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Following the release of Collision and Coalescence, Slovakian label mappa commits to the duo Grykë Pyje, releasing their third LP "Squirlich Stroll". Maintaining the fabled tone of their debut on the label, Jani Hirvonen (Uton) and Johannes Schebler (Baldruin) dig deeper into the sonic vein of myth and fabric of yonder. The music in "Squirlich Stroll" unravels as a yarn brought back from a wild voyage.

On uncharted areas of medieval maps where potential dangers were thought to exist, the inscription "Here be dragons" was used to warn as much as to tempt explorers willing to cross limits. Myth awaited them as a blank page of dormant territory, yet also to be proved unlike and reinvented. In such pliable borders, wonder had the favorable conditions to blend experience and imagination, crafting creatures with an eye instead of a bellybutton, arms instead of ears and ears instead of fingers, hypnotizing spirals where a mouth should have been. These chimeras, though fictitious, allowed explorers to express their delusions along with their fears. "Here be dreams", we hear nightmares. Here be mushrooms the size of pyramids that sing lullabies for mountains. Here be talking roads that lead to volcanoes throats and spit you back to flight. Here be art of bending trees into braided bridges like in Meghalaya, and the time gap between seed and living ruins.

Let that be the compass, the astrolabe. Yet, the music in Squirlich Stroll comes with these journeys already embraced, unraveling as a story told by wanderers visiting town, nourishing fantasy. The sonic language and diction employed here are crystal clear. Sounds are sharp and pure. Growls, howls, shrieks, tingles, rattles, moans, excretions and even hymns sung by landscape and creatures alike do not run over each other. There is no chaos, but ambience, cohabitation. The duo masters dramaturgy, providing every voice with focused turns and character, guarding their parley with caution and care, convoking them mainly through soothing synth melodies that enable an analgesic, sedative mood. Clusters of sounds gathered are articulated through the album with the inherent luminosity and required stability to accomplish what peaks in, as the title of the final track reads, a new dawn.

If you’re going to listen to one Damata album this year, why not listen to the only one? ‘What’s Damata’ is the debut album of this Guitar Trio, and is a compilation of compositions and excerpts from improvisations recorded in January 2019. The albums attitude, while handled with a lot of caution, suggests that everything is allowed in this music, which points towards the prudence of Brian Eno and Maria Kannegaard, the freedom of Supersilent and the harmonies of Aphex Twin and Olivier Messiaen. A lot of the music has a cinematic character to it, and may at times sound like a homage to Ambient Music, Drum’n’Bass and Scandinavian Jazz and Jazz-Rock, all while preserving the organic sound from the guitar trio format and the playfulness found in improvised music. This playfulness has also planted its seeds in the mixing process; a tune might suddenly accelerate or the drums might be replaced with drum machines. The titles on the album is no exception, which one can read from titles like ‘Oslo, 32. August’, ‘Her Piece’ and ‘I Say Damata, You Say Matoma’. Further, the order of the tunes is different from each format, meaning that the vinyl track order is different than the track order on streaming services. ‘What’s Damata’ is available on vinyl, CD and streaming services through the Oslo label Dugnad Rec.

Some forty years into one of music’s most impactful, sometimes tense and yet curiously enduring partnerships, Tears For Fears have finally arrived together at The Tipping Point – the group’s ambitious, accomplished and surprising first new studio album in nearly two decades. Tears For Fears find themselves back in peak form at The Tipping Point, an inspired song cycle that speaks powerfully and artfully to our present tense here in 2021. This is an album that vividly recalls the depth and emotional force of the group’s earliest triumphs. Imagine a far more outward-looking take on TFF’s famously introspective 1983 debut album The Hurting set in an even more mad world, or 1985’s Songs From The Big Chair bravely confronting even bigger issues in our increasingly unruly world. Or even 1989’s The Seeds Of Love that sows a mix of love and other emotions. The Tipping Point is the bold, beautiful and powerful sound of Tears For Fears finding themselves together all over again. Available as a 1CD Mintpack, a 1CD deluxe digipak (with extra track), a Gatefold Balck 1LP.

Loss and hope, isolation and communion, the cessation and renewal of purpose. Timeless and
salient, these themes echo throughout the fifth album from Midlake, their first since ‘Antiphon’
in 2013.
 From the cover to the title and beyond, a longing to reconnect with that which seems lost and
seek purpose in its passing sits at the record’s core. The cover star is keyboardist/flautist Jesse
Chandler’s father, who, tragically, passed away in 2018. As singer Eric Pulido explains, “He
was a lovely human, and it was really heavy and sad, and he came to Jesse in a dream. I
reference it in a song. He said, ‘Hey, Jesse, you need to get the band back together.’ I didn’t
take that lightly.”
 A desire to commune with the past and connect with present, lived experience asserts itself
from the opening of the album. ‘Bethel Woods’ sustains and develops that reconnection,
evoking the steadfast and contemplative urgency of ‘The Trials of Van Occupanther’ to back a
lyric steeped in yearning for a paradisal time and place of hope and optimism. Soaring guitars
and atmospheric noise effects extend a sonic scope further developed by ‘Glistening,’ where
arpeggios dance like light glancing off a lake. In just three songs, Midlake reintroduce
themselves and reach out into fresh territory with a richly intuitive dynamism, honouring their
past as a seedbed of possibility.
 Elsewhere, the prog-enhanced funk-rock of ‘Gone’ seeks to find hope in relationships that
seem fragile. The ELO-esque ‘Meanwhile…’ draws inspiration from what happened when
Midlake paused after ‘Antiphon’, developing universal resonance as a song about the beautiful
growths that can emerge from the cracks and gaps between things. ‘Dawning’ draws on 1970s
soft-rock stylings for another song searching for hope, its keyboard line reaching out towards
an uncertain future while everything seems to collapse around it; ‘The End’ reflects on the
difficulties of partings.
 On-hand was new collaborator John Congleton, who produced, engineered and mixed the
album, marking Midlake’s first record with an outside producer. “I can’t say enough just how
much his influence brought our music to another sonic place than we would have,” says Pulido.
“I don’t want to record without a producer again. Part of that is the health of the band, because
as you get older you get more opinionated and you kind of need that person who says, ‘No, it’s
going to be this way!’ It’s hard to do that with your friends.”
 The result is a powerful, warming expression of resolve and renewal for Midlake, opening up
new futures for the band and honouring their storied history. Formed in the small town of
Denton, with roots in the University of North Texas College of Music, Midlake delivered an
auspicious debut with 2004’s ‘Bamnan and Slivercork’. For the follow-up, they looked further
afield and deeper within to deliver 2006’s wondrous ‘The Trials of Van Occupanther’, a modern
classic pitched between 1871, 1971 and somewhere out of time: between Henry David
Thoreau and Neil Young’s ‘After the Gold Rush’, between 1970s Laurel Canyon thinking and a
longing for something more mysterious.
 Confidence bolstered by a growing fanbase and a developed sense of their own far-reaching
abilities, Midlake - a band acutely attuned to seasonal shifts - then embraced change. In 2010,
they visited darker psych-folk thickets for ‘The Courage of Others’ and backed John Grant on
his lustrously spiky breakthrough album, ‘Queen of Denmark’. When singer Tim Smith departed
Midlake in 2012, Pulido stepped up to the lead vocal role for 2013’s freshly exploratory
‘Antiphon’, teasing out singular routes through vintage electric-folk pastures.
 In reuniting, the bandmates were adamant that Midlake needed their absolute focus. The result
is an album of tremendously engaged thematic and sonic reach with a warm, wise sense of
intimacy at its heart: an album to break bread and commune with, honour the past and travel
onwards with. In ‘Bethel Woods’, Pulido sings of gathering seeds. On ‘For the Sake of Bethel
Woods’, those seeds are lovingly nurtured, taking rich and spectacular bloom.
 LP pressed on 180g vinyl in a gatefold sleeve printed on matt card and printed inner sleeve
with lyrics and digital download card.

