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Even in its moodiest, most downbeat moments there's a spark of energy
that bursts out of A Face In Your Life, the new album from Pet Fox.Where
past efforts played around with after-the-fact layering of instrumentation,
the band's third full-length comes alive in the moment
Tracked live in one room, without the use of a metronome, the ten songs that
unravel across the album capture Theo Hartlett (Guitar/ Vocals), Morgan Luzzi
(Bass), and Jesse Weiss (Drums) in their rawest, most immediate form. Touching
upon notions of anxiety and self-doubt, A Face In Your Life travails the depths of
these themes while also offering little snippets of hope and guidance along the
way. Indeed, the album's sprawling opening track 'Settle Even' is billed as a selfhelp pamphlet, a reminder to the band themselves and those listening that there
will always be people in the world looking out for us, even when that feels like an
impossible feat. An inspired collection of riffs that twists and turns into varying
shapes throughout, Pet Fox never outstay their welcome in the half-an-hour or of
A Face In Your Life but do more than enough to make the kind of impression that
leaves you wanting to journey back through the shadows, to unpick the little knots
of the ideas they're exploring here. It was brought to life by just three people in
one room but it lends itself to something way beyond that; the never- ending
search for coping mechanisms in the messiest of worlds.

It's hard to believe it's taken this long for a proper retrospective of legendary Los Angeles collective CVE. "We Represent Billions" is a crucial portrait of one of the West Coast's most low-key influential crews - a hydra-like collective of rappers, producers, designers and engineers who were key members of the Good Life Cafe's open mic scene, going on to inspire artists like Jurassic 5, Kendrick Lamar amongst many other. Initially called Chillin Villain Posse before morphing into Chillin Villain Empire in the late 1980s, they eventually centered around the core trio of Riddlore, NgaFsh and Tray-Loc. The crew were years ahead of their time, self-producing music without samples and pioneering a stream of consciousness lyrics that still sound fresh and innovative. CVE were self-sufficient and motivated from the beginning, named "Chillin Villains" because that's how they were perceived by white America. This social motivation was channeled into their groundbreaking performances at Good Life Cafe, the South Central session that evolved into Project Blowed and later on came to influence LA club night 'Low End Theory'. It was chronicled by Ava Duvernay, herself an MC in short-lived duo Figures of Speech, in her "This is the Life" documentary, where she interviewed CVE alongside Jurassic 5, Freestyle Fellowship, Abstract Rude and Busdriver. On "We Represent Billions", we're treated to a snapshot of the CVE sound from 1993-2003, their most prolific era. The retrospective collects music from the handful of albums the crew released on their own Afterlife Recordz label (mostly as limited edition CD-R's) plus many previously unreleased tracks and highlights their untethered eccentric creativity and sheer breadth of influence. Whether twisting twitchy West Coast electro on 'All Over Da Globe' or free associating over horror synths and foley sounds on 'Made in Chillz Ville' there's a sense that their music was just too future for its time. Assembled from heaving industrial samples and graced by back-and-forth tongue twisting flows, 'Thugs and Clips' is as eerie and hard-hitting as anything 2Pac's "The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory" full-length. Fuzzed-out and unsettling, 'Calistylics' welds an ambient synth loop and bone-rattling percussion to Tricky-esque percussion, while the flickering closer 'Unicycle' is a cross between Dr. Dre's icy G-gunk pressure and Three 6 Mafia's pitch black lo-fi funk. In many ways, 2022 is the perfect time to rediscover this music: an urgent, creative fusion of spine-tingling pre-grime electronic minimalism and mind bending wordplay that still sounds completely idiosyncratic and utterly alien. Tracks: 1 All Over Da Globe 2 Thugs and Clips 3 C.V. Vault 4 Made in Chillz Ville 5 Bring It On 6 Calistylics 7 No Feelins 8 Let's Get It On 9 Today Was A Fucked Up Day 10 Untitled (Freestyle) 11 Unicycle

It's hard to believe it's taken this long for a proper retrospective of legendary Los Angeles collective CVE. "We Represent Billions" is a crucial portrait of one of the West Coast's most low-key influential crews - a hydra-like collective of rappers, producers, designers and engineers who were key members of the Good Life Cafe's open mic scene, going on to inspire artists like Jurassic 5, Kendrick Lamar amongst many other. Initially called Chillin Villain Posse before morphing into Chillin Villain Empire in the late 1980s, they eventually centered around the core trio of Riddlore, NgaFsh and Tray-Loc. The crew were years ahead of their time, self-producing music without samples and pioneering a stream of consciousness lyrics that still sound fresh and innovative. CVE were self-sufficient and motivated from the beginning, named "Chillin Villains" because that's how they were perceived by white America. This social motivation was channeled into their groundbreaking performances at Good Life Cafe, the South Central session that evolved into Project Blowed and later on came to influence LA club night 'Low End Theory'. It was chronicled by Ava Duvernay, herself an MC in short-lived duo Figures of Speech, in her "This is the Life" documentary, where she interviewed CVE alongside Jurassic 5, Freestyle Fellowship, Abstract Rude and Busdriver. On "We Represent Billions", we're treated to a snapshot of the CVE sound from 1993-2003, their most prolific era. The retrospective collects music from the handful of albums the crew released on their own Afterlife Recordz label (mostly as limited edition CD-R's) plus many previously unreleased tracks and highlights their untethered eccentric creativity and sheer breadth of influence. Whether twisting twitchy West Coast electro on 'All Over Da Globe' or free associating over horror synths and foley sounds on 'Made in Chillz Ville' there's a sense that their music was just too future for its time. Assembled from heaving industrial samples and graced by back-and-forth tongue twisting flows, 'Thugs and Clips' is as eerie and hard-hitting as anything 2Pac's "The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory" full-length. Fuzzed-out and unsettling, 'Calistylics' welds an ambient synth loop and bone-rattling percussion to Tricky-esque percussion, while the flickering closer 'Unicycle' is a cross between Dr. Dre's icy G-gunk pressure and Three 6 Mafia's pitch black lo-fi funk. In many ways, 2022 is the perfect time to rediscover this music: an urgent, creative fusion of spine-tingling pre-grime electronic minimalism and mind bending wordplay that still sounds completely idiosyncratic and utterly alien. Tracks: 1 All Over Da Globe 2 Thugs and Clips 3 C.V. Vault 4 Made in Chillz Ville 5 Bring It On 6 Calistylics 7 No Feelins 8 Let's Get It On 9 Today Was A Fucked Up Day 10 Untitled (Freestyle) 11 Unicycle

Owing to a focused period of growth as a home recordist and producer,
there is a distinct, refreshing current that charges outtakes from 'bad
summer', the latest full-length album from Philly-via-Portland's cool
original (FKA cool american)
What under other circumstances might have been a string of homespun indie
rock songs is instead an energized pop- focused collection of tracks born from
what Nathan Tucker describes as 'the contrast between total formlessness and
rigid claustrophobia'. As heard almost immediately on album opener 'monad, no
windows', an electric atmosphere envelops outtakes from 'bad summer'. Pitchshifted vocal samples and previously- scrapped drum recordings fill out the
overture, setting the table for a patchwork of repurposed, resampled ideas
shaped into songs that rarely end up in the same place they started. The
unhurried and sentimental 'i just need a second' boasts the full spectrum of cool
original's songwriting prowess: foregrounded, infectious melody over subtly
chopped and screwed drums comprise the foundation for Tucker's own take on a
classic road song'a marked contrast to 'breaking my own rules', an experimental
pop number unlike any previous cool original work. Similar contrasts abound
throughout outtakes, making for a listening experience that's equal parts
rejuvenating and unpredictable.

“V I N C E N T” is FKJ’s second album and signals a new dawn, not just as a go-to producer and remixer for artists like PinkPantheress and Moses Sumney but as an artist in his own right, continuously selling out headline tours across the globe with his acclaimed ‘one-man-band’ live shows, and having a billion plus streams across all platforms for his music.

The concept for “V I N C E N T” came about during a solo trip to Los Angeles before 2020. “I just stayed in this house totally on my own, turned my phone off and had some time away from everything to figure out what I wanted to do.” He realised he wanted to tap into the freedom of being a teenager: “back then, I was making music strictly for playfulness, without overthinking it,” he says. “V I N C E N T’s” opening and closing songs underline the sentiment of the new album: the future-jazz of ‘Way Out’ (a playful mini soundtrack in one; a dainty piano motif underscored by a skittering trap beat and serene strings) and the lullaby-styled “Stay A Child”. “I wanted to get back some of that lost innocence of making music purely for pleasure,” he says.

Back in his home studio in the Philippines, with no wifi and an impending global lockdown, FKJ was quite literally cut off from the world, able to explore music’s endless possibilities. “Sometimes I would get into it for the whole night and go to bed when the sun came up.” Out of this freedom comes an expressionistic, touching album that’s impossible to pin down. There’s no more hiding behind a branch of leaves, as he did on the cover of his 2017 debut: “V I N C E N T” marks FKJ out as a crucial new voice. He’s redefining chillout music with his bursts of late-night jazz sax and piano, coupled with his wood-cabin whispery vocals, recalling Bon Iver’s early work, and those Santana-styled guitar flourishes.

Much of “V I N C E N T” is wilfully romantic, sometimes super sexy, and often with its head in the clouds, as on tracks like “Us”, a dreamy ode to his wife June, or “IHM”, which has a 90s hip-hop flavour slowed right down to lights-out tempo. Not entirely a solo record, ((( O )))) appears on ‘Brass Necklace’ – which has the soft power of The Internet and Stevie Wonder’s keys. It’s no wonder that lead single ‘A Moment of Mystery’, featuring Toro Y Moi, has a spacey vibe: while recording in San Francisco together, FKJ, Toro and his keyboard player Tony took some of what Tony called “holy water” – “we shared this bottle and took a bit of a trip,” laughs FKJ. The result is a gentle electronic ode to long-term love that could rival Tame Impala for melodic progginess.

Little Dragon’s Yukimi Nagano vocal, meanwhile, laces its way through the stunning “Can’t Stop”, and there is a call back to FKJ’s dancier beginnings with “Let’s Live”, a galvanising techno-pop number that blends piano, handclaps and soulful vocals to dazzling effect. Each of FKJ’s songs glistens, lambently, with a myriad of ideas but it never sounds overblown or too dizzying.

“V I N C E N T” is a marvel – and testament to the magic that can happen when you dig deep. “This was a challenging record,” he says. “I’m a perfectionist and it’s hard to shake that off. But once I did, and I let the music take over, I felt totally free.”

"Insane and heavy beats by the og don Pixelord featuring great remixes by an all-star line-up comprising Dj Ride, Dj Pound, Starkey and Dranq!

Like a lightning bolt in the middle of a dark sea, PIXELORD has returned once again from the frozen lands to shock and disquiet the tides of Futuristic Bass Music. Perhaps the best thing about Russian electronic music godfather Alexey Devyanin's PIXELORD project returning to SATURATE! for this "Demonslayer" release is not simply the exciting and hard-hitting beats contained within, but the simple fact that it shall be offered on delicious, glorious VINYL. An artifact for all time, perhaps to be found in future wastelands by those who would consider this "Demonslayer" to be the VanHelsing (or perhaps Trevor Belmont) of the 21st century bass music scene.

The last decade has seen PIXELORD riding the wave of forward-thinking bass music, and always staying at the crest, and 2020 is no different. "Doomguy" comes tearing straight in with menacing, distorted synth weaponry, assaulting with ballistic beats (even some nods to Junglism) until finally bestowing some glittering melody atop the fray, showing that not only is Alexey an elder-statesman of the genre, he's still the eager bass monster that explores his own depths. The depths are again evident in "Pain Elemental" where the vibe is established immediately, and only delves deeper into the slightly-detuned bass signals and ominous creeping atmosphere. The melodic elements are no longer here to sooth, they are newly charged laser beams that sear the flesh, scorching the eardrums.

This foreboding, demon-dispatching vibe is indeed present throughout this entire release, as you enter the "Bonus Stage" of this deadly game, where the aggression does not abate, and the bass plays backseat to the synth bell sonic geometry on display. The drums especially feel the wrath of PIXELORD on this track, where some impossibly tortured tambourines take a beating, and the chopping and relentless reorganization of the rhythm keeps you churning with intensity. The title track brings the "wild style", even though the drums are less frantic, the bass frequencies and laser blasts from our protagonist, the ever-ready "Demonslayer", are sure to dismantle any submissive subwoofer in range.

"BFG" rounds out this collection in a disheveled fashion, dishing out low frequency divebombs and squelches, whilst otherworldly transmissions from synth realms afar come leaping in trying to assert their dominance, only to be eaten alive by daemonic bass and telluric currents of seismic drum activity. An utterly destructive end to this tale… BUT WAIT, IT GETS WORSE! We have here on hand SATURATE! stalwarts DJ Ride, DJ Pound, DRANQ and big daddy STARKEY on remix duty, who all take the tracks down their own rabbit holes to parts unknown, with equal aplomb. The result is equal in intensity and aggression, but the textures by which this is conveyed are wholly transformed and re-imagined skillfully.

All this on one slab of gorgeous VINYL. No demon shall stand a chance against PIXELORD's battalion of beats and bass."

