Search:tradition

Edition of 500 copies. Comes with download code and insert.

' Funkadelic touring the vast Caribbean coastline of Venezuela, together with Afrosound and Grupo Bota, with endless supplies of Aguardiente and other substances, in a “Back to the future” setting. ' ....?

Lola's Dice's debut album is the result of a radical musical transmutation, marked by the phenomenon of massive Venezuelan emigration. The songs contained in "Pura maldad" expose the current point of that process with amazing detail. Rhythms that were considered exclusively "traditional" and almost untouchable back home (Tamborera, Gaita) get twisted, stretched and pushed beyond any imaginary limit, while being combined with healthy doses of Disco, Funk, Electro, Techno and their Caribbean counterparts, Merengue, Salsa and Compass.

Having taken their first steps in the key of Funk-Rock, things first took a turn after the leader Javier Bohorquez met Venezuelan producer Alex Figueira (Fumaça Preta, Conjunto Papa Upa, etc) at a show and he handed him a business card. The tropical psychedelic sound Figueira was specialized on spoke immediately to Javier, as it did combine many of the crazy and groovy elements he loved from the most "out there" Funk (a la Funkadelic), with the countless Caribbean rhythms he had been exposed to, having grown up in Venezuela.

After the first EP "Viaje al centro del ritmo", where everything acquired a decisive tropical tone, a further eccentric exploration of the music of their homeland became inevitable. The subsequent single "Cacri 'e Playa / Sr Cartujo" clearly showed where things were moving towards.

“Pura Maldad” is a true tropical lysergic trip, and while you see vibrant colors and things move in very strange ways, the sun never seizes to shine. Despite its profoundly experimental character, the album proves very useful to anyone in need of getting a party started, maintained or fully blown up, depending at what point of the evening it’s played.

Artwork by Colombian artist Kevin Simón Mancera.

Produced by Alex Figueira at Heat Too Hot, Amsterdam.

Siamese Twins Records presents Temple Rat, known offstage as Mei Yuxin, and her highly anticipated debut EP, "The Composition of Air." This album signifies her first solo release with Siamese Twins, following her contribution to the Kāthā V.A. (ST-๐๐ห้า), which Higher Intelligence Agency later reworked on ST-๐๐๘. Each track gracefully transitions, creating a harmonious blend of ethereal haze yet grounded echogenic brushstrokes. Despite the otherworldly ambiance, the EP remains deeply rooted in an ancient mystique, which Mei has skillfully crafted.

Hailing from Chengdu, Mei is a master of the traditional Chinese Erhu, a two-stringed folk instrument made of wood and snakeskin. The soulful resonance of this time-honored instrument intertwines with Mei's productions and live performances.

The opening track, "Dreaming of Electric Sheep," immerses listeners in a dystopian sci-fi atmosphere, masterfully merging rustic ambiance with hissing field recordings and IDM-inspired elements. Hypnotic rhythms envelop and wash over meditative alchemy.

"Rooted in the Soil of Your Heritage" features a captivating collaboration with Portuguese vocalist Meta_, taking on a contemporary darkwave approach. This track spirals into the horizon, offering solace through interlacing oscillations, and perfectly illustrates Mei's ability to facilitate interethnic dialogue with her distinct and enthralling Erhu sound.

The true story unfolds in the title track, "The Composition of Air," as Mei expertly employs organic synths to create absorbing arpeggios and sequences.
The final piece, "东风," feels familiar and otherworldly, as drums pirouette beneath melodies that balance delicately, culminating in an intriguing and welcoming soundscape—the ideal conclusion to a captivating EP.

The sun is shining, the heat is enveloping the body, something is still wrong. « L’Ete Suivant » (The Following Summer), the fourth album of the French quartet Limousine still maintains, as its predecessors, this mystery around indolent music difficult to circumscribe, between jazz, pop, easy-listening.

Limousine is a parallel project but essential for the musicians who participate. It is a recreation, a group without a singer, who over the years has become a ritual for these four boys trained in jazz, who have since drifted to many different shores, and who also follow varied careers - within well-known formations and with famous artists (Poni Hoax, Jeanne Added, Thomas de Pourquery, Joakim).

"The following summer ..." is today the fourth Limousine album after "Siam Roads" in 2014, already published at Ekleroshock. Where this previous project revolved around a trip to Thailand, an initiatory meeting with a traditional musician from the region of Isaan, this new record follows no path except that of fantasy and loitering. It is the result of a simple working method: the quartet met during the last three summers, between the end of July and the beginning of August, in the same studio of the 18th arrondissement of Paris.
In general, it is at this time of the season that Paris begins to empty and the atmosphere of the capital oscillates between lightness, spleen, impatience and serenity. It is among others what resonates in this disc: a form of graceful detachment, an exhilarating nonchalance.

Ocean Abyss Colored Vinyl. Edition of 500 copies.

(Whirring Marvels In) Consensus Reality is the new album by Eluvium - the renowned moniker of prolific modern composer, Matthew Robert Cooper . Taking initial inspirations from T.S. Eliot 's The Waste Land and Richard Brautigan 's All Watched Over By Machines Of Loving Grace , (Whirring Marvels) inherently deals both with humankind's need for meaning, and the emergence of algorithms reflecting the feedback loops of humankind's interactions with machines themselves.

This complicated relationship that we have with technology, automations, and algorithms - and the influence they in turn have on shaping our image of the world - is the mechanized heart and soul of an album that almost instantly establishes itself as a peak in Eluvium 's inimitable catalog.

During the writing process for (Whirring Marvels In) Consensus Reality , Cooper began experiencing shoulder and arm pain that rendered his left arm increasingly debilitated. This inspired new compositional methods that blended varying degrees of electronic automations with traditional songwriting. Lyrical themes were built using algorithms to cull content from a notebook filled with years of scribbled thoughts, poems, considerations, conspiracies, scientific notions, and notes on the spirit of existence.

Employing musicians from all around the world - including members of the American Contemporary Music Ensemble ( ACME ), Golden Retriever, and the entire Budapest Scoring Orchestra - much of the music was conducted and recorded remotely via teleconference during the global COVID lockdowns of 2020 and 2021. This approach to composing served as an unintended but serendipitous challenge for an album inspired by the complicated convenience of technology.

(Whirring Marvels In) Consensus Reality blends an ornate combination of ingredients to construct a narrative of our dynamic invention; technological advancement; loneliness and isolationism; and unchecked idealism in a world of never-ending growth. The resulting hope that somehow emerges is itself a marvel of innovation and inspiration.

The name NxxxxxS (pronounced "N-Five X-S”) sounds like it could be an equation, or a mystery. But to begin to unravel the identity of the French producer who just signed to Because Music and Mad Decent (the label founded by Diplo), you first have to look for clues on YouTube and Soundcloud, where so many underground artists have found a place to hone their craft. In the ten years preceding the release of his second album Short Term Agreement in 2023, NxxxxxS built up a solid reputation for himself in the international vaporwave, vaportrap & phonk scenes. This is no small feat considering he didn’t have any real knowledge of production or composition before deciding to take on these classic genres of “Internet music”.
The Paris native first gained exposure when he started making beats on YouTube, taking his inspiration from American rappers of the blog era - when artists, especially in hip hop, used digital technology to break away from traditional distribution models - like Mac Miller or Odd Future. Building on this initial success, NxxxxxS turned to Soundcloud, an essential platform for music enthusiasts, tastemakers or anyone on the lookout for the sounds of tomorrow.
Following in the footsteps of The Alchemist and other producers of the same ilk, NxxxxxS soon became one of the pioneers of vaporwave and vaportrap music. Featured prominently in modern productions, these styles originated on social media platforms such as Reddit or Tumbler in the 2010’s and are recognisable by their frequent use of commercial samples ranging from the 70’s to the 2000’s (taken from jingles, lounge, jazz or elevator music). Altered, chopped up and slowed down to around 60 to 70 BPM to match hip-hop standards, the music offered a critique or satire of capitalism, consumer society and any culture that grew out of it, most notably yuppies from the 80’s.
NxxxxxS put his own spin on the recipe by creating a new world filled with soaring melodies and countless references to movies and horror scenes, and eventually released his debut album Fujita Scale (a scale used to measure the damage inflicted by tornadoes) in 2014. The album reached a worldwide audience because of its composer’s story and of the secrecy around his French nationality, and even won over unexpected fanbases such as the highly closed off Chinese market. Fujita Scale landed on one of China's streaming platforms, making NxxxxxS an identifiable artist in Asia who went on to tour his album three times across the continent.

