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T. Gowdy has kept up a productive albeit mostly virtual pace since the release of Therapy With Colour (his third full-length album and first for Constellation) which dropped just as things were locking down back in spring 2020: performances at numerous festivals including MUTEK Montréal, Node Festival and NEW NOW; audiovisual pieces exhibited at various European galleries and events; a track and video for Constellation's Corona Borealis Longplay Singles Series; sound design for the documentary Atalaya by filmmaker Emma Roufs. Gowdy now returns with Miracles, his second full-length for Constellation, which draws on source materials originally performed in 2018 for an unreleased audio/visual project based around surveillance footage_a precursor to videocapped, monitor-based horizons that soon took on new meanings. Re-immersing himself in those recordings, Gowdy disassembles and deploys them as raw source material for new experiments with vactrols, noise gates and analog-to-digital triggering and aliasing, the original recordings juxtaposed anew amidst their successive textural and rhythmic treatments. Gowdy keeps this re-composition process stripped down, elemental and purposive, guided by an ascetic Aufhebung: synthesis as sublation_subjecting a temporal material/theme to analysis and transformation, reintegrating to form a whole that overcomes what it preserves without erasure, reshaping and intrinsically carrying its origins forward. Where Therapy With Colour was strictly and rigorously a set of stereo live performances, Miracles fuses iterative_though still spartan_layers of performance. "Therapy With Colour was about healing through self-hypnosis; Miracles is about forging a future with memory through subjection to trigger mechanisms" notes Gowdy. The result is a captivating collection of minimal IDM and oscillated electronics from the Montréal/Berlin producer, working primarily in a 120-140 BPM zone of tonal percussion and corrugated pulse. Gowdy's sensibility and sound palette gets deeper and dirtier, summoning new pathways of alluvial flicker and abraded euphoria. As the album progresses, low-pass gate vactrols coalesce into a clear and vital theme, conveying immanence through woody timbres at times reminiscent of the Shinrin-yoku aesthetic (Japanese `forest bathing'), though always with a grainy transcendence rather than invoking any clean pure sheen. Gowdy consistently heats and heightens the presence of each component in the mix, balancing different elements in democratic compression/distortion, attaining an unornamental and earnest form of mantric-industrial majesty. Miracles is live, corporeal, activated electronic music of the highest caliber, deployed with monastic and meditative focus.

To celebrate the 45th anniversary of iconic Dutch jazz label Timeless Records, Music On Vinyl is releasing a series that features albums that are part of the Timeless Records legacy and will be released mainly throughout 2022.

To this day, jazz pianists are influenced by Bill Evans by his use of impressionist harmony, interpretation of traditional jazz repertoire, and his trademark rhythmically independent, “singing” melodic lines. Evans gained his first spotlight when joining Miles Davis’ sextet during the time Kind of Blue was recorded. After leaving the sextet, Evans began his career as bandleader. As trio with Marc Johnson on bass and Joe LaBarbera on drums, they recorded The Brilliant in 1980, just before Evans’ passing.

The Brilliant is pressed on coloured vinyl for the first time and available as a limited edition of 750 individually numbered copies on gold coloured vinyl. The package includes an insert with other titles from the Timeless Records 45th Anniversary Jazz Series

‘Wax Limousine’ is the third solo album from London’s Wesley Gonzalez. Set for release on 18th March via Moshi Moshi Records, the record is the follow up to last year’s critically acclaimed ‘Appalling Human’ and finds the indie stalwart delivering his most personal album to date, via a collection of 12 irresistible pop songs. The announcement arrives alongside the title track, which received its first play from Marc Riley on 6Music and its accompanying video, the second to be revealed from the record following ‘Greater Expectations’, released earlier this year. In support of the release, Gonzalez heads out on tour this November, headlining Electrowerkz on 25th and supporting Young Knives across the country (full dates below).

With its truly eclectic range of musical influences drawing on Gonzalez’s ever developing sonic palette, the album’s uplifting sound juxtaposes its themes, documenting the end of a long-term relationship and the overwhelming experience of dealing with a family member’s cancer diagnosis and subsequent treatment. ‘Wax Limousine’ navigates these hurdles with a razor-sharp wit and often brutally perceptive self-awareness, nowhere more so than on the new single. Inspired by both 'Faithless' by Scritti Politti and Aretha Franklin, it is Gonzalez’s version of an 80’s gospel song and, as he explains, written at a crucial point over the last 12 months

“This was written right after the breakup and cancer diagnosis. It was that early stage of a breakup where you can't really understand what went wrong for you or for your ex. There was resentment for the extreme change I had suddenly found myself in, and I was asking what it really was I did wrong. The title Wax Limousine came from old phrases like "as useless as an ashtray on a motorbike". I was trying to express how useless I felt within every situation that had just arrived at my doorstep.”

Wesley Gonzalez first made a name for himself as the leader of Let's Wrestle, whose tuneful and eccentric punk earned critical accolades and a devoted audience with three albums, including 2011’s Steve Albini produced ‘Nursing Home’. Gonzalez wasted little time forging his own path and quickly assembled a live band for his solo work, expanding upon the guitar-driven music of his former band, with an interesting concoction of classic 70’s pop, soul, and indie rock. Gonzalez released his debut solo record ‘Excellent Musician’ in 2017, then the follow up ‘Appalling Human’ in June 2020 through Moshi Moshi Records.

Three years have passed since the world first learned of Ursula Bogner's work. Since then, her identity has been surrounded by rumours, her graphic work have been exhibited (CEACC, Strasbourg, France, 2011 and elsewhere) and her compositional instructions have been performed (by Mo Loschelder, Andrew Pekler, Kassian Troyer, Jan Jelinek among others). The release of Sonne = Blackbox brings together all of these aspects in one CD and book: compiled by Andrew Pekler, the CD presents Bogner's early experiments with voice and tape music – a previously unknown emotional side of her music is revealed here through her singing. The 126 page book contains, along with drawings, photos and other curiosities from Bogner’s life, an introduction by Jan Jelinek, texts by Momus, Andrew Pekler, Tim Tetzner, and Bettina Klein as well as interviews with the orgone researcher Jürgen Fischer and the ethnographer Kiwi Menrath. Sonne = Blackbox attempts to locate Ursula Bogner, the sound experimentalist within broader cultural history. A central theme is the phenomenon of fake: how did the erroneous suspicion of fakery come about in the case of Ursula Bogner and what is a post-fake? Answers in this book.

This album is a music novel inspired by surrealism and South American magic realism. Every instrument acts as a character in action and its narrative set is studied to give an imaginary experience during the listening. The main themes are the transformation, the spiritual awakening and the political consciousness, the sublime and the worldly.

Protean producer Jaymie Silk returns to Shall Not Fade with an intensely club-driven LP. On "The Rise & Fall Of Jaymie Silk & Rave Culture" a range of vocal samples tell a story over assertive rhythms that switch rapidly so that hard-hitting acid becomes breaks before melting into sleazy, low-end bass techno. Strap in!

It"s not easy to anticipate how any release from the Paris-based Jaymie Silk will sound. A self-proclaimed musical nomad and a real jack-of-all-trades, his artistic identity is defined by its undefinability. With this release - a follow-up from "The Legend of Jack Johnson" EP released on Shall Not Fade last year - Jaymie references the kaleidoscope of sounds which inspired him to make music in the first place.

