Released in 1981 and seamlessly blending passion, sleaze and synths, this was the stunning debut album by the influential duo Soft Cell. The album's critical and commercial success was helped by the worldwide success of its lead single single 'Tainted Love', a cover version of a soul song by Gloria Jones, which topped charts worldwide. The album produced two more wonderful top five singles in the UK in the shape of 'Bedsitter' and 'Say Hello, Wave Goodbye'. Meanwhile the infamous 'Sex Dwarf' caused something of a national furore. Bravo, Soft Cell! 180g, Back To Black vinyl with an MP3 Download voucher.
• BGP’s contribution to Ace’s 45th Anniversary are these two perfect examples of modal jazz in their super-rare 7-inch versions, both fine examples of the genius of saxophone great Yusef Lateef.
• First up is his incredible arrangement of Alex North’s ‘Love Theme From Spartacus’. Released on his “Eastern Sounds” album, it has long been a favourite of collectors and DJs. The rare 7-inch edit is incredibly expensive to buy on original release and is reissued here for the first time.
• Equally difficult to track down is the studio version of Lateef’s ‘Brother John’, which he recorded whilst he was a member of the Cannonball Adderley Quintet and which was only released as the B-side of the single ‘Tengo Tango’. Lateef’s own version from his live LP for Impulse is a jazz dance classic; this version is an under-appreciated gem.
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Frans Zwartjes is famous for his art-house films (look him up on YouTube). A Dutch underground auteur, his prolific output dates from 1968. A unique talent, Zwartjes produced, directed and edited his own films (his last work was in 1991), but more importantly he created and improvised the soundtracks too. Zwartjes and his large body of work is only now being recognised by a wider, more international crowd, with screenings at the NFT and other important art-house cinemas across the world. The recordings on Tapes 2 were mixed directly from the Zwartjes soundtrack tape archive. They were assembled directly and in real time by Zwartjes archivist Stanley Schtinter and have never been issued before.
The music and sound have been put together as two long, seamless sequences; they are dreamlike, unsettling, peculiar, plugged-in, prescient and unlike any other soundtrack we have heard.
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ANRMAL ist Juana Molinas erstes Livealbum auf ihrem langen Karriereweg. Es wurde beim NRMAL Festival in Mexiko aufgenommen, kurz bevor die Welt im März zum Stillstand kam, und ist ein Zeitzeugnis, wie die Welt "vorher" einmal war. Durch das kraftvolle Set zieht sich ein so mitreißender Punkrock-Vibe, dass er uns auf bessere Zeiten hoffen lässt. Als Juana Molina vor mehr als zwei Dekaden als Musikerin startete, waren ihre Kompositionen eher reflektiert und auf das Wesentliche reduziert. Zumeist spielte sie Solokonzerte mit ihrer Gitarre, einem Keyboard und Effektgeräten. Über die Jahre wurden ihre Konzerte immer wilder und ihre Platten immer intensiver und extrovertierter, was bei den Tourneen zu ihren letzten Alben zu erleben war. Auf dem am 23.10.2020 erscheinenden ANRML wird Juana Molina von ihren Bandkollegen Odin Schwartz am Bass und Pablo González am Schlagzeug begleitet, die eine Extraportion Energie zum Auftritt beitragen. Das Set enthält Stücke aus Juanas letzten Alben Halo, Wed 21 sowie der Wiederveröffentlichung Un día und der EP "Forfun", alle erschienen bei Crammed Discs. Gemischt wurde das Album von Juana Molinas Toningenieur Marcelo Coca Monte.
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We are back on wax again with a very special release. It means a great pleasure for us to have one of the pivotal figures of the Madrid underground techno scene on board, Herr Unkle Fon.
Some years ago, Madrid clubscene was formed by conventional clubs in conventional locations with conventional opening and closing times and usually, conventional programming. Manuel Cano then founded Utopía Secret Society and things changed forever for the city’s underground nightlife.
Now as you may have noticed there is no club scene at all, neither conventional nor illegal, sign of the times.
Musically speaking, Manuel started as a guitarist and soon evolved into studio engineer, label owner, club promoter, record shop owner (Ater Cosmo), social agitator… and adventurous character that reflects in his productions all his knowledge of the dancefloor.
Jisatsu is a slow paced broken beat surrounded with smooth textures, soon joined by a repetitive synth line that adds the hypnotic component.
Genroku Ako follows with a cosmic approach, continuous percussive and synthetic lines run together on a fast BPM exercise obsessive, linear and mental.
On the flip side, 47 Ronin uses dreamy stabs over a relentless groove mixing liquidity with tension.
Closing the release Shuppatsu is an almost beatless exercise, just with 909 rimshots, toms and snares spiced with ethereal components
A timeless futuristic release that can wait on your record bag until things go in better directions.
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Only 21 years of age when this was recorded, Olafur hails from the suburban Icelandic town, Mosfellsb?r, just a few kilometres outside Reykjav?k. He as immersed himself completely in the world of delicate symphonic compositions in a near weightless orchestral undertaking. Mixing strings and piano with loops, ambiance, electronics and beats, his music fits into the Erased Tapes catalogue like a piece of a jigsaw puzzle. Debut album 'Eulogy for Evolution' took the listener on a journey, representing different periods in life, from birth to death. The first pressing of the follow-up EP 'Variations of Static' sold out on his winter tour already and will now be available in stores. While keeping the classical foundations of his debut album, here Arnalds incorporates crackling electronics and the dead voice of a machine; like vague memories of tradition lost within the digital age we all live in. It comes with a voucher for a free digital copy of the 'Erased Tapes Collection I' compilation to celebrate the label's 1st anniversary. The 10" is a super limited clear vinyl issue, we are getting 100 copies only.
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Re-mastering by: Ray Staff at Air Mastering, Lyndhurst Hall, London
Originally released by Theresa in 1981, this frequently exquisite set features the McCoy Tyner-inspired piano of Joe Bonner on four originals, Cal Massey's "Quiet Dawn," and "Lush Life." Bonner and a rhythm section are joined by a string quartet, trumpet, trombone, and flutist Holly Hofmann (the leader provided the arrangements) for music that is both lyrical and often passionate. Bonner is an underrated talent, and this is one of his finest recordings. by Scott Yanow
Bonner is only the second-most famous pianist born in Rocky Mount, N.C., behind Thelonious Monk. It’s indicative of Bonner’s lack of fame and appreciation that Monk is listed as a notable resident on Rocky Mount’s Wikipedia page, but Bonner is not.
But the pianist Bonner was most often compared to was not Monk but McCoy Tyner. Scott Yanow’s allmusic review of Impressions of Copenhagen said Bonner’s piano playing was “McCoy Tyner-inspired.” Bonner’s admittedly biased drummer, Tom Tilton, even felt Bonner surpassed Tyner. “Joe Bonner has all the power of McCoy, he has all the capability of McCoy, but he’s so much more romantic,” Tilton said, according to westword “I mean, I’ve been there time after time where there were tears running down people’s faces when he would play a ballad. He could captivate a room like nobody I’ve ever experienced before.”
