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The 1975 album "That's The Way Of the World" was also the soundtrack for a 1975 motion picture of the same name which featured some of the band members of Earth, Wind, & Fire in cameo roles. The album includes the ballad "Reasons" alongside the #1 US pop and R&B hit single "Shining Star" as well as the title track which reached #12 on the pop chart.

"Earth, Wind & Fire has delivered more than its share of excellent albums, but if a person could own only one EWF release, the logical choice would be That's the Way of the World, which was the band's best album as well as its best-selling. Open Our Eyes had been a major hit and sold over half a million units, but it was World that established EWF as major-league, multi-platinum superstars. Fueled by gems ranging from the sweaty funk of "Shining Star" and "Yearnin' Learnin'" to the gorgeous ballad "Reasons" and the unforgettable title song, EWF's sixth album sold at least five million units. And some of the tracks that weren't major hits, such as the exuberant "Happy Feelin'" and the gospel-influenced "See the Light," are equally powerful. There are no dull moments on World, one of the strongest albums of the 1970s and EWF's crowning achievement."

Reflections of the Sun is a collection of new music that see JOHN ROCCA experiment with a more laid back side to his musical personality. John is best know in Jazz Funk circles for his 1980s self funded, self produced and self released Brit Funk classic 'Southern Freeez', and as the band Freeez's founder.

"The melancholic suburban soul of ‘Southern Freeez’ never gets tired for me....an album that has remained at the top of my Brit Funk pile!" - GILLES PETERSON

Much of the album is also somewhat reflective. A personal and emotional reflection on John's life - the tracks a nod to John's varied musical pasts. Sounds, a pondering upon his collection of global influences and his life experiences over the years; Genre, the pulse of today, societal, musical or otherwise - but not easy to place as is John's character; Lyrics, the present dilemmas we face as humanity, whilst reflecting on our own private and deepest human feelings, of life and, of love in all its wonderous forms.

Musically, the 'Reflections of the Sun' album casts a glimpse back to Rocca's Brit Funk roots growing up amongst 1970s classic Jazz Funk and Soul, while also blending inspiration from his 1980-90s electronic influences topped off with everything else he has seen and heard on his life travels since then.

Giving a nod to John's own past while bringing Reflections of the Sun up to date was completed by adding elements of London's re-surgent and vibrant jazz scene. Not so different from John’s own early days jamming with Freeez, he is accompanied on all the album's tracks by his two young nephews and highly respected jazz musicians, Benjamin Rocca on keyboards and Joel Rocca on Saxophone. The two youngsters are known on the current London Jazz scene as the "Rocca Brothers".

The album's title track, "Reflections of the Sun" refers to how humanity, gorging on the sunshine that brings life to everything, also has a tendency to reflect the hellishness of the sun itself. Comparing our self-destructive nature with our planet's volumes of un-ending beauty.

Initial support for various tracks has come via radio plays on UK stations such as JazzFM, Jazz Funk & Soul Radio (JFSR), Soul Groove Radio and Solar (amongst others).

Sasu Ripatti presents the third volume in his "Dancefloor Classics" series with five 10" releases coming throughout 2023. Music for imaginary dancefloors, released on Ripatti's own label "Rajaton".

--
”Look up, into the light” she said, while the camera shutter clicked. ”Like this? Does it look holy?” His neck felt stiff. Her reply: ”Yes, just like that. What do you mean holy? Like religious? ”No, more like trying to look very far, somewhere beyond what we can see.” ”Okay, stand still, I’m going to come close to you now. The light hits your face great.” click, click, click.

He noticed her fingernails. They were not polished. Natural. Even somewhat rugged, as if something wore out the fingers slightly. What had these hands held besides the camera? What made the edges of her fingernails drift off?

He thought it’s weird to look straight into the camera. The photographer had closed her left eye, the one not looking into the lens. Then it opened, she looked up, perusing the surroundings, then she closed her eye again, then looked up, closed, looking up, very quickly. It all seemed very professional. Maybe she calculated the light, making sure it’s close to perfect. ”What will these photos look like?” – the thought popped into his head briefly. It was liberating to think it wouldn’t matter.

”What’s that song playing?” he asked. ”Wait a sec, Ol’ Dirty Bastard?” she replied. ”Oh yeah, right. But the sample?” ”Hey, could you look up again, like that. No, lower.”

New directions: ”Look out from the window, turn left.” ”My left or yours?” ”Yours, I always try to think from the direction of my model.” How professional! This is a good shoot, so natural. Should I worry about how the photos look like? No, I don’t want to. His thoughts bounced around. What would the story be like? It’s a big newspaper, everyone will read it. Maybe someone drinks coffee and eats a stroopwafel while they do it. Will they place the waffle on top of the mug for a brief while, so that it gets hot and the syrup melts a little? Then it feels wet, and you can bend the cookie.

She broke his train of thought off midway through: ”Now turn right, but look left, and slightly up, but don’t turn your face right.” ”Umm, like this? Sounds like a set of pilates instructions.” she laughed ”You do pilates?” ”Yeah, it’s hard sometimes. Have you tried?” ”No”, she said. ”I’m not good for sports that are done in groups.” ”Yeah, but in pilates you can just be inside your mind, drowning in your private thoughts.”

”What are you thinking in pilates?” she asked, taking more photos. ”Well, mostly just which way is right. And which left.” click, click.

--

2022 marked the 10th anniversary of Lonerism. To celebrate, Tame Impala present fans with a deluxe 3LP reissue of the album that features previously unreleased demos from the era.
Recorded in both Western Australia and Paris between 2010 and 2012, Lonerism was Tame Impala’s breakout record. It received critical acclaim from the likes of Pitchfork and NME and is regarded as one of the best albums of 2012.

Unlike the majority of previous Davis albums, E.S.P. consisted entirely of new compositions written by members of the group. Despite the profusion of new material, only one tune ("Agitation") is known to have appeared in the group's live performances. "Little One" might be best known for being revisited on Hancock's landmark album, Maiden Voyage, recorded a few weeks later. This version is somewhat more embryonic; Carter's bass is halting, and Davis and Shorter state the theme with winding, interlocking contrapuntal lines that evoke Davis and Coltrane's version of "Round Midnight". Hancock's solo on Carter's composition, "Eighty-One", also presages his work on that LP - particularly its title track.

The title track is reminiscent of Jackie McLean's "Little Melonae", which Davis had recorded with John Coltrane in 1956. "Iris", by contrast, is another Coltrane-like ballad, not too dissimilar to "Infant Eyes" on Shorter's Speak No Evil album. Shortly thereafter, Shorter's compositions would begin to dominate the Quintet's recordings, though here he contributes only two of the seven songs.

This was the first time Wayne Shorter recorded with Miles, and the band - in this configuration - had been together for less than a year. As you will hear, the connection between the musicians is uncanny, as if they had been playing together for decades. Especially notice Wayne Shorter's brilliant interplay with Miles on the closing track "Mood," the haunting ballad written by bassist Ron Carter. At over forty-eight minutes, E.S.P. is one of the longest jazz albums of its period.

How does one properly introduce an epochal record? Perhaps by unequivocally stating that it is the best-selling jazz album in history. Or by affirming that, every year, it sells tens of thousands of copies more than five decades after its original release. There's also the matter of its status as the most-referenced, and arguably, most important, jazz recording of all-time. And the Dream Team line-up of Miles Davis, Cannonball Adderley, John Coltrane, Bill Evans, Wynton Kelly, Paul Chambers, and Jimmy Cobb. Yes, Kind of Blue is utterly inimitable.

In its three-decade-plus history, Mobile Fidelity has never been prouder to have the honour of handling efforts as important as Davis' key recordings. It's why the our engineers took every available measure to transport listeners to the March and April 1959 sessions that parlayed modal jazz into mainstream language. The blueprint for melodic improvisation and vamping, Kind of Blue simplifies tonal organization and chordal progression into an eminently beautiful, introspective tapestry stitched with swinging poetry, mellifluous soloing, compositional lyricism, transcendental harmonies, and group interplay of the highest calibre.

While no one has ever completely identified the magic behind the record's allure – the otherworldly nature is part of its inherent charm – much of the success lies with the band members. Davis intentionally hand-picked these musicians to comprise this particular cast, with everyone from former foil Evans to blues maestro Kelly to percussive genius Cobb interacting and reacting with peerless skill.

