A limited re-release of the very first single created by Virginia Soul Legend, Van Jones. Originally released in 1974, this release celebrates one of the most soulful, heartfelt recordings pressed onto a 7", the first step in Vans career defining his artistry & expression. The original release remains obscure due to the handful of copies known worldwide, now lovingly restored & released exclusively through Symphonical, in direct collaboration with Van Jones & Erwin Epps.
Patsy Cline (born Virginia Patterson Hensley; September 8, 1932 – March 5, 1963) was an American singer. She is considered one of the most influential vocalists of the 20th century and was one of the first country music artists to cross over into pop music. Cline had several major hits during her eight-year recording career, including two number-one hits on the Billboard Hot Country and Western Sides chart. Under the direction of producer Owen Bradley, her musical sound shifted and she achieved consistent success. The 1961 single "I Fall to Pieces" became her first to top the Billboard country chart. Her next single release "Crazy" would also become a major hit. During 1962 , Cline had hits with "She's Got You", "When I Get Thru with You" and "So Wrong". This Limited Edition comes on Solid White coloured vinyl.
Rock & Roll, indeed. Ruth Brown’s sizzling full-length debut — also known by its eponymous title — symbolizes what was exciting, fresh, invigorating, and raw about the burgeoning style in its halcyon days. Originally released in 1957, and reissued here in audiophile quality for the first time in partnership with Atlantic Records’ 75th anniversary, the set remains a testament to one of the most pioneering and talented vocalists to ever command a stage.
Mastered on Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab's renowned mastering system in California, pressed at RTI, housed in a Stoughton jacket, and strictly limited to 2,000 numbered copies, Mobile Fidelity’s 180g mono LP of Rock & Roll plays with an immediacy, vibrancy, and fullness that showcase the reach, power, and emotionalism of Brown’s voice. The sound of her support musicians — brassy horns, swinging rhythm combos, echoing backing vocalists, rollicking pianists, jaunty guitarists — is made clear and vivid, helping the upbeat fare to jump, juke, and jive with newfound energy and exuberance. In a related manner, Brown’s slower, more understated material crackles with an intimacy and passion that let you know you're in the presence of a woman who has lived what she sings. The longtime Rock and Roll Hall of Fame member deserves nothing less.
In an era dominated by big-throated vocalists, few — if any — came grander than Brown. The singer, whose repeat million-selling ‘50s success with Atlantic Records led many to call the then-indie label “The House That Ruth Built,” charted two dozen R&B hits in the span of a decade for the fledgling imprint. Rightly coined “Miss Rhythm,” the extroverted Brown put Atlantic on the national map, became the best-selling female musician of the ‘50s, and established a precedent that would ultimately lead to Grammy and Tony Awards. Her early works have lost none of their fire or flair.
Akin to many full-length LPs of its era, Rock & Roll doubles as a collection. Its 14 tracks comprise some of the more famous sides Brown recorded for Atlantic, beginning in 1949 with the all-time-great rendition of the ballad “So Long,” and continuing through 1956. After the song caught the public’s ear, the Virginia native briefly became known for her smoldering style with lovelorn material and torch songs, approaching them (see “Oh What a Dream,” “Old Man River”) with a combination of pained sadness and hardened resilience that had no contemporary equal. Encouraged to pursue the style by Atlantic Records co-founder Ahmt Ertegun, her R&B-driven material soon made her a constant chart presence.
Demonstrating what fellow legend Bonnie Raitt deemed “sex with class and dignity,” Brown merges blues and jazz, swing and gospel in electrifying fashion. She dares you not to move, dance, and get on your feet. A majority of Rock & Roll explodes with uptempo runs and jaunty readings of hot-blooded R&B numbers. Sweaty and sultry, bawdy and bold, Brown eclipses the anthemic blare of the saxophones and joyful clatter of the 88s, singing with a slight catch in her voice and hurricane-gale force that threatens to blow the roof off whatever room her voice occupies.
Evidence abounds. Listen to her prod the band and encourage the band members to blow a fuse on a sizzling “Hello Little Boy,” complete with cries and wails; stretch her phrasing to the heavens on the swaying “Wild Wild Young Men,” laden with romp-and-stomp beats; plead and persuade on the snaking “5-10-15 Hours,” which flips the script on the age’s notions of dominance; use her raspy tones, high notes, and breath control to mesmerizing effect on the smash “Mama He Treats Your Daughter Mean,” recorded with a group led by Ray Charles; survey the scene and take charge on the steaming “As Long as I’m Moving”; and tap a classy albeit flirtatious vein on “Lucky Lips,” which dented the pop charts as her first crossover hit.
Throughout Rock & Roll, Brown knows the lyrical connotations and spirited architecture of the songs inside-out. Her assertive voice — never harsh, strident, or false — is the epitome of the passionate desires and sonic strains that turned into nascent rock ’n’ roll. Brown played a pivotal role in helping the style develop, the record a timeless reminder of a lasting legacy that will never be forgotten.
In the sway of a rural breeze, Ian Hatcher-Williams' vocals soothe and enchant the listener on his self-titled debut album as Lamplight, which recounts his odyssey from a child raised in a Virginia cult, to a burned out tech worker in New York, and then back to Virginia, happily married to his childhood friend. Throughout the album, Hatcher-Williams explores identity as it relates to where a person is from and evolves with where they live, and how that facet of self is further compounded by the amount of agency one has over where they call home. Hatcher-Williams wrote and recorded what would become Lamplight, attempting to process and distill some of his experiences into songs. Though the album has moments that hint at the antique lace and creaking floorboards of traditional folk, Lamplight skews modern, in part thanks to Kevin Copeland's (Lightning Bug) deft production. Hatcher-Williams met Copeland while living in Brooklyn, and as they got to know each other, he revealed that he'd spent years playing in bands before his career took over his life. Copeland's encouragement, in tandem with the concurrent changes in Hatcher-Williams' career and domestic life, gave him the confidence to revisit this part of himself that felt unfinished.
Back in stock!
