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THE DYNAMICS • DRAG’N'FLY
by VINCENT HELLO.

Jamaica, 1960s. Ska artists, rock steady and reggae take back some soul songs of the United States, thus giving their versions that will in turn become future classics. The hits of the moment are also seasoned with Jamaican sauce, no matter where it comes from Original, pop, country, jazz... The rhythms of the island permanently transform the tracks of origin. In 2024, with their third album called Dragn'fly and decorated with a beautiful dragonfly (a "dragonfly" so in the language of King Tubby) the Dynamics honour Jamaican tradition and dynamite 10 versions of hits from yesterday and today. The Dragonfly spread his wings reggae, soul, funk to land in all headsets at the heart of good stereos and on spicy dancefloors. Because this dragonfly is a true superfly that speaks to the heart... and legs.

After two albums whose success led them to walk the globe of Glastonbury in Tokyo, honoured by the large elders (the first part of Lee Perry here, a regular dj support of Don Letts over there) the Dynamics are alive so their 'soul reggae vocal sound system” in front of audiences specializing in Jamaican or to those who are who were lucky enough to meet them by chance in Chemical Brothers... or Lady Gaga.

The Dynamics have forgotten the weight of ancestors to make their own recipe. They proclaim it, they are Sound System! The voices of Mounam, Steve Levi and Mr Day are in the front row, so making lovers, preachers, crooners and crooners to Turns of Duty, while Fab Master Flab all in one of the roots and futuristic echos. But if the mind is a sound system, the dynamics sounds also as a group through instruments live performances that plunge the tracks into a fervor unique. And then there are the hits, so, from all times and of all styles.
The low rider becomes toaster and leaves the road a American carried by these vocal harmonies Sky to take the exit Kingston. On the roadside, the joker delivers his lovers soft rock after a small detour to Muscle Shoal, The time to borrow a guitar from Duane Allman. In the south again, Mounam “Mrs Dynamics” meets the spirit of «Mr Dynamite» and tells him his radical, soul version. “ man’s world...” inna digital style! The spiritual anthem “you got to have freedom” by Master Pharoah Sanders becomes a universal skank, pop and dub who sends resounding high its universal message Dance! The dynamics are mutating the classic of ESG into a small, minimal pop bomb that is not without resemblance to the Neptunes of Mr Pharell Williams. On the edge of the track, Peter Gabriel sees his “Sledgehammer” groover as he does could imagine it and dissolve into sublime soul scrolls. Later, “After laughter...” soul classic celebrated and sampled Born into a rock steady air promised also to eternity. JJ Cale’s "cocaine," leaves its on the dancefloor for a reggae disco version, necessarily! And then, we must conclude. So it’s time to send an original title. It will be "Rubba Sub", to the aromas of sleng teng, which proves that far from the hits, the Dynamics deploys same layouts to deliver fresh and authentic sounds. And when the dub echoes evaporated, that the riddims have been silent, only remains an album majestic, in turn a future classic, full of unique Dynamics sound that mixes with instinct the echoes of yesterday to its own voices today.

High Roller Records, Splatter Vinyl, 425gsm heavy cardboard cover, insert

High Roller Records, Splatter Vinyl, 425gsm heavy cardboard cover, insert

This brilliant, seminal debut EP from Australia's best stoner band is now being reissued on vinyl as part of Ripple Music's excellent series 'Beneath The Desert Floor'. Originally released in 1999 it now comes with 5 bonus songs.

Cobblestone Runway (Originally released 2002) was produced by Martin Terefe and features several of Ron"s most poignant songs including "God Loves Everyone", "Former Glory" and Ron"s biggest hit "Gold In Them Hills", which features a duet with Coldplay"s Chris Martin and was chosen by Richard Curtis to feature on the soundtrack to his film "About Time".

"Disco Crash" wird zum allerersten Mal auf Vinyl veröffentlicht und um die Klangdynamik zu maximieren, wird es auf einer Doppel-LP sein! Dieses Album aus dem Jahr 2012 enthält Beiträge von Snoop Dogg, Pitbull, Sophie Ellis-Bextor und Sean Paul. (Wieder-)Entdecken Sie die weltweiten Hits "Far l"Amore", "Rock The Boat" und "Tik Tok" ...