Sampling an iconic Malcolm X speech, the force of which is bolstered by giant synth swells and clattering percussion, "Freedom For Everybody" places the album in the context of diaspora and resistance - themes that run ever-present through Jaymie's music. With "The Heat", he pays tribute to late '80s dance music, with a classic Lyn Collins drum break sample and diva-esque vocals. The hard-hitting acid-tinged techno of "Start Swinging" sees the album at its most assertive before "Bad B" takes things camper with deep bass pulses and
pitched-shifted vocals which affirm "I'm a bad bitch, yeah you heard about me". "Cats Love Drums" offers another direction completely with polyrhythmic percussion and real meow's before the two closing tracks leave a taste of sentimentality, with a major-key vocal melody and a giddy 150BPM pulse ("Waiting For The Day") and an intimate slow burner ("Take Time To Breathe").

The Rise & Fall Of Jaymie Silk & Rave Culture LP drops 6th May via Shall Not Fade.

Nachdem sich die afro-kubanisch französischen Zwillinge Lisa-Kaindé und Naomi Díaz 2015 auf ihrem selbstbetitelten Debütalbum mit ihrer Familiengeschichte, dem Tod und ihrer Herkunft beschäftigten und auf dem Nachfolger "Ash" (2017) von Rassismus, Weiblichkeit und Aktivismus sangen, schlagen sie nun das nächste Kapitel ihres musikalischen Schaffens auf. Mit ihrem neuen Album "Spell 31", das am 6. Mai auf XL Recordings erscheint, kehren sie zu ihren spirituellen Wurzeln zurück. Harmonie, Heilung und Magie sind die zentralen Themen von "Spell 31". Es ist kein Zufall, dass dieses Album gerade jetzt erscheint - in einer Welt, die dringend spirituelle Heilung benötigt. Die 10 Songs von "Spell 31" wurden von Ibeyi 2021 geschrieben. Produziert und aufgenommen wurde das Album mit XL Recordings-Chef Richard Russell, der auch an den beiden Vorgängern beteiligt war. Neben den Zwillingen sind darauf Jorja Smith, Pa Salieu, BERWYN, sowie Ibeyis Vater, Mutter und eine Neuinterpretation von Black Flags "Rise Above" zu hören. Mit der Albumankündigung erscheint die neue Single "Sister 2 Sister", die von ihrem Leben als Schwestern, sowie ihren Latinx Wurzeln inspiriert ist und ein Sample der Single "River" vom Debütalbum beinhaltet. Das Video zum Song inszenierte Regisseur Colin Solal Cardo.

Halestorm's last album was 2018's Vicious, and since then the chart topping, hard rocking band has been working keenly on a follow up. It was proceeded by the title single with a morbid looking video fearing band member Lzzy Hale in a bodybag, and then a run of sold out gigs in club and festivals all around the UK. The full album follows up in fine style and will not disappoint fans. It was produced by Nick Raskulinecz of Foo Fighters and Alice in Chains association with co-production by Scott Stevens and showcases great songwriter laden with mental health, redemption and survival themes.

Fresh off the back of a debut album with sidekick Charlotte Adigéry Belgium-Chinese musician Bolis Pupul explores themes of heritage and identity on his new solo two-track 12-inch ‘Neon Buddha’ - out 6th May via Soulwax’s DEEWEE.

Mixing widescreen electronica – think early Mr Fingers-like techno and Yellow Magic Orchestra’s exuberant man-machine minimalism – with the warm-hearted and wonky naivete of Belgian New Beat Bolis’ singular sonics are at once playful emotive unrelenting and tender.

The title track is inspired by a dream Bolis had of a pagoda in Hong Kong featuring a contemplative Buddha made of neon lights. The music is similarly bright and exciting – an insistent acid squiggle giving the track the requisite Weatherall-friendly A Love from Outer Space chug.

Housed in a UV Gloss sleeve with a printed inner.

Spirituality, love, healing and the power of the spirit are themes that have been running through the music of Welsh artist Bryde for years. On "Still", she devotes herself to them again on a deeper level. So here she takes on the different ways of loving. The way we see love or fall in love is changing rapidly. On "Still" Bryde illuminates online vs. real life dating, as well as self-love and rom-com inspired swoons. An album that will keep us busy.

THE DEBUT STUDIO ALBUM OF EERIE DEATH/DOOM METAL DEPRAVITY
FROM GREG WILKINSON & CHRIS REIFERT OF US GORELORDS,
AUTOPSY
Static Abyss is the new mouthpiece for a rotten age consisting of the duo of Greg
Wilkinson (Guitars/ bass) & Chris Reifert (drums/ vocals), both members of
legendary American masters of sickness Autopsy, with Greg (also of cult act
Deathgrave) recently welcomed as new bass player for the long-running US act's
next studio opus & beyond.
Static Abyss' debut studio album, 'Labyrinth of Veins', presents an unnerving,
multi-layered eerie concoction of dirty doom & death, including themes exploring
the echoes of insanity manifested through human existence. The result, a sinister
onslaught of at times slow & bludgeoning brutal metal whilst at others whipped
into a storm of chaotic vile hysterics. The spirit of Autopsy is at times present in
the truly titanic riffs swathed in chilling atmospheric guitar leads, whilst Chris'
seemingly bottomless pit of morbid inspiration from the dark & twisted corners of
life permeate the release with his highly distinguishable delivery to further the
descent into madness.
'Labyrinth of Veins' was recorded at Earhammer Studios in Oakland, CA, & Great
American Music Hall, with engineering, mixing & mastering overseen by Greg
himself. Cover art appears courtesy of All Things Rotten.

20 Jahre nach Erscheinen ihrer Debütsingle 'Very Loud', wendet sich das sechste Album der in Stockholm ansässigen Band bestehend aus Sänger Adam Olenius, Gitarrist Carl von Arbin, Bassist Ted Malmros und Keyboarderin Bebban Stenborg Themen wie seelischer Unruhe und Älterwerden sowie der Zerbrechlichkeit der Liebe mit einem unerschrockenen Realismus zu, der nur erhellt werden kann von den himmlischen Melodien und einem Sound, der wärmer nicht sein könnte.

Produziert von Peter Bjorn und Johns Björn Yttling (Lykke Li, Franz Ferdinand, Primal Scream usw.), der auch die Produktion ihres gefeierten zweiten Albums 'Our Ill Wills' mit Indie-Hits wie 'Tonight I Have To Leave It' und 'Impossible' übersah, markiert House eine bewusste Abkehr von der gewaltigen und üppigen Atmosphäre von Ease My Mind aus dem Jahr 2017. So entschied sich die Band, die Songs diesmal live aufzunehmen und machte sich dabei einen Post-Punk-inspirierten Minimalismus zu eigen, der die rohen Emotionen eines jeden Songs noch verstärkte. Die überschwängliche Energie, für die sich die Band bei Headliner-Tourneen rund um die Welt, als Support von The Strokes und Depeche Mode und auf großen Festivals wie Coachella einen Namen gemacht hat, bleibt so auch auf Band greifbar.