NULLPTR never fails. Since emerging in 2016 with the Optical LP, Eddie Symons' project has become a byword for top-draw contemporary electro productions. After triumphantly returning to Sheffield's Central Processing Unit with 2020's Future World full-length, NULLPTR follows that album up with a new quartet of machine-funk slammers. Striking a balance between highwire, twitchy rhythm programming and some deft textural work, the Terminus EP demonstrates exactly why the NULLPTR name is so respected in the world of electro.
The first half here almost showcases the two sides of the NULLPTR sound in microcosm. Opening track 'Connected' zips along like one of the racers from a Wip3out game. The 808s are all booming breakbeats and hissing-piston hats, with a jittery synth bassline nipping in and out of the spaces left vacant by the drums. Atop these swirl eerie keyboard pads, the reverb from them draping across the rest of the instruments like fog above a city. By contrast, following cut 'Mesospheric Cruise' is the yin to 'Connected's yang. Where its predecessor was tense and coiled, this lilting number is expansive and open like a primetime Virginia joint - though the point where the wistful house pads strip back to foreground the twinkle-toed electro beat still has a pleasing crunch to it.
The B-side of Terminus serves dystopian snap from the off. Genre masters Drexciya are invoked by 'Syndicate'. The needle-gun bassline here turns itself inside-out across these five minutes, and all the while the tune is laced with some evocative shadow-realm synth pads. A similar energy courses through the EP's closing title-track, a cut which also brings into play a booming four-to-the-flour that gives it an unstoppable sense of forward-motion. Like 'Connected' and 'Mesospheric Cruise' - indeed, like all of the NULLPTR material that Central Processing Unit has brought us down the years - these jams will sound positively devilish when deployed in a dark basement.
The Terminus EP sees electro don NULLPTR (Eddie Symons) deliver four slices of unadulterated machine-funk heat.
RIYL: Virginia, Cardopusher, Drexciya, Silicon Scally
In den letzten vier Jahrzehnten hat Béla Fleck immer wieder neue Wege beschritten, die noch kein Banjospieler zuvor gegangen ist - eine musikalische
Reise, die ihm 16 Grammys in neun verschiedenen Bereichen eingebracht hat, darunter Country, Pop, Jazz, Instrumentalmusik, Klassik und
Weltmusik.
Sein neuestes Projekt ist nicht anders und dennoch völlig originell, denn Fleck erweitert und erforscht George Gershwins Rhapsody in Blue, indem er
dem legendären Komponisten huldigt und gleichzeitig einen amerikanischen Klassiker pünktlich zu seinem hundertjährigen Jubiläum neu definiert.
Wie seine bahnbrechenden Projekte zuvor wurde auch Rhapsody in Blue durch Flecks Mischung aus Inspiration, Unerschrockenheit, Disziplin und
Respekt vor dem Ausgangsmaterial von einer bahnbrechenden Idee zum Erfolg geführt. In diesem Fall wurde der Samen in seiner Kindheit in New
York City gepflanzt, als er George Gershwins Rhapsody in Blue zum ersten Mal hörte. Seine Liebe zu diesem Stück wuchs im Laufe der Jahre, obwohl
er erst vor kurzem, während der Pandemie, mit der Bearbeitung der Musik begann.
Zufälligerweise fällt die Veröffentlichung des Albums am 12. Februar 2024 mit dem 100. Jahrestag der Uraufführung von Rhapsody in Blue zusammen.
Shades of Yesterday ist ein brandneues Cover-Album des zweifach Grammy-nominierten Produzenten, Musikers und Songwriters DJ Harrison.
DJ Harrison produzierte und spielte fast alle Instrumente auf dem Album selbst, was es zu einer sehr persönlichen Hommage macht.
Shades of Yesterday" besteht aus einigen von Harrisons Lieblingssongs, die seine Erinnerungen an seine Kindheit in Richmond, Virginia, und die Zeit, die er mit Musikern verbracht hat, widerspiegeln.
Candy Mountain welcomes Tracing Xircles for the second release on the brand-new studio label ran by Steffi and Virginia. Tracing Xircles is the collaborative venture between Blue Hour and A-JX known for their energetic original blend between Detroit Techno, UK Bass, and IDM.
With their First Contact EP on Candy Mountain they dive even deeper to define this unique sound with 4 beautiful driving abstract yet funky broken dance floor bangers. The EP comes with an amazing remix by UK legend dBridge.
Richmond, Virginia's twin titans of doom team up for the split album of the year with 'Reflection Of The Negative'. Cough deliver a typically electrifying one song down-tuned epic side, while Windhand serve up two brand new songs for their half of the dirge. This is premier doom at its absolute gloomiest.
An independent hip-hop fixture for more than 15 years, famed Los Angeles emcee Blu has mastered the lost art of the album, imbuing each new project with unique themes and often recruiting a single producer to craft a cohesive sonic experience. This has lead to full-length collaborations with the likes of Exile, Madlib, Shafiq Husayn, Oh No, Damu The Fudgemunk, and more, along with the 2018 classic Gods In The Spirit, Titans In The Flesh, produced by Virginia beatsmith Nottz. With major credits dating back to the late 1990s, Nottz is a production icon who has worked with Busta Rhymes, Snoop Dogg, 50 Cent, Scarface, The Game, Pusha T, Slaughterhouse, Ghostface Killah, Rapsody, Asher Roth, Little Brother, Talib Kweli, and many more. Now, Blu and Nottz are reuniting for the new album Afrika, a celebration of the rich history and culture of their ancestral homeland. With Swahili song titles and thunderous beats from Nottz, the collection finds Blu proudly embracing his roots, connecting black struggles in the U.S. to those of African peoples worldwide. "I hope this project inspires many others to speak on the father and home of humanity, Afrika,” Blu explains. This powerful message is reinforced by a legion of talented guests, as Afrika features appearances by Quelle Chris, Mickey Factz, Shad, Ill Camille, Scienze, Cashus King, and more.
