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Kate Fagan took the Chicago punk scene by storm in the early 80's with her self-released single "I Don't Wanna Be Too Cool", which became the best-selling single ever by a local artist at the legendary Wax Trax! Records. Today, Captured Tracks is thrilled to present an expanded, re-mastered edition of I Don't Wanna Be Too Cool as a full-length vinyl album. Fagan wrote "I Don't Wanna Be Too Cool" after moving to Chicago from New York in the late 70's. The track is a critique of the emergent "hipster" attitude of the disco crowd and the posturing she was witnessing among her peers in New York. With its surf-inspired drum machine, irresistible melody, and defiant lyrics, "Too Cool" was immediately embraced by club DJs, radio stations, and independent record stores. Its b-side, "Waiting For The Crisis," also gained notice for its raw musical style and politically charged Reagan-era lyrics, which still resonate today. In the years that followed, Fagan continued to break new ground In 1980, she co-founded the enormously popular ska band Heavy Manners (whose dance parties are still legendary), and with them opened shows for The Clash, Grace Jones, Peter Tosh, The English Beat, and many more. The "Too Cool" single became a sought-after rarity among record collectors for decades after its initial release, until Manufactured Recordings gave it a proper reissue in 2016. Captured Tracks' expanded 2023 follow-up features four unreleased songs, which encapsulate the gutsy, new wave energy that pulses through the original single. The final track, the reggae-tinged "Say It", features production from the reggae legend Peter Tosh and Bob Marley's guitarist Donald Kinsey, who flew in from Jamaica to record with Heavy Manners after witnessing their impassioned live show. While the 2016 reissue re-established Fagan's cult-classic status for a new audience, this new expanded release solidifies her place in a tradition of trailblazing, powerhouse frontwomen.

For over 28 years envy have been crafting soaring compositions with captivating melodies that owe as much to Explosions in the Sky and Mogwai as they do to Bad Brains and Cro-Mags. Their new EP continues to display a masterful control of tension and release in chords and melodies behind the steady spoken-word Japanese of singer Tetsuya. Throughout their storied career, Japanese ENVY have paved the way for iconic bands like Isis, Converge and Deafheaven with their unique sound blending elements of hardcore / punk with reverb-drenched tremolo-picked guitar lines owing to the world of post-rock. Envy sit right in between these 2 worlds, and prove that they are not as disparate as it seems at a first glance. Opening track ,Seimei` marries tear-inducing melodies with gut-wrenching grooves to create a soul journey, while ,Zanshin` (meaning ,uninterrupted heart` in Japanese) dashes forward with an upbeat groove and soaring post rock leads. On ,Tamayura', the energy is dialed back as reverb-drenched tremolo-picked guitar lines wash over you from behind alongside Japanese spoken word-parts and a throbbing heartbeat. This is ENVY at their very best. FFO Mono, Mogwai, Explosions In The Sky, Isis, Swans, Pelican, Caspian, Thursday, From Autumn To Ashes, Thursday, Birds In Row, Deafheaven Limited (400 copies ww) Single Coloured Tamayura (Dark Red Vinyl) Edition!

Belgian-Japanese piano wizard Alex Koo seemed destined for a career as a classical concert pianist, but in his teens, he became completely enamored with jazz. Driven by his passion, he moved to New York, where he studied and taught at the renowned NYU Steinhardt. There he came into contact with jazz greats Mark Turner and Ralph Alessi, with whom he released the album "Applebueseagreen" in 2019, which was promptly included in the prestigious list of "Best Albums of 2019" by the legendary Downbeat Jazz Magazine with the words "Stunningly original". Domestically, too, one blazing review upon another: "Belgium is too small for pianist Alex Koo" or "We are stunned ", we read in national newspapers De Tijd and Le Soir.
With his brand new Etudes for Piano, composed for and commissioned by BoZar Brussels, he shows how his passion for both worlds - jazz and classical - merge perfectly. Adventurism and virtuosity go hand in hand with melancholy and elbow work (literally, for those who really know Koo knows). His music sounds like a marriage between Debussy, Chopin, Reich, Rachmaninov on the one hand and Keith Jarrett, Craig Taborn, Brian Eno and Philip Glass on the other. Alex Koo is a conjuring natural born storyteller on piano.

Mixed Colours Vinyl

Nach der 2021 erschienenen Best-Of-Compilation 'This is Telex' erscheint jetzt der komplette Katalog des belgischen Synth-Pop-Trios als aufwändige limitierte 6CD-Box und als limitierte 6LP-Box, inclusive der Alben 'Looking For Saint Tropez', 'Neurovision', 'Sex', 'Wonderful World', 'Looney Tunes' und 'How Do You Dance?'.

Diese Studioalben wurden alle neu gemastert und von den Bandmitgliedern Dan Lacksman und Michel Moers neu abgemischt, wobei der Geist der Originaltitel erhalten blieb und gleichzeitig eine neue Frische hinzugefügt wurde, um eine endgültige Version jedes Albums zu schaffen. Das Boxset ist eine Zeitreise der Karriere des belgischen Synthpop-Trios, von ihrem Debüt 1979 bis zu ihrem letzten Studioalbum How Do You Dance? (2006).

"Bernhard von Siluh Records hat mich gebeten, einen Hype-Text über die neue BAD WEED-Platte zu formulieren, und ich fühlte mich zunächst geschmeichelt, hatte dann aber doch Zweifel... Wie kann ich euch dieses Powerpop-Juwel in wenigen Worten erklären und näher bringen? Es ist nicht nur das übliche Jangle-Pop-Ding oder noch schlimmer, nicht etwas, das man heutzutage "Garage-Punk" nennt, nein, Sir! Es ist echter Powerpop im Stil der 70er Jahre, aber wie mein Chef immer zu sagen pflegt: Man kann den Leuten nicht erzählen, wie großartig eine Powerpop-Platte ist - man muss sie sich anhören, am besten mit einem Getränk der Wahl in der Hand, und bald wird sie ihre Besonderheit enthüllen (oder auch nicht). Was liebe ich an BAD WEED, außer der Tatsache, dass sie die hübschesten Jungs der Welt sind, die - nachdem sie 20 Jahre lang in verschiedenen Bands gespielt haben - endlich gelernt haben, ihre Instrumente zu spielen? Es sind die Songs! Es geht nur um die Songs! Die erste Single aus dem Jahr 2015 war etwas anderes, man kann es sogar Garagenpop nennen, ihr Debütalbum vor ein paar Jahren und etwa 100 Shows später war nur der Anfang, hier ist ihr zweites Album mit dem schlichten Titel "II", das Talent, Songwriting-Fähigkeiten und Pop-Handwerkskunst zeigt! Einige dieser 12 Originalsongs erinnern mich an Alben/Bands, die längst vergessen sind, wie z.B. "If you ever pt. 1" könnte eine frühe THE FRESHIES-Single sein, "Breaking Lines" könnte von einer RUDI-Setlist sein oder "Who's gonna love me" klingt wie einer dieser THE COLD-Ohrwürmer. Die meisten Songs haben diesen 80er-Jahre-UK-Indie-Punk-Vibe, der direkt in mein Gehirn und mein Herz geht! Sie haben sogar die Frechheit, TOWNES VAN ZANDT zu covern - und schaffen es, dass es nicht so deprimierend klingt wie das Original, nur ein bisschen traurig vielleicht. Zu behaupten, dies sei ein Wohlfühlalbum, ist nicht ganz richtig, so einfach ist es nicht. Es ist eine Platte, die Lust macht, die Band in einem kleinen Club live zu sehen, eine Platte, die einen einfach lächeln lässt und an gute Zeiten erinnert. BAD WEED ist eine Band für die Hosentasche, eine Band, die man liebt und von der man Freunden erzählen möchte, aber nicht zu vielen, denn die Band sollte klein und in der Hosentasche bleiben und nicht in den Playlists von jedem Tom, Dick und Harry vorkommen_" (Elmar / Bachelor Records) "Debüt-Scheiblette von Wiens Blitzpopgroup. Mitreißender Powerpop-Punk mit ganz viel early UK- vs semi-modern Texas-Sound in den Venen. Buzzcocks , Exploding Hearts, The Jam, Bad Sports, Marked Men, .... Schweine-tight gespielte, tolle Melodien, die einen sofort abholen, bissi Saxophon hier und Orgel da!! Die Platte strotzt vor Energie und Spielfreude, findet einen steilen Breakeven zwischen Witz, Charme und Klassenbewusstsein. Stark!" (FLIGHT13)

