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Every once in a while, a library record's absurd level of perfection will be enough to throw up your hands and pack it all in. "How will I ever find this record in the wild?!", you may despair. And, yes, up until now, Michel Gonet's Phasing News Volume 2 was such a work of this ridiculous standard. Not just hyper-rare, but hyper-brilliant. Its high points transcend the "library" genre. This is a record that has always been so so hot on secondary markets. And it's easy to hear why! It's a big big French library classic with mad crazy demand.

Opening with "Mondial Scoop (Number III)", it continues on from where the dramatic tracks of Phasing News Volume 1 left off. The group of "Phasing Percussions" get under your skin, sample material for days here. "Phasing Leitmotive A" and "Phasing Leitmotive B" hypnotise with their analogue synth loops. Yet it's "Phasing March", closing out the side, that is absolutely sensational. Timpani drums merge with open breaks making for an irresistible neck-snapping tour de force.

Side B starts with "Devil Dance A", an unbelievably infectious bass instrumental whilst "Devil Dance B" adds more percussion and bass flourishes and is all the more funky for it.

And now for the main event. "Flower Dance A". What can we even say? An instantly captivating, sparkling keys loop and glittering percussion neatly arranged atop a very strong bassline and drums, all lean and potent. The melody was lifted wholesale by The Soulsavers for "Rumblefish" back in 2002 and you can't really blame them. "Flower Dance B" removes the bassline for a lighter feel but that loop still burrows inside your brain. It's perfect.

"Happy Smith (Number II)" was used by Madlib for Erykah's "My People" (!!!) whilst the set closes out with a group of tense, phased workouts.

The audio for Phasing News Volume 2 has been remastered by Be With regular Simon Francis, ensuring this release sounds better than ever. Cicely Balston's expert skills have made sure nothing is lost in the cut whilst the original, iconic Tele Music house sleeve has been restored here at Be With HQ as the finishing touch to this long overdue re-issue.

"PETROL", das zweite Album der Schweizer Doom-Visionäre TAR POND, wurde einerseits von US-Doom-Klassikern wie SAINT VITUS inspiriert, greift aber andererseits auch auf die britischen Wurzeln zu, die von BLACK SABBATH verkörpert werden. In anderen Momenten blitzt bei TAR POND eine Verbindung zu zeitgenössischen Doom-Acts wie ELECTRIC WIZARD und ACID BATH auf. Parallel dazu verkörpern TAR POND aber auch die bekannte Eigensinnigkeit des Schweizer Metal, der sich durch Individualität und kreative Eigenständigkeit auszeichnet, so wie es herausragende Acts wie CELTIC FROST, CORONER und ZEAL & ARDOR musikalisch vorgelebt haben. Als Martin Ain, Bassist der Kultband CELTIC FROST und eines der Gründungsmitglieder von TAR POND, im Oktober 2017 plötzlich verstarb, stand auf einmal alles in Frage. Der legendäre Schweizer Musiker hatte vor diesem tragischen Tag das Debütalbum bereits aufgenommen - zusammen mit den anderen Gründungsmitgliedern, dem ehemaligen CORONER-Drummer und Lyriker Marky Edelmann sowie dem renommierten Scratchboard-Künstler und Sänger Thomas Ott. Nach einer langer Pause und intensiven Überlegungen entschieden sich TAR POND schließlich dafür, als Band weiterzumachen und das Debüt im Gedenken an Martin Ain unter dem Titel "Protocol of Constant Sadness" zu veröffentlichen. Aufgenommen wurde das Debüt unter der Leitung von Produzent und Gitarren-Legende Tommy Vetterli (CORONER) in den Jahren 2016/17. Beflügelt von der enthusiastischen Reaktionen auf "Protocol of Constant Sadness", haben sich TAR POND erneut mit Tommy Vetterli im New Sound Studio zusammengetan, um den Nachfolger "PETROL" einzuspielen. Aufgrund von Besetzungswechseln vor und während der Studioaufnahmen ist "PETROL" aus einer Zusammenarbeit von alten und neuen Bandmitgliedern zu verschiedenen Zeiten entstanden. Trotz dieser Umstände erscheint das zweite Album sowohl kohärent als auch auf das erklärte Ziel von TAR POND fokussiert - nämlich: Einen Soundtrack aus brachialer Kraft und ein elektrisches Protokoll einer fortwährenden Traurigkeit abzuliefern. Während die Schweizer ihr Debüt unter der Bezeichnung 'Doom'n'Gloom' einordneten, wurde ihr Sound auch schon als eine Kombination aus Doom und Post-Metal beschrieben. Mit "PETROL" lösen TAR POND ihr ursprüngliches Versprechen ein: Dieses Album ist ein wunderbarer Soundtrack voller bedrückender Dunkelheit und tiefer Trauer.

Simone De Kunovich
Mythical Figure
Use variably, whenever you need: D.J. at MainStage, High Profile Fashion Event, Underground
Basement Club, Balearic Terrace Situation.
Gifted selector. Room filling presence. Oversized packaging.
He (here) deals three cards.
“Flow My Tears“ High Roller Euro House
„Super Mana Drain“ OMG Modern High Energy
„Warp Lord“ Early Morning, Playful Dark Eternal Bliss
„He who masters the sound glows“

Hector Oaks, Ill Pekeno & Ergo Pro joined forces in Berlin to record their collaboration, blending the pounding beats of techno with the raw lyrics of rap. Inspired by the city's club scene, they captured the energy of their night out in Eso Es G.

As Ergo Pro put it, "Man, when we were at Tresor, it was like we were in another world. Everyone was vibing, the sweat was dripping, and we knew we had to take that energy to the studio. And look at us now - we've got "Eso Es G brx".

On our latest Mojuba sublabel Frekoba, we welcome JJ, a friend of ours who we love for his unique approach to a truly diverse colorful palette of club tracks on his debut for us called OOPS! So what do these four tracks sound like?

Imagine a night at a club like Panorama Bar where Soundstream, Lil Silva & Errorsmith are having a blast. Now you are in the right zone to have fun with JJ's debut 12". House, Disco, UK funky and off-kilter cut-up grooves for your enjoyment, have fun!