NxxxxxS kept the ball rolling, collaborating on a new series of more accessible projects, which aimed to be less niche in terms of the references or sub-genres they tapped into, so he could find a new audience. This led to his first hits, “Synthetic Corporation” - which would also become the name of his label - “Remember Last Summer” and “Formatted Excess”, as well as his most popular track to date, “Playa Shit”, with over 11M streams on Spotify. The upcoming album’s title, Short Term Agreement, is a playful reference to his unyielding desire for independence and productivity, and his eagerness to preserve the personal freedom he turned into strength.
Yet NxxxxxS is never one to refuse support, and he has now joined forces with Because Music & Mad Decent to further establish himself as a producer at the international level - alongside Diplo especially, who is a case in point - so that this understated and ever prolific artist can meet his ambitions of widening his audience and have his name known by all.
And so the tracks on Short Term Agreement serve as the foundation for NxxxxxS' new identity, featuring a rich and diverse array of sounds thanks to the numerous guests involved: London rapper Jeshi - a new British rap phenomenon also freshly signed to Because Music, French rappers 8ruki & Bitsu, Canadian Freddie Dredd and American underground talents Pollari . Avoiding the pitfalls of a compilation-like producer album, NxxxxxS has once again carved out his own style from the modern hip hop rule book.

In other words, NxxxxxS’ constant evolution has brought us this much closer to solving the mystery that is his name.

A stone’s throw from the church where Desmond Tutu organised the escape of the most wanted antiApartheid activists of Soweto, BCUC rehearses in a shipping container-turned-community restaurant,
where their indomitable outspokenness echoes in a whole new way.

Like its elders, Bantu Continua Uhuru Consciousness sees its music as a hedonistic trance, but also as a weapon of political and spiritual liberation.
Bantu means people, Uhuru means freedom - the 7- pieces band led by vocalist Jovi Nkosi rekindle the freedom of awareness, giving contemporary voice to the ancestral traditions of indigenous peoples.
Jazz sounds of 1970s and ‘80s productions replaced by hip-hop in!uences and punk-rock energy, taking the listener on an intriguing epic journey.

With only a few releases under their belt, BCUC took the world by storm with their mesmerising performances, winning crowds at festivals such as Glastonbury (West Holts), Roskilde, Dour, Worldwide, Womad, Fusion and Sziget to name a few, while collaborating with legends like Femi Kuti and Saul Williams.

‘Millions Of Us’ is their first full-length album and most ambitious work to date - distilling their magic on record, summoning mainstage festival-energy and stewing down, casting spells for the intimate
audience. Recorded in Soweto, post dubbed and mixed in London the album is the coming together of this unique band and London’s On The Corner Records, a label that has been traversing underground
sounds worldwide.

Over the past five years, Mark has forged a unique identity in underground drum’n’bass, alloying traditional junglist motifs and electroacoustic ambience through a series of singles on A Colourful Storm and Unterton. A Colourful Storm now presents the culmination of his work and debut album, a shapeshifting expression of luminescence and rhythmic complexity.

Mark’s ambitions with Integrier Dich Du Yuppie (2017) and The Least Likely Event Will Occur In The Long Run (2018) reflected upon the relationships between - and division of - people, place and power. Now he responds with two pieces featuring his signature skittering drums, seismic sub-bass and atmospheric passages recalling Roland Kayn, Luigi Nono and Bernard Parmegiani. Moonlight shines, choral voices appear from above. Arresting, unnerving tranquility.

Recommended for fans of Eli Keszler, Hiro Kone, Torsten Pröfrock and Kali Malone.

Limited Edition 500 LPs for RSD2023 – 250 ‘Sugar Mountain’ Gold LPs! / 250 ‘Restless Rollin’ Black LPs! (randomly inserted) . From the makers of 'Hillbillies In Hell'...

Full Throated, Big Chested Country, Hollyweird Pop and Velveteen Popcorn for the working stiffs.
Deluxe Gatefold LP with exclusive scholarly liner notes by Alvin Lucia! Non-Returnable.
Full dynamic range 2023 remasters direct from the first generation analogue master tapes!
Best known as one of the original Godfathers of '50s Rockabilly, Dorsey Burnette had a fascinating 1960s solo pivot to epic, widescreen vistas of Existential Incarcerations, Serpentine Temptations, Cold War Escapees, Luciferian Combats, Eco-Armageddons and Creationist Heavens.
Blessed with a bold set of tonsils and a song-writing genius, Burnette is largely forgotten today but his hits (and misses) offer a brash landscape of Spiritual-Crooner Belters and Hillbilly Backwoods Swelters.

Lusty, loud and proud, this set examines unheard and underrated sides cut for various mid-'60s labels as Burnette sought a home for his unique Hillbilly Popcorn Pop.
Antediluvian Survivalism and Biblical Environmentalism, Ancient Traditionalism and Passionate Hedonism.
The best of Dorsey Burnette's 1960s sides stand alone as Wry Depression-Era Fables, Swinging Tower of Babel Ballads, Devilish Tribulations and Forceful Masculine Declarations.

Eons in the making – ‘Hard Working Man' captures and chronicles the stellar output of a prodigious wordsmith and eccentric, arcane thinker. Fundamental Questions and Timeless Revelations, Dorsey
Burnette channelled Eternal Wisdom through Blood, Sweat and Big Beat Ballads.
Many of these sides are impossibly rare and are reissued here for the very first time. All for your primal listening pleasure

Levellers have announced new acoustic album Together All The Way - the follow up to their 2018 Top 20 album We The Collective. The Album will be available on Limited edition Red Vinyl and CD.

The last ‘Collective’ album was recorded at Abbey Road with the legendary John Leckie 5 years ago and resulted in their highest chart position in twenty years. Levellers always planned to do more but how do you top that? Eventually they came to the conclusion to not try to top it but to go another way.

They decided to strip everything right back and go for a more traditional, folk approach. They reconvened the collective - this time with Sean Lakeman producing and Al Scott mixing - at their own Metway Studios in Brighton. Everything was recorded live, with the musicians playing through the songs until they had versions they were happy with.

Ghana gilt seit vielen Jahrhunderten als Land der Geschichtenerzähler. Diese große Tradition muss aber nicht unbedingt mit Worten oder der Stimme fortgeführt werden. Peter Somuah spinnt das Storytelling mit seinem Instrument: Als junger Trompeter begibt er sich zwischen dem Highlife seiner Heimat, seinem Idol Miles Davis und der kosmopolitischen Musiksprache seines neuen Zuhauses Holland auf eine faszinierende Suche nach Identität. Diese Reise ist sein „Letter To The Universe“.Als Somuah mit seiner Band im Juli 2022 beim North Sea Festival umjubelt von der Bühne geht, ist dem Publikum klar: Hier ist ein außergewöhnlicher neuer Künstler am Start. Es ist sein erster großer Festival-Auftritt, bislang hatte er nur in Clubs gespielt.

