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German trio Cloud Management approached Digital-Sting in late 2023 and started a conversation concerning a loose configuration of improvisations, studio experiments and rehearsal jam recordings. The timing was particularly serendipitous with Feel Free Hi Fi fresh off a West Coast USA tour with Exotic Gardens where we had spent several long drives along the California coast listening to Cloud Managements prior records on Altin Village. The second of which included collaborations with Exotic Gardens. This release " Unfinished Business" inhabits much of the musical history and influences foundational to the Digital Sting sound and ethos making the link up an obvious one. I don't want to be overly predictable in the comparison to the great body of work created by German legends like Moebius, Roedelius, Plank and others but it is there. Also present are heavy doses of dub wandering not too far from the furthest out zones created by African Head Charge or Dub Syndicate. Some creeping psychedelic unease in the way of Industrial Records also sits in the mix. Comparisons aside, Cloud Managements embrace of collaboration and jammy experimentalism create a sound that is unique and a bit rare in the contemporary dub and electronic music continuum where perceptions of genre restrictions can guide a bit too much. The two side long continuous tracks documented in this release lock in and groove as much as they wander, drift and break apart in subtle shifting ways making for special repeat listening where something new is always waiting.

Kidzblock (Mr. V & Reelsoul) pay tribute by doing a House Version of "Get This Money" by Slum Village b/w Instrumental on the Flip!

In a world where physical experiences are becoming rarer, artists are looking to connect their process to something more tangible, and with A/V rinsed, scent is an obvious next sense to plunder. Florian TM Zeisig - who last appeared on Somewhere Press as Angel R, goes the extra mile, teaming up with perfumer Angel Paradise to develop a suite of music that plays like a bouquet of memory-triggering aromas, coupled with a fragrance that captures the oily essence of their bucolic alpine setting. The project came about when both artists were living in Hinang, a small farming village in the rural Bavarian alps. Paradise was studying alpine plant behaviour and using her research to inform her approach to scent creation, developing natural perfumes based on the landscape. Zeisig, meantime, composed his own response to the mountains and forests that surrounded them. He wrote ‘Spool’ as a poignant farewell (or spiritual rebirth) as they prepared to leave, considering teenage nostalgia as well as the idyllic locale, and the pastoral suite of lulled loops, field recordings and dissociated instrumental vamps plays like a contemporary Heimatfilme soundtrack, locking into the genre’s idyllic, fantastical simplicity and romance. Drunken horn loops and mushy piano chords concertina around a wobbly axis on ‘Oneandhalf’, met by dreamy guitars and whispered, lysergic vocals. The sweet-smelling notes form an enigmatic compound, prompting us to think of Codeine or Galaxie 500 without solidifying completely. It’s music that works with outlines and traces, catching us off guard with flickers of samples and veiled base notes: the Cocteau Twins-like phased piano on ‘Threeandhalf’ that’s drowned out by gunked tape fog, or the smudges of ‘Spirit of Eden’ ambience on ‘Alright’ that creep between tweezed piano phrases. There’s depth too; Zeisig doesn’t restrict himself to Romance-cum-Basinski loopmuzak, he intersperses his GASeous orchestral waves with serene, relatively demure reflections that capture the pristine beauty of a dewy alpine morning. ‘Four’ is an ASMR-rich blend of crunching leaves and mossy, decelerated pads, and ‘Plus’ burns its drones down to crackling embers, letting the faint harmonies flicker through the coal dust. Importantly, it’s emotional music, but not overly melodramatic, finding peace in nostalgia and the calm of nature.

