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Mura were a previously little-known group from Japan, formed by friends Kota Inukai (vocals, guitar), Masaki Endo (bass) and Sho Shibata (drums) in the late noughties. Performing mostly in small events in Sapporo, they were outsiders, and felt a kinship with few other groups, though Inukai mentions rock group Green Apple Quick Step, and hardcore band Ababazure as fellow travellers. This isolation surely feeds into the uniqueness of Mura’s music – they sound little like much that we know of the taggable Japanese underground of their times, and the music they recorded for this, their debut album, spanning a decade, is gloriously all over the shop, from delirious punk wig-outs to strange pop miniatures.

The group formed young – Inukai was only fourteen when they started, and Mura were his first ever band. When pressed on what they were listening to while making their music, Inukai recalls that he “used to listen to the works of Haruomi Hosono a lot”, and you can hear traces of this, perhaps, in the breadth of the sound Mura explores, from the lovely, country-esque shuffle of “In The Talk”, through the garage-y plunk of “Rest” and the reflective, melancholy “Younger Brother”. They were also big fans of video game music – “even orchestral covers of video games”, Inukai smiles – and that’s in there, too, in the split-second responsiveness of the playing, the way they flick through ideas and genres almost impatiently, taking minutes to cover terrain that other groups might spend albums and years exploring.

But the songs were also grounded in Japan’s history, with many of the songs inspired by “old Hokkaidō,” Inukai recalls, “from the Meiji, Taishō, Shōwa periods.” With Inukai coming up with the melodies, and Shibata fleshing out arrangements, all three members then contributed lyrics. You can hear that collective effort in the way the music moves, every player listening carefully to each other, the songs moving gracefully, but not without verve and vim. It’s a delightful album, full of pop songs that take unexpected turns, with glinting melodies sung out, here sweetly, there with gruff candour, guitars tangling together like an unholy union of Tom Verlaine and Jad Fair, every song charged with a new, unpredictable spirit.

Mall Girl: «Superstar» Jansen Records 2022 «Superstar», the debut record from Norwegian art-pop outfit Mall Girl, represents an exciting new chapter for the buzzed-about band. The release follows a string of successful singles, including their 2018 track “Slay Queen,” which introduced them as an act to watch in the alt-pop arena. The chaotic year of 2020 brought a string of infectious, vibey singles, including “My Sweet Mall Girl” and the fierce “Bad Girl." Members Iver Armand Tandsether, Hannah Veslemøy Narvesen, Eskild Myrvoll and Bethany Forseth-Reichberg were forced to get creative when the pandemic hit, sidelining best-laid plans to flesh out some songs before heading into the studio together. "Because of COVID regulations and the four of us living in two different cities, we changed the way we worked with the songs quite radically in the months leading up to the studio recording,” Narvesen says. "We’ve always been very oriented towards the live performance of the songs, including when we compose them together in our rehearsal space. That way of working has led to some challenges when recording, as you end up listening to the songs in a different manner and might figure out you should have done everything differently." While others put their creative endeavors on hold, Mall Girl opted to try something different. Many of the songs on «Superstar» were tracks that the band regularly performed, but they wanted to seize the opportunity to evolve their sound even more. “We actually ended up ‘remote composing’ big parts of the album, with everyone working from their own home studio and bouncing ideas back and forth,” Narvesen explains. "This was a very welcome change of workflow for us, and it lead to us making some songs which probably wouldn’t have turned out that way had we been together in the same room." This experimental shift in their creative process led to the creation of songs bursting with infectious hooks, hypnotizing grooves and punchy lyrics.

