Search:under

The color green can represent many things. It can symbolize money, of course, but also weed. And envy. It implies newness, the rebirth of spring, but it can also evoke illness and infection. It’s an apt name for a band that is defined by its adaptability, by its knack for doing many different things all at once. On the Color Green’s second full-length—their first as a quartet—they ground their cosmic jams in earthy melodies, drawing from ‘60s SoCal folk-r0ck, ‘70s classic rock, ‘80s underground rock, ‘90s psychedelic dance-rock, and many other sources.

In the two years the band has been touring, it has already shared stages with a range of groups that reflect both the sophistication and the wild malleability of their sound, including Fuzz, Kikagaku Moyo, Circles Around the Sun, and Young Guv. “When we play live, I don’t really know what’s going to happen,” says guitarist Noah Kohll. “You really have no idea what you’re going to get with this band, which keeps things fresh for us and maybe makes the live experience special.”

Adds drummer Corey Rose, “One thing about this band that I really appreciate is that we can camouflage into any environment or any show. We can play with Hiss Golden Messenger and lean into that funky country vibe, or we can play with the Brian Jonestown Massacre and get evil. We all love a variety of music, so let’s not put ourselves in a box.”

That wild, mercurial quality is reflected on Fool’s Parade, a meditation on loss, grief, confusion, frustration, and the clarity to which they all lead. Their songs are vehicles for self-explorations, not just a means of putting their feelings into lyrics and notes but molding them, night after night, into different shapes to get different insights.

While most of the bands (Orpheus, Ultimate Spinach, Beacon Street Union) associated with producer Alan Lorber’s “Bosstown Sound” signed with MGM Records, Listening recorded their only album in 1968 with Vanguard. And it’s a highly prized one, at that, with original copies selling for triple figures. One reason for that is, unlike many of their more poppy Boston-based peers, Listening boasted an original, swirling, hard-edged sound, full of jazzy and even proggy passages, and keyboardist/singer/ songwriter Michael Tschudin’s lyrics were openly countercultural. That’s future (post-Lou Reed) Velvet Underground member Walter Powers on bass, and blues wunderkind Peter Malick on guitar. A talented band, underappreciated at the time… in other words, right up our Real Gone alley! Coke clear with yellow swirl vinyl pressing, limited to 700 copies. First U.S. reissue!

Repress on rosewood coloured vinyl. HOST is the name of a devil worshipping ministry, that in order to spread their unholy gospels and, furthermore, trick mankind into believing that the end is ultimately a good thing, have decided to use the ever so popular rock music medium as a way to achieve their ends. Standing motionless and anonymous beneath the painted faces, hoods and robes which their sect demand, the six nameless ghouls of Ghost deliver litanies of sexually pulsating heavy rock music and romantic lyrics, that glorify and glamorise the disgusting and sacrilegious, with the simple intention to communicate a message of pure evil via the most effective device they can find - entertainment. In May 2010 Ghost were contracted to a UK based gramophone company called Rise Above Ltd, who swore an oath stating that they will assist the group in the task of spreading their musical blasphemies through formats such as Compact Discs, Long Playing Vinyl Records and Digital Downloading. The first full length Ghost album Opus Eponymous will be released in October 2010 and it is understood and agreed that Rise Above Ltd will invest money in areas such as magazine advertising and retail marketing and will employ the services of music publicity specialists in order to expose the music of Ghost to the wider public. Specific attention will be paid to targeting people (research suggests these are most likely to be adolescents) who have a void in their life, perhaps caused by some form of emotional trauma or upset, that can be filled by the music and philosophies of Ghost.

Enjoy The Ride Records in conjunction with Morgan Creek proudly presents Stay Tuned (Music From the Original Motion Picture). Available on vinyl for the first time, Bruce Broughton's score to the 1992 cult classic comedy featuring John Ritter, Pam Dawber, Jeffrey Jones & Eugene Levy takes listeners on a musical adventure.

Saying Roy Knable loves television is an understatement. He's so hooked on it that his wife takes a baseball bat to the screen and shatters it. Mr. Spike soon appears at the Knable's door, selling Roy a Satellite dish with 666 channels that aren't available on regular cable (because Spike is sent from hell, and the Knables are about to become part of the Hellevision network lineup). The Knables have 24 hours to make their way through the channels (which are hilariously gory parodies of popular television shows and films of the era) to survive.

Stay Tuned (Music From the Original Motion Picture) is a 2xLP pressed at 45 RPM. It's housed in a gatefold jacket featuring original cover art by Drew Struzan, along with new gatefold and back cover art by Garreth Gibson. Pressing is limited to 1,000 copies.

"Enjoy The Toons Records in conjunction with Lionsgate proudly present Little Monsters Original Motion Picture Soundtrack. Composed and Conducted by David Newman, the score to the 1989 film is available on vinyl for the first time. Little Monsters stars Howie Mandel, Fred Savage & Ben Savage.The fantasy comedy tells the adventures of a boy who befriends the monster under his bed, discovering a world of mischievous monsters below!

Little Monsters Original Motion Picture Soundtrack features new art by Garreth Gibson, and the 2xLP is housed in a 350gsm gatefold jacket and black poly lined inner sleeves."

Following on from their highly anticipated debut on Steel City Dance Discs, Scottish duo Clouds, consisting of Glasgow based Liam Robertson and Berlin based Calum Macleod now unveil their second EP via the label, Positive Delusion.

Clouds waste no time in bringing us straight into their bass-soaked underworld with the title track and continue this unrelenting musical voyage with Get With It; an aggressive orchestra of distorted instrumentals, rolling percussion, bellowing bass and chopped vocals. The duo’s “mission” of achieving Rhythm Perfection is laid out bare in the aforementioned track, as its piercing stabs keep the listener hooked and chained to this ungodly underbelly of sound. Dreamarena, with its ominous rave-stabs and gut-hurdling bassline takes us eventually to our fate, as the EP reaches its darkest, deepest point with Vyperskin.

