Search:the voice

Info: Appearing on The Voice in 2012. A semi-finalist on Sir Tom Jones team. Performed nationwide including multiple appearances at London Fashion Week, the alternate Effie White in the London production of Dreamgirls (Sonia Friedman Production). Ruth Brown has also been busy with a successful 2-night sold out show at The Other Palace, a regular for Sofar sounds. Ruth returns with her EP - A Moment Of Truth.

Holly Macve's third album, Wonderland, is a stunning testament to her evolving artistry and a bold declaration of independence. Released under her own Loving Memory Records, this album is her most luxurious and cinematic work to date. Co-produced with Dan Rothman of London Grammar, it features string arrangements by David Saunders and a notable collaboration with Lana Del Rey, who has lauded Macve's voice as one of the world's most beautiful. Reflecting a period of profound personal transformation, Wonderland captures Macve's journey through moments of intense highs and lows. The album's first single, 'San Fran Honey,' explores the theme of unattainable love, blending nostalgia with self-awareness. Macve's evocative, dreamy style resonates with the cinematic quality of Lana Del Rey's work, drawing comparisons between their approaches to music. Wonderland is an exciting exploration of Macve's growth and a showcase of her unique, atmospheric sound.

Jamaican roots reggae master, and frequent collaborator with British trip hop group Massive Attack,
teams up with former PiL bassist Jah Wobble for a
brand new set of studio recordings!
•Andy’s voice is one of the most distinguished and
inimitable in reggae and thoroughly shines on such
classics as Stevie Wonder’s “Superstition” The Beatles’
“Come Together,” and America’s “A Horse With No
Name” PLUS new versions of Andy’s own classics
“Skylarking” and “Natty Dread A Weh She Want” and
more!
Wobble’s production blends reggae with modern
dub and world music for one of the richest reggae
albums likely to be relased this year!

This vinyl album by Spear of Destiny is released on Secret Records and presented with informative sleeve notes and captures the band Live on Tour in 1997. Formed in 1983 by singer and songwriter Kirk Brandon, Spear of Destiny is known for its powerful and anthemic sound, combining elements of post-punk, rock, and alternative music. Their music often features Brandon's distinctive baritone voice and lyrical themes that touch on politics, history, and personal struggle. Spear of Destiny regularly tours and produces new material. Their enduring appeal lies in their ability to blend powerful rock music with thought-provoking lyrics and an engaging stage presence.

This 45rpm by Nicola Conte anticipates the Schema Records 2-LP reissue of his 2011 album "Love & Revolution", a diverse and modern jazz album that has never been released on vinyl until now. It includes two of the most significant tracks and the main ingredients of the entire work: the soul of "Do You Feel Like I Feel" and the Latin-jazz of "Ghana". Both tracks are further embellished by Magnus Lindgren's arrangements and, in particular, by the voice of Gregory Porter, here still at the begining of his career and therefore recognised by Nicola Conte himself as a rising star of the contemporary vocal jazz scene.

Italian-Austrian sound poet & vocalist NicoNote (Music From Memory, Mille Plateaux,Rizosfera, Rough Trade) presents new album ‘REGOLA’ A suite in nine movements inspired by the mythic medieval composer Hildegard von Bingen (1098-1179) (RIYL Björk, Anohni, Meredith Monk, Elizabeth Fraser, Lena Platonos, Anna Caragnano & Donato Dozzy) An ambitious, conceptual work of hypnotic, immersive electronics & transcendent, experimental vocals, exploring the enduring influence of the polymathic German saint & philosopher.

Nine visionary and ritualistic soundscapes harnessing the voice as an instrument of transcendent expressive power; a visceral, timeless exploration of human nature. ‘REGOLA’ (Italian for ‘RULE’) is a record that calls for a contemplative form of deep listening, a time-dilating experience in which the polyphonic voices of NicoNote ascend, opening up a portal into an archaic, eternal past, where lost sounds coalesce with future revelations.

By it's very nature "Radio Chevére", the new album by Rio 18 and their host of guests cannot be categorized simply: at once both a Latin mixtape and a radio show, it's also an internationalist love letter, an offering to the goddess of Tropical Music and all that it encompasses. Ambitious, yes. Foolhardy, possibly. But sincere, committed and FUNKY? Definitely.

With the voice of guest DJ Coco Maria as our guide, "Radio Chévere" takes us on a journey through myriad musical styles and stories. Stopping off at Uruguay, Brazil, Venezuela, Colombia, Mexico, California, New York and countless other sonic destinations via Samba, Salsa, Funk, Cumbia, Joropo, Disco, Psychedelic and Electronic stylings, "Radio Chévere" is also a musical metaphor for migration - a journey from one continent, one life to another.

This album features songs in no less than four languages (Spanish, Portuguese, Welsh and English) and includes collaborations with Brazilian legends the +2's (Moreno Veloso, Kassin and Domenico Lancellotti) on the tender samba ballad, "Oh Minha Querida", transatlantic Yacht Rock gods Young Gun Silver Fox ("She's In LA"), "Sao Paulo's finest" Silvia Machete on the sweaty funk "Maybe Man" and Venezuelan Llanera and Joropo queen Luzmira Zerpa sings "Padre Tiempo", set to an incessant Afro-Venezuelan pulse. Why this torrent of eclectica now? Having recorded three albums in Welsh, predominantly inspired by Brazilian music, Rio 18 founder, Carwyn Ellis had a hard time following 2021's "Yn Rio": "We'd made a concept album with an orchestra. How do you follow that?" he says. "So I retreated to my laboratory, learned as much new music as I could, started learning Spanish too, and ended up writing tunes in a bunch of languages and styles, all of which reflected things I've learned or experienced over the last couple of years."

Since the group's inception in 2018, on the suggestion of Chrissie Hynde when he toured South America as a member of the Pretenders, Carwyn has been on a voyage of musical discovery through the styles of that continent. And in those five years he learnt a lot! But in a radical new move, Carwyn has stepped back from the mic, preferring to focus on writing and producing, handing over the vocal duties to band members Baldo Verdu (Venezuela) and Elan Rhys (Wales) plus a host of collaborators. "They can sing and express what I'm feeling so much better than I can, and both Elan and Baldo bring an authenticity and strength to our songs that surprise and elevate me. Collaborating with so many other inspiring artists on this album has helped us to grow and assimilate more styles - we're halfway through our next album already."

Rio 18 is an internationalist collective with Celtic and Latin roots and love at their core. With eye popping carnivalesque cover art by the brilliant Colombian graphic artist, Yoda, "Radio Chévere" is both timely and timeless.

For a final time, accompanied by her musicians, Cesária’s voice sweeps us away on yet another voyage of nostalgia. Entitled Mãe Carinhosa, meaning “Mother Tenderness”, this was the very last album by the Queen of Morna that was released posthumously. It includes 13 unused tracks, covering a period that goes from the recording sessions of the album Cabo Verde in 1997 to those of Rogamar in 2006.

From 1995 on, each time Cesária Évora went into the studio, her producer José da Silva got her to record more tracks than were needed for a new album. The aim was to choose a set of songs that fitted together naturally and formed a harmonious record that would delight listeners from start to finish - one of the reasons for Cesária’s commercial success. Some of the surplus tracks were left incomplete for technical reasons or because Cesária so decided. A year after her passing, this extra material was used to produce an album of 13 previously unreleased tracks, beginning with a first, unpublished version of the morna “Sentimento”, recorded in 2003.