By the power of darkness and the might of black-hearted will no two Mayhem albums have been or will be the same. Over the course of Mayhem’s storied and groundbreaking 35-year career—from De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas (1994) through Esoteric Warfare (2014)—the Norwegians have continuously challenged the orthodoxy of the genre they helped create. Originally informed by greats Hellhammer, Venom, Bathory, and Sodom, the Norwegians eventually imbued their damnable attack with influences from all over the music extreme spectrum, indicated first on the harsh and angular Wolf’s Lair Abyss (1997) EP and foremost on the enterprisingly brutal and revolutionary Grand Declaration of War (2000). In 2019, Mayhem yet again reinvent on new album, Daemon. “Mayhem will always be Mayhem,” says guitarist/songwriter Teloch (aka Morten Bergeton Iversen) says. “If we put the genre game aside a bit, no one else sounds like Mayhem. Even when De Mysteriis came out, it was not at first considered to be a black metal album, if my memory serves me right. Tricky to label this band, metal would be the most fitting; it’s not pure black metal in my opinion. Not sure it has ever been actually, despite what the general opinion is. People can call it whatever they want. If it’s black metal to them, then fine. We don’t really care. But to me it’s important to keep some sort of black metal vibe at least

Marta Sanchez's creative voice is strikingly original - circling rhythms,
elaborate forms and criss-crossing counterpoint distinguishes her sonic signature on the crowded New York contemporary music scene

Following three critically acclaimed quintet releases, the Madrid- born pianistcomposer presents 'SAAM (Spanish American Art Museum)' on Whirlwind Recordings, an album driven by emotional candour and boundary- pushing compositions. A talented cast realises her knotty, technical writing - frontline partners Alex Lore and Roman Filiu meet Sanchez, Rashaan Carter and Allan Mednard on backline duties.'SAAM' riffs on the Smithsonian American Art Museum, on an album that's an exhibition of Sanchez's life in musical form: "It's made up of all the elements of society from both countries Spain and America that impact my life and make me who I am." Matters internal and external are realised in musical expositions of complex feelings. The pieces took shape in lockdown, as Sanchez exchanged fortnightly composition tasks with a pen- pal.

"Those compositions express all the phases I was going through at that time. I was reflecting super deeply on what's important, and how we might give some sense to life."

Released in 1959, The Amazing Nina Simone was Nina Simone's first album for Colpix Records. In contrast to her debut album 'Little Girl Blue' (Bethlehem Records), which highlighted her piano playing as well as her singing, this production downplayed the piano in favour of string arrangements. The production also featured a variety of material, including jazz, gospel, and folk
songs.

"There is a remarkable amount of variety on this disc, Nina Simone's second recording. She does not play much piano (just cameos on two songs) and is backed by a subtle orchestra arranged by Bob Mersey that is effective accompanying her vocals. This session finds Nina Simone's voice in top form and with a few exceptions is generally jazz-oriented." - Scott Yanow, AllMusic

After the impact of Exist in Ramallah festival back in 2019, and how relationships between the artists got established and the attendees contribution that helped to shape the identity and the vision of the project itself. Exist decided to take the next step and expand the project with a label that is runned between Amman based and festival founder Odai Masri and Amsterdam based and label co-founder Chafik Chennouf with the same ethics that the festival is standing for. Some of the main principles Exist upholds include resistance to homophobia, and the ongoing colonization of various parts of the world by state actors or multi-national oligarchs. In turn, we think that this colonization leaves no one free, and that it especially targets communities (human and non-human) that are most marginalized by capital and historical racial and ethnic structures. The first release 'Marks of Existence' is a collection of mind-melds with some of the scene's most continuously exciting and refreshing artists: Drew McDowall, Muqata'a, CASKO, Adel Poursamadi & Tegh. The Scottish, NYC-based experimental musician, Drew McDowall, has been subverting the formula for many years now, having clocked up storied work with Coil and Psychic TV back in the day. His track 'Conceal the Wound' is a stunning, exquisitely chiselled piece of synth music. It's like waking from a dream, only to return to its febrile clutches. Ramallah's Muqata'a came through flawless with his cut 'Administrative Detention', a blast of chaotic chopped breaks and lurching neo-beat tape MPC programming. The breakcore influence in combination with referencing crimes against humanity makes the tune an intense headmelter. The ideal soundtrack for unorganized resistance from a firsthand perspective. ‘The Price You Pay To Be Unattached Flesh’ sees CASKO push the hi-tech dirt of his Opal Tapes, Leyla Records and Voidance releases down darker ginnels to claustrophobic, anxiety-raising effect in a collection of brilliantly neon explosions of colour and exuberance floating on a sleazy and slow beat with bags of North-African swagger. Experimental electronic musicians from Iran have marked their prints on the face of the universal experimental music scene for some time now, though the manner in which their status went from "non-existent" to "present" and from "silent" to "noisy" might somehow seem "unpredictable" to the naked eye. Tegh, known for his work on Opal Tapes joined forces with Adel Poursamadi to come up with a beautifully bittersweet synthetic orchestration in a staggering fashion to close this EP with.

