'Wenn du mich nicht begehrst, verlasse ich dich,' singt uns die Demokratie mit der Stimme des Wiener Liedermachers Thomas Andreas Beck entgegen wie eine gekränkte Geliebte. Die Klänge sind dunkel, der Beat treibt. Das 6. Album 'Ernst' ist textlich eine Mischung aus brandaktuellen politischen Ereignissen, verdrängter Geschichte und starken Emotionen. Musikalisch fühlt man sich wie im Underground Club aus Wim Wender`s Film 'Engel über Berlin', nur dieses Mal steht nicht Nick Cave auf der Bühne.
2022 Repress
During the 80's dancehall era a number of record producers claimed to be the real authentic sound of downtown Kingston but Ossie Thomas' Black Solidarity label, operating out of Delamare Avenue in the heart of the ghetto, was the real deal ....
This was the start of the 70's when the political rivalry got heated between JLP and the PNP, - also the shots start fire ....
I said to myself if you're going die, you're going die ... from that me not scared of Kingston' Ossie Thompson.
This album provides an insightful glimpse into life in these unforgiving Kingston neighbourhoods describing not only the poverty and desperation, but also how at times, styles, fashions and the cathartic joys of music, and the dancehall could transform this harsh environment into one of joyous celebration ...
Debut album from Cardiff indie-pop collective Live, Do Nothing (ex-members of Rosehip Teahouse/Deadlines). Hiraeth & Loathing explores feeling disconnected from your childhood self. The record questions if there is value in re-discovering this inner child, or if we’re better off eschewing the trappings of nostalgia and living for our current reality instead. Since their debut Ep, 2018’s “Oh Dear”, a collection of scrappy indie-punk songs from the original four-piece line-up, the band has doubled in size (and is still growing!). Countless numbers of new instruments have been added to the mix, including: vibraphone, toy piano, violin, flute and saxophone. Recorded by Thomas V. Westgård at Sail Loft Studios, mixed by Bob Cooper at Chairworks Studios and mastered by Leon West at After Life Studios. Track listing: The Hardest Band In Cardiff Presents...; The Real Animals Of...; Mouse Death; All Wax No Honey; Novelty is the Best Policy; A Legendary Run; Hopelash; Delusions Of Ganja; Oso Jugoso; Too Late In The Day; Chromatic Delight
Der Horror-Meister JOHN CARPENTER ist zurück und hat wieder seine Mitarbeiter DANIEL DAVIES und CODY CARPENTER für den fesselnden neuen Soundtrack zu der 2022er Verfilmung von Stephen Kings Romanklassiker "Firestarter" an Bord. Der Score ist der erste offizielle Soundtrack, den das Trio außerhalb der "Halloween"-Reihe gemeinsam komponiert hat, und ihre Inspiration und Entwicklung als kreatives Team ist deutlich zu hören. Der Film ist eine Neuauflage des Thrillers, in dem es um ein Mädchen mit außergewöhnlichen pyrokinetischen Kräften und ihren Kampf geht, ihre Familie und sich selbst vor finsteren Mächten zu schützen, die sie gefangen nehmen und kontrollieren wollen. Der Film kommt am 13. Mai 2022 in die Kinos. In den Hauptrollen spielen Zac Efron, Sydney Lemmon und Ryan Kiera, Regie führt Keith Thomas (The Vigil). Der "Firestarter"-Soundtrack bedient sich einiger der besten Elemente aus CARPENTERs berühmtem musikalischen Repertoire und betritt dabei aufregendes Neuland. Die Tracks reichen von pumpenden Sci-Fi-Hymnen bis hin zu langsamen, von Hall durchtränkten Piano-Balladen und nutzen jeweils eine Vielzahl von Klanganwendungen. Schleichende Beats, flirrende Synthesizer, krachende Gitarren und ein ständig lauerndes Echo kommen zusammen, um ein Album zu schaffen, das sowohl atmosphärisch als auch zutiefst melodisch, kohärent und vielseitig ist. Diese drei Musiker arbeiten alle auf dem Höhepunkt ihrer individuellen und kollaborativen Kreativität und dieser Soundtrack festigt sie als Meister ihres Fachs.
