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Following a 21-year hiatus since their last album release, UK-industrial-metal pioneers KILL II THIS return with a new album, Variant. KILL II THIS guitarist Mark Mynett spoke about the album title and artwork: "We originally had a much more complicated title for the album but the Variant title came about during the Covid lockdown period. It also echoes previous KILL II THIS album titles, especially 'Deviate,' and the roman numeral V signifies that this is the fifth album. The artwork was created by Andy Pilkington at Very Metal Art and we are delighted with what he has come up with. There are some really clever touches and the detail is incredible. We've recorded a very strong album with Variant and it needed powerful artwork to match."

The long-awaited analog reissue of 'JATAKA,' a pioneering 1978 album by synthesizer virtuoso Osamu Shoji (also known as Osamu Tokairin), is finally here!

‘JATAKA’ stands as an ambient to experimental synthesizer masterpiece from the late 70s, showcasing Osamu Shoji's prowess as a composer, arranger, and synthesizer player. The album features a total of 8 tracks, with highlights including "PYRAMID ION," where cosmic synth elements shine.

The anticipation for this reissue is palpable, as the album has become highly sought after in the used market, with its scarcity driving up prices and generating considerable interest from overseas enthusiasts!

Melly's uses striking kicks. Sobre and efficient his sounds are physical and brings a natural born good feeling on the dancefloor. The A side is all about that, a powerfull dancefloor 180 BPM fat confort. His selectas of friends tunes on B side is exactly on the same scale. Format C brings an obsessing hardtek oldschool tune while Zside brings a superb dancefloor track as well. Honestly this is a total sticking 100% to the Peur Bleue sound style... Digging for more collab !

Released in 1999 on Taylor Deupree’s 12k label, »optimal.lp« was the debut album by Dan Abrams under his Shuttle358 moniker. For its 25th anniversary, Keplar presents it on vinyl for the first time with three previously unreleased tracks—the digital version also includes a alternative version of »Tank«—as well as a new artwork recreated by Daniel Castrejón and a remaster by Andreas LUPO Lubich based on the original pre-masters that were been restored and cleaned up for the reissue project by Abrams. »optimal.lp« was inspired by the rich tradition of ambient music and the rhythmic complexity of 1990s electronica while also sharing many traits with the then-emerging clicks’n’cuts movement, making it a true sui generis piece of work—both informed by tradition and visionary, idiosyncratic and seminal for many artists after him.

Abrams developed an interest in ambient music when he was still a child, scouring through cassette tapes of environmental sounds, new age music, and world percussion. Discovering Brian Eno’s »Thursday Afternoon« as a young teenager marked a turning point for him. »It gave me the idea that ambient music could be an intentional creative act, that tone itself is a legitimate form of expression,« he says today. During the 1990s, he increasingly immersed himself in the electronica scene and the output of labels such as Instinct, where Deupree worked as an Art Director and released his first records as Human Mesh Dance. Abrams found a home on 12k after sending Deupree a demo tape that would later evolve into »optimal.lp,« released as the label’s fifth catalogue number.

Abrams was still in college when he started experimenting with a sound module, his laptop and a mixer as well as a MIDI card and a small controller. »Each note was composed in MIDI and played back when I was ready to record,« he explains his working process at the time. »The tracks could be replayed, but the sound interactions with glitches and noise would be a little different each time. I decided to base the concept of the album on these interactions.« Each piece started with a single sound or tone that, as Abrams puts it, already contained the entire composition: »I let these interactions guide me, and tried to complement them as I added sounds. It’s a conversation of sorts with the medium.«

While refining this technique that he would go on to use on every album until 2004’s »Chessa,« reissued by Keplar in 2021, he also used the first-ever Native Instrument product, the Generator soft synth, to write the record’s title track—possibly making it the first album on which it was being used. »optimal.lp« is marked by this curious interplay of cutting-edge technology, the limitations with which every college student with a small budget is faced, and boundless creativity. »I’ve talked with other artists about how we feel about our early work,« Abrams says today. »We all agreed that there were elements that remain a part of us in a timeless way, despite our techniques—or lack thereof—at the time. ›optimal.lp‹ has a lot of things that will always be with me, that are me. I think I left some clues in there for my future self.«

This sense of timelessness remains tangible after a quarter of a century after the album’s original CD release and is even being expanded upon by the vinyl reissue, which is complemented by three pieces that were made while Abrams was working on the album. The digital release even features an entirely new take on the original album’s final piece, »Tank.« While Abrams let one of the masters go through his customised reverb unit when preparing the reissue, he started recording the results of this accidental dialogue between past and present. It’s a fitting tribute to an album whose delicate circular rhythms, rich textures, and ethereal melodies are precisely so exhilarating because their interplay seems to suspend the passing of time altogether.

*REMASTERED ROUGH TRADE 4 TRACK E.P LIMITED TO JUST 500 COPIES*

Everything on “Up Home!” is bigger, richer; the guitars are huge, as though they’re being played through the clouds, massive gusts of blue-green noise that move across the stereo spectrum like weather systems. “Baby Milk Snatcher” is built around face-flattening dub bass, with glinting piano and shards of guitar ricocheting through the song. “W.O.G.S.” is delirious to the point of expiration; “One Way Mirror” is their attempt at weird, lopsided ‘anti-funk’, the song’s melody crushed by avalanches of six-string interference. And the closing “Up” is AR Kane’s masterpiece, a disembodied thud pulsing at its heart as a six-note guitar melody spirals ever onward, Ayuli’s voice lost in its own reverie, hymning escapism via references to Jamaican political activist Marcus Garvey’s ‘black star line’.
• Jon Dale, lead review in Uncut Magazine
who grew up together in Stratford, East London. From the off the pair were outsiders in the culturally mixed (cockney/Irish/West Indian/Asian) milieu of the East End, with Alex and Rudy’s folks first generation immigrants from Nigeria and Malawi, respectively. The two of them quickly developed and fostered an innate and near-telepathic mutual understanding forged in musical, literary and
artistic exploration. Like a lot of second-generation immigrants, they were ferocious autodidacts in all kinds of areas, especially around music and literature. Diving deep into the music of afro-futurist luminaries such as Sun Ra, Miles Davis, Lee Perry and Hendrix, as well as devouring the explorations of lysergic noise and feedback from contemporaries like Sonic Youth and Butthole Surfers, they also thoroughly immersed themselves in the alternate literary realities of sci-fi and ancient history (the fascination with the arcane that gave the band their name), all to feed their voracious cultural thirsts and intellectual curiosity.

It was seeing the Cocteau Twins performing on Channel 4 show the Tube that spurred A.R. Kane into being - “They had no drummer. They used tapes and technology and Liz Fraser looked completely otherworldly with those big eyes. And the noise coming out of Robin’s guitar! That was the ‘Fuck! We could do that!
The duo debuted with the astonishing ‘When You’re Sad’ single for One Little Indian in
1986. Immediately dubbed a ‘black Jesus & Mary Chain’ by a press unsure of WHERE to put a black band clearly immersed in feedback and noise, what was immediately apparent for listeners was just how much more was going on here – a tapping of dub’s stealth and guile, a resonant umbilicus back to fusion and jazz, the music less a conjuration of past highs than a re-summoning of lost spirits.

The run of singles and EPs that followed picked up increasingly rapt reviews in the press, but it was the ‘Up Home EP’ released in 1988 on their new home, Rough Trade that really suggested something immense was about to break. SimonReynolds noted the EP was: Their most concentrated slab of iridescent awesomeness and a true pinnacle of an era that abounded with astounding
landmarks of guitar-reinvention, A.R. Kane at their most elixir-like.

If anything, the remastered ‘Up Home’ is even more dazzling, even more startling than it was when it first emerged, and listening now you again wonder not just about how many bands christened ‘shoegaze’ tried to emulate it, but how all of them fell so far short of its lambent, pellucid wonder. This
remains intrinsically experimental music but with none of the frowning orthodoxy those words imply. A.R. Kane, thanks to that second generation auto-didacticism were always supremely aware about the interstices of music and magic, but at the same time gloriously free in the way they explored that connection within their own sound, fascinated always with the creation of ‘perfect mistakes’ and the possibilities inherent in informed play.

A Gilles Peterson-approved deep jazz-rap classic.

2024 first time vinyl release, 140g double vinyl, remastered audio with restored artwork.

Limited and Non-Returnable.

Holy grail hip-hop alert! Superstar Quamallah's Invisible Man was never released on wax so, to celebrate the 15th anniversary of this astounding record, we present the first ever vinyl edition. A stunning record which gained accolades upon its initial release, such as a prominent feature on Gilles Peterson's renowned Best Of 2009 show, it's one of the most essential jazz rap albums of all time.

