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Simoncino is back on the iconic label that launched his career: SKYLAX RECORDS. In the meantime, he has become a benchmark artist in particular for his passion, his extreme mastery of analog material and his ability to craft dream like soundscapes and mystical house atmospheres; who has seen him collaborate in recent years with the biggest names in house: Larry Heard, Boyd Jarvis, Tevo Howard and Robert Owens on excellent labels such as Lies, Vibraphone, Crème organization, Hotmix or Mathematics. For this new release, the fruit of a maturation of several months in his studio, the made in Perugia prodigy has once again surrounded himself with the master of chicago house, the legendary Merwyn Sanders of Virgo Four (who already appeared as a remixer on the Warrior Dance part 4 in 2012 on SKYLAX) on vocals. Its inimitable style is a clever mix of chicago house tinged with the most classy techno touches, “on the dance floor” will delight both fans of the purest house but also those who are also followers of the original techno made in detroit. A mix brilliantly revealed by the golden voice of Merwyn Sanders. On the B-side, the pair reward us with a high-end remix signed by the brilliant and bulimic producer from La Hague, the furious madman Danny Wolfers aka Legowelt. To conclude, the title In Viaggio reminds us how much Simoncino is also able of creating real house bombs that send us straight into the stratosphere. ON THE DANCEFLOOR we tell you.

Official vinyl reissue of this early Children of Bodom cult classic. Remastered by Anssi Kippo at Astia Studios, and featuring a few bonus tracks on an extra disc.

Premieres from Data Transmission and Bolting Bits. Early support from Hospital, Huey Morgan, Rupture, Fanu, Rob Luis, Anthony Kasper (Fokuz), Red Rack'em, Bandcamp Weekly, etc.

150 copies pressed on 180 gram vinyl. Picture shows the HF021VFELT edition which comes with 'Nuthin' But a Jungle Thang' die-cut felt sleeve insert (in assorted colours), with Heard and Felt embroidered fabric tag. HF021V edition is the same 180g vinyl without the felt sleeve insert.

With music from Jonny Faith's recent Night Lights EP appearing in Grand Theft Auto and best of 2020 lists including Gilles Peterson's, you might think Jonny would continue to mine his take on hip hop and broken beat. Well, all in good time. He's been ready to enter the jungle for 20 years, and he's not waiting any longer.

Now based in Melbourne, Jonny first got involved in music in Edinburgh as a DJ and turntablist in the 90s, getting hooked on jungle, drum & bass, hip hop and the hybrids of these championed by the Mo'Wax label. Formative experiences included hearing DJ Hype spinning in Newcastle, seeing the Roni Size/Reprazent live show with two drummers and hanging out at cult Edinburgh club night Manga, where residents G-Mac and DJ Kid hosted the likes of Marky, Grooverider and J Majik.

Jonny was keen to start making his own sounds, signing up for an electronic music production course. But it wasn't quite what he was after.

'The course turned out to be more house-oriented,' Jonny recalls. 'Sampling wasn't on the curriculum, and the students weren't allowed to touch the Akai S900, the sampler used in lots of the early jungle classics.'

When Jonny did start releasing his own productions a few years later, he was starting to explore the experimental beat scene around the time Flying Lotus and Hudson Mohawke (another Scottish turntablist) were starting to make their mark.

Jonny continued to widen his sonic palette, adding elements of dub, jazz, funk, electronica and broken beat, and picking up fans like Radio Nova Paris, KCRW, Vice and Clash Magazine along the way. But he's never been more than one degree of separation from his jungle/D&B roots. He continued to buy and play the music, did the odd D&B remix and snuck sonic elements and techniques into his tracks at various tempos. Over the years his releases have shared labels with the likes of Peshay, Om Unit, Drumagick, Reso, Kid Drama and Danny Scrilla.

Now, more than 20 years after those early experiences in Edinburgh, Jonny unveils his first jungle/D&B EP, On Lock. And it sounds like he's been making this music the whole time. In a way, he has.

The single 'Open My Eyes' bursts out the gate, chopping not only the breaks and the soul for a tune that sounds like Amerie's '1 Thing', or some Just Blaze chipmunk soul, reimagined for the 174 BPM crew. Jonny started this one as a hip hop beat for a live routine on his MPC, but it only really came together when he reframed the groove around a D&B rhythm. Next up, Jonny tries a similar trick on his own boom bap tune 'Stay in Your Lane' from the 'Night Lights' EP. His new Step Off Mix totally recontextualises US MC Lady K's slinky soulful rap and hooks with a tough and funky junglist groove. One for fans of the old Roni Size/Bahamadia collab. 'Create' then spaces things out just a touch, with atmospheric but propulsive drumfunk. Vinyl bonus track 'Nuthin' But a Jungle Thang' layers cascading amen breaks, timestretched vocals and a massive double bass-line over the wah guitars and synth whistling of a G-funk era classic.

With early support for Jonny Faith's take on jungle/D&B coming from Hospital Records, Rupture (Rinse FM) and Fanu (Metalheadz), Jonny is ready to be welcomed (back) into the scene.


b A2: Stay in Your Lane (Jonny Faith Step Off Mix) feat. Lady K

Athlete Whippet join the Toy Tonics family! The London/Berlin-based duo make a sound that is based on futuristic breakbeats combined with deep, jazz chord progressions and a kind of funk that sounds more like it was made in 2100 then in a year behind us. Definitely not a retro record the Vesta EP is further proof that the connection between London and Berlin that has been build by several Toy Tonics artists (Cody Currie the latest in the gang) is becoming a strong one. The combination of the Berlin dancefloor sound and the UK jazz fusion soul is changing the scene and creating new moods. Neo soul and house, broken beats and disco.. there are lot of things happening in that new world and Athlete Whippet could be a strong player in that new sound.

The 2 guys already achieved great support by UK radio DJs such as Annie Mac and Jamz Supernova for their their first collaborative EP Touch (with Metronomy’s Olugbenga), followed by their 2020 solo EP 'Your Love Is Lifting Me', an ode to compassion and solidarity, and remixes for labels including Rhythm Section.

‘Vesta’ is not just the title track of the EP but also the name of the South London Road where they shared an apartment, built a studio in their living room, and put together the first ideas for this EP.

Both Robin and Avi come from a live performance background, played in bands since their early teenage years before they met studying music at Goldsmiths in London. You can hear a playful live quality throughout the EP. It’s not your average house productions with the usual formalistic patterns, but a very original, very fresh style - hard to copy (but easy to dance to).

Now based between Berlin and London, they collaborate with their friend, Athens-born, Berlin-based artist Aphty Khéa on Yesterday and Can’t Make My Mind Up.

Avi and Robin their label squareglass and a London-residency inviting guests such as Seb Wildblood, Will Saul, Asquith, Anu and also have a monthly show on Rinse FM.

A vital moment in the resurgence of the London Jazz scene. This epoch-defining set captures all the power, energy and deftness of touch that became the thrilling, visceral experience of Binker and Moses' breakthrough performance at the now-legendary (and much missed) East London venue Total Refreshment Centre. Recorded on a sweltering night in the Summer of 2017. The palpable excitement of the crowd and its energetic, liberated response to the action on stage adds extra levels to the atmospherics, and elevates the pioneering duo's performance to a new high.

Leo Ceccanti should be a familiar name to all followers of the Claremont 56 label. Alongside sometime studio partner Gianluca Salvadori, he was responsible for two delightfully distinctive Almunia albums released on the label, 2011’s New Moon and 2013’s Pulsar. Both sets were filled with golden, sun-kissed sounds, psychedelic grooves and immersive, life-affirming soundscapes.

Now he’s decided to go it alone as Leo Almunia, delivering a debut album for Claremont 56 that’s every bit as alluring, wide-eyed and evocative as those he made with Salvadori. In keeping with his previous work, the album blends layered acoustic and electric guitars with toasty bass, dreamy synthesizers and grooves that variously touch on hypnotic house, chugging mid-tempo disco, sunset-ready Balearic beats and, on the glistening, life-affirming album highlight ‘Wishing Star’, loose-limbed jazz breaks.

