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Meaning all things magic and supernatural, the root of the word occult is that which is hidden, concealed, beyond the limits of our minds. If this is occult, then the Occult Architecture of Moon Duo’s fourth album - a psychedelic opus in two separate volumes released in 2017 is an intricately woven hymn to the invisible structures found in the cycle of seasons and the journey of day into night, dark into light.

Offering a cosmic glimpse into the hidden patterning embedded in everything, Occult Architecture reflects the harmonious duality of these light and dark energies through the Chinese theory of Yin and Yang.

Following the Yin (feminine, darkness, night, earth) represented on Occult Architecture Vol. 1, Vol. 2 presents the Yang. Yang means “the bright side of the hill” and is associated with the male, sun, light and the spirit of heaven, and as such Vol. 2 explores the light and airy elements of Moon Duo’s complex psyche.

“In production we referred to Vol. 1 as the fuzz dungeon, and Vol. 2 as the crystal palace,” guitarist Ripley Johnson explains. “The darkness of Vol. 1 gave birth to the light of Vol. 2. We had to have both elements in order to complete the cycle. We’re releasing them separately to allow them their own space, and to ensure clarity of vision. To that end we also mixed Vol. 2 separately, in the height of Portland summer, focusing on its sonic qualities of lightness, air, and sun. Listeners can ultimately use the two volumes individually or together, depending on circumstance or the desired effect.”

'Other Dimensions Lp', Terrence Dixon's latest work and the new adventure in 30D's ExoPlanets sublabel, comes for the very first time released in full length format, split in two sides, showing Terrence's two faces. As everyone knows, words can not describe the music of this Detroit visionary, but we'll try. Futuristic, avant-garde-esque, mesmerizing, trippy and minimalistic / reduced techno funk as expected in A side, but highly emotional and evocative, as only he can do. On the flip side, Terrence redefines and takes to another level the concept of dark, experimental, abstract, atmospheric, alienated and dystopian music, a true musical trip (perhaps a nightmare???) to dive into. An extremely personal and intimate album.

Neue EP des Londoner Produzenten Wordcolour mit seinem verspielten 2021er Track 'Bluster' plus drei nagelneuen Remixes vom New Yorker DJ Python, dem britischen Klangzauberer Djrum und einer Hälfte von Matmos, The Soft Pink Truth. 'One to watch' - The Guardian

This album is a tribute to Pastor Wylie Champion, who died while we were in the process of releasing this, his first record, and his wife, Mother Champion, who died a few months earlier. We met Pastor Champion a few years ago while we were putting together another release, The Time for Peace Is Now: Gospel Music About Us. We found him in a collection of YouTube videos from the 37th Street Baptist Church in Oakland, California, put together by the pastor there, Bishop Dr. W.C. McClinton. There was quite a lot of talent in those videos, and among them was Pastor Champion whom we liked so much that we decided to make a record with him. Pastor Champion wasn’t like any other pastor you’ve ever met. As an itinerant preacher, a carpenter, and a father of five, he made a name for himself traveling up and down the California coast with his electric guitar. He traveled alone and he played alone, well into his seventies. The easiest way to describe him would be as an outsider gospel artist. Other than these bare facts, we never learned much about him—except that he was also the brother of the well-known soul singer Bettye Swann. In fact, most of what we knew about him we got from his sister’s Wikipedia page. We decided that because we met Champion through the 37th Street Baptist Church, we would record him there too. We recorded him live on a two-track Nagra reel to reel, as we wanted the album to be analog in the style of traditional gospel recordings. Over the course of two evenings (when the workday was done), Champion taught his band—musicians who had never played together before—a handful of songs, a small selection of the nearly 2,000 fragments of songs and sermons that he regularly performed. We listened in as they all got more familiar with the material and each other over time. At some point, we mentioned to Champion that he would have to be interviewed by someone to write notes for the album. He wasn’t too pleased with this idea, saying he’d had a hard life and he didn’t want to talk about it. Over the next few months, we kept asking Champion to talk to someone about his life. He told us that he didn’t want to talk about growing up in Louisiana, his mother being accosted by the Klan, or that his father was a gambler. He didn’t want to talk about being jailed for 90 days for using a whites only bathroom, being in gangs or having a street name. We told him that was fine—he could talk about what he wanted to talk about. And he told us that he didn’t want to talk about anything. You know, there are times when you make a record where it’s already made in your mind before you start. But then in the end, the record you thought you were making is not the record you made. We spent years puzzling over this one, trying to figure out what it was saying, who it was for, and how to get people to pay attention to it. But Champion knew that this record wasn’t going to be for everyone. He didn’t really care. The important part for him was just getting the message out there in the same way that he always had, travelling alone with his electric guitar. “I want to say what I mean,” he said, “be practical, precise, to the point, and, at the same time, diplomatic.” In other words, he just wanted to be a good man. God bless Pastor Champion and Mother Champion, peace be with them and their family. Love to all.

The Tribe co-founder’s masterpiece, lacquered directly from his master tapes in an all analog transfer by Bernie Grundman. The defnitive reissue of this Spiritual Jazz album, one of the most sought after artifacts of the 1970s jazz underground. The Tribe label, one of the brightest lights of America’s 1970s jazz underground, receives the Now-Again reissue treatment. This is your chance to indulge in the music and story of one of the most meaningful, local movements of the 20th Century Black American experience, one that expanded outwards towards the cosmos. In the words of the collective themselves, “Music is the healing force of the universe.” Included in an extensive, oversized booklet, Larry Gabriel and Jeff “Chairman” Mao take us through the history of the Tribe, in a compelling story that delves not just into the history of the label and its principals, but into the story of Black American empowerment in the latter half of the 20th Century. The booklet features never-before-seen archival photos and rare ephemera from Tribe’s mid-1970s heyday.

With Plum, the songwriting partnership rooted in the creative rapport between bandleader Molly Hamilton and guitarist Robert Earl Thomas continues to expand on shared visions, delving deeper into what was always there: dusty guitars, ear-worm melodies, warm expansive arrangements. Each entry to their catalog has marked a subtle reimagining of Widowspeak's sound, though perennial points of reference remain the same: 90's dream pop, 60's psych rock, a certain unshakeable Pacific-Northwestness. Speaking to the timeless feeling of each, the albums continue to be discovered well beyond their respective PR cycles, made beloved by new listeners through word of mouth. The band's fifth album feels comfortable and lived-in: humble in structure, heavy on mood. Perhaps that came taking time off from the touring grind, instead working full-time jobs and settling into the rhythm of daily life in a small upstate New York town. Plum was recorded over a handful of weekends last winter by Sam Evian (Cass McCombs, Kazu Makino, Hannah Cohen) at his Flying Cloud studio in the Catskills, and was mixed by Ali Chant (PJ Harvey, Aldous Harding, Perfume Genius). In addition to Hamilton (vocals, guitar) and Thomas (guitars, bass, synth), it features instrumental contributions by Andy Weaver (drums), Michael Hess (piano), and Sam himself (bass, synth). Plum nestles into the band's canon like it was always there, but with new textures coming to the fore, like the polyrhythmic pulse of "Amy" and "The Good Ones", or the watery, Terry Riley-influenced track "Jeanie" Plum navigates the spaces between the lesser emotions of modern life. Hamilton's lyrics speak to the unique turmoil of anyone who creates as their work, who must somehow survive off such "fruits of their labor." Yet, Widowspeak have always made a bitter pill much easier to swallow. The majestic "Breadwinner", the luminous "Even True Love" - these songs here were made to be listened to, enjoyed. "Money" is particularly hypnotic, built around a repeating, cyclical motif that serves as both skeleton and body. "Will you get back what you put in?" Hamilton asks over an insistent guitar riff. The line is delivered with a knowingness that transcends its surface critiques of late-stage capitalism, asking both herself and the listener whether this is, in fact, the world we want to live in. Through Plum, Widowspeak have brought something into the world that seems to know its own worth, even as it wonders aloud about what is to come. What value and meaning do we assign ourselves, our time, and how do we spend it?

Cassandra Jenkins' An Overview on Phenomenal Nature emerged from the blue earlier this year. With pandemic unknowns and political upheaval leaving most at frayed ends, the New York-born musician’s assuring voice and expansive fresh take on songwriting created a much needed reflective space for listeners worldwide. As 2021 comes to a close, Jenkins revisits those flowing textures and refrains with (An Overview On) An Overview On Phenomenal Nature, a collection of previously unreleased sonic sketches, initial run-throughs, demos, and sound recordings from the cutting room floor that provided the scaffolding for what became one of this year’s most critically acclaimed albums.

