The late, great Calvin Keys’1971 debut album for the Black Jazz Records label announced the arrival of a new star in the jazz guitar firmament. Keys had spent the ‘60s backing up the crème de la crème of jazz organists—Jimmy Smith, Jimmy McGriff, Jack McDuff, Richard “Groove” Holmes—but for his first record as a leader, he was eager to play with a piano player instead. So he recruited one of the best—Larry Nash, who, besides being a member of the L.A. Express, played with everybody from Eddie Harris to Bill Withers to Etta James. Bassist Lawrence Evans, drummer Bob Braye, and flautist-songwriter Owen Marshall rounded out the group on Shawn-Neeq, which might remind some of Pat Metheny’s early work (Metheny acknowledges Keys as an influence), or Grant Green.
But what gives Shawn-Neeq extra depth is that it comes from the heart; as Keys says in Pat Thomas’ liner notes, which feature an interview with the artist: “My thing was, I write about some of the experiences that I’ve had in my life.” Keys became a fixture in the Bay Area jazz scene before he passed in April 2024; this is the album that started his journey. Another gem from the celebrated Black Jazz catalog, pressed in blue with black swirl vinyl limited to 750 copies!
R.M.K returns to NECHTO with his latest release, ‘NECH028’, following his previous solo record ‘NECH021’, his features on the label's VAs and numerous label event appearances. Hailing from London, R.M.K, the alias of Fossil Archive label head Roberto, brings a unique, evolving take on his sound. With over 20 years of experience, he has performed at iconic venues like Berghain, Tresor, and fabric, and collaborated with artists such as Trevino, Jamie Anderson, and Goldie.
‘NECH028’ marks a new chapter in R.M.K’s artistic growth, with the EP taking over a year to complete. The release includes four vinyl tracks, plus an additional digital-only track. R.M.K notes that while each track has its own distinct style, they collectively tell a cohesive story. He also
acknowledges the role of Nastia in pushing him to deliver the best possible quality, and he takes great pride in the result.
This release reflects the evolution of R.M.K’s sound, demonstrating his dedication to refining his craft and offering a compelling narrative through techno.
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After forming a friendship with Japanese hip-hop talent DJ Motive, Hell Yeah is releasing his previously CD-only album Sunset Sunrise. After initially being released as a promo to support the 7 inch lead single 'Sunrise,' it now comes on 2 x 12 inch for the first time with fresh mastering by Justin Drake. DJ Motive hails from Gifu, a small and charming city 30 minutes from Nagoya. From there he has built up a cult following for his blend of Latin, jazz and hip-hop beats over a number of albums and EPs in the last 20 years. He is also the producer behind the DeadBundy outfit that was previously remixed by countryman Calm on this label's Calm Reworks EP back in 2020. Thanks to a link from Calm, Hell Yeah founder Marco first hooked up with Motive in the pre-Covid days, twice playing his Alffo event in Gifu and hanging out to chat music. One of the many things that came up was a CD of Sunset Sunrise which has remained on firm rotation on Marco's stereo ever since and is a worldly trip into sample-heavy sounds, indie rock, hip-hop and jazz. Opener 'Sunrise' ft. Deadbundy & Chemical Codex opens with drums that lap like gentle waves on a beach as thoughtful strings and filtered vocals add to the sense of bliss. From there, DJ Motive lays down lazy broken beats and twinkling melodies that take your head above the clouds amongst lush pads and nostalgic samples. 'Chill On A Lotus' sounds like a damaged old tape as vocals, chords and strings all get smudged and smeared into a heavenly ambient soundscape, and there are plenty of loose mixes of dusty drums and jazzy keys, 'Howling 2 You' is a fusion of jazz drums and Balearic energy that slowly sweeps you off your feet and 'Walker' has squelch synth bass and heat damaged keys.
This escapist trip carries on through more broken beats and yacht rock, inquisitive jazz interludes and sunset grooves that all come with a heavy sense of inward reflection. The fragments of vocal are like half-remembered dreams, and the hooks remind of a forgotten lover while the louche beats move things forward with subtle optimism. Sunset Sunrise takes you through a full day in the life of DJ Motive and it makes for a vibrant collage of sound that reveals something new with every listen.
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Demonstrating the poignant power of experience + human connection + innate musicality + operating in the present moment, Jeff Mills' Spiral Deluxe collective unveil their second album - The Love Pretender. Driven by the free expression and creativity of improvised performance, Spiral Deluxe is an electronic jazz fusion project comprised electronic music visionary Jeff, along with legendary keyboardist Gerald Mitchell (Underground Resistance/ Los Hermanos), Japanese rocker Yumiko Ohno (Buffalo Daughter/Cornelius) on Moog synthesizer and the Japanese bassist, adopted New Yorker, Kenji "Jino" Hino - son of Terumasa Hino, the world famous jazz trumpeter. Together, the four key players formed a band centred around completely improvised journeys through sound.
During their unrestrained performances, what Jeff describes as sonic "conversations" arose between the musicians, as they each contributed to full-length live shows, and studio sessions. Within the boundless parameters of freeform spontaneity, they developed an unspoken understanding of one another, finding balance and poise within the unplanned performances. The resulting recordings have been used for three releases so far: Two EPs, Kobe Session (2016) and Tathata (2017), and their debut album Voodoo Magic in 2018. With The Love Pretender, we're presented with another stunning collection of "tracks" extracted from one long improv session.
With each musician proficient in their specialism and, of course, an all-out music lover, the communication between the group members became almost telepathic. Very little preparation was needed, and their performances flowed naturally and organically. This can be heard, and felt, throughout The Love Pretender. Tracks like 'The Soloist' evolve effortlessly, each new shift subtly influenced by one of the musicians nudging the conversation into a different phase, and the rest responding accordingly, or vice versa. It's music that embodies the true nature of mindfulness and letting go of fear. In their unstructured, liberated cocoon the artists thrive and create musical moments that have, fortunately, been captured for us all to immerse ourselves in. Jazzy notes fill the air, combined with electronic bass, synthesised beats, sparkling keys and an all-round warm and welcoming atmosphere, with the slight edge you can only get from improvised performance.
Sylvain Luc's posthumous appearance on the album is of significance too. The French guitarist died in March 2024 at the age of 59. His natural flair adds another dimension to the album, bringing a touch of that laid back 1980s American California Coast feeling to tracks such as 'Society's Man'. These contributions to the LP, recorded separately, add character - a final sprinkling of humanity to complement the aliveness and presence of this body of work. Three other musicians also added their creative energy to the project. They were; TOKU, a Japanese jazz musician who specialises in wind instruments, especially the cornet, trumpet and flugel horn. And there's Masa Shimizu, who also has wide-ranging with the guitar, as well as being a producer.
Themes on the album include the optimism one can have by simply trusting the process and trusting that everything will work out in the end. By playing together in the way they do, Spiral Deluxe place their trust in the mystery of what will happen next. Getting comfortable with not knowing is key to a sense of peace with regard to the future and this energy is vital to their collective musical output. By embracing the notion of the unknown, you become an eternal optimist, living in the moment, rather than projecting into the future. This cultivates excitement, an antidote to anxiety.
Meanwhile, the title alludes to the shifts and changes that have occurred in today's society, whereby it's possible to achieve success through pretending. The superficiality, and falsehood, that can often be presented via social media, can lead to questions about what's real and what's not. From AI to the fake personas that populate the dominant platforms, The Love Pretender speaks to a process that is symbolic of the time we're living in. Behaviour that has become acceptable in today's world, which may not have been as welcomed a few decades ago. But this is part of the cycle of life...
Jeff's intention with this music is to present it in high-fidelity, to be listened to over and over and over again. In post-recording he worked for hours to ensure the audio quality was as high as it could be. The goal is to create music that people can live with their entire lives, from his solo work to these masterful improvisations. Music that comes to life, music that has a voice we can replicate with our own vocals. Expressive, unstructured, and alive...
With The Love Pretender Jeff Mills continues his mission to experiment with music outside the bounds of what is typically expected. It's freeing, enlivening, vibrant and uniquely human. As ever, Jeff's visionary outlook and bold approach to musical performance and recording has produced a body of work that epitomises his often revolutionary capabilities. There's no pretending here, just pure unadulterated sonic transmissions from a wonderfully daring, inspiring and optimistic ensemble...
