Search:the city

Brilliantly remastered (picture) LP/CD with new stunning artwork!
Lo-Fi India Abuse was recorded in 1998, some tracks are “pure” Muslimgauze and some are re-mixs of tracks from Systemwide’s “Sirius” CD (see also Systemwide meets Muslimgauze “at the City of the Dead” 12″). Nearly all of the tracks have hand percussion in varying tempos and intensities and at least 1/2 make use of electronic noise surges. The sound is very crisp and clean, extremely well produced, recorded and nicely varied throughout the length of the disc. Some track by track comments: “Antalya” is obviously from the same sessions as “Fakir Sind” seeing as it shares the same hand percussion sound, whistles, vocal wailing, cut-ups and delays. “Valencia Flames” sounds like a Systemwide remix. A dub bass line, hi-hat and background vocal of some sort are all obliterated by numerous delays, starts, stops and re-starts with an unpredictable nature in these cut-up tracks. “Al Souk Dub” injects background voices, market sounds and drones into the cut-up mix of slow hand percussion playing. “Catacomb Dub” and the final two tracks make use of twinkling synth waves, presumably a Systemwide sound source. “Dust of Saqqara” has a heavy pulsating electronic sound wave over an old beat box rhythm. “Android Cleaver” is brutal (as is “Nommos’ Afterburn”) hand percussion, jabs of noise and an oft repeated, unintelligible vocal sample. Yes, Lo-Fi India Abuse is yet another great Muslimgauze release, grab it!
All tracks recorded by Muslimgauze 1998
Some tracks are re-mixes from Systemwide’s “Sirius” album
Re-mastered by Višeslav Laboš
Sleeve by Oleg Galay
Originally released in 1999 via BSI Records (BSI 1999-3).

Its been some years since HARD TIMES dropped new music in our laps, but having kick started a new wave with March’s release of Steve ’Silk’ Hurley’s stunning ‘All I Need’, featuring Sara Garvey on vocal duty, the label follows up swiftly with more precision groovemanship.. this time from Hudd Traxx label boss and core HARD TIMES family member, Eddie Leader.

As a DJ, producer, promoter and label boss Eddie has, over a twenty five year career, become a standard bearer for UK House Music. His own productions have graced seminal labels including Classic, Robsoul, Plastic City, Morris Audio and Balance Alliance, while his own Hudd Traxx imprint has become a go-to for many a discerning disc jockey. Its roster boasts releases that feature Matthew Herbert, Rolando, Jovonn, Rick Wade, Agnés and More.

Fresh from remixing Hurley’s ‘All I Need’, Leader now looks to ’Slow Everything Down’ with four fresh jams of his own that all stay true to the Hard Times ethos of quality, deep underground sounds.

Preaching from the front is ’Stand Up’, with its warm groove, piercing piano chords and soulful sermon. So come on… Stand up, to get down. On ‘Gratitude Power’ a seismic kick drum and bass combo pave the way, garnished with keys, synth stabs, bongos and a sprinkling of vocal as the track winds things on smoothly.

‘Slow Everything Down’ is where its at. A calmer, warmer groove, built from raw beats, spoken word and glistening piano. Coolness personified. This is where we're at. Leader slows and closes with final cut ’To Me To You’, icing the EP to perfection with its drowsy and hypnotising keys.

HARD TIMES continue to deliver the good times.

All the best music has a community underneath it. The extended family around London’s Total Refreshment Centre (TRC) connects continents and generations, creating the rich relationships in full effect on Transmissions From Total Refreshment Centre. It’s an eclectic and electric collection that draws from new school jazz, hip hop, dub, soul, funk, and drill: sounds you’ll hear trailing out of cars as they spin up the Kingsland Road or spiraling out of doorways like so much smoke. Turn it up loud to hear the widescreen young cousins of Guru’s landmark Jazzmatazz in full effect: top players from London, Chicago, and Melbourne seeking out new collaborations, new ways of working, or just new tunes, always coming back to that central truth – that we all need each other.

