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Brussels born and based DJ, producer and label owner UC Beatz shows no sign of slowing down with another outstanding release. This time, he lands on Four Framed Music to bring his latest four-track EP, ‘Knights of Utopia’, to dance floors around the world.

UC Beatz has established himself as a prominent figure in the House music scene, having released on his own Entrepôt Records and on highly respected imprints such as Brooklyn’s very own Razor-N-Tape, Derrick Carter and Luke Solomon’s label Classic Music Company and recently on Dam Swindle’s Heist Recordings. With ‘Knights of Utopia’, he continues to showcase his exceptional skills as a producer, delivering a selection of tracks that embody his own distinctive sound.

This is another impressive release from the Belgian House Maestro.

Metroplex dont need an introduction, arguably worlds first and longest running Techno label. OCb aka Driss Bennis is a new face at Metroplex. Since starting his own label Casa Voyager in 2017, the Moroccan artist has gained a reputation for being as versatile an A&R as a producer. Hie debuts his OCB project on Metroplex with ,,The Sequel", an expansive five-tracker, covering a wide range of musical territory from funk-infused breakbeats, fast-paced electro bass, chilled downbeats to focused techno. The astral pads in the opening track ,,THX (The Sequel)" give way to lush electro beats, a funky bass line and warm chords before a vocoded voice exclaims ,,trans human express". Despite its slightly menacing title, ,,Global Warning" has the same ethereal star-gazing vibe, driven by breakbeats and accentuated by dreamy piano chords. On the flip side, the fast-paced electro of ,,Syntax Error" does its title justice with highly-processed fragments of a robotic voice propel the track forward. ,,Translate" is classic Motor City techno - Metroplex style. ,,The Sequel" rounds off with a short, chilled downtempo track, that once again underscores Bennis' musicality. Metroplex is back!!

Milestone album from n°1 Dancehall artist in Europe available for the first time ever on vinyl. Includes the monster hits "Bad" and "World Whin" as bonus tracks.

Blaiz Fayah currently lives between Paris and London and comes from a family of musicians. Songwriter- singer-composer, he made a name for himself thanks to the Dancehall and Moombahton djs who selected him for their best mixes around the world.

After making the world dance with his track « Bad » and its millions of streams, Blaiz Fayah is the dancehall hit maker of the moment.

Blaiz Fayah is the most exciting dancehall artist of his generation !

The French artist has been very successful all over the world and this has brought him to the South American, Caribbean and European dancehall scenes.

Independent and unstoppable, his freshness and talent have pushed him to the top with several million streams per month thanks to hits such as : Best Gyal, Bubble & Whine, Bounce it, Call The Police... With millions of views on TikTok, his hit "Bad" (with Tribal Kush) has gone viral, accumulating thousands of videos.

Independant and unstoppable, his freshness and talent have pushed him to the top with several million streams per month and a string of hits...

Blaiz Fayah, with his charisma and accompanied by his dancers on stage, brings to each of his live performances, a crazy energy and happiness to the public.

Brazilian soul, psych, bossa and jazz, reimagined from Berlin, via the Dead Sea, on Moriah Plaza’s dreamy first album for Batov Records.

Moriah Plaza co-founders Tamir Chen and Moosh Lahav first encountered and fell in love with the beautiful and hypnotic sounds of Brazilian bossa nova and samba as children in Tel Aviv in the nineties, via the many local bands and tribute groups that had sprung up since the first wave of bossa had hit swept across the world. Likewise
they developed a fascination with elevator muzak, film soundtracks, and even the hotel pianist performing day-by-day in the lobby of the Sheraton Moriah where Tamir’s mother worked, overlooking the Dead Sea.

Relocating years later to the vastly different environment of Berlin, capital of a country that enjoyed its own Brazilian moment, Tamir and Moosh’s shared passion for Brazilian music would encourage them to create their own songs inspired by the warm pulse of Brazil, albeit a world apart, through a vastly different lens.
Whilst the initial inspiration for Moriah Plaza can be traced back to Tel Aviv and the Dead Sea, the band itself was conceived by Tamir and Moosh in Solarium Studio, Berlin, from the broken fragments of their former shoegaze band, Soda Fabric, who had the honour of backing outsider legend Daniel Johnston. They would go on to write and record their debut album in close collaboration with two Brazilians and fellow Berlin residents,, poet and singer Cecília Erisman, and singer, songwriter, synth operator and Tropical Disco Club founder Flavia Annechini.

The album opens with “Desendereçada”. Dirty drum machine beats thud away under flutes and extraneous noises and a spoken word commentary. The oddness and allure of the intro is a perfect introduction to the world of Moriah Plaza.

The pace picks up on “Mais Amor”. A beautiful Brazilian soul jazz number with a sublime vocal from Flavia Annechini that will surely appeal to the global dancefloor jazz scene. “Te Peço” daws us in deeper with sweetest jazz vocal over an irresistible bassline and bossa drums that transforms halfway through into a modern soul rhythm crowned by flute and horns. A flute solo from Moosh Lahav leads us into the final uplifting refrain.

The Pharoah Sanders meets Ravi Shankar in Rio grooves of “Estelar”
have that fresh feeling that will certainly appeal to fans of modern favourites Rebecca Vasment and Ruby Rushton. Next up, the mysterious “Lagoon de Merim” is practically two songs in one, the first half an atmospheric string-topped number somewhere between Arthur Verocai and Cinematic Orchestra, before snappy drums beats and playful organ chords introduce a slow brassy samba that fills the whole sonic room.

“Teu Porto” is a must for all DJs, mixing calypso, highlife and house, lilting guitars and smooth vocals by Cecilia Erismann.. The deep samba house grooves of “Samba Moosh” close us out. The rich blend of sweet vocals, soaring flute and gritty synths carry us off into the sunset.
Moriah Plaza’s self-titled debut album is a major addition to the global soul and jazz scene. providing the perfect summer soundtrack for music lovers around the world.

An extraordinary exploration of pure vocal power and sensual expression, The Zen Kiss is a highly personal vision of a woman working on the boundaries of convention.
credits
released May 3, 1994

Produced by Steve Coe. Mixed at Real World Studios, Wiltshire, England, November 1993. Mixing engineer Stuart Bruce. Assistant mixing engineer James Cadsky. Recorded at the Coachhouse, Clifton, Bristol. Recorded by Andy Allen and Rik Dowding in the two weeks around the Neptune/ Uranus conjuction of October 1993.

Mastered by Ian Cooper at Metropolis, London.