When Jenkins visited Josh Kaufman’s studio this summer, they opened up their original sessions to uncover the ideas that were shed in the creative process. The new collection, (An Overview On) An Overview On Phenomenal Nature, isn’t merely a retrospective; it acts as a clear-eyed addendum as well as a compelling origin story, coming to life as a subconscious companion to the original album.

First takes of “New Bikini” and “Hailey” are born from opposite starting points; while “New Bikini” began as an airy alto meander, “Hailey”’s origins lie in an upbeat dance track. On “Crosshairs (Interlude),” Jenkins’ pitched vocal delivers a straight monotone, recasting the format as poetry with music highlighting her words, and “Ambiguous Norway (Instrumental)” lifts the ambient nature of the mournful song into glimmering waves. The demo version of “Michelangelo” contains alternate lyrics “I’m Michelangelo, a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle,” a lost contrast to the later verse where Jenkins’ likens herself to the sculptor. On “Hard Drive (Security Guard),” we join Jenkins as she listens to a passionate museum guard whose promised “overview” of the exhibit on view builds into a monologue of observations on art, politics, feminism and the human condition. This candid interaction evolved into the cornerstone and title of Jenkins’ album.

Before they decided to make an album together, Jenkins brought Kaufman a song called “American Spirits.”The dusky ballad takes us to the Texas plains via a voicemail from the payphone of a county jail (“Miss Cassandra”). Cassandra sings, “Time here burns through the sunsets / Like you and a pack of American Spirits” over warm instrumentation with a vocal delivery that reinforces Jenkins’ unwavering tenderness towards her subjects.

(An Overview On) An Overview On Phenomenal Nature bookends Cassandra Jenkins' musical output this year with nuance, coloring in the corners, and giving us another window into her ever-expanding world of chance encounters, experiences, and sonic textures. They glimmer like the sun’s changing patterns on the wall as a new day gets going.

Reuben's Daughters is not a band, it's a name for all of the musical works by Reuben Myles Tyghe, a pure product of Bath's musical scene. Reuben performs solo, write and record albums featuring a wide pool of guests, collaborate with other artists, has a six piece live band... it's all Reuben's Daughters. The daughters part of the name allows all of his musical endeavours to have a fluidity... And the album is full of this light and smotth fluidity that gets directly to the listener's hear without fighting it. Or, in the words of Keely Stoltz: "“Playful and adventurous pop where solid grooves undulate underneath technicolor island slide guitars. Who knew some of the sunniest new music in the world could be crafted in the southwest of England?”

"Absence of the loved one is a theme running through both films, but during the creative process we never discuss with the Havels the themes, symptoms or attributes of the characters. We do not specify any meanings. Our collaboration is intuitive, based on interconnectedness. We neither explain things to each other nor analyse. From the outset we have a common goal: to quieten the viewers’ perception, to attune them to certain vibrations by visual, musical and acoustic repetitions, thus enabling them to focus on every tiny detail, every subtle aesthetic quality, so that by the end of the film they have a sense of reconciliation. In fact it is a state similar to meditation or prayer. The aim is being shown Mercy. Each time, the linking of the filmed images with Irena and Vojtech’s music has uncovered a new quality that we have named: a commentary on eternity. Characters cease to be determined by their senses, psychological motivations, or the times they live in. They find liberation in the stream of eternal time." /Václav Kadrnka

"We would like to thank all our friends, sound engineers and musicians. The main thanks go to director Václav Kadrnka, his family and all his collaborators for the precious opportunity to assist them in creating both films. We have worked on our music for the film Saving One Who Was Dead for three years. We met with Václav, discussed the screenplay while it was being born and many other things. We have gradually prepared several working versions that included compositions for piano, Indonesian gamelan, gongs, Tibetan bowls, bells and mini-bells. Yet, step by step, we made it simpler and simpler and eventually only kept violas da gamba, organ and chanting. Everything else was redundant. We made most of the recordings of the compositions for viola da gamba in a church in Prague. The composition for organ was recorded in Milan where we performed a concert shortly before the pandemic arrived in December 2019. We tried to record it in various churches in Bohemia but it was not until the church in Milan that we found the best sounding organ.

As for Little Crusader, we recorded the music for the film after it was completed. We had several versions and used the piano version for this album. Together with Václav, we searched for instruments that would work the best for this Medieval story. Eventually, we opted for harmonium with simple chanting which accompanies the character little boy Jenik. Violas da gamba intertwine, move close and then apart from each other the same way as paths of little boy Jenik and his father who is searching for him. Simple chanting and Tibetan bowl accompany scenes with little boy Jenik’s mother who awaits them at home. Trombone and saxophone are like metal swords and the knights’ armor. Violoncello and viola da gamba walk in the rhythm of horse’s hooves, in the rhythm of heartbeat of both the horse and his rider – a father searching for his lost son."
/ Irena and Vojtěch Havlovi

Rudolf Abramov hit all Optimo Music's buttons at once. Drums, energy, songs, instrumentals, super production, Post Punk echoing, dance floor destroying, home listening friendly, and completely unique.

Who are they and what are they about? Read on...

Rudolf Abramov is a duo based in Berlin. They seem to open a door to unexpected musical encounters. It's an almost impossible task to sum up their sound in a comprehensible way, but in their own words their music is 'a response to a seemingly endless conflict about disgust, acceptance and love.' Since the duo likes to invite other musicians and fellow humans to add to their pieces, this often creates another layer to their unexpected musical encounters.

"Losing Perspective" is the result of a journey that began with a week-long recording session outside the city. Back in Berlin the skeletons of the track gradually grew in flesh, experience and emotion, describing this time in a vibrant and ever-changing city; a city where the faded colours sometimes seem more appealing than the unifying glow of the new.

In order to preserve for ourselves the conflicting colours in their fantastic disharmony, we have therefore watched the pieces change rather than moving them in a particular direction. The result is a number of tracks with different facets that derive from different moods and voices, indulging in diversity.

At the end of this process, we look back at this colourful collage and connect our own very personal history with it and both resolve in harmony. When asking the cat from our studio’s courtyard for example, she said that "Losing Perspective" was about stray tomcats who have lost their old home port to a newfangled establishment wandering randomly through the days in search of songbirds, distraction and rest. And we feel like she kinda has a point there.

LA FAMILIA AUFLAGE!!!

GOLD, the follow-up to Alabaster DePlume's widely-acclaimed, 2020-
released cinematic instrumental LP To Cy & Lee: Instrumentals Vol. 1,
introduces the world to the artist’s truest self.

That is... though DePlume’s now known across the globe as the saxophonist who created that collection of wonderful, wordless music, he’s most known to fervent fans in his home zone of London, UK, as an outspoken poet and orator, beloved for his inspiring words of encouragement and sing-a-long-able songs about vulnerability, humanity, and courage. GOLD is a sprawling double album that finds DePlume expressing both sides of his artistic character beautifully: (1) an articulate singer and songwriter who invokes the melodious crooning of Donovan as much as Devendra Banhart or Syd Barrett, whose tunes are almost like mini-sermons, full of existential comedy and spiritual enlightenment; and (2) a brilliant composer of simple, soothing, and viscerally nourishing instrumental melodies, with a gift for expanding them into intrepid collective improvisations, led by a delicate and distinguished saxophone tone that conjures the fluttery sweetness of the great Ethiopique Getatchew Mekurya.

Packaging specs: Black & 'Eye of the Sun' coloured Vinyl 2xLP in Heavyweight Gatefold Jacket with Gold-Foil Stamp over Reverse-Board print, with Insert Sheet, IA OBI Strip and Dome-Pattern Inner Sleeves

"Chance" is the second album of Société Étrange, composed of 6 love
songs without words, with equivocal rhythms, glaucous turquoise
bass and melodies affectionately tinged with melancholy.
The album was recorded in July 2020 in Vaulx-en-Velin from a collection of materials and collective drift. Composed in studio, it is by the live that is shaped their pieces, several years to test them together so that these three musicians let us glimpse a possible civilization. Not fantasies that cannot beapprehended, but a future that we can hope to desire. Their hypnotic compositions, drunk with dub, iron harmonics and polymetric measures, play a music that is a bit shady, one of those that provoke the space for the dance to happen, without anesthesia. Société Étrange was formed in 2012 by Antoine Bellini (Electronics) and Romain Hervault (Bass), joined in 2015 by Jonathan Grandcollot (Percussions) after the release of their first album "Au revoir"

First Word Records is very proud to welcome back Don Leisure, with a brand new 25-track album 'Shaboo Strikes Back'.

