Buscar:under 19

***After birthing Street Riffs, their hi-definition, hi-energy, statement from 2020, CCR Headcleaner turned inward. The retreat from the pro-studio to the home studio was partially by design and partially decided by global events. Cleaner is very much a pandemic album, more of a homespun head trip than its predecessors. At the same time guitarist, songwriter and spiritual center of the group, Lacey Emmanuel, left the Bay for the shores of Lake Michigan. By most accounts an apocalyptic live-band became by and large a home recording animal. This is most apparent when Headcleaner turns up the balladry. “Don’t Feel the End” is a proto-metal campfire anthem, and “Everyday” hovers somewhere between keyboard misfit John Bender and the White Album. Make no mistake, the record will still be filed under “Punk” at your local record shop. It kicks off with “the brining pt. 2” the hottest slice of Funhouse free-rock that the band has committed to record. “Too Much” gives us its jail abolition rap over a two chord hardcore stomp. In a town (San Francisco) that is experiencing something of a DIY pop renaissance, Headcleaner has always fought to establish the fact that they have actual songs. This is no 70s throwback, but instead an attempt to up the ante. Without all the rock histrionics, technical arrogance and misogyny can the rock riff deliver on its ultimate promise: heavy music for total liberation. All tracks were mixed and lovingly fucked with by none other than Eric Bauer at his Bauer Mansion (RIP) Chinatown SF.

First volume of the Extreme Years serie (1990-1994) of the prolific artist - all released for the first time on vinyl. The three other titles will be released every 2 months starting March.

Intifaxa is the first part in a series of 4 outstanding double vinyl albums with bonus songs, previously released on CD between 1990 and 1994 on the Australian cult label Extreme Music.

Intifaxa is full of heavy percussion fire with deep tribal grooves, embedded in modulated field recordings. The album is a transcendental journey into Eastern soundscapes and a secret weapon for DJs who enjoy to tear down the borders of tribal underground house and psychedelic trance music.

The original tracks were perfectly remastered for this first time ever vinyl release and the new masters received high praise from the Extreme Music owner Roger Richards.

New sleeve designs were created by Oleg Galay, who is famous for his artworks for many Muslimgauze reissues.

All 4 album covers are made from extra heavy cardboard with deluxe spot UV finish and inside print.

“Challenge” was released in 1981 on Bootleg, a record label born inside a record store in Pavia with the same name. “Challenge” keeps the original and uncompromising punk attitude alive. 3 groups: No Suicide (from the Udine province), Mercenary God (from Gemona), No Submission (from Treviso), all sick children of the industrious, rich and Christian Democratic north-eastern part of Italy. I read about them in “New Fahrenheit” (a controversial article about local rivalries, common backgrounds and eventually separate roads.) but I don’t know their music. Something tells me that “Challenge” is the record I was looking for, perhaps because of its very powerful cover with no slogans, and a circled “A”. I send the money in a sealed envelope and wait. When the package arrives, I open it, I put the record on the turntable and let the needle go. The first listen is enough to realize that this is a crucial release, a real “challenge”.

The challenge is against an indifferent market. The instrument is a sound that is already changing skin. No Suicide, Mercenary God and No Submission have nothing to do with Great Complotto, they are the other face of the northeastern underground. Punk is their background, (read “hardcore” for No Suicide) but for all of them there is a progressive detachment from the original material, including a common attitude towards the caustic sound coming from the harshest side of British wave. A classic example of “work in progress” able to generate great songs like “The Degraded Men” by No Submission (the band that later evolved into Wax Heroes), one of the peaks of Italian post-punk. Mercenary God will give birth to The Sex, while No Suicide with their tight hypnotic hardcore will disbanded soon. It’s 1981 when the rain clouds on the “Challenge” front cover seem to remind us that the wind is going to change soon.

