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Bloodywood from India are the hottest new band in the Metal-genre. Millions of followers online and a growing fanbase! The self-released debut “Rakshak” finally released as a proper vinyl edition!

Formed in 2016 as a fun band, Bloodywood from New Delhi, India are the hottest metal band right now! They bring everything you need in 2022: aggression, global ideas, visionary views, politically correct behavior and standing up for minorities from all walks of life. The band around the three heads Jayant Bhadula, Karan Katijar and Raoul Kerr managed to break into the international charts on their own and gathered an incomparable fan following. What started out six years ago with Bollywood and Linkin Park-covers has grown to a size that's expanding by the day. Bloodywood fans can now be found all over the world, millions of people have heard their songs and watched their videos, the wave can no longer be stopped. Now the debut “Rakshak”, which the band self-released in early 2022, is finally out on vinyl! In the summer of 2022 they will storm the European festivals, make their point in the USA in September and return to play their long-awaited clubtour through Europe, which was postponed due to the pandemic, at the beginning of 2023. Tickets are already running low. In a year at the latest everyone will know who Bloodywood is. Tom Morello (Rage Against The Machine) already knows it and has drawn his fans' attention to the Indian metallers with a tweet: "Rocking!" he calls the Indian sensation. Among other things, the musicians are involved in animal welfare and social projects and use traditional Indian instruments such as the tabla, dhol or bamboo flute. They mix it with rough thrash metal, urban rap vocals (English/Hindi/Punjabi) and rock-hard grooves. That creates a lot of uproar, at times sounds like open street fighting and, despite the regional references, has an absolutely international level. Especially since moderate sounds also find their place on “Rakshak” (Hindi for “protector”), as can be heard from the tracks 'Zanjeero Se' and 'Jee Veerey'. Bloodywood definitely deliver Linkin Park-standards here and even open themselves up to target groups that are less metal-savvy. The majority of this album rages like an unleashed tropical storm ('Dana-Dan', 'Chakh Le') is decked out with an impressively rabid force and hardly allows the listener any breaks. This mix is what makes it so successful: the album entered the Billboard charts, making them the first Indian metal band to do so.“Rakshak“ was also successful on Bandcamp, where it topped the platform's album sales upon release and was ranked as the 22nd best-selling new release of all time (as of March 2022) and the 3rd best-selling metal release. Rock for a rebellion that will be unstoppable!

Very limited pressing of 300 units only. Following on from the two sold out records together, Freschard and Stanley Brinks come together for 12 brand new tracks. Lion Heart is an irresistibly charming collection of late night tales, woozy ballads and uptempo sing-alongs. Clemence Freschard’s beautiful vocal tones lend this a rich, French indiepop/chanteuse vibe, complemented by Stan’s wistful timbre and characteristic warm instrumentation. Stanley Brinks is renowned for his unique anti-folk style: both playful and suggestive, insightful and entertaining. Brinks was born in Paris, France, in 1973. He studied a bit of biology and worked as a nurse for a while. Half Swedish, half Moroccan, strongly inclined to travel the world, he soon began spending most of his life on the road and developed a strong relationship with New York. By the late 90s he’d become a full time singer-songwriter – André Herman Düne – as part of three piece indie-rock band, Herman Düne. Several albums and Peel sessions later and after a decade of touring Europe, mostly with American songwriters such as Jeffrey Lewis, Calvin Johnson and early Arcade Fire he settled in Berlin. The early carnival music of Trinidad became a passion, and in the early 21st century he became the unquestioned master of European calypso, changing his name to Stanley Brinks. Under this moniker he has recorded more than 100 albums, collaborated with the New York Antifolk scene on several occasions, recorded and toured with traditional Norwegian musicians, and played a lot with The Wave Pictures. Freschard grew up in a farm in French Burgundy. Aged 18 she moved to Paris, where she baked pies and cakes in a cafe. There, a local musician and regular customer called Stanley Brinks wrote a few songs for her to sing. Homeless in Paris, she saved up just enough money to get herself a ticket to New York. There she found an old electric guitar and started writing her own songs. In 2004 she moved to Berlin, where she recorded her first LP, "Alien Duck". Her second album, "Click Click", recorded in 2006, features electric guitar by Stanley Brinks. On her third album, she plays the drums herself. On her fourth “Shh...” she also plays the flute, and she breaks out the washboard on her fifth “Boom Biddy Boom”. On Midnight Tequila, Freschard brings it back to just drums and vocals // “an absolute joy.” Q // “...a set that’s as wistful and charming as it is playful and self-concious.” Uncut // “quietly charming” Pitchfork

'You are Nowhere' is the epic metallic hardcore collaborative effort
between hardcore stalwart front man extraordinaire Rob Fusco (One King
Down, Most Precious Blood, Recon) and Rafe Holmes (Insvrgence)
Take Life is the focus of decades of metal/hardcore songwriting experience and
unbridled expression boasting the feral, frenetic musical energy of bands like Kiss
It Goodbye and Burnt By The Sun and the scathing lyrical content and emotive
vocal performances which have been Fusco's trademark.
'You are Nowhere' was produced, mixed, and mastered by legendary metalcore
mastermind Randy Leboeuf (The Acacia Strain)

An album of incredible music inspired by endangered birdsong
This is the third album from The Birdsong Project that challenges ten artists from
a certain region to make an original track using and inspired by the song of a
threatened bird. 100% of the profits from the project go to bird conservation
NGOs working on the ground. Following South America and Mexico, Central
America, & the Caribbean, this album moves to Western Africa. The album mixes
well- known names from the World or traditional music scene like Vieux Farka
Touré, alongside electronic music producers like Buruntuma. This record is also
pressed on the greenest record available via Green Vinyl Records with 100% PVCfree, 100% recycled cardboard and 70% less CO2 emissions.

Auf 'Third' hebt Jitwam seine Fähigkeiten als Beatmaker und Produzent auf ein neues Niveau, verschmilzt Live-Musik mit Samples und Edits, garniert sie mit Features von Melanie Charles und Akhtari und weckt Erinnerungen an die Suche nach Frieden im Chaos des täglichen Lebens. Inspiriert von seiner Zeit in NYC kombiniert Jitwam mit trunkener Unbekümmertheit Einflüsse aus Latin, Soul, Punk und einer Menge Disco zu einem einzigartigen, reichhaltigen Sound. Die 10 ansteckenden Songs aus moduliertem Gesang und traditioneller Instrumentierung vermengen sich mit dem Schwung von Soul-House und Jazz. Entsprechend erhält Jitwam Support von Gilles Peterson, Moodymann und Matthewdavid.

Pye Corner Audio releases a new album, Let’s Emerge!, for Sonic Cathedral. It’s his first studio outing for the label following the acclaimed live recording Social Dissonance, which came out earlier this year, and it features Ride guitarist Andy Bell playing on five of its ten tracks. From the first glimpse of the artwork to the first note of the music it’s a marked deviation from Pye Corner Audio’s more traditional shadowy sounds. Whereas his last outing for Ghost Box (2021’s Entangled Routes) was inspired by the underground fungal pathways through which plants communicate, this one is very much above ground, bathed in sunlight and acid-bright psychedelia.

