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When it comes to horrorcore you should be familar with the name Lil' Gain. His album 'Big Time Playaz' is a blueprint of this genre with plenty of satanic and bloody tracks. He comes along with features like Blackout, Terror, Lil' Slim and a lot more. Here's his only record to the rap world for the ¦rst time on vinyl!

When it comes to horrorcore you should be familar with the name Lil' Gain. His album 'Big Time Playaz' is a blueprint of this genre with plenty of satanic and bloody tracks. He comes along with features like Blackout, Terror, Lil' Slim and a lot more. Here's his only record to the rap world for the ¦rst time on vinyl!

Batmobile is founded in 1983 by Jeroen Haamers, Johnny Zuidhof and Eric Haamers. They’re considered the seminal Dutch psychobilly band and celebrate their 40th anniversary in 2023. To mark this milestone, they present their 15th studio album, entitled Brace For Impact, which features 13 killer tracks. Grab yourself a Batmobeer and brace for impact!

The cover artwork is created by the illustrator and designer Pieter
M. Dorrenboom, who has worked with Batmobile before.

BraceForImpact is available as a limited edition of 750 individually numbered copies on crystal clear vinyl.

Das kommende Jahr 2023 wird das letzte Kapitel in der langen Geschichte der legendären deutschen Thrash-Metal-Band HOLY MOSES markieren, das mit dem kommenden neuen Studioalbum "Invisible Queen" und einer letzten Reihe von Live-Shows gefeiert wird.

"Ich bin im Dezember 1981 zu Holy Moses gestoßen und das hat den Weg, den ich in meinem Leben gehen sollte, grundlegend verändert. Unser erstes Album im Jahr 1986 hieß "Queen Of Siam" und nun, um die Sache abzurunden, wird mein letztes Album mit Holy Moses im
Jahr 2023 den Titel "Invisible Queen" tragen", verrät Sängerin Sabina Classen und ergänzt: "Nach 42 ereignisreichen Jahren und nach so vielen großartigen Alben, fantastischen Shows und unglaublichen
Erlebnissen ist die Zeit gekommen, das letzte Kapitel von Holy Moses zu schreiben. Und wir freuen uns, dass dies über Fireflash Records mit der Veröffentlichung unseres 12. Studioalbums "Invisible Queen" geschieht."

Das kommende Jahr 2023 wird das letzte Kapitel in der langen Geschichte der legendären deutschen Thrash-Metal-Band HOLY MOSES markieren, das mit dem kommenden neuen Studioalbum "Invisible Queen" und einer letzten Reihe von Live-Shows gefeiert wird.

"Ich bin im Dezember 1981 zu Holy Moses gestoßen und das hat den Weg, den ich in meinem Leben gehen sollte, grundlegend verändert. Unser erstes Album im Jahr 1986 hieß "Queen Of Siam" und nun, um die Sache abzurunden, wird mein letztes Album mit Holy Moses im
Jahr 2023 den Titel "Invisible Queen" tragen", verrät Sängerin Sabina Classen und ergänzt: "Nach 42 ereignisreichen Jahren und nach so vielen großartigen Alben, fantastischen Shows und unglaublichen
Erlebnissen ist die Zeit gekommen, das letzte Kapitel von Holy Moses zu schreiben. Und wir freuen uns, dass dies über Fireflash Records mit der Veröffentlichung unseres 12. Studioalbums "Invisible Queen" geschieht."

For their debut album, Chappaqua Wrestling knew that they wanted to step above the noise of the concrete everyday. “To match their song about political despondency and social change, Jake Mac and Charlie Woods wanted to create surrealist artwork, teetering on the brink of despair and release.

“We wanted to kind of render ourselves in, jumping off this roof with a beautiful landscape behind it,” says Jake. “Falling gracefully, but also potentially not making this crazy fall.”

“It’s a record about exploring,” nods Charlie. “We just wanted to get something that has us thrusting ourselves into this new place, but get this weird eye-trickery thing going on. You want to start a conversation, like is this real? Maybe that’s for us to know…”"

180g bone coloured vinyl, standard outer sleeve, printed inner sleeve, hand-numbered /500 download card included. Adelaide, Australia-based outfit Los Palms. The nine-track collection serves up an infectious and hedonistic cocktail of jangly surf-rock, 1960s garage and 13th-floor psychedelia. Los Palms described their sound as "Desert Jangle", with influences all the way from 60s Peruvian bands like Los Saicos, Los Destellos & Los Holy's to modern Californian sweethearts Allah-Las & LA dirt shredders Night Beats. Whilst taking a trip through Los Palms' 'Skeleton Ranch', listeners can expect songs drenched in heartbreak, love and mystery: "These are neo-psych ghost stories that create a detailed musical landscape by mixing feedback, fuzz, eerie organs and reverb-soaked guitar and vocals."

Nachdem Thees Uhlmann im Rahmen seiner "Junkies & Scientologen" Tour in den vergangenen drei Jahren 170 Konzerte gespielt hat erscheint am 02.12.2022 das Thees Uhlmann & Band Live Album "100.000 Songs Live in Hamburg". 3LP Edition (Grünes Vinyl, Gatefold), inklusive Din A2 Poster.

Music Man returns after a long silence. In the run-up to the release of the B-Sides boxset in May, Luke Slater aka Planetary Assault Systems delivers 2 remixes of one of Frank De Wulf's most legendary tracks 'Magic Orchestra'.

”MIXTAPE Live” zum ersten Mal auf Vinyl!

Angelo Kelly ging 2014 das erste Mal auf MIXTAPE-Tour und die daraus entstandenen Liveaufnahmen sind mittlerweile legendär. Zum allerersten Mal wird dieser Klassiker von ihm als Vinyl-Edition erscheinen.
Mit insgesamt 20 Songs wird dieses legendäre Livealbum auf 2 LPs zu hören sein. Beide Schallplatten sind in einem mega coolen White & Black Splattered-Vinyl. Das ganze kommt dann noch in einem Gatefold Cover.
Viele haben danach gefragt und jetzt ist es endlich soweit: ”MIXTAPE Live“ zum ersten Mal auf Vinyl!

Two brand new singles written and performed by Florence Pugh for upcoming American drama film A Good Person, written, directed, and produced by Zach Braff. The film stars Florence Pugh, Celeste O'Connor, Zoe Lister-Jones, Molly Shannon, and Morgan Freeman.

Mercury Prize-nominated cross-genre composer/producer Anna Meredith releases her new project in collaboration with contemporary string quartet Ligeti Quartet. Nuc started life as a conversation between Anna Meredith and Richard Jones (Ligeti Quartet viola) after a decade of collaboration, honouring a shared attitude towards creating music which pushes boundaries whilst also speaking very directly to the listener. In addition to string and electronic recordings of Anna's music from throughout her career, performed by Ligeti Quartet, Richard also developed new arrangements of existing compositions by Anna, and Nuc came to embody a celebration of forward-thinking pop composition rooted in classical instrumentation. The result is a joyful, occasionally furious, never too serious, sometimes energetic and sometimes restful collection of tracks which dazzle with Anna’s signature compulsive harmonies, rhythmic shifts of gear and sparkling textures.

The Keja side is a real exceptionnal solid banging side... The FKY side is a mental shy little pearl.

Pink Blue Marbled Vinyl

Angelo is an EP, named after a car, featuring nine songs Brijean have crafted and carried with them through a period of profound change, loss, and relocation. It finds percussionist and singer Brijean Murphy and multi-instrumentalist/producer Doug Stuart processing the impossible the only way they know how: through rhythm and movement. The months surrounding the acclaimed release of Feelings, their full-length Ghostly International debut in 2021 which celebrated tender self-reflection and new possibilities, rang bittersweet with the absence of touring and the sudden passing of Murphy's father and both of Stuart's parents. In a haze of heartache, the duo left the Bay Area to be near family, resetting in four cities in under two years. Their to-go rig became their traveling studio and these tracks, along with Angelo, became their few constants. Whereas Feelings formed over collaborative jams with friends, Angelo's sessions presented Murphy and Stuart a chance to record at their most intimate, "to get us out of our grief and into our bodies," says Murphy. They explored new moods and styles, reaching for effervescent dance tempos and technicolor backdrops, vibrant hues in contrast to their more somber human experiences. Angelo beams with positivity and creative renewal _ a resourceful, collective answer to "what happens now?". Angelo the car is a 1981 Toyota Celica they got off Craigslist during their first stint in Los Angeles, where Murphy and Stuart have since settled. "Such a bro-y, `80s dude car, it's been super fun to drive around in a new town," Murphy says. "He's older than us, he's a classic, he's got a story." It is a spiritual vehicle with a cinematic appeal, first dropping them off in an alleyway for the scene-setting intro, "Which Way To The Club." The question is quickly resolved by "Take A Trip" as a cruising bassline mingles with crowd sounds, hand-claps, cuíca hiccups, whip-cracks, even a horse neigh. Brijean have found some club on this cross-dimensional trip - the kind of imagined space or chamber within one's self capable of "shifting a fraction of who you are," says Murphy. They wrote the track with the simple intention to be "as free as we could be," adds Stuart, likening the flip on the B section to a realm unlocked: "What if the world changed completely? You open the door to a new room." Next is "Shy Guy," a motivational anthem for the wallflowers among us. Murphy sets up the daydream: "We are in junior high, we're on the dance floor, what's going down, who is dancing, who is not, how are we gonna make them dance?" The narrator, the MC, hypes up the room as conga-driven rhythms bounce between languid synth and guitar lines. "Show me how to move...I feel something...I know you feel it too," Murphy sings sweetly, calling back to the opening lines of Feelings, and this time the audience chants it back. It is easy to picture Brijean performing this one - something they only got to do a handful of times until more recently, opening shows for Khruangbin and Washed Out, an experience they found informative. Murphy explains, "It was inspiring to be out there and let loose more. To see how people can expand their expression on stage gave me more liberty with how I viewed my musicianship. My role for so long was to be a backup percussionist, so why would I ever leave the drums, you know? But then after playing all these runs, you see these artists and realize you can, you have permission." "Angelo" and "Ooo La La" deliver the danciest stretch in Brijean's catalog to date. The title track adopts a deep house pulse replete with strings, hi-hats, and kicks. The latter opts for a funkier groove that foregoes verses in favor of warbled hums and extended breakdowns. What follows is perhaps the duo's dreamiest run, a comedown initiated with the honey-hued interlude "Colors" drifting into "Where Do We Go?", a tropicália reverie where Murphy contemplates the passage of time and space. It all culminates in "Caldwell's Way," a fond farewell to their Bay Area community - "a part of my life that I knew couldn't come back," says Murphy. Above shimmering organ sounds, lush strings, and the birdcall of their former neighborhood, she wistfully articulates the uncertainty of moving on by remembering the characters dear to them. There's the wisdom of their neighbor, Santos, who refused payment when helping them move out: "I'd rather have 100 friends than 100 dollars." And the song's namesake, Benjamin Caldwell Brown, a friend and club night cohort for many years. "I'm only miles away, maybe I'm just feeling lonely," the line resigns to warm nostalgia, and "Nostalgia" runs the closing credits to this healing and transportive collection.

