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‘‘I am not as other detectives!’
Presently in triple gatefold vinyl for the very first time, Dirk Gently – The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul sees Harry Enfield return as the singular detective in this full-cast BBC radio dramatisation of the novel by Douglas Adams. First broadcast on Radio 4 in 2008, these fantastically entertaining comedy sci-fi dramas are adapted and directed by Dirk Maggs, acclaimed for his dramatisations of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, Good Omens, Neverwhere and many others.
When Dirk Gently’s long-suffering secretary, Janice, resigns to work in an airport, it’s the beginning of a very strange adventure for both of them. The detective takes to reading palms whilst dressed as an old gypsy woman, but meanwhile the ancient Norse God Odin has fallen into the hands of an unscrupulous advertising executive (and her husband). Bring on Odin’s son, Thor, a godlike curse that turns Janice into a vending machine, and countless other interconnected things…
Starring Harry Enfield as Dirk Gently and Olivia Colman as Janice, with Billy Boyd as Richard MacDuff, Laurel Lefkow as Kate Schechter, Stephen Moore as Odin, John Fortune as Dr Standish, Philip Jackson as the Vagrant, Jan Ravens as Cynthia Draycott and Peter Davison as Simon Draycott, with a guest cast including Rupert Degas, Morwenna Banks, Sally Grace, Jon Glover, Michael Fenton Stevens and Susan Sheridan, and music by Philip Pope. Adapted by Dirk Maggs and John Langdon from the novel of the same name by Douglas Adams. Directed by Dirk Maggs.
Three 140g coloured vinyl discs – in Holistic Red, Yellow and Blue - are presented in an illustratedc triple gatefold sleeve, with an exclusive sleeve note by Dirk Maggs.

Limitierte 7" Auskopplung aus dem zweiten Gunship-Album "Dark All Day" (2018) mit dem sinnlichen "Black Blood Red Kiss" featuring Celeb-Model Kat Von D on vocals, plus einem neuen Remix des britischen "Metalchors" Choir Noir um Sängerin Kat Marsh. Limitierte Auflage auf weiss-rotem Splatter-Vinyl.

This limited edition vinyl release is a double disc pressing on 180g
heavyweight, translucent ORANGE vinyl. The beautiful record sleeve is a gatefold design to fit both LPs.
This vinyl is a limited release to 1000 pressings; each vinyl is hand numbered.
Kate Rusby’s album, Hand Me Down, started life a few years ago whilst she was rehearsing for the Jo Whiley Show on BBC Radio 2. Jo asks her live music guests to perform songs of their own plus any cover version of their choice, Kate’s choice at that time was Oasis’ “Don’t Go Away”; on her second visit to the show she chose by ‘Friday I’m in Love’ by The Cure.
“As a folk singer, it’s what I do, re-interpret existing songs, but usually the songs are much, much older. After playing a version of Oasis’ ‘Don’t Go Away’ on the BBC Radio 2 Jo Whiley show, about 5 years ago, it dawned on me that not just the very old songs are handed down through the generations, but also favourite songs of any age, of any generation.
Songs are precious for many different reasons. With ‘Don’t Go Away’ proving so popular on the last album and hearing the reaction when we performed it on tour, I decided, “Right, that’s it! I am doing a whole album of covers.”
It was always the plan to make this album this year, lock-down just made it more intimate. We have laughed and we have cried, we have danced and we have sung. All of that is here, engrained in every track.”

In a time where everyone from Whitney Houston to Frank Zappa have been re-created in hologram form, where Grimes recently suggested in an interview that “we were at the end of human art”; there could scarcely be a better time for genre-shifting Leeds-based six-piece Team Picture to bring forth the thrillingly expansive synth-pop opus of their debut album The Menace of Mechanical Music.

Inspired by an early 20th century essay under the same name by American marching band leader John Philip Sousa, Team Picture take a look at the automation of creativity on this, their first record with a fully settled line up. Themes centre around the value of creative identity in an automated age, the increasingly disposable nature of art and where that leaves its creators. At twelve songs split into a three-part suite; The Menace of Mechanical Music is emphatically maximalist.

Tracks like the breathy, twinkling Flowerpots, Electric Beds and Handsome Machines’ Icarus-like striving for the sun are an antidote to a music world awash with digital production manipulation and songs written to algorithm. In debating the loosening of the human grip on creativity, Team Picture have poured every last drop of emotion into the recording process.

The group’s now trademark three-way vocal delivery and blurring of textures takes on new structure and purpose. They’ve always had a self-awareness to themselves, too. Initially grouped in with the guitar psych crowd, thanks to their fledgling repeato-rock, they were quick to disassociate themselves from that on 2018's mini-album Recital. With The Menace of Mechanical Music, they expand their sound further still, pirouetting from the likes of Sleeptype Auction – which glimmers like a late 80’s 4AD artefact – through various FX-laden dreamscapes, to the squelchy post-punk of closer Quit Reading. Yet the group were as much influenced by the work of the Early Netherlandish painter Hieronymus Bosch, and his triptych The Garden of Earthly Delights, as they were music touchstones ranging from Kate Bush, Cass McCombs and The Cure.

It’s Sousa words that resonate most deeply within the record however: “The fears of Sousa echo the fears of today's musician,” says Lewis of the late band leader’s 1907 text. “The re-appropriation of funds and support that the artist needs to survive, the gradual erosion of musicianship and self-improvement, that art will become disposable, and that our cultural identity will disappear.”

Recorded with producer Matt Peel (W.H Lung, Eagulls), half the group were unemployed during the session and a daily routine would see them undertake universal credit meetings and job interviews in the morning, before heading to the studio to work into the night. “It was an anxious process but an enjoyable one” says the band’s guitarist Josh Lewis. Indeed, beyond the increasingly golden gated idea of ‘making it’ as an artist, this new album is simply about surviving as one.
Sousa’s vision of a society that had deferred to automation, where babies were rocked to sleep by wheels and pulleys, and people no longer played piano with their own hands. Well over 100 years later and on the precipice of a technological shift never seen before, The Menace of Mechanical Music is the most human response that Team Picture could have given.

