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Back in 2010 Caribou's Dan Snaith hosted a remix competition for his track 'Sun' from his then-new album Swim. The winner was an unknown producer called altrice.

Hailing from Tucson, Arizona of Iranian/Mexican descent, altrice took the bright euphoric highs of the original and crumbled them into rumbling lows, the crystalline edges becoming rough and undefined. Along with a bursting goody-bag of prizes, Snaith also provided altrice with the stems for the rest of Swim and the offer to remix the whole album track-by-track, creating 'stem'. Aside from a further dream-come-true remix of Radiohead, this is largely the last we heard from altrice in the past 12 years.

A year and a half ago though, having kept up correspondence with Snaith over the years, altrice began sending new material. With encouragement from Snaith he eventually wound up with an EP which has since become essential DJ material for Snaith and the cohort of friends he's shared it with, as well as appearing in Leon Vynehall's Radio 1 Residency, KH (Four Tet)'s recent Essential Mix and more.

With three tracks already released from the EP receiving further DJ support from Avalon Emerson, Floating Points, Yu Su, Sofia Kourtesis, Mano Le Tough and more, today the EP is released in full officially via Snaith's own Jiaolong label. compciter is a collection of music that for the first time is entirely altrice's own sound, alluring and off-kilter, a wealth of sounds and styles that are tied together by an irresistible warmth.

Speaking of the EP, altrice says:

"This EP is the result of allowing my stylistic boundaries to be nudged in a new direction, putting away a self-inflicted notion that I’m only fluent in certain subgenres of electronic music. I made some production choices that, for better or worse, will make this project stand out. I’ve been overwhelmed by the reactions in clubs and at festivals, and individuals reaching out with kind words about the music. It’s surreal."
From the huddled and obscured yet comforting vocal samples - described by Pitchfork as "a beacon of light in an uncertain landscape" - of 'bda creature' to the swinging 90s eurodance drums of 'places faces' and the way the welcoming guitar melody and soulful vocals of 'eyes' gives way to a full on bass pummel, the tracks that have been released so far from the EP are already causing a stir both on and off the dancefloor. Today, the chopped up vocals and vast roomy sound of 'yoni' along with '1609km' - which would almost be straightforward house if it didn't pull the rug out to make way for delicate piano and harmonica flourishes - complete a set that fulfils a promise 12 years in the making..

The pandemic affected each of us in different ways. From colossal stars to complete unknowns, it up-ended our lives, and demolished our expectations.

Take Lil Skies. The Philly talent found himself back in his home city, completing a journey that began in pace on his 2017 mixtape ‘Life Of A Dark Rose’. Re-connecting with his roots – his moniker is a nod to his father, while 2019 debut album ‘Shelby’ named after his mother – he’s delivered some of his most potent, open material to date.

‘Unbothered’ is a tight, focussed return – a snappy 14 tracks, is exudes a sense of purpose, retaining the swagger of his debut while upping the word play. It’s an inward journey, one exemplified by those early viral singles ‘OK’ and ‘Havin’ My Way’ but it’s also lit up by some special guests.

Working with alacrity, Lil Skies built ‘Unbothered’ from a series of freestyles, yet every element on the album feels exact, placed with real precision. Using a mere three features – a trilogy that boasts Wiz Khalifa, Lil Durk, and Jodeci – the emphasis is placed on his vocals, on his ability to utilise the voice as an instrument.

‘Trust Nobody’ hinges on fragile paranoia, while ‘Riot’ bristles with a palpable sense of rage. An attempt to channel the repressed – and often extreme – emotions of the past 12 months, ‘Unbothered’ pitches a cool facade against a depth of feeling that often threatens to explode – just check out ‘Think Deep Don’t Sink’ for a mission statement.

Working within clear definitions, ‘Unbothered’ feels more distilled than Lil Skies’ previous work, the sound of someone choosing to work with what they know. Lyrically it’s marked by pain and redemption, lingering on messages of perseverance, and renewal. He may claim to be ‘Unbothered’, but the marks of the pandemic are there for all to see on a brave, at times powerful, new album

Third release for the Limited Label BeBop.

Sharing the spotlight along with the label owner Umwelt on this brand new split EP, Zeta Reticula the Slovenian born artist delivers two tracks of high intensity with distinct energy! Melodic "The Fate Of The Ship Unknown" opens A side with a pure robotic mayhem based upon synthetic strings, rushing leads and frantic arpeggiator flights over seductive vocals. Hostile and heading at the same. Progressive "Documented Contact", coming next, signs an intricate yet groovy electro sci-fi masterpiece made of rolling bassline, moody atmosphere and pounding beats. This is Zeta Reticula at its finest!

The Lord of Darkness treats the flipside with a more aggressive sound. As its title suggests, "Hyperspace" propels the listener at light speed through the depths of the universe thanks to a dystopian machinefunk atmosphere where hammering drums fuse with cold layers in Umwelt's typical trademark. Classical electro shaker "Earth To Unknown" concludes this uncompromising 12" with a luminous structure enhanced with a deeper and soulful approach.

Sharp, underground and always dancefloor oriented, this limited release comes packed in a colorful urban picture disc designed by the great CN6 aka Nexus 6!

Orange Vinyl 2023 Repress

Well deserved re-issue of this evergreen

Déjà vu is translated as “already seen” but for South California native Ben Schwab, his discovery in a small Ohio town 2000 miles from home led to an epiphany of creating the “already heard.” Unearthing a box of 1975 cassette tapes of his father’s old band, the recordings or “Sylvies” as Ben would affectionately call them later became the imprint for a familiar feeling he would end up chasing. The songs were timeless, effortless, and soulful.

Awakening senses to the eternal quality of hidden or lost music, Sylvie fully encompasses that very same musical lineage and spirit living in those lost yet beloved time capsules. Recorded years before by Ben’s father, John Schwab and his own band Mad Anthony in a Southern California barn, those reels spoke of a common narrative at the time; a band close to a record deal which never came, so the tapes were boxed up and stored in a closet for years to come. “Dad’s songs are straight from the heart and really shaped my taste and imagination for songwriting in a permanent way,” Ben reveals. Taking the name from one of those early recordings an obscure cover of a 70s track by Ian Matthews ‘Sylvie’ would inspire his project’s namesake and feature as the album’s only cover. “It’s an incredible song from the past but for whatever reason, is basically unknown,” Ben offers by way of an explanation.