“This is a departure to sunnier climes, but a departure nonetheless,” says Pye Corner Audio, aka Martin Jenkins. “It’s something that I’d been thinking about for a while. I try to tailor my work slightly differently for the various labels that I work with, and this seems to fit nicely with Sonic Cathedral’s ethos.” Designer Marc Jones’ bold and ultra vivid artwork consciously references the likes of LFO, Spacemen 3 and the early output of Stereolab. “I think it mixes together many of my earliest influences,” explains Martin. “I’ve been a long-time fan of Spacemen 3 and Stereolab.

Their moments of repetition and drone have always seeped into what I’ve tried to create.

“I was living in a small apartment and I’d stripped down my studio set-up when I was recording this album. This enabled me to focus on a few key pieces of equipment and explore them fully.” The recordings were fleshed out by Andy Bell, who Martin first met at the Sonic Cathedral 15th birthday party at The Social in London back in 2019 – the same show that became the live album Social Dissonance.

“New alliances were formed and friendships made in that basement in Little Portland Street,” recalls Martin. “When I met Andy, we agreed that we needed to work together in some way. After I’d remixed a few tracks from his album The View From Halfway Down, he kindly repaid the favour.” The end results – mastered in New York by acclaimed engineer Heba Kadry – are incredible, from the first stirrings of opener ‘De-Hibernate’, via the glorious ‘Haze Loops’ and ‘Saturation Point’, the album slowly but surely awakens, blinking and feeling its way into the light. It all culminates in the epic closing track ‘Warmth Of The Sun’ which, with its vocal harmonies and acid breakdown, is seven and a half minutes of pure release.

“That one’s about life’s simple pleasures,” concludes Martin. “The Beach Boys, tremolo guitars, infinite drones, Spacemen 3. Let’s emerge from this darkened era and feel the ‘Warmth Of The Sun’. “The last few years have seen huge changes, both personally and in a wider perspective. The album title is a reaction to this, a collective (tentative) sigh of relief. Here’s to new beginnings and a sense of hope.”

THE HITMAN aka MARVELLOUS CAIN delivers his most sought after tracks on vinyl!

RETURN OF THE HITMAN collects together 16 of the most exclusive cuts from Marvellous Cain’s extensive back catalogue, all remastered and presented as a collectable vinyl box set package.

This album has been a long time coming, much of that time spent by Marvellous Cain digging through his studio to find original DAT recordings of his most in demand hits, in the process unearthing some exclusive, never before released gems!

This album kicks off with 2 versions of arguably his most notorious track Hitman, a certified jungle classic from 1994! For this compilation, Marvellous Cain has selected the version of Hitman previously only available on his debut Gun Talk LP back in 1995 (released on Suburban Base). He’s also treated us to the very long overdue, unreleased, DJ Stretch Dubplate VIP, originally produced in ’94, but never pressed to vinyl!

On the flip are two cuts from the infamous Lucky Spin imprint... Life Is Rollin & Miss Out. Both tracks were originally available as a very limited white label press, but never got a full release. This has been selling for £90 on reseller sites due to its scarcity.

Record 2 is again packed with rare music, with 3 of the 4 cuts being unreleased to date. The first track Will I See You? has traded hands for an incredible £500 on Discogs, we can see many buying Return Of The Hitman for this track alone!

Our 3rd slice of vinyl see’s Marvellous Cain teaming up for studio collaborations with original jungle don Bizzy B on Everyday Junglist, also with Libra for an unreleased alternative version of Nu Music discovered on the original session DAT from 1996.

The 4th and final slice of wax in this package introduces new remixes of a couple of classic tracks. CB4 has been reworked for 2022 by Marvellous Cain himself. Dubplate Style has a fresh ‘22 lick by D&B’s hardest working DJ Nicky Blackmarket alongside production partner FreezeUK who’s recently released on Ram Records sister label Prog:Ram!

We close out with two dubplate exclusives from 95 & 96 respectively, taken from Marvellous Cain’s personal arsenal of DJ ammunition, and now available for the first time to the record buying public.

Andrew Heath describes his music as 'lower case', but although this cross-nation collaboration with Anne Chris Bakker and M Cosa de Resistance is understated, serene and slow moving, it's also capable of painting ambitiously widescreen images at the same time. The seven tracks here revolve around the UK producer's trademarks - solitary sounding piano and atmospherics both courtesy of field recordings and electronics - but with extra embellishments, most notably the eerie sound of the zither and six string experiments from Dutch guitarist Bakker. It's a horizontal listen, certainly, but one that's full of life and creativity all the same.

Hypnagogia remains one of the most mysterious and haunting daily states of mind. Moments of revelation are wont to traditionally hit us particularly in the hinterland between dream and waking, It’s this particular headspace that’s very much the world of ‘Pö om pö’, the second Rocket Recordings released full-length record from Sweden’s equally mysterious OCH. Pö om pö (meaning ‘little by little’) is a journey further into inner space from ‘II’, the previous Rocket outing (which followed a 2014 cassette only release) What’s mapped out here is a trajectory on the kosmische continuum that touches on the terrain of late-‘70s Sky records style ambience, the more overgrown quarters of Swedish experimental prog and the sun-baked lo-fi DIY cassette culture of the US early ‘00s.Dwelling in a smoke-clouded glow that’s equal parts sunset gold and effects pedal red, OCH have here transcended all influences to creating a tapestry of potent psychotropic sound. A record in which new horizons open up beyond the small hours, and where primeval wah-wah-abetted skronk and mantric folk tinged repetition can collude to reveal new third-eye perceptions. Little By Little, Pö om pö , these forty minutes are here to bridge the chasms between conscious and subconscious, and in style.

Die britische Band Fellowship wird mit ihrem Debütalbum die Power-Metal-Szene mit eingängigen Melodien, rasanten Gitarren und lebensbejahender Lyrik aufmischen! “The Saberlight Chronicles" steht in der magischen Tradition von Twilight Force, Rhapsody und Majestica und hebt die Emotionen des Genres auf ein neues Niveau. “The Saberlight Chronicles" ist zu gleichen Teilen ein erzählerisches High-Fantasy-Konzeptalbum und eine gefühlvolle Sammlung von absoluten Knallern... zumindest sagen sie das so - sie sind schließlich Briten! Das Album greift das Thema psychische Gesundheit in einer Zeit auf, in der wir alle eine Aufmunterung brauchen, und erzählt eine mythische Geschichte über Selbstwert, Selbstfindung und die Suche nach Mut; Und dies alles in Songs, die so eingängig sind, dass man schon beim ersten Hören mitsingt. Metal hat sich noch nie so gut angefühlt!

