Search:the orchestra for now

A new compilation titled Erased Tapes _+ù_¦ö, encompassing a two hour cross-section of the label"s 15-year history including hidden gems and previously unreleased material, will be available on November 4 to coincide with specially curated festivals in London and Berlin. The first offering comes from UK producer Kevin Richard Martin aka The Bug and Japanese voice artist Hatis Noit who share their paranormal first collaborative cut After the Storm amongst other unique pairings such as The Art Ensemble of Chicago featuring Moor Mother, Bell Orchestre interpreted by Colin Stetson, Douglas Dare joined by The London Contemporary Orchestra and Ben Lukas Boysen remixed by Kiasmos. Premiered exclusively via The Wire magazine in form of a free download ahead of their debut live performance at Le Guess Who? Festival 2019 in Utrecht, the track is now finally made available on vinyl and streaming platforms alongside other previously unreleased pieces from electronic producer Ryan Lee West aka Rival Consoles and Icelandic composer Högni. "As a solo vocalist and voice artist, I"d always dreamed of floating and being drowned in a beautiful sonic storm. And then I met Kevin Martin" - Hatis Noit The artwork is composed of the Japanese kanji for "15" - calligraphed by label founder Robert Raths and designed by Munich-based artist Bernd Kuchenbeiser.

Minas-cover Minas is a world music duet comprised of Orlando Haddad and Patricia King. Minas reflects a perfect musical marriage with a stage presence and chemistry that only a lifetime can produce. Drawing on the passionate styles of Brazilian and American roots music, the two create a fresh and innovative sound. With a catalog of 8 recordings released on their label Bluezul and a collection of over 100 songs, they have been building their reputation. Multi-talented as composers, vocalists, and instrumentalists, and equally comfortable in Brazilian jazz, folk, and classical genres, Minas is now bringing their world music approach to the Beatles with their latest album titled Beatles in Bossa. This re-imagination of fourteen Beatles' songs is infused with American Jazz and Brazilian styles of Bossa Nova, Samba, Choro, Partido Alto, Afoxé, Marcha Rancho, and Frevo. "Blackbird" has a nylon-strung guitar and vocal intro that sets the tone for this Brazilian-themed arrangement. Minasminas-1 transforms the melody to something new while still keeping the theme recognizable. The male and female vocals of Haddad and King blend beautifully as the band builds a relaxed Brazilian feel. John Swana plays an expressive Evi solo, adding a modern color while still being vivid. Haddad wrote this creative arrangement with a fresh approach to this classic Beatles melody. "With A Little Help From My Friends" is another Brazilian arrangement that is all Minas. The concept came from Haddad and King with the horn arrangement provided by Andrew Neu. Haddad's nylon-strung guitar keeps a Latin pattern as the horns accent the two vocalists trading phrases of the melody. Neu plays an exciting solo. The arrangement is rewarding, enabling us to hear the melodic lines, harmony, and orchestration from a different perspective.minas-2Minas' Beatles in Bossa impresses with its natural, vibrant, and heartfelt presence, allowing us to hear and appreciate the colors and textures of the exceptional music of the Beatles through a Brazilian perspective and thoughtful performances.

*Ltd Coloured Vinyl on Transparent Blue Vinyl* London-based musician and producer Ryan Lee West, aka Rival Consoles, creates driving, experimental electronic music that makes synthesisers sound human. His consistent desire to create a more organic, living sound, sees him forming pieces that capture a sense of songwriting behind the machines.

‘Now Is’ marks a new chapter in an ongoing quest for refinement and evolution. More playful and melodic, the album draws from much experimentation in minimalist songwriting and seamlessly blends synthesisers and acoustic instruments. “There are some pieces that are influenced quite strongly by the isolation and anxiety of these times. There are also pieces which are more optimistic and vibrant, which I think is a consistent attitude of my records, as I want art to express many aspects of life.”

From the elevating arrangements of ‘Beginnings’ and motorik beats of ‘World Turns’, to the isolation of ‘Frontiers’, influenced by the barren landscapes of Iceland, Rival Consoles’ eighth studio album subtly morphs and evolves. “The title of the record ‘Now Is’ interests me because it is the beginning of a statement, but it is incomplete. I like art that is open and suggestive of ideas even if they are inspired by very specific things. With my previous record ‘Overflow’ being very dark, heavy and almost dystopian, I wanted to escape into a different world with this music and ended up creating a record which is a lot more colourful and euphoric.”

For the sonic ‘Vision of Self’, West looked to create the kind of movement and colour a string section in an orchestra would construct, but with synthesisers. “I think there’s a lot of synergy between the two worlds. I wanted to create a hypnotic journey, where the synths and sounds weave in and out of each other, so you get lost in the music and don’t know where one sound starts or another ends.” This “journey” West refers to is symbiotic of the way he has approached music throughout a progressive career – an ongoing project that is never static and always moving forward.

A sense of euphoria is reached with the pulsating title track which bursts into colour like the appearance of the summer sun, while ‘Echoes’ is a vivid exploration of rhythm and sound for summer nights. The track starts with a dense collage of modular synths, fragmented metallic tones, broken sounding drums and a downcast melodic synth line. “This is a piece where the main melody has been in my head for a long time and was just waiting to come out. I kind of think of it as the sonic equivalent to an impressionist painting in that I wanted to explore the sensation of lots of small layers of different colours and textures that are constantly moving around each other.”

Rival Consoles is set to appear at festivals across Europe this summer, with headline shows expected to follow in the autumn.

Muireann Nic Amhlaoibh & Irish Chamber Orchestra have breathed new life into the noble, classical songs of our ancestors with this new album, R is n Reimagined.The sean n s tradition is undergoing a revival During lockdown, award- winning singer Muireann Nic Amhlaoibh's renditions of classic sean n s songs such as An Ch ilfhionn or R is n Dubh introduced a new generation of listeners to these melodically complex and richly ornamented songs. Now Nic Amhlaoibh joins the Irish Chamber Orchestra for R is n
ReImagined, an exciting new project that pairs her peerless vocals with fresh
orchestral arrangements of sean n s songs. Kilkenny Arts Festival and the Irish
Chamber Orchestra have co- commissioned special arrangements from six
leading Irish composers: Cormac McCarthy, Paul Campbell, Linda Buckley, Sam
Perkin, Niamh Varian- Barry and Michael Keeney. Produced by D nal O'Connor,
Roisin ReImagined explores the connections between classical and traditional
music, and reimagines these timeless songs for a new era. These works typically
date from the 16th-19th century, and bear the hallmarks of high art and learning.
In many instances, they bear witness to the artistic culture of Gaelic Ireland,
which was under siege and endangered; the high art of their era. Amongst them
are classics such as R is n Dubh, An Ch ilfhionn, Sl n le M igh & An tSeanbhean
Bhocht. Nic Amhlaoibh's distinct voice and outward- looking approach has
elevated these songs to yet another level through this project, and along with the
Irish Chamber Orchestra and producer D nal O'Connor, she has given a platform
to a tradition that gives a deep insight into the Irish psyche. These sean-n s songs
emerged from a practice that was part of a wider European and international
culture, and this project will resonate with people from every corner of the world.
The new incarnation of these old songs is a beautiful, uplifting sonic journey,
especially for those fortunate enough to experience it live, and is sure to leave an
imprint on the consciousness of the Irish song tradition.

Robert Groslot's Concerto for Bass Guitar and Orchestra represents the
next step in the evolution of the bass guitar
Groslot's composition pushes the instrument to its technical limits, while creating
a unique symbiosis between the soloist and the orchestra. Although he may not
be the first composer to write for the bass guitar in a symphonic setting, Groslot
brings a level of artistry and sophistication to the composition that will continue
and accelerate the legitimation of the bass guitar within contemporary classical
music. "The idea of a concerto for bass guitar is something that I have been
dreaming of for decades. Since its invention, the bass guitar has firmly
established itself as an essential and integral part of practically every genre of
music. The bass guitar, as we now know it, was invented and produced by Leo
Fender starting in 1951. The more portable bass guitar, in comparison to the large
and unwieldy double bass, was capable of playing at higher volumes via
amplification and satisfied the new sonic demands created by the widespread
use of electrification in popular music. By increasing the overall scale of the
electric guitar and only using the lowest four strings (E, A, D, G), Fender gave birth
to a new instrument. Traditional double bassists could quickly adapt, with the
added benefit of more accurate intonation due to the frets. Hence the original
name: The Precision Bass. At the same time, guitarists could also become bass
players when called upon. As a result, many of the early bass guitarists began
their musical life as guitar players, with the most well-known example being Paul
McCartney of The Beatles.
The fact that the bass guitar had no direct lineage like the evolution of the piano
or violin over time, led to a variety of disparate playing styles without any
fundamental methodology. Unlike the more traditional instruments, the bass
guitar does not sit upon a foundation of centuries of proven methods and
established schools of playing. The evolution of the bass guitar has been a
patchwork of trial and error by active musicians. This has led to a plethora of
personal approaches and hybrid-styles, effectively leading to the rapid evolution
of bass guitar technique. Given its relatively young history, it is remarkable how
the bass guitar has grown from being an instrument taken up out of necessity, or
as an afterthought, to being as respected and vital to modern music as any of the
older, more established instruments." - Thomas Fiorini

On the cusp of their 30th year with British indie Warp Records, Plaid return with a joyous new studio album, Feorm Falorx. From their playful early releases in the late 80's until now, they have explored diverse musical styles and embraced new methods of synthesis whilst maintaining a musical thread that spins back through the early Hip Hop scene of their youth and beyond to the sounds of the late 60s and 70s that inspired it.