Der Horror-Meister JOHN CARPENTER ist zurück und hat wieder seine Mitarbeiter DANIEL DAVIES und CODY CARPENTER für den fesselnden neuen Soundtrack zu der 2022er Verfilmung von Stephen Kings Romanklassiker "Firestarter" an Bord. Der Score ist der erste offizielle Soundtrack, den das Trio außerhalb der "Halloween"-Reihe gemeinsam komponiert hat, und ihre Inspiration und Entwicklung als kreatives Team ist deutlich zu hören. Der Film ist eine Neuauflage des Thrillers, in dem es um ein Mädchen mit außergewöhnlichen pyrokinetischen Kräften und ihren Kampf geht, ihre Familie und sich selbst vor finsteren Mächten zu schützen, die sie gefangen nehmen und kontrollieren wollen. Der Film kommt am 13. Mai 2022 in die Kinos. In den Hauptrollen spielen Zac Efron, Sydney Lemmon und Ryan Kiera, Regie führt Keith Thomas (The Vigil). Der "Firestarter"-Soundtrack bedient sich einiger der besten Elemente aus CARPENTERs berühmtem musikalischen Repertoire und betritt dabei aufregendes Neuland. Die Tracks reichen von pumpenden Sci-Fi-Hymnen bis hin zu langsamen, von Hall durchtränkten Piano-Balladen und nutzen jeweils eine Vielzahl von Klanganwendungen. Schleichende Beats, flirrende Synthesizer, krachende Gitarren und ein ständig lauerndes Echo kommen zusammen, um ein Album zu schaffen, das sowohl atmosphärisch als auch zutiefst melodisch, kohärent und vielseitig ist. Diese drei Musiker arbeiten alle auf dem Höhepunkt ihrer individuellen und kollaborativen Kreativität und dieser Soundtrack festigt sie als Meister ihres Fachs.
Der Horror-Meister JOHN CARPENTER ist zurück und hat wieder seine Mitarbeiter DANIEL DAVIES und CODY CARPENTER für den fesselnden neuen Soundtrack zu der 2022er Verfilmung von Stephen Kings Romanklassiker "Firestarter" an Bord. Der Score ist der erste offizielle Soundtrack, den das Trio außerhalb der "Halloween"-Reihe gemeinsam komponiert hat, und ihre Inspiration und Entwicklung als kreatives Team ist deutlich zu hören. Der Film ist eine Neuauflage des Thrillers, in dem es um ein Mädchen mit außergewöhnlichen pyrokinetischen Kräften und ihren Kampf geht, ihre Familie und sich selbst vor finsteren Mächten zu schützen, die sie gefangen nehmen und kontrollieren wollen. Der Film kommt am 13. Mai 2022 in die Kinos. In den Hauptrollen spielen Zac Efron, Sydney Lemmon und Ryan Kiera, Regie führt Keith Thomas (The Vigil). Der "Firestarter"-Soundtrack bedient sich einiger der besten Elemente aus CARPENTERs berühmtem musikalischen Repertoire und betritt dabei aufregendes Neuland. Die Tracks reichen von pumpenden Sci-Fi-Hymnen bis hin zu langsamen, von Hall durchtränkten Piano-Balladen und nutzen jeweils eine Vielzahl von Klanganwendungen. Schleichende Beats, flirrende Synthesizer, krachende Gitarren und ein ständig lauerndes Echo kommen zusammen, um ein Album zu schaffen, das sowohl atmosphärisch als auch zutiefst melodisch, kohärent und vielseitig ist. Diese drei Musiker arbeiten alle auf dem Höhepunkt ihrer individuellen und kollaborativen Kreativität und dieser Soundtrack festigt sie als Meister ihres Fachs.