Continuing with the theme of finding and releasing quality 21st century CD-only tracks on to 7” vinyl, Jai Alai now are proud to present their fourth release which showcases the stand-out tracks from the only two albums released under the name Sir Wick.
Chad ’Sir Wick’ Hughes is probably best described as a musician (trombone, piano, percussion), composer, teacher, adjudicator and clinician, but somehow that doesn’t seem quite enough to describe such a unique musical talent. Born in Detroit, and graduating from the same High School as Diana Ross, Paul Thompson, & Ron Carter, he went on to study composition and arranging, and holds regular clinics around the north and mid-west US states sharing his expertise.
The topside on this limited edition release is the lead track from his debut album “An Interpretation Of A Universal Language” (2007 Sir Wick Entertainment LLC) which features the sublime vocals of Sedalia Marie, a beautiful mid-pacer, whilst the other side “I Love You” features the mellow vocals of Anthony Saunders on a track from Chad’s opus work “A Tale Of Two Fools”, which he began in 1996 but only finally orchestrated and released as his second album in 2017 - a soundtrack featuring a full orchestra comprising eight woodwind parts, full strings, big band brass, and seven-piece rhythm section.
Originally intended as an operetta, it was evolving into something bigger; an opera, musical or stage play maybe, but he finally referred to it as a ‘novical’ (a musical novel), which best describes this story of a young musician falling in love for the first time. A biopic, maybe?
One could easily take these two fabulous tracks at face value as simply just another great double-sider, but isn’t it nicer to know the full story?

Steve Hobbs (Solar Radio, Totally Wired Radio)

Tibor Szemző's new LP features two composition, »The Other Shore« & »CUBA«. As the album title implies, »Snap #2« can be considered a sequel to his cult album »Snapshot from the Island« (released in 1987). Back then the island was a metaphor for isolation, while »Snap #2« offers Szemző’s reflections of his visits to real islands, Cuba (1988-1990) and Japan (1992-1994). As usual, Tibor Szemző processed the themes both visually and musically and has presented them many times live as cinematographic performances.

A previous version of »The Other Shore« was released in 1999 on CD. On this album, the original recording from 1997 is used; it has been recomposed, remixed and remastered and some additional recordings have been included. The core of Szemző’s Gordian Knot ensemble of the mid-nineties (Tibor Szemző on bass flute, Péter Magyar on drums and Tamás Tóth on bass guitar) has been enlarged by a string section and additional percussionists. The Other Shore composition has a multilayered texture; it starts with strings and is followed by prerecorded voices reciting the Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Law (Myôhô-Renge-Kyô in Japanese), the most important sutra of Mahayana Buddhism. Then percussion introduces the basic beat of the piece and the voice of the 102 year-old Buddhist priest Ônishi Ryôkei giving a lecture on Kannon sutra is heard. The following uneven entries of drums and bass guitar are like paint brush strokes in Zen calligraphy. The long tones of Szemző’s bass flute enters the piece as the last element suggesting itself as a connecting thread through all previous layers.

When Tibor Szemző first visited Cuba in 1988, he had just started shooting film on 8mm, something of a personal diary. When he met Jonas Mekas in Budapest a few years later, he realized that this footage could be screened publicly and also be an integral part of live performances. »CUBA« is the recording from 2000 of one such performance and was remixed by the author in 2021. It is as similar to and yet different from »The Other Shore«. The Gordian Knot band seemingly structures the piece in the same way, but the resulting sound is much heavier especially thanks to drummer Péter Magyar. Nevertheless, the contributions of Szemző on bass flute, Mihály Huszár on electric bass and T. Bali on prepared electric guitar also inject the proper rock sting. Incorporated Havanna street sounds and local radio broadcasts recorded by the author provide even more steamy roughness to the sound of Szemző’s »CUBA«.

The cover design of the »Snap #2« with photo reproductions from Szemző’s films reflects the aesthetics of the Snapshot from the Island album. This vinyl LP runs at 45 RPM for better sound quality.

New York-based duo Bottler, Pat Butler and Phil Shore, are the vanguard of their own distinctly eclectic sound. Raw, emotive, bold and highly creative, the duo has successfully carved out their own path with a series of EPs that represent the broad scope of their production prowess. Over the last five years Bottler have been working on their debut album, ‘Journey Work’, a milestone achievement that marks a pivotal moment in their music career. The LP is a distillation of the duo’s multifaceted upbringing, blending a variety of styles together bound together by an overarching attitude and approach that embraces creative freedom and self-acceptance.



Pat and Phil are childhood friends whose bond is akin to that of blood relatives. Their parents are best friends and they grew up side by side, developing their deep love for music together; sharing discoveries and inspirations, learning to play and perform, and nurturing their creativity together. Now formally ordained as Bottler, they channel their eclectic tastes into a sound that encapsulates the love and trust that forms the foundation of the friendship. The duo blends a myriad of styles to create songs that emanate warmth, joy, sorrow, pain and the full spectrum of human emotion.



The album title, like their music, is open to interpretation. The duo reveals themes related to chronicling life’s many ups and downs, the deep preparation that must be taken ahead of a spiritual ceremony or psychedelic experience, and, simply, the journey taken during the conception and creation of an album. A quote from Walt Whitman also partly inspired the title; “every leaf of grass is no less than the journey work of the stars”. However, the intention behind the title is to allow for ambiguity, giving the listener an opportunity to write their own narrative.



Across 11 cuts Bottler illustrate their distinct take on electronic music, weaving in elements of indie, pop, rock, house and techno with confidence and panache. ‘Journey Work’ starts at ‘Home’, a song that is fizzing with positive energy, Pat’s vocals welcoming the listener to the start of this meandering audio adventure.

‘Chrysalis’ opens with delicate piano keys that guide us into a bombastic bassline and energising drum beats. As it progresses, scintillating layers of synth and strings are added, creating a highly affecting, uplifting atmosphere.



‘Melatonin’ follows up next, merging heartfelt vocal delivery with a sombre instrumental, and a stirring guitar riff. A glorious demonstration of Bottler’s songwriting capabilities, which are also evident on ‘Vinyl’, an uptempo dance number with an unbelievably catchy chorus. Here we see the duo channel their experience of playing in multi-member bands, as the breaks and arrangement feel perfectly suited to a festival-sized crowd.



On ‘Tacoma’, Pat and Phil channel their appreciation of house and techno into a haunting cut that utilises reverse strings and extended vocal refrains to chilling effect. A heady club track for the twilight hours. ‘Meds’ incorporates muted singing, mystical pad work and a mesmerising riff to produce a captivating slice of uncomplicated dance music.



This is followed by ‘Hot Water’, which feels like a trip to a Californian beach, circa 1965. The vocals drift over a bouncing bassline with a complementary guitar riff. ‘Mako’ features Samurai Velvet singing about fireflies and afterlife in a wonderfully heartrending manner, Bottler’s instrumental keeping things simple, yet highly effective.



We head back underground with ‘Weed’, a dense, gloomy cut with inspired use of chopped up vocal clips, stuttered throughout, alongside a mean bassline. ‘You’re Old’ is the soundtrack to an explosion of festival euphoria, dancing shoulder to shoulder with your best friends, forgetting all your troubles and living in the moment. An anthemic song that transposes Bottler’s idiosyncratic style onto the pop blueprint. Finally, ‘Cicada Rhythm’ closes the LP with a pensive, yet joyful feeling. A chunky bassline is juxtaposed with Pat’s angelic vocals cascading over the top. A hint of tribalism comes through, as we approach the end of the Journey Work…



Five years in the making, fuelled by the desire to express their deep love for music of all varieties, Journey Work is symbolic of the long road it takes to accept oneself and be comfortable expressing one’s truth. Diverse, dynamic and daring with a rawness and honesty that is rare to find, the album marks a triumphant debut for Bottler and one that crystalises their unique identity.

