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A.R. Kive collates the three most astonishing works from that most miraculous of duos - A.R. Kane - comprising the ‘Up Home’ EP from 1988 that signified the band’s dawning realisation of their own powers and possibilities, their legendary debut LP ‘sixty nine’ (1988) and its kaleidoscopic, prophetic double-LP follow up ‘i’ (1989).

In founder-member Rudy Tambala’s new remastering, the music on these pivotal transmissions from the birth of dream pop, have been reinvigorated and re-infused with a new power, a new depth and intimacy, a new height and immensity. Vivid, timeless and yet always timely whenever they’re recalled, these records still force any listener to realise that despite the habits of retrospective myth-making and the
safe neutering effects of ‘genre’, thirty years have in no way dimmed how resistant and dissident to critical habits of categorisation A.R. Kane always were. Never quite ‘avant-pop’ or ‘shoegaze’ or ‘post-rock’ or any of those sobriquets designed to file and categorise, A.R. Kive is a reminder that those genres had to be coined, had to be invented precisely to contain the astonishing sound of A.R. Kane, because
previous formulations couldn’t come close to their sui generis sound and suggestiveness. This is music that pointed towards futures which a whole generation of artists and sonic explorers would map out. Now beautifully repackaged, remastered and fleshed out with extensive sleeve notes and accompanying materials, ‘A.R. Kive’ reveals that 35 years on it’s still a struggle to defuse the revolutionary and inspirational possibility of A.R. Kane’s music.

A.R. Kane were formed in 1986 by Rudy Tambala and Alex Ayuli, two second-generation immigrants who grew up together in Stratford, East London. From the off the pair were outsiders in the culturally mixed (cockney/Irish/West Indian/Asian) milieu of the East End, with Alex and Rudy’s folks first generation immigrants from Nigeria and Malawi, respectively. The two of them quickly developed and fostered an innate and near-telepathic mutual understanding forged in musical, literary and artistic exploration. Like a lot of second-generation immigrants, they were ferocious autodidacts in all kinds of areas, especially around music and literature. Diving deep into the music of afro-futurist luminaries such as Sun Ra, Miles Davis, Lee Perry and
Hendrix, as well as devouring the explorations of lysergic noise and feedback from contemporaries like Sonic Youth and Butthole Surfers, they also thoroughly immersed themselves in the alternate literary realities of sci-fi and ancient history (the fascination with the arcane that gave the band their name), all to feed their voracious cultural thirsts and intellectual curiosity.

It was seeing the Cocteau Twins performing on Channel 4 show the Tube that spurred A.R. Kane into being - “They had no drummer. They used tapes and technology and Liz Fraser looked completely otherworldly with those big eyes. And the noise coming out of Robin’s guitar! That was the ‘Fuck! We could do that! We could express ourselves like that!’ moment”, recalls Tambala - and through a mix of
confidence, chutzpah, ad hoc almost-mythical live shows and sheer innocent will the duo debuted with the astonishing ‘When You’re Sad’ single for One Little Indian in 1986. Immediately dubbed a ‘black Jesus & Mary Chain’ by a press unsure of WHERE to put a black band clearly immersed in feedback and noise, what was immediately apparent for listeners was just how much more was going on here - a
tapping of dub’s stealth and guile, a resonant umbilicus back to fusion and jazz, the music less a conjuration of past highs than a re-summoning of lost spirits.
The run of singles and EPs that followed picked up increasingly rapt reviews in the press, but it was the ‘Up Home EP’ released in 1988 on their new home, Rough Trade that really suggested something immense was about to break. Simon Reynolds noted the EP was: Their most concentrated slab of iridescent awesomeness and a true pinnacle of an era that abounded with astounding landmarks of guitar-reinvention, A.R. Kane at their most elixir-like.

If anything, the remastered ‘Up Home’ that forms the first part of ‘A.R. Kive’ is even more dazzling, even more startling than it was when it first emerged, and listening now you again wonder not just about how many bands christened ‘shoegaze’ tried to emulate it, but how all of them fell so far short of its lambent, pellucid wonder. This remains intrinsically experimental music but with none of the frowning orthodoxy those words imply. A.R. Kane, thanks to that second generation auto-didacticism were always supremely aware about the interstices of music and magic, but at the same time gloriously free in the way they explored that connection within their own sound, fascinated always with the creation of ‘perfect mistakes’ and the possibilities inherent in informed play.

‘sixty nine’ the group’s debut LP that emerged in 1988 had
critics and listeners struggling to fit language around A.R. Kane’s sound. As a title it was telling - the year of ‘Bitches Brew’, the year of ‘In A Silent Way’, the erotic möbius between two lovers - and as originally coined by the band themselves, ‘dream pop’ (before it became a free-floating signifier of vague import) was entirely apposite for the music A.R. Kane were making. Crafted in a dark small basement studio in which Tambala recalls the duo had “complete freedom - We wanted to go as far out as we could, and in doing so we discovered the point where it stops being music”. There was an irresistibly dreamy, somnambulant, sensual and almost surreal flow to ‘sixty nine’s sound, but also real darkness/dankness, the ruptures of the primordial and the reverberations of the subconscious, within the grooves of remarkable songs like ‘Dizzy’ and ‘Crazy Blue’. Alex’s plangent vocals floated and surged amidst exquisite peals of refracted feedback but crucially there was BASS here, lugubrious and funky and full of dread, sonic pleasure and sonic disturbance crushed together to make music with a center so deep it felt subcutaneous, music constructed from both the accidental and the deliberate, generous enough to dance with both serendipity and chaos. ‘sixty nine’ remains - especially in this remastered iteration - ravishing, revolutionary.

The final part of this ‘A.R. Kive’ contains 1989’s astonishing double-LP ‘i’ which followed up on ‘sixty nine’s promise and saw the duo fully unleash their experimental pop sensibilities over 26 tracks, plunging the A.R. Kane sound into a dazzlingly kaleidoscopic vision of pop experiment and play. Suffused with new digital technologies and combining searingly sweet and danceable pop with perhaps the duo’s strangest and boundary-pushing compositions, the album did exactly what a great double-set should do - indulge the artists sprawling pursuit of their own imaginations but always with a concision and an ear for those moments where pop both transcends and toys with the listeners expectations. Jason Ankeny has noted that “In retrospect, ‘i’ now seems like a crystal ball prophesying virtually every major musical development of the 1990s; from the shimmering techno of ‘A Love from Outer Space’ to the liquid dub of ‘What’s All This Then?’, from the alien drone-pop of ‘Conundrum’ to the sinister shoegazer miasma of ‘Supervixens’ — it’s all here, an underground road map for countless bands to follow.” Perhaps the most overwhelmingly all-encompassing transmission from A.R. Kane, ‘i’ bookended a three year period in which the duo had made some of the most prophetic and revelatory music of the entire decade.

After ‘i’ the duo’s output became more sporadic with Tambala and Ayuli moving in different directions both geographically and musically, with only 1994’s ‘New Clear Child’ a crystalline re-fraction of future and past echoes of jazz, folk and soul, before the duo went their separate ways. Since then, A.R. Kane’s music has endured, not thanks to the usual sepia’d false memories that seem to maintain interest in so much of the musical past, but because those who hear A.R. Kane music and are changed irrevocably, have to share that universe which A.R. Kane opened up, with anyone else who will listen. Far more than other lauded documents of the late 80s it still sounds astonishingly fresh, astonishingly livid and vivid and necessary and NOW.

After 25 years of living his dream as one of hip hop’s most respected producers, Hi-Tek is digging back into his roots with a brand new trio of instrumental vinyl LPs in 2023. “Beatbox Studios (1995 MPC 60II)” is the first of the series, each featuring a selection of restored and remastered beats, carefully chosen from an archive of DAT tapes. These LPs manage to both provide a window into Tek’s development and to shine light on the work of an already enormously-talented musician whose beats would’ve sounded right at home on classic releases from the mid-1990s.

Having learned to make beats off of borrowed equipment as a teenager, the aspiring DJ/producer born as Tony Cottrell achieved a break of sorts when he was hired in 1995 to manage one of the rooms at Beatbox Studios, a sprawling complex in the Clifton neighborhood in Cincinnati. It became the go-to-spot in town for emerging talent, giving him a chance to learn about the intricacies of recording and to sharpen his communication skills with artists to maximize their performance The gig also gave Tek plenty of down time to practice on and to master the studio’s Akai MPC 60II while making his own music. It was around this time he began to collaborate with the top rap talent in Cincinnati, and he started regularly visiting New York City to plant seeds for new relationships in the industry.

Though his work eventually evolved far beyond the styles present on “Beatbox Studios,” here you’ll find many signature elements of that era’s contemporary New York sound: some snappy drums reminiscent of A Tribe Called Quest or Easy Mo Bee, plenty of horn stabs a la Pete Rock or Lord Finesse, and the kind of dark pianos and filtered bass lines that producers like the Beatminerz were steadily employing. These were his biggest influences at the time, and that was the sound of 1995. As it turns out, that classic sound remains in demand today, and while Hi-Tek was not a well-known name in hip hop circles at that time, the calibre of beats on “Beatbox Studios” prove that he was a talent to be reckoned with, even then.

The sessions with Walla (Death Cab for Cutie, Tegan and Sara, Foxing) struck the perfect balance between preparation and experimentation, injecting new life into the band's style of soft- hearted Midwestern indie rock with an ever so subtle Americana twist. The solidified Ratboys lineup stretched and expanded their vision in the studio, adding unexpected elements and instruments like rototoms, talkboxes, and fiddles. The result is Ratboys' most sonically diverse record, shifting wildly from track to track. It flexes everything from fuzzy power pop choruses on "Crossed That Line" and "It's Alive!" to a warm country twang on "Morning Zoo" to mournful folk on the titular track. After more than ten years and four studio albums, The Window finally captures Ratboys as they were always meant to be heard--expansive while still intimate, audacious while still tender--the
sound of four friends operating as a single, cohesive unit.

Eight years after its original release in 2015, and sold out upon release, Umor Rex finally presents a vinyl repress of Sirens, by Kara-Lis Coverdale and LXV. This new edition is limited to 500 copies and comes with revised artwork.

Inspired by the link between seduction and violence, Sirens comprises a series of timbrally vast anamorphic pieces that poise the voice as a newly imagined tool of multiplicity. Processes of sample manipulation, signal processing, routing, and source design inform instrumental writing and performance in feedback until intertwined, flickering between states of conflict and consonance. Apparitions of the schizophrenic voice are at one moment fractured and cold and at the next full of warmth and vivaciousness, embodying velvet rituals of romanticism in the digital age.

Ultimately, Sirens is music for ambitious dreamers: surreal sound portraits sound like the warmth of the world laid over an ice cold virtual altar. LXV’s vocal truncations and fleshy sound palettes depict the archivation of the breath and aural fantasies of the flesh which Coverdale sets amongst a vast and unconfined landscape of deeper and unknown force. Harmonically active and dynamic orchestrations underpin post-sacred tonalities while brooding pipe organs, sphinx flutes, and hailstorms of metallic percussion characterize uniquely disjointed discussions between disparate compositional ontologies. At times violent and at others serenely peaceful and seductive, these pieces, at their most powerful moments illuminate a felt space between cybernetic energy and the body.

Composed and recorded by Kara-Lis Coverdale and David Sutton. Mastered by John Tejada. Cover photograph by Cody Cobb. Layout by Daniel Castrejón.

On his third album Comité Hypnotisé let you belly flop into his eleven chambers of the Danza Del Piri-Piri: expanding the feral and contagious universe he started to build a lifetime ago. Levitating and shimmering a glistering way through deep old skool 70's sitar vibes and jitterbug grooves. This boogieman aka the Millionaire-mind and part of the Evil Superstars has carved some hot smoked out bass and organ flared cuts on wax, ready to never leave you again. Whether it is with woodchopped kazou sounds stretching into hazy sunshine desire or dazzling basslines blending with interstellar and stuttering kick drums: the Danza Del Piri-Piri flip-flops and slams into a wiggly relentless sonic future.

FFO Sven Wunder, Ennio Morricone, Khruangbin, Flying Lotus, The Meters, Parliament, Edan, The Gaslamp Killer.

Comité Hypnotisé is the brainchild of Tim Vanhamel, frontman of Millionaire and Evil Superstars, two of Belgium's most famous alternative rock bands. In 2013 Tim started creating solo music that only got released in 2021 on his first solo album through the Belgian eclectic Cortizona label

Baguette Magique returns with four original tracks produced by Madrid’s own Babu, who shares with us a beautiful and timeless piece of work.
The Ep starts off with “The Chamber”, a perfect intro to the electric energy of the record with a mischievous bass line, laser sounds and trippy chopped-off vocals from video game Halo that welcomes you literally into’s Babu’s universe.
Then comes “Play My Game” which shares the same name of the EP as we consider it to be the center piece of the record. A timeless electro gem, cut for the club and for the after hours.
The beautiful deep bass, malicious synths and ominous robotic voices are genuine and powerful. The Madrid based producer keeps on giving bangers for the club on the flip side with “Radio Transmission”.
The electricity is tangible in this hybrid track between Minimal, Techno and Electro topped off with glitchy fx and looped vocals. We conclude the ride with the lovely retro house track “Alpedrete House”. The deeper and groovier sounds make it the romantic cut from the record to dance and maybe fall in love on the dance floor.

Banshee is the new record label from internationally renowned DJ/producer Brianna Price (B.Traits/Baby T). Drawing “esoteric aggressive feminine energy” from the folkloric figure that gives Banshee its name, the imprint will focus on the output of Price’s Baby T alias.

Brianna knows her way around a dance. Years spent producing, DJing, and touring under the B.Traits alias have given Price a vast knowledge of rave culture. Now, all of that experience has been put to good use as part of Baby T’s “hardcore junglist shit only” approach. Anyone who has encountered a Baby T tune in a dark basement over the years should know that there will be no messing around with Banshee’s output. Baby T specialises in hardcore rave tackle schooled by junglism, electro and darkside techno, the project’s sound was honed via releases on labels like Samurai Music and Central Processing Unit. It’s a style at once wild yet focused, untamed yet laser-precise - This is music that will make the hairs on the back of your neck stand up – not unlike a banshee’s shriek, in fact…

The first Banshee release is not a collection for the faint of heart. Each of these four cuts is primed for deployment at the point of the party when things really kick into overdrive. Fiercely danceable, and unapologetically abrasive, Baby T’s productions here can school any challenger in the electro, techno, and jungle fields yet also carry themselves with a punkish spirit that sets them apart from the pack.

Dom of Dom & Roland, (Roland being a machine), has been a drum and bass visionary since the mid 90’s. He remains the only solo artist to have had award-winning albums on both Metalheadz and Moving Shadow. Dom released his ninth album on Overshadow earlier this year. His collaborations range far and wide and have included the likes of Optical, Amon Tobin, and more recently Noisia. Internationally acclaimed for both his records and performance, his epic brand of music has attracted other pioneers along the way, Art of Noise, David Bowie, Laurent Garnier, Goldie, and Clyde Stubblefield, are just a few of the many loyal fans he has collected over the last 30 years. He still travels the world, is not slowing down, and continues to evolve his music to this day.

“Individual” is his new label. Its purpose, in his own words, is “to celebrate the uniqueness and character of individuals or artists, who stand apart from others of the same”

Any questions about any of these products feel free to get in touch and we'll help you out!
albert.preston@sequence.cc

Rumbleton makes a welcome return to Rupture, cooking up some essential flavours with the 'Right Ingredients EP'.

Toronto connects with London once again as Rumbleton makes his first appearance on the label since 'The Fifth Column' in 2018 - it has been worth the wait as four cuts are exported in all the correct measures.

Lead track 'Right Ingredients' has been one of Rupture’s most sought after dubs. A totally unique track with elements of dub, soul, drumfunk and a chest rattling bassline that cuts deep.

Heavy artillery follows on 'Raw Deal' in a surge of amen pressure that continues into 'Just A Dream'.

Rumbleton never loses sight of the musicality however; his collaboration with Dodz, ‘Island Cream’ is filled with warm pads, tough breaks, groove & heart.