3 bands, 11 songs, an unearthed piece of history 43 years after its first release. Thanks to this reissue, “Challenge” is now back on track. A different disc, today as then. (Luca Frazzi)

What Do We Do Now is the fifth solo studio LP recorded by J Mascis since 1996. This is obviously not a very aggressive release schedule, but when you figure in the live albums, guest spots, and records done with his various other bands (Dinosaur Jr., The Fog, Heavy Blanket, Witch, Sweet Apple, and so on), well, to paraphrase Lou Reed, "J's week beats your year." What Do We Do Now began to come together during the waning days of the Pandemic. Utilizing his own Bisquiteen Studio, J started working on writing a series of tunes on acoustic with a different dynamic than the stuff he creates for Dino. "When I'm writing for the band," he says, "I'm always trying to think of doing things Lou and Murph would fit into. For myself, I'm thinking more about what I can do with just an acoustic guitar, even for the leads. Of course, this time, I added full drums and electric leads, although the rhythm parts are still all acoustic. Usually, I try to do the solo stuff more simply so I can play it by myself, but I really wanted to add the drums. Once that started, everything else just fell into place. So it ended up sounding a lot more like a band record. I dunno why I did that exactly, but it's just what happened." Two guest musicians are playing this time out; Western Mass local Ken Mauri (of the B52s) plays piano on several tracks. Since J himself has some experience with keys, when asked why he needed a hired gun, he says, "Ken is great, and he plays all the keys. I tried playing some keyboards on the first Fog album, but I'm really only comfortable playing the white notes, so it's kind of limiting. laughs Nowadays, I could just turn the pitch on a mini Mellotron to play different sounds, but black keys just seem hard. For whatever reason, I just like banging on the white ones. Seems like it's harder to figure out how to stretch your fingers around the other ones." Mauri has no such qualms and plays all the keys very damn well. He sounds especially great on "I Can't Find You," where he is Jack Nitzsche to J's Neil Young, creating one of the album's loveliest tunes. The other guest musician, Matthew "Doc" Dunn, is also prominent on this track. Dunn's steel guitar manages to both widen and soften the musical edges of the music, giving it a full classicist profile. Dunn is an Ontario-based polymath who J met through Matt Valentine. After J played on Doc's great 2022 Sub Pop single, "Your Feel," he figured it was time for payback. Both Dunn and Mauri add beautifully to the songs here, helping to transform them from acoustic sketches into full-blown post-core power ballads. What Do We Do Now is the finest set of solo tunes J has yet penned, and the way they're presented is just about perfect. Asked if he would be touring to support the album, J says he'll be doing some weekend dates, but he probably won't be putting a band together. And I'm sure these songs will sound great solo and acoustic, but the arrangements on this album are truly great and put a cool, different spin on Mascis' instantly Recognizable approach to making music. So, what do we do now? Not sure. But apparently, what J does is to make one of his most killer records ever. Hats off to him. - Byron Coley

