If the sanguine cedar scent of Cosmic Americana and the bright jingle jangle of Neo-Psych Rock has led you through the last couple of years, then chances are good you’ve had a brush with Silver Synthetic. The members of the New Orleans band ditched the dirtier riffs of their past projects (Jeff The Brotherhood, Bottomfeeders) for a West Coast curl that balanced country twang and honeyed harmonies with a rhythmic stomp that fishtailed through the speakers with glee.
An eponymous full length on Third Man fully distilled the scope of their sound, turning stage-battered ballads and barroom burners into one of 2021’s most promising debuts. They return for a second salvo, honed with a tour-tight symbiosis and some ace drop-ins from southern slingers Luke Schneider (pedal steel) and Rex Gregory (sax, flute). Rosalie finds Silver Synthetic refining their sound, softening their approach, and letting a breeze of ‘70s AOR weave among the country swagger. Between the tanned riffs, the band also balances societal burnout with sunshine, transforming scoffs and sneers into smoke-curled sighs draped in a windows-down aura.
They make their way to Curation Records for the new outing, a welcome home for the band’s sun-streaked Americana, turning ‘Preflyte’ Byrds, JJ grooves, beach-bound Neil, and ‘Water of Love’-era Dire Straits into an album that smooths the seams and steers the listener towards new horizons.
If the sanguine cedar scent of Cosmic Americana and the bright jingle jangle of Neo-Psych Rock has led you through the last couple of years, then chances are good you’ve had a brush with Silver Synthetic. The members of the New Orleans band ditched the dirtier riffs of their past projects (Jeff The Brotherhood, Bottomfeeders) for a West Coast curl that balanced country twang and honeyed harmonies with a rhythmic stomp that fishtailed through the speakers with glee.
An eponymous full length on Third Man fully distilled the scope of their sound, turning stage-battered ballads and barroom burners into one of 2021’s most promising debuts. They return for a second salvo, honed with a tour-tight symbiosis and some ace drop-ins from southern slingers Luke Schneider (pedal steel) and Rex Gregory (sax, flute). Rosalie finds Silver Synthetic refining their sound, softening their approach, and letting a breeze of ‘70s AOR weave among the country swagger. Between the tanned riffs, the band also balances societal burnout with sunshine, transforming scoffs and sneers into smoke-curled sighs draped in a windows-down aura.
They make their way to Curation Records for the new outing, a welcome home for the band’s sun-streaked Americana, turning ‘Preflyte’ Byrds, JJ grooves, beach-bound Neil, and ‘Water of Love’-era Dire Straits into an album that smooths the seams and steers the listener towards new horizons.
Carrying the torch of psychedelic cumbia, with a healthy dose
of surf guitar and Amazonian dancefloor flourishes from Peru
and Brazil alike, Fiesta en la Jungla by Los Dexter’s de Uchiza
is the first release from the newly formed London-label Ritmo
del Barrio. Originally released in 1982, it captures the finest
cumbia being made in Peru at the time, decked out with
frenetic surf-rock guitar riffs, rhythms floating on crisp
cumbia percussion and occasionally punctuated by carimbó
breakdowns native to the Pará region of north-eastern Brazil.
The album is filled with energy, a gem that was always
intended to animate any dancefloor. Peruvian cumbia came to national attention in the late 60s
through the recordings of Juaneco y su Combo, Los Destellos
and Los Wembler’s de Iquitos, but it’s had many revivals, and
Fiesta en la Jungla arrived when the style was going through a
major transition. In 1977, a passenger plane carrying most of
the members of Juaneco y su Combo crashed, killing everyone
on board. In 1980, Los Destellos retired, and Los Wembler’s
released their tenth and final record, they were ready for a
break. This left a big void in Peruvian music. Wasting no time,
Los Dexter’s Emerson Ruiz Mosquera took the opportunity and
gave his band new life, filling the band’s ranks with young and
energetic musicians who were hungry for success. He built the
new band around a solid base of dexterous guitars, a dynamite
rhythm section, and added oodles of percussion and an electric
organ, giving them a powerful psychedelic sound that called
back to the sounds of the original chichamasters, but added a
new sheen. Along with bands like Los Shapis and Los Walkers
de Huánuco, Peruvian cumbia was reborn as chicha in the
1980s, and was now the sound of Peru’s barrios up and down
the country.
Based in the city of Uchiza, on the edges of the Amazon basin,
Los Dexter’s were uniquely located in central Peru, closer to the
largest urban centres of the country than Amazonian outposts
like Pucallpa or Iquitos, and therefore better positioned to
travel to the furthest reaches of the country with ease. In a
sense, Los Dexter’s were a bridge between the Amazon and the
rest of Peru, a bridge over which the sounds of Amazonian
cumbia could travel to the rest of the country on their way to
becoming one of the most ubiquitous elements of Peru’s musical
identity. Fiesta en la Jungla represents Los Dexter’s in their third
iteration. Led by Emerson Ruiz Mosquera, who was just a
young boy in 1970 when his older brother founded the group
with four of his friends, the ensemble by the time of Fiesta en la
Jungla included Orlando Abad on the timbales and lead vocals,
Lucho Bendezú on lead guitar, Javier Quiroz as second
guitarist, Alejandro Almeira on bass, Rufino Bustamante on
keyboard, Ramon Siu on bongos and bells, Ivan Rios on conga,
and Emerson as musical director and composer. Remarkably,
most of the group’s members helped to write at least one
track, Los Dexter’s were a collective endeavour.
Reissued on vinyl for the first time by Ritmo del Barrio, this
record is essential for any collector of Peruvian cumbia.
Showcasing the unique sound of Los Dexter’s, it carries hits
like “Fuga en la Selva” and “El Shiringuero”, which are sure to
set any dancefloor on fire, combined with slower, carimbó-
infused cumbias like “Fiesta en la Jungla,”and “Agua de
Cachilde.” Its closing track, “Tragedia en Uchiza'', is a key
piece of local history and tells of the flooding of the
Chontayacu River in 1982, a mortal tragedy that affected
thousands of people. Despite the subject matter, the album
maintains a joyful vibe throughout, with high energy riffs and
irresistible rhythms, contrasted with terse love ballads, like “A
Jhenny.” It is both a piece of musical history, and a sure-fire
tool for the dance floor.
Los Dexter’s became a fixture of festivals and celebrations in
the provinces of San Martin and Huánuco, and from expanded
across the country, taking Amazonian cumbia from the
Peruvian Amazon, to the heights of the Peruvian sierra, the
coastal plains, and the capital city of Lima.
The Young Mothers return with their third album, Better If You Let It, blending a genre-defying mix of jazz, hip-hop, punk, experimental rock, and electronic music. Formed by Norwegian bassist Ingebrigt Håker Flaten in Austin, Texas, the band’s sound is shaped by the diverse musical backgrounds of its members, hailing from both the U.S. and Norway. With influences spanning from Texas’ vibrant hip-hop and punk scenes to Norway’s experimental jazz traditions, the band creates a powerful fusion that feels cinematic and unpredictable.
The lineup includes Jawwaad Taylor (trumpet, rhymes, electronics) and Jason Jackson (tenor and baritone sax) from Houston, Stefan Gonzalez (vibraphone, drums, percussion, voice) from Dallas, Frank Rosaly (drums, electronics) from Chicago and Amsterdam, and Håker Flaten (bass) from Norway.
This global roster brings together a dynamic, cross-cultural sound, with Better If You Let It showcasing their most cohesive and wide-ranging material yet. Recorded in Oslo and set for release on Sonic Transmission Records, the album is a bold statement, proving The Young Mothers’ ability to push musical boundaries across genres and geographies.
After Martin Hederos gathered his dream band, Hederosgruppen has become one of Sweden’s most hyped jazz acts, both live and on record. Yes, they are often placed in the jazz category, but they seem primarily focused on making fun music. Hederosgruppen made their debut with Storstrejk (2020) which was followed by Ståplats (2022), the only album thus far to win the Gyllene Skivan, Grammis and Manifest awards. Expectations for the third album may be high, but the group acts colly, calls their new creation Stilbrott (Breach of style) and puts three ski jumpers on the cover. As before, all five band members contribute ideas and compositions. The result could have been fragmented, but this quintet has created their style out of eclecticism. As before, they mix the riotous with the romantic in any number of styles. The common thread is the joy of being alive and playing live.
Blue Marble Vinyl. Screaming Blue Murder is the third studio album by British heavy metal band, Girlschool. It was released on Bronze Records in 1982, and featured one line-up change in bassist Ghislaine ,Gil` Weston, formerly of The Killjoys, replacing the recently departed founding member Enid Williams. Nigel Gray, who had previously worked with The Police, produced the album. Frequently associated with contemporaries Motörhead, they are the longest-running all-female rock band, still active after more than 40 years. During their career they travelled the world, playing in many rock and metal festivals and co-headlining with or supporting important hard rock and heavy metal bands. They maintain a worldwide cult following, and are an inspiration for many female rock musicians.