Der Horror-Meister JOHN CARPENTER ist zurück und hat wieder seine Mitarbeiter DANIEL DAVIES und CODY CARPENTER für den fesselnden neuen Soundtrack zu der 2022er Verfilmung von Stephen Kings Romanklassiker "Firestarter" an Bord. Der Score ist der erste offizielle Soundtrack, den das Trio außerhalb der "Halloween"-Reihe gemeinsam komponiert hat, und ihre Inspiration und Entwicklung als kreatives Team ist deutlich zu hören. Der Film ist eine Neuauflage des Thrillers, in dem es um ein Mädchen mit außergewöhnlichen pyrokinetischen Kräften und ihren Kampf geht, ihre Familie und sich selbst vor finsteren Mächten zu schützen, die sie gefangen nehmen und kontrollieren wollen. Der Film kommt am 13. Mai 2022 in die Kinos. In den Hauptrollen spielen Zac Efron, Sydney Lemmon und Ryan Kiera, Regie führt Keith Thomas (The Vigil). Der "Firestarter"-Soundtrack bedient sich einiger der besten Elemente aus CARPENTERs berühmtem musikalischen Repertoire und betritt dabei aufregendes Neuland. Die Tracks reichen von pumpenden Sci-Fi-Hymnen bis hin zu langsamen, von Hall durchtränkten Piano-Balladen und nutzen jeweils eine Vielzahl von Klanganwendungen. Schleichende Beats, flirrende Synthesizer, krachende Gitarren und ein ständig lauerndes Echo kommen zusammen, um ein Album zu schaffen, das sowohl atmosphärisch als auch zutiefst melodisch, kohärent und vielseitig ist. Diese drei Musiker arbeiten alle auf dem Höhepunkt ihrer individuellen und kollaborativen Kreativität und dieser Soundtrack festigt sie als Meister ihres Fachs.
Saxophone player Jakob "Dino" Dinesen and bass player Anders "AC" Christensen have been household names on the Danish jazz scene since the nineties, where they played together in the now legendary Once Around the Park. Here they are joining up with drummer Laust Sonne. Sonne is one of the most versatile musicians in Denmark and he has been the drummer in the popular Danish rock band, D-A-D, for over 20 years. He has also played drums in the avant jazz rock outfit, Bugpowder, and has made a career for himself with his own rock band, Dear. He has also recorded two solo albums and in 2007 he received the prestigious Danish music award, Ken Gudman Prisen. Anders "AC" Christensen has been a member of Paul Motian's ensemble and has played in Polish jazz legend Tomasz Sta?ko's band. In Denmark, he has played with the Hess brothers in Spacelab, for over 25 years. In 2009 he made his only solo album so far, 'Dear Someone', featuring Aaron Parks and Paul Motian. "AC" is highly in demand among Danish jazz musicians and he has even played in a lot of rock bands, like Sort Sol and The Raveonettes. Jakob Dinesen has made a long string of albums in his own name and has received several prizes. He has played with loads of internationally acclaimed jazz musicians, such as Paul Motian, Kurt Rosenwinkel, Eddie Gomez, Ben Street, Tony Allen, Nasheet Waits and Steve Swallow. He has also been a member of the acclaimed Danish jazz groups Hugo Rasmussen Allstarz and Beautiful Day and has played with Danish musicians as distinct as Thomas Blachman, Thomas Helmig and Lars H.U.G.. The three musicians have known each other for many years. In their younger days, they often ended up together, playing late night jams and gigs at parties. The corona outbreak in the first half of 2020 finally brought the three musicians together again, as most of their other plans were cancelled because of the virus. As a blessing in disguise, they began to play together again, in the rehearsal room. They found, and created, a space for their thoughts and ideas. A space for listening and playing.
