Search:theme

Dave Lee's "AC Soul Symphony" alias has been releasing delectable and sultry disco since 2005 but reached his magnus opus in 2023 with the release of the "Metamorphosis" LP. Here we find two tracks handpicked from the album and delivered, for the first time, in a 7" format. The single starts much as the album does with the track "Windy City Theme", beautifully scored, recorded, and produced legato strings envelope the track, punctuated with horns and vocals reminiscent of a Love Unlimited Orchestra production. This version of the track has been rearranged, speeding up the pacing of the track and reaching the juicy parts in a really satisfying way. On the flip side we have the title track from the album "Metamorphosis", which is the first time the vocal version has been made available on Vinyl. A bass laden intro gives ways to glistening pianos and those signature strings (have we mentioned how good the strings are?). A more laid back and seductive track than the A side, but no less appealing. Again, due to the limitations of the 7" format, "Metamorphosis" has been expertly rearranged with loving care and attention.

The debut album by the italian singer-songwriter influenced by soul, jazz, funk and hip hop.

Love Letters is the debut album of urban singer-songwriter Raffaella Zago. The first album of the Paduan-born, Milan-based artist contains ten tracks influenced by soul, jazz, funk and hip hop that deal repeatedly with the theme of love. In 2023, Raffaella Zago quickly attracted attention with her first official song, a nu-soul reinterpretation of "Money Trees", a song by the most praised rapper of the last decade, Kendrick Lamar, for which she composed a new melody. The other pieces of "Love Letters", in which she addresses people who have been or are part of her life, reaffirm her vocal, writing and composing skills.

“Songs to Make Love To” is the 10th studio album by The Dining Rooms (Stefano Ghittoni and Cesare Malfatti), extending the Milanese duo’s classic sound legacy among psychedelic folk, cinematic atmospheres and hip hop-inspired downtempo rhythms. As always divided into instrumental and vocal tracks, it is entirely played and produced by Stefano and Cesare and features guest appearances on vocals by Chiara Castello (I’m Not a Blonde), Egeeno (of the Roman collective Tropicantesimo) and labelmate Tomaz Di Cunto aka Toco. “Songs To Make Love To” talks about love and relationship dynamics in every aspect, but also explores anthropological and ethnomusicological themes by making use of field recordings. “Songs To Make Love To” talks about love and relationship dynamics in every aspect, but also explores anthropological and ethnomusicological themes by making use of field recordings. “Songs To Make Love To”, whose artwork was made with works by artist Tatjana Zonca, talks about love and the explicit act of loving each other, but also and especially about the construction of love, the dynamics of love relationships inside and outside the couple, free and liberated love, without constraints and outside the concept of possession. A further peculiarity that contributes to the uniqueness of “Songs To...” is the in-depth exploration of anthropological and ethnomusicological themes, particularly dear to Alan Lomax: the classic TDR sound therefore blends, especially in the instrumental tracks, with classic field recordings of sounds from the Genoese carruggi, the Milanese dockyard, the Spanish quarters of Naples and cities such as Istanbul and São Paulo.

It’s True What They Say is the debut EP from Edinburgh-based, husband-and-wife duo Sarah/Shaun (pronounced simply Sarah Shaun), aka Sarah and Shaun McLachlan (pronounced “McLochlin”).

“Sarah and I both have a love for nostalgia,” explains Shaun. “We watched that amazing old 80’s Sci-Fi, (John) Carpenter movie, Starman, a few months back. Myself and my brother David used to watch it all the time. We must have been, roughly, 5-7 at the time. I remember loving the movie but the end, you know, with the beautiful, atmospheric, synth ending, I love that particular moment the most - best part of the movie, you know, when he goes home… It’s heartbreaking but stunning, all the same. It’s the music that moves you most… It did when I was 5 and it still does to this day. It must have had some form of a (much deeper) impact on me.”

The duo narrates stories across themes of love, hope, family, friends, dreams and sadness - the good that comes with the bad in everyday life, not just on a personal scale but within a community as well.

“Starbed is the first song I have ever written and just came out of the blue really, with Shaun playing a melody and me singing along,” says Sarah. “It’s simple and just about two people in love. Love songs are always the best songs, after all… Music has been a big part of my life from a young age. I was unwillingly dragged to piano and violin lessons, which I’m thankful for now! I’d say the first band I really became obsessed with growing up were the Beatles, and on the back of that a lot of 60s music and fashion. From then on, I had a love for music.”