Three LPs packed in a trifold jacket. Pressed on Deep Ocean Pearl, Gold & Dark Green Vinyl. Take up your sword, channel your magic or board your Mech. Chained Echoes is a 16-bit style RPG set in a fantasy world where dragons are as common as piloted mechanical suits. The game is set on the continent of Valandis during the time of a multi-generational war between three kingdoms, Taryn, Gravos and Escanya. After a great catastrophe caused by Grand Grimoire shakes the continent, the kingdoms agree to sign a peace treaty. One year later, an unknown force strives to begin a new war. A group of unlikely heroes joins forces and eventually becomes the clan of Crimson Wings in order to stop it. The outstanding soundtrack for Chained Echoes was passionately composed, arranged and recorded over four years by Eddie Marianukroh as well as many other musicians who worked under his direction. It includes 50 tracks at two hours in length. Even the game has been out for a while, Marianukroh's admiration and enthusiasm for the game and his addition to it remain undiminished: "It has been over two years now since the release of Chained Echoes, which is rather difficult for me to believe. Time really flies, and it's honestly a bit frightening when I think about it. But, despite that, when I listen to the music I've written for this game, I still very much remain proud of what I composed. I really did give my all for this soundtrack. I will forever be grateful to Matthias for trusting me with the music for his game. I can vividly remember how I felt when I first came across his project, and how I nervously reached out to him about the composer position. I truly, truly cannot thank him enough for giving me this memorable experience that I will always hold dear. Thank you, my friend."

In 2012 Gruff Rhys embarked on a solo 'investigative concert tour' through the heart of America following the route taken by his distant relative John Evans. Every night he presented songs augmented by a power point presentation that detailed his relative's unbelievable history, along with any new piece of information that had come his way during the day. He was ultimately looking for Evans's lost unmarked grave. Along with many major cities, the tour took him to play shows at the Mandan and Omaha tribe reservations, a Missouri vineyard, villages that no longer exist and lay at the bottom the Mississippi river and a New Orleans bordello. What transpired from that ‘investigative concert tour’ was a 2014 album, American Interior, plus a book, film and exhaustive tour of the same name. With the aid of the dusted-off power point presentation, Gruff Rhys and a full band revisits the project in 2025 to perform the songs that formed both the album, and the soundtrack to the film.

Gruff says of the reissue -

“Revisiting American Interior 11 years later, feels very prescient. In following the unusual story of explorer John Evans (1770-1799) it becomes clear that faked narratives can have profound and unpredictable consequences in real life. His barely believable journey of verification in searching through continental scale wilderness for a fictitious Welsh speaking tribe believed to be living on the Great Plains of North America (an ancient folk tale perpetuated by the Elizabethan court following the subjugation of Wales, to make colonial claims on behalf of the British on the Americas) had a dramatic political effect on the fledgling USA and a devastating impact on himself and some of those who helped him on his way. I wrote an album of songs inspired by his life; American Interior, which also served as a soundtrack to a documentary film based on a book that detailed his journey, intertwined with my own investigative concert tour, all three of which I worked on simultaneously during a 2-year fever 2012-14. By far the most ambitious undertaking I’ve ever attempted. Living with one foot in the 18th century, wearing the same clothes (for cinematic continuity) for that entire period, left me pretty exhausted. (Imagine a cold extra from The Revenant movie). It took me a while to process the whole experience and its lessons and feel I owe it to my former self to take these songs back on the road for a couple of months and re-tell the story for a new decade. To celebrate it further Rough Trade will reissue a remastered version of the album with previously unreleased tracks.”

In 2012 Gruff Rhys embarked on a solo 'investigative concert tour' through the heart of America following the route taken by his distant relative John Evans. Every night he presented songs augmented by a power point presentation that detailed his relative's unbelievable history, along with any new piece of information that had come his way during the day. He was ultimately looking for Evans's lost unmarked grave. Along with many major cities, the tour took him to play shows at the Mandan and Omaha tribe reservations, a Missouri vineyard, villages that no longer exist and lay at the bottom the Mississippi river and a New Orleans bordello. What transpired from that ‘investigative concert tour’ was a 2014 album, American Interior, plus a book, film and exhaustive tour of the same name. With the aid of the dusted-off power point presentation, Gruff Rhys and a full band revisits the project in 2025 to perform the songs that formed both the album, and the soundtrack to the film.

