Search:thin gaze

The Trip is the first solo album by N'Zeng, better known as Sébastien Blanchon. It has to be said that he hid behind his (hollow) nose to sniff out the right projects (ex Le Peuple de l'Herbe, member of Entourloop). His nose is hollow, but not for the trumpet, and yet it's with this instrument that he started out. And he reinvents it, giving it a subtle place on this musical road trip we call The Trip.
A journey open to all, with no tolls and no filters, apart from the cinematic filter of this lover of original soundtracks and trip hop. Beautiful images flash before our eyes, and in our ears, the smooth voice of Charlotte Savary (Wax Tailor). An album, a very good trip for lovers of Portishead, Gorillaz, and well-felt scratches in the form of controlled skids.
He's making a name for himself as N'Zeng, with his smooth arrangements.

N'Zeng's father played trumpet with his grandfather in the Feurs brass band in the Loire department. When he arrived in Saint Etienne, young Sébastien started out with a cornet à pistons at the Conservatoire. His teacher at the time, Marcel Heyte, had won a prize in Paris at the same time as a certain Maurice André.

His father took lessons in orchestral conducting, accompanying the offspring's budding musical career, which included a course at the Festival de Cuivre in Monastier-sur-Gazeille, where he met the soloists of the Radio France orchestra. A new awareness, a new confidence: off to Lyon, not for a soccer derby, but to "beef up his game". In 1997, he was awarded a gold medal for trumpet by a unanimous jury at the Conservatoire National de Lyon.

Lyon, capital of the Gauls, was the starting point for N'Zeng, who went on to become a member of the group Le Peuple de l'Herbe. 15 years later, with several successful records to his credit, a concert in 2003 at the Transmusicales with Beth Gibbons (Portishead), and a Victoire de la Musique award, it was time for N'Zeng to move on to other things.

Arrival in the City of Light, the place where dreams come true. Nzeng's dreams are not only sonic, but also visual, for Sébastien is not only a friendly presence and a talented musician, but also a cinephile. His knowledge of music theory, acquired during his years at the conservatory, enables him to tackle music for pictures.

He created a soundtrack for the cult film Alien - The 8th Passenger, and worked with musician Rone (collaborating with Baxter Dury) and his bandmates from Le Peuple de l'Herbe, composing 2 tracks for the soundtrack of Virginie Despentes's hard-hitting film "Baise-moi". On the album "Hollywood Hustlers", with the group "Mustang Force", he pays tribute to the soundtracks of Lalo Shiffrin, Ennio Morricone... The album is also well received by the critics. He conducts the arrangements and orchestrations for the Degiheuga Orchestra, and composes the original music for the Hôtel Bellevue dance show, another success!

2019 sees the birth of "The Trip" project. On this record, no masks, but a female voice, that of Charlotte Savary (Wax Taylor), laid on a carpet of strings. With this musical voyage, trip hop takes pride of place, with a balance between the body of the instruments and the mechanics of beatmaking.

There's no getting off track on this well-balanced record, with its silky orchestrations. N'Zeng accompanies us elegantly, with his trusty trumpet as GPS, here used subtly. The album cover is a photograph taken by Sébastien Blanchon's mother, in 1973, a year when Saint Etienne was about to become French champion for the 7th time.

New Heavy Sounds is super stoked to announce a very very special team up between our favourite punk sisters, Shooting Daggers and Death Pill. Both bands have recorded a brand new song, and what better way is there to present them (or any kind of punk) than a good old split single. So kicking off the Shooting Daggers/Death Pill split, is this never before recorded Death Pill track 'MONSTERS'. Ukrainian punk trio Death Pill certainly made a stir when they hit the UK as part of their first ever European tour. Articles in the likes of the Guardian and Sunday, featured in all the music mags, plus the band showed that they were a pretty ferocious musical outfit, as those who were witness to the full on live experience can testify. Whilst in London, the band also had time to cut 'MONSTERS'. Recorded live in the studio with Wayne Adams (Pet Brick, Big Lad and producer of Green Lung) at the helm, MONSTERS is a short, sharp shock. An angry, sardonic and skewed amalgam of riffs and full on blast beats … it growls and it rips. The band says .. “This track is about how our parents knowingly or unknowingly lose their children. As an example - here are the most painful things you could hear from your folks: "When will you finish your music games?” "You will never achieve anything!” "When are you finally going to do something useful?" Therefore, when there was an opportunity to record a one live song in London, the choice of a song became obvious. Just imagine the "surprise" on the faces of our mums... Many thanks for Ged and Paul from the NHS label for supporting this idea, and to Wayne from Bear Bites Horse for the sick and fat sound” What makes this release all the more exciting, is that Shooting Daggers are dropping their first new music since last year's EP 'Athames'. Sal, Bea and Raquel are most definitely on the way up, their exciting blend of hard as nails hardcore, punk attitude and a neat melodic sense have made them a much sought after outfit, for gigs and festivals here and across Europe. They are slowly but surely proving themselves to be one of THE bands to watch in 2024. If the EP left their growing legion of fans gagging for more, new track 'NOT MY RIVAL' will not disappoint. It's a catchy, pogo-tastic, queercore punk banger, full of feminist grit and a killer earworm chorus. The band says ... "Not My Rival, is a song about dismantling the male gaze, fighting against the internalised patriarchal messages that we all unconsciously absorb. It's about breaking the cycle of female rivalry. We want to encourage lifting each other up instead of tearing each other down" The Shooting Daggers debut album is due in the new year .... you have been warned, this is the shape of things to come. But there’s more ... a very special 7” single strictly limited to 250 copies. Classic black vinyl, with a reversible foldover sleeve with artwork from each band on each side so you can choose your own cover, full colour printed labels housed in a poly overbag

Hush Hush is thrilled to present the debut album 'No Such Thing As Free Will' by Los Angeles-based guitarist and composer Deniz Cuylan. "Deniz Cuylan seems to invent new languages for the guitar: nylon-strung takes on Reichian minimalism, fluttering arpeggios that recall Vini Reilly's spidery flamenco and atmospheric pieces pitched between Glenn Branca and Bert Jansch." -The Guardian "It's certainly an album that will soundtrack those moments when you sit and gaze at the world for a stretch, whether it is from behind a screen or in a park. An understated work, yes, but a miniature marvel." -A Closer Listen "A bright, studious, harmonic, pastoral gem. 'No Such Thing As Free Will' is a much prettier and more enveloping record than words can convey; it has a really nice poise between the disciplines of the leftfield, the guitar soli and that of bright folk melody." -Backseat Mafia

Die Musikerinnen der Discodelic-Soul-Band Say She She, die ihren Namen als stille Anspielung auf Nile Rodgers ("C'est chi-chi!: It's Chic!") gewählt hat, veröffentlicht ihr zweites Album "Silver" auf den Spuren eines epischen Durchbruchsjahres, das von Tag zu Tag heller wird. Die drei starken Stimmen von Piya Malik (Stammgast bei El Michels Affair und ehemalige Backgroundsängerin von Chicano Batman), Sabrina Mileo Cunningham und Nya GazelleBrown sind die Frontfrauen der Band. Das harmonierende Trio entstand in einer klassischen New Yorker Geschichte von Freunden, die sich auf dem Weg zur Musik kennenlernten: auf den Tanzflächen der Innenstadt, auf den Dielen der Lower East Side und auf den Dächern von Harlem. "Silver" wurde Anfang des Jahres im Killion Sound Studio in North Hollywood geschrieben und live auf Band aufgenommen und von Sergio Rios (von Orgone) produziert. Während diese analogen Aufnahmetechniken dazu beitragen, Say She She's Sound in einem Fundament aus klanglicher Wärme zu verankern, das nur mit Tonband erreicht werden kann, ist es auch ihr Prozess, den Track im Moment zu produzieren und die Magie der gemeinschaftlichen Kreativität einzufangen, die dazu geführt hat, dass ihr Sound als "eine glorreiche Überladung aus freudigem Enthusiasmus und spiritueller Erhebung" (MOJO) und "durchdrungen vom schrägen Post-Disco-Geist der frühen 80er Jahre in NYC" (The Guardian) beschrieben wurde. Silver, das Element, ist bekannt als das Metall des Selbstbewusstseins und der Spiegel der Seele. Die 16-Song-Doppel-LP zeigt nicht nur, dass die Band an Selbstvertrauen gewonnen hat, sondern spiegelt auch eine tiefere Erkundung ihrer punkig-schicken, weiblich-vorwärts gerichteten Sensibilität wider.