Algiers haben sich eine Crew zugelegt: Für ihr viertes Album "SHOOK" versammelte die Band eine Schar gleichgesinnter Künstler um sich herum. Der Nachfolger zum gefeierten Album "There Is No Year" (2020) ist ein musikalischer wie inhaltlicher Blitzableiter in bewegten Zeiten und mit seinen 17 eindringlichen Songs schon jetzt eines der aufregendsten Alben aus 2023. Das komplette Album entstand, als Fisher und sein Bandkollege Ryan Mahan für einige Monate in ihre Heimatstadt Atlanta zurückkehrten, wo sie unter dem wachsenden Druck litten, was schließlich in einem Burnout gipfelte. Eine extreme Zeit für die Band und für die Freundschaft der beiden Musiker, in der sie schließlich auch persönlich wieder zueinander fanden. Sie hörten viel alten Hiphop und eine Neuauflage von DJ Grand Wizard Theodores 1970er Punk-beeinflusstem New Yorker Rap-Meisterwerk "Subway Theme" diente als spirituelles und thematisches Moodboard für das Album. Während Gemeinschaft und Zusammenarbeit schon immer ein wesentlicher Bestandteil der Arbeitsweise von Algiers war, kommt dies bei "SHOOK" nun voll zum Tragen. Die Liner Notes lesen sich wie ein Who is Who der zeitgenössischen Underground-Musik, mit Zack de la Rocha, Big Rube (The Dungeon Family), Billy Woods, Samuel T. Herring (Future Islands), Jae Matthews (Boy Harsher), LaToya Kent (Mourning A BLKstar), Backxwash, Nadah El Shazly, DeForrest Brown Jr. (Speaker Music), Patrick Shiroishi, Lee Bains III, und Mark Cisneros (The Make-Up, Kid Congo Powers). Dank ihrer Beiträge wird "Shook" aus verschiedenen Blickwinkeln neu geformt und kontextualisiert. "Es vertieft und erweitert die Welt von Algiers", so Schlagzeuger Matt Tong. Atlanta, der Ort, an dem die Platte entstanden ist, steht schließlich im Mittelpunkt. Das Album beginnt mit einer robotergesteuerten Zugdurchsage vom Hartsfield Airport, die vielen Einwohnern von Atlanta ein Begriff ist und Fisher als Kind immer eine Heidenangst gemacht hat. "Wir haben in einer Umgebung gearbeitet, an die wir gewöhnt waren", sagt Gitarrist Lee Tesche. "Es fühlt sich an wie die beste Algiers-Platte, die wir je gemacht haben." Dass diese Platte überhaupt entstanden ist, grenzt an ein kleines Wunder, da die Band immer wieder vor der Auflösung stand. Algiers haben jedoch Reibung in Energie umgewandelt und mit "SHOOK" ein außergewöhnliches und kraftvolles Album produziert, das am Ende von seiner starken Gemeinschaft lebt. "Ich glaube, mit dieser Platte haben wir unser Zuhause gefunden", sagt Mahan, und Fisher fügt hinzu: "Es war eine ganz neue, positive Erfahrung - eine erneuerte Beziehung zu der Stadt, aus der wir kommen, und Stolz dafür zu haben. Mir gefällt der Gedanke, dass diese Platte uns auf eine Reise mitgenommen hat, die aber in Atlanta beginnt und endet."

Crystal Clear Vinyl
Unverwechselbar: dEUS sind nach zehn Jahren zurück!

Die legendäre belgische Rockband dEUS meldet sich mit 'How To Replace It', ihrem achten Studioalbum und dem ersten seit zehn Jahren zurück: Unverwechselbar und einfallsreich, melodisch und doch trotzig schräg. Einzigartig. Und vor allem unverkennbar dEUS. Lyrisch gibt sich 'How To Replace It' mysteriös und kreist um Themen wie Romantik, Altern und die Moderne, liefert Fragen und Antworten zugleich und lädt die Zuhörenden zur eigenen Interpretation ein.

Die belgische Band hatte noch nie wirklich eine Philosophie. Und wollte vielleicht auch nie eine haben. Dennoch sind sie bestimmten Grundsätzen treu geblieben: "You don't want to repeat yourself, but you have your style", erzählt Tom Barman, Frontmann der Band, der auf dem Album seine bisher persönlichsten und rauesten Texte präsentiert. "You want to try new stuff and just react to whatever feels fresh at the time."

Auch 28 Jahre nach ihrem Debütalbum bleiben dEUS weiterhin Alternative-Rock-Vordenker, die immer nach vorne drängen, endlos neugierig und kreativ rastlos sind.

3 Feet High and Rising is the debut studio album by hip hop trio De La Soul and was released on March 3, 1989

It marked the first of three full- length collaborations with producer Prince Paul, which would become the critical and commercial peak of both parties. Critically, as well as commercially, the album was a success. It contains the singles, "Me Myself and I", "The Magic Number", "Buddy", and "Eye Know".

The album title came from the Johnny Cash song "Five Feet High and Rising". It is listed on Rolling Stone's 200 Essential Rock Records and The Source's 100 Best Rap Albums. When Village Voice held its annual Pazz & Jop Critics Poll for 1989, 3 Feet High and Rising was ranked #1. It was also listed on the Rolling Stone's

The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. Released amid the 1989 boom in gangsta rap, which gravitated towards hardcore, confrontational, violent lyrics, De La Soul's uniquely positive style made them an oddity beginning with the first single, "Me, Myself and I". Their positivity meant many observers labeled them a 'hippie' group, based on their declaration of the 'D.A.I.S.Y. Age' (Da. Inner. Soul. Yall).

Sampling artists as diverse as Hall & Oates, Steely Dan and The Turtles, 3 Feet High and Rising is often viewed as the stylistic beginning of 1990s alternative hip hop (and especially jazz rap).

3 Feet High and Rising is the debut studio album by hip hop trio De La Soul and was released on March 3, 1989

It marked the first of three full- length collaborations with producer Prince Paul, which would become the critical and commercial peak of both parties. Critically, as well as commercially, the album was a success. It contains the singles, "Me Myself and I", "The Magic Number", "Buddy", and "Eye Know".

The album title came from the Johnny Cash song "Five Feet High and Rising". It is listed on Rolling Stone's 200 Essential Rock Records and The Source's 100 Best Rap Albums. When Village Voice held its annual Pazz & Jop Critics Poll for 1989, 3 Feet High and Rising was ranked #1. It was also listed on the Rolling Stone's

The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. Released amid the 1989 boom in gangsta rap, which gravitated towards hardcore, confrontational, violent lyrics, De La Soul's uniquely positive style made them an oddity beginning with the first single, "Me, Myself and I". Their positivity meant many observers labeled them a 'hippie' group, based on their declaration of the 'D.A.I.S.Y. Age' (Da. Inner. Soul. Yall).

Sampling artists as diverse as Hall & Oates, Steely Dan and The Turtles, 3 Feet High and Rising is often viewed as the stylistic beginning of 1990s alternative hip hop (and especially jazz rap).

Mzylkypop ( Miz-ilky-pop) is the music of Michael Somerset who leads an ensemble of multinational musicians based in Sheffield.

Ursula in Regression is the first single from the 2nd Myzlkypop LP "Threnodies and Ad Hocs" and features the golden vocals of Julia Calvo. In its original form it is an energetic, jaunty pop masterpiece but was taken down a darker & clubbier route by Crooked Man.

As the song writing element of The Crooked Man project Michael cashed in his free remix voucher with DJ Parrot who delivers three exceptional club mixes. Bent Crooked 1 inspired Luke Unabomber to get evangelical - calling it one of the best tracks he’s heard in the last 20 years.

Michael has a rich musical history beginning his career with industrial funksters Clock DVA before up sticking to Detroit to work with Don Was and his mutant disco orchestra Was (Not Was). He has written world-wide hits for Alison Moyet, Take That and Roisin Murphy.

