Search:the lines

John Davis is a sound artist and filmmaker based in the Bay Area. Active since the mid-aughts, he has published recordings on labels such as Root Strata and Digitalis, as well as on his own Bimodal Press imprint. “Landlines” sees a return to the SOD catalog for Davis, following a full-length release in 2013, and may be seen as somewhat of a spiritual successor to that album. In all of Davis’ work, there is a specific pastoral sensibility that feels firmly rooted in the forests and coasts of Northern California, moving with the delicate and erratic cadence of dust motes rendered visible in bright sunlight. Opening track “Verichrome” articulates the soundscape wonderfully, stitching together Music Mouse-esque formant synthesis and meditative vocal sampling with an exquisite minimalist suite for prepared piano. Of these recordings, Davis himself writes, “In a general sense the conceit here is nostalgia, a desire to reflect on the importance of connection – to ourselves and to the world around us. The title is, of course, a euphemism for the telephone, but I am also considering landscape, horizons, and infrastructure, as well as the invisible lines that connect us, the threads that bind us, and the communities that form us.”

Blu’s music has been championed by outlets like XXL, Pitchfork, Okayplayer, HipHopDX, and more. In recent years, he has been interviewed by Billboard, Complex, LA Weekly, Noisey, Red Bull Music Academy, and more. Blu has collaborated with prominent artists like The Roots, Logic, Miguel, MF DOOM, Madlib, Anderson .Paak, Lupe Fiasco, Freddie Gibbs, Aloe Blacc, Roc Marciano, Slum Village, 9th Wonder, and more. Classic 2014 album on gatefold 2LP vinyl, now available after years out of print. Good To Be Home features guest appearances by Evidence, Fashawn, Alchemist, Casey Veggies, MED, Planet Asia, Oh No, Pac Div, Strong Arm Steady, Thurz, Visionaries, Chace Infinite, Cashus King, and more. L.A. rapper Blu burst onto the scene in the late 00s with the widely acclaimed Exile collaboration Below The Heavens, igniting a West Coast hip-hop renaissance in the process. With his cool Cali demeanor and undeniable lyrical talent, Blu drew praise from fans and tastemakers alike, launching a remarkable career that continues thriving to this day. His first ever double album, the 2014 masterpiece Good To Be Home is an essential part of this story. An unapologetic celebration of Los Angeles music and culture, the album takes listeners on a vivid journey through Blu’s storied stomping grounds. With sweeping strings and hypnotic bass lines supplied by producer Bombay, Good To Be Home features a host of West Coast hip-hop luminaries, including Evidence, Fashawn, Alchemist, Casey Veggies, MED, Planet Asia, Oh No, Pac Div, Strong Arm Steady, Thurz, Visionaries, and more. A cohesive collection with 20 tracks and no filler, this classic release is now available again on vinyl after years out of print.

Liquid Liquid loom large for many - their classic run of EPs on 99 Records has gotten a second, third, and fourth life thanks to devout fans like the Beastie Boys, LCD Soundsystem's James Murphy, and Domino's Laurence Bell. (This to say nothing of the fact that one of rap's all time classics - Melle Mel's "White Lines" - is based around their song "Cavern.) This new double a-side single from Murphy's own DFA features a torrential version of "Bellhead" he co-produced in 2004 alongside a completely new version of the Liquids classic "Optimo" by Glaswegian party crew Optimo (Espacio).

Als Sohn türkischer Eltern und Gastarbeitenden ist er immer noch da, wo er aufgewachsen ist - in seiner Heimat Moabit. Nach fast 10 Jahren Texte schreiben verbringt Apsilon seit gut zwei Jahren viel Zeit im Studio. Inhaltlich gibt es Deutschrap mit antikapitalistischer Analyse ohne erhobenen moralischen Zeigefinger. Provokante Gesellschaftskritik ohne Kompromisse gegen weißdeutsche Bequemlichkeit und Resignation. Die Delivery ist die pure Wut, der Sound ist trappig und modern. New Wave. Apsilon kommt leger um die Ecke und legt Basketballreferenzen neben Rassismuskritik, reiht geschickt deutsche Redewendungen aneinander, während er sie bricht und so mit der deutschen Sprache dribbelt.Mit Songs wie "Baba", EPs wie "32 Zähne" oder "Blei" und Zusammenarbeiten mit Bazzazian, LUVRE47 oder Wa22ermann hat Apsilon sich in gerade mal zwei Jahren vom Newcomer aus Berlin-Moabit zu einem echten Hoffnungsträger für hiesigen HipHop entwickelt. Aus gutem Grund: Apsilon vereint lyrische Schauspiele und nachhallende Performance. Seine inbrünstigen Flows um Lines über Antikapitalismus und Straßenkämpfe umgeben dabei den Hauch einer (Rap-)Revolution, die nicht nur antirassistisch, inklusiv, sondern sogar ohne Zeigefinger auskommt. Selten war politischer Rap so zwingend und zwanglos. Mit "Haut wie Pelz" veröffentlicht Apsilon jetzt sein langerwartetes Debütalbum. Die 14 Tracks setzen sich auf unterschiedlichen Ebenen und aus verschiedenen Perspektiven mit der Geschichte von Apsilons Familie auseinander. Es erzählt von seinen Großeltern, die aus der Türkei nach Deutschland gekommen sind, immer in dem Glauben, nur kurz zu bleiben und bald wieder in die Heimat zurückzukehren. Aber genauso geht es auch um ihre Kinder und um Apsilon und seine Geschwister. "Auf jedem der Songs geht es um unsere Geschichte, die Träume und Traumata, die schönen aber auch die schmerzhaften Seiten dieses Lebens. Einerseits sind es sehr persönliche und emotionale Themen, aber andererseits möchte ich diese Geschichte auch deshalb erzählen, weil sie auf viele andere Menschen und Familien in Deutschland übertragbar ist." Die Idee für "Haut wie Pelz" kam Apsilon nach der Veröffentlichung seiner Single "Baba" im letzten Jahr, mit der er sich auf berührende Weise an seinen Vater wandte. "Nach dem Release ist mir klar geworden, in welche Richtung das Album gehen soll", erinnert sich Apsilson. "Der Song hat mir aber nicht nur inhaltlich, sondern auch musikalisch ein ganz neues Selbstbewusstsein gegeben." Entstanden ist "Haut wie Pelz" deshalb gemeinsam mit dem Team, dass auch schon für "Baba" verantwortlich war: Bazzazian, Ralph Heidel und Apsilons Bruder Arman, der gleichzeitig auch als Executive Producer für das Album fungiert. "Haut wie Pelz" von Apsilon erscheint am 04.10.2024. Im November geht Apsilon gemeinsam mit seinem Bruder Arman und dem neuen Album auf große Tour durch Deutschland, Österreich und die Schweiz.

Maelstrom returns to Central Processing Unit for the fourth time, and it's the one born Joan-Mael Péneau's lengthiest drop on the Sheffield label yet. The French artist has been a mainstay in the European electro game since the 2000s, and Malestrom brings that experience to bear on new LP The FM Tapes. He goes about this album with the assurance of a seasoned pro, combining his mastery of electro production techniques with a trademark guile to craft an expertly-paced eleven-track affair.

The first section of The FM Tapes sets out the album's stall with style and aplomb - listeners are in store for a rich feast of off-kilter machine-funk which will feature no shortage of intriguing detours. On opener 'Ondes Courtes' the mix throbs with all manner of strange electronic gristle: a distorted bass hum rattles the monitors; wisps of distortion float across the mix; eerily pretty keys wax and wane before giving way to a radar pulse.