HIGHLIGHTS Originally released in 1980, this was Stiv Bators' first solo album. Now reissued with 2 bonus tracks, not available on the original version, a slightly different picture on the cover (the actual unfiltered photo as used on the 1980 issue) and a booklet with extensive liner notes and photos. Bators was the man who destroyed Rocket from the Tombs, from which he hijacked half the members to found one of the most influential American punk bands to have existed, The Dead Boys. Stiv had turned in his broken teeth for a more power pop oriented solo career. This is not an album recorded by a has-been former punk idealist; instead it's a true step forward into another unknown arena packing all the glare and attitude that remained from the last. The music is more similar to 60's power pop than the vicious punk rock that Bators became known for originally, while a member of The Dead Boys. New generations continue to discover it. It still holds up very well and sounds as fresh and vibrant as ever. DESCRIPTION On August 11th of 1980, Stiv Bators, David Quinton Steinberg, George Cabaniss and Frank Secich flew to Vancouver, in British Columbia, Canada. They were there to do the West Coast leg of the "URGH! A Music War" tour. On the bill of the tour were Pere Ubu, Magazine, the Members, and they were billed as Stiv Bators and the Dead Boys or just the Dead Boys. After the tour they were supposed to embark on a 6-week tour of Australia, New Zealand, and the Far East. During the beginning of the Urgh Tour the Australian Tour was abruptly canceled. Greg Shaw who owned Bomp Records decided that since the band were already going to be in California that they should do Stiv's solo album which they had planned to do after returning from Down Under. So, Bators and the rest of the group set up camp at the infamous Tropicana Motel in West Hollywood and Greg booked them into Perspective Studios in Sun Valley, CA. Before going into Perspective, they went into Andy Chappel's Stone Fox rehearsal studio in North Hollywood, CA for a few days to rehearse the songs and arrange them for the album. "We had 'Evil Boy' (Zero-Secich), David Quinton's 'Make Up Your Mind' and my song 'A Million Miles Away'. We also rearranged mine and Stiv's 'The Last Year' changing the key from D to F# and making it much easier to sing in a power pop vein. In addition, we had 'Swinging A Go-Go' another great contribution by George Cabaniss. Stiv and I had written two more for the album 'Ready Anytime' and the album closer 'I Wanna Forget You (Just the Way You Are)'. We also had a moody dark instrumental (written by Cabaniss-Quinton-Secich) that we were playing around with for some time. Stiv was supposed to write lyrics for it, but he never got around to it, so we left it as an instrumental. It had a great vibe and reminded me of the John Cassavetes 1956 film "Crime in The Streets" and was thus christened that. The last song we picked for the LP was 'I Had Too Much To Dream (Last Night)' which was the one cover we did that suited Stiv's voice perfectly. After a few days of rehearsing at Stone Fox, we went into Perspective Studio in Sun Valley, California. Greg hired Thom Wilson (who would later become a famous punk rock producer of Offspring, Iggy Pop, Dead Kennedys, T.S.O.L., Bad Religion and many others). Stiv co-produced with Thom and Andy Chappel and Thom did the engineering." Frank Secich recalls. In September, after the "Disconnected" mixing sessions, Stiv went to Baltimore to film "Polyester" with Movie Director John Waters and actors Tab Hunter and Divine. Stiv then went to the UK to record with the Wanderers doing their LP "Only Lovers Left Alive". He wanted to have both bands going simultaneously but logistically and practically they all knew that could never work. The "Disconnected" Band would do one last tour to support the album release of "Disconnected". The LP was released by Bomp Records on Monday December 08th, 1980. Later that night, John Lennon was murdered in New York City. So many of the principal characters involved in the creation of "Disconnected" have passed on. Stiv Bators (June 3rd, 1990), Greg Shaw (October 2nd, 2004), Thom Wilson (February 8th, 2015), and George Cabaniss (July 17th, 2020). But "Disconnected" lives on and on and has left quite a legacy for itself. There have been over 100 cover versions internationally of the songs from "Disconnected" and it has been in print and reissued in various forms in many countries around the world. New generations continue to discover it. It still holds up very well and sounds as fresh and vibrant as ever.

After remaining unavailable for years, here's the long-awaited vinyl reissue of the debut album (originally released in 1972) by one of the epoch-making groups in the history of Peruvian rock: We All Together. Their original compositions -all sung in English- betray their passion for McCartney, taking Beatle centrism to new heights in South America. While the Uruguayan Los Shakers could remind us of the first phase of the Fab 4, We All Together is like their '70s version. Amazing compositions, with nods to prog rock and the twilight imprint of singer-songwriters living the end of the hippy dream, that show both diversity and a defined identity. A must for any '70s rock collector. DESCRIPTION Between 1967 and 1974 Saúl and Manuel Cornejo led a series of epoch-making groups on the MAG label (New Juggler Sound, Laghonia and We All Together) in the history of Peruvian rock. All these bands were directly influenced by the British invasion and used new sounds from Hammond, phase shifters, synthesizers and tapes played backwards, which stimulated rivalry with other groups. Another hallmark of the brothers was the technical quality of their records, thanks to Saul's supervision of all MAG recordings between 1972 and 1974. At the end of 1971, when Laghonia was working on the last tracks of "Etcétera", they met Manuel Antonio Guerrero's (MAG) son, Carlos, who had just got back from the USA, and gladly joined in the choruses of the last songs Laghonia was recording. They met up again soon after to rehearse some of Paul McCartney's songs. As soon as he heard them play, Guerrero Senior urged them to form a group focused on cover versions of foreign hits not yet known in Peru. Initially, the Cornejo brothers weren't enthused by a project so different from Laghonia, but ended up accepting as it gave them the opportunity to spend time in the studio. Carlos' melodic voice was another incentive, although they made it clear that the new group, We All Together (WAT), would stick to the mixing desk: "The group isn't into presentations or shows, we're about recording music and purifying it to the max," stated Saúl at that time. Their first album included four covers of Paul McCartney and Badfinger, several compositions by Carlos Guerrero -appealing Beatles-style melodies- and two songs from Saúl and Manuel's archives. 'Children', by keyboardist Carlos Salom, opens the LP: a nostalgic description of childhood, with the distinctive piano sound (achieved through mixing) that permeates the record. Although WAT sang and composed in English, they had no intention of undermining or alienating national culture. Their aim was much more innocent: they simply wanted to make it in the English-speaking world. 'It's a Sin to Go Away' was composed during Laghonía's lifetime as a band and it features guitars played backwards and a psychedelic-progressive style closely attuned to the era. After being included on several compilations, praise for the song has flowed from Europe and the United States in recent years. The album was released in July 1972 and became one of the best-selling Peruvian rock LPs.

