Private Selection's first full length LP comes in blistering form from Santiago Leyba. Recorded in L.A. and his hometown of Albuquerque, New Mexico, the songs on 'Western Vices' are a reaction to some of the bleaker circumstances that exist in these places. Not unlike Santiago's past work, this music reflects the paranoid and altered states that some people live in as a result of their surroundings. It lies in contrast to escapism and revels in dreadful realities to bring to life a highly rhythmic, woozy and disenchanted collection of tracks. The 12 songs are named after characters, landmarks and phrases associated with L.A. and Albuquerque, acting as reference points for the dialogue of sounds that hold them together.
Santiago Leyba has been producing music as a solo artist and in collaborative affairs since 2010. Raised in New Mexico, he currently lives and works in New York City. Leyba has recorded and performed most recently as Santiago (Unknown Precept, Private Selection Records), Western Versions (Pastel Voids), and U.S. Hard (Pastel Voids, Blankstairs).
From the artist --
"Western Vices is meant to be listened to at high volumes."
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Véronique Sanson is one of the most famous French pop oriented female
singer, songwriter, and composer of the 80s. She began her career in the 70s,
and was the girlfriend of genius composer Michel Berger. Her world turnt
upside down when she met Stephen Stills of Crossby Stills & Nash. One Day,
during a recording session in Paris, she left the studio pretending to go buy
cigarettes, but never came back... She flew overnight to the USA, where she
married Stephen Stills. In LA, she records new music with superstar
composers such as Ray Parker JR and Harvey Mason. "On m'attend là-bas",
produced in 1974, was one of the single of the album Le Maudit.
Funky French League is an intergenerational collective (based in Paris)
formed by Young Pulse (Gamm) , Dabeull (Roche Musique), Arthur Chaps,
Woody Braun (Malka Family), Mr Willy, DJ Asko et Uncle T (Groove
Deluxe). All coming from different universe from hip-hop, to electronic music,
but united by their love for the groove and the funk.
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Christy Essien was one of the leading female recording artists of her time in Nigeria. She was born in Akwa Ibom State in 1960 and enjoyed an accomplished career as a musician and an actress. Having conquered the music and TV worlds Christy moved on to feature in some of the early Hollywood films such as "Flesh and Blood" and "Scars of Womanhood", both of which addressed issues of child abuse and female circumcision. With a desire to make life better for Nigerian artists. She is also credited as having initiated the first meeting that brought about the formation of the Performing Musicians Association of Nigeria in 1981.
Dubbed Nigeria's "First Lady Of Song", Christy produced a respectable 9 studio albums across a number of labels. Her fifth album "Give Me A Chance" was released in 1980 by Afrodisia, and is being officially reissued again by the prolific Nigerian label.
"Give Me A Chance" showcases an impressive move on from her last album with a nice amount of variety. Her classic funky disco sound is most evident in what is her most notable song on the album "Rumours". This much sought after disco number is joined by a couple more disco grooves such as "Nobody Can Stop You" and "Onwu". "Ife" meaning love inflicts a little bit of reggae into the mix while the remaining tracks ("Saboteurs", "Don't Let Me Down", "Ikan Idomo" and title track "Give Me A Chance") take more of a traditional afrobeat - meets ballad approach.
Christy died after a brief illness in 2011. Close to the time of her death, she was involved in numerous successful businesses, organization and running the non-governmental organisation Essential Child Care Foundation involved in child welfare. Christy's achievements and awards are numerous. Too numerous to mention. Perhaps her greatest achievement however is her contribution to building a peaceful and tolerant Nigeria - which, alongside moral uprightness, remain constant themes of her songs.
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On Vinyl One BLKMUSIC 004.1 The A side features Making Ends Meet (Changing Room One), which is an original breakbeat version by Craig Richards that comes with with a twisted remix by Birmingham's Subb-an & Adam Shelton on the B side.
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A gem of an EP, the "Untitled" track could easily have been mistaken for a Warp Records release or AFX. Techno to drive you nuts.
Written by my Sound Designer friend, Michael Bolton, at University in 1998.
The Driving Me Nuts track is a sample of our tutors reaction to a track I made she hated.
Voodoo Dance Malarky's intro would be worthy of a Chemical Bros track, full of little surprises and an evil break at the end.
Originally recorded to tape. Cleaned up by me years later, remastered by Subvert Central Mastering and cut at Curve Pusher. Pressing by Vinyl Presents on clear Vinyl.
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Potential move is finally making its long-awaited return with a four-track EP presented with two sweaty 303 acid cuts and two banging atmospheric jams landed on the flip-side.
All three audio files are compiled from two live recordings with different microphone settings. The cover image is generated by algorithms trained with the following image searches: migration, mediterranean, boat, Libyan coast, EU. Different search engines were used. »Land der Musik« celebrated its world premiere on 7 October 2018 at steirischer herbst '18 - volksfronten in Graz, Austria. Commissioned and produced by steirischer herbst in cooperation with ORF Musikprotokoll.
A1. soundalikeStrauss (an audio reverse-engineering tool is used after the initial cross-fade) A2. AIstrauss (algorithms are trained with midi-files of Johann Strauss waltzes) B1. AImahler (algorithms trained with midi-files of Gustav Mahler symphonies) B2. (untitled)
A new standard of beauty. Artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms can now group photo pixels or audio waves into meaningful categories. This is similar to how our brain operates, yet the outcome seems distinctively non-human. At the same time it appears that the sphere of our appreciation and imagination may just have expanded. The question of whether we are still able to see and hear the difference between automated and so-called autonomous artifacts should be left to historians. On the other hand, producing this analog audio record with this image on the front cover really is an antagonism. A more appropriate medium might be a tracking chip of your online and offline activities generating customized results in real time—be it images, music, or whatever.
If AI is communist (to quote the libertarian Silicon Valley entrepreneur Peter Thiel), then this statistics-based technology might actually reinforce centralized monopoly capitalism and the coming crisis of inequality, just as it might accelerate into Deleuze's notion of the Society of Control. But it might also be seen and heard as a demo, a new standard of beauty, for the redistribution of wealth and for solidarity; in short as a utopia freed from exploitation, nationalism, and racism, liberating us from our own perception of this world. »Land der musik - The Graz AI Score« demonstrates how machine learning might help us to finally create the perfect Austrian national music identity. Yet in doing so, our ultimate aim is to get rid of the construction of national identities all together.
»God created man because he dreamed him. / But man forgot God and created the machine because he dreamed it. / At the end of the twentieth century, however, the machine has forgotten man. / Who could predict who or what she dreams of« (Friedrich Kittler)
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Just a year after introducing Brazil to his first album, “Samba Esquema Novo” (1963), whose title made its theme clear, one of the greatest artists in national music, Jorge Ben, achieved great popular acceptance and was already releasing his third LP. Titled “Ben É Samba Bom” (1964), the album features songs that are still hits today and returns to shelves as part of the “Classics on Vinyl” collection from Polysom, in 180-gram vinyl.
