Search:the let go

LP edition of the sold out CD/Pamphlet from 2016. The score by Schmid, reading by Landry, and edited/produced by McCann. Includes a big poster of The St. Francis List.

Emily Martin and Derek Baron on St. Francis (Feb. 2021):

What does it mean to pray? To address someone, to plead for something, to welcome humiliation and failure: Please, let me forget about the China Chalet parties, please let there be no countries and no war, please let me love you. Is prayer iteration, or just repetition: My god, my god, my god, my god… To know spleen you just have to be down to be humiliated. But do we know for sure that we are miserable? How do we know?

This is how it has to go. We listened to this for the first time together in May 2017, while driving from Chicago to New York along the I-80 in Pennsylvania, stopping at the rest area that I later mistook for the famous picture of American “culture.” We stayed at a hotel and may have ordered a pizza. Content first, then, content again. Went inside and drank wine in relative silence, burping. Recognizing the sacredness in the plot of Friends. A choral melisma representative of holy Joy.

The dreams of moving through a convoluted space of passages, staircases, open courtyards, rooms just glimpsed past a door. It doesn’t seem possible that you can get from one place to the next but according to the logic of the dream you do. I think this has to do with how each little unit of ‘content’ happens at a different distance from your ear. The holiness of the periphery. That you can catch a shard of history if you only find the right distance to stand from the painting.

But prayer is also like the magic language we were talking about — faith that words do something more than just mean — they have the capacity to effect change in the world, and not just in the like, “words change ppl’s minds” kind of way, but in that the words themselves actually have agency. Form: sing-along.

Sir Rod Stewart was on his way to becoming one of the most successful recording artists in history in 1974 when he moved to America and signed with Warner Bros. Records (now Warner Records). Over his next 27 years with the label, Stewart released some of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed records of his extraordinary career. This 5LP boxed set features Stewart's first four Warner albums on vinyl, plus a bonus LP of rare and unreleased studio outtakes from those albums: Atlantic Crossing (1975), A Night on the Town (1976), Footloose & Fancy Free (1977), and Blondes Have More Fun (1978).

After being out of print for decades, the studio albums look and sound better than ever as they return to vinyl, complete with replica sleeves and newly remastered sound. The albums and the bonus LP are all organised in an iridescent box with Stewart foil-stamped on the cover, his blonde shag haircut glistening in gold, and his leopard-print suit shimmering in silver.

After brilliant stints with the Jeff Beck Group and the Faces and several outstanding solo albums, Stewart moved to Los Angeles in 1974. ROD STEWART: 1975-1978 reflects the burst of creativity that followed, starting in 1975 with his label debut, Atlantic Crossing. The album was produced by the legendary Tom Dowd, who produced Stewart's next three albums. After Atlantic Crossing was certified gold, A Night On the Town went double-platinum, and Foot Loose & Fancy Free went triple-platinum, as did its follow-up Blondes Have More Fun, which became Stewart's first #1 album. That era introduced many of the singer's best-known tracks: "Sailing," "I Don't Want to Talk About It," "I Was Only Joking," "The First Cut Is the Deepest," "You're in My Heart (The Final Acclaim)," "Da Ya Think I'm Sexy?" and "Hot Legs."

The bonus LP, titled Encores 1975-1978, is a collection of 10 outtakes selected from the recording sessions for all four albums. The first side highlights five songs from the recent deluxe editions released for Atlantic Crossing and A Night on the Town. Songs include an alternate version of the B-side "Rosie" and a cover of the Bee Gees' "To Love Somebody" recorded with the influential Stax Records house band, Booker T. & The MG's. The flip side features five previously unreleased session outtakes from Foot Loose & Fancy Free and Blondes Have More Fun. Highlights include a cover of the Motown classic, "You Really Got A Hold On Me," and the unreleased tracks "Silver Tongue" and "Don't Hang Up".

Following in the footsteps of the pathbreaking Minna Miteru compilation of Japanese indie music, Morr Music and Alien Transistor have again joined forces to release The Fruit Of Errata, a compilation introducing the world to the intimate DIY pop of yumbo. Led by songwriter, pianist, and occasional vocalist Koji Shibuya, the Japanese band has released four albums since forming in 1998. This compilation draws fifteen songs (eighteen on vinyl) from those albums, and some ancillary releases, to uncover a biographical narrative of yumbo, showing how Shibuya’s songwriting, and the group’s limber, sensitive playing, has developed over the decades. It also places them squarely within a tradition of home-spun but ambitious Japanese pop that takes in Maher Shalal Hash Baz, Tenniscoats, Nagisa Ni Te, Yuzo Iwata, Kazumi Nikaido and more.

yumbo is very much the vision of Shibuya, an amiable iconoclast whose songs seem informed by some of his early listening – there’s the playful seriousness of Maher Shalal Hash Baz’s Tori Kudo here, an avowed long-time hero for Shibuya, but also the flexibility of freely improvised music. You can also hear Shibuya’s fondness for Mayo Thompson and The Red Crayola in both the idiosyncracies of the writing and the egalitarian looseness of the playing. Shibuya also carries those energies into the group’s membership – there are fantastic stories of him having a conversation at a record shop, or overhearing someone speaking, and asking the person in question to join yumbo as one of their various singers. He seems open to chance as a driving force, as a way to make space for unexpected possibilities to blossom.

The great achievement of yumbo and Shibuya, though, is translating all of this into beautiful, unpredictable pop songs. There’s a gorgeous soul-inflected lilt to “A House” that makes it delightfully affecting; the swaying brass on “Storm” propels its melody to a moody, dreamlike conclusion; the nakedness of “The Sweetest Mass” is slightly reminiscent of Carla Bley’s more pop-focused writing, crossed with the classicism of the songs that spilled from the Brill Building in the ‘60s. Throughout, Shibuya renders pop a deeply personal experience; you can hear musings here on friendship, family, intimacy, the complexity of relationships, mortality, and imbalances of power. These musings are also shadowed by real-life events: the effects and impact of the Great East Japan Earthquake of 2011 are captured in songs like “Umbrella People” from Onibi.

Throughout the performances on The Fruit Of Errata, Shibuya and the group play with tenderness; they also often draw on other players to flesh out the music even further, two such guests being the aforementioned Tori Kudo (on “Umbrella People”) and Olympia, Washington’s LAKE (on “The Devil Song”). Community-minded and generous in approach, the writing of Shibuya and the music of yumbo is never less than lovely, and The Fruit Of Errata is a welcome introduction to their world. Open and gentle, confident and generous, these pop songs are filled with charm and spirit.

Ulna’s OEA is a “bar-rock getting sober record.“ The first full length solo record of Ulna, aka Adam Schubert of Cafe Racer, OEA is an ode to reinvention. Along with the release comes a rebranding--formerly Ruins, Schubert’s new pseudonym ULNA is a reference to a pivotal moment in his childhood. At the age of 14, Schubert shattered the bone on the inside of his forearm in a skating accident, and took up the guitar. “That’s what made me serious about playing music,” says Schubert.

This name change also accompanied Schubert’s shift towards sobriety--OEA was created right as Schubert reconfigured his life without drugs or alcohol. With the exception of the final track, “Dead Friends,” the whole album was written while in a recovery program. “You have to reinvent your whole personality, you have to be a different person,” says Schubert.”Who am I if I’m not the crazy drunk dude who’s doing drugs in the bathroom?”

OEA is an intensely personal record, in subject matter but also quite literally--Schubert plays every instrument, though the record feels far from a home-demo, recorded and mastered by Robby Hanes at Strange Magic Recording in Chicago’s Logan Square. Schubert’s songs are ambling and full of picked guitar and retro harmonies, a stylistic sensibility he attributes to a love for the Beatles and “acoustic rock with a weird punk edge,” a-la Big Thief and Kurt Vile. Though instrumentally sunny, his vocals hint at something else - there’s an underlying ache. OEA is an easy listen, but with a depth of emotion that demands listeners’ attention.

OEA explores the range of emotions experienced in the transition to sobriety, from fear to backslide to self doubt. At first listen, “Turn The Record On” feels almost like a love song, with a chorus of “turn the record on/ you’re my favorite song,” but in actuality the song is the story of an empty encounter rather than romance. “It’s kind of about this sad hookup with someone else who is equal in your addiction, you’re just using each other because you don’t want to be alone in your using,” says Schubert. “We both have this problem and we can have fun in it together because we both understand. They know the score.”

While “Turn The Record On” speaks to a moment of shared addiction, other tracks examine what comes after sobriety. “And I took the pill like I should / and I stayed clean just like I said I would,” begins “Last Song,” which Schubert cites as one of the hardest tracks to write. “I got sober and I take medication and - I’m doing all this stuff now but nothing’s changed,” says Schubert. “ I think that’s pretty common in people who get sober. I did all this stuff and now what?”

The penultimate track on the album, “Last Song” fades into a noisy interlude that gives listeners the feeling of motion, like entering a tunnel and emerging into a quieter, lo-fi recording, the closing track “Dead Friends.” The only non-studio track, “Dead Friends” was recorded in Schubert’s home, and carries with it a warm intimacy. “I wanted it to sound like you’re outside somewhere, you're walking, and you step inside somewhere that feels safe,” says Schubert.

This closing track embodies the mood of OEA- warm but with a melancholy edge, like coming in from the cold but still feeling a lingering chill. It’s an album that feels comfortable and cohesive--though individual tracks stand alone, OEA works best when listened through start to finish. It’s a record to put on while cooking dinner and let sink in.

'Aquatic Flowers', the fourth full-length from beloved Nashville songwriter Tristen, brims with incisive pop-folk tracks ruminating on the ways we attempt to feel in control in a chaotic world, the past that informs us, and how to let go in order to grow. Making rock and roll music in Nashville, the mononymous songwriter has established herself as a prolific and introspective musician over the past decade. With a knack for crafting “hooky arrangements that tickle the ear and won’t leave your brain alone” (NPR), she has collaborated with artists like Vanessa Carlton (she co-wrote Carlton’s latest album 'Love is an Art') and Jenny Lewis (playing in the 'Voyager' touring band), and opened to critical acclaim for artists ranging from Robyn Hitchcock to Television. Tristen and her husband Buddy Hughen recorded and produced the record in their home studio Tight Squeeze. “I had a real desire to not overcomplicate things for this record, to get really close to what I have given in the past to my demos, which for me is the most inspired time of making something, right in the beginning, feeling it the most at that moment because you just wrote it and it’s on your mind.”

The rich sounds of Maloya and Séga music, originating from the Réunion island (as well as Mauritius and Seychelles for Séga), have recently been brought to the ears of the Northern hemisphere's music lovers. Hailing from the French Alps, where Réunion-natives and young "metropolitan" French youngsters have been sharing parties, food and music for years, Les Pythons De La Fournaise are a flavoursome electric "Séga" band and they have already put out a couple of albums over the last decade.

This time, they are interpreting Séga and Maloya songs under the form of a - nearly – all-acoustic orchestra : "L'Orchestre Du Piton" !

This Long-Player has got a particular sound and character, starting with a powerful four-woman choir (often sung in unison, in accordance with the Maloya tradition). The "lead" is a different singer on almost every song, which brings a variety of tone and vocal texture to the album.

Instead of keys, organ or synth, Les Pythons went for accordion ; they also brought into the studio an array of percussion, ranging from classic bongos and bells to typical instruments of the Indian Ocean : theKayamb, the Pikeur, the Sati and most notably the Roulèr– the king of them all, majestic barrel-shelled bass drum.

On songs like "Anon Manz Demiel" (Let's go and eat honey), two crazy electric guitars with intertwined riffs add a fresh element to the sound – somewhat echoeing with Esquivel's exotica and Congolese rumba at the same time !

And the most unusual fact on this record : there is no bass guitar. Perhaps the band had a statement to make; in our modern music culture where bass plays a central role, they prove that one can move to other sounds – and appreciate the more organic deepness of percussion.

