Search:the dream

2024 Repress

Straight in the wake of their eponymous debut LP released on the label back in 2016, Weval return to Kompakt this year with their sophomore album, 'The Weight', breaking their pop-mellow, nostalgia-friendly facet further out in the open as they arrive "at this place again were everything felt spontaneous, new and exciting, like we had in the beginning". Orbiting around that ever luminous yet wistful melodic halo that surrounds their music, this second full-length effort sweeps an extra-wide and languidly woven palette of emotions and moods, making for a uniquely ambitious and generously coloured mosaic of sound. If the recording sessions "often started grumpy and emotionless" by Harm and Merijn's own admission, the pair was "surprised by the joy it gave us, which can be compared to the emotions we felt back in the first days of making music together"; subsequently reconnecting with that fresh, naïve feeling of "absolute creative freedom" they were after. The album is also the fruit of a whole new working process for them - more playful and unpredictable - which saw them switch from "guitars lying around to piano, onto our own synths and the most cheap quirky toys synths you can imagine", and involved "recording all of our own samples, voice and almost every instrument out of the box - which for us was a totally new way of working". "We've always wanted a narrative for the album, and finding the right order perhaps took the most effort" they explain; "we felt anxious, felt insanely positive, felt heartbroken again, felt in love again, and there was death, and even suicide around us. It was quite chaotic. As a whole, 'The Weight' breathes with that transformative richness, free of limits and rules, except perhaps to "do quick and not think too much". Amidst this collection of songs and instrumentals that live by Weval's singularly positive take on music - one that can "lift you up, and make you feel hopeful without being necessarily straight out 'happy'" as they define it, the title-track and lead single stays true to the duo's dynamic approach, putting on a fine balance of floor and dream inducing adaptability that sound engineer David Wrench (Frank Ocean, The XX, FKA Twigs, Caribou… etc.) subtly made palpable. There's heavy showers of funk drops pouring from endless bars of thunderstorm clouds and laid-back riffs beating a restrained poolside-party kind of pulse, but also sensual vocals rising from beneath the sheets and rueful polaroid-filtered ambiences to soundtrack all possible moments in life - from the most euphoric to those when music seems the only viable healing potion. More on the post-KLF, BoC-inflected electronica side of things, 'Are You Even Real' takes its listener for a round-trip across the star-studded dome and beyond, before songs like 'Someday' and 'Same Little Thing' head back down to a state of pulsating, earthly organicity, tense and mercurial as get. An arpeggiated slice of piano-strewn kosmische, 'Heaven' is another invitation to an epic-scale odyssey from the inner-spheres into the distant fringes of the outer-world. Weightless and airy, yet texturally dense and widely magnetic overall, Weval second LP is a synthesis of the duo's multi-angle take on electronics: blissed-out, heartening and infinitely free.
Nur zweieinhalb Jahre nach der Veröffentlichung ihres selbstbetitelten Debutalbums finden sich WEVAL zurück "an jenem Ort, an dem sich alles spontan, neu und aufregend anfühlt - so wie als wir anfingen zusammen Musik zu schreiben". An diesem Ort entstand "The Weight", ihr zweiter Longplayer, auf dem Weval sich ganz den Pop-verliebten, Nostalgie-freundlichen Facetten ihres Sounds öffnen. Stetig um den sehnsuchtsvollen Strahlenkranz ihrer Melodien tanzend, legt diese Platte noch vielschichtigere, mit feinster Präzision gewobene Gefühlswelten frei.

Obwohl die Aufnahmesessions nach eigenem Bekunden oftmals "miesepetrig und emotionsarm" begannen, so war das Duo überrascht darüber, wie schnell sich bei der Arbeit jene Freude einstellte, die sie aus ihren künstlerischen Anfangstagen kannten, eine Woge des frischen, naiven Gefühls der "absoluten kreativen Freiheit". Dieses Album ist die Frucht eines verspielteren und unvorhersehbareren Arbeitsprozesses innerhalb der Band, in welchem alles zum Einsatz kam, was ihnen in die Finger kam - von der ollen Gitarre, die in der Studioecke stand, über ein Piano und den bandeigenen Sythesizern und den sonderbarsten Spielzeuginstrumenten, die man sich vorstellen kann. All dies sowie zahlreiche Vocalaufnahmen dienten als alleinige Samplequelle - "was für uns eine völlig neue Arbeitsweise war". "Es war uns wichtig für das Album den perfekten Erzählbogen zu spannen. Die richtige Reihenfolge zu finden war ein extrem aufwendiger Vorgang", erklären Harm und Merjin. "Uns war bange, wir fühlten uns total selbstsicher, uns zerbrach das Herz und wir verliebten uns erneut. Wir waren sogar von Tod und Selbstmord umgeben. Alles war Chaos. Insgesamt atmet "The Weight" die Reichhaltigkeit dieser sich ständig verändernden Gefühlslagen, frei von Einschränkungen und Regeln - außer vielleicht "mach es schnell und zerdenke die Dinge nicht." Inmitten dieser Ansammlung von Songs und Instrumentals, die aus Wevals einzigartiger, von Zuversicht geprägter Herangehensweise entstanden sind - "Musik, die dich hochzieht und Hoffnung spendet, ohne dich notwendigerweise happy zu machen. Der Titeltrack "The Weight" steht exemplarisch für Wevals ambivalenten Ansatz, die feine Balance zwischen Dancefloor und Traumzuständen, perfekt in Szene gesetzt von Soundengineer David Wrench (Frank Ocean, The XX, FKA Twigs, Caribou… etc.).

Der schwer aus gewaltigen Gewitterwolken tropfende Funk, die eine verhaltene Poolparty suggerierenden Riffs, die sinnlichen, geisterhaften Vocals und ein verwaschenes Ambiente, das wie ein Album alter Polaroidaufnahmen alle erdenklichen Momente des Lebens festhält - von den euphorischsten bis hin zu jenen, in denen Musik der einzige Trank ist, der Linderung verheißt. Das post-KLF und Boards of Canada evozierende "Are You Even Real" führt den Hörer auf einen imaginären Flug ins Sternenzelt, während organisch-klingende Songs wie "Someday" oder "Same Little Thing" wie Quecksilber am Boden haften. "Heaven" ist eines jener "kosmische" Stücke mit wilden Arpeggios und Pianosprengseln, die Weval in den vergangenen zwei Jahren zu einer Live-Sensation werden liessen. Wevals Musik ist schwerelos und luftig, aber gleichermassen von dichter Struktur und von einer magnetischen Anziehungskraft. Ihr zweites Album "The Weight" ist eine Synthese aus dem multi-perspektivischem, kaleidoskopischen Verständnis von elektronischer Musik: Herzerwärmend, alles umschmeichelnd und unendlich frei.

2024 repress.

French saxophonist Laurent Bardainne summons the spirit of astral jazz on heavy-grooving album, 'Hymne au Soleil'

A dreamlike, cinematic excursion to the outer reaches of the solar system and the inner workings of the soul, Laurent Bardainne returns to Heavenly Sweetness with his Tigre d'Eau Douce group for a second album of genre- agnostic jazzfunk.Building on critically acclaimed 2020 album 'Love Is Everywhere', 'Hymne au Soleil' sizzles with Arnaud Roulin's Hammond organ licks, in-the-pocket bass work from Sylvain Daniel, and shuffling drum and percussion interplay from Philippe Gleizes and Roger Raspail, pinning Bardainne's soaring saxophone lines to the mast like a flag in the wind.

The 11- track album represents a consolidation of Bardainne's vision as a consummate jazz saxophonist, having made his name collaborating with the likes of Pharrell Williams and Cassius, afrobeat legend Tony Allen and co- founding Tigersushi electro outfit Poni Hoax.
That eclectic experience comes to the fore on 'Hymne au Soleil', which is named after a piece by trailblazing French composer Lili Boulanger. Beginning with the lilting, late-night smoker "Oh Yeah", which recalls the mellow funk of Khruangbin, the album rolls through a rich musical landscape, whether in the Motown-era soul breakdowns of "Adieu My Lord" or the roaring, dance floor- ready "Hymne au Soleil", that draw parallels with the high-octane sound of UK jazz outfit The Comet Is Coming..