‘’Ace Todmorden label makes a significant discovery on its own doorstep: a superb cache of ‘loner folk’ songs recorded in the early-70s by Hebden Bridge’s answer to Nick Drake’’ UNCUT PLAYLIST

"This is music that can confidently hold its own with pioneers such as Davey Graham, Michael Chapman, Bert Jansch and Jackson C Frank, as influenced by jazz, blues and steel guitar as any of the old songbook classics from ancient Albion.” Benjamin Myers
"Defiantly Northern and out of this world" Folk Radio

Anti-counter culture loner folk from a teenage attic in the heart of rural Northern hippiedom.
Today the valley town of Hebden Bridge in West Yorkshire is world-renowned as something of a bohemian backwater. It wasn’t like this back in the late 1960s and the early 1970s, when a disparate selection of radicals, drop-outs, heads, musicians, artists and writers started to be attracted to the Calder Valley. Local lad and future poet laureate Ted Hughes called the area “the fouled nest of industrialisation”.
Over time, those seeds of radicalism and collectivism ensured Hebden Bridge evolved into a place where people could be themselves and all shades of individual oddness not only tolerated but actively encouraged. But back at the turn of the dreary 1970s it remained a monochrome world defined by its unforgiving surrounding landscapes, where the old gritstone over-dwellings were stained with soot and rain lashed down for weeks.
It was here that Trevor Beales, who was born in 1953, grew up, and from where he drew musical and lyrical inspiration.
Perhaps it was this dual nationality heritage, unusual in the valley’s largely white working class population at the time, that gave the teenager Trevor Beale’s music an outsider’s perspective. The discovery of Bob Dylan, Django Reinhardt, The Byrds and James Taylor at a young age, lead to him picking up a guitar at the age of ten, and he was soon writing his own originals and performing them at local (though often remote) folk clubs and pubs.
Recorded in the attic of the family home at Ivy Bank in Charlestown on the verdant wooded slopes at the edge of Hebden Bridge between 1971 and 1974, these early recordings are collected here for the first time and mark Trevor Beales long-overdue solo debut.
In these songs is a suffer-no-fools sense of realism that is defiantly Northern, yet also expresses a worldliness that belies Beales’ young years, whilst also showcasing an inherent storyteller’s ear for narrative. Here is a postcard from the past at that crucial musical period of transition, when the idealistic exponents of the 1960s emerged into an austere new decade that was to be shaped by strikes, rising unemployment and economic upheaval.
Two aspects of this music make it remarkable: Beales’ natural ability showcases a sophisticated guitar-picking style that was leagues ahead of many of his (older, more recognised) contemporaries. This is music that can confidently hold its own with pioneers such as Davey Graham, Michael Chapman, Dave Evans, Bert Jansch and Jackson C Frank, as influenced by jazz, blues and steel guitar as any of the old songbook classics from ancient Albion.
Secondly, his lyrics are a far cry from either the naïve bedroom scribblings of a teenager who has barely left his upland home, nor do they fall foul of the type of lazy cliches and sub-Tolkien imagery that was still in abundance in the early 1970s. Most remarkably the earliest songs here were laid down less than a year after he left school (an unearthed report written by his headteacher on July 3rd 1970 noted he had “a considerable ability and interest in music”, though his education ended abruptly when he simply walked out of a science lesson one sunny day while at sixth form, never to return).
Trevor’s music is grounded in reality – his reality. ‘Then I’ll Take You Home’, for example, considers the Guru Marajai, who encouraged his acolytes to give over their worldly possessions, yet who drove a Rolls Royce and lived like a playboy. Unsurprisingly, this latest in a long line of spiritual charlatans found several followers in Hebden Bridge, and Beales casts a disdainful eye over the growing popularity for such false prophets.
With its ancient narratives and propensity for myth-making, folk has certainly produced it’s fair share of cult figures who have enjoyed rediscovery or career resurgence and with this debut compilation of home recordings, rescued from cassette tapes, Trevor Beales might just be the latest addition. Certainly he was the real deal.
Crucially, Beales' music is never jaded or cynical, but instead possesses a poet’s ear, a strong sense of self and some sound critical faculties. And much of it recorded at an age when he could neither vote nor order a pint of heavy.
Trevor Beales died suddenly and unexpectedly on March 29th 1987, aged 33. He left behind Christine and their young child Lydia.

Tape
"And we"re coming out of dreams / And we"re coming back to dreams" is the first thing you hear Bill say as you remake your acquaintance on YTILAER. Right out the gate, he"s standing in two places at once: meeting up with old friends behind the scenes and encountering them on the record, finding himself coming round the bend and then again as someone else on down the line. Like the character actor he played on Gold Record, writing stories about other people, telling jokes about everyone, and in singing them, becoming the songs. "You do what you"ve got to do / To see the picture" Bill"s got a full band sound going on this one, with him and Matt Kinsey on guitars, Emmett Kelly on bass and backing vocals, Sarah Ann Phillips on B3, piano and backing vocals and Jim White on drums. Jim and Matt sing on one song, too, and some other singers come in, too. Bill plays some synth here and there, and Carl Smith drifts in and out of the picture with his contra alto clarinet, as do Mike St. Clair and Derek Phelps on brass. Somehow in between them all, you might think you hear the distant sound of a steel guitar. And you might - but you might not, too. In this company, Bill continues his journey, tunneling underneath the weathered exterior of what seems to be and into the more nuanced life everything takes on in the dark. With Bill"s voice making the extraordinary leaps and bounds that measure the lives of the songs, the band follow him through passages that seem to invent themselves; other times playing with deeply soulful grooves and/or desperate intensity, as these moments come and go. There"s nothing they can"t do. "I wrote this song in five and forever / I"m writing it right now" Bill sings on "Natural Information" - an admission of the everyday alchemy he"s forever trafficking in. Time passes, triangulating the encounters that went into any one record with two out of any three others, all of it made flesh, new constitution, in our stereo speakers. If every album is its own life, it stands to reason that they"re invariably passing in the night. Cascading images flowing from the stream of consciousness. Turning like pages from the journal, unspeakably personal, then suddenly become tall tales, like a book pulled off the shelf, completely unbound. Headlines flow through. Mirror images, mirthful ones. Bill"s lyrics strain at the lines on the page, not content to separate the printing of the fact from the myth or be confined to ink on paper. They want to fly free. And they do. "I realize now that dreams are real" On YTILAER"s inner sleeve, alongside his lyrics, Bill celebrates the "exhilaration and dread" of cover artist Paul Ryan"s paintings. Paul"s another one met up with again down the road, his indelible cover imagery on Apocalypse and Dream River now an axis of meaning in the Callahanian world - and in the bright colors found in these new images, a parallel to Bill"s recognitions here. "A breath of exquisite air as we come up from drowning", sounds like the desired hope for those hearing the songs of YTILAER.

Repress!

Outstanding free jazz session recorded in 1973 in Paris by Chicago outfit BAG.

It was Lester Bowie, trumpeter with the Art Ensemble of Chicago, who suggested that the Black Artists' Group (BAG) should head for Paris. In 1972 several members of BAG took his advice and flew to France for an extended stay. The following year a concert featuring saxophonist Oliver Lake, trumpeters Baikida Carroll and Floyd LeFlore, drummer Charles Bobo Shaw and trombonist Joseph Bowie (Lester's younger brother) was recorded and subsequently issued as In Paris, Aries 1973, a strictly limited edition LP on the group's own label.

Since the formation of Black Artists' Group in 1968, the home of this multidisciplinary arts collective had been St Louis, Missouri, the city where the Bowie brothers had grown up. It was there that Lester Bowie had started to investigate the expanding horizons of jazz before moving, in 1966, to Chicago where he joined the recently established Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM). His close friend Oliver Lake visited Bowie, attended AACM concerts and meetings and was inspired not only by their artistic vision and integrity but also by their efficient organisation. In Chicago musicians were making things happen for themselves, taking control of their own destinies and giving shape to their lives as creative artists.

In June 1969, the Art Ensemble of Chicago had taken their music to France. During the preceding decade Paris had established a reputation for audiences that were unusually well-informed and open-minded, receptive to the uncompromising music of black American innovators such as Cecil Taylor, Ornette Coleman, Albert Ayler and Sun Ra. The city that had nurtured not only Cubism and Surrealism, but also Jean-Luc Godard and contemporary cinema's Nouvelle Vague was well prepared for the sonic collage forms and stylistic dislocations of the Art Ensemble. During that same month violinist Leroy Jenkins, trumpeter Leo Smith and saxophonist Anthony Braxton also arrived in Paris, three further emissaries from the AACM.

The adventure of collective improvisation resonated with the Parisian zeitgeist. Enthusiastic audiences attended their concerts and coverage in the media. In Paris, Aries 1973 offers an isolated and fascinating glimpse into that phase of the group's existence. The album is dedicated to the memory of Kada Kayan, a bassist who had hoped to make the trip from St Louis to France but, tragically, had grown ill and died. His absence adds special poignancy to the sound of the bass when it appears on this recording, played by Baikida Carroll. Listeners keen to hear Kayan himself in the company of Lake, Bowie, Shaw, LeFlore and Carroll should seek out Red, Black and Green by the 10-piece Solidarity Unit, Inc. That album, recorded on 18th September 1970 and dedicated to Jimi Hendrix, who died on that day, features an earlier version of Shaw's composition 'Something to Play On.'

In Paris, Aries 1973 reveals BAG's musical affinities with the Art Ensemble of Chicago. Both groups preserved an independently minded approach to the notion of free jazz and a carefully filtered awareness of pan-African musical practices, while their creative interest in space, mobile structure, chance occurrences and simultaneity also suggests parallels with the concerns of leading experimental composers working at that time. These performances in Paris of Shaw's 'Something to Play On' and Lake's 'Re-Cre-A-Tion,' plus two collective compositions/improvisations, display the dedication to structural fluency and sensitivity to coloration that accompanied BAG's unorthodox group dynamics and their unconventional instrumental combinations. In this case the musicians embrace congas, log drums, marimbas, woodblocks, cowbells and gongs. This is not a showcase for solos, but a shape-shifting and multi-centred statement of togetherness, quest and discovery. Removed from BAG's original multidisciplinary context the music still exudes an exhilarating spirit of collaborative exploration and shared excitement.

PURPLE VINYL


A Wednesday song is a quilt. A short story collection, a half-memory, a patchwork of portraits of the American south, disparate moments that somehow make sense as a whole. Karly Hartzman, the songwriter/ vocalist/guitarist at the helm of the project, is a story collector as much as she is a storyteller: a scholar of people and one-liners. Rat Saw God, the Asheville quintet's new and best record, is ekphrastic but autobiographical and above all, deeply empathetic. Across the album's ten tracks Hartzman, guitarist MJ Lenderman, bassist Margo Shultz, drummer Alan Miller, and lap/pedal steel player Xandy Chelmis build a shrine to minutiae. Half-funny, half-tragic dispatches from North Carolina unfurling somewhere between the wailing skuzz of Nineties shoegaze and classic country twang, that distorted lap steel and Hartzman's voice slicing through the din. Rat Saw God is an album about riding a bike down a suburban stretch in Greensboro while listening to My Bloody Valentine for the first time on an iPod Nano, past a creek that runs through the neighborhood riddled with broken glass bottles and condoms, a front yard filled with broken and rusted car parts, a lonely and dilapidated house reclaimed by kudzu. Four Lokos and rodeo clowns and a kid who burns down a corn field. Roadside monuments, church marquees, poppers and vodka in a plastic water bottle, the shit you get away with at Jewish summer camp, strange sentimental family heirlooms at the thrift stores. The way the South hums alive all night in the summers and into fall, the sound of high school football games, the halo effect from the lights polluting the darkness. It's not really bright enough to see in front of you, but in that stretch of inky void - somehow - you see everything. The songs on Rat Saw God don't recount epics, just the everyday. They're true, they're real life, blurry and chaotic and strange - which is in-line with Hartzman's own ethos: "Everyone's story is worthy," she says, plainly. "Literally every life story is worth writing down, because people are so fascinating." But the thing about Rat Saw God - and about any Wednesday song, really - is you don't necessarily even need all the references to get it, the weirdly specific elation of a song that really hits. Yeah, it's all in the details - how fucked up you got or get, how you break a heart, how you fall in love, how you make yourself and others feel seen - but it's mostly the way those tiny moments add up into a song or album or a person.