The Tipping Scale is a gorgeously sung cycle of songs that mix deeply personal lyrics with universal themes; Kinlaw is a smart, conceptual writer, one not afraid to explore deep emotions like loss, regret, and confusion, alongside strength, identity, and change. She explains that The Tipping Scale is an ideal metaphor for the record, the idea of an ever-present slipping in and out of change, and an acceptance of this kind of change. On it, she unravels intimate memories and tries to learn from them. As you listen to her songs and decode her words, you realize she's not just building songs, she's also creating a home_where painful thoughts of the past can exist within the present_as well as an entirely new, unflinching universe. This universe she created is not metaphorical_it's, in fact, very real. Kinlaw, who often works with gesture and movement as a writing tool, found The Tipping Scale unifying her multidisciplinary practice. She found it by building a real world. As she wrote, with the goal of finding human entry points for storytelling that felt authentic and honest to her practice, she often saw the music relating to motion. "I would start with a gesture and let it build into something until a memory attached itself to it," She explains. "The memory would become a story and the story would reveal itself as something important that needed to be expressed in this album." This works, too, for the lyrical process, where harder and less smooth gestures would represent consonants, and smooth, flowing movements would become vowels. She found the same thing happening with melodic lines and key changes. This is a record that jolts between the corporeal and the psychological, drawn from a flailing body, anchored by inconvenient truths. RIYL: Choir Boy, Jenny Hval, Kate Bush, Boy Harsher, Caroline Polachek, Black marble, Julia Holter, Grouper

‘The Fountain was supposed to be a full length album but as the songs took shape, I realized that there was something cohesive going on with a smaller batch.
They all focused on the theme of platonic love with a sense of gratitude. I think that traditionally, I had mostly written yearning, romantic odes and it was nice to focus on what was right in front of me,’ says Justin Sullivan, who records as Night Shop and also plays with Kevin Morby.
Fittingly, The Fountain is a family affair, with friends and collaborators bringing the songs to life. The E.P. features Katie Crutchfield (Waxahatchee) on backup vocals, Meg Duffy (Hand Habits) on guitar and bass, Sofia Arreguin (Wand) on piano, Jarvis Taveniere (Woods), engineering and playing a host of instruments, Anna St. Louis on backup vocals, Tiffanie Lanmon (Jess Williamson) on drums and Flat Worms bandmates Ivy and Hellman.

This reissue of pianist Dave Brubeck’s classic 1959 album ‘Time Out’
features the classic quartet of Brubeck with Paul Desmond on alto sax, Eugene Wright on bass and drummer Joe Morello.
The bonus album is ‘Countdown - Time In Outer Space’ recorded in 1961 by the same line-up. The 20-page booklet contains complete information with specially prepared liner notes by Penguin Guide to Jazz’s writer Brian Morton and by France’s prestigious Jazz Magazine. “Time Out by the Dave Brubeck Quartet has never lost its power of fascination. On these unforgettable tunes, Dave Brubeck and his alter ego Paul Desmond seem to be painting a canvas. Every note is like a touch of colour, expertly distilled, subtly hypnotic, ideally thought. “ Jazz Magazine

Their second album arrived 1994, they had a lot of followers around after their 1992 debut (Kaksi).
Playing on the big stages in Europa - Roskilde, Pink Pop and more, this became a big success. Now on vinyl for the first time, with one side of the 2LP set including bonus material.

Das Belfaster Duo Bicep veröffentlicht sein heiß ersehntes zweites Album, „Isles“, auf Ninja Tune!

Zwei Jahre in Arbeit, erweitert „Isles“ die kunstvolle Energie des 2017 erschienenen selbstbetitelten Debütalbums von BICEP und vertieft gleichzeitig die Klänge, Erfahrungen und Emotionen, die ihr Leben und ihre Arbeit beeinflusst haben. Sie beschreiben „Isles“ als „eine Momentaufnahme“ ihrer Arbeit in dieser Zeit, wobei die Stücke so konzipiert sind, dass sie sich in ihren verschiedenen Durchläufen von der Aufnahme bis zur Live-Show und darüber hinaus entwickeln.

Der weltweit beliebte Sound von Bicep entstand, als ihr eigener rasanter Aufstieg im Musikbusiness begann. Nach dem Start ihres legendären FeelMyBicep-Blogs im Jahr 2008 entwickelte sich ihre simple Website, die stets neue Italo-, House- und Disco-Juwelen aus der Musikgeschichte präsentierte, zu einem durchschlagenden Erfolg, der regelmäßig über 100.000 Besucher pro Monat verzeichnete. Nachdem der Blog ein Plattenlabel und eine Clubnacht hervorgebracht hatte, wurde das Duo mit begehrten DJ-Sets, die die musikalische Vielfalt ihres Blogs widerspiegelten, auf die internationale Bühne gehoben. Nach den Erfolgen mit Produktionen für Throne of Blood und Aus Music wurden Bicep 2017 bei Ninja Tune unter Vertrag genommen, wo sie im darauffolgenden Jahr ihr umjubeltes, selbstbetiteltes Debütalbum veröffentlichten, das einen Top-20-Einstieg in die britischen Charts erreichte und in der Groove schaffte, was in der langen Geschichte des Magazins noch kein Release bewerkstelligen konnte: sowohl die Kategorie „Album des Jahres“ als auch mit „Glue“ die Kategorie „Track des Jahres“ zu gewinnen. Titel wie „Opal“ - und der bald folgende Four Tet-Remix - sowie die eben erwähnte Lead-Single "Glue" mit dem von Joe Wilson entwickelten Video wurden 2017 zu Meilensteinen der elektronischen Musik, wobei letzteres vom DJ Mag ebenfalls zum „Track of the Year“ gekürt wurde.