Plaid have toured extensively and collaborated widely over the years, writing for and performing with sonic researchers, percussion groups, solo artists and orchestras, most recently for the BBC Concert Orchestra. They have written for computer games and scored several feature films, one of which, Tekkon Kinkreet, was awarded the Japan Academy Prize for Animation of the Year.

This eleventh studio album finds our duo, Ed Handley and Andy Turner, recreating a recent performance at the Feorm Festival, an intergalactic festival held on the planet Falorx. In order to survive the Falorxian atmosphere they were converted into light so the traditional recording devices they'd taken on 'The Campbell' were not functional. Fortunately, having consulted Earth's Space Agency, it was deemed safe to recreate the performance back in their London studio. Extensive testing of the resulting recordings have established a level of thought contamination deemed, “perfectly acceptable.”

Feorm Falorx will be released Universally on 11-11-22

Repressed! Mochilla’s Timeless series reignites for RSD 2021 housed in full color gatefold jackets with the vinyl housed in printed inner sleeves. In 2009, Brian Cross (aka B+) organized a series of live events at the Luckman Fine Arts Complex in Los Angles. The Timeless series captured the lasting impact of several artists on the world of Hip Hop and beyond. Live fully orchestrated performances by Ethiopia’s Mulatu Astatke and Brazil's Arthur Verocai bookended the incredible Suite For Ma Dukes, a tribute to James "Dilla" Yancey, by Miguel Atwood-Ferguson. These superb quality live recordings, now long out of print, are back in effect for RSD 2021. On Mochilla Presents Timeless: Mulatu Astatke the sold out crowd at the Luckman witnessed the famed Ethiopian artist perform with veterans of the Los Angeles jazz community including Bennie Maupin, Azar Lawrence, Phil Ranelin and more. Having just witnessed the performance Cut Chemist remarked “Musically, he has been my biggest inspiration” with producer Quantic noting “One of the musical visionaries of our age…We are still trying to catch up.”

THERION have always been a band that have challenged themselves to explore new paths, while remaining true to their musical core values. For their 17th studio album, mastermind Christofer Johnsson and his collaborator Thomas Vikström have created something that has been previously unthinkable to the guitarist and the singer. "We have done the only thing that was left of all the different angles to explore", explains Christofer. "We have decided to give the people what they kept asking for. 'Leviathan' is the first album that we have deliberately packed with THERION hit songs."

True to the Swede's words, the album opens with the catchy and swift tune 'The Leaf Of The Oak Of Far' featuring female and male antiphonal singing as well as a choir that seems to have evolved straight out of THERION's breakthrough full-length "Theli" (1996). This is immediately followed by the obvious highlight 'Tuonela', in which Christofer cleverly underscores this hit-track's Finnish vibe by employing NIGHTWISH’s "metal voice" Marko Hietala. Next up in this parade of future fan-favourites is the title track 'Leviathan' that offers classic THERION material with operatic female vocals and a massive choir.

Christofer Johnsson's passion for classic voices, choirs, and orchestral elements as well as his penchant for epic melodies in combination with rock and metal shines clearly through the following sing-along ballad 'Die Wellen Der Zeit', which indicates another nod to German romantic composer Richard Wagner. "Ever since 'Theli', Wagner has been and will always be at the core of THERION", emphasises Christofer. "When we started to combine metal and opera, it was something new and original. Today, symphonic metal has long been a firmly established genre." When THERION came into being in 1988 by changing name from the already existing band BLITZKRIEG, which was founded a year earlier, Christofer had rather taken inspiration from SLAYER's "Reign In Blood" among other classic metal albums.

At the beginning, the Swedes were firmly rooted in death metal, a genre which they helped to define, as witnessed by their debut album "Of Darkness...." (1991). Yet even back then, there were hints of "something else" lurking beneath the rough surface. The use of female vocals is another core ingredient of THERION today, which developed gradually. CELTIC FROST had basically introduced the female element to extreme metal on "To Mega Therion" in 1985. THERION began with both a female and male vocalist emulating a church like choir already in their sophomore full-length 'Beyond Sanctorum' (1992). With Symphony "Masses: Ho Drakon Ho Megas" (1993) and "Lepaca Kliffoth" (1995), Christofer continued to developed his trademark sound by gradually drifting towards cleaner vocals and more keyboards.

With "Theli", the Swedes had firmly established a reputation of pushing the boundaries of metal in the 90s –among such acts as their compatriots TIAMAT, THE GATHERING, and MOONSPELL that were often referred to as "gothic metal" at the time. THERION continued to break new ground leaving inspiration for others to follow in their wake: On "A'arab Zaraq -Lucid Dreaming" (1997), Christofer further explored the use of Near Eastern music in metal which he had already begun in 1992, while "Secret Of The Runes" (2001) dared to have Swedish lyrics in some songs.

While critics were left confused and fans challenged, THERION were often ahead of their times and vindicated in hindsight. Even the band's 25th anniversary excursion "Les Fleurs Du Mal" has by now overcome the initial shock the album caused and is only beaten in terms of streaming by the classic "Vovin" (1998). When Christofer faced the question of where to go next after the dramatic "Beloved Antichrist" (2018) had finally fulfilled his musical mission, his answer is "Leviathan" named after a giant sea monster from Judeo-Christian myth that has roots in Babylonic lore: THERION have created a giant hit album –and for the first time in the history of the Swedes, their fans are not asked to explore something new, but simply to lean back and enjoy the best from their band!

Since 2014, Wand have made five albums (and an EP) in the studio and a living playing on the road. Business/pleasure: the two sides of their (multiverticed, decagon) coin, flipping in the strobe light of ongoing self actualization. And yet, by doing both at the same time-making a record of them playing live-they"ve now made their best one yet. How do you get Spiders In the Rain? Start by going all the way back to January 2020. Do you remember? Wand do. They"d been touring Laughing Matter for ten months. They"d done the coast, spanned the country, crossed the water twice, came back home and kept on going...driving, flying, occasionally floating (or maybe just thinking they were?), always on to the next town. They did all kinds of shows-clubs, ballrooms, festival gigs with no roof overhead-the songs expanding and contracting according to the dimensions of each day. Seventy-nine shows, and everything that was involved-the miles that ran beneath them, the different places and people everywhere, the music as it reathed, making everyone change every night-alchemized the band, and they drove deeper into their far horizon than they"d ever previously gone. The essential truth of the live vibe-that it"s always better when everybody"s here-was clear, so they booked a few shows more in Cali, from L.A. up to Marin. They brought along light and projections from The Mad Alchemist Liquid Light Show and Mike Kreibel and Zac Hernandez too, to tape everything-to get the big-deck energy out of performances in S.F. and L.A., but also to draw it out of the margins in Sacramento, Novato and Big Sur. It all happened, too. Everyone brought their experience. Packaged sumptuously with artwork from Sam Klickner, Spiders In the Rain is an arc of natural beauty and man-made abstraction inside and out, on an epic scale. Wand are orchestra and machine on Spiders In the Rain, one with the audience, able to get inside any dimension of their sound, whether its songs from their second album or their last one.

- The complete score by Tom Holkonborg aka Junkie XL - 180g Double LP Multicolor Vinyl: Blue and Pink & Orange and Black - 12x12 Art Print - Heavyweight Gatefold Packaging with Matte Finish // Description: Waxwork Records is excited to present GODZILLA VS KONG Original Motion Picture Soundtrack by Tom Holkenborg aka Junkie XL (Army of the Dead, MAD MAX Fury Road)! Godzilla vs Kong marks the fourth in Legendary Pictures' titan universe. Godzilla & King Kong are back and they've led us to the center of our hollow Earth. In this movie, directed by Adam Wingard, tech mogul "Apex" and a band of conspiracy theorists, tech moguls, and scientists try to harness the power of the center of the earth to defeat a suddenly violent Godzilla and return King Kong to his original home. Junkie XL delivers a score that convinces you that this coalition of outcasts from across the world has to be correct. Huge orchestral arrangements perfectly match the intensity level of the multi-level coverup that hides the truth about the hollow earth theory. The composer complements awesome battles with sweet flashes of humanity from the two monsters, leaving hearts both racing and breaking for the creatures. Waxwork Records is thrilled to present the official double LP score with 180 gram "Godzilla" & "King Kong" colored vinyl, deluxe packaging, heavyweight gatefold jackets with matte coating, 12x12 art print, and more!

With both sides as vibrant and colourful as a hot and sweaty street party, this latest 45 is the perfect afrobeat soundtrack to end your summer.

A side, Blue G. opens explosively and delivers all that it promises in the opening bars: beautifully orchestrated twists and turn that chug along instrumentally for half the track. South African singer Nongoma unexpectedly adds a vocal spin in English and Xhosa, and with the catchy lyrics of "all the children need love, peace and harmony", it's a delight to be swept up in this swirling, festive, solar energy.

The B side, That Good Thing, follows on at exactly the same tempo, weaving horns, guitars, keys and numerous percussions in and out of an equally infectious groove. A highly polished track, full of rises and falls in all the right places.

The Konkolo Orchestra is, for now, a Zürich studio project led by multi-instrumentalist Alexis Malefakis, but let's hope that changes soon because it feels rather criminal not to have these rich sounds live and in your face. Dexterous musicianship meets fine production and execution.