Bonner did most of his playing over the last two decades in Denver, where he was beloved and appreciated. Even Gov. John Hickenlooper was a Bonner fan. “He was without question, the most talented piano player I’ve ever heard,” the governor told the website heyreverb in a remembrance of Bonner. “… I want people to know that I loved Joe Bonner.”
"Who is this guy? Who is this insane fucking guy? A guy who produced Trap tracks on his last EP and is now paying homage to Neue Deutsche Welle, as if he has never done anything else before and in a way that we never want to hear anything else ever again? To whom the crowds are devoted to in Paris, a guy who sleeps naked in the woods in the middle of Germany, who sings of the shimmering
girls („Schimmerndes Mädchen") and who doesn’t only embrace sadness but takes it to the club and goes wild with it?
I am telling you: It’s the guy who we desperately need right now: He is making music for, as he is putting it „young hipsters with Apple AirPods who wear big white sneakers but also for the 40 year old Goths who are still listening to El Deux“. He is making music for you, you and for you, too. He makes music for German Schlager fans, for the raver descending into the endless night and for next Sunday afternoon’s come down.
Luis Ake is the guy, and he is from Stuttgart of all places, where Germany basically invented its Germanness. And he is releasing this album that's as cold as the winter in which he recorded it. Of course „Bitte Lass Mich Frei“ was born in winter, in a backyard without heating – how could it be any different? Who needs? heating when your heart is broken, shattered even? Yes, the album was written
after a breakup. Obviously it was. And so it describes all forms of that special kind of insanity that comes with a broken heart: Loneliness, shallow sex, blame, longing, all of that, and more.
Vinyl tastes better ...
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The Mighty Jah Stitch was a legend in Jamaica, making the move as so many ghetto youth’s have tried from Bad Man to Music Man. Jah Stitch embraced the DJ Culture that he himself was an integral part of.
He put not one but two musical stamps on the format. His initial Big Youth sounding chants grew from working alongside the man on the mic. The second almost spoken vibe came about after a well documented incident that led to him being shot .He lived to tell the tale and cut some of the finest Roots DJ cuts, with his new vocal style that many copied but few have surpassed.
We have selected some of his best known tracks to show the knack of working a killer rhythm and dubbed vocal with an almost call and response story telling style.
The opening and title track to this set ‘Dread Inna Jamdown’ sees him working over John Holt’s ‘In The Springtime’.
The second cut ‘Dem Seek Natty Everywhere’ works another John Holt classic ‘Forgot to Say I Love You’.
After some hits in the 1970’s, the 1980’s would see a short name change to Major Stitch.
But we feel that his best loved monicker Jah Stitch serves the man well.
So sit back and enjoy some fine DJ Cuts
No Dread Can’t Dead…Jah Stitch R.I.P
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John Prine’s self-titled debut album continues to sound as fresh as it did back in 1971, with Rolling Stone ranking it amongst its 500 greatest albums of all time. It includes some of Prine’s finest works such as “Sam Stone,” “Paradise,” and the famous “Angel From Montgomery.” After initially being spotted by famed singer-songwriter Kris Kristofferson, John Prine’s debut album earned him a number of admirers, including the likes of Bob Dylan. Tracks such as “Paradise” resonated with many, quickly becoming a bluegrass standard. Originally written by John for his father, the track has since been covered by a number of artists such as Johnny Cash and The Everly Brothers.
John Prine, who passed away in April, was one of the most celebrated singer/songwriters of his generation and recipient of the 2020 Grammy® Lifetime Achievement Award. Considered a true folk-singer, Prine was known for his raspy voice and equally admired for his unique songwriting ability. His career spanned over five decades, during which he created witty and sincere country-folk music that drew from his Midwestern American roots and incorporated sounds from rockabilly, R&B and rock 'n' roll.
In addition to earning the Lifetime Achievement Award this year, Prine also won Grammy® Awards for The Missing Years (1991) and Fair and Square (2005). His songs have been recorded by a long list of well-respected artists, including Joan Baez, Johnny Cash, Bonnie Raitt, Kris Kristofferson, Carly Simon, George Strait, Norah Jones, John Denver, Miranda Lambert, The Everly Brothers, Bette Midler, Paul Westerberg, Tammy Wynette and Dwight Yoakam.
This mini LP is an explicit message from Lustpoderosa's sonic continuum. These 7 tracks show the deep connection of Marlene Starks' work as a writer and an artist to her role as mother and DJ in times when there is an urgent need to dismantle the patriarchy in our society and rave culture.
Marlene Stark is telling us much more than a great musical story with the symbolic title "Hyäne". Marlene wants to direct our attention to a reviled creature while she reflects on its literary and symbolic meanings. Although hyenas live in a matriarchal society, its transmutation can be perceived as the ongoing struggle of the non-male body in an androcentric world view.
Marlene Starks reinterprets the figure of the hyena in a very poetic, self-ironical and honest way, as shown in the tracks 'Hungry As a Hunter', 'Hyäne' and 'Language Of Old Woman'. It's a neo-ceremonial call to rethink established structures without missing out the turbulent landscape of today's politics.
From early trip-hop to post-rave elements, Stark combines her sonic adventures with an impressively nonchalant and colloquial vocabulary. Her voice, as well as the voice of guest singer Stefanie Mader, achieves a remarkable vocal structure that goes beyond the mainstream.
This is the contemporary body music for the next generation.
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Nadia Khan returns on Scissor and Thread for another sublime mini LP, Port Ana. Based in North Carolina, Khan first drew a lot of attention via a cassette release on Where To Now? Records in 2015.
Her sophomore statement was the beautiful In Gleam released in 2018 on Francis Harris’ Brooklyn-based label, which set the tone for these five tracks of meditative music. The title track Port Ana opens the journey - a gentle, droning soundscape with effortlessly bewitching glints of melody. Conversation follows on, drawing on loops and textures to create the background for a deep, pulsing kick drum. The sounds shift and evolve, leaving a hazy sense of movement to drift away to. Next up is Objects In Form which presents a fragile chord progression that barely holds itself together, surrounded by shifting pads and swathes of reverb. Rain Again is presented here in two versions. The original combines ethereal sounds, weightless and adrift, while the Lawrence remix firmly grounds the track with a hypnotic, deep groove. The Dial boss provides another remix for the digital release that further plays with the textures of the original to create something that works both for an open minded dancefloor and as a home listening experience.
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The 4th release on Sofia by KiNK is all about warmth. The harmonies are deep, the instruments are muffled, the rhythms are humanised. Even when some of the tracks are getting a bit aggressive, they are not hurting, but giving the right amount of energy and surprise. This record is built from some of the live streams Strahil was doing during the pandemic lockdown in April. "101 Reasons" is a track with disco epic-ness and techno attitude. It captures KiNK's dream of being on the sweaty floor again, surrounded by dancers, one big family, like it used to be. "Dreamer" is low key house music, with melodies, leaking between the notes and the rhythms are somehow derailing, but instead of chaos, you get that dreamy feeling like if you watch a ribbon in the sky. The phenomenal Dutch artist Frits Wentink delivers a tighter version of the track with his unique swing on the drums and extra chords, which uplift the track with new energy. The closing song "Set The Mood Right" is recorded with his usual collaborator Rachel Row on the vocals. It's a very relaxed downtempo track, which takes an unexpected turn and it's a perfect open end for the record. A warm record for the cold days.