If you can judge an artist's quality by the company they keep, then FaltyDL is up there with the best of them. The label history of the producer known to his friends as Drew Lustman reads like a "who's who" of 21st century electronic music imprints - Ninja Tune, Unknown to the Unknown, Planet Mu, Studio Barnhus, the list goes on.

WithIn the Wake of Wolves, we can now add Central Processing Unit to this illustrious roster. The Sheffield label joins the party at a notable juncture - while FaltyDL has kept up an impressive clip of releases throughout his career,In the Wake of Wolvesis both the NYC-based producer's first LP for two years and his first full-length release away from his own Blueberry Records for almost a decade.

In the Wake of Wolvesproves to be both a great match for CPU and also further evidence of the label's burgeoning sonic palette. While CPU has built its reputation on top quality electro joints, recent releases have delivered adventurous electronica experiments (Proswell'sPeople Are Giving And Receiving Thanks At Incredible Speeds), hard-wired breakbeat techno (Baby T'sI Against I) and golden-age synth explorations (twenty-fifth anniversary reissues of Bochum Welt'sDesktop RoboticsandFeelings on a Screen, both of which first emerged via the legendary Rephlex Records).In the Wake of Wolvestakes things further still - this is a brilliantly genre-voracious record, one which marries the rhythmic cut-and-thrust that we have long known FaltyDL for with all manner of adventurous stylistic choices.

Those familiar with the FaltyDL experience will recognise the trademark blend of synthetic grit and harmonious softness in album opener 'I Need You'. This could pass for Four Tet or even Hannah Diamond at points, the steady build of pulsing synths and looped vocals recalling a more mysterious version of the PC Music sound. 'I Need You' stands shoulder-to-shoulder with any of FaltyDL's other great atmospheric album openers - no small feat given the competition. 'Further', the following number, is yin to 'I Need You's yang. This is a pulsating track which gleefully skitters between machine-funk, tubing darkside bass and breakcore-adjacent drum programming, all of which is peppered with some genuinely beautiful work in the higher synths.

'Further' sets the scene for several of the more club-facing cuts here. 'Minds Protection' similarly features all manner of strange percussive sounds to surprise the ear, and it also boasts a thrilling mid-section in which the bottom falls out the track to incorporate a short snippet of blown-out junglism. With its tunnelling low-end and clattering drums, 'Full Spectrum' kicks off a delightful run of grime-influenced joints which take cues from Mr. Mitch, Logos and many of those other producers who took the Eski sound to exciting new places in the 2010s. 'Forget Me Not', the album's longest track which is placed three spots from the end, feels like the record's climactic point - a pitter-patter post-house joint that has a hint of Caribou in its DNA, it'll take the clubs by storm.

But as much as FaltyDL may consistently bring the heat in terms of the beat programming, the thing which has long marked Lustman out as a special talent is the musicality of his compositions. No matter how much drums clatter or bass bangs, FaltyDL always hooks the ear back in with a sonorous synth or pleasing nugget of melody. Nowhere is this more apparent than onIn the Wake of Wolves' more weightless numbers, each startling in their prettiness. 'Half Spectrum' is a new-era beat track packed full of ear candy; the keening keys of 'GasGas' are potent with feeling; and on the album's closer, the evocatively-titled 'Mila Stans In A Meadow For The First Time Eating Strawberries', we get a gorgeous synth vignette that joins the dots between the modern mastery of Yung Sherman and the most emotionally affecting moments of Aphex's Twin's catalogue.

At once wistful and hopeful, archival and futuristic, FaltyDL's brilliantly unpredictableIn the Wake of Wolvesis a feather in the cap for both this seasoned producer and the Central Processing Unit label.

RIYL: AFX, Bochum Welt, Mark Fell, Mrs Jynx, Boards of Canada

‘Diré’, Idrissa Soumaoro new album, comes as a surprise to Malian and international audiences. Composer, singer, guitarist and master of the kamalen n’goni Idrissa Soumaoro presents here a beautiful collection of songs on his third album, Diré, named in honor of the town where he met his wife and where his first daughter, who is no longer with us, was born.
In 1971, after his studies at the INA in Bamako, Idrissa was transferred to Diré to teach music at the lPEG (Pedagogical Institute of General Education). He was 22 years old when he arrived in Diré. Idrissa has always been nostalgic for this beautiful place in the 333 Saints of Timbuktu region. As Idrissa sings in ‘Diré taga’ (Going to Diré), the track that opens the album, the city evokes deep emotions for the artist, as if it were a long-lost friend or lover. Celebrating the memory of the city of Diré leads the artist to retrace stories and lived situations that marked and animated him in years gone by: ‘I really miss the people, the colleagues, the friends and that period. Despite the time that has flown by, I would ardently wish to see Diré again’. Today, at the difficult time Mali is experiencing, remembering the city of Diré in the 1970s also means for the artist not giving up hope for peace: ‘The memory of Diré, a beautiful town in northern Mali, strengthens my hope for peace, union and real independence for the happiness of my people’; as he sings in ‘Sababou’, ‘Without hope, there is no life. Together we will succeed’.
The ten highly original compositions of the album are strongly based upon traditional music of Mali, but Idrissa’s life experiences, travels, education, collaborations and personal musical career have led him to compose and perform music with other influences. As Idrissa quotes: ‘My inspiration generally comes from the donso n'goni, a Bambara instrument played by and for hunters throughout Mali. This is a pentatonic instrument, similar to the blues exported to the USA by black African slaves. I've also spent so much time playing a variety of music that my music also reflects rumba, salsa (as well as Bamanan blues and a few derivatives: jazz, country, soul, rhythm and blues) etc. I have looked for and hope to have found my own form of expression from these influences’.
Throughout the album, his strong, clear voice sings in French, Bambara and English. It rides seamlessly upon a complex rhythmic sea of distinctly West African stringed instrumentation and percussion with accents of flute and balafon. There are keyboards in a few songs, but these, happily, do not dominate the music as we hear so often in today’s music. This album presents the music of a mature artist who has ‘been there, done that’ and returned to celebrate his country, his roots and his dreams in a flawlessly produced collection of songs of love, reassurance, fatherly advice and hope.
The album already has a long history: it was initiated in 2012 by Marc-Antoine ‘Marko’ Moreau, former producer and manager of Amadou and Mariam. Moreau had plans to produce the album and invited Idrissa Soumaoro to start recording in Manjul's studio in Bamako. When Moreau suddenly passed away, work on the album was still missing. The pandemic still added time for the production to continue. With the help of Climax Orchestra, arrangements and orchestrations were finalized in France. At the artist's behest, 'Diré' will finally be presented to the public by Mieruba, the independent label based in Ségou, the home of the blues in Mali. 'Let's stand together so that Mali can flourish': from conception to production and distribution, this is the message that 'Diré' carries.

Happiness Therapy welcomes back Berlin's own Marc Brauner for his second EP on the label. A project that epitomizes summer, evoking dreams of holiday and romances that come with it. With the title track "Mon Numéro" leading the charge, the rising German producer teams up with French-German actress and vocalist Maéva and showcases once again his acclaimed signature sound: groovy, entertaining, and with a touch of charm.

The other tracks featured on the EP just keep adding beauty to the project, featuring remixes from Gavinco, HATT.D, and collabs with vocalist Tender Games and musician Steffen Heidemann!