“Shaun definitely opened my ears to a lot of sounds and got me thinking about soundtracks and all the noises that can be made,” she goes on. “We love just spending time experimenting in the house with instruments, pedals etc and Ali is a real magician to work with, too…”

The recordings took place over the summers of 2022 and 2023, with fellow Delta Mainline member Ali Chisholm (aka Jaguar Eyes) plus long-term friend and collaborator Gavin King. Further collaboration then came via the ‘net from the (international) likes of Chris Dixie Darley (Father John Misty), Darren Coghill (Neon Waltz) and Daniel Land (The Modern Painters), among others (see a full list of credits below).

Both Sarah and Shaun have a love for uber-soundtrack producers such as Hanz Zimmer, Max Richter, Cliff Martinez plus live acts such as Beach House, Spiritualized, M83, Suicide, Moby and OMD (to name a few). Shaun also credits the work of Kyle Dixon & Michael Stein (from Survive) on the Stranger Things score… “Even a moment in a movie, whether it be just 30 seconds during a particular scene, it grips you,” he says. But there’s something much deeper at play as well. “Music is a healer,” he goes on, “and I write from my own perspective but more so for others. Once I've done my bit, it doesn't belong to me any longer. It belongs to whoever wants it or needs it.”

The result is a cinematic, synth-wavey, dream poppy and downright beguilingly beautiful body of work. And they’re just getting started…

REVIEWS/RADIO/FEEDBACK:

“Starbed is folky, flavoured by pedal steel, cello, and brass. Dust Tears, in stark contrast, is a mini synth-pop rave epic. Part Bicep. Part Human League. Keep Your Eyes Closed summons a mood that’s romantic, but also dark and potentially doomed – like David Lynch’s Twin Peaks meets Cliff Martinez’s Drive score. My pick though is It’s True What They Say, whose interwoven jangle and picking recalls New Order’s more introspective moments (Love Vigilantes, Love Less… ). Drums crashing, cathartic. Guitar raising dramatic arcs. Its chorus a rush, like a reprise of Pains Of Being Pure Of Heart’s ‘Higher Than The Stars’.” BAN BAN TON TON
"Dust Tears sees them sharing vocal duties over a synth foundation reminiscent of Moby’s Go - Artist Of The Week” THE SCOTSMAN
"Woozy pop" NEMONE (Mary Anne Hobbs Morning Show, BBC 6Music)
"Nice one, very David Lynch meets Euro dream pop" YOUTH (Killing Joke, Paul McCartney, U2, The Orb, Spiritualized etc)
"Music sounds killer! Real emotion” DAVID HOLMES
"I’m enjoying it” TIM BRINKHURST aka LONDON (IKLAN, Young Fathers, Callum Easter)
“Oh, this is lovely!” SEAN JOHNSTON (A Love From Outer Space)
"It’s totally my cup of tea with milk and biscuit" BRENT RADEMAKER (Beachwood Sparks/GospelBeach)
"Beautiful, ecstatic electronica! Short and to the point" KEVIN BALES (Spiritualized, Julian Cope, Soulsavers, BE)
"Makes me wanna sit in the sun and sip an Arnold Palmer" CHRIS DIXIE DARLEY (Father John Misty)
“Really beautiful - Cocteau Twins / Spiritualized vibes but has its own thing going on, too - worth checking out!” JULIAN CORRIE (Franz Ferdinand, Miaoux Miaoux)
‘Sounded nice on a sunny day, makes me think of Twin Peaks, nice moods’ EAMON HAMILTON (Sea Power)
"Dealing in nostalgia, no bad thing at all, great to play that (Dust Tears) for you” RODDY HART (BBC Radio Scotland)
“I'll give the vocal tracks a spin before the release." VIC GALLOWAY (BBC Radio Scotland)
"Rather good!" IAIN ANDERSON (BBC Radio Scotland)

CREDITS:

Lyrics, Guitars, Keys, Synths, Drums, Drum Programming, Percussion, Mandolin, Glockenspiel: Shaun McLachlan
Lyrics, Vocals, Keys by Sarah McLachlan
Guitars, Synths, String Arrangements, Drum Programming, Engineering: Jaguar Eyes Percussion/Drums/Effects, Fire Extinguisher: Darren Coghill (Neon Waltz)
Guitars by Daniel Land
Slide Guitar by Chris Dixie Darley (Father John Misty)
Brass by Bruce Michie
Keys, pre-production & engineering on “It’s true what they say”: Gavin King
All produced by Jaguar Eyes and Shaun McLachlan and then mixed at Glasgow’s Chem19 Studios by David McCaulay (From Scotland With Love, Rick Redbeard, BBC TV’s Attenborough and The Mammoth Graveyard score).
Artwork: Jamie Walman (Fourteen Admirals)