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Spandau Ballet signed their first recording contract on bassist Martin Kemp’s 18th birthday. As soon as they had finished, they headed straight to Utopia Studios in Primrose Hill to cut their debut single ‘To Cut A Long Story Short’. Within a month the single had been released and two weeks later the band were on Top Of The Pops. The song is now acknowledged as the very first New Romantic single, a sound and movement that changed the world.
27th November sees a reissue of the 12” single in its original die cut sleeve on 180g vinyl featuring the ground breaking extended and dub mixes of the track by the visionary producer Richard James Burgess, the practice of which was unheard of at the time. The impact of the 12” was felt on the dance floors of the world, the track was an instant club hit ushering in a new sound for a new decade.
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Norman Connors was a 'go to' producer in the 70s and 80s for soul and jazz while recording an impressive array of solo albums. His first instrument is drums, and across his recordings were the introduction of singers who went on to have their own indivisual careers. Besides people like Jean Carn and Phyllis Hyman were Adaritha (who recorded as Ada Dyer) and Al Johnson who recorded solo albums after appearing here with Norman Connors on records not previously issued on 7' singles. Both songs here are interpretations, Be There In The Morning' composed and also released by Australian artist Renee Geyer, while I Don't Need Nobody Else' was composed by Lou Courtney. These are stunning renditions and dancefloor killers, only previously being album tracks.
Gondwana Records are delighted to announce parts 3 and 4 of the '7" Series', our first ever 7" vinyl collection series. Featuring bespoke artwork from Gondwana Records designer Daniel Halsall, cut at Calyx in Berlin, and manufactured at Optimal, each 7" is limited to strictly 300 copies and housed in a reverse board printed sleeve with classic 'dinked' centre holes.
The return of Portico Quartet was one of the musical stories of 2017 and Endless was one of the tunes of the year. It's one of the band's biggest tunes and on the flip here is the ethereal groover Undercurrent.
Side A Endless A catchy earworm, with a hypnotic groove that announced the band's return to their signature sound and marked their first new music in five years
Side B Undercurrentcut at the same session, and making it's vinyl debut after previously only being available as a Japanese bonus track.
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Brand new studio album! Featuring Captain Sensible and Paul Gray from The Damned, with Johnny Moped drummer Marty Love! Who, what and why are The Sensible Gray Cells? Captain: "Paul Gray and myself being garage psych aficionados would prefer to hear more of this kind of music and this is our contribution to the cause. If I said that some of the songs were 'Damned rejects' that shouldn't be seen as an indication of inferior songwriting.. more that they're not wearing the right shirt." A Postcard From Britain came out in 2013. What have you been up to since then? Captain: "I've never been a prolific writer.. being a lazy so and so I think it's best to wait for inspiration to call.. which explains the 7 year gap..( how many albums could the Beatles have crammed in that period!) but in the meantime PG rejoined the Damned and we've gigged about a bit, which is always fun - CAN WE HAVE GIGS BACK AGAIN PLEASE!" A Postcard From Britain was a snapshot of modern life. Does the new album cover similar themes or have you taken a new direction? Captain: "It's sad that high streets around the world have been destroyed by online shopping but nobody's forcing people to do it.. but what can you do. These are very strange times were living though - I just count myself lucky to have been around to witness the 2nd half of the 20th century.. a fab time for music, culture, ideas.. and that without even mentioning Benny Hill and On The Buses. The new album coincides with all this virus malarkey.. which, unpleasant as it is will undoubtedly be used by the powers that be to tighten the screws on us little people on behalf of their billionaire paymasters. Blah blah, etc. There's a bit of that hidden away in the album."
The full 11 minutes 49 seconds was too long to be included on the vinyl release of the recent Family of Swede LP 'Family Album.' We believed that it deserved it's own 12" space to ensure that the strength of the song could be heard in full. It's a cosmic soul extravaganza that takes us on a journey through space, with some excellent playing from the group and a lead vocal that glides effortlessly alongside great harmonies. 'Mellow' also features on vinyl for the first time with a funky clav lead and a mad percussive break that rocks. The song itself slow's down into a slower groove that's worthy of it's own platform. We've also chosen 'Life' to close the 12" off with it's swinging modern swagger.
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Unbegrenzt is the third in an ongoing series of archival records of the unheard music of Swedish composer Catherine Christer Hennix, co-released by Blank Forms Editions and Empty Editions. It follows Selected Early Keyboard Works and Selections from 100 Models of Hegikan Roku (named the #1 archival release of 2019 by The Wire), in addition to a two-volume collection of Hennix’s writing titled Poësy Matters and Other Matters.
Recorded in February of 1974 and featuring Catherine Christer Hennix (recitation, percussion, and electronics) and Hans Isgren (bowed gong), Hennix’s realization of Karlheinz Stockhausen’s “Unbegrenzt” (German for “unlimited”) from Aus den Sieben Tagen is an elaboration both rigorous and radically different from the canonical 1969 recording issued by Shandar. The collection of 15 text pieces written in Paris during May of 1968, Aus den Sieben Tagen, denies its performers notated direction and instead provides poetic cues that hinge upon Stockhausen’s conception of “intuitive music,” a Eurocentric perspective on improvisation antithetical to the vernacular forms Hennix had engaged with as a young drummer performing in Stockholm jazz clubs with musicians like Bill Barron, Cam Brown, Hans Isgren, Lalle Svenson, Allan Vajda, Bo Wärmell, and many others. While both Hennix and Isgren saw the formal prospect of Aus den Sieben Tagen as a productive development of and beyond La Monte Young’s event scores, she here steadfastly counters his rationalization of intuition with the Principle of Sufficient Reason. (Cf. Brouwer’s Lattice.) Eschewing the busy, conservatory-addled lapses into idiomatic citation of Stockhausen’s 1969 recording, Hennix’s alternative realization of the “Unbegrenzt” score’s instructions to “play a sound with the certainty that you have an infinite amount of time and space” is based on her concept of Infinitary Compositions, the trademark of her ensemble The Deontic Miracle which, at one time, considered adding Stockhausen, La Monte Young and Terry Jennings scores to its repertoire. Taking a mature, minimal iteration of Stockhausen’s compositional method of “moment-forming” to heart, her version’s dark, controlled feedback and amplified bowed gong subtly shift through an immanent sequence of formative moments, step by step. Its bubbling computer noise, percussion, and repeated ominous transient sounds of temple blocks over the bowed gong terminate with the integrated recitation of exotic text fragments from Hevajra Tantra which faithfully take Stockhausen’s score into deeper vistas of the unconscious and a more devastating opening to the unlimited time and space of a dreaming mind.
Audio restoration and mastering by Stephan Mathieu, with an essay by Bill Dietz.
