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It’s been nearly eight years since the last Mondo Drag album came out. In that time, the Bay Area psych-prog band toured the US and Europe, performed at major festivals and—once again—reformed their rhythm section. But in the context of the band’s nearly two-decade existence, this period may have been the most fraught. Vocalist and keyboardist John Gamiño lost friends and family members. Meanwhile, humanity suffered the throes of a global pandemic. “It was a dark chapter,” he recalls. “I was going through a lot of stuff personally—there’s been a lot of death, loss of family members, and grief. Plus, the band was inactive. It felt like time was slipping away from me. I felt like I was wasting my opportunities. I felt like I wasn’t participating in my story as much as I could have.” This feeling of time slipping away is the prevailing theme on Mondo Drag’s new album, Through the Hourglass. “For me, Through the Hourglass really encompasses the quarantine/pandemic years,” Gamiño says. “But in a way that includes a couple of years before that for us, because the band was stagnant during that time. Living with that was really impactful on our daily lives. So, the album is reflective. It’s looking at time—past, present, future.” Luckily, Mondo Drag emerged from this dour period reborn. Freshly energized by bassist Conor Riley (formerly of San Diego psych squad Astra, currently of Birth), who joined in 2018, and drummer Jimmy Perez, who joined in 2022, Gamiño and guitarists Jake Sheley and Nolan Girard have triumphed over the seemingly inexorable pull of time’s passage. “Astra was the one contemporary band that we felt was on the same tip as us,” Gamiño says. “We saw the similarities and felt the same vibe. Conor moved to San Francisco in 2018 and heard we were looking for a bassist, so we got in touch. For us, it was like, ‘The synth player from Astra wants to play bass for us?’ We couldn’t think of anybody more perfect.” Perez, meanwhile, brings deep psych-prog knowledge and impeccable skill. “He’s an amazing drummer, and he allowed us to do what we’ve been trying to do,” Gamiño says. “Before he came along, it was like, ‘Where are the drummers who like psych and prog and can play dynamically?’ We ended up trying out metal drummers, but they couldn’t swing. Jimmy was the final piece of the puzzle.” The result is a dazzling and often plaintive rumination on the hours, days, and years—not to mention experiences—that comprise a lifetime. Two-part opener “Burning Daylight” smolders with melancholy, offering a whirl of multi-colored and hallucinatory imagery. “It’s about the California wildfires and a feeling of helplessness,” Gamiño explains. “There’s a juxtaposition between the dark lyricism and upbeat music which is meant to imply a sort of delusional state—and choosing our own delusion to overcome the crushing despair of reality.” Eleven-minute centerpiece “Passages” is a sprawling prog-rock adventure, festooned with lofty guitar melodies, sweeping organ flourishes and a delicately finger-picked outro. But the heaviest song, thematically speaking, might be the mournful and hypnotic “Death in Spring,” which borrows its title from the like-named Catalan novel. “In the novel, people are placed inside opened trees and their mouths filled with cement before they die to prevent their souls from escaping,” Gamiño explains. “The song is about three people I knew who lost their lives to gun violence, addiction, and mental health. It’s my way of cementing their souls in song form.” Mondo Drag fans might be surprised by this blend of hard reality with literary surrealism, but it’s a perfect example of how the last several years have impacted Mondo Drag—and Gamiño in particular. “On all of our previous albums, the lyrical content is more psychedelic and out there,” he acknowledges. “This is the most personal stuff I’ve ever done, so I’m definitely feeling vulnerable on this one.” The title Through the Hourglass comes from the opening of the long-running soap opera Days of Our Lives. It’s less inspired by a predilection for daytime TV than Gamiño’s connection with his late mother, who passed during the time since the last album. “I used to watch Days of Our Lives with her everyday growing up,” he explains. “The song is kind of a reinterpretation of the theme song, although it’s different enough that probably no one will catch it. Now that I’m getting older, I like to put these little Easter eggs in the songs for myself and for archival purposes—for memories.” Through the Hourglass was tracked at El Studio in San Francisco, with an additional ten days of recording at the band’s rehearsal space, which doubles as a hybrid analog-digital recording studio. The album was engineered and mixed by Phil Becker, drummer of space-punk mainstays Pins Of Light. “We’re still here,” Gamiño says. “We’ve been in the studio working on our craft and honing our skills. Now we’re re-emerging for the next stage of our life cycle.”

Perth-based artist hub 823, led by the extraordinary producer / creator Ta-ku joins forces with Berlin's Jakarta Records for the release of Godblesscomputers's fourth full-length LP, "Faded Views." The LP melds bright electronic flourishes with laidback synth-driven backdrops, weaving tapestries of mellow folktronica and groovy jazz harmony with continuous sonic intrigue that will keep you grooving into a tropical disposition. Paying homage to his musical moniker, the Bologna-based producer makes timely metallic interjections amidst lush, effortlessly groovy soundscapes. Explore a world of found, recycled, and synthesized sound on "Faded Views" out everywhere September 8.

