Search:the heart

On Palberta5000, Ani Ivry-Block, Lily Konigsberg, and Nina Ryser max out traditional pop forms_blowing the genre out into lush, kinetic extensions_to create their own hardcore style of popular music. Together these 16 adventurous, hyper-melodic tracks represent the band's most accessible album by far_one that is bursting at the seams with vocal hooks and exuberant playing. Palberta5000 was recorded with Matt Lambozza (PALM, Shimmer), whose Peekskill, New York, studio is located in the original home and family lamp-store of Paul Reuben (Pee Wee Herman). Lambozza's recording and mix capture the band's rollicking instrumentation and vocal precision with greater clarity than anyone has before. Tracks like the emotionally chaotic "Before I Got Here," which charges hard before turning on a dime into a hypnotic krout-surf outro, convey the panicked feeling of falling in love, while Palberta's ear for pop music makes itself apprent on heart-melting harmonies like those fround on "Corner Store." Adding variation to Palberta5000's well thought-out song cycle are lavish downtempo jams ilke the slow waltz that is "The Way That You Do," and the enchanting "Red Antz." Taken together, these songs create a full album experience, and one that is sure to excite the band's devoted following while welcoming new fans along for the ride.

LTD. TRANSPARENT RED VINYL

On Palberta5000, Ani Ivry-Block, Lily Konigsberg, and Nina Ryser max out traditional pop forms_blowing the genre out into lush, kinetic extensions_to create their own hardcore style of popular music. Together these 16 adventurous, hyper-melodic tracks represent the band's most accessible album by far_one that is bursting at the seams with vocal hooks and exuberant playing. Palberta5000 was recorded with Matt Lambozza (PALM, Shimmer), whose Peekskill, New York, studio is located in the original home and family lamp-store of Paul Reuben (Pee Wee Herman). Lambozza's recording and mix capture the band's rollicking instrumentation and vocal precision with greater clarity than anyone has before. Tracks like the emotionally chaotic "Before I Got Here," which charges hard before turning on a dime into a hypnotic krout-surf outro, convey the panicked feeling of falling in love, while Palberta's ear for pop music makes itself apprent on heart-melting harmonies like those fround on "Corner Store." Adding variation to Palberta5000's well thought-out song cycle are lavish downtempo jams ilke the slow waltz that is "The Way That You Do," and the enchanting "Red Antz." Taken together, these songs create a full album experience, and one that is sure to excite the band's devoted following while welcoming new fans along for the ride.

Danish indie rock duo The Raveonettes first met in Copenhagen in
2001, after which they quickly began recording their first EP Whip It On. Their first full album Chain Gang of Love followed in 2003, and it quickly gained recognition as lead single “That Great Love Sound” was featured on the soundtrack of FIFA 2004. Upon release, Pitchfork complimented the album for its high-quality production, tightly controlled melodies and called the album a glorious buzz. Mixing raw garage rock with catchy, sweet lyrics, Chain Gang of Love demonstrates The Raveonettes’ knack for crafting compelling songs.

Chain Gang of Love is available as a limited edition of 1500 individually numbered copies on translucent red vinyl.

Magnum II is the eponymous second studio album by English hard rock band Magnum. Originally released in 1979, the album highlights the band’s trademark harmonies and punchy instrumentals very well. Magnum II is a diverse record, as it features ballads and adult contemporary rock, but also hints of prog and heavy metal. A track like “Great Adventure” contains catchy vocals, dynamic guitar riffs and inspired keyboards, while the acoustic “Reborn” showcases a more mellow side of the band. Magnum II is released with a special mirror sleeve, and it includes 2 bonus tracks: “Lonesome Star” and “Everybody Needs”. The limited edition of 1000 individually numbered copies is pressed on silver coloured vinyl.

Never Give Up is Partner’s second full-length album, following 2017’s In Search of Lost Time.
In the years since their first release, the band has developed their “post classic rock” sound, trading their 90s rock influences, for deep power grooves, bona fide guitar heroics, and big-hearted vocals from singers Jos e Caron and Lucy Niles.
Partner deliver a more anthemic, kinder, queerer boogie, for all who love the perfect riff, the perfect drum fill, for all whom Rock is their rock.

Tibor Szemző returns with a new album, based on the music for his film about historic figure Alexander Csoma.

Tibor Szemző is a Hungarian composer, performer, media artist. Recently his album Snapshots From The Island (1987) gained renewed interest. Over the years Tibor Szemzo continued composing classical / electronic works. His pieces often include spoken texts, film and other media. He creates installations and composes music for his own and others’ films.

Csoma, his new album, is based on the music for this film about Alexander Csoma. Alexander set up to research the origin of the Hungarians 200 years ago. During his student years, before he enrolled in college, he and two fellow students vowed to go to Central Asia to discover the origins of their nation. In the first thirty-five years of his life, he spent his humble pilgrimage in Asia traveling and studying with Buddhist priests in Tibet in isolation, and devoted the remaining eleven years of his life to publishing some of the material he had collected in India.

Now on the 200th anniversary, Szemző’s Cinematic Opera wishes to pay tribute to Alexandar Csoma. Over the course of two vinyl sides classical and acoustic instruments are mixed with angelic voices, spoken word in German, Hungarian & English. Sounding like vintage Tibor Szemzo compositions, vividly performed by the Gordian Knot Company and the Voces Aequales Ensemble.

Manisdron is a side project of GOAT (JP) drummer, Takafumi Okada. A powerful force both live and in the studio - this is no nonsense gear that truly gets your heart pumping. TIP!

"When Candy Opera first appeared on the kaleidoscopic early 1980s Liverpool music scene, by rights they should have changed the world" ~ Louder Than War
"Very welcome news as a highly underrated band who is now back with a force. While their previous output is stellar, this new single is even more commanding of attention. This is absolutely stunning, the band reaching higher than ever before" ~ Big Takeover Magazine
Sometimes it takes a while to realise what you’ve got. So it goes with pop craftsmen Candy Opera, who emerged during Liverpool’s 1980s golden age and whose new LP 'The Patron Saint of Heartache' is their first collection of new material in nearly three decades.
Ahead of that, they present 'These Days Are Ours', a rally cry of hope for the current times and the first single from this long-play, which is due for release in mid-November via European / UK label A Turntable Friend Records. The video was created / produced by James
Davies and Paul Malone.
Mixed by Grammy award-winning producer Guy Massey and featuring back vocals by Paul Simpson of The Wild Swans, the track was recorded at Elevator Studios in Liverpool.
With all the hallmarks of an enduring pop anthem, this impeccably produced, adrenalin-fuelled song captures the essence of Candy Opera’s infectious energy and celebrates life with a genuine wonder-lust, whilst delivering the excitement of their live performances.
Following the overdue release of two archival sets - '45 Revolutions Per
Minute' and 'Rarities' (released in 2018 by Firestation Records., quickly selling out of their first runs) - their new album 'The Patron Saint of Heartache' picks up where the band left off, with 14 fresh songs ready for discovery of a sound as timeless as any Candy Opera output.
Candy Opera were formed in Liverpool in 1982 and went through various incarnations before calling it a day in 1992. By 1985, the band had played alongside the likes of The Pogues, The Go-Betweens and The Redskins, as well as appearing on Granada TV.
The band's current line-up is drawn from all eras of the band’s existence and features Brian Chin Smithers (guitar, vocals), Alan Currie (drums), Frank Mahon (bass), Paul Malone (vocals, guitar), Ken Moss (guitar) and Gary O'Donnell (keyboards, vocals, percussion).
This new LP also features a swathe of friends and contemporaries, including Paul Simpson (The Wild Swans) and Phil Jones (Afraid of Mice). The result is an exquisite piece of pop craftsmanship that brings their songs into the light. This is a labour of love born of experience, but retaining the sense of wonder that brought the band together in the first place.

"When Candy Opera first appeared on the kaleidoscopic early 1980s Liverpool music scene, by rights they should have changed the world" ~ Louder Than War
"Very welcome news as a highly underrated band who is now back with a force. While their previous output is stellar, this new single is even more commanding of attention. This is absolutely stunning, the band reaching higher than ever before" ~ Big Takeover Magazine
Sometimes it takes a while to realise what you’ve got. So it goes with pop craftsmen Candy Opera, who emerged during Liverpool’s 1980s golden age and whose new LP 'The Patron Saint of Heartache' is their first collection of new material in nearly three decades.
Ahead of that, they present 'These Days Are Ours', a rally cry of hope for the current times and the first single from this long-play, which is due for release in mid-November via European / UK label A Turntable Friend Records. The video was created / produced by James
Davies and Paul Malone.
Mixed by Grammy award-winning producer Guy Massey and featuring back vocals by Paul Simpson of The Wild Swans, the track was recorded at Elevator Studios in Liverpool.
With all the hallmarks of an enduring pop anthem, this impeccably produced, adrenalin-fuelled song captures the essence of Candy Opera’s infectious energy and celebrates life with a genuine wonder-lust, whilst delivering the excitement of their live performances.
Following the overdue release of two archival sets - '45 Revolutions Per
Minute' and 'Rarities' (released in 2018 by Firestation Records., quickly selling out of their first runs) - their new album 'The Patron Saint of Heartache' picks up where the band left off, with 14 fresh songs ready for discovery of a sound as timeless as any Candy Opera output.
Candy Opera were formed in Liverpool in 1982 and went through various incarnations before calling it a day in 1992. By 1985, the band had played alongside the likes of The Pogues, The Go-Betweens and The Redskins, as well as appearing on Granada TV.
The band's current line-up is drawn from all eras of the band’s existence and features Brian Chin Smithers (guitar, vocals), Alan Currie (drums), Frank Mahon (bass), Paul Malone (vocals, guitar), Ken Moss (guitar) and Gary O'Donnell (keyboards, vocals, percussion).
This new LP also features a swathe of friends and contemporaries, including Paul Simpson (The Wild Swans) and Phil Jones (Afraid of Mice). The result is an exquisite piece of pop craftsmanship that brings their songs into the light. This is a labour of love born of experience, but retaining the sense of wonder that brought the band together in the first place.

Stevie Nicks’ solo catalog has sold over 103,000 albums in 2019, including 90,000 in physical alone.

The power of her classic legendary hits endures to this day—nearly 2.7 MILLION on demand streams per week, over 150 MILLION total in 2019, and continued radio presence— over 1,700 plays per week / over 8 MILLION audience per week and a staggering nearly 450 MILLION in audience for 2019!

Filmed and recorded in Indianapolis and Pittsburgh in 2017 during the 67 city sold out tour, 24K Gold Live in Concert features her solo hits “Stop Dragging My Heart Around, “Stand Back”, & “Edge Of Seventeen”, as well as Fleetwood Mac’s “Rhiannon” & “Gypsy”.

It also includes the first ever live recording of “Crying In The Night”, and other live rarities.

Stevie Nicks’ solo catalog has sold over 103,000 albums in 2019, including 90,000 in physical alone.

The power of her classic legendary hits endures to this day—nearly 2.7 MILLION on demand streams per week, over 150 MILLION total in 2019, and continued radio presence— over 1,700 plays per week / over 8 MILLION audience per week and a staggering nearly 450 MILLION in audience for 2019!

Filmed and recorded in Indianapolis and Pittsburgh in 2017 during the 67 city sold out tour, 24K Gold Live in Concert features her solo hits “Stop Dragging My Heart Around, “Stand Back”, & “Edge Of Seventeen”, as well as Fleetwood Mac’s “Rhiannon” & “Gypsy”.

It also includes the first ever live recording of “Crying In The Night”, and other live rarities.

Just when America received a Grammy Award for Best New Artist in
1973, they released their second album Homecoming to great critical and popular acclaim. The single “Ventura Highway” preceded the album and hit a Top Ten status. The album followed suit and stormed the Billboard Top Ten. Polishing their sound, they built further on the Folk Pop formula they invented on their debut America a year earlier. Dewey Bunnell, Dan Peek and Gerry Beckley delivered a compelling and top quality set of songs, by many regarded as their best work..

Available as a limited edition of 1500 individually numbered copies on
flaming gold coloured vinyl.