After two UK #1 albums, 2 million album sales and an array of international acclaim, you might’ve thought you knew what to expect from Royal Blood. Those preconceptions were shattered when they released ‘Trouble’s Coming’ last summer. Hitting a melting pot of fiery rock riffs and danceable beats, they delivered something fresh, unexpected and yet entirely in tune with what they’d forged their reputation with.
The reaction was phenomenal, with highlights including 20 million streams, a premiere as Annie Mac’s Hottest Record and a run on Radio 1’s A-list and earned alternative radio support and media attention across the globe. In short, Royal Blood are primed to be bigger than ever before. That feat is set to be realised when they release their eagerly anticipated third album ‘Typhoons’ on April 30th via Warner Records.
When Mike Kerr and Ben Thatcher sat down to talk about making a new album, they knew what they wanted to achieve. It involved a conscious return to their roots, back when they had made music that was influenced by Daft Punk, Justice, and Philippe Zdar of Cassius. It also called for a similar back-to-basics approach to what had made their self-titled debut album so thrilling, visceral and original.
“We sort of stumbled on this sound, and it was immediately fun to play,” recalls Kerr. “That’s what sparked the creativity on the new album, the chasing of that feeling. It’s weird, though - if you think back to ‘Figure it Out’, it kind of contains the embryo of this album. We realised that we didn’t have to completely destroy what we’d created so far; we just had to shift it, change it. On paper, it’s a small reinvention. But when you hear it, it sounds so fresh.”

Those traits pulsate throughout the new single and title track. Kerr’s spiralling bass riff casts an hypnotic allure as it grows in intensity, while his vocals switch at will between a raw rock roar and a soulful falsetto. It’s underpinned by Thatcher’s thundering beats, his taut rhythms infused with groove-laden hi-hats.



After setting the tone with ‘Trouble’s Coming’, the album opens in breathless, take-no-prisoners style with the fierce metallic grooves of ‘Who Needs Friends’ hitting an early visceral peak. Royal Blood further reference their fresh array of influences by deploying vocodered vocals on ‘Million & One’ before dynamically switching between the biggest contrasts of their sound with ‘Limbo’. Already a fan favourite having been a regular during the duo’s 2019 shows, ‘Boilermaker’ lives up to its reputation and is more than matched by ‘Mad Visions’, which evokes a hyper-aggressive Prince. It ends with a final surprise in the shape of the stark piano ballad ‘All We Have Is Now’, a vulnerable and revealing reminder to live in the moment.

That song’s unguarded sentiments gives the album a redemptive finale. Whether directly or allusively, the album focuses on exploring the flipside of success that they’ve experienced. It comes from the realisation that success is much more complicated than it seems and that having the time to regain perspective is a precious commodity which becomes ever more elusive. The situation called for reflection and change, which Kerr addressed in Las Vegas. He downed an espresso martini and declared it to be his last drink, and soon discovered that his new-found sobriety would have a positive impact upon his creativity and life as a whole.

That new approach manifested itself in the duo’s decision to produce the majority of ‘Typhoons’ themselves. ‘Boilermaker’ was produced by Queens of the Stone Age frontman Josh Homme, the two bands having first connected when Royal Blood supported them on a huge North American tour. Meanwhile, the multiple Grammy Award winner Paul Epworth produced ‘Who Needs Friends’ and contributed additional production to ‘Trouble’s Coming’.

»Sull’Accordo Mimetico (On the Mimetic Chord)« dates back to the end of the 80’s. It was commissioned by the artistic director of the ParcoScenico Festival, held in Treviso, Italy. Since the area where artists and the public gathered after the Festival was located to a very busy street, Marco asked me for a sound installation that could work as some sort of a defensive barrier for the street noise. I suggested that my work, rather than hiding the noise, should aim to harmonize the disturbances coming from the street within musical structures and forms, without burdening or saturating too much the acoustic spectrum of the place. In this way, I thought about sonic veils, consisting of repetitive – but also light and discreet – harmonic-rhythmic structures. Since the Festival took place in a beautiful centenary park, I also integrated the music with natural sounds and animal calls, always as an attempt to bridge these sound events and the other materials that made up the composition. The human voice constitutes a central element in this musique d'ameublement project, as a constant source of memory of places and times – here with many references to traditional music for children.

A pearl of ambient electro-acoustic mimimalism with field recordings components in which the nostalgia of Maestro Tiziano Popoli shines through in painting landscapes that slowly change to be seen with the ears. Nocturnal, emblematic, Lynchian.

Propelled into the industry at just 19, Foxes was at
the forefront of the pop stratosphere with her
critically acclaimed debut album ‘Glorious’,
Grammy-winning collaboration ‘Clarity’ with EDM
giant Zedd, big name support slots and six singles
in the UK Top 40. In 2017, she decided it was time
to press pause and focus on connecting with
herself.
 ‘Friends In The Corner EP’, available on
transparent vinyl, is ultimately about facing up to
tough experiences that led her to pressing that
pause button, and the effects of having your
confidence and agency diminished.
 The EP features previously released singles ‘Love
Not Loving You’ - her bold, buoyant comeback
single that transports you to the light at the end of
her time away; ‘Friends In The Corner’ on the
fragility and hidden nature of mental health
struggles; ‘Hollywood’, revealing some of the most
challenging experiences she’s had to date,
chasing her dreams to Los Angeles as a young
songwriter; ‘Woman’ with its universal message of
standing up to the unacceptable; new single
‘Kathleen’, an ode to her grandmother and
unheard tracks ‘Courage’, ‘Dance’ and an acoustic
version of ‘Kathleen’.

Basically, it's become common knowledge that Saturate is all about some heavy bass music on that hip-hop tip and Zeke Beats' Pay Attention release is easily one of their finest ones yet. Every track has a sinister punch to it and it all ultimately sounds like the most epic video game music ever to come out of the ghetto. Zeke Beats clearly didn't hold back in any way, as this is easily some of the wildest, most high energy bass music we've heard. The low end is hot and heavy, the synthwork is wacky and in your face, and the arrangement is spot on; there's always a lot happening, but not one element ever sounds out of place. The flip side is featuring the one and only Subp Yao.
Deep, dirty, Grimey and glitchy and insane beats, this will take your brain for a spin and turn your legs to jelly it will make your jaw drop, then smash it clean off. The work that's been put into this is second to none!

Repress!

Leeward, released in 1978 on Union record, is the second album by tenor and soprano saxophonist Mabumi Yamaguchi. Here the quartet comprises of Ikuo Sakurai on bass, Hideo Sekine on drums and Ichiro Doi on piano and electric piano.

Leeward opens with “Dawn” a long and slow piece led by a Fender Rhodes played in flanger mode, on which Mabumi Yamaguchi expresses a certain melancholy, which we also find on “Dewdrop”, a duet piece with Ichiro Doi at the piano. The rhythm picks up on “Distant thunder”, a kind of jazz-funk samba in which Mabumi Yamaguchi lets each of his musicians take a long chorus before ending by taking up the haunting theme of this superb piece.
The beautiful “Leeward” closes the album in a slightly more traditional but equally mastered style. It is not known if the cover of this album contributed to its lack of success when it was released, but it is almost impossible today to find an original pressing of this record.

It should be noted that Mabumi Yamaguchi is still active and that he continues to release records and perform in concert in Tokyo (dates to be found on his website mabumi).

Time Cow & Ossia take 2 tracks from Jabu’s 2020 album ‘Sweet Company’ into unfamiliar (and dance floor friendly) territory. Side A sees ‘Us Alone’ gets transformed by Time Cow from slo-mo tearjerker into syrupy disco wrecker, managing to somehow touch on reference points everywhere from east LA lowrider anthems through 00s garage and all propelled fwd by an eyeball shaking low end pressure. On the flip Ossia takes snatches of the original ‘Slow Down’ and flashes them in around a 4/4 and a synth melody, fragments of Daniela’s vocal floating like a half remembered conversation. Later Rakhi’s strings come in but in a more unsettling way than the original, eventually dissolving to a kind of Majora’s Mask (in dub) conclusion. All terrain / all weathers - club / bbq / afterparty / late night introspection sessions.

Yellow Vinyl

Parisian producer DJ Atlance follows up an appearance on Happiness Energy’s various artist compilation late last year with five sun-soaked house cuts on Running Out Of Steam, just in time for January coming to an end.

‘Le Club, La Nuit’ gets things underway with a sample-heavy slice of early evening house music; funk-driven basslines, radiant atmospherics and a distinctive Atlance, hip-house bounce hold the door for the listener as they venture further into the dimly lit room. ‘When I Hear Your Voice’ throws it back to the 00’s with its MTV-pop-dance blend of catchy vocals and murder-on-the-dancefloor energy.

‘Eternal Sunshine’ is as radiant as the title would suggest; a bright sequence ofsaxophones, jazz-keys and feel-good warmth that we wish would never come to an end, before Atlance shows what he would ‘Do For Love’ on a synth-bending, playful cut of coastal house music.

‘After The Storm’ maintains its housey aesthetic, but this time on an electro-tipped 2-step; instantly recognisable vocal samples, dreamscape aesthetics and meditative breaks uniting on a blissed-out trip.

Minru is the project of Caroline Blomqvist, a Swedish musician based in Berlin. Woven from light and shadow, the interplay of her folk and indie-rock blend appears from a personal space of finding life after death. On her debut LP »Liminality« she paints melody in soft tones, whispering secrets to navigate feelings of loss.

Built around winding layers of acoustic guitar, piano, and strings, Minru is a surprisingly uplifting and stirring testament to Blomqvist’s own suffering from the passing of someone close to her. Returning to Berlin from Sweden feelings of grief, confusion, and pain travelled with her, and these emotions prompted the journey both of and within the album, heard as a dreamlike actualisation of wandering lost between them. "I read that Carl Jung used the word "»Liminality«” to describe the psychological process of transitioning. I instantly felt seen; it reflected my own experience and the feelings I carried whilst making the album – a sense of the old certainties being gone, but the new not being quite there yet,” she says.

Defined as "the threshold separating one space from another" »Liminality« moves between feeling the ground beneath your feet fall away, fighting through the darkness and the doubt, and the emerging shades of hope and light as you painstakingly make peace with mortality and find yourself as a person again. "I am happy to have encapsulated this moment of time in sound," Blomqvist says, "it will always be there as a memory."

Flourishing from a preferred position of solitude, »Liminality« sees Blomqvist’s vision radiate with intensity from her home-based studio in Neukölln - a small, 2-room apartment with squeaky old wooden floors. Capturing the intimacy of the space, she recorded vocals and synth on gear partly borrowed from friends (to swiftly reunite it with its owners), and the songs flow with a stream of consciousness as feelings become entwined with melody. Time-restraint drew the process to a natural close, preventing Blomqvist from losing herself to experimentation. “Maybe I would have been stuck in »Liminality«, trying out sounds forever,” she suggests of the way ‘Into the well’s instrumental swims into a warm stream of synth pads. "It’s the cosiest moment on the album,” she says, “Cosy is a feeling I always strive for in life."

Finished and self-produced at a Berlin-Lichtenberg recording studio alongside musical friends (Povel Widestrand, Tobias Blessing, Sunniva Lilian Shaw Of-Tordarroch, Marlene Becher and Liv Solveig Wagner), the result is beautifully detailed and rich like the folk of her Swedish roots. First picking up a guitar as a kid and becoming obsessed with it, she would skip school to spend extra hours mastering the instrument, grappling to perfect the ‘Stairway to Heaven’ intro. “As a child I was fascinated by my dad’s acoustic guitars around the house and would hit the strings to make them sound,” she recalls. After attending music high school in Gothenburg and playing in bands during her teens, Blomqvist later moved to Germany. As well as enjoying walks at Tempelhofer Feld and coffee at Leuchtstoff café, she performed with Tuvaband, Adna, and Tara Nome Doyle and played in Berlin venues Loophole and Schokoladen, where music became her world. With the passing of time she felt a growing urge to find an outlet for her own songs; Minru was the answer along with her first »Yearnings« EP.

Now writing whenever she returns to Sweden, within the calm and stillness of her family’s mountainside cabin, her skilfully constructed arrangements summon the comforting atmosphere of home. “I hope listeners will feel inspired to slow down a bit, create, draw, cook something. Just be in the moment that is now.” »Liminality« is the kind of record that rewards attention. Give this album your time, it will give you its soul.

After having released solo albums on Western Vinyl and Preservation, Domes presents the first entirely instrumental work of the California based multi-instrumentalist Heather Woods Broderick.

Domes is a collection of meditative pieces based around the cello. While not being her primary instrument, the cello holds a very special place for the artist. Throughout the past 2 years, Heather often felt the need to find moments of respite in response to the chaotic and turbulent times we all faced in that period. Her days started or ended with the cello. A single melody initiated a process in which new elements were gradually added to the initial loop until the sounds filled her up. This process and the instrumental nature of these pieces opened the path for self-reflection and enabled her to express emotions outside the world of words or lyrics:

“The cyclical nature of the loop combined with the sound feeling like it’s surrounding me feels serene and safe. My hope is that listeners experience this as well.” - Heather Woods Broderick

Domes is a documentation of that period and offers 7 pieces which to the artist feels like dense masses – strong grounding sounds that can hold weight or be used to disperse weight - in an emotional sense. The album title, Domes, reflects this idea as domes are made out of triangles – the strongest shapes in the physical world. Coincidentally, there are 7 different triangles. As such, the pieces on Domes each reflect a different triangle, a different strongest shape which offers the listener a solid basis to find rest and calmness.

Heather Woods Broderick is a composer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist. Growing up in a family of musicians, music took root in Heather’s life at a very young age. Evenings spent singing along to her parents folk music collection began to shape her sense of song as a child. After many years of classical piano training, she began to expand her musical toolkit by learning to play guitar, cello, and flute among others. Deeply influenced by rich tapestries of the natural world, she excels at crafting sonic landscapes that reflect both lushness and intimacy. Heather has released three solo albums to date, and over the years has recorded and toured extensively around the world with a multitude of artists including Sharon Van Etten, Efterklang, Alela Diane, Horse Feathers, Damien Jurado, Lisa Hannigan, Laura Gibson, and more.