Erstmals und endlich auf Vinyl erhältlich - das Solodebüt des Musikers und Produzenten Tobias Kuhn aka Monta aus dem Jahr 2004. Erscheint als weißes 180g Vinyl im Gatefold-Sleeve. "Wir unterteilen das Leben gerne in künstlich voneinander getrennte Kapitel, sprechen von "Neuerfindung" oder "zweiter Geburt", wenn jemand nun plötzlich etwas scheinbar ganz anderes macht als zuvor. Tatsächlich aber ist das Neue immer schon im Alten angelegt, die meisten Übergänge sind fließend. Nehmen wir zum Beispiel Tobias Kuhn: Natürlich ist Kuhn heute vor allem als einer der renommiertesten und besten deutschen Musikproduzenten bekannt. Kuhn hat mit Clueso, Udo Lindenberg und den Toten Hosen gearbeitet. Man kennt ihn als Produzenten und Co-Songwriter so unterschiedlicher Künstler wie Feine Sahne Fischfilet, Mark Forster, Alec Benjamin, Alice Merton, Noah Kahan, Lost Frequencies, Gurr und Milky Chance, er schrieb für den "Tatort" die Musik, man könnte die Liste endlos fortsetzen. Aber vor dieser Geschichte, vor der Geschichte des Top-Produzenten Tobias Kuhn gab es eben noch eine andere - und wenn man genauer hinguckt, gehören beide untrennbar zusammen. Begonnen hatte sie in Würzburg. Es sind die Neunzigerjahre, Familie Kuhn hatte in Cambridge und in Peking gewohnt und war nun ausgerechnet nach Unterfranken gezogen: Das malerisch gelegene, architektonisch reizvolle Würzburg mag bedeutende Universitäten haben, mit 130.000 Einwohnern knapp als Großstadt gelten und das sogenannte "Herz der Weinregion Franken" sein, als Popmetropole ist die Stadt eher nicht bekannt. Aber natürlich kommt der beste Pop traditionell ja genau aus solchen Orten, aus der Provinz, von den Hochschulen, aus den Fabriken. Eben dort, in Würzburg, gründet Tobias Kuhn mit 15, 16 Jahren die Band Miles gemeinsam mit Gilbert Hartsch zunächst als klassische Schülerband. Der Schlagzeuger Andreas Wecklein und René Hartmann (Bass) komplettieren das Line-up, letzterer wird später durch Nina Kränsel ersetzt. Wie gesagt, es sind die Neunzigerjahre: In den USA initiiert der Sänger und spätere Pop-Impressario Perry Farrell die erste Ausgabe der heute weltweit erfolgreichen Festivalreihe Lollapalooza als grellen Rock'n'Roll-Zirkus und Abschiedstournee seiner Band Jane's Addiction. Das gefällt Kuhn und seinen Freunden natürlich, also schmieden sie in der bayerischen Provinz den einigermaßen größenwahnsinnigen Plan, in Deutschland etwas ähnliches aufzuziehen. Spoiler: es gelingt. Auf diese Weise entstanden drei Alben, bis der Gitarrist ausstieg und irgendwie allen klar wurde: alles erlebt, alles erzählt, mehr geht nicht. Kuhn schrieb sich daraufhin für Medizin ein, doch die Musik ließ ihn nicht los. So begann das zweite musikalische Kapitel im Leben des Tobias Kuhn. Unter dem Namen Monta wendete er sich einem intimeren, Folk-grundierten Ansatz zu und nimmt so zwei Alben auf, deren Veröffentlichung er selbst übernimmt. Bald gab es ein weltweites Netzwerk kleiner Indie-Labels, die die Monta-Musik vertrieben und sogar die "Sunday Times" machte "Where Circles Begin" zum Album der Woche. Und so begann die dritte, bis heute andauernde musikalische Karriere von Tobias Kuhn: die des Produzenten und Songschreibers. Kuhn wäre nicht Kuhn, wenn nicht auch dieser Abschnitt wieder von einer Reihe scheinbarer Zufälle und Begegnungen befeuert worden wäre, die sich eben nahtlos aus allem, was davor war, ergaben." Torsten Groß

Der mit einem GRAMMY Award und mehrfach mit Platin ausgezeichnete Singer-Songwriter, Schauspieler und New-York-Times-Bestsellerautor Corey Taylor (Slipknot, Stone Sour) verrät Details zu seinem neuen Solo-Studioalbum CMF2. CMF2 ist der Nachfolger von Taylors Solodebüt CMFT aus dem Jahr 2020, das die
Nummer-1-Billboard-Mainstream-Rocksingle "Black Eyes Blue" und die Streaming-Sensation "CMFT Must Be Stopped" (feat.Tech N9ne und Kid Bookie) enthielt.
Das Album erreichte Platz sechs der US-amerikanische Billboard Top Rock Album Charts und #9 der deutschen Albumcharts.

"Mein erstes Soloalbum spiegelte wider, wo ich herkam. Dieses Album zeigt eher, wo wir hinwollen", fügt Taylor hinzu.
CMF2 - auf dem Taylor singt und Lead- und Rhythmusgitarre, Klavier und Mandoline spielt - bündelt die Energie, Experimentierfreudigkeit und Direktheit, die eine Karriere ausmachen, in der Taylor mit seiner mit einem Grammy ausgezeichneten Band Slipknot mehr als zwölf Millionen Alben und mit den Chartstürmern Stone Sour weitere Millionen verkauft hat.

CMF2 ist Taylors erstes Album für BMG und das erste auf seinem eigenen Label, Decibel Cooper Recordings.

Jay Ruston (Anthrax, Steel Panther, Amon Amarth), der sowohl Stone Sours 2017er Album Hydrograd als auch CMFT produziert hat, kehrte für Taylors zweites Album zurück.

Dizzy Up the Girl ist das sechste Studioalbum der Goo Goo Dolls. Ursprünglich am 22. September 1998 veröffentlicht, feiert das Album nun sein 25-jähriges Jubiläum. Dizzy Up the Girl ist das meistverkaufte Album der Band mit über 5 Millionen Verkäufen in den USA und enthält fünf Hitsingles: "Iris", "Dizzy", "Slide", "Broadway",
und "Black Balloon". Die limitierte 25-Jahre-Jubiläumsausgabe ist auf silberfarbenem Metallic-Vinyl gepresst.

Killah Priest’s Mystery Channel EP is his first release on 600 Block Records after his acclaimed features on Pugs Atomz’ Test Drive LP in 2022. The EP, coming on limited edition vinyl, features two original productions from Tusk57, an amazing Tall Black Guy Productions remix, and instrumentals of all three tracks. Tall Black Guy’s remix of Mystery Channel is a soulful jazzy take on the EP’s namesake, bringing his signature style to his first collaboration with 600 Block Records. From humble origins in Detroit, raised on a healthy diet of Motown, Jazz and early Hip Hop...Tall Black Guy has become a standard bearer for the current hip hop beats scene. Through a steady stream of productions filled with incredibly clever sample flips and deft production chops, he has won fans across the world, including Gilles Peterson, Lefto, Jazzy Jeff, Questlove and countless others. Killah Priest made his first appearances on such Wu-Tang side and solo projects as Gravediggaz’ 6 Feet Deep, Ol’ Dirty Bastard’s Return to the 36 Chambers, and Genius/GZA’s seminal Liquid Swords. His contributions to those releases especially Liquid Swords’ “B.1.B.L.E. (Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth),” essentially a Priest solo track paved the way for the release of the MC's acclaimed debut album, 1998's Heavy Mental, and a lengthy and respected career in the hip-hop underground. In addition to his prolific solo work, he was an integral member of the groups Sunz of Man, the HRSMEN (aka the Four Horsemen), and Black Market Militia. About Tuskb 7 - A musician turned producer, Tusk57 brings a live feel to recording sessions and is most at home leading a band in front of a live audience. He is a multi-instrumentalist songwriter who has released multiple records under many other stage names in various genres, garnering critical acclaim including a Billboard hit. He is how based in LA and is using this moniker to develop a signature textured sound for hip hop and soulful music.

In the swirl of underground music emerging from Dunedin, New Zealand in the 1980s, Peter Gutteridge stands as one of the era’s most intense and shadowy figures. Despite being a founding member of The Clean and The Chills, Gutteridge would eschew indie-rock fame for the hypnotic and driving sounds of his later bands such as Snapper.

Fittingly, it is Pure—Gutteridge’s lone solo album of intimate home recordings—that serves as the most revealing and celebrated release of his career. As Peter Jefferies writes in the liner notes, “That’s what’s so good about Pure. Not only the songs, but the name, the name for the recording. It is as pure as you can get. That’s the real deal, when it goes from nothing to something and he catches it on his machine.”

Originally released on cassette in 1989 on Xpressway, Pure documents Gutteridge’s stunning use of 4-track as instrument. Featuring lo-fi pop gems and interstitial sketches, the LP combines densely layered keyboards and guitars, distorted drum machines and possessed-sounding vocals to create a truly singular work of undistilled artistic vision.

While Gutteridge denied that he was the architect of the “Dunedin Sound,” Pure sits comfortably next to the most revered Flying Nun releases of its time. Shifting exquisitely from churning rattle to an airy ease without losing momentum, these twenty-one songs hold a lasting place in the canon of DIY music. Recommended for fans of Syd Barrett, Jim Shepard and early Fad Gadget. Includes drawing chosen by Peter’s family.