An audiophile favourite from the day it was issued, Kind of Blue takes on nirvanic sonic proportions via Mobile Fidelity's reissue. The expressive warmth, imaging clarity, frequency extension, and window-on-the-world breadth afforded by this new edition places music lovers right in the studio with the sextet. Close your eyes and, no matter how many times you may have heard it before, your experience will parallel that of the players that recorded these gems. Everyone shares in the excitement of not knowing what will happen and, as the music begins to lie out in front of you, you'll feel as if you've been whisked away to a jazz holy land. Quintessential.

"She's in L.A.", the new single by Rio 18 featuring Young Silver Fox, was written by Carwyn Ellis in Wales, recorded with Shawn Lee & Andy Platts aka Young Gun Silver Fox in London and mixed by Kassin in Rio de Janeiro,

This joyful tune is a widescreen international pop anthem soaked in summer sun. Rio 18 and YGSF deliver a new kind of flavour of lowriding Californian funk, telling a story about the joy of finding a new life in the City Of Angels, the metropolis by the sea.

Black vinyl pressing 2022! "Funny to think there was a time not so long ago when Stiff Richards was a name that required explanation - but not to you, of course, o punk connoisseur. This is your territory, after all. Music is your oxygen and the sound of the underground is your clarion call. You can explain the distinction between 'Know Your Product' and 'No, You're Product'. Hey, you're probably pretty good-looking too. You know your shit, either way. So no wonder you're drawn to this relative holy grail of modern garage rock - the 2017 self-titled debut album by the aforementioned Stiff Richards. Originally released on their own Stiff Records (and again by Legless in 2020), it lays down all the elements that made last year's mighty 'State of Mind' LP such an instant classic. OK, we've established you know the drill, but let's recap: scintillating Aus-punk that recalls the heroic high-speed riffs of their countrymen The Saints and Radio Birdman. It sounds like Royal Headache covering Motörhead, or maybe the other way around. It's a full-on riot in 30 minutes - the rawest of rock'n'roll bleeding into the grimiest of power chords with hooks for days. You already know you're gonna love it. Whether going full-throttle and aiming straight for the nerve receptors that get your head a-nodding and your toes a-tapping - like on sub-three-minute highlight 'Strung Out' - or sludgin' their way through groovier cuts like 'Bustin' Out', they're never less than a treat that's guaranteed to get your serotonin flowing and your speakers up to 11 (or beyond). As a certain similarly-named record label once said, if it ain't Stiff, it ain't worth a fuck. Frightfully rude, but that's rock music for you, I suppose. Get it in your ears." - Will Fitzpatrick.

With this release TAL delves deep into the very beginnings of Düsseldorf's post punk scene of the early 1980s. STUMM was the duo of Detlef Funder and Bernd Sevens who both would become pivotal figures in the tape underground movement of West-Germany, when they launched the SDV label in 1986. Individually they went on to produce boundary defying works as Konrad Kraft and Seventh Day respectively.

The material on this album was recorded by Funder and Sevens quite casually in 1980 in a rehearsal studio in the centre of Düsseldorf. Right from the beginning the two young musicians incorporated the atmosphere of the space in order to document the process of their sound experiments on a 4-track tape machine. For those recording sessions, which are now released for the first time ever on vinyl and download, Funder and Sevens managed to get their hands on a very rudimentary set of equipment consisting of merely a Korg MS 20 synth, a Roland CR 78 drum machine, a few electronic effects and a drum kit. The urgent and rough sound of the recordings imbues their production with a characteristic and era-specific edge that's hard to imitate today. Spontaneity and understatement were key elements in the brief creative period of STUMM. The recordings still have a uniquely dizzying quality and are somewhat of a basic blueprint for a lot of industrial/techno and post punk which was about to loom in all corners of the world. These tracks are also a testament to the vivid spark of a period in time that would soon be radically changed through the rise of digital technology.

Bernd Sevens: “Around 1980 there was a great musical awakening. Punk, New Wave, Industrial and of course Dub Reggae -- the electronic music blew us away. Everything we heard influenced us. Back then, cassette tapes were cheap and easily available. We could record our ideas on the spot and then copy and distribute the tapes. That's how it started. Giving it a go, experimenting, trial and error. The music you hear on the record was spontaneous and had no concept. Our collaboration was also not intended to be a permanent project. You could say we were dilettantes setting out on our journey, making it up as we went along. It felt like a beginning.”

Their masterpiece? With breaks for dayyyyyys and an almost ambient, heavy jazz atmosphere throughout, *this* is the apex of British jazz-rock fusion. We'll Talk About It Later was first released on Vertigo in 1971 and original copies are now very tricky to score. Like all the Nucleus records, it’s aged ridiculously well and this Be With re-issue, re-mastered from the original analogue tapes, shows off just why this deserves to be back in press.

Genius trumpeter and visionary composer Ian Carr was one of the most respected British musicians of his era. He was a true pioneer and saw the potential in fusing the worlds of jazz with rock, just as Miles Davis and The Tony Williams Lifetime did in the US. In late 1969, following the demise of the Rendell-Carr quintet, and tiring of British jazz, Carr assembled the legendary Nucleus. Regarding music as a continuous process, Nucleus refused to “recognise rigid boundaries” and worked on delivering what they saw as a “total musical experience”. We can get behind that.

Under bandleader Carr, Nucleus existed as a fluid line-up of inventive, skilled musicians. This constant evolution and revolution was all part of the continuous musical exploration and discovery that took jazz to new levels. And the music has kept relevant. To steal a line from a review of our re-issue of Roots, when it comes to anything Nucleus “it’s basically already hip-hop”.

We'll Talk About It Later is arguably Nucleus's best album. Not only that, it's in the top 5 of all fusion albums. By the time Nucleus entered Trident Studios in September 1970 to record Elastic Rock's successor, they had already won a best group award at the Montreux Jazz Festival. Once again presented in a Roger Dean designed die-cut gatefold sleeve it continued to demonstrate the chemistry and interplay that worked so brilliantly on Elastic Rock; Carr's sumptuous trumpet and flügelhorn lines, Karl Jenkins's funk-filled electric keyboards, Chris Spedding's wah-wah guitar, Brian Smith's sax and the rhythmic foundation of drummer John Marshall and bassist Jeff Clyne.

The group work and insane musicianship Nucleus were famed for is in evidence from the off. The intensely funky "Song for the Bearded Lady" is absolute FIRE, blasting out the speakers to leave listeners floored. Counterpoint riffing segues into a spacious groove and a Carr trumpet solo demonstrating the influence of electric Miles from the period. The stop-start funk of "Sun Child" would appeal to Soft Machine devotees whilst the genuinely touching "Lullaby for a Lonely Child" is a lovely downtempo ballad. Featuring an understated, reflective horn line from Carr and Smith and atmospheric, shimmering bouzouki from Spedding, there's an exotic flavour which contributes to the bliss. The ominous, sleazy title track retains a swaggering menace and is not the only track to lend a sort of heavy stoner rock atmosphere. The guitars and bass are deep and low throughout, conjuring heavy psych moments to go with the actual jazz and even funk. To say this album was in conversation with Bitches Brew would not be overstating the sheer brain-frying brilliance.

The Weather Report-adjacent "Oasis" opens Side B, a colossal track featuring nearly 10 minutes of steadily building melodic horns, keys and choppy guitar riffs. So ace, it could easily go on for another 10. Mesmeric. Spedding adds unique vocals to the undeniable groove of "Ballad of Joe Pimp" whilst saxophonist Smith's duet with drummer Marshall at the conclusion of "Easter 1916" - inspired by the Yeats poem about the Irish nationalist uprising in Dublin - adopts the wildness of the most incendiary free jazz.

This Be With edition of We'll Talk About It Later has been re-mastered from the original Vertigo master tapes, Simon Francis’ mastering working together with Cicely Balston's cut at AIR Studios to weave their usual magic with these wonderful recordings. The stunning die-cut sleeve has been restored with the original gatefold window pane depicting the Irish uprising in 1916. Incredible, timeless, guaranteed spine-chills.

Fuzz is Ty Segall (drums/vocals), Charlie Moothart (guitar/vocals)
and Roland Cosio (bass). They’re heavy rock lifers—three Californiabred dudes who have been refining their riffs and getting weird together since high school (which wasn’t that long ago, actually). If you are not already aware of Segall, well, what’s up? He’s one of garage rock’s most prolific sons. He said he was going to take it easy this year, but by the time you finish reading this, the onesheet for his next record will have already arrived in your inbox. Moothart
plays guitar in The Ty Segall Band and was also a member of The Moonhearts, which included Cosio on guitar.