Since the late aughts, Helsinki-based multi-instrumentalist, linguist, and skateboarder Olli Aarni has released a steady stream of diverse and remarkably consistent recordings via labels such as Mappa, Longform Editions, Cotton Goods, Laaps and Superpang. “Koko maailma” constitutes a major new work in his discography, finding a fertile middle ground between what might be understood as his two primary compositional modes: organic/chaotic/aleatoric music and rule-based, longform works of minimalism. The source material for these compositions was recorded exclusively using the Serge system at EMS Stockholm, but the timbres that Aarni arrives at do not recall archetypal Serge music as most know it. Meticulous editing and processing of the material with an array of digital tools has resulted in music that preserves the erratic and cybernetic character of the Serge system but sounds totally unique unto itself. The first piece, “Ylhäällä,” has the sonic character of fireflies at dusk or ants in the dirt — mercurial, hypnotic, flittering, and scattering tones presented in the spirit of the best environmental music. “Alhaalla” functions almost like a zoomed out impression of what precedes it, with just intonation tuning applied to sine wave generators to create grid-like, harmonically rich, and surprisingly emotive drone music. Micro and macro — two pieces of music, two perspectives of a world.

The 1990s were a time when hip-hop infused with R&B became pop music, and at the forefront of this movement was En Vogue. Their most commercially and critically successful album, Funky Divas, stands as one of the best pop/R&B albums to emerge from that time, incorporating soul, hip-hop, pop, dance, and rock to create one of the era’s most diverse, dazzling, and exciting pieces of work. The album scored no less than five hit singles, three of which became Top 10 pop hits. It includes the unstoppable “My Lovin’ (You’re Never Gonna Get It)”, which was one of the biggest hits of 1992 and additionally the remake of “Giving Him Something He Can Feel,” “Give It Up Turn It Loose,” and “Free Your Mind”.

Funky Divas is available as a limited edition of 1500 individually numbered copies on purple coloured vinyl and includes an insert.

Donato Dozzy, Marco Shuttle and Ultrastation are among the names on these great remix package on the trustworthy SoHaSo label. After two well received EP's -Laren and ZL2- Bas Dobbelaer and Vand asked a few like-minded spirits to reset the dials of some of their best work. With their melancholic, melodic and highly detailed techno-infused productions, the two Dutch producers carved a name for themselves over the last four years. Italian producer Donato Dozzy takes Transit (a track from 2019) into a lush, green forrest. Where dew water is still dripping from the trees while string-like melodies slowly swirl around them. Beautiful stuff. Gal Tsadok-Hai takes a similar path, though his take on Gateway to Gaia is a bit gloomier. Dusk is setting in and so is melancholia. Same goes for Marco Shuttles version of Reflect, a track from 2021. The London-based Italian producer left out kickdrums and basslines, settling instead for a feverish percussion-infused meditation. Once on the flipside, the club vibe truly kicks in. With a minimalist, bassline heavy remix by Shoal of Story of Blade and an equally effective techno remake from Ultrastation, who turns Runner into a hypnotic peak time monster.

NYC leftfield disco darlings Phenomenal Handclap Band made their first appearance on RNT by way of a collab with JKriv in 2022, and now they return for an offering all their own, the Burning Bridges EP.

The title track juxtaposes riffy guitar driven funk with plaintive vocals that smack of 1970s Heart in the best way, and Prins Thomas turns the tempo knob up a few clicks and launches into an extended interstellar excursion with his remix.

On the B side the cinematic slow burner ‘It Was The Summer’ begins sparse and hazy and builds to driving peak of backbeat rhythm and an insistent vocal soliloquy. Each Other (Justin Strauss & Max Pask) then take the tune straight the rave with arpeggiated and acidic synths, recasting the haunting vocals as a modern New Wave anthem.

This album features Pharoah Sanders playing some no-nonsense tenor in a quartet with pianist John Hicks, bassist Walter Booker, and drummer Idris Muhammad. Sanders performs "It's Easy to Remember" (in a style very reminiscent of early-'60s John Coltrane), an original blues, and two of his compositions, including the passionate "You've Got to Have Freedom."

The musicianship is at a high level and, although Sanders does not shriek as much as one might hope (the Trane-ish influence was particularly strong during this relatively mellow period), he is in fine form. Review by Scott Yanow/AMG

Beware! This is hot stuff! Wear asbestos clothing while listening. Four world-class musicians at the very pinnacle of their art relating closely to one another in the vortex of a cyclone of jazz music. They're all burning, but listen particularly to John Hicks (R.I.P Mr. Hicks) on "DOKTOR PITT." Is he not the best thing to happen to the keyboard since McCoy Tyner? And when I state John Hicks was burning, if you've ever had the opportunity to view the video of this performance (maybe still on YouTube) recorded at the Great American Music Hall in 1981, you'll see
Mr. Hicks melting with perspiration. That's cookin' brother...
review by James S. Grogan

Nebraska is a 2013 American comedy-drama road film directed by Alexander Payne, written by Bob Nelson and starring Bruce Dern, Will Forte, June Squibb and Bob Odenkirk. Shot in black- and-white, the story follows an elderly Montana resident and his son as they try to claim a million-dollar sweepstakes prize on a long trip to Nebraska. The film was nominated for the Palme d’Or (Grand Prize) at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival, where Dern won the award for Best Actor. In addition, Nebraska was nominated for six Oscars and became a commercial success.

The film score was composed by Mark Orton, who is part of the acoustic chamber music group Tin Hat (formerly the Tin Hat Trio). For parts of this soundtrack, Orton is joined by other members of Tin Hat, which was the first time they reunited since 2005. They’re known to combine many genres of music, including jazz, southern blues, bluegrass, neoclassical, avant-garde and eastern European folk.

Celebrating its 10th anniversary, Nebraska is available on vinyl for the first time. The soundtrack is available as a 10th anniversary edition of 500 individually numbered copies on black & white marbled vinyl and includes an insert with movie stills and liner notes by director Alexander Payne.

Nirvana's third LP is a masterpiece of late UK sixties popsike turning into symphonic pop, but not having received proper promotion despite being equally good as, if not better than their previous releases, it also marked the end of the collaborations between Patrick Campbel-Lyons and Alex Spyropoulos back in 1969.



Nirvana presented it to Island boss Chris Blackwell under the title of Black Flower. Blackwell, however, decided to turn it down for release, but gave the masters to Campbell-Lyons and Spyropoulos so they could find a new label to release the album. That was to happen in the USA through Metromedia Records in 1969. At that time, the label's owner went through a scandal due to the payola days, which left Nirvana's third offering without any promotion - as a result of that, very few copies were pressed. There was also a UK release on PYE and it was even released by Metromedia in Japan. However, for years it remained as "the lost" Nirvana release, with the added fact that none of the released editions launched the album under its original title of Black Flower but under the rather cryptic Dedicated To Markos II (read why in the liner notes!).



Musically, this is Nirvana at their best. The tune that should have been the title track, Black Flower, is an incredible piece of symphonic psychedelia and probably the best produced Nirvana track ever. Campbell-Lyons and Spyropoulos were backed for the occasion by Spooky Tooth, who played on many tracks of the album, and big orchestral arrangements mesmerize the listener in one of the duo's darkest offerings. This song aside, the rest of the album was deemed as sounding too much like a French soundtrack by Island, which may do at some points –without that being a bad thing,– but there is a lot more to it, since Nirvana have not lost that popsike edge that characterised their sound in their two previous outings.



This is also a record that was widely acclaimed in the hip hop scene. And samplers of it have been used by several artists, most notably DJ Shadow used Love Suite in his 1996 debut album Endtroducing.



The Wah Wah edition has been remastered from the original tapes by Roger Prades @ Prades Mastering and comes with a bonus 7" EP and a four page colour insert with liner notes by Malcom Dome, plus a sheet with the lyrics of the songs. First ever official vinyl reissue since 1970 in a limited edition of 500 copies only!