Detroit house and techno fans with their ear to the ground are well tuned to the sounds of Brian Kage. He's shown his skills on the likes of Omar S' FXHE, Carl Craig's Planet-E and Rob Modell's Echospace. Now it is his own label Michigander where he appears with a new EP that kicks off with Taho and Kage combining forces once more. There is acid to start with next to uplifting piano notes underwritten by deep chords on the opener, 'Warehouse Vibes' then brings driving kicks and dubby techno bliss. Things step up again on 'JAX' which is a full-body workout with first pumping rhythms. This is another EP that adds to the rich heritage of Motor City musical magic.

Das Album ”Off the Soundboard: Poughkeepsie, NY, 1984” von KISS wird neu veröffentlicht und stammt von der Animalize-Tour-Show am 28. November 1984 in der Mid-Hudson Civic Arena in Poughkeepsie,
NY. Es enthält die einzige bekannte Soundboard-Aufnahme mit Mark St. John. ”Young And Wasted” und ”Rock And Roll All Nite” sind leider unvollständige Aufnahmen, aber aufgrund der historischen Bedeutung dieser Show mit Mark ist zu hoffen, dass jeder genauso abrocken wird wie sie es getan haben.
Das Album ist jetzt als 2LP und als 1CD erhältlich. Das 2LP- Format beinhaltet eine Covercard mit dem deutschen KISS-Logo

Belgian junk jazz trio schroothoop (which translates as 'junk yard') bring together multi-instrumentalists Rik Staelens (wind & string instruments), Timo Vantyghem (bass & thumb piano) and Margo Maex (percussion). Their new album called 'MACADAM' will be out April 7 via Sdban Records, home of many strongholds in the lively contemporary Belgian jazz and groove scene.

In 2020, schroothoop first emerged with their much-acclaimed and infectious debut album Klein Gevaarlijk Afval (Small Hazardous Waste). "Music on homemade instruments with a surprisingly good result" (De Standaard). "Schroothoop show that material limitation can be liberating and that sometimes the source of new sounds is just old junk."(Written in music). "We assure you that this "scrap heap" is worth gold!" (Le Grigri).

On their second album, to be released on April 7, schroothoop explore the vast sounds of discarded objects found on the macadam streets of Brussels. Wooden crates turn into guitars and lyres. Scrap metal becomes a thumb piano, a cimbalom, or percussion bells. Their compelling collection of semi-improvised songs is born out of several fruitful residencies and live performances during which Margo Maex, Rik Staelens and Timo Vantyghem dive deeper into the possibilities and unique timbres of their DIY instruments.

The junk jazz trio find inspiration in traditional Afro-Cuban and North-African rhythms, New Orleans second line grooves, and Arabic Hijaz scales. On Macadam, the band also explore the realms of electronic music, not shunning hints of drum and bass, dub riddims and ambient soundscapes, using pitch shifting delays or gauzy reverbs. The album delivers a mesmerizing trip through the most diverse capital of Europe, mixed and post-produced by none other than sound wizard Dijf Sanders.

The trio originally met in the Brussels street orchestra scene. One night they found themselves jamming on trash cans, buckets and other illegally dumped materials. Soon after, they started building their own DIY instruments from street trash. Imagine flutes made out of pvc pipes, a scrap metal drum kit, thumb pianos made out of old kitchen knives, a tin can violin, worn-out cutting discs as gongs, and a washtub bass. Delivering their own brand of "junk jazz", Schroothoop literally gives junk a second life by immortalizing a whole range of lost and found objects through music. The Brussels-based group effortlessly incorporates jazz, Northern African music, and Afro-Cuban rhythms, resulting in a danceable and hypnotic trip through the city's melting pot.

Belgian junk jazz trio schroothoop (which translates as 'junk yard') bring together multi-instrumentalists Rik Staelens (wind & string instruments), Timo Vantyghem (bass & thumb piano) and Margo Maex (percussion). Their new album called 'MACADAM' will be out April 7 via Sdban Records, home of many strongholds in the lively contemporary Belgian jazz and groove scene.

In 2020, schroothoop first emerged with their much-acclaimed and infectious debut album Klein Gevaarlijk Afval (Small Hazardous Waste). "Music on homemade instruments with a surprisingly good result" (De Standaard). "Schroothoop show that material limitation can be liberating and that sometimes the source of new sounds is just old junk."(Written in music). "We assure you that this "scrap heap" is worth gold!" (Le Grigri).