black midi, das sind Geordie Greep (Gitarre, Gesang), Cameron Picton (Bass, Gesang) und Morgan Simpson (Schlagzeug), ihr 3. Album "Hellfire" erscheint am 15. Juli auf Rough Trade Records. Die erste Single daraus hat den wohligen Titel "Welcome To Hell". "Hellfire" wurde nach der Veröffentlichung des Vorgängers "Cavalcade" in London in Abgeschiedenheit geschrieben und baut auf den melodischen und harmonischen Elementen des Vorgängers auf, während es die Brutalität und Intensität des Debüts "Schlagenheim" ausbaut. Wie Greep es beschreibt: "Wenn Cavalcade ein Drama war, ist "Hellfire" wie ein epischer Action-Film", der sich mit überlappenden Themen wie Schmerz, Verlust und Angst beschäftigt. Es ist ihr bisher thematisch kohärentestes und durchdachtestes Album". Während die Geschichten von "Cavalcade" in der dritten Person geschildert wurden, erzählt "Hellfire" seine Geschichten aus der Ich-Perspektive eines moralisch fragwürdigen Charakters. Es gibt direkte dramatische Monologe, die an unser verkommenes Gefühl für Recht und Unrecht appellieren. Man ist sich nie so ganz sicher, ob man lachen oder entsetzt sein soll. "Welcome To Hell" erzählt die Geschichte der Exzesse eines ausschweifenden Soldaten und seiner Entlassung aus dem Militärdienst, untermalt von funkigen Gitarrensätzen, treibenden Bläsern und einem knorrigen Gesang. Das Video wurde von Gustaf Holtenäs gedreht, der auch schon beim Video zu "Slow" Regie führte. Die Entstehung von "Hellfire" dauerte nur sechs Monate und begann mit einem Riff bei einem Jam der Gruppe, das sich zu dem futuristischen Boxdrama "Sugar/Tzu" entwickelte. Die Bandbreite und die Kraft sowie die starke Produktion der Musik von black midi war noch nie so groß wie auf dem neuen Album, was zum Teil der Produzentin Marta Salogni zu verdanken ist, die mit der Band bereits am "Cavalcade"-Opener "John L" gearbeitet hat. Aber wie immer ist die Art der Musik, die black midi spielen, nicht so wichtig wie ihre Qualität. Und was auch immer du über die Musik von black midi denkst, ist es wichtig, was du dabei fühlst, wenn du sie wirklich hörst.

black midi, das sind Geordie Greep (Gitarre, Gesang), Cameron Picton (Bass, Gesang) und Morgan Simpson (Schlagzeug), ihr 3. Album "Hellfire" erscheint am 15. Juli auf Rough Trade Records. Die erste Single daraus hat den wohligen Titel "Welcome To Hell". "Hellfire" wurde nach der Veröffentlichung des Vorgängers "Cavalcade" in London in Abgeschiedenheit geschrieben und baut auf den melodischen und harmonischen Elementen des Vorgängers auf, während es die Brutalität und Intensität des Debüts "Schlagenheim" ausbaut. Wie Greep es beschreibt: "Wenn Cavalcade ein Drama war, ist "Hellfire" wie ein epischer Action-Film", der sich mit überlappenden Themen wie Schmerz, Verlust und Angst beschäftigt. Es ist ihr bisher thematisch kohärentestes und durchdachtestes Album". Während die Geschichten von "Cavalcade" in der dritten Person geschildert wurden, erzählt "Hellfire" seine Geschichten aus der Ich-Perspektive eines moralisch fragwürdigen Charakters. Es gibt direkte dramatische Monologe, die an unser verkommenes Gefühl für Recht und Unrecht appellieren. Man ist sich nie so ganz sicher, ob man lachen oder entsetzt sein soll. "Welcome To Hell" erzählt die Geschichte der Exzesse eines ausschweifenden Soldaten und seiner Entlassung aus dem Militärdienst, untermalt von funkigen Gitarrensätzen, treibenden Bläsern und einem knorrigen Gesang. Das Video wurde von Gustaf Holtenäs gedreht, der auch schon beim Video zu "Slow" Regie führte. Die Entstehung von "Hellfire" dauerte nur sechs Monate und begann mit einem Riff bei einem Jam der Gruppe, das sich zu dem futuristischen Boxdrama "Sugar/Tzu" entwickelte. Die Bandbreite und die Kraft sowie die starke Produktion der Musik von black midi war noch nie so groß wie auf dem neuen Album, was zum Teil der Produzentin Marta Salogni zu verdanken ist, die mit der Band bereits am "Cavalcade"-Opener "John L" gearbeitet hat. Aber wie immer ist die Art der Musik, die black midi spielen, nicht so wichtig wie ihre Qualität. Und was auch immer du über die Musik von black midi denkst, ist es wichtig, was du dabei fühlst, wenn du sie wirklich hörst.

* Comes with the original 1985 artworks & obi strip. * All-star line-up featuring Herbie Hancock, Mory Kante & Bernie Worrell. * 180g blue Vinyl repress. Manu Dibango needs little introduction, born in Cameroon in 1933, Manu developed a musical style fusing jazz, funk, and traditional Cameroonian music. He's definitely among the best known African artists outside of Africa. Collaborations were numerous and include top acts like Fela Kuti, Herbie Hancock, Bill Laswell, Sly & Robbie, Don Cherry and Bernie Worrell. In addition to selling hundreds of thousands of copies of the albums he recorded, he played such huge venues as Yankee Stadium and Madison Square Garden. In 1972, at 40 years of age, Manu Dibango did something almost unheard of for an African artist - he had a pop hit. His song "Soul Makossa" became an enormous hit which influenced popular music for decades to follow. First picked up by David Mancuso (The Loft), "Soul Makossa" took New York dance floors by storm & in July 1973 it became the first disco record to enter the Billboard Top 40_an early instance of Western pop experiencing a paradigm shift thanks to Africa. The song's chant of "ma-mako ma-ma-sa mako-mako sa" echoes through the greatest-selling pop album of all-time, Michael Jackson's Thriller, and it's in the DNA of the music of Kanye West, Rihanna, A Tribe Called Quest, Akon and The Fugees. By 1985, Dibango was back in Paris, one of the most successful African artists in the world, to start on the recordings for the Electric Africa album. This album hooked Manu and the Soul Makossa Gang up with New York avant garde producer Bill Laswell, jazz pianist Herbie Hancock, Parliament-Funkadelic keyboard player Bernie Worrell, Pan African synthesist Wally Badarou, New York guitarist Nicky Scopelitis, African drummer Aiyb Dieng and Malian kora virtuoso Mory Kante. This means of working gave Manu and Laswell license to fuse synthesizers and kora, talking drums and samples, ngoni and electric guitar. What it all boils down to is world beat in its truest sense. Electric Africa remains one of Manu's strongest albums. His deep growl of a honey and sandpaper voice and the energetic honk of his saxophone merge with the seamless samples and the myriad hand percussion and overt funkiness of his band. Herbie Hancock plays on three tracks, contributing an amazing electric piano solo on the title track and interacting with Manu's sax while weaving to the warp of Mory Kante's kora during "L'arbre a Palabres." Similarly but more subtly, Laswell, Badarou and Worrell play dueling synthesizers in and around the band throughout "Pata Piya." All of this makes the album an hypnotic & upbeat Afro-Funk classic that will rock every part your body (and mind). Now finally back available as a limited vinyl edition (Blue vinyl, limited to 500 copies) for the first time since 1985.

