Cerca:the draw

If you check the credits of The Rolling Stones' Goats Head Soup LP from 1973 you'll find a certain "Pascal" listed on the percussion section. That is none other than Los Angeles based artist Nicolas Pascal Raicevik (1933-1994), aka 107-34-8933, aka Head, aka Nik Pascal, aka Nik Raicevic. Besides his hitting the bongoes on the Stones album, Nik was a great artist on his own, both as a painter and as a musician. As a musician, he was a pioneer in the use of synthesizers, preceeding the Berlin school by some years when his Head LP was released on on Buddah in 1970. Buddah probably saw in Head the opportunity to cash in some money from the remains of the psychedelic scene - the three tracks on the LP are named after drugs used in the late sixties. The sounds, however, are accomplished works that show Raicevic as one of the most interesting pioneers in the use of synths. The album probably didn't do too well, since Buddah didn't renew the contract with Raicevic, who instead took his own way releasing his works on his very own Narco Records and Tapes label. Between 1968 and 1975 Narco would issue 4 LPs credited either to Nik Raicevic (Beyond The End... Eternity) or Nik Pascal (The Sixth Ear, Magnetic Web and Zero Gravity) plus one credited to 107-34-8933 (Numbers, which is in fact the same LP as Buddah's Head, albeit with different cover art). Copies of these LPs came with an ironic sticker over the shrinkwrap that read "Do not listen to this LP if you are stoned".

Nik's last album, Zero Gravity (Narco NR123) came under the Nik Pascal name and had a fantastic side long piece on the title track which reminisces of the works of Cluster. B side features four tracks that also bear some Conrad Schnitzler reminiscences. This was to be Nik's last LP before he would sell all his synths to ex car racer and future electronic/ambient music star Steve Roach.

Besides his musical explorations, Nik was also an interesting painter. His paintings are auctioned from time to time, and are consciousness expanding works influenced by abstract cubism and surrealism, some kind of Salvador Dalí on drugs exploring the outter and inner space. All the artwork on the sleeves of his LPs is done by himself. Spacey landscapes and psychedelic colours that fit perfectly to the music they contain.

"Nik Raicevic's music is at the intersection of radical psycho-electronic weirdness and kraut kosmische music (in particular the scifi-hypno-minimal modules of Conrad Schnitzler in Grun, Rot and Blau). It presents mega epic & tripped out electronic improvisations.

"This is an absolute must for collectors and fans of visceral, neurotic soundscapes."

"As far as late-60s / early-70s American Bedroom' Electronic Music goes, these LPS have to be among the first transmissions from this sector, made all the more attractive when coupled with Raicevic's alien topographIes - the covers are high-color portrayals of Venusian lanes, knotted growths, & future-past architecture in a style you might equate with Vintage' sci-fi pulp-novel covers - & copious Downer' sentiment. This music is imbued with a sort of lonely, anti-social sensibility that's about as far as you can get from the Academic' Early Electronic vector. I will say that if the Steve Birchall, Cellutron & the Invisible, and/or Pythagoron™ seed your garden, this will likely do the same."

Never reissued before on vinyl format, the Wah Wah reissue features original sleeve artwork made of paintings and drawings by Nik himself, and reproduction of the famous ironic "Do not listen if you are stoned" sticker. Limited edition, 500 copies only.

The Nomads EP is a new chapter for the Austrian duo. Not only is it the biggest project for RoyGreen & Protone to date it also includes hand drawn Artwork & Stickers by a Florine Imo and is rich of different musical flavours. It's a thing from the heart... you can see, hear & feel it.

Following the release of lo-fi electronic masterpiece I Don't Remember Now / I Don't Want To Talk About It and his brilliant follow-up Plaster Falling, Cincinnati-based artist John Bender began assembling his third and last album, Pop Surgery, in late 1982.


While all of Bender's work draws from intimate home recordings - featuring the artist alone with various keyboards, analogue sequencers and tape delays - Pop Surgery remains the one that perhaps best distills his arrant deconstruction of the "pop" concept. These twelve frenetic tracks, meticulously stitched together with dubbed-out vocals and disjointed drum machines, stretch the boundaries of bedroom electronics.


