Die aus Las Vegas und Orange County stammende Hardcore-/Punk-Band M.I.A. spielte 1987 ihr letztes Konzertund löste sich auf. Mitte 1988 gründete Sänger Mike Conley die Band Naked Soul zusammen mit dem ehemaligen M.I.A.-Mitglied LarzPearson am Schlagzeug und seinem langjährigen Freund Jeff Sewell am Bass. Inspiriert von Bands wie The Replacements, den kanadischen The Doughboys oder The Nils, begann Mike, Songs zu schreiben, die den poppigen und doch kantigen Sound, der auf M.I.A.s ,After The Fact" seinen Anfang genommen hatte, mit vielschichtigen Arrangements und Gesangsharmonien weiterzuentwickelten. Diese erste Besetzung löste sich bald auf, doch Mike gab nicht auf und stellte eine neue Band zusammen mi tMike Brown am Schlagzeug und Carlos Soria von The Nils an der zweiten Gitarre. Die Band ging dann mit Richard Andrews (Big Drill Car, All, Jawbreaker usw.) ins Studio und nahm die drei sorgfältig ausgearbeiteten Popsongs auf, die hier zu hören sind, darunter der Naked Soul-Klassiker, ,Lonely Me, Lonely You", der ihnen schließlich einen Vertrag bei einem Major-Label einbrachte. Unterdessen begann der ehemalige M.I.A.-Gitarrist Nick Adams, mit dem Schlagzeuger Miles Gillettvon El Grupo Sexo am Schlagzeug und Bob Gnarly von Plain Warp am Bass zu spielen. Sie nannten das Projekt Flatbed und machten sich daran, einfach nur Spaß zu haben und rohen, harten und melodischen Rock'n'Roll zu spielen. Danny Wallis von Don't No übernahm bald den Bass und die Band ging ins Studio, um ein paar Eigenkompositionen und ein Tom-Waits-Cover aufzunehmen. Diese Veröffentlichung fängt einen Ausschnitt aus der Zeit Ende 1989 ein, als zwei Bands mit gemeinsamer musikalischer Vergangenheit unterschiedliche Wege einschlugen. Limitiert auf 300 Exemplare in handgestempeltem Cover und auf farbigem Vinyl.
USA Hardcore/Punk Geschichte! M.I.A. wurden 1980 in Las Vegas gegründet, zogen 1981 nach Orange County und begannen im berüchtigten Cuckoo's Nest zusammen mit Fear, Shattered Faith, T.S.OL. u.a. Shows zu spieln. Ende '81 gingen sie in ein lokales Tonstudio in Costa Mesa und nahmen an einem Nachmittag neun Songs auf, bis ihnen das Geld ausging - 300 Dollar gut angelegt! Eine Kassette wurde rasch kopiert und herumgereicht. Eine Kopie der Kassette wurde KevinSeconds bei einem Gig mit 7 Seconds in Reno gegeben. Kevin gab sie an Tim Yohannan von Maximum Rocknroll weiter. Schließlich gelangte sie in die Hände von Felix Alanis von Smoke Seven und Greg Shaw von Bomp. Mitte 1982 waren M.I.A. dann auf drei Vinyl-Veröffentlichungen vertreten: "Tell Me Why" auf der Compilation American Youth Report von Bomp, "New Left" auf Maximum Rocknroll Presents: Not So Quiet On the Western Front von Alternative Tentacles und acht der neun Tracks landeten auf der berüchtigten Split-LP mit Last Rites auf Smoke Seven. Alle 9 Tracks des ersten Tapes sind hier versammelt, zum ersten Mal richtig abgemischt. Der Begin von M.I.A. (US) und gleichzeitig das letzte Lapitel der Moder City Records-Reissue-Reihe zur Band. « ...In one corner is M.I.A., a band originally from Las Vegas, the champions of punk's positive side. They've managed to fuse a super tight thrash sound with enlightened attitudes_"I Hate Hippies" is obviously meant as a satire with a moral, and the results are absolutely stunning. » _Jeff Bale's 1982 review of the Last Rites for...-Split-LP in Maximum Rocknroll #2 2.Auflage, Cover Metallic Blue, Vinyl Dirty Turquoise, plus 24seitigem Booklet.
Eight men pick up shiny brass instruments, lock into an unspoken groove and rotate genres like your favorite playlist shifting from jazz and R&B to hip-hop, pop and beyond with fire, focus and fluidity. New Orleans-bred staple The Soul Rebels expand musical boundaries with an unwavering commitment to originality. Far more than augmentation and accompaniment, the octet—Julian Gosin trumpet, MC, Marcus Hubbard [trumpet], Lumar LeBlanc III [snare drum], Derrick Moss [bass drum], Corey Peyton [trombone, MC], Erion Williams [saxophone], Paul Robertson [trombone] and Manuel Perkins Jr. [sousaphone]—pioneer the integration of their chosen instrumentation.
Featuring Special Guests: Sean Carey, Dee-1, Alfred Banks, Emeril Lagasse, Trombone Shorty, Kermit Ruffins, Mia X, DJ Jubilee, Cheeky Blakk, Tonya Boyd-Cannon, New Orleans Citywide Youth Choir, Jaelyn Langston, Wild Wayne, Kango Slim, PJ Morton, Big Freedia, Denisia, Branford Marsalis, Brandee Younger, KES, Kayla Jasmine, Matisyahu, Robert Glasper, Fabriq, Tarriona "Tank" Ball
Kristin Diable ist ein Original aus dem Süden - ihre Stimme ist so launisch und unnachgiebig wie der Mississippi. Ihre zeitlosen Melodien und scharfsinnigen Texte fangen das Mystische im Alltäglichen ein und enthüllen den Silberstreif am Horizont ganz gewöhnlicher Momente. Das Ergebnis ist ein Sound, der sich sowohl geerdet als auch jenseitig anfühlt. Diables vorheriges Album ,Create Your Own Mythology", das in Nashville mit Produzent Dave Cobb aufgenommen wurde, wurde von NPR, American Songwriter und Southern Living als eines der besten des Jahres gelobt. Ihr kommendes Album ,Impossible Things" schreibt das nächste Kapitel. Aufgenommen in den legendären Dockside Studios im Süden Louisianas mit Produzent Ben Alleman (Dr. John, Ryan Adams, Jenny Lewis, Madi Diaz), klingt es wie ein Radio, das auf zwei Zeitachsen gleichzeitig eingestellt ist: Dream-Pop-Echos, die durch ein Shotgun-Haus schweben, die Gnade eines Sonntagmorgens, an deren Stiefeln noch der Glitzer des Samstagabends klebt. Diese Songs haben es nicht eilig. Sie ziehen einen Stuhl heran, schieben einen Kaffee über den Tisch und sagen: ,Sag die Wahrheit und zuck nicht zurück." Diable zuckt nicht zurück. Sie schrieb diese Songs in Zeiten des Umbruchs und der Neuerfindung, während sie Verluste, den Tod geliebter Menschen, häusliche Gewalt, das Leben als alleinerziehende Mutter und die Abrechnung bewältigte, die damit einhergeht, ein Leben nach eigenen Vorstellungen neu aufzubauen. Was dabei entsteht, ist ein Werk, das eine Art spirituelles Jiu-Jitsu praktiziert und Last in Anmut und Schmerz in Architektur verwandelt. Dies ist ein Album, das nahelegt, dass Transzendenz nicht auf der anderen Seite der Not wartet, sondern genau hier in der Gegenwart lebt, wenn wir nur genau genug hinhören. Wenn der Song endet, sieht die Welt vielleicht noch genauso aus, aber du vielleicht nicht mehr. So fangen unmögliche Dinge meist an.