• Ghost of Tsushima: Music from Iki Island and Legends builds on the groundbreaking soundtrack to Ghost of Tsushima, the third-person adventure game by Sucker Punch Productions and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Featuring music by Chad Cannon and Bill Hemstapat, it includes selections from Ghost of Tsushima’s popular Iki Island and Legends expansions.

• The 2020 award-winning open-world video game, Ghost of Tsushima, follows the samurai Jin Sakai, who must protect Tsushima Island from invasion, defeat the ruthless Mongol invaders and protect what’s left of his home and people. As he embarks on an epic adventure for the freedom of Tsushima, he is forced to set aside samurai traditions and become a new kind of warrior.


• This vinyl release from composers Chad Cannon and Bill Hemstapat features 45 minutes of all new music written for the Ghost of Tsushima Director’s Cut. It contains 15 tracks, of which 10 are from Iki Island and 5 are from Legends.

• This release includes a black LP housed in a beautiful gatefold jacket with a folded insert.

• Chad Cannon has worked with several of the world’s best-loved film composers as arranger and orchestrator. As chief arranger for Studio Ghibli composer Joe Hisaishi since 2017, Chad has created large symphonic suites for Kiki’s Delivery Service, Castle in the Sky, and Spirited Away. His score to the Academy Award- winning Netflix documentary American Factory has been called “stirring” (NY Times) and “graceful” (Washington Post) and was nominated for a Cinema Eye Honors Award for Outstanding Original Score. The film is the first release by Barack and Michelle Obama’s Higher Ground Productions.
• Originally from Thailand, Bill Piyatut Hemstapat is a composer and record producer based in LA whose works have been featured in Video Games, TV and cinemas all over the world. Bill’s passion for video games music has led him to working at Sony PlayStation’s music department. Along with his most recent work re-imagining Shunsuke Kida’s iconic music of Demon’s Souls for the PS5 remake, he also contributed additional music and arrangements for Ghost of Tsushima as well as music editing for God of War, Days Gone and Hideo Kojima’s critically acclaimed Death Stranding.

The seductive first full-length from electronic composer and multi-disciplinary visual artist Amosphère. Born in China, partly educated in Japan and now residing in Paris, her work came to the attention of a wider circle of listeners when she was invited by Laurel Halo to perform as part of a 10-hour durational ambient concert at London's Mode Exchange in 2019. Amosphère uses a careful selection of vintage electronics, sophisticated harmonic sense, and keen compositional intelligence to invite listeners into a meditative sonic space. Time expands and contracts, simplicity reveals complexity, and repetition becomes patient transformation. Spreading out over six expansive yet self-contained tracks, more die of heartbreak serves as a perfect introduction to Amosphère's warmly enveloping approach to analogue sound. Developed from scores (contained in the accompanying booklet) using techniques from concrete poetry and graphic notation as well as fragments of traditionally notated material, these six pieces take in a broad sweep of moods and approaches, from the gently burbling layered monophonic patterns of the opening 'circuit of unconsciousness', reminiscent of the sun-drenched synth figures of 70s Alvin Curran, to the haunted gliding tones and reverberating pops of the closing 'melting a piece of cadmium'. At times starkly minimal and making bold use of the stereo field, Amosphère's production approach keeps the grit and grain of her analogue gear intact, at times calling to mind the work of pioneers like Delia Derbyshire and Eliane Radigue.

Mother Naomi and daughter Wynonna enjoyed an astounding run of 14
number one singles from 1984 to 1989, ranking them as one of the most
popular country acts of the '80s
Their music combined elements of traditional country harmony singing,
bluegrass, and Appalachian folk with pop, rock, and polished contemporary
production. Moreover, Wynonna's powerful, bluesy, often sexy lead vocals
established her as one of the finest female country singers of her era. But even
more important than their widely accessible sound -- or their considerable visual
appeal -- was their sympathetic understanding of working-class and small-town
women, earned through a long, hard struggle of their own.

Tinges of Americana stand side-by-side with the ghosts of Eastern
European fiddle tunes and ancient a cappella ballad singing, melding into
an unusually accessible dark-folk sound on Mama's Broke 'Narrow Line',
now available on vinyl
Canadian folk duo Mama's Broke has spent the past seven years in a nearconstant state of transience, pounding the transatlantic tour trail. They've brought
their dark, fiery folk- without- borders sound to major festivals and DIY punk
houses alike, absorbing traditions from their maritime home in Eastern Canada,
all the way to Ireland and Indonesia along the way. Nowhere is the duo's art-inmotion approach more apparent than on their long- awaited sophomore record
'Narrow Line'; it's the sound of nowhere in particular, yet woven with a rich
synthesis of influences that knows no borders. The eleven songs on 'Narrow Line'
burrow deeply, with close harmony duets, commanding vocals, and poignant
contemplations on cycles of life, including birth and death. A careful listen of
'Narrow Line' invokes an ephemeral sense of place—whether real or imagined—
inviting us to take comfort in the infinite possibilities of life, whether or not we
ever choose to settle down.

Tape

On her second album (first one on Umor Rex), the Minsk born / Paris based artist Lina Filipovich continues her experiments on deconstruction and re-appropriation of classical pieces. BFHC includes seven electronic interpretations of the works of Baroque composers such as Bach, Handel, Frescobaldi, Carleton and Couperin. Inspired by memories of her experience of interpreting Bach's pieces in early childhood, Filipovich explores the desire to push the limits of performing classical music in the traditional way. Her baroque compositions are manipulated, modified, transformed into loops, cut, slowed down and recycled like any content could be, becoming a raw material for new compositions accompanied by electronic sequences, rhythms and basslines. Through the recycling, sampling and reassembly, Lina creates new listening experiences. And if BFHC can be interpreted as a tribute to baroque music, it can also be understood as a call to action to the work of contemporary artists like Oval, and to all the boom of clicks and cuts at the beginning of this millennium.

Mastered by Rafael Anton Irisarri
Artwork by Daniel Castrejón

The Meltdown present their second LP ‘It’s A Long Road’, a wistful and uplifting journey through dusty, countrified soul music and tender, reflective songwriting. Led by vocalist, keyboard player and producer Simon Burke, the band is understated but deft throughout, letting the songs and Simon’s golden voice do the heavy lifting. The band stick to a sonic palette reminiscent of golden era Southern soul studios from Memphis to Muscle Shoals and in that tradition there’s as much as country-soul and blues in the mix as there is soul and funk. Of particular interest to fans of Durand Jones and the Indications, Lee Fields and Tedeschi Trucks, The album starts on the cruisy but quietly anthemic Tell You Not To Worry and picks up for the rolling triplet feel of River, featuring a blazing saxophone solo from Meltdown co-founder Lachlan McLean. Standout guest slots from Emma Donovan on the title track and Liz Stringer on Not The Only Love give the album additional emotional and musical depth. There’s a broad range of vocal and instrumental stylings, but always within the boundaries of tasteful understatement with subtle-yet-lush production that straddles the line of soul, blues and country-soul. Simon’s voice ranges from falsetto to full voiced occasionally touching that gritty goodness and guitarist Tom Martin (The Putbacks) gets crunchy but never screamy. It’s a deceptively simple record, beautifully put together by a very experienced band and the quality shines through. sou