Noah Kahan ist ein 26-jähriger Singer-Songwriter aus Vermont und schreibt Songs, die direkt aus dem Herzen kommen. Seine Musik ist geprägt von einem akustischen Sound mit Einflüssen aus Folk, Pop und Rock. Kahans Karriere begann bereits in der High School, wo er in verschiedenen Bands spielte und eigene Musik schrieb. Sein Durchbruch gelang im Jahr 2017 mit seiner Single „Hurt Somebody“ feat. Julia Michaels, die international große Erfolge feierte.

Sein drittes Album „Stick Season“, das digital bereits im Oktober 2022 erschien, folgte auf die gleichnamige virale Single und die ebenfalls erfolgreiche Auskopplung ”Northern Attitude”. Seit der Veröffentlichung hat der Song ”Stick Season” weltweit über 136 Millionen Streams erreicht und ist auf Platz 1 der Spotify Viral Songs Chart gestiegen. Insgesamt hat Noah Kahan über eine Milliarde Streams erreicht, zwei Alben (Busyhead, 2019 und I Was / I Am, 2021) und eine EP (Cape Elizabeth, 2020) veröffentlicht und eine Gold-Zertifizierung für ”Hurt Somebody” feat. Julia Michaels erhalten.

Auch auf seinem dritten Album „Stick Season“ ist Kahans meisterhaftes Storytelling seine große Stärke:
Ganz in der Tradition der amerikanischen Folkmusik erzählt jeder Titel des Albums eine reichhaltige und vollständige Geschichte.

Nun gibt es „Stick Season“ auch als 2LP zu kaufen.

'Malombo music is an indigenous kind of music. If you listen to it, you can feel that it can heal you, if you’ve got something wrong. It’s healing music.'
Lucky Ranku

"Lucas ‘Lucky’ Madumetja Ranku (1941-2016) was one of the greatest African guitarists of his generation. He first made his name with the Malombo Jazz Makers – the successor group to the legendary Malombo Jazzmen, formed in Mamelodi township by guitarist Philip Tabane, drummer Julian Bahula and flautist Abbey Cindi. When Tabane left the Jazzmen in 1965, Bahula and Cindi called on Lucky to replace him, and the Malombo Jazz Makers were born. Building on the popularity and success of the original Malombo Jazzmen, the Malombo Jazz Makers become immensely popular, touring widely, winning numerous jazz competitions, and recording two successful albums for the Gallo label.

The deep and hypnotic Down Lucky’s Way was their third album. Recorded in 1969, it was the first Malombo Jazz Makers album to feature additional instruments, and the first to feature Abbey Cindi on soprano saxophone as well as flute. But more than anything else, Down Lucky’s Way is a transfixing showcase for Lucky Ranku’s sui generis guitar virtuosity. Quite different from their previous recordings, the album shifted the Jazz Makers’ sound toward hypnotic, extended compositions, layered by organ bass and guitar overdubs. Of all the Malombo Jazz Makers recordings, Down Lucky’s Way is the deepest of mood, and the richest of vision.

However, through one of the erasures that are ubiquitous in South African musical history under apartheid, it seems that the record may not ever have been properly issued. Original copies are outrageously rare – only a few are known among collectors. When we asked Lucky about the album, he was unaware it had ever been released, and had never seen a copy. Perhaps it was pulled; perhaps it was pulped; perhaps Gallo simply took their eye off the ball. Nobody knows, but it is not impossible that the apartheid authorities were involved, for by 1969, the Malombo Jazz Makers were well known to them.

Julian Bahula’s introduction of malopo drums to the music of the original Malombo Jazzmen was a moment of crucial political and cultural radicalism for South African jazz. Traditionally used by BaPedi people for healing, the malopo drums of Malombo music re-centered jazz
around indigenous sounds and culture, and over the next decade, the Malombo Jazz Makers became deeply involved in political opposition to apartheid. Their recovery of indigenous sounds made them the musical standard bearer for the Black Consciousness movement, and they toured South Africa clandestinely with the writer and anti-apartheid activist Steve Biko. They also broke apartheid laws by playing with the white rock group Freedom’s Children, sometimes appearing on stage in masks or made up with UV paint to avoid detection by the authorities; they appeared regularly at the rule-bending Free People’s Concerts organized by David Marks, where Marks’ clever exploitation of a loophole – mixed audiences were prohibited from attending ticketed concerts where anyone was being paid, but the law said nothing about private functions played by artists for free – meant people could come together in defiance of apartheid laws. The notorious Special Branch would raid their concerts; Lucky remembered police storming an auditorium, throwing smoke bombs.

Eventually the political situation became too dangerous, and the band were being actively sought by the police. Though Abbey Cindi remained in South Africa, both Julian Bahula and Lucky Ranku went into political exile in the UK, where Bahula founded the group Jabula with Lucky and former members of Cymande, Steve Scipio and Michael ‘Bami’ Rose. With Jabula, Julian and Lucky worked tirelessly for the anti-apartheid movement, raising funds and awareness all over Europe and in the US. They played with Dudu Pukwana’s Spear in the joint formation Jabula-Spear, and worked together in Bahula’s Jazz Afrika formation, and Bahula organized the first Concert for Mandela in 1984 (it was Jabula that supplied the chorus for The Special A.K.A.’s hit single ‘Nelson Mandela’). Lucky also played and recorded with Chris McGregor’s South African Exiles Thunderbolt group. After the fall of apartheid, they both remained living and working in the UK. In 2012 the South African government awarded Julian Bahula the Gold Order of Ikhamanga for his cultural work during the struggle against apartheid.

Until his death in 2016, Lucky continued to play with countless groups and musicians. putting together the band Township Express with Pinise Saul, and leading his own African Jazz Allstars. The influence of his playing on the international perception of South African township music was immense, and he was held in the highest regard by his peers – ‘Lucky was a guitarist who could bring any house down’, said Michael ‘Bami’ Rose.

But despite his continuous presence on the UK live circuit over four decades, Lucky Ranku never recorded an album as leader. And so as well as restoring an important lost piece of South African musical heritage, Down Lucky’s Way is a precious opportunity to hear one of Africa’s foremost guitarists stretching out, in focus and in his element."

First issue since 1969 of the Malombo Jazz Maker’s unknown third album.
Liner notes featuring interviews with Julian Bahula and Lucky Ranku.
Fully licensed from Julian Bahula.

"As long as you come to my garden", the sixth release in the cherished Die Schachtel’s series “Decay Music” as well as the debut of the duo Damāvand (Gianluca Ceccarini and Alessandro CIccarelli) on the prestigious Italian label, is a tribute to the Armenian troubadour Sayat Nova, through his lyrics and freely inspired by the cult movie about his life The Color of the Pomegranates (Nřan guynə, 1968, USSR) directed by Sergei Parajanov. The feature film tells the life of the poet, who lived in the 17th Century, from childhood in the royal court, to retirement until his death in the monastery of Haghpat, through a series of episodes, static like paintings that do not tell but show, evoke, they suggest through metaphors, analogies, surrealist flair, dreamlike landscapes, liturgical pauses.

The six tracks are inspired by the dreamlike imagery contained in the movie, weaving sound textures ranging from ambient to noise, to references to the musical tradition of the Middle East.

Gianluca Ceccarini and Alessandro Ciccarelli alternate, without fixed roles, with analog synths, drones, amplified common objects, generative music, audio samples from the film and acoustic instruments such as the tar - a stringed instrument of Persian origin, the trombone and the cornet. In addition, two of the songs on the album contain Sayat Nova’s poems recited in Persian by Nahid Rezashateri.

The sound materials are revealed gradually like episodes, evoking the visual suggestions staged by Parajanov in the movie. As long as you come to my garden is intended as an imaginative journey to distant spaces and indefinite archaic times.