Bender would forgo the handmade LP sleeves typical of his Record Sluts imprint. The cover depicts an imposing scrapyard crane, ready to pick up discarded objects with its bright red electromagnet, while the center labels détourn Columbia's classic '70s style.


"I pressed a single run of 500 copies," Bender recounts. "The only review I remember railed at the poor production quality. The DIY era had clearly come to an end."


This first-time standalone reissue is recommended for fans of Suicide, TG's 20 Jazz Funk Greats and early Cabaret Voltaire. Liner notes by John Bender.

Perhaps CPU's deepest foray into techno, Osaka-based artist Yuri Urano's 'Autline' E.P. draws parallels with the machine-like incremental builds of Sweet Exorcist / Richard H Kirk.

Plenty of variation with minimal down-tempo through to fierce industrial techno.

Urano's industrial sound is gaining a lot of attention in the Japanese techno scene and this E.P. will only galvanise her reputation.

Dutch-Italian composer, musician and producer Aimee Portioli alias Grand River is back on Spazio Disponibile. After a debut record on the label in 2017, she now serves up her first ever physical long player, Pineapple. The record draws on Portioli's love of electronic music and sound design, as well as her background in traditional composition and formal training on a range of musical instruments.

An experienced sound engineer and composer for national radio, she crafts absorbing film scores, experimental and ambient projects and takes in symphonic calculations that blur the lines between traditional composition and research-based modernism. All that is evident on Pineapple, which is named after the most peculiar of fruits and is just as peculiar, but ultimately satisfying, across ten remarkable yet rewarding tracks.

They are often long pieces which take in wallowing electronic landscapes, with real ambient beauty next to a subtle sense of narrative that is absorbing throughout. Unusual sound sources and a masterful sense of suspense characterize the album and make it as fascinating as it is enjoyable. (*Audio snippets will be released in September*)

Solar Phenomena continues a high quality and high rate of releases after EP's from the likes of STL and Fluxion with a new one from Mystica Tribe - the musical alias of Tokyo-based producer, Taka Noda. Here he draws on everything from dub, soul, bass music, rhythm and blues and will always freak you out with his unusual sounds.

This excellently absorbing EP starts with Love Is All Right, a fusion of Asian percussion and reggae drums that is high tempo and funky. The bright steelpan sounds offset the razor sharp percussion and make for a sunny dub that will get any crowd going. The same fusion vibes continues but in more blissed out and slow motion fashion on 'Lawn Track', the beautiful cosmic psyche-out that is 'Ash' and supple space journey that is 'Voyage' with its intoxicating melodies and loose, tumbling percussion. This is unusual but essential music from an exclusive talent.

'Garage bands suddenly obtain cult status and become the antithesis of their initial appeal'

Garage Class were a group of reluctant outliers who produced one of the finest contributions to the wave of UK DIY music that emerged during the late 70s and early to mid-80s.

Hailing from Alsager in North West England and comprised of Tim Shutt (vocals) Phil Murphy (lead guitar) Clive Williams (guitar) Lynne Sanders (bass) and Phil Bourne (drums / bass on studio recordings) Garage Class originally went by the name of The Pits before their then manager Steve Hurt imposed an alias which, though unpopular within their ranks, would nevertheless reflect the shambolic art they would eventually capture on their first and only single.

As The Pits the group offered a loutish inflection on glam-punk flamboyance, evoking Johnny Thunder hitting the north and remaining disowned yet undeterred in a dreary old boozer. But as Garage Class the group distilled a roughcast and homespun primitivism that felt quintessentially their own. In this they proved too unruly to be assimilated into any wider scene. Early gigs descended into acrimony and recognition proved elusive. Yet what they managed to make back then now sounds like an extraordinary article of underdog ambition.