What’s most significant about Ceccanti’s personal musical style is not the blend of stylistic influences he draws on – think psychedelic rock, progressive rock, jazz-rock, new age ambient and slow-motion disco – but rather the way he uses it to paint vivid aural images that genuinely linger long in the memory.

After opening with the duelling guitars and chunky dub disco grooves of ‘Sinking Fields’, Ceccanti sashays between magical moments of rush-inducing positivity, heart-tugging poignance and heady nostalgia.

Along the way, you’ll find numerous sonic highlights. On the intoxicating 21st century psychedelia of ‘Panerea’, jangling chords and eyes-closed psych-rock guitar solos ride a chugging, thickset electronic bassline, while ‘Il Cormorano’ is a metronomic, flash-fried workout rich in fuzz-tone guitar motifs, bluesy riffs and echoing instrumental touches.

He cannily joins the dots between Mid-West Americana and throbbing, psychedelic disco-chug on ‘Loveblind’, while ‘Minor Circle’ sits somewhere between Santana, the Pat Metheny Band and sunrise-ready Balearic blues. Arguably even better is the saucer-eyed brilliance of ‘Brillo De Luna’, where a dubbed-out electronic beat becomes enveloped in life-affirming acoustic guitar chords, exotic slide guitar motifs and string-bending solos. If John Lennon had ingested MDMA rather than LSD before writing ‘Across The Universe’, it would probably sound like this.

Then there’s the album’s crowning moment, closer ‘Can’t Hold a Lover’. A heart-aching, largely ambient instrumental that channels the loneliness and anguish felt by many of those separated from their nearest and dearest during the pandemic, it sees Ceccanti brilliantly wrap a variety of sun-bright guitar textures and solos around some of the loveliest synthesizer chords you’re every likely to hear. On an album packed with effervescent, mood-enhancing musical highs, it’s a rare moment of bittersweet bliss.

It all starts with a great song and “You Baby” has it all! Penned by husband and wife team Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil with the magic touch of Phil Spector – what an awesome trio – and the bedrock of a future classic.
The song was originally produced by Spector for the Ronettes, signed to his Philles label, and appeared on their 1964 breakthrough album ‘Presenting The Fabulous Ronettes’ featuring, of course, his wife to be Veronica Bennett. The song was also recorded in the U.S. by pop/rock band the Lovin’ Spoonful for their 1965 debut album ‘Do You Believe In Magic’.
However, in January 1966 Pye Records unleashed JACKIE TRENT’s epic Northern Soul version produced by her husband Tony Hatch. Heralded by a pounding drum beat and trumpet blast it is no wonder that Jackie’s definitive cover shook the walls at Wigan Casino a decade later. And its popularity has never gone away, hence its current price tag of £300-400! Check out Jackie’s performance on the Morecambe and Wise Show on YouTube, what an intro!
“You Baby” was also recorded in May ’66 by Cameo Parkway’s Lovenotes in a very similar vein and in November ’66 by the legendary Len Barry. Other notable cover’s include Sonny & Cher, the Bubblegum pop group Salt Water Taffy and, in 1975, John Holt’s reggae version.
“Lost Summer Love” was originally recorded in 1964 by U.S. actress Shelley Fabares known for her long-running role as Mary Stone in the sitcom ‘The Donna Reed Show’ and as Elvis Presley’s leading lady in ‘Girl Happy’, ‘Spinout’ and ‘Clambake’. She also scored a No.1 pop hit in 1962 with the teen anthem “Johnny Angel”. But, as with our ‘A-side’, it was reborn as a Northern Soul classic when Pye Records picked the song up in 1965 and recorded it on their latest signing, teenager LORRIANE SILVER. Once again the stomping drum track, percussion and handclaps propel you to the dancefloor where you’re greated with an unforgettably catchy tune, a bevvy of backing vocals and Lorraine’s effervescent vocal.
Two fabulous reasons to make this one of the top reissue 45s of 2020!

The recent ‘Rocka Rolla’ series was masterfully launched by the boss himself. But for this second volume, El Vidocq steps aside for his English pal Keb Darge – who earlier so brilliantly contributed to the Jukebox Music Factory catalogue with his explosive selection ‘The Rockabilly Crown Jewels’. Once again, our ever enthusiastic limey swaggers and sparkles. His newest excellent assortment explores the garage rock and surf songs of his beloved ‘60s. Less sombre than the first, this second volume includes seminal punk rock tunes (She Lied by The Rockin’ Ramrods, Thunder Reef by The Shindings), but also a few veritable titty shakers (Les De Merle and his Bulldozer, or El Scorpion by The Sherwoods). Add a touch of surf (The Road Runners’ Quasimoto and Neb’s Tune by Ahab and The Wailers) and bingo baby! You’ve got ‘Keb Darge's Supreme’. Lots of love, zero poor taste. Play it loud, friends!

Sinéad O’Connor marks a long-awaited return with a stunning version
of ‘Trouble Of The World’, a traditional song made famous by exalted gospel singer Mahalia Jackson, available as a 7” single backed with an a cappella version on Heavenly Recordings.

It follows somewhat belatedly the-ever-more pertinent ‘Trouble Soon Be Over’, her contribution to 2015’s ‘Tribute To Blind Willie Johnson’ compilation and once more exudes the heart and soul of this extraordinary performer.

Sympathetic to its origins, the heartfelt, evocative tones propel this impassioned rendition to the present its poignancy highlighted by a remarkable artist who leaves her own indelible mark on this topical realisation whilst realigning with a positive viewpoint.

In her own words, she explains; “for me the song isn’t about death or dying. More akin, a message of certainty that the human race is on a journey toward making this world paradise and that we will get there.”

The inspirational lyrical narrative that underpins ‘Trouble Of The World’ bears more relevance than ever today in the context of the death of George Floyd and the highlighting of the persistent racist undercurrents that trouble mixed societies across the globe.

The song sees Sinead joining forces with renowned producer David Holmes and, recorded in Belfast, Northern Ireland at the easing of the lockdown, it shares an uncanny albeit eerie symmetry with our new trouble of the world backdrop and once again Sinéad awakes our souls to the ironies and similarities of our collective past and present. The pair have created a sonic tonic and shout out to the powers that be as a voice of the people still questioning all-toofrequent events such as witnessed over the past few months that ensue decades since the nascent birth of the civil rights movement in the United States.

Embodying a voice with beauty and innocence, a spirit part punk, part mystic with a combined fearlessness and gentle authenticity - unique, uncompromising, a pioneer, a visionary, just some of the descriptions that perhaps merely touch the surface of Sinéad O’Connor.

Buried amongst the gems on the second Claremont Editions compilation was ‘Oui Non’, a collaborative cut that marked the first label appearance of Jpye (real name Jean-Philippe Altier), a French multi-instrumentalist, DJ and producer best known for his work as part of Twonk alongside Leonidas and percussionist/vocalist/guitarist Renato Tonini.

Here Jpye and Tonini join forces once more for their first single on Claremont 56 – a sensual and seductive slab of slow-motion, sun-soaked synth-pop that features more than a few subtle nods to classic Italian Balearic disco cuts such as Radio Band’s ‘Radio Rap’ and Tullio de Piscopo’s ‘Stop Bajon (Primavera)’.
Built around squelchy synth bass and a shuffling drum machine rhythm, ‘Cosa Ti Va’ is marked out by glistening, jazz-fired guitar solos, vibrant synthesizer squiggles, rich electric piano chords and echoing, dubbed-out electronics. It’s a pin-sharp but effortlessly laidback number that’s as tactile and loved-up as it as lazy and horizontal.
‘Cosa Ti Va’ is presented in two complimentary versions. On the A-side of the vinyl version you’ll find the full vocal, which boasts Tonini rapping in his native tongue in the manner of Italo-disco’s most eccentric and atmospheric vocalists. With his deep, rich tone and fluid flow, it’s hard not to fall in love with Tonini’s previously unheard rapping. Rounding off the single is the pair’s vocal-free instrumental take, in which Jpye’s stunning guitar motifs and tactile, soft-touch production can be savoured in full.

