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For Fans Of… Dr. John, Allen Toussaint, The Faces, Joe Cocker, Leon Russell, Buddy Miles, The Meters, Father John Misty. "I just wanted to be honest about everything, from my musical influences to my story," muses Neal Francis. After years of dishonest living - consumed by drugs, alcohol, and addiction - such sincerity is jarring from the 30-year-old Chicago-based musician. Liberated from a self-destructive past and born anew in sobriety, Francis has captured an inspired collection of songs steeped in New Orleans rhythms, Chicago blues, and early 70s rock n' roll. There is a deep connection between Francis's childhood - his obsession with boogie woogie piano, his father's gift of a dusty Dr. John LP - and the songs he's created. The result is an astonishing collection of material without parallel in the contemporary funk and soul scene. The influences are unmistakable: the vocal stylings of Allen Toussaint and Leon Russell; the second line rhythms of The Meters and Dr. John; the barroom rock 'n' roll of The Rolling Stones; the gospel soul of Billy Preston; the roots music of The Band. Francis pays tribute to the masters but has his own story to tell: "It's the life I've lived so far." After playing his first live show in November 2018, Francis was signed by veteran agents Joshua Knight and Phil Egenthal of Paradigm Talent Agency. 2019 brought a North American tour supporting Australian band The Cat Empire as well as radio play on KEXP, KCRW's The Morning Becomes Eclectic, and BBC Radio 6. Francis and his four-piece band performed at festivals such as Summer Camp and the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival and shared the stage with The Meters and Lee Fields & The Expressions. Francis continues to tour relentlessly to promote his own music. "I'm doing this to fulfill a drive within myself, but also to pay tribute to the gifts I've been given. And it comes from a place of immense gratitude. I've been given so much in my life, especially in the last two years, that this feels like a bonus." Also Available From Neal Francis: These Are The Days 7”.

On December 2013, during Alain Pilot's show “La Bande Passante” and as part of the celebrations for Manu Dibango’s 80th birthday, Radio France Internationale gathered around the African master a bunch of prestigious guests including the Ethio- Jazz ambassadors : Akalé Wubé.

The band decided to play live and on air African Pop Session and Ekedi - both written and recorded by the Cameroonian saxophonist in the early seventies - quickly joined by Manu Dibango and his saxophone. Two live recordings of this session will be taken out this pathbreaking and improvised meeting.

A great complicity shortly settled between them and, a few months later, Akalé Wubé invited Manu Dibango on their track Anbessa (The Lion in Amharic) composed as a tribute to him. This collaboration led them to share several stages together in the following years.
With this RFI session still in mind, Manu Dibango invited the band to join him in studio for Akalé Wubé to arrange and re-record 5 other unknown nuggets from his catalogue : La Colère des Dieux, Du Bush a Bush, Gentlemen de Camp Yabassi, Otetena Munja and Peaceful Homeland.

"Die Band hatte sich eine Woche in einem Chalet in den Schweizer bergen eingeschlossen und dieses album geschrieben .. Doom Blues und Nasty No-Future-Wave und Synth Folk Trash - REVEREND BEAT-MAN & THE UNDERGROUND ist eine Kollaboration Arbeit zwischen dem PALP Festifal und Reverend Beat-Man, eine Woche Aufenthalt in Bruson (wallis, Westschweiz) mit Weisswein und Raclette und Musik kreieren, ich hab dann meine Lieblings Musiker kontaktiert: Milan Slick an den Tasten, er und ich haben bereits das Synth-Punk-Duo-Projekt Entartete Musik dann die Unglaublichen Beats von Beatrice Graf von Ester Poly. Benjamin Glaus von Skinny Jim Tennessee ist einer der meist unterschätzten Rockabilly-Performer Berns, und K.Lou aus Athen kümmerte sich um unser Catering und präsentierte uns die ganze Woche über neue Musik aus ihrer Schatztruhe. was du auf diese Platte hörst ist ein Prozess, ein finden einer Musik u.a. eine Doom Blues Version vom 'Jesus Christ Twist' oder die verliebte Kuschelrock Nummer 'It's a matter of time'. Die meisten Songs wurden im Lockdown geschrieben wo ich und Benjamin Glaus akustische Musik spielte ,slave to the phone' oder 'banned from the internet' sind 2 von denen. Unser schlecht beheizter Übungsraum war über einer Schaffarm wo wir den ganzen tag probten und alles aufnahmen, dies sind alles 1 Take aufnahmen.. keine Overdubs.. ist alles live eingespielt.. und ein paar Wochen später von Matteo Bordin im Ouside inside Studio abgemischt, dies ist Doom Blues oder No-Wave Rock'n'Roll von den Schweizer bergen" Die Band: Reverend Beat-Man (vocals, guitar), Beatrice Graf (drums), Milan Slick (keys), Benjamin Glaus (lead guitar) 12" LP: + Free Download Card + Inlayposter Booklet + Rotes Vinyl (limited 1000 copies) + Free Brainfuck CD: comes in double gatefold jacket incl 12 side booklett (no plastic exept the CD)

Als eine der beliebtesten Metal-Bands der Welt stecken sich AMON AMARTH sehr hohe Ziele, wenn sie ins Studio gehen. "The Great Heathen Army" wurde mit dem legendären Studioguru Andy Sneap an den Reglern aufgenommen und stellt für die Band einen kühnen Sprung nach vorne dar, da ihr unverwechselbarer Sound erneut eine sehr gekonnte Weiterentwicklung erfährt, sowohl textlich als auch musikalisch. Vom treibenden "Find A Way Or Make One" und dem kämpferischen "Get In The Ring" bis hin zu der sich heraufbeschwörenden Wut in "Saxons & Vikings" und dem epischen Urschrei in Form des Titeltracks, fasst "The Great Heathen Army" die Essenz dieser legendären Band zusammen und lässt dabei trotzdem noch Raum für neue Ideen.

Dieses Album ist die bisher stärkste Album von TOXIK!
Während die Band auf eine lange Tradition im traditionellen Thrash zurückblicken kann, erweitert dieses Album die bisherige Tradition und zeigt, wohin die Reise gehen kann, sowohl musikalisch als auch subjektiv.
10 treibende Tracks, die von atemberaubend-halsbrecherischen BPMs bis hin zu ungeraden Taktarten und schroffen Dissonanzen reichen, spiegeln den Charakter des Albums, sowie die Botschaft und Denkweise der Band perfekt wider.
Es ist ein konzeptionelles Werk, da die Kunst auf dem Cover Parallelen zu den Themen in den Songs aufweist, aber es ist nicht mit einer schwerfälligen, traditionellen Konzeptalbum-Plakette versehen.
Es ist sauber, fokussiert und zugänglich, ohne das Konzept zu kennen, was eine viel coolere Umsetzung ist.
TOXIK sind der Meinung, dass dieses Album sowohl ihre Intensität als Live-Act einfängt als auch ihre Fähigkeit, Dynamik und Nuancen einzusetzen, die man in diesem Genre nicht immer erwartet.