Five years have passed since the first 'Shaboo' album was released. A collection of beats and pieces that documented the road trip of Don's youth - hip hop music interspersed with Asian radio station jingles of old, dedicated to Bollywood actor, Nasser 'Shaboo' Bharwani - Don Leisure's late uncle.

This album was heralded as "the best album of its kind since J Dilla's 'Donuts'" and deemed "unmissable" by the folks at Piccadilly Records. It also had strong support from BBC 6 Music's Tom Ravenscroft ("very, very good this indeed"), Huey Morgan ("my beat of the week"), Worldwide FM's Lefto ("defo down with this"), Rob Da Bank ("this is wicked") and the likes of Mathieu Schreyer (KCRW, LA), Alex Ruder (KEXP, Seattle), Kid Fonque (5FM, South Africa), Om Unit, Jon1st, Mr Thing, Rob Luis (Tru Thoughts), Dom Servini (Wah Wah 45s), Tim Parker (NTS) and tons more from across the globe.

Don Leisure is a DJ and producer based in Cardiff, Wales, sometimes known as one half of Darkhouse Family, along with Earl Jeffers. He's been a prolific beat-maker for many years, releasing under a variety of monikers for labels such as Metalheadz, International Anthem, Fat City, Izwid, Earnest Endeavours and Group BraCil. His most recent release was a remix for Gruff Rhys, which was released on Rough Trade.

In 2020 he was nominated for the Welsh Music Prize for his 'Steel Zakusi' project, and has dropped several releases for First Word, including the acclaimed 2019 'Halal Cool J' album and various Darkhouse Family projects, including collabs with artists as diverse as Charlotte Church, Om'Mas Keith and Children of Zeus's Tyler Daley, additionally to remixes from DJ Spinna and label-mate, Kaidi Tatham. As a DJ he has provided mixes for BBC 6 Music, NTS, Rinse FM, Solid Steel and Boxout FM in India, as well as performing at The Jazz Cafe, Fabric and on Boiler Room.

'Shaboo Strikes Back' is a much-awaited sequel to the 2017 smash, and again features a modest 25 tracks. Psychedelic fuzzy samples and phat beats aplenty, Don Leisure once again takes us on a far-out trip across soundscapes. A real tapestry of flavours, from jazz to reggae, and from the soulful to the spiritual, this time round he's invited a few special guests to join him on his travels - most notably Welsh legend Gruff Rhys provides the vocals on 'Neon Drizzle (Hotel Shaboo)', whilst acclaimed multi-instrumentalist Angel Bat Dawid and Jazzman-signed harpist Amanda Whiting lend their talents to 'All Praises Due'. There is even a special cameo appearance from his young daughter, (aka Shaboo's great-niece!), Naima, on 'Naima's Dream'.

Once again, this is a journey into sound.

'Shaboo Strikes Back' is released on vinyl & digital by First Word Records, March 2022.

Dedicated to Nasser 'Shaboo' Bharwan
























x 24: Neon Drizzle (Hotel Shaboo) feat. Gruff Rhys

Recorded in 1991 by the quintet of vocalist Billie Ray Martin and Birmingham-based electronic musicians Brian Nordhoff, Joe Stevens, Les Fleming and Roberto Cimarosti, Electribal Soul was conceived as the sequel to the band’s 1990 debut album, Electribal Memories.
Electribal Memories had yielded the hits ‘Talking With Myself’ and ‘Tell Me When The Fever Ended’ and pushed Electribe 101 to the forefront of a crossover electronic scene that fused dance music with pop savvy. They were snapped up by Phonogram, managed by Tom Watkins and hailed as “the next band to meet the Queen” by i-D. The band took the coveted support slot for Depeche Mode on their epochal World Violation tour and supported Erasure at Milton Keynes Bowl. Seen as the next big thing, everything pointed toward enduring critical success for Electribe 101, and the band settled into putting their second album together.
“There was a degree of confidence among us when we came to write the second album,” recalls Billie Ray Martin. “To me, the songs we put down sound like some of our finest moments.” More immediately lush and warm than the dancefloor-friendly structures of Electribal Memories, the clue to the sound of Electribal Soul lies in the second word in its title: soul. Songs like the aching sensuality of opening track ‘Insatiable Love’ or the emboldened defiance of ‘Moving Downtown’ showcase Billie Ray Martin’s distinctive vocal range as it moves from haunting quiet to dramatic, euphoric rapture. Lyrics from ‘Moving Downtown’ had found their way into ‘Pimps, Pushers, Prostitutes’ by S’Express, and the song would appear as ‘Running Around Town’ on Martin’s 1996 solo album. The strikingproduction on the version of the song presented on Electribal Soul suggests classic late sixties soul influences, such as those of legendary Motown producer Norman Whitfield, with the long shadow cast by Kraftwerk never being far away.
‘Deadline For My Memories’, the song that provided the title for Martin’s first solo album, was originally intended for the second Electribe 101 album. Its lyrics document a sense of freedom and liberation from the darkness of a bad relationship, accompanied by jazzy piano and organ sounds over a quiet rhythm and discrete electronics. In contrast, ‘A Sigh Won’t Do’ finds Martin in soothing vocal mode, despite its devastating message about the final ending of a strained relationship, her lyrics framed by restrained and subtle beats and sounds.
To spend time with Martin’s voice on Electribal Soul is to find yourself moved deep into the ordinarily impenetrable emotional corners of your own psyche. “I was into big ballads at the time and listening to all kinds of US and UK singers, and I was also young enough to want to prove myself as a belter of ballads,” explains Martin of the classic soul edge the album showcased.
Electribal Soul heads into darker territory with ‘Hands Up And Amen’. Originally written by Martin in Berlin in the period before moving to London and forming Electribe 101, the song was then perfected and enhanced by the band’s production nous. ‘Hands Up And Amen’ savagely documents the mugging of a woman in Queens, NY at gunpoint, only to resolve itself with a middle section that nods reverently toward gospel tradition. The song coalesces around a regimented break and burbling synths, finally ending with layers of urgent synth sounds.
Meanwhile, a cover of Throbbing Gristle’s ‘Persuasion’ takes us into a seedy world of sexual coercion and creepy infatuation, predating Martin’s chilling version of the track with progressive house unit Spooky two years later. Supported by a minimal, nagging rhythm and barely-fluctuating sounds, Electribe 101’s take on ‘Persuasion’ makes for uneasy listening, even though Martin manages to inject a sort of twisted sympathy for the protagonist as the song progresses.
That Electribe 101 were as comfortable offering complicated, nuanced tracks like ‘Persuasion’ alongside pop house bangers like ‘Space Oasis’ – written by Billie Ray Martin with Martin King before Electribe 101 was formed – is testament to the way the band wove their way effortlessly through electronic music reference points. Framed by light, jazzy piano melodies and string sounds, the energy of ‘Space Oasis’ soars so high that it could easily reach the moon, while highlighting how well-suited Martin’s voice has always been to club music. We hear the same reminder of her dance music credentials on ‘True Memories Of My World’, finding her describing a Hollywood actress who reflects on being used by directors to sell her ‘tears’.
Hooking up with the Birmingham-based Nordhoff, Stevens, Fleming and Cimarosti after placing a Melody Maker ad in 1988 (“Soul rebel seeks musicians – genius only”), it was clear that Martin had found a group that recognised the unique power and importance of her voice. Having worked with genres as diverse as reggae, rock and R&B, the four producers proved to be perfect collaborators, presenting carefully-sculpted backdrops that emphasised the towering emotional dexterity of her voice.
“Listening back to these tracks now, I was reminded of what a bunch of great musicians they were,” says Martin. “They had a rule that if a part still sounded good after a day or two then it could stay. If it bothered the vocals, it would go.” Even more so than on Electribal Memories, Electribal Soul places Martin at the captivating centre of these pieces, surrounding her voice with everything from dubby rhythms to chunky R&B beats to nascent trip hop breaks; wiry, acid-hued synths uncoil gently without ever dominating, while horn samples and lush, disco-inflected strings provide a rich, naturalistic accompaniment for Martin’s emotional outpourings.
The band finished mixing the album at London’s Olympic Studios in 1991. They were assisted by Apollo 440’s Howard Gray on production duties for ‘Deadline For My Memories’, ‘Insatiable Love’ and ‘Space Oasis’, with Gray supported by talented engineer Al Stone. Pre-release promo tapes were issued and an enthusiastic energy started to build around the band’s anticipated second album.
It was not meant to be. Against a backdrop of a worsening relationship with Tom Watkins, and a disinterested Phonogram, instead of receiving a positive reaction to the new tracks, Electribe 101 were swiftly dropped by their label. Electribal Soul languished, unreleased, and the band yielded to pressures that had been building and split up. After collaborating with Spooky and The Grid, Billie Ray Martin went on to release her seminal debut solo album in 1996, with it securing the era-defining hit ‘Your Loving Arms’, while the other group members continued to work together as The Groove Corporation.
Thirty years after the songs were recorded, we’re now finally able to hear what the second and final chapter of Electribe 101’s story sounded like. Electribal Soul shows that the band had really only just got started when they dropped their first album in 1990. Heard only by a select and privileged few, what followed elevated the band’s music to a completely new level, making Electribal Soul musical buried treasure of the most precious and rare variety.
Electribal Soul will be released on LP, CD and digital formats on 18th February 2022 through Electribal Records. The physical formats include extensive liner notes from Billie Ray Martin, and the album sleeve features unseen archive photographs by Lewis Mulatero from the original 1990 sessions with the band that were never used in the sleeve designs for Electribal Memories.