• 180 GRAM AUDIOPHILE VINYL
• DELUXE SLEEVE WITH GLOSS LAMINATE FINISH
• INCLUDES INSERT WITH LYRICS
• CESÁRIA ÉVORA’S POSTHUMOUS ALBUM
• AVAILABLE ON VINYL FOR THE FIRST TIME
• 10TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION OF 1000
INDIVIDUALLY NUMBERED COPIES ON BLUE
& RED MARBLED VINYL



SIDE A
1. Sentimento
2. Tchon de França
3. Mãe Carinhosa
4. Dor Di Sodade
5. Talvez
6. Dos Palavras

To celebrate its 10th anniversary, Mãe Carinhosa is available on vinyl for the very first time as a limited edition of 1000 individually numbered copies on blue & red marbled vinyl.

The multi-media project Kraftwerk was started in Düsseldorf, Germany 1970 by Ralf Hütter and Florian Schneider. They set up their electronic Kling Klang Studio where they conceived and produced all Kraftwerk albums.

Kraftwerk created the soundtrack for the digital age of the 21st century. AUTOBAHN 1974, RADIO-ACTIVITY 1975, TRANS EUROPE EXPRESS 1977, THE MAN-MACHINE 1978, COMPUTER WORLD 1981, TECHNO POP 1986, THE MIX 1991, TOUR DE FRANCE 2003. Their compositions, using innovative techniques, electronic sounds and synthetic voices combined with computerised rhythms, had a major musical influence on Electro, Hip Hop, Techno and Synth-Pop. 

We are delighted to present the debut record by pianist, poet and radio producer Phil Smith. Turning his attention away from BBC feature-making, and his cult Jazz-Disjunction NTS show, Phil offers us the diaristic, heartfelt and homespun "Tagebuch".

"Tagebuch" is a collection of musical journal entries, spanning Phil's time living in Berlin from 2013—2017. Using sweetly tumbling piano as a starting point, he flexes his storytelling chops, shifting from scene to scene via voice, folk-jazz arrangements, musique concrète and the occasional techno-synth chugger.

Don't be fooled by Phil's back-of-envelope charm, this is an expertly-crafted radio biopic without words; the minutiae of life percolated through layers of accordion, U-Bahn harmonics and beer foam. A talented cast of guests and friends, notably multi-instrumentalist Zac Gvi, add an unassuming weight and emotional muscle to this deeply personal source material.

Recommended if you like John Carroll Kirby, Penguin Cafe Orchestra or Alabaster DePlume. The vinyl edition of "Tagebuch" comes complete with a book of poems and photos by Phil.

Our third album is finally available again on vinyl! Originally released in 2012 and out of print for a long time since, we now finally have the reissue and we've made them on hot pink vinyl. Only 500 copies made.

Permanent Parts is the second album released by visual artist Katharina Grosse (synthesizer) and musician Stefan Schneider (synthesizer; So Sner, To Rococo Rot). Grosse and Schneider were joined at Galerie Max Hetzler on 29 April 2023, performing as part of the Spectrum without Traces exhibition, by three artists who all generally work within improvised music – Carina Khorkhordina (trumpet), Tintin Patrone (trombone and electronics), and Billy Roisz (noise generator, piezo and mini cymbal). Permanent Parts is an extraordinary set of recordings that inhabits multiple zones at once: within its thirty-five minutes, we can hear the interactions of non-idiomatic collective music making, and the electronic glimmers of electro-acoustics, while, at the same time, the music remains untethered to genre.

This capacity to work within liminal zones makes perfect sense when thinking about both Grosse’s and Schneider’s prior work, whether the energetic diffusions and spatial explorations of Grosse’s artistic practice, or the slippery texturology of Schneider’s recent work with electronics. Khorkhordina, Patrone and Roisz all find their own ways into this dynamic, too, and Permanent Parts feels like an equal exchange of presence and contribution; there are no hierarchies here. This might explain the music’s curious sense of development, where several elements are allowed to exist alongside each other, not in direct contact but in a mode that’s somewhere between carefree layering and unconscious juxtaposition. The musicians are listening, but not just with their ears – their skin, their bodies are hearing, too.

When talking about Permanent Parts, Schneider is careful to place it within contexts that are specific, to some degree, but which allow for difference to blossom. “Although it was recorded live, it somehow was not meant to be a documentation of a live event in the first place. The five piece line up that appears on the record had met for the first time only a few hours before the concert took place.” While it might take a leap of faith for all parties to walk together, and so willingly, into a place of such freedom, of such risk, there is clear sympathy here between the musicians, and a shared appreciation of the immediacies of the situation.

It also throws some of our preconceptions about this music out of the window. “The record does not feel like a document of a performance as the music was not pre-composed and there was no reference,” Schneider continues. “Perhaps it was not even an improvisation?” For Grosse, her musical relationship with Schneider similarly shakes free from expectation: “My sound does not exist without Stefan’s. It is neither written down nor is it improvised. It is instantaneous.” When thinking about the five-piece exploration on Permanent Parts and asked to expand on what each musician brings to the table, she continues, “We all love the thrill of an unknown encounter and we seem to have a need for building connections through the thicket of our voices.”

There’s a curious phrase on the back cover of the album, before the artists are listed: “Wir sind eine Batterie / We are a battery.” This sums up the spirit of Permanent Parts. Schneider recalls that Grosse said this phrase to the musicians at the start of the performance. Grosse explains further, “The figure of the battery referred to our placement in the space building out a small circle facing one another from where the sound could spill into the impressive volume of the gallery.” The battery as an arrangement of similar devices; but I also think of charge, and the conversion of chemical energy, and of fortification. It’s a poetic metaphor that sums up much of the febrile pleasure of the music contained on these Permanent Parts.

– Jon Dale, Melbourne

Ever-evolving the mythologies and magic of Dialect's sonic sphere, Andrew PM Hunt returns with Atlas of Green, elegantly molding unexacting details of memory and mistranslation into the framework of the British musician and composer's creative pursuit. The album imagines a young musician named Green working in a future dawning era where lost signals and enduring impulses are unearthed from the sediments of technology and time. Across twelve compositions, Green becomes the compass in an epoch of transition; one shaded with pastoral patinas and studded with the fragments of allegorical ruin. As tattered as it is tender, Atlas of Green is a patchwork of scavenged relics and bygone hues, cast through the iridescent shimmers of a mid-future in flux. Growing up on the Wirral Peninsula in North West England, Hunt was surrounded by stone age landmarks and rock carvings that infused the landscape with legend. It was beside those carvings on a residency at Bidston Artistic Research Center where he began the journey of Atlas of Green, experimenting with tape loops and exploring the center's library of sci-fi. Here Hunt also encountered the work of Italian philosopher Federico Campagna, a writer who believes we're at the end of our current world. This encouraged Hunt's exploration of how the fabric and fantasies of our current era might endure into the future of Green, as they try to make sense of the riddles of the past, utilizing broken electronics and simple acoustic instruments to create new mythic forms. This question of endurance led Hunt to inscribe Atlas of Green with its own lucid markings - sometimes almost anthemic adornments - which unfurl through the album's melancholic air as possible new metaphors for how the human spirit might persist through dark days and regain lost wisdom. As Hunt reflects, "We're not just on an endless procession through constantly better worlds. Our lack of action (on climate and inequality) feels hopeless at times. I find some comfort in the idea that maybe the world needs a new song in order to tell a new story about itself". The image of Green as a journeying adolescent in-between eras developed out of a burgeoning interest in the fantasy writing of Ursula K. Le Guin and Gene Wolfe and occurred at a point in Hunt's life where the question of starting a family was looming. Green became a device for thinking about the future, or futures, putting someone in another world and granting access to a slightly longer timeframe than one's own life. What would this person, in this as-yet-unsung world do with something as powerful as music? As Hunt notes, "I imagined them doing what we've always done with music - using it to build a map of feeling, providing boundaries and tracing the edges of our emotions, defining a space of possibility and giving voice to our intuition. This is an alternative future to the one of endless growth but one which still holds space for hopes and dreams." Mapping new folds in the passage of time, Atlas of Green is traced with an aura of sonic urgency which arises through its process-led construction. Following a series of live shows in early 2023, the record was created with an assemblage of analogue electronics and acoustic instruments, including scratched records and a broken four track, collaging studio work with recorded live recordings featuring work in progress. Where the indeterminate energies of Under~Between (2021) appeared through digital processing, Atlas of Green embraces chance encounters within the malfunctions of physical media and glitching gear. Within these interwoven clusters of organic and blemished sound, Dialect reclaims the joyfulness of the inner amateur and creates a soft landing for new seeds of magical possibility - rooted in the bounds and abundance of realism. "As a planet of people we have to deal one way or another with our finite existence. We have to deal with that loss with hope still in our hearts - our capacity to love cannot be contingent on things lasting forever, and so this image of Green is not a vision of dystopia, nor utopia but an expression of trust and an acceptance of limits."