Es ist ein ehrgeiziges Album mit sehr wenig Rücksicht auf Traditionen oder gar Erwartungen... es ist ehrlich und echt!

Dieses Album ist die bisher stärkste Album von TOXIK!
Während die Band auf eine lange Tradition im traditionellen Thrash zurückblicken kann, erweitert dieses Album die bisherige Tradition und zeigt, wohin die Reise gehen kann, sowohl musikalisch als auch subjektiv.
10 treibende Tracks, die von atemberaubend-halsbrecherischen BPMs bis hin zu ungeraden Taktarten und schroffen Dissonanzen reichen, spiegeln den Charakter des Albums, sowie die Botschaft und Denkweise der Band perfekt wider.
Es ist ein konzeptionelles Werk, da die Kunst auf dem Cover Parallelen zu den Themen in den Songs aufweist, aber es ist nicht mit einer schwerfälligen, traditionellen Konzeptalbum-Plakette versehen.
Es ist sauber, fokussiert und zugänglich, ohne das Konzept zu kennen, was eine viel coolere Umsetzung ist.
TOXIK sind der Meinung, dass dieses Album sowohl ihre Intensität als Live-Act einfängt als auch ihre Fähigkeit, Dynamik und Nuancen einzusetzen, die man in diesem Genre nicht immer erwartet.

Es ist ein ehrgeiziges Album mit sehr wenig Rücksicht auf Traditionen oder gar Erwartungen... es ist ehrlich und echt!

Dieses Album ist die bisher stärkste Album von TOXIK!
Während die Band auf eine lange Tradition im traditionellen Thrash zurückblicken kann, erweitert dieses Album die bisherige Tradition und zeigt, wohin die Reise gehen kann, sowohl musikalisch als auch subjektiv.
10 treibende Tracks, die von atemberaubend-halsbrecherischen BPMs bis hin zu ungeraden Taktarten und schroffen Dissonanzen reichen, spiegeln den Charakter des Albums, sowie die Botschaft und Denkweise der Band perfekt wider.
Es ist ein konzeptionelles Werk, da die Kunst auf dem Cover Parallelen zu den Themen in den Songs aufweist, aber es ist nicht mit einer schwerfälligen, traditionellen Konzeptalbum-Plakette versehen.
Es ist sauber, fokussiert und zugänglich, ohne das Konzept zu kennen, was eine viel coolere Umsetzung ist.
TOXIK sind der Meinung, dass dieses Album sowohl ihre Intensität als Live-Act einfängt als auch ihre Fähigkeit, Dynamik und Nuancen einzusetzen, die man in diesem Genre nicht immer erwartet.

Es ist ein ehrgeiziges Album mit sehr wenig Rücksicht auf Traditionen oder gar Erwartungen... es ist ehrlich und echt!

Dieses Album ist die bisher stärkste Album von TOXIK!
Während die Band auf eine lange Tradition im traditionellen Thrash zurückblicken kann, erweitert dieses Album die bisherige Tradition und zeigt, wohin die Reise gehen kann, sowohl musikalisch als auch subjektiv.
10 treibende Tracks, die von atemberaubend-halsbrecherischen BPMs bis hin zu ungeraden Taktarten und schroffen Dissonanzen reichen, spiegeln den Charakter des Albums, sowie die Botschaft und Denkweise der Band perfekt wider.
Es ist ein konzeptionelles Werk, da die Kunst auf dem Cover Parallelen zu den Themen in den Songs aufweist, aber es ist nicht mit einer schwerfälligen, traditionellen Konzeptalbum-Plakette versehen.
Es ist sauber, fokussiert und zugänglich, ohne das Konzept zu kennen, was eine viel coolere Umsetzung ist.
TOXIK sind der Meinung, dass dieses Album sowohl ihre Intensität als Live-Act einfängt als auch ihre Fähigkeit, Dynamik und Nuancen einzusetzen, die man in diesem Genre nicht immer erwartet.

Es ist ein ehrgeiziges Album mit sehr wenig Rücksicht auf Traditionen oder gar Erwartungen... es ist ehrlich und echt!

Dieses Album ist die bisher stärkste Album von TOXIK!
Während die Band auf eine lange Tradition im traditionellen Thrash zurückblicken kann, erweitert dieses Album die bisherige Tradition und zeigt, wohin die Reise gehen kann, sowohl musikalisch als auch subjektiv.
10 treibende Tracks, die von atemberaubend-halsbrecherischen BPMs bis hin zu ungeraden Taktarten und schroffen Dissonanzen reichen, spiegeln den Charakter des Albums, sowie die Botschaft und Denkweise der Band perfekt wider.
Es ist ein konzeptionelles Werk, da die Kunst auf dem Cover Parallelen zu den Themen in den Songs aufweist, aber es ist nicht mit einer schwerfälligen, traditionellen Konzeptalbum-Plakette versehen.
Es ist sauber, fokussiert und zugänglich, ohne das Konzept zu kennen, was eine viel coolere Umsetzung ist.
TOXIK sind der Meinung, dass dieses Album sowohl ihre Intensität als Live-Act einfängt als auch ihre Fähigkeit, Dynamik und Nuancen einzusetzen, die man in diesem Genre nicht immer erwartet.

Es ist ein ehrgeiziges Album mit sehr wenig Rücksicht auf Traditionen oder gar Erwartungen... es ist ehrlich und echt!

Dub War trennten sich 1999 und 3/4 der Band entfachten im Crossover-Metal mit ihrer neugegründeten Band namens Skindred ein neues Feuer. 2014 kam es dann zu einem Live-Comeback von DUB WAR durch vereinzelte Konzerte, aber erst 2016 wurden offiziell neue Songs veröffentlicht, um dann endlich im Sommer 2022 mit dem neuen Album für die grosse Comeback-Sensation über Earache Records zu sorgen!

