More Than Ten Years Since He First Emerged On Skull Disco, Appleblim Presents His Debut Album. The Label He Co-founded With Shackleton Was The First The World Heard Of His Productions, But Laurie Osborne's Innate Relationship With Electronic Music Culture Reaches Back Much Further Than Those Groundbreaking Early Days Of Dubstep. Early Days Spent Soaking Up Hardcore, Jungle, Techno And Plenty More Besides Were Fundamental Foundations From Which To Spring Into The Then-unknown Realms Of Sub-low Half-step Club Music. At That Time Fwd>> And Dmz Were The Church For This Ritualistic Sound, And Appleblim Was A Regular Fixture At Both.
As Dubstep Matured, Magnified, Mutated And Meandered, So Appleblim Moved Beyond Skull Disco To Explore Different Avenues Of Expression In The New Many- Layered Club Music Landscape. His Own Apple Pips Imprint Was A Natural Vessel On Which To Explore The Emergent Fusions Of Hardcore-derived Sounds And The Us-born House, Techno And Electro, While Labels Such As Aus Music Equally Provided A Home For His Work (often Alongside Komonazmuk). Meanwhile Long-standing Collaborations With Alec Storey (al Tourettes / Second Storey) Finally Manifested In The Hyper-modern Mind-twist Of Also, Captured As An Album On Legendary Rave Label R&s.
More Recently It's Been Possible To Hear Appleblim Delve Into Electro-acoustic And Ambient Production Alongside Bassweight Sounds On Tempa, One Of The Original Bastions Of Dubstep Culture. As The Existing Boundaries Between Genres, Cultures, Eras And Scenes Continue To Dissolve, On His Debut Album Appleblim Offers Up A Fresh Approach That Brings Some Of The Foundational Sound Ethics Of Rave Culture Into A Modern Framework.
Hardcore Breaks Are Still A Regular Sound Source In Contemporary Club Tracks, But On Life In A Laser It's Instantly Apparent That Appleblim Has Moved Beyond Choosing Popular Drum Samples To Truly Tap Into The Elusive Feeling Engendered By The Music Of The Era. It's A Tricky Feat To Manage, But In The Pie-eyed Chords Of ignite', The Subby 808 Tom Basslines On nci' Or The Mr. Fingers Synth Flex On manta Key' The Sonic Finish Sports The Same Understated Grit And Grime That Made Those Early Records So Timeless. There's Still Space For Modernism, Not Least On Snaking 2-step Killer i Think We'll Let The Gas Sort This One Out', But It's Offset By A Layer Of Dust, Not To Mention An Inherent Moodiness That Can't Be Faked.
This Fine Balance Of Rave Romanticism And Future-minded Approaches Binds Together In A Cohesive Conceptual Statement. First And Foremost It's Appleblim's Personal Reflection On The Music That Has Moved Him On Countless Dancefloors Since His First Flirtations With Soundsystem Culture. At The Same Time The Canny Influx Of Modern Ideas Into The Soundworld Of The 90s Genuinely Results In A New Proposition, Making For A Perfect Fit On The Modern-day 'ardcore Fetishists Label Of Choice, Sneaker Social Club. Many May Claim To Draw On Old-skool Influences In Their Modern Trax, But Take One Listen To flows From Within' And You'll Feel The Same Time-slipping Surge Of Future-shock As The Ravers At Lost, Dreamscape, The Dungeons, Clink Street, Blue Note And All Those Other Iconic Spots.
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We are pleased to introduce our new single coming out on 16th of February featuring ever productive Guiding Star Orchestra eleven-man roots reggae ensemble from Copenhagen, Denmark and young, upcoming, Jamaican roots Artist Azizzi Romeo (son of legendary Max Romeo) on “In Jah Sight” riddim. Coming out on both vinyl and as a high quality digital release.
The song contains conscious lyrics on top of a meditating steppas riddim with beautiful arrangements from GSO horn section and includes an amazing dub version made by the great Roberto Sanchez from A-Lone Ark Music Studio. Two wicked collaborations on both sides of a heavy slab of 7” record!
The song is an uplifting statement about putting trust in your faith. “When thirst cover your mouth, Jah will send the Rain!” A strong message from a young Artist who’s ready to take over the world of conscious roots reggae music. This is the first time Orchestra has done a collaboration with a vocalist and we have many more collaborations planned for the future as well as some brand new solo material coming this year. Stay tuned!