Billie Eilish's meteoric rise to global stardom has been nothing short of phenomenal and arguably unparalleled to date. Since her 'ocean eyes' debut, Billie has quietly, yet unapologetically infiltrated the forefront of pop. Thanks to a growing legion of loyal followers across the globe, an EP that has sat in the Billboard Top 200 for more than 18 months now, on the cusp of going Gold in the UK and more than 5 billion combined streams globally, her tours have sold out consecutively around the world, and this week, the teenage marvel has confirmed she will be releasing her highly anticipated debut album 'WHEN WE ALL FALL ASLEEP, WHERE DO WE GO' on March 29 on Polydor. 'When we made 'bury a friend,' the whole album clicked in my head,' Billie explains. 'I immediately knew what it was going to be about, what the visuals were going to be, and everything in terms of how I wanted it to be perceived. It inspired what the album is about. 'bury a friend' is literally from the perspective of the monster under my bed. If you put yourself in that mindset, what is this creature doing or feeling' She continues. 'I also confess that I'm this monster, because I'm my own worst enemy. I might be the monster under your bed too.' 'WHEN WE ALL FALL ASLEEP, WHERE DO WE GO' was written, produced and recorded entirely by 17-year-old Billie Eilish and brother Finneas in their childhood home of Highland Park, Los Angeles. Recorded in Finneas' bedroom opposite Billie's, the pair spent most of 2018 writing songs on the road, then spending many days and nights when off the road, at home, recording the album. The first to be revealed since the album announcement is 'bury a friend,' a driving tour-de-force of a song, trailblazing its way into the world and sounding quite unlike anything else that's out right now. Reaffirming Billie Eilish's place, always ahead of the curve, never compromising her sound or vision. More exciting news to come from Billie Eilish very soon.
I cannot exactly remember when the idea of this album was born in my mind. What I am sure of is that I always wanted to complete such a project, which was to realize the dream of a vibraphone and marimba tribute to the music of my favorite musician composer, Frank Zappa. I met Marco Pacassoni about six years ago. I called him because we were looking for a vibraphonist for a tour with the artist Bungaro. We immediately developed a real friendship and when I told him about my idea and my fascination with Ruth Underwood, explaining that for me the best Zappa albums were the ones on which she played, he admitted that he knew only a part of that music, but that he would love to learn more. So I began to feed him tunes to listen to, sharing with him an imaginary track list. When Marco decided to really go for it (about two years ago), his first statement was that it was impossible not to include Peaches en Regalia and The Black Page on the album. That made me very happy because those are two of my favorites, and there was no better way to acknowledge the technical challenges behind this adventure. Marco studied Ionisation by Edgard Varese when he was in Conservatorio Rossini of Pesaro, even before he graduated in percussion at Berklee. It was strange for me that he could know more about Varese than about Zappa! I liked his idea of playing The Black Page alone at the marimba, just adding the beat, as if hearing the footsteps of an imaginary listener turning around. Who could it be My very first wish was to include Pink Napkins with Zappa's guitar solo played at the vibraphone.
Broke EP is the 6th release on the Deep & Roll imprint, and their
first various release. The vinyl is Electro/Breaks oriented and
features producers from all Europe.
On the A side, the rising Sicilian producer Clafrica - based in
Edinburgh - delivers 2 top notch bangers, that your mums will def
move their heads on. On the B side, the established Parisian
producer KM3 associates with Rob C. Trax and gets out of his
comfort zone, offering a Rave gem that might blow your speakers.
The B2 rounds off the vibe of this EP with acid flavors: the German
producer Colkin composed this track while living in Paris. Def a wax
to have on your shelves!
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Lavascar is a sound and music project by creative instigator and provocateur Michèle Lamy, multi-disciplinary artist Nico Vascellari and Lamy's daughter, the artist Scarlett Rouge.
Following the release of their debut album A Dream Deferred in 2017 - which was inspired by Langston Hughes' poem Montage Of A Dream Deferred, the trio will release new album Garden Of Memory through The Vinyl Factory label.
Drawing on the work of Lebanese-American poet, journalist and artist Etel Adnan, Garden Of Memory explores the tension between the organic and industrial, layering both Rouge and Lamy's idiosyncratic delivery over Vascellari's ambient and EBM-influenced electronics. After Vascellari described the debut LP as 'an evocation of Michèle Lamy sitting in a cave, surrounded by wild beasts ready to devour her', Lamy says the new record has loftier concerns: 'So far it seems like we are more in the cosmos... We are coming out of the hole!' Lamy continues: 'I like poetry, I don't like when there is sentence that tells you everything, I like suggestion.' It was for this reason that Lamy was drawn to the 93-year-old Adnan - 'a woman explaining what's going on in life. We can say everything is political, this is especially important.' It's a sentiment that Scarlett Rouge echoes: 'She wrote political poetry, and she is a journalist, so that's why I think when Michèle discovered her there was an immediate sense that this is now what needs to be felt and said.'
After a brief wander 'round the garden, Chilean-born Ricardo Tobar returns to the ESP Institute bearing earthly delights. With 2017's Liturgia, he introduced his creative point-of-view—instantly substantiating a sense of rhythm that was deliberately complex yet slightly rough around the edges, while touching upon his musical origins from the guitar-driven corners of psychedelia— however with his debut 2xLP Continuidad, he leaves us gobsmacked and seeking shelter as he leaps from dancefloor comforts and descends into absolute chaos (in more ways than one). Emotionally, the artist has crossed all previously self-imposed and subconscious thresholds, putting his true imagination on display and exposing an unwavering attraction to all things loud, orgasmic and transcendent. He's not subtly hinting at a fetish, but opening his arms wide with conviction, abandoning genre taboos and personally inviting everyone to join his enchanted caravan. Sonically, his appetite for intensity is clear throughout—epic chord changes, ascending peaks in arrangement, accumulating layers of grit that build into impenetrable blankets of distortion and feedback—a kind of aural hedonism that translates visually into the potent video abstractions our Mario Hugo has summoned for the album's packaging. This follow-up single surrounding the Continuidad album boasts the dirty little secret Bailemix of album track Recife—we wont go as far as uttering the 'T' word, but this is unbridled merciless tops-off festival gear for the massive. The flipside is another exclusive non-album cut Cuatro Meses De Verano, a rhythmic build-up that breaks into a low-slung funky stomper, Tobar's idea of a warm-up weapon.