'In `All This and So Much More' Tasha is an artist flung open. For Tasha, the last few years have been propulsive, dynamic, bursting at the seams. They've included painful encounters with grief; a sudden break up; new flirtation; new hair; the glitter of world travel and not least, a role in Tony-nominated Broadway musical `Illinoise' which adapts Sufjan Steven's `Illinois' for the stage. If `Tell Me What You Miss The Most' was an introspective meditation on love with a few moments of glancing toward what's next, `All this and So Much More' is Tasha turned outward, flourishing, telling us what it's like to take life by the chin and look it in the eye. Take, for example "Eric Song." This was the first song to be written on the album, penned while Tasha grappled with the sudden, tragic death of Eric Littman, the co-producer of her last album. Though the instrumentation is a familiar 3/4 guitar strum, lulling us into a comforting waltz, Tasha's voice is breathy with grief, adding depth and dimension to the hushed sound. "No, I'm not alone after all / You must be near / Facing this soaring sprawl," she sings, transforming the experience of loss into a talisman of love and courage meant to help usher in a new self. Said a different way, `All This and So Much More' is a full-throated ode to all of the ups and downs of becoming. In the opening track, "Pretend," when Tasha sings about "feelings outgrowing this little life," we get the sense, both lyrically and sonically, of someone in the throes of growth. This is an album crafted with a big, ambitious sound (in part, thanks to the production of Gregory Uhlmann)_cinematic droning, orchestral woodwinds, dazzling arrays of jangling guitar, all lining up to capture a sweeping moment in Tasha's life. Written over the course of 2022 and 2023, right on the cusp of Tasha being cast in Illinoise, the songs in this album invoke friendship, heart ache, flirtation, doubt. From the social anxiety of "Party" ("Do they think I'm funny? / Did they like my jokes last night?") to the questing for meaning in "So Much More," Tasha brings us along on a journey of finding out that the person you wanted to be was inside of yourself, just waiting to bloom all along. She sums it up neatly in her final track, "Love's Changing," charging us with a brilliant, sweeping vision of the future, singing: "Suddenly the world is bigger than it ever felt before / Feel the weight of my future sinking in / See the joy I'm running toward." In `All This and So Much More,' Tasha asks us to consider abundance in its truest form. Our lives, a deluge of possible experience if only we will surrender to it, all the way from the citric ache of heartbreak to the chest bloom of new adventure.

'In `All This and So Much More' Tasha is an artist flung open. For Tasha, the last few years have been propulsive, dynamic, bursting at the seams. They've included painful encounters with grief; a sudden break up; new flirtation; new hair; the glitter of world travel and not least, a role in Tony-nominated Broadway musical `Illinoise' which adapts Sufjan Steven's `Illinois' for the stage. If `Tell Me What You Miss The Most' was an introspective meditation on love with a few moments of glancing toward what's next, `All this and So Much More' is Tasha turned outward, flourishing, telling us what it's like to take life by the chin and look it in the eye. Take, for example "Eric Song." This was the first song to be written on the album, penned while Tasha grappled with the sudden, tragic death of Eric Littman, the co-producer of her last album. Though the instrumentation is a familiar 3/4 guitar strum, lulling us into a comforting waltz, Tasha's voice is breathy with grief, adding depth and dimension to the hushed sound. "No, I'm not alone after all / You must be near / Facing this soaring sprawl," she sings, transforming the experience of loss into a talisman of love and courage meant to help usher in a new self. Said a different way, `All This and So Much More' is a full-throated ode to all of the ups and downs of becoming. In the opening track, "Pretend," when Tasha sings about "feelings outgrowing this little life," we get the sense, both lyrically and sonically, of someone in the throes of growth. This is an album crafted with a big, ambitious sound (in part, thanks to the production of Gregory Uhlmann)_cinematic droning, orchestral woodwinds, dazzling arrays of jangling guitar, all lining up to capture a sweeping moment in Tasha's life. Written over the course of 2022 and 2023, right on the cusp of Tasha being cast in Illinoise, the songs in this album invoke friendship, heart ache, flirtation, doubt. From the social anxiety of "Party" ("Do they think I'm funny? / Did they like my jokes last night?") to the questing for meaning in "So Much More," Tasha brings us along on a journey of finding out that the person you wanted to be was inside of yourself, just waiting to bloom all along. She sums it up neatly in her final track, "Love's Changing," charging us with a brilliant, sweeping vision of the future, singing: "Suddenly the world is bigger than it ever felt before / Feel the weight of my future sinking in / See the joy I'm running toward." In `All This and So Much More,' Tasha asks us to consider abundance in its truest form. Our lives, a deluge of possible experience if only we will surrender to it, all the way from the citric ache of heartbreak to the chest bloom of new adventure.

Nina Ryser's music has always inhabited its own world; a singular and cohesive collection of Keyboard-centric home recordings that marry her undeniable pop sensibilities with a truly bizarre dreamlike aesthetic. With a solo career spanning 7 releases as well as her work in the highly influential art-punk trio Palberta, Nina's artistic voice has been a staple in the American underground for over a decade, her distinctive and consistent sound earning a cult following. Her latest effort Water Giants signifies a departure in both sound and artistic practice - her first solo release recorded outside of her home studio, with a myriad of first time collaborators, it's Nina's most lavish and expansive offering to date, honing in on the heartfelt songwriting at the core of her work. After completing her usual process of demoing the songs for Water Giants, Nina felt that she wanted to try something new, escaping the confines of her minimal studio setup and the limitations of working alone. At the recommendation of several friends, she began working with Lucas Knapp, a Philly based producer who has contributed work to many Dear Life releases (including Florry's The Holey Bible, Hour's Ease the Work, and Joey Nebulous's Joey Spumoni Creamy Dreamy Party All the Time ). Lucas and Nina's recording sensibilities aligned quite seamlessly, breathing new energy into the songs in what she describes as an "effortless collaboration". The result is some of her most pristine experimental pop offerings to date, centering Nina as a dynamic performer and lyricist without foregoing the surreal qualities of her previous work. The album features contributions from many of her peers in the Philly music community, including Jill Ryan (Great Time), Victoria Rose and Nino Soberon (@, Brittle Brian), Eli Kleinsmith (The Knee Jerk Reaction), and her husband Gabe Adels, whom she frequently collaborates with in the synth-pop duo Data. Even the cover art is a departure for Nina, who has previously crafted it herself or with longtime friend/visual artist Izzy Kross, this time assembling a collage of photographs taken by Eve Alpert (Palm) fit for the album's newfound dimensionality. Lyrically, Water Giants stands as Nina's most personal work to date. Taking a cue from her previous release, I Miss My Dog, which was written as Nina was processing the imminent loss of her and Gabe's dog Billy, Nina approached the writing process with unbridled honesty and chose not to edit or overthink her words as she had in the past. The result is a number of candid, heartfelt reflections on love, illness, addiction, anxiety, and the beautiful absurdity of a trash pile on the street. Interspersed throughout the album are Nina's signature woozy instrumentals, which add some escapism to the grounded nature of the material. By putting faith in a newfound collaboration without straying from her natural instincts, Nina has crafted the most dynamic album in her discography, an exciting testament to her songwriting prowess and what can be accomplished by stepping out of your comfort zone as an artist.