Way back in the early ’00s, all three played in the Epsilons. Fuzz was formed a couple years ago as a collaboration between Segall and Moothart, but only recently did the pair have sufficient time to guide
the band out of side-project limbo and into a recording studio. Since then, they have released two singles, “This Time I Got a Reason” (Trouble In Mind) and “Sleigh Ride” (In The Red). Around the time of the latter, Cosio joined on bass.

They are not dabblers or dilettantes. Fuzz flipped through used bins,
hard drives and record collections of the world, seeking out the finest
weirdo cuts. The band’s self-titled debut LP, which was recorded by Chris Woodhouse (Thee Oh Sees, The Intelligence), dives deep, drawing inspiration from the more esoteric reaches of heavy metal pre-history. There are Sabbath and Hendrix nods, obviously, but on “Sleigh Bells” you might also catch a whiff of UK progressive blues business like The Groundhogs, particularly when the song quits its 10/4-time intro and reboots into fullbore choogle.

Maybe you’ll even glimpse the ghost of Australian guitar legend/sharpie guru Lobby Lloyde sniffing around “Raise.”

The mood is not light. The songs project a state of perpetual paranoia
and eroding mental health. And as it should be, you know? It’s a record for the burners.

Nucleus's Elastic Rock is undisputedly a milestone in Jazz-Rock. A beautiful and vital debut album, it was first released on Vertigo in 1970. Original copies are now very tricky to score and, like all the Nucleus records, it’s aged ridiculously well. This Be With re-issue, re-mastered from the original analogue tapes, shows off just why this deserves to be back in press.

Genius trumpeter and visionary composer Ian Carr was one of the most respected British musicians of his era. He was a true pioneer and saw the potential in fusing the worlds of jazz with rock, just as Miles Davis and The Tony Williams Lifetime did in the US. In late 1969, following the demise of the Rendell-Carr quintet, and tiring of British jazz, Carr assembled the legendary Nucleus. Regarding music as a continuous process, Nucleus refused to “recognise rigid boundaries” and worked on delivering what they saw as a “total musical experience”. We can get behind that.

Under bandleader Carr, Nucleus existed as a fluid line-up of inventive, skilled musicians. This constant evolution and revolution was all part of the continuous musical exploration and discovery that took jazz to new levels. And the music has kept relevant. To steal a line from a review of our re-issue of Roots, when it comes to anything Nucleus “it’s basically already hip-hop”.

The very title Elastic Rock could be regarded as the group's MO, describing a melting point between their rock and jazz impulses. Indeed, housed in a memorable gatefold jacket designed by Roger Dean, the die cut molten teardrop shape on the front sleeve opens to reveal a fiery volcanic crater. On the back, Dean's drawing has Carr with saxophonist Brian Smith, guitarist Chris Spedding, drummer John Marshall, bassist Jeff Clyne and sax, oboe and pianist Karl Jenkins in a circle, the central core of a movement and the basis for its activity.

Recorded over four days in January 1970, Elastic Rock didn't sound like any other British jazz album. Exploding out the gate, "1916" opens with Marshall's frantic pounding before melancholic horns enter. The smooth title track, "Elastic Rock" is just a gorgeous electric blues track. Light drums, gentle melodic horns, piano and a solid bassline serve as the perfect bed for Spedding's graceful bluesy guitar melodies. The serene "Striation", a Clyne and Spedding collaboration, is led by bowed bass and is the epitome of calm before the late night laid back vibe of "Taranaki" breezes along sweetly and smoothly with great trumpet and tenor.

The truly emotional "Twisted Track" is elegant with horns, while guitar is gently played with drums and bass. Initially deeply soothing, it gradually builds with various solos and duets. "Crude Blues (Part 1)" features an excellent oboe part by Jenkins with laconic guitar helping out. "Part 2" is livelier, with a heavy backbeat and great wind parts. "1916 (Battle Of Boogaloo)" features a steady bassline and great call and response parts from the horn section.

The highly-charged centrepiece of the record, the mesmeric epic "Torrid Zone" features an hypnotic bassline and hi-hat with some of the ensemble's best soloing. Brilliantly encapsulating the jazz fusion aesthetic so desired by the group, the rhythm section is rock-influenced but magically retains a laid-back jazz vibe. Just perfection. Spacey jazz in the style of In a Silent Way, the semi-ambient "Stonescape" features smooth, muted brass, warm, smokey keys and a barely-there rhythm section. Heavenly.

The bubbling, fragile restraint of "Earth Mother" partially utilises the "Torrid Zone" bassline but takes the energy in a different direction with Marshall's frenetic drumming and Spedding's unpredictable riffing. Next comes the very idiosyncratic drum solo track by Marshall in the appropriately-titled "Speaking for Myself, Personally, in My Own Opinion, I Think." The album closes with the raucous "Persephones Jive", a track that ends the album frantically, riotously, just as it began.

This Be With edition of Elastic Rock has been re-mastered from the original Vertigo master tapes, Simon Francis’ mastering working together with Cicely Balston's cut at AIR Studios to weave their usual magic with these wonderful recordings. The stunning die-cut gatefold sleeve has been restored in all its molten glory.

What a record! The outstanding Solar Plexus, the much-loved third album from Ian Carr and Nucleus, was first released on Vertigo in 1971. Inevitably, original copies are now very tricky to score and, like all the Nucleus records, it’s aged ridiculously well. This Be With re-issue, re-mastered from the original analogue tapes, shows off just why this deserves to be back in press.

Genius trumpeter and visionary composer Ian Carr was one of the most respected British musicians of his era. He was a true pioneer and saw the potential in fusing the worlds of jazz with rock, just as Miles Davis and The Tony Williams Lifetime did in the US. In late 1969, following the demise of the Rendell-Carr quintet, and tiring of British jazz, Carr assembled the legendary Nucleus. Regarding music as a continuous process, Nucleus refused to “recognise rigid boundaries” and worked on delivering what they saw as a “total musical experience”. We can get behind that.

Under bandleader Carr, Nucleus existed as a fluid line-up of inventive, skilled musicians. This constant evolution and revolution was all part of the continuous musical exploration and discovery that took jazz to new levels. And the music has kept relevant. To steal a line from a review of our re-issue of Roots, when it comes to anything Nucleus “it’s basically already hip-hop”.

We'll let Ian describe this one: "I wrote Solar Plexus' last year with the help of an Arts Council grant. It is based on two short themes which are stated at the beginning (Elements I & I1). The first theme is angular and has a slow, crab-like movement: the second theme is direct, simple and diatonic. CHANGING TIME and SPIRIT LEVEL explore the first theme and BEDROCK DEADLOCK and TORSO explore the second one. SNAKEHIPS DREAM tries to fuse both themes. (The title is a reference to the famous dancer 'Snakehips' Johnson)."

Solar Plexus features the same lineup as Elastic Rock and We'll Talk About It Later, but they're augmented by six guests, three of which play brass. Carr himself had almost full control of the writing and it does feel very different to the previous albums. It's more of a jazz record loosely based on a rock foundation rather than jazz fusion jamming.

The haunting synth-and-bass soundscape "Elements I and II" opens the album in dramatic, experimental fashion. It gives way to the bright, funky feel-good jazz of "Changing Times". An elegant onslaught of horns, courtesy of guests Kenny Wheeler and Harry Beckett, ride a solid groove for the duration. How the brass refrains have eluded samplers is beyond us. The melancholic "Bedrock Deadlock" features the brooding majesty of Jenkins' oboe and Clyne's mournful, skittering double bass. Wah wah guitar, drums and funky percussion then take over before the horns ride us out over frenetic beats. The dark, angular "Spirit Level" is a real highlight, by turns harmonic and beautiful then dissonant and wayward. Wonky jazz with no apparent structure or melodic bones. Regardless, it represents a great showcase for each virtuoso performer.

The breezy soul of "Torso" feels like a breath of fresh air, skipping along in the uptempo style with guitar, horns, drums and bass. A track which truly sounds scintillating, featuring sax solos, fantastic propulsive interplay from all the group around the halfway stage before Marshall gets his chance to really shine in closing out with a polyrhythmic drum solo. Final track "Snakehips' Dream" stretches cooly out over 15 minutes to round out a spellbinding album. An epic, suave groove, it's a relaxing piece with warm electric keys, laconic guitar and languorous horns. Truly sophisticated soulful jazz. An absolute masterclass. We could easily listen to this all day long.

This Be With edition of Solar Plexus has been re-mastered from the original Vertigo master tapes, Simon Francis’ mastering working together with Cicely Balston's cut at AIR Studios to weave their usual magic with these wonderful recordings. The stunning gatefold sleeve has been restored to complete this sensational package.