Released in 1984, four years after it was originally recorded, the Terminal Tokyo single is an unlikely triumph of exceptional messthetic punk. Though raw and unpolished the songs here are precariously pop-minded and indisputably anthemic. The titular A-side reveals the dry and detached drawl of Shutt aka The Subliminal Kid, a sharp, jaded and poetic voice that has some of the most iconic lines never heard in punk. Accompanied by second-hand guitars, on-the-fly handclaps and a chorus like a terrace chant this is the cult hit that never was, a heroically artless masterpiece that has all the ragged character and misfit euphoria of Swell Maps and The Buzzcocks if they were more impulsive and boisterous, and left to their own devices in the remote margins of a Cheshire town. The original B-side is here substituted for I Got Standards, a track that, until now, has somehow remained unreleased. An ideal twin to Terminal Tokyo there's the same brusque and dog-eared quality to the band's delivery, as well as the same upfront emphasis on strong hooks and insistent momentum. Yet again, Shutt is on impeccable form, perfecting an inflated, adolescent antagonism that has all the sardonic, malcontented charm of similarly 'shirty' buggers like Dan Treacy (Television Personalities), Patrik Fitzgerald and Mark Perry (Alternative TV).

Although never accepted in their own time both tracks represent a brief but inspired moment of fervent imperfection, one that epitomized the best of a diffuse and autonomous underground movement spearheaded by The Desperate Bicycles and built upon by the likes of Amos & Sara, The Homosexuals, The Cleaners From Venus and Family Fodder. Like them Garage Class were situated at a point where punk, art, humour and a sense of stubborn independence all intersected.

In the years since Terminal Tokyo has accumulated a retrospective appeal among certain trusted circles, with Jon Dale celebrating the single in his exhaustive and essential Story of UK DIY for Fact Magazine, and original copies regularly changing hands for a foolish forty quid or so. With this inaugural release on the Outer Reaches label Terminal Tokyo is not only restored for the very first time but given a worthy expansion courtesy of JD Twitch (Optimo).

Continuing his own fascination with the fringe history of UK DIY - documented on his own outstanding compilation Cease & Desist: DIY! (Cult Classics From The Post Punk Era 1978-1982) and in his re-edits of Crass Records classics for an early release on RVNG INTL - Twitch reinterprets I Got Standards as an incisive, dubwise outing that pictures Jaki Liebezeit and Muslimgauze on a bender in England's provinces, tasked with remixing the raw product of local punks. A new slant on Garage Class' crude magnificence, built to play loud on contemporary soundsystems.

Although the latter part of 1980 spelled the end for Garage Class with members moving on to other projects (Bourne fell in with The Colours Out of Time, Murphy went on to front The Regular Guys and Shutt eventually left to form Happy Refugees) this reissue attempts to give their fleeting time together and the unique single statement they made the treatment it deserves. If this means Garage Class have obtained cult status, their initial appeal remains. Just listen for yourself.

Planet E are proud to present 'AW18 Collection', a 3 track EP from British producer Tom Flynn due September 14th. Drawing upon a broad and learned musical understanding, 'AW18 Collection' fuses disparate strands from the worlds of fashion, club culture and sound design to forge a highly atmospheric, singular release. 'Packard', the title of which is inspired by parties in the historic Detroit power plant of the same name, establishes an unrelenting energy from the get go. A bouncing kick lays the foundations for rolling synths, unnerving vocal samples and delicate piano refrains to wander. 'Anna' is an indulgent nod to the catwalk, marching with intent amidst immersive chords and subtle melodies. The B side hosts a trippy cut full of interplanetary glitches and melancholic harmonies. Drawing upon hints to the extraterrestrial, 'Marx' creates a dizzying swirl with glistening textures. Carl Craig was sold straight away: 'When Tom sent me his demo of 'Packard' I knew I wanted to release it on Planet E. The mix of looped electronics with soul of the piano brought me back to when I first heard the post-Disco classic 'Beyond the Clouds'. I can imagine the kids on The Scene rockin' hard to this.'

"It is not often that we hear STL's music reworked and in this instance, it was not an easy process, since the parts to the originals were unavailable, resulting in a uniquely interesting approach for this release.
Juniper lead the way on the A side, delivering two dynamic versions of Haze & Kraze. Dark and shuffly edits of the original that keep you drawn in from beginning to end.
On the B side, Fold reinterprets Hide & Seek into a low tempo dub house piece. Heavy on the low end. Lush with the pads. And suited for your warm ups. B2 sees Jonas Friedlich work a loose electronica / techno edit of Hide & Seek, complete with twists and surprises.