Rome’s own disco wizard L.U.C.A. aka Francesco De Bellis is back for his second LP Terra, hot on the heels of his Venus 12” EP earlier this year. In this far-reaching album, the Edizioni Mondo founder explores the deteriorating relationship between Man and Nature, and the dire consequences. The album is split into two themes - part one is Consacrazione (Consecration) and side two is Coscienza (Conscience) - as L.U.C.A. charts a trip through mankind’s psychic universe, and imagines worlds beyond our physical dimension.

The opening composition Cities is an uptempo number that slowly comes into focus, as dreamy drum machines emerge from the urban bustle, before settling into a soulful groove as keyboard, upright bass and guitar figures dance across bright percussion. As it builds up a head of steam, the piece gives way to an ambient, tribal breakdown, which is also echoed in the following song, Drum Talk. This second tune sets up in a fourth world dreamscape of drums, synths, and abstracted echo effects, and is peppered with word fragments from the bush of ghosts. By the time we’ve reached the third track, Congiunzione sounds like travelling at singularity speed, beaming in from a future where human consciousness and gaia can finally dance on a cosmic plain.

Part two of Terra details how revelation of the spirit can guide the mind, as Time Spirals rises out of a drum motif with a nod to classic ragas, as a disembodied voice asks questions on the nature of corporeality. The sound design is just as front and centre as the sitar and fretless bass, and the song gives way to a richly-layered soup that sounds like the vast space between atoms. It’s this shift from composition to ambience that is the dynamic core of Terra, giving L.U.C.A. plenty of space to showcase his next-level audio and arranging skills. Midway through part two, Giallo Assoluto begins with reverb tails and choral voices before expanding in brightness and texture until the audio field is practically levitating your hi-fi speakers, vibrating them with drones, twinkling keys and shards of digital noise. The closing composition Ritorno al Domani is a perfect balance of optimism and mystery. Tension and release collapse in on themselves as waves of ambient pads crescendo and then break over stretched-out sonic turbulence, before reversed synths bring the listener to a closing door, and the end of the journey.

It’s a mind-expanding musical exploration of other worlds and parallel universes which are surely all around us, and in many ways serve to remind us of the marvel that is our own planet.

The wiggy wanderings of Oog Bogo wind up on the same island of lost joys all at once, manufacturing a virtual jukebox of singles and side flips that won’t unplug, and just keeps reeling and raging on instead. A bright metallurgy of guitar pop, psych, post-punk and apocalypse disco embosses the sleek, multicoloured flash of ‘Plastic’.

 Oog Bogo are a four-piece rock band from Los Angeles and their new album is ‘Plastic’, an electrifying set of songs and sounds that just don’t stop, working like a machine that makes joy and endless flips and repetitions, whether in front of the turntable or out in the real world.
 In the past several years, Oog Bogo dropped two records that previewed this explosion in wildly divergent ways: 2019’s ‘Oogbogo’ EP, with wigged-out production, its contorted fun house mirror images pulling punk, psych and new wave in and out of focus in a chaotic procession of mutant tunes. 2021’s ‘EP2’ radiates a starkly different vibe, as chilled-out guitar-pop tunes conjure a flowing medley of plaintive echoes and atmospheres in a mellow mist of hiss.

 Kevin Boog recorded these records in a largely hermetic state: at home on 4-track, playing all the parts, slowly drawing out the sounds. The songs for ‘Plastic’ were demoed this way too, as a starting point for a group interpretation - but when, for obvious reasons, logistics prevented everyone from getting in the same room to even rehearse, the planned recording session at Ty Segall’s Harmonizer Studios took on a different shape.

 Starting off with only drummer Thomas Alvarez (Audacity) to accompany him, Kevin
realized that any obstacles to getting the record made were also opportunities, for
something else that was also right to happen. Rather than reach for the design of the
demos, he kept himself in the present moment, approaching every passage as fluidly
as possible, playing what he needed to play, staying open to what he needed to
know. It didn’t hurt that the laptop with all his songs crashed right after he walked into
the studio! There was no way possible but forward.
 The direction was right on with the guys at Harmonizer - Ty Segall’s sense of
imagination made him the ideal production counterpart to walk together with Kevin
into this world, psyched to experiment and ready to get weird at any time. Ty and
engineer Matt Littlejohn met all requests and requirements in the form of sounds, with
gear and approaches that amazed and delighted, and an eternally ebullient spirit.
 As this was Oog Bogo’s first time recording away from home, Kevin was a kid in a
candy store - where the store owner turns out to be a Wonka-esque philanthropist.
As band members Mike Kreibel (Dirty & His Fists) and Shelby Jacobson (Shannon
Lay) joined the session, there was a synchronicity and community with everyone
involved, finding an unexpected road to realizing the songs, with all the colours and
hues they added making everything pop that much harder.
 Fluidity was key: ‘Plastic’’s tunes depict a polymorphic cast of characters. As in life,
they leap avidly from style to style; from pretty psych rock to new wave apocalypse
disco and harsh post punk bleakness, sometimes in a verse and a half. Corkscrewing
over and over like a riff-driven space-coaster, morphing in and out of each
successive moment with increasing momentum and gravity, ‘Plastic’ defines and
redefines Oog Bogo, with sweet tunes, barely-controlled intensity and sharp
production moves - a killer first album and an equally killer evolving state of mind.

The wiggy wanderings of Oog Bogo wind up on the same island of lost joys all at once, manufacturing a virtual jukebox of singles and side flips that won’t unplug, and just keeps reeling and raging on instead. A bright metallurgy of guitar pop, psych, post-punk and apocalypse disco embosses the sleek, multicoloured flash of ‘Plastic’.

 Oog Bogo are a four-piece rock band from Los Angeles and their new album is ‘Plastic’, an electrifying set of songs and sounds that just don’t stop, working like a machine that makes joy and endless flips and repetitions, whether in front of the turntable or out in the real world.
 In the past several years, Oog Bogo dropped two records that previewed this explosion in wildly divergent ways: 2019’s ‘Oogbogo’ EP, with wigged-out production, its contorted fun house mirror images pulling punk, psych and new wave in and out of focus in a chaotic procession of mutant tunes. 2021’s ‘EP2’ radiates a starkly different vibe, as chilled-out guitar-pop tunes conjure a flowing medley of plaintive echoes and atmospheres in a mellow mist of hiss.

 Kevin Boog recorded these records in a largely hermetic state: at home on 4-track, playing all the parts, slowly drawing out the sounds. The songs for ‘Plastic’ were demoed this way too, as a starting point for a group interpretation - but when, for obvious reasons, logistics prevented everyone from getting in the same room to even rehearse, the planned recording session at Ty Segall’s Harmonizer Studios took on a different shape.

 Starting off with only drummer Thomas Alvarez (Audacity) to accompany him, Kevin
realized that any obstacles to getting the record made were also opportunities, for
something else that was also right to happen. Rather than reach for the design of the
demos, he kept himself in the present moment, approaching every passage as fluidly
as possible, playing what he needed to play, staying open to what he needed to
know. It didn’t hurt that the laptop with all his songs crashed right after he walked into
the studio! There was no way possible but forward.
 The direction was right on with the guys at Harmonizer - Ty Segall’s sense of
imagination made him the ideal production counterpart to walk together with Kevin
into this world, psyched to experiment and ready to get weird at any time. Ty and
engineer Matt Littlejohn met all requests and requirements in the form of sounds, with
gear and approaches that amazed and delighted, and an eternally ebullient spirit.
 As this was Oog Bogo’s first time recording away from home, Kevin was a kid in a
candy store - where the store owner turns out to be a Wonka-esque philanthropist.
As band members Mike Kreibel (Dirty & His Fists) and Shelby Jacobson (Shannon
Lay) joined the session, there was a synchronicity and community with everyone
involved, finding an unexpected road to realizing the songs, with all the colours and
hues they added making everything pop that much harder.
 Fluidity was key: ‘Plastic’’s tunes depict a polymorphic cast of characters. As in life,
they leap avidly from style to style; from pretty psych rock to new wave apocalypse
disco and harsh post punk bleakness, sometimes in a verse and a half. Corkscrewing
over and over like a riff-driven space-coaster, morphing in and out of each
successive moment with increasing momentum and gravity, ‘Plastic’ defines and
redefines Oog Bogo, with sweet tunes, barely-controlled intensity and sharp
production moves - a killer first album and an equally killer evolving state of mind.

South American Jazz & Bossanova flavours from 60s & 70s in Liguria, north west Italy. Melody sounds really close to Brazilian Portuguese and instrumental tracks smells of South American Jazz.
Nonetheless, the sound landscape clearly reflects the Italian Library Music of the time. This mingling was made possible by the commercial and cultural interconnections during the discovery of the New World: the local Ligurian language was influenced by new stimuli from the new territories and vice-versa. Moreover, from the end of the Nineteenth Century, a strong migration of Italians involved South America, with numbers comparable to the Italian migration in the USA, but less known because less represented in films or narrative.
As a result of these connections, these songs sound mellow, carioca and exotic, based on the phonetics of one of the most musical, folkloric and peculiar Italian dialects.
The artwork project is a homage to lithographs and ADV that were inspired by the first tourist and migration trips departing from Genoa towards Rio De Janeiro. The lithographs were recovered by “L’Image” an existing art gallery in Alassio, a small town in Liguria.
"Bossa Ligure" can be seen as a micro-genre and a different form and aesthetic of Brazilian music, which is unknown to many, but that we would like to make available with this collectanea. A musical and a
cultural expression which reveals a strong influence and connection to the Brasileiro sound in an unexpected territory.

"Rob wollte, dass sich die Welt von The Northman rau und ungemütlich anfühlt, als wäre es mit Schlamm und getrocknetem Blut bedeckt, also war es wichtig, dass die Musik dies widerspiegelt." Die Komponisten Robin Carolan (Tri-Angle Records) und Sebastian Gainsborough (Vessel) wurden vor eine Aufgabe epischen Ausmaßes gestellt, als Regisseur Rob Eggers (The VVitch, The Lighthouse) sie bat, die Filmmusik für seinen ehrgeizigen Film The Northman zu schreiben. Sie mussten eine Filmmusik schaffen, die sowohl die immensen Recherchen zur Authentizität dieses historischen Stücks aus der Wikingerzeit würdigte; als auch den filmischen Maximalismus des Films für ein modernes Publikum ergänzte. Die Künstler gingen bis an die Grenzen ihrer Kreativität und das Ergebnis ist ein wunderschönes Klangbild, das den Hörer mitten in den Film versetzt. Beim Arrangieren der Partitur zogen die Komponisten den Musiker und Ethnographen Poul Hoxbro zu Rate, um sich inspirieren zu lassen und einen Einblick in die Geschichte der Wikingermusik zu erhalten. Da Robin und Sebastian aus dem Bereich der elektronischen Musik kommen, waren sie keinerlei Beschränkung auf eine kleine Auswahl von Musikinstrumenten unterworfen, nutzten diese aber als Ausgangsbasis. "Elektronische Musik hat ein fast grenzenloses Potenzial, wenn es darum geht, Klänge zu erzeugen, und das ist natürlich eine unglaubliche Sache, aber man kann auch in ein Wurmloch geraten und sich darin manchmal verlieren. Diese Gefahr besteht nicht, wenn man nur ein paar Hauptinstrumente hat, auf die man zurückgreifen kann" so Robin Carolan. Sie benutzten traditionelle Instrumente wie die Tagelharpa, die Langspil, die Kravik-Lyra und die Säckpip, um die filmische Welt von The Northman zu erschaffen, aber sie nahmen sich auch kreative Freiheiten, indem sie Instrumente wie Trommeln hinzufügten, von denen einige Wissenschaftler glauben, dass sie in der Musikkultur der Wikinger keine große Rolle gespielt hätten, einfach weil es keine archäologischen Beweise für echte Trommeln gibt. "Eines der Stücke sollte den Klang eines Bullroarers nachahmen; ein uraltes Instrument, das in heiligen Ritualen oder in der Schlacht zur Einschüchterung von Feinden eingesetzt wird. Es erzeugt einen wirklich verwirrenden, röhrenden Vibrato-Sound und tiefe Frequenzen, die wahnsinnige Entfernungen zurücklegen können." sagt Robin auf die Frage nach einem der einzigartigeren Aspekte der Partitur. Alle Beteiligten haben so viel Mühe in ihre Recherchen und ihre Kreativität gesteckt, und dieser Reichtum ist in jedem Stück offensichtlich. Das Album als Ganzes ist ein cineastisches Meisterwerk aus Klang und Atmosphäre, wunderschön und verstörend zugleich, genau wie der Film, den es so wunderbar begleitet.