New album from South London producer, multi-instrumentalist and vocalist Wu-Lu.

Leader of the punk-rap awakening, Wu-Lu pulls inspiration from personal hardship and the underrepresented on his latest for Warp entitled 'LOGGERHEAD'. Miles Romans-Hopcraft based his artistic moniker on the Amharic word for water, “wu-ha”. True to his fluid sound and nature, he decided to change it to something that felt more liquid. He ended up with Wu-Lu, a name he has been using since 2015. His first record GINGA opened the floodgates to a career that would take him to various places, people, and genres. From breaking bones at skateparks as a teenager, to DJing as one of the original members of Touching Bass, and eventually getting signed to Warp in 2021.

As an artist, Wu-Lu seems concerned with feeling and communicating the full spectrum of human emotion. Throughout his varied discography, he touches on disparate themes and sounds, straddling a divide between blissed-out beats and grungy guitar dirges, and often mixing both into one amorphous, unclassifiable sound of his own.

On ‘'LOGGERHEAD'’, Wu-Lu hones his unique sound. On ‘Take Stage’, a despondent spoken word intro opens with sombre strings and underlying bows dragged delicately across them. Then the lights flicker to life on ‘Night Pill’, and the mosh pit with them - the bassline approaches like a hungry shark and the guitars snarl with a homemade 90s grunge energy. This grunge drawl and punk spirit is peppered with dry old-school drum sounds of classic hip-hop, with laid-back beat-oriented tracks are spread amongst those with intermittent growls, scratches, and shrieks. Sonic elements are constantly rearranged and juxtaposed throughout the album, like on ‘South’ where the fluctuating pitch of squealing guitars and screaming vocals is contrasted with the steady flow of Lex Amor.

Listening through the album you are constantly greeted with about-turns, and through the element of surprise and deft use of contrast 'LOGGERHEAD' sits at an exciting point in Wu-Lu’s genre-defying artistry.

Nach der Veröffentlichung der beiden EPs "The Path" und "The Divide" sowie zahlreichen Konzerten in Europa (HRH Prog Festival in Wales, Summer Breeze Festival in Deutschland und einer Supporttour für Amorphis in Finnland, um nur wenige zu nennen), befasst sich das Quartett auf ihrem neuen Album nun verstärkt mit gesellschaftskritischen Themen. Songs wie "Wheel", der sich an George Orwell's Roman "1984" orientiert und die Gesellschaft unter verstärkt aufdringlicher Überwachung betrachtet, sowie das Lied "Tyrant", welches die Vorstellung einer Zukunft beschreibt, wo Selbstbestimmung extrem reguliert wird, zeichnen einen Rahmen um das übergeordnete Thema des Albums. Sowohl musikalisch als auch thematisch betrachtet hinterlässt "Moving Backwards" einen fesselnden und nachdenklich stimmenden Eindruck. Es ist eine weitreichende und mächtige Collage aus Progressive Rock, Grunge und Filmmusik, die sich dreht und wendet, wie es selten eine Band geschafft hat

»Tides« marked a radical change in direction for Arovane. After Uwe Zahn had made a name for himself with cutting-edge IDM rhythms and slick ambient textures on a slew of releases, his sophomore album saw the prolific producer opt for a sample-based approach that resulted in a more organic sound and laid-back downbeat grooves. Having reissued Arovane’s seminal »Atol-Scrap« as a double LP in 2021, the Berlin-based Keplar label now makes »Tides« available on vinyl for the first time since its original release in 2000 through the legendary City Centre Offices. The new version has been remastered by Kassian Troyer at Dubplates & Mastering and comes with a brand new cover artwork. It shines a new light on a release for which Zahn quite literally ventured into previously unknown territory — »Tides« is an album that emits a timeless, quiet calm and nonetheless stays constantly in motion.

»The idea for the album came to me after a vacation in France«, says Zahn. Inspired by the landscape, especially the coastline and the sea, he made field recordings throughout his trip that were also used on the record, giving it its sensual feel. The foundation of the album however, the loose yet gripping grooves at the heart of every track, result from Zahn working extensively with samples. »I wanted to make use of drum sounds and small excerpts from old jazz vinyl records«, he explains. He maintained the unique sound signatures and rhythmic flutter of the source material while building intricate beats with them. Most of the material was culled from the record collection of Christian Kleine, whose spontaneous guitar improvisations over the first musical sketches were recorded and edited by Zahn and can be heard on four tracks. Also employing the occasional cembalo or spinet sound, he worked with a hardware sequencer and a delay to integrate the different, discrete elements into nine tracks that feel both dense and light at once.

What’s astonishing still 22 years later is how spacious »Tides« sounds. This is due to the fact that Zahn not only paid close attention to the sonic idiosyncrasies of his source material, but also to what happened in between those sounds. »Mark Hollis’s solo album was a huge inspiration at that time«, says Zahn. »What I find fascinating about it until this day is how silence and the subtle hiss of the mixing boards were being used on that record.« Silence was also an important stylistic element on »Tides« and adds greatly to the overall atmosphere of an album that with the appropriately named »Theme« immediately sets the mood with intricate spinet melodies: Zahn opens a door for his listeners and invites them to follow him to see a specific part of the world through his very own lens.

As a whole, the album mirrors Zahn’s trip that took him along the steep cliffs on a foggy day (»Seaside«), to an abandoned house in which he found old maps (»A Secret«), along the coastline during a long car ride (»Deauville«), to a sleepy village and the slowly moving sea (»Tides«) and finally back home to his native Germany where he started reflecting upon his experiences, ultimately deciding to translate them into music (»Epilogue«). »Whenever I listen to this album now, the images and memories it evokes are incredibly vivid and vibrant«, he says. It’s not hard to see — or rather hear — why. »Tides« may have been a deeply personal project, but it effortlessly evokes universal feelings by (re-)building an entire world in the course of only a few pieces of music.

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.

Der legendäre amerikanische Filmkomponist John Williams dirigiert wenige Monate vor seinem 90. Geburtstag erstmals die Berliner Philharmoniker! Es war „einer dieser tollen Abende“ titelte der Tagesspiegel. Egal ob Star Wars, Harry Potter oder Indiana Jones – die symphonischen Hollywood-Klänge auf der Bühne der Berliner Philharmoniker begeisterten das Publikum vom ersten Ton an. Das Album John Williams – The Berlin Concert feiert den „wohl größten Soundtrack-Komponisten aller Zeiten“ (Rolling Stone) und
fängt die beeindruckende Energie dieses einmaligen Konzerts – gespielt von einem der besten Orchester der Welt – ein.

Unter der Leitung von Williams verleihen die Musiker der spannenden Auswahl seiner Partituren eine meisterhafte Klangschönheit und außergewöhnliche Intensität. „John Williams braucht die Filme nicht, die Filme brauchen ihn“, schrieb der Rolling Stone nach dem Konzert. Auf dem Album ist unter anderem Musik aus Harry Potter, Jurassic Park, Superman und natürlich Star Wars zu hören. Das Album ist nicht nur als limitierte 2 CD Edition in einem hochwertigen Digipack mit edler Goldfolien-Optik auf dem Cover erhältlich, sondern zudem auch als limitiertes LP-Set mit zwei 180g Vinylen sowie als
limitierte Deluxe Edition, Download und Stream.

