Cerca:too much

Rockabilly Dance floor favourite and good flip side

Sometimes, what seems “to be” ... isn’t. And what “was” actually wasn’t. What’s "in" is sometimes out. And what was thought to be "north" is sometimes south.Similarly, up until now, there just wasn’t enough ... of TOO MUCH.
That’s how its been, ever since dynamic-duo TOO MUCH — Rich Morel & Ian Svenonius – let the world listen in on their once-in-a-millenia electro-beat gobstopper “PATENT LEATHER” (MERGE RECORDS); the monster hit which defined dance floors since its release in 2019.
“PATENT LEATHER” a bewitching blend of lechery and love, was tattooed on the brain of every loitering lothario in every night-club, roadhouse, and streetlight latrine in both the free and not-so-free worlds.It was so incessant; it shook houses down, burned parliament, and crashed the stock market. Dancers everywhere pleaded for more.
TOO MUCH have finally relented and deigned to give the heaving, begging, prostrate mass a new mess of motor-robot rhythm rockers. Yes, that's correct. TOO MUCH have a full length record and they call it ... “CLUB EMOTION.”
CLUB EMOTION is nine songs of pure ecstacy perfectly suited for the club, the car or the closet.Its a pure joy to listen to in one’s bedroom or at the beach. On a stroll, at a drive-thru, or while careening through the astral-plane, looking for a ro- mantic rendezvous.

After a steady stream of releases from the 2000 Black label which serve as a first course, Dego returns with his third album ; A full length LP of his contemporary adventures in modern sound. This album combines Dego's consistent forward looking musical explorations with a host of instrumental and vocal collaborators introducing us to new talents and reminding us of those we may have heard before. Dego continues to find new perspectives within the musical landscape.

Collaborating with singers and songwriters all expressing a distinct sense of where, collectively, we are now. There can be no doubt that this is a time of questions in every way, changes in the world and industry that will affect us all. How and what role music plays in this journey is explored as with any artist in a personal and pensive way from a tear to a smile. There is no preaching here, only statements and explorations. Individuality and sonic diversity combine and reflect the many inspirations and evolutions of style. Cooking up a strong and distinct genre-defying mix of soul, two step, funk, jazz, boogie and R&B, all dance music's that focus on heritage and natural rhythms.

Listening to the music is a relief and delight for lovers of groove and song-craft. It's a 21st century statement accessible and raw, whilst highly advanced in sound design and production. Holistic in breadth and deep in vision, it provides a way into this music for many, and challenges the cultural conversation about jazz without compromising or pandering. Music that utilizes a raw and sincere true openness narrative.

Following the mighty rendition of "I Want You", Soul Sugar (a.k.a. Guillaume 'Gee'
Metenier) is back with another massive Soul-Reggae version, this time taking on Luther
Vandross' "Never Too Much".
Fearlessly taking on such timeless classics is serious business, and Leo Carmichael
delivers, once again, with a maximum dosage of finesse and feeling. Seductively delicate
backing vocals from Carl Lee Sharshmidt and Karene Brown keep it as warm and
intimate as one would hope, while Thomas Naim's tasteful guitar licks and Gee's minimal
production allow the song to breathe and flow steadily on its own.
Recorded in Paris, Kingston, Miami and London, the resulting blend of Soul and Reggae
riddims has rarely felt so natural. On the A-side, Gee's "Discomix" dubs a generous dose of
the sultry backing vocals over a minimal, bassy groove that dips, dives and flows on into the
sunset. UK producer Adam Prescott lets loose with an infectious 90's dancehall rerub,
aiming straight for the dancefloor... ladies' choice! Finally rhythm legends Sly & Robbie
drop the BASS with a heavy dancehall treatment, taking it low, letting it ride, while the
vocals float on... Never Too Much!

The Space Lady began her odyssey on the streets of San Francisco in the late 70s, playing versions of contemporary pop music an accordion and dressed flamboyantly, transmitting messages of peace and harmony.
Following the theft of her accordion, The Space Lady invested in a then-new Casio keyboard, birthing an otherworldly new dimension to popular song that has captured the imaginations of the underground and its lead exponents ever since, with the likes of John Maus, Erol Alkan and Kutmah being devotees.

Of her early street sets, only one recording was made, self-released originally on cassette and then transferred to a home-made CD. "The Space Lady's Greatest Hits"(LSSN021) features the best of these recordings - mostly covers but with some originals - pressed on vinyl for the first time and features archival photographs and liner notes from The Space Lady herself. 'Greatest Hits' contains The Space Lady's personal favourites; her haunting take on The Electric Prunes' 'I Had Too Much To Dream (Last Night),' a frantic 'Ballroom Blitz' amidst other reconstructed pop music. Included are also 4 originals that easily match for the Pop canon. Following the release of this archive, The Space Lady will be issuing new material and travelling the world to present her message outside the United States for the first time.

In the mid 90s The Space Lady packed away her Casio synth and silenced her distinctive voice, retiring from the streets of San Francisco. Now, more than 30 years after her initial forays on Haight Ashbury, she has surfaced with the first ever official release of her timeless, startling music and, even more remarkably, has re-started her live career. Now in Colorado, The Space Lady continues to spread her message of peace, harmony and love.

VINYL LP: Edition of 500, black Vinyl. Gatfold Poster and printed insert with Download Card.

Sound Signature celebrates 20 years with an LP from Dego & Kaidi.

18.b1 1096 n 77.2975 w : 18.1096 n 77.2975 w

+ download coupon

2LPX version is an indies only format.

An Album About Crossing Physical And Metaphorical Borders That Has Never Been Timelier: Calexico's Classic Album 'the Black Light' Turns 20 This Year. This Limited Celebratory Anniversary Edition Includes All New Artwork By Victor Gastelum, Extensive Linernotes, And 11 Bonus Tracks.