All drones played or sung by Steve Coe and Sheila Chandra.
All songs written and arranged by Steve Coe and Sheila Chandra except ‘En Mireal del Penal’ by Arroyo/Benito.

Art Direction by Michael Coulson, Real World. Designed by Tony Stiles, Real World. Design Consultation Assorted Images. Series identity Garry Mouat. Photography by Sheila Rock.

Interview by Martha Ladly and Tatiana Spencer.

Eindringliche Melodien durchziehen Pendant World, das mit Spannung erwartete zweite Deutsche GrammophonAlbum der texanischen Band Balmorhea. Die 13 Tracks offenbaren ein breites Spektrum an Stilen, Texturen, Rhythmen und Farben und lösen Genregrenzen auf. Gefundene Sounds, Samples, Vinylaufnahmen, Synthesizer, Blechbläser und Flöten ergänzen Balmorheas reguläre „Stimmen“ aus Klavier, Akustikgitarren und Streichern. Zusätzlich gesellen sich zu Rob Lowe und Michael A. Muller auf Pendant World auch die Geigerin/Sängerin Aisha Burns, die Cellistin Clarice Jensen sowie eine ebenso herausragende Besetzung anderer Gastkünstler: der experimentelle Jazzsaxophonist Sam Gendel, Joseph Shabason an Tenorsaxophon und Flöte, Klarinettist Jonathan Sielaff, Schlagzeuger Jason Treuting, die Sängerinnen Steph Jenkins und
Lisa Morgenstern. Produziert wird das Album vom Grammy-Gewinner und Produzenten Jonathan Low, der auch noch Synthesizer und Schlaginstrumente einarbeitet. Pendant World erscheint digital, auf CD und auf Vinyl.

Long out-of-print release available digitally for the first time. Extensive notes by a local writer in English and French. Previously unpublished family photos. Urbanized traditional music at a dance-floor-friendly tempo. The very definition of an "Awesome Tape From Africa". Roger Bekono made a deep mark in the contemporary history of Cameroonian music through the four-on-the-floor, ribald intensity of bikutsi. The Ewondo-language dance-pop style that forms an undulating tapestry of interlocking triplet rhythmic interplay came to international prominence in the European "world music" scene as the 90s began. But the relentless sound of bikutsi developed in Yaoundé at the hands of Bekono and many others, as it developed from a village-based singing style performed mostly by women into a cosmopolitan music force that rivaled the popularity of established musics like Congolese rhumba, merengue and makossa. With his unique—some say suave—voice, Bekono contributed much over a period of more than 10 years as part of the evolution of this traditional rhythm-turned-urban dance movement. Bekono worked with legendary producer Mystic Jim, who had built a prolific home studio along with a crack team of musicians. They joined as part of the production of his self-titled album, which became known locally as "Jolie Poupée," the name of the album's lead single and most popular song. For "Jolie Poupée" Mystic Jim programmed the kick or bass drum, adding effects to have a heavier bass. Overall the album represented a new level of finesse and professionalism for his second release. In the middle of 1989, Jolie Poupée was released by the label Inter Diffusion System and aggressively hit the radio, discos and national television. The music video for the title track was on loop on TV. It felt like everyone was talking about it, even artists in adjacent music scenes like makossa. The album came out on vinyl and cassette and remains Bekono's best-selling recording to this day. With Jolie Poupée Bekono finally made an impact outside Cameroon as the record captured listeners in some Central African countries like Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Republic of Congo and Sao Tome & Principe. In these countries, we find the Fang or Mfan people (also known as Ekang), Bantu-speaking ethnic groups that are also found in Cameroon. This umbrella language group includes the language in which bikutsi is mainly sung. Most of Bekono's songs are in French, Ewondo (of which Beti is a dialect) and Pidgin. The four songs on Jolie Poupée are all considered bikutsi classics. On September 15, 2016, Bekono died of a long illness at the age of 62. In the wake of his passing the media published a wave of tributes, thanking him for what he did for Cameroonian music. He was an admired musician, songwriter and guitarist, and some of his old colleagues and some of the new generation of performers showered Bekono with vibrant tributes via social media, many of which noting something to the effect of: "The artist dies but his works remain."

"No Control" is one of the albums that helped bridge the band"s more reckless earlier direction with their more focused (but just as pissed-off) "90s-era. The strength of such cuts as "Big Bang," "Automatic Man," the title track, and "I Want to Conquer the World." No Control is one of the bands best all-time albums and an archetypal blueprint for the genre.

From small beginnings in 1974 as a local cinema and university event, Film Fest Gent has grown yearly in stature and is now recognised as one of the major destinations for the film industry. A vital component is the celebration of film music in the shape of the World Soundtrack Awards which honours the very best composers at work in the world of cinema. In 2016 the award went to one of the most brilliant composers of his generation, Ryuichi Sakamoto. This is the first overview of his remarkable catalogue of film scores, fully approved by the composer and performed by the masterful Brussels Philharmonic under the baton of Dirk Brossé. Sakamoto was already a celebrated pioneer in electronic music and composer/pianist/singer in Japan when director Nagisa Oshima asked him to write the score for Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence in 1983 and also to star alongside David Bowie. In a 30 year plus career since then he has worked with the cream of film directors including Bernardo Bertolucci (The Last Emperor), Brian De Palma (Snake Eyes), Pedro Almodovar (High Heels) and most recently Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu (The Revenant). This compilation is a fitting tribute to his status as one of the greatest living musicians and film composers.

Stoned Part I was the first self-released album from lost soul phenomenon Lewis Taylor. His third album proper, it was initially released on his own label Slow Reality in 2002 and it's been licensed to Be With for this long-awaited double LP release, its first ever vinyl edition. The songs are varied, hook filled and outstanding. Beloved by his legions of diehard fans, it's nothing short of a masterpiece.

After parting ways with Island, and without a label deal, Lewis went back to his home studio and began to record Stoned Part I in 2001. Co-written and co-produced with longtime collaborator Sabina Smyth, Lewis sings and plays all the instruments on this beautiful, emotional and very human album. It represents Lewis at his most accessible and finds him in the middle ground between his two Island releases. In some ways, Stoned Part I distills the best of his musical sensibilities. The flawless production is dense, layered and very early-2000s slick. The bottom end is thick, funky and sexy.

The complex, proggy-soul of title track "Stoned" opens the album and instantly captivates. Deep swinging funk with truly sweet soulful vocals, complemented by wah-wah guitar and swelling acidic synths. As Lewis himself told us, the ad libs at the end of the track were a nod to Paul McCartney at the end of "Hey Jude". Fan favourite "Positively Beautiful" has shades of Curtis and Marvin; its richly layered harmonies propelled by a simple, metronomic click-track that gives way to a more fully fleshed beat for the magnificent coda.