Ulvhedner hails from the valley Sauda in the west of Norway, where the band was formed by Svein Terje (ex-Tristania) & Arild back in 1993. Evolving through the late 90’s synth-driven and melodic second wave of Norwegian black metal, Ulvhedner made an impression on the scene through some demo’s with their folk influenced black metal sound. Their first full length album “For I Tida”, which roughly translates to ‘in old times’, saw the light of day only in 2009. The next ten years Svein Terje carried the band as a single entity with releasing a few ep’s, but also working with and under different monikers as Skygge, Mihrim, Drylar, Blodorn and Ode Vidder. During the pandemic Terje wrote Ulvhedner’s second album “Legd”. Ulvhedner resurrected now as a band again, including Arild, with renewed energy, and with Bjornar providing all lead vocals and Jan Rune Hoftun on drums. The varied and aggressive soundscape of the new album “Fjosmetall”, which also marks Ulvhedner’s 30th anniversary, is a tale of local Norwegian folklore once more, performed with the grim sound of old school Norwegian black metal. It features 8 tracks of pagan melodies in crisp cold and dark Norwegian black metal art, with Norwegian titles and lyrics inspired by the hardships of old mountain farmers and workers in the winter-land of the North that built the country.

GNOD, the ever-transient psychedelic musical unit from northern England with over 15
years and dozens of releases under their belt, return in 2024 with a recalibrated sound and
a new sense of freedom. Spot Land’s five songs are tender and detailed, unfolding slowly
with wistful guitar textures, brushed drums and interjections of lap steel, piano and
kalimba. As founder member Paddy Shine says, the results sound like old GNOD and new
GNOD at the same time.
Though GNOD’s shift in sound from album to album is rarely planned too far ahead, there’s
been a quiet desire among the band to do something of this nature for a while. The results
might confound the expectations of some listeners, but in the longer view Spot Land is
liquid GNOD.

Sarah and the Safe Word's "The Book Of Broken Glass" is an existential journey of 13 songs that weave in and out of their signature cabaret-punk mixed with rock arrangements, folky undertones and
sometimes even and late 90's early 2000's nu-metal vibe! This album merges all these styles into one cohesive unit that feels somehow familiar yet wholly unique

‘Blind On A Galloping Horse’ serves as David Holmes’ first solo album since 2008’s ‘The Holy Pictures’.  A 14-track interrogation of the last decade, time spent watching a decaying, fraying Britain visibly buckling in real time while tending to his own battles with mental health. Holmes’ soundtrack to this inquiry is at times claustrophobic, often euphoric, driven by the rattle and snap of analogue drum machines, wild oscillations of droning analogue synths and the voice of Raven Violet, which beguiles and commands in a way that could part oceans.  On this album, there are songs of hope for an age of uncertainty; love songs to leap the barricades to and, on ‘Necessary Genius’, a comprehensive roll call of the great and good - those ‘dreamers, misfits, radicals, outcasts’ that we’ve lost and just a few who’ve managed to cling on in the churn of the 21st century. And there are elegiac electronics evocative of an endless Europe where pulsating, crackling rhythm tracks fuse with dreamlike textures and the underground pulse of psychedelic therapy to form something unique that feels nothing less than radical.  CD in 4pp digisleeve with 8pp booklet.  Double vinyl in 300gsm gatefold sleeve with reverse side print and 180gsm reverse side print inner sleeves.

‘Blind On A Galloping Horse’ serves as David Holmes’ first solo album since 2008’s ‘The Holy Pictures’.  A 14-track interrogation of the last decade, time spent watching a decaying, fraying Britain visibly buckling in real time while tending to his own battles with mental health. Holmes’ soundtrack to this inquiry is at times claustrophobic, often euphoric, driven by the rattle and snap of analogue drum machines, wild oscillations of droning analogue synths and the voice of Raven Violet, which beguiles and commands in a way that could part oceans.  On this album, there are songs of hope for an age of uncertainty; love songs to leap the barricades to and, on ‘Necessary Genius’, a comprehensive roll call of the great and good - those ‘dreamers, misfits, radicals, outcasts’ that we’ve lost and just a few who’ve managed to cling on in the churn of the 21st century. And there are elegiac electronics evocative of an endless Europe where pulsating, crackling rhythm tracks fuse with dreamlike textures and the underground pulse of psychedelic therapy to form something unique that feels nothing less than radical.  CD in 4pp digisleeve with 8pp booklet.  Double vinyl in 300gsm gatefold sleeve with reverse side print and 180gsm reverse side print inner sleeves.