"From Nishinari Osaka Japan Weird Wild Obscure Spooky exotica burlesque toy junk Muzak Trash One Man Band music made with broken cassette desks and fucked up record players feat members of (Acid Mother Temple)" - VRR 20202 Vinyl LP, starker Karton, bedruckte Innenhülle, Download inklusive. Willkommen in der wilden obskuren und seltsamen Welt von DEGURUTIENI und seiner ONE MAN BAND. teuflisch exotischer Striptease Kinder Spielzeug Krach mit ausgedientes Tonbandgerät und zerbrochenen Plattenspielern mit Mitgliedern von ua Acid Mother Temple in einigen Songs. Dies hier ist eine Zusammenstellung mit älteren Songs (selbst Veröffentlichungen und auf kleinst Labels) und viele neue Songs die noch nie vorher veröffentlicht wurden. Ich dachte, es ist an der Zeit, dass die Welt etwas über DEGURUTIENI erfährt (ich hatte Wochen, bis ich seinen Namen richtig buchstabieren konnte, hahaha ) Er tourt ständig durch die ganze Welt (pre Covid-19) und tritt in regulären Konzertsälen sowie in Theatern, Kunstgalerien oder sogar auf der Straße auf. wenn man ihn zum ersten mal sieht ist es eine Lebens Erfahrung die man nicht wider vergisst und es bleibt ein großes Lächeln im Gesicht und ein verzerrtes Fragezeichen in deinem Gehirn. Alco Degurutieni wurde Ende der 60er Jahre im Nishinari Ghetto von Osaka geboren (Alco Degurutieni: Diese Zeit in den 1970er Jahren war eine harte Zeit für alle, einmal im Monat Unruhen auf den Straßen. Rot Licht viertel Prostitution und die Yakuza-Mafia waren uns vertraut. Diese Erinnerungen an ein jugendliches Chaos sind seitdem ein Katalysator für mein Peter-Pan-Syndrom.) Degurutieni schafft Harmonie durch Gegenüberstellung, indem er ihnen Melodie aus Chaos und Dekadenz aus Abfall extrahiert. Mit 13 Jahren bekam er seine erste Boombox und wurde der beste Kunde in seinem örtlichen Leih-Platten und Trödler laden. Er arbeitete sich durch alle Genres von den Beach Boys bis zum Black Sabbath. Ab 16 Jahren begann er, seine eigenen Songs mit den einzigen Dingen zu kreieren, zu denen er Zugang hatte; Müll, umgebaute Kinderspielzeuge und ein ausgedientes Tonbandgerät. All dies spielt noch heute eine wichtige Rolle in seiner Musik. Auf diesem Album findest du ,Acme in the afternoon, ein komplett Hit, Tom Waits Blues Jazz Burlesque, dann mit ,Blur Blur Blur, hörst du ihn super minimalistisch und verloren im All Blues, oder den unglaublichen ,Midnight Express' mit einem orientalischen Trash-Flair der dich in einen neuen Blade Runner film katapultiert, und Zigeuner Fanafare und Rock'n'roll in ,13th Floor City ' zusammen mit: Orchester du Belgistan (aus Belgien) oder mein favorit ,Dreaming party' das wie ein psychedelischer horror film Soundtrack daher kommt LINE UP Alco Degurutieni (mostly all instuments) aditional Musissians on the Album Jyonson Tsu (ACID MOTHERS TEMPLE) Machiko Kuniki (Sujiko Sumoguri) Akiyoshi Kajitani (MOHIKAN FAMILIES) Atsushi Sekitani Watanbe (BRO TÜRK,PATO LOL MAN) Naoya Takami (Ichibanboshi Crue) Kwandae Park (UMA UMA UMA) Akira Ohno Tadahiro Ishihara Keigo Matsunaga (Rock'n'TASUKE'Roll & THE CAPTAIN SWING,MOHIKAN FAMILY'S) Tom Manoury (Orchestre du Belgistan) Mbengue Ndiaga Jordi Grognard (YOKAI) Akiko Igaki (TAYUTAU,COLLOID) Kiri Mochida Takeo Touyama (PATO LOL MAN) Shuichi Hirose (HUMNED) Takeo Touyama (PATO LOL MAN)

‘Chorochronos’ is a collection of four gorgeous experimental works for clarinet, percussion and electronics.
Red Desert Ensemble (Katie Porter and Devin Maxwell) lovingly recorded duos they’ve performed for almost two decades in small spaces, for even smaller audiences all over the US (and Canada) by Andre Cormier, Lucie Vitkova and Michael Pisaro alongside a huge new spectral work for clarinet and electronics by Maxwell.
The result is exceptional, a document of music trapped in ether or volcanic rock, both unearthed stillness and totally jarring, a perfect music-as-art for our time. With cover artwork by Christine Heindl, liner notes by Adam Tinkle, design by Phillip Niemeyer and video art by Svavar J natansson.

Viennese improvisation guitar/drums duo ALSO return with a superb live recording. Katharina Ernst and Martin Siewert(of Radian) have been working together for more than five years and continue to enjoy their compelling dynamics. This set is full of fire and thunder but also drawn by some striking fragile moments through a variety of effects and some delicate lap steel play – two true masters in working on the axis of refracting and reflecting, and throwing it back again.

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.

Flaming Tunes' sole release is perhaps the finest elegy to the '80s home recording ethos that you've never heard. Originally released in 1985 on cassette (with individually hand-colored covers), this self-titled album grew out of the collaboration between childhood friends Gareth Williams and Mary Currie.

Williams is best known as a member of English art-rock band This Heat. After leaving the group in the early '80s, he travelled to India where he studied classical Kathakali dance – an experience that would profoundly shape the music of Flaming Tunes.

In an old Victorian house in South London, the duo recorded during the day while Currie's young son attended school and Williams conducted tape treatments at night. They were joined by various guests including This Heat guitarist Charles Bullen as well as long-term collaborators Martin Harrison and Rick Wilson.

Using whatever instruments they had on hand (clarinet, piano, bells, etc.), Flaming Tunes create lo-fi melodies around simple arrangements, oblique rhythms and densely layered natural sounds. The results are a mesmeric collage of instrumental daydreams and sideways pop songs, floating into one another in a hazy confluence of late '60s Canterbury psych-folk and early Residents experimentation.

All of these beguiling elements converge in a personal manner, quietly insistent in listeners' ears like the blood pulsing in one's veins on a warm summer day.