Camera Obscura feiern das 25-jährige Jubiläum ihres Debütalbums ,Biggest Bluest Hi-Fi" mit einer Vinyl-Neuauflage bei Merge Records. Seit der ursprünglichen Veröffentlichung in Großbritannien bei Andmoresound im Jahr 2001 ist das Album in diesem Format vergriffen. Die Jubiläumsausgabe kommt als die definitivste Version von ,Biggest Bluest Hi-Fi", die je auf Vinyl gepresst wurde, und enthält beide B-Seiten der Single ,Eighties Fan" - ,Shine Like a New Pin" und ,Let's Go Bowling" -, die später den erweiterten CD-Neuauflagen des Albums hinzugefügt wurden. ,Biggest Bluest Hi-Fi" wurde nach seinem Erscheinen wiederholt von John Peel in seinen BBC-Radiosendungen gespielt. Das Album ist ein bemerkenswert selbstbewusstes Debüt, ein voll ausgereifter Ausdruck eines Sounds, der die Fans der Band seit ihrem ersten Durchlauf des von Stuart Murdoch (Belle & Sebastian) produzierten ,Eighties Fan" bis zum letzten Hören des 2024 erschienenen Studio-Comebacks von Camera Obscura ,Look to the East, Look to the West" in seinen Bann gezogen hat. Diese Fans haben lautstark gefordert, dass ,Biggest Bluest Hi-Fi" die Vinyl-Neuauflage erhält, die es schon lange verdient hat. Wenn man die Nadel auf Tracks wie ,Swimming Pool", ,Pen and Notebook" und ,Happy New Year" setzt, ist leicht zu hören, warum: Jeder der 12 Songs des Albums ist ein perfekt beobachteter Ausschnitt aus dem Leben, der durch opulent detaillierte Arrangements filmisch inszeniert wird. Es ist zeitlose, grundsolide Popmusik, wie sie nur Camera Obscura machen kann, geeignet für die Hi-Fi-Anlagen von 1966 und 2026 gleichermaßen.
„Ranjha“ ist das neue Album und die Zusammenarbeit des preisgekrönten Komponisten und RadioheadGitarristen Jonny Greenwood, des gefeierten Komponisten und Musikers Shye Ben Tzur und des indischen
Ensembles The Rajasthan Express. Das Album ist der Nachfolger ihres gefeierten Debüts „Junun“, das
gerade sein zehnjähriges Jubiläum feierte. Während „Junun“ in einem provisorischen Studio im Mehrangarh
Fort aus dem 15. Jahrhundert in Rajasthan, Indien, aufgenommen wurde, entstand „Ranjha“ in einem
intimeren Rahmen – in Jonny Greenwoods Studio in Oxford, England.
Zum 10-jährigen Jubiläum von „Junun“, das von der Kritik hochgelobt wurde – unter anderem als Album
des Jahres von der Sunday Times, die es als „eine der inspiriertesten Veröffentlichungen des Jahres“
und „faszinierend, vielschichtig und unbedingt hörenswert“ bezeichnete –, veröffentlichte BMG am 16.
Januar 2026 eine Sonderausgabe des Originalalbums. Die Entstehung von „Junun“ wurde vom gefeierten
Filmemacher Paul Thomas Anderson dokumentiert und bietet einen intimen Einblick in den kreativen
Prozess und den pulsierenden Alltag während der Albumproduktion. „Ranjha“, das am 8. Mai 2026
erscheint, wird als spezielle rote und korallenrote Splatter-Vinyl-Edition im Gatefold-Cover sowie als CD
erhältlich sein. Das Album enthält elf brandneue Tracks, die den charakteristischen interkulturellen Sound
der Band mit einem modernen Touch verbinden. Es erscheint kurz nach der vielbeachteten Radiohead-Tour,
die Ende 2025 zu Ende ging.
Tomorrows Wish were a group from Atlanta Georgia that consisted of vocalist Lester Carr & backed by Mary Spencer & Kimberlyn Williams.
With the help of Manny & Emandolynn Music Soul Direction bring you these 2 tracks mastered from almost lost tapes and present them to you on 7” vinyl for the very first time.
Eric Burdon: Vocals, Chas Chandler: Bass, Alan Price: Keyboards, John Steel: Drums, Hilton Valentine: Guitar, Steve Grant: Guitar and Zoot Money: Keyboards.
Recorded 31st December 1983 at Wembley Arena, London. Produced and engineered by Keith Grant. Advertising in Shindig & Record Collector
Deaf Florists, the alias of Conor Wheeler, returns with a powerful new EP on trUst Recordings, the imprint founded by Saoirse. A key figure in the pre-social media UK techno and bass underground, Wheeler first made his mark in the early 2010s with his label Nineteen89, operating alongside the era that birthed influential collectives such as Night Slugs, Swamp81 and Hessle Audio.
After years spent navigating the industry—managing artists, overseeing A&R for major labels, and curating club nights at some of the UK’s most respected venues—Wheeler channels 17 years of deep listening and lived experience into Deaf Florists. The project moves fluidly between peak-time intensity and introspective depth, unbound by strict genre lines.
Lead track “Squelch, already a highly ID’d fixture in Saoirse’s DJ sets, is built around a corrosive acid line from a Roland TB-03, reinforced by a Behringer Crave counter bass and a pitched-down vocal command to “get down.” “Melt” detonates with industrial force, inspired by the chaos of a reactor in meltdown—earning Saoirse’s succinct verdict: “It’s a bomb.” Closing cut “Gunk” nods to the hypnotic repetition of Mr G, transforming a stripped-back DJ tool into a distorted techno workout primed for dark rooms.
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Original Sufferhead beginnt mit einer minimalen Improvisation mit Felas neuer Band Egypt 80 und steigert sich dann zu einer kühnen, komplex strukturierten Afrobeat-Hymne, die die Situation der Massen in Nigeria anprangert. "Lasst uns zusammen ein schönes Lied singen", schlägt Fela vor, während der Refrain parallel zu der lebhaften Melodie seines Saxophons erklingt. Mit Hilfe des Refrains zählt er dann die Probleme auf, die das Volk plagen: keine Wasserversorgung, exorbitante Lebenshaltungskosten, keine Gesundheitsversorgung, zweistellige Inflationsraten. Die "großen, großen Leute" haben das Volk zum Sarg des Staatschefs gemacht: Nach der Plünderung und Verbrennung von Felas Kalakuta Republic 1977 schrieb Fela mehrere musikalische Antworten, in denen er die schuldige nigerianische Regierung direkt angriff, darunter diese traurige Hommage an seine Mutter, Coffin for Head of State. Nachdem seine Mutter an den Komplikationen der Verletzungen gestorben war, die sie erlitten hatte, nachdem sie während des Überfalls auf Kalakuta aus einem Fenster geworfen worden war, trugen Fela, seine Frauen und seine Anhänger den Sarg seiner Mutter zum Eingangstor der Armeekaserne: ein mutiger Akt des Trotzes.
"Coffin For Head of State" ist Felas düstere Anklage gegen diejenigen, die "durch Jesus Christus, unseren Herrn" das afrikanische Volk korrumpieren, bestehlen und berauben. Der wummernde, gleichmäßige Beat und die sich wiederholende Struktur des Liedes ahmen den Marsch zur Kaserne nach, während der Text Felas überwältigende Trauer über den Verlust seiner Mutter und den Zustand seines geliebten Nigerias direkt anspricht: eine Nation von ewig Leidenden. Seid nicht passiv, fordert er: Steht auf für eure Rechte.