What Was Surprising About The Black Light (and What Set Its Architects Apart From Their Indie Rock Peers) Was The Album's Unusual Willingness To Wade Into The Rapids Of American And Mexican Culture, Fully Immersing Itself Midstream. From The Outset, With 'gypsy's Curse', The Record Combines Guitar Twang And Flamenco Flourishes; And By Its End, Almost An Hour Later, It's Contrived A Skillful And Instinctive Union Of Smoky Bar Room Jazz, Arthouse Indie Rock, And Compelling Mariachi Brass In 'frontera'. If Calexico Falls Short As A Name, It's Only In The Fact That - Alongside Their Mining Of Mexico's Fertile Musical Past - Joey Burns And John Convertino Weren't Just Digging Into California's Songbook...they Were Unearthing America's Too.

- Anniversary-edition On 180g Heavy Double Vinyl Including 11 Bonus Tracks
- Limited Clear Double Lp On 180g Heavy Vinyl
- New Alternative Artwork By Victor Gastelum
- Gatefold Cover With Embossed Logo And Silver Print And 8 Page Booklet
- Limited To One Pressing Only

Erstmals auf Vinyl als 2LP-Set erhältlich, gepresst auf 180g schwarzem Vinyl. TIMELESS - THE ALL-TIME GREATEST HITS enthält 21 zertifizierte Klassik-Tracks von einer der kommerziell erfolgreichsten und renommiertesten Bands der Welt in der Geschichte der Popmusik. Jeder Track auf TIMELESS wurde von Barry Gibb persönlich ausgewählt und sequenziert.

Marti Caine's infamous Point Of View is a groovy blend of slow-mo funk, dark disco and precise pop. Originally released on BBC Records in 1981, it has attracted a considerable cult following this century. The odd charity shop score aside, it has been impossible to find a copy for less than eye-watering sums (often selling for over £200) and, as such, it's an honour to present the first officially licensed vinyl reissue of this sublime record. Featuring expert liner notes written by Bill Brewster - perhaps the record's most notable champion - this lovingly curated release is limited to just 500 copies.

Marti Caine was a popular UK TV entertainer in the late 1970s onwards and Point Of View presented her with an opportunity to proceed in a hip direction by working with British R&B heavyweight Barry Blue. His legendary reputation was secured with a string of great records, among them the first three Heatwave albums, the Balearic hit "Afro Dizzi Act" by Cry Cisco and the cult smash "Breakin' In" by Javaroo. However, despite the array of talent working on the album, Point Of View sank without trace at the time. It's something that Blue attributes to the bizarre way BBC Records worked, and he entertainingly expands upon this within the liner notes.

Musically, the highlights are many and memorable. Its most notorious track is the sublime soul stepper "Love The Way You Love Me", the reason most people covet this album so profoundly. However, from the dark dubby disco of "Snowbird City" to the moody ballad "Love Is Running Through Me", the lesser heralded tracks are nothing short of exquisite. Indeed, the chugging elegance of sleazy disco opener "Can I Speak To The World Please" showcases a string-drenched strutting-funk that would've been enviable the world over. It's that good.

The outlandish artwork - presenting a striking, green-eyed Marti treating a tiger to a headlock - has been faithfully restored and is arguably worth the price of admission alone. With access to the original tape transfers, Simon Francis' sensitive mastering elevates the sound throughout and, as ever, it has been pressed at a reassuringly weighty 180g. Sadly, Marti died of lymphatic cancer at the tragically early age of 50 in 1995, so is not here to experience what we hope will be a long overdue reappraisal of the hitherto underheard genius of Marti Caine, the singer

Beautiful 1 Lp Edition With 140g Vinyl, Stoughton Tip-on Sleeve, Liner Notes (english & Japanese) By Chee Shimizu, Sticker Official Reissue Of Diggers' Favorite Colored Music Available On Vinyl And Cd Or The First Time Since 1981. Genre: Electronic, New Wave, Pop, Synth, Experimental Wrwtfww Records Is Deliriously Happy To Announce The Reissue Of The 1981 Self-titled Album From Cult Japanese Duo Colored Music, Available On Vinyl (housed In A Stoughton Tip-on Sleeve) And Digipack Cd, With Liner Notes By Digger, Curator, Connoisseur, Writer And Legend Chee Shimizu. An Incredible Mix Of Cosmic New Wave, Unconventional Disco, Avant-garde Synth Pop, And Hybrid Electronic Funk, Colored Music Is Enchantingly Unique, A Sort Of Experimental And Magnetizing Take On David Bowie's Berlin Trilogy With A Psychedelic Haruomi Hosono Touch. From The Groovy Post-punk Glam Title Track To The Proto-house Dance Floor Killer heartbeat", Ichiko Hashimoto And Atsuo Fujimoto Hit All The Right (and Sometimes Not-exactly-right-but-truly-genius) Notes To Create The Odd And Beautiful, An Unparalleled Audio Escape To The Best Elsewhere You Can Think Of. Also Playing On The Album Are Celebrated Musicians Mansaku Kimura, Shuichi ponta' Murakami (pacific, Ki-motion By Mkwaju Ensemble, Collaborations With Jun Fukamachi, Yasuaki Shimizu, Haruomi Hosono...) Kiyohiko Semba, Tamio doyo' Kawabata, And Tatsuhiko Hizawa.