GIL’s second release provides moments of lightness and euphoria,
offering a glimpse of the transcendental experiences that can be found in nature. Anam Cara, which means “soul friend” in Gaelic, sets the tone for the journey that listeners are about to embark on. Each track is a sonic tribute to the power and beauty of friendship, evoking the many moods and emotions that are part of this intricate relationship. The modular sounds add a sense of intricacy and complexity to the record, while the metallic textures add a raw and industrial edge that complements the softer, fluid movements of the aquatic elements. The blend of downtempo and deep techno creates a sonic landscape that is both contemplative and hypnotic, inviting listeners to reflect on the many nuances of friendship. From the ethereal modular sounds of “Henko (Ethereal Reshape)” to the shimmering metallic textures of “Henko (Tapasya Mix)” each track is a unique sonic journey that captures the essence of this powerful relationship. Written, produced and engineered by Gilmer Galibard Vinyl Mastered by Anne Taegert at D&M Artwork by Gilmer Galibard

Scannoir & Sneaker, aka “GOTT”, explore, transform and mutate. This unique collaboration embodies the perfect symbiosis of passion. “Die Deutsch-Schweizerische Freundschaft” is still profound and continues to have an effect. Now the two exceptional artists present their latest work: GOTT – MUTATIO on the Zurich based label Mattoni Pazzi.

“Alles wird gut” was the motto of the occupied Wohlgroth-Areal in Zurich in 1993, where Sonic Violence was invited to the concert of their “Transfixion” album tour. Industrial beats, dark samples, guitar riffs and moshing punks dominated the scene. At the ticket booth there were CDs to take away: “Sonic Violence – Transfixion”!

A template that now, 30 years later, adorns this memory with the selected track “Malice” in a new guise. GOTT mutates the original into a dark hell ride.

Enter the realm of the Fields of the Nephilim! The guardian waits, a lifetime. Profound and melancholic, he is transformed by GOTT. Dark souls remain dark souls. Daringly and nevertheless tradition-consciously they march through the black terrain. Interwoven by GOTT, guarded by GOTT. Well – GOTT is the guard! Experience this unique metamorphosis with GOTT – MUTATIO.

After his woozy dark disco EP debut on NEIN records, Clouzer returns with LMNTL, a fine collection boasting 4 massive tracks tailored for the “big room” stage. Listening to Clouzer’s cosmic textures, layered abstractions and futuristic soundscapes on LMNTL feels like connecting to an extraterrestrial world.

The Berlin-based musician blends electro, broken beats and dirty bass lines, creating immersive and hypnotic environments for people to dwell in. The EP also features a beautiful remix by Sestrica, one of the most vibrant and unique female live acts on the Breakbeat scene.

Acclaimed singer-songwriter Terri Walker is celebrating the 20th anniversary of her critically acclaimed 2003 album, 'Untitled', with the release of her highly anticipated new album 'My Love Story', out now via Wings of a Hummingbird Records/Believe UK.

Produced by Konny Kon & Tyler Daley – widely recognised as Children of Zeus, who also co-wrote the album alongside Walker & Drs, the seven-track album showcases Terri's unique blend of Soul and RnB. Following on from the release of singles ‘Finally Over You’ and ‘I’m Not The One’, 'My Love Story' is a testament to Terri's growth as an artist over the past two decades.

Speaking about the album Terri said: “My Love Story is an album that I made for myself. It has been one of accountability, and ownership – no blaming or assumptions. It’s an album where I didn’t worry that it didn’t meet mine, or other people’s expectations.”

RIYL: Sigur Ros, Explosions in the Sky, Bark Psychosis, Caspian, Mogwai, This Will Destroy You. Exclusive vinyl colour (Opaque Mix Hellfire), limited to 1000 copies, and features a gatefold jacket, printed two-sided Euro sleeves, four art prints, and download code. Breaking from the strange monotony and abnormal norms that took hold during two years of pandemic life, Hammock returns with Love in the Void, an album that looks to the future, seizes the present, and unabashedly relishes the experiences and bonds that bring meaning to our days. Known for crafting orchestral works of stirring cinematic ambience, on Love in the Void the Nashville-based duo of Marc Byrd and Andrew Thompson bring guitar-forward, heart-pounding urgency to songs that shout through and shatter the static of complacency. Since forming as Hammock in 2003, Byrd and Thompson have released 14 critically-acclaimed albums and are renowned for their unique talent for bringing inexpressible emotion to life. The Covid-19 pandemic followed closely after one of Hammock’s career-defining works, the Mysterium, Universalis, and Silencia trilogy that chronicled the incomprehensible loss of Byrd’s 20-year old nephew. At their homes and apart, Byrd and Thompson then recorded Elsewhere, an album of shimmering ambience that channelled alienated longing and displacement into avenues that gave way to worlds and possibilities yet realized. Shaken awake and needing to break free of frustrations and longings, Love in the Void pulses with an unbridled spirit for action and experience and a burning desire for connection. Across songs that hammer home the keenly felt emotions of life’s highs and lows, Byrd and Thompson crest soaring crescendos awash in reverb and delve to keenly felt moments of quiet introspection, with unflinching lyrics on tracks like “Undoing” and “Denial of Endings’’ that weigh choices made and circumstances that can’t be changed. Lush and dramatic string orchestration from Matt Kidd (Slow Meadow) and emphatic drumming from Jake Finch heighten the stakes in play, and Christine Byrd’s (Lumenette) ethereal vocals leave mysteries lingering in the haze. Love in the Void is Hammock’s loudest album to date, embracing daring and vulnerability with palpable vitality at its core, and moving into an unknown future without fear.

Indies Only LP is opaque green vinyl. Both LPs come with a download. The moment the needle drops on Bite, the new A Giant Dog record, one’s conception of what an A Giant Dog record sounds like bends like space and time around a starship running at lightspeed. The biggest point of departure is that Bite is a concept album, concerning characters who find themselves moving in and out of a virtual reality called Avalonia. A Giant Dog’s first album of original songs since 2017’s Toy, Bite finds the band Sabrina Ellis, Andrew Cashen, Danny Blanchard, Graham Low, and Andy Bauer at their peak as musicians, challenging themselves with more complex arrangements and subject matter that forced them out of their heads and into those of the characters who occupy this supposed paradise. “We had to find ourselves within, or project ourselves into, the principal characters. We developed them, got to know their minds, emotions, and motivations, and then expressed those in nine songs,” Ellis explains. Themes of addiction, gender fluidity, living ethically in a capitalist society, physical autonomy, avarice, grief, and consent bubble beneath the promised happiness of Avalonia. This is evident in songs like “Different Than,” where Ellis sings, “My body can’t explain the things my mind don’t comprehend” as if societal gender pressure is squeezing its protagonist out of their skin. The songs on Bite are full of bombast, at turns calling to mind the spacefaring operatic rock of Electric Light Orchestra and the high drama of an Ennio Morricone film score. The album’s narrative sweep is epic in scope, its characters facing impossible odds and certain doom, existing as comfortably with the sci-fi grandiosity of Thin Lizzy’s Jailbreak as it does with the high fantasy of Dio and Iron Maiden. Appropriately, A Giant Dog came to this narrative armed to the teeth with new ideas, unleashing synthesizers and string sections to create what Ellis describes as orchestral, symphonic, futuristic punk. To achieve this, they left their home turf of Austin, Texas, for La Cuve Studio, just outside of Angers, France. Living in the French countryside, A Giant Dog laid down their vision of the future against a decidedly pastoral backdrop. On walks from Angers to La Cuve, Ellis says that they “would see many things, and also nothing at all. Swans on the river. Romani people living in little trailers, with a side hut built for their dog. A juggler on a unicycle—not fucking with you.” “We thought we wouldn’t be allowed back in France after this trip, to be honest,” they continued. “Five loud, stomping, clapping, rowdy Americans who ran through the streets of Angers for three weeks in November 2022.” The experience capped two years of planning and writing, fleshing out the universe of Avalonia beyond the bounds of most concept albums. The resulting nine songs do not merely occupy this space: They’ve lived in it, and they want out.

- Panda Bear, Voice of the Seven Woods, Mammane Sanni Abdoulaye. File under: Jazz / Electronic. Titi Bakorta almost didn't make it. Born in and raised in Kinshasa, the Congolese multi-instrumentalist was on his way to Uganda when he fell off the boat as it traversed the mighty Congo River. Unable to swim, Bakorta was saved by a friend who dragged him to the closest city Kisangani, where he was unexpectedly acquainted with local singer Dancer Papalas. Soon they were performing in bands together, traveling across the continents and settling in Tanzania, South Sudan and Dubai - they even appeared in front of General Defao, the beloved Congolese vocalist who fronted legendary soukous bands Grand Zaiko Wawa, Choc Stars and Big Stars. Now based in Kampala, Bakorta offers his own unique take on Congolese pop and folk sounds, weaving traditional elements through a psychedelic lattice of guitar loops, mangled voices and eccentric beatbox rhythms on his debut full-length. He bends woodblock snaps on 'Kop' into stuttered blurs, wailing emotionally over twanging riffs and bizarre, theatrical xylophone twinkles. It's still pop music on some level, but curved around Bakorta's unwieldy personal narrative - there's a sense that everything could unravel at any time but it all hangs together, strengthened by Bakorta's confident, contemporary production smarts. 'Elles Vais' is more airy, with celestial soukous vocals that float above tight, electronic drums. Tangled guitar echoes overlap each other like dense, weaved tapestries, contrasting perfectly with Bakorta's urgent, driving pulse. Occasionally, he transcends completely, like on 'Molende' where his chants and phrases neatly flutter between praise music and contemporary R&B. "Hustling, hustling, hustling, everyday I'm hustling," an angelic voice coos over phased electric guitar plucks and looped, AutoTuned chorals. It makes perfect sense that Bakorta should team up with Metal Preyers' Jesse Hackett on the album's final track, the aptly-titled 'Titis Haunted House'. The two artists share a similar obsession with moonlit, carnivalesque soundscapes, and Hackett's eerie synths provide a suitably eccentric foundation for Bakorta's ghostly wails and fuzzy guitar sounds.

Re-mastered by Kramer in 2022. Recommend If You Like: Raymond Scott, Mort Garson, Joe Meek, Robert Moog, Perrey and Kingsley, John Cage, Brian Eno, Sun Ra, Karlheinz Stockhausen, Hawkwind, Pete Seeger, William Shanter, Fred Rogers. An electro-surrealist musical journey from the mind of Bruce Haack "The Captain" - capturing his inventive genius musically in tandem with tapping into the voice of his inner child, innovative story songs inspired by Bruce Haack's diverse musical interests and a love of Science and explorations of the Natural World, songs to excite the imaginations of listeners, both young and old. Ahead of his time and beyond categorization- Haack continued to create trying to find new platforms in order to promote his electronic music. He scored many commercials during the 1960s and promoted electronic music on TV, even demonstrating his inventions on Mister Rogers' Neighborhood in 1968. He self-released his first children's music album later that year. Haack constantly added new genres and inspirations to his compositions and was greatly influenced by the psychedelic rock of the era. He constantly created new work that reflected not only his varied interests, but his shifting musical horizons. He created multiple youth oriented albums, dipping into science fiction, psychedelia and electronica, using traditional song structures in order to capture children's attention to educate them, while wrapped in one of his many personas. Bruce Haack wanted people to know him through his medium: music. He dedicated his life to exploring, inventing and sharing his eclectic brand of humor and many musical points of view. In failing health, he never stopped pursuing his distinctive musical dreams.

Nottingham’s hottest prospects, the four piece have been making waves with their definitive, genre-spanning sound that incorporates elements of post-punk, indie and art pop to create something remarkable and unique. 2022 saw the band release their debut EP ‘Soft Soap’ which garnered rapturous praise from BBC Radio 1, NME, Clash and more, cementing their place as an outfit to watch.

Following the success of Hiroshi Sato's reissue, Wewantsounds is proud to announce an ambitious programme to release Akiko Yano's albums outside of Japan starting with her 1981 synth-pop masterpiece 'Tadaima.', co-produced by Ryuichi Sakamoto and featuring YMO. The reissue includes original artwork by cult illustrator King Terry, a 2 page insert and OBI Strip (LP) plus a new introduction by renowned Electro DJ Joakim. Japan's best kept secret, Akiko Yano is one of the most ground-breaking artists to come out of the 70s Japanese music scene along with HaruomiHosono, Ryuichi Sakamoto. A piano child prodigy, Yano started her solo recording career in 1976 at just 21, recording her debut album "Japanese Girl" with no less than Little Feat as the backing band. This album created a stir on the Japanese scene and Yano was on the map. She went on to record a series of superb albums mixing Funk, Electro and City Pop featuring the cream of Japanese (and sometimes American and English) musicians; The fact she was producing, writing and composing herself made her a true maverick in a very male-dominated industry. These albums, incredibly, have never been released outside of Japan to this day. "Tadaima." ("I'm home" in Japanese) recorded in 1981 is Yano's fith studio album co-produced by her then husband Ryuichi Sakamoto and featuring all the musicians from YMO (HaruomiHosono, Yukihiro Takahashi and Sakamoto), the group she was touring with at the time. "Tadaima." is Yano's first attempt to leave the acoustic piano aside and delve into the synth sounds of the early 80s. The result is a fascinating electro pop masterpiece showcasing her talent as a writer, musician and singer, creating her own unique universe. Mixing Japanese and English lyrics, Yano crafts perfect pop songs such as "Tadaima" "I Sing", "HarusakiKobeni" (which became one of her most famous songs after its use in a Japanese cosmetics ad), while "Taiyo No Onara" is a suite composed of nine short stories written by Children. Contributors on Tadaima also include ShigesatoItoi, one of Japan's most famous copywriters (for Studio Ghibli among others) who wrote two tracks on the album and his friend legendary illustrator TeruhikoYumura - aka King Terry - who revolutionised underground manga in the 70s with his 'heta-uma' (bad-good) style, as showcased on the album's striking artwork. 'Tadaima.' is the perfect entry point to Akiko Yano's unique body or work.


The reissue comes with the original obi strip artwork, extensive liner notes and a new introduction from Joakim

Wewantsounds Is Pursuing Its Ambitious Akiko Yano Reissue Program With The Release Of "japanese Girl", Her Landmark Debut Album From 1976. Backed By Little Feat With Lowell George And By The Cream Of Japanese Musicians (including Haruomi Hosono), Japanese Girl Is One Of The Most Important Japanese Albums Of The 70s, Mixing Pop, Rock, Japanese Folk Together With Little Feat's Superb Classic Sound. This Is The Very First Time The Album Is Released Internationally. The Deluxe Lp Edition Includes Remastered Sound, Tip-on Lp Sleeve, Download Card Plus The Original 4-page Insert With Lyrics And Full Line-up!
When Akiko Suzuki Left Her Home Town Of Aomori For Tokyo In The Early 70s Aged Just 15 To Become A Professional Musician, She Quickly Started Making Waves On The Local Music Scene Performing At The Jazz Club Rob Roy. In 1973 She Released A 7" With The Group Zariba And Caught The Attention Of A&r Man Koki Miura. She Then Recorded One Song, "oinaru Shiino-ki" With Haruomi Hosono On Bass And Drummer Tatsuo Hayashi (who Features On Many Hosono Albums And Also Hiroshi Sato's 1979 Album Orient) With A Full Album In Mind.

After A Marriage With Musician/producer Makoto Yano And The Birth Of Her Son (named Fuuta), Yano And Her Team Resumed The Recording Of The Album And Decided To Pitch Little Feat For A Collaboration As She Loved The Group. Against All Odds They Said Yes And Yano Left Tokyo For Los Angeles In March 1976 To Record A Full Side With Them. The Legend Has It They Found It So Difficult To Keep Up With Yano's Compositions They Returned Some Of Their Fee. The Session Was Nevertheless Stunning And Lowell George Even Compared Yano To Stevie Wonder. The Little Feat Blend Of New Orleans Groove Matched Yano's Melodies Perfectly, As Witnessed On "funamachi-uta Part 2." Originally A Traditional Song From The Nebuta Festival In Her Hometown Of Aomori (part I On Side 2 Gives A Good Idea Of What The Original Form Sounds Like), The Little Feat Version Is A Formidable Slow-funk Workout Not Dissimilar To Their Classic, "spanish Moon", Serving Yano's Beautiful Vocals And Sense Of Groove To Perfection. The Whole Side Is A Match Made In Heaven, Showcasing The Classic Little Feat Line Up At Their Funkiest With Yano's Unique Japanese Twist.