Blue Marble Vinyl. Screaming Blue Murder is the third studio album by British heavy metal band, Girlschool. It was released on Bronze Records in 1982, and featured one line-up change in bassist Ghislaine ,Gil` Weston, formerly of The Killjoys, replacing the recently departed founding member Enid Williams. Nigel Gray, who had previously worked with The Police, produced the album. Frequently associated with contemporaries Motörhead, they are the longest-running all-female rock band, still active after more than 40 years. During their career they travelled the world, playing in many rock and metal festivals and co-headlining with or supporting important hard rock and heavy metal bands. They maintain a worldwide cult following, and are an inspiration for many female rock musicians.
A new album by four-piece band District Five from Zurich is always a good moment to reassess one’s own expectations. After Burnt Sugar 2022 and Pause 2023, Come Closer is the third album by Vojko Huter, Paul Amereller, Tapiwa Svosve and Xaver Rüegg, which mixes a wide range of references without ever being bothered by the commitment to one genre only. Imagine the band as something like a catalyst, through which its members constantly process what they are influenced by. And these influences are in constant motion: derived from the old-fashioned and amicable interest of collaboratively making music, the band comes together in their weekly ritual, dedicated to this synthesis of interests. At one point, this unrestricted game was called jazz, but even a generous concept can become too narrow. Which is why the genre remains an important influence, but not the only point of reference. Rather, its qualities are the root system from which everything else grows.
Case in point for this expansion of possibilities is the first track on Come Closer, which, and here comes a genre attribution after all, moves the album into the vicinity of dream pop. “Another One” centers the voice, evoking old and new memories alike. Accompanied by an adequately slowed-down guitar riff and rhythm, the musical framework remains stable before collapsing in a nervous, shimmering manner. Ready to be assembled anew. On the following seven tracks, District Five takes on this task, referencing post-punk motifs as well as progressive, meandering song structures. Condensed and expansive at the same time, driven by a desire for collective play.
This trusting cooperation between District Five’s members is ultimately the constant of Come Closer. Although the four musicians seem determined to find a different way to organize themselves as a band on almost every song, this conversational approach holds the album together on an intuitive level. And in the end, the only question that remains is: is it the members that influence the band, or is it the other way around?
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WRWTFWW Records presents its third collaboration with Japanese electronic/ambient/synth-pop crew Interior, this time with the release of band member Daisuke Hinata’s forgotten solo treasure from 1989: Tarzanland. The feel-good/smooth ride LP is available as a limited-edition turquoise and light pink vinyl housed in a heavyweight 350gsm sleeve with obi strip.
Available on vinyl for the first time ever, Tarzanland is late 80s California sun-soaked kankyo ongaku, minimalistic proto-chillwave, the synth melody of a pleasant Sunday breeze as the ocean waves breathe in and breathe out. Steve Winwood and Steely Dan come to mind as the ambient sound design of an imaginary John Hughes movie unfolds as all pieces of the puzzle come together for a blissful journey of simple pleasures.
Daisuke Hinata is a Grammy-nominated artist, composer, producer, and member of Interior. This is WRWTFWW’s third release centered around the work of the band, following the reissue of their Haruomi Hosono-produced self-titled debut (1982) and the first release ever of Sculpture of Time (Apocalypse), their rarely heard before commissioned piece for German environmental artist NILS-UDO. All still available on We Release!
*Music You've Never Heard Anywhere Else Before*
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Last delivered 19 months ago available to reorder, subject to availability
John Gosling (aka Mekon) the English big beat/industrial musician and electronica producer, is set to launch his new label Hua Hua (pronounced wah wah) with an 11-track compilation album this July. A quick scan at some of the featured artists showcases a line up of legends - eighties rap sensation Schooly D sitting alongside Primal Scream mainstay Bobby Gillespie and John’s recently departed punk hero Alan Vega - even Roxy Music’s saxophonist and founder member Andy Mackay makes an appearance. And while John’s electronic alter ego Mekon is always on hand to remix and arrange, he’s far from the only producer behind the proverbial wheel.
“It’s stuff I had lying around and now I am finding ways to get it out of my system,” he says. “It’s all been brought to the world with brilliant new artwork by Isabelle de Jour, who also features on various tracks.”
Gosling is well known as a member of both Psychic TV and Coil (for the album Transparent). Gosling founded the groups Zos Kia with John Balance and Bass-o-Matic with William Orbit before recording as Mekon. He has also remixed under the name Sugar J. And that’s before we get to the fact that he has soundtracked some of the most forward-thinking fashion shows in the world - crafting the soundscapes for Alexander McQueen shows since the show Dante in 1996. Firstly working hand in hand with the late great Lee “Alexander” McQueen, then with his successor Sarah Burton. In the mid-to-late-nineties he was a core member of the group Agent Provocateur along with Matthew Ashman (originally of Bow Wow Wow), Dan Peppe, Danny Saber (of Black Grape) and Cleo Torez. He has also worked with artists such as Roxanne Shanté ('Yes Yes Y'All'), Marc Almond ('Delirious'), and Afrika Bambaataa. His third album “Something Came Up” featured artwork by Alexander McQueen.
John is as passionate about Suicide and Alan Vega and what he describes as “the new stuff”. Besides, he says, “that’s how people listen to music now. I think kids – my kids anyway – listen right across the board. People don’t see genres anymore. So it’s my definition of good music.” It’s safe to say that this is very much Volume 1. “Yes, it doesn’t cover everything and Volume 2 will be completely different.”
The Gentle Spring are a new group, formed by Michael Hiscock, Emilie Guillaumot and Jérémie Orsel. Michael has an illustrious pop history, having been a founder member of The Field Mice, possibly the most beloved band on Sarah Records in the 1990s. And with The Gentle Spring, it seems that history is repeating itself…
When Michael and his friend Bobby Wratten formed The Field Mice, the two of them very quickly created a set of songs whose emotional honesty, raw guitars and perfect pop melodies pierced the hearts of a generation of indiepop fans, kids who were unmoved by the posturing of mainstream indie, and who didn’t want to spend time in fields dancing at 24-hour raves. The Field Mice were the band who defined the meaning and the spirit of Sarah Records. Defiantly in love with pop, defiantly un-macho, defiantly…sensitive. And now, remarkably, Michael has done it again. With his new musical partner Emilie, The Gentle Spring have created a fresh new iteration of indiepop music. Once again, the songs are unafraid of raw emotions, brutally honest and is still in love with big pop melodies.
They are still….sensitive. But life is seen through a different lens now. There is wisdom, there is experience, and there is the ability to look back at the world with a mixture of regret and joy. These are very adult songs, and the arrangements reflect this. Rich acoustic guitars and Emilie’s haunting keyboard have replaced hectic drum machines and urgent distortion. And there is a third element to this music. Jérémie Orsel’s sophisticated guitar adds textures and melodies that give these songs a real depth, while maintaining an enigmatic distance, never quite overwhelming the vocal line. So things are clearer now.
But feelings are just as strong. The pain of unrequited love that made Field Mice songs so poignant hasn’t gone away. In some ways, the thought of roads not taken is more profound when experienced in retrospect. I Can’t Have You As A Friend entertains this notion, still moved by the allure of a different life, but shuddering with fear at what might have happened. Also still haunted by the past, The Girl Who Ran Away conjures up the ghost of a previous failed relationship, which threatens to undermine happiness in the present. In Severed Hearts, sung by Emilie, there is the stark recognition that some endings really are final: sometimes there can be no reconciliations. But the song cleverly moves on from this: it acknowledges that, even after the worst emotional loss, you have to pick yourself, you will move on. It’s sophisticated and it’s mature – but it will still break your heart. Sugartown is another song that plays this trick on you. It insists that there will always be lightness and shade. It warns you against complacency, but does it so kindly that you feel like you’ve been embraced. When Michael’s and Emilie’s vocals combine in the final chorus, telling us that we don’t live in Sugartown, you know they are right – and yet the sweetness of the singing makes you feel that – just for a moment – you do.the band perform as a trio and have already found a keen audience in France, where they are based. During a short tour of the UK in January, to coincide with this release, British audiences will get their first opportunities to see The Gentle Spring play these new songs live
This is the third release by Trevor Dunn (Mr Bungle, Fantomas, Trio Convulsant, various with John Zorn) and Kevin Rutmanis (Tomahawk, Melvins, Cows, Hepa/Titus) On this outing Trevor joins Lords and Lady Kevin (duo of Kevin Rutmanis and drummer/artist Gina Skwoz) for a full length LP "Last Days at Hot Slit"
Songs are loosely based on assorted gospel, blues and jazz songs, some original, some covers. Included is a re-working of Mingus "Devil Woman". The trio based the pieces on improvisations that were then arranged and used to build free standing songs. A multitude of instruments were exploited by all those involved, to create a sizzling blend of aural delicacies. The album title is from a collection by writer Andrea Dworkin, often sited as the Celine of feminism. Less outre perhaps than their previous recordings, these songs hover somewhere between soundtrack- like excursions, to jazz/ blues mutations to a demented "rock" sounding affair. Something for everybody, or perhaps, nobody! Uniting former and current members of Tomahawk, Last Days At Hot Slit marks a powerful reunion between Rutmanis and Dunn. The record took shape gradually, born from Rutmanis's raw, unconventional bass recordings. "I sent Trevor a phone recording of some hideous bass racket and asked if he wanted to add anything," Rutmanis shares. "What he sent back was something like delicious fresh cherries with ice and banana slices." The pair's combined creativity gave rise to a new, immersive soundscape, while their collaborative piece, Crackpot Whorehead, set the tone for the current formation of Lords and Lady Kevin."
