Search:the b 52 s

Zaoui is the former leader of Therapie Taxi (over 500,000 albums sold, over 900M streams...). Today he unveils his first solo album, on which he worked for three years, after a first EP released in June 2022. The album features feelgood tracks, sunny pop and raw songs. He can sing deliciously provocative lyrics as well as words of abysmal depth. Zaoui is a human, and like all humans, he is multiple. He is Doctor Jekyll and Mister Hyde, lightness and turmoil: at once a brat and a caring father. This is a modern album by a man who has torn off all his masks. And taken a lot of risks. A furiously lively record.

The Strangers brings together Hervé Salters AKA General Elektriks and two exceptional rappers: Frenchman Leeroy (ex-Saïan Supa Crew) and American Lateef The Truthspeaker (Blackalicious) in a new project. Evolving in the year 2222, "The Strangers" is a testament from the future in the form of hip hop with a strong funk undertone, a timeless and playful sound where the languages of Shakespeare and Molière combine and clash to describe a world of tomorrow in 2023 that no one has yet heard of: requiring the earthlings of the future to travel from an early age, society abolishes the fear of the unknown. Lateef, Leeroy and General Elektriks have therefore chosen to set their narrative in the future to better speak of today"s world. The environment, individual freedom, police violence and communitarianism are all subjects that permeate the record. But the 3 Strangers inject a healthy dose of humour and energy into their music. This album is a sonic road movie of anticipation, zig-zagging between athletic and poetic flows soulful choruses, and darker downtempos. The sound developed is fluorescent and infectious, speaking to the hips as much as the head.

Trumpeter, bandleader and composer Matthew Halsall announces landmark new album An Ever Changing View, an expansive, immaculately conceived project which presents Halsall’s signature blend of jazz, electronica, global and spiritual jazz influences.

An Ever Changing View will be released on September 8th on Gondwana Records (the label Halsall founded 15 years ago) ahead of a landmark show at The Royal Albert Hall in London on September 21st and UK and EU tour dates.

Halsall who has been hailed as one of the leading figures of the UK jazz renaissance has never seen himself as part of any one sound or scene: he builds his own sonic universe instead. An Ever Changing View finds him at his most experimental yet, once again expanding his sound and production techniques to create his unique brand of deeply meditative music.

During the album's creation, he was staying in both a beautiful architect’s house with breath-taking sea views and a striking modernist house, where he composed what he saw “like a landscape painting”. In these new environments, Halsall wanted to capture “the feeling of openness and escapism” and to approach making music again from scratch. “I hit the reset button and wanted to have complete musical freedom,” he says. “It was a real exploration of sound.”

It was hearing jazz on the dancefloor as a teenager that first opened up new possibilities in Halsall’s mind and his music has long drawn on his love for the spiritual jazz of Alice Coltrane and Pharoah Sanders and contemporary electronica from the likes of Warp Records and Ninja Tune. An Ever Changing View melds those forms in a way that feels heady and, at times, even otherworldly. One of the album’s starting points was Halsall’s ever-expanding box of percussion, from congas and kalimba to various clusters of seeds, bells and chimes, which he sampled and looped to use as a foundation for the songs – a first for him and his band. Elevating, charming, totally modern jazz tracks jostle with deft warm magic realism; and laid back grooves with hand percussion, deep bass and the gorgeous glisten of the Fender Rhodes meet hip-hop beats. Halsall himself sparkles, illuminating his beautiful tapestries of sound with lithe, glistening elegiac trumpet.

Trumpeter, bandleader and composer Matthew Halsall announces landmark new album An Ever Changing View, an expansive, immaculately conceived project which presents Halsall’s signature blend of jazz, electronica, global and spiritual jazz influences.



An Ever Changing View will be released on September 8th on Gondwana Records (the label Halsall founded 15 years ago) ahead of a landmark show at The Royal Albert Hall in London on September 21st and UK and EU tour dates.



Halsall who has been hailed as one of the leading figures of the UK jazz renaissance has never seen himself as part of any one sound or scene: he builds his own sonic universe instead. An Ever Changing View finds him at his most experimental yet, once again expanding his sound and production techniques to create his unique brand of deeply meditative music.



During the album's creation, he was staying in both a beautiful architect’s house with breath-taking sea views and a striking modernist house, where he composed what he saw “like a landscape painting”. In these new environments, Halsall wanted to capture “the feeling of openness and escapism” and to approach making music again from scratch. “I hit the reset button and wanted to have complete musical freedom,” he says. “It was a real exploration of sound.”



It was hearing jazz on the dancefloor as a teenager that first opened up new possibilities in Halsall’s mind and his music has long drawn on his love for the spiritual jazz of Alice Coltrane and Pharoah Sanders and contemporary electronica from the likes of Warp Records and Ninja Tune. An Ever Changing View melds those forms in a way that feels heady and, at times, even otherworldly. One of the album’s starting points was Halsall’s ever-expanding box of percussion, from congas and kalimba to various clusters of seeds, bells and chimes, which he sampled and looped to use as a foundation for the songs – a first for him and his band. Elevating, charming, totally modern jazz tracks jostle with deft warm magic realism; and laid back grooves with hand percussion, deep bass and the gorgeous glisten of the Fender Rhodes meet hip-hop beats. Halsall himself sparkles, illuminating his beautiful tapestries of sound with lithe, glistening elegiac trumpet.