The slow, sweeping majesty of "Lewis IV" is all moody atmosphere, featuring dense, richly textured music and heavenly multi-tracked harmonies. The stop-you-in-your-tracks incredible "Send Me An Angel" could have been a huge AM radio hit, beautifully crafted sophisticated soul-pop songwriting in the vein of the very best Sade records. Yep! *That good* The smooth, psychedelia-lite "Til The Morning Light" is a gorgeous, sun-dappled love song, layered with Lewis' distinctive honey drenched vocals and, again, the type of record you could've easily heard all over the radio at the time of initial release.

The remarkable, wide-eyed "Shame" packs so many shifting styles into one song, it has to be heard to be believed. Opening in a laconic, breezy style, not unlike a Dallas Austin or Rodney Jerkins produced R&B hit of the day, it morphs into a heavy psych-soul Soulaquarians wig-out (the solo bearing an uncanny resemblance to Carlos Santana’s on "She’s Not There") before elegantly sliding into string-assisted symphonic soul and then back around again. And again. Sheer brilliance. The sublime, gentle head-nod funk-soul of "When Will I Ever Learn" (Part 1) is a strikingly well-turned-out tune, a neat, sweet bass-driven guitar-soul jam that ensures our jaw won't be leaving the floor anytime soon. "Lovin’ U More" sounds like a classic turn-of-the-century Neptunes production, the likes of which they'd lay on for JT BITD. A Latin-tinged groover with more than a little Nile Rodgers-driven slick funk stylings, it's yet another instant Lewis bomb with those gorgeous harmonies and chart-friendly irresistible key-changes to boot. Another indisputable (non-)HIT!

The funky seductive swagger of "From The Day We Met - Part II" opens the final side of wax, giving way to the gigantic buzzing synth-funk beast "Lovelight", a track so insouciantly mighty it should have been a massive hit for someone. Wait, what's that? Robbie Williams covered it? Ah, OK, well, I guess that says something about the effortless pop genius contained within. Containing a seemingly unnoticed nod to Kraftwerk’s "Computer World", it's Lewis's favourite song on the album. It's easy to hear why: "Sabina’s production totally nails it. I love the restraint and the subtlety, and that mixture of warmth and sweetness from the singing against the slightly cold, yet beautiful airy-ness of the backing track." To close this phenomenal album, the twisted electronic soul of "Sheneverdid" marries Lewis's beautiful falsetto to his virtuoso playing and an easy-cum-ominous musical backdrop. Stunning.

Simon Francis’s vinyl mastering, approved by Lewis himself, presents the eleven tracks over a double LP so, as ever, it sounds sensational. The records have been cut by Cicely Balston at Air Studios and pressed at Record Industry. Allow Lewis Taylor to get you Stoned.

A tale of two Indians recorded in Cologne, Stockholm & Berlin.
Anurag Choudhary & Pawas Gupta are Non Solo.
Friends from more than two decades, these gentlemen decided to bring together their knowledge of music at Anurag's apartment in Stockholm back in 2008. Anurag’s life journey took him to Stockholm,
Sweden and Pawas’ culminated in Berlin, Germany; both cities a cultural and a musical powerhouse in their own right. Anurag, a professionally trained Flautist (bamboo Flute or “Bansuri”) in the traditional Hindustani Classical Music and Pawas, someone who has been exploring the realms of electronic music since 1997 as a DJ and releasing records under different monikers since 2007 decided to bring in their forces on a gloomy Stockholm afternoon.

You may ask, why Non Solo? Well, for obvious reasons!
In traditional Indian classical music you are trained as a soloist, mastering a single instrument and each instrumentalist has a deep understanding of the common syntax and rules of engagement that produce some brilliant duets. Both Anurag and Pawas have been pursuing their solo music careers and mastering their craft. However, ‘Non solo’ brought these two (soloists) together to collaborate on something that has not been done before in this way so two soloists coming together and forming NON SOLO.
It all started over a “Fika” which translates to “ a concept, a state of mind, an attitude and an important part of Swedish culture. Many Swedes consider that it is almost essential to make time for fika every day.
It means making time for friends and colleagues to share a cup of coffee (or tea) and a little something to eat” in Anurag’s favourite Cafe, not to forget his exquisite palette for Coffee. After a short brainstorming on how to create something new and fresh without it being too cliched and with the help of impeccably roasted coffee beans that were freshly brewed, the men decided to jam it out to see where this goes.

The first attempt resulted in the second track on the record “Svar” which means “note or tone” which was a one take track. Motivated and excited, they both decided to continue working on this project.
A few months later Anurag visited Pawas' previous Studio in Cologne to record, where Sarang, Tandav and Bhoop were born. Even though the creation had happened, they felt it wasn't the right time to put
it out there just yet. However, time flew by and after almost 14 years of waiting, the men came back to what they had created and decided it was now the time to release it.
The title track “Sarang” is inspired by raga Brindavani Sarang, where Anurag infuses the romantic and mystical flavour of this raga with his flute and Pawas brings his deep repertoire of electronic grooves and
atmospheric sounds to create an intelligent track that touches the listeners.
Svara is inspired by raga Hansadhwani (translated ‘svan song’ or ‘sound of swan’) is an endearing melange of Indian classical and house music.
Tandav is a high energy track based on a variation of Sarang raga. With Pawas’ in-depth knowledge of both Indian classical percussion and electronic music….. This track combines multiple rhythmic layers
manifesting in one exhilarating track that is filled with polyrhythmic cadence and interludes.
Bhoop is melancholy and nostalgia infused into one melodious offering inspired by raga Boopali laid over a bed of organic drums and bass.

The Feel:
Svara is falling in love, the feeling you get when you are walking after that first wonderful date, smile on your face and so much anticipation and joy in the heart for all that excitement that is about to come.
Sarang is being in love, when you start to experience all those emotions you didn’t know even existed inside your heart. It is a complete journey.
Bhoop has a tinge of melancholy, longing and missing each other , while Taandav is coming back together after a long time away from each other. Re-discovering each other and re-experiencing all those
emotions at an even deeper level and celebrating the togetherness, be it in friendship or relationship.
Non solo is first in its kind to bring the melodious/musical depth inspired by the raga traditions to the exhilarating rhythmic world of deep house and electronica.
Available now in your favourite digital store and on limited edition Vinyl with an exquisite typographic artwork by Shantanu Suman in collaboration with Masala Movement's Manoj Kurian!