Tours (France) -based post-psych and deep-shoegaze powerhouse Stuffed Foxes are set to release their third LP, Standardized, on December 6th, 2024, via Bristol’s Stolen Body Records and French labels Reverse Tapes and Figures Libres. Songs / Revolving and Songs / Motion Return, a discographic diptych released in 2022, established Stuffed Foxes as accomplished ambassadors of the French rock scene. True to its predecessors, Standardized was recorded live in the Rennes studio of producer and musician Thomas Poli (Laetitia Sheriff, Dominique A). Mastering was entrusted to Matt Colton (Spiritualized, Swans, Shame). Early on, the six members transformed their youthful camaraderie into an adventure, embracing communal living (sharing a leaky roof had to be an integral part of the ride) and diving into the underground with their label, Reverse Tapes, a source of endless exciting music. They also adopted a democratic approach to creation fueled by endless jams, with the sexted striving to compose together from the outset. It is from this collective spontaneity that the unique expression of their music is born: long, hypnotic tracks, swirling mists of noise, and moments of vocal urgency that should be experienced in person during their invariably cathartic and incendiary concerts. It is a band that strives to stay true to its ethos, its soul haunted but never enthralled by the ghosts of its musical ancestors and battered icons. Their influences create joyful chaos: the musical walls of noise of My Bloody Valentine, the No-Wave drones of Swans, the psychedelic vapours of Brian Jonestown Massacre and the Post-Shoegaze eclecticism of Six-By-Seven. Standardized opens with Biting the Dawn, a Noise elegy that builds with relentless intensity. Léo's recitative voice soars above a searing blend of saturated guitars and echo-drenched drums. Next, Merry Xmas unleashes sharp, incisive guitar riffs reminiscent of Gang of Four and Fugazi, only to surprise with a dramatic twist that builds to a breathtaking, soaring climax echoing the brilliance of Ride’s most epic moments. Rough Up emerges as a Velvet Underground-inspired ballad, built on two simple acoustic guitar chords and an organ, showcasing a more subdued and vulnerable side of the band. In contrast, Standardized plunges into a powerful trance, unleashing a massive, deliciously primal wall of saturation with raw, unfiltered intensity. With Standardized, Stuffed Foxes appear to have reached an aesthetic milestone, transcending the semantics of the genres that once defined them. They have ‘de-standardized’ their sound and embraced a sense of freedom, opening up to the possibilities of a wider creative spectrum. Stuffed Foxes - Pretend to Be a Dog (Gamelle) (Official Video)
War Head Constriction, a trio that defined an uncompromising afro psych-rock sound, began by playing shows that combined dark proto-metal influences from Black Sabbath and Deep Purple with afro-rhythmic elements. Their raw energy caught the attention of Afrodisia, a progressive record label, which signed them to release a single in 1973: "Graceful Bird" b/w "Shower of Stone." Unfortunately, the record was too experimental for mainstream audiences and quickly faded, leading to the band's breakup. Despite this, they played their biggest show opening for Fela & the Afrika 70 at the National Stadium in Lagos before disbanding. However, the members quickly moved on, continuing to form new groups.
Amenechi recalls jamming with Soga Benson, his cousin Skid, and Ben Bruce at St. Gregory’s, where they wrote and performed together. Benson, who had previously been in rival groups, became close with Amenechi once he joined Greg’s. Benson, a talented guitarist, joined Ofege for their second and third albums in 1975 and 1977. Despite this, his main group, Grotto, had yet to record. That changed when EMI Records, the leading afro-rock label, took interest in Grotto in 1977.
Odion Iruoje, A&R manager at EMI Nigeria, recalls his first encounter with Grotto, noting their cocky attitude and raw material. He sought to help them find an authentic sound, avoiding the typical influences of British rock or groups like Ofege. Iruoje was passionate about youth bands, seeing them as a fresh opportunity to experiment and create something unique. Despite skepticism from EMI Nigeria about the youth market, Iruoje felt confident that Grotto’s originality would shine through.
Album was made in two version (with two different covers). Classic black vinyl and limited (hand numbered 100 copies) with color vinyl. Both versions has 180g vinyl records.
Himalaya Collective is probably the biggest crew of beatmakers in Poland (more than 30 official members). Collaborations are the theme of this third album for U Know Me Records, resulting in a multi-genre album that showcases Himalaya Collective's strength in all its glory.
"After two years since "Latawce", we are back with our third vinyl album released by U Know Me Records. We have been working on a unique, fully collaborative project for over a year. Each track is a result of cooperation - without restrictions on the choice of artists and collaborators.
The idea was simple: each member of the collective was to enrich their track with the vision of another person. They could be producers, vocalists, instrumentalists - both from within the collective and from further corners of the world. This is how a network of artistic connections was created, which reflects the way in which Himalaya Collective has been growing since 2016 - as a team united by passion, inspiring each other and involving other exceptional people in cooperation.
Album was made in two version (with two different covers). Classic black vinyl and limited (hand numbered 100 copies) with color vinyl. Both versions has 180g vinyl records.
Himalaya Collective is probably the biggest crew of beatmakers in Poland (more than 30 official members). Collaborations are the theme of this third album for U Know Me Records, resulting in a multi-genre album that showcases Himalaya Collective's strength in all its glory.
"After two years since "Latawce", we are back with our third vinyl album released by U Know Me Records. We have been working on a unique, fully collaborative project for over a year. Each track is a result of cooperation - without restrictions on the choice of artists and collaborators.
The idea was simple: each member of the collective was to enrich their track with the vision of another person. They could be producers, vocalists, instrumentalists - both from within the collective and from further corners of the world. This is how a network of artistic connections was created, which reflects the way in which Himalaya Collective has been growing since 2016 - as a team united by passion, inspiring each other and involving other exceptional people in cooperation.
2024 has been a big year for the band with the release of their new album, Funeral Soundtrack #4 (available on Hopeless Records) and Epitaph Records are harking back to these two seminal vinyl releases from the band"s early days, just in time for Black Friday! "Sorry Mom" (2017) ( on vinyl for the first time!) and "Make Room" (2018)- both albums will be available on black vinyl. DESTROY BOYS formed in 2015, when founding members Violet Mayugba and Alexia Roditis were just 15 years old, and each release has marked a period of growth and change. "Looking back, our first three albums marked the deaths of things," says guitarist Violet Mayugba. "They were soundtracks to our funerals, whether they were for our ages, our mental states. We"ve gone through a lot of changes as a band and as people." "The first one (Sorry, Mom) was our high school album," Mayugba explains. "On the second record (Make Room), we went to college and were saying goodbye to our childhood. On the third one, we"d just gone through COVID and, speaking for myself, I lost my entire sense of self and gained a new one." Now, at 24, Mayugba and Roditis are standing firmly on solid ground with more resolute and confident than ever in their place as musicians.
Following a period of five years establishing himself and blossoming into an innovative and in in-demand creative force on the New York jazz scene, 26 year old Danish pianist/composer Rasmus Sorensen returns to his home country to present his third accomplished piano trio record in two years. Combining musicianship far beyond his years with a distinctive contemporary voice, At The Right Time is set to release on November 15th on April Records. The record follows his 2022 debut Traits " which showcased his capabilities as a modern jazz composer and instrumentalist and 2024" s Balancing Act "", which saw the rising star stretch out on American Songbook classics alongside New York bassist Alexander Claffy and celebrated drummer Kendrick Scott. Now, in 2024, At the Right Time cements Sorensen s position as a trailblazing voice on his instrument whilst providing subtle nods to modern jazz piano greats of the 21st Century: there"s some Fred Hersch counterpoint, Brad Mehldau Mehldau-esque improvisational elasticity, Vijay Iyer influenced rhythmic cycles, a touch of Robert Glasper"s acoustic hiphip-hop inflection, and hints of Craig Taborn s polytonality. Featuring 12 diverse original compositions, the focus of this trio is on togetherness, with which the three formidable players bring the music to life. Jon Henrikssons bass sound holds the trio in an enveloping warmth that seems destined to become well known to European audiences. At the drums, Francesco Ciniglio, most recently heard by those audiences as a member of Wynton Marsali"s quartet, brings out the color, energy and movement sewn into the writing. The trio juxtaposes the feelings of being tightly locked locked-in and suspended in free free-floating time, and spends most of its time in the best of both rhythmic worlds.