‘Blind On A Galloping Horse’ serves as David Holmes’ first solo album since 2008’s ‘The Holy Pictures’.  A 14-track interrogation of the last decade, time spent watching a decaying, fraying Britain visibly buckling in real time while tending to his own battles with mental health. Holmes’ soundtrack to this inquiry is at times claustrophobic, often euphoric, driven by the rattle and snap of analogue drum machines, wild oscillations of droning analogue synths and the voice of Raven Violet, which beguiles and commands in a way that could part oceans.  On this album, there are songs of hope for an age of uncertainty; love songs to leap the barricades to and, on ‘Necessary Genius’, a comprehensive roll call of the great and good - those ‘dreamers, misfits, radicals, outcasts’ that we’ve lost and just a few who’ve managed to cling on in the churn of the 21st century. And there are elegiac electronics evocative of an endless Europe where pulsating, crackling rhythm tracks fuse with dreamlike textures and the underground pulse of psychedelic therapy to form something unique that feels nothing less than radical.  CD in 4pp digisleeve with 8pp booklet.  Double vinyl in 300gsm gatefold sleeve with reverse side print and 180gsm reverse side print inner sleeves.

Live LP from cult French punk / new wave band Dogs - limited white vinyl plus obi.

In the spring of 1984, the Dogs give a concert in Rouen, their hometown, at the Exo 7, the local venue. They play as a quartet, Dominique, Mimi, Hughes and Antoine. They are under contract to EPIC and have just released their 4th LP "Legendary Lovers" the previous year.

The concert, of course, will be rock and, in the band's image, elegant. It will be recorded and will remain unpublished to this day. With this record, you're holding in your hands the very essence of a rock concert as it should be: a small, smoke-filled venue (it's not compulsory) with no giant screen, no need for binoculars to see a tiny singer on stage waving to 25,000 spectators. The magic created by 16 strings, four electric guys, can only work this way. That's what you'll find here. Dry and clean.

"Live at Home" is that concert, finally available.

Lionel Herrmani

Fellwarden was a concept forged by The Watcher (Fen, De Arma) back in 2014 to give voice to an epic, exultant form of black metal that nonetheless carries with it echoes of deep lamentation and remembrance. The Watcher’s goal was simple – to tell tales of sacrifice, of long-forgotten heroism and the rearing timelessness of the storm-forged landscape against a backdrop of windswept extreme metal. Fellwarden’s sound is steeped passionate vocals, subtle waves of keyboards, acoustic guitars, booming choirs and powerful riffs, underpinned by a cavernous percussive battery courtesy of Havenless (also of Fen).

After two years of careful crafting, the debut album of Fellwarden ‘Oathbearer’ is now ready to be proudly unleashed by Eisenwald – six stirring hymns of strident ambience and powerfully emotive songwriting. A heavily layered, textured release, ‘Oathbearer’ at once convokes the essence of contemporary acts such as Drudkh and Negura Bunget whilst simultaneously channelling the spirit of the old masters – Summoning, Bathory, Abigor, (early) Emperor and (early) Ulver.

500 only pressed. 80s alt country punk outfit, Lone Justice, with Maria McKee, Ryan Hedgecock, Marvin Etzioni and Don Heffington are in full flight with the release of a brand new 7”. Taken from their forthcoming album, Viva Lone Justice, ‘Teenage Kicks’ is a rambunctious slice of punk angst that sounds like it was recorded in one take. It’s a timeless anthem with a joyous riff that explodes into a hail of feedback. A favour returned as Maria McKee, the songwriter of Feargal Sharkey’s only solo hit ‘A Good Heart’, Lone Justice cover The Undertones’ Peel-approved favourite with the artwork of the single being a nod to the original. “As much as we loved Merle Haggard, George Jones, and many other authentic hard core Country artists, we were also deeply impacted by Punk; from the Velvet Underground (we were playing "Sweet Jane" live as early as 1983) to the MC5 ("Sister Ann" is on the album "Viva Lone Justice").” Backed with ‘Nothing Can Stop My Loving You’ that’s cut with a wild, squeezebox-powered interpretation of the George Jones and Roger Miller country stomp. “Speaking of George Jones, here's one written by George Jones and Roger Miller. Two of our favorites! We played this song at nearly every show starting in 1983. This ragged and right live recording captures the fire from a sold out show at The Palace in Los Angeles and features Jo-El Sonnier on lead accordion documenting the only time Sonnier played with LJ. "Nothing Can Stop My Loving You" is the only live track on Viva Lone Justice." // “A roots rock band that took Los Angeles by storm in the 80s and developed a smaller but deeply enthusiastic following outside the Golden State.

BACK IN PRINT ON VINYL!!! Originally seeing the light of day in April of 1992, Harsh 70s Reality was not just a high water mark for that year, but for the ages. Technically this was the band’s fourth long-play outing, and as a double-album, it followed (and was ever so slightly informed by) two formidable juggernauts that preceeded it: Twin Infinitives and Lake. But it was Harsh 70s Reality that left the decade stronger and more resonant than it came in. People say that rock music died with the passing of Kurt Cobain. But The Dead C slaughtered it in its sleep with this tremendous set of grinding thud. It is in every sense the ultimate post-rock album. To hear it is to understand why one scribe back in the day referred to their sound as “a garbage truck backing over the abyss.” A legendary release from a legendary band on a legendary label.