When Leon Michels and El Michels Affair released their rst record, Sounding Out The City, in 2005, it was hard to guess what was next for Michels and his then-introduced, now-patented "cinematic soul" sound. Now, four EMA studio albums and scores of tribute and remix projects later - all while producing for some of the biggest names in the industry - Michels has trademarked his sound, with each project taking audiences somewhere new and pushing the boundaries of what he is known for. The man is a river, not a lake and this time he takes his golden touch into the realm of hip-hop laying down a musical bed for one of the greatest to ever rhyme into a microphone: Black Thought of The Roots crew. Releasing on Big Crown Records, the LP is called Glorious Game and it is a remarkable debut partnership in more ways than one. Michels provides his bottom-heavy, soul-tinged production for Black Thought who gives us some of the more personal and transparent verses we've ever heard from him. Michels and Black Thought have been in each other's orbit for a while now. The two first met in the 2000s when Thought was first getting familiar with the contemporary soul scene. "Out of that whole world, Menahan Street Band was probably my favorite," recalling the funk and soul group Michels was a founding member of back in 2007. Fast forward a few years and musicians from that collective - Dave Guy on trumpet and Ian Hendrickson-Smith on sax - are now full time players with The Roots. This connection eventually led Leon and Thought to doing a few fundraising events around NYC and Philly together. "Before long, Black Thought was coming around the studio and would jam with us from time to time," Michels explains. "Then, fast forward to 2020 and COVID lockdowns, he just hit me up out of the blue, wanting me to send him stuff to write to. We both were looking to stay busy" Being that Black Thought is the co-founder and emcee for, hands down, the best live-band group in hip-hop. Michels took a decidedly different approach to this project and instead of sending recorded tracks of live compositions, he pulled out the sampler and sampled himself and some records from his collection. "I'm a big fan of soul music," as if Michels has to remind us. "And part of hip-hop's appeal to me has always been the sample-based production" For Glorious Game, Michels would make wholly composed and recorded soul songs in his studio, sample himself, then chop and/or loop up his sounds and create instrumentals for Black Thought. On some tracks he took a more traditional hip-hop approach, starting from samples of other people's music but then adding live instrumentation on top. But for the most part, it's him reinterpreting his own compositions into something new. The result is an organic feel of loop-based tracks that breathe and uctuate enough for Black Thought to ex on. "What I write about is determined by the equation of the producer's energy and my energy," Black Thought says. "It's about where we meet." So armed with Michels sampled and re-sampled soul cinematics, Black Thought rhymes through personal memories.

SKY HIGH BLUE COLOURED VINYL

When Leon Michels and El Michels Affair released their rst record, Sounding Out The City, in 2005, it was hard to guess what was next for Michels and his then-introduced, now-patented "cinematic soul" sound. Now, four EMA studio albums and scores of tribute and remix projects later - all while producing for some of the biggest names in the industry - Michels has trademarked his sound, with each project taking audiences somewhere new and pushing the boundaries of what he is known for. The man is a river, not a lake and this time he takes his golden touch into the realm of hip-hop laying down a musical bed for one of the greatest to ever rhyme into a microphone: Black Thought of The Roots crew. Releasing on Big Crown Records, the LP is called Glorious Game and it is a remarkable debut partnership in more ways than one. Michels provides his bottom-heavy, soul-tinged production for Black Thought who gives us some of the more personal and transparent verses we've ever heard from him. Michels and Black Thought have been in each other's orbit for a while now. The two first met in the 2000s when Thought was first getting familiar with the contemporary soul scene. "Out of that whole world, Menahan Street Band was probably my favorite," recalling the funk and soul group Michels was a founding member of back in 2007. Fast forward a few years and musicians from that collective - Dave Guy on trumpet and Ian Hendrickson-Smith on sax - are now full time players with The Roots. This connection eventually led Leon and Thought to doing a few fundraising events around NYC and Philly together. "Before long, Black Thought was coming around the studio and would jam with us from time to time," Michels explains. "Then, fast forward to 2020 and COVID lockdowns, he just hit me up out of the blue, wanting me to send him stuff to write to. We both were looking to stay busy" Being that Black Thought is the co-founder and emcee for, hands down, the best live-band group in hip-hop. Michels took a decidedly different approach to this project and instead of sending recorded tracks of live compositions, he pulled out the sampler and sampled himself and some records from his collection. "I'm a big fan of soul music," as if Michels has to remind us. "And part of hip-hop's appeal to me has always been the sample-based production" For Glorious Game, Michels would make wholly composed and recorded soul songs in his studio, sample himself, then chop and/or loop up his sounds and create instrumentals for Black Thought. On some tracks he took a more traditional hip-hop approach, starting from samples of other people's music but then adding live instrumentation on top. But for the most part, it's him reinterpreting his own compositions into something new. The result is an organic feel of loop-based tracks that breathe and uctuate enough for Black Thought to ex on. "What I write about is determined by the equation of the producer's energy and my energy," Black Thought says. "It's about where we meet." So armed with Michels sampled and re-sampled soul cinematics, Black Thought rhymes through personal memories.

Tape

When Leon Michels and El Michels Affair released their rst record, Sounding Out The City, in 2005, it was hard to guess what was next for Michels and his then-introduced, now-patented "cinematic soul" sound. Now, four EMA studio albums and scores of tribute and remix projects later - all while producing for some of the biggest names in the industry - Michels has trademarked his sound, with each project taking audiences somewhere new and pushing the boundaries of what he is known for. The man is a river, not a lake and this time he takes his golden touch into the realm of hip-hop laying down a musical bed for one of the greatest to ever rhyme into a microphone: Black Thought of The Roots crew. Releasing on Big Crown Records, the LP is called Glorious Game and it is a remarkable debut partnership in more ways than one. Michels provides his bottom-heavy, soul-tinged production for Black Thought who gives us some of the more personal and transparent verses we've ever heard from him. Michels and Black Thought have been in each other's orbit for a while now. The two first met in the 2000s when Thought was first getting familiar with the contemporary soul scene. "Out of that whole world, Menahan Street Band was probably my favorite," recalling the funk and soul group Michels was a founding member of back in 2007. Fast forward a few years and musicians from that collective - Dave Guy on trumpet and Ian Hendrickson-Smith on sax - are now full time players with The Roots. This connection eventually led Leon and Thought to doing a few fundraising events around NYC and Philly together. "Before long, Black Thought was coming around the studio and would jam with us from time to time," Michels explains. "Then, fast forward to 2020 and COVID lockdowns, he just hit me up out of the blue, wanting me to send him stuff to write to. We both were looking to stay busy" Being that Black Thought is the co-founder and emcee for, hands down, the best live-band group in hip-hop. Michels took a decidedly different approach to this project and instead of sending recorded tracks of live compositions, he pulled out the sampler and sampled himself and some records from his collection. "I'm a big fan of soul music," as if Michels has to remind us. "And part of hip-hop's appeal to me has always been the sample-based production" For Glorious Game, Michels would make wholly composed and recorded soul songs in his studio, sample himself, then chop and/or loop up his sounds and create instrumentals for Black Thought. On some tracks he took a more traditional hip-hop approach, starting from samples of other people's music but then adding live instrumentation on top. But for the most part, it's him reinterpreting his own compositions into something new. The result is an organic feel of loop-based tracks that breathe and uctuate enough for Black Thought to ex on. "What I write about is determined by the equation of the producer's energy and my energy," Black Thought says. "It's about where we meet." So armed with Michels sampled and re-sampled soul cinematics, Black Thought rhymes through personal memories.

Eric D. Johnson rarely lingers at one location too long. As a kid growing up in the Midwest, Johnson's family moved around a lot, but it wasn't until he became a touring musician years later that motion became a central part of his identity. That transient lifestyle stoked an enduring reverence for the world he watched pass by through a van window. A sense of place is a unifying theme he's revisited with Fruit Bats throughout its many lives. From the project's origins in the late '90s as a vehicle for Johnson's lo-fi tinkering to the more sonically ambitious work of recent years, Fruit Bats has often showcased love songs where people and locations meld into one. It's a loose song structure that navigates what he calls "the geography of the heart." "The songs exist in a world that you can sort of travel from one to another," says Johnson. "There are roads and rivers between these songs." Those pathways extend straight through the newest Fruit Bats album, aptly titled A River Running to Your Heart . Self-produced by Johnson_a first for Fruit Bats_with Jeremy Harris at Panoramic House just north of San Francisco, it's Fruit Bats' tenth full-length release and one that finds the project in the middle of a creative resurgence. After two decades of making music, hard-earned emotional maturity has seeped into Johnson's songs, resulting in a more complex sound that's connected with audiences like no other previous version of Fruit Bats. A River Running to Your Heart represents the fullest realization of that creative vision to date. It's a sonically diverse effort that largely explores the importance of what it means to be home, both physically and spiritually. And while that might seem like a peculiar focus for an artist who's constantly in motion, for Fruit Bats, home can take many forms_from the obvious to the obscure. Lead single "Rushin' River Valley" is a self-propelled love song written about Johnson's wife that clings to the borrowed imagery of the place where she grew up in northern California. Then, there's the gentle and unfussy acoustic ballad "We Used to Live Here," which looks back to a time of youthful promise and cheap rent. But the wistful "It All Comes Back" is perhaps the most stunning and surprising track on the album, Johnson's production skills on full display. Built upon intricate layers of synths, keyboards, and guitars, it's a pitch-perfect blend of tone and lyricism that taps into our shared apprehensions and hopes for a post-pandemic life. "We lost some time / But we can make it back / Let's take it easy on ourselves, okay?" sings a world-weary but ultimately reassuring Johnson in the song's opening lines. It's the kind of performance that makes you hope Fruit Bats stays in this one place, at least for a little while longer.

BLUE & BONE VINYL

Eric D. Johnson rarely lingers at one location too long. As a kid growing up in the Midwest, Johnson's family moved around a lot, but it wasn't until he became a touring musician years later that motion became a central part of his identity. That transient lifestyle stoked an enduring reverence for the world he watched pass by through a van window. A sense of place is a unifying theme he's revisited with Fruit Bats throughout its many lives. From the project's origins in the late '90s as a vehicle for Johnson's lo-fi tinkering to the more sonically ambitious work of recent years, Fruit Bats has often showcased love songs where people and locations meld into one. It's a loose song structure that navigates what he calls "the geography of the heart." "The songs exist in a world that you can sort of travel from one to another," says Johnson. "There are roads and rivers between these songs." Those pathways extend straight through the newest Fruit Bats album, aptly titled A River Running to Your Heart . Self-produced by Johnson_a first for Fruit Bats_with Jeremy Harris at Panoramic House just north of San Francisco, it's Fruit Bats' tenth full-length release and one that finds the project in the middle of a creative resurgence. After two decades of making music, hard-earned emotional maturity has seeped into Johnson's songs, resulting in a more complex sound that's connected with audiences like no other previous version of Fruit Bats. A River Running to Your Heart represents the fullest realization of that creative vision to date. It's a sonically diverse effort that largely explores the importance of what it means to be home, both physically and spiritually. And while that might seem like a peculiar focus for an artist who's constantly in motion, for Fruit Bats, home can take many forms_from the obvious to the obscure. Lead single "Rushin' River Valley" is a self-propelled love song written about Johnson's wife that clings to the borrowed imagery of the place where she grew up in northern California. Then, there's the gentle and unfussy acoustic ballad "We Used to Live Here," which looks back to a time of youthful promise and cheap rent. But the wistful "It All Comes Back" is perhaps the most stunning and surprising track on the album, Johnson's production skills on full display. Built upon intricate layers of synths, keyboards, and guitars, it's a pitch-perfect blend of tone and lyricism that taps into our shared apprehensions and hopes for a post-pandemic life. "We lost some time / But we can make it back / Let's take it easy on ourselves, okay?" sings a world-weary but ultimately reassuring Johnson in the song's opening lines. It's the kind of performance that makes you hope Fruit Bats stays in this one place, at least for a little while longer.