The Japanese Side On The Album Gives A Great Snapshot Of The Tokyo Music Scene Of The 70s With Many Musicians Gravitating Around Haruomi Hosono (and Present On His 1973 Classic Album 'hosono House' Including Sound Engineer Kinji Yoshino) And Also Several Musicians From Japanese Band, The Moonriders.

Recorded At The Legendary Onkyo Haus Studio In Tokyo, The Sessions Mix Singer-songwriter Sensitivity And Pop With Traditional Japanese Sounds And Instruments Like The Shinobue Transverse Flute, The Koto String Instrument Or The Tsuzumi Hand Drum As Played On "hekoriputaa" By The Legendary Percussionist Kisaku Katada Who Was Appointed Living National Treasure By The Japanese State In 1999; Together They Create A Beautiful East-meets-west Mix Masterfully Driven By Yano's Creativity And Unique Talent.

A Breathtaking Debut Album That Made Akiko Yano One Of The Most Important Artists To Emerge From The 70s, Japanese Girl Has Since Become A Milestone In Japanese Music With A Recent Documentary On Nhk Tv Telling The Whole Story Behind This Classic. Wewantsounds Is Now Proud To Present This Essential Album To The Rest Of The World.

RYUICHI SAKAMOTO'S LANDMARK 1981 ALBUM REISSUED FOR THE FIRST TIME IN DECADES OUTSIDE OF JAPAN. THE ALBUM WILL BE REISSUED IN ITS RARE JAPANESE EDITION TOGETHER WITH A 2-LP LIMITED EDITION FEATURING THE ALBUM PLUS A 2ND LP FEATURING ITS NEVER-RELEASED FULL INSTRUMENTAL MIX, ALL REMASTERED BY BERNIE GRUNDMAN.

Wewantsounds is proud to announce the reissue of Ryuichi Sakamoto's third solo album "Hidari Ude No Yume" (Left Handed Dream), originally released in 1981 on the Alfa label. Save for a small-scale Dutch vinyl release in 1981, it is the first time the album's original Japanese edition is released outside of Japan (the European release on Epic Records included significantly different tracks and mixes). Newly remastered from the original tapes by renowned engineer Bernie Grundman, this LP edition comes with original artwork featuring a striking cover shot by famous photographer Masayoshi Sukita (sourced from the original negative), OBI strip and 4-page insert with new introduction by journalist Anton Spice. The album will also be released as a 2-LP limited edition gatefold including the album's full instrumental mix.
Ryuichi Sakamoto's third album, "Hidari Ude No Yume" was recorded at the legendary Alfa Studio 'A' in Tokyo during the Summer of 1981. it came after "B-2 Unit" in 1980 and his debut album "Thousand Knives Of" in 1978, the very year Sakamoto was invited by Haruomi Hosono to join Yellow Magic Orchestra alongside Yukihiro Takahashi. In the process, they became global stars as the group rewrote the rules of electronic pop and toured around the world, yet Sakamoto was keen to remain active as a solo artist.
?In 1981, the musician decided to record an album rooted in Pop, following "B-2 Unit" which had a more of an experimental edge and his landmark electro debut from 1978. For this new album entitled "Hidari Ude No Yume," Sakamoto invited British producer Robin Scott, who had had huge hit with 'Pop Muzik,' to co-produce. They entered the Alfa studio in July 1981, accompanied by a handful of musicians. These included his fellow YMO musicians Haruomi Hosono and Yukihiro Takahashi, keyboard programmer extraordinaire Hideki Matsutake who'd been on Sakamoto's first two albums and became YMO's unofficial fourth member, violinist Kaoru Sato, saxophonist Satoshi Nakamura and American guitarist Adrian Belew who'd played with David Bowie, The Talking Heads' "Remain In Light" and more recently, Tom Tom Club’s debut (co-writing 'Genius Of Love').
?Together, they created a fascinating mix of pop, ambient and electronic music with elements of avant garde and traditional Japanese music, the whole firmly rooted in a solid groove. Sakamoto wanted to give the album a spontaneous feel and decided to let ideas flow and evolve organically during the sessions as musicians would develop them together. From the funk of 'Relâché' to the new wave feel of 'Venezia' and the ambient minimalism of 'Slat Dance,' the album is remarkably consistent while displaying a wealth of global influences as shown by the diversity of instruments featured on the credits: Marimba, didgeridu, traditional Japanese instruments such as the Sho and Hichiriki flutes.
?The album was released in Japan in 1981 and Epic Records picked it up for Europe a year later but decided to release it in a significantly altered version. The sequencing was completely reshuffled and two tracks, 'Saru No Ie' and 'Living In The Dark' were completely dropped while three others, ‘Relâché’, ‘Tell 'em To Me’, ‘Venezia’ were heavily remodelled with english lyrics and became 'Just About Enough', 'Once In A Lifetime' and 'The Left Bank'. Last but not least, a new English-sung track, 'The Arrangement,' was added, making the album nine tracks instead of ten for the Japanese edition.
Altogether this International version called "Left-Handed Dream" was a very different album from the Japanese one and although both were successful at the time and further established Ryuichi Sakamoto as a global solo artist, the Japanese edition of "Hidari Ude No Yume" remains largely unknown to international ears.
Wewantsounds is now delighted to release this original Japanese edition for the first time in decades as a single LP together with a 2-LP limited-edition set adding, as a bonus, its fascinating instrumental mix, discovered in the label's vaults a few years ago (Note that 'The Garden Of Poppies', 'Slat Dance' and 'Saru No Ie' are instrumentals but for the consistency of the album we kept them on the Instrumental Mix). "Hidari Ude No Yume" is an essential album in Ryuichi Sakamoto's rich discography. It is now available in its purest original Japanese form.

In 1972, a foursome of design students set out to make a record. This was, in many ways, a strictly creative endeavor. The quartet — composed of Dave Pescod, Alan Lewis, Phil Rawle, and Ted Rockley — were all trained, not as musicians, but as creatives. Art school heavyweights, the four were well-versed in the methodology of intentional experimentation, in the delicate balance of pushing the limits without completely unmooring oneself from a guiding creative intention. Emboldened by a high-brow familiarity with thoughtful experimentation and all the non-conviction of non-musicians, Bowes Road Band’s stint in the world of popular music yielded a record that is as much mind-melting as it is a direct product of its time. Their sprawling LP “Back in the HCA” embodies the exigence “art for art’s sake,” but it is for art’s sake that this record, however off the deep end it seems to travel (hear: “Doctor, Doctor”), remains a unified, and stunning, body of work. The LP’s do-ityourself garage rock noisemaking meets highfalutin creative processes. “Back in the HCA” is warbling psychedelic freakout (“Two Fingers,” “Doctor, Doctor”), Donovan-esque English countryside folk stylings (“Inside My Head,” “Goodbye to Rosie”), and avant-garde jazz improvisions (“Grass is Grass,” “Tomorrow’s Truth”) in one luminous release.

Originally an 9-track LP, Jakarta, Uno Loop, and Bowes Road Band decided to mine the six most cohesive tracks for the reissue, though the extras may be released somewhere down the line. Cohesion efforts aside, “Back in the HCA” stands alone in its singular conception of a genre-bending continuum — it evades definition. That said, the LP can easily be situated in the sonic environment in which it was conceived. By the end of the 60s, England was crawling with blues-based rock outfits that were starting to venture into prog rock territory. You can hear this popular dint cast over the folkier side of the LP. But Bowes Road Band was armed with their non-musicianship: they existed completely liberated from the motivating yet ultimately paralyzing lust for stardom. Enjoying this liberation, Bowes Road Band was utterly free to make noise. This freedom meant drawn out sax interludes amidst sweetly folk stylings (“Grass is Grass”) and Shaggs-like fuzzed-out freakouts that spiral into a void (Doctor, Doctor). This freedom also meant straight-forward tuneful cuts like “Goodbye Rosie” that conspicuously introduce heavily distorted auto-organ accompaniment mid-track amidst poignant lyricism. Bowes Road Band crafts a unified sound and then cracks it open.

With a completely off-the-radar status, Bowes Road Band could only press 50 copies of the record — 10 for each of them and 10 for the school. The band’s lifespan was to end there, or so they thought. “Back in the HCA” was the accidental fruit of a Berlin flea market treasure hunt by Jannis Stürtz, DJ and co-founder of Habibi Funk and Jakarta Records. After finding and sharing the LP with a few colleagues, Stürtz managed to get in touch with the band, get ahold of the master tapes collecting dust in Ted Rockley’s attic, and start the reissuing process. The record is still adorned with its original cover art designed by Alan Pescod, both reminiscent of bygone school days and the Zoom calls of yesterday — in short, reunion. Its re-discovery was happenstance and ought to be listened to as such. That is, “Back in the HCA” was not made to be listened to on a broad scale, or, at least, was not made with this goal in mind; it is neither in its time nor of its time. Of course, the group explicitly cites the folk tunes of the English countryside, the distorted rock groups that reigned during the record’s conception, and the fringes of psychedelic music that only the uber-underground might recognize (e.g., “Dreaming of Alice”). Yet still with these obvious influences, “Back in the HCA” always existed beyond the domain of both traditional musicianship and conventional commodification. Bowes Road Band’s DIY musicality beams through in technicolor across “Back in the HCA.” The vinyl includes an 8-page booklet detailing the albums creation and interviews with the band.

Lead single “Grass is Grass,” out July 14 along with album pre-order, encapsulates the record’s range: the track unfurls into a sprawling sax-driven trip following a sundrenched, Donovan-esque intro w/ lyrics “naively about parks and gardens, not marijuana!” The keyed-down folk cut “Goodbye to Rosie” is single 2 and elevates stripped-down acoustics with golden tinges, out August 4th. Focus track “Tomorrow’s Truth” constructs the fuzzed-out underbelly of acid folk. Listen for echoes of late Beatles, Mark Fry, and Donovan (if they were armed by an unshakabele willful naiveté). Like Sgt. Pepper’s on a shoestring budget—take a trip to the underground with LP “Back in the HCA,” available everywhere physically and digitally on September 1st via Jakarta Records and Uno Loop.

Besides online promotion from label profiles, the album will be further promoted by external agencies within the UK and US.

Innercity Griots is an album with a legendary status among fans of hidden Hip Hop gems of the 90's.

At the heart of Innercity Griots is the unique sound and style of Freestyle Fellowship. This group of four talented MCs (Aceyalone, Myka 9, Self Jupiter, and P.E.A.C.E) and their producer, J-Sumbi, created a sound that was both experimental and deeply rooted in the traditions of hip-hop.

The sound of the group is recognizable with a unique jazz-infused style. What really sets the group apart from other jazz-influenced Hip Hop from that era is their incredible lyricism. The raps are packed with dense wordplay, complex metaphors, and social commentary. This all together makes it a rich and rewarding listen.

YMO DRUMMER YUKIHIRO TAKAHASHI'S SOPHISTICATED CITY FUNK CLASSIC FROM 1978 CO-PRODUCED BY RYUICHI SAKAMOTO AND FEATURING HARUOMI HOSONO, MINAKO YOSHIDA AND TATSURO YAMASHITA. RELEASED FOR THE FIRST TIME OUTSIDE OF JAPAN - WITH REMASTERED AUDIO, LP COMES WITH OBI AND FOUR PAGE INSERT

Wewantsounds is delighted to announce the release of Yukihiro Takahashi's debut solo album 'Saravah!'. One of the key Japanese albums of the 70s, it was released in 1978 at a key time when, following his tenure with Sadistic Mika Band, Takahashi had just joined the nascent line up of Yellow Magic Orchestra. A sophisticated mix of Disco Funk, synth Pop, Ambient, French Exotica and Bossa Nova, the album has the stylish feel of a night out clubbing in Paris circa 1978. It’s the missing link between the City Pop scene of the late 70s and the synth sound of YMO which was about to revolutionise the world. Newly remastered by renowned engineer Mitsuo Koike, the LP features original artwork with photos by Masayoshi Sukita (David Bowie's Heroes), a 4-page insert and a new Introduction by Benjamin Barouh (Saravah records).
The month before recording the YMO debut album that would help alter the course of music, Yukihiro Takahashi entered the studio with his fellow band-members Ryuichi Sakamoto and Haruomi Hosono to record 'Saravah!' together with the cream of the Japanese scene. He drew his inspiration from globe-trotting French musician Pierre Barouh who had introduced Bossa Nova in France in 1966 with "Samba Saravah" (featured in soundtrack the Oscar Winner A Man And A Woman which he co-wrote) and subsequently launched Saravah Records.
'Saravah' starts off with a couple of French and Italian exotica classics ('Volare' and 'C'est Si Bon') with delicious touches of synth while 'Saravah!' a nod to Pierre Barouh, is a languid Bossa Nova with beautiful soulful strings arranged by Ryuichi Sakamoto. The album gets hotter with 'La Rosa' a superb mid tempo ambient funk featuring Takahashi's beat backed by Haruomi Hosono's bumping bass line, Sakamoto's Hammond Organ and Shigeru Suzuki's fluid guitar.
The first side ends with an amazing exotica-synth version of the standard 'Mood Indigo', announcing the midi revolution that was to come before things get funkier on Side Two starting with Ryuichi Sakamoto's superb up-tempo Disco instrumental ‘Elastic Dummy’ featuring soulful strings and horns with solos by Sakamoto and guitarist Tsunehide Matsuki. The album then moves on to the ambient synth pop of ‘Sunset’ before switching back to Disco Funk with 'Back Street Midnight Queen’ which. like 'Elastic Dummy' has become a dancefloor cult classic over the years.' Saravah! ends on a perfect note with the beautiful 'Present' a perfectly crafted pop song which Takahashi wanted to do in a City Pop mode, featuring a superb melody and high-class arrangements. The perfect soundtrack to an early morning stroll in the Paris streets as illustrated by Masayoshi Sukita's photos featured on the album cover.
A sophisticated album full of glitz and fun, 'Saravah!' gives a unique insight into the versatility the YMO musicians and how funky they could play under Yukihiro Takahashi's influence. This was a key time when the three musicians were just transitioning to a sound that would be dominated by synthesizers and 'Saravah' catch them just at that fascinating moment.

Limited 2023 Repress of MADICNH002 By Tripped pressed on Transparent 12" record with Blue and Orange marbles, Comes in plain black record sleeve. Each copy is unique.

An eclectic EP heavy on the old-school vibes as familiar from the Madback label chief.

Going anywhere from Hard Techno, doomy Hardcore, Acid & Hardcore Techno. Don't miss out!

Wewantsounds continues its Akiko Yano series with the reissue of her cult classic 'Ai Ga Nakucha Ne' recorded in 1982 and co-produced by Ryuichi Sakamoto. Featuring Japan, the album includes additional recording in Tokyo with YMO and is mixed by Steve Nye and Shinichi Tanaka. It is the first time the album is released outside of Japan and the deluxe LP features the original artwork with gatefold sleeve and a lavish 24-page colour booklet with sessions photos by Pennie Smith (famous for The Clash's London Calling photo). The reissue also includes a new introduction by Mac DeMarco and a dual interview with Akiko Yano and Steve Jansen by journalist Paul Bowler. The audio remastered from the Original tapes by Mitsuo Koike.

'Ai Ga Nakucha Ne' ('there must be love' in Japanese) is Akiko Yano’s 6th studio album and follows 'Tadaima' in 1981. It continues exploring the electro-pop sound of its predecessor, hot on the heels of her touring with Yellow Magic Orchestra between 1979 and 1980. For this album, Akiko decided to try something new; she enrolled English fellow musicians Mick Karn, Steve Jansen and David Sylvian from Japan and booked the Air Studios in London under the supervision of engineer Steve Nye. ​​Over a couple of weeks, the musicians created a fascinating soundscape full of catchy pop tunes, sung in both Japanese and English. Reminiscing about the studio sessions, Steve Jansen notes "Our music’s different but we maybe had a similar process of working. It was a great environment because the studio was a great place to work. It was very insular. There were four studios and there were always groups working in there 24/7."

The eleven tracks featured on "Ai Ga Nakucha Ne," mostly composed by Akiko - are a great collection of catchy tunes featuring her distinctive vocals and accompanied by the Japan musicians. As Akiko explains about the creative process, "I didn’t think to imitate or to make another Tin Drum. But I had Steve Jansen and Mick Karn, these excellent musicians. They were eager to understand the songs, then they put in everything they had. I knew the material was different from what they usually played in Japan. But it was a great experience working with them.