When IANNIS XENAKIS (1922-2001), who had fought against the occupation as part of the communist Resistance, moved to Paris in 1947 it was the start of a highly creative and impressive career. XENAKIS not only studied composition with MESSIAEN and became one of the most innovative composers of the 20thcentury, he also worked as assistant to LE CORBUSIER and realized a.o. the Philips Pavilion for the World Exhibition in Brussels 1958. His compositions often are based on mathematical principles (in 1966 he founded the CEMAMu - Centre d'Etudes de Mathematique et Automatique Musicales), which give his music an unprecedented aesthetic and "shocking otherness" (The Guardian). The most famous works of XENAKIS, who won the Polar Music Prize (considered the unofficial Nobel Prize for music) in 1999, are his compositions for orchestra Metastasis, Pithoprakta and Terretektorh (where the 88 musicians are spread within the audience) and the electroacoustic compositions Persepolis (to be re-released later on as part of the PERIHEL series), Concret PH, Bohor and La Legende d'Eer where XENAKIS integrated his stochastic synthesis sounds for the first time. As legendary as this piece itself is the impenetrable thicket of versions and stories around La Legende d'Eer - it exists in different releases, wrong sample rates, digitized backwards ..., this now is a new version, using the 8-track-version that XENAKIS himself presented at Darmstädter Ferienkurse in august 1978. As the automatic spatialization is lost, this became the only original version of this composition and is presented here (mixed down to stereo by MARTIN WURMNEST who tried to preserve the spatial movements as perceptible as possible - mastered by RASHAD BECKER at D&M) for the very first time. La Legende d'Eer not only became a milestone of electroacoustic music but is also an important reference for noise and industrial musicians up to the present day!

The most beautiful themes of the famous science fiction universe Star Wars created by the American director George Lucas are now gathered in this exclusive vinyl record! First conceived as a cinematic trilogy in 1977, the franchise now counts films, series, novels and other goodies taking place «a long time ago in a galaxy far far away» in which a conflict between Jedi knights and Sith warriors remains.

The award-winning Star Wars soundtrack composed by John Williams and inspired by Wagner’s operas has influenced the greatest film musics. They are performed by The City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra.

Erlend Apneseth is one of Norway's foremost Hardanger fiddle players and folk musicians. After being widely recognized with the award-winning and critically acclaimed Erlend Apneseth Trio, he now returns with an acoustic soloalbum. This is the first time since his debut album "Blikkspor" (2013) that he has put the soloistic performance in focus, and this time the unique acoustics in Emmanuel Vigeland's Mausoleum sets the scene for his improvisations and compositions. "The Hardanger fiddle is traditionally a soloistic instrument. For me, one of the most fascinating things about the instrument is its ability to fill a whole room with sound all by itself. Even though I've been working in an electro-acoustic universe the last years, I've never left the acoustic approach to the Hardanger fiddle, and I now felt the time had come to do something all alone again." Even though Apneseth is rooted in traditional music, he has immersed himself in improvisation and alternative sonic-and pizzicato-technics on the Hardanger fiddle, which makes him stand out with his very own musical expression. After incessantly exploring his instrument for many years, this album can be seen as a personal catalogue of the Hardanger fiddle's sonic possibilities. Erlend Apneseth has released eight albums, received numerous awards, among them "Grappas Debutantpris" and "Gammleng-prisen", and no less than five nominations for the Norwegian Grammy's. In 2019 he received the Norwegian Grammy's award in the Open Cathegory for his album "Salika, Molika", with Erlend Apneseth Trio and Frode Haltli. The album also received the NOPA-award and was nominated for the Nordic Music Prize. Apneseth has written commissioned works for Kongsberg Jazzfestival, Fordefestivalen and Ultima, and toured extensively in Europe the past years. Since 2021 he has collaborated with the composer Orjan Matre on new works for Hardanger Fiddle and The Norwegian Chamber Orchestra.

Over the past two decades, Dez Mona never ceased to surprise audiences. Less than a year after “Lucy”, a 'worldly oratorio' in collaboration with the Antwerp Baroque Orchestration X, singer Gregory Frateur and his companions now knock on the door with the cosmopolitan “Loose Ends”.

On the group's ninth studio album, rugged funk often alternates with bouncing disco pop. 'After the dark ballads from our previous projects, we consciously chose to make a cheerful, straightforward record', says Frateur. 'This time I didn't want to exhaust myself too much in metaphors: the lyrics had to be simple and 'in your face'.

On a compositional level, Gregory Frateur gave the steering wheel this time to guitarist Sjoerd Bruil and accordionist Roel Van Camp. This contributed to Dez Mona stepping out of their comfort zone on Loose Ends and experimenting with a new sound. On the new album, for example, Van Camp plays the piano more often than the accordion. Leaning towards a more electronic sound, some songs gravitate and take you on a fantastical, abstract journey. ’Indeed, sometimes Sjoerd adds strange angles in his compositions', the singer concludes. 'During performances, they force me to put myself aside as a singer and get completely absorbed in the instrumental trip'.

The emphasis is more than ever on the rhythm and groove. Drummer Karel De Backer, the newcomer in the band, gives the music extra punch, while the absence of a bassist is ingeniously compensated by Bruil and Van Camp. 'On Loose Ends we go 'back to basics', admits Gregory Frateur. “But without losing our recognisability.”

Multi-instrumentalist Tijs Delbeke, who was part of Dez Mona for many years, but has moved to Balthazar, was responsible for the production. Frateur prefers to surround himself with people with whom he feels at ease and who carry the DNA of Dez Mona.

Italian duo Agents Of Time have been incredibly busy over the past few years, from releasing a string of classic singles – including their recent single for Afterlife, “The Mirage”, which earned more than five million views on Instagram – to remixing The Weeknd’s “Take My Breath”, which appeared on his recent Dawn FM (Alternative World). But the biggest news is here now – their second album, Universo, is ready. Elevating their trademark melodic techno with an exquisite pop-ness, Universo has found its ideal home with Kompakt, following their Music Made Paradise 2020 debut EP for the label. It’s a meeting of minds that makes perfect sense.

Andrea Di Ceglie and Luigi Tutolo, the two members of Agents Of Time, used their time during the pandemic to work on Universo, an album loosely conceptualised around their ‘personal universo’, a manifestation of the world Di Ceglie and Tutolo built both within and around their studio. This accounts for the sparkle and brightness of Universo – it’s full of personality, vim and vigour, the duo experimenting with their music, exploring its furthest corners. If you come to Universo expecting just another album of melodic techno, get ready to be pleasantly surprised – there’s a whole lot more going on here, and it’s all equally compelling.

After a typically poetic opening gesture – the swirling, synaesthetic, self-titled intro track – expectations are immediately blindsided with the two-step pop of “Fallin’”, sung with gentle clarity by guest Audrey Janssens, a dream of a song that harks back to the glory days of early ‘00s UK garage. “Interstellar Cowboy” is a confident, lithe, disco-fied strut; the gentle minor-key piano of “Liquid Fantasy” spirals into a gorgeously melancholy techno-pop epic, Vicky Who?’s voice rich with yearning. Janssens also reappears on the electro-swirl of “Poison”; “Dream Vision” revisits their single “The Mirage”, soft with sweeping strings, loaded with drama; “Part Of Life” sashays into view with a schaffel-stomp.

This rich variety throws the more dancefloor-focused tracks, like “Ciao”, into even starker relief – they’re more decisive, streamlined, yet rich with detail, chugging, Moroder-esque bass meeting strobe-lit synths that fire melodies out into the firmament. Universo feels texturally dense, but it still breathes, its sounds so tactile you want to reach out and grab them, its tunes so seductive you can’t get them out of your head. Universo is a fiercely beautiful album, brave in its spirit, a perfectly poised meeting-point of pop melody and stylish, lush techno: Agents Of Time in excelsis.

Das italienische Duo Agents Of Time war in den letzten Jahren unglaublich fleißig, von der Veröffentlichung einer Reihe klassischer Singles - darunter ihre jüngster Beitrag für Afterlife, "The Mirage", der mehr als fünf Millionen Aufrufe auf Instagram erhielt - bis hin zum Remix von The Weeknds "Take My Breath", der auf dessen aktuellen Album “Dawn FM (Alternative World)” erschien. Aber die bahnbrechendeste Neuigkeit ist erst jetzt endlich da - ihr zweites Album "Universo" ist fertig! “Universo" verbindet ihr Markenzeichen, melodischen Techno, mit einer besonderen Pop-Haltung und findet nach der EP "Music Made Paradise 2020" sein ideales Zuhause bei Kompakt. Eine Seelenverwandtschaft, die absolut Sinn macht.

Andrea Di Ceglie und Luigi Tutolo, die beiden Mitglieder von Agents Of Time, nutzten die Zeit während der Pandemie, um an "Universo" zu arbeiten, einem Album, das lose um ihr "persönliches Universum" herum konzipiert ist, eine Manifestation der Welt, die Di Ceglie und Tutolo in und um ihr Studio herum aufgebaut haben. Das macht den besonderen Glanz und die strahlende Helligkeit von "Universo" aus - es strotzt nur so von Persönlichkeit, Elan und Kraft, das Duo experimentiert mit Musik und erkundet auch noch deren entfernteste Ecken. Wer bei "Universo" nur ein weiteres Album mit melodischem Techno erwartet, wird angenehm überrascht sein - hier ist viel mehr los, und alles ist gleichermaßen spannend.