A1 - Dreamcatcher

A gentle kickoff to the EP sees ASC flex the ethereal side of his compositional range with Dreamcatcher. Bleeps and subtle bongos intro the track before a cymbal-heavy beat rolls into play, urged along by warm 808 basslines. Several samples will trigger the scene veteran's nostalgia glands, and as the Arthur O'Shaughnessy quote proclaims: "We are the music makers, and we are the dreamers of dreams", you cannot help but smile.

A2 - Tranquility

Filtered breakbeats with emphasised kicks begin our journey through Tranquility; a calming piece enriched with luscious synths, glorious pads and echoing vocal samples. ASC takes the listener through a crash course in DJ-friendly classic atmospheric drum & bass, inviting the crowd to take a step back from the chaos of the world and bask in the tranquility of the moment in true Spatial style.

AA1 - Drifting Thru

Remember Demon's Theme? For many it was their introduction to a new world of amen breaks in a birthing jungle / drum & bass landscape, and here ASC pays homage to that break - as well as a certain iconic classic on the Deejay catalog - rewritten impressively with a pure, intensely driven atmosphere and a thumping sub bass to boot as the eerie melody allows this incredible break to take center stage - as it should.

AA2 - Flotation

Closing the EP is Flotation, a building track which fuzes classic breakbeats chopped and punctuated with a slow-burning, gradually intensifying atmosphere. The interplay between breaks, bassline, pads and washing vocals is a delightful experience to behold, the bassline never relenting. Flotation is curiously catchy and will stay long in the memory.

Words by Chris Hayes (Spatial / Red Mist)

Zach Phillips und Olia Eichenbaum lernten sich 2018 online kennen und begannen schnell mit der Remote-Zusammenarbeit in Frankreich und Brooklyn. Zunächst arbeiteten sie unter dem Namen Pearly Gates zusammen und tourten 2019 durch Westeuropa. Nach einem Jahr Pause entstand das gesamte 'Perfect Angels' Album innerhalb eines knappen Monats während der Pandemie, wobei die Remote-Overdubs von Olia und ihren Gästen etwas mehr Zeit in Anspruch nahmen. Es wurde vollständig auf Tascam 388 1/4" 8-Spur-Band aufgenommen, wobei Computer nur während der Overdubs, des Mixings und des Masterings eingriffen.

In the five years since Creep Show’s acclaimed Mr Dynamite album was released it’s fair to say that we’ve all been through a fair bit. Sitting here, in 2023, things don’t seem to be getting any better. There’s the cost of living crisis and political meltdowns; we're in deep water with global warming and to top it all there’s a war on our doorstep.

Back in 2018 everything seemed less complicated. Sure, there was stuff to get riled about, but we knew nothing about what was to come. Mr Dynamite was a fairground ride into the dark corners of a world that was on the brink of being blitzed in a blender. It was a record teetering on the edge. Five years down the line you’d expect the follow-up, Yawning Abyss, would double-down and bring the white-knuckled, teeth-gritted fury of the last five years to the boil. And yet….

A quick recap? No problem. Wrangler + John Grant = Creep Show. And Creep Show? “A band of musical misfits who have found a voice or two”, says Wrangler’s Ben “Benge” Edwards, whose Bond villain studio on the edge of a moorland is Creep Show Grand Central as well as home to an analogue synth arsenal that could sink ships.

Wrangler have known each other for a while. Tunng’s electronics wizard Phil Winter and Cabaret Voltaire’s trailblazing, pioneering frontman Stephen Mallinder go way back, while Phil and Benge crossed paths in the 21st century when they seemed to be increasingly in the same venues at the same times. Meanwhile, Mal had been living in Australia since the mid-90s and when, in 2007, he returned to the UK his old pal Phil suggested he meet Benge and the three of them immediately began working together.

Wrangler collectively bumped into Grant at their soundcheck for Sheffield’s Sensoria Festival in 2014 where they were playing with Carter Tutti. A friendship blossomed and when they were invited to perform together for Rough Trade’s 40th anniversary show at London’s Barbican in 2016, well, they jumped at the chance... and Creep Show was born.

Let’s talk about the new album... What is the ‘Yawning Abyss’? You might well ask. According to Mal, it’s “a cosmic event horizon that I can see from my attic window when stand on a chair”. Yeah. Thanks.

“On this album”, offers Benge, feet firmly on the floor, “Wrangler wrangled some vintage synths, mostly Roland, Moog, and the ‘Crystal Machine’ - then John Grant joined in the fun at Memetune Studios where lots of musical experiments were carried out. Then Mal and John ran off to Iceland with the master tapes and recorded a load of madcap vocals. Back at Memetune, me and Phil were left to try and make sense of it all. Which wasn’t hard because what they did in Iceland was totally magnificent.”

Which kind of brings us back to where we began. You’d imagine ‘Yawning Abyss’ would be blowing steam out of its furious ears. Mr Dynamite but kicking a wasps nest. Repeatedly. And yet…

Opener ‘The Bellows’ comes on like a modular ‘Radio Ga Ga’, the singalong ‘Moneyback’ (“You want your money back? / I didn’t think so”) sounds like Godley & Creme’s ‘Snack Attack’ meets Prince Charles And The City Beat Band (“Pennies, pounds, dollar bills, signed agreements, death wills”). ‘Yahtzee!’ is an unhinged electro breakdance party in four minutes and nine seconds.

Where Mr Dynamite was menace, a mélange of mangled voices, with Grant and Mallinder being heavily treated, pitched up or down, rendering their contributions largely indistinguishable, Yawning Abyss takes a more direct approach. You hesitate to say feelgood, but there’s a skip in the step here for sure.

The title track plays John Grant’s vocal straight. Completely. It’s good, so very good. Like ‘Axel F’ covered by Vangelis. The delicious shimmering synths of ‘Bungalow’ also plays those Grant pipes with a straight bat. ‘Matinee’ delves into darker, very funky territory. With Mal upfront it comes on like ‘The Crackdown’. Choice lyric: “You are starting to breakdown / And it’s so fun for me to see / You should have thought of that / You should have come prepared / You can see what’s happening and you look a little scared”.

So, you know, not all feelgood. But it does feel good. It’s probably best to draw your own conclusions... This is Creep Show after all.

In the digital age, words are no longer just symbols of communication, but a powerful tool that gives rise to meaningful interconnections between different universes.

Words have the power to transcend time and space, connecting two souls destined to meet.