​There are many highlights on the album, from the pop edge of "Aisuru Hito Yo" to the avant groove of "Another Wedding Song", each song is memorable and the album ends with the superb “Good Night” sung by Akiko and David Sylvian.

The original 1982 LP release included a 24 page booklet featuring many photos by Pennie Smith and Japanese photographer Bishin Jumonji. The booklet is reproduced in its entirety here and the album on top of contributions by Mac DeMarco, a longtime fan of the album, Akiko and Steve Jansen making this release of 'Ai Ga Nakucha Ne' a unique testament to Akiko Yano's greatness.

Under the alias 4E, producer Can Oral created his own unique sound of raw, futuristic acid-electro. The A-Side tracks "Ask Isadora" and "Conga Banana" first appeared on the album, Blue Note, released on Home Entertainment in 1996. On the flip are two unreleased tracks picked from his extensive archive and edited by FIT Siegel. These were also recorded during this era, which Can describes below:

"In the 90s I moved to NYC to start a band with Jimi Tenor. I had a small flat in the East Village with the apartment number 4E and that became my artist name for the downtempo and electro material I was working on. The style I called Futuristic Electro because I didn't want to relate to the old school with this. I had my studio on the kitchen floor and pretty much only used EMU SP-1200, TB-303, TR-808 and SH-101 by good ol’ Roland. In a way NYC was still developing because it was all about house music. In 1995, I opened Temple Records in Manhattan with Dr Walker from Air Liquide and DJ DB from Smile Communications. The record shop was inside the Liquid Sky clothing store. After a fire in the shop, along with a falling out with the owner I decided to talk to a fortune teller to find out what the future held. Her name was Isadora, and she had a TV show called "Ask Isadora." She told me on live television to move out, have my own shop and be independent, so I did. Thanks Isadora!"

Wewantsounds is delighted to announce a special edition of the legendary 1979 Masahiko Togashi album "Song of Soil," recorded in Paris with Don Cherry and Charlie Haden and released on Japanese label Paddle Wheel. Supervised by Parisian producer Martin Meissonnier - then Don Cherry"s right hand man - "Song of Soil" reaches heights of spirituality mixing Eastern influences with jazz and deep ambient soundscapes. The album is reissued here with its original artwork and remastered by King Records in Japan. It includes the original Japanese 2-p insert plus a deluxe 8-page booklet featuring new notes (Eng/Fr) by Martin Meissonnier in conversation with Jacques Denis and also an Togashi Biography by Paul Bowler and never-seen photos by cult French photographer philippe gras who witnessed this unique session.

2023 Repress

MADINCH001 by KRTM and Tripped gets a limited repress in pink, blue & white marbled 12" vinyl. - comes in plain black cover. Each copy is unique!

Collector item! - We advise you to be quick.

Matching expansive ambience with environmental sound, Chihei Hatakeyama’s new album continues Field Records’ exploration of Japan and the Netherland’s shared approach to water management. As with Sugai Ken’s 2020 album Tone River, a specific project becomes Hatakeyama’s area of focus - in this case the Hachirōgata Lake in Akita Prefecture.

Previously the second largest body of water in Japan, the government ordered extensive drainage work of Hachirōgata Lake after the second world war with the help of Dutch engineers Pieter Jansen and Adriaan Volker. After the project was completed in 1977, reclaimed land took up eighty percent of Hachirōgata Lake’s total size. As a result, a new ecosystem was established as plants spread from surrounding areas, bringing with them a wider variety of birds and other wildlife.

Hatakeyama’s approach to this unique subject matter took in field recordings from particular locations around the lake - the drainage channels, the Ogata bridge, grassland conservation reserves and other key areas. The aquatic subject matter and sonic material is a natural fit for Hatakeyama’s accomplished sound, which has featured on numerous solo works for labels including Kranky, Room40 and his self-run White Paddy Mountain.

From the intimate intricacies of the sampled material to the glacial expanses of droning synthesis and languid guitar, Hatakeyama creates a tangible environment which at once reflects the settings around Hachirōgata Lake, while offering the listener any number of imagined scenes to observe in their mind’s eye.

Whispers is the first proper P.G. Six album since 2011"s Starry Mind. Time passes slowly, as they"ve been known to say out in the country, and before you know it, there"s a bunch of it behind you. After five releases in the first decade of P.G. Six, it may seem a bit of a surprise to have not heard something new in the past twelve years - but a cursory listen to Murmurs & Whispers will answer why, as the deep acoustic focus of the tracks imply an investment of the type of compassion and understanding that takes time and concentrated effort to conjure. Additionally, Pat Gubler"s always got a few pots going at once in his ever-expanding musical universe. He"s been active since the mid-90s, first with Memphis Luxure and Tower Recordings, then as P.G. Six, and as a member of Metal Mountains, Wet Tuna, Garcia Peoples and Weeping Bong Band. Additionally, some time was spent making collaborative records with Dan Melchior (in 2019) and Louise Bock (in 2021). Pat"s been playing the harp for more years than he"s been in bands, but when he realized that he was writing a set of songs centered around harp compositions, he spent some time in the woodshed with his instrument, a late 80s model Triplett Celtic 34 String Harp (which replaced a lovely Paraguayan harp he"d played for years previously). After the previous P.G. albums of electric band arrangements, he was in a place of writing songs with more silence in them. He ended up playing a lot of the parts himself on Murmurs & Whispers, adding guitar, bass, keyboards, recorder and hurdy gurdy, in addition to his harp and vocals. Clark Griffin and Wednesday Knudson, who Pat plays with in Weeping Bong Band, played and sang a bit themselves, and the record was recorded piece by piece in houses around upstate New York by Mike Fellows. Returning to the quiet acoustic sound of the first couple of P.G. Six albums, Parlor Tricks and Porch Favorites (which has seen a much-needed reissue in the past year after too many years OOP) and The Well of Memory, Murmurs & Whispers is more straightforward in expressing its vision of rural celestial wonder. Bucolic and comfortably lived in, Murmurs & Whispers nonetheless projects the transcendent heart of P.G. Six once again, and as ever, it is magnificent to hear it passing through us.

Black Truffle is pleased to announce The Leisure Principle, a new solo LP from London-based bassist and sound artist Otto Willberg. A key player in the London underground, Willberg is often heard on acoustic and electric bass in free improv settings and bands with Laurie Tompkins (Yes Indeed) and Charles Hayward (Abstract Concrete), as well as the fractured No Wave unit Historically Fucked. His previous solo releases have ranged from extended technique double bass to explorations of the acoustics of a 19th century artillery fort. But nothing Willberg has committed to wax so far prepares a listener for The Leisure Principle, six unashamedly melodic improvisational workouts created almost entirely with heavily filtered bass harmonica and electric bass. On the opening ‘Reap What Thou Sow’, a single-note bass harmonica loop pulses along underneath a roaming bass solo, the side-chained envelope filtering (where the dynamic behaviour of the bass determines the filter for both bass and harmonica) fusing the two instruments into a single stream of burbling shifts in resonance. After several minutes of patient exploration of this low-end landscape, the music suddenly opens up in widescreen with the entrance of Sam Andreae’s graceful melodica chords, spreading out across the stereo field. From this epic opener, each of the remaining pieces goes on to explore a slightly different aspect of the terrain. On ‘Shadow Came into the Eyes as Earth Turned on its Axis’, a similarly buoyant harmonica bass line provides the foundation, but this time playing a soulful descending riff, its almost R&B feel abstracted and half-obscured by the filtering. On ‘Mollusk’, echoed bass arpeggios skitter between elegiac chords somewhat reminiscent of the opening of John Abercrombie’s ‘Timeless’, before settling into a hypnotic groove. On the record’s second half, Willberg pushes further into the possibilities of his idiosyncratic instrumentation. On ‘Wetter’, bass and harmonica come together into a monstrous, growling jaw harp; on ‘Had we but world enough and more time’, the subtly shifting pulsating patterns start to feel almost like a kind of evaporated, drum-less dub techno until an eruption of wheezing bass harmonica gives the piece a comically folkish turn. Willberg’s melodically inventive and virtuosic bass performance calls to mind any number of fusion touchstones, from Jaco Pastorius to Mark Egan’s singing tone in the early Pat Metheny Group—even Anthony Jackson’s work with Steve Kahn. But with its radically reduced instrumentation, The Leisure Principle is also an exercise in minimalism, and the absence of percussion gives even its funkiest moments a strangely abstracted quality. At times, its uncanny blend of the abstruse and the immediate suggests the fried pop experiments of David Rosenboom or the skewed but deeply musical DIY of 80s underground groups like De Fabriek. Both easy on the ear and profoundly strange, The Leisure Principle proudly takes its place among the most eccentric offerings on the Black Truffle menu.

An antidote to the tough-guy hardcore spreading from CBGB's, emo outliers Native Nod's unique genre juxtaposition of damaged art-rock, daring/naive songwriting, and raw, poetic vocals have set them apart from the glut of early-'90s post-hardcore. Compiled here are the band's trio of seminal 7" EPs for the Gern Blandsten label, with liner notes by Jenn Pelly and scores of unseen photographs and ephemera.

András Cséfalvay makes simple music with a potent atmosphere. A well-known figure in the Slovak underground (artistic, literary and music) scene, he returns after years of silence with a collection of intense songs. It's music which tackles both fantasy concepts and environmental trauma; Cséfalvay, armed only with the voice of a bard and his own hand-made guitar, will kindle your imagination and take you to the most unexpected corners of your mind.

More than a singer, on 'Future Role of the Church in the Forthcoming Enviromental Transformation' Cséfalvay acts like a narrator, wearing his heart on his sleeve. He sings of his hate of percussion instruments, Jupiter and other planets, tells tales of guns and love, nature and Mithrandir. His unique style is completely absorbing, despite the minimal, traditional set-up known from his live performances. Existential, yet light, these twelve songs mark a welcome return of a fascinating artist who presents his own vision of the past, present and future – it's bleak and existential, but also filled with purity and honesty that's impossible to resist.

'Future Role of the Church in the Forthcoming Environmental Transformation' is András Cséfalvay's second album, and his first for the sincere label Weltschmerzen.credits

Whispers is the first proper P.G. Six album since 2011"s Starry Mind. Time passes slowly, as they"ve been known to say out in the country, and before you know it, there"s a bunch of it behind you. After five releases in the first decade of P.G. Six, it may seem a bit of a surprise to have not heard something new in the past twelve years - but a cursory listen to Murmurs & Whispers will answer why, as the deep acoustic focus of the tracks imply an investment of the type of compassion and understanding that takes time and concentrated effort to conjure. Additionally, Pat Gubler"s always got a few pots going at once in his ever-expanding musical universe. He"s been active since the mid-90s, first with Memphis Luxure and Tower Recordings, then as P.G. Six, and as a member of Metal Mountains, Wet Tuna, Garcia Peoples and Weeping Bong Band. Additionally, some time was spent making collaborative records with Dan Melchior (in 2019) and Louise Bock (in 2021). Pat"s been playing the harp for more years than he"s been in bands, but when he realized that he was writing a set of songs centered around harp compositions, he spent some time in the woodshed with his instrument, a late 80s model Triplett Celtic 34 String Harp (which replaced a lovely Paraguayan harp he"d played for years previously). After the previous P.G. albums of electric band arrangements, he was in a place of writing songs with more silence in them. He ended up playing a lot of the parts himself on Murmurs & Whispers, adding guitar, bass, keyboards, recorder and hurdy gurdy, in addition to his harp and vocals. Clark Griffin and Wednesday Knudson, who Pat plays with in Weeping Bong Band, played and sang a bit themselves, and the record was recorded piece by piece in houses around upstate New York by Mike Fellows. Returning to the quiet acoustic sound of the first couple of P.G. Six albums, Parlor Tricks and Porch Favorites (which has seen a much-needed reissue in the past year after too many years OOP) and The Well of Memory, Murmurs & Whispers is more straightforward in expressing its vision of rural celestial wonder. Bucolic and comfortably lived in, Murmurs & Whispers nonetheless projects the transcendent heart of P.G. Six once again, and as ever, it is magnificent to hear it passing through us.

Toying with the familiar but not afraid to break with expectations, AVEM presents a versatile range of works that make up his debut album.

Dream State was largely written and produced in times of the pandemic, specifically during lockdown periods — a context that grants the album an air of melancholic isolation. Offering seven songs on a double LP, it marks the collective imprint LOKD’s vinyl premiere. Merging sounds of Electronica, House and Techno, LOKDLP001 finds its place neatly outside of common categories.

In the past years, the Swiss DJ, producer and live act has made a name for himself with a steadily growing catalogue: not only through a handful of EPs, but also by releasing countless singles, remix- es and live recordings. In autumn of 2023, the Basel– based artist now reveals his first studio album.

Instrumentation ranges from studio percussion re- cordings, synthesizer & drum machine classics, all the way to ethereal piano and vocal performances; all performed and recorded by the artist himself.

Familiar structures of House and Techno are introduced, only to be broken again by gleam- ing twists and turns. A focus on percussion is ap- parent throughout the album, be it in the dynamic texture of drum recordings or in the evolving break- beat rhythms of a guiding bass drum.

Dream State tells an ephemeral tale of the uncertain, treading through an unique territory of opposites — from rapid progression to outright hypnosis, from weightless yearning all the way to euphoric catharsis.

The Skankin' Monks featuring Kenyatta Hill making a big tribute to his father, the legendary Culture vocalist, Mr. Joseph Hill. Babylon's Big Dog is a rearranged remake of the Culture classic from 1982's Lion Rock LP.

The Skankin' Monks are a reggae formation from Amsterdam that gets inspiration from several styles. In 2013, they had a big hit with singer 'CHEZIDEK's "ALL MY LIFE" - Since then they collaborated with artists like Eek-A-Mouse, Meta Dia, Kenyatta Hill & Christos DC etc.. The Monks meditate on the music they're creating & they have only one goal; to let everyone enjoy the musical zen in unity.