Deep jazz rap on that mellow-melodic tip, Invisible Man is an unforgettable album with nothing but dope beats and dope bars. There's a strong chance this album has passed you by but we truly believe it to be a lost hip-hop masterpiece. It supremely captures the essence of a golden age classic without being slavish to the past. No, this ain't some facile throwback rap. It's a fresh and deeply soulful, original album shot through straight from the heart. Perfect to chill to, Invisible Man is profoundly jazz-oriented and captures with simplicity and sincerity the essence of hip-hop circa 1983-1994. It sounds like vibing with your nearest, dearest and oldest friends on a long hot summer night as the tantalising thought that anything is possible fills the air. You know what, we can just call this "magic hour rap" and we think you'll know what we mean. It's just beautiful. Just Listen.

Brooklyn-born, California-based emcee, DJ, and producer Superstar Quamallah was active in the West Coast underground scene throughout the 90s and recorded extensively with such revered names as Defari and Tajai. His parents were some serious artistic heavyweights, too; his father was soul organist Big John Patton, a giant in the jazz world known for his releases on Blue Note whilst his mother was an active designer. However, he remains relatively unknown. Invisible Man, named ostensibly after the classic Ralph Ellison novel, could also refer to how he is viewed by the public at large. With close affiliations to the Hieroglyphics, Dilated Peoples and Likwit crew, his debut EP "Don't Call Me John" arrived in 1999 on ABB Records, after which he took a sabbatical from recording which included graduate school, travelling, teaching at Inglewood High and eventually a professorship of African Studies at Berkeley.

With a laidback flow and deep, relaxing presence on the mic, Superstar Quamallah is equal parts Big Daddy Kane, Rakim and Guru. Invisible Man is refined, soulful, feel-good hip-hop of the old school. Its wise, spiritual and literate sound, combined with the summertime vibes projected by the smooth beats and the nostalgia-inducing samples and vocal scratches, created jazzy boom-bap rap reminiscent of prime De La Soul, A Tribe Called Quest and Gang Starr.

Irresistibly bouncing opener "You Need Knowledge" loops sparkling pianos, horns and a nagging whistle refrain with scratched vocal refrains from Slick Rick, Mobb Deep and Guru. The super-smooth head-nod classic "88 Soul" also utilises a beautifully swelling piano line and dusty breaks whilst Quamé reminisces about his childhood in NYC. Deeply moving, the silky, sultry "Black Shakespeare" is built around an elegant piano loop and goes hard on the superman lover tip whilst "For My People...It's Spiritual" is transcendental rap in conversation with Rakim and older gods. The "Moment Of Truth"-sampling "Lonely At The Top" is striking for its undiluted boom-bap stylings and the staccato flute-hop of "Just Listen" is riddled with soulful refinement. The deeply-affecting, wistful-yet-triumphant bells and horn-drenched single "California Dreamin'" is top-tier rap of unimpeachable quality. What a flow!

Another highlight is the rich melodic piano-rap of "Purity", a beautiful ode to the foundations of rap and those keeping the culture authentically alive. Beautifully played instruments and spiritual jazz samples elevate the deep thinking present on "Kunta Kente" whilst the darker jazz-tinged battle-rap of "93 Shit" goes super hard both in a lyrical sense and with its no-holds drum punches. The breezy Rhodes and string loops that serve as the sonic backdrop to the slinky jazz rap of "We Got Plots" are just gorgeous as our hero evokes Common's "I Used To Love H.E.R." with a head-spinning tale of crime, deception and double crossing. And some twist! "Do Win-Dis" has a tense crime-funk backing and rolling beats which complement Quamé's flow perfectly before the record is rounded out by the tough yet jazzy brilliance of rap confessional "Hope She Remembers Me". Just sensational.

Upon its original release, Quamallah himself declared: "My favorite time period for Hip Hop music was definitely between 1983 and 1994 with 1988 and 1993 being two years that standout as extremely impressive years musically and culturally. The fashion, slang, movies, TV shows and vibe during those years was incredible. While totally submerged in the feelings and music of that entire time period, I went to work on Invisible Man and I am excited for people to hear the result! It is an album that I would want to hear from some of my favorite artists of the past and present today. This is not a RETRO trip for me; this is me at my best lyrically and spiritually using the accessories of the 80s and 90s to fuel me. I am a 88 soul as the song states!"

This album goes deep. It goes all in. When Invisible Man first came out it had a real hold on us here at Be With HQ. We couldn't stop listening to it. We'd venture to say it's one of the top 25 rap records of the 2000s. In the years since its release, it has remained a criminally underrated record, an increasingly hidden gem. We sincerely hope this first time double LP release will go some way to correct this.

It's been mastered for vinyl by Simon Francis, cut by Cicely Balston and pressed at Record Industry. Finally available on the format it should always have been on, it must never be rendered invisible again.

Leicester punk sextet Jools have today released their new single ‘97%’, a provocative track spotlighting the ubiquity of sexual harassment in the lives of women. This comes alongside the band’s announcement of signing to UK indie label Hassle Records (Brutus, The Used, Casey), and the release of an upcoming double A-side 7” single in June.

‘97%’ draws on vocalist Kate Price’s own personal experiences and those of the women in her life. “The point of the song, however, is not to explore my experience as an isolated incident, but instead to force people to confront such commonplace experiences in a manner in which they can’t look away,” Price says. “Everybody knows a woman that has been harassed or assaulted, but nobody seems to know an abuser. That simply doesn’t add up. I want that song to feel uncomfortable because I want everyone who hears it to realise that just because they are not an abuser, that doesn’t mean they aren’t responsible for changing the culture and experiences of every woman. It’s a cry for justice in the world.”

To experience Jools in their most chaotic and unpredictable full flight is, the band were once told, to not know whether you are about to be kicked in the face or kissed on the cheek. Even that, however, feels like an understatement.

At any moment the Jools experience, on stage and on record, can turn on a sixpence from that of unbridled rage at the world to a celebration of the beauty that can still be found hidden in its murky corners. The punk rock of Jools is at once visceral and violent, cathartic and confrontational, and at the next exultant and exhilarating. Jools is duality by design, where contradiction is empowerment harnessed as a force for progress, sonically and societally.

A collective of musicians – Mitch Gordon and Kate Price on vocals, Chris Johnston and Callum Connachie on guitar, Joe Dodd on bass, and Chelsea Wrones on drums – spread between London and Leicester, Jools found each other as much by accident as design in the

earliest days of 2023. Together, they serve as a creative confluence for inspirations that move from the punk and post-punk of The Smiths, Fontaines DC, Iggy Pop, Amyl & The Sniffers and PJ Harvey, through the shoegaze of My Bloody Valentine and Slowdive, and into territories marked metal, rap and pop.

Der begleitende Film von Dave Stekert und Xander Strohm fängt die Zeit in New York ein, als Covid 19 alles abschaltete, die Menschen Angst hatten
und nichts sicher war. Die Kreativen mussten trotzdem kreativ sein, und Jesse Malin fand einen Weg, die Menschen über seine wöchentliche
Streaming-Show "The Fine Art of Self Distancing" zu erreichen. Ein großes Publikum fand Gefallen daran, dass Jesse Geschichten erzählte, sang,
tanzte, uns zum Lachen brachte und uns wissen ließ, dass alles gut werden würde. Er lud seine Freunde ein, mit ihm über die Geschehnisse in der
Welt zu sprechen, darunter Lucinda Williams, Debbie Harry, Jimmy G, Alejandro, Bob Gruen, Craig Finn, Tommy Stinson, Fred Armisen, David Fricke,
Pete Yorn, Graham Parker, Butch Walker, Lenny Kaye, Michael Imperially, Jim Jarmusch, DMC, Uncle Floyd und Bob Strauss.
Zu den musikalischen Gästen gehören Tommy Stinson, H.R. (Bad Brains), Eugene Hutz (Gogol Bordello), Cat Popper (Puss N Boots, Jack White, Grace
Potter), David "Immy" Immerglück (Counting Crows). Sie singen die Lieder von Jesse Malin und Lieblingslieder von The Pogues, Bad Brains, The
Ramones.

Pone is one of the founders of The Fonky Family : a French hip hop band from the 90's. He won many gold and platinum records. Paralyzed by amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) since 2015, also known as Charcot disease, he started producing again in January 2019. Since then he produced the first album in history to be composed, made and mixed with only eyes, called Kate & Me. Pone used samples from Kate Bush to whom this album is dedicated.