Nachdem The National den Soundcheck für ihren Auftritt in Vancouver am 5. Juni 2023 beendet hatten, spielte die Band einfach weiter. Etwas braute sich zusammen: Die prägnanten Gitarrenparts von Aaron und Bryce Dessner trafen auf den Signature-Drumbeat von Bryan Devendorf. Als der Bassist Scott Devendorf loslegte, fing Matt Berninger an, einige Zeilen zu singen, die schon seit ein paar Jahren in ihm reiften. " Smoke detector, smoke detector / All you need to do is protect her", intonierte er. Ihr Tontechniker ließ die Aufnahme laufen und plötzlich war es ein 12 Minuten-Jam. Sie wussten, dass sie etwas Besonderes hatten, und nahmen die Live-Aufnahme bald darauf in Aarons Studio mit. Sie haben ein paar Minuten gekürzt, aber ansonsten das beibehalten, was auf der Bühne in Vancouver passiert ist. Dieser Song, "Smoke Detector", ist der krönende Abschluss von "Laugh Track", die überraschende zweite Hälfte eines Doppelalbums, das im April mit "First Two Pages of Frankenstein" begann. Es erwies sich als das letzte Kapitel eines Werks, das ansonsten neben dem Schwesteralbum geschrieben wurde - der Schlussakt einer Katharsis, die zeigt, was The National in den letzten drei Jahren durchgemacht haben. Vor zwei Jahren war die "Smoke Detector"-Zeile einer der wenigen Fetzen, die Matt während einer lähmenden Depression schreiben konnte und das zu einer Zeit, in der sich die Band fragte, ob sie jemals wieder ein Album machen würde. Nach der Pandemie belebte ihr neuer Glaube aneinander die kreativen Fähigkeiten wieder. "Weird Goodbyes", das bereits im August 2022 erschien, war ihr erster Durchbruch und der erste Vorgeschmack auf diese neue Ära. "Wir haben es wirklich schnell veröffentlicht, weil es wie ein Baby war, das in der Dunkelheit geboren wurde, oder so", lacht Matt. "Wir mussten es den Menschen zeigen". Aber als sie schließlich mit diesem umfangreichen Werk vorankamen, entschieden sie sich, "Weird Goodbyes" nicht auf das Frankenstein-Album zu nehmen. "Es fühlte sich an, als ob die Geschichte bereits erzählt worden wäre. Es war eine eigene Sache", sagt Aaron. "Aber es fühlte sich auch so an, als hätte es einen Bezug zu dem, was wir taten. Das war ein Teil der Logik für die Aufnahme einer weiteren Platte - wir wollten "Weird Goodbyes" ein eigenes Zuhause geben." "Laugh Track" ist das vielleicht musikalisch bedingungsloseste Album, welches die Band seit Jahren gemacht hat. Es ist aufmüpfig und dennoch leichtfüßig, doch es enthält ebenso viel seltene, ungebremste Schönheit wie Trostlosigkeit. Thematisch gibt es keine absichtliche Trennung zwischen "Frankenstein" und "Laugh Track". Während Matt auf "Frankenstein" eher auf der Suche nach einem Zufluchtsort war, hat er hier eine neue, klare Sicht auf das, was zählt. Sein dringendes Bedürfnis nach Intimität wird durch eine immer größere Angst vor der Unwirklichkeit des modernen Lebens noch verstärkt. Die Charaktere auf diesem Album (keine Vornamen, abgesehen von einer Tourmanagerin namens Alice - nur "ich" und "du") decken einander, träumen füreinander und helfen, den Schein zu wahren - und lösen damit das Versprechen von der gegenseitigen Fürsorge ein, das Matt auf dem Frankenstein-Schlusslied "Send for Me" gegeben hat. Wenn "Frankenstein" ein Zeichen für die Wiederherstellung des Vertrauens zwischen den einzelnen Bandelementen war, so ist das lebendige und neugierige "Laugh Track" das selbstbewusste Produkt dieses Prozesses und eine Absichtserklärung für jetzt und die Zukunft.

Still fresh from the release of KELDER EXTASE and their contribution to Sassy J’s excellent A SANCTUARY tape, Left Bank unexpectedly present their new album, SOUL DISCHARGED MAGNETIC TAPE. While the sonic trademarks of their earlier work are still present, SOUL DISCHARGED MAGNETIC TAPE showcases a raw and emotional side of the beatmaking duo:
“Musically, this tape is all about true soul music. The place where love and loss are just two sides to the same single. Distorted by low bit-rate samplers and bass heavy EQ’s, the forever classic lowrider oldies let all their dreams & deep feelings shine through (brightly…). Listen close: underneath all the hiss, pops & crackles, the analog tape also caught the brutally and painfully honest heart of the soul music (…by magnetic force!). Now we bring you the SOUL DISCHARGED MAGNETIC TAPE!”

Big tip!

Revised eight track re-issue of Maria Somerville's much lauded debut album. This new edition features an additional cut 'Lakes' - a 5+ minute blown out instrumental recorded live on tour in 2019.

" Stirring and beautiful songs, with a consistent optimism underlying even the murkiest of moments."

Recorded in Connemara and Dublin. Mixed by Brendan Jenkinson. Mastered by The Bastard.

"Neutrals are a punk band from the San Francisco Bay Area, channeling a wide range of '70s and '80s punk, post-punk, and DIY indiepop influences. Their spare, angular songs don't skimp on melody or intimate storytelling and represent an appropriate intervention in these tense, atomized times. Their debut album ""Kebab Disco"" came out in 2019 on Emotional Response Records and garnered universal acclaim as ""an excellent collection of terse melodies, unique storytelling, and scraping pop. (AllMusic)"".

Following up their ace 2019 debut LP and a string of future-classic singles, Neutrals are now back with ""New Town Dream,"" a 13 song dispatch that takes on modern life and politics (both micro and macro) and situates their scrappy Jam-meets-Television Personalties sound firmly in 2024. Now featuring the sprightly bass and deadpan harmonies/backing vocals of bassist Lauren, Neutrals have turned in their catchiest, sharpest set of tunes yet."

‘EVERYTHING IS HERE’ is a journey through space and time, inspired by the more rarefied aspects of prog rock and the wistful side of psychedelia.


Fusing these influences with the accessibility of French electronic and the groove of R&B and disco, this album depicts the sweet dizziness of contemplation. Nostalgic, yet determined and modern in it’s genre blending, the first album of Kartell truly reveals what’s been underlining in his previous EP.

Taking influences in the space and dream pop aesthetic, the musical approach of the album embraces the 60’s and 70’s fascination for outer space, exotic locations, technologies and science fiction which was on the edge of becoming reality.

Nebulous textures and otherworldly sounds characteristic of space rock are infused throughout the record, while keeping a focus on making catchy songs, leaning on a minor-key groove and a pop yearning. It’s also a challenge and an artistic proposition to gather a wide range of genres to tell a story. Densely produced and cinematic, the album draws a truly living landscape where live bass, drums and guitars hold the line, evolving around hazy effects and synthesizer layers.

Strawberry Wind, produced by Richard Swift (Nathaniel Rateliff and The Night Sweats, Foxygen, The Shins) not only delivers on a promise to create an honest album for kids and parents but it represents what Baylin calls the “beautiful divide,” of juggling family life with her creative life, a difficult task by any measure. “The divide in me is easy to feel because I invest 100% of myself into my family and often the creative gets put to the side,” she explained, “so when I decided to begin writing for this album it just poured out of me.” Now singer / songwriter Jessie Baylin shares that creative outpouring on her debut children’s album, ‘Strawberry Wind’. Throughout the album, Baylin doesn’t hold back on telling it like it is. Weaving through lyrical themes of dream life, supermoons and summertime vibes are some gentle doses of reality. “I don’t want to lie to my kids. Life is hard sometimes and you need to find a way to deal with it... there will always be things in life you can’t control. But, you can dream of a better world and make your own refuge,” says Baylin, who is mom to 4-year-old Violet and is expecting her second child with her husband. Baylin, who’s released four critically-acclaimed albums over the years, says the seed was planted for this album after recording a cover of Harry Nilsson’s He Needs Me from the kids’ film Popeye. “The song has a childlike sense, but the message is very deep. It’s magical, it’s dark, and it hit all the right notes. I wanted to do an album that feels like that” she says. “Since becoming a mother, I found myself being around the house a lot and I started gravitating to these wonderful albums I remembered from my own childhood - The Beatles, Harry Nilsson’s The Point!, John Lennon, Roger Miller’s Robin Hood and Carole King’s Really Rosie." The magic of those iconic 1970s records she mentions is that they’re all grounded in solid songwriting and were never dumbed down for the audience. “Those records felt very honest and that was my mission here. I also wanted it to feel magical and remind people of the child inside of all of us that is filled with a sense of wonder and pure joy and hope.”