Joel Vandroogenbroeck was an arranger, conductor, producer and, above all, a unique multi-instrumentalist in the world of music. The Belgian artist was also famous for being the only permanent member of the group Brainticket and the main promoter of its creativity, often renewed with the contribution of exotic instruments. At the dawn of the Seventies, this versatile musician began a parallel life as a composer of singular music libraries tailored to comment documentary images. “L'Immagine Del Suono” was one of them, originally released by Italy's Flirt Records and now repressed on vinyl
by Musica Per Immagini for the first time. This album circulated, however, unnoticed in a limited number of copies among insiders, only rediscovered later by fans, thus raising Joel Vandroogenbroeck as a real pioneer of ambient and new age music.

It is appropriate to consider the twelve short-lived pieces of L'Immagine Del Suono” as a sort of continuous and visionary experiment, with the addition of electronic gasps, a strong dose of inevitable psychedelia, fragments of synthesized jazz, all coming from experiences both internal and external, hallucinatory and hedonistic. All of this combined creates a mysterious and abstract hybrid. Sonic raw material is sculpted with artisanal care, at times twisted and cryptic, characterized by a transversal irony, to the point that the interference of rock elements in the course of the set divert the listener's attention and momentarily interrupt the flow of consciousness. “L'Immagine Del Suono” is a concentrated example of the avant-garde, free from categorisation of any kind, developed in a non-commercial key and, equally, is drawn from a direct line via what was previously expressed within the folds of the then contemporary works of Brainticket.

Juan Pablo Torres was one of the best trombone players in the Latin-jazz community of the second half of the 20th century.

He was the director of Algo Nuevo and a member of Irakere, two of the leading exponents of Afro-Cuban jazz in the 1970s and 1980s. He has also directed various Cuban supergroups such as Estrellas de Areito and Cuban Masters.

Almost all of his albums were made for Areito de La Habana, Cuba.

‘Cuba Disco’ was the only album released in his name in Europe; recorded in Milan in 1984 and produced by Aldo Pagani. In Italy in the same year he participated in two records by Pino Daniele and one by Astor Piazzolla.

Accompanied by his faithful Gruppo Algo Nuevo, with the addition of some guests such as the Italian jazz guitarist Angelo Arienti, his traditional Afro-Cuban vein is contaminated by disco and balearic moments; as in the case of the magnificent ‘Bermuda Triangle’ which anticipates the current atmosphere of Nu Genea.

Limited edition. Released from the transfer of the original master tape.

Last year's Big Time brought Angel Olsen to a deeper, truer sense of self than ever before. Borne from the twin stars of grief and love, the album delivered beautiful sense of certainty, the sure-footed sound of an artist fully, finally at home with herself. But within that wisdom comes the realization that there is no finish line, no destination or static end point to life while you're living it, and Forever Means collects songs from the Big Time sessions that hold this common theme. They are, in Olsen's words, "in search of something else." "I was somewhere traveling," says Olsen, "stopped for a few days and wandering the city, and I was thinking `what does `forever' really mean? What are the things I'm seeking in friendship or love, and how can `forever' be attainable if we're always changing?'" Sitting with the reality of that entropy, Olsen realized "maybe the secret to ongoing love is to embrace change as part of love itself, that forever must have something to do with playing, looking, constantly searching things out for yourself, never letting yourself think you're finished learning or exploring." `Forever'", says Olsen, "remains curious while trying also to be kind and honest." All this packs into the four precious songs that comprise Forever Means, songs from Olsen's roads traveled and the ones ahead. "Nothing's free / like breaking free" Olsen sings, comfortable with the costs of her clarity, her heart and voice fixed on the present, the future, the not-yet-known and the beautifully unknowable

Last year's Big Time brought Angel Olsen to a deeper, truer sense of self than ever before. Borne from the twin stars of grief and love, the album delivered beautiful sense of certainty, the sure-footed sound of an artist fully, finally at home with herself. But within that wisdom comes the realization that there is no finish line, no destination or static end point to life while you're living it, and Forever Means collects songs from the Big Time sessions that hold this common theme. They are, in Olsen's words, "in search of something else." "I was somewhere traveling," says Olsen, "stopped for a few days and wandering the city, and I was thinking `what does `forever' really mean? What are the things I'm seeking in friendship or love, and how can `forever' be attainable if we're always changing?'" Sitting with the reality of that entropy, Olsen realized "maybe the secret to ongoing love is to embrace change as part of love itself, that forever must have something to do with playing, looking, constantly searching things out for yourself, never letting yourself think you're finished learning or exploring." `Forever'", says Olsen, "remains curious while trying also to be kind and honest." All this packs into the four precious songs that comprise Forever Means, songs from Olsen's roads traveled and the ones ahead. "Nothing's free / like breaking free" Olsen sings, comfortable with the costs of her clarity, her heart and voice fixed on the present, the future, the not-yet-known and the beautifully unknowable

"Plastic Music For Deep Thinkers" is a peculiar fusion of electronic music inspired by a cross-section of Warp Records releases, enriched with intelligently used elements of jazz, hip-hop and experiment. This multicolor creates an original mixture with a very emotional expression. Post-hip-hop, irregular beats intertwine with the club pulse and jazz harmonies, and the omnipresent sounds of synthesizers meet organic samples.

"Conceptually, this album is the result of an insight into the current state of the apogee of "plasticity" and confusion of the world, and at the same time its downfall in shape we know it. The title, full of contradictions, speaks of an artificial and exaggerated reality, but also of necessary, deeper reflection on it. Plastic, integrated circuits and synthetic sounds tell the story of human transformation in modern realities."

As the author himself admits with a grain of salt: "This record sounds familiar, but it is similar to nothing - like the reality I observe."
Szymon Burnos is a pianist/keyboardist, composer, producer and improviser. With his eclectic sensitivity he combines various, often extreme, musical worlds and his inclinations and inspirations reach many languages - from electronic music, through jazz, hip-hop, ambient, to avant-garde. He's known mainly for his activities on the Tri-City improvised music scene and from groups such as Algorhythm, delay_ok, Nene Heroine, Tomasz Chyła Quintet or Mu and the Alpaka Records label.

Szymon Burnos is a pianist/keyboardist, composer, producer and improviser. With his eclectic sensitivity he combines various, often extreme, musical worlds and his inclinations and inspirations reach many languages - from electronic music, through jazz, hip-hop, ambient, to avant-garde. He's known mainly for his activities on the Tri-City improvised music scene and from groups such as Algorhythm, delay_ok, Nene Heroine, Tomasz Chyła Quintet or Mu and the Alpaka Records label.

"Plastic Music For Deep Thinkers" is a peculiar fusion of electronic music inspired by a cross-section of Warp Records releases, enriched with intelligently used elements of jazz, hip-hop and experiment. This multicolor creates an original mixture with a very emotional expression. Post-hip-hop, irregular beats intertwine with the club pulse and jazz harmonies, and the omnipresent sounds of synthesizers meet organic samples.

"Conceptually, this album is the result of an insight into the current state of the apogee of "plasticity" and confusion of the world, and at the same time its downfall in shape we know it. The title, full of contradictions, speaks of an artificial and exaggerated reality, but also of necessary, deeper reflection on it. Plastic, integrated circuits and synthetic sounds tell the story of human transformation in modern realities."

As the author himself admits with a grain of salt: "This record sounds familiar, but it is similar to nothing - like the reality I observe."
Szymon Burnos is a pianist/keyboardist, composer, producer and improviser. With his eclectic sensitivity he combines various, often extreme, musical worlds and his inclinations and inspirations reach many languages - from electronic music, through jazz, hip-hop, ambient, to avant-garde. He's known mainly for his activities on the Tri-City improvised music scene and from groups such as Algorhythm, delay_ok, Nene Heroine, Tomasz Chyła Quintet or Mu and the Alpaka Records label.

Szymon Burnos is a pianist/keyboardist, composer, producer and improviser. With his eclectic sensitivity he combines various, often extreme, musical worlds and his inclinations and inspirations reach many languages - from electronic music, through jazz, hip-hop, ambient, to avant-garde. He's known mainly for his activities on the Tri-City improvised music scene and from groups such as Algorhythm, delay_ok, Nene Heroine, Tomasz Chyła Quintet or Mu and the Alpaka Records label.

Trey Gruber's posthumous debut double LP Herculean House of Cards. A compilation of early demos, studio demos, and live recordings. A tortured songwriter and struggling addict who jolted the tired Chicago DIY scene with his own brand of primal despair, Trey Gruber and his band Parent were on track to join the ranks of Twin Peaks, Mild High Club, and Whitney. His death in 2017 at the age of 26 brought it all to a halt. In his final years Trey wrote and recorded hundreds of previously unheard demos, dandelions in the cracked concrete of 21st century disconnect, an alphabet's worth of which have been compiled by his family and friends for his only album: Herculean House Of Cards. The 26-song 2xLP covers years of material, from home tape recordings, sessions at Mathew Roberts (Mild High Club) & Paul Cherry's home studio, to a studio session with Charles Glanders (Whitney) at Chicago's Foxhall Studios, along with audio taken at The Hideout during his last live performance, among others. Though Gruber was an unrelenting perfectionist who was constantly self-deprecating about his best demos, Herculean House of Cards is a wholly comprehensive and accurate reflection of his infectious charisma and raw songwriting. He had a charmingly distinct way with words but also could be disarmingly vulnerable. Like he was in life, Gruber never shied away from being open with his struggles with alcoholism and addiction. On the vivid opener "Eisenhower to the West Side," he sings in painstaking detail of, "A jail-skin cell, a junkies fight/Corner-boys full of grace/And Jesus Christ full of spite." He told then-future bandmate flautist Rebecca Ridge, "It's not some Lou Reed glorification of drugs _ `makes me feel like a man'_ I talk about the disconnect and the ugliness. They're sad pop songs." But even with the pain and the darkness in his lyrics, Gruber's songs had an unmistakable sense of hope and catharsis.