'Ondes Courtes' is an ominous slouch of a scene-setter, and it lines things up perfectly for following cut 'Alt50ser' to lock in. This track's churning, gurgling mid-tempo rattle brings to mind the wacky insistence of Modeselektor. Maelstrom repeats the slow-fast one-two again directly afterwards - 'La Vie Sociale Des', a strange nugget that sounds like an early Eski instrumental stripped for parts and blasted into the cosmos, is an ideal prelude to the twitchy space-funk of 'My Digitone'.

Maelstrom's staying power in the electro world comes, in no small part, from his ability to apply his delightfully idiosyncratic choices to some of the genre's staple production tropes. On The FM Tapes, he marks himself out once more as a pleasingly unorthodox talent by taking tracks in unexpected directions to produce surprising - and often rather moving - results.

There are multiple cuts here which channel the more cerebral end of Richard D. James' AFX/Analord output: 'My Digitone' may be a quicksilver techno-electro number, but there's still something cinematic about the synth treatment here which softens the edges; 'Suede's minor-key oscillations bring other CPU veterans like Cygnus and Bochum Welt into view; 'Res 06', one of two Fasme collaborations on the record, is full of pathos even as the beat programming bangs and whirrs throughout.

While there's a deep emotional undercurrent to The FM Tapes, though, Maelstrom's commitment to bringing the thrills surfaces time and again. If 'Res 06' had Maelstrom and Fasme getting wistful, the album's other Fasme link-up 'Trempo' is one of the hardest club joints here, a piece of old-school Detroit energy replete with some great cascading drum production. Indeed, 'Trempo' comes in the middle of a run towards the album's end where Maelstrom takes the handbrake off - there's a wild-eyed sense of fun to 'The Operator' and 'Upside Down DX7' which has one thinking of the zany cut-and-thrust of KiNK's best work.

Maelstrom's latest drop for Sheffield's Central Processing Unit label is an album of leftfield electro numbers that bring both pounding beats and poignant production.

RIYL: KiNK, Modeselektor, Cygnus, Bochum Welt, AFX

London-raised, Lisbon-based songwriter, producer, and DJ William Florelle has been on our radar at R2 Records for some time now having released some of our favourite organically soulful
electronic jams of recent times, so when the opportunity came to release some of his music it was a natural fit.

“Red Velvet” is a sultry and soulful jam that typically blurs the lines between Will Flo’s soul-driven influences from jazz through R&B to club-focused dance music capturing his unique organic yet
electronic syncopation.

The maestro Kaidi Tatham has delivered a stunning remix featuring his signature broken-jazz virtuosity – timeless music.

Karizma comes in the door with one of his beat-down Dubs for that late-night drop, and finally Ato Ayerra blesses the release with the Beringel “2am Snack” Remix.

A full grip journey through sonic planes . Through rhythmic heat pulling apart plate metal to outside the beyond . The Broken Gravitron Ep is a concept record whose artwork and tracks tell a story of a the famous fair ride breaking and flying into oblivion. With a slower tinkered out funk electro opener ‘Spun Light’ . Following tracks ‘Middle Man’ and ‘O Ring ‘ set a course thru acidic techno lines and heavy pressure drums . Finally ending in the grand gravity push n pull basslines of ‘ Oblivion Found ‘ . For fans of heavy exploration .

For Dutch artist Stefan Vincent, the feeling of melancholy also offers the opportunity for beauty to be found. “Decay and loneliness can serve a purpose. Depression can teach you things. To feel deep sadness also means the ability to feel profound
emotions.” he says. With this in mind, his debut album on MUSAR Recordings, “Post- Melancholy”, unpacks the twists and turns of grappling with this emotion, drawing from breaks, electro and IDM to make his most intricate work to date, after previous releases on Token, Dynamic Reflection, Symbolism, and Non-Series. Throughout “Post-Melancholy” Vincent traces the wave of melancholy and how it moves through the body, which allows for lighter moments alongside darker moods. Perhaps the lightest track on the album is its acidic-breaks opener, “Eyes Unclouded”, with its soaring acid lines and dazzling synths, which acts as a false pretense for the rest of the album. Tracks like “Poise”, “Arpeggino” and the meditative “Yonghegong Lama Temple Exit F” also break up the intensity. However, nestled between the more pacey, bass-weighted tracks on the album, these lighter openings still feel like tear-jerkers.

The more common associations of melancholy show up on tracks like “Another Skin To Wear” and “You Know This Isn’t Going To End Well”, which all create a more ominous feel via IDM and the polyrhythmic structures of drum’n’bass. Particularly on “Another Skin To Wear”, which borrows its name from a Radiohead lyric, the track's swooping motion feels realistic to melancholy’s chaotic and often unpredictable path. But, like all great storytellers, Vincent leaves the most poignant moment of the album for last with the rolling “8AM on the Train… (For Maarten)” devoted to his dear friend, Maarten, who sadly passed away at the young age of 36. This LP is dedicated to Maarten de Vries (1986-2022)

Most of the writing of Naima Bock's second album, Below A Massive Dark Land, was a solitary affair. It may not sound like it - it's made up of strong, purposeful arrangements with a huge host of musicians, filled with cradling space and warm light. This will also come as a surprise to anyone who has seen Naima perform in the time since the release of her 2022 debut Giant Palm, which was undoubtedly a communal experience. But there's power in the solitary, too. Giant Palm was arranged with collaborator Joel Burton, but going this one alone in search of something that was truly hers, Naima found she was capable of more. "After me and Joel stopped working together", she remembers, "it was an impossibility to even fathom doing arrangements myself but then I started learning violin and it was possible". Finding that she could go it alone was incredibly powerful for Naima: "I think I needed it, to be able to feel proud of something". Beyond the writing process, however, the record is not a stark, stripped back affair. Below_ still has the majesty that made Giant Palm so remarkable. Having tugged the first record down from the skies and spreading it across the earth, Naima finds a newfound vocal power and confidence born from hundreds of hours on stage, and the music sounds fuller, more tangible, and no less enveloping. This can be heard on the album's lead singles: "Kaley" feels fresh and surprising in its rug-pull choppiness but is distinctly Naima in its swinging, jubilant choruses. The accompanying "Further Away" takes a different tack, drawing you in with its simplicity. Finally, the hazy, luxurious beauty of "Feed My Release" draws on the sepia-toned traditions of The Roches, John Prine and Loudon Wainwright III and imbues them with the kind of stark confessional songwriting of Mount Eerie. These are ambitious, rich arrangements that reach deeper and darker lyrically than Giant Palm. Below a Massive Dark Land was predominantly produced by Jack Osborne (Bingo Fury) and Joe Jones, and recorded at The Crypt in north London, with additional production and arrangement by Oliver Hamilton (caroline, Shovel Dance Collective) and Naima herself. Six of the tracks on Below_ were mixed by Jason Agel, with the remainder done by Osborne and Jones. The album was mastered by Kevin Tuffy.

Punk collective TOKKY HORROR have released their brand new EP 'KAPPACORE', today via Venn Records. Order the EP - HERE. To celebrate the release the band have released new single 'MAXINE'. Speaking about the new single the band said, “Maxine is a perfect example of collaboration breathing new life into an idea. We’d been sat on the instrumental version for over a year, and wasn’t until we got into the studio with Blazer that it really came into its own. We wanted to capture the atmosphere of rave culture but play it as a band. It’s got all the breaks, bass lines, stabs that a rave track would carry. It’s just done live” Speaking about the EP the band said, “This is the last thing we’ll put out before disappearing to record our album. It’s road tested, high energy material from the first era of Tokky Horror. We’ve wanted to meld breakbeats with visceral guitars as we usually do, but expanded our range of sampling further and pushed our weirdness at times, there’s less out-and-out riffs and more times where our love of Orbital and Aphex Twin shines through. It’s still a record for the punks, just not purists.” KAPPACORE Tracklisting: MAXINE (feat Blazer Boccle) HAMMER 2 THE FACE JAZZ MUSIC TOILET TRANMERE RAVER (feat. MC NULTi) Tokky Horror who recently supported Enter Shikari on their sold out tour, have announced a headline tour for this October..