Any self-respecting scene can not do without a muse. Albeit a fragile one. Xen is a central figure in the (now not so) new Tel Aviv scene, having fluttered from projects to projects (with Red Axes, with Yovav Arzi or the soon to come Levantines), being herself kind of everywhere she goes, fragile yet strong, as if she was gaining gravity from both the little black hole inside of her and from the Garzen galaxy. These four tracks written and produced with Dori Sadovnik from Red Axes may be the epitaph to Xen are romantic underachiever, her chrysalis. Pere Adam has been a hit (whatever that means these days) with many luminaries such as Vladimir Ivkovic or Ivan Smagghe, pure angst in psychedelic dub. On Zel Meshugah, Xen & Dori amp the gothic, though more moon than beach, proving once more that all good songs are about heartbreaks. There is a certain sixties folk air to Ir Beton, some lofi sun shining through Xen's adolescent clouds. This new found positivity finds its expression in the flea market funk of Sugar & Wine, Xen shouting to the stars that life, even if bumpy, is now really worth living. -Words By Ivan Smagghe
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Serenace, a mysterious duo based in Chicago and Berlin joins the Shaw Cuts squad with 'The Flying Guillotine' - a weapon shaped like a hat with a blade rim and chain attached.
The weapon serves to brutally quash any defiance against the ironfisted Emperor Yung and his regime. The enforcers are twelve specially trained fighters, The Flying Guillotine squadron. 'Sheltered In Absence', its pushing drums and energetic synth elements, chimes to the cruel deeds of the squadron.
The guard Ma Teng flees when he witnesses the brutality unleashed by the men and the lethal weapon. The raging emperor commands his fighters to capture him, but Ma has disappeared into thin air. - Vitrine', a diverse groove combining swinging percussions and warm melodies circles over head, helping Ma to stay undercover.
The slaughter continues as the squadron relentlessly search for Ma. Ma turns back and confronts the army. Equipped with his own deadly weapon, he joins forces with Kreggo and his - 2in1' remix version, wiping out the squadron one by one.
- Spun Coral' sweeps in, drowning out the sound of guillotines gliding through the air until the last member falls. Silence reigns over the battlefield. But the myth of the fatal weapon remains.
Multiple Man is comprised of twin duo Chris & Sean Campion. Originally operating from Brisbane, Australia their four track EP for Fleisch represents their first record written since Chris's relocation to New York City. 'High On The Hog' finds Multiple Man at a disconnect. Spread between different continents and time zones, the record's direction is a marked progression from previous sounds.
Paranoid atmospherics, sheet metal percussion and unhinged mutant sampling, the record finds the twins wallowing in the muck and the mire. The junk funk is still there but it's bathed in machine age voodoo. This is not a record for the post-apocalypse but an end of history banger for the psycho rollerball time we live in.
Counting down every weird minute until the bombs drop, it represents a grotesque vision of end-times razorback EBM. Continuing the evolution in Multiple Man's discography and contributing to the Berlin label's vision, 'High On The Hog' throws another piece of meat into the Fleisch grinder.
Record Kicks presents a limited edition 45 with two deep soul winners from the enfant prodige Alexis Evans. On the A side the northern soul cut "She Took Me Back". On the flipside the rnb/soul floorshaker "It's All Over Now".
Heading from Bordeaux, the Anglo-French Alexis Evans is not a newcomer in the music scene. He discovered Afro-American music as a child and learnt to play guitar thanks to his father, an English musician. At the age of 17 he debuted with his first project "Jumping to the Westside", with which he was awarded the "Cognac Blues Passion" prize and flew to the "International Blues Challenge" in Memphis, Tennessee. Soon after in 2016 he exploded onto the French scene with "Girl Bait", his astonishing debut album that hit the airwaves of FIP, France Bleu, and Jazz Radio amongst the others. Despite his young age Alexis Evans has already built a household name, touring extensively his country with explosive live sets at RDV Erdre Nantes, Rhino Jazz St-Etienne, Lyon Ninkasi, Club Nubia Paris, Festivals Relâche Bordeaux, Jazz à Vienne as well as Festivals in England, Estonia, Switzerland and Wales.
A must have 45 for every soul djs and lovers. Watch out the 45 is limited to 500 copies worldwide.
With "Being Water" Lali Puna refine their distinctive take on pop and electronics, pushing the boundaries towards classical songwriting. The four songs - equally affecting and catchy as self-reflected and aloof - are complemented by the airy tripiness of a remix by Dave DK (Kompakt, Pampa Records).
Although singer Valerie Trebeljahr wrote "Being Water" mostly by herself, being backed by bandmates Christian Heiß and Christoph Brandner, she rejects the idea of authorship: "Nothing comes out of myself. I'm a sampler: I write music because I listen to music. And I write lyrics because I read". Accordingly, topics and references of "Being Water" vary quite widely: "Who's That Genius" pays tribute to Virginia Woolf and Madonna - and questions why the term 'genius' is still connoted primarily with maleness. The title track refers to the famous Bruce Lee quote "Be formless, shapeless, like water" - but here it is turned upside down: It was Hito Steyerl's video work "Liquidity Inc." that got Valerie's attention, re-reading the quote as a neoliberal paradigm. In contrast, a title like "For Only Love" might sound a little naive as Valerie claims - but: "It surely won't be hate that will save us all". The lyrics were written after watching Obaidah Zytoons and Andreas Dalsgaards documentary "The War Show".
"Diversity is queen" - this goes for the music as well. While the dreamy pop of "Who's That Genius" or the catchy guitar loops of "Being Water" are in the same vein of Lali Puna's earlier albums, the free-floating piano chords and tricky rhythm patterns of "Beatx" in some ways mark new territory as Valerie explains: "I am very proud of this song because it is so fiddly. I thought that was something reserved for men".
Daniel Avery broadens the exquisite sonic universe established on last year's critically-acclaimed sophomore LP Song For Alpha, presenting the collected B-sides & Remixes. Showcasing cuts from the album's writing and recording process, as well, Avery also invites a number of his contemporaries and some of the most vital underground producers in the world to rework his original material, with transformative results.
The frosty melancholy of Citizen // Nowhere is reworked by London producer Manni Dee into something altogether monstrous. Introducing itself with a kick drum powerful enough to level a warehouse, and only getting more urgent from there forward, Dee's remix blends a knowing rave glint in the eye with a nonetheless uncompromising stance.
The Copenhagen-via-Moscow producer Anastasia Kristensen immediately justifies her status as a rapidly rising talent on the scene, locking into a delicate yet no less powerful groove for her sparkling remix of Glitter. Seamlessly heightening the almost meditative qualities of Avery's original, she weaves a blissful rhythmic trip, taking in razor-sharp percussions and spectral dub techno.