Loss and hope, isolation and communion, the cessation and renewal of purpose. Timeless and
salient, these themes echo throughout the fifth album from Midlake, their first since ‘Antiphon’
in 2013.
 From the cover to the title and beyond, a longing to reconnect with that which seems lost and
seek purpose in its passing sits at the record’s core. The cover star is keyboardist/flautist Jesse
Chandler’s father, who, tragically, passed away in 2018. As singer Eric Pulido explains, “He
was a lovely human, and it was really heavy and sad, and he came to Jesse in a dream. I
reference it in a song. He said, ‘Hey, Jesse, you need to get the band back together.’ I didn’t
take that lightly.”
 A desire to commune with the past and connect with present, lived experience asserts itself
from the opening of the album. ‘Bethel Woods’ sustains and develops that reconnection,
evoking the steadfast and contemplative urgency of ‘The Trials of Van Occupanther’ to back a
lyric steeped in yearning for a paradisal time and place of hope and optimism. Soaring guitars
and atmospheric noise effects extend a sonic scope further developed by ‘Glistening,’ where
arpeggios dance like light glancing off a lake. In just three songs, Midlake reintroduce
themselves and reach out into fresh territory with a richly intuitive dynamism, honouring their
past as a seedbed of possibility.
 Elsewhere, the prog-enhanced funk-rock of ‘Gone’ seeks to find hope in relationships that
seem fragile. The ELO-esque ‘Meanwhile…’ draws inspiration from what happened when
Midlake paused after ‘Antiphon’, developing universal resonance as a song about the beautiful
growths that can emerge from the cracks and gaps between things. ‘Dawning’ draws on 1970s
soft-rock stylings for another song searching for hope, its keyboard line reaching out towards
an uncertain future while everything seems to collapse around it; ‘The End’ reflects on the
difficulties of partings.
 On-hand was new collaborator John Congleton, who produced, engineered and mixed the
album, marking Midlake’s first record with an outside producer. “I can’t say enough just how
much his influence brought our music to another sonic place than we would have,” says Pulido.
“I don’t want to record without a producer again. Part of that is the health of the band, because
as you get older you get more opinionated and you kind of need that person who says, ‘No, it’s
going to be this way!’ It’s hard to do that with your friends.”
 The result is a powerful, warming expression of resolve and renewal for Midlake, opening up
new futures for the band and honouring their storied history. Formed in the small town of
Denton, with roots in the University of North Texas College of Music, Midlake delivered an
auspicious debut with 2004’s ‘Bamnan and Slivercork’. For the follow-up, they looked further
afield and deeper within to deliver 2006’s wondrous ‘The Trials of Van Occupanther’, a modern
classic pitched between 1871, 1971 and somewhere out of time: between Henry David
Thoreau and Neil Young’s ‘After the Gold Rush’, between 1970s Laurel Canyon thinking and a
longing for something more mysterious.
 Confidence bolstered by a growing fanbase and a developed sense of their own far-reaching
abilities, Midlake - a band acutely attuned to seasonal shifts - then embraced change. In 2010,
they visited darker psych-folk thickets for ‘The Courage of Others’ and backed John Grant on
his lustrously spiky breakthrough album, ‘Queen of Denmark’. When singer Tim Smith departed
Midlake in 2012, Pulido stepped up to the lead vocal role for 2013’s freshly exploratory
‘Antiphon’, teasing out singular routes through vintage electric-folk pastures.
 In reuniting, the bandmates were adamant that Midlake needed their absolute focus. The result
is an album of tremendously engaged thematic and sonic reach with a warm, wise sense of
intimacy at its heart: an album to break bread and commune with, honour the past and travel
onwards with. In ‘Bethel Woods’, Pulido sings of gathering seeds. On ‘For the Sake of Bethel
Woods’, those seeds are lovingly nurtured, taking rich and spectacular bloom.
 LP pressed on 180g vinyl in a gatefold sleeve printed on matt card and printed inner sleeve
with lyrics and digital download card.

In an era where technology is increasingly shaping music, 'The Garden Of Eve explores the opposite: it's an organic album, made by real musicians recording simultaneously, giving it a live mood while at the same time having wonderfully brilliant sound. It has been a long time since a contemporary artist has made such a beautiful homage to the blues.

"Blues has always been dear to my heart: it's a cathartic experience, precious and profound, whether it's playing it or listen to it on the radio. When I first heard Billie Holiday sing 'Blue Moon', I could feel it with every cell of my body. She had such a powerful effect on me. Sentimental blues, originating from tragic situations, sometimes even reflecting my own experiences... No matter how bad family, friends, politics, lovers, governments or society might be, they can never destroy the forces for good in this world. And as time passes by, I more and more find the truth that is rooted in my soul. And I finally feel mature enough to understand this wonderful musical tradition - because blues means life."

And if blues means life, Malia is the energy that allows the blues to have a soul, a voice. Characterised by her unique timbre - that doesn't need any further explaining - Malia gives us a thrill throughout the 12 tracks of this album, that has everything to become a classic.

Tyler, The Creator's fourth studio album Flower Boy on 2LP vinyl. The 14-track record features guest spots from Frank Ocean on two tracks, plus Lil Wayne, Pharrell, Steve Lacy, Rex Orange County, A$AP Rocky, and Estelle among others

re-release Find the Greatest Movie Scores selected by CINEZIK in an new Wagram Vinyl Collection!

The Coral is the eponymous debut studio album by British rock band the Coral. It was released on 29 July 2002, through the Deltasonic record label. After finalising their line-up, the band had a residency at The Cavern Club, where they were spotted and signed by Alan Willis of Deltasonic. Following the release of a single and an EP, and two UK tours, the band began recording their debut album. Sessions were held at Linford Manor Studios, Milton Keynes in early 2002, and were produced by the Lightning Seeds frontman Ian Broudie and the Coral. Described as a psychedelia and folk rock album, frontman James Skelly's voice was compared to Eric Burdon of the Animals and Jim Morrison of the Doors.

The Coral toured the United Kingdom twice (one stint as a co-headliner with the Music), and supported Pulp and Oasis for a few shows, leading up to the release of The Coral's lead single "Goodbye" on 15 July 2002. Following an appearance at that year's V Festival, the band toured the UK again in October 2002 to coincide with the album's second single "Dreaming of You" on 7 October 2002. The Coral was released in the United States on 4 March 2003, through Columbia Records.

The Coral received universal acclaim reviews from music critics, many of whom praised the high quality musicianship. The album peaked at number five in the UK, while also charting in France, Ireland, Japan, Scotland, and the US. It, alongside "Dreaming of You", would later be certified platinum in the UK. "Goodbye" charted at number 21 in the UK, and number 28 in Scotland, while "Dreaming of You" peaked at number 13 in the UK, and number 14 in Scotland. The album was nominated for the Mercury Music Prize, and a Brit Award.

The Coral is the eponymous debut studio album by British rock band the Coral. It was released on 29 July 2002, through the Deltasonic record label. After finalising their line-up, the band had a residency at The Cavern Club, where they were spotted and signed by Alan Willis of Deltasonic. Following the release of a single and an EP, and two UK tours, the band began recording their debut album. Sessions were held at Linford Manor Studios, Milton Keynes in early 2002, and were produced by the Lightning Seeds frontman Ian Broudie and the Coral. Described as a psychedelia and folk rock album, frontman James Skelly's voice was compared to Eric Burdon of the Animals and Jim Morrison of the Doors.

The Coral toured the United Kingdom twice (one stint as a co-headliner with the Music), and supported Pulp and Oasis for a few shows, leading up to the release of The Coral's lead single "Goodbye" on 15 July 2002. Following an appearance at that year's V Festival, the band toured the UK again in October 2002 to coincide with the album's second single "Dreaming of You" on 7 October 2002. The Coral was released in the United States on 4 March 2003, through Columbia Records.

The Coral received universal acclaim reviews from music critics, many of whom praised the high quality musicianship. The album peaked at number five in the UK, while also charting in France, Ireland, Japan, Scotland, and the US. It, alongside "Dreaming of You", would later be certified platinum in the UK. "Goodbye" charted at number 21 in the UK, and number 28 in Scotland, while "Dreaming of You" peaked at number 13 in the UK, and number 14 in Scotland. The album was nominated for the Mercury Music Prize, and a Brit Award.

The US-born, Norwegian-Mexican musician and producer Carmen Villain, real name Carmen Hillestad, has spent the last nine years and four albums gently unraveling song into the sound of emotional impulse. From the tilt and croon of her first two albums to the expansive warmth that flows and pulses beyond ambient in her more recent output, Hillestad's journey is artful musical deconstruction but also somehow spiritual growth.Hence new album Only Love From Now On, her fourth full-length and the culmination of a build-up that really began with the turn in sound evident from third album Both Lines Will Be Blue (2019, Smalltown Supersound) and the subsequent releases Affection In A Time Of Crisis (2020, Longform Editions) and Sketch For Winter IX: Perlita (2021, Geographic North). While the seed of her aesthetic was planted earlier, it has blossomed into something unexpected, benevolent in its composure and altogether luxuriant in its sensuality. If her themes, especially now, are wide, philosophical, and occasionally abstract, the emotional tenor of Hillestad's music is clear and purposeful. Makes sense that her key musical touchstones are dub, ambient, and cosmic jazz - flexible vehicles for tranquil wonder. While it may not contain voice or lyrics, as her two earliest records do, she describes it as, "wishing to maintain a sense of careful optimism for the future, while on the cusp of something unknown." Listening to Only Love From Now On is simultaneously comforting and alluringly strange. Partly it's the contributions of guests Arve Henriksen (trumpet, electronics) and Johanna Scheie Orellana (flutes). Partly it's the fluidity between instruments - such as clarinets - field recordings, the studio, jam, and careful composition. She calls the process a conversation with sound that occurs in her deliberate attempts to experiment with new methods, like granular synthesis, for her music-making. But mostly that strange comfort is in the peace and grateful contentment she has found via the stark recognition of her own privilege - laid bare by the pandemic. Only Love From Now On is fueled by the sense of scale in feeling small in the face of things so large, the contemplation of how the biggest impact we can have is in the people close to us, the attempt to make sure that impact is a positive one, and the choice to try to focus on love instead of fear.

Compiled by Birmingham Musician and Designer Dave Twist. This Compilation features many well known and completely unknown faces from the scene and some local Heroes such as Nikki Sudden, Stephen Duffy, Jowe Head, Dave Kusworth, Deluxe 2 x LP set Limited to 500 copies only worldwide. In the light of the film King Rocker by Stewart Lee about The Nightingales revised interest in the post punk sound of Birmingham is increasing. Duran Duran’s John Taylor is featured in his first band Dada (with Twist on drums) sounding not a bit like his MTV champions of the 80’s. Some of these tracks were only ever issued on a very small run 7” at the time and some were never issued at all, such as The Hawks (until recently and to great acclaim)

If Cannibale's members brought their breakfast back up when talking about 'Not Easy To Cook', their listeners would be surprised. There's a world of difference between the beginning of Cannibale's success story and this second album. The most surprising thing about 'Not Easy To Cook' is the sultriness that emerges. It's hard to sum it up other than by comparing these 10 songs with some pressure cooker in which bits of dancehall, London ska and Hawaiian dub would have cooked together. Here's the small miracle achieved by this LP recorded by the band in its remote French village: sounding French, but Polynesian French. A very psychedelic mixture of cumbia, African rhythms and garage music. Or, if you will, a kind of missing link between Fela Kuti, The Doors and The Seeds!