Die Deluxe Edition enthält das einmalige Konzerterlebnis auf 2 CDs und als einziges Produkt auch das Konzertvideo auf 2 BluRays als Stereo, Surround 5.1 sowie Dolby Atmos-Surround-Sound in einem hochwertigen Digipack im DVD Format.

We've always done things our own way and without any outside pressure,” says Paul Isherwood of The Soundcarriers. “Making music like this keeps things fresh, you always lose something and gain something as you go along but I think of it as just another chapter.”

There have been many chapters in the life of the band to date and each one is defined by the singular approach and style of the group. Since forming in 2007 the band - comprised of Isherwood, Adam Cann, Dorian Conway and Leonore Wheatley - have released three albums that position them as a distinct and unique force in British music. Eschewing fads and trends that come and go, they have instead focused on honing their own sonic world that glides between woozy psychedelia, immersive grooves, subtle pop and rich, enveloping soundscapes. They’ve consistently moved at their own pace and on their own terms and on their fourth album, Wilds, they return after seven years since their last. “The sessions started in a cottage in the wilds so there's a literal meaning,” Isherwood says of the title. “But figuratively we've pretty much been in the wild for the last few years as far as a lot of people are concerned.”

The recording was staggered over a few different locations, from cottages to primary schools, before finishing in an art gallery. “The beauty of recording in non-studio studios is you have the time for the unexpected to happen,” says Isherwood. “Which is really what keeps you coming back for more.” As a result of the timeframe of the album, it’s one that has changed and grown a lot over the years. “The record has been through a lot of stages,” says Isherwood. “It's almost been circular. We started off wanting to do an album of more shorter, concise tracks and then sort of sidestepped into some more spacey ambient ideas so in a way the album is kind of a synthesis of the two phases, overall carrying on with many of the themes and influences of the first three but with a more focused approach.”

The opening ‘Waves’ leaps out the gate with an infectious hook kissed by a touch of French pop before leaping into a devilishly catchy chorus and into a mini prog-like flute breakdown. It sets the tone for an album that is rich in adventure and unpredictability that manages to balance experimentation with accessibility. ‘At The Time’ is almost unrelenting in its grinding charge, managing to create a groove that cracks and pulses at the same time, ‘Wilds’ is a gorgeously floating piece of music that skips along with strutting bass as Wheatley’s vocals merge melody with texture magically. The closing ‘Happens Too Soon gently stirs to life with an almost pastoral folk air to it, as it slowly builds into swirling psych pop rich in texture before reaching a rousing crescendo. “I feel this album sums up a lot of our influences,” says Isherwood. “There’s a strong folk influence in the sense of the actual songwriting but musically we wanted to create songs that were like those rare oddities you find on a bizarre charity shop record. A collection of "one offs" capturing a moment rather than trying to make a hit song.”

This sense of it being an album of unique songs is clearly apparent throughout but it also maintains a natural flow and cohesion. This is something that stems from the band’s approach to songwriting for the record. “A lot of the tracks started with a feel or groove,” says Isherwood. “Then building it into a more concise arranged piece. We were conscious that we didn't want the recording to sound too over-polished so although a lot of the tracks were quite painstaking in how they evolved we wanted the actual recording to be quite raw and not be reliant on cutting things up or overly editing things. We wanted it to sound natural rather than perfect.”

Toro y Moi’s seventh studio album, ‘MAHAL’, is the boldest and most fascinating journey yet
from musical mastermind Chaz Bear. The record spans genre and sound - encompassing the
shaggy psychedelic rock of the 1960s and ‘70s, and the airy sounds of 1990s mod-post-rock -
taking listeners on an auditory expedition, as if they’re riding in the back of Bear’s Filipino
jeepney that adorns the album’s cover. But ‘MAHAL’ is also an unmistakably Toro y Moi
experience, calling back to previous works while charting a new path forward in a way that only
Bear can do.
 ‘MAHAL’ is the latest in an accomplished career for Bear, who’s undoubtedly one of the
decade’s most influential musicians. Since the release of the electronic pop landmark ‘Causers
of This’ in 2009, subsequent records as Toro y Moi have repeatedly shifted the idea of what his
sound can be. But there’s little in Bear’s catalogue that will prepare you for the deep-groove
excursions on ‘MAHAL’, his most eclectic record to date.
 The second the album begins we’re immediately transported into the passenger seat, jeep
sounds and all, ready for the ride Chaz and company have concocted for us. Seeds of some of
‘MAHAL’s 13 songs date back to the more explicitly rock-oriented ‘What For?’ from 2015.
 ‘MAHAL’ was mostly completed last year in Bear’s Oakland studio with the involvement of a
host of collaborators, Sofie Royer and Unknown Mortal Orchestra’s Ruban Neilson to Neon
Indian’s Alan Palomo and the Mattson 2.
 “I wanted to make a record that featured more musicians on it than any other record of mine,”
he explains. “To have them live on that record feels grounded, bringing a communal
perspective to the table.” As a result, ‘MAHAL’ is lush and surprising at every turn, from the
cool-handed ‘The Loop’, which recalls Sly and the Family Stone, to the elastic psych rock of
‘Foreplay’ and the dizzying Mulatu Astatke-recalling of ‘Last Year’.
 Lyrically, the album zooms in on generational concerns, picking up where the ‘Outer Peace’
standout ‘Freelance’ effectively left off. Bear seems to be surveying the ways in which we
connect with technology, media, each other, and what disappears as a result. Cuts like the
squishy ‘Postman’ and ‘Magazine’ take a deep dive into our relationship with media in a
changing digital world. “It’s interesting to see how we adapt to this new age. We’re so
connected, but we’re still missing out on things,” Bear ruminates while discussing the album’s
themes.
 It’s not all introspection. Bear cools things down near the album’s end with the Mattson 2-
featuring ‘Millennium’, a laid-back jam with tricky guitar licks about ringing in new times even
when everything else seems upside down. “It’s about enjoying the new year, even when it’s
been shitty,” Bear explains. “There’s nothing else to do.”
 Finding a sense of joy in the face of adversity is embedded in ‘MAHAL’s DNA, right down to the
jeepney that literally and figuratively brings the music out into the community. “We know that
touring is messed up for now, and large gatherings are a fluke,” he explains. “It’s about the
notion of us going out to the people and bringing the record to them.” And with the wide-open
atmosphere of ‘MAHAL’, Toro y Moi stands to connect with more listeners than ever before.

The Source - nearly 30 years in the tradition of the infinite peculiar. The Source is a quartet with a long history. Actually started in 1993, with the founding members Ingebrigt Håker Flaten (bass), Per Oddvar Johansen, Trygve Seim og Oyvind Brække, who all by then studied at the Jazz Course at the Trondheim Music Conservatory. The new quartet album; " ... but swinging doesn`t bend them down" will be published in October on the legendary record label Odin. The title is an excerpt from the poem "Birches" by the American poet Robert Frost, a title that encompass a child's dream of climbing the treetops and swinging birch branches. It could be read as a reflection over the conflict between the free play in nature and the boundaries of adult life awaiting on the ground_ But maybe the ground can wait? Just join the sheer joy of climbing the trees and the careful balance that is needed not to fall and be at one with the flexibility of nature. After several season-related albums, like "The Source: of Christmas" and "The Source: of Summer", it is now a pure quartet display out in the tube, only based on original music. The pieces are all signed by the quartet members and covers a vast register; raga, shuffle, swing, lyrical spots, improv and even a rough trombone/drum outing, and more.The Source: Oyvind Brække, trombone Trygve Seim, saksofon Per Oddvar Johansen, trommer Mats Eilertsen, bass.