Gruff says of the reissue -

“Revisiting American Interior 11 years later, feels very prescient. In following the unusual story of explorer John Evans (1770-1799) it becomes clear that faked narratives can have profound and unpredictable consequences in real life. His barely believable journey of verification in searching through continental scale wilderness for a fictitious Welsh speaking tribe believed to be living on the Great Plains of North America (an ancient folk tale perpetuated by the Elizabethan court following the subjugation of Wales, to make colonial claims on behalf of the British on the Americas) had a dramatic political effect on the fledgling USA and a devastating impact on himself and some of those who helped him on his way. I wrote an album of songs inspired by his life; American Interior, which also served as a soundtrack to a documentary film based on a book that detailed his journey, intertwined with my own investigative concert tour, all three of which I worked on simultaneously during a 2-year fever 2012-14. By far the most ambitious undertaking I’ve ever attempted. Living with one foot in the 18th century, wearing the same clothes (for cinematic continuity) for that entire period, left me pretty exhausted. (Imagine a cold extra from The Revenant movie). It took me a while to process the whole experience and its lessons and feel I owe it to my former self to take these songs back on the road for a couple of months and re-tell the story for a new decade. To celebrate it further Rough Trade will reissue a remastered version of the album with previously unreleased tracks.”

Regina Spektor’s 2016 album is available on limited edition Black Clouds double vinyl LP. Remember Us To Life is Spektor’s first collaboration with producer Leo Abrahams. Recorded in Los Angeles at The Village Studios, it lives in a world ranging from expansive orchestral and string arrangements to electronic and moody tracks. Includes “Bleeding Heart”, “Older and Taller”, “Grand Hotel”, “Small Bill$” and more.

At long last, Q Lazzarus says hello to Dark Entries. Q Lazzarus is the moniker of Diane Luckey, born in New Jersey in 1960. While living in the East Village in New York City in the 1980s, Diane met songwriter Bill Garvey at a party and they recorded “Goodbye Horses” in his home studio. As the story goes, Luckey met Hollywood director Jonathan Demme when she picked him up in her taxi during a snowstorm in 1986. Demme was wowed by her demo tape, which was playing in the cab, and they ended up hanging out at a restaurant for hours talking about life and music. “He liked it so much, I gave him the tape I was listening to, he said he would call me for one of his movies, but I didn’t really take it seriously.” said Luckey. Demme would have the song “Goodbye Horses” first appear in his offbeat comedy Married to the Mob, and then again more memorably in Silence of the Lambs when Buffalo Bill changes into women’s clothing while drowning out his intended victim’s pleas with loud music. Despite the exposure, both Luckey and Garvey languished in relative obscurity. “Goodbye Horses” is the definition of a cult classic, an ethereal tearjerker driven by Garvey’s lush synth work and Luckey’s unmistakably powerful voice. Garvey says, “the song is about transcendence over those who see the world as only earthly and finite.”

Over 15 years of effort have gone into the making of this release. All five songs on this record were previously unreleased and are sourced from original master tapes. The extended version of “Goodbye Horses” was newly mixed from the original stems by Alberto Hernandez at Fantasy Studios. Instrumental and acapella versions of the song are included, which are also available for the first time. Side B opens with “Hellfire,” a brooding number about the New York BDSM nightclub of the same name, showcasing the range and force of Luckey’s voice. “Summertime” follows, with a sauntering synth-reggae spin on the 1937 George Gershwin number. Both B-side tracks are also new mixdowns and edits from the original stems. This record is released alongside Eva Aridjis Fuentes’s documentary on Q Lazzarus, Goodbye Horses: The Many Lives of Q Lazzarus, a work chronicling the life of the enigmatic Luckey. It is an opportune moment to reflect on the underrecognized artists we have lost and the undeniable brilliance of both Diane Luckey and William Garvey.

Originally released on Ben Chasny's own Pavilion imprint in 2011.