The unconscious and unknown must be really nice places. In any case, if you take the second album of Menelaos Tomasides under his given name as travelogue. A trip into dreamlike territory, yet concrete enough, a journey without target yet looking forward and looking back into familiar places, „dreamhike“ both continues and departs from the style Menelaos has found earlier, in “When the Moon Comes Through”, or his more conceptual-intentional “31 Minuten” works. As the album title - which roughly translates to “dream hiking” but also hints on “walkabout” and “songlines” – suggests, we are rambling between the real and the imaginary. From the bucolic border triangle of Belgium, Germany, and the Netherlands to the buzzing streets of the capital of Cyprus, where Menelaos has lived for many years, the tracks are about real places, about real experiences and emotions yet interwoven with a dreamlike fabric. Something that is just not tangible, yet substantial and palpable. Something concrete that manifests in the genuine and special sound design of this records - basically all of Menelaos’ works - his really special treatment of dynamics and loudness. It is one of the very few records where the established language of music making, specifically Techno, House, Dub, and early 2000’ Electronica, the clicks, thumps and plops from an earlier age of electronic music, transmogrify into slow movements of something new. Something that is gentle and truly personal, looking inwards. There are four-to-the-floor beats, there is wobbly bass, and dubby chords, even sublimated clarion calls. There is an immense energy in these tracks, the sheer materiality of low frequencies of a massive sound system manifested in a tiny room. Yet it is without any aggression, stripped bare of sonic pressure. It is quiet music no matter how high you turn up the volume. A rare treat, that requires exceptional skills and exceptional restraint and control on the technical side of music making. Probably it is a result of Menelaos specific combination of instinctual, intuitive approach to making music, which meets a genuine love for sound in seemingly endless loops of refinement that can lead to such a result as „dreamhike“. The elegant floating balance of control and playful experimentation manifests for example in a track that continues the ongoing collaboration with seasoned Cologne improviser Achim Fink on bass trumpet. Not only in this respect, the album can be described as a product of openness. It comes from a lot of taking in the world, of travel, of places and people met, of friendship and conversation (not necessarily with words). The deep trip of “dreamhike” further manifests Menelaos as one of the truly independent voices of electronic Cologne and beyond. Somewhat alike in character and attitude probably to what late Pete Namlook has established for Frankfurt with his label Fax +49-69/450464 (though ultimately warmer and much less uncanny) Menelaos has found his very own sound and vision. Music that answers to no one but speaks to everyone. Uncompromising yet gentle to the core: kind sounds from a kind spirit, arguably the most extraordinary and valuable quality music can have these days.

Combining the signature soundscapes of Scorn with tartareous textures, the current album "The Only Place" reaches a psychedelic groove, based on what Harris calls "Pushing an original idea further" with his own shades of light and dark and celestial electricity of what SCORN is. These 10 tracks add elements unheard in Scorn since Evanescense and Gyral - ethereal ambiences and floating, near-melodic-but-not-quite moments, a signature of Harris' abilities to generate feelings in a lost world of his own creation. Mick Harris is one of the world's greatest compositional treasures. Starting his career as the energy dynamo behind the drum kit of the UK's Napalm Death, he made the term Blastbeat a household reference, wrote the band's music on his mother's one string guitar, and joined the Guinness Book of World Records for composing the world's shortest song. In the decades succeeding, he has re-inventedmusic several more times, from the wild abstract jazz of Painkiller with John Zorn and Bill Laswell, to the drowning ambience of his Lull project, all while continuing to build a world that he can truly call his own - the dark post-dub of SCORN. "Reaching 54 this year - this won't stop the challenge, driving me more so now than ever" - says Mick Harris, commenting on the recent phase in his creativity. The pandemic isolation and lockdown pushed the work of the maestro more than anything else could have. In 2021, his output is ever-increasing, releasing the newest collabs with Justin K. Broadrick and the single "Distortion", featuring one of the most outstanding voices of hip-hop - Kool Keith - his closest collaborator, Ohm Resistance founder - Submerged. Commenting on the release of "Distortion", Mick Harris said to mxdwn: "I enjoy collabs - they bring something different to the swim." Working on his own and collaborating with everyone from Sleaford Mods' James Williamson, on the previous SCORN release or with Kool Keith and Submerged on "Distortion", Mick Harris never had problems with putting energy into beats and sound landscapes, combining various surreal elements with three basic elements that always push Harris further, that are extremely crucial for both Mick Harris and SCORN as a project - frustration, anger and anxiety. 2024 vinyl version on orange coloured vinyl!

Mystic, member of the legendary rap collective Digital Underground, is releasing her 3rd album Dreaming In Cursive: The Girl Who Loved Sparklers on Vinyl. She is most known for her classic Cuts For Luck and Scars for Freedom which was released on vinyl last year. This new album find a return to her roots working with long time collaborator Walt Liquor to create the sonic landscape she's most known for. There was a crowd-sourcing campaign to create the visuals for this project that was successful and from it came three visuals that will be the foundation for a short film released this summer called A Black Love Trilogy. This project is the healing balm the world needs in these trying times.
GRAMMY-nominated rapper, singer, and Bay Area legend Mystic (affectionately known as the “DU Goddess of Digital Underground”) has returned to bless the world with a new album like only she can. "Dreaming In Cursive: The Girl Who Loved Sparklers" is Mystic’s first new release from her label, Beautifull Soundworks, and is produced by herself and Walt Liquor. With song and voice that resonates with the beauty of unadulterated womanhood, Mystic’s new album is what she coined, “Healed Black woman music.” As a seasoned veteran in the music business, Mystic reminds us of her ability to seamlessly weave together harmonies and vivid lyrics that invoke thoughts of love, community, and healing. Always on time with her offerings, this new project warms the soul as only Mystic can—a perfect reminder to long-time fans of their love for her and a welcoming invitation to music lovers around the world looking for high-quality, meaningful, and banging music at once.
Quote: “I am known for moving in between the intersections of trauma and healing--the beauty and the pain. My healing journey and life journey have brought me to a place where the art reflects my level of healing and the knowledge, wisdom, and joy I passionately pursue. My fans have healed and grown with me, and I look forward to the joy and conversations this album will encourage.”