What Do We Do Now is the fifth solo studio LP recorded by J Mascis since 1996. This is obviously not a very aggressive release schedule, but when you figure in the live albums, guest spots, and records done with his various other bands (Dinosaur Jr., The Fog, Heavy Blanket, Witch, Sweet Apple, and so on), well, to paraphrase Lou Reed, "J's week beats your year." What Do We Do Now began to come together during the waning days of the Pandemic. Utilizing his own Bisquiteen Studio, J started working on writing a series of tunes on acoustic with a different dynamic than the stuff he creates for Dino. "When I'm writing for the band," he says, "I'm always trying to think of doing things Lou and Murph would fit into. For myself, I'm thinking more about what I can do with just an acoustic guitar, even for the leads. Of course, this time, I added full drums and electric leads, although the rhythm parts are still all acoustic. Usually, I try to do the solo stuff more simply so I can play it by myself, but I really wanted to add the drums. Once that started, everything else just fell into place. So it ended up sounding a lot more like a band record. I dunno why I did that exactly, but it's just what happened." Two guest musicians are playing this time out; Western Mass local Ken Mauri (of the B52s) plays piano on several tracks. Since J himself has some experience with keys, when asked why he needed a hired gun, he says, "Ken is great, and he plays all the keys. I tried playing some keyboards on the first Fog album, but I'm really only comfortable playing the white notes, so it's kind of limiting. laughs Nowadays, I could just turn the pitch on a mini Mellotron to play different sounds, but black keys just seem hard. For whatever reason, I just like banging on the white ones. Seems like it's harder to figure out how to stretch your fingers around the other ones." Mauri has no such qualms and plays all the keys very damn well. He sounds especially great on "I Can't Find You," where he is Jack Nitzsche to J's Neil Young, creating one of the album's loveliest tunes. The other guest musician, Matthew "Doc" Dunn, is also prominent on this track. Dunn's steel guitar manages to both widen and soften the musical edges of the music, giving it a full classicist profile. Dunn is an Ontario-based polymath who J met through Matt Valentine. After J played on Doc's great 2022 Sub Pop single, "Your Feel," he figured it was time for payback. Both Dunn and Mauri add beautifully to the songs here, helping to transform them from acoustic sketches into full-blown post-core power ballads. What Do We Do Now is the finest set of solo tunes J has yet penned, and the way they're presented is just about perfect. Asked if he would be touring to support the album, J says he'll be doing some weekend dates, but he probably won't be putting a band together. And I'm sure these songs will sound great solo and acoustic, but the arrangements on this album are truly great and put a cool, different spin on Mascis' instantly Recognizable approach to making music. So, what do we do now? Not sure. But apparently, what J does is to make one of his most killer records ever. Hats off to him. - Byron Coley

Back in Your Life was released in 1979 under the Jonathan Richman & The Modern Lovers moniker, but only half the album featured the backup band. The other half of the album features Richman as a solo artist. The Modern Lovers were formed by Richman and included Leroy Radcliffe on guitar, Asa Brebner on bass and Denotra ‘D’ Sharpe on drums. Occasionally, they were joined by Richman’s friend and The Real Kids’ band leader John Felice.

Back in Your Life is available on black vinyl.

Waxwork Records in collaboration with Walt Disney Records announce the pre-order for the highly anticipated Star Wars Jedi: Survivor Original Video Game Soundtrack vinyl album. Composed by Stephen Barton and Gordy Haab, this 2xLP vinyl edition is set for release on February 2, 2024, offering fans an immersive musical experience from the acclaimed video game.

The soundtrack, comprised of 27 tracks, is pressed on 150-gram colored vinyl and presented in heavyweight gatefold jackets with a matte satin coating. To enhance the collector's experience, the vinyl will be accompanied by an 11” x 11” four-page booklet, providing a glimpse into the creative process behind the mesmerizing score.

Star Wars Jedi: Survivor received a GRAMMY® nomination in the Best Score Soundtrack for Video Games and Other Interactive Media category. This marks the first GRAMMY® nomination for composers Stephen Barton and Gordy Haab. The album is produced by Nick Laviers, Stephen Barton, Gordy Haab, Alan Meyerson, and Steve Schnur.

About Star Wars Jedi: Survivor

Star Wars Jedi: Survivor continues the story of Cal Kestis. This narratively driven, single player title picks up five years after the events of Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order and follows Cal’s increasingly desperate fight as the galaxy descends further into darkness.

NERDS! Unless you were head cheerleader or captain of the football team, watching this film was a rite of passage (and indeed, sweet revenge) for any ‘80s high schooler or college matriculator; in fact, Revenge of the Nerds was such a classic that it spawned three sequels. But none of them compare to the 1984 original, which substituted the socially challenged “I.T. guy” for the slobs of Animal House in its classic underdog story complete with nerd gets girl happy ending. Along the way it offers something to offend just about everyone, especially in today’s “woke” climate, but one thing about the movie has stood the test of time: its killer new wave soundtrack! “One Foot in Front of the Other” by Bone Symphony—produced by Giorgio Moroder protégé Richie Zito—might be the highlight, but “Are You Ready for the Sex Girls” by Gleaming Spires and “Right Time for Love” by Pat Robinson & Jill Michaels have their share of devotees. And any soundtrack with two tracks by The Rubinoos is just fine in our book! For this 40th anniversary reissue, we at Real Gone Music have pressed up 500 copies in limited edition “lemonade swirl” vinyl (sans alcohol, of course)... gentlemen, start your turntables (and your slide rules)!