Silicone Soul welcome the return of old friend Justin Robertson as he brings his much- loved Deadstock 33s project back to Darkroom Dubs. Last spotted on the label only a matter of weeks ago with 'Infinite Interchange' on the 'Darkroom Dubs Presents Summer Love' collection, here he builds on the momentum with two more singular missions deep into the timeless analogue abyss. What's more, they come covered with a print of one of Justin's very own hand-drawn pieces. 'Dr. Spectro On The Frontier' marks the start of this new Deadstock trip. Celebrating the lesser spotted DC super villain who could control people's emotions with a brazen line or two of sinewy acid; what starts off dark and gnarly gradually unfolds into a much more emotional narrative. Watch out for the harmonic riff that rekindles feels of raving fields and a salvo of chords towards the climax that genuinely will control your emotions.'The Music Is Madness (To Those Who Cannot Hear It)', meanwhile, is more than just a poetic title. Already a summer anthem at A Love From Outer Space, it's a roomy, cosmic affair that's laced with layers of trippy textures and chugs at a cool 120. It's one of Justin's classic signature smouldering sessions; what ostensibly seems forlorn and introspective is actually coded with deep hope and positivity. You'd be mad not to hear it.You'd be mad not to stay tuned too... For the first time in Darkroom Dubs history, this release and all this year's vinyl dispatches will be released digitally as part of an end of year compilation, 'Tales From Underground Vol. 1' and will also feature an exclusive Silicone Soul remix of Rigopolar & Cannibal Ink's 'Thousand Years Before'. And to round the year off The long-awaited new single from Silicone Soul themselves.

The young virtuoso producer Prins Emanuel follows up his acclaimed debut album on Music For Dreams with something quite different than what we're used to hearing from him. While Arbete & Fritid was an epic odyssey into the furthest corners of disco with an array of studio wizardry and complex rhythms, Diagonal Musik is a sparse and delicate exploration of the acoustic guitar. Steering away from his comfort zone, the Prins follows his intuition for experimentation and lands somewhere in a field of genre-defiant folk-jazz meditations; a development that fits like hand in glove for the eccentric nature of Music For Dreams. The album reads like a soundtrack to the country house Emanuel shares with his family and friends, a place on the map called Oran. From atop a hillside overlooking a lake, Oran is lodged deep in the heart of the Skåne landscape, the southern part of Sweden that once belonged to Denmark. This place encompasses the whole of the album, as the track titles all pinpoint crucial locations on the courtyard and its surroundings. 'Orön' which opens the album is named after the small half-island that sits in the centre of the lake. There's the hand-built sauna ("Bastun") at the edge of the yard, and behind that in a slope the old root cellar ("Jordkällaren"). While the nature here is anything but balearic, the overwhelming calm of the country life seems to inspire the same laid-back attitude and passion for all things organic (and not just musically, as this is where Emanuel also makes cider from local apples according to the vin naturel school). Upon listening to Diagonal Musik one might be keen to draw references to works in similar style, such as the output of late 80's new age label Windham Hill or the dreamy lullabies of long-time friend and Music For Dreams affiliate 55 Cancri e. This is all circumstantial however, surprising as it may seem.

Artilect's varied musical background is one of the primary reasons why his production is so coveted throughout the back catalogue of the labels he's released on. Beginning his career in Manchester during the mid 90s, his love of breakbeats lead him into the world of hardcore and jungle, where his appreciation of electronic music grew year by year, whether that was the sounds of Detroit or Acid Techno. Having supported artists like the legendary Marcus Intalex at Guidance, his part in the Northern collective Audiosalad helped promote his finely honed craft to a more widespread audience. And now he joins the roster of Horizons Music, an imprint who strives to only deliver the most cutting-edge records from the underground; it seemed like the perfect home for an artist who has only offered the same standard with every track he's released. And the 'Black Fire' EP is no different, with its full spectrum look at the influences which have enabled Artilect to reach this monumental stage in his career.* Title-track 'Black Fire' is chaotic with its swathes of crashing percussion; its impact gains more and more momentum as it gradually builds and crashes along its finely-chiselled bassline. 'Hoax' has the same old-school feel, paying homage to the producer's roots whilst he flexes his ability to create hard-lined breaks which crash against the record's firing drum sequences. 'Deep Signals' is moodier in its approach, with each weighty bass pad lowering the tone as it draws you in gradually. Whilst 'Deep Signals' still nods its head to the type of music which made drum & bass so infamous during its explosion, it alludes to its more contemporary world, with Artilect enabling you to become fully immersed within it. Finally, 'Tryptamine' once again offers a darker edge although this time is goes to even filthier depths, taking you along for the journey through shaking subs and cranking atmospherics. It has a creeping blow, proving that Artilect reigns supreme over his soundscape; another reason why Horizons brought him on board to deliver such a mind-bending release, alongside his eloquent production standard and refusal to bow against commercial pressure. 