"I was invited by the Incubate Festival and the city of Tilburg to participate in an artist residency where I would explore the region’s unique chapels built for the Virgin Mary. After writing the music for about six months by drawing on memories of the encounters with the chapels and using techniques inspired by Gaston Bachelard’s Poetics Of Reverie, I flew back to Tilburg to perform the music at the Incubate Festival. We recorded the evening and I released the result on my Pavilion label. Each cover was hand painted white on white in the old Pavilion style. I created a stencil and used graphite powder to make the design that is inspired by the sun imagery in Athanasius Kircher diagrams."

Roadside chapels express the identity of the inhabitants of North Brabant, a Dutch province, bordering on Belgium. Roman Catholicism has been the dominant religion in this southern part of the Netherlands since the eighth century. For about a century and a half this religion was strongly suppressed. Only when the French revolutionaries preached freedom of belief around 1800 could the people of North Brabant exercise their faith again. This was the start of a very strong emancipatory development from which a special form of the Roman Catholic faith arose that fully determined everyday life of the people here. This faith was the determining factor in life and the measure of all things. After the second Vatican Council (1962-1965) the reins of the catholic faith in Brabant were loosened as well. This was the start of a revolutionary process of secularisation. Within a decade hardly anything was left of the almighty influence of the Roman Catholic Church and this situation has lasted up to the present day.

In spite of the almightiness of the official, Vatican ruled, Roman Catholic faith, North Brabant has always and perhaps notoriously fostered an undercurrent of popular belief as well. This is a kind of belief in which elements of the official faith and age-old pre-Christian traditions are combined. Worshipping relics, holding pilgrimages and processions, the use of water from holy wells, popular art, recitations and songs, festivals, rituals, folk traditions, superstition and the like are all examples of popular devotion. These matters have strongly influenced and formed the identity of the present-day population of North Brabant. It is part of their immaterial heritage.

An obvious and still very much visible form of popular devotion are the roadside chapels. In Brabant some 400 can be found, most of which have been devoted to Mary. Chapels are small buildings in which Mary or other saints are worshipped. They can be found within villages or towns or in natural surroundings. Always at the finest spots! The beauty of the environment adds a primary religious or mystical feeling to the visitor. Local people attach great value to their chapels. In spite of the overall secularisation in society they are still at the centre of cultural and social life. Where people in North Brabant can hardly be found in the churches nowadays, this doesn’t mean at all they are no longer religious. On the contrary, religious feelings are perhaps stronger than ever, but now people have to find their own expression of them. That’s why they fall back on the age-old popular belief in which chapels play an important role. We can even witness new forms of popular belief with chapels as their focal point. An example of this is the scattering of ashes of people who have been cremated. Chapels clearly also play a role in the lives of young people. On an average five new chapels are added every year.

I have studied the popular culture and belief and the identity of the inhabitants of North Brabant for over thirty years. I have published over forty books on these subjects. In 2010 I was approached by the organisation of the Incubate Festival in the North Brabant town of Tilburg. Their request was for me to lead the American composer and guitarist Ben Chasny around a number of chapels in the province devoted to Mary. He had been invited to North Brabant to write some new compositions. Ben Chasny then chose to be inspired by these chapels and that’s how we met. I was especially curious how an American would react to something as specific and small as a roadside chapel in North Brabant, since we tend to think here of (people in) America in terms of ‘big-bigger-biggest’. Would an inhabitant of this enormous country with this prevailing culture be able to grasp and respect the identity of some 2.5 million people in North Brabant with their chapels? The answer to this question lies hidden in the compositions he made and that can be listened to on this album. Yes, Ben Chasny has been able to convert the phenomenon of a simple chapel devoted to Mary into music. The physical and the spiritual have found each other. What a beautiful world…just listen! - Paul Spapens