4 LP Boxset mit 52 seitigem Booklet vom 2018er Coachella Auftritt. Die epischen pyramidenförmigen Tribünen hatten rund 100 Tänzer und eine Band mit besonderen Gastdarstellern wie Solange, JAY-Z, Kelly Rowland und Michelle Williams, die Destiny's Child Magie, Harmonie und Nostalgie brachten.

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.”

Previously Unreleased material recorded in 1979 at Allen Toussaint's legendary Sea-Saint Recording Studio in New Orleans, LA.

Freaky With You is a Six-and-a-half minute Psychedelic Disco Funk excursion taking you on a wild mojo trip with a four on the floor backbeat and extended conga breakdown peppered with some New Orleans Voodoo that reaches for the Bondye Celestial Heavens.

On the B-Side, Welcome To My World is a Modern Soul Steppers masterpiece. A version was also recorded by Joe Chopper for the Lanor Records label.

James Dumaine remembers the studio session well. After having oral surgery that morning, a grotesque, theatre of the absurd incident followed causing him to bleed onto the microphone as he was singing. That combined with the miscommunication with the audio engineer to watch the volume levels on his new synthesizer: The Engineer decided not to take heed to the warning… Half way into the recording all the band could see from the other side of the glass were heads frantically rushing to the mixing board. The synthesizer levels had caused the monitors in the control room to blow up. Superior Elevation wasn't invited back to record at Sea-Saint. 40 years later, with all that chaos, hoodoo and gris-gris enveloped into the magnetic tape, it magically survived the catastrophic 2005 floods during Hurricane Katrina and ended up in the hands of Mike Nishita along with many other Reel to Reel Tapes of Allen Toussaints' masters of The Meters albums he produced and recorded. It's available now, preserved with Family Groove Records.

The weird old school rave sounds from the creator of KATAPULT Records 01... Crazy story of a musician whi kept on through the year like a worm in the fruit !! BIG UP !!

New album from Bologna trio Oké, led by veteran Italian producer Andrea "Katzuma" Visani who began his career in the 1990s as part of Italy's foundational hip-hop group Sangue Misto.

Featuring production from Katzuma alongside percussion from William Simone and keys from Andrea Calì, Oké's new album Deserto is inspired by library music, cosmic jazz, and afro-house. It features 16 new tracks alongside two covers: one of Tony Esposito's 1974 fusion classic "Rosso Napoletano" and one of Dizzie Gillespie's 1940s standard "A Night In Tunisia." Also featured on the album are various musicians from the Bolognese scene including Venus Rodriguez on vocals, Nico Menci on keys, and Valeria Sturba on violin.

Deserto is a double vinyl LP featuring artwork from Andrea Casciu.

Fragile X is an exciting new collaboration between vocalist Inga Schunn and producer Dylan Chase.

The group began in 2019 when Schunn posted an iPhone voice recording on Facebook in which she sang an acapella in her native German. Her friend Chase, who was recording and releasing at that time as Caffeine Worldwide, heard the 30-second clip and immediately asked Schunn, at that time only an acquaintance, if she might like to record something. Neither of them realised at the time that the first sessions would lead to a debut 4-track EP that capably references as many styles as most full-length albums from established artists, while also setting a blueprint for a project that could go anywhere from here.

The opening track alone, 'Lifetime', opens with a woozy blend of UKG rhythms and Royksopp synths, before giving way to Schunn's sedate rendition of Daniel Johnston's 'Some Things Last A Long Time'...basically the years 1990-2002 distilled into 5 furious minutes of 5am energy.

Across the whole release, Chase's productions show the same cinematic flair that made his previous releases on French Press Lounge, Third Try and Human Concrete Block must-haves for your late-night record bag.
A2 'Prix' with the kind of R&S attitude that would make forebears like LFO or Lone proud, could be the soundtrack for an illegal outback rave or a sunset drive over a Big Sur overpass.
The album closer, 'Fragile X Theme,” sounds something like if late 90's Bjork was commissioned to soundtrack the movie Hackers with Akai samplers on loan from the Hartnoll brothers.

The whole release may be overshadowed by the B1, 'Karaoke Girl', a track Schunn and Chase wrote in Mexico City in 2019 after a rough night at a Zona Rosa karaoke bar.
Opening with dripping synths as soft and inviting as the last drink before sunrise, Schunn tells a story of a woman who overstays her invite at an intimate birthday party between friends, taking the mic from the birthday girl and singing "Seal, Rush and Kate Bush" with a "death grip on the mic."
It's a bizarre, vivid song for such new artists to have come up with, and the lyrics are underpinned by Chase's equally adventurous combination of Nordic disco elements with heavily treated bursts of Japanese koto.
The Lifetime EP's title is a reference to the laborious process that it took to make the record, with multiple recording sessions across two countries followed by endless edits and a Covid 19 related vinyl slowdown bringing its release to a crawl.
The record itself is a fast-paced, dopamine rush debut that we are proud to share with you as both the culmination of a long process, and the beginning of a strange new story.

Dynamic Dublin-duo Boots & Kats get given the keys to the House of Disco channelling an Italo Disco rave of interplanetary proportions for HOD028. Three pure peak-time pumping Italo warpers, complete with an exquisite Johannes Albert’s Party Talk remix to round off the package.

Fists in the air business in a far-away planet, one where synthesisers rule the lands using colossal kicks and huge snares to enhance the power of their all-encompassing arps that range from rapid fire bass to gargantuan top lines. Johannes Albert then throws in some party chatter and deft sampling to his reworking of ‘Party Talk’ completing this futuristic capsule of interstellar goodness.

It’s the best of that ‘80s Italo sound given a modern take that harnesses Boots & Kats’ unbridled Irish energy.

Eho Kates is a new project by techno luminaries Todd Gys and Brendon Moeller. For trainspotters already familiar with their revered back catalogs, this outing is sure to offer some unexpected twists. The record is a grainy, caustic blend of atmospheric intensity, rhythmic dexterity, and occasional moments of sublime grace. Completely fresh, outsider sounds made with a beginner's mind and unbridled enthusiasm for sonic exploration.