Woods are in bloom again, inviting you to disappear into a new spectrum of colors and sounds and dreams on Perennial. Formed in Brooklyn in 2004, Woods have matured into a true independent institution, above and below the root, reliably emerging every few years with new music that grows towards the latest sky. Operating the Woodsist label since 2006 and curating the beloved homespun Woodsist Festival for the musical universe they’ve built, Perennial is the sound of a band on the edge of their 20th anniversary and still finding bold new ways to sound like (and challenge) themselves. Perennial grew from a bed of guitar/keyboard/drum loops by Woods head-in-chief Jeremy Earl, a form of winter night meditation that evolved into an unexplored mode of collaborative songwriting. With Earl’s starting points, he and bandmates Jarvis Taveniere and John Andrews convened, first at Earl’s house in New York, then at Panoramic House studio in Stinson Beach, California, site of sessions for 2020’s Strange To Explain. With a view of the sparkling Pacific and tape rolling, they began to build, jamming over the loops, switching instruments, and developing a few dozen building blocks. The album’s resulting 11 songs, 4 of them instrumental, are in the classic Woods mode--shimmering, familiar, fractionally unsettling--but with the half-invisible infinity boxes of Earl’s loops burbling beneath each like a mysterious underground source. From source to seed to bloom, each loop unfolds into something unpredictable, from the jeweled pop of the aching “Little Black Flowers” to the ecstatic starlit freak-beat of “Another Side.” They are blossomings both far-out and comforting, like the Mellotronic cloud-hopping of “Between the Past,” or sometimes just plain comforting, like the widescreen snowglobe fantasia of the instrumental “White Winter Melody,” touched by Connor Gallaher’s pedal steel. Woods have long used the studio as a place of songwriting, naming 2007’s At Rear House after their shared dwelling and recording space. But Perennial also carries with it an even longer view of Woods. Emerging from the process alongside the music was Earl’s reflection that “perennial plants and flowers are nature’s loops,” an idea rolling under the album’s lyrics like the loops themselves. It certainly applies to the band, too, who have quietly tended to a long, committed project of being a band in the weird-ass 21st century, both individually and communally. Though separated by coasts, the communal sprit carries through Earl, Taveniere, and Andrews’ collaboration, a living embodiment of the freedoms rediscovered every time a new collectively created piece of music emerges. For nearly two decades, Woods have survived subgenres, anchored in the fertile soil below hashtags like lo-fi and freak-folk and psychedelic and indie, and built a shared history that’s something to marvel at. As the flagship band for Woodsist, they’ve accumulated a striking extended family of collaborators (and Woods alum) that have made the label one of the most dependable imprints in the kaleidoscopic low-key underground. It’s a glow that’s transferred whole to the blissed-out Woodsist Fests held in Accord, New York in recent years, which have folded in a wide range of diverse sounds, from the the jazz cosmoverse of the Sun Ra Arkestra and adventurous legends Yo La Tengo, to a hard-to-even-count family tree of contemporaries, like Kevin Morby (who served a few tours of duty as Woods bassist) and Kurt Vile (who released his 2009 debut on Woodsist), a living community in sound. Perennial carries all of this, shaped by decades, but made in the moment, and here right now. The smell of the flowers doesn’t remain, but sometimes the flowers do. Jesse Jarnow Recorded and mixed by Jarvis Taveniere at Panoramic House in Stinson Beach, CA with additional recording at The Ship in Los Angeles, CA and Cottekill Bird Sanctuary in Stone Ridge, NY. Produced by Jarvis Taveniere and Jeremy Earl. Mastered by Timothy Stollenwerk at Stereophonic Mastering in Portland, OR. Jeremy Earl - vocals, guitars, drums, percussion, sk-5, mellotron, vibraphone, autoharp, loops Jarvis Taveniere - guitar, bass, upright bass, hammond, vocals John Andrews - piano, organs, mellotron, drums, vocals Connor Gallaher - Pedal Steel Kyle Forester - sax, wurlitzer

Dark Entries and Papi Juice Records team up for No Jack Swing, the solo electronic debut of multi-hype man Brontez Purnell. The Southern-raised, Oakland-based musician and writer has centered his queerness and Blackness in projects Gravy Train and Younger Lovers as well as in his award-winning books 100 Boyfriends and Since I Laid My Burden Down. On No Jack Swing, Purnell gives us a love letter to the most beloved (and secularized) of drum patterns - that is, the electronic 808 “Amen Break”. Beginning recording in 2020, Purnell conceived of No Jack Swing as an audio zine of found sound materials: chain letters of instrumentals recorded in bedrooms, poems from boys in France, found gospel tapes from his childhood family Baptist Choir, and the sound of records skipping on his bedroom turntable. No Jack Swing is as much a homage to No Wave and New Jack Swing as it is an answering to the gods of Indie, Electroclash, Disco, and Gospel. Amidst all this background noise, the unexpected occurs: all the niche pretensions collapse to a singularity - the sound of High Pop! No Jack Swing was produced by Nightfeelings. Each copy of includes a lyric sheet with a photo of Brontez.

Der Grammy-Nominierte Superstar Demi Lovato veröffentlicht ihr mit Spannung erwartetes neuntes Studioalbum „REVAMPED“, welches Rock Versionen ihrer bisherigen Hits umfasst. Die vielfach mit Platin geehrte Sängerin, Schauspielerin & New York Times Bestseller Autorin platzierte ihre bisherigen 8 Studioalben in den Top 10 der US amerikanischen Charts, wobei ihr letztes von der Kritik gefeiertes Rock Studioalbum „HOLY FVCK“ auf #1 der Billboard Album Charts einstieg.

„REVAMPED“ umfasst 10 exklusive Titel, unter Anderem neu aufgelegte Songs, welche Demis unglaubliche Karriere definiert haben. Darunter „Sorry Not Sorry“, „Cool For The Summer“ und „Heart Attack”.

Demi Lovatos neuntes Studioalbum “REVAMPED” ist als CD und auf Vinyl erhältlich.

Fake Yourself is an act of revolt as much as it is a celebration of life and an expression of human alienation. As usual in most of his work, soFa here reflects contrasts and contradictions as our existence so often does. It’s about sadness and joy, ups and downs and the fine line which connects them to tell a story. Fake Yourself comes as a spontaneous output of an artist escaping a scene of which the constant superficiality is unavoidable. Mistakes and wrong production with a strong DIY flavor are a conscious choice to not lose the spontaneous feeling which defines these recordings. A pure and direct self, exploring a realm of sound with sharp curiosity, emotion and humour. Where simplicity and complexity marry. This album is a good example on how some of the most authentic musical explorations are the most personal ones. soFa leaves all boundaries behind and let many of his influences confluence. Unconsciously or not, traces of IDM, Disco, New Beat, Dub and mostly Krautrock cross heavenly paths, followed by ironic and confronted vocals and his hypnotic signature basslines. Everything seems to make sense, to fill the chapters of an adventurous short novel. What makes Fake Yourself remarkable is not the deep blend of genres, but the definition of one man shaping and finding his authentic sound. Killing boundaries to create this journey in his very own "style-no-style". All tunes were improvised, recorded and arranged within 10 days in a wooden cabin, isolated in the middle of the nature in Alentejo/Portugal in 2022. This album was not meant to happen and one can strongly feel its spontaneous soul. No overdubs.

Der mit einem GRAMMY Award und mehrfach mit Platin ausgezeichnete Singer-Songwriter, Schauspieler und New-York-Times-Bestsellerautor Corey Taylor (Slipknot, Stone Sour) verrät Details zu seinem neuen Solo-Studioalbum CMF2. CMF2 ist der Nachfolger von Taylors Solodebüt CMFT aus dem Jahr 2020, das die
Nummer-1-Billboard-Mainstream-Rocksingle "Black Eyes Blue" und die Streaming-Sensation "CMFT Must Be Stopped" (feat.Tech N9ne und Kid Bookie) enthielt.
Das Album erreichte Platz sechs der US-amerikanische Billboard Top Rock Album Charts und #9 der deutschen Albumcharts.