Bologna-based producer, DJ, and sound collector Godblesscomputers (122k Spotify listeners) has returned with the release of his fourth full-length record, "Faded Views." Godblesscomputers's latest LP "The Island" (2020, La Tempesta Dischi) earned him placement on Spotify playlists like "Brain Flood" and "Coffee Club." Since then, his appearance on Willie Peyote's track "La colpa al vento" landed GBC on "Best of Indie Italia 2022." On "Faded Views," it was Godblesscomputers's creative project to explore the sonic potentials of his direct environment, picking up recordings and threads of inspiration from the most commonplace occurrences. A sonic scavenger, Godblesscomputers explored the expanses of his-both digital and physical-soundscapes. "Faded Views" does the work of crafting a unified, yet complex compilation of the noises that mark the experience of being digital natives in ever-expanding dimensions.

Godblesscomputers's use of musique concrète and found-sound composition melds curiously with his undeniable electronic and techno acumen. Superimposing metallic electronica onto esoteric sound bytes creates the occasion for complex sound collage. "Faded Views" marks a decade since the genesis of the Godblesscomputers project; the entire LP testifies to how time warps perception and sound. Godblesscomputers's music seems to decorate time, both commemorating the moments passed with mind-melting sonic collages and looking forward to the infinitudes of the future with frenetic electronic experimentation.

Themes of impermanence and transience-hence "Faded Views"-pervade the record. Godblesscomputers blurs time as each track seeps into the next in what feels like a seamless transition. He makes these swift passages in genre as well-the record opens on "Colors" with a rich horn section which frictionlessly becomes a lo-fi dance groove. It is this melding of the analog and the electronic that makes sense of his found approach to beat-making: Godblesscomputers marries the found and the synthesized; the creator and the created; the past and the future. The process of sonic dissection and recomposition that drives much of Godblesscomputers's creative process yields not only assertive breakdowns and animated dance tracks, but also complex tapestries of sound that keep the listener ever-intrigued-piano, saxophone, and modular synthesis all find a natural home on tracks like "Hello." In an apt description, the producer's work has been described as "sounding like wood, metal, and microchip."

Godblesscomputers's artistic objective lies in blurring definitive lines, constantly shifting perspectives, genres, and origins of inspiration. On "Faded Views," this design cultivates a folktronica record that truly evades definition.

Feelgood lead single "Mirrors" is out June 30th and features a rich meld of warbling layers, mixing upbeat dance music with complex instrumentation. Stream second single, "Above the Lake," for a mellow summer cut on July 21. Finally, the effortlessly groovy third single "You Feel Me" captures a genre-warping foray into folktronica. Listen to "You Feel Me" on August 11.

All LP artwork and stunning single visualizers were single-handedly put together by multi-disciplinary designer Michael Norman. "Faded Views" will be available everywhere physically and digitally on September 8, 2023. Be sure to listen for focus track "Hello" that captures the vast scope of Godblesscomputers's musical prowess. Find the LP, CD, and digital release on 823's and Jakarta Records's Bandcamp and local record stores.

Mastered from the original master tapes and pressed at RTI on dead-quiet 180g vinyl, Mobile Fidelity's numbered-edition 180g LP of Local Hero gives the beloved effort audiophile-grade sound on a par with the reference-quality sonics afforded Dire Straits' Mobile Fidelity reissues. In each arrangement, Knopfler's methodical guitar lines emerge with supreme transparency and multi-hued textural detail. The intricate notes, finger-picked passages, and cosmopolitan lines come across as if they're transmitted just feet away from you in real time.

Ditto the diverse accompaniment, including the Celtic-themed effects, supplemental jazz accents, and folk inflections. The keys to the nearly 44-minute effort's success and continuity relate not only to Knoplfer's laidback style and low-key approach, but his ear for uncanny melody and blues traces. Woven acoustically and electrically, his tapestries benefit from the newfound airiness, openness, and balance that live on this reissue. No matter the instrument or treatment, the music arrives with pinpoint imaging and vibrant liveliness. Close your eyes, and the Mobile Fidelity version of Local Hero projects movies in your head.

For instance, take the closing "Going Home," a cherished instrumental whose proud spirit resonates with English football fans and features saxophone playing by the late, great Michael Brecker. Heard before every Newcastle United F.C. home game, it has become an anthem on both sides of the Atlantic. Or, look to "The Ceilidh: Louis' Favorite Billy's Tune" on which Scottish-flavored vibes and dance tempos conjure a festive jig until a transition gives the number a more subdued, romantic feel. Then, the pattern repeats. Seeking to expand beyond the parameters of Dire Straits, Knoplfer taps into a global economy of structures and sounds, and takes anyone with a sense of adventure along for the ride.

Not that his hallmark six-string is absent from the proceedings. It frames the lovely tin-pan whistle motif of the aptly titled "Whistle Theme," acts as a beacon for the elegant, vibraphone-kissed "Smooching," and pushes forward the jovial, top-down momentum of "Freeway Flyer," among other highlights. Knopfler also receives assistance from session pros Mike Mainieri, Steve Jordan, and Terry Williams, as well as vocalist Gerry Rafferty on the set's sole vocal tune, "That's the Way It Always Starts."