Trey Gruber's posthumous debut double LP Herculean House of Cards. A compilation of early demos, studio demos, and live recordings. A tortured songwriter and struggling addict who jolted the tired Chicago DIY scene with his own brand of primal despair, Trey Gruber and his band Parent were on track to join the ranks of Twin Peaks, Mild High Club, and Whitney. His death in 2017 at the age of 26 brought it all to a halt. In his final years Trey wrote and recorded hundreds of previously unheard demos, dandelions in the cracked concrete of 21st century disconnect, an alphabet's worth of which have been compiled by his family and friends for his only album: Herculean House Of Cards. The 26-song 2xLP covers years of material, from home tape recordings, sessions at Mathew Roberts (Mild High Club) & Paul Cherry's home studio, to a studio session with Charles Glanders (Whitney) at Chicago's Foxhall Studios, along with audio taken at The Hideout during his last live performance, among others. Though Gruber was an unrelenting perfectionist who was constantly self-deprecating about his best demos, Herculean House of Cards is a wholly comprehensive and accurate reflection of his infectious charisma and raw songwriting. He had a charmingly distinct way with words but also could be disarmingly vulnerable. Like he was in life, Gruber never shied away from being open with his struggles with alcoholism and addiction. On the vivid opener "Eisenhower to the West Side," he sings in painstaking detail of, "A jail-skin cell, a junkies fight/Corner-boys full of grace/And Jesus Christ full of spite." He told then-future bandmate flautist Rebecca Ridge, "It's not some Lou Reed glorification of drugs _ `makes me feel like a man'_ I talk about the disconnect and the ugliness. They're sad pop songs." But even with the pain and the darkness in his lyrics, Gruber's songs had an unmistakable sense of hope and catharsis.

REPRESS

Alessandro Cortini (Nine Inch Nails/How To Destroy Angels) composed the Forse series using a Buchla Music Easel. Forse, meaning "maybe" In Italian, is a series of 3 double LP releases Cortini recorded for Imprec to release in 2013.

"All pieces were written and performed live on a Buchla Music Easel, in the span of one month. I found that the limited array of modules that the instrument offers sparked my creativity. Most pieces consist of a repeating chord progression, where the real change happens at a spectral/dynamic level, as opposed to the harmonic/chordal one. I believe that the former are just as effective as the latter, in the sense that the sonic presentation (distortion , filtering, wave shaping, etc) are just as expressive as a chord change or chord type, and often reinforce said chord progressions.

Of all the years with Nine Inch Nails the period spent writing and recording the instrumental record Ghosts I-IV is probably the one which changed my approach to music making the most. After that record I started getting more into instrumental composition, although I tried to approach it in a different way. While we had a vast array of tools and instruments at our disposal then, I decided to approach my pieces limiting myself to one instrument only, as I found myself being more decisive when faced with a limited creative environment."

A gorgeous and gripping portrait of Fenne's last two years, Big Picture was pieced together in an effort to self-soothe. Tracked live in co-producer Brad Cook's North Carolina studio, the album delineates the phases of love and becomes a map of comfort vs claustrophobia. Though its creation took place amid personal and global turmoil, the ruminative yet candid Big Picture is Fenne's most cohesive, resolute work to date, both lyrically and sonically. "This isn't a sad album _ it's about as uplifting as my way of doing things will allow," she says. "These songs explore worry and doubt and letting go, but those themes are framed brightly." With confidence and quiet strength, each track provides an insight into Fenne's ever-changing view of love and, ultimately, its redefinition _ love as a process, not something to be lost and found. While the album was written alone in Fenne's Bristol flat - a fact intentionally reflected in its compact sonic quality - Big Picture was transformed from a solitary venture into a unifying collaboration during the recording process when she was joined by her touring band, Melina Dutere of Jay Som (mixing), Christian Lee Hutson (guitar and co production), and Katy Kirby (vocals). Notably, these 10 songs are Fenne's first and only to have been written over the course of a relationship; 2018's On Hold and 2020's BREACH both confront the pain of retrospection, saying goodbye to a love that's gone. Big Picture does the exact opposite _ rooted firmly in the present, it traces the narrative of two people trying their hardest not to implode, together. "This album is an observation of the way I think about love, the selfexamination that comes with closeness and the responsibilities involved in being a big part of someone else's small(er) world," summarizes Fenne. "It was written in a place of relative emotional stability - stability that felt unstable because of its newness, but also because of the global context. 2020 was the year of letting go, but we'd all already let go of so much and nothing felt like mine anymore. Writing always did, though, so that's what I chose to do."

ULTRAMARINE VINYL

A gorgeous and gripping portrait of Fenne's last two years, Big Picture was pieced together in an effort to self-soothe. Tracked live in co-producer Brad Cook's North Carolina studio, the album delineates the phases of love and becomes a map of comfort vs claustrophobia. Though its creation took place amid personal and global turmoil, the ruminative yet candid Big Picture is Fenne's most cohesive, resolute work to date, both lyrically and sonically. "This isn't a sad album _ it's about as uplifting as my way of doing things will allow," she says. "These songs explore worry and doubt and letting go, but those themes are framed brightly." With confidence and quiet strength, each track provides an insight into Fenne's ever-changing view of love and, ultimately, its redefinition _ love as a process, not something to be lost and found. While the album was written alone in Fenne's Bristol flat - a fact intentionally reflected in its compact sonic quality - Big Picture was transformed from a solitary venture into a unifying collaboration during the recording process when she was joined by her touring band, Melina Dutere of Jay Som (mixing), Christian Lee Hutson (guitar and co production), and Katy Kirby (vocals). Notably, these 10 songs are Fenne's first and only to have been written over the course of a relationship; 2018's On Hold and 2020's BREACH both confront the pain of retrospection, saying goodbye to a love that's gone. Big Picture does the exact opposite _ rooted firmly in the present, it traces the narrative of two people trying their hardest not to implode, together. "This album is an observation of the way I think about love, the selfexamination that comes with closeness and the responsibilities involved in being a big part of someone else's small(er) world," summarizes Fenne. "It was written in a place of relative emotional stability - stability that felt unstable because of its newness, but also because of the global context. 2020 was the year of letting go, but we'd all already let go of so much and nothing felt like mine anymore. Writing always did, though, so that's what I chose to do."

Tape

A gorgeous and gripping portrait of Fenne's last two years, Big Picture was pieced together in an effort to self-soothe. Tracked live in co-producer Brad Cook's North Carolina studio, the album delineates the phases of love and becomes a map of comfort vs claustrophobia. Though its creation took place amid personal and global turmoil, the ruminative yet candid Big Picture is Fenne's most cohesive, resolute work to date, both lyrically and sonically. "This isn't a sad album _ it's about as uplifting as my way of doing things will allow," she says. "These songs explore worry and doubt and letting go, but those themes are framed brightly." With confidence and quiet strength, each track provides an insight into Fenne's ever-changing view of love and, ultimately, its redefinition _ love as a process, not something to be lost and found. While the album was written alone in Fenne's Bristol flat - a fact intentionally reflected in its compact sonic quality - Big Picture was transformed from a solitary venture into a unifying collaboration during the recording process when she was joined by her touring band, Melina Dutere of Jay Som (mixing), Christian Lee Hutson (guitar and co production), and Katy Kirby (vocals). Notably, these 10 songs are Fenne's first and only to have been written over the course of a relationship; 2018's On Hold and 2020's BREACH both confront the pain of retrospection, saying goodbye to a love that's gone. Big Picture does the exact opposite _ rooted firmly in the present, it traces the narrative of two people trying their hardest not to implode, together. "This album is an observation of the way I think about love, the selfexamination that comes with closeness and the responsibilities involved in being a big part of someone else's small(er) world," summarizes Fenne. "It was written in a place of relative emotional stability - stability that felt unstable because of its newness, but also because of the global context. 2020 was the year of letting go, but we'd all already let go of so much and nothing felt like mine anymore. Writing always did, though, so that's what I chose to do."

Deluxe Eco Vinyl LP with 16 page lyric booklet! London slowcore band deathcrash have announced their new album Less, due March 31st via untitled (recs). Recorded at the UK's most remote studio in the Outer Hebrides, Less follows their critically acclaimed 2022 album, Return with a statement in reduction that turns out to be as powerful and potent as it is tender and introspective. "The mission statement was to be super minimal," says deathcrash singer Tiernan Banks. "Just simple and beautiful guitar parts and to be really bare. To be...less." Swiftly following Return, the band initially had no plans to make a full length. "The last thing we felt like doing was making another album," says bassist Patrick Fitzgerald. "It was like, 'let's do this little EP that's aesthetically quite different and pared down'." Less was always planned to be a statement in reduction but it soon became apparent that the songs the band were writing were significant, personal and, despite the intentions to strip things back, bigger. "As time went on, we started putting much more emotional weight into it and it became more important to us," says Banks. The result is a record that is as powerful and potent as it is tender and introspective, with arrangements that manage to feel refined yet detailed and with a deep emotional resonance at the core of the record. Banks' voice shifts from hushed whispers to guttural screams, one minute tapping into the kind of fragile beauty that artists like Elliott Smith managed so well, on tracks such as 'Duffy's' before unleashing a doom metal growl in thundering unison with the band on 'Empty Heavy'. The record has confirmed early press support from a number of UK publications, including a 4-page print feature in Loud & Quiet, a feature in Line of Best Fit, and early indications of support from Stereogum and a number of other U.S. publications too. A radio campaign will also be run for the second single 'Duffy's' and we expect support from BBC 6 Music, Apple Music and other tastemaker stations

Brazilian experimental multi-instrumentalist Carla Boregas follows plates for Bokeh Versions and Hive Mind with a ghostly set of deep listening electronics that plays like a symphony for an imagined woodwind orchestra.

Carla Boregas is best known from her tenure in São Paulo's genre-bending experimental post-punk scene, playing in long-running outfit Rakta as well as other related offshoots. Her solo material has been knottier to unpick, here developing ideas from a collection of unfinished fragments and notebook scribbles exploring the possibility of finding a wind instrument that could be played collectively by several musicians. Coinciding with the pandemic, however, she soon realised the inherent risks involved with sharing breath and so the concept took a different direction, with added resonance.

Boregas developed a synthetic alternative, layering vocals and environmental recordings to suggest wind instrumentation without attempting to mimic it. The sounds here are airy, but rarely diegetic - on the title track, Boregas uses analog arpeggios and plucked, sustained tones to approximate the kosmische world of Ash Ra Tempel or more recently Emeralds, as if trapped in a wind tunnel, moved forward by an unseen force.

There's a whisper of the ancient past that harmonises with Wojciech Rusin's speculative medieval gasps, and Bloedneus & de Snuitkever's severely underheard ‘Milli Mille’, an examination of the ancient Greek aulos. On ’Grafia Do Invisível' the sound is completely different again, but the concept remains, using precise analog drones and minuscule timbral shifts to imitate the character of a wind instrument and simultaneously harmonise with the deep listening meditations of Éliane Radigue and Kali Malone.

A voice enters the frame on 'Sopro’, chopped into deviated gulps and syllables, creating a language that's unfamiliar and percussive. The use of breath is subtle, and vocalisations criss-cross between synths and faint whistles, forming an expression that's different from its predecessors but intrinsically interlinked. This is where ‘Pena Ao Mar’ excels, by viewing breath and its application in electronic music from multiple angles simultaneously. Fans of Lucy Duncombe, Lucrecia Dalt, or Sarah Davachi - don't miss this one.

Recorded in a little bedroom studio out in Durham, North Carolina, Amelia Meath and Nick Sanborn's debut LP as Sylvan Esso arrived in 2014 at the juncture of pop and experimental. Even now, years later, the LP remains an urgent and fitting introduction to a push-and-pull that would go on to inform the duo's sound - a thoughtful headiness that also wants you to get out on the dance floor. A blend of analog and digital, Meath and Sanborn were two unexpected puzzle pieces fitting together with singular ease, producing a ten-track LP that was both minimalist and shimmering, with dark undulations rippling beneath the synthy-surface and crystalline quality of Meath's voice. Before all of the international touring and festival headlining and critical acclaim, Sylvan Esso was just a shot-in-the dark of musical chemistry gone right. The original album bio for the self-titled presciently sets the stage for the thesis that has gone on to guide Meath and Sanborn's writing since then: "a collection of vivid addictions concerning suffering and love, darkness and deliverance" arriving as "a necessary pop balm, an album stuffed with songs that don't suffer the longstanding complications of that term." And so, even as the band continues to evolve and becomes amorphous, there's still that argument about what pop can be at its core. This is just the beginning of that conversation captured on tape.