• 180 GRAM AUDIOPHILE VINYL
• TRIFOLD SLEEVE, FOLD OUT SLEEVE
• LIMITED EDITION OF 1500 INDIVIDUALLY NUMBERED COPIES ON FLAMING GOLD COLOURED VINYL

ACCEPT ARE BACK! The German kingpins of heavy metal will release their new, eagerly-awaited studio album via Nu- clear Blast on January 15th 2021. The ingenious title of the masterpiece is “Too Mean To Die”.
Speaking of heavy metal kingpins, when ACCEPT first launched at the end of the 70s, the metal genre didn’t even exist - at first the band could only be labelled with the (quality) seal “crazy loud and crazy wild”. Today we know that this was (and is) metal par excellence. And we also know that ACCEPT opened the door to thrash metal, inspiring giants such as Metallica. Guitarist Kirk Hammett recently stated in the German magazine “Gitarre & Bass”: “Wolf Hoffmann has a huge influence on me.“
ACCEPT, who once had their origins in the city of Solingen, a city of sound, have been a worldwide music phenomenon for more than 40 years. They still impress with razor-sharp guitar licks and a steel-hard sound. The band created all-time metal classics like “Balls To The Wall”, “Metal Heart” and many more.
Countless world tours and headline slots at the biggest, cutting-edge festivals cemented the band’s reputation as one of the best, hottest and loudest live acts ever. In addition, the band has sold millions of records, has achieved gold status in the USA, top 10 chart positions worldwide and a number 1 album (Germany, Finland) for “Blind Rage” (2014).
Now with “Too Mean To Die” their 16th studio album is in the starting blocks - it is the fifth album that US vocalist and front man Mark Tornillo has put his incomparable vocal stamp on.Recorded in the world music capital of Nashville (USA), ACCEPT’s music was once again produced by British master producer Andy Sneap, who is responsible for the mix. Sneap, who works for Judas Priest and Megadeth among others, has also been responsible for all ACCEPT productions since 2010.
Special circumstances often lead to very special albums. This is certainly true for “Too Mean To Die”, which of course alludes to the Corona period, although in a different way than one might assume. Hoffmann says: “Its to be expected that many musicians will address the Corona situation in their songs. There will certainly be slogans for cohesion, through which positive vibes should be spread, which is also good. But we have decided to not let ourselves be influenced by it. The fans will get a hard, direct and uncompromising metal album, but of course accompanied with a wink: We are too mean to die! Weeds do not go away! ACCEPT do not let themselves get down!”
Wolf isn’t wrong - the title track is a classic Accept cracker: dynamic and unwavering, turned up to eleven!
Zombie Apocalypse’, also relentless and hard, strikes the same note in the band’s signature style.
The first single - which will be released on October 2nd 2020 together with a remarkable video - is different. Titled ‘The Undertaker’, its a terrific midtempo number with great vocals and a built-in character that chugs along – certain to deliver some mermorable live moments! According to Wolf Hoffmann its one of the most catchy, pleasing pieces of the album.
New to the band, and thus to be heard for the first time on an ACCEPT album, is Philip Shouse (Gene Simmons Band, among others). The US guitarist fights hot duels with Hoffmann, while Uwe Lulis makes the guitar trio perfect and pro- vides the right rhythm. “Phil was part of our orchestra project and was also completely convincing live. We recognised his great talent immediately and simply didn’t let him go,” explains Hoffmann.
Just how varied the ACCEPT guitar trio performs on the new album is proven by one of the secret highlights: ‘The Best Is Yet To Come’ – a beguiling ballad in which Mark Tornillo is at his best. The metal world knows that Mark can scream like no other, but here it shows once again that the frontman can also sing magnificently. “Mark sang this, for us rather unusual song stunningly well. The fantastic thing about Mark is that he not only masters the typical metal screams, but can also sing melodically and beautifully. He proves this impressively in this song”, chief guitarist Hoffmann raves.
In addition, ACCEPT have strengthened their team even further with newcomers Martin Motnik (bass) and Philip Shouse (guitar), thus forming an unbeatable team together with “Drum God” Christopher Williams and “Rhythm Mas- ter” Uwe Lulis.
There’s no doubt that with “Too Mean To Die” Accept are once again playing at the top of the Champions League of the genre. Wolf Hoffmann & Co. present the (music) world eleven masterpieces at the beginning of 2021 - eleven songs for eternity!

In 1978 Pharoah Sanders went into the studio with pianist, Ed Kelly, who was an important figure in the local San Francisco and Oakland jazz scene. The two of them recorded six tracks which ranged from covers of standards, through soul jazz through to two real gems. The album was originally released as Ed Kelly and Friend due to Pharoah being contracted to Arista Records at the time. Indeed, as you can see, the cover shows Kelly playing next to Pharoah’s hat, shoes and Selmer tenor saxophone.

Rainbow Song, a Kelly composition, opens matters in a manner far removed from Pharoah’s work on his Impulse albums (although there had been a dramatic change of course when he signed with Arista and recorded). This is firmly in Grover Washington Junior territory with a liberal sprinkling of oh so tasteful strings. The Master’s sound is full and mighty as ever.

With the radio track out of the way it is business as hoped for and Newborn is a Sanders composition that burns with intensity. The power of his solo is as good as anything he has produced and he runs over the full span of the tenor’s range and onwards into territory lesser known or explored by 99% of sax players.

Sam Cooke’s You Send Me is treated with reverence and respect, with Pharoah delivering a sensitive and heartfelt rendition and ending with some extraordinary phonics, which we will meet again on later albums. Kelly’s accompaniment complements Sander’s playing before he receives his own space for a shimmering yet restrained solo which discloses what this non-pianist assumes to be an agile right hand.

Answer Me My Love is an early 50’s ballad with a fascinating back story. On its initial release in post-war Britain, covers of this fine melody stirred sufficient controversy for the song to be banned by the BBC. What led to it being barred from broadcast on the Light Programme and treated like Anarchy For The UK, Wet Dream and Give Ireland Back To The Irish? I can reveal that the reason for this draconian action was that the original version was entitled ‘Answer Me, My Lord’. In the olden days, it seems that a direct appeal to God was considered to be blasphemous- especially if set in a secular or selfish. Further research indicates that Nat King Cole made the most celebrated recording and that Bob Dylan used to sing it live in the 1990’s, presumably during his overtly Christian phase. Anyway, it is a grand tune.

Pharoah went on to record at least three studio versions of his great anthem You’ve Got To Have Freedom but the one here is the earliest incarnation that I am aware of. It is also the most restrained treatment of the theme, although Pharoah’s solo shows his ability to play with fire and power over the entire range of the horn. There’s plenty of space for Kelly’s piano too and he provides an elegant setting for Sanders’ exploratory work.

On her third album Welsh Music Prize winner Georgia Ruth returns to her roots. Having moved back to her native Aberystwyth ‘Mai’ was recorded in the town’s Grade-II listed Joseph Parry Hall over the course of one week in Spring 2019. Named after the renowned composer and professor, the room was used as a venue for chamber concerts throughout the twentieth century and offered musicians a view of the sun setting over the castle as they worked.

But despite this setting Mai (meaning May) is an intimate collection of songs written from within the depths of a house during stolen moments. At its heart sits a beautiful and simple setting of Eifion Wyn’s poem – ‘Gwn ei ddyfod, fis y Mel’ (I know it’s coming, month-of-honey).
Mai is a meditation on finding hope and renewal in the seasons, in a world where the certainty of Spring feels increasingly fragile.

The album was produced with Iwan Morgan (Meilyr Jones, Cate Le Bon, Richard James) who also engineered mixed and mastered. Additional parts were recorded at his studio in Liverpool. With improvised strings, pedal steel and saxophone sitting alongside harp, the album presents a sound which is both lush and sparse in turn.

Joe Cocker Live is a superb live album by Joe Cocker, released in 1990. It was recorded on October 5th, 1989 at Memorial Auditorium in Lowell, Massachusetts with the exception of the last two tracks which were recorded in the studio.

The album features tracks by Dave Mason (“Feelin’ Alright”), Randy Newman (“Guilty”, “You Can Leave Your Hat On”), The Beatles (“With A Little Help From My Friends”), and the Dennis Wilson / Billy Preston penned hit “You Are So Beautiful”.

The album went platinum in Austria, Germany and Switzerland, and achieved gold status in France. Available as a limited edition of 2500 individually numbered copies on transparent red vinyl.

• 180 GRAM AUDIOPHILE VINYL
• GATEFOLD SLEEVE
• LIVE ALBUM WITH 2 STUDIO TRACKS
• LIMITED EDITION OF 2500 INDIVIDUALLY NUMBERED COPIES ON TRANSPARENT RED COLOURED VINYL

Following the November 20th 2020 release on CD and digital, Fogerty’s Factory is now being made available on vinyl.
This album is a ‘time capsule’ of the Fogerty’s Factory sessions that John Fogerty and Family have been sharing on YouTube and with various media during lockdown.
All tracks were recorded since the beginning of March 2020, and feature John along with his children, Shane, Tyler and Kelsy Fogerty. Shane and Tyler together are BMG frontline signing Hearty Har.
Seven of the tracks have never been available commercially before - the other 5 have only been made available digitally as part of the Fogerty’s Factory EP released in May 2020.

Second album release on Columbia Records from US hip hop/drill/rapper/singer/songwriter/producer. A 16 track double LP set on black vinyl. Collaborators include Juice WRLD and Lil' Baby. Specialist promo/marketing activity across all media outlets. The album reached #2 in the US Billboard charts when released earlier this year.

Growing Bin say sayonara to summer with these bittersweet Balearic gems from Japan’s Nuback. Emotional pop and daydream dub to make you feel younger than yesterday. While the Discogs hipsters hastily hunt down the last, lost street soul OGs, Growing Bin choose instead to indulge in a little Nuback swing. Enlisting the talents of Tokyo’s Dai Nakamura, Hamburg’s home for sensitive sounds provide a much needed vinyl release for the misty-eyed ‘When The Party Is Over’ and ‘Heartbeat Summer’. Largely operating through his own Too Young Records, Nuback trades in textured soul, sympathetic synthesis and forlorn funk - a master at making you move while breaking your heart. Back in 2013, he waved ‘Goodbye To Summer, Again’, giving a digital release to these two tracks, which lurked a little low for the radar until Dai and Basso met somewhere beyond the algorithm, soon bringing this release to bloom. Opening with a fanfare of featherlight pads and full bodied bass, ‘When The Party Is Over’ is pure sonic seduction, holding both Balearic boogie and City Pop in a tender embrace. Delicate guitar and sparkling sequences tug the heartstrings with nostalgic beauty, and Dai’s smooth vocals are made to make you swoon. Emotional pop at its finest folks. On the B-side, ‘Heartbeat Summer’ drops the tempo and soaks up the sun, losing its cares in a haze of loved up dub. As soulful keys sink into spring reverb and steam kettle synths ride a rolling bassline, this downbeat delight lays back in the long grass, making shapes from the clouds and sipping a cool koshu. For summer lovers everywhere; A facemask ruins a first kiss, so start your romance right with Nuback.

• 180 GRAM AUDIOPHILE VINYL
• INCLUDES INSERT
• FEATURING THE HIT SINGLES “TRUE COLORS”,
“CHANGE OF HEART” & “WHAT’S GOING ON”
• 2-TIME GRAMMY NOMINATED ALBUM
• GUEST APPEARANCES BY BILLY JOEL, RICK DERRINGER, THE BANGLES, AIMEE MANN, NILE RODGERS, AND MANY MORE
• SECRET INSCRIPTIONS IN RUN-OUT GROOVE
• BLACK VINYL

Cyndi Lauper’s second studio album True Colors was a successful one, earning her two nominations at the 29th Annual Grammy Awards and a number 4 position in the Billboard 200 chart. With this release Lauper wanted to prove that she was no longer interested in being just an “icon”. Her intention was to create something, that could have proved her artistic values. And that’s what True Colors did for her career. It spawned several successful singles, like “True Colors”, “Change Of Heart”, and “What’s Going On”. The album has been certified double platinum in the United States and sold 7 million copies worldwide.

Casper Clausen, frontman of Efterklang and adjacent project Liima, has today announced details of his first ever solo record. ‘Better Way’ will be released on January 9th via City Slang and today he shares a first taste with the juddering, krautrock-tinged, 9-minute opening jam “Used To Think”.

“Used to Think” was one of the first songs I wrote for “Better Way” a couple of years ago” Clausen comments. “I had a run of some small shows around Portugal testing the new songs I was working on at the time, and this one became one of my favourites, I really like the energy of it. It was also the song that made me reach out to the producer Sonic Boom. He ended up mixing / co-producing the entire album. There is some inspiration from his band Spacemen 3 luring around in there and he lives in Sintra, very close to Lisbon where I’ve been the past couple of years, so it all made sense.”

'Available exclusively on Disney+ beginning Dec. 25, 2020, Disney and Pixar’s feature film “Soul” introduces Joe Gardner, a middle-school band teacher with a serious passion for jazz music. The story is particularly relatable to the artists behind it. For Jamie Foxx, who lends his voice to Joe, it begins with jazz. “Like Joe, I hear music in everything,” said Foxx. “When you’re a jazz artist, man, you talk a little different: ‘Hey, cat!’ I got a chance to go to a few jazz fests and meet Herbie Hancock, Chick Correa—hang out with those guys. They have a way of talking, a way of dressing—everything funnels toward their music, toward the jazz."

Contents:
Gangland Landlord CD
GL Styrofoam cup
Custom GLLL pendant with chain
GLLL Bandana
GLLL Poetry magnets (each has their own mozzy slang on it)

*repress*

Justin Cudmore returns to the Phonica White shelves with four new tracks, and his long-awaited first full EP since 2017's "Forget It" for The Bunker New York. With the dancefloor seeming far outside our reach right now, 'Train Dance' transports us back to a simpler time lost in the mix.

Across the disc, Cudmore reflects on the sounds and scenes closest to his heart and record bag, flexing his knack for crafting catchy hooks and the kind of ear-worm melodies that helped cement his status as one of house & techno's fast-rising stars. A1 "Train Dance" is his ode to the urban symphony of train cars whirling past his apartment in Brooklyn, with eight minutes of swingy, jacking house built for a sunny afternoon set across the pond at Panorama Bar.

"Club Fetish" shifts to a more introspective, heads-down vibe crafted instead with a dark and sweaty basement in mind. A touch of psych à la classic John Tejada, Cudmore's subtle, squelchy synths rub shoulders with cerebral drums and floating basslines.

The B-side nods to Cudmore's acclaimed acid sound for two deep slow rollers. "Expectation Game" and its no-nonsense 303s chug through a couple of understated breakdowns, while "Realize" was written with a Detroit outdoor patio in mind, with a sleazy acid bassline and cut up vocal groans sounding like Cudmore riffing on a late-night Moodymann jam.

Recorded during a productive time of new beginnings and positive headspace, ‘Train Dance’ comes out during a strange and unclear present for Cudmore and many of his contemporaries in the scene. However given it all, Justin remains excited to share new music and sounds, and hopes to return to the dance floor with everyone again as soon as safely possible.

Artwork as always is supplied by the talented Pedro Carvalho de Almeida

Once upon a time “Miss Onion” made her way to Zanzibar, in search of real traditional African music.
Luckily, she got in touch with an Italian collective of people called Uhuru Republic, who were traveling throughout Kenya and Tanzania and collaborating with many local musicians, in studios and on stage.
One evening they were recording the Qanun, the main instrument in the Swahili culture, and Miss Onion participated the whole intensive session of music and Konyagi (the local most famous super alcoholic drink). She fell in love immediately with the Afro-Bass gem that was born, and decided to bring it back to Europe. Like this Miss Onion turned this particular piece into a sweet memory from a splendid trip to the heart of Africa.
We immediately shared Miss Onion’s love for this real tribal music experience called “Konyagi a Gogo”, fusing African instruments with electronic sounds and orchestral elements.
For the remix we put the stems in the expert hands of Rafael Aragon who greatly managed to give it an “even more clubbing” spin.
The result is a tasty 7” inches called “Veggie Tales Vol. 3”!!
We’ll hope you enjoy as much as we did.
Buon appetito!

Heavyweight LP Picture Disc in a Deluxe PVC bag with flap.