Whether or not you look into the meaning of the songs (mostly from the Réunion repertoire with a couple of Mauritian exceptions and one original "Pythons" composition), you will feel the mood of the Creole lyrics – a deep love story in "Maloya Tantine", an hymn to slowness and indolence in "Tou Dou", a clumsy chat-up scene in "Malbaraise"...

And overall, a joyful, fresh and sparkly energy emanates from this "Orchestre" sound, from this exceptionally talented crew. Oté !

Double LP of classic songs from the Kings of Jazz.

“The Hunt for the Gingerbread Man 2: Get the Dough” embraces the juxtaposition between a fantastical world made of candy and pastries, and the dark and unforgiving lifestyle of the veteran emcee. Sonically immersive, and nostalgic of an era in hip hop that celebrates pain and hardship through whimsical storytelling, this album reaches deep into the life of the protagonist “Mr. Ginjy Breadman” aka “The Gingerbread Man” - and doesn’t let go until you’ve become fully invested in his tumultuous life journey in the “United Cakes of America.”

Thirteen years after the studio release of “The Hunt for the Gingerbread Man,” this sequel album is a testament to MF Grimm’s vivid imagination and innate ability to create stories that transport you beyond our earthly realm. Anthropomorphic cookies, pastries, and gingerbread men are the primary characters in MF Grimm’s tales of violence, crime, drugs, and love, in the ghetto known as “Candyland.”

Perhaps the most compelling aspect of the twenty-one-track album is its unrelenting dedication to both the authenticity of MF Grimm’s infamous life story, and the innocent and irreverent nature of the characters themselves.

The album is produced, mixed, and mastered by Darko the Super.

Aparde’s new album, Alliance sees the German
musician retreat from his recent experimentations
with avant-gard pop music back into the world of
deep, and oftentimes dark, electronica. For his
previous album, Hands Rest, Aparde ventured
outside Berlin’s club scene through the use of his
voice, which gave his music a softer and more
intimate edge. Alliance is no less intimate, except
this time the musician’s vulnerability seeps through
the cracks rather than taking center stage.
As impressive sonically as it is technically, Aparde
used a mixture of electronic sounds, analogue
equipment and his own voice either as a sound
element or lyrical component to explore this duality
of sound. “This album was about focusing on
something that calmed me down and brought me
away from reality,” says Aparde. When the musician
says ‘away from reality’, he doesn’t mean into
dreamy, ethereal soundscapes, but rather a deep
dive into dystopian atmospheres of drone sounds
and chewed-up drum machines. Alliance’s second
track, Allies has a dire beginning and one might
even be tempted in skipping it if it weren’t for
Aparde’s hushed voice shining through the
shadows, melancholic yes, but also warm. Despite
the album’s focus on electronic gear the music isn’t
exactly dance-able, tracks have a ruminative pace,brooding even, “I wanted to make the tracks with
more breathing space between the atmosphere
and silence. There are fewer elements but more
impact, I think,” says Aparde.
Things change gears toward the middle of
Alliance, with both Lined and The Shift representing
the colder, club-ier tracks of the album. For
both of these tunes, any emotionality gets
converted into a dense and thumping energy that
is released in a cathartic fashion. It is, as Aparde
describes, music “for you to move to when you
have a good moment or a mental crisis”. But
Aparde doesn’t leave it at that frequency; he closes
off the album courageously by letting listeners in,
once again, to his own world and emotions. While
still a driving electronic track, Hole is framed
around melancholic piano keys that bring the
mood down, and prepare listeners for Know you,
the album’s most intimate, and vulnerable piece. “I
never felt alright,” Aparde admits open-heartedly
on the track.
With Alliance, Aparde brings listeners deep into
his soul, a soul that is at times conflicted and
agitated and at times low-key and solemn. And as
he does so, the listener’s own mood is muted and
lifted in a journey of quest, dance and healing.

Raymond Charles Robinson was not just a legend, “the genius”, a “force of nature” and “a presence”. He was also pure energy, the source of a radiant glow that dazzled everyone who ever came near him. His passion for music, women, and rhythm, coupled with his love of life and laughter, were ingredients that made his work a monument of 20th century culture. He left essential traces – in jazz, blues, soul and R&B – because music is something inseparable and Ray lived its rhythms from the inside.

Born in poverty, raised in America’s racist South, blind at seven and an orphan at 15, Ray had all it took to be a success… Those attributes, plus a few titles in his case that he’d recorded for Swing Time, made such an impression on Ahmet Ertegun that he signed Ray to Atlantic in 1952. The next ten years forged the legend of Ray Charles. And now, six decades later, the tracks on this album are still hits hummed by all generations.

The past year's lockdown has proved undeniably challenging to improvising musicians who typically thrive on face-to-face interaction. But bassist Mike Watt, drummer/percussionist Mike Pride, and guitarist/banjoist Brandon Seabrook have all built their careers on kicking down the barriers between genres, so why would they let a little pandemic-induced isolation and geographic distance stand in their way? Convening for the first time as Three-Layer Cake, these three dizzyingly inventive artists bake up a long-distance set of singular, boundary-defying collaborations on their combustible debut, Stove Top. Stove Top is uncategorizable in the best sense of the word, patching together elements of punk, free jazz, new music, no wave, doom metal, dub, avant-funk, and various subsectors of the experimental in such freewheeling and raucous fashion that the very idea of divvying them up into disparate inspirations seems laughable.

2008 saw fledgling filmmakers RKSS release a faux trailer for NINJA ELIMINATOR. It was a love letter to the kung fu flicks of Godfrey Ho they grew up watching, loaded with over-the-top acting, gory DIY effects & crazy vocal dubs. It was a massive hit with festival crowds. A then-unknown LE MATOS provided the score. Inspired by DAFT PUNK, ED BANGER & the whole French Techno scene, LE MATOS delivered a driving, pulsating & intense melodic score that helped solidify the blueprint for the singular sound they have today. This EP collects tracks from all three NINJA ELIMINATOR shorts and have been extensively reworked, remixed and remastered for this release. Includes download code and insert written by Aaron Veling.

Geschmackvolles Doppelalbum mit herausragenden Sängerinnen. Wenn es allein um die Vokalkunst geht, dann ist die Jazz-Welt fest in weiblicher Hand. Man denke nur an Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald oder Nina Simone. Aber auch Sängerinnen jüngerer Tage, zum Beispiel Sarah Vaughan oder Diana Krall, beeindrucken nicht minder mit ihren verzaubernden Stimmen. Grund genug für das französische Label Wagram, die renommiertesten Sängerinnen der letzten Jahrzehnte mit auf einem Doppelalbum zu vereinen.

Silent Room, the duo formed by Enzo Carniel and Filippo Vignato is a conversation.
Between the piano of the first and the trombone of the second, two living forces of the
European jazz scene; between France and Italy; between acoustics and electronics. A
patient dialogue initiated on the benches of the conservatory in Paris, which was nourished
by the music of German trombonist Albert Mangelsdorff (to whom the duo paid homage for a
concert at the Cité des Arts in 2014), musical moments shared as a group (Enzo Carniel's
sextet at the Jazz à la Villette festival in particular) and in pairs - for numerous concerts
given on both sides of the Alps - before perfecting their common grammar, giving birth to
their own repertoire, creating their own space.

This first album, Aria, released on the Franco-Japanese label MENACE, was recorded in the
setting of the Villa Cicaletto in Tuscany, whose Silent Room the duo made their own in
September 2019. Carniel had just released Wallsdown, the third elegiac disc of his House of
Echo project (Jazz & People, 2020) and Vignato of an intense live duo recorded with
American cellist Hank Roberts (Ghost Dance, on CamJazz in 2019).

The album is carried by simple melodies, tenuous threads on which the two improvisers who
have slowly got to know each other crisscross and let their voices express themselves. Aria
can refer to the opening of Bach's Goldberg variations, to sung opera arias, but above all to
any expressive melody that develops the imagination. Aria is also the air in Italian: the air
that comes from the breath, the air that fills the room, the air that vibrates and is transformed
into sound. The repertoire is therefore this collection of Arias composed by Enzo Carniel and
Filippo Vignato.

If the duo advocates with this album its jazz heritage - that of improvisation and
conversation, of freedom and virtuosity - and claims to be Carla and Paul Bley, Keith Jarrett,
Gary Valente, Albert Mangelsdorff, Ornette Coleman or John Surman; it also explores the
contemporary colors of electronic music, ambient and Japanese minimalism. The use of the
prepared piano, Fender Rhodes and synthesizers colors the sound space of the acoustic
piano and trombone. The eponymous composition that opens the album in acoustic, closes
it in an electronic version, illuminating the path of the duo between the two universes.

In the almost plant-like composition "In All Nilautpaula", Enzo Carniel evokes the water lily
(in Sanskrit) coming to purify the water around him. On "Babele", Filippo Vignato invokes the
great question of language: thanks to Arias, and therefore melodies, language becomes
universal through music, and only the sensory experience counts.

Born from Carniel and Vignato's desire to create a sound space that would be filled with as
many melodies as silence, a place for listening, dialogue and meditation, Aria is one of those
rare records that contain entire worlds.

After severals EPs on labels such as Lumière Noir, Kill the DJs or Bahnsteig 23, here is the first album of french duo Il Est Vilaine, infused with a "Yellow Magic Orchestra-ish" touch, rooted in the french musical landscape.

A road trip in Brittany as a red thread, the two hooligans of Il Est Vilaine revisit Kawaii pop, crazy rock like DEVO and Detroit techno with a surprising coherence. An album long matured and awaited by the band's fans.

Il Est Vilaine aren’t Bretons, but they sure are tricksters. The Francophiles among you might have caught on to the corny pun in their name (beating a certain presidential candidate to the punch all while turning the name of the pastoral Ille-et-Vilaine region into, literally, “he’s a nasty woman,”) but the real takeaway is that these born-and-bred Parisians don’t take themselves too seriously – especially in an era in which there is much too much of that happening.
It was in 2014 (and on Dialect Recordings) that Florent and Simon tossed their debut 12” into the ring, the rightfully named Scandale – a tight little bombshell released that roused the electronic music scene out of its complacent little catnap.
So there we had it, two outcasts refusing to eat at the same table as the tech-house scene queens, serving up three whiplash-on-the-dancefloor cuts drenched in sweaty hedonistic disco and wrapped in a battered motorcycle jacket (with a gooey post-punk-pop core for good measure.) A clear mission statement right out of the gates, watermarked with mystical incantations and throbbing with rock ’n’ roll’s primitive drive. Everything and the kitchen sink, and a bag of chips – an invitation to just let lose that’s even better than the sum of its parts.

Five years after the release of ‘Pressure Loss’ the modern master of electronic minimalism Nicola Ratti returns to Where To Now? in collaboration with Japanese MC ‘MA’, for a suite of submerged, outsider Trip-Hop.

‘Shinkai’ meets at the crossroads of the gloomy sonic snapshot world of Tricky, the South London DIY avant pop bloom of Curl/Mica Levi, the outer fringes of Hip-Hop heralded by the Anticon crew, and the deep textured minimalism of Machinfabriek.

‘Shinkai’ heralds the first time Nicola Ratti has worked with a vocalist, and MA’s unique brand of ritualistic vocal methods and experimental approaches to intonation and inflexion only enhances Ratti’s otherworldly soundscapes. The depth of meaning behind MA’s lyrics further expands this sprawling sound world, revealing a twisted beauty, a deep insight into the melancholic world MA reflects upon within his abstract wordplay – on ‘Suiso’ MA laments above Ratti’s mourning electronics….

“A ship with the wind in the sails erased a path to the skies.

Gone forever,
In sandy finality,
A scene never to be repeated,
Never to be understood.

Never to hatch,
Dreams of never continuing beyond the crossroads
A painting dissipates as the allure runs dry
Without consulting the dusk, dawn never arrives.

Agonising over the silence brought on by a stumble,
Attacked from all angles until I find my ground once more.
What comes next does not matter - just as long as it comes.
A not-so-distant-future, born from certain uncertainty.

Let me face it with wavering reservations,
Bury me in it
My sins left unanswered
Cover the snow on which it falls.