Kapingbdi came together in Liberia, West Africa, during the late 1970’s and had their own unique style. This six to seven-piece band played original compositions in a vibrant mix of African Rhythms, Soul, Spiritual Jazz, Funk and Rock. Led by Kojo Samuels on sax, flute and vocals “Born in The Night” presents the essential tracks from their rare studio LPs produced between 1978-1981. The work has been carefully edited and remastered in 2019 for vinyl LP and a 6-Page Digipack CD, which includes two additional recordings. Kapingbdi toured through Europe and the U.S. and were the only Afro funk band to ever come out of Liberia.

Kapingbdi hail from Liberia, West Africa and have their own imitable style. They effortlessly combine traditional African music in a modern mix of Jazz, Funk, Soul and Rock. The band is a fusion of the old and the new.

The word "Kapingbdi" is taken from the Sierra Leone language Mende and means "born in the night". Kojo Samuels was given the name by his Latin teacher whilst attending high school in Freetown, They often meet and debate at night in the city and soon after Kojo is called Kapingbdi. The name serves as a description of his origin. Born In Lagos, Nigeria in 1943. The son of slave children. His mother from Nigeria and father from Sierra Leone who moved the family to Liberia, during the 1950’s.

Kojo has played music for as long as he can remember. He starts with the harmonica and later becomes a drummer and percussionist in his first band at school. During his art studies 1965-1972, he tours Germany and works as an art teacher in the USA. His band Kapingbdi is reorganized five times and consists of up to seven musicians. In a VW-Bulli he drives the group from concert to concert and if the drummer fails, he jumps in himself. Between 1978 and 1981 three Kapingbdi LPs are produced for the independent label Trikont, recorded in Hamburg and Munich. During this creative period, the band plays at festivals in Africa and Europe. In 1984, the band tours the United States and shortly after, they came to an end.

At their best, Kapingbdi would rouse the audience with original compositions like "Human Rights", justice for all, especially for South Africans, and "You Go Go You Go Come". The officials and employees in the government departments have no time for the common man, for any questions such as job search, scholarship or similar, he receives the answer "go, come back tomorrow" and the same thing the following day. Or "Now Is The Time For Cry For Love." Now it is time to scream for love and finally, time for humanity and justice. Despite immense difficulties, the musicians consciously live and work in Africa and are at home in Liberia.

On April 12, 1980, ordinary soldiers and non-commissioned officers organize a coup against the government. This is an attempt to put an end to a policy of exploitation of the Liberian people. Whilst efforts to eradicate poverty, lawlessness and illiteracy are obvious throughout the country, Liberia is still Americanized to a high degree. This is evident, as the radio programs of that time almost exclusively played American disco music. Under these conditions, the people seek a reconnection to their folk music, and Kapingbdi were aware of this. Kojo tried many times to come together with traditional Liberian musicians. This passion takes him north of the country. Meeting and playing with the old hornblowers and playing music on traditional instruments, such as the elephant tusk.

Kapingbdi make high quality tape copies of their own vinyl LPs and patiently try to displace all unauthorized tapes from the domestic "market". Nevertheless, it is hard to make a living through music in Liberia. Kapingbdi, is now celebrated. The radio plays are in abundance, but royalties are not forthcoming. Their musical link is the feeling of Afrobeat and Highlife, which is found in each of the many Kapingbdi pieces. They embody Jazz, which is understood to be the most refined example of black music outside of Africa. In Liberia, Jazz is virtually impossible to hear. Bright shining names such as John Coltrane, Charlie Parker or Miles Davis were widely unknown. Thus, the Black Jazz, including its Back-To-Africa movement of the 60’s and 70‘s, passes by without leaving a trace in Africa itself.

Kojo's claim at the time, was to make African music with the depth, sensitivity and the freedom of the technical level of Jazz. This makes Kapingbdi the torchbeares. The underpaid prophets in small Liberia. It is the passion with which the founder of the band continues to work on their music for years. Tirelessly, stimulating and encouraging his fellow musicians. This is ultimately responsible for the success of Kapingbdi in Liberia itself. The local audience seems to listen to the band in fascinated astonishment. One wonders about the ability to develop as demonstrated by Kapingbdi on the basis of their music. It is African and unusually jazzy, danceable and better than the American disco music heard on the radio.

Rather than chase the money and the job opportunities in Europe, Kapingbdi are firmly rooted in Africa. The musicians live in Monrovia, the capital of Liberia, at the Kabingbdi workshop, located in the Congotown area on the eastern edge of the sprawling city. Kojo works here as a sculptor, painter, batik artist and musician. The sales revenue that his activities generate, gives him the opportunity to support the development of African Jazz music. The highest percentage of funds are from Germany and Kojo’s work ethic is “to work on your own thing“. The stance taken aims to support the welfare of Liberians and Africans. The other musicians of the group live in a second house that is nearby.

For the sake of consistency, Kapingbdi is a full-time band. However, the revenue, from all of the sources, could not keep them afloat. Equally, as important to the group are Kojos's knowledge of traditional African music and his sculpting skills. His knowledge is shared with others at the afternoon workshops. It is here that they discuss new lyrics, engage in political debate and the self-imposed task of improving conditions in Africa. At times the debate became heated, especially during rehearsals. This was regarded as good and integrative, sowing the seeds of innitiative to keep the band together.

From 1980 to 1985 Kojo also opened and ran the club "Panjebota", located on the grounds of the U.S. Consulate in Monrovia. Almost every evening Kapingbdi perform the song "Wrong Curfew Walk", whose lyrics lament the killing of citizens during the curfew imposed by the Liberian government. When the head of state Samuel Doe hears the song, he behaves agressively and forces Kojo to close the "Panjebota". Kojo had already moved on. Soonafter he meets Fela Kuti at the Africa-Festival and plays concerts in Germany with Cecil Taylor's workshop band.

Kapingbdi is for thinking, dreaming, dancing. What they sing about is what they have experienced. Kojo Samuels is 76 years old today and still follows his vocation as a critical musician, artist and activist.

Ekkehart Fleischhammer / Sonorama 2019 (with the help of original press sheets and the memories of Kojo Samuels)

"Laurel Hell" ist ein Soundtrack zur Transformation. Eine Landkarte für den Ort, an dem Verletzlichkeit und Widerstandsfähigkeit, Trauer und Freude, Fehler und Transzendenz in unserer Menschlichkeit Platz finden und als würdig angesehen werden können - um letztendlich anerkannt und geliebt zu werden. "I accept it all," verspricht MITSKI. "I forgive it all." Auf "Laurel Hell" festigt MITSKI ihren Ruf als Künstlerin, die die Kraft besitzt, unsere wildesten und zwiespältigsten Erfahrungen in ein heilendes Elixier zu verwandeln. "I wrote what I needed to hear. As I've always done." Nach der Veröffentlichung von "Be The Cowboy", einem der meistgelobten Alben des Jahres 2018, das von Outlets wie Pitchfork (u.a.) zum Album des Jahres gekürt wurde, stieg MITSKI vom Kultliebling zum Indie-Star auf. Mit spürbaren Folgen: Die Schinderei des Tourlebens und die Fallstricke die mit der erhöhten Sichtbarkeit einhergingen, beeinflussten ihre Musik ebenso wie ihren Geist, die sich in der ersten Single "Working For The Knife" niederschlägt. Ein Song, wie ein Prüfstein für das Gesamtgefühl von "Laurel Hell": "I start the day lying and end with the truth / That I'm dying for the knife." "Be The Cowboy" wurde von weiblicher Stärke und Trotz angetrieben, lebte jedoch von seinem Spiel mit Masken. Wie der Berglorbeer bzw. die "laurel hell", nach dem das neue Album benannt ist, kann die öffentliche Wahrnehmung, wie das berauschende Prisma des Internets, eine verlockende Fassade bieten, hinter der sich eine tödliche Falle verbirgt. Die sich immer enger zieht, je mehr man sich anstrengt. "I got to a point, where I just knew that if I kept going this way, I would numb myself to completion." Erschöpft von diesem verzerrten Spiegel und unserer Sucht nach falschen Binaritäten, begann MITSKI, Songs zu schreiben, die die Masken abstreifen und die komplexen und oft widersprüchlichen Realitäten dahinter offenbaren. MITSKI dazu: "I needed love songs about real relationships that are not power struggles to be won or lost. I needed songs that could help me forgive both others and myself. I make mistakes all the time. I don't want to put on a front where I'm a role model, but I'm also not a bad person. I needed to create this space mostly for myself where I sat in that gray area." Die daraus entstanden Songs verkörpern genau diesen Raum. Wie die zweite Single des Albums, "The Only Heartbreaker", die gemeinsam mit Dan Wilson geschrieben wurde und der erste Song dieser Art in ihrer Diskografie ist. "The Only Heartbreaker" verbindet treibenden 80er-Pop mit einem trügerisch einfachen Text, dessen aufrichtiger Refrain ins Ironische kippt, sobald dieser "the person always messing up in the relationship, the designated Bad Guy who gets the blame," beschreibt und sich zugleich fragt, ob "the reason you're always the one making mistakes is because you're the only one trying." MITSKI schrieb viele Songs für "Laurel Hell" während und teilweise vor 2018. Das Album wurde allerdings erst im Mai 2021 final abgemischt. Es ist die längste Zeitspanne, die MITSKI jemals für ein Album gebraucht hat und für die Musikerin inmitten einer radikal veränderten Welt endete. MITSKI nahm "Laurel Hell" mit ihrem langjährigen Produzenten Patrick Hyland in der Zeit der Isolation während der Pandemie auf, als einige der Songs "slowly took on new forms and meanings, like seed to flower." Das Album als Ganzes entwickelte sich "to be more uptempo and dance-y. I needed to create something that was also a pep talk" erklärt MITSKI. Die Spannung, die zwischen ihren raffinierten, aber wehmütigen Texten und dem sprudelnden Pop-Sound der 1980er Jahre entsteht, ist eine dringend benötigte Infusion in Zeiten wie diesen und das Werk einer reifen wie unwiderstehlichen Künstlerin, die auch zu fröhlich ansteckenden Dance-Beats immer noch etwas Profundes beizutragen hat.