Remember: you could be dreaming. Sinking or flying, sound-catching or singing. Witnessing a distant storm in silence, how it exposes purple clouds in unpredictable flashes. Hearing a submarine eruption and finding natal comfort in the warm, fragrant smoke that only wants to sheathe all your edges. The circus has left, only placards remain. And the snow. Look how the flakes sway to your feet without effort - any distance is misleading, illusory. There’s only dream and memory – the two wings of a bird that flaps with an ocean wave, blinks with an eye of a lighthouse. Fragile, you could be dreaming not alone, holding hands with the core of things. The molten core, like touching ice. You could be dreaming. Dreaming in perfect memories of shapes imperfect. Dreaming of the earth raining from the sky, of the wind inside the sea, of the lighthouse & the ship kissing, of exotic fishes in the bay of your ear. Everything is real. If you play. If you dare to ignore the margins. Echoes go on forever. They play with themselves in a stream of mirrors. Echoes of a forgotten language, of a language unwritten - a soothing, indifferent creole that reconciles feeling with understanding. Bathe in the fountain at the source of resonance. Bathe in the clouds on the eyes of intimate strangers passing. Disappear. Disappear and be seen, like the moonlit mist behind your eyes. And sway between hope and wisdom.

All songs written, performed and produced by Sasha Vinogradova and Alina Anufrienko
Recorded in Garnet village, Dmitrovsky region, Russian Federation (February 2020)

"Thermae" and "The Atrium" have been streamed over 450k times across DSPs since being released in the fall

Support from BBC 2's Jamie Cullum (Best in Jazz), BBC Radio's Huey Morgan (including Huey's Album and Beat of the week), KCRW's Morning Becomes Eclectic, Soho Radio (UK), Paste Magazine and more

With over to 1 million monthly listeners and 75,000 followers on Spotify he's been added to multiple editorial playlists including Jazz Vibes, Mellow Morning, State of Jazz, Jazz UK and more

Additional DSP playlist support includes Apple's Jazz Chill, Jazz Scene: UK, New Latitudes and Amazon Music's Laid Back Jazz and Fresh Jazz

With approximately 10,000 vinyl records sold the world over Robohands is a rising international star with his ambient & cinematic jazz stylings

A prolific producer, Robohands has released five albums since 2018 including his debut LP 'Green' released on Village Live records, incorporating elements of jazz, krautrock and ambient music

Has performed across the globe including Montreal JAZZ Fest, Waking Life Festival in Portugal

written and recorded by Rocket in Valley Village, CA.
Rocket is Alithea Tuttle (bass and vocals), Baron Rinzler (guitar), Cooper Ladomade (drums) and Desi Scaglione (guitar)

Four Seasons in Kyoto’ marks the final chapter of The Kyoto Connection’s Ambient Japanese trilogy, following Postcards (2018) and The Flower, The Bird and The Mountain(2022). Like its predecessors, this album pays homage to the pioneering ambient and environmental music movements of 1980s and 1990s Japan.

The album unfolds as the imagined soundtrack to life in a quiet rural village, where nature and tradition shape the rhythm of everyday existence. Across 14 evocative compositions, The Kyoto Connection captures the essence of Japan’s ever-changing seasons, weaving together delicate melodies and immersive soundscapes. With contributions from friends and fans in Japan, Four Seasons in Kyoto is both a tribute and a transportive listening experience from producer Facundo Arena, the composer and producer behind The Kyoto Connection.

With Four Seasons in Kyoto, Facundo Arena continues his deep exploration of Japanese ambient and environmental music, blending his long-standing admiration for Kyoto’s cultural heritage with a sound that feels both nostalgic and timeless. While Postcards was an instinctive homage and The Flower, The Bird and The Mountain drew from real Kyoto field recordings, this final chapter in the trilogy leans further into the imagined, an intimate portrait of an unseen yet deeply felt Japan.

Recorded using a mix of vintage synths, delicate acoustic instrumentation, and subtle electronic textures, Four Seasons in Kyoto refines The Kyoto Connection’s signature approach. Organic soundscapes and drifting melodies mirror the slow change of seasons, evoking the impermanence central to Japanese aesthetics. The result is a record that seamlessly bridges the natural and the synthetic, memory and imagination, a fitting conclusion to a journey that began with an algorithmic discovery and blossomed into a rich sonic world of its own.