Kate NV is the project of Russia-born recording artist, songwriter, and producer Kate Shilonosova. Best known in her hometown of Moscow as the lead singer and founder of the post-punk garage band Glintshake, Kate NV is also a performer in the experimental Moscow Scratch Orchestra and releases music under an alternate alias, NV. "Room for the Moon" is Kate NV's third album and second for RVNG Intl. "Room for the Moon" was inspired by memories of 70s/80s Russian and Japanese pop music and movies. The album finds Kate NV singing in Russian, French, and English. She collaborated with musicians Jenya Gorbunov (bass guitar), Vladimir Luchanskiy (saxophone), Quinn Oulton (bass guitar, saxophone), Nami Sato (Japanese Narration), and Marco Passarani (marimba). "Music knows what she wants," says Kate NV. On "Room for the Moon", the lyrical follow up to the buoyant minimalism of 2018's "FOR", NV follows this muse in fluid expression, harmonizing her lunar lullabies with a starry compositional choreography. NV says, "I always let music express herself without pressure, and with or without voice."

Wenn einer der größten Popstars der Welt auf ein neues Album zusteuert, genügen schon drei Buchstaben und alle wissen Bescheid: „KP5“ lautete monatelang das inoffizielle Kürzel für Katy Perrys kommenden Longplayer. Das Album heißt „Smile“, klingt nach „Smile“ – und kommt am 28. August. Die erste Single „Daisies“, eine Hymne auf die Unabhängigkeit, zeigte schon sehr gut die Richtung fürs neue Album, denn die Sängerin will in der aktuellen Situation vor allem inspirieren, das sprichwörtliche Licht am Ende des Tunnels aufzeigen, wie sie kommentierte. Die Titelsingle ”Smile” ist ein weiteres durch und durch positives, absolut lebensbejahendes Statement. „Drei Minuten absolut zuversichtliche Energie sind das“,
so ihr Kommentar. Auch die schon 2019 veröffentlichten Singles „Never Really Over“ und „Harleys in Hawaii“ werden auf dem Album vertreten sein, die in der Standard-Edition insgesamt 12 Songs vereint und sehr persönlich klingt, weil Katy ganz offen Probleme und Zweifel anspricht, mit denen sie in den letzten Jahren zu kämpfen hatte. Seit KP im Jahr 2008 mit „I Kissed A Girl“ erstmals die #1 in Deutschland
erobern sollte, hat die US-Sängerin alles abgeräumt. Zuletzt erschien das Album „Witness“, mit dem sie wieder einmal die #1 in den US-Charts eroberte (in Deutschland wurde u.a. die Single „Chained To The Rhythm“ vergoldet).

Seit 25 Jahren gehört das Berliner Duo zu den Pionieren und führenden Vertretern des emotional-melodischen House & Techno und legt nun mit "Dear Future Self" sein neuntes Album vor, geschrieben und produziert auf seinen globalen Touren von Neuseeland bis Berlin, mit Künstlerkollabos aus Island, Südafrika, England und Deutschland. "Das ist unser cluborientiertestes Werk bislang, viele der Songs wurden in den letzten 18 Monaten rund um den Erdball live getestet. Von wunderschönen Sonnenuntergängen am Strand bis zu Fabrikhallen, von grossen Festivals bis zu kleinen Clubs, nur die wirklich essentiellen Tracks schafften es auf das Album", so Booka Shade. Ein weiteres Must-Have für die zahlreichen Fans, das die sich immer weiter entwickelnde und verfeinernde Palette von Booka Shade um ein Juwel erweitert. Zusätzlich belegt das Duo seine Innovationsfreudigkeit mit dem "Dolby Atmos 3CD Audio Blu-ray" Format, für dessen Mix Kraftwerk-Mitglied Fritz Hilpert verantwortlich zeichnet, der bereits für seinen Surround Mix von Kraftwerks "3D - Der Katalog" 2017 für den Grammy nominiert wurde.

We're glad to be back with our latest reissue, a couple undercover soul gems from the Midwest originally self-released in 1984: LaVerne Washington's "The Promise" and "I Found What I've Been Searching For".

LaVerne has dedicated her life to the arts in every possible way. As an artist herself but also behind the scenes, helping and supporting her contemporaries fulfil their callings. Charlie Parker, Count Basie, Ella Fitzgerald, Mary Lou Williams - LaVerne grew up in Kansas City listening to the all time jazz greats, and soon discovered she was blessed with a keen sense for playing music by ear, playing the piano to what she would hear on the radio. In her teens whilst the 60s transitioned to the 70s' disco and funk era, LaVerne was there to witness it all, and she would go on to study music at the Charlie Parker Academy where she was inspired to become an entertainer.

At Langston University, LaVerne kept studying music where her career blossomed, founding and touring the US with the gospel group "Emery Shaw and the Voices of Praise", singing in several college bands and with her choir "The Voices Of Bethel". LaVerne would go on to perform notably with her bands "LaVerne Washington and Rococo" and the "LaVerne Washington Quartet", and record several songs in KC including "The Promise" and "I Found What I've Been Searching For" in 1984 before moving to Washington DC.

In DC, LaVerne was offered a position as a Program specialist with the National Endowment For The Arts where she started supporting other artists through her work. Over the next couple decades, LaVerne became an associate producer for the Rhythm and Blues Foundation and the Pioneer Awards Ceremonies held in New York, Philadelphia and Los Angeles, which saw the likes of Prince, Aretha Franklin and Jerry Butler attending among others. She has also managed and was mentored by DeeDee Sharp and consulted with artists including Bonnie Raitt (who acted as a mentor to Laverne as well), Kim Weston, Kathy Sledge (SisterSledge), Smokey Robinson and G.C Cameron (Spinners). During that time, LaVerne has kept singing, on her own and as a backing vocalist for DeeDee Sharp and Freda Payne and has never stopped her lifelong dedication to music and the Arts.

The Promise original 7" was LaVerne's last recording in Kansas City before her move to DC and the beginning of her involvement behind the scenes. Channelling her gospel roots - with impeccable arrangement, a contagious drum machine led rhythm section, soaring vocals and relatable lyrics, "The Promise" is guaranteed to bring back smiles to dancefloors and living rooms alike! "I Found What I've Been Searching For" on the flip is a beautiful soul ballad which really showcases the strength and emotion in LaVerne's voice.