“Pure psychotropic madness.” A screaming head on fire penetrated my chest, jolting me from the universal plane back to earth.” Guitarist/Singer/Sonic Alchemist Dave W’s vivid fever dream ignited The Revenge of Heads on Fire, WHITE HILLS’ latest release, which harnesses the energy of ferocious, hedonistic rock with blissful passages of dark ambience. Exploring themes of mortality, transformation and rebirth, the band reveals a spiritual depth unparalleled in previous works. The roar of fire, swirling of oceans and hallucinogenic visions can be heard throughout the 75-minute journey. From the intrepid prelude “The Instrumental Head” to the closing punk blaze of “Eternity”, the album ebbs and flows, smouldering and seething in the middle with the 21- minute mammoth opus “Don’t Be Afraid”. “’Don't Be Afraid’ alone makes this an essential listen for fans of contemporary psychedelia.” -All Music The Revenge of Heads on Fire consummates Dave W’s prototype for the 2007 release on Rocket Recordings, Heads on Fire, later picked up by Thrill Jockey. Six rediscovered songs accompany re-mixed versions of the original material, fulfilling the master arch of the pyre lit long ago. Recorded during the band’s tumultuous early years, the music vibrates with the energy and volatility of a sonic boom. The album will be released on Heads on Fire Industries, distributed worldwide via Cargo Records.

“Pure psychotropic madness.” A screaming head on fire penetrated my chest, jolting me from the universal plane back to earth.” Guitarist/Singer/Sonic Alchemist Dave W’s vivid fever dream ignited The Revenge of Heads on Fire, WHITE HILLS’ latest release, which harnesses the energy of ferocious, hedonistic rock with blissful passages of dark ambience. Exploring themes of mortality, transformation and rebirth, the band reveals a spiritual depth unparalleled in previous works. The roar of fire, swirling of oceans and hallucinogenic visions can be heard throughout the 75-minute journey. From the intrepid prelude “The Instrumental Head” to the closing punk blaze of “Eternity”, the album ebbs and flows, smouldering and seething in the middle with the 21- minute mammoth opus “Don’t Be Afraid”. “’Don't Be Afraid’ alone makes this an essential listen for fans of contemporary psychedelia.” -All Music The Revenge of Heads on Fire consummates Dave W’s prototype for the 2007 release on Rocket Recordings, Heads on Fire, later picked up by Thrill Jockey. Six rediscovered songs accompany re-mixed versions of the original material, fulfilling the master arch of the pyre lit long ago. Recorded during the band’s tumultuous early years, the music vibrates with the energy and volatility of a sonic boom. The album will be released on Heads on Fire Industries, distributed worldwide via Cargo Records.

“Pure psychotropic madness.” A screaming head on fire penetrated my chest, jolting me from the universal plane back to earth.” Guitarist/Singer/Sonic Alchemist Dave W’s vivid fever dream ignited The Revenge of Heads on Fire, WHITE HILLS’ latest release, which harnesses the energy of ferocious, hedonistic rock with blissful passages of dark ambience. Exploring themes of mortality, transformation and rebirth, the band reveals a spiritual depth unparalleled in previous works. The roar of fire, swirling of oceans and hallucinogenic visions can be heard throughout the 75-minute journey. From the intrepid prelude “The Instrumental Head” to the closing punk blaze of “Eternity”, the album ebbs and flows, smouldering and seething in the middle with the 21- minute mammoth opus “Don’t Be Afraid”. “’Don't Be Afraid’ alone makes this an essential listen for fans of contemporary psychedelia.” -All Music The Revenge of Heads on Fire consummates Dave W’s prototype for the 2007 release on Rocket Recordings, Heads on Fire, later picked up by Thrill Jockey. Six rediscovered songs accompany re-mixed versions of the original material, fulfilling the master arch of the pyre lit long ago. Recorded during the band’s tumultuous early years, the music vibrates with the energy and volatility of a sonic boom. The album will be released on Heads on Fire Industries, distributed worldwide via Cargo Records.

Repress incoming...

Far Out Recordings proudly presents Milton Nascimento's Maria Maria. Recorded in 1974 and unreleased until almost thirty years later, the album was written as the soundtrack to a ballet which dealt with the legacy of slavery in Brazil. Raw, atmospheric and emotionally charged, Maria Maria reveals one of Brazil's greatest ever songwriters at his creative peak. Featuring an all-star cast of fellow Brazilian legends including Nana Vasconcelos, Joao Donato, Paulinho Jobim, and members of Som Imaginario, Maria Maria holds what Milton considers to be the definitive versions of some of his classic songs, including 'Os Escravos De Jó' and 'Maria Maria'.

Originally released in 2003 as a double CD package, with Milton Nascimento's 1984 follow up ballet soundtrack Ultimo Trem, Maria Maria will be available on vinyl for the very first time from December 2019, with Ultimo Trem set for vinyl release early 2020.