Legendary UK band Asian Dub Foundation is celebrating its 30th Anniversary this year!

Asian Dub Foundation are a genre unto themselves. Their unique combination of jungliest rhythms, dub bass lines and wild guitar overlaid by references to their South Asian roots via militant high-speed rap has established them as one of the best live bands in the world. The story began in the early 90’s when ADF formed from a music workshop in East London at the institution which is their spiritual home, Community Music. Their unique beginnings in a music workshop in east London shaped both their sound and their educational aspirations, setting up their own organisation ADF Education (ADFED), plus instigating campaigns on behalf of those suffering miscarriages of justice.

Building a solid live reputation in the mid-90’s, they gained worldwide recognition sharing the stage with Rage Against The Machine, the Beastie Boys, Radiohead and Primal Scream. On record, they've collaborated with Radiohead, Sinead O'Connor, Iggy Pop, Adrian Sherwood, and Chuck D. In addition to their blistering live reputation ADF were one of the first bands to experiment with live film re-scores (“Cineconcerts”), beginning with their rapturously-received re-interpretation of the French classic La Haine back in 2001.

In 30 years, Asian Dub Foundation have racked up 1000’s of unforgettable shows, 9 studio albums alongside a social and educational activism that both created the group and sustains them today. In celebration of the longevity of this unique project they are announcing an extensive European tour for 2024-25 of more than 60 shows and a special album showcasing their many iconic collaborations. “94-Now: Collaborations” will be released on September 27, 2024!










h B3 Free Satpal Ram ft. Primal Scream (Bendran Lynch Mix) ADF30 Remaster

j B5 Black Steel in the Hour of Chaos ft. Chuck D (Live At Somerset House) ADF30 Rework)








h B3 Free Satpal Ram ft. Primal Scream (Bendran Lynch Mix) ADF30 Remaster

j B5 Black Steel in the Hour of Chaos ft. Chuck D (Live At Somerset House) [ADF30 Rework)

Formed in leafy Surrey in the late 1980s, Threshold rose to prominence in the decade that followed, quickly establishing themselves as Britain's leading pioneers of progressive metal. Since debuting "Wounded Land" in 1993, the proven core creative duo of guitarist Karl Groom and keyboard maestro Richard West have developed a unique form of fierce progressive music that features precise melodies, thought-provoking lyrics and complex yet thunderous arrangements united. Threshold have tirelessly evolved over three decades of creative passion and may have reached a new peak in their performance with 2017's conceptual and musical feast, Legends Of The Shires. With the return of vocalist Glynn Morgan to the band, the Brits' permanent line-up of Groom, West, drummer Johanne James and bassist Steve Anderson have reached new heights and received critical acclaim in the process. The band's latest (and twelfth) studio album, Dividing Lines, was darker, heavier and even more adventurous than its predecessor, producing some of the most creative and melodically powerful material they have ever recorded. With these reissues of the remixed and remastered albums “Clone” and “Extinct Intinct” come the next two new vinyl formats and CDs with bonus tracks.

Introducing Shed Seven"s latest offering for 2024: Liquid Gold. A loving tribute to their 30-year journey as recording artists. This special album revisits iconic tracks from their past, reimagined with the addition of an orchestra, promising a nostalgic yet fresh sonic experience. Liquid Gold is completed by a brand new song which was written specifically for this project in the shape of "All Roads Lead To You", adding to the band"s storied discography.

Strange Sensations is a new EP from Paul Renegade.
In between Lazerdrome / Phonomena releases (news on that soon) and with a folder full of spare tunes, this 4 track EP comes on white vinyl on sister label DragonDrop Records
This release features a mix of happy pianos, dark synths, ruff beats and Jungle Tekno vibes, all at various BPMs so there’s a bit of something for everybody.
On the A-side, Zer0 Gravity Fire is fast-paced ’94-style stompy hardcore (160BPM) with rushy pianos, while the synths and piano lines of Mind Over Mind slow the pace down a bit at 140BPM in an early ‘92 style.
On the flip side, Weird Dreams (160BPM) takes you between the worlds of happy and the darkside and Danger: Battledroid is an experimental dark hardcore track at 165BPM, mixing well in either a hardcore or jungle set.

In 2013, a New Zealand teenager named Daniel Johann Lines quietly uploaded his debut album, melanchole, to Bandcamp under the moniker salvia palth. The LP was a homespun collection full of vulnerable, self-recorded songs about the overwhelming messiness that comes from growing up and figuring out who you are. Despite modest intentions, the record resonated profoundly with millions on platforms like Tumblr and Youtube, maintaining momentum through the TikTok and streaming era. menchole remains a wildly influential lo-fi release, a moving portrait of youth in turmoil. Over a decade later, Lines returns to the project with a new full-length titled “last chance to see”. Out February 16 via Danger Collective Records, the now 27-year-old musician offers his most fully formed and ambitious effort yet. last chance to see is not only a complete artistic reinvention but one that gracefully closes the chapter on a formative period of the songwriter’s life. His decision to revisit the salvia palth moniker is intentional and integral to the album.

"They are the Finnish / Dutch / British troupe NIGHTWISH – one of the most fascinating rock bands of the last decades, whose enigmatic paths have proceeded from acoustic passages to symphonic heavy metal and from catchy folk to progressive majesty. If there is one trait the band has year after year, it might be this: expect something familiar but also expect the unexpected. NIGHTWISH has indeed broken all kinds of boundaries – never deliberately, but perfectly naturally.
Now guess what? NIGHTWISH's new studio album ""Yesterwynde"" – the band's tenth overall – is no exception to the rule. But it is more...

“""Yesterwynde"" took more time to make than any previous NIGHTWISH album”, nods keyboardist Tuomas Holopainen, who once again envisioned most of the material. ""The new album was intensively worked on for 3,5 years. My ambition and piety really skyrocketed, and I just couldn't let go of the creative process – and didn't want to. Along the way, ""Yesterwynde"" became both an exhilarating obsession and a comforting haven for me. All aspects of the making – compositions, lyrics, arrangements, cover art, videos, mixing and so on – were given more attention than ever before.""
The result? There's a fascinating, but inexplicable feeling that NIGHTWISH has once again been able to find unprecedented nuances, spices and perspectives in their new works – exactly: after a career of nine classic albums. """"Yesterwynde"" is an experience that takes time to digest. The gravid ingredients of the songs are easily recognizable, but beneath the surface lies a large number of intriguing details and features"", Holopainen describes.

""It's interesting – but not surprising – that ""Yesterwynde"" has attracted quite a variety of opinions. Some have stated that it is the most 'band' record to date. For some it appears to be the heaviest and most ominous NIGHTWISH release. It has also been called our most progressive album. And the list goes on.""
And what does Tuomas think of it himself?
""To me, ""Yesterwynde"" sounds, tastes and feels strongly like the true essence of NIGHTWISH – enriched with new moods and flavors.""