Back again in it's original 7" format, we've had the audio transferred and restored from the original 24 track tape provided by LaVerne, and got the recordings re-mixed for the best possible sound! Floating Points behind the mixing desk for this new iteration of a lost classic, comes with a 14"x14" poster of the original picture

The Danish label/imprint arbitrary announces the release of Framework 3 (arbitrary11) by Mads Emil Nielsen. Framework 3 is the latest instalment in Nielsen’s sequence of graphic scores and recordings. The series includes the Danish composer’s own subjective translations of visual materials and sound pieces accompanied by visual notations.

On this release he collaborates with Katja Gretzinger and Nicola Ratti. Published as a limited edition art print folder, Framework 3 consists of risographed scores and recordings on 10” vinyl and CD – with recordings by Nielsen, along with graphic scores by Gretzinger and contributions by Ratti.

Raised in a family of architects Nielsen has for several years been occupied with the question of “how do you intuitively sonify an image?” along with the complementary processes of translating sounds and music into illustrations and scores. In early 2019, he produced various drawings and sound pieces which formed the starting point for the three tracks on this 10” vinyl EP. The audio is derived from synthesizer recordings and basic electronic sound sources (sine waves, feedback, noise) and percussive loops combined with recordings made in the studios at EMS (Elektronmusikstudion, Stockholm).

The audio material was translated by graphic designer Katja Gretzinger into a series of visual notations made while listening to the music. Gretzinger developed various symbols, forms and structures, such as points, bars, 3D balls, irregular patterns / “swarms” and regular patterns (vertical hatchings). These were combined with found image materials and cut-outs from old prints and layered with large geometric forms, which define the individual character of each of the three parts. The resulting 18-page graphic score is included in the release in the form of risograph printed sheets.

Nielsen then invited musician Nicola Ratti, who is also trained as an architect, to create sonic re-interpretations of the graphic score. Ratti reinterpreted the imagery as a selection of sound elements positioned in a three-dimensional area; which he visualized as the space between the composer / artist, Ratti himself and the loudspeakers. These recordings are included on the CD.

1, 2, 3 written & produced by Mads Emil Nielsen, Copenhagen / Berlin, 2019 / 2020 (reworked and combined with a live recording from Standards, Milan, September 2019). Recording by + thanks to URSSS. CD: 1, 2, 3 written & produced by Nicola Ratti, Milan, 2020.
Scores by Katja Gretzinger. Artwork/design (packaging, discs, text) by Mads Emil Nielsen.

Auf seinem zweiten Album begeistert das Sheffielder Trio International Teachers Of Pop mit Nerd-Disco und einer schrägen Pop-Not-Pop-Attitüde. Referenzen sind das legendäre Studio 54, Grace Jones, Bianca Jagger auf weißem Pferd und glückliche Clubbingzeiten in Sheffield und Manchester. Abgemicht wurde "Pop Gossip" von ITOP-Mitglied Dean Honer, der bereits für Topstars von Jarvis Cocker bis Britney Spears gearbeitet hat. Zu den Keytracks gehören der Opener "Don't Diss The Disco", "I Stole Yer Plimoles" mit Jason Williamson (Sleaford Mods) sowie das deutschsprachige Pink Floyd-Cover "Ein Weiterer Stein In Der Wand"(!).

Auf seinem zweiten Album begeistert das Sheffielder Trio International Teachers Of Pop mit Nerd-Disco und einer schrägen Pop-Not-Pop-Attitüde. Referenzen sind das legendäre Studio 54, Grace Jones, Bianca Jagger auf weißem Pferd und glückliche Clubbingzeiten in Sheffield und Manchester. Abgemicht wurde "Pop Gossip" von ITOP-Mitglied Dean Honer, der bereits für Topstars von Jarvis Cocker bis Britney Spears gearbeitet hat. Zu den Keytracks gehören der Opener "Don't Diss The Disco", "I Stole Yer Plimoles" mit Jason Williamson (Sleaford Mods) sowie das deutschsprachige Pink Floyd-Cover "Ein Weiterer Stein In Der Wand"(!).

Recumbent Speech, Ezra Feinberg’s second album, opens with a lament. Named for the Robert Frost poem, “Acquainted with the Night” was written during one of the many devastating spectacles of injustice under our current regime. Repeating flutes and synths beam out of a low-end darkness, reflecting a collective sense of loss and alienation. Rising slowly, thickening with guitars and strings, “Acquainted with the Night” lifts off, and so too does the album from there. The second track, “Letter to my Mind,'' features the dynamic interplay of Feinberg's guitar with the loose and playful drumming of Tortoise's John McEntire, both pushing and pulling atop a looping bass figure. "Palms Up" begins with a lockstep pulse recalling early Terry Riley before jumping into an Ashra-like jam with Afrobeat accents. Side B opens with "Ovation," a tryptic with McEntire on drums which sets a wide lens onto a sweeping landscape, with soaring flutes, wordless vocals, and a hypnotic bassline played on a humming fretless that recalls classic ECM jazz-fusion. The piece plunges into an ambient, interior space before reemerging with a guitar solo fried through an old Space Echo effects processor, conjuring lidded Pompeii-era Pink Floyd. The album's title-track finale, "Recumbent Speech," features the magical pedal steel of Chuck Johnson. Unwinding atop a Balearic analog synth pattern, Feinberg stretches textures of Fender Rhodes and acoustic guitar around Johnson’s lyrical steel, with nods to Japanese ambient legend Hiroshi Yoshimura, as well as Cluster & Eno. Recumbent Speech refers to the possibilities, pleasures, fears, and fantasies that occur the moment the noise dies down, when we are recumbent, in repose but still awake, still speaking, and still aware of ourselves as part of the maddening world. Ezra Feinberg is a guitarist, composer, and psychoanalyst living in Jackson Heights, NY. Feinberg was the founding member of the San Francisco psychedelic rock collective Citay, releasing albums on Important Records and Dead Oceans throughout the 2000s. After relocating to NYC, he issued his first solo record, Pentimento and Others, on his imprint Related States and on cassette on Stimulus Progression in 2018. The release, his first since Citay folded in 2012, earned praise from numerous music outlets including Paste Magazine, The Wire, Stereogum, Vice, and Aquarium Drunkard. In recent years, Feinberg has performed and toured near and far with Jefre Cantu-Ledesma, Steve Gunn, Alexander Turnquist, Cruel Diagonals, Daniel Carter, Jonas Reinhardt, Christopher Tignor, Kath Bloom, Robbie Lee, High Aura’d, Glasser, Ava Mendoza, Buck Curran, Real Estate, and many others, and has ongoing studio collaborations with Jefre Cantu-Ledesma and Arp, contributing both guitar and songwriting to the last Arp album Zebra.