Les Disques du Crepuscule present a new, remastered vinyl edition of Quart de Tour, Mon Amour, the highly collectible debut album by enigmatic Belgian duo Piscine et Charles, originally released by the label in 1984.

This remastered 2021 reissue retains the original cover art, as well as adding text and previously unseen images from the Piscine et Charles archive, plus a digital copy (MP3). A limited edition of 500 copies only has been pressed on turquoise vinyl.

A duo comprising Dominique Outers and Luc Raemdonck, Piscine et Charles taped their debut album at Daylight Studio in Brussels with engineer Didier de Roos (Univers Zero, Tideline), along with several guest musicians and classical singer Lucie Grauman. A concept album of sorts, Quart de Tour, Mon Amour (which translates as Quarter Turn, My Love) combines literary lyrics with music described as a ‘neat fusion of coldwave, electronics and lounge-jazz, predating acid-jazz by about five years and conjuring impressive atmospheres.’

Despite failing to reach a wide audience at the time, the album has since become a sought-after collector’s item, with the title track recently appearing on acclaimed anthology set Uneven Paths: Deviant Pop From Europe on Dutch label Music From Memory. ‘A very unique sound, Piscine et Charles explore a poetic, romantic and enigmatic musical realm where synth-pop meets jazz and spoken word.’

France pianist Vanessa Wagner continues her exploration of the minimalist repertoire by introducing her audience to pieces, many rare or unpublished, by acclaimed composers, young pianists, and genre-bending personalities from the ambient and electronic scenes. In France or even Europe, Vanessa Wagner is practically the only "classical" pianist to tackle this contemporary and timeless repertoire. Study of The Invisible features interpretations of pieces by a spectrum of composers that includes Suzanne Ciani, Harold Budd, David Lang, Bryce Dessner and Phillip Glass.

Described by Le Monde as ‘the most delightfully singular pianist of her generation’, and by Libération as ‘one of the most curious and captivating pianists on the French scene, Vanessa Wagner is able to balance parallel careers. As well as performing a classic solo, chamber and concert repertoire on stages all over the world, through her output on InFiné she is continuously exploring paths that are equally personal, but perhaps more intimate. Study Of The Invisible sees her breaking new ground in a musical tradition, in a way that no other ‘classical’ pianist in France and Europe currently does. Often described as ‘minimalist’, it’s a musical tradition that covers a multitude of singular styles and musical personalities and that spans generations.

Study Of The Invisible seeks out the mysterious world that lives behind the score, the imperceptible links that unite these silences and harmonies, but also the inner resources that this music can bring to light. With this record and this journey, whose apparent melancholy ultimately proves to be powerfully comforting, Vanessa Wagner continues to give a new scale to a music which proves to be above all radiant and luminous.

*are Vinyl exclusive tracks

Tolouse Low Trax, Sacha Mambo, General Purpose and newcomer Berkay Mate get on the remix of Ex Ponto’s ‚ Neka Neka' LP. Neka Neka is a nod to ex-Yugoslavian experimentalists of the 80s (Rex Ilusivii, Kozmetika, Miha Kralj etc) and the thriving, late-night hedonism of Belgrade's Club 20/44

Tolouse Low Trax provides a remix to Middle Path that is experimental, deep and pulsating. The track is obscure, but has a pulse that you can feel in your chest and ears listening to be beautiful spoken words which will leave you in a trance.

Sacha Mambo reworks 20-40 into a vivid melodic trip that goes into the explorations of the cosmos. The movement of this track is groovy and uplifting, it will keep you on the move. The eclecticism and craziness of Sacha Mambo are definitely heard in this remix.

General Purpose remix Ex Ponto into psychedelic drug chug. This mid-tempo acid banger will keep your body moving, melt your mind and the break down will set you off. Close your eyes and immerse yourself in the vivid journey.

Berkay Mete serves up a remix of intoxicating Eastern sounds. This track is ideal for a sun soaked dancefloor or in the darkness of the nightclubs. Wherever it is played it will, the rhythm will grab you and keep you.

Fucked Up release ‘Do All Words Can Do’, a ninetrack compilation gathering ‘David’ era-appropriate rarities and B-sides, all of which were previously available only on 7”.

Rare Nigerian Afrobeat-Funk from 1976.

First vinyl reissue since 1976.

First Ever Release Outside Of The African Continent.
Comes With Insert/Liner Notes.
180g BLACK vinyl limited to 500 copies (w/obi strip) - Non-Returnable.
THE FRIIMEN MUZIK COMPANY (also known as FRIIMEN) was formed after the Biafran war in 1973-1974 in the town of ABA in the eastern part of Nigeria. Aba was the Number 1 Music Hub in the entire Eastern Region of Nigeria. While bands and artists like ‘Ofege’ and ‘Fela Kuti’ ruled the LAGOS scene, bands like ‘Friimen’ and ‘The Apostles’ were ruling the ABA scene.
Before forming the band, most of its members were already working together as freelance session musicians backing up solo artists on several recordings and concerts (or were playing in military bands that gradually became civilian bands because the war had just ended). FRIIMEN members’ credits were numerous and they played, wrote or performed on recordings from well-known acts like The Funkees, The Jets, The Apostles…and countless others.
When they started concentrating on writing their own songs, the group instantly took off and became an overnight hit that resulted in them doing multiple successful nationwide tours. FRIIMEN would go on to record three albums: Free Man (1976), We Can Get It On (1978) and Merry Man (1979). All three albums were released on the Aba based label Anodisc Records (THE key label to be on if you wanted your music heard and out there), Anodisc also released hit records by ‘Sweet Unit’ and ‘Voice Of The Cross’ but The Friimen Muzik Company was the label’s signature band.
The Friimen Muzik Company was so solid that every new group or artist wanted the Friimen to back them up in the recording studio. As a result, Anodisc Records received tons of demo cassettes from aspiring artists…the label would then first consult the Friimen members to see if these new acts were worthy of giving a chance to record and release an album for Anodisc. Over the course of the years the band went through several line-up changes…but in 1980 the band finally broke up and their story came to an end.
The album we are presenting you today (Free Man from 1976) was recorded at the famous Decca Studios in Lagos and comes swinging right out of the gate with a set of no less than EIGHT monster tunes. Expect nothing less than crazy afrobeat and over the top melodic funk influenced by a wide array of artists (both local and international). Mesmerizing solos, captivating grooves, impeccable sequences that turned many heads…everything you need to get a dancehall into a complete uproar. The musicians’ skills are just plain incredible! FREE MAN is a quintessential record that every serious collector or fan needs to have in his/her collection.
This reissue also comes with an insert featuring pictures of the band and extensive liner notes from band-member Arthur Freds.
Tracklist:
Release Yourself , Free Man , My Dreams , Funky Workshop , Word of the Lord , We'll Get Our Share , You Can't Change Anything , Gimme Some Time

Desiderii Marginis, Troum, Martin Bladh & Karolina Urbaniak and Anemone Tube, who have gathered to pay homage to the first four novels of British writer J.G. Ballard: »The Wind from Nowhere«, »The Drowned World«, »The Drought and The Crystal World«, which are often seen as disaster novels. Each of the four projects presents a very unique take on the chosen work, using the respective text as a starting point to offer sonic representations of and (further) perspectives on these books, using drones, field recordings, words and much more to create evocative and richly layered soundscapes.