A match made in heaven and hell, since forming in the cradle of Europe Athens, back in 2012, dark synth duo Selofan have paved their own perditious way, reinventing the modern Darkwave scene throughout the continent and worldwide with their prolific creativity and work ethic over the past decade. Through varied experimental synth-scapes conjured with keen ears for sound design, production, and theatrical aesthetics, Selofan rest not on the laurels of just creating highly danceable coldwave infused music, but with together with Joanna Pavlidou's haunting vocals, and Dimitris Pavlidis' throbbing bass guitar, and modular synth compositions, the pair conjure whole other worlds and narratives throughout each album and music video they create. Thus far the Selofan have released 5 studio albums, issued through their own legendary label they curate themselves: Fabrika Records. Through their Fabrika family, Selofan have championed such acts as Lebanon Hanover, and She Past Away, aiding these bands in becoming two of the most popular Darkwave acts worldwide. Drab Majesty even cameoed in a She Past Away video while being hosted by Selofan during one of the band's frequent stays in Athens, and Kaelan Mikla, a handpicked favorite of The Cure, were first championed by Selofan, through the release of the Icelandic Trio's self-titled debut in 2016. In the Spring of 2020, Selofan released the video for the hopelessly plaintive "There Must Be Somebody", the first single from their forthcoming sixth studio album Partners In Hell, the follow-up to 2018's widely popular Vitrioli LP. "There Must be Somebody" is a discordant composition, mimicking the startled song of birds after a disturbance in a wooded enclave on a mountainside, while a magick ritual unfolds. The album itself opens with "Grey Gardens", a menagerie of morose melodies setting a sombre tone for the rest of a bleak record whose sound design and dreamscapes evoke the best sounds of British and German post-punk of the 80s. "Almost Nothing" is a brooding bell-driven track with a dark and pirouetting melody that is the perfect soundtrack to a figurine twirling in a music box. The German language "Nichts" means No, and this song is both sinister and cinematic with sighing keys, shuddering drum machines, and German lyrics sung with sorrowful conviction. "Zusamen", is a word often asked if you are together, or separate, is a dark ballad whose shadowy keys weave a nightmarish delirium, evoking the soundscapes of a lullaby sung in a haunted dollhouse. "4am" is a restless rhythm, whose soft percussive melody tosses and turns alongside subtle bass and string accents overlaid with despondent vocals. "Happy Consumers" sounds like the swirling of a finger drawn upon the edge of crystalline glass, with vocals and drum machines coming emanating from an adjacent room with echoing acoustics, collectively evoking the sound like lingers when the somnambulist wakes from his dream. "Absolutely Absent" hums onward like a phantom train ride that is a one-way ticket to madness, and with the next track "Metalic Isolation" the locomotive beats gather more steam, propelled forward with anachronistic melody. The album closes with "Auf Dein Haut", which translates as on your skin, and the song is both tactile and tenebrous with sensuously dark synth textures amidst howling German vocals that take flight like witches during a sabbat. Partner's In Hell was mixed and produced by Serafim Tsotsonis, and mastered by Doruk Ozturkcan. Genre: Alternative / Post-Punk / Cold Wave

FP030F pressed in half black half purple vinyl 500 copies hand-numbered. FP030G pressed in black with red splatter vinyl 500 copies hand-numbered. A match made in heaven and hell, since forming in the cradle of Europe Athens, back in 2012, dark synth duo Selofan have paved their own perditious way, reinventing the modern Darkwave scene throughout the continent and worldwide with their prolific creativity and work ethic over the past decade. Through varied experimental synth-scapes conjured with keen ears for sound design, production, and theatrical aesthetics, Selofan rest not on the laurels of just creating highly danceable coldwave infused music, but with together with Joanna Pavlidou's haunting vocals, and Dimitris Pavlidis' throbbing bass guitar, and modular synth compositions, the pair conjure whole other worlds and narratives throughout each album and music video they create. Thus far the Selofan have released 5 studio albums, issued through their own legendary label they curate themselves: Fabrika Records. Through their Fabrika family, Selofan have championed such acts as Lebanon Hanover, and She Past Away, aiding these bands in becoming two of the most popular Darkwave acts worldwide. Drab Majesty even cameoed in a She Past Away video while being hosted by Selofan during one of the band's frequent stays in Athens, and Kaelan Mikla, a handpicked favorite of The Cure, were first championed by Selofan, through the release of the Icelandic Trio's self-titled debut in 2016. In the Spring of 2020, Selofan released the video for the hopelessly plaintive "There Must Be Somebody", the first single from their forthcoming sixth studio album Partners In Hell, the follow-up to 2018's widely popular Vitrioli LP. "There Must be Somebody" is a discordant composition, mimicking the startled song of birds after a disturbance in a wooded enclave on a mountainside, while a magick ritual unfolds. The album itself opens with "Grey Gardens", a menagerie of morose melodies setting a sombre tone for the rest of a bleak record whose sound design and dreamscapes evoke the best sounds of British and German post-punk of the 80s. "Almost Nothing" is a brooding bell-driven track with a dark and pirouetting melody that is the perfect soundtrack to a figurine twirling in a music box. The German language "Nichts" means No, and this song is both sinister and cinematic with sighing keys, shuddering drum machines, and German lyrics sung with sorrowful conviction. "Zusamen", is a word often asked if you are together, or separate, is a dark ballad whose shadowy keys weave a nightmarish delirium, evoking the soundscapes of a lullaby sung in a haunted dollhouse. "4am" is a restless rhythm, whose soft percussive melody tosses and turns alongside subtle bass and string accents overlaid with despondent vocals. "Happy Consumers" sounds like the swirling of a finger drawn upon the edge of crystalline glass, with vocals and drum machines coming emanating from an adjacent room with echoing acoustics, collectively evoking the sound like lingers when the somnambulist wakes from his dream. "Absolutely Absent" hums onward like a phantom train ride that is a one-way ticket to madness, and with the next track "Metalic Isolation" the locomotive beats gather more steam, propelled forward with anachronistic melody. The album closes with "Auf Dein Haut", which translates as on your skin, and the song is both tactile and tenebrous with sensuously dark synth textures amidst howling German vocals that take flight like witches during a sabbat. Partner's In Hell was mixed and produced by Serafim Tsotsonis, and mastered by Doruk Ozturkcan.

Two years after their first major release on Nice Guys, the band Marcoca returns with a new full-length album Cosmic Blunder. It originated out of the urge to merge new psychedelic sounds with elements of funk, jazz and surf rock, while keeping the stuff that worked on the first record in place. The result is a reverb soaked ride through songs that cover the ups and downs of life and all the questions that come along with it. While some of the songs had been previously arranged, some instrumental parts developed during the recording process in order to preserve the natural flow of the music.

Inspired by their travels around the warm beaches of our beautiful planet, the eight tracks of this long-player help the listener walk through a colorful Californian dream. The husky voice of the singer Marco Rinke invites us to an auditory journey to the 70s. This LP proves to be a real cathartic experience for the ears and the mind.

Cosmic Blunder, the eponymous track of this release, embodies the soul of the whole album, influenced by psychedelic and surf rock. With its groovy elements and symphonic guitars, the four musicians succeed to elevate one’s mind to spheres of beauty and inner peace. Overall, this LP turns out to be a real cathartic experience for the ears and the mind that wants to erase the physical self in favour of the mind.