Catherine Christer Hennix (b. 1948) started her creative life playing drums with her older brother Peter, growing up in Sweden where she heard jazz luminaries, such as John Coltrane, Eric Dolphy, Dexter Gordon, Archie Shepp, and Cecil Taylor perform from 1960 to 1967. Directly after high school, Hennix went to work at Stockholm’s pioneering Elektronmusikstudion (EMS), where she developed early tape music, incorporating computer generated speech done at the Royal Technological University (KTH), where she was an undergraduate student. After traveling to New York In 1968, she met artists Dick Higgins and Alison Knowles who invited her to stay at the Something Else Press Town House where she had the opportunity to meet, among others, composers John Cage, James Tenney, and Phil Corner. During the following years she developed fruitful collaborative relationships with many composers in the burgeoning American avant-garde, including, most significantly, Henry Flynt and La Monte Young. Young introduced Hennix to Hindustani raga master Pandit Pran Nath and she would later study intensively under him as his first European disciple. While Hennix continued to make music performing alongside Arthur Russell, Marc Johnson, Henry Flynt, and Arthur Rhames, she also served as a professor of Mathematics and Computer Science at SUNY New Paltz and as a visiting Professor of Logic (at Marvin Minsky’s invitation) at MIT’s Artificial Intelligence Laboratory. In recent years Hennix has led the just-intonation ensemble the Chora(s)san Time-Court Mirage, which has featured musicians Amelia Cuni, Amirtha Kidambi, Chiyoku Szlavnics, Hilary Jeffrey, Amir El-Saffar, Benjamin Duboc and Rozemarie Heggen. She currently resides in Istanbul, Turkey pursuing studies in classical Arabic and Turkish makam.
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Raster presents »Il Quadro di Troisi«, a project by Andrea Noce (Eva Geist) and Donato Scaramuzzi (Donato Dozzy). The record is a colorful ode of an Italian scented vision, overflowing of details and profound intensity. The contemporary world condition, the pandemic in Italy and around the world define »Il Quadro di Troisi« as a unique and right-on-time release.
This record is a enigmatic collaboration between the two Italian natives Andrea Noce and Donato Scaramuzzi. Andrea Noce takes lead on the vocals, with Donato Scaramuzzi carving the dreamlike soundscapes of the record. The record was born with a correspondence between the two artists about the late actor and director Massimo Troisi, and this exchange soon became an inspirational source of identification. Andrea Noce’s lyrics are sensitive and multi-faceted, they perfectly cling to the musical phrases and flow like a filmic monologue from the oeuvre of that very Troisi.
In a highly creative and confident manner, entire decades of national music history are comprehended and transformed into the here and now. The record takes its cue from the italo-disco, synth pop tradition corroborated by the contribution of artists such as the legendary Twilight Music co-founder, Paolo Micioni, as well as Stefano Di Trapani who wrote »L’ipotesi«. With »Il Quadro di Troisi«, Noce and Scaramuzzi prove their eclecticism, and passion for their home country.
»Il Quadro di Troisi« is a collaboration between Raster and the Milan-based festival Terraforma. With this release, the first with a purely Italian focus on the label, Raster celebrates its long standing relation with Italy and the Italian audience, encapsulated in the label's project ›Electric Campfire‹ held in Rome for ten years. Terraforma is an international experimental and sustainable music festival taking place since 2014 in the park of Villa Arconati, where Dozzy has been invited at every edition in different forms, DJing, live performing both in solo and with Voices from the Lake (together with Neel).
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Caught somewhere between environmental sound studies and surrealist sonic architecture, SUGAI KEN helps mark the 30th release of Field Records with an ambitious new album. Commissioned by the Dutch Embassy in Tokyo, Tone River is the product of a year’s intensive work between artist and label, created in part to examine the relationship between Japan and the Netherlands with regard to water management.
While its doors to the Western world were closed during the 17th and 18th centuries, Japan kept abreast of Western science via a Dutch trade post in the bay of Nagasaki. When the country changed from a feudal society to a modern democracy through the turn of the 19th century, Dutch engineers lent their expertise to large-scale water management projects. One of the most prestigious projects of the time was the Tone River, which stretches 322 kilometers across Honshu, Japan’s largest island.
For this project, SUGAI KEN travelled to three points across the Tone River and used regular, binaural and underwater microphones to record environmental sounds, seeking to express the change in landscape of the river in its flow into the Pacific Ocean. On Tone River, these varied recordings are interspersed and juxtaposed with Ken’s distinctive take on synthesis, where raw and precisely sculpted textures and tones interact in stark, neutral space.
On this conceptually rigorous, yet beguiling and free-flowing record, SUGAI KEN glides between the elemental and hyper-synthetic in a flexible exploration of sound and story
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The Belgian party organisation and record label De:tuned presents the final outing of their 10 year anniversary vinyl series. "DE:10.10" kicks off with a trippy Plaid remix of Humanoid's "sT8818r" track. The remix provides some more 3AM rave pressure for those sweaty basement parties. Erik Van Den Broek aka Shiver follows with a previously unreleased mix of "Primerose", an emotive late night acid track that was released on the 5 Years De:tuned box set in 2014. The B-side offers "Formulate", music straight from the soul produced by the physical embodiment of UK emotive techno and one half of B12, Steven Rutter. Lone completes the series with "Dream Ache", an exclusive track that graced Rustie's BBC Radio One Essential Mix back in 2012, finally pressed on wax.
Kevin Foakes (Openmind, DJ Food, Ninja Tune) created all the graphic work. Mastered by Matt Colton at Metropolis Mastering. This 12" is pressed on 180 gr vinyl and is housed in a detailed silver foil sleeve to celebrate "10 Years De:tuned". Stay tuned!
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January 12th, 2020, a Sunday night in Toronto - Matthew Tavares and Leland Whitty (of BADBADNOTGOOD fame) are reunited at Burdock for a live improvised Jazz session. The pair are joined on stage by bassist Julian Anderson-Bowes and drummer Matt Chalmers as part of Burdock’s Piano Fest, an annual event at the city's brewery and music hall.
Two days later an email from Matthew hits Mr Bongo's inbox... "I think it turned out amazing, brought some really nice recording gear and it sounds almost like a studio record, thought I'd share. Moments definitely get to the jazzier side but there is some spiritual moments that are so far out". The Bongo office were all blown away by this free-flowing session, one which sounded like a well-rehearsed set at the end of a long tour, rather than a one-take improvised assembly. The chemistry between the musicians is magical. The tight friendship and musical connection between Tavares and Whitty are self-evident, however, Chalmers and Anderson-Bowes have a great contribution to make too. They act as the solid foundation that leaves Tavares and Whitty free to roam and explore moments of darkness and light, intensity and beauty. From the first time of hearing this intimate session, we knew this had to be shared.
The same quartet feature on Matthew Tavares & Leland Whitty's 2020 album 'Visions'. The plan to promote 'Visions' was to tour, with each night comprising a uniquely improvised set. Sadly due to world events, this couldn't happen, but for now 'January 12th' is a snapshot of the wizardry that would have been from four amazing musicians at the top of their game.