"Rob wollte, dass sich die Welt von The Northman rau und ungemütlich anfühlt, als wäre es mit Schlamm und getrocknetem Blut bedeckt, also war es wichtig, dass die Musik dies widerspiegelt." Die Komponisten Robin Carolan (Tri-Angle Records) und Sebastian Gainsborough (Vessel) wurden vor eine Aufgabe epischen Ausmaßes gestellt, als Regisseur Rob Eggers (The VVitch, The Lighthouse) sie bat, die Filmmusik für seinen ehrgeizigen Film The Northman zu schreiben. Sie mussten eine Filmmusik schaffen, die sowohl die immensen Recherchen zur Authentizität dieses historischen Stücks aus der Wikingerzeit würdigte; als auch den filmischen Maximalismus des Films für ein modernes Publikum ergänzte. Die Künstler gingen bis an die Grenzen ihrer Kreativität und das Ergebnis ist ein wunderschönes Klangbild, das den Hörer mitten in den Film versetzt. Beim Arrangieren der Partitur zogen die Komponisten den Musiker und Ethnographen Poul Hoxbro zu Rate, um sich inspirieren zu lassen und einen Einblick in die Geschichte der Wikingermusik zu erhalten. Da Robin und Sebastian aus dem Bereich der elektronischen Musik kommen, waren sie keinerlei Beschränkung auf eine kleine Auswahl von Musikinstrumenten unterworfen, nutzten diese aber als Ausgangsbasis. "Elektronische Musik hat ein fast grenzenloses Potenzial, wenn es darum geht, Klänge zu erzeugen, und das ist natürlich eine unglaubliche Sache, aber man kann auch in ein Wurmloch geraten und sich darin manchmal verlieren. Diese Gefahr besteht nicht, wenn man nur ein paar Hauptinstrumente hat, auf die man zurückgreifen kann" so Robin Carolan. Sie benutzten traditionelle Instrumente wie die Tagelharpa, die Langspil, die Kravik-Lyra und die Säckpip, um die filmische Welt von The Northman zu erschaffen, aber sie nahmen sich auch kreative Freiheiten, indem sie Instrumente wie Trommeln hinzufügten, von denen einige Wissenschaftler glauben, dass sie in der Musikkultur der Wikinger keine große Rolle gespielt hätten, einfach weil es keine archäologischen Beweise für echte Trommeln gibt. "Eines der Stücke sollte den Klang eines Bullroarers nachahmen; ein uraltes Instrument, das in heiligen Ritualen oder in der Schlacht zur Einschüchterung von Feinden eingesetzt wird. Es erzeugt einen wirklich verwirrenden, röhrenden Vibrato-Sound und tiefe Frequenzen, die wahnsinnige Entfernungen zurücklegen können." sagt Robin auf die Frage nach einem der einzigartigeren Aspekte der Partitur. Alle Beteiligten haben so viel Mühe in ihre Recherchen und ihre Kreativität gesteckt, und dieser Reichtum ist in jedem Stück offensichtlich. Das Album als Ganzes ist ein cineastisches Meisterwerk aus Klang und Atmosphäre, wunderschön und verstörend zugleich, genau wie der Film, den es so wunderbar begleitet.

"Rob wollte, dass sich die Welt von The Northman rau und ungemütlich anfühlt, als wäre es mit Schlamm und getrocknetem Blut bedeckt, also war es wichtig, dass die Musik dies widerspiegelt." Die Komponisten Robin Carolan (Tri-Angle Records) und Sebastian Gainsborough (Vessel) wurden vor eine Aufgabe epischen Ausmaßes gestellt, als Regisseur Rob Eggers (The VVitch, The Lighthouse) sie bat, die Filmmusik für seinen ehrgeizigen Film The Northman zu schreiben. Sie mussten eine Filmmusik schaffen, die sowohl die immensen Recherchen zur Authentizität dieses historischen Stücks aus der Wikingerzeit würdigte; als auch den filmischen Maximalismus des Films für ein modernes Publikum ergänzte. Die Künstler gingen bis an die Grenzen ihrer Kreativität und das Ergebnis ist ein wunderschönes Klangbild, das den Hörer mitten in den Film versetzt. Beim Arrangieren der Partitur zogen die Komponisten den Musiker und Ethnographen Poul Hoxbro zu Rate, um sich inspirieren zu lassen und einen Einblick in die Geschichte der Wikingermusik zu erhalten. Da Robin und Sebastian aus dem Bereich der elektronischen Musik kommen, waren sie keinerlei Beschränkung auf eine kleine Auswahl von Musikinstrumenten unterworfen, nutzten diese aber als Ausgangsbasis. "Elektronische Musik hat ein fast grenzenloses Potenzial, wenn es darum geht, Klänge zu erzeugen, und das ist natürlich eine unglaubliche Sache, aber man kann auch in ein Wurmloch geraten und sich darin manchmal verlieren. Diese Gefahr besteht nicht, wenn man nur ein paar Hauptinstrumente hat, auf die man zurückgreifen kann" so Robin Carolan. Sie benutzten traditionelle Instrumente wie die Tagelharpa, die Langspil, die Kravik-Lyra und die Säckpip, um die filmische Welt von The Northman zu erschaffen, aber sie nahmen sich auch kreative Freiheiten, indem sie Instrumente wie Trommeln hinzufügten, von denen einige Wissenschaftler glauben, dass sie in der Musikkultur der Wikinger keine große Rolle gespielt hätten, einfach weil es keine archäologischen Beweise für echte Trommeln gibt. "Eines der Stücke sollte den Klang eines Bullroarers nachahmen; ein uraltes Instrument, das in heiligen Ritualen oder in der Schlacht zur Einschüchterung von Feinden eingesetzt wird. Es erzeugt einen wirklich verwirrenden, röhrenden Vibrato-Sound und tiefe Frequenzen, die wahnsinnige Entfernungen zurücklegen können." sagt Robin auf die Frage nach einem der einzigartigeren Aspekte der Partitur. Alle Beteiligten haben so viel Mühe in ihre Recherchen und ihre Kreativität gesteckt, und dieser Reichtum ist in jedem Stück offensichtlich. Das Album als Ganzes ist ein cineastisches Meisterwerk aus Klang und Atmosphäre, wunderschön und verstörend zugleich, genau wie der Film, den es so wunderbar begleitet.

Prior to his untimely passing, Chester personally announced a 2017 Grey Daze reunion on social media. As he never got the chance to launch the reunion himself, his bandmates, friends, family, and various collaborators stepped up to give the music the second chance it deserved, finishing what the late singer started. The musicians—longtime members Sean Dowdell drums, backing vocals and Mace Beyers bass as well as Cristin Davis [guitar] recruited in 2017 to tackle this artistic and personal endeavor. A follow up to their critically praised and fan beloved 2020 album “Amends”, this next chapter of music is the completion of their commitment to friendship. For “The Phoenix” the band teamed up with producer Esjay Jones and did a lot of the recording in LA at the iconic Sunset Sound Studios. With this album Esjay and the band really focused on being true to the group's original sound and all their 90s influences. This album continues their mission to tell Chester Bennington's story and also celebrate the amazing artist and person he was. Early song standouts are Saturation, Starting To Fly, Drag, and Anything Anything. Press includes Metal Hammer, CMU, Daily Star, Kerrang!, NME and more.

Clear Vinyl

sferic venture a new set of plasmic ambient entertainment systems by Jonas Wiese’s TIBSLC, mining that slender but heady sweetspot between the earliest Vladislav Delay productions for Chain Reaction, Japanese environmental x architectural recordings and the sort of gear you’d hear from Move D & Jonas Grossmann at the late 90’s Source Recordings heyday.

sferic pick up the mantle of late ‘90s-into-‘00s ambient with a new variant primed for the times. Following the themes of their ‘Decisive Tongue Shifts - Situation Based Compositions’ album of 2021, TIBSLC (The International Billionaire’s Secret Love Child) distills their sferic debut into a crystal clear, hypersensitive set of eight tracks that slip seamlessly into each other’s space, recalling the amorphous end of Jan Jelinek’s ambient shimmers.

Where TIBSLC’s first album sprawled over two discs, this one relates to the same recording sessions, but glimpsed via more succinct windows of opportunity. In effect they’re like Hitchcockian, voyeurist snapshots of other lives in the urban complex woven into a melting emulation of the city at dusk, replete with infrasonic bass from streets below, and streaked with the wistful dream energy and fizzy optimism of a certain city life. In fleeting rounds of ephemeral shrapnel and synth pad washes, the eight parts evoke a sense of mental discombobulation, lending itself to ruminating on the unbearable lightness of being.

After the 1974 release of The End…the magnetic and controversial Warhol muse went on a fruitful partnership with French director Philippe Garrel, for almost seven films. Back in New York in 1979 she started to perform again live, appearing firstly at the CBGB with John Cale and musical partner Lutz Ulbrich (former guitarist of Agitation Free and Ash Ra Tempel)… Back in France, she met young and talented Corsican bassist Philippe Quilichini who produced her comeback, Drama of Exile, in 1981. The album was released twice, in two different versions. Hereby we present the second, appearing in 1983, after a legal controversy was settled with Aura Records that released the first issue. While the first press was a 9-track offering, this second issue excludes “Purple Lips” but adds the tracks “Saeta” and “Vegas” released on a 7″ single in 1981. For this album, Nico recorded covers of the Velvet Underground’s “I’m Waiting for the Man” and David Bowie’s “Heroes”.

Born in a Gambian griot family, kora virtuoso and afro-fusion pioneer Jally Kebba Susso has been active in the UK music
scene for twenty years. While based in London, he has tirelessly, through both personal and collective endeavours, built a
singular musical identity by working hard on making the timeless Mandinka kora, an instrument he's been playing since
his youth, sound like never before, combining the ancient West African strings with forward-thinking aesthetics and myriad
of musicians and producers from the thriving London music scene such as Onipa, Dark Sky and Kay Suzuki.
Jally Kebba Susso has already released two albums as a solo musician ("Malaye Warr", 2012 and "Banjul - London",
2017), as well as a member of the successful afro-fusion band Afriquoi, whose latest EP has garnered a very wide
support, culminating in several million streams and performances on some of UK's biggest festival stages (Boomtown,
Glastonbury).
Freedom! A heartfelt shout expressing the newfound joy of an African musician whose working conditions, despite his
long-standing roots in the London music scene, have sometimes been precarious.
A newfound freedom to be able to look ahead and fully persue one's need of self-actualisation. Hence this new EP, written
with the help of Jally's accomplished band members (Yuval Juba Wetzler, Nim Sadot and Oli Arlotto) and produced
by Tom Excell (Onipa, Nubiyan Twist), whose 4 tracks all deal with topics (identity, homesickness, family, social justice)
which are dear to Jally's heart as a Gambian native and West African musician settled in Europe.
A pleasant atmospheric opener, "Wulu Doula" rides on a classic Afrobeat groove, while Jally reminds us how we are only
what we become, no matter where we come from and who we inherit from.
"Justice" is a stomping mandinka funk hit, in which "freedom, equal rights and justice" are claimed by Jally for all fellow
artists and musicians from the West African diaspora working in Europe.
Clearly anchored in Gambian music tropes and reminiscent of the pioneering mandinka fusion of Ifang Bondi, "Fakoly"
tells the story of Jally's family lineage, as a member of the 74th Susso generation. As Jally puts it, "being a griot is a way
of life".
Homesickness can be a bitter feeling. But you can turn it around. That is exactly what Jally achieves with "Banjul", a
cheerful, funky tribute to the Gambian capital, in which Jally grew up, learning words of wisdom from his elders.

What if music had no beginning, no end Can music exist 'for itself' or 'of itself,' without structure constraining it, defining it Can music be non-linear, non-narrative, simply experiential, existential The second full-length album on Mysteries of the Deep, Musica Enterrada from Portland's William Selman, neither answers these questions nor supposes them. But in listening, one can't help but wonder: What if I disappeared into this record forever In another time and place, William Selman was known as Warmdesk, an alias through which he issued a series of sharply precise minimal techno records. In recent past, Selman shifted gears, shedding the dynamics of tension and release that characterized his previous alias' output. Under his own name, Selman began releasing process-oriented, freeform experimental music on cassette-focused outlets like Digitalis and Hausu Mountain. Now comes Musica Enterrada, a diaphanous, weightless musical vision not unlike the theoretical square root of GRM and Popol Vuh's early electronic forays. Split into six tracks across two sides of vinyl, Musica Enterrada bubbles, churns, drifts, and dozes. Dulcet tones pile up gently like waves on shore. Patterns repeat and reconfigure, as if heard from different angles. Rhythms appear, shift the frame, then disappear, into the ether whence they came. Play Musica Enterrada on repeat. And if you disappear into it, fret not — you have drifted into solace.

Long-time audiophile favorite returns as a 45 RPM on four 200-gram LPs! Plated and pressed at Quality Record Pressings! Every cricket chirp and dog bark in stellar detail! An essential upgrade to the listening experience; improved sonic intensity Roger Waters' take on America's entertainment-obsessed society

This audiophile favourite — and a brisk seller since its Analogue Productions 33 1/3 reissue in 2015 — is back with an upgrade. Now a 45 RPM 4LP 200-gram set, the remastered audio completed by long-time Roger Waters / Pink Floyd collaborator and co-producer James Guthrie is chillingly detailed — every cricket chirp and dog bark on this distinctive album has even more sonic intensity and dimension.

An unblinking look at an entertainment-obsessed society, Amused to Death addresses issues that have only grown in complexity and urgency over the past two decades. With Amused to Death, Roger Waters sounded the alarm about a society increasingly - and unthinkingly — in thrall to its television screens. Twenty-three years later, Amused to Death speaks to our present moment in ways that could scarcely have been anticipated two decades ago. In 2022, television is just one option in an endless array of distractions available to us anytime, anywhere, courtesy of our laptops, tablets and smartphones. With eyes glued to our screens, the dilemmas and injustices of the real world can easily recede from view.

The 2022 4LP 45 RPM 200-gram vinyl edition of Amused to Death features remastered audio completed by long-time Roger Waters / Pink Floyd collaborator and co-producer, James Guthrie, and has been pressed at Quality Record Pressings. The updated cover and gatefold art is by Sean Evans, the creative director of Waters' 2010-2013 "The Wall Live" tour and movie.