Sometimes I sink into the dark side of life,
Lucky me to have music to pull me back into the light” Kutiman

Following on from his critically acclaimed Open LP released in October, revered polymath Kutiman returns to Siyal Music with his Dense EP. Kutiman continues to push forward with developing his sound as we see the artist creating his first ever electric leaning release. Not the only first, as the haunting vocals layered throughout are a result of Kutiman debuting his very own voice. Kutiman pulls elements from various musical inspirations, be it moody electronica, garage and 2step, modern classical music, ambient or twisted r'n'b. The outcome is a unique, cutting edge blend of emotional pitched down vocals, melodic airy pianos and glitching sound effects.

“This EP expresses emotions from a dark period that I went through. At the time I was into dark electronics and also found inspiration from Rhythm and Sound, Burial, The Blaze, Plasticman and more. The EP all started from a little "Volca" drum machine, which I hooked up and set up a mostly analogue setup around it with some synths and drum machines that enabled me to "jam" a lot of the music without the need to stop for overdubbing or editing”. Kutiman

With an illustrious career spanning over a decade, Ophir Kutiel aka Kutiman moved to Tel Aviv as a teenager to study jazz at the prestigious Rimon music college. It was during this time that he was able to immerse himself in music, with influences cited as Massive Attack, DJ Shadow, Amon Tobin and Parliament. Fast forward to 2007 and his self-titled debut album received a 8.2 rating from Pitchfork and set the precedent for what was to come. Other tastemakers to highlight over the years include; The Guardian, Billboard, The New Yorker, The Wire, Uncut and XLR8R among others. Kutiman is forever pushing boundaries with his music, and draws on a range of world influences from spiritual jazz to psychedelic funk. ‘Dense EP’ sees Kutiman adding yet another string to his musical bow, as we enter the era of electronic inspired music.

Pinky Perzelle, aka Sonny Rooney's debut 'No Games' featuring Eda Eren, is a true labour of love and an ode to his total passion and dedication to multi instrumental record creation without compromise. Almost every instrument was recorded and played by Perzelle at his home studio. Featuring the utterly unique, impassioned and reassuring vocals of British-Turkish artist, Eda Eren, and additional drums from world renowned Malcolm Catto (The Heliocentrics). The lead track is a timeless, heartfelt, funk-ladened portal into a world reminiscent of a cinematic movie scene or an undiscovered gem from another era all-together. The hypnotic 'Remix' from Velvet Season & The Hearts Of Gold aka Gerry Rooney & Joel Martin, introduces subtle electronica and dubbed out instrumentation. A true lesson in after hours, left-field Balearica. Pinky's own 'Electronic Mix' references early house music and broken-beat electronic drums. Showing yet another side of Perzelle's approach to music making.

DJ Feedback

Gilles Peterson:
"Great stuff! Loving the Turkish twist on No Games. Whoooop!"

Dj Harvey:
"Definitely a jam I’ll play in Ibiza for my summer season!"

Francios K:
"I have the Original Mix and love it!"

Tim Sweeney (Beats in space):
"Great job with this. Definitely supporting! Added to BIS playlist."

Colleen Cosmo Murphy (WWFM):
"Now here’s a great new song. A debut song from Pinky Perzelle aka Sonny Rooney. Also a great remix from Velvet Season & The Hearts Of Gold!"

Charlie Bones (Do You):
"Dangerously sexy."

Apiento (Test Pressing):
"A killer song put together with an overall vision from someone that knows where they want to be. An artist to watch. Respect."

Nancy Noise:
"I haven’t stopped listening to it! I mean it! Well done!"

Laurent Garnier:
"Playlisting Original Mix on PBB Radio. Thanks a lot!"

Luke Howard (Horse Meat Disco):
"Bravo, great job. Keep up the good work. Always happy to hear real music with new melodies and ideas!"

Leo Mas:
"Pinky’s Electronic Mix’ is great! Great job, bravo!"

Ashley Beedle:
"I’ll be putting this in August’s show. Sounds wicked."

Jonny Rock:
"This is great! Intense emotion dancefloor bomb! Big up the Perzelle."

Mehmet Aslan:
"Nice ones, I like! Added to Spotify ‘Track ID’s’ playlist."

CC Disco:
"Sick release! Was not what I was expecting. Even better!"

Patrizio Cavaliere (Mixmag Asia):
"A sublime statement of intent."

Foyer Red’s debut LP, Yarn the Hours Away, plays out as a collection of short stories, each with its environment and protagonist(s) meticulously crafted by the band, with lead singer, vocalist, and clarinetist Elana Riordan at the helm. Foyer Red’s debut EP, Zigzag Wombat, showcased their playfully chaotic arrangements, which bridge art-punk, math rock, and sweetly sung indie with a dash of the zoomies.

The band synthesizes their homespun take on magical realist indie rock that was centered on their EP with their varied musical influences; taking cues from the otherworldly melodies of Cate Le Bon, Yucky Duster’s jangle-filled crayon rock, and the organized chaos of Deerhoof’s iconic polyrhythms. The songs that makeup Yarn the Hours Away are fantastical, surrealist stories that hinge on contemporary, post-digital life.

The lead single “Etc” captures this dynamic perfectly. Anchored by Eric Jaso’s hypnotizing bass line, the song unfolds with off-kilter call-and-response vocals between Riordan and Kristina Moore, their stilted deliveries bouncing around the mix. The track is searching but discontent with the algorithmic and claustrophobic realities of daily life: singer/guitarist Mitch Myers throws the song for a loop singing, “gathering information / will set you free once you’ve reached / 37 percent / of the database.” While there’s paranoia and cynicism undergirding the lyrics, the song itself is a thrilling and playful listen.

The songs on Yarn the Hours Away are uniformly exciting and compelling; each track feels distinct and sometimes even in direct conflict. The peppy opener “Plumbers Unite!” belies its themes of gamification of our daily lives and delves into the science fiction and fantasy songwriting of Foyer Red’s debut EP. Centered around a relentless rhythm section, their dueling vocals never abate; Moore and Riordan’s honey-sweet but getting more frantic as the song progresses, while Myers’ erratic talk-singing culminates in one final frustrated scream. Juxtapose this with “Gorgeous,” a lovely song about Riordan and drummer Marco Ocampo’s relationship that sees the band slowing their pace into a blissful sway. Riordan coos and sighs over the track while recalling “Marco-isms”; botched colloquialisms that Ocampo uses.

“Gorgeous” shares little in common with “Pocket,” a loose lamentation on late capitalism that touches on time travel and human evolution. Moore and Riordan’s exclamations are chopped up and used as rhythm instruments, layered over the intricately frenetic guitars of Myers and Moore. Foyer Red thrives on these extremes and contradictions. Where their first release was self-recorded, this LP found them in Figure8 Studios with a deadline. “It was really liberating,” says Jaso. “We're all just kind of throwing in our own voices and challenging each other to make the songs better.”

Yarn the Hours Away comes from a lyric on the closer “Toy Wagon.” The song that first marked the time Moore and the rest of the band worked together, a promising spark of a thrilling collaboration to come. “It harkens back to all of us coming together and spending the hours together in music,” says Moore. “There are few moments where you get to relax and exhale,” adds Riordan. “It's what happened when the five of us got together and started writing. We just wrote all of these out there songs and we didn't see a reason to dial that back. Its natural form is in its chaos and layered craziness.”

The distinctive rolling grooves, growling basslines and blasting horns of Snakehips Etcetera combined to present Nucleus's most energetic record. First released on Vertigo in 1975, original copies of Snakehips Etcetera are now very tricky to score. Like all the Nucleus records, it’s aged ridiculously well and this Be With re-issue, re-mastered from the original analogue tapes, shows off just why this deserves to be back in press.

Genius trumpeter and visionary composer Ian Carr was one of the most respected British musicians of his era. He was a true pioneer and saw the potential in fusing the worlds of jazz with rock, just as Miles Davis and The Tony Williams Lifetime did in the US. In late 1969, following the demise of the Rendell-Carr quintet, and tiring of British jazz, Carr assembled the legendary Nucleus. Regarding music as a continuous process, Nucleus refused to “recognise rigid boundaries” and worked on delivering what they saw as a “total musical experience”. We can get behind that.