Milton Nascimento possesses one of the most immediately recognizable voices in Brazilian music: high and sweet and as breathtakingly sublime as that of any soul singer. It was this voice that the legendary Brazilian singer Elis Regina fell in love with back in 1964, having heard Milton perform his song 'Canção do Sal (Sultry Song)' at a private party in Sao Paulo. Ellis went on to record the song in 1967 -giving Milton his first hit in Brazil and beginning a career that has spanned over 50 years.

Born in Rio on the 26th October 1942, Milton moved with his adoptive parents at the age of 18 months to Tres Pontas, a rural town in the state of Minas Gerais, 500 miles north of Rio. He began his musical career as a young teenager, singing in a crooner style he learnt from listening to Brazilian singers and US groups such as The Platters on the radio. Hungry for more opportunities to perform, Milton moved to Belo Horizonte, the capital of Minas Gerais, at the age of twenty. By the beginning of the 60s Milton had made a name for himself both as an accomplished singer and guitarist.

Milton became part of a local network of musicians, film makers, dancers, theatre directors and writers that included the journalist and song writer Fernando Brant as well as lyricist Marcio Borges and his younger brother Lo Borges. Together these four wrote and produced what would become Milton's milestone album, 'Clube da Esquina (Club on the Corner)'. The originality of 'Club da Esquina' shaped the local scene, and it reflects the essence of 'the Nascimento Sound'. Milton's religious upbringing as an Afro-Brazilian Catholic saw him exposed to church choral music from an early age. His love of this genre of music is apparent in both his celestial falsetto and vocal choral arrangements. This collection also displays his early fascination with evocative, non-verbal, scat-style singing, spare, harmonic guitar work and local folk music, jazz and rock.

In 1976, Milton and Fernando Brant teamed up with a new contemporary dance company called Grupo Corpo, whose Argentinian choreographer Oscar Araiz, would become a collaborator with the two musicians. Together, they conceived a show based on the composite life story of the daughter of a black slave called Maria. Nascimento wrote music to Brant's lyrics and "Maria Maria" was premiered in the main theatre of the Belo Horizonte Palacio das Artes that year. "Fernando wrote the lyrics for the ballet, but there were originally no lyrics for the theme song, "Maria Maria'". Milton and Fernando worked on the lyrics together, basing them on folk stories about black women of the countryside. Adds Milton "These memories are mostly things that we witnessed – Fernando and I – rather than what we experienced ourselves.

Milton's music is impressionistic, emotional and romantic. Relying on songs without lyrics as well as evocative vocalizing and choruses, Milton experimented heavily with Afro-Brazilian percussion and taped jungle sounds. His composing method for these recordings was highly unconventional: "I wrote the music for 'Maria Maria' in a tiny Rio apartment with friends and their kids running around and having fun! I love to be in noisy places, surrounded by people", he says.
The music on 'Maria Maria' was performed by an impressive group of young musicians who are today household names in Brazilian music, including Naná Vasconcelos (percussion and effects), Toninho Horta (guitars) and Paulo Moura (sax). Several vocalist including Naná Caymmi, Fafá de Belém, Beto Guedes, and Milton himself, had hits in years to come with reworkings of these songs.

Milton says his compositions follow his visions "like a movie", and he believes that reflects his long love affair with cinema. "I only began composing because of enjoying the movies so much," he says. "I wrote my first song "Peace for the Coming Love" after seeing 'Jules et Jim' (the cult 60s French film directed by François Truffaut), with my friend Marcio Borges. We went early in the morning and watched it four or five times in a row, then went to Márcio's home and wrote the song."

The songs also include solo spoken passages set to music, clearly influenced by this style of French art cinema. On the title track, Maria's story is narrated and translated to music through the use of African Percussion, drums and metal signifying the field slave tools of the day. 'Trabalhos (Works)' runs to work rhythms and whipcracks: no words, just pain. 'Lília' documents the beating of the slave woman. After 'A Chamada (The call)' and the triumphant 'Era Rei e Sou Escravo (I was a king now I am a slave' things begin to turn and Milton employs tropical jungle cries to symbolize freedom. 'Santos Catholicos x Candomble (Catholic Saints vs Candomble)' represents the battle between African and European religions through the music of both sides. Milton's heavenly falsetto pours into 'Francisco' and 'Pai Grande (Great Father)' and the outstanding 'Eu Sou Uma Preta Velha Aqui Sentada no Sol (I'm an old black lady, sitting under the sun)' conjures images of an old woman sitting deep in the forest, her memories painted in drums, piano and voices.

1998'S CLASSIC SECOND STUDIO ALBUM OF SYMPHONIC, OCCULT
BLACK METAL
PRESENTED ON DOUBLE GATEFOLD VINYL & ON THE VINYL FORMAT FOR THE
FIRST TIME.Opera IX are a symphonic black metal band formed in Italy by
guitarist Ossian & released their debut album 'The Call of the Wood' in 1995 &
over subsequent years have become regarded as one of the most revered &
important Italian bands of the genre. The band's sound is an eclectic concoction,
moving beyond straight-forward black metal, mixing elements of thrash, doom &
death metal with symphonic elements, even folk influences. Opera IX is known for
their strong occult themes blended with topics of paganism & are also known for
being one of the first examples of a black metal band with a female vocalist.
'Sacro Culto' was the band's second album, originally released in 1998. Lead
singer Cadaveria used more melodic vocal experimentation this time with almost
operatic passages sitting alongside the trademark black metal style whilst further
evolving the central themes of occultism & paganism.
This edition of 'Sacro Culto' is presented on double gatefold vinyl & on the vinyl
format for the first time.