MORE INFO:

Although Shaun released a pair of solo singles (When We Dance and Give Your Love To Me) during Lockdown, he will be better known to many via his work as the multi-instrumentalist in Edinburgh band Delta Mainline. With two albums released to date, Oh! Enlightened and Bel Avenir, both rapturously received by fans and critics alike, Delta Mainline have developed an international, cult following. Oh Enlightened (2013) achieved widespread critical acclaim on release, earning the band comparisons to Arcade Fire and Echo & The Bunnymen, while 2019’s Bel Avenir pulled in references to The Flaming Lips, Pink Floyd, David Bowie and krautrock. A third DM album is currently being mixed and due for release later this year…

After a successful career in the corporate world, marketing guru and full-time mom Cristina has taken a bold step into the music scene, inspired by the minimal grooves emanating from Romania.

Her Satya debut EP, titled "Plan B," showcases a unique and tasteful fusion of drum-based dance floor beats and hypnotic melodies.

Growing up composing on the piano and studying harmony, Cristina's musical roots strongly influence her creative process, resulting in tracks that offer a perfect balance between rhythm and musicality. With a focus on key themes such as family, music, and life philosophy, "Plan B" is a strong musical package filled with intention.

Her collaboration with friend and fellow artist Francesco Mami - "Les Filles” - a peak-time jam dedicated to their respective daughters - adds spice to the already flavorsome solo concoctions.

Sepp’s remix of the title track, infused with his Romanian and Macedonian folk roots, rounds the EP in a wonderfully playful manner.

Scheduled for release on May 17, 2024, "Plan B" is poised to make waves and gain attention from house music connoisseurs! Cristina's transition from the corporate world to the dance floor promises a refreshing and dynamic addition to the ever-evolving music landscape.

repressed !

Regular Offcial Authorised Vinyl Version, Original Soundtrack, 350g Sleeve, Black Inner, Sticker, 12 140g Vinyl - The first ever OFFICIAL vinyl release of the soundtrack for Mamoru Oshii's legendary science fiction anime film GHOST IN THE SHELL (1995). - LP cut from the original master reels at Emil Berliner Studios, official Ghost in the Shell artwork

We Release Whatever The Fuck We Want Records is thrilled and honored to announce the first ever official vinyl pressing of the soundtrack for Mamoru Oshii's critically acclaimed and all around legendary science fiction anime film GHOST IN THE SHELL (1995), adapted from Masamune Shirow's groundbreaking manga series of the same name. Cut from the original master reels at Emil Berliner Studios (formerly the in-house recording department of renowned classical record label Deutsche Grammophon), the album comes as a LP accompanied by a bonus one-sided 7 housed in official Ghost in the Shell artwork sleeve with silver gilt printing and a Japanese obi, and contains extensive 24-page liner notes. The haunting score is composed by Kenji Kawai, one of Japan's most celebrated soundtrack composers, alongside Joe Hisaishi and Ryichi Sakamoto, whose work includes Hideo Nakata's Ring (1998) and Ring 2 (1999), Death Note (2006), Hong Kong films Seven Swords by Tsui Hark (2005) and Ip Man by Wilson Yip (2008), and countless others. Kawai's compositions see ancient harmonies and percussions uncannily mesh with synthesized sounds of the modern world to convey a sumptuous balance between folklore tradition and futuristic outlook. For its iconic main theme 'Making of Cyborg", Kawai had a choir chant a wedding song in ancient Japanese following Bulgarian folk harmonies, setting the standard for a time

Transversales Disques proudly presents Alain Goraguer Rare Soundtracks & Lost Tapes.
French composer Alain Goraguer who first made a name for himself as a sideman and arranger for Serge Gainsbourg wrote very few soundtracks, but amongst them, the legendary La Planète Sauvage (1973) is an absolute staple of France’s essential music.