Spawning from the Manchester music scene in 2008 and now sucking in members from all over the UK, the Riot Jazz Brass Band is a nine-piece genre-mashing, foot stomping party behemoth bringing the love buzz to ears and feet all over the world

New album RIOT JAZZ MAKES PEOPLE HAPPY is the culmination of a 15- year mission to spread joy and get people moving. With three trumpets, three trombones, sousaphone and drums bringing the noise and MC Chunky conducting the chaos, the result is a gleeful cacophony encompassing jazz,hip hop, drum 'n' bass, trap, grime and more.

The intoxicating sound and spirit of the Riot Jazz Brass Band, as well as its deep commitment to exploring all sorts of musical genre, has seen it tapped to collaborate with a variety of top artists and play at festivals across Europe.

One of the most established festival bands on the circuit with appearances at Glastonbury (West Holt Stage), Womad (Big Top), Jazz Sous Les Pommier (France) to Soundwave (Croatia) and everything in between. Recent UK tour last April/May all across the country.

After releasing "Precipice Fantasy Part I" in October 2022, Koudlam delivers the second part of his album.

The first part is a salvo of meteorites where the artist uses, as usual, standardised pop motifs to better disrupt them, and always without deviating from the ultimate melody, chanted to trance.

The second part is an instrumental and contemplative record, a kind of music for an uncomfortable yoga session, that of a tourist who dreamed of climbing Everest but who no longer has the strength to get out of Kathmandu's underworld.

Koudlam thus delivers the soundtrack of summits and precipices. Or rather the path between the two, sinuous, vertiginous, always on the edge of the blade.

New Born is a group of four Italian immigrants who all lived in the area around Ulm/Bavaria.

Primarily they sang more Italian songs and were more on the traditional side of Italian music.

This record is a perfect example of what can happen when the drummer says “Let´s jam” to the musicians. The outstanding track “Galaxy” came out, the vibe of it is like an early piano house track and a hybrid of cosmic and disco.

The original copy of the record is nowadays a highly requested collector´s item, that skyrocketed in terms of prices. Originally released as a 45 single in 1981 the record was pressed in a very small run. Try to find a unicorn it’s easier.

We decided not to do only a simple reissue of it, we asked the creme de la creme of cosmic disco to make us a new born version of the track “Galaxy”. Camp Cosmic aficionados “Albion” & “Spacelexx” are responsible for two mesmerizing versions of this song. On top, we pressed the whole record as a 12″ from the original master tapes.

In his South London flat, James Howard gestures apologetically at the mess of books, lined A4 paper and stationary at his desk. “I butcher poetry for a living,” he explains, “It isn’t a pretty job, but someone has to do it.” This being 2022, every emerging musician needs a side-hustle to keep the house warm. In the daytime, our host writes study guides to help teachers teach poetry to pupils who would rather be elsewhere. “I make sure the poems are clinically dead by the time they reach the schools.”
An explanation punctuated by a mildly contrite shrug makes you want to lean forward and remind Howard about some of the stuff other people are doing for a living. And, more to the point, aren’t doing. Which brings us to the real matter at hand. For Howard, foregrounding his own songs hasn’t always come naturally. An enthusiastic collaborator, he made two well-received albums with his previous band Blue House and played with the likes of Rozi Plain, Alabaster dePlume and his wife Dana Gavanski, as well as running his own music night with Sam Tyler in London, Incredible Society. It’s important to mention these creative hook-ups because Howard feels that, in one way or another, they all helped to give form and shape to the lilting lunar lullabies that would ultimately comprise his ravishing solo debut Peek-A-Boo. 

Blue Hawaii was Elvis’ 8th film, and on its release in 1961 became one of that year’s most
successful titles at the box office. It remained one of the singer’s all-time favourite movies,
and began a love affair with the island, which had become America’s 50th state in 1959.
Blue Hawaii was the usual Elvis mix of exotic locations, beautiful girls and lots of songs. The
soundtrack of Blue Hawaii did not disappoint – the sleeve boasting “14 Great Songs”. The
title track was a perfect introduction, while the Hawaiian setting meant that space was found
for the atmospheric Hawaiian Sunset and Island Of Love (Kauai). Room was also found for
two other island-related songs - Aloha Oe and Hawaiian Wedding Song, both of which had
been hits for Bing Crosby back in the 1930s. But where Blue Hawaii really scored for fans
was the inclusion of the boisterous Rock-A-Hula Baby and a song which would go on to
become one of the singer’s best-loved ballads – Can’t Help Falling In Love. Based in part on
an 18th Century French melody, for many years this became Elvis’ in-concert finale.

Zach Braff’s curated compilation soundtrack album for the upcoming drama film A Good Person. Written and directed by Braff, the film’s compilation soundtrack features a range of wistful folk-infused songs, including The Velvet Underground’s iconic 1969 song After Hours, written by Lou Reed and performed by the band’s drummer Moe Tucker, Bristol-based singer-songwriter Fenne Lilly’s 2021 track Hyopcondriac, American singer-songwriter Lizzie McAlpine’s 2020 song To The Mountains, American indie rock singer-songwriter Cary Brothers’ 2022 song Stardust, performed in the film for Allison (Florence Pugh) by Cary himself, and more (see full tracklisting below). The compilation soundtrack also features two brand new singles written and performed for the film by Florence Pugh. I Hate Myself and The Best Part.

On Giver Taker, the gorgeous debut album by Anjimile, death and life are always entwined, wrapping around each other in a dance of reverence, reciprocity, and, ultimately, rebirth. Giver Taker is confident, intentional and introspective. Anjimile Chithambo (they/them, he/him) wrote much of the album while in treatment for drug and alcohol abuse, as well as while in the process of living more fully as a nonbinary trans person. Loss hovers over the album, whose songs grieve for lost friends ("Giver Taker") and family members ("1978") along with lost selves ("Maker," "Baby No More," "In Your Eyes.") But here, grief yields an opening: a chance for new growth. Each song on the album is its own micro-journey, adding up to a transformative epic cycle created in collaboration with bandmate Justine Bowe of Photocomfort and New-York based artist/producer Gabe Goodman. "1978" and "Maker" both begin as Sufjan Stevens-esque pastoral ballads with Chithambo's mesmerizing voice foregrounded against minimal instrumentation and swell into the realm of the majestic through the addition of warm, steady instrumentation (informed by the mix of 80's pop and African music Chithambo's Malawi-born parents played around the house) and harmonies by Bowe. "In Your Eyes" starts out hushed and builds to a crescendo via a mighty chorus inspired by none other than the Lion King. The allusion is fitting: each song encapsulates a heroic voyage, walked alone until accompanied by kindred souls. The choirs present throughout are equally deliberate. Chithambo grew up as a choir boy himself, and several songs (notably "Maker") grasp not only towards reconciliation between his trans identity and his parents' strong religious beliefs, but towards reclaiming his trans identity as an essential part of his own spirituality.

For the 7th installment of their split-series, Dalmata Daniel welcomes both Roberto Auser for his sophomore contribution to the label, as well as a fresh addition to the catalogue: Cestrian, aka. Ali Renault, the tireless Margate-based DJ and producer, well known for his frantic, dazzling and rough releases at labels like Bunker, Cyber Dance Records or Mechatronica.

Massive, thumping kickdrums and hypnotic whispers introduce the first tunes of side A, that is 'Awakening' - Auser's take on slow, EBM-esque industrial vibrations as an eerie, industrial waltz. 'Selvage' drives effortlessly to disco- and retrofuturistic territories, arriving at the closing track of Auser's side, 'Long Night' This third cut is his longest one, steadily building up harmonic layers of dark, intertwining melodies with the devoted beats of a minimalistic drum machine, full of echoes and shimmering high-ends.

Side B starts with the energetic, rolling bassline of 'Satan'. Ideal title for such a fiery, blazing electro hit: if you ever find yourself in any sort of Inferno-situation trying to Shazam that heated banger you hear, it is likely that it's one of Cestrian's intense tracks from this 12". 'Zoltan' delivers a gentle rumbling of a dusty bass-synth. An atmospheric, chill sequence dominates the split's penultimate track, with dreamy chords and smooth twists on a chaotic noise-source. Finishing off the split, Cestrian hits us with 'Lids' - an excited and raw vision of electro, full of hazy sparks and detuned, tense oscillations. The bass cuts into our minds like blades from a giallo-opus, leaving behind nothing but the unsolved mystery of ineffable horrors.

Nicola Dal Sacco treats us to an acid-soaked quartet for his debut solo EP on Aquaregia, a tantalizing follow-up to the Italian producer's contribution to the Acid Analects VA series.

Setting the tone, the title track, "Wirrwarr", revs up with driving drums and swirling pads - a sunrise escapade along a mountain pass. As daybreak approaches, the breakdown hits, introducing warm beaming pads. On the second leg, the journey continues with "Gelato", a spellbinder that melds serpentine acid lines with a vintage flair, navigating hairpins and snaking through narrow hillside corridors; vertigo ensues.

"Parapiglia" continues the trip with an eerie and enchanting lowlight drive. Melancholic acid whines while lush ethereal pads swaddle; a haunting mist rolling over the road. A deep closer, "Linea" guides us down the final stretch through the foothills with a viscous groove and chilled out atmosphere; the final knock back down into first gear.

She’s out of this world…

Maltese musician & producer Joon’s galactic debut arrives on our shores fully formed a decade after she first set sail. 12 cuts of uniquely addictive Synthesized Pop twist & turn on the rocky waters of life.

Her story begins after a life-changing car crash on the streets of Malta many moons ago. She was lucky to walk away in one piece. “That car crash was a wake-up call,” she says. “It made me realize how precious life is & I started living the life I felt was worth living.” Inspired to finally pursue her love of music full time, she began collecting instruments. Starting with a Stylophone& a vintage rhythm box, she started documenting ideas. Returning home to Malta after a few years in London, she only met one other woman making electronic music on the island. Driven by the desire to make music possible & accessible for the next generation, Joon co-founded the Malta Sound Women’s Network.

Ten years later, she sends us messages in a bottle from across the Mediterranean Sea. Armed with a Moog & her ethereal voice, she transmits hope & joy from a bedroom somewhere between Sicily & North Africa. Her music is right at home alongside outsider pioneers like Fever Ray, Grimes, Laurie Anderson & Molly Nilsson. Dream Again glides across heavy rhythms & eclectic electro. Telling stories of alienation with a throbbing heartbeat & space-age melodies, she lets us into her ultra-vivid world where anything is possible. Produced by Johnny Jewel, the album shines bright like comet orbiting the label’s dark sky, a much-needed vision of light on the horizon.

“Even if I’m sad or heartbroken, I remain optimistic. I want to grow old with no regrets.”

It’s time to Dream Again…

Five years since his last solo outing, Pev makes a very welcome return on his own label for Livity Sound's 60th release.

Having focused on expanding the innovative scope of Livity through a prolific release schedule, frequent label nights and the 10th anniversary Molten Mirrors compilation, on the 'Pulse E.P.', Pev delivers on his reputation for inventive, sharply-focused club music with four lean, focused club tracks across the tempo range.