The lyrics of ""Yesterwynde"" deal with large-sized universal themes: memories, mortality, humanism, time and much more. ""The new album is the conclusion of the trilogy – textually it follows in the footsteps of its predecessors ""Endless Forms Most Beautiful"" and ""Human. :II: Nature."""", Holopainen says. ""At the same time, ""Yesterwynde"" is the band's most lyrically driven album: our music has never been so 'married' to the lyrics. So here's a tip: if something in the composition puzzles you, the words might clear it up.""
""For me, one of the key lines is 'we are because of a million loves' – taken from the song ""Perfume of the Timeless"". Each of us is part of an unbroken chain that stretches back billions of years. If even one of your ancestors had died too young – mauled by a cave bear, for example – during this incredibly long period of time, you would never have been born. In other words: our existence is such an unfathomable privilege!”

What does the term 'yesterwynde' mean?
""It describes a feeling that cannot be found in any human language. That's why we had to invent a whole new word. The album is supposed to open that feeling to the listener.""
Without taking anything away from the solid delivery of guitarist Emppu Vuorinen, drummer Kai Hahto, bassist Jukka Koskinen and multi-instrumentalist/singer Troy Donockley, it might be worth highlighting one fact: the performance of the eloquent storyteller Floor Jansen is once again unparalleled. It is simply breathtaking how the singer is able to make songs fly with her performance. ""Floor's second child was born just over a month ago, and we hadn't rehearsed together at all... So it was a little nerve-wracking to go to Floor's home studio for vocal recordings. Well, what happened? We had booked twelve working days and after six days everything was completed in style. Floor's preparedness for the sessions was something extreme!""

After the recordings and mixing process, there was one more working phase. Mastering. Could you possibly guess that no shortcuts were taken at this point either?
""The album was mastered seven times until we reached the finish line – one hundred percent satisfied!"", states Tuomas. ""When the record was eventually finished, a three-year, extremely inspiring adventure had come to an end. I felt very, very happy.""
NIGHTWISH's next steps are clear. And they are not the most common ones.
""NIGHTWISH will not go on a world tour this time. This was a decision made for personal reasons. But don't worry... Our contract with Nuclear Blast Records includes several albums, and there's plenty of motivation to create new music!""
May the dream continue...
"

"They are the Finnish / Dutch / British troupe NIGHTWISH – one of the most fascinating rock bands of the last decades, whose enigmatic paths have proceeded from acoustic passages to symphonic heavy metal and from catchy folk to progressive majesty. If there is one trait the band has year after year, it might be this: expect something familiar but also expect the unexpected. NIGHTWISH has indeed broken all kinds of boundaries – never deliberately, but perfectly naturally.
Now guess what? NIGHTWISH's new studio album ""Yesterwynde"" – the band's tenth overall – is no exception to the rule. But it is more...

“""Yesterwynde"" took more time to make than any previous NIGHTWISH album”, nods keyboardist Tuomas Holopainen, who once again envisioned most of the material. ""The new album was intensively worked on for 3,5 years. My ambition and piety really skyrocketed, and I just couldn't let go of the creative process – and didn't want to. Along the way, ""Yesterwynde"" became both an exhilarating obsession and a comforting haven for me. All aspects of the making – compositions, lyrics, arrangements, cover art, videos, mixing and so on – were given more attention than ever before.""
The result? There's a fascinating, but inexplicable feeling that NIGHTWISH has once again been able to find unprecedented nuances, spices and perspectives in their new works – exactly: after a career of nine classic albums. """"Yesterwynde"" is an experience that takes time to digest. The gravid ingredients of the songs are easily recognizable, but beneath the surface lies a large number of intriguing details and features"", Holopainen describes.

""It's interesting – but not surprising – that ""Yesterwynde"" has attracted quite a variety of opinions. Some have stated that it is the most 'band' record to date. For some it appears to be the heaviest and most ominous NIGHTWISH release. It has also been called our most progressive album. And the list goes on.""
And what does Tuomas think of it himself?
""To me, ""Yesterwynde"" sounds, tastes and feels strongly like the true essence of NIGHTWISH – enriched with new moods and flavors.""

The lyrics of ""Yesterwynde"" deal with large-sized universal themes: memories, mortality, humanism, time and much more. ""The new album is the conclusion of the trilogy – textually it follows in the footsteps of its predecessors ""Endless Forms Most Beautiful"" and ""Human. :II: Nature."""", Holopainen says. ""At the same time, ""Yesterwynde"" is the band's most lyrically driven album: our music has never been so 'married' to the lyrics. So here's a tip: if something in the composition puzzles you, the words might clear it up.""
""For me, one of the key lines is 'we are because of a million loves' – taken from the song ""Perfume of the Timeless"". Each of us is part of an unbroken chain that stretches back billions of years. If even one of your ancestors had died too young – mauled by a cave bear, for example – during this incredibly long period of time, you would never have been born. In other words: our existence is such an unfathomable privilege!”

What does the term 'yesterwynde' mean?
""It describes a feeling that cannot be found in any human language. That's why we had to invent a whole new word. The album is supposed to open that feeling to the listener.""
Without taking anything away from the solid delivery of guitarist Emppu Vuorinen, drummer Kai Hahto, bassist Jukka Koskinen and multi-instrumentalist/singer Troy Donockley, it might be worth highlighting one fact: the performance of the eloquent storyteller Floor Jansen is once again unparalleled. It is simply breathtaking how the singer is able to make songs fly with her performance. ""Floor's second child was born just over a month ago, and we hadn't rehearsed together at all... So it was a little nerve-wracking to go to Floor's home studio for vocal recordings. Well, what happened? We had booked twelve working days and after six days everything was completed in style. Floor's preparedness for the sessions was something extreme!""

After the recordings and mixing process, there was one more working phase. Mastering. Could you possibly guess that no shortcuts were taken at this point either?
""The album was mastered seven times until we reached the finish line – one hundred percent satisfied!"", states Tuomas. ""When the record was eventually finished, a three-year, extremely inspiring adventure had come to an end. I felt very, very happy.""
NIGHTWISH's next steps are clear. And they are not the most common ones.
""NIGHTWISH will not go on a world tour this time. This was a decision made for personal reasons. But don't worry... Our contract with Nuclear Blast Records includes several albums, and there's plenty of motivation to create new music!""
May the dream continue...
"

Big Crown Records is proud to present Dave Guy’s debut album Ruby. Having lent his talents both on stage and in the studio to artists like Amy Winehouse, Lizzo, Pharrell, and Sharon Jones to currently playing every night on The Tonight Show as a member of The Roots, Dave steps out on his own with a jazz record that is both unique and modern. Ruby mixes his musical in­fluences with the energies of the city that raised him, capturing different moods and inviting the listener into the world as Dave Guy sees and feels it. Recorded in Queens at The Legendary Diamond Mine, the album is produced by Homer Steinweiss and Nick Movshon and features musical contributions from Leon Michels, Marco Benevento, Claire Cottrill, and more.

Ruby instantly sits with the classics as an album that is fully realized and not simply a collection of songs. Lead single “7th Heaven” opens the album with an anthemic energy as Dave’s horn lines soar over thundering drums, ethereal vocals, and dancing piano. Keeping the energy high, “Footwork” is a Latin inspired number that is sure to soundtrack many a dance fl­oor from SoHo to Harlem. The synth intro of “Pinky Ring” cleanses your palate for the mood shift when the track drops. Deep bass tones underline the impeccable drumming and

Dave effortlessly finds the pocket wasting no notes as the verses and choruses trade off. The record leans into spiritual jazz vibes on “Diamond Encore” with a dark and deep almost “Axelrodish” rhythm track then picks the energy back up with the stomper “Still Standing”. “Dave Wants You” has a bop all its own with an unorthodox drum pattern that Dave anchors with his trumpet hits. The otherworldly arrangement of “Drony Boy” puts the production on a pedestal. The first intro almost serves as an intermission on the album while the second

intro sets up the neck snapping track that is about to drop. A menacing guitar signals the builds and the whole thing is juxtaposed by Dave’s beautiful trumpet riffs. “Quesodillas” & “Green Door” begin the autumn of the album with their mellow & intimate energy and “Ruby’s Rubies”, the album’s closer is the perfect ending to the journey.