Depeche Mode - Speak & Spell 12" Single Box

Depeche Mode realized the format's potential and embraced the power of 12" vinyl and the avenues of innovation it opened up. The 12" single allowed the band to explore new sonic possibilities while the physical beauty of the packaging gave Depeche Mode room to develop a sophisticated and commanding visual aesthetic. Depeche Mode used their singles discography as a means of offering left field remixes and other delights for their fans.
Each box set in the series will contain the singles from each Depeche Mode album on audiophile-quality 12' vinyl, with audio remastered from the original tapes and cut at the legendary Abbey Road Studios. The artwork for the exterior of each of the new box sets draws on street art iconography inspired by the original releases, while the vinyl sleeves themselves feature the original vinyl single artwork.
Speak & Spell | The 12' Singles contains a facsimile reproduction of the rare Flexi Disc 'Sometimes I Wish I Was Dead' b/w 'King of the Flies' (the Fad Gadget track as on the original release); Dreaming Of Me 12': 'Dreaming of Me' b/w 'Ice Machine'; New Life 12': 'New Life (Remix)' b/w 'Shout! (Rio Mix)'; Just Can't Get Enough 12': 'Just Can't Get Enough (Schizo Mix)' b/w 'Any Second Now (Altered)'; original single poster reproduction; download card.











One afternoon in 1975, friend and fellow music traveler, Harold Schroeder, showed up at Poo-Bah Record Shop where Tom Recchion worked selling records and experimental music to people, forcing them to buy albums that he swore would change their lives. Harold asked if Tom wanted to share in a studio space close to the shop. After seeing it Tom immediately said "YES!". They moved in and divided the space in half. On Tom's half he made drawings, paintings, performances, video, sculptures, installations, and music. Harold had his all set up for music with his newly acquired Steiner-Parker synth and guitars and things. At the beginning they played under the name The Two Who Do Duets. Soon the late-night jam sessions that took place in the back of Poo-Bah moved over to the fourth floor of 35 South Raymond. It was pretty beat up and derelict, the way one imagines an artist's studio to look. They could make all the noise they wanted. No one else was on their floor. The music heard on this LP has remained unheard since it was recorded and was created just before and right after the inaugural concert by the Los Angeles Free Music Society (LAFMS) groups Le Forte Four, Doo-Doettes, and Ace & Duce. That concert took place in late January 1976. The sessions on this release feature members of the newly formed and expanded Doo-Doettes, which now included Dennis Duck, Juan Gomez, Harold Schroeder, and Tom Recchion, as well as Ju Suk Reet Meate from Smegma and Ace, of Ace & Duce. 35 S. Raymond eventually became a sort of LAFMS headquarters, with Chip Chapman of Le Forte Four, artist and future Extended Organ vocalist/guitarist Paul McCarthy, and soon to become singer for Nervous Gender, punk/folk artist Phranc, who along with many other artists and musicians, moved into the building. 35 S. Raymond allowed for free expression and explorations of all sorts. Some wild parties ensued, not to mention the luxury of endless hours of experimentation. Parking was free and so was the art and music. Ace found the tapes for side one ("Tom's Studio") in his archive and Ju Suk Reet Meate found the tapes for side two ("50 Of Every American Are Machines") and edited them both for this release. No overdubs or remixing was emplo