White Vinyl

The record opens out with clamouring field recordings taken on Vernon's travels in Japan; the cacophony melts effortlessly into the muted beauty of "Amber Fade", its cold synths and sombre chords striking a perfect emotional balance. "Tilted" similarly plays with ambient elements, lush pads easing their way out of the sounds of a waterfall but the natural sounds are contrasted by a touch of acidic 303. This hint of the club is forefronted in "Late Nights", which dials up the energy with chunky big room drum loops, a stirring piano section showing Vernon can turn up the heat without losing the emotional side.

On the B-side, "This Moment (I Feel)" toys with a muzak sound palette and dazed poolside beats. "Disappear" lean heavily on an electro beat; but for a hazy elongated drop it's a heady dancefloor number, before easing off again into the closing track. "Start Again" is full of texture and character, cleverly arpeggiated synths cascading over a soft house jam.

Bachelor, the new project from Melina Duterte (Jay Som) and Ellen Kempner (Palehound), is not a band, it’s a friend-ship. After being mutual fans for years, they finally met when sharing the bill at a show in Sacramento in 2017. Keeping in touch over text and Instagram posts, Duterte and Kempner started recording together for fun in 2018, resulting with what would become "Sand Angel", the seductive slow-burner that convinced the pair to write an album together.

Reconvening in January 2020, the duo packed the entirety of Duterte’s recording equipment into two cars and headed to a rental house in Topanga, CA. In this space Kempner and Duterte hybridized their individual song-writing talents, producing a collection that slips between moods with ease and showcases their lyrical prowess. Arriving with almost no songs written and no solid plan, they

finished the 10 songs that make up Doomin’ Sun after two short weeks. That much work in so little time may sound exhausting, but it wasn’t, it was blissful and freeing.

There was a lot of pain that went into the record, especially around themes of queerness and climate change inspired by the red skies and wildfires subsuming Australia at the time. However, when the duo did shed tears during the creative process, they weren’t tears of sadness, they were tears of laughter. When Kempner and Duterte look back on those weeks, what they remember first is shortness of breath and the inability to track vocal takes without falling to the floor howling. They couldn’t remember a time they’d ever been so delirious with creativity, so overwhelmed with joy.

HIDE are an electronic duo based in Chicago. The pair create dark and heavy sample - based compositions using a combination of self - sourced field recordings and various pop culture and media references. Their music is textured, minimal, and powerful, giving raw vulnerability an opportunity to unfurl. Their work is honest, confrontational, powerful and thought - provoking.

HIDE's third album, Interior Terror further abandons traditional concepts of song structure in favor of splintered rhythms and fevered, immediate release. Expanding on previous themes of autonomy and empowerment, Interior Terror addresses and questions the corporeal and immaterial body in a physical and metaphysical sense. Turning to the dread inside, reflecting on the world around us,

HIDE gives voice to the power of destruction as a c atalyst for hope, and to the collective experiences of those who've come before us as a wellspring of our own power. Raw vocal delivery of mantra - like prose issued forth yields a raging, plaintive wail that lulls, mocks, questions, proclaims and decries. A dearth of collected field recordings give way to more fluid arrangements while retaining a scathing urgency. The result is minimal, spacious, and jarring; a distant knocking grown into the pulse of a hypnotic dirge, drones emerge from shards of decomposed sound, bending, seething their way through your body.

"Do Not Bow down" is a self - directed spell for fire and regeneration. “Nightmare” explodes, unrelenting; conflating time and space to the beat of repeated blows to the head. A reflection on perpetual suffering, generational traumas and the transformative action of release. Title track “Interior Terror” belies a new brand of body horror informed by the systemic enforcement of a contemporary Western gender binary, touching on experiences of dysphoria and disassociation . “Fear” answers the question 'Where do cops come from

HIDE are an electronic duo based in Chicago. The pair create dark and heavy sample - based compositions using a combination of self - sourced field recordings and various pop culture and media references. Their music is textured, minimal, and powerful, giving raw vulnerability an opportunity to unfurl. Their work is honest, confrontational, powerful and thought - provoking.

HIDE's third album, Interior Terror further abandons traditional concepts of song structure in favor of splintered rhythms and fevered, immediate release. Expanding on previous themes of autonomy and empowerment, Interior Terror addresses and questions the corporeal and immaterial body in a physical and metaphysical sense. Turning to the dread inside, reflecting on the world around us,

HIDE gives voice to the power of destruction as a c atalyst for hope, and to the collective experiences of those who've come before us as a wellspring of our own power. Raw vocal delivery of mantra - like prose issued forth yields a raging, plaintive wail that lulls, mocks, questions, proclaims and decries. A dearth of collected field recordings give way to more fluid arrangements while retaining a scathing urgency. The result is minimal, spacious, and jarring; a distant knocking grown into the pulse of a hypnotic dirge, drones emerge from shards of decomposed sound, bending, seething their way through your body.

"Do Not Bow down" is a self - directed spell for fire and regeneration. “Nightmare” explodes, unrelenting; conflating time and space to the beat of repeated blows to the head. A reflection on perpetual suffering, generational traumas and the transformative action of release. Title track “Interior Terror” belies a new brand of body horror informed by the systemic enforcement of a contemporary Western gender binary, touching on experiences of dysphoria and disassociation . “Fear” answers the question 'Where do cops come from

After severals EPs on labels such as Lumière Noir, Kill the DJs or Bahnsteig 23, here is the first album of french duo Il Est Vilaine, infused with a "Yellow Magic Orchestra-ish" touch, rooted in the french musical landscape.

A road trip in Brittany as a red thread, the two hooligans of Il Est Vilaine revisit Kawaii pop, crazy rock like DEVO and Detroit techno with a surprising coherence. An album long matured and awaited by the band's fans.

Il Est Vilaine aren’t Bretons, but they sure are tricksters. The Francophiles among you might have caught on to the corny pun in their name (beating a certain presidential candidate to the punch all while turning the name of the pastoral Ille-et-Vilaine region into, literally, “he’s a nasty woman,”) but the real takeaway is that these born-and-bred Parisians don’t take themselves too seriously – especially in an era in which there is much too much of that happening.
It was in 2014 (and on Dialect Recordings) that Florent and Simon tossed their debut 12” into the ring, the rightfully named Scandale – a tight little bombshell released that roused the electronic music scene out of its complacent little catnap.
So there we had it, two outcasts refusing to eat at the same table as the tech-house scene queens, serving up three whiplash-on-the-dancefloor cuts drenched in sweaty hedonistic disco and wrapped in a battered motorcycle jacket (with a gooey post-punk-pop core for good measure.) A clear mission statement right out of the gates, watermarked with mystical incantations and throbbing with rock ’n’ roll’s primitive drive. Everything and the kitchen sink, and a bag of chips – an invitation to just let lose that’s even better than the sum of its parts.

6 tracks of dark sounds industrial EBM with touches of Electro by the Artist Rise Black with Roots of URRS where the project is inspired by the world war

DC Salas’s second EP indeed is a tale of beautiful feelings: After his last year’s debut EP on Live At Robert Johnson called The Complicated Art of Dreaming, this fresh four tracker is a proof to his creative continuity.

A1 Did They Listen rhythmic structure banks on a pounding and effective combination of bassdrum, conga and cowbell, joined by a mildly distorted bass line figure, which embeds itself in a panoramic soundscape. A2 Beautiful Feelings introduces a remarkable striking sawtooth sequence, with repeated filtered and resonating variations, alternating throughout the track. On the flipside, B1 Within employs yet another bubbly bassline, keeping the soundscape wide-open to retain enough sonic space for that eerie, yet highly energetic Cosmic Disco touch. B2 Liquid Perception signature is a liquid acid bassline introduced in the second part of the track, perfectly befitting its track title. All tracks of this monolithic EP, thanks to its consistent approach to sound design, could easily be mixed subsequently with each others.