On their second album, to be released on April 7, schroothoop explore the vast sounds of discarded objects found on the macadam streets of Brussels. Wooden crates turn into guitars and lyres. Scrap metal becomes a thumb piano, a cimbalom, or percussion bells. Their compelling collection of semi-improvised songs is born out of several fruitful residencies and live performances during which Margo Maex, Rik Staelens and Timo Vantyghem dive deeper into the possibilities and unique timbres of their DIY instruments.

The junk jazz trio find inspiration in traditional Afro-Cuban and North-African rhythms, New Orleans second line grooves, and Arabic Hijaz scales. On Macadam, the band also explore the realms of electronic music, not shunning hints of drum and bass, dub riddims and ambient soundscapes, using pitch shifting delays or gauzy reverbs. The album delivers a mesmerizing trip through the most diverse capital of Europe, mixed and post-produced by none other than sound wizard Dijf Sanders.

The trio originally met in the Brussels street orchestra scene. One night they found themselves jamming on trash cans, buckets and other illegally dumped materials. Soon after, they started building their own DIY instruments from street trash. Imagine flutes made out of pvc pipes, a scrap metal drum kit, thumb pianos made out of old kitchen knives, a tin can violin, worn-out cutting discs as gongs, and a washtub bass. Delivering their own brand of "junk jazz", Schroothoop literally gives junk a second life by immortalizing a whole range of lost and found objects through music. The Brussels-based group effortlessly incorporates jazz, Northern African music, and Afro-Cuban rhythms, resulting in a danceable and hypnotic trip through the city's melting pot.

Black Swan is a 2010 American psychological thriller film directed by Darren Aronofsky and starring Natalie Portman, Vincent Cassel, Mila Kunis and Winona Ryder. The plot revolves around a production of Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake ballet by a prestigious New York City company. Usually described as a psychological thriller, Black Swan can also be interpreted as a metaphor for achieving artistic perfection, with all the psychological and physical challenges one might encounter.

The original score for the film was composed by Clint Mansell, an English musician, composer, and former lead singer of the band Pop Will Eat Itself. Mansell was introduced to film scoring when director Darren Aronofsky hired him to score his debut film, Pi. Ever since Mansell wrote the score for many of Aronofsky’s films. Notable additional film scores include The Fountain, Moon, Smokin’ Aces, Requiem for a Dream, The Wrestler, Doom, and High-Rise.

Black Swan is available as a limited edition of 750 individually numbered copies on silver and black marbled vinyl and includes a 4-page booklet.

Del Jones, a poet, and proto-rapper, recorded Court is Closed in 1973. It was underground Philadelphia’s response to Amiri Baraka’s and Gil Scott-Heron’s indictments of the Black American experience - a call to action not just for his city, but for the nation. The set includes an oversized 10 page booklet by Jeremy Cargill, with contributions by Now-Again founder Eothen “Egon” Alapatt which delves into Jones’ music, milieu and life as an author, activist and orator, shining a light not only on his prescient awareness of hip-hop, but also on the struggles he confronted, and his urgent, current mandate. Court is Closed, equal parts psychedelic rock and deep funk, had a limited release of 500 copies and was rarely heard before Jones overdubbed horns on the album, remixed and augmented it with additional music, and issued it as the better-known Positive Vibes. Here we present both versions of the album on the 23rd release in the deluxe Now-Again Reserve Edition series. Jones’ story, and that of his family, is like his music: a loud, vital voice long silenced. Understanding it now is not just a visceral musical experience, but an essential dissection of racism and classism in America.

38 Spesh has quietly become tastemakers’ top pick for “next to blow.” Just ask LeBron James, Kevin Durrant, DJ Premier, Sway, Method Man, or Lloyd Banks, all of which have co-signed this Upstate New York emcee. His 7 Shots EP, the third and final instalment in his fan-favorite “Shots Series,” marked the moment that many caught on to the TRUST movement. The 8 track offering gives underground Hip-Hop fans exactly what they want, hard bars over soulful beats. The project features guest verses from Freeway, Ransom, Eto, and Che Noir, as well as production from Streetrunner, The Heatmakerz, LT Beats, Thanos Beats, and more. Mixed and mastered by Chris Pinset Cover by Laz Art Direction by Jordan Commandeur A&R by Ransom