During that same period of time, Goraguer wrote two rare and beautiful scores using the same masterclass arrangements. On L’Affaire Dominici (1975), Alain Goraguer creates a theme of great melodic clarity from a palette of breathy flutes, clavinet D6 baroque textures, wah-wah guitars and slow-paced drums that clearly reminds La Planete Sauvage’s atmosphere. The same can be said about the score of Au delà de la peur (1975) with its descending clavinet melody, twanging bass riff, funky drums and flashes of bended electric guitars. This record also includes never before released tracks found in the vaults of French national radio: beautiful and timeless orchestral compositions recorded at Studio 105, Maison de la radio.

REMASTERED FROM THE ORIGINAL MASTER TAPES

On My Own Terms / Time, a new non-label created for Yorobi's self-released projects.

The first ep "Projection Palace" features 4 tracks across various genres and tempo's.
From bass heavy breaks and house to sound along the hardcore jungle continuum.

The name of the ep refers to a psychological principle of "projection", whereby you project certain (negative) qualities onto others without them being necessarily right.
Quite often the projections say a lot more about the person who's doing the projecting rather than the person on the receiving end.
The idea then was to make an EP that revolved around this theme. The palace bit being a metaphor as if you were a house which would show you all these mirrors which are wonky and distorted, like a fun house on a fairground

Charlie Ingui a veteran blued eyed soul singer who formed the band The Soul Survivors In the 60's is back with a brand new single.

'Wake Up Old World' is a song about making the world a better place.

Charlie explains 'This has always been a theme in our songs inspired very much by our collaboration with Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff of Philadelphia International Records whose songs like "Love Train" and "Love Is The Message" had a positive and spiritually uplifting message.'

In 1967, Charlie Ingui formed the band The Soul Survivors. They scored a #2 record with Gamble and Huff' first major hit with the song "Express Way To Your Heart.' They were a bunch of hoods from The Lower East Side of New York.

They were part of the same scene in NY with The Rascals, Joey Dee and the Starlighters, The Soul Survivors, The Vanilla Fudge, and many other Blue Eyed Soul Bands that paved the way for folks like Hall and Oates.

Originally they were a trio and had a third singer, Kenny Jeramiah, who went on to have success in Atlantic City.

They went on to have several other great records. The first was in 1969 with Muscle Shoals producer. Rick Hall. The Swampers with Duane Allman played on that one. In 1974, Gamble and Huff got a custom CBS label – Philadelphia International Music and signed the Soul Survivors once again. They made a fantastic record with their amazing band, Charlie and Richie Ingui, John "Beedo"Dzubak The amazing Fred Beckmeier on bass. He was a major influence

Wake Up Old World is going to be the first side of a limited edition 7" vinyl to come on LRK Records.

Went straight in at num one in the UK soul breakers

Spun on all the indie soul stations like starpoint, solar etc

Hailing from Normandy (France), YOU SAID STRANGE offer an indie rock sound made up of psych pop-rock, shoegaze and proto-grunge. The band's music is the work of passionate musicians, combining the dazzling power of their instruments and the union of their voices to create a fusion of melancholy and energy. The band recorded their 1st album, Salvation Prayer, in 2018 in Portland (USA), with Peter G. Holmstrom from The Dandy Warhols. Seduced, the iconic Kevin Cole invites them to perform live in the studios of the prestigious KEXP radio, where their next project will emerge. At the end of 2021, Thousand Shadows Vol.1 is released. Then, after defending it on European and American stages, comes its sequel Thousand Shadows Vol.2 in 2023.

"TRADE YOUR SOUL" plunges us into the complex exploration of human relationships, love, trust and disillusionment, addressing several universal themes in an introspective way. This post-rock tale unfolds as a metaphorical journey of spirituality through life's most intense and intimate emotions and experiences.

YOU SAID STRANGE continues to combine abstract and concrete indie rock with psych-rock, post-punk, shoegaze and indus, inviting listeners to reflect ever more deeply. Nevertheless, "TRADE YOUR SOUL" marks a significant milestone for the band, with a more striking musical approach and a number of innovations, while remaining the work of passionate musicians who combine the dazzle of instruments and the union of voices to fuse melancholy and energy.

Bright Magus is an instrumental quintet born under the influence of Miles Davis' metaphysical electric period, a visceral and magical passion always shared by Giovanni Calella and Leziero Rescigno. Davis' most eclectic and psychedelic period, that of recordings for Columbia from 1969 throughout the 70s. Albums like “In a Silent Way”, “Bitches Brew”, “A tribute to Jack Johnson”, “On The Corner”, “Big Fun” made them immerse themselves in one of the most fascinating experiments that Miles has generated in his long and prolific career. We are talking about music that is difficult to fit into one genre, in these masterpieces you can feel the contemporaneity of that historical period. Electric Jazz, Funk, Psychedelia, Rock, Afrobeat, Ambient, drag you into something absolutely new, mysterious and sometimes furious. Just a year ago Giovanni and Leziero took courage and started recruiting musicians who had to have the right attitude and knowledge. Guitarist Alberto Turra was the first to be interested in the project, then came Mauro Tre, pianist and keyboard player and Gianni Sansone on trumpet. All seduced by Miles and in love with that magical period.