All the essential tracks of Funk, sung by the greatest legends of the genre, gathered in a double vinyl, with :

Johnny "Guitar" Watson - Imagination - Grandmaster Flash - James Brown - Loleatta Holloway - The Whispers - First Choice - Barry White - The Sugarhill Gang - Syl Johnson...

Norwegian drummer/composer Gard Nilssen debuts on We Jazz Records with his major new album "Family" with the 17-piece Supersonic Orchestra. A veritable who"s who of Scandinavian jazz (and beyond), the Supersonic Orchestra is one of the most exciting large groups in the current international jazz circuit. Captured at Mondriaan Jazz Festival in Den Haag, Netherlands, "Family" presents the ensemble in top form across the 8 tracks, all of which are original compositions by Gard Nilssen and André Roligheten.

The latest full-length from Larkin Poe, Blood Harmony is a whole-hearted invitation into a world they know intimately, a Southern landscape so precisely conjured you can feel the sticky humidity of the warm summer air. In bringing their homeland to such rich and dazzling life, Georgia-bred multi-instrumentalist sisters Rebecca and Megan Lovell fortify their storytelling with a rock and blues-heavy sound that hits right in the heart, at turns stormy and sorrowful and wildly exhilarating.

Celebrate the 5th anniversary of Leon Bridges Grammy-winning album Good Thing. The limited-edition title features a custard color variant, the original track list, and a bonus track “Naomi” originally released on the 2018 Japan Edition. 

10 new songs with Tiger Lou. You will instantly hear that it"s Tiger Lou on Rasmus Kellerman vocals, the driven drums of Pontus Levahn and the charismatic typical Tiger Lou electric guitars. Tiger Lou fans, you get what you want!

An evolved, ecosystemic love expression of Carlos Niño"s self-described "Spiritual, Improvisational, Space, Collage" expression - (I"m just) Chillin", on Fire is the prolific percussionist/producer"s most singular, intentional work ever, featuring a vibrant and abundant gathering of his "friends" (i.e. the highly skilled and accomplished musicians and improvisers that make up Niño"s extensive network of collaborators)

10 new songs with Tiger Lou. You will instantly hear that it"s Tiger Lou on Rasmus Kellerman vocals, the driven drums of Pontus Levahn and the charismatic typical Tiger Lou electric guitars. Tiger Lou fans, you get what you want!

This record"s origin story is as elusive as Pharoah was about everything Pharoah. It was born out of a misunderstanding between him and the India Navigation producer Bob Cummins, and was recorded at a crossroads in his career with a group of musicians so unlikely that they were never all in the same room again. There was a guitarist who was also a spiritual guru, an organist who would go on to co-write and produce "The Message", and a classically trained pianist - his wife at the time, Bedria Sanders - who played the harmonium despite never having seen one. At times ambient and serene, at others funky and modal, PHAROAH radically departed from his earlier work. It would become one of the artist"s most beloved records and one of the great works of the 20th century. With Pharoah Sanders" blessing, the limited edition embossed version of this 2 LP box set presents the definitive, remastered version of PHAROAH, his seminal record from 1977, along with two previously unreleased live performances of his masterpiece "Harvest Time". This is the first official rerelease of PHAROAH, which has been bootlegged often since its original release in 1977. These exceptional live versions of "Harvest Time" - which Pharoah performed during an intense European tour in the summer of "77 and which are included here for the first time - turn the original, beloved composition on its head. PHAROAH will be released a year after the legendary tenor saxophonists" untimely passing, and two years after the release of what was to become his final album, the widely acclaimed PROMISES, a collaboration between the composer Floating Points and Pharoah Sanders, featuring the London Symphony Orchestra. The first pressing of this limited edition box set comes with an embossed cover and is accompanied by never-before-shared photographs and ephemera, as well as a 24-page booklet featuring rarely seen photographs, interviews with many of the participants, and a conversation with Pharoah himself.

Rediscover all the pearls of electronic music selected by Radio FG with our emblematic double vinyl collection : Electronic Music Collection !

FOR THIS SUMMER, THE LAST VOLUMES ARE
REISSUED ACCOMPANIED BY A NEW FRENCH TOUCH SPECIAL OPUS! The new volume dedicated to French Touch

features :
JUSTICE - WORAKLS - FAKEAR - GUTS Feat. LERON THOMAS - MYD - MOME - OXIA - DEMON & ALEX GOPHER - KID LOCO - BOB SINCLAR - SUPERFUNK - DJ MEHDI - LAURENT GARNIER