Oxblood & Blood Red[42,82 €]
Full of collaborations with fellow artists, incl. Thor Harris, Meredith Yayanos, Matt Lebofsky, Dominique Leroni Persi, & members of Kitka Eastern European Women’s Choir. RIYL: Primus, King Crimson, Frank Zappa, Mastodon, Bauhaus. After thirteen years of hibernation, Sleepytime Gorilla Museum, the most gloriously uncategorizable American band in existence, has emerged from stasis to proudly announce the imminent release of their fourth studio album, of the Last Human Being. The album marks the first release of AVANT NIGHT - a new imprint headed by Nick Ohler and facilitated by Joyful Noise Recordings. Sleepytime Gorilla Museum, comprised of multi-instrumentalists and rotating vocalists Nils Frykdahl, Carla Kihlstedt, Michael "Iago" Mellender, Matthias Bossi, and Dan Rathbun, plays an arsenal of instruments ranging from the somewhat standard (drums, electric guitars, bass, electric violin) to the rare (bass harmonica, nyckelharpa, marxophone) to the homemade (Slide-Piano Log, Electric Pancreas, Pedal-Action Wiggler). The group has consistently evaded easy categorization, garnering accolades from across the aisles of contemporary classical music, prog rock, industrial music, metal, avant-garde improv, and more. Their music, in turns bashing and bucolic, enveloping and unsettling, tends towards long-form epics interspersed with mysterious field recordings. "As this slow-rolling planetwide Anthropocene Extinction event deepens, Sleepytime's work has only grown more resonant, more prescient," offers Mer Yayanos, current symposiarch and secretary of the Museum's long standing social math club, the John Kane Society. "What better time for them to Bring Back the Apocalypse than right now, with a new full-length record that integrates the past and the future?" "SGM creates a cohesive statement of virtuoso metal musicianship with the avant garde focus of an art-rock collective." Pitchfork // “I love this style of music –it has great power, great musicianship and great bass playing by Dan Rathbun, sometimes on instruments he built himself. One thing you gotta love about music: this band may have been influenced a bit by King Crimson, but then I, a member of King Crimson, was very much influenced by them” Tony Levin (bassist, King Crimson
Gold Nugget[42,82 €]
Full of collaborations with fellow artists, incl. Thor Harris, Meredith Yayanos, Matt Lebofsky, Dominique Leroni Persi, & members of Kitka Eastern European Women’s Choir. RIYL: Primus, King Crimson, Frank Zappa, Mastodon, Bauhaus. After thirteen years of hibernation, Sleepytime Gorilla Museum, the most gloriously uncategorizable American band in existence, has emerged from stasis to proudly announce the imminent release of their fourth studio album, of the Last Human Being. The album marks the first release of AVANT NIGHT - a new imprint headed by Nick Ohler and facilitated by Joyful Noise Recordings. Sleepytime Gorilla Museum, comprised of multi-instrumentalists and rotating vocalists Nils Frykdahl, Carla Kihlstedt, Michael "Iago" Mellender, Matthias Bossi, and Dan Rathbun, plays an arsenal of instruments ranging from the somewhat standard (drums, electric guitars, bass, electric violin) to the rare (bass harmonica, nyckelharpa, marxophone) to the homemade (Slide-Piano Log, Electric Pancreas, Pedal-Action Wiggler). The group has consistently evaded easy categorization, garnering accolades from across the aisles of contemporary classical music, prog rock, industrial music, metal, avant-garde improv, and more. Their music, in turns bashing and bucolic, enveloping and unsettling, tends towards long-form epics interspersed with mysterious field recordings. "As this slow-rolling planetwide Anthropocene Extinction event deepens, Sleepytime's work has only grown more resonant, more prescient," offers Mer Yayanos, current symposiarch and secretary of the Museum's long standing social math club, the John Kane Society. "What better time for them to Bring Back the Apocalypse than right now, with a new full-length record that integrates the past and the future?" "SGM creates a cohesive statement of virtuoso metal musicianship with the avant garde focus of an art-rock collective." Pitchfork // “I love this style of music –it has great power, great musicianship and great bass playing by Dan Rathbun, sometimes on instruments he built himself. One thing you gotta love about music: this band may have been influenced a bit by King Crimson, but then I, a member of King Crimson, was very much influenced by them” Tony Levin (bassist, King Crimson
A pioneer of the home recording movement, Linda Smith released several collections of delicate, bewitching solo music on cassette in the 1980s and 90s. The 2021 release of Till Another Time: 1988-1996, Captured Tracks' compilation of Smith's work, has helped bestow rightful critical acclaim to the ahead-of-her-time artist. Now, Captured Tracks dives deeper into Smith's catalog with the release of two full-length companion albums, Nothing Else Matters and I So Liked Spring, available for the first time on vinyl & streaming formats. Recorded at Smith's home in Baltimore in 1995, Nothing Else Matters chronicles the tension between the mundanity of daily life and the creative impulse: Traffic noises on the charmingly boisterous "Little To Be Won" showcase this levity, as does the addition of playful hand claps and a laugh track to her striking cover of Young Marble Giants' "Salad Days." I So Liked Spring, recorded the following year, saw Smith experimenting with the unique challenge of putting another artist's words to music. She'd come across a biography of the English poet Charlotte Mew and found her wistful poetry rife for musical interpretation. The songs on I So Liked Spring are delightfully unpredictable, full of upbeat melodies and spellbinding vocal harmonies. This is perhaps best showcased on the title track, one of Smith's most popular songs to date, a lovelorn anthem that recalls the airy melodies of early dream pop. Both of these albums showcase the mesmerizing charm of Smith's songwriting, often compared to the likes of the Velvet Underground and Laurie Anderson. Home recording technology has come a long way since Smith first began recording demos on her tape machine, but her influence reverberates through the work of today's bedroom artists. The release of these two essential albums seeks to further illuminate this connection, welcoming a new generation of listeners to the work of this trailblazing artist.