Die 11 Tracks des fünften Albums von Michael Nau fügen sich zu einem schönen Bild zusammen. Die Texte regen den Hörer immer wieder zum Nachdenken an. Sie sind introspektiv, aber vage und ergebnisoffen. Der Indierock-Hintergrund zeigt Anzeichen von Psych-Soul-Einflüssen mit trockenen und druckvollen Drums, üppigen Synthesizer-Linien und einer geschmackvollen, verbgetränkten Vokalproduktion. Nau's Gesang bewegt sich irgendwo zwischen dem Singen vor Publikum, dem Erzählen von Geschichten für einen geliebten Menschen und dem Grübeln über sich selbst. Die entspannte Einstellung des Singer-Songwriters zum Plattenmachen ist im Sound zu hören. Aufgenommen von dem erfahrenen Produzent und Tontechniker Adrien Olsen (The Killers, Lucy Dacus, Fruit Bats) in seinem Studio Montrose Recording in Richmond, Virginia, mit Musikern, die im Laufe der Jahre schon bei Naus verschiedenen Aufnahmen und Tourneen mitgewirkt hatten.
Die 11 Tracks des fünften Albums von Michael Nau fügen sich zu einem schönen Bild zusammen. Die Texte regen den Hörer immer wieder zum Nachdenken an. Sie sind introspektiv, aber vage und ergebnisoffen. Der Indierock-Hintergrund zeigt Anzeichen von Psych-Soul-Einflüssen mit trockenen und druckvollen Drums, üppigen Synthesizer-Linien und einer geschmackvollen, verbgetränkten Vokalproduktion. Nau's Gesang bewegt sich irgendwo zwischen dem Singen vor Publikum, dem Erzählen von Geschichten für einen geliebten Menschen und dem Grübeln über sich selbst. Die entspannte Einstellung des Singer-Songwriters zum Plattenmachen ist im Sound zu hören. Aufgenommen von dem erfahrenen Produzent und Tontechniker Adrien Olsen (The Killers, Lucy Dacus, Fruit Bats) in seinem Studio Montrose Recording in Richmond, Virginia, mit Musikern, die im Laufe der Jahre schon bei Naus verschiedenen Aufnahmen und Tourneen mitgewirkt hatten.
PSYCHEDELIC WITCHCRAFT is fronted by an Italian doomstress named
Virginia Monti
The band was formed in March 2015, inspired by the imagery of Occult and
Witchcraft, psychedelic colors and emotions and the sounds and the pictures of
an almost lost era.
A Must for anyone into occult, stoner blues rock!
With a voice of pure gold and a startling sensitivity for heartfelt pop songwriting, on No Reino Dos Afetos (In the Realm of Affections), Berle firmly embraces earnestness, through starry-eyed Brazilian love songs, ambient vignettes, warm, home-cooked beats and gentle strokes of MPB genius.
Maceió, the capital of Brazil’s Alagoas state on its sprawling east-coast, is home to pastel coloured colonial houses, white sand beaches and a brilliant young composer, poet and multi-instrumentalist named Bruno Berle.
With a voice of pure gold and a startling sensitivity for heartfelt pop songwriting, on No Reino Dos Afetos (In the Realm of Affections), Berle firmly embraces earnestness, through starry-eyed Brazilian love songs, ambient vignettes, warm, home-cooked beats and gentle strokes of MPB genius.
“It’s an album that was built from my desire to find beauty”, Berle explains - his simple, graceful words mirroring the graceful simplicity in his music. But amongst the simplicity, the compositions, arrangements and productions on No Reino Dos Afetos tingle with nuance and detail.
On the contemporary R&B inspired lead single “Quero Dizer” - produced by Berle and longtime friend and collaborator Batata Boy - the swirling, lo-fi, kalimba and guitar-fronted beat is turned into a feel-good hit by the ingenuity of Berle’s honey-soaked vocal melody.
Powerfully intimate, “O Nome Do Meu Amor” (My Love’s Name) is a guaranteed tearjerker, with Berle’s stunning voice soaring over gently plucked acoustic guitar and the textural flutter of soft movement, as if we hear him writing the song in the moment.
Drawing upon a close-knit, collaborative scene of Maceió artists and musicians, (of which Berle and Batata Boy are vital members), Berle also recorded some of his friends songs on the album, including João Menezes’ “Até Meu Violao”, the album’s beautifully laid back sunshine soul opener, which has all the charm of early-70s João Donato.
Having cut his teeth in soft-rock group Troco em Bala, and more recently finding himself embedded in both Rio and Sao Paulo’s contemporary music scenes - collaborating with the likes of Ana Frango Eletrico, who took the photo for the album cover - No Reino Dos Afetos is as musically diverse as Bruno himself. It’s hazy indie rock (“É Preciso Ter Amor”), calming ambient and field recording (“Virginia Talk”) as well as Berle’s own take on West African High Life (“Som Nyame”).
Instantly recognisable as a truly special artist, Berle’s character fills every corner of the sound, which is unsurprising considering he played most of the instruments.
Sea Blue in Coke Bottle Clear Vinyl.
Because Hold, Jack Tatum's fifth album under the moniker Wild Nothing, was written in the aftermath of new parenthood during the pandemic, it was probably inevitable that it would be searching and existential music. But during the recording process, the artist known for synth-pop tastefulness used it as an opportunity to reach for a new sonic maximalism and wider set of influences. With contributions from longtime collaborator Jorge Elbrecht, Tommy Davidson of Beach Fossils and Hatchie's Harriette Pilbeam, first single "Headlights On" features an acid house-worthy bass groove and breakbeat that prove Tatum is playing for the rafters. Tatum produced the rest of the record on his own, partially out of necessity, due to the challenges of the pandemic. The songs were eventually brought to Adrian Olsen at Montrose Recording in Richmond to begin recording drums and filling in the gaps. While largely a product of isolation, Hold also reflects the things Tatum has learned from collaborators, both on previous records and during his acclaimed work with Japanese Breakfast and Molly Burch. The rest of the record was mixed by Geoff Swan, who listeners might know for his work with Caroline Polachek and Charli XCX. Swan put Tatum's vocals high in the mix, and throughout the album, he embraces playful vocal processing like never before. Tatum moved from Los Angeles back to his home state of Virginia about five years ago in search of a scaled-back lifestyle. The relatively suburban environment - and the occasional regret it inspired - proved to be great artistic fodder. It's the paradox of modern America - the suburbs are supposed to be stultifying to art, but they are so full of human desperation perfect for dramatizing. On "Suburban Solutions", he presents an anti-jingle with an acidly bright synthesizer melody, imploring you to sign on the dotted line, put your feet up, and embrace sweet oblivion. Adding to the song's menacing cheeriness is a chorus-sung bridge, made with assistance from Molly Burch and Tatum's wife, Dana, It was loosely inspired by the classic Martika song "Toy Soldiers" and the long-ago pop craze for children's choirs, and he embraces the trend's less-than-stellar reputation. By design, Hold dwells in uncertainty and fear, but in a package that encourages meditation and a bit of fun. "In the face of the pandemic, I think being a parent really forced my hand," Tatum said. "I felt that I had no other choice but to have a positive outlook on the world. Because if I were to give in at any moment and say, "Oh, everything is horrible," then I'll feel as if I've lost and I've given up on my son being able to thrive in this world."