"Blossoms fourth studio album Ribbon Around The Bomb, is released on the 29th April. The band have also shared the title track from the album and its accompanying video, directed by Edwin Burdis, Arctic Monkeys’ Creative Director, who worked on the band’s Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino and AM albums.

Ribbon Around The Bomb is the first new music from Blossoms since their ‘vibrant single’ (NME) Care For, which was released in 2021. Care For gained great support from radio, with the track being playlisted and made the ‘Hottest Record’ by Radio 1, as well as getting on the B-List with Radio 2. The track was also added to key streaming playlists, including Spotify’s ‘New Music Friday’, ‘All New All Now’ and ‘The Indie List’. Standard CD, Limited Edition Deluxe CD - 2CD including Live From Sefton 2nd CD. Spined outersleeve, 24-page booklet, sticker. 2CD Live At Sefton Park, Limited Edition Standard vinyl"

Released in 1959, The Amazing Nina Simone was Nina Simone's first album for Colpix Records. In contrast to her debut album 'Little Girl Blue' (Bethlehem Records), which highlighted her piano playing as well as her singing, this production downplayed the piano in favour of string arrangements. The production also featured a variety of material, including jazz, gospel, and folk
songs.

"There is a remarkable amount of variety on this disc, Nina Simone's second recording. She does not play much piano (just cameos on two songs) and is backed by a subtle orchestra arranged by Bob Mersey that is effective accompanying her vocals. This session finds Nina Simone's voice in top form and with a few exceptions is generally jazz-oriented." - Scott Yanow, AllMusic

The Line Is A Curve is about letting go. The core of the record is that the pressures we face do not always have to be heavy burdens, but can be reframed; the more pressure a person is under, the greater the possibility for release.

The album plays like a chronicle of pressures - the mind-numbing pursuit of a comfortable life, the eternal striving for more, the pressures of the city, the country, the times. The pressures of maintaining relationships, of battling illness, addiction, poor mental health, the vacuous life of our online selves. As we move through these chronicles though, the mood brightens. The musicality becomes more expansive as the lyrical horizon broadens and we glimpse coastlines, high streets, scrap yards, train stations in the rain; the entire album begins to let go. We encounter the contributions of artists who I love and admire, guest vocalists and instrumentalists, and so we defeat the sense of isolation felt in the opening track with a sense of deeply connected community. More Pressure, the penultimate song, is the essence of the whole album and the epiphany that leads to Grace, which is a prayer, a surrendering; ‘Please move me, please move through me, please unscrew me, please loosen me up.’ But once we get to the end of Grace, and the album, we loop back to the start – to ‘Kiss off the day with a mute mouth. Pass the commute like I can die faster than you.’ Because no matter how much a person grapples with, realises, deeply understands, about life and their place in it, we still wake up in the morning back to square one. Life isn’t solved the minute you figure something out about it. It’s a daily operation to increase your resilience, cultivate a deeper acceptance, let go of what’s chasing you and lean in to the pressures. It’s cyclical, as I believe all things are. And instead of trying to fight the cycles, this album asks us to surrender to them. To let go.

These general themes, of acceptance, resilience, surrender are also about where I’m at in my personal life, in my journey towards a greater acceptance of myself as an artist and as a human being. Being more honest with the world and my community about who I am and letting go of some heavy heavy shame, which is a glorious thing.

This album has a beautiful heart, there is so much love running through it and I can’t wait for people to experience it.

Note vinyl rel date is later. 10 Year Anniversary Reissue. 2LP / 2CD featuring the album proper & demos of each song + rarities. Colored clear vinyl, includes digital download. Recommended If You Like: The original ‘151a’ release, of Montreal, Regina Spektor, Andrew Bird. They say that you spend your entire life writing your first album, piecing every formative moment, scribbled turn of phrase, and thematic epiphany into a fantastical collage. Multi-instrumentalist K. Ishibashi (aka Kishi Bashi) disproves that old adage. The title of Kishi Bashi’s 2011 debut album,‑151a, is a riff on the Japanese phrase‑“ichi-go ichi-e,” roughly translating to “one time, one place.” That’s exactly what this debut is: A singular time, an inimitable place, a launchpad for bigger and better things to come. “It’s a play on words that translates as a performance aesthetic of having a unique performance in time, with imperfections, and enjoying it while you can,” Ishibashi‑told NPR at the time of the album’s release. “The saying reminds me to embrace my mistakes and move forward.” From the deconstructed Beach Boys-esque doo-wop of “Wonder Woman” to the menacing marriage of Eastern Hues and Western operatics of “Beat the Bright out of Me,”‑151a‑is a mediation between opposing drives, offering possible reconciliation but never promising it. The album’s emotional wellspring, “I Am The Antichrist To You” was reimagined in 2021 when it was featured on the animated sci-fi sitcom‑Rick and Morty, introducing Kishi Bashi to a new generation of awestruck fans. Kishi Bashi uses‑151a‑as a vehicle to explore his cultural background. Using Japanese refrains as a compositional and textural device (the polyrhythmic grandeur of “Bright Whites”; the gleeful surrealism of “It All Began With a Burst”), Kishi Bashi celebrates his heritage with earnestness. Japanese phrases and couplets are sung as the response to Kishi Bashi’s resplendent calls, offering listeners a conversation that dovetails with the album’s themes of love, sentimentality, and self-discovery. Today, the “one time” and “one place” that­151a‑inhabited seems further than ever, almost broaching celestial realms of time and space. But, rest assured, with each listen, the world that Kishi Bashi built springs back to life. The world of‑151a‑never left—it was just waiting to be rediscovered.

Bézier returns to Dark Entries with Valencia, a six track rumination on memory, geography, and transmutation. Multi-instrumentalist Robert Yang’s Bézier project has appeared on Dark Entries many times over the last decade, most recently with the 2018 LP Parler Musique. Says Yang, “What started as a project to investigate the love of the sound and scenery while living in San Francisco quickly developed into a passionate search for interlocking melodies and driving rhythms.”
On Valencia, Bézier invokes twinned places. The Valencia Street of San Francisco is channeled, which was the center of the city’s vibrant new wave scene in the 1980s.

But also echoed is Valencia, Spain, and La Ruta del Bakalao aka La Ruta Destroy, the Spanish clubbing scene throughout the 80s and 90s famed for its aggressive and synthetic sounds. Valencia is a darker record for Yang, exploring themes of submission and catharsis with nods to SF’s gay leather bars of the 70s and 80s. The high BPM salvos of “Valencia” and “Scrupulous” capture the frantic energy of Bakalao and Valencian wave acts like Última Emoción. Elsewhere Yang mines the dreamy space disco and Hi-NRG sounds they’re known for, like on the brooding “Past the Marshes” or the anthemic “Reservoir”, which features their partner Len.Leo on vocals. Bézier deftly navigates past and present, light and dark, pain and pleasure, the stasis of memory and the flux of time.

Valencia was mastered by Alex Michalski, with EQ for vinyl done by George Horn. Gwenaël Rattke designed the sleeve, which features an 80’s punk zine-esque geometric grid pattern mirroring San Francisco street maps. Also included is a 5x7 postcard with notes.