The long-awaited reissue of this rare Eastern and psychedelic Jazz LP by the famous Hungarian guitarist, originally
released in 1968. For the first time and as extended Edition with four bonus tracks: radio version from 1968/69 7”
singles 7”. Deluxe 6-sided Digipak CD with 20 page booklet and Gatefold Vinyl comes with long, exclusively written
inner notes by the famous researcher and biographer Douglas Payne.
“The performances on this LP have a restrained, introspective quality. Szabo’s work is lyrical, rather economical, and
somewhat angular, and his tone is warm and glowing.” – Harvey Pekar, DownBeat
“Gabor Szabo is at the musical zenith of his career. This album could rank as his best to date.” - Billboard
“But for sheer lyrical beauty, few players are in Szabo’s class. His startling use of dissonance is a delight, too, and
time and again he will alter a final phrase just slightly, totally reorienting a familiar tune.” – Alan Heineman, DownBeat
“This is definitely one of my ‘go to’ Gabor albums.” Mike Stax, Ugly Things
"Gabor Szabo’s Bacchanal documents one of the earliest and finest examples of what was then known as “jazz rock.”
Years before this new jazz style evolved – or devolved, according to some – into “fusion,” jazz rock was mostly
fashioned by younger jazz players whose ears were open to the emerging sounds coming out of rock and roll,
especially those of the Beatles and, later, Jimi Hendrix. " - Douglas Payne
After recording four albums for Impulse in 1967, the distinctive guitarist Gabor Szabo cut three strongest records for
the Skye label in 1968-1969: "1969", "Dreams" and "Bacchanal" all of them became a legendary classic. This time
EBALUNGA!!! are rediscovers "Bacchanal". Szabo's regular group of the era is heard on record for the last time:
guitarist Jimmy Stewart, bassist Louis Kabok, drummer Jim Keltner and percussionist Hal Gordon. With the exception
of two Szabo originals, the material is comprised of current pop tunes including two songs by Donovan, "Love Is Blue,"
"The Look of Love" and "Theme from the Valley of the Dolls."
Gabor Szabo was one of the most original guitarists to emerge in the 1960s, mixing his Hungarian folk music heritage
with a deep love of jazz and creating a distinctive, largely self-taught sound.
Born in Budapest, on March 8, 1936, Szabo was inspired by a Roy Rogers cowboy movie to begin playing guitar when
he was 14 and often played in dinner clubs and covert jam sessions while still living in his hometown. He escaped
from his country at age 20 on the eve of the Communist uprising and eventually made his way to America, settling
with his family in California.
He attended Berklee College (1958-1960) and in 1961 joined Chico Hamilton's innovative quintet featuring Charles
Lloyd. Urged by Hamilton, Szabo crafted a most distinctive sound; as agile on intricate, nearly-free runs as he was
able to sound inspired during melodic passages. Szabo left the Hamilton group in 1965 to leave his mark on the popjazz of the Gary McFarland quintet and the energy music of Charles Lloyd's fiery and underrated quartet featuring Ron
Carter and Tony Williams.Szabo initiated a solo career in 1966, recording the exceptional album, Spellbinder, which yielded many inspired
moments and "Gypsy Queen," the song Santana turned into a huge hit in 1970. Szabo formed an innovative quintet
(1967-1969) featuring the brilliant, classically trained guitarist Jimmy Stewart and recorded many notable albums
during the late '60s. The emergence of rock music (especially George Harrison, Eric Clapton, and Jimi Hendrix) found
Szabo experimenting with feedback and more commercially oriented forms of jazz.
During the '70s, Szabo regularly performed along the West Coast, hypnotizing audiences with his enchanting,
spellbinding style. From 1970, he locked into a commercial groove, even though records like Mizrab occasionally
revealed his seamless jazz, pop, Gypsy, Indian, and Asian fusions. Szabo had revisited his homeland several times
during the '70s, finding opportunities to perform brilliantly with native talents. He was hospitalized during his final visit
and died in 1982, just short of his 46th birthday.

Laced Records and Capcom’s scenarios intertwine once more as we present the music of 2019’s Resident Evil 2 on vinyl.

Following a series refresh with Resident Evil 7, the impressive RE Engine was used to power this third-person reworking of a survival horror classic. The thick atmosphere, tight redesign of locations (including the iconic Racoon Police Department), and expanded role of a certain fedora-wearing hunter combined to make Resident Evil 2 an award-winning hit with a 91 Metacritic average.