Adorned by a painting of German artist Alex Tennigkeit depicting a sphinx-like hybrid creature, a phoenix rising from the ashes of our civilization, the double album also includes an in-depth essay by Michael Göttert (African Paper) on Ballard's works in which he argues that the novels can best be understood as texts of transformation, as well as texts by the sound artists.

The double album starts with Desiderii Marginis' track “The Wind From Nowhere”, on which field recordings and intense drones suck the listener into a stormy vortex. Troum interpret The Drowned World, and their two dynamic tracks illustrate both the changes happening to the (outer) landscape and the (inner) world of the protagonists. Martin Bladh & Karolina Urbaniak make use of sound and words on “The Poisoned Well”, their interpretation of The Drought, referring to Shakespeare, the Bible and scorched earth policy amongst other points of reference. The album closes with Anemone Tube's take on The Crystal World, using field recordings made in Japan’s Mount Fuji forest. “Sea Of Trees” aims to show a devolutionary process, in which man gains access to his actual spiritual home – a primordial wisdom, which lets him discover an internal non-dual space, allowing to ultimately becoming one with the earth as body-being consciousness – the ‘perfect dream’ landscape.

First vinyl pressing is Limited to 1500 copies in 2 Colour variants. Transparent Aquamarine and green twisted stripe and transparent blue and cherry twisted stripe vinyl (Indies Only). Gatefold sleeve. Full download included as well. CD package is a 4 panel digipack, with a 4 page booklet. New Heavy Sounds is proud to present the new album by Mammoth Weed Wizard Bastard. now known simply as MWWB. There has been some speculation amongst fan circles that the final part of the trilogy of albums that preceded this, marked the end of Mammoth Weed Wizard Bastard’s five-year mission. Not so. We can categorically confirm that having officially slimmed their name down to the acronym, MWWB are continuing their voyage through the far reaches of the galaxy. The first phase of that journey is their new album ‘The Harvest’. ‘The Harvest’ is the band’s fourth album, and of course it is a record shot through with the trademark heavy MWWB sound, and their unique blend of metal and shoegaze. However it also sees the band adding more experimentation, a progressive approach, and going a bit more left field conceptually. To some extent, it shares similarities with Pink Floyd’s ‘Dark Side Of The Moon’. Not only by having the mix of experimentation and melodicism as that seminal record, but also in the way that it has been engineered and constructed as a seamless piece. Nine tracks flowing into one another. Space age riff monsters segueing into shorter musical interludes, where John Carpenter, rubs shoulders with Pink Floyd and a maelstrom of moog and mellotron. There are surprises, and of course a bucketload of heavy shit. With ‘The Harvest’ MWWB have refined and honed their sound, it’s a carefully crafted distillation of ideas, written, conceived and sequenced to be listened to in its entirety (preferably in one sitting). MWWB have always loved film scores and this new album is in many ways, the soundtrack to a film. MWWB provides the musical narrative (the song titles also provide a pointer) and the listener's imagination does the rest. ‘Oblok Magellana’ and its spooky atmospherics set the scene. before things really kick in with the riffs of title track ‘The Harvest’. A grooving Sabbathian chug intro’s Jessica Ball, who at the top of her game throughout. Her voice simultaneously sweet yet dark; almost neofolk; which when put against those riffs, is always a startling juxtaposition, nevertheless it perfectly crystallises MWWB’s distinctive dynamic. ‘Interstellar Wrecking’ is a succinctly crafted nugget of John Carpenter-esque drama, you can imagine the thundering mothership forging its way through the universe on some nameless quest before encountering ‘Logic Bomb’ and its fat fuzzed-up ride through light and shade guitar/vocal interplay. Ball’s voice soaring and shimmering throughout. ‘Betrayal’ gives a nod to Pink Floyd’s ‘On The Run’ but with its freaky spoken word and four on the floor kick it’s almost a dance track, yet there’s no incongruity here. ‘Altamira’ is epic MWWB, adding large doses of psych into a melodic concoction of dreampop and metal. Ball’s vocals here are many layered and textured effortlessly gliding through the weight of the backing. ‘Let’s Send The Bastards Whence They Came’ is another little gem. A plaintive repeating synth figure that builds with bass, drums, mellotrons and synths into ‘Strontium’ which rounds off the album’s ‘heavy’ numbers, a blend of monster grooves, and Ball’s swooning vocals. Finally, and outstandingly, Jessica strips things back to a distorted guitar and voice on ‘Moonrise’. Shorn of the layers of fuzz, it is a simple, beautiful and fitting catharsis to an epic voyage. MWWB are a thrilling proposition. They demonstrate that you can seamlessly mix crushing power, experimentation and delicate vulnerability into something that transcends any genre. MWWB are Jessica Ball, vocals and synths. Paul Michael Davies, guitar and synths. Stuart Sinclair, bass and Dom McCready, drums.

First vinyl pressing is Limited to 1500 copies in 2 Colour variants. Transparent Aquamarine and green twisted stripe and transparent blue and cherry twisted stripe vinyl (Indies Only). Gatefold sleeve. Full download included as well. CD package is a 4 panel digipack, with a 4 page booklet. New Heavy Sounds is proud to present the new album by Mammoth Weed Wizard Bastard. now known simply as MWWB. There has been some speculation amongst fan circles that the final part of the trilogy of albums that preceded this, marked the end of Mammoth Weed Wizard Bastard’s five-year mission. Not so. We can categorically confirm that having officially slimmed their name down to the acronym, MWWB are continuing their voyage through the far reaches of the galaxy. The first phase of that journey is their new album ‘The Harvest’. ‘The Harvest’ is the band’s fourth album, and of course it is a record shot through with the trademark heavy MWWB sound, and their unique blend of metal and shoegaze. However it also sees the band adding more experimentation, a progressive approach, and going a bit more left field conceptually. To some extent, it shares similarities with Pink Floyd’s ‘Dark Side Of The Moon’. Not only by having the mix of experimentation and melodicism as that seminal record, but also in the way that it has been engineered and constructed as a seamless piece. Nine tracks flowing into one another. Space age riff monsters segueing into shorter musical interludes, where John Carpenter, rubs shoulders with Pink Floyd and a maelstrom of moog and mellotron. There are surprises, and of course a bucketload of heavy shit. With ‘The Harvest’ MWWB have refined and honed their sound, it’s a carefully crafted distillation of ideas, written, conceived and sequenced to be listened to in its entirety (preferably in one sitting). MWWB have always loved film scores and this new album is in many ways, the soundtrack to a film. MWWB provides the musical narrative (the song titles also provide a pointer) and the listener's imagination does the rest. ‘Oblok Magellana’ and its spooky atmospherics set the scene. before things really kick in with the riffs of title track ‘The Harvest’. A grooving Sabbathian chug intro’s Jessica Ball, who at the top of her game throughout. Her voice simultaneously sweet yet dark; almost neofolk; which when put against those riffs, is always a startling juxtaposition, nevertheless it perfectly crystallises MWWB’s distinctive dynamic. ‘Interstellar Wrecking’ is a succinctly crafted nugget of John Carpenter-esque drama, you can imagine the thundering mothership forging its way through the universe on some nameless quest before encountering ‘Logic Bomb’ and its fat fuzzed-up ride through light and shade guitar/vocal interplay. Ball’s voice soaring and shimmering throughout. ‘Betrayal’ gives a nod to Pink Floyd’s ‘On The Run’ but with its freaky spoken word and four on the floor kick it’s almost a dance track, yet there’s no incongruity here. ‘Altamira’ is epic MWWB, adding large doses of psych into a melodic concoction of dreampop and metal. Ball’s vocals here are many layered and textured effortlessly gliding through the weight of the backing. ‘Let’s Send The Bastards Whence They Came’ is another little gem. A plaintive repeating synth figure that builds with bass, drums, mellotrons and synths into ‘Strontium’ which rounds off the album’s ‘heavy’ numbers, a blend of monster grooves, and Ball’s swooning vocals. Finally, and outstandingly, Jessica strips things back to a distorted guitar and voice on ‘Moonrise’. Shorn of the layers of fuzz, it is a simple, beautiful and fitting catharsis to an epic voyage. MWWB are a thrilling proposition. They demonstrate that you can seamlessly mix crushing power, experimentation and delicate vulnerability into something that transcends any genre. MWWB are Jessica Ball, vocals and synths. Paul Michael Davies, guitar and synths. Stuart Sinclair, bass and Dom McCready, drums.