A longstanding fixture on the Midwest US rave scene, Patrick Russell applies his typical grit to 'Song For Alpha's firmly dancefloor focused centrepiece, Diminuendo. In subtly shifting the focus to the track's passages of overwhelming feedback, he sculpts a black hole of snarling electro and piston-like breaks, sure to prove an inviting wormhole to those willing to surrender further, deeper and darker.
A third of Italian production act Agents Of Time, Sharp Felon loops out of the trio's orbit to land his debut solo EP on Maceo Plex's Lone Romantic, 'Let The Game Begin' - featuring three stunt-driving cosmonautical bangers that aim to abolish all sense of gravity in the club and beyond. Breaking in at fierce speed, 'Devil Trail' attacks pedal to the metal and leaves prismatic wisps of vapor in its wake. A proper electro-magnetic dasher, the track alternates steady shooting sequences of 303-marinated bass with eloquent kosmische-indebted synth maneuvers and laser-precise breaks, all joining forces to have your feet shuffling and mind drifting up into higher spheres of consciousness in one potent backhanded caress.
A more straightforward affair, B-side opener 'Telework Titan' lifts its listener off to a further compelling state of meditative balance through a nonetheless muscular groove and epic-sized sub-bass moves. Cruising in the upper layers of the stratosphere, Sharp Felon's stamps on the accelerator of his shark-mouthed spaceship and hedgehops across craggy alien reliefs with personal hands-on skills. Intergalactic transmissions announce an imminent extra-terrestrial invasion, it's time to tune out and enter the melee. Laser guns blazing and acid stabs smoking, 'Cyber Fex' nose-dives in an enemy-occupied territory and washes over the ground brawl like a hi-tech tsunami. Purebred Donald-ian face-melter in sheer Dopplereffekt meets Arpanet fashion, this one lacks no oomph.
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After a brief wander 'round the garden, Chilean-born Ricardo Tobar returns to the ESP Institute bearing earthly delights. With 2017's Liturgia, he introduced his creative point-of-view—instantly substantiating a sense of rhythm that was deliberately complex yet slightly rough around the edges, while touching upon his musical origins from the guitar-driven corners of psychedelia— however with his debut 2xLP Continuidad, he leaves us gobsmacked and seeking shelter as he leaps from dancefloor comforts and descends into absolute chaos (in more ways than one). Emotionally, the artist has crossed all previously self-imposed and subconscious thresholds, putting his true imagination on display and exposing an unwavering attraction to all things loud, orgasmic and transcendent. He's not subtly hinting at a fetish, but opening his arms wide with conviction, abandoning genre taboos and personally inviting everyone to join his enchanted caravan. Sonically, his appetite for intensity is clear throughout—epic chord changes, ascending peaks in arrangement, accumulating layers of grit that build into impenetrable blankets of distortion and feedback—a kind of aural hedonism that translates visually into the potent video abstractions our Mario Hugo has summoned for the album's packaging. This might all sound like a warning for Hurricane Ricardo, but fear not, listeners will still find some security in the album's rhythmic underpinnings, and although this foray into primitive, ritualistic bang-the-drum percussion is significantly more dangerous than his previous programming, its the imperfection in his passionate studio performances that imbue Continuidad with something remarkably human.
Following Releases From Rude 66, Vakula And Mick Wills, Arma Continues To Explore The Dark And Wild Corners Of Contemporary Machine Music Via A New Split 12' Featuring Lvrin And Maoupa Mazzocchetti.
Lvrin Has Previously Released On Pinkman, Crimes Of The Future, Mrt And Sign Bit Zero. He Occupies A Sound World Where Blown Out Boxes Spit Out Gnarled Beats And Slimy Basslines Through An Overdriven Desk, With The Ghosts Of Post Punk And Industrial Looming Over His Nocturnal Incantations.
Maoupa Mazzocchetti Has Been Weaving Defiantly Unconventional Strains Of Electronic Music Since First Emerging On Unknown Precept And Mannequin. He Delivers Three Rugged, Body-poppin' Grooves To The B Side, All Laden With Madcap Sampling And Mischievous Synth Splashes That Proudly Stray From Established Norms While Still Holding Down A Solid.
Right here, right now ADF are the most important band in Britain. NME 1997
Rafis Revenge originally peaked at number 20 on the UK Albums Chart and was shortlisted for the 1998 Mercury Music Prize, with Bobby Gillespie hailing them at the time as the best live act in Britain. This 21 year anniversary reissue includes a limited edition, coloured 2xLP plus expanded digital & CD editions with bonus tracks selected by Adrian Sherwood. To celebrate the release the band are playing at Rich Mix, London on 28th March.
By the time they recorded Rafis Revenge in 1998, Asian Dub Foundation were primed to explode. Having initially emerged from East Londons grassroots Community Music project as a largely studio-based collective, the band had galvanised themselves into a riotously exciting touring machine by the late Nineties. Their extraordinary live shows around this period were electrifying to witness, kinetic and dynamic, incendiary and euphoric, confrontational yet celebratory. For sheer roof-raising energy, they were unrivalled. ADF have evolved enormously over the last two decades, of course, but their breakthrough album remains a fascinating chapter in the real, complex, unwritten history of Britpop. Expanded and enlarged for this anniversary edition, these multi-layered musical treasures still dazzle and delight with their grandiose ambition and riotous energ
Véronique Sanson is one of the most famous French pop oriented female singer, songwriter, and composer of the 80s. She began her career in the 70s, and was the girlfriend of genius composer Michel Berger. Her world turnt upside down when she met Stephen Stills of Crossby Stills & Nash. One Day, during a recording session in Paris, she left the studio pretending to go buy
cigarettes, but never came back... She flew overnight to the USA, where she married Stephen Stills. In LA, she records new music with superstar composers such as Ray Parker JR and Harvey Mason. "Bernard's Song", produced in 1976, was the first single of the double gold album Hollywood.Funky French League is an intergenerational collective (based in Paris) formed by Young Pulse (Gamm) , Dabeull (Roche Musique), Arthur Chaps,
Woody Braun (Malka Family), Mr Willy, DJ Asko et Uncle T (Groove Deluxe). All coming from different universe from hip-hop, to electronic music, but united by their love for the groove and the funk
Rian Treanor will release his anticipated debut album 'ATAXIA' on Planet Mu this March. The striking full-length follows singles for The Death Of Rave and Warp's Arcola imprint as well as live sets at Boilerroom x Genelec, Nyege Nyege festival, tours in India and various high profile EU shows.
The title 'ATAXIA' means 'the loss of full control of bodily movements' and relates to Rian's music which is 'intended to make people's bodies move in unpredictable ways.' He adds 'the angles in the letters, the phonetics seem to mirror the geometry and idiosyncratic patterns in the music.' Rian explains that components of the tracks were made by generating a series of irregular events and re-structuring them, or by destabilising a pattern that is constant.