The album opens with an abandoned soundtrack to a recent Hollywood movie, leading into an expansive score for Dutch National Ballet which premiered at the re-opening of the Stedilijk Museum Amsterdam in front of Queen Beatrix, with synths and live strings offering a sinuous melancholic path.

Side Two explores a deep sense of intimacy and reverberant space. Baltik Kitlab introduces a throbbing variation on chamber techno, with soft shuffling rhythms. The album concludes with a contemplative, cloistered and emotional piano piece, Dead Letter Office, with a strong emotional pull.

It’s music that is tender, elegant and heartfelt. The Signal of a Signal of a Signal is a mature work of contemporary electronica from an artist who has been re-inventing himself for nearly the last thirty years.

The Signal of a Signal of a Signal was originally released in an extremely limited CD box set on Touched Music in December 2019. It was accompanied by new albums from FSOL, Locust, Anders Llar and others. The box set sold out in 10 minutes and raised more than £10,000 for Macmillan Cancer Support in the UK. Interest in the album continued and so here is a special edition on heavyweight vinyl in deluxe PVC bag with flap, with all new artwork. It’s an exceptionally personal and fragile release, woven in with the deaths of his entire family to cancer. The album is both a rhetoric of mourning and a celebration of music to empower.

First Word Records are extremely proud to welcome aboard Allysha Joy and her first EP

for the label, 'Light It Again'.

Well versed in poetry and performance, Allysha Joy's potent lyricism, unique musicianship and killer vocals have garnered legions of attentive fans the world over. She's an integral member of the Melbourne soul jazz scene, known as part of the acclaimed 30/70 Collective and for her own equally revered solo work.

'Light It Again' is a 4-part expedition across a variety of grooves and deep lyricism that marks a defiant statement of intimacy and hope. Produced and engineered by twice Grammy nominated artist Clever Austin, the EP features accompaniment from an all-star set of Melbourne artists; Horatio Luna, Ziggy Zeitgeist, Danika Smith and Josh Kelly. This EP marks a new sound for the young artist, transmitting her honest and raw expression through the signature crunch and sonic landscape of Clever Austin.

Allysha is already well established across Europe, performing on the live circuit alongside the likes of Sampa the Great, Matthew Halsall, Ezra Collective, Bradley Zero and Children of Zeus, as well as currently hosting two regular radio shows, on Worldwide FM and Reform Radio in Manchester respectively.

Her 2018 debut album 'Acadie : Raw' on Gondwana Records won 'Best Soul Album' at the Music Victoria Awards, was nominated for a Worldwide Award, and featured in many an end-of-year list, including Bandcamp's Top Soul Albums, whilst she's also featured on releases on UK labels such as Rhythm Section, Total Refreshment Centre and now an EP for First Word, 'Light It Again'.

The EP touches on love, shame, mental health, grief & spirituality. 'Watercolours' sets off on a mid-tempo neo-soul jazz tip. Allysha says "I wrote this in the hope that maybe we could all feel the beauty that is present in the every day - in nature, in art, in each one of us mirroring each other so intrinsically. Then maybe we'd all start to live out a message of love."

'Better' follows on an uptempo vibe influenced musically by The Senegambian Jazz Band, who Allysha would watch regularly at Bar Oussou in Melbourne. Lyrically the song explores the external and internal struggles that occur trying to create a more inclusive and compassionate world. "It's about catching myself pointing the finger outwards to challenge social / political systems and certain individuals, then coming to the realisation that I must turn that finger back on myself to ask, "how can I do better, how can I know better?"

Lead track 'Light It Again' begins with Allysha's keys gliding a steppa-like rhythm - head-snap snares and punchy bass accompany ethereal harmonies and delicate vibes on an ever-evolving groove before switching entirely mid-track. This time the subject matter is mental health and "the cycle of addiction and pain, the coping mechanisms that hold us back from reaching our true potential".

The EP closes out with the beautiful 'Mardi'; deep Rhodes, sax and synths build ahead of deliciously slushy percussion and jilted drums. Named for her grandmother, 'Mardi' is a tribute to the spiritual connection they shared before her passing. Allysha writes, "it's about the connective forces of the matriarchal lineage and the drive to step into my own sense of self, in all the beauty and pain which that entails".

Allysha's lyrics weave together a heartfelt mix of love, power, desire, wonder, anger, faith and hope for change. An artist that presents a palette of intricate grace and optimism, whilst unafraid of adding uncomfortable truths. Allysha is an incredibly powerful live performer; her husky vocals sonically synced with her formidable Fender Rhodes playing, whilst her influences are a solid base of jazz, hip hop and R&B; all glazed with the unique special sauce the Melbourne soul scene has become known for globally. A gloriously meditative, raw soul, we are delighted to be able to share her music with you.

'Light It Again' is released on vinyl & digital worldwide, November 20th 2020.

Stephan Bazbaz heads to LOCUS to deliver his Voyage EP, backed by a remix Casey Spillman.

An artist at the heart of Tel Aviv’s blossoming house and techno scene, Stephan Bazbaz continues to showcase his skills as one of the city’s leading lights within electronic music. With releases and remixes via the likes of Djebali, hedZup and INFUSE in 2020 alone, he now closes out a fruitful twelve months with an impressive label debut via FUSE imprint LOCUS to deliver three fresh cuts in the form of his ‘Voyage EP’ – whilst INFUSE regular and LOCUS alumni Casey Spillman makes a swift return to step up on remix duties.

A low-slung and moody effort from the off, opening cut ‘300’ combines swinging percussion and icy hats whilst escalating synths and rumbling sub-bass take hold and transport the production firmly into the peak hours – unsurprisingly featuring as a stand-out track within Enzo’s sets over the past 12 months. Next up, ‘Key To Success’ offers up a groove-heavy roller, with tracky drums guiding off-kilter samples and rich piano flourishes throughout, whilst Casey Spillman’s interpretation ups the energy levels as he works punchy kicks, warping synths and menacing low-end tones to turn in a bustling remix. To close, ‘The Life’ showcases yet another side of Bazbaz’s vast production skills, opting for hazy synths and dreamy chords to round out proceedings in impressive fashion.

Mancher könnte lästern, für eine Hit Collection von Stevie B. bräuchte man nur eine Single, und zwar eine einseitige, aber das ist ja gar nicht wahr. Zugegeben, weltbekannt wurde er mit - Because I love you' (und noch schräger sangen nur Johnny O. oder Mr. T), aber er hatte auch noch andere Hits. Und die sind alle mit drauf auf dieser feinen Sammler-Vinyl von Stevie B.s Hit Collection!!!!

Misha Sultan is a professional musician multi-instumentalist and sound engineer with a wide background. He started making music over 20 years ago with his brother and neighbors in the heart of Siberia. Misha’s hometown Novosibirsk is located between Europe and Asia where lots of his inspiration came from.

«The Red Fern Road» is a trip for years and for less than an hour at the same time. While listening to the album you’re going into the void of time and place. But the world that opens up to you when you listen to the music is such a beautiful universe that you want to stay there forever.

Type “Was Joan of Arc” into Google and the suggested endings for this statement give you an accurate gauge of her place in pop culture: “Catholic” / “a nun” / “canonised” / “a prophet” / “French” / “a witch” and so on. Related questions to “What were Joan of Arc’s last words” on the info-sharing site Quora include “Was Joan of Arc bisexual” and “Was Joan of Arc simply crazy?” Everyone seems to agree this person was burned at the stake in 1431, but beyond that, Joan’s narrative is an enigma. It is this lack of definition that the production duo Pillow Queen harnessed for their second release, Burn Me Up. Inverting the image of the devout Christian girl, the Joan who stands as this record’s heroine was a heretic, a transvestite, most definitely a dyke and a hot femme-top at that.

Opening up the A-side, the title track is a call— a battle cry, but also a summoning. In a time of need one calls upon their patrons and elders from history; a DJ beckons and gathers dancers to the floor; prayer and sweat go hand and hand. A traditional Irish bodhrán drum beats out the first rhythms, joined by a steamy vocal sample that gets caught, chopped, and soon “Burns Me Up” is pumping along with organ chords and distorted keys. Pivoting away from the 4/4 format, “Submission” is a textured, downtempo slow-burner, with close-mic’d vocals from Vani-T and the D. Tiffany’s deft drum programming. When the choral pads come in, there’s an echo of the 1990s German worldbeat project Enigma, with its Gregorian chants and flutes laid on top of lounge beats—here, though, the chorus is stripped of kitsch, only driving the track deeper into a mood.

If Burn Me Up’s sequence of tracks is read as a kind of narrative, they seem to tell the story of Joan’s last moments. “Burn Me Up” is, frankly, heat—aggressive, the high-end crackles and the bass puts a pyre under one’s feet. “Submission” is like an exhale, a giving-in to death’s grip; there is, along with the sensuous tread, a melancholy. It only makes sense that one flips the record to “Resurrection”, which rolls in a tremolo’d wail of pitched vocals for 30 seconds before a kick drum begins the 141-BPM march. The percussion is central here, as the track shifts between polyrhythms like a range of resuscitations, varied heartbeats. “Salvation” closes the record, again dialling back the tempo to the deep nod of dub. To no surprise, the scene of redemption here is not one of sunlit cherubs—the church bell sample tolls one strike every few measures of bass-throb and shadow, while Vani-T intones, “Then he lay down and died”. Death can be salvation to some; living as many selves, living in contradiction, is a saving grace to many more.

""Dad! Look, we can see the moon through the window."

Record made on Earth. All children, young and old, you will hear my heart here without a stethoscope. This record is "home-made with a window open to the world". Inspired by my family and friends, these music tracks are dedicated to them!" The Architect

The Architect takes us on a trip through the world and styles: Hip Hop, Jazz, Electro, Soul, Funk... A true vinyl lover and real digger, turntables have always been his favorite playground. Hyperactive beatmaker, he is also engaged with different side projects such as L’Entourloop and Bloc.

The success of his first EP "Foundations" released in 2013, including several hits such as "Les Pensées" (8M views) or "Dreader Than Dread (ft. Skarra Mucci & L'Entourloop)" (15M views), led him to do more 200 shows around the world and accumulate more than 35M of streams on the platforms.

Seven years later, The Architect finally returns with a new single "Darling", the first single from his long-awaited new album entitled “Une plage sur la lune” to be released on June 12th, 2020. A "home-made album with a window open to the world" as he describes it himself.

Let’s go out! A suggestion that might sound like an absurdity in current times, but feels like the true promise of Bella Boo’s debut EP on Running Back. The Studio Barnhus affiliate refines and elevates her bright, genial and dissenting take on deep house into something greater than its parts.
What was supposed to be an album with features and collaborations was turned into an introspective solo-practice by Covid-19 and subsequently into this rich 8-track-EP. A writer’s block and the pitfalls of the aforementioned deep house genre were overcome with the help of Axel Boman’s knowledge of football philosophy and a 140bpm tempo advice. So, everything fell in its right place.
„Let’s Go Out“ is like the gateway into a wonderful coherent musical universe and an entertaining listening experience. Imaginative and sparkling, tender-hearted as well as bouncing when it needs to be. Bella’s EP is as much of a tribute to the UK scene that inspired her over the years as it’s entirely her own and distinctive thing. Like a perfect mixtape, it ebbs and flows, and once you reached its finish, it makes you want to start again – or to go out.


Short version: Bella Boo’s bright and genial debut EP on Running Back. Eight tender-hearted, imaginative and bouncing tracks that are as much of a tribute to the UK Scene that inspired her over the years, as they are the gateway into a wonderful coherent musical universe that is Bella’s own entirely.

"I have been in love with the Detroit sound of techno since forever, so when I discovered Subradeon, I was immediately struck by the soul and energy of their music. I have been lucky enough to get to know Giuseppe and Salvatore over the last year and so it was always a dream for me to have them release a record together on Sous. Now this is happening, I couldn't be more excited. They have made three spectacularly good tracks that I know will last forever in my heart, and hopefully in yours too" opens Anja.
Sous has been drip feeding us top line releases all year long, despite the world coming to a standstill, Anja believes that continuing to release music is important to keep spirits high. She has been showcasing some of the newer talent from around the globe alongside some household names including Marcus Suckut, Fort Romeau and Mella Dee to the last release from Italian duo Reform.
October brings Subradeon. Hailed as the new school of the techno scene, they might have grown up in the Neapolitan underground scene, but their sound has become a melting pot of influences from their current home town of Berlin and the duo's self- confessed spiritual home of Detroit.
Giuseppe Salone and Salvatore Lannotta deliver their debut release 'Breaking Down Borders' on Sous, compromising of their characteristic raw soul, profound meaning and energetic purpose. This package includes a remix from Techno pioneer Stephen Brown (Djax Records, Transmat, Music Man).

“We have always been very fortunate to meet and know many talented producers. In recent years, we have been exploring those relationships with different remixes and collaborations, and every time something exciting came out. That’s why we started our Synchronicity project. To challenge ourselves making inspiring, fun and beautiful music.‘Synchronicity’ means "the simultaneous occurrence of events which appear significantly related but have no discernible causal connection. This very well describes how our path led to the place we are now – somewhere between the club and indie scenes.” – WhoMadeWho

KOMPAKT welcomes back Copenhagen’s WhoMadeWho. Tomas Barfod’s penchant for electronic music poetically juxtaposed with Tomas Høffding and Jeppe Kjellberg’s respective backgrounds in rock and jazz, gives their music an electrifying combination of sounds, merging a variety of influences to produce a unique sonic fingerprint that is emotive, irresistible and immensely satisfying.

Though we both have yet to strike a note together since the release of their 2012 full length “Brighter” (KOM 254), WhoMadeWho have been remarkably productive. With two full lengths, a DJ mix for Watergate’s series and releasing two of 2019’s most played out club tracks together with Rampa (Innervisions) and Artbat (Watergate Records), the trio have found themselves diving more and more into the world of electronic music, tapping into their goldmine of connections within the scene to spearhead an array of collaborations.

Synchronicity is all about ‘meaningful coincidences’ – bringing interpretation to bear on connections that have no actual causal relationship. It’s a canny concept to pin onto Copenhagen trio WhoMadeWho’s latest album, which sees them return to Kompakt for the first time since 2012’s Brighter.