Four intergalactic cuts from Natasha Kitty Katt on Ghetto Disco Records.

Kosmic Oscillations

A deeper Kosmic vibe from Natasha, Kosmic Oscillations puts your head in space. Designed to transcend the dancefloor and take your mind on a Kosmic trip.

Larry’s Code

Paying homage to the one and only, Larry Levan, this dancefloor number is guaranteed to set floors alight. With heavy synth use and a funky bassline, this is one to make you move.

Up There?

An upbeat number centered around the idea of UFOs and glitterballs. A feel-good mover that’s out of this world.

Katt Nip

This bizarre, yet wonderful Italo trip has everything from cat sounds to a thumping bassline. Perfect for the dancefloor, this number is sure to turn a few heads and move feet.

When Bandcamp announced that they will be holding a special fundraiser on June 19th „that is specifically focused on racial justice, equality, and that they will donate their „share of revenues that day to the NAACP Legal Defence Fund“, we thought to put out a special sampler that contributes to that cause. All profits of the sales of „Music for the NAACP“ will go exactly there. Due to the lack of time, it might seemed knocked together, but old and new friends, from near and far alike did their best, to set it up. So, special thanks to everyone involved: especially to Lopazz at Mixmastering, Heidelberg, Rand Muzik Leipzig and the SST cutting house in Frankfurt, who did their part to also make this available on a 2x12“ compilation (same destination for its profits). Thank you for listening, helping and donating.

Sincerely,

Gerd Janson

Compilation album curated by Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith

The directive for the composers featured on Breathing Instruments was, in effect, to accentuate the ways in which instruments sound like they are breathing. Some have recreated the literal experience of feeling or hearing the human breath. Others take a more abstract approach, where “breathing” is more motif than object of emulation.

From hushed pulsations and distant vocals in Kathryn Shuman’s ‘Objects creating a womb-like environment to Julianna Barwick’s blissful ‘Newborn’ the tracks give sonic form to the experience of emerging from the womb.

There is also a striking concurrence of woodland sounds throughout this collection from the ghostly tones of Emily A Srague’s ‘Flew’ to Cool Maritime and Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith’s dew dripped ‘Daybreak’.

Meanwhile the undulating seascape of Geotic’s ‘Uncaught’ conjures moments of Evening Star by Fripp/ Eno, but supplants that album’s crystalline production with the warm crackle of vinyl.
If we learn anything from Breathing Instruments it is that we are inextricable from the natural world.

Minyo Crusaders rework historic Japanese folk songs (min'yo) with Latin, African, Caribbean and Asian rhythms for their debut album 'Echoes of Japan'.

Releases from Ryuichi Sakamoto, Haruomi Hosono and Midori Takada have re-ignited global interest in Japanese music and 'Echoes of Japan' marks the arrival of a big band like no other.

'For Japanese people, min'yo is both the closest, and most distant, folk music' explains band-leader Katsumi Tanaka: 'We may not feel it in our daily, urban lives, yet the melodies, the style of singing and the rhythm of the taiko drums are engrained in our DNA'. Initially indifferent to min'yo, a tragic event in recent Japanese history set Tanaka on his current path: 'Following the Tohoku earthquake of 2011, I reflected on my life, work and identity. A fan of world music, I began searching for Japanese roots music I could identify
with. Discovering mid-late 20th century acts Hibari Misora, Chiemi Eri and the Tokyo Cuban Boys, I was
captivated by their eccentric arrangements and how they mixed min'yo with Latin and jazz.'

Originally sung by fishermen (Kushimoto Bushi; Mamurogawa Ondo), coal miners (Tanko Bushi) and sumo wrestlers (Sumo Jinku), these songs deal with topics such as the returning spirits of ancestors (Hohai Bushi), Japan's smallest bird (Toichin Bushi) and a bride's love for her husband's pockmarked face (Otemoyan).

Minyo Crusaders are one of the most hyped acts on the Tokyo music scene that went national in 2018 through festivals such as Fuji Rock. The band features veterans of the Tokyo roots music scene such as bassist DADDY U (Ska Flames), keyboardist Moe (Kidlat), sax player Koichiro Osawa (Matt Sounds/ J.J. Session), Yamauchi Stephan (J.J. Session), percussionist Mutsumi Kobayashi (Banda de la Mumbia), conga player Irochi (Cubatumb) and vocalist Meg (DJ collective Tokyo Sabroso).

- Wild blend of Japanese folk music with cumbia, boogaloo, Ethio jazz, Afro funk + more
- Ry Cooder, Mario Galeano (Ondatropica/Frente Cumbiero), Clap! Clap! are all fans
- European touring plans for autumn/fall 2019
- Includes Japanese lyrics + English translations

- Lacquers cut @ The Carvery

A treasure trove of edit wonders from none other than the Turkish master and esteemed digger’s digger, Jonny Rock, released on the ever-dependable Orange Tree Edits.

Four cuts, taking you on whistle-stop tour around the inner workings of Rock’s mind, from electro to new wave, with a slice of Serbian soft rock in there for good measure.

Arguably poised as Kool Keith’s most sophisticated release to date, “Saks 5th Ave” serves as both a stepping stone forward in the artist’s prolific career, as well as a much needed reminder that the world’s most innovative emcee has a thorough grasp on far more than your average rapper. Touching on everything from the use of high fashion products to personal experiences including a near fatal car crash which occurred in 2017, The 16 track studio album produced by the versatile beat maker Dean “Landon Price Beats” Trotter channels Keith in a smoothly conscious state while laying down effortless bars over modern yet timeless hip hop production. From the artist who brought you "Dr. Dooom”, “Sex Style”, “Keith” and everything in between, “Saks 5th Ave” is the latest and greatest haute couture in a world of Gap and Old Navy hip hop.