Of the many great talents of the classic Nigerian highlife scene, none contained the existential depth, transcendence and grace of Celestine Ukwu. During his brief time in this world, he pursued education, music, and philosophy; first as a school teacher, then ultimately a singer, lyricist and musician, first as a member of Gentleman Mike Ejeagha's Premier Dance Band, and eventually fronting his own groups, The Music Royals and The Philosophers National. Beginning in the early 1970s, The Philosophers National established a radical shift in the possibilities of Nigerian highlife by moving away from the typical mid-century style and cutting a new path with a distinctly hypnotic and cerebral atmosphere. This sense of depth was apparent in the lilting, multi-layered and pulsing music of The Philosophers National, as well as the concise and clear-eyed lyrics sung so beautifully by Celestine Ukwu. The arrangements establish a living, breathing environment for each song; muted trumpet solos, hypnotic guitar runs, driving percussion; every instrument gracefully following a tide of patience, tranquility, wonder, climax, knowing and unknowing. "Celestine ditched the jaunty dance rhythms and relatively facile lyrics typical of the reigning highlife tunes, and ignoring the soul music tropes most of the highlife bandleaders were appropriating in an effort to inject new life to their ailing format. Instead Celestine concocted a new highlife style that was more contemplative and lumbering; with the layering of Afro-Cuban ostinato basslines and repetitive rhythm patterns that interlocked to create an effect that was hypnotic, virtually transcendental. Meanwhile, Celestine himself sang as he stood coolly onstage in a black turtleneck and a sportscoat, looking like a university professor. The message was clear: this was not necessarily music for dancing_even though the rhythms were compelling enough. This was music for the thinkers." - Uchenna Ikonne This LP compiles some of Celestine Ukwu's deepest and most affecting songs from the 1970s, which have been gorgeously restored and remastered by Tim Stollenwerk to highlight the brilliant details of Celestine and the entire Philosopher's National. Pressed on 160 gram black vinyl at Smashed Plastic in Chicago, and comes in heavy 3 spot-color jacket, with fold-over insert with bilingual lyrics and notes by Uchenna Ikonne (Comb & Razor Sound).

Neil Young + Promise Of The Real release a new live album, ‘Noise & Flowers’, that captures the group in all their glory on their 2019 European tour. The release will be accompanied by a concert film that shares the same title and is included in the album’s 2xLP+CD+Blu-ray Deluxe Edition.
‘Noise & Flowers’ documents a 9-date tour that began just two weeks after Young’s lifetime friend and manager of more than 50 years, Elliot Roberts, passed away at the age of 76. Performing alongside a photograph of Roberts taped to his road case, Young approached each show as a celebratory memorial service to honour his late friend. It’s a trek the legendary singer/songwriter describes as “wondrous.”
In the album’s liner notes, Young says, “Playing in his memory made it one of the most special tours ever. We hit the road and took his great spirit with us into every song. This music belongs to no one. It’s in the air. Every note was played for music’s great friend, Elliot.”
In paying tribute to the manager who guided Young’s career for over a half-century, ‘Noise & Flowers’ explores all corners of his vast discography. It balances all-timer anthems (‘Mr. Soul’, ‘Helpless’, ‘Rockin’ in the Free World’) with rarely aired ‘70s deep cuts (‘Field of Opportunity’, ‘On the Beach’) and ’90s gems (‘From Hank to Hendrix’, ‘Throw Your Hatred Down’). His frequent backing band since 2015, Promise of the Real effectively bridges the extremes in Young’s sound, infusing his raging rockers and country serenades with their casual brilliance and telepathic intuition.
The companion film (directed by Bernard Shakey and dhlovelife) emphasizes both the intimacy and ecstasy of these performances.
‘Noise & Flowers’ is entry No. PS 21 in the Neil Young Archives Performance Series of live releases – a special addition to a robust, and still-growing catalogue.

Coming 40 years after he first started performing in bands in his native North West of England, Butterfly Mind is the most surprising release yet from Tim Bowness. From the short, sharp shocks of Always The Stranger and Only A Fool to the long-form ambition of the sensuous Dark Nevada Dream, the cinematic Electro-Ballroom of Glitter Fades and the dystopian paranoia of Say Your Goodbyes Parts 1 and 2, Butterfly Mind delivers a thrilling fusion of Art Rock invention, Post-Punk energy and epic soulful ballads. Tim’s seventh solo album features the stellar rhythm section of Richard Jupp (in his first major session since leaving Elbow) and Nick Beggs alongside a spectacular guest list including Ian Anderson (Jethro Tull), Dave Formula (Magazine), Peter Hammill (Van Der Graaf Generator), Martha Goddard (The Hushtones), Gregory Spawton (Big Big Train), Mark Tranmer (The Montgolfier Brothers / GNAC), Saro Cosentino (Franco Battiato), Italian Jazz musician Nicola Alesini, US singer Devon Dunaway (Ganga), Stephen W Tayler (Kate Bush) and, marking his first studio work with Tim for nearly three decades, former No-Man violinist Ben Coleman. Produced by Tim Bowness and Brian Hulse (Plenty), the album was mixed and mastered by Steven Wilson. Available as Limited 2CD Edition (featuring alternate mixes and bonus material), and a Limited 180g LP + CD edition featuring special die-cut artwork by Carl Glover. Also available as Digital Album.

Anyone who knows Duke's music, will immediately smile at the first few
seconds of the opening track "Here I'm Is" from the new album 'They
Called It Rhythm & Blues', available on 180g black vinyl from Stony Plain
Records
It's that joyous jump-blues shuffle sound that Duke has been perfecting since the
late 60s. Indeed, every song on this album is about the groove, master
musicianship, great understated taste and a perfect band mix that always
complements the pulse and the singer. Duke's guitar is at the center and brings it
all together.For a lifetime Duke Robillard has been playing the jazzy corners of the
blues. He was a founder of Roomful of Blues in the early 1970s, and replaced
Jimmy Vaughan in the Fabulous Thunderbirds in the 1990s and was a core
member of the New Guitar Summit through the 2000s, in addition to releasing an
astounding 37 albums on his own. He has won the W.C. Handy Award as Best
Blues Guitarist an astounding four times, and been nominated for two Best Blues
Album Grammy Awards. He is credited with taking the blues to a new level for
multiple generations of blues guitarists