This re-established connection helps us to understand the synchronicity at play, the way that the WhoMadeWho core ave built an album around collaboration with friends and peers, much as Kompakt is all about cross-connections and family. On Synchronicity, WhoMadeWho call on friends old and new – Michael Mayer, Echonomist, Adana Twins, Alex Boman, Robag Wruhme, Frank Wiedemann, Sainte Vie, Mano Le Tough, Marc Piñol, Rebolledo, and Perel is the cast list; WhoMadeWho direct the material, shaping it into one lovingly flowing gem of dance-pop glory.

There’s something particularly generous about hearing an album as all-inclusive and open-hearted as Synchronicity in the midst of the profound social and cultural shifts we’re currently experiencing. While some songs on Synchronicity were recorded together, in real time, such as the collaborations with Adana Twins and Rebolledo, most of them have taken place via long distance, thanks to the pandemic lockdown. But you don’t need to know who was where to understand either the magnesium-flare melancholy of “Sooner”, recorded with Piñol, which has you holding your breath with the gentle thrill of the song’s lush melody, or the stomping strut of the following Adana Twins collaboration, “Shadow Of Doubt”.

Elsewhere, there’s the stentorian robot voice at the heart of “Hamstring”, where they’re joined by Michael Mayer; the lustrous headsoak of “Twenty Tears”, a tender intervention by Rebolledo; the strip-light, slow-motion disco strut of “Cecil”, produced alongside Echonomist; or the glittering, arpeggio dreamwork that Perel helps sculpt into shape on “Der Abend birgt keine Ruh.”… Really, there’s so much to celebrate here, a panoply of pleasures. From pop revelations to dancefloor delirium to slow-burning brooders, Synchronicity is just that; a space for the joys of the unexpected to collide, and to be given meaning by their coincidental co-existence in WhoMadeWho’s beautiful world.

"Wir hatten immer schon das Glück, viele talentierte Produzenten kennenzulernen. In den letzten Jahren haben wir diese Beziehungen durch verschiedene Remixe und Kollaborationen vertieft und jedes Mal kam etwas Aufregendes dabei heraus. Aus diesem Grund haben wir unser Synchronicity-Projekt gestartet: um uns selbst herauszufordern inspirierte, lustige und schöne Musik zu machen. “Synchronizität” bedeutet das gleichzeitige Auftreten von Ereignissen, die scheinbar in einem signifikanten Zusammenhang stehen, aber keinen erkennbaren kausalen Zusammenhang haben. Das beschreibt sehr gut, wie unser Weg zu dem Ort geführt hat, an dem wir jetzt sind - irgendwo zwischen der Club- und der Indie-Szene". – WhoMadeWho

KOMPAKT freut sich über Rückkehr der Kopenhagener Band WhoMadeWho. Tomas Barfods Vorliebe für elektronische Musik im poetischen Kontrast zu Tomas Høffding und Jeppe Kjellbergs jeweiligem Hintergrund im Rock und Jazz macht ihre Musik zu einem elektrisierenden Konglomerat, in das verschiedene Einflüsse zu einem einzigartigen klanglichen Fingerabdruck verschmelzen: gefühlvoll, unwiderstehlich und immens befriedigend.

Obwohl wir seit der Veröffentlichung von "Brighter" (KOM 254) in 2012 keine gemeinsamen Dinger gedreht haben, waren WhoMadeWho in der Zwischenzeit bemerkenswert produktiv. Mit zwei Full-Length-Alben, einem DJ-Mix für die Watergate-Reihe und der Veröffentlichung von zwei der meistgespielten Clubtracks aus dem Jahr 2019 zusammen mit Rampa (Innervisions) und Artbat (Watergate Records), taucht das Trio mehr und mehr in die Welt der elektronischen Musik ein. Für ihre Kollaborationen greifen WhoMadeWho immer wieder auf ihre Goldgrube an Bekanntschaften innerhalb der Szene zurück.

Bei “Synchronicity” geht es um "sinnvolle Zufälle" - also um die Interpretation von Verbindungen, die keinen tatsächlichen Kausalzusammenhang haben. Es ist ein ausgeklügeltes Konzept, das dem neuesten Album des Kopenhagener Trios WhoMadeWho anheftet: Diese wieder hergestellte Verbindung hilft uns, die Synchronizität im Spiel zu verstehen; die Art und Weise, wie WhoMadeWho ein Album um die Zusammenarbeit mit Freunden und Gleichgesinnten herum aufgebaut hat: schließlich geht es auch bei Kompakt um Querverbindungen und Familie. Auf Synchronicity richten sich WhoMadeWho an alte und neue Freunde: Michael Mayer, Echonomist, Adana Twins, Axel Boman, Robag Wruhme, Frank Wiedemann, Terr, Sainte Vie, Mano Le Tough, Marc Piñol, Rebolledo und Perel stehen auf der Liste. Das Trio führt Regie und sorgt für den Feinschliff. Das Ergebnis: ein echtes Juwel aus Dance, Pop und Glorie.

Inmitten der tiefgreifenden sozialen und kulturellen Veränderungen, die wir derzeit erleben, ist es etwas Besonderes, ein Album zu hören, das so offenherzig ist wie “Synchronicity”. Zwar wurden einige Songs gemeinsam und in Echtzeit aufgenommen – etwa die Kollaboration mit den Adana Twins und Rebolledo – die meisten Sessions fanden aufgrund der Pandemie jedoch über größere Entfernungen statt. Letztlich muss man aber gar nicht wissen wer wo war, um die Melancholie von "Sooner" mit Marc Piñol zu verstehen und im sanften melodischen Rausch des Liedes den Atem anzuhalten. Auch die eher brachiale Energie der darauf folgenden Adana-Twins-Kollaboration , "Shadow Of Doubt" vermittelt sich eingehend über die soziale Distanz hinweg.

An anderer Stelle ertönt die schallende Roboterstimme im Herzen von "Hamstring", wo sich Michael Mayer zu ihnen gesellt; die schimmernden "Twenty Tears", einer zärtlichen Intervention von Rebolledo; der Zeitlupen- Disco-Nummer "Cecil", die zusammen mit Echonomist produziert wurde; oder der glitzernde Arpeggio-Traum, den Perel in "Der Abend birgt keine Ruh" in Form bringt.. Ja, es gibt tatsächlich einiges zu feiern: Von Pop-Enthüllungen über Dancefloor-Delirium bis hin zu Stücken, die sich ihre Zeit nehmen - Synchronicity bietet Platz für all das; das Album spendet Raum, in dem die Freuden des Unerwarteten aufeinanderprallen und durch ihr zufälliges Nebeneinander in der Welt von WhoMadeWho Sinn ergeben.

In March of 2020 bassist Dezron Douglas & harpist Brandee Younger were nestled in their apartment in Harlem, New York, not long after every live concert in the world was cancelled and most folks in the United States were forced to shelter in place for the covid lockdown. With all their gigs cancelled and their incomes strapped.. the two came up with an idea. They would host a live-stream performance from their living room, where they would perform classic tunes for friends and family to watch online, and folks could send them donations. They called it “Force Majeure: Brunch in the Crib with Brandee & Dezron,” the first part in homage to the ubiquitous contract clause that never seems to have any use (except all of sudden, c/o a covid-induced live music industry collapse). The immense popularity of their first performance roped them into doing it again, and again, until it eventually became a weekly ritual for Douglas, Younger, and their many friends and family who tuned in every Friday morning (ourselves included). Knowing the beautiful, natural sound they made in their living room would be as enjoyable (or more) as a record as it was through a social media stream… we mailed them a microphone to record themselves. What’s heard on this album, Force Majeure, is a collection of highlights from Douglas & Younger’s legendary lockdown livestream brunch sessions. It includes gorgeous interpretations of songs by Alice & John Coltrane, The Stylistics, The Jackson 5, Pharoah Sanders, Kate Bush, Sting, and The Carpenters… plus some solid gold nuggets of their banter between tunes. It’s an uplifting suite of real, soulful comfort music – a spiritual salve, emanating warmth from the hearth of a Harlem sanctuary.

Dezron Douglas & Brandee Younger are long time companions in life and in music. The two East Coast natives met early in life and have accompanied each other, personally and professionally, through their equally prolific careers. Douglas, a bassist who has established himself as a musician’s musician, is known to many for his work with Pharoah Sanders, Ravi Coltrane, David Murray, and Keyon Harold. Younger, a harpist who has distinguished herself as one of the premiere voices in her field, is known for her work with Jack DeJohnette, Charlie Haden, Stevie Wonder, The Roots, Lauryn Hill, and Moses Sumney. To the day Douglas and Younger often accompany each other in many of the ensembles they lead, respectively. The two played together in sessions for Makaya McCraven’s 2018 release Universal Beings, on which they are both featured artists. Of Force Majeure, McCraven says: “It’s a testament to the power of music to uplift us through the most challenging times.

Joshua Abrams’ first album Natural Information from 2010, superb avant-jazz, newly remastered at Dubplates & Mastering.

In his book Powershift, published in 1990, writer and businessman Alvin Toffler predicted that the century ahead would be defined by speed and that time itself is destined to become our most valuable commodity. When Joshua Abrams recorded Natural Information, originally released by Eremite in 2010, he was reacting against such commodification of time and the diminishing attention span that accompanies it by offering music with an irresistible groove, rooted in the sinuous rhythms of the human body and the full play of our senses.

At the heart of this music is the sound of the guimbri, a North African three-stringed bass lute, which Abrams started to play following a visit to Morocco during the late 90s. Traditionally the instrument has a key role in mystical healing ceremonies. Abrams, already a well-established figure in Chicago’s vibrant musical communities, had no desire to repackage tradition. He recognized however that the involving, springy and percussive sound of the guimbri was just the right voice to communicate vital data, to relay the natural information we all need in order to get back in touch with the pulsating continuities of a world we all share.

With Natural Information Abrams entered a new phase of his musical life, extending an invitation to the trance, where time intersects with timelessness. He carried with him a wealth of playing and listening experience. As a bass player he had worked with a host of notable musicians including guitarist Jeff Parker and percussionist Hamid Drake, and had been a member of back porch minimalism outfit Town And Country and the improvising trio Sticks And Stones.

The guimbri is a shaping presence on this remarkable recording, but Abrams also plays bass, bells, kora, sampler and synthesizer. Sympathetic friends including guitarist Emmett Kelly, vibraphonist Jason Adasiewicz and drummers Frank Rosaly and Nori Tanaka join him for the project. They set out not to contrive some neat hybrid but to enable coordinated energies and enriching influences to pulse and flow through living, breathing music. Ten years further into a century seemingly dedicated, as Toffler foresaw, to the survival of the fastest, the deep involving groove of Natural Information seems still more relevant, more illuminating, more vital.

Joshua Abrams: guimbri, mpc, percussion, harmonium, bass, bells, dulcimer, donso ngoni, ms20
Jason Adasiewicz: vibraphone
Emmett Kelly: guitar
Frank Rosaly & Noritaka Tanaka: drums

Germany’s Jacob Groening is one of those hard to pin down artists working within the space of organic dance music. As a live performer and hybrid DJ, Jacob somehow manages to infuse everything from gypsy to jazz, blues to soul, with distinctly electronic elements. Never one to settle for anything less than unique, his gentle touch and international influences create music that is both sweet and powerful. This sound has already been felt across the likes of Bar 25, teyoyoke, Delicieuse Musique, and his own Kamai Music imprint, and now Jacob
provides the 4th instalment on Amsterdam’s The Gardens of Babylon eponymous label. Jacob’s Leslie Ep is a three-track excursion, Inspired by travels yet constructed in quarantine. It is a testament to the connective power of music through uncertain times, where some dancefloors may be empty, but hearts and minds remain full. Until we meet again, let Jacob’s playful and pulsating Ep satisfy those Communal urges with a journey through sound and culture. Starting this journey, its title track gently swells throughout with subtle chants and hypnotic percussion. Kabir then kicks things up a notch, Bouncing between its own pulsating rhythm and powerful chord progressions. Finally, Iguazu draws direct inspiration from Jacob’s travels through India during times before the world changed. With field audio and local musicians interjected throughout its explorative atmosphere, Iguazu is the perfect representation of Jacob’s distinct style: gentle, shifting, and cultural. If you know The Gardens of Babylon, you know Jacob Groening. His sets from The Dunes of Babylon and ADE’s The Seekers of Light have placed him firmly within family status. Now, with Leslie Ep Jacob Groening joins Geju with his own solo release on the label.

Despite current circumstances, Speedy have had a busy year. The London-based label run by producer Dan Carey alongside Alexis Smith and Pierre Hall were recently coveted with the Best Small Label Award by AIM after being nominated for the second year in a row. Carey also picked up UK Producer Of The Year earlier in the year at the prestigious Music Producer Guild Awards. He also produced the critically acclaimed sophomore album ‘A Hero’s Death’ by Fontaines D.C. which landed a welldocumented No. 2 position in the official album charts.
Speedy Wunderground released their fastest ever selling 7” - The Lounge Society’s timely tour de force ‘Generation Game’, the second band to be signed to the label for a forthcoming EP release following Squid’s ‘Town Centre’ EP in 2019. They also announced the label’s first ever full album release - Tiña’s ‘Positive Mental Health Music’, with recent single ‘Golden Rope’ having just come off the A-list at 6 Music.
Bringing bands into the studio wasn’t an option so the label started an ongoing project called ‘The Quarantine Series’ in which Carey under his Savage Gary techno/electronic alter ego collaborated with artists and friends, old and new over the internet and then uploaded them to the label’s Soundcloud/socials with little or no fanfare - no PR-ing or radio pluggers, just let the bands do their own thing, organically.
The common thread throughout all is Carey, whether it be in his regular name or his Savage Gary guise. However, collaborators in the series so far have included a wide range of people: Kae Tempest, PVA, Willy Mason, Heartworms, Warmduscher, Charlotte Spiral, Boxed In, Stephen Fretwell, Goat Girl and more.
“We chose two tracks/artists that I think we really wanted to shed some more light on” says label co-runner Pierre Hall. “Two that we really didn’t want to go under the radar - and in our opinion reflect this parallel strand of the label that’s forming - with new artists we’re really excited about - and that will hopefully draw people in to explore the series as a whole.”
First on the release is ‘Wait & See’ from rising Bajan artist RoRo. A hypnotic masterful flow which meanders seamlessly around Carey’s pulsating electronics. It’s bursting with attitude and originality. “I saw Dan Carey play with Kate Tempest on one of my first few times ever being out in London” she says, “it was such an amazing show. I was extremely excited to then get the chance to work with him. I’d been trying to do so while in London, but it didn't quite work out that way. We did manage to make it happen remotely whilst I was back in Barbados though, and we knocked it out!”
Second is ‘Cigarettes Pt. 2’ from the enigmatic Londoner youngblackmale AKA Rutare Savage: “It’s a poem, transformed into a song by the ever amazing Dan Carey. It touches (lightly) upon the topics of fear of the police, drug and alcohol abuse, family, and pulling oneself out of a nihilistic worldview driven by a newfound lust for life. This is me trying to reason with the void.”