The Soninke collective consciousness finds its origins in a founding myth, a blood pact: the legend of Biida and the decadence of the empire of Ghana or Wagadu (evoked by Léopold Sédar Senghor as a land of plenty in his poem Le Kaya Magan). From the 3rd century AD, gathered in the region of Sahel, on the edge of the Sahara desert, the Soninko ruled over their kingdom and its capital Kumbi Saleh. According to folklore, they were blessed with abundant rain and nuggets of gold could be picked directly from the ground.

They owed this prosperity to a providential but cruel protector: the Wagadu Biida, a seven-headed serpent who lived at the bottom of the Kumbi well. Every year, as a reward for his favours, the Biida demanded an offering: the life of the most beautiful virgin woman in the community. Sacrifices took place for generations, until the 13th century AD, when fate chose Siya Yatabéré, Maamadi Sehedunxote's sweetheart...

Centuries later in 1977, Gaye Mody Camara, a young Soninke raised in Mali's Kayes region, settled in France to found his own empire. Initially selling wax, kola nuts and other goods in his Parisian outlets, he rapidly started distributing cassette tapes and eventually producing a multitude of recordings for his own label: Camara Production.

Crossing paths and collaborating over the next four decades with legendary artists, griots and industry moguls like Boncana Maïga, Jean-Philippe Rykiel, Ganda Fadiga, Diaby Doua or Ibrahima Sylla, Camara became one of the great independent music producers of his generation, and a pilar of the Parisian Soninke diaspora.

Released in close collaboration with Gaye Camara and with the assistance of Daouda N'diaye, one of A.P.S' (Association pour la Promotion de la langue et de la culture Soninké) historical members, this selection of songs and accompanying notes aim to shed a light on an intricate culture and its modern music, injustifiably unknown outside of West Africa and the various Soninko diasporas around the world.

From Malian Zouk to Mauritanian Reggae and other psychedelic groovers originally released on cassettes or digitally, we have given the utmost attention to bringing this music to a new format. It has been carefully remastered and pressed on a couple of 180g vinyls, with riso printed liner notes.

"Sounds sublime" - Gilles Peterson

"What a delightful, excitingly beautiful album. From "At Once Familiar " all the way through to "Same as Before" everything song feels and sounds sonically glorious. A modern day classic" - Nightmares On Wax

Taking a short sabbatical from their journey into the spiritual stratosphere and beyond, Work Money Death landed on terra firma just long enough to record a follow up to the critically acclaimed "The Space In Which The Uncontrollable Unknown Resides Can Be The Place From Which Creation Arises". The new album "Thought, Action, Reaction, Interaction" explores many of the meditative motifs that mould this unique group in their quest for the perfect sound and space. Those who are familiar with Work Money Death will know their output is as much an adventure for the listener as it was for the musicians.

"Thought, Action, Reaction, Interactions" is a salute to the now sadly deceased master of the spiritual sound Pharoah Sanders, and in particular the spontaneity of his recording process.

Each of the four tracks on "Thought, Action, Reaction, Interaction" were recorded in one take with no rehearsal and while the players may have known where they were starting off none of them were sure where they would end. As much as it is entertainment, and have no doubt this LP is an unctuous, spirit-smoothing joy from beginning to end, this is an experiment of making music in the moment. Spontaneous and spiritual in its truest sense, "Thought, Action, Reaction, Interaction" is a work of innovation and unsurpassed beauty.

"At Once Familiar" is a rising salute to the day, meditative, moving and fierce. An introduction to Burkill's emotive style, at once sweeping and succinct. It fills a room, and your head, with a very real sound, rich in texture and spirit.

"Freedom As A Heartfelt Song" is buoyant with harp, the spirit of the Yorkshire Pharoah is never more to the fore. Visceral sax rides over and uplifting backing, symbiotic and pinioned with power and beauty. Think Sun Ra horns meets Don Ellis brass.

"Song Of Healing" drifts on a river of music, guided through the rapids with a heartbeat bass line. This is temple sombre, with Eastern flavours and an overarching calm. A communion of sound, a master class in the understatement and power of the slow note, deceptively light.

"Same As Before" is spoken word playing foil to the call and response of the brass, dancing alongside and against each other. Spiritual vibrations cement ethereal forms to substantive sounds. A prayer to change."

As with the previous Work, Money, Death release (which was recorded in difficult conditions due to the Covid pandemic) the aim was to recreate a situation, in this case the impromptu and unrehearsed recording sessions of Sanders in the late 60's and early 70's, everything recorded in one take, creating a body of work that is a strong nod to a certain time and ethos but not a pastiche of it.


““Sounds sublime””
Gilles Peterson — BBC6, WorldWideFM

““What a delightful, excitingly beautiful album. From “At Once Familiar “ all the way through to “Same as Before” everything song feels and sounds sonically glorious. A modern day classic””
Nightmares On Wax —

zake's fruitful contributions as an artist to his own Past Inside The Present label continues on this new album Deep Into The Unknown We Shall Endlessly Roam. It is an assemblage of arrangements made using archaic tape machines such as a Sony M-570V microcassette voice recorder and obsolete VSC Soundpacer, all on analogue tape. Of course that lends the music a misty, grainy quality that defines much of zake's ambient. Here his loops and found sounds meld and melt to create vast open spaces that are pregnant with emotion and tension. It's another magical work of ambient art that, says the artist, "is dedicated to those who continue to yearn for greater understanding."

Red Vinyl

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 channeled 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.

Berlin based sound artist Sa Pa delivers AI-33, titled ‘Atmospheric Fragments’. Originally intended as a soundtrack to accompany ten short experimental films as part of a physical exhibition in 2020 curated by Manon Bernard, Atmospheric Fragments was alternatively premiered online as a digital showroom - with its music performed and recorded both live and independently in 2021. 

Atmospheric Fragments was conceived as a collaborative audio-visual project, positing the viewer inside a sonic boom of introspective parenthesis and offering a place for internal dialogues under the circumstances of a largely unknown and rapidly changing modern world. 

Sa Pa’s work presents a fresh sonic reinterpretation of urban landscapes, skylines and modern environments, procuring from its source material a whole new kaleidoscopic world of its own. The record consists of two mixes - ‘Studio’ and ‘Live’ - which demonstrate a deep explorational study of our everyday surroundings, plunging the listener into a realm of heightened sense experience and microscopic detail. Where the ‘Studio’ mix embodies the precision and management of the studio workspace and is more ambient in nature, such intricacies are exchanged for a larger, livelier sound stage and alternative sonic material in the ‘Live’ mix. 