Die B-Seite, Power Show, baut auf dem gleichen Thema auf und hebt die Unterdrückung der Massen durch die herrschende Klasse hervor. Der Text handelt von einem reichen Mann in einem schicken Auto, der an den Straßenrand ranfährt, um einen armen, allein reisenden Mann zu beschimpfen. Fela nennt dies die "Power Show" und prangert das Verhalten an. So verhält man sich nicht gegenüber seinen Mitmenschen.
Original Sufferhead war im Box Set #5 enthalten, das von Chris Martin und Femi Kuti kuratiert wurde. Das Album wurde auf opakem, hellgrünem Vinyl neu gepresst und ist untergebracht in einer bedruckten Innen- und single sleeve Außenhülle.
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Firstly, there is also a new special limited-edition one-off pressing edition orange-pressed CD enclosed in jewel case and slipcase. 18 years on from its original release Studio One Dub remains super-hard hitting featuring classic + rare Dub tracks from Studio One, many available on vinyl for the first time in over thirty years.
Studio One Dub includes the dubs of many classic tracks such as Horace Andy’s “Skylarkin”, Johnny Osbourne’s “Truth and Rights”, John Holt’s “Hooligan”, Freddie McGregor’s “Bobby Bobylon” plus many more rare tracks.
The album also comes with two rare interviews - one with Clement 'Sir Coxsone' Dodd about dub and dubplates and one with the sound engineer Sylvan Morris, talking about his groundbreaking period at Studio One and his many innovations that he evolved there.
In short, this is a 100% essential album!
"Almighty slab of dub featuring loads of rare and classic dub versions of Studio One's foundation tracks." Rough Trade
“Quite a treat awaiting here for the unsuspecting reggae faithful – as always with Soul jazz chock full of a bunch of big tunes – but here in version form lies some of the freshest rhythms and most radical revisions of some of the greatest Studio One music. The darkest and the absolute deepest in the series – naturally essential.” Boomkat
"Continuing the Studio 1 Series this album features classic and rare Dub tracks from Studio One, many available for the first time in over thirty years. Studio One Dub includes the dubs of many classic tracks such as Horace Andy’s “Skylarkin”, Johnny Osbourne’s “Truth and Rights”,
John Holt’s “Hooligan”, Freddie McGregor’s “Bobby
Bobylon” plus many more rare tracks. In short, this is an essential album!" Wax Museum
Caterina Barbieri & Bendik Giske's At Source resounds music as wellspring, that which is essential and unknowable, and yet utterly primary. It finds two acclaimed composer-musicians building a world together in self-contained collaboration between analogue synthesis and an extended approach to the saxophone that conjures its own universe of sound. It is at once intimate and cosmic, drawing on the challenges and possibilities of their artistic exchange, tearing down technique to access all the expansive possibilities of their sonic meeting point.
At Source is a document of the world of sound to be conjured when two artists strive for something together, discovering the expansions and limitations of performance by bodies and machines. It is not an exercise in assimilation, but in productive exchange and creative confrontation. It does not draw on outside energies or influences, but grapples with what there is to find in their respective playing. "It also reflects how natural the collaboration was," says Barbieri, "a meeting at the source which was spontaneous, graceful and natural".
Barbieri and Giske first met and were enthralled by one another's performances at Kunsthaus Glarus in 2019, a meeting that spurred conversations on the power of transitions as a compositional force. Giske later contributed a rework of Fantas for Fantas Variations (Editions Mego, 2021), an ambitious undertaking to rescore Barbieri’s work for his saxophone and voice, a challenge Giske had started undertaking two years prior as an ongoing practice of transcription. “The request came as a proof of aligned ideas”, says Giske.
Their new collaborative project then started during an artistic residency in Milan’s ICA in 2021, by invitation of swiss artist and curator Jan Vorisek, as the world was emerging from lockdown. This meeting, and the preceding closure of sites for cultural exchange, made their work together 'feel like springtime' says Barbieri. Giske, who was on the brink of releasing his sophomore album, Cracks, then joined Barbieri's light-years tour, which functioned as an inaugural incarnation of her newborn label and platform through a series of multi-artist curated shows with appearances of Lyra Pramuk, Nkisi, MFO, among other artists.
Through the tour, they continued to develop material live, and this release, laid down in the studio, is true to that ever-evolving process of creation, where live feedback stays essential to the vitality of this collaborative effort. The tracks are each named with two evocative words that contain the two poles of their sound. Theirs is both abstract and cosmic, in the synth as machine undermined by Barbieri's naturalistic playing, and in Giske's continuous exploration of the symbiosis between his instrument, voice, and body. These binaries, of body and machine, posed various challenges, notably in how the stepped patterns Barbieri uses were near-impossible to translate for Giske's body to perform, and other times where mathematical resolutions were needed to sync their playing. Explains Giske: "It forced me to go to the core of what I am and what I have to offer”. Barbieri says that it "explores the liminality between the machine and the human, and the vulnerability in this process".
At Source is testament to two divergent practices finding a whole cosmos in which to convene; music is crystalised and made utterly enveloping through the focused and critical work of two musicians working at their peak. The versions here are, temptingly, "just one of many versions" of this abundant source material Giske explains. Like the best collaborations, At Source is more than the sum of its parts – bringing more to the feast than the simple combination of two musicians, promising versions upon versions of the exquisite material captured here.
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In 2023, Wood secretly worked with producer Kevin Antreassian on a new mix of his top-selling release "The Normal Album." Digging into the original 2019 recordings for more muscular takes, smoother edits, and a more nuanced and balanced mix, Antreassian and Wood created a version of the fan favorite that is one of the rare cases where a new mix is widely considered to improve on the original noticeably. "The Normal Album" is yet another turn in Wood's discography, sardonically playing with Americana and doo-wop sounds, strategically restrained but still highly emotive vocals, and lyrics densely packed with scientific and philosophical references. The dark mania of Wood's prior 2016 release, "SELF-iSH," continues on some tracks but is arranged with greater precision with a new band at his command. Like his 2015 debut "Everything is a Lot," the songs whiplash tonally but are brought together through intertwined themes and recurrent musical motifs and an undercurrent of simultaneous obtuseness and vulnerability. After the original mix of "The Normal Album" was released, a live version of the 4th track on the LP, "I/Me/Myself," had an unexpected viral moment, which brought attention to many other songs on the LP. Songs like "2econd 2ight 2eer" and "Laplace's Angel" continued to attract new fans with their dense wordplay and high-energy attitude, and the album became Wood's first major break into larger notoriety, proving that his sudden burst of popularity was not just a fleeting trend. After taking some time away from the public, Wood began to revisit the album with the intent of giving it the production that he had originally envisioned for it. Wood's top-selling album re-edited for a fuller sound and clearer instrumentation, bringing the album to a new level: new Modern Stereo Mix - 2023 Edit
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"Late '80s and early '90s electronic music has had a steering influence on the Altered Circuits catalog curation, so we are delighted to present an EP by one of the pioneers of that era: Olivier Abbeloos. His 40 years of experience as a producer and DJ translate into a Discogs profile so extensive it reveals his real name alone can be (mis)spelled in 20 different ways. "1993-1994: Rare & Unreleased 1" features five tracks produced under three different aliases, all sourced from the artist's DAT tapes vault, dating back to the prolific two-year period referenced in its title. ALT024 opens with two "Conga Squad" tracks. "Combo" is a high-energy cut driven by a savory staccato chord progression, and "Substitute" works a similar, yet more restrained dynamic, that is, until a boisterous vocal sample enters. The quirky bass lines and moody synth work of "Under The Ground", the first "Holographic Hallucination" inclusion, concludes the A-side. Its twilight atmospherics fit right in amid the B-movie horror electro trending on contemporary dancefloors. The flip opens with "Psychosky", which caters slightly more to a slow-burner vibe and sets the stage for extensive piano work. "Dj Flavour", composed under the "Warp Factor One" alias, closes the EP. Here, the Latin-tinged percussion that runs as a subtle thread throughout the release takes the spotlight, while funky basslines and manipulated vocals add layers of detail. It is the only track on the EP that was already released in 1994, appearing as part of a - by the standards of that era - obscure and very limited 300-copy pressing. Those times sure have changed, but the music still sounds as fresh as ever."