Fabled jazz-rock group Soft Machine present this heartfelt tribute to one of the greats of British jazz - trumpeter Harry Beckett - covering his stunning “The Dew at Dawn” on this limited edition 7” vinyl, with a cover of a classic Softs tune on the B side.

This is the second 7” in My Only Desire Records’ Brit Jazz 45s series, which sees some of their favourite contemporary jazz acts each making brand new studio recordings of two classic compositions from the golden era of ‘60s and ‘70s British jazz.

Now led by guitar master John Etheridge, an original Soft Machine member since the mid-‘70s and Canterbury scene veteran saxophonist Theo Travis, the band has undergone some recent lineup changes with bassist Fred Thelonious Baker (a former Harry Beckett bandmate) joining for 2023’s ‘Other Doors’ album. This is also the first recording with drummer Asaf Sirkis, who has replaced the late British jazz legend John Marshall.

Etheridge and Travis’ unique arrangement has upped the tempo of the “The Dew at Dawn” (originally released on Ogun Records in 1975) pushing the Caribbean-infused groove to the fore. Beckett’s joyful theme - first played on Etheridge’s guitar and then picked up by Travis’ mesmeric soprano saxophone - evokes the sun rising over the misty Hackney marshes and the hope of a better future. The track is underpinned by Baker’s nimble bass guitar and Sirkis’ scattering drums, with Etheridge’s superb soloing honed over a stellar five-decade career.

1000 miles away from the beating musical hearts of Rio and São Paulo in the late ‘70s, the Brazilian city of Belém gave rise to a little-known record label called Erla - Estudio Rauland. Though not prolific in its output, the label made up for it in quality and experimental offerings, with several records on the label now becoming sought-after pieces among collectors. One such release is the sublime four-track psych, MPB, rock EP by singer-songwriter Jarbas Mariz.

They say never judge a book by its cover, though on this occasion you pretty much can. The wonderful tripped-out ‘70s artwork by Baby is a sure-fire indication of the music lying within. Though the EP was recorded in ‘77, it clearly gained inspiration from the psychedelic hippy idols of the previous decade and could easily have been a soundtrack to an acid trip scene in an obscure Brazilian movie.

Low-fi and quirky, there are moments of beauty and splendour but also hints of darkness; with a sublime balance of music and styles throughout. At points Jarbas will have you drifting through a folk flute daydream, the next moment a growling, psych-distorted guitar breaks and parts the calm. An ability to make those elements blend cohesively is where Jarbas’ true brilliance shines through.

Jarbas played, and still plays, with some of the key figures in Brazil's musical underground. Guilherme Coutinho (whose Guilherme Coutinho - E O Grupo Stalo album from ‘78 was also re-issued on Mr Bongo) features on electric piano for this release, with fans of his work being able to pick out his tones and playing style. Elsewhere, Jarbas also collaborated with the late great Lula Côrtes on the 'Bom Shankar Bolenath' album from 1988 and 'Rosa De Sange' from 1980. He was a member of the wonderful Cátia de França band and is a regular in the legendary Tom Zé group.

'Transas Do Futuro' is a special record and one we are honoured to be reissuing.

Dazzle rolled deep. Very deep. In the 1980s, it wasn't unusual for the Milwaukee-based group to show up at various Midwest night clubs in a caravan of 30-40 cars and vans. Their live following was hard won over a career that spanned 20+ years, many line up changes, and a handful of project names. Friends, family, and fans made the journey with them weekend after weekend, a testimony to both the musical prowess of the group and the tight-knit community that they emerged from.