A nebulous ocean of shifting spaces and effervescent textures, Sa Pa augments and modulates field recordings into a fluid and ever-evolving narrative. Seen through a viewfinder of deep and immersive observation, new transients, momentary artefacts and poetry in motion begin to reveal itself. In a world caught in momentary stasis, Atmospheric Fragments is a forensic inquiry into our perceptive environment, with its augmented lens placing us on the cusp of the ungraspable.

2 LPs-set (3 sides)
Recorded in Paris, November 22 and December 17, 1958.
Original issues: LP Fontana 680.202 ML & EP Fontana 460.642 MR.


”I’ve never played for such an audience” declared Art Blakey in tears. lt was November 22nd, 1958, and he’d just come offstage after one of the “Jazz Wednesdays” concerts at the Paris Olympia. For a first appearance by the “Jazz Messengers”, they’d made quite an impression. Not content with pulling a huge crowd off the Boulevard des Capucines (the demand was so great that a second concert had to be staged on December 17th), they’d converted everybody to the “Hard Bop” religion in two sets where, united in a kind of exultant communion, jazzmen, jazzophiles and curious bystanders alike had been crushed together in high spirits, paying no attention to the presence of Brigitte Bardot escorted by Sacha Distel. That night Blues March had almost replaced the Marseillaise anthem (and Moanin’ the Oignons). Yet none of the Messengers had ever been to Paris. They’d get to that later, and then some, but for the moment they were perfect strangers. Not only strangers to the public, but unknown even to a sizeable group of jazz fans : the next issue of “Jazz Hot” magazine (most of it devoted to them) arrived like an invasion by the carabimeri… the blaze lit at the Olympia had gone out, of course, and Blakey had moved into the “Club St. Germain” to light others; there, each of his gigs could have been a remake of the famous cabin scene in the Marx Brothers’ “A Night At The Opera”…

Among the Messengers’ “greatest hits”, only Moanin’ came close to Blues March. Constructed in the manner of a gospel, with the piano in the role of the preacher, and the orchestra that of the congregation, punctuating the sermon with shouts of approval, the theme was by pianist Bobby Timmons, whose fiery spirit can be explained by his educayion: “… the fact I played rhythm ‘n’ blues had a great influence on my style, and for me, it’s the foundation of jazz.” Moanin’ had sent the Olympia fans Into transports of delight, and even excited the curiosity of Hugues Panassié, who chanced to be passing by (“Bop”, in any form, being hardly his cup of tea) : he was prompted to go backstage and ask what it was he’d heard… Decidedly, in 1958, the Jazz Messengers were miracle-workers!

Three O’Clock High war eine unkonventionelle Interpretation einer Highschool-Komödie der 80er Jahre.
Der Film, bei dem Phil Joanou (U2’s Rattle and Hum, State of Grace, Final Analysis) stilvoll Regie führte,
erinnert mehr an Scorsese als an John Hughes und zeigt Casey Siemaszko in der Hauptrolle als Streber,
der sich nach der Schule mit einem psychopathischen Tyrannen (gespielt von Richard Tyson) herumschlagen muss. Der Film wurde auf Heimvideos zum Kulthit, wozu auch die stimmungsvolle, dynamische und
pulsierende Musik der deutschen Synthpop-Legenden Tangerine Dream (Sorcerer, Thief, Risky Business)
beitrug.
Regisseur Joanou wollte die Band unbedingt für den Film engagieren und war überglücklich, als sie zusagten:
”Die Berliner Sessions mit Edgar Froese und Paul Haslinger waren ein wahr gewordener (Tangerine-)Traum”,
schreibt er in den neuen Linernotes zu dieser Veröffentlichung. ”In ihrem Studio direkt an der Berliner
Mauer arbeiteten wir mehrere Wochen lang an jedem einzelnen Stück... Was sie einem Keyboard, aber
auch Gitarren, Bass und Schlagzeug entlocken konnten, war einfach unglaublich. Ich war wie weggeblasen.”
Die 15 Tracks von Tangerine Dream werden durch zusätzliche Musik von Sylvester Levay (als die Filmemacher
mehr Cues brauchten und es sich nicht leisten konnten, nach Berlin zurückzukehren) und den bekannten
Song von Jim Walker, ”Something to Remember Me By”, ergänzt.