Another Michael's next chapter begins with Pick Me Up, Turn Me Upside Down, their new album due out this spring on Run For Cover Records. Following last year's sibling album Wishes to Fulfill, Pick Me Up is a more expansive output, patiently unfolding to reveal an exploratory side that brings new hues into the band's vibrant sound. Helmed by lead singer/songwriter Michael Doherty and producer/bassist Nick Sebastiano-along with signature contributions of multi-instrumentalist/vocalist Alenni Davis, drummer Noah Dardaris, and longtime engineer/co-producer/confidante Scoops Dardaris-Pick Me Up, Turn Me Upside Down came to life over three years of intermittent writing and recording sessions that proved unexpectedly fruitful. The band decamped at Headroom Studios in Philadelphia, PA, as well as the same Ferndale, NY house where they made their debut LP, 2021's New Music and Big Pop. The songs on Pick Me Up, Turn Me Upside Down often take the knack for melody that defined Wishes To Fulfill and apply it to left turns like the hypnotic quasi-krautrock of "I've Come Around To That," the sparse balladry of the title track, or the pulsating synth explorations of "The Diner's Spoon." The album's world is weirder and more improvisational, like in the twisting ends of "Hub of Dreams" or the spontaneous performances of "Like I Won A Car"-but Doherty's warm singing and conversational lyricism always keep things grounded. On Pick Me Up, Turn Me Upside Down, the band didn't set out to capture the all encompassing, existential value of music, but they did contribute to it-offering more songs to the world, and with them, chances to create one of those moments.

Co-founded by Detroit natives Rahill Jamalifard and Lenny Lynch, Habibi got its start in Brooklyn in 2011, earning early raves every- where from Pitchfork and NME to All Things Considered and The New Yorker, who praised the band for infusing “the Colgate-white glisten of sixties-girl-group pop with an uncensored edge.” Dreamachine, Habibi’s mesmerizing new record releasing on Kill Rock Stars, marks a major sonic evolution for the band, rising beyond the critically acclaimed five-piece’s garage rock roots to arrive at a singular swirl of analog and digital elements that underpin their search for spiritual and physical transcendence. Produced by Tyler Love and longtime collaborator Jay Heiselmann and featuring MGMT multi-instrumentalist James Richard-son, the collection draws on a mix of post-punk, experimental pop, and vintage disco, calling to mind Tom Verlaine, Diana Ross, Kate Bush, and Kim Deal, all filtered through the band’s shared love of Middle Eastern psych music. The songs here are their own distinct worlds, each an immersive quest in pursuit of something greater, and the band’s performances are relentless and hypnotic to match, driven by lush synthesizers, sinewy guitars, and a muscular rhythm section. The result is a record as fearless as it is enthralling, an alternatingly fierce and joyous work that ascends to new heights as it reckons with desire and escape, love and surrender, rebellion and reality.

There is something of Monsieur Rêve in this sweet tekno EP... Sounds is very loud on a system and very cool at home... A true Tekhouse record then... The mabiance is kind of tracy and a bit electro... Nice tunes that do not forget to give reward to the dancefloor. A good space techno record !

Released only eight months after his exhilarating debut, Bruce Springsteen's The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle contains rousing dispatches from the boardwalk, the street, the beach, and the bedroom. It explodes with energy, dares to dream, teases with humour, crackles with tragedy, clings to hope, and overflows with discovery, youthfulness, and personality. It features an unforgettable cast of characters — corner boys, teenage hustlers, doomed lovers, jazz men, junk men, factory girls, fortune tellers, alley cats, pimps, escorts, and more — illuminated by vivid colour, breathtaking detail, and poetic action.

Musically, the heartfelt 1973 record is inhabited by sympathetic vignettes and cinematic arrangements steeped in rock 'n' roll, soul, jazz, and R&B. It finds the New Jersey native looking beyond the parameters of his preceding record and seeking to move on from environments he knows well (and chronicles here) by rushing headlong toward unknown territories, adventures, and people. Underpinned by the singer-guitarist's ambitious poetic enterprise and will to succeed, The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle is the album on which Springsteen becomes the Boss.

Mastered on Mobile Fidelity's renowned mastering system, pressed at RTI on MoFi SuperVinyl, and strictly limited to 7,500 numbered copies, Mobile Fidelity's UltraDisc One-Step 180g 33RPM LP set is the definitive-sounding version of Springsteen's sophomore record. Benefitting from SuperVinyl’s nearly non-existent noise floor, superb groove definition, and dead-quiet surfaces, The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle plays with a clarity, energy, presence, and openness that complement the expressiveness, dynamics, and scope of the seven restless songs that comprise a work Rolling Stone ranked the 345th Greatest Album of All Time.

Beyond the audiophile sonics that practically place you behind the console at 914 Sound Studios — listen to the separation between the instruments, natural decay of the notes, interplay within the widescreen soundstaging, and nothing-to-lose youthfulness of Springsteen’s voice — this reissue takes seriously this record’s influential merit by presenting it in packaging that underlines its status. Tucked in a beautiful slipcase, the LP is housed in a special foil-stamped jacket with faithful-to-the-original graphics. This reissue is made for listeners who prize sound quality and who want to engage themselves in everything involved with the invigorating set that busted Springsteen loose from the club circuit and landed him on the radio

Determined to liberate anyone within earshot and unafraid to come on strong, The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle serves as the debut of the E Street Band — not only heard but seen for the first time by most of the public courtesy of the back-cover photograph. This is where saxophonist Clarence Clemons, organist-accordionist Danny Federici, and pianist David Sancious step out of the shadows — and drummer Vini Lopez and bassist Garry Tallent again stoke a fiery rhythmic engine that helps drive the untamed, reimagined big-band swing of “Kitty’s Back,” breathless R&B thrust of “Rosalita (Come Out Tonight),” and carefree dance steps of the funky “The E Street Shuffle.”

Of course, the main attraction remains a then-24-year-old visionary on the precipice of becoming a sensation and turning a then-bloated rock scene on its head. Recorded over three months while Springsteen and company were busy touring his debut LP, The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle reflects the high-octane approach the vocalist embraced onstage and drifts away from the label-dictated acoustic-based frameworks of his debut. The set also witnesses Springsteen deepening his observational skills, with narratives such as the romantically tinged “4th of July, Asbury Park (Sandy)” and redemptive epic “Incident on 57th Street” mirroring changes taking place in the singer’s own life, small towns, and America at large.

A thrilling collision of memories, reflections, and composites — Sandy, Rosalita, and the latter’s parents are all based on actual people Springsteen knew, as is the community depicted in the opening track — the aptly titled The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle resonates decades on due to its truths, authenticity, and spirit. Those characteristics — as well as the fact that many of its lengthy songs come on as the equivalent of sweaty, feverish soul revue that won’t stop until you’ve been exhausted — also explain how this now-iconic album triumphed over the reservations of industry “experts” that both demanded Springsteen re-record it and instructed deejays not to play it.



Yet there’d be no stopping a record that saw the past, present, and future, a band whose will would not be denied, and a phenomenon who was born to run. A never-ending invitation to act real cool and stay up all night, The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle always feels alright.