Over the past several years, The Voidz, led by Julian Casablancas, have been releasing various singles and performing unique residencies in different cities, all to critical acclaim. Now, they are returning with their highly anticipated third album, "Like All Before You."



This new release marks a shift back to album mode, showcasing The Voidz's unique sound that blends different styles into an immersive experience. The band will be promoting it in fall 2024 and 2025

Brothers Dana and Alden McWayne, along with a troupe of multi-instrumental artists, come together to create jazzy melodies with indie sounds inspired by their unconventional upbringing in Eugene, Oregon. Following the success of their debut full-length album and it's lead track "Dragonfly" (which tracked 300,000 TikTok creations, and over 10 million streams) the brothers recruited Jared Solomon (Sza, Remi Wolf, Teezo Touchdown) to produce their sophomore LP, Coyote, You're My Star. Melding vintage sounds with the aesthetic and experience of existing in Gen Z and the digital age, the new LP has already been met with rousing approval, with airtime on the Zane Lowe show on Apple as well as playlist covers like Spotify's State of Jazz. The band is also set to tour North America and Europe across festivals and headline shows.

High Roller Records, Grey/ Red Mixed Vinyl, 425gsm heavy cardboard cover, 2 inserts, poster, A5 card

High Roller Records, Grey/ Red Mixed Vinyl, 425gsm heavy cardboard cover, 2 inserts, poster, A5 card

Nach einer ersten Headlining-Tour der Band durch Mexiko im Oktober 2023 und einer weiteren Tour als Support der Warkings, wird im Jahr 2024 mit
den neuen Bandmitgliedern Matt an der Gitarre und Chris an den Drums nun das nächste Kapitel der DRAGONY Bandgeschichte gemeinsam mit dem
renommierten Metal-Label SPV Steamhammer geschrieben: Das fünfte Studioalbum „Hic Svnt Dracones“ steht in den Startlöchern, und einmal mehr
haben Dragony aus dem Vollen geschöpft und bringen ein von Genre-Gigant Jacob Hansen (u.a. AMARANTHE, EPICA uvm.) gemischtes und
gemastertes Album mit elf starken, eingängigen melodischen Metal-Songs an den Start, das sowohl Fans des modernen Power Metal als auch
Freunde traditioneller Genrekost gleichermaßen begeistern wird. Erneut laden Dragony auf eine epische Reise in vergessene Zeiten und Länder ein,
wenn die Konzeptstory hinter „Hic Svnt Dracones“ eine neue, phantasievolle Interpretation der Ereignisse rund um die „Lost Colony“ von Roanoke
und das Schicksal der dort verschwundenen britischen Kolonialisten, verpackt in ein druckvolles Power-Metal-Gewand, erzählt.

London-based rising star Sans Soucis (they/them) shares their debut album ‘Circumnavigating Georgia’. Circumnavigating Georgia sees the writer and producer Sans Soucis take us through their coming of age and the reclamation of their identity, tearing apart systemic patriarchy and anti-blackness that's impacted their life. Each track on the album is set to introduce the audience to a new sonic palette, influenced by both the music and personal experiences from Sans Soucis' teenage and early adulthood. Born out of a desire to reconnect with the uninhibited joyfulness and authenticity of childhood, Sans Soucis’ music is a radical act of reclamation. Free from the constraints of genre and with a wide gamut of sonic touchstones – from the effervescent electronics of Little Dragon, Solange Knowles’s alt-R&B, the emotional edge of Joni Mitchell and the robust pop melodies of Rihanna – Sans Soucis’s world is one overflowing with vibrant musical textures pertinent lyrics and refreshing dose of hopefulness.