Power trio with Marriott playing all guitar / Setlist includes Small Faces and Humble Pie classics, covers, and more! Includes 6 tracks omitted from original 1984 LP / Restored original artwork / New liner notes by Ralph Chapman (The Guess Who, The Tubes, Mountain) / Digitally remastered by Andy Pearce (Humble Pie) / Steve Marriott was the frontman of legendary rock bands Small Faces and Humble Pie / Marriott was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2012 as a member of the Small Faces. "First of all, I'd like to thank you for coming here this evening. Secondly, I'd like to thank Radio Capital for allowing me to come here and be with you this evening. Thirdly, I'd like to thank my father for not noticing the hole in his packet of three." - Steve Marriott, July 6, 1984 - STEVE MARRIOTT - VOCALS & GUITAR, JIM LEVERTON - BASS & VOCALS, FALLON WILLIAMS - DRUMS - Originally released in 1984 in abridged form on the independent Aura Records label, Packet of Three kicked off the third chapter of Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee Steve Marriott's legendary career, after two decades fronting the Small Faces and Humble Pie. This live album captures a smokin' set at Dingwalls in London, with Marriott in spectacular voice and the power trio format spotlighting his underrated guitar playing across a set of Small Faces and Humble Pie classics, blues standards, and covers. Packet of Three is the only official live album from this era, produced and promoted by Marriott. This 2 LP reissue adds 6 bonus tracks that did not feature on the original 1984 single LP, presenting the complete concert on vinyl for the first time. Includes revealing liner notes by Ralph Chapman drawing upon newly conducted interviews with surviving Packet of Three bandmate Jim Leverton and Aura Records head Aaron Sixx.
The Norwegian indie-pop super-group with members from Making Marks, The Little Hands of Asphalt, Mildfire, Flight Mode and Elva return with a third album of original Christmas songs.
Get into that alternative, Nordic Christmas spirit! Christmas III at its heart is an alt-Christmas album: the songs are firmly rooted in December’s festivities, albeit not usually relying on the season’s traditional reference points. The songs hone in on the more ambivalent sides of Christmas - family, customs and the passing of time - with a keen eye towards the holidays’ most obvious function in countries close to the Artic circle: getting through the cold and dark times to celebrate the winter solstice and the turning of the sun. Drawing from Sufjan Stevens’ epic indie Christmas compendium and Phil Spector’s wall of sound classic A Christmas Gift From You, Christmas III is built on shimmering guitars, snow filled piano lines, gentle strings, springy vocals and dynamic drums - all steadily conducted by Sunturns’ own Sjur Lyseid (Flight Mode, The Little Hands of Asphalt) in the producer’s seat at his Globus studio in Oslo. With 3 songwriters (Ola Innset, Einar Stray & Sjur Lyseid) contributing to Christmas III, there’s an ever shifting sense of reflections. Parenthood and the struggles of the dark Norwegian winter is behind Ola’s track First Winter. “Sometimes I feel bad about bringing children into such a difficult world. Not so much with respect to daylight and the seasons, they’re just going to have to learn how to live with it, but with many other things – like war, poverty, climate change and even just death.” Back In Town might have been inspired by a discussion over whether Thin Lizzy’s “The Boys Are Back In Town” is a Christmas song or not, but it’s written about his youngest daughter Klara, to his elder daughter, about taking holidays with your family in a town you once lived. Einar pulls in Phoenix and Mew by the way of Jesus and Mary Chain on Crash Course Christmas, resulting in a seasick wave of a pop tune. “It’s a song about the guilt of not prioritizing your relationships. It’s been year of rainchecks and Christmas finally gives you some time to reflect. You’ve experienced so much and changed so much as a person that you almost forget your origins. Coming home for Christmas can then be a ritual of finding your way back to what you left behind." Drawing on the knitwear from the film Love, Actually, Turtle Neck, taps into the Backstreet Boys by way of Mac Demarco, with a sneaky reference to the legendary Norwegian Christmas hit En Stjerne Skinner I Natt. Album closer This Christmas / Next Christmas leans in on the hook for the Norwegian Christmas TV show Jul i Blåfjell, a multi-generational seasonal staple (essentially a daily children’s advent calendar kids show). “The song is about your parents ageing and needing your help – possibly really far away - while at the same time having your own children to take care of”. The cover artwork is a homage to Christmas dress codes for Norwegian men. Suits and shirts are a rarity in day to day life, but there are a handful of occasions that require some form of formal attempt at a suit: New Year’s Eve, National Day, weddings & funerals, and Christmas Eve: resulting in various degrees of sartorial elegance on the day (and on this instance, a hot summer’s day stifling the Christmas vibes, with ambiguous apparel instructions ahead of the photoshoot!).
Red Brut’s third album, "On Bare Ground", is a sonic tapestry woven from the final threads of her Rotterdam existence. Entirely composed of soundscapes captured during her last two years in the city, the album evolves into a poignant farewell as its creation mirrors the passage of time, culminating in a profound departure from her life there.
A Coherent States, Dead Mind Records and Econore co-release. 200 copies on white vinyl, comes with obi-strip.
“On Bare Ground” is a sculptural work blending its lo-fi with haunting melodies, field recordings, and ethereal soundscapes. Uncompromising in its approach, the album evokes the echoes of experimental music from a spectrum that ranges from dark bedroom pop to rhythmic noise, crafting a cloudy and dreamlike atmosphere. With meticulous attention, it unfolds as a strong hypnotic journey, where intricate sounds emerge from a hidden center, while, in a parallel narrative, they gradually expose On Bare Ground’s underlying deep melancholic core.
Red Brut is the artistic alias of Dutch artist Marijn Verbiesen, who recently moved to Groningen and has been a vital force in Rotterdam's art scene. Her work reveals a particular sensitivity to everyday sounds, the soundscapes of cassette music, musique concrète, and spontaneous sound collage, combining these elements into a unique and truly personal avant-garde expression. This expression is present in various forms, in a wave of releases that began with limited-edition underground cassette releases in the mid-2010s and culminated in her two full-length albums, "Red Brut" (2018) on the Belgian label (K-RAA-K)³ and "Cloaked Travels" (2020) on the Finnish labels Lal Lal Lal and Ikuisuus. She has appeared at many important European festivals such as Rewire, KRAAK festival, Inversia, Colour Out Of Space and in numerous smaller venues worldwide. In addition to her career as Red Brut, Marijn is a member of the free improv/weirdo electronic pop duo Goldblum and before in the experimental no wave/noise trio Sweat Tongue.
“On bare Ground works as like an homage to self discovery amid urban malaise” The Wire
DESTROY BOYS" catalog vinyl is back in stock!
2024 has been a big year for the band with the release of their new album, Funeral Soundtrack #4 (available on Hopeless Records) and Epitaph Records are harking back to these two seminal vinyl releases from the band"s early days, just in time for Black Friday!
"Sorry Mom" (2017) ( on vinyl for the first time!) and "Make Room" (2018)- both albums will be available on black vinyl. DESTROY BOYS formed in 2015, when founding members Violet Mayugba and Alexia Roditis were just 15 years old, and each release has marked a period of growth and change. "Looking back, our first three albums marked the deaths of things," says guitarist Violet Mayugba. "They were soundtracks to our funerals, whether they were for our ages, our mental states. We"ve gone through a lot of changes as a band and as people." "The first one (Sorry, Mom) was our high school album," Mayugba explains. "On the second record (Make Room), we went to college and were saying goodbye to our childhood. On the third one, we"d just gone through COVID and, speaking for myself, I lost my entire sense of self and gained a new one." Now, at 24, Mayugba and Roditis are standing firmly on solid ground with more resolute and confident than ever in their place as musicians.
Deluxe Edition = "Queen's Tassel Pink" Vinyl + bonus 7". Video Age make breezy and timeless songs that are so ineable, they can only be the result of a decades-long friendship and songwriting partnership. Across four albums, Ross Farbe and Ray Micarelli have gleefully worn their influences on their sleeve, writing inviting tunes that reference sounds ranging from disco to pop and indie rock. On their latest LP, Away From The Castle, the New Orleans duo have strayed from nostalgia and instead have honed their own unique musicality, making songs that sound like themselves with a taste of inspiration from classic singer-songwriters of the 60s and 70s. The album is a testament to the possibilities that come from getting out of your comfort zone, the freedom of writing vulnerably and unselfconsciously, and the joys of getting to work with your closest companions. After releasing and eventually touring their critically-acclaimed third album Pleasure Line in 2020, Farbe and Micarelli sought inspiration for their next project through collaboration. They worked with Drugdealer on his album Hiding In Plain Sight, Micarelli gigged throughout New Orleans' jazz and blues scenes, and Farbe recorded local artists at his home studio, most recently producing Esther Rose's new album Safe to Run. Feeling refreshed, they rented a cabin in Eunice, Louisiana with touring members Nick Corson and Duncan Troast, where they spent eight days in August 2022 jamming, cooking and writing together. Through this process, Video Age have made their best collection of tracks to date by perfectly alchemizing their influences and experiences into a record still tinged with nostalgia, but moving towards a more succinct and authentic voice. Away From The Castle is a document of a band having fun and rediscovering their love for making music together, but it's also their most honest and personal work yet-Video Age distilled to its purest form.
The brainchild of drummer/producer Chiminyo, NRG is more than just an album, label or event. It’s a concept. Born out of a conversation about the UK Jazz scene (is it really jazz?) Chiminyo concluded that this musical expression is less about ‘jazz’ and more about energy (NRG).
So with this in mind, he set about to explore, celebrate and harness this NRG in its purest form. No labels, no promoters, no industry, no control. Just Chiminyo and members of his musical community exchanging (strictly improvised) NRG with audiences and capturing the spontaneous beauty to be shared with the world.