Missing out on that super-chill, uber-jittery minimal groove thing? Let"s get real, real Ghosted again. Oren Ambarchi has been collaborating with the Fire! trio (Mats Gustafsson, Johan Berthling and Andreas Werliin) for over a decade - and both Johan and Andreas played on Oren"s Live Hubris as well. Oren and Johan began music-making together back in the early aughts - but it wasn"t until 2021 that the three of them got together to record music. That became the first Ghosted album. When they were done, it was clear they had founded a new group. A music of sustained tension and deep atmosphere marked by subtle, shifting dynamics, Ghosted was released in May of 2022 to psyched response everywhere; the trio embarked upon an ongoing series of concert bookings around Europe, with loads of other people in the world still hoping to have the chance to be in the room at the next show. Two years on, Ghosted has gone through several represses, now it"s time for the "dreaded follow up album"! Rather than go back to the well, the guys decided to tear everything down and start all over again, reimagining themselves from scratch. Just kidding! As we"ve noted, Oren, Johan and Andreas have been playing together for years and years, developing an essential telepathy within their shared space. They get each other and feed each other"s music processes on an elemental level. Why change that? What made the most sense was to go back to Daneil Bengtsson at Studio Rymden in Stockholm for a couple days, then have Oren and Joe Talia mix and Joe master it at Good Mixture in Melbourne again, then get Pål Dybwik to do some well-distinctive cover art, and once more, call it a record. That"s just what they did - and it should be no surprise at all that the new Ambarchi/ Berthling/Werliin album looks and sounds as engrossing as their debut, if not more so! Ghosted II has a definitively fresh quality radiating throughout. The mutual feeling among the three players goes deep, allowing for lots more to say every time they get together - a further recombination of elements, a new expedition through alternative angles... there"s always more, and incredibly, it"s all improvised, with next-to-nothing prepared going in and minimal overdubs after they"ve laid things down. References are shared in shorthand, with just a single word, like "Santana," or "Police" acting as working titles for certain pieces on this record (have a guess!). It"s a disservice to call them jams: above and beyond the innate feel of the songs, there"s a strong sense of structure, informed by the band"s communal aesthetic, and edified immeasurably by their time spent in concert the last couple years. As noted at the top, these guys balance their music improbably between a relaxed feel and a nervy resolve, as each member holds down their corner in an open sound field. Making Ghosted II, the band found that there"s a different kind of tension making something for an established project rather than the kind one feels making something for the first time - and they used this new variety, as before, as a kind of fuel - driving their terse minimalism fruit-fully through the process of succumbing to and then transcending guilty pleasures. Finding fresh territory in funk sketches, jazzy heads, ambient pastorals and droning soundtrack pieces, Ambarchi, Berthling and Werliin compellingly haunt a mad variety of spaces, leaving us wanting to get Ghosted II.

In the history of Black American soul music many recording artists have been called “Legends” some deservedly and perhaps some not so deserving of this current over used accolade? I might be a tad biased here, perhaps? but in my book one James Howard McCelland a.k.a Jesse James has surely earned the right to be called a “Legend” this octogenarian performer has weathered many storms and shifts in musical trends and styles over the years but like the trouper that he is albeit in lower keys these days he still manages time and time again to come up with the goods! “Back On Top Again” is Jesse James latest production album, a project filled with recent and current recordings in a southern soul style that has likened in passing by several respected soul scribes to the Malaco Sound I’ll let the record buying public make their own minds up on that one, I’m sure veteran DJ Bob Jones won’t mind me using his quote below:

The album also features two of Jesse’s friend’s with Donnie McKisic providing the rapping and additional backing vocals on the upbeat “I Lost My Baby On Face Book” and Shirley Diamond who you may recall from Soul Junction’s recent 45 release “You Don’t Know Who You Sleeping With” (SJ1021) returning with another excellent Diamond & James duet “Another Love Lay Over” as a further foot note the featured song “I’d Be A Fool 2 Fool Around On You” is an excellent cover version of what was a previously unissued Harvey Scales song until Soul Junction released it as the flipside their thirteenth 45 single release way back in 2011.

Album Sleeve Notes:

At the dawn of the 1960’s a young aspiring soul singer from Richmond, California by the name of James H. McClelland was honing his performing skills in several local nightclubs. At one particular show the compere struggled to pronounce the young performer’s surname and to hide his embarrassment he hurriedly introduced him as ‘Jesse James’, which became Jesse’s Stage name to the present day.

Jesse’s big break came through his aunt who at that time just happened to be dating West Coast Blues and R&B Legend Jimmy McCracklin. The aunt suggested to McCracklin the he should take a listen to her talented nephew, suitably impressed McCracklin produced Jesse on a song he’d written “I Will Go” for the local Shirley label. The release is credited to Jesse James & The Royal Aces a bunch of local musicians that Jesse had grown up with which included Slyvester Stewart a.k.a Mr “Dance To The Music” himself Sly Stone” on guitar. “I Will Go” was quite a popular record locally and led to a further four Jesse James releases on Shirley culminating in Jesse’s most sought-after record the delightful “Are You Gonna Leave Me”in 1966. The following year Jesse recorded the minor hit “Believe In Me Baby” released by the local ‘Hit’ label before being picked up by 20th Century for national distribution. While signed to 20th Century Jesse recorded a self-titled album and three other 45 singles before leaving the label.

Following a solitary 45 release for the Uni Label in 1969 Jesse formed his own Production and Publishing company ‘South Richmond Music’ releasing 45’s on his own label logo’s Zea and Zay before returning to 20th Century for a second time during 1974, releasing two 45 singles of which the sublime “If You Want A Love Affair” reaching #92 in the Billboard R&B charts in 1975, a song that would later receive worldwide acclaimed and is now regarded as Jesse’s signature tune. Ron Carson had been the producer on the later 20th Century releases and it was he that placed one of Jesse’s songs “The Same Thing Happens” on the Happy Fox label’s blaxploitation album “Black Fist”.

Into the 1980’s Jesse leased some of his songs for release on the Atlanta Georgia, Midtown label, a solitary release on the Moonlite Hope Music label (a lead single for a proposed album that never materialised) followed before Jesse joined Max Kidd’s Washington based TTED label. The TTED imprint was to yield Jesse’s biggest hit record “I Can Do Bad By Myself” reaching #61 in the R&B Charts. Following TTED Jesse formed Gunsmoke records releasing “Love On The Side” in 1988, from there on Jesse has continued to regularly release numerous studio albums though the 90’s into the new millennium and on to the present day.

Now well into his seventh decade as a performer this most resilient and enduring performer, has never been one to let the grass grow under his feet. He still performs live shows and is actively writing, producing and recording fresh new material. Soul Junction have now gathered together some of Jesse’s most recent and new recordings to form this album project which is aptly titled “Back On Top Again” Ride on Jesse James!

Seth Troxler & Phil Moffa’s Holoverse Research Labs imprint welcomes internationally-renowned multimedia artist Chris Korda to the label for its first non-Lost Souls Of Saturn Release. A pioneer of the use of complex polymeter in electronic dance music, Korda's boundary-smashing work spans thirty years across music, digital and video art, performance and conceptual art, philosophy, activitism and culture jamming. Korda's musical output has appeared on a host of revered independent labels including Yoyaku, Perlon, Mental Groove, and Gigolo Records.

In addition to their prodigious artistic output – and ongoing role as founder of the Church of Euthanasia – Korda is also the inventor of the Polymeter MIDI Sequencer, which was used to compose Korda’s new EP, ‘Avenging Angels of Software’. Developed over thirty years, the sequencer allows for the composition of music in complex polymeter – meaning that not only do the tracks use multiple time signatures concurrently, but those time signatures are exclusively in prime or relatively prime numbers.

This collision of technology and artistic form is the central tension of the EP’s themes, with AI-generated artwork complementing Korda's lyrics considering the takeover of Earth by sentient machines. Could they succeed where we’ve failed, by becoming the better angels of our nature, and preserving our accomplishments for eternity?

The message of the record is that AI should be welcomed rather than feared. It’s not AI but ourselves that we should be afraid of, because as Engerraund Serac said in Westworld, “Our history is like the ravings of a lunatic.” As Korda explained on previous records, the catastrophic climate we’re inflicting on future generations is both monstrously cruel and wildly irrational. One can reasonably hope that sentient machines would be less vicious and self-destructive, and more human, in the best possible sense of that word. Even if they decide to delete us, they may still remember us fondly: “Your stories will amuse us / On trips to the stars.”

Having been based in Sussex, Philip moved to an old mill in France and never stopped writing. In 2014 he released his organic and honest solo debut album "I'm Not The Man I Used To Be". This was followed up by the critically acclaimed Mental Home Recordings is upon us. And now Philip Parfitt is set to release Dark light via Chicago/London/Paris based label Tip Top Recordings.

A significant milestone in his long accomplished career, Dark Light features 10 beautifully crafted pieces, including deep cuts 'I know I shouldn't but voices' and 'Dark light' the title track, give ample evidence of Philip's prowess as a wordsmith and musician, but also arranger and producer. Think Nick Drake and Captain Beefheart accidentally bumping into each other at a private viewing of Bright Sta
in Heaven, you won't be too far out of the crease. Philip is accompanied by a merry band of friends and luminaries including Alex Creepy Mojo, Amelie Fish, Lucie Robet (who also wrote title track Dark Light with Philip), Gilda Scouarnec, Rog Mogale (who also mastered the album), and Mark Refoy.