The Earth is burning, covering all environments in ashes. Smoke comes to us from computers-from social networks accelerating the spread of burnt affects, damaging our ability to feel and respond to what the planet strives to express. We need to cool down. Thomas Köner's music can help change the pace of our perceptions: 1) In DAIKAN (2002) - a Japanese term meaning "the coldest" or "the coldest part of the year"-the ear stretches until touching the depth of time that persists in the ice; a sonic drama offers the slowness thanks to which the skin of perceptions can reconstitute themselves; icequakes awaken listeners to the frozen life without scaring them. 2) Banlieue du Vide, considered by many to be Thomas Köner's most iconic audiovisual work and best kept secret, has not been released previously. It is in the collection of a couple of art museums, e.g. the Centre Pompidou in Paris, and has been awarded the Golden Nica at Prix Ars Electronica in 2004, in the category Digital Musics. Banlieue du Vide is the result of months of time-lapse observations of empty streets in the Finnish Arctic Circle, shown in glacially slow slow-motion. Phase cancellation, on which all noise cancelling technology is based, here affects the perception of time, the sense of the flow of time extinguishing itself. At this stage the void is not yet empty, traces of past noise fill the listeners mind with their haunting presence. A remastered stereo version of the soundtrack is released as a special premiere as Bonus Track of the DAIKAN album. Listening to this album, an excess of heat turns into an empowering coldness-like the transient feeling of our terrestrial embodiment in the midst of entropy.

2023 Repress

Hypnotic Beats and Melodies to put you in a Trance

Formed in 2015, gaining the reputation of
"The new Middle Eastern music pioneers"
72 shows a year, weddings and festivals
People from diverse ethnicities, Transcending musical borders
Come together on the dance floor

Representing the region of Israel and Palestine
Dabke music with Fresh mix of Dub, Gnawa and Trance
From the hills of Jerusalem, to the dunes of the Sahara
In a Bass heavy 4X4 drive

The music of the Blue Desert is based on the regional music styles
The repetitive hypnotic melodies, burning rhythms and endless virtuosity
takes the crowd into the deep dunes and oasis of the Blue Desert.




Bio:

Yossi Fine, Bass master producer, one of the most well known musicians and producers in the world today. Grammy nominated, Produced over 40 albums around the world, reaching 20 gold and multi-platinum albums. Yossi has produced, recorded and played with David Bowie, Lou Reed, Gil Evans Orchestra, Vieux Farka Toure and many more. Yossi plays bass and a special guitar he built, playing traditional songs and hits from the blue desert.

Ben Aylon is defined as a boarder-breaking drummer and percussionist, best known for his unique "New-African Drumming" style and cutting edge hybrid drumming techniques. Inspired by the deep Senegalese Wolof drumming, Ben creates explosive-burning rhythms with a sound of an entire tribe of drummers using African and modern drums. Ben Recorded and played with: Bombino, Doudou Ndiaye Rose, Awadi, Khaira Arby and many more.

Completing the band's sound is Sharon Mansur on Synth-Bass and Keyboards, the princess of the Middle-Eastern keyboards. Sharon is at the forefront of the emerging new Middle

Paul Kelly, who died in South Carolina in 2012, only ever had one genuine 'hit', ”Stealing In The Name Of The Lord” in 1970, despite a recording career that lasted the best part of three decades. He also had the misfortune in later years to be confused with an Australian singer of the same name.

He was, however, a singer and writer of unusual and undeniable talent, and in the first half of the seventies -a time when his songs were in considerable demand- cut two of the greatest of all soul LPs down in Nashville, “Don't Burn Me” and “Hooked, Hogtied & Collared” with long-time mentor and producer Buddy Killen, on which the two self-penned tracks on this single initially appeared.

It is the first time either of them have been featured on a 45. “Tremble” is a lovely relaxed dance side, bathed in shimmering strings, while “Come With Me” flows effortlessly underneath Paul's sublime aching singing. Enjoy!

Mastered by Tohru Kotetsu and pressed at RTI, this 45rpm LP will live up to and surpass your most demanding judgments. Midnight Sugar is one of the most sough-after titles from the acclaimed Three Blind Mice catalogue.

On “Midnight Sugar” the Tsuyoshi Yamamoto Trio plays two of Tsuyoshi’s own blues improvisations followed by jazz ballads that became standards for the Trio. The combination of these titles is nothing but exceptional.

The Yamamoto Trio’s Midnight Sugar was recorded March 1, 1974 at Aoi Studio, Tokyo. It earned the Best Engineering Award and Jazz Disc Award of Swing Journal in 1974. It is Yamamoto’s unmistakable skill and his jazz feeling which adds that certain touch of liveliness and spontaneity and makes Midnight Sugar a unique experience. This Piano Trio will mesmerize you with this great collection of standards, superb musicianship and awesome sonics. You are sure to listen to this one over and over.

MORE EPHEMEROL is one of the most fresh and surprising minimal synth project we have heard in months at Oráculo Records. Recorded with a fully analog systems, the simplicity and quality of the arrangements and the overwhelming vocals reminds to the best era of the genre back in the 80’s but with a new approach that makes it sound so fresh and new. The L.A.’s duo, with an amazing album coming up soon after this presentation EP, will be for sure an important player on the international synth scene. Comes presented in one-off truly limited edition of 300 copies lacquered pressed on 180gr. high quality solid black vinyl. All tracks have been specially remastered for long cut vinyl by Daniel Hallhuber at Young and Cold Studios.

Mastered by Tohru Kotetsu and pressed at RTI, this 45rpm LP will live up to and surpass your most demanding judgments. Misty is one of the most sought-after titles from the acclaimed Three Blind Mice catalog.

Touring with the Micky Curtis Band, Tsuyoshi Yamamoto had the chance to explore several international experiences that he would later use on his 1974 album, Misty, as he worked with this band in France, England, and Switzerland.

The Yamamoto Trio’s Misty is a Stoned Cold Killer! A1 Reference Material!!! Misty earned both the “Best Engineering” Award and Jazz Disc Award of Swing Journal in 1974. Recorded at Aoi Studio, Tokyo, on August 7, 1974. Tsuyoshi Yamamoto is highly musical and his expressions natural, neither overly technical nor serious, his performance is relaxed and melodious.

Coming February 2023 pre-order your copy today!
AAA Audiophile 200g 33rpm Double LP!
Mastered by René Laflamme at 2xHD on Nagra Equipment!
Cut All Analogue at Bernie Grundman Mastering!
Plated by Master Craft & Pressed at Le Vinylist in Quebec!



Jazz at the Pawnshop is a multi-session recording made by Swedish sound engineer Gert Palmcrantz on December 6-7, 1976, at Jazzpuben Stampen (Pawnshop) in Stockholm, Sweden. A pawnshop had operated on the site prior to the jazz club. Proprius Records founder Jacob Boethius produced the album, and it has been issued several times under multiple labels and formats. The album is regarded by many audiophiles as one of the best jazz recordings of the 20th Century.

The recording features Arne Domnérus (alto sax, clarinet), Bengt Hallberg (piano), Lars Erstrand (vibes), Georg Riedel (bass), and Egil Johansen (drums).

In the high end audio world, audiophile sound engineer René Laflamme has carved out a reputation for definition of excellence. Manufacturers of audiophile equipment such as Nagra Audio, renowned D to A converter manufacturer dCS Ltd and high-end turntable manufacturers, Kronos Audio seek his expertise in representation and assistance in design. Audiophile quality microphone designer and 8 times winner of 'Best sound in show' at high-end audio equipment conventions, Laflamme uses his knowledge and unfailing instinct to match various audio components to create the best all-encompassing sound experience. The exclusive 2xHD system is the fruit of Laflamme's total experience and imagination.