"Loaded – The Collection highlights a stellar selection of 32 tracks from the genres that defined the 90s alternative music across a 2LP.
A monumental music and cultural movement celebrated in this album includes ‘Britpop’, demonstrated in songs featuring the amazing artists Oasis, Suede, The Stone Roses, The La’s and Supergrass. Defining 90s Indie rock and pop is featured on this album from bands including Stereophonics, The Boo Radleys, New Order, The Wannadies, Sleeper, The Cardigans, Ocean Colour Scene and many more. Plus, we celebrate the electronic/club scene of the 90s, showcased by dance hits from The Chemical Brothers, Faithless, Primal Scream, Happy Mondays and Leftfield. For your nostalgic trip through the alternative 90s music scene… we are proud to present Loaded.
Loaded – The Alternative Album is the must have 3CD that combines 62 tracks from multiple music genres that defined the alternative music of the 90s.
"

Speckled Dragon Egg Color Vinyl. Being Dead knows how to make an entrance - within the first several seconds of EELS, the duo's new record, the bright, hard-strummed guitar line on "Godzilla Rises" conjures cinematic immediacy, a creature emerging from the depths of the ocean in campy, freaky stop motion, fittingly so. Being Dead's records are mosaics, technicolor incantations, each song its own self-contained little universe. And while the dreamlike EELS probes further into the depths of the duo Being Dead's psyche, it is, most importantly, in the year of our lord 2024, a 16-track record that is genuinely unpredictable from one track to the next: a joyous and unexpected trip helmed by two true-blue freak bitch besties holed up in a lil' house in the heart of Austin, Texas. They decamped to Los Angeles for two weeks to record with GRAMMY-winning producer John Congleton, writing songs for the record until days before they left. The radical shift in process was welcome - a good balance and a challenge, Congleton helping them find new ways to work and helping peel back the layers on the core of their songwriting. Being Dead has grown from a duo to a trio live, including bassist Ricky Motto (who is immortalized finally on record here, particularly in the giggles on "Rock n' Roll Hurts") The resulting EELS is a darker record, tapped more into the devilishness within, but it's also a more raucous, rougher ride sonically. There's heartbreak, excitement, enchantment, dancing - we move through it all at a high-octane pace. Falcon Bitch and Smoofy never want to do the same thing twice on any song, and they don't. From the pummeling garage rock distortion of "Firefighters" to "Dragons II," which appears in its demo form taped on a hand recorder, it's unexpected but intuitive, and, most importantly, singularly Being Dead. Like its animal namesake suggests, the songs on EELS are malleable, the record like slithering through murky waters or strange half dreams, mysterious and beautiful in how it moves, reflective in a wavering sheen. Dipping into each song feels like uncovering a new cavern, plunging into depths unknown but fully open to what will be revealed. On the album artwork, an illustration by the artist Julia Soboleva, there are some weird disparate spectral creatures, a stark glimmer against a cloudy darkness. It's a fitting encapsulation of Being Dead, exuding a welcoming, playful energy even if something foreboding lurks just beyond the pale - more out of frame that's left to uncover, no path unexplored, strange and beautiful in the light.

Warped and dragged through the murky underbelly of the Levantine underground comes 'Volume 1' the x-rated left-field debut from the pseudonymous DJ GAWAD.

Via pitched up vocals dripping with delay, DJ GAWAD takes us on a tour of the region's most urgent artists, his interjections oscillating between cocky boast and frustrated lament.

Through this new persona, DJ GAWAD pulls back the curtain to reveal himself as the protagonist of the mixtape-like album, as replete with features as it is with expletives, an enigmatic ghoul in the back of the studio with an endless supply of broken sample flips, giving the album its old school feel while still speaking to contemporary hip hop aesthetics.

A Jordanian/Palestinian Memphis gangster rap parody par excellence, the album is infused with satirical commentary on the state of the contemporary music scene, yet DJ GAWAD shows as much as he tells, expertly fashioning a sound that makes you wonder about the identity of the artist behind the braggadocious persona of the self-titled "best producer in the Middle East."

Drawing heavily from the Memphis rap mixtapes of the mid 1990s, DJ GAWAD has clearly identified the same brooding atmosphere in his own surroundings. On Mat3'anish (feat. Bleng & Fara7) DJ GAWAD makes his most explicit reference to the Memphis sound, twisting the hallmark cowbells that defined that movement to reflect the equally raw nature of his own setting.