The Hip Hop world had long been looking for a breath of fresh air when four legendary emcees stepped up, together, as EMC. EMC consists of the Midwest phenom Stricklin, the widely respected Lyricist Lounge duo Punchline & Wordsworth, and the Brooklyn-bred, battle-tested Juice Crew all-star Masta Ace. The Milwaukee born and raised Stricklin garnered attention in the late 90s while signed to Tommy Boy Records, and Punch and Words were integral in the success of the groundbreaking MTV program “The Lyricist Lounge Show” and have released EP’s both as a group and as solo artists. After the three toured extensively with Ace in 2001, the four became extremely close. Both the rappers themselves and the fans recognized the chemistry and, according to Masta Ace, “the group idea was a natural progression of the relationships we had all made from being on the road together. It wasn’t just about the music with us, we are pretty much like brothers.” EMC started a feeding frenzy in 2007 with the release of the 12” single “E.M.C.” and the subsequent 2008 full-length album The Show. With more than 20 tracks and appearances by Sean Price, Little Brother, Ladybug Mecca (of Digable Planets), DJ Eclipse, and Money Harm (of Product G & B), The Show satisfied even the most Rap-hungry fan. And while the album proved to be a showcase of lyrical talents, the beats themselves delivered as well, with production by Marco Polo, The Are of K-Otix, Ayatollah, Nicolay, Koolade, and more. Stricklin’s personality combined with the cleverness of Punchline, the wordplay and work ethic of Wordsworth, and the leadership of the Music Man himself Masta Ace, proved to be a massive success and this sought after album is now back in print and ready to be devoured by hungry rap fans once again.

Following two stunning singles, prodigiously talented producer and composer Frederic Robinson is set to drop his debut album,
'Mixed Signals', on Blu Mar Ten Music on 14th October. The album is the culmination of over a year's work and a lifetime of musical
obsession for Robinson, comprising of a series of intricately crafted and delicately emotive tracks exploring a forward-thinking
electronic vision, which he describes as "music for the listener with a broad horizon and a short attention span'.
Over its eleven tracks, 'Mixed Signals' gives Robinson the canvas to showcase the full breadth of his talents like never before.
Amalgamating the many influences that inform his productions, from drum & bass and electronica to contemporary classical
composers, 'Mixed Signals' is a brilliantly crafted and coherent artistic statement that draws upon his talents as a classically trained
multi-instrumentalist as well as an electronic producer. Filled with light and shade, impact and intricacy, 'Mixed Signals' is much more
than a drum & bass record or a collection of club tracks; this is an album in the truest sense of the word.
"So far, this album is my biggest musical project and my greatest achievement. I worked on it for about a year and went through many
different creative phases in that time, all of which are represented somewhere on the LP. It is a summary of my current talents, skills
and interests. It marks the end for some ideas and concepts and the beginning for many others." - Frederic Robinson.
Built from a collage of acoustic and electronic elements, Robinson's music is a dense patchwork of skittering rhythms, found sound
and lush instrumentation, which harnesses a compelling emotional draw as much as it does an undeniable dance floor energy. Both
immediate and nuanced, 'Mixed Signals' is a brilliant balance of contrasts.
The sweeping drama of previous single 'Theme Park' opens the album, remaining as fresh and brilliantly unique as ever, while 'Off
Topic' and 'Bloom' featuring Stray both also provide familiar touchstones, exploring esoteric manifestations of 170 bpm's outer
possibilities. Three vocal tracks are scattered throughout the tracklist, with the soft, otherworldly tones of Melanie Robinson providing
an entry point to Robinson's world of broken percussion and wandering melodies.
Elsewhere, 'Vamp Till Ready' balances rich string orchestration against a wave of skittering percussion and 'Shut' offers an expansive
beauty in its naïve, dreamlike melodies. 'Particles' showcases an innate understanding of drum & bass constructs, warping tight
breaks and deep bass against bold blasts of colour while the eponymous track explores a playfully off-kilter and delicately nuanced
downtempo vision, before the album is played out on wave of hazy melodies and light-footed rhythms with closer 'Static Float'.
'Mixed Signals' provides the broad canvas that Robinson thrives in painting with his sprawling musical influences and complex
arrangements, and the results are phenomenal. The album is a masterpiece in dance floor escapism from a talent whose career is
undoubtedly in the ascendant.

Tape

Lucia H. Chung is a Taiwanese experimental artist based in London. She performs and releases music under the alias 'en creux'.

Under this alias, Lucia is interested in the underlying structures of what we call noise and is examining the effects of human interventions into its complex web of tones. Repetition and chance operations are fundamental to Lucia‘s music. It is not built on the dionysian maximalism and symbolic harshness of lots of noise artists; catharsis is not reached via an explosion of sound, but via concentration on sound phenomena and small changes, which, not unlike some minimal disco night your usual mind-altering drone ritual, sucks you in more with every tiny alteration. This music is as intense as it is sensitive.

„The Liberated Mind“, in Lucia‘s own words, „is a sort of split release between two no-input configurations“. For „Wyldside“, she tuned two different feedback mixers with identical routings as close possible, as much as tuning is possible at all on these highly volatile instruments. „The two channels naturally phased in and out from each other. I guess the process was actually akin to Steve Reich's tape techniques on Come Out and It's Gonna Rain. The whole release extrapolated from that point onwards...“ Finding and replicating similar routings/settings on no input mixing desks is the nightmare of every control freak and a task doomed to failure, but in letting go and embracing these failures, patterns emerge. And thanks to Lucia‘s careful work, these patterns become hypnotic as she carves out the essence of each feedback loop, or, as she puts it: „Actually, I did remember the setting for the final track „Earthrise“, but for whatever reasons, I just cannot reproduce the sounds and it's forever lost (at least for this point in time, maybe when the conditions are primed again for the machine, the same sounds will emerge again...). I guess that's really the essences of improvised NIMB setup. Every single sound was the effect of the previous iteration and the cause of the next iteration... (Wait... isn't it just like a Blockchain? Ha!)“

A collection of no-input studio sessions improvised with Mackie 1202-VLZ Pro, TAPCO MIX260FX, MXR Phase 90 and Electro-Harmonix Bad Stone Phase Shifter. All tracks recorded live, no overdubs. Recorded in London in February 2020. Mastered by causeandcondition

Lucia also works as independent curator, producer and broadcaster at Happened. Check out Lucia‘s other albums on Hard Return, Falt and SM-LL.

Originally planned for issue on Strata-East, Hammond took his collaboration with Durrah to Detroit and issued his masterpiece. Lacquered by Bernie Grundman. Now-Again presents the de­nitive Tribe Records reissues. Deep, Spiritual Jazz of the highest order. The Tribe label, one of the brightest lights of America’s 1970s jazz underground, receives the Now-Again reissue treatment. This is your chance to indulge in the music and story of one of the most meaningful, local movements of the 20th Century Black American experience, one that expanded outwards towards the cosmos. In the words of the collective themselves, “Music is the healing force of the universe.” Included in an extensive, oversized booklet, Larry Gabriel and Jeff “Chairman” Mao take us through the history of the Tribe, in a compelling story that delves not just into the history of the label and its principals, but into the story of Black American empowerment in the latter half of the 20th Century. The booklet features never-before-seen archival photos and rare ephemera from Tribe’s mid-1970s heyday.

Take cover: there’s a storm coming !

With its lyrical thunderbolts, lightning-flash fretwork and ground-shaking grooves, Black Wind Howlin’ is a record to blow your roof off – and Samantha Fish is stood at the eye of the hurricane. Released on September 20th through Ruf Records, Black Wind Howlin’ flips a finger at the cliché of the ‘difficult second album’, firing off 12 classic tracks that chart Samantha’s evolution as songwriter, gunslinger
and lyricist. While lesser artists work to a template or settle into a pigeonhole, Samantha shifts her shape across the Black Wind Howlin’ tracklisting. She can be brutally rocking on cuts like the tourbus snapshot of Miles To Go (“Twelve hours to Reno/ten hours til the next show”), the swaggering Sucker Born (“Vegas left me weary, LA bled me dry/skating on fumes as I crossed the Nevada line…”) and the
venomous Go To Hell (“Oh, this ain’t my first rodeo/You hit yourself a dead end/ Your voodoo eyes, ain’t gonna cast a spell/ So you can go to hell!”). And yet, elsewhere, backed by the versatile production of Royal Southern Brotherhood guitarist and longtime collaborator Mike Zito, you’ll find Samantha shifting gears to the aching slide- guitar balladry of Over You (“Echoing words, said I’d never make it on my own…”) and the redemptive country strum Last September (“Don’t
remember the curves of my face/Can’t feel the warmth in my embrace/Well I’m here to remind you…”). She might stop off for a gritty cover of Howlin’ Wolf’s.
Who’s Been Talkin’, and co- wrote Go To Hell with Zito, but all other tracks are Samantha’s self-penned originals, and it’s a mix to keep listeners on their toes. “I wanted this record to have a modern rocking sound,” she explains of the lightfooted vibe. “I also wanted it to have elements of Americana, country and roots.”
Therefore she had support from a first- call band that included Royal Southern Brotherhood rhythm section Yonrico Scott (drums) and Charlie Wooton (bass), back- up guitar and vocals from Zito, plus guest appearances from Johnny Sansone (harmonica), Bo Thomas (fiddle on Last September) and Paul Thorn (vocals on Go To Hell). So here it is. Harder, darker, bolder and better than even its revered predecessor (Runaway), this is the sound of an artist on the brink of the huge-time with both hands on the wheel.