Donald Smith, band leader, was there the whole time - joined by many of his siblings and friends - first as founder of the Ghetto Players, a early 70's nine-piece which also included siblings Michael, Ronald, and Charles. They played hard funk in the style of early Kool and the Gang, and although they sadly left no recordings, the strength of their live act managed to catch the eye of local Milwaukee R&B music entrepreneur Cobie Joe Payne. Cobie had made a couple of records locally in the early/mid 70s as a singer, including the impossibly weird and amazing rare afro-blues-funk 45 "Sweet Thing", but had never enjoyed national success. When the Ghetto Players disbanded in the early-mid 70s, Donald soon put together a new group, C on the Funk (the 'C' referring to lead vocalist and sibling Charles), under Payne's tutelage. Sister Lorrie Smith came in as the drummer, the line-up being fleshed out by brothers David and Melvin Johnson, and friend Robert Mitchell. After a few years as a strictly live attraction, they drove to Chicago and produced a single, "In the Disco" / "A Place" for Payne's small record label Sweet Thang Records in 1980. Lacking the financial backing needed to supply the local R&B disk jockey's "promotional fees" , this single sadly languished in obscurity, gathering dust inside the local tavern jukeboxes and manilla promo envelopes that comprised Payne's DIY distribution network.

C on the Funk were traveling the Mid West extensively at this point, and making some important friends on the road. Ike Wiley Jr. of the Dazz Band/Kinsman Dazz took particular interest and the band was re-christened Dazzle, partially as a tie-in with Dazz, partially to embrace the new sounds that would distinguish the 70s disco scene from what record collectors and DJs would now refer to as the "Boogie" era. There no doubt was a stigma attached to the word "Disco" as the eighties began, and as we see in this collection C On the Funk's "In the Disco" is remixed and transformed into the psychedelic synth instrumental of Dazzle's "Disco's Out", a title which embodies both the next-step approach Smith and company were pushing for, and humorously comments on the state of black dance music in the early 1980s. The Dazzle recording, done in Chicago in 1982, updated the sound and featured an expanded line up, most notably a second synth player (Charles Washington), and a percussionist/second lead vocalist (Greg McDonald). The added synth textures and deep percussive grooves give the Dazzle recordings an elegant late night vibe that resonate just as well in a good pair of headphones as they do on the dance floor. The trance inducing cough syrup-warble of "Explain" may best exemplify this here. Sadly, a pressing flaw in the 12" halted production and promotion, and the EP and the songs within were lost to the ages. The group, having done a much better line in the live music business, followed that path instead all the way to the early 90s. --bio provided by andy noble

Special tour only numbered 3 cd package. (Albums Inc: Joan Of All / Get Well Soon / Sarabeth Tucek) #33 MOJO AOTY 2023 #28 UNCUT AOTY 2023 Sarabeth Tucek emerges from a decade-long hibernation with a new double-album Joan of All under the new moniker SBT – a longtime nickname given to her by the many musicians she has worked with throughout her career. After retreating from the fevered pace of the record business to concentrate on other creative endeavors, Sarabeth began to piece together the music that would eventually become her most ambitious, personal project yet – the sprawling double-album Joan Of All, which will be released world-wide on 19th May 2023 via her own freshly-minted imprint Ocean Omen. Sarabeth Tucek officially broke onto the music scene 2003 performing a series of spellbinding duets with Bill Callahan on the acclaimed Smog album Supper. This was swiftly followed by a memorable appearance in the prize-winning Brian Jonestown Massacre documentary DiG! Sarabeth also contributed material to their 2005 EP release, We Are the Radio. One of Sarabeth's compositions covered by the band on that EP, "Seer," would later be retitled and released in 2006 as Tucek's debut single, "Something for You”, which became Steve Lamacq’s Single Of The Week on BBC Radio 6 Music. Her self-titled debut album produced by Luther Russell and Ethan Johns hit stores the following year and garnered rave reviews in the press, leading her to supporting Bob Dylan and unfaltering support at the BBC. In 2011, Sarabeth followed up her extraordinary debut with a raw, uncompromising album entitled Get Well Soon, praised as an unflinching meditation on the subject of grief. This release made many year-end lists and the title track was featured on the first season of HBO’s Girls.