The female-led discodelic soul band Say She She, named as a silent nod to Nile Rodgers (C’est chi-chi!: It's Chic!”), release their sophomore album ‘Silver’ on the heels of an epic break-out year that grows brighter by the day.

The three strong voices of Piya Malik (El Michels Affair staple feature, and former backing singer for Chicano Batman), Sabrina Mileo Cunningham and Nya Gazelle Brown front the band. This harmonizing trio was formed in a classic New York tale of friends that met by following the music: the downtown dancefloors, through the

Lower East Side floorboards and up to the rooftops of Harlem.

‘Silver’ was entirely written and recorded live to tape at Killion Sound studio in North Hollywood earlier this year and produced by Sergio Rios (of Orgone). While these analog recording techniques help root Say She She’s sound in a bedrock of tonal warmth that only tape can achieve, it is also their process of cutting the track

in the moment and capturing the magic of communal creativity that has seen their sound described as “a glorious overload of joyful elation and spiritual elevation” (MOJO) and “infused with the wonky post-disco spirit of early '80s NYC” (The Guardian).

Silver, the element, is known as the metal of self-confidence and the mirror of the soul. With that, the 16-song double-LP projects not only their growth in writing with confidence, but also reflects a deeper exploration into their punk-chic, femmeforward sensibility.

Ultimately, ‘Silver’ oozes with quirk and adventure and embraces the multifaceted nature of what it means to be a modern femme. The She She's fully embrace their role as beauticians, actively reminding people of the inherent beauty in the world. They skillfully employ double entendres and humor to encourage open dialogue and fearlessly address important matters that demand attention.

The female-led discodelic soul band Say She She, named as a silent nod to Nile Rodgers (C’est chi-chi!: It's Chic!”), release their sophomore album ‘Silver’ on the heels of an epic break-out year that grows brighter by the day.

The three strong voices of Piya Malik (El Michels Affair staple feature, and former backing singer for Chicano Batman), Sabrina Mileo Cunningham and Nya Gazelle Brown front the band. This harmonizing trio was formed in a classic New York tale of friends that met by following the music: the downtown dancefloors, through the

Lower East Side floorboards and up to the rooftops of Harlem.

‘Silver’ was entirely written and recorded live to tape at Killion Sound studio in North Hollywood earlier this year and produced by Sergio Rios (of Orgone). While these analog recording techniques help root Say She She’s sound in a bedrock of tonal warmth that only tape can achieve, it is also their process of cutting the track

in the moment and capturing the magic of communal creativity that has seen their sound described as “a glorious overload of joyful elation and spiritual elevation” (MOJO) and “infused with the wonky post-disco spirit of early '80s NYC” (The Guardian).

Silver, the element, is known as the metal of self-confidence and the mirror of the soul. With that, the 16-song double-LP projects not only their growth in writing with confidence, but also reflects a deeper exploration into their punk-chic, femmeforward sensibility.

Ultimately, ‘Silver’ oozes with quirk and adventure and embraces the multifaceted nature of what it means to be a modern femme. The She She's fully embrace their role as beauticians, actively reminding people of the inherent beauty in the world. They skillfully employ double entendres and humor to encourage open dialogue and fearlessly address important matters that demand attention.

Die Musikerinnen der Discodelic-Soul-Band Say She She, die ihren Namen als stille Anspielung auf Nile Rodgers ("C'est chi-chi!: It's Chic!") gewählt hat, veröffentlicht ihr zweites Album "Silver" auf den Spuren eines epischen Durchbruchsjahres, das von Tag zu Tag heller wird. Die drei starken Stimmen von Piya Malik (Stammgast bei El Michels Affair und ehemalige Backgroundsängerin von Chicano Batman), Sabrina Mileo Cunningham und Nya GazelleBrown sind die Frontfrauen der Band. Das harmonierende Trio entstand in einer klassischen New Yorker Geschichte von Freunden, die sich auf dem Weg zur Musik kennenlernten: auf den Tanzflächen der Innenstadt, auf den Dielen der Lower East Side und auf den Dächern von Harlem. "Silver" wurde Anfang des Jahres im Killion Sound Studio in North Hollywood geschrieben und live auf Band aufgenommen und von Sergio Rios (von Orgone) produziert. Während diese analogen Aufnahmetechniken dazu beitragen, Say She She's Sound in einem Fundament aus klanglicher Wärme zu verankern, das nur mit Tonband erreicht werden kann, ist es auch ihr Prozess, den Track im Moment zu produzieren und die Magie der gemeinschaftlichen Kreativität einzufangen, die dazu geführt hat, dass ihr Sound als "eine glorreiche Überladung aus freudigem Enthusiasmus und spiritueller Erhebung" (MOJO) und "durchdrungen vom schrägen Post-Disco-Geist der frühen 80er Jahre in NYC" (The Guardian) beschrieben wurde. Silver, das Element, ist bekannt als das Metall des Selbstbewusstseins und der Spiegel der Seele. Die 16-Song-Doppel-LP zeigt nicht nur, dass die Band an Selbstvertrauen gewonnen hat, sondern spiegelt auch eine tiefere Erkundung ihrer punkig-schicken, weiblich-vorwärts gerichteten Sensibilität wider.

Die Musikerinnen der Discodelic-Soul-Band Say She She, die ihren Namen als stille Anspielung auf Nile Rodgers ("C'est chi-chi!: It's Chic!") gewählt hat, veröffentlicht ihr zweites Album "Silver" auf den Spuren eines epischen Durchbruchsjahres, das von Tag zu Tag heller wird. Die drei starken Stimmen von Piya Malik (Stammgast bei El Michels Affair und ehemalige Backgroundsängerin von Chicano Batman), Sabrina Mileo Cunningham und Nya GazelleBrown sind die Frontfrauen der Band. Das harmonierende Trio entstand in einer klassischen New Yorker Geschichte von Freunden, die sich auf dem Weg zur Musik kennenlernten: auf den Tanzflächen der Innenstadt, auf den Dielen der Lower East Side und auf den Dächern von Harlem. "Silver" wurde Anfang des Jahres im Killion Sound Studio in North Hollywood geschrieben und live auf Band aufgenommen und von Sergio Rios (von Orgone) produziert. Während diese analogen Aufnahmetechniken dazu beitragen, Say She She's Sound in einem Fundament aus klanglicher Wärme zu verankern, das nur mit Tonband erreicht werden kann, ist es auch ihr Prozess, den Track im Moment zu produzieren und die Magie der gemeinschaftlichen Kreativität einzufangen, die dazu geführt hat, dass ihr Sound als "eine glorreiche Überladung aus freudigem Enthusiasmus und spiritueller Erhebung" (MOJO) und "durchdrungen vom schrägen Post-Disco-Geist der frühen 80er Jahre in NYC" (The Guardian) beschrieben wurde. Silver, das Element, ist bekannt als das Metall des Selbstbewusstseins und der Spiegel der Seele. Die 16-Song-Doppel-LP zeigt nicht nur, dass die Band an Selbstvertrauen gewonnen hat, sondern spiegelt auch eine tiefere Erkundung ihrer punkig-schicken, weiblich-vorwärts gerichteten Sensibilität wider.

A cautiously redemptive portrait, any happy ending reflects the possibilities of fulfillment and stability, not the things themselves. In May 2021, months before the film's release, Courtney Barnett and collaborator Stella Mozgawa rendezvoused with Cohen in Melbourne to shape a score that fit that premise-- nothing too obvious or instructive, to tell the audience how they should feel. Barnett found she liked listening to what the duo had made, existing within its reflective gaze. She began sorting through those little instrumentals like amoebic puzzle pieces, figuring out how they fit into a full picture.

The result is a seamless series of 17 instrumental improvisations called End of the Day: Music from the Film 'Anonymous Club', soundtrack reimagined as impressionistic sound- art collage. Like Barnett's rock songs, they wordlessly ask hard questions of our
softest parts, wondering what it is we really find there.