The Vision returns with the third single from their eponymous debut album, along with remixes from two of the scene’s most revered producers. ‘Missing’ treads the familiar tale of love lost with a stark openness, a funk-filled track underpinned by a catchy vocal hook sure to resonate with its listeners. As one half of The Vision, this release is the first where Ben Westbeech provides vocals as well as producing behind the scenes alongside Kon, perfectly matched with regular collaborator Andreya Triana to bring the heartfelt lyrics to life. On this special 12” package, underground hero Maurice Fulton’s remix opens the A-Side, an artist described by Resident Advisor as “making some of the most unhinged house out there”, his mix may strike listeners as surprising with its stripped-back feel. With extended instrumental breaks perfect for club play, the reflective feel of Maurice’s mix aptly suits the message of the record, as elegant guitar riffs and warm synths make his remix an irresistible version. The Accapella closes out the A-Side, an essential DJ tool that allows Andreya and Ben’s flawless vocals to really shine. On the flip, the original version of ‘Missing’ opens, before Swiss DJ Deetron provides his remix, impeccably executed with bubbling synths and snapping percussion, as the Character Records boss explores the emotional potential of dancefloor-destined house to compelling effect. ‘Missing’ is no exception to The Vison’s existing discography, as meaningful messaging is paired with flawless execution to produce a record with all the makings of a future classic.

A contemporary dance score for award winning British choreographer Wayne McGregor inspired by Sergei Pavlovich Diaghilev (1872-1929). 'My composer for Dyad, Icelandic musician ?lafur Arnalds, is coming in next week to finish work on the score. It's an amazing piece of music ? it's melancholic and spatial then cuts to extreme rhythmic violence - it's hauntingly inspiring' ? Wayne McGregor (Random Dance) 2009 has already proved quite a year for Iceland's neo-classical export ?lafur Arnalds. Still high on the success of his 7-song series 'Found Songs' ? recording a song a day for 7 days and instantly making each track available via Twitter; ?lafur was approached by the world renowned and critically acclaimed choreographer Wayne McGregor to create a 30-minute score for his ambitious new work 'Dyad 1909'. The dance piece, inspired and created 'In The Spirit of Diaghilev' premiered at the Sadler's Wells theatre this October and became an unpredictable and much talked about 5-nights of live music, dance and visuals. This 'fascinating collaboration' (Guardian) will go on a EU-wide tour this autumn with Arnalds included in an impressive creative line-up alongside visual artists and filmmakers Jane and Louise Wilson. In December ?lafur's 'evocative and lyrical score' (The Times) will see a 10" vinyl, CD and digital release via Erased Tapes ? the label behind his previous releases as well as Peter Broderick's recent and much noted dance score release 'Music For Falling From Trees'. Born in 1987, ?lafur hails from the suburban Icelandic town, Mosfellsb?r, just a few kilometres outside of Reykjav?k. He has immersed himself completely in a world of delicate symphonic compositions generating near weightless orchestral pieces. Arnalds explores the crossover from classical to pop by mixing chamber strings and piano with discreet electronics which makes him a perfect fit for cinematic pop label Erased Tapes. His motivations are clear: "The classical scene is kind of closed to people who haven't been studying music all their lives. I would like to bring my classical influence to the people who don't usually listen to this kind of music?open people's minds." This young artist is steadily gaining recognition worldwide since his 2007 debut 'Eulogy for Evolution' and the 2008 follow-up EP 'Variations of Static'. In April 2009 online experiment 'Found Songs' received more than 200,000 downloads via foundsongs.erasedtapes and the physical edition released this August has instantly become a best seller, demonstrating that music in its physical format still attains a particular charm. ?lafur conceived 'Found Songs' as a way to collate several lost and found musical sketches and ideas in a 'very challenging, but fun' series. The experiment offers its listeners an intimate insight into ?lafur Arnalds' creative world with artwork contributions from fans via Flickr. With the next full-length release due in 2010, 'Found Songs' hasn't just inspired 2-D work. Esteban Di?cono ? a young motion graphic artist from Buenos Aires, Argentina ? created an astonishing animation video for 'Lj?si?', which found its way into the heart of UK illusionist Darren Brown among over 400,000 others within 4 weeks via Vimeo and YouTube. The music video is now available for download via iTunes. ?lafur is currently in the studio with Bardi Johannsson (Bang Gang) who will be co-producing his upcoming and highly anticipated second full-length album.

New C-EDITS! "Heart edits" features three low heavy house cuts

We present to you our last release of this bizarre year, thirteenth release on 7” format, a new collaboration between Ojah and Nik Torp, keyboard player from The Specials.

The A side contains the track “Notting Hill”, a tribute to the famous carnival (greatly missed this year) featuring sounds of the vintage and rare Yamaha SK-20 organ played by Nik over a riddim formed by 80’s & 90’s synths and drum machines. Underlying the whole riddim is the recording of a baby’s heartbeat in the womb.

On the B side we find a dub version as is customary, sparse and full of fx, reminiscent of those open air dub sessions at Notting Hill Carnival, mixed live by Ojah on his analog console.

Limited edition of 350 copies, hand-stamped and hand-numbered, served in a thick custom reversed kraftliner sleeve.
Produced by Ojah, recorded at Alchemy Dubs Studio, London.
Organ by Nik Torp, recorded at Eastcote Studio 4, London.
Mixed & mastered by Oscar Pablos “Ojah" at Alchemy Dubs Studio, London, 2020.
Graphic design by Victor Castro.

all rights reserved

Off the back of their stunning reissue of Minnie Riperton – Les Fleur / Oh By The Way, Selectors Series hit you with a 7 inch reissue of two straight from the heart, Philly Soul gems by none other than Bettye Swann.

Released on Atlantic Records in 1974 on separate 7 inch’s, the A side houses ‘When the Game Is Played on You’ a quintessential soul number with a bold and passionate message that Swann’s exquisite voice effortlessly delivers. “How does it feel baby, when the game is played on you”... payback of the sweetest kind.

Flip it over to find the smooth, soulful ‘Kiss My Love Goodbye’, a Spinners-esque track with stirring vocals that hit the heartstrings from the off.

Although late bloomers in the Northern / Modern soul scenes they became bona fide classics. Further interest was aroused when Tom Moulton remixed both songs in the ‘00s, igniting dancefloors wherever they were played. Not surprising though when you look at the credits on both tracks.

The Young Professionals were the new crack production team in Philadelphia at the time. Made up of the masterminds Phil Hurtt, LeBaron Taylor, Bunny Sigler and Tony Bell their incredible studio prowess shines bright in both these Bettye Swann recordings.

The Radio 2 Top 2000 is the largest annual radio event in The Netherlands. The audience of Radio gets to vote for their favorite all-time songs. These literally millions of votes come together in the Top 2000. All these 2000 songs are broadcasted back to back from Christmas until a few minutes before New Years Eve, when they air the No.1 of the chart.

Top 2000 - The 60’s contains the best hits from the century in which the music industry saw its biggest change. It were the years some of the biggest bands in the history of music rose to fame, like The Beach Boys, The Kinks, The Who, and Fleetwood Mac. Rock, pop, funk, soul and psychedelia all stand side by side on this release, with artists like James Brown, Nina Simone, David Bowie, Etta James, Elvis Presley, and Dusty Springfield. These artists and many more you’ll find on this wonderful 2LP.

The Top 2000 bridges the gaps between all musical generation from the Sixties to the present, making it the most eclectic chart out there, and keeping more that half of the country glued to their radio day and night for the whole week it’s broadcasted. And with a daily tv spin-off during its broadcast, it has reached an even bigger audience.

Top 2000 - The 60’s is available as a limited edition of 2000 individually numbered copies on yellow vinyl. The package includes an insert.

"Who is this guy? Who is this insane fucking guy? A guy who produced Trap tracks on his last EP and is now paying homage to Neue Deutsche Welle, as if he has never done anything else before and in a way that we never want to hear anything else ever again? To whom the crowds are devoted to in Paris, a guy who sleeps naked in the woods in the middle of Germany, who sings of the shimmering
girls („Schimmerndes Mädchen") and who doesn’t only embrace sadness but takes it to the club and goes wild with it?

I am telling you: It’s the guy who we desperately need right now: He is making music for, as he is putting it „young hipsters with Apple AirPods who wear big white sneakers but also for the 40 year old Goths who are still listening to El Deux“. He is making music for you, you and for you, too. He makes music for German Schlager fans, for the raver descending into the endless night and for next Sunday afternoon’s come down.

Luis Ake is the guy, and he is from Stuttgart of all places, where Germany basically invented its Germanness. And he is releasing this album that's as cold as the winter in which he recorded it. Of course „Bitte Lass Mich Frei“ was born in winter, in a backyard without heating – how could it be any different? Who needs? heating when your heart is broken, shattered even? Yes, the album was written
after a breakup. Obviously it was. And so it describes all forms of that special kind of insanity that comes with a broken heart: Loneliness, shallow sex, blame, longing, all of that, and more.
Vinyl tastes better ...

A Colourful Storm presents a piece of the contemporary Australian underground. Suburban Cracked Collective is the project of Shaun Leacy, a figure with ties to Hour House, Castings and Altered States Tapes but otherwise shrouded in mystery. His private-pressed album, Private Failings was a cult hit of 2019, nabbing the attention of The Trilogy Tapes, Free Form Freakout and the WFMU freaks. Swimming Amongst The Dregs is the follow up and is an unbelievable mesh of concrète, electronics and un-pop overtones. Future classic for those into Dean Blunt, Kallista Kult and the subdued projects of James Ferraro. Edition of 250 with full-colour artwork.

Unbegrenzt is the third in an ongoing series of archival records of the unheard music of Swedish composer Catherine Christer Hennix, co-released by Blank Forms Editions and Empty Editions. It follows Selected Early Keyboard Works and Selections from 100 Models of Hegikan Roku (named the #1 archival release of 2019 by The Wire), in addition to a two-volume collection of Hennix’s writing titled Poësy Matters and Other Matters.

Recorded in February of 1974 and featuring Catherine Christer Hennix (recitation, percussion, and electronics) and Hans Isgren (bowed gong), Hennix’s realization of Karlheinz Stockhausen’s “Unbegrenzt” (German for “unlimited”) from Aus den Sieben Tagen is an elaboration both rigorous and radically different from the canonical 1969 recording issued by Shandar. The collection of 15 text pieces written in Paris during May of 1968, Aus den Sieben Tagen, denies its performers notated direction and instead provides poetic cues that hinge upon Stockhausen’s conception of “intuitive music,” a Eurocentric perspective on improvisation antithetical to the vernacular forms Hennix had engaged with as a young drummer performing in Stockholm jazz clubs with musicians like Bill Barron, Cam Brown, Hans Isgren, Lalle Svenson, Allan Vajda, Bo Wärmell, and many others. While both Hennix and Isgren saw the formal prospect of Aus den Sieben Tagen as a productive development of and beyond La Monte Young’s event scores, she here steadfastly counters his rationalization of intuition with the Principle of Sufficient Reason. (Cf. Brouwer’s Lattice.) Eschewing the busy, conservatory-addled lapses into idiomatic citation of Stockhausen’s 1969 recording, Hennix’s alternative realization of the “Unbegrenzt” score’s instructions to “play a sound with the certainty that you have an infinite amount of time and space” is based on her concept of Infinitary Compositions, the trademark of her ensemble The Deontic Miracle which, at one time, considered adding Stockhausen, La Monte Young and Terry Jennings scores to its repertoire. Taking a mature, minimal iteration of Stockhausen’s compositional method of “moment-forming” to heart, her version’s dark, controlled feedback and amplified bowed gong subtly shift through an immanent sequence of formative moments, step by step. Its bubbling computer noise, percussion, and repeated ominous transient sounds of temple blocks over the bowed gong terminate with the integrated recitation of exotic text fragments from Hevajra Tantra which faithfully take Stockhausen’s score into deeper vistas of the unconscious and a more devastating opening to the unlimited time and space of a dreaming mind.

Audio restoration and mastering by Stephan Mathieu, with an essay by Bill Dietz.

Catherine Christer Hennix (b. 1948) started her creative life playing drums with her older brother Peter, growing up in Sweden where she heard jazz luminaries, such as John Coltrane, Eric Dolphy, Dexter Gordon, Archie Shepp, and Cecil Taylor perform from 1960 to 1967. Directly after high school, Hennix went to work at Stockholm’s pioneering Elektronmusikstudion (EMS), where she developed early tape music, incorporating computer generated speech done at the Royal Technological University (KTH), where she was an undergraduate student. After traveling to New York In 1968, she met artists Dick Higgins and Alison Knowles who invited her to stay at the Something Else Press Town House where she had the opportunity to meet, among others, composers John Cage, James Tenney, and Phil Corner. During the following years she developed fruitful collaborative relationships with many composers in the burgeoning American avant-garde, including, most significantly, Henry Flynt and La Monte Young. Young introduced Hennix to Hindustani raga master Pandit Pran Nath and she would later study intensively under him as his first European disciple. While Hennix continued to make music performing alongside Arthur Russell, Marc Johnson, Henry Flynt, and Arthur Rhames, she also served as a professor of Mathematics and Computer Science at SUNY New Paltz and as a visiting Professor of Logic (at Marvin Minsky’s invitation) at MIT’s Artificial Intelligence Laboratory. In recent years Hennix has led the just-intonation ensemble the Chora(s)san Time-Court Mirage, which has featured musicians Amelia Cuni, Amirtha Kidambi, Chiyoku Szlavnics, Hilary Jeffrey, Amir El-Saffar, Benjamin Duboc and Rozemarie Heggen. She currently resides in Istanbul, Turkey pursuing studies in classical Arabic and Turkish makam.

solid pink vinyl edition

De:tuned lines up the seventh release in their ten-part anniversary series. A blend of old and new material, deep grooves and inventive textures brought together by venerated producers Spacetime Continuum, Scanner, Ross 154 and Leo Anibaldi. A heartwarming ambient techno trip from start to finish makes for an immersive listening experience. Do yourself a favor, we love it!