True audiophile joy — now cut at 45 RPM 2LP for better tracking, exceptional bass!
Remastered by Kevin Gray at Cohearent Audio from the original master tapes
Plated and pressed on 180-gram vinyl at Quality Record Pressings!
Stoughton Printing gatefold tip-on heavyweight cardboard jacket


Praise for the 33 1/3 version of The Smoker You Drink, The Player You Get:

"(Side one) ends with the appropriately titled 'Happy Ways,' a Latin-tinged guitar-fest with lovely chunky bass lines that sounds absolutely glorious on this Analogue Productions pressing. The zing of steel string guitar almost sounds dead on the CD and tired on my ancient vinyl pressing, so this is clearly not one of those remasters that's based on an umpteenth generation copy of the tapes. ... You owe it to yourself to hear this album — and it will not sound any better than this spectacular pressing." — Recording = 8/10; Music 10/10 — Jason Kenedy, Hi-Fi+, Issue 148

"An outstanding new 180gm LP reissue from Analogue Productions, with improved sound thanks to a sparkling new remaster by Kevin Gray at Cohearent Audio, makes it clear that this 1973 release remains — with the possible exception of 1978's But Seriously, Folks . . . — the undisputed highlight of Walsh's solo career. ... Another week, another beautiful-sounding, wonderfully packaged reissue from Analogue Productions." Read the whole review here. — Robert Baird, May 2017

In between his stints with the James Gang and the Eagles, Joe Walsh tackled his second solo studio album The Smoker You Drink The Player You Get which became his most successful solo outing. The 1973 LP continued the heavy and light rock mix of tracks found on his previous release, Barnstorm.

Analogue Productions has done reissue justice to the album that AllMusic decries "features some of the most remembered Joe Walsh tracks, but it's not just these that make the album a success. Each of the nine tracks is a song to be proud of. This is a superb album by anyone's standards."

To obtain the best sound possible we turned to Kevin Gray at Cohearent Audio to remaster this superb album from the original analogue tapes. Next we plated the lacquers and pressed LPs on 180-gram audiophile vinyl at the world's best LP maker, Quality Record Pressings. Top it all off with a deluxe Stoughton Printing gatefold tip-on jacket and you've got the makings for audiophile joy.

But would we stop there? Hardly. Now with our 45 RPM release, the best-sounding version of this rock music gem gives listeners an even richer sonic experience. The dead-quiet double-LP, with the music spread over four sides of vinyl, reduces distortion and high frequency loss as the wider-spaced grooves let your stereo cartridge track more accurately.

This amazingly eclectic rock album has Joe's smash "Rocky Mountain Way," his hit "Meadows," plus "Bookends," "Wolf; Dreams" and more! Walsh's ability to swing wildly from one end of the rock scale to the other is unparalleled and makes for an album to suit many tastes.

The phenomenal three-piece band includes members of Oranssi Pazuzu, K-X-P, Grave Pleasures and Aavikko


Svart Records is proud to release the debut album, I, from Haunted Plasma, a powerhouse of futuristic synth in symbiosis with the super violent atmospherics of kosmische Black Metal. Haunted Plasma is “man meets machine” in a cybernetic wasteland, set to a conceptual backdrop of William Gibson and Phillip K. Dick style mind-melt. The highly evolved creatives at the heart of Haunted Plasma’s sound, cite Terry Riley, Massive Attack, a contemporary take on Krautrock hypnosis, psychedelic Black Metal and 90s Techno, resulting in an orgy of mutant sound.



The phantoms at the beating nucleus of this unearthly machine are Juho Vanhanen (Oranssi Pazuzu, Grave Pleasures), Timo Kaukolampi (K-X-P, Op:l Bastards) and Tomi Leppänen (Circle, Aavikko, K-X-P), transmitting a music form evolved from a life of redefining sonic boundaries in their respective projects. Also featuring guest vocals from Mat McNerney (Hexvessel, Carpenter Brut, Grave Pleasures/Beastmilk), Pauliina Lindell (Vuono, Dust Mountain) and Ringa Manner (Ruusut, The Hearing). Haunted Plasma promises an extraterrestrial experience from some of the foremost contemporary musicians at the heart of the Finnish heavy and avant-garde musical underworld.



Haunted Plasma reveals:

“We are liberated futurists, embracing free-form and natural composition, mirroring the merciless forces of cosmic creation. We have a motto to stay true to our feelings, to spawn a sound that’s never been heard before. Servants of music. Energizing, radical and pure”


The first single from Haunted Plasma’s cascading debut, Reverse Engineer, is a creepy, slowly erupting, synthetic nightmare, of a downloaded being waking up in the wrong future. Ghostly vocals demand the listener to “give us what we want” in an Orwellian glimpse into the current dystopia we live in, where information is controlled, and thoughts are bought and sold. As McNerney intones the words “technology of power” he describes the threat of a malevolent and omnipresent artificial intelligence, as much as describing the oppressive and electromagnetic sonar pulse of Haunted Plasma’s sound itself. Psychedelic guitar hypnosis from Vanhanen snakes around Kaukolampi’s molten and morphing synths, while Leppänen’s uncanny man/machine rhythms pull our strings and animate their other-worldly mechanisms. Have a look at the official visualiser of "Reverse Engineer" on the Svart YouTube channel here


Culminating in the full-blown fast Krautrock of the final self-titled track, oozing with blistering noise elements and enigmatic vocals from Ringa Manner, the album's journey reaches its zenith, taking you to unknown territories on a Kubrikian space trip. I is a rare record of talented musicians coming together to create a completely new sound, which is entirely their own, boldly glowing, where no light has shone before. From the dreamy psychedelia of Echoes to the discombobulated Spectral Embrace, Haunted Plasma is a willful force of deliberate sound contortion.


Whether you want to give in to Haunted Plasma’s sound or not, you are being watched, you are being recorded and your every move is monitored. Haunted Plasma will enter your system on the 31st of May 2024. Turn on your phantom circuits and be prepared for an interdimensional excursion into Haunted Plasma’s alien dreams.

The debut album from Haunted Plasma will be packaged in a beautiful tip-on sleeve, swirling fog artwork, complete with 12” booklet and pressed on 3 exclusive vinyl colours: 300 copies on Standard Black Wax, 500 copies in Amber + Black Smoke and 200 copies of Svart exclusive Turquoise/Black Marble. The album will also be available on CD and digital platforms.

“Not a lot of people talk about the true origins of bluegrass music,” says Swamp Dogg, “but it came from Black people. The banjo, the washtub, all that stuff started with African Americans. We were playing it before it even had a name.” Blackgrass, Swamp Dogg’s remarkable new album, is no history lesson, though. Produced by Ryan Olson (Bon Iver, Poliça) andrecorded with an all-star band including Noam Pikelny, Sierra Hull, Jerry Douglas, Chris Scruggs, Billy Contreras, and Kenny Vaughan, the collection is a riotous blend of past and present, mixing the sacred and the profane in typical Swamp Dogg fashion as it blurs the lines between folk, roots, country, blues, and soul. The tracklist is an eclectic one—brand new originals and vintage Swamp Dogg classics sit side by side with reimaginings of ’70s R&B hits and timeless ’50s pop tunes—but the performances are thoroughly cohesive, filtering everything through a progressive Appalachian lens that nods to tradition without ever being bound by it. Special guests like Margo Price, Jenny Lewis, Justin Vernon, and The Cactus Blossoms all add to the excitement here, but it’s ultimately the 81-year-old Swamp Dogg’s delivery—sly and playful and full of genuine joy and ache—that steals the show. The result is a record that’s as reverent as it is raunchy, a collection that challenges conventional notions of genre and race while at the same time celebrating the music that helped make Swamp Dogg the beloved iconoclast he’s known as today.

Kata No Wadachi is the latest album by Banetoriko, the solo noise project of Tamaki Ueda. Her first release both on An’archives and on vinyl, it follows several albums for the Neurec imprint – 2017’s Beside the Sluice and 2022’s Yorioto Hogiokuri – and several other cassettes and CD-Rs. With Kata No Wadachi, the Banetoriko world, inspired by the Yokai (“strange apparitions” – supernatural figures, ghosts, spirits) of Japanese folklore, is at its most resonant yet.