Echo Ladies are back with their second album after a quiet spell while the rest of the world turned upside down.
This music has been in development for quite a while, and you still find clear inspiration from some of the shoegaze greats such as Jesus and the Mary Chain, A Place To Bury Strangers, Slowdive, and many more.

This album is built on the same foundation that Echo Ladies curated during their past releases, but with a more unyielding presence. Echo Ladies have always tried to balance two emotions at the same time throughout their songs. While their past songs tried to convey the feeling of nostalgia and hope for the future, mixed with worries and anxieties about defining who you are and what you will become, this album instead tries to balance the emotions of sorrow and loneliness, with anger, frustration, and the determination to make a change for the better.

This album really carries the Echo Ladies mantra that "Nothing Ever Lasts". Good things can come to an end, but bad things will also pass.

Mit ihrem 2020 erschienenen Debütalbum hinterließ das aus Hull in Nordengland stammende Post-Shoegaze- und Dream-Pop-Quartett bdrmm deutliche Spuren und machte einen Aufschlag, von der jede junge Band nur träumen kann. So wurde Bedroom vom Clash-Magazin als “a heady, forward-thinking shoe gaze distillation” gefeiert, der Guardian rief einen Song der Band zu “one of the underground hits of lockdown” aus, während der NME dem Album fünf Sterne verlieh und es zu nicht weniger als “a modern day shoe gaze classic” erhob.

Jetzt bei Mogwai's Rock Action Records unter Vertrag, kehrt die Band mit 'I Don't Know' zurück, ihrem beeindruckenden zweiten Album, das mit den charakteristisch effektgeladenen Gitarren und Neu! Grooves aufwartet, für den Hörer aber auch einige Neuerungen bereithält wie den Einsatz von Piano, Streichern, Electronica, Sampling und dem gelegentlichen Dance-Beat. Bdrmm-Fans werden nicht enttäuscht sein und die Fans von Radiohead, Ride, Mogwai, The Cure, die bdrmm noch entdecken müssen, würden gut daran tun, das spätestens jetzt mit 'I Don't Know' nachzuholen.

Mit ihrem 2020 erschienenen Debütalbum hinterließ das aus Hull in Nordengland stammende Post-Shoegaze- und Dream-Pop-Quartett bdrmm deutliche Spuren und machte einen Aufschlag, von der jede junge Band nur träumen kann. So wurde Bedroom vom Clash-Magazin als “a heady, forward-thinking shoe gaze distillation” gefeiert, der Guardian rief einen Song der Band zu “one of the underground hits of lockdown” aus, während der NME dem Album fünf Sterne verlieh und es zu nicht weniger als “a modern day shoe gaze classic” erhob.

Jetzt bei Mogwai's Rock Action Records unter Vertrag, kehrt die Band mit 'I Don't Know' zurück, ihrem beeindruckenden zweiten Album, das mit den charakteristisch effektgeladenen Gitarren und Neu! Grooves aufwartet, für den Hörer aber auch einige Neuerungen bereithält wie den Einsatz von Piano, Streichern, Electronica, Sampling und dem gelegentlichen Dance-Beat. Bdrmm-Fans werden nicht enttäuscht sein und die Fans von Radiohead, Ride, Mogwai, The Cure, die bdrmm noch entdecken müssen, würden gut daran tun, das spätestens jetzt mit 'I Don't Know' nachzuholen.

A1 - Divine Intervention - ASC opens up with intent a heavy piece, thick analogue kicks thumping around the expertly crafted breakbeats, switching the pace effortlessly as the backdrop melodies float along with some trademark vocal hits. ASC once again proves himself to be a true master of his craft, delivering an emotive, powerful track that's both technically impressive and emotionally resonant.

A2 - Variable State - Changing the pace we see ASC introduce an edgy, nervy energy to Variable State, combining classic breakbeats more modern beat accompaniment before a catchy wavy key melody overtakes. Soon the anxious vibes pull us back as Variable State lives up to its name, ebbing and flowing several times before we reach our conclusion, almost serving as a commentary on modern times in old school language.

B1 - Azure - A delightful roller continues the proceedings with Azure, featuring gentle, lingering bells that craft the melody over a bed of deep, rolling basslines and intricate percussion. The track is both uplifting and introspective, perfect for late night listening while the rain dots the window and you gaze out into the twilight hours.

B2 - Loose Ends - Tying things up for the EP we have Loose Ends, opening with off-beat breaks and FX, slowly enveloped by haunting synthwork. Soon the intense, moody bassline notches up the intensity before the track does a 180 and an uplifting rhythmic key melody provides some respite. The creepy ambience returns soon enough, completing this curiously cohesive creation in style.

Defamator is the long-time-coming debut project of 24-year-old Chloe Gallardo. It tells a story of betrayal in love and friendship and the painful reality of overcoming love lost and former heartbreak.


Drawing influences from artists such as Broadcast, Grouper & My Bloody Valentine Gallardo adds her own haunting, folk-style vocals and hyper-specific lyrics to create a sonic unique to her. A style that she describes in her words as “dark shoegaze bedroom indie pop”.

Album opener “Bloodline” epitomises this bittersweet modus operandi. 15 seconds into its dainty acoustic strum , Gallardo adamantly sulks “I’m fucked up” - the salvo of a lyric about feeling like a family disappointment. As the track lifts up into a cascading gaze-pop rush, recalling the likes of Bachelor and Snail Mail, we’re blessed with a pristine elegance that belies the song’s raging core.
“I have always written music this way.”, she says of this fundamental contradiction. “It’s funny because I try so hard to write darker sounding songs and they always come out way too pretty. So, I’ve resorted to writing the most gut-wrenching and intense lyrics to compensate.”

Written mostly during peak-pandemic times in Gallardo’s bedroom - (“you can hear how scared and alone I was.”) - the songs that made their way onto Defamator arose from a concerted period of healing. Drawing from the teachings of therapy, the songwriting process gave her the means to channel some deeply entrenched emotional scars.
This venting of anger is implicit throughout the record. The album’s title - Gallardo’s own neologism - uses the concepts of “defamation” and “defamatory speech” to innovate a kind of pejorative accusation. As a result, it is like we are actively listening to Gallardo forcefully take command of her past. Of the title track she explains: “The song Defamator is about someone who spoke untruthful things about me in order to manipulate me and the way people perceived me and I felt that was an underlying theme in most of the album.”

Recorded at Jazzcat Studios in Long Beach California with Jonny Bell (Hanni El Khatib, Adult Books, etc.) Defamator marks Gallardo’s first time in a “legitimate recording studio”. And it shows. Bell’s production is vital moving part here. There’s more stripped back affairs - ‘There Will Be Blood”; ”The Way’ - songs which gently seethe and purr like Grouper’s spectral dream-pop; Gallardo’s fluttering folk-ish voice gloriously pushed to forefront.

Roman artist Heinrich Dressel delivers a sparkling gaze into the future with the glistening ‘Lambda 2077’. Opening with powerful, guttural drones and sweet sweeps from ‘Nebulosa’, the broad sonic scope of this LP is beautifully demonstrated.

Growling arps and magnetic, synthesised moans are throughout this record. Dressel cultivates a cinematic, cerebral experience throughout each track, delicately weaving a visceral soundscape. The rising, slicing tones of the atmospheric ‘CEM 8220’ provide a compelling journey through meandering arps with a defined structure. ‘Arpeggio Jawa’ swims into action with a watery, colourful arpeggio sailing through each intriguing section.

‘Francisco’ opens things up with an electro-tinged, thunderous remix. Building upon the chordal gravitas of the original, the remix provides the release with an acidic percussive journey. The swirling brilliance of the title track ‘Lambda 2077’ presents itself as stunning, emotive work which prepares you for the decade Heinrich Dressel is heading to next. The machine lead release shows Heinrich Dressel as a consistent unstoppable force behind the synthesiser, culminating in an astonishing, sophisticated record.

RED APPLE MARBLE VINYL REPRESS.