- 180 GRAM AUDIOPHILE VINYL
- INCLUDES INSERT

Alanis Morissette released some of her bestselling albums during the mid-90's, before writing some of her more complex songs in the zero's. Her sixth studio album So-Called Chaos deals with subjects like cynicism, bitterness and jealousy, but she acts in a happier way. The records reaches out to a more serious approach, but the catchy refrains stays intact. Romanced by her relationship with actor Ryan Reynolds she reaches out to unconditional love on her single Everything'. The opening track Eight Easy Steps' is layered in the ideas of self-destruction, while the new-age sounds of the synthesizers creates the imagination of Out is Through'. Allover it's an satisfying record in which she searches for answers in a more hopeful way.

Four years after her debut album Alanis Morissette released her million seller Jagged Little Pill, which includes her singles You Oughta Know', Ironic' and Hand in My Pocket'. She released eight studio albums and sold over 75 million records worldwide.

Transcendentally Beautiful, The Space Lady's Music Is Returning To Earth. Transmitting Messages Of Peace And Harmony, The Space Lady Began Her Odyssey On The Streets Of Boston In The Late 70s, Then San Francisco Ten Years Later, Playing Versions Of Contemporary Pop Music With An Accordion And Dressed Flamboyantly. Following The Theft And Destruction Of Her Accordion , The Space Lady Invested In A Then-new Casio Keyboard, Complete With A Phase Shifter And Headset Mic, Birthing An Otherworldly New Dimension To Popular Song That Has Captured The Imaginations Of The Underground And Its Leading Exponents Ever Since Having Toured Successfully All Around The World With Her Greatest 90s Hits Record, She Felt It Was Time To Record New Songs... And So She Did!

Some gigs are simply meant to be out there - even if they take decades to actually make it into our hands. This is without doubt one of those concerts, recorded at the Philips Halle, D sselsdorf on the 28th March 1979

during the Live Herald Tour. Includes the only known live recording of Talking to the Sun' Released following the AIM-nominated deluxe box set from Hillage, 'Searching for the Spark', this new 'Dusselsdorf' double CD showcases the Steve Hillage Band's prowess with excellent sound quality - a quality so high that you'll forget that it's a live recording until the applause. This is a band at the height of its powers, with Steve in great voice throughout, and most obviously utterly

enjoying themselves. The vibe is completely infectious and doesn't let up throughout the entire gig. Featuring Steve's own adventurous compositions and covers of Beatles and Donovan classics, all are approached with a joie-de-vivre and high sensibility. The trademark heady combination of vibrant psychedelic rock interwoven with an irresistible full blooded groove, interspersed with the smoothest of deepspace synth/guitar trips gathers all before it in a tsunami of up-lifting music.

With the benefit of hindsight, Steve's musical trajectory from the creative space riffs of Gong to the trance and techno of System 7 is made instantly clear. This version of 'Dusseldorf' will be released as a double CD presented in

mediabook packaging complete with a 24-page booklet and 3LP gatefold pressed on to 180g heavyweight vinyl.

Both hailing from Italy, Was A Be and Synth Ethics are two of the freshest talents emerging in drum & bass right now. Joining forces for Critical's Systems series sees them cementing this reputation even further with four unflinching tracks full of dance floor and ingenuity. Viva Italia!

Official album reissue of Sunshine by Junior Byron: A real Modern-Soul/Disco masterpiece, originally released in 1981 by Canadian label Formula Records, and very hard to find today. TIP!!!
.
Based in Canada, Junior Byron had quite a short career as a singer and recorded only a few singles and this stunning album between 1981 and 1985. Produced by André Perry and Joe La Greca, two famous names in the Canadian music scene, Sunshine is not just a one track album, but a complete whole piece of music, including some brilliants highlights such as Inch by Inch', Galaxy' or Sunshine', which are today must-haves in many DJ's lists.

As another longtime favorite collectable piece for Charles Maurice, it's a real honor and proud for Favorite Recordings, to finally officially reissue it for the first time on vinyl. In order to insure the best sound quality, the original tracklist has been dispatched on a double vinyl version, which should please all DJs and music collectors.

Blondie return with 11th studio album Pollinator lighting up 2017 with an incredible new record befitting one of the world's greatest bands. Produced live in the studio by John Congleton (St. Vincent, John Grant, War On Drugs, David Byrne). The last album recorded at New York's legendary Magic Shop studios before their closure. Blondie's classic writing duo of Chris Stein and Debbie Harry are at the heart of the creation with an impressive list of song writers on the project including Johnny Marr, TV On the Radio's Dave Sitek, Dev Hynes (Blood Orange, Lightspeed Champion) Adam Johnson aka An Unkindess, Sia and Charli XCX. Studio appearances from Joan Jett, Laurie Anderson and The Gregory Brothers.

In a career spanning 45 years, Leo Sayer has sold more than 80 MILLION records worldwide.
To coincide with Leo's forthcoming return to the UK for his 22-date 'Just A Boy At 70' tour, 'The Hollywood Years
1976-1978' is the second of a series of three Vinyl LP box sets.
'The Hollywood Years 1976-1978' comprises Leo's three studio albums. 'Endless Flight' (released 1976/UK
#4) 'Thunder In My Heart' (released 1977/UK #8) and 'Another Year' (released 1978/UK #15) and marked a
clear departure from his early albums.
Leo recorded these three albums with legendary producer Richard Perry, who brought in a variety of songwriters
and collaborators to work on the projects with Leo; it was a venerable Who's Who of the record industry.
Each vinyl LP Box set in this Limited Edition release, will be pressed on heavyweight 180g clear vinyl and contain
a signed 12'x12' print.
This project has been overseen by Leo Sayer, who remains one of the UK's great singer/songwriters of all time.