DAMĀVAND is a musical project by Gianluca Ceccarini (electronics, electroacoustic objects, tar) and Alessandro Ciccarelli (electronics, electroacoustic objects, trombone, cornet)

Gianluca Ceccarini, guitarist, electroacoustic experimenter, luthier specialized in the restoration and construction of plucked musical instruments for early music. In 2021 his first album Starving Night was released for the netlabel Laverna and in 2022 the Sarab Label published a CD version. He also works in photographic research, video-art, graphics and independent publishing with the Sarab collective.

Alessandro Ciccarelli is an author who ranges between different languages: photography, video, sound. He is involved in several collective research projects in the musical and theatrical fields. His solo records are released under the nom de plume Elnath Project. The latest work, after six years of silence, from Italian berlin-based composer, performer and publisher (Black Letter Press) Claudio Rocchetti, and a welcomed return on the Die Schachtel imprint after the brilliant Another Piece of teenage wildlife (2008), Labirinto verticale (Vertical Maze) takes its origin from the four years long collaboration of Rocchetti with the Parma-based Fondazione Lenz, a contemporary theatre research collective/organization.

Ygrok brings a long-awaited fourth release to its catalog. René Audiard's Sakhalin' takes things a step away from traditional club music.
The A side, Vox Out' opens with the skeleton of a rhythm. Scattered tom drums and barely detectable whirs, fading and reeling in the background. When the distorted voices begin their story behind a hissing, grinding off-shaker, you know this will not be your traditional club track. A story develops. The barest hint of a shuffling beat, a subtle reminder of Soren's previous work, pins down the journey into the darkest psychic territory. The title track Sakhalin steps even further into darkness. Crackling electrics and disjointed atmospheres change at a glacial pace over a submerged hydraulic beat. Sakhalin Audiard experimental territory.

Bound To Rise is the quietly impressive debut album from Yorkshireman Chris Brain. His songs have a gentleness and ethereality, enhanced by his softly husky, smoky vocals coupled with delicate finger-picked guitar patterns based around his alternate tunings.

The self-composed songs draw on the pastoral and the traditional, heavily centred in natural imagery featuring both as itself and as allegory. A misty ambiguity, suggestions of layered meaning and hints of multiple interpretations permeate the lyrics. And darker moods throw long shadows across this landscape.

A pre-dawn longing for the sun in title track ‘Bound To Rise’ seems to obliquely evoke springtime, primitive beliefs and lifting mood. ‘Bird Count’ is another daybreak song hinting at other, more intimate, preoccupations, “calling out your name / never to be tame”.

‘Chance To See’ celebrates the emotional significance of a relationship, and it’s easy to interpret ‘Golden Eagle’ as its flipside partner, “but you can’t choose her, she chooses you” – or maybe it’s simply a song about birdwatching. ‘Flying On Time’ continues with rare sightings paired with impressions of human air travel and distance, “she’s due tonight / just for one night / to visit our skies”.

Non-specific doubt and uncertainty edgily patrol ‘If I Could’, whilst the cheerfully pattering guitar motif of ‘Peace And Quiet’ belies an inner melancholy, and ‘Rare Find’ charmingly bookends Mary Jane Walker’s plangent violin and Simeon Walker’s subtle piano.

‘Sunday Morn’ “lays the week to rest” amongst other things but, despite the laid-back vibe, all is not sunny and “melancholy calls to greet us once more”. Brain’s songs are intriguing shifts of light and shade, and the details improve with each listen.

Coming full circle thematically, the joyous simplicity of expression in ‘Sun Song’ makes it close kin to the mighty Bright Phoebus, “the sun was born and she’s beautiful / the sun was born from the ground”. It’s an optimistic ending to an emotionally ambiguous album.

Influenced by, among others, Nick Drake, John Martyn and Joni Mitchell, it’s not hard to see where Chris Brain is coming from. More interesting is where he’s going to. Bound To Rise makes a very promising start.

Eponymous collaboration between Jim Ghedi & Toby Hay - their first
since 2018's 'The Hawksworth Grove Sessions' and their debut for Topic
Records
Postponed for two years due to the small matter of a global pandemic, finally, as
some semblance of normality took shape, in February 2022, the duo headed into
Giant Wafer Studios, mid-Wales, with very little rehearsal time and recorded the
entire album live, with no edits or overdubs over three days.
Jim Ghedi and Toby Hay are both prolific, praised and established artists in their
own right. Hailing from South Yorkshire, Ghedi's previous work has often been
instrumental, exploring the natural world and his relationship to it, as seen on
2018's A Hymn For Ancient Land but also developing into using his voice,
songwriting and traditional material on his more recent album, In The Furrows Of
Common Place. Toby Hay, hailing from the Cambrian mountains, professes
likewise, that the landscape serves as eternal muse and the spiritual groundwork
of his entrancing guitar playing which has dazzled critics and listeners alike
throughout his career. All of this makes their collaboration with the world's oldest
independent label and custodians of UK folk music, Topic Records, a natural
home for this exceptional record.
The album arrtwork includes beautiful liner notes by Andrew Male, senior
associate editor of Mojo magazine; film, radio and TV writer for Sight and Sound
and Sunday Times Culture.

Taj Mahal can rightfully be called a living legend for his contributions to
popular music
With a voice as instantly recognisable as Louis Armstrong, Ray Charles, or Dr.
John, Taj Mahal has throughout his career pushed the envelope of American
music forward by incorporating sounds from the Caribbean, Africa, traditional
blues and jazz. He has won 3 Grammys from 15 nominations, was inducted into
the Blues Foundation Hall of Fame, and presented with a Lifetime Achievement
Award from the Americana Music Association.
With 'Savoy', Taj takes a new direction in his musical journey, exploring classics
from the American songbook with his good friend and acclaimed record producer
John Simon, whose resume includes producing classic albums by The Band,
Leonard Cohen, Gordon Lightfoot and Blood Sweat & Tears. 'Savoy' is the
realisation of a musical collaboration they had been planning for decades, finally
locking in the studio time to make it happen in August 2022.
Recorded with the hottest musicians in San Francisco, 'Savoy' is a loving
throwback to the sounds of the swing jazz big band era, titled as a tribute to
Harlem's Savoy Ballroom where the music composed by the likes of Duke
Ellington, Louis Jordan, George Gershwin and Louis Armstrong was performed by
a who's who of iconic artists, and now brought back to life by the one and only Taj
Mahal.

In einer Ära, die darauf ausgelegt ist, das Individuum niederzuschlagen und zu schwächen, ist "Black Flame Eternal" ein Album, das Stärke, Ermächtigung und totalen Widerstand repräsentiert. Angesichts des zunehmenden Drucks, sich im modernen gesellschaftlichen Tribalismus zu engagieren, beschwört Cloak mit Album Nummer drei eine spirituelle Rebellion, die jenseits von Gut und Böse existiert. Während Cloak gegen gesellschaftliche Konventionen wüten, umarmt das Quartett aus Atlanta die rebellischen und altbewährten Traditionen des Heavy Metal.

Ob sie nun den chaotischen Geist der schwedischen Black-Metal-Vertreter Watain und Dissection beschwören, den tiefen, dunklen und sinnlichen Groove von Danzig heraufbeschwören oder die rohe Geschwindigkeit und raue Energie von Motörhead heraufbeschwören - der Einfluss der Gründerväter des Metal ist tief in der DNA von Cloak verankert. Der Charme von Cloak liegt jedoch nicht nur in der Romantik der Vergangenheit, sondern vielmehr in der Art und Weise, wie jedes dieser Genres die persönliche Identität von Cloak geprägt hat. Und mit "Black Flame Eternal" baut Cloak seinen eigenen, einzigartigen und etablierten Sound weiter aus.

