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With Bending the Golden Hour, the third album from Memphis, Tennessee’s Aquarian Blood, husband and wife team J.B. Horrell (Ex-Cult) and Laurel Horrell (formerly of the Nots) continue the gorgeously stripped-down and atmospheric direction set on their critically acclaimed previous effort A Love That Leads to War.

While Aquarian Blood has roots as a chaotic punk rock six-piece, the band shifted gears after two raucous cassette-only releases on ZAP Cassettes, a pair of seven-inches, and 2017’s Last Nite in Paradise, released on Goner Records. After drummer Bill Curry broke his arm, the Horrells redefined

Aquarian Blood, reemerging in early 2018 as the more intimate, mostly acoustic balladeers behind the staccato, fever dream sound of A Love That Leads to War. Like its immediate predecessor, Bending the Golden Hour was recorded at the Horrell's Midtown Memphis home. The band turned over 43 tracks to Goner co-owner Zac Ives, who handpicked 17 songs for the album.

The final result is shimmering and hopeful; as beautiful and sparse as a Rockwell Kent snowscape. Bending the Golden Hour begins ominously with “Channeling,” which sounds like an outtake from Paul Giovanni’s soundtrack to 1973’s pagan nightmare The Wicker Man. Then the band upshifts for “Time in the Rain,” a sweet duet set to a rigid snare beat. From there, Aquarian Blood zigs to country and zags to psychedelic folk, brooding on one song and soothing listeners with the next. And while the music, feel, and experience is different, Aquarian Blood naturally brings to mind some legendary musical partnerships: Richard and Linda Thompson, Lee Hazlewood and Nancy Sinatra, Johnny and June Carter Cash, Gram Parsons and Emmylou Harris; not to mention similarly-bent-but-beautiful luminaries like Roy Harper, Pentangle circa 1967 -1973, and Jackson C. Frank.

There’s a big middle ground, like folk-psych, or weirder country music,” he says, reeling off names like Skip Spence and Syd Barrett as stepping stones between the genres of punk and folk.

Inspirations for Bending the Golden Hour come from myriad sources that document the milestones and minutiae in a family’s full life. Some lyrics name a time or a place; others reflect the fleeting moments that elapse unnoticed. “Come Home,” which is sung by J.B. and his daughter Ava, was written the day Ava got her driver’s license. “Ava took the car out by herself afterwards, and I wrote the song immediately—she sang her part when she got home that evening,” J.B. recalls. Whether or not the listener knows the backstory, the song rings sentimental, with subtle, supportive instrumentation that underscores guitar and vocals. The bewitching “Rope and Hair,” on the other hand, is less sketched out, with lyrics that are simply a recitation of the talismen found on a silver sabertooth charm that J.B. purchased for Laurel at a Latin strip mall in southeast Memphis. That’s all to be said. “Sometimes when you know too much about what the song is about, it takes away the magic,” says J.B. “Alabama Daughter,” says Laurel, is about a place where a childhood friend lived called Castleberry Holler. “It was really rural, just a lot of shacks without electricity—the kind of place you didn’t go to unless you were invited,” she says. “Probable Gods” is a hazy reflection on the struggle of such a strange year. “It’s been very cathartic to put all of this into words and not have it live

Lotus Wash drops his debut album on LBD Sounds, bringing a whole load of fresh material which came out from his experience as a session musician, and performing his experimental live sets around the Czech Republic. He connects the dots between classically trained musician and modular synth-head, working in Prague's DIY shop and creative community Noise Kitchen. The album spans across 6 original tracks of pure analogue bliss and live ideas, alongside three remixes from his closest allies, local producers Oliver Torr, Vision of 1994, and Hrtl.

The Field Theory was created during a period of deep fascination with quantum physics, with the tracks being conceptually and aesthetically inspired by some of its phenomena. Acoustically, it's mostly a slow and dark affair, with Lotus Wash only letting the light in very briefly when the sun is young (Magnetic Moment), keeping the shutter firmly closed for the rest of the record. His music does not rely on banging beats to drive it, instead letting intense grooves do the job from deep underground, just like on earth-shattering album opener Vacuum Fluctuation. He masters his craft of building atmosphere, a skill learnt during multiple collaborations with various Czech theatres. Of course, he lets the steam out occasionally, and always with devastating effect (Higgs Field, Casimir Force), but mostly choses to keep it capped, humming and hissing. When the sky clears, he opts for a minimalistic and hypnotic approach, only to disturb this peace with a killer bassline in one of the album's highlights – Spooky Action in A Distance – later re-imagined and re-electrified by Oliver Torr. Standard Model is anything but your standard techno, while Hrtl's remix of Magic Moment flirts with techno too, but on a dubbier and brighter side. Bringing the album to a close is Vision of 1994's downtempo take on the same track, finally letting you breathe out.

Liz Phair announces ‘Soberish’, her highly-anticipated new album and first collection of original
material in eleven years. Produced by Phair’s longtime collaborator Brad Wood - known for helming
Phair’s seminal albums ‘Exile In Guyville’, ‘Whip-Smart’ and ‘whitechocolatespaceegg’ - ‘Soberish’ is
released via Chrysalis Records.
Almost thirty years since her peerless debut album ‘Exile In Guyville’ was released (voted #56 in
Rolling Stone’s 2020 list of the 500 Greatest albums Of All Time), Phair returns with a new record that
will both intrigue and satisfy her long-standing fans and introduce her to a smart young audience
whose contemporary heroes have been reading from Phair’s playbook since they first picked up a
guitar.
Liz Phair has achieved the kind of status in her industry rarely bestowed on recording artists. Her
albums in the 1990s were central to the indie rock canon of the day. Her image was featured in
countless magazines, early Apple commercials and Gap ads. Her eponymous album for Capitol
Records in 2003 took Phair in a pop direction that ruffled some critics’ feathers but nonetheless went
gold, galvanizing a host of new fans, particularly among young women who fell in love with hits like
‘Why Can’t I’ and ‘Extraordinary’, tracks that were featured in several major films and TV shows,
including 13 Going On 30, Raising Helen and How To Deal. Liz has picked up two Grammy
nominations and a spot in Pitchfork’s Greatest Albums Of The 90s, with over five million record sales
to date (including three US gold albums). She sang ‘God Bless America’ at the opening game of the
Chicago White Sox World Series victory in her hometown in 2005.
‘Soberish’ is a portrait of Phair in the present tense, taking all of the facets of her melodic output over
the years and synthesizing them into a beautiful, perfect whole. She’s at the top of her game in the
recording studio, drawing upon years of experience in television composition to weave through the
songs daring and unexpected sound design. With Brad Wood’s exquisite engineering and masterful
production, the result is a wholly fresh yet satisfyingly familiar sound that challenges on the first listen
and seduces with each subsequent play through. The earworms are strong with this one.
Phair says, “I found my inspiration for ‘Soberish’ by delving into an early era of my music development,
my art school years spent listening to Art Rock and New Wave music non-stop on my Walkman. The
English Beat, The Specials, Madness, R.E.M.s Automatic for the People, Yazoo, The Psychedelic
Furs, Talking Heads, Velvet Underground, Laurie Anderson, and the Cars. The city came alive for me
as a young person, the bands in my headphones lending me the courage to explore.”
None of the arrangements on Soberish are traditional songwriting standards but the hooks are so
catchy, the imagery so compelling, that the listener is drawn effortlessly along with the music. There
are the off-kilter, unexpected guitar chords listeners will recognize as her signature style, a mainstay
from her earliest work; the instantly knowable choruses of her most pop-friendly songs of the early
2000s; the frank lyricism and storytelling that has opened doors for countless women picking up
guitars and attempting to speak about their experiences.
Phair shares insight into the meaning of her title: “‘Soberish’ can be about partying. It can be about
self-delusion. It can be a about chasing that first flush of love or, in fact, any state of mind that allows
you to escape reality for a while and exist on a happier plane. It’s not self-destructive or out of control;
it’s as simple as the cycle of dreaming and waking up. That’s why I chose to symbolize ‘Soberish’ with
a crossroads, with a street sign. It’s best described as a simple pivot of perspective. When you meet
your ‘ish’ self again after a period of sobriety, there’s a deep recognition and emotional relief that
floods you, reminding you that there is more to life, more to reality and to your own soul than you are
consciously aware of. But if you reach for too much of a good thing, or starve yourself with too little,
you’ll lose that critical balance.”

Jazz Behind the Dikes Vol 3 is the third and final installment in the Jazz Behind The Dikes series, which highlights some of the greatest Dutch jazzmen under ideal conditions: in their own combo’s and playing the music of their own choice in complete freedom. The result is a collection of straightforward modern jazz by renowned Dutch jazz musicians such as Ron Madna Trio, Tony Vos Quartet and Frans Elsen Quartet.