Il Significato delle Parole (the meaning of words) is Adiel's new effort on her DanzaTribale, a crossover of two minds, generated together with musician Flavio Accorinti: techno sounds like the restless soul that pervades our days, deconstructed atmospheres like shattered generational dreams. The fusion of two cosmic currents, two ways of thinking and creating, characterized by an immanent power, pushing us to imagine new urban primitivism. Two creative processes, transcending individual boundaries to connect into a single overarching vision, to explore new forms of art and storytelling.

The EP, mixed by Donato Dozzy and mastered at Rome's Enisslab Studio by Giuseppe Tillieci, starts with Nulla Resta, a defragmented, dreamlike, ascending climax markedly cyberpunk: dense with references to 90s Progressive Dream, Nulla Resta, with its dulcet melodies, transports us to an artificial reality, a spiritual reality albeit dominated by technology. A reality suspended between fantasy and materialism.
Suspended, like the second track (Sospesa): dark trip-hop's echoes adorned by the voice of Jordie Devlin Mcmorrow. "Shadows on the walls orchestrate our downfall." Dystopian futures intertwine with mysteriously dreamy pasts in a fatal spiral of redemption.
But words remain the catalysing element of this EP.
Parole(words) represents a communicative rare faction that embraces tribes near and far. Black drums echo in the distance in an intimate ballad, in an epic ride, in an ethereal metaphysical journey to the dissolution of the boundary between time and space, between memory and perception.
Notturna, on the other hand, is the epilogue we all deserve; a solemn twilight, a lysergic, dragging escape from the objectivity of the real world.

The images of life do not simply exist in a vacuum. They are defined by the energy that surrounds them, and it is the explanation behind each of these words that we must find if weare to truly understand them. Thanks to the meaning of words, sooner or later, we will be all united again.

epressed! Proto-punk and garage Zamrock: the celebrated guitarist Paul
Ngozi’s essential debut album. Featuring Chrissy Zebby Tembo

Guitarist/vocalist Paul Ngozi’s debut album – under the name Ngozi Family - is an important record: not just in the Zamrock genre,
but in the global rock canon. Day of Judgement is an introduction to the most intense, raw and inimitable golden era Zamrock
recorded, as it paved the way for a dozen Paul Ngozi and Ngozi Family releases (the most famous being drummer Chrissy Zebby
Tembo’s My Ancestors) that straddled the line between funk and punk, of driving hard rock and Zambian folk melodies and rhythms.
Day of Judgement was released in 1976, the same year as other, now famous, Zamrock albums, from WITCH’s Lazy Bones!! to Rikki
Ililonga’s Zambia. But it sounds like none of its counterparts. Part of that stems from its frenzied primitivism, the Ngozi Family’s
attempt to overcome a lack of musical acumen with sheer force of will.
That will allowed Paul Ngozi to overcome a humble upbringing to become the most unlikely combination: Zamrock’s most beloved
star in its brief but now-well chronicled arc; the only musician to maintain his fame and recording prowess in the dark ages of the
’80s; an inspiration to not only aging but young Zambians — and now others, beyond Zambia’s borders.
But one cannot imagine Paul Ngozi without this album, a full-on aural assault that sounds as wild nearly forty years after its release
as it must have sounded in the developing Zamrock landscape from which it emerged. We listen to this anachronistic yet prescient
album now as a wholly original, completely unpredictable album in line with those from mavericks from across the world – from the
Ramones to the Sex Pistols to Death. And, though it’s been over two decades since Paul Ngozi’s passing, his voice and vision still
seem exciting, powerful, unique, unvarnished, new.

More recently best regarded as soundtrack composer, Ben Frost here follows work with interdisciplinary sound artist Francesco Fabris on the »Dark« OST with a plunge into purest rock music, as in the actual sound of molten material rising to the surface and solidifying. With an impressionistic-artistic license also found in work by Chris Watson, Jana Winderen or Giuseppe Ielasi, the duo uncompromisingly revel in the sounds of nature’s biting point, using various production methods to make audible the sound of the earth beneath our feet in the process of creation, on location at Fagradalsfjall, Reykjanes Peninsula Iceland.

»As stable as we might choose to think it is, this planet is anything but that. A paper thin crust, the zone in which we find ourselves, and mostly concern ourselves with, exists as a modest veil cloaking a dynamic seismic turbulence that is as powerful as it is unknowable. There are moments though where ruptures occur. The pressure from within carves its way to, and through, the surface of the planet simultaneously delivering destruction and virgin landscapes, as primordial as any we might care to imagine. It is here, in these places, where we can literally see the living planet, that geologic time is condensed and world building is made visible, and audible to us, in an unrestrained and provocative detail.

These volcanic ruptures, such as those captured on Vakning by Francesco Fabris and Ben Frost, speak to the very living geology of Earth. These recordings, captured at close range, exist at a nexus where liquid rock becomes solid. They capture moments of transformation, of obliteration and of creation, often all at once. These are recordings of a living, material planet, dynamic and unrestrained«. (Lawrence English)

The Big G is back, but has Godzilla bitten off more than it can chew? 1992's GODZILLA VS MOTHRA is a triple threat treasure, with Godzilla battling the legendary Mothra and its dark doppelganger Battra, unleashed by a meteorite and is intent on destroying Mothra and, subsequently, the world. Throw in a rogue archaeologist, his ex-wife, and a multinational company exploiting the minute Mothra Cosmos twins, and you have a thrilling kaiju adventure with a stunning score by the original Godzilla composer, the brilliant Akira Ifukube. GODZILLA VS MOTHRA is undoubtedly one of Ifukube's most outstanding scores, bringing together the traditional booming brass and bass that accompanies Godzilla and Battra with a more ethereal sensibility for Mothra and her mission to save the Earth. Godzilla's theme is stomping in the foreground, and Battra gets similar material with a gigantic doom-laden motif for his destructive power. But the "Sacred Springs" theme for Mothra is a match for any of them, with Ifukube using it in minor and major modes, with a gorgeous rendition with a female chorus at the climax of the score, illustrating once again that when it comes to the music of Godzilla, Akira Ifukube is the master.

Delve into the Dutch jazz scene of the 1950s and 1960s with a selection of classic and rare hard bop and cool jazz tracks from artists like Herman Schoonderwalt, the Diamond Five, Wessel Ilcken and Tony Vos. Holland never sounded this hip before!

