greatest detective who emerges with a new theme - Selina Kyle / Catwoman's new string heavy theme is slinky and haunted like that of a classic noir's femme fatale. And Giacchino's take on The Riddler is far more haunted, accompanied by the Tiffin Boys choir, a truly terrifying and dread-inducing motif for one of the scariest takes on a Gotham villain, to date.

With nearly two hours of score, housed on three discs, featuring all new artwork by Henry Abrams.

Composed by Michael Giacchino
Artwork by Henry Abrams
Manufactured in Czech Republic

»Follower« is Abrahams’ 6th album for Room 40 and showcases his continuing interest in the ambiguous spaces between music and noise; tonality and atonality; rhythm and texture. All four tracks have piano as a key factor: in one instance, high-pitched and atonal; in another, emotive yet distant as if projected on to a screen. Follower presents the listener with a sound world of colourful juxtapositions, rich orchestration and organically open forms.

On the opening track, bass piano meanders through a wilderness of de-tuned bells and organ swells; a strange sort of festival. Low frequency sighs evenly punctuate, like a pump or a heartbeat. It’s a procession that takes it time as it wanders the terrain, brought to a close with transcendent distortion. On track 2, muscular modal piano surfs among waves of percussion and analogue synthesisers. A buffeting travel.

Originally released in 2014, “Instruction Booklet N. 1232” marks the first cassette release on Dauw for Tatersall under his The Humble Bee moniker. Taking advantage of the format, each side on “Instruction Booklet N. 1232” is reserved for a single piece nearing the 20-minute mark.

“Exploding View” (aka Side A) swells into existence with a very grand sounding synth-driven melody. Of course the other thing that’s present is the decaying sound of the tape loop that’s working to bring that music to life. At first, the melody grows and grows, fairly undisturbed, but eventually the sound of so-much tape warble threatens the rising nature of the piece until it sounds as though it is one loop away from total decay and simply fluttering out of existence.

But of course that’s the point. There’s a tension between that grand melody that opens these moments and that warble. It’s a lesson in opposites: the mechanics of a tape loop, guaranteed to break down, placed in contrast with those signature Tatersall melodies, which somehow seem eternal. And just as that tension seems too much to bear — the melody dies to be replaced by something altogether new. What comes next is something much quieter, driven by a sub-aquatic bassline, some rhythmic tape hiss and some gentle piano.

It’s a very dramatic and sudden break. The technical elements of that could be attributed to Tattersall’s understanding of how far a melody can be pushed before it succumbs to the abuse of being processed out of existence — perhaps the tape had been looped and processed to its breaking point. Regardless of whether it was a technical or artistic choice, that hard break serves an important narrative function. Frequently in instrumental music, musicians play with opposites (quiet-loud, clean-distorted) to create a narrative to their work since they don’t have words/lyrics as a tool. In the case of The Humble Bee’s use of tape loops, one set of opposites in tension is always driven by the fragility of the melodies and the limitations of a machine guaranteed to inevitably decay the media it is designed to support. And where one thrives, the other takes a backseat. As side A winds down, the melodies are much more sparse — appropriate for en ending, yes; but it also gives more space for those hisses and crackles to claim their moment.

Side B is filled out by “Manual with Foot Pedal” and it begins as gently as its predecessor ended. Slowly eking outing it existence – it’s as if watching Tatersall set the board, showing his players on opposite sides of the table before really setting them in motion to do their thing. By the piece’s midpoint, melody has taken centre stage as a glitchy, piano-led rhythm marches its way forward, clearly carving out its space and claiming its territory. And almost immediately following that: the decay takes over again and those tape loops seem processed to near death — the melody almost barely decipherable as it flutters under the weight of the history of being looped/played ad nauseum. And in the very final moments, the melodies are sparse again, giving the tape hiss room to play its part — it’s as if Tatersall is giving both players enough space to take their final bows.