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"Stoned Immaculate" (1991) ist das wohl bekannteste Dub Syndicate-Album, aufgenommen zwischen Jamaika und London. Zu den rockigen Rhythms des Bandleaders Style Scott gesellen sich weitere Topmusiker wie Skip McDonald (git), Lee "Scratch" Perry und Akabu on vocals, Leith Levene (keys), sowie Samples des verstorbenen, großartigen Prince Far I. Es markiert eine Zeit, in der das Label von Acid-House-Fans ebenso angenommen wurde wie von Hardcore-Dub-Fans, und diese LP zum festen Bestandteil der "Comedown"-Session nach dem Rave wurde. Der Titeltrack ist eine wahre On-U-Sound-Hymne, die Reggae, ausgeflippte Electronica, The Doors und Motown zu einem epischen Groove vermischt. Das seit Jahren vergriffene Vinylformat wurde von Frank Merritt im The Carvery neu geschnitten und enthält rare Fotos von Coneyl Jay und neue Linernotes von Rob Harris (Testpressung).
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For this special release, we’re excited to unveil something brand new: a triple vinyl, perfect for casting a spell on your Halloween night
Witches brew and cauldrons bubble, as Halloween stirs up an eerie trouble! Step into the world of spooky beats with Lofi Girl's 'Halloween 2024' compilation. Featuring talented artists from around the world, this potion of ghostly rhythms and haunting melodies sets the mood for a night of chills and thrills. Whether you're conjuring up potions or unwinding under the moonlit sky, let the witchy magic of these chilling beats take over your Halloween night!
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Arny Margret, Iceland’s remarkable and poetic upcoming singer-songwriter, is due to release her second album ‘I Miss You, I Do’ on March 7th via One Little Independent Records. The follow-up to 2022’s celebrated, minimalist folk debut ‘they only talk about the weather’ sees her working with new producers in America to develop and hone a sound that’s more textured, expansive, and mature.
‘I Miss You, I Do’ incorporates sessions from Arny Margret’s trips to New York City, North Carolina, and Colorado, as well as those recorded in Iceland. During extensive international touring, she wrote prolifically and spent time getting to know producers and musicians who each brought their own unique and individual talents to the project. Arny’s atmospheric and introspective material has been layered with country-inflected full band ensembles, keys, banjo, harmonium, slide guitar and more, adding an ambience that only enhances her natural ability to convey crystal-clear imagery within thematically rich writing.
In pursuit of her creative vision, Arny enlisted producers Josh Kaufman, Andrew Berlin, Brad Cook, and Guðm. “Kiddi” Kristinn Jónsson. Josh Kaufman is best known for his work with Grateful Dead founder Bob Weir, The National, This Is The Kit, Hiss Golden Messenger, Josh Ritter, and The War on Drugs. Andrew Berlin, GRAMMY nominated for his work on Gregory Alan Isakov’s record ‘Evening Machines’, also mixes national punk rock staples such as A Wilhelm Scream, Rise Against, and Teenage Bottlerocket. Brad Cook served as a producer for Bon Iver, Big Red Machine, Waxahatchee, Hand Habits, Kevin Morby, and Whitney amongst others. Arny also returned to Iceland to record with her long-time collaborator and friend Kiddi Jónsson in Reykjavík, Iceland.
After a near-total silence of twenty years, Edith Frost is back again, and in full bloom with In Space. Her first new record since 2005"s It"s a Game is just in time - the world needs Edith"s voice back in the conversation. And her ineffable way with a tune . . . It seems Edith needed something, too: from the notebooks of her long hiatus, a line like "I say too much/I wait too long/I wait forever/And notice that it"s gone" speaks volumes about feelings of lack. Overwhelmed by the demands of day-to-day living and the details and anxieties that always come, Edith squirreled herself away for as long as she could - only to find herself isolated, spun even farther into the doldrums. In Space isn"t simply a song-cum-album title so much as a very real exploration of the remote place she"d found herself, with her songs registering this recognition and measuring the vast distances between herself, the life that is and the life that was. It was the only way back in! Over the years away, Edith was immersed in music everyday, and spent lots of time learning - in addition to new lyric perspectives, her reinvention of herself as a keyboard player is one of the waves lifting the album In Space. The keys suggested different places within Edith"s harmonic palette; for us listening, this attenuation seems to create a deep focus on emotional life within the songs and a breathtakingly visceral presence in the performances. Her voice as well, in all its iterations, sounds quite fine and vital. The songs, as ever, are low-key brilliance elevated by the vitality of Edith"s voice. Mark Greenberg, alongside longtime Frost A&R man Rian Murphy, brought fresh arrangement ideas to complement the strange-new-world vibe of Edith"s songs. Recorded at The Loft in Chicago, with invaluable contributions from Jim Becker (Califone, Air Blue Gowns), Sima Cunningham (Finom, formerly OHMME), Bill MacKay and Jeff Ragsdale, In Space feels like the most Edith Frost record yet made, pulled from deep inside with great feeling, awash in harmonized voices and - more often than ever before - featuring her own playing. Alternatively approaching and avowing connection, Edith"s crafty songwriting orbits the human exchange with an increasing sense of possibility. It"s what the world needs the most of today.
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First release of 2025 is The Coin EP Vol.3. Marcello Cassanelli is back on Ten Lovers Music with two stunning tracks and a beautiful outro solo on his Rhodes. Starlight kicks off side A with some superb Italian Disco for 2025, following that a trip to Cuba for Tropical Breeze on which Marcello employs long time collaborators and super talented Giulia Barozzi on vocals and Antonio Rapa on drums.
Across both tracks Marcello plays the keys, bass, flute, guitar and drum programming. Rounding off side A is Dream Horizon an improvised one minute beatless outro jam on the Rhodes. On the AA side we have a new project from Caruso and Helen McCormack. First up is Have and Hold which harks back to the Manchester Street Soul scene of the late 80’s. Very simply constructed with electronic drums, bass, piano and a lead synth on top of which Helen’s vocal sits perfectly. Second on side AA is Love You More, a very atmostpheric track written by Helen with the strings arranged by Cormac Fulton. The percussion is from fellow TLM artist Takashi Nakazato (Kyoto Jazz Massive/Jazztronik).
Both tracks were produced by Steve Conry who also assisted Jose Rico on the mixes. Finally to finish on side AA is Central, a beautiful Deep House instrumental using only real analogue synths like the Solina String Ensemble, ARP Odyssey and Oberheim Xpander, mixed by Steve Conry and Matt Cox
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"In celebration of its 20th Anniversary, Waxwork Records is proud to present THE RING Original Motion Picture Music by Hans Zimmer! This long anticipated release marks the first time that The Ring will be available on vinyl. The Ring is a 2002 supernatural horror film directed by Gore Verbinski and starring Naomi Watts and Brian Cox. It is a remake of Hideo Nakata’s 1998 Japanese horror film Ringu, based on Koji Suzuki’s 1991 eponymous novel. The plot follows a journalist who investigates an urban legend of a cursed videotape that seemingly kills the viewer seven days after watching it. The Ring was released on October 18, 2002 to positive reviews praising its atmosphere, visuals, and Watt’s performance. It is one of the highest grossing horror remakes and paved the way for English-language remakes of other Asian horror films such as The Grudge and Dark Water. The score by composed by Hans Zimmer is a dark symphonic orchestration that shifts from ghostly and melancholic to frightening and terror stricken. Constructed from a base of a piano, violins, synthesizer, and two cellos, Zimmer’s score is thoroughly effective in bringing the listener into the haunting space that is The Ring with dreadfully anxious strings, mournful keys, and rolling percussion. Zimmer creates a shadowy ambience that pulls you into the gripping ghost story. Waxwork Records is thrilled to present the full score to The Ring composed by Hans Zimmer for the very first time on vinyl as a deluxe double LP for the film’s 20th Anniversary. Featuring 180 gram “Samara & The Well” Green & Black Marbled Vinyl and “Cursed VHS Tape” Black with White Splatter Colored Vinyl, heavyweight gatefold jackets with matte satin coating, new art and design by Matt Needle, exclusive liner notes by director Gore Verbinski, a 12”x12” printed insert, and enthusiastic album packaging approvals from director Verbinski and composer Hans Zimmer.
Revolutionary DJ and producer Matador presents his exciting debut release for Hot Creations Wildside this July. It features two contrasting tracks that stay true to the ethos of the label synonymous with White Isle hedonism.
Wildside opens with spirited percussion of shakers and snare rolls, reverberating into a fuzzy and infectious bassline groove. The playful sample is looped over crazy effects and bright keys, before dropping into a final crescendo that will have feet stomping in unison. Sweet Release retains a classic deep house sound with dreamy chords and lush synth. The track develops with warm sub-bass, piano, arpeggiation and soulful vocals, resulting in a summertime anthem.