Sea Blue in Coke Bottle Clear Vinyl LP + artist signed art print. Only 200 available.
Because Hold, Jack Tatum's fifth album under the moniker Wild Nothing, was written in the aftermath of new parenthood during the pandemic, it was probably inevitable that it would be searching and existential music. But during the recording process, the artist known for synth-pop tastefulness used it as an opportunity to reach for a new sonic maximalism and wider set of influences. With contributions from longtime collaborator Jorge Elbrecht, Tommy Davidson of Beach Fossils and Hatchie's Harriette Pilbeam, first single "Headlights On" features an acid house-worthy bass groove and breakbeat that prove Tatum is playing for the rafters. Tatum produced the rest of the record on his own, partially out of necessity, due to the challenges of the pandemic. The songs were eventually brought to Adrian Olsen at Montrose Recording in Richmond to begin recording drums and filling in the gaps. While largely a product of isolation, Hold also reflects the things Tatum has learned from collaborators, both on previous records and during his acclaimed work with Japanese Breakfast and Molly Burch. The rest of the record was mixed by Geoff Swan, who listeners might know for his work with Caroline Polachek and Charli XCX. Swan put Tatum's vocals high in the mix, and throughout the album, he embraces playful vocal processing like never before. Tatum moved from Los Angeles back to his home state of Virginia about five years ago in search of a scaled-back lifestyle. The relatively suburban environment - and the occasional regret it inspired - proved to be great artistic fodder. It's the paradox of modern America - the suburbs are supposed to be stultifying to art, but they are so full of human desperation perfect for dramatizing. On "Suburban Solutions", he presents an anti-jingle with an acidly bright synthesizer melody, imploring you to sign on the dotted line, put your feet up, and embrace sweet oblivion. Adding to the song's menacing cheeriness is a chorus-sung bridge, made with assistance from Molly Burch and Tatum's wife, Dana, It was loosely inspired by the classic Martika song "Toy Soldiers" and the long-ago pop craze for children's choirs, and he embraces the trend's less-than-stellar reputation. By design, Hold dwells in uncertainty and fear, but in a package that encourages meditation and a bit of fun. "In the face of the pandemic, I think being a parent really forced my hand," Tatum said. "I felt that I had no other choice but to have a positive outlook on the world. Because if I were to give in at any moment and say, "Oh, everything is horrible," then I'll feel as if I've lost and I've given up on my son being able to thrive in this world."
Das ist Killer-Crossover-Thrash-Metal, der mit großartiger Energie und Aggression dargeboten wird.
Die Platte beginnt mit einem einigermaßen perfekten Intro für diese Art von Album in Form von „The Executioner“, das heftig anfängt, dann an Geschwindigkeit zunimmt und von da an bis zum Ende von „The Mountain Wizard“ nie wirklich langsamer zu werden scheint.
„Waste 'em All“ ist das Debüt-Studioalbum der US-amerikanischen Crossover-Thrash-Metal-Band Municipal Waste. Municipal Waste wurden 2001 in Richmond, Virginia, gegründet die musikalisch in den 80ern beheimatet sind und zu den verrücktesten Bands zählten wie D.R.I., Nuclear Assault, Anthrax uva.
„Waste 'em All“ brachte sie auf die Landkarte, aber erst als sie ihr zweites Studioalbum „Hazardous Mutation (2005)“ über Earache Records veröffentlichten, kam die Sache wirklich ins Rollen.
Dreams are made and displaced on Mark Fell & Rian Treanor’s oneiric electro-acoustic inception 'Last Exit', borne from long days in the family garden, and assembled into a mesmerising masterpiece of minimalist modal rhythm and atmospheric exploration, into rapt smallsound detailing in breathtaking form. It’s a bit like listening to Virginia Astley’s ‘From Gardens Where We Feel Secure’, with washes of Autechre seeping into the mix from outside.
‘Last Exit…’ originally appeared in a different form as a cassette release for our Documenting Sound series in 2021, and was edited this year by Mark and Rian for this new expanded and altered edition, mastered by Rashad Becker. It renders a painterly,psychedelic, and diaristic depiction of sublime atmospheric tension, occasionally ruptured by their typical, asymmetric rhythm impulses in a form that rudely transcends their respective aesthetics. Across four parts, they kern, juxtapose and diffract synthesised percussion and field recordings into polymetric arrangements riddled with timbral nuance of a highly unpredictable nature.
While patently inflected with nods to Indonesian gamelan, Ugandan folk, Indian Carnatic classical, Morton Feldman-esque minimalism, free jazz improvisation and a sort of rhythmic cubism that speaks to their mutual, voracious listening habits and tastes, the results are arguably without direct compare. Attentive listeners will recognise, however, that ‘Last Exit’ effortlessly transcends their respective styles, achieving a new high watermark of imaginary future-hyperfolk expressed in a sort of personalised but highly relatable meta-musical language.
Seriously, they’re working beyond known conventions here; opening to a sublime frisson of Feldman-esque keys, birdsong and distant car engines, and closing to a combo of just-intoned drone and wafts of distant ballroom music. The 80 minutes in between feel like returning to a dream, with flashes of FM strings dabbed to sloshing rhythms and domestic detritus, tilting into a nervously tentative tension ruptured with abstract dance dynamism and angular free jazz ballistics.