The soundtrack played a huge part in establishing the taut atmosphere of Resident Evil 2, as the composers shifted gears between dark ambient electronic music, thumping cinematic percussion, and audacious orchestral and choral passages. Capcom veteran Shusaku Uchiyama — who worked on the 1998 original — was given lead composition duties, and also arranged several of Masami

Ueda’s original pieces. They were joined among the soundtrack credits by Zhenlan Kang, Tadayoshi Makino, Sound Director & Sound Team Leader Kentaro Nakashima, Yuichi Tsuchiya, Masahiro Ohki and Mana Ogura. Syotaro Nakayama and Taisuke Fujisawa supplied the power metal with “Tofu On Fire”; while the vinyl opens with the stomping ‘true ending’ credits theme "Saudade" by Cody Matthew Johnson and Shim.

46 tracks have been specially mastered for vinyl by Joe Caithness, and tracks will be pressed onto audiophile-quality, heavyweight 180g discs.

Magic spells, time-traveling futurists, sword-bearing horse riders, mountain-residing sorcerers, possessed journeyman,

ominous warnings: Demons and Wizards lives up to its title as a collection of fantasy-based narratives rooted in dreamy,

gothic-minded arrangements. Universally recognized as the finest effort of Uriah Heep's four-decade-plus career, the 1972

LP also perseveres as a prog-rock landmark that influenced countless of bands ranging from Metallica to Styx. And now, it

sounds better than ever on this extremely cool green-vinyl gatefold pressing from Wax Cathedral.

The first album on which founding members Mick Box, Ken Hensley, and David Byron are joined by staple drummer Lee

Kerslake, Demons and Wizards captivates by way of taut songwriting and instrumental execution. Rather than function

as the primary attraction, make-believe lyrical themes augment a formidable assembly of folk-derived melodies, sharp

medleys, and powerful hooks. Acoustic guitars weave webs of finite textures through which crackling, church-like organ

passages and space-conscious bass lines maneuver. Songs come across with an ethereal, powerful feel.

Glowing with old-fashioned tube-amp warmth, concise and punchy fare like 'The Wizard,' 'Traveler In Time,' and the hit

'Easy Livin'' touch upon garage-rock basics. Epics such as 'Circle of Hands' and 'Paradise/The Spell'—a multi-part sonic

excursion whose choral grace and spiritual glide evoke distant lands, misty cloud forests, and peaceful eternities—cling to

a sensitivity underscored by deft piano touches. No wonder Uriah Heep spent the remainder of its lifespan trying to again

capture such a balance.

Reissue of George Duke's classic 1975 jazz-funk-fusion album 'Feel'
This album with the strange psychedelic sci-fi cover draws a tighter circle around
Duke's fusion language. The keyboard master ventures deep into his synthesizer
laboratory. Their textures become a more essential component of his pieces,
attaining orchestral dimensions, as evidenced in the opener, Funny Funk, with its
smacking, squishing tongue- in- cheek dialogue between the synths. A virtuoso
layering of the keyboards is also central to Cora Joberge, and on Rashid, Duke's
electronic orchestra explodes over the stormy drums of Leon "Ndugu" Chancler.
Duke shows himself to be a singer with a soulful sound. Shortly before this
recording he had shelved his trombone so that he could communicate more
directly with the audience, as can be heard in the hymnal, dreamlike title piece.
The guest list of players make for an especially exciting concoction. No less than
Duke's playing companion Frank Zappa, under the cryptic pseudonym Obdewl'l X,
performs some adventuresome guitar passages on Love and Old Slippers. On the
California- sunshine pop samba, Yana Aminah, we have a surprise visit by
Brazilian Flora Purim, wife of percussionist Airto Moreira, who opens up his bag
of tricks on The Once Over, and plays on three more tracks.

Greek electronic composer Vangelis created his piece Albedo 0.39 while influenced by blues and jazz music. The concept album is themed around space physics. The title is based on a planet’s albedo; the proportion of the light it receives that is reflected back into space.

Albedo 0.39 features tracks “Pulstar” and “Alpha” and became his first album that reached #18 of the UK Album Charts. Vangelis played every instrument on the record, which resulted in effective and versatile synthesizer passages. Critics describe the tracks as mesmerizing trips of assorted rhythms that include elements of jazz and mild rock.

The multiple-award winning composer of electronic, progressive, orchestral and jazz music Vangelis started his career working on numerous successful projects, such as Aphrodite’s Child, a collaboration with Yes lead singer Jon Anderson and award winning soundtracks for Missing (1982), Chariots of Fire (1981), Blade Runner (1982) and 1492: Conquest of Paradise (1992). He composed over 50 albums and is still creative in developing new concepts.