Black Vinyl[28,15 €]
For Fans Of: The Flying Stars Of Brooklyn NY, Durand Jones & The Indications, Como Mamas, Eli Paperboy Reed, Naomi Shelton & The Gospel Queens. Things are looking up for The Harlem Gospel Travelers, who return here with a new album, a new lineup, and a new lease on life. Produced by Eli Paperboy Reed, Look Up! marks the group’s first full-length release as a trio, as well as their first collection of totally original material, and it couldn’t have come at a more vital moment. The music still draws deeply on the gospel quartet tradition of the ’50s and ’60s, of course, but there’s a distinctly modern edge to the record, an unmistakable reflection of the tumultuous past few years of pandemic anxiety, political chaos, and social unrest. The songs are bold and resilient, facing down doubt and despair with faith and perseverance, and the performances are explosive and ecstatic, fueled by dazzling vocal arrangements punctuated with gritty bursts of guitar and crunchy rhythm breaks. Born out of an non-profit music education program led by Reed, The Harlem Gospel Travelers singers Thomas Gatling, George Marage, and Dennis Bailey released their debut LP, He’s On Time, to rave reviews in 2019, with Pop Matters hailing the album’s “musical transcendence” and AllMusic praising it as “dreamlike and joyous.” The record charted on Billboard, earned the Travelers high profile fans like Elton John (who invited them to appear on his Rocket Hour radio show on Apple Music), and landed them festival slots everywhere from Pilgrimage to Telluride Jazz. Tracks: 1. Look Up! 2. Hold On (Joy Is Coming) 3. God's in Control 4. Help Me To Understand 5. Nothing but His Love 6. Fight On! 7. Hold Your Head Up 8. That's the Reason 9. Let Me Tell You 10. God Will Take Care of You 11. I'm Grateful
Powder Blue Vinyl[28,15 €]
For Fans Of: The Flying Stars Of Brooklyn NY, Durand Jones & The Indications, Como Mamas, Eli Paperboy Reed, Naomi Shelton & The Gospel Queens. Things are looking up for The Harlem Gospel Travelers, who return here with a new album, a new lineup, and a new lease on life. Produced by Eli Paperboy Reed, Look Up! marks the group’s first full-length release as a trio, as well as their first collection of totally original material, and it couldn’t have come at a more vital moment. The music still draws deeply on the gospel quartet tradition of the ’50s and ’60s, of course, but there’s a distinctly modern edge to the record, an unmistakable reflection of the tumultuous past few years of pandemic anxiety, political chaos, and social unrest. The songs are bold and resilient, facing down doubt and despair with faith and perseverance, and the performances are explosive and ecstatic, fueled by dazzling vocal arrangements punctuated with gritty bursts of guitar and crunchy rhythm breaks. Born out of an non-profit music education program led by Reed, The Harlem Gospel Travelers singers Thomas Gatling, George Marage, and Dennis Bailey released their debut LP, He’s On Time, to rave reviews in 2019, with Pop Matters hailing the album’s “musical transcendence” and AllMusic praising it as “dreamlike and joyous.” The record charted on Billboard, earned the Travelers high profile fans like Elton John (who invited them to appear on his Rocket Hour radio show on Apple Music), and landed them festival slots everywhere from Pilgrimage to Telluride Jazz. Tracks: 1. Look Up! 2. Hold On (Joy Is Coming) 3. God's in Control 4. Help Me To Understand 5. Nothing but His Love 6. Fight On! 7. Hold Your Head Up 8. That's the Reason 9. Let Me Tell You 10. God Will Take Care of You 11. I'm Grateful
Things are looking up for The Harlem Gospel Travelers, who return here with a new album, a new lineup, and a new lease on life. Produced by Eli Paperboy Reed, Look Up! marks the group's first full-length release as a trio, as well as their first collection of totally original material, and it couldn't have come at a more vital moment. The music still draws deeply on the gospel quartet tradition of the '50s and '60s, of course, but there's a distinctly modern edge to the record, an unmistakable reflection of the tumultuous past few years of pandemic anxiety, political chaos, and social unrest. The songs are bold and resilient, facing down doubt and despair with faith and perseverance, and the performances are explosive and ecstatic, fueled by dazzling vocal arrangements punctuated with gritty bursts of guitar and crunchy rhythm breaks. Born out of an non-profit music education program led by Reed, The Harlem Gospel Travelers_singers Thomas Gatling, George Marage, and Dennis Bailey_released their debut LP, He's On Time, to rave reviews in 2019, with Pop Matters hailing the album's "musical transcendence" and AllMusic praising it as "dreamlike and joyous." The record charted on Billboard, earned the Travelers high profile fans like Elton John (who invited them to appear on his Rocket Hour radio show on Apple Music), and landed them festival slots everywhere from Pilgrimage to Telluride Jazz.