This third volume of the series is available as a limited edition of 500 individually numbered copies on blue vinyl.

England, 1884 - a world on the brink of change. On the morning of her 16th birthday, Enola Holmes (Millie Bobby Brown) wakes to find that her mother (Helena Bonham Carter) has disappeared, leaving behind an odd assortment of gifts but no apparent clue as to where she’s gone or why. After a free-spirited childhood, Enola suddenly finds herself under the care of her brothers Sherlock (Henry Cavill) and Mycroft (Sam Claflin), both set on sending her away to a finishing school for “proper” young ladies. Refusing to follow their wishes, Enola escapes to search for her mother in London. But when her journey finds her entangled in a mystery surrounding a young runaway Lord (Louis Partridge), Enola becomes a super-sleuth in her own right, outwitting her famous brother as she unravels a conspiracy that threatens to set back the course of history.

Enola Holmes was released on September 23, 2020. The film received positive reviews from critics, who praised Brown’s performance. Daniel Pemberton composed the film’s score. Pemberton described it as “unashamedly melodic and emotional orchestral music” with some “messy quirky oddness thrown in as well”.




RELEASE: 4-6-2021




• 180 GRAM AUDIOPHILE VINYL
• PVC PROTECTIVE SLEEVE
• CRITICALLY ACCLAIMED 2020 MOVIE ABOUT THE TEENAGE SISTER OF THE ALREADY-FAMOUS SHERLOCK HOLMES
• STARRING MILLIE BOBBY BROWN (STRANGER THINGS “ELEVEN”), HENRY CAVILL, SAM CLAFLIN & HELENA BONHAM CARTER
• MUSIC BY DANIEL PEMBERTON
• INCLUDES INSERT WITH PICTURES AND LINER NOTES BY DIRECTOR HARRY BRADBEER (KILLING EVE)
• LIMITED EDITION OF 500 INDIVIDUALLY NUMBERED COPIES ON SOLID TURQUOISE VINYL

This is a limited edition contains of 500 individually numbered copies on solid turquoise vinyl. The package includes an insert with pictures and liner notes by director Harry Bradbeer (Killing Eve).

"Can you say it again" is the result of a multidisciplinary project between pieter dudal and brussels based photographer marlies van wielendaele. the latter offered a series of pictures taken on one of her trips to india with the initial aim of combining these with sounds recorded during the same trip. while working with these images and sounds, dudal found himself more and more alienating from the source material. the context in which these has been registered was unknown to him and made it almost impossible to create a set of new meanings within the Indian context surrounding the source material.

Hence, he radically erased and deleted all recordings he had and started all over again. instead of trying to understand the image and making connections with the sound material, dudal relied on the technique of free association to create his own narratives linked to the images. these small stories formed the basis to envision music and resulted in this album which heavily relies on tapeloops and piano recordings.

Dudal is the moniker of Belgian based musician pieter dudal. in 2014 he founded dauw, a label with a strong focus on the interaction between music and visual art. Beside running the label, he also makes music and has released his first ep in 2014 while individual tracks appeared on several compilations.

Squid announce their debut album, ‘Bright Green Field’, already one of 2021’s most highly anticipated releases.
Produced by Dan Carey, ‘Bright Green Field’ is an album of towering scope and ambition, it is deeply considered, paced and intricately constructed. With all band members playing such a vital and equal role, this album is very much the product of five heads operating as one.
Some bands might be tempted to include previous singles on their debut - and the band already released two more in 2020 via ‘Sludge’ and ‘Broadcaster’ - but instead ‘Bright Green Field’ is completely new. This sense of limitlessness and perpetual forward motion is one of the key ingredients that makes Squid so loved by fans and critics alike, from 6 Music, who have A-Listed previous singles ‘Houseplants’, ‘The Cleaner’ and ‘Match Bet’, to publications such as The Guardian, NME, The Face, The Quietus and countless others. The band was also on the longlist for the BBC Music Sound Of 2020 poll.
‘Bright Green Field’ features field recordings of ringing church bells, tooting bees, microphones swinging from the ceiling orbiting a room of guitar amps and a distorted choir of 30 voices, as well as a horn and string ensemble featuring the likes of Emma-Jean Thackray and Lewis Evans from Black Country, New Road.
Squid’s music - be it agitated and discordant or groove-locked and flowing - has often been a reflection of the tumultuous world we live in and this continues that to some extent. “This album has created an imaginary cityscape,” says Ollie Judge, who writes the majority of the lyrics and plays drums. “The tracks illustrate the places, events and architecture that exist within it. Previous projects were playful and concerned with characters, whereas this project is darker and more concerned with place - the emotional depth of the music has deepened.”
For all the innovative recording techniques, evolutionary leaps, lyrical
themes, ideas and narratives that underpin the album, it’s also a joyous and emphatic record. One that marries the uncertainties of the world with a curious sense of exploration as it endlessly twists and turns down unpredictable avenues.

The rich sounds of Maloya and Séga music, originating from the Réunion island (as well as Mauritius and Seychelles for Séga), have recently been brought to the ears of the Northern hemisphere's music lovers. Hailing from the French Alps, where Réunion-natives and young "metropolitan" French youngsters have been sharing parties, food and music for years, Les Pythons De La Fournaise are a flavoursome electric "Séga" band and they have already put out a couple of albums over the last decade.

This time, they are interpreting Séga and Maloya songs under the form of a - nearly – all-acoustic orchestra : "L'Orchestre Du Piton" !

This Long-Player has got a particular sound and character, starting with a powerful four-woman choir (often sung in unison, in accordance with the Maloya tradition). The "lead" is a different singer on almost every song, which brings a variety of tone and vocal texture to the album.

Instead of keys, organ or synth, Les Pythons went for accordion ; they also brought into the studio an array of percussion, ranging from classic bongos and bells to typical instruments of the Indian Ocean : theKayamb, the Pikeur, the Sati and most notably the Roulèr– the king of them all, majestic barrel-shelled bass drum.

On songs like "Anon Manz Demiel" (Let's go and eat honey), two crazy electric guitars with intertwined riffs add a fresh element to the sound – somewhat echoeing with Esquivel's exotica and Congolese rumba at the same time !

And the most unusual fact on this record : there is no bass guitar. Perhaps the band had a statement to make; in our modern music culture where bass plays a central role, they prove that one can move to other sounds – and appreciate the more organic deepness of percussion.

Whether or not you look into the meaning of the songs (mostly from the Réunion repertoire with a couple of Mauritian exceptions and one original "Pythons" composition), you will feel the mood of the Creole lyrics – a deep love story in "Maloya Tantine", an hymn to slowness and indolence in "Tou Dou", a clumsy chat-up scene in "Malbaraise"...

And overall, a joyful, fresh and sparkly energy emanates from this "Orchestre" sound, from this exceptionally talented crew. Oté !

May 28 will see prolific Japanese vibraphonist, multi-percussionist and composer Masayoshi Fujita mark a new sonic direction with his forthcoming album Bird Ambience on Erased Tapes.

Bird Ambience brings several fresh changes for the artist. Until now, Fujita would separate his acoustic solo recordings from the electronic dub under his El Fog alias and experimental improvisations with contemporaries such as Jan Jelinek, Bird Ambience sees him unite all of these different sides to his work for the first time, into one singular vision. He also makes a lateral leap from his signature instrument the vibraphone, on which he created his acclaimed triptych Stories (2012), Apologues (2015) and Book of Life (2018), to the marimba, which takes centre stage on his new album alongside drums, percussion, synths, effectors and tape recorder.

“The way of playing the marimba is similar to the vibraphone, so it was kind of a natural development for me and easier to start with, yet it sounds very different”, explains Masayoshi. “The marimba bars are made with wood and it has a wider range than the vibraphone, which gives me a bigger sound palette with more possibilities. I play the instrument with bows and mallets, and sometimes manipulate it with effects.”

Bird Ambience also marks his liberation from fastidious preparation for past solo releases to new endeavours in improvisation. “I prioritised trying to capture the wonder which happens during those occasional magic improv moments. Sometimes the mic-ing and placement of instruments was pretty rough; things weren’t perfect and everything was done quickly, but it turned out as the final recording. Overall when I
couldn’t decide between two takes, I told myself to go with the first”, Masayoshi recalls.

Arranged with a perfect Kanso-like balance, the unhurried pace of Bird Ambience allows each sound and phrase enough time to be mindfully absorbed and savoured. This subtle but affective work carries ethereal remnants of Midori Takada’s minimalism, the static atmospheres of Mika Vainio, To Rococo Rot’s organics and the bucolic electronics of Minotaur Shock. Fujita vaporises contemporary and classical, ambient and dismantled dub, controlled noise and fragments of jazz into an atmospheric, static mist, which he skilfully coerces into new forms.