Paul Hillery's third compilation in this series of rare and hard to find grooves is as much a geographical journey as it is a musical one. With acts, artists and tracks linked to London, Florida, Atlanta, the Netherlands, Switzerland, California, India and Germany and more this compilation is very much proof of the global language that is music. With many of the recordings only previously existing on sold out and obscure private pressings and small runs on indie labels this collection of tracks really is a must have. Complementing the previous two albums curated by Paul Hillery we really do get to see and hear the history of studio recordings from a plethora of touring and travelling troubadours, jobbing composers and song-writers, session musicians, producers and engineers. Again, as with the previous two volumes in the 'Children of the Sun' series, this is an eclectic gathering of styles and genres that have been curated into an accessible fusion of Jazz, Rock, AOR and Folk tinged grooves that all have soul. With many tracks getting a first time digital release this 3 LP album sits nicely alongside the previous albums in the series and rates as an essential compilation for any serious lover and collector of music. In Paul Hillery's words: "Let us gather one more time on another journey through the rhythmic sands of time, traversing continents and genres one track at a time. Taking in joyful places and wide-open spaces while dropping out to the musical pulse that unites us all An album to remind us that we are all made of stardust with more to connect than drive us apart, for . . . We Are The Children of the Setting Sun"

Wann immer EVERGREY-Frontmann Tom S. Englund und der US-amerikanische Pianist/Komponist Vikram Shankar (Redemption, Lux Terminus) zusammenkommen und ihre Kreativität gemeinsam als SILENT SKIES nach außen kehren, entsteht Magie! Mit Dormant veröffentlicht das schwedisch-amerikanische Cinematic-Pop-Duo nun das nächste, magische Stück Musik. Das dritte Studioalbum von Englund und Shankar erscheint am 1. September 2023 über Napalm Records. Getragen von vertonten Emotionen und skandinavischer Melancholie reiht sich Dormant in die klangliche Welt der vorherigen Alben Nectar (2022) und Satellites (2020) ein und bietet atemberaubende Klaviermelodien, atmosphärische Keyboards, weitläufige Soundlandschaften und eindringlich schöne und intensive Vocals auf zehn Eigenkompositionen, begleitet von mehreren Bonustracks. Für Letztere haben SILENT SKIES bekannte Klassiker gecovert, unter anderem von Iron Maiden und Linkin Park, und diese an ihren ganz eigenen, unverkennbaren Sound angelehnt.
Auf Dormant lädt der atmosphärische Eröffnungstrack „Construct"" die Hörer dazu ein, die beiden Musiker auf einer gefühlvollen Reise zu begleiten. „New Life“ schlägt hingegen dunklere Pfade ein. Englunds einfühlsamer Gesang spricht direkt zur Seele und harmoniert perfekt mit Shankars ausgefeilter Instrumentierung, die von zartem Piano getragen und einer einnehmenden Produktion unterstrichen wird. Das harmonische „Churches"" sowie das Pop-inspirierte „Just Above The Clouds"" – Letzteres mit einem fesselnden Solo des Leprous/Musk Ox-Cellisten Raphael Weinroth-Browne – bauen sich zu einem hypnotischen Tagtraum auf, um in den gefühlvollen Tönen von Dormant zu versinken. Einfühlsam kreieren „Reset"" und „Tides"" schier endlose melancholische Klanglandschaften, während das ergreifende „The Real Me"" mit elektronischen Tönen eine weitere Facette des Albums aufzeigt.
Die durch und durch stimmige Zusammenarbeit beider Künstler bildet das Fundament aller SILENT SKIES Kreationen. Durch viel Feingefühl und Liebe zum Detail, gepaart mit tiefgründigen, ausdrucksstarken Lyrics, entsteht ein einzigartiger Charakter, der mit jedem Ton die Handschrift von Englund und Shankar trägt. Auf das tief bewegende „Light Up The Dark"" und den Titeltrack „Dormant"" folgt mit „The Last On Earth"" die letzte Eigenkomposition des Albums.
Das dritte Werk von SILENT SKIES ist melancholisch und beruhigend, aber auch sprudelnd und glühend – es erweitert das klangliche Universum des Duos in alle Richtungen. Dormant reflektiert das Leben selbst und ist das Ergebnis mutiger klanglicher Experimente in Verbindung mit genau der künstlerischen Ästhetik, die SILENT SKIES auszeichnet. Mit ihrer Musik schreiben Tom S. Englund und Vikram Shankar so intensive Geschichten wie das Leben selbst und erreichen damit Menschen in unterschiedlichsten Lebenslagen mit verschiedensten musikalischen Vorlieben."

The album is her first featuring all original material since her 2014 debut, Unstoppable, and shows the 29-year-old "Acoustic Songbird" reaching a new level of maturity. It includes twelve new tracks, all self-penned meditations on love and life except for Chlara's uniquely ethereal reframing of David Bowie's iconic "Heroes" track. Highlights include the recent singles "I Is The Loneliest Letter" and "Come To Bed"; also ear-catching is the blissful chillout groove "Sunburn" and the sensual bedroom ballad "747," where Chlara exudes a smouldering eroticism.

Die gefeierte dänische Singer-Songwriterin eee gee veröffentlicht ihr zweites Albums ”SHE-REX”.

Das elegante Universum von eee gee ist eines der Paradoxe und Kontraste. Ein Ort, an dem sich die komplexe Welt einer jungen Frau, die versucht, ihren Weg im Leben zu finden, in Form von magischen
musikalischen Momenten und fesselnden Geschichten entfaltet. Oder wie eee gee einfach sagt: ”Ich mache Musik für Introvertierte, die ständig in die unbequeme extrovertierte Art, wie die Welt funktioniert, gedrängt werden.”

Nachdem eee gee sich 2022 in ihrem Heimatland als eine der besten jungen dänischen Songwriterinnen etabliert hatte, legte die Künstlerin 2023 mit einem atemberaubenden Auftritt beim Eurosonic richtig los -
gefolgt von einem Auftritt bei The Great Escape (UK), wo sie als Support von Arlo Parks spielte. Diesen Sommer stehen noch eine Reihe von Festivals in ganz Europa an, darunter das Lollapalooza in Berlin, das Roskilde Festival in Dänemark und das BBK Festival in Bilbao sowie das Pitchfork Festival in Paris und London.

Tomáš Knoflíček is a musician, sound organizer, and curator based in the Czech Republic. His activities are mainly related to post-everything quartet Gurun Gurun (Home Normal, Buh records), in which he collaborated with a number of mainly Japanese musicians (e.g. Haco, Asuna, Aus, Cuushe, Moskitoo). Since 2004 he has been working at the Faculty of Fine Arts and Music University of Ostrava, where he focuses mainly on interdisciplinarity in art, especially the relationship between image and sound. He is the co-organizer of the Kukačka project (kukacka.org), focusing on art in public space, and also the curator of the Lauby and Dukla galleries in Ostrava. As a curator or co-creator, he participated in a number of sound art projects and collaborated with many visual artists, for whom sound is an important means of research (e.g. Christoph Zwiener, Julia Gryboś, Barbora Zentková, Matěj Frank, Jan Krtička, Pavel Sterec, Lišaj). Knoflíček is also the author of several music videos and VJ-sets for Gurun Gurun, Wabi Experience, and Haco. In 2021 he released his first solo album Vaguely delimited targets (LOM label).

Stripped down, pure Techno cuts

The final U.S. show, a triumphant and blistering bookend to the storied career of one of the most influential bands in rock music, featuring a unique and expansive eighty-five minute set list that spans Sonic Youth’s nearly three decade catalog. Mixed from multitrack by longtime live engineer Aaron Mullan and mastered and cut by Carl Saff. On August 12, 2011 Sonic Youth played their final US show on an outdoor stage overlooking the East River at the Williamsburg Waterfront in Brooklyn. Fitting that their storied career would bookend with a panoramic view of New York City where it all began 30 years before, having left in their wake one of one of the most powerfully influential careers in rock music. Following incredible sets from Kurt Vile and Wild Flag, the band took the stage. As the sun went down over the city, Sonic Youth ripped through a 17 song set that spanned from deep cuts off their first studio album and highlighting many other albums all the way through to their last, like a band with everything to prove. Or as Brooklyn Vegan’s Andrew Sacher said at the time: “While most bands who are thirty years into their career are either fading away or living off of the nostalgia of their older material, Sonic Youth continue to sound and perform as fresh as ever.” Steve Shelley explains the uniquely career spanning set list of Live in Brooklyn 2011 and how it came to be, as well as the importance of outdoor NYC summer shows in Sonic Youth’s legacy: “This show was a culmination of a run of really special outdoor summertime shows in New York City for us, starting in ’92 with Summerstage in Central Park when we played with Sun Ra. For the Williamsburg Waterfront show I wrote out the set list to present to the band and it was a lot of material we hadn’t played in a while, a lot of deep cuts, so I wasn’t sure if everybody would feel like doing it. After worrying about which songs the band might say yes or no to, I threw those concerns out the window and I just made a list of songs that I thought would be a great set. We practiced the week of the show at our space in Hoboken and put the set together. First we’d try and make sure we had a guitar in the song’s tuning, then we’d try to remember the arrangement and try and put it together, sometimes re-learning bar by bar. In the end I think the whole song list made it through. Even as early as ’86 and ’87 we stopped playing ‘Death Valley 69’ and ‘Brave Men Run’ with any regularity. We’d just get excited about new material coming into the set and songs would get ‘retired’ and wouldn’t get played again for years. So on this particular night in Brooklyn a lot of those retired songs and deep cuts got dusted off and played for this show. It turned out to be a pretty special event with a really special song list.” The band would go on to fulfill a contracted festival run in South America a few months later but, by then, the group’s center was severed beyond repair and the festival appearances didn’t hold the same kind of weight. “The stage was facing the East River from the Williamsburg, Brooklyn waterfront, and I recall the sun going down in the west during our set. It was a pretty magical, if kinda weird day. Fitting, somehow, that our ‘last show’ should be in New York City, our home and where it all began…” Lee Ranaldo The Williamsburg Waterfront show would fondly become referred to as ‘The Last Show’ by fans and band alike, equally for its triumphant high energy performance, its unique and expansive set list and locale. Newly remixed and remastered, Live in Brooklyn 2011 is presented for the first time on 2xLP, 2Xcd, August 18, 2023.

Comprised of two songs that build on OM’s use of cyclical rhythm, riff, and vocal intonation, the duo’s album Conference of the Birds blends metal, chant, drone, dub, and psychedelia. The band’s lyrics expound upon the structure of the universe, potentiality, and freedom from thephysical body. The second album from OM: comprised of two songs that build on om's use of cyclical rhythm, riff, and vocal intonation, the duo's new album "conference of the birds" blends metal, chant, drone, dub, and psychedelia. the band's lyrics expound upon the structure of the universe, potentiality, and freedom from the physical body. engineered by billy anderson and produced by the band, conference of the birds progresses beyond their debut, "variations on a theme", with more fully realized songwriting and production. om is al cisneros and chris hakius, rhythm section of legendary sludge and stoner rock pioneers, sleep

In the beginning there was FAUVE, cult french rock band with unique on-fire spoken-word singing & epic concerts.
4 out of the 5 former Fauve members decided to resume creation and to change everything. They are back on a new name : MAGENTA & with a totally different global identity, up to the music: new foundations. No more rock, pure electronic music from classic french touch to new electro vibes. But still featuring lyrics & singing reminding their former roots. And electronic played live using a drummer & a guitarist on top of machines & keyboards.

repressed !

Undesignated remixes is an expansive project containing 12 remixes of tracks from dgoHn’s iconic 2020 full-length by some choice artists from in and around the Love Love sphere. Remixes that take dgoHn’s unique razor-sharp original productions and send them through a loop and round the twist, some stripped down, some messed up, most but not all maintaining the speedier tempos that dgoHn likes to work around. The result is a collection of seriously futuristic electronic music with some stylistic leanings towards labels like braindance or drumfunk or jungle but completely genre-eluding as a whole, reshaped from the minerals of the original LP by some absolute dons of their craft.

Opening the album Equinox does a fantastic job highlighting the lushness of ‘Puppet’ layering sky-high sunshine pads before sliding into Meat Beat Manifesto’s heavy sci-fi acid dub version of ‘Daisy Takes Two’. A woozy remix of ‘Lucky Gonk’ by Macc & dgoHn marks the first new material from them as a duo since ’09 and Wisp also makes a rare appearance bringing his inimitable post-rephlexian vibes on an agonisingly wonderful, melody-heavy remix of 'Electryon'. Skee Mask’s choice of remixing ‘Robin’s Windmill’ turns the original into a bundle of writhing rhythms organically unfolding with swelling ambient tones. Homegrown heroes Rognvald & Scrase both opt for pumped up post-breakcore in unconventional time signatures while Djrum emphatically provides the LP’s dose of peak jungle choppage, tempering the drum breaks of ‘Ninnyhammer’ with a blistering amen. Also featured on the LP are crisp and beefy drum workouts courtesy of Coco Bryce and Forest Drive West, visceral and apocalyptic half-time bass from Activia Benz affiliated duo Quavis and virtuosic noir-jazz tearout from fellow East-Anglian Carl Brown.

Rare Jazz-Funk album from 1978 by Headhunters founder.
Featuring an all-star line-up including Herbie Hancock.
Originally released in 1978 on Tobisha EMI Japan.
First vinyl reissue outside of Japan released in collab w/Totown Records. Comes with double side insert.

Paul Jackson (born in Oakland, California in 1947) needs little introduction. Paul began playing bass at the age of nine and was considered by many of his teachers to be a musical prodigy. Jackson was known as a “Musician’s Musician” and shaped a sound that launched a new direction in contemporary music: the so-called ‘Pulse Playing’, a trademark sound of close-meshed funk grooves combined with sensational rhythms. With this innovative approach, he influenced entire generations of jazz and funk musicians to come. Paul’s compositions were sampled by big acts from the likes of Prince, TLC, Mobb Deep and NWA…just to name a few.

Paul Jackson was a founding member of the Headhunters under Herbie Hancock (THE group responsible for their ground-breaking fusion and jazz-funk compositions that took the world by storm in the 70’s). The solid union between Hancock and Jackson has been especially evident in the many international tours they have made together…not to mention that he participated on most of the Headhunters albums and Herbie’s solo albums.

Paul has also worked as a producer and as a studio/live musician alongside acts such as Santana, Sonny Rollins and The Pointer Sisters. He was a frequent guest performer at renowned international festivals such as the Montreux and Newport events. Jackson’s composing has not gone without recognition and was nominated for Grammy Awards in 1974, 1975 and 1976. Like other highly talented, creatively motivated engineers of music, Paul has expanded his career to other mediums such as playing on blockbuster movie soundtracks such as “Death wish” and “Dirty Harry”.

Paul Jackson also wrote five solo albums worth listening to – including the monster of an album that is known as “Black Octopus” which is considered to be a kind of lost Headhunters album.

His debut album “Black Octopus” saw the light of day in 1978 and is a total piece of art filled with abstract sticky funky grooves, floating electric piano playing, strong thumping bass lines, raw heavy drums and amazing vocal acrobatics (Jackson himself takes vocals in 3 out of 5 songs, and his soulful singing voice strikes an emotional chord that does not go unnoticed).

On “Black Octopus” you’ll also find some of the best all-star musicians from the likes of Alphonse Mouzon (Roy Ayers, Betty Davis, Azar Lawrence)…and last but not least fellow Headhunters Bennie Maupin and Herbie Hancock himself.

With “Black Octopus” Paul Jackson wrote the book on how a jazz-funk-fusion album should sound like. The fact that the album was only distributed in Japan at the time (Jackson resided in Tokyo since the late 70’s, where he passed away in 2021) continues to increase its reputation as an album that is VERY hard to find. This is a must-have gem…not only for fans of jazz, funk and rare grooves, but also for DJs and collectors around the globe.

While stationed in Germany in the RAF during the late 1950s and early 1960s, York-born alto and soprano saxophonist Trevor Watts met the drummer John Stevens, with whom he would form the Spontaneous Music Ensemble upon returning to the UK in 1965, which became an important vehicle for British free improvisation. Watts’ spin-off project Amalgam came two years later with Stevens and bassist Jeff Clyne, previously in the Jazz Couriers with Ronnie Scott; their debut LP Prayer For Peace is jazz improv at its most melodic, an unpredictable album of varying shades, with three unique takes of the song ‘Judy’s Smile.’

A pop record for tired times. Sugared with bits of shatterproof glass to put more crack in your strap. At long last, verse / chorus. A weathered thesaurus. This is OSEES bookend sound. Early grade garage pop meets protosynth punk suicide-repellant. Have a whack at the grass or listen while flat on your ass. Heaps of electronic whirling accelerants to gum up your cheapskate broadband. Social media toilet scrapers unite! Allow your 24-hour news cycle eyes to squint at this smiling abattoir doorman. You can find your place here at long last. All are welcome from the get go to the finale…a distant crackling transmission of 80s synth last-dance-of-the-night tune for your lost loves. Suffering from Politic amnesia? Bored of AI-generated pop slop? Then this one is for you, our friends. Wasteland wanderer, stick around. Love y’all. For fans of Teutonic synth punk and Thee Oh Sees (who the fuck are they?)” — John Dwyer

A pop record for tired times. Sugared with bits of shatterproof glass to put more crack in your strap. At long last, verse / chorus. A weathered thesaurus. This is OSEES bookend sound. Early grade garage pop meets protosynth punk suicide-repellant. Have a whack at the grass or listen while flat on your ass. Heaps of electronic whirling accelerants to gum up your cheapskate broadband. Social media toilet scrapers unite! Allow your 24-hour news cycle eyes to squint at this smiling abattoir doorman. You can find your place here at long last. All are welcome from the get go to the finale…a distant crackling transmission of 80s synth last-dance-of-the-night tune for your lost loves. Suffering from Politic amnesia? Bored of AI-generated pop slop? Then this one is for you, our friends. Wasteland wanderer, stick around. Love y’all. For fans of Teutonic synth punk and Thee Oh Sees (who the fuck are they?)” — John Dwyer

100% Analogue 33RPM 180g 1LP
Remastered from the Original Analogue Stereo Masters for the First Time!

Hear this album as it was meant to be heard! Absolutely Stunning!
The greatest assembly of musical talent ever on one album! Features Performances by John Coltrane, Miles Davis, Bill Evans, Ben Webster & 27 More Jazz Greats!