DC Salas is thirtysomething year old Diego Cortez Salas, a skilled talent with peruvian origins hailing from Brussels. A regular DJ at C12 and Kiosk Radio both in Brussels, Diego also co-runs Biologic Records with his mate Abstraxion since 2014.

Domino are immensely proud to announce the signing of my bloody
valentine, with new physical editions of the band’s seminal catalogue
being made available. ‘Isn’t Anything’ and ‘loveless’ have been
mastered fully analogue for deluxe LPs and also mastered from new
hi-res uncompressed digital sources for standard LPs, with each
being made available widely for the first time ever. Fully analogue
cuts of ‘m b v’ will also be available on deluxe and standard LPs
globally for the first time.
my bloody valentine, the quartet of Bilinda Butcher, Kevin Shields,
Deb Googe and Colm Ó Cíosóig, are widely revered as one of the
most ground-breaking and influential groups of the past forty years.
During an era in which guitar bands denoted, at best, a retroclassicism, not only did my bloody valentine sound unlike any of their
contemporaries, the band achieved the rare feat of sounding like the
future.
The second my bloody valentine album, ‘loveless’, was released in
1991. Musically, it took an unexpected leap forwards, standing ahead
of anything released at the time. Shields and the band moved further
towards a music of pure sensation, creating textures and tones that
could be felt as much as heard; with ‘loveless’ the band created an
album that overwhelmed the senses. ‘loveless’ is widely considered a
flawless whole and rightly regarded as a masterpiece; a 1990s
equivalent to ‘Pet Sounds’, ‘In A Silent Way’ or ‘Innervisions’, a record
constructed by exploring the edges of what a recording studio is
capable of. It is a record best experienced as a whole, in one sitting -
a listening experience like no other and unmatchable in its sonic
brevity.

Be With is delighted to present Jorge López Ruiz’s El Grito (Suite Para Orquesta De Jazz), eternal Argentinian magic released on CBS in 1967 that must be one of the most sought-after South American jazz LPs.

Living in Buenos Aires in the 60s, driven by creative impulse and rage Jorge López Ruiz used music as his platform to protest the Argentine military dictatorship: “I could never stand dictatorships, to be told how you have to think, what you have to do. Nor did I endure discrimination”.

A young López Ruiz had appeared on a television panel alongside writer, politician and philosopher Arturo Jauretche, criticising the Onganía dictatorship. Jauretche told López Ruiz “Now say it with music”. This was the deep inhale that lead to El Grito, literally “The Scream”. As López Ruiz later explained “Jauretche urged me that my protests should not remain in words and acquire the consistency of a work… but it was not so much what he told me but how he told me, what prompted me to make the work take shape, first in a live concert and then in a recording”.

As the police and military began resorting to kidnapping, torture and summary executions to quiet dissent, with depressing inevitability the artist community and their work were a particular target of the increasingly brutal regime. El Grito was banned not long after it was released and the majority of original copies were unceremoniously destroyed.

The work of a genius artist living under an opressive dictatorship, erased by the government of the time, this is buried treasure in every sense and it’s been a rare record for over 50 years. But it isn’t just being hard to find that has pushed up the prices of those few original copies that survived, this is a foundational record in the development of jazz in South America.

El Grito (Suite Para Orquesta De Jazz) is a showcase for Jorge López Ruiz’s skills as a composer and arranger as he leads a virtuoso orchestra of the likes of Mario Cosentino (alto sax), Baby López Furst (piano), Pichi Mazzei (drums), Gustavo Bergalli (trumpet), Oscar López Ruiz (guitar), Arturo Schneider (flute) and Jorge López Ruiz himself plays double bass on the fourth and fifth movements.

As the album’s sub-title explains, The album is a Jazz orchestra concept suite. Five movements, to be heard as a whole, that end where they begin.

“When I wrote it there was no history of a cyclical work in jazz. But I didn't notice that, I needed to express something and I did it. At that time they told me I was crazy, that such a thing was very difficult to do. But hey, I like challenges”.

Yet this is not challenging jazz. There are certainly avant garde, free jazz flourishes, but the hard bop characteristics make this a very accessible album: easy to listen to without being easy listening. López Ruiz’s love of film brings a definite cinematic feel.

The title movement opens the album in bombastic style. “El Grito” grabs you by the lapels and refuses to let go. Raw then controlled, it’s by turns stabbing then soothing, with rage weaved in and out of the elegant styles. “M.A.B. = Amor” is our favourite here. With a tense introduction and a patient build, a gentle sax sweeps in to lift everything up to meet the serene piano and soft drums. Elegantly paced, it moves back and forth between deep contemplation and a more urgent call and response between strings and horns. A near-eight-minute, slow motion marvel.

The second side eases in with the beautifully-titled “Hasta El Cielo, Sin Nubes, Con Todas Las Estrellas” (“Up To The Sky, No Clouds, With All The Stars”) a relatively brief mid-tempo piece featuring López Ruiz’s insistent bass notes high in the mix, and again blending the sublime with the emotive with its wild horns and tight rhythm section.

It’s followed by “Tendré El Mundo” (“I Will Have The World”) which also leads with hypnotic bass, but this time swifter, driven by crashing drums, rapid horn conversations and effortlessly cool piano flourishes. Rounding out the suite, “De Nuevo El Grito” (something like “The Next Scream” or “The Scream Renewed”) is a stylish closer. Whilst López Ruiz’s bass shifts the track along, the horns and piano are more restrained, yet no less stunning.

This Be With edition of El Grito sounds sensational, if we do say so ourselves. Working with audio from the original analogue tapes, the vinyl mastering chops of Simon Francis are on full show here in what he considers to be some of his best ever work for Be With. Pete Norman’s cutting skills have made sure nothing is lost. The tortured artwork has been restored here at Be With HQ as the finishing touch to helping this revered work find a rightful place in every protest art collection.

After he became one of the most respected name in the global Balearic scene skipping rocks across water and moving through an amazing and different philosophy. A Vision of Panorama's latest release is an extremely well-designed album which is morphing his synth-o-logy on even more subtly and glistering shapes. With previous 12'' releases on Mellophonia, Cala Tarida Musica and Omena gave us the first sings ''Tiger'' was a matter of time. Boogie-crafted sound with squelching percussions and a touch of 'jazz in the house' which representing the charismatic sound of Larry Heard is managing not only to satisfy his already fans but to be discovered by tones of new ones who their musical references are not only the European 'state of Balearic music' but the breezy US sound too

Mother Freedom Band’s Cutting The Chord is a funky modern soul classic. It’s both a criminally under-appreciated album and a hard-to-find record so we’re delighted to be giving this sweet disco-funk groover the reissue treatment it deserves.

Produced by the great Al Goodman from The Moments and originally released in 1977, Cutting The Chord seems to be one of the lesser known releases on the curious, and often great “All Platinum” label. Other than a 7" of a couple of these tracks, the only thing that the band seem to have released is this album, and what an album it is. Unbeatable soul-funk of the highest quality.

The album bursts open with “Love Will Stay In Your Corner”. It’s a soulful dancer that reliably slays any funk set you care to drop it in. It’s followed by the lithe disco funk “Flick Of The Wrist” that’s all bubbling baselines and elegant horns. The groovy, horn-enhanced sweet soul of “Gotta Get It Back” is equal parts heartbreaker/hip-shaker and the acidic organs on “Mr Brother” are an experiment in synth soul.

Perhaps the group’s best known track, “Beautiful Summer’s Day” might well be worth the price of an original copy alone. It’s pure piano-driven paradise soul. A tropical birdsong intro sets the scene of a warm, perfect sunshine day and the lead vocal soars over the lush, clean production. The tempo oscillates between contemplative and stomping. Essential.

The brilliantly-named “(Assistants Rag) When You’re Hot, You’re Hot” opens side two. Another huge highlight, its title refrain repeated over this laid-back, power-funk workout. It still sounds incredibly modern, like something off the last D’Angelo record, and if Public Enemy and Diamond D both sampled it you know it knocks hard.