15 Jahre nach seinem frühen Tod feiert - The 20th Century Records Albums (1973-1979)' Barry White als einen der größten Künstler / Songwriter / Produzenten der 70er Jahre. Er etablierte den neuen Klang der Orchesterseele, der über das Jahrzehnt und darüber hinaus zu einem Grundbestandteil wurde. Das Vinyl-Box-Set enthält alle 9 LP-Alben, die Barry White über das Label 20th Century Records veröffentlicht hat und werden hier zum ersten Mal zusammengestellt. Alle neun Alben wurden zum ersten Mal seit ihrer Veröffentlichung in den 70er Jahren von den originalen analogen Masterbändern remastert und werden hier mit ihrem originalen Sleeve und Label Art präsentiert. Die Alben wurden in den Abbey Road Studios in London auf hochwertigem 180g Vinyl geschnitten, um die höchstmögliche Audioqualität zu garantieren.





















































[ZZA] q4 | Oh Me, Oh My (I'm Such a Lucky Guy)
[ZZB] r1 | I Can't Leave You Alone
[ZZC] r2 | Call Me, Baby
[ZZD] r3 | How Did You Know It Was Me

Art pop meets Mongolian throat singing, Blade Runner meets Walter Carlos (Clockwork Orange), Tom Dissevelt and Kid Baltan (Bowie's favourite band) meet Tame Impala.

The fifth album from Marsmobil has been hailed by many as their best yet. With closer ties to Minx' (2006) than the last two albums, Fairytales Of The Supersurvivor' returns to Marsmobil's signature strength of wondrously brilliant songs ( And The Fishes In The Ocean', Shadows Of The Inner Light') that blend off-the-wall cinemascope sounds with dazzling beats and punchy, powerful hooks to create uniquely distinctive art pop anthems.
As always with Marsmobil, Roberto Di Gioia writes, plays, sings and programs everything himself. Here, as on Minx', he's brought in support from a fabulous singer - the very wonderful Amber Lin, who contributes vocals on four songs. All the cover illustrations are also by Di Gioia.

Multi-instrumentalist Roberto Di Gioia needs little introduction. The curious can explore his biography, discography and extensive lists of projects and collaborations as musician and songwriter (see below) for an impression of the hugely diverse achievements of this multi-talent and brilliant musician.
As a topical heads-up, Roberto Di Gioia is also the founder of the German jazz supergroup Web Web and released the album Oracle' in September 2017. The second Web Web album will follow in early 2018, hard on the heels of the fifth Marsmobil release. Di Gioia also wrote and produced Teufelswerk' for DJ Hell and contributed virtually all the songs on Hell's latest album, Zukunftsmusik'.

Mark Funk and Danny Cruz's Cruise Music label continues to offer-up the best of its digital-first EPs via the popular Vinyl Jams sampler series. There's a real sun-splashed, dancing-on-the-terrace feel to much of the music contained on this 14th volume in the series. Mark Funk steps up first with the loopy, filter-rich disco-house release of 'Never Never', which rises and falls in all the right places in search of hands-aloft action, before Makito drops the vibraphone solo-laden deep house-meets-garage-house flex of 'Heavy Vibes' (think Masters at Work collaborating with Roy Ayers and you're close), Over on side B, Danny Cruz serves up 'Sugar', a tooled-up, house-style re-edit of a joyous disco gem, while Filth & Smell's 'Panama Sweet Spot' is an electric piano and sax-loop-fired slab of thickset house funkiness.

2026 Repress

Italian-Iranian DJ/producer Sciahri lays down a deeply hypnotic seven- track EP on return to Mutual Rytm. Heading up the agenda-setting Sublunar label, which is one of Mutual Rytm boss SHDW's personal favourites, Sciahri has been deep in the scene for more than a decade ever since he turned heads with a debut on Ilian Tape in 2014. Well respected for his carefully balanced love of the classic sound with new school influences, always delivering cuts with a refined and personal touch, highlighted and showcased via his widely-loved ‘Pareidolia’ release series. Returning on the label following his appearance on the ‘Federation of Rytm IV’ compilation, he lands with a freshly evolved EP that kicks off with the much hyped ID, ‘Moonwake’. That cut is built on robust, rumbling drums and layered up with flashy synths that bring stark futurism to the dance floor. ‘Liminal’ follows a similar linear path with musical drums and synths that twist and twitch, firing your synapses while your body is locked to the rhythm, before ‘Night Sentinel’ transports you to a more eerie world of anxiousness and tension - the synths are spooky, and the sonar pulses keep you on edge as immersive drums race nonstop. ‘Unmoved’ lands heavy, the bulky kick drums coming on like a storm with howling synth winds adding to the all-consuming atmosphere. ‘Too Much Time’ closes out with a wall-rattling groove and subtle synth motifs that creep in the shadows. As always with the label, digital cuts ‘Silent Frontier’ - which gets dancers on their toes with a backlit synth glow - and ‘Louisiana’ - which brings a more psychedelic energy and hard, hammering groove, rounding out a stylish, meticulously produced offering.

SECOND REISSUE ON THIS HEAT’s OWN NEW IMPRINT FOLLOWING ‘THIS HEAT’ (TH01LP) WHICH WAS UNCUT ‘REISSUE OF THE MONTH’ RECENTLY WITH 9/10 REVIEW + 4-PAGE FEATURE WITH Q+A.

*24 bit/96 kHz re-master from original analog tapes.
*Heavyweight 180gm vinyl and heavyweight sleeve with pantone printing to match original 1979 release.
Simon Reynolds on Health and Efficiency:

“For some fans, Health and Efficiency is This Heat’s peak achievement – their most concentrated blast of visceral intensity and wayward experimentalism….Lead track “Health & Efficiency” combines fierce angular rock that fully lives up to Cunningham’s belief that This Heat could become a postpunk King Crimson, with a multi-part babble of vocals, clattering percussive timbres, and found sounds.’’