Recorded in 1995 and 1996, mostly in John Fahey"s room at a Salem, Oregon boardinghouse, the performances on Proofs and Refutations prefigure the ornery turn of the page that marked Fahey"s final years, drawing another enigmatic rabbit from his seemingly bottomless musical hat. Cloaked in the language of dogma - what is he proving? refuting? - this is Fahey dancing a jig in the Duchampian gap, jester cap bells a-jingling. True believers? He"s got something for you: an uncompromising vision that you can sneer at ("guy can"t play anymore and refuses to concede!") or embrace as evidence of his genius ("the reinventor does it again!"). Skeptics? He"s there with you, too: sending up the fallacy of certitudes altogether. Institutions, systems, accepted wisdoms. Heroes. Alternative facts, indeed. Right out of the gate, Fahey re-materializes before us, somewhere between Oracle of Delphi and Clown Prince at Olympus. Mounting a thundering dialectic from on high, "All the Rains" resembles nothing else in his extensive discography - betraying roots in everything from Dada to Episcopal liturgical chant - and contains nary a plucked guitar note. You can"t fool him! When the lap steel of yore appears on "F for Fake," it serves more as soundbed for an extended sequence of vocal improvisations, running the gamut from wordless Bashoian caterwauling to free-form (but decidedly fake) Tuvan, even revealing a burnished falsetto in the process. Fahey takes on a different kind of provocation in the two acoustic guitar-based tracks closing Side 1 - "Morning" parts 1 and 2 - the first of 4 recordings in this session that have him wrestling with the ghost of Skip James, perhaps Fahey"s effort to wrench the "bitter, hateful old creep" (his words) back into the grave. Anchoring Side 2 is the two-part "Evening, Not Night," the second half of his extended cathexis on James (and the latter"s avowed castration complex - another story for another day, perhaps). Bit of a chill in the air - where"s the impish Fahey from earlier? Unmistakably working through some psychic wounds here, we might think: the unheimlich rendered in glistening viscera. Or is he playing with our notions of authenticity, of his reputation as troubadour of raw emotional states, a pilgrim of the ominous, the simmering unconscious? These cards are kept decidedly close to the vest. The opening and closing pieces again feature Fahey"s guitar as drone soundbed - employing distortion, oscillation, and an altogether absurd quotient of reverb to create texture and harmonics that are - if we wanna go there - not dissimilar to the sustained tonic clusters of Tibetan singing bowls, the hurdy gurdy, Hindustani classical music, or La Monte freaking Young. Portions of this material appeared on obscure late "90s vinyl in the 7" or double-78 rpm format, but as a "session" it has lain dormant more than a quarter century now. Taken together, we can now see these tracks as secret blueprints to latter-day Fahey provocations, several years prior to records like 1997"s City of Refuge and Womblife.

Today, Anjimile Chithambo, better known as Anjimile, announces his new album, The King, out September 8th, his first full-length since 2020’s breakthrough Giver Taker. To herald the announcement, he shares lead single, ‘The King’, accompanied by a visualiser by Daniela Yohannes, whose striking painting takes centre stage on the album cover.

Highlighting the artistic shift from Giver Taker to now, ‘The King’ opens with a lofty, melodic choir, an intro that belies the song’s motives. Suddenly, sinister arpeggios interrupt the reverie, and the voices grow darkly serious. Deeply steeped in the confusion, grief, and rage of being Black in America, ‘The King’ pushes back against the tired adage, “what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger,” hissing, “What don ’t kill you almost killed you// What don’t fill you//pains you// drains you.”

“If Giver Taker was an album of prayers, The King is an album of curses.” In his second album, Anjimile continues exploring what it means to be a Black trans person in America. The brutally honest reflection of 2020’s deadly summer is less reminiscent of the pink cloud of early sobriety and more rooted in the reality of seeing brutality with clear eyes. Drawing from influences ranging from religion, Phillip Glass, and lived experiences, the album is a grand step forward for Anjimile. Nearly every sound you hear on The King comes from two instruments: an acoustic guitar and Anjimile’s own voice. Other than a few beautiful contributions from Justine
Bowe, Brad Allen Williams, Sam Gendel, and James Krivchenia (Big Thief), the album is the result of a year in LA working intimately with Grammy and Juno winner Shawn Everett.

Clear Vinyl

Repressed! Get On Down proudly present Mecca And The Soul Brother, the critically acclaimed 1992 full-length debut from Pete Rock & CL Smooth. The album is considered as one of the greatest Hip Hop albums of all time. Boasting tracks such as the first single, “They Reminisce Over You (T.R.O.Y.)”, a dedication to their deceased friend; “Trouble T-Roy”, which went on to become not only their signature hit, but also one of Hip Hop’s all-time great songs. The album is propelled forward by Rock’s quick, soulful interludes; usually bits of old R&B tunes layered with his signature trumpet and sax loops. Smooth’s liquid freestyle delivery pieces together the perfect vocal match that, together, creates a sprawling, nearly 80-minute-long album on which not a single song or interlude is a throwaway or a superfluous piece.
Mecca And The Soul Brother has stood the test of time. The release has been named one of the essential recordings of the 90s by Rolling Stone, appears on Ego Trips listing of the Top 25 Hip Hop albums released from 1980-1998, and appeared on The Source’s 100 Greatest Rap Albums of all time.

ANTI- Records is honored to share a never-before-heard album by Mark Linkous of Sparklehorse titled Bird Machine. Originally recorded in 2010 and mixed by Mark Hamilton (who also worked on It"s A Wonderful Life), Mark"s brother Matt notes "great care has been taken to archive and preserve Mark"s music.

We are very thankful for Mark and the beauty he brought to this world." Sparklehorse was an American indie rock band formed by singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Mark Linkous in the mid-1990s.

Born on September 9, 1962, in Arlington, Virginia, Linkous began playing music as a teenager. Described as an artist who "compelled listeners to heed the beauty of darkness" by Pitchfork, Sparklehorse released many influential records, including the renowned albumsn Vivadixiesubmarinetransmissionplot and Good Morning Spider in the "90s, It"s A Wonderful Life and Dreamt for Light Years in the Belly of a Mountain in the early aughts, and a collaborative album Dark Night of the Soul released in 2010.

Throughout his career Mark collaborated with thought provoking artists like Vic Chesnutt, Daniel Johnston, Tom Waits, Danger Mouse, and David Lynch.

While Mark recorded in various studios, collaborating with other musicians and producers, he did much of his work in his home studio, Static King, often playing and recording everything on his own. He was "very much kind of a working-class guy with a very poetic sensibility, who was drawn to artists like himself, who worked in isolation," said NPR Fresh Air"s Ken Tucker.