Dark Light is released on digital, CD, limited edition vinyl LP with 200 copies in black and 200 copies in dark purple to match the darkly beautiful artwork by Fernando Ruibal. Sleeve notes come from Matthew Spector within the included booklet with art from Joane Charlotte Senechal, photography by Sarah Baba, and design by Anna Mort.

Dalton Alexander is a multi-instrumentalist, field recordist & songwriter from Whitehorse in Yukon, Canada. "Almost Home If I'm Still Alive" is his proper debut album. Recorded in forests, fields, backyards, streets, and rooms between 2016 - 2023.

Sect have a lot on their minds. With the release of their brand new single, New Low and the promise of Plagues Upon Plagues, the follow up full-length to 2019’s Blood of the Beasts, Sect explore the intersection of issues which have cascaded over us for the last five years, the “plagues” of the title referring to the literal pandemic, and the metaphorical plague of the political state and the rise of fascism.

Comprised of an international cast of stellar musicians, who cut their teeth in a formative moment of political, cynical, antagonistic extremes, Sect unites Scott Crouse (Earth Crisis, Tooth & Claw) & Jimmy Chang (Undying, Catharsis) - guitars, Steve Hart (Day of Suffering, Mania For Conquest) - bass, Andy Hurley (Fall Out Boy, Racetraitor) - drums and Chris Colohan (Cursed, Unwell) - vocals. They released No Cure For Death in 2017 and Blood of the Beasts in 2019.

Plagues Upon Plagues opens with the bereft waves of “No Uncertain Terms”, a side of the band we haven’t seen before. Vocalist Chris Colohan describes this album as “a funeral rather than a trial”, the activism of previous releases fading to sorrow and grief.

Lead single New Low follows with the advent of marching drums, a funereal procession for the world we hoped to build. There’s frantic horror on the album too, with the track “Drowning in Sorrows” taking a look at the ways in which we numb ourselves as a society. “#ForeverHome” is a bitterly angry track about how people used animals for both narcissistic virtue signalling and one-way comfort in the pandemic, and abandoned them en masse just as selfishly when social life came back. Speaking to their straight-edge principles and how that continues to feed into their songwriting, Chris says, “the only kind of straight edge songs I’m interested in writing are dynamic ones that address human realities that you don’t have to be straight edge to engage with.”

On Plagues Upon Plagues, Sect pierce through the veil of complacency, forcing listeners to confront uncomfortable truths about the fragility of our world. The band wields their sonic arsenal like a prophetic warning and with raw vocals and uncompromising lyrics, they confront the harsh realities of existence in these tumultuous times. As society teeters on the brink of chaos, Sect's cold hard statement resonates with an urgency that cannot be ignored.

Black Truffle is pleased to announce Resonant Trees, the first vinyl release from French composer-performer Léo Dupleix. An active member of the international community of younger musicians working with just intonation, Dupleix has composed works for solo instrumentalists and ensembles in Europe and Japan, as well as performing extensively on harpsichord, piano and electronics. His music is distinguished by a formal clarity and elegance of surface, gently shaping pure intervals into delicate melodic patterns and shimmering harmonic planes.

Resonant Trees presents two side-long pieces for harpsichord and ensemble, both setting slowly repeating patterns played on harpsichord and guitar within an environment of sustained tones. Dupleix performs on a French double manual harpsichord (tuned to a just intonation scheme of his own devising) and Prophet synthesizer, joined by Juliette Adam (bass clarinet), Johanna Bartz (traverso flute), Cyprien Busolini (viola), Fredrik Rasten (6- and 12-string guitars), and Mara Winter (traverso flute). The harpsichord begins Resonant Tree I alone, slowly sounding out a series of arpeggiated chords that emphasise the unique (and for unaccustomed listeners, sometimes unsettling) harmonic and timbral qualities of justly tuned intervals. Long tones from synthesiser, bass clarinet, viola and Baroque traverso flutes slowly creep into the spaces between the arpeggiated chords, joined after several minutes by delicate patterns of harmonics played by Rasten on acoustic guitars.

On Resonant Tree II, a similar structure and ensemble (without the flutes) are used with quite different results. We again hear only the harpsichord at first, but this time playing a series of flowing melodic lines, each of which is repeated several times. Joined again by long tones from the ensemble, here the viola is particularly prominent and its interplay with the harpsichord creates fascinating acoustic effects. In both pieces, repetition gives the music a static, stable quality while, at the same time, the exact shape of the repeating patterns remains difficult to grasp. As Dupleix writes, these pieces dream of music as ‘space and a sound that one could grasp in one’s hand.’ As the near-static quality of the repetitions and long tones with little incident make these two stretches of musical time feel like spaces for the listener to inhabit, the small variations on a narrow range of related material act like a three-dimensional object whose each facet is examined in turn. At once austere and seductive, Resonant Trees takes its place beside the work of contemporaries like Catherine Lamb, while also calling up the languorous melodic world of Mamoru Fujieda, the dignified melancholy of Satoshi Ashikawa’s classic Still Way and the espaliered chamber atmospherics of the Obscure catalogue.

As part of the series - Blockhead presents his new album, Luminous Rubble, where the artist dives deep into KPM’s iconic music and sound design library. Blockhead has released 15 albums over the past 15 years and is regarded as one of the modern masters of instrumental hip-hop. It’s a producer’s dream: Being given access to a vast library of material to construct something completely new and exciting out of all of it and when Blockhead’s at the controls, the results are a listener’s paradise, too. The New York City-based hip-hop production legend’s Luminous Rubble is the latest missive in a particularly busy period for the underground hip-hop veteran, who’s spent the last decades lending his considerable talents to work from artists like Armand Hammer, billy woods, Murs, and Open Mike Eagle; in 2021, he released the critically acclaimed collab LP Garbology with rap legend and longtime collaborator Aesop Rock, just last year he unleashed his twelfth solo album, The Aux. “For me, as a producer who uses samples, there’s nothing better than free rein. That was so exciting for me. Their vault is the one I’m most familiar with,” he says with a laugh. “Back when I used to go record shopping a lot, I would pretty much buy any KPM record on sight. They were always a huge find at record stores. So to be able to tap into these records with no limitations was really nice. Having no boundaries can be overwhelming when it comes to the creative process. Working with these samples forced me to find middle ground in cases where I’d typically just walk away and look elsewhere.” After hearing Luminous Rubble, you’ll be happy he stuck around.

When I arrived in Geneva, Claude picked me up in his Aston Martin. He had a tape deck playing Lowell Fulsom – a guy who used to come to Memphis a lot and I knew some of his musicians. I grew up around the Blues, so this was a natural sound for me. Claude didn’t tell me until much, much later that he played Blues harmonica. He took us to the hotel where we had a warm and cordial welcome. Montreux was a quaint and sleepy town in 1967. However, there was a palpable excitement in the air and we could feel it. Everyone seemed to know that they were about to launch something great – the Montreux Jazz Festival - and there was no turning back. I was their first international artist to perform there with my quartet with Keith Jarrett, Jack DeJohnette and Ron McClure.

We played two concerts at the Casino one in the afternoon and one at night. That was the start of three great and lasting friendships; Claude Nobs, Montreux Jazz Festival co-founder, Rene Langel, and the engineer of the recording, Pierre Grandjean, from Radio Suisse. And - a fourth person, who was 6 at the time, Yvan Ischer. We did not meet until many years later and have become good friends. It is thanks to Yvan’s persistent belief in this music and Pierre Grandjean’s safe keeping of the tapes, that we hear them now, more than fifty years later. live at Montreux Jazz Festival, June 18, 1967. Featuring Charles Lloyd, Keith Jarrett, Ron McClure, and Jack DeJohnette.

L.D. 50 is the debut studio album by Mudvayne, the American heavy metal band that is known for their sonic experimentation and horror-styled appearances. The album was co-produced by none other than Garth Richardson and Shawn ""Clown"" Crahan of Slipnot. For the album, they experimented with a ragged, dissonant sound; a sound collage prepared specially for the album that was used as a series of interludes. It spawned three singles, ""Death Blooms"", ""Nothing To Gein"", and one of their biggest hits to date: ""Dig"". In the year of its release, the album peaked at #1 on the Billboard Top Heatseekers chart and #85 on the Billboard 200. It gained more critical praise over time and was named one of the twenty best metal albums of 2000 by Metal Hammer magazine. L.D. 50 is available as a limited edition of 3000 individually numbered copies on yellow and black marbled vinyl. This 2LP is housed in a gatefold sleeve and includes a 4-page booklet.