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Continuing Blueprint's 30th anniversary celebrations, James Ruskin welcomes the return of Oliver Ho, whose relationship with the label is deep-rooted.
Oliver Ho has spent the last 30 years devoting his life to creating some of the most intense and compelling electronic music out there. Debuting his signature raw sound in 1996 on Blueprint Records, he cemented himself in the underground of the '90s UK techno scene. With a plethora of aliases, he has navigated his way through many different genres. From the frenetic tribal sounds of his own Meta imprint, the off the wall house music made as Birdland and Raudive, the grinding industrial of Broken English Club and the heavily textured ambient of his Slow White Fall and Zov Zov projects. While pushing and pulling at the fringes of electronic music, at the very centre has always been the beating heart of hypnotic techno, an art form that is both brutal and bewitching; techno as ritual magic. Oliver's live shows and DJ sets showcase this expression of music as shamanic experience, metallic and relentless, pure and direct.
An integral figure in shaping Blueprint's early sound, Oliver Ho returned in 2016 for their 20th anniversary with the "Burning Heretics EP", which was followed by a remastered reissue of 1999's "Awakening The Sentient". So it's fitting that he's now back for this latest milestone with a new EP, "Our Secret Religion" dropping in May.
A tribute to Bob the Landlord from Rotterdam. Bob the Landlord became known in Rotterdam after appearing in a documentary about the harbor cafe Willems Kantine. He was a loud and direct landlord who rented small rooms to people around the area. Bob was famous for his strong Rotterdam attitude and the way he spoke to people without filtering his words. One of the most famous moments was when Cowboy Jos asked him for five euros. Bob angrily replied, "Five euros? On your face!" This line later became a well-known quote in Rotterdam. Even though he could be rough and strict, Bob became a memorable character and a small cult figure in the city. 4 tracks on one very special release. A1 by Doctr - Our Minds Belong Together. The long awaited super nu italo hit already played by David Vunk at many festivals and clubs where everyboday is waiting for! A2 by Theo Scuera - Your Virus. Club banger and Dancefloor filler with crazy sexy bassline and pumping rhythm section. Half electro half techno. Endmix legendary by Endrik schroeder. A1 David Vunk and Ben la Desh - Unrealized prophet. Long time friends Ben la Desh and David Vunk team up again with another super deep techno house track, layered analog sequencial prophet 5 synths sound, Erica Perkons drums and fx. All of this comes together in an exciting tech break with space-like sounds. Be prepared for this secret wapon. B2 Patricio Diaz - Come To My Hell A Parisian space house techno track with energetic beats and 90ies vibes. Pure energy. Get your 10000 steps on this one. Hint: Most likely people will already buy this just for the cover. So be quick for this release and don't miss this.
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Kerrie makes a welcome return to Sync 24's CE camp, with "Waves of Reverie PT1" dropping in March on Cultivated Electronics. It follows her two part "We Continue" vinyl 12"s, on sister-label Cultivated Electronics Ltd back in 2021. Irish-born, Manchester-based Kerrie is a multidisciplinary artist and resident DJ at Tresor Berlin. She performs live sets, produces music, DJs and runs her own label, Dark Machine Funk, as well as an extensive discography on the likes of Tresor, Blueprint Records, Don't Be Afraid, Cultivated Electronics, I Love Acid and Symbolism. On her new EP, "Waves of Reverie PT1" Kerrie once again channels a distinctive electro aesthetic rooted in acid and electro traditions but filtered through her own raw, industrial-leaning production style. A staple for fans of analogue hardware-driven electro and forward-thinking electronic music.
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The Story — From the Streets of Rome to the Male Productions Label
In the early 1990s, Rome lived in a kind of suspended moment. The city was still tied to its historic clubs, yet in the outskirts—inside abandoned warehouses, quarries along the coastline, and the wooded parks north of the capital—something new was beginning to stir. A nocturnal, constantly shifting movement fuelled by a hunger for freedom and a sonic curiosity that reached far beyond the mainstream.
Moving through this ferment was Francesco “Chicco” Furlotti. First an organizer of unconventional parties and underground nights, he soon became one of the driving forces behind Rome’s itinerant rave scene. Furlotti sensed that a wave of change was about to sweep across the city. It wasn’t just about parties: it was the rise of a culture, a new way of thinking about music, community, and belonging.
It was within those nights—later held with official permits, properly built sound systems, and an ever-growing crowd—that Furlotti recognized the existence of a distinctly Roman sound, and the need to capture it, preserve it, and give it tangible form.
So, in 1991, he decided to take a bolder step: to found an independent record label—small, determined, and far removed from the commercial logic that dominated at the time.
That was the birth of Male Productions.
Male was not a label like any other: it was a workshop, a gathering point, a creative hub where DJs, producers, friends, and wanderers converged. Within that environment, an artistic core took shape—Stefano Di Carlo, Leo Young, and Mauro Tannino, along with other collaborators orbiting around Furlotti. From their synergy emerged a project whose very name declared its mission:
The True Underground Sound of Rome.
The collective did not simply aim to release music; it sought to tell a story of Rome through sounds that defied categorization: house, techno, ambient, electronic mysticism, psychedelic visions… a unique blend, instantly recognizable, emotional, and experimental. The sessions unfolded using essential yet razor-sharp gear: Roland drum machines, analogue synthesizers, Akai samplers, stripped-down mixers. Few tools, endless imagination.
The first result of this work was the 12” Secret Doctrine, released in 1991 in an extremely limited run—around 500 promotional copies, according to accounts. The record captured something that until then had floated only in the air of Roman raves: enveloping atmospheres, deep rhythms, melodies built to make the mind travel far beyond the dancefloor. A sound that did not imitate what was happening in Detroit, London, or Berlin, but absorbed those influences and re-sculpted them with a distinctly Roman sensibility.
Yet, precisely because it was independent and detached from commercial circuits, Male’s output remained sparse: few EPs, few copies, irregular distribution. Over time, those records became rare artifacts—almost mythical objects within the Italian electronic scene. The legacy of Male Productions seemed destined to survive only in the memories of those early years, in the stories told after raves, and in the private archives of a handful of collectors.
Many years later, thanks to the almost accidental rediscovery of a few original copies of the first two releases issued by Male Productions, it became possible to undertake a meticulous process of recovery and restoration of the audio etched into those grooves, with the aim of preserving as fully as possible the quality and character of that unrepeatable sound.
We are therefore able today to present — at last in a complete and faithful form — the first two mixes created for Male Productions, now released on a double vinyl that brings back into the present the exact moment when it all began: the nomadic nights of the raves, Furlotti’s vision, the creativity of Di Carlo, Young and Tannino, and the sonic identity of a Rome in the midst of transformation.
This is not merely a reissue.
It is a historical document.
A fragment of a culture that changed the city.
The authentic sound of the Roman underground, finally returned to the world.
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Some grooves don’t rush to the dancefloor — they crawl there, slow and heavy, like smoke wrapping around a bassline. With Fragments of Reality, The Balek Band sculpt an electronic funk that lives between shadow and light — an end-of-the-world fever dream, a Barjavel-style Ravage where chaos turns nihilistic.