"A marvellous piece of lazy rock"n"roll that does for the current American new wave what Teenage Fanclub"s "A Catholic Education" did for British guitar music... Almost unintentionally they"ve forged one of the most refreshing American noises for ages," - NME "Perhaps because one half of Pavement lives in New York City and the other in a sleepy, rural, central California town called Stockton, the spirit of the band"s music is split right down the middle. Simultaneously sophisticated and unpretentious, heartfelt and totally goofy - but always entirely sincere - Pavement exhibits its genius casually. The group"s first full-length album, Slanted and Enchanted, is brimming with beautiful pop songs, soured a bit by the rhythmic clamour of harder guitar rock. You can hear Pavement"s effortless charm in the evocative lyrics of songs like "Loretta"s Scars" ("How can I make my body shed for you?") and, ultimately, in the sheer, clangy joyfulness of the band"s playing. Pavement does lapse occasionally into superdense experimental noise fests, but it more than compensates for these indulgences with 10 cuts of solid songwriting. No matter where Pavement lived, it would be brilliant." - Entertainment Weekly

"A marvellous piece of lazy rock"n"roll that does for the current American new wave what Teenage Fanclub"s "A Catholic Education" did for British guitar music... Almost unintentionally they"ve forged one of the most refreshing American noises for ages," - NME "Perhaps because one half of Pavement lives in New York City and the other in a sleepy, rural, central California town called Stockton, the spirit of the band"s music is split right down the middle. Simultaneously sophisticated and unpretentious, heartfelt and totally goofy - but always entirely sincere - Pavement exhibits its genius casually. The group"s first full-length album, Slanted and Enchanted, is brimming with beautiful pop songs, soured a bit by the rhythmic clamour of harder guitar rock. You can hear Pavement"s effortless charm in the evocative lyrics of songs like "Loretta"s Scars" ("How can I make my body shed for you?") and, ultimately, in the sheer, clangy joyfulness of the band"s playing. Pavement does lapse occasionally into superdense experimental noise fests, but it more than compensates for these indulgences with 10 cuts of solid songwriting. No matter where Pavement lived, it would be brilliant." - Entertainment Weekly

Wowee Zowee, originally released by Matador in April 1995 on the eve of Pavement"s infamous mud-bespattered mainstage appearance at Lollapalooza, began life as a controversial release. Fresh off the success of Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain with its chart- topping Modern Rock hit "Cut Your Hair," the band went into the studio and came out with a deliberately chaotic and eclectic album that sounded nothing like its predecessor. With influences from the Groundhogs to the Frogs, Captain Beefheart to the more obscure mid- "80s central California hardcore bands featured on Maximum Rock"n"Roll comp "Not So Quiet On The Western Front", Wowee Zowee confused critics and alienated fans. "A masterpiece" - Rolling Stone "This album - and this band - is monument to camaraderie, absurdity, and the beauty of creation for creation"s sake" - Stereogum

ANTI- Records is honored to share a never-before-heard album by Mark Linkous of Sparklehorse titled Bird Machine. Originally recorded in 2010 and mixed by Mark Hamilton (who also worked on It"s A Wonderful Life), Mark"s brother Matt notes "great care has been taken to archive and preserve Mark"s music.

We are very thankful for Mark and the beauty he brought to this world." Sparklehorse was an American indie rock band formed by singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Mark Linkous in the mid-1990s.

Born on September 9, 1962, in Arlington, Virginia, Linkous began playing music as a teenager. Described as an artist who "compelled listeners to heed the beauty of darkness" by Pitchfork, Sparklehorse released many influential records, including the renowned albumsn Vivadixiesubmarinetransmissionplot and Good Morning Spider in the "90s, It"s A Wonderful Life and Dreamt for Light Years in the Belly of a Mountain in the early aughts, and a collaborative album Dark Night of the Soul released in 2010.

Throughout his career Mark collaborated with thought provoking artists like Vic Chesnutt, Daniel Johnston, Tom Waits, Danger Mouse, and David Lynch.

While Mark recorded in various studios, collaborating with other musicians and producers, he did much of his work in his home studio, Static King, often playing and recording everything on his own. He was "very much kind of a working-class guy with a very poetic sensibility, who was drawn to artists like himself, who worked in isolation," said NPR Fresh Air"s Ken Tucker.

Available only n Germany!

ANTI- Records is honored to share a never-before-heard album by Mark Linkous of Sparklehorse titled Bird Machine. Originally recorded in 2010 and mixed by Mark Hamilton (who also worked on It"s A Wonderful Life), Mark"s brother Matt notes "great care has been taken to archive and preserve Mark"s music.

We are very thankful for Mark and the beauty he brought to this world." Sparklehorse was an American indie rock band formed by singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Mark Linkous in the mid-1990s.

Born on September 9, 1962, in Arlington, Virginia, Linkous began playing music as a teenager. Described as an artist who "compelled listeners to heed the beauty of darkness" by Pitchfork, Sparklehorse released many influential records, including the renowned albumsn Vivadixiesubmarinetransmissionplot and Good Morning Spider in the "90s, It"s A Wonderful Life and Dreamt for Light Years in the Belly of a Mountain in the early aughts, and a collaborative album Dark Night of the Soul released in 2010.

Throughout his career Mark collaborated with thought provoking artists like Vic Chesnutt, Daniel Johnston, Tom Waits, Danger Mouse, and David Lynch.