A pioneer of the home recording movement, Linda Smith released several collections of delicate, bewitching solo music on cassette in the 1980s and 90s. The 2021 release of Till Another Time: 1988-1996, Captured Tracks' compilation of Smith's work, has helped bestow rightful critical acclaim to the ahead-of-her-time artist. Now, Captured Tracks dives deeper into Smith's catalog with the release of two full-length companion albums, Nothing Else Matters and I So Liked Spring, available for the first time on vinyl & streaming formats. Recorded at Smith's home in Baltimore in 1995, Nothing Else Matters chronicles the tension between the mundanity of daily life and the creative impulse: Traffic noises on the charmingly boisterous "Little To Be Won" showcase this levity, as does the addition of playful hand claps and a laugh track to her striking cover of Young Marble Giants' "Salad Days." I So Liked Spring, recorded the following year, saw Smith experimenting with the unique challenge of putting another artist's words to music. She'd come across a biography of the English poet Charlotte Mew and found her wistful poetry rife for musical interpretation. The songs on I So Liked Spring are delightfully unpredictable, full of upbeat melodies and spellbinding vocal harmonies. This is perhaps best showcased on the title track, one of Smith's most popular songs to date, a lovelorn anthem that recalls the airy melodies of early dream pop. Both of these albums showcase the mesmerizing charm of Smith's songwriting, often compared to the likes of the Velvet Underground and Laurie Anderson. Home recording technology has come a long way since Smith first began recording demos on her tape machine, but her influence reverberates through the work of today's bedroom artists. The release of these two essential albums seeks to further illuminate this connection, welcoming a new generation of listeners to the work of this trailblazing artist.
- A1: Wear Your Love Like Heaven
- A2: Mad John's Escape
- A3: Skip-A-Long Sam
- A4: Sun
- A5: There Was A Time
- B1: Oh Gosh
- B2: Little Boy In Corduroy
- B3: Under The Greenwood Tree" (Words By William Shakespeare, Music By Leitch)
- B4: The Land Of Doesn't Have To Be
- B5: Someone Singing
- C1: The Enchanted Gypsy
- C2: Voyage Into The Golden Screen
- C3: Isle Of Islay
- C4: The Mandolin Man And His Secret
- C5: Lay Of The Last Tinker
- D1: The Tinker And The Crab
- D2: Widow With A Shawl (A Portrait)
- D3: The Lullaby Of Spring
- D4: The Magpie
- D5: Starfish-On-The-Toast
- D6: Epistle To Derrol
Donovan’s Original
A Gift From a Flower to a Garden made for a few firsts: the first double LP of Donovan’s
career, one of the first box sets in pop and, most importantly for Donovan himself; the first
pop album for the children of tomorrow.
He resolved to make A Gift From a Flower to a Garden an album of two halves. The first,
Wear Your Love Like Heaven, was intended for his own generation as they started to think
about the kind of world they wanted to leave behind. The second, For Little Ones, was for
the children they had or would have in the years to come. The result was a kaleidoscopic
folk-jazz suite on the power of love, imbued with all the romance and mystery of an Arthur
Rackham illustration for an ancient English fairy tale. The songs, remarkably adventurous
given Donovan was a globally famous singer at his commercial height, combined the
influences he had amassed so far.
There is something about A Gift From a Flower to a Garden that could never be repeated,
though. It is such an innocent evocation of the childlike imagination, so redolent of its time,
yet set apart from it too. All these years later, the peaceful qualities of this pioneering,
enchanting, deeply unusual album feel more valuable than ever.