Matador has made his mark on the electronic music world since the very beginning, producing a BBC Radio 1 Essential Mix, becoming a brand ambassador for MODEL 1 and featuring in Resident Advisor’s ‘Top 20 Live Acts’ for three years in the early part of his career. In 2016 he launched his label RUKUS, releasing music from emerging and established artists alike. Spanning genres and formats he has made music for Sky TV and British Airways, his vinyl-only series Cyclone is firmly rooted in techno, whilst the stream only album Tuesday presents an exquisite take on ambient. His collaboration with Zurich’s Tonhalle Orchestra again highlighted his dexterity as a truly authentic musician. 2020 sees the launch of Matador’s podcast series focusing on studio gear and featuring interviews with touring artists. His new live performance ‘Live 2.0’ is also forthcoming and will feature hotly anticipated new music.
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After 25 years, eight albums, and countless gigs, BLEEDING THROUGH persist as a tried-and-true outlier in heavy music and culture. The Southern California stalwarts wield an enigmatic and unmistakable signature sound born at the cross roads of no-holds-barred hardcore, cutthroat thrash, and cinematic black metal.
Mastering a drastic push-and-pull, they have always occupied their own elevated realm in the extreme space, exhibiting a rare ability to not only incite a moshpit, but also invite complete immersion. It’s why they’ve endured changing tides and trends and stood strong as a force of nature with consistent critical acclaim and packed shows. However, the six-piece - Brandan Schieppati vocals, Derek Youngsma [drums], John Arnold [guitar], Ryan Wombacher [bass], Marta Peterson [keys, vocals] and Brandon Richter [guitar] - assuredly perfect this vision in 2025 on their aptly titled ninth full-length offering, NINE.
Mit "Nobody Loves You More" veröffentlicht Kim Deal am 22.11.24 auf 4AD ihr erstes Soloalbum. Die elf Songs umfassende Sammlung ist das erste Album der in Dayton, Ohio lebenden Künstlerin unter ihrem eigenen Namen. "Nobody Loves You More" ist Kim Deals Debütalbum, obwohl es nicht das erste Mal ist, dass sie einen Alleingang unternimmt - 2013 veröffentlichte sie im Eigenverlag eine fünfteilige Reihe von zehn Songs, die limitiert als 7" erschienen. Im Einklang mit Deals akribischer Herangehensweise an ihre Kunst, wurde das Album über mehrere Jahre hinweg verfeinert. Die ältesten Songs, "Are You Mine?" und "Wish I Was", wurden 2011 geschrieben und aufgenommen, kurz nachdem Deal von der "Lost Cities Tour" der Pixies zurückkam und nach Los Angeles umzog (frühe Versionen dieser Songs waren in der besagten Vinyl-Serie enthalten). Die letzten Aufnahmen für "Nobody Loves You More" fanden im November 2022 mit dem legendären Tontechniker und engen Freund Steve Albini statt, der den letzten Track "A Good Time Pushed" in seinem Electrical Audio Studio in Chicago einspielte. Auf dem Weg dorthin hat sie eine Vielzahl von Mitstreitern aus der Vergangenheit und Gegenwart hinzugezogen, von den Breeders (Mando Lopez, Zwillingsschwester Kelley Deal, Jim Macpherson, Britt Walford) oder auch Raymond McGinley (Teenage Fanclub), Jack Lawrence (Raconteurs) sowie Fay Milton und Ayse Hassan von den Savages. "Nobody Loves You More" wurde von Marta Salogni gemischt und von Heba Kadry gemastert. Zu jedem Song gibt es eine persönliche Geschichte. Sie handeln von den Winterferien mit ihren Eltern auf den Florida Keys ("Summerland"), einem Hochzeitsband-Cover von "Margaritaville" ("Coast") oder auch der Demenz ihrer Mutter ("Are You Mine?"). Die Platte zelebriert Deals unvergleichliche Kunstfertigkeit, die nicht nur auf die Höhepunkte ihrer Karriere mit gefeierten Bands der Alternative-Landschaft (Pixies, The Amps, The Breeders) verweist, sondern auch auf ihr unverrückbares kulturelles Gewicht, das über Generationen hinweg Musiker und Musikerinnen wie Kurt Cobain und Olivia Rodrigo beeinflusst hat.
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Action Bronson, the Flushing, Queens chef-turned-rapper / food show personality releases his major label full length debut 'Mr. Wonderful,' via Vice / Atlantic. The album features production from Noah '40' Shebib, three time Grammy Award winner Mark Ronson, The Alchemist, 88 Keys and long time collaborator / cohort Party Supplies. 'Mr. Wonderful', which also includes guest spots from Chance the Rapper, Party Supplies, Big Body Bes and Meyhem Lauren, catapults Bronson into new territory with sonically voluminous production while staying true to the mixtape aesthetic that has made him so popular in the hip hop community and beyond. This is an album that is the sum of its parts, with meticulously crafted segues into each track creating a fluid, tightly woven work. Notably the album includes a Billy Joel sample approved by the man himself on 'Brand New Car' due to a hand written note from both Action Bronson and Mark Ronson exclaiming their admiration to the New York legend; a rare feat achieved by few. The atmospherically layered second single 'Action Crazy' shows how far Bronson has come since his highly lauded mixtape Blue Chips 2 and is just a piece of the puzzle that is 'Mr. Wonderful'.LP - US vinyl. Comes with CD.
2025 marks the vinyl release of Changes 2, the pioneering album by legendary vocalist, keys player and composer Mike Lindup.
A remarkably engaging body of work with wide ranging elements, Changes 2 plots a course through upfront soul, deep funk, jazz riffs and disco vibes, tied together with the melodic magic and engaging vocals for which Mike Lindup is widely known.
As an internationally renowned musician with decades of achievements and accolades, Mike Lindup's outstanding career has taken him on a unique journey. With the band Level 42, he consolidated a place in music history with some of the greatest hits of the era, gaining a dedicated fanbase that see the band still touring to this day. As a soloist, the first Changes album and a notable release on Naim records, as well as his work with UK/Brazilian outfit Da Lata, have all allowed further development of a burgeoning creativity, now ultimately culminating in Changes 2 - an enthralling representation of where Mike Lindup is today.
Changes 2 features various excellent guest artists that demonstrate the diverse nature of the album, including the stellar vocals of Omar and Tony Momrelle, bass magic from Yolanda Charles and even an appearance from the comedian and impressionist Jon Culshaw! The album has also inspired two funk- fuelled dance remixes from Dave Lee and the inimitable Louis Vega. All of these talented individuals enhance the project greatly, making valuable contributions to Mike Lindup's distinguished work.
Speaking about the album, Mike Lindup says: "Changes - so many since I began recording this album, and as the saying goes, the one thing you can be sure of in this life. During the four years of making this album I've been reflecting on the world as I see it, the actors and actions on this grand stage of life, love, death, prejudice, politics, separation, longing, hopes and dreams. Musically, many of the seeds of these songs took hold a while ago and wouldn't let go, but to be fulfilled they needed input and inspiration from my producers Toni and Mike, and the talents of the singers and musicians that are featured within. My wish is that some of these themes will resonate with you."
With Gilles Peterson, undoubtedly one of the UK's most influential DJ's and tastemakers describing Mike Lindup as "one of his all-time favourite vocalists" and high praise from many other leading music broadcasters and writers, Changes 2 destined to be enjoyed by a multitude of discerning music and vinyl lovers the world over.
Straight outta Rockaway Beach, Queens, New York City, USA, THE WORLD, Prison is a state of mind, an experience, a loose collective, a band, a jam band and a bunch of psychedelic dudes who aren"t your average bunch of jambanders. All that, all at once, ALL THE TIME. You get what you"re dealing with here? No...you don"t. The only way to REALLY get it is to go to Prison -- and if you"re not from greater NYC and haven"t showed at any of the shows, here"s your best bet: their breakout album, Upstate. And whatta breakout! So high, you can"t get under it; so wide, you can"t get over it! How wide? Every song has two titles, that"s how wide. And almost everybody sings, like, all the time. That wide. Sure, you can break down the numbers -- five guys, five songs and four sides of vinyl in one gatefold sleeve -- but that won"t get you Upstate, either. Prison is the sound of everybody in the room figuring out where to go, individually and collectively. As they go through it, the meaning changes, the destination changes, the words mean something different. It"s meaning and no meaning, rising and falling, sinking and flying on the back of something massive cacophonized by three guitars, four vocals, a bass and drums. A lot of information bouncing around and enough time to really get you out of yourself! Take a look at the titles: each one a dichotomous inquest that the assembled Prison-ers march upon with fervor, glee, vengeance -- a whole spectrum of feels and perspectives woven into the jam for you to see. The Prison population changes with the seasons, and during the season this album was recorded, Sarim Al-Rawi, Mike Fellows, Sam Jayne, Matt Lilly and Paul Major were in Prison. Sarim you might know from Liquor Store, Mike"s made a bunch of scenes and records as Mighty Flashlight, Sam, who passed away in 2020 (R.I.P., brother) was in Love as Laughter -- and Paul Major you know from Endless Boogie, who Matt had roadied for -- and despite being "just a skateboarder who loves music" with no previous experience on the drums, he and Sarim inaugurated the Prison experience, like, seven years ago. Since then, it just fell together and it keeps doing so. A free thing called Prison.