While Mark recorded in various studios, collaborating with other musicians and producers, he did much of his work in his home studio, Static King, often playing and recording everything on his own. He was "very much kind of a working-class guy with a very poetic sensibility, who was drawn to artists like himself, who worked in isolation," said NPR Fresh Air"s Ken Tucker.

Following on from their critically acclaimed debut album, the second album from Shackleton / Zimpel represents the culmination of the ecstatic trance urge that has underlined both artists work since they embarked on their singular yet somehow parallel paths. The duo, consisting of electronic music maverick Sam Shackleton and visionary avant folk virtuoso Waclaw Zimpel, sees them link up with one of Indian Carnatic music"s greatest emerging young vocal talents, Siddhartha Belmannu, to bring an album which is equal parts both a meditative exercise and an urge to transcendence whilst thematising both the acceptance of our mortality and the joyous celebration of living.

"Friendly Fires" was the debut album from the St Albans-three piece, Ed McFarlane, Edd Gibson and Jack Savidge. Featuring hit singles "Jump In the Pool" and "Paris", it was an era-defining record. It launched the band to huge critical and commercial success, nominated for The Mercury Prize and a Brit Award. The LP is now reissued for its 15th Anniversary on silver vinyl. Aeroplane"s remix of Friendly Fires" "Paris" has been out of print on vinyl for over a decade. A cover more than a remix, their version of Friendly Fires" first big single was all over the radio waves when it was first released, surely due to its sweet female vocal provided by Au Revior Simone. Now reissued for its 15th Anniversary on gold vinyl, the 12" also contains a remix by Justus Köhncke.

The most famous songs of one of the greatest names in the history of Musical in Broadway and who has his star on the Walk of Fame in Hollywood. Including "Cheek To Cheek", "Steppin" out with My Baby"...

The first Matador pressing of Pavement’s ‘Westing (By Musket And Sextant)’, the compilation of Pavement’s early work from 1989-1993.

The new pressing coincides with this year’s release of the ‘Terror Twilight: Farewell Horizontal’ 4LP box set and a 30th Anniversary vinyl edition of ‘Slanted & Enchanted’.

Pavement begin several months of touring by headlining Primavera Sound Barcelona, before continuing onto sold-out tour dates in North
America and Europe

"Mid Air" ist ein Album über das Feiern, die Zuflucht und die Erlösung auf der Tanzfläche. Es ist ein Album, das sich mit Liebe, Trauer, Beziehungen, Identität und Sexualität beschäftigt. Es ist Romys Liebesbrief an die queeren Clubs, in denen sie Gemeinschaft und Anschluss gefunden hat. Die Entstehung des Albums, ihres ersten Soloprojekts, war ein Prozess, bei dem sie sich selbst außerhalb von The xx kennengelernt hat und in dem sie auch noch die Zeit hatte, sich zu verlieben. Es gibt einen Moment, ein Zwischenspiel, ein paar Tracks in "Mid Air", als Romys Stimme leise den Text "it hit me in mid air" singt. Diese Erkenntnis führt uns direkt in den Song "Enjoy Your Life", die zweite Single des Albums, die wie eine Offenbarung klingt. "Meine Mutter sagte zu mir "genieße dein Leben"", singt Musiker Beverly Glenn-Copeland im Refrain - ein Sample aus seiner Platte "La Vita". Als Romy den Satz zum ersten Mal hörte, hat er sie umgehauen - eine Erinnerung in den Tiefen der Trauer, dass das Leben kurz ist und man es in vollen Zügen genießen sollte. Freude, Verbundenheit, Liebe zu suchen. Während die Strophen die härteste Zeit nach dem Verlust ihrer Eltern zum Ausdruck bringen, ist der Refrain eine Art feierliche Ruhe. Schmerz und Freude tanzen zusammen. Die Art von Liedern, die Romy am liebsten mag - das, was sie "emotionale Musik zum Tanzen" nennt - Lieder wie "Smalltown Boy" von Bronski Beat oder "Dancing On My Own" von Robyn. Das ist die Art von Musik, die "Mid Air" inspiriert hat, die Art von Musik, die Menschen in Clubs zusammenbringt, insbesondere in queeren Clubs. Romy begann als Teenager in Londoner Queer-Clubs aufzulegen und sieht "Mid Air" als eine Rückkehr in diese Zeit, ein Pop-Dance-Album, das die Orte beschwört, an denen sie sich zum ersten Mal in das Genre und seine Kraft, Menschen zu bewegen, verliebt hat. Die Tatsache, dass das Album größtenteils unter Ausschluss der Öffentlichkeit entstand, als Romy die Clubs vermisste, machte diesen Impuls, ein Album zu schaffen, das in einem Club ein Zuhause finden könnte, umso wichtiger. Die Zusammenarbeit mit Fred Again.. und Stuart Price (der eines von Romys Lieblingsalben, Madonnas "Confessions on a Dancefloor", produziert hat) sowie mit Jamie xx, einem ganz engen Freund, Mitglied von The xx und Kollaborateur des Tracks "Enjoy Your Life", sorgte für die perfekte Balance zwischen Emotion und Tanzbarkeit. Auch wenn Romy nicht damit gerechnet hätte, dass ein solches Album jemals zustande kommen würde, als sie 2018 begann, mit Fred zu schreiben "Mid Air" führt uns durch die Höhen und Tiefen - einer Nacht, einer Beziehung, von Trauer und Heilung - und endet schließlich an einem Ort des Optimismus. Der letzte Track "She"s on My Mind" ist eine bewusste Anspielung auf den Disco-Song, der am Ende der Nacht in angesagten Queer-Clubs wie der Paradise Garage gespielt wurde und bei dem die getrennt tanzenden Körper zueinander fanden. Es ist das Ende eines Albums, das die besonderen, aber flüchtigen Momente der Ekstase feiert, die man nur in der Tanzmusik finden kann. Oder wie Romy es ausdrückt: "Das Gefühl der Gemeinschaft in den Clubs ermöglicht eine Flucht vor der Realität der Welt. Ich bin vielleicht nicht das Leben und die Seele einer Party, aber in der Atmosphäre eines Clubs zu sein, zu beobachten und sich zu verbinden - dadurch fühle ich mich weniger allein und lebendiger"