Formed in Oxford where they lived, hung out and rehearsed
together on campus, eclectic group Mandrake Handshake
were christened after a song by The Brian Jonestown
Massacre, incorporating their influences of Krautrock, funk,
Japanese animation and Latin pastoral poetry to create a
unique brand of ‘Flowerkraut’ that vividly defines their sound.
 Having initially teamed up with the cult indie label for their
‘Nice Swan Introduces…’ series (in partnership with RIP
Records) late last year, the creative outfit have since found
labelmates in the likes of Courting, SPRINTS and Anorak
Patch, and fast established themselves as one of the most
enticing new acts in the UK psychedelic scene.
 With widespread acclaim arriving via multiple key indie press
titans (NME, NPR, DIY, The Line of Best Fit, Dork, So Young,
Clash, Loud & Quiet, Gigwise), the newcomers certainly
seem to be attracting the right kind of attention following the
release of mesmeric debut effort ‘Mandragora’ and
exhilarating follow-up ‘Gonkulator’, with their first few plays
on BBC Radio 1 (Jack Saunders) already opening them up
to a vast new audience.
 Detailing their EP, the band explained: “‘Shake the Hand
That Feeds You’ represents the culmination of many strands
of thought over the process of several months. It is designed
to announce the coming of the Mandrake in all her forms and
the ascent into her realm; as it soundtracks the listener
coming to know what will be expected of them for all future
sonic explorations.
 “No expense has been spared to bring the listener to the
zenith of psychedelic high-fidelity and have them fully
understand what they otherwise might only hint at knowing.
This is ‘Flowerkraut’. This is the beginning. This is the
Mandrake.”
 Recorded at Press Play Studios in Bermondsey with one of
their heroes - Stereolab’s Andy Ramsay.

You might know Bert Dockx from the inimitable alternative jazz-rock-trio Dans Dans; or from his moody, psychedelic rock formation Flying Horseman; or from his more intimate but equally special solo records. In 2019, the ever productive guitarist released an album with Ottla, a jazzy sextet blending different genres, textures and moods in wholly original ways, resulting in long, evocative pieces, brooding with tension and atmosphere. Recently, the band has transformed into a quartet, a tighter unit with a sparser and slightly more electric sound. This new Ottla is playing a mixture of reimagined tracks from the aforementioned album, and several brand new pieces. Ottla's music - like all music for which Dockx is responsible - is imaginative, intense and deeply felt.

In the spring of 2021, actor and writer Josse De Pauw contacted Bert with a question. He wanted to perform work of the Uruguayan writer Eduardo Galeano on stage, texts about the madness of colonialism and slavery, and about the beauty and mystery of the jungle, and asked Dockx to come up with a live soundtrack. Dockx invited two friends from his jazz band Ottla (Thomas Jillings and Louis Evrard) and a fourth musician (bass player Axel Gilain). He composed new material, adapted some existing Ottla pieces and could count on the improvisational talent of his fellow musicians for the rest of the soundtrack. In a handful of rehearsals, an impressive concert was put together that captivated the audience during a short run in August. This live EP contains two pieces recorded on one of these blistering evenings. Side A opens with the authoritarian voice of De Pauw, who recites the Song of the Fire, before making way for a scorching, almost apocalyptic version of 'Stofwolk'. On side B we hear Thomas Jillings perform an impressionist clarinet improvisation while De Pauw conjures up images of the unlimited sea and the winds, ships and slaves, heaven and hell.