2003 gegründet, gehört das Trio zur festen Institution der Extreme Metal Szene. Und immer gilt: so brutal wie möglich; so gnadenlos hart wie nur möglich. Das neue 12 Song Album "Mountain Fleshriders" bietet alles was brutalen Death Metal ausmacht.

Die mehrfach mit Platin ausgezeichnete Rockband SEETHER veröffentlicht die Deluxe Version ihres achten Studioalbums ”Si Vis Pacem, Para Bellum”, übersetzt ”If You Want Peace, Prepare For War”, eine Mischung aus Euphorie und Elend, zweifellos die wohl stärksten Songs in SEETHERs illustrer Karriere.

”Si Vis Pacem, Para Bellum” wurde von ihrem Sänger Shaun Morgan produziert und von Matt Hyde (Deftones, AFI) in Nashville abgemischt. Das neueste Mitglied der Band, Corey Lowery (Ex-Gitarrist/Sänger
von Saint Ansonia und Stuck Mojo), ein langjähriger Freund von Morgan, ist auf dem Album zu hören.

”Corey has a lot of experience and is an inspiring guitarist as well; he’s the older brother I’ve always wanted”, fügte Morgan hinzu. SEETHER besteht aus dem Bassisten und Gründungsmitglied Dale Stewart und dem Schlagzeuger John Humphrey.

Das Push-Pull-Gefühl auf ”Si Vis Pacem, Para Bellum” ist ebenso dynamisch wie einprägsam, da Morgan die intime Sensibilität eines Singer-Songwriters in schwere Rockgrooves der Band einbringt. Mit Einflüssen wie der dunklen und rohen Ehrlichkeit von Grunges epischer Gitarrenattacke und dem südafrikanischen Underground-Punk und Metal, ist SEETHER’s klangliches Gebräu unverwechselbar und zeitlos.

In Love With a Ghost is back with a new Vinyl, Gay Story. Maybe it's time to get cute, to feel childish. In that moment, when you can drink iced tea for breakfast. The iconic sounds of In Love with a Ghost lay smoothly over layers of synthesizers throughout the album, making for an easy and endless listen.

Halb orange/halb violettes Vinyl. Exklusiv für den Indiehandel! Das einzigartige und von der Kritik gefeierte norwegische Quartett Blood Command meldet sich mit einem brandneuen Album "Praise Armageddonism" über Hassle Records zurück. Das neue Album ist das erste, auf dem Nikki Brumen, ehemals Mitglied von Pagan, als Frontfrau und Leadsängerin der Band zu hören ist. Mit einer Distanz von 10.000 Meilen zwischen Nikki (in Melbourne, Australien) und dem Rest der Band (in Bergen, Norwegen) verlief 2020 nicht ganz nach Plan. Nachdem die ursprünglichen Pläne für die Aufnahmen in Norwegen auf Eis gelegt werden mussten, entschied sich die Band im Januar 2021 dazu, das neue Album aus der Ferne aufzunehmen; die gesamte Musik wurde in Norwegen aufgenommen, während Nikki den Gesang in einem lokalen Studio aufnahm, sobald die regionalen Beschränkungen dies zuließen. "A Villain's Monologue" ist der erste Track des neuen Albums, bei dem Nikki zeigt, warum sie bei Pagan so hoch angesehen war, was Kerrang dazu veranlasste, ihren Gesang als "eine krawallige Zurschaustellung von unbändigem Talent zu beschreiben, die sie zweifelsohne als zukünftigen Star auszeichnet". Die Band, die ihren Sound selbst als als "Deathpop" bezeichnet, ist ein einzigartiges Projekt. Hardcore trifft auf Metal trifft auf Pop trifft auf Punk. Die Band wurde bereits von Rock Sound als "eines der bestgehüteten Geheimnisse der Welt" bezeichnet, erhielt die Auszeichnung als eines der Alben des Jahres in Kerrang! und wurde vom Metal Hammer gelobt.

Halb orange/halb violettes Vinyl. Exklusiv für den Indiehandel! Das einzigartige und von der Kritik gefeierte norwegische Quartett Blood Command meldet sich mit einem brandneuen Album "Praise Armageddonism" über Hassle Records zurück. Das neue Album ist das erste, auf dem Nikki Brumen, ehemals Mitglied von Pagan, als Frontfrau und Leadsängerin der Band zu hören ist. Mit einer Distanz von 10.000 Meilen zwischen Nikki (in Melbourne, Australien) und dem Rest der Band (in Bergen, Norwegen) verlief 2020 nicht ganz nach Plan. Nachdem die ursprünglichen Pläne für die Aufnahmen in Norwegen auf Eis gelegt werden mussten, entschied sich die Band im Januar 2021 dazu, das neue Album aus der Ferne aufzunehmen; die gesamte Musik wurde in Norwegen aufgenommen, während Nikki den Gesang in einem lokalen Studio aufnahm, sobald die regionalen Beschränkungen dies zuließen. "A Villain's Monologue" ist der erste Track des neuen Albums, bei dem Nikki zeigt, warum sie bei Pagan so hoch angesehen war, was Kerrang dazu veranlasste, ihren Gesang als "eine krawallige Zurschaustellung von unbändigem Talent zu beschreiben, die sie zweifelsohne als zukünftigen Star auszeichnet". Die Band, die ihren Sound selbst als als "Deathpop" bezeichnet, ist ein einzigartiges Projekt. Hardcore trifft auf Metal trifft auf Pop trifft auf Punk. Die Band wurde bereits von Rock Sound als "eines der bestgehüteten Geheimnisse der Welt" bezeichnet, erhielt die Auszeichnung als eines der Alben des Jahres in Kerrang! und wurde vom Metal Hammer gelobt.

Das Vindland-Debütalbum 'Hanter Savet' endlich wieder als Vinyl erhältlich! 'Probably the best thing in Pagan / Viking Metal for a long time!'

Graeme Martin and Liam Karima made the new pet deaths album to be
both explored and sat with
In age of dull disconnection and constant refreshing, unhappy ending, the London
duo's second full- length effort, was deliberately and acutely considered to be a
journey of its own; nine new songs but one whole immersive piece for the listener
to climb inside, in the quiet of reflection, in the sobering commute to and
from.Following on from the sparkling celestial folk of the band's 2019 debut To
the Top of the Hill, unhappy ending is the next step in pet deaths' somewhat
remarkable journey. Setting out to make their new album, the band had one
question in the forefront of their collective mind: Is life an unhappy ending, or do
we become part of a bigger movement to more positive things?
Across the album's nine tracks, this conundrum is explored in many and
meaningful ways, their subtle take on melancholic folk- pop conjuring a
bewitching atmosphere that hangs over every inch of the album. unhappy ending
thrives within the world it creates for itself, one of distinctive colours and shapes
that feel intimate and familiar but always slightly off- kilter, as if you've
momentarily stepped into someone else's dream. It sings of love and loss and the
unwieldy connection between those two things, in ways that feel quietly radiant
and beguiling, caught in an alluring contrast. Recorded at a residential studio in
Oxfordshire which they used as a retreat from the business of London – fleshedout and toyed with over time with their acclaimed producer Ian Davenport
(Slowdive, Gaz Coombes, Radiohead's Philip Selway) who encouraged the duo to
lean into the wilder parts of their creativity. Inspired, musically, by the spiritual
moments of Alice Coltrane, the freeness of Miles' 'Bitches Brew', with a sprinkling
of Talk Talk's 'Spirit Of Eden' in its colourful unravelling, unhappy ending is an
enveloping experience, touching upon universal themes but all shone through the
lens of Karima's signature perspective.
Tour in May & June in support of the release - dates in Newcastle, London, Bristol,
Manchester & Sheffield.
Pet Deaths previously supported the likes of Elbow and Arab Strap.
Support from So Young Magazine, Chris Hawkins (BBC 6 Music), DIY Mag, Clash,
Huw Stephens (BBC Radio 1)

Sam Cooke was such an important pioneer of soul music that he was commonly known as the king of the genre. His distinctive emotive voice is one of the most easily recognizable of all in popular music and his work paved the way for countless other giants, including Otis Redding, Marvin Gaye, Curtis Mayfield and Al Green, among many others. A native of Clarksdale in northwest Mississippi that was raised in Chicago, he was the fifth of eight children born to a Pentecostal minister. Beginning his career with his siblings as The Singing Children, he led gospel group The Highway QCs in his teens and then joined The Soul Stirrers, reaching greater glory upon going solo in the mid-1950s, when he scored the first of many number-one hits for the short-lived Keen label, and then reached a wider audience upon switching to RCA in 1960. My Kind Of Blues was recorded for the label in 1961 (just as Cooke was launching his own SAR Records imprint), being a collection of show tunes and jazz standards, delivered in a soulful blues style by Cooke atop lush orchestration, arranged and conducted by trumpeter and bandleader, Sammy Lowe. Highlights include a soave version of Duke Ellingston’s “I’m Just A Lucky So And So,” a cool cut of “Nobody Loves You When You’re Down And Out,” a stirring take of George Gershwin’s “But Not For Me” and a lovely rendition of Irving Berlin’s “The Song Is Ended.”

Soul icon Otis Redding made immeasurable contributions to the form. As a singer-

songwriter, producer, arranger and talent scout, Redding was responsible for some of the

music’s biggest and most lasting hits during the 1960s, though his death in an airplane crash

in 1967 brought his life and career to a tragically premature end. He was born Otis Redding

Junior in 1941 in the small town of Dawson, Georgia, the son of a sharecropper and preacher,

and moved to the city of Macon at the age of two, where he learned to sing at the Vineville

Baptist Church. After singing in the high school band, he performed weekly gospel songs on

radio station WIBB, winning local talent contests after being inspired by Little Richard and

Sam Cooke. Since his father became ill with tuberculosis, Redding began supporting the

family at the age of 15, working as a gas station attendant, a digger of water wells, and

occasionally by playing piano with pianist Gladys Williams at the Hillview Springs Social

Club. Then, in 1958, Redding had a repeat prize run at a talent contest held by broadcaster

Hamp Swain, bringing him first into a group called Pat T Cake and the Mighty Panthers, and

later into Little Richard’s band (during a time when Richard switched rock and roll for

gospel). Moving to Los Angeles in late 1960, debut single “She’s All Right” was issued on

the Trans World label (a subsidiary of Al Kavelin’s Lute Records), credited to The Shooters

featuring Otis; following the birth of their first child and his subsequent marriage to Zelma

Atwood, Redding recorded the popular “Shout Bamalam” for Macon’s Confederate Records

(who swiftly reissued it on the Orbit label since some radio stations objected to the original

label’s confederate flag logo, during a time of terrible racial segregation in the South).

Redding cut the movingly emotive “These Arms Of Mine” at Stax studios in Memphis in

1962, backed by Booker T and the MGs, which surfaced on the subsidiary Volt label in

October, reaching the charts some six months later (and eventually selling a reported 800,000

copies). Subsequent singles “What My Heart Needs” and “Pain In My Heart”/“Something Is

Worrying Me,” recorded in September 1963, formed the bulk of debut album, Pain In My

Heart, which was padded out by standard cover tunes of songs such as “I Need Your Lovin’,”

Ben E King’s “Stand By Me” and Little Richard’s “Lucille.” The album, which surfaced at

the start of 1964, reached the top 20 of the US R&B chart and also hit the Billboard Hot 100;

this edition has an alternate track listing that includes the Trans World debut single tracks

“She’s All Right” and “Getting’ Hip,” as well as “Mary Had A Little Lamb,” the B-side to

“That’s What My Heart Needs.” Carefully remastered, spinning at 45 rpm for enhanced qudio quality.

Mekons + Freakwater = FREAKONS.Freakwater and the Mekons have
joined forces to sing songs about coal mining
FREAKONS, the eponymously-titled album on Fluff & Gravy Records , is the first
fruit of this visionary musical union.The Mekons and Freakwater have been
friends for decades, forged in the punk rock/ art school crucibles of late '70s
Leeds and mid '80s Louisville respectively. Both bands mined British folk and
American classic country music for three- chord songs whose lyrics fit the
nihilism or political rage or outlandish joy of the moment. Many of these songs
were about coal mining. Traditional songs about heroic union organizers, deadly
mine disasters, wailing orphans, or mining's grim history of economic and
ecological devastation fit seamlessly alongside each band's original material.
And so it is with FREAKONS.
Deep pit mines, strip mines, mountaintop removal, collapsing slag heaps. Deadly
work, poisoned water, and fantastic songs. Always fantastic songs. This is where
the FREAKONS were born, from the very bowels of the earth.
The Mekons' Jon Langford & Sally Timms and Freakwater's Janet Bean &
Catherine Irwin are joined here by the stellar string and vocal harmonies of Jean
Cook (Ida, Tara Jane O'Neil, Skull Orchard) and Anna Krippenstapel (The Other
Years, Joan Shelley, Freakwater), along with special guest, the beloved guitar
genius Jim Elkington (Jeff Tweedy, Richard Thompson, Eleventh Dream Day,
Horse's Ha, Skull Orchard, Freakwater, The Zincs).
Belgian painter Jo Clauwaert created the album's intricate gatefold cover. Images
from song lyrics and related history emerge and recede again in this gorgeously
illustrated artistic fever dream.The story of coal mining is one of ongoing pillage
and ecological devastation. It is also a story of heroic workers, struggling in
blighted circumstances to feed their families. The songs and the culture that have
risen from the mines deserve our attention. A portion of the profits from the
FREAKONS record will go to Kentuckians For The Commonwealth, a grassroots
organization dedicated to creating a better future for the Appalachian region.
Kentuckians For The Commonwealth (KFTC.ORG) works to end mountaintopremoval coal mining, and to promote political candidates who care about social,
environmental and economic justice and the transition to clean, renewable
resources

MY DYING BRIDE'S CLASSIC 1996 SHOW FROM KRAKOW, POLAND, FOR
A NIGHT OF DOOM METAL MAGIC
PRESENTED ON DOUBLE GATEFOLD VINYL, & ON THE VINYL FORMAT FOR THE
FIRST TIME.My Dying Bride has been the leading light of doom metal since the
debut album 'As The Flower Withers' was released on Peaceville Records back in
1992. Influenced by acts such as Celtic Frost & Candlemass, the British band's
heavy atmospherics have carved a huge worldwide following over the years to
stand as one of the true enduring & distinguishable pillars of the genre. 'For
Darkest Eyes' contains the band's iconic 1996 performance from Krakow, Poland,
featuring numerous classic doom anthems from the early career of the UK Metal
Gods. The show was recorded as the band was riding a wave of popularity due to
their recent breakthrough third album, 'The Angel & the Dark River' (plus their tour
with British metal legends Iron Maiden in the winter of 1995), showcasing several
tracks from that release such as 'The Cry of Mankind' & 'Your Shameful Heaven',
as well as renditions of other established numbers such as 'The Crown of
Sympathy' & 'The Forever People'.
This edition of 'For Darkest Eyes' is presented on double gatefold vinyl & first time
on the vinyl format & contains cover artwork adapted from the original video tape
release.