"577 Records’ The Sea, The Space, and Egypt, Vol. 1 is what happened when old friends and a new connection united in the name of music. A heartfelt tribute to the great Sun Ra, the otherworldly album debuts the collaborative gifts of Michael Sarian (on the trumpet), Matthew Putman (on the keys), Federico Ughi (on the drums), and up-and-coming Cuban bassist Ledian Mola.
Sure, most of these musicians have played together in the past. Sarian and Putman have made many albums together, while Putman and Ughi have conspired on melodies for fifteen years. However, we guarantee you have never heard them all in one spot like this.
Alabama’s Sun Ra rose to the top of the Chicago music scene in the 1940s with something unprecedented. A cosmic pioneer of Afrofuturism, he became known for his diverse and unique avant-garde experimentalism. Modern artists champion him as a true innovator.
The new band revives the late Sun Ra’s magic in this appropriately named new release. Matthew Putman even plays the same keyboard model as the experimental music icon (the Rocksichord). Even the cover art is a nod to Sun Ra's ancient Egyptian influences, featuring an upside-down pyramid over a galactic setting created by Robert Mirolo.
Meanwhile, Ledian Mola adds vocals inspired by Cuban folklore to these incredible improvisations. The album marks Mola’s first time recording with the other artists in the group (and 577 Records), but you would never know it. Their abstract rhythms sound like they’ve been playing together for a lifetime! He was hand-chosen for this project from 577 Records’ 2022 SOF music residency in Italy and has performed at several of the New York Forward Festival's live events."
Trumpet by Michael Sarian.
Keyboards by Matthew Putman.
Bass by Ledian Mola.
Drums by Federico Ughi.
Jamwax proudly presents the reissue of Laurel Aitken’s iconic 1966 single, showcasing two R&B dancefloor gems: Last Night and the soulful classic Don’t Break Your Promises. Originally released on the Rainbow label in the UK, this 7-inch record captures the essence of Aitken’s versatility and his pivotal role in bridging the Jamaican and British music scenes.
Last Night draws direct inspiration from the sounds of The Mar-Keys (1961) and Georgie Fame (1966), reflecting the influence of R&B rhythms on Aitken’s work. This release marked a milestone in his career as he gained increasing popularity in the UK, particularly among the mod and skinhead subcultures.
As for Don’t Break Your Promises, it is a cover of Milson Luce’s 1956 release on the Argo label. The song was already a hit in Jamaica, having been licensed the same year by Dada Tewari on his Downbeat imprint. Following Aitken’s rendition, the song inspired several Jamaican covers, including versions by Dandy (1972, Trojan), The Chosen Few (1973, Studio One), and John Holt (1973, Bunny Lee).
Nicknamed the "Godfather of Ska," Laurel Aitken was born Lorenzo Aitken on April 22, 1927, in Cuba. He moved to Jamaica at the age of 11 and became a central figure in the development of ska during the 1950s and 1960s. Before shaping the emerging ska sound, he recorded mento and calypso, laying the foundation for his groundbreaking contributions. His prolific recording career in England included numerous singles on legendary labels such as Blue Beat, Pama Records, and Trojan Records. Aitken’s legacy as a pioneer of Jamaican music and his influence on British subcultures firmly establish him as a key figure in the global evolution of ska and reggae.
Originally released in 1966
Licensed courtesy of Cherry Red Records Limited
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The Diary Of Alicia Keys', released in 2003, was her multi-award winning, multi-million selling, second album. According to The Times, it is the album 'that secures her place in musical history' and is home to the billion streaming 'If I Ain't Got You', as well as the mega-hit 'You Don't Know My Name' and 'Karma'. A x15 trk, double, Black LP Vinyl. Promo & marketing activity across both releases..
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For 'The Ones', Chicago House and Disco producer, Rahaan has pulled together a plethora of musicians and vocalists to create a smokestack of soul fuelled excellence on this ten track album. From the amazing vocals courtesy of Marcus J. Austin and Nancy Clayton on the opener, 'We Are The Ones', through the amazing instrumental City Rain Supreme and the vocals of Spike Rebel on the anthemic 'Forever', this album absolutely excels. The promise made on the original three track EP released on BBE Music in the Summer of 2023 is well and truly delivered on. Working with live musicians throughout the recording process has added layers of finesse and genuinely unfeigned authenticity in the overall sound of this album. Carnell Newbill's basslines and keys, Todd Swope's Afrobeat inspired guitar licks and the horns of Ohio Players legend Kenny Anderson all blend organically with the aforementioned vocalists to create an album of sublime music befitting the best traditions of the Chicago House canon. Rahaan Young is a DJ and producer who has been DJing since playing at parties in his native Chicago the 1980s. As a DJ he's enjoyed residencies at both The Spot and Buddha Lounge as well as entertaining and moving dance floors around the globe with DJ sets that show his music knowledge and exquisite taste. The Ones is mastered at the Grammy nominated Carvery Studios and will be released on vinyl and digital on BBE Music, adding to the catalogue of innovative and highly pertinent releases from artists, musicians and producers from across the world.
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A longtime banner carrier for fiercely independent DIY punk in the UK, Wonk Unit are teaming with Pirates Press Records to release their ninth studio LP, Good Good Glad To Hear It. Based in the South London town of Croydon, the band has its origins in lead singer, songwriter, & guitarist Alex Wonk's experience in rehab 25 years ago, where he found journaling & sharing his experience with others liberating. After completing his time in hospital, Alex set about crafting songs from his "addiction journals," and from this sharing of unvarnished honesty, Wonk Unit was born. The 12 songs on Good Good Glad To Hear It are the diverse fruits of a long term process of songwriting and collaboration that takes the listener on an emotional journey. "These songs need to be written. They all had, for whatever reason, a burning desire to be released from my head," says Alex, who estimates that more than half of the vocals, guitars, and keys on the finished product were recorded as voice notes using nothing more than his cell phone mic. Aside from "EQ magic" courtesy of long term engineer & co-producer Andy Brook, there is no studio trickery to hide behind, and what appears on the record are the raw takes as played by Alex and his bandmates Vez, Max, Pwosion, Ryan, and AJ, as well as a group of studio collaborators adding instrumentation such as keys, horns, and banjo.The confessional spirit & emotional honesty of the songwriting shines through in every song on the record, such as the opening track & lead single, a "sad, depressing song about addiction" titled "Rapidly Declining Dignity," which recalls Alex's journals, or the song "Overwhelmed," in which the songwriter turns his focus to his relationship with his daughter in the aftermath of his marriage falling apart. "Those were the saddest, most precious, painful, terrifying times of my life," he shares, before adding, "Things are good now." Ultimately, these songs could only be written by someone who survived to tell the story. Just as journaling and sharing with others in rehab helped Alex to get sober and see a way through to the next stage of life, sharing songs that speak the truth of his experiences with the band's audience continues to carry him through life's ongoing struggles. Consequently, the band has attracted a large and diverse group of devoted fans who immediately recognize that these are true stories of resilience that can serve as a touchstone in their own lives. The true stories on Good Good Glad To Hear It are certain to find their way to even more.
Comprising someof Denmark"s most prominent young musicians, Copenhagen"s trailblazing neo-jazz quintet OTOOTO refer to their innovative blend of jazz tradition and modern indie-pop as "homeshake meets the jazz messengers". Their third studio album"2nd Quake" is set to release on November 8th on April Records. OTOOTO, consisting of Jonas Due (trumpet and flugelhorn), Oilly Wallace (alto sax and flute), Calle Brickman (keys), Andreas Svendsen (drums and percussion), and Matthias Petri (bass), has been a fixture on both the Danish and international jazz scenes since their 2021 debut "This Love Is For You". Their new release marks a new chapter in their journey, reflecting a bold, mature artistic vision that promises to cement their place as leaders in Scandinavian contemporary jazz. "Our mission is to reflect the modern society and put a sound to its vibrations. And through this sound we seek to transmit purity, love, and joy." Navigating through a wide array of inspirations from 70"s rock and European church music, to the pioneering sounds of Jean-Michel Jarre and Vangelis, the five piece - led by trumpeter Jonas Due and saxophonist Oilly Wallace - self describe their sound as"a roaring sea of analogue synths and velvety horns". Featuring eight meticulously composed original pieces, 2nd Quakebalances strong memorable melodies with intricate orchestration, a continuous sense of groove, thick layers of texture and fearless, lyrical improvisations. A collaboration with electronic producer Sofie Birch, the record is an electro-organic sonic exploration of the union between acoustic instrumental timbres and electronic manipulation, spearheaded by the sound of the legendary Juno 106 synth alongside stellar jazz-informed musician-ship.