Nach einer poetischen Eröffnungsgeste - dem wirbelnden, synästhetischen, selbstbetitelten Intro-Track - werden mit dem 2-Step-Pop von “Fallin” alle Erwartungen sofort über den Haufen geworfen. Mit sanfter Klarheit von Gastsängerin Audrey Janssens gesungen, ist “Fallin” ein Traum von einem Song, der an die großen Zeiten von UK-Garage in den frühen 00er Jahre erinnert. "Interstellar Cowboy" ist ein selbstbewusstes, geschmeidig über den Laufsteg stolzierender Disco-Track; das sanfte Moll-Klavier von "Liquid Fantasy" entwickelt sich zu einem wunderbar melancholischen Techno-Pop-Epos, mit Vicky Who?’s Stimme voller Sehnsucht . Danach taucht auch Janssens Gesang auf dem Elektro-Wirbel von "Poison" wieder auf; "Dream Vision" greift die Single "The Mirage" auf, sanft und mit schwungvollen Streichern, voller Dramatik; "Part Of Life" dagegen ist ein echter Schaffel-Stomp.

All der Abwechslungsreichtum lässt eher tanzflächenorientierte Tracks wie "Ciao" noch deutlicher hervortreten - sie wirken noch entschlossener, stromlinienförmiger und dennoch reich an Details, pluckernde, Moroder-eske Bässe treffen auf stroboskopisch blitzende Synths, von denen aus die Melodien ins Firmament schießen. “Universo” fühlt sich textlich dicht an, aber es atmet trotzdem, seine Klänge sind so greifbar, dass man sie anfassen möchte, seine Melodien so verführerisch, dass man sie nicht mehr aus dem Kopf bekommt. “Universo” ist ein wunderschönes, mutiges Album, ein perfekter Treffpunkt von Pop-Melodien und stilvollem Techno: Agents Of Time in excelsis.

For Fans Of: Delvon Lamarr Organ Trio, The Sure Fire Soul Ensemble, New Mastersounds, Soulive, Jimmy Smith, Khruangbin. First reissue since it's original pressing in 2018! The iconic debut LP from the Scone Cash Players. Hammond Organ Stylings By Organ Master Adam Scone. The Hammond Organ is lead singer on this soulful and orchestral journey about industrial decay and the death of the steel town. Deep from the rusted steel mills of Youngstown Ohio, we bring you the much-anticipated reissue of the melting debut from the Scone Cash Players. It's the same organist that brought you the screaming organ on all those Daptone favorites from The Sugarman Three. Scone was behind that organ bench on the modern classics as follows. "Sugar's Boogaloo”, “Soul Donkey”, “Pure Cane Sugar", and "What the World Needs Now." Adam Scone entered the studio on Dunham Street in Brooklyn. He was wearing a blue Adidas jump suit. The studio had just opened. At the helm were his old compadres from The Dap-Kings. Namely Thomas Brenneck, Eric Kalb, Homer Steinweiss and lan Hendrickson-Smith. They make up the "Bliss Machine" behind Scones's groove. It was a truly rare moment to catch these masters of music and taste in between tours of Sharon Jones and Charles Bradley. Tommy put the mics around. Scone powered up the organ. The analog tape machine turned and turned until they couldn't turn any more. These songs were recorded. We worked all day and all night. Tears were shed. Espresso was made. There was beer on tap. 3 days of life were taken to make this album. We will never get them back. They were distilled to 40 minutes of pure emotion. It's a tale of woe. It's a tale of leaving art for responsibility. It's a farewell to an era. It's a journey that the Hammond B3 organ wasn't accustomed to. You can't compare this album to any other organ record. Don't expect to hear what you want. Free your mind. Be open. Your world is going to feel the heat of the BLAST FURNACE! It never quite feels how you want it to. Don't get burned... Tracks: 1. 1% Crown 2. Bliss Machine 3. The Slitter 4. Heavy Gauge 5. Necking 6. Blast Furnace 7. Jet Cool 8 Call & Receive No Call Back 9. Grinding Wheel 10. Structural Failure

12” black vinyl, lyrics insert, edition of 250. Let’s Whisper started many moons ago as a home recording project between Colin Clary and Dana Kaplan, during time off from their other outfit, The Smittens. Since then, the line up of the Vermont outfit has expanded, and now includes Brad Searles, The Essex Green’s Jeff Baron and Emma Kupa of Mammoth Penguins/Standard Fare. In addtion, Jeff’s bandmate from The Ladybug Transistor, Gary Olson, produced, engineered, plays trumpet and sings on the record. The In-Between Times is a leap forward for Let’s Whisper, taking the lush orchestration familiar to fans of The Essex Green and Ladybug Transistor. It’s a tender, brave, and earnest album, exploring grief, gender, and goodbyes. The times between pronounced transitions: life and death, pre- to post-testosterone, the storm to the calm after. Tracklist: A1) You Are Loved A2) The Thing That Defines You A3) Sing! A4) Simple Times A5) Hey You A6) This Might Not Be A Crush A7) 40 Ways To Love You B1) Balloon In The Sky B2) Long Run B3) I Don’t Know What I Would Do Without You B4) Hey There B5) When We Were Young B6) The Year Of Getting High

Within the last ten years the resurgence of sixties Gallic Pop, once known as Ye-Ye music, has escalated beyond an inter-stellar dizzy height. What might have been a waning, embarrassing genre destined for a shelf life/death gathering dust amongst the Eurovisions of yesteryear, the ‘jerk-beat’ psychsploitation records of the latter day French-Disco had soon found new floor space in some of the most credible nightspots in London and Japan.

Without a shadow of doubt, the flagship LP with best odds on becoming a discerning household object was “Histoire de Melody Nelson” by one Serge Gainsbourg. An inimitable, 45-minute concept LP handcrafted by a bass-driven psychedelic rock group and a heaven sent, 1001 piece orchestral and choral symphony. The album left hip hop producers alongside progressive rock aficionados crying out for more and more for years to come. This LP was in a league of its very own… or was it?

The seldom-sung musical arranger for Melody Nelson has become one of the most enigmatic names in French-funk; lorded by many as the “French David Axelrod” Jean-Claude Vannier’s name is the lesser-spotted, tell-tale seal of sample-friendly quality when it comes to crate-digging ‘en Francais’. Suitably, when rumours amongst French record dealers claiming “the band who played Melody Nelson recorded a follow-up lp” became a legend of psychedelic folk-lore. Another unconfirmed rumour about JCV taking the remaining out-takes of the beloved Melody Nelson to create a promo-only experimental rock LP left sample hungry producers and DJs in turmoil…

For those in the know the answers to these mysteries lay flat between the anonymous gatefold sleeve of an undiscovered conceptual album bizarrely entitled “L’Enfant Assassin des Mouches” by a custom-built avant-rock entourage called Insolitudes. The rocking-horse manure treasure hunt began.

So here we have it. The mythical teen-tonic for all those suffering from Melody Nelson withdrawal symptoms. For record collectors looking for that special something, this LP contains the extra-special EVERYTHING. Peruse the following genres: Psychedelic, Classical, Soundtracks, Jazz, Hip Hop, Samples, Avant Garde, Funk. Then place a copy of “L’Enfant Assassin des Mouches” in each section.

History denotes that when ‘our man in Paris’ Msr. Gainsbourg first heard the initial bones of this LP he took his poetic pencil to paper providing bizarre liner notes, thus consummating the most extraordinary concept album of all time. The story “The Child Assassin Of The Flies” was to be included as the only information to grace the LPs highly collectible, concertina gatefold sleeve. The story in full is reproduced in its native-tongue on this very special re-release package. The CD also includes the bonus track “Je M’ Appelle Geraldine”, a beat heavy John Barry-esque track taken from Vannier’s super-rare 7? EP “Point D’Interrogation”.

DJs and Producers such as Jim O’Rourke, Stereolab’s Tim Gane and David Holmes have spent sleepless nights in perusal of original copies of this perfect release and now regard it as ‘One Of The Best’. Recent copies on eBay have commanded ridiculous price-tags, and is now one of the most sought-after articles amongst the vinyl hungry hip-hop community.