Meg Baird’s songs are rarely made up of tidy stories. In fact, for Meg, mystery itself is often the
medium. With ‘Furling’, Meg’s fourth album under her own name, she explores the breadth of
her musical fascinations and the environments around them - the edges of memory,
daydreams spanning years, loose ends, loss, divergent paths, and secret conversations under
stars. ‘Furling’ moves through these varied spaces with the slippery, misty cohesiveness of a
dream - guided by an ageless, stirring voice that remains singular and unmistakable.
Since co-founding the beguiling and beautiful Espers in the mid-aughts amid Philadelphia’s
fertile underground music community, Meg’s solo recordings have constituted just a fraction of
her work.
Her first solo LP, the disarmingly out-of-time ‘Dear Companion’ (2007), saw her carve a quiet,
sunlit space away from the flickering swirl of Espers. Since her last solo releases, ‘Seasons on
Earth’ (2011) and ‘Don’t Weigh Down the Light’ (2015), Meg has lent thunderous drumming,
lead vocal, and poetry to Heron Oblivion (Sub Pop) on an album that garnered praise from the
New York Times and made Mojo’s Top Ten Albums Of 2016 list. She collaborated with harpist
Mary Lattimore on the mesmerizingly hazy ‘Ghost Forests’ (2018). She’s played drums with
Philadelphia scuzz-punks Watery Love (In The Red, Richie Records) and explored her deep
familial folk roots in the Baird Sisters (Grapefruit Records). She also contributed her vocal
arrangements to albums from Sharon Van Etten, Kurt Vile, Will Oldham and Steve Gunn, and
toured with Angel Olson, Dinosaur Jr., Bill Callahan, Thurston Moore and Bert Jansch, among
others.
Yet ‘Furling’ is the album that most irreverently explores the span of her work and musical
touchstones. It showcases her natural tether to 1960s English folk traditions. But it also reveals
her deep love for soul balladry, the solitary musings of Flying Saucer Attack and Neil Young
shackled to his piano deep in the foggy pre-dawn, dubby Bristol atmospherics, the melancholy
memory collage of DJ Shadow’s ‘Endtroducing’, and the delicious, Saturday night promise of
St. Etienne.
‘Furling’ was primarily recorded at Louder Studios by Tim Green (Bikini Kill, Nation of Ulysses,
Melvins, Wooden Shjips). Additional piano and vocal recording were captured at Panoramic
Studios in Stinson Beach, CA with Jason Quever (Papercuts). It was mastered in Brooklyn by
Heba Kadry, who mixed Bjork’s ‘Utopia’ and mastered albums for Slowdive, Cass McCombs
and Beach House.
For all its adornments, ‘Furling’ remains deeply intimate. The entire album was performed by
Meg and her long-time collaborator, partner, and Heron Oblivion bandmate Charlie Saufley.
While her prior solo work hinted at more expansive horizons, ‘Furling’ explores the idea of Meg
Baird as a band much more freely. Venturing beyond the musical confines of fingerstyle guitar,
she plays drums, mellotron, organs, synths, and vibraphone over her piano and guitar
foundations. Her distinctive, simultaneously elegiac and uplifting vocals, meanwhile, connect
surreal dream montages, graft sunshine sonics to swooning mediations on romantic solidarity
in trying times, and weave odes to the simple gestures of friendship - and the loss of family and
friends.
This rich sound world makes the songs a varied bunch: ‘Twelve Saints’ mates Pacific sunset
ambience and Pink Floyd pastoral to a meditation on mortality and escape. The infectious and
kinetic ‘Will You Follow Me Home’ contemplates hope and longing through the looking glass of
a Jimmy Miller-era-Stones strut. And in the closing piece, ‘Wreathing Days’, language
disintegrates over tone clusters that feel somewhere between falling and flying.
‘Wreathing Days’ also reveals much about Meg’s mastery of contrast - situating the dear and
delicate adjacent to chaos. And while it’s true that some songs on ‘Furling’ grapple with
humanity’s existential unknowns in stark terms, they primarily revel in the mysteries that hide in
nature and humanity at their most ordinary. ‘Furling’ lives in the notion that whole universes of
experience, enlightenment, elation and ecstasy can bloom in these corners.

repressed !

What a day! Digwah is back with another essential club bomb. After a very successful first release supported by the likes of Ricardo Villalobos, the mysterious imprint strikes again with some serious dance floor heat. Don't sleep, this is something else!

repressed !

The DIGWAH imprint returns with another dance floor dub, kicking up a storm.

Back in stock!

Following in the footsteps of the landmark 1966 double-quartet recording by Joe Harriott and John Mayer, Indian born musician Amancio D'Silva produced some of the most adventurous and sophisticated recordings within the canon of 'indo-jazz', a term used to define a pioneering east meets west synthesis that reflected the shifting musical and cultural landscape of post-war Britain. An experiment which reached a pinnacle in 1972 with D'Silva's seminal recording Dream Sequence by Cosmic Eye (The Roundtable TRZY001), an adventurous fusion of modal jazz and Indian classical music viewed through the psychedelic lens of swinging London. Exotic third-stream jazz conceived by a visionary composer whose virtuosic technique and deeply emotive guitar playing defined his two earlier and now legendary 1969 UK jazz albums Integration and Hum Dono with Joe Harriott, both recorded for the much celebrated Lansdowne label.

Also recorded in 1972 although not released at the time was Konkan Dance, an unofficial sequel to Dream Sequence that further explored the unchartered possibilities of an Indian music-jazz fusion. Featuring many of the same personnel, this session also included support from Don Rendell and Alan Branscombe, two giants of the UK jazz scene who add serious credentials to D'Silva's singular and intimate compositions. For reasons unknown the album was cancelled by Lansdowne at the time and never saw the light of day until being resurrected again in the 2000s. The Roundtable are pleased to once again showcase this important artist and present a new addition of this incredible and almost forgotten piece of the Amancio D'Silva story. Pressed on 180g vinyl and packaged in a custom 1960s-style flip-back sleeve.

Unreleased British Jazz from 1972.
Sequel to Cosmic Eye - Dream Sequence
Includes liner notes and rare photos.
Custom Flipback sleeve.
180g Vinyl

A pure journey inward into the headspace of an artist, that reveals his gaze at the earth-ly zones he walks in: “Song for Joni”, the new album by Japanese musician Shunji Mori, brings pure natural music full of artificial nuances who create in conversation with ana-logue tones a new kind of musical nature, loaded with vibrant seasons, unknown to us, the unwise humans. moreover, the album is a fine continuation of Japan’s rich ambient leaning music traditions, carrying them into Lorren Connor’s like pending guitar galaxies.

In the 1990s Tokyo based Mori was part of the trip hop, nu-jazz, deep house, and down-tempo duo natural calamity, releasing a string of albums and EP’s on labels like legend-ary London based imprint Nuphonic, Japanese Idyllic Records or Down 2 Earth Record-ings.

In 2003 he launched the instrumental guitar duo Gabby & Lopez with his buddy Masayuki Ishii. Together they created three albums and performed live. Additionally, Mori plays improvisational concerts with Japanese musician, multi-instrumentalist, and stage direc-tor Daiho Soga and finds time to invent his very own, charismatic guitar music.

His solo work now finally gets introduced with a full-length album for Studio Mule, con-sisting of recent and a decade ago compositions, all merely recorded with the electric guitar, pedals, and field recordings.

In the center of “Song for Joni” is the guitar, spreading longing, drifting melodies. Free floating, yet deeply felt compositions, performed in an accurate journey music style. around the string notes, ambient landscapes soar and vanish.

In some moments, the guitar works like a slow-mo yacht rock lead, flying speed less over and under imaginative sonic clouds. Then, Mori’s music distributes psychedelic ef-fects in the tradition of krautrock legends like Günter Schickert, just without the echo fuzz.

Additionally, in warm vibrating seconds, his creations remind on the calm flashes in the musical work of English photographer, musician, and artist designer Steve Hiett, while Mori’s ambient spheres come close to the magic vibe of records like “Pier & Loft” by his fellow countryman Hiroshi Yoshimura.

A mixture, that transports considerate listeners into the meditative world of Shunji Mori, a calm island of bliss, made for all those that follow the heedful path of life.