The horn-heavy, clav-stabbing-stomper “We Like To Boogie” keeps things fast and funky before the airy, heavenly harmony soul of “Come On Home” mellows us all out. Things pick up again with “Touch Me”, and you might recognise its addictive elements sampled in Jay-Z’s Kanye West-produced “A Star Was Born”. The magical, reggae-tinged, gospel-influenced “Sweet Love” closes out this assured, classy set.

We dare to say that Cutting The Chord is a rare example of a funk-soul LP which is killer from start-to-finish. Sure, there are the stand-out bombs, but the whole thing is a complete and varied album of feel-good vibes held together by its fluid horns, tight, tight rhythm section and beautiful vocals.

Mastered for vinyl from the original analogue tapes by Simon Francis, cut by Pete Norman and artwork restored at Be With HQ, this new edition should hopefully stop this album slipping any further into obscurity. It’s just too good to be forgotten.

For our 5th vinyl release on Bouquet. Recs, Trent is toeing the line between fresh and trippy, but undeniably dance floor heat on his first solo EP, and first release on our label.
We are proud to share his momentous solo effort. Recorded in Berlin between 2018 and 2020, 'Transition 35' takes cues from multiple eras of dance to characterise the ever changing colours of nightlife. C'mon ride the train - final destination? The limits of your sensual abandon. Stops along the way? 90's rave. Psychedelic space station.

Trent is a Berlin-based Italian DJ and producer who co-created the party series and label 'Oscillator' with fellow Italians Dama and Budino.
Alongside resident and cosmic pioneer Beppe Loda, they curated one of Berlin's remarkable events for obscure italo, disco and electro.

Taking lessons from the past Trent weaves together a highly sophisticated yet playful sound for the contemporary club goer. Having spent many years as part of collectives, his solo aesthetic is thoughtfully considered and always surprising.
A longtime fixture of the infamous playground party Cocktail d'Amore, Trent collaborates with Juan Ramos under the shared byname Greenvision, releasing together on Cocktail d'Amore, ESP Institute and Ene Tokyo.
'Transition 35' marks Trent's first solo EP sojourn and a triumphant showcase of his individual voice, on Bouquet. Recs

TRACK DESCRIPTIONS

A1. Like a fast train barreling out the station to destinations unknown, This is a Trip hurtles forward like a 90's rave classic, with new wave and nu beat inflections that keep you hooked through unexpected transitions to its explosive finale.

A2. Gasping lysergically, the sci-fi sounds of Don't Stop evoke ecstasy on the dancefloor. That internal scream as you summon more energy, eyes closed, enjoying the trip with a smile.

B. Touch Me is a spell of primal percussions and ominous warlock voices to make for a dark, hot situation

Straight Outta Caledonia is the first commercially available “Greatest Hits” of the outsider songwriter Jackie Leven, an artist
who has largely remained in obscurity in his native Scotland despite being one of the greatest wordsmiths – and singers – it ever
produced. A well-travelled musician who began making psychedelic, progressive music in the late 60s before emerging as an
epic storyteller full of pathos, humour and humanity in the 90s, Leven lived and wrote like many of the fragile, gregarious
characters of his songs; large, full of life and empathy. Leven passed away in 2011 after recording 30+ albums under different
guises or with his briefly successful New Wave band Doll by Doll. Straight Outta Caledonia is a compilation collated by Night
School Records on its Archival label School Daze that seeks to introduce Leven’s music to new generations.
In an age of isolation, alienation and loss of visceral experience, Jackie Leven’s music can be massive and welcoming. It feels
connected to some universal humanity and vibrates with vitality. His songs are often full of tragedy and comedy simultaneously,
cutting straight to the heart, often plugging directly into the nervous system of the listener. His lyrics are rich, dense with imagery
that can veer from apocalyptic to the comically banal in a sentence, with a songwriting panache that can be heavy handed to
almost bursting point before skewering the song with a clownish, warm punchline. His productions ranged from Bob Dylan’s
Rolling Thunder Revue style rock band orchestrations with strings and organ as on the epic Ancient Misty Morning or they could
be pared down to the purest form of folk song as on Poortoun: Leven on stage alone with an acoustic guitar, albeit played with a
mastery of the instrument that he often only hinted at. Musically his sound can bend traditional structures or stay completely
confined within them yet still forever push towards an ecstatic release, as on the cinematic Snow In Central Park.
The most exciting, jaw-droppingly effective tool at Leven’s disposal was his voice. A multi-octave instrument that, though
damaged during a savage assault in Fife, he used with flair; he had both a brazen disregard for the rules and a deep humility, all
of which is evidenced with every phrasing. A baritone that could flit up through the register – always touched by his gentle
Kirkcaldy accent – it’s the prime delivery method for his songs. Leven’s voice enabled him to inhabit the characters in his songs to
an uncanny degree, a skill that in turn enables the listener to empathise with them and, subsequently, the singer. It’s most evident
in stand out song The Sexual Loneliness Of Jesus Christ, a breathtaking re-telling of the life of its protagonist, not as a pure,
sinless messiah but as a sexually frustrated, solitary man condemned to an existential loneliness no one else will ever feel. In
many ways the track is the archetypal Jackie Leven song. Produced by Pere Ubu’s David Thomas, what strikes the ear first –
after the samples of unemployed workers in Glasgow following the closing of the Clyde shipyards – is the audacious, rhythmic
tremolo effect Leven employs through the verses before the production opens up to allow Leven’s vocal to lift into a soar, a
freeing glide powered both by the force of the singer’s chutzpah and the inherent, doomed destiny of the protagonist. With any
other singer such subject matter could come across as gauche or worse, pretentiously sonorous, but Jackie Leven’s genius was
such that he could be this cinematic and brazen while touching something elemental and true in the beholder. It’s a skill evident in
every song on Straight Outta Caledonia, the trademark of a songwriter who revelled and excelled in intensity with a lightness of
touch.
In his lifetime, Jackie Leven toured, wrote and recorded at a ferocious rate. He recorded under aliases to avoid record contract
restrictions, played house shows in Europe after or instead of official concerts, events which were often spoken word story telling
masterclasses as well as performances of his often bewilderingly dense songbook. His music has traditionally been catalogued
as “folk” music and has been largely banished to a small, dedicated group of international fans and apostles both private and well
known, like author Ian Rankin or Glenn Matlock. Since his passing in 2011 however, there has been a growing recognition
amongst a newer generation, with artists like James Yorkston or Molly Nilsson publicly stating the influence of the unsung
troubadour on their own craft. Jackie Leven’s fairytales for hard men are often forensic deconstructions of masculinity, sad and
ecstatic, light and shadow, always endlessly rich, a resource as bountiful as Leven himself’s human spirit undoubtedly was.

LIMITED 180GM OPAQUE ORANGE VINYL.

BUFFET LUNCH are a Scottish group who make it their mission to craft satisfyingly imperfect pop songs filled with imagery and humour.The group’s elementary parts are Perry O’Bray (Vocals/Keys/Guitar), Neil Robinson (Bass), John Muir (Lead Guitar) & Luke Moran (Drums), united by a shared love of music on the ABBA-to-Beefheart axis.

These four ricochet between Glasgow and Edinburgh, creating music that bristles with DIY spirit and upbeat wonkiness. Their tracks are vigorous excursions, meandering into clattersome terrain as often as hiking up into the breezy, melodious foothills.The desire to lead the listener along a curious tale helps tie things together, showcasing a lyrical playfulness that pins down their puzzle of sound.

Having been an active band for a few years, playing regularly north of the border with like-minds such as Irma Vep, Robert Sotelo and Kaputt, Buffet Lunch spent early 2020 working on the follow-up to their two EPs on Permanent Slump.The fruits from such labour bore out as the band’s debut album ‘ThePower of Rocks’, out may 7th on UpsetTheRhythm.