Performed by:
Bob Anderson - drums
David Archibald - vocals
Jessica Argo - cello/theremin
Sophie Askew - harp
Ronan Breslin - keys
Jen Cunnion - vocals
Mark Ferrari – bass guitar/vocals
Therese Martin - vocals
Sarah Martin - vocals
Olivia McLean – cello
Simon Whittle – guitars/vocals
Recorded at La Chunky Studios, Glasgow by Ronan Breslin, and mixed/mastered by Johnny Smillie.
Kumio Kurachi is a Japanese singer-songwriter who has been active since the 1980's.
This is his 11th solo album and only the second to be released outside of Japan following ‘Sound of Turning Earth’ (2018) on bison. Though his songs are written and performed primarily on guitar, “Open Today” is a return to Kurachi’s full, multi-instrumental recording style - featuring drums, bass, strings, keys and Kurachi’s rich, distinctive vocals in multiple voicings. Incredibly, all instrumental performances and arrangements were performed and recorded by Kurachi himself - marking a brilliant return to the fully fleshed out visionary world we fell in love with on Supermarket Chitose (Enban, 2006). The super fine detail and dense landscapes of ‘Open Today’ should come as no surprise really - Kurachi is an illustrator by trade and it bleeds right through to his music. Even to the non-native speaker Kurachi’s vocals hold centre stage - at times enormous and thundering over urgent guitar and toms, then switching to softly spoken words amongst keys. Frequently Kurachi multiplies, whether multitracking himself or summoning voices for the characters he writes from sightings on train platforms or supermarkets. His lyrics - translated to English for both formats - are more like poetry, and though written about the mundane they quickly become surreal, bringing the quality of dreams into the everyday. The hours spent on buses, trains or walking home towards a cheap flat - familiar to us all - are catalysts for microcosms of detail.
Again, we shouldn’t be surprised - Kurachi is well known in Japan for winning the national championship of NHK's "Poetry Boxing" in 2002, which also might explain his amazing Discogs photo. Poet, illustrator, multi-instrumentalist - Kurachi is thought of by many as a genius. He’s worked with Jim O’Rourke, Tori Kudo, Eiko Ishibashi and Taku Unami (who did the mastering on this LP). There are lines to be drawn between Kurachi and Kazuki Tomokawa or Kan Mikami, but also Francis Plagne and Fairport Convention.
Ultimately though there is nothing else like it - it’s a brand of strange songcraft that’s totally captivating.
Hitting Number 1 in 19 countries on release, Hackney Diamonds marked the return of The Rolling Stones as their first original studio album since 2005’s A Bigger Bang.
The album includes the GRAMMY nominated lead single Angry alongside Sweet Sounds of Heaven featuring vocals from Lady Gaga and keys & piano from Stevie Wonder.
Late drummer Charlie Watts features on two tracks, ‘Mess It Up’ and ‘Live By The Sword’ alongside Bill Wyman. The album also includes collaborations with Paul McCartney & Elton John.
This special limited edition 1 year anniversary 2LP version of Hackney Diamonds includes Live at Racket NYC featuring the 7 tracks the band performed at the intimate launch event in New York on 19th October 2023 with debut live performances of Angry, Bite My Head Off, Whole Wide World and Sweet Sounds of Heaven with Lady Gaga. The 24 page booklet includes photos from the performance by Kevin Mazur.
Coming off a successful transatlantic exchange, Brian Kage and his Michigander label keep the momentum, and the collaborative spirit, moving with an EP that hits closer to home. For any Detroit artist, working with Delano Smith would be on the bucket list, as one of the city's original, more influential DJs — before the D developed any of its "waves" — who would come into his own as a producer later to, once again, help mold the Techno City's sound. Make no mistakes about it, this tastemaker had a ripple effect back before techno even had a name, when it was just "progressive" music and mixing. The thing is, the feeling of admiration and respect here is mutual, from the moment Smith first stumbled across one of Kage's records and had to know who was making these sounds. This meeting of the minds happened organically and timely, with Keep 'em Movin’ as the result.
Opening the release is the title track, a driving number with pulsating synth tones and deep, call and response piano stabs. The ever so slightly pitched down vocals are modern and effortlessly cool, a style that resonates with today's dancefloors, but done tastefully, and with lyrical content that sets the record straight about what it really means to represent Detroit.
"D Spirit" takes an ancestral turn. This is spaced-out Detroit techno meets afro deep at its finest. Forward moving keys are bathed in deep, celestial pads as shuffling hats accented by light hand percussion beckon the body to move. Lively marimbas cut through the hypnotic undertones and awaken the senses with soulful appeal. A fluid bassline rumbles beneath while baroque pianos add tension and heighten the atmosphere.
The final track rounds the release out with an exclamation mark. For lovers of Delano Smith's infamous remix of "A
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Multi-talented artist Poppy Ajudha will be announcing her sophomore album, titled ‘Poppy’, which will be released 22nd November 2024. This follows Poppy’s triumphant return to releasing music this year with the release of 'My Future', following a two year hiatus. ‘Poppy’ was created alongside Mike Malchicoff (Kanye West/King Princess) with contributions from the likes of producers Maestro (Rihanna), Fred Ball (Alicia Keys/Raye/Mariah Carey), Grades, (Kali Uchis, Dua Lipa, Britney Spears), and Travis Sayles (Ariana Grande).
Poppy says: “I can’t believe I’m writing this, but my sophomore album is finally coming out! After numerous trips back and forth from London to LA, millions of revisions to perfect each song and a lot of moving the track listing around, I’ve made an album I’m so in love with, with people who I felt truly seen by, who I respected and found a natural synergy with. I really put everything into this album, it is a reflection of my growth over the last 2 years, an outward pouring of my raw vulnerability, the inner workings of my chaotic brain and the deep desire I have to challenge myself with everything I do. I’m really proud of what we made, and I hope that when you hear it, it means something to you too.
Thank so much to all the special people who contributed to the making of this project, the producers, engineers, musicians, visual creatives, the friends who listened to me while I processed my life in order to write it down, I wouldn’t have been able to manifest this dream without you.”
Alongside the announcement of her upcoming album, Poppy has also released new single ‘Lean On Me’, a bold pop banger about the importance of community and showing support for each other even during challenging moments. ‘Lean On Me’ was written by Poppy with production from Wesley Singerman (Kendrick Lamar/Anderson Paak).
On ‘Lean On Me’, Poppy says: “We realise true friendship in the moments we are most vulnerable with each other. When I wrote ‘Lean On Me’ I was going through a breakup and struggling to make sense of my world. My friend who was experiencing their own kind of grieving found the time to give me the advice I needed, and the next day I wrote this song about the power of friendship, community, unconditional love and showing up for each other through our hardest times.”
Mit "Nobody Loves You More" veröffentlicht Kim Deal am 22.11.24 auf 4AD ihr erstes Soloalbum. Die elf Songs umfassende Sammlung ist das erste Album der in Dayton, Ohio lebenden Künstlerin unter ihrem eigenen Namen. "Nobody Loves You More" ist Kim Deals Debütalbum, obwohl es nicht das erste Mal ist, dass sie einen Alleingang unternimmt - 2013 veröffentlichte sie im Eigenverlag eine fünfteilige Reihe von zehn Songs, die limitiert als 7" erschienen. Im Einklang mit Deals akribischer Herangehensweise an ihre Kunst, wurde das Album über mehrere Jahre hinweg verfeinert. Die ältesten Songs, "Are You Mine?" und "Wish I Was", wurden 2011 geschrieben und aufgenommen, kurz nachdem Deal von der "Lost Cities Tour" der Pixies zurückkam und nach Los Angeles umzog (frühe Versionen dieser Songs waren in der besagten Vinyl-Serie enthalten). Die letzten Aufnahmen für "Nobody Loves You More" fanden im November 2022 mit dem legendären Tontechniker und engen Freund Steve Albini statt, der den letzten Track "A Good Time Pushed" in seinem Electrical Audio Studio in Chicago einspielte. Auf dem Weg dorthin hat sie eine Vielzahl von Mitstreitern aus der Vergangenheit und Gegenwart hinzugezogen, von den Breeders (Mando Lopez, Zwillingsschwester Kelley Deal, Jim Macpherson, Britt Walford) oder auch Raymond McGinley (Teenage Fanclub), Jack Lawrence (Raconteurs) sowie Fay Milton und Ayse Hassan von den Savages. "Nobody Loves You More" wurde von Marta Salogni gemischt und von Heba Kadry gemastert. Zu jedem Song gibt es eine persönliche Geschichte. Sie handeln von den Winterferien mit ihren Eltern auf den Florida Keys ("Summerland"), einem Hochzeitsband-Cover von "Margaritaville" ("Coast") oder auch der Demenz ihrer Mutter ("Are You Mine?"). Die Platte zelebriert Deals unvergleichliche Kunstfertigkeit, die nicht nur auf die Höhepunkte ihrer Karriere mit gefeierten Bands der Alternative-Landschaft (Pixies, The Amps, The Breeders) verweist, sondern auch auf ihr unverrückbares kulturelles Gewicht, das über Generationen hinweg Musiker und Musikerinnen wie Kurt Cobain und Olivia Rodrigo beeinflusst hat.