In 1958, a young, successful French composer-arranger with a major infatuation on American jazz, worked his way to New York and convinced the very best players of the time to record an album of largely jazz standards. Michel Legrand would go on to win numerous prizes and accolades (3 Oscars, 5 Grammies, 2 Palmes D'or, etc.), but little of what followed matched the sheer brilliance of Legrand Jazz.

Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Bill Evans, Ben Webster, Phil Woods and practically every other session man in town signed up for sessions with Legrand to record his idiosyncratic arrangements of standards ("Django", "Don’t Get Around Much Anymore", "Night in Tunisia", etc.). Instead of regurgitating then current bop styles, he reinvented the very nature of orchestral jazz band repertoire to make a unique and forward-looking statement on the genre.

The sound of Impex's all-analogue LP preserves the wide soundstage of late 50’s Columbia recordings while creating intimate spaces between players on the stage for maximum definition. This rare, highly-praised recording has never sounded as good as it does now. Go big with Legrand Jazz.

Legrand Jazz was greeted by an enthusiastic review in the magazine Down Beat. Dom Cerulli awarded it five stars out of a possible five.

The meticulously recreated outer jacket is packaged in a gatefold with an original photo montage inside honoring Michel Legrand's masterpiece of reinvention and sublime fan-boy enthusiasm.

"The music is luscious and this just may be one of the best-sounding records you'll ever hear." - Ken Kessler, Hi Fi News, Rated 95/100 Sound Quality!

Blonde on Blonde: A double album that transcends time, defies space, suspends reality, and looks through the human soul and tells the listener characteristics about themselves they didn't know. Professor Sean Wilentz, historian-in-residence for Bob Dylan's Web site, comes as close to summing up its brilliance in his superb Bob Dylan In America as any who've tried: "The songs are rich meditations on desire, frailty, promises, boredom, hurt, envy, connections, missed connections, paranoia, and transcendent beauty – in short, the lures and snare of love, stock themes of rock and pop music, but written with a powerful literary imagination and played out in a pop netherworld." No lie.

As part of its Bob Dylan catalogue restoration series, we are thoroughly humbled to have the privilege of mastering the iconic LP from the master tapes and pressing it on 45RPM LPs at RTI. We feel that the end result is the very finest, most transparent edition of Blonde on Blonde ever produced. Forever renowned for what the Bard deemed "that thin, that wild mercury sound," the album's famed aural character lives and breathes on this superb version, with wider and deeper grooves affording playback of previously buried information and lifelike presentation of the studio sessions.

Prized for a unique sound that cultural critic Greil Marcus tagged "the most glamorous record imaginable; listening you can see the chequered jester's suit Dylan had worn on stage for the nine previous, furious months," Blonde on Blonde is to music, production, prose, and performance as what hydrogen is to water. The secret to its inimitable aural character partially stems from Dylan's request in Nashville to producer Bob Johnston to remove the baffles from the studio room, allowing the musicians to interact as well as the music to assume a more organic quality that drifts from one microphone to another.

The story of Blonde on Blonde is almost as compelling as the music within. Dylan, frustrated with how initial attempts fared in New York, relocating to Tennessee and pairing with Nashville's top session players as well as members of what would become the Band, feverishly chasing perfectionism while also arriving at an on-the-fly feel that remains a reference point for recorded music. The Bard sweated over lyrics, demanded his band get the exact sounds he heard in his head, and limited most takes to a handful at most. A majority of songs were recorded long after midnight, the post-A.M. vibe reflected in the nocturnal aura, woozy optimism, inversion of intervals, and spiritual soulfulness of the playing.

Blow Your Brains Out formed in 2019 with members of Stand United, Inside, Die Birth, Civil Defense and Soul Vice from Tokyo and Kanagawa. The band are all active members of their local hardcore communities whether it's putting on shows or running a popular radio show called Sick People. Hardcore fans were hyped for the demo with its instant hit mix of Cro-mags and Dynamo style influenced hardcore, and were excited to hear what the band would do next. However, as with all things at this time, they had to put everything on pause. Fast forward to 2023 and the band have recorded their debut 12” ‘The Big Escape’. This sees the band keep true to their demo influences but with greater flair, and will have you humming the tunes in no time at all. It was important for vocalist Kai to sing in Japanese, a language with a unique rhythm and flow that he wanted to match to the riffs, as well as to communicate about topics important to the local, as well as global community, using powerful Japanese words. ‘The Big Escape’ 12” talks about cult religions, political corruption, domestic violence, and companies that force people to work in poor conditions, as well as the suppression of citizens who resist authoritarian forces. I see through their lies and madness and act with the determination I have squeezed out, without succumbing to after-the-fact sophistry or threats. The underlying theme is the understanding that structural issues in society and politics cannot be easily solved, but it’s important to voice dissatisfaction and anger, and resist, and sometimes that’s by running away to survive, but it’s difficult to put this into practice in everyday life. However, there is hope that one day, the big escape will be achieved.

Starting in 2019, Fairytale have carved out a unique sound that is both ethereal and chaotic, beautiful and terrifying. This New York City band are back with their debut LP, Shooting Star. Wretched soaked guitars and a rhythm section that sounds like a horde of demons are blended together with dynamic vocals that meander between gruff and choral, at times reminding one of Tozibabe. We dare you not to have the disc on a loop as each listen reveals more and more layers.

A year after its first edition, the Open Space series returns in order to keep exploring what ambient music might mean nowadays.

A breadth of fresh artists, some new to the label and others renowned for their more dance-centric works, the compilation aims to give each individual artist their creative freedom to explore the space.

Techno producers such as Arthur Robert or label head Len Faki himself keep the beats present but this time focus on evoking states of introspection rather than the shuffle of dancefloors.
On the other end of the spectrum, we find seasoned multi-instrumentalist Laraaji, who has been crafting deeply meditative soundscapes since the 80’s. Using the special opportunity, the label reaches outside its usual sphere, inviting artists like the modular synth expert Jeremy Wentorth or Jimmy LaValle’s band project The Album Leaf. All while still featuring some well known veteran producers the likes of John Beltran or Exos.

No matter their respective scene or background, all artists are using their unique approach to display something deeply emotive. Be it the warm, expansive electro of Future Beat Alliance or a bubbly cosmic arpride by Hamburg Duo Can Love Be Synth.

Truly living up to its name, the Open Space series aims to open up possibilities for artists to freely pursue their creativity in a completely undefined area, a space for exploration and connection.

Nach den Wiederveröffentlichungen von „Everybody Else is Doing it...“ und „No Need to Argue“, und 30 Jahre nach ihrem Debüt, veröffentlicht die Band am 27. Mai die Greatest-Hits Sammlung „Stars: The Best of 1992-2002“ auf Vinyl!

Die Cranberries erlangten in den 1990er Jahren mit Hits wie „Zombie“, „Dreams“ und „Linger“ internationalen Erfolg. Auf diesem Album befinden sich außerdem „New New York“’ und „Stars“, Songs die so zuvor noch nicht erhältlich waren.

Dedicated to Nora Forster, John Lydon's wife of nearly five decades, who passed away on April 5th 2023! Public Image Ltd. (PiL) announce their 11th studio album and first album in 8 years, End of World, to be released on 11th August 2023 on PiL Official via Cargo UK Distribution, followed by a 37-date UK and European Tour. The band began writing and recording End of World in 2018, during their 40th anniversary tour.

After The Great Pause, the band regrouped in the studio and "there was just this massive explosion of ideas," Lydon says. The result finds PiL set to release 13 of the best tracks they have ever written. The announcement comes with the release of new single Penge, which John describes as, "something of a mediaeval Viking epic." Earlier this year, PiL released Hawaii, the most personal piece of songwriting and accompanying artwork that John Lydon has ever shared. The song is a love letter to John's late wife, Nora, who had been living with Alzheimer's since long and sadly passed away on April 5th this year.

A pensive, personal yet universal love song that has resonated with many since its release in January, the song sees John reflecting on their lifetime well spent and in particular one of their happiest moments together in Hawaii. The powerfully emotional ballad is as close as John will ever come to bearing his soul. "It is dedicated to everyone going through tough times on the journey of life, with the person they care for the most," John says. "It's also a message of hope that ultimately love conquers all. As I say in the song, all journeys end and some begin again, but this is the beginning of a new journey with us. And, oddly enough, as bad as Alzheimer's is, there are great moments of tenderness between us. And I tried to capture that in the song." Celebrating their 40-year anniversary in 2018, the band is widely regarded as one of the most innovative and influential bands of all time. PiL's music and vision has earned them 5 UK Top 20 singles and 5 UK Top 20 albums.

With a shifting line-up and unique sound - fusing rock, dance, folk, pop and dub - Lydon guided the band from their debut album First Issue in 1978 through to 1992's That What Is Not, before a 17 year hiatus. Lydon reactivated PiL in 2009, touring extensively worldwide and releasing two critically acclaimed albums This is PiL in 2012 followed by their 10th studio album What The World Needs Now_ in 2015, which peaked at number 29 in the official UK album charts and picked up fantastic acclaim from both press and public. (The album also peaked at number 3 in the official UK indie charts and number 4 in the official UK vinyl charts). What The World Needs Now_ was self-funded by PiL and released on their own label 'PiL Official' via Cargo UK Distribution.

In 2018 PiL celebrated their 40th anniversary with a career-spanning box set and documentary, both called 'The Public Image Is Rotten', and a 32-date UK/Europe tour, plus dates in Japan. John Lydon, Lu Edmonds, Scott Firth and Bruce Smith continue as PiL. They are the longest stable line-up in the band's history and continue to challenge and thrive. PiL will be touring the UK and Europe in September and October 2023.

Dedicated to Nora Forster, John Lydon's wife of nearly five decades, who passed away on April 5th 2023! Public Image Ltd. (PiL) announce their 11th studio album and first album in 8 years, End of World, to be released on 11th August 2023 on PiL Official via Cargo UK Distribution, followed by a 37-date UK and European Tour. The band began writing and recording End of World in 2018, during their 40th anniversary tour.

After The Great Pause, the band regrouped in the studio and "there was just this massive explosion of ideas," Lydon says. The result finds PiL set to release 13 of the best tracks they have ever written. The announcement comes with the release of new single Penge, which John describes as, "something of a mediaeval Viking epic." Earlier this year, PiL released Hawaii, the most personal piece of songwriting and accompanying artwork that John Lydon has ever shared. The song is a love letter to John's late wife, Nora, who had been living with Alzheimer's since long and sadly passed away on April 5th this year.

A pensive, personal yet universal love song that has resonated with many since its release in January, the song sees John reflecting on their lifetime well spent and in particular one of their happiest moments together in Hawaii. The powerfully emotional ballad is as close as John will ever come to bearing his soul. "It is dedicated to everyone going through tough times on the journey of life, with the person they care for the most," John says. "It's also a message of hope that ultimately love conquers all. As I say in the song, all journeys end and some begin again, but this is the beginning of a new journey with us. And, oddly enough, as bad as Alzheimer's is, there are great moments of tenderness between us. And I tried to capture that in the song." Celebrating their 40-year anniversary in 2018, the band is widely regarded as one of the most innovative and influential bands of all time. PiL's music and vision has earned them 5 UK Top 20 singles and 5 UK Top 20 albums.

With a shifting line-up and unique sound - fusing rock, dance, folk, pop and dub - Lydon guided the band from their debut album First Issue in 1978 through to 1992's That What Is Not, before a 17 year hiatus. Lydon reactivated PiL in 2009, touring extensively worldwide and releasing two critically acclaimed albums This is PiL in 2012 followed by their 10th studio album What The World Needs Now_ in 2015, which peaked at number 29 in the official UK album charts and picked up fantastic acclaim from both press and public. (The album also peaked at number 3 in the official UK indie charts and number 4 in the official UK vinyl charts). What The World Needs Now_ was self-funded by PiL and released on their own label 'PiL Official' via Cargo UK Distribution.

In 2018 PiL celebrated their 40th anniversary with a career-spanning box set and documentary, both called 'The Public Image Is Rotten', and a 32-date UK/Europe tour, plus dates in Japan. John Lydon, Lu Edmonds, Scott Firth and Bruce Smith continue as PiL. They are the longest stable line-up in the band's history and continue to challenge and thrive. PiL will be touring the UK and Europe in September and October 2023.

The hugely influential British DJ and producer Bushwacka bursts onto Nu Groove with a four-track EP, ‘House Sound Vol. 1’, that demonstrates the touch of an expert. A member of the legendary Rat Pack rave outfit, Bushwacka’s impact on the underground scene of the ‘90s was felt worldwide; together with fellow Brit Layo Paskin, the pair created spellbinding compositions that defined the sound of house and techno, blending the two genres approaching the new millennium.

For this fresh outing on the pioneering NYC label Nu Groove, Bushwacka taps into his unwavering knowledge of dancefloor culture. The opening, an ode to the legendary imprint ‘Strictly Nu’, builds infectious loops with ease before dropping into an arresting four-on-the-floor club feel.

The subsequent tracks follow suit, with ‘Love Can You’ and ‘Right Now’ showcasing the producer’s unique club-led sound in full flow, while ‘True For You’ has a more minimalistic approach. With this new delivery of originals, Bushwacka further cements his status as a genre-defining electronic innovator.

The issue was always: How could I transport my work as a producer and beatmaker on to a stage? How can something, that is happening behind locked doors in the studio, emerge into a live experience?" With this vivacious live quartet, he has found his answer.
Songs from a productive solo career spanning a period of over 10 years, Sepalot has a wide variety of songs to pick and choose from. Even in the live set up, his ove for electronic music remains unaffected and the subtle influence of Hip Hop is un- deniable. Despite this being the initial state of the project, a distinctive sound has evolved from jamming together in dark rehearsal rooms. The different characters compliment each other like a puzzle on stage, though Sepalot's part as producer and svengali is undisputable.
FABIAN FU?SS on the drums - longtime partner on the drum set and the voice behind Sepalot's unmistakable radio hit "Rainbows". ANGELA AUX on the bass and mostly the voice of the quartet is a writer and solo artist in his own right. Having released albums on Millaphone his roots are undeniably in hip hop with a heavy tinge of folk. MATTHIAS LINDERMAYR on the trumpet, who originated from a family of musicians, is highly decorated jazz virtuoso. His very own releases grace modern jazz specialist label Enja Records. ... and finally SEPALOT, bringing them together and making them more than the sum of its parts.

The electronic beats, the pulsating bass, Sepalot's enthusiasm for ambient sound design - all this remains unchanged and is garnished with the element of jazz. A unique, unequalled sound that strives for higher ideals and has immense international potential.

A truly enigmatic character from the golden era of Jamaican roots music, Icho Candy is an artist that has, to me, always been shrouded in mystery. A devout rastafarian born with a gift for prophetic songwriting, Candy always writes in a way that is true to himself and his deep seated beliefs, regardless of the external pressures he endures as a veteran artist, an incredible feet for an independent artist with a career that spans fifty years.

First recording for the great Joe Gibbs and Jack Ruby in the late seventies, Icho’s big break in the industry came with the hit record “Captain Selassie”, a track that is widely considered to be one of the greatest rastafari anthems in dancehall. During this time Icho also recorded for labels such as Jah Life, Rockers International, Tesfa, Jah Shaka and many more. Like so many of the great artists in the eighties Icho recorded and toured in America for an extended period alongside Sugar Minott, Nicodemus, Nitty Gritty, King Kong before returning to Jamaica to record two amazing albums for the late Jah Shaka.

The A side of this latest seven inch gives us the classic writing style of Icho Candy. Pairing his lyrical depth with an early 70’s Phil Pratt style production. An eerie horns line meets the clean sharp, older school backing vocals provided by The Mighty Viceroys to create something magical, the type of record we thought we may have already heard on some scratchy 45 deep in a soundmans crate.

Yakka once again returns to the label on B side duties, providing another Tubby inspired voyage into dusty fx units and quick draw fades. The bassline increases, the vocal decreases but the vibe never ceases.