"Mid Air" ist ein Album über das Feiern, die Zuflucht und die Erlösung auf der Tanzfläche. Es ist ein Album, das sich mit Liebe, Trauer, Beziehungen, Identität und Sexualität beschäftigt. Es ist Romys Liebesbrief an die queeren Clubs, in denen sie Gemeinschaft und Anschluss gefunden hat. Die Entstehung des Albums, ihres ersten Soloprojekts, war ein Prozess, bei dem sie sich selbst außerhalb von The xx kennengelernt hat und in dem sie auch noch die Zeit hatte, sich zu verlieben. Es gibt einen Moment, ein Zwischenspiel, ein paar Tracks in "Mid Air", als Romys Stimme leise den Text "it hit me in mid air" singt. Diese Erkenntnis führt uns direkt in den Song "Enjoy Your Life", die zweite Single des Albums, die wie eine Offenbarung klingt. "Meine Mutter sagte zu mir "genieße dein Leben"", singt Musiker Beverly Glenn-Copeland im Refrain - ein Sample aus seiner Platte "La Vita". Als Romy den Satz zum ersten Mal hörte, hat er sie umgehauen - eine Erinnerung in den Tiefen der Trauer, dass das Leben kurz ist und man es in vollen Zügen genießen sollte. Freude, Verbundenheit, Liebe zu suchen. Während die Strophen die härteste Zeit nach dem Verlust ihrer Eltern zum Ausdruck bringen, ist der Refrain eine Art feierliche Ruhe. Schmerz und Freude tanzen zusammen. Die Art von Liedern, die Romy am liebsten mag - das, was sie "emotionale Musik zum Tanzen" nennt - Lieder wie "Smalltown Boy" von Bronski Beat oder "Dancing On My Own" von Robyn. Das ist die Art von Musik, die "Mid Air" inspiriert hat, die Art von Musik, die Menschen in Clubs zusammenbringt, insbesondere in queeren Clubs. Romy begann als Teenager in Londoner Queer-Clubs aufzulegen und sieht "Mid Air" als eine Rückkehr in diese Zeit, ein Pop-Dance-Album, das die Orte beschwört, an denen sie sich zum ersten Mal in das Genre und seine Kraft, Menschen zu bewegen, verliebt hat. Die Tatsache, dass das Album größtenteils unter Ausschluss der Öffentlichkeit entstand, als Romy die Clubs vermisste, machte diesen Impuls, ein Album zu schaffen, das in einem Club ein Zuhause finden könnte, umso wichtiger. Die Zusammenarbeit mit Fred Again.. und Stuart Price (der eines von Romys Lieblingsalben, Madonnas "Confessions on a Dancefloor", produziert hat) sowie mit Jamie xx, einem ganz engen Freund, Mitglied von The xx und Kollaborateur des Tracks "Enjoy Your Life", sorgte für die perfekte Balance zwischen Emotion und Tanzbarkeit. Auch wenn Romy nicht damit gerechnet hätte, dass ein solches Album jemals zustande kommen würde, als sie 2018 begann, mit Fred zu schreiben "Mid Air" führt uns durch die Höhen und Tiefen - einer Nacht, einer Beziehung, von Trauer und Heilung - und endet schließlich an einem Ort des Optimismus. Der letzte Track "She"s on My Mind" ist eine bewusste Anspielung auf den Disco-Song, der am Ende der Nacht in angesagten Queer-Clubs wie der Paradise Garage gespielt wurde und bei dem die getrennt tanzenden Körper zueinander fanden. Es ist das Ende eines Albums, das die besonderen, aber flüchtigen Momente der Ekstase feiert, die man nur in der Tanzmusik finden kann. Oder wie Romy es ausdrückt: "Das Gefühl der Gemeinschaft in den Clubs ermöglicht eine Flucht vor der Realität der Welt. Ich bin vielleicht nicht das Leben und die Seele einer Party, aber in der Atmosphäre eines Clubs zu sein, zu beobachten und sich zu verbinden - dadurch fühle ich mich weniger allein und lebendiger"

Gebürtig aus North Carolina, zog Jonathan Wilson schon vor gut 15 Jahren nach Los Angeles, wo er als gefragter Produzent, Multiinstrumentalist und Komponist zentrales Mitglied der Songwriter-Community wurde. Schon auf den gefeierten Alben Gentle Spirit (2011), Fanfare (2013) und Rare Birds (2018) erledigte er so gut wie alles im Alleingang, spielte fast alle Instrumente selbst ein und übernahm auch die Produktion. Kurz vor Beginn der Pandemie ging er nach Nashville, um dort im legendären Sound Emporium Studio von "Cowboy" Jack Clement das Album Dixie Blur (2020) aufzunehmen - eine Sammlung von Songs, mit denen sich Wilson sowohl klanglich als auch inhaltlich ganz klar auf seine Südstaaten-Wurzeln bezog.