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The album 'Balance' by Frank Bretschneider & Taylor Deupree was originally released in 2002 by Mille Plateaux on CD only. The 9 tracks on 'Balance' are a perfect example for the aesthetics to arise within the Click & Cuts scene and (ambient-)glitch music movement of the late 90s and early 2000s.
The two masters of microscopic sounds and sine wave/white noise-based music constructed these seamlessly mixed pieces around rhythms and melodies, which grants the album plenty of dynamics. The wide variety of carefully chosen ambient sounds throughout the whole work endows 'Balance' warmth and intimacy.
The recordings are now available for the first time on vinyl within the KeplarRev series, presented in a new updated artwork based on the original layout with photographs by Taylor Deupree.
From the original press release in 2002:
"Balance is the first and so far only collaborative release from Frank Bretschneider (Berlin) and Taylor Deupree (Brooklyn). Both of these artists are no strangers to the ears of many; Taylor Deupree is one of New York's most vibrant electronic producers. From his early techno days as a member of Prototype 909 to his current status as one of N. America's key "microscopic" electronic composers and to add runs the prestigious 12K and LINE labels. Frank Bretschneider is a key member and founder of the prestigious Raster Music label, he has critically acclaimed releases under the names Komet and Produkt. It's easy to say that Frank Bretschneider has created some of the most influential spatial electronics of the late 90's.
Utilizing both artists keen ears for carefully crafted sounds, Balance blends the clean sine wave / white noise of Bretschneider with the defined grit of Deupree's granular synthesis. Realized entirely on Nord Modular synthesizers, Bretschneider and Deupree exchanged patch files through email and began constructing foundation loops. Bretschneider then created initial mixes of 9 songs and then sent them to Deupree who remixed and re-processed them. This digital exchange allowed for them to work using their own methods and aesthetic while combining the similarities of each others interests. The result is a looping and churning rhythmic work that is both synthetic, warm, dubby and tonally challenging. Thus Balance creates an engaging balance between the 2 artists aesthetics."
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By 1995 Kwaito was already a well established and distinguishable sound compared to the International House Remixes that preceded. The tempo was slowed down, Soulful vocal samples were replaced by catchy and repetitive hooks and versus sang in vernacular. The new hit sound had a template and studios worked around the clock to pump fresh releases into the demanding market.
After the successful 1995 release of Import mixes Vol 4, The Groove City team behind the productions now decided to venture into the territory of Mid Tempo. They would craft an album for a young frontman with the help of Kwaito pioneer Oscar Warona, and without much trouble, the team had their first hit on their hands. Filling the boots of their cars with copies of the cassettes and taking the stock to various townships around Johannesburg the tape quickly circulated and sold out every new batch that was printed. Demand was high for the release but as with much of the music at the time, the fast paced demand for the music moved on. Without a follow up release Scotch failed to ride the momentum built by the debut and remained largely unknown although he is still in the music industry to this day.
Even with their first artist release being a success, the following years proved more difficult in reaching such a large audience for the Kaleidosound studio. With popularity for the genre growing, the simple templates for early classics were changing as Kwaito fused with hip hop. Rapping took over as the preferred vocals for the masses. Mysterious production teams and labels that served as guides for music lovers were eclipsed by frontmen and groups that could draw crowds. The fight for fresh sounds continued as the airwaves became the main battleground for artists and the more club oriented music was pushed back underground, eventually evolving into some of the earliest examples of Deep House seen on the continent. The Kaleidosound production team would finally strike gold again in 1997 when reviving Groove City for vol. 5 which acted as the debut for the newly formed group Chiskop. The group would become superstars of the new commercial era that followed, sparking solo careers for the members and creating some of the biggest hits the genre knew.
To this day Scotch remains one of the best albums to come out of the golden era of Kwaito. Although it was outperformed by other groups from the time it has a special place for those who knew it and can still be found as a treasured piece in many collections. The various people involved created a one off fusion of sound that has remained fresh for 25 years. Playful lyrics over floaty grooves resulted in favourites like “Jam Alley” which uses catch phrases from the beloved TV show and “Bafana Bafana” guaranteed to get the boys on the dance floor. Here you have these two tracks taken from the album pressed on a club ready Maxi Single for the Deejays
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3 x LP - Live in Sharjah Box Set + Booklet. designed by Lorenzo Mason Studio.
If you’ve ever travelled to Egypt and wandered through its crowded streets, you probably ended up buying a cassette or a CDR of popular synth based music heard in most cabs, cabarets, or alleys around town: the almighty Shaabi.Raed Yassin and Paed Conca based their project PRAED on research between Shaabi and Mouled (traditional trance music from Egypt) and the hypnotic structures of both these genres. Repetitive beats, loud Mizmar and loads of energy, with a strong influence from psychedelic rock, free jazz and electronica.
During the years in which the duo produced 4 albums and performed on an endless number of stages around the globe, PRAED started working on anambitious expansive project: an orchestra that could transpose this study of rural and popular culture into an immense, iconic work. In autumn 2018, supported by the Sharjah Art Foundation, PRAED Orchestra! premiered “Live in Sharjah”, interpreting new material merged with some of the band’s iconic pieces. The composition process started with the choice of musicians: the line-up consisted of some of the most innovative artists coming from a wide spectrum of musical practices. Each musician was chosen for a defined role, and the common denominator was their capacity to interpret written material, and their ability to improvise effortlessly. Each role was clearly set to work in unison with the rest of the group, while simultaneously sustaining a centrality in the choir. Solo parts masterfully drawn over the structure as a fil rouge connecting every piece of the entire concert; massive and powerful orchestral sections leading to a breathtaking trance-like state of mind; all of this material ultimately coalescing into an Egyptian Operette that narrates the sorrow, love, and deeply rooted culture of this urban music called Shaabi.
Paed Conca: Clarinet, Electric Bass, Electronics
Raed Yassin: Synthesizers, Vocals, Electronics
Alan Bishop: Alto Saxophone, Vocals
Nadah El Shazly: Vocals, keyboard, Electronics
Christine Kazarian: Electric Harp
Hans Koch: Bass Clarinet, Soprano Sax
Martin Kuchen: Tenor Saxophone, Baritone Sax
Maurice Louca: Keyboard, Organ
Radwan Ghazi Moumneh: Buzuk, Vocals, Modular Synthesizer
Sam Shalabi: Electric Guitar, Oud
Ute Wassermann: Vocals, Mouth Harp, Whistles
Khaled Yassine: Drums, Percussion, Darbuka
Michael Zerang: Drums, Percussion
Recorded live at Calligraphy Square on November 3rd, 2018 in Sharjah, UAE by: Sudish Suman & Shuaib Ahmad Poonthala
Edited by: Rabih Beaini at Morphine Studio, Berlin, Germany
Mixed by: Radwan Ghazi Moumneh at Hotel2Tango Studio, Montreal, Canada. Mastered by: Harris Newman at Grey Market Studio, Montreal, Canada.
Artwork by Lorenzo Mason Studio.
Project manager : Simsara Music
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The eighteenth release on Second Circle is the label's second exploration into an artists archival works; this time presenting a selection of four early tracks by theatre, film and music producer Can Oral under his Khan alias.