Everything changed for The Beths when they released their debut album, Future Me Hates Me, in 2018. The indie rock band had long been nurtured within Auckland, New Zealand’s tight-knit music scene, working full-time during the day and playing music with friends after hours. Full of uptempo pop rock songs with bright, indelible hooks, the LP garnered them critical acclaim from outlets like Pitchfork and Rolling Stone, and they set out for their first string of shows overseas. They quit their jobs, said goodbye to their home town, and devoted themselves entirely to performing across North America and Europe. They found themselves playing to crowds of devoted fans and opening for acts like Pixies and Death Cab for Cutie. Almost instantly, The Beths turned from a passion project into a full-time career in music.

Songwriter and lead vocalist Elizabeth Stokes worked on what would become The Beths’ second LP, Jump Rope Gazers, in between these intense periods of touring. Like the group’s earlier music, the album tackles themes of anxiety and self-doubt with effervescent power pop choruses and rousing backup vocals, zeroing in on the communality and catharsis that can come from sharing stressful situations with some of your best friends. Stokes’s writing on Jump Rope Gazers grapples with the uneasy proposition of leaving everything and everyone you know behind on another continent, chasing your dreams while struggling to stay close with loved ones back home.

"If you're at a certain age, all your friends scatter to the four winds,” Stokes says. “We did the same thing. When you're home, you miss everybody, and when you're away, you miss everybody. We were just missing people all the time.”

With songs like the rambunctious “Dying To Believe” and the tender, shoegazey “Out of Sight,” The Beths reckon with the distance that life necessarily drives between people over time. People who love each other inevitably fail each other. “I’m sorry for the way that I can’t hold conversations/They’re such a fragile thing to try to support the weight of,” Stokes sings on “Dying to Believe.” The best way to repair that failure, in The Beths’ view, is with abundant and unconditional love, no matter how far it has to travel. On “Out of Sight,” she pledges devotion to a dearly missed friend: “If your world collapses/I’ll be down in the rubble/I’d build you another,” she sings.

“It was a rough year in general, and I found myself saying the words, 'wish you were here, wish I was there,’ over and over again,” she says of the time period in which the album was written. Touring far from home, The Beths committed themselves to taking care of each other as they were trying at the same time to take care of friends living thousands of miles away. They encouraged each other to communicate whenever things got hard, and to pay forward acts of kindness whenever they could. That care and attention shines through on Jump Rope Gazers, where the quartet sounds more locked in than ever. Their most emotive and heartfelt work to date, Jump Rope Gazers stares down all the hard parts of living in communion with other people, even at a distance, while celebrating the ferocious joy that makes it all worth it -- a sentiment we need now more than ever.

Eclectic Italian quartet Eugenia Post Meridiem are ready to reveal their sophomore full-length record, a rather magnificent musical masterpiece. The gloriously kaleidoscopic, dazzling celebration of sound ‘like i need tension’ is available everywhere now. Demonstrated over eight tracks, the all encompassing, musical odyssey, ‘like i need tension’ features initial single ‘willpower’; which burst across our radar with lashings of personality, and became the introduction to the now familiar Indie outfit. Next up was the punchy and fearless ‘around my neck’ and last but by no means least came the intriguing, alluring ‘whisper’, the calm before the sophomore album storm. Gifted with a further five previously unheard gems, listeners certainly have plenty to sink their teeth into. With focus track ‘crucial spring’ traversing the spectrums of shadow, the progressive and percussive ‘unchained will’, the slow voluminous ballad ‘ocean flows’ and the infectious, chaotic energy of ‘tiny perspectives’ and ‘mazes of gazes’. Oozing with iridescence, flavour and texture, there’s something to suit all manners of music fans. Completed over a span of two years plus a two week post-lockdown writing and recording stint, it was then that like i need tension truly came to life in a small converted barn near the village of Montaldo Bormida, in northern Italy. “It was a totally collaborative process... All the composing was done together, right there in the room.” and thus, like i need tension was born. “Tension is a powerful force. It drives things forwards, its friction producing interesting and unexpected results. Above all, it fuels creativity, inspiring and focusing in equal measure.” Such togetherness and chemistry as a band truly shines through across the eight track project. There’s a bold, fearless tenacity to experiment and to go against the tide as each track is filled with quality, curiosity and ingenuity. With purpose and intention studded throughout, like i need tension is as poetic and reflective as it is meditative and utterly transcendent. Placing its roots somewhere in the mystical universe of Hiatus Kaiyote, Christine and the Queens, PYJÆN and Tame Impala. Eugenia Post Meridiem’s sound holds an intrinsic synergy, refreshingly intangible, allowing space for the listener’s own interpretation and understanding. The depth they venture as a collective rewards those who journey beyond the initial passive listening. With technical structures, composition and developed time signatures just waiting to be unearthed, depicted and understood, Eugenia Post Meridiem offer a treasure trove for the adventurous and devoted musical palate yet still remain accessible and incredibly generous to all those who decide to listen. “And so it is that all eight tracks hang together beautifully, linked not by some overarching concept or narrative, but simply a band exploring their talent and the vast space afforded by an open-minded approach.”

For Fans Of: Aasha Puthli / Grace Jones / Minnie Ripperton/ The Supremes/ Love Apple / Kendra Morris. Previous debut 45 garnered much acclaim from KCRW, the BBC, Albumism, and countless more. The band consists of Piya Malik (El Michels Affair, former 79.5 and backing singer for Chicano Batman), Nya Parker Brown (former 79.5), and Sabrina Cunningham. Housed in a spot-glossed LP with exclusive lyric / photo insert. The highly anticipated debut LP from Say She She, the all female discodelic soul band that will transport you with their dreamy harmonies, catchy hooks and up tempo grooves! The band's sound is a hat tip to late 70’s girl groups with the three strong female lead voices of Piya Malik (featured in El Michels Affair, and backing singer for Chicano Batman), Nya Gazelle Brown, and Sabrina Cunningham - whose vocals soar through a set doused heavily with funky bass lines, rhythmic wah guitar, melodic synths and lilting bansuri flute lines, bursting into a seamless blend of dreamy harmonies and catchy hooks. A multicultural, multi-instrumental, collaborative melting pot, pulling sounds and styles from all corners of their record collections. The largely self-produced debut album ‘Prism’ features contributions from Dap Kings Joey Crispiano & Victor Axelrod, Max Shrager (The Shacks) Bardo Martinez (Chicano Batman) Nikhil Yearwadekar (former Antibalas) Andy Bauer (Twin Shadow) and Matty McDermot (NYPMH). “The funkiest sh*t we’ve heard in a while” (KCRW) // “A glorious overload of joyful elation and spiritual elevation”

For Fans Of: Aasha Puthli / Grace Jones / Minnie Ripperton/ The Supremes/ Love Apple / Kendra Morris. Previous debut 45 garnered much acclaim from KCRW, the BBC, Albumism, and countless more. The band consists of Piya Malik (El Michels Affair, former 79.5 and backing singer for Chicano Batman), Nya Parker Brown (former 79.5), and Sabrina Cunningham. Housed in a spot-glossed LP with exclusive lyric / photo insert. The highly anticipated debut LP from Say She She, the all female discodelic soul band that will transport you with their dreamy harmonies, catchy hooks and up tempo grooves! The band's sound is a hat tip to late 70’s girl groups with the three strong female lead voices of Piya Malik (featured in El Michels Affair, and backing singer for Chicano Batman), Nya Gazelle Brown, and Sabrina Cunningham - whose vocals soar through a set doused heavily with funky bass lines, rhythmic wah guitar, melodic synths and lilting bansuri flute lines, bursting into a seamless blend of dreamy harmonies and catchy hooks. A multicultural, multi-instrumental, collaborative melting pot, pulling sounds and styles from all corners of their record collections. The largely self-produced debut album ‘Prism’ features contributions from Dap Kings Joey Crispiano & Victor Axelrod, Max Shrager (The Shacks) Bardo Martinez (Chicano Batman) Nikhil Yearwadekar (former Antibalas) Andy Bauer (Twin Shadow) and Matty McDermot (NYPMH). “The funkiest sh*t we’ve heard in a while” (KCRW) // “A glorious overload of joyful elation and spiritual elevation”

Collins Dictionary Example sentence: „Other ocular signs include involuntary rhythmic movement of the eyeball.“ Someone in the editorial department wasn‘t paying attention and involuntarily spoke a deeply buried truth: The movement from the eye to rhythm and from there to sound is sometimes a small, puny one.