New release on 0 Records by hashman and c3d-e - deeply recycled full record length electronic outings of all formats - a lot of music to listen to. I mean, I know that there is a lot of shit out there on this stuff. The only thing that sucks is how easy it is. I mean, you look at a bunch of new music, we're just so small, so… shit. Anyway, the thing that actually sucks is there are so few tracks in this song that don't have the right mix, I mean, listen to every single thing! So, there are so many different things out there.

LIXTP, the collaboration between Love International Recordings and the Test Pressing website, yields its second release following 2021’s label debut from Fantastic Man.

This time it falls to Test Pressing founder Paul Byrne AKA Apiento to open 2023’s account with the simmering ‘Escape Reality’ EP.

Having carved out a prestigious career over the years, as A&R for Junior Boys Own, International Feel and Test Pressing labels, and releasing his own Apiento productions on Music For Dreams, World Unknown and World Building, Apiento goes in deep across six tracks of esoteric electronica and transcendental dance.

The influence of Detroit techno can be found in the complex drum work and dreamy synths of tracks like ‘Those Busy Circuits’ and ‘Axis’, whilst hedonistic dance vibes are served up on ‘Everything Move’. Presenting a broad palette of moods and tones, Apiento delivers an allencompassing release for lovers of the real electronic groove.

‘Escape Reality” by Apiento is released on Love International Recordings/Test Pressing from 10th February 2023.

Can you hear the hoofs? For their first Various Artist Compilation, Espace Noir is proud to bring to its stables some of the most daring riders in the scene. All the way from Canada come Unknown Mobile and Maara. They join Melbourne (Naarm) favourites Mabel and Reflex Blue. The result? Stomping 303 lines, spaced out vocals and punching breaks that might just knock you off your saddle. Giddy up cowboy, these equine beauties are gonna take you for a real gallop.



c B1 | Reflex Blue - Floating Down Stream Virtual Mix

With their ninth studio album, Nada Surf—Matthew Caws, Daniel Lorca, Ira Elliot, and their longtime friend and collaborator Louie Lino—continue pursuing their humanistic vision of the world through hooky, catchy rock songs with sharply drawn, yet tenderly felt lyrics. Never Not Together, is a wide-ranging collection of songs that revel in the group’s ability to evoke and reflect grand and intricately wrought emotions, whether through sweeping guitar solos or hushed-whisper vocals.

Repress auf babypink w/ blue splatter Vinyl, limitiert auf 200 Exemplare. Be Well - ein Zusammenschluss bekannter Gesichter der Hardcore Szene! Ins Leben gerufen von Brian McTeran, Gründer der ikonische Straightedge-Hardcore-Band Battery und ergänzt durch Mike Schleibaum von Darkest Hour und Battery, Aaron Dalbec von Bane sowie Peter Tsouras und Shane Johnson von Fairweathe, wurde Be Well gegründet um McTeran einen neuen Output für seine Emotionen zu geben. Nach der Auflösung von Battery im Jahr 2000 lenkte McTernan seine Energie zunächst in eine arbeitsreiche Karriere als Produzent um. Er hinterließ auf wegweisenden Alben von Bands wie unter anderem Thrice, Hot Water Music, Circa Survive und Turnstile seine Spuren. Bis er 2014 schließlich eine radikale Kehrtwende machte und eine Projektmanagement-Funktion für ein Bauunternehmen übernahm. Anfangs fühlte sich der Wechsel in Tempo und Karriere gesund an. Doch nachdem er oft zwischen Baustellen hin und her und reiste und dabei 400 Meilen pro Tag fuhr - traten größere Probleme in McTernans psychischer Gesundheit hervor. Eine Zeit schwerer Depressionen verlief laut McTernan jahrelang unkontrolliert, bis sich Battery 2017 vorübergehend wiedervereinigten und ihren ersten neuen Song nach 17 Jahren schrieben. Der Song, "My Last Breath", unterschied sich deutlich von allem, was vor ihm kam. In vielerlei Hinsicht diente der Text als spiritueller Vorläufer dessen, was schließlich zu Be Well wurde. Also schrieb McTernan weiter, began seine Erfahrungen durch Texte zu verarbeiten und eine neue Band zu formen. The Weight And The Cost ist das Ergebnis dieser gesammelten Erlebnisse. Ein Album das weit über die Grenzen dessen hinausgeht, was man über die früheren Bands seiner Mitglieder weiß. Die Vergangenheit der Be Well-Mitglieder könnte sogar das Uninteressanteste an diesem Projekt sein. Wo die meisten Hardcore-Platten ihren Inhalt an die Form der Genrekonventionen anpassen, zeigt dieses Album, was möglich ist, wenn der Inhalt die Form schafft: The Weight and the Cost folgt McTernans zutiefst persönlicher Erfahrung.

"Web of Lies / Death Won’t Even Satisfy is the vinyl debut from this hardcore band from New Jersey, and it is a full-bore scorcher. Ammo plays ferocious US-style hardcore with a lunging, unhinged style that reminds me of groups like early Agnostic Front, Void, and Eye for an Eye-era Corrosion of Conformity… not so much in style, but in the way Ammo sounds like they’re maniacs who might materialize out of your home speakers in order to slash your throat. It’s a rare enough feat to capture this sort of wild energy on tape, but Ammo fuses this crazy energy with memorable songwriting, with tracks like “Black Site,” “Slam Slam Slam,” and “Ethnostate” hitting even harder because they’re so damn catchy. Sounding fast and crazy is Ammo’s forte, but their secret weapon is their ability to play at mid tempo, like on the crushing NYHC-style mosh part in “Known Unknown” and the singalong during the breakdown to the epic “All You Do (Is Want Me to Die).” I love music that expands hardcore’s boundaries, but Ammo isn’t that… they distill hardcore its essence, their sound ground down to the sharpness of a knife’s edge. This is not a record to sleep on."

In summer 1958, João Gilberto -an unknown 28 year-old Brazilian guitarist and singer from Bahia- made his recording debut as a singer with two songs "Chega de Saudade" and "Bim Bom." With a new rhythmic feeling, batida, and rich harmonies he laid the basis of the modern Brazilian samba, now known as Bossa Nova. Underpinned by his insouciantly swinging guitar, Joãos seductive, vibratoless vocals caressed both ear and soul in a mesmerizing, highly addictive combination, refreshing and modern. Chega de Saudade was a hit, launching Gilbertos career and the bossa nova craze. Soon, singers and guitarists were trying to imitate him and composers were all on a Desafinado (the second Gilbertos hit) and Chega de Saudade kick. The longawaited renewal of the Brazilian samba was now a fact. Antonio Carlos Jobim said: Gilberto appeared as a light, as a big star in the firmament, in the heavens. He became a focus, because he was pulling the guitar in one way and singing the other way, which created a third thing that was profound. Yes, the guy who brought the Bossa Nova beat to the world was João Gilberto.