Rhetoric & Terror is Berlin-based Hemphill’s second album since leaving Liars back in 2016.

No stranger to reinventing his approach towards composition, Rhetoric & Terror feels like we are – perhaps for the first time – opening a doorway into Hemphill’s personal life, to his disparate sonic influences, his wide-ranging journeys through philosophy, and his own reflections on his role as an artist.

Like different thoughts and feelings emerging in a state of meditation, Hemphill invites you to pause on one ‘scene’ for a moment before moving onto the next. There’s space to get lost here – both emotionally and in the colour of the album’s wide-ranging textures.

With his wife Angelika Kaswalder on vocals throughout the album and multi-instrumentalist Morgan Henderson – a longtime friend of Hemphill’s since Henderson’s time in the post- hardcore band The Blood Brothers - adding woodwind, Nonpareils is no longer simply a solo project – and it’s apparent in this openness.

The name of the album – Rhetoric & Terror – describes this split that Hemphill is making from the conceptual nature of his first solo album (2018’s Scented Pictures), and the new direction that he – perhaps – hopes to continue taking. The title comes from a chapter in Giorgio Agamben’s book, “The Man Without Content”, where he describes the concepts of rhetoric and terror to describe two different types of writers: the rhetorician and the terrorist. The terrorist is a misologist who is only into the feeling; the rhetorician is committed to logic and form.

“With Rhetoric & Terror, I wanted to start with emotions and feeling. I was playing with my kids, listening to Cocteau Twins, I have a wonderful partner, and it seemed very contrary to any sort of growth to sequester myself from this life in order to get into character as a musician. Instead, I tried to remove the boundaries between my creative life and my. responsibilities and have it all be one fluid thing. All things at all times, and trust that this will guide my music rather than more intellectual concepts or limitations.”

Despite its catalysts being in philosophy and conceptual art, Hemphill has created an album that’s deeply “emotionally available”. It’s also helped him take a new stance on life that combines his life as a partner and parent in a kind of unity with his role as the artist. It’s plain to hear as a listener – Rhetoric & Terror, despite its intimidating name, is welcoming
and playful, even during its most intense moments.

A/B Side Effect, Black & Gold, limited to 200 copies. More than 4 years after "Sculpture Of Violence," GIVER from Cologne, Germany, announce their third album "The Future Holds Nothing But Confrontation" for September 20, 2024, on End Hits Records. In recent years, GIVER have not only refined their hardcore sound to be more brutal and atmospheric with elements of metal and post-punk, but thematically, it's clear that their new album serves as an even more drastic political manifesto. Capitalism, culture wars, the climate crisis, and their societal implications and consequences are central themes on "The Future Holds Nothing But Confrontation." GIVER critique the prevailing neoliberalism and its ongoing agitation for the uncompromising pursuit of happiness and satisfaction. The band explains: "What neoliberalism has established is a lonely place. Its driving force is the individualized pursuit of constant fulfillment, altering the way we interact with each other. Whatever we do to achieve satisfaction, there's always a lingering sense of something missing. Happiness and contentment are never the goal; they've been replaced by profit margins and excess. These are endless and extremely unevenly distributed. Anger arises in this vacuum. With this album, we want to remind that it's the economic conditions and inequalities that should be the target of our collective frustration. They create depression, despair, and a downward spiral. Being anti-fascists is not enough; we must also be anti-capitalists." This anger is also reflected musically in the furious 11 new tracks. Filled with powerful guitar riffs and sometimes bilingual lyrics, some of the songs also introduce a new, deep style of spoken word for GIVER, making the eventual eruptions that much more impactful. With the release of their third album, GIVER venture into fresh and melodic territory, integrating elements of post-punk, black metal, and hardcore into a sound that sits somewhere between bands like Oathbreaker, Converge, or Chelsea Wolfe. Although "The Future Holds Nothing But Confrontation" builds on a foundation of biting, powerful metal, it also incorporates dark vocal lines that could be found on a Fontaines D.C. or IDLES record. "The Future Holds Nothing But Confrontation" was produced by Lewis Johns (Rolo Tomassi, Employed To Serve, Funeral For A Friend).

The single features a collaboration between Studio Kosmische from UK and Cloud Canyons from Italy. Side A is a rework by Studio Kosmische of “Under Neon Stars”, a track from Cloud Canyon’s 2023 debut album “Dreaming Of Horses Running In Circles”: by adding a few parts and alchemically blending the original elements of the song - the relentless motorik pulse, the ethereal female vocals, the multilayers of monophonic analogue synths - Studio Kosmische’s version moulds a shrouding and lilting veil on the 9-minutes long original track. Side B features a brand new track, “Black Fruit”, also sprung from the creative dialogue between the two bands and clocking at about 9 minutes side-long. Born as an instrumental piece by Studio Kosmische, “Black Fruit” developed in a full song thanks to the vocal additions by Michelle Cristofori, Laura Storchi and Stella Baraldi (Cloud Canyons’ singers) and a rich yet minimalistic array of instrumental parts by Studio Kosmische’s Dom Keen, who ingeniously shaped the keys harmonies and rhythmic textures around the vocal lines. Accomplished by some subtle electronics treatment by Cloud Canyons’ Nicola Caleffi, “Black Fruit” ideally complements “Under Neon Stars” as a two-sided creature, hanging somewhere between krautrock and electronica.

'Good Time' is the debut album from Austin, TX noise-pop band DAIISTAR, due out September 8th via Fuzz Club. Creating a narcotic blend of noise and melody, the band takes their inspiration from the neo-psychedelic era of the 80s and 90s and pull it into the future with modulating synthesisers, heavy guitars, bouncing bass lines, and spiralling hooks. 'Good Time' was produced by The Black Angels' Alex Maas and engineered by James Petralli of White Denim. Made up of Alex Capistran (guitar/vocals), Nick Cornetti (drums), Misti Hamrick (bass) and Derek Strahan (keys), DAIISTAR formed in the spring of 2020, just weeks before the pandemic started. "To us, these songs were a glimmer of light", Capistran says: "Starting a band at the peak of the pandemic to some might seem ill-timed, but to us it was a way to escape for a moment. There was something to look forward to and we kept our heads in the future. These songs guided us through some dark times and hopefully they can do the same for you. GOOD TIME is here." Pressing info for LP: 180g neon orange vinyl, printed inner-sleeve, download card included

It is with great pleasure that we announce Mitchum Yacoub's debut album Living High in the Brass Empire_ a showcase in unique stylings of tropical funk, afrobeat, cumbia, and soul; a musical patchwork threaded by a heavy, hypnotic rhythm section and powerfully vibrant horn lines. What sounds like a 12-piece ensemble was actually mostly recorded and performed by Yacoub at his home in San Diego, featuring a few close friends from local groups Sure Fire Soul Ensemble and Boostive. The horn section is comprised of Travis Klein, Bradley Nash, and Wesley Etienne (featuring Todd Simon on "Los Muñequitos"), each with distinguished performances that send the music to higher heights. Nuanced vocalist Divina Jasso lends humanity and introspection throughout the head-nodding soul sounds of "Never Knew", latin dance anthem "Cumbia Divina", and the syncopated funk of "Empire". You'll hear rhythms from Colombia, folkloric percussion of Cuba, interlocking grooves à la Fela Kuti, 70's r&b influence, and something in between it all. Drawing many inspirations into a refreshing and unified record, we think you'll enjoy Living High in the Brass Empire.