20th Anniversary reissue. • Available on CD, and for the first time ever, on LP. • Includes new liner notes from Sam. • Contains “Reflecting Light” and “If I Could Write”—both featured on the fan- and streaming-favorite Gilmore Girls. Since the late 1980s Sam Phillips has been a poetic voice in the alternative/pop realm. She recorded a series of acclaimed albums for Virgin Records, including the Grammy-nominated Martinis And Bikinis (expanded and reissued by Omnivore Recordings in 2012), all produced by her then-husband T Bone Burnett. At the turn of the century, Sam was invited by Amy Sherman-Palladino, who was a fan of Sam’s music, to score her new television series, Gilmore Girls, on a new network, The WB. Sam’s unconventional score featuring vocal and acoustic guitar was likened to an onscreen character itself and dubbed “the La La’s” by the growing legion of Gilmore Girls fans. Around that time Sam signed a new deal with Nonesuch Records and continued to build her stellar catalog. In 2004, Phillips released A Boot And A Shoe, featuring guest artists including Burnett, Marc Ribot (Tom Waits, Elvis Costello), Mike Elizondo (Fiona Apple, Eminem), legendary drummer Jim Keltner, and the Section Quartet. The album contained 13 tracks including “Reflecting Light” and “If I Could Write”—both featured prominently in the Gilmore Girls original series and, most memorably, the Netflix revival Gilmore Girls: A Year In The Life. 2024 marks the 20th anniversary of A Boot And A Shoe and to commemorate the anniversary, it is being issued for the very first time on vinyl, and reissued on CD, both with new liner notes by Sam. On the occasion of its 20th anniversary, now is the time to reintroduce this incredible record, and on the format fans of Sam and Gilmore Girls have been waiting for.

Lutalo's highly visceral folk goes electric on The Academy, the Vermont multi-instrumentalist, songwriter and producer's debut LP. Recorded in January 2024 at the storied Sonic Ranch and self-produced along with Jake Aron (Snail Mail, Protomartyr, L'Rain), The Academy feels like watching the best underground film you've seen in years; establishing Lutalo as a singular voice of this generation of indie rock. Lutalo describes The Academy as their "first chapter" - a time capsule of the lessons they've learned in their 20-something years of life. "This record is exactly that: a `record' of my early life," they say of their debut album, out via Winspear. "The experiences, thoughts and feelings I was holding at those times and am currently processing. To me, this is the first big stamp of my existence I'm sharing." While Lutalo's 2022 EP Once Now, Then Again introduced them as a lo-fi acoustic guitar wunderkind, The Academy is bigger and bolder without compromising Lutalo's inviting sense of emotional intimacy, inspired by alt-rock veterans like Thom Yorke and Rob Crow as well as electronic greats like Aphex Twin and Bowery Electric. The Academy's grander arrangements are heard in the biting adrenaline rush of "Ocean Swallows Him Whole," or the anti-war jangle of album closer "The Bed." Their lyrics are often deeply intuitive, flowing as a stream of consciousness, albeit with weighty meanings. With their unique baritone and finesse for lyrical world building, Lutalo cuts to the bone-while only just beginning to reveal the depth of their artistry and vision.

Lutalo's highly visceral folk goes electric on The Academy, the Vermont multi-instrumentalist, songwriter and producer's debut LP. Recorded in January 2024 at the storied Sonic Ranch and self-produced along with Jake Aron (Snail Mail, Protomartyr, L'Rain), The Academy feels like watching the best underground film you've seen in years; establishing Lutalo as a singular voice of this generation of indie rock. Lutalo describes The Academy as their "first chapter" - a time capsule of the lessons they've learned in their 20-something years of life. "This record is exactly that: a `record' of my early life," they say of their debut album, out via Winspear. "The experiences, thoughts and feelings I was holding at those times and am currently processing. To me, this is the first big stamp of my existence I'm sharing." While Lutalo's 2022 EP Once Now, Then Again introduced them as a lo-fi acoustic guitar wunderkind, The Academy is bigger and bolder without compromising Lutalo's inviting sense of emotional intimacy, inspired by alt-rock veterans like Thom Yorke and Rob Crow as well as electronic greats like Aphex Twin and Bowery Electric. The Academy's grander arrangements are heard in the biting adrenaline rush of "Ocean Swallows Him Whole," or the anti-war jangle of album closer "The Bed." Their lyrics are often deeply intuitive, flowing as a stream of consciousness, albeit with weighty meanings. With their unique baritone and finesse for lyrical world building, Lutalo cuts to the bone-while only just beginning to reveal the depth of their artistry and vision.

Lutalo's highly visceral folk goes electric on The Academy, the Vermont multi-instrumentalist, songwriter and producer's debut LP. Recorded in January 2024 at the storied Sonic Ranch and self-produced along with Jake Aron (Snail Mail, Protomartyr, L'Rain), The Academy feels like watching the best underground film you've seen in years; establishing Lutalo as a singular voice of this generation of indie rock. Lutalo describes The Academy as their "first chapter" - a time capsule of the lessons they've learned in their 20-something years of life. "This record is exactly that: a `record' of my early life," they say of their debut album, out via Winspear. "The experiences, thoughts and feelings I was holding at those times and am currently processing. To me, this is the first big stamp of my existence I'm sharing." While Lutalo's 2022 EP Once Now, Then Again introduced them as a lo-fi acoustic guitar wunderkind, The Academy is bigger and bolder without compromising Lutalo's inviting sense of emotional intimacy, inspired by alt-rock veterans like Thom Yorke and Rob Crow as well as electronic greats like Aphex Twin and Bowery Electric. The Academy's grander arrangements are heard in the biting adrenaline rush of "Ocean Swallows Him Whole," or the anti-war jangle of album closer "The Bed." Their lyrics are often deeply intuitive, flowing as a stream of consciousness, albeit with weighty meanings. With their unique baritone and finesse for lyrical world building, Lutalo cuts to the bone-while only just beginning to reveal the depth of their artistry and vision.

Originally from Ireland, but now settled in the peaceful countryside of rural France, Kaz Hawkins is the epitome of musical mastery and versatility. With a soul as rich as the music that inspired her growing up in Belfast, Northern Ireland, and a voice that crosses genres with ease, Kaz stands out as a singer, songwriter and performer extraordinaire. Her musical odyssey began decades ago, shaped by a deep love of blues, soul, jazz and folk, which have become her artistic pillars.

Renowned for her spellbinding performances and heartfelt compositions, Kaz has charmed audiences the world over, weaving stories of resilience, love and the human experience through her melodies. A seasoned musician, Kaz's magnetic stage presence has graced countless venues, captivating audiences and leaving them eager for more. Her melodies transcend borders, resonating with diverse audiences and earning her a loyal fan base across continents. Beyond his musical talent, Kaz embodies authenticity, courageously sharing his past marked by domestic violence, depression, drugs and self-harm, inspiring others to find hope through his music and their own uniqueness.

In 2024 and 2025, Kaz is ready to captivate her audience once again with the release of two live albums, "Live in Brezoi (I)" and "Live in Brezoi (II)". These albums capture the raw energy and emotion of her performances, showcasing her unrivalled talent and the undeniable bond she shares with her audience. Another album, different from the blues, is also in the pipeline and is being
produced in Berlin for release in 2025. In addition, Kaz is embarking on exciting collaborations with other artists, infusing her soul essence into collaborative projects. The first is with French soul artist Thomas Kahn in a duet entitled "A Place Like Home", released on January 10, 2024. Other collaborations will be announced shortly.

As she moves forward, Kaz aims to amplify her presence on social networks, creating deeper bonds with her fans and forging a community united by the magic of her music. In a world where melodies paint emotions and lyrics engrave memories, Kaz Hawkins stands as a testament to the power of music, inviting you to embark on an unforgettable sonic journey.