The rejigged recordings also reflect the fidelity of memory recall, expressing an altered perspective on their time spent in the multigenerational family’s Rotherham garden during spring/summer 2020, replete with their mum/grandmother on piano and overheard singing and in convo, but now fraught with a more melancholic, distempered quality that makes for a genuinely unforgettable listening experience. A long-form isolationist fantasy, consider it crucial listening if yr into Robert Ashley's 'Automatic Writing', Graham Lambkin, Autechre or Nuno Canavarro.
Their approach to music beckons the voices of years gone by, clearly evoking inspiration from bluegrass icons like Bill Monroe, Jimmy Martin and the Stanley Brothers. Described as one of the busiest, hardest working, and most entertaining bands in bluegrass, The Kody Norris Show brings back to the stage, old school suiting swagger with their custom matching suits, harkening visual spectaculars like those who donned the legendary western wears of designers like Nudie and
Manuel. Their sophomore album with Rebel Records, titled 'Rhinestone Revival' has everything that their fans love from The Kody Norris Show...and more! The album boasts 12 hard driving traditional bluegrass tracks, upping the honky-tonkanty, with the addition of percussion to really achieve a proper toe tapping collection.
Merging doom, pychedelic sludge, grind, black metal and mighty mighty riffs to create a sound wholly their own, INTER ARMA deliver their Relapse debut Sky Burial, easily an early contender for heavy music record of the year. Emerging from the ever-fertile metal breeding grounds of Richmond, Virginia, INTER ARMA have spent the last few years touring relentlessly, perfecting a hypnotically punishing live show. Sky Burial brings that focus onto record, and what a record it is. Truly heavy in all senses of the word, Sky Burial is a spiritually intense journey through the halls of extreme metal. INTER ARMA have made a decisively loud proclamation with Sky Burial---this is a band that could very well be the next crown-holder in a regal line of iconic Relapse bands. Includes Digital Download
ANTI- Records is honored to share a never-before-heard album by Mark Linkous of Sparklehorse titled Bird Machine. Originally recorded in 2010 and mixed by Mark Hamilton (who also worked on It"s A Wonderful Life), Mark"s brother Matt notes "great care has been taken to archive and preserve Mark"s music.
We are very thankful for Mark and the beauty he brought to this world." Sparklehorse was an American indie rock band formed by singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Mark Linkous in the mid-1990s.
Born on September 9, 1962, in Arlington, Virginia, Linkous began playing music as a teenager. Described as an artist who "compelled listeners to heed the beauty of darkness" by Pitchfork, Sparklehorse released many influential records, including the renowned albumsn Vivadixiesubmarinetransmissionplot and Good Morning Spider in the "90s, It"s A Wonderful Life and Dreamt for Light Years in the Belly of a Mountain in the early aughts, and a collaborative album Dark Night of the Soul released in 2010.
Throughout his career Mark collaborated with thought provoking artists like Vic Chesnutt, Daniel Johnston, Tom Waits, Danger Mouse, and David Lynch.
While Mark recorded in various studios, collaborating with other musicians and producers, he did much of his work in his home studio, Static King, often playing and recording everything on his own. He was "very much kind of a working-class guy with a very poetic sensibility, who was drawn to artists like himself, who worked in isolation," said NPR Fresh Air"s Ken Tucker.
ANTI- Records is honored to share a never-before-heard album by Mark Linkous of Sparklehorse titled Bird Machine. Originally recorded in 2010 and mixed by Mark Hamilton (who also worked on It"s A Wonderful Life), Mark"s brother Matt notes "great care has been taken to archive and preserve Mark"s music.
We are very thankful for Mark and the beauty he brought to this world." Sparklehorse was an American indie rock band formed by singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Mark Linkous in the mid-1990s.
Born on September 9, 1962, in Arlington, Virginia, Linkous began playing music as a teenager. Described as an artist who "compelled listeners to heed the beauty of darkness" by Pitchfork, Sparklehorse released many influential records, including the renowned albumsn Vivadixiesubmarinetransmissionplot and Good Morning Spider in the "90s, It"s A Wonderful Life and Dreamt for Light Years in the Belly of a Mountain in the early aughts, and a collaborative album Dark Night of the Soul released in 2010.
Throughout his career Mark collaborated with thought provoking artists like Vic Chesnutt, Daniel Johnston, Tom Waits, Danger Mouse, and David Lynch.
While Mark recorded in various studios, collaborating with other musicians and producers, he did much of his work in his home studio, Static King, often playing and recording everything on his own. He was "very much kind of a working-class guy with a very poetic sensibility, who was drawn to artists like himself, who worked in isolation," said NPR Fresh Air"s Ken Tucker.
Available only n Germany!
ANTI- Records is honored to share a never-before-heard album by Mark Linkous of Sparklehorse titled Bird Machine. Originally recorded in 2010 and mixed by Mark Hamilton (who also worked on It"s A Wonderful Life), Mark"s brother Matt notes "great care has been taken to archive and preserve Mark"s music.
We are very thankful for Mark and the beauty he brought to this world." Sparklehorse was an American indie rock band formed by singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Mark Linkous in the mid-1990s.
Born on September 9, 1962, in Arlington, Virginia, Linkous began playing music as a teenager. Described as an artist who "compelled listeners to heed the beauty of darkness" by Pitchfork, Sparklehorse released many influential records, including the renowned albumsn Vivadixiesubmarinetransmissionplot and Good Morning Spider in the "90s, It"s A Wonderful Life and Dreamt for Light Years in the Belly of a Mountain in the early aughts, and a collaborative album Dark Night of the Soul released in 2010.
Throughout his career Mark collaborated with thought provoking artists like Vic Chesnutt, Daniel Johnston, Tom Waits, Danger Mouse, and David Lynch.
While Mark recorded in various studios, collaborating with other musicians and producers, he did much of his work in his home studio, Static King, often playing and recording everything on his own. He was "very much kind of a working-class guy with a very poetic sensibility, who was drawn to artists like himself, who worked in isolation," said NPR Fresh Air"s Ken Tucker.
2LP, erstmals auf Vinyl
Das achte Album der amerikanischen Singer-Songwriterin und das erste Album bei Epic Records wurde 2002 veröffentlicht. Es erzählt von der imaginären Reise Scarlets durch die USA.