Kendra Morris' stellar and soulful debut album 'Banshee' is finally back on vinyl for the first time since 2012. Originally released via Wax Poetics, Colemine Records is now proud to make this album widely available again on record shop shelves, right where it should be. Pulling influences from late-60s and early-70s psychedelic R&B and funk, Kendra adds her own rock twist in collaboration with producer/guitarist Jeremy Page. The album is a rich sonic tapestry, with hip-hop references and beats weaving throughout. All of this sets the perfect backdrop for Kendra's known powerhouse vocals. 'Banshee' effortlessly blurs the lines between sounding old and new, and has left a lasting impression over the last decade. Kendra, in her own words, "howls like a banshee... and roars like a wolf."

Fire Like This is our second album, released in 2010 and it's been out of print for a decade until now! At long last we've arranged a reissue and we've made just 500 copies, with a full lyric insert just like the original pressing. Only this time we've made them on beautiful blue vinyl.

Volume Two in the Electro Sampler Series of Nijmegen's finest Shipwrec. Another compelling electro V/A with tracks by Konerytmi and Ian Martin, amongst others. SES1 set out what quality electro means for Shipwrec. The first in the series brought together six musicians from far and wide, musicians who journey through the colder edge of their analogue instruments with a clear ear for the floor. SES2 starts where its predecessor left off. The genre bending Ian Martin opens with the frigid funk of "Metaphysical Travellers." Stripped back, the track is bare in terms of its elements. Despite such meagre ingredients, Martin concocts an engaging and rich work of darkened grooves and sinister undercurrents. o-0._.0-o is the playful pseudonym of acid freetekno enthusiast Owen. His contribution, "Acidrobotik", releases a free and wandering 303 lines that forges a bubbling path through crisp percussion. The flip brings an artist better known for his work in techno. Cliche Morph delves into the clinical side of his palette and emerges with the stunning "Placebo." Balancing alienated and arctic blasts with a thawing warmth, the outcome is pure classic electro. A rising star of machine music follows, Fleck E.S.C. A dirty bassline is further sullied by layers of gritty distortion and glitched vocals in this re-wired work of ghetto. A legend of electronics closes, Kirill Junolainen. Under his lauded Konerytmi moniker, this synthesiser shapeshifter delivers "Kuva Alkio." Stuttering bass and tight drums are the foundation from which sci-fi inspirations take hold, sailing strings tethered by a terse snare as SES2 is brought to a triumphal close.

Through deep rhythmical mediations, Midge Thompson's first EP emerges on his own imprint Dance Protocol, crafted with the intent to enthrall the dance floor. The A-side unveils a relentless intensity, with sub-bass lines echoing the lost era of raves, each beat a testament to a harsher reality. Conversely, the B-side invites a party atmosphere, its bubbling bassline and dynamic drums offering an escape from the mundane. First you must open your mind then your body.

Hassan Abou Alam is next to step up to the unconventional Nerve Collect label with six tracks of futuristic club-ready chaos. The finely crafted EP arrives in August and comes on 12" vinyl and via all digital platforms.

Hassan Abou Alam has established himself as one of Egypt's most innovative underground musicians over the last 10+ years. His music is a meeting of disparate worlds - organic and synthetic designs, digital and analogue tools, the traditional and the futuristic, and it has come on the likes of YUKU, Rhythm Section, Banoffee Pies and Casa Voyager. His versatile sound pulls apart existing genres and reconstructs them as something entirely new.

Opener '3asabi' is a stylish sonic assault with thumping rhythms and trippy oscillations that will get any dance floor bouncing. It's fun yet functional, serious yet seductive and 'Basha' Ft. ZIAD ZAZA, Ismail Nosrat & Aly B is another kinetic fusion of hand claps and complex drum funk, Egyptian vocal gymnastics and punchy bass. 'Ghalat' has lurching drums and plunging bass driving on beneath mangled synths, odd vocalisations and percussive splatters drawn from a unique sound palette. The drilling low ends of 'Khalsana' Ft ZIAD ZAZA are offset by fluttering percussive details up top while spare but booming kicks shake every bone in your body and the bassline devastates.

There is no let up on 'Mesh Mafhoom' which is a ritualistic workout with moments of melancholic synth soul shining through the jumble of tin-pot percussion and crashing hits. Closer 'Zein' is more body-popping brilliance that channels ancient spirits into warped synths and rhythms so complex they melt the mind.
Hassan Abou Alam's blurring of the lines between the real and the imagined is second to none on this EP. It's a sub-heavy mix of the human voice, machine-made sounds and inventive rhythms that make for something new, weird and wonderful.

After the highly anticipated debut album “Sugar Honey Iced Tea!,” the dynamic NYC duo strikes once more with a double pack of alternate versions and remixes. Craig Handfield and Brandon Weems, better known as musclecars, have unveiled a dance music masterpiece, now graced by the touch of house music legends Louie Vega and Maurice Fulton.

This double pack showcases multiple versions of “Tonight,” remixed by dance music maestro Louie Vega, who momentarily stepped away from his Masters At Work ventures to infuse this project with his magic. The main remix unfolds like an epic journey adorned with orchestral elegance, while the dub versions range from festival anthems (NV South Jersey Mix) to tracks that echo the early Masters At Work essence (Louie Vega’s Bronx Dub).

Additionally, we are gifted a new version of “Hello?” reimagined by Maurice Fulton. In this version, Maurice’s signature live bass lines intertwine with exuberant, hard-hitting percussion, casting a whimsical light on the deep, introspective original.

Complementing the remixes from musclecars’ esteemed inspirations, we encounter two new versions of “Ha Ya! (Eternal Life)” and “Water,” both stripped of percussion to reveal the stunning arrangements, textures, and harmonies. These renditions are accompanied by a full side of musclecars’ dance odyssey “I Don’t Remember The Last Time I Saw Stars.”

The Double Honey Pack is a tour de force. It’s a rarity to witness two legends unite to elevate an already stellar project, yet Vega and Fulton achieve just that. Meanwhile, Weems and Handfield meticulously peel back the layers, allowing the intricate details to shine. This promises to be the release of the summer!

Legendary electro explorer Emile Facey aka Plant 43 is back on his Plant43 Recordings imprint. Despite being hugely prolific, the artist always managed to find fresh new creative ground with each new outing and Concrete Echo is no different. The title cut is a high-speed opener with shimmering lines, fizzing static electricity and drama in the chords that make you take note. 'Emerald Shift' is a broken beat kicker with raw claps and scintillating liquid metal leads while 'Raw Vectors' layers up acid wobbliness and textbook electro rhythms. 'Mist Memory' closes down with a melancholic vibe and heady synths that take you into the cosmos.