From the crooked formation and pointillist bleeps of ‘Pulse I’ through the light-footed percussion and airy melodies of ‘Pulse II’ to ‘Pulse III’s strafing techno synths and ‘Pulse IV’s surefooted, bass-loaded house jack, it’s an EP of variation and consistency in equal measure. From the infectious, alien melodic lines to the elegant angles of the drums, not to mention the weighty subs, it’s all strikingly fresh and unmistakably Pev.

Livity Sound is a label set up by Peverelist in 2011 as a vehicle for a raw and exploratory strain of UK techno, rooted in the heritage of UK dance music and sound system culture. It has since become one of the UK's foremost protagonists for cutting edge underground electronic music.

We’re still harvesting the fruits of those past days in seclusion, the cabin fever induced creative outbursts, ideas that would probably have never surfaced without these enforced trips to our inner minds. Lockdown transcendence.

“Don’t Cry” by Italo-Brazilian DJ producer Stephan Barnem and Futuristant is another impressive testament of those days. Secluded in Stephan’s studio in Northern Italy, the duo subconsciously conjured the spirits of one of their mutual favorite bands, Depeche Mode and created a fierce, boombappy Neo New Wave smasher contrived to send rays of hope into the darkest corners of this mad world. We had to add a gratuitous beatless version to the EP that amplifies the cinematic depth and healing potency of this song.

If “Don’t Cry” echoes the dark brooding euphoria of Depeche Mode’s “Music For The Masses” era, the flipside cut “Elysium” harks back to the synthwave happy days of their debut “Speak & Spell”. It’s a wonderfully careless track that’s bringing a dearly needed breeze of fresh air to today’s discerning dancefloors.

Boys don’t cry for me Argentina. Save your tears for another day.

Wir ernten immer noch die Früchte jener vergangenen Tage in Abgeschiedenheit, der vom Lagerkoller verursachten kreativen Ausbrüche, Ideen, die ohne diese erzwungenen Reisen in unser Inneres wahrscheinlich nie entstanden wären. Lockdown-Transzendenz.

„Don’t Cry“ des italo-brasilianischen DJ-Produzenten Stephan Barnem und Futuristant ist ein weiteres beeindruckendes Zeugnis jener Tage. In der Abgeschiedenheit von Stephans Studio in Norditalien, beschwor das Duo unbewusst die Geister einer ihrer gemeinsamen Lieblingsbands, Depeche Mode, herauf und schuf einen wilden, boombappigen Neo-New-Wave-Smasher, der Licht in die dunkelsten Ecken dieser verrückten Welt senden wird. Wir mussten der EP eine Beatless-Version von “Don’t Cry” hinzufügen, die die filmische Tiefe und heilende Kraft dieses Songs noch verstärkt.

Wenn „Don’t Cry“ die dunkle, grüblerische Euphorie von Depeche Modes „Music For The Masses“-Ära widerspiegelt, erinnert der Flipside-Cut „Elysium“ an die Happy Synthwave-Tage ihres Debüts „Speak & Spell“. Es ist ein wunderbar sorgloser Track, der den dringend benötigten frischen Wind auf die anspruchsvollen Tanzflächen von heute bringt.

Boys don’t cry for me Argentina. Save your tears for another day.

Kristian Matsson has never remained in one place for very long. Having spent much of the last decade touring around the world as The Tallest Man on Earth, Matsson has captivated audiences using, as The New York Times describes, “every inch of his long guitar cord to
roam the stage: darting around, crouching, stretching, hip-twitching, perching briefly and jittering away…Mr. Matsson is a guitar-slinger rooted in folk, and his songs are troubadour ballads at heart.”

Now, Matsson returns as The Tallest Man on Earth with Henry St., his sixth studio album following 2012’s There’s No Leaving Now, full of “vivid imagery, clever turns-of-phrase, and devastating, world-weary observations” (Under The Radar) and 2015’s Dark Bird Is A
Home, his “most personal record… surreal and dreamlike” (Pitchfork). Henry St. notably marks the first time he recorded an album in a band setting. “My entire career I’ve been a DIY person––mostly fueled by the feeling that I didn’t know what I was doing, so I’d just do everything myself.”

But now, longing for the energy that’s only released when creating
together with others, Matsson invited his friends to come and play.
Nick Sanborn (of Sylvan Esso) produced Henry St., which includes contributions from Ryan Gustafson (of The Dead Tongues) on guitar, lap steel and ukulele, TJ Maiani on drums, CJ Camerieri (of Bon Iver) on trumpet and French horn, Phil Cook on piano and organ, Rob
Moose (of Bon Iver, yMusic) on strings and Adam Schatz on saxophone.

Multi-Award winning, hugely influential musician Feist returns with Multitudes, her sixth solo album and first since 2017’s Pleasure.

Multitudes was produced by Feist with longtime collaborators Robbie Lackritz (The Weather Station, Bahamas, Robbie Robertson) and Mocky (Jamie Lidell, Vulfpeck, Kelela). Blake Mills (Bob Dylan, Fiona Apple, Perfume Genius) and Joseph Lorge came in to mix, with Mills as a co-producer in the final stages.

Multitudes took shape soon after the birth of her daughter and sudden death of her father, a back-to-back convergence of life-altering events that left the Canadian singer/songwriter with “Nothing performative in me anymore.” As she cleansed her songwriting of any tendency to obscure unwanted truths, Feist slowly made her way toward a batch of songs rooted in a raw and potent realism which is touched with otherworldly beauty.

Largely written and workshopped during an intensely communal experimental show of the same name through 2021 and 2022, the songs on Multitudes developed in parallel with and were deeply influenced by the mutuality of the unconventional experience. The production, developed by Feist with legendary designer Rob Sinclair (David Byrne’s American Utopia, Peter Gabriel, Tame Impala) was formulated to bring people together as they re-emerged from lockdown while providing an outlet for connection between artist, art, and community.

"Lovoscope" is the second album of the Parisian band Polycool. After the obsession with lemons of their first LP "Lemon Lord", the band changes course to talk about love, quite simply.

Each song on the album tells the story of love from a different angle. Lovoscope is the only way to access all the faces of love: happy, toxic or even virtual. The album is a bubble of 11 tracks in which we go through rhythmic ballads (Spiral, Leaves, <3), tracks with electronic sounds (Computer Love, Start), sharp melodies and refrains (Unlike You, Please Babe), and even unidentified sound objects (Odijk).

We find the Anglo-Saxon influences of LA Priest, Unknown Mortal Orchestra, Connan Mockasin, but also Metronomy or Sam Evian, all in a French musical sauce. This album was recorded in the summer of 2021 in an attic studio, surrounded by fields, in a free DIY tradition.

Clear Vinyl

French composer Lucie Antunes is broadening her sonic horizons with second album “Carnaval”. Following the resounding critical success of 2019’s “Sergei”, the Perpignan-born, classically-trained drummer and percussionist releases an ebullient, electronically-oriented followup that is designed for the dancefloor. Antunes unites the pop world with the avant-garde, with a crossover appeal that traverses genres and borders with ease. “Carnaval” also sees Léonie Pernet come on board as producer, who brings frisson to these eleven tracks whilst helping to augment the grooves. Using and manipulating the human voice for the first time, Antunes was inspired in part by the American composer Meredith Monk, to use her voice as percussive instrument, conveying meaning with nonverbal phrases and phonemes. ‘Carnaval’ is more coquettish, curious and creative than anything she’s yet done, imbuing the listener with the cerebral mischief of Laurie Anderson on ‘It’s Amazing’—an opening track which more than fulfills its titular promise.

In April 2023, Tresor Records will unveil a new EP from DALO entitled "GUM". DALO, aka Nadia D'Alo, is one of the founders of the R.i.O label and half of the duo INIT. After several years of performing as INIT with Benedikt Frey, she had her solo live debut in Berlin in 2022. This record follows releases on labels such as ESP Institute and Warning. "GUM" showcases DALO's expert mastery of rising tension through analogue sound sources, as it swings in and remains with minimal changes and accentuation.
"Woodpecker" enters a tunnel of reverberant claps, moving in a potent exercise of deftly manipulated acid. "Wavehall" draws vocal smears across expansive, droning basses and 140bpm techno rhythms. In "Bachlash", she takes inspiration from events of Iranian and Afghan women revolting for their rights, expressing hope for the rebound of control after long political oppression. Electro beats are introduced underneath the full-frontal melodic acid, while processed spoken word samples bring a new focus.
DALO takes the rebounding control and strives forward into the unknown with "GUM", its segmented vocal samples playing a
captivating partnership with acidic slides. The EP closes with "Pilot," a digital bonus track that releases some of the tension built up throughout and propels the dancer towards transcendent shapes.

Gretchen Goes to Nebraska is the second studio album by American heavy metal/hard rock trio King’s X. It is a concept album based on a short story written by drummer Jerry Gaskill.

The album received virtually universal critical praise for its uniquely progressive musical approach and varied styles and is considered as one of their works, a seminal record within the progressive metal genre. It achieved high slots on various Album Of The Year-lists, including #4 in Kerrang!.

Gretchen Goes To Nebraska is available as a limited edition of
1500 individually numbered copies on gold coloured vinyl.

The ten-track LP marks the latest collaboration of "Swiss born Gotham bred" (SPIN) indie rocker Sam Koechlin with his longtime producer / "Second Beatle" Daniel Schlett (Iggy Pop; The War on Drugs) and mastering engineer Greg Calbi and features Chris Egan (Solange; Blood Orange) on drums and Josh "JD" Werner (Ghostface Killah; CocoRosie) on bass.

Singles Golden Days (Sept 16) and Never Let Me Go (July 22), the album's title track, offer a taste of what to expect from the "King Of Tears’" (Radiotélévision Suisse) sophomore effort: a soundtrack for the first day after what looked like the last, fueled by the madness of a rapidly accelerating career trajectory, the thrill of touring with his band again, and the promise of a reopening world whose studios, stages and dance floors we get to share again at long last. In 2021, Sam released his debut album Power Ballads, a largely home-recorded yet “well-crafted set of atmospheric post-punk” (KEXP) to international acclaim.

One of the main figures in Alabama’s music scene, Frederick Knight arrived at Stax in 1972 and hit with the country soul of "I've Been Lonely For So Long", making number 8 on the R&B chart, and the subsequent album was a real milestone in his career.

Prior to this he played a significant part as a producer/writer at Neil Hemphill's Sound of Birmingham Studios where the Stax album was cut. Later that decade Knight would again achieve commercial success with his own record label, Juana, and the recordings of The Controllers and, most notably, Anita Ward.

These early 70s tracks have never surfaced on vinyl before, both of which were also recorded in Birmingham. The plaintive ballad "You've Never Really Lived" with its subtle tempo will have you hooked from the off, while "How, When Or Where" is a mid-tempo opus that will please the dancers out there.

Two utterly fabulous tunes.

With the verve of the early onset of a love affair, Julian Muller’s and MRD’s first release on NALI isn’t shy of evoking deep feelings on the backdrop scattered bass lines. The four-track EP draws from transcendental soundscapes and blends them with well-crafted solid techno. Hopeful, revolutionary and yet club driven, the vocals are pop-leaning with a hint of the aesthetics of popularized club culture that came up in the late 90ies. A promising kick-start for the freshly conceived label and its musical agenda.

Some of the best musical moments from the anime series (one of the most famous adaptations to one of the best selling manga of all time/much beloved anime franchise). Featuring the main theme 'Number One', the soundtrack also contains other musical highlights from the series by Japanese superstar composer Shiro Sagisu, who has also scored 'Attack On Titan', 'Shin Godzilla' and the full 'Evangelion' series to name a few. This is a double 140gm translucent blue vinyl set in a double sided gatefold sleeve with gloss varnish. Full colour expanded inlay with images from the show and notes from composer Shiro Sagisu. Marketing activity. Stock is limited/allocated.