FFV: Watain, Dissection, Behemoth, Rotting Christ

In einer Ära, die darauf ausgelegt ist, das Individuum niederzuschlagen und zu schwächen, ist "Black Flame Eternal" ein Album, das Stärke, Ermächtigung und totalen Widerstand repräsentiert. Angesichts des zunehmenden Drucks, sich im modernen gesellschaftlichen Tribalismus zu engagieren, beschwört Cloak mit Album Nummer drei eine spirituelle Rebellion, die jenseits von Gut und Böse existiert. Während Cloak gegen gesellschaftliche Konventionen wüten, umarmt das Quartett aus Atlanta die rebellischen und altbewährten Traditionen des Heavy Metal.

Ob sie nun den chaotischen Geist der schwedischen Black-Metal-Vertreter Watain und Dissection beschwören, den tiefen, dunklen und sinnlichen Groove von Danzig heraufbeschwören oder die rohe Geschwindigkeit und raue Energie von Motörhead heraufbeschwören - der Einfluss der Gründerväter des Metal ist tief in der DNA von Cloak verankert. Der Charme von Cloak liegt jedoch nicht nur in der Romantik der Vergangenheit, sondern vielmehr in der Art und Weise, wie jedes dieser Genres die persönliche Identität von Cloak geprägt hat. Und mit "Black Flame Eternal" baut Cloak seinen eigenen, einzigartigen und etablierten Sound weiter aus.

FFV: Watain, Dissection, Behemoth, Rotting Christ

Eine der wichtigsten Stimmen der britischen Folkmusik, Shirley Collins, kehrt mit "Archangel Hill", ihrem dritten Album für Domino, zurück. Es erscheint am 26. Mai und enthält eine weitere unvergleichliche Sammlung von Songs, die Collins ausgewählt hat, die meisten aus traditionellen Quellen, andere von ihren Lieblingsautoren.
Shirley Collins ist mit ihren 88 Jahren zumindest im Vergleich zu den Liedern die sie singt noch ein junges Mädchen. Die Urheber vieler ihrer Lieder waren oft in einem ählichen Alter, als sie in den 1950er und 60er Jahren bekannt gemacht und aufgenommen wurden. Heute beansprucht Shirley den Status der Älteren und der Wahrerin der Tradition, so, wie sie es einst taten, als sie Shirley als helläugiges, lockiges Mädchen aus Sussex anleiteten. Seither scheint sie sich kaum verändert zu haben. Sie strahlt noch immer dieses pflichtbewusste und doch schelmische, lebhafte, jugendliche Funkeln aus, das auf den Titelbildern der frühen Alben zu sehen ist. Niemand sonst kennt alte Lieder so gut wie Shirley Collins und webt bei jeder Aufführung einen neuen genetischen Code, eine neue Offenbarung, eine neue Perspektive in sie ein. Aber Shirleys Zauber besteht nicht nur in der Beschwörung von Liedern, sondern auch in der Beschwörung des Landes. Es gibt eine stille Muse in dieser Platte, die von der Kreide der South Downs durchdrungen ist, der Landschaft, die sich in die Knochen von Collins' eingegraben hat. Archangel Hill ist zu Ehren von Shirleys Stiefvater benannt, der den Mount Caburn, ein Wahrzeichen in der Nähe von Collins' Haus in Lewes, Archangel Hill nannte.

Formed in Mamelodi township near Pretoria, the group started out as Malombo Jazz Men with Julian Bahula on malombo drums, Abbey Cindi on flute and Philip Tabane on guitar Fusing traditional and improvised rhythms with jazz, Malombo became renowned as one of the first South African bands to fully connect jazz with the African traditions. Despite his undoubted genius, Tabane became erratic on tour and Bahula brought in another Mamelodi-based talent, guitarist Lucas “Lucky” Ranku, renaming the band Malombo Jazz Makers. The group played stadiums and festivals and were soon signed to Gallo. Recording at a studio in Pretoria, the trio debuted with the album ‘Malompo Jazz’ in 1966, showcasing the simple, spacious beauty of the Malombo sound and Abbey Cindi’s compositions, with Mahotella Queens’ Hilda Tloubatla on guest vocals. The partner follow-up album ‘Malombo Jazz Makers Vol. 2’ was recorded a year later, continuing the earthy flow of Malombo’s music. The two albums have since been recognised as unique landmarks of South African jazz through popular tracks like ‘Sibathathu’, ‘Jikeleza’ and ‘Emakhaya’. Alongside full original artwork, the albums feature a new interview with Julian Bahula.

Formed in Mamelodi township near Pretoria, the group started out as Malombo Jazz Men with Julian Bahula on malombo drums, Abbey Cindi on flute and Philip Tabane on guitar Fusing traditional and improvised rhythms with jazz, Malombo became renowned as one of the first South African bands to fully connect jazz with the African traditions. Despite his undoubted genius, Tabane became erratic on tour and Bahula brought in another Mamelodi-based talent, guitarist Lucas “Lucky” Ranku, renaming the band Malombo Jazz Makers. The group played stadiums and festivals and were soon signed to Gallo. Recording at a studio in Pretoria, the trio debuted with the album ‘Malompo Jazz’ in 1966, showcasing the simple, spacious beauty of the Malombo sound and Abbey Cindi’s compositions, with Mahotella Queens’ Hilda Tloubatla on guest vocals. The partner follow-up album ‘Malombo Jazz Makers Vol. 2’ was recorded a year later, continuing the earthy flow of Malombo’s music. The two albums have since been recognised as unique landmarks of South African jazz through popular tracks like ‘Sibathathu’, ‘Jikeleza’ and ‘Emakhaya’. Alongside full original artwork, the albums feature a new interview with Julian Bahula.

Black Vinyl

Auf "Wages Of Sin" muss sich die neue Sängerin Angela Gossow nun zum ersten Mal einem scheinbar übermächtigen Schatten aus der Vergangenheit stellen. Schließlich ersetzt sie keinen Geringeren als Johan Liiva, der bereits vor dessen Carcass-Tagen mit Arch Enemy-Gitarrist Michael Amott in der Ur-Death-Metal-Combo Carnage zusammengespielt hatte. Dass sie diese Aufgabe so bravourös gelöst hat, ist unglaublich!Ähnlich wie 'Burning Bridges' aus dem Jahr 1999 ist 'Wages Of Sin' ein mächtiges Sperrfeuer an komplexen Riffs, das zwischen blendend brutal und atemberaubend melodisch wechselt und dabei eine Intensität beibehält, die man bei heutigen Metal-Aufnahmen nur noch selten hört. Das musikalische Können ist wie immer tadellos, wobei die Amott-Brüder einmal mehr beweisen, dass sie Meister ihres Fachs sind, wobei der Großteil ihrer Gitarrenarbeit ebenso viele Death-Metal-Obertöne aufweist, wie sie von einem traditionelleren Hard-Rock-Ansatz abgeleitet zu sein scheinen, insbesondere bei den Songarrangements, die nur selten vom Konventionellen abweichen.- Schweres 180g Vinyl als schwarze sowie farbige Version, jeweils inklusive 2-seitigem Einleger- Special Edition CD, in "PocketPac" (umweltfreundliche Verpackung) und mit 16-seitigem Booklet