Es gibt Bands, die machen nach drei Akkorden und einer popeligen Orgelmelodie Feierabend. Es gibt aber auch Bands, die schleifen am Sound, schrauben am Text, polieren die Solos auf Hochglanz und überschreiten das Tempolimit nur an den dafür geeigneten Stellen. Bands, die den Popsong an allen Ecken und Enden abklopfen, bis sie perfekte Schmuckstücke mit dem Gütesiegel "Zeitlos!" herausbekommen haben. Eine amerikanische Band aus dem fernen Wien: Pretty Pleas (Daniel Smith - vocals/guitars, George Clavicle - bass, B.B. Kong - drums) zeigen, dass es neben exzellentem Handwerk und Spaß am Experiment auch die richtigen Einflüsse braucht, um einen authentischen, individuellen Sound zu schaffen, der gleichzeitig großer Pop und tougher Alternative Rock ist. Die Quadratur des Kreises? Vielleicht. Aber war gute Musik war nicht schon immer Alles und noch etwas mehr? Unterstützung beim Modellieren des idealen Sounds fanden Pretty Pleas im Multiinstrumentalisten Paolo Tornitore, der vor allem für die großartigen Arrangements verantwortlich zeichnet, sowie in der fabelhaften Keyboarderin Jasmin Nagl, die einigen Songs das perfekte Sahnehäubchen aus herrlich dahingroovendem Orgelsound aufsetzte. Daniel Smith: "The record is an intriguing blend of power pop, glam rock, new wave, and psychedelia influences." Diesen gelungenen und sehr tanzbaren Mix aus Atmosphäre, Beat und Klang bezeichnet die Band passenderweise als Moody Art Pop. Das Debutalbum "In Circles And Lines" ist das beste Beispiel für diese elegante Soundbeschreibung. Der Opener "Moving Forward" liefert den ZuhörerInnen die atemberaubende Frische, die wir von den frühen Roxy Music kennen. Mit "Broke" wird sofort auf dem gleichen Niveau nachgelegt. Und obwohl die markante Stimme von Daniel Smith eine andere Liga bespielt - das flamboyante Wesen eines Brian Ferry liegt da gar nicht weit entfernt. Aber auch die mitreißende Melancholie eines Stuart A. Staples (Tindersticks) ist Smith keineswegs unbekannt. "The band delves into universal themes such as loss, heartbreak, alienation, as well as the throes of new found love.", erklärt Daniel Smith die Themenwelt der Songs. Damit der Sound von "In Circles And Lines" kompakt und groovy bleibt wie ein Hit von The Sweet, setzt der glasklare Klang der Gitarre die Markierungen in Richtung Power Pop. Aber auch der Orgelsound, der den Garagenpunk der 60s und die britischen Ravebands der 1990er in Erinnerung ruft ("Ghosts"), feiert den Enthusiasmus für funkelnde Melodien - Moody Art Pop it definitely is. "In Circles and Lines" offers a deep dive into the ways we interact with each other in romance, life, and every facet of human relationships - a contemplative exploration of love's many forms and the inevitable heartbreak that often follows." (Daniel Smith)

Brussels is a highway where rainbow-fuelled melancholia kids race its track, mountain and road bikes. Endless summers cherish the collective chosen chaos of the city; every corner displays wild micro-natures, buzzing insects, and rare weeds fourishing organically; tape hiss and AM radio compression are the soundtrack of everyday life. And hear! Originated in the Brussels DIY, indie rock and noise scene, a new kid on the block appears: Another Dancer.

They deal in utopian music - of the open, welcoming and whatsoeverish kind. It’s fresh, snotty, neurotic art-rock deeply rooted in 80s/90s DIY aesthetics. The songs on their debut album balance gently between forgotten pop hits and broken sound experiments. In their world, any shitload of weird, random, and badly synchronized sounds unveil broken-hearted pop mastery. In the Another Dancer universe, radios are stuck to WFMU and Soulseek is a self-conscious AI producing 80ies psychedelic FM-rock.

Brussels-based Another Dancer is outdated, wild at heart and elegantly shy. Their full album I Try to Be Another Dancer is out September 10th on Bruit Direct Disques and Aguirre.

"Flashes of the shambolic post-punk of Good Sad Happy Bad and the goofy, fraternal synth-pop of the blog-era gem Teenagers can be seen, often simultaneously, across the new single from the Brussels-based band Another Dancer. Vocals are layered on top of each other to a conversational near-cacophony, like you’ve been placed at the center of a Dry Cleaning show where everyone is, improbably, in a good mood. Sunny synth sweeps jostle next to bent, jangly guitar lines for a song that finds a special kind of vibrance in its mess. — Jordan Darville”

Songwriter/producer Henry Green presents his upcoming third studio album, Familiarity (Sept 13th), Green has received support from the likes of The Independent, Wonderland, Line Of Best Fit, Clash magazine for the first singles from the campaign. Swim combines the best of Green's two worlds: the acoustic intricacies of organic elements like marimba and his signature vocals, with his prodigious talent on electronic production. The result is a warm, soothing wave of electro chill, perfect to warm these winter months.

Wehbba returns with an impressive two-tracker ‘Awaken’.

Anything the on-point Brazilian contributes to Drumcode is always top notch. From his 2020 album ‘Straight Lines & Sharp Corners’ to the cracking ‘Catarse’ EP from 2018 to last year’s sci-fi themed ‘Premonition’, the vast collection of quality music the artist has dished up on Adam Beyer’s label always stands out amongst the crowd.

The producer, who’s a practitioner of Vipassana meditation, takes inspiration from the spiritual realm for his latest production work. ‘Awaken’ is a hyper euphoric anthem inspired by light that packs plenty of bottom end power. We can’t wait to hear this played during the upcoming festival season. ‘Revelation’ is a spitfire trippy techno outing, which utilises Eastern scales and takes influence from ritualistic ceremonies from Middle Eastern and South Asian cultures. Mark this down as another timeless Wehbba EP on Drumcode.

'Good Time' is the debut album from Austin, TX noise-pop band DAIISTAR, due out September 8th via Fuzz Club. Creating a narcotic blend of noise and melody, the band takes their inspiration from the neo-psychedelic era of the 80s and 90s and pull it into the future with modulating synthesisers, heavy guitars, bouncing bass lines, and spiralling hooks. 'Good Time' was produced by The Black Angels' Alex Maas and engineered by James Petralli of White Denim. Made up of Alex Capistran (guitar/vocals), Nick Cornetti (drums), Misti Hamrick (bass) and Derek Strahan (keys), DAIISTAR formed in the spring of 2020, just weeks before the pandemic started. "To us, these songs were a glimmer of light", Capistran says: "Starting a band at the peak of the pandemic to some might seem ill-timed, but to us it was a way to escape for a moment. There was something to look forward to and we kept our heads in the future. These songs guided us through some dark times and hopefully they can do the same for you. GOOD TIME is here." Pressing info for LP: 180g neon orange vinyl, printed inner-sleeve, download card included

Mind Lines, the second record from Silver Scrolls, is the follow-up to 2020's Music for Walks. Dave Brylawski (Polvo, Idyll Swords) and Brian Quast (Polvo, the BQ's) once again team up with producer and de facto third Scroll Greg Elkins, to make an album that plants you firmly in your rock feelings. All of them. Classic rock, psych rock, indie rock, post rock, pre rock. Rock as hell.

Mind Lines. Follow them. Inspiration, spotted in the wild, lured out of dusty record bins and chased down scum alleys and garden paths, sounds stalked and collected, wrestled and arranged, until everything is in its proper place and the final LP is as it should be. Or shouldn't be. Nine minute and seventeen second radio hits. Indie rock drum solos. Whatever. Whatever dumped from the butterfly net of their collective unconscious. Whatever stumbled through the door of their open minds. Whatever works.

At this point in their collective music careers, the Scrolls are free to emulate, ignore, or destroy convention, as they see fit. Dave and Brian have seen enough, the Mind Lines have been drawn, traced... The songs are as classic as they are brand new. Yesterday chasing tomorrow. Noon is the verse, midnight the chorus. and right now is the bridge. The Scrolls chug deep from the fountain of spooky tooth, shooting sparks through their teeth. Let's go.

On Mind Lines, the Silver Scrolls are still walking, shredding, open to whatever comes next. The music came down from the mountain. Please stay a while.