Pure Adult are a Brooklyn-based experimental rock duo formed
by Jeremy Snyder and Bianca Abarca. At the centre of their
music is the far-left political ethos and DIY attitude the pair
share.
Having grown up in the unusually sheltered environment of a
church-turned-cult, Snyder has always found himself drawn to
the harsh, dissonant music that was off-limits during his
formative years. In 2017, he and contemporary dancer and
visual artist Bianca Abarca formed Pure Adult, who released
their debut EP, ‘Pure Adult I’, in 2019. Now they are set to
release their debut album, ‘II’, on FatCat Records.
After leaving the church in 2007, Jeremy began studying
religion, philosophy and politics whilst working as a sound
engineer. “I ended up touring with some small pop rock bands,
while my studies brought me through an array of beliefs and a
far-left political worldview. While I’ve identified as a communist
for almost 20 years now, I didn’t fully give up on religious belief
until around 2010. A fundamental element to our belief system
was this sort of unverifiable feeling that must be something and,
because I’ve experienced that feeling, virtually nothing can
make me deny it. And it’s comforting, in a world of quantifiable
uncertainty, a guise of certainty,” he says.
In more recent years, Jeremy has become the engineer of
choice to internationally acclaimed acts such as Mdou Moctar
and IDLES, both of whom are big fans of Pure Adult. IDLES
lead singer Joe Talbot says of the band’s forthcoming album:
“Pungent chaos that serves no pomp, instead it throws around
dark innuendo like a rag doll to the cadence of fury and fucking.
The best album I’ve heard in ages. The best band you haven’t
seen. Go dig, it’s beautiful at its worst.”
As well as the release of their debut album at the start of 2023,
Pure Adult are also preparing to release a collaborative EP with
Gustaf, Thank and Heavy Lungs in the Spring. They will support
Gilla Band on tour in the US early next year.
“Blown-out, hyperactive, aggressive, and danceable rock
informed by punk and post-punk.” - Brooklyn Vegan
“A furious piece of work” - Steve Lamacq, 6 Music

Electric Light Orchestra leader Jeff Lynne did more than figuratively reach for the sky on Eldorado. Daring to be bold, and creating imaginative worlds that invite the listener to escape the mundane, the visionary composer-musician achieved a multidisciplinary fantasia and, in the process, a prog-rock landmark. Nearly 50 years later, the concept album's brilliance can be experienced like never before in cinematic, IMAX-worthy fashion.

Sourced from the original analogue master tapes, pressed on MoFi SuperVinyl vinyl at RTI, housed in a keepsake box, and limited to 10,000 numbered copies, Mobile Fidelity's UltraDisc One-Step 180g 45RPM 2LP set of Eldorado allows the long-time audiophile staple to resonate with reference-setting dynamics, tones, and colours. Conjuring the feeling of journeying to different horizons, the record's songs teem with layer upon layer of details, which can now be heard as the producers intended. This very special release both pays tribute to the record's merit and enhances the spectacular program for generations to come.

Presenting the album with breathtaking clarity yet retaining the warmth, texture, and emotion that differentiate live music from reproduced sounds, the collectible reissue features beguiling levels of in-the-moment presence, grand-scale sound-staging, and instrumental balance. Bursting with a veritable cornucopia of stimuli, MoFi's Eldorado package also benefits from superb separation and immersive atmospherics that stem from the meticulous remastering process – as well as an ultra-low noise floor, industry-leading groove definition, and dead-quiet surfaces courtesy of the MoFi SuperVinyl properties.

The premium packaging and gorgeous presentation of the UD1S Eldorado pressing befit its extremely select status. Housed in a deluxe box, it features special foil-stamped jackets and faithful-to-the-original graphics that illuminate the splendour of the recording. No expense has been spared. Aurally and visually, the reissue exists as a curatorial artefact meant to be preserved, touched, and examined. It is made for discerning listeners that prize sound quality and production, and who desire to fully immerse themselves in everything involved with the album.

An artistic breakthrough that established Electric Light Orchestra as a pioneering band (and confirmed Lynne as the leading practising Beatles disciple), the 1974 effort remains notable for its involvement of a full orchestra and choral section, the range of which are captured with exquisite results on this LP. Eldorado distinguished itself from the band's first two works not only via Lynne's sharpened songwriting but due to the hiring of an orchestra that augmented the group's three string players. Co-arranged by Lynne and conductor Louis Clark, the symphonic movements bolster the contagious fare without ever drowning it. The accents also act as transports into the varied narrative universes.

Finished as a story before Lynne put notes down on paper, Eldorado ironically owes its inspiration to Lynne's father. In response to his dad's criticisms about the band, Lynne conceived a melodic tour de force that, like The Wizard of Oz, which informs the cover art, emphasizes the power of everyday dreams and everyman heroism. It's no coincidence that the sonic journey begins with an overture punctuated by the words of a cynic who condemns "the dreamer, the un-woken fool."

Beautiful yet fun, ambitious yet consistent, Eldorado proceeds to celebrate such romantics and escapists. A Technicolour escapade marked by lush melodies, fluid crescendos, and an intoxicating blend of energetic rock and sweeping orchestral elements, the album weds rich imagery and sweeping sounds in manners that make the two inseparable. In Lynne and company's hands, reality and fantasy collide, and dissolve any dividing lines. The proof is not just in the epic production, but in the timeless (and catchy) nature of songs such as the balladic "Boy Blue," power-pop packed "Illusions in G Major," and, of course, the aptly titled hit, "Can't Get It Out of My Head."

Decades later, Eldorado doubles as an invitation to break away from monotony whether you're listening to your Mobile Fidelity reissue on a large system or an excellent pair of headphones.

MoFi SuperVinyl


Developed by NEOTECH and RTI, MoFi SuperVinyl is the most exacting-to-specification vinyl compound ever devised. Analogue lovers have never seen (or heard) anything like it. Extraordinarily expensive and extremely painstaking to produce, the special proprietary compound addresses two specific areas of improvement: noise floor reduction and enhanced groove definition. The vinyl composition features a new carbonless dye (hold the disc up to the light and see) and produces the world's quietest surfaces. This high-definition formula also allows for the creation of cleaner grooves that are indistinguishable from the original lacquer. MoFi SuperVinyl provides the closest approximation of what the label's engineers hear in the mastering lab.

More About Mobile Fidelity UltraDisc One-Step and Why It Is Superior

Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab's UltraDisc One-Step (UD1S) technique bypasses generational losses inherent to the traditional three-step plating process by removing two steps: the production of father and mother plates, which are created to yield numerous stampers from each lacquer that is cut. For UD1S plating, stampers (also called "converts") are made directly from the lacquers. Since each lacquer yields only one stamper, multiple lacquers need to be cut. Mobile Fidelity's UD1S process produces a final LP with the lowest-possible noise floor. The removal of two steps of the plating process also reveals musical details and dynamics that would otherwise be lost due to the standard multi-step process. With UD1S, every aspect of vinyl production is optimized to produce the best-sounding vinyl album available today.

Bukahara veröffentlichen mit 'Tales of the Tides' die bislang besten Songs ihrer Karriere!

Das neue, im Februar erscheinende Album der größten unbekannten Band Deutschlands basiert auf sehnsuchtsvoller Rootsmusik und ist geprägt von einem postmigrantischen, grenzüberschreitenden und freiheitlichen Selbstverständnis. Damit gehen Bukahara jetzt in die größten Hallen.

Darum geht es auf 'Tales of The Tides', dem wunderbaren neuen Album der Global-Folkband Bukahara: unser gestörtes Verhältnis zur Natur und untereinander, die Agonie und den Zynismus, vor allem aber um den unbeirrbaren Glauben an Veränderung und Menschlichkeit, an eine liberale Mehrheitsgesellschaft und internationale Solidarität.

Die Lieder, die Soufian Zoghlami zu diesen Themen geschrieben hat, sind ihrerseits freiheitlich und international, vor allem aber sind es die bislang besten Songs dieser Karriere. Die Musik von Bukahara ist auch auf 'Tales of The Tides' immer noch durchdrungen von nordafrikanischen Einflüssen ebenso wie von Balkan-, Klezmer- und arabischen Akzenten. Ihre sich aus diesen Einflüssen ergebende Musik haben Bukahara indes zu einer Folk-Internationale gebündelt, die aktuell niemand so spielt wie sie.

Auf 'Tales of The Tides' türmt sich diese Folk-Internationale zu einer Flut der ganz anderen Art auf: Ja, dieses Album beschreibt einen Flutzyklus. Aber einen lichtdurchfluteten, in dem Liebe, Verständnis, Menschlichkeit und Wärme zählen. Und Hoffnung, die ganz besonders. Themen, mit denen die größte unbekannte Band Deutschlands eigentlich in jedes Radio und jede Zeitung gehört.

Red Vinyl

Bukahara veröffentlichen mit 'Tales of the Tides' die bislang besten Songs ihrer Karriere!

Das neue, im Februar erscheinende Album der größten unbekannten Band Deutschlands basiert auf sehnsuchtsvoller Rootsmusik und ist geprägt von einem postmigrantischen, grenzüberschreitenden und freiheitlichen Selbstverständnis. Damit gehen Bukahara jetzt in die größten Hallen.