Since his debut with the "Darling Darling Darling"track, immediately spotted by the media as well as by electronic music lovers, Louis Warynski has continued to evolve a world that belongs to him alone, over the last ten years and eight albums.Like Lewis Caroll's universe, Chapelier Fou's music is multiple, simple and complex, serious and light, classic and modern. Louis Warynski's work is woven on a classical basis, but it is constantly disrupted by subtle electronic arrangements and rhythms, thus taking the tracks outside of all convention.We find in Chapelier Fou the facetiousness of French composers such as Erik Satie, François de Roubaix or Robert Cohen Solal, not hesitating to blend pop and concrete music, but also this formidable capacity to make serious what is not serious, and vice versa of course. His music, very much at home on screen as well as on stage, has everything that makes up the trait of genius composers: accessible in appearance and adaptable in all forms. This is how Chapelier Fou has performed on stage as a soloist, juggling between violin, guitar, keyboards and pedals, in trio, quartet and even in orchestral formation with the Orchestre National of Metz. Often described as "electronic chamber music", it was expected that one day Chapelier Fou would offer us a version of his music without a single electronic or electrified part. It is now done with this Ensemb7e who performed on the stage of L'Arsenal de Metz, broadcasted by Arte Concert. Chapelier Fou Ensemb7e has received direct support from a wide audience, but also from venues programmers where the septet has been performing since June 2021. Ensemb7e stands for a mainly wooden septet: violin, viola, cello, piano, clarinet and drums accompany the multi-instrumentalist composer. It's hard to resist such musical enthusiasm! The magic happens immediately because the re-reading of these little jewels in pop format gives a touching and fulfilling dimension to Chapelier Fou's work: even more dreamy versions, sometimes more mischievous, but the richness of the classical instruments and the obvious pleasure of the musicians in interpreting them give a new life to all these titles that have filled us with wonder. It therefore seemed obvious to us after listening to his Ensemb7e concerts that there was more than a concert to be recorded, but a real album to offer. A studio album, but with the energy and vitality of a live one, produced with the care and generosity of Thomas Poli (who has collaborated with Dominique A, Yann Tiersen and many others).
EALZ! Records & brand new label A.D.S team up to pay tribute to the mysterious bluesman and producer : Cleo Page.
Born in Louisiana, this L.A.-based musician worked with the great Johnny Otis, hang out on Central Avenue’s clubs and possibly jammed with top West Coast bluesmen like Jessie Allen, Pete “guitar” Lewis, Jimmy Nolen, Lafayette Thomas.
Curley Page for some, Sly Williams for others, difficult to follow his career and in definitive, little is known about him despite his “big deal” recently approved by blues specialists : Cleo Page IS the man who wrote and recorded the original Boot Hill, a blues classic covered many times up until now.
Cleo Page who lived in California since 14 years-old has been crossing Blues, Rhythm & Blues and proto-Rock'n'Roll in a personal way. He will run his own labels in the heart of Watts just after the 1965 riots. Those tragic events deeply influenced his laid-back groovy sounds, powerful guitar playing, organ-driven garage Blues with strong political and social messages. Somewhere between the first electric recordings of Howlin' Wolf and… Black Diamond Heavies!
You're about to discover 12 rare tracks probably recorded between late ‘60s and early ‘70s. This brand new release includes the ultra-rare track "Black Man part. 1 & 2".
Material reissued here for the first time in an arty/artisanal trifold Vinyl LP and a bonus Vinyl 7inch
ltd edition box set, 4xlp + poster & dl card. rewriting the history of music, pere ubu continue to confound convention and shift personnel. the next box set in fire records’ reissue series, ‘nuke the whales’ houses 4 lps originally released between 2006 and 2014 – ‘why i luv women’, ‘carnival of souls’, ‘lady of shanghai’ and ‘long live pere ubu!’. ‘nuke the whales,’ is a nod of respect to a couple in cleveland who would daub such messages over the big news stations’ advertising boards. “very few bands display such dedication to constant self-reinvention as pere ubu” the quietus // all four albums have been remixed and remastered by original pere ubu member david thomas. ‘why i luv women’, originally released on glitterhouse in 2006, gains its first vinyl release. "spews 11 tunes of arcane lyrics and dense music” shrieked the cleveland gazaette. it’s joined by ‘long live pere ubu’ a soundtrack to a musical adaptation of the play. “skronking, squalling rhythms and melodic snippets undulating round a pulsating soundscape." record collector // and ‘lady from shanghai’, their fire debut for fire in 2013. originally released on the 35th anniversary of the group's debut, ‘the modern dance’, a latter day re-evaluation of the unprompted dance genre. and its follow up ‘carnival of souls’, a haunting “underscore’ to a tale of alienation, it “combines metallic percussion, spare guitars and david thomas' muttered vocals into something rustic and rickety, yet threatening at a moment's notice.”