"Mein erstes Soloalbum spiegelte wider, wo ich herkam. Dieses Album zeigt eher, wo wir hinwollen", fügt Taylor hinzu.
CMF2 - auf dem Taylor singt und Lead- und Rhythmusgitarre, Klavier und Mandoline spielt - bündelt die Energie, Experimentierfreudigkeit und Direktheit, die eine Karriere ausmachen, in der Taylor mit seiner mit einem Grammy ausgezeichneten Band Slipknot mehr als zwölf Millionen Alben und mit den Chartstürmern Stone Sour weitere Millionen verkauft hat.

CMF2 ist Taylors erstes Album für BMG und das erste auf seinem eigenen Label, Decibel Cooper Recordings.

Jay Ruston (Anthrax, Steel Panther, Amon Amarth), der sowohl Stone Sours 2017er Album Hydrograd als auch CMFT produziert hat, kehrte für Taylors zweites Album zurück.

Thanks to dedicated fan Tom Huissen who took his one channel reel-to-reel tape recorder into various London clubs in 1967, these historical performances were captured for all time. Unheard for almost fifty years, John recently obtained these tapes and began restoring them with the technical assistance of Eric Corne of Forty Below Records. Corne adds, "While the source recording was very rough and the final result is certainly not hi- fidelity, it does succeed in allowing us to hear how spectacular these performances are." It's truly an exciting glimpse into music history

2023 Repress

CELESTE have been breaking the outer boundaries of heavy music for over fifteen years. When they first evolved from the Lyon hardcore punk scene, they were absolutely brutal and entirely unique, delivering extremity on their own terms that they pushed further and further with each successive album. “We just wanted to get darker and more violent,” says drummer Antoine Royer, until 2017’s Infidèle(s) saw the incorporation of a more melodic streak. Their most focussed record yet, it was tremendously received, critically adored, and backed with the band’s biggest shows to date.

Its follow-up was always going to be something radical. Even by their own inordinately high standards, however, new record Assassine(s) is one hell of a step forward. Even if this album still contains cyclonic walls of guitar, of battering rhythm, and passages of blissful, rushing release. it’s unlike anything the band have ever released; embracing a modern and forward-thinking production, they're just as complex but more direct, diverse and accessible than before. “Our leitmotif here was to open our minds,” says guitarist Sébastien Ducotté. “We made a real effort to think outside of our box.”

During lockdown CELESTE’s members were forced to each write individually. “We each went further into our personal, inner views of what the songs were,” says bassist and vocalist Johan Girardeau. When eventually they began sessions under producer Chris Edrich, it was gruelling. “We ended up exhausted, physically and mentally” says Johan. “There was no break in two weeks. We didn’t see the sun at all during that time. Every night we were so tired that we didn’t enjoy being together as much as we’re used to.” Nevertheless, in the same way the hardships of isolation led to richer and more complex songwriting, it’s that relentlessness that led to the record’s razor-sharp edges.

Above all else, CELESTE are innovators. Whether by pioneering French avant-garde metal when they formed at the turn of the millennium, by making their boldest leaps despite being seven albums deep into their career, or using two years away from live shows to tightly finetune their stagecraft, they refuse at all costs to rest on their laurels. There can be consequences to this instinct – fans of the band’s older work might be thrown off by their constant shifts of pace – but they’re throwing caution to the wind. A bit of backlash “would be a good thing, because it would mean that we’ve really changed,” says Guillaume . “It's not disrespectful, it's just that we never made music to please people, but just to enjoy what we're doing.” In the end, CELESTE are a band so forward-thinking that they can only be judged on the strength of their latest work. And when it comes to a record as bold as Assassine(s), they’ve hit a whole new peak entirely.

Ash sind seit 30 Jahren zusammen, aber es waren die zwei Jahre, die sie voneinander getrennt waren, die sie zu ihrem brillanten neuen Album inspirierten. Wie der Rest der Welt wurden auch Tim Wheeler (Gitarre/Gesang), Mark Hamilton (Bass) und Rick McMurray (Schlagzeug) von der Pandemie überrumpelt. Es war nicht nur die erste längere Auszeit, die die Band in ihrer unglaublichen drei Jahrzehnte währenden Karriere hatte, sondern auch die längste Zeit, in der die drei sich nicht gesehen hatten, seit sie sich in der Schule in Downpatrick, Nordirland, erstmals begegnet waren. Tim Wheeler - wie man es von einem der größten Songschreiber seiner Generation erwarten würde - hatte während Ashs Zwangspause weiter Songs geschrieben. Zum Reboot-Camp der Band erschien er bereit zum Loslegen mit einem Rucksack voller Hard-Rock-Hymnen. Und schwere Zeiten verlangen schließlich nach härterer Musik. Das selbst produzierte "Race The Night" - das achte Studioalbum der Band - ist in jeder Hinsicht herausragend. Aufgenommen im Oh Yeah-Studio in Belfast und mit neuem Fokus, kombiniert die Platte die unwiderstehlichen Rock-Riffs von "Meltdown" (2004) mit der melodischen Meisterschaft von "Free All Angels" (2001) - und das alles verpackt mit einem deutlichen Twist ins Jahr 2023. Und mit den fernen Anzeichen eines oft beschworenen Rock-Revivals am Horizont, könnte es das essentielle gitarrenzentrierte, hymnenreiche Album sein, auf das die Welt gewartet hat. Seit Ash als Teenager mit ihrem Nummer-Eins-Debütalbum "1977" aus Downpatrick auftauchten, ist die Band ein vitales, wachsendes Anliegen. Die meisten ihrer Zeitgenossen sind verschwunden oder haben sich zumindest aufgelöst, bevor sie zurückkehrten, aber Ashs Licht leuchtet so hell wie eh und je. Für dieses Album sind sie sogar zu Fierce Panda Records zurückgekehrt, die eine ihrer ersten Aufnahmen, "Punkboy", auf der 1994 erschienenen Crazed And Confused EP veröffentlicht haben.

Das neue Album "Bigger Houses" des Erfolgsduos Dan + Shay erscheint über Warner Music Nashville und wurde von Dan Smyers co-produziert.

"Einige unserer Alben hatten eher Pop- oder Hip-Hop/R&B-Einflüsse", erklärt Smyers, "aber bei diesem Album wollte ich Tracks machen, die wir in jeder beliebigen Bar mit unserer Live-Band spielen können, so,
wie sie aufgenommen wurden. Diese Musik, dieses ganze Album, ist etwas, worauf ich noch in ein oder zwei Jahrzehnten voller Stolz zurückblicken werde."
Vollgepackt mit mitreißenden Melodien in zeitlosen Klängen legt das
Album einen weiteren musikalischen Meilenstein in der glanzvollen Karriere des Duos.

Dan Smyers und Shay Mooney wurden mit 49 Platinund Gold-Awards allein in den USA und mehrfach mit Grammy ausgezeichnet.

The Duca Bianco label swerves its usual various artists' format to allow CW - who has appeared on those before - to step up with his own solo EP. He is a mysterious artist but is well known for his immersive record collection and legendary sets on the London scene. He is one-third of the Beauty & The Beat party and brings his unique twists of Afro and soul to this quartet of tunes. 'Karambolage' opens up with lots of big horns and noodling string sounds over a ramshackle beat then things take a cosmic turn on the rather more psychedelic 'Six Times Seven' with its Nippon-koku polyriddims, while 'Ou Ka Jis Fe Kole' is a party starter with a Zouk dub edge and 'Nzimbab' is built on a low slung and swaggering rhythm.

Brussels-based power trio Don Kapot are set to release their rousing new album 'I Love Tempo' on the 15th of September via W.E.R.F. Records - NEWS distribution.

A lifeboat of free jazz, afrobeat and krautpunk sailed by Giotis Damianidis (bass), Viktor Perdieus (baritone saxophone) and Jakob Warmenbol (drums), the album follows the release of their critically acclaimed 2022 album 'Un Peu Live' recorded with Dutch multi-instrumentalist, vocalist and composer Fulco Ottervanger, and described by Bandcamp Daily as a 'very fun mix of modern jazz and krautrock.'