Das brandneue Album des Songwriters, Produzenten, Multi-Instrumentalisten und langjährigem Bon Iver-Mitglieds ist sowohl persönlicher als auch kollaborativer, als er es je hätte vorhersagen können. In den vier Jahren seit seinem letzten Album "Hundred Acres" hat Sean Carey diese 10 Songs in der herausforderndsten und von Veränderungen geprägten Zeit seines Lebens geschrieben. Von der Aufnahme und Reflexion zu Hause in Eau Claire, über die Zusammenarbeit mit den Co-Produzenten Chris Messina und Zach Hanson in einem Studio-Außenposten in Gualala bis hin zu einer unvergesslichen Erleuchtung während eines ruhigen Moments beim Fliegenfischen in Montana - "Break Me Open" zeigt, wie Carey den Schmerz über das Auseinanderbrechen seiner Ehe, das Ableben seines Vaters und das Aufwachsen seiner Kinder verarbeitet, nur um mit einem überwältigenden Gefühl der Dankbarkeit und Großzügigkeit daraus hervorzugehen. Vor dem Hintergrund einer Pandemie erschütterten diese Erfahrungen von Trauer und Verlust S. Carey bis ins Mark und ließen ihn sich fragen, wer er war und wohin er gehen wollte. Doch mit dem Versprechen, präsent und verletzlich zu bleiben, ging er weiter nach vorne, fand heraus, wo die Angst schwelte, und kanalisierte diese Gefühle in die Musik. In den letzten zehn Jahren ist S. CAREY zu einem unverzichtbaren Kollaborateur innerhalb der Bon Iver-Gemeinschaft und darüber hinaus geworden. Er hat an Sufjan Stevens "Carrie & Lowell" mitgewirkt, mit Low und anderen Songs geschrieben und produziert, während er sein eigenes Werk durch Themen wie Natur und Nachhaltigkeit, Jazz-Anklänge und herzliche Lyrik vorantreibt. Auf "Break Me Open" öffnet er nicht nur sich selbst und die intime Inspirationsquelle für die meisten gemeinsam geschriebenen Songs, die er je auf einem Album hatte, sondern er heißt auch mehr Stimmen in seiner Welt willkommen als je zuvor. Bläser-Arrangements von CJ Camerieri (CARM), die Streicher kommen von dem meisterhaften Rob Moose, mit zusätzlicher Unterstützung von Ben Lester, Jeremy Boettcher, Nick Hall, John Raymond, Chris Thomson, Eli Teplin und Talyor Deupree.

Das brandneue Album des Songwriters, Produzenten, Multi-Instrumentalisten und langjährigem Bon Iver-Mitglieds ist sowohl persönlicher als auch kollaborativer, als er es je hätte vorhersagen können. In den vier Jahren seit seinem letzten Album "Hundred Acres" hat Sean Carey diese 10 Songs in der herausforderndsten und von Veränderungen geprägten Zeit seines Lebens geschrieben. Von der Aufnahme und Reflexion zu Hause in Eau Claire, über die Zusammenarbeit mit den Co-Produzenten Chris Messina und Zach Hanson in einem Studio-Außenposten in Gualala bis hin zu einer unvergesslichen Erleuchtung während eines ruhigen Moments beim Fliegenfischen in Montana - "Break Me Open" zeigt, wie Carey den Schmerz über das Auseinanderbrechen seiner Ehe, das Ableben seines Vaters und das Aufwachsen seiner Kinder verarbeitet, nur um mit einem überwältigenden Gefühl der Dankbarkeit und Großzügigkeit daraus hervorzugehen. Vor dem Hintergrund einer Pandemie erschütterten diese Erfahrungen von Trauer und Verlust S. Carey bis ins Mark und ließen ihn sich fragen, wer er war und wohin er gehen wollte. Doch mit dem Versprechen, präsent und verletzlich zu bleiben, ging er weiter nach vorne, fand heraus, wo die Angst schwelte, und kanalisierte diese Gefühle in die Musik. In den letzten zehn Jahren ist S. CAREY zu einem unverzichtbaren Kollaborateur innerhalb der Bon Iver-Gemeinschaft und darüber hinaus geworden. Er hat an Sufjan Stevens "Carrie & Lowell" mitgewirkt, mit Low und anderen Songs geschrieben und produziert, während er sein eigenes Werk durch Themen wie Natur und Nachhaltigkeit, Jazz-Anklänge und herzliche Lyrik vorantreibt. Auf "Break Me Open" öffnet er nicht nur sich selbst und die intime Inspirationsquelle für die meisten gemeinsam geschriebenen Songs, die er je auf einem Album hatte, sondern er heißt auch mehr Stimmen in seiner Welt willkommen als je zuvor. Bläser-Arrangements von CJ Camerieri (CARM), die Streicher kommen von dem meisterhaften Rob Moose, mit zusätzlicher Unterstützung von Ben Lester, Jeremy Boettcher, Nick Hall, John Raymond, Chris Thomson, Eli Teplin und Talyor Deupree.

In 2022, Soom T is back with her new studio album "Good" entirely self-produced through her own label Renegade Masters.

In this new reggae-dub album, the result of ten years of writing, composition and production, the Scottish MC blends the studio recordings of her musicians, The Stone Monks, with digital productions from various composers. From this multitude of musicians and producers, an original sound is born at the crossroads of reggae, dub and jazz, even sometimes pop.

The tracks "Big Bad World", "Yes My People", "Born Free", "My Struggle", "Your Time" and "My Shelter" composed by the French producer Kiko, bring a distinctive digital sound to an important part of the album. While "Don't Stand for Dis" and "Steps" are signed by London dub legend Gaudi and pay homage to the early hours of dub music with great echoes and reverberations in the purest tradition of the style . "One Real Friend" composed by Alex Dupuis of Flash Hit Records brings a welcome swing and jazz touch.

“World We Live In”, “Our Day”, “I Wanna Live”, “Get the Fruit” and “One More Tune” were composed and recorded in Paris over several years with The Stone Monks, under the supervision of Xavier Waks. He also mixed the entire album in his 31DB studio before passing it on to Simon Capony for mastering at Basalte Studio.

As usual, Soom T continues to denounce nowadays political and social issues, all with a spiritual approach, an inimitable style and an incisive flow of her own. If she deplores the dark sides of our time in songs like "Big Bad World", she also tries to find a ray of hope with tracks carrying positive messages, sometimes very melodic, such as "Don't Stand for Dis ”, or catchy, like“ Yes My People ”. "I Wanna Live" and its heady guitar riff, "Our Day" with its bright major chords or even "Amazing Graces" pour a flood of optimism amidst much heavier themes.

On the cover of "Good" we find a portrait of Soom T, a microphone in her hand, designed by the French street artist specialized in 3D, Nikita.

Get ready for a unique musical journey in search of all that is good in this world with "Good", the long awaited new album from Soom T aka the “The Raggamuffin Queen”!

3x12"

Extraordinary musical talent returns with a deeply textured third outing on Blu Mar Ten Music.

Having made serious waves with the release of his debut album "Coeur Calme" in 2014 and the incredible 2016 follow up album "Zawadi", Kimyan Law steers his sound in a darker, more introspective direction with the twelve heavily themed set-pieces of his new album, "Yonda".