With a back catalogue that spans half a dozen studio LPs as Boom Bip,
plus another two as one half of electronic pop duo Neon Neon, Bryan
Hollon has already made a name for himself as a Mercury prizenominated producer and multi-instrumentalist
Equally impressive are the credits to Warpaint drummer Stella Mozgawa's name;
she's contributed percussion to albums by Kurt Vile, Cate le Bon, Courtney
Barnett, Sharon Van Etten, and Kim Gordon, among others. But as improvisational
techno duo Belief, the pair make music that harkens back to '90s acts like LFO
and 808 State – artists that indelibly, but near-anonymously, altered club and rave
culture, mostly identifiable by clean, bold logos on 12" sleeves. Without being
derivative of the era, they add their own instincts and experiences to grace the
musical universe with new answers to the question: What Would Mark Bell Do?
Hollon met Mozgawa just after she joined Warpaint, when Boom Bip shared a
rehearsal space in Echo Park with the band. The two quickly bonded over a love
of early Warp Records, drum breaks, acid house, and Y2K- era rave flyers. They
swapped playlists and ideas when Mozgawa played drums for Neon Neon's 2013
West Coast tour, but due to busy schedules, it would be another three years
before they packed every piece of gear they collectively owned into Eric
Wareheim's Absolutely Studios for an initial jam session. Instinctively playing to
each other's strengths and whims – and recording the session to build on later –
allowed Mozgawa to explore a style of music she'd long considered a dark art,
and pushed Hollon, known for his meticulous planning in previous work, to be
more spontaneous.
It was all in good fun – early shows billed the pair as 'Beef' with a comedic wink
to its pulsating minimalism. But as the two began committing themselves to
finalizing and recording more soulful, enigmatic tracks, the reverent nature of
what they were doing began to emerge: while Belief pays homage to the pioneers
of techno, the project is born out of an oddly divine foresight Mozgawa and
Hollon share, the synergy of two devout tastemakers building a shrine to inner
peace and outward pleasure

Acid Jazz Group Label Countdown Records is proud to present 'Shake A Tail Feather' - a Vinyl/CD collection from Fast Eddie, one of the early '80s most exhilarating live groups, and a favourite of the Rhythm and Soul powered Mod scene of 1980s. Initially called 'The Investigators', Fast Eddie emerged from Billericay in the wake of Thames Delta Blues pioneers, Dr. Feelgood. Having gained a following playing the raw R&B of the Pub Rock circuit, the band diversified their sound to incorporate classic soul repertoire, alongside their own material, which is documented throughout this collection.

Significantly, the group was also managed and produced by a certain young Eddie Piller - our founder - in his first foray as a music Mogul. Consequently, this collection marks an important document in the formation of Well Suspect Records, Countdown Records and the wider Acid Jazz Story. The LP contains a sharp selection of 16 tracks from their recordings, while the CD and digital version extends this with 4 extra tracks. Their storming versions of 'Shake A Tail Feather' and 'Out Of Sight', show their love of classic club soul, while 'Help Me' and 'My Babe' prove that they could play the blues with plenty of rhythm and feeling.

180g audiophile vinyl reissue of Mary Lou Williams' highly sought after
1976 LP 'Free Spirits', featuring bassist Buster Williams and drummer
Mickey Roker
The First Lady of jazz, Mary Lou Williams (1910 - 1981) was the evolution of jazz
itself. Starting her professional career as pianist/composer/arranger in the 20s,
her style was swing but in the '40s she adopted the bop and later on she even
ventured into the realm of avant-garde jazz. Yet she never lost her blues feeling
which is evident in this long-awaited LP.
She contributed compositions and arrangements for many famous big bands
such as Andy Kirk, Benny Goodman, Earl Hines, Duke Ellington and Dizzy
Gillespie. In the late '60s and the '70s she was more focused on composing
sacred music. And one of her jazz masses was choreographed by Alvin Ailey.
Around the time of this recording Mary Lou in her mid-60s was still active in the
New York jazz scene performing regularly at the Cookery with the group recorded
here. SteepleChase was proud to have the opportunity of recording one of the
most significant artists of jazz of this century.

Her debut LP, Banshee, was released on Wax Poetics. Has collaborated with MF Doom, Czarface, Ghostface Killah, Dennis Coffey, and more. Kendra Morris’s Nine Lives, to be released on Karma Chief Records (a division of Colemine Records) in early 2022, marks not only the culmination of the decade since the release of her first LP Banshee, but also a turning point in Kendra’s life. Nine Lives heralds the beginning of a new chapter; label, and an evolution to the next level of adulthood. This collection of her original songs encapsulates moments from what could be nine lifetimes. Kendra, while very much a New Yorker and veteran of almost 2 decades on the NYC scene, hails from Florida and aesthetically embodies the broader sense of American culture, bringing to her contemporary sound influences found in music and cinema dating back to the mid 20th century. Her music conjures imagery evocative of road trips to weird and wonderful places. Concurrently a visual artist, filmmaker and animator, Kendra harnesses the feline nine lives metaphor repeatedly. In the context of the chapters of her musical trajectory alone, we see at least 9 lives. From discovering multi-tracking on a karaoke machine as a child, to playing in bands in Florida, moving to NYC and creating music alone on an 8 track, releasing her first 2 LPs on Wax Poetics, releasing her 2016 EP Babble and collaborating with DJ Premier, 9th Wonder, MF Doom, Czarface, Ghostface Killah, Dennis Coffey, and David Sitek, to name a few. The life of this multi-disciplinarian artist contains units of time and story lines through which we can all relate to universal themes of love, loss and overcoming one's fears. Kendra, never ceasing to heed her spiritual calling to continue creating music and art, no matter what, has no plans of slowing down but a belief in only evolving, eager to begin experiencing her next nine lives.

MARIUSZ DUDA (RIVERSIDE / LUNATIC SOUL) - INTERIOR DRAWINGS
PRESENTED FOR THE FIRST TIME ON VINYL.In 2020, Polish multiinstrumentalist Mariusz Duda (Riverside, Lunatic Soul) decided to
conduct an experiment
He set out to create a third music world, independent of his band 'Riverside' &
project Lunatic Soul. A world which would differ stylistically from the previous
two & underline his first steps in music. 30 years ago, a certain shy boy
fascinated by the works of Jean Michel Jarre, Vangelis, or Tangerine Dream,
locked himself up in his room & started to think up his original music stories. He
recorded them on cassette tapes, created covers for them & arranged them on
the shelf next to those of his masters. 30 years later, when the world was taken
over by a pandemic & an international lockdown, Mariusz was beamed back to
his childhood bedroom, reading & drawing comic books, playing games, listening
to lots of music from cassette tapes... & recording his own electronic sounds.
"Why not do it again?" He thought to himself, feeling inspired. "Why not create a
new project where I will play only the keyboards? And why not sing it just like I
used to when I was a kid ? Simply 'Mariusz Duda'". And that's exactly what he did.
Between 2020 & 2021, he recorded & released online three electronic albums that
make up the so called "Lockdown Trilogy".
The final of the three albums, 'Interior Drawings', is the first to get the vinyl
treatment. The album comes packaged in a gatefold sleeve & pressed on 140g
black vinyl.