Ultravillage is a collective and burgeoning community of new age music devotees, private press fanatics and underground ambient, minimal and progressive electronic aficionados. T

Mark Griffey, the man behind Ultravillage, has recently made the venture into releasing albums, with the intention of reissuing forgotten personal masterpieces of 1980s and 90s private press synth culture on new label Mid-Air Museum. MM’s first vinyl record release is a collaboration with Scottish reissue label chOOn!!.

Together, they present Accidental Music 1987-1991 by Charles Esposito, a career retrospective of the experimental composer from Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts. The cinematic and the sacred swirl around on Accidental Music, which gives new life to intriguing self-released tapes that Esposito put out in the 1980s and 90s. Heard by few on its original release, the music featured on this compilation ranges from Palace of Lights percussive sonics to an almost minimal techno palette, a meeting of pop and twisted electronics with the hypnotic immediacy of ancient ritual.

Accidental Music 1987-1991 develops a series of resonant harmonic spaces, by adding layers of instruments and played objects. Rather than work as acoustic maps of specific locations, these pieces eddy and gather into positive physical presences. But Esposito’s real strength lies in creating depth of field. The foreground might be dominated by glassy chimes or resonant prayer bowl-like timbres, but beyond it a series of sonic veils seems to recede towards murky imperceptibility. There’s also a kind of surreal decorum at play, passages that sound like an immaculately laid dinner table being shaken by an earth tremor while the tinkling complaints of the silver, glass and muffling linen are scrupulously recorded.

Available for the first time on vinyl, Accidental Music 1987-1991 by Charles Esposito is an exploration into
many inner worlds and dreamscapes, an analogue mirage of avant-garde gems. Produced in cooperation with the artist for Mid-Air Museum and chOOn!!.

Mastered for vinyl and digital and featuring liner notes from Mark Griffey.

In Celtic mythology, Clota was the patron Goddess of the River Clyde. "Almost all the rivers of Scotland were abodes of goddesses, but about many of them there are no surviving stories. The goddess of the Clyde was ‘the purifying one’.. " Donald MacKenzie 'Wonder Tales from Scottish Myth and Legend' (1917) Following the warmly received 'An Garradh', and 'Tarbolton Bachelors Club', Steven Anderson (Letters From Mouse) returns to Subexotic with another emotionally inquisitive, fascinating psycho-geographical work. Although very little is known about the goddess Clota, Anderson intuitively understands the River Clyde provides a rich landscape to explore her legacy. Dominating its environment, and steeped in ancient and modern historical significance, 'Clota' simultaneously reflects on what is, and what has been. Through deft application of modular synthesis, Anderson's trademark ability to weave extraordinary musical dialogues with time and place, conjures new life into this long-forgotten deity.