Deep-listening organ piece from Malaysia-born, Berlin-based composer Rishin Singh, performed by Martin Sturm on the Lizst organ in Thuringia, Germany. RIYL: Kali Malone, Anna von-Hausswolff - "An endless and captivating exploration of one organ's timbres and tones. Both whispered and shouted, large and small, close and far, Singh's work is both unsettling and a balm, and has invited me to reconsider pitch, consonance, dissonance, tension and release." – Clarice Jensen, artistic director of the American Contemporary Music Ensemble (ACME) In the 1850s the influential composer Franz Liszt, who was living in Weimar, Germany at the time, carried out, with the famous cantor Alexander Wilhelm Gottschalg, a series of “ländlichen Orgelexperimente” (rural organ experiments) in Thuringia – investigating various instruments and their capabilities for contemporary music. They eventually settled on the organ in Denstedt because of its high quality. Many years later, award-winning organist Martin Sturm would invite the Berlin-based composer Rishin Singh to repeat these “ländlichen Orgelexperimente” with him and they again chose the organ at Denstedt, now named in honour of Liszt, as the best instrument – the most flexible and expressive – to perform and record Singh's music for organ. mewl infans is a contemporary classical piece that invites modern listeners to ponder the enduring pull of an instrument that was first conceived more than 2,000 years ago and has, in recent years, been rediscovered by a new generation of composers and listeners. Throughout the larger architecture of the four movements, melodic motifs return over and over, fractured by noise, fragmented by carefully calibrated alternate tunings, dissolving into thin air, and generating drones which then transform into new melodic variations. Over the 44 minutes of the piece the organist at times attempts to exert complete control over the instrument, and at other times relinquishes all control entirely. Conceptually rigorous and emotionally charged, mewl infans rewards deep listening and patience. At times conjuring a sense of doom, at other times suspense, pastoral drift, or aquatic submersion, the album is a universe of tiny details comprised of noise and air, of the journey each tone takes from birth to expiration. HIGHLIGHTS: – Singh has been commissioned by the GRAMMY-nominated JACK Quartet. Premiere in NYC Spring 2023 – Collaborations between Singh and Sturm are ongoing: Sturm will premiere Singh’s concerto for organ, timpani, and string orchestra later this year – Sturm is the youngest professor of organ in German history – The debut album from Singh‘s ensemble Leider, A Fog Like Liars Loving, was released by Beacon Sound in May of 2021 Bios: Martin Sturm, born 1992 in South Germany, in an International award-winning organist (ION, Schwäbisch Gmünd, Festival St Albans, Haarlem, Bavarian Culture Prize, and Keck-Köppe Foundation). He performs regularly as an interpreter and organ improviser at festivals, churches, and concert halls around the world. In 2019 he was appointed Professor for Organ and Organ Improvisation at the University of Music “Franz Liszt” in Weimar (Germany), after teaching at the Universities of Music in Würzburg and Leipzig. Rishin Singh (b. Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia) is a composer and trombonist living in Berlin. He has been commissioned to compose for the JACK Quartet (US), Piano+ (US), Claire Edwardes (AUS), DNK Ensemble (NL), Prof. Martin Sturm (DE), the Amsterdam Wandelweiser Festival (NL), Quiet Music Ensemble (IE), and others. Upcoming premieres include “every day” a concerto for organ, timpani, and string orchestra (Martin Sturm, Thuringia, 2022), and “melancholy objects” a string quartet (the JACK Quartet, New York, Spring 2023). He is currently working on his first chamber opera and is the composer and lyricist for the art song ensemble Leider.

Idiology was originally released in 2001 and is now finally back on vinyl. This re-issue is pressed on white color vinyl and presented in a die cut jacket with artworked inner sleeve and free download card. From their beginnings in 1992, Cologne native Jan St. Werner and Dusseldorfer Andi Toma have consistently challenged electronic music"s paradigm in often surprising and always intriguing ways. Idiology is the duo"s seventh album and is no exception to this rule, as Mouse on Mars surround themselves with strings, woodwinds, brass and the band"s own heavily modified fleet of machines in the St. Martin"s Tonstudio. Fans should once again brace themselves for the inevitable shock of the new as Germany"s most irreverent audio renegades have created the perfect soundtrack for a highly sinister dance party. Kicking off with "Actionist Respoke", the album"s first single, Mouse on Mars officially declare their independence from glitchtronica"s shoegazing legions. Longtime collaborator Dodo Nkishi lends a uniquely warped vocal sensibility to the track which already features Mouse on Mars"s darkest grooves to date. The rest of the album continues to thicken the group"s sonic stew. Tracks such as "Presence" and "Catching Butterflies With Hands" have their populist intentions undermined by Werner and Toma"s meddling hands, while the duo reprise their flirtation with the orchestral as heard on the opening tracks from 2000"s Niun Niggung. At the other end of the spectrum, "Introduce" is a truly evil slice of twisted lympho-zoid hip-hop. Idiology takes no prisoners in its dual-pronged assault on the conventions of modern music. Only with the loungy closing number, "Fantastic Analysis" (a term Werner and Toma invented to describe their working process), do Mouse on Mars let the arrangements breathe a long sigh of relief, the calm after the storm. To enable these stylistic achievements Mouse on Mars enlist the help of partners in crime such as: Nkishi, the multi-talented Harald "Sack" Ziegler, house icon Matthew Herbert on piano, violinist Matty Arouse, in addition to fellow programming wizards Adam "Vert" Butler and F.X. Randomiz. The latter two toured with Mouse on Mars in 2000 as they successfully triumphed over audiences around the globe.

Eric Dolphy's final studio album is hailed as one of the finest examples of mid-'60s post bop. Its reputation is purely one of backwards significance. Dolphy, having recorded the album in February 1964, was in Europe less than six weeks later and his all-too-brief life ended less than two months after that. Though likely he never held a copy in his hands or heard any critical opinion of it, it marked his last flurry of original compositions and is considered his apex. It is fascinating to consider whether he would had moved past or away from the album in 1965, had he lived.

Though Dolphy should not be considered an avant-garde musician by the term's most common definitions, most interpretations of Out To Lunch have been done by players working squarely in that area. So it is with this album, the most ambitious in its recreation of the five-tune disc (with one original added to the final "Straight Up and Down, extending the piece to almost thirty minutes). All five compositions from the original quintet LP are revisited in the same order, the record sleeve even duplicates the old album jacket, down to the typeface and black-and-blue color scheme, although a photo taken by Daidō Moriyama inside Tokyo's massive (and massively busy) Shinjuku railway station replaces the Dolphy's album's enigmatic "Will Be Back" sign, whose clock hands indicated no conventional time of expected return.

Otomo Yoshihide first came to international prominence in the 1990s as the leader of the experimental rock group Ground Zero, and has since worked in a variety of contexts, ranging from free improvisation to noise, jazz, avant-garde and contemporary classical. The always surprising and sometimes confounding turntablist, sound artist, onkyo improviser and now avant jazzer heading up a 15-piece aggregation of Japanese and European experimentalists. Who better to grapple with Dolphy's legacy -- so idiosyncratic in its day and yet so influential to creative improvisers who followed -- than a musician with his own singular take on how sounds can be organized in the jazz realm over 40 years later and half a world away? In other words don't expect the conventional from Otomo any more than you would from Dolphy himself. That's not to say that recognizable themes ("Hat and Beard," "Out to Lunch," "Straight Up and Down") don't appear, or that individual players -- including Alfred Harth on bass clarinet bursting into the mix and leaping across the instrument's tonal range in a way that recalls the master himself -- don't carry forward echoes from the past in the spirit of a sincere and heartfelt homage.

However, a good deal of the time all bets are off; in addition to the usual brass, reeds, bass, and drums (and of course a bit of vibraphone, here played by Takara Kumiko in far less prominent role than that of Bobby Hutcherson) are such sonic paraphernalia as sine waves, contact mike, no-input mixing board, and, of course, "computer." (Otomo himself plays skronky electric guitar.) From composition to composition and even during episodes within compositions, the band takes radically different approaches. There are blasts of free jazz energy not too far removed from the Peter Brötzmann Tentet, an impression reinforced by the presence of spluttering wildman Mats Gustafsson on baritone sax. Not surprisingly and often in contrast with the Dolphy original, the music is dense and filled to overflowing with sounds -- sometimes due to fundamental reworkings in structure rather than just the larger size of the ensemble. The middle section of "Something Sweet, Something Tender" somewhat belies the original's title with elongated howls and cries from the horns over slo-mo bass, drums, and electronic noise poised somewhere between dirge and drone, and the sudden explosion of punk-ish rock energy in the following "Gazzelloni" is a startling contrast.

At times, the feeling is that of listening to the original Out To Lunch while a séance is going on to contact Dolphy's ghost, with supernatural sounds swirling around the stereo. The effect is disconcerting, as is the post-apocalyptic cloud hanging over the arrangements, but it makes the effort more than an unnecessary tribute album. Instead, Dolphy is transported into the 21st Century and allowed to romp through modern developments in music. An inspiring concept and an album that will stretch the boundaries of anyone who comes into contact with it.