Similarly, in Bandana (feat. Jurum), DJ GAWAD finds the perfect tension between his romantic sampling tendencies and the brutal sensibilities of his featured artist. As if liberated by DJ GAWAD's anonymity and irreverence, his menagerie of artists appear to have been emboldened, embracing the obscene free naturedness of the album, setting their lyrical prowess free to wander.

No expense was spared in the post production treatment of DJ GAWAD's debut, with Iraqi-American artist Mark Gergis incorporating the Nakamichi Dragon cassette deck in the mastering process, as is evidenced by the crisp saturation of the album's sonics.

Speckled Dragon Egg Color Vinyl. Being Dead knows how to make an entrance - within the first several seconds of EELS, the duo's new record, the bright, hard-strummed guitar line on "Godzilla Rises" conjures cinematic immediacy, a creature emerging from the depths of the ocean in campy, freaky stop motion, fittingly so. Being Dead's records are mosaics, technicolor incantations, each song its own self-contained little universe. And while the dreamlike EELS probes further into the depths of the duo Being Dead's psyche, it is, most importantly, in the year of our lord 2024, a 16-track record that is genuinely unpredictable from one track to the next: a joyous and unexpected trip helmed by two true-blue freak bitch besties holed up in a lil' house in the heart of Austin, Texas. They decamped to Los Angeles for two weeks to record with GRAMMY-winning producer John Congleton, writing songs for the record until days before they left. The radical shift in process was welcome - a good balance and a challenge, Congleton helping them find new ways to work and helping peel back the layers on the core of their songwriting. Being Dead has grown from a duo to a trio live, including bassist Ricky Motto (who is immortalized finally on record here, particularly in the giggles on "Rock n' Roll Hurts") The resulting EELS is a darker record, tapped more into the devilishness within, but it's also a more raucous, rougher ride sonically. There's heartbreak, excitement, enchantment, dancing - we move through it all at a high-octane pace. Falcon Bitch and Smoofy never want to do the same thing twice on any song, and they don't. From the pummeling garage rock distortion of "Firefighters" to "Dragons II," which appears in its demo form taped on a hand recorder, it's unexpected but intuitive, and, most importantly, singularly Being Dead. Like its animal namesake suggests, the songs on EELS are malleable, the record like slithering through murky waters or strange half dreams, mysterious and beautiful in how it moves, reflective in a wavering sheen. Dipping into each song feels like uncovering a new cavern, plunging into depths unknown but fully open to what will be revealed. On the album artwork, an illustration by the artist Julia Soboleva, there are some weird disparate spectral creatures, a stark glimmer against a cloudy darkness. It's a fitting encapsulation of Being Dead, exuding a welcoming, playful energy even if something foreboding lurks just beyond the pale - more out of frame that's left to uncover, no path unexplored, strange and beautiful in the light.

CACOPHONY was formed in 1986 by guitarists Marty Friedman and Jason Becker and
signed to Shrapnel Records. They released two studio albums 'Speed Metal Symphony'
(1987) and 'Go Off!' (1988) and remained active until 1989.
CACOPHONY both albums showcase unique performances of highly technical playing,
typical of the 1980s shred era, with songs featuring fast tempos, melodic solos, exotic
neoclassical scales and dual guitar harmonizations. Several tracks were entirely
instrumental, which prominently demonstrated Marty Friedman and Jason Becker's
renowned technical skills.
'Go Off !' is their second and final studio album . Both Marty Friedman and Jason Becker
released their own solo albums : 'Dragon's Kiss' and 'Perpetual Burn', respectively in 1988,
before the release of 'Go Off!’. Marty Friedman later joined the thrash metal band
Megadeth in 1990, remaining with them for nine years as well as releasing several more
solo albums, while Jason Becker enjoyed a short stint in David Lee Roth's solo band from
1989 to 1991.