The Belgians pimp their fourth album's psychedelic pop with disco funk and there fore groove somewhere between TAME IMPALA and PARCELS.On Movements, the Brussels-based rock quintet Great Mountain Fire lavishly enriches its infectious indie-pop songs with soul grooves. The lively sound and dexterous ensemble dance away our inarticulate sense of disquiet. The laidback funky rhythms, often combined with playful falsetto voices, bring out the dextrous ensemble as much as possible. The band discovered Sly & the Family Stone, Larry Graham. the afro rhythms David Byrne famously tried to embrace in his works, Marvin Gaye and "Strawberry Letter 23", a 1971 song by soul singer Shuggie Otis. Still it's an indie-guitar vibe that's ride GREAT MOUNTAIN FIRE.

Full Collapse ist das zweite Studioalbum der amerikanischen Post-Hardcore-Band Thursday. Das Album wurde 2001 veröffentlicht und wurde zu ihrem bisher größten und einflussreichsten Album. Mit den bahnbrechenden Singles ”Understanding In A Car Crash” und ”Cross Out The Eyes” erhielt das Album viele positive Kritiken von Musikkritikern, von denen viele die Musikalität des Albums lobten. Es wird als ein klassisches Emo-Album bezeichnet und von Publikationen wie Kerrang! und Rolling Stone als eines der
besten Emo-Alben aller Zeiten angesehen. Viele wichtige Künstler der Emo-Musikszene wie My Chemical Romance, As Cities Burn und Senses Fail haben Full Collapse als Einfluss auf ihre Veröffentlichungen genannt.

Dieses limitierte Box-Set enthält das gesamte Album auf drei 10”-LPs sowie ein Fotobuch mit nie zuvor gezeigten Fotos aus der Full Collapse-Ära.

Dust Star is the new power-pop project from songwriters Cameron Wisch and Justin Jergens, set to release their debut LP “Open Up that Heart” this summer on Lame-O Records. Fans of Wisch’s previous band Cende and Jergens’ cult-classic group SIRS will find that these thirteen new songs raise the bar for concise and pristine pop songwriting with a gritty edge. The album features stunning art from Sheer Mag’s Kyle Seely and is pressed on classic black vinyl.

Art Moore make vivid, heartbreaking short stories. Each song on the newly formed band's self-titled debut album is its own individual universe of bittersweet feeling: a brief snapshot of a moment in time that captures the fragility and occasional impossibility of human connection. These songs are deft character studies, zeroing in on shy beginners, jilted friends and friendly exes, chronicling minute moments-road trips, casual dates, games of truth or dare-with rich detail and subtle wit. Featuring the inimitable songwriting of beloved Oakland luminary Taylor Vick of Boy Scouts set in sharp relief against lush production from Ezra Furman collaborators Sam Durkes and Trevor Brooks, it's a quietly wondrous record - a set of songs that sketch out the struggle and beauty of coping with everyday life. These are songs about tiny, unspoken feelings rendered on a grand scale, moments that often get brushed aside given the weight that they should be. Across these ten stories, Vick, Brooks and Durkes are unsparing in their focus but remarkably generous in their artistry - three pairs of steady, even hands crafting one fine, precious object.

Die Hard Rock Band BLOOD GOD präsentiert deren neues Album "Demons of Rock'n'Roll", das 10 Hard Rock Songs im Stile von AC/DC und den alten Accept für euch bereithält.
Wie gewohnt kommt das neue BLOOD GOD-Album auch als 2-CD-Paket daher, dessen zweite CD alle Songs mit der Monsterstimme von DEBAUCHERY gesungen enthält.
Die jeweiligen BLOOD GOD und DEBAUCHERY Versionen des "Demons of Rock'n'Roll" Albums werden separat als Vinyl LP erhältlich sein.

Die Hard Rock Band BLOOD GOD präsentiert deren neues Album "Demons of Rock'n'Roll", das 10 Hard Rock Songs im Stile von AC/DC und den alten Accept für euch bereithält.
Wie gewohnt kommt das neue BLOOD GOD-Album auch als 2-CD-Paket daher, dessen zweite CD alle Songs mit der Monsterstimme von DEBAUCHERY gesungen enthält.
Die jeweiligen BLOOD GOD und DEBAUCHERY Versionen des "Demons of Rock'n'Roll" Albums werden separat als Vinyl LP erhältlich sein.

21st anniversary of Hey Tank, Miam Monster Miam's second album in limited vinyl edition. A absurd and poetic piece of music from the indie belgium lofi scene of the 90's. The Sleeve note are written by Dogbowl.

Das Box Set „The Girl From Chickasaw County“ von Bobbie Gentry erscheint am 5. August nun in gekürzter Version als Album.

Das Box Set, erschienen im Jahr 2018, öffnete die Ohren und die Augen der Welt für das, was wirklich in dem aufgenommenen Werk dieser unglaublichen Songwriterin steckt. Die neuen Formate des Albums enthalten eine Auswahl des unveröffentlichten Bonusmaterials des 8-CD-Pakets, einschließlich einer alternativen Aufnahme von „Sunday Best“, der Demo von „Hurry, Tuesday Child“, der alternativen Version von „Mississippi Delta“ und vielem mehr.
Das Album „The Girl From Chickasaw County“ ist als 2LP und 2CD erhältlich. Die CD wird ein 38- seitiges Buch enthalten, die LP ein 12”-Einlegeblatt mit einer Auswahl von Bildern, die im Boxset verwendet
wurden.

Portland troublemakers Hurry Up are up to it again - They've had it up to
here - and they're here to tell you about it
Lauded + feared for their ferocious 2015 self-titled LP, they've only grown bolder
and sharper, honing their craft in a radon-soaked basement lit by one bare party
bulb. Between tours with Drive Like Jehu, Hot Snakes, Protomartyr and other
luminaries of post-punk firmament, Hurry Up wrote the songs that would become
Dismal Nitch. Recorded on the brink of disaster (late 2019-early 2020), the record
is a cracked crystal ball with fire in its heart. Drummer Kathy Foster (Thermals, All
Girl Summer Fun Band, Roseblood), guitarist Westin Glass (Thermals) and bassist
Maggie Vail (Bangs) share equal writing / singing duties, conjuring a vision of a
world whirling with firestorms - social, emotional, political and literal. Dismal
Nitch is one of 2022's most compelling releases, impossible to ignore