Artificial Countrysides is Athens, Ga - based Elf Power's 14th album and
first for Yep Roc Records
The band expand their sound on this record to glorious effect, adding marimba,
harpsichord, synth bass, distorted drum machine loops, and mellotron to their
time tested mix of fuzz guitars, moog keyboards, pummeling drums, and layered
acoustic guitars, achieving a satisfying and unique synthesis of traditional and
futuristic sounds. Lyrically the album mirrors this approach by discussing the
difficulties and advantages of dealing with modern life's digital and artificial
landscape, balanced with the natural world. Elf Power formed in Athens, GA in
1994 and have released 14 albums, two eps, and a handful of singles, while
touring North America, Europe, and Japan many times playing alongside acts like
R.E.M., Flaming Lips, Dinosaur Jr., Neutral Milk Hotel, Guided by Voices, Arcade
Fire and many more. Albums such as 1998's Dave Fridmann-produced "A Dream
In Sound" and 2008's collaboration with the late folk rock icon Vic Chesnutt, "Dark
Developments", have cemented the bands' reputation as the finest purveyors of
modern melodic psychedelic folk rock around. The band became known as a
member of the much heralded Elephant 6 Collective, which includes their friends
and collaborators Neutral Milk Hotel, Apples in Stereo, Olivia Tremor Control, Of
Montreal, and many more.

Surfacing from ethereal and dreamier planes, UK shoegaze and
dreampop act GRAYWAVE are one of the latest additions to the Church
Road Records roster
Following on from their 2021 debut EP proper, Planetary Shift, GRAYWAVE is set
to release their second extended play, Rebirth, on June 24.Formed in Birmingham,
UK in 2019 as a solo venture and creative outlet for Jess Webberley, GRAYWAVE
has already amassed a steady stream of singles and qualitative short form
releases - drip feeding fans a highly ambitious and modern take on dreampop and
shoegaze’s storied sonic spectrum. Returning in 2022, Rebirth is the most
revealing and entrancing look into GRAYWAVE’s evolution as an artist. Trading in
some of the lo- fi tendencies of her earlier output, Rebirth sees Webberley
embrace darker soundscapes and sonic weight across the release’s five
tracks.GRAYWAVE’s latest effort is a confident seizing of identity and assured
meeting point for the project’s initial potential and newfound blossoming. Opener,
Build, and Rebirth’s title track rattle with rhythmic unease and confrontation, as
Webberley’s voice drifts between somnolent hypnosis and arresting command.
Elsewhere, Closer and Exoplanet effortlessly tie together 90s influence in the vein
of Cocteau Twins and Drop Nineteens with a modern touch similar to US
contemporaries Citizen.Following their recent union with Church Road Records,
2022 will see GRAYWAVE continue to shine across the UK live circuit. Having
already sold out hometown shows, as well as getting through to the latter stages
of the Isle of Wight Festival’s ongoing musical showcase that offers a spot on the
festival’s New Blood stage, and performing with UK hardcore upstarts Cruelty.
Living up to its name, Rebirth is already proving to be a fruitful time of growth for
Webberley and GRAYWAVE’s creative self- actualisation - offering fans new and
old the most conceptually realised iteration of the project’s limitless avenues of
artistic promise yet.

The second part in a collection of stunning Persian-tuned piano pieces, cut from Iranian national radio broadcasts made for the Golha programmes between 1956 & 1965.

Morteza Mahjubi (1900-1965) was a Iranian pianist & composer who developed a unique tuning system for the piano which enabled the instrument to be played in all the different modes and dastgahs of traditional Persian art music. Known as Piano-ye Sonnati, this technique allowed Mahjubi to express the unique ornamental and monophonic nature of Persian classical music on this western instrument - mimicking the tar, setar & santur and extracting sounds from the piano which are still unprecedented to this day.

An active performer and composer from a young age, Mahjubi made his most notable mark as key contributor and soloist for the Golha (Flowers of Persian Song and Poetry) radio programmes. These seminal broadcasts platformed an encyclopaedic wealth of traditional Persian classical music and poetry on Iranian national radio between 1956 until the revolution in 1979.

Presented here is a collection of Morteza Mahjubi's stunningly virtuosic improvised pieces broadcast on Golha between the programme's inception until Mahjubi's death in 1965 - mostly solo, though at times peppered with tombak, violin & some segments of poetry & song.

The vast collection of Golha radio programmes was put together thanks to the incredible work of Jane Lewisohn & the Golha Project as part of the British Library's Endangered Archives programme, comprising 1,578 radio programs consisting of approximately 847 hours of broadcasts.









i 09: Improvisation & Avaz in Isfahan (Golha-ye Rangarang #254) feat. Marzieh




feat. Abdolvahab Shahidi

Motorik, Techno, Lo-fi, Primal and monotonous are words to describe Black Bones unique take on afro and post punk. This 7” is their first on Höga Nord Rekords and contains two tracks showing depth in musical creativity and record collections.

Black Bones use familiar components in surprising ways: electronics and loops swirl over sequenced pounding backbeats, but when the aggressive stereo bass kicks in on “Nairobi Night Train”, Kenya’s border stretches all the way up to the British Isles and a huge savannah opens its horizons just south of Belfast.

This is an unusual mix of European and African music tradition - a meeting of genres so seamless it’s hard labelling it crossover. It’s just an explosive potion mixed for dancing!

For a prolific artist as Gerardo Frisina, almost two years without a new release from him seems like an eternity: this brand new 12" EP entitled 'Soul Drum' breaks the silence, giving us three new works composed by Gerardo, made up of four recordings if we consider the two versions of the title track.

This EP anticipates the full album already in the works, scheduled for release at the end of 2022.

Without losing his Latin trademark, Gerardo continues his research into hypnotic and pulsating rhythmic patterns in both acoustic and electronic form, which are now a fundamental stylistic element of his. As on his previous album 'Moving Ahead', the rhythmic style blends naturally with echoes of tribal voices, piano keys and wind instruments (trumpet, saxophone, flute), creating the 'Joyful Sound' (title of the forthcoming album) that reverberates on the surface. With an artist as meticulous as Gerardo Frisina, it is to be expected that even the simplest beat has been deeply thought out and chosen from a potentially infinite sound palette, and this can be heard perfectly in the depth of sound of the four tracks of this release.

"Soul Drum" is dedicated to the loving memory of bassist Enzo Frassi, who contributed to this EP - along with 'usual guests' Fabrizio Bernasconi, Gendrickson Mena, Alfonso Deidda and Ernesto Lopez.

3 Electro Knights are cybernetic synthesizer group from London playing science fiction music for the 21st century. The 4 track Red Admiral EP is their first proper release following a very limited lathe cut single which was available through Norman Records and Rough Trade in very small quantities and sold out immediately, and a limited cassette album, Sketches For Another Future. The single I Move In Another Dimension was described by Rough Trade as “Electro sqwonk and clatter meet Patti Smith style beat poetry on this unbelievably scarce 7”. Destroy/Exist wrote of their cassette album Sketches For Another Future: “Through krautrock, psychedelic, synthpunk, and modern electronica passages, 3 Electro Knights fully realize their analog electronic sound, exposing their warm connection with their synths.”