This third edition, NRG 3, features an all-star line-up. Modular synth wizard and Ariwo band leader Pouya Ehsaei, electro synth-pop artist and incredible keyboard/synth player Maria Chiara Argiró, and Hak Baker's trumpet player Sam Warner. And you can really feel the vibrant NRG of the capital pulsating throughout. Raucous dance-floor stompers such as 'Enter the Dragon' and 'Fred not Again' are beautifully contrasted with the dreamy, cinematic 'Avalon'. And the addition of instrumental and vocal guests on the night really adds a special touch. 'Stories Untold' opens with flautist Lluis Domènech Plana's lyrical exploration on bamboo flute before developing into an up-tempo house inspired dance tune, whilst Nadeem Din Gabisi's 'Fire' presents a unique perspective on a trap groove that you simply couldn't imagine outside of the context of NRG 3, and towards the end of the track the audio cuts to camera audio due to an issue with the desk recording, a magical moment that puts you in right there in the room and reminds you that this was a live gig!
It is incredible to think this record is improvised, because each tune comes across as a carefully sculpted master-piece, a clear testament to the incredible musicians on the line-up.
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Computer Future is the sprawling and ambitious third album by amorphous Brisbane, Australia garage rock outfit Velociraptor! The 14-song opus is the best recorded capture yet of everything that makes the ‘Raptors so beloved, a stream of addictively catchy rockers characterised by stupidly infectious melodies, an overabundance of earworm hooks, guitars aplenty plus of course their trademark gang vocals and harmonies. The shadowy cabal behind Velociraptor have returned from a spell away from the spotlight with renewed vigour and focus, more committed to and appreciative of their combined talents and chemistry than their younger selves, who were perhaps more about concerned about chasing good times rather than long ones. These days there are more cooks in the ‘Raptors kitchen than before but that’s only allowed them to expand the palette of the Computer Future menu without compromising on quality. Their distinctively melodic take on the garage rock form is still entirely evident, only it’s now augmented by quirkily compelling sonic detours into psych and new wave realms, the band all the while sounding wholly like themselves and nobody but themselves (apart from perhaps the Devo-indebted title tracks). In their halcyon days Velociraptor were a force to be reckoned with, an amorphous collective sometimes up to 12 members strong - many of them wielding guitars of some description - who partied hard and played even harder, attacking their live shows with unbridled glee and genuine gusto. They toured Europe/UK, and staged with bands the calibre of Black Lips, New York Dolls, OFF!, Radio Birdman and Violent Soho. The unparalleled camaraderie of their renowned live blitzes - plus sheer size of the band - at times threatened to overshadow the genuine strength of their songwriting and recorded output, but now with Computer Future those concerns are firmly in the past!
No one has lived a life quite like Marcos Valle. He became an overnight international sensation, fled a military dictatorship, dodged the Vietnam war draft, had his music sung by Homer Simpson, made enemies with Marlon Brando, and became an unsuspecting fitness guru for multiple generations. But to truly understand the great Brazilian composer, arranger, singer and multi instrumentalist, one must listen to his music.
Lead Single (Life Is What It Is) : Between the release of his first album in 1962 and today, Marcos Valle has released twenty-two studio albums traversing definitive bossa nova, classic samba, iconic disco pop, psychedelic rock, nineties dance and orchestral music. He has also had his songs recorded by some of the all time greats, including Frank Sinatra, Sarah Vaughn, Sergio Mendes, Elis Regina, and (last but not least), Emma Button of the Spice Girls. He has also had his music sampled by Jay-Z, Kanye West, Pusha T and many more.
With his twenty-third studio album Túnel Acustico, Valle set out to bring it all together.
“I believe my music is many things. It goes in different directions. I have many different ways of writing music, sometimes it’s melodies and harmony, sometimes the groove is the focus. But all the music I have made over my sixty year career is unified. It is all natural and it is all sincere. And this is what I wanted to bring to my new album.”
A prominent feature of Valle’s career has been his dual residence between Brazil and the USA. Originally moving over in the mid-sixties on the back of bossa nova’s international proliferation, Valle toured with Sergio Mendes and became hugely in demand as a composer and arranger. But the Vietnam War loomed and the threat of being drafted saw him return to Brazil. He spent the following years in Rio writing music for TV and film, as well as four cult favourite albums in collaboration with some of Brazil’s most groundbreaking musicians including Milton Nascimento, Azymuth, Som Imaginario and O Terco.
By 1975, Brazil's military dictatorship was at its most oppressive, making living and working increasingly difficult. Valle moved back to the US where he would reside in LA, writing songs for, and collaborating with the likes of Eumir Deodato, Airto Moreira, Chicago, Sarah Vaughn and Leon Ware, amongst others.
Túnel Acústico features two songs originally conceived during Valle’s time on the West Coast: “Feels So Good”, a stirring two-step soul triumph written in 1979 with soul icon Leon Ware, and the sublime AOR disco track “Life Is What It Is”, composed around the same time, with percussionist Laudir De Oliveira from the group Chicago.
Built around an unfinished demo Marcos found on a shelf in his house 44 years after it was made, the “Feels So Good” demo was restored with the help of producer Daniel Maunick, who also utilised AI stem-separation to remove the placeholder vocal ad-libs. Valle added Portuguese lyrics to sit alongside Ware’s vocal hook, as well as extra keyboards and percussion.
Also written in late seventies LA, “Life Is What Is It” was co-penned by Laudir De Oliveira from the band Chicago and first released on the bands’ Chicago 13 album with lyrics by Robert Lamb. Another nod to his good times in LA, Valle recorded his own version for Túnel Acústico, upping the tempo and deepening the groove for a blast of irresistible summer soul.
On Túnel Acústico, Valle's core band features two members of the renowned Brazilian jazz-funk group Azymuth: Alex Malheiros on bass and Renato Massa on drums. The rhythm section is completed by percussionist Ian Moreira, with additional contributions from guitarist Paulinho Guitarra and trumpeter Jesse Sadoc.
The contemporarily composed music on Túnel Acústico features an impressive lineup of guest lyricists, including renowned Brazilian artists: Joyce Moreno (Bora Meu Vem), Céu (Nao Sei), and Moreno Veloso (Palavras Tão Gentis) as well as Valle's brother Paulo Sergio Valle (Tem Que Ser Feliz).
The album closes with "Thank You Burt (For Bacharach)", a tribute to the legendary composer who passed away in 2023.
Túnel Acústico will be released on 20th September 2024 via Far Out Recordings. Valle is set to tour Europe and America in support of the album.
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"Since 2017, Thirdface has intrigued their audiences and peers alike with their raw, intense technicality. The Nashville quartet consisting of drummer Shibby Poole, guitarist David Reichley, bassist Maddy Madeira, and vocalist Kathryn Edwards bring an atypically musical approach to hardcore with release after invigorating release. Thirdface takes the most harrowing elements of punk, grindcore, and death metal and fuses them into a ferocious sound that is quite considerably their own. From their inception, Thirdface has developed consistently, culminating in their new release Ministerial Cafeteria, due through stalwart unconventional rock label Exploding in Sound Records.
Thirdface is decidedly remarkable in their dedication to Nashville DIY. Edwards runs the beloved all ages venue Drkmttr; Poole is a go-to recording engineer for local bands; and all four members have played in various other projects over the years. Within the constellation of Nashville’s DIY scene, Poole, Reichley, and Madeira were already well acquainted with each other’s playing styles through a previous band. Starting as a side project in 2017, the three shifted gears and began leaning toward a more intense sound requiring a vocal presence unburdened by an instrument. Since then, the release of 2021’s self-recorded Do It With A Smile led Thirdface to regional tours with the likes of Touché Amoré and City of Caterpillar.
On Ministerial Cafeteria, Thirdface loosens the reins only a little more than on Do It With A Smile, but the small change makes a profound difference. Thirdface’s onslaught of blasts and D-beats are no less present than ever, but now ‘grooves’ are allowed a little more life, stretching for an extra measure or for a full repetition before they’re snatched away. Simply, Ministerial Cafeteria gives more space for the dancers, but their faces will still be on the ground as they try to process what they’re hearing."
A third Punctuality enters the chat; its latest member Maara proclaiming Drama On for Spray’s ever-evolving label. The Montreal maverick cues up a psy-eyed sesh for the ages, 5 wily thumpers shaded sapphic for those enthralled by the mischievous dance.
Since 2021, Maara has operated on an ‘all pills, no frills’ basis. Her prolific run of EPs for the likes of Kalahari Oyster Cult, Step Ball Chain and Radiant Records has cemented her rightful place within the club pantheon of the prog and divine. Spray and his Punctuality cohort reside there also, teasing clubland salvation for those who dare. Maara giddily joins for the ride, offering a gift in the name of Drama On; an EP of direct dancefloor transmissions that map out kinetic paths to sordid euphoria.
The curtains rise as What U Do 2 Me skips, gallops and jumps across theatrical plains, breaking for a titular reflection before reuniting with its ravey chaos. Drama On swings sharper, riding a sleazy donk through a dimly lit groove of pulsating vulgarity. An outright sassier affair celebrates Sigmund Freud’s Big Day Out; an unconscious slip of the hard house tongue that feeds an otherwise techno-driven delirium with wry glee. Give Me Ecstasy eases the tempo while raising the temperature, commanding your gaze with a noxious roller that seductively writhes in sexed-up delight. The house lights beckon, and Not My Web, Not My Problem she retorts with an unforgiving groove thrusting its charged-up rump through a cauldron of salacious murmurs and groans.