Now Infuso Giallo provides the proof at the same time and implements his live show for last year‘s debut album „Ocular Soda“ as an audio-visual show, as intertwined senses. Visible sound, audible images. Such ideas only last when they are put to the test and scrutinised by several experts.

The duo Globus, which consists of 2/5 of the post-hardcore band PTTRNS, examines the synth hook of the second part of the double-opener „Every Waking Hour Pt.2“ by playing it, varying it, letting it sway.

In contrast, Anatolian Weapons from Athens can‘t help but immerse the ambient, Soft Machine-production-like first minutes of „Every Waking Hour Pt.1“ in a sinister black light. Staggering into a basement club filled with nocturnal shadow people and indulge in carousing. Cautiously at first, then more and more determinedly.

From Hamburg and Berlin, the „Mole Gaze“ gets a special treatment. The trio Love-Songs drags the number off to Hamburg harbour, packs it onto a steamer, deep into the bow and lets it operate the sonar there. Conrad Schnitzler would have been delighted.
Infuso Giallo, meanwhile, realises that there is nothing more boring than standing still, so he revamps „Hello World“ and gives it a rear spoiler that keeps this number in lane even at club speed.
Speaking of „keeping in lane“: Niklas Wandt, the magician, doesn‘t even try such tricks. He simply throws an acid bolt on the closer „Ocular Soda“ and waits to see what happens. Alongside breakbeats from nowhere, Albert Hoffmann himself appears on a bicycle.
„Ocular Soda Remixes“ is the first tape on the Kame House label, so there‘s only one thing to do: open your eyes and listen!

Berlin-based label. Burial Soil proudly presents a collaborative electro album initiated by CYRK.

For their album "Freundschaft" CYRK has collaborated with Steffi, Anthony Rother, Ravn Jonassen, JakoJako, Jensen Interceptor, Alienata, Nite Fleit and David Carretta.
Over the last few years electro has had a massive resurgence. Since then, a new generation of producers has taken the genre under the microscope, recombining classic tropes and influences in new ways. CYRK is among the list of artists consistently pushing all things electro to new heights with forward thinking, dancefloor shattering and bass-heavy concoctions ready to turn your favorite club dance floor into a sea of spaced-out euphoria.

Running with the ball that 2020’s “Serve To Serve Again” punted forward, this album marks another energetic break towards the goal for Vintage Crop. ‘Kibitzer’ sees the band define their field of play, more melodic at times, still bruising, forever droll. These ten tracks of ‘snappy as elastic’ Australian punk are packed with tensile riffage, hefty beats and witty refrains of everyman curiosity.

‘Kibitzer’ was written in quick response to their critically lauded ‘Serve To Serve Again’ album. Harsh guitars, a brutish rhythm section and a knack for always having the right words at hand are still abundant, but this time Vintage Crop’s songs expand upon their forceful nature with greater harmonic arrangement. It was recorded by Jasper Jolley in one single session on a former apple orchard in Geelong, a backdrop that mirrors the band’s own organic growth whilst highlighting their willingness to approach capturing their own sound their own way. The album was then mixed and mastered by Mikey Young.

‘Kibitzer’ delves into themes of identity, resilience and acceptance; some of the more upbeat notions that the band have dealt with to date. ‘Casting Calls’ opens the record, slamming through the speakers with gusto and setting the tone for the following 30 minutes. “It’s rolling, we’re rolling, we’re winding back the tape, we’re getting better with each take” sings lead songwriter Jack Cherry. Accepting your limitations and taking pride in your work are key themes on ‘Kibitzer’. In fact ideas around learning, growing and being able to take things in your stride are strongly felt through their entire body of work. These themes hit home with the album’s title too, with Cherry feeling that ‘Kibitzer’ is an apt way to describe a lot of the band’s focus. “I feel like a lot of our lyrics over the years have been our unsolicited opinions on other people’s situations, the very definition of the word Kibitzer. So for this record we wanted to lean into that tendency by acknowledging it and even go as far as stamping it on the album cover.”

Musically the band have expanded their palette on this album; exploring a world of rhythmic harmony and a newfound vocal melodicism. There’s also greater lyrical elaboration and considered song structures at play. ‘The Duke’ is a mob of rollicking chants and heavy hitting, catchy to the core. ‘The Bloody War’ is a more sanguine reflection of tumbling drums, struck chords and shrill keyboard warble. “He’s got the keys to the universe and they’re hanging from his belt loop, his wit is as quick as lightning, his disapproving gaze is the thunder that follows” pipes Cherry on ‘Double Slants’, guitars chiming through the hubbub. ‘Hold The Line’ turns the wry amusement of dealing with cold callers into a fidgety anthem of knowing frustration. Whilst ‘Switched Off’ even welcomes the introduction of horns (courtesy of Heidi Peel) to the group’s repertoire, ushering in an unexpected serenity into their tough sound.

Running with the ball that 2020’s “Serve To Serve Again” punted forward, this album marks another energetic break towards the goal for Vintage Crop. ‘Kibitzer’ sees the band define their field of play, more melodic at times, still bruising, forever droll. These ten tracks of ‘snappy as elastic’ Australian punk are packed with tensile riffage, hefty beats and witty refrains of everyman curiosity.

‘Kibitzer’ was written in quick response to their critically lauded ‘Serve To Serve Again’ album. Harsh guitars, a brutish rhythm section and a knack for always having the right words at hand are still abundant, but this time Vintage Crop’s songs expand upon their forceful nature with greater harmonic arrangement. It was recorded by Jasper Jolley in one single session on a former apple orchard in Geelong, a backdrop that mirrors the band’s own organic growth whilst highlighting their willingness to approach capturing their own sound their own way. The album was then mixed and mastered by Mikey Young.

‘Kibitzer’ delves into themes of identity, resilience and acceptance; some of the more upbeat notions that the band have dealt with to date. ‘Casting Calls’ opens the record, slamming through the speakers with gusto and setting the tone for the following 30 minutes. “It’s rolling, we’re rolling, we’re winding back the tape, we’re getting better with each take” sings lead songwriter Jack Cherry. Accepting your limitations and taking pride in your work are key themes on ‘Kibitzer’. In fact ideas around learning, growing and being able to take things in your stride are strongly felt through their entire body of work. These themes hit home with the album’s title too, with Cherry feeling that ‘Kibitzer’ is an apt way to describe a lot of the band’s focus. “I feel like a lot of our lyrics over the years have been our unsolicited opinions on other people’s situations, the very definition of the word Kibitzer. So for this record we wanted to lean into that tendency by acknowledging it and even go as far as stamping it on the album cover.”

Musically the band have expanded their palette on this album; exploring a world of rhythmic harmony and a newfound vocal melodicism. There’s also greater lyrical elaboration and considered song structures at play. ‘The Duke’ is a mob of rollicking chants and heavy hitting, catchy to the core. ‘The Bloody War’ is a more sanguine reflection of tumbling drums, struck chords and shrill keyboard warble. “He’s got the keys to the universe and they’re hanging from his belt loop, his wit is as quick as lightning, his disapproving gaze is the thunder that follows” pipes Cherry on ‘Double Slants’, guitars chiming through the hubbub. ‘Hold The Line’ turns the wry amusement of dealing with cold callers into a fidgety anthem of knowing frustration. Whilst ‘Switched Off’ even welcomes the introduction of horns (courtesy of Heidi Peel) to the group’s repertoire, ushering in an unexpected serenity into their tough sound.

Often when music is constructed with synths and other electronically generated sound makers, their level of exactitude and control is such that the vocalist will either wittingly or otherwise seek to emulate the relative artifice of the soundscape. This is often done to great effect, think Kraftwerk. But what if there was a unit whose music was synth-generated but the vocals were coming from a hot-blooded, singing-for-the-cheap-seats approach? If done well, it’s a case of two great tastes that taste great together, which brings me to System Exclusive.