When asked how the album compares with his previous releases, he says 'My earlier EPs share a similar interest in angular and asymmetrical rhythms that are designed for club sound systems,' adding 'they were more improvised, focusing on sequencing and pattern modulation, using standard drum sounds and synthesiser patches. ATAXIA is more focused and stricter, it's more co-ordinated in terms of the track selection and the rhythmic structures. I spent more time refining the synthesis and sound design, pushing it further than the previous releases.' He expresses an interest in exploring opposites in his music: 'fluidity and syncopation,' 'systematic and unpredictability,' 'reduction and extremity,' 'irregular symmetry,' 'easy listening and brutal'.
There's clear a conceptual backdrop, but the music itself is not overthought. There's an immediate joy to much of the album - check out ATAXIA_D3 with its wonderful cut-ups and modulations of the phrase 'people don't understand people.'
The roots of Rian's playful sound are directly linked to his love of the music he grew up with. Coming from Sheffield, you can hear elements of industrial, synth-pop, bleep, extreme computer music and speed garage at play. From Cabaret Voltaire to Warp and beyond; the sound of his city has been, and is, an integral part of his musical development and is still a direct influence.
Last year, he noted in an interview that "I'm not a computer programmer, I'm not an articulate person in that kind of way. I'm a visual artist." Now he elaborates 'I meant more that I'm a visual thinker.' Drawing and visual art have been a fundamental part of his life 'since I was a child. I got really into graffiti as a teenager and around the same time I got into mixing and these both developed together.' You can sense the mind of a visual artist at work in his music which is also reflected in the artwork he created for this project.
As well as his visual art, installations and multichannel sound works he is involved in numerous collaborations such as with composer Nakul Krishnamurthy exploring the common ground between Indian classical music and electronic music and his work with improv saxophonist Karl D'Silva, plus his time studying with Lupo at Dubplates and Mastering in Berlin (who taught him the 'importance of reduction') have all helped shape and push his sound into other unique and adventurous zones. Treanor is developing on different levels and in different forms all at the same time, re-imagining the intersection of club culture, experimental art and computer music, presenting an insightful and compelling musical world of fractured and interlocking components.
This was Charles Tolliver's first album as a leader. The setting is unique only because his second Freedom-Black Lion album 'The Ringer' and all of his subsequent albums on Strata-East featured his quartet Music Inc. with pianist Stanley Cowell. Here he is surrounded in quartet and quintet formats with a truly stellar cast of the leading players on the New York jazz scene.
Charles plays the role of leader, composer and trumpeter. But it is surely that last role that deserves the most attention. The trumpet is a brass instrument that leans toward a hard sound and staccato phrasing. Yet Tolliver is the quintessence of fluidity. While it may be undeniable that he has learned from his musical heritage and past trumpet masters, a trumpeter of such flow, tone, control, lyricism and creativity is, by definition, a major musician.
Charles Tolliver first came to the professional jazz scene in the mid-sixties, when he first met Jackie McLean. Under McLean's leadership, he played on a number of Blue Note record sessions, some of which have yet to be released. He contributed original tunes to many of those sessions.
Within a couple of years, Tolliver was a well known figure in New York circles, playing and/or recording with Booker Ervin, Archie Shepp, Andrew Hill, Roy Ayers, Art Blakey, Sonny Rollins, Willie Bobo, Gerald Wilson, McCoy Tyner, Hank Mobley, and many others. His compositions were getting recorded by many artists. He gained his greatest recognition during a two year stint with the Max Roach quintet that also included Gary Bartz and Stanley Cowell.
There is also a previously unreleased bonus track of the song, "Repetition", recorded by Charles for this LP which will be included on this new release of the album. This song was originally made famous by Charlie Parker's LP With Strings.
This album is certainly an important and lasting document in light of the musicians involved and in light of its unique context for Charles Tolliver. But basically, it is just a great album to listen to. Michael Cuscuna
1 colored white LP in single sleeve with 3mm spine. Printed inner-sleeve. Collectors edition CD album included.
Vinyl (Limited Colored Edition)
Bananarama"s fifth album "Please Yourself" was released in 1993 by London Music Stream and is the first album which features the band as a duo. The album includes the singles: "Movin On", "Last Thing On My Mind", "More, More, More"
Bananarama are often cited as the UK"s most successful ever girl group with 5 UK singles and 10 top 10's.
They were the girl group that defined the eighties with their run of pop hits which sound tracked the lives of fans around the world. The news of Bananarama"s reunion, after nearly 30 years, was met with universal approval and saw the band celebrated all over again. In 2017 the trio reassembled for a UK Tour in a pop reunion only dreamt of in the wildest imaginations by many quarters. The band reunited in their original line up for the first time in years. For many Siobhan stepping back into her natural habitat once again is pop"s very own version of Morrissey and Marr re-uniting. The band play their final dates as a trio this summer in a run of gigs including Edinburgh Castle, British Summer Time and Smukfest.
Chicago-based Matt Warren has been a DJ for forty years and has been a producer since 1984, when he released his debut single Rock The Nation. This inspired Matt to cofound Sunset Records in 1985, which released several house classics. However, in 1987, Matt resigned from Sunset Records and founded AKA Dance Music.
The first single that AKA Dance Music released was Bang The Box, which sold over 50,000 copies in America and nowadays, is regarded as the first hard house track. Bang The Box was the first of seven singles that AKA Dance Music released between 1987 and 1988. By then, Matt's second label was part the history of house music.
After the demise of AKA Dance Music, Matt Warren continued to travel the world DJ in some of the top clubs. Meanwhile, Matt continued to produce new music, remix tracks by some of the biggest names in music.
By the nineties, Matt was also writing, arranging, mixing, and producing a wide variety of artists and bands. He sometimes was asked to play on a number of albums. However, he still loved house music, and worked on several releases.
As the new millennia dawned, Matt continued to work in a variety of roles in the ever-changing music industry, and occasionally released some new music. Over the next few years, Matt has been working as a producer, engineer and remixer, which meant he had to put his own career on hold, until he began working with a familiar face.