Dorothy Moore's 1976 soul classic 'Misty Blue' became an Ibiza chill-out anthem in 2002. As 'Misti Blu' it got high-profile plays by Mary Anne Hobbs, Pete Tong and Mixmaster Morris and even David Mancuso charted in his end-of-year highlights. Now the sundown gem gets reissued here on a tidy 7" as a superb rework from the newly reformed amillionsons. The crooning vocals remain the highlight with sultry trumpets and lavish downtempo rhythms. What's more, we're told that a new live disco and house version are coming in 2023, so watch this space.

Matador
Gaz Coombes veröffentlicht die Neuauflage seines zweiten Soloalbums – ”Matador” - das 2015 erschien.
Ein Gefühl von Freiheit durchdringt jede Sekunde des Albums, das unter anderem die 2013er Single ”Buffalo” enthält. Von der astralen Pracht von ”The Girl Who Fell To Earth” bis zu den träumerischen Klängen
von ”Oscillate” ist es der Sound eines Songwriters, der musikalische Grenzen wie Schnee zum Schmelzen
bringt und Elemente von Neu!, Disney-Musicals, den schwedischen Psychedelikern Goat, Gyorgy Ligeti und
Eno in einer eisigen Klanglandschaft vereint, die ebenso anspruchsvoll wie schön ist. Das Ergebnis ist ein
Album im klassischen Sinne. ”Matador” ist der Sound eines der größten britischen Songwriters, der mit
Freude in die Zukunft blickt.
World’s Strongest Man
”World’s Strongest Man” ist die großartige Neuauflage des dritten Soloalbums von Gaz Coombes, das
auf das 2015 erschienene ”Matador” folgte. Inspiriert von Grayson Perrys ”The Descent of Man”, Frank
Oceans ”Blonde”, kalifornischem Gras, britischen Wäldern, unkontrollierter Männlichkeit, Neu! und HipHop (und vielem mehr), ist es eine wahrhaft bemerkenswerte Sammlung von elf zutiefst persönlichen Songs,
die alle von einer raumfüllenden, fesselnden Melodie begleitet werden. Vom tiefgründigen Titeltrack bis
zum mitreißenden ”Deep Pockets”, über die wunderschöne rhythmische Ballade ”Slow Motion Life”, ist
”World’s Strongest Man” ein kühnes, ehrgeiziges, frei denkendes, zukunftsweisendes Rock’n’Roll-Album.

Matador

Gaz Coombes veröffentlicht die Neuauflage seines zweiten Soloalbums – ”Matador” - das 2015 erschien.

Ein Gefühl von Freiheit durchdringt jede Sekunde des Albums, das unter anderem die 2013er Single ”Buffalo” enthält. Von der astralen Pracht von ”The Girl Who Fell To Earth” bis zu den träumerischen Klängen von ”Oscillate” ist es der Sound eines Songwriters, der musikalische Grenzen wie Schnee zum Schmelzen bringt und Elemente von Neu!, Disney-Musicals, den schwedischen Psychedelikern Goat, Gyorgy Ligeti und Eno in einer eisigen Klanglandschaft vereint, die ebenso anspruchsvoll wie schön ist. Das Ergebnis ist ein Album im klassischen Sinne. ”Matador” ist der Sound eines der größten britischen Songwriters, der mit Freude in die Zukunft blickt.

World’s Strongest Man

”World’s Strongest Man” ist die großartige Neuauflage des dritten Soloalbums von Gaz Coombes, das auf das 2015 erschienene ”Matador” folgte. Inspiriert von Grayson Perrys ”The Descent of Man”, Frank Oceans ”Blonde”, kalifornischem Gras, britischen Wäldern, unkontrollierter Männlichkeit, Neu! und HipHop (und vielem mehr), ist es eine wahrhaft bemerkenswerte Sammlung von elf zutiefst persönlichen Songs, die alle von einer raumfüllenden, fesselnden Melodie begleitet werden. Vom tiefgründigen Titeltrack bis zum mitreißenden ”Deep Pockets”, über die wunderschöne rhythmische Ballade ”Slow Motion Life”, ist ”World’s Strongest Man” ein kühnes, ehrgeiziges, frei denkendes, zukunftsweisendes Rock’n’Roll-Album.

The debut from new splinter alias of Manchester producer, sequencer designer, and Cong Burn label boss John Howes was made entirely on a Nord Modular G2, Elektron Machinedrum, and Monomachine – a rig he characterizes as “an authentic 2006 studio, best listened to on Windows XP Media Player or Winamp.” Paperclip Minimiser’s self-titled full-length collects eight elusively multi-dimensional constructs of stereo panned synthetics and slithering ambient techno, born of a web of generative patches subjected to improvisational alterations. Taking things further, Howes’ process involves “planting ghosts in the machines,” instilling each element with “some self-correcting behavior in a cybernetic / lo-fi AI / semi-autonomous agent kinda way.” The result is an ambiguous and dynamic hybrid of accident and intention, chaos and control, shuffling through an innerspace wilderness of psychic circuitry.

The title alludes to a 2003 thought experiment about the existential risk of artificial intelligence; how even a mundane objective, algorithmically extrapolated, could culminate in catastrophe. Here the notion is inverted, demonstrating the sonic infinities to be mined by “pushing and pulling at the strings” of musical systems. Howes aptly samples a vintage interview with electronic music pioneer Bebe Barron – co-composer of the Forbidden Planet soundtrack – discussing the anthropomorphic potential of randomized audio generation: “We thought of our circuits as actors in a script.” Paperclip Minimiser descends from a similar family tree, coaxed as much as crafted, flickering rhythmic synchronicities glimpsed in a mirage of wires and glass.