Under bandleader Carr, Nucleus existed as a fluid line-up of inventive, skilled musicians. This constant evolution and revolution was all part of the continuous musical exploration and discovery that took jazz to new levels. And the music has kept relevant. To steal a line from a review of our re-issue of Roots, when it comes to anything Nucleus “it’s basically already hip-hop”

With all restraint out the window, 1975's pimped-up Snakehips Etcetera is the outrageous - in both cover art and sound - follow-up to the brooding Under The Sun. It's perhaps not one for the jazz purists! It finds Nucleus pared down to a core group of six, with Carr, Bob Bertles (sax), Ken Shaw (guitar), Geoff Castle (keys), Roger Sutton (bass) and Roger Sellers (drums) comprising the collective. Snakehips Etcetera reflects a period where the compositions start to become a little more direct and less-cerebral in comparison to some of Nucleus' previous releases. And why would we begrudge them some fun? This one rocks, swings and funks with no little soul. And more than a little jazzy sleaze. Clearly, they were having a good time.

The album has a real live, jamming feel to it, no surprise given the extent to which they were touring at the time. The band is tight and grooving throughout, none more so than on Bob Bertles's effervescent opener, "Rat’s Bag". So darn funky it stings, it's an infectious gem full of punchy clean lines over a killer bassline from Sutton. The thick, driving jazz-rock of "Alive And Kicking" is exactly that. It has a very improvisational feel, but an inspired one at that and features a wailing guitar solo from Ken Shaw that simply slays. The funky "Rachel’s Tune" is amazing, bringing you back to Canterbury days with its fuzzed-out organ solos to close out Side A.

Opening up Side B, the cool psychedelic title track unfolds slowly and sensually over its ten-plus minutes. A stoned soul stew of sorts, each member of the crew gets their chance to shine over Sellers's steady drums. The melodic funk fusion of "Pussyfoot" pairs Carr with Bertles on ace solo flute for a bright, springy melody. This one really gleams over shuffling drums. Changing the pace to close out this memorable set, the particularly cool "Heyday" is a reflective, sober tune which reinforces the sumptuous Nucleus palette, the acoustic guitar and bass high in the mix to make the neck snap, the horns elegantly blasting to help you swoon.

This Be With edition of Snakehips Etcetera has been re-mastered from the original Vertigo master tapes, Simon Francis’ mastering working together with Cicely Balston's cut at AIR Studios to weave their usual magic with these wonderful recordings. The striking, lascivious sleeve has been restored in all its seductive/ridiculous beauty.

»Picture a Frame,« the debut album by the Belgian composer Elisabeth Klinck, was born out of strict isolation and is nonetheless a result of a collaborative process that saw her working closely with artist Oscar Claus. Enriching her compositions for violin with electronic soundscapes and field recordings from their surroundings, the two entered an artistic dialogue that took place inside its own idiosyncratic space outside of conventional time. It is an intimate record in which Klinck’s expressive playing that incorporates unconventional techniques forms the basis of something much bigger: an invitation to inhabit a specific space at a specific time together with the two of them.

For an entire week in the spring of 2021, Klinck and Claus stayed at an abandoned monastery surrounded by beautiful gardens, but with no power or running water. The intention was to record some of Klinck’s musical ideas on violin, experiment with electronics and acoustic spaces and to get to know each other on a musical level. This proved to be an inspiring and deeply moving process—and the starting point for more. In the winter of that year, the duo set out to the Spanish Pyrenees to build a DIY studio in a small village on a mountain top and record the eight pieces that form »Picture a Frame.« The idea of losing track of time and space is a theme that found its way in these recordings. The two spent their days and nights reading, walking, talking, cooking and taking care of the animals living there but also experimenting with sound, improvising together and making field recordings.

This deep focus on being present in the moment, listening to the world around them and each other resulted in a holistic experience that was translated into music and sound. Klinck and Claus understand this album as a collage, an attempt to evoke the implicit, an essay that suggests a time and space, and a gentle collision between two people that deeply resonate with one another. It’s impossible to argue with that, and even harder not to be drawn into it.

Synth Soundtrack is a re-work of Sick Soundtrack, the first album by Gaznevada, the legendary new wave no wave rock dance punk band of the 70s-80s.


The Sick Soundtrack multitrack no longer exists, it was lost many years ago: no multitrack no remixes. And, in fact, Synth Soundtrack is NOT a remix.


No possibility of removing or correcting sounds, synthesizers, rhythms, it was only possible to add. Basically today's Gaznevada played together with original Gaznevada. A time machine jam session. A kind of techno-musical psychoanalysis. Synth Soundtrack moves away from Sick Soundtrcak to take its own original path.
Was there ever anyone in the history of rock who ever did something like this?
Hmm... Oh... So... Maybe... No... No, definitely not. Nobody.

Degrees of Freedom is a Canadian musical group founded in 1984 in Montreal by Janet Cadman (vocals and percussion), Martin Chartrand (bass, guitar, rhythm programming and vocals) and David Curtis (keyboards, vocals, and percussion). Established as a 5-piece New Wave cover band, Degrees of Freedom evolved into its classic quartet configuration following the departure of the original guitarist and drummer, and the subsequent enlistment of Santino Mastrocola on drums. With this lineup change came a new musical mission: the writing, recording and live presentation of original material only. Since Santino's withdrawal from the band in 1988, Degrees of Freedom has carried on as a trio in the studio while augmenting concert performances with additional musicians. In February 1985, Degrees of Freedom performed at the newly formed S.O.S. (Save Our Songwriters) Club in Montreal. Like other participants in the S.O.S. project, Degrees of Freedom was rewarded with studio time to record some of its own songs. One of these, "August is an Angel" was selected to close out the locally produced 1985 band anthology album "Listen - A Faze Compilation of Montreal Music." The next year, a new track "In This Room," was included in the follow-up release "Listen 2." Both songs, with four newly recorded works, were issued in 1988 as Degrees of Freedom's eponymous sole vinyl release, informally known as the “China” album. In 2015, the music of Degrees of Freedom experienced a renaissance thanks to a new generation of club DJs, traditional and internet-based radio hosts, vinyl disc collectors, and other aficionados of synth-based music. Local and international recognition has come in the form of record sales to fans in Canada as well as in the USA, Germany, Scotland, England, Ireland, Belgium, The Netherlands, France, Spain, Lithuania, Sweden, Bulgaria, Australia, Vietnam, and Japan. Responding to the resurgence of interest, Degrees of Freedom has twice re-issued the disc (2017 and 2019). Today, with eyes on the future and the past, Janet, Martin and David continue to collaborate on new material including the songs, "Metal Flesh" and "Be This Way" both accessible on the band's YouTube channel.

"The Fact of Being are happy to inform about the second step in a series of reissues of early works by Peter Davison. The long-awaited re-edition of a highly acclaimed and innovative album "Glide" 1981 to celebrate its 40th anniversary. "Glide" was the second artist's album. Released in 1981 on vinyl and urgently repressed in 1982 due to high demand it was sold-out fast again and has not been reissued since that. To date, this is one of the rarest and wanted ambient recordings that finally available again with original artwork and short liner notes from Peter Davison himself. A fascinating ambient album less new-age more minimal ambient. An absolute classic in the spirit of Iasos, Brian Eno, Jon Hassell, Michael Stearns... Peter Davison has composed music scores for Indie Features, the History Channel, A+E, Biography, PBS, Warner Bros., Disney, Universal, Discovery, Gaiam (Yoga/Relaxation music), and others. Over 25 CDs of his music are available on EMI/Higher Octave, Gaiam, Davisounds, and TSR/Baja. His instrumental "Sip of Wine" (from his CD "Future, Present, Past") received the Best Song of the Year Award, Hollywood Music in Media Awards, (New Age/Ambient), 2010. Both "Fern Valley" and "Mount Tahquitz" from his CD "Forest Home" and "Possibility" (from his CD "Possibility") have also received nominations. Peter's score for the PBS Series "The Endless Voyage" was nominated for the "Best Score of the Year, TV Show." Peter Davison has composed the memorable music for over 45 of GAIAM's award-winning DVDs featuring master instructors yoga and meditations Rodney Yee, Patricia Walden, Suzanne Deason, David-Dorian Ross, and others."