After 13 years in Berlin, Masayoshi recently relocated to a new home and studio in the rural Japanese mountain village of Kami-cho, Hyogo, following his life-long dream of creating music in nature. Even though the album was entirely recorded in Germany before he left, it has this palpable sense of reverie found in the natural world. From there we can only imagine the kind of impact his new life in rural West Japan will have on future works.

7” vinyl imprint Alim Music revisits Osunlade’s distinctive versions of Jazzy Jeff’s classic cut ‘Rock Wit U feat. Erro’, with special ’45 edits of both the ‘Yoruba Soul Mix’ and ‘Yoruba Soul Dub’ created specially by Osunlade himself.

Appearing on Jazzy Jeff’s 2002 BBE debut album ‘The Magnificent’, ‘Rock Wit U’ started life as a smooth and soulful R&B cut, featuring sultry vocals from Erro (Eric Roberson). Back in 2001, production hero Osunlade remixed the track, taking this slow jam into dancefloor territory, where it became an underground hit, championed by the likes of Joe Claussell and Masters at Work.

Bounding on from the Door to the Cosmos, the label'sexpansive triple vinyl compilation, OnTheCorner has paired up new artists in this series of cosmically twinned EPs. Twinning EPs on a single piece of wax reduces the impact on the environment and wallet friendly. Each brace of cosmically twinned OnTheCorner artists interstellar balearic for the deepspace bound. Each 12" will be split taking over a whole side of black wax. Party wax loaded with Stardust. Get your fix of tomorrow's sound, tonight! Side A is UFFE's 'Not All the Stars EP' - an underground emissary channeling dark bass weight through a prism of jazz-house - dub-tech hitters. A singular talent leading the charge into new frontiers with OnTheCorner. Not All The Stars EP is aprelude to his first LP on the label and follows on from City's Dead and that featured on Door to the Cosmos in 2020. Petwo Evans' 'Bootstrap EP' on the flip side is made of soundsystem-primed, innovative club tracks. Welsh Futurism, celestial electrics and objects of space-junk percussion. CERN loops, cyber kinetic grooves, machine pulses and chugging house kicks converse in the orbit of 'Gyroscope'. Petwo Evansfeeds the tracks compulsion with heady layers awash with dreamy vocal stabs, synths and hazy harmonics.

It’s a given that timing is everything in music – most obviously in terms of composition and production but often just as much in regard to conception and release – the latter two doubly poignantly so in the case of this massive DOOM vs The Sugarcubes mash-up LP from turntablist and producer Krash Slaughta.

Which is why the tale of this project’s gestation is perhaps what should be told about it before anything else.

Begun last August and finished on 25 October, the album started life as an idea born from a casual listen to final Sugarcubes album Stick Around For Joy that Krash had bought a copy of years before in a charity shop. Contemplating the cover art while listening to the LP and the track Hit in particular, it came to him that here might be the musical basis for a concept LP in the grand tradition of the hip-hop mash-up album. Thus the project was born, becoming something of an obsession as lockdown restrictions recommenced through a sanity-testing autumn. As it developed, the provisional title of Stick Around For DOOM morphed into Sugar Coated DOOM and Brighton artists Leigh Pearce and Rob Crespo were roped in to create the artwork. So pleased was Krash with the results that he decided to self-finance the pressing of the LP to vinyl which in turn would allow him to send a copy to DOOM in the most fitting format. On that basis, along with his dad’s advice that if you want something done properly; do it yourself’, he initiated the process for a limited press run as soon as the project wrapped and telephoned his dad (who’d been shielding and who he hadn’t seen for months) to say he’d done precisely that. In a tragic twist, this turned out to be their last ever conversation, for Krash’s dad died suddenly the next day. Two months later of course, while waiting for the Covid-slowed vinyl pressing process to complete, came a further tragic twist as the world received the delayed news that DOOM himself had also passed away back in October – in the event, only five days after Krash’s father. So it’s no understatement to say that Sugar Coated DOOM carries significant emotional resonance for its maker, forever linked as it will be to the deaths of two of his personal heroes.

Which brings us to the content. The album contains seven vocal tracks, with an alternate version of one and instrumental versions of five of the seven across two sides of an album with the music, track names, LP title and cover art mashing up musical, lyrical/ textual and visual elements of The Sugar Cubes’ Stick Around For Joy with DOOM acapellas, track names and references. Listeners won’t need long to appreciate that Krash Slaughta was right to be proud of his creation, almost certainly correct in thinking DOOM would dig it and no doubt The Sugarcubes too. Also, who would have thought The Sugarcubes had so much potential for beat-mining? But then seeing potential in the unexpected was always a vital skill from the golden era of sampling in hip-hop and those who follow in the tradition. The first track proper, for example, swipes Madlib’s lo-fi beat from underneath the vocals for Figaro and replaces it with the looped and beefed-up opening bars of the Cubes’ I’m Hungry. The result is a natural fit. But then the blending of elements in every track on this release provides evidence of the effort and love put into its creation, reinvigorating DOOM’s classic vocals while re-purposing The Sugarcubes in a manner that will delight. Indeed, if you’d didn’t know the work of Bjork’s former band, you’d be unlikely to pin an early 90s alt-rock LP as the sample source. I imagine listeners will have a hard time picking a favourite too. Perhaps Hit It (based on the track which triggered the project idea in the first) which splices the Bond-theme-ish Hit with My Favourite Ladies might prove the most popular, or the monkey’s favourite, Nurse Chong, which blends Happy Nurse with Raedawn (named for Tommy Chong’s daughter) from Viktor Vaughn LP Vaudeville Villain. Whichever one punters pick though, anyone who hears anything off this will know it’s one to rank alongside your other favourite hip-hop mash-up albums. And who knows – perhaps even Mr Daniel Dumile himself might have considered it a not unfitting epitaph.

After decades on the road and the never-ending hustle of life as an artist, Lou Barlow has tapped into a new confidence in the chaos. In 2021, the concept of balance feels particularly intimidating. Now more than ever, it's clear life isn't just leveling out a pair of responsibilities. Instead, we're chasing after a flock of different ideals with a butterfly net. On Barlow's new solo album, Reason to Live, he has come to an understanding of that swirl rather than trying to contain it. As a long-time indie legend, Barlow has found a life akin to a middle-class musician. In recent years, he's moved from Los Angeles back to Massachusetts, where he lives with his wife and three kids. And yet rather than settle into a comfortable malaise or yearn for the open road, Barlow's strengthened urgency finds a way to merge the two instincts. Reason to Live is shambolic and grand yet intimate and doting, warmly acoustic and crackling with grit. "I had been struggling for a way to connect both my home life and my recorded life, but this record is the first time I've integrated that," Barlow says. By folding the many facets of his life into one package, Reason to Live radiates with a renewed balance and calm. That comfort in complexity shines through even in the recording process, with select songs having origins in decades past and others written in the early stages of 2020. The multitude of whirring messages of Reason to Live are united by Barlow's roiling multilayered arrangements and the understanding that change is inevitable - and that it can bring you a new reason to live in the darkest times. "This album is me really opening up, and the album follows that through its many different themes," he says. "Some of my other work could be almost claustrophobic in its insistence on being all tied together but there's space for people to live inside these songs." After albums with Sebadoh, Dinosaur Jr., Folk Implosion, and under his own name, listeners may have felt they knew the construction of a Barlow song, even that they knew Barlow himself. "People have this vision of me as this heartbroken, depressed guy, but this record feels so true to who I am, to this rich life I now have full of people I love," he says. "The songs culminated over the last five years to show that music has returned to its central comforting role in my life. Now I'm home."

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Moving into 2021 Pure Space is excited to deliver another year of Australian electronic music. Lately we’ve found therapy through regular body movement to help us see that better days are ahead. We hope you feel this too with this new release…

For our first release of the year, Melbourne’s Third Space captures his most club-focussed exploration to date. It offers a broad path which melts genres, instead showing us an alternate domain.

Having started his own label ‘Nice Setting’ in 2020 and self-releasing an album and an EP, Third Space has established his sound of complex undulating rhythms. For his release on Pure Space, ‘Pattern of Spring’ continues this exploration of dramatic structures with continually shifting timbres - morphing them as they progress through energies, rumbles, and struck surfaces.

The two A-side tracks are powerful displays of organic instrumentation with fluttering pads and subtle resonations. An upbeat tempo and abright atmosphere underpins the opening side, anchored by dnb leaning programming and off-kilter polymetric rhythms.

‘170 Shitshow’ showcases complex percussion underwritten by a formidable resonating karplus-strong section throughout the track. Whilst ‘Pulsing Delay Mod’ builds upon this notion of polymetric rhythms continually at play with one another, it offers a crisp and menacing drum pattern pulsating amongst metallic timbres.