Especially in this time of isolation we need to remind ourselves of the importance of art, just how magical a medium sound is to express, to raise and answer question marks, to open and mend the soul... it's the most universally speaking of all languages as it knows no borders." At a time of global separation, Erased Tapes founder and sonic explorer Robert Raths stitched together a project putting what is most important at the forefront - connection. This collection of works by undisclosed artists from the roster gives space and time to appreciate art at its most honest. By shedding the information noise usually attached to release cycles and by bringing music back to the magic of sound, we're presented with an opportunity for exploration when we need it most. Robert spoke to Mary Anne Hobbs of BBC 6Music about how releasing music without revealing its origin through the 20･･ï¼ìï¼ì0 morse code series enabled him to share what him and the artists have been working on in real-time as opposed to the usual delays that come with releasing music. "All the information, all that noise... As much as it can help give context, it also takes something away. It tends to cloud your senses and take away from the magic of when you first hear something that's completely unknown to your ears. How wonderful a sensation it is to just listen and let the music speak for itself without prejudice or the

A few Highlights from the sessions Leron recorded in 1987-88 when he was fifteen or so. China Trax, featured on SS012 ,came from these sessions. These were hand made, meaning no sequencing was used for the keys on any of the songs featured, using cassette tape overdubs, a lost science. Omar-S touched up the material from those cassettes for this release on vinyl. Tip!

Recorded &Mixed by:Leron Carson @the attic, Chicago 1987-88

Additional Engineering:Alex Smith@Fxhe Detroit 2008

Hat eigentlich schon irgendwer darüber nachgedacht, ob es nach all den Jahren deutschsprachigen Pop-Zusammengehörigkeitsgefühls mal Zeit wird, weiter als von Fußball-WM zu Fußball-WM zu denken und mit dem irren Gedanken aufzuräumen, dass schon alles gut wird, wenn wir uns bloß Alle immer ständig sagen, dass wir das schon hinkriegen?!

Vielleicht war’s Zeit für Jupiter Jones, die Brücke zwischen dem Punk aus den alten Tagen von vor mittlerweile zwanzig Jahren und dem Pop aus den neueren Alben zu schlagen, um eine Melange aus beidem zu schaffen, die sich nicht daran stört, ob irgendwelche Genre-Dogmen eingehalten werden und die sich nicht scheut, auch unkomfortable Themen in komfortablere Töne und Wörter zu packen? Weil Pop eben nicht da aufhört, wo Normativität ihre Grenzen findet.

Sei’s in Songs wie „Überall waren Schatten“, „Bleibt zusammen“, „Wenn’s nicht wehtut“ oder „Melatonin“, die all die Gründe aufleben lassen, wegen denen die Band im Jahre 2002 überhaupt gegründet wurde: Nämlich der Frage nach dem Warum-zum-Teufel-nochmal?

Oder in Songs wie „Vielleicht“, „Ja sicher“, „Oh! Philia“ oder „Der wichtigste Finger einer Faust“, die ganz bewusst Tanzbarkeit mit dem Gefühl verbinden, sich unbedingt mal für mehrere Stunden hinzulegen und die Wand anzustarren?

Oder eben in Songs wie „Atmen“, „Der Nagel“, „Mein Viel und dein Vielleicht“ und „So hat noch jedes Ende angefangen“, die im weitesten, wie im nähesten Sinne Liebeslieder sind. Lieder für und gegen die Liebe, Lieder mit und ohne.

„Die Sonne ist ein Zwergstern“ ist nicht das Corona-Album von Jupiter Jones. Auch, wenn das Revival der Band ziemlich zeitgleich mit dem Virus kam und die Songs dementsprechend ausnahmslos in dieser Zeit geschrieben wurden. Es ist das Album, das einen Blick auf die Welt wirft, einen Blick auf das Innere und einen Blick auf die Verbindung von beidem. Es ist das Album, dem mehr als jedem Album der Band zuvor egal ist, wo die Grenzen verschwimmen. Es ist entschlossen, laut und leise zugleich und es ist alles, nur kein Kompromiss.

Ganz sicher ist es das Ergebnis aus der Erkenntnis, dass wir alles wieder zusammen machen und schaffen können, sobald wir gecheckt haben, dass wir erst mal wir selbst sind. Und dass sich all das lohnt.

Hat eigentlich schon irgendwer darüber nachgedacht, ob es nach all den Jahren deutschsprachigen Pop-Zusammengehörigkeitsgefühls mal Zeit wird, weiter als von Fußball-WM zu Fußball-WM zu denken und mit dem irren Gedanken aufzuräumen, dass schon alles gut wird, wenn wir uns bloß Alle immer ständig sagen, dass wir das schon hinkriegen?!

Vielleicht war’s Zeit für Jupiter Jones, die Brücke zwischen dem Punk aus den alten Tagen von vor mittlerweile zwanzig Jahren und dem Pop aus den neueren Alben zu schlagen, um eine Melange aus beidem zu schaffen, die sich nicht daran stört, ob irgendwelche Genre-Dogmen eingehalten werden und die sich nicht scheut, auch unkomfortable Themen in komfortablere Töne und Wörter zu packen? Weil Pop eben nicht da aufhört, wo Normativität ihre Grenzen findet.

Sei’s in Songs wie „Überall waren Schatten“, „Bleibt zusammen“, „Wenn’s nicht wehtut“ oder „Melatonin“, die all die Gründe aufleben lassen, wegen denen die Band im Jahre 2002 überhaupt gegründet wurde: Nämlich der Frage nach dem Warum-zum-Teufel-nochmal?

Oder in Songs wie „Vielleicht“, „Ja sicher“, „Oh! Philia“ oder „Der wichtigste Finger einer Faust“, die ganz bewusst Tanzbarkeit mit dem Gefühl verbinden, sich unbedingt mal für mehrere Stunden hinzulegen und die Wand anzustarren?

Oder eben in Songs wie „Atmen“, „Der Nagel“, „Mein Viel und dein Vielleicht“ und „So hat noch jedes Ende angefangen“, die im weitesten, wie im nähesten Sinne Liebeslieder sind. Lieder für und gegen die Liebe, Lieder mit und ohne.

„Die Sonne ist ein Zwergstern“ ist nicht das Corona-Album von Jupiter Jones. Auch, wenn das Revival der Band ziemlich zeitgleich mit dem Virus kam und die Songs dementsprechend ausnahmslos in dieser Zeit geschrieben wurden. Es ist das Album, das einen Blick auf die Welt wirft, einen Blick auf das Innere und einen Blick auf die Verbindung von beidem. Es ist das Album, dem mehr als jedem Album der Band zuvor egal ist, wo die Grenzen verschwimmen. Es ist entschlossen, laut und leise zugleich und es ist alles, nur kein Kompromiss.