Following his critically acclaimed debut studio album Frank, Fly Anakin
returns with new offering Skinemaxxx
Produced entirely by Foisey - fellow member of Richmond rap collective Mutant
Academy - with features from founding Mutant Academician Big Kahuna Og and
frequent collaborators Pink Siifu, ANKHLEJOHN and London- based vocalist
Demae.
"After dropping one of 2022's best rap albums, Fly Anakin goes two-for-two in his
Skinemaxxx campaign with another high voltage performance" - Okayplayer
The physical formats feature mind- boggling packaging design by Commission
Studio and illustrations by River Cousin. The vinyl includes a cutout TV screen
cover and pull out 2- channel lenticular that allows fans to reenact the channel
switch moment that inspired the project.
"Features dreamy production reminiscent of the golden era of hip- hop. Anakin
flows effortlessly over the beats, with a flow that's both aggressive and somehow
calming ... an exciting new album from one of the best rappers in the
underground." - HotNewHipHop
Fly Anakin is a rapper from Richmond, Virginia, described by Madlib as "one of the
illest MCs". He's previously collaborated with Freddie Gibbs and Redveiland is cofounder of the Richmond rap collective Mutant Academy.
Press support so far from HotNewHipHop, The FADER ('Song You Need'),
HYPEBEAST, Stereogum, Clash, Okayplayer, Consequence & Brooklyn Vegan.
UK radio highlights include Benji B on BBC Radio 1/ 1Xtra and Tom Ravenscroft &
Mary Anne Hobbs on BBC 6Music
Pink Siifu’s latest release, GUMBO!, is another sprawling Afrocentric vision from one of the boldest voices in contemporary rap. Following up on 2020’s NEGRO, the album’s songs are as rich and varied as its titular stew. Siifu’s boundless style makes for an unpredictable but rewarding ride across the album’s 18 tracks, as he explores the diverse sounds of his influences and breaks new ground with a unique class of co-stars.
Siifu, born Livingston Matthews and raised between Alabama and Cincinnati, has already notched a conspicuous list of collaborations in his burgeoning career, from legendary producer the Alchemist to Australian electronic group the Avalanches. Siifu also embodies various inspirations through a range of alter-egos, often producing under the moniker “iiye,” or as half of the duo B. Cool-Aid with Ahwlee, both of which appear on GUMBO!.
The variety of guest features and production on GUMBO! only elevates Siifu’s ability to push the boundaries of genre and song structure. “Voicemails Uptown” (produced by Soulection’s Monte Booker) is the second of two back-to-back posse cuts, sporting five plus vocalists each. “Lng hair dnt care,” the album’s first single, was produced by Ted Kamal, who first garnered attention for his outside-the-box edits of contemporary rap staples. And while several of the album’s tracks are well within his bag, the jazzy, drumless loop on “Fk U Mean/Hold Me Dwn” could’ve been a cut off of his collab album with Virginia rapper Fly Anakin, FlySiifu’s.
Though rife with standout tracks, GUMBO! is greater than the sum of its parts. Siifu’s ambitious range and impressive pool of features create an otherworldly listening experience. Overall, it reflects an intense desire for self-expression and creative growth, one which he shares with many of his influences. Like Outkast, Sun Ra, Baraka, or Bad Brains, his unique soundscapes re-imagine a genre without restrictions, breaking new ground in search of artistic and personal freedom.
Saxophonist Charles Lloyd ist musikalischer Freigeist und Jazz-Visionär, seit mehr als sechs Jahrzehnten
Unikum der internationalen Szene und mit 84 Jahren noch immer im Vollbesitz seiner kreativen Kräfte.
Mit „Trios: Chapel“ eröffnete Lloyd im Juli 2022 ein ungewöhnliches Trio-Projekt, das insgesamt drei
thematisch zusammenhängende Alben umfasst, die ihn jeweils in einer anderen Trio-Besetzung präsentieren - ein „Trio of Trios“. Das erste Album nahm er mit Gitarrist Bill Frisell und Bassist Thomas Morgan
auf, das jetzt erscheinende zweite, ”Trios: Ocean” mit Gitarrist Anthony Wilson und Pianist Gerald Clayton, und das dritte, „Trios: Sacred Thread“ (erscheint am 18. November), mit Gitarrist Julian Lage und
Schlagzeuger Zakir Hussain.
New album from West Virginia based singer-songwriter, William Matheny, set for release on Tyler Childers' Hickman Holler Records. While That Grand, Old Feeling is a document of Matheny’s own journey as a seeker, he hopes that the album can inspire anyone else out there searching for meaning in their own lives, whether they’re searching at a truck stop or in an album of old photographs.“I feel like I've just been trying to recapture that youthful excitement my entire life, trying to regain that clarity and that feeling of purpose,” he says. “And it comes and goes. I mostly seem to be looking for it at gas stations and rest areas and at gigs. But I think a lot of people are probably looking for it in a lot of places like that, too. Pilgrim to pilgrim, I hope you find it.”
Imperial f.f.r.r. was Unrest’s breakthrough album in 1992. It has withstood the test of time and is now considered an indie-rock classic and one of the best albums of the 1990s. Formed in 1984, at Wakefield High School in Arlington, Virginia, the band started releasing homemade cassettes on their own Teenbeat label. Imperial f.f.r.r. is their sixth album and marked the arrival of original Velocity Girl vocalist Bridget Cross joining drummer Phil Krauth and singer/guitarist Mark Robinson. It was recorded by Wharton Tiers (Sonic Youth) at his home studio in Manhattan. After the release of Imperial f.f.r.r., the band released singles on Sub Pop and K and soon thereafter signed to legendary U.K. indie 4AD, releasing their final studio album Perfect Teeth in 1993. This limited edition features the original design and layout of the very first pressing from 1992. All the details have been recreated including the lyric sheet, the blue box around the amplifier on the front, the label art, and even the Ajax and No.6 Records logos. The original didn't have a barcode, so we've created a spiffy new removeable OBI card for that featuring a photograph by Mike Galinsky (The Decline of Mall Civilization) of the band playing at New York's Spiral club in 1991.