The state51 Box Set
With authenticity core to the project, The state51 Conspiracy engaged one of the UK’s
leading experts in box set design, Daniel Mason at Something Else, to painstakingly recreate
the box, records and accompanying ephemera. The first challenge was to find the deep blue
leatherette paper the original box set was covered in; a problem since it was no longer in
production. “I knew people who had stacks of it, gathering dust on top shelves, so I bought it
up wherever I could find it,” says Mason. Then came the reproduction of 12 loose leaf lyric
sheets on fine art watercolour paper, each of them featuring a watermark and a fairytale-like
illustration by Donovan’s artist friends Sheena McCall and Mick Taylor. Where, though, to
find the same paper stock? “I found out that it was made at a paper mill in North Wales
called Abbey Mills. Unfortunately the mill dissolved in the early 70s and very little of the
paper remained. However enough paper remained to allow us to produce the numbered
certificate also signed by Donovan that sits within the box.”
Then to the iconic cover image. Donovan and Jimi Hendrix’s personal photographer Karl
Ferris, used infra-red film to achieve the psychedelic effect on the cover, but the original
negatives couldn’t be found. Mason then used digital technology to ramp up the colour levels
on a reproduction from an original copy of the album while allowing it to remain a little bit
faded, as it would be after half a century. The same labour of love and care has gone into
producing all elements of the box; from the rebuilding of the famous front cover font to the
hand-numbered and signed certificate; letterpress printed on the original paper stock of the
1968 UK release lyric sheets.
To cap it all off the original mono master tapes were waiting safely in the EMI Donovan
Archive and transferred from tape to digital by Abbey Road Studios where new lacquers
were cut, ensuring Donovan's favoured mono version of the album would be presented both
physically (and digitally for the very first time) in striking audiophile quality. The final touch to
Each vinyl copy includes a download code for the release plus 2 digital bonus tracks.
RedBox is the second record in the colored BOX series by Elad Magdasi.
This release is red by all means, with a combination of dark synths and playful notes, Elad mixes his favorite styles while keeping the mood tooly and dancefloor oriented.
All the tracks are named by their position on the record, similar to the oldskool way, focusing on the music alone.
All RedBox tracks were produced at the same time, on the same wave of inspiration, they compliment each other though being completely different.
Front Left Love.
Bosconi Records is thrilled to announce a distinctive vinyl release that harks back to berlin 2000’s good old days
The featured track of this release unveils Console’s , known and active as Acid Pauli, reinterpretation of a track that gained fabio’s attention during his stay in Berlin in 2000. Fabio Della Torre, the owner and A&R of Bosconi Records, stumbled upon this hidden gem during his year in Berlin as many djs in the city were spinning it. Finally his quest to uncover the origins of this track led him to a CD release on the label of Angelika Köhlermann. The track in question is Console’s reimagining of “Let’s Rock Baby” a composition by the independent musician and video artist Anne Laplantine, who adopted the Japanese-sounding alias Michiko Kusaki. This version was originally released alongside a series of remixes by artists such as Dmx krew, Felix Kubin, and Adult, all featured on Angelika Köhlermann’s label.
Today, Bosconi Records is thrilled to bring this iconic track to light again on vinyl, accompanied by fresh interpretations. It’s important to note that these reinterpretations breathe life into Console’s work, not Laplantine’s original track, making Console’s version the centerpiece of this release. We have a banger version from German electro luminary The Exaltics which his typilcal electro techno trademark sound. The Exaltics had just released his new album on Clone and has been featured by Helena hauff in her Fabric Mix compilation. Italian producers Voodoos & Taboos, known for their homonymous label and with an recent “banger” on Bordello a Parigi with an electro playful version. The vibrant Queen of Coins have breathed new life into Console’s track, delivering a fresh new-beat acid ebm burner, giving the track a new and personal perspective.
This project mirrors Bosconi Records’ commitment to exploring diverse dimensions of electronic music and featuring compelling compositions. The release looks to resonate with DJs and electronic music enthusiasts, offering a contemporary perspective on a timeless track.
Skyllumina represents a new evolution of London-based, Italian-born composer, bassist, and vocalist Ruth Goller. Goller is known for her bass and vocal work with Alabaster DePlume, whose music she elevates in live contexts with her genre-less improvisational intuition, and an incredibly diverse résumé that includes performance and recording with Bex Burch"s Vula Viel, Shabaka Hutchings, Rokia Traore, Melt Yourself Down, Sam Amidon, and even a very brief moment with Paul McCartney. For Skyllumina, her International Anthem debut, Goller expands upon the concept of her first solo album Skylla - de-tuned bass harmonics with layered voices - this time collaborating with a different drummer on each track. Her accompanists on the album include The Smile"s Tom Skinner, go-to London drummer Seb Rochford, Berlin-based International Anthem labelmate Bex Burch, and ex-pat Chicago legend Frank Rosaly. But more importantly, the music is an immersive hyperfocus for Goller and her patently distinct, singular compositional vision.