In 2016, Matt was reunited with house diva Pepper Gomez, who was now running her own label Wake Up! Music. By then, Pepper Gomez had dawned the MyMy Lady G moniker and embarked upon a career as producer. She had travelled to Chicago, to record Elena Andujar's genre-meting album Flamenco In Time at Matt's Sound Studio Recording. Matt took charge of engineering, programming, mixing and production on Flamenco In Time while MyMy Lady G added backing vocals and assumed the role of executive producer on this groundbreaking project. After the completion of Flamenco In Time, MyMy Lady G asked Matt Warren if he would like to record an album
It didn't take long for Matt to answer in the affirmative, and in early 2018, he hit the comeback trail. He was accompanied by a group of talented musicians and vocalists including gospel singer and soulful diva Jan McGhee, Elena Andujar and legendary house diva Pepper Gomez who plays a starring role on the album. That album was recorded over the course of several months, and eventually became Music Is My Life which marks the comeback of Mark Warren.
Matt Warren has been away to long, now one of the pioneers of Chicago House makes a welcome return with a groundbreaking new album. This is Music Is My Life, the first ever Nu House album, which is guaranteed to transform Matt Warren's career and become part of dance music history.
Unprofessional's Debut Featuring Four Unrelenting Tracks That Echo The Golden Years Of Italy's, Everything Goes, Rave Heyday. Her Tracks In This Release Are Characterized By Epic Synths, Jacking Hi-hats, And Lo-fi Hip-hop Style Sampling. Beyond Musical Characteristics, A Fantastical Sense Of Humor Pervades The Release With Self-conscious Samples Embedded In Many Of The Tracks And Overtly In Titles Like civilization At The Bio Store' Or grand Unified Theory.' Before This Release, She Has Been Performing Live The Darker Corners Of Europe's Electronic Music Scene. In The Last Year She Has Been Featured In The Mixes Of Alienata (killekill), Bill Kouligas (pan) Or Pure (praxis Records, Aufnahme + Wiedergabe).
Unprofessional Herself Comes From A Small Town On The East-coast Of Italy. She Began Producing In Her Early 20s In Milan Before She Moved To Berlin And Began Organizing Small Uncompromising Local Parties, Which Featured A Pretty Disparate Group Of Musicians.-
Mastered By Mike Grinser (d&m)
Artwork: Bartosz Zaskorski
Design: Teo Schifferli
Angel-Ho is known as one of the founders of Non Worldwide, alongside Chino Amobi and Nkisi. Highly regarded as a DJ and electronic music producer, on 'Death Becomes Her' she shifts things up to another level.
Pulling on inspiration from her flamboyant favourites from Lady Gaga, Missy Elliot, and Bjork through to Kanye West, this ambitious, artful and sometimes radical album of neo-pop pushes the pop framework even further, often teetering on the brink of vertiginous chaos and dissonance, whilst slowly revealing its depth and grandeur once you settle into its sound world.
Alongside a cast of collaborators that include French producer Nunu, South African producer Baby Caramel, Asmara Maroof from Nguzunguzu, Bon and Gaika, Angel re-orientates the usual trans-atlantic pop sound to encompass a brace of experimental, diasporic producers to create beats that alternate between angular, propulsive, murky, loose, abrasive and breezy.
On top of these often advanced rhythms, she also raps and sings for the first time with lyrics about love, sex, glamour and struggle, universal fantasies, treated with an ambiguity that restructures the narrative within a trans-identity. Her choice of guest MCs also reflects this energetic queering with K-$ and Qweezy from Cape Town, plus underground Asian American rapper K-Rizz laying down assertive bars.
On 'Death Becomes Her', Angel-Ho carves out a new space with her unique take on contemporary pop. Overflowing with charisma, sometimes reminiscent of Grace Jones, this album is fiercely sassy and celebratory. It feels like the start of something very exciting.
Patrick Topping has announced that he will be launching his own record label, TRICK , a home for Patrick to exhibit his versatility as a producer, as well as a platform to showcase the wealth of the emerging talent which he has been pushing in his DJ sets.
Packed with three original tracks from Patrick, the EP-titled 'Watch What Ya Doing ' comes with the launch of his label TRICK and as a much anticipated follow up to the late 2017 Hot Creations smash 'Be Sharp Say Nowt', which continued to dominate throughout 2018. A year which proved another hugely successful one for the UK producer who was called on for the remix duties for Calvin Harris and added Music Radar 's ' Best House Producer/DJ 2018' ' and his third DJ Award for Tech House Artist to his list of accolade that include his DJ Mag ' Best of British ' award and reaching number 11 in Resident Advisor 's 2016 top DJs poll.
This debut release on TRICK showcases a change in sound from the acclaimed artist and an evolution of Patrick 's ever-maturing style. The British DJ displays a new style as a producer, one which has always been a part of his genre-hopping DJ sets, but for the first time as a producer, Patrick delivered an EP packed with darker techno undertones and raw influences.
The imprint's launch follows the British producer's sell-out headline shows at Manchester Academy, two consecutive nights Dublin's District 8, London institution fabric, his very own takeover at The Warehouse Project and as far as Melbourne's huge Shed 14 . Entering a refined and developed chapter of his career, the announcement follows Patrick' s Boxing Day set at Digital, Newcastle , the last ever party in his acclaimed Motion event series, with the UK producer looking to support and nurture emerging talent in future via the launch of ' TRICK.'
Due to overwhelming demand for our 5LP boxset which sold out on the day of release, here are the first ever official individual re-issues of all five of the iconic Lansdowne recording sessions by the legendary UK jazz combo, the Don Rendell/Ian Carr Quintet.
The five albums; Shades Of Blues (1965), Dusk Fire (1966), Phase III (1968), Change Is (1969) and Live (1969), have reached almost mythical status in the collector's world. Regarded as holy grail artefacts for even the seasoned aficionado, the collective second hand market value comes to an astonishing £6000.
The complete Don Rendell & Ian Carr Lansdowne recording sessions are now available as individual LPs. We located and acquired the original analogue master tapes from the Universal vaults and created masters at Abbey Road Studios to produce audiophile quality 180g pressings replete with replica artwork - shape, design, and even paper stock. No stone has been left unturned to deliver this absolute labour of love to the highest possible standard! Inside is a link to a printable online pdf which contains never before seen photographs, interviews with the remaining living band members and liner notes from BBC Radio 3 presenter and award-winning jazz writer Alyn Shipton.
The band played together for seven years and during this fruitful time they made a plethora of deeply melodic, post-bop British jazz compositions that later on took influences from Indo and more spiritually guided jazz. Produced by the influential Denis Preston and recorded at his Lansdowne Studios in London, the band was primarily made up of saxophonist Don Rendell, trumpeter/composer Ian Carr, and pianist/composer Michael Garrick. This is UK jazz at its absolute finest and is a treasure not to be missed.