Closing Time foreshadows the distinctly lyrical storytelling and original blending of jazz, blues, and folk styles that
would come to be associated with Waits. It is on this debut album that Waits performs enduring classics of his career
“Ol’ 55” (famously covered by the Eagles), the heartbreaking “Martha” and the gentle acoustic folk of “I Hope That I
Don’t Fall In Love With You”. Reissued for the first time as a double LP to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the
landmark debut with newly half speed mastering at Abbey Road Studios
Closing Time foreshadows the distinctly lyrical storytelling and original blending of jazz, blues, and folk styles that
would come to be associated with Waits. It is on this debut album that Waits performs enduring classics of his career
“Ol’ 55” (famously covered by the Eagles), the heartbreaking “Martha” and the gentle acoustic folk of “I Hope That I
Don’t Fall In Love With You”. Reissued for the first time as a double LP to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the
landmark debut with newly half speed mastering at Abbey Road Studios
• A globe spanning (France, Italy, Germany, USA, Belarus, Sweden, Russia, Australia, Canada) covers album of the late great Marc Bolan songs starting with the earliest cover in 1965 • Covering a huge range of genres and styles • A response to the U.S Hit album Angel Headed Hipster which opened up the songs of Bolan to a new American audience by using big names and TV advertising…this concentrates on quality recordings by lesser known artists • Presented in deluxe gatefold sleeve. • Reviews in Record Collector, Vive le rock R2, Shindig, Classic Rock.
Auf Tour mit Bands wie At The Gates, Obituary und Municipal Waste sowie auf europäischen Festivals wie dem britischen Bloodstock haben ENFORCED aus Richmond, Virginia, mit 'War Remains' ihren Platz als Fackelträger des Crossover-Thrash eingenommen. Abgemischt von Arthur Rizk (Power Trip, Kreator) ist 'War Remains' ein absoluter Klassiker mit Riffs, die es mit Slayer in ihren wütendsten Momenten aufnehmen können, und Thrash-Hymnen wie 'Nation In Fear', die ENFORCEDs Platz in den Annalen der metallischen Hardcore-Geschichte festigen werden.'War Remains' ist als Standard CD Jewelcase, schwarze 180g LP und digitales Album erhältlich.
Gold Vinyl
Lael Neale still has a flip phone and there were no screens involved in the creation of her new record Star Eaters Delight. The album is her second for Sub Pop and reveals an expansion of her sonic collaboration with producer and accompanist Guy Blakeslee. In April of 2020, in the wake of transformations both personal and global, Lael moved from Los Angeles back to her family's farm in rural Virginia. Looking at the world from a distance and getting in tune with her own rhythms, she wrote and recorded steadily for two dreamlike years, driven by a need to make order out of chaos. Forged in isolation, Star Eaters Delight is a vehicle for returning, not just to civilization, but to celebration. She says, "Acquainted with Night (recorded in 2019, and released in 2021), was focused inward, amidst the loud and bright Los Angeles surrounding me. It was an attempt to create spaciousness and quiet reverie within. When I moved back to the farm, I found that the unbroken silences compelled me to break them with sound. This album is more external. It is me reaching back out to the world, wanting to feel connected, to wake up, to come together again." Album opener and lead single "I Am The River" melts the ice with a dynamic explosion of minimalist transcendental pop clearly descended from the Velvet Underground's branch of modern music's family tree. Blakeslee's spare yet cinematic arrangements create an ambient space in which Neale's clear and unaffected voice can explore familiar themes in an unexpected way. Subtle but potent references to Shakespeare, Emerson and the Bible (which she hasn't read) swirl together with deeply personal musings and touches of wry humor, always more optimistic than cynical. While this is a record about polarities- country vs. city, humanity vs. technology, solitude vs. relationship - the deeper intention is to heal; to come to terms with our differences and put the broken pieces back together again. Lael's affinity with the Transcendentalists has to do with her quest to hold onto sovereignty over her own mind. In a time when our devices are constantly flooding us with information, opinions and propaganda, Lael is intentional about what she takes in - hence the flip phone and the cassette recorder. Neale identifies as a minimalist "not because I don't like things, but because I value freedom more."
Tape
Lael Neale still has a flip phone and there were no screens involved in the creation of her new record Star Eaters Delight. The album is her second for Sub Pop and reveals an expansion of her sonic collaboration with producer and accompanist Guy Blakeslee. In April of 2020, in the wake of transformations both personal and global, Lael moved from Los Angeles back to her family's farm in rural Virginia. Looking at the world from a distance and getting in tune with her own rhythms, she wrote and recorded steadily for two dreamlike years, driven by a need to make order out of chaos. Forged in isolation, Star Eaters Delight is a vehicle for returning, not just to civilization, but to celebration. She says, "Acquainted with Night (recorded in 2019, and released in 2021), was focused inward, amidst the loud and bright Los Angeles surrounding me. It was an attempt to create spaciousness and quiet reverie within. When I moved back to the farm, I found that the unbroken silences compelled me to break them with sound. This album is more external. It is me reaching back out to the world, wanting to feel connected, to wake up, to come together again." Album opener and lead single "I Am The River" melts the ice with a dynamic explosion of minimalist transcendental pop clearly descended from the Velvet Underground's branch of modern music's family tree. Blakeslee's spare yet cinematic arrangements create an ambient space in which Neale's clear and unaffected voice can explore familiar themes in an unexpected way. Subtle but potent references to Shakespeare, Emerson and the Bible (which she hasn't read) swirl together with deeply personal musings and touches of wry humor, always more optimistic than cynical. While this is a record about polarities- country vs. city, humanity vs. technology, solitude vs. relationship - the deeper intention is to heal; to come to terms with our differences and put the broken pieces back together again. Lael's affinity with the Transcendentalists has to do with her quest to hold onto sovereignty over her own mind. In a time when our devices are constantly flooding us with information, opinions and propaganda, Lael is intentional about what she takes in - hence the flip phone and the cassette recorder. Neale identifies as a minimalist "not because I don't like things, but because I value freedom more."
Plunge deeper into the deranged world of PORTRAYAL OF GUILT with DEVIL MUSIC, the latest EP from the Austin- based trio. In the wake of releasing two full-length records in 2021 - We Are Always Alone and CHRISTFUCKER - they followed up 2022 with a year of relentless touring. In the middle of their frantic schedule, the band took time to craft the five new songs that would make up Devil Music with Viva Studios’ Matt Michel (Majority Rule) in Virginia. They then took their creative vision to the next level with Ben Greenberg (Uniform), by tracking alternate versions of each song with orchestral arrangements in place of the three piece’s standard instrumentation.