Kevin Foakes (Openmind, DJ Food, Ninja Tune) created all the graphic work. This 12" is pressed on 180 gr vinyl and a separate digital version will be available from the usual digital shops. Stay tuned!

Catz 'n Dogz are back with album 'Moments'. Written and recorded in the midst of this crisis. Twelve tracks form the backbone to this wide-spanning sonic journey that document the highs and lows of this time. Drawn out of their comfort zone, it's safe to say this shift in their creative paradigm resonates throughout 'Moments'. Inviting you to gaze deeper inside, the album floats in a haze of dreaminess and cottony serenity. Though seemingly simple, the track titles point at themes more complex and universal that will strike a chord with every soul.

Traversed by a vaporous jazz vibe and highlighting an obvious lean towards laid-back atmospheres, 'Moments' effortlessly alternates between. Lo slung house 'Sunrise' features James Yuill, the heavy-lidded, funky bass-heavy 'Memories' and the rolling brass anthem 'Time', in collaboration with Jaw - and more doped up trip-hop-ness. 'Life', the slo-mo chugger that will get the feels on alert, the chillax of 'Nothing' and 'Love,' and the luscious 'Moment' feat. Angelika Nowak, a sample-heavy, soul jam whose naive charm will prove hard to resist, even for the stonehearted.

Catz 'n Dogz explore inwards the heart's non-spoken spheres, where the pop-infused hip-hop 'Meditate' introduces Heather Chelan. A more personal affair 'Listen' makes for a playful interlude. 'It's OK' invites you to let go of the shame at shedding tears, a memorable cut with its joyful whistling, elated guitar riffs and rousing bass.

To close off this sonic micro-odyssey, 'Tomorrow' casts a spell of positiveness. With blazing synth lines and robotised talk, unfolds an anthem for tomorrow's world. One where music holds the crucial place it's always had. So be the kids' dreams, the person they want to be in the future. Be Batman, be a firefighter, be a rock star.

Reissue of this mesmerizing record including an unreleased alternate mix of "Subterranean Zappa Blues". Hypnotic rhythms made of slow minimal beats, industrial textures, intoxicating drones and repetitive voices that seem to merge from dreams. Everything built by two of the most brilliant industrial music minds: Steven Stapleton and Colin Potter.

"This album arrived somewhere after a dream meeting of several individuals, Graham Bond, Joe Meek, Jacques Berrocal and myself. After a few beers and a heated disscussion of puncture repair we all lay down in a circle and point our penises at Venus, telepathic messages are sent out to Colin saying he can use the two golden microphones. He did, and here we are." Steven Stapleton, 17.1.94.

Rock 'n Roll Station began life with Steven Stapleton asking engineer Colin Potter to remix some of the more rhythmic elements of 'Colder Still' from 1992's Thunder Perfect Mind. As Potter gradually warped these sections into weirder and weirder pieces, a new album began to emerge. Potter himself explained it to David Keenan in England’s Hidden Reverse: “What I sometimes did in the studio was to ‘over-use’ effects and processors to totally mutate a piece into something completely different” while Stapleton observed how “it was almost as though telepathic messages were sent over to Colin. We’d started an album together at IC Studio that was never finished. He then sent me some vague mixes, which were just what I had in mind. So, from that basis, I started putting the album together.”

Potter would quickly become a key player in Nurse With Wound’s productions, a position he continues to fulfil to this day. He was first credited as a member on 1992’s Thunder Perfect Mind, a tour-de-force of cold, at times hostile, machined atmospheres, but considers Rock ‘N Roll Station from the following year to still be his favourite.

Building on percussion and drone elements, Stapleton and Potter throw in a huge range of bizarre and atmospheric elements: didgeridoos, chanting voices, and their usual selection of unidentifiable sounds.

Its strong focus on rhythm was erroneously surmised by some as an attempt to join the then rising electronic dance music scene. But it was Stapleton’s recent obsession with the music of ‘King of the Mambo’ Pérez Prado that was beating at the heart of Rock N’ Roll Station’s heady rhythms.

The album’s title alluded to two specifically rock-related stations of influence: the song of the same name by Jac Berrocal, of which a surprisingly straight cover opens the album in homage; and the tragic life of the Sixties British R&B organist Graham Bond who influenced bands such as Deep Purple and Cream. Beset by mental health problems (at one point believing he was the son of Aleister Crowley), Bond died under a train at a Tube station in 1989 and it is this tragic scene that Rock ‘n Roll Station’s closing track, ‘Finsbury Park, May 8th, 1:35 PM (I'll See You In Another World)’, sets in sound.

Vinyl Only

They say journey can take you to so many roads full of experience and lessons, to learn ideas to achieve, and that’s when you translate that into musical notes and rhythms.

ÓbaidlÍ records come along the way from the heart of the desert to set the right tone with a particular style. The idea behind the label is to experiment with a wide range of sounds and textures to give it a feel of the organic sounds.

ÓbaidlÍ records are glad to present their first vinyl release ’Down the road’, a selective, four-track EP. This EP is a collaboration between two talented producers, the founder of "ÓbaidlÍ records" Bídlee and the head of "Deep in you Music” Zohki. Each track brings its unique touch and deep perception.

Leading off on Side A are tracks by Zohki, that will set you up into a deep rhythm and harmony.

Side B tracks by Bídlee will take you to a long journey of nostalgic tone with symphonic soul, and minimal serve with proper texture.

For over two decades, Glasgow’s Mungo’s Hi Fi and their label Scotch Bonnet have spread their fun, forward-thinking reggae music around the world. And this ethos is triple-distilled into their now eagerly- awaited Puffer’s Choice compilations.

The latest, third edition in the series collects some the last few years' top collaborative highlights onto one LP. With its cover bearing the MacLeod of Lewis tartan, Puffer’s Choice 3 is a celebration of both the label’s Scottish heritage and their global family tree of links with sound systems, artists and producers who share the same spirit.

CoOp Presents an all-new double-album compilation entitled 'Plug One'. It features a plethora of global talent from in & around the world of bruk and beyond - some already well-established in the field, some very much on the come-up and some brand new artists - this compilation is an acknowledgment of a continually evolving sound from the label formed by IG Culture & Alex Phountzi a few years ago. 'Plug One' affirms this electric movement, with a deeply fluid current running throughout, with tracks ranging from the cosmic psych jazz of LCSM, to the classic UKG tweaks of Groove Chronicles, to the thought-provoking vibes of Reginald Omas Mamaode IV, to a veritable who's who of 2020 bruk talent including Xtra Brux, Sivey, EVM128, Cengiz, Wonky Logic & many more.

From its beginnings as a classic club night and label in the early 2000's, CoOp always carried an undefinable and potent creative energy. A sense of freedom and uninhibited exploration was positioned at the core of CoOp's sprawling community and consciousness, communicated via movement and sound. From this seed and throughout the years that followed, this same energy permeated the worldwide underground music ecosystem. As CoOp's legacy continued to influence new generations of music makers far and wide. The syncopated rhythms, soulful keys and infectious grooves synonymous with the broken beat sound, now known simply as Bruk, became entwined with new concepts and progressions, leading to new movements carrying on the essence of the bruk energy.

IG Culture and Alex Phountzi took the helm of their CoOp Presents label in 2018, with the vision of championing these new waves of emerging artists, continuing the all-important exchange of energy at the heart of the original CoOp movement, but also giving room for the music to be pushed into new and uncharted territories. With burgeoning producers from around the globe being drawn to the explorative and expressive nature of the project, an incubator was created, providing a space and platform for these ideals to take on new shapes and sounds. Just as every generation must rewrite its own history books, CoOp Presents was born from a combination of influences, ideas and personalities, and in turn is now encouraging the next generation to do some re-writing of its own.

'Plug One' will be released on vinyl & digital on CoOp Presents in November 2020.

Sutja Gutierrez is back on Lumière Noire. The finesse of his productions and his implacable stage performances have given him a special place within the Parisian label. In 2017, he released the EP "The Legend of Time" and one year later, he appeared on the compilation From Above with his track "Allodoxaphobia". He comes back here with an LP entitled PHYLAX SOCIETY, which confirms that Sutja Gutierrez is indeed an artist in his own right. Phylax means guardian in Latin, and the album’s title is directly inspired by the “Phylax Society”, a group of people who, in the late 19th century, wanted to create the ultimate canine breed, but who due their lack of consensus failed and dissolved. Later on, an ex-member eventually bred the very first German Shepherd. On this heartfelt record, as emotional as it is catchy, the artist deals with the feelings that come after the loss of a loved one, chiefly nostalgia and melancholia. The result is an ardent record where crooning is sincere and never a posture. The artist’s lo-fi psychedelic pop trademark oozes in every track of this album. Many of these songs feature his vocals, often doused in ethereal echoes or even shrewdly chopped and distorted in a way that reminds us of the great musique concrete experiments of the past. A DIY approach sometimes indebted to punk and post-punk music, all mixed with a vast variety of traditional pop instruments such as guitar, bass, electric keyboards and real drums, but also drum machines, synth bleeps, found sounds and other strange but fascinating samples. EMPTY FLOWER POTS, which was released as a single ahead of the LP, is definitely one of the album’s standout tracks. This catchy mid-tempo song is the perfect entry point into Sutja’s finely twisted world. A world in which you can find that particular balance between nostalgia and optimism. Oh, life is great, what is life? Life is death. . he sings. It is one of those songs that stays in your head for a while. Do not let the idea of alternative pop fool you, it is quite impossible to listen to any of these songs without reacting in some way or another through moving, dancing or thinking, regardless of the tempo or meaning. I’M DIGGIN’ might be the perfect example of this. Deceptively simple and far removed from dance music, this rock-infused number will not only have you singing along instantly, but you will also find yourself dancing and responding accordingly to the energetic mantra of this song... I'm digging for the truth, I am so diggin' into it. Truly, the dance floor is never too far, sometimes quite blatantly and sometimes in a more oblique fashion. Another case in point is PHYLAX SOCIETY, the eponym track which closes the album, a song in two parts, where a slo-mo club groove carries Sutja’s trademark singing to yet another level of uniqueness, with his surreal soundscapes, twisted melodies and everyday life sounds. An ode to humanity and an homage to the ones who are risking their lives every day in the mediterranean sea. It is rare to encounter an album which is immediately satisfying on one hand but also reveals more and more beautiful secrets with each listen. PHYLAX SOCIETY is clearly one of those special albums.

Tramp Records continues their pilgrimage to the soulful fringes of spiritual jazz and progressive rock and funk with their 3rd and 4th volumes of their "Peace Chant, Raw, Deep and Spiritual Jazz" series, and the world could not be more ready.

As we turn together on this tiny blue ball hanging lonely in space, and as we together face existential threats ranging from climate catastrophe, the rise of brutal authoritarian regimes, the breaking of the industrial storm and the imminent collapse of empire, not to mention the raging covid-19 crisis and the continuing racial and social struggles across the globe, we are thrust into a society-wide grand awakening that has been in the making for a very long time. Of course, our musical teachers have trod this path before us, and have worked out solutions to these problems, the songs of the Peace Chant series ring out loud and clear as our ancestors' proof of concept. They say history repeats herself, maybe it's because we weren't listening the first time. Thanks to Tramp Records, we have been granted another opportunity.

Today, the musical and spiritual truths enshrined within the spiritual jazz diaspora seem to be more and more sought-after, and crucial at a time when we as a society seek higher and farther for those bold truths. With each generation, that truth doesn't change, and the artists featured in the series speak those truths along a continuum that ranges from the late-60s up to the present day.

Volume 4, the second LP opens with a gorgeous and lush Wurlitzer-oriented big band piece that among its many treasures also features the 17-year-old visionary-saxophonist-to-be, Steve Coleman in his alleged first recording! The contributions of Brother Yusuf Salim and Bus Brown, figures who should be very familiar to Tramp Records aficionados, are consecrated here with a live recording of Freedom from one of Brother Yu's last public performances. One of the two European contributions to the comp, Attitude, by Organic Pulse 'onesemble', reads like a double entendre, the word "attitude" meaning simultaneously one's disposition or state of mind, and also one's orientation relative to the horizon. The Peace Chant series continues to touch all the sacred meridians: more devotional music with James Scales & All Stars' Ser-Vi-Tude, trance music of non-dominant traditions with Donn Preston Group's Ghana-Cha!, a modal and blue organ trio offering from Tommy Jones, and closing with a rich and righteous ballad, Quernemoen, from the Wayne Powell Octet.

Peace Chant is the center of the mandala, representing the nucleus of the post-bop, modal jazz, avant-garde, transcendental, spiritual, ethnic, and freedom music universe without necessarily suggesting anything immediately identifiable as any of the above. This is the soundtrack to the raising of human consciousness and the salvation of society's very soul.

We give thanks to Tramp Records for leading our thirsty hearts to this rich fountain.

Barry Brown one of reggaes vastly overlooked talents. His militant conscious style has over time lost none of its appeal. Truly one of the sweetest roots vocalists to come out of Jamaica.