Finally back on vinyl, this time a limited pressing of 500 copies on 180g white vinyl, 'More Wealth Than Money' by Normil Hawaiians quickly sold-out upon its initial release in 2017.
'More Wealth Than Money' proved a vastly ambitious debut album, sprawling across four sides of vinyl in a way that still feels truly expansive, brave, cinematic even. From the plaintive pastoralism of 'British Warm' to the transcendental vistas of 'Other Ways Of Knowing', the album constantly surprises with its ringing trails of guitar, motorik pulse and synth rambles. From the striving incursion of 'Sally IV' to the softly spoken disbelief of 'Yellow Rain' the album is nothing short of a waking dream. Guy Smith's vocal floats through the album in a haunting manner, at times heartfelt at others overcome. He's on a quest to his own celestial city and we can stay for the whole journey if we only listen.
Described by the press upon its release in 1982 as an "absolutely mesmerising double album travelling through progressive rock, via industrial folk to freaky art-punk whilst sounding delightfully coherent" and "a huge slab of mindblowing dark psychedelia" the album was critically acknowledged for its peculiarly British kosmische. However, for an album so indebted to the fertile soil from which it sprang, it's curious that 'More Wealth Than Money' never came out officially in the UK. The band's label Illuminated were temporarily blacklisted by their distributor because of unpaid debts and so the album was only available from the band at concerts within the UK. The bulk of the record's sales went to mainland Europe on export.
Upset The Rhythm are now very proud to finally give 'More Wealth Than Money' the release it's always deserved. On December 1st, 35 years since the album first appeared, Upset The Rhythm will be reissuing the newly re-mastered 'More Wealth Than Money' album, alongside a further full-length collection of demos and unreleased tracks from the album's overlooked corners. Both the 2xCD and DLP versions also come with a booklet contextualizing the release, full of anecdotes and photos from all band members.
Track listing:

After his first appearance on Specimen Records as a part of the, SPECTRO-017 with his track “React”, Arsonist Recorder now comes with a first solo-EP on the label, Arsonist Recorder now comes with a first solo-EP on the label, in which the producer reaches back into some deeper, almost trippy states of mind, accompanied by some ultimately addictive electro grooves.

The first track, “Vaxxer”, which also titles the EP, puts up a warehouse-worthy beat, handing out bass-punches as it moves along. A rude hi-hat pattern shuffles the groove, and once the rhythm has you hooked, some lush eerie synth patterns start to emerge transporting the listener to the rooftop of a skyscraper in a dystopian city.

Next up is “Oxidant”, which was written with a close friend in mind who was going through some difficult times. The strong determination of the pulsating bass, overlayed by a very emotional melodic element leads you from the contrast to unity, refecting, pushing forward.

“Multiverse” comes in with a thunderous boom, reminiscent of a huge spaceship landing, which could be a metaphor for events that land on top of our heads, which we have no control over and have to deal with. The track introduces an infectious 808-groove, building up, and some chilling synths warp their way straight into your mind to de-program all the viruses in there and set you free from any mind-control.

Finally, finishing off is “Shiffty”. It lands straight away with a heart-pounding beat, with bass-bots bouncing, adding an ultra-funky bassline that will keep your feet moving. Waves of synthy-bliss wash over as this groove connects all your individual elements together.

LTM presents a limited edition clear vinyl edition of Sorry For Laughing, the legendary first album by cult Scottish guitar group Josef K, recorded for Postcard Records but destined to become the great ‘lost album’ of the post-punk era.
This remastered edition of Sorry For Laughing replicates the original Robert Sharp artwork (a solarised portrait of the band atop Calton Hill, printed in silver pantone), with detailed sleeve notes on the inner bag, and the added bonus of a 12 track CD, The TV Art Demos, featuring all tracks from the band’s very first recording sessions in 1979.
Recorded at Castle Sound Studios (Edinburgh) in November 1980, Sorry For Laughing should have been issued as Postcard 81-1, but was shelved after the band and label boss Alan Horne decided the 12-song set sounded too polished. Perhaps two dozen white-label copies in unmade sleeves exist, and have sold for as much as £1,000 amongst collectors. Josef K issued their second stab at a debut album, The Only Fun In Town, in July 1981 – only to split after completing a promotional tour.
This remastered edition of Sorry For Laughing replicates the original Robert Sharp artwork (a solarised portrait of the band atop Calton Hill, printed in silver pantone), with detailed sleeve notes on the inner bag, and the added bonus of a 12 track CD, The TV Art Demos, featuring all tracks from the band’s very first recording sessions in 1979.
‘They were The Sound of Young Scotland, together with Orange Juice, whose guitars were also radiant and brittle, whose rhythms were also scrubbed and blunt, whose vocals were also proud and serious, but who sounded like another group entirely’ (Paul Morley); ‘In retrospect, their aborted attempt at a debut album feels much superior to what was finally released. The early versions of the songs sound superbly coiled and keen, the sublime poise of Endless Soul their truly timeless blaze of glory’ (Simon Reynolds)

Bonus CD (The TV Art Demos) 1. Chance Meeting (take #1) 2. Terry’s Show Lies 3. No Glory 4. Final Request 5. Art of Things 6. Romance (take #1) 7. Torn Mentor 8. Night Ritual 9. Heads Watch 10.

Lloyd Cole & The Commotions – Cole, Blair Cowan, Lawrence Donegan, Neil Clark and Stephen Irvine – were formed in Glasgow in 1982, where Buxton-born singer-songwriter Cole was studying Philosophy and English at the University of Glasgow -Their sound swam against the tide of shiny 80s synthesisers, offering intense, melodic, guitar-based pop, topped with droll words packed with literary references.

Mainstream is the third and final studio album by Lloyd Cole and the Commotions. It was produced by Ian Stanley and released by Polydor Records in the UK and by Capitol Records in the US on 26 October 1987. It included the singles "My Bag", "Jennifer She Said" and "From the Hip".

This re-issue faithfully replicates the original 1985 Polydor Records UK release with printed inner sleeve and is pressed onto high quality 180g vinyl.

Slovenia multimedia, electronic and rock group Borghesia formed back in 1982 from members of an underground theatre group that was known as FV-112/15. They also ran their own alternative club and had an illicit, illegal aesthetic based around anything taboo, banned or prohibited in the country at the time, much like the likes of Front 242 and Nitizer Ebb. Rugged City was an album first released in 1988 and only in Yugoslavia. It collects the best tunes from previous albums Escorts And Models and No Hope No Fear and is a perfect overview of their powerful mutant sound.

* In Katta's music, ancient and modern worlds come together, the sacred meets the profane, and technological chasms are crossed: you might hear her play on some of the world's most treasured pipe organs in churches and cathedrals, or on her state-of-the-art, custom-built electric touring organ - and whether the ambience is provided by the dreamy acoustics of vaulted sacred spaces, or electronic soundscapes weaving in and out of her organ lines, the spirit of her music is unmistakable: ethereal, experimental, arresting.

* Katta first came to international prominence as a classical organist and harpsichordist, performing with orchestras such as Anima Eterna (with Jos van Immerseel), Zurich Chamber Orchestra (with Sir Roger Norrington), the Royal Flemish Philharmonic, and the Prague Symphony Orchestra - but it was when she started writing and performing her own music that her artistic identity truly asserted itself. 2016's 'Veni Sancte Spiritus' album was the first to showcase her compositions – other-worldly, spiritual works featuring distinctive vocals and tinkling, percussive bells: by turns lyrical and jarring, they seemed to come from a distant and mysterious past, and yet to belong entirely to the present. Katta’s original vocal/instrumental project Vox Organi won a prize at 2018 Classic Prague Awards.
* Katta also finds inspiration in collaborating with other artists, from British violinist Daniel Hope to American organ sensation Cameron Carpenter. This year she performed at Olavsfest in Norway, taking the stage right after a set from Björk. Her new album 'Vox Organi' will be released soon on Berlin label Emika Records, and Katta has been performing material from the album on her recent tour of the same name.

In a club scene saturated with the Minneapolis sound, Luck Rosenbloom was searching for something different. Using Korgand Moog synths, Steinway Concert Piano and a Boss DR-110 Dr. Rhythm, he created his own funky fusion sound to spread the word of God to the mainstream. Recorded at Minneapolis's Custom Record Studios he cut 200 copies of this elusive 45 of which only a few known copies exist. The record was promoted on his cable access TV show "Lucky Mania TV" where he encouraged kids to say no to drugs and take their vitamins.

Romano, bassist Jean-François Jenny-Clark and pianist Joachim Kühn.
They hadn’t rehearsed anything, as if entering the studio to record an
album without any plan was something normal. The musicians were
obviously very used to playing with each other, as the five tracks on
Our Meanings And Our Feelings seem to flow perfectly without any
hint of improvisation. The zokra, an oriental clarinet that Michel Portal
plays on “Walking through the land” and “Dear old Morocco” brings a
singular touch to this album. This singularity is transcended by
Joachim Kühn’s ability to easily go from the piano to the saxophone
alto, from supporting to soloing, before playing the bells, then the
tambourine, opening the soundscape. Our Meanings And Our
Feelings may not be the first French free jazz record – as it was
preceded by the fantastic Free Jazz by François Tusques, released in
1965 and on which Michel Portal plays as well - but it remains one of
the most important. Its incredible outburst of sounds and melodies is
completely free yet never turns into cacophony. 44 years after its
release, it is still urgent to listen to Our Meanings And Our Feelings
and what these five talented musicians had to tell us.