Finland has long had a uniquely progressive underground, with thriving punk, avant, jazz, and rock scenes with oversized output and impact. Jussi Lehtisalo’s (Circle, Pharaoh Overlord, Mahti, etc) label Ektro has been at the center of this activity for the last three decades, with a stream of excellent and conceptually bonkers releases covering music of all types. Here Lehtisalo joins up with Jan Anderzén (of Kemialliset Ystävät among others) for an album of absolutely fun and unusual miniature duets that sound like alien Library music beamed in from the outerlands. Tracks like “Luukku Yksi” and “Puistossa” use a charmingly retro synth-y sound palate and Cluster-like melodic sensibility to make accessible some deceptively “out” music. Some cuts (like “Kylpy”) have a vague hint of early ’80s post-punk / new wave vibes, bouncing along in a friendly way with odd interjections of sample debris and electronics jumping out of the mix to keep it weird. The surging “Hymy yössä” could be music for the credits of the world’s hippest newscast. Beautiful jacket by renown Helsinki-based artist Dylan Ray Arnold, bringing the die-cut techniques of their gallery pieces like “Growth of the Night Plants” to LP form.

Nach der "Temple Corrupted" EP (2022) und der anschliessenden UK/Europa-Tour konnten sich El Moono aus Brighton als neuer Favorit der Post-Hardcore/Post-Metal-Szene etablieren. Mit Einflüssen aus Rock, Hardcore, Metal und Grunge vereinen sich ausgefallene, oft umwerfende Riffs, gefühlvolle Songs und ausdrucksstarke Texte zu einem Sound, der sich schwer in eine Schublade stecken lässt. Als Teil des neuen britischen Undergrounds bekommt die als Genrephobiker verschrieene Band viel Lob von den einschlägigen Medien, während zwei ihrer Songs bereits im Soundtrack eines kommenden Horrorfilms Verwendung finden.

The Eminent Jay Jay Johnson Volume 2,” released in 1955 under Blue Note Records, continues showcasing J.J. Johnson’s exceptional trombone talent. Accompanied by notables like Horace Silver on piano and Paul Chambers on bass, the album is marked by remarkable technical performances and deep lyricism. Tracks like “Too Marvelous for Words” and “Pennies from Heaven” illustrate Johnson’s agility and creativity, solidifying his status as a master of the trombone in modern jazz.

Pledging to Keep It Alive with her debut album in 2022 (In The Red), Liz Lamere doubles down with her latest full-length second album, One Never Knows, released on In The Red. Dedicated to her late partner Alan Vega, with whom she collaborated on his solo works for over three decades, Lamere’s minimalist approach to creating music is clearly in line with the Vega aesthetic that she helped develop with him during countless experimental hours in the studio since the late ’80s. Lamere teamed up again with her and Vega’s son Dante Vega Lamere in their Dujang Prang NYC home studio surrounded by the Suicide singer’s spectacular light sculptures, co-producer Jared Artaud, and mixing and mastering engineers Ted Young and Josh Bonati. Vega had always encouraged Lamere to create her own music. After he passed away, she began writing as a form of catharsis which became the inspirational bedrock for her solo music. Lamere said, “At the end of Alan’s life, he was using the expression ‘one never knows’ to underscore that we don’t know how much time we have in this realm or where this journey will lead us. It was a phrase that had resonated so much for me. Alan taught me to go bravely into the unknown; to be fully present in the moment and deeply explore what is already here.”

2024 repress

Music From Memory is excited to announce a special compilation that they’ve been working on for some time now; MFM053 – VA – Heisei No Oto – Japanese Left-field Pop From The CD Age (1989-1996). Compiled by long-time friends of the label, Eiji Taniguchi and Norio Sato, Heisei No Oto delves into a world of music released almost exclusively on CD and brings together a fascinating selection of discoveries from a little known and overlooked part of Japan’s musical history.

The last ten or so years have seen a global wave of interest in Japanese music encompassing ambient, jazz, new wave and pop records from the 1980s, some of which is increasingly considered the most innovative and visionary music of that time. Although some music from this period, in the form of ‘City Pop’ or ‘rare groove’ records, had been coveted by collectors and DJs for a number of years, most Japanese music from the time was little known outside and often even within Japan.

Sometime around the mid 2000s, two Osaka record store owners, Eiji Taniguchi of Revelation Time and Norio Sato of Rare Groove, along with a handful of deep Japanese diggers such as Chee Shimizu of Organic Music records in Tokyo, began to explore beyond the typical ‘grooves’ or ‘breaks’. Much like their counterparts in Europe and the US, they began delving into home-grown ambient, jazz, new wave and pop records, discovering visionary music, often driven by synthesizers or drum computers, that broke beyond the typical confines of their genres.

Spending tireless hours in local record stores and embarking on digging trips across the country, Eiji Taniguchi and Norio Sato, much like Chee Shimizu, have been at the forefront of unearthing and introducing many of the very Japanese records now loved and sought after around the world. Yet as YouTube algorithms and vinyl reissues would transport such music into the global consciousness and demand and therefore scarcity intensified for such records, so Eiji and Norio have recently begun to turn their attention to CDs.

The title of the compilation Heisei No Oto refers to the sound of the Heisei era, which began in 1989 and corresponds to the reign of Emperor Akihito until his abdication in 2019. Marking the culmination of one of the most rapid economic growths in Japanese history, 1989 also coincided with the music industry’s final shift away from vinyl in favour of CDs. And, although compact discs were first introduced seven years earlier it wasn’t until late into the ‘80s that, beyond dance music labels, CDs became the exclusive format for major and independent labels in Japan and throughout the world.

This however didn’t signal the end of the innovation in Japan. Many of those same musicians who have become known for their work in the ‘80s would continue to produce outstanding music well into the mid ‘90s, as greater innovation and advances in musical equipment allowed Japanese musicians and producers to refine and explore new sounds. While musicians such as the seminal Haruomi Hosono, whose productions feature on a number of tracks, would continue to push the boundaries of these new technologies, these technological advances also meant less established musicians were able to make use of increasingly affordable but state-of-the-art equipment.