An unthawing aquarium.
An unanswering aquarium.

Hiding, evolving, recollecting, transferring,
A precarious contradiction befalls.
Timeframes cut, edited and replaced with resentment
The ritual aesthetics of a secret ceremony.

The thoughts of once again,
Fills me with dread and rage.
Painted in blood.

Alas, it was fun...”

On the surface this is an unlikely (yet inspired) collaboration – MA has been a part of the Tokyo Hip-Hop underground for many years, over which time he has stylistically leapt into noisier, more experimental territories. We have Rabih Beaini to thank for shining a light on MA’s talents, with the 2019 LP ‘AMA’ being released on Morphine records, and Beaini opening new doors for experimentation and collaboration.

‘Shinkai’ was composed and recorded between January and April 2020. The pair had met a couple of times in Japan first and then in Europe, undertaking a live collaborative experiment combining sounds and words that had not been designed to be performed together, ‘Shinkai’ reflects the fluidity of this encounter and is in essence a consequence of it.

Ratti assigns the following poetic grounding to the intentions and thematic form of the album – “Shinkai means deep sea, a place most of us will never see except on the surface. The sea depths do not belong to us, they are not places for us, we do not know them and they disturb us, they are a material that we can look at without seeing. I have always thought that height, verticality in general, was not a familiar dimension except in relation to our physicality. The horizon reassures us, the depth disturbs us. The Italian language is written and read horizontally, from left to right, the Japanese language can be written vertically and read from right to left. Does the horizon still reassure us?”

The creative minds behind Handy, merch dons, illustrative geniuses, radio hosts and all-round good guys are now trying their palms at the world of the record label.

No strangers to danger, they hit the ground running with a five-track rodeo from Handy resident Maroki, complete with remixes from two standout talents of their respective scenes, 1800-Girls and Jensen Intercepter.

Kicking things off ‘Taff Trails’ a crunchy, Detroit influenced, synth laden house gem with a dose of dreamy pianos nestled in for good measure. 1800-Girls puts a breakbeat spin on the original with his emotive take. Blissful, climbing synths all tied together with a solid break. Rounding of the A side, ‘Special’ hypnotsises with reverberating vocals, lo-fi organs and acidic arps.

Flip it over to find ‘Hatchi’ a straight up electro mind melter, driving basslines, crazy reeses & infectious rhythms, before Jensen Interceptor offers his signature sound on a plate to close out proceedings. Warp-speed tempo, rapid fire synth lines and crazy percussion result in a guaranteed dancefloor destroyer.

Debut solo album by the Red River Dialect songwriter. Recorded at the Hotel2Tango, Montreal, by Howard Bilerman. Featuring Thor Harris (Swans, Thor & Friends, Shearwater) on drums and Thierry Amar (GYBE!, ASMZ) on bass, with guest appearances from Tom Relleen (RIP) (Tomaga, Melos Kalpa), Catrin Vincent (Another Sky) and Coral Rose (The Silver Field, Red River Dialect).
David has written five critically acclaimed collections of songs under the Red River Dialect name. The last two albums (released by Paradise of Bachelors) achieved a glowing Pitchfork review and a Folk Album of the Month award from the Guardian. Selected press below.
“Folk Album of the Month. Alert, anti-colonialist folk. Songwriter David Morris brings alternate seduction and disquiet on this worldly album steeped in the British landscape... a wide-eyed, curious creature, willingly alert to the world.” – 4/5 The Guardian
“Animated with a new intensity, the Cornwall band’s fifth album may be its most ingenious and immersive mix of folk and rock yet. It’s also Morris’ most compelling set of songs. He invests small sensations with outsize power, finding joy in sensory pleasures as well as in the mystical inquests that music allows. Even as the record is steeped in the long history of British folk music, that balance of the tactile and the spiritual anchors these songs in the present moment.” – Pitchfork
“The most underrated folk-rock band in Britain. The idea of them as a Cornish-born, Buddhist-inclined Waterboys is more potent than ever. Their fifth album of elementally-battered, rueful and rousing folk-rock ... is as stirringly anthemic as they've managed thus far.” – MOJO
“A beguilingly atmospheric record… imagine Steve Gunn transplanted to Kernow.” – Clash
“Gorgeous and moving, anchored by the heft of the physical but reaching for more. The epic spareness, the way it manages to be both still and an enveloping swirl, reminds me most of Talk Talk. There’s a prayerful intensity to the quiet bits, a listening, wondering awe, that makes the rock payoffs more powerful. The album works as a restless, searching, gorgeous whole. Morris and his band have never been better.” – Dusted
“It’s not often that a band comes along and over the course of nine songs both plays to the tradition and stands it on its ear. RRD has taken the challenge of playing with reckless abandon to heart, generating an album that stands on the shoulder of giants showing no fear.” Folk Radio

Monastic Love Songs continues the tradition that David has established over the course of five albums with Red River Dialect: using a song cycle to articulate a relationship with inner and outer landscapes, inspired by the Taoist approach of observing the movement of the heavens in order to understand the cosmos within, and vice versa. The joyful closing track Inner Smile was initially written as a poem of thanks to his Tai Chi teacher Hollis and takes its name from a Taoist practice.
The songs were written during the final weeks of a nine-month retreat at Gampo Abbey, a Buddhist monastery in Nova Scotia where David took ordination as Buddhist monk. The album title is sincere, with a little tongue-in-cheek. The songs mostly explore human relationships within the community, with outliers: Gone Beyond shimmers with cosmic devotion, in Rhododendron a reverie grows from the shadow of a flower. Steadfast concerns the love to be found beyond the urge to like and be liked, when you can’t avoid that difficult person. Leonard Cohen, on his six years living in a monastery:
“You know, there’s a Zen saying: ‘Like pebbles in a bag, the monks polish one another.’
David considers this album to be a follow up to 2015’s Tender Gold and Gentle Blue. The cover of that lp featured an image of him on top of Skellig Michael, in the years before the island was made famous as the home of the Jedi. He considers the visit to that abandoned Celtic monastic site to be one of the influences that stirred up his motivation. Skeleton Key speaks of what was given up to go, and what he was giving up to leave, referencing the Tibetan concept of the ‘bardo of becoming’.
The album came about through a series of fortunate encounters. David’s friend Tom Relleen visited him at the Abbey in May 2019, mentioning a postponed plan to visit the Hotel2Tango. A spark was sown: this studio had long figured in David’s imagination. Many of the releases on Constellation Records, which he had become a die-hard fan of in his teens, were recorded there. Tom contributed some Buchla synthesizer to the opener New Safe, which concerns healing in emptiness and light.
In May David was given permission by the senior monastics to acquire a guitar, which was swiftly baptised as “Malibu Barbie”. Having let the identity of being a songwriter loosen up, not playing an instrument in six months, he was unsure what would happen. In the single hour he was permitted to practice each day, songs began to cascade. The first, Purple Gold, concerns a reacquaintance with first love. David wrote to the Hotel2Tango asking if they had any days available in mid-July?
Engineer and studio co-owner Howard Bilerman replied that they did, and a date was set. Did Howard know any local drummers or bass players who might do a session? He did, too many to choose from, what kind of style? David decided to ask for his ideal: did Thierry from Godspeed ever do sessions? Howard sent him the demos. Thierry was up for it. On the day he went deep into the cover of traditional song Rosemary Lane, his double bass singing on this and on Circus Wagon.
David asked if there were any local drummers he would recommend? Thierry said “many, what style?” David tried his luck again, “two of my favourite drummers are Thor Harris and Jim White.” Thierry said let’s invite them. Thor, having met David a decade earlier, flew from Austin to Montreal for that July day in the studio. Nine months of watching thoughts come and go in meditation helped David recognise this as an opportunity to practice enjoying the day without expectations.
He is, however, grateful that this album came out the way it did, channelling some of what it was like to live those nine months in a monastery overlooking the Gulf of St Lawrence, frozen and flowing.

Mixed by Jimmy Robertson at SNAFU, London, mastered by DenisBlackham.

Hella Love, the Hardly Art debut from Marinero, is an album about closing a chapter. It’s Jess Sylvester’s grand farewell, and love letter to his hometown and the place he grew up, The San Francisco Bay Area, before relocating to Los Angeles after finishing his debut release. Using the moniker Marinero (which means “sailor” in Spanish), Jess Sylvester was drawn to this name as a means to honor his parent’s stories -- his father, a sailor, and mother, a Mexican-American who grew up in San Francisco. This record blends many worlds from beginning to end, and as you go deeper it hits harder. It’s his goodbye to The Bay. Pulling sonic influences from classic Latin American groups and international composers from the 60’s & 70’s: Los Terricolas, Ennio Morricone, Esquivel, Carole King and, Serge Gainsbourg Hella Love finds Sylvester fusing classical arrangements with a variety of different genres, evoking a sonic nostalgia blended with other contemporary artists like Chicano Batman, Connan Mockasin, and Chris Cohen. The album was written, played, and produced by Jess Sylvester with help from Bay Area engineer Jason Kick (Mild High Club’s Skiptracing) at Tunnel Vision and Santo Recording in Oakland, California. On the standout single “Nuestra Victoria,” Sylvester shares “It’s my way of talking about gentrification in SF, or specifically the Mission where my mom and family grew up. The song is about a bakery, or panaderia called La Victoria, and was a place where my mother and tias went growing up, a place I also went to that is no longer there.” It was one of the oldest Mexican-American businesses in SF and I wanted to honor it”. “Through the Fog” highlights Sylvester’s exploration of his influences from the Tropicalia movement, weaving bossa rhythms with lush percussion and orchestration. Using SF’s infamous fog as a metaphor for “tough times”, Sylvester expands that it is a dedication to his friends and family who have helped him get through substance abuse issues, heartbreak, and other painful experiences. “There are a few easter eggs in the lyrics for Bay Area folks or people who have followed my music in the past but it’s mostly about getting through something difficult with the love and support from the homies and fam.” The album’s title track, “Hella Love,” summarizes both of his parent’s stories of how they ended up in the bay. The first verse is about his father’s voyage out west as a sailor during the late ’60s while the second verse follows his mother’s experience moving to The Mission District when she was a young girl.


It’s difficult to classify or generalize about Marinero’s music or identity. To him, it’s important to let his music do the talking. “I’m Chicanx, a bay native, biracial, and I’ve luckily gotten to travel and spend time in Mexico and I feel like my personality and specific musical tastes come through on this album. More than these generalizations we often make, I’m just a human who can both fear and love, and I’m just hoping to connect with others to share optimism and experience joy and laughter, even if for a moment.” Lean your ear to the ground because Jess Sylvester has been many things and will continue to share his journey. It is clear this gifted creator has more to say.
-Luz Elena Mendoza

Never underestimate the power of a woman with her back to the wall. In March 2020, as Covid blew across the planet, the shutters came down on live venues and recording studios, and the music scene fell suddenly silent, Ghalia Volt faced the same dilemma as every other artist.
What now? The answer was One Woman Band. Having joined with the cream of the US roots scene for two acclaimed albums, 2017’s Let The Demons Out and 2019’s Mississppi Blend, Volt’s rebirth as a solo performer wasn’t a decision made lightly. But if an apprenticeship busking in her native Brussels taught Volt anything, it’s that she already had everything she needed to make magic.
“In March, I started playing on a real drum set,” she recalls.
“Playing a kick, snare and hi-hat plus a tambourine with my two feet, while playing slide/guitar and singing at the same time.” After road-testing the new format at shows across Mississippi, Volt realised that one was the magic number.
In August, she committed to the project, embarking on a month-long Amtrak train trip that became an intensive writing session, the shifting landscapes beyond the window inspiring her pen to scratch as never before. Tracked live in November at Memphis’s legendary Royal Sound Studios, One
Woman Band is Volt’s most lyrically honest and groove-driven material to date.
You can feel the turn of those train wheels in the addictive stomp of songs like
Reap What You Sow, while the rattle-and-shiver slide guitar of Espiritu Papago
evokes the scream of a locomotive whistle.
“Imagine John Lee Hooker on mushrooms, lost in the desert of Arizona, on a hot
summer day,” says Volt. “That’s the vibe of that song.” The Covid-19 pandemic
is an unprecedented chapter of human history, with no clear end in sight.
But Ghalia Volt has given us the soundtrack to better times ahead, and the
songs we’ll still be singing when we meet on the other side. This might be a
One Woman Band - but you’re always welcome to ride shotgun.