Violeta Vicci rides a motorbike, is fluent in seven languages, and feels at home in England, Switzerland and Spain. A multifaceted, contemporary violinist, vocalist and composer, she feels comfortable genre-crossing from classical to ambient, multilayered electronics, her influences ranging from Bach to Brian Eno. Her music has been played on BBC Radio 3 (Hannah Peel), Radio 4 Woman's Hour, BBC6 (Iggy Pop), KEXP and Resonance FM.

Since starting the violin at the age of four and giving her concert debut at the age of fifteen, she fulfilled her long life dream to study at the Royal Academy of Music. Violeta has recently supported the Orb on their 30th anniversary UK tour and collaborated with the likes of Thom Yorke, Elbow, Jonsi (Sigur Ros), Steeleye Span and Ellie Goulding. She also arranges the strings for Fontaines DC and writes and performs with psychedelic rock band TTRRUUCES. "We didn't have a TV when growing up, so spending time in nature, building castles in the sand, reading, playing music and listening to fairy tales, played a big role in creating my inner magical universe."

During lockdown, Vicci started "Live Music in Nature" a series of live-streamed concerts performed in beautiful natural locations around the UK, combining strings, voice and effect pedals to create a soundtrack to nature.

She has been nominated for a Royal Philharmonic Society Award 2021 and has released two studio albums to date.

Merzbow (Masami Akita), the seminal Japanese noise project since 1979, remains one of the most influential and prolific figures in modern electronic composition.

Originally a limited CD-only release on Waystyx in 2005, ‘Scene’ is now available on vinyl for the first time with remastering by Masami Akita and an exclusive bonus track from the original recording session.

Scene is revered by fans as one of Merzbow’s best surrealist works from the mid-2000s ‘laptop era’. The intro track, Part 1, immediately grabs listeners with hysteric carnival music. The ascending parts then warp into hallucinatory passages with rhythmic drum patterns, metalworks, echoing bird calls, and eerie wind chimes tinkling atonally in the gossamer moon.

Ultimately, Scene is a vital part of Merzbow’s ever-evolving experimentations with analog and digital manipulations. Limited to 300 copies, the long unavailable Scene is officially back in our hands.

King Creole was the fourth of Elvis Presley’s Hollywood movies, released in June
1958. Loosely based on Harold Robbins’ novel A Stone For Danny Fisher, about a
struggling young Boxer. Producer Hal Wallis decided it would make a perfect vehicle
for Elvis Presley, and so the lead character became a Singer instead of a Boxer, and
the whole project was promptly transformed into a musical. It’s one of the best of the
Presley soundtracks opening with the title track King Creole penned by Leiber &
Stoller, followed by R&B number Crawfish, and the contrasting Rock'n'Roll track
Dixieland Rock which is reminiscent of Jailhouse Rock. Sadly, it was to be the last
truly dramatic role Elvis was ever given, and Presley himself would always cite King
Creole as his personal favourite out of all the films he made.

Students of Decay presents "Kaivajaiset" by Finnish composer Niko-Matti Ahti. Best known for his work alongside his partner Marja as Ahti & Ahti, Niko-Matti has been an active participant in the Finnish underground since the late 1990s. "Kaivajaiset" is his first solo recording and was originally conceived of as an installation. Part horspiel, part musique concrete, it is a piece of music that draws comparisons to the work of pioneering avant-garde composers such as Henning Christiansen, Annea Lockwood, Luc Ferrari, and Pierre Mariétan. Ahti weaves vivid foley and domestic recordings together with oration and classical instrumentation (violin, clarinet, bass clarinet, and flute) to arrive at an expansive, narrative, and at times thrilling composition. “Kaivajaiset" was exhibited in two Finnish galleries: B-Galleria in Turku (2019) and 3H+K in Pori (2020). The installation drew inspiration from The Diggers' 1649 pamphlet and Michel Foucault's extension of Friedrich Nietzsche’s concept of genealogy, and consisted of sounds, opinion pieces, a print copy of the pamphlet, and four cardboard collages. This record is a summary of the sounds of the installation.

Prinz & Prinz is one of the most mysterious bands from 1980s Austria. It remains unknown who the two of them actually were. Their music has never been sold in shops, either. It only appeared on one of the obscure Youngers of Vienna-compilations, which were the outcome of a local band contest. If this was a one-off project, it certainly was a brilliant one. The first song on this 7“, “Kleine Segelschiffe” (little sailboats), does everything right in combining reggae rhythms and German vocals. The second track, “Einsamkeit” (loneliness), is a weird, organic lo-fi disco tune that amounts to the best Austrian take on Philly disco we have heard yet. Neither of the pieces disappoints. Both will make you want to find out more about Prinz & Prinz.

Eurovison Collected compiles many winners of the Eurovision Song Contest, an annual competition organized by member countries of the European Union. The double album contains the #1 hit songs from earlier winners such as France Gall “Poupée De Cire, Poupée De Son” (France, 1965), Sandie Shaw “Puppet On A String” (United Kingdom,
1967), Sandra Kim “J’aime La Vie” (Belgium, 1986), Johnny Logan “Hold Me Now” (Ireland, 1987), Katrina & The Waves “Love Shine A Light (United Kingdom, 1997), Lordi “Hard Rock Hallelujah” (Finland,
2006), Loreen “Euphoria” (Sweden, 2012), Duncan Laurence “Arcade” (The Netherlands, 2019) and recent winners Måneskin “Zitti e Buoni” (Italy, 2021) and Kalush Orchestra “Stefania” (Ukraine, 2022).

Marcos Díaz has been part of Buenos Aires underground for many years, being in projects like Bosques and making solo music under the pseudonym Entidad Animada (animated entity). Under this project, Marcos has explored sounds that involve a mix of feedback/distortion through synthesizers, guitars and drum machines that hint at the influence of Stereolab, Spacemen 3, and mid-nineties shoegaze. However, there are also ambient soundscapes with a slight rubbed of the ritualistic psychedelia of the Popol Vuh. The display of colours in his music comes together in the midst of a playful, relaxed and optimistic environment that is simultaneously melancholic. Because of the nature of those pieces, but also because in Entidad Animada there is also space for collage sounds that blend randomly with textures of a primitive analog sound, which inevitably causes a paradox between what is alive and what is inert. And it is because Entidad Animada is precisely that, a spectrum or a vision, a ghost. And these sounds are proof of his existence.

Pruebas de existencia (proofs of existence) is a collection of recordings that Marcos has made in recent years and that we have selected for this album, his first work on Umor Rex. A couple of these pieces were only released digitally, while the others have been on ltd cassette editions through Fuego Amigo Discos in Argentina. Pruebas de existencia is an Umor Rex compilation and remastered edition.

Guitar, sampler, synthesizer, organ, bass, drums & electronic beats, vocals, recording and mixing by Entidad Animada in Buenos Aires. Mastered by Rafael Anton Irisarri at Black Knoll Studio, NY. Cover photography Natch Tablescape (1979) by Langdon Clay. Layout by Daniel Castrejón, Mexico City.

JOHNNY CLARKE’S ROOTS CLASSIC... DECLARING... DON’T TROUBLE THE DREADS.....
PLUS A GREAT KING TUBBY DUB CUT.

2023 Repress

Two of Noisia's biggest classics get their first vinyl release ever. An absolute must have item for every true Noisia fan.

'...So Unknown..., das fasst unsere Band zusammen', sagt JESUS PIECE-Frontmann Aaron Heard, als er über den Titel des mit Spannung erwarteten zweiten Albums der Philly-Metal-Hardcore-Truppe nachdenkt. Alles an uns war immer eine sehr unbekannte Situation. Wir wussten nicht, wie wir klingen sollten, wir wussten nicht, mit wem wir auf Tour gehen sollten, und das hat uns von Anfang an begleitet. Wir sind eine sehr rätselhafte Band.' Sieben Jahre nach Beginn ihrer Karriere, die auf einem kompromisslosen Ethos und einem sorgfältig ausgearbeiteten, brutalen Sound aufbaut, verschmelzen JESUS PIECE Intelligenz und Aggression auf eine Weise, die nicht nur die starren Grenzen des Genres verschiebt. Es setzt den Standard für die Form des Hardcores in der Zukunft.'So Unknown' ist der Klang von artikulierter Brutalität, die sich jeder Kategorisierung entzieht. Es sind 28 Minuten voller Wut und Introspektion, die in den roten Bereich vordringen. Vom explosiven Opener 'In Constraints' über die dissonanten Klänge von 'Tunnel Vision' bis hin zum bissigen 'An Offering to The Night' - JESUS PIECEs Century Media-Debüt und ihr erstes Album seit dem 2018er Meilenstein 'Only Self' belohnt das Warten. Co-produziert und gemischt von Randy LeBouef (Every Time I Die, Orthodox), ist '...So Unknown' ein spektakulärer zweiter Akt und ein Übergang zu etwas Intensiverem und Persönlicherem für die fünf aus Pennsylvania stammenden Musiker.Ihren Namen haben sie von einem beliebten religiösen Schmuckstück übernommen - 'Es hatte einen Hip-Hop-Vibe', sagt Aaron. 'Wir wollten keinen dummen, nach Metal klingenden Namen, also sind wir den umgekehrten Weg gegangen und haben es einfach gemacht.

Olympic Pool Maintenance League takes us on a heavenly Techno ride.

It includes a raw remix of Head Front Panel, recalling the wild 90s and Giorgio Gigli with a more mental version of current Techno.

Das neue Album "THRIVE" von RIOPY besteht aus insgesamt 17 Tracks, darunter seine neue Kompositionen und Neubearbeitungen von Werken berühmter Komponisten wie Chopin, Pachelbel, Satie, Debussy, Brahms, Beethoven und Fauré.

Die Stücke sind teils mit dem Solo-Piano eingespielt, teils begleitet durch ein bis zu 18-köpfiges Streicherensemble. Gemeinsam haben die Stücke, dass sie einen beim Hören mit auf eine Reise von herausragender Schönheit nehmen, mal cineastisch groß, dann wieder eindringlich und nuanciert, beeindruckend vielschichtig und dabei doch träumerisch leicht, fast schwerelos.

Hinter RIOPY liegen aufregende Jahre: Sein 2019 veröffentlichtes Album "Tree of Light" bescherte ihm den internationalen Durchbruch, u.a. eroberte es in den USA Platz 1 der Billboard Classical Album Charts, wo es sich insgesamt zwei Jahre in den Top 10 hielt. Mit seinem letzten, während der pandemischen Monate geschriebenen Album "Bliss" (2021) spendete er unzähligen Menschen Trost in einer Zeit voller Herausforderungen.

So sehr Waterparks auch ein Genre sprengendes Kollektiv von drei Freunden ist, die Musik machen und abhängen, repräsentiert Waterparks wirklich eine größere, wagen wir es zu sagen, Bewegung. Das Trio aus Houston - Awsten Knight Gesang, Gitarre, Otto Wood
Schlagzeug und Geoff Wigington [Gitarre] - hat dem Rock auf bescheidene Weise wieder Lebendigkeit verliehen. Ihre seltsame magnetische Anziehungskraft hat eine wachsende Schar hingebungsvoller Fans angezogen, die ausverkaufte Shows besuchen, ihre Songs wie verrückt streamen und sie sogar in mehrere
Billboard-Charts befördert haben. Jetzt starten sie mit ihrem fünften Album in voller Länge INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY eine neue Ära.