Acclaimed UK producer, Cella Records label operator, and swiftly aspiring talent Turner has already stirred up the scene with quality shells more than once with his own acclaimed productions, receiving air-play from venerated key figures such as Mala or Youngsta. Laying down the law for its first three releases, it's time to showcase his undoubtedly equally effective A&R skill - welcoming none other than the Rochdale-based artist duo BFM (Bloodklart Fiyah Mandem) to the label roster. Consisting of JFO and Sativa, their collaborative output cuts through the noise - support from the likes of Grime veteran Slimzee and physical releases via Glassy Records and Hooded Up. Now stepping back on the controls to set the new year ablaze in style, BFM delivers a total of four extensively weighty cuts for Cella's fourth vinyl release. As the needle picks up the records' first grooves, 'Magic Carpet' sets path on a ride into a distant and barren territory - at once being enamored by its contemplative atmosphere. Unraveling its dynamic interplay of sound and silence, the authentic old-school instrumentation and lavishly saturated low-frequency surges keep us coming back for more. Catching a swift breath, 'Niyaz' lures us into spheres of droning reverberations - phasing in and out amidst vigorous square-wave leads and meticulously crafted foley effects - conveying its story with full force on a minimal platter. No exception to the rule, 'Shade Riddim' conjures another isomere of their signature ambience - wailing voices, enigmatic strings leading the way through dimly lit, high-pressure alleys. Droning along as conclusive proof of this releases' unquestionable intensity, 'Limitless' wraps up the madness - delivering a fourth, flawlessly executed bass-weight meditation. Timeless music on a twelve-inch platter.
New album from London-based Dutch-Zimbabwean pop
innovator Rina Mushonga.
Mushonga doesn't follow a linear path. The artist's music -
a blend of Afropop, indie and electro flourishes - is
informed by her own zigzagging life journey: Mushonga
emigrated from Zimbabwe to the Netherlands, then to the
diverse South London suburb of Peckham, where she now
lives and works.
Having read 'Metamorphoses' for the first time,
Mushonga's self-confessed 'year of transformation' ensued,
drawing upon myriad ideas and personal experiences.
Full of reflections on the cosmos and our place within it,
'In A Galaxy' is the musical embodiment of these musings,
whilst Mushonga also admits there's more than a passing
nod to the opening text on 'Star Wars' but on the whole
refers to how relative space and time are in how we
interact.
Four years in the making, 'In A Galaxy' was recorded in
Mushonga's adopted home in Peckham with producer Brett
Shaw, whilst having laid much of the foundations of the
tracks together with musical bestie and synth whisperer
Frans Verburg in his Rotterdam basement studio. The
resultant cornucopia of intelligent, diverse pop - that
Mushonga herself describes as sounding like 'Paul Simon
in a sweaty, African dancehall club' - is a welcome
introduction to 2019.
LP pressed on pink vinyl
Following 1 or 2 small run / mailorder lathe cuts, Polytechnic Youth follow it's hugely successful 'Popcorn Lung' label compilation LP, with it's first full length of the new year, and man... this one is just wonderful! A mighty record to kick off what promises to be another hugely productive, constantly busy year for the Crouch End based synth label.
PY often likes to quote the artist directly in it's press releases, and this one is no exception. Gabe's own words, more than adequately explaining the path leading to this killer set for 2019; 'It feels a little ridiculous to pretend that the person introducing you to Gabe Knox is some kind of bigwig press agent and not just Gabe Knox himself, so let me, Gabe Knox, tell you a little about myself in that hopes that you'll give my music a listen.
In 2014, after years of moderate success as a local musician and club DJ in Toronto, Canada, I looked at my collection of barely functioning analogue synths and drum machines and said to myself 'Instead of trying to unsuccessfully make music you think other people will like, why don't you make something that you'd actually want to listen to for once' I wanted to make music that had the drive shaft of Neu!, the punishing low end of King Tubby, the interleaved melodic lines of Vince Clarke, the melancholic, otherworldly whimsy of Raymond Scott and Delia Derbyshire, the hypnotic drone of Spacemen 3, and the analogue intimacy of Le Car. I wanted to bring the euphoria and hypnosis of dance music to the rock kids, and the energy and excitement of rock music to the dance kids.
This was going to be a tough sell in the clique-y Toronto music scene, so I figured the best way to get the music out there would be by recording when I can and self-releasing a steady stream of EPs online. They would all be a series, a snapshot of the evolution of that initial idea. ABC represents a compilation of the best songs of the first three EPs, subtly remixed and remastered to best suit vinyl. I hope you love listening to it as much as I loved making it.'
This really is a remarkable record. Displaying all the PY traits of icy cool blasts of minimal synth, motorik grooves, melodic pop via passing nods to early mute and sky records. Never before did label head Dom think he'd get the chance to namecheck 2 musical heroes from wildly differing poles -Vince Clarke and Spacemen 3- into one LP PR sheet, so he's understandably excited for this one's release!
250 copies on yellow wax in hand numbered, reverse board sleeves. Sure to go real quick....
Yeah, we get it: You cant technically be clinically paranoid if everything youre afraid of is actually happening. Its been a few years since we were scared shitless of letting cell phones anywhere near our crotches and suddenly, the electromagnetic waves mess with our brains big time. Lets not beat around the bush here, its all true. Your thoughts are being supervised, the government even has taken complete control over them, all while your moral compass is spinning at 78rpm like a broken shellac. Its bad, it feels weird and just so wrong. It doesnt even pay well, for fucks sake.
We know, we know: You need a remedy and you need it, like, yesterday at the latest. What we can offer for now is Konrad Wehrmeister from Munich, whose handcrafted alpha waves will interlock with your brain activity and set your will free by taking it over - it hasnt been yours for a while now, after all. Wehrmeisters pummeling techno is the B2B (business to brain) or even B2B2B (business to brain to booty) solution your sorry existence needs in these dire times, and he will professionally lead you to your destination with a little splash of »Radiation« to fire you up. Hes done it for Public Possession, hes done it for Ilian Tape. He can do it for you, if you trust him enough.
So please come and join us in eternal dispersion. RSVP by the complete loss of your sanity.
Alt. folker Will Oldham - better known as Bonnie 'Prince' Billy - is set to drop a joint record with gently psychedelic crew Trembling Bells
Just four years after their debut album Carbeth, Trembling Bells are amassing a formidable body of work at a startling velocity. Just twelve months after the release of their critically acclaimed third album The Constant Pageant, the Glasgow quartet return to share the billing with a similarly restless creative spirit. A few thousand miles separate Will Oldham and Trembling Bells' drummer and principal songwriter Alex Neilson, but their stories intersect as far back as 2005, when the young Leeds-raised Neilson found himself playing drums on Alasdair Roberts' No Earthly Man, with Oldham producing. In time, a friendship between mentor and student became one between two kindred musicians. Neilson augmented his work with free-psych-drone practitioners Directing Hand by playing with the Bonnie 'Prince' Billy band. The drummer's eagerness to experience new epiphanies yielded unforgettable memories. In Big Sur, he recalls, 'we took mushrooms at midnight, then visited a natural hot spring built into the dramatic cliffs overlooking the Pacific Ocean. The stars were as vivid as frozen fireworks.' All of which is worth dwelling on, because without that background of mutual openness and empathy, it's hard to imagine The Marble Downs existing.