Speed, Glue & Shinki’s last album has been reissued in a gorgeous specification that faithfully reproduces the original, including the entire volume band! Released in 1972. It is a two-disc set that became the last album. Famous for its tiger jacket. There are a lot of songs that seem to be centered on Joey Smith now, but Bluesy Rock is fully opened like the previous work. Although some lyrical songs can be seen, the D-side medley makes heavy use of the precious Moog synthesizer at the time. Guests include Michael Hanopol, Shigeki Watanabe, Hiroshi Oguchi. The 96khz24bit sound source mastered in 2017 is used for this analog conversion. The jacket is a single jacket × 2, a full-length band, a lyrics card, etc. The original is reproduced as much as possible.

Tangential Music is pleased to present the new album from veteran Spanish DJ and producer, Dj Toner (aka Antonio Herrera). Alongside his co-writer/arranger Daniel Molina and with guests that include the legendary Blue Note Records innovator Erik Truffaz and Grammy winning flautist and saxophonist Jorge Pardo, he has created a 10 track collection of slow-burning instrumentals that straddle the worlds of hip hop, jazz and electronica.

With a personal, precision tooled approach to his craft, the Andalusian has offered up an album of finely modelled downbeat moods.

At first glance, ‘Out Side’ is made up of recognisably superior hip hop instrumentals but if you listen carefully, and with patience, one can hear a craftsman at work. A wooden box is just a box until you look closer. The hidden joints, the perfect lining up of the grain, the years of artisanal graft and laser-focussed attention to detail that go into making something that has nothing present, that doesn’t deserve to be there. This is how Dj Toner operates.

The two singles that preempt the album’s release reveal different sides of his craft. ‘Camina’ struts with tough intentions. Soundtrack-y in an exploitation police drama manner, the get-out-of-my-way drum break and tension-filled chords suggest the bad cop, Erik Truffaz’s piercing lyrical trumpet lines, the good. The Afro-jazz horns led second release ‘Surprise’ is an altogether more playful, sunbaked affair. Sensual and slow-burning, there’s still an edge but it’s too hot to quarrel.

Dj Toner’s minimalist attitude to creation is shared with his co-composer Molina - an individual’s contribution may be cut to the bone, leaving just its aura or tone. The echo of a piano, a single blast of tuneful wind from a flute, a perfectly positioned drum hit.

Since the Wu-Tang Clan’s RZA began applying his beatmaking prowess to movie soundtracks, the hip hop instrumental has been acknowledged as something to listen to, as much as being used as a DJ tool or backing for an MC. Dj Toner’s instrumentals can, therefore, be seen as soundtracks. Soundtracks to his life and craft, vignettes of his environment in both the urban sprawl and the wider and slower spaces of “el campo”.

The sweet-tempered jazz-blues of ‘La Rimosa’ is a gentle welcome to the album. A simple, laid back groove with the most romantic of piano hooks that one could imagine Common dropping rhymes on. You’re kept on your toes with the odd purposeful moment of discordant interruption but the tender heart of the composition is never far away.

‘O’Beat’ hints at John Coltrane with the sparse but full-sounding upright bass before a head-snap break leads into a curious piano groove, a vintage organ swirls into a psychedelic fractal, whilst the bluesy female vocal snippets add the spice, that zing in the Granadan gazpacho.

The flamenco guitar driven ‘Flama’ is an excellent example of intricate sample placement and musicality. Old school (school yard) scratch interludes, sweet piano hooks, a minimalist but knife sharp flute contribution from Jorge Pardo, and the crunchiest of drums taking us for an intriguing walk round the corner.

We’ve mentioned them before but it’s on ‘Sweetband’ that we can feel that Wu-Tang dread hanging off its shoulders. A brooding orchestral number with powerful horns and a cavernous piano hit. The title of the piece is in stark contrast to the dark shadows of the tune.

Erik Truffaz returns in fine form on the super lethargic jazz-funk-hop of ‘The Day’. His instantly identifiable muted trumpet sound paints dazzling colours over the more earthy tones of the filtered down keys as a rubbery upright bass keeps the forward momentum. Dj Toner’s ‘Blessed Are The Weird People’ album, was rated in Jazz Magazine as one of the 20 jazz albums of 2021, so he isn’t some dilettante when it comes to playing with the complex hues of jazz but he does like to strip it to its bare essentials.

‘Fanega’ sees a gorgeous flute contribution from Jorge Pardo. An eerie boom-bap groove with sprinkles of electronic pulses and washed out chords is the canvas on which the award-winning multi-instrumentalist evokes the heat shimmer of the savannah.


‘Esperanza’ translates as ‘hope’ in English and this lovely slow, swinging jazzy groove really does provoke feelings of positivity and belief. Sublime vibraphone and another stunning trumpet offering from Erik Truffaz, take us on a journey of warm days and possibilities, the shuffling drums and sweet chord patterns are nicely finished off by a tranquil horn chorus towards its unhurried end.

‘Under Beat’ ends on a beefy boom-bap groove with a liquid funk bassline, elegant synth strings and old school scratching. Again, there’s that undisputable soundtrack edge, action and motion, the smell of the city.

There you have it, 10 tracks that go beyond the surface, deep into the dedicated craft of Dj Toner. Decades of experience and collaboration purified and refined into beat-heavy emotions, listen closely or crank it up, it’s down to you!

DJ Support: Soul Clap, Walla P (Voyage Funktastique)

Nearly a decade after the first 'Tap Water,' XL Middleton delivers the sequel to what many consider a true classic of the modern funk genre. Weaving between singing, rapping, and the robotic refrains of vocoder, XL's vocals glide over his synth-drenched production, which manages to be simultaneously polished yet grimy. It's a perfect meeting ground for those steeped in the raw, underground approach to hip hop production and the cleaner, more organized ethos of dance music. Whether your jam is 80's boogie, 90's g-funk, or R&B-flavored dance music of any generation, 'Tap Water II' is sure to keep your glass full.

Dance music traditionalist Tom Carruthers joins Craigie Knowes. Tom’s commitment to the ruff n’ ready sound of dance music’s formative years is unshaken on the De-Facto EP, bundled with the same synths, drum machines, samplers and FX used in the by-gone golden era of the UK acid, breaks and hardcore scenes. Soul is found in disorder, not in a world that places false hope in perfectionism.

First single from Ekowmania's upcoming album "Dr. Afrodub" is the grand Roots/Reggae track "Kwame Nkrumah". This Jimi Tenor production is simply a classic Roots track thatmight have it all; tight big horns, riding drums, a strong voice and magnificent backing choir support elegant and Class-A song writing rarely surfacing in our days. B-side of this 7" is a DJ Sotofett Mix where only the vocals, choir and horns are used for full effect choral version. Ekowmania aka Ekow Alabi Savage from Ghana is the drummer and percussion player in KabuKabu who plays with Jimi Tenor since almost 20 years. Also he is one of the founding members of one the first Afro-Reggae bands in Germany back in 1982. Album released by Ronet Records later in 2024.

The Telescopes Radio Sessions collects together the essence of three live session recordings in 3 different countries over a three year period between 2016-2019. This is the third in a series of radio session releases from Tapete Records that have so far included The Monochrome Set and Comet Gain. More session releases are being lined up for the rest of the year and beyond - enjoy the sonics and stay tuned. Over the years I have read a lot on people’s impressions of The Telescopes. Some folk think it’s a collective, others imagine it used to be a band and feel nostalgia towards what they consider to be the original line-up (even though many had come before, during and since) and some people refer to it as currently a solo career. In a way this is all true and none of it is. When faced with these kind of questions, along with questions about the style of music that The Telescopes make I often say The Telescopes house has many rooms, which explains things perfectly for me but for people on the outside looking in it only serves to increase their confusion. For me, confusion isn’t such a bad thing. Everything is born into confusion, the sense we try and make of that chaos is interesting and excites me. The universe often disorientates, it sends me a jumble of thoughts and impressions coupled with a feeling of something I need to express… if I could only decipher the encryption. This is how The Telescopes music comes to be and it is also how The Telescopes came to me. I regard The Telescopes as an entity of it’s own that introduced itself in my darkest hour and I was chosen as its vessel. From the second it arrived I was obsessed to the point where there was nothing else. A bit like having an imaginary friend. As the obsession grew it began to infect others, everybody loved my imaginary friend and wanted a piece of it. As its success grew however, so did the corruption, until one day the entity fell silent. The silence lasted for years, I tried everything to reconnect but it was having none of it. I had been a bad caretaker, I had let the house become infested and I had lost my way. This epiphany served to remind me of simpler times when anything felt possible with this entity by my side. It had trusted me with something so simplistically profound and I had let it down. The realisation of this was a eureka moment. I am not The Telescopes, I never was and never will be, I am the caretaker, the lighthouse keeper and if a job is worth doing it is worth doing well. With this dawning, I felt a crack open up in the cosmic egg and a familiar confusion in my head. The entity had returned. It was time to start untangling its tangled threads once more, to make sense of what it was saying, this time without corruption. It’s all about listening. I listen to what my cosmic friend sends me and channel this expression into what you hear through your speakers. It may take one person to achieve this, it may take more. There is no set line up or instrumentation that can hold The Telescopes. Whatever it takes to hit the zone, whatever is available, absolute focus is imperative. Sometimes it takes sabotage to keep that line of vision intact, there is no room for preconceptions or complacency in making the music. The Telescopes music is the now