Flipping to the B-sides; ‘Cyclical Pan Workout’ reflects an unruly and evolving atmosphere, anchored by a wonderfully cerebral drum pattern and delicate pad toward the close.

The final track ‘Nonlinear (For Pillows)’ offers re-contextualised melodies and percussion, providing a sense of closure and sonic bookending by linking tones and timbres referenced throughout the EP into a pillow like state.

Celebrating a determined and ambitious 15 year tenure as Yorkshire’s chief bastion of deep house music, Hudd Traxx enlist a who’s who from their gilded halls to contribute tunes for a special anniversary release. Split across two vinyl parts and an expansive digital release, it’s a pretty prestigious occasion featuring dance music legends Nightmares On Wax & Jovonn, long term label stalwarts Iron Curtis & JT Donaldson, a guest appearance from Mark Hawkins (FKA Marquis Hawkes) and a track from label head Eddie Leader. Adding to the already weighty credentials are Agnès (releasing his first material since 2013), Berlin-via-Italy producer Black Loops.

On Part Two longstanding Hudd Traxx veteran JT Donaldson drops “What I Got” - twisting and contorting throughout its duration, a serpentine roller rich with block party flavour and the very essence of deep house coursing through its veins.

Dixon Avenue Basement Jams’ Mark Hawkins does some moonlighting under his newly deed-polled alias with the epically beautifully “Chasing Paper”. No royalty credits heading north of the border here, just swathes of satisfied revellers and euphoric dancefloors guaranteed upon delivery.

Meanwhile, another Hudd Traxx regular, Iron Curtis, pays tribute to one of the scene’s greatest on “Kerri On (Chandelier Dub)”. A red-lit nocturnal jam that Mr. Chandler himself has rubber stamped, its ever-growing bassline, soaring strings and delicately placed keys taking us towards a seriously blissful conclusion.

Concluding part 2 is a track by Agnès - founder of Sthlmaudio Recordings. The stylish Swiss keeps true to his remit – deep, dubby, transcendent grooves that sway lushly with the midnight air. “Embryonic Connections” taking us right back to the roots of that tribal beat and a fitting end to this mammoth release and a perfect lead up to his forthcoming Hudd EP.

4 tracks which perfectly instil why Hudd started this label of love 15 years ago; to showcase fierce, uncompromising dancefloor workouts in as sincere and stylish manner as possible. The artists and tracks chosen show the adventurous routes and development the label keep as their main point of focus – to unearth the tantalizing new and exciting sounds of house music’s continuous evolution.

This release is dedicated to Richi Larkin & Yuriano x

Freshly started label blickwinkel (Dauw sister label) announces the release "Balts" by Schreel Van De Velde. It’s the first outing of the duo Lucas Schreel and Casper Van De Velde under this new moniker and can be seen as the follow-up album of Schreel's acclaimed debut album which was released last year.

As the album titles suggest, love in all its glory formed a major inspiration in the making of this album. The duo, however, didn’t restrain themselves to a sole conceptualization of this theme but instead explored it more widely and free. The result is a consistent collection of compositions reflecting on human encounters, relationships, sexuality and more. It’s love and broken love. It’s attraction and repulsion.

With Balts, the duo created a set of animal miniatures evoking feelings of melancholy while also joy and happiness have their place. Given the instrumental nature of the songs, the music remains kind of mythical and never really shows its true meaning. As such, these little miniatures form the duo’s own unique wildlife and is open for the listeners interpretation and own narrative. Dolfijn is the first single from the album and will be released on all digital platforms alongside a video by Jelle Martens.

Lucas Schreel is a classically trained guitarist based in Brussels. His first solo album We're Never Afraid of Getting Up Every Morning was released through Sentimental Records in 2020 and was well-received both in written-press (Humo, Enola & Indiestyle) and radio (Duyster, Radio 1 & Klara). Besides his solo work, Schreel is also a member of the lo-fi indierockband Kloothommel.
Acclaimed Brussels percussionist Casper Van De Velde made quite a name for himself through his bands like SCHNTZL, Bombataz, Donder among others. His work received prices at International Jazz Contest d’Avignon and Storm! Contest (Jazzlab). Casper is currently also a member of the recently formed An Pierlé Quartet.

Blickwinkel is a freshly born label based in Ghent and Brussels. It’s founded by Pieter Dudal (Dauw) and visual artist Jelle Martens (Nicolas Jaar, Vinyl on Demand, W.E.R.F.). After working in the music scene separately for almost a decade, they found common ground in both their admiration for sound, image and especially its dialogue. Unfettered by place or genre.

Kscope Re-Issue Of The Classic ‘Radiation’ Featuring 2013 Mixes, 2 x LP 140Gram Vinyl in a Gatefold sleeve. The CD edition will include both the original 1998 version and the 2013 mixes, whilst the LP edition will host the 2013 mixes with an etched D-side
Marillion formed in 1979 and have since sold over 15 million albums worldwide. Rightly regarded as legends of progressive rock, the band have continued to evolve and have been keen to embrace the possibilities of the internet, using innovative ways to interact with listeners resulting in an incredibly loyal legion of fans around the world.
‘Radiation’ was the band’s tenth studio album and debuted in the top 40 in the UK when it was originally released in 1998. The album saw the band abandon the acoustic approach of ‘This Strange Engine’ and instead revisit a heavier sound previously found on ‘Afraid Of Sunlight’. This change in sound as well as the experimentation with different instrument tones and vocal effects and samples led to a more pop sound than that previously heard from the group.
The album was subsequently remixed and remastered by Michael Hunter in 2013. Kscope are now pleased to present a reissue of this highly regarded album on LP.

Music in Exile announce their forthcoming remix EP, featuring reworkings of Music Yared by Melbourne cult hero, Mikey Young (Total Control, Eddy Current Suppression Ring, The Green Child). SINDAYO - MIKEY YOUNG REMIXES features remixes of an original track from Music Yared’s self titled debut EP, released last year through Music in Exile. In addition to today’s announcement, we’re delighted to also share the first single, Sindayo (Mikey Young’s Masinko Remix - Radio Edit), out March 26 via Music in Exile.

Mikey Young’s legacy is well known throughout the Australian music scene, most notably as part of garage punk band Eddy Current Suppression Ring, and synth-driven outfit, Total Control. However, the talents of Young extend well beyond the performance setting to the world of engineering and mastering with his name appearing in the liner notes of an incredible number of releases, becoming something of a trademark of quality. In this release, Young showcases his skill and nuance, creating a remix where tradition and sonic exploration co-exist.

Anbessa Gebrehiwot and Haftu Reda are masterful players of krar and masinko, traditional string instruments from Eritrea and Ethiopia. Now based in Melbourne, Australia, the pair collaborate with multi-instrumentalist Dale Gorfinkel to create an innovative ensemble sound that celebrates their East African culture. The band's seemingly endless repertoire ranges from modern takes on folk songs to new, original compositions with Anbessa’s strong vocal presence a perfect match to Haftu’s sweet lyrical modesty.

Music Yared’s compositions are inspired by traditional Etheopian and Eritrean folk songs and they sing about love, distance, separation and culture. Their songs also feature virtuosic mastery of traditional instruments - the krar, (a 5 string lyre style instrument), and the masinko (a single string violin-like instrument that is played using a bow.) Although inspired by tradition, Music Yared’s compositions embrace the notion that music is always developing and changing with the times. Taking influence from traditional folk songs, Music Yared finds newness and originality through their personal approach to their lyrics, their treatment of rhythm, and the creation of new beats. This change and openness to new sounds is also apparent in their instrumentation, as they pair their traditional instruments with drums, as well as samples of bass lines and percussion.

Given their openness to new musical approaches and experimentation, it only seems fitting for the songs of Music Yared to be remixed, allowing further exploration of their inherent musical attitudes towards change and development. The first single from the EP, Sindayo (Mikey Young’s Masinko Remix - Radio Edit) traverses new sonic territory, pairing the traditional character of Music Yared with contrasting ideas from different sonic landscapes. Beginning with a musical acknowledgement to the original song, Young’s remix then changes direction into a new sonic world; synth pads and melodies swell and intertwine, samples interject, whilst grooving electronic beats underpin a new approach to texture and song structure.

Recorded by Dale Gorfinkel in Thornbury. Mixed and mastered by John Lee at Phaedra Studios.
Remixed & additional production by Mikey Young in Rye.