Darum geht es auf 'Tales of The Tides', dem wunderbaren neuen Album der Global-Folkband Bukahara: unser gestörtes Verhältnis zur Natur und untereinander, die Agonie und den Zynismus, vor allem aber um den unbeirrbaren Glauben an Veränderung und Menschlichkeit, an eine liberale Mehrheitsgesellschaft und internationale Solidarität.

Die Lieder, die Soufian Zoghlami zu diesen Themen geschrieben hat, sind ihrerseits freiheitlich und international, vor allem aber sind es die bislang besten Songs dieser Karriere. Die Musik von Bukahara ist auch auf 'Tales of The Tides' immer noch durchdrungen von nordafrikanischen Einflüssen ebenso wie von Balkan-, Klezmer- und arabischen Akzenten. Ihre sich aus diesen Einflüssen ergebende Musik haben Bukahara indes zu einer Folk-Internationale gebündelt, die aktuell niemand so spielt wie sie.

Auf 'Tales of The Tides' türmt sich diese Folk-Internationale zu einer Flut der ganz anderen Art auf: Ja, dieses Album beschreibt einen Flutzyklus. Aber einen lichtdurchfluteten, in dem Liebe, Verständnis, Menschlichkeit und Wärme zählen. Und Hoffnung, die ganz besonders. Themen, mit denen die größte unbekannte Band Deutschlands eigentlich in jedes Radio und jede Zeitung gehört.

Parisian quintet En Attendant Ana have dazzled since day one. From the muted strains of their 2016 EP "Songs From The Cave", to the assured 2018 TiM debut "Lost & Found", to the sparkling refrains of "Juillet"; released just before the world collapsed around us, and which stood as the band's rebirth and purest statement of their music ambitions - until now. "Principia" is the band's third album and is without a doubt their best yet. Bandleader & principal songwriter Margaux Bouchaudon's voice anchors many of the songs on "Principia", her crystalline delivery ringing out like a bell as the band swoons & sways beneath her. The songs on "Principia" were composed from a place of confusion about the state of the world and her place in it, looking outward and inward for answers. They question our perception of others, the one they have of us and finally the one we have of ourselves in a society where the individual is king and the group is forgotten. Guitarist Max Tomasso - newly joined just before the recording of "Juillet"- feels more "moved-in" on these tunes, his sly guitar-work gliding effortlessly through. No showboating - only prickling at the precise moment necessary in suit of the song itself. New member Vincent Hivert (their touring sound man, Hivert joined the group just as touring was underway for "Juillet", replacing founding member Antoine Vaugelade)'s bass-work is rubbery & flexible, bouncing around and thru the melodies on a rhythmic sugar-high, practically urging on drummer Adrien Pollin's metronomic swing. The band's secret weapon, multi-instrumentalist Camille Frechou's trumpet & saxophone are more present & considered in the arrangements, adding a new layer of sophistication to the group's already debonair indie pop. Her beatific harmonies add a yearning to Bouchaudon's lilting phrases; sometimes uplifting, other times melancholic. Bouchaudon says "One of the most important points we tried to focus on was the place given to each instrument. For the first time, we withdrew parts, we were careful not to play everyone at once and I think that the result is a much lighter album in which every musician has a specific place and moment". But this album is also the first one to have been shaped entirely by the band, from the conception to the production. The meeting of Vincent Hivert and Margaux Bouchaudon gave birth to a duet in which the technical and artistic aspects were intertwined from the very beginning of the conception of "Principia". Apart from reshaping En Attendant Ana's dynamic, Vincent Hivert was able to think as a musician and producer as soon as they started working on Margaux Bouchaudon's demos which brought a new dimension to their music. The two of them recorded and mixed the album together reuniting their references and artistic goals. "Principia" is a great step forward without sacrificing the things that make the band unique. The nods to French pop (both current & classic) still permeate the proceedings, and the group's penchant for Anglo-Saxon indie pop from The Nineties (think Electrelane, Stereolab, American Analog Set) still rings out, but there's an air of - dare we say - maturity in "Principia"s twelve songs. The group always felt a little 'out-of' and 'ahead-of' its time, but tunes like "Wonder" "The Cutoff" and "Same Old Story" are cinematic and romantic, and absolutely feel like the next great phase of an already great band.

Peach Vinyl

Parisian quintet En Attendant Ana have dazzled since day one. From the muted strains of their 2016 EP "Songs From The Cave", to the assured 2018 TiM debut "Lost & Found", to the sparkling refrains of "Juillet"; released just before the world collapsed around us, and which stood as the band's rebirth and purest statement of their music ambitions - until now. "Principia" is the band's third album and is without a doubt their best yet. Bandleader & principal songwriter Margaux Bouchaudon's voice anchors many of the songs on "Principia", her crystalline delivery ringing out like a bell as the band swoons & sways beneath her. The songs on "Principia" were composed from a place of confusion about the state of the world and her place in it, looking outward and inward for answers. They question our perception of others, the one they have of us and finally the one we have of ourselves in a society where the individual is king and the group is forgotten. Guitarist Max Tomasso - newly joined just before the recording of "Juillet"- feels more "moved-in" on these tunes, his sly guitar-work gliding effortlessly through. No showboating - only prickling at the precise moment necessary in suit of the song itself. New member Vincent Hivert (their touring sound man, Hivert joined the group just as touring was underway for "Juillet", replacing founding member Antoine Vaugelade)'s bass-work is rubbery & flexible, bouncing around and thru the melodies on a rhythmic sugar-high, practically urging on drummer Adrien Pollin's metronomic swing. The band's secret weapon, multi-instrumentalist Camille Frechou's trumpet & saxophone are more present & considered in the arrangements, adding a new layer of sophistication to the group's already debonair indie pop. Her beatific harmonies add a yearning to Bouchaudon's lilting phrases; sometimes uplifting, other times melancholic. Bouchaudon says "One of the most important points we tried to focus on was the place given to each instrument. For the first time, we withdrew parts, we were careful not to play everyone at once and I think that the result is a much lighter album in which every musician has a specific place and moment". But this album is also the first one to have been shaped entirely by the band, from the conception to the production. The meeting of Vincent Hivert and Margaux Bouchaudon gave birth to a duet in which the technical and artistic aspects were intertwined from the very beginning of the conception of "Principia". Apart from reshaping En Attendant Ana's dynamic, Vincent Hivert was able to think as a musician and producer as soon as they started working on Margaux Bouchaudon's demos which brought a new dimension to their music. The two of them recorded and mixed the album together reuniting their references and artistic goals. "Principia" is a great step forward without sacrificing the things that make the band unique. The nods to French pop (both current & classic) still permeate the proceedings, and the group's penchant for Anglo-Saxon indie pop from The Nineties (think Electrelane, Stereolab, American Analog Set) still rings out, but there's an air of - dare we say - maturity in "Principia"s twelve songs. The group always felt a little 'out-of' and 'ahead-of' its time, but tunes like "Wonder" "The Cutoff" and "Same Old Story" are cinematic and romantic, and absolutely feel like the next great phase of an already great band.

Tape
Parisian quintet En Attendant Ana have dazzled since day one. From the muted strains of their 2016 EP "Songs From The Cave", to the assured 2018 TiM debut "Lost & Found", to the sparkling refrains of "Juillet"; released just before the world collapsed around us, and which stood as the band's rebirth and purest statement of their music ambitions - until now. "Principia" is the band's third album and is without a doubt their best yet. Bandleader & principal songwriter Margaux Bouchaudon's voice anchors many of the songs on "Principia", her crystalline delivery ringing out like a bell as the band swoons & sways beneath her. The songs on "Principia" were composed from a place of confusion about the state of the world and her place in it, looking outward and inward for answers. They question our perception of others, the one they have of us and finally the one we have of ourselves in a society where the individual is king and the group is forgotten. Guitarist Max Tomasso - newly joined just before the recording of "Juillet"- feels more "moved-in" on these tunes, his sly guitar-work gliding effortlessly through. No showboating - only prickling at the precise moment necessary in suit of the song itself. New member Vincent Hivert (their touring sound man, Hivert joined the group just as touring was underway for "Juillet", replacing founding member Antoine Vaugelade)'s bass-work is rubbery & flexible, bouncing around and thru the melodies on a rhythmic sugar-high, practically urging on drummer Adrien Pollin's metronomic swing. The band's secret weapon, multi-instrumentalist Camille Frechou's trumpet & saxophone are more present & considered in the arrangements, adding a new layer of sophistication to the group's already debonair indie pop. Her beatific harmonies add a yearning to Bouchaudon's lilting phrases; sometimes uplifting, other times melancholic. Bouchaudon says "One of the most important points we tried to focus on was the place given to each instrument. For the first time, we withdrew parts, we were careful not to play everyone at once and I think that the result is a much lighter album in which every musician has a specific place and moment". But this album is also the first one to have been shaped entirely by the band, from the conception to the production. The meeting of Vincent Hivert and Margaux Bouchaudon gave birth to a duet in which the technical and artistic aspects were intertwined from the very beginning of the conception of "Principia". Apart from reshaping En Attendant Ana's dynamic, Vincent Hivert was able to think as a musician and producer as soon as they started working on Margaux Bouchaudon's demos which brought a new dimension to their music. The two of them recorded and mixed the album together reuniting their references and artistic goals. "Principia" is a great step forward without sacrificing the things that make the band unique. The nods to French pop (both current & classic) still permeate the proceedings, and the group's penchant for Anglo-Saxon indie pop from The Nineties (think Electrelane, Stereolab, American Analog Set) still rings out, but there's an air of - dare we say - maturity in "Principia"s twelve songs. The group always felt a little 'out-of' and 'ahead-of' its time, but tunes like "Wonder" "The Cutoff" and "Same Old Story" are cinematic and romantic, and absolutely feel like the next great phase of an already great band.