Flipside “Graphic/Varispeed” is more subdued and hypnotic: a wavering tonescape whose duration depends on whether you play it at 45 rpm or 33 rpm. This reissue reproduces the original release’s striking cover image of a human figure painted in blue by Pete Cobb, along with the cryptic flipside of text in many different languages.

Although widely considered to be Post-Punk’s finest, This Heat actually began performing and recording their music in 1976, the early days of London’s punk era. Within their two albums and an EP they perfected a strange and volatile new strain of avant-garde rock that time has proved to be massively influential, a blueprint for much that would follow: post-rock, math rock, homemade musique concrète, experimental electronica. Numerous critics have recognised the band's influence on the music of Sonic Youth, Glenn Branca, Steven Wilson, Public Image Ltd., Radiohead, Swans, Shellac, Young Knives, Black Dice, Lightning Bolt and numerous other experimental and post-rock bands.

Disbanding in 1982 they have left an undeniable legacy that has only continued to grow in stature and relevance.Having recently passed the 50 year anniversary of their first gig, and the recording of material that appears on their debut album, the group’s surviving members Charles Bullen and Charles Hayward, true to their DIY roots, have set up an imprint to release their recordings for their growing fan base that is increasingly recognising their influential place in music history. 


‘They went beyond punk before punk had properly started…the entire album is a controlled explosion of ideas. Nearly fifty years on, This Heat’s debut is something the world has still not completely caught up with.’ - Simon Reynolds

‘Over the years, there have been bands to play as aggressively, or even as strangely, but very few have been able to rise from their collective influences and histories to create music so singularly distinctive and inspiring.’ – Pitchfork 9/10

‘This Heat sounded like the future then ... and still do now.’ - Dan Snaith (Caribou)

‘This Heat had a certain kind of force the post-punk bands were unable to adequately control without falling foul of rawk excess, and which the punk bands—albeit blitzing and rowdy—were too basic in form to build.’ – John Calvert , The Quietus


180g Heavy double vinyl LP with liner notes by Tyran Grillo. Limited Japanese Obi for the first pressing. Original artwork by Russell Mills and photography by Jean-Baptiste Mondino.

The third Time Capsule is a body of dub reinterpretations by celebrated producer Bill Laswell of Ethiopian singer Gigi. Curated by Tokyo record collector, music researcher and seasoned reissue supervisor Ken Hidaka, it is the first time Illuminated Audio is pressed to vinyl after its CD release in 2003.

Ejigayehu Shibabaw was born in 1974 in Chagni, northwestern Ethiopia and by pursuing a career as a singer, went against her father’s strict, traditional gender roles. As Gigi, she embraced the same musical freedom she had strived for in her personal life, incorporating the Ethiopian church, funk, hip-hop, West and South African music into her work. She first settled in Nairobi, then Addis Ababa, where she quickly established herself as one of the city’s leading singers. A move to San Francisco in 1998 led to a long and fruitful creative partnership with bassist and producer Bill Laswell.

Around the same time, Chris Blackwell had stepped away from Island Records to start the art house film company and label Palm Pictures. He took an interest in Gigi and together with Laswell, pulled together an all-star cast of musicians for her self-titled US debut album, including Herbie Hancock, Pharoah Sanders and Wayne Shorter. It won international critical acclaim, not just for its musicianship but for making Gigi a “defining voice for the Ethiopian expatriate community”, as journalist Tyran Grillo praises in his Time Capsule liner notes. From the nation-defining 1896 victory over Italian invaders to the quiet revolutionaries who wear simple shemma garments, Grillo believes the themes in Gigi make it “a shower of sunlight on her homeland for those ignorant of its struggles.”

After its success, Blackwell encouraged them to go back into the studio to rethink the album and Illuminated Audio was born. “Anyone can make a voice sound worldly”, Grillo remarks, “but rare are those who can make one sound inner-worldly.” Gigi was clear with Laswell to give her vocals a minor role “because it’s already been done.” Instead her Amharic verse is fleeting, exhaling through the textures like ghostly fragments; soaring yet muted. Yet the album is still titled under her name, an assertion by Laswell of her central role in the album’s creation. Not only was it a fully endorsed project by Gigi, but she would be present throughout its development, giving feedback on half-finished ideas as Laswell played them back in the studio. “It works perfectly”, she reflected after the album’s release. “We wanted to capture the whole spirit of each track, and Bill’s remixes create a different music language that really puts you in a pleasant place”.

This new vocabulary takes its lead from a technical approach that Laswell had been perfecting during a furtive creative period at the turn of the millennium. Much like his ambient interpretations of Miles Davis (Panthalassa, 1998), Bob Marley (Dreams of Freedom, 1997), and Carlos Santana (Divine Light, 2001), Laswell approached Illuminated Audio by returning to the original multitrack masters. Gigi wasn’t just reworked, but recomposed into an expansive lattice of instruments, submerged in a watery ambience of dub and trance undercurrents.

Sonically, this new language that Gigi refers to, is manifested by the original album’s more understated parts being pushed to the fore. Explaining his contrasting methods, Laswell saw Gigi as being “put together in a way that fits”. Contrastingly, in Illuminated Audio, “a lot of things that I featured in the remix weren’t as audible in the original.” Instrumentation laying near-dormant, deep in the mix, are brought to the fore: the acid rock guitar and Wayne Shorter’s saxophone on ‘Tew Ante Sew’, Graham Haynes’ flugelhorn on ‘Nafekeñ’, Laswell’s bass on ‘Kahn’, the melodica in Mengedegna or the floating synths and talking drums in ‘Gud Fella’.