Strange Sensations is a new EP from Paul Renegade.
In between Lazerdrome / Phonomena releases (news on that soon) and with a folder full of spare tunes, this 4 track EP comes on white vinyl on sister label DragonDrop Records
This release features a mix of happy pianos, dark synths, ruff beats and Jungle Tekno vibes, all at various BPMs so there’s a bit of something for everybody.
On the A-side, Zer0 Gravity Fire is fast-paced ’94-style stompy hardcore (160BPM) with rushy pianos, while the synths and piano lines of Mind Over Mind slow the pace down a bit at 140BPM in an early ‘92 style.
On the flip side, Weird Dreams (160BPM) takes you between the worlds of happy and the darkside and Danger: Battledroid is an experimental dark hardcore track at 165BPM, mixing well in either a hardcore or jungle set.

Born in Aldershot on 11 September 1947, Catley's family moved to the Tile Cross area of Birmingham when he was young. He went on to attend the nearby Central Grammar School for Boys (Birmingham) and left to start an apprenticeship at the GPO before deciding on a musical career shortly after meeting similarly minded individuals at college. Whilst at college he joined several bands, such as The Smokestacks (Jeff Clark-guitar, Ron Savage-guitar, Derek Danks-bass & Brian Worrell-drums, Life and Clearwater). His first professional band was when he joined local outfit The Capitol Systems. The initial line-up was Bob Catley (vocals) Paul Sargent (guitar) Paul Whitehouse (bass), Dave Bailey (keyboards) and Bob Moore (drums). Shortly afterward they changed their name to Paradox, inspired by a science-fiction novel. A one-off deal was arranged with Mercury after Paradox had come to the attention of Francis Rossi and Rick Parfitt. The tracks were "Ever Since I Can Remember", backed with "Goodbye Mary". In addition, they recorded "Mary Colinto" and "Somebody Save Me". All of these songs were written by Dave Morgan. Paradox played festivals in the Netherlands and Italy before splitting up upon their return to the UK in 1970. Formed in 1972, Magnum throughout the next 16 years consisted mainly of Bob Catley on vocals and Tony Clarkin on guitar. Magnum began as the house band at Birmingham's famous Rum Runner night club (later the home of Duran Duran). They began to develop their own style by playing Clarkin's songs at a residency at The Railway Inn, in Birmingham's Curzon Street, in 1976. Joining Clarkin and Catley were drummer Kex Gorin and bassist Dave Morgan (later a member of ELO). Their most notable success during these early years was the Jeff Glixman produced Chase The Dragon (1982) which reached No. 17 in the UK, and included several songs that would be mainstays of the band's live set, notably ‘Soldier of the Line’, ‘Sacred Hour’ and ‘The Spirit’. Their breakthrough album came in 1985 with On a Storyteller's Night which featured the single ‘Just Like an Arrow’. This success continued in the following years with the Roger Taylor (Queen) produced Vigilante in 1986, the top 5 album Wings of Heaven in 1988, and the Keith Olsen produced Goodnight L.A. reaching No. 9 in the UK album charts in 1990. Subsequently, Clarkin decided to maintain a tighter control, and after their initial mainstream success, the band lost their major label backing and returned to a more personal level of production. This finally found the band splitting and the formation of Hard Rain in 1995, which saw Clarkin pursue a more Pop orientated direction with a band that included Sue McCloskey on lead vocals. This new direction didn’t sit well with Catley, and after a headline performance at The Gods in the late 90s, a conversation with Bruce Mee of Now & Then Records saw Catley agree with a decision which eventually led to his debut solo album, ‘The Tower’. This release was completely written by Gary Hughes of Ten, with the writing completely decided to be in the vein of classic Magnum. The album itself was recorded by various members of Ten, including the amazing Vinny Burns (Dare) on guitar. On release, the many positive reviews concluded that the release of ‘The Tower’ had succeeded beyond its wildest imagination…..and Bob Catley’s solo career had been launched with amazing success!! With a lyrical intricacy and majestic pomp, songs like ‘Far Away, ‘Fear of the Dark, ‘Madrigal’ and ‘Deep Winter’ take you back to that glorious period of Magnum between ‘Chase The Dragon’ and ‘Wings Of Heaven’ whilst hard melodic rockers such as ‘Scream’, ‘Dreams’ and title track ‘The Tower’ show just what Magnum would have sounded like if they’d gone a little bit harder. Another absolutely brilliant album that totally deserves to be filed alongside those mid-period Magnum classics.