On alene et, Michaela Turcerová, a Copenhagen-based, Slovakia born musician, takes minutiae — the tiniest scrapes and breathiest hums — and distorts them into sprawling, collaged webs that barely resemble the instrument in its natural state. Each shard, when pieced together, makes a rhythmic, undulating sound born from the subtlest motions.
Alene et marks Turcerová’s debut as a soloist, putting a spotlight on the exploratory approach she has developed on her own and across a variety of collaborations. She has long studied the quiet excavation of her instrument, pulling it apart to find a new vocabulary. To develop this language, she unearths shards of sound from the instrument, muting it or bringing out its scratchiness and grittiness. Primarily working with open-ended scores and improvisation, she is inspired by various percussive music, looking to deep sonic awareness to guide her. As a soloist, her music harkens to the abstracted electronics present across the Editions Mego catalog or the distorted ruminations of Nyege Nyege tapes. And no matter where she goes, she is constantly in the pursuit of the unknown — the hidden elements of music that come to life through experimentation and listening.
With alene et, Turcerová presents her singular language on the saxophone to the fullest. To make this music, she placed many microphones close to her instrument, zeroing in to each sound and examining it from multiple different angles. She emphasizes the percussive possibilities of her instrument, puzzle-piecing each note into pulsating webs. Each track highlights a different side of the saxophone — the bristling distortion and amplification of a column of air as it blows through her saxophone’s body, the trickling tapping of the keys as she places her fingers onto them.
At its core, alene et presents Turcerová’s curiosity. The saxophone lives many different lives within her hands, shapeshifting through the uncovering of its possibilities. She shows us how the instrument is an ever-changing entity, a distorted and blown out drone with a thousand shards poking out from inside of it. But more than just a showcase of an individual instrument, alene et feels like a statement of the act of exploration. Turcerová is an excavator, always looking for new worlds hidden within her saxophone, and leaving room for more to come alive with each listen.
As with most things, this project started with a conversation in the pub between me and Martin.
As we discussed what J-Walk and BiD could do next we chatted about our mutual love of DIY, Post Punk, Reggae, Digital & Dub, how about using that feel as an initial jump off on the next thing and see how you get on? I suggested.
As is his way Martin considered the suggestion, then promptly disappeared, 6 weeks later something landed in my inbox, it was titled Broken Beauty and the music contained embraced all those symbiotic ideals and culture.
Nailed it!
Recorded entirely in Stockport using a mixed kit bag of cheap forgotten keyboards, guitar, bass and effects pedals, this LP takes the J-Walk aesthetic and applies the wider palette of these influences to create something unique, those past and present influences forged together to bring you something truly DIY - instructions below.
How To Make Such A Thing...
Deactivate social media. Ignore the internet, don't answer text messages, avoid other music, the telly and other people. This is a process where it's only you in the room with whatever's in your mind. You will be there for some time and the loneliness can hurt a little.
Forget any predetermined ideas. Forget everything you've ever done before. This is an opportunity to start from scratch, but with years of accumulated knowledge and craftsmanship. Trust yourself.
Be scared. Be excited about not knowing what will happen and what will result.
Don't use midi sequencing, virtual instruments or samples. Just plug a toy instrument into an amp, press a rhythm and play around to see what happens. If it sounds good and fresh then record it. Plug a bass in to jam around and you'll soon hear and feel what sits in the pocket of the beat. Record it as it is. Dirty is real and good. Cleanliness equals sterility. Loop the bassline. Plug a guitar in and do the same.
Don't think when doing any of this. Just experiment with interest and curiosity and the music will take care of itself. You will now have a groove which is also about half a song minimum. Play some keys from the toys on top of what you have. Put 'em through effects pedals. Again, don't overthink it and don't try to get it clean. Add sound effects in right and random places.
There you go. Something you've never made before. But more importantly, it's something you've never heard before.
You don't have to die to be reincarnated.
BROKEN BEAUTY...You can't be either without also having been the other.
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The Hunting Party wurde im Juni 2014 veröffentlicht und ist das sechste Studioalbum von Linkin Park. Das 12-Track-Album enthält die Singles „Final Masquerade“, „Until It's Gone“ und „Guilty All The Same“. Auf diesem Album sind mehrere Gastmusiker von Linkin Park zu hören: Daron Malakian (System of a Down), Page Hamilton (Helmet), Tom Morello (Rage Against The Machine / Audioslave) und Rakim. Diese limitierte Auflage ist auf blauem, durchscheinendem Vinyl gepresst.
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Alternative Jazz. This is a 5 track EP of brand new, previously unreleased material from The Near Jazz Experience (Terry Edwards, Mark Bedford and Simon Charterton). Whilst recording the new album Terry asked pianist Mike Garson (best known for his work with David Bowie, Nine Inch Nails, Smashing Pumpkins) - whom Terry has toured with if he'd like to play on a track. Mike said yes, recorded a stupendous solo for Character Actor at his home studio and sent it over. All in the space of 24 hours! On hearing the piano part NJE bassist Mark Bedford came up with the idea of having the piano mixed with the original track (as intended) but also using it as the basis for a completely new recording with the piano leading rather than complementing the band. Side 1 of the EP has these two very different versions from the same seed. Unidentical twins indeed. Side 2 of the EP contains 4 outliers from the album sessions. These aren't out-takes or unfinished pieces. They simply couldn't find a place for themselves within the album - along the lines of the tunes Tom Waits put together for his Orphans compilation of 2006. They are standalone tunes which have found a home together on this EP because in some way they all have filmic qualities. Side 1 contains 2 takes on Character Actor (the title being a nod to Cracked Actor, a tune on Aladdin Sane, the album that introduced Bowie fans to Mike Garson), and Side 2 has The Loping Four; Projector; MacGuffin and Lockstep, all titles which contain strong cinematic elements, MacGuffin in particular. It was Alfred Hitchcock's favourite word for a red herring in the plot. The musical cast on this release has a remarkable pedigree. The NJE consists of Terry Edwards (solo artist and session player with PJ Harvey, Franz Ferdinand, Siouxsie, Jimi Tenor, Piroshka, Tindersticks etc); Mark Bedford (Madness, Robert Wyatt, Robyn Hitchcock, Nightingales etc); Simon Charterton (The Higsons, Alex Harvey, Zook, Serious Drinking etc). Alongside featured guest Mike Garson there is an appearance by Oliver Cherer (Aircooled, Miki Berenyi Band) on keys and synth. This is an RSD exclusive, 500 copies on black vinyl in full colour sleeve which reflects the filmic quality of the recorded material. No download. The title track will appear on the next Near Jazz Experience studio album. The 4 additional tracks, however, will remain exclusive to Record Store Day.