No sequencer grid here — just four musicians sharing the same room, shaping air and tension together: drums locked tight with a slap bass, a guitar dripping with echo and heat, and a one-man orchestra behind his machines, weaving acid lines and synth arpeggios while mixing the band live — drenching it in delay, reverb, and saturation, like a dub producer in a Kingston studio, Lee Scratch Perry or King Tubby conjuring ghosts through smoke.
This isn’t fusion — it’s friction. A living ritual where the TB-303 hums, and machines don’t dominate but converse with the human pulse. Each track feels like a night that refuses to end — that humid in-between where trance slips into languor, and the body starts to think for itself.
The record recalls the cosmic jazz of Alain Mion or Eddy Louiss meeting the fiery energy of West African afrobeat musicians freshly arrived in a smoky Belleville basement in the mid-’80s. When The Balek Band summon ghosts, it’s only to reshape them — bending the past into something futuristic, alive, and strangely refreshing. Both disciplined and delirious, Fragments of Reality feels like a promise at dawn: dark funk for the late hours, slow acid for warm blood.
This EP isn’t nostalgic, though it remembers. It’s a transmission from a parallel past — a moment when jazz players met drum machines and decided never to stop playing. Each note sweats, each rhythm breathes. You can almost see the light cutting through the haze, faces half-awake, half-possessed.
The Balek Band aren’t recreating a moment — they’re keeping it alive.
Flesh and cables. Impulse and patience.
A band, not a loop.
A trip, not a format.
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Latin Grammy-Winning Producer Pupillo Unites Global
Artists on his new album
Co-produced by Mario Caldato Jr. (Beastie Boys), featuring collaborations with Rodrigo
Amarante, Carminho, Adrian Younge, Gaslamp Killer, Cut Chemist, Hervé Salters, and more
Drummer, percussionist and producer Pupillo, one of the most influential figures in Brazilian
music and a four-time Latin Grammy winner, releases his first original album through the Los
Angeles–based label Amor in Sound. The record brings together an impressive and diverse
group of collaborators from Brazil and abroad. Amor in Sound is run by Samantha Caldato,
the project’s executive producer and creative director, and Mario Caldato Jr. (Beastie Boys),
who co-produced the album alongside Pupillo. The project was developed in a free,
experimental environment, allowing the artist to explore the many rhythmic and sonic
territories that have shaped his career — from Northeastern Brazilian traditions to jazz, hip
hop, and cinematic soundscapes. Listen here.
The album features special appearances by Brazilian artists such as Céu, Rodrigo Amarante,
Agnes Nunes, Amaro Freitas, Davi Moraes, Alberto Continentino and Pedro Martins,
alongside a strong roster of international collaborators, including Carminho, Gaslamp Killer,
Loren Oden, Adrian Younge, Cut Chemist and Hervé Salters (known for his work with
General Elektriks). The album’s 12 tracks were further enriched by contributions from
Jeremy Gustin, Roberto Schilling, and other musicians who make Amor in Sound Studios in
Los Angeles a place of creative exchange.
Beyond his work as the drummer of Nação Zumbi, Pupillo has built a prolific career as a
producer and collaborator with some of the most important names in Brazilian music,
including Gal Costa, Nando Reis, Erasmo Carlos, Céu, and Otto, helping to shape the sound
of multiple generations. This trajectory has earned him four Latin Grammy Awards.
From Pernambuco, Pupillo is also an acclaimed composer for cinema, having written
soundtracks for films such as Arido Movie and Blue Blood (directed by Lirio Ferreira), The
Assailant (directed by João Daniel Tikhomiroff), among others. This cinematic sensibility
permeates the album, which unfolds like a film, moving through richly textured soundscapes
that cross continents and musical traditions.
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“Dance Music That Hurts” — the motto of Work of Intent.
Hurts, because it goes straight to your heart.
There’s no better way to put it.
His productions are rooted in the UK underground,
dripping with both techno and pop sensibilities.
This is “big room” like you’ve never experienced it before—
music you can’t ignore, driven by storytelling and raw emotion.
He’s found a home on labels such as Monkeytown, Turbo, and REKIDS, and continues his relationship with Laurent Garnier’s COD3 QR .
Founder of the clandestine edit factory *Emotional Weaponry*,
he continues to receive support from industry heavyweights.
Former manager of *DAYTIMERS*, the UK-based collective championing
South Asian sounds, stories, and voices,
and a highly sought-after mix engineer for some of the UK’s most exciting prospects.
We’re beyond happy to welcome Roshan Chauhan aka Works Of Intent to the family.
Feels like the beginning of a long, dramatic love story.
Credits:
Written and produced by *Works of Intent*
Distributed by *One Eye Witness*
out of Stock
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Following on from his debut album, Miles Spilsbury returns to New Dawn with Spirit Level. A new project in collaboration with close friend Gorse Panshawe (formerly known as Slugabed - who also produced Miles Spilsbury's first album Light Manoeuvres).
Recorded over one weekend in a weaving shed in Frome, in the English countryside. Surrounded by reels of yarn, they explored saxophones, flutes, dusty old keyboards & drum machines. The resulting record conjures the murk and moss of Forestland and grounds with grooves from the Bongo setting on a Casio keyboard. Jake Long added mallet drums from his London studio to round off the album.
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Last delivered 5 months ago available to reorder, subject to availability
For their first musical outing of 2012, Dubkasm take a walk down the avenues of digital 80s reggae, showcasing the fresh vocals of Rudey Lee and Solo Banton. 8 bit sounds meet tough JA riddims, with shades of Jammy's, Gussie Clarke and Steely & Cleevie, expertly mixed by UK veteran Nick Manasseh with razor-sharp precision. A key figure in Bristol's reggae ancestry, Rudey Lee helped connect the Bristol Sound with its dub origins through collaborations with legendary pioneers Smith & Mighty during the 90's. On his first outing since his appearance on Pinch's debut album 'Underwater Dancehall', Rudey takes us back to his reggae roots with 'Emotion', a soulful dancefloor bubbler with a conscious edge. Solo Banton, ever powerful in his hard-hitting delivery, proceeds to nail the message home with 'Are You Ready', a no-compromise deejay version taking things to a higher level. This cut guarantees a rewind in any dancehall, building on Solo's hit-after-hit track record, proven through his work with Jahtari, Maffi and Reality Shock.
More unknown artist business from the Only Music Matters crew and it's a case of more essential minimal across three fresh cuts. The first manages to pair the sort of drive you need to keep you locked with some swirling, heady pads that encourage letting your mind wander. After that full-sided odyssey, 'BBB001B' stars the flip with tighter, more rubbery drums and bass and alien sounds weaving in and out. 'BBB002B' shuts down with some tech-y loops and a little more menace and mischief in the clipped vocals and wispy synth modulations.
out of Stock
Last delivered 36 days ago available to reorder, subject to availability
While brothers Simon and Robin Lee have kept themselves busy, both with EPs as Faze Action and numerous offshoot and solo projects, it's been almost 12 years since we last heard a fresh, full-length excursion from the long-serving duo - at least under their most famous moniker. Predictably, Distant Dreams was worth the wait, with the Lee siblings continuing their richly organic approach - think live bass, guitars, strings, keys, flute and percussion alongside synth sounds and drum machine beats. Musically, it draws on their now well-known influences - warming disco, jazz-funk and Balearica with nods to other musical cultures - and delivers eight impeccable tracks that undoubtedly sit amongst their classiest work to date. It's good to have them back.
out of Stock
Last delivered 4 months ago available to reorder, subject to availability
The eternally prolific duo PSYCHEMAGIK are back once again (already?!) with yet another mind blowing edits package.