[h] B4. Last Gasp (feat. Ransom & Tearz) [7 Shots Version] (prod. by Mayor, Ty Jamz & Bernard B. Westwood)

Devon Church ist ein aus Winnipeg, Manitoba, stammender und in New York City lebender Singer-Songwriter. Er war viele Jahre lang Multiinstrumentalist, Co-Autor und Produzent des Dreampop-Duos Exitmusic, dessen Album Passage 2012 bei Secretly Canadian erschien und von Pitchfork als "aufrührerisch, cineastisch und manchmal brillant" beschrieben wurde. 2018, im selben Jahr, in dem Exitmusic ihren Abgesang The Recognitions auf felte veröffentlichte, brachte Church sein Solodebüt We Are Inextricable ebenfalls auf felte heraus, das die texturalen elektronischen Elemente, die er während der Exitmusic-Jahre genutzt hatte, in den Dienst eines Songwriting-Stils stellte, der in der Folk-Rock-Tradition verwurzelt ist. Nachdem Church 2019 in den gesamten USA aufgetreten war (im Vorprogramm von Orville Peck, Adam Green, Kirin J Callinan und Black Marble), machte er sich an die Arbeit, um sein neuestes Werk, Strange Strangers, aufzunehmen, während er in einer Scheune im ländlichen Pennsylvania Zuflucht vor der globalen Pandemie suchte. Das größtenteils selbst produzierte Album klingt, als hätte Eno aus der Apollo-Ära Phil Spector auf halbem Wege zu den Aufnahmen von Death of a Ladies Man die Regler (und die Pistole) entrissen. Die atmosphärischen Elemente von Churchs früheren Produktionen werden auf dem Album sublimiert und in den Dienst von bandgesättigtem Gesang, Combo-Orgeln und Gitarren gestellt. Seine Stimme, die seit seinem Debüt selbstbewusster und zurückhaltender geworden ist, ist immer noch irgendwo zwischen einem lakonischen Lee-Hazelwood und einem rauchigen Tom Waits, aber sie wird bei Stücken wie dem intensiv melodischen und treibenden "Flash of Lightning in a Clear Blue Sky" deutlich ruhiger. Die engelsgleichen Backing Vocals von Churchs Partnerin, der Künstlerin Ada Roth, verleihen dem Bariton des weltmüden Erzählers eine Aura von traumhafter Leichtigkeit. Wenn Roth in gedämpften, an Hope Sandoval erinnernden Tönen in den Vordergrund tritt und einen Text wie "We're so bored of the apocalypse" vorträgt, nehmen die Dinge eine subtil bedrohliche Wendung in Richtung Pop-Surrealismus. Ein Sinn für kosmischen schwarzen Humor hat sich in Churchs Texte eingeschlichen. Strange Strangers leiht sich den Titel von dem Öko-Philosophen Timothy Morton: "The strangeness of strange strangers is itself strange, meaning the more we know about an entity the stranger it becomes."

Jamaican-born trumpeter Dizzy Reece was a fixture of the London jazz scene before moving to New York City in 1959 where he recorded his excellent album Star Bright, a hidden gem in the Blue Note catalog featuring a first-rate hard bop quintet with Hank Mobley on tenor saxophone, Wynton Kelly on piano, Paul Chambers on bass & Art Taylor on drums.

This Blue Note Classic Vinyl Edition is stereo, all-analog, mastered by Kevin Gray from the original master tapes, and pressed on 180g vinyl at Optimal.

Der vierfach Grammy-nominierte Multiinstrumentalist, Produzent und Gründungsmitglied von Porcupine Tree veröffentlichte im März 2009 sein gefeiertes Debütalbum.

Das düstere, cineastische und reichhaltig strukturierte Album besteht aus 10 Tracks, die von Balladen und Hymnen bis hin zu industriellen Lärmattacken reichen. Es ist das Ergebnis von zwei Jahren kreativen Schaffens und zahlreichen Aufnahmesessions weltweit in Studios von Mexiko City bis Japan und Israel.