Born in 1962, Kingston, Jamaica, he cut his musical teeth working under producer Bunny Lee. Their first release was a track called ‘Girl You’re Always on my Mind’, although a minor hit, Bunny Lee saw his potential  and was rewarded with his 1979 cut ‘Step it up Youthman’ which became a hit  and has become a roots classic, leading to an album of the same name.  The late 70’s was a great period in Barry Brown’s career and its from this period that we have culled this set of tracks. Straight from the master tapes some of his finest moments and some unreleased gems that we believe should be heard. A great set from his timeless 'Trying Youthman' a tail of struggling times in the heart of Kingston Jamaica.
His rastafarian inspired chants 'Stop Them Jah Jah','Give Thanx and Praise','Natty Rootsman' and 'Lead Us Jah’ work alongside socially charged cuts as 'Politician', 'Big Big Pollution' and 'Mr Money Man'. As with all his tales and inspired lyrics they are put across in such a tuneful way that like all the best songs that carry a message can be remembered also through the strength of the song.

As with many of his artists Bunny Lee encouraged him to go into self-production, and after a time spent with producer Linval Thompson ‘Separation’, and Sugar Minott ‘Things & Time’, he did just that and produced his first release ‘Cool Pon Your Corner’ in 1980 followed in 1981 by ‘Problems Get You Down’.

 We hope this release will find a place in your collection and remind us of the talent  of Mr Barry Brown. If somewhat overlooked, but certainly now not forgotten. Let’s celebrate with the man and  go to the blues one more time....

Mow Records proudly presents L’enfants De Kita, the third album from a series of five, all produced by label owner Mowgan. Each album features vocalists and performers with African heritage, channeling Mowgan’s passion for the continent’s diverse sounds into vibrant, highly emotive productions. On L’enfants De Kita he teams up with Fanta Sayon Sissoko, a female performer from West African nation Mali. Based in Toulouse, where the album was recorded, Fanta’s musical roots go deep - her father played guitar and ngoni for Baaba Maal and her grandmother is Kandia Kouyaté, one of Mali’s best-known griot singers.

Mowgan always dreamed of working with a female singer from Mali, enchanted by their vocal style. After moving back to France a few years ago he bumped into Eric Diaouré, an old friend who he worked with in his teens. Eric is also a musician and just so happens to be from Mali. Mowgan revealed his ambitions to Eric and a meeting with Fanta was arranged - within a few days they were in the studio together.

Like the other albums in this series, L’enfants De Kita is a fusion of Mowgan’s love for African music and his penchant for electronic sounds. Fanta’s raw, affecting vocals are complemented by Mowgan’s considered production throughout with additional instrumentation from a range of performers, including a group of schoolchildren on ‘Tubani’. Featured artists include Solo Sanou (whose album ‘Soya’ was the second release on Mow Records) playing percussion, Mamadou ‘Madou’ Dembele, a multi-instrumentalist who plays ngoni, Yohan Hernandez on guitar and bass plus Madani Touré aka Chanana (a famous Malian rapper from the nineties) contributing to lead vocals on the album’s title track, with Tim Xavier handling mastering.

Mowgan’s approach to creating albums is to get a vibe going with the singer, produce a batch of songs and then select the best seven for each LP. It’s a pressure-free attitude that has led to some truly heartfelt productions, which encapsulate the purity of the creative process when it’s liberated from rigid constraints. You can hear this freedom of expression throughout L’enfants De Kita, Fanta in her element as she sings with passion and grace across all seven tracks.

The album begins with the title song ‘L’enfants De Kita’, which pays homage to Fanta’s hometown, Kita, in Mali. It is the centre of griotism, the local style of passing on knowledge from one generation to the next via spoken-word storytelling. Chanana joins Fanta on this one, which is the most ‘western’ sounding cut on the LP, Mowgan’s deft touch taking us to the dance floor, while Chanana adds extra depth with his rapid-fire vocal refrain. The glorious ‘Tubani’ tells the story of Djene Tubani, a girl who thought she was a bird. She disobeys her parents and neglects her friends, but eventually learns the error of her ways. Fanta’s vocals are amplified by the voices of a group of schoolchildren, including her own daughter.

‘Mobaya’ is a reminder that we can possess wisdom and deep knowing, but we can also enjoy ourselves; dance, sing and party. This is a club-focused production with 4x4 beats and a traditional house feel, which provide a wonderful accompaniment to Fanta’s uplifting vocals. Next up is ‘Dakan’, a cut which is all about destiny: Everyone has been put on Earth for a reason and by working together we can all achieve our destiny. Layers of percussion skip over the warm low end, with a lively trumpet appearing in the second half.

‘Dounouya’ explores the notion that we live in a world where everyone faces negative criticism. Fanta encourages us to take responsibility and move forward no matter what others think of us with this inspiring guitar-led cut. ‘Djonya’ highlights the fact that slavery still exists in today’s world - modern slavery, hidden from public view but still very much alive. “Our Africa is going to be okay if we all hold hands, if we are all together, all united,” she says. Finally,‘Badeya’, a great outtro which focuses on unity. We are all one family on this planet and this song speaks of people coming together but also respecting ourselves above everything else. The pace is slow and the instrumentation perfectly balanced to allow Fanta’s vocals to flourish.

In the late-1970s Athens, Georgia was buzzing with a raw but sophisticated music scene. Traditional Southern rock had been the Georgia musical export for years before but the turn of the decade began producing new sounds from bands like the B-52’s, REM and Alt Rock luminaires Pylon.
 Before they were a band, Pylon were art-school students at the University of Georgia: four kids invigorated by big ideas about art and creativity and society. However, Pylon were less of a band and more of an art project, which meant they had very specific goals in mind, as well as an expiration date.
 While their time together as a band was short lived (1979-1983), Pylon had a lasting influence on the history of rock and roll. Throughout their brief history, they were able to create influential work that would help foster the post-punk and art-rock scene of the early 80s. Artists like R.E.M., Gang of Four, Sonic Youth, Sleater-Kinney, Interpol, Deerhunter and many more claim inspiration from the band.
 Their 1979 single ‘Cool’ / ‘Dub’ reached legendary status, with Rolling Stone titling it one of the 100 Greatest Debut Singles Of All Time.
 In 1980 the band released their first record, ‘Gyrate’, and began touring across the country in support of the release. The band would soon develop a following across the country and specifically in the bustling music scene in New York City. One of their earliest gigs was opening for the Gang of Four in the Big Apple.
 Following the critical acclaim of their debut release, Pylon went back into the studio. They gleefully pulled their songs apart and put them back together in new shapes, revealing a band of self proclaimed nonmusicians who had transformed gradually but noticeably into real musicians. The resulting album, ‘Chomp’, was barely off the press when Pylon were booked to open a run of dates for a hot new Irish band called U2 (after previously playing two arena shows with them in the month leading to the album release). Most bands would have jumped at the opportunity but Pylon were sceptical. At a critical point in the life of Pylon, they opted to become a cult band rather than stretch their defining philosophy too far.
 “We fully intended Pylon to be an almost seasonal thing that we were gonna do for a minute and then get on with our lives,” says Curtis Crowe, drummer for the band. “But it just never went away. It still doesn’t go away. There’s a new subterranean class of kids that are coming into this kind of music, and they’re just now discovering Pylon. That blows my mind. We didn’t see that coming.”
 New West Records are proud to partner with Pylon to reissue ‘Chomp’ and ‘Gyrate’ back into the masses. Beautifully remastered from the original audio sources and pressed on vinyl (140g) for the first time in over 30 years.
 New West Records also present ‘Pylon Box’, a comprehensive look at the band that features the remastered studio LPs ‘Gyrate’ and ‘Chomp’, the 11-song collection ‘Extra’ - which includes rarities and previously unreleased studio and live recordings - and ‘Razz Tape’, Pylon’s first ever recording: a 13-song unreleased session that pre-dates the band’s seminal ‘Cool’ / ‘Dub’ debut.
 ‘Pylon Box’ also includes a hardbound 200-page full colour book featuring pieces written by the members of R.E.M., Gang of Four, Steve Albini, Corin Tucker and Carrie Brownstein of Sleater-Kinney, Sonic Youth, Interpol, B-52’s, Bradford Cox of Deerhunter, Mission of Burma, Calvin Johnson of Beat Happening and K Records, Anthony DeCurtis, Chris Stamey of the dB’s, Steve Wynn of the Dream Syndicate and many more. Features an extensive essay chronicling the band’s history, with interviews with the surviving members of the band as well as members of R.E.M., B-52’s, Gang of Four, Method Actors and more. It also features never before seen images and artifacts from both the band’s personal archives as well as items now housed at the Special Collections Library at the University of Georgia and the Georgia Museum of Art, UGA.

Wah Wah 45s are proud to present a unique collaboration between the U.K.'s very own Afrobeat Ambassador, Dele Sosimi, and a producer who's been at the forefront of the South London electronic music scene for a decade now, Medlar.

The pair first joined forces five years ago, when Medlar was asked by Dele's label to remix the title track from his last album,You No Fit Touch Am. The result was possibly one of the most popular and cherished remixes to appear on the imprint. The producer's respect for the history of Afrobeat shined through in the mix of course, but it was his ability to finely balance that with his house music instincts whilst adding an infectious groove and classic 80s analogue synths that really stood out.

The track was an instant classic, and it soon became clear that the Afrobeat Ambassador and Peckham producer needed to make some music together. Having never actually met during the remix process, the dating began, and luckily the two were clearly a perfect match.

After some weeks of pinging ideas back and forth, and spending time in the studio together, it became obvious that this project was also something they could take out live. As so it has been, from their modest debut performance in East London last spring, to playing festivals across the UK and beyond. Never the same show twice, their shows are based around a bank of rhythms on MPC which come alive when combined with Dele's vocals and improvisational keyboard explorations, all of which are dubbed out live by Medlar. Their musical journey is always unpredictable, vibrant and often quite surprising!

With this in mind, when picking tracks they'd developed on the road over the last year to take into the studio,Full Moonevolved into what might be best described as a bossa nova meets country & western lounge track, suitable for sipping cocktails to on a beach, or perhaps in your back garden in the current situation!

"This is really great this track. Really great!" Gilles Peterson

The original version of the song dropped earlier this summer and has been championed by both Gilles Peterson and Moses Boyd on BBC 6Music. When it came to remix duties, there was only one production outfit who fitted the bill, and one who the label had been trying to coax a remix out of for a couple of years.

Lars Dales and Maarten Smeets, otherwise known as Detroit Swindle, have been turning out musical, soulful, tropical and always party starting house music for almost a decade now. Wah Wah label boss Dom Servini hooked up with the pair at a European festival a couple of years ago, and ever since has been waiting for the right project to come along that would spark their imagination.

"When we heard the original of 'Full Moon' for the first time, we really felt the retro style with the cr78 drum, the dreamy pads and that almost overly simple synth flute. For us, that really defined the direction of the remix and we looked for a hook that could make those elements pop in a more energetic way. The vocal is also super laid back so we chopped it up a bit to give it some more spice. I think it was when we wrote the chords for our remix that the dubbed out 80's synth vibe really started to take form. It turned out to be a really nice remix for this time of year and hopefully it'll warm some hearts when people hear it." Detroit Swindle

The follow up single,Gúdú Gúdú Kan,in turn received support from Tom Ravenscroft and Gideon Coe on BBC 6Music. It's Dele and Medlar's own take on an Afro-disco stomper. The title refers to the role the snare drum plays and its relationship with Ìyá Ìlù kan, or the kick drum. It's a simple but very effective metaphor for this unique musical collaboration where once again the pair forged a sound that's all their own.

Taking things back to The Shrine by way of a little Bugz style bruk magic, Daz-I-Kue's remix ofGúdú Gúdú Kanrestructures the tune more in the style of a Fela classic, albeit with a broken flavour and layers upon layers of keys galore! In doing so, Daz creates what we think is a sure fire future club classic.

For the first time you can enjoy the full length versions of both of these top class remixes on a single slab of gorgeous wax!

The story of how Transatlantyk came to be is, in many ways, one typical of our times. We've grown accustomed to being isolated, even stranded, in recent months, and Technology has become our means of overcoming these aspects of quarantine.

For Lübeck-based producer David Hanke, a.k.a. Keno, and Los Angeles-based musician Tristan de Liège, their intercontinental relationship began long before the days of lockdowns and social distancing. The pair 'met' on-line through mutual friends back in 2018 and quickly realised they were, in a musical sense, kindred spirits. Their shared tastes meant that what started out as a single track quickly morphed into an EP, and finally the full length album that you're enjoying right now.

Tristan's experience as a neo-classical musician was the ideal foil for Hanke's skills with a sample and production expertise. Both shared a love of the more lush and cinematic end of instrumental Hip-Hop and Downtempo music. This sound partnership is evident throughout the album, but particularly on tracks like Nkosi, and the title track, where luscious string sections dance playfully with fractured, programmed beats; or the melancholic opener, Kouyou, where more laid back drums underpin muted horns and joyous harps.

The pair's perfectly formed fusion isn't the end of the story though, as French chanteuse Elodie Rama is on hand to provide not only some impeccable vocals, but also irresistible melodies to this already mellifluous long-player. Speak The Language sees this brilliant vocalist drift seamlessly between euphonious song and spoken word whilst delivering one of the ariose moments of the whole album. Elsewhere, on Dancing In The Dark, Elodie gives a slightly more sombre performance, combining with lavish strings and driving rhythms to a tee; and on To Find A Way offers up an even more emotional and almost heart-breaking performance, aided by wistful and forlorn instrumentation.

Transatlantyk is a body of work from an amalgamation of rare talents who combine beautifully to take us through myriad emotions; from the urgent and compelling Off The Mark via the pensive Forever We Were, and finally find their Way Across thanks to a shared love of graceful and refined musicality and a good song.

To this day the three have never actually met in person, but here's a last hopeful thought that one day soon, as we emerge out of the darkness, they can finally join together in a physical, as well as a musical, embrace.