The album title, "Yonda", homophonically flits between a location in Kimyan Law's native Congo and definitions of something situated at a distance but still visible, foreshadowing the artist's move away from his typical uplifting palette into less playful territory.

While previous work seemed to be a personal exploration of joy-tinged melancholy, "Yonda", feels much more sober and pensive, infected with external events. In conversation with Kimyan Law the artist described one piece ("Krieg") as his "portrait of war", with the music moving through phases of violence, silence, panic, redemption and peace. Ever the allegorist, Kimyan Law relates themes of conflict and war not just to obvious geopolitics but also to his own physical struggles, and even an obsessive battle with the music itself, ("Yonda" has been more than three years in the making). In 2017 the artist wrote, "I've reached a point where I couldn't sleep because it bothered me so much... I have found myself unable to make any music except for Krieg".

An accomplished drummer in his own right, Kimyan Law's intricate rhythmic sensibility is the lifeblood that runs throughout the album, incorporating ever more outlandish sources of percussion recorded from his natural surroundings and filtered through technology.

"Yonda's opener, "Jaardin", is deceptively gentle, with off-kilter rhythms and pianos providing fertile ground for Elyn's delicate singing before the whole piece careens off into what can only be described as orchestral proto-jungle territory. It soon becomes apparent that this placid introduction is misleading, with subsequent tracks fluctuating between pounding tribal beats ("Arboreal Epitone" / "Kin"), chilling orchestration ("Byo" / "Krieg") and rehabilitated jungle forms ("Seven Ant Foley"). A constant mix of light and dark, futuristic yet primitive atmosphere hangs over the album, with waves of luscious synths and deeply musical string arrangements lovingly cloaked over the razor-sharp drum work.

Unusual conceptual themes litter "Yonda"; "Dor Rhythm" is about a Dung Beetle's journey, "Lampion" is about paper lanterns, "Nova" is about plant growth while "Kilele" is a song about peace, featuring Kimyan Law's own vocals in a new language he created himself, conjuring memories of Cocteau Twin's Liz Fraser.

While "Yonda" contains moments of incontestable beauty it can often be a difficult listen, an illustration of an anxious mind yearning for peace. An obsessive and intricate musician, Kimyan Law's use of African percussion, finely honed polyrhythmic patterns and celestial sprinklings of keys melded with slabs of sub-bass power and sheer energy makes for an intoxicating listen. As ever, Kimyan Law has delivered a profoundly serious piece of work that expands the vocabulary of his genre. Despite the darkness saturating the work, a soft light still breaks through the window. It is the east, and Kimyan Law is the sun.

Emerging Isle of Wight four-piece Coach Party have today shared their new single and video ‘Everybody Hates Me’ via Chess Club Records. The band have also announced a brand new EP After Party - featuring ‘Everybody Hates Me’ and previous single ‘Can’t Talk, Won’t’, which received rapturous support from the likes of BBC Radio 6 Music’s Steve Lamacq, Jack Saunders (who crowned the track a Next Wave) on BBC Radio 1, and Radio X’s John Kennedy.

Written amidst the chaos of 2020, After Party focuses on themes of everyday life and was recorded, produced, and mixed by the band’s own Guy Page. Eastwood explains: “Each song on the After Party EP came quite naturally to us, many of them are about difficult people, whether that be work colleagues, family members, and even ourselves (like in ‘Everybody Hates Me’).

This is a very significant 30th Anniversary issue of an iconic album from 1991. The Future Sound Of London broke boundaries with "Papua New Guinea", included here, influencing a whole new era of techno, ambient and electronic music. For the first time this album has been divided into four sides to comprise a double LP for higher end audio sound. There are only 1500 copies and each is individually numbered. It comes in a gatefold sleeve and includes new artwork exclusive to this limited edition.

Both the original single and album were a fixture on the end of year charts of many publications including Melody Maker, NME and Mixmag, whilst also achieving Best Techno Single at the Mixmag Awards in 1992.

In 2015 Tanz Mein Herz welcome a new arrival among its ever-evolving roster of musicians, the self-taught hurdy-gurdy wizard Alexis Degrenier.
With a tour already in the works, the musicians settle on a set consisting of old material (Magical Stones and Shiny Mud) as well as new themes such as Spiegel Haus, both built around the new instrumentation.
The selection presented on Dosses is taken from the very first rehearsals around these themes, as the musicians strive and wander about freely in search of new musical vistas and promising friendship. With Ernest Bergez, Pierre Bujeau, Alexis Degrenier, Pierre-Vincent Fortunier, Guilhem Lacroux, Jeremie Sauvage and Mathieu Tilly.
credits

Coloured Vinyl

WRWTFWW Records is absolutely honored to announce the release of Kenji Kawai’s complete soundtrack to Mamoru Oshii's 1993 superb political thriller science-fiction mecha anime PATLABOR 2: The Movie, available on vinyl for the first time ever and housed in a beautiful heavy gatefold sleeve with obi, as well as on digipack CD. Both versions come with liner notes by the great Masaaki Hara.
A true soundtrack maestro, Kenji Kawai is behind the legendary soundscapes of cult animes and movies such as Ghost in the Shell, Avalon, Ring, Ip Man, and Seven Swords among numerous others. PATLABOR 2: The Movie (Original Soundtrack) is one of his most experimental offerings, an outstanding palette of emotion-filled ambient atmospherics and percussion mastery breathing beautifully through Kawai’s minimalism meets modern classical approach. His symphony of moods paints a delicate picture of urban isolation, a central theme in the movie, but doesn’t hide hints of hope for a joyful future.
PATLABOR 2: The Movie (Original Soundtrack) is an ideal companion to Kenji Kawai’s Ghost in the Shell soundtrack, already available on WRWTFWW Records.

Danish singer-songwriter Soren Munk releases his debut solo album Purr Show on 15 April 2022 via Navarino Records.Soren also travels the world as a cameraman for Channel 4 News, and the album was written and recorded in between trips to cover some of the major global events of recent times, from the war in Mali to the Taliban resurgence in Afghanistan

Soren also co- wrote the much- loved theme tune to the hit animated TV series Charlie and Lola – which is currently trending on TikTok with millions of views.Despite the nature of his news work, the songwriting on Purr Show has a more private focus, dealing in intimate but ambiguous moments of love and loss.

Melodic and intense, the album has elements of Dream Pop, Slowcore and classic songwriting, while the blend of electric guitars, analogue synths and vocals draws on the work of artists that combine restraint and power, such as Neil Young, Low, Big Star and Elliot Smith. Soren worked with Andy Ramsay from Stereolab to record the album, and Jimmie Robertson (Depeche Mode, Arctic Monkeys) during the mixing Soren explains, “I wanted to create slow pop songs. Romantic and melodic but with an edge of strangeness that makes them harder to pin down. That's the music I respond to – things that are assertive but fragile at the same time. Where every element counts.”Soren drew together a strong lineup of musicians and collaborators, including guitarists Garo Nahoulakian (Emiliana Torrini, Gaz Coombes, Piney Gir) and Nick 'Growler' Fowler (Gaz Coombes, Luke Haines); a Danish rhythm section of drummer Nikolaj Bjerre (Lamb) and bassist Andreas Jensen (Dub Pistols); and
pianist Tom Dyson (co-writer of the Charlie and Lola theme). Soren's vocals are often combined on the songs with the soft alto of backing singer Emma Faulkner, creating a sense of something confidential, like snatches of pillow talk.