"Jazz is garbage and a caricature of the modern orchestra; it is garbage arranged by half-grown musicians for the benefit of common entertainment." In spite of the Dutch cultural establishment's attempts to preclude jazz - as illustrated by this citation from the October 1926 issue of music magazine De Muziek - The Netherlands was one of the earliest adopters of the new music style as it came over to the Old Continent at the end of World War I.

Delve into the Dutch jazz scene of the 1950s and 1960s with a selection of classic and rare hard bop and cool jazz tracks from artists like Herman Schoonderwalt, the Diamond Five, Wessel Ilcken and Tony Vos. Holland never sounded this hip before!

"Jazz is garbage and a caricature of the modern orchestra; it is garbage arranged by half-grown musicians for the benefit of common entertainment." In spite of the Dutch cultural establishment's attempts to preclude jazz - as illustrated by this citation from the October 1926 issue of music magazine De Muziek - The Netherlands was one of the earliest adopters of the new music style as it came over to the Old Continent at the end of World War I.

The leader of the European Dancehall/Shatta scene is still as productive as ever after his latest project Mad Ting 2 and a Europe/Latin America tour in 2022. By delivering multiple hits and appearing at major festivals, Blaiz Fayah is starting 2023 the same way he ended the previous year. The hit maker confirms his notoriety through his appearance in mixes played in clubs by the best DJs of the moment. His exponential growth on social networks, especially Tiktok, is also noteworthy.

A few digits: Blaiz Fayah has 850k monthly listeners on Spotify, 36M Spotify listens and 56M views YouTube for his hit "Bad", more than 9 million TikTok videos under the #blaizfayah.

For his upcoming project "Mad Ting 3" scheduled for June 2, 2023, which concludes the "Mad Ting" series, Blaiz Fayah highlights the vast range of his musical references by bringing in Dancehall, Kompa, Moombahton, Reggae, Shatta and Zouk influences.

For the occasion, some of the most renowned artists of their genre have been invited, such as Busy Signal, Jahyanai King and Nesly.

More than a mere sensation, the artist has seduced Dancehall fans all over the world with hits powered by a dancing energy that only he knows the formula. A unique energy that he was able to spread on some of the best European stages in 2022 (Solidays, Garorock) and that he will be able to continue to broadcast during some fifteen European dates in 2023 (Dour Festival, Reggae Sunska, No Logo...).

By collaborating with international DJs for the production of the tracks on his album (Netherlands, United Kingdom, Mauritius, West Indies...), the artist from the Parisian suburbs extends his influence across different international music stages, as shown by the success of his tour in Latin America (Colombia, Costa Rica, Chile...) and in the Indian Ocean (Mauritius, Reunion, Seychelles...).

Repress! Essential garage Zamrock/soul/funk: the first official reissue of the celebrated band’s one and only album.

The musical style that became known as Zamrock came to embody the economic despair that
followed the 1973-1974 oil crisis, which flung Zambia into recession and exacerbated a wide
range of social tensions. Much of Zamrock also captured the controversy of wider politics in
Africa and the world. Perhaps the finest example of this is Black Power by The Peace.

The Boyfriends, from Kitwe’s Chamboli Mine Township, supplied the founding members for Zamrock’s most
famous band, WITCH, and kick started one of Zamrock’s best bands, Peace. Their sole Zamrock entry, Black
Power, recorded at Malachite Film Studio circa 1973/4 and issued circa 1975, sounds like nothing else in the
Zamrock canon: a lost message drifiting from the flower power era, imbued with a fiery Zambian voice.

For his third album, 'Love You, Drink Water', Awir Leon opens a more direct and personal window on his music. The album is about inner monsters, the search for meaning, failure and hope. The music he proposes plays with the porosity of the lines, because it is at the same time complex, rich, stripped, raw, without compromise, and without pretense. It wants to express in the most vulnerable way what it means to be alive today.

Often compared to renowned explorers such as James Blake, Frank Ocean or Thom Yorke, Awir has spent the last two years travelling the world as the opening act for another great spirit, French artist Woodkid, on an international tour for his latest album S16. During this tour, Awir decided to write this new album, testing and perfecting the songs in front of a large audience that knew nothing about his music.

It is both this audacity and the constant desire to jump into the void that makes Awir an artist apart.
The seemingly simple title, which sounds like a joke, actually hides something much more vital and human.

"One day my three-year-old niece said goodbye to me with the exact words "I love you, drink water". It came out of nowhere, and I thought it was the most thoughtful thing anyone had ever said to me. It was like an epiphany; it was exactly what I wanted to express through my songs.

For Awir Leon, constant research and sincerity are the main drivers of a music that is undeniably singular and powerful. Music that he shapes and dances gracefully over chasms, as if it were necessary to make failures into new points of escape towards vitality.

Love You, Drink Water is silk sewn in pain, a raw and resilient jewel.

At the dawn of the summer of 2023, here is the telluric reading of four Bérurier Noir tracks (plus one unreleased track, signed by the duo NSA), engraved in a vinyl groove. The lyrics have been rethought, accompanied by a wild baritone sax to the rhythm of the original box (Electro-Harmonix DRM-16).

A dark and luminous vision of today's world, this vinyl maxi 45 is a cry!

As the first 45 off of the acclaimed concept album "Sage Motel," "Love You Better / The Shape Of My Teardrops" gives you a look into that mysterious, soulful, and cinematic world. Featuring a brand new 45-cut of 'Love You Better,' this 45 invites you to sink into a soft pillow of soulful psychedelia.....down at the Sage Motel.

Merging a dynamic curio of melodic guitars, disconcerting monologues and a rhythm section both technical and unruly, London’s Legss create a wholly unique and mesmerising sound. New EP Fester is a literary and disarmingly lyrical collection of art-rock songs laden with ideas and sun-licked beneath the bus smog of anxious skies.

Even when leaning into more melodic territory, there’s a pervasive uneasiness that underpins both the vocals and instrumentation. Just as you drift into the relaxing arpeggio flow, vocalist Ned Green’s soft soliloquy accelerates to an exasperated yelp and we’re jolted by discordant noise-rock stabs dragging us into Legss’ deliciously feverish and poetic world.

“The lyrics were written in the summer, when you’re sun-drunk and romantic, and the buses look like they’re kissing as they cross each other, and everyone’s got a cold sore. But beneath all the sunny games there’s a bittersweet desire to be someone or something else.” - Legss

Fresh from supporting the likes of Pom Poko and Hotel Lux, Legss release Fester via The State51 Conspiracy on 16th June. Pressed on 12” black vinyl in a sealed polybag liner.