Can moved to Williamsburg, New York in the early 90's along with good friend and fellow musician Jimi Tenor. Born in Germany of Turkish-Finnish parents, he would frantically start buying equipment (such as a TR808, TB303 and Korg Polysix) from junk shops across New York, becoming greatly prolific in his recordings which he would work on throughout the night. During the daytime though, Can set up and ran the now defunct Temple Records, a seminal Soho record store, and later label, largely importing Techno and Acid from Europe. Though a small store, Temple Records would count musicians and DJs such as Björk, Tricky, Dee-Lite, Josh Wink and Joey Beltram among its regular customers. Also he would host many such guests to play live or DJ at his weekly Techno party “Killer” which was held at Save The Robots in New York’s East Village.
Can Oral's nightly studio sessions eventually led to an almost inexhaustible discography with over a dozen monikers each representing a different aspect of his productions. SC018 focuses then on his early electronic works as Khan.
Named after the color painted studio where the EP was produced between 1993-1996, 'Blue Box Sessions' is a collection of four analogue machine driven cuts, covering different tempos and ethos within electronic music. Initially live recorded to an old DAT recorder, and without any overdubs, SC018 is a lost and found artefact to Khan's unquestioned raw talent and timeless relevance.
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Big Crown Records is proud to present Ekundayo, Liam Bailey’s debut record on the label. This album is a long time in the making, and after listening, clearly worth the wait. It didn’t take a long time to record, but it did take years for all the stars to line up.
Bailey, born and raised in Nottingham, England, the son of an English mother and Jamaican father got his early influences from his mom’s record collection. Bob Marley and Dillinger, Stevie Wonder and The Supremes, The Beatles and Jimi Hendrix would eventually shape the singer/songwriter we know today.
Fast-forward to 2005, Liam is in London and doing the whatever-gig-you-can-get musician hustle with hopes of landing a record deal. And it was through this time that Liam first teamed up with Leon Michels, musician / producer luminary, and the co-founder of Brooklyn's own Big Crown Records. Liam flew out to New York and those first sessions together produced the now classic tunes “When Will They Learn” and “I’m Gonna Miss You” which still get spins at reggae spots around the globe. That trip helped kick off what was to follow next for Liam: a slew of record releases, label deals, and working with some wildly-notable mainstream producers. Even a just-famous Amy Winehouse heard one of Liam's apartment-made, lo-fi recordings through a friend and liked what she heard. Regardless of the audio quality, Liam's particular sound shone through—all guitar, warm-rough and genuine soul. She signed him to her label shortly after.
But, as the story can go with major labels, they already had an idea of the Liam they wanted to make, promote, and push. With the typical pay-day enticement, Liam did his best to fit into whatever shape they put him to. "'Maybe I can make it work,' that's what you're thinking," Liam remembers, "but, you quickly find out that you can't."
While Liam’s career went through a bunch of record industry twists and turns he and Michels stayed in touch and would regularly connect and collaborate. Finally, in 2019, the time was right to do a full-length album together. And this time, it would be free of any restricting major label presumptions and opinions. "This is the record we always wanted to make," says Michels. Set to release in November 2020, the album is called Ekundayo. And the word's meaning may be all you need to know to get to the essence of this project. It means "sorrow becomes joy" in Yoruba, a language spoken mostly in Western Africa. On the surface, Ekundayo is a weighty Reggae record, full of new and old textured riddims. But listen more in-depth, and you'll find subject matter that's more recognizable from a modern-day R&B record. An example of the former is the first single off the album. Sung to the most beautiful woman at the nightspot, "Champion" is a joyous anthem powered by a silly-thick Juno-bass throb and 808-proof drums. In short, "Champion" is dancehall-ready. But then there's a song like "Don't Blame NY." Moody and sparse with a somber drive, you might have to resist the urge to compare it to a Frank Ocean-ish type vibe. Liam's voice is in a different but fitting element here, showing stripped-back emotion and soulful restraint. Anyone who has lived and tried to thrive in New York won't have a hard time relating to the lyrics but they may join the masses who blame the city, while Liam points the finger at himself and sings praises to The Big Apple.
Credit to Leon's hand, elements of Jamaican production are everywhere, peppered throughout the record. Like the pitch-perfect organ stabs that push through the authentically positive "White Light," or the muted, percussive guitar strums that chug along in the back of "Fight." In the same vein of any fantastic singer/songwriter album, Ekundayo is a reflection of who Liam Bailey is, taking on topics and approaches he never would think of just a few years ago. Some evidence: "Ugly Truth" is about reconnecting with his biological father, a subject he once thought would be too personal to address. The journey from conforming to major labels to this latest record has been a long one for Liam, and a bit of a struggle. But struggle may be the only way we truly grow and evolve. With a new clarity of purpose, sound, and life, Liam has found joy out of those struggles. And it's called Ekundayo.
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Isolation Tapes is a 3 part series from Audiojack, featuring guest vocals from Polarbear, Eli & Fur and Lady Vale.
'The Isolation Tapes came together accidentally during lockdown. Getting lost in the music-making process was our way to escape the feelings of anxiety and uncertainty which presented themselves with the emergence of Covid. We had no plan beyond escapism, but a cleared schedule gave us lots of time to explore new ideas. After we'd made a few tracks we started to realize the importance of bringing this music together under one project, a musical reference point for this strange period in time, and so the Isolation Tapes was born - a series of singles we made during lockdown whose titles all begin with a different letter from the word: I S O L A T I O N.' - Audiojack
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'Kind of Strange' is taken from Edinburgh super group, Out of the Ordinary's debut album, 'Stranger Things Have Happened'. The original version is an eerily, atmospheric track with a classic film noir vibe, underscored with beats provided by Joseph Malik on the ones and twos, in collaboration with Check Masses members Vic Galloway, Saleem Andrew McGroarty and Philly Collins. Vocal powerhouses, Rosanne Erskine and Philly Collins will have you looking over your shoulder with their edgy, unsettling vocal delivery – was that a ghostly outline or just a curtain blowing in the breeze?
Combine all of these elements with the mighty Steven Christie's keyboard, Paulo ‘Brother’ Riddle’s anchoring percussion and Saleem Andrew McGroarty at the production controls, something rather special comes out of the speakers.
To prepare for their ‘North Street’ remixes, Jo Wallace and Darren Morris immersed themselves in continuous re-runs of iconic TV series, ‘Randall + Hopkirk Deceased’ and ‘Tales of the Unexpected’ enabling them to channel their inner John Barry. Throughout the track, Darren provides swirling, cinematic vamps and lush string arrangements echoing the Warsaw Concerto whilst Chris Greive’s haunting trombone and Vic Galloway, on his electric guitar, beautifully underpin the melody, transporting the listener back to a world of Black and White mystery and suspense.
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Whiskey Pickle returns with yet another 12" of eclectic leftfield deepness, this time around from prolific Italian producer DJ Rocca.