On June 27th, 1969, Michel Portal pushed the door of the Pathé
Marconi studios. With him were drummers Jacques Thollot and Aldo

High Roller Records, Wiederveröffentlichung 2023, schwarzes Vinyl, ltd 150, Einleger. In den Fußstapfen der einzigartigen Mercyful Fate und zusammen mit obskureren Acts wie Alien Force, Randy und Crystal Knight gehören die Kopenhagener Witch Cross zu den besten dänischen Heavy-Metal-Bands aller Zeiten. Das 1984er Album "Fit For Fight" ist sicherlich eines der Top-5-Alben in der Geschichte des dänischen Heavy Metal. Nach einer langen Pause folgte auf "Fit For Fight" das zweite Album "Axe To Grind" im Jahr 2013 (ursprünglich veröffentlicht von Hell's Headbangers und nun auf High Roller Records für ein breiteres Publikum wiederveröffentlicht). "Axe To Grind" war für mich ein großartiges Comeback-Album", sagt Gitarrist und Gründungsmitglied Mike Koch heute. "Wir hatten einige Gastmusiker/Sänger Gastsänger und Chris Tsangarides hat das Album gemischt, es war also eine starke Verbindung zur Vergangenheit. Die Songs waren wirklich gut, vielleicht ein bisschen zu old-school, aber das ist es, was wir auf dem Album wollten."Wir waren überwältigt, wie die Presse uns gelobt hat", fährt der Witch Cross-Gitarrist fort. "Es fühlte sich gut an und gab uns das Gefühl, dass die Band das Richtige getan hat, obwohl "Fit For Fight" so ein Kultalbum war. Es gab allerdings eine Ausnahme: "In unserem Heimatland bekam "Axe To Grind" nicht so viel Aufmerksamkeit, wie wir gehofft hatten. Aber die Konzerte, die wir dort gespielt haben, waren großartig." "Axe To Grind" war das zweite Album der Band nach einer langen Pause. Wie kam es überhaupt zu der Wiedervereinigung und wann und warum hat Mike Koch beschlossen, doch ein neues Studioalbum aufzunehmen? "Ich war mit einer Menge anderer Musik beschäftigt und wollte ein Metal-Album schreiben", erklärt er. "Also habe ich angefangen Ideen zu sammeln, und als wir 2012 bei Keep It True spielten, hatten wir ‚Demon In The Mirror' aufgenommen, das wir auf dem Festival spielten, um zu sehen, wie die Leute darauf reagieren. Zusammen mit 'Demon In The Mirror' sind 'Pandora's Box' und 'Bird Of Prey' meine Lieblingssongs auf der Platte. Nach 'Keep It True' beschlossen wir, dass wir mit 'Witch' weitermachen müssen." Koch hält es jedoch nicht für richtig, zu sagen, dass "Axe To
Grind" dort weitermachte, wo "Fit For Fight" aufgehört hatte: "Nein, das stimmt nicht wirklich. Es ist eher eine Verbindung zur Vergangenheit, als zu dem, was wir 1985-86 musikalisch weitergekommen wären, wenn wir ein weiteres Album gemacht hätten. Es gibt einen Song namens 'The Chosen One' auf dem neuen Album "Angel Of Death", der meiner Meinung nach viel mehr im Stil von Witch Cross von 1985 ist."

High Roller Records, Wiederveröffentlichung 2023, schwarzes Vinyl, ltd 150, Einleger. In den Fußstapfen der einzigartigen Mercyful Fate und zusammen mit obskureren Acts wie Alien Force, Randy und Crystal Knight gehören die Kopenhagener Witch Cross zu den besten dänischen Heavy-Metal-Bands aller Zeiten. Das 1984er Album "Fit For Fight" ist sicherlich eines der Top-5-Alben in der Geschichte des dänischen Heavy Metal. Nach einer langen Pause folgte auf "Fit For Fight" das zweite Album "Axe To Grind" im Jahr 2013 (ursprünglich veröffentlicht von Hell's Headbangers und nun auf High Roller Records für ein breiteres Publikum wiederveröffentlicht). "Axe To Grind" war für mich ein großartiges Comeback-Album", sagt Gitarrist und Gründungsmitglied Mike Koch heute. "Wir hatten einige Gastmusiker/Sänger Gastsänger und Chris Tsangarides hat das Album gemischt, es war also eine starke Verbindung zur Vergangenheit. Die Songs waren wirklich gut, vielleicht ein bisschen zu old-school, aber das ist es, was wir auf dem Album wollten."Wir waren überwältigt, wie die Presse uns gelobt hat", fährt der Witch Cross-Gitarrist fort. "Es fühlte sich gut an und gab uns das Gefühl, dass die Band das Richtige getan hat, obwohl "Fit For Fight" so ein Kultalbum war. Es gab allerdings eine Ausnahme: "In unserem Heimatland bekam "Axe To Grind" nicht so viel Aufmerksamkeit, wie wir gehofft hatten. Aber die Konzerte, die wir dort gespielt haben, waren großartig." "Axe To Grind" war das zweite Album der Band nach einer langen Pause. Wie kam es überhaupt zu der Wiedervereinigung und wann und warum hat Mike Koch beschlossen, doch ein neues Studioalbum aufzunehmen? "Ich war mit einer Menge anderer Musik beschäftigt und wollte ein Metal-Album schreiben", erklärt er. "Also habe ich angefangen Ideen zu sammeln, und als wir 2012 bei Keep It True spielten, hatten wir ‚Demon In The Mirror' aufgenommen, das wir auf dem Festival spielten, um zu sehen, wie die Leute darauf reagieren. Zusammen mit 'Demon In The Mirror' sind 'Pandora's Box' und 'Bird Of Prey' meine Lieblingssongs auf der Platte. Nach 'Keep It True' beschlossen wir, dass wir mit 'Witch' weitermachen müssen." Koch hält es jedoch nicht für richtig, zu sagen, dass "Axe To
Grind" dort weitermachte, wo "Fit For Fight" aufgehört hatte: "Nein, das stimmt nicht wirklich. Es ist eher eine Verbindung zur Vergangenheit, als zu dem, was wir 1985-86 musikalisch weitergekommen wären, wenn wir ein weiteres Album gemacht hätten. Es gibt einen Song namens 'The Chosen One' auf dem neuen Album "Angel Of Death", der meiner Meinung nach viel mehr im Stil von Witch Cross von 1985 ist."

Unforgettable moments of beauty and peace. Eternal Reality is an electronic listening experience to the inner self while it was created in a state of deep consciousness. "Be Free" has got the pulse of endless time and describes the feeling of wellbeing and balance in a temporary world. It can be seen as a listening meditation and a call to take a break.

"Behind The Scenes" describes moments of escaping from daily routines and small moments of silence between tasks and before next rush hour.

„Shape“ is a global thought about the beginning of life and existence. All material things on earth have got a shape made by man or nature.

„Kotodama“ describes the beauty of words and languages. Information interchange for progress.

This product was created using vintage synthesizers for maximum fun!

Lime green (yellowish?) vinyl LP Finnish noise rock duo NYOS deliver a clairvoyant Celebration of the present, written at a time when that present was shimmering just like the feathers of the cover art courtesy of animal photographer Zac Herr. Combining the danceable grooves of Battles with Sonic Youth - infused noise bursts and the yearning electric melodies of And So I Watch You From Afar, Celebration is a defiantly joyful, loud, and festive affair. A promising cure for the drudgery of the times we live in. Recorded by Brooke in his own Tonehaven Recording Studio, Celebration is the latest testament to the undeniable synergy these musicians have built over the past seven years. With the material largely written before the advent of corona, Celebration is a reflection of life before lockdown, filled to the brim with infectious grooves and glaring melodies. "We tried for something upbeat this time to contrast the times," explains Tom Brooke about the recording process, which in turn did take place during pandemic life. "We always love it when people can move to our music, so a big focus for the record was to embrace the dance vibe and go for it." This collection of eight colourful, jarring tracks is rife with small nods to dance music throughout the world. Take a song like "Light" with its complex syncopated drum pattern that recalls the Amen Break so typical for drum and bass music, but listen closely and the song reveals an off-beat skank that flips over into experimental reggae territory. Similarly, a track like "Tucano" recalls the experimental IDM of Bristol-based producer Vessel, while "Gold Vulcan" offsets a gnarly gyrating guitar riff with Latin- American and oriental melodies. The attention to detail on Celebration is phenomenal. The album contains some of the band's most layered compositions to date, but it is also the first NYOS record to feature improvised live recordings, the aptly named "First Take" as well as the celestial "Cloudberry". These musical sketches show two musicians at the apex of their connectedness. Every time that one of them appears to be taking a somewhat questionable turn, you'll find yourself carefully and respectfully readjusting your own interpretation of the song's intention - and what NYOS are all about.