Red Vinyl

Auf "Wages Of Sin" muss sich die neue Sängerin Angela Gossow nun zum ersten Mal einem scheinbar übermächtigen Schatten aus der Vergangenheit stellen. Schließlich ersetzt sie keinen Geringeren als Johan Liiva, der bereits vor dessen Carcass-Tagen mit Arch Enemy-Gitarrist Michael Amott in der Ur-Death-Metal-Combo Carnage zusammengespielt hatte. Dass sie diese Aufgabe so bravourös gelöst hat, ist unglaublich!Ähnlich wie 'Burning Bridges' aus dem Jahr 1999 ist 'Wages Of Sin' ein mächtiges Sperrfeuer an komplexen Riffs, das zwischen blendend brutal und atemberaubend melodisch wechselt und dabei eine Intensität beibehält, die man bei heutigen Metal-Aufnahmen nur noch selten hört. Das musikalische Können ist wie immer tadellos, wobei die Amott-Brüder einmal mehr beweisen, dass sie Meister ihres Fachs sind, wobei der Großteil ihrer Gitarrenarbeit ebenso viele Death-Metal-Obertöne aufweist, wie sie von einem traditionelleren Hard-Rock-Ansatz abgeleitet zu sein scheinen, insbesondere bei den Songarrangements, die nur selten vom Konventionellen abweichen.- Schweres 180g Vinyl als schwarze sowie farbige Version, jeweils inklusive 2-seitigem Einleger- Special Edition CD, in "PocketPac" (umweltfreundliche Verpackung) und mit 16-seitigem Booklet

Nusantara Beat, the six-piece band hailing from Amsterdam, is quickly becoming a must-see act. With a deep connection to their Indonesian roots and a passion for honoring their cultural heritage, Nusantara Beat brings a fresh and modern take on traditional Indonesian music.

Nusantara Beat creates a unique sound that blends traditional Indonesian songs from the 20th century with their own style and creativity. The result is a mesmerising mix of tropical and mystical sounds that take the audience on a journey to the land of their ancestors.

But Nusantara Beat isn't just about honoring tradition. They also strive to showcase the rich diversity of Indonesian music and take it into the future. With their music, they pay tribute to traditional sounds while bringing their own innovative twists to the mix.

Degrees of Freedom is a Canadian musical group founded in 1984 in Montreal by Janet Cadman (vocals and percussion), Martin Chartrand (bass, guitar, rhythm programming and vocals) and David Curtis (keyboards, vocals, and percussion). Established as a 5-piece New Wave cover band, Degrees of Freedom evolved into its classic quartet configuration following the departure of the original guitarist and drummer, and the subsequent enlistment of Santino Mastrocola on drums. With this lineup change came a new musical mission: the writing, recording and live presentation of original material only. Since Santino's withdrawal from the band in 1988, Degrees of Freedom has carried on as a trio in the studio while augmenting concert performances with additional musicians. In February 1985, Degrees of Freedom performed at the newly formed S.O.S. (Save Our Songwriters) Club in Montreal. Like other participants in the S.O.S. project, Degrees of Freedom was rewarded with studio time to record some of its own songs. One of these, "August is an Angel" was selected to close out the locally produced 1985 band anthology album "Listen - A Faze Compilation of Montreal Music." The next year, a new track "In This Room," was included in the follow-up release "Listen 2." Both songs, with four newly recorded works, were issued in 1988 as Degrees of Freedom's eponymous sole vinyl release, informally known as the “China” album. In 2015, the music of Degrees of Freedom experienced a renaissance thanks to a new generation of club DJs, traditional and internet-based radio hosts, vinyl disc collectors, and other aficionados of synth-based music. Local and international recognition has come in the form of record sales to fans in Canada as well as in the USA, Germany, Scotland, England, Ireland, Belgium, The Netherlands, France, Spain, Lithuania, Sweden, Bulgaria, Australia, Vietnam, and Japan. Responding to the resurgence of interest, Degrees of Freedom has twice re-issued the disc (2017 and 2019). Today, with eyes on the future and the past, Janet, Martin and David continue to collaborate on new material including the songs, "Metal Flesh" and "Be This Way" both accessible on the band's YouTube channel.

Das Leben ist im Moment furchtbar düster und dennoch ist es nicht ganz unlustig. Das ist genau das Gefühl, das Water From Your Eyes auf ihrem ersten Album für Matador beseelt. Auf dem Nachfolger ihres Debüts "Structure" tanzen Albernheit und Fatalismus im Gleichschritt. Rachel Brown und Nate Amos verwenden herzklopfende Rhythmen und zum Teil absurde Texte, um ihre Geschichten von persönlichem und gesellschaftlichem Unbehagen zu erzählen. Das Duo begann 2016 in Chicago gemeinsam Musik zu machen und beschloss, eine "Sad Dance Band" zu gründen. Schnell veröffentlichten sie eine EP. In den folgenden Jahren entwickelte sich die Musik von Water From Your Eyes in Richtung schräger und weniger konventioneller Klänge, die ruhige industrielle Polyrhythmen, Ambient-Drone-Musik und zeitgenössische Kompositionen verschmelzen ließen. Amos und Brown trennten sich, zogen aber beide nach New York und begannen mit der Arbeit an "Structure". Dieses Album brachte die Pop-Momente und die experimentellen Impulse des Duos in Einklang, bestand aus hauchdünnen Popsongs, die sowohl von ihrem Gespür für klassische Hooks als auch von ihrem Sinn für Humor zeugten. Obwohl beide Trost in der Band fanden, beschreiben sie das Jahr 2021 als eines der schlimmsten Jahre ihres Lebens - Brown musste sich mit dem Unbehagen auseinandersetzte, den beide empfanden, als sie sahen, wie Kapitalismus und Establishment-Politik wieder auf Hochtouren liefen, als die Pandemie in ihre letzten Monate eintrat, und Amos mit Browns Unterstützung seine Drogenprobleme bewältigte. Das Ergebnis ist, dass "Everyone"s Crushed" von ungelösten Spannungen durchzogen ist. Die neun Tracks weigern sich beharrlich, ein eindeutiges Ende zu finden oder sich an traditionelle Strukturen zu halten. Viele Songs wurden unter Verwendung von Serialismus und Mikrotonalismus geschrieben und erinnern zuweilen an die futuristisch-poppigen Bewegungen des japanischen Komponisten Haruomi Hosono und den Brutalismus von Glenn Branca.

Von den Produzenten von Notting Hill und Bridget Jones’s Diary kommt eine kulturübergreifende romantische Komödie über die Suche nach der Liebe in der modernen Welt. Die unterschiedlichen Kulturen und Traditionen Londons und Lahores prallen in ”What’s Love Got To Do With It?” aufeinander - ein lustiges und bewegendes Fest der Liebe und Familie in all ihren Formen.

Zusätzlich zur Filmmusik hat Sawhney mit dem britisch-pakistanischen Grammy-Preisträger, Plattenproduzenten, DJ, Songwriter und Musiker Naughty Boy zusammengearbeitet, um drei Originalsongs für den Film zu schreiben. Nachho Gaao” und ”Apni Suno”, mit Musik und Text von Sawhney, sowie die Leadsingle des Soundtracks ”Mahi Sona” (auch bekannt als ”The Wedding Song”) mit dem legendären pakistanischen Sänger Rahat Fateh Ali Khan, der indischen Superstar-Sängerin Kanika Kapoor und der Emmy-nominierten Schauspielerin und Sängerin Lily James.