"Laurel Hell" ist ein Soundtrack zur Transformation. Eine Landkarte für den Ort, an dem Verletzlichkeit und Widerstandsfähigkeit, Trauer und Freude, Fehler und Transzendenz in unserer Menschlichkeit Platz finden und als würdig angesehen werden können - um letztendlich anerkannt und geliebt zu werden. "I accept it all," verspricht MITSKI. "I forgive it all." Auf "Laurel Hell" festigt MITSKI ihren Ruf als Künstlerin, die die Kraft besitzt, unsere wildesten und zwiespältigsten Erfahrungen in ein heilendes Elixier zu verwandeln. "I wrote what I needed to hear. As I've always done." Nach der Veröffentlichung von "Be The Cowboy", einem der meistgelobten Alben des Jahres 2018, das von Outlets wie Pitchfork (u.a.) zum Album des Jahres gekürt wurde, stieg MITSKI vom Kultliebling zum Indie-Star auf. Mit spürbaren Folgen: Die Schinderei des Tourlebens und die Fallstricke die mit der erhöhten Sichtbarkeit einhergingen, beeinflussten ihre Musik ebenso wie ihren Geist, die sich in der ersten Single "Working For The Knife" niederschlägt. Ein Song, wie ein Prüfstein für das Gesamtgefühl von "Laurel Hell": "I start the day lying and end with the truth / That I'm dying for the knife." "Be The Cowboy" wurde von weiblicher Stärke und Trotz angetrieben, lebte jedoch von seinem Spiel mit Masken. Wie der Berglorbeer bzw. die "laurel hell", nach dem das neue Album benannt ist, kann die öffentliche Wahrnehmung, wie das berauschende Prisma des Internets, eine verlockende Fassade bieten, hinter der sich eine tödliche Falle verbirgt. Die sich immer enger zieht, je mehr man sich anstrengt. "I got to a point, where I just knew that if I kept going this way, I would numb myself to completion." Erschöpft von diesem verzerrten Spiegel und unserer Sucht nach falschen Binaritäten, begann MITSKI, Songs zu schreiben, die die Masken abstreifen und die komplexen und oft widersprüchlichen Realitäten dahinter offenbaren. MITSKI dazu: "I needed love songs about real relationships that are not power struggles to be won or lost. I needed songs that could help me forgive both others and myself. I make mistakes all the time. I don't want to put on a front where I'm a role model, but I'm also not a bad person. I needed to create this space mostly for myself where I sat in that gray area." Die daraus entstanden Songs verkörpern genau diesen Raum. Wie die zweite Single des Albums, "The Only Heartbreaker", die gemeinsam mit Dan Wilson geschrieben wurde und der erste Song dieser Art in ihrer Diskografie ist. "The Only Heartbreaker" verbindet treibenden 80er-Pop mit einem trügerisch einfachen Text, dessen aufrichtiger Refrain ins Ironische kippt, sobald dieser "the person always messing up in the relationship, the designated Bad Guy who gets the blame," beschreibt und sich zugleich fragt, ob "the reason you're always the one making mistakes is because you're the only one trying." MITSKI schrieb viele Songs für "Laurel Hell" während und teilweise vor 2018. Das Album wurde allerdings erst im Mai 2021 final abgemischt. Es ist die längste Zeitspanne, die MITSKI jemals für ein Album gebraucht hat und für die Musikerin inmitten einer radikal veränderten Welt endete. MITSKI nahm "Laurel Hell" mit ihrem langjährigen Produzenten Patrick Hyland in der Zeit der Isolation während der Pandemie auf, als einige der Songs "slowly took on new forms and meanings, like seed to flower." Das Album als Ganzes entwickelte sich "to be more uptempo and dance-y. I needed to create something that was also a pep talk" erklärt MITSKI. Die Spannung, die zwischen ihren raffinierten, aber wehmütigen Texten und dem sprudelnden Pop-Sound der 1980er Jahre entsteht, ist eine dringend benötigte Infusion in Zeiten wie diesen und das Werk einer reifen wie unwiderstehlichen Künstlerin, die auch zu fröhlich ansteckenden Dance-Beats immer noch etwas Profundes beizutragen hat.

"Laurel Hell" ist ein Soundtrack zur Transformation. Eine Landkarte für den Ort, an dem Verletzlichkeit und Widerstandsfähigkeit, Trauer und Freude, Fehler und Transzendenz in unserer Menschlichkeit Platz finden und als würdig angesehen werden können - um letztendlich anerkannt und geliebt zu werden. "I accept it all," verspricht MITSKI. "I forgive it all." Auf "Laurel Hell" festigt MITSKI ihren Ruf als Künstlerin, die die Kraft besitzt, unsere wildesten und zwiespältigsten Erfahrungen in ein heilendes Elixier zu verwandeln. "I wrote what I needed to hear. As I've always done." Nach der Veröffentlichung von "Be The Cowboy", einem der meistgelobten Alben des Jahres 2018, das von Outlets wie Pitchfork (u.a.) zum Album des Jahres gekürt wurde, stieg MITSKI vom Kultliebling zum Indie-Star auf. Mit spürbaren Folgen: Die Schinderei des Tourlebens und die Fallstricke die mit der erhöhten Sichtbarkeit einhergingen, beeinflussten ihre Musik ebenso wie ihren Geist, die sich in der ersten Single "Working For The Knife" niederschlägt. Ein Song, wie ein Prüfstein für das Gesamtgefühl von "Laurel Hell": "I start the day lying and end with the truth / That I'm dying for the knife." "Be The Cowboy" wurde von weiblicher Stärke und Trotz angetrieben, lebte jedoch von seinem Spiel mit Masken. Wie der Berglorbeer bzw. die "laurel hell", nach dem das neue Album benannt ist, kann die öffentliche Wahrnehmung, wie das berauschende Prisma des Internets, eine verlockende Fassade bieten, hinter der sich eine tödliche Falle verbirgt. Die sich immer enger zieht, je mehr man sich anstrengt. "I got to a point, where I just knew that if I kept going this way, I would numb myself to completion." Erschöpft von diesem verzerrten Spiegel und unserer Sucht nach falschen Binaritäten, begann MITSKI, Songs zu schreiben, die die Masken abstreifen und die komplexen und oft widersprüchlichen Realitäten dahinter offenbaren. MITSKI dazu: "I needed love songs about real relationships that are not power struggles to be won or lost. I needed songs that could help me forgive both others and myself. I make mistakes all the time. I don't want to put on a front where I'm a role model, but I'm also not a bad person. I needed to create this space mostly for myself where I sat in that gray area." Die daraus entstanden Songs verkörpern genau diesen Raum. Wie die zweite Single des Albums, "The Only Heartbreaker", die gemeinsam mit Dan Wilson geschrieben wurde und der erste Song dieser Art in ihrer Diskografie ist. "The Only Heartbreaker" verbindet treibenden 80er-Pop mit einem trügerisch einfachen Text, dessen aufrichtiger Refrain ins Ironische kippt, sobald dieser "the person always messing up in the relationship, the designated Bad Guy who gets the blame," beschreibt und sich zugleich fragt, ob "the reason you're always the one making mistakes is because you're the only one trying." MITSKI schrieb viele Songs für "Laurel Hell" während und teilweise vor 2018. Das Album wurde allerdings erst im Mai 2021 final abgemischt. Es ist die längste Zeitspanne, die MITSKI jemals für ein Album gebraucht hat und für die Musikerin inmitten einer radikal veränderten Welt endete. MITSKI nahm "Laurel Hell" mit ihrem langjährigen Produzenten Patrick Hyland in der Zeit der Isolation während der Pandemie auf, als einige der Songs "slowly took on new forms and meanings, like seed to flower." Das Album als Ganzes entwickelte sich "to be more uptempo and dance-y. I needed to create something that was also a pep talk" erklärt MITSKI. Die Spannung, die zwischen ihren raffinierten, aber wehmütigen Texten und dem sprudelnden Pop-Sound der 1980er Jahre entsteht, ist eine dringend benötigte Infusion in Zeiten wie diesen und das Werk einer reifen wie unwiderstehlichen Künstlerin, die auch zu fröhlich ansteckenden Dance-Beats immer noch etwas Profundes beizutragen hat.

Warm presents a brand new compilation called 'Home'; a soundtrack for when we pause, take a breath, and use our senses to explore the magic of the world on our doorsteps. Morning to evening, dawn to dusk, our lives continue moving but sometimes the need to step back and reset is essential to create a balance in our lives. As we open our eyes and ears to our surroundings, our senses become stimulated by small details. Whether it be the sound of the sea lapping on the sand, the wind blowing through the canopy of trees or a robin heralding a new day; nothing is the same but all are unique.