Recorded across 2022 and 2023, the three tracks on Kata No Wadachi have Ueda performing in a particularly elevated manner. Her sound is highly tactile and grittily sensuous, the better to capture the ritualistic repetitions, and hypnotic methodologies, core to Banetoriko. The scrape and scratch of Ueda’s self-made metal instrument, the Banetek, gives these improvisations a unique throb, even as their mood, of introverted focus and elaboration of minutiae, gestures towards broader histories of noise and abstract art. Kata No Wadachi evokes, to some degree, the urban ritual noise of the likes of The New Blockaders, Organum, or Ferial Confine; elsewhere, the abraded, rough-housing textures bring to mind the eighties tape works of Hands To and John Hudak.

Ueda embraces the dream evocation that’s possible when loops of blurred texture collide with the gnaw and groan of energised metal, while mantric, dissociated vocals, and the oppressive weight of deep breath, gather around these compositions like a ghost’s shroud. While she’s been making noise for some time, since the nineties, Banetoriko was formalised as a project in 2011, while Ueda lived in Los Angeles. Relocating to Osaka in 2021, she’s carved out an utterly unique space for herself in Japanese noise, and her music contains an absolutely elemental vibration. Framed beautifully with poetic liner notes by Aurélien Rossanino, Kata No Wadachi is an oppressive, yet quixotically blissful trip.

The Scientists' 1981 wild debut bewildered Perth, Australia's punters with its charging anthems centered on themes of young love and alienation. Obvious in its rebellion yet more pop than punk, the self-titled "Pink Album" deftly embodied the tough-yet-danceable outsider aura of The Ramones, and its unheard of, feverish clip shook the shores of the geographically confined Swan Coastal Plain of down under. Recorded just as the lineup of guitarist-vocalist Kim Salmon (The Cheap Nasties), drummer James Baker (The Victims) and bassist Ian Sharples were breaking up, the album stands as a testament to the contagious chops of Perth's swelling pool of musical talent, and to the promise of Salmon's unwavering vision that would become one of the most celebrated acts of the Aussie underground.

The Scientists' 1981 wild debut bewildered Perth, Australia's punters with its charging anthems centered on themes of young love and alienation. Obvious in its rebellion yet more pop than punk, the self-titled "Pink Album" deftly embodied the tough-yet-danceable outsider aura of The Ramones, and its unheard of, feverish clip shook the shores of the geographically confined Swan Coastal Plain of down under. Recorded just as the lineup of guitarist-vocalist Kim Salmon (The Cheap Nasties), drummer James Baker (The Victims) and bassist Ian Sharples were breaking up, the album stands as a testament to the contagious chops of Perth's swelling pool of musical talent, and to the promise of Salmon's unwavering vision that would become one of the most celebrated acts of the Aussie underground.

It is 1983 and you've just stepped into your Ford Capri with your girlfriend Julie. You live in Harlow, but in your head you're really somewhere near Salou in Spain, next to your yacht. But the thing you really love is soul and they play nothing but at Sups in Loughton. OK, so It's not 1983 at all. It's 2014, but listening to this electrofied soul, will put you back in the zone. Tom Findlay, one half of Grammy-nominated Groove Armada, has put this collection together: a stamp of authenticity in itself. Tom has also put a few of these through the edit wringer, reworking many of the tunes for maximum towelling sockability.

You'll probably recognise a few tunes. There's Mtume's incredible 'Juicy Fruit', still sounding advanced and modern, while 'I Specialize In Love, mixed by disco legend Tee Scott, is even older yet sounds equally perky.

The 1980s was a period that was pretty much owned by Minneapolis thanks to Prince and former cohorts Jam & Lewis and the latter weigh in with a pair of killer productions, Thelma Houston's 'You Used To Hold Me So Tight' and Alexander O'Neal's 'What's Missing'. And since this is Late Night Tales, there is always our exclusive cover version, this time done by Findlay and Tim Hutton's Sugardaddy, who've delivered an ace version of 'Don't Look Any Further'.

Grab yourself a bar stool, order a cocktail, take a sip and make believe you're lying on a shagpile carpet with the soul star of your dreams.

Bill Brewster

Automatic Soul, like my previously compiled Late Night Tales Music For Pleasure, is based very much on a sound. It's a sound that I feel has been overlooked: 80s R&B-infused music, with drum machines, synths and invariably brilliant vocals. It's formed the bedrock of my rare groove sets for all the years I've played. It's not the most fashionable, but to me it's the perfect marriage of technology and soul, hence the title for this album, Automatic Soul. There are plenty of songs I could have included, and no doubt some that I shouldn't, but I've tried to represent what's best to me from this era. It's not a classic Late Night Tales. It's a pretty personal journey, which I hope some of you might be willing to share... Tom Findlay Groove Armada September 2014.

In the lineage of their constant exploration of high-quality progressive stoner rock, MY DILIGENCE proudly stands as one of Belgium's most prominent Heavy Psych bands. The Brussels-based trio elegantly combines catchy harmonies and compelling riffs, captivating listeners over the years. Following the success of "The Matter, Form and Power," MY DILIGENCE makes a powerful return with their 4th album, "Death.Horses.Black." on Listenable Records. After an acclaimed European tour, including memorable performances at Hellfest 2023, Alcatraz Metal Festival (2022 and 2023), and DesertFest Antwerp in 2022, the band immersed themselves in the Sainte-Marthe studio in Paris throughout the winter, collaborating with renowned producer Francis Caste (Hangman's Chair, Regarde les Hommes Tomber...). Exploring darker themes, this album marks a turning point in the band's history. The long and profound compositions guide the listener through unexpected territories, creating an auditory experience akin to a lucid dream or trance, oscillating between hope and ultimate darkness. Get ready to dive into this captivating universe as MY DILIGENCE embarks on a tour starting late May, joining the Scottish band DVNE for dates in France and Switzerland, culminating on June 11 at the Orangerie du Botanique in Belgium. The band will enthusiastically continue with Summer festivals, including Mystic Festival (PL) and Motocultor (FR). Stay tuned, as MY DILIGENCE promises an unforgettable musical experience at every stage of their journey.

Gemma Blackshaw is a scholar, writer and curator currently Senior Tutor for research at the Royal College of Art. She has curated major exhibitions for galleries and museums in London (National Gallery; Wellcome Collection and Vienna (Leopold Museum; Wien Museum).
This is her debut album.

Who Will You Love is the debut collaborative album from The Dengie Hundred with Gemma Blackshaw. In 2023, The Dengie Hundred co-produced with Japan Blues two albums for Demdike Stare’s DDS label, and released the solo album Tube on London’s Sagome imprint; their solo debut Brackenbank appeared on Ethbo in 2022, when they also contributed to World of Echo’s Thorn Valley compilation. Here, they collaborate with Gemma Blackshaw on an album of smudged dream pop.

Gemma’s vocals were recorded from home at night on an old iPhone. Who Will You Love surfaces dark, desiring songs on the passion and exhaustion of looking after others. Emerging in simple rounds that expand with layers of field recordings, synths and drum machines, the songs include lullabies for baby boys and men, enchantments of wary lovers and spells of protection for a daughter.

Moving between her children and her lover, the mother sings of the demands of daily intimacy (play with me, carry me, sing to me…) that echo through adult relationships too.

Who Will You Love was mastered by Carim Clasmann, and mastered and cut for vinyl by Stefan Betke (aka Pole). Artist Alexis-Soul-Gray gifted Screen Memory of 2022, a painting on found paper, for the artwork. Mark Thomson designed the sleev

Castle Face present Dan Rincon’s (OSEES, Wild Thing, Apache, Personal and the Pizzas) premier solo release Spotlight City.