Welcome home Icho Candy

FÜR FANS VON: Gamma Ray, Helloween, Edguy, Blind Guardian, Stratovarius, Rhapsody, Primal Fear Auf ins höllische Metal-Vergnügen: Nach ihren bisher vier erfolgreichen Alben ‚The Unity‘ (2017), ‚Rise‘ (2018), ,Pride‘ (2020) und ‚The Devil You Know – Live‘ (2021), europaweiten Tourneen als Headliner bzw. im Gefolge von Bands wie Sinner, Edguy, Axel Rudi Pell oder Rhapsody Of Fire,
umjubelten Shows beim ‚Masters Of Rock‘, ‚Knockout-Festival‘ oder auf dem, Bang Your Head‘ zeigen sich The Unity auf ihrer fünften
Veröffentlichung ‚The Hellish Joyride‘ spielfreudig und variantenreich wie nie zuvor. „

Wir waren immer schon stilistisch breit aufgestellt, aber mit‚The Hellish Joyride‘ dehnen wir die Grenzen des melodischen Power Metals nochmals ein Stück weiter aus“, erklärt Michael Ehré und verweist auf die zwölf abwechslungsreichen Songs des Albums, die von temporeich bis balladesk reichen. Zudem hat Neuzugang Tobias „Eggi“ Exxel (Bass, Edguy) frische Energie in die Band gebracht und verstärkt die Gamma Ray-Mitglieder Henjo Richter (Gitarre) und Michael Ehré (Schlagzeug), Sänger Gianba Manenti, Gitarrist Stef und Keyboarder Sascha Onnen unüberhörbar. Veröffentlicht wird die neue Scheibe am 25. August 2023 über Steamhammer/SPV, bereits eine Woche später startet die Europatournee mit Primal Fear. Als erste Vorabsingle inklusive „sportlichem“ Videoclip gibt es am 14. Juli 2023 den Song ‚Always Two Ways To Play‘, fünf Wochen später folgt die zweite Auskopplung ‘Saints And Sinners‘. Die Spritztour kann
beginnen!

2024 BLACK VINYL REPRESS.
One can hardly imagine the genre-busting, culture-crossing musical magic of Outkast, Prince, Erykah Badu, Rick James, The Roots, or even the early Red Hot Chili Peppers without the influence of R&B pioneer Betty Davis. Her style of raw and revelatory punk-funk defies any notions that women can’t be visionaries in the worlds of rock and pop. In recent years, rappers from Ice Cube to Talib Kweli to Ludacris have rhymed over her intensely strong but sensual music.

There is one testimonial about Betty Davis that is universal: she was a woman ahead of her time. In our contemporary moment, this may not be as self-evident as it was thirty years ago – we live in an age that’s been profoundly changed by flamboyant flaunting of female sexuality: from Parlet to Madonna, Lil Kim to Kelis. Yet, back in 1973 when Betty Davis first showed up in her silver go-go boots, dazzling smile and towering Afro, who could you possibly have compared her to? Marva Whitney had the voice but not the independence. Labelle wouldn’t get sexy with their “Lady Marmalade” for another year while Millie Jackson wasn’t “Feelin’ Bitchy” until 1977. Even Tina Turner, the most obvious predecessor to Betty’s fierce style wasn’t completely out of Ike’s shadow until later in the decade.

Ms. Davis’s unique story, still sadly mostly unknown, is unlike any other in popular music. Betty wrote the song “Uptown” for the Chambers Brothers before marrying Miles Davis in the late ‘60s, influencing him with psychedelic rock, and introducing him to Jimi Hendrix — personally inspiring the classic album ’Bitches Brew.’

But her songwriting ability was way ahead of its time as well. Betty not only wrote every song she ever recorded and produced every album after her first, but the young woman penned the tunes that got The Commodores signed to Motown. The Detroit label soon came calling, pitching a Motown songwriting deal, which Betty turned down. Motown wanted to own everything. Heading to the UK, Marc Bolan of T. Rex urged the creative dynamo to start writing for herself. A common thread throughout Betty’s career would be her unbending Do-It-Yourself ethic, which made her quickly turn down anyone who didn’t fit with the vision. She would eventually say no to Eric Clapton as her album producer, seeing him as too banal.

In 1973, Davis would finally kick off her cosmic career with an amazingly progressive hard funk and sweet soul self-titled debut. Davis showcased her fiercely unique talent and features such gems as “If I’m In Luck I Might Get Picked Up” and “Game Is My Middle Name.” The album Betty Davis was recorded with Sly & The Family Stone’s rhythm section, sharply produced by Sly Stone drummer Greg Errico, and featured backing vocals from Sylvester and the Pointer Sisters.

The tone always makes the music. But only those who actually make the sound An ancient-house-avantgarde dream has always been there since the legendary -Warehouse- days of Ron Hardy, to bring more sounds and tones constantly to an independent, repetitive development. And thus beyond the limits of an executive creative artist on the otherwise purely commercial sense what we call in common -beyond imagination-. -Raw Footage-, the latest album concoction of Chicago house legend Ron Trent (Prescription) on his new imprint -Electric Blue- works in the best sense of Stanislav Lem heroes Trurl & Klapauciusals, cruising like those two metal brains frantically invented by the universe of 4/4-Sounds to get insane tracks out of the new material matter located there, and put them together to brand new ones. This trackwerk varies as well as of course between classical Chi-Town to the context of contemporary, epic house dubs and lives in a perfidious manner from the interaction of various computer
modules that constantly spits out new and exciting interactions. In the end, the software sings only as digital output of great analog sounds, which may well be understood as a mocking voice to the majority of contemporary Homeboy wackiness formats.-Unpredictable- and less -cryptic- might fit here as a keyword excellent, where you kick out of the rough house plant a significant entertainment value must, without the need to posess necessarily the same nerves of steel. Anyone who has ever really wondered what House sound could be appropriate for a journey through the vastness of the universe is, gets there now at this point completely to his fullest expense. Trent 2012 and its tracks on this album reflect a lot about the revolutionary founder of -Spirit of music- from the mid-80s, who is recorded then as now but with inadequate slogans such as -light years ahead of its time-. For as
Trents body of work -Raw Footage- is also particularly scary genius material, although still of totally solid stress field and background from the musical spectrum between the Windy City and the Motor City engine bridled her.-But heres to the Future- For Sir Trent more than twenty years after -Altered States- and the relevant follow-ups, thats not really a problem!
Der Ton Macht immer die Musik. Nur wer macht eigentlich den Ton Ein uralter-House-Avantgarde-Traum war und ist es seit den legendären
:Warehouse: Tagen eines Ron Hardy, Sounds und Töne immer ständig neu zur selbstständigen, repetitiven Entfaltung zu bringen und somit die kreativen Grenzen des exekutiven Künstlers über die sonst im rein kommerziellen Sinne gängige Vorstellungskraft hinaus zu sprengen.
:Raw Footage:, das neueste Album-Machwerk von Chicago House-Legende Ron Trent (Prescription) auf seinem neuen Imprint :Electric Blue: kommt im besten Sinne der Stanislav Lem Heroen Trurl & Klapauciusals, und cruiost wie jene beiden Metallgehirne wie wahnsinnig durch das All der 4/4-Sounds, um aus dem dort befindlichen Materiematerial neue, wahnsinnige Tracks zu erfinden und zusammenzustellen. Dieses Trackwerk variert denn auch wie selbstverständlich zwischen dem klassischen Chi-Town-Kontext bis zu kontemporären, epischen House-Dubs, und lebt auf perfide Art
und Weise aus der Interaktion verschiedenster Computermodule, die dabei ständig neue aufregende Interaktionen ausspuckt. Am Ende singt eine digitale Software nur noch als Output großer analoger Sounds, die durchaus als Spottgesang auf den Großteil eitgenössischer Homeboy-Frickelei Formate verstanden werden dürfen.:Unberechenbar: und weniger kryptisch mag hier als Schlagwort vortrefflich passen, wo man dem rohen Housewerk ganz erheblichen Unterhaltungswert abgewinnen muss, ohne das man dazu unbedingt gleich Nerven wie Drahtseile benötigt. Wer sich je
eigentlich gefragt hat , welcher House-Sound so für eine Reise durch die endlosen Weiten des Universums angemessen sein könnte, kommt an dieser Stelle jetzt völlig(st) auf seine Kosten. Trent 2012 und seine Tracks reflektieren mit diesem Album zwar viel von dem revolutionären Gründerspirit einer Musik aus der Mitte der 80er-Jahre, die damals wie heute dennoch nur unzureichend mit Slogans wie ihrer Zeit um Lichtjahre voraus zu erfassen ist. Denn wie Trents Gesamtwerk ist eben auch :Raw Footage: insbesondere furchteinflößend genialer Stoff, wenngleich auch immer noch vom ganz und gar soliden Spannungsfeld und Background des musikalischen Spektrums zwischen der Windy und der Motor City her aufgezäumt. :But here's to the future: - Für Trent auch mehr als zwanzig Jahre nach :Altered States: und den einschlägigen follow-ups nicht wirklich ein Problem!

As time moves forward, it becomes increasingly clear that the need for emotional expression through artistry is more important than ever, especially in the wake of emerging AI technology that threatens to replace human creativity. Minus & MRDolly's new album, "Giant Stops," is a testament to the enduring power of art to connect with audiences on a deep emotional level.

Named in direct reference to arguably one of the greatest albums ever created, "Giant Steps" by John Coltrane, "Giant Stops" pays homage to the rich legacy of jazz while pushing the boundaries of the genre with a contemporary twist. The album seamlessly blends jazz, hip-hop, and electronic elements to create a unique sonic landscape that is both nostalgic and modern.

For Minus & MRDolly, "Giant Stops" represents a new chapter in his evolution as a musician, showcasing his growth and commitment to pushing boundaries in his genre-bending style. Taking inspiration from the creative process of Makaya McCraven, the album features dynamic instrumentals backed by a live band, with Minus & MRDolly's signature lyricism and storytelling shining through both the instrumentals and the lended work of guest musician such as Meta_ or Luca Argel. By using this production method the album takes a bold stand for the importance of sampling as an art form hoping to encourage listeners to appreciate the rich history and evolution of hip hop and to recognize the essential role that sampling has played in shaping the genre.

As a nod to his Portuguese roots, "Giant Stops" represents a deeper exploration of the artist's identity and a commitment to looking inward to find creative inspiration. With this album, Minus & MRDolly hopes to inspire others to embrace their own unique perspectives and use them to create art that connects with audiences on a deeply emotional level.

In a world where technology threatens to replace human creativity, "Giant Stops" is a reminder that the power of art to connect with people on a fundamental level is enduring and will continue to shape our world for generations to come.

My bioluminescent heart is glowing. My post-apocalyptic fae world is here for you to journey into. My wings have been ripped out, but I’ve built them anew using WEEDKILLER machine parts. I am the one sent here to eliminate you, WEEDKILLER.

Debut album WEEDKILLER is a collection of irresistible songs that perfect the bold, genre-blending sound that has defined Ashnikko’s work to date. However, as Ashnikko fans will know, she is known for transporting listeners into her universe and WEEDKILLER is no exception. The WEEDKILLER universe that Ashnikko has created is a dystopian fantasy that tells the story of a fae civilization occupied and destroyed by machines that feed on organic matter where the faerie protagonist seeks revenge by becoming part machine - a poetic commentary on environmental disaster and the rapid evolution of technology. Full of equal parts naked vulnerability and joyful rebellion, WEEDKILLER gives a thundering voice to the oppressed.

The UK’s cosmic, psychedelic-funk ensemble issue their first album on maverick producer Madlib’s label, Madlib Invazion. The Heliocentrics’ albums are all confounding pieces of work. Drawing equally from the funk universe of James Brown, the disorienting asymmetry of Sun Ra, the cinematic scope of Ennio Morricone, the sublime fusion of David Axelrod, Pierre Henry’s turned-on musique concrète, and Can’s beat-heavy Krautrock, they have – regardless of the label on which they’ve released their music - pointed the way towards a brand new kind of psychedelia, one that could only come from a band of accomplished musicians who were also obsessive music fans. Drummer Malcolm Catto and bassist Jake Ferguson are the Heliocentrics’ masterminds and producers, and they are obsessive weirdos in today’s musical climate, searching, progressive humans who are often out-of-time with current trends. They have been playing together for nearly two decades and their collective drive is to find an individual voice. The Heliocentrics search for it in an alternate galaxy where the orbits of funk, jazz, psychedelic, electronic, avant-garde and “ethnic” music all revolve around “The One.” With Madilb’s label Madlib Invazion for Infinity of Now, the Heliocentrics have returned to develop their epic vision of psychedelic funk, while exploring the possibilities created by their myriad influences, Latin, African, and more.

The latest EP from Drab Majesty marks the start of a stirring new chapter in the band's majestic legacy. Written during a 2021 retreat to the remote coastal Oregon town of Yachats, Deb Demure leaned into the neo- psychedelic resonance of a uniquely bowl - shaped 12 -string Ovation acoustic/electric guitar. After early morning hikes in the rain, Deb would record ambient guitar experiments the rest of the day, tapping into "flow states," letting the sound lead the way. These sessions were then refined or recreated, and later elevated further with key collaborations by Rachel Goswell (Slowdive), Justin Meldal Johnson (Beck, M83, Air), and Ben Greenberg (Uniform, Circular Ruin Studio). An Object In Motion is true to its title, capturing the chrysalis moment of an artist evolving, reborn and untet hered, silhouetted against an open horizon. "Cape Perpetua" kicks off the collection's divergent palette: sparkling acoustic fingerpicking refracted through delay, equal parts raga and reverie. Melodies and moods congeal and dissipate, at the threshold of rustic American primitivism, brooding neo-folk, and pastoral melancholia. "The Skin And The Glove" deploys jangle to different effect baggy, soaring, grey skied kaleidoscopic pop in the spirit of Stone Roses, Primal Scream, and The Glove. Rachel Goswell lends her iconic freefall voice to The Cure - esque ballad, "Vanity," infusing poetic gravity to the doomed refrain: "If the valve breaks / then the earth quakes / and history finds a way / to put you in your place." "Yield To Force", the closing track of the EP, may be the most anomalous offering of the set. A 15 minute instrumental odyssey of cyclical strings, ominous slide guitar, and simmering synthesizer, the piece sways and spirals like a long zoom into distant storm clouds. Demure finesses the guitar with a restless but regal grandeur, unfolding a panorama of peaks, shadows, and plateaus. It's music both intuitive and prophetic, tracing the slow swing of pendulums across an endless plain. Taken as a whole, An Object In Motion presents a showcase of potential futures from Drab's evolving domain, their sound poised to bloom at the precipice of transformation.

In dem Moment, als die Nadel auf die neue A Giant Dog-Platte fällt, krümmt sich die eigene Vorstellung davon, wie eine A Giant Dog-Platte klingen soll, wie Raum und Zeit um ein Raumschiff, das mit Lichtgeschwindigkeit fliegt. Bite ist ein Konzeptalbum, in dem es um Charaktere geht, die sich in einer virtuellen Realität namens Avalonia bewegen und zugleich ist es das erste Album von A Giant Dog mit eigenen Songs seit Toy von 2017.

Sabrina Ellis, Andrew Cashen, Danny Blanchard, Graham Low und Andy Bauer - auf ihrem Höhepunkt als Musiker, fordern sie sich mit komplexeren Arrangements heraus und versetzten sich hinein in die Köpfe der Figuren, die dieses vermeintliche Paradies Avalonia bewohnen. "Wir mussten uns in den Hauptfiguren wiederfinden oder uns in die Hauptfiguren hineinversetzen. Wir entwickelten sie, lernten ihre Gedanken, Emotionen und Motivationen kennen und brachten diese dann in neun Songs zum Ausdruck", erklärt Ellis. Themen wie Sucht, Geschlechterfluidität, ethisches Leben in einer kapitalistischen Gesellschaft, körperliche Autonomie, Geiz, Trauer und Zustimmung sprudeln unter dem versprochenen Glück von Avalonia.

Dies wird in Songs wie "Different Than" deutlich, in dem Ellis singt: "My body can't explain the things my mind don't comprehend", als ob der gesellschaftliche Geschlechterdruck seine Protagonistin aus ihrer Haut herausquetscht. Die Songs auf Bite sind voller Bombast und erinnern abwechselnd an den raumfahrenden Opernrock des Electric Light Orchestra und die hohe Dramatik einer Ennio Morricone Filmmusik. Der erzählerische Bogen des Albums ist von epischer Tragweite, seine Charaktere stehen vor unmöglichen Unwahrscheinlichkeiten und sind mit dem sicheren Untergang konfrontiert, und ist so bequem vergleichbar mit der Sci-Fi-Grandezza von Thin Lizzy's Jailbreak wie auch mit der High Fantasy von Dio und Iron Maiden. Passenderweise sind A Giant Dog bis an die Zähne bewaffnet mit neuen Ideen zu dieser Erzählung gekommen, mit Synthesizern und Streichern, um das zu schaffen, was Ellis als orchestral beschreibt: symphonischen, futuristischen Punk. Um dies zu erreichen, verließen sie ihre Heimat Austin, Texas, in das La Cuve Studio in der Nähe von Angers, Frankreich.