At the beginning of the eighties reggae music became increasingly in tune with what was happening in Kingston’s dance halls… probably more so than at any time since the sound system operators had started to make their own shuffle and boogie recordings in the late fifties. The international audience and the critics were too busy looking for a new Bob Marley to appreciate what was happening downtown and failed to acknowledge that this was a return to the real, raw roots of the music. Brash, confident, young record producers who were totally in tune with the youth audience stepped forward and seized the moment…
Oswald ‘Ossie’ Thomas began his apprenticeship in the music business at the age of fourteen and served his time as a record salesman for Bunny ‘Striker’ Lee and Winston ‘Niney The Observer’ Holness before moving on to Miss Sonia Pottinger’s Tip Top Records.
“I ended up working in three record stores on Orange Street from 1976 to 1981… Yeah man! Me deh ‘pon me bicycle till I buy my motorcycle! Them days records were coming out left, right and centre… every day!” Ossie Thomas
It was during his time with Miss Pottinger that Ossie began to produce records for himself and in 1979 Ossie and Phillip Morgan began the Black Solidarity label based deep in the Kingston ghetto on Delamere Avenue. Phillip initially inspired Ossie to start the label and soon Triston Palma, Phillip Frazer and “a youth named Gary Robertson” joined in although Gary later left for Canada.
The Soul Syndicate rehearsed in the Delamere Avenue area and Tony Chin gave Ossie a cut of a rhythm that he used for Triston Palma’s ‘A Class Girl’… the label’s inaugural release. The record was a sizeable success and paved the way for hit after hit after hit on Black Solidarity. Ossie worked with just about everybody who was anybody during this critical period of the music’s development including vocalists Robert Ffrench, Little John, Sugar Minott, Frankie Paul and most notably Triston Palma.
“But Delamere must be considered as a music street sheltering as it does such artists as Junior Byles, Don Angelo, Triston Palma, Phillip Frazer and producer Ossie of the Black Solidarity label…” Beth Lesser
And the man who had made his name in the business selling other people’s records now became one of the most important and influential record producers of the era.
With grateful thanks to: Paul Coote, Nick Hodgson & Hasse Huss
Described as a ’60s garage rock band performing as a mini-orchestra stuck within a Tarantino film, Los Angeles-based Spindrift is a cinematically inspired rock band that has also been described as “Heavy Western” or “psychedelic spaghetti-western rocknroll.” Led by songwriter-producer-composer Kirpatrick Thomas on guitar and lead vocals, along with Portland-based guitarist Becca Davidson, bass / baritone guitarist, producer, and vocalist Riley Bray, and aerospace engineer Joe Zabielski on drums and electronics, Spindrift creates a cinematic scope that has been heard on their compilation albums like Classic Soundtracks Vol 1, 2, and The West (released by Xemu Records), HBO’s Eastbound & Down (Seasons 1 & 2), the Quentin Tarantino-produced biker exploitation film Hell Ride, the film Diablo (featuring Scott Eastwood), and “The Ballad of Darrell Lemaire” from Season 1 Episode 9 of Hamilton’s Pharmacopeia (Viceland). Classic Soundracks Vol. 3 is their tenth studio soundtrack compilation album, co-produced by Riley Bray and Jello Biafra. Released by Jello’s own Alternative Tentacles Records, it completes a trilogy of themes from various feature films, documentaries, and TV mini-series. This final installment reveals a new level of maturity from the band, opening doors to new genres including espionage-esque Bond themes, upbeat guitar duets, “Italian Polizia” car chase electronica, hard rock from the Middle East, psychedelic disco, and progressive “kung fu” rock." "Los Angeles-based cinematically inspired rock band’s third in a trilogy of themes from various features. Songs have been heard on HBO’s Eastbound & Down, the Tarantino-produced Hell Ride, Diablo and Hamilton’s Pharmacopeia on Viceland.
Originally released in 2005 on Cooper's Hipshot Cd-r label, and reissued here for the first time on vinyl, Spirit Songs deserves to be regarded as a true rediscovered gem, remixed and remastered by Mike Copper himself!