'Home' has been pieced together over the last year by Warm’s Ali Tillett. With the majority of Warm - booking agents for Colleen ‘Cosmo’ Murphy, Gerd Janson, Horse Meat Disco, Hot Chip DJs, Lou Hayter, Luke Una - on pause, Ali took the chance to immerse himself in bringing together his passion for music, nature and art.

The 14 tracks, the majority exclusive and specially made for the compilation, includes contributions by Âme, Bobby Lee & Mia Doi Todd, Coyote, Crack’d Man (aka Crooked Man who produced Roisin Murphy's last album), Fug (with their first material for over ten years), Kirk Degiorgio presents As One, Turtle, and Ewan Pearson's World of Apples project (with their first material for nearly 20 years!). The tracks align with specific habitats in the local Dorset area, where Ali is situated, such as Harbour/Estuary, Heathland/Moorland, Woodland/Forest, and Beach/Cliffs.

To immerse the listener even further into the soundscape, critically acclaimed sound and field recording artist Gary Moore, of Springwatch/Autumnwatch fame, has been involved to help bring nature even further to the ears. Intertwined between the music are field recordings specific to area and habitat; whether it be the sound of a ship's horn in Poole harbour, avocets on the scrape, the tawny owl in the woodland or Puffins on the ledges of cliffs.

Gareth Fuller, a fabulous artist who previously lived in Dorset, has kindly allowed one of his artworks to become the centrepiece for the compilation. Titled 'Purbeck', it's a truly wonderful piece of art that encapsulates everything about the area and enables an added dimension to the immersive experience for the listener.

First ever box set from one of the most thrilling bands of the Twentieth
Century.
 Deluxe 7” singles box set featuring the phenomenal original run of singles
with two bonus singles exclusive to this set. Seven 7” singles housed inside
a lift-off lid box with a booklet featuring an essay by Clinton Heylin,
reminisces from Thurston Moore, Henry Rollins, Mark Lanegan X and Dan
Stuart, rare photographs and flyers, new exclusive issue of the ‘Fire of Love’
fanzine, Ruby Records postcard and a ‘Gun’ button badge.
 If ever there was a band seemingly determined to come from nowhere and
go straight back there, it was The Gun Club. Jeffrey Lee Pierce’s search and
destroy combo was spawned by the LA punk scene in 1979. Two years later
their first LP, the incendiary ‘Fire Of Love’, was spewed out by Slash
Records, a matter of months after the punk zine Pierce wrote for, and the
label named itself after, breathed its last. ‘Fire Of Love’ was one of the 80’s
genuinely shape-shifting US debuts, igniting post-punk depth and minting
genres including blues, psychobilly and Americana.
 Jeffrey Lee Pierce was an extraordinary character. Learning to play guitar at
the age of 10, he quickly immersed himself firstly in reggae and later the
Delta Blues, particularly works by Tommy Johnson and Robert Johnson. By
1976, he had become obsessed with Blondie, going on to become President
of the West Coast Blondie Fan Club. It was Jeffrey Lee Pierce who
suggested to the band they cover ‘Hanging On The Telephone’. The Blondie
connection would later resurface in 1982 when Chris Stein signed and
produced The Gun Club for his Animal Records label. In 1996 after releasing
seven studio albums, 37-year-old Jeffrey Lee Pierce sadly passed away
following a stroke. What he left behind is a legacy of work that has had a
prolific effect on some of the most distinguished rock acts of the past 20+
years, these include Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, Sonic Youth, The White
Stripes, Mark Lanegan, Primal Scream and The Black Keys.
 “Jeffrey was a human tornado. Yet during the most turbulent points in his life,
he was able to tap what seemed to be a limitless supply of astonishingly
beautiful music. Even now, songs like ‘Flowing’ and ‘Desire’ catch me up.
The immense power that passed through Jeffrey, like an electrical current,
informed his amazing body of work. That level of unrelenting heat and
incandescence is simply not survivable. I wouldn’t wish it on anyone.” -
Henry Rollins (April 2021)
 Six 7” singles reprinted with original artwork. Additional ‘Miami Demos’ 7”
exclusive to this box set. All singles remastered especially for these vinyl
editions.

Brion Starr lives and works in New York City, joined by a group of foreign and domestic collaborators. Their latest album 'A Night To Remember' is a meditation on night itself, a spinning sci-fantasy through this future darkness we all contemplate, a journey to the end of the night told as a story of one evening in an internationalist future city with no up and no down, no beginning and no end. Passing through the seedy clubs, with all their trappings, when the night is just turning into morning. Have you lost your mind? Blackout and wake on a train. Is this a dream? We are nocturnal. There’s fire in the streets. The first tier looks down on you. So find the ones you love and hold them tight.
Recorded at the Chateau d’Herouville and produced by Tony Visconti (David Bowie, T. Rex, Sparks).
Starr’s current collaborators include Jaie Gonzalez (Splashh), Hayden Tobin (Hanni El Khatib), Pete Sustarsic (Public Access TV), James Hurst (Beach Party), Ben McConnel (Beach House), Grace Kennedy, Charlie Sands, and composer Nigel Wilson.
“We had a listening party when we finished, Tony was so happy that day, he told me he hadn't had a listening party in "probably 30 years" (and we were in the middle of the pandemic!) I smile when I think of him suggesting we do it. It was a true celebration, I still have the cork from the champagne!”

Recorded by the band direct to 8-track tape in a basement behind a cemetery, these nine timeless teenage anthems and jukebox rippers tackle love (“Got Me High”), lust (“Tell Your Boyfriend”), and drugs (“Here He Come”) with a counterculture sneer and trickster’s wink. Fueled by Savage Sam's fiery guitar and Farfisa leads, vocal snarl, and arsenal of self-built custom analog effects pedals, the trio offers fresh and lucid hallucinations of various Seeds-y, Fugs’ed up strains of American underground rock and freakbeat rave-ups at the farthest edge of the British Invasion.

Crucially, the group laces each composition with more than enough personality to ensure that this joyful noise couldn't be coming from anybody else's garage. An upbeat singles band to the core, they save their lone improvised psychedelic jam for the end of midtempo closer "Watching" - a glimpse at the wild abandon of the trio's facemelting live shows. Savage Sam: guitar, organ, lead vocals, production
Michelle: drums, backing vocal Herb (Matt Lajoie) : bass guitar, backing vocals

2 x 180 gr heavy weight vinyl in deluxe matte-finish Gatefold cover + Download Card) Flowers From The Ashes is the latest multi-artist project to bear the acclaimed Stroboscopic Artefacts imprimatur. Silvia Kastel, Andrea Belfi, Marco Shuttle, Ninos Du Brasil, Alessandro Adriani, Chevel, Lucy, Lory D, Caterina Barbieri & Neel Flowers From The Ashes is the latest multi-artist project to bear the acclaimed Stroboscopic Artefacts imprimatur. There is a sensibility of decadence and corroded grandeur etched within its four album sides, reminding us that historically 'decadent' times have nonetheless resulted in some of the boldest acts of individual and collective creativity. Like the 'floral' theme that has remained a consistent feature of S.A.'s graphic presentation, the music here equally presents fragility and intensity in a way that really drives home this visual metaphor for good, while still holding out the promise that similar creations will be seeded in the near future.Though many of the artists involved have set of residence outside of their native Italy, all contribute here to make a captivating portrait of a shared spirit and cultural memory. The album opens with 'Errori,' deceptively fragile sonic ornaments crafted and suspended in space by Blackest Ever Black artist Silvia Kastel. This is followed closely by the mellifluous, warming glow of percussionist Andrea Belfi's 'Spitting & Skytouching,' and then by the resolute electric bass patterns and luminous fog of 'Lux et Sonus,' from Eeri label head Marco Shuttle. Hospital Productions alumnus Ninos du Brasil open the B-side with a similarly dense, amorphous construction built from tribalistic chants and rhythmic patterns, to be followed by Mannequin label boss Alessandro Adriani's 'You Will Not Be There For The End,' showcasing his distinctive take on the 'paranoiac breakdance' aesthetic of classic EBM. S.A. veteran Chevel rounds out the first record in the program by interlacing several percolating synth lines together into a richly conversational piece.The journey continues with 'Starving The Mind,' an undulating mini-epic from S.A. founder Lucy that is animated by his signature balance of seductiveness and concentration. The bright, biting acid synth tones of 'PRV-HH3-X', by Lory D, then takes a sharp right turn into an invisible metropolis ruled by reflective high fashion and hidden intrigue. The imposing architecture of 'Virgo Rebellion,' designed by modular synth futurist Caterina Barbieri, acts as an excellent companion piece, and sets up the closing '4G' from Spazio Disponibile co-founder Neel - a crepuscular serenade that accurately sums up much of the foregoing activity.

*Limited edition of 200 copies, heavy weight vinyl, comes with poster* fmvee joins Queeste with who do u love?, an EP of fractious songs recorded over a tumultuous four-month period in Los Angeles. Having debuted in 2018 with a set of club contortions touching on jungle and 2-step, the US artist returns with a work of intense self-reflection. Lived experiences are transmuted into an amorphous bricolage of pummelling kicks, synthetic textures, and diaristic details, what they describe as an act of "remembrance." Working and living in LA, the "grind" alongside "aspirational partying," and the confrontation of depression during an intense relationship, informs the EP on levels both sonic and thematic. The slippery rhythm and melodic stabs of 'the way you see yourself' embodies a state of flux, also recalling the early experiments of the LA beat scene. Distant jazz drumming fills its peaceful coda before 'everythingUneverKnewUwanted' introduces an echo lifted directly from the artist's life: a trickling courtyard fountain. This first phase of the release finds resolution with 'thewayothersseeyou,' a conceptual mirror to its start, and one which carries a notable shift in tone; gleaming percussion has given way to ominous synths. Despite the EP's personal nature, collaboration is crucial. 'Seed Perfuming (LoLo v665)' is an fmvee original transformed into a cascading breakbeat by New York producer and engineer Loric Sih AKA LoLo, an ecstatic yet familiar form nestled amidst otherwise bruising encounters. 'sobbing' follows, a digital-age ballad of original lyrics exploring dependency: emotional, physical, and otherwise. It's a poignant conclusion to an appropriately hallucinogenic collection, an intoxicating chemistry of love and loneliness co

Fontela Games is proud to launch its very first boardgame Mascara…
Presented on a vinyl gatefold 7 inch sleeve, Mascara is a mystery game for 2 players.