Auf dem französischen Land legten A Giant Dog ihre Zukunftsvision vor einer ausgesprochen pastoralen Kulisse nieder. Auf den Wanderungen von Angers nach La Cuve, so Ellis, sahen sie "viele Dinge, und auch gar nichts. Schwäne auf dem Fluss. Romani, die in kleinen Anhängern leben, mit einer Hütte für ihren Hund an der Seite Ein Jongleur auf einem Einrad - ich verarsche dich nicht. Wir dachten, wir dürften nach dieser Reise nicht mehr nach Frankreich zurück, um ehrlich zu sein", fährt sie fort. "Fünf laute, stampfende, klatschende, randalierende Amerikaner, die im November 2022 drei Wochen lang durch die Straßen von Angers gelaufen sind." Diese Erfahrung war der Höhepunkt von zwei Jahren Planung und Schreiben, in denen das Universum von Avalonia Gestalt annahm. Die daraus resultierenden neun Songs besetzen nicht nur diesen Raum: Sie haben darin gelebt und sie wollen raus.

In dem Moment, als die Nadel auf die neue A Giant Dog-Platte fällt, krümmt sich die eigene Vorstellung davon, wie eine A Giant Dog-Platte klingen soll, wie Raum und Zeit um ein Raumschiff, das mit Lichtgeschwindigkeit fliegt. Bite ist ein Konzeptalbum, in dem es um Charaktere geht, die sich in einer virtuellen Realität namens Avalonia bewegen und zugleich ist es das erste Album von A Giant Dog mit eigenen Songs seit Toy von 2017.

Sabrina Ellis, Andrew Cashen, Danny Blanchard, Graham Low und Andy Bauer - auf ihrem Höhepunkt als Musiker, fordern sie sich mit komplexeren Arrangements heraus und versetzten sich hinein in die Köpfe der Figuren, die dieses vermeintliche Paradies Avalonia bewohnen. "Wir mussten uns in den Hauptfiguren wiederfinden oder uns in die Hauptfiguren hineinversetzen. Wir entwickelten sie, lernten ihre Gedanken, Emotionen und Motivationen kennen und brachten diese dann in neun Songs zum Ausdruck", erklärt Ellis. Themen wie Sucht, Geschlechterfluidität, ethisches Leben in einer kapitalistischen Gesellschaft, körperliche Autonomie, Geiz, Trauer und Zustimmung sprudeln unter dem versprochenen Glück von Avalonia.

Dies wird in Songs wie "Different Than" deutlich, in dem Ellis singt: "My body can't explain the things my mind don't comprehend", als ob der gesellschaftliche Geschlechterdruck seine Protagonistin aus ihrer Haut herausquetscht. Die Songs auf Bite sind voller Bombast und erinnern abwechselnd an den raumfahrenden Opernrock des Electric Light Orchestra und die hohe Dramatik einer Ennio Morricone Filmmusik. Der erzählerische Bogen des Albums ist von epischer Tragweite, seine Charaktere stehen vor unmöglichen Unwahrscheinlichkeiten und sind mit dem sicheren Untergang konfrontiert, und ist so bequem vergleichbar mit der Sci-Fi-Grandezza von Thin Lizzy's Jailbreak wie auch mit der High Fantasy von Dio und Iron Maiden. Passenderweise sind A Giant Dog bis an die Zähne bewaffnet mit neuen Ideen zu dieser Erzählung gekommen, mit Synthesizern und Streichern, um das zu schaffen, was Ellis als orchestral beschreibt: symphonischen, futuristischen Punk. Um dies zu erreichen, verließen sie ihre Heimat Austin, Texas, in das La Cuve Studio in der Nähe von Angers, Frankreich.

Auf dem französischen Land legten A Giant Dog ihre Zukunftsvision vor einer ausgesprochen pastoralen Kulisse nieder. Auf den Wanderungen von Angers nach La Cuve, so Ellis, sahen sie "viele Dinge, und auch gar nichts. Schwäne auf dem Fluss. Romani, die in kleinen Anhängern leben, mit einer Hütte für ihren Hund an der Seite Ein Jongleur auf einem Einrad - ich verarsche dich nicht. Wir dachten, wir dürften nach dieser Reise nicht mehr nach Frankreich zurück, um ehrlich zu sein", fährt sie fort. "Fünf laute, stampfende, klatschende, randalierende Amerikaner, die im November 2022 drei Wochen lang durch die Straßen von Angers gelaufen sind." Diese Erfahrung war der Höhepunkt von zwei Jahren Planung und Schreiben, in denen das Universum von Avalonia Gestalt annahm. Die daraus resultierenden neun Songs besetzen nicht nur diesen Raum: Sie haben darin gelebt und sie wollen raus.

"Perfect Saviors ist unser völlig unironischer, aufrichtiger Versuch, das größte und beste Rockalbum des 21. Jahrhunderts zu schaffen." The Armed - das in Detroit gegründete Alternative Metal-Post-Hardcore - Kollektiv - meldet sich mit neuen Album Perfect Saviors zurück, dem nächsten Schritt seit ihrem Durchbruch ULTRAPOP aus dem Jahr 2021. Perfect Saviors wurde von Tony Wolski zusammen mit Ben Chisholm und Troy Van Leeuwen produziert, mit Beiträgen von Julien Baker, Sarah Tudzin, Mark Guiliana, Justin Meldal-Johnsen, Eric Avery, Stephen Perkins, Josh Klinghoffer und vielen anderen. Das Album wurde von zudem von Alan Moulder (u.a. NIN, Iggy Pop, Jesus & Mary Chain, Wet Leg, Foo Fighters...) gemischt. Sänger Tony Wolski äußerte sich wie folgt zu dem Album: "Zu viele Informationen haben uns dumm und verwirrt gemacht. Zu viele Möglichkeiten, sich zu vernetzen, haben versehentlich zur Isolation geführt. Und zu viele Erwartungen haben jeden gezwungen, eine Berühmtheit zu werden. Vorhersehbare ursprüngliche Gefahren sind neueren sozialen Gefahren gewichen. Das Ergebnis ist eine Welt, die verwirrend und beängstigend, aber letztlich auch schön ist. Wir hoffen, dass diese Platte genau das alles auch ist. Perfect Saviors ist der Abschluss einer Trilogie von Alben, die untersucht und seziert, was "Popkultur" in einer Welt der grenzenlosen Information und des Zugangs ausmacht. Jedes Album nutzt "Popmusik" als lockeres Format, um diese Ideen auszudrücken, und nutzt Komposition und Präsentation als eine Möglichkeit, diese Fragen weiter zu hinterfragen. Perfect Saviors ist das ultimative Produkt dieser Entwicklung. Mit Hilfe eines der weltweit bekanntesten Mixing Engineers haben The Armed ein wunderschönes Album geschaffen, das die Sprache und die Welt des Pop durch eine einzigartige, extreme und perverse Linse betrachtet und so ihre Kunst vermittelt. Perfect Saviors folgt auf das von der Kritik gefeierte Album ULTRAPOP von 2021, das auf zahlreichen Best of 2021-Listen landete, darunter Pitchfork, New York Times, Stereogum, Revolver und vielen mehr. Vinyl im Klappcover mit zwei 12seitigen Booklets, Insert + DLC!

With 15 tracks of pure pop perfection, “Feed The Beast” moves beyond the characters found in Kim’s past music to draw more from her personal life and is a declaration about being willing to be consumed by her biggest passion. With pop music as her driving force, the album is Kim’s offering to her own beast that sees her embody a modern-day pop Andromeda – a spin on the classic Greek tale where the princess was about to be sacrificed to her beast. Unlike the tale, however, Kim has set out to rescue herself with a body of work that is heavily inspired by the euphoric Eurodance hits that she would lose herself in growing up.

Die norwegischen Avantgarde-Black-Metal-Pioniere und -Innovatoren BORKNAGAR veröffentlichen eine Sonderedition ihres 8. Studioalbums aus dem Jahr 2010, "Universal", das weltweit zum ersten Mal über den langjährigen Labelpartner der Band, Century Media Records, veröffentlicht wird. Das Album, das in der illustren Besetzung von Mastermind Øystein G. Brun (Gitarre), Andreas "Vintersorg" Hedlund (Gesang), Lars "Lazare" Nedland (Keyboard, Backing Vocals), Jens F. Ryland (Gitarre), Jan Erik Tiwaz (Bass) und David Kinkade (Schlagzeug) erschienen ist, enthält alle 10 Tracks der Albumsession, die von Dan Swanö / Unisound (Opeth, Katatonia, Dissection, Asphyx, etc.) neu gemastert wurden. "Universal (Re-issue 2023)" wird als Jewelcase CD, Digitales Album und als transparente sonnengelbe 180g 2LP im Gatefold-Cover erhältlich sein. Haltet Ausschau nach weiteren BORKNAGAR Frontline-Aktivitäten und Live-Auftritten, die bald angekündigt werden...

• This is an unusual album in the catalogue of Ornette Coleman, and one that passes by most critics. It is however a unique insight into the ‘free jazz’ pioneer’s way of working in the early 70s. Recorded at his large loft space in downtown New York which inspired a whole scene of experimental musicians who were locked out of playing established venues.

• The music is a romp showing Ornette playing trumpet as well as saxophone. His quartet which featured second saxophonist Dewey Redman alongside long term cohorts Ed Blackwell and Charlie Haden prove to be the perfect foil for this legendary set.

• This is the first vinyl reissue in nearly 20 years and utilises a fresh 24/96 transfer from the original production master.

Limited 300 only LP pressed on 'deep space black' vinyl. Housed in a gloss finished outer sleeve with black polylined inner bag and download code. Non-Returnable.

For fans of Up-Tight, Les Rallizes Denudes, Acid Mothers Temple, and deep psych rock.

Introducing TOMOYUKI TRIO, a blistering Japanese/UK psych-rock power trio featuring Tomoyuki Aoki, Mike Vest & Dave Sneddon.

Tomoyuki Aoki is the founding member and lead guitarist of the legendary Japanese psychedelic rock band UP-TIGHT, who’ve been active and since 1992 building up a cult following worldwide.

This debut collaboration between Tomoyuki Aoki & Mike Vest (of Blown Out, Bong, Modoki, Artifacts & Uranium, Drunk In Hell etc) greets two titans of guitar feedback and blissful ‘improvised every-time’ leads.

Experimental ultra-delayed vocals, shimmer over downer minor chord basslines, leaving room for Aoki’s guitar devastations.

This is introverted mournful psychedelic rock music, yet it still grooves all the way to it's inevitable oblivion.

Coke Bottle Clear Vinyl. High Vis were formed in 2016 from the ashes of some of the UK's best hardcore bands. Gild-toothed frontman Graham Sayle's anguished lyrics about life in working class Britain were familiar to fans of Tremors' full-throttle thrash, but alongside his former bandmate Edward `Ski' Harper and veterans of Dirty Money, DiE and The Smear, High Vis sought to transform that energy and intensity into something entirely new.Like scene-mates Chubby and the Gang did by pulling in unlikely source material from classic doo-wop or Micromoon have by combining everything from psychedelia and metal into their high potency mix, High Vis' 2019 debut album, No Sense No Feeling showed the band were never going to be constrained by any sense of genre rules or regulations. Its claustrophobic rattle bore traces of Joy Division, Bauhaus, Crisis, The Cure and Gang Of Four lurking in the shadows. 2020's synth-driven EP, Society Exists, was further evidence of the band's restless creative MO.High Vis' second album Blending sees them open their viewfinder wider than ever before. Alongside longstanding favourites such as Fugazi and Echo and The Bunnymen; Ride and even Flock Of Seagulls were shared reference points as the band worked on the album together.From the anthemic sweep of opener "Talk For Hours", through the title track's psychedelic swirl and "Fever Dream"'s baggy groove, it sees High Vis' sound blossoming into something with an unlimited richness. The hazy drift of "Shame" or the melodic jangle of "Trauma Bonds" may take them until uncharted waters, but they still have all the power and bite that made No Sense No Feeling so remarkable.Lyrically, the album represents another leap forward too. Talking frankly about poverty, class politics, and the challenges of everyday life, Sayle's lyrics have always addressed the downtrodden and discarded communities across Britain slipping below the waterline. This time around, Sayle's lost not of that social consciousness, but he's looked at himself and his own emotional landscape, and in the process created something that feels more universal, that reaches a hand-out to people and ultimately gives a message of hope."To me, the lyrics are less selfish," reflects Sayle. "In the past, I couldn't see past whatever was going on with me. It's about accepting things and being open to conversations and learning to talk to people rather than just thinking that we're all doomed."The song "Talk for Hours" is a prime example of that. Born out of an afternoon meeting up with an old group of mates "repeating the same thing and not actually learning anything about each other" it offers to actually break the cycle and to listen and speak frankly about shared feelings and experiences. "Trauma Bonds", meanwhile, traces the broken lines of those living in lost communities, but ultimately realises that despite our shared scars, there's still hope to move on to a better future."The message of the album is you're not who you're told you are," Sayle summarises. "You're not your class background. Whatever it is, you're not that. Don't resign yourself to thinking you can't be this and you can't be that."It's a vitally important message right now, and one that could be the motto for not only Blending, but for High Vis themselves.

"Perfect Saviors ist unser völlig unironischer, aufrichtiger Versuch, das größte und beste Rockalbum des 21. Jahrhunderts zu schaffen." The Armed - das in Detroit gegründete Alternative Metal-Post-Hardcore - Kollektiv - meldet sich mit neuen Album Perfect Saviors zurück, dem nächsten Schritt seit ihrem Durchbruch ULTRAPOP aus dem Jahr 2021. Perfect Saviors wurde von Tony Wolski zusammen mit Ben Chisholm und Troy Van Leeuwen produziert, mit Beiträgen von Julien Baker, Sarah Tudzin, Mark Guiliana, Justin Meldal-Johnsen, Eric Avery, Stephen Perkins, Josh Klinghoffer und vielen anderen. Das Album wurde von zudem von Alan Moulder (u.a. NIN, Iggy Pop, Jesus & Mary Chain, Wet Leg, Foo Fighters...) gemischt. Sänger Tony Wolski äußerte sich wie folgt zu dem Album: "Zu viele Informationen haben uns dumm und verwirrt gemacht. Zu viele Möglichkeiten, sich zu vernetzen, haben versehentlich zur Isolation geführt. Und zu viele Erwartungen haben jeden gezwungen, eine Berühmtheit zu werden. Vorhersehbare ursprüngliche Gefahren sind neueren sozialen Gefahren gewichen. Das Ergebnis ist eine Welt, die verwirrend und beängstigend, aber letztlich auch schön ist. Wir hoffen, dass diese Platte genau das alles auch ist. Perfect Saviors ist der Abschluss einer Trilogie von Alben, die untersucht und seziert, was "Popkultur" in einer Welt der grenzenlosen Information und des Zugangs ausmacht. Jedes Album nutzt "Popmusik" als lockeres Format, um diese Ideen auszudrücken, und nutzt Komposition und Präsentation als eine Möglichkeit, diese Fragen weiter zu hinterfragen. Perfect Saviors ist das ultimative Produkt dieser Entwicklung. Mit Hilfe eines der weltweit bekanntesten Mixing Engineers haben The Armed ein wunderschönes Album geschaffen, das die Sprache und die Welt des Pop durch eine einzigartige, extreme und perverse Linse betrachtet und so ihre Kunst vermittelt. Perfect Saviors folgt auf das von der Kritik gefeierte Album ULTRAPOP von 2021, das auf zahlreichen Best of 2021-Listen landete, darunter Pitchfork, New York Times, Stereogum, Revolver und vielen mehr. Vinyl im Klappcover mit zwei 12seitigen Booklets, Insert + DLC!