Their multi genre / time period collision is like a car accident where all parties walk away not only unscathed but sure they had a great time, like two different recording sessions sharing the same space and making it work. Vocalist Ari Blaisdell (previously of Lower Self, The Beat Offs) co-exists excellently amidst the driving beats and synth waves and her guitar further helps to jailbreak the tunes from the often sterile entrapments that synths provide. Matt Jones (previously of Male Gaze, Blasted Canyons, and continuing Castle Face behind-the-scenesman)’s smart use of live drums bring great juxtaposition against the machines. Ari’s irony-free sincere delivery is the perfect closer on this very cool record, recorded ably by Enrique Tena Padilla (Osees, Wand, Beach House) in their backyard studio mid-pandemic and adorned with original artwork by Miles Wintner (L.A. Takedown, Mr. Elevator, Devon Williams). If you don’t get this slab of goodness, well, that act of non-compliance will confirm you as the pain-in-the-ass that many have described you to be in great detail during Zoom chats. How dare they! Prove them wrong! Reduce their snark to mere pseudo-intellectual piffle! Your lifeline arrives in March. Grab it. — Henry Rollins

Tape

Next up on VEYL is a new face on the label but no stranger to the music world. NEVER is the project of Stefano Santi, a multi-instrumentalist and electronic music producer who has been active since the early 2000’s. After several years of working as an audio engineer and touring the globe with bands, he has
always had a parallel life as a producer with a club affinity. NEVER began in his own SPVN studio during the pandemic amidst the isolation of lockdown. His inspiration reborn after abandoning all boundaries and giving little care to traditional songwriting structures.
The result is 'JXDY', the new album which showcases the project’s diverse voice and technical prowess. Not confined to a particular genre, the release masterfully touches on everything from post-punk and shoe gaze to hints of death rock and electronica. From the opening strings of 'RXBT', we’re taken to a
relentless world of shadows and bleeding emotion, which conjures nostalgia of days long gone while maintaining an ominous sense of future. From the euphoric, pulse pounding action of 'HVRXLD' to the utter heartbreak of 'CXLE', NEVER weaves in and out of agitation, rage and regret, fueling a fire that that
continues to burn from beginning to end.
Navigating to the crushing 'HXRNE' through the menacing tones of 'BLVCKBXRN'until finishing things up with the heartbreaking, cinematic feel of the title track, 'JXDY' is nine offerings of uncompromising passion and pain, leaving a lasting imprint on both the mind and body.

While previous albums, most notably Leland and Minutes of Sleep (2014) as well as two albums released as one half of the duo Aris Kindt (most notably the stellar Swann and Odette from 2017) have relied on singular thematic and narrative drives that were often of a personal, collaborative, or hermetic in nature, Thresholds is an album that aspires to sonic universality and the presentation of a fully formed psychoacoustical world. That being said it is not an “album of ideas”. Inspired by the ecological and political upheavals of the present and the role of speculative thought as an avenue of global transformation Thresholds is the work of a mature artist fully in control of his powers. Both expansive and nuanced the album widens the aperture of the affective possibilities of the electronic assemblage; themes skip from one track to the next, elevating and informing each other in tangible fields of abstract figuration. The titles, while often heady, concisely allude to strategies implicit in the construction and arrangement of the works: Cut Up, within the context of the album, is exactly that. Luck Takes a Step juxtaposes stately synths with just the right touch of playful fluctuation and latent atonality. The title track itself is a knotted mass of uncertainty and propulsive beats the breakdown of which is a nervous series of fits and starts that resonate not just within the track but as the fulcrum of the entire album: the threshold of our Threshold: “…we are caught up in our own original transversals of time to the point of dissolution, and that which remains a part of the contrivance of ourselves is ultimately that which crosses the threshold and is somehow, miraculously, reconstituted on the other side of it. Because it is via the threshold that we can best observe the conditions of experience as lived even as we cross to the other side of understanding, rejoining the ancient equilibriums of which we, in our depths, are comprised.” (From the liner notes)
No track overstays its welcome and with the help of standout vocalist Eliana Glass, and instrumentation by Dave Harrington (Darkside with Nicolas Jaar), Mark Nelson (Pan American), Will Shore, Greg Paulus and Gareth Redmond, and mixed by Phil Weinrobe, the result is a dizzyingly pure inward gaze that is first and foremost an album about connection.

Germany-based metal band OBSCURA launch trilogy concept on stunning new album “A Valediction”. The group’s first (sixth overall) album for Nuclear Blast pivots on many fronts. Advanced, elegant, and yet refreshing, “A Valediction” sums up past endeavors effortlessly as it gazes with purpose and conviction into the future. OBSCURA are fan-renowned and critically acclaimed for challenging and then expanding upon norms. From “Cosmogenesis” (2009) through “Diluvium” (2018), the band flourished and made significant progress in a musical genre unprepared for a creative shot of German invention. “A Valediction” spearheads OBSCURA into a new era of extreme metal.

Guitarist/vocalist Steffen Kummerer founded OBSCURA in 2002. Early on, he set out to improve, redefine, and push forward. Under his self-label creation, the Bavarian released debut album “Retribution” (2006), followed by heavy touring throughout Europe. Word quickly spread that a brand-new band from the south of Germany was on the rise. Buzz lead to a deal with U.S.-based Relapse Records. The first record out was “Cosmogenesis”. In Europe, Metal Hammer Germany awarded the album 6/7 while in the U.S., “Cosmogenesis” hit the Billboard charts at #71. The cross-continental praise and fevered momentum landed OBSCURA on high-profile tours in Europe, North America, and Japan.

When follow-up “Omnivium” arrived in 2011, they upped their chart success (Billboard #11; Media Control #14), received more accolades from publications like Terrorizer, Rock Hard, and Decibel, had another massive round-world tour cycle, while enhancing and making progress on their clever brutality. OBSCURA further developed their sound on “Akróasis” (2016). Moored by jaw-dropping tracks like ‘Sermon of the Seven Suns,’ ‘Ode to the Sun,’ and the title track, “Akróasis” elevated OBSCURA to the highest levels of international renown, having climbed up the Billboard charts (#5) as well as earning top marks in Rock Hard (8.5/10), Metal Hammer Germany (6/7), and Revolver (4/5). The Germans toured the world yet again, playing over 100 shows in support of “Akróasis”.

OBSCURA’s most significant accomplishment was, however, just around the corner. The final part of a tetralogy, “Diluvium” (2018), fiercely pursued OBSCURA’s multi-album transformation into musical innovators and metal powerhouses. Music videos for the title track, ‘Emergent Evolution’ and ‘Mortification of the Vulgar Sun,’ in concert with a substantial interest in virtuosic, forward-thinking metal, posited OBSCURA in the good graces (yet again) of the worldwide press in addition to rocketing up, for the very first time, the official album charts in Germany (#58) and Switzerland (#93). The Germans also topped out at #3 on the Billboard Heatseekers chart with “Diluvium”.

OBSCURA‘s stats have been impressive: Twenty years active; six highly prized albums; over 600 shows on four continents. Worldwide fan and press engagement—the videos for ‘The Anticosmic Overload,’ ‘Akróasis,’ and ‘Diluvium’ have over 4.5 million views—is only getting stronger the longer OBSCURA continue to offer up and interact with (via play-throughs and member/gear spotlights) their very captive audience. This is only the tip of Kummerer’s custom ESP guitar, however. A Valediction finds OBSCURA turning the page to a new chapter in the band’s evolution. A year in the works, the songwriting sessions followed a new approach, where the framework was relaxed, allowing new inspirations, imagining, and opportunities to arise. Songs like the opening epic ‘Forsaken,’ the '80s-tinted ‘When Stars Collide’ (featuring Soilwork/The Night Flight Orchestra frontman Björn Strid), the brutal groove of ‘Devoured Usurper,’ the ethereal artistry of ‘Heritage,’ and the fleet-fingered title track benefitted compositionally (refined structures) and aesthetically (more dynamism) from OBSCURA’s restyled songwriting stratagem.