Acclaimed saxophonist, producer and composer Yasuaki Shimizu will release Kiren, his unreleased album from 1984, on the Palto Flats record label on February 25, 2022.

Liner notes by music historian Chee Shimizu, and credits in both Japanese and English.

By the early 1980s Yasuaki Shimizu had established himself on the Japanese new wave scene, producing many important experimental pop records and releasing several albums as the bandleader of
Mariah. Following the release of his widely regarded solo classic Kakashi, from 1982, and the otherworldly Utakata No Hibi, by Mariah in 1983, he went into the studio the following year with frequent
collaborators, producer Aki Ikuta and Morio Watanabe (bassist of Mariah), to record a mystifying collection of experimental dance music. Utilizing cutting-edge technology and studio trickery, Kiren
showcases Shimizu's trademark playfulness, marrying richly layered production techniques to off-kilter, sometimes traditional sounding rhythms and melodies. Portending his work with the Saxophonettes as well as forecasting trends in techno, new wave, and futuristic rhythmic music, this formerly lost album represents an important period of Shimizu's artistic expression, an artist at his peak, while successfully exploring the intersections of fusion, synthpop, new wave, and jazz.

As Chee Shimizu (no relation) writes in the liner notes, Kiren, and his concurrent release Latin were “born out of a free environment of collaboration that existed between Yasuaki and Aki Ikuta ... (exemplifying) his most energetic works.” In listening to Kiren, we might share with Yasuaki Shimizu the joy and excitement of experimentalism and movement that went into the making of this album, now released for the first time many years later.

Lance Ferguson is back for a killer follow-up 7" to his second volume of classic re-works and re-imaginings, Rare Groove Spectrum Vol. 2 - released on Freestyle in late January on LP, CD and digital formats.

We just couldn't resist putting this take on Pucho & His Latin Soul Brothers cover of Gladys Knight's Got Myself a Good Man on a 45. Keeping true to the source, yet somehow simultaneously sounding like no-one else, this version is 100% guaranteed to put a spring in the step of any crowd as the sun starts gradually to come out from hiding. Aside from the faithfully executed and expertly recorded drum-track, which sits pretty higher up in the mix than it's precursor, the star of this particular show comes midway through when Lance's lilting and sun-kissed guitar solo comes gliding in. If you can't move to this, even just a little bit, then you might actually be lacking a pulse. Backing things up is the undeniable latin-funk strut of Mandrill's Mango Meat. Given an instrumental work-out here with Remco Keijer's Flute and Daniel Mougerman's keys putting in work over a heavy-as-lead rhythm section, those delectable salsa-inflicted horns upping the spice levels.

Lance's work across the Rare Groove Spectrum series can often be looked on as something akin to a "live re-edit" on the originals, at times switching up sections or extending the groove. These two choice cuts however are a masterclass in subtly teasing out some of the original elements on the tracks that really make them work on a dance-floor, and bringing those to the fore while retaining 100% respect for the OG arrangements.

Fueled on pizza and the spirit of dance music, Chef Sam O.B. has lovingly cooked up four courses for our aural connoisseurs to enjoy: "Just A Slice."

Like any good pizza, it all starts with the dough, and "Making Dough" gets us right on track. Borrowing elements from house classics of the past, it rises on a jackin' groove complete with a funky fermented low-end and dashes of vocals from the chef himself.

"Le Sauce" offers a tangy burst of flavor atop our dough foundation; a sort of subtle and seductive palate that only the most refined of sauces can provide. Twists and turns await as the layers of seasoned live instrumentation unveil themselves (best enjoyed past dusk).