Ganz sicher ist es das Ergebnis aus der Erkenntnis, dass wir alles wieder zusammen machen und schaffen können, sobald wir gecheckt haben, dass wir erst mal wir selbst sind. Und dass sich all das lohnt.

Best known for being Anderson .Paak’s live band The Free Nationals have toured the world meeting countless artists who inspire them. While the amount of all the contemporary musicians who inspire them would take an anthology of box sets, they boiled it down to a handful to include on the album, all of whom lend their talents in spreading the funk. Free Nationals means The first people of America, Indigenous to the land before Columbus came. Staying Indigenous to the funk, The Free Nationals wanted to tribute their inspirations such as Stevie Wonder, B.B. King, Herbie Hancock, and Al Green by incorporating musicianship while pioneering musical euphoria for a new generation.

The album features friends they’ve met along their musical journey including the late Mac Miller, Syd, Anderson .Paak, Kali Uchis, T.I., JID, Westside Gunn, Conway, Chronixx, Daniel Caesar, Unknown Mortal Orchestra, Kadhja Bonet, MIKNNA, Benny Sings, Callum Connor, T. Nava and Joyce Wrice. This pressing sees the album pressed on 180g Black Vinyl for the first time.

Die "Blue Record" EP enthält 5 Songs: die beeindruckenden Akustikversionen von drei Songs des 2013er Albums ,II" sowie zwei fantastische Coverversionen, "Swing Lo Magellan" (DIRTY PROJECTORS) und "Puttin It Down" (BECK). "Ich habe erst im letzten Jahr damit angefangen, Akustikgitarre zu spielen. Die Idee, dass eine Gitarre Sound in Elektrizität übersetzt und es dann richtig laut wird, mochte ich schon immer. Ich dachte, dass die Akustikgitarre vielleicht ein bisschen zu niedlich für mich ist. Doch nachdem uns einige Gelegenheiten geboten wurden, Akustiksets zu spielen, um die neue Platte zu promoten, habe ich beschlossen, das Ganze als Herausforderung zu betrachten und zu versuchen, akustisch zu spielen und dabei nicht langweilig zu klingen. Schließlich fand ich es schon immer toll, wie Arthur Lee akustisch spielt und fragte mich, ob ich das wohl überzeugend hinbekommen könnte. So wurde ich praktisch durch ein paar Radiosessions dazu gezwungen, mir die Akustikgitarre anzueignen und beschloss, ein paar Songs akustisch aufzunehmen und zu veröffentlichen, weil den Leuten das anscheinend gefiel. Alles wurde in meinem Keller mit nur einem Mikro direkt auf Band aufgenommen." - Ruban Nielson, UNKNOWN MORTAL ORCHESTRA ENG "I only started playing the acoustic guitar last year. I'd always preferred the idea that the guitar converts a sound into voltage and then becomes really loud. I thought the acoustic guitar was a little bit too twee for me or something. But after being offered some opportunities to play various acoustic sessions to promote the new record, in situations where it wasn't possible to record the whole band, I decided to treat it like a challenge to try and play acoustic and not have it be lame. After all I was really into Arthur Lee's ability with an acoustic and started wondering if I could make it sound convincing. Anyway, after being somewhat forced to develop some skill on the acoustic through these various radio sessions and things like that I decided to record some songs acoustically and release them since people seemed to be liking the way I was doing it. Everything was recorded straight to tape in my basement with a one mic set up." - RUBAN NIELSON, UMO


[a] 1 SWIM AND SLEEP (LIKE A SHARK) [ACOUSTIC VERSION]
[b] 2 FADED IN THE MORNING [ACOUSTIC VERSION]
[c] 3 SO GOOD AT BEING IN TROUBLE [ACOUSTIC VERSION]

We are very proud to present you the third release on Schatzimusik with the reissue of the much sought after I.B.M. – Computer Love 12″ inch and an unreleased track and a remix. For this release we have teamed up with none other than Dario di Pace & Raffelle Arcella from Naples, better known as Mystic Jungle and Whodamanny. The two have done numerous remixes for very well-known Italo-Disco songs. For this remix, they have delivered a brilliant reinterpretation of Computer Love. Rhythmic, driving, funky and playful, they put Computer Love in a new light. The release is rounded off with the previously unknown track “Metropolis” and the long version of “Computer Love”. A little background info on the original vinyl. Thomas Waver & Rudi Raders the two originators of the group I.B.M. emigrated to Alicante (Spain) in the 80s. They stored the records of Computer Love in the attic of Thomas’ aunt. Unfortunately, she died, and the attic was dissolved along with the records. So, the original vinyl is unfortunately a rarely seen item.

Stella Sommer, das ist diese Frau, die so zwingend nach Stella Sommer klingt Nach vier Alben mit ihrer Band Die Heiterkeit und zwei Soloplatten übertrumpft sie sich mit ihren 24 neuen Songs auf "Silence Wore a Silver Coat" nun selbst. Auch, was das schiere Volumen, die immer dichtere Stimmung ihres sehr eigenen Universums angeht, an dem sie mit diesem Doppelalbum mit vehementer Konsequenz weiterbaut. Wie bei ihren vorherigen Solowerken ist es auch auf ihrem neuen Album ihr glänzender, dunkel changierender Gesang, der vor wildwachsenden Klanglandschaften leuchtet und ihre stimmliche Ausnahmestellung in Deutschland bestätigt. Immer noch gilt: So hoffnungslos schöne und attitüdelos stolze Popmusik schreibt sonst niemand in diesem Land. Wir hören einmal mehr eine große Songschreiberin und Arrangeurin, die ihre Kunst mit leichter Hand beherrscht, und damit ein gänzlich unangestrengtes, kalkülfreies Meisterwerk schafft. Zum ersten Mal hat Sommer ihr Album mit der ihr eigenen beiläufigen Souveränität auch selbst aufgenommen und produziert, denn warum sollte man das nicht tun, wenn man es kann. "Northern Dancer" und "Was Passiert Ist", ihre beiden jüngsten Werke, solo und als Die Heiterkeit, waren in sich geschlossene, durchkomponierte Alben - dramaturgisch fein konstruiert folgten sie beim Hören wie ein kooperatives Wildpferd am hängenden Führstrick ihrer Erschafferin.