Skyllumina represents a new evolution of London-based, Italian-born composer, bassist, and vocalist Ruth Goller. Goller is known for her bass and vocal work with Alabaster DePlume, whose music she elevates in live contexts with her genre-less improvisational intuition, and an incredibly diverse résumé that includes performance and recording with Bex Burch"s Vula Viel, Shabaka Hutchings, Rokia Traore, Melt Yourself Down, Sam Amidon, and even a very brief moment with Paul McCartney. For Skyllumina, her International Anthem debut, Goller expands upon the concept of her first solo album Skylla - de-tuned bass harmonics with layered voices - this time collaborating with a different drummer on each track. Her accompanists on the album include The Smile"s Tom Skinner, go-to London drummer Seb Rochford, Berlin-based International Anthem labelmate Bex Burch, and ex-pat Chicago legend Frank Rosaly. But more importantly, the music is an immersive hyperfocus for Goller and her patently distinct, singular compositional vision.
Fire! have always been about finding the essence by getting to the core of the music. Their 8th album sees the trio - for the first time on record - stripped down to the bare-bones essentials; with no flutes, no electronics, no guests and no extras, recorded live in the studio to analogue tape - the Steve Albini way - with the master himself at the controls in Electrical Audio in Chicago. Thus, this album stands as a true testament to the group's expressive power and glowing intimacy. Musically, Testament can be seen as an extension of their previous full length album Defeat, released two years ago, to the month. A solitary bass figure from Johan Berthling, quickly joined by a stout drum groove, gets it all going in a familiar fashion before Gustafsson adds desolate cries and whispers from his baritone sax. This approach is even more honed on the second track, with the most simplistic groove you're likely to hear in jazz and Gustafsson shifting between extended, lonely, tortured lines, only once abrupted by a series of short bursts. The third track starts with loose and relatively lively drums that continue throughout, but the mournful saxophone maintains a subdued atmosphere. Track four is a real beauty with the trio slipping into a trance-like dream state before shifting gear halfway into its nine minutes. The final track is the most dynamic of the lot, shifting between bursts of energy and lyrical beauty. Fire's debut album, You Liked Me Five Minutes Ago, was released in 2009 to wide international acclaim. "The basic strategy of pairing the expressive energy of free jazz with a sturdy sense of groove has yielded something potent and self-contained" (New York Times). Between this and Testament there's been six albums, including collaborations with Jim O'Rourke (Unreleased?) and Oren Ambarchi (In The Mouth A Hand), as well as the Requies EP with Stephen O'Malley and David Sandström in 2022. Testament was recorded and mixed during a three-day stint at Steve Albini's Electrical Audio studio in Chicago in December 2022. Mats Gustafsson - baritone sax Johan Berthling - bass Andreas Werliin - drums.
Fire! have always been about finding the essence by getting to the core of the music. Their 8th album sees the trio - for the first time on record - stripped down to the bare-bones essentials; with no flutes, no electronics, no guests and no extras, recorded live in the studio to analogue tape - the Steve Albini way - with the master himself at the controls in Electrical Audio in Chicago. Thus, this album stands as a true testament to the group's expressive power and glowing intimacy. Musically, Testament can be seen as an extension of their previous full length album Defeat, released two years ago, to the month. A solitary bass figure from Johan Berthling, quickly joined by a stout drum groove, gets it all going in a familiar fashion before Gustafsson adds desolate cries and whispers from his baritone sax. This approach is even more honed on the second track, with the most simplistic groove you're likely to hear in jazz and Gustafsson shifting between extended, lonely, tortured lines, only once abrupted by a series of short bursts. The third track starts with loose and relatively lively drums that continue throughout, but the mournful saxophone maintains a subdued atmosphere. Track four is a real beauty with the trio slipping into a trance-like dream state before shifting gear halfway into its nine minutes. The final track is the most dynamic of the lot, shifting between bursts of energy and lyrical beauty. Fire's debut album, You Liked Me Five Minutes Ago, was released in 2009 to wide international acclaim. "The basic strategy of pairing the expressive energy of free jazz with a sturdy sense of groove has yielded something potent and self-contained" (New York Times). Between this and Testament there's been six albums, including collaborations with Jim O'Rourke (Unreleased?) and Oren Ambarchi (In The Mouth A Hand), as well as the Requies EP with Stephen O'Malley and David Sandström in 2022. Testament was recorded and mixed during a three-day stint at Steve Albini's Electrical Audio studio in Chicago in December 2022. Mats Gustafsson - baritone sax Johan Berthling - bass Andreas Werliin - drums.