Including music by Haruomi Hosono as well as Yasuaki Shimizu, Toshifumi Hinata and Ichiko Hashimoto who have become known and loved around the world in recent years, Hesei No Oto also features Japanese pop star Yosui Inoue, producers Jun Sato and Keisuke Kikuchi in aaddition to less established artists from the contemporary, jazz, new wave, pop and dance music scenes. Bringing together a selection of tracks that seem to define these specific genres and in fact move fluidly between a number of them, the music on the compilation is again underscored by experimentations with synthesizers and drum computers though with something of a gentle Pop sensibility. Reimagined here then under the encompassing term ‘Left-field Pop’, this is an exciting chapter in Japanese musical history that has only just begun to be fully explored.

VA - Heisei No Oto - Japanese Left-field Pop From The CD Age (1989-1996) is a 2xLP/2xCD that includes liner notes by Chee Shimizu and artwork by Hagihara Takuya and is released on February 28th.

Krautige Cumbia der Zukunft trifft auf unverzerrte Gitarre! Bewusstseinserweiternd! Der in Bogotá lebende kolumbianische Komponist Eblis Alvarez, bekannt als Meridian Brothers, kreiert seit 1998 eine einzigartige Mischung aus psychedelischen Klängen. Mit seinem neuesten Projekt "Mi Latinoamérica Sufre" erkundet Alvarez das ungenutzte Potenzial der E-Gitarre in einem tropischen Latin-Kontext. Inspiriert von afrikanischen Highlife- und Soukous-Traditionen schafft Alvarez ein furchtloses Klangexperiment voller Erfindungsreichtum, Verspieltheit und Emotionen. Im Gegensatz zu typischen tropischen Gitarrenalben verzichtet dieses Album auf Verzerrung und Klischees und setzt stattdessen auf einen reinen, sauberen Ansatz. Mit komplizierten Kompositionen, die Cumbia, Champeta, Soukous, brasilianische Tropicalia und psychedelischen Underground-Rock mischen, huldigt Alvarez der goldenen Ära der kongolesischen Rumba, des ghanaischen Highlife und des nigerianischen Afrobeat. "Mi Latinoamérica Sufre" ist ein Egotrip, der eine humorvolle und zugleich introspektive Reise der Selbstfindung und Identität darstellt. Die Hauptfigur, Junior Maximiliano der Dritte, navigiert mit Hilfe psychedelischer Substanzen, politischer Philosophie und Folklore durch die Komplexität der Selbstfindung. Während er sich mit Nostalgie, Paranoia und geteiltem Leid auseinandersetzt, stellt Alvarez sein stimmliches Können unter Beweis und schafft ein akustisches Theater des Geistes. Begleitet von visuellen Erzählungen des kolumbianischen Künstlers Mateo Rivano, porträtiert das Album verschiedene psychologische Zustände von Desorientierung, Selbstmitleid, Erleuchtung und Optimismus. "Mi Latinoamérica Sufre" entpuppt sich als würdige und innovative Ergänzung der Konzeptalbum-Tradition und bietet eine unverwechselbare Mischung aus bittersüßen Aromen, die von Latinoamérica inspiriert sind.

What vision can they have? Visions of Visa cards and cracked countertops at the butchers. Visions of plastic chairs under the stairs and rat-ridden broom cupboards. Nostalgia slayed by shit vivid memories. And the future? Upgrade today and get our latest updates FREE! New Backpacks! Introducing: The Art of The Raised Eyebrow. NEU - Adicolor Frühjahrskollektion. Nope, neither, either. What is left? What is left to be charmed by? What is left that doesn’t perpetually degrade? What will roll another morning into view, dappled with springlike dew? Maybe Peach and maybe this.

Never before had the lyrics of Peruvian cumbia been able to touch the reality of migrants from the countryside living in the capital. In 1974, Grupo Celeste, under the direction of Víctor Casahuamán Bendezú, recorded 'En el campo', a first single that not only broke sales records, but also brought thousands of people into contact with their homeland. The band not only wove the nets of that urgent, necessary reconnection, but also gave birth to one of the most relevant popular singers in the history of Peru: Lorenzo Palacios Quispe 'Chacalón'. The year was 1974. Until then, only Los Destellos had recorded a non-instrumental cumbia song, 'Elsa', in 1970. Víctor Casahuamán Bendezú, a musician, creator and the composer behind Grupo Celeste understood that in order to continue the legacy of Peruvian bands from the sixties like Los Demonios de Corocuchay, Los Yungas and Los Demonios del Mantaro, it was necessary to address in his lyrics a special and urgent topic: the feeling of displacement from the homeland and the vicissitudes of the migrant sector. The experiences of those who traveled from the provinces to the capital in search of opportunities they could not find in their towns of origin; the process of settling and adapting in a foreign city; the challenges derived from this change of environment; the recognition of a different culture and the creation of a space they understood as their own were the stories that had to be told in the songs. This is why Grupo Celeste was the backbone of cumbia in Peru: it established a common story that thousands of migrants would identify with. From this idea and impetus was born 'En el campo', the band's first single.

"RZA’s third solo effort under his Bobby Digital alias is presented on vinyl for the first time ever. Digi Snacks continues the story line from Digital Bullet (issued on vinyl for RSD 2022) and includes features from Inspectah Deck (among others). Though RZA handles the production on almost all cuts, he does pull in a few outside producers for an assist. Most notably David Banner for “Straight Up The Block.” RZA describes the project as “simply fun hip hop - a perfect blend of reality, fiction, sci-fi and martial arts.” Digi Snacks debuts on vinyl for RSD Black Friday."

Repress!

The 25th of September will see two of house and techno’s most-established talents collaborate on their debut release together, as Hot Creations head Jamie Jones teams up with Mood Records boss Nicole Moudaber on Pepper Shake.