Extended Revelation for the Psychic Weaklings of the Western Civilization is the second album by Swedish rock band The Soundtrack Of Our Lives. Heavily influenced bands from the sixties and seventies such as The Rolling Stones and Iggy and the Stooges, the band became popular in both Europa and the United States. Their fame was partially propelled by their songs being featured on popular video game franchises such as FIFA, NHL and Gran Turismo.

The title of this album comes from the Rolling Stones Records’ release of Brian Jones Presents the Pipes of Pan at Joujouka, where the inside liner notes state that “Western Civilization has made us such Psychic Weaklings”. About 50% of the songs on the album were leftover material from the bands debut album, yet this record sounds far more dark and contains influences from psychedelic music. The album was well received and spawned one single: “Black Star”.

Raised in Corsica, Stephanie made a name for herself as a dj in Paris but more recently focused on producing her own sound. The roots of her musical style are deeply entrenched in Pop, House and Ambient music, all genres that to her reflect our human desire to express our feelings. Her heartfelt debut, AUTEL, released on new label Lake Of Confidence, is an invitation to be fully present in the moment and listen to ourselves with awareness. The track "Disarm" is an uplifting tonic for the soul and could not have come at a more fitting time, encouraging the letting go of fear. Stephanie's grounded voice and the tender tones of the music take us on a liberating journey and reminds us of what is important in life - to move beyond ourselves and embrace joy. The captivating "Unchain" and the Superpitcher remix of the track, are both powerful guides for deep contemplation. Each beat is a metaphor of the breath of life, space and the impressive vastness of this extraordinary mystery we live in.

Dan Penn has southern soul running through his veins. Penn started out in the early sixties as band leader of various soul combos in Alabama, but he remained out of the limelight for most of his career, instead choosing to write hit songs for other artists. He has been responsible for songs including “Is A Bluebird Blue” by Conway Twitty, “Do Right Woman Do Right Man” by Aretha Franklin, “The Letter” by The Box Tops, “I’m Your Puppet” by Bobby & James Purify, “You Left The Water Running” by Wilson Picket and Otis Redding and many more.

In 1994 Dan finally picked up the guitar and recorded these songs himself for the first time and to great effect: his renditions of “I’m Your Puppet” and “You Left The Water Running” add fragile and beautiful magic to these already great songs.

This incredible collection of songs is available as a limited edition of
1000 individually numbered copies on gold coloured vinyl

It took German metalcore vets, CALIBAN recording a cover of Rammstein’s “Sonne” to realize that their native tongue was a seamless fit with their time tempered collision of punishing riffs and Andreas Dörner’s urgent vocals. With fans hungry for the Essen-borne quintet to record an album exclusively in German, the band simply said: “Why not?” and “Zeitgeister” was born. 11 genre-defining LPs deep into their career, the band’s vision for the album came naturally – a career retrospective and deep-dive into CALIBAN favorites that haven’t had a live airing in some time. “It wasn’t an easy decision, but once we allowed us to make them as different from the originals as we felt it was needed it came fairly naturally”, explains guitarist and main songwriter Marc Görtz. Of course, some updating was necessary when it came to translating the songs to German. “It turned out to be surprisingly tricky,” says Dörner. “While I feel more at home with my native German it made it a lot more complicated, as I had more options to phrase something.” Formed in 1997, CALIBAN’s legacy has been a tireless one, touring the globe and sharing stages with the likes of Slayer, Kreator, Killswitch Engage and many more, “Zeitgeister” was a welcome homecoming. With the help of long-running producer Benjamin Richter (Moonspell, Emil Bulls and more) CALIBAN hand-picked seven tracks to bring new life to: “Trauma“ (feat. Matthi from Nasty, “Arena Of Concealment”), “Herz” (“I Will Never Let You Down”), “Ausbruch nach Innen“ (“Tyranny Of Small Misery”), “Feuer, zieh mit mir“ (“Between The Worlds”), “Nichts ist für immer“ (“All I Gave”), “Intoleranz“ (“Intolerance”). “Mein Inferno” (“My Little Secret”). “Zeitgeister” also boasts a new track, “nICHts”. “It’s a song about feeling disoriented and hopeless, about depression and feeling powerless. Feelings that many of us can probably relate to during these days”, says Dörner.

Freedom is the debut EP from South East London vocalist + DJ Ell Murphy for Shall Not Fade sub-label Time Is Now. The EP sees Ell collaborating with 5 acclaimed producers in the UKG scene; DJ Crisps, Stones Taro, Highrise, Picasso & Tuff Trax; each one hand-picked by Ell to bring their unique production style to the release; and made entirely during lockdown over the past year, working remotely with the producers based in Rotterdam, Australia, Japan & London.

Die Geschichte von Sons Of Raphael ist eine, die am Rande der Mythologie und des Wahnsinns schwankt; eine kaum zu glaubende Mischung aus dem Erhabenen und dem Zufälligen. Es ist eine Geschichte von Engeln und Teufeln, davon, aus einer 250 Jahre alten Kapelle geworfen und in einer irischen Bingohalle willkommen geheißen zu werden. Wie zwei moderne Dandys am Bug eines Klipperschiffs navigiert das West-Londoner Duo durch die Irrungen und Wirrungen der Geschichte und ist nun mit seinem ersten Testament in der Hand an Land gesprungen: „Full-Throated Messianic Homage“. Ein Album, das sieben Jahre in der Mache war, aber - wie die Band selbst sagt - ’mit 2000 Jahren angesammeltem Leid darin’. Eine vierstimmige Hymne auf Leben, Tod, Sünde, Liebe und Auferstehung: Lieder für die Toten, um die Lebenden zu retten.

First solo album from Budapest producer "Norwell", includes 2 collaborations with Farbwechsel Label head honcho "Alpar". Analogue synthwave, kraut, kosmiche, drone... A real journey! Illuzio was inspired by the book "Mr. Vertigo" and especially by this part: "Deep down, I don't believe it takes any special talent for a person to lift himself off the ground and hover in the air. We all have it in us--every man, woman, and child--and with enough hard work and concentration, every human being is capable of...the feat....You must learn to stop being yourself. That's where it begins, and everything else follows from that. You must let yourself evaporate. Let your muscles go limp, breathe until you feel your soul pouring out of you, and then shut your eyes. That's how it's done. The emptiness inside your body grows lighter than the air around you. Little by little, you begin to weigh less than nothing. You shut your eyes; you spread your arms; you let yourself evaporate. And then, little by little, you lift yourself off the ground. Like so."

Let’s celebrate Claudio Coccoluto with a special reprint of the 20th
Anniversary Edition vinyl of the international hit “Belo Horizonti” by The Heartists, aka Claudio Coccoluto & Savino Martinez.
The release includes the remastered original extended version and the
exclusive 20 Anos remix. “Belo Horizonti” was originally released in 1996 on Atlantic Jaxx Records and subsequently licensed to VC Records (Virgin). The Original version, a mix of over 12 minutes, found Claudio struggling at the time to find a record label to sign it for release without cutting the original mix short. It was only thanks to Basement Jaxx and their independent label that it was released with the original 12 minutes intact and further remixes by the likes of Basement Jaxx and DJ David Morales. “Belo Horizonti” has often featured as the choice of soundtrack for celebratory football goals and is often played by the most respected and renowned djs in the world today during their live dj sets at peak time. Over the past 20 years Belo Horizonti has also appeared in numerous compilations around the world. An unforgettable success for all fans!

The fourth album by Rhys Celeste aka Microlith on Fundamental. "We always tried to release all the tracks Rhys sent to us as best as possible and this new album follows the same concept, design and the same quality standards, the best." Fundamental Records has the authorization and full support of the Rhys family to release this album and also the previous albums that Rhys composed during the years 2015 and 2016, albums that never were released on vinyl before. "We can proudly say we did all we can to keep the music of Rhys alive and available on vinyl in the best possible quality. All tracks have been thoroughly mastered for the best possible sound quality." This is the last project that will be released under the Fundamental Records label. As you can imagine they wanted to say good bye with something really special. Limited to 300 copies. No re-press.

Originally released as a 12” single in 1982, ‘Every Brother Ain’t A Brother’ was the final record from Brooklyn multi-instrumentalist and producer Freddie Thompson’s Panaché band. Built around a fully cleared sampled bassline from ‘The Message’ by Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five, ‘Every Brother Ain’t A Brother’ plays out like a summertime stroll through New York in the early 80s. The streets are full of excitement, but as the lyrics, written by vocalist Denise Williams (not to be confused with Deniece Williams of ‘Let’s Hear It For The Boy’ fame) make it clear, they’re dangerous as well.

Thirty-nine years later, Isle of Jura is proud to present the first official 12” reissue of ‘Every Brother Ain’t A Brother’. A cult classic from the disco-rap era, the reissue includes the original vocal and instrumental versions of ‘Every Brother Ain’t A Brother’ plus a Jura Soundsystem special version with additional live percussion.

Originally made up of Freddie, his wife, the singer Debra Thompson and keyboardist Douglas Glover, Panaché formed at the behest of a local disco DJ, Carl Nelson. In the wake of Chic’s early singles, Carl felt a French name would give Freddie a competitive edge. “He explained it to us that it was a French word for style and elegance. Panaché, a step above chic,” Freddie reflects.

Business minded, Freddie formed his own label, Roché Records and joined SIRMA - The Small Independent Music Manufacturers Association. “It was very hard for the independent manufacturers to get airplay and distribution at the time, so we all came together,” he remembers. Through SIRMA, Freddie met Joe and Sylvia Robinson from Sugar Hill Records, who several years later, let him sample ‘The Message’ for ‘Every Brother Ain’t A Brother’.

In 1979, Panaché scored some radioplay when they covered ‘Not On The Outside’ by ‘60s D.C R&B group The Moments. Emboldened, they brought onboard backing vocalists and recorded their only album. This Is Panache saw the band blurring the boundaries between soul, jazz-funk and disco and become a sought after collectible.

By 1982, Debra had stepped back, and one of Panaché’s backing singers was center stage, Denise Williams. “Denise was good with writing poetry,” says Freddie. "She had one called ‘Every Brother Ain’t A Brother’. It was about the unrest that was going on in the city at the time. I thought I could do something with that.”

After releasing ‘Every Brother Ain’t A Brother’ in 1982, Panaché quietly moved from center stage to behind the scenes. Over the last thirty-nine years, Freddie has continued to work in the music industry as a session musician and producer. “As soon as we stopped trying to become stars as Panaché, we became busy working in the industry,” Freddie laughs.

Be With is delighted to present Jorge López Ruiz’s El Grito (Suite Para Orquesta De Jazz), eternal Argentinian magic released on CBS in 1967 that must be one of the most sought-after South American jazz LPs.

Living in Buenos Aires in the 60s, driven by creative impulse and rage Jorge López Ruiz used music as his platform to protest the Argentine military dictatorship: “I could never stand dictatorships, to be told how you have to think, what you have to do. Nor did I endure discrimination”.

A young López Ruiz had appeared on a television panel alongside writer, politician and philosopher Arturo Jauretche, criticising the Onganía dictatorship. Jauretche told López Ruiz “Now say it with music”. This was the deep inhale that lead to El Grito, literally “The Scream”. As López Ruiz later explained “Jauretche urged me that my protests should not remain in words and acquire the consistency of a work… but it was not so much what he told me but how he told me, what prompted me to make the work take shape, first in a live concert and then in a recording”.

As the police and military began resorting to kidnapping, torture and summary executions to quiet dissent, with depressing inevitability the artist community and their work were a particular target of the increasingly brutal regime. El Grito was banned not long after it was released and the majority of original copies were unceremoniously destroyed.