For Susanna, nothing happens in a vacuum. Every creative act responds to what's come before. And by exploring this dialogue, we can learn new things about ourselves and the world. This idea has inspired the Norwegian artist throughout her near two1decade career. It's behind her unforgettable covers of classic songs and her interpretations of the paintings of Hieronymous Bosch. And it found its purest expression on 2020's Baudelaire & Piano, a stripped back song cycle setting texts from the 19th century French poet's The Flowers of Evil. In Elevation, its followup, Susanna's engagement with Baudelaire's work blossoms into a collaborative enterprise, combining tape, spoken word and song. The result is a unique musical conversation spanning centuries and disciplines; a "time travelling" project, as Susanna puts it, that moves between creative dimensions. She brings collaborators back into the process, nurturing connections made over a series of Baudelaire & Piano live shows presented in 2020 and 2021. Composer1improviser Delphine Dora offers teasing renditions of the original French texts, layering spoken recitation and otherworldly singing in a set of atmospheric vignettes. And tape recorder soundscapes from Stina Stjern-familiar from Susanna's Hieronymous Bosch project Garden of Earthly Delights (2019)-frame the album with hiss, hum and soft fingers of melody, like mist settling on a landscape. These contributions deepen the album's mystery and its evocative power. The result is an engrossing interleaving of sounds and registers; and, as Susanna describes it, "an intuitive and collective ceremony of the ethereal and mystical in life." Elevation features work by American occultist artist Cameron (1922-1995), an adherent of Aleister Crowley's Thelema movement. Her illustrations "Witch Woman", "Pan" and "Danse" adorn the release, which will be available on cassette as well as in the usual digital, CD and vinyl formats.Oslo-based artist Susanna has released music as Susanna and the Magical Orchestra and 'just' Susanna since 2004, through labels like Rune Grammofon, ECM Records and her own outlet SusannaSonata. She has collaborated with artists like Jenny Hval, Bonnie 'Prince' Billy and John Paul Jones, highly active with different projects, songwriting/composing, and making personal interpretations of other people's songs.

P.E.’s sophomore album, ‘The Leather Lemon’, ushers in a new era for the New York band. A wild ride through chewy bubblegum pop, sweeping synthetic orchestrations and mutant club beats, the album slides ever closer to the fully-realized pop sensibility only winked at with their debut album, ‘Person’ (2020), and subsequent releases.

 Recorded primarily at Schenke’s Studio Windows in Brooklyn, NY, ‘The Leather Lemon’ was cultivated from a fertile creative period between spring 2020 and summer 2021, which also yielded 2021’s acclaimed ‘The Reason For My Love’ EP.

 Digging into mystery, romance and sex appeal, the album centres its sound within a Bermuda Triangle of dance music, electronic composition and experimental rock. Members Jonathan Schenke, Bob Jones and Jonny Campolo play within pop parameters, building upon free-form collaboration to create a fluorescent groove machine that harnesses the energy of their frenetic live shows.

 Singer Veronica Torres explores her softer side, expanding her vocal repertoire from spoken word and jagged growls to cherubic and sensuous psalms.

 Sax virtuoso Benjamin Jaffe’s chiseled experimental tone is heard in an extended solo of true romance in ‘Tears in the Rain’, a sombre surrealist duet penned by Torres and Andrew Savage, singer/guitarist of Parquet Courts.

 It is a reckoning record for the times; an album of psychedelic resurfacing, real-time response to world events, and soft, sympathetic magic. This is a collection of songs shaped by five individuals who embrace music-making as a way to centre themselves in times of uncertainty; it’s resilience and imagination given shape. ‘The Leather Lemon’ is a true sweet-and-sour listening experience, an album as bright and clear as it is fractured and fun.

Like only the most gifted storytellers, Matisyahu spins the rare kind of stories that simultaneously enlighten and enthral and expand the audience’s sense of possibility. On his eponymous new album, the Grammy Award-nominated singer/songwriter/rapper shares his most autobiographical work to date, merging that personal revelation with a shapeshifting collision of reggae and hip-hop and boldly inventive pop. Produced by Salt Cathedral (a Brooklyn-based duo comprised of Colombian musicians Juliana Ronderos and Nicolas Losada), the result is an undeniably transformative album, one that invites both intense introspection and unbridled celebration. About “Chameleon” On the album’s dancehall-infused lead single “Chameleon,” Matisyahu presents a potent piece of self-reflection spiked with equal parts idiosyncratic wordplay and warmly expressed wisdom (“Turn an evil eye inverted to let the light in/Illuminate the evil till dem heart get sizzlin’”). “Chameleon” Quote “Chameleon has two facets. On the one hand it is able to blend with its surroundings in order to survive without sticking out. On the other hand is the shedding of its coat in order to grow. The story line continues here as our protagonist must learn both the necessity to blend in it at times but also to continue to grow and change.”

Among the greatest lyricists hip-hop has ever seen, Gift Of Gab was one half of iconic duo Blackalicious, and inspired countless listeners before his untimely passing in 2021. As the last project Gab released commercially during his lifetime, "Rejoice! Rappers Are Rapping Again!" is an important contribution to the famed emcee’s extraordinary discography. Originally released on digital outlets in 2018, the 8-track EP is a triumphant celebration of lyricism as an art form, bursting with whirlwind flows and dazzling wordplay.

Now, "Rejoice! Rappers Are Rapping Again!" is available on vinyl for the first time. Featuring memorable appearances from R.A. The Rugged Man and A-F-R-O on the standout single “Freedom Form Flowing”, the collection is a compelling reminder that even toward the end of his life, Gift Of Gab remained at the peak of his powers.

First Fragment was founded in 2007 by Phil Tougas (Chthe'ilist, Atramentus, Funebrarum) & brothers Gabriel Brault-Pilon and David AB. From day one, the trio sought to create a brand of extreme technical death metal that combined counterpoint-based riffing, neoclassical lead guitar work, power metal-inspired passages as well as flamenco & swing sections in a desire to branch out and establish their own unique voice in the Quebec scene. Their critically-acclaimed 2016 debut album "Dasein", released through Unique Leader, built upon the foundation established with the band's notorious EP "The Afterthought Ecstasy", self-released in 2010, Dasein was the culmination of almost 10 years of hard work and dedication to their craft. First Fragment have since honed their craft and perfected their sound through expanding upon their extensive musical influences, further blurring the line between flamenco-inspired technical death metal and neoclassical power metal. The result is "Gloire Éternelle" - an ambitious conceptual album that is unmistakably First Fragment, yet at the same time, impossible to categorize and pigeonhole. Boasting baroque-influenced guitar counterpoint, flamenco sections, unique slap-bass-driven swing grooves (which the band trademarked by name as "swingdowns"), face-ripping lead guitar work and bombastic drumming. Add a highly aggressive dual vocal approach and a lyrical approach soaked in abstract poetry (sung all in french), sprinkle with a ton of fretless bass solos and the result is the ultimate shredfest. A word which may be perceived positively or negatively depending of the listener, but nevertheless, a shredfest with soul, memorability, identity, purpose and conviction. For fans of : Yngwie Malmsteen, Cacophony, Racer X, Spawn of Possession, Capharnaum, Theory In Practice & Necrophagist