Brought to his attention by mentor DJ Nori, Hidaka describes Illuminated Audio as a “masterful sonic exploration into ethereal ambience and dub” and made sure this reissue also contained a full remaster to give its “deep musicality” much better dynamics and density in the overall sound. Hidaka admits that Laswell's music “is sometimes so out-there, it is often misunderstood” and, indeed, to dub album non-believers this might seem like a prolific producer imposing himself on another artist’s work; eternally developing rearrangements that never quite get to its destination. But that’s missing its true power and triumph. This is more than the reissue of a remix, but “a wholly unique musical entity”, as Hidaka describes. Illuminated Audio refers to the illuminated manuscripts that comprise the major part of Ethiopian art and its new compositions stand in proud solitude as a rare body of reworks that both informs and enhances their originals.

Avril Lavigne - LET GO (20th ANNIVERSARY EDITION) - Let Go celebrates 20 years as one of the most influential pop punk albums of the early 2000's. Originally released in June of 2002, Let Go became an instant sensation with hits such as "Complicated," and "Sk8ter Boi" dominating the charts and airwaves. Certified 7X Platinum, the album has cemented it's lasting legacy in the pop punk world and beyond. To commemorate it's 20th anniversary, an expanded edition of the original album will be released featuring 6 bonus tracks, including a brand-new recording of "Breakaway" by Avril, reimagined 20 years later.

A quick scan of the world’s favourite crowdsourced discography reveals that Sonic Youth co-founder Lee Ranaldo was not a total stranger to crackling electric experimentation in the years following his songwriting turns of the 20-teens. Yet »The System«, ingeniously culled and sequenced from Ranaldo’s soundtrack work for Dutch filmmaker Joris Postema’s ›eco-doc‹ of the same name, nonetheless feels like a reawakening. Quietly released in a vastly different (and much more ›filmic‹) form by Doxy Music/Riva Media Records in 2025, this LP reimagines and reconfigures the initial release, including unreleased material written and recorded for the film, to lend it new stature as both a return to drone-improv form and a reunion with introspective Downtown angst.

Given the state of the world, it’s not surprising that the film Ranaldo scores – a documentary on three climate activists bruising their fists on the black iron prison of techno-fascist deathkultur – is a study in despair and futility. But rather than wallowing in navel-gazing doom and gloom, the film documents the unstoppable spirit that has animated human resistance since the time of the Pharaohs.

As it turns out, the gorgeous scope of Lee Ranaldo’s guitar palette is a perfect manifestation of the hope and despair that animates the film. But like other high-water marks in the guitar-centric soundtrack canon – the high plains raga of Bruce Langhorne’s »Hired Hand«, Neil Young’s sparse and ghostly solo transmissions on »Dead Man«, or the monolithic mantras of Popol Vuh’s »Nosferatu« – its devotion to spectral gestures and meditative song forms launches it firmly outside of the OST orbit into a universe fully its own.

It might seem like a long journey from the Lower Manhattan rhythmic grime of the album’s opener »Tajikistan (Nice to Meet You)« (reminiscent of guitar opuses like Robert Quine and Jody Harris’s »Escape«) to the ringing cowboy chords of the final track, but the narrative logic of the LP pulls the listener along as solidly as a pack horse. As the LP unwinds, and collaborators like Jim Jarmusch, cellist Leila Boudreil, Yeah Yeah Yeahs snare shaman Brian Chase, and guitarist Yonatan Gat take their places, new vistas unfurl: the ritualistic thrum of »Berlin Blockade«, the haunted overtone palaces of »Bergelmir«, and the cavernous acoustic strumming of »Instruments of Violence«. It all winds up with the high lonesome standard »Cool Water«, each unhurried note trailing off into long-tail reverb, layers of shifting vocal harmonies pulling everything skyward – a hopeful note in an album where existential dread never lurks too deeply below the surface.

In the end, »The System« functions both as a film score and a hallucinatory (mostly) instrumental guitar record, revealing a sensibility not too often spotted in the 21st century – a liminal space where the song, the jam, and the meditation merge into a blurred whole. »The System«’s expansive fabric, emerging from a collective sound circling around Ranaldo’s signature tones, envelops and ampl amplifies the contributions of its community of creators – the perfect antidote to narcissistic despair. Much like the subjects of the film light the way towards intra-generational resistance, the music of »The System« reveals a path through gathering darkness. The world could be yours if you follow.

– Tom Carter

A quick scan of the world’s favourite crowdsourced discography reveals that Sonic Youth co-founder Lee Ranaldo was not a total stranger to crackling electric experimentation in the years following his songwriting turns of the 20-teens. Yet »The System«, ingeniously culled and sequenced from Ranaldo’s soundtrack work for Dutch filmmaker Joris Postema’s ›eco-doc‹ of the same name, nonetheless feels like a reawakening. Quietly released in a vastly different (and much more ›filmic‹) form by Doxy Music/Riva Media Records in 2025, this LP reimagines and reconfigures the initial release, including unreleased material written and recorded for the film, to lend it new stature as both a return to drone-improv form and a reunion with introspective Downtown angst.

Given the state of the world, it’s not surprising that the film Ranaldo scores – a documentary on three climate activists bruising their fists on the black iron prison of techno-fascist deathkultur – is a study in despair and futility. But rather than wallowing in navel-gazing doom and gloom, the film documents the unstoppable spirit that has animated human resistance since the time of the Pharaohs.

As it turns out, the gorgeous scope of Lee Ranaldo’s guitar palette is a perfect manifestation of the hope and despair that animates the film. But like other high-water marks in the guitar-centric soundtrack canon – the high plains raga of Bruce Langhorne’s »Hired Hand«, Neil Young’s sparse and ghostly solo transmissions on »Dead Man«, or the monolithic mantras of Popol Vuh’s »Nosferatu« – its devotion to spectral gestures and meditative song forms launches it firmly outside of the OST orbit into a universe fully its own.