Camelot, the legendary seat of King Arthur's court in Early Middle Ages Britain, was probably not a real place. A corruption of the name of a real Romano-Briton city, the word "Camelot" accumulated symbolic, mythic resonances over centuries, until achieving its present usage as a near-synonym of "utopia." In the mid-20th century alone, Camelot inspired an explosion of representations and appropriations, among them the violent, affectless Arthurian court of Robert Bresson's 1974 film Lancelot du Lac and the absurdist iteration of Monty Python's 1975 Holy Grail, both of which feature armored knights erupting into fountains of blood; the mystical Welsh world of novelist John Cowper Powys's profoundly weird 1951 novel Porius, with its Roman cults, wizards and witches, and wanton giants; and the nationalist nostalgia of President John F. Kennedy's White House. Unsurprisingly there are fewer Camelots in more recent memory. Camelot, Canadian songwriter Jennifer Castle's extraordinary, moving 2024 chronicle of the artist in early middle age, charts a realer, more rooted, and more metaphorical place than the fabled Camelot of the Early Middle Ages (or its myriad depictions), but it too is a space more psychic than physical. In Castle's Camelot, the fantastic interpenetrates the mundane, and the Grail, if there is one, distills everyday experience into art and art into faith, subliming terrestrial concerns into sublime celestial prayers to Mother Nature, and to the unfolding process of perfecting imperfection in one's own nature. Co-produced by Jennifer and longtime collaborator Jeff McMurrich, her seventh record is at once her most monumental and unguarded to date, demonstrating a mastery of rendering her verse and melodies alike with crisply poignant economy. For all their pointedly plainspoken lyrical detail and exhilarating full-band musical flourishes, these songs sound inevitable, eternal as morning devotions. "Back in Camelot," she sings on the lilting, vulnerable title track, "I really learned a lot / circles in the crops and / sky-high geometry." The album opens with a candid admission of sleeping "in the unfinished basement," an embarrassing joke that comes true. But the dreamer is redeemed by dreaming, setting sail in her airborne bed above "sirens and desert deities." If she questions her own agency_whether she is "wishing stones were standing" or just "pissing in the wind"_it does not diminish the ineffable existential jolt of such signs and wonders. This abiding tension between belief and doubt, magic and pragmatism, self and other, sacred and profane, and even, arguably, paganism and monotheism, suffuses these ten songs, which limn an interior landscape shot through with sunstriped shadows of "multi-felt dimensions" both mystical and quotidian. The epic scale and transport of "Camelot," with its swooning strings, gives way dramatically to "Some Friends," an acoustic-guitar-and-vocals meditation in miniature on Janus-faced friends and the lunar and solar temperatures of their promises_"bright and beaming verses" versus hot curses_which recalls her minimalist last album, 2020's achingly intimate Monarch Season. (In a symmetrical sequencing gesture, the penultimate track, the incantatory "Earthsong," bookends the central six with a similarly spare solo performance and coiled chord progression, this time an ambiguous appeal to _ a wounded lover? a wounded saint? our wounded planet?) Those whom "Trust" accuses of treacherous oaths spit through "gilded and golden tooth"_cynics, critics, hypocrites, gurus, scientists, doctors, lovers, government, the so-called entertainment industry_sow uncertainty that can infect the artist, as in "Louis": "What's that dance / and can it be done? What's that song / and can it be sung?" Answering affirmatively are "Lucky #8," an irrepressible ode to dancing as a bulwark against the "tidal pools of pain" and the "theory of collapse," and "Full Moon in Leo," which finds the narrator dancing around the house with a broom, wearing nothing but her underwear and "big hair." But the central question remains: who can we trust, and at what cost faith, in art or angels or otherwise? Castle's confidence in her collaborators is the cornerstone of Camelot. Carl Didur (piano and keys), Evan Cartwright (drums and percussion), and steadfast sideman Mike Smith (bass) comprise a rhythm section of exquisite delicacy and depth. This fundamental trio anchors the airiness of regular backing vocalists Victoria Cheong and Isla Craig and frames the guitars of Castle, McMurrich, and Paul Mortimer (and on "Lucky #8," special guest Cass McCombs). Reprising his decennial role on Castle's beloved 2014 Pink City, Owen Pallett arranged the strings for Estonia's FAMES Skopje Studio Orchestra. On the ravishing country-soul ballad "Blowing Kisses"_Pallett's crowning achievement here, which can be heard in its entirety in the penultimate episode of the third season of FX's The Bear_Jennifer contemplates time and presence, love and prayer_and how songwriting and poetry both manifest and limit all four dimensions: "No words to fumble with / I'm not a beggar to language any longer." Such rare moments of speechlessness_"I'm so fucking honoured," she bluntly proclaims_suggest a state "only a god could come up with." (If Camelot affirms Castle as one of the great song-poets of her generation, she is not immune to the despairing linguistic beggary that plagues all writers.) Camelot evinces a thoroughgoing faith not only in the natural world_including human bodies, which can, miraculously, dance and swim and bleed and embrace and birth_but also in our interpretations of and interventions in it: the "charts and diagrams" of "Lucky #8," a daydreamt billboard on Fairfax Ave. in LA in "Full Moon in Leo," the bloody invocations of the organ-stained "Mary Miracle," and all manner of water worship, rivers in particular. (Notably, Jennifer has worked as a farmer and a doula.) The album ends with "Fractal Canyon"'s repeated, exalted insistence that she's "not alone here." But where is here? The word "utopia" itself constitutes a pun, indicating in its ambiguous first syllable both the Greek "eutopia," or "good-place"_the facet most remembered today_and "outopia," or "no-place," a negative, impossible geography of the mind. Utopia, like its metonym Camelot, is imaginary. Or as fellow Canadian songwriter Neil Young once sang, "Everyone knows this is nowhere." "Can you see how I'd be tempted," Castle asks out of nowhere, held in the mystery, "to pretend I'm not alone and let the memory bend?"
. For Fans Of: The Weather Station, Weyes Blood, Adrianne Lenker, Phoebe Bridgers, Joan Shelley, Lana Del Rey, Cass McCombs, Angel Olsen & Neil Young. Camelot, the legendary seat of King Arthur’s court in Early Middle Ages Britain, was probably not a real place. A corruption of the name of a real Romano-Briton city, the word “Camelot” accumulated symbolic, mythic resonances over centuries, until achieving its present usage as a near-synonym of “utopia.” In the mid-20th century alone, Camelot inspired an explosion of representations and appropriations, among them the violent, affectless Arthurian court of Robert Bresson’s 1974 film Lancelot du Lac and the absurdist iteration of Monty Python’s 1975 Holy Grail, both of which feature armoured knights erupting into fountains of blood; the mystical Welsh world of novelist John Cowper Powys’s profoundly weird 1951 novel Porius, with its Roman cults, wizards and witches, and wanton giants; and the nationalist nostalgia of President John F. Kennedy’s White House. Unsurprisingly there are fewer Camelots in more recent memory. Camelot, Canadian songwriter Jennifer Castle’s extraordinary, moving 2024 chronicle of the artist in early middle age, charts a realer, more rooted, and more metaphorical place than the fabled Camelot of the Early Middle Ages (or its myriad depictions), but it too is a space more psychic than physical. In Castle’s Camelot, the fantastic interpenetrates the mundane, and the Grail, if there is one, distills everyday experience into art and art into faith, subliming terrestrial concerns into sublime celestial prayers to Mother Nature, and to the unfolding process of perfecting imperfection in one’s own nature. Co-produced by Jennifer and longtime collaborator Jeff McMurrich, her seventh record is at once her most monumental and unguarded to date, demonstrating a mastery of rendering her verse and melodies alike with crisply poignant economy. For all their pointedly plainspoken lyrical detail and exhilarating full-band musical flourishes, these songs sound inevitable, eternal as morning devotions. “Back in Camelot,” she sings on the lilting, vulnerable title track, “I really learned a lot / circles in the crops and / sky-high geometry.” The album opens with a candid admission of sleeping “in the unfinished basement,” an embarrassing joke that comes true. But the dreamer is redeemed by dreaming, setting sail in her airborne bed above “sirens and desert deities.” If she questions her own agency whether she is “wishing stones were standing” or just “pissing in the wind” it does not diminish the ineffable existential jolt of such signs and wonders. This abiding tension between belief and doubt, magic and pragmatism, self and other, sacred and profane, and even, arguably, paganism and monotheism, suffuses these ten songs, which limn an interior landscape shot through with sunstriped shadows of “multi-felt dimensions” both mystical and quotidian. The epic scale and transport of “Camelot,” with its swooning strings, gives way dramatically to “Some Friends,” an acoustic-guitar-and-vocals meditation in miniature on Janus-faced friends and the lunar and solar temperatures of their promises—“bright and beaming verses” versus hot curses which recalls her minimalist last album, 2020’s achingly intimate Monarch Season. (In a symmetrical sequencing gesture, the penultimate track, the incantatory “Earthsong,” bookends the central six with a similarly spare solo performance and coiled chord progression, this time an ambiguous appeal to … a wounded lover? a wounded saint? our wounded planet?). Those whom “Trust” accuses of treacherous oaths spit through “gilded and golden tooth” cynics, critics, hypocrites, gurus, scientists, doctors, lovers, government, the so-called entertainment industry sow uncertainty that can infect the artist, as in “Louis”: “What’s that dance / and can it be done? What’s that song / and can it be sung?” Answering affirmatively are “Lucky #8,” an irrepressible ode to dancing as a bulwark against the “tidal pools of pain” and the “theory of collapse,” and “Full Moon in Leo,” which finds the narrator dancing around the house with a broom, wearing nothing but her underwear and “big hair.” But the central question remains: who can we trust, and at what cost faith, in art or angels or otherwise? Castle’s confidence in her collaborators is the cornerstone of Camelot. Carl Didur (piano and keys), Evan Cartwright (drums and percussion), and steadfast sideman Mike Smith (bass) comprise a rhythm section of exquisite delicacy and depth. This fundamental trio anchors the airiness of regular backing vocalists Victoria Cheong and Isla Craig and frames the guitars of Castle, McMurrich, and Paul Mortimer (and on “Lucky #8,” special guest Cass McCombs). Reprising his decennial role on Castle’s beloved 2014 Pink City, Owen Pallett arranged the strings for Estonia’s FAMES Skopje Studio Orchestra. On the ravishing country-soul ballad “Blowing Kisses” Pallett’s crowning achievement here, which can be heard in its entirety in the penultimate episode of the third season of FX’s The Bear Jennifer contemplates time and presence, love and prayer and how songwriting and poetry both manifest and limit all four dimensions: “No words to fumble with / I’m not a beggar to language any longer.” Such rare moments of speechlessness “I’m so fucking honoured,” she bluntly proclaims suggest a state “only a god could come up with.” (If Camelot affirms Castle as one of the great song-poets of her generation, she is not immune to the despairing linguistic beggary that plagues all writers.) Camelot evinces a thoroughgoing faith not only in the natural world including human bodies, which can, miraculously, dance and swim and bleed and embrace and birth but also in our interpretations of and interventions in it: the “charts and diagrams” of “Lucky #8,” a daydreamt billboard on Fairfax Ave. in LA in “Full Moon in Leo,” the bloody invocations of the organ-stained “Mary Miracle,” and all manner of water worship, rivers in particular. (Notably, Jennifer has worked as a farmer and a doula.) The album ends with “Fractal Canyon”s repeated, exalted insistence that she’s “not alone here.” But where is here? The word “utopia” itself constitutes a pun, indicating in its ambiguous first syllable both the Greek “eutopia,” or “good-place” the facet most remembered today and “outopia,” or “no-place,” a negative, impossible geography of the mind. Utopia, like its metonym Camelot, is imaginary
"Cornish singer-songwriter set to release his debut album ‘Something To Say’. Produced with Will Hicks (Ed Sheeran) featuring contributions from the likes of Ash Soan on drums (Adele), Fred Abbott on guitar/keys (Noah And The Whale) and hitmaker & broadcaster David Grant on backing vocals, demonstrate the depth of The Gleeman’s musical musings and mark him out as a serious album artist.