The game soundtrack comes courtesy of Timothy J Fairplay (Asphodells, Dungeon Module) and contains 2 exclusive tracks. The prolific British producer presents 2 deft synth workouts recorded in a seedy studio in Tottenham.

The sleeve contains the board, instructions, one insert and a 7" record.
Numbered and limited edition of 150 copies.

Originally released on cassette in 1993 and now for the first time on vinyl, this is an incredible document from a teenage Arrington de Dionyso. All the seeds of his 30+ career are engrained on these fully formed Tascam recordings. "Bobcatflamethroat" was originally released as "Pine Cone Alley Cassette #9" in August of 1993. The songs were recorded on a Tascam Porta-One 4 Track cassette studio inside a secret area in the basement of the College Activities Building at the Evergreen State College, known as "Happyland". This album has never before seen a digital release of any kind, however there is one song "Everything is Broken" which later became part of the original "canon" of Old Time Relijun after that band was formed in 1995. That song was re-recorded on the first Old Time Relijun album "Songbook Vol. I" released in 1997. I still dig most of the tunes on this one- these were all written and recorded while preparing to welcome a new young life into the world (my daughter Lucinda, born August 22, 1993). So while not specifically "Children's Music" per se, the tunes are wild, hopeful, optimistic yawps of playful abandon for all ages. There are a number of "inside jokes" that only would have made sense to the very tight knit inner circle hat I considered my "core" group of friends at that point in my life. I also think there are more than a few "hits" on here. I was 18 years old! Anyone who has followed the last thirty years of my musical career should find something of interest and delight on this album. For some reason I chose to record most of the guitar and bass parts "direct" without an amplifier- I'm not sure why I did that but it's a unique sound in retrospect. There's a decent dose of throatsinging and other odd vocal techniques, proving that I dove deep into this territory of vocal exploration at a very young age. Also plenty of mouth harps, flutes, kazoos, and clarinet, although this was just BEFORE I bought my first bass clarinet. The song "Kite Dragon Hypnosis" showcases the very first time I EVER recorded anything with a saxophone! The lyrics are reflective of my interests in the theories of "Ethnopoetics" as put forth by Jerome Rothenberg in many of his books such as "Shaking the Pumpkin" and "Technicians of the Sacred", as pathways to understanding the universality of myth and shamanism as connective threads through human poetic expression. And yes, if you know something about the Evergreen State College, I did indeed receive 16 credits for working on this album.

Originally released on cassette in 1994 and now for the first time on vinyl, this is an incredible document from a teenage Arrington de Dionyso. All the seeds of his 30+ career are engrained on these fully formed Tascam recordings. From Arrington: "Orga Ar is how Old Time Relijun came into being. It was the first time I ever had a "real" drummer (Bryce Panic) come in to give me some tracks to build songs with, and then I had Aaron come in and play upright bass on one tune (Qiyamat). When they heard the tape they both asked me if I had ever thought about starting a band and getting some shows organized. It's so weird to imagine now, because I really didn't have my shit together to do the kind of live performance I wanted to do all by myself. So the idea was that we would start with the songs on the tape but allow them to "breathe" in the live setting. I think at first I really wanted the band to be mostly improvisational, and just using the lyrics as a way to have continuity. But after a lot of trial and error in setting up our own shows we decided that having a more structured setlist had better results in getting people to dance. The Olympia scene at that time was kind of "anti-dance party"- most of the punk shows downtown were heavily politicized and were more about the connected activism than about the music per se. For me at the time, I felt like the REAL "political statement" that needed to be made was for the music to be an affirmation of one's physicality, that movement and enthusiasm were both OK and sometimes necessary for self-and-social liberation. We weren't popular at all in the "scene" until years later, in fact all of our US tours were disastrous until we were invited to tour in Europe by an Italian fan who organized everything in 12 different countries. In pre-internet era Olympia, our only aims were playing fun shows for our friends, with little regard for reaching the outside world."

Recorded in Stockholm in 1962, and originally released on Sonet Records, these sessions stand as Ayler's first step into a new sonic world. This was when Ayler was still dealing with classic Jazz standards such as "I'll remember April", M Davis's "Tune Up" and "Rollins Tune", a declared tribute to the older master Sonny Rollins. His already super-strong tenor sax voice dominates a quiet, almost shy, local rhythm section featuring Torbjorn Hultcrant on bass and Sune Spangberg on drums. This was just before stepping into his unique, hyper energetic and ecstatic form of Free Jazz. This was Ayler sowing the seeds of a revolution to come!

Previously unreleased on vinyl, ‘Sex O’Clock’ was
planned for release before Anita Lane’s untimely
death earlier in 2021 as a 20th Anniversary edition
of her timeless album.
 Initially released in 2001, ‘Sex O’Clock’ was
produced by Mick Harvey and features co-writes
with various Bad Seeds, along with unique
interpretations of other songwriter’s tracks
including Gil Scott-Heron’s searing ‘Home is
Where the Hatred Is’.
 Known for being one of the most creative forces to
come out of Melbourne’s post-rock scene, Anita
came to London in 1980 with The Birthday Party.
Credited as a co-founder of Nick Cave’s Bad
Seeds, Lane exerted a strong influence over the
band and co-wrote the universally acclaimed ‘From
Her To Eternity’ and the haunting ‘Stranger Than
Kindness’, whilst also collaborating with the likes of
Barry Adamson, Einstürzende Neubauten, Die
Haut and Mick Harvey on his celebrated Serge
Gainsbourg albums.
 First time on vinyl. Includes a printed inner sleeve
with lyrics and digital download code.

Having received a Grammy for his last Edition album, 2020's Secrets Are The Best Stories, vocalist Kurt Elling returns in style with an album of boisterous funk and indelible beats supported by the funky Charlie Hunter, Corey Fonville and DJ Harrison of groove merchants Butcher Brown.

Sharing his InBach album with the world in 2020 set events into motion that ultimately led to Arandel making second edition in the critically acclaimed, borderless project that unites rare instruments, musical reimanigation.

Arandel unites once again behind the musical phrases of the Leipzig composer specialists of ancient and modern instruments (Thomas Bloch), modern synthesizers and moogs, strings experts (Gaspar Claus), and the poetic spoken word of Myra Davies and Bridget St.John.

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"There is a Bach for everyone" Arandel says, "and that discovery is what led me here, to InBach". Beneath the intricate history, the godlike adoration placed upon Bach, he was a playful musician, an eclectic one even. And so, a full year after the release of the first InBach record on InFiné, there is enough material to make a second one. "There is so much about Bach I didn't even know when making the first one - but after the release, people kept coming to me, telling me about certain pieces I should listen to or rework; songs that I had never even heard of."

The second InBach grew like a garden from the seeds of the first one - an eclectic journey through melodic fantasies, intricate sound design and a certain Pop silver lining. Some tracks were born out of Arandel's band performing on stage, experimenting with the songs live and composing them anew, like "Nos Contours", a new, French-lyrics version of Bodyline with Ornette, Arandel's stage partner.

InBach vol. 2 is a logical consequence then, of someone diving into a pool of music and history so large that it is being chronicled to this day. A substantial part of the instruments used on the lofty, eclectic album were recorded at the Musée de la Musique Paris: rare instruments like the *Erard square piano, ondioline, Zach's cello, Stroh violins*. They help shape the unique sound of Arandel's InBach project: sometimes _eerily familiar, always otherworldly and elusive.

In the vein of rare instruments, the first guest musician Arandel approached for InBach was Thomas Bloch, who lends his gift to four tracks over the two albums, playing the ondes Martenot, one of the first electronic musical instruments ever invented. Thomas has worked with many major artists in his career of ike of Radiohead, Gorillaz, Marianne Faithful, Tom Waits, Daft Punk.

The record travels *between styles, ideas and moods elegantly - it is a distinctly fun and personal album. Freeing himself from the weighty shackles of expectation surrounding the classical maestro, Arandel goes for the core of every Bach piece he tackles, making them his own. on "Octobre", based on Air On G-String, from Orchestral Suite No. 3 D-dur, BWV 1068, his nephew tells a dreamlike story of an ominous gang of children, literally blossoming in the mud. "Fabula" - featuring the French singer Scalde - based on the melancholic, Christian lament Meine Seele wartet auf den Herrn, becomes a grandiose, auto-tuned pop ballad on InBach vol. 2, featuring the virtuoso cello of fellow InFiné associate *Gaspar Claus*.

The use of spoken word is another new layer to InBach, and acts a lyrical thread carrying the listener through InBach vol.2: the closing track features Bridget St.John, John Peel-associated folk legend from the UK to offer to collaborate on a poem for this second volume, she replied to him with a line from André Gide : "You can't discover new land if you aren't willing to lose sight of every shore". A lovely way to sum up the InBach experience for both artist and listener.

Truly adventurous and life enhancing music that invigorates your soul. TIP!