A cult icon on the international film scene, Japanese actress Meiko Kaji, born in Tokyo, has been put into the spotlight internationally by Quentin Tarantino when he heavily based his Kill Bill film on the 1973 revenge genre film 'Lady Snowblood,' one of Kaji's most famous films. By the time she appeared in it, she had already made almost fifty feature films (she began her career in 1965) among which the cult 'Stray Cat Rock' and 'Female Prisoner Scorpion' film series and she was one of the most famous exploitation actresses in Japan doubling as a sex symbol. This gave the studios the idea of getting her to start a singing career and release music closely associated with the films she starred in often singing the theme songs. Thus she began releasing records at the dawn of the 70s, recording several 7" singles and five albums for Teichiku which have become sought-after and almost as cult as her films.
Drawing on her film roles, the music on these albums were an uber-cool mix of kayokyoku (Japanese Pop), traditional Enka Music, Acid Folk and Funky beats arranged by the best producers of the time in a cinematic way that could sound like Ennio Morricone or Jean-Claude Vannier. that explosive cocktail is featured in full blow on the first album from the Meiko Kaji reissue program, 'Hajiki Uta' released by Teichiku in 1973.
The album featured two film songs, namely 'Urami Bushi' used for the film series "Female Prisoner Scorpion" and 'Onna No Jumon' featured in the film 'Female Prisoner Scorpion - Jailhouse 41,' which have been composed by Shunsuke Kikuchi who also composed the score for these films. At first Kaji was unsure of her singing talents as told to Hashim Bharoocha in an interview but she quickly rose to the challenge: "I told Shunsuke Kikuchi that I couldn’t imagine myself singing the songs. He said I could ignore the melody that he wrote, and just sing it the way I wanted to. That really lifted the pressure off my shoulders, and I decided to sing the song as the character in the film. The director was also happy with that idea.”
The rest of the album follows the same pattern with atmospheric songs such as "Onna Hagure Uta" or "Onna Somuki Uta" displaying Meiko's sombre singing over a superb slow-burning groove, which precedes the funkier "Hitori Kaze" featuring a wah wah guitar, a breakbeat-like rhythm section and slick string arrangement, shaping the unique Meiko Kaji signature sound.
Wewantsounds is delighted to reissue "Hajiki Uta" and the rest of Meiko Kaji superb early 70s albums for the first time in fifty years in their glorious original Japanese artwork, with remastered audio, cementing further the actress' reputation as a true international pop culture icon.

Drop a needle on Psyché's debut album and you'll see visions, or rather Mediterranean visions, be they of waves of heat shimmering above dunes of sand, or of women dancing around a bonfire on a rocky plain, or of bushy cliffs overlooking emerald-green and turquoise sea. The name Psyché is of course ancient Greek for 'soul' or 'mind', signifying the band's love of psychedelic funk, but also the wide range of Mediterranean influences – from Southern Europe to the Balkan Peninsula, and from Anatolia to the Maghreb – that provide an endless source of inspiration for their hypnotic sound and minimalist style.

Psyché members Marcello Giannini (Guru, Nu Genea, Slivovitz), Andrea De Fazio (Parbleu, Nu Genea, Funkin Machine) and Paolo Petrella (Nu Genea) have been active in the Naples music scene for almost two decades, most notably during the first wave of the new Neapolitan Power movement (Slivovitz, Revenaz Quartet). Over the years they have often crossed paths and collaborated on side projects in various genres (math-rock duo Arduo and, more recently, synth-pop duo Fratelli Malibu), before working together as the rhythm section of Nu Genea's live band. Following their first tour with Nu Genea in 2018, they started Psyché with the intent of exploring more minimalist styles and making music with just a few elements.

A unique combination of psychedelia, groove and improvisation, the music of Psyché goes back to the roots of our future; it evokes visions of a mythical past, blending centuries-old music traditions and mixing them with modern genres. Like a warm Mediterranean breeze, it travels across lands, seas and eras, distilling essential rhythms and cosmic pulsations.

The album's opener "Kuma" (titled after the first ancient Greek colony on the Italian mainland, now an archeological site near Naples) is like a vibrant, magical wave. With its deliberately simple harmony and sharp guitar riffs, it travels across the Mediterranean from Italy to North Africa, first lapping gently on Greek and Turkish shores – with some compositional elements reminiscent of Italian pop legend Lucio Battisti – and then speeding up and landing on the driving, syncopated rhythms of afrobeat. While listening to it your eyes fill with images of small white houses shining in the sun, of fig trees heavy with fruit, of spice bazaars and colourful medinas, and you can almost feel the desert wind blowing in your hair.

The journey continues with two examples of Psyché's bold and elegant approach to contemporary afrobeat and cumbia fusion: "Cumbia Mahàre" and "Amma". The former combines minimal synths and exhilarating rhythmic patterns of drums, percussion, guitar and bass, drawing us into the movements of an imaginary ritual dance (the term mahàre was used in Southern Italian dialects to indicate witches). Next is the cinematic and mysterious ambiance of "Angizia" (a snake goddess worshipped by the Marsi in ancient Italy), another fascinating mixture of different sonic traditions and cultures where hip-hop/funk drums are blended with Maghreb influences, Balkan echoes, and hypnotic, Theremin-like synths that have sort of a sci-fi movie quality to them.

The title track "Psyché", with its uptempo afro-rhythms, ethereal vocalizations and refined percussion, is almost a manifesto of the band's style and confirms the freshness of their minimalism, which is not afraid of taking in the sun of lands confined between the sea and the desert. The following "Manea" (named after the Roman-Etruscan goddess of the dead) is an afro-funk number with smooth and introspective dreamy jazz touches, and with an arrangement dominated by a guitar that, dripping notes like drops of water, creates a delicate, cinematic sound. Next, we come to "Hekate" (the Greek goddess of magic, witchcraft and crossroads), a track that fuses psychedelia, spacious Latin guitars and a fast, tight groove. The album comes to a close with the exquisite melodic ballad "Kelebek", which seamlessly combines hip-hop drums and dreamy guitars, and whose warm, flowing sonorities and evocative atmospheres conjure the image of a butterfly (which is what kelebek means, in Turkish) floating over the Mediterranean and, from there, the world.

Repress

Stepping in with a new maxi, first after the album, can't deny it wasn't the easiest job. Inspired by several meetings with influential people in my life, this 4 tracker delivers melancholia and funk for the toughest Dancefloors in the very Oaks tradition.

"To all the paths which crossed in the dark, place where we live. Follow the light that we can see."

Program and mood recorded at various first encounters under strobing lights in Berlin by Hector Oaks.
Mastered by Joel Krozer in Copenhagen at 6BITDEEP.
2019 to eternity.

Old style, Tip-On Jacket, and 8pp heavy insert featuring a treasure trove of newly discovered photos, and a 6,000 word essay by Kris Needs.

In 1962, Karen summoned Richard Tucker to join her in Colorado, extolling the healthier lifestyle, and plentiful gigs at Boulder folk club The Attic. Upon his arrival, the pair solidified their personal and professional relationship, riding horses in the mountains, and performing as a duo at parties and venues throughout Denver and Boulder. Stories of the spell they conjured - and rumours of tapes! - have circulated among friends and musicians who witnessed them, but until now, no recorded evidence had turned up.

Shuckin' Sugar is the glorious result of three reel to reel tapes that miraculously found their way to us in November, 2018; which featured two complete shows from The Attic in January '63, and a benefit concert for The Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) recorded the following February. Their gigs would often include brief solo sets from Karen and Richard, in addition to the duets, and all seven solo songs of Karen's found on the three reels are included here, as well as five duets, sequenced as close to how it all went down as humanly possible. To describe the record would take a poet, but all I can say is that unveiling a missing chapter in the Karen Dalton story - with six songs we've never heard her sing before - is cause for celebration in Delmore's world.