Einerseits eine Rückbesinnung auf seine musikalischen Roots im US-Süden, machte er mit dem Vorgänger zugleich auch einen Schritt nach vorn, indem er auch zeitgenössische Sounds ins Spiel brachte. Als gefragter Live-Musiker regelmäßig auf den größten Bühnen der Welt zu sehen, hat Jonathan Wilson parallel zu seinen Solo Veröffentlichungen in den letzten Jahren auch als Produzent für etliche hochkarätige Kolleg:innen gearbeitet, unter anderm für Father John Misty, Margo Price, Billy Strings, Conor Oberst, Roy Harper, Dawes und Angel Olson.

Auf dem gesamten Album, hat Wilson so gut wie alle Instrumente selbst eingespielt und dazu auch die Rolle des Produzenten selbst übernommen. Während er sich unter anderem um Gitarre, Klavier, Schlagzeug und Keyboards kümmerte, schaute neben dem Bassisten Jake Blanton (The Killers) auch eine Auswahl von renommierten Streicher:innen und Bläser:innen im Studio vorbei.

the monumental return after a 20 year hiatus

"Pavement is in transition here-CRCR is a California album recorded on 32nd Street and Ninth Avenue in Manhattan...It"s the sound of a great band gaining ambition, confidence, ability." - Joe Levy, Village Voice "An album electric with carefree swagger and ageless amplification" - Billboard "A masterpiece, a record that continues to glimmer with unique brilliance two decades after its release" - Stereogum

UK born, LA based producer and singer/songwriter Somni preps for his third full length album "Gravity", filled with unique and melodic songwriting, headnod-inducing rhythms, and swirling electronic production.

To celebrate its fifteenth anniversary, Gondwana Records proudly announces a highly limited edition series of exclusive coloured vinyl pressings by label peers Matthew Halsall, Portico Quartet and Hania Rani plus newcomers Jasmine Myra and Svaneborg Kardyb and catalogue favourites from GoGo Penguin and Caoilfhionn Rose.

"Die Welt soll durch Zärtlichkeit gerettet werden" Fjodor Michailowitsch Dostojewski In von Krisen gebeutelten Zeiten bietet die Kunst allerhand Möglichkeiten, um dem entrückten Lauf der Welt die Stirn zu bieten. Eine davon liegt in der bewussten Umkehrung von Aggression und Rauheit. Für genau diesen Weg haben sich vier Musiker aus Köln entschieden - und folgerichtig ihre Band nach einer herzerfrischenden Tugend benannt: Die Zärtlichkeit lautet das Credo der Gegenwart. Gewissermaßen ist die Gruppe ein Produkt der Pandemie. Allwöchentlich trafen sich Sänger Andreas Fischer und Gitarrist Tobias Emmerich hinter domstädtischen Wänden, um ihren musikalischen Entwurf auszuarbeiten. Zum Vorbild nahmen sie sich den britischen Jangle-Pop der 80er-Jahre: The Smiths, Orange Juice, Felt. Samtweich klangen jene Formationen und wenngleich ihre Melodien durchaus beschwingt daherkamen, wurden sie doch immer aus Empfindsamkeit geboren. So verhält es sich auch bei Die Zärtlichkeit. Im März 2020 erschien ihre selbstbetitelte Debüt-EP, im November des selben Jahres veröffentlichten sie auf "Die Zärtlichkeit II" vier weitere Stücke. An dieser Stelle bleibe nicht unerwähnt, dass sich das Duo seit dem Beitritt von Bassist Merlin Engelien und Schlagzeuger David Dasenbrook zum Quartett erweitert hat. Mit "Heimweh Meisterwerke" ist nun der Moment für den ersten Langspieler gekommen. Ohne Zweifel steht jene Platte in den Zeichen von Anmut und Grazie. Doch Obacht sei geboten: Am Ende von "Reptil" etwa lauert in Gestalt von "Ulalala"-Chören ein gewiefter Spitzbubenstreich. Vorrangig tut es wohl, dass diese Band keine Bange hat vor Romantik. In Gärten tummeln sich von der Welt verlassene Tiere, der Mai lässt die Bäume hastig erblühen. So lieblich, so leichtfüßig die Lieder aber auch dahinziehen mögen - hinter so manch besungenem Himbeerstrauch hat sich der Pathos versteckt. Hört man etwa die folgenden Verse, möchte man vor Rührung vergehen: "Und ich darf mich nicht verraten, ich träume hier von dir. Und während ich hier träume, befreist du mich von mir" "Ein kurzer Weg" heißt das Lied, dem diese Zeilen entnommen sind. Es offenbart, wie schnell sich die Dinge - freilich durch die Liebe - zum Guten wenden können. Auch bei "Star" nimmt das Schicksal eine rasende Wendung, die hier jedoch schnurstracks in den Abgrund führt. Das Stück nimmt sich einen Menschen zum Protagonisten, der den Sternen näher scheint, als der Erde: "Trotz makelloser Hülle scheint dein Inneres verdorben". Gerade deshalb muss er verglühen - zumindest in dieser mit Scharfsinn vorgeführten Fallstudie. Von einem Besuch in den Gefilden der Kindheit erzählt der Titel "Geteilt". Das Licht am Morgen fällt noch immer wie damals vor dem Schulbeginn. Einige Klingelschilder tragen jetzt andere Namen, ein Baum ist verschwunden. Es ist die Geschichte eines Jemand, der sich aufgerieben fühlt zwischen der Vergangenheit und dem Jetzt. Zwischen Ankommen und Loslassen. Als bittersüße nostalgische Verklärung kommt das Schlusslied "In meinen Träumen" daher. Die letzten Zeilen liefern schließlich den Beweis: Am Ende gewinnt Die Zärtlichkeit. "In meinen Träumen bleiben die Menschen und Orte für immer"