Reissue als Digipak CD oder schwarzes Doppelvinyl im Gatefold Sleeve
Wilsons Solodebütalbum erschien ursprünglich 2009 auf Kscope

mit Tony Levin, Gavin Harrison, Jordan Rudess, Michiyo Yagi, Sand Snowman und Theo Travis

Cairo, late 2013. In a city in turmoil, where the curfew had just been lifted after a second coup d'état, where the walls were still covered in dreams and revolt, where even the clubs of the city-centre echoed with anti-Islamist and anti-army slogans, I was deeply touched by the voice of Abdullah Miniawy at the 100Copies music studio, a stone's throw from Tahrir Square. A singer, writer, poet, poetry-slammer and student from the El-Fayoum oasis, this spokesman for Egyptian youth was shaking up the music scene and social networks with his hypnotic voice and unique blend of electro, sufism and jazz music, both punk and psychedelic, secular and avant-garde. Three months later, Abdullah's first on-stage revelations took place at the La Voix est Libre festival in Cairo with the "Jimi Hendrix of oud", Mehdi Haddab, followed by his first meeting with composer and saxophonist Peter Corser at the D-CAF festival (Downtown Contemporary Art Festival), created in the aftermath of the revolution by leading figure in theater Ahmed El-Attar. After three years of administrative battles, while censorship was making a comeback in Egyptian artistic circles, Abdullah finally arrived in Paris where he recorded an initial version of Purple Feathers with Peter Corser, which was broadcast on Soundcloud.

In 2017, gripped from the very first seconds by these soaring vocal and instrumental performances, Erik Truffaz accepted our invitation to become involved with Peter's hypnotic loops and Abdullah's electric vocals, and was soon joined by the visceral strings of cellist Karsten Hochapfel. Five years later, Le Cri du Caire is still turning heads, and often moving audiences to tears. Both free and spiritual, sensitive and elusive, their music elevates the soul to giddy heights and flies towards what may well be one of the shortest paths from zero to infinity.

French electronic producer Blutch is back with another supremely trippy EP “Condate” on home label Astropolis Records, featuring a remix from Azo.

This Brittany native has a broad, borderless sound that mixes up electronica, breakbeat, house and IDM with stirring emotional undercurrents that range from nostalgia to melancholy. Last year he served up his superb ‘Terre Promise’ album on the label, and once again, it combined a raft of different sounds on one majestic record. He again shows off his ability to layer captivating melodies over compelling rhythms on this fresh new EP which extends his LP released last year with a more dancefloor suite. "Condate" is the original name of the city of Rennes in Brittany, France, where he lives. A city he loves passionately. The tracks featured in this EP are mainly taken from his live act "Terre Promise". The cover artwork also comes from the audiovisual live act: a motion design work made by Romain Navier, mixing landscapes from Brittany and hallucinated 3D creations, dressing Blutch's stage with a fabulous work around the album's theme. These tracks represent the more festive part of the live show, just as Blutch's love for Rennes is also linked to its festive character.

First single ‘Condate’ is a physical cut driven by a slick breakbeat. Melodic rain falls down the face of the track as booming bass roots you to the dance floor, and once again, the whole track is doused in heavenly synth work and subtle waves of euphoria.

‘Condate’ is a perfectly impactful EP, both physically and emotionally. The EP drops on the 24th March (vinyl/digital).