The work of a genius artist living under an opressive dictatorship, erased by the government of the time, this is buried treasure in every sense and it’s been a rare record for over 50 years. But it isn’t just being hard to find that has pushed up the prices of those few original copies that survived, this is a foundational record in the development of jazz in South America.

El Grito (Suite Para Orquesta De Jazz) is a showcase for Jorge López Ruiz’s skills as a composer and arranger as he leads a virtuoso orchestra of the likes of Mario Cosentino (alto sax), Baby López Furst (piano), Pichi Mazzei (drums), Gustavo Bergalli (trumpet), Oscar López Ruiz (guitar), Arturo Schneider (flute) and Jorge López Ruiz himself plays double bass on the fourth and fifth movements.

As the album’s sub-title explains, The album is a Jazz orchestra concept suite. Five movements, to be heard as a whole, that end where they begin.

“When I wrote it there was no history of a cyclical work in jazz. But I didn't notice that, I needed to express something and I did it. At that time they told me I was crazy, that such a thing was very difficult to do. But hey, I like challenges”.

Yet this is not challenging jazz. There are certainly avant garde, free jazz flourishes, but the hard bop characteristics make this a very accessible album: easy to listen to without being easy listening. López Ruiz’s love of film brings a definite cinematic feel.

The title movement opens the album in bombastic style. “El Grito” grabs you by the lapels and refuses to let go. Raw then controlled, it’s by turns stabbing then soothing, with rage weaved in and out of the elegant styles. “M.A.B. = Amor” is our favourite here. With a tense introduction and a patient build, a gentle sax sweeps in to lift everything up to meet the serene piano and soft drums. Elegantly paced, it moves back and forth between deep contemplation and a more urgent call and response between strings and horns. A near-eight-minute, slow motion marvel.

The second side eases in with the beautifully-titled “Hasta El Cielo, Sin Nubes, Con Todas Las Estrellas” (“Up To The Sky, No Clouds, With All The Stars”) a relatively brief mid-tempo piece featuring López Ruiz’s insistent bass notes high in the mix, and again blending the sublime with the emotive with its wild horns and tight rhythm section.

It’s followed by “Tendré El Mundo” (“I Will Have The World”) which also leads with hypnotic bass, but this time swifter, driven by crashing drums, rapid horn conversations and effortlessly cool piano flourishes. Rounding out the suite, “De Nuevo El Grito” (something like “The Next Scream” or “The Scream Renewed”) is a stylish closer. Whilst López Ruiz’s bass shifts the track along, the horns and piano are more restrained, yet no less stunning.

This Be With edition of El Grito sounds sensational, if we do say so ourselves. Working with audio from the original analogue tapes, the vinyl mastering chops of Simon Francis are on full show here in what he considers to be some of his best ever work for Be With. Pete Norman’s cutting skills have made sure nothing is lost. The tortured artwork has been restored here at Be With HQ as the finishing touch to helping this revered work find a rightful place in every protest art collection.

Pure Donzin is the debut solo offering by Amsterdam - based Donald “Donny” Madjid - also known for his involvement in The Mauskovic Dance Band. On a pandemic - induced break from his usually busy tour ing schedule, Donny, armed with a 60’s drum machine and a few synths, made the most of his time off by experimenting with, and home - recording new sounds - resulting in a fully - fledged 9 - track album under the artist monicker Don Melody Club.

Whilst many of his local peers tend to turn to sounds further from home for inspiration, Madjid felt drawn to honour the literary and musical tradition of The Netherlands, following in the footsteps of classic and lesser known Dutch troubadours such as Ramses Shaffy (a cover of ‘Laat Me’ features on the album) and Ronald Langestraat. Don drew inspiration from bard - like storytelling and for the first time started writing in his native tongue, craftily forging lyrics that his rich tenor voice delivers with a sincerity that translates regardless of whether or not you understand Dutch. This intimacy is balanced evenly with synth and drum machine grooves, recalling Dutch New Wave legends Doe Maar - merging ear worm pop hooks and infectious danceable beats to these otherwise pe nsive ballads.

An ode to being immersed in the magic of the night in good company, an experience so lacking during the year in which the album was recorded, is the danceable Psychonauten. The track is a fine example of the glittering synthesis of infectio us musical atmosphere and lyrically rich straightforwardness Donny has mastered on the album.

The influence of The Mauskovic Dance Band, especially the bass driven, hypnotic groove - a signature sound Don guides in new directions - can be detected on Ver anderd. Somewhat of an anthem, it is laced with tones of 70’s West - African sounds, like fast percussive key arrangements and energetic backing vocals. An example of a more laid back tune on the record is Isabel, a cool nostalgic love song, a soother for a sentimental occasion.

Opening number Geen Nood (No Panic), lyrically nothing short of a ‘sign of the times’ track, paints a mindful setting of cycling past the Amsterdam canals, seeing the leaves in the water, and feeling your blood flow peacefully throu gh your veins - letting go of the need to be anywhere other than where you are. Be it through meditative observances, or hypnotic dance grooves, Pure Donzin is a record that tempts the listener to become just that: immersed in the moment.

Summertime: Willie Nelson Sings Gershwin includes pop standards penned by
America’s legendary songwriting duo George and Ira Gershwin.

As Willie tells it: “Ira and George Gershwin were just fantastic writers. They wrote some of the greatest songs ever. The Gershwin songs have been here for many, many years. When I was just a small guy, I remember hearing all these great Gershwin songs and they’ll be around forever because great music like that just does not go away.”

Among the 11 Gershwin classics recorded by Willie Nelson for the album are two duets: “Let’s Call The Whole Thing Off” with Cyndi Lauper and “Embraceable You” with Sheryl Crow.

Summertime: Willie Nelson Sings Gershwin debuted at number one on the Traditional Jazz and Top Jazz Albums Billboard charts, becoming Nelson’s third album to top the latter. Meanwhile, it reached number fourteen in Top Album Sales and reached number forty in the Billboard 200.

Now available as a limited edition of 1000 numbered copies on transparent red vinyl, including an insert + Willie Nelson on Music On Vinyl catalogue insert.

The Black Keys release their tenth studio album, Delta Kream, via Nonesuch Records. The record celebrates the band’s roots, featuring eleven Mississippi hill country blues standards that they have loved since they were teenagers, before they were a band, including songs by R. L. Burnside and Junior Kimbrough, among others. Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney recorded Delta Kream at Auerbach’s Easy Eye Sound studio in Nashville; they were joined by musicians Kenny Brown and Eric Deaton, long-time members of the bands of blues legends including R. L. Burnside and Junior Kimbrough. The album takes its name from William Eggleston’s iconic Mississippi photograph that is on its cover.

Auerbach says of the album, “We made this record to honor the Mississippi hill country blues tradition that influenced us starting out. These songs are still as important to us today as they were the first day Pat and I started playing together and picked up our instruments. It was a very inspiring session with Pat and me along with Kenny Brown and Eric Deaton in a circle, playing these songs. It felt so natural.”

Carney concurs, “The session was planned only days in advance and nothing was rehearsed. We recorded the entire album in about ten hours, over two afternoons, at the end of the “Let’s Rock” tour.”

Auerbach says of Delta Kream’s first single ‘Crawling Kingsnake’: “I first heard John Lee Hooker’s version in high school. My uncle Tim would have given me that record. But our version is definitely Junior Kimbrough’s take on it. It’s almost a disco riff!” Carney adds, "We fell into this drum intro; it's kind of accidental. The ultimate goal was to highlight the interplay between the guitars. My role with Eric was to create a deeper groove."

The music from northern Mississippi, which came to life in juke joints, has long left an imprint on the band’s music, from their cover of R.L. Burnide’s ‘Busted’ and Junior Kimbrough’s ‘Do The Romp’ on their debut album, The Big Come Up; to their subsequent signing to Fat Possum Records, home to many of their musical heroes; and to their EP of Junior Kimbrough covers, Chulahoma.

Formed in Akron, Ohio in 2001, The Black Keys, who have been called ‘rock royalty’ by the Associated Press and ‘one of the best rock ‘n’ roll bands on the planet’ by Uncut, are guitarist/singer Dan Auerbach and drummer Patrick Carney. Cutting their teeth playing small clubs, the band have gone on to sell out arena tours and have released nine previous studio albums: their debut The Big Come Up (2002), followed by Thickfreakness (2003) and Rubber Factory (2004), along with their releases on Nonesuch Records, Magic Potion (2006), Attack & Release (2008), Brothers (2010), El Camino (2011), Turn Blue (2014) and, most recently, “Let’s Rock” (2019), plus and a tenth anniversary edition of Brothers (2020). The band has won six Grammy Awards and a BRIT and headlined festivals in North America, South America, Mexico, Australia, and Europe.

You've reached the bedroom funk hotline! We have the mysterious Berlin-based Westcoast Goddess on speed dial, blessing Infinite Pleasure with four of his signature uplifting melody driven house cuts. The perfect soundtrack for a much needed night of dancing in your favourite club and a successful booty call after. U Up? Let your body do the talking.

Jess Cornelius first began writing the songs that would comprise Distance after moving from Melbourne, Australia to Los Angeles. At the time, she was excited to start fresh after several years as the primary songwriter in the band Teeth and Tonuge. But the distance she addresses over the album is hardly a geographical one. Instrad, Distance finds a deft songwriter analyzing the space between society’s expectations for her and her own dreams, the illusion of the love and reality of disappointment, and a past she is ready to let go of and a future she could have hardly imagined.

Distance documents a songwriter in the pursuit of living life on her own terms. As Cornelius puts it, “A lot of the rEcord was about me deciding to continue this nomadic lifestyle of being a musician. People would ask ne if I was going to have a family and lot of the songs are about me being ok with no pursuing that path. It was about coming to terms with the choice I had made.. And then two years later, I’m knocked up and married! I couldn’t have imagined that”

Cornelius gave a first taste of Distance with “No Difference,” released last year, which was featured by NPR’s All Songs Considered as well as Paste Magazine, Brooklyn Vegan, Hype Machine and Uproxx, who called it “a striking stateside introduction.”

On new single “Kitchen Floor,” Cornelius maps the space between the bedroom and the front door over a Roy Orbison tinged rave-up, lamenting the coming pain: “This is gonna be a hard one.” Its accompanying video, the first in a series in which she plays a familiar female character trope, was filmed by Cornelius and her partner on an iPhone at 5am in Los Angeles so they wouldn’t encounter any people. “I have a weird fascination with Hollywood Blvd — it’s such a grotesque place most of the time,” says Cornelius. “But I knew we’d have the chance to experience it deserted and empty, and it was like a different place. I’d been watching a lot of ‘last human on earth’ apocalypse-type films. Mostly, the concept behind the clip was to have this character just owning it. There are so many things pregnant women are not ‘supposed' be doing, like having casual sex with strangers. There’s a loneliness, too, that I wanted to get across in the clip, but ultimately she’s in a state of friendliness with herself and the world.”

On 16th April 2021, three years to the day since producer Tim Larcombe and I began work in the studio, my debut album will be
released independently on our label EKT Records.

spell_hope is about finding the hope, the way forward, the light in dark places, the order in chaos, the things that are most
important. It is about creative freedom. Not compromising on integrity and originality, and resisting the shortcuts, the temptation of

an easier road. It is about reaching that end goal, that unstoppable ambition. The power we all have within us to change things, to
make things happen. To keep running even after our legs tell us to “stop!”.

The track list adventures from realms of the organic to the electronic, modern to classic, the understated to the overtly dynamic.
Brimming with an inadvertent frankness which I realised more fully after the event of recording (much of the time when I write I let
my subconscious do the talking), these songs comprise a journal, in words and melodies, of my life up to this point…

“Towers” was written at the piano back in 2013, in the moment I resolved to leave my university course behind in favour of the path
that has led me to writing this now - a song I have since been determined would end up on my first record. “Stronger Heart” at the
first sense of heart-break. “Plans” at my first sense of true partnership. “Stones”. “Big Bad Thoughts”, “Small Things” and “Spell
Hope” reactions at various points to the difficulties and destitution of my chosen career piling on top of other issues (- we all have
‘em right?), over time challenging my determination and mental stability.