Spanning some eight albums and multiple line-ups, "All Ages" contains the very best of Bad Religion"s Epitaph years. It includes live versions of "Do What You Want" and "Fuck Armageddon..." with artwork that is culled from original show flyers! The lyrics sheets are also the original hand-written versions; some of which were scribed on bedroom walls!

Percy Sledge’s 1966 worldwide smash “When A Man Loves A Woman” did more to internationally establish southern soul than any record up to that time. The man from Leighton, Alabama subsequently became one of Atlantic’s biggest artists, charting 11 R&B/Pop hits in three years.
Nevertheless, as the 60s drew to a close, Atlantic’s interest in Percy inexplicably dwindled. Very few masters that his producer Quin Ivy sent from Sheffield, Alabama to New York saw contemporaneous release, although some eventually appeared in countries like South Africa, where Percy was revered.
The tracks on this exceptional ‘maxi single’ waited till 2010 to debut digitally. Percy’s terrific take on Aretha’s “Baby, Baby, Baby” dates from August 1969, the others from his penultimate session for Atlantic. Great songs too from Swamp Dogg and the late Gordon Lightfoot; either of which could have given Percy a hit in 1972.
We’ll never know why they weren’t issued then – but let’s be grateful to Soul4Real for making them available on vinyl now…

Volume 2! MUNIR aka MIDNIGHT RUNNERS on his 5th drop with STAR CREATURE, hits us again with some diggin' deep dug ups from his corner of the world. This one picks up where his TUGBOAT EDITS VOL 14, HAUNTING ECHOES and NUSANTARA VOL 1 left off. Tidal waves of jazz funk, space disco & boogie.

High Roller Records, black vinyl, ltd 500, insert, bonus 7", Mastering and audio restoration by Patrick W. Engel in February 2022.

The next chapter of the Natural Information Society is here. Since Time Is Gravity, credited to Natural Information Society Community Ensemble with Ari Brown, presents a newly expanded manifestation of acclaimed composer & multi-instrumentalist Joshua Abrams nearly 15 year, 7 albums &-counting flagship ensemble. Joining the core NIS of Abrams (guimbri & bass), Lisa Alvarado (harmonium) Mikel Patrick Avery (drums) & Jason Stein (bass clarinet) are Hamid Drake (percussion), Josh Berman & Ben Lamar Gay (cornets), Nick Mazzarella & Mai Sugimoto (alto saxophones & flute), Kara Bershad (harp) & Chicago living legend of the tenor saxophone Ari Brown. Recorded live to tape at Electrical Audio & The Graham Foundation, cover painting Vibratory Cartography: Nepantla, by Lisa Alvarado. 2xLP on Eremite USA, 2xLP & CD on Aguirre/Eremite Europe. Out 14-04.

Since first developing Natural Information Society in 2010, Joshua Abrams has been gradually expanding the group’s conceptual underpinnings, its musical references & the sheer number of the group’s members. Its music is, in a sense, an expansive form of minimalism, based in repeated & overlaid rhythmic patterns, ostinatos & modality. Its roots, its scale & its meaning become clearer in time. If time is gravity, it also allows us to carry more. Having begun as fundamentally a rhythm section with Abrams’ guimbri at its core, the version here can stretch to a tentet, including six horns.

Abrams has been expanding his minimalism gradually, but he has long understood a key to minimalism’s potential: the breadth of its roots in the late 1950s & early 1960s, ranging from the dissatisfaction of young European-stream composers with the limitations of serialism to the simultaneous dissatisfaction of jazz musicians with the dense harmonic vocabulary of bop & hard bop. The former began exploring rhythmic complexity & narrow tonal palates in place of harmonic abstraction (Steve Reich’s Drumming, Philip Glass’ Music with Changing Parts; perhaps above all Terry Riley’s In C & his late ‘60s all-night organ & loop concerts); the later reduced dense chord changes to scales (signally with Miles Davis' Kind of Blue, but rapidly expanding with John Coltrane’s vast project). In the 1950s the LP record opened the world with documentation of Asian & African musics, key influences on both minimalists & jazz musicians. If John Coltrane’s soprano saxophone suggested the keening shehnai of Bismillah Khan, the instrument was rapidly taken up by two key minimalists, LaMonte Young & Riley, similarly appreciative of its flexible intonation, the same thing that kept it out of big bands.

If the guimbri, the North African hide-covered lute that Abrams plays with NIS, involves a rich tradition of hypnotic healing music associated with the Gnawa people, Abrams’ music also touches on other musics as well — other depths, memories & healings, different drones, rhythms & modes. As the group expands on Since Time Is Gravity, he has made certain jazz traditions in the same stream more explicit as well. If there is a mystical & elastic quality involved in the experience of time, both in direction & duration, you will catch it here. The parts for the choir of winds expand on the roles of Abrams’ guimbri, Mikel Patrick Avery & Hamid Drake’s percussion & Lisa Alvarado’s harmonium: at times, the winds are almost looping in the tentet version, each hitting a repeating note in turn, at once drone & distinct inflection on temporal sequence. The brilliance of the work resides in Abrams’ compositions, the NIS’ intuitive execution & in Ari Brown’s singular embodiment of the great tenor saxophone tradition, including the oracular genius of Eddie “Lockjaw” Davis, & Yusef Lateef. The three pieces by the expanded NIS featuring Brown —the opening “Moontide Chorus” & “Is” & the ultimate “Gravity”— have an immediate impact, & togther might be considered a kind of concerto for tenor saxophone. Here Brown presses almost indistinguishably from composed melody to improvised speech, getting so close to language that he might have a text. Everything here is a sign. Note the tap of the Rhythm Ace that links “Moontide Chorus” to “Is”, the attentive heart always present, even when signed by a machine. There’s a link here to the methodologies & meanings of dub music & the linear & vertical collage of beats, textures & tongues: treated with reverence, a sample of a beat-box can be as soulful, as hypnotic, as a mbira or a tamboura. If those pieces with Brown are heard as a suspended concerto, the three embrace & enfold the other works, like the sepals of a flower. That placement will also touch on the mysteries of our perception of time.

Particularly in “Is”, but elsewhere as well, a phenomenon of transcendence arises in which time appears to be tripartite, at once moving backwards & forwards & standing still. This is an act of technical brilliance certainly, but also an illumination of music’s ability to represent temporal consciousness through polymetrics. This particular listener has only heard it before in a few places, including the horn shouts & bowed basses of Coltrane’s Africa, in moments of Charles Mingus’ The Black Saint & the Sinner Lady, in certain pieces where tapes were literally running backwards, & earlier still in Dizzy Gillespie’s Cubana Be, Cubana Bop, in which the composer George Russell & conguero Chano Pozo found a music that spoke at once in the voices of Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring & the vestigial rites, rhythms & songs of the Yoruba language & Santeria religion of inland Cuba.