Patterns Of Consciousness is the powerful second full length from analog synth composer Caterina Barbieri. Highly recommended to fans of Alessandro Cortini and Eleh, Barbieri can be seen/heard/felt live at major electronic music events across Europe and beyond.Gorgeous high resolution analog textures and algorithmic melodies unfold under Barbieri's careful control, exploring the basic nature of sound and consciousness. These pieces are minimal in arrangement but maximal in presence asserting Barbieri as a unique voice in contemporary electronic music composition."Patterns Of Consciousness finds Caterina Barbieri at her best, elegantly moving between melodically pleasant yet twisted sequences and comforting, reassuring sonic spaces. Every piece, while given a singular identity, is part of the bigger picture: a work of art that will push you, pull you, and then eventually leave you with your back against the wall once you get to the last track. " Alessandro Cortini (Nine Inch Nails)"A pattern creates a certain state of consciousness. Once it is created, the pattern stands as an object exactly like the sound waves which generate it. We are at the same time inside and outside of the object. While being it, we observe it. Over time we become familiar with the inner structure of the pattern. We decode its gravitational centres, where our psychomotor attentionis attracted, where everything seems to be drawn. When a change in the pattern occurs it causes a perturbation of the previously established field of forces. This causes consciousness to fracture, potentially unfolding layers of perceptions we weren't aware of or simply suggesting that we access only a fraction of our psychic potential.The layered nature of consciousness and the relativity of perception are some of the biggest secrets we can experience through sound." Caterina Barbieri

Hive Mind Records are delighted to present Congo, the debut album from Brazilian guitarist and composer Rodrigo Tavares.

Maintaining a meditative mood across it's nine instrumental pieces, Congo blends composition and improvisation with subtly experimental yet sophisticated arrangements that evoke the mood and rhythms of classic Brazilian artists such as João Gilberto, Dorival Caymmi, Tom Jobim, Milton Nascimento and Caetano Veloso.

Rodrigo's work draws on elements of jazz, post rock, minimalist composition and disparate global sounds to create a deep listening experience that falls between genres and wilfully defies categorisation. Congo is a lush soundworld that rewards exploration and will appeal to fans of music as diverse as Joshua Abrams and Natural Information Society, Collocutor, BadBadNotGood, Slint or late Talk Talk, as much as it does to lovers of classic Brazilian music.

Hive Mind Records are proud to be releasing Congo on vinyl in gatefold sleeve designed by Brazilian graphic artist, Andrea Gomes, and featuring the original painting of celebrated Brazilian artist, Cristiano Lenhardt.

LPost-Heretic Dracula X Chronicles is Nicola Kazimir's debut album. It features 30min full of diverse, rough, evil, melancholic electronic music compositions either partly sampled out of important melodies in his life or fully produced by him. Post-Heretic Dracula X Chronicles LP draws from contemporary and past cultural references evolving around institutional-critique, occultism and dividualism and manifests those via metatags or sonic compositions.

Nicola Kazimir is a part of the collective Les Points based in Zürich, Switzerland.
His art/music draws from 90's rave utopias, decentralized & dividual thought, institutional-critique, occultism, progressive & accessible frameworks as showcased at their offspace Mikro -
a physical room which has no doors and opening times during exhibitions and raves - making an institution available to all social layers.
His recordlabels "Les Points" and the newly founded "Gentrified Underground" appropriate those ideas and transfer them to the distribution channels of electronic music.
Nicola refuses genre-stigmas and explores a vast number of genres in his dj-sets and productions - his newest LP "Post-Heretic Dracula X Chronicles" being an example of that diversity.