It's 1992. You're seven to twelve years old. What are you doing? You're probably biking home from Blockbuster with a Sonic the Hedgehog 2 cartridge. You've waited weeks to get your paws on it, but since it's still a "new release," it's only a three day rental. No matter - you've already stocked a whole weekend's worth of Surge and Fun Dip. You fire up your Genesis. Your television screen erupts with a blinding flash of white light, as The Blue One tears across the screen leaving the letters S - E - G - A emblazoned in his path. You're in a tizzy. Your thumbs begin to twitch in anticipation. Level two, CHEMICAL PLANT ZONE, is uncharted territory. Your palms start to get sweat as you see toxic sludge fill the screen. The Surge and the Fun Dip hit you at the same time. Rings, spin dashes, Chaos Emeralds...everything blurs into a kaleidoscope of colors and shapes and sounds and... You snap out of it. It's not the nineties. It's 2021 and you're in your 30s. Drats. The good news is the new "Chemical Plant Zone" 45 by Minneapolis rascals Black Market Brass. A 12-piece psych-afrobeat band covering music from the Sonic 2 soundtrack? Pshaw!

This first volume of Wagram's Wanted: Jazz series is a high quality mix of the great Jazz artists. Including Charles Mingus, Dizzy Gilespie, Art Blakey and more!

Bristol hip hop duo release their debut 12” ahead of an album in July featuring a thumping electro remix by SURGEON (Dynamic Tension/ Tresor Records) and an extended remix by Ree-Vo themselves.

The lp ‘All Welcome on Planet Ree-Vo’ due for release in July could only really have been made in one city steeped as it is in Bristol’s decades of less conventional hip hop and bass music. Tweaked and fine tuned during the summer of 2020 the record punches with a mix of red eyed paranoia to a playful future funk.
T. Relly is pure Bristol hip hop royalty – known in the community variously for his links to all of the city’s major club nights, his passion and support for the most disadvantaged (through his work with the youth and prison leavers), through to compering stages at St Paul’s Carnival and his seminal 2018 lp with DJ Rogue ‘Let Them Know’

Andy Spaceland (AKA Andy Jenks) got involved in Bristol bass music as soon as he moved to the city with Static Sound System and a collaborative 12” with Rudy Tambala (AR Kane ) as Sugarboat Vs Sufi, before his band Alpha were signed to Massive Attack ’s label Melankolic, whilst he also became one of their tour DJ’s. His CV of collaborations range from Smith and Mighty to Madonna, and he is currently releasing music with US producer Butch Vig in the band 5 Billion in Diamonds , and working on new tracks with Mark Stewart (The Pop Group). His signature can be heard on this remix for Elizabeth Fraser

Duke Ellington once said that there are 2 kinds of music: the good one and the bad one. With the compilation series “Shaolin Soul” we are always certain to be on the right side of the line since its 1st episode released in 1998 and which compiled two dozens of tracks sampled by RZA and the Wu-Tang Clan. Following a second episode in 2001 and a third one in 2014, the famous curator Uncle O is back to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Shaolin Soul series with a fourth episode compiling 22 tracks among the rarest and finest treats of soul music, because “everybody’s talking about the good ol’ days !”.

Born and rooted in the Newark Gospel scene, Linda Jones was a true and splendid soul sister active between 1963 and 1972 when she suddenly died too young of diabetes complications. Her strong gospel-influenced vocal style shines through the magnificent songs contained in "Let it Be me" her classic album originally released on Turbo records in 1972. A powerful work full of love and deep soul vibrations

On April 23, 2021, Degiheugi will present his 8th album entitled "Foreglow". This record with multiple influences, ranging from samba to Afrobeat through soul and French chanson, is a real ray of light that makes you want to escape and takes you far from home. Once again, the unstoppable digger and beatmaker surprises us and shows us how well he masters the art of sampling.

As if the ever evolving style and sprawling narratives of Creeper didn’t already keep him busy enough, Will Gould reacted to last year’s initial lockdown by delving into the archives to complete the debut EP from his side project SALEM. Working alongside his friend and collaborator Matt Reynolds, SALEM quickly sold-out the first vinyl pressing of their self-titled debut EP while also earning fresh acclaim and streaming an In The K! Pit show for Kerrang!.

Now the second chapter in the SALEM story emerges from the underworld with the news that they’ll release their new EP ‘SALEM II’ on May 7TH and now share the first taste of the EP in the shape of the new single ‘DRACULADS’.

‘DRACULADS’ opens with the kind of larger-than-life b-movie horror love letter that can only come from Gould’s poison pen: “Maybe the blood of Jesus Christ is laced upon your lips / I get a little closer to God and too drunk each time we kiss.” It sets the tone for a blitzkrieg rush of melodic punk and raucous rock ‘n’ roll that only stops for breath for the song’s cabaret croon breakdown.

Elsewhere, the EP builds upon the style that SALEM established with their debut. From the tongue-in-cheek reference to The Smiths on the opening track ‘William, It Was Really Something’ to the closing ‘Heaven Help Me’, SALEM play it fast, frenetic and fun. As with the best old school punk EPs, ‘SALEM II’ is an escapist rush of attention that commands your attention for 15 minutes before it’s time to drop the needle back to the start.

Clear Vinyl

Post-minimalist American composer Rafael Anton Irisarri makes his Umor Rex debut with his new album, The Shameless Years. Inspired by a troubled socio-political climate, buried melodies punch their way through a bleak cover of noisy drones, periodically veering into some of Irisarri's most eerily pertinent music to date.

One of Rafael Anton Irisarri's most thematically and sonically cohesive records to date The Shameless Years came together in a relatively short burst of creativity starting at the end of 2016. Rediscovering some relatively older tools - namely Native Instruments' Reaktor, Absynth, and Kontakt software - Irisarri combined them with his collection of guitars, pedals, amps, and analogue processing gear, turning his Black Knoll Studio north of NYC into a powerful writing tool. Completed quickly by Irisarri's standards, let alone during a period of social upheaval in American society, the record faces down several key personal themes. The title, suggests Irisarri, could in fact be seen as a reflection of the era of shamelessness we're currently living in, a time of fake news and alternative facts.

Two tracks were completely remotely between Irisarri in New York and Umor Rex veteran Siavash Amini from his home in Tehran, Iran. This music came together at the peak of all the anti-Muslim and anti-immigrant rhetoric happening in the USA, not to mention the banning of Iranians from entering the country, explains Irisarri. The diptych with Amini, 'Karma Krama' and 'The Faithless', seems bathed in additional waves of sorrow and dread. The wash of symphonic stormclouds of synth drones and processed notes on the latter gradually appears and disappears over the course of thirteen mournful minutes.

'Rh Negative' marches gigantic guitars through towering valleys of scarred ambient noise dealing with Irisarri's own heritage, many of his ancestors having come to America to escape poverty and oppression. The refusal of modern America to extend similar sanctuary to refugees escaping turmoil weighs heavily on the composer. Elsewhere an emotional onslaught of notes buried in mounds of greyscale noise on 'Sky Burial' aims to deal with Irisarri's very own mortality - something he was recently confronted with following health scares, an accident, and a near-death experience in 2016. Pushing 40 as this album was being made, the composer is constantly aware that he's already outlived his own father, who died at the age of 32. Facing down both intolerance and the void, the epic soundscapes of The Shameless Years are a vast cry of emotion from Irisarri. The clock is ticking - gotta make the most out of it while you still can.

All songs written and performed by Rafael Anton Irisarri, except #5 & #6 written and performed with Siavash Amini. Design by Daniel Castrejón, photos by Camilo Christen. Mastered by James Plotkin.

Beggars Arkive announce vinyl reissues for all five Peter
Murphy solo releases on Beggars Banquet, plus the release of
a brand-new rarities album titled ‘The Last And Only Star’. Each
album is pressed on coloured vinyl. The albums will be released
in three batches of two.
Peter’s third solo album saw him break wide open with his
biggest hit, ‘Cuts You Up’, which is often included in lists of the
greatest alternative singles. Propelling him into mainstream
stardom, ‘Deep’ also had two additional fantastic charting
singles - ‘The Line Between the Devil’s Teeth (And That Which
Cannot Be Repeat)’, ‘Cuts You Up’ and ‘A Strange Kind Of
Love’. Again produced by Simon Rogers, the critically
acclaimed album is still a fan favourite. Pressed on clear vinyl.
The fourth Peter Murphy album, ‘Holy Smoke’, contained the
single ‘The Sweetest Drop’, which made it onto the modern rock
charts. It was an elegant follow up to ‘Deep’ with crisp
production by Mike Thorne. As written in the original press
release for the album, “You can’t pin down ‘Holy Smoke’, it curls
and eddies in white and blue swirls, drawing a series of patterns
on the brain, but just when an image begins to come into focus,
the music mutates into something hypnotically new.” Pressed
on smoky vinyl.
Peter Murphy’s solo career began in 1986 with the release of
‘Should The World Fail To Fall Apart’ and continues to this day.
In addition to his work as the frontman of the legendary and
ground breaking Bauhaus, he has released ten solo albums, in
addition to several live releases. Over the last few years, he
staged several multi-night residencies where he performed a
different album each night. He also recently reunited with his
Bauhaus bandmates for shows.

Aged only 15, Lulu burst onto the pop scene in May 1964 with “Shout”, her unforgettable cover of the Isley Brothers’ timeless favourite. On EMI’s Columbia label she enjoyed a string of hits produced by Mickie Most, including US # 1 “To Sir With Love”, “The Boat That I Row”, “Me, The Peaceful Heart”, “I’m A Tiger”, and the joint winner of 1969’s Eurovision Song Contest, “Boom Bang-A-Bang”.
After Lulu recorded the title song for James Bond film “The Man With the Golden Gun”, David Bowie produced her versions of his songs “Watch That Man” and “The Man Who Sold The World”, the latter a UK # 3 hit. And in 1993 collaboration with Take That on “Relight My Fire” reached # 1.
Pressed on 140g vinyl, this 13-track set contains her best-loved hits.

a a1. SHOUT Lulu and The Luvers











[radio version]

The Running Man’, was composed by Harold Faltermeyer (Beverly Hills Cop, Top Gun, Cop Out, and the upcoming film Top Gun, Maverick).

The original (1987) 17 track album has been expanded to 35 tracks for this deluxe edition, which includes additional music and unreleased and alternate cues. The album was remastered by Chas Ferry from the original Paramount Pictures sources. The 2 LP gatefold package features original artwork created by Florian Mihr and includes images from the film and extensive liner notes by Daniel Schweiger on the inner sleeves.

In the year 2019, America is a totalitarian state where the favorite television program is The Running Man - a game show in which prisoners must run to freedom to avoid a brutal death. Having been made a scapegoat by the government, an imprisoned Ben Richards (Arnold Schwarzenegger) has the opportunity to make it back to the outside again by being a contestant on the deadly show, although the twisted host, Damon Killian (Richard Dawson) has no intention of letting him escape.

Being a band we have listened to and watched since the very beginning, we are thrilled to release the third album by the Malmö duo. The wy experience contains, apart from the powerful and often emotional songs, an immense visual experience. Stunning videos made and directed by the band themselves are accompanied by beautiful graphics and photos, and even more is coming… Once you’re hooked on wy you will NOT let go.

Being a band we have listened to and watched since the very beginning, we are thrilled to release the third album by the Malmö duo. The wy experience contains, apart from the powerful and often emotional songs, an immense visual experience. Stunning videos made and directed by the band themselves are accompanied by beautiful graphics and photos, and even more is coming… Once you’re hooked on wy you will NOT let go.

Júlio Cruz follows up his ¦rst solo EP on the label with this 4-
tracker dipping into some gritty electronic sounds. After the
production of the record has been delayed by almost exactly
one year due to corona, we are more then happy to ¦nally
share this beauty with you.