Let Me Comfort You: The Hush Rarities collects the bonus tracks from High Moon Records’ critically lauded CD Gemini Girl: The Complete Hush Recordings. Appearing on vinyl for the first time, these 11 alternate takes, demos and previously unissued songs hail from the sessions for Laurie Styvers’ two unjustifiably obscure LPs Spilt Milk and The Colorado Kid, recorded in early 1970s London, and recently tagged by Pitchfork as “a sharp and idiosyncratic snapshot of how it feels to try growing up.” Akin to a “lost” third album, this remarkably well-rounded package is a further showcase for the honey-voiced intimacy of this youthful Texas singer-songwriter, with a program of lovelorn gems doused in splendid orchestration. RIYL Carole King, Judee Sill, Weyes Blood. Packaged with a four page lyric insert.

Ronnie McNeir's self-titled debut album, released in 1972, showcases his soulful voice and songwriting talent, blending R&B, soul, and funk. The album, characterized by lush arrangements and a warm, analog sound, captures the essence of early '70s music. Rich brass sections, smooth strings, and intricate rhythms complement McNeir's expressive vocals. The album's themes of love, loss, family, and gratitude are reflected in heartfelt lyrics and smooth melodies, establishing McNeir as a significant figure in the soul music scene. In 1999, McNeir joined The Four Tops as their musical director and keyboardist, marking a new chapter for both him and the group. His talents as a keyboardist, vocalist, and arranger blended his soulful style with The Four Tops' established sound. ""Ronnie McNeir"" is a soulful debut that captures the essence of early '70s R&B, partly due to the production by acclaimed Motown producer William ""Mickey"" Stevenson. It is a testament to Ronnie McNeir's talent as both a vocalist and a songwriter, with ""Extra, Extra"" and ""In Summertime"" as stand-out tracks. This album is a must-listen for fans of classic soul and R&B music.

Jaz Karis is getting ready to take off. The South London singer and songwriter has been making waves with her silky voice and lyrical, candid pen since her first EP back in 2017, building herself up steadily over the years. 2024 will see the long-awaited arrival of Jaz Karis' debut album, Safe Flight, . It's a record that spans a breadth of sonics: slinky Afrobeats, gleaming R&B, warm gospel, shimmering flecks of pop, hiphop, jazz and amapiano, all woven through with the glowing thread of Jaz's signature soulful feeling. "Soul to me is a feeling," she explains, "All I want to do with my music is evoke feelings."

The imagery for this album all pertains to identity and travel - IDs, lanyards, nostalgia-tinged film footage - and in turn, it all alludes to the path that Jaz Karis is on. Safe Flight finds an accomplished, assured artist reflecting on where she's been and ready to step up to the next level: a star on the rise but still deeply down to earth. At once soulful, vibey and poignant, this is an album about embracing possibility, admitting mistakes, and trusting the process. "It's about getting free," Jaz says with a smile, "And it's not that I have it all figured out now or anything, but I'm on this learning curve. There's something exciting about being on the journey."

Though she was Stax Records' Queen of Soul (and Otis Redding was her king), there was much more to Carla Thomas. In 1967, even while being promoted by the name of her most recent album, The Queen Alone, she was expanding her sound, developing a cabaret act that showcased a mix of genres and styles and that was built around her beautiful voice. She was exploring new vistas when these two sides were recorded.
Isaac Hayes wrote "Loneliness". Carla's suave delivery evokes Diana Ross, and the shiny brass horns call out a Burt Bacharach arrangement as much as Stax. This is Carla with a nice polish on the groove.
Labelmate and friend Deanie Parker wrote "If It's Not Asking Too Much". A sparer presentation, the organ drives the tango rhythm and also—a second keyboard, I think—swells behind Carla, everything entwining and deepening the song's brooding tone. This is the kind of side that can both start your night or finish it.
Carla Thomas has got it all.

Rage Queen Delilah Bon is a force to be reckoned with blending elements of hip-hop, nu-metal, and riot grrrl ethos into her signature "Brat Punk" style. Her music serves as a fierce anthem for marginalized communities, particularly women, non-binary and the LGBTQ+ community. Her performance at the 2023 Glastonbury festival garnered acclaim from Kerrang!, who hailed her as a ‘standout voice in the rise of bold and bratty heavy music’. This recognition secured her a coveted spot on Kerrang!'s 'Sound of 2024' artist list and further recognition as ‘New Noise’ artist in Metal Hammer magazine and full feature in Clash Magazine. 2024 promises to be a monumental year for Delilah Bon, with a series of highly successful single and video releases to date and her highly anticipated album ‘Evil, hate Filled Female’ due for release in September. She’s also playing a host of Summer festivals including Download, Glastonbury, 2000 Trees and several European festivals including Rock For People in Czech Republic and Metropolis Festival in the Netherlands, with more to be announced! Her singles from the upcoming album, “Maverick” and "Finally See Me” have received widespread support from BBC Radio 1 and Kerrang! Radio, earning coveted spots as Track of the Week’ on Alyx Holcombe’s BBC Radio 1 Introducing Rock Show, ‘Future Flavour’ on Nels Hylton’s BBC Radio 1 Future Alternatives and ‘Track of the week’ on Kerrang! New Noise with Hope Lynes. She’s also had major editorial support from Spotify, Apple Music, Deezer and Amazon Music, including her 3rd Misfits 2.0 playlist Cover artist. Delilah Bon's international appeal was further solidified by her support slot on US artist Scene Queen's UK tour in 2023 and performances at sold-out arena shows in France earlier this year supporting French band Shaka Ponk. Notably, she made National television appearances on Le Late Show and Taratata TV in France, showcasing her magnetic stage presence to a global audience. With her bold persona, genre-defying sound, and unwavering commitment to amplifying marginalized voices, Delilah Bon continues to cement her status as a trailblazer in the music industry.

Born in Cleveland, Ohio to Russian parents, Alina Baraz has been around music all her life. With both parents having classical training, she was destined to find her voice through music. Almost immediately after the release of her first single, “Roses Dipped in Gold” at age 19, Baraz and her family moved to Los Angeles to pursue her career as a singer/songwriter full time.In 2015, Baraz released her debut project, Urban Flora. The acclaimed project was praised by the Guardian, NPR, Huffington Post, Harpers Bazaar and many more, and sat on Billboard’s Top Dance/Electronic Albums chart for over 125 weeks, peaking at #2. In January of 2017, she released the viral single “Electric” ft. Khalid, which has been streamed over 190M times and counting. In 2018 she released The Color of You, enlisting Grammy-nominated producer Robin Hannibal (Kendrick Lamar, Calvin Harris, Cee Lo Green) to help produce the project Baraz has been in the works of a special project, leading with her single “Trust” as her first release of 2020.

'Daily Rituals' is the debut EP by DJ and Producer IDA. Released on her own Savy Records label, this is an immersive four-tracker that draws together IDA's years of experience playing techno, breaks, electro and 'everything in between'. 'Daily Rituals' offers club-focused compositions with heart, intuitively guiding us through the multitude of moods that colour the party from midnight to well past daybreak. The A side opens with the mood-setting, acid inflected 'Vapauteen', then delivers the characterful, distinctive bassline and addictive grooves of 'Dopamine Hunt'. The B side features 'Currents', including a remix from cosmic sound voyager and fellow Finnish producer Sansibar, with his dubby, drum-driven version of 'Currents' highlighting how these two artists both slickly sidestep genre constraints. The result is the emergence of IDA's singular musical voice, boldly and brightly expressed across her debut EP.

Hassan Abou Alam is next to step up to the unconventional Nerve Collect label with six tracks of futuristic club-ready chaos. The finely crafted EP arrives in August and comes on 12" vinyl and via all digital platforms.