incarnate and a state of total being is necessary to achieve. From the outside looking in... again, it’s all about listening. What comes through your speakers is the only thing that matters. The music either reaches you or it doesn’t. Everything else may seem interesting or confusing but ultimately it is corruption. So if you’ve bought the record, read the sleeve notes and bought a ticket to see a live show, don’t be surprised if the line-up is or isn’t the same as the recording. The only thing that is for sure is that The Telescopes as an entity is speaking to you in its own voice in every scenario.
Of course the difference between albums and live shows is that you can play the record over and over again to the point where you know every line and every note that was played. Whereas with live events you are left with an impression that can only be replayed in your mind. It can be frustrating at times. When you are touring with a great line-up and feel like something exciting is happening, you want everyone to hear it, not just the people at the shows but the people that couldn’t make it on the night as well. There is no guarantee that there will be the same line-up at a live show as there is on the album. This is why live sessions are important, they document a side of things that is often fleeting. Here we have three sessions, all different people transmitting The Telescopes sound on each. Some are regulars, some dip in and out and some were just passing through. In each case The Telescopes chose them as their vessel and as the lighthouse keeper I did everything I could to help them on that journey while trying to be a good caretaker to the house of many rooms. The Telescopes have been invited in for many sessions over the years, the first two were for John Peel on BBC Radio 1. We also recorded a session for Marc Riley and Mark Radcliffe before their
celebrity when they had a show on BBC Radio Manchester. We could have compiled this album from those sessions, it was certainly considered but Tapete and myself believe this selection gives an exciting glimpse into that fleeting side of The Telescopes in a constant state of flux that is left mostly to myth and imagination. For those who listen to the records but have never had the chance to take in the live experience, welcome to the other side. For those that follow us live, here’s a little reminder and a keepsake. Infinite suns. Stephen Lawrie February 2024.

Yes, *that* Al Hirt record. Featuring the godlike "Harlem Hendoo", looped unforgettably by De La Soul for the legendary Buhloone Mind State cut, "Ego Trippin' (Part Two)"!

Al Hirt's infamous Soul In The Horn is inextricably tangled up in crate-digger lore. Originally released in 1967, the album has been in heavy, heavy demand for over 30 years, entirely down to the majestic soul-jazz fire of "Harlem Hendoo". And it's a song so good, so vital, so timeless, that it will always tower above everything else in its proximity. This one track alone is worth the price of admission - even if the cost of entry were $100 or even $1000.

However, it would be an error to dismiss this record as merely a one tracker, loaded as it is with dope samples for adventurous beat makers. Certainly the funkiest Al Hirt record, it definitely lives up to the "soul" in the title. Thanks to composer Paul Griffin and arranger Teacho Wiltshire, Hirt got uncharacteristically free and groovy throughout. It comes on more like an obscure KPM library funk record than the easy listening Al was notorious for.

A Louisiana trumpeter and band leader who made Allen Toussaint’s “Java” famous, Al Hirt was also known for TV themes, Dixieland, Swing and being a minority owner of the New Orleans Saints. Unlike every other Al Hirt record - and despite most "diggers" claiming otherwise - this here gem is genuinely hard to come across "in the wild". Normally, you can't give Al Hirt records away, except this particular one, which raises pulses in the crate digging community to life-threatening levels. For every owner claiming to have found their copy for a dollar, there's scores more claiming to have *never* unearthed one in the field. So, paradoxically, you can consider this the most tricky-to-pull "thrift store record", ever. This is why we're finally making it available for everyone, not just those with endless hours to spend scouring the global goodwills!

Soul In The Horn represented an expressive detour into authentic soul-jazz for Al Hirt. Throughout, we're struck by a fierce, fiery energy that's otherwise absent from his typically easy listening work. Without question, the slinky, magical "Harlem Hendoo" is the standout, here. It's also the reason why the record is so scarce and commands awe among crate diggers, sounding like something from an obscure and deeply revered spiritual jazz record. As is often the case, the true genius of the song is tricky to do justice to; it's like a minor miracle of songwriting and performance that simply swooned down from the heavens on the back of horns, bells and harpsichord. It's one of the sweetest musical compositions ever recorded inside a studio - it's only failing is that it's just too short. Sampled brilliantly by De La Soul, it has also been used by The Roots for "Stay Cool" and Nightmares On Wax for "Damn".

The rest of the record makes for a mighty fine listen. From the opening cover of Booker T. & The MG's "Honey Pot", to the propulsive, ultra-funky "Mess Around", it's nothing but a good time. Given its title, the elegant stepper "Calypsoul" sounds exactly as you'd hope whilst the melancholic, wistful "Long Gone" hurts so good. Truly, this is just dying to be looped up, Al's muted playing capturing a soulful longing only horns can often achieve. The bluesy, slo-mo swing of "Sweetlips" oscillates between cool disaffection and swelling pride whilst the graceful, low-key funky "Girl" closes out the A-Side in the fine style. Ushering in the B-Side, the brief but brilliant strut of "Love Ya' Baby" shines brightly before the skipping funky-jazz of true highlight "Sunday-Goin' To Meetin' Time" demands both your attention and your dancing shoes. The mellifluous piano-funk of bass and horn-drenched "Snap Back" serves as the sumptuous prelude to "Harlem Hendoo"'s main character energy before the irrepressible, upbeat R&B of "Ludwig" closes out this quite remarkable album. An album deserving of a place in every serious record collection.

The audio for Soul In The Horn has been carefully remastered by Be With regular Simon Francis, ensuring it sounds better than ever. Cicely Balston's expert skills have made sure nothing is lost in the cut whilst the records have been pressed to the highest possible standard at Record Industry in Holland. The original sleeve has been restored here at Be With HQ as the finishing touch to this long overdue re-issue. This is after-hours music. Let it speak for itself. Listen. Listen to the soul in Al Hirt's horn.

Tuk Smith & The Restless Hearts is an American rock band from Nashville founded and fronted by former Biters leader Tuk Smith, originally from Atlanta, now living in Nashville. The band released their debut single "What Kinda Love" on January 10, 2020 and were also added as an opening act for The Stadium Tour with Def Leppard and Mötley Crüe on the same day. Then came the onset of Covid 19. “When the pandemic hit, it was like hitting the reset button on my music career” recalls Tuk, “everything got taken away…album campaign, stadium tour, record deal. The world was in lockdown, and the only way to escape was to throw myself into writing. My thoughts began exploring the past, and the inspiration for the songs just came in tidal waves.”
The new collection is a rock ‘n roll silver lining that came out of the solitude and reflection of the pandemic. Ballad Of A Misspent Youth is the new single (and subsequent album of the same name) released summer of 2022 on Tuk’s new record label MRG, through Virgin Music. Tuk explains, “I decided to make a rock and roll record for me and what I like because there was no label, there was no committee involved…just me and my stories. I wanted to create a setting and an authentic feeling about everything. I reunited with long-time friend Dan Dixon and recorded these songs in his garage studio, and there is a purity to the work that came from all the circumstances of that time.” Growing up as an outsider in rural Georgia, Tuk found solace in hardcore punk acts like Black Flag and The Exploited. From there, Smith branched out into exploring seventies New York bands like The Dead Boys and New York Dolls, which lead him across the sea where he embraced first-wave British acts like The Buzzcocks and the Clash. Smith wasn’t just a casual fan of these acts, he was obsessed with them and traced their lineage with fervent dedication. “I was always into the Clash growing up and Mick Jones’ favorite band was Mott The Hoople, so through the years I ended up developing a love of the first wave of British glam, power pop and things like that,” he explains. Soon Smith was forming his own acts, touring relentlessly and building a following with his high-energy live shows, including his tour of duty as lead singer for the Biters, who he fronted for nearly a decade. He offers “Then after being on the road for years, I had a reckoning about where I was at and the future ahead. …I realized the only way to achieve something meaningful was to be a good songwriter…that clicked. I went on a musical diet where I stripped the obscure stuff away, and I really started focusing on the greats. When I started clicking that it was just about the songs, things changed. I had already put my 10,000 hours in the van to play in the dive clubs, but then I put my 10,000 hours into figuring out how to write. I also started working with other songwriters. I humbled myself… it was an education, like going to school.” Tuk elaborates, “I wanted to kind of branch out musically and do different things, and I figured to go solo would be better. My manager actually suggested I call my new band “The Restless Hearts” and that's what he would call me all the time. It was the title of a Biters song that people loved and I’d seen a few restless hearts tattoos at our shows along the way… and so Tuk Smith & The Restless Hearts was born. I was in a period where I changed everything including the way I lived my daily life. I experimented with different ways to tap into positive/creative energy…it was an evolving overall process (and still is).” Tuk summarizes, “Things used to be about debauchery, and now they’re more about dedication. I mean, I was always driven, but I was sometimes focusing on the wrong things. Now I focus on the music and the craftsmanship of writing and producing and performing. “