Ed Banger Records presents "Born a loser" , MYD's first album. Featuring Mac de Marco, Juan Wauters & Bakar.
14 songs, Double Vinyl edition. Includes " The Sun ", " Together we stand ", " Moving Men " & "Born a loser".

'Without You' is the second release from Athens of the North house band, it's a lovely deep house side with obvious influences. 'Without You' came together while warming up some new gear that had landed in the studio during lockdown and as often happens when you're not trying too hard something just comes together. For the vocal we had a multitrack tape of Avelino Pitts from the band Gold (Sadly he passed a few years ago) and Edinburgh singer Lucy (more to come from her soon). While we may be known for disco and funk AOTN crew grew up in the early 90s, so house is our bread and butter, so you will be hearing more.

On the flip side is something we have been wanting to do for some time, I always loved Mary Love's 'Come Out Of The Sandbox' but felt the structure of the track was a little tricky to play out. We went ahead and restructured the track as well as adding synth parts and created a 12-inch mix that never was (but should have been). We brought to the mix to Ady Croasdell at Ace Records (who currently own the rights) and asked if he would let us release the track legitimately, thankfully Ady liked it and kindly gave us the green light, so delighted that it's not only out but licensed correctly.

A reliable traditionalist with a penchant for bittersweet songs of heartbreak and loss, Ashley Monroe pulled a complete 180 for her spectacular new album, Rosegold, riding the joyful emotional wave that followed the birth of her son to create her most ecstatic, blissed-out collection yet. Written and recorded over the past two years, the record finds the GRAMMY-nominated Nashville star pushing her sound in bold new directions, drawing on everything from Kanye West and Kid Cudi to Beck and The Beach Boys as she layers lush vocal harmonies atop dreamy, synthesized soundscapes and sensual, intoxicating beats. Monroe worked with a variety of producers on the album, letting the tracks dictate her direction rather than any arbitrary adherence to genre or tradition, and the result is a record as daring as it is rewarding, an ecstatic, revelatory meditation on happiness and gratitude that tosses expectation to the wind as it celebrates our endless capacity to love, and to be loved, even in the midst of chaos and tragedy.Born in Knoxville, TN, Monroe first began turning heads in Nashville as a teenager, when she arrived in town with a notebook full of mature, emotionally sophisticated songs that belied her young age. A jack-of-all-trades, she picked up work behind the scenes at first, singing on sessions at Jack White’s Third Man Studios and penning tunes that would appear on albums by the likes of Guy Clark, Carrie Underwood, Jason Aldean, and Miranda Lambert. Monroe and Lambert forged a close personal bond through their collaborations, and in 2011, they teamed up with fellow Nashville journey woman Angaleena Presley to launch the critically acclaimed trio Pistol Annies, which would go on to top the Country Album charts, crack the Top 5 on the Billboard 200, and earn a GRAMMY nomination for Best Country Album. Monroe’s solo output was equally lauded, with NPRhailing her work as “subtle and breathtaking” and Rolling Stone praising her writing as “riveting and sharp-witted.” Over the course of three studio albums, Monroe would land her own GRAMMY nomination for Best Country Album, share bills with the likes of Vince Gill and John Prine, and perform everywhere from The Tonight Show and Conan to Late Night and The View.

La Fricativa Sonora is the new instrumental project with Jamaican roots formed by members of The Shake It Up’s, The Golden Singles, Begoña Bang-Matu, Mamvt, Ki Sap, Dirty Soul Riders … In November 2020 they release their first LP entitled «Yawina Bobongo». A first album as a presentation letter formed by 10 instrumental themes, where we will find different styles like reggae, ska, dub… with which we will travel to the Jamaica of the 60s and dance like crazy while enjoying the improvisations of Valencian musicians dedicated to the Jamaican-Valencian scene

Great Jamaican sound record that you have to have in your discography.

Limited edition of 250 copies

Optimo Music presents “Janara” the new album from Italy’s José Manuel. We always have our ears open for music that is unique, powerful and that can conjure up a ritualistic atmosphere, and this meistrerwerk did all that, and then some. We knew we had to release it after the first listen.

We’ll let José tell you about it….

This album is a result of the necessity of exploring and opening my mind to new musical horizons, by testing the main traditional instrument of the Italian region Campania, whose name is “Tammorra”. It is a big drum, which must not be confused with the typical tambourine, made from a wrap of wood shaped in a circle and covered with dried skin (almost always goatskin or sheepskin). This instrument was used during playful events, especially during rituals and ceremonies, such as the frequent devotional pilgrimages in honour of the Virgin Mary. By using this instrument, the sound, the rite and the magic could take possession of the mind and the body creating a perfect union. Also, the dancers, as if they were bitten by a tarantula and possessed by a strange evil, launched themselves to an uncontrolled dance by moving every part of their body.

In addition to the Tammorra, I also inserted some texts, which have been written by some Neapolitan friends and interpreted with Neapolitans voices, in honour of the “JANARA”. The Janara represents a popular belief of the Southern Italian regions, particularly of the Benevento area. The Janara is one of the many types of witches represented by folktales belonging to the rural tradition.

The Janara was expert in medical herbs, which were also be used for her magical practices, such as the manufacturing of ointment. The ointment gave her the power to become incorporeal with the same nature as the wind. According to the tradition, in order to snatch the Janara it was necessary to grab her by the hair. It was also said that if anyone was able to capture the Janara during her incorporeal moment then Janara herself would offer protection to them and their family for seven generations, in exchange for her freedom.

With this work I hope that the listener might get carried away by the spirit of this pagan and popular legend that can be still be considered as current. As a matter of fact, the folk tales speak of a probable comeback of the Janara, who after being burned at the stake seems to be thirsting for revenge for the evil suffered.

"Where Do We Go From Here" is Dumpstaphunk's first album in seven years. It will be released on April 23, 2021 on The Funk Garage, an imprint of Mascot Label Group.
Over its past 17 years, Dumpstaphunk has earned its reputation as the most well-regarded next-generation New Orleans live powerhouse, the type of band whose live shows attract sit-ins from legends like Carlos Santana, Bob Weir and Trombone Shorty. Alongside Hall, Daniels, Alex Wasily, Ryan Nyther and drummer Devin Trusclair, cousins Ivan and Ian Neville have built upon their family’s iconic NOLA legacy as they’ve transformed Dumpstaphunk into the city’s pre-eminent 21st-century funk-fusion export.
The band’s mix of classic and modern influences can be heard throughout the party-friendly mix of R&B, funk, rock, swamp-pop and blues of "Where Do We Go From Here," from the slap-bass rave "Make It After All" to the band's contemporary renderings of NOLA R&B rarities (the 1975 Blackmail gem "Let’s Get At It") and early Seventies classics (Sly and the Family Stone's "In Time”).
‘Where Do We Go From Here’ is perhaps the best evidence yet of Dumpstaphunk’s ability to strengthen and transform their singular NOLA roots in combination with the deeper outside musical and philosophical influences on which the band is founded.

Few Danish bands have been so far around the block at such a young age as Communions.

In 2014, while still in highschool and still shaking dust from the rafters of Mayhem — Copenhagen’s famed underground venue — Communions released their debut EP Cobblestones. The release marked the beginning of a long and productive streak for the band,


who followed it up with the 2015 Communions EP, the 2017 album Blue, a string of self-released singles and an EP, Flesh and Gore, Dream and Vapor, in 2019. Now Communions have joined Tambourhinoceros with a new, reshaped constellation.

Communions’ Rehof brothers — Martin (vocals and guitar) and Mads (Bass) — have decided to continue at the helm of the band after the departure of their long-time bandmates Jacob van Deurs Formann and Frederik Lind Köppen (although the two still feature in the forthcoming Communions recordings). Letting their brotherly musical connection take center stage, the Rehof brothers have assembled a new five piece constellation around themselves going forwards, adding even more depth to their indie rock.

Communions’s early work drew inspiration from the underground scene’s punk cynicism, evidenced by their lofi debut EP which was recorded — with amps blaring — straight onto a USB microphone. Communions’ next two EPs and debut album saw the band refine their craft of songwriting and production while riding a wave of international attention and festival performances. Their forthcoming music now represents another shift in the Communions aesthetic. Marked by sharp cultural criticism, self reflection, and artistic commentary of a grand scale, Communions’ new music takes the signature indie rock from the dark clubs of their youth and merges it with full-fleshed cerebral critique and symbolism.

• Marion formed in Manchester in 1994 and released their debut album This World And Body in 1996. The album reached number 10 in the UK album chart and the band found further success with the singles ‘Let’s All Go Together’ and ‘Sleep’.
• To follow up on their triumphant debut, the band returned to the studio to record The Program with exSmiths guitarist Johnny Marr on production duties.
• Demon Records is proud to present The Program pressed on 180g heavyweight translucent green vinyl.

• Marion formed in Manchester in 1994, releasing their debut single on Rough Trade. Signed to London Records, the band found themselves bundled in with the ‘Britpop’ scene, and made their national TV debut by performing ‘Sleep’ on Channel 4’s cult TV show ‘The Word’ in February 1995.
• The band gigged throughout 1995, building up a fan base, and supported Morrissey on his ‘Boxers’ tour.
This World And Body was released in February 1996 and entered the top ten of the UK album chart.
• Demon Records is proud to present This World And Body pressed on 180g heavyweight translucent gold vinyl.

Black Market Brass is a Minneapolis-based group performing their own brand of originally composed Afrobeat/Afrofunk music, as well as completing authentic renditions of the classic 1970's West African sound. Taking their cues from the godfathers, the band draws on complex polyrhythmic percussion, driving bass lines, dizzying guitar interplay, rolling keyboards, and room-commanding brass. The result? An eclectic blend of cool deep funk and driving Afrobeat grooves that will lure you to the dance floor and never let you leave.

Deluxe 3LP mit 34 neu gemasterten Tracks und einem 60-seitigen Buch mit ausführlichen Linernotes, Interviews, bisher ungesehenen Archivphotos und den Texten (samt Übersetzung) in einem ,Tip On"-Schuber und drei ,Tip On"-Sleeves. Linernotes von Kevin ,Sipreano" Howes. Bisher fast nicht an die Öffentlichkeit gedrungen, kaum dokumentiert, aber im Kern ungeheuer revolutionär, nehmen die Aufnahmen verschiedenster Gemeinden amerikanischer Ureinwohner endlich in Form von ,Native North America (Vol. 1): Aboriginal Folk, Rock, and Country 1966-1985" den Platz ein, den sie verdienen. Eine Anthologie von Musik, die einst fast ausgestorben, aber nun für alle zu hören, ist ohne Frage eins der ambitioniertesten Projekte in der 12-järhigen Geschichte von Light In The Attic. ,Native Norht America (Vol. 1)" versammelt Musik der eingeborenen Völker Kanadas und der nördlichen USA, die in den turbulenten Jahrzehnten zwischen 1966 und 1985 aufgenommen wurde. Die Musik spiegelt die Zusammenführung globaler Popkultur und die Neuerweckung der eingeborenen Spiritualität und Ausdruckskraft wider. Der größte Teil dieses Materials war über Jahrzehnte lang durch fehlende Distributionskanäle und wenig Präsenz in den Massenmedien in Vergessenheit geraten - bis jetzt! Hier versammelt sich Garage Rock vom Polarkreis aus der Nunavik Region des nördlichen Quebec, melancholischer Yup'ik Folk aus Alaska und flüsternder Country Blues aus dem Wagmatcook First Nation Reservat in Nova Scotia. Man vernimmt Echos von NEIL YOUNG, VELVET UNDERGROUND, LEONARD COHEN, CREEDENCE CLEARWATER REVIVAL, JOHNNY CASH und anderen in den Songs, die jedoch mit eingeborenem Bewusstsein, Erzählkultur, Poesie, Geschichte und Zeremonie angereichert werden. Die Compilation ist gewidmet dem legendären Métis Singer/Songwriter und Dichter WILLIE DUNN, der auf der Anthologie auftritt, während der Zusammenstellung des Albums jedoch verstarb. ,Native North America (Vol. 1)" ist nur der Anfang; eine Zusammenstellung von Folk, Rock und Country aus den südlichen 48 Staaten der USA und Mexiko wird momentan in der Light In The Attic Goldmine ausgegraben.