Spirit Songs comes as a highly organic form of Ambient-Folk-Blues with Cooper reordering material to create an immersive listening experience. A stream of cut-up lyrics inspired by Thomas Pynchon's writing slide across multiple electronic layers and masterfully fingerpicked acoustic guitars combining into a moving tide. This is deeply inspired music from a unique artist: Mike Cooper the so called "icon of post-everything music” a true sound explorer constantly pushing the boundaries of genres and styles, Folk, Blues, Free Improv, Exotica, Ambient, Electronica...
"Spirit Songs.. a glorious marriage of all three of Cooper's previous musical strategies; creating a stunning hybrid. The album contains 10 songs performed on finger-picked acoustic and electric lap steel guitar,
often looped and treated in real time, with Cooper singing lyrics in a quietly meandering, semi-improvisatory manner that recalls a more polished Jandek. The style of songwriting is immediately recognizable as blues, but an intuitive, idiosyncratic form of folk-blues, with Cooper narrating laments over matters personal and global, gentle universalisms that double as political messages. All of this occurs over a loose rhythmic framework provided by various noisy loops, with cracks, scratches and pops, echoes and distortions skipping out from every refrain. It's a gentle cacophony with subtle undercurrents of beauty and sadness, effortlessly nostalgic but still very rooted in the now. I think that Mike Cooper can genuinely call this style his own; I've never heard anything remotely like it, and it works beautifully, highlighting both song and singer, as well as the happy accidents resulting from the intersection of structure and chaos."- Pitchfork Review.
On the fringe of the indie Rust Belt scene since the 1990s,
Moviola has quietly forged a low-key career of high-quality
recorded output over twenty-five years, issuing ten (!) records
and countless 7-inch singles (including splits with Cobra Verde,
Hiss Golden Messenger, Handsome Family and many others).
In this artistic continuum, the band has evolved from everything
from 4-track fuzz to hi-fi country soul. Today, the band steps
forward with Broken Rainbows, its strongest collection of songs
to date, written, recorded, and mixed inside the group’s HQ in
Columbus.
Jake Housh started Moviola in 1993 as a student at “The”
Ohio State University as a noisy, fuzzed out lo-fi noisemakers.
Over the years, the band has morphed into a unique DIY
music and art-making collective with five distinct singers and
songwriters, recalling the creatively democratic lineage of The
Mekons, The Band, Pink Floyd, many others. Moviola is Jake
Housh, Ted Hattemer (Thomas Jefferson Slave Apartments),
Scotty Tabachnick, Greg Bonnell, and Jerry Dannemiller.
Broken Rainbows is a milestone release, showcasing a band
newly energized and assured in its artistry, and supportive of its
members’ songcraft. The eleven-song album hovers over a plot
of ground that’s optimistic in its despair. Album topics range
from the personal to the political, showcasing each member’s
unique songwriting within an overall cohesive band aesthetic.
“Moviola was one of those groups I met early on back in the day
that showed me how to do it. Broken Rainbows is a highlight—
pastoral thumpers, fuzzy indie radness, hooks to spare, pretty
much all the good stuff. Feels like a glorious drive from one
disparate end of Ohio to another. I love this band.”
—Eric Johnson (Fruit Bats)
Bella Union announce the release of Piroshka’s stunning second album,
‘Love Drips And Gathers’. The album builds on the acclaim of the band’s
2018 debut LP ‘Brickbat’ and the reputations of former members of Lush,
Moose, Elastica and Modern English.
Piroshka emerged in 2018, four individuals with distinct musical identities but
also overlapping histories - a combination that might have unsettled, or even
overwhelmed, some bands. But in their case, the bond only got stronger.
After ‘Brickbat’ explored social and political divisions by way of what MOJO
described as “Forceful, driving garage songs and dream-pop epics,” ‘Love
Drips And Gathers’ follows a more introspective line - the ties that bind us, as
lovers, parents, children, friends - to a suitably subtler, more ethereal sound,
whilst still revelling in energy and drama.
“If ‘Brickbat’ was our Britpop album, then ‘Love Drips And Gathers’ is
shoegaze!” reckons vocalist/guitarist Miki Berenyi, formerly of Lush, a band
that effortlessly bridged the two genres like no other. “It wasn’t intentional; we
just wanted a different focus. I’ve always seen debut albums as capturing a
band’s first moments, when you really have momentum, and then the second
album is the chance for a more thoughtful approach.”