Excelsior! It’s the hail of yore that one should go ever onward and upward. And so, fittingly Onwards and Downwards is the occultist Swedish band Alastor’s clever call to arms... and also a reflection of our collective dark state of mind these days.
“If our last album Slave to the Grave were about death, this record is more about madness,” says guitarist Hampus Sandell. “You can look at the whole record as one person’s gradual slip into insanity. An ongoing nightmare without end. It also sums up the state of the world around us as this year has clearly shown.”
Alastor is heavy doom rock for the wicked and depraved. Drenched in heavy, distorted darkness and steeped in occult horror that will make your skin crawl and ears cry sweet tears of blood, the band is revitalized in 2021 with meticulously crafted songs and new drummer Jim Nordström bringing a hard-hitting and precise energy.
“It’s a more focused record but at the same time it’s more personal and naked. More raw emotion and pain,” Hampus says. The band recorded the album with the help of Joona Hassinen of Studio Underjord, who has helped with mixing since their ”Blood on Satan’s Claw” EP in 2017. Christoffer Karlsson of The Dahmers also assisted with overdubs and encouraged the band to demo the material early on, aiding in the album’s more deliberate and tighter feel.
From the first note of opener “The Killer In My Skull” the guitars are far thicker and out front than ever, and Nordström pummels the snare and kick like a young Dave Grohl. Bassist/vocalist Robin Arnryd’s chorus-drenched voice soars above it all like a one-man choir, at times harmonizing beautifully with shimmering Hammond organ notes. Nary a moment is wasted on the droning navel-gazing of lesser bands. Particularly, the driving anthem “Death Cult” which sounds like it would fit comfortably on QOTSA’s Songs For The Deaf, though there’s considerably more heft here. The title track pays its due to the Devil’s tritone in a marvelously woven framework of intertwining melodies befitting the album’s theme of descent into madness.
The quartet released its epic 3-song debut album Black Magic in early 2017 via Twin Earth Records, followed by the 2-track “Blood On Satan’s Claw” EP on Halloween the same year. Joining forces with RidingEasy Records in 2018, Alastor summoned the 7-track hateful gospel Slave To The Grave, which was packed with dynamic twists and turns, and funereal girth. It was met with considerable praise, setting the stage for the band’s greatest step onward (and upward... or downward, depending on your preferences.)

Excelsior! It’s the hail of yore that one should go ever onward and upward. And so, fittingly Onwards and Downwards is the occultist Swedish band Alastor’s clever call to arms... and also a reflection of our collective dark state of mind these days.
“If our last album Slave to the Grave were about death, this record is more about madness,” says guitarist Hampus Sandell. “You can look at the whole record as one person’s gradual slip into insanity. An ongoing nightmare without end. It also sums up the state of the world around us as this year has clearly shown.”
Alastor is heavy doom rock for the wicked and depraved. Drenched in heavy, distorted darkness and steeped in occult horror that will make your skin crawl and ears cry sweet tears of blood, the band is revitalized in 2021 with meticulously crafted songs and new drummer Jim Nordström bringing a hard-hitting and precise energy.
“It’s a more focused record but at the same time it’s more personal and naked. More raw emotion and pain,” Hampus says. The band recorded the album with the help of Joona Hassinen of Studio Underjord, who has helped with mixing since their ”Blood on Satan’s Claw” EP in 2017. Christoffer Karlsson of The Dahmers also assisted with overdubs and encouraged the band to demo the material early on, aiding in the album’s more deliberate and tighter feel.
From the first note of opener “The Killer In My Skull” the guitars are far thicker and out front than ever, and Nordström pummels the snare and kick like a young Dave Grohl. Bassist/vocalist Robin Arnryd’s chorus-drenched voice soars above it all like a one-man choir, at times harmonizing beautifully with shimmering Hammond organ notes. Nary a moment is wasted on the droning navel-gazing of lesser bands. Particularly, the driving anthem “Death Cult” which sounds like it would fit comfortably on QOTSA’s Songs For The Deaf, though there’s considerably more heft here. The title track pays its due to the Devil’s tritone in a marvelously woven framework of intertwining melodies befitting the album’s theme of descent into madness.
The quartet released its epic 3-song debut album Black Magic in early 2017 via Twin Earth Records, followed by the 2-track “Blood On Satan’s Claw” EP on Halloween the same year. Joining forces with RidingEasy Records in 2018, Alastor summoned the 7-track hateful gospel Slave To The Grave, which was packed with dynamic twists and turns, and funereal girth. It was met with considerable praise, setting the stage for the band’s greatest step onward (and upward... or downward, depending on your preferences.)

Canadian born and Naarm (Melbourne) based Jennifer Loveless returns one year on from her debut releaseHard/Soft(Pure Space Records) withWater, a 12" EP presented by Butter Sessions. Bestowing us with five tracks of dystopian dance-floor thump,Wateris a bustling showcase of Jenn's breadth as an artist. Reflecting on the contrast ofWaterwith her first EP, Loveless comments "I wanted a hard contrast to theHard/Softrelease. I always had a plan to release an energetic frivolous fun type EP afterHard/Soft. I had a feeling people might see me as an ambient producer (although I wouldn't really categoriseHard/Softas that), and I guess this EP,Water, is my response".

At its core,Wateris a hyper-charged cetacean maelstrom of electronic music, sampling weddell seals, humpback whales, pacific walruses and water itself.Waterkicks off with the rumbling patter ofOut/Underbefore moving into the unabatingSyzygy(Scissor Me).Jenn stamps a joyful yet skittish imprint ontoECC,while fly on the wallBackroll Buddysits on a sound bed of audio Jenn recorded at parties, capturing friends chattering and an edit of a Whitney Houston earworm she heard a DJ playing, paying ode to a night out.B L U YOUis a charming endnote; a fusion of fluorescent pop and a catchy bassline. The verdict here is thatWaterallows Jennifer Loveless to prove herself truly as a jack of all trades.Watertakes shape as an engrossing palette of bold dance music.

Have you ever felt like you’re being watched? Have you felt unseen eyes staring at you, monitoring your every move? Composer and guitarist Daniel Davies reflects on this familiar paranoia on his new EP, Spies. Across its five stirringly atmospher- ic tracks, the frequent John Carpenter collaborator evokes the tingle you get on the back of your neck when you sense you’re under surveillance - a feeling some psychologists have dubbed the “psychic staring effect.”

The songs for Spies were composed in the fall and winter of 2020, in the depths of pandemic lockdown. Working in isolation in his L.A. studio, Davies composed the five tracks entirely alone. With no collaborators, his gaze turned inward, and the songs feel intimate and intense. Yet at the same time, they would become the most sonically expansive material he’s ever put on a solo record. His guitar and synthesizer are bolstered by double bass, cello, viola, and violin, adding a new depth to the music.

As he did for his 2020 full-length Signals, Davies teamed up with acclaimed visual artist Jesse Draxler for the artwork. The stark, black-and-white piece that Draxler contributed for the cover of Spies perfectly captures the mood of the record. Eyes are cut out, disassociated from faces, their gazes made inscrutable. Yet they seem to fix on the listener. Have you ever felt like you’re being watched? Maybe you are.

‘Bad Time’ is the new EP from Peeping Drexels. The London based 5-piece, who have been together since they were sixteen, have to date released a series of singles on the Permanent Creeps and Fierce Panda labels. This is their first release on BY Records. They've previously received support from the likes of Steve Lamacq, DIY, So Young among others. They've also performed live with artists such as Shame, Goat Girl and Public Practice.

First single, High Heels, sees Peeping Drexels eulogise about white pills and night thrills - anxious overtones abound until the crescendo of guttural angst takes over. "High Heels is a dimly lit journey through the narrow corridors and backrooms of a twisted underground club, all whilst under the influence of an unknown substance. The song is the first taste of Peeping Drexels rebirth; experimental new sounds, broader instrumentation, yet pop music to the bone. A never ending loop of bad-trip fuelled excess, and there is no way to escape."

Prior to lockdown, Peeping Drexels played a Sold Out Parallel Lines headline show at London’s Bermondsey Social Club and ended it with a sold out main support slot for Fat White Family at EartH (Evolutionary Arts Hackney).

The project takes influences from a broad musical spectrum, from the dance vibes of Gary Numan and Mr. Fingers to the intensity of Tyler The Creators' synth-heavy Cherry Bomb and the maximalist work of Kanye West.