Canto Ostinato is the new volume of classical minimalism from musician and producer Erik Hall. Written for four pianos in 1979 by Dutch composer Simeon ten Holt, the piece is freshly framed as an intimate, hour-long solo performance consisting of multitracked grand pianos, electric piano, and organ. Modern yet warm, ethereal yet tangible, Hall's Canto Ostinato expertly bridges a revered piece of meditative concert repertoire with a tactile and highly personal studio setting. Chicago-born and Michigan-based, Erik Hall is known as a multi-instrumental pillar for the groups NOMO, Wild Belle, and his own songwriting moniker In Tall Buildings. He has composed music for feature films, and as a producer/engineer he has shaped records for Natalie Bergman and Western Vinyl labelmates Lean Year. In a 2020 creative pivot, he chose to reinvent composer Steve Reich's monumental contemporary classical masterpiece Music for 18 Musicians as a solo undertaking, applying the piece's score to the familiar keyboards, guitars, and synthesizers in his studio. "At the time I think I was working through my identity as a musician and an artist," Hall explains, "and on a level there was some sort of exorcism of a long held pop spirit." The album was celebrated for being "freshly thrilling" and "legible in history but assertive of the moment" (Pitchfork) and "beguiling, meditational, and magical" (Electronic Sound). It won the 2021 Libera Award for Best Classical Record, and it quickly joined the canon of the piece's quintessential recordings. "There is a pseudo-meditational benefit to working on a longform piece that's built on repetition," Hall says. "Every stage- from internalizing the music, to executing the performance, to editing and mixing the record- requires deep and sustained presence of mind. I've always been drawn to a hallucinatory combination of harmony and repetition, and I found the entire process addictive." An apt second chapter, Canto Ostinato is inherently vast, and its score gives great creative license to the performer. Comprising 106 sections, complete freedom is given to repeat each one as many or as few times as desired. Additional leeway is given with regard to dynamics, articulation, and even instrumentation. On the heels of his previous, rather maximal arrangement, Hall chose to limit this album's palette to three foundational keyboards of his studio: a 1962 Hammond M-101 organ, a 1978 Rhodes Mark I electric piano, and his family-heirloom 1910 Steinway grand piano. "This particular piece brought the added challenge of rekindling my dexterity as a pianist, something I haven't maintained in earnest since I was a teenager," he admits. The ensuing five-note rhythmic motif- the piece's primary building block- is steady and workmanlike, forgoing virtuosic flare for depth, texture, and resonance, and eventually giving way to the stunning gratification of a gorgeously lyrical left turn. As with Music for 18 Musicians, Hall employed no loops nor quantization nor any programmed or sequenced instruments of any kind. Every part was performed live in a room and captured with microphones, one at a time, each informed by, and reacting to the last. In this way the record breathes with interplay and an organic humanity, complete with flaws, noise, and the faint sound of turning pages. The recording quality is nonetheless toneful and saturated, characteristic of Hall's production style and straying from the usual transparency of classical albums by using gear with tubes, transformers, and various stages of compression in the signal path. Always there is unmistakable realism and the feeling of being present in the room, sitting among the keys, hammers, and tines. Ten Holt said: "Time, patience and discipline are the prerequisites for making a genetic code productive." His landmark composition provides Hall once again with a wondrous space in which to reverently embody this sentiment and deftly convey the elegant beauty of this music.

Record Kicks presents "Yours Truly", the new album by Bordeaux's "Soulboy", Mr. Alexis Evans.

Like fine Red Wine, "Soulboy" Alexis Evans gets better with Age. The best evidence of this is his brand new album "Yours Truly", set for release on February 3rd, 2023 on LP, CD and digital via Milan-based label Record Kicks. Produced and mixed by Louis-Marin Renaud (Lou Doillon, Theo Lawrence, Desmond Myers), "Yours Truly" is the third studio album by Bordeaux-based singer-songwriter Alexis Evans and sees the light 4 years after his previous LP "I've Come A Long Way", defined "Soul album of The Year" by Rolling Stone France. "Yours Truly" consists of 12 brilliantly soulful cuts that take direct inspiration from 60's & 70's classic soul music adding a sound that is firmly rooted in the new millennium.

Anticipated by the first single "Mr Right On Time", the album was recorded between Bordeaux and Nantes during 2021 and beginning of 2022. The idea behind the new album was to find a unique sound, mixing classic 60's & 70's soul music with more contemporary influences such as hip hop beats, jazz, reggae, and Caribbean sounds. To do that, Alexis paired up with producer Louis-Marin Renaud, known for his work with French-English singer, actress and model Lou Doillon and country-soul rising star Theo Lawrence, who took part in the arrangements and mixed the album.

"All instruments were recorded live, some titles were completely live and others got modified, cut, sampled, depending on the tunes in a kind of beatmaking way. It was a very fun and fulfilling project that will sound awesome on stage for sure," explains Alexis.

Lyrically, the album could be described as soulful everyday rhymes. "Love may be the number one subject in soul music and clearly has its place of honor in a few songs ("Close to me", "What is this feeling"), while other songs tend to deal with it in a more cynical but poetic way, for instance on "Mister right on time", in which beauty remains in simplicity," states Mr. Evans. He continues: "Another topic of the album is abandonment ("It matters to me", "The only apple", "Close to the water"). Whether it is the fear of being left behind or the sadness after a loss, this album still bears some traces of lockdown and I was aiming at giving another perspective on different matters, looking at them in a dreamlike way." The themes of the album are reflected in the cover artwork, made by Adrià F Marquès.

Alexis Evans, songwriter with a timeless style based in Bordeaux, France, found the love of music and learnt to play guitar thanks to his father, an English musician. His inspirations range from Marvin Gaye and Sam Cooke to David Bowie. At the age of 17 he debuted with his first project "Jumping to the Westside", with which he was awarded the "Cognac Blues Passion" prize and flew to the "International Blues Challenge" in Memphis, Tennessee, where he impressed the American audience even though he was still a teenager. Mr. Evanshas built a household name in the scene as the "enfant prodige of soul" starting with his first album, released in 2015, and consolidated his reputation with his second long play "I've Come a Long Way", released in 2019 on Record Kicks. Rolling Stone France described it as "The Soul album of the year", while Blues & Soul Magazine and BBC 6 defined him as "One of the most exciting additions to the international Soul Scene". Following the release of the album, Alexis toured in France and Europe extensively, stopped only in 2020 by the Pandemic. Thanks to the forced break, Alexis started to lay down the new album, and he's now ready to present the fruit of his hard work: "Yours Truly".