Wild ecstatic vocals, distorted electric guitars, rocket bass, and the amphetamine beat! // Unlike anything else, this is THE high life music you've always wanted // Ceremonial music played with abandon and extreme intent, honoring the living and dead alike // Recorded on location in SW Madagascar by Maxime Bobo // “Tsapiky music from Southwest Madagascar features wild ecstatic vocals, distorted electric guitars, rocket bass, and the amphetamine beat! Unlike anything else, this is THE high life music you've always wanted - ceremonial music played with abandon and extreme intent, honoring the living and dead alike. In Toliara and its surrounding region, funerals, weddings, circumcisions and other rites of passage have been celebrated for decades in ceremonies called mandriampototse. During these celebrations – which last between three and seven days – cigarettes, beer and toaky gasy (artisanal rum) are passed around while electric orchestras play on the same dirt floor as the dancing crowds and zebus. The music, tsapiky, defies any classification. This compilation showcases the diversity of contemporary tsapiky music. Locally and even nationally renowned bands played their own songs on makeshift instruments, blaring through patched-up amps and horn speakers hung in tamarind trees, projecting the music kilometers away. Lead guitarists and female lead singers are the central figures of tsapiky. Driven as much by their creative impulses as by the need to stand out in a competitive market, the artists distinguish themselves stylistically through their lyrics, rhythms or guitar riffs. They must also master a wide repertoire of current tsapiky hits, which the families that attend inevitably request before parading in front of the orchestra with their offerings. This work, a constant push and pull between distinction and imitation, is nourished by fertile exchanges between various groups: acoustic and electric, rural and urban, coastal or inland. What results during these ceremonies is a music of astonishing intensity and creativity, played by artists carving out their own path, indifferent to the standards of any other music industry: Malagasy, African or global. Recorded live on location by Maxime Bobo, this vinyl LP includes a 4-page full-color insert with detailed liner notes plus photos of the musicians and surroundings.”

Double LP pressed on yellow and sky blue vinyl ("Feld & Fluss") Dorfromantik is a relaxing building strategy and puzzle game in which you place tiles to create ever-growing, idyllic village landscapes. With Dorfromantik, you can immerse yourself in a quiet, peaceful world at any time and take a break from everyday life. At the same time, the game offers a challenge for those who are looking for one: To beat the highscore, you need to carefully plan and strategically place your tiles. The original superchill Dorfromantik soundtrack by Laryssa Okada (Manifold Garden OST), Pygoscelis and Only Sound is totally living up to game's intention and atmosphere. It is inspired by the warm and nostalgic memories of a childhood spent between city and countryside. These soothing and relaxing tracks created from a wide arrangement of different instruments and musical styles will take you on a peaceful but nonetheless dynamic journey through joyful soundscapes. Dorfromantik was developed by four students from the Berlin University of Applied Sciences (HTW Berlin): Luca Langenberg, Sandro Heuberger, Timo Falcke and Zwi Zausch. The full version of the video game was officially launched in April 2022. It is the winner of multiple prizes and received positive reviews throughout the press. The physical boardgame even won the acclaimed "Game of the Year" award in 2023. What a whirlwind of success! Time to sit down, relax and listen to the unmatched Dorfromantik soundtrack on beautiful, coloured vinyl.

Neck-snapping soul masterpiece from Freddie Scott, famously sampled by Biz Markie for his melancholic pop-rap hit "Just A Friend" and a surefire piano-driven basement party anthem in its own right.

The work of the legendary producers Gamble & Huff, the track was also sampled by Ghostface Killah for the wonderful "Save Me Dear" with Jay Dilla also utilising the crunching drums to lace many memorable productions for A Tribe Called Quest and Slum Village.