What the listener might encounter on this album goes all the way down to the sound of a neuron transmitting pain, beatitude or any one of the countless senses and impressions we feel on any one day of life. N E U R O is the debut album by CURA MACHINES, a new project by Daniel Lea whose tracks are at once scientific in their capturing of the morphing of body cells as well as the larger expanses of a poetic filmscape of the contemporary metropolis.
The name CURA MACHINES comes from a sign Lea saw on a trip to Ancona, Italy at an abandoned hospital: Prima E Dopo La Cura (Before and after the cure). The sound in between, of what was lost or found, transmuted in the heavily manipulated and pulsating synthesisers, is the restoration here. With a physically visceral mix by Ben Frost and soaring re-amped bass textures from Yair Elazar Glotman, the album is lush with trans-morphing apeggia that shudder, quack and soar into ashen sparks.
Back in the turn of the 20th century the poet Rilke posited that the suture patterns of fused skull plates could potentially be played by the then-new technology of the gramophone, with each of us having our own personal tonal source code or anthem etched onto our skulls. And with a track like 'Suture' we have such an embodied sound: the close-up exhumation of the neural brain casing, stitched and sewn together in fleeting pulses of whisper and alarm.
The individual is exposed and isolated, but not without the promise of succour.
Or one also has the soundtrack to the loneliness of a morose private eye – a pulp novel set in a future time of neurosis or washed out euphoric beauty. It is here in tracks such as 'Terminal Zone' or 'Inversion Layers', music that is blinking in celluloid frames. The plot could easily be a sci-fi, paranoid tale of brain emulation, transhumanist crimes against humanity itself. After all this is Lea's soundtrack to Los Angeles, the city of angels that has been captured in countless movies: the racing tracking shot of the 2nd Street Tunnel at night, the freeways spreading out in a glorious sprawl of lit up veins and arteries. The last track 'Zosa' marks out the boundary line that delineates between day and night, when the lunar strains wane, the tides subside and the city comes to life.
The Pheromoans are tenants of an unruly domain. Over the last 18 years the group have evolved from garage rock primitivists to auteurs of their own curious sound; a frothy brew of loose electronics, refractory rock and humdrum musing. Their songs are mutable, capricious, unreliable narrations, often withholding as much as they reveal. Russell Walker’s understated vocal has always been the band’s unifying focus, it is wry, unsparing and wilfully honest. Walker’s lyrics are an observational tour de force, sometimes droll, yet often tipping over into unlikely pathos. With previous releases on Upset The Rhythm, Convulsive and Alter, 2024 will witness The Pheromoans return with lucky album number 13, entitled ‘Wyrd Psearch’ (out March 1st on Upset The Rhythm).
‘Wyrd Psearch’ was recorded in Lewes throughout 2023. This was undertaken by founding member James Tranmer, his keen instinct for how the band should sound shaping many of the creative decisions. Joined by new guitarist Henry Holmes, the five piece doubled down on a decidedly breezy, melodic approach. Scott Reeve’s drumming is ever brisk, whilst Daniel Bolger explores AOR peripheries on keyboard and bass. “Wyrd Psearch finds us on relatively zestful form” affirms Walker “whether it be merrily recalling the Jason Williamson / Tim Lovejoy Covid summit, or mentally bathing in the pleasures of lunch hours spent strapped to a listening post in Borders.” With The Pheromoans there is always a familiarity at play, only broken and reassembled, like a bygone sitcom gone rogue in your memory. This contributes to the group’s peculiarly British outsider perspective, one that shouts from the sidelines, but never goes unnoticed.
Subjects covered lyrically on ‘Wyrd Psearch’ include “mid-life crises, male pattern baldness, and thwarted artistic and personal ambitions” according to Walker himself. “Nothing is off limits for scrutiny, even rural arts communities” he concludes. Lead single ‘Downtown’ swings with chiming guitars and finds Walker mid-breakdown trying to persuade a loved one to accompany him into the town centre to collect controlled medication and wind back the clock to happier times. “I want to keep you in cotton wool until pay day” he confides. ‘Cropped to Death’ and ‘Father Austin’ are ruminative and more relaxed in nature, whilst ‘Twibbon Wife’ is a more energetic effort, all jabbed synth chords, circuitous basslines and rampant drum fills. ‘Faith in the Future’ similarly bounds along with reverie.