The trio meld the ‘live-improvisation allied with editing approach’ of Krautrock legends Can to contemporary outboard synth music. Influences and inspiration include Tangerine Dream, Yellow Magic Orchestra, Derrick May, Vangelis, Craven Faults. 3 Electro Knights are Daren Pickles (Supercharger, bushpilot), Nik Clifford (Jesus Licks, bushpilot) and Ross Holloway (bushpilot). The next EP will follow soon and is called Rave One. Red Admiral EP 1. Red Admiral 2. Hidden Intent 2 3. Why Don't You Cry For Me 4. Apparently Peaceful

restock!

Written and recorded during 2020, a year marked by forced quarantine with in turn proved to be a prolific time for musical composition. It is an album about change, aging and the fading memories one has, often more of a product of the current state of a person than an accurate description of those remembered moments. With age we tend to forget or lose contact with particular moments and parts of our own story and context become erased forever, as though they never happened. With this album, peter bjärgö takes the first steps into something new, bringing along his signature sound from past projects into a slowly evolving transition to a sonic world beyond his previous achievements. Leaning towards a more ethnic, rhythmic sound, integrated with his now trademark melancholic guitar work and deep solemn vocals, these are the first steps to a new horizon he’s ceaselessly crafting for our listening pleasure.

First Word Records is pleased to welcome back Souleance with a brand new single for Summer 2022!

'GUILI GUILI' is a double AA side 7" single, with an additional remix by Art Of Tones on the digital version.

French slang for "tickle", 'GUILI' is an epic disco-funk piece inspired by the likes of Azymuth, Herbie Hancock and Marcos Valle, but incorporated with Souleance's trademark sounds of fuzzy bass-heavy electronica, synths and samples, giving the track a fresh contemporary twist. Meanwhile, the (digital only) Art Of Tones mix ramps up the disco elements heavily, incorporating some vocals, strings and horn stabs to create some sure fire heat for the summertime. The flipside 'TORO' is a much more tweaked-out, synth-heavy bomb, influenced by artists such as Prince, Parliament and French electronic club music. All tracks mark the evolution of the duo into a full live band, whilst remaining true to their sonic mission of producing music crafted especially for the dancefloor.

The band have been performing live at various festivals and venues across Europe, with upcoming appearances scheduled at the Pura Vida Festival, Greece in August and Jazz à Vienne in July.

This two-track vinyl 7" / three-track digi-single is released on First Word Records, worldwide on May 27th 2022. Another essential one for your record bags.

Credits:

Bass guitar, synths and programming by Fulgeance.

Scratches and programming by Soulist.

Wurlitzer, Moog grandmother, ASM Hydra synth & Roland Juno 60 by Vincent Choquet.

Mastered by DJ VAS.

Stockholm post-punk band V**gra Boys (**= "ia" because spam FILTERS) are announcing a new album Cave World due out July 8th via YEAR0001 Produced by past collaborators Pelle Gunnerfeldt (The Hives, The Knife, etc.) and DJ Haydn, the album is inspired by current events, and aims to tear through the insanity and confusion the world currently finds itself in. Like sin- eaters if sins had to be ingested from a very small spoon, V**gra Boys have consumed the utterly incomprehensible chaos of our era and distilled it into the 12 immaculate tracks that make up Cave World.

As 2021’s Welfare Jazz was earning rave reviews from the likes of Pitchfork, NPR, GQ, NME, Stereogum, Fader, and more, Viagra Boys were in the midst of rerecording what would become their followup. After putting together an entire album at the legendary Silence Studio in the town of Koppom, the band decided they could push harder. "We let it marinate for a while and then rerecorded absolutely everything," Murphy explains. S

ome of the music made it through to what would become Cave World, but replacing the lyrics. In that iterative process,
Murphy found himself returning time and again to a misconception with deeper roots: the idea that humanity is moving forward. After watching a video late one evening about a theory that suggests evolution involved trading in some cognitive
abilities for others, Murphy began stewing on the fact that the result was mass shootings and science denial. "I just wrote down, 'Who is the true ape?'" he says.

"People look down at apes as primitive life forms, but we're just this horrible, lazy society killing each other and starting wars, while they’re able to love and feel.
Does that make them the true ape or us?"

"It's a wonderfully uplifting album
As invigorating as a cold, sunny, Swedish morning, Kolonien have the freshness
of The Cardigans' early albums while at the same time sounding something like a
Nordic Fleet Foxes." - SonglinesKolonien is a four- member family band from
Sweden that has been one of the leading voices of the Swedish folk revival for
over a decade. With a sound that blends acoustic roots music with anthemic,
sing- along pop, Kolonien has a fresh, appealing sound that brings multiple
musical worlds together.Kolonien's lush vocal harmonies are reminiscent of Fleet
Foxes, their Nordic folk-pop sound might remind some listeners of Of Monsters
and Men, and their hipsters with strings vibe makes them Sweden's answer to
Mumford & Sons. At the same time, Kolonien's music and inspirations are deeply
rooted in the Swedish folk tradition as well as the natural environment and
progressive philosophies of the alternative-lifestyle community where they were
raised.Kolonien is made up of brothers Erik and Arvid Rask, their cousin Anna
Möller and their childhood neighbor, and "brother from another mother," Mischa
Grind. The members of the band were raised in and around Järna, a community
south of Stockholm that is known as a back-to-the-land destination for hippies,
progressives and people seeking an alternative lifestyle. While they had been
making music together since childhood, the band formally came together during
a music festival in Tanzania in 2010. Since then, they have toured extensively
across the world and released a number of well-received albums and EPs.

The multiple award winning action-adventure game God Of War was first released in 2005, but became such an instant hit, that Santa Monica Studio created seven more versions of the game. The most recent one, released in 2018 for the PlayStation 4, focusses on main character Kratos' journey in the Greek world together with his son Atreus, following a path of vengeance as a result of being tricked into killing his family by Olympian gods.

God of War received universal acclaim for its story, design, graphics, combat system, characters and music. It was awarded 'Game of the Year' by numerous media outlets and award shows. God Of War (2018) performed well commercially, selling over five million copies within a month of its release. It became one of the best-selling PlayStation 4 games.

The official soundtrack won a BAFTA Award and is composed by Bear McCreary. It is set up around themes he created around primary characters in the game. Inspired by Viking folk music, McCreary used exotic instrumentation and languages from various Northern European folk traditions. It resulted in a score featuring deep choirs, pounding drums, shrieking brass and features Faroese singer-songwriter Eivør (Pálsdóttir). The American composer Bear McCreary is best known for his work on TV shows like Battlestar Galactica, Outlander, The Walking Dead and won an Emmy Award for the main title of Da Vinci's Demons.