Suzanne Ciani is a true electronic music pioneer. The five Grammy nominated Italian-American neoclassical composer is unquestionably one of the greatest minds that contemporary music has ever witnessed. After an incredible career spanning forty years, Ciani’s accomplishments have become a benchmark when discussing the origins of musical synthesis. For more than four decades she developed a body of work that transcends the music industry, composing for film, video games and famous advertising campaigns that have impacted popular culture. On December 14, 2019, after six years of sound experimentation, Lapsus Festival bid farewell to Barcelona’s Centre for Contemporary Culture. Its final event was entitled 'A Sonic Womb' and was dedicated to the musical roots of the synthesizer, with Suzanne Ciani headlining on the night. Ciani performed an exclusive show accompanied by her modular Buchla 200e synthesizer and enveloped in a specially designed multi-channel sound environment by Intorno Labs. It was a sonic voyage to the very heart of her beloved machine and a tribute to improvisation through an instrument that is said to possess its own soul. Suzanne described the night as ”an improvisation that I began using in the ’70s and continue to use now as raw material. Each performance based on this material has its own expression and one could liken it to jazz." Lapsus Records is therefore extremely honoured to present 'A Sonic Womb: Live Buchla Performance at Lapsus', a unique live recording of this extra special concert.

Composed, produced, and arranged by Eartheater alone, Phoenix: Flames Are Dew Upon My Skin draws a path back to the primordial lava lake from which she first emerged, as it also testifies to the reincarnating resurrections the project has undergone over its first full decade of existence. While the album renews her focus on guitar performance and legible structure, Eartheater balances the unabashed prettiness of acoustic harmonic songs with the dissonant gestural embroidery of oblique instrumentals. Having fallen back in love with the idioms that first captivated her, she worked to crack open the techniques that had fossilized inside of her, while still seeking to apply the electro-alchemical knowledge she picked up along her journey. The result of a laborious revival in fire, Phoenix recontextualizes Eartheater’s combinatorial approach to production within her most confident abstractions, adjacent to some of her most direct songs to date.

Eartheater composed and workshopped most of Phoenix over a ten-week artist residency (FUGA) in Zaragoza, Spain, housed in a sprawling, cubic glass facility that looked out over wildflower-flecked mountains. Following an intensive period of recording and touring, the residency provided her with an unprecedented period of solitude in the small Spanish town. Her newfound sense of isolation ultimately became liberating, leading her to sidestep the crutches and steady grids inherent to electronic music, and to conceive pieces rooted in her guitar and her desire to perform with other players live.

Eartheater’s voice glows brighter than ever at the center of Phoenix’s arrangements — her familiar operatic highs are grounded by newly expanded velvety lows, leaping lucidly up and down octaves. Her intricate guitar work flits across baroque fingerpicked passages and latches into cyclical figures that meet her voice in lush harmonic progressions. From her own guitar parts, to the orchestral string arrangements she wrote for the Spanish conservatory group Ensemble de Camara, to the harp and violin lines performed by her close friends and collaborators Marilu Donovan and Adam Markiewicz of LEYA, Eartheater’s applications of acoustic instruments bring an extraordinary emotional emphasis to her compositions. Phoenix prepares for a future where electronic sound — or even electricity itself — isn’t guaranteed, but where her music could still come to life with a group of hands dexterously winding across instruments against the light of the fire. Eartheater drew inspiration for Phoenix from geological imagery, whose turbulence and potential for genesis mirror the trajectory of her own life and relationships. The album’s instrumental pieces directly reference these moments of upheaval, colliding audio of volcano and lightning storms with resplendent string and vocal arrangements. “Volcano” looks out over the album from its peak at the center, its tectonic plates colliding in towering melodies and layers of vocal harmonies, as piano accents crest and cascade down the mountainside. When Eartheater sings, “I’m still building mountains underground,” she is trying to reconcile the pinnacles of her ambition with the comforts of a simple existence buried beneath the surface. “Diamond in the Bedrock” finds her admiring the gemstone forming under intense pressure inside her, but rejecting the romantic promise that the diamond signifies, choosing instead to escape a relationship that has come to stifle her.

With the album’s subtitle, Flames Are Dew Upon My Skin, Eartheater imagines being tempered to a state of perfect equilibrium, suspended between melting and freezing, where fire could streak across her body and appear as a crystalline blush. This image captures the tension at the heart of the Eartheater project, as she decides how best to distill her passion and render it cool to the touch; to find beauty in simple pleasure, while keeping one eye fixed on the peaks that loom in the horizon. The album is mixed by Kiri Stensby and mastered by Heba Kadry, featuring photography by Daniel Sannwald.

Historic Recordings Vol.1

Rare recordings of legendary blues guitarist Eric Clapton.

Features performances with The Yardbirds, Jimmy Page and Sonny Boy Williamson.

FANTASTIC 140 GRAM VINYL.
LIMITED EDITION
Full servicing to all relevant media
Extensive print & internet advertising

Mariah Careys 30-jähriges Karrierejubiläum geht weiter! Nach der Veröffentlichung der Doppel-CD "The Rarities" am 2. Oktober erscheinen am 6. November ihre Alben "Emotions", "Music Box", "MTV Unplugged EP" (erstmals auf Vinyl), "Daydream", "Butterfly" und "Rainbow" - neu gemastert - auf schwarzem Vinyl.

In the late-1970s Athens, Georgia was buzzing with a raw but sophisticated music scene. Traditional Southern rock had been the Georgia musical export for years before but the turn of the decade began producing new sounds from bands like the B-52’s, REM and Alt Rock luminaires Pylon.
 Before they were a band, Pylon were art-school students at the University of Georgia: four kids invigorated by big ideas about art and creativity and society. However, Pylon were less of a band and more of an art project, which meant they had very specific goals in mind, as well as an expiration date.
 While their time together as a band was short lived (1979-1983), Pylon had a lasting influence on the history of rock and roll. Throughout their brief history, they were able to create influential work that would help foster the post-punk and art-rock scene of the early 80s. Artists like R.E.M., Gang of Four, Sonic Youth, Sleater-Kinney, Interpol, Deerhunter and many more claim inspiration from the band.
 Their 1979 single ‘Cool’ / ‘Dub’ reached legendary status, with Rolling Stone titling it one of the 100 Greatest Debut Singles Of All Time.
 In 1980 the band released their first record, ‘Gyrate’, and began touring across the country in support of the release. The band would soon develop a following across the country and specifically in the bustling music scene in New York City. One of their earliest gigs was opening for the Gang of Four in the Big Apple.
 Following the critical acclaim of their debut release, Pylon went back into the studio. They gleefully pulled their songs apart and put them back together in new shapes, revealing a band of self proclaimed nonmusicians who had transformed gradually but noticeably into real musicians. The resulting album, ‘Chomp’, was barely off the press when Pylon were booked to open a run of dates for a hot new Irish band called U2 (after previously playing two arena shows with them in the month leading to the album release). Most bands would have jumped at the opportunity but Pylon were sceptical. At a critical point in the life of Pylon, they opted to become a cult band rather than stretch their defining philosophy too far.
 “We fully intended Pylon to be an almost seasonal thing that we were gonna do for a minute and then get on with our lives,” says Curtis Crowe, drummer for the band. “But it just never went away. It still doesn’t go away. There’s a new subterranean class of kids that are coming into this kind of music, and they’re just now discovering Pylon. That blows my mind. We didn’t see that coming.”
 New West Records are proud to partner with Pylon to reissue ‘Chomp’ and ‘Gyrate’ back into the masses. Beautifully remastered from the original audio sources and pressed on vinyl (140g) for the first time in over 30 years.
 New West Records also present ‘Pylon Box’, a comprehensive look at the band that features the remastered studio LPs ‘Gyrate’ and ‘Chomp’, the 11-song collection ‘Extra’ - which includes rarities and previously unreleased studio and live recordings - and ‘Razz Tape’, Pylon’s first ever recording: a 13-song unreleased session that pre-dates the band’s seminal ‘Cool’ / ‘Dub’ debut.
 ‘Pylon Box’ also includes a hardbound 200-page full colour book featuring pieces written by the members of R.E.M., Gang of Four, Steve Albini, Corin Tucker and Carrie Brownstein of Sleater-Kinney, Sonic Youth, Interpol, B-52’s, Bradford Cox of Deerhunter, Mission of Burma, Calvin Johnson of Beat Happening and K Records, Anthony DeCurtis, Chris Stamey of the dB’s, Steve Wynn of the Dream Syndicate and many more. Features an extensive essay chronicling the band’s history, with interviews with the surviving members of the band as well as members of R.E.M., B-52’s, Gang of Four, Method Actors and more. It also features never before seen images and artifacts from both the band’s personal archives as well as items now housed at the Special Collections Library at the University of Georgia and the Georgia Museum of Art, UGA.

When Yiğit Bülbül knocked on our door and put his debut album on the table, Fever took our hearts in a storm. The Turkish born, London based musician and producer knows how to craft his own contemporary avant-garde pop projections with a rich musical heritage shining through from the 1980s and 90s. His style erupts into silly, absurd moments of synth blurps, percussive extravaganza and psyched horns, It’s always colourful and trippy, but in a light way. It’s exactly what we want to release in a year of distress. The album is framed by two contemplative tracks, which are reminiscent of Holger Czukay’s oeuvre. The saxophone in the opening track "The Heath" undulates like an introvert leading voice in a meditation. The long and meticulously crafted ambient outro "Txalaparta" features a spoken word sample by the Basque folk musician Txomin Artola from 1978. The four tracks at the heart of the album are beat driven, percussion-heavy, loaded with synths and random horn samples. "Alo?" sounds like Snakefinger tries to get on a Skype call with Serge Gainsbourg. "Cacti All Over My Head" could well be a Ween instrumental with long arching synth lines over a slowed down bossa nova beat. Fever is a frivolous album which bursts with exalted charm and guest musicians. This is not another greetings-from-the-lockdown album, but with the obvious reference in the title it’s almost a tongue-in-cheek name about creative obsessions of our times. It's the debut album by the multi-instrumentalist Y Bülbül who has learned his trade working with various interesting artists and bands in London in the past 10 years. He is also a passionate crate digger and DJ. His own radio show is unerringly titled "Bülbül's Gemüsement Park", which airs on Netil Radio, a community broadcasting station in Hackney. Bonus fact, Bülbül is the Turkish name for a brown-eared passerine bird, one that's into singing.

Hell Yeah call upon their merry crew of grown up groove makers to revisit key tracks from Quiroga's widely acclaimed Passages album, with Whodamanny, Jazz N Palms, A Vision of Panorama and My Friend Dario all stepping up.

The original album was noted as Piccadilly Records' Best Balearic Album of 2019 and a year on is still providing solace for us in these strange times. First to add his own spin to it is Periodica associate Whodamanny from Naples, whose magical take on 'Martinica Feelings' made it onto the excellent recent Buena Onda compilation, which is out now. It is a big hearted vocal reinterpretation filled with stomping kicks and twisted synths that bring the funk next to withering sci-fi effects and happy piano chords.

Then, up steps man of the moment Jazz N Palms, a resident at the cult Ibiza venue Pikes and regular at London's Ronnie Scotts. He has recently started his own self titled label and here offers a mad Latin jazz take on 'Africa Addio' that brims with energy and sunshines. The busy percussion will make you move your ass and the whole thing has a sexy 70s vibe.

Saint Petersbourg's very own balearic legend A Vision of Panorama is hailed as the king of the modern balearic sound thanks to EPs on labels like Omena. He takes care of 'The Zoist' with sentimental melodies and sunset grooves to die for. His arching pads speak to the soul and melt the heart.

Last of all, Hell Yeah's very own discovery My Friend Dario (who soon has an EP coming on NuNorthern Soul, recently remixed Calm and Gallo) tackles 'Chiaia Sunset'. The result is a laidback and cathartic track that slowly unfolds on tumbling drums and wooden hits as synths leave vapour trails high up in the clear blue sky above.

These are four more high class remixes that will keep the summer vibes alive long into Autumn.

The successful Canadian singer-songwriter Alanis Morissette released her seventh studio album Flavors Of Entanglement in 2008. She wrote and recorded the album with the British composer Guy Sigsworth (Björk, Madonna etc.). The album was written during a very challenging time in her personal life (break-up with actor Ryan Reynolds). It is the reason that she combines a lot of different musical genres in the sound of the album, including hip-hop, electronic and alternative rock. The album is hailed by critic as a longstanding masterpiece, fully understandable when you listen to the depth and structured layers of the songs. She shows her personal feelings in the tracks of heartbreak, regret and anger.

The first track on the album, “Citizen Of The Planet” focuses on her new sound, while the first single “Underneath” is about difficulties in communication.

London duo Andy Clutterbuck and James Hatcher – better known as HONNE – have cultivated a huge and fiercely dedicated global fan base since the release of their critically-acclaimed debut LP, ‘Warm on a Cold Night’, in 2016. Boasting over 150 sold-out shows outside of the UK, collaborations with everyone from Tom Misch to BTS and over 1.4 billion global streams, their music is deeply emotive; from the glistening, sugar-coated highs of international hit ‘Day 1’, to the heartache and angst played out on ‘Sometimes’ – both standout cuts from 2018’s sophomore record, ‘Love Me / Love Me Not’. Laying themselves bare in their songs, HONNE are hyper-connected with fans both in the UK and all over the world – in 2018 alone, they played a sold-out Brixton Academy for the first time, embarked on an extensive, 26-date US headline tour and saw ‘Warm on a Cold Night’ officially certified as 6x Platinum in South Korea.

In 1990 Neil Hannon started recording and releasing under the name
The Divine Comedy. Thirty years and twelve great albums later,
Hannon is rightly adjudged one of the finest singer songwriters of his
generation. To celebrate, Divine Comedy Records are remastering
and reissuing nine of the band's classic albums.
The nine reissued albums have been remastered from the original
tapes at the legendary Abbey Road Studios by mastering engineer
Frank Arkwright (Blur, The Smiths). Overseeing the audio throughout
the campaign is engineer / mixer / producer Guy Massey, whose
work on the Beatles Stereo Remasters won him a Grammy Award.
‘Casanova’ was the band’s third album and the first to bring real
success. First released in 1996 it explored and dissected a world of
casual affairs, loose morals and a thousand anxieties in between.
From the NME: “‘Casanova’ fairly teems with sex, with suppressed
desires... with ample evidence of what dicks men can be.” Mojo
described it as a “glorious... sumptuous paean to life, love and
longing.” Select said “Only a barren heart could resist it... Sensible
people simply swooned.” Singles ‘Something For The Weekend’,
‘Becoming More Like Alfie’ and ‘The Frog Princess’ became chart hits
and airplay staples while an alternate version of ‘Songs Of Love’
became the theme music for legendary Channel 4 sitcom Father Ted