Analogue Productions (Atlantic 75 Series) Celebrating the 75th Anniversary of Atlantic Records! 180-gram 45 RPM double LP Mastered by Bernie Grundman from the original analog tape Contains Otis Redding's posthumous hit "Sittin' On the Dock Of the Bay" Appeared on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time, rated 161/500! Pressed at Quality Record Pressings Gatefold old-style "tip-on" jacket by Stoughton Printing Hybrid Mono SACD Mastered directly from the original master tape by Bernie Grundman The guts of the story are this: While on tour with the Bar-Kays in August 1967, Otis Redding's popularity was rising, and he was inundated with fans at his hotel in downtown San Francisco. Looking for a retreat, he accepted rock concert impresario Bill Graham's offer to stay at his houseboat at Waldo Point in Sausalito, California. Inspired, Redding started writing the lines, "Sittin' in the morning sun, I'll be sittin' when the evening comes" and the first verse of a song, under the abbreviated title "Dock of the Bay." He had completed his famed performance at the Monterey Pop Festival just weeks earlier. While touring in support of the albums King & Queen (a collaboration with female vocalist Carla Thomas) and Live in Europe, he continued to scribble lines of the song on napkins and hotel paper. In November of that year, he joined producer and esteemed soul guitarist Steve Cropper at the Stax recording studio in Memphis, Tennessee, to record the song. Cropper remembers: "Otis was one of those the kind of guy who had 100 ideas. ... He had been in San Francisco doing The Fillmore. And the story that I got he was renting boathouse or stayed at a boathouse or something and that's where he got the idea of the ships coming in the bay there. And that's about all he had: 'I watch the ships come in and I watch them roll away again.' I just took that... and I finished the lyrics. If you listen to the songs I collaborated with Otis, most of the lyrics are about him. ... Otis didn't really write about himself but I did. Songs like 'Mr. Pitiful,' 'Fa-Fa-Fa-Fa-Fa (Sad Song)'; they were about Otis and Otis' life. 'Dock of the Bay' was exactly that: 'I left my home in Georgia, headed for the Frisco Bay' was all about him going out to San Francisco to perform." Redding and Cropper completed the song in Memphis on Dec 7, 1967 with tragedy, unknowingly, looming. Just two days later Redding lost his life on a routine commute to a performance when the small plane he was in crashed. The other victims of the disaster were four members of the Bar-Kays — guitarist Jimmy King, tenor saxophonist Phalon Jones, organist Ronnie Caldwell, and drummer Carl Cunningham; their valet, Matthew Kelly and pilot Fraser. Cropper and bassist Donald "Duck" Dunn completed the music and melancholic lyrics of "(Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay' which was taken from the sessions — Redding's final recorded work. Cropper added the distinct sound of seagulls and waves crashing to the background. This is what Redding had wanted to hear on the track according to Cropper who remembered Redding recalling the sounds he heard when he wrote the song on the houseboat. One of the most influential soul singers of the 1960s, Redding exemplified to many listeners the power of Southern "deep soul" — hoarse, gritty vocals, brassy arrangements, and an emotional way with both party tunes and aching ballads. At the time of his tragic death he was 26. ‘(Sittin’ On) The Dock of the Bay’ was released just a month following Redding’s death and became his only ever single to reach number one on the Billboard Hot 100 in January 1968. The album, which shared the song's title, became his largest-selling to date, peaking at No. 4 on the pop albums chart. "Dock of the Bay" was popular in countries across the world and became Redding's most successful record, selling more than 4 million copies worldwide. The song went on to win two Grammy Awards: Best R&B Song and Best Male R&B Vocal Performance. With the album, Redding confirmed himself as a talent lost far too soon. All the hallmarks of a top-notch Analogue Productions reissue are here for you to savor: Mastered directly from the original master tape by Bernie Grundman and cut at 45 RPM. Pressed on 180-gram vinyl at Quality Record Pressings, and housed in tip-on old style gatefold double pocket jackets with film lamination by Stoughton Printing.

Thom Yorke, Jonny Greenwood und Tom Skinner aka The Smile kündigen heute ihr brandneues Album „Wall Of Eyes“ an, das am 26. Januar 2024 bei XL Recordings erscheinen wird. Zugleich veröffentlicht die Band den Titelsong des Albums samt Musikvideo, bei dem Paul Thomas Anderson Regie führte. Das neue Album, das zwischen Oxford und den Abbey Road Studios aufgenommen und von Sam Petts-Davies produziert sowie abgemischt wurde, enthält zudem Streicherarrangements des London Contemporary Orchestra.
Das neue Album „Wall Of Eyes“ von The Smile ist der Nachfolger des gefeierten Debütalbums „A Light For Attracting Attention“ aus dem Jahr 2022.