This May, Italian alchemists and power trio Ufomammut return with their ninth studio album, Fenice via Neurot Recordings. But not as we’ve heard them before, now “more intimate, more free.”
For over 20 years, the band has combined the heaviness and majesty of dynamic riff worship with a nuanced understanding of psychedelic tradition and history in music, creating a cosmic, futuristic, and technicolor sound destined for absolute immersion.
Fenice (meaning Phoenix in Italian) symbolically represents endless rebirth and the ability to start again after everything seems doomed. The album is the first recording with new drummer Levre, and truly marks a new chapter in Ufomammut history.
“I think we lost our spontaneity, album after album,” says Urlo. “We tried to make more complicated songs and albums, but I think at some point we just ended up repeating ourselves. With Fenice, we were ready to start from zero, we had no past anymore - so we just wanted to be reborn and rise from the ashes..”
While the band are well-known for their psychedelic travels into the far reaches of the cosmos, Fenice is a much more introspective listening experience. Fenice was conceived as a single concept track, divided in six facets of this inward-facing focus. Sonic experimentations abound in the exploration of this central theme; synths and experimental vocal effects are featured more prominently than ever before as the band push themselves ever further into the uncharted territory of their very identity.
The towering synths on the opening track ‘Duat’ evoke an almighty machine rising from the depths of primordial ooze. There’s a shift to a frenetic garage-psych pace before mellowing out into a more familiar doomy stomp. ‘Kepherer’ is a respite, albeit a slight one, returning to the pulsing rhythms of the album’s intro before plunging the listener into the menacing build and release of ‘Psychostasia’ next. Each oscillation of this extraordinary album feels inevitable - Ufomammut are after all, masters of their craft, and when it comes to creating enveloping sonic journeys into the unknown, it’s their uninhibited sense of exploration that breaches new sonic ground.

Fenice is the sound of a band whose very essence has been rejuvenated, and are welcoming the chance to create music in the way they know best; by unfolding carefully and attentively, by melding those extreme dynamics which render Fenice as a living and breathing creature - and by writing gargantuan riffs that herald their very rebirth.

Like the many Banded Stilts that spread across the cover of her newest album, ‘Flood’, Stella
Donnelly is wading into uncharted territory. Here, she finds herself discovering who she is as
an artist among the flock, and how abundant one individual can be.
 ‘Flood’ is Donnelly’s record of this rediscovery: the product of months of risky experimentation,
hard moments of introspection, and a lot of moving around.
 Donnelly’s early reflections on the relationship between the individual and the many can be
traced back to her time in the rainforests of Bellingen, where she took to birdwatching as both a
hobby and an escape in a border-restricted world. By paying closer attention to the natural
world around her, Donnelly recalls “I was able to lose that feeling of anyone’s reaction to me. I
forgot who I was as a musician, which was a humbling experience of just being; being my small
self.”
 Reconnecting with this ‘small self’ allowed Donnelly to tap into creative wells she didn’t know
existed. Soon songs were coming to her in a way she could not control and over the coming
months, Donnelly accumulated 43 tracks as she moved out of Bellingen and around the
country, often finding herself displaced due to border restrictions and a tough rental market.
 Though the writing of ‘Flood’ was an intensely personal undertaking, Donnelly still saw the
recording process as one of her most collaborative projects yet. Along with her band members,
co-producing the record beside Anna Laverty and Methyl Ethyl’s Jake Webb helped to foster
an important spontaneity in the studio. With Webb, Donnelly could “dig in” and discover a
“forward-leaning sound” she’d been searching for, while Laverty’s ability to “capture the piano”
and discern the “perfect take” allowed the songwriter to take risks, many of which have clearly
paid off.
 Looking back at the Banded Stilt, Donnelly ultimately appreciates how when “seen in a crowd
they create an optical illusion, but on its own it’s this singular piece of art.” While each song in
‘Flood’ is a singular artwork unto itself, the collective shares all of Stella Donnelly in abundance:
her inner child, her nurturing self, her nightmare self; all of herself has gone into the making of
this record and, although it would take an ocean to fathom everything she feels, it’s well worth
diving in

Like the many Banded Stilts that spread across the cover of her newest album, ‘Flood’, Stella
Donnelly is wading into uncharted territory. Here, she finds herself discovering who she is as
an artist among the flock, and how abundant one individual can be.
 ‘Flood’ is Donnelly’s record of this rediscovery: the product of months of risky experimentation,
hard moments of introspection, and a lot of moving around.
 Donnelly’s early reflections on the relationship between the individual and the many can be
traced back to her time in the rainforests of Bellingen, where she took to birdwatching as both a
hobby and an escape in a border-restricted world. By paying closer attention to the natural
world around her, Donnelly recalls “I was able to lose that feeling of anyone’s reaction to me. I
forgot who I was as a musician, which was a humbling experience of just being; being my small
self.”
 Reconnecting with this ‘small self’ allowed Donnelly to tap into creative wells she didn’t know
existed. Soon songs were coming to her in a way she could not control and over the coming
months, Donnelly accumulated 43 tracks as she moved out of Bellingen and around the
country, often finding herself displaced due to border restrictions and a tough rental market.
 Though the writing of ‘Flood’ was an intensely personal undertaking, Donnelly still saw the
recording process as one of her most collaborative projects yet. Along with her band members,
co-producing the record beside Anna Laverty and Methyl Ethyl’s Jake Webb helped to foster
an important spontaneity in the studio. With Webb, Donnelly could “dig in” and discover a
“forward-leaning sound” she’d been searching for, while Laverty’s ability to “capture the piano”
and discern the “perfect take” allowed the songwriter to take risks, many of which have clearly
paid off.
 Looking back at the Banded Stilt, Donnelly ultimately appreciates how when “seen in a crowd
they create an optical illusion, but on its own it’s this singular piece of art.” While each song in
‘Flood’ is a singular artwork unto itself, the collective shares all of Stella Donnelly in abundance:
her inner child, her nurturing self, her nightmare self; all of herself has gone into the making of
this record and, although it would take an ocean to fathom everything she feels, it’s well worth
diving in

Like the many Banded Stilts that spread across the cover of her newest album, ‘Flood’, Stella
Donnelly is wading into uncharted territory. Here, she finds herself discovering who she is as
an artist among the flock, and how abundant one individual can be.
 ‘Flood’ is Donnelly’s record of this rediscovery: the product of months of risky experimentation,
hard moments of introspection, and a lot of moving around.
 Donnelly’s early reflections on the relationship between the individual and the many can be
traced back to her time in the rainforests of Bellingen, where she took to birdwatching as both a
hobby and an escape in a border-restricted world. By paying closer attention to the natural
world around her, Donnelly recalls “I was able to lose that feeling of anyone’s reaction to me. I
forgot who I was as a musician, which was a humbling experience of just being; being my small
self.”
 Reconnecting with this ‘small self’ allowed Donnelly to tap into creative wells she didn’t know
existed. Soon songs were coming to her in a way she could not control and over the coming
months, Donnelly accumulated 43 tracks as she moved out of Bellingen and around the
country, often finding herself displaced due to border restrictions and a tough rental market.
 Though the writing of ‘Flood’ was an intensely personal undertaking, Donnelly still saw the
recording process as one of her most collaborative projects yet. Along with her band members,
co-producing the record beside Anna Laverty and Methyl Ethyl’s Jake Webb helped to foster
an important spontaneity in the studio. With Webb, Donnelly could “dig in” and discover a
“forward-leaning sound” she’d been searching for, while Laverty’s ability to “capture the piano”
and discern the “perfect take” allowed the songwriter to take risks, many of which have clearly
paid off.
 Looking back at the Banded Stilt, Donnelly ultimately appreciates how when “seen in a crowd
they create an optical illusion, but on its own it’s this singular piece of art.” While each song in
‘Flood’ is a singular artwork unto itself, the collective shares all of Stella Donnelly in abundance:
her inner child, her nurturing self, her nightmare self; all of herself has gone into the making of
this record and, although it would take an ocean to fathom everything she feels, it’s well worth
diving in