This latest offering from the Cosmic Forest is their reworking of Chillys, Yardbirds classic, For Your Love think epic 10 minute cosmic dancefloor monster complete with guitars, violins and soaring vocals.
And then there’s more… the flip “Aldeia De Ogum”, a reworking of the Joyce original, has Ibiza sunset written all over it, transporting you immediately to the beach within the first few bars.
Latin percussion blends with beautiful guitars, flutes and horns to create a truly breathtaking sonic vista .
This is sure to be included in many a summer playlist over the coming months
Mantra is the first single from The Bluebeaters' upcoming album, due for release in 2026. It is an unusual track in the band's discography, reminiscent more of The Clash's Rock The Casbah than Jamaica. It is a track with a 4/4 beat without the classic Jamaican syncopation typical of The Bluebeaters.
"It's a challenge to the background that has always driven the band. The album will not be entirely in this direction, but we decided to release this single to broaden our range of expression."
Produced by singer Patrick Benifei, aka Pat Cosmo, together with the solid rhythm section of The Bluebeaters, Count Ferdi on drums, Cato Senatore on guitar, Danilo Scuccimarra on piano and organ, and Paolo Parpaglione on saxophone.
It is the first in a series of singles that will form the backbone of the album.
Sung in Italian, Mantra is an original song written by Pat Cosmo.
The B-side is a dub, an instrumental version mixed by Ezra, producer, artist and our co-producer for all the tracks that will be released on the new album.
He has collaborated on many productions that are part of the Caribb Roots world, including Casino Royale and The Uppertones, as well as his own Dub Pigeons.
His studio is the NoMad Studio, located in the San Salvario area of Turin.
Past Due Records is thrilled to announce the release of Midnight Blue's "One Wish - South Carolina 1975-83," a compilation showcasing the legendary funk and modern soul band from Columbia. This limited edition double LP compilation is an exclusive collection highlighting the band's peak during the mid-1980s American boogie funk era. Formed in 1975, Midnight Blue blended the talents of local musicians Myron Alford, Robert Hoefer, Jr., Ronnie Amiker, and many others. Despite their underground status, their music left a lasting impact, performing alongside legends like Midnight Star and Prince. The compilation includes their debut single "Feel It and Groove Together," their powerful rendition of "I Who Have Nothing," and unreleased tracks recorded with Cameo's Larry Blackmon. Fan favorites such as "All Because of You" and "Coolin' Out" will also be featured. This double LP comes with a full story and many never-before-seen pictures of the band, making it a must-have for any fan of eighties funk, courtesy of Past Due Records.
out of Stock
Last delivered 13 days ago available to reorder, subject to availability
Blue Colored Vinyl LP Repress. Panamá-born, Chicago-based drummer Daniel Villarreal is known to many for his work in Dos Santos, Wild Belle, The Los Sundowns, Valebol Rudy de Anda, and many more. For his lead artist debut Panamá 77 he engages a diverse array of friends and collaborators - including Bardo Martinez (Chicano Batman), Jeff Parker (Tortoise), Marta Sofia Honer (Adrian Younge), Anna Butterss (Jenny Lewis), and Aquiles Navarro (Irreversible Entanglements) - to create a vibrant and verdant suite of multi-textural psychedelic instrumental folk-funk.
Oceanine, Jolanda Moletta’s third album and her first for Beacon Sound, is a powerful and ethereal statement of artistic community. Expanding on her previous work, each track represents a collaboration with a different female vocalist, with the foundational elements being generated entirely by her own voice. By turns haunting, enchanting, and inspiring, you won’t want to come up for air once you’ve been pulled under. Representing a musical practice that is distinctly feminist, this is an album with a longer view in mind, to an age when the altars were to goddesses and women were centered as powerful beings representing the earth’s cycles of regeneration and renewal. Oceanine then, in all its beauty, can be viewed as an album of survival. It is deeply transportive, accessing something that lies within all of us. As the late, great Lithuanian folklorist and archaeologist Marija Gimbutas noted, “We must refocus our collective memory. The necessity for this has never been greater as we discover that the path of 'progress' is extinguishing the very conditions for life on earth.”
Jolanda Moletta is a multimedia artist and one-woman electronic choir. She creates wordless compositions through extended vocal techniques, integrating wearable-controlled live processing, alongside symbolic visuals. Moletta considers her performances to be a collective ritual and creates her Sonic & Visual Spells following the cycles of nature and the moon. Jolanda's 2022 critically acclaimed album Nine Spells was released on the Ambientologist label, followed by Night Caves on Whitelabrecs in 2025. Moletta’s artistic practice is a radical and spiritual journey through sound art, ritual, and the symbolic archaeology of the feminine.
Oceanine is inspired by sirens, water nymphs, and the timeless call of the sea. At its core lies Jolanda’s deep, lifelong connection to the Mediterranean Sea and to the ancient and modern myths and folklore that have emerged from its waters. Growing up by the Mar Ligure, Jolanda was surrounded by stories carried by salt, wind, and waves: legends of sirens, echoes of ancient voices, and the sea as both origin and oracle. This intimate relationship with the Mediterranean is not merely a backdrop, but a living source that shapes Oceanine’s emotional, symbolic, and sonic world.
Each track features a different female vocalist, creating a rich tapestry of voices, styles, and perspectives. This artistic choice not only broadens the album’s sonic palette, but also deepens its narrative core: celebrating the power, beauty, and mystique of feminine energy through myth, history, and sound.
The entire album is built exclusively from the human voice, processed and layered, yet always remaining voice, and nothing else. For each piece, Jolanda invited every vocalist involved to contribute a raw stem: a short, unedited melodic fragment of just a few seconds, inspired by the album’s themes. These intimate vocal seeds became the foundation of each track: the guest artists’ voices appear as brief, melodic stems, while the entire surrounding “orchestral” fabric is created solely from Jolanda’s own layered and processed voice. In this way, Jolanda’s voice becomes the Ocean itself, embracing, absorbing, and carrying the sirens’ calls within a vast, immersive soundscape. Every song is a unique expression of the feminine experience, revealing its depth, complexity, and emotional range, echoing the call of the sea and the many faces of the siren archetype.
The figure of the siren has transformed across centuries. In myths of Ancient Greece and Rome, sirens were hybrid beings, part woman, part bird, whose irresistible songs lured sailors to their doom. During the Middle Ages, the image shifted toward the half-woman, half-fish figure, often associated with temptation and danger. Historically, the voice of women has often been feared. Sirens were considered harbingers of misfortune not simply because they seduced or destroyed, but because they were powerful liminal beings.
In Ancient Greek, sirens functioned as psychopomps: figures who existed between worlds and guided souls, especially between life and death. Their songs were believed to carry forbidden knowledge, including prophetic insight and the ability to reveal truths about fate and the future. The danger of the sirens lay in what they revealed: knowledge that humans were not meant, or ready, to hear.
Oceanine confronts this legacy head-on. The voices heard throughout the album are not merely beautiful: they are dark and luminous, wild and enchanting, magical, soothing, dreamy, and at times fractured or distorted. They whisper, lament, beckon, and enchant. Like sirens, they skim the surface of the water and sink into its depths, hovering on the edge between tenderness and danger, vulnerability and power. They rise toward the sky, dissolve into mist, and return as echoes charged with raw, elemental emotion: voices that seduce, warn, mourn, and remember. They refuse to be reduced to decoration.