It’s Maara’s world, and we’re all just dancing in it.
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"Amid the great British bands that have inspired the theme of this year’s National Album Day, Stereophonics continue to prove themselves to be one of the greatest. Originally formed in Cwmaman, South Wales, in 1992, the group, now consisting of Kelly Jones (vocals, guitar), Adam Zindani (guitar) Richard Jones (bass), Jamie Morrison (drums) and touring member Tony Kirkham (keyboards), made their mark with the Words Gets Around (UK No.6) and Performance and Cocktails (UK No.1) albums, and continued their chart-topping run with their third release, 2001’s Just Enough Education to Perform. Remaining at the top of the UK charts for two weeks, the album sold 140,000 copies on its way to becoming the fourth biggest-selling album in the UK in 2001. Re-entering the charts several times over the next three years, it would be certified six-times platinum and crowned the 39th best-selling album of the decade. With more than 400,000 copies sold to date and streaming figures sailing past the 340 million mark, Just Enough Education to Perform makes a welcome return to vinyl for this year’s National Album Day, in an exclusive, limited-edition green pressing. Beloved by fans, the album featured three Top 10 singles, ‘Mr. Writer’ and ‘Have a Nice Day’ making for a timeless work that fuels Stereophonics’ continued appeal. Still releasing music today, the group have continued their chart-topping streak, with their latest album, 2022’s Oochya!, becoming their eighth UK No.1 album."
NEW 2024 ALBUM, LP, 180G, HiGH QUALITY VINYL HAND MADE IN DENMARK IN AN ARTISANAL PROCESS (in a an Audiophile Quality approach where EVERY 75th COPY IS QUALITY CHECKED IN FULL).
For their 45th Band Anniversary the Iconic duo is still grooving and back with FOREVERGREEN
With Laid Back's 12 favourite songs of all time in a brand new recorded Laid Back cover version,
incl. "All You Need is Love", "House of The Rising Sun", "My Generation", "Gloria". "Whiter Shade Of Pale"
and so many more.
HQ Vinyl LP Handmade in Denmark in Artisanal Process
Formed in the 1979, the duo is still grooving at their studio in Vesterbro, Copenhagen.
Laid Back gained their first international major break through in the 80's with Sunshine Reggae and White Horse. The dualism and originality of the two songs has left a worldwide and everlasting reputation of their music. The 3rd evergreen from their hand was made in 1990 named Bakerman altogether with a music video by Lars Von Trier.
More recently, the two members have co-founded their own record company, Brother Music, which has released Laid Back Albums "Cosyland", the chill out album "Cosmic Vibes" and the recent two Studio Albums "Uptimistic Music" and "Road to Fame".
For their 45th Band Anniversary the Iconic duo is back with FOREVERGREEN! A stunning, simply Irresistable album meeting again the Band and (more than) 45 Year of music history. With Laid Back's favourite songs of all time in a Laid Back cover version!!
On October 18th, Twisted Pine releases its joyous third LP, Love Your Mind. Dubbed “a band to watch” by NPR, the band’s first album in four years is the long-awaited follow-up to Right Now, which No Depression praised for its "sheer pop glory, funky all-day grooves, and spacecraft sonics.” The title represents the quartet landing after several years of touring, serious introspection, glorious bursts of creativity, and many after-hour festival jam sessions that had them pickin’ ‘til dawn. What started as a (semi-)traditional bluegrass band in the trenches of the storied Massachusetts Americana scene a decade ago has bloomed into an ensemble gleefully ready to race down any artistic detour. This is the sound of Twisted Pine now —experimental production, fearless songwriting featuring input from each member, finely-crafted collaborative arrangements, playing that is sometimes virtuosic, always visceral. The sound of a band that demands you Love Your Mind.
‘What makes Sex Swing so powerful is that they transcend the limitations of rock music. Their sound is so full of possibilities, violence, sexuality, sacrifice, even religion. If there was a future to look forward to for heavy guitar music, this is it’ The Quietus The locals call it Sop Ruak – eighty thousand square miles of mountains and mystery and unholy medicine. “It really is an endless seam of activity,” Sex Swing frontman Dan Chandler explains of Golden Triangle – both the title of their new album and the region between Myanmar, Thailand and Laos that inspired it. To know this contradictory corner of the world is to understand fully why the cult-beloved noise-rock artisans turned to it when writing their hotly-anticipated third full-length. The real-life Golden Triangle is a groundswell of both natural wonder and drug production, and who combines beauty and narcotic brutality better than Sex Swing? For a decade now, this
collective of revered UK underground musicians, comprising members of Earth, Mugstar, The Keep and Jaaw, have been pulling audiences into drug- like slipstreams with their alchemy of pummelling rhythms, towering guitars, and unrelenting saxophone through which glimmers of light occasionally pierce through. No wonder their Golden Triangle is an album telling distortion-shrouded tales from one of the most storied, enigmatic places on the planet, with enough invention within to fill eighty thousand miles and more.
Where does this violent, hypnotic aural travelogue take you within the Sop Ruak? The seven tracks that make up The Golden Triangle see the band – completed by bassist Jason Stoll, drummer Stuart Bell, guitarist Jodie Cox, synthesist/guitarist Oli Knowles and saxophonist Colin Webster – adventure first to ‘The Confluence of the Ruak and Mekong Rivers,’ full of shimmering orchestration and feather-light ambience. Then come stops in ‘Myawaddy’, named after a small town embroiled in bloodshed on the border of Myanmar
and Thailand, and ‘Boten, Route 13’ – sparked by stories of a seemingly endless stretch of road from Laos into China. Before long, listeners are plunged into ‘Hpakant’, one of the album’s most invigorating and singular moments, lyrically inspired by a jade mine in Myanmar, where the spoils of forced labour are exchanged for prostitution and methanphetamine. The result is a mesmerising slow-burn of sax, snaking rhythms and sinister spoken word courtesy of the Scottish-born Bruce McClure, who “took the theme and turned it into a sci-fi story of exploitation and vice,” explains the frontman. It’s a track that, like the rest of Golden Triangle, underlines the evolution Sex Swing have undertaken since forming in 2014. From the raw and primitive sounds of the self-titled debut full-length, followed up by the coruscatingType II in 2020. Sex Swing’s third effort retains those early primitive elements and adds layers of structure and complexity. Golden Triangle initial formation was that of programmed beats and bedroom recordings shared electronically in the height of the pandemic. Those ideas were then completed during intensive writing sessions at a secluded farm in Oxfordshire.
Album credits consist of recording by Stanley Gravett at Holy Mountain Studios in Hackney, mixing by Wayne Adams at Bear Bites Horse, mastering from James Plotkin, and the continued aesthetic collaboration with artist Alex Bunn. Golden Triangle bristles with a rawness familiar to fans of the British sonic punishers, but adds new elements indicative of a group never resting on their laurels or sitting in one place. Why would they, after all? There’s an entire world of mountains and mystery and unholy medicine out there to be explored. The Golden Triangle, it seems, is just the beginning.
‘What makes Sex Swing so powerful is that they transcend the limitations of rock music. Their sound is so full of possibilities, violence, sexuality, sacrifice, even religion. If there was a future to look forward to for heavy guitar music, this is it’ The Quietus The locals call it Sop Ruak – eighty thousand square miles of mountains and mystery and unholy medicine. “It really is an endless seam of activity,” Sex Swing frontman Dan Chandler explains of Golden Triangle – both the title of their new album and the region between Myanmar, Thailand and Laos that inspired it. To know this contradictory corner of the world is to understand fully why the cult-beloved noise-rock artisans turned to it when writing their hotly-anticipated third full-length. The real-life Golden Triangle is a groundswell of both natural wonder and drug production, and who combines beauty and narcotic brutality better than Sex Swing? For a decade now, this
collective of revered UK underground musicians, comprising members of Earth, Mugstar, The Keep and Jaaw, have been pulling audiences into drug- like slipstreams with their alchemy of pummelling rhythms, towering guitars, and unrelenting saxophone through which glimmers of light occasionally pierce through. No wonder their Golden Triangle is an album telling distortion-shrouded tales from one of the most storied, enigmatic places on the planet, with enough invention within to fill eighty thousand miles and more.
Where does this violent, hypnotic aural travelogue take you within the Sop Ruak? The seven tracks that make up The Golden Triangle see the band – completed by bassist Jason Stoll, drummer Stuart Bell, guitarist Jodie Cox, synthesist/guitarist Oli Knowles and saxophonist Colin Webster – adventure first to ‘The Confluence of the Ruak and Mekong Rivers,’ full of shimmering orchestration and feather-light ambience. Then come stops in ‘Myawaddy’, named after a small town embroiled in bloodshed on the border of Myanmar
and Thailand, and ‘Boten, Route 13’ – sparked by stories of a seemingly endless stretch of road from Laos into China. Before long, listeners are plunged into ‘Hpakant’, one of the album’s most invigorating and singular moments, lyrically inspired by a jade mine in Myanmar, where the spoils of forced labour are exchanged for prostitution and methanphetamine. The result is a mesmerising slow-burn of sax, snaking rhythms and sinister spoken word courtesy of the Scottish-born Bruce McClure, who “took the theme and turned it into a sci-fi story of exploitation and vice,” explains the frontman. It’s a track that, like the rest of Golden Triangle, underlines the evolution Sex Swing have undertaken since forming in 2014. From the raw and primitive sounds of the self-titled debut full-length, followed up by the coruscatingType II in 2020. Sex Swing’s third effort retains those early primitive elements and adds layers of structure and complexity. Golden Triangle initial formation was that of programmed beats and bedroom recordings shared electronically in the height of the pandemic. Those ideas were then completed during intensive writing sessions at a secluded farm in Oxfordshire.