Don Kapot strike hard with their fourth album, mixed and co-produced by Greg Saunier (Deerhoof). Using a wide range of instruments, they evolve their sound into a solid complex rhythmic wave, shaken by demented samples and punk attitude.

From the vibrant, pounding rhythms of opening track 'Me Pig' to the off-kilter, whimsical beats of 'Macarona' and 'Terryble,' Don Kapot integrate new instruments and sounds into their repertoire, including keyboards and sampling. The groove remains a central element to the sound as the trio deliver a palpable blend of high tension and joyous energy where genres are demolished.

Elsewhere, the funk-heavy 'Bernadette' allows the magical, freestyle sax work of Perdieus take centre stage while 'Don Be No' is an urgent, flippant blast of vigour and zest before the album title track 'I Love Tempo' is an exhilarating and hypnotic journey that combines the freedom and verve of free jazz with the trance-like zeal of artists such as Tony Allen, Fela Kuti and Kologbo

Releasing their self-titled debut album in 2018 via Mr. Nakayasi Records, in 2021 they signed to Flemish record label W.E.R.F. Records and have released three albums under the label and have performed sold-out shows across Belgium and the Netherlands.

The players in Don Kapot also extend their musical adventures to other projects. Damianidis leads Punk Kong and has performed with Akira Sakata, Sakis Papadimitriou, Oghene Kologbo, Tony Allen, Baba Ani, Balasz Pandi and Gonzalo Almeida among others. Warmenbol was a member of The Unrevealed Society, Robbing Millions and M(h)ysteria. He also performs with Ruth Tafebe & the Afrosoul Messengers (with Giotis), Under The Reefs Orchestra and Monolithe Noir. Perdieus performs in Punk Kong and with Pompelmoes and The Milk Factory and took part in Ifa y Xango, Laia Arkestra, Bolhaerd, Nest and VVolk. He has also recorded and played with Andrew Cyrille (Bambi Pang Pang).

Spittle Records presents a reissue of Chinese Restaurant by Italian new wave duo Chrisma, originally released in 1977. The album was recorded between London and Milano during the second half of 1977, and the results were something like post-punk. More in the direction of bands such as Ultravox, The Stranglers, and Suicide than the Sex Pistols and the Ramones, due to the use of electronic keyboards, obsessive rhythms, tense harmonies, and scratching vocals emerging from generally dark sound textures. Chinese Restaurant was definitely ahead of its time, especially in terms of Italian rock.

Here is another mystery from the universe comming straight out from London! Popping up from nowhere, don’t expect any infos about the person behind, it’s a very well kept secret… actually Tutu Ta reached us by telepathy to propose this sensationnal album for Macadam Mambo.

A concentrate of punkish dubby tunes combining ruffness, deepness, darkness, light, humour and serious vocals on very heavy beats and supa loud basslines. It’s raw but so gracefull in the meantime, 12 tracks, 47 min of pure bliss that won’t leave you on your knees, grab it fast it’s high demands style of music 

Invisible Inc is back with another remarkable release, this time diving even further into ambient, spiritual and folk-infused psychedelia.

“Mondo Organico”, as the name suggests, is a concept compilation that captures the “organic” side of Invisible Inc. The use of non-electronic instrumentation is a familiar theme explored by the label previously with the likes of Komodo Kolektif, Immaculate Rivombo and Peter Power...but this time the instruments and voices, tranquil and meditatively hypnotic in places, display an even deeper spirituality.

Featuring the talents of Andi Otto and his fello (electronic cello), Anna vs June's ethereal vocals, Tyler Ov Gaia's zoned-out mantra rhythms, Pieter Kock's 8-minute bass and guitar psych odyssey, as well as label favourites Sordid Sound System and Puma & The Dolphin, the record is enthralling and mesmerizing from start to finish - and yet another notch in Invisible Inc's rather idiosyncratic belt.

This record was pressed on eco vinyl. Everything from the sleeve to the inks are recycled too, in an attempt to address some the environmental issues we face today, albeit fractionally.

“Mondo Organico” is the future.

Founding member of Buffalo Springfield and folk-rock supergroup Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, Stills' first solo album, Stephen Stills, earned a gold record, is the only album to feature both Jimi Hendrix and Eric Clapton, and climbed to #3 on the album charts. Stephen Stills’ single "Love the One You're With" became his biggest solo hit, peaking at number 14 on the Billboard Hot 100 and is the first track on this collection. 14 tracks from Stephen Still’s First US Tour, previously unissued and recorded Live at The Berkeley Community Theater in 1971, featuring David Crosby on two songs. In 1971 Stephen Stills embarked on a US tour, opening each show with an intimate acoustic first set, and closing each night with a riveting electric set featuring the Memphis Horns. These historic, previously unreleased recordings took place over two nights at the Berkeley Community Theater, with David Crosby joining him on vocals and guitar for "You Don’t Have To Cry" and "The Lee Shore." These recordings find Stills at peak performance in both vocal delivery and musicianship, effortlessly incorporating alternate instrumentation on his instantly recognizable tracks, including a seamless medley of “49 Bye Byes" and "For What It’s Worth” unexpectedly played on piano. Hand-picked by Stills from his personal archives, this album captures timeless and era defining performances. Fans who were lucky enough to catch his historic debut trek, dubbed “The Memphis Horns Tour,” were treated to the balladeer, the raving troubadour, the acoustic bluesman, the soul driver, and by far the most passionate music maker. Backed by a loyal cast of friends, including his usual steady rhythm section—drummer Dallas Taylor and bassist Calvin “Fuzzy” Samuels—along with keyboardist Paul Harris, guitarist Steve Fromholz, and percussionist Joe Lala, these Northern California shows were one of the most unique and intimate stops on the tour This album, rather than being an artifact from a bygone era, sparkles and stimulates. It cajoles you into thinking, feeling and—most importantly—moving. Stephen Stills Live At Berkeley 1971 is a cornucopia of priceless sound—and all of it bears the distinct and loving fingerprint of Stephen Stills.

All vinyl is in a Gatefold jacket w/ two 12pg booklets, printed insert + download card. SH289LPCB // SH289LPIE are both for Indie stores only. CD Packaging: Digipak w/ 12pg lyric poster insert. The Armed return with their new album Perfect Saviors, the first new music since 2021 breakout release ULTRAPOP. Providing a full accounting of album contributors for the first time, Perfect Saviors was produced by the band’s Tony Wolski along with Ben Chisholm and Troy Van Leeuwen, with contributions from Julien Baker, Sarah Tudzin, Mark Guiliana, Justin Meldal-Johnsen, Eric Avery, Stephen Perkins, Josh Klinghoffer, and many more. The album was mixed by Alan Moulder. Vocalist Tony Wolski offered this statement on the album: “Too much information has made us dumb and confused. Too many ways to connect have inadvertently led to isolation. And too much expectation has forced everyone to become a celebrity. Predictable primal dangers have given way to newer social ones. And the result is a world that is confounding and terrifying but ultimately still beautiful. We hope this record is exactly all of that, too. Perfect Saviors is our completely unironic, sincere effort to create the biggest, greatest rock album of the 21st century.” Perfect Saviors is the conclusion of a trilogy of albums examining and dissecting what constitutes “pop culture” in a world of limitless information and access. Using “pop music” loosely as a format in which to express these ideas, each album used composition and presentation as a way to challenge these questions further. Perfect Saviors is the ultimate product of this evolution. Using one of the world’s most well-known mixing engineers to create a beautiful album fully immersed in the language and world of pop through the inherently unique, extreme, and perverse lens, The Armed communicate their art. Perfect Saviors follows 2021’s critically acclaimed album ULTRAPOP which landed on numerous Best of 2021 lists including Pitchfork, New York Times, Stereogum, Revolver, and many more. Album announce along with first single/video "Sport of Form" and which features Julien Baker on vocals and Iggy Pop playing God set for June 27th . Indie Exclusive Sea Blue vinyl in gatefold jacket w/ two 12 page booklets + printed insert Limited to 1500. FADER cover confirmed to run with announce and additional Cover story features confirmed with The Guardian, Revolver and Kerrang! will run. Supporting Queens of the Stone Age on their North America Headline arena tour in August, UK/EU headline tour scheduled for early 2024. An interactive ARG campaign with numerous stages of engagement is underway and will continue through release. A website, media mailings and various social media interactions are leading fans to find easter eggs including songs, album info, videos and much more. Videos for all three focus tracks are completed and will be released along with each song. UK PR handled by Adrian Read at Inside/Ou.