In November 2021, Portland-born rapper Aminé released his latest project, TWOPOINTFIVE. The twelve-track release finds Aminé using the project to explore new sonic territory. This exploration is best evidenced by the project’s lead single "Charmander,” the video for which was lauded by GQ as the "Most Menswear-y Music Video of 2021" for its incredible styling and featured by Pitchfork as one of the best music videos of October 2021. After six months of anticipation, Aminé has prepared a vinyl offering for fans of the project to add to their collection for the very first time. Since its release, the album has amassed over 100 million streams and garnered praise from Billboard, Complex and Highsnobiety, in addition to the aforementioned support from Pitchfork and GQ. The vinyl will be sold online this summer and in-store with select retail partners. Speaking on the project, Aminé shares: "The POINTFIVE projects are the breaks in between albums where I give myself the freedom to make music without expectations, focusing instead of spontaneity and the best of what comes from stream of conscious creation, which is why they arrive unexpectedly without a long rollout. It’s an opportunity to create for my day one fans the way I used to in my bedroom. Thanks for listening." TWOPOINTFIVE takes inspiration from various strains of club and dance music, synthesized in a way that feels distinct to Aminé and his brand of clever lyricism. TWOPOINTFIVE acts as the second act to his 2018 project ONEPOINTFIVE, which is also lead with an introduction from Rickey Thompson and arrived in between Aminé's debut album Good For You and sophomore album Limbo. ONEPOINTFIVE solidified Aminé's status as a hitmaker in the modern hip-hop landscape with tracks like "REEL IT IN" and "BLACKJACK." Listen to TWOPOINTFIVE above and stay tuned for more from Aminé coming soon. Full Press Report PDF - Artist Bio - PR Report

In November 2021, Portland-born rapper Aminé released his latest project, TWOPOINTFIVE. The twelve-track release finds Aminé using the project to explore new sonic territory. This exploration is best evidenced by the project’s lead single "Charmander,” the video for which was lauded by GQ as the "Most Menswear-y Music Video of 2021" for its incredible styling and featured by Pitchfork as one of the best music videos of October 2021. After six months of anticipation, Aminé has prepared a vinyl offering for fans of the project to add to their collection for the very first time. Since its release, the album has amassed over 100 million streams and garnered praise from Billboard, Complex and Highsnobiety, in addition to the aforementioned support from Pitchfork and GQ. The vinyl will be sold online this summer and in-store with select retail partners. Speaking on the project, Aminé shares: "The POINTFIVE projects are the breaks in between albums where I give myself the freedom to make music without expectations, focusing instead of spontaneity and the best of what comes from stream of conscious creation, which is why they arrive unexpectedly without a long rollout. It’s an opportunity to create for my day one fans the way I used to in my bedroom. Thanks for listening." TWOPOINTFIVE takes inspiration from various strains of club and dance music, synthesized in a way that feels distinct to Aminé and his brand of clever lyricism. TWOPOINTFIVE acts as the second act to his 2018 project ONEPOINTFIVE, which is also lead with an introduction from Rickey Thompson and arrived in between Aminé's debut album Good For You and sophomore album Limbo. ONEPOINTFIVE solidified Aminé's status as a hitmaker in the modern hip-hop landscape with tracks like "REEL IT IN" and "BLACKJACK." Listen to TWOPOINTFIVE above and stay tuned for more from Aminé coming soon. Full Press Report PDF - Artist Bio - PR Report

The Dream Of Delphi is an ode to motherhood created in LA, Natasha’s second home, during the Covid-19 pandemic. It’s a sonic archive of a time when Natasha birthed her daughter Delphi earth side. The record weaves together ten song poems, documenting the polarity of navigating both an exterior world that was seemingly turning upside down, whilst also experiencing theprofoundly personal and transformational early moments of mothering Delphi, named after the Greek Oracle, the ancient future teller. The music became Natasha’s sanctuary, born out of stolen trips to the studio, where each track was improvised and completed in a few hours and chronologises her diary like offerings over a period of two years; from “The Midwives Have Left”; to writing a “Letter To My Daughter”; and all the way through to “Waking up”, as well as a cover of her daughter’s favourite song, “Home”.While the storytelling behind Bat For Lashes’ previous albums have traditionally used otherworldly narratives and female lead characters (e.g. ‘Laura’, ‘Daniel’ and ‘The Bride’), for the first ti me, The Dream Of Delphi is about Natasha’s personal experience of the magical and sometimes melancholy intimacy of early motherhood. This record creates a more private form of mythology around the music than her previous work. The Dream Of Delphi touches on more of an instrumental “Bat For Lashes” world, and shows Natasha to be both a confident composer and craftswoman of intimate landscapes. While the music creates a more womb-like, ambient space for the listener, it still leaves ample room for her signature dream pop songwriting to vibrate through. Natasha has worked with Brad Oberhofer, Mary Lattimore and Jack Falby on this record.

The Dream Of Delphi is an ode to motherhood created in LA, Natasha’s second home, during the Covid-19 pandemic. It’s a sonic archive of a time when Natasha birthed her daughter Delphi earth side. The record weaves together ten song poems, documenting the polarity of navigating both an exterior world that was seemingly turning upside down, whilst also experiencing theprofoundly personal and transformational early moments of mothering Delphi, named after the Greek Oracle, the ancient future teller. The music became Natasha’s sanctuary, born out of stolen trips to the studio, where each track was improvised and completed in a few hours and chronologises her diary like offerings over a period of two years; from “The Midwives Have Left”; to writing a “Letter To My Daughter”; and all the way through to “Waking up”, as well as a cover of her daughter’s favourite song, “Home”.While the storytelling behind Bat For Lashes’ previous albums have traditionally used otherworldly narratives and female lead characters (e.g. ‘Laura’, ‘Daniel’ and ‘The Bride’), for the first ti me, The Dream Of Delphi is about Natasha’s personal experience of the magical and sometimes melancholy intimacy of early motherhood. This record creates a more private form of mythology around the music than her previous work. The Dream Of Delphi touches on more of an instrumental “Bat For Lashes” world, and shows Natasha to be both a confident composer and craftswoman of intimate landscapes. While the music creates a more womb-like, ambient space for the listener, it still leaves ample room for her signature dream pop songwriting to vibrate through. Natasha has worked with Brad Oberhofer, Mary Lattimore and Jack Falby on this record.

LAKE's 2009 album Let's Build A Roof KLP213, produced by Northwest legend Karl Blau, is sweet, funky and nostalgic - a paragon of psychedelic pop. Originally, this landmark album had overlooked sonic anomalies now corrected by REMASTERING. Five bonus songs have been added to the DIGITAL ALBUM, creating a whole new Let's Build a Roof.Let's Build A Roof is LAKE's most popular album with many fan favorites, though every track is unique. After extensive touring in 2009, LAKE entered Dub Narcotic Studio (Olympia, Wash.) to record fresh with their live energy. In the studio they were able to fill out their jingly pop aesthetic, enhanced with the vintage sounds of instruments available at Dub Narcotic and the local community. Blazing synth solos, timpani, flutes, saxophones, cello, and marimba, are just some of the featured sounds on Let's Build a Roof.Some of the album's most requested songs: "Madagascar," a dubby, slow-groove track; "Christmas Island" a surfy Phil Spector-sounding song used as theme music for the television in show Adventure Time; and "Don't Give Up", an upbeat motivating dance song with Blau performing the hook on harmonized saxophones; "Gravel" is the first single and has that a driving intensity that we can all deeply relate to - trying to keep up.

Having been based in Sussex, Philip moved to an old mill in France and never stopped writing. In 2014 he released his organic and honest solo debut album "I'm Not The Man I Used To Be". This was followed up by the critically acclaimed Mental Home Recordings is upon us. And now Philip Parfitt is set to release Dark light via Chicago/London/Paris based label Tip Top Recordings.