West Midlands five piece MACHIAVELLIAN ART follow up their self released and self titled cassette only album with their first release proper, ‘Indoctrination Sounds’ released February 24th via Riot Season Records, with an eye popping promo video to go with it.
A Maximalist blowout of Sax-honking Noise Rock, Doom Metal, Hardcore Punk, and Shoegaze, with Industrial Noise, Howls, Paranoid Rambles, and pure Disdain for oneself and the rest of you layered on top.
Indoctrination Sounds was conceived in various practice spaces in Digbeth throughout 2020 and 2021 and recorded at Ian Boult's Stuck On A Name Studios in Nottingham in the Summer of 2021, despite the best efforts of a global pandemic. Will Killingsworth mastered the record at Dead Air Studios.
Serotonin Problem opens the record with a huge sludge bass riff before the rest of the band pile in on top to create an all-encompassing and oppressive low mood that continues for the rest of the album. Next, we spiral down into the more open and atmospheric post punk of Faceless Voices - the collective bad feelings of a nation in decline reach boiling point. Indoctrination Sounds, for which the record is named, is a hardcore punk song regarding the clear and easily understood ways that humanity in the Western World is indoctrinated into the death-cult of capitalism under fear of violence, soaked in misinformation and conspiracy. Revolution is a call to action as guitars shift and glide uncertainly around, in a menacing inversion of shoegaze's dreamy safety. Side A is finished - a brief respite.
Side B opens with the more introspective Let Down, as the band play out a pounding homage to Iggy and the Stooges with Fenriz taking a turn on the drums. The drum intro to We're Not Gonna Take It gives way to a Rusted Shut bassline as the band turns their disdainful gaze to the violent pornography that is the 24-hour news cycle and reality TV in Watch Them Crawl. The album closes with Digbeth B5, an improvised piece on the gentrification of Digbeth. During the pandemic one of the band's practice spaces was turned into an overpriced ping pong bar for yuppies. As our culture is softened and cleaned up to make profit, so are our communities and cities.
Machiavellian Art are : Amy Murphy - Bass Guitar Benjamin Thomas - Vocals and Saxophone Joe Parkes - Guitar and Noise John Andrews - Guitar and Vocals Sam Hunt – Drums

A Detroit resident, William Odell Hughes is a much-loved street educated singer-songwriter and music composer. As a regular passenger riding to work on the Detroit East Side bus route in the early eighties, he met jazz pianist Pamela Wise who also rode the bus to work every day and who he noticed was always reading music. Pamela told him about saxophonist, clarinetist, and producer Wendell Harrison (founder of the legendary Tribe collective and a regular collaborator of Pamela Wise). She introduced Odell to Wendell, who was impressed with William’s compositions and felt that it would be a great project for release on his WenHa record label.

Hughes and Harrison began producing and recording the album to be called “Cruisin”featuring musical arrangements by both Wendell Harrison and Pamela Wise. This album (released in 1981) was the first recording for Hughes and the beginning of a long musical journey that continues to this day. Cruisin’ features an all-star line-up that includes Andrew Gibson (The Counts), Pamela Wise (Tribe) and award-winning Detroit Jazz icon Wendell Harrison…all doing their bit and making this a monster of an album!

William Odell Hughes’ debut album has all the best characteristics of an 80s album: it’s filled with funky playful beats and has excellent soulful honey-dipped vocals. On Cruisin’ the listener is treated to both mellow soul sounds and electrifying disco boogie (that’ll make even the shyest of club goers want to get up and dance) and Wendell Harrison’s instantly recognizable flute-playing and synth pads give the record a warm, relaxed groove. Prepare yourself for funky vibes, cool soothing feet-tapping rhythms, fantastic interplays on vocal tempos…all backed by a beautiful array of soulful synthesized and cosmic music.

References to universal awareness are plentiful throughout and the spirituality of The Tribe remains a constant undertone; a gentle reminder of WenHa’s roots. With a sound like this, it’s no wonder that this album has long been considered a grail for crate diggers around the world. All of the above makes this incredible record both timeless and as relevant today as it was back when it was initially released.

Tidal Waves Music now proudly presents the first ever vinyl reissue of this rare funk & soul album (original copies go for large amounts on the second-hand market) originally released in 1981 on WenHa records. This unique record comes as a deluxe 180g vinyl edition (strictly limited to 500 copies worldwide) with obi strip. This vinyl edition also features the original photography by acclaimed British photographer Brian Smith known for his work with artists such as Screamin’ Jay Hawkins, Howlin’ Wolf, Chuck Berry and John Lee Hooker.

O-Wells and 41ISSA have teamed up for their first joint EP. Marking 41ISSA's release debut, the result is three tracks full of speed and space-filling melodies: think big festival stage, think rave, think 2010 dance music (in the best possible way). Taking influences from their early clubbing years in the late noughties, O-Wells and 41ISSA found a mutual musical voice in a large and crisp sound between electro, techno and trance. Catchy melodies take the lead, backed by reverberating claps and relentless basslines that build up to rich club tracks. Opener "Suzuki" is a 149-bpm laser-focussed workout with a raucous deep synth. The Berlin-based producers embrace the trancier side of contemporary club music in "Are You Ready", with a breezy ambient intro that leads into an epic dome of darkness. The more reflective"Pulse" takes it down a notch, breathing a sense of calm - an introverted techno track dripping with melancholy. A bleepy electro remix by Finnish DJ and producer Sansibar completes the spectrum of "BKM", an EP sure to be heard across club dancefloors this winter. "BKM" marks 41ISSA's first release as a producer. She's been part of Live From Earth since 2018 as a DJ, covering a wide range of genres with a zeal for emotional sound textures and a lot of bounce, from ambient to club and techno. O-Wells has been producing for more than a decade now, having found a musical home at Die Orakel lately. Both are not only partners in music, but also in life. "BKM" is short for "blutigekaesemauken", their joint alias as which they've been making music since their early days of dating.

Keyboardist and composer Weldon Irvine is among the most celebrated Jazz-Funk artists of all time. He was Nina Simone's bandleader for years, and wrote the lyrics for her iconic civil rights anthem To Be Young, Gifted and Black'. Throughout the 1970s, Irvine released a series of seminal albums full of deep, soulful, funky grooves. The Sisters is a collection of lost tracks and demos from his late-1970s studio sessions with fellow Jazz-Funk luminary Don Blackman. Featuring the hit single Morning Sunrise' (later famously sampled on Jay-Z's Dear Summer'), the album contains a mix of instrumental and vocal tracks that stand up with the best work in Irvine's impressive catalog. Courtesy of Nature Sounds, this rare collection is finally back in stock on limited-edition vinyl. Order this official reissue of The Sisters now while supplies last.

Dreams, Pains & Paper Planes will be Pixey’s first longer form project since the glittering Sunshine State EP arrived in October 2021, which had followed her hugely acclaimed early-2021 debut EP for Chess Club, Free To Live In Colour. The Sunshine State EP’s lead single and title track was crowned Tune Of The Week by Jack Saunders at BBC Radio 1, and received further airplay from Clara Amfo (who also had the EP’s second single ‘Take Me On’ on regular rotation), Mollie King in her Best New Pop playlist and Introducing’s Gemma Bradley. The EP was awarded a second consecutive 5* review from Dork Magazine who subsequently placed Pixey on the 2022 Hype List, to add to her list of accolades including The Sunday Times’ Breaking Act, Notion’s Internet Crush, The Daily Star’s Rising Star, and DIY’s Neu artist.



Commenting on the mini-album, Pixey says: “Dreams, Pains & Paper Planes is my biggest release to date. The majority of the record was written, recorded and produced by myself in my bedroom, alongside a couple of studio tracks. Genre bending was something I wanted to experiment with, tailoring to the moods of each song but still keeping to the core big beat elements. I wanted to write a record that kept a sunny sound but was more anxious lyrically. More than anything, I want the listener to feel like they can dip into an alternate world for a while, whether it’s comforting or not”

• The Bob Andy catalogue is one of the most celebrated in the history of Jamaican music. His touchstone LP from
Studio One is a best-selling singles compilation simply entitled Song Book, a cornerstone of the Studio One
catalogue.
• Nine of 12 tracks recorded for this project appeared on Song Book.
• Bob Andy's works have been covered dozens of times, Tarrus Riley "Desperate Lover"; Bitty McLean "Let Them
Say"; Beres Hammond "I've Got To Go Back Home," Olaf Blackwood "You Don't Know"
• Focus tracks: Tarrus Riley "Desperate Lover”; Bitty McLean "Let Them Say"; Beres Hammond "I've Got To Go
Back Home," Olaf Blackwood "You Don't Know"
• Liner notes written by Herbie Miller