During their original run, Stornoway achieved immense critical acclaim, fan adoration and two Top 20 albums, one of which (their debut ‘Beachcomber’s Windowsill’) was certified Silver. But in 2016 they announced that they were ending on a high (2015’s ‘Bonxie’ being “their best album yet” according to The Guardian) with the following year’s farewell tour, although their rapturously received WOMAD set (“a magnificent farewell”, The Spectator) was delayed until 2022. They still earned new fans, however, when their version of ‘The Only Way Is Up’ exceeded 2 million streams after being used in an advert and in various TV shows.

Vocalist/guitarist Brian Briggs stopped songwriting altogether and instead pursued a new career passion managing a wetland for water voles and lapwings. Nonetheless, Brian and bandmates Jon Ouin (keyboard) and Oli Steadman (bass) stayed in torch, and step-by-step they reconnected with the love of creating music that had first inspired them to start a band.

Formed in 1992, Boris boldly explores their own vision of heavy music, where words like "explosive" and "thunderous" barely do justice. Using overpowering soundscapes embellished with copious amounts of lighting and billowing smoke, Boris has shared with audiences across the planet an experience for all five senses in their concerts, earning legions of zealous fans along the way. This is the highly-requested, unbelievably-anticipated official vinyl and streaming release of Boris's 2002 album and first dive into the stoner rock idiom, originally released in Japan on CD only. Heavy Rocks (2002) is heavy, sure, but fuses sludge, noise, stoner rock and hardcore all together for a deeply bone-shaking and unforgettable trip. For fans of: Melvins, Kyuss, Fu Manchu, BORIS

Ole Kirkeng is finally ready to drop his highly anticipated debut album. On Still Not Lost, the listener is treated to an artist bursting with talent and creativity. The young singer-songwriter impressed on the 2021 EP Rocking Chair – a release that landed him a deserved Spellemann award (the Norwegian “Grammy”) on his first try. So, this time around, the expectations are high. Not only for the songs that make up Kirkeng’s first album, but also for the artist he is becoming. Looking back at the searching musician who arrived back in Norway after years abroad, we now see an entirely different artist unfolding. The confidence he exudes on stage, the wittiness and wordings of his lyrics, and – last but definitely not least – the songs! If he isn’t already a star, he is fast becoming one. Still Not Lost was recorded and produced along with Norwegian guitar legend and studio wizard Geir Sundstøl, and the result is just top class craftsmanship in all areas. Ole Kirkeng is a songwriter of the old school, who can stand comparisons to names such as Nick Lowe, Randy Newman, Jackson Brown and Father John Misty. He puts a lot of time and effort into the songwriting trade, and that’s obvious when listening to this collection of tunes. From the immediately catchy “Stupid Questions” via the cute and humorous “I Fell in Love WIth You (at IKEA)” to the epic Dylanesque title track, Still Not Lost contains eight songs, flowing freely between americana, folk and indie – all killer, no filler. Still Not Lost is Ole Kirkeng’s debut album and is released on Die With Your Boots On Records on September 8, 2023. After touring both US and Eu with the likes of Courtney Marie Andrews and Molly Tuttle, he has a lot of experience as a touring musician, but as a solo artist this is still a new life for Ole Kirkeng. «Still Not Lost» is Ole's debut album, and will be released on September 8th. It's a beautiful collection of songs, which makes a perfect follow up to his first EP, «Rocking Chair».

A long-in-the-works project of ours, here comes A Tribe Called Kotori's first foray into full-length territories, as the immensely talented Rampue takes us on a melancholy-riddled ride across his phantasmatic mindscapes. A true sound explorer, deftly steering his ship down the junction of electronica, abstract and balearic-infused prog house, the Berlin-based vibist has us transfixed and elevated throughout the twelve cuts that form the backbone to this lushly textured promenade in sound - at times understatedly euphoric, at others rivetingly exotic.

Of the creative process that lead to 'Bubblebath Trance', Rampue explains "It all started and ended in the same moment: my cherished feline companion, my laptop awash with an unintended bath, and alas, a dearth of backups. The resultant calamity, an echo of chaotic tranquility." Under the generous layer of irony lies some unaltered truth about Rampue's debut long-player for A Tribe Called Kotori: this sense of serenity that goes with stepping into this warm and bubbling primitive chaos of sorts infuses the listening experience far and wide. Distantly emulating the "euphonious strains" of iconic PS1 video games soundtracks from his youth days, the album has us surfing a constant paradox of emotions, wistful but not abandoning itself to sorrow, dynamic yet suspended in some sort of mind-expanding stasis. As if you were looking at the world beneath you in exploded view, conscious of all thing, slowly moving up the many layers of our atmosphere towards uncharted skies.

A paragon of Rampue's most poignant take on classic electronica tropes, 'Harmonie' blazes with a poetic fire that engulfs about everything in its wake. Just figure yourself riding a chocobo across the sand-covered expanse of North Corel (toasting to the FFVII nerds here) as this blasts out in the distance. From this trancey bubblebath emerge lots of musical shades and nuances, from the nicely dubbed-out, brass-heavy coastal jazz of 'Schattenschranz' to the choppy, trip-hop-adjacent future electronics of 'Inside', via the exuberantly joyous mess of faux-organic number 'Tripomatic' and cinematic charisma of 'Ich hasse Sonne' high-flying orchestrations.

Connecting the dots between that trance-indebted ebullience and further downtempo-friendly attraction, 'Verfahren' perhaps encompasses best what 'Bubblebath Trance' is about: gracefully walking the tightrope in-limbo nostalgia-soaked inner movements and a powerful outward thrust, burning to let the feelings ooze out from the shell that holds them.Clad in purely 90s-compatible breaksy motion, 'Salz' is another attempt to reconcile emotional and physical dissonance, like kneading all states - solid, liquid and vaporous - into an impossible mega-vibe of its own; malleable, strong and enveloping in equal measure. Borrowing from two-step and UK garage, 'Take Away' is a definite high in Rampue's master unfolding of musical twists and turns, summoning a Boarder Community-esque atmosphere and clashing it alongside floor-ready footwork motifs to fascinating effect.

An ode to his studio companion, 'Buchla Trip' finds Rampue's exploring his machinic friend's quirky yet soulful array of electronic potentialities - making it sound like a conversation you'd have with R2-D2 in the heart of a Sandcrawler, whereas 'Kajal' beams us up to a fragmented headspace, halfway altered PC-Pop and arps-loaded electronica on amphetamines. Effusive and transporting, the title-track 'Bubblebath Trance' could well figure as the album's no.1 medley in essence: a bountiful lucid dream of dancing forms, colours and sentiments to wrap your head around, confidently drifting from a liminal state of consciousness down the rapids of one's troubled inner workings.

Rounding off the package, the languid ambient finale of 'Die Leiden des hungrigen Fruehstuecks' rubber-stamps the feeling that 'Bubblebath Trance' belongs to that rare category of albums. The ones that mint their own alphabet aside from typical norms and expectations, teaching you the ropes of their new language as it unreels between your ears - real and unreal, elusive to any other meaning than the one your guts and brains will be inclined to give it to, in real time. A crystal-pure object if you will, that shall not reveal its secrets, even after a thousand listens and just as many wowing moments.