"From her opening, jaw-dropping lift-off with early blues standard "Trouble In Mind," the unique
otherworld Karen conjured springs into vivid life. Playing to audiences inevitably bound to the era's formalities and traditions, Karen instinctively pushed the envelope, straying into uncharted territory beyond the established borders. She must have bewildered many who came to see her in those winsome Peter, Paul and Mary times." From the liner notes by Kris Needs

Canto A Lo Divino is the unique musical expression of the Chilean peasant world - a conversation with the divine nourished by Biblical and other sacred texts. It is communal music, played in packed rooms throughout the night on the 25-string guitarron, its ancient melodies transmitted through the 10-line decima form originating in Spain and found across the Caribbean, South America, and even into the Mississippi Delta. Rooted in the remote Central Valley of Chile at the skirt of the mountains and following the slopes of the major rivers, the Canto tradition has persisted for centuries in the voices of hundreds of men and women who sing of saints, divine images, and angelitos (very young children who have died). The verses are also centered around daily life in the valley - labor and drought, family, animals, and plants. There are countless entonaciones (melodies) that define this region, its communities, and its unique worldview. Mississippi Records is privileged to work with the Museo Campesino En Movimiento and their archive of hundreds of hours of intimate field recordings of the Canto - music rarely, if ever, heard outside of the region. Artwork is provided by another inhabitant of Chile's Central Valley, a baker called Frederico Lohse, who brought divine visions from the Cantos to life, painted on reused flour bags. Canto A Lo Divino celebrates the complexity and solemn, stunning beauty of this nocturnal, communal form of musical devotion. Double vinyl LP comes housed in deluxe gatefold jacket with 8 pages of lyric translations and liner notes about the Canto tradition by researcher Danilo Petrovich.

Repress.

Rising from the dark streets of Cairo we proudly present you the first release of the new label from the land of the pyramids: THE MAGIC MOVEMENT.


On the "In Between Reality E.P." Noema invites you to an unheard psychedelic trip: Like through a reverse prism, he melts down Kraut Rock, Afro-American House drums and cosmic Jazz into forbidden sounds of frenzied dancefloor rituals. Outside traditional paths, these driving grooves and polyphonic structures take the adventure seeking dancer to Dionysian highs and places never been before.

Die Extreme Metaller CRAVING um Sänger/Gitarrist Ivan Chertov, Gitarrist Jonas Papmeier und Drummer Wanja "Nechtan" Gröger präsentiert ihr 4. Album "Call Of The Sirens". Es ist ein Album, das vom Leben der Band, der Welt an sich und der Gesellschaft, in der wir leben, inspiriert wurde.

"Call Of The Sirens" ist der vierte Teil des Vermächtnisses von CRAVING - einer epischen Extreme Metal Band aus Deutschland.
Nach dem erfolgreichen Album "By The Storm" setzt die Band ihr Konzept aus melodischem Black und Death Metal mit einer Portion traditionellem Heavy Metal fort und ist bereit, die Bühnen dieser Welt zu erobern.
Freut euch auf 8 eingängige, auf den Punkt gebrachte Songs und zwei Coverversionen als Bonus auf der CD Version des Albums: "Shum" von der ukrainischen Elektro-Folk-Band Go_A und "El Diablo" von der griechischen Sängerin Elena Tsagrinou.
Die Texte des Albums sind in vier verschiedenen Sprachen verfasst: Deutsch, Englisch, Russisch und Ukrainisch.

Die Extreme Metaller CRAVING um Sänger/Gitarrist Ivan Chertov, Gitarrist Jonas Papmeier und Drummer Wanja "Nechtan" Gröger präsentiert ihr 4. Album "Call Of The Sirens". Es ist ein Album, das vom Leben der Band, der Welt an sich und der Gesellschaft, in der wir leben, inspiriert wurde.

"Call Of The Sirens" ist der vierte Teil des Vermächtnisses von CRAVING - einer epischen Extreme Metal Band aus Deutschland.
Nach dem erfolgreichen Album "By The Storm" setzt die Band ihr Konzept aus melodischem Black und Death Metal mit einer Portion traditionellem Heavy Metal fort und ist bereit, die Bühnen dieser Welt zu erobern.
Freut euch auf 8 eingängige, auf den Punkt gebrachte Songs und zwei Coverversionen als Bonus auf der CD Version des Albums: "Shum" von der ukrainischen Elektro-Folk-Band Go_A und "El Diablo" von der griechischen Sängerin Elena Tsagrinou.
Die Texte des Albums sind in vier verschiedenen Sprachen verfasst: Deutsch, Englisch, Russisch und Ukrainisch.

Der britische Pop-Noir-Künstler und Schauspieler (Exit, Wisting), Luke Elliot, glänzt auf seinem dritten Studioalbum mit einer eklektischen Mischung von Einflüssen, die von Jazzikonen (John Coltrane, Duke Ellington) über Outsiderlegenden (The Cramps, Gun Club, Mink DeVille) bis zu ebensolchen Kultfilmen (Badlands, Pulp Fiction, Natural Born Killers) reichen. Sein dunkler Crooning-Stil aus Tradition, Melancholie und Melodie lässt Vergleiche mit den größten Singer/Songwritern unserer Zeit zu, und das Mojo-Magazin nennt ihr 'einen Meister des zugänglichen, verdrehten Gothic Americana'. Ein Highlight auf 'Let 'Em All Talk' ist sicherlich sein Cover der zeitlosen Ballade 'I (Who have Nothing)'.

Der britische Pop-Noir-Künstler und Schauspieler (Exit, Wisting), Luke Elliot, glänzt auf seinem dritten Studioalbum mit einer eklektischen Mischung von Einflüssen, die von Jazzikonen (John Coltrane, Duke Ellington) über Outsiderlegenden (The Cramps, Gun Club, Mink DeVille) bis zu ebensolchen Kultfilmen (Badlands, Pulp Fiction, Natural Born Killers) reichen. Sein dunkler Crooning-Stil aus Tradition, Melancholie und Melodie lässt Vergleiche mit den größten Singer/Songwritern unserer Zeit zu, und das Mojo-Magazin nennt ihr 'einen Meister des zugänglichen, verdrehten Gothic Americana'. Ein Highlight auf 'Let 'Em All Talk' ist sicherlich sein Cover der zeitlosen Ballade 'I (Who have Nothing)'.

Rare Groove Collection Explore the fusion of world music with soul, funk and disco through the Rare Groove Collection. With this new volume, discover unique groove tracks straight from Jamaica! Fully remastered original versions Caribbean RARE GROOVE Discover the multi-cultural musics from around the Caribbean Islands. From Haïti to the Bahamas, passing by the French West Indies, this journey explores traditional rythms from Soca, Calypso or Biguine. Musicians as Gordon Henderson, Max Cilla or the band Skah Shah knew how to use Soul, Funk and Disco influences to create a unique groove with multiple faces.

Die Heavy Metal Ikonen Alcatrazz aus LA liefern Songs im Warp Faktor 10 auf ihrem sechsten Studioalbum, das dritte in drei Jahren. Das Album umfasst 10 mitreißende, charismatische Tracks und in jedem ist die einzigartige Fusion von amerikanischem Classic Rock mit der harten Rock-Attitüde des britischen Metal zu erkennen. Take No Prisoners kommt mit der Energie von Alcatrazz, im Gepäck umfassende Melodien mit "Road Warrior" Riffs.

'Little Viper' hat eine Gitarre, die alles abmäht und dann in einem Gewitter endet, ein Angriff, den man von Dio kennt; aber es gibt auch ruhigere, umfangreiche Songs wie das epische 'Strangers' und das Album endet mit dem Brennpunkt 'Bring On The Rawk'. Ohne Frage:
Alcatrazz is kicking ass. Mit Doogie White (Gesang), Joe Stump (Gitarre), Jimmy Waldo (Keyboards), Gary Shea (Bass) und Larry Paterson (Drums) ist das Werk ein lautes und stolzes Classic Rock Album, produziert von Giles Lavery und Waldo. Take No Prisoners it ganz in der Tradition wie man Alcatrazz kennt, exzellente Gitarren,
donnernde Rhythmen und mit einem Gesang, der an die Dio/Rainbow Ära erinnert.