‘ThePower of Rocks’ was recorded in a Crofters cottage/studio on the banks of Upper Loch Fyne in Argyll, over four nights and five days at the beginning of March 2020, before Covid-19 made itself such an ongoing concern. Back then four people could occupy the same space and make music, lunch and dinner together. Days fell into a pattern of long sessions and long meals.The album came together as a luminous mix of Buffet Lunch’s live chestnuts, some sparky recent songs and some new material entirely written and recorded in situ. All tracks were recorded by Neil Robinson acting as the in-house engineer.

As the seriousness of the virus and talk of national lockdowns developed - there was a feeling of anticipation more than fear in the air, but being holed up in cottage in a wild corner of Scotland surrounded by snowy mountains still took on an apocalyptic feel, albeit an apocalypse where the band were safe and overdubbing vocals. After leaving the cottage, reality (as it must) set in and finishing the album became a more remote task.

Over the following months, an extended period of listening awarded the recordings a deeper realisation, as they bounced between band members computers. Perry also started writing on his Casio keyboard and collaborated on a couple of songs (‘Ten Times’ & ‘Ashley’s New Haircut’) with Jayne Dent (of electronic music project Me Lost Me), drawing on her ethereal singing voice as a counterpoint to his own more ‘spoken’ vocals on the album. These gauzy, dreamlike tracks were then sent to other members of Buffet Lunch to add their respective parts, creating evocative new dimensions to close each half ofthealbum with.

The Power of Rocks’ rattles along like a short-story collection, exploring a variety of narratives. When it comes to the music itself, Perry describes their approach as “see what happens” but admits to a preference for simple synth melodies, plenty of percussion, and prickly guitar-parts. ‘Red Apple’ opens the album with a dizzy swagger, guitars and keyboard notes swirling in forays whilst its lyric tackles notions of social bravado. ‘Orange Peel’ follows equally serpentine with its blattering tune and jagged, yet jolly melodic twists.The themes across the album are wide-ranging and personal, from irritation with out of touch politicians (‘Pebbledash’), to love letters to seaside living (‘Bladderwrack’), to even the frailty and confusion of old age (‘Said Bernie’, ‘It Helps to Know’). Title track ‘ThePower of Rocks’ is an ode to the power of nature sunk within a rolling wave of cheery jangle. “Do you believe in the power of rocks when the sun is too hot on your face?” sings Perry as the song zigzags with consequence. ‘He Wore Two Hats’ sports similarly bop-worthy riffs and addictive nods as it deals with its story of savvy man who’d bitten off more than he could chew.

Buffet Lunch’s debut album accomplishes a lot in its brief 38 minutes. It stuns and startles, intrigues and entwines, drawing the listener further into its characterful world. When asked about any intent posed with this debut record Perry confides that “we hope people can hear the joy the band had making the album and the curiosity and frustration that went into the writing. There was no process or design, but there is detail, and deliberateness in our wish to explore and create.” It’s this attentive focus alongside a keen sense of humour that really sets Buffet Lunch apart, with ideas darting wilfully to and from the poignant truths at hand.

Absolute Body Control is back with new material after more than ten years. The legendary minimal-synth-wave duo formed in 1980 by Dirk Ivens (The Klinik, Dive, Sonar) and joined a bit later by Eric van Wonterghem (Insekt, Monolith) has been working together again and got finished a new EP. Six songs that fuse their classic sound with a theme that reflects the times of change that humanity is going through.

Through a sound inspired by the 90’s pop culture and their unconditional love for electronic music, Grand Soleil sails between a romantic French Touch and a rougher sound echoing our society’s challenges.

A music definitely electronic, that the two brothers made organic thanks to discoveries and crushes (Daft Punk, Fatboy Slim, Siriusmo…)

Astral Black welcome Eahwee (pronounced errr-wee)to the fold for his 'Solitude' EP. Through his production work with MC's such as Mutant Academy's Koncept Jack$on & High Focus' Coop, a handful of releases on Dallas-based label Sunday Dinner and a flurry of bandcamp beat tapes - the London-based producer has quietly made a name for himself on the international beat scene. With the release of 'Solitude', Eahwee joins the ranks of Astral Black alumni & his production peers Budgie, Shy One & JD. Reid amongst the labels forward-thinking-producer blessed catalogue.

Across the 12-tracks here on 'Solitude', Eahwee contorts a gold-mine of 70's soul samples into a psychedelic reflection on isolation & the human experience, presented in the form a life affirming 17-minute long mixtape. From the exultantly ethereal sounds of 'Duuduu' & 'Windough' to the heart string pulling 'Naybahuud' & 'Rarecandy', Solitude is a testament to how Eahwee has developed his craft into an effortless touch. Though largely instrumental, peppered along the way are a handful of vocal performances in the form of guest appearances from Blah Records commander-in-chief, Lee Scott, the mafioso memoirs of extra terrestrial MC Melanin 9 and neo-soul sage, Ninjah Aragniz – who closes off proceedings with the infinitely loop-able summer anthem 'yah yah'.

The 7" vinyl edition is limited to 100 copies and includes tracks 'LOOOL', 'Shame' & "yah yah' featuring Lee Scott, M9 & Ninjah Aragniz respectively, alongside their instrumentals. Whilst the cassette edition, limited to 30 copies, features all 12 tracks in full on the A-side, with all 12 instrumentals on the B-side.

The Artwork, a comment on working with the best & worse of human nature, comes courtesy of Eahwee himself with yypography & additional design by Morgan Hislop.

This is Gianni and Erika third album, after two works released by Voodoo Rhythm Records and produced by Jim Diamond, musician and producer for two iconic bands from Detroit, The Dirtbombs and The White Stripes.

The record features former Screaming Trees vocalist - and acclaimed solo artist - Mark Lanegan and Chilean multi-instrumentalist Alain Johannes (Queens Of The Stone Age, Spinnerette, Ten Commandos, The Desert Sessions).

“The title track of the new album was born during our last day of re-cordings” - says Gianni Blacula and Switchblade Erika.. “Alain is an enthusiast of strings instruments, and on the last day he arrived at the studio with a Neapolitan mandola he bought in the historical centre of Naples. We were astonished about how a traditional instrument as the mandola can get a rock sound, so we followed up went to the recording room. Alain at the mandola and vocals and us on guitar and drums. There was suddenly the right atmosphere that to Alain reminded “ the Desert Sessions” , so much that the song came out at the first take. Then Alain wrote the lyrics and the last line “Beast Must Regret Nothing” affected us , we have chosen it as the title of the album because it totally reflects his mood, and it does taste of Devils!”

Gianni and Erika got in touch with Alain for the first time in September 2019, during a Spanish tour, while they were looking for inspirations for their new record.

In the same moment Alain was on a European tour which ended in Italy. The collaboration was born in a spontaneous way, for a mutual esteem between the Devils and the famous producer and musician. The album have been recorded in Naples, Italy, with a two weeks session in a historic studio equipped with a large tracking room with truly unique acoustics. Alain actively collaborated in the production of the album taking part to creative process and helping them with the arrangements.


The Devils formed in Naples in 2015 and their first two albums “Sin,You Sinners!” in 2016 and “Iron Butt” in 2017 were produced by Jim Diamond (The White Stripes, The Sonics and the Dirtbombs), pub-lished by Voodoo Rhythm Records. From 2016 the duo constantly tour, and has played everywhere doing over 400 shows between Europe and Canada. The Devils are the sound of desolation and chaos; their style is primitive, filled with sex, sin and rock’n’roll. They are wild, loud and sexy.

The name of the band was chosen has tribute to the movie “The Devils” by Ken Russell and they have been on tour with Jon Spencer, The Sonics, Boss Hog and The Monsters, and has open act around Europe for Mudhoney, Nashville Pussy, Guitar Wolf, Kid Congo and many more.