Walker claims that the album’s title is an expression of his frustration at the ubiquity of people claiming things are eerie or weird / wyrd in the present cultural milieu. The artwork for the record is designed as an actual word search too, a knowing nod to how we all grapple for meaning amongst the absurdity of each day. Leaning into ‘weird’ as a coping mechanism is not on The Pheromoans’ agenda however. This album holds little sway with the supernatural, it’s not enough. The overriding impression given by ‘Wyrd Psearch’ is of a band renewed with ideas. There’s no trouble finding the right words, they’re hitting their mark, keeping up with the commentary. ‘Wyrd Psearch’ is a document of The Pheromoans mastering their unquiet moment.
Although 30 years after its birth this fundamental electronic gem called 'Reflections' has achieved cult status, it is worth remembering that it all started in 1993 in a small apartment in Waterloo, London, with the help of a mixer and a bunch of hardware synth and drum machines of hardware, with the mastodontic Oberheim OB-8 synthesizer as the main partner.
While in the UK the vast majority of kids showed a certain rejection of what came from North America in the form of electro, Kirk Degiorgio, under his alias As One, embraced it openly and incorporated it into his productions along with influences from other genres that he had already adored since he was young, such as jazz, soul or funk, thus becoming one of the true early adopters of Detroit techno in the UK.
If we look back, 'Reflections' is a challenge in itself, and even more so considering what the consumption pattern of electronic music was in the early 90s. This timeless album fits into the delicate border between being enough club to work on the dance floor, and still being musical and cerebral enough to be listened to at home. A milestone that, whether premeditated or not, Degiorgio more than achieved.
Three decades later Lapsus Records has been able to access the pre-masters extracted from the original DATs to build a special 30th anniversary edition within its Perennial series. For the occasion, this reissue not only offers the tracks included in the first edition, it also adds the songs 'The Priestess' –never released on vinyl before– and Forgotten Memory –until now unreleased and rediscovered in one of the DATs dating back to 1992 from the 'Reflexions' recording sessions. We are therefore facing the definitive edition of an album that, despite coexisting with the explosion of the rave movement, would pave the path for the UK-Detroit connection.
The Minneapolis Uranium Club Band, along with Static Shock Records are proud to present “Infants Under the Bulb”; The Uranium Club’s fourth album and first full length since 2018’s "The Cosmo Cleaners". Precisely timed ahead of the band’s debut tour of Australia commencing March 19, Infants Under the Bulb will light up stores across the globe from March 1st. Recorded in Minneapolis over the course of 2023 by long time collaborator Grant Richardson and just as rampant and agitated as ever.
The Uranium Club once again win their dear listeners over with eccentrically wild guitar parts, revolving voices, elastic-tight drums and the addition of their very own Saints-styled horn section. Lyrically, Under the Bulb opens up the history books of unsolved mysteries - unidentified, unsolved, unanswered subjects of suspicious acts or individuals across the last century. Who, what, when and where… but mostly, why? Ignorant humanity of earth orbits the sun once again.
The Somerton Man, Bergmann, Bauby, Denton, phone phreakers, and just what is lurking behind the cosmic organ of The Wall? As always, the artwork was handled in-house by the Club and ambitious as ever. The spectacular cover shot captures a carefully coordinated event orchestrated by the Club to photograph a crowd of the local volunteers wearing ponchos standing together in an open field to make the shape of a giant spiral. The spiral pictured is 120 feet (36.5 meters) wide, photographed by drone, and was plotted out on the ground using a protractor specially fabricated for the occasion by the band with a pivoting centre and 60ft long adjustable
Best known for his work for legendary Thai director Apichatpong Weerasethakul (he even designed the enigmatic “bang” in 2021’s labyrinthine ‘Memoria’), Japan’s Koichi Shimizu has been honing a unique musical language since the early ‘90s, where some of his earliest material can be found on a split LP with Yoshiteru Himuro via once-iconic imprint Worm Interface (itself home to music from Autechre side-line Gescom). ‘Imprint’, was initially released quietly back in 2021 and has been remastered for this new edition, removing one track and bumping it up with four more, making it all available on vinyl for the first time.
The album offers a perfect overview of Shimizu’s broad palette, ranging from fine-wrought keys to electronic brutalism and guttural rhythmic pulses, plotted with an underlying narrative cadence that evinces his ability to heighten the impact of moving image, whilst also colouring the imagination with ephemeral sound imagery. His tekkerz are in bracing, anticipatory effect on a retooled, expanded version of his music from ‘Memoria’ within the convulsive, swarming silhouette of ‘Imprint’, and ‘The Path’ finds his aural accompaniment to ‘Uncle Boonmee...’ given room to breathe and develop into an unexpected, OOBE-like experience. In ‘Moth’ he magnifies and anthropomorphises a winged insect with finely chiselled technical nous, and his exquisite arrangement to ‘Faded Sign’ is somehow comparable to the ephemeral emotional register of cinematic collaborations between Ryuichi Sakamoto and Carsten Nicolai.