Best known as Hot Chip's clear-voiced frontman, Alexis Taylor also pursues a solo career as an introspective singer/songwriter, exploring distinct themes and ideas with each record. Today Alexis announces the release of his sixth and strongest solo album to date, Silence,

Partly about silence - and how we intersect with it, observe it, try to record it, and how we feel about it when it’s gone, as we remember it - the record is also about religion, transcendence, giving oneself over to something bigger than you, or beyond this world. “I’m not religious myself,” adds Alexis, “but the songs which deal with the idea of gospel music or religion, look at it from a distance (rather like the shaky hand-held lens through which we follow the action in Pasolini’s ‘Gospel According To Matthew’) and try to uncover its influence on music and on people in desperate circumstances.”
The genesis behind Silence started a few years ago with Alexis ruminating on silence as a subject and making plans to make a record of the sounds you hear in public spaces as people observe moments of silence. He then lost his own personal access to silence as tinnitus began in his right ear in 2019 at a Hot Chip show. As Alexis explains, “I started to think about what it meant to me to lose quietness, solitude, meditative head space - as that was no longer available to me.”
Mostly composed in enforced isolation, Silence is a beautifully rich and unexpected conceptual album that is also Alexis’ most accomplished solo record and one that has seen early comparisons with a notably eclectic range of artists including Mark Hollis, George Michael, Big Star, Epic Soundtracks and Maher Shalal Hash Baz. This record sees the first time Alexis has collaborated with Sam Becker (double bass), Kenichi Iwasa (horn, trumpet) and Rachel Horton-Kitchlew (harp), who due to lockdown had to work in isolation from Alexis. In one case Kenichi recorded musical passages which were then superimposed on songs he had never heard - in effect keeping the songs themselves silent from the playing until the mixes were played to him.

Fanatics of '70s Italian giallos take note…

Behold a veritable smorgasbord of sounds that is Ennio Morricone’s score to Dario Argento’s debut film, THE BIRD WITH THE CRYSTAL PLUMAGE (a.k.a. L'uccello dalle piume di cristallo) from 1970.

Considered one of the genre’s gold standards, Maestro Morricone’s stunning sonic work is a masterful accompaniment to the knife-wielding images on the screen. This colorful (yet dark) score features il Maestro’s trademark scat vocal harmonies, beautiful melodies, and mandatory sinister themes – perfect musica for this wonderfully stylistic giallo masterpiece.

The first of Argento’s “animal trilogy” series, the music on THE BIRD WITH THE CRYSTAL PLUMAGE is a lovely mix of string-infused bossa, to tenser and instrumentally sparse passages that Morricone does so well.

Just be sure to handle the piumaggio cristallino with care… we suggest wearing your black gloves.

Composed by Ennio Morricone
Artwork by Luke Insect
Manufactured in Italy

Dark Star Safari is a musical entity comprised of Jan Bang, Erik Honoré, Eivind Aarset, Samuel Rohrer and John Derek Bishop. Their second fulllength offering Walk Through Lightly is the first to feature all five musicians together in the studio from the outset, making for a more organic refinement upon their already established methodology: gradually sculpting distinct songs out of collective improvisations, or using the raw material from initial recordings as the basis for more carefully articulated compositions. The final mix is one that invites few stylistic comparisons to other musical peers, and in fact few comparisons to existing genres. Though this second offering from the project is frosted over with a Scandinavian sense of spatiality and
melancholy, it’s best listened to without considering any origin points, geographic or otherwise: from the opening moments of “Walk Through Lightly,” listeners will feel as if teleported directly into the middle of an enigmatic film-in-progress.
The album opener immediately and successfully sets the table for what is to follow. The electronic and acoustic instrumentation is pensive, but not passive, with restrained scrapes and stridulations in the background combining with backwards-looped passages and perlescent or granulated sound effects to better emphasize the carefully arranged latticework of guitar, percussion, strings, and bass. In some places, such as on “Father’s Day” and “Measured Response,” the silences or breaths between passages are pronounced enough to be an instrument in their own right (and an elegant confirmation of the fact that silence is also a conveyor of information). This nuanced production, which wisely opts for intimacy instead of relying on overdone "instant atmosphere generators" like lengthy reverb, provides just enough tension to contrast with the sense of elevation provided by Bang’s vocal contributions: smoky, evanescent, and impressionistic recitations offering not snapshots of specific events, but rather complete emotional environments for the listener to hover through and explore.
Within these environments, the lyrical imagery focuses upon coming to grips with sudden transformations on both micro and macro levels (the opening “this was a perfect place / till we lost our way” from “Patria” or the foreboding “Poems that explore / Their silence / Crush their violence / Now their time ends” from “Measured Response.”) It focuses as well upon coming to thresholds or crossings, be they physical crossroads or internal states of mind, or both (see especially the striking turns of phrase from “Murmuration.”) With such things in mind, it’s only natural that there would be consideration of dreaming as well, and indeed four different titles on the LP make different reference to a dream or dream state, seemingly valuing dreams as part of the continuum of consciousness rather than something totally cut off from waking experience.
Given the sense of foreboding, anticipation, and even unease that these kinds of subjects often bring with them, the spare and un-hurried music is all the more intriguing, especially when the eponymous finale arrives and the percolating sound bed seems to hint at a coming resolution, but then leaves the listener with more questions than answers. By competently fusing a mature, economical approach to sincerely romantic lyrical themes, Walk Through Lightly is a rare accomplishment.