OBSCURA wrote, recorded, and finalized “A Valediction” during the pandemic. The stipulations of working during this time allowed OBSCURA to work cross-country, tracking each respective part—drums, guitar, and bass—in national studios across The Netherlands, Austria, and Germany. Once the pieces were completed, the recordings were shipped off to award-winning producer Fredrik Nordström and Studio Fredman (In Flames, Architects) in Gothenburg, Sweden, where Kummerer and Münzner completed vocals and acoustic guitars using custom-built ENGL amps. Nordström was also tapped to mix and master. The final result is a deeper, heavier, yet more rounded production.

Lyrically, “A Valediction” is layered in structure and meaning. The word ‘valediction,’ by definition, deals with goodbyes and farewells. In a way, this is auf wiedersehen to the four-part album series while also addressing complex topics of Kummerer’s personal life. Instead of obscuring issues of loss, death, and abandonment in metaphor and allusion, the German laid bare his torment across songs like ‘Forsaken,’ ‘Solaris,’ ‘In Unity,’ ‘The Neuromancer,’ and ‘In Adversity.’ But for every line of desperation, he also offers positivity. Indeed, new beginnings—physical, emotional, or environmental—can provide light in the darkness. Lauded artist Eliran Kantor (Testament, Helloween) was brought on board to visualize the leitmotif. The bronze-themed colourway Kantor used exemplifies OBSCURA’s resistance to individual and sonic corrosion.

In 2021, OBSCURA will lighthouse their musical prowess, thematic complexity, and lyrical ambition on “A Valediction”. The group continue to be a beacon for change. No doubt OBSCURA’s new stats will amaze, but what they’re focused on is the release of “A Valediction” and then taking it on the road. Several high-caliber tours of Europe, North America, and Asia are planned through to 2023, with routes are in the works for the band to visit Australia, South America, and beyond. Truly, there is no band quite like OBSCURA. “A Valediction” proves that persistence, perseverance, and enterprising minds can achieve anything. Welcome to the next level!

1. Some records hit you with an instant impression of timeless brilliance, and Low Life’s Dogging is one of those records, what the wise call “an instant classic”. 2. From Squats to Lots: The Agony and the XTC of Low Life is more like their second album Downer Edn (read Edition), a little more withdrawn, a little more textured. Complex. Rich. Which is to say: you’re going to need some time with it. 3. Some show, some grow. Low Life have done both. This one is a grower. Spend some time with this one. It’s got that nuanced flavour. Don’t guzzle. Sip. Savour. 4. Sip it, and sense the recurring brilliance of Mitch Tolman’s lyrics, exploring the usual territory of gutter life, lad life, punk life, low life. The dirge. Disgust and shame in white Australia. Council housing, bills piled to the neck, substance abuse and rehabilitation, the fallen lads and lasses who stood too close to the flame, loss and loneliness, from squats to lots. Un-Australian gutter symphony. 5. There is a celebration of resilience and that’s a central theme of this record and a time like ours needs a record like Agony & XTC. Low times are coming through, but if you’re low they won’t get to you. 6. Iggy Pop’s Bowie produced studio rock masterpieces ‘The Idiot’ and ‘Lust For Life’ are important reference points to the 3rd album sounds of Low Life. Here comes success! 7. ‘The Agony and Ecstasy’ is a 1985 novel by Irving Stone about the life of Italian Renaissance painter Michelangelo. Stone wrote another novel about the single eared painter Vincent Van Gogh called ‘Lust For Life’. This synchronicity hit me. 8. Iggy and the Stooges are a pretty safe reference for Low Life (and all good rock music). Iggy and the Stooges are a low life’s Michelangelo, but solo Iggy like Lust for Life is a better reference for this particular incarnation of Low Life, which is to say they are studio rock albums. 9. Bowie later referred to this period of his life as profoundly nihilistic. But Iggy looked at it as the period of his life that saved him from an early grave. This confrontation is Low life lore. 10. Let’s stick to this, because there’s something about this era of Bowie that makes sense with Low Life’s new album, particularly Low. One should never miss the Low in our new album from Low Life. Producer and studio boss Mickey Grossman has the ear for the Low, and he has carved out a little statue of David right here. 11. Mickey’s ears are recording, mixing and producing the best of Sydney, most notably the Oily Boys Cro Memory Grin. A great companion record to this one. Use Agony & XTC AFTER Oily Boys. Not on an empty stomach, and don’t try to operate heavy machinery (bobcat, bulldozer etc). 12. The relationship between Low Life and Sydney hardcore should not be understated, but it also shouldn’t guide how to listen to Agony & XTC. This is not austere, disciplined music. 13. Think, like, if Poison Idea were given the kind of studio time and budget as Happy Mondays. You wouldn’t play it to a teenager. It’s not for children. This is a mature flavour, one for the adults who have had to contend with failure and hardship, medical bills and disappointed family members, betrayed lovers and worrisome growths, police brutality and tooth decay, humiliating bowels and collapsed septums, detoxing and drying out, for those who have seen themselves as corrupted and putrid and unloveable, for those who endure all of this and aren’t willing to lie down and cop it sweet: Low Life are still here and they ain’t going nowhere. NOTES ON HOW NOT TO LISTEN TO AGONY AND XTC OF LOW LIFE: 1. Don’t think of shoe-gaze. It suggests a safe passage to 90’s reminiscences, a vogue style of our time, but nothing to do with Low Life style. Low Life style is always of its time. The content changes. Agony & XTC shares weight of records like My Bloody Valentine’s Loveless and Slowdive’s Kebab, records that were laboured on after the songs were recorded, songs that were written as they were recorded. 2. We can call these “studio albums” as opposed to albums built in the heat of live performance. Studio albums from the 90’s are called shoe-gaze by some journalist nerds, but we know better than to use words like this. 3. Studio albums are excessive and, at the same time, so empty. Agony & XTC, Loveless, Kebab, Rumours: excessive! And empty. This is not to suggest this is Low Lite, some throwback, soft. A band like Low Life can make an overproduced studio rock album without having to use the word shoe-gaze. So, don’t think studio albums mean anything especially 90’s. Don’t look back. 4. Let’s lose these distasteful labels, like “shoe-gaze”, “rehab rock”, “stab”, “guitar OD overdrive”, “western Sydney wonder”. They can fade out. A low life was once referred to as a vagabond. Who uses this term today? Nobody. Language can murder. Words can die. Kill ‘em all! - Daniel 'DX' Stewart, Melbourne, 2021.

On December 26th, 2018, Emily Cross received an excited email from a friend: Brian Eno was talking about her band on BBC radio. “At first I didn’t think it was real,” she admits. But then she heard a recording: Eno was praising ‘Black Willow’ from Loma’s self-titled debut. He said he’d had it on repeat.
At the time, a second Loma album seemed unlikely. The band began as a serendipitous collaboration between Cross, the multi-talented musician and recording engineer Dan Duszynski and Shearwater frontman Jonathan Meiburg, who wanted to play a supporting role after years at the microphone. They’d capped a gruelling tour
with a standout performance on a packed beach at Sub Pop’s SPF 30 festival, in which Cross leapt into the crowd and then into the sea, while the band carried on from the stage - an emotional peak that also felt like a natural ending. “It was the biggest audience we’d ever had,” she says. “We thought, why not stop here?” Following the tour, Cross went to rural Mexico to work on visual art and a solo record, while Meiburg began a new Shearwater effort. But after a few months apart
(and Eno’s encouraging words), the trio changed their minds and reconvened at Duszynski’s home in rural Texas, where they began to develop songs that would become ‘Don’t Shy Away’. Loma writes by consensus and, though Cross is always the singer, she, Duszynski and Meiburg often trade instruments. Meiburg compares their process to using an Ouija Board and says the songs revealed themselves slowly, over many months. “Each of us is a very strong flavor,” he says, “but in Loma, nobody wears the crown, so we have to trust each other - and we end up in places none of us would have gone on our own. I think we all wanted to experience that again.” The album that emerged is gently spectacular - a vivid work whose light touch belies
its timely themes of solitude, impermanence and finding light in deep darkness. “Stuck / beneath / a rock,” Cross begins, as if noticing her predicament for the first time. Then she adds: “I begin to see / the beauty in it.” A series of guests contributed to the absorbing soundscapes of ‘Don’t Shy Away’, including touring members Emily Lee (piano, violin) and Matt Schuessler (bass), Flock of Dimes/Wye Oak’s Jenn Wasner and a surprisingly bass-heavy horn section.
And then there’s Brian Eno. Loma invited him to participate in the mantra-like ‘Homing’, which concludes the album and sent him stems to interact with in any way he liked. He never spoke directly with the band but his completed mix arrived via email late one night, without warning and they gathered to listen in the converted bedroom Duszynski uses as a control room. “I was a little worried,” says Cross.
“What if we didn’t like it?” But it was all they’d hoped for: minimal but enveloping, friendly but enigmatic, as much Loma as Eno - a perfect ending to an album about finding a new home inside an old one. “I am somewhere that you know,” Cross sings, above a chorus of her bandmates’ blended voices. “I am right behind your eyes.”
First LP pressing on dark green vinyl.