Next, as you might have expected, is "Cheezin'" - many people's favorite part of a pie. This one is sharp; bursting with mouthwatering umami energy and, like any good chef, O.B. has added just enough to leave you wanting more of the catchy interwoven melodies and rhythms sprinkled within.

Finally, it's time to grab a piping hot "Just A Slice" out of the oven - an amalgamation of all groovin' ingredients added thus far and the title track. A bubbling and elastic bassline pairs with the percussion of various textures and savory synth lines, combining for a well-balanced meal sure to keep your senses engaged.

A satisfying listen, "Just A Slice" would do, but feel free to indulge in multiple spins.

Limited to 1000 copies Pressed on Yellow Vinyl Includes postcard and poster
For two brief years at the dawn of the 1980s Josef K provided iconic Scots indie label Postcard Records with its sharpest cutting edge.
Although outlived - and outsold - by labelmates Orange Juice and Aztec Camera, Josef K perfected a prescient blend of skinny funk and leftfield pop, an artful combination of style and substance that continues to exert an influence out of all proportion to the brevity of their career
When Les Disque Du Crépuscule issued Sorry For Laughing on single in April 1981 it was widely hailed as the group’s best offering to date, and established the definitive Jokay style of looping rhythms paired with incisive, angular guitar.
Like Postcard itself, the best band in Edinburgh might have had the lifespan of a mayfly, yet they remain a revered icon of an indie golden age.

2 rare historical recordings (1983 and 1986) originally released as single sides and gathered here for the first time.

"Conductor might be my favourite composition and Life And Death Of Pboc might be my most sincere. Conductor was my first composed piece with no obvious reference points ... Life And Death Of Pboc was the second. These two compositions gave me the title Godfather of Dark Ambient."

Carl Michael von Hausswolff, born in 1956 in Linköping, Sweden, lives and works in Stockholm. Since the end of the 70s, von Hausswolff has worked as a composer using recording technology as his main instrument and as a visual artist using light projections, film/video and still photography as well as other media. He has exhibited at dOCUMENTA (Kassel), the biennials in Venice, Moscow, Liverpool, Istanbul, Sarajevo etc and in Copenhagen, Stockholm, Nicosia, Kaliningrad, Tokyo, London, New York, Philadelphia etc. His music has been played in festivals such as Sonar (Barcelona), CTM (Berlin), L'audible (Paris), el niche Aural (Mexico City), MUTEK, (Montreal) etc. and release works on LP/CD/DL by labels like Erototox (Ashevile), Sub Rosa (Brussels), Touch (London), Pomperipossa (Göteborg) and iDeal (Göteborg). He recently curated the 2nd part the sound-installation FREQ_OUT named freq_wave in co-operation with TBA21-Academy and collaborates with artist Leif Elggren, EVP re-searcher Michael Esposito, composers Hans-Joachim Roedelius, Mark Fell, Jim O'Rourke, author Leslie Winer and as Dark Morph (with Jónsi of Sigur Rós). He has also collaborated with Pan sonic, The Hafler Trio, Freddie Wadling and Erik Pauser (as PHAUSS).

Tortoise has spent nearly 30 years making music that defies description. While the Chicago-based instrumental quintet has nodded to dub, rock, jazz, electronica and minimalism throughout its revered and influential discography, the resulting sounds have always been distinctly, even stubbornly, their own. One of the throughlines that create that distinctive sound is what might be called a pervasive element of group play, or ensemble-mindedness, as opposed to emphasis on a virtuoso soloist or frontman. Rhythms, Resolutions and Clusters follows in this line as Tortoise turned their iconic early songs over to their friends to play with. The remixes by other legends including Bundy K. Brown, Steve Albini, Jim O'Rourke, Brad Wood (Liz Phair), Casey Rice, Mike Watt (Minute Men), and Rick Brown (75 Dollar Bill) create a sense of community, and unlimited creativity. It's been out of print since 1995. Tortoise...have spent the past 25 years and seven albums fusing dub, jazz, prog, and indie into an instantly recognizable and much-loved trademark sound. - Pitchfork As with the best of Tortoise, these tracks can be enjoyed on many levels, but when listened to carefully, they reveal seemingly infinite sonic treasures. - Pitchfork