The Paradigm-Shifting Fourth Studio Opus From The Norwegian Pioneers.
Presented On 2cd Deluxe Digipack Format & Including A Retrospective Look
At The Album Courtesy Of Writer Jeff Wagner.
‘Themes from William Blake’s The Marriage of Heaven and Hell’ is the fourth
studio album by Norwegian experimentalists Ulver.
Having been known for their more folklore-tinged black metal compositions on
early studio releases, in late 1997, mainman Kristoffer Rygg invited keyboardist, sound conceptualist, and composer Tore Ylwizaker into the collective, and
together they devised a plan for The Blake Album; an altogether far more adventurous endeavour than prior releases.
What resulted was a seamless integration of electronic & industrial music, with
elements of progressive metal & avantgarde rock, all fused with ambient passages, & following Blake’s plates as track indexes. A work of deep and personal
art, the album, while initially surprising to fans due to its complete shift in genre, has become a classic today, and a prime example of the boundary-pushing
evolution beyond the confines of genre expectations through the latter part of
the 90’s. Upon release, ‘The Marriage of Heaven & Hell’ received widespread
acclaim from critics within the rock, metal & alternative music press, being
awarded Album of the Month in several high-profile magazines such as Terrorizer, Metal Hammer, and Rock Hard.
The album notably includes guest vocal appearances from Darkthrone’s Fenriz,
as well as Ihsahn & Samoth; most known for their work in Emperor.
This newly remastered edition of ‘The Marriage of Heaven & Hell’ is presented
on 2CD deluxe digipack format, including full lyrics/text, plus a new article from
writer and journalist Jeff Wagner on the background, nature & triumph of such
an ambitious release.

Rippikoulu's Musta seremonia is both an international cult item and an integral part of the history of Svart Records as well - a reissue of the original 1993 tape was one of the earliest Svart releases back in 2010. Back then, this album was considered as one of the best kept secrets in the Finnish underground metal scene. Four years and one quickly sold out reissue later Rippikoulu's greatness is no longer a secret, and we are happy to bring Musta seremonia back on the market.
Rippikoulu began their musical endeavours back in the late eighties, and like so many of their contemporaries, evolved from primitive punk noise to death metal. However, while many bands played death metal with groovy riffing and overall headbanging attitude, Rippikoulu's choice of style was darker. Their downtuned metal is bleak and nearly unbearably heavy in its execution, dark and soul-searching in its themes, intertwining faster bursts of chaos with slow, doomy passages.
Rippikoulu released the Musta Seremonia demo album on tape in 1993 and then disappeared. They never gained much popularity in their time, but their legacy has steadily grown in time. The album has been carefully remastered from the original DAT master tape, cleaned up and amplified.

Rippikoulu's Musta seremonia is both an international cult item and an integral part of the history of Svart Records as well - a reissue of the original 1993 tape was one of the earliest Svart releases back in 2010. Back then, this album was considered as one of the best kept secrets in the Finnish underground metal scene. Four years and one quickly sold out reissue later Rippikoulu's greatness is no longer a secret, and we are happy to bring Musta seremonia back on the market.
Rippikoulu began their musical endeavours back in the late eighties, and like so many of their contemporaries, evolved from primitive punk noise to death metal. However, while many bands played death metal with groovy riffing and overall headbanging attitude, Rippikoulu's choice of style was darker. Their downtuned metal is bleak and nearly unbearably heavy in its execution, dark and soul-searching in its themes, intertwining faster bursts of chaos with slow, doomy passages.
Rippikoulu released the Musta Seremonia demo album on tape in 1993 and then disappeared. They never gained much popularity in their time, but their legacy has steadily grown in time. The album has been carefully remastered from the original DAT master tape, cleaned up and amplified.

Indie Retail Exclusive Water Spirits color vinyl LP More Energy Fields, Current is a definitive new peak in the recorded continuum of prolific producer/percussionist Carlos Niño. Featuring contributions from more than a dozen exciting voices in the creative music constellation of Los Angeles (of which Niño's has been a central force for over 2 decades), including Sam Gendel, Nate Mercereau, Jamael Dean, and Jamire Williams, the album collects 10 pristine gems of collaborative communication helmed by the Southern Californian sage, elegantly presented in his unique "Spiritual, Improvisational, Space Collage" style. The album is ripe with "ambient" passages that function like open portals between moments of consonance and clarity, and epic post-hip hop opuses like the heavy/heady "Thanking the Earth." But even in the occasional absence of drums, there is a powerful pulse implicit in the program's frequency of consciousness. It's a testament to Niño's foundations as a DJ. His distinct ability to craft a kinetic, cinematic sonic experience from dozens of independent, often rhythmically-ambiguous improvisational memories is more fluently displayed on More Energy Fields, Current than anything we've heard from him to date. It resonates, lucidly, with the way Niño's mentor Iasos - who is known to the world as an original founder of New Age music - has described his work: "Real Time Interactive Imagination, Flow Texturization." On More Energy Fields, Current, Niño immerses us in the watery depths of his world, spiriting us like a submarine through exotic nether-leagues of untouched sound. And when we arrive at the final, bookending piece "Please, Wake Up." (an extended version of the opening theme, featuring saxophonist Shabaka Hutchings), it's like a return, safely to shore.