Note price increase and cat number change from last time around. In 1968, Don Cherry had already established himself as one of the leading voices of the avant-garde. Having pioneered free jazz as a member of Ornette Coleman's classic quartet, and with a high profile collaboration with John Coltrane under his belt, the globetrotting jazz trumpeter settled in Sweden with his partner Moki and her daughter Neneh. There, he assembled a group of Swedish musicians and led a series of weekly workshops at the ABF, or Workers' Educational Association, from February to April of 1968, with lessons on extended forms of improvisation including breathing, drones, Turkish rhythms, overtones, silence, natural voices, and Indian scales. That summer, saxophonist and recording engineer Göran Freese who later recorded Don's classic Organic Music Society and Eternal Now LPs invited Don, members of his two working bands, and a Turkish drummer to his summer house in Kummelnäs, just outside of Stockholm, for a series of rehearsals and jam sessions that put the prior months' workshops into practice. Long relegated to the status of a mysterious footnote in Don's sessionography, tapes from this session, as well as one professionally mixed tape intended for release, were recently found in the vaults of the Swedish Jazz Archive, and the lost Summer House Sessions are finally available over fifty years after they were recorded. On July 20, the musicians gathered at Freese's summer house included Bernt Rosengren (tenor saxophone, flutes, clarinet), Tommy Koverhult (tenor saxophone, flutes), Leif Wennerström (drums), and Torbjörn Hultcrantz (bass) from Don's Swedish group; Jacques Thollot (drums) and Kent Carter (bass) from his newly formed international band New York Total Music Company; Bülent Ates (hand drum, drums), who was visiting from Turkey; and Don (pocket trumpet, flutes, percussion) himself. Lacking a common language, the players used music as their common means of communication. In this way, these frenetic and freewheeling sessions anticipate Don's turn to more explicitly pan-ethnic expression, preceding his epochal Eternal Rhythm dates by four months. The octet, comprising musicians from America, France, Sweden, and Turkey, was a perfect vehicle for Don's budding pursuit of "collage music," a concept inspired in part by the shortwave radio on which Don listened to sounds from around the world. Using the collage metaphor, Don eliminated solos and the introduction of tunes, transforming a wealth of melodies, sounds, and rhythms into poetic suites of different moods and changing forms. The Summer House Sessions ensemble joyously layers manifold cultural idioms, traversing the airy peaks and serene valleys of Cherry's earthly vision. In the Swedish Jazz Archive quite a few other recordings from the same day were to be found. Some of the highlights are heard as bonus material on the CD edition of this album. The octet is augmented by producer and saxophone player Gunnar Lindqvist, who led the Swedish free jazz orchestra G.L. Unit on the album Orangutang, and drummer Sune Spångberg, who recorded with Albert Ayler in 1962. The bonus CD also includes a track without Cherry featuring Jacques Thollot joined by five Swedes including Lindqvist, Tommy Koverhult, Sune Spångberg, and others. With liner notes by Magnus Nygren and album art featuring a cover painting by Moki Cherry: Untitled, ca. 1967-68. Track list: 1. Summer House Sessions 2. Summer House Sessions.

For Fans Of: Delvon Lamarr Organ Trio, The Sure Fire Soul Ensemble, New Mastersounds, Soulive, Jimmy Smith, Khruangbin. First reissue since it's original pressing in 2018! The iconic debut LP from the Scone Cash Players. Hammond Organ Stylings By Organ Master Adam Scone. The Hammond Organ is lead singer on this soulful and orchestral journey about industrial decay and the death of the steel town. Deep from the rusted steel mills of Youngstown Ohio, we bring you the much-anticipated reissue of the melting debut from the Scone Cash Players. It's the same organist that brought you the screaming organ on all those Daptone favorites from The Sugarman Three. Scone was behind that organ bench on the modern classics as follows. "Sugar's Boogaloo”, “Soul Donkey”, “Pure Cane Sugar", and "What the World Needs Now." Adam Scone entered the studio on Dunham Street in Brooklyn. He was wearing a blue Adidas jump suit. The studio had just opened. At the helm were his old compadres from The Dap-Kings. Namely Thomas Brenneck, Eric Kalb, Homer Steinweiss and lan Hendrickson-Smith. They make up the "Bliss Machine" behind Scones's groove. It was a truly rare moment to catch these masters of music and taste in between tours of Sharon Jones and Charles Bradley. Tommy put the mics around. Scone powered up the organ. The analog tape machine turned and turned until they couldn't turn any more. These songs were recorded. We worked all day and all night. Tears were shed. Espresso was made. There was beer on tap. 3 days of life were taken to make this album. We will never get them back. They were distilled to 40 minutes of pure emotion. It's a tale of woe. It's a tale of leaving art for responsibility. It's a farewell to an era. It's a journey that the Hammond B3 organ wasn't accustomed to. You can't compare this album to any other organ record. Don't expect to hear what you want. Free your mind. Be open. Your world is going to feel the heat of the BLAST FURNACE! It never quite feels how you want it to. Don't get burned... Tracks: 1. 1% Crown 2. Bliss Machine 3. The Slitter 4. Heavy Gauge 5. Necking 6. Blast Furnace 7. Jet Cool 8 Call & Receive No Call Back 9. Grinding Wheel 10. Structural Failure

Over the past decade, the mysterious, London-based artist Moiré has perfected a syrupy, addictive brand of dance music via labels like Actress's Werk Discs and illustrious imprints like Ghostly and Rush Hour. For most of this period, Moiré seemed pramarily concerned in creating alternative universe club tracks. The beats were hypnotic, if wonky. The pads were deep before they were refracted through an oblique filter. In a discography bearing a surfeit of leftfield high points, Circuits, Moiré's latest album for the Berlin-based Avenue 66 (Lowtec, John Frusciante, Joey Anderson) is a massive creative leap that fully breaks with the strictures of a "conventional" dance music.

While there are still nods to the low-slung, slow house style Moiré's perfected in the past ("Circuit 1"), as well as the looming shadow of hardcore ("Circuit 8), Moiré's style now billows into a liminal, cinematic zone that recalls the canonical SAW albums, BOC or even Seefeel's enduring, genre-free experiments. Rhythms come and go at all tempos, from Hauntological four-on-the-floor to flickering downtempo and ambient house approximations. But the emphasis lies with the melodies. From the queasy orchestral style of "Circuits 1" to the glacial, "end credits"-style synths that close out the album, these motifs bear an uncanny familiarity, as though they always existed. You recognize them, not from a previous listen, but rather, some half-remembered dream, or, perhaps, a previous lifetime.

The Hammond Organ is lead singer on this soulful and orchestral journey about industrial decay and the death of the steel town. Deep from the rusted steel mills of Youngstown Ohio, we bring you the much-anticipated reissue of the melting debut from the Scone Cash Players. It's the same organist that brought you the screaming organ on all those Daptone favorites from The Sugarman Three. Scone was behind that organ bench on the modern classics as follows. "Sugar's Boogaloo", "Soul Donkey", "Pure Cane Sugar", and "What the World Needs Now." Adam Scone entered the studio on Dunham Street in Brooklyn. He was wearing a blue Adidas jump suit. The studio had just opened. At the helm were his old compadres from The Dap-Kings. Namely Thomas Brenneck, Eric Kalb, Homer Steinweiss and lan Hendrickson-Smith. They make up the "Bliss Machine" behind Scones's groove. It was a truly rare moment to catch these masters of music and taste in between tours of Sharon Jones and Charles Bradley. Tommy put the mics around. Scone powered up the organ. The analog tape machine turned and turned until they couldn't turn any more. These songs were recorded. We worked all day and all night. Tears were shed. Espresso was made. There was beer on tap. 3 days of life were taken to make this album. We will never get them back. They were distilled to 40 minutes of pure emotion. It's a tale of woe. It's a tale of leaving art for responsibility. It's a farewell to an era. It's a journey that the Hammond B3 organ wasn't accustomed to. You can't compare this album to any other organ record. Don't expect to hear what you want. Free your mind. Be open. Your world is going to feel the heat of the BLAST FURNACE! It never quite feels how you want it to. Don't get burned... FOR FANS OF: Delvon Lamarr Organ Trio, The Sure Fire Soul Ensemble, New Mastersounds, Soulive, Jimmy Smith, Khruangbin

Since his introduction in the 60’s, Roger Damawuzan has lit stages on fire, whether it be with The Rickers Orchestra or with The Melo-Togo Orchestra (taking home 2nd place for the first National Festival of Tologese Music). His first 7" vinyl Wait For Me is a holy grail for diggers all around the world. It was such a hit that Togolese music is and will forever be stamped by Roger Damawuzan. He was principal in introducing Gazo, Akpesse and Kamou rhythms to modern day soul music. Relentless and unstoppable, Roger Damawuzan is now making a comeback with a heavy funk 7 inch!

This release contains an unreleased single from the album Seda , which will be available on October 14th 2022. Such a force of nature, this album could have been only captured, if not mastered, by one studio. Such mission was accomplished by the legendary studio OTODI (Office Togolese of Disks) by utilizing solely analog equipment to translate and to breath all of Damawuzan’s soul into this album. Roger Damawuzan could have been supported by only one group. Led by Peter Solo, the members of the Vaudou Game and Lomé’s most talented musicians are at Damawuzan’s disposal for this new soul DJ friendly vinyl.

With their ability to move seamlessly from the triangle to the donkey jaw, cymbals to Chinese gong, vibraphone to wind machine, percussionists are undoubtedly the most atypical members of the classical orchestra. Paul Changarnier, Nicolas Cousin and Alexandre Esperet are a case in point. Having set their sights on the marimba - Latin American xylophone, cousin of the African balafon - they decided to use it as the main vehicle for their artistic dreams. With the label No Format, they embarked on a project which would see them taking on pop hits of the kind that are produced in mega studios on the other side of the Atlantic and dazzle with a thousand lights and special effects. But they wanted to do it without leaving France or their beloved instruments. They wanted to make pop without machines, guitars, bass or synths. They ended up finding a hitherto unknown instrumental formula that belongs to them and them only, one conceived as the perfect fit for the voices from the well-known French artists that were called upon to interpret the songs. Camille, with her extraordinary energy, makes Rihanna"s "Don"t Stop the Music" waltz in a new organic mode; Blick Bassy redecorates Ariana Grande"s "One Last Time" in the colours of Bassa; Malik Djoudi envelopes Frank Ocean"s "Super Rich Kids" with a subtle ethereal texture; Camélia Jordana made her mark on this bonanza of reinvention by slowing down the tempo of "Dance Monkey"; The voice of Sandra Nkaké, imbued Lana del Rey"s "Video Games" with a solemn and sublime mystery. Like an old love that"s rediscovered with new eyes, an air that comes back from far away but could have been born today, somehow familiar but never seen before. Déjà vu but never heard until now. Déjà Vu: the name of this magnificent, unprecedented experience, this unidentifiable flying platter.