Hassan Abou Alam has established himself as one of Egypt's most innovative underground musicians over the last 10+ years. His music is a meeting of disparate worlds - organic and synthetic designs, digital and analogue tools, the traditional and the futuristic, and it has come on the likes of YUKU, Rhythm Section, Banoffee Pies and Casa Voyager. His versatile sound pulls apart existing genres and reconstructs them as something entirely new.

Opener '3asabi' is a stylish sonic assault with thumping rhythms and trippy oscillations that will get any dance floor bouncing. It's fun yet functional, serious yet seductive and 'Basha' Ft. ZIAD ZAZA, Ismail Nosrat & Aly B is another kinetic fusion of hand claps and complex drum funk, Egyptian vocal gymnastics and punchy bass. 'Ghalat' has lurching drums and plunging bass driving on beneath mangled synths, odd vocalisations and percussive splatters drawn from a unique sound palette. The drilling low ends of 'Khalsana' Ft ZIAD ZAZA are offset by fluttering percussive details up top while spare but booming kicks shake every bone in your body and the bassline devastates.

There is no let up on 'Mesh Mafhoom' which is a ritualistic workout with moments of melancholic synth soul shining through the jumble of tin-pot percussion and crashing hits. Closer 'Zein' is more body-popping brilliance that channels ancient spirits into warped synths and rhythms so complex they melt the mind.
Hassan Abou Alam's blurring of the lines between the real and the imagined is second to none on this EP. It's a sub-heavy mix of the human voice, machine-made sounds and inventive rhythms that make for something new, weird and wonderful.

They say you should never meet your heroes, but for Mike, meeting the legendary Adrian Sherwood has been a transformative experience, leading to creative collaborations that have benefited both of them.

Nearly 30 years after first being mesmerized by OnU Sound’s releases, a cheeky bit of radio ripping serendipitously led to Mike helping Pats Dokter, the label’s official archivist, with his work restoring master tapes, and eventually to him creating visual content for Adrian’s live shows.

A while after this collaboration began, Adrian offered to remix some of Mike’s music, either by his solo project @misledconvoy or our tunes, and it’s four cuts by us that grace this heavyweight platter.

From the dreamy dub of Transient Transmission to the rolling rhythms of A Doubtful Sound, our originals have been re-arranged and dubbed to $%># in Adrian’s signature style, with fluid melodies, pounding basslines and vocal samples awash in a wall of effects.

Trumpets by David “Ital Horns” Fullwood bookend the release, haunting in the first track and celebratory in the last, while Doug Wimbish (Tackhead) added an extra bassline to the heaving version of 1000 Mile Drift, which also features the voice of the iconic Lee “Scratch” Perry.

Reflecting on the collaboration, Mike says, “the whole experience has been slightly unreal, from working on Adrian’s videos to being in the OnU studio and watching him dub-mixing the tracks I’ve made, something I could never have imagined happening!”

Mike isn’t the only OnU fan, as a pivotal moment for Paddy was “watching Adrian mixing Tack>head at the Powerstation in 1995 and seeing the cause-and-effect of what he was doing and hearing the unbelievable sounds coming out of the speakers. It was the first time I’d ever seen somebody dub mix like that.”

The cover of Echoes of the Night is based upon an original artwork by Hamish Macaulay, while the vinyl has been pressed using a 100% recycled compound known as eco-mix, making each record totally unique as the colours subtly change across the pressing run.

As we get into the groove of the summer time; it comes with great pleasure to introduce the next release instalment that comes as a collaborative pressure of collectivity & quality musicianship to produce the EP that we had decided to title as the 'Forward On Riddim' which best describes the vast amount of works that has been going on with this link up between Ashanti Selah & Hark's riddim factory (many work in yet to be released in the pipeline!)

Featuring on the Forward On Riddim we have the vocal works of Zed Regal with a version called 'Magical Connection' which describes the deep sense of understanding and empathy between what would be seen as a search for the search of that divine soulmate.

Then leading into the next version on the riddim 'Overstand' with a message of upliftment for the good of Humanity to rise up and stand as one for the right cause in the spirit of Equal Rights & Justice for all Mankind - that is what we must overstand!

Last but not least we have the real deal artist Mad Sam with a track that he had voiced with no rehearsal fresh from the vibes of JA called 'Unbreakable' preaching words of wisdom to the youths of today to keep it firm and always show love & respect to receive it!

Hope you feel the vibe and message in the music as we bring you these heartikal sounds with an immense line up of top-class international musicians in what turned out to be the first collaborative project between Ashanti Selah and Zac Harkavy!
credits

Everything is out of control / from melting pots to melting poles - das aktuelle Album der Grazer Alternative-Bande The Base lässt unsere Welt abgeranzt und hässlich glänzen. So beginnt es gleich wie ein dunkler, erdiger field holler. Bei einem field holler rufen sich Sklaven, Gefangene oder Zwangsarbeiter Worte und Sätze zu, die durch ihre Wiederholung den Rhythmus zum Arbeiten angeben - und zum Überleben. Sing or die! Everything falls apart / and everyone is acting smart. Norbert Wally und seine beiden Spießgesellen starten ihre torture de force im tiefen Süden, in der Ursuppe des Rock`n`Roll, im tiefen Sumpfland des Delta-Blues. Aber The Base sind weit davon entfernt, eine Bluesplatte aus dem Schlamm und Dreck auszugraben. Bei "It's all Going South" stehen eher Bands wie Fun Lovin' Criminals, The Clash oder Pixies Pate. The Base verstehen Blues als Brandbeschleuniger: Die Stories, die Statements, die Visionen - kaum je waren Norbert Wally (Voice/Guitars), Albrecht Klinger (Bass) und Karlheinz Miklin Jr. (Drums) so politisch, so sozialkritisch, so wütend. Und nie waren sie so sarkastisch wie 2024. Blues, das heißt Tanzen auf dem Vulkan. Lachen beim eigenen Begräbnis. Und die Fäuste ballen, wenn miese Abzocker das Gute und Schöne beflecken um aus der Wahrheit eine Ware zu machen. Der Opener "High Time For Panicking" ist ein Meisterwerk für sich: Innerhalb von eineinhalb Minuten schießt er uns vom Pre-War Blues alter Lomax-Shellacs in den lärmigen Groove einer New Wave Combo, die um ihr Leben spielt. Der Titeltrack "It's All Going South" flimmert der Ferne wie ein Wüstenkaktus in, der gerade von Mr. Tarantino in einem 1967er Chevrolet Impala Sport Sedan niedergewalzt wird: dünenweise Hall auf der massiv geforderten Gitarre, die in Slow-Mo durch die Story wandert. Ein Bass, der vor Clint Eastwood den Hut zieht. Die Atmosphäre: Calexico deluxe. "Alles geht den Bach runter" so Wird die titelgebende Redewendung ins Deutsche übertragen. "Chemically Speaking Alcohol Is Still A Solution" könnte als Antwort auf alle gutgemeinten Versuche gehört werden, eine Welt voller Diktatoren, Kriegsgerät und Wahnsinn mit Vinyasa-Yoga und Lactobacillus bulgaricus im Joghurt zu retten. Waren die vorhergehenden Alben betont reduziert und puristisch, so gönnen sich The Base auf "It's All Going South" Backgroundchöre, fetten Vintagesound und lassen ausgiebige Studioeffekte. Das sitzt jedoch alles wie angegossen und zeigt die Qualität der Songs, denen knapp anliegende Taucheranzüge ebenso gut stehen wie schillernd verbrämte Kostüme. Niemand zieht aus dem Wort "happy" so viel Melancholie wie Norbert Wally und folgerichtig ist auch die Single-Auskoppelung "Waiting for June" ein Liebeslied, das gar keines ist. Aber der zwingendste Grund das Album anzuhören heißt "No One's Safe". Ein Song der sich wie ein Drillbohrer durch das Innenohr zur Großhirnrinde vorarbeitet. Soundcollagen, Voice-Over, eigenartiger Noise - immer tiefer bohrt sich der Song, bis er den Erdkern erreicht. Norbert Wally zeigt in seiner Stimme eine elegante Verletzlichkeit, die an einen David Bowie der 70er-Jahre erinnert. Die Intensität von OK Computer drängt sich auf. Niemand ist sicher. Game over! "It's All Going South" ist die bisher schmerzhafteste, politischste Platte von The Base. Wie schade, wir werden alle untergehen - und das kann zumindest verdammt sexy klingen.