Reissue

'Find Me Finding You', the new album from the new organization called the Laetitia Sadier Source Ensemble, manages to strike new chords while touching familiar keys in the song of life.
From its percolating opening beat, 'Find Me Finding You' locates new systems within the sound-universe of Laetitia Sadier. This in itself isn't a surprise - Laetitia has relentlessly followed her music through different dynamics and into a variety of dimensions over the course of four solo albums since 2010 (not to forget her three albums with Monade and the long era of Stereolab) - but the nature of the construction here stands distinctly apart from her recent albums. Laetitia was inspired by a mind's-eye envisaging of geometric forms and their possible permutations. As she sought to replicate the shapes in music, this guided the process of assembly for the album.
Part of the freshness of 'Find Me Finding You' comes from working and playing within the Source Ensemble and exploring new sound combinations via a set of youthful and evolving musical relationships. Laetitia recognized the energy of the tracks in their initial form and sought to preserve their vitality by not retaking too many performances - instead, the rawness in the tracks was retained and refined at the mixing stage, maintaining an edge throughout. When we hear synth lines diving, lifting and drifting, unusual guitar textures, the plucked sound of flat wound bass strings or the bottomless pulsing of bass pedals stepping out of the mix with an exquisite vibrancy, this is the sound of the Source Ensemble.
A key to Laetitia's music is her use of vocal arrangements. Throughout 'Finding Me Finding You' the shifting accompaniment creates space to bring this element gloriously forward. Arranged by Laetitia with Joe Watson and Jeff Parker making string charts that were subsequently transposed to vocal parts for several songs, richly arranged choirs of voices provide depth along with the thrilling presence of extra breath in the sound. Laetitia's community-politic is well-served by the groups of voices lending support to the machining of the song craft, providing additional uplift to her quintessentially forward-facing viewpoint - as well as massed voices from three different countries sharing space in harmony.
Working in collaboration is Laetita's tradition and a key to this album's view on being free together. The designation of Source Collective implies a new togetherness phase, alongside long time collaborators Emmanuel Mario and Xavi Munoz, keyboard and flutes parts played by David Thayer (Little Tornados) were essential contributions, as well as further keys, synths and electronics from Phil M FU and several intense guitar sequences from Mason le Long. Chris A Cummings (aka Marker Starling, Laetitia's favourite composer) graciously wrote 'Deep Background' for her. The duet with Hot Chip's Alexis Taylor on 'Love Captive' (not to mention Rob Mazurek's distinctive coronet playing) gives voice to an ideological cornerstone of 'Find Me Finding You'

Isik Kural returns with Moon in Gemini, a luminous scrapbook of slow-flowing narratives couched in intuitive and symbolic storytelling. Bending a playful take on environmental music to the folk song form, Isik's vocals coo atop pastoral field notes, airy chamber instrumentation and archival recordings culled from a curious musical life. A tender pastiche coalesces across the suite of Moon in Gemini's fourteen pieces, and Isik invites the listener to daydream as-deep-as-possible. "The songs on Moon in Gemini don't mind being slower or taking their time to reach the listener," says Isik, who wanted the title to speak to the album's dreamy, liminal nature. "I enjoyed how the phrase could be used to describe an object, a time or a place simultaneously," he explains. Similarly and subsequently, these songs contain a multiplicity of sonic artifacts, moments and spaces that span Isik's rich musical career to date. With the bulk of the album realized between Amasya, Turkey and Isik's current home in Glasgow, in both domestic and studio recording environments, additional tracks unearthed from his personal recording archive lend their lush patina. The record emerged as a fertile space to reimagine a handful of previously unreleased songs and unfinished ideas spanning the past fifteen years of his life and work, including streetside sounds documented while growing up in Turkey and recordings made while studying music engineering in Miami, Helsinki and Glasgow. Looking to the more recent past, Isik found himself wanting to build upon some of the methodologies and textures explored on his 2022 album in february, seeking a newly intimate, vocal-forward sound. He points to the track "film festival" from that album as a door through which to enter Moon in Gemini, where sample-based arrangements are presented in the context of asymmetrical "build ups and progressions" and ambience and vocals intertwine. Inspired in part by listening to iconic, if not sometimes misunderstood, singers such as Nina Simone, Aldous Harding and Ed Droste of Grizzly Bear, Isik aimed to carve out a new space for his voice on Moon in Gemini, experimenting with novel recording and mixing techniques. Captured at his aunt's farmhouse in Amasya during an extended three week recording session, we find Isik's vocal high in the mix, front-and-center and on newly expressive terms. As a songwriter, Isik is an intuitive and playful lyricist who allows his deep love of literature to flow through his off-kilter texts. Here, echoes of Silvina Ocampo's poem "Dialogues of the Silence" reverberate from the margins of "Most Beautiful Imaginary Dialogues". Likewise, Elliott Smith and Virgina Astley shapeshift through "Behind the Flowerpots," some lines of which were based on misheard lyrics from Smith's "Stickman" and Astley's "Some Small Hope." Attuned to the magic of happy coincidences, other unexpected "themes and connections between tracks flourished" during the recording process, resulting in some songs being more "thematically and lyrically connected to each other compared to previous records." The duos "Prelude" and "Interlude" as well as "Grown One Iota" and "After a Rain" explore connected stories, while "Almost a Ghost" and "Behind the Flowerpots" serendipitously emerged out of a conversation with Stephanie "Spefy" Roxanne Ward, whose balmy vocals heard highlighting in february return and call out to Isik's in sweet dialogue. Plumbing these new potentials of structure and songwriting, Isik also developed a taste for an expanded sonic palette, one enriched by the lulling undertones of live woodwinds and strings. The resulting collaborations with flutist Tenzin Stephen, harpist Kirstin McCarlie and clarinet player Giulia Tamborino envelop the record in an altogether "dreamier sound," swaying pastel and awash in lunar light. Moon in Gemini, brimming with natural imagery and lullaby-inflected tones, tunes into states of being where the wonder filled sound of everyday is heard and felt, perfectly imperfect in its poetry; where the invisible steps forward; where dauntless ghosts wait around every corner and play enriches the soul; where bird song fills sun-soaked afternoons and carries us on its wings into each enchanted evening. Isik Kural's Moon in Gemini will be released on vinyl, Japanese import CD, and digital editions on September 6, 2024. On behalf of Isik and RVNG, a portion of the proceeds from this release will benefit Mor Çaty Women's Shelter Foundation, whose social work at their solidarity centers and shelters supports women building lives unhindered by gender-based discrimination and male violence under free and equal conditions.

‘Zerinjit’ invites us to the molecular world of sound, where every sonic entity is meticulously compounded to constitute the alchemic matter of the doomed reality and post-tribal escape, putting every cell into motion. Born out of debut collaboration between Den Haag’s JEANS and Florence’s TOMO from DE RIO, the EP is a massive merge of like-minded brains in a sonic dialogue, re-shaking the otherworld of techno music. An exhilarated heartbeat amidst industrial cries, shrieks, and squeals is levitated by fat hypnotic synth lines, while the rudimentary “chuckles” over the fate of the progressive, amplifying towards infinity in a symphonic and rhythmic celebration. The “Spectral Pattern” unveils the mystic force behind dragging and pulling the Hertz of the wavelength cycle, reflecting the emitted energy from the hardware core. We are turning around in vertigo, trying to capture “Gengar” bouncing across space, catching the liquid multiples of themselves. We are approaching the smoky clouds around “Acondrite-ung”, the unclimbable mountain that samarium creatures obsessively climb in hypnosis, never destined to reach the peak.

‘Zerinjit’ is a tale of the otherworld, its creatures, patterns, rhythms, saints, and martyrs, science and utopia, translated into a dance floor body language of the ordinary.