The third release from Night Dreamer’s essential “Direct-to-Disc” sessions sees an incredible meeting between legendary US saxophonist Gary Bartz and leading UK spiritual jazz ensemble, Maisha, featuring two Bartz classics and three brand new joint songs written by both Bartz & Maisha in close collaboration.

Having cut his teeth playing with the likes of Charles Mingus, Max Roach, Art Blakey and finally in 1970, Miles Davis at the peak of his electric period, Gary Bartz became a leading figure of the early-to-mid 70s spiritual jazz movement, releasing a string of ground-breaking albums on legendary NYC jazz label Prestige Records with his NTU Troop, featuring classics such as “Celestial Blues”, “Uhuru Dance” and “I’ve Known Rivers”, before collaborating on Blue Note Records with the Mizell Brothers on the anthemic jazz funk of “Music Is My Sanctuary”. An oeuvre much loved by soul jazzers and hip hop fans alike.

Led by drummer Jake Long, Maisha have been central to the UK’s jazz explosion, and have fast become the UK’s most exciting and in-demand young spiritual jazz ensemble, from steller shows at Jazz re:freshed, Total Refreshment Centre & Church of Sound and supporting the Sun Ra Arkestra, to releasing their critically acclaimed debut LP, ​“There Is A Place” ​on Gilles Peterson’s Brownswood Recordings in 2018. Theirs is an organic & explosive sound that blends influences from afrobeat and broken beat to Persian music, with a deep love and understanding of jazz, particularly the heritage of spiritual jazz led by titans such as Pharoah Sanders, Alice Coltrane and of course, Gary Bartz.

Which makes this collaboration even more special. Bartz was first invited to share a stage with Maisha by Gilles Peterson to headline the inaugural We Out Here festival. Their chemistry was rich and instantaneous, certainly a two-way street, with the young musicians reinvigorating the legend’s performance and wowing the intergenerational festival audience. A European tour followed, including a London Jazz Festival highlight at the Royal Festival Hall, celebrating the 50th anniversary of his album “Another Earth”, originally featuring fellow legends, Pharoah Sanders, Charles Tolliver, Stanley Cowell, and John Coltrane’s own bassist, Reggie Workman.


Now the relationship has evolved into a special straight-to-disc recording for Night Dreamer Records, that captures the vitality of their collaboration. Whilst Bartz and Maisha reinvent classic Bartz compositions “Uhuru Sasa” and “Dr Follows Dance”, extending the pieces into long piece improvised grooves, their recording session gave birth to three brand new joint compositions, written the very same day. These include the propulsive “Leta’s Dance” that magically combines the Bartz’ soulful musical lyricism with Maisha’s African-jazz influences, and the organic jazz

funk of “Harlem to Haarlem”, featuring a hot solo from guest trumpeter Axel Kaner-Lidstrom of Cykada & Levitation Orchestra fame.

Like previous Night Dreamer efforts from afrobeat star Seun Kuti & Egypt 80, and the beautiful collaboration between Brazilian stars Seu Jorge & Rogê, the album was recorded in Haarlem’s Artone Studio, a stones throw from Amsterdam, in just one-take, straight-to-disc, avoiding post-production embellishments and retaining the purity of the performance lost in modern recording techniques.

This record really is an event, in and of itself, a meeting of talents, minds, generations and zeitgeist moments, captured in a unique and pure manner. The music does not disappoint, as Maisha have been inspired to reach new heights whilst we find Bartz truly reinvigorated, and both artists in tune to the spirit of the other.

Recorded direct-to-disc @ Artone Studio, Haarlem, The Netherlands on Tuesday 29th Wednesday 30th October 2019

Come for the leopard, stay for the stone cold jams. Yet another thrilling, funky-prog jazzy-rock fusion beauty from Ian Carr’s Nucleus. Originally released on Vertigo in 1975, Alleycat was never re-pressed so those original copies are now very tricky to score. Like all the Nucleus records, it’s aged ridiculously well and this Be With re-issue, re-mastered from the original analogue tapes, shows off just why this deserves to be back in press.

Genius trumpeter and visionary composer Ian Carr was one of the most respected British musicians of his era. He was a true pioneer and saw the potential in fusing the worlds of jazz with rock, just as Miles Davis and The Tony Williams Lifetime did in the US. In late 1969, following the demise of the Rendell-Carr quintet, and tiring of British jazz, Carr assembled the legendary Nucleus. Regarding music as a continuous process, Nucleus refused to “recognise rigid boundaries” and worked on delivering what they saw as a “total musical experience”. We can get behind that.

Under bandleader Carr, Nucleus existed as a fluid line-up of inventive, skilled musicians. This constant evolution and revolution was all part of the continuous musical exploration and discovery that took jazz to new levels. And the music has stayed relevant. To steal a line from a recent review of our re-issue of Roots, when it comes to anything Nucleus “it’s basically already hip-hop”.

Alleycat was the last Nucleus album recorded for the Vertigo label. Released in 1975, it was again meticulously produced by Jon Hiseman and is every bit as sinuous as anything else the group had recorded. As far as riff-laden accidental cop-funk goes, there’s so much energy coursing through the music that at times it sounds like a live recording. It’s pretty unbeatable.

Uptempo opener “Phaideaux Corner” is a funk-flavoured opus with a groove that simply swaggers. This trademark Roger Sutton piece benefits from Trevor Tomkins’s percussive expertise and some excellent sax and keyboard soloing. Check out Geoff Castle on squelchy, stabbing Moog duties. Ian Carr’s elegantly laidback title track is a lengthy suite of magisterial themes. Typically complex, it still gets you hooked and is just riddled with the funk. Carr builds up his initially “straight” trumpet solo with later use of echo to mesmeric effect. And there’s some excellent wah-wah guitar shredding by Ken Shaw too. Nice.

The second side opens with the killer “Splat” and finds Nucleus really ripping it up. A fat, funky bass guitar riff introduces us to the track and stays with us until the end. The often mangled bass groove is pushed along by rattling drums and percussion, dropping out for some restful moments of spacey calm, and along the way picking up some lengthy keyboard noodling by Castle. So so good.

The cool “You Can’t Be Sure” is a gentle jam with Shaw on 12-string acoustic guitar, together with Carr’s muted trumpet and some marvellous fretless work from Sutton for extra colour. The album closes with Bob Bertles’ galloping “Nosegay”, written perhaps as a response to some of the faster Mahavishnu Orchestra pieces. It’s an example of well crafted jazz-rock that doesn’t compromise any of its jazziness, yet it still very definitely rocks.

This Be With re-issue of Alleycat has been re-mastered from the original Vertigo master tapes, Simon Francis’ mastering working together with Pete Norman’s cut to weave their usual magic with these wonderful recordings. The cool AF cover - that leopard was just a cat before he heard Nucleus, you know - has been restored as the finishing touch to this long overdue re-issue.

Back in 2016, producer Seth Applebaum released two EPs that marked the inauguration of the band Ghost Funk Orchestra. `Night Walker' and `Death Waltz' were conceived as one-man-band, reel-to-reel tape recorded experiments that would bring together elements of all the sounds that Seth most adored at the time: tape-saturated drums, gratuitous spring reverb, surfy guitar, Latin-style percussion, odd time signatures, and Spanish-language female vocals. Initially released only in the digital domain and on a short run of cassette tapes, these two EPs that defined the early era of GFO are now finally available together on a single LP via Colemine Records. The tracks have been lovingly remastered by Doug Krebs. We invite you to take a dive into the humble beginnings of a project that has continued to grow, shape shift, and accrue new and exciting sounds for its sonic palette.

Mondo, in conjunction with Back Lot Music, are proud to present the final chapter of the Jurassic saga: Michael Giacchino’s score to JURASSIC WORLD DOMINION.

Giacchino started his early career at Disney Interactive Division where he had the opportunity to write music for video games. After moving to DreamWorks Interactive, he was asked to score the temp track for the video game adaptation of The Lost World: Jurassic Park. Subsequently, franchise creator Steven Spielberg hired him as the game’s composer and it became the first PlayStation game to have a live orchestral score, recorded with members of the Seattle Symphony. Now, 25 years later, Giacchino comes full circle with this soundtrack to the epic conclusion of the Jurassic era, recorded with 87 orchestra members and 30 choir members at Abbey Road Studios in London. Fans can expect Giacchino’s usual tongue-in-cheek track titles that highlight the action of the score cues.

Mondo has released all Jurassic World franchise series albums on vinyl to date, so complete the trilogy with the Jurassic World Dominion release. Custom artwork was designed by artist Justin Erickson of Phantom City Creative. The package will include liner notes from Jurassic World architect and director of Dominion, Colin Trevorrow, and pressed onto 180-gram webstore exclusive color vinyl.

Composed by Michael Giacchino
Artwork by Phantom City Creative
Manufactured in Czech Republic

2LP Gatefold (featuring liner notes). Limited Edition. Artwork by Meeuw.

A collection of personal recordings made on various synthesisers between 1989 and 2017, by Telesoniek Atelier. Huge Tip on this one!