Neilson recalls a conversation about a 'collaboration' in the summer of 2010, though stresses that it 'was nothing too formal at first'. By the end of that year, a limited-edition seven-inch New Year's Eve Is The Loneliest Night of the Year showed what an inspired match the vocals of Trembling Bells singer Lavinia Blackwall and Will Oldham made. The cut-glass precision of the classically-trained student of medieval music and the worldly, careworn tones of Oldham created an unlikely chemistry. It must have seemed that way to Neilson too. He set about assembling a cache of songs with the purpose of further harnessing that chemistry. The result is an album that has, once again, redrafted the boundaries of what Trembling Bells can achieve together. Indeed, genre-lines aren't terribly helpful this time around. Yes, Trembling Bells' love affair with traditional music remains a constant — most emphatically so on the unaccompanied Blackwall/Oldham two-hander, My Husband's Got No Courage In Him. Then there is Blackwall's musical setting of Dorothy Parker's poem Excursion Into Assonance — and the thorough-going new-found classicism of Neilson's increasingly assured songwriting. Albeit delivered with Trembling Bells' rain-lashed sense of abandon, Love Is A Velvet Noose sounds like a standard of sorts — a warped consequence of Neilson's increasing fascination with the songbooks of Cole Porter and Hoagy Carmichael. 'I'm not saying I stand any chance of emulating them,' he adds, 'but the appreciation is definitely there.'
The knowledge that Oldham and Blackwall would be sharing centre-stage on The Marble Downs gave Neilson extra impetus to flex his songwriting muscles. I Can Tell You're Leaving finds both vocalists on irresistible form, dissecting their dying relationship with no heed to the other's feelings. 'You treat me like a child,' sings Oldham. 'I need a man,' she responds, barely catching breath. 'Now like Merle Haggard, you'll see the fighting side of me,' he later promises. 'I guess that's one of the lighter moments on the album,' ponders Neilson, 'I was trying to get a Planet Waves-era Bob Dylan feel there, with the piano and walking bassline.'
Here and elsewhere, the band — Blackwall, Neilson, bassist Simon Shaw and guitarist Mike Hastings — has never sounded more psychically attuned to one-other. On the slow-reveal sonic establishing shot of I Made A Date (With An Open Vein), two minutes of manic modal chaos elapses before Oldham takes the narrative reins of a majestic call-and-response folk-rock epic. The electrifying free-folk portent of Riding — a revival of the Palace Brothers classic — is no less compelling, calling to mind the words of broadcaster Stuart Maconie when he praised Trembling Bells for their ability to invoke simultaneously 'the charm of folk music and the power of rock.' Ditto Ain't Nothing Wrong With A Little Longing, in which Neilson slams down a four-to-the-floor beat over a synergy of demonic krautrock keys and a dialogue between Oldham and Blackwall that scales Nancy & Lee levels of romantic intrigue.
With nine songs gone and one remaining, the album's sonic undulations find an arresting denouement in the form of an inspired cover. Adapted from Robin Gibb's 1970 solo masterpiece Robin's Reign, Lord Bless All sees Trembling Bells tease out the hymnal qualities of Gibb's original with a slow volcanic upswell which — on four minutes — explodes into heavy psychedelic technicolour. What pleases Alex Neilson when he listens back is 'a sense of a common vocabulary and identity being forged.' If, by that, he means that there isn't another band on the planet that quite sounds like Trembling Bells, it would be hard to disagree. The evidence is right here.
'I didn't know anything about Trembling Bells. I just heard them and was knocked out. I instantly became a fan.' Paul Weller
'Trembling Bells are my kind of band.' Joe Boyd
"Jesus fucking shit! These jamz claw so hard at the tatties below methinks the Lord misnamed them, having intended to say Trembling BALLS." Will Oldham
'A poetic incantation of British identity far brighter than Michael Gove's GCSE syllabus.' Stewart Lee
'This time, I'm attempting to reclaim the art of songwriting from the charity shop bargain bin.' Alex Neilson
First Word Records are thrilled to announce a brand new addition to the label - LA beatmaker and producer 14KT.
Known for his deft, soulful hip hop production, KT has broadened his palate for his FW debut to create 'For My Sanity', the first offering from his jazz-influenced project IAMABEENIE.
The album will be released in early 2019, but we couldn't wait that long to share this taster of what 14KT created as a form of escaping from his "normal" ways of making music. Case in point: the first single taken from the project - 'The Power of Same' feat. Muhsinah.
Strongly rooted in KT's spiritual practice, 'The Power of Same' is a bass and synth-heavy ode to consistency and unconditional love, laced nicely together by his signature drum lines, harmonious guitar riffs (played on the track by Stro Elliot) and the unmistakable sound of James Poyser (The Roots). Vocal powerhouse Muhsinah adds layers of emotion via her endearing delivery of the core message, and, deep in the background you can hear KT sharing a very personal routine with us all - giving thanks to God.
How much of a personal project this is, in 14KT's words "This was inspired by a bible study plan I was reading called The Power of Same. It spoke about the power of being consistent in our lives. I thought about how consistently God's love and my family's love have gotten me through my journey of life. Once I made a "skeleton" of the song, I reached out to the brother James Poyser who I was extremely blessed to work with. My brother Stro Elliot was living right down the street from me at the time. One night he walked over to my house, I played the record for him, he picked up my electric guitar and played the first thing that came to mind - which was perfect. I played the record for my brother Tall Black Guy, who suggested I reach out to Muhsinah to add vocals. I sent the record to her and two days later she sent me exactly what you hear. Amazing. That was definitely the spirit of God working. Huge shout out to my Playlist family. Love y'all."
To date, 14KT has released seven solo albums, as well as his collaborative hip hop album, 'Takin' Ls' with emcee Ozay Moore, R&B/soul album, 'Saturn Return' with singer/songwriter AB, and 'The Big Knock', together with Mayer Hawthorne as Jaded Incorporated.
Last year saw another duo collaboration album with Michigan rapper Ro Spit, entitled 'RSXGLD', a project held in high regard by the global hip hop community.14KT is also part of Jazzy Jeff's Playlist Retreat, alongside our very own Eric Lau, Tall Black Guy and Kaidi Tatham, who also turns out an unmistakably dope remix on this 7" single.
A very warm welcome to the family, KT!
'The Power Of Same' is available on 7" and all digital platforms on March 1st 2019.