In Joshua Abrams’ compositions & the realization of them by the NIS, in the time of one’s close listening & memory thereof, distinctions between the “natural” & the “social”, the “quotidian” & the “transcendent” are erased, suspended or perhaps irrelevant. Consider two of the ensemble pieces, one named for nature, the other social science. In “Murmuration” the repeated wind figures of flute & alto saxophone combine with the interlocking patterns of harp, guimbri & frame drum (tar) to create a perfect moving stillness, not an imitation but a witness to the miracle of the starlings’ astonishing collective art, a surfeit of beauty that might be the ultimate defense tactic.

“Stigmergy” takes its name & concept from the Occupy movement’s Heather Marsh, who proposes a social system based on a cooperative rather than competitive models, one in which ideas are freely contributed & developed as ideas rather than an individual’s property. In its form, Abrams’ “Stigmergy” is the closes thing to traditional jazz, a series of accompanied solos by each of the wind players. However, the composed accompaniment is a radically collectivist notion: a repeated rhythmic figure, call it ostinato or riff, in which the different winds each play only a note or two of the figure, a concept both more collectivist & individualistic in its conception than any typical unison figure. It suggests another of the underlying recognitions that propel the Natural Information Society, the group as social organism, the teleology of hypnotic anarchy, all parts in place, functioning systematically, evolving & expressing itself, its nature & society, as a transformative organism.

George Lewis has described music as “a space for reflection on the human condition”. This suggests that, rather than a “distraction”, at least some music might serve as a distraction from distraction. It’s a focus, a clarity, a awareness, an external invitation to interiority, as if music itself is a model for form & contemplation, an organism contemplating for us or as us. If that is a possibility, & I am sure I have heard such musics, than this music is among them. How many of our rhythms, melodies & harmonies (cultural, historical, biological, psychic) might such music carry, translate & transform in the particulate ecstasy of our own murmuration? (Stuart Broomer, April 2022)

The album Symposium Musicum is developed from field recordings, interviews, and observations collected in the villages of Podolínec, Lomnička, Levočské Vrchy, and Kolačkov - all areas of the eastern and north-eastern Slovakia with significant Romani enclaves. The pieces resulting from these interactions encourage the listener to tune in for a delicate negotiation of language, (audible) gesture, and storytelling.

The collaboration with the local participants appears lighthearted and whimsical on the records, but this seeming easiness is clearly a result of devoted fieldwork planning and committed post-production. The curated compositions represent and emphasize not only performative aspects of the acoustic activities but also point attention to seemingly non-productive aspects of creation, such as silence, hesitation, observation, perception, or waiting.

Sound experiment and preservation is not the only goal of the project. Some of the records capturing acoustic activities in peculiar places but also carry an element of social novelty that accompanied their making - according to the locals in Lomnička, the recording visitors were the first non-Romani persons who spent the night in the village.

In many instances, these recordings explore liminal spaces that have lost their original function (a church ruin or an out-of-business grocery store) and became a lively territory for acoustic exploration and playful reciprocity. For instance, in track 7, "Kavka", local children used crackling leaves as percussion devices.

Such moments betray a high level of engagement in the subtle details of the recorded spaces and their social ecologies. According to the creators, their creative processes involve "a social sound practice" as an attitude towards exploring sound in its social setting.

Symposium Musicum leaves behind many aesthetic conventions of sound capture and what is considered "musical", including the usual notions of a linguistic unit, narrative, memoir, and play. Instead, it engages in a self-reflective questioning of the way we listen to the world around us.

This project invites us to experience places outside the divided sociolinguistic provinces, resulting from multigenerational displacement and neglect of the Romani communities from the explored areas. The result is in many ways revelatory and poetically impactful.

The 4th Pumpkin Witch album released by Deathbomb Arc, and their first non-reissue for the label. Nothing can keep the Pumpkin Witch dead for long. The Witch is back! And her web of evil is larger than ever, her vile plans call for nothing short of world domination... The Three Dark Figures have conjured up 11 new tracks of creepy cackles and crazed cacophony that create an audiological kaleidoscope of terror. An emphasis on percussion and an evident influence from goth club music blends with the horror soundtrack-fueled dark ambience of albums past, making this perfect listening for any unholy ritual or cemetery soiree. You can lock your doors, board up your windows, and say your prayers but nothing can protect you from "The Return of the Pumpkin Witch"!

Double LP compilation featuring Italian dancefloor music from the end of the Afro/Cosmic scene to the beginning of the Italian Rave era, between 1987 and 1994.

Stunning bit of research by Andrea Dallera (Dualismo Sound) and Gabriele Casiraghi who've been meticulously digging Italian bins. After endless sifting through this crucial time in Italian dance floor music, we are presented with their final distillation of this transitory period between 80's afro cosmic and Italo's peak into early 90's rave and Italo house era. In their words: “The whole concept was born as we started to find records that were into a kind of hybrid zone that was clearly pre-announcing some of the huge musical changes brought by the 90’s. The sound at play can be understood as looking closely to Belgian New Beat, Uk's Acid House and German early Techno but still connected with some dynamics of the ‘80s sounds: lashing snares and catchy melodic phrases joined by filthy acid bass lines, highly compressed kicks and 'World music' samples are just some of the most recurring elements.”

Hands down mandatory for any dance floor oriented record collection.

‘Y Dydd Olaf’, which is sung entirely in Welsh,
apart from one song penned in Cornish, draws
inspiration from Owain Owain’s 1976 novel of the
same name. The book is set in a dystopian future
where robots enslave the human race through the
use of medication, while Gwenno’s album covers
such themes as patriarchal society, governmentfunded media propaganda, cultural control,
technology, isolation and the importance of
minority languages.
 ‘Y Dydd Olaf’ was initially released by Peski
Records in October 2014, before being released
worldwide in 2015 by Heavenly Recordings.
 Now available on crystal clear vinyl. Includes
digital download of ‘Y Dydd Olad’ plus nine bonus
tracks of remixes and rarities.
 “This record demands what’s left of your time.” - Q
(★★★★)
 “Blissful, dreamy psychedelia, full of twinkling
electronics and metronomic drums.” - Evening
Standard (★★★★)
 “Language as a metaphor for political defiance…
floats beautifully over the krautrock/space-rock
soundscape, a Goldfrappian album you should
hear.” - The Sunday Times (★★★★)