Unrelenting and direct, Bristol's Hypothetics have a sound that pushes the four to the extremes. Produced by Mercury nominated Andy Savours (Black Country, New Road, my bloody valentine), this concept EP sees the quartet escape the stereotypes of young rock musicians today and instead they introduce listeners to a world of therapeutic escapism and cinematic immersion.
Talking about the EP, the band elaborate, "by fixating on sounds and images from the seventies American cinema era, it gave us an angle we weren't getting from the reality of rural Gloucestershire. We try to limit the effect the industry has on us, as it's easy to start doing things for the wrong reasons and become disillusioned".

RIYL: PJ Harvey, Sonic Youth, Dead Can Dance, Black Sabbath, Depeche Mode. In Blood is the group’s 14th album and the follow-up to 2020’s critically acclaimed Dances/Curses (Album Of The Year – The Quietus, Top 10 International Albums – Irish Times). It was typical of a band so well-known for stellar live performances to release their most successful album at a time when they were unable to back it up on the road. As was the case for many, lockdown changed the band’s lives in unexpected ways. Some felt a form of cabin fever at not being able to continue to make music (diverting their energies elsewhere - founding Wrong Speed Records for starters) whereas others relished the peace and quiet, perhaps questioning whether they wanted to return to the life they had before. Gigs (so long the lifeblood of the band) were booked, postponed, and cancelled. Things began to unravel and perhaps for the first time since the band formed in 2003 it was hard to see how it could continue. A plan was hatched to attempt to re-energise and reassemble the band: they would begin work on a new album. They would approach this as though a Somerset version of The Desert Sessions – members old and new and guests would contribute as and when time and restrictions allowed. Lyrically, British folk and ghost mythology provided the starting position for the song themes ranging from mutated stories of grief and loss written in the 14th Century (Perle), spiritual reawakening by ancient apparitions (Avalon) to the growth of nature after devastation (Can’t Feel Around Us, Over Cedar Limb), a metaphor also for spirit and body renewal and rebirth after trauma. The results sound free of any genre shackles and it suits Hey Colossus. They have taken the expansive anything-goes approach that made Dances/Curses so successful and fine-tuned and shaped it into an 8-song single album that never treads water or fills time. The prominent vocals steer the listener through the music, defining it as opposed to punctuating it (or being buried by it). The album is a calling card for the band in their 20th anniversary year. As odd and challenging as long-term fans would expect or hope for, but somehow more accessible and to the point than ever before. It is the closest the group have ever come to a pop record, radiating positivity through the murk like a small ray of light in some very dark and very weird times. Music can never entirely negate these feelings but, like the natural world referenced in the lyrics and sleeve, it invisibly bonds people together, lifting us up if we choose to let it.

The first Matador pressing of Pavement’s ‘Westing (By Musket And Sextant)’, the compilation of Pavement’s early work from 1989-1993.

The new pressing coincides with this year’s release of the ‘Terror Twilight: Farewell Horizontal’ 4LP box set and a 30th Anniversary vinyl edition of ‘Slanted & Enchanted’.

Pavement begin several months of touring by headlining Primavera Sound Barcelona, before continuing onto sold-out tour dates in North
America and Europe

Clear Vinyl

Repressed! Get On Down proudly present Mecca And The Soul Brother, the critically acclaimed 1992 full-length debut from Pete Rock & CL Smooth. The album is considered as one of the greatest Hip Hop albums of all time. Boasting tracks such as the first single, “They Reminisce Over You (T.R.O.Y.)”, a dedication to their deceased friend; “Trouble T-Roy”, which went on to become not only their signature hit, but also one of Hip Hop’s all-time great songs. The album is propelled forward by Rock’s quick, soulful interludes; usually bits of old R&B tunes layered with his signature trumpet and sax loops. Smooth’s liquid freestyle delivery pieces together the perfect vocal match that, together, creates a sprawling, nearly 80-minute-long album on which not a single song or interlude is a throwaway or a superfluous piece.
Mecca And The Soul Brother has stood the test of time. The release has been named one of the essential recordings of the 90s by Rolling Stone, appears on Ego Trips listing of the Top 25 Hip Hop albums released from 1980-1998, and appeared on The Source’s 100 Greatest Rap Albums of all time.

You can't get Deeper if you're standing still. That's intentional, says the Chicago quartet's Nic Gohl. "Does it feel good when you're listening to this song? Does your body want to move with it?" These are the questions he asked himself as he and bandmates Shiraz Bhatti, Drew McBride, and Kevin Fairbairn were writing and recording Careful!, their third record and Sub Pop debut. "I wanted these to be interesting songs, but in a way where a two-year-old would vibe out to it," Gohl adds.

"It's pop music, basically." That "basically" qualifier is working pretty hard, as fans of 2020's Auto-Pain might suppose. On Careful!, they're not reimagining their sound so much as testing its limits. If you want to, you can hear echoes of David Bowie's Low in the snapping rhythm and gray-sky synths of "Tele," but you can also hear a bit of Auto-Pain in the nailed-in, stippling lines being spit out by Bhatti's drum programming and McBride's synthesizer.

"Fame" seems to stumble together and nearly fall apart, the dialed-up noise making the beat feel maniacal and a little invincible, the whole thing a series of short, snipped, autonomous gestures that are by now Deeper's trademark. "Build a Bridge" pushes in the opposite direction, using a prickly guitar line to launch into big, smeary art-pop, its emotional palette clear, well-defined, and easy to latch onto.

On "Sub," Gohl sings above and below the melody like Ian McCulloch, bellowing and wondering and ruminating and rounding into swaggering confidence that the band rises to meet. It's festival headliner music that still feels like it was written in a garage. That fraternal interdependence is near the center of Deeper's music. The musical and lyrical devotion to mutuality makes this restlessly curious, stylistically broad album feels like the most coherent portrait of who Deeper is. Or, as McBride ultimately frames it, "Careful! is about looking out for one another."

You can't get Deeper if you're standing still. That's intentional, says the Chicago quartet's Nic Gohl. "Does it feel good when you're listening to this song? Does your body want to move with it?" These are the questions he asked himself as he and bandmates Shiraz Bhatti, Drew McBride, and Kevin Fairbairn were writing and recording Careful!, their third record and Sub Pop debut. "I wanted these to be interesting songs, but in a way where a two-year-old would vibe out to it," Gohl adds.

"It's pop music, basically." That "basically" qualifier is working pretty hard, as fans of 2020's Auto-Pain might suppose. On Careful!, they're not reimagining their sound so much as testing its limits. If you want to, you can hear echoes of David Bowie's Low in the snapping rhythm and gray-sky synths of "Tele," but you can also hear a bit of Auto-Pain in the nailed-in, stippling lines being spit out by Bhatti's drum programming and McBride's synthesizer.

"Fame" seems to stumble together and nearly fall apart, the dialed-up noise making the beat feel maniacal and a little invincible, the whole thing a series of short, snipped, autonomous gestures that are by now Deeper's trademark. "Build a Bridge" pushes in the opposite direction, using a prickly guitar line to launch into big, smeary art-pop, its emotional palette clear, well-defined, and easy to latch onto.

On "Sub," Gohl sings above and below the melody like Ian McCulloch, bellowing and wondering and ruminating and rounding into swaggering confidence that the band rises to meet. It's festival headliner music that still feels like it was written in a garage. That fraternal interdependence is near the center of Deeper's music. The musical and lyrical devotion to mutuality makes this restlessly curious, stylistically broad album feels like the most coherent portrait of who Deeper is. Or, as McBride ultimately frames it, "Careful! is about looking out for one another."