Short, sweet and with no filler involved, Pepper Shake gets us underway swiftly, and the name certainly does the track justice. Up-tempo hats whistle beside a driving bassline, before a female vocal reels in and out. The styles of both artists are present throughout, with Jamie’s signature groove providing the foundation and Nicole’s deeper techno style coming through in the synths. Bubble Ride completes the release. Dark, gritty and harder-edged than its predecessor, this is a stripped-back peak-time club cut, with a penetrating bassline and hard-hitting kick patterns. The occasional pulse of an atmospheric sample further enhances the body of the track, to form something that’s built solely for the dancefloor.

As a world-renowned DJ and producer, head of Hot Creations and founder of the global Paradise event series, Jamie Jones has etched out a legacy in electronic music that few others can attest to. His personally curated Paradise series offers an international showcase of house and techno’s most recognisable artists, whilst his flagship label, Hot Creations, continues to pioneer a contemporary house sound. At the forefront of the MOOD brand, with offshoots including a record label (Mood Records), warehouse parties (MoodRAW), festival stages (MoodZONE) and a renowned global radio show (In the MOOD), Nicole Moudaber has rightfully established herself as a worldwide techno mainstay.

Eine ultrarare gefragte DJ Linus EP aus dem Jahr 2001 mit 4 knackig coolen jacking Tech Traxx. Die alte Vinyl-Veröffentlichung war streng limitiert und wurde unter dem mysteriösen Künstlernamen The Underground veröffentlicht, aber es war DJ Linus selbst, der sie produziert hat. Die Warterei auf diese Rarität, die perfekt zum aktuell angesagten House-Sound passt, hat sich gelohnt.
Nebenbei bemerkt: DJ Linus veröffentlichte seine ersten Platten auf Compose, dem 90er-Jahre-Tochter-House-Label von Compost. Herzlich willkommen zurück, Linus!

Limitierte 4 Track EP in transparent-orange Vinyl

- 10TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION OF TESS PARKS DEBUT ALBUM.
- GOLD VINYL, GATEFOLD SLEEVE, HANDWRITTEN LYRIC BOOKLET.
A native of Toronto, Tess Parks moved to London, England at the age of seventeen where she briefly studied photography before deciding to focus on music.
Tess made an impression on industry legend Alan McGee, founder of Creation Records, albeit the timing of their meeting could hardly have been less ideal; McGee was no longer involved in music and Tess was due to move back to Toronto. After moving back to her hometown in 2012, Tess formed a band on the advice of McGee and less than a year after their meeting, he returned to music with his new label, 359 Music.
Tess became one of his first signings and released her debut record ‘Blood Hot’ in November 2013 to excellent reviews. One reviewer described her as “Patti Smith on Quaaludes”. Others have mentioned her “gauzy psychedelic sound” and“smouldering voice”.
Alan McGee himself said: “She’s only 24 and is already an amazing songwriter... she just doesn’t quite know she is yet ... her most beautiful quality is her lack of ego. Tess is an amazing lady”.
‘Blood Hot’ is inimitably confident. It’s slow and psychedelic at times, while being loud and ready to fill a stadium at others. There isn’t a moment on the album that isn’t relatable or that doesn’t ring to the tune of a timeless classic to be talked about for years to come (the same way people discuss The Velvet Underground or My Bloody Valentine records today).
Her cult-like following has turned into a movement. And Tess is gladly leading us all back into that space within ourselves, both deeply personal and entirely universal. Incredibly relevant yet timeless.Cool and anti-cool. An enigma that doesn’t need solving. Tess Parks is as she’s always been. Her best work is already out there. And her best yet is still to come.

A duo of producers who had worked with rapper MC Solaar released their first EP Tribulations Extra Sensorielles in 1994. Philippe Zdar and Hubert Boombass became known under the name La Funk Mob, offering a timeless trip-hop sound with jazz and funk influences. Signed to British label Mo" Wax, a benchmark in the genre, they proved that French artists were to be taken seriously across the Channel. A few years later, the two friends embarked on a more house-oriented project: Cassius.

The Wrekin Crew is back for a seance outing on the peerless Is It Balearic? This new offering rather continues where the first one left off with two tracks of immersive sonics for sunny days. First up is 'Vapour Trails' which melds lush Italo disco melodies and nice emotinoal pop of the sort you would expect to hear in this duo's DJ sets. Goldsuite also step up with a remix to smooth the edges and lay down moon-lit Balearica then closer 'Broken Wings' has more meaningful vocals but this time over grooves more suited to a late-night setting. Cosmic arps finish it in style with plenty of dubby undercurrents.

Mental health charity label Serenity keeps it sophisticated with its sixth outing and once again donates all proceeds to Young Minds. It is underground house mainstay and DiY Discs legend Nail who steps up first with a much more breezy and balmy sound than you would expect but it sure is lush. 'Pad On' slips into his more usual and driving house sound but with swirling pads up top for summery refinement. Trixie, Connor Male & Thoma Bulwer then get deep and late night with their punchy 'Impromptune' while Trixie's solo cut 'Restless Sculptures' is a jacked-up and percussive number that leans into techno.

True Acid Wizards of the 1980s/1990s Psychedelic Underground TreaTmenT performed at Stonehenge Free Festival and at squats and clubs all over London including the now legendary Alice In Wonderland, The Crypt and Club Dog where they assaulted the minds of those present with their unique and somewhat terrifying blend of '60s psychedelia and '70s space rock all liberally spiked with a questioning punk attitude. Performing with Dr & The Medics, Ozric Tentacles, The Magic Mushroom Band, Naz Nomad and The Nightmares and other luminaries of the neo-psychedelic space rock revival, TreaTmenT were an integral part of the scene and possibly the most psychedelic band of them all.