Red Vinyl

ASSASSINS did what many bands do: they grabbed a moment out of the air and slammed it onto tape machines and hard drives with relentlessness, cunning, and an attitude.
It was in Chicago, mid 2000’s, and though there was energy in the music scene, it wasn’t coalescing into anything you could use as a heading in the musical encyclopedia. Drag City, Thrill Jockey, Bloodshot, Tortoise, Andrew Bird, 90 Day Men – amazing labels and bands, but discrete and siloed and separated by boundaries that weren’t very real.
In the midst of that complicated morass, ASSASSINS generated a collection of songs that became the album YOU WILL CHANGED US. And it did.
There was confidence built into the fabric of the project: 5 members, 2 singers, massive synced video walls and samples streaming from laptops swirling in three dimensions around the stage. They could go from subtle atmospheric moments to a gargantuan wall of sound instantly. It was hard to do- months in cold practice rooms troubleshooting sections of songs or reworking synthesizer patches put the band through a self-imposed boot camp. And it brought them together as a sort of hive-mind focused on one thing: that these songs could connect. They could cut through the noise and share a state of mind with other human beings.
And it worked. Those early shows were mind bending. It was fun, loud, drunken, and rewarding- that time together, before the record deal, before the tragic let down of being traded and gobbled up by the major label system. The years after that got more difficult, more complicated, more human.
Leading us here: the musical journey of the Assassins has ended. With the up-coming release of their second and final album THE YEAR THAT NEVER CAME, we finally get to hear, and feel, the final statements of their inspiring chemistry.
In July of 2021, founding member, songwriter and singer Joe Cassidy unexpectedly passed away. THE YEAR THAT NEVER CAME is the culmination and end point of a collaboration that started in the early 2000’s with a chance meeting and excited conversation with Aaron Miller at a gig in Chicago. Quickly joined by David Golitko on keyboards, Merritt Lear on vocals and guitar, and Alex Kemp on bass.
It was Miller who saw Joe Cassidy’s song writing in a new context. Cassidy had been known for his beautiful, post- pop inflected BUTTERFLY CHILD, a thoughtful, regal project where Joe’s emotions could soar. Miller saw a different context for that voice- not dreamy, but immediate, not just hopeful, but demanding. He took Joe’s open hand and suggested that it could be a fist, raised in the air, with a crowd of other people doing the same.
At the time of his death legendary composer and songwriter Jimmy Webb (who wrote such hits as ‘Wichita Lineman and MacArthur Park) said Joe ‘was a creative and generous producer but, more importantly, he was a creative and generous friend.’
With the release of THE YEAR THAT NEVER CAME, this band, this relentless creative force, has to finally relent. No one in the band could see a future ASSASSINS that doesn’t include Cassidy. So in one last act of will, for the love of their friend, they did the rigorous work of finishing the songs that they had started together for the second album.
Assassin’s obsession with the notion of time, from YOU WILL CHANGED US to THE YEAR THAT NEVER CAME, flows from the most natural question we all have to ask ourselves: what do I do now? Because: how we react today to life’s unpredictability - that is the tomorrow we build for ourselves.

Al Green Explores Your Mind is the eighth album by soul singer Al Green. Unlike previous Al Green albums, this album featured the U.S. #7 hit "Sha-La-La (Make Me Happy)", and contains the original version of "Take Me to the River", a song which went to #26 on the Billboard chart when covered by Talking Heads in 1978. In 2004, the song "Take Me to the River" was ranked number 117 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest songs of all time. The album was his fifth consecutive album to claim #1 on the Soul Albums chart, and peaked at #15 on the Pop Albums chart.

Growing up in South Korea was difficult for the young Sun-Mi Hong, intent on a musical path but experiencing restrictions and negativity. Drumming became a refuge, a place to escape to. It took over her life and became an obsession for her. The sound and energy was a huge inspiration and helped channel the emotions she was feeling. Surrounded by negativity, criticism of her chosen path and pressure to follow a more secure, traditional career, her persistence and resilience prevailed and she made the move, a little over 10 years ago, to study in Amsterdam, an undertaking full of risk, facing a new culture with barriers in spoken and musical language. Step forward a decade and Sun-Mi has built a formidable reputation in her city, in the Netherlands and beyond, and is fast cementing her position as one of the leading up-and-coming talents on the European scene. Sun-Mi’s new record with her long-running quintet, balances meticulously crafted compositions with investigations into the great unknown of improvised music. Each record she’s released with the quintet up until this point, (First, Second and now Third Page: Resonance), chronicles her life as an artist and her unique path to her goal. Drifting between expressions of warmth and appreciation contrasted with moments of pure passion and catharsis, this is an album that cannot be ignored – it demands your attention and your focussed listening unlike anything else you are likely to hear.

Beyond ecstatic to finally offer a glimpse into the world of voertuig. Working on music for several years, purely for themselves in sheds and studios tucked away in the outskirts of the hague, Tonal Oceans presents an album by the four piece act containing music embodying the true spirit of the city.

W&P by Offer van Kesteren, Gianni Tjon Tam Pau, Tijmen van Wageningen, Laurens ten Berge.

Artwork by Soft Turbo
Drawing by Ilan Havinga