Before making the first album "Jungle Corner", the band did some live shows to amalgamate all the ideas that came out during the improvs recorded by Tullio Treffiletti in the trumpeter's home studio (later baptized Selim Studio). At the Isola Studio in Manuel Agnelli's space and with the help of the very talented Guido Andreani, Bright Magus then recorded in three days live all the material which in the meantime had been enriched with more structured melodic themes and less casual drafts . Mauro's contribution was very important in this. The finalization of the album was then managed by them in the small "Diabolicus Studio" taking care of editing, post production and mixing.

Guest on the album in two songs, Enrico Gabrielle of Calibro 35 on flute and clarinet.

The cover design is a work by Barba Ughi alias BAX.

Pomegranate Skies is a new album from Sepehr exploring sonic themes of heaven and hell, dualities, split identities, and chaos. The music in this album is a reflection of the ever-constant existential chaos in his mind, reflecting a musical journey through all the different influences and inspirations of genres and electronic music eras throughout his life but also a nod to the amorphous weight of divine weirdness that inspires his music. Music that is reflecting a split identity, music in between cultures. Music that is both good and evil, both sensical and non sensical, both angelic and hellish, secular and divine. Music to give you visions of geographic wonders that don’t really exist. The absurdism of everything from Earth but also of Heaven. Music that doesn’t follow tropes but also sounds familiar. It makes you want to laugh and cry; the in betweenness of everything. Music that makes you want to reach up and taste the pomegranates growing in the skies.

One-off electronic disco project of 1984 for the unmistakable sounds of the Yamaha DX7 - especially the notorious "tubular bells" during the verses - introduced at the end of '83, but which didn't catch on in Italo-Disco until the following year. "Dancing Dode" has the strangest spelling ever. Whoever created this truly amazing super theme barely knew English as the word "dode" does not exist in English. This explains why some Italo-Disco songs have obvious grammatical errors even on the original records. The artist or the authors thought that du:d would be written "dode" in English, but in reality it's "dude"... which means a meticulous and elegant man, potentially homosexual, in short a gay type, "King /Queen" of disco dancing like in that film with J.T.. The role of disco in the 80s was a ground for negotiating rights throughout history, so most people didn't care too much about choosing and hating someone's sexual orientation, but dancing, listening to music and this song with a beautiful melody is perhaps the rarest Italo-Disco song ever made.

St. Virus is a Covid-themed album born in Covid times. It processes the pandemic phenomenon from the aspect of the individual and sometimes of the pandemic itself on a philosophical level.

The opening track, "Isolation", takes the listener on a journey plagued by the sense of loneliness created by isolation. The ever-present melancholy slowly deepens into an overflowing anxiety without release. The eponymous "St. Virus" is a piece that considers the relationship between man and nature and the viruses that appear in it. They work in their own expected and, upon consideration, very honest way. Are we humans honest like this? Are human beings on some level similar to a virus? “Inherently Destructive” presents the idea of the unsustainability of the current situation. The events around us are fundamentally destructive for the individual person, for society and for the culture it carries. St. Virus is a personal soundtrack through Covid times. Record featuring artists are Tapani Rinne, Wimme Saari and Ville Kuukka.

All the gems of Electronic Music in a 5 LP boxset with : Fakear - Kölsch - Fritz Kalkbrenner - Laurent Garnier - Bicep - Kerri Chandler Thylacine - Bob Sinclar - Mr. Oizo - The Prodigy - Alex Gopher - Purple Disco Machine...

From that indescribable connection between Science and Electronic Music, France’s Mascarpone oriented this EP towards all the imagery that these themes can generate in our minds. Themes that already catched the attention of techno and electro founders many years ago, showing that this link has been present since the beginning.

Electronic music is based on science and the scientific method is utilized in its creation. Theories and hypotheses are put forth and if they are practical and plausible they will be tested to verify them. Some theories work and some don’t,

but no theory is considered too abstract. All is considered. The more radical the better.

Gerald Donald