Olivia Jean is back on the scene with a brand new single "Palladium", teaming up with April March (whose cover of "Chick Habit" was featured in Tarantino's "Death Proof"). The duo focuses their inimitable blend of danceable badass on three "versions" of the same song. Each song is sung in English and in French.

The 7" vinyl release will contain side A en Francais "Allons-y" and side B in English "Let's Go". All 6 versions will be available digitally.

Super fun! Génialissime! Beautiful! C'est magnifique! Get to it!!

Kink Gong is back with his unique take and re-interpretation of the music he’s been recording and documenting for years in the South East Asian highlands.

Zomia Vol.1 takes the conceptual idea of ZOMIA, proposed by James C Scott in The Art of Not Being Governed, an Anarchist History of Upland South East Asia, to construct its very own mythological soundscape inspired by a semi-utopic region where state rules don’t apply. Zomia might be (almost) gone but Kink Gong is keen keep its spirit alive by releasing a series of albums celebrating the region’s quasi mythological features.

‘’Zomia is an idea, a concept that, not so long ago, there were two very distinct worlds in southeast Asia, the valley VS highland/hinterland, the civilisation VS the primitive, paddy rice VS slash and burn agriculture, Buddhism VS Animism, fixed territory VS movement/migration, written system VS oral culture, the state VS anarchy, property VS squat, controlled population VS autonomy, bricks VS bamboo and wood and, at my level museumified traditional mainstream music VS real emotions/songs of devastated lives and/or gongs ceremonies with buffalo sacrifices, extreme heat in the valleys VS shade in the jungle. I could go on and on but let’s not forget that ZOMIA is disappearing fast, if not altogether already. How many of the people I’ve recorded are still alive?

As you might know, before composing new music from my own ZOMIAN experience (from 2001 to 2014 in Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, Thailand and China) I had to find those musicians, be able to communicate with them, record them as good as I could with very limited finances and gradually release a collection of 160 CDrs. It is very important for me to make sure you to listen to the fantastic original recordings before or after you’ve listened to this experimental reconstruction I called ZOMIA!

Expect more volumes to come, this is my biggest source of inspiration, and the reason why I’ve been involved for years in constructing a mythological experimental musical ZOMIAN soundscape.’’
Laurent Jeanneau, Berlin 2020

Scorpion is the second studio album by Eve. It was by Ruff Ryders Entertainment and Interscope Records on released 6th March, 2001. The album’s title is a reference to Eve’s zodiac sign, Scorpio. It features the Grammy-winning hit single, “Let Me Blow Ya Mind”, a duet with Gwen Stefani, winning their first Grammy Award for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration, a new category at the time.

Scorpion was a critical and commercial success, debuting at number four on the US Billboard 200 and became her second consecutive number-one album on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. Scorpion was later certified Platinum by the RIAA on 10th May, 2001. Scorpion was also nominated for Best Rap Album at the 44th Grammy Awards in 2002

Scorpion will release on 16th April in 2LP 180 gram black vinyl.

17 Track compilation of all of their studio recordings, remastered and pressed on Electric Blue Vinyl. Presented in gatefold sleeve with never seen before photographs ,a printed lyric inner sleeve and poster.
The VIP’s were formed in 1978 while at Warwick University. Within weeks they were gigging at clubs in the Midlands, often on the same bill as THE SPECIALS in Coventry. Soon they found a manager, Clive Solomon, who with Timmy Mallet (now a TV and Radio presenter) and both students at the university, financed the group’s first single the EP ‘Music For Funsters. In the summer of 1978 they built up a loyal following in London. The single was picked up by John Peel, who played it constantly on his BBC radio show through the year. The 3 track EP, featuring ‘I’m Perfect’, ‘I Believe’ and ‘Boys of the City’ was released on Clive Solomon’s own ‘Bust’ label.
In 1979 the VIP’s could be found playing all over the country, frequently on the same bill as Squire, stablemates on Clive Solomon’s label.
In early 1980 they went into Olympic Studios in Chiswick to record some tracks with ex-THE ANIMALS bass player and SLADE/Jimi Hendrix manager Chas Chandler. The track ‘I Thought You Were My Friend’ was recorded at these sessions A few weeks later a major record deal was agreed with Gem Records/RCA and ‘Causing Complications’ came out in March. To coincide with the release the VIP’s went on tour supporting SECRET AFFAIR.
After the tour the single ‘The Quarter Moon’ was released, another track produced by Mike Leander. It received extensive airplay around the UK and beyond, and was also picked as BBC Radio 1’s Record of The Week by DJ Mike Reid on his Morning Show, as well as being Radio Luxembourg’s ‘Power Play’ for two weeks. The constant touring, recording and radio play had earned them a spot on Top of The Pops but they were suddenly told -on the afternoon that they were due to appear - that an industrial dispute at the BBC had resulted in the show being cancelled. Disappointed, they continued to record and tour, this time with MADNESS, THE BEAT and DEXYS MIDNIGHT RUNNERS amongst others. This time Bob Seargent (of The BEAT and HAIRCUT 100 fame) was recruited to give ‘Need Somebody To Love’ that sparkle and edge to capture The VIP’s live sound on vinyl. Although perhaps the most representative of the band’s sound, Top of The Pops again eluded them.
By the end of 1980 the VIP’s were selling in Spain, Germany, Italy and France through the RCA label but they seemed to be losing heart with the business. Illness -Jed had been touring with a collapsed lung - and tensions saw the band play their last concert at Leicester University. A fourth and final GEM single, ‘Things Aren’t What They Used To Be’ (a song taken from their earlier Mike Leander recording sessions) proved to be their last. With several songs still to be recorded, it was a frustrating time for all.
Paul Shurey and Guy Morley has already made alternative plans for THE NEW VIP’s and recruited Simon Smith from THE MERTON PARKAS to play drums while Paul returned to his native keyboards. With Tony Conway on guitar and Andy Godfrey on bass they became MOOD SIX.
Paul Shurey played a central part in the birth and proliferation of the Rave movement in the 80’s, 90’s and 2,000’s, initiating a great a great many DANCE RAVES all around the world. Very sadly he died in 2017. He was also a gifted artist/cartoonist, and it’s his picture which graces the album’s sleeve. He is a brother very greatly missed.
Guy Morley works in film editing and Andrew Price is involved in developing community projects in and around his native Bristol.
“We became lifelong friends and shared a great and very exciting rock and roll dream.”

Conceived at the heel of Italy's boot-shaped peninsula in Apulia, Patrick Belaga's Blutt makes music for the unruly imagination. The title is an old German word for 'naked', 'bare', but it can also mean 'blood' when spelt blut. Take away another letter and it makes 'butt'. None of these definitions and adaptations were what prompted the classically-trained composer and cellist to name his second album with a word simulating the sound of a punctured artery. That came later. Blutt's nine woozy compositions are inspired by a contemplative road trip with a friend, and the mysterious muffled music heard from an unidentified source. It was a combination of jazz and classical music that haunted Belaga's wanderings through the Byzantine town Gallipoli, and soon infected his dreams of long-gone civilizations. This record is its outcome, where organic instrumentals and electronic production merge into a sound that's both contemporary and ancient. Samples of mewing incantations and tape hiss sway atop the waltzing thud of piano chords on "Sigh". Composite layers of Belaga's cello play in downcast harmony on "Rust". There's a wistful sense for the romantic, in the eerie rhythm of a piece like "Momentum". The quarter tones of an Eastern European and Middle Eastern folk scale probe a profound melancholy via Kai Knight's violin. Its notes are haunted by a field recording of running water on "Unsoft", echoes of panpipes and a Jew's harp on opener "Lilt". As a consummate composer and performer known for his work with artists Wu Tsang, boychild, Josh Johnson and Asma Maroof, Belaga's Blutt is itself marked by flawless collaborations. Vocalist and instrumentalist Jazmin Romero sings and composes the surreal melodies of "Grey Eye". Multidisciplinary dance artist and producer Riley Watts contributes to the muted, motorik movement of "The Tunnel is a Tower". Together, the record plays as a stunning soundtrack to the strangeness of sleeping, and the heartbreaking transience of time. Like an intense dream half-remembered, the emotions persist after waking but for the sharp machinations just outside of the mind's reach. The album is mastered by Rashad Becker, featuring artwork by Giovanni Furlino & design by N MRE 08.

Repress

2x12"

Zodiak Commune Records proudly presents its very first double LP made by label resident 1NC1N. High quality techno, acid and electro. Are you ready for the The Butterfly Effect Enjoy this limited release in the insectum serie!

A1. Digisynaptic Resonance
In this new age, technology is resonating on a digisynaptic level.
This track will surprise you...

A2. Voice Of Reason
Everyone has a voice of his own...for a reason.
Let your higher self speak!

B1. Nocturnal Humanoid
Not learning by experience.
Feeding by data is revolution.

B2. The Lost & The Missing (live)
Go back to the beginning of the Acid scene.
Relive the evolution.

C1. Walking Taiko
Listen to the rythmic art of Taiko.
Close your eyes...walk across Japan with all its beauty and hectics.

C2. The Ghost Of Holeenhyrst
Imagine a dark forest with a lost village.
You will be surrounded by this one person who supposed to be left...but did not.

D1. Whispering Transmission
Do not overuse a radio.
Sometimes it s better to communicate through whispering.

D2. Samsara
Embrace the infinity.
Ending it means start something new.

Demon Records presents Distortion: 2008-2019, the third in a series of four expansive vinyl box sets chronicling the solo career of legendary American musician Bob Mould.
Bob Mould’s career began in 1979 with the iconic underground punk group Hüsker Dü before forming the beloved alternative rock band Sugar and releasing numerous critically acclaimed solo albums. Volume three in this new series covers the period 2008-2019 and contains many of Bob Mould’s most celebrated recordings including Silver Age (2012), Patch The Sky (2016), and Sunshine Rock (2019).

Having become one of the premier German death metal bands - and rapidly rising the ranks of the genre as a whole - Endseeker storm back into the fray with Mount Carcass. Building on the groundwork laid down on 2017’s Flesh Hammer Prophecy and having the difficult task of besting 2019’s stunning The Harvest they have returned with a streamlined, powerful collection that further raises the bar. To keep the genre sounding fresh in 2021 Endseeker focused on the production, having just a touch of the old school vibe to remain rooted, and they did not limit themselves too hard to the Swedish death metal style of songwriting they previously embraced, but also let other influences into their songs. “You can hear all kinds of stuff that is inspired by bands like Morbid Angel, Bolt Thrower, Slayer, Dissection, Gorefest, etc. We listen to so many different bands and somehow a bit from all of this keeps adding to our music.”

Just like Freddy Krueger, Final Dream resurrects from the past to haunt your nights and deliver to the masses his threatening message. Author of a mighty album and three collector EP's on experimental techno label Audio Illusion Recordings from 1995 to 2002, British Electro veteran Phil Klein aka Bass Junkie returns with a vengeance under his most frightening alias. 19 years after his last transmission, he serves up a new four tracker full of his infectious strain of corrosive and weird electro.

The A-side opens with the mental "Dark Flow", a pounding tune based upon hammering beats surrounded by sinister strings and a gloomy atmosphere. The title track "Project Fear" coming next goes deeper into the realm, merging lethal frequencies to demonic beats.

The flipside introduces "Force Majeure", a milestone of an instant classic made of robotic drums sequences fused into subtle acid lines while "The Devil's Playground" concludes the 12" with 7 minutes of brain manipulations. Present "Project Fear EP" appears as an opened window to the future, an invitation to foresee what Evil is cooking for you in his laboratory. Just a reminder that there's no way to hide, accept your fate, nothing can stop the darkness!