B2 Recordings hits release number 13 with DJ Rocca and Lex combing on a trio of fresh house cuts that blend elements of disco, Latin and soul. Up first is the glorious 'Solid Street' which has loose and percussive disco-house grooves overlaid with big synth energy and steamy vocals. 'Solar System' is slower and deeper, with a more rugged bassline and low slung sense of funk that never lets up. 'Last of all, 'Rose Tree' is a ramshackle house arrangement with whistles, Rhodes keys, tin-pot percussion, florid flutes and plenty of sunny energy all making it a real standout. A timeless EP packed with musicality.
- A1: Theo Beckford – Easy Snapping
- A2: The Skatalites – Guns Of Navarone
- A3: Delroy Wilson – Dancing Mood
- A4: Michigan And Smiley – Nice Up The Dance
- B1: Heptones – Baby
- B2: The Abyssinians – Declaration Of Rights
- B3: Alton Ellis – I'm Still In Love With You
- B4: Tommy Mccook – Tunnel One
- C1: Sugar Minott – Jah Jah Children
- C2: The Skatalites – Man In The Street
- C3: Dub Specialist – Banana Walk
- C4: Dennis Alcapone – Run Run
- D1: Larry Marshall – Nanny Goat
- D2: Brentford Allstars – Throw Me Corn
- D3: Lone Ranger – Love Bump
- D4: Jackie Mittoo – Freak Out
Soul Jazz Records’ feature-length documentary/CD/Book ‘Studio One Story’ is being re-released on 1 August 2011, and is also available for the first time as a stand alone DVD. The DVD is being issued as a prelude to the forthcoming deluxe-hardback book ‘Original Cover Art of Studio One Records’ released this autumn by Soul Jazz Records as well as a new Studio One album compilation on Soul Jazz to coincide with the new book.
Studio One Story is a documentary this is both a staggering slice of musical history and a definitive guide to Studio One, Jamaica’s greatest ever record company, and its legendary founder, Clement ‘Coxsone’ Dodd. ‘Studio One Story’ was filmed in 2002, two years before the death of the legendary Clement ‘Sir Coxsone’ Dodd, a man famously reticent of being interviewed - until the making of this film. Described by Chris Blackwell as the Motown of Jamaica, or ‘The University of Reggae’, Studio One is where the careers of literally hundreds of reggae artists began: Bob Marley and the Wailers, Alton Ellis, The Heptones, Ken Boothe, The Skatalites, Burning Spear and Sugar Minott, to name but a few! Studio One is the ‘foundation’ label of Jamaican Reggae and Clement ‘Sir Coxsone’ Dodd is seen by many as its father.
One and a half years in the making, Studio One Story is a truly unique documentary in which the late Clement Dodd gave unprecedented personal access to tell the previously untold story of how he and the many artists and musicians at Studio One literally shaped the rise of Reggae music from the 1950s onwards through to the late 1970s. This is the true story of reggae music and its Jamaican roots told from the inside: From the rise of Kington’s sound systems in the 1940s and 1950s, through to the evolution of a Jamaican music industry (and Studio One’s dominance) in the 1960s and the worldwide success of reggae in the 1970s.
The 4 hour documentary (including over an hour of extras) was filmed on location in Kingston, Jamaica and features interviews with Horace Andy, Alton Ellis, Ken Boothe, Sugar Minott, Denis Alcapone, The Ethiopians, Sylvan Morris, Johnny Moore, Lone Ranger, King Stitt and many others. The DVD also includes rare footage of The Skatalites, Jackie Mittoo, Count Ossie, Marcia Griffiths and others. As well as the stand-alone DVD, Soul Jazz Records are reissuing the original (DVD +CD+Book) original box set.
IF YOU ARE ORDERING THIS PLEASE CHECK IF YOU NEED NTSC (AMERICA, JAPAN, ETC) OR PAL (EUROPE, AUSTRALIA, ETC).
THE DVD HAS FRENCH AND ENGLISH SUBTITLES.
NB.MP3 Release is for the audio CD only.
REVIEWS ‘Studio One was Jamaica’s Motown. This documentary brings it brilliantly to life.’ The Telegraph ‘The history of Clement ‘Coxsone’ Dodd’s legendary Jamaica studio is fantastically told through interviews, copious amounts of music and historical footage and more.’ Uncut ‘Studio One Story is no mere historical document; it is a map that will lead you directly to a massive seam, endlessly mineable, of musical gold’ The Observer ‘A fascinating documentary’ The Telegraph ‘Compulsive viewing for anyone with an interest in Reggae’ The Wire




