I’m Jimmy Reed underlined the very raw nature of the recordings, yet it immediately showed
why his music was embraced so much by others as the songs offered more melody and variety
than other Blues players. Ain't That Lovin' You Baby has fine melodic hooks that could easily
be transcribed into rocking versions, while Boogie In The Dark set the template for so many
groups in the sixties. The slower tracks like You Got Me Crying and Little Rain provided useful
contrasts, while Honest I Do gives added meaning to the phrase 'stripped down'. Jimmy Reed
was easily the most commercially successful Bluesman in America during the 1950s, and as
such his material was readily available to be plundered by artists wanting to enrich their live
repertoire. This reached its height during the UK Beat boom when virtually every working group
included his songs in their sets. The Rolling Stones, The Yardbirds, Them and The Animals all
covered his songs liberally during the first half of the sixties. In his homeland, The Grateful
Dead, The Steve Miller Band, Johnny Winter, Wishbone Ash and, bizarrely, even Bill Cosby
followed suit!

BBC 6 MusicAlbum of the Yearas chosen by

DJ Craig Charles

★★★★Mojo

★★★★★Blues & Soul

★★★★★UK Vibe

9/10 DJ Mag (Single I Miss You)

"One of the very best soul voices I've heard for a very long time"

Craig Charles (BBC 6Music)

"Delivered with a vocal dripping with yearning and desperation"

4/5 Mojo

"A high octane soul masterpiece"

Blues & Soul,5/5Album of the Month

"Undoubtedly the album of the year"

5/5 UK Vibe

Burundian soul singer JP Bimeni is set to release his first music since his BBC 6 Music award winning album Free, from 2018. Give Me Hope is a slice of horn heavy, Afro tinged, Stax inspired soul and is the first taster of a new album set for release in early 2022

Give me Hope is the title track from his new album, featuring his band The Black Belts, set to drop on February 4thon Lovemonk Records.

A supremely funky number it boasts bassline and powerful horn arrangements, and gives a taster to a new work that dots between classic '60s Motown, psychedelia and Afro-funk.

Zur Feier ihres 25-jährigen Bandjubiläums veröffentlichen
Third Eye Blind am 15. Juli ihre Greatest Hits Compilation
A COLLECTION aus dem Jahr 2006 als Doppel-LP. Die
19 Tracks des Sets, das erstmals auf Vinyl erhältlich ist,
wurden aus den ersten drei Studioalben der Altrocker
(1997-2003) ausgewählt und enthalten ihre größten
Singles, gemischt mit ein paar Raritäten und
Fan-Favoriten.

Das Debüt der Band wurde in den USA sechsmal mit
Platin ausgezeichnet und hielt sich mehr als 100 Wochen
in den Billboard 200. Die erste Seite von A COLLECTION
enthält alle fünf Singles des Albums, darunter "How's It
Going To Be", "Graduate" und "Semi-Charmed Life", die
meistverkaufte Single der Band. Der Song wurde im Juli
1997 veröffentlicht und erreichte im August die Spitze der
Modern Rock-Charts (Platz 4 Pop). Später im Jahr wurde
die Single mit Gold ausgezeichnet und bei den Billboard
Music Awards zum Modern Rock Track of the Year
g

Repress

In 1974 Mazzotti recorded her first album Ninguem Vai Me Segurar (1974), enlisting the in-demand arrangement talents of Azymuth’s original keyboard maestro Jose Roberto Bertrami who co-wrote several of the tracks and plays organ, piano and synthesizers on the album. It also features Azymuth’s bassist Alex Malheiros and percussionist Ariovaldo Contestini, with Romildo Santos who produced the album on drums. Recorded in Estudio Haway around the same time Azymuth recorded their debut album there, it’s no wonder the samba jazz-funk pioneer’s distinctive aesthetic is present throughout, and Mazzotti’s sensational compositions are made even more beautiful for it.

An artist as imaginative and unique as Ana Mazzotti doesn’t come around often. Dubbed a “super-musician” by fellow Brazilian virtuoso Hermeto Pascoal, Mazzotti’s short but rich musical career culminated in just two studio albums: Ninguem Vai Me Segurar (1974), and Ana Mazzotti (1977). Outside circles of Brazilian funk aficionados, these two gems of spellbinding samba-jazz, lysergic funk and trippy bossa have remained relatively obscure. This was partly as a result of Mazzotti’s premature death (she lost her battle with cancer in her mid-thirties), but also due to financial restraints and the prejudice she faced as a female songwriter in a fundamentally sexist society.

Born in Caixas, in Brazil’s Rio Grande do Sul municipality, Mazzotti began to play the accordion aged five, before moving with prodigious ease onto the piano. By the age of twelve she was already conducting her convent school’s choir, and at twenty-one she led her city’s premier chorus, the Coral Bento Goncalves. When rock and roll hit South America in the sixties, a young Mazzotti was one of the early adopters, fronting various guitar groups including an all-female Beatles cover band, and an eclectic, eight-piece psychedelic group Desenvolvemento. Before moving to Sao Paulo to start her career proper, Mazzotti met drummer, producer and fellow music educator Romido Santos, who she would later marry. Romildo introduced Mazzotti to jazz, and music by the likes of Chick Corea and Hermeto Pascoal who she would later befriend and perform with.

In 1977, Mazzotti took her debut album back to the studio, releasing the album with a new running order and new ethereal cover art, ostensibly another crack at commercial success following the small scale of the independently funded first release. With intimately re-recorded vocals, and the bonus of gorgeous horn arrangements and a new track: the carnivalesque ‘Eta, Samba Bom’, replacing Roberta Flack’s hit ‘Feel Like Making Love’, Ana Mazzotti (1977) delivers Mazzotti’s refreshingly cool musical style even more effortlessly, while retaining the all magical energy of her debut.

Far Out Recordings is proud to present the official reissue of this cult favourite Brazilian treasure. Remastered and pressed to 180g vinyl Ana Mazzotti (1977) will be available on vinyl LP, CD and digitally from 13th September.