Japanese experimental group Les Rallizes Denudes are the ultimate rock ‘n’ roll enigma. Sometimes referred to as Hadaka no Rallizes or even as Hadaka no Rarizu, each appellation a variant of the name “Fucked Up and Naked” which equates to being high on hard drugs, they are seen as noise-rock pioneers, yet sifting fact from fiction isn’t easy with their oddball tale. Emerging from the radical hippie communes of Kyoto during the late 1960s, the band was formed in November 1967 by university student Takashi Mizutani, taking the overamplified, distorted guitar of the Velvet Underground as a starting point. Early demo recordings apparently suffered from poor sound quality, leading the perfectionist Mizutani to retreat from the studio environment, meaning that most of the group’s output has appeared as live bootlegs, with the occasional studio demo surfacing as well. Performances were initially staged as part of avant-garde theatre, though the band’s propensity for super-loud noise soon put paid to such collaboration; the ever-changing membership saw Mizutani the only permanent force, despite his embroilment in the 1970 Red Army hijacking of a civilian Japan Airlines flight, enacted partly through bass player, Moriaki Wakabayashi, who defected to North Korea in its aftermath. Though perhaps not quite as notorious, fellow improvisational group, Taj Mahal Travellers, has a backstory of random international travels that is almost as intriguing as that of Les Rallizes; formed in 1969 by six experimental musicians and an electronic engineer, they embarked on a series of improvisational gigs across Japan, notably including an all-day marathon held at a Kanagawa beach, and made their way to Europe in 1971, where they crossed paths with Don Cherry and other likeminded practitioners. They later drove from Holland to the Pakistan border, acquiring santoors in Iran on the way to help broaden their already unpredictable repertoire. The Oz Days Live release is culled from the Oz Last Days festival held in the autumn of 1973, to benefit Tokyo’s Oz Rock Café, which had been closed following repeated drug busts. Here the Taj Mahal Travellers are suitably cosmic, their echoing jams featuring looped vocal chants, disjointed string instruments and sparse, off-kilter percussion; in contrast, the contributions from Les Rallizes are more standard examples of instrumental psychedelic rock, which veers more towards the acid rock end of the spectrum as the performance progresses.

This three album Limited Edition Numbered set of Fleetwood Mac live
and studio tracks on Blue Vinyl recorded after the departure of Peter
Green and before the arrival of Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham
Fleetwood Mac made it big twice over: first as young kings of the late 1960's
British blues boom – blues fanatics who nonetheless made the pop charts with a
batch of memorable songs penned by founder Peter Green.
Then secondly, as the band that with its Rumours album Californian line- up,
tapped into a whole new market in the mid-1970's which became known as AOR -
adult oriented rock.
The music here is from a pivotal eighteen months in Mac's history as it lost its
original if- it- ain't- blues- we- don't- wanna- know attitude and looked to its own
songwriters - and America's West Coast sound - for inspiration.
After Peter Green's exit in May 1970 the rest of the band bravely decided to carry
on as a 4-piece, and so rented an oast house called Kiln House to try and 'get it
together in the country. Christine McVie joined, and one of the stand-out songs,
'Station Man', would endure for Mac in the bleak years before they moved to
California in 1974 where they struck gold with their eponymous white album and
then Rumours. 'Station Man' eventually found its way into the live set-list of the
Buckingham/ Nicks line- up and listening to it again here you can hear why: in
there, as far back as 1970, are some trademarks of the Rumours sound: threevoice harmonies, in- song tempo changes and ringing guitar sounds. Similarly,
'The Purple Dancer' and 'Jewel Eyed Judy' showcase a vocal harmonies and
melodic sense of things to come for Fleetwood Mac many miles down the line.

Dallas-born Roger Kynard Erickson, better known as Roky Erickson, is a legend of psychedelic music and culture. Playing piano at five years old and guitar at ten, he dropped out of high school in Austin shortly before graduating, since the school dress code demanded short hair. In 1965, his group, The Spades, made an impact with “We Sell Soul” and the following year, The 13 th Floor Elevators burst onto the scene with debut album The Psychedelic Sounds of the 13 th Floor Elevators, but the band’s non-conformist attitude and open endorsement of drugs such as marijuana and LSD put them in repeated conflict with the authorities. Then, in 1968, during a performance at the San Antonio edition of the World’s Fair, known as HemisFare, Erickson began speaking incomprehensible nonsense on stage, leading to a diagnosis of paranoid schizophrenia and confinement in a Houston psychiatric hospital, where he was forcibly given electroshock therapy. The following year, after being busted with a single joint, Erickson pleaded not guilty by means of insanity, leading to a 3-year stay in Rusk State Hospital, with further electroshock and Thorazine treatments. Following his release Erickson formed a group initially called Bleib Alien, which evidenced a more hard-rock orientation, later renamed The Aliens, though Erickson was also working with Austin’s The Explosives in the same era. Aliens material produced by Stu Cook of Creedence Clearwater Rival was issued by CBS and an independent, 415 Records. Then, in the early 1980s, Erickson became fixated with junk mail and unsolicited letters, writing to lawyers and celebrity figures on a regular basis; in 1985, solo mini-LP Clear Night For Love was produced at Music Tracks in Austin by bassist/guitarist Speedy Sparks, with former Joe “King” Carrasco and Delbert McClinton drummer, Ernie Durawa, plus Supernatural Family Band alumnus John Reed on guitar. Released by France’s New Rose label in small numbers, the release found Erickson back in semi-psychedelic/country rock mode on opening track “You Don’t Love Me Yet,” the plaintive “Starry Eyes” and the anthem-like title track, while “The Haunt” is more in swamp/horror rock vein and “Don’t Slander Me” has heavy blues leanings.

Vinyl Only

Making their return with further innovative output this Spring is Bucharest based outfit, VARME, a label curated and cared for by, Paul Popa. Crafting the seventh release on the label is the incredibly talented beat maker, Maximo. The Uruguayan’s “XKP” EP meanders through low end leaning electro, and intelligently arranged spaced out techno, rough and ready for the club.

Title track “XKP” moves in mechanical motions, chugging by as trippy beeps and bleeps make themselves known. Futuristic elements breathing life into the chunky drums. The A2 “Trip To the Moon” teeters on the fine line of techno, and trance, sitting comfortably between the two, blasting you with dusty nostalgia from records of the past but maintaining the modern twist Maximo consistently captures.

On the flipside delving deeper into the mind of Maximo is “1945” is a sleek and crisp trip, a punchy kick and ice cold hi-hats drive the groove. The vocal sample used fits perfectly, transcending the listener as it continues to flash in and out. Closing 007 is “Sinrazón” a curious journey through shimmering pads and synths, teasing you down a path of mystery with the dark bassline that simmers throughout.

Solid impressions from a label that continue to propel their distinguished energy, showing no signs of slowing down, continuing to become somewhat of a diggers paradise with their catalogue. VARME are not afraid to push music they believe in, never taking the restraints of genre on their shoulders. Whilst not making music Maximo is helping steer the ship at Deeper, a collective who share their musical vision in their native country of Uruguay.

While Sass Jordan is celebrated as a multi-platinum selling premiere rock
singer, her 2020 album, Rebel Moon Blues, demonstrated that she sings
the blues with as much power and authenticity as she personified in the
rock world
Following up on the rave reviews garnered by Rebel Moon Blues, Sass continues
to mine her talent as a blues singer with 8 new tracks on Bitches Blues, on Stony
Plain Records.Reflecting on the impact the past two years has had on us all, Sass
has recorded songs that examine the visceral emotional territory of a pandemic,
and the multiple conflicts that the world is reeling from in the aftermath. "Still
Alive and Well' is Sass's triumphant take on a Rick Derringer song that leads off
the album. Her original song, "Still The World Goes Round" marks the mid-point
with a look at power structures, both within and without, while another new
creation" Change Is Coming" ends the collection with a trance- like chant that
offers an uplifting perspective.
As we have come to expect from Sass, the album features fierce guitar licks,
driving tempo's, the raw and soulful Sass Jordan rasp, and a glorious assortment
of rambling road dogs, known as the Champagne Hookers. This particular
collection of Hookers includes longtime associates and rebel rouser guitarists
Chris Caddell and Jimmy Reid, drummer Cass Pereira, keyboardist Jesse O'Brien
and the magnificent Mr. Steve Marriner on bass and harmonica.
Netherlands tour in June 2022.

Nicki Bluhm's creative confidence and authentic vocals are front and
center on 'Avondale Drive', her sophomore solo album and the follow up
to her critically-acclaimed 2018 release 'To Rise You Gotta Fall'
The native San Franciscan who now calls Tennessee home possesses a
gorgeously emotive voice and her clear-eyed perspective on life informs the 10
tracks on the new release.
Produced by Jesse Noah Wilson and recorded in East Nashville, the new album
features a cast of musical luminaries including Oliver Wood, James Pennebaker,
Jay Bellerose, Jen Condos, Erik Slick, Erin Rae, Karl Denson and AJ Croce. The
album combines nostalgic country- rock with distinctly modern lyricism– an apt
contrast for the process of studying one's past in order to make a better future.
Stand out tracks include a duet with Oliver Wood on "Friends", the folksy "Juniper
Woodsmoke, the reflective "Learn to Love Myself and "Wheels Rolling," a
windows-down, hit-the-gas banger that ends the album.

The notorious Glasgow producer, Fear-E is back on Hilltown Disco, after originally appearing on the Dundee imprint in 2019, this time with 4 tracks of techno-infused electro, plus a dance-floor geared remix on the A-side from one of the original Hilltown Disco collectives, J Wax. Fear-E runs wild, broadcasting apocalyptical electro sounds, creating a seriously heavy-duty record to soundtrack the end of society in worlds not too dissimilar to earth. Punchy kicks, disturbing vocals from the mystical Mike James, and venomous sirens create a fresh take on the sound. No nonsense electro. It's all in the game yo!

SINGLE VINYL EDITION OF DODHEIMSGARD'S 1999 MASTERCLASS OF
BOUNDARY-PUSHING EXPERIMENTAL BLACK METAL.To fans of black
metal, Dødheimsgard need no introduction, being one of the great
purveyors of the Norwegian Black Metal creative evolution
The band was formed in 1994 by Aldrahn (Thorns) & Vicotnik (Ved Buens Ende).
The early incarnation was that of a raw & at often melodic black metal band, with
their debut album also featuring Fenriz of Darkthrone on bass. In recent years,
Dodheimsgard has become known for its eclectic musical ventures & poignant
mood shifts, with a less chaotic, more considered approach compared to their
earliest works. Following the 'Kronet til Konge' & 'Monumental Possession'
opuses, there was a shift in direction as demonstrated on 1998's 'Satanic Art' EP
& by Dødheimsgard's third album, '666 International', Vicotnik had taken over a lot
of the writing duties, with DHG's style becoming more technical yet ferocious
black metal, with strong experimental ideas & industrial elements. Vicotnik's riffs
were inspired by cult bands such as Thorns & perfectly entwined with Aldrahn's
delightfully twisted lyrics & immense vocals to create something truly unique. In
its '666 International' incarnation, DHG (as they were later to be known) featured a
line- up of well- respected Norwegian musicians including Czral (Aura Noir, Ved
Buens Ends, Virus), Apollyon (Aura Noir, Immortal), plus Mr Magic Logic (Fleurety)
on keyboards, as the album was constructed over a period of time. All in all, '666
International' is rightly regarded as a highly influential masterpiece of avant-garde
metal by many since its release in 1999.
This edition of '666 International' is presented on black vinyl in single sleeve,
retaining the original cover artwork & contains lyrics.

All Good Things create cinematic epic rock that celebrates the underdog, lifts the fallen, and all out gloats in victory. Pairing post-apocalyptic pump-up rock with powerful lyrics, AGT crafts a massive, bombastic sensory assault of anthemic heavy rock, summoning vistas associated with gaming or blockbuster movies. Their worldwide 'For The Glory' hit has accumulated more than 50 million streams, now their full length debut album 'A Hope In Hell' is set for release on August 20th.

It seems Summer is here in May this year and so does the next DOGHOUSE Summer compilation! A lot of platers to "Gogo" your booty by the pool...Soon available! Sixties rockin' Pop at his best...