Recorded in 1995 and 1996, mostly in John Fahey"s room at a Salem, Oregon boardinghouse, the performances on Proofs and Refutations prefigure the ornery turn of the page that marked Fahey"s final years, drawing another enigmatic rabbit from his seemingly bottomless musical hat. Cloaked in the language of dogma - what is he proving? refuting? - this is Fahey dancing a jig in the Duchampian gap, jester cap bells a-jingling. True believers? He"s got something for you: an uncompromising vision that you can sneer at ("guy can"t play anymore and refuses to concede!") or embrace as evidence of his genius ("the reinventor does it again!"). Skeptics? He"s there with you, too: sending up the fallacy of certitudes altogether. Institutions, systems, accepted wisdoms. Heroes. Alternative facts, indeed. Right out of the gate, Fahey re-materializes before us, somewhere between Oracle of Delphi and Clown Prince at Olympus. Mounting a thundering dialectic from on high, "All the Rains" resembles nothing else in his extensive discography - betraying roots in everything from Dada to Episcopal liturgical chant - and contains nary a plucked guitar note. You can"t fool him! When the lap steel of yore appears on "F for Fake," it serves more as soundbed for an extended sequence of vocal improvisations, running the gamut from wordless Bashoian caterwauling to free-form (but decidedly fake) Tuvan, even revealing a burnished falsetto in the process. Fahey takes on a different kind of provocation in the two acoustic guitar-based tracks closing Side 1 - "Morning" parts 1 and 2 - the first of 4 recordings in this session that have him wrestling with the ghost of Skip James, perhaps Fahey"s effort to wrench the "bitter, hateful old creep" (his words) back into the grave. Anchoring Side 2 is the two-part "Evening, Not Night," the second half of his extended cathexis on James (and the latter"s avowed castration complex - another story for another day, perhaps). Bit of a chill in the air - where"s the impish Fahey from earlier? Unmistakably working through some psychic wounds here, we might think: the unheimlich rendered in glistening viscera. Or is he playing with our notions of authenticity, of his reputation as troubadour of raw emotional states, a pilgrim of the ominous, the simmering unconscious? These cards are kept decidedly close to the vest. The opening and closing pieces again feature Fahey"s guitar as drone soundbed - employing distortion, oscillation, and an altogether absurd quotient of reverb to create texture and harmonics that are - if we wanna go there - not dissimilar to the sustained tonic clusters of Tibetan singing bowls, the hurdy gurdy, Hindustani classical music, or La Monte freaking Young. Portions of this material appeared on obscure late "90s vinyl in the 7" or double-78 rpm format, but as a "session" it has lain dormant more than a quarter century now. Taken together, we can now see these tracks as secret blueprints to latter-day Fahey provocations, several years prior to records like 1997"s City of Refuge and Womblife.

Perth-based artist hub 823, led by the extraordinary producer / creator Ta-ku joins forces with Berlin's Jakarta Records for the release of Godblesscomputers's fourth full-length LP, "Faded Views." The LP melds bright electronic flourishes with laidback synth-driven backdrops, weaving tapestries of mellow folktronica and groovy jazz harmony with continuous sonic intrigue that will keep you grooving into a tropical disposition. Paying homage to his musical moniker, the Bologna-based producer makes timely metallic interjections amidst lush, effortlessly groovy soundscapes. Explore a world of found, recycled, and synthesized sound on "Faded Views" out everywhere September 8.

Bologna-based producer, DJ, and sound collector Godblesscomputers (122k Spotify listeners) has returned with the release of his fourth full-length record, "Faded Views." Godblesscomputers's latest LP "The Island" (2020, La Tempesta Dischi) earned him placement on Spotify playlists like "Brain Flood" and "Coffee Club." Since then, his appearance on Willie Peyote's track "La colpa al vento" landed GBC on "Best of Indie Italia 2022." On "Faded Views," it was Godblesscomputers's creative project to explore the sonic potentials of his direct environment, picking up recordings and threads of inspiration from the most commonplace occurrences. A sonic scavenger, Godblesscomputers explored the expanses of his-both digital and physical-soundscapes. "Faded Views" does the work of crafting a unified, yet complex compilation of the noises that mark the experience of being digital natives in ever-expanding dimensions.

Godblesscomputers's use of musique concrète and found-sound composition melds curiously with his undeniable electronic and techno acumen. Superimposing metallic electronica onto esoteric sound bytes creates the occasion for complex sound collage. "Faded Views" marks a decade since the genesis of the Godblesscomputers project; the entire LP testifies to how time warps perception and sound. Godblesscomputers's music seems to decorate time, both commemorating the moments passed with mind-melting sonic collages and looking forward to the infinitudes of the future with frenetic electronic experimentation.

Themes of impermanence and transience-hence "Faded Views"-pervade the record. Godblesscomputers blurs time as each track seeps into the next in what feels like a seamless transition. He makes these swift passages in genre as well-the record opens on "Colors" with a rich horn section which frictionlessly becomes a lo-fi dance groove. It is this melding of the analog and the electronic that makes sense of his found approach to beat-making: Godblesscomputers marries the found and the synthesized; the creator and the created; the past and the future. The process of sonic dissection and recomposition that drives much of Godblesscomputers's creative process yields not only assertive breakdowns and animated dance tracks, but also complex tapestries of sound that keep the listener ever-intrigued-piano, saxophone, and modular synthesis all find a natural home on tracks like "Hello." In an apt description, the producer's work has been described as "sounding like wood, metal, and microchip."

Godblesscomputers's artistic objective lies in blurring definitive lines, constantly shifting perspectives, genres, and origins of inspiration. On "Faded Views," this design cultivates a folktronica record that truly evades definition.

Feelgood lead single "Mirrors" is out June 30th and features a rich meld of warbling layers, mixing upbeat dance music with complex instrumentation. Stream second single, "Above the Lake," for a mellow summer cut on July 21. Finally, the effortlessly groovy third single "You Feel Me" captures a genre-warping foray into folktronica. Listen to "You Feel Me" on August 11.

All LP artwork and stunning single visualizers were single-handedly put together by multi-disciplinary designer Michael Norman. "Faded Views" will be available everywhere physically and digitally on September 8, 2023. Be sure to listen for focus track "Hello" that captures the vast scope of Godblesscomputers's musical prowess. Find the LP, CD, and digital release on 823's and Jakarta Records's Bandcamp and local record stores.

Building off of the themes of identity, storytelling and experimentation on her critically acclaimed debut album, Khonnar (2018), Deena Abdelwahed’s upcoming album Jbal Rrsas is the next chapter of a reimagining of what club music could be. The album spans seven tracks of bass, techno, and experimental music, with Abdelwahed consulting with masterminds like Tunisian composer and multi-instrumentalist Khalil Hentati, aka Khalil Epi, and Iraqi-British multi-instrumentalist, composer, and researcher Khyam Allami, as well as Egyptian mastering engineer Heba Kadry, to help realise her vision.

Jbal Rrsas starts with the seductively apocalyptic opener, The Key to the Exit, a deconstructed sha’bi production. With tracks like Six as Oil and the delightfully intense Violence for Free, Abdelwahed leads users to a desert rave, where industrial rhythms are left unbridled. Abdelwahed’s vocals on Complain and Pre-Island are powerful and exposed, confidently placed on dizzying avant-garde productions. The Wire previously said “Khonnar is an assured debut that sits on the edge of a whole swathe of possibilities, not only sonic but also geographical, social and political.” With Jbal Rrsas finds Abdelwahed deftly navigating through those possibilities, frequently pushing against genres, labels, and social identifiers, while elevating club music to otherworldly heights.

Moving to England for its second release, Rant & Rave Records presents a proper EP from South Wales-based producer JoeFarr, known for his dancefloor jams on labels such as: 'SLAM', 'Arts', and his most recent success with 2019's epic 12" 'Death Becomes Us'. On the a-side 'In This Anger', which JoeFarr has written with Louisahhh, an anxiously dark, slowly developing atmosphere menaces behind a slow rolling, broken beat for maximum effect. This is punctuated by dark, slightly distorted female vocals with sporadic lyrics subtly encouraging its dance floors to move.. and think. Signature hard and bouncy grooves with infectious in-yer-face techno riffs dominate the rest of the EP with tracks 'Laced Up', 'You Can See Me' and 'You will See Me (Hardcore)', effortlessly weaving in and out of the pulsating groove with an interesting palette of machine sounding synths and heavily processed vocals.