Album credits consist of recording by Stanley Gravett at Holy Mountain Studios in Hackney, mixing by Wayne Adams at Bear Bites Horse, mastering from James Plotkin, and the continued aesthetic collaboration with artist Alex Bunn. Golden Triangle bristles with a rawness familiar to fans of the British sonic punishers, but adds new elements indicative of a group never resting on their laurels or sitting in one place. Why would they, after all? There’s an entire world of mountains and mystery and unholy medicine out there to be explored. The Golden Triangle, it seems, is just the beginning.
Amputechture Beneath the technical flash, the fury, the fearless creative brinkmanship of the first two Mars Volta albums lay a potent seam of the blues, an existential vexation that powered every twist and turn of Omar and Cedric’s imaginations. That mournful vibe would come to the surface of the group’s third full-length Amputechture, a simmering/blistering set that was unquestionably the group’s darkest yet. There was no overarching theme here, no interlinking concept binding the songs together, though Cedric concedes that, lyrically, the album was influenced “by a lot of stuff I was going through, a really bad break-up and a lot of other crazy stuff, and trying to put that feeling into the record.” But Amputechture – its name another of the late Jeremy Michael Ward’s invented words – was no downbeat bummer. Opener Vicarious Atonement might’ve been a deliciously gloomy, slow-burning thing, capturing Cedric in delirious duet with Omar’s swooning guitar lines, accompanied by squalling saxophone by Adrian Terrazas-Gonzales and dream-frequency fuckery by the group’s new sonic manipulator, former At The Drive- In member Paul Hinojos. But second track Tetragrammaton swiftly set pulses racing, an epic-in-miniature and containing more ideas within its 16 minutes than most bands manage over an entire career, its proggy, complex guitar figures tessellating in infinite configurations and converging as if conforming to mathematical formulae from another reality. The raw material Amputechture was hewn from started life on the road. Omar now travelled with his own mobile recording studio – a little Neve ten-channel tape recorder and an array of microphones – and was able to work on new ideas on tourbuses, in hotel rooms and during soundcheck (and, occasionally, after the show was done). After touring for Frances The Mute was complete, Omar relocated to Amsterdam, staying with his photographer friend Danielle Van Ark and her partner, Nils Post. It’s here that he demoed Amputechture, flying in engineer Jon DeBaun, drummer Jon Theodore and his brother, Chino, to work on these raw sketches. He later returned to Los Angeles, where the album was finally recorded. Omar ceded guitar duties to his dear friend and kindred spirit John Frusciante, instead assuming the role of musical director. “I wanted to hear the sound of the band,” he says. “I thought, I’ll be able to sit at the console, feel the air of the speakers moving, the unified sound of everything, and not feel distant from it. It was fun, but it was also challenging.” Part of Omar’s new method was to teach the musicians their parts only moments before the tapes rolled. “To keep things fresh, and to keep everyone on edge,” he says, before chuckling. “No, not on edge – on their toes. Amputechture would prove The Mars Volta’s most diverse set yet, drawing into the group’s tornado of influences moments of fiery jazz spirituality and esoteric folk introspection, finding space for passages of devastating subtlety and also their most fierce and full-on moments to date. The aforementioned Vicarious Atonement found its meditative mood echoed by Asilos Magdalena, an intimate, acoustic piece that invoked traditional Latin folk music, as Cedric sang in Spanish a sorrowful tale of a lost soul’s quest for sanctuary within a Magdalen Asylum, a refuge set up by the Catholic church for “fallen women”. The shadowy, sinister closer El Ciervo Vulnerado, meanwhile, tapped into the darker side of spiritual jazz to further explore the album’s themes of redemption and religious myth and magick. Elsewhere, the interplay between guitar and clarinet on Viscera Eyes created complex, unsettling counter-melodies, while the coiling, ornate Meccamputechture – Cedric’s wild fusion of sacred texts, occultism and dystopian science fiction – proved a great showcase for Ikey Owens’ swarming, infernal organ runs, in concert with Frusciante’s arcane guitar-play. But it was Day Of The Baphomets that would prove Amputechture’s most ambitious and most defining epic. Cedric’s lyrics tore into the hypocrisy of religious cant and myths of sin and punishment. “I wanted to make a song that was like the movie The Believers, where this cabal stole kids and did some occult shit with them,” he explains. “But I wanted it to be like, ‘What if the people you hire to do jobs you don’t wanna do rise up one day and then pull some shit like that?’ Like it was the guerrilla warfare, them taking over – wouldn’t that be some fucked up shit? And the music just lent itself to that – the big intro, the bass solo, and all of the ruckus that occurs.” That ruckus was some of the most thrilling Mars Volta music yet, as Omar directed his musicians to rumble through fiery modes of wild tribal groove, ransack-the-palaces riot- rock and supreme progressive experimentalism. Amputechture, then, is the sound of The Mars Volta in imperial mode: fearless, insatiable, unstoppable.
No one has lived a life quite like Marcos Valle. He became an overnight international sensation, fled a military dictatorship, dodged the Vietnam war draft, had his music sung by Homer Simpson, made enemies with Marlon Brando, and became an unsuspecting fitness guru for multiple generations. But to truly understand the great Brazilian composer, arranger, singer and multi instrumentalist, one must listen to his music.
Lead Single (Life Is What It Is) : Between the release of his first album in 1962 and today, Marcos Valle has released twenty-two studio albums traversing definitive bossa nova, classic samba, iconic disco pop, psychedelic rock, nineties dance and orchestral music. He has also had his songs recorded by some of the all time greats, including Frank Sinatra, Sarah Vaughn, Sergio Mendes, Elis Regina, and (last but not least), Emma Button of the Spice Girls. He has also had his music sampled by Jay-Z, Kanye West, Pusha T and many more.
With his twenty-third studio album Túnel Acustico, Valle set out to bring it all together.
“I believe my music is many things. It goes in different directions. I have many different ways of writing music, sometimes it’s melodies and harmony, sometimes the groove is the focus. But all the music I have made over my sixty year career is unified. It is all natural and it is all sincere. And this is what I wanted to bring to my new album.”
A prominent feature of Valle’s career has been his dual residence between Brazil and the USA. Originally moving over in the mid-sixties on the back of bossa nova’s international proliferation, Valle toured with Sergio Mendes and became hugely in demand as a composer and arranger. But the Vietnam War loomed and the threat of being drafted saw him return to Brazil. He spent the following years in Rio writing music for TV and film, as well as four cult favourite albums in collaboration with some of Brazil’s most groundbreaking musicians including Milton Nascimento, Azymuth, Som Imaginario and O Terco.
By 1975, Brazil's military dictatorship was at its most oppressive, making living and working increasingly difficult. Valle moved back to the US where he would reside in LA, writing songs for, and collaborating with the likes of Eumir Deodato, Airto Moreira, Chicago, Sarah Vaughn and Leon Ware, amongst others.
Túnel Acústico features two songs originally conceived during Valle’s time on the West Coast: “Feels So Good”, a stirring two-step soul triumph written in 1979 with soul icon Leon Ware, and the sublime AOR disco track “Life Is What It Is”, composed around the same time, with percussionist Laudir De Oliveira from the group Chicago.
Built around an unfinished demo Marcos found on a shelf in his house 44 years after it was made, the “Feels So Good” demo was restored with the help of producer Daniel Maunick, who also utilised AI stem-separation to remove the placeholder vocal ad-libs. Valle added Portuguese lyrics to sit alongside Ware’s vocal hook, as well as extra keyboards and percussion.
Also written in late seventies LA, “Life Is What Is It” was co-penned by Laudir De Oliveira from the band Chicago and first released on the bands’ Chicago 13 album with lyrics by Robert Lamb. Another nod to his good times in LA, Valle recorded his own version for Túnel Acústico, upping the tempo and deepening the groove for a blast of irresistible summer soul.
On Túnel Acústico, Valle's core band features two members of the renowned Brazilian jazz-funk group Azymuth: Alex Malheiros on bass and Renato Massa on drums. The rhythm section is completed by percussionist Ian Moreira, with additional contributions from guitarist Paulinho Guitarra and trumpeter Jesse Sadoc.
The contemporarily composed music on Túnel Acústico features an impressive lineup of guest lyricists, including renowned Brazilian artists: Joyce Moreno (Bora Meu Vem), Céu (Nao Sei), and Moreno Veloso (Palavras Tão Gentis) as well as Valle's brother Paulo Sergio Valle (Tem Que Ser Feliz).
The album closes with "Thank You Burt (For Bacharach)", a tribute to the legendary composer who passed away in 2023.
Túnel Acústico will be released on 20th September 2024 via Far Out Recordings. Valle is set to tour Europe and America in support of the album.