Bô'vels Streetsoul-Hymne 'Check 4 U' (1996) ist einer der unbestreitbarsten Underground-Klassiker der Mitt-1990er Piratenradio-Ära, der britische Soundsystem-Kultur, den Clubsound der Manchester-Streetsoul-Szene, Dub-Hip-Hop der Bristol-Bewegung und Reggae-Soundsystem-Bässe miteinander vereint. Nun erscheint mit CHANGES ein Sampler von 'Manchesters beliebtester Soul-Diva' mit diesem Kulttrack und neun weiteren unveröffentlichten Raritäten aus der ungefähren Schaffensperiode 1997-2008, die von Streetsoul über Reggae und Breakbeat bis Downtempo reichen.

Justin Drake and Clive Henry, recognised as the legendary Peace Division, stood out as one of the UK's most successful tribal/tech house production duos from the late 90s to the mid-00s. Their contributions extended to renowned British labels such as NRK and Junior London, as well as releases with Hooj, Crosstown Rebels, and major label remixes.

Lesser-known but equally intriguing was their venture into a different musical realm under the alias Soul Purpose. Shifting towards a deeper shade of house, Soul Purpose featured tracks characterised by lush chords and rolling basslines, placing a strong emphasis on the soulful elements.

Originally released on Low Pressing Limited, an offshoot label of Clive Henry and Rocky (X-Press 2) iconic Low Pressing, the four Soul Purpose titles emerged between 1997 and 1998. Despite being somewhat under the radar, these tracks gained recognition among DJs in the know. Now, the Selected Works release, compiled from the original DAT tapes and fully remastered, reunites the entire Soul Purpose catalogue for the first time in 27 years since their initial release.

Karl-Marx-Stadt (now Chemnitz) was one of the GDR’s subcultural hubs in the late 1970s and 80s. The industrial city in Saxony produced an impressively wide informal cultural programme beyond state structures. Bands such as Die Gehirne, Knut Baltz Formation, Die Arroganten Sorben, Kartoffelschälmaschine, AG Geige or the projects of cassette label klangFarBe created a complex artistic environment, in which Tropenkoller ran its spiritual exercises from 1986 to 1989. The “introverted experiment” remained distinct yet was exemplary of a KarlMarx-Stadt sound that considered dissonance a non-ideological form of harmonics. A first and only tape appeared in 1988. The extravagant packaging illustrated the edition’s exclusive nature; no more than twenty-five copies were released by Tropenkoller into the limited coterie of its open circle. tapetopia is a series of vinyl releases based on cassettes from East Germany’s 80s underground, particularly from the East Berlin "Mauerstadt" music scene, featuring original layouts and track lists. For over 30 years after their initial “release” the music on these tapes was neither available on vinyl nor CD, but they were important statements in the canon of the GDR subculture. Contrary to the small print runs of the time, many of the bands were considered cult in the underground,but suspect in the higher floors.

tapetopia 007 Corp Cruid I was the only release of the planned tap series BleiBeil. The tracks were recorded over a longer period of time in 1988 – and in changing constellations that corresponded to the lineup of the East Berlin underground band Ornament & Verbrechen. 30 copies were circulated exclusively among friends. Concerts were not part of the plan, also due to the band’s rejection of a playing permit; there was no interest in being tolerated by the cultural apparatus, which treated projects like Corp Cruid with contempt or even hostility. Even before the GDR collapsed, in November 1989, almost half of the Ornament & Verbrechen musicians had left the country. Ensembles as remote from the state as Corp Cruid sounded like a faint scratch on the Wall of Sound of a hysterical system. The tape survived on a master tape and on a few copies; today the GDR is only its background noise.
The tapetopia series, using the original layouts and track lists, publishes cassette editions from the GDR underground of the 1980s, especially from the “walled-in” scene in East Berlin. More than three decades after their initial “release”, these tapes have yet to be heard on either vinyl or CD, even though they made an audible mark in the canon of GDR subculture. Despite the tiny original editions of the time, many of the bands were considered cult in countercultural circles, which made them highly suspect in informed circles