Early feedback:

"Fascinating improvs. I loved 'Gruesse'. " Suzanne Ciani (Atmospheric)

"Beautiful music with real subtlety and depth” Anthony Child (Surgeon, Transcendence Orchestra)

"Lovely, pure synth music." Mark Pritchard (Warp Records)

"Chateuroux is mighty... A proper zoner. Flung on earth." John T. Gast

"This is a great release by Telesoniek Atelier - a musician unknown to me before now. I've been thoroughly enjoying playing this double vinyl release since i got it. Both discs are filled with amazing music that moves between abstract electronic experiments to melodic, DMT bent sounding, classical contemporary music and futuristic soundtracks from non-existing Sci Fi movies you'll wish you could see. It time-warps you from here to there then freezes the moment. It all sounds like its been taken straight from the ancient room .. you know, that one where the spirits of the great teachers live. This is very focused, unpretentious and highly emotive music . A wonderful and dreamy sound garden coming from what I imagine to be a beautiful mind . These discs will be camping out on my turntables for a while."
Tako Reyenga (Music From Memory)

"A deep sense of the symphonic permeates this record. While synthesizers form the basis of its sound, Hans Kulk shapes their timbre into uncanny acoustics and weaves them together like an orchestra. Just when you think you have understood what is happening, another layer reveals itself. Yet it keeps a floating sense of lightness throughout. A truly rewarding listening experience."
Hainbach

San Francisco’s Xyla is a queer BPoC classical musician-turned producer, heavily influenced by footwork, R&B, club and orchestral music.
 ‘Ways’ is Xyla’s Leaving Records debut. Echoes of
sweaty rave anthems and classic IDM head trips
can be heard strewn throughout the album’s eight
compositions, awash in deep ambient swirls and
intriguingly twisted samples.
 For fans of Bochum Welt, Aphex Twin, Four Tet,
Barker, Matmos, Plaid.
 Tip-on jacket with gloss finish and black polylined
inner sleeve.

Wilderness pianist Hunter Noack has been a regular guest pianist with Pink Martini, and has been featured on PBS and CBS This Morning. Now, his debut album is the definitive souvenir of Noack’s award-winning, ground-breaking wilderness concert series, IN A LANDSCAPE: Classical Music in the Wild. The album features Noack performing select favorites from the classical piano canon as well as collaborations with Native American flutist James Edmund Greeley, psychedelic electronics by Dave Friedlander, a spacious concerto with the Salem Orchestra, and an arrangement of Franz Schubert’s most beautiful song with Pink Martini’s China Forbes and Thomas Lauderdale. Be transported to the secret glens and sunny meadows that inspired the composers and performers with this contemplative collection.

How can music be violent when it's not loud? When is malice beautiful? Amidst the gloom, listening to Chalk is a restorative experience. Neophobia is a meditative saga which, despite the name, radically embraces the aesthetics and methods of post-modernity. In between identical gamelan pieces, Chalk weaves an abrasive collage of sounds and musics that touch on peace punk, musique concrete, & American primitive. Neophobia explores the schizophrenia and horror of living in the contemporary era, an odyssey with an indeterminate point of departure or return. Chalk is an amorphous musical project orchestrated by Barry Elkanick (Institute, Blue Dolphin) While this is Barry's 'solo project' he regularly invites friends, other musicians and artists to accompany him. Under 'Chalk' Barry has self-released 8 cassettes since 2015. While wildly ranging in recording techniques & approach, the cassettes have informed and culminated in the final sound present on "Neophobia" which is his first LP for Post Present Medium. Barry wrote and recorded "Neophobia" independently out of his home in Houston, TX on computers and tape machines. LP limited to 300 copies, includes poster.

Singer-songwriter Bob Lind will forever be immortalized by his 1965 hit, »Elusive Butterfly«, but his career is so much more interesting than the fading wonder of that one hit. Once a hard-partying buddy of Charles Bukowski, Lind was the inspiration for the character »Dinky Summers«, a down-on-his-luck folk singer in Bukowski's 1978 novel Women. Lind also doubled as a writer, penning a number of novels and plays as well as serving as a long-time staff writer at the lowbrow tabloid Weekly World News.

If that wasn't enough, Lind is also responsible for one of the greatest major-label 'loner' albums of all time, 1971's Since There Were Circles. After several years languishing without a second hit for the World Pacific label, Lind signed to Capitol and went into the studio with some of the biggest names in the LA country-rock scene including Doug Dillard, Gene Clark, Bernie Leadon and legendary session bassist Carol Kaye. While the record was well-received critically, it sold poorly and marked Lind's bitter departure from the music business for several decades.

The intervening half-century has been incredibly kind to »Since There Were Circles«, and it is now regarded as a cult masterpiece that pairs perfectly with Gene Clark's No Other, Bobby Charles' self-titled Bearsville album and Lee Hazlewood's Cowboy in Sweden. Lind's songwriting here is vastly darker and more self-reflective than anything from his folk-pop period, and the production is simultaneously loose and rootsy, yet lushly orchestrated and occasionally bombastic. Lind somehow manages to bring it all together with wry delivery and literate detail.

lynyn sounds like if Aphex Twin or Autechre could compose for symphony and shred jazz. Though lynyn is a new Artist, his debut LP lexicon is essential listening for anyone interested in the compositional heights of electronic, synth, and modular music. So, who is lynyn? lynyn is the moniker of Chicago artist Conor Mackey, a working symphonic composer who has scored for institutions including the Illinois Philharmonic Orchestra and Brain.fm (the neuroscience driven musical platform where he is currently lead composer on staff). He is also a guitarist / composer in the Chicago jazz fusion quintet Monobody. After years of quietly mastering the creation of electronic music in his home, Mackey first introduced his electronic alias lynyn as producer of NNAMDI's Are You Happy EP in the Fall of 2021 (Pitchfork described his production on that project as "a novel intersection of IDM" and contemporary pop). lynyn now offers up his debut electronic oevure lexicon via Chicago label Sooper Records. lexicon displays a mastery of both musical composition and sound design, as well as a deep appreciation of the vocabulary and history of the electronic genre_ with particular emphasis on the 90s IDM movement. Throughout lexicon we are propelled through the sounds of musique concrete, footwork, hip-hop, ambience, glitch-core, IDM, drum and bass, dub, break beats, and so much more. These influences work in tandem to produce a linear experience that can be spellbinding, euphoric, and sometimes destabilizing, but without ever feeling listless or wandering. The dense arrangements of lexicon are intentionally constructed with a painstaking attention to the most minute detail, and also with a masterful awareness of the macroscopic sound design profile of the entire work. Synth sequences and modular tones merge with sounds that seem wholly organic to create a series of purposeful movements from start to finish. Mackey is particularly adept at taking disparate, often difficult to control elements and introducing them harmoniously. He is a fastidious architect and designer of sound tinkering away in his modular laboratory. lexicon is an innovative entrant into the history of IDM and electronica with all the makings of an essential contribution. What Mackey accomplishes with lexicon is a progression; he's taking the sum articulation of a genre and attempting to carry it forward by imbuing it with his own unique language as a symphonic composer. His melting together of genres and techniques is a gateway into a more wide-ranging expression of the artform, particularly with respect to the sophistication of melodic composition. The result is arguably a landmark. While rightfully positioning the lynyn moniker as an electronic alias, lexicon leaves no doubt that Mackey is a composer above all else.

lynyn sounds like if Aphex Twin or Autechre could compose for symphony and shred jazz. Though lynyn is a new Artist, his debut LP lexicon is essential listening for anyone interested in the compositional heights of electronic, synth, and modular music. So, who is lynyn? lynyn is the moniker of Chicago artist Conor Mackey, a working symphonic composer who has scored for institutions including the Illinois Philharmonic Orchestra and Brain.fm (the neuroscience driven musical platform where he is currently lead composer on staff). He is also a guitarist / composer in the Chicago jazz fusion quintet Monobody. After years of quietly mastering the creation of electronic music in his home, Mackey first introduced his electronic alias lynyn as producer of NNAMDI's Are You Happy EP in the Fall of 2021 (Pitchfork described his production on that project as "a novel intersection of IDM" and contemporary pop). lynyn now offers up his debut electronic oevure lexicon via Chicago label Sooper Records. lexicon displays a mastery of both musical composition and sound design, as well as a deep appreciation of the vocabulary and history of the electronic genre_ with particular emphasis on the 90s IDM movement. Throughout lexicon we are propelled through the sounds of musique concrete, footwork, hip-hop, ambience, glitch-core, IDM, drum and bass, dub, break beats, and so much more. These influences work in tandem to produce a linear experience that can be spellbinding, euphoric, and sometimes destabilizing, but without ever feeling listless or wandering. The dense arrangements of lexicon are intentionally constructed with a painstaking attention to the most minute detail, and also with a masterful awareness of the macroscopic sound design profile of the entire work. Synth sequences and modular tones merge with sounds that seem wholly organic to create a series of purposeful movements from start to finish. Mackey is particularly adept at taking disparate, often difficult to control elements and introducing them harmoniously. He is a fastidious architect and designer of sound tinkering away in his modular laboratory. lexicon is an innovative entrant into the history of IDM and electronica with all the makings of an essential contribution. What Mackey accomplishes with lexicon is a progression; he's taking the sum articulation of a genre and attempting to carry it forward by imbuing it with his own unique language as a symphonic composer. His melting together of genres and techniques is a gateway into a more wide-ranging expression of the artform, particularly with respect to the sophistication of melodic composition. The result is arguably a landmark. While rightfully positioning the lynyn moniker as an electronic alias, lexicon leaves no doubt that Mackey is a composer above all else.