Los Angeles-based harpist Mary Lattimore returns with Silver Ladders, the full-length follow-up to acclaimed album Hundreds of Days. Since 2018, Lattimore has toured internationally, released collaborative albums with artists such as Meg Baird and Mac McCaughan, and shared a friends-based remix album featuring artists such as Jónsi and Julianna Barwick. At one of her festival appearances, Lattimore met Slowdive’s Neil Halstead: “A friend introduced us because she knew how big of a fan I was and Neil and I had a little chat... The next day, I just thought maybe he’d be into producing my next record.” He was. Lattimore traditionally records her albums holed up by herself, so the addition of Halstead’s touches as a producer and collaborator leave a profound trace. “I flew on a little plane to Newquay in Cornwall where he lives with his lovely partner Ingrid and their baby. I didn’t know what his studio was like, he’d never recorded a harp, but somehow it really worked

Recorded over nine days at Halstead’s studio stationed on an old airfield, Silver Ladders finds Lattimore exercising command and restraint. Her signature style is refined, the sprawling layers of harp reigned in and accented by flourishes of low end synth and Halstead’s guitar. The music can feel ominous but not by compromising vivid wonder, like oceanic overtones that shift with the tides. This material is colored by specific memories for Lattimore; “Neil has this poster of a surfer in his studio and I’d look at it each day, looking at the sunlight glinting on the dark wave. In these songs I like the contrast between the dark lows and the glittering highs. The gloom and the glimmer, the opposites, a lively surfing town in the winter turned kinda rainy and empty and quiet.”

Lattimore and Halstead reformed three existing demos and improvised the remaining four songs. Among the batch she brought with her, the title track recalls a trip she took to Stari Grad, Croatia on the island of Hvar. “I spent some days there just swimming in the bay, silver ladders right into the sea.” The image stuck with her when she found herself performing at a cliffside wedding overlooking the Pacific. “Before anyone showed up, I had time to set up and play and this song came to me, ‘Silver Ladders (to the sea)’, so I made a little recording on my phone to remember it.” This sketch expanded; a delicately glittering harp melody comes over the horizon, swelling and rolling towards the shore on ebbs of synth and refractory delay.

How would Roc Marciano and MF Doom sound if they were born in Athens to immigrant parents?
MC Yinka & DJ Booker provide an answer by teaming up to bring us their first LP “Night Lights”.
MC Yinka finds inspiration in blighted areas, urban struggles and multicultural subcultures. With a unique and characteristic voice, he touches on various social and spiritual matters and concerns.
Night Lights is fully produced by DJ Booker who surprises with his sample selection and the overall approach on the production. He balances between trippy and minimal sounds with dark and abstract samples. The beats vary from broken to “J Dilla – inspired” rhythms to discreet patterns that trigger the imagination and the expectations of the audience.
Not to mention the scratching skills of DJ Booker which spice up the music production and established him as one of the best scratch DJs in Europe according to British magazine “Undercover Hip-Hop”.

The album features one of the most “conscious” MCs, Mr. Lif, well known for his collaboration with the Thievery Corporation, and the hip-hop street performers Twinsanity who call our attention to the raw reality from Athens to Boston.

Night Lights will be released on vinyl by the label Mind The Wax in February 26th, 2021 and includes 10 tracks.

Recorded sporadically over five years from 2015 to 2019, Sixty Summers was shaped profoundly by Stone’s key collaborators on the album: Thomas Bartlett, aka Doveman, and Annie Clark, the Grammy-winning singer, songwriter and producer known as St. Vincent. Bartlett and Clark were the symbiotic pair Stone needed to realise her first pop vision. A wizard of production and songwriting, Bartlett helped coax Sixty Summers’ independent, elemental spirit from Stone, writing and recording over 50 demos with her at his studio in New York. Itself a thoroughfare for indie rock luminaries, some of whom, such as The National’s Matt Berninger and Bryce Dessner, ended up on the album, Bartlett’s studio was perfect fertile ground for Stone’s growth.
Clark was the incisive yang to Bartlett’s yin, a sharp musical polymath who, when presented with the work Bartlett and Stone had made together, quickly helped fashion Sixty Summers into the album it was destined to be. Contributing vocals and guitar in addition to production, Clark’s revered acidic touch ignited the sparks of Stone’s creations.
The scope of Sixty Summers is dizzyingly vast; miles away from Stone’s past work, it is a world unto itself, a surreal and breathtaking new landscape. Where Stone’s previous solo records, 2010’s The Memory Machine and 2014’s By The Horns, found her grappling with the natural darkness that comes with loving too much, Sixty Summers finds Stone claiming every part of herself: fire, fury, love, lust, longing. Touching on reference points as disparate as the avant-funk of Talking Heads (on ‘Break’) the romantic 2am musings of Serge Gainsbourg (‘Free’, ‘Dance’) and the sleek, ecstatic synth work of Lorde’s Melodrama (‘Substance’), Sixty Summers is an album you can dance to and one you can lose yourself in completely.

At first glance, Sarah Louise might seem an unlikely candidate
to credit technology as inspiration for her new album, Earth Bow.
After all, she has lived in rural Appalachia for the last decade,
foraging numerous species of wild mushroom, concocting
medicine from plants she gathers, and performing what she
terms “Earth Practices” to deepen her relationship with the
natural world. But it is precisely her ability to find connections
between false binaries that makes this album so novel and richly
immersive.
Louise conceived Earth Bow as an interconnected ecosystem,
meant to evolve, interact and grow. Known for her inventive
guitar playing, vocal harmonies and electronic experiments,
it was her use of the SP-404SX sampler that became a primary
inspiration for the album’s woven nature. “Improvising with the
404 during live shows allows me to collaborate with the music
as a living system, almost the way generative music works,” she
says. “I kept finding more and more samples that worked together
and realized I wanted to connect the entire record—and
that there were many ways it could be connected.”
Through this process, what began as eight core songs
blossomed into two sweeping suites. Samples—denizens of
her electronic forest—move around the record with changing
context like words in a sestina or phrases in the I Ching,
revealing new connections with each listen. Mesmeric sounds
abound on Earth Bow, from analog synth tones, to digitally
manipulated sonics that she stretches and layers with a painterly
touch. These electronic sounds inhabit the same environment as
field recordings, ceremonial percussion, guitars and empathic
vocals, weaving together her vast and borderless influences into
an enveloping world. “I want this record to take people on a
journey through the wonders of our incredible planet, to help
people feel held by the mysteries of nature,” she enthuses. “I
believe music can heal.” After a string of celebrated releases on
Thrill Jockey, Sarah Louise is self-releasing Earth Bow on her
new imprint of the same name.

Sdban Records will reissue parts of the library serie 'A Special Radio ~ TV Record' released on the Belgian based Selection Records between 1976 and 1981 on vinyl. Sdban Records teams up with publisher Hans Kusters wo recently bought this catalog. Nonetheless, the first release will be a contemporary adaptation of the original concept by composer Reinhard Vanbergen (Das Pop, Rheinzand).

When Hans Kusters heard some music of Reinhard Vanbergen on the radio, he started dreaming of a new chapter. When asking Reinhard if he would be interested, Reinhard gladly accepted after finding out that one of the original composers from the Selection series, Rene Costy, had a very similar background, being a Belgian violinist and composer. It seemed like a perfect fit.

While respecting the concept of the past, Reinhard tried to give the record a modern touch, by simulating 10 geometric shapes, using immersive audio. With headphones on, you can detect the geometric shapes that move around your head in a little dance of their own. The mix of vintage and modern synths are an homage to the past while trying to give it something new and bring the concept into modern times. The new album, Selection 19 - Geometric Shapes opens the door to a new special radio and TV-records series, to continue in the same spirit from the past, but with an eye for the future.

Tenor saxophonist Barney Wilen was not quite 21 years old at the time of this meeting with Milt Jackson, Percy Heath, and Kenny Clarke, three veterans of the Modern Jazz Quartet. But the young man is surprising mature and confident throughout the session, interpreting several of Django Reinhardt's compositions, along with a few by his French contemporaries and a pair of his own works. What's surprising about this session is the rare opportunity to hear Jackson exclusively as a pianist, as his playing is a bit more reserved than on vibes. The leader digs into his rhythm section's element with his original "B.B.B. (Bag's Barney Blues)", giving them a full chorus before making a convincing statement himself. The quartet's fluid arrangement of Thelonious Monk's "Epistrophy" swings. Percussionist Gana M'Bow is added for both "Swing 39" and "Minor Swing" to add an exotic touch. Barney Wilen easily holds his own on his first major meeting on a record date with major American jazz stars.