Sunset Rubdown are set to release their fourth studio album_the first in fifteen years!_Always Happy To Explode.Twenty years ago Spencer Krug began using the name Sunset Rubdown for his solo bedroom recordings, experiments too low-fi and odd for what was then a blossoming Wolf Parade, but by 2005 Sunset Rubdown had evolved into a full band, with Michael Doerksen, Jordan Robson-Cramer, and Camilla Wynne joining Krug on stage and in the studio. The band recorded their third critically-acclaimed album, Dragon Slayer, in Chicago in 2008, then went on to play their last show in Tokyo in 2009, with the implicit knowledge it was their last. They broke up quietly, their certitude that they'd never reunite growing as the years rolled on. Then one night more than a dozen years after their final show Krug had a dream (he really did) that the band reunited, and the first thing he did upon awakening was email the band to see if the dream might be made real. The answer was a resounding yes, and soon enough Sunset Rubdown was onstage again. The first show in fourteen years was in Montreal, where they had formed so long ago. The tour was a success, most crucially in terms of having fun, the main condition of their continued pursuits. This fun was thanks in no small part to their blithesome new member, bassist Nicholas Merz. And thus they decided to make a new album together. The record is composed of nine songs cherry-picked from demos that Krug has been posting to his Patreon page over recent years, with the songs in many cases being pared down from their previous incarnations, yet no less lush. Being a band is no easy feat, perhaps especially as members age and spread across the continent, but it certainly is a privilege. With Always Happy to Explode, Sunset Rubdown have made something that captures their gratitude and the energy of their joyous (and sometimes difficult) reunion.
No one has lived a life quite like Marcos Valle. He became an overnight international sensation, fled a military dictatorship, dodged the Vietnam war draft, had his music sung by Homer Simpson, made enemies with Marlon Brando, and became an unsuspecting fitness guru for multiple generations. But to truly understand the great Brazilian composer, arranger, singer and multi instrumentalist, one must listen to his music.
Lead Single (Life Is What It Is) : Between the release of his first album in 1962 and today, Marcos Valle has released twenty-two studio albums traversing definitive bossa nova, classic samba, iconic disco pop, psychedelic rock, nineties dance and orchestral music. He has also had his songs recorded by some of the all time greats, including Frank Sinatra, Sarah Vaughn, Sergio Mendes, Elis Regina, and (last but not least), Emma Button of the Spice Girls. He has also had his music sampled by Jay-Z, Kanye West, Pusha T and many more.
With his twenty-third studio album Túnel Acustico, Valle set out to bring it all together.
“I believe my music is many things. It goes in different directions. I have many different ways of writing music, sometimes it’s melodies and harmony, sometimes the groove is the focus. But all the music I have made over my sixty year career is unified. It is all natural and it is all sincere. And this is what I wanted to bring to my new album.”
A prominent feature of Valle’s career has been his dual residence between Brazil and the USA. Originally moving over in the mid-sixties on the back of bossa nova’s international proliferation, Valle toured with Sergio Mendes and became hugely in demand as a composer and arranger. But the Vietnam War loomed and the threat of being drafted saw him return to Brazil. He spent the following years in Rio writing music for TV and film, as well as four cult favourite albums in collaboration with some of Brazil’s most groundbreaking musicians including Milton Nascimento, Azymuth, Som Imaginario and O Terco.
By 1975, Brazil's military dictatorship was at its most oppressive, making living and working increasingly difficult. Valle moved back to the US where he would reside in LA, writing songs for, and collaborating with the likes of Eumir Deodato, Airto Moreira, Chicago, Sarah Vaughn and Leon Ware, amongst others.
Túnel Acústico features two songs originally conceived during Valle’s time on the West Coast: “Feels So Good”, a stirring two-step soul triumph written in 1979 with soul icon Leon Ware, and the sublime AOR disco track “Life Is What It Is”, composed around the same time, with percussionist Laudir De Oliveira from the group Chicago.
Built around an unfinished demo Marcos found on a shelf in his house 44 years after it was made, the “Feels So Good” demo was restored with the help of producer Daniel Maunick, who also utilised AI stem-separation to remove the placeholder vocal ad-libs. Valle added Portuguese lyrics to sit alongside Ware’s vocal hook, as well as extra keyboards and percussion.
Also written in late seventies LA, “Life Is What Is It” was co-penned by Laudir De Oliveira from the band Chicago and first released on the bands’ Chicago 13 album with lyrics by Robert Lamb. Another nod to his good times in LA, Valle recorded his own version for Túnel Acústico, upping the tempo and deepening the groove for a blast of irresistible summer soul.
On Túnel Acústico, Valle's core band features two members of the renowned Brazilian jazz-funk group Azymuth: Alex Malheiros on bass and Renato Massa on drums. The rhythm section is completed by percussionist Ian Moreira, with additional contributions from guitarist Paulinho Guitarra and trumpeter Jesse Sadoc.
The contemporarily composed music on Túnel Acústico features an impressive lineup of guest lyricists, including renowned Brazilian artists: Joyce Moreno (Bora Meu Vem), Céu (Nao Sei), and Moreno Veloso (Palavras Tão Gentis) as well as Valle's brother Paulo Sergio Valle (Tem Que Ser Feliz).
The album closes with "Thank You Burt (For Bacharach)", a tribute to the legendary composer who passed away in 2023.
Túnel Acústico will be released on 20th September 2024 via Far Out Recordings. Valle is set to tour Europe and America in support of the album.
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Francesco Farias, DJ, musician and producer, began his artistic life with the group Jestofunk in 1991 together with Alessandro Staderini (aka Blade). Their first single, which also inaugurated their label Rec In Pause, was produced by Claudio Moz-art Rispoli who became the third full member of the group. They had several international successes with songs like I’m Gonna Love you, Say It Again and especially with Can We Live and Special Love, the latter two respectively sung by CeCe Rogers and Jocelyn Brown. Their first album entitled Love In A Black Dimension is still a best seller in the Funky House and Acid Jazz genre.
For the last years Jestofunk have not released new material and Francesco Farias has started to publish songs again on the label Rec In Pause. This first single printed on vinyl sees him in collaboration with Alen Sforzina in their personal Nu Funk version of Inner City Blues by Marvin Gaye where the echo of the Jestofunk project can be clearly heard. On the back an original piece by Farias contaminated as always by the Funky sound.
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Last delivered 20 months ago available to reorder, subject to availability
Satan’s history is storied, their albums and incendiary live shows, iconic. The Newcastle, England-bred lineup may quip that their career has been “44 years of prolonged mayhem with a 20-year lunch break”—forming in 1980, eventually pausing before reuniting in 2011—but circa 2024 finds the band thriving, writing, recording, and touring at the top of their game. Proof positive is their seventh studio album, and third for Metal Blade, Songs in Crimson. If 2022’s Earth Infernal album was brutal, up-tempo and with loud guitars, guitarist Russ Tippins calls Songs in Crimson “concise. It’s more to the point and gets there quicker. One of the reasons behind the title Songs in Crimson is that this record is very ‘song’ focused. There’s more punch this time around. Each chorus speaks for itself.” An eminently relatable song is “Era (The Day Will Come).” “There is nobody on this planet who is not familiar with the feeling of loss. When you get to the age we are at in this band, it becomes a weekly occurrence. If there is a message in the lyrics, it is pretty much ‘do not take anything for granted.’ Especially people. You just don’t know what is around the corner that you can’t see coming.” Satan’s chemistry, honed by years of collaboration, brotherhood and love, is unbreakable. “We played at a metal festival where the headlining band had zero original members,” Tippins says. “I cannot get my head around that, though I admire their bravery. We are the genuine article.” To be clear: “We did not reunite just to trade on past glory,” he concludes. “If you want nostalgia, this is not the band for you. We look only ahead and always will.”
Satan’s history is storied, their albums and incendiary live shows, iconic. The Newcastle, England-bred lineup may quip that their career has been “44 years of prolonged mayhem with a 20-year lunch break”—forming in 1980, eventually pausing before reuniting in 2011—but circa 2024 finds the band thriving, writing, recording, and touring at the top of their game. Proof positive is their seventh studio album, and third for Metal Blade, Songs in Crimson. If 2022’s Earth Infernal album was brutal, up-tempo and with loud guitars, guitarist Russ Tippins calls Songs in Crimson “concise. It’s more to the point and gets there quicker. One of the reasons behind the title Songs in Crimson is that this record is very ‘song’ focused. There’s more punch this time around. Each chorus speaks for itself.” An eminently relatable song is “Era (The Day Will Come).” “There is nobody on this planet who is not familiar with the feeling of loss. When you get to the age we are at in this band, it becomes a weekly occurrence. If there is a message in the lyrics, it is pretty much ‘do not take anything for granted.’ Especially people. You just don’t know what is around the corner that you can’t see coming.” Satan’s chemistry, honed by years of collaboration, brotherhood and love, is unbreakable. “We played at a metal festival where the headlining band had zero original members,” Tippins says. “I cannot get my head around that, though I admire their bravery. We are the genuine article.” To be clear: “We did not reunite just to trade on past glory,” he concludes. “If you want nostalgia, this is not the band for you. We look only ahead and always will.”