Set for release on June 23 via Asylum Records, x (multiply) is the hugely anticipated new album by Ed Sheeran.
It follows his critically acclaimed and hugely successful 2011 debut +; an album that was certified 6 times platinum in the UK alone and has achieved worldwide sales of over 4 million copies to date. It also saw Ed asthe recipient of various awards for the record, including 2 Brits, an Ivor Novello and multiple Grammy nominations.
Never an artist to stand still, Ed recorded x at various locations around the globe (all the while drawing on experiences and influences encountered on his over three years of unrelenting touring) with such luminary producers as Rick Rubin (Eminem, Jay-Z, Red Hot Chilli Peppers), Pharrell Williams (Daft Punk, Robin Thicke, N.E.R.D), Benny Blanco (Rhianna, Wiz Khalifa) and Jeff Bhasker (Alicia Keys, Jay-Z) adding new flavours to the classy work of key collaborators Johnny McDaid (Snow Patrol) and Jake Gosling (who produced +). xhas the musical ingredients to make it one of the most important global releases of this year.
The new set showcases the exponential growth (both vocally and musically) of an incredible artist, who at 23 exhibits the poise of a seasoned veteran. The songs for x came together whilst touring + and, in the same way as the latter was a snapshot of his life and relationship to-date, x charts his loves and life since. Only 'One', the perfect album opener and first song written for the record (in 2011 whilst on tour in Australia) looks back to that time and is the link between the two records. With 'One' under his belt, almost before he noticed he was writing, Ed had ten new songs and counting.
The breath-taking album-closer 'Afire Love' was written about his grandfather who passed away last Christmas. 'Always the hero of the family - such a cool guy - he'd been suffering with Alzheimer's for some time and I actually started writing that song two weeks before he passed away," Ed says. "I was thinking 'What if' and then he did...' Then there is the timeless ballad 'Photograph' written in May 2012 in a hotel room in Kansas whilst on tour with Snow Patrol. McDaid had a piano loop playing on his laptop while Ed was making a Lego X-wing Fighter to give to a charity auction. He just started singing as he put the pieces together and the song grew from there. 'Don't' started life as a riff on his phone and grew into another of x's massive moments. The deluxe version of the album also includes the original song, 'I See Fire', which Ed wrote, produced and recorded for the second Hobbit movie. This was after Academy award-winning filmmaker Peter Jackson personally commissioned him. With no promotion besides 3 tweets from his personal twitter account, it reached #2 on the UK iTunes chart.
However it's the Pharrell-produced lead single 'Sing', due out in the UK on June 1, that's pushing the envelope for Ed. #Sing was the number one trend on twitter globally ahead of launch with the track immediately tearing up airwaves nationwide including a 7-week add to Radio 1 and an unprecedented addition straight to the Super Hit list at Capital FM and Kiss Network. The audio upload on YouTube was Ed's biggest ever video launch, clocking 650k views in its first 24 hours. Already i-tunes Top 5 in 15 different countries (number 3 in the US), Top 20 in 36 countries and with all chart positions climbing, 'Sing' is well on the way to being a global smash.
On the back of 'Sing's' launch, x reached No.7 in the UK iTunes chart on pre-order alone with that success mirrored internationally with No.1 positions in the US and Canada, Top 5 in New Zealand, Sweden, Australia and Top 10 in 20 countries.
'I'm really proud of my new album and can't wait for people to hear it.' Ed says. 'It's definitely my best work.'

It is said that every generation casts its mind back to a previous era in times of crisis; the resources that will allow us to decode the questions of our moment may lie in the myths of another era.

Le Renard Bleu, the new musical and cinematic collaboration between Lafawndah and composer Midori Takada, and filmmakers Partel Oliva, takes a cross- generational echo as ground zero for recovering a crucial myth for uncertain times: the blue fox.

As transmitted by Takada, the fox appears in both ancient Senegalese and Japanese folktales as the trickster archetype; belonging both to the heavens and to the earth, the fox is the agent of chaotic good, shaking the world up when its energy has become stagnant. Above all else, the fox is famous for its cunning nature.

Renard Bleu marks the first new music released by Takada in nearly twenty years; it would be difficult to overstate the importance of her return to the public eye. Her first solo record, 1983's Through the Looking Glass, has been rediscovered and heralded as a lost classic; the influence of her percussion trio, the Mkwaju Ensemble, continues to permeate and inspire a new generation entranced by its lucid beauty, playfulness, and sensual patience. Takada has performed in numerous film score orchestras, including the ensemble for Akira Kurasawa's Dreams, coincidentally a key influence on Renard Bleu.

In the ensuing years, Takada has worked closely with theater group the Suzuki Company of Toga on productions of Electra and King Lear, an experience, she says, that allowed her to pursue 'a unity of music, body and space.' Recent live solo performances have evinced the depths of her exploration of all three.

Equally, it is Lafawndah's freedom of tone, decentralized maps of ancient and modern music cultures, and alloying of devotional intensity with modern songcraft casts her as a distinct relative of Midori Takada's.