With a plethora of press proclaiming his virtues, a rally of radio support including BBC Radio 2, BFBS, BBC Radio London, BBC Introducing, BBC Radio Cornwall, BBC Nan Gaidheal, Radio Caroline and play- listed twice on the UK’s fastest growing radio station Boom Radio, a Top Ten hit in the Music Week Commercial Pop Club Chart and with Live dates as a special guest of acclaimed artists Ian Prowse, Starsailor and Damien Dempsey, with songs that indeed have ‘Something To Say’, expect to hear, see and be inspired by more of The Gleeman."
Robert Sotelo is a bedroom pop songsmith who lives in Glasgow. Sotelo has released six albums since 2017, three of which came out on Upset The Rhythm. He also performs in Order of the Toad, Dancer and Nightshift. Mary Currie is best known as half of touchstone DIY experimentalists Flaming Tunes, alongside Gareth Williams (of This Heat). Currie also performed in Officer! with Mick Hobbs amongst others.
Introduced via a mutual friend, Sotelo approached Currie last year about collaborating on four songs he was constructing with producer/electronic guru Joe Howe. This resulted in the ‘Dream Songs’ 7” EP (out October 4th on Upset The Rhythm).
Not only does the title capture the hazy, reflective nature of the music it also expounds on the origin of tracks. Sotelo experienced several lucid dreams in the first half of 2023 that left him in a state of confusion. He recalled visiting parts of London vividly, including a disused theatre of great familiarity, yet it slowly transpired that these places and circumstances were not real, much to Sotelo's disbelief.
These reveries informed the lyrical narrative of the four songs from the forthcoming EP. Currie took a similar approach with her lyrics, focusing on memory and time for her passages on the record. Currie recorded her parts in London (assisted by her good friend Alison Craig) and then sent them to Howe, alongside additional location recordings to consolidate into the mixes. These four tracks flutter with a minimalist bass, drum machine and keys dynamic, allowing Sotelo and Currie’s vocals to speak deeply into the back of your mind. ‘Expectations’ is a pensive triumph of whirled moments and momentum with Currie’s final words lending much gravity “the outcome of my days is always the same, a void that must be filled, a battle against time that drags us along; mutating, spinning, ebbing, flowing. Begin again, we work to give value to time.” ‘Telegraph Hill’ boasts a glossy fluidity, as it plays with images of motorways, ancient citadels, crows, paralysis and emanations. ‘Lady Fortune’ meanwhile is a tranquil treatise on fate, imbued with finessed electronic embellishments and clarinet flourishes. You can't quite trust where these songs will take you, they feel particularly mercurial. Dreams indeed.
‘Dream Songs’ by Robert Sotelo & Mary Currie will be released on October 4th, followed by some live performances from the band. These will include the aforementioned EP tracks, as well as recreated cuts from the Flaming Tunes era, leaning into happenstance rather aptly.
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The 1980 space disco hit you probably never heard of. Now officially remastered including new stunning edits by Peaking Lights and Korkut Elbay. Picture sleeve with an outstanding painting by Antonia Freisburger.
'Inside' with loads of synths and some vocoder on top is a wild jam that is propelling more and more into a frenzy during its course.
Following the orginal is a dancefloor-edit by Korkut Elbay which puts the vocal part into focus. Korkut Elbay, part of the Cómeme camp and an integral part of Cologne's electronic music scene for over 20 years, crafted an edit in its purest form.
On the flipside Aaron Coyes of the California-based duo Peaking Lights stretches out the original and reaches higher grounds with his stomping rework. He gently adds some more keys and puts you into a trance with his soothing melodies. Now dance!
But what's the story behind this unearthed gem stone? In the late 1970s a marketing company owner faced an increasing competitve market and wanted to work indepently from the professional studios which were charging high rates for commercials back then. The solution was to build his own sound studio. So he set one up in the basement of his company in Saarbrücken, Germany. He hired a studio operator and a composer that got quite a reputation in the local scence back then and besides daily job routines 'Inside' was created.
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.
Sonor Music Editions is honored to announce the reissue of the very rare LP Aquarium Sounds by Italian composer Filippo Trecca. Originally released in 1979 as a promo-only item, “Aquarium Sounds” is a hybrid collection of tracks; some were used as the soundtrack to the thriller TV series “Così Per Gioco” (1979), directed by Leonardo Cortese; others from the talk show “Acquario” (1978-1979) hosted by Italian journalist and writer Maurizio Costanzo. The album also includes “Elena Tip” which features playful vocals by a young Ilona Staller (aka Cicciolina).
Aquarium Sounds were composed by Trecca himself, Achille Oliva (bass), Alessandro Alessandroni Jr. (keys), Giancarlo de Matteis (guitars), and Marco Parisi (drums), playing together for the creation of this progressive pop gem sought after by many collectors from around the world.
The album, recorded using simple acoustic elements and early synths, is a treasure buried deep into the ocean of time that Sonor Music Editions is bringing back to the surface; a journey into the depths of our music memory as well into the universe of Italian music heritage.
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Limited pressing of 300 LPs ! 180gm VINYL LPS w/ INSERT & DOWNLOAD FILE UNDER : GARAGE ROCK / PUB ROCK "I wanted to make a very NOW album, our past was fantastic at the time but it was exactly that.the past. We've learned a lot since then and with the combination of influences and personal tastes we've concocted a combination of Raw Power guitar grunt, a touch of The Cars' pop sensibilities and Bad Seeds brood." Dave Butterworth Veteran rockers The Double Agents return with their third album New Motion a powerful new recording evoking directness and immediacy and marking their first release of new material in nearly two decades. The Double Agents' initial incarnation circa 2000 saw the fiercely independent quintet rise from humble stages to becoming one of Melbourne's most revered pub rock bands. They twice toured Europe and eventually shared the stage with iconic luminaries Dead Moon, Mudhoney, The Dirtbombs, Celibate Rifles, The White Stripes and The Black Keys before an amicable hiatus in 2008. New Motion is a modern Australian rock record and marks a departure from their garage rock roots, as best exemplified in their self released 2023 anthology compilation Best Bits. So Far spanning their first three releases. The familiar twin vocals remain, Kim and Dave summoning that deep Dead Moon energy, as does Ryan Tandy's singular lead guitar playing and the rock solid backbeat of Myles Gallagher, but the band's scope seems to have widened on this record, with the inclusion of longtime cohort Mick Stylianou (Saint Jude) adding style and harmonic punch on bass guitar and backing vocals. ..The New Motion sessions were tracked to analog tape by Finn Keane at Head Gap and Julian McKenzie at Newmarket with vocal post production by Dave Larkin (Dallas Crane), mixing by Callum Barter (Courtney Barnett, Kurt Vile), mastering by Mikey Young. Dave Butterworth also produced the album.