Tortoise has spent nearly 30 years making music that defies description. While the Chicago-based instrumental quintet has nodded to dub, rock, jazz, electronica and minimalism throughout its revered and influential discography, the resulting sounds have always been distinctly, even stubbornly, their own. One of the throughlines that create that distinctive sound is what might be called a pervasive element of group play, or ensemble-mindedness, as opposed to emphasis on a virtuoso soloist or frontman. Rhythms, Resolutions and Clusters follows in this line as Tortoise turned their iconic early songs over to their friends to play with. The remixes by other legends including Bundy K. Brown, Steve Albini, Jim O'Rourke, Brad Wood (Liz Phair), Casey Rice, Mike Watt (Minute Men), and Rick Brown (75 Dollar Bill) create a sense of community, and unlimited creativity. It's been out of print since 1995. Tortoise...have spent the past 25 years and seven albums fusing dub, jazz, prog, and indie into an instantly recognizable and much-loved trademark sound. - Pitchfork As with the best of Tortoise, these tracks can be enjoyed on many levels, but when listened to carefully, they reveal seemingly infinite sonic treasures. - Pitchfork

Munich’s most flexible shapeshifter comes equipped with three new weapons. Needless to mention he’s got full support of the RFR squad for his subversive revolutionary plans.
„Don’t try this at home“- a warning that has always been more of an encouragement to do forbidden things than inspire cautiousness. But basically correct, and for want of a booming club life, you better enjoy this Detroit burner with a proper car system or in an abandoned warehouse that is gettin cut into pieces by stroboscope lightning. Of course, under the correct appliance of all hygiene measures.
No, this ain’t a Trumpesque call to arms in order to charge for the Reichstag. On the contrary, it shows how any stable foundation can be undermined with a healthy dose of 90s acid. If you don’t believe it, just listen to Rakim’s „Stay in bed remix“ of „How to bring down your government“.
For the end of our adventure we are given a nice „Sidequest“. As for the reward, there’s a shiny loot box with legendary items, beautifully wrapped in trancey techno. Lovers of Aril Brikha might find some valuable treasure here.

Recorded during the first few periods of lockdown and originally released as a cassette midway through 2021, O Yuki Conjugate's A Tension of Opposites Vol. 1 & 2 is now to be released as a limited edition, double-disc gatefold LP via World of Echo on 1st April. The enforced conditions of its creation represented a new way of working for O Yuki Conjugate founders, Andrew Hulme and Roger Horberry, a pioneering duo who have worked as close collaborators on multiple projects for almost four decades now. As such, their writing is for the first time divided in two and recognised as distinct, Horberry contributing the shorter eleven tracks that make up Vol. 1 (subtitle: At Variance), and Andrew Hulme the longer four that constitute Vol. 2 (Into the Pleasure Garden). It's fascinating to hear their approaches separated.

At Variance is defined by its mostly short-form approach, characterised by an airless ambience that recalls the late 20th Century modern minimalism of Thomas Koner, Markus Popp and the Mille Plateux universe, while in other parts, an element of the grander aspects of Eno circa Discreet Music, though retaining a characteristically gritty feel. Into the Pleasure Garden provides a notable contrast, forgoing the lightness of the preceding eleven tracks and embracing what might be understood as some of the more 'classic' elements of the OYC sound: their storm cloud-forming, heavy weather, post-industrial, fourth-world dystopia. Together and apart, OYC celebrate their 40th birthday this year, but remarkably, even under challenging circumstances, their music still retains an almost mystical power.

Future releases in the series are planned for later in the year and will continue with this approach, charting the outer reaches of the individual members musical inclinations. In the meantime, it might be worth giving some thought to start considering this pair an institution of sorts, or at least their own cottage industry.