Miles Davis recruited Wilen for his European tour dates at this time (1957), a measure of Davis’s estimation of the young Barney.

Hexvessel and Svart Records celebrate the 10 year anniversary of Hexvessel’s debut album Dawnbearer with a set of reissues, including CD, double vinyl. “Dawnbearer is a very important album for us, being our first album but also the first original album release for Svart Records. It’s also a very special record for our fans, and one that’s particularly close to my heart, in a world of its own when compared to the other records we have made. Considering that it’s been out of print now for some time, I’m delighted to be able to oversee a reissue of this album, together with original demos and out-takes, and liner notes showing the making of this album which carries the initial DNA of Hexvessel’s musical and spiritual journey”, says band leader Mat McNerney, “We haven’t touched a thing on the original layout, but added some bonus material for the limited edition, should you wish to own a luxury edition of this, our now classic debut.” Hexvessel band was founded by English singer/songwriter Mat McNerney (Beastmilk, Grave Pleasures, Carpenter Brut etc) after he moved to Finland in 2009. Their style of music has been referred to as “forest folk” or as Noisey/Vice puts it: “Weaving English folk, lilting Americana, and mushroom-induced psychedelia”. Their debut album 'Dawnbearer' was released worldwide in 2011 on Svart Records and is considered to be an influential classic record of the modern Occult Rock revival. Highly popular with Hexvessel fans and unique in their catalogue, featuring guitars by Andrew McIvor (Code), violin work of Daniel Pioro (who works on Paul Thomas Anderson’s soundtracks with Jonny Greenwood from Radiohead), the early production work of Jaime Gomez Arellano (Ghost, Paradise Lost), and guest vocals from Carl Michael Eide (Virus, Ved Buens Ende, Aura Noir). “Think Woven Hand, haunted ’60s/’70s pastoral folk, or a darker riff on Midlake. McNerney covers Clive Palmer’s post-Incredible String Band crew C.O.B. and successfully transforms and darkens Paul Simon’s “Diamonds On The Soles Of Her Shoes.” He quotes Crowley, Truman Capote, Isaac Babel, etc. Unlike black metal-ready folk, this is folk by a talented, ambitious black metal musician. But the energy’s there. As is the atmosphere.” - Stereogum “(Part of) a new wave of bands who share many of the original occult bands' musical and philosophical characteristics, spearheaded by Ghost, from Sweden, and the Devil's Blood, from Holland – have begun to lure in a new generation of fans, predominantly from the metal scene, their names alone – Ancient VVisdom, Hexvessel, Blood Ceremony– point to a focused step back to the age of Wheatley and Hammer. ” - The Guardian (2011)

Zaumne's new album titled Élévation is a multifaceted yet subtle work, an abstract collage that is equally entrancing and immersive. Quoting passages from Baudelaire’s “Flowers of Evil”, the Polish musician promises to elevate the soul and consciousness “Beyond the sun / Beyond the ether”. Yet simultaneously, the artist wants us to stay where we are and focus on the immediate surroundings in search of our personal attachment to the world.

Initially recorded for the WET (Weird Erotic Tension) online community the four pieces are an exploration of erotic aspects of the environment and uncanny intimacy with other beings and objects that dwell in our nearest proximity. Just like on previous releases for labels like Czaszka Rec. or Perfect Aesthetics, on Élévation Zaumne maintains his interest in emotional aspects of sound and internet culture – he builds his compositions from fragments of ASMR-whispered poetry, samples of natural phenomena and field recordings from his family home and its environ.

What starts as an escapist exercise driven by uneasiness and ennui becomes an individual healing process, in which the subject rediscovers the strangely intimate relationship with the world and opens up to almost magical methods of communicating with other beings. ASMR samples and sounds of the artist touching, playing with and exciting different objects are an experiment in establishing contact with the non-human realm and a method of attuning the body and the mind to the reality in which everything is interconnected.

Zaumne tests Einstein’s “spooky action at a distance” through radical, sensual intimacy with what’s near, finding a glimpse of the absolute in his own room, again quoting Baudelaire: “To a child who is fond of maps and engravings / The universe is the size of his immense hunger”.

Zaumne is the moniker of Polish musician Mateusz Olszewski. In the past few years, he has released music on labels like Magia, Perfect Aesthetics, BAS or Czaszka Rec. Élévation, released by Mondoj and initially commissioned by WET, is his first vinyl release. Blending elements of genres like ambient, dub, minimalism and tape music with ASMR samples, field recordings and spoken word, he creates work with deep emotional focus and impact.

Winter Family is a duo made up of Ruth Rosenthal and Xavier Klaine, who met in Jaffa in 2004. Their dark, saturated and dense music is described as "Death Swing", "Weird Wave" or "Funeral Pop".

They recorded new parts of this new album in St Martin church of Maxéville, France. Xavier: "I recorded the pipe organ there, inspired by the Alsatian philanthropist organist Albert Schweitzer whose slow, bombastic performances, limited by faulty technique have always touched me deeply. In 2006, my aunt Loulou agrees to lend me the keys to the church. Ten years later, Loulou passes away, I play on this same pipe organ during her funeral. During the fall of 2018, in her room with old floral wallpapers, so cold, that I empty, surrounded by her missals and huge crucifixes I remix this pipe organs and the voice of Ruth. Through this late remixing, we wanted to deliver this woman from her agony, her eyes turned to the milkish Lotharingia sky and beyond, trying to illustrate this Catholic France of yesterday, as vain and terrifying as a month of November in this cold and humid garden, within reach of the incessant song of the A31 highway."

Next up on Falling Ethics' sublabel Moral Standards is the young and promising Uncrat. The "Exclaim EP" is a perfect example of how techno is constantly evolving and shows us where it's going. With touches of trance and a seriously hard remix by P.E.A.R.L. this slice of contemporary techno will surely find it's way into many a record bag.

Having become one of the premier German death metal bands - and rapidly rising the ranks of the genre as a whole - Endseeker storm back into the fray with Mount Carcass. Building on the groundwork laid down on 2017’s Flesh Hammer Prophecy and having the difficult task of besting 2019’s stunning The Harvest they have returned with a streamlined, powerful collection that further raises the bar. To keep the genre sounding fresh in 2021 Endseeker focused on the production, having just a touch of the old school vibe to remain rooted, and they did not limit themselves too hard to the Swedish death metal style of songwriting they previously embraced, but also let other influences into their songs. “You can hear all kinds of stuff that is inspired by bands like Morbid Angel, Bolt Thrower, Slayer, Dissection, Gorefest, etc. We listen to so many different bands and somehow a bit from all of this keeps adding to our music.”

Holy Hive is back with a new set of songs while they are still enjoying the growing success of their 2020 debut album, Float Back To You. Their signature "Folk Soul" sound has earned them a diverse group of fans around the globe and sets them apart from fellow groups lumped into the indie/folk algorithm. These two songs were written and recorded at a small house in the desert of the Yucca Valley. Both of them are stripped down to Holy Hive's core instrumentation of bass, drums, guitar and vocals. The A side "I Don't Envy Yesterdays" is a tune that deals with the role time plays in the human experience. Spring's falsetto vocals wax poetic about futility and acceptance while Homer Steinweiss' drumming in itself creates a subplot about the boundaries of time. In true Holy Hive fashion, they take on these deep philosophical and abstract concepts yet come out sounding as light and easy as a Summer day. The B side is a story of lost love. Paul paints a beautiful picture for the listener. But this time, instead of committing to not living in the past, he is overcome by the memories that the rain conjures up. The title "Color It Easy" aptly describes Holy Hive's ability to capture emotion with simple songs and arrangements. While these songs might not paint the most detailed and intricate picture, the simplicity of the colors and brush strokes are filled with longing and love. This 7" should hold everyone over while they put the finishing touches on their sophomore full length record due out in Fall of 2021.