Yo No Se return after a 5-year hiatus since their last album, Soma. Their
new album Terraform continues on from the dystopian world created in
Soma but this time taking the narrative to the stars. Terraform explores
the ideas of making a fresh start on another planet but the same
problems creep in…. Greed, corruption and hate. Exploring more of a
grunge feel along with some hard psych the band recorded with Dom
Mitchison (as well as Alex doing guitars and vocals at home), mixed with
Ali Chant and mastered again with grunge godfather, Jack Endino.
The band have toured across Europe in support of Soma in the last 5
years and gained a reputation for their loud and energetic shows. The
album has 3 drummers under its belt and countless breakdowns on the
road. With the pandemic kicking in just as the band started touring, they
had plenty of time to finally record (and find another drummer).
Terraform is a record 5 years in the making due to sheer bad luck.
Hopefully, their luck will change as the band are already working on their
follow up record.
The first single Black Door approaches the subject of corruption
amongst 'leaders'. The idea comes from Boris Johnson getting Brexit
'done' to forward his own career without thinking about the impact it will
have on peoples lives. We’ve had enough and we're ready to tear down
the establishment. The idea being that these problems we now face will
follow us wherever we go unless we stamp them out, here, on earth.
The artwork for the cover is by renowned sci-fi artist Bruce Pennington.

The Deviants were an English rock group originally active in the late
1960s, and later as a project of the singer-songwriter and bandleader Mick Farren. The self-tiled third album was the beginning of the definite split between the band members. This record shows how they were still rocking in a wonderful mix between psychedelic, garage, blues, and rock. The overall vibe is amazing and it is a fascinating glimpse into the underground music of the late ‘60s. The album has aged quite well and is still a master of art.

The Deviants is available on black vinyl. The package includes a replica of the very rare & sought after booklet.

repress on BLUE vinyl

A reputed classical violinist and music teacher on the one hand, a curious jazz cat on the other. A business man and control freak, but an artist and free spirit as well.

Still, rather little is known about René Costy. Small wonder: the Belgian musician and composer was in many, if not all, respects a singular man. The lure of international show business was wasted on him and consequently, his name has remained a well-kept secret.

But cream always rises to the top. Some twenty years after his passing, his work - finally - goes global.
Moreover, this being a selection out of more than 400 tracks from a virtuoso, versatile and insatiable artist, it's hard to underestimate the importance of this compilation, which focuses on Costy's library music production from the 70's.

If you collect vintage 70's soul-jazz vinyl, there is a good chance that you already own a record that features the amazing vocal talents of Dee Dee Bridgewater. Whether it be Roy Ayers, Norman Connors, Billy Parker or Carlos Garnett - Dee Dee is the glue that fuses these artists together. Although best known for her jazz work, Dee Dee has had a wonderfully rich and varied career encompassing soul, musicals, gospel, and underground disco from the 70's to the present day. She is still active as a vocalist, composer, and producer and remains one of our favourite vocalists at Mr Bongo HQ. We take things back to the early years of Dee Dee's career with her debut album 'Afro Blue'. Recorded in Tokyo in 1974, the album was released exclusively in Japan via two different Japanese labels (Trio Records in 1974 and All Art in 1985 respectively). Each release had unique cover art and we have opted to present the album in its original 1974 form.

'Afro Blue' features an exquisite collaboration of American and Japanese musicians, such as Cecil & Ron Bridgewater, Motohiko Hino and producer Takao Ishizuka. The result is a sublime deep soul-jazz masterpiece with timeless versions of 'People Make The World Go Round', 'Love From The Sun', and 'Afro Blue'. It is arguably one of the finest albums in its genre. This record has long been a sought-after item for DJs and collectors alike, so we are delighted to finally make this wonderful music from an understated great available to all.

Reissue on vinyl of the 2006 collection of PJ Harvey sessions with the late BBC Radio 1 DJ John Peel, spanning recordings from the start of her career in 1991 up to 2004. Reissue is faithful to the original recording and package, with cutting by Jason Mitchell at Loud Mastering under the guidance of longtime PJ Harvey producer John Parish.

Five years after the release of ‘Pressure Loss’ the modern master of electronic minimalism Nicola Ratti returns to Where To Now? in collaboration with Japanese MC ‘MA’, for a suite of submerged, outsider Trip-Hop.

‘Shinkai’ meets at the crossroads of the gloomy sonic snapshot world of Tricky, the South London DIY avant pop bloom of Curl/Mica Levi, the outer fringes of Hip-Hop heralded by the Anticon crew, and the deep textured minimalism of Machinfabriek.

‘Shinkai’ heralds the first time Nicola Ratti has worked with a vocalist, and MA’s unique brand of ritualistic vocal methods and experimental approaches to intonation and inflexion only enhances Ratti’s otherworldly soundscapes. The depth of meaning behind MA’s lyrics further expands this sprawling sound world, revealing a twisted beauty, a deep insight into the melancholic world MA reflects upon within his abstract wordplay – on ‘Suiso’ MA laments above Ratti’s mourning electronics….

“A ship with the wind in the sails erased a path to the skies.

Gone forever,
In sandy finality,
A scene never to be repeated,
Never to be understood.

Never to hatch,
Dreams of never continuing beyond the crossroads
A painting dissipates as the allure runs dry
Without consulting the dusk, dawn never arrives.

Agonising over the silence brought on by a stumble,
Attacked from all angles until I find my ground once more.
What comes next does not matter - just as long as it comes.
A not-so-distant-future, born from certain uncertainty.

Let me face it with wavering reservations,
Bury me in it
My sins left unanswered
Cover the snow on which it falls.

An unthawing aquarium.
An unanswering aquarium.

Hiding, evolving, recollecting, transferring,
A precarious contradiction befalls.
Timeframes cut, edited and replaced with resentment
The ritual aesthetics of a secret ceremony.

The thoughts of once again,
Fills me with dread and rage.
Painted in blood.

Alas, it was fun...”

On the surface this is an unlikely (yet inspired) collaboration – MA has been a part of the Tokyo Hip-Hop underground for many years, over which time he has stylistically leapt into noisier, more experimental territories. We have Rabih Beaini to thank for shining a light on MA’s talents, with the 2019 LP ‘AMA’ being released on Morphine records, and Beaini opening new doors for experimentation and collaboration.

‘Shinkai’ was composed and recorded between January and April 2020. The pair had met a couple of times in Japan first and then in Europe, undertaking a live collaborative experiment combining sounds and words that had not been designed to be performed together, ‘Shinkai’ reflects the fluidity of this encounter and is in essence a consequence of it.

Ratti assigns the following poetic grounding to the intentions and thematic form of the album – “Shinkai means deep sea, a place most of us will never see except on the surface. The sea depths do not belong to us, they are not places for us, we do not know them and they disturb us, they are a material that we can look at without seeing. I have always thought that height, verticality in general, was not a familiar dimension except in relation to our physicality. The horizon reassures us, the depth disturbs us. The Italian language is written and read horizontally, from left to right, the Japanese language can be written vertically and read from right to left. Does the horizon still reassure us?”

Debut solo album by the Red River Dialect songwriter. Recorded at the Hotel2Tango, Montreal, by Howard Bilerman. Featuring Thor Harris (Swans, Thor & Friends, Shearwater) on drums and Thierry Amar (GYBE!, ASMZ) on bass, with guest appearances from Tom Relleen (RIP) (Tomaga, Melos Kalpa), Catrin Vincent (Another Sky) and Coral Rose (The Silver Field, Red River Dialect).
David has written five critically acclaimed collections of songs under the Red River Dialect name. The last two albums (released by Paradise of Bachelors) achieved a glowing Pitchfork review and a Folk Album of the Month award from the Guardian. Selected press below.
“Folk Album of the Month. Alert, anti-colonialist folk. Songwriter David Morris brings alternate seduction and disquiet on this worldly album steeped in the British landscape... a wide-eyed, curious creature, willingly alert to the world.” – 4/5 The Guardian
“Animated with a new intensity, the Cornwall band’s fifth album may be its most ingenious and immersive mix of folk and rock yet. It’s also Morris’ most compelling set of songs. He invests small sensations with outsize power, finding joy in sensory pleasures as well as in the mystical inquests that music allows. Even as the record is steeped in the long history of British folk music, that balance of the tactile and the spiritual anchors these songs in the present moment.” – Pitchfork
“The most underrated folk-rock band in Britain. The idea of them as a Cornish-born, Buddhist-inclined Waterboys is more potent than ever. Their fifth album of elementally-battered, rueful and rousing folk-rock ... is as stirringly anthemic as they've managed thus far.” – MOJO
“A beguilingly atmospheric record… imagine Steve Gunn transplanted to Kernow.” – Clash
“Gorgeous and moving, anchored by the heft of the physical but reaching for more. The epic spareness, the way it manages to be both still and an enveloping swirl, reminds me most of Talk Talk. There’s a prayerful intensity to the quiet bits, a listening, wondering awe, that makes the rock payoffs more powerful. The album works as a restless, searching, gorgeous whole. Morris and his band have never been better.” – Dusted
“It’s not often that a band comes along and over the course of nine songs both plays to the tradition and stands it on its ear. RRD has taken the challenge of playing with reckless abandon to heart, generating an album that stands on the shoulder of giants showing no fear.” Folk Radio