Artificial landscapes and melodies comprised of Moog Grandmother, Mellotron and a kinky Modular system span from beautiful and lilting to haunting and etherial. The album was a years long learning experience of getting all components and ingredients to link arms and blend comfortably. Wrangling was part of the process. Strings soaring and sines weaving. Sometimes in the atmosphere, sometimes in the Earth’s core, sometimes flanked by neon blur as it hums & weave patterns through a world imagined in vintage sci-fi pulp.

“I was listening to a lot of solo Roedelius and Conrad Schnitzler records while writing this record and I’d say that both have been hugely inspirational on what I want to do as a solo recording artist. The way both of those of those artist pushed the early, chaotic electronic music into something more melodic is really inspiring to me, it’s not that dissimilar than trying to get melodies out of a modular synthesizer.”

An absolute necessary slab for anyone a fan of CF, OSEES, Popol Vuh soundtracks , 8 bit video game accompaniment & 80s Tangerine Dream. Burn one and burn out.

Freedom Weaver: The 1959 European Tour Recordings is the first official release of the 'Saxophone Colossus' Sonny Rollins’ European tour in 1959 with bassist Henry Grimes, and drummers Pete La Roca, Kenny Clarke and Joe Harris. Available previously only as a bootleg release, this is the first official release in cooperation with Sonny Rollins and released as a 3-CD set. Freedom Weaver includes an elaborate booklet with rare photos by Ed van der Elsken, Jean-Pierre Leloir, Bob Parent and many others; lead liners by jazz scholar Bob Blumenthal, and new interviews with Rollins himself, Branford Marsalis, James Carter, Joe Lovano, James Brandon Lewis and Peter Brötzmann. Mastered by the legendary mastering engineer Bernie Grundman.

A floating drift toward a mysterious reality, between Nature and Cosmos, poised between sleep and wakefulness, temporal co-presences and impossible spatial ubiquities. In this phantasmagorical saga, inspired by TV science-fiction as well as 60s and 70s horror movies, Nicola Giunta/Lay Llamas creates a miraculous balance between original inserts and retrievals of freely chosen fragments from old audio documentaries on vinyl, perfecting the art of sound collage in an absolutely psychedelic way. Nonlinear dream textures become labyrinths of sudden openings, empty rooms, interstellar platforms, narrating voices from other worlds or ghostly churches from beyond the grave. A piercing electronica of cosmic synths, dense with the mists and dusts of distant times, past and future at the same time, where lysergic percussions merge with echoes of flutes vibrating in endless tropical forests and natures. Until the final awakening, in the reality of the first light of dawn. Originally released on cassette by Miracle Pond

"Good Grief" ist das erste neue Soloalbum seit 25 Jahren von Bernard Butler, Gitarrist und Songschreiber der Brit-Pop-Kultband Suede. Butler entwickelte sich zum mehrfach ausgezeichneten Songwriter und Produzenten (u.a. BRIT Award 2009 als Best Producer), zu dessen Referenzen zwei bahnbrechende Alben mit dem Folk-Musiker Sam Lee, ein für den Mercury Prize nominiertes Projekt mit Schauspielerin Jessie Buckley, Kollaborationen mit Bert Jansch, Ben Watt (Everything But The Girl), The Libertines und Tricky sowie das mit dem Grammy ausgezeichnete, millionenfach verkaufte Debütalbum von Duffy zählen.

Round-Circle-Shows mit seinen Freunden Norman Blake und James Grant in Schottland brachten Butler auf den Geschmack, sich wieder auf die Bühne zu wagen. Abseits der Sicherheit seiner Gitarre schrieb er Worte auf, bevor er die Melodien um die Zeilen herum schnitzte. "Good Grief" trifft auf einen Bernard Butler mit über drei Jahrzehnten Arbeit, frei um wieder aufzutreten, gestützt von wild kontrastierenden Erfahrungen von Verlust, Freude und Verwirrung. Das Album ist eine Reise von der Stadt zur Küste und zurück und dazwischen ein gesamtes Spektrum menschlicher Emotionen.

"Good Grief" ist das erste neue Soloalbum seit 25 Jahren von Bernard Butler, Gitarrist und Songschreiber der Brit-Pop-Kultband Suede. Butler entwickelte sich zum mehrfach ausgezeichneten Songwriter und Produzenten (u.a. BRIT Award 2009 als Best Producer), zu dessen Referenzen zwei bahnbrechende Alben mit dem Folk-Musiker Sam Lee, ein für den Mercury Prize nominiertes Projekt mit Schauspielerin Jessie Buckley, Kollaborationen mit Bert Jansch, Ben Watt (Everything But The Girl), The Libertines und Tricky sowie das mit dem Grammy ausgezeichnete, millionenfach verkaufte Debütalbum von Duffy zählen.

Round-Circle-Shows mit seinen Freunden Norman Blake und James Grant in Schottland brachten Butler auf den Geschmack, sich wieder auf die Bühne zu wagen. Abseits der Sicherheit seiner Gitarre schrieb er Worte auf, bevor er die Melodien um die Zeilen herum schnitzte. "Good Grief" trifft auf einen Bernard Butler mit über drei Jahrzehnten Arbeit, frei um wieder aufzutreten, gestützt von wild kontrastierenden Erfahrungen von Verlust, Freude und Verwirrung. Das Album ist eine Reise von der Stadt zur Küste und zurück und dazwischen ein gesamtes Spektrum menschlicher Emotionen.

Atmosphere and gravity lean into each other. They are simultaneously expansive, and anchoring. They hold us, and lend a sense of perspective. They provide a stability and a knowingness which is essential in the absolute, and yet we can't help but find ourselves gazing upward, outward and reaching towards that which sits outside those things and ways we know. Selene is a record about that this lingering desire for that which sits beyond. It is work that seeks new perspectives snatched from familiar vistas, and it meditates on that sense of anchor and perspective. The work is also a speculative hymn to the visions of the celestial zones that spill ever outward. These visions, once merely what we could perceive with the naked eye are now so much more. Our minds eye is fed in equal parts by radio telecopy, filmic dreams and fiction renders of a place most of us will never know first-hand. This recording ties into a linage that reaches back, while stretching forward. It is just one story of so many, told across places, across cultures, across generations. It sits in the in-between of before and after, and in that moment invites us to situate ourselves and lean into it.

Nach einer beeindruckenden Reihe von Alben in den 2010er Jahren, die ihm eine treue Fangemeinde, Auszeichnungen von Zeitungen wie der New York Times, Fresh Air und Pitchfork und einen Platz in der oberen Riege der modernen Americana-Singer-Songwriter eingebracht haben, hat John Moreland in diesem Jahrzehnt bereits zwei unerwartete Wendungen vollzogen, die beide seine starke künstlerische Unabhängigkeit unterstreichen.

Zunächst veröffentlichte er 2022 mit Birds In The Ceiling eine brillante und klanglich vielschichtige Folk-Electronica-Meditation über moderne Entfremdung, die einige seiner Fans überraschte. Nachdem er im November 2022 eine schwierige Tournee hinter sich gebracht hatte, stellte er seine Arbeit komplett ein. Er nahm sich ein ganzes Jahr Auszeit von Auftritten und benutzte 6 Monate lang kein Smartphone.

Nach fast einem Jahrzehnt im Rampenlicht, in dem er ständig von den Erwartungen seines Publikums bedrängt wurde, nahm er sich zum ersten Mal Zeit, sich auszuruhen, zu heilen und zu reflektieren. Das Ergebnis dieses Unplugged-Jahres zu Hause ist 2024 Visitor, ein Folk-Rock-Album, das intim, unmittelbar, zutiefst nachdenklich und verdammt eingängig ist.

Nach einer beeindruckenden Reihe von Alben in den 2010er Jahren, die ihm eine treue Fangemeinde, Auszeichnungen von Zeitungen wie der New York Times, Fresh Air und Pitchfork und einen Platz in der oberen Riege der modernen Americana-Singer-Songwriter eingebracht haben, hat John Moreland in diesem Jahrzehnt bereits zwei unerwartete Wendungen vollzogen, die beide seine starke künstlerische Unabhängigkeit unterstreichen.