Press Release:

Gordan join traditional Serbian singing with abstraction, energy and minimalism. Their music is marked by radical reduction, seemingly endless ascension and a passion for experiments.

The Serbian singer Svetlana Spajić is an internationally recognized and acclaimed artist. She, like almost no other contemporary singer, is a master of all the complex local stylistic variations of singing from Balkan music. Guido Möbius plays bass and various electronic sound generators. Additionally he uses guitar amps, microphones and effects to provoke feedback which either harmonize or are juxtaposed with the song. It is a dialogue between sound and noise which is accentuated or fragmented by means of Andi Stecher’s expressive drumming. With a rich pool of ideas the percussionist drives the sound forward breathlessly and grounds it. Together the trio form a dynamic body of sound.

Gordan recorded their debut during the first wave of the Covid19 pandemic in Europe in March 2020. Due to the lockdown in Berlin at that time the city didn’t have many distractions to offer, so the trio just concentrated on work. The atmosphere of being isolated in a recording studio had a big impact on the musical results. All three band members came up with ideas for new pieces, which were immediately tested, worked out and recorded. On abstract instrumentals provided by Stecher and Möbius, Svetlana Spajic sometimes reacted with personal interpretations of serbian traditionals, and the other way around. Most of the time it was as if the music just happend to the band; playing together felt natural from the first moment on.

Some of the old serbian traditional songs that Spajic sang are extinct forms with a specific local melodic mode. The skillful improvisation of their lyrics and ornaments was of great importance and very estimated among village singers. The title song Down In The Meadow for instance originally is a love song from the village of Odevce in eastern Kosovo, Serbia. The singing manner is of a great intensity and sonority, with lots of specific local ornaments. It disappeared along with the village communities from the area. Oh, my Rose flowers is from the region of Kopaonik mountain (southwest Serbia) and the mode, scale is known as ”kopaonički glas” (Kopaonik mountain air). Svetlana adopted the style from the late singer Veličko Veličković from the village of Ostraće. It is an old mountain solo chant, rich in fast ornamentation movements and microtonal intervals. Don’t ask how I live is Svetlana’s homage to the new popular folk music movement from the 80ies known as Južni Vetar (Southern Wind) led by a musician and composer Mile Ilić, known as Mile Bas (“Mile the Bass”) which revolutionized popular music introducing tabooed oriental music and original arrangements.

All music by Spajic Stecher Möbius except ‘Don’t Ask How I Live’ by Miodrag M. Ilić, original title Što me pitaš
All lyrics are traditional, except ‘Don’t Ask How I Live’

Svetlana Spajic — vocals
Andi Stecher — drums & percussion
Guido Möbius — bass, feedback, electronics

Recorded by Alberto Lucendo at UFO sound studios Berlin in March 2020 mixed by Morphosis
Mastering by Neel at Enisslab, Rome
Artwork by Lorenzo Mason Studio

Record Kicks drops "Solid Ground", the explosive debut album by US band The Grease Traps, recorded at Kelly Finnigan' Transistor Sounds and mixed by Orgone's Sergio Rios.

Recorded between Kelly Finningn's Transistor Sound in San Francisco and Fifty Filth Studio in Oakland and mixed by Orgone' producer Sergio Rios and Kevin O' Dea, Record Kicks is proud to finally present Solid Ground, the long-awaited debut album by US very finest deep funk & soul outfit The Grease Traps. The album is set for worldwide release on November 5 on vinyl, CD and digital format. The band, based in Oakland, CA, is the latest addition to Milan-based Record Kicks roster. Active since 2002, with a 45 released on well-respected funk/soul label, Colemine Records, now, after six years spent working on the album's recording and mixing, they are ready to present their first full-length release Solid Ground on Record Kicks. The album is anticipated by the two killer funk singles "Bird of Paradise" and "More and More" on limited edition 45 vinyl.

As avid record collectors and fans of that old school analog sound, Solid Ground was recorded straight to 8-track tape on a Tascam 388, which also graces the cover art. Half of the tracks were recorded live at Transistor Sound Studio by soul crooner, Kelly Finnigan, and Ian McDonald where both Kelly and their band, Monophonics, have recorded their last few albums. The other half of the tunes were recorded by Kevin and Aaron at Fifty Filth Studio in Oakland, CA where the band also rehearses and mixed by analog-obsessive Orgone producer Sergio Rios. The album's original tunes draw from the Traps' various soul influences ranging from gritty funk ("Bird of Paradise" and "Hungry") to fuzzed-out psychedelic ("Residue") to sweet lowrider soul ("More and More"). The lyrics by lead singer The Gata also don't shy away from pressing issues of the day such as racism in America ("Roots") and finding hope in a world that seems pitted against you (the JB's style "Solid Ground"). The rare funk covers from the album provide a taste of the raw energy one would experience at a Grease Traps live show. The Traps also supplemented their sound with special guests including the Monophonics horns, background vocals from seasoned Bay Area vocalists, Sally Green and Bryan Dyer, as well as strings organized by Kansas City master viola player, Alyssa Bell.

The seed of The Grease Traps formed back in 2000 when keyboardist, Aaron Julin, answered an ad put out by guitarist, Kevin O'Dea, searching for players who were hip to the rare grooves laid down by Blue Note artists such as Grant Green and Lou Donaldson. They quickly formed Groovement, covering those same artists along with other jazz-funk staples. When their sax player and frontman moved away, they switched gears to form the band, Brown Baggin, getting into the harder funk of the JB's, the Meters, Kool & the Gang, and lesser known acts such as Mickey & the Soul Generation. They also started digging into the rare funk compilations put out by Keb Darge, Jazzman Gerald,and labels like Harmless, Ubiquity, Soul Jazz, and Now-Again. Modern day soul and funk outfits such as Breakestra, the Whitefield Brothers, and the Daptone/Soul Fire crews provided additional inspiration.

In 2005, while still playing with Brown Baggin yet fed up with juggling the schedules of seven band members, Aaron and Kevin put out an ad to find a bassist and drummer to jam with as a quartet. The first two cats to show up were bassist, Goopy Rossi, and drummer, Dave Brick. It was clear from the get-go that this rhythm section had great chemistry. Originally intended as a fun side project, the Traps quickly took priority as Brown Baggin dissolved. Performing as an instrumental quartet for a number of years, they eventually expanded their repertoire to include horns as well as that sharp-dressing soul brother, The Gata, on lead vocals. Over the years, they've shared the stage with acts such as Shuggie Otis, Robert Walter, Durand Jones, Monophonics, Neal Francis, and Jungle Fire.

Following on from the successful ‘An Idiot Prayer’ live album and livestream event released this year, Nick Cave Productions & BMG announce B-SIDES & RARITIES PART I & II to be released internationally on 22nd October 2021.

B-SIDES & RARITIES PART II was compiled by Nick Cave & Warren Ellis and features 27 tracks from “Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!!” in 2006 to 2019s “Ghosteen”. Also features 19 rare and unreleased tracks including first recordings of ‘Skeleton Tree’, ‘Girl in Amber’, ‘Bright Horses’ and ‘Waiting for You’.

Echo & The Bunnymen formed in Liverpool back in 1978, with Ian McCulloch on vocals, Will Sergeant on guitar, bassist Les Pattinson with Pete De Freitas on drums. Their first release came in the form of the single The Pictures On My Wall, with the B-side Read It In Books. Both tracks would appear on their debut album Crocodiles, released in 1980. Released amid the growing wave of post-punk, Crocodiles cemented the band amongst the best around, with the NME at the time describing it as “probably the best album this year by a British band” and featuring amongst many greatest ever debut album lists.

The lead single from the album, Rescue, was produced by Ian Broudie who would later produce more Echo & The Bunnymen material, as well as later forming The Lightning Seeds in 1989. The single would enter the UK charts, with the album breaking into the top 20 and going on to be certified Gold. The original cover was shot by Brian Griffin near Rickmansworth, Hertfordshire. The atmospheric, moody aura of the sleeve sets the tone for quintessential post-punk.

Following on from the successful ‘An Idiot Prayer’ live album and livestream event released this year, Nick Cave Productions & BMG announce B-SIDES & RARITIES PART I & II to be released internationally on 22nd October 2021.

B-SIDES & RARITIES PART II was compiled by Nick Cave & Warren Ellis and features 27 tracks from “Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!!” in 2006 to 2019s “Ghosteen”. Also features 19 rare and unreleased tracks including first recordings of ‘Skeleton Tree’, ‘Girl in Amber’, ‘Bright Horses’ and ‘Waiting for You’.

UNRELEASED TRACKS *

Echo & The Bunnymen first released the single The Back Of Love in 1982, nearly nine months before the album’s release in 1983. It became the band’s first UK top 20 single as well as charting in Ireland. It led to the release of Porcupine in 1983, with Ian Broudie, who would later form The Lightning Seeds, returning to production duties having co-produced their debut album Crocodiles.



Initially rejected by the band’s label, the album was re-recorded with Indian violinist, singer and composer Lakshminarayana Shankar, who added strings to the tracks. The result was their greatest chart performance, with The Cutter reaching #8 in the singles charts and Porcupine finishing #2 in the album charts and went on to be certified Gold. Porcupine featured on many end of year critics’ lists, with their single The Cutter still remaining highly popular to this day.

Grey Marbled Vinyl

VARIÁT is the new experimental metal one-man band of Ukrainian artist Dmytro Fedorenko. Through dissonant noise poetry, corrosive synthesis, and subtle seeds of interiority and folk song, VARIÁT creates a sound world of austere urban psychedelia, invoking themes of primitivism and mysticism within the volatile currents of a contemporary digital era.