Monastic Love Songs continues the tradition that David has established over the course of five albums with Red River Dialect: using a song cycle to articulate a relationship with inner and outer landscapes, inspired by the Taoist approach of observing the movement of the heavens in order to understand the cosmos within, and vice versa. The joyful closing track Inner Smile was initially written as a poem of thanks to his Tai Chi teacher Hollis and takes its name from a Taoist practice.
The songs were written during the final weeks of a nine-month retreat at Gampo Abbey, a Buddhist monastery in Nova Scotia where David took ordination as Buddhist monk. The album title is sincere, with a little tongue-in-cheek. The songs mostly explore human relationships within the community, with outliers: Gone Beyond shimmers with cosmic devotion, in Rhododendron a reverie grows from the shadow of a flower. Steadfast concerns the love to be found beyond the urge to like and be liked, when you can’t avoid that difficult person. Leonard Cohen, on his six years living in a monastery:
“You know, there’s a Zen saying: ‘Like pebbles in a bag, the monks polish one another.’
David considers this album to be a follow up to 2015’s Tender Gold and Gentle Blue. The cover of that lp featured an image of him on top of Skellig Michael, in the years before the island was made famous as the home of the Jedi. He considers the visit to that abandoned Celtic monastic site to be one of the influences that stirred up his motivation. Skeleton Key speaks of what was given up to go, and what he was giving up to leave, referencing the Tibetan concept of the ‘bardo of becoming’.
The album came about through a series of fortunate encounters. David’s friend Tom Relleen visited him at the Abbey in May 2019, mentioning a postponed plan to visit the Hotel2Tango. A spark was sown: this studio had long figured in David’s imagination. Many of the releases on Constellation Records, which he had become a die-hard fan of in his teens, were recorded there. Tom contributed some Buchla synthesizer to the opener New Safe, which concerns healing in emptiness and light.
In May David was given permission by the senior monastics to acquire a guitar, which was swiftly baptised as “Malibu Barbie”. Having let the identity of being a songwriter loosen up, not playing an instrument in six months, he was unsure what would happen. In the single hour he was permitted to practice each day, songs began to cascade. The first, Purple Gold, concerns a reacquaintance with first love. David wrote to the Hotel2Tango asking if they had any days available in mid-July?
Engineer and studio co-owner Howard Bilerman replied that they did, and a date was set. Did Howard know any local drummers or bass players who might do a session? He did, too many to choose from, what kind of style? David decided to ask for his ideal: did Thierry from Godspeed ever do sessions? Howard sent him the demos. Thierry was up for it. On the day he went deep into the cover of traditional song Rosemary Lane, his double bass singing on this and on Circus Wagon.
David asked if there were any local drummers he would recommend? Thierry said “many, what style?” David tried his luck again, “two of my favourite drummers are Thor Harris and Jim White.” Thierry said let’s invite them. Thor, having met David a decade earlier, flew from Austin to Montreal for that July day in the studio. Nine months of watching thoughts come and go in meditation helped David recognise this as an opportunity to practice enjoying the day without expectations.
He is, however, grateful that this album came out the way it did, channelling some of what it was like to live those nine months in a monastery overlooking the Gulf of St Lawrence, frozen and flowing.

Mixed by Jimmy Robertson at SNAFU, London, mastered by DenisBlackham.

In 1970 Barney Wilen assembled a team of filmmakers, technicians and musicians to travel to Africa for the purpose of recordi ng the music of the native pygmy tribes. Upon returning to Paris two years later, he created Moshi, a dark, eccentric effort fusing avantjazz sensibilities with African rhythms, ambient sound effects and melodies rootedin American blues traditions. Cut withFrench and African players including guitarist Pierre Chaze, pianist Michel Graillier and percussionist Didier Leon , this is music with few precedents or followers, spanning from extraterrestrial dissonance to earthbound, streetlegal funk. Wilen pays little heed to conventional structure, assembling tracks like "Afrika Freak Out" and "Zombizar" from spare parts of inde terminate origins. (Jason Ankeny, AMG)

Revelatory reissue of Barney Wilen’s ambitious jazz-fusion journey, Moshi (1972), presenting the legendary French jazzman and Miles Davis-sideman’s wildly ambitious effort fusing recordings of Pygmy tribes with African rhythms and stellar avantjazz leanings, sounding little like anything before or since its release. (boomkat)

Super rare and long out of print, the ground-breaking 1972 album from saxophonist Barney Wilen receives a reissue treatment of the highest order. Complete with a 20-page booklet and a never before seen DVD chronicling Wilen’s trip to Africa, this one is sure to be a delight for fans old and new. The deepest spiritual jazz grooves meet field recordings from the Upper Volta and b eyond, whilst psych rock influences collide with hypnotic and shamanistic percussion work. Truly one of the most out -there jazz records we’ve stocked for a long time! (bleep)

Originally issued by the seminal imprint Saravah in 1972, and among the most uncategorizable and sought after artefacts of the French avant-garde, Barney Wilen’s Moshi is nothing short of a masterpiece - long holding a coveted spot in the hearts of adventurous listeners and record collectors alike. A wild unkept cultural collage. A series of sonic experiments. A spiritual, psychedelic pilgrimage into the unknown - darting from one continent to the next, each of its tangents building toward a more optimist world view through ordered sound. Its scope remains as difficult to understand today as it was when it was released. Now brought back into the light by Souffle Continu, this is a moment to be celebrated far and wide. (Soundohm)

Deluxe reissue with additional artwork & remastered audio. 20-page booklet including rare pictures, sheet music & original liner notes. Bonus DVD with exclusive artwork of Caroline de Bendern’s movie « à l’intention de Mlle Issoufou à Bilma » documenting this incredible african journey.

In 1970 Barney Wilen assembled a team of filmmakers, technicians and musicians to travel to Africa for the purpose of recordi ng the music of the native pygmy tribes. Upon returning to Paris two years later, he created Moshi, a dark, eccentric effort fusing avantjazz sensibilities with African rhythms, ambient sound effects and melodies rootedin American blues traditions. Cut withFrench and African players including guitarist Pierre Chaze, pianist Michel Graillier and percussionist Didier Leon , this is music with few precedents or followers, spanning from extraterrestrial dissonance to earthbound, streetlegal funk. Wilen pays little heed to conventional structure, assembling tracks like "Afrika Freak Out" and "Zombizar" from spare parts of inde terminate origins. (Jason Ankeny, AMG)

Revelatory reissue of Barney Wilen’s ambitious jazz-fusion journey, Moshi (1972), presenting the legendary French jazzman and Miles Davis-sideman’s wildly ambitious effort fusing recordings of Pygmy tribes with African rhythms and stellar avantjazz leanings, sounding little like anything before or since its release. (boomkat)

Super rare and long out of print, the ground-breaking 1972 album from saxophonist Barney Wilen receives a reissue treatment of the highest order. Complete with a 20-page booklet and a never before seen DVD chronicling Wilen’s trip to Africa, this one is sure to be a delight for fans old and new. The deepest spiritual jazz grooves meet field recordings from the Upper Volta and b eyond, whilst psych rock influences collide with hypnotic and shamanistic percussion work. Truly one of the most out -there jazz records we’ve stocked for a long time! (bleep)

Originally issued by the seminal imprint Saravah in 1972, and among the most uncategorizable and sought after artefacts of the French avant-garde, Barney Wilen’s Moshi is nothing short of a masterpiece - long holding a coveted spot in the hearts of adventurous listeners and record collectors alike. A wild unkept cultural collage. A series of sonic experiments. A spiritual, psychedelic pilgrimage into the unknown - darting from one continent to the next, each of its tangents building toward a more optimist world view through ordered sound. Its scope remains as difficult to understand today as it was when it was released. Now brought back into the light by Souffle Continu, this is a moment to be celebrated far and wide. (Soundohm)

Deluxe reissue with additional artwork & remastered audio. 20-page booklet including rare pictures, sheet music & original liner notes. Bonus DVD with exclusive artwork of Caroline de Bendern’s movie « à l’intention de Mlle Issoufou à Bilma » documenting this incredible african journey.