Percussionist Frank Ricotti played in the National Youth Orchestra and was rated the UK’s top vibraphonist during the late 1960s. In 1971, with guitarist Mike de Albuquerque, he cut the multifaceted jazz album, First Wind, which alternated between experimental rock-
influenced jazz and thoughtful adaptations of work by James Taylor, John Sebastian and Melanie Safka, with some surprising blues diversions too, such as Albuquerque’s “Go Out And Get It.” However, Albuquerque soon joined ELO as a bassist, putting an end to the duo.

The career defining fourth album from French Tech Death masters EXOCRINE - showcasing a level of musicianship that can only be described as jaw dropping, EXOCRINE are the bridge between the ferocity of ARCHSPIRE or CRYPTOPSY and the potent Progressive leanings of OBSCURA & GOROD.

Yves Jarvis is back with his third solo album entitled, The Zug
The Montreal, Canada based artist's unique vision for "psychedelic- jazz- folk"
comes into sharper focus, with elevated production and a waterfall of creative
ideas presented with an ever growing confidence in craft.Jarvis continues to
refine his creative approach to the core of his being, where music and life
intertwine in harmonious fashion. He fuses genre elements into a symbiotic
relationship where wistful folk, tender R&B, and jazz experiments feed into one
another to grow lush new forms. Though he maintains an air of mystery with his
lyrics, Jarvis's whisper-soft words can be interpreted as both deeply personal and
politically motivated.

Swedish heavy metal band 220 Volt formed in 1979 by guitarists Thomas Dreven and Mats Karlsson. 5 years later, they released their second studio album Power Games on the CBS label. During that same year, 220 Volt performed with Nazareth for
12 concerts, which enlarged their fanbase immensely. Upon the release of Power Games, 220 Volt received critical acclaim for their songwriting skills and high production values.

Power Games is available as a limited edition of 1000 individually numbered copies on crystal clear & white marbled vinyl and includes an insert.

UK rising star Alisha joins the Eastenderz family for her first EP on the label. Expertly translating her ability to read a dancefloor’s demands, she’s created four classy cuts of top tier tackle that sit perfectly within the Eastenderz sound.

‘Visions’ opens, a heads-down roller centered around a hypnotic bassline and deft synth touches, before ‘Hallucinate’ hits with a driving slice of late-night power. On the B side, a twisted melting pot of punchy grooves, synth contortions and tripped out vocals via ‘Burnen’.

The full frontal ‘Offenn’ closes out proceedings - swung, slick and stylish with a pumping bassline and wiggly textures to keep the crowd entranced.


DJ Support :

East End Dubs, Enzo Siragusa, Toman, Seb Zito, Joey Daniel, Okain

Joona Toivanen Trio makes their We Jazz Records debut with their new album "Both Only", out 25 Feb 2022. A landmark work for the long standing group, the album showcases a new sound for the band, trekking deep into new ideas for an acoustic jazz piano trio. Since their formation as teenagers in mid-1990's, the trio of pianist Joona Toivanen, bassist Tapani Toivanen and drummer Olavi Louhivuori (of Superposition, Ilmiliekki Quartet and Linda Fredriksson "Juniper") has developed their remarkably coherent band sound step by step, touring the world over. Nowadays, the trio is geographically split between Gothenburg, Sweden (Joona), Copenhagen, Denmark (Tapani), and Helsinki, Finland (Olavi), but the unit has never sounded so together as one, and as adventurous as on "Both Only".

"Both Only" by Joona Toivanen Trio is a cocoon, a welcoming shelter of sound that opens up naturally for the listener to inhabit. The album is moody and introspective, even dark at times, but by the time you get to the closing track, "This and This", you'll likely notice something hopeful brewing up. This is not music dealing with nostalgia or a world lost. Instead, it's a body of work with delicate dynamics, taking a minute just to listen and to look inwards to learn something, to move forward.

The first single "Enlightened" is perhaps the most traditional piece on the album, yet it flows like a vessel beyond genre, conveying a mood, a feeling and an idea. Listen to how the piano, bass and drums discuss, how the groove moves with the instruments having their clear roles but also supporting each other and documenting a musical aging process exactly as that of a quality bottle of red wine. As a song like "Direction" proves, the melody is there all the way, yet there is nothing obvious about how it's carried by the trio. Things remain surprising, fresh and moving at all times. "Except For" keeps its intensity, while nearly erupting into a full on 4-to-the-floor banger. Nearly! The key here is how the energy sustains itself, building the intensity within the music.

"Both Only" is a powerful statement from a band ready to renew itself time and again, and one willing to do it slowly, outside of the hype. This process makes the impact enduring, nuanced and lovely.

WJLP37 Joona Toivanen Trio "Both Only" is available on vinyl as a black vinyl edition and as a LP+7" bundle also including WJ0716 "Except For (7" Edit)" / "Keyboard Study No. 2".

“More excellent poetic soundscapes from We Jazz! Love the flow through the tracks here – textural pieces moving into more rhythmic jazz abstractions. Beautifully recorded too.”
Quinton Scott — Worldwide FM

“Following on from the excellent Linda Fredriksson album We Jazz extend the journey with this innovative Joona Toivanen Trio set.”
Paul Bradshaw — Straight No Chaser

“You’ll look in vain here for extravagant splashes of color or bright swathes of sound, but what you will discover are a finely-chiselled set of compositions that make the most of the trio’s limited palette: flint-sharp melodies hewn from the ice, crisp and crackling rhythms.”
Cal Gibson — Ban Ban Ton Ton

“Incredible album from Joona Toivanen Trio and a strong start to the new year from We Jazz.”
Kerem Gokmen — Dubmission

“Encapsulating a new movement in jazz.”
Jay Scarlett — Sounds Supreme

“Interesting listen on the shortest day of the year. They have a very definite and saturated style.”
John Chacona — All About Jazz

“Airplayed the track”
Tom Ravenscroft — BBC6 Music

“Jazz album of the year released already in February?”
Ralf Sandell — Hufvudstadsbladet

“★★★★★”
Iida Simes — Voima Magazine

Höga Nord Rekords kindly welcomes Teecwa back to the label, following up his last full length-album “Beyond the Altai” with “Elysian on Moon Lake”. He is still exploring the intersections between house, electro, techno and dub and once again he manages to harness the analogue electronics in his machines to produce modern psychedelia.

“Elysian On Moon Lake” is rawer, less airy and not as sparkling as his last album. This is a tighter, and slightly darker experience than Teecwa’s previous work, maybe caused by being in quarantine for extensive time during production, letting some of the dreaminess aside for the harsher reality in a pandemic world. Still, you get a mind-altering experience in a lot of tracks since the album starts off in a lighter tone than how it later develops. Switching from the A- to the B-side works as a rite of passage going from dusk to night; the sun rays through the blinders are replaced by neon light dancing on the walls and ceiling.

Regarding the dramaturgy of “Elysian On Moon Lake”, this album has movielike qualities; a well-directed piece from the opening impact and setup through the confrontational part where intensity builds up to the climax in “Hythmdoser” to the cooling down effect of the peaceful closer “Celestial Trails”. The trip eventually ends up in a safe and happy place after the cathartic finale.

This is not a just collection of songs, this is an album made to experience in full length without interruptions.

On May 20th On Rotation returns for their first VA release - Genetic Memories Vol. 1.

Anderson opens the release with the mystical ‘Polymorphic Magic’ - a low-slung builder combining deep synths with sampled instrumentation. 

“I’m a huge fan of self resonating / overtone instruments so using the Fujara was a no brainer. A naturally psychedelic sounding instrument, I wanted to accompany the flutey pipe with a deeper and low-mid tempo chug.” - Anderson

Next up is Musty Head Records main man Jamie Leather - combining the tight drums and skilful melodic work of his previous releases with all the influences we love, ‘Discovery’ is sure to get any party going.

Leading the B-Side of the record is Ed Hodge's ‘Atreides’ - a tough yet playful banger drawing influences from across the spectrum of UK music. Gun fingers guaranteed! 

“It’s probably the fastest, rowdiest track I’ve made under the Ed Hodge moniker and pulls influences from house, trance and speed garage.” - Ed

Closing the release, we speed things up and travel deep into the past with Phazma's ‘Arrakeen’. Featuring ethereal synths, driving rhythms and beefy low end, this floaty number works just as well at home as in the club - a perfect way to round off the EP! 

“After some help from my musical peers and some heavy inspiration from the release of the new Dune movie, I managed to come up with something that I’m pretty stoked with!.” - Phazma

After an extended interval between releases, Data Arts Group owner/operator Document Swell (real name Simon Cotter), presents his first full length LP "Hybrid Emotion". Document Swell's first musical contribution to Data Arts Group is also the first vinyl release for the label and brings DAG into the new world of 2022 and beyond. Song-writing, and sound sketches for "Hybrid Emotion" took place over a time span of approximately 5 years in various bedroom studios and life-phases throughout northern Melbourne/Naarm, as well as small setups in the Berlin localities of Templehof and Schöneberg. Arranging and mixing was completed in Northcote, throughout that period of ample time in Melbourne's Covid-19 lockdowns. The album spans a rich tapestry of ideas and moods which can be perceived as something between Document Swell's classic playful dance floor style to a more reflective and brooding tone.

The opening track "River Heart", is built of rudimentary pitched percussion, warm Juno pads and randomised Blofeld synthesis to construct an electronic impression and nostalgic sense of life by the river. The title track "Hybrid Emotion" brings the album closer to the realm of the club with relaxed house grooves and moody but spirited melodies, along with hybridised vocal samples."Why Then Here" pushes the album's character towards something less human, with a more synthetic affection portrayed by repetitive vocal samples and individualistic synth tangents. "Now and Then" realigns the trajectory to a warmer and more predictable landscape with chugging Balearic rhythms, glassy synths and jottings of lush electric guitar. On the flip side, "Day of Thunder" drops things down into an animated variety of industrial darkness, with heavy weight kick drums, metallic percussion and bleak vocal messaging. "Little G", an ode to a well loved cat, lightens things up instantly with playful synth noodlings, disco beats and clatter from pots and pans. "Vergangenheit" exhibits Simon's explorations into the acid world, with 303 squawks, cassette crunched drums and shadowy synth pads. The closing track "Epic Sands" ends the album, not with an end note, but a sense of ongoing possibilities.

"Points of Light” is the debut album from Sơn FM, consisting of Nic Ford and Attiss Ngo. After being part of the Vinyan cassette, the Vietnam-based duo returns to Siamese Twins Records with the label's first album in 2xLP format.

The album is an ode to the patterns of nature, which are repetitive but never quite identical. Playing with the endless possibilities of phase-shifting is at the core of Sơn FM's heavy ambient sound, shaped by their signature live performances across art galleries or surrounded by nature. Weaving dreamy kinetic sound tapestries into morphing texture movements. Analog synthesizers loops slowly decay and unfurl, ranging from melodic elements to droning sequences in a fourth world atmosphere.

This is music for inward journeys and exploring the interstices between cosmic patterns. Commanding harmonies evolve in soft-focus, phase-shifting soundscapes reminiscent of how sound is perceived underwater, at mountain summits, in the womb, or in altered states. Resembling liminal spaces between places, like dreams that haven't been dreamt yet or forgotten visions at the edge of consciousness, gently corralling its audience towards transcendental points of light.

I feel honoured to finally present my first EP on de Lichting. All tracks except A1 were made during my COVID-19 quarantine between 8th-19th July 2021 on an EMU E64 and KORG MS2000. With the EP, I tried to cover most of the sounds that I regularly play during my DJ sets. Side A starts with two house cuts, ‘CAL01’ and ‘Emspacer’ inspired by some of my favourite house records, and ends with the electro title track ‘RDS THEME’. Side B, starts with the minimal-ish ‘Substance’, followed by two Ambient Techno/IDM cuts ‘Trapswet’ and ‘Cwejfx’. Personally, I feel that the tracklist reflects the process of being isolated, which on the one hand, enabled me to (finally) work on music without being distracted, and on the other hand, got me into a melancholic mood over time’.

Grant-Lee Phillips' new album, All That You Can Dream, is a turbulent and
highly musical rumination that finds the veteran singer-songwriter
addressing the strange fragility of life
The collection of songs bears the markings of his prolific output, a melodic
prowess and an ear for lyric in everyday conversation. Comparable to the works
Low or Duster, Phillips offers a salve to a wounded world, struggling to regain
equilibrium. This is Grant- Lee Phillips at his most reflective, wrestling with the
most pertinent of questions. Focusing on life in quarantine ("A Sudden Place,"
"Cruel Trick") and the ever-shifting political landscape ("Rats in a Barrel," "Cut to
the Ending"), this collection shows that Phillips remains one of the finest singersongwriters of our time.

Katy J Pearson shares details of her stunning new album,
‘Sound of the Morning’, released on Heavenly Recordings.

 Written and recorded in late 2021, Katy’s latest effort is coproduced by Ali Chant (Yard Act and the helm of Katy’s debut,
‘Return’) and Speedy Wunderground head-honcho Dan Carey
(Fontaines D.C.).

 Katy’s recent extracurricular activities have shown that she can
dip a toe into a multitude of genres - providing guest vocals on
Orlando Weeks’ recent album ‘Hop Up’; popping up with Yard
Act for a collaboration at End of the Road festival; singing on
trad-folk collective Broadside Hacks’ 2021 project ‘Songs
Without Authors’. ‘Sound of the Morning’ takes that spirit and
runs with it.