First Fragment was founded in 2007 by Phil Tougas (Chthe'ilist, Atramentus, Funebrarum) & brothers Gabriel Brault-Pilon and David AB. From day one, the trio sought to create a brand of extreme technical death metal that combined counterpoint-based riffing, neoclassical lead guitar work, power metal-inspired passages as well as flamenco & swing sections in a desire to branch out and establish their own unique voice in the Quebec scene. Their critically-acclaimed 2016 debut album "Dasein", released through Unique Leader, built upon the foundation established with the band's notorious EP "The Afterthought Ecstasy", self-released in 2010, Dasein was the culmination of almost 10 years of hard work and dedication to their craft. First Fragment have since honed their craft and perfected their sound through expanding upon their extensive musical influences, further blurring the line between flamenco-inspired technical death metal and neoclassical power metal. The result is "Gloire Éternelle" - an ambitious conceptual album that is unmistakably First Fragment, yet at the same time, impossible to categorize and pigeonhole. Boasting baroque-influenced guitar counterpoint, flamenco sections, unique slap-bass-driven swing grooves (which the band trademarked by name as "swingdowns"), face-ripping lead guitar work and bombastic drumming. Add a highly aggressive dual vocal approach and a lyrical approach soaked in abstract poetry (sung all in french), sprinkle with a ton of fretless bass solos and the result is the ultimate shredfest. A word which may be perceived positively or negatively depending of the listener, but nevertheless, a shredfest with soul, memorability, identity, purpose and conviction. For fans of : Yngwie Malmsteen, Cacophony, Racer X, Spawn of Possession, Capharnaum, Theory In Practice & Necrophagist

First Fragment was founded in 2007 by Phil Tougas (Chthe'ilist, Atramentus, Funebrarum) & brothers Gabriel Brault-Pilon and David AB. From day one, the trio sought to create a brand of extreme technical death metal that combined counterpoint-based riffing, neoclassical lead guitar work, power metal-inspired passages as well as flamenco & swing sections in a desire to branch out and establish their own unique voice in the Quebec scene. Their critically-acclaimed 2016 debut album "Dasein", released through Unique Leader, built upon the foundation established with the band's notorious EP "The Afterthought Ecstasy", self-released in 2010, Dasein was the culmination of almost 10 years of hard work and dedication to their craft. First Fragment have since honed their craft and perfected their sound through expanding upon their extensive musical influences, further blurring the line between flamenco-inspired technical death metal and neoclassical power metal. The result is "Gloire Éternelle" - an ambitious conceptual album that is unmistakably First Fragment, yet at the same time, impossible to categorize and pigeonhole. Boasting baroque-influenced guitar counterpoint, flamenco sections, unique slap-bass-driven swing grooves (which the band trademarked by name as "swingdowns"), face-ripping lead guitar work and bombastic drumming. Add a highly aggressive dual vocal approach and a lyrical approach soaked in abstract poetry (sung all in french), sprinkle with a ton of fretless bass solos and the result is the ultimate shredfest. A word which may be perceived positively or negatively depending of the listener, but nevertheless, a shredfest with soul, memorability, identity, purpose and conviction. For fans of : Yngwie Malmsteen, Cacophony, Racer X, Spawn of Possession, Capharnaum, Theory In Practice & Necrophagist

First single in three years from Belfast’s Robocobra Quartet.

For fans of Black Country, New Road, Black Midi, Squid, Fugazi, Dry Cleaning.

“Fugazi meets Mingus.” - Drowned in Sound
“Exploratory pioneers.” - BBC Radio 3 Late Junction
“A cunning marriage of jazz, spoken word and punk” - The Quietus

Improvisation and experimentation is at the core of Robocobra Quartet's DNA, almost intentionally at odds with their roots as a post-punk band. Including members with no musical training alongside
European music conservatoire innovators, the result is a groove-driven but cerebral blast, invoking the likes of Fugazi, Talking Heads and contemporaries such as Squid and Black Country, New Road.

The eclectic free nature of their live shows allows them to channel-hop from moments of joy and playfulness to periods of intense fury, creating a unique sound that has earned them invitations to Montreux Jazz Festival, Latitude and as far out as the Inversia Festival in the polar north of Russia.

Extensive live UK and Europe dates and album launch tour to be announced.

‘American Foursquare’, Denison Witmer’s 10th - and best - album finally receives its long-awaited physical release.

Written after relocating his family to his hometown of Lancaster, PA, it’s a response to these major life changes - a meditation on empathy, on love and on the meaning of home.


“An album of extraordinary beauty and emotional force… His Songs are like exquisite miniatures” -The Sunday Times

“American Foursquare’ is a breath-taking, humble outpouring of reflection capturing growth, change, longing, and contentment: In other words, it’s the soundtrack to a life lived.” - Atwood Magazine
Tracklisting

Colorado-based RUMTUM (aka John Hastings), an acclaimed visual artist and up-and-coming producer returns to Bastard Jazz with his first full-length offering: "Isles In Indigo." Arriving after a slew of successful singles (many of which can be found on the album) and EPs, "Isles In Indigo" both stays true to his established sound, and expands on the artistic vision; a luscious combination of aquatic ambient, lo-fi hip-hop, and mellow, melodic electronic, the record traverses the depths of the ocean to the outer reaches of the cosmos.

New offerings on the album include "Lost My Heart In Space" - an ethereal, downtempo cut - "Half Set Valley," which explores instrumental lo-fi replete with distant, chopped and edited spoken word samples, "Coastal Ruins" with nods to breakbeat, "Mystic Symbols," a trippy minimal track, and the album closer, "Commit Way," which journeys from washed-out ambient to spacey hip-hop. Of course the LP also includes many RUMTUM mainstay singles, including "Shade Fader," "Tropic Air," and "Borealis."

Electronic producer and instrumental enthusiast RUMTUM has a unique approach to crafting his melodic melodies. May it be his love for native spirits, mystic symbols or even sea life, sampling the natural world plays the biggest part in the dynamics of his writing. Ambient loops and saturated synth lines set the tone while the bass and drums do most of the story telling.

"Isles In Indigo" is a stunning freshman release from a budding artist on the rise. Stay tuned for the physical LP arriving March 2022, complete with an original art insert.

South London-based 8-piece band Don't Problem is proud to present their their new album ' Liminality' planned for October 2021.

Their first three singles 'King Kong' 'Whale' and 'CD's Lament' gathered very strong media support with coverage from the likes of Mary Anne Hobbs, Jamz Supernova, Tom Robinson, WorldWide FM, BBC London, Jazz FM, Soho Radio, Amazing Radio, Radio Nova, Fip and more.

With their new album, the combo challenges the common perception of a "covers" brass band, exclusively writing original material and adding electronics, synths & strings, a reflection of their wide encompassing interests. They introduce us to a very personal journey; the moment in time where a brass band affirms their love for club culture and delivers an album that travels from heavy funk to psychedelic jazz and UK dance music.

"As 8 people writing music together, sometimes it can take a while for a tune to fully take shape. This tune came into itself in the studio which gave us the space to explore the production, sonic possibilities and instrumentation. The opening section leads to a beautiful first-take flugelhorn solo driven by lush strings, pulsing horns and electronics before reaching its soaring conclusion. The title ‘Whale’ is in reference to the Whale emoji which we use as a way to express a greatness or joy for which words can't be found."

Don't Problem's debut 'DP EP' combined the heavy funk and raw psychedelic sound of brass and drums with ferocious grime-inspired improvisation to deliver original and fresh music, aimed squarely at the dance floor. The band is comprised of 8 musicians who've played with everyone from Tenderlonius, Emma Jean Thackray, Alfa Mist, Tom Misch and Ruby Rushton to Riot Jazz.

SlothBoogie Records welcomes Deep House maestro DJ Aakmael onto its roster this March with ‘The Hardbody Project’ EP, comprised of four original compositions from the Richmond, US-based artist.

Across the past decade and a half DJ Aakmael has unveiled an impressive back catalogue of soul-drenched, dynamic deep house via revered imprints such as Uzuri, Church, Scissor & Thread, Freerange and Second Hand Records amongst many more. Here we see his latest material perfectly interlace with SlothBoogie Records own impressive back catalogue of bumping house and raw deep cuts.

Leading the release is ‘Hardbody’, laid out across seven minutes with chopped brass samples, bright key sequences, modulating Moogesque resonant leads and shuffled drums before ‘Track 166’ shifts focus over to a deeper aesthetic via dubbed out chord swells, organic percussion and twinkling piano melodies.

The aptly named ‘Deepshyt’ opens the flip side, as the name would suggest employing an amalgamation of deep and entrancing synth work, crisp drums and spoken word vocal chants. ‘Strobe’ then rounds out the release with a more disco-tinged House feel, fusing together funk guitar licks, cinematic strings and a snaking bass groove atop Aakmael’s signature swinging rhythmic feel.

Emel Mathlouthi is a Tunisian author, composer,performer and producer whose music has crossed time, countries and continents.

‘Kelmti Horra’ celebrates its tenth anniversary this year. Ten years of passion, protest and free speech: this album marked the year 2012,
becoming the Arab Spring anthem.