Zunächst veröffentlichte er 2022 mit Birds In The Ceiling eine brillante und klanglich vielschichtige Folk-Electronica-Meditation über moderne Entfremdung, die einige seiner Fans überraschte. Nachdem er im November 2022 eine schwierige Tournee hinter sich gebracht hatte, stellte er seine Arbeit komplett ein. Er nahm sich ein ganzes Jahr Auszeit von Auftritten und benutzte 6 Monate lang kein Smartphone.

Nach fast einem Jahrzehnt im Rampenlicht, in dem er ständig von den Erwartungen seines Publikums bedrängt wurde, nahm er sich zum ersten Mal Zeit, sich auszuruhen, zu heilen und zu reflektieren. Das Ergebnis dieses Unplugged-Jahres zu Hause ist 2024 Visitor, ein Folk-Rock-Album, das intim, unmittelbar, zutiefst nachdenklich und verdammt eingängig ist.

Atmosphere and gravity lean into each other. They are simultaneously expansive, and anchoring. They hold us, and lend a sense of perspective. They provide a stability and a knowingness which is essential in the absolute, and yet we can't help but find ourselves gazing upward, outward and reaching towards that which sits outside those things and ways we know. Selene is a record about that this lingering desire for that which sits beyond. It is work that seeks new perspectives snatched from familiar vistas, and it meditates on that sense of anchor and perspective. The work is also a speculative hymn to the visions of the celestial zones that spill ever outward. These visions, once merely what we could perceive with the naked eye are now so much more. Our minds eye is fed in equal parts by radio telecopy, filmic dreams and fiction renders of a place most of us will never know first-hand. This recording ties into a linage that reaches back, while stretching forward. It is just one story of so many, told across places, across cultures, across generations. It sits in the in-between of before and after, and in that moment invites us to situate ourselves and lean into it.

" The solo venture is expansive and easy on the ears. It's so serene yet expressive of big terrain and huge vistas of emotional landscapes of sound. He works off his own scale. Everything flows outwards. Effortlessly." - Irish Times Experimentation in early electronic music in the Sahara from the singular Mamman Sani. Dreamy organs and droning melodies reinterpret ancient folk tradition into a sublime fantastical soundscape. Never before released recordings from the very beginning - unreleased tracks from his first album, recordings of a short-lived trio, and a cover of an American folk ballad.

Bad Nerves, das uneheliche Kind eines One-Night-Stands zwischen den Ramones und den Strokes, spielen rasend schnelle, verzerrte Popsongs und
ernteten mit ihren bisherigen Veröffentlichungen "Dreaming", "Baby Drummer" und "Can't Be Mine" viel Lob. Kurz vor der Veröffentlichung ihres
zweiten Albums, dem brillant betitelten Still Nervous, sind die Jungs noch immer von ihrem Überraschungserfolg überwältigt.
Mit ihrem selbstproduzierten und selbstfinanzierten Debüt spielten sie sich 2020 in die Herzen und Köpfe der Crème de la Crème der alternativen
Musikszene; von Vordenkern wie Dan P Carter und Alyx Holcombe und von Gleichgesinnten wie Billie Joe Armstrong von Green Day und Stone
Gossard von Pearl Jam wurden Bad Nerves sofort als Retter einer Art von Punk angekündigt, die nie auszusterben verspricht. Sie sind mit Royal Blood
und The Darkness getourt und wurden mit Supergrass, den Ramones und Jay Reatard verglichen. Die Zukunft ist laut für Bad Nerves.

Bad Nerves, das uneheliche Kind eines One-Night-Stands zwischen den Ramones und den Strokes, spielen rasend schnelle, verzerrte Popsongs und
ernteten mit ihren bisherigen Veröffentlichungen "Dreaming", "Baby Drummer" und "Can't Be Mine" viel Lob. Kurz vor der Veröffentlichung ihres
zweiten Albums, dem brillant betitelten Still Nervous, sind die Jungs noch immer von ihrem Überraschungserfolg überwältigt.
Mit ihrem selbstproduzierten und selbstfinanzierten Debüt spielten sie sich 2020 in die Herzen und Köpfe der Crème de la Crème der alternativen
Musikszene; von Vordenkern wie Dan P Carter und Alyx Holcombe und von Gleichgesinnten wie Billie Joe Armstrong von Green Day und Stone
Gossard von Pearl Jam wurden Bad Nerves sofort als Retter einer Art von Punk angekündigt, die nie auszusterben verspricht. Sie sind mit Royal Blood
und The Darkness getourt und wurden mit Supergrass, den Ramones und Jay Reatard verglichen. Die Zukunft ist laut für Bad Nerves.

Die US-Progressive-Metal-Pioniere und Innovatoren PSYCHOTIC WALTZ machen endlich ihren gesamten fesselnden und zeitlosen Backkatalog weltweit über InsideOutMusic wieder verfügbar. In zwei Wiederveröffentlichungs-Schritten (Mai & Juli 2024) werden die klassischen ersten vier Alben der Band - "A Social Grace" (1990), "Into The Everflow" (1992), "Mosquito" (1994) und "Bleeding" (1996) - neu gemastert von Patrick W. Engel / Temple Of Disharmony als 2CD Digipaks mit viel seltenem oder bisher unveröffentlichtem Bonusmaterial sowie erweiterten Layouts erhältlich sein, und die Hauptalben werden zusätzlich als Ltd. Gatefold-LP-Editionen auf 180g-Vinyl neu aufgelegt. Eine zusätzliche Demo-Raritäten-Zusammenstellung (mit einem Teil des Bonusmaterials) mit dem Titel "To Chase The Stars (Demos 1987 - 1989)" wird ebenfalls als Ltd. Gatefold 2LP Edition erhältlich sein, was diese Re-Issue-Kampagne zu einem aufregenden und unverzichtbaren Projekt sowohl für langjährige Kenner der Band als auch für neuere Mitglieder der ständig wachsenden progressiven Musikgemeinde macht.

Paddy and Al from the English indie space/trance/techno/noise-rock band GNOD have a new thing going called Born In A Headlock. It’s heavy experimental stuff; noisy, blackened, mechanical and sometimes even melodic avant-garde post-punk, or something like that, with a violent, dark & maximized post-lofi-ness vibe along it.

Die britische Sängerin Becky Hill, die kürzlich zum dritten Mal in Folge für den BRIT Award als bester Dance Act nominiert wurde, veröffentlicht am 31. Mai ihr mit Spannung erwartetes, zweites Album „Believe Me Now“?. Mit 2 bereits gewonnen BRIT Awards, 13 Platin Singles und über 10 Milliarden Streams gehört Becky Hill seit Jahren zu den erfolgreichsten Sängerinnen und Songwriterinnen Großbritanniens. „Believe Me Now?“ enthält den #1 UK-Airplay-Hit ”Side Effects”, ”Disconnect” featuring Chase & Status, der auf Platz 6 der UK-Charts landete und mit Gold ausgezeichnet wurde, sowie die aktuelle Single ”Never Be Alone”, die mit Sonny Fodera aufgenommen wurde. Auf dem Album arbeitete Becky mit einer Reihe von Top-Produzenten zusammen, darunter PARISI, Mark Ralph, Toddla T, Maur, Solardo, MJ Cole, Jax Jones und Franky Wah, und enthält Einflüsse aus der Welt des Drum’n’Bass, House, Techno und Trance. Nach einem fulminanten Jahr 2023, in dem Becky Hill u.a. ein großartiges Glastonbury-Set spielte, eine Sommerresidency auf Ibiza hatte und den Start der zweiten Staffel ihres Podcasts „The Art Of Rave“ mit Gast Fatboy Slim feierte, wird 2024 das Jahr sein, in dem Becky Hill endgültig ihren Status als eine der einflussreichsten Stimmen der Dance Music festigt.