BLK JKS are a seminal force in the South African underground.
After an extended hiatus the Johannesburg foursome, championed by The Mars
Volta and TV On The Radio (amongst many others), return with a groundbreaking
new album.
Monster grooves meet guitar and brass driven afro-rock. Echoes of spiritual jazz, postapocalyptic funk, renegade dub and kwaito.
Features Malian guitarist Vieux Farka Tour and Beastie Boys accomplice Money Mark
on the track “Maiga.”
”This South African art-rock band traffics in complexity, cross-hatching not only rhythms
and textures but also the signifiers of genre”- The New York Times
“A prequel to 2009’s amazing After Robots … What occurs when you listen to Abantu is
that it is an Old Testament support to After Robots – where that album prophesied Afropunk, this album suggests the roots to that moment, an engrossing journey of Afrobeat,
fuzzy yet hugely suggestive drone and psych textures, and a bristling sense of both pride
and critique that sings through.” The Wire
“A dark and brooding number that simmers and smoulders as it goes, fueled by a driving
rhythm section and mournful horns.” - Brooklyn Vegan about single “Human Hearts”
“BLK JKS, an awe-inspiring exemplar of modern Africa’s indigenous sound, make a victorious return after an extended hiatus … They create something unique on this album.”
***** Morning Star

Danish-Swedish quartet VOLA are back with a new studio album featuring their iconic blend of futuristic progressive rock, electronica and modern metal, topped off with clear, beautiful vocal lines. Their third studio album 'Witness' will be released on 21st May via Mascot Records.
Bringing on board Grammy award-nominated Jacob Hansen (Volbeat, Amaranthe, Delain) early on in the process with his hi-fi approach to mixing, this inspired VOLA to push their versatile capabilities into the direction of creating a very contemporary album & atmosphere.
There is always an underlining cinematic aesthetic to VOLA that explodes in front of you upon listening to them. But it then entices you deeper within the rabbit hole, following their story further until you are taken in by its hold.
'Witness' invites you on a journey that pursues characters being held witness to major changes in their lives.

** 12” LP edition of 300 copies with cover artwork and booklet featuring illustrations by Ettore Tripodi ** In September 2019 Alessandro Bosetti was invited by fellow composer and curator Riccardo La Foresta to create a new work for a newly created ensemble as part of a residency program hosted by Centro Musica in Modena, Italy. The very first encounter took place on Skype – kind of a prediction of the forthcoming physically distanced pandemic times. The first, straight-to-the-point question Bosetti posed to each musician was to tell him the history of their life. The materials collected in the interviews subsequently underwent a process of anonymization, selection and cut-up in order to create the imaginary autobiography of Didone, a genderless character on whom Bosetti composed a combinatory poem in 84 aphorisms, six of which have been translated into music. The ensemble consists of extremely different musical profiles: the contemporary soprano Giulia Zaniboni, minimalist banjo and acoustic guitar player Glauco Salvo, and four musicians with a jazz background such as guitarist Luca Perciballi, drummers Andrea Grillini and Simone Sferruzza, and saxophonist Dan Kinzelman (also part of Hobby Horse trio and long-time collaborator of Enrico Rava). Some of the stylistic features of Bosetti’s project Trophies (along with Kenta Nagai and Tony Buck) can be detected here and there. Persistent repetitions, mesmerizing sonic masses and extended, oblique melodic lines are here led by the clear and precise voice of soprano Giulia Zaniboni.



The voice is at the heart of this work: the textual fragments of the autobiographies are filtered through Zaniboni’s contemporary vocality, while informing the instrumental writing as well. Themes and textures unveil traces of words or sentences; fragments of biographies are embedded in the intricate instrumental dialogue between the two drummers. A final layer was added by Ettore Tripodi, a unique and out-of-time visual artist who imagined Didone in a series of illustrations accompanying the poem. "Didone" is a work about the reconfiguration and recombination of identities, where every specific sense of belonging melts into an indistinct swarming of possibilities.



Alessandro Bosetti is a Marseille-based composer and sound artist with a particular interest in the musicality of language and in the voice, conceived as an autonomous object and an instrument of expression. His works enact a dialogue between language, voice and sound within complex tonal and formal constructions, often crossed by oblique irony. He builds surprising devices, often linked to the radio medium and to a tireless reflection on the relationships between music and language, questioning aesthetic categories and listening postures.



His work has been shown in reference venues such as the GRM / Présences Electronique festival in Paris, Roulette and The Stone in New York, Café OTO in London, the Liquid Architecture Festival in Melbourne and Sydney, the Serralves Museum in Porto and the San Francisco Electronic Music Festival. His music is released by labels such as Errant Bodies Press, Holidays Records, Rossbin, Sedimental, Unsounds, Monotype, Weird Ear Records.

Never underestimate the power of a woman with her back to the wall. In March 2020, as Covid blew across the planet, the shutters came down on live venues and recording studios, and the music scene fell suddenly silent, Ghalia Volt faced the same dilemma as every other artist.
What now? The answer was One Woman Band. Having joined with the cream of the US roots scene for two acclaimed albums, 2017’s Let The Demons Out and 2019’s Mississppi Blend, Volt’s rebirth as a solo performer wasn’t a decision made lightly. But if an apprenticeship busking in her native Brussels taught Volt anything, it’s that she already had everything she needed to make magic.
“In March, I started playing on a real drum set,” she recalls.
“Playing a kick, snare and hi-hat plus a tambourine with my two feet, while playing slide/guitar and singing at the same time.” After road-testing the new format at shows across Mississippi, Volt realised that one was the magic number.
In August, she committed to the project, embarking on a month-long Amtrak train trip that became an intensive writing session, the shifting landscapes beyond the window inspiring her pen to scratch as never before. Tracked live in November at Memphis’s legendary Royal Sound Studios, One
Woman Band is Volt’s most lyrically honest and groove-driven material to date.
You can feel the turn of those train wheels in the addictive stomp of songs like
Reap What You Sow, while the rattle-and-shiver slide guitar of Espiritu Papago
evokes the scream of a locomotive whistle.
“Imagine John Lee Hooker on mushrooms, lost in the desert of Arizona, on a hot
summer day,” says Volt. “That’s the vibe of that song.” The Covid-19 pandemic
is an unprecedented chapter of human history, with no clear end in sight.
But Ghalia Volt has given us the soundtrack to better times ahead, and the
songs we’ll still be singing when we meet on the other side. This might be a
One Woman Band - but you’re always welcome to ride shotgun.

Steevio is perhaps one of the most influential electronic artists you’ve never come across. With more than forty years of knob-twiddling experience, this modular magician boasts enough cable to bring you to the moon and back. Away from the blinking racks, Steevio runs music festivals, like Freerotation, manages record labels and generally paves the way. Now this pioneer and Firescope are teaming up for a very special EP.

With Acatalepsy, this veteran dives deep into his machines before resurfacing with four tracks of melting organic techno. “Tarantism” comes to life with drums, percussive textures that prove fertile ground for ever more intricate patterns while orange blossom keys bloom. From understated chatter, a hive of beats soon forms around “Cynefin” as dewy notes float on the warmth of a new dawn. The natural world is an integral part of these compositions, the industrious movement of rhythms, the change and reshaping that comes with growth. Another presence on the 12” is the musician himself and his own influences. These early inspirations come to the fore in the hazy hi-hats of “Oxytocin” with its satellite-like bleeps and dreamy basslines that echo both the armchair and club of sounds of 90s techno. Those bleeps grow ever more distant in the fragile finale of “Intonation.” A melody precariously perches, thawing like ice, above delicate echoes that ghost behind modular bulges as drums fade.

Acatalepsy encapsulates the ephemeral nature of sound. Through this selection of one-off recordings, through these live jam sessions, Steevio captures a palpable and primal energy with an expert’s ear. An EP that casts spells from beginning to end, an EP from a true waveform wizard.

BEATCONDUCTOR drops this limited 1-sided reworking of a 60s classic from the BEACH BOYS under a cheekily appropriate alias. Lifted from original stems and branched out towards tropical shores. Still keeping the moody feeling and adding some extra extended uplifting rhythms. The original organ is transferred into a laidback skankin backbeat with the bass steady pounding deep below. Full color stickered label on a 1-sided 12” with vocal and instrumental mixes

Davide disanto is an amazing Italian producer born in bari, after multiple releases on excellent labels such as Let's play house, Politics of dancing or even Theory of swing, he delivers us a fabulous 12 inch which borrows as much from the heyday of the purest New-York City 90s deep house as well as the purest techno made in detroit. The 1st track from this EP seems to have come straight from an imaginary collaboration between Boo williams & Ron trent, the violence of the rhythm is counterbalanced by some airy & ultra deep pads, the aptly named Atmosfear. A banger as we rarely hear today. C'Mon, Let Me See on A2 sounds like a modern take on the awesome Jerzzey boy. On the B side, Da Love Feeling (Main Mix) & le (4am Underground Dub) revisits the 90s once again for our greatest pleasure, particularly the latter seems to have come straight out of a lost mix of the great danny tenaglia. And to end this ep in style, davide allows himself the luxury of summoning the spirit of MBG and all the best Italian deep house from the early 90s on the superb Lungomare (Ambient Reprise). ESSENTIAL ITEM !

SKYLAX RECORDS 4 EVER