Alongside the album’s release in May, Oceanine will also unfold as a visual and performative work through a short art film. The film includes a live session recorded inside a sea cave facing the Mar Ligure, the very coastline where Jolanda spent her childhood, dreaming of sirens and listening to the sea as if it were speaking directly to her. This site-specific performance reconnects the music to its place of origin, allowing the voice to resonate within stone, water, and air, and transforming the cave into both a sanctuary and a threshold between myth and reality.
What if the sirens’ songs were considered dangerous because they carried another truth, an ancient truth long forgotten?
Oceanine embraces the idea that we are still deeply woven into myth. Though we may see ourselves as rational and modern beings, our world is saturated with ancient symbols and archetypes, often distorted, simplified, or stripped of their original meaning. And if those symbols are allowed to shift, if the mirror once held by the siren becomes an invitation to look beyond appearances and into what has been obscured, then we may finally uncover a deeper truth and reclaim the voice that was always ours.
Oceanine is not just an album. It is a reclamation, a spell, and a call from the depths.
They Came Like Swallows is the first album-length collaboration between Thurston Moore and Kramer (now officially Bonner Kramer), two giants of alternative/ experimental music. The accomplishments and influence of these two artists in the world of independent music cannot be overstated and the result of their artistic union is a startlingly cohesive statement that burns through landscapes of primitive outsider rock, avant-garde composition, progressive ambient and further locales boldly and beautifully unnamable. “Kramer and I reconnected in Miami, Florida, a few years back, many many years after each of us had departed NYC on separate life adventures. It was only a matter of time before Kramer and I started making plans to record together and with his irrepressible due diligence he quickly set up a mobile recording contraption in the pad I was decamped in, the Florida sunshine flowing through the palm leaves, lithe lizards skittering across the windowsills, and we just went for it.
Kramer had the idea to cover a Joy Division tune, a left turn from the improvisations we had been tracking, though wholly in keeping with both our sensibilities of light and dark unifying in transcendent songwriting, both of us devotees of 'the song' as well as 'the freedom.’ What transpired is They Came Like Swallows, a session we immediately felt should exist as a prayer to the war-torn souls of the families of Palestine continually decimated by the brutality of genocide. We agreed beyond words to offer our music as a sonic activism and as a beneficent energy. This album is our duo exchange for human dignity, it is our soul music for any semblance of a peaceful planet.” ~ Thurston Moore “For the first time in our nearly 45 years of friendship, we had identical time windows open to make a record together,” recounts Kramer. After all this time not a moment is wasted as the duo immediately taps into the heightened core of improvisational tension across these seven offerings. Volcanic opener “Urn Burial” notches a similar historic union (John Cale and Terry Riley) to meet the circumstances of the moment, with swirling mists of organ and pounding toms over guitar that thickens the atmosphere with jagged, grimy dissonance.
Solemn strings open the second track, “The Redness In The West,” with Kramer’s cello and viola in dueling bow beneath the high tension drive and sustain of Thurston’s electric guitar, tapping out a Morse code of tension that mounts endlessly into a fog of inevitable war by the end. Moore and Kramer’s sense of experimentalism is in free and full grandeur throughout They Came Like Swallows, though the duo keep a strong and constant sideways eye on melody, composition and architecture, to the ends that any strict lines between song and improvisation are blurred beyond qualification.
As if to punctuate this point, Swallows closes with a nightwork cover of Joy Division’s “Insight,” a doleful coda that breathes out with a solemn inner grace under Thurston’s instantly stylistically recognizable guitar melodies as they weave into he and Kramer’s unison voices. As the lone vocal piece and only traditional ‘song’ form on the album, “Insight” is unique to this set and as a closing statement draws connective lines back to the kind of dynamic, electrified melodicism that wove deep, melancholy patterns into the untamed fire of Sonic Youth’s Sister and Daydream Nation. In the album’s final moments, the two voices repeat the lyric “I’m not afraid anymore” as mantra, underscoring the heavy, unsettled themes and methods that preceded it. Kramer describes the creative process of They Came Like Swallows: “I had composed and recorded a few pieces at my home studio over the course of a couple weeks. Thurston was spending the winter in South Florida, so I flew down and spent a few days recording his guitar parts in his home there. Watching him spontaneously compose his parts was pretty astonishing, to say the least. Once we'd finished working on those pieces, we began improvising and following wherever the music pointed us, and another few pieces were born. We got straight to it, without anything driving us other than the joy of finally working together.
My personal goal was to remain present and catch as many surprises as I could from Thurston's guitar work, and there were plenty during those few days. We had a fucking blast.” Thurston’s contributions here will be readily familiar to any acolytes of his other works, the through-line between his inspired playing, cradled in Kramer’s meticulous, solid arrangements. “If I had to make this record again, I'd do it all exactly the same way,” Kramer says. “It’s like jazz, you don't think about it. You just do it. It was miraculous, and you don't fuck with a miracle.”
They Came Like Swallows is the first album-length collaboration between Thurston Moore and Kramer (now officially Bonner Kramer), two giants of alternative/ experimental music. The accomplishments and influence of these two artists in the world of independent music cannot be overstated and the result of their artistic union is a startlingly cohesive statement that burns through landscapes of primitive outsider rock, avant-garde composition, progressive ambient and further locales boldly and beautifully unnamable. “Kramer and I reconnected in Miami, Florida, a few years back, many many years after each of us had departed NYC on separate life adventures. It was only a matter of time before Kramer and I started making plans to record together and with his irrepressible due diligence he quickly set up a mobile recording contraption in the pad I was decamped in, the Florida sunshine flowing through the palm leaves, lithe lizards skittering across the windowsills, and we just went for it.
Kramer had the idea to cover a Joy Division tune, a left turn from the improvisations we had been tracking, though wholly in keeping with both our sensibilities of light and dark unifying in transcendent songwriting, both of us devotees of 'the song' as well as 'the freedom.’ What transpired is They Came Like Swallows, a session we immediately felt should exist as a prayer to the war-torn souls of the families of Palestine continually decimated by the brutality of genocide. We agreed beyond words to offer our music as a sonic activism and as a beneficent energy. This album is our duo exchange for human dignity, it is our soul music for any semblance of a peaceful planet.” ~ Thurston Moore “For the first time in our nearly 45 years of friendship, we had identical time windows open to make a record together,” recounts Kramer. After all this time not a moment is wasted as the duo immediately taps into the heightened core of improvisational tension across these seven offerings. Volcanic opener “Urn Burial” notches a similar historic union (John Cale and Terry Riley) to meet the circumstances of the moment, with swirling mists of organ and pounding toms over guitar that thickens the atmosphere with jagged, grimy dissonance.
Solemn strings open the second track, “The Redness In The West,” with Kramer’s cello and viola in dueling bow beneath the high tension drive and sustain of Thurston’s electric guitar, tapping out a Morse code of tension that mounts endlessly into a fog of inevitable war by the end. Moore and Kramer’s sense of experimentalism is in free and full grandeur throughout They Came Like Swallows, though the duo keep a strong and constant sideways eye on melody, composition and architecture, to the ends that any strict lines between song and improvisation are blurred beyond qualification.
As if to punctuate this point, Swallows closes with a nightwork cover of Joy Division’s “Insight,” a doleful coda that breathes out with a solemn inner grace under Thurston’s instantly stylistically recognizable guitar melodies as they weave into he and Kramer’s unison voices. As the lone vocal piece and only traditional ‘song’ form on the album, “Insight” is unique to this set and as a closing statement draws connective lines back to the kind of dynamic, electrified melodicism that wove deep, melancholy patterns into the untamed fire of Sonic Youth’s Sister and Daydream Nation. In the album’s final moments, the two voices repeat the lyric “I’m not afraid anymore” as mantra, underscoring the heavy, unsettled themes and methods that preceded it. Kramer describes the creative process of They Came Like Swallows: “I had composed and recorded a few pieces at my home studio over the course of a couple weeks. Thurston was spending the winter in South Florida, so I flew down and spent a few days recording his guitar parts in his home there. Watching him spontaneously compose his parts was pretty astonishing, to say the least. Once we'd finished working on those pieces, we began improvising and following wherever the music pointed us, and another few pieces were born. We got straight to it, without anything driving us other than the joy of finally working together.