A peerless piece of deep soul and hip-hop history, here's your chance to own the first ever officially licensed reissue on 45.

On the flip, "Powerful Love" is uptempo guitar-soul with finger-popping swing. Featuring delicate horns and gorgeous backing vocals, it's an unfairly slept-on gem but, given the weight of the A-Side, this is perfectly understandable.

This special 7" single comes housed in a heavy duty custom printed full-colour company sleeve and is limited to just 500 copies.

Bugge Wesseltoft has long been a shaper of his own jazz idioms, through his diverse solo albums, his group projects such as New Conception of Jazz, OKWorld! and RYMDEN, and collaborations with artists such as Sidsel Endresen, Henning Kraggerud or Henrik Schwarz.

"Am Are" features special constellations of superb musicians that spans both generations and styles, and is an exploration of sonic textures, dynamic contrasts of mood and style, and ranges from sparse arrangements through to complex layers of dubs and loops and improvisational interplay.

The album begins with Bugge alone on "How?" with layers of undulating atmospheric synth, brought into focus by Bugge's piano at the forefront, creating a minimalist miniature that is both emotive and serene. For "Villrein" Bugge is joined by Elias Tafjord on drums, beginning with a santur-like synth figure, floating over ominous formant sci-fi bass synths bubbling and pulsing, and overlaid by phrenetic piano that only stops to lock into the santur figure before relaunching on its own journeys, all underpinned by Elias Tafjord's expressive drumming. "Is Anyone Listening?" demonstrate's Bugge's songcraft, layering muted percussive piano behind Rohey's distinctive and beautiful vocals punctuated by Martin Myhre Olsen's tenor saxophone, creating a soulful mood tinged with desperation.

"BAG" presents the first classic piano trio of the album - Bugge on piano and synths, Arild Andersen on bass, and Gard Nilssen on drums - announcing itself with an insistent riff, chattering drums, breaking into a progressive rock-style passage of bass and piano in unison. "Reel", the second track from this trio, is a mellow soundscape that evolves to become hazy urban downbeat jazz.

The second piano trio of Bugge (Rhodes and Korg MS20 synth), Sveinung Hovensjø (Electric Bass), and Jon Christensen (Drums and Bells) offers a completely different perspective. The first track "Render" features Bugge's Zawinul-esque Rhodes and monosynth leads, Sveinung's fuzz bass in something of a leading role, all carried with chattering gusto by Jon Christensen's dynamic drumming that brings texture and space as well as rhythm to the piece. "Vender" begins as an atmospheric piece, with reed organ-like synth washes, and octave-processed bass with a somewhat sitar-like tone, meandering until the track breaks down into drums and bass weaving around an insistent drum machine loop, dripping with synth pads and monosynth lead.

"JazzBasill" introduces the third piano trio - featuring Bugge (Piano), Jens Mikkel Madsen (Acoustic Bass) and Øyunn (Drums) - and offers a classic piano trio style with urban sophistication, that is lyrical, and interspersed with staccato cadences, giving a feeling of broken swing, slightly staggered yet driving forwards. The title track "AM ARE" is late night jazz, with baroque whispers, and distinctly melodic.

The final track, "Think Ahead" features the non-standard trio of Bugge (Piano/Organ), Oddrun Lilja (Guitar) and Sanskriti Shrestha (Tablas/Harp). Beginning with a minimalist piano figure, table, and sustained guitar, the track breaks down to a noise surge and ambient windscape, with guitar birds and abstract grinding, before returning to minimalist melodicism.

The shifting personnel across the album, as well as the three different studios in which it was recorded - Village Recording in Copenhagen, Rainbow Studios in Oslo, and his own Buggesroom Studio - creates a feeling of dynamic change and musical variety that is unified by Bugge's piano and keyboards. His playing moves between foreground, where he allows the music to elevate him, and background, where he move gently like a beneficent presence, tending to the demands of the spirit of the musical moments he has captured. It is an album powered by restless exploration and shaped by distinctive musical personalities; it is a journey through different moods, illuminated and brought into focus by Bugge's measured approach and guiding hand.