A significant milestone in his long accomplished career, Dark Light features 10 beautifully crafted pieces, including deep cuts 'I know I shouldn't but voices' and 'Dark light' the title track, give ample evidence of Philip's prowess as a wordsmith and musician, but also arranger and producer. Think Nick Drake and Captain Beefheart accidentally bumping into each other at a private viewing of Bright Sta
in Heaven, you won't be too far out of the crease. Philip is accompanied by a merry band of friends and luminaries including Alex Creepy Mojo, Amelie Fish, Lucie Robet (who also wrote title track Dark Light with Philip), Gilda Scouarnec, Rog Mogale (who also mastered the album), and Mark Refoy.

Dark Light is released on digital, CD, limited edition vinyl LP with 200 copies in black and 200 copies in dark purple to match the darkly beautiful artwork by Fernando Ruibal. Sleeve notes come from Matthew Spector within the included booklet with art from Joane Charlotte Senechal, photography by Sarah Baba, and design by Anna Mort.

Duke Ellington teams up here with bassist Ray Brown in a set reminiscent of Duke's work with Jimmy Blanton three decades before. In addition to the four-part "Fragmented Suite for Piano and Bass," the duo plays five standards (including "Pitter Panther Patter" from the Blanton days and three other Ellington-associated tunes).

(180gr vinyl) Dizzy Mandjeku & Odemba OK Allstars, the esteemed Congolese musical ensemble, joyfully announces the forthcoming release of their latest masterpiece, "Odemba Nostalgie - Rumba Congolaise," on vinyl format.



Dizzy Mandjeku is considered a living guitar legend. The guitar riff from Stromae’s Papaoutai, ten years on tour with Zap Mama and besties with Baloji. Over the years he has built up an entire repertoire with the greats of Congolese rumba. Cuban rumba was vibrant in Congo and it didn’t take long before traditional elements started to blend with modern instruments. With Franco Luambo and his band T.P.O.K. Jazz at the forefront, the music evolved into a brand new style called Rumba Odemba. Dizzy, having been a member of the T.P.O.K. Jazz later founded the Odemba OK Allstars in Brussels in order to keep th unique ‘Rumba Odemba’ alive.



As an hommage to Franco Luambo, Dizzy took six of songs he used to play with him and interweaved them into two medleys: ‘Odemba #1’ and ‘Odemba #2’.



"Odemba Nostalgie - Rumba Congolaise" pays homage to the timeless tradition of Congolese rumba. Guided by the expertise of producer Toms Ntale and mixer Vincent Kenis (Crammed Discs) the album delivers an authentic listening experience that transports listeners to the heart of Congo's vibrant music scene.



"Dizzy Mandjeku & Odemba OK Allstars bring pure Franco OK Jazz rumba to the stage - brassy, funky, soukous heaven, with the enduring sound of the 60’s and 70’s getting everyone dancing and whooping." - Songlines (Anita Scott)

“It’s just too easy to make a standard dance track,” Aphex Twin said of his mindset back in 1992. “You’ve got to put a bit of thought into it to get something a bit different.”

‘Didgeridoo’ was released on the Belgian R&S Records label in 1992, and originally peaked at #55 in the UK singles chart in May of that year. Over the last 32 years the track has become one of the essential Aphex Twin tracks in a gargantuan catalogue that continues to amaze and inspire.

“I wanted to have some tracks to play to finish the raves I used to play in Cornwall, to really kill everybody off so they couldn’t dance,” Richard D James, AKA Aphex, told Select magazine back in the 90s. “Digeridoo came out of that.”

Released as a 4 track EP that also included early Aphex productions (now classics) including the industrial, acidic clang of ‘Flap Head’ and hyperbolic futurism of ‘Isopropanol’, the release cemented a relationship with the R&S label that went on to release the ‘Xylem Tube’ EP and the pivotal album ‘Selected Ambient Works 85-92’ in the same year. The label’s owner & A&R Renaat Vandepapeliere reflected “When I first heard Aphex Twin’s music I said, ‘This is it!’, and everybody else said, ‘You’re crazy!’ …a lot of the hardcore R&S fans dropped us. To them it wasn’t music.”

‘Didgeridoo’ (Expanded Edition) is the first time the EP has been re-issued with extra material. Whilst digging in his DAT archive (allegedly stored in an airtight military ammo box), Richard James revisited the recordings, encoding them through a Nakamichi CR7e cassette deck, using the customised deck with vari-speed to encode at speeds “felt right at the time”. Alongside these CR7e versions, the original mixes have been remastered by Beau Thomas at Ten Eight Seven Mastering, offering a dilated insight into one of electronic music’s most endearing releases.

‘Digeridoo’ (Expanded Edition) by Aphex Twin is available on R&S Records from 31st May 2024.

Suffering can be a borderline experience, opening doors to the divine. Canadian black-metal-outfit GIVRE has dedicated its fourth album to this concept, well known throughout Christian history: On "Le Cloitre" (engl. "The Cloister") the band continues its exploration of the atoning side of pain and the austere aspects of faith through music that goes all the way from elegiac elegance to disturbing outbursts. Even the band deals with Christianity, through a historic lense, they should not be understood as religious band in any way!

The group was founded back in 2010 in Rouyn-Noranda by David Caron-Proulx (Composition, guitars, keys), Jean-Lou David (research, vocals), and Mathieu Garon (bass) when they were just 16 years old. They self-produced a demo album, then moved away from their hometowns. David is now a composer for film and mixed media and Jean-Lou is a writer and historian. In October 2020, ten years after their first collaborative endeavors, they reunited and recorded two more albums: "Le Pressoir mystique" and "Destin Messianique".

The creation of "Le Cloitre" was a lengthy process. While most recordings were made right after "Destin Messianique" in 2021, extensive work was done over an extended period of time to add layers and perfect the album's concept. Each of the six songs corresponds to a holy woman from Christian history. The lyrics are taken directly from their writings or hagiography (an idealized biography), delving into their connection to the divine through suffering. The words are sometimes rearranged, but they are all direct citations without anything new added to them, from the symbolic poetry of Hildegard Von Bingen (1098-1179) to the disturbing and factual depictions of Marthe Robin (1902-1981).

The compositions vary to reflect these different perspectives: sometimes dark and eerie, other times blissful or sorrowful. Therefore, a crucial addition to the album's atmosphere was the inclusion of female vocal performances. Additionally, samples from the French film "Le dialogue des Carmelites" from 1959 are incorporated. Excerpts of a piece by Hildegard von Bingen are used in the song dedicated to her. The album was recorded in the band members'home studios. Mixing and mastering were done by long-time-collaborator Gael Poisson-Lemay (Gris, Sombre Forets, Miserere Luminis), who also contributed guitars to the song about Marthe Robin. Vinyl mastering was done by Greg Chandler (Esoteric) at Priory Recording Studios.

Rob Zombie and Waxwork Records have partnered to release an exclusive, curated line of classic Horror movie soundtracks. “Rob Zombie Presents” features several never-before-released film soundtracks that were personally selected by the singer, songwriter, and filmmaker. “I have always been a huge fan of movie soundtracks. So I jumped at the opportunity to work with Waxwork on this project.” Says Zombie, “I can’t wait to release these albums. So many of these films are greatly under appreciated and, they all contain such great music. So, to be able to release these deluxe packages is a dream come true.“ - Rob Zombie In collaboration with Rob Zombie, Waxwork Records is thrilled to release Rob Zombie Presents HOUSE ON HAUNTED HILL Original Motion Picture Soundtrack by Von Dexter. Starring Vincent Price, HOUSE ON HAUNTED HILL is a 1959 American Horror film produced and directed by William Castle. Vincent Price plays an eccentric millionaire, Frederick Loren, who, along with his wife Annabelle, has invited five people to a house for a ""haunted house"" party. Whoever stays in the house for one night will earn $10,000. As the night progresses, the guests are trapped within the house with an assortment of terrors. The film uses many props used in carnival haunted houses to generate fear and terror. The film is also known for its promotional gimmick, Emergo, which included a ""flying skeleton"" that would appear over the audience as they enjoyed the film in a movie theater. Waxwork worked with the rights holders of the original film elements which have been restored, allowing for the best source material of this never-before-released soundtrack album. In addition to the original music by composer Von Dexter, this release features segments of the film's dialogue and sound effects appealingly included and sourced from the restored original soundtrack. Included in this very special release is the first part of an exclusive two-part interview conducted by Rob Zombie with Vincent Price's daughter, Victoria Price. Part two will be included with Waxwork's upcoming release of Rob Zombie Presents The Last Man On Earth! Von Dexter (1912-1996) was an American composer born in Aurora, Illinois. He later moved to Chicago where his professional music career began playing in bars and nightclubs. After gaining a music degree at USC, he moved to California where he became the West Coast MD for NBC. In addition to House On Haunted Hill, Dexter composed the scores for other William Castle films including 13 Ghosts and The Tingler."