It might seem like a long journey from the Lower Manhattan rhythmic grime of the album’s opener »Tajikistan (Nice to Meet You)« (reminiscent of guitar opuses like Robert Quine and Jody Harris’s »Escape«) to the ringing cowboy chords of the final track, but the narrative logic of the LP pulls the listener along as solidly as a pack horse. As the LP unwinds, and collaborators like Jim Jarmusch, cellist Leila Boudreil, Yeah Yeah Yeahs snare shaman Brian Chase, and guitarist Yonatan Gat take their places, new vistas unfurl: the ritualistic thrum of »Berlin Blockade«, the haunted overtone palaces of »Bergelmir«, and the cavernous acoustic strumming of »Instruments of Violence«. It all winds up with the high lonesome standard »Cool Water«, each unhurried note trailing off into long-tail reverb, layers of shifting vocal harmonies pulling everything skyward – a hopeful note in an album where existential dread never lurks too deeply below the surface.

In the end, »The System« functions both as a film score and a hallucinatory (mostly) instrumental guitar record, revealing a sensibility not too often spotted in the 21st century – a liminal space where the song, the jam, and the meditation merge into a blurred whole. »The System«’s expansive fabric, emerging from a collective sound circling around Ranaldo’s signature tones, envelops and ampl amplifies the contributions of its community of creators – the perfect antidote to narcissistic despair. Much like the subjects of the film light the way towards intra-generational resistance, the music of »The System« reveals a path through gathering darkness. The world could be yours if you follow.

– Tom Carter

Composer and multi-instrumentalist Koen Holtkamp has spent more than two decades shaping a body of work at the intersection of ambient, experimental, and electroacoustic music. Known for his role in the influential duo Mountains, as well as a solo catalog defined by texture and spatial awareness, Holtkamp has long explored how sound interacts with environment and perception. With Nightlife, he enters a new phase of that inquiry, one shaped as much by physical relocation as artistic evolution.

After leaving Brooklyn for the relatively rural setting of New York’s Hudson Valley, Holtkamp found himself immersed in nature and embracing a slower way of life, a shift that directly informed the album’s creation. Rather than rushing into a new project, he allowed the space itself to guide him, focusing on experimentation and play instead of a fixed outcome. Over time, a new instrument emerged from his modular system, built around physical modeling techniques that emulate plucked string sounds. Drawing on a deep affinity for acoustic traditions, from guitar soli to the kora and other chordophones, he began translating those influences into an electronic language, creating music that feels tangible, effusive, and even intimate, despite its synthetic nature. As the pieces took shape, Holtkamp expanded the project into a kind of imagined ensemble. Composed with specific collaborators in mind, the album features extensive contributions from drummer Greg Fox and saxophonist and flutist Matt Bauder, whose performances subtly reshape the material and draw it toward more fluid, song-like forms, alongside a guest appearance from Ben Vida on synth bass. Yet even as Nightlife occasionally resembles a band in motion, its construction resists traditional cohesion. Acoustic and electronic sources coexist to create a hyper-dimensional sense of space, with each element deliberately placed in its own distinct environment, yielding a complex yet inviting setting that feels both otherworldly and completely natural.

Much of the album was created during late-night sessions, which became a kind of personal ritual and ultimately inspired its title. Nightlife unfolds as a series of finely detailed environments, where stillness, texture, and subtle interplay take precedence over momentum. Each piece invites close listening while remaining open and unforced, reflecting both a change in pace and a deepening of focus. The result extends Holtkamp’s ongoing interest in how sound can shape, and be shaped by, the spaces we inhabit.

Danielle Ponder is done waiting for a future version of herself to arrive. Now, the Rochester-born, Atlanta-rooted singer-songwriter is unapologetically living in the moment. This realization powers Everything Has Changed, Ponder's anticipated sophomore album (and debut on Dead Oceans in partnership with Phoebe Bridgers). The LP is Ponder’s most self-assured statement to date: it was crafted through a period of immense transformation as the beloved vocalist propelled from being a lawyer to a full-fledged musical powerhouse. That artistic freedom threads the album, as heard on lead single, “Power”, which serves as both a declaration and an affirmation for the Black diaspora. Other highlights include the revelatory “Sun and Moon”, the towering blues ballad “God of You”, and the devastatingly vulnerable “Open Windows”. Everything Has Changed dismantles the stories Ponder once told herself and finds peace in what remains—all themes that have shaped much of her journey. Music was always a constant presence throughout her life, but practicality initially took over in adulthood. While performing with her family’s band and later developing her own projects, Ponder pursued a legal career focused on criminal justice reform.

It wasn’t until her late 30s that she allowed herself to seriously imagine music as more than a side pursuit. In 2021, at age 39, she finally took the leap, leaving law behind to pursue her artistry full-time. The gamble paid off: she signed her first record deal in 2022, becoming a trailblazer on her own unusual path to worldwide renown. Her debut album Some of Us Are Brave introduced Ponder as one of soul music’s most compelling new voices, thanks to singles like “Someone Like You”, “Roll The Credits,” and the empowering title track. The LP earned critical acclaim along with dozens of major sync placements, including the latest Apple campaign for the iPhone 16 Pro. She’s since had four major TV appearances, including Jimmy Kimmel Live! Ponder has also sold out shows across North America and Europe, including festival appearances at Bonnaroo, Lollapalooza, Afropunk, and the Montreux Jazz Festival.
But if that album documented her arrival, Everything Has Changed documents her evolution.