Hardcore to the max, the band insisted on performing in a psychedelicised state, looking like a cross between Arthur Brown's Kingdom Come and early Pink Floyd and often with a lightshow. Firmly fixated on taking their audience on the trip of a lifetime TreaTment consisted of Adam Blake (Jacket Xerxophon) on guitar and vocals, Gordon Leach (Gordon Zola) on further guitar and vocals, Clive Leach (Evil C. Live, Ron Number, Curtis Vile) on bass/trombone, Paul Ross (The Big Beat, Mr Raagh) on drums/percussion and Paul McWhinnie (Mutant) on keyboards, noises and vocals. They were without doubt a live phenomenon, and although they released a couple of singles, cassettes, a live album and a studio album - Cypher Caput - on the Delerium label (home to Porcupine Tree), they never really managed to commit their mind-blowing magic to vinyl. Now, nearly 20 years after it was recorded TreaTment are releasing a limited-edition double vinyl LP of their second studio album How Much is Enough? in memory of guitarist Gordon Leach who sadly passed away in 2021.

The album was intended to be released on Delerium in 2000 but never was and whilst one track 'Keep Ahead' appeared on the Cherry Red box set Last Daze of The Underground - Delerium Records Anthology in 2011 nothing else has seen the light of day until now. Fans of the band will note cornerstones of their live set such as the wondrously trippy 'What The Hell to do' the humorous swipe at the music press 'Hate The Band' the melodic keyboard swirling 'Restless', the frenetic guitar cross fire of 'No Understanding' and the nihilistic nightmare 'Blot Out'.

Housed in a gatefold sleeve packed with photos and memorabilia as well as for the first time the full history of the band and limited to only 300 on 180-gram vinyl How Much is Enough? will no doubt be seen in the future as one of the landmark releases of the '80s/90s Neo-Psychedelic revival.

First vinyl edition pressed on Cirrostratus Cloud colored vinyl and includes a "Footlong" OBI.

Underground lifer Nick Sakes returns on the debut LP from Upright Forms. The tight-knit Minneapolis trio feels like the culmination of Sakes' varied and prolific career to date, bringing together the unhinged prog-punk ferocity of Dazzling Killmen & Colossamite with the careening chaos of Xaddax and the shout-along hooks and dynamic songcraft of Sicbay. Blurred Wires is skewed yet tuneful, challenging yet compulsively listenable, concise yet brimming with invention. The experience of a lifetime distilled to 33 rotations across a gripping 33 minutes.

Consider "They Kept on Living," a song that first appeared in an earlier version on the SKiN GRAFT comp Sounds to Make You Shudder!. It starts off with a grinding 7/4 groove, with cryptic lines over scratchy noise-punk chords. After a brief build, the band explodes into a massive chorus, with Sakes shouting the title line against a fist-pumping riff.

The trio sound equally convincing digging into the pummeling aggression of "My Lower Self," where Sakes' vocals start off as a feral snarl and then soar triumphantly during the chorus, or the soothing indie-pop hush of the Paster-penned "Drive at Night."

Various "tug-at-your-heartstrings" touchstones informed "Long Shadow". Sakes channeled Television Personalities, cult heroes of melodic British post-punk, on "Animositine," which he accurately labels "our prettiest song."

Nearly 35 years into his career, Sakes is finding new ways to challenge himself -- and in Paster and Westphal, he's found two musicians who are equally comfortable with both the thorniest and the loveliest manifestations of underground rock. When they reflect on their chemistry, they agree that their openness to collaboration is, as Sakes puts it, "one of our superpowers."

On Blurred Wires, that superpower yields dynamic, challenging and profoundly memorable results.

Warehouse Find!

Undoubtedly one of the most exciting acts to have emerged in drum & bass over the past decade, Voltage has joined forces with Hospital Records for the release of his long-awaited studio album 'Balance Over Symmetry' which marks the tenth year of his journey as a solo artist.

No stranger to the Hospital family with an album, 2 EPs and a handful of singles under his belt as part of drum & bass powerhouse group Kings Of The Rollers, it's now time to explore the solo sounds of Voltage which have slowly but surely carved him to be one of the most respected DJ & producers in the scene.

In his true rambunctious style, Voltage sets the swing with a wild card. 'So Close' is a sub-120BPM synthwave weapon which matches his retro-inspired fashion to his musical vibrations. The combination of catchy vocals, an 80s-esque bassline and an unforgettable topline melody sees the creation of something extremely different yet irresistible from Voltage.

Not straying too far from the roots of his influences, 'Natty Love' features the groove inducing vocals of sound system legend Sweetie Irie. Saturated sub wobbles juxtaposed with potent string plucks are intertwined with ease, peppered with that signature Voltage flair.

Teaming up with reggae and dancehall superstar Demolition Man known for his skill as a vocalist, producer, MC and sound engineer, 'Life Of A DJ' combines the sounds of Demo's with Voltage's unmissable sonic technique. 'Save Me From Myself' exposes
the lighter side to Voltage as he illustrates his versatility as an artist through a soul-heavy amen roller with a classic liquid bassline.

Reminiscent of the days of euphoric hardcore, 'Keep On Dancing' sets the vibe with uplifting piano chops and adrenalised vocals as crunchy snaps and rhythmic cymbals keep things moving beneath. An iconic duo to everyone who knows their drum & bass, Voltage and Evil B come together for 'Odyssey' which sees ambient soundscapes
and earnest lyrics on a truly heartfelt piece of music.

With releases on foundational imprints such as Metalheadz, 31 Recordings, RAM, Souped Up and Spearhead to name a few, Voltage's discography speaks for itself in laying down his years’ worth of experience within drum & bass. With support for his productions coming from a wide range of influential selectors including the likes of Andy C, Hype, Friction, Goldie, Bailey, Hazard and Bryan Gee, it's safe to say that 10 years of Voltage has been a remarkable decade to say the least. Here's to 10 more…