The fourth EP from HOMO-CENTRIC Records presents GIDEÖN's broad musical vision, with tracks that span genres such as house and techno, as well as other influences, and includes his latest offering, “A Road Called Destiny”, his headiest offering yet and hot on the heels of previous anthem “Brighter Day”. This latest gospel belter has been tearing up dancefloors all summer and the track reaches euphoric heights comparable with the Baptist sermons featured in the house classics from the likes of Kerry Chandler and Robert Hood. "Hector’s Revenge" is a dark sleazy queer techno anthem already slaying Berghain’s main floor, "Vasquez Goes East" is a "raw basement cut that tips its hat to Junior Vasquez’s Sound Factory classic "Get Your Hands Off My Man” whilst “Fridays” serves up classic Swing 52 style chopped-up vocal cuts straight from vintage 90s NYC. Scope, range and diversity, but all quintessentially GIDEÖN

- Panda Bear, Voice of the Seven Woods, Mammane Sanni Abdoulaye. File under: Jazz / Electronic. Titi Bakorta almost didn't make it. Born in and raised in Kinshasa, the Congolese multi-instrumentalist was on his way to Uganda when he fell off the boat as it traversed the mighty Congo River. Unable to swim, Bakorta was saved by a friend who dragged him to the closest city Kisangani, where he was unexpectedly acquainted with local singer Dancer Papalas. Soon they were performing in bands together, traveling across the continents and settling in Tanzania, South Sudan and Dubai - they even appeared in front of General Defao, the beloved Congolese vocalist who fronted legendary soukous bands Grand Zaiko Wawa, Choc Stars and Big Stars. Now based in Kampala, Bakorta offers his own unique take on Congolese pop and folk sounds, weaving traditional elements through a psychedelic lattice of guitar loops, mangled voices and eccentric beatbox rhythms on his debut full-length. He bends woodblock snaps on 'Kop' into stuttered blurs, wailing emotionally over twanging riffs and bizarre, theatrical xylophone twinkles. It's still pop music on some level, but curved around Bakorta's unwieldy personal narrative - there's a sense that everything could unravel at any time but it all hangs together, strengthened by Bakorta's confident, contemporary production smarts. 'Elles Vais' is more airy, with celestial soukous vocals that float above tight, electronic drums. Tangled guitar echoes overlap each other like dense, weaved tapestries, contrasting perfectly with Bakorta's urgent, driving pulse. Occasionally, he transcends completely, like on 'Molende' where his chants and phrases neatly flutter between praise music and contemporary R&B. "Hustling, hustling, hustling, everyday I'm hustling," an angelic voice coos over phased electric guitar plucks and looped, AutoTuned chorals. It makes perfect sense that Bakorta should team up with Metal Preyers' Jesse Hackett on the album's final track, the aptly-titled 'Titis Haunted House'. The two artists share a similar obsession with moonlit, carnivalesque soundscapes, and Hackett's eerie synths provide a suitably eccentric foundation for Bakorta's ghostly wails and fuzzy guitar sounds.

Whispers is the first proper P.G. Six album since 2011"s Starry Mind. Time passes slowly, as they"ve been known to say out in the country, and before you know it, there"s a bunch of it behind you. After five releases in the first decade of P.G. Six, it may seem a bit of a surprise to have not heard something new in the past twelve years - but a cursory listen to Murmurs & Whispers will answer why, as the deep acoustic focus of the tracks imply an investment of the type of compassion and understanding that takes time and concentrated effort to conjure. Additionally, Pat Gubler"s always got a few pots going at once in his ever-expanding musical universe. He"s been active since the mid-90s, first with Memphis Luxure and Tower Recordings, then as P.G. Six, and as a member of Metal Mountains, Wet Tuna, Garcia Peoples and Weeping Bong Band. Additionally, some time was spent making collaborative records with Dan Melchior (in 2019) and Louise Bock (in 2021). Pat"s been playing the harp for more years than he"s been in bands, but when he realized that he was writing a set of songs centered around harp compositions, he spent some time in the woodshed with his instrument, a late 80s model Triplett Celtic 34 String Harp (which replaced a lovely Paraguayan harp he"d played for years previously). After the previous P.G. albums of electric band arrangements, he was in a place of writing songs with more silence in them. He ended up playing a lot of the parts himself on Murmurs & Whispers, adding guitar, bass, keyboards, recorder and hurdy gurdy, in addition to his harp and vocals. Clark Griffin and Wednesday Knudson, who Pat plays with in Weeping Bong Band, played and sang a bit themselves, and the record was recorded piece by piece in houses around upstate New York by Mike Fellows. Returning to the quiet acoustic sound of the first couple of P.G. Six albums, Parlor Tricks and Porch Favorites (which has seen a much-needed reissue in the past year after too many years OOP) and The Well of Memory, Murmurs & Whispers is more straightforward in expressing its vision of rural celestial wonder. Bucolic and comfortably lived in, Murmurs & Whispers nonetheless projects the transcendent heart of P.G. Six once again, and as ever, it is magnificent to hear it passing through us.