Over the course of two EPs, self- directed music videos, and countless live performances, Lafawndah has drawn out an uncompromising exploration of how theater, situational intervention, and choreography can amplify the affective palate of forward pop music. One can trace the influence of artists such as Meredith Monk, Carlos Sara, and Andy Kaufman as much as musical antecedents AR Rahmann, Missy Elliott, or Geinoh Yamashirogumi.

It is in a mutual commitment to this unity that Lafawndah, Takada and Partel Oliva find fertile aesthetic common ground.

The music of Renard Bleu originated in Takada's preoccupation with the legend of the fox; after constructing a vivid instrumental composition dramatizing the spirit animal's journeys through waterphone, bells, marimba and various forms of drums, Lafawndah responded - in her inimitable mix of fairytale and undertow-- with melodies and lyrics capturing a dialogue between her and the fox himself. Eventually, the duo met in Tokyo for a week of communing with the material at Avaco Creative Studios, where new elements were composed on site.

Created in partnership with KENZO and premiered today via their channels, it was Partel Oliva who imagined a contemporary cinematic frame for the myth of the fox to re- appear, creating a hybrid of choreography and narrative around Takada and Lafawndah's performance of their joint composition (also titled Le Renard Bleu.) Returning to film in Japan for the third time, Partel Oliva's moving image work (Club Ark Eternal, The Pike and the Shield) has set the standard for and revolutionized the fashion art film. Their deployment of original music, dance, and a highly stylized mis en scene coalesces here in the casting of Los Angeles krump artist Qwenga as the eponymous fox, stalking the halls of the ancient Noh theater in which Takada and Lafawnda's performance takes place.

Why call up the myth of the fox now In Le Renard Bleu, Lafawndah and Takada's collapsing of distance between generations, styles, and milieus intimates that the relationship to time must be shaken. The future lies in fragments in the past; to remember is to recover it; the fox rises to thicken the plot.

'A love project' from the heart and mind of UK broken beat stalwart and iconic keyboard maestro Kaidi Tatham, alongside an outstanding group of Danish musicians led by percussionist Peter Stenbæk.

12 Senses debuts with the Movement EP, a record drawing on jazz-funk, broken beat and disco, laced with the distinctive melodic progressions and boogie touches Kaidi Tatham is known for. Recorded over an intensely productive three-day session, which produced 20 plus songs, this EP is a first taste of what's to come from this creative gathering.

With recent records on First Word, Sound Signature and 2000Black, plus a brand new solo album 'It's A World Before You' it appears there is no letup in Kaidi Tatham's prolific output spanning a 2 decade long career, that has seen him work with artists such as Bugz In The Attic, 4Hero, Slum Village, Jazzy Jeff & Will Smith, Amy Winehouse, Leroy Burgess, Moonchild, Soull II Soul, Amp Fiddler, Mr Scruff and Dego, to name but a few.
Touch starts with the heavily syncopated rhythms of drummer Anders Meinhardt, accompanied by a bed of airy Rhodes, synths and guitar on top of a ruthless, disco-tinged bassline. Life evolves on a spiritual and hypnotic tip with a driving lick that just keeps on building, sprinkled with beautiful intertwining organ, piano and synth solos by Kaidi and pianist Poul Reimann. Movement slows the mood to a soul-tinged stepper with soothing choir and deft touches from the trumpet of Rasmus Juel. Kaidi changes up the pace on his remix with a smooth boom bap vibe before hitting the halfway point and switching up to his signature, breakneck latin bruk funk.12 Senses evolved from yearly marathon concerts at the Copenhagen Jazz Festival, arranged by percussionist Peter Stenbæk, who simply e-met Kaidi Tatham and insisted on him coming to Denmark to share the festival stage. Over the course of five years the friendship and musicianship between the two has gone from strength to strength, reinforced by the skilled musicians around them; drummer Anders Meinhardt, guitarist David Rosenkilde, bassist Andreas Hatholt, trumpeter Rasmus Juel and pianist Poul Reimann. The record was brought to life by Morten Trust (aka. Soulmagic), who kindly contributed his heart, studio and mixing skills to Movement.