Multi Natural is a new example of Christina’s organic chamber music. We enter nine composed chambers. Nine rooms to inhabit, constructed out of elements that are slowly fusing. The album is a string of semi constant metamorphosis. A gesture appears, is elaborated upon—or is halted and replaced by a new gesture. Multi Natural has multi focal points, quite dissimilar to Christina’s other works that tend to have a more linear path.

Within this album lives a composer who is not afraid to let the content take over. In this, obviously composed work, there is still a large space for all those sounds to act freely. It is almost like Christina is waiting for the music to compose itself. This technique speaks of respect and trust for the listener, since it gives thelistener freedom to personally connect the lines.

When you put the needle on this record, everything turns to stone. The music flows and nurtures. Sounds that come from various realities—molded into a mutual understanding. With each spin, new events catch the ears. Like looking at alandscape, perceiving new details close and far with every gaze.

When Christina warps both time and space for you, it comes to you as a gift.

Prolific American artist Jon Hester returns to Rekids for the first instalment of his new album, ‘Converge’, this September.

Jon Hester grew up in the Midwest US, living in Chicago and Minneapolis while taking musical cues from Detroit. Initially he was a dancer, and later transitioned to the decks with a refined understanding of what it takes to move a club. He progressed to hosting his own events, holding residencies, and working at a record shop, and now brings his physical rhythms and adventurous drums to his productions, with output on respected labels such as Transmat, Deeply Rooted, Dystopian, Klockworks, and LET Recordings, not to mention multiple appearances on Rekids.

Continuing to show fine form on his debut album, Hester now serves up eight of his signature house and techno fusions with plenty of his trademark directness across four sides of vinyl. The superb 'Sending Signals' opens the album with scene-setting synth modulations full of sci-fi atmosphere. It's the calm before the storm as 'Metropolitan' then immediately sets off on a cantering groove that is eventually run through with busy, jazzy piano keys that bring the soul.

'Haze' has excellently taught kick drums with hypnotic synth tones adding colour, and features Hester on saxophone. When 'Rain' comes, things grow darker and more menacing, with shakers and urgent stabs keeping you moving at a slick pace.

The second half of this compelling record features the loopy punches and pulses of the super smooth 'Dreamstate', beautifully cosmic and widescreen techno of 'Free' and pensive but urgent deep electro of standout cut 'Flex.' Last of all, 'Equinox' is lit up with distant chords which bring a far-sighted gaze to the rolling, robust kicks.

Max D's latest LP is the first full length album on 1432 R. It's a milestone from the Future Times boss, who's been holding it down in his creative corner of electronic music for over a decade. The album opens fast and fierce with I Think Our Souls Are Other People, a storm of live percussion and widescreen drone. And then from track to track, it strips itself down, mellows itself out, and rides on hypnotic loops. Many Any Dolo Brush is something of a cameo from Max’s Dolo Percussion moniker, giving way to the first of three field recording miniatures that glue the album together and provide a sort of romantic center. Fly Around The Room is a true half-time float, with a melody that sits in your ear while drums zip past. Shoutout Seefeel, a 130 mind cleanser, is full of the namesake shoe gaze and thick hovering techno drums. Lullabiological features the keyboards of 1432 R's own Dawit Eklund, wandering off the deep end like some dream that can't be shaken. Cuz It's The Way rounds out the work with a groove made for the dance floor. Max D and 1432 R: we are always on some hopeful shit.

Really love this album. This is probably some of Malcolm's best works, although it's hard to decipher as we like nearly everything he writes. As an album, it sounds like he's put everything he has into it, full of emotion and diversity. It's hard to say which track is our favorite but we are torn between Faithful Fearful and Regrets. Keep up the good work Malcolm as this is a masterpiece. Anyone who sleeps is missing out.

- non-gatefold sleeve without 7"

Rush Hour announces their second artist compilation Patchwork, curated by one of the label’s most loved family members, Sassy J. The Swiss DJ is the very embodiment of passion and long-standing dedication to the craft of the DJing, but also to the community surrounding the music that she lives and breathes. For the past fourteen years Sassy J has run the Patchwork night in her native Bern and in London, with guests ranging from Theo Parrish and Little Dragon to Floating Points and MF Doom invited to share their respective musical visions. Her collaborative approach stands out in a DJ world that is too often weighted in favour of promoting the individual. This compilation grows out that unique sensitivity, foregrounding a theory of curation that centres on long-term bonds, articulated through Sassy J’s personal relationships with the contributing artists.

Patchwork speaks to the grass roots values that Sassy J espouses, showcasing music by many of the artists that have joined her throughout the years in clubs, on the radio, and at home. It is an expression of Sassy J’s individual musical path that casts its gaze firmly in the future: Patchwork is made up almost entirely of new and unreleased songs that are exclusive to this collection. Patchwork captures a sound that has continued to evolve in its restless search for new musical directions. Across thirteen tracks we find forward thinking electronic music rubbing elbows with cosmic jazz and deep percussion workouts from Brazil and beyond.

There are irresistible calls to the dancefloor: 2000 Black’s UK boogie and the syncopated rhythms of WaH-chU-kU nod to the West London sound, whilst the early rave of Nu Era and Aardvarck’s sub-rattling techno channel the grittier edges of the club experience. We find machine music imbued with humanity in Larry Heard’s deep house classic “Survivor” and in Ron Trent’s WARM project, whose gentle breeze points to a different side of the legendary producer. Patchwork also opens a more immersive listening space in which the radical indie soul of Georgia Anne Muldrow, the ambient spiritual jazz of bandleader Carlos Niño & Friends, and the lament for the Amazon rainforest by Azymuth’s drummer Ivan Conti can channel the overall spirit of group interplay and solidarity. Patchwork also includes Sassy J’s collaboration with veteran producer Alex Attias, marking her own place in a universe that is held together by her singular thread.

"This is the compilation of the year!" - DJ Spinna

The third chapter in the vinyl installments on Gaze ill's Danish Cue Line Records is written by Belgian artist Zygos, Georgio Roumans. An unforgettable piece formed by 3 distinct original tracks plus an outstanding remix by Italy's most wanted, DPRTNDRP (D- Operation Drop).

The EP opens with the toxic symphony of 'Laicism'. By chest pressuring hits right from the beginning, we're pushed into another world where everything is moving though it feels like time stands still for a moment. Mellow melodies formed in layers of feedback alike sounds and endless reverberated stabs generate a persistent tension held tight by the static, marching drums. The title track 'Sudd' forms part 2 of the journey through Georgio Roumans' explorative universe. To think everything can move this fast yet keeping a minimal expression is beyond reality. From 8th to 16th to 24th notes - variations through the bass, percussion, and melody sections - a discreetly conducted progression is reached throughout the track. Accompanied by weird background soundscapes the sub bass takes the lead on the tight Halfstep- package of 'Tapered'. The drums are simple and hard, which is just what's needed to tame and control the strong movements from the sub. Super minimal for the sound system. Italian DPRTNDRP brings new life to 'Sudd', which awakens in a completely different light than the tempo- filled original. Strange sounds and rhythms, raw and dirty. DPRTNDRP makes the remix a must hear.

The vibe is intense from start to end, and the EP hits perfection due to Georgio's naturally alive style, and the clever remix from the ever boundary pushing DPRTNDRP. Signature sound, deluxe on 180 grams heavyweight vinyl!