 ‘Sound of the Morning’ is an album that’s as comfortable
revelling in the more laid-back, Real Estate-esque melodies of
lead single ‘Talk Over Town’ - a track that attempts to make
sense of her recent experiences, of “being Katy from
Gloucester, but then being Katy J Pearson who’s this buzzy
new artist” - as it is basking in the American indie pop of ‘Float’,
penned with long-time pal Oliver Wilde of Pet Shimmers, or
experimenting with the buoyant brass of ‘Howl’, in which
Orlando repays the favour with a vocal guest spot.

 ‘Sound of the Morning’ is available on CD and on clear vinyl in
‘Tip on’ sleeve with folded poster insert and digital download
code. (Once the above vinyl format has sold out, a standard
black vinyl version - HVNLP204 - will be made available.)

 Katy heads out in September for a headline UK tour, before
which she plays a number of summer festivals across the
country.

 Tourdates - August 19 Green Man, 21 Beautiful Days Devon,
September 8 Trinity Bristol, 9 Cornish Bank Falmouth, 10 Cavern
Exeter, 11 Joiners Southampton, 13 Chalk Brighton, 14 Olby’s
Margate, 15 Electric Ballroom London, 17 Brudenell Social Club
Leeds, 18 The Cluny Newcastle, 20 Voodoo Rooms Edinburgh, 21
Mono Glasgow, 22 Gorilla Manchester, 24 Float Along Sheffield, 25
Rescue Rooms Nottingham, 27 Clwb Ifor Bach Cardiff, 28 Hare &
Hounds Birmingham, 30 The Bullingdon Oxford.

For the last decade German jazz saxophonist and composer Uli
Kempendorff has been an invaluable fixture on the Berlin jazz scene,
quietly but steadily honing his own sound in countless contexts
In 2012 the band Field evolved from his first group, the Uli Kempendorff Quartet,
becoming the first vehicle to truly reflect his erudition and curiosity. The band's
first two albums are superb, but they didn't quite attain the approach
Kempendorff had been searching for, so at the end of 2017, he remade the lineup,
replacing original guitarist Ronny Grauper and drummer Oli Steidle with
vibraphonist Christopher Dell and drummer Peter Bruun.
What makes 'Someone Talked' such a visceral, thrilling listening experience is
that all four members push each other, collegially, to infuse a delicious tension
into performances distinguished by constant give- and- take and quicksilver
alterations.

He may not have known it before, but Toronto-born, New York-based
guitarist Matthew Stevens, prized for his forceful, distinctive electric
sound was an ideal candidate to make an album fully devoted to solo
acoustic guitar: the intimate, unadorned, straightforwardly titled
'Pittsburgh'
September 2020, Stevens was hunkering down in his wife's family's hometown of
Pittsburgh, while navigating his way through the crisis. He had with him a vintage
Martin 00-17, a small- body mahogany guitar. Practicing daily on the Martin, he
began generating a series of short song "starts" - ideas and sketches he thought
might lead somewhere. Then one rainy Pittsburgh day, Stevens' bike slid out from
under him and he broke his right elbow. Rather than getting derailed musically, he
became immersed in a creative process that led straight to 'Pittsburgh': a
document of those short song "starts" from the notebook, now hatched as
completed compositions. "Playing this music became a big part of my rehab,"
Stevens recalls.
As the album took shape, it became clear to Stevens that he was headed in the
direction of a wholly unaccompanied recital, with no overdubs or sound layering
of any kind. Just him and this special Martin, two Neumann U89 mics and enough
peace of mind across two separate sessions to make 'Pittsburgh' the triumph that
it is.
In addition to his extensive high-profile work with Esperanza Spalding (serving as
co- producer on 'Exposure' and '12 Little Spells'), Stevens is also a member,
songwriter and co-producer of Terri Lyne Carrington's GRAMMY-nominated Social
Science band. He has made vital contributions to groups led by Dave Douglas,
Linda May Han Oh, Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah, Ben Williams and more. With
tenor saxophonist Walter Smith III he co-leads the In Common collective. Stevens
has also amassed many credits beyond the jazz world, collaborating on
forthcoming releases by Anna B Savage, Jamila Woods, Tyler Armes
(Murdagang) and Berlin-based electronic artist Robag Wruhme.

Animal Records – founded by Chris Stein of Blondie fame – only ever released one album in its brief early-80s history, but what an album that was. Wild Style remains the most seminal soundtrack in hip-hop history, a snapshot of the scene as it evolved from the streets to the recording studio. But it’s not just a vital document, it’s also a damn good listen.

The line-up is a who’s who of those who stood out from hip-hop’s nascent block party days. The Double Trouble pairing of Rodney Cee and KK Rockwell, The Chief Rocker himself, Busy Bee, the mighty line-ups of both The Cold Crush Brothers and The Fantastic Freaks. The music captures the free-form, roaming nature of the film – it’s rough at the edges, it’s occasionally amateurish, but it’s completely, utterly glorious.

The original Animal tracklisting, of which this is a reissue, is full of recurring sounds and motifs, all of them co-produced by Chris Stein and Fab Five Freddy, stepping away from breakbeats to produce a sound that reminds you of them, while being totally unique. The epic drums are courtesy of Lenny ‘Ferrari’ Ferraro, a Vietnam vet and punk drummer whose career spanned stints backing Aretha Franklin and Lou Reed.

Over time, those sounds – the Charlie Chase and Grand Wizard Theodore scratches, the indelible lyrics - have become hip-hop touchstones, endlessly sampled and referenced, the bedrock of so much music to follow. That’s because the soundtrack perfectly encapsulated the essence of the film, the scene and hip-hop’s emergence from The Bronx to the attention of the wider world. Presented in this reissue with the original artwork, it remains the blueprint.

It's dark in the forest. Especially in the »northwest«. You have to adjust all your senses. But once you have, the forest will take you in his arms. The forest will protect you. Just like Daniel Herrmann's first album for Live At Robert Johnson will protect you.

Herrmann is far from being unknown in the world of music - let alone in the art or photography world. In the music field, he is probably much more known under his Flug 8 moniker where he released five albums on Disko B, Doxa Records, Ransom Note, and Acid Pauli's Smaul Recordings. Under his given name, Daniel Herrmann's relationship with LARJ's label boss Ata Macias goes way back. As an artist and photographer Herrmann was the only one allowed to take pictures inside Ata's ROBERT JOHNSON club, thus creating an iconic series of pictures of clubbers and club life in general. Herrmann’s pictures of the partying punters themselves were presented as wallpaper all over Robert Johnson back in 2002.

With »Enroute« Herrmann enters new territory: It is his most ambient work up to today. And yes, it is a piece of work created during the lockdown. Herrmann's studio is situated in the outskirts of Frankfurt, near the forest - a quite remote place already in-between the Taunus mountain range. Imagine life during the lockdown in such a place … This is where Herrmann set up his former basement studio in the large living room with a variety of instruments besides a cozy fireplace spending warm light and warmth. A warmth that despite its seemingly rather "cold" atmosphere can be heard all over »Enroute«. Once you soak in the sounds (or get soaked into the sounds) of the first tracks like album opener »northwest«, »Fly By Wire« or the 11min »Dark Trace« you might feel this warmth too. A cold warmth you could say, yet a warmth that only modular systems and synthesizers can create.

There is a change of mood with »Intercontinental« - literally as it seems that Herrmann indeed is on an intercontinental journey here despite the strolls and long walks in silence through the Taunus forest. This is also the place where Herrmann took many photographs of the forest and its trees (to be seen on his Instagram account) - and the picture on the cover: This spooky yet fragile high seat in the mist in front of those trees. Yet darkness alone is not dominating this album. Even during these dark days, there was a bit of light at the end of the tunnel. And it shows in the beauty of »Bouncing Rays«.

»Enroute« is done all alone and in total isolation. And one can hear it. But it also invites the listener to be a part of this lonely world. And we all know that being lonely is made easier with someone on your side - »Enroute« to a better place. A place that isn't lonely at all.

PS: For all digital music lovers we have included two bonus tracks: The GLOK remix of »Bouncing Rays« and Herrmann's clattering and creaking tune »Economy« - enjoy!

Vinyl is limited to 500 copies on black vinyl, no download card. Sunzoom have been making a stir from their Liverpool base and this highly anticipated debut is not to be missed. Lo-fi and DIY in equal measure, the record was only conceived of 4 weeks into the first lockdown when songwriter Greg McVeigh decided that recording music was the only way to stay sane. Building a makeshift studio in the kitchen of his North Liverpool home (and deciding to name the new project SUNZOOM after a favourite Captain Beefheart track) Greg set about learning the processes of home recording from the ground up. The album theme draws upon the peculiar aspects of lockdown; isolation, spiritual introspection, longing to be somewhere else, weird dreams, drinking too much and takes the listener on a journey of escape. The songs move the record through fields, countries, time, space, memories and longings to finally end back at home in the reality of the four walls. Digging into some past unreleased recordings, poems, unfinished snippets of tunes and writing new songs (usually sung into his phone during months of daily beach walks with his dog) Greg began to build a record within the claustrophobic environment of summer 2020. Friends were able to collaborate (by the magic of old recordings and new parts sent via email) and in early 2021 Sunzoom entered ARK Recording Studios in Liverpool to add live drums and vocal parts subsequently spending a month mixing the record back home in the familiar surroundings of the kitchen where the concept first began. The result is a snapshot of the period that magically transforms personal and public strife into glorious pop-folk psychedelia.

Since slipping out a decade ago, Fürsattl’s sole 12” on Claremont 56 has become an in-demand item, thanks to a mixture of its’ undeniable quality and the patronage of several high-profile, well-regarded DJs. Because of this, the label has responded to demand for a reissue of those two tracks and announced the release of a double-album of the krautrock-inspired trio’s works for the label.

Presented in a gatefold sleeve sporting Mark Warrington’s original 2012 artwork and limited to 400 copies, the 2022 album edition of Rheinlust not only tells the tale of the band’s now decade-long association with Claremont 56, but also features a previously unreleased track from the archives, ‘Für Paul’. Tucked away at the end of the LP, the track is amongst the most atmospheric in their catalogue – a slowly building number in which celestial synthesizer chords, ambient textures, echo-laden electric piano chords and lilting synth strings rise above a rubbery bassline and Jaki Liebezeit style drums.

It provides a superb conclusion to a genuinely evocative album of music you can get lost in, but it’s by no means the only highlight. Fittingly, the album’s first slab of wax boasts both tracks from Fürsattl’s hard-to-find debut 12”: title track ‘Rheinlust’, a driving but deep and hypnotic krautrock masterpiece full of elongated chords, restless bass, twinkling motifs and cascading electronic melodies, and the wonderfully epic ‘Links Der Pegnitz’. Clocking in at just under 15 minutes, this sublime excursion features band members trading glistening guitar and colourful synthesizer solos over a funky but laidback groove that sits somewhere between krautrock and cosmic funk.

The album’s second slab of wax showcases Fürsattl’s lesser-known tracks for Claremont 56, alongside the previously mentioned unreleased cut. These two workouts were originally featured on the label’s Claremont Editions compilations and further expand on their now trademark krautrock sound. There’s ‘Leerlauf’, a breathlessly up-tempo, weighty and immersive chunk of low-slung dancefloor creepiness that you’ll want to get lost in time and again, and the twangy and buzzing ‘Haru’, a birdsong-splattered affair that sounds like their tribute to krautrock originals Neu! and Harmonium. Like the rest of the album, these are seriously seductive outings that slowly build towards impactful, emotive conclusions.

Clear Vinyl

I met Thomas Roussel in 2017 at a Pigalle fashion show in Paris. As always with Stéphane Ashpool, the designer of Pigalle, casting is perfect and the clothes are modern and groundbreaking. But my eyes and ears were intrigued by this retro-futuristic instrument next to me, the Cristal Baschet. French composer and conductor Thomas Roussel wrote the soundtrack of the show.
He add this magnificent instrument in his "not very classical" orchestra, this is what I immediately loved with him!
He invited us into his world of classical music with a fresh twist, simplicity and audacity.
At the same time I was scratching my head to find something different to celebrate the 15th anniversary of Ed Banger records.
For a long time I had this idea of mixing both electronic and classical music together. Exactly like my heroes Metallica did in 1999 with the Symphonic orchestra of San Francisco! Thomas Roussel seems the perfect man for this crazy idea. We did Ed Banger 15 together and we became friends.
Thomas Roussel grew up in Dijon, spent his days at the conservatory and his nights at L’An-Fer, one of the most respected Techno club in France. Probably the reason why he ended up working with Jeff Mills, on two projects mixing Jeff’s 909 and a classical orchestra.
By experimenting new ways of using an orchestra, by creating state-of-the-art scenography and producing more ambitious music he quickly became the man in charge of everything "classica". The list of his collaborations is too long and will ruin this little introduction.
It could sounds like this : Chanel, Apple, Cartier, Kenzo, Nike, Dior…
Performing from Paris to Macau, from Monte Carlo to Dubai and from New York to Beijing!
In 2017 Thomas Roussel released his first album as Prequell with Universal Music.
A successful collaboration that really allows Thomas Roussel to become an artist.
In 2022 Ed Banger records is proud to release Thomas Roussel "LATE METAL" a 3 tracks EP.
Where uplifting orchestration and electronic music composing collide. The perfect soundtrack of a block buster movie mixing George Lucas & Christopher Nolan generations. It’s also a marker of our time, music boundaries are explosing. It’s time to hear the London Symphony Orchestra’s strings battling with a Drum’n’Bass beat, a way to DEIFIED classical music.
It’s also a record for your eyes. Art director Andy Picci created an algorthym and gave life to a mercury abstract form. This collaboration
marks the need for Thomas Roussel to always push the boundaries and take his project to another LEVEL.