A once shocking 1962 LP of love songs…by men, for men. A long lost treasure featuring the cool & sophisticated vocals of Gene Howard and a cast of prime studio jazz musicians, performing a set of standards sung to a male suitor. Ahead of its time in every way. Decades ago, JD Doyle, renowned LGBT music historian and archivist, happened upon a copy of Love Is A Drag. Doyle would often play cuts from it on his radio show, Queer Music Heritage. He remained intrigued by the lack of either artist or producer credited on the album. A vague line of jacket text ambiguously announced, “For Adult Listeners Only - Sultry Stylings by a Most Unusual Vocalist.” And, the facts behind the album would have most likely remained unclear if it were not for one Murray Garrett Out of the blue, Murray Garrett contacted JD Doyle and wanted to talk about the album. According to Garrett, through his photography career, he had forged a friendship and partnership with prolific big band vocalist, Gene Howard. The two worked together on projects, eventually teaming with Jack Ames, founder of Edison International Records. When queried for ideas for a potential Edison International release, Garrett recalled a performance he had once seen in Greenwich Village - a performance of a man singing love songs to another man, in serious fashion, i.e., not at all campy or overly-dramatic. Gene Howard (straight and happily married!) agreed to sing on the record, accompanied by a who’s-who of Los Angeles A-list session men. Upon release, the record sold well in Hollywood, with Frank Sinatra, Liberace, and Bob Hope among its biggest advocates.

Auf seinem neuen Album präsentiert der britische Multiinstrumentalist und Grammy-Gewinner Kaidi Tatham eine zukunftsorientierte und abwechslungsreiche Mischung aus eklektisch-elektronischem Jazz, in der Genres und Grenzen mit intergalaktischer Energie überschritten werden. Der heute in Belfast lebende Tatham ist seit Jahrzehnten eine innovative Kraft der britischen Black Music. Von den Anfängen als Broken Beat-Pionier (Bugz In The Attic) bis zum heutigen Keyplayer für DJ Jazzy Jeffs PLAYlist-Projekt inspirierte er weltweit Künstlerkollegen von Madlib bis Gilles Peterson und arbeitete u.a. mit Amy Winehouse, Mulatu Astatke, Soul II Soul, Leroy Burgess, Nubya Garcia, Slum Village, The Herbaliser und Marcos Valle zusammen. Als Featuregast dabei ist der fantastische MC Uhmeer (Jazzy Jeffs Sohn).

Abstract Orchestra's composer, leader, arranger and producer Rob Mitchell has now added remixing to his already notable list of credits, in this case turning his hand to Abstract's MADVILLAIN project. Rob has worked with many artists during his busy career; The Haggis Horns, Rag 'n' Bone Man, Sharon Jones and the Dap–Kings, Brand New Heavies, and Slum Village, alongside many others but it was the orchestra's work he wanted to revisit. Seeing the pandemic as an opportunity to spend more time in the studio, Rob spent several months polishing his production skills before embarking on this remix project, he wanted to make sure he did it justice. Working under the moniker Ghostlife, a nod to the fabled anonymity of rapper MF DOOM, Rob has reworked the big band orchestration of Abstract, creating a beat led affair with greater dance floor appeal.

For Abstract Orchestra MADVILLAIN REMIXES, Ghostlife cherry picked ten tracks from Abstract's two-album project and plays with a higher BPM count within the hip hop aesthetic of the original. The tracks include "Raid", "Fancy Clown", "Curls", and "Figaro" and in this case Ghostlife has forgone the big arrangements Abstract is known for, rather he has coaxed out hooks and samples from their tracks and produced something he hope will appeal to a different crowd. There is dancefloor potential in "Eye","Accordian" and bass heavy "Borrowed Time" while the reworks of 'Fancy Clown" and "Curls" would fit well into any radio show.