The first cut off the record 'Detox' is reminiscent of the early 80’s electronic sound with nice mellow synths and a clever breakbeat. The next track is the title cut 'Tropicale 17' a lovely arpeggiated bell laden jam that sounds something like Kraftwerk lost in the Japanese wilderness.
Side B is dedicated to the epic twelve plus minute 'Chicken Lips Malfunction' Chicken Lips remix of 'Tropicale 17'. This is the jam that got those fowl fellas (Andy Meecham & Dean Meredith) back in the studio and boy was it worth it!
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This record began as a mystery D.O.S. 12” release in September asking questions was it new, was it old, was it a bootleg? Who are D.O.S?? Soon the limited edition 12” pressing release serviced to a handful of DJs and tastemakers was commanding £100 online. The record is a re-make of a Carmen Amez disco/boogie record from 1983 which itself trades for over £200 on a questionable quality pressing that demanded such a great dance record should be freshly re-recorded with strings, horns, bells, whistles and Vanessa Haynes on vocals. The song was originally a Paul Anka composition/recording, but is now out again here by Diplomats Of Soul in collaboration with Incognito’s Bluey with an outstanding cast of UK musicians. D.O.S. and Bluey previously worked together on renditions of “Sweet Power Your Embrace” and “Brighter Tomorrow”. Puzzle solved and record now available.
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I can't actually remember why we decided to do this project other than ask ourself, why had it not been done years ago? let's do it! Linkwood and Other Lands are well known from their various outings on Firecracker, Night Theatre, The Nuclear Family, Rush Hour, Dekmantel, AOTN and many other labels, both talented musicians and fierce producers. The plan was simple, drop them into the mostly finished Athens of the North studio and cross the streams….
The results are nothing short of spectacular but putting them into words or genres on paper is somewhat of a challenge. Folding modular textures, post-punk, Electro, House and Techno even ending in some lush Balearic business, they have moulded their years of experience and translated it into something new.
What strikes me when listening to the LP is both their voices have come through in this production. Other Lands guitar work and Vocal and Linkwood deep sense of Rhythm and structure. The recording of this LP was just pre-covid which seems strange as it fits now so well. Like a dream of what it would be like to be out In the city night in all its different factions.
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Technically, Syrup are a hip-hop group with unmistakable leanings towards soul and jazz. The group consists of an MC (Turt), a pianist/singer (C.Tappin) and a beatmaker (Twit One).
Their music is rooted in the tradition of collectives like Native Tongues and Soulquarians, and they have come up with a pretty appropriate term to describe their sound, which is "cool bap". But if we put formalities aside and look at the bigger picture, Syrup are also a perfect example of how music can connect people beyond national borders, language and tradition. And furthermore, how Afro-American culture has influenced not only the musical taste but the views and opinion-making of generations of young people worldwide. The sheer existence of Syrup is also a big fat "Fuck Brexit!" which makes the group even more likeable. The story of Syrup begins in 2015 when Twit One is booked to play a dj gig in Bristol. Twit One is a producer, DJ, radio host, record friend and former bass-player from Cologne (where he also co-owns the Groove Attack Record Store). He is a member of a small group of pioneering producers, who during the 2010s laid the foundation for the European beat-scene as we know it today. Inspired by the likes of Dilla and Madlib these guys made it look cool to not be the rapper. And they recorded some pretty dope music, too, which we had the honour to release via Melting Pot Music as the "Hi-Hat Club" series (a title that Twit came up with). During that night in Bristol, Twit got acquainted with two young men by the name of Turt and C.Tappin. Two childhood friends who had moved from London to Bristol for their studies and had been avid fans of Twit's music for some time. "Back in Cologne, Twit told me about these MCs from Bristol with whom he might record some tracks" Olski remembers, "Needless to say that I never heard about them again until summer 2017 when the annual Radio Love Love boat party was about to happen and Turt and Tappin were actually coming over for the first time, to party and to rock the mic. A couple of months later we released "Hay Luv" a new Twit album that featured Turt and Tappin on two songs. On their next visit, the two were accompanied by Turt's brother Slim, a very talented beatmaker and one half of Summers Sons. We spent some quality time while mastering the 'Undertones' EP (including remixes by Twit One, FloFilz and Cap Kendricks) and shooting the album cover at the Groove Attack record store basement. Since then we released two more album by Summers Sons ("Uhuru" - a joint project with Tappin and "The Rain"), C.Tappin's debut EP "Ashes To Ashes" (with remixes by Reginald Omas Mamode IV, Hulk Hodn & Slim) and a KOOP beat tape by Slim. During the same time, Twit recorded two albums: "Dispo To Dispo" as Flatpocket (a project with Lazy Jones) and "Two", the long awaited follow up to the very first Hi-Hat Club album as Testiculo Y Uno (with Hulk Hodn)." In 2018, Turt and Tappin moved back to London (the Lightworks headquarter is now located in Streatham). They toured with Children of Zeus and shared stages with artists like Melodiesinfonie and FloFilz. But it wasn't until Brexit before the long talked about super group finally became a reality. At the final recording sessions in September 2019 we already knew that the next Eurostar ride would be a different one. Now with Covid-19 we have no clue when all three members of the group will be in the same room again – let alone rock a stage together. But fortunately, we were sitting on a big pile of great singles that we released over the summer months. The album "Rosy Lee" will follow in late September.
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Black vinyl editions of four 'Elephant' era singles ('Seven Nation Army', 'I Just Don't Know What To Do With Myself, The Hardest Button to Button' and There's No Home For You Here). Featuring badass non-album b-sides, 3 of which are covers of songs from some of Detroits turn-of-the-millenium best and brightest (Brendan Benson, Jason Falkner, Dan Miller (Blanche), Soledad Brothers), and one of which is a live White Stripes medley of "I Fought Piranhas" and "Let's Build a Home," recorded at New York's legendary Electric Lady Studios. Most of these tracks have been remastered from the original analog sources, and the artwork on all the singles has been improved upon by the Third Man Creative Hive. "There's No Home For You Here", which was originally coupled with a generic company sleeve, now has stunning new artwork. It looks electrifying! On top of looking good, these sleeves are soft as a baby, printed with an aqueous coating, so they feel like a cross between rubber and lambskin. It's nice.
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Black vinyl editions of four ‘Elephant’ era singles. The four singles ("Seven Nation Army," "I Just Don't Know What To Do With Myself," The Hardest Button to Button," and "There's No Home For You Here") feature badass non-album b-sides, 3 of which are covers of songs from some of Detroit's turn-of-the-millenium best and brightest (Brendan Benson, Jason Falkner, Dan Miller (Blanche), Soledad Brothers), and one of which is a live White Stripes medley of "I Fought Piranhas" and "Let's Build a Home," recorded at New York's legendary Electric Lady Studios.
Most of these tracks have been remastered from the original analog sources, and the artwork on all the singles has been improved upon by the Third Man Creative Hive. "There's No Home For You Here", which was originally coupled with a generic company sleeve, now has stunning new artwork. It looks electrifying! On top of looking good, these sleeves are soft as a baby, printed with an aqueous coating, so they feel like a cross between rubber and lambskin. It's nice.