WRWTFWW Records and MEG Museum (Geneva) are honored to present the first new solo album by renowned Japanese percussionist Midori Takada (Through The Looking Glass) in 23 years, Cutting Branches From A Temporary Shelter, available on vinyl LP, housed in a 350gsm sleeve, with OBI, and liner notes, as well as on digipack CD.

Recorded in a live setting and played with instruments conserved in the collections of the MEG Museum, Cutting Branches For A Temporary Shelter is Midori Takada’s very own rendition of "Nhemamusasa", a traditional work emblematic of the musical repertoire for mbira of the Shona of Zimbabwe, well known worldwide, thanks notably to its version by Paul F. Berliner included on the famed 1973 album The Soul of Mbira.

The choice of this title by Midori Takada evokes the links between traditional African and contemporary music which are the foundation of this work, and it also translates the resolutely multicultural vision of the artist.

Midori Takada explains: "African music is remarkable for its polyrhythms. Not only are there simultaneously several rhythmic motifs, sometimes as many as ten, but furthermore it may be that the part played by each musician has its own starting point and its own pace, all combining to form a cycle. All the cycles progress at the same time according to a single metrical structure which functions as a reference point, but which is not played by any one person from beginning to end. The structure emerges out of the multi-level parts, all different. With the Shona, the musical system is based on the polymelody: one performs simultaneously several melodic lines which are superimposed, each having its own rhythmic organization. It is truly captivating. In Western classical music, one four-beat rhythm induces some precise temporal framework and regular reference points, which come on the strong beats 1 and 3. But in the logic of the Shona musical system, and in other African music, the melody can begin in the very middle of the cycle and be continued up to some other place in an autonomous manner, as if it had its own personality. It’s very rich."

The album comes with in-depth liner notes that include an interview by Midori Takada, a point of view by Zimbabwean scholar, musician and activist Forward Mazuruse, and background information on the project by Isabel Garcia Gomez and Madeleine Leclair from MEG Museum.

The sleeve features an artwork by celebrated Zimbabwean painter Portia Zvavahera.

Part of the budget for the album was donated to Forward Mazuruse’s Music For Development Foundation whose aim is to identify, nurture, and record young but underprivileged musicians in Zimbabwe.

The album is released in conjunction with Midori Takada and Shomyo of Koya-san's You Who Are Leaving To Nirvana, also available on LP and CD on WRWTFWW Records.

“Rohkea rokan syö", or to loosely translate this Finnish saying: “Fortune Favours The Brave”. Truly, none have been braver than Blind Channel. Focusing intently on their mission to take their brand of infectiously ferocious nu-metal outside of Finland’s linguistic restrictions this bravery is engrained within. “It took me eight years to become an overnight success”, this line, buried away in Blind Channel’s fourth album Lifestyles Of The Sick & Dangerous is where their uncompromising journey finds its continuation. Furiously fighting their way into the worldwide mainstream, the six-piece have always been embracing their influences, from nu-metal iconoclasts to pop and hip-hop behemoths, it’s all a part of Blind Channel’s DNA. That’s the key to their draw, they’re only interested in sticking true to themselves while studiously searching for the keys to unlock the doors of success. Blind Channel knew that they had something to process. Not only the "modern-day misery” plaguing the world, as Joel puts it, but also proving that they could deliver more than the crowd-pleasing anthem of ‘Dark Side’. Lifestyles Of The Sick & Dangerous is a lashing, brutal, bravado and swagger filled, sincere depiction of their lives, backed by their trademark unforgiving “violent pop music”. As well as a winking homage to the Good Charlotte track Lifestyles of the Rich & Famous, it’s most importantly a righteous statement of intent. That this is only the beginning.

Group Theory: Black Music is a stunning new statement from South African drummer and composer Tumi Mogorosi who is one of the foremost drummers working anywhere in the world, with a flexible, powerful style that brings a distinctive South African inflection to the polyrhythmic tradition of Elvin Jones, Max Roach and Art Blakey.

‘Raiz’, the first release on the OITO//OITO Discos label, draws the musical focus towards the sound archives of Michel Giacometti, a French ethnomusicologist who dedicated his life to studying the oral traditions of Portugal which had become either lost or forgotten, with his collections still exhibited today in the Museum of Portuguese Music in Estoril. As with their previous releases, the duo carefully manage the source material and interweave it with their Acid House undertones, with both the original cuts ‘Ceifeiras’ and ‘A Poda’ doing a beautiful job at merging the powerful vocals with driving bass lines and rhythms. The opener in particular has a deep mysticism to it, the vocals leading the line as razor sharp pads craft a pulse alongside a steady but powerful drum structure. ‘A Poda’ takes things in a trippy-er direction, with the vocals stretched out in that prog house style that keeps the mind ticking over and the body left to its own devices. The breakdowns in this track are very effective, and really portray the soul of the original vocal performance and allow for the listener to connect with the wider feeling being conveyed. On the flip, the duo asked producers Switchdance and Terra Chã to put their spin on ‘Ceifeiras’, and the results only add to the atmosphere. Switchdance takes things down into murky depths, with a low slung beat expertly interspersed with driving bass notes, as sweeping chordal lines meander up above, giving a whole new angle to the original and winning over our hearts. Terra Chã’s version injects some swing into proceedings, with looping chordal stabs pulsating through the middle along with some beautiful melodic additions that exalt and inspire in equal measure.
Balanced, referential, blissful, dynamic. All this, and more, feature heavily on the first edition of OITO//OITO Discos, so why not come along and meander through time and space – it’s worth the trip…

Clear vinyl LP edition of 500 copies. Vacant Gardens is Glenn Donaldson (of The Reds, Pinks and Purples and a hundred others) and Jem Fanvu, collaborating on music and with the latter responsible for vocals and lyrics. The project began with the idea of combining heavy fuzz and slow-mo drum machine beats with Fanvu's gentle almost trad-folk style vocals. Almost all of Donaldson's otherworldly sounds are achieved through layers of guitar fuzz and copious delay, while Fanvu offers an ideal counterpoint, taking the listener on a celestial melancholy trip with her opaque poetry and melodies. So inspired were the duo by this blend of styles, they immediately recorded at least two albums of material, Under the Bloom and Obscene, released in quick succession in 2020 and 2021 in swiftly-disappearing micro editions on the secretive Tall Texan label. With those records close-to-impossible to find at an affordable price, Tough Love are now reissuing both LPs. From Reds Pinks and Purples' Glenn Donaldson, Vacant Gardens is an interstellar recording project that combines celestial, shimmering guitar on the verge of breaking like a massive, emotive wave and an ethereal vocal style from Jem Fanvu (visual artist, Minor Ghost Band also, plus collaborating with Tune-Yards, Cavity Fangs and many more) recalling Hope Sandoval or Liz Fraser that sails in its wake. Simply put, this is some of biggest, heart-tugging guitar music you'll hear in recent times. Sold out at once debut Under The Bloom, is followed now a continuation and development of the group's sound on Obscene: a frayed tapestry of Slowdiving, Flying Saucer Attack guitar noise wall married with an angelic vocal from Fanvu that glitters in counterpoint to the stringed distortion like Hope Sandoval or, in the way it shines bright in the fog, like Jonsi's surfing the surging waves of emotion in early Sigur Ros. Originally released in February on digital formats, Obscene gets a vinyl press and is sounding massive. Vacant Gardens' music suggests oceanic feelings, a hazy intergalactic consicousness that burbles beneath the surface of everything while also touching the visceral points in the human heart that makes groups like Galaxie 500, Yo La Tengo so timeless.