Bassist Mick Conroy (Modern English) agrees. “‘Brickbat’ was a classic first
album; noisy and raucous. On ‘Love Drips And Gathers’, we’ve calmed down
and explored sounds, and space.”
The way ‘Love Drips And Gathers’ changes shape and dynamic is less a
reprise of Nineties Brit indie than a transformation into a more shivery, Euromantic version with glistening electronic filigrees. The opening ‘Hastings’ sets
the tone. Luminous drops of guitar underpin Miki’s becalmed vocal before
drums, bass and a Mellotron add pace while the decorative coda features
their old pal Terry Edwards on flugelhorn.
‘Love Drips And Gathers’ - named after a line in a Dylan Thomas poem - was
inspired by love, family, belonging, memory. Miki and Moose split the eight
lyrics, with some poignant overlaps here too. Miki’s ‘Loveable’ looks to
Moose; Moose’s ‘The Knife-Thrower’s Daughter’ looks to Miki but also their
daughter Stella and his sister Anna; an empathic, touching embrace of the
women in his life.
Staying within the family, Moose eulogises his late mother (the idyllic
childhood seaside trip of ‘Hastings 1973’) and father (the more conflicted
‘Scratching At The Lid’). On ‘V.O.’, Miki pays fond tribute to Vaughan Oliver,
4AD’s legendary in-house art director who died suddenly in December 2019
and who had a particularly close relationship with Lush during their time on
the label (like ‘Brickbat’, ‘Love Drips And Gathers’’ beautiful and enigmatic
artwork is by Vaughan’s former design partner Chris Bigg).
LP pressed on clear vinyl.
Lost Horizons release their new album ‘In Quiet Moments’ via Bella Union. The album features a stellar array of musical guests including John Grant, C Duncan, Marissa Nadler, Porridge Radio, Penelope Isles, Karen Peris (the innocence mission), Tim Smith (Midlake), Ren Harvieu and many more.
In 2017, Simon Raymonde and Richie Thomas had both abstained from making music for 20 years until they united as Lost Horizons and released a stunning debut album, ‘Ojalá’ - the Spanish word for ‘hopefully’ or ‘God willing.’
“These days, we need hope more than ever, for a better world.” Thomas said at the time. “And this album has given me a lot of hope. To reconnect with music.... And the hope for another Lost Horizons record!” Thomas’ hopes had a mixed response.
On the plus side, the new Lost Horizons album ‘In Quiet Moments’ is an even stronger successor to ‘Ojalá’ with another distinguished cast of guest singers and a handful of supporting instrumentalists embellishing the core duo’s gorgeously freeflowing and loose-limbed blueprint that one writer astutely labelled, “melancholydelia.”
On the minus side, any hope for a better world, as Earth continues to freefall toward political and social meltdown. Then, to make matters worse, as Raymonde and Thomas buckled down to create the improvised bedrock that Lost Horizons is built on, the former’s mother died. At least Raymonde had a way to channel his grief.
“The way improvisation works,” he says, “it’s just what’s going on with your body at the time, to let it out.”
Raymonde (bass, guitar, keyboards, production) and Thomas (drums, occasional keys and guitar) forged ahead, creating 16 instrumental tracks to send to prospective guests. When he did, Raymonde suggested a guiding theme for their lyrics: “death and rebirth. Of loved ones, of ideals, at an age when many artists that have inspired us are also dead, and the planet isn’t far behind. But I also said, ‘The most important part is to just do your own thing, and have fun.’”
Lost Horizons’ melancholy-delia also feels buoyed aloft by airy currents, informed in part by Raymonde and Thomas’ former respective bands: the legendary Cocteau Twins and Dif Juz. Their former bands were labelmates on 4AD in the mid-80s, which is how they first met.
“I think ‘In Quiet Moments’ is more in the direction of where we’re going,” Thomas concludes. “People have retreated into their lives and, in those quiet moments, reflected on the world, how we fit in and who we and trust. Maybe the next album will be about rebellion! But the road is long and winding. We just need to express ourselves in how we feel at the time.”
Coloured vinyl 2LP (disc one green, disc two blue) in PVC outer sleeve with printed text, 350gsm wide spined sleeve on uncoated/reverse board, 16pg booklet on standard paper with contributions from all featured artists and digital download code.