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The latest vinyl slice from FBNM sees us head to the depths of central Africa via Paris to track down a feast of rare seventies afro funky jams from Cameroonian master musician EKO. We've brought FBNM favourite Riccio along for the journey too, who has provided us with a fantastic Rerub coaxing out some modern dancefloor sensibilities and production sparkle.
Eko Roosevelt Louis has had a music career spanning over forty years, born the grandson of a Kribi tribal chief, his musical persuasion beginning humbly with his village's local church before his formal education at the Senegal conservatoire and Paris' École Normale de Musique. EKO made a number of jazz funk and disco records in the mid seventies during a stint recording and touring in and around France before returning to Cameroon to take over his grandfather's tribal chieftaincy, a role he still holds today! Alongside this position of office EKO has continued to work with music, performing, teaching and even leading Cameroon's national orchestra!
The tracks we have selected for reissue are all taken from EKO's third album, Funky Disco Music which was recorded in Paris and released on his own Dragon Phenix imprint. Sung in a combination of English and EKO's native tongue we've lined up a real excursion in feel good afro-jazz, funk and soul made purely for dancing feet and boogying butts!
All tracks have been officially licensed and lovingly remastered for this special release by Andreas Lupo Lubich (CALYX Berlin), packaged alongside Riccio's sympathetic work in the cutting room on 12" vinyl with a special interview with Eko Roosevelt Louis himself!
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One of dance music’s most enigmatic figures returns home to Anjunabeats. GRAMMY-nominated producer Mat Zo is back with a brand new artist album set for release in October: ‘Illusion Of Depth’. At the age of 30, this is the London-born, L.A.-based producer’s third artist LP. He broke onto the scene in 2008 and has been causing an uproar ever since. In the early naughties, he penned Anjunabeats classics like ‘The Lost’ and ‘Synapse Dynamics’ which were far ahead of their time. They were followed by the likes of ‘Superman’, ‘The Sky’ and ‘Rebound’ (with Arty). He pushed the Anjunabeats sound to the mainstage, racking up spins from Pete Tong, Axwell and Armin van Buuren. It was his GRAMMY-nominated debut album ‘Damage Control’ that fully showcased Mat’s avant-garde approach in 2013. Featuring break-out hit ‘Easy’ with close friend Porter Robinson, the track took Mat mainstream: a Radio 1 A-List addition, Sirius XM BPM listing, a #1 Billboard Heatseeking record, an Essential Mix of the year nomination and, ultimately, a GRAMMY nod for best dance and electronic recording. Since then, Mat has grown his own stable. Self-releasing his second LP in 2016, ‘Self Assemble’, via Mad Zoo, Mat’s imprint nurtured a new generation of eclectic, genre-agnostic creators.
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Having previously released a slew of tapes on labels such as Clan Destine Records and Live Adult Entertainment, Penelope’s Fiancé lands on Hypermedium for his vinyl debut. Hailing from Stavroupoli, Thessaloniki, Penelope’s Fiancé has been keeping over the past few years a fast pace of work, constantly producing tracks and releasing new music, having shaped a unique sound that drifts across the borders of lo-fi, post-industrial and fuzzy techno. The Cutting Edge Of A Knife is the culmination of all these previous excursions, a solid display of his ability to craft emotionally intense tracks, merging a ghostly, gloomy grandeur with squelching percussive patterns. Opener ‘Lethe’ emerges from the haze with its cryptic atmosphere, moulded in lethargic drones, scattered vocalisms and sparse yet piercing beats and rhythmic build-ups. A panic-fuelled, 160bpm ravey epic, ‘Futile Endevours’ brandishes an ecstatic, pumelling rhythm over recurring trance- flavored melodic phrases and unnerving vocal samples. ‘I Wasn’t Always There’ is a seductive, dark elegy whose melancholic and lush synth melodies wash over chopping kicks and ice-cold hi-hats. ‘Anxiety’ sounds like a slow techno roller, where frozen metallic percussion meets a cavernous bass, right before the off-kilter, cacophonous buzz of ‘The Lie Closest To The Truth’. Closing track ‘The Cutting Edge Of A Knife’ is an intoxicated oriental-stepper, soaked in vaporous middle-eastern percussion and muezzin-like chants.
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Record Kicks reissues mythical Calibro 35's third album "Any Resemblance To Real Persons Or Actual Facts Is Purely Coincidental" sampled by Dr Dre in "Compton".
Completing the trilogy of Calibro 35's reissues, Record Kicks proudly presents "Any Resemblance To Real Persons Or Actual Facts Is Purely Coincidental", the third album by Italian cinematic funk heroes CALIBRO 35, whose title track was sampled by Dr.Dre in "One Shot One Kill" featuring Snoop Dog in his 2015 "Compton" album. After the reprint of the previous two records "Calibro 35" and "Ritornano Quelli Di (The Return Of)", this third and last reissue will be available on December 4th on a limited edition LP and digitally in a Deluxe Edition version. The digital Deluxe Edition includes 3 bonus tracks: the band's original compositions "Ballando In Balera" and "Appuntamento al Contessa" and a cover of Herbie Hancock's "Deathwish".
Recorded in Brooklyn in just five days, with "Any Resemblance" the Milan cult combo, while cultivating its damn-near-perfected cinematic vibes, experiments a more improvisational approach to writing. "Massacre at Dawn" comes straight from afro-funk territory, an homage to Brooklyn heroes Budos Band and Menahan Street Band. "Rain On Concrete" instead sounds like a French soundtrack composed some decades ago by Francis Lai or Jean Claude Vannier. There is also a more globally-inspired flavour to several tracks on the album: from the Indian vibe of the sitar-injected "New Dehli Deli," to the streets of San Francisco with the heavy weight of the clavinet on "Thank You and Good Bye," to the high impact horn riffs of Detroit's Motown Studio sound on "The BBQ Band" and "The Package", and then back again to Italy for retro-scat vocals on "Uh Ah Brrr", reminiscent of the best of Ennio Morrione's and Piero Umiliani's compositions from the 60s. Just like the previously reprinted "Calibro 35" and "The Return Of", 2012 "Any Remblance" LP is highly sought-after by collectors and soundtrack aficionados worldwide and by popular demand a reissue sees the light of day on a limited edition Gatefold LP that includes digital download of the bonus tracks.
Active since 2008, CALIBRO 35 enjoy a worldwide reputation as one of the coolest independent bands around. During their ten-year career, they were sampled by Dr. Dre on his "Compton" album as well as by Jay-Z and The Child of Lov & Damon Albarn, they shared stages worldwide with the likes of Roy Ayers, Muse, Sun Ra Arkestra, Sharon Jones, Thundercat and Headhunters and as unique musicians they collaborated with, among others, PJ Harvey, Mike Patton, John Parish and Stewart Copeland and Nic Cester (The Jet). Described by Rolling Stone magazine as "the most fascinating, retro-maniac and genuine thing that happened to Italy in the last years", Calibro 35 can now count on a number of aficionados worldwide, including VIP fans such as Dj Food (Ninja Tune), Mr Scruff and Huey Morgan (Fun Lovin' Criminals) among others.
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