The trance blues stylings of Otha Turner and his Rising
Star Fife And Drum Band should be a music classification
unto itself, a whole new primitive take on drum and
bass. This music is the oldest still-practiced post-colonial
American music, and Turner was one of its greatest artists
of the 20th century. Blowing the cane fife with a band
of drummers as back up, The Rising Star Fife And Drum
band was legendary in the hills of Tate County, Mississippi,
where they would perform during the yearly goat picnics
on Turner’s farm. These tracks were recorded by Luther
Dickinson during such picnics and released when Turner
was ninety years old. Everybody Hollerin’ Goat shows
first hand the hypnotic and rhythmic style of fife and drum
music at its best—raw and beautiful.
It is every bit as essential a document of America’s folkmusic
heritage as anything Harry Smith or Alan Lomax ever
offered up for posterity. Turner’s band included some of his
children and grandchildren that have gone on to continue
the fife and drum tradition since his death in 2003.
This first ever vinyl release of Everybody Hollerin’ Goat
contains a whole side of unreleased recordings from one
night of the picnic and is intended to bring the experience
of hollerin’ for goat in Senatobia, Mississippi to the living
room. Dancing around the plants is recommended (but
don’t eat the pickled eggs). The entire album is remastered
by legend Gary Hobish.

Following the precursor singles of 2021, Formality Jerne-Site’s unveiling is finally cast upon her already-growing fanbase. Trained classically as a composer and completing a masters at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, Jura introduces a highly-anticipated playground of carefully sculpted characters, plots and lessons - sometimes charming, sometimes nefarious, always absolute and sincere. A fictional land opens its doors and roof to us. A trio of trans kids run amok in rural suburbia. Various sorcerers of the wild future enter the scene on some songs; on others, the mind is cast to sun-drenched drives and journeys of yesteryear. At the heart is a pop sensibility: yearning, reflections, vanity, guesswork, hope. Jura is adamant about practice and precision. Dead seriously she offers, about making music: ‘Nothing should be half-hearted or an accident.’ There’s a maturity and elegance to her compositions, arrangements that - although at first sound seem abstract - lean away from experimental, somehow. She sing-speaks in English, and somehow not typically theatrically for such a play of a record. The theatrics are all real. It’s a fantasy land for sure, but it's based on hard facts. Like academia subdivided into poetry. It’s that weird-ass specificity she mentioned. Opener ‘Someone’s Lifework’ introduces less a choir of voices, than a choir of personalities. The art of storytelling is at the center of the musical expression. A protagonist relinquishes control of chaos that’s bigger than them on a perilous journey on some vessel: they comfort their co-passengers. There’s a sense that the hero - or anti-hero - might be more canny and cunning than the sweetness they first sell to fellow players. 'Is this our getaway chance?’ sings fellow Copenhagener Ydegirl amongst swelling synths and reverb that become so definitely Jerne-Site as the quest continues. The search? For intimacy, perhaps. ‘Same late Age (dIcK bIfFeReNcE)’ imbibes at once, some further disorientation, perhaps a little hallucinatory feeling which may come over the listener. Through a synthesizing of political themes that work across time ‘Same Late Age (dIcK bIfFeReNcE)’ bears reminiscences of the musical expressions of anti-capitalism in the 1980es, although in a new body and context. “I have a feeling that music reconjures societal morals and ideas from the time in which it was written when we press play or hear a live performance. From the moment at a concert when the symphonic orchestra starts tuning in, the time traveling begins. So I imagined how it would be to be trans sitting there playing the first violin, having the job of producing that first tone that all the other musicians around me tune in ona, ” Jura explains. The listener yearns for more; and subsequent tracks deliver. On ‘How Intimate It Gets,’ Jura meditates on the futility of closeness, begging the audience to enter the blood and guts of their own entanglements, the blueprints of focusing entering. Jura sings richly about fingers being lines, pointing or bending, and we’re reminded of their own wicked ways we can’t control. A history of singing in choirs informs the harmony of myriad inner voices heard across the album. At once prophetic and enigmatic, some of the songs rearrange historical events out of pop musical language. The enormously entertaining ‘Pinot-Botticelli Toast to European Users’ conjures scenes of Cold-War world leaders stuck on a cruise in the Transatlantic vacuum, and the protagonist watches a devastating heartbreaker careen on into the picture, led by his own hips on ‘The Lasceaux Associate’. Finally, on title track ‘Formality Jerne-Site’, American English rises to the occasion like a verdict around the narrative of three trans teenagers in rural Colorado: language turns into something sensual and haptic, playing with the snare and sizzle of syllables. The words twist and bend, while the music follows its own synaesthetic logic: “around us pop culture made a vow to a normative desire, drawing in like water color percussion”. Anyines is a site of play and documentation, with a canon so far quite nice. Their future is one that envisions supporting the galaxies their dear friends embody, be it music, performance, video games or beyond. Highlights from their discerning back catalogue include myriad formats: live and digital, plus releases binded to physical artefacts that enhance the live experience such as sculptures and scents. Their history also includes disappearing time-sensitive shadow-tracked material and cross-disciplinary opportunities that reflect deep professionalism and a totally non-schooled semblance of sound and drama. Recent releases include a dance-theatre soundtrack, a traditional shiny pop record, and the acclaimed ML Buch sophomore, Skinned.

As the daughter of a blues musician, Chastity Brown was born with an
innate ability to channel complex circumstances into beautiful, uplifting
songs
But after surviving the isolation of the early pandemic and witnessing the global
racial reckoning that manifested itself in the riots mere blocks from her South
Minneapolis home, even she is surprised to hear the way her new album 'Sing To
The Walls' turned out. "It's a love album, in a way I didn't plan on," Chastity says.
Like so many artists who endured the uncertainty of the 2020 lockdown,
Chastity's instinct was to turn inward, at first out of self- preservation, and then
because the new songs kept coming and coming. Since finishing her last album,
2017's 'Silhouette Of Sirens', she estimates she's written nearly 100 new songs,
10 of which found their way onto 'Sing To The Walls'. Produced by Brady Blades,
'Sing To The Walls' is a sonically expansive album; it mines the roots of
Americana, folk, and soul music, but Chastity's stories are delivered in a style that
feels remarkably timely, modern, and forward-thinking. "I celebrate the emotional
richness in the tradition, but in my music I've committed myself to moving
forward and reflecting the experiences of those overlooked by tradition."
Chastity Brown has been praised by NPR, CMT, American Songwriter, the London
Times, Paste Magazine, and The Independent, among many others, and appeared
on the U.K.'s Later… with Jools Holland. She tours nationally and internationally,
having shared the stage and supported artists such as the Indigo Girls, Ani Di
Franco, Andrea Gibson, Jayhawks, The National, and Micheal Kiwanuka.