In the days before “landfill” indie, and in rebellion against a developing Britpop orthodoxy, there were some weird but melodic bands coming of age outside London that drew inspiration from the US underground and the sparkly retro-futurism of Japan. Primitive guitar noise with art rock leanings, post punk DIY and fanzine culture. The best known of these bands was maybe Urusei Yatsura; “noisy stars”, named in honour of Rumiko Takahashi, legendary manga creator.

Back in 1996, after several increasingly well-received 7’s, the band travelled to Leamington Spa to record their debut album with John Rivers, producer of Swell Maps and Glasgow scene godparents, The Pastels. The resulting album won the group legions of new fans and gained them their first Independent #1 chart placing, alongside peers Ash and Super Furry Animals.

“These were fertile years in Glasgow, a scene with no name, no single sound, where the magic thread tying everyone together was words and works so personal, they couldn’t be mistaken for anyone else’s. ‘We Are Urusei Yatsura’ is a cascade of ‘why not?’ thinking. The way ‘Phasers on Stun’ spirals into ‘Sola Kola’; the sunburned 23-second improv at the end of ‘Pachinko’; the slack-echoing strings of the outro to ‘Road Song’ sprayed with the shrapnel of toy electronics. Pure pop magic, Ren & Stimpy on upstairs, ray-guns, Ian’s homemade walkie-talkie speaker, a beatbox, all sealed with a “Talking Tina” doll’s emphatic endorsement: “I love it”” – Nick Soulsby

A musical project that was very close to the heart of Jon Lord. High-quality British blues at its finest. In 2010, Pete York (Spencer Davis Group, Hardin & York) asked Jon to join a concert that was named the Rhythm & Blues Allstars. As a result of having incredibly good time together, the band decided to form the Jon Lord Blues Project. Six successful musicians, old friends who have known each other since the 60s and 70s and whose musical past reads like the "Who's Who" of blues and rock music history: Deep Purple, Spencer Davis Group, Chris Rea, Whitesnake and many more. Recorded at the Rottweil Jazz Festival in 2011, Jon Lord, Miller Anderson, Maggie Bell, Colin Hodgkinson, Zoot Money and Pete York presented classic blues songs as well as contemporary compositions, such as by Deep Purple and Tom Waits. Being long out of print and sought after, this incredible live show will be available for the first time ever on blue coloured Vinyl, pressed on 180 gramm and housed in a gatefold with printed inner sleeves.

Fellow violinist Stuff Smith marveled, "He plays violin like Coltrane plays saxophone." Born in 1942, the French violinist Jean- Luc Ponty transported jazz violin playing into the world of modern jazz. On Frank Zappa's urging, Ponty moved to the States in 1970. Over the next years he toured with Zappa, the Mahavishnu Orchestra, and Chick Corea's "Return to Forever".If Ponty's 1983 album Individual Choice was the sketchbook of his decision to take his music in a new direction, Open Mind (1984), released the following year, was a deeper
exploration of the emerging world of synthesizers and sequencers and their impact on live and studio performance. Here, complex rhythmic patterns shift in the background while new sounds appear and disappear on the surface in colorful bursts, and outstanding jazz improvisors create familiar music in new settings. It's almost an audio version of a kinetic wind sculpture.

Ponty chose to use a Roland rhythm machine instead of faking real drum and percussion sounds and played all the keyboard parts himself in order to further explore the concept he had introduced in Individual Choice. He additionally asked two longtime friends to solo on various tracks: George Benson, whom JLP had met and played with when they were both 21 years old, and Chick Corea, who
excels on two tracks with his Moog synthesizer. Open Mind has been re-mastered by 2023 Grammy Nominee Christoph Stickeland includes new liner notes.

"As I write these notes sitting on my balcony in July 2022, it has been more than 9 years since the release of my debut album and more than 11years since it was recorded, the time since has been a personally tumultuous period of twists and turns - retreat, reflection, realization, reassessment, therapy, triumph, trial and error - entangled in a decade-long creative block that had me questioning whether
I would ever be able to compose again and though I felt there was so much I wanted and needed to say, I felt I had lost my voice, or perhaps never had one in the first place. A constant knot had grown tighter and tighter within me over time, but I did not understand what had created it or how it might be undone. In 2018, shaken awake by the collision of two transients, I suddenly saw in a new light old
patterns whose familiar presences I realized I had felt for much of my life, but had until then never seen for what they were. Following a third, I finally found the humility to surrender, and as I began re- examining and confronting myself, I slowly started to discover new answers - and new questions to ask.

Then the Covid-19 pandemic happened, and the world stopped. Like so many of us caught in the new eerie calm, I retreated into inner spaces. I began revisiting sketches of ideas I had accumulated over the years, and finally, very, very slowly, new music started to come. " - Jussi Reijonen.

"Electrifying and deeply resonant, monumental and profoundly personal, Reijonen's five- movement suite is a beautifully crafted, remarkable journey of sound and emotion performed by a knockout nine-piece ensemble." - Monarch

"He's written one hell of a piece." - The Arts Fuse

"On this remarkable and ambitious new recording, Reijonen delivers an epic transcultural suite that feels as deeply personal as it is expansive and farreaching." - All About Jazz "a remarkable sophomore album" -The Boston Globe

"This is an album meticulously pulled together into a dense fabric of diverse musical threads. It merits repeated listening; with each fresh listen, the richness of Reijonen's intercultural vocabulary becomes more apparent." London Jazz News

"Even in our present jazz moment, when the art form is worldwide and vital, albums that come as complete surprises are relatively rare. Three seconds Kolme Toista is a stunner." Jazz Times

"Three seconds Kolme Toista is spellbinding from beginning to end, and full of virtuoso performances." All About Jazz

In 1978 Iasos has returned with a new album consist of 2 long peaceful compositions “The Angels of Comfort “ and “Angel Play”. These pieces are extremely soothing, heavenly, loving, and peaceful, and it captures the energies of love – on a galactic scale. It functions as a universal healing comforting presence. This genre of music could be termed “classical New Age music”. The philosopher Alan Watts has said, “Iasos is doing the classical music of the New Age.” This album is a “vibrational environment” of soothing loving angelic feelings – very nurturing and comforting. The music can be used for creating a sacred space, for meditating, body-work, visualization, hospice work, emotional healing, and for tuning into angels. It is well suited for relaxing the mind, body and spirit. When Iasos first released this album, it immediately became an underground classic, due to its universal appeal. It was the one of first albums that created a new music genre now known as “New Age” music. In addition, it still is one of the most cherished pieces of music worldwide. The Psychology Department at Plymouth State College had this music receive the highest rating, by quite a margin, for being “most like the heavenly music” heard by people who had had a near-death experience. “Angelic Music” was released on vinyl only once in 1989 on Brazilian label Estúdio Eldorado. This is a first LP reissue and additional CD reissue. Comes with original artwork – Painting “Star Dancer” by Gilbert Williams.

Avalon Emerson & the Charm is an evolution. Created during an extended break from the hectic blur of her life as a touring DJ, the album is a personal statement of intent from an artist who’s long looked beyond the club for inspiration. It’s also the first time that Emerson has put herself, her emotions and, most notably, her voice fully into the spotlight.

Having spent her entire career working more or less alone, Emerson purposely sought out a small cast of like-minded artists to help bring the album to life. A Chief among them was UK avant-pop savant Bullion, who executive produced the record and, most importantly, shares both Emerson’s predilection for shimmering pop melodies and her boundary- less approach to music-making.

Working together, they cracked open her head and heart alike, creating a space where she could intimately reflect on the people and places she’s loved and left behind.

Metal Slug 4 marks the dazzling return of the Peregrine Falcons in this unforgettable new episode of the cult series developed by SNK. In this sequel, the legendary SNK Sound Team continues its work and signs a new explosive soundtrack with rock-orchestral sounds. The complete soundtrack was remastered and is available for the very first time on vinyl format!