Conceived in 2020 as a provocative creative outlet, VARIÁT is founded on ideas of transgression, reinvention, and liberation, the consequence of observing prescribed artistic boundaries and pursuing new depths of aesthetic freedom. The project began as an exploration of new recording techniques: metallic materials used as percussion and channelled through blown amps, toms played with a hammer, drilled cymbals, raw, dimensional textures produced from found objects.

For the project’s debut album ‘I Can See Everything From Here’ a library of recordings rooted in musique concrète initiated countless sessions of seismic, discordant guitar noise and overloaded detonations of low end. Synthesizers calibrated and treated to sound like traditional instrumentation, rhythms of deluge and disarray. Compositions constructed with an intent to preserve their original modality; the chaotic spark of their inception.

The artwork created for ‘I Can See Everything From Here’ is an aquarelle (watercolour) painting, an ink-based projection which mirrors the sound of the album with dense, fragmentary shades of black and extensive tendrils of detail. A microcosmic depiction of the graphic power that defines ‘I Can See Everything From Here’.

First time on vinyl
10th Anniversary of the Breaking Bad TV Series
5 x 10' vinyl in 5 different jackets, 1 relating to each season
Each 10' is the same colour, Strictly Limited Edition Albuquerque Crystal Coloured (transparent with a hint of turquoise) Vinyl!
Lift off box-set with Breaking Bad logo on front with special drip-off varnish
Exclusive Breaking Bad Poster & Pollos Hermanos plastic ID badge
Booklet with exclusive pictures and extensive liner notes by Thomas, the musical supervisor of Breaking Bad
One run only of this very exclusive BOX-SET
Individually numbered the manufacturing qty for Worldwide is est 4000 with 800 for the UK - we could get some more
PLEASE ORDER BY 12.00 TUESDAY 25 SEPT TO BE GUARANTEED YOUR QTY
Available worldwide
Weight ESTIMATED 950g
All the essential Breaking Bad songs by Badfinger, Calexico, Far East Movement, America, Fever Ray, Apparat, Whitey, Knife Party, The Peddlers and others
Various dialogies by Walter, Jesse, Skyler, Mike, Gus, Saul and many more
This release will be heavily promoted on social media, including the social media accounts of Breaking Bad (facebook, over 11 million followers!!!).

MOV proudly presents the OST - BREAKING BAD (MUSIC FROM THE ORIGINAL SERIES) 5 x 10' BOX-SET!

A TOP PRIORITY RELEASE with WORLDWIDE RIGHTS!

So far only the score music has been released on vinyl and now finally, for the very very first time, the original soundtrack music is released on vinyl!

Breaking Bad is widely regarded as one of the greatest television series of all time and celebrates its 10th anniversary in 2018.

The legion of fans have been waiting for this to be released for a long time. There will be a huge demand for this exclusive BOX-SET!

This release was never released in any other format (CD, vinyl, digital) before and will only be available on vinyl!

OST - BREAKING BAD (MUSIC FROM THE ORIGINAL SERIES) is presented in a beautiful Lift off box-set with Breaking Bad logo on front with special drip-off varnish. The box-set includes a selection of defining songs, devided in five 10' records on coloured vinyl, each representing a season with accessory artwork. The numbered box-set also includes a booklet, poster and Pollos Hermanos plastic ID Badge. Next to all essential Breaking Bad songs by Badfinger, Calexico, Far East Movement, America, Fever Ray, Apparat, Whitey, Knife Party, The Peddlers and others, the 10' records also include various dialogies by Walter, Jesse, Skyler, Mike, Gus, Saul and many more. The box-set is a ONE-RUN-ONLY and is STRICTLY LIMITED!

Breaking Bad is an American neo-western crime drama television series created and produced by Vince Gilligan. The show originally aired on the AMC network for five seasons, from January 20, 2008 to September 29, 2013. The series tells the story of Walter White (Bryan Cranston), a struggling and depressed high school chemistry teacher diagnosed with lung cancer. Together with his former student Jesse Pinkman (Aaron Paul), White turns to a life of crime by producing and selling crystallized methamphetamine to secure his family's financial future before he dies, while navigating the dangers of the criminal world. The title comes from the Southern colloquialism "breaking bad", meaning to "raise hell" or turn toward crime. Breaking Bad is set and filmed in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Walter's family consists of his wife Skyler (Anna Gunn) and children, Walter, Jr. (RJ Mitte) and Holly (Elanor Anne Wenrich). The show also features Skyler's sister Marie Schrader (Betsy Brandt), and her husband Hank (Dean Norris), a Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agent. Walter hires lawyer Saul Goodman (Bob Odenkirk), who connects him with private investigator and fixer Mike Ehrmantraut (Jonathan Banks) and in turn Mike's employer, drug kingpin Gus Fring (Giancarlo Esposito). The final season introduces the characters Todd Alquist (Jesse Plemons) and Lydia Rodarte-Quayle (Laura Fraser).

Breaking Bad is widely regarded as one of the greatest television series of all time. By the time the series finale aired, it was among the most-watched cable shows on American television. The show received numerous awards, including 16 Primetime Emmy Awards, eight Satellite Awards, two Golden Globe Awards, two Peabody Awards, two Critics' Choice Awards and four Television Critics Association Awards. For his leading performance, Cranston won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series four times, while Aaron Paul won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series three times; Anna Gunn won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series twice. In 2013, Breaking Bad entered the Guinness World Records as the most critically acclaimed show of all time.

Nearing 100,000 UK sales for their breakthrough album ‘The Race
For Space’, indie phenomenon Public Service Broadcasting return
with their fourth album, ‘Bright Magic’, the follow up to 2017’s ‘Every
Valley’, which entered the chart at Number 4 on release.  Inspired by the Rory McLean book ‘Berlin: Imagine A City’ and named
after a collection of short stories by Alfred Döblin, the record
celebrates one of the greatest cultural capitals of the world, Berlin.  Written and recorded entirely at Hansa Studios in Berlin, the album is
split into three parts - Building A City / Building A Myth / Bright Magic
– and Side B of the album is a homage to Side B of David Bowie’s
‘Low’. Side A of the record includes the singles ‘People, Let’s Dance’
and ‘Blue Heaven’.  The album features guest appearances from Berlin legend Blixa
Bargeld (The Bad Seeds, Einsturzende Neubauten), Andreya
Casablanca of Berlin band Gurr and Berlin Based artist EERA.  Hansa is world renowned as the studio responsible for classic albums
including ‘Low’ and ‘Heroes’ by David Bowie, ‘The Idiot‘ and ‘Lust For
Life’ by Iggy Pop and Depeche Mode’s third, fourth and fifth albums
‘Construction Time Again’, ‘Some Great Reward’ and ‘Black
Celebration’.  The artwork is designed by Berlin artist Torsten Posselt, who has a
long relationship with the Erased Tapes label, designing art for the
likes of Nils Frahm, Olafur Arnalds and Rival Consoles, among
others.

(Deluxe Edition) (translucent tri-coloured vinyl LP + MP3 download code in spot-varnished sleeve)

LP comes in gold foil lamination jacket housing printed record sleeve with 1x translucent gold, black & white insomnia effect vinyl, marketing sticker and free digital download card. The Sharecropper's Daughter Bonus Vinyl contains six new tracks serving as a companion piece to Sa-Roc's already acclaimed Rhymesayers debut, The Sharecropper's Daughter, released in October of 2020. These new songs further showcase Sa-Roc's sharp skills as a lyricist, and her gift for captivating melodies and engaging content, featuring production from Sol Messiah and Evidence, as well as a guest verse from MF DOOM. The lead single for the bonus vinyl, "Wild Seeds" is a lyrical testament to the beauty, mysticism, and wisdom of the elders and ancestors who've guided and bolstered generations of Black women through history's assault and neglect of them. With a title inspired by the sci-fi novel Wild Seed by visionary author Octavia Butler, the song serves as a celebration of women such as Queen Nanny, Harriet Tubman, Sojourner Truth and many others, whose legacies inform future generations of their propensity to bloom under the harshest of conditions. "Just like wild seeds, we remain unfettered and unbroken, adding beauty and immeasurable value to a world that chooses not to acknowledge us," Sa-Roc states, "but our very existence is the only acknowledgement we require." Throughout the songs of The Sharecropper's Daughter Bonus Vinyl, Sa-Roc maintains a concise blend of thought provoking commentary and razor sharp lyricism. On the opening track, "Options", she delivers a raw and searing testimony of the dedicated yet, all too often, underappreciated artist, reminding us to give our flowers to the living while we're still able. "The Great Escape" examines humankind's tendency to try to mask the unsavory elements of our past we're either unwilling or unable to confront head on. Echoing both sentimentality and sorrow, "Reconstruction of the Heart" recalls some of Roc's childhood memories and muses on the many ways in which our earliest experiences can scar, strengthen, and shape the very core of who we'll become. The Sharecropper's Daughter Bonus Vinyl chapter fittingly comes to a close with "The Rebirth", which remarks on the plight of the vulnerable artist and the quest for balance between creative transparency and overexposure. Here, Sa-Roc labors through her discomfort and commits to being brutally honest about the experiences that have informed her expression and made her a better artist. Featured guest, the late MF DOOM continues this line of thinking, offering his own unique observations, "Quick as a quitter will fold, some of what glitters is gold. Same story is old, getting left in the blistering cold. Broken souls get remold with little arbitration. Fortune favors the bold as does incarceration." This bonus vinyl pulls no punches in showcasing Sa-Roc's continual growth as an artist who, as NPR recently put it, "is a modern day griot whose aura radiates calm in a world of chaos."