Dear Friends, it's 2023 and the future of Leftfield Bass, Trap, and Hybrid Grime is here... RATIONAL SOUL's debut EP, "SELF TITLED", is going to define a new era on the dance floor, reimagining 140 beats that typically are stereotyped into narrow catagories. "SELF TITLED" will become the worldwide definition of a style never heard before, sought after and inevitably copycatted by those inspired.
With no surprise, 2023 is set off to a paramount start for the German SATURATE! label, with an EP that “is the future of Leftfield Bass, Trap, and Hybrid Grime” and “it’s going to define a new era on the dance floor, reimagining 140 beats that typically are stereotyped into narrow categories.” The mastermind behind such a project, called SELF TITLED, is RATIONAL SOUL a Virginia-based, veteran electronic music producer. The EP is coming out in full on January 13, digitally and on vinyl, and it features six originals and four remixes. What sounds like a disorienting emptiness at the beginning, makes perfect sense when read as part of the overall narrative of the composition. “One moment you’re living happy-go-lucky, almost like it’s the script of a Disney movie, the next moment you’re questioning why you exist- how is it you’ve become a slave to the 9 to 5? Phone by your side as digital anti-anxiety medication, entertaining yourself with something nostalgic to remind yourself of better times…war against yourself, to reset your identity.” The fight against this subconscious condition was RATIONAL SOUL’s starting point while writing SELF TITLED. The artist’s attempt to light a lighter to ignite a spark in our consciousness and thus reveal the void in which we are immersed. “Wake up” he seems to want to tell us. Don’t be a pawn, be a player of your life. Let’s riot against this status quo and, quoting RATIONAL SOUL himself, “Let’s be gangsta and fuck shit up because we are mad at why our world is falling apart: twerk on a cop car with a fine cigar in your mouth type beat.” He then concludes by spilling one, big truth, “what better genre of music could describe these feelings than bass music?” How could we not agree?
Ground Groove, the third full-length release from the LA-based, Iranian-American producer and DJ, Maral, begins with an invocation: the sprawling, achingly heavy Feedback Jam opens the floodgates of history. Conventional (linear) spacetime collapses, crushed beneath the track’s lumbering 4/4 heartbeat and successive waves of distortion. As each wave recedes, samples trickle forward in the mix — seeking, perhaps, to fill the void. Voices and instruments rise and fall in uncanny reverse. Overlapping, implied melodies flicker into focus, then flit away. Feedback Jam is at once an initiation ritual, and a thesis statement for the record that follows.
Drawing upon a vast personal archive of Iranian folk, classical, and pop recordings (some sourced from mixtapes made by her parents in the eighties/nineties), Maral presents, on Ground Groove, a further refinement of the signature “folk club” sound she developed as a live DJ— a sound she would later codify on Mahur Club (2019) and Push (2020). By collecting, dissecting, and re/presenting sonic fragments from Iran, Maral practices a kind of dance-floor ethnomusicology. The subject of her inquiry: Iranian
culture and contexts, throughout history and in the present. But, crucially, this inquiry is instantiated within and throughout the body of the listener, whether this listener is dancing in the club, or riding the train, nodding along with headphones on.
Maral speaks of being in collaboration with her samples, treating each as a distinct bandmate, often consulting with an artist’s catalog (or even a single recording) as one would a trusted creative partner. In so-doing, Maral claims to seek to transcend the self. In this regard, her output neatly triangulates contemporary dance and heavy music with much of the traditional religious music that she samples. Broadly speaking, each of these idioms addresses a desire —shared by audience and performer alike—to transcend the self through volume, repetition, and movement.
Having, in her youth, studied the Setar under Nader Majd (the founder of Virginia’s Center for Persian Classical Music), Maral cycled through various genres (ex: punk, emo, dub) in her adolescence and early twenties, all the while expanding her knowledge of, and appreciation for, Iran’s diverse musical traditions during regular summer trips to Tehran. In college, Maral taught herself to make beats with a ripped copy of Ableton (which remains her DAW of choice), eventually transitioning to playing and hosting various club nights. Forever abiding by an autodidactic, DIY impulse to create art and foster community, Maral relocated to Los Angeles in 2013, where she quickly immersed herself in the city’s numerous overlapping music scenes.
Collaboration (beyond sampling) has proven an important component of her process, with notable spoken word contributions from the likes of Lee Scratch Perry and Penny Rimbaud, as well as a 2021 Panda Bear collab track (On Your Way), which the Animal Collective founder co-produced. Maral is equally attentive to the visual components of her records (album art, music videos, etc.), drawing upon the work of peers and friends for inspiration.
Indeed, the genesis of Ground Groove can be traced back to an audio-visual collaboration between Maral and the artist Brenna Murphy, originally commissioned for the 2021 Rewire Festival — a project that would eventually serve as the album’s foundation. Tracks eight through eleven on Ground Groove comprise Maral’s half of this installation, with tracks one through seven composed afterwards, inspired by the fruits of Maral and Murphy’s collaboration. Murphy’s visuals will be released alongside Ground Groove as a visual accompaniment. Additionally, Murphy designed the album’s art, directed the video for the lead single (the aforementioned Feedback Jam), and is featured on track six, Shy Night.
Composed largely on Ableton, Ground Groove features more frequent and more prominent live recordings from Maral (guitar, bass, and vocals) than either Push or Mahar Club. The cult favorite Roland MC-909 groovebox rears its head on Mari’s Groove. Mixed by Trayer Tryon (Hundred Waters) and mastered by Daddy Kev, the attention to sonic quality on Ground Groove constitutes another significant step in Maral’s development as a studio artist.
Ground Groove’s eleven tracks are “grooves” in the obvious sense, in that they are each driven by a persistent, propulsive rhythm, but the album’s title may just as well suggest the glacial passage of time—the scope of human history, in which individual voices, like streams, carve paths (impossibly) through earth and stone, winding their way to the vast sea of the present.