Bobo Integral Records announces the Deluxe Edition of "Dead Calm", the debut album by The Boys With The Perpetual Nervousness, available September 13, 2024. This edition enriches the original tracks (now remastered), which were met with immediate success and critical acclaim, with new material and acoustic demos. Also incorporates an expected insert with all lyrics. Upon its initial release in 2019 by Pretty Olivia Records, "Dead Calm" was celebrated for its melodic craftsmanship. Purepopradio praised it asa "masterpiece of melody and harmony", Powerpopaholic rated it 9/10 and included it in their "best of 2019 list for best power pop this year", and Section 26 recommended it as "Presque indispensable". After two other records, "Songs From Another Life" and "The Third Wave Of_", that are now cult classics in the genre, it's the time to come back to the record that started it all. The Deluxe Edition offers fans an exclusive track from the original sessions, "Wouldn't Be Anywhere Else", and six acoustic demos that provide insight into the band's creative process. Reflecting their musical influences, such as The Byrds, R.E.M., Big Star, The Go-Betweens, Teenage Fanclub and the classic power pop era, the band's sound is a contemporary homage to these inspirations. Andrew Taylor is the leader and soul of Dropkick, a wonderful Scottish power pop group with touches of altcountry. Gonzalo Marcos is part of the cult Spanish indie pop group El Palacio de Linares and founder of the Bobo Integral Records label. The two forged a friendship during Dropkick's first tour of Spain and Dropkick ended up releasing a couple of albums on the label. "The most perfect voice in jangle/power-pop at present (sorry Teenage Fanclub fans!)" - Janglepophub

Lucila Justina Sarcines Reyes was born on July 19, 1936, in the Rímac district. Lima, which had just mourned the death of the emblematic composer Felipe Pinglo two months earlier, was a city on the verge of modernization that clung to its colonial and racist ways. Having been born black marked a difficult path in her life: after the father's premature death and a fire that left her and her 15 siblings homeless, she takes the streets to financially support her mother, and at 5 years old learns to sing in bars while begging for money in the port of Callao. After being admitted to a Franciscan convent and studying only until the third grade of primary school, now a teenager, she returns home, but suffers an attempt of rape by her new stepfather; she is forced to move to the central neighborhood of Barrios Altos, to live with her uncle, a guitarist from the legendary Guardia Vieja, also known as the founders of the Peruvian criollo waltz. This group of non-professional musicians, made up of bricklayers, merchants, artisans, marble workers and other employees, prolonged the oral traditions of their African slave ancestors in working-class neighborhoods of the capital. While the wealthy reject the music of their peons, which they associate with alcohol and disorder, it is the workers who listen carefully to the European waltzes and Aragonese jotas at the aristocratic halls, and later, back in their famous one-pipe alleys, transform their music under the spell of the night. It is in these sociability spaces that house numerous low-income families, where these criollos cheer up birthdays, weddings, anniversaries and other parties until dawn with the trill of their guitars and cajones. It is there that Reyes, at 16 years old, picks up the legacy of the Guardia Vieja and her life changes forever: she is often asked to sing in jaranas (criollo parties), and since her voice stands out immediately, she is encouraged to make her debut on a radio show called "El Sentir de los Barrios", whereshe performs the waltz "Abandonada" by Sixto Carrera.

"Allegra Krieger’s ""Art of the Unseen Infinity Machine"", her second full-length album with Double Double Whammy, is a collection of 12 songs that pick at the fragile membrane between life and death.

Krieger’s previous album, ""I Keep My Feet on the Fragile Plane"", hewed more closely to the domestic spaces of city and mind. Rolling Stone regarded the album as “ten songs of heady philosophical meanderings packed with emotional dynamite,” and likened her “finely phrased lyrics” to those of “Joni Mitchell, Leonard Cohen, and David Berman.” Krieger’s existential meditations remain on ""Art of the Unseen Infinity Machine"", however her meandering melodies have taken on a stronger sense of direction. She narrates candidly and assertively; the full-band arrangements never overpower, only offer a robust platform on which Krieger’s voice reaches new heights.

The full band brings a heightened sense of drama to the album’s arrangements, which contrasts the quieter approach of Krieger’s previous LP. There are noisy interludes, jazz-inflected discursions, impactful stops and starts, and occasional spaces for Krieger to stretch out her impressive vocal range (most prominently at the dazzling climax of album stand out “Came”). In ""Art of the Unseen Infinity Machine"", Krieger invites us to a place where transfiguration is not only possible but actively happening. From this place, the beautiful and the banal and the terrible are all laid out before us. And Krieger asks us not to look away. Instead, she invites us to stare down the beautiful and terrible in the world, and to realize that sometimes the only way out is through."

For our second release, circuit|breaker quips back the stacked offering of CBRK001 with another dynamic double LP, exhibiting some of the best local and international talent that’s cropped up on our radar over recent years.


The label is as driven as ever to build a bridge between our community and the wider electronic
music domain, giving artists a platform to preach the sound that speaks to them, and this release is but another stepping stone towards greatness, for us and for them.


CBRK002 opens up with a rolling, gritty number that could only be Fergus Sweetland, as metallic voices beckon forth on ‘Untitled (ARP 1.02)’. Hasvat Informant, whose thunderous reputation precedes him, then storms the barn with the explosive ‘Abispa Ephippium’. The B-side shifts gears to Goa’s Dotdat and his frantically groovy track ‘Holo’, followed by a gorgeous minimal number by Berlin-based Pino Peña – Mia’s Pocket; one that’s sure to get summer dancefloors pumping.


The C-side of the record contains two heaving tracks, the C1 from the prominent force of Cloudy Ku with ‘A Room of One’s Own’, and the C2 from the dark visage that is disgrays with
‘Turmstraße’. The final side of the record has Amsterdam legend Juan Sanchez open the filter with a warm, jacking submission in ‘Indulge’, while the Berliner Marsch takes us home with a
devious timbre that will have bodies glued to the floor on ‘Into You’.

Brighton (UK) punks THE BAR STOOL PREACHERS have announced their new EP 'Below The Static', which features reimagined versions of songs from the bands 2022 album 'Above The Static'. The EP is out 13th September 2024 via Pure Noise Records. Speaking about the new EP the band said, "For this release, we really wanted to highlight how good the songwriting was. We were stoked with how well the album went down but we really wanted to expose some of the more vulnerable elements and fuck with the format a bit. To hear such strong fxmale vocals, and having heavy guitar riffs on cellos/violins etc. really got us excited about these songs again. Some of the versions are stripped right back to just a voice and one instrument. It's the band like you've never heard it before, and really breathes a different life into the songs."