Danielle Ponder is done waiting for a future version of herself to arrive. Now, the Rochester-born, Atlanta-rooted singer-songwriter is unapologetically living in the moment. This realization powers Everything Has Changed, Ponder's anticipated sophomore album (and debut on Dead Oceans in partnership with Phoebe Bridgers). The LP is Ponder’s most self-assured statement to date: it was crafted through a period of immense transformation as the beloved vocalist propelled from being a lawyer to a full-fledged musical powerhouse. That artistic freedom threads the album, as heard on lead single, “Power”, which serves as both a declaration and an affirmation for the Black diaspora. Other highlights include the revelatory “Sun and Moon”, the towering blues ballad “God of You”, and the devastatingly vulnerable “Open Windows”. Everything Has Changed dismantles the stories Ponder once told herself and finds peace in what remains—all themes that have shaped much of her journey. Music was always a constant presence throughout her life, but practicality initially took over in adulthood. While performing with her family’s band and later developing her own projects, Ponder pursued a legal career focused on criminal justice reform.

It wasn’t until her late 30s that she allowed herself to seriously imagine music as more than a side pursuit. In 2021, at age 39, she finally took the leap, leaving law behind to pursue her artistry full-time. The gamble paid off: she signed her first record deal in 2022, becoming a trailblazer on her own unusual path to worldwide renown. Her debut album Some of Us Are Brave introduced Ponder as one of soul music’s most compelling new voices, thanks to singles like “Someone Like You”, “Roll The Credits,” and the empowering title track. The LP earned critical acclaim along with dozens of major sync placements, including the latest Apple campaign for the iPhone 16 Pro. She’s since had four major TV appearances, including Jimmy Kimmel Live! Ponder has also sold out shows across North America and Europe, including festival appearances at Bonnaroo, Lollapalooza, Afropunk, and the Montreux Jazz Festival.
But if that album documented her arrival, Everything Has Changed documents her evolution.

Common Primitives is the second collaborative album between Andy Bell (Ride guitarist, Oasis bassist) and Essex-based harp and synth duo Masal. It’s a stunning, meditative collection which veers from kosmische to astral jazz by way of Turkish folk tunes and all the way back again.


Their first outing, 2023’s acclaimed Tidal Love Numbers, consisted of four lengthy and almost ambient tracks and is included here on vinyl for the first time as part of a two-record set with the new album. By contrast, the seven tracks that make up Common Primitives are almost concise, but also a lot more layered and complex.


“We tend to work from initial, free-jammed ideas, building form and arrangement from there,” explains Masal’s Al Johnson. “Above all, we believe you should go where the vibe takes you.”


For Andy, that vibe was very much jazz legend Pharoah Sanders’ classic 1977 album Pharoah, which was reissued a few years ago.


“It puts me into a hypnotic state,” he explains. “That’s why I worked with more guitar loops on this record. The Tisziji Muñoz part on ‘Harvest Time’ has had me in a vice-like grip for the last three years and it arrives here via the Vini Reilly filter.”


For Özlem Simsek, there is nostalgia, too, and she even adds vocals as well as her heavenly harp to the opening track, ‘After Kâtibim’, based on a traditional Turkish folk song she had sung as a child growing up in Istanbul.


From there, the album takes us on a real journey, with the apt, impressionistic titles added by Andy once it had all been pieced together. There’s the beautiful, elegant ‘I Swear We Are Infinite’; the atmospheric ‘Yuzuki Fighting Spirit’ and the beatific ‘Soap And Water’. ‘Tower Of Babylon’ was named after the novelette by Ted Chiang, its structured creation reflecting that in the story; first single ‘The Morning Of The Trip’ finds Andy playing his guitar “as if it was a waterfall”. The journey ends with ‘Rudi’s Dream – The Third Bardo’, the trio accelerating onto the autobahn for a krautrock crescendo inspired by their studio’s resident cat.

Common Primitives is the second collaborative album between Andy Bell (Ride guitarist, Oasis bassist) and Essex-based harp and synth duo Masal. It’s a stunning, meditative collection which veers from kosmische to astral jazz by way of Turkish folk tunes and all the way back again.


Their first outing, 2023’s acclaimed Tidal Love Numbers, consisted of four lengthy and almost ambient tracks and is included here on vinyl for the first time as part of a two-record set with the new album. By contrast, the seven tracks that make up Common Primitives are almost concise, but also a lot more layered and complex.


“We tend to work from initial, free-jammed ideas, building form and arrangement from there,” explains Masal’s Al Johnson. “Above all, we believe you should go where the vibe takes you.”


For Andy, that vibe was very much jazz legend Pharoah Sanders’ classic 1977 album Pharoah, which was reissued a few years ago.


“It puts me into a hypnotic state,” he explains. “That’s why I worked with more guitar loops on this record. The Tisziji Muñoz part on ‘Harvest Time’ has had me in a vice-like grip for the last three years and it arrives here via the Vini Reilly filter.”


For Özlem Simsek, there is nostalgia, too, and she even adds vocals as well as her heavenly harp to the opening track, ‘After Kâtibim’, based on a traditional Turkish folk song she had sung as a child growing up in Istanbul.


From there, the album takes us on a real journey, with the apt, impressionistic titles added by Andy once it had all been pieced together. There’s the beautiful, elegant ‘I Swear We Are Infinite’; the atmospheric ‘Yuzuki Fighting Spirit’ and the beatific ‘Soap And Water’. ‘Tower Of Babylon’ was named after the novelette by Ted Chiang, its structured creation reflecting that in the story; first single ‘The Morning Of The Trip’ finds Andy playing his guitar “as if it was a waterfall”. The journey ends with ‘Rudi’s Dream – The Third Bardo’, the trio accelerating onto the autobahn for a krautrock crescendo inspired by their studio’s resident cat.