Höga Nord Rekords proudly presents Birds from London. Birds or Katie Wilkinson is relatively new as a producer but has been DJ-ing and playing in bands for the last nine years, marinating herself in interesting underground music. This 7”, Transcendental Phases/Tunnel Vision is her first release on Höga Nord Rekords.

Birds is a declaration of love to electronic music and psychedelia. The vocals in Tunnel Vision bares traces from the psychedelic pioneers of the 60’s – Think Roky Erikson with a Roland 303! Birds’ music is powerful and monotonous and she creates a dirty, warm and monumental soundscape. The production is airy and dynamic

Wilkinson mean that “we must try and find harmony in what we have and try and aim towards something positive, despite the fact that we live in a society that’s been completed fucked via the selfish behaviour of others (and most probably, ourselves at times).” With Brexit and the new wave of racism, spreading over Europe Birds makes music for a generation left with little hope but with the desire for something too long for.

Mirae Arts is an independent vinyl label based in northern California with focus on experimental ambient and techno music. Inspired by travel and natural landscapes, Mirae Arts boasts a diverse catalogue of projects from artists such as Seraphim Rytm, Michiru Aoyama, and Katsunori Sawa.

Katsunori Sawa & Anthone (aka Martsman) are Bokeh, the dynamic duo behind some of the most notable releases on Berlin’s Weevil Neighbourhood. Bokeh blends together the distinctive styles of Katsunori Sawa & Anthone, who have releases on labels such as Opal Tapes, SNTS, Hidden Hawaii, and many more under their belts. This year, Bokeh has already released a 12” EP for UVB-76 and Mirae Arts is proud to announce the follow up debut LP release called Lenses Dances.

Lenses Dances comprises 8 tracks that reflect on the photograph effect called bokeh, where aperture settings of the respective camera lens create vivid patterns, almost like dancing dots. It is a dedication to the artists’ love for photography. The music is complemented by Paul Nicholson’s signature graphic designs.

Artwork design by Paul Nicholson, UK graphic designer who created the famous Aphex Twin logo and The Laughing Man logo for the cult-classic anime, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex. Paul has since designed logos and artworks for numerous artists and organizations.

Mastering and lacquer completed by Kassian Troyer at the legendary Dubplates & Mastering.

A focal point for the unique punk-funk that was coming together in Bristol as the bridge from the 70s to the 80s arrived, Maximum Joy was formed by Glaxo Babies multi-instrumentalist Tony Wrafter and 18 year old vocalist Janine Rainforth. Soon they drafted in additional Glaxo Babies in the form of drummer Charlie Llewellin and bassist Dan Catsis, along with guitarist John Waddington, fresh from The Pop Group. The group set about making a one-of-a-kind mix of funk, punk, pop, jazz, dub, soul, afrobeat and reggae; creating a brilliant burst of danceable tunes wrapped around elastic basslines and complex percussion, punctuated by melodic horns and stabs of guitar, all of it highlighting Rainforth’s naturally enthusiastic vocal style. They immediately took their place on the rosters of influential labels like Y and 99 with iconic debut single Stretch, as the band had clearly captured something special.

Entering 1982, Kevin Evans had replaced Catsis as Maximum Joy set out to make what would be their only full length LP. Recording at Berry Street and The Lodge with producers Adrian Sherwood (On-U-Sound legend), Dave Hunt (Flying Lizards, Pigbag, This Heat) and Pete Wooliscroft (Kate Bush, Talk Talk, Peter Gabriel, OMD, This Heat) the band would mix practiced grooves with imaginative improvisation. The results were absolutely jaw-dropping.

Station M.X.J.Y. kicks things off with Dancing On My Boomerangand promptly sets forth the blueprint for bands like !!! and The Rapture to capitalize on nearly twenty years later. In fact, those bands can only dream of the mix of driving percussion and spectral shards of guitar that Maximum Joy has clearly already mastered. Do It Todayannounces itself immediately with Rainforth delivering a looping and infectious vocal melody that the others dance around playfully, as handclaps keep the stomping groove intact, leaving a dancehall hit for outer space circling your turntable.

If you ever wondered what it would sound like if ESG and The Slits combined forces, Let It Take You There has the answer for you. Llewellin periodically delivers a cascade of marching band percussion while Waddington’s classic R&B riffs are transformed into a slithering snake trying to keep pace with Evans locked in groove as Rainforth’s singsong vocals are reduced to whispered echoes. They close out side one with the delicious slab of pop that is Searching For A Feeling. Clearly pronouncing the band’s intention to find the positives in a dire time for England, they look to rally those around them to focus on making real change in the face of opposing voices via one of Rainforth’s most delightful deliveries.

Side two sees Wrafter stretching out on Where’s Deke?, showcasing what had already been obvious, as he is the band’s secret weapon, often coloring each tune with his horns, sometimes in several styles just seconds apart. He underlines that feeling with the raucous and bouncy Temple Bomb Twist, before they hit a straight groove in Mouse An’ Me, like a dub infected Train In Vain. Well, if The Clash had ever allowed themselves to properly lose their minds on the dancefloor.

A funky afrobeat flute and guitar battle breaks out (way cooler than it sounds) before Rainforth rallies the troops to not only fill up the disco, but also the surrounding streets in political resistance to Thatcherism via All Wrapped Up. It is entirely genuine and their activism has none of the menace of the others in their scene, but rather a feeling of sharp optimism amongst this danceable masterpiece. It is that optimism that always set Maximum Joy apart, and makes their grooves all the more irresistible today.

Sadly, the upward trajectory of the band was cut short as Rainforth left the group, and soon afterwards seemed to stop making music altogether. The reasoning seemed destined to remain a mystery, until earlier this year when she gave a brave interview to The Guardian where she revealed that an assault by someone in the industry caused her to retreat entirely from music for nearly three decades. Luckily, Janine has embraced music once again, and she refuses to let the magic that was Station M.X.J.Y. be lost as well.