My personal goal was to remain present and catch as many surprises as I could from Thurston's guitar work, and there were plenty during those few days. We had a fucking blast.” Thurston’s contributions here will be readily familiar to any acolytes of his other works, the through-line between his inspired playing, cradled in Kramer’s meticulous, solid arrangements. “If I had to make this record again, I'd do it all exactly the same way,” Kramer says. “It’s like jazz, you don't think about it. You just do it. It was miraculous, and you don't fuck with a miracle.”
Wasteland is a record that is unafraid to plunge into the darkness of the modern world and embrace the weirder, edgier and more unnerving moments that come from doing so. It is an album that captures all the enormity of life from the micro to the macro, zooming in on the personal as well reflecting on broader societal issues.
“Wasteland is about the idea of a place once known or familiar that is now broken down and unrecognisable,” says Ghedi. “It’s about exploring the process of watching someone’s surroundings and environment collapse.” And within that you have a lot going on. “It also explores death, personal loss, grief, mental health and how the natural world provides solace and meaning for that loss and how these worlds blur into one another.”
Ghedi has always been an artist that in many ways perfectly encompasses folk music in its purest form but he is also someone that frequently pushes the boundaries of that label and no more so is that apparent than on this record. As like previous albums, such as 2018’s A Hymn for Ancient Land and 2021’s In the Furrows of Common Place, Ghedi uses traditional folk songs as a means to explore contemporary issues via modern and experimentally-leaning music. “With the traditional material on this album I wanted to find songs with content that resonated with me,” says Ghedi. “But also that were based roughly around the north of England.” This is a central underlying theme to the album for Ghedi. The feelings of loss, erosion, and degradation are often most pronounced in working class communities and this was something he wanted to weave in. “It was important to voice and choose material that represented or expressed issues that correlated with things going on around me.”
However, as remarkable as some of the traditional material is, some of the most arresting work on the album is Ghedi’s entirely original compositions. Lead single ‘Wasteland’ is a stunning piece of work that while rooted in an environment being corrupted and broken – “there’s violence on these hills” Ghedi sorrowfully sings, before claiming this is no longer somewhere that can be called home – it is also a stirringly beautiful composition that soars and glides as it opens up, as sweeping strings swoop and in and out of Ghedi’s twangy electric guitar.
The decision to incorporate more fuller sounds, such as electric guitar and huge drums, results in a notable shift and evolution in tone for Ghedi. “The lyrical content needed something more band-driven and loud to deliver them,” he explains. “Incorporating the electric guitar in my songwriting was also a big part of opening the sound up, using drop tunings pushed me to use my voice in a wider range, which forced me to use falsetto a lot which I haven’t previously done before. That then opened the sound up and gave me creative ideas for bigger arrangements and to sonically really push things.”
What Ghedi has done in creating his masterpiece is construct a remarkable space where deeply intimate and personal feelings coexist with reflections on environment, place and society, while also interweaving historical context via traditional songs. Wasteland is as much of a world to explore and exist in as much as it is an album, with Ghedi carving out his distinctly unique sonic language and voice to explore that singular environment.
Wasteland is a record that is unafraid to plunge into the darkness of the modern world and embrace the weirder, edgier and more unnerving moments that come from doing so. It is an album that captures all the enormity of life from the micro to the macro, zooming in on the personal as well reflecting on broader societal issues.
“Wasteland is about the idea of a place once known or familiar that is now broken down and unrecognisable,” says Ghedi. “It’s about exploring the process of watching someone’s surroundings and environment collapse.” And within that you have a lot going on. “It also explores death, personal loss, grief, mental health and how the natural world provides solace and meaning for that loss and how these worlds blur into one another.”
Ghedi has always been an artist that in many ways perfectly encompasses folk music in its purest form but he is also someone that frequently pushes the boundaries of that label and no more so is that apparent than on this record. As like previous albums, such as 2018’s A Hymn for Ancient Land and 2021’s In the Furrows of Common Place, Ghedi uses traditional folk songs as a means to explore contemporary issues via modern and experimentally-leaning music. “With the traditional material on this album I wanted to find songs with content that resonated with me,” says Ghedi. “But also that were based roughly around the north of England.” This is a central underlying theme to the album for Ghedi. The feelings of loss, erosion, and degradation are often most pronounced in working class communities and this was something he wanted to weave in. “It was important to voice and choose material that represented or expressed issues that correlated with things going on around me.”
However, as remarkable as some of the traditional material is, some of the most arresting work on the album is Ghedi’s entirely original compositions. Lead single ‘Wasteland’ is a stunning piece of work that while rooted in an environment being corrupted and broken – “there’s violence on these hills” Ghedi sorrowfully sings, before claiming this is no longer somewhere that can be called home – it is also a stirringly beautiful composition that soars and glides as it opens up, as sweeping strings swoop and in and out of Ghedi’s twangy electric guitar.
The decision to incorporate more fuller sounds, such as electric guitar and huge drums, results in a notable shift and evolution in tone for Ghedi. “The lyrical content needed something more band-driven and loud to deliver them,” he explains. “Incorporating the electric guitar in my songwriting was also a big part of opening the sound up, using drop tunings pushed me to use my voice in a wider range, which forced me to use falsetto a lot which I haven’t previously done before. That then opened the sound up and gave me creative ideas for bigger arrangements and to sonically really push things.”
What Ghedi has done in creating his masterpiece is construct a remarkable space where deeply intimate and personal feelings coexist with reflections on environment, place and society, while also interweaving historical context via traditional songs. Wasteland is as much of a world to explore and exist in as much as it is an album, with Ghedi carving out his distinctly unique sonic language and voice to explore that singular environment.
For the first time, this landmark album of ritualistic dark folk and shamanic soundscapes is pressed into Double LP, and the result is a breathtaking artifact that transcends the boundary between music and mysticism. Presented in a deluxe edition LP with a lavish 30x30 insert, brought to life by Rune Serpent Europa, this release is a kind of talisman. The packaging itself feels like a gateway: ornate, otherworldly, and perfectly attuned to the spirit of Havamal , where Nordic tradition, animistic ritual, and primal sound converge in a timeless invocation. Spinning Havamal on vinyl unleashes the full incantatory power of NYTT LAND 's music. The analog warmth deepens the resonance of the throat-sung mantras and the droning instrumentation, pulling the listener into a world that is equal parts ancient ritual, frozen landscape, and whispered prophecy.
Every track becomes a rune carved in sound, vibrating with hidden meaning, echoing the eternal cycles of life, death, and rebirth. There is a romance in this edition that goes beyond mere presentation. The act of lowering the needle becomes an invocation, a summoning of ancestral voices and forgotten gods. The record itself feels alive, as though the spirits of the sagas reside within its grooves. Each listen is a ritual, each flip of the vinyl a turning of the cosmic wheel. With Havamal now available on LP, collectors and devotees of dark folk finally hold in their hands a relic worthy of the album's mythic aura. This is music to be inhabited, to be carried into dreams and into shadows, to be used as a key that unlocks the hidden chambers of the soul. A triumph of art, craft, and spirit, this vinyl edition is destined to become a coveted treasure.
