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Oz Echoes peels away another layer of Australia's '80s DIY hive mind. The Oz Waves successor exposes a deeper circuit of micro-run cassettes, community radio archives and irrationally abandoned studio sessions, as Steele Bonus sequences a 10-track compendium of drone pop, psyche-electronics and agitated tape cut-ups.

From the Sydney cassette network, The Horse He's Sick returns with an industrial car crash, alongside Wrong Kind of Stone Age's pagan cacophony and primal riddims. M Squared dynamo Patrick Gibson appears in both Height/Dismay and Mr Knott, his respective studio-as-an-instrument collaborations with Dru Jones (Scattered Order) and ex-Slugfucker Gordon Renouf - the former's worn out apparition hails from an instantly deleted 1981 7", while Mr Knott entrust one of the compilation's five previously unreleased tracks.

Matt Mawson represents Brisbane music media-printed matter collective ZIP, as Adelaide's Three D Radio grants access to their vaults of live-to-air recordings and aspiring demo submissions, rescuing the slap-happy punk-funk of The Frenzied Bricks and Jandy Rainbow's prodigious beginnings in Les Trois Etrangers and Aeroplane Footsteps. Synchronously in Melbourne, Ash Wednesday (Karen Marks, The Metronomes) leads Modern Jazz' improvised proto-techno and EBM pioneers Shanghai Au Go-Go home record their sardonic synth-wave.

A cherry-picked cast of unusual suspects, Oz Echoes' unfamed artist and non-band narratives are detailed by track-by-track liner notes with rarely published archival visions and artwork from Video Synth, prompting further rabbit hole ventures into this golden era of creative risk-taking and instant action.

Wyvern Lingo are ready to reveal another taste of their highly-anticipated second album ‘Awake You Lie’, in the shape of record opener ‘Only Love, Only Light’. “This album is so much about us comforting each other. It’s about being in your late-twenties, when all the pieces are starting to settle into place and you worry whether or not you’ve made the right moves” - Wyvern Lingo, October 2020. ‘Awake You Lie’ will be released on Friday 26th February. Recorded in JRS studios in Berlin pre-COVID, with the final tweaks managed in lockdown Ireland, ‘Awake You Lie’ comes almost two years to the day after their widely acclaimed, Choice Music Prize-nominated, debut album. The tracks released thus far, accompanied by videos filmed in both Berlin and Bray, show a band brimming with confidence in their sound, relaxed in their environment, but still ready to ask hard questions about their place in the world. To describe Wyvern Lingo as ‘tight-knit’ wouldn’t even cover it - they have long debunked the myth that you can’t choose your family. After all, the band was formed in Bray in a teenage world of self-discovery, soundtracked by the 60's/70's music of their parents, and the 90's/00's R'n'B of their childhood. If anything, the band - Caoimhe Barry, Karen Cowley and Saoirse Duane - are closer than ever two years on from their first album, a steely, us-against-the-world determination that has its roots in their origin story. If the self-titled first album caught the band on the cusp of transitioning from folky songstresses to R’n’B/alt-pop influenced players, then ‘Awake You Lie’ sees Wyvern Lingo fully immersed in who they are as a band - superb musicians and supernatural harmonisers with a gimlet eye to spear the ever shifting mores of modern relationships, both intimate and platonic. The album title - ‘Awake You Lie’ - is taken from a line in the new song ‘Aurora’, the phones-aloft, showstopper that closes side 1 of the record. The band add: “A recurring image during this album writing process was light, the lack thereof, and wanting to see things more clearly, for ourselves and others. We called the album "Awake You Lie" because it evokes an image of night-time when someone should be sleeping but can’t, due to restlessness or worry..

Remastered Limited Blue Vinyl with Gatefold Sleeve.
Includes A2 poster and 3 art prints of each individual band member.

Way back in 1982, Battersea based mod heroes The Direct Hits had released one single on Dan Treacy’s Whamm! record label, ‘Modesty Blaise’ earlier in the year. This was singled out in the music press as not just one of your average Jam crash / bang /wallop mod revivalist tunes.
Live gigs showed they had a mighty powerful set of catchy mod / pop tunes in the back pocket. Whamm! were struggling to provide the funds to record an album, the songs were too good not to commit to a full 12’ set, so the Direct Hits pooled their limited resources and self financed a very cheap one day recording session in a tiny studio in Tooting, South London called Broadway Sound.
Early on the morning of August 12th 1982 the band, comprising of Colin Swan, Geno Buckmaster, Brian Grover and their trusty roadie ‘Robbo’ assembled at the tiny studio to begin recording as many of their songs as they could get down on tape for the tiny budget they had scraped together. As most of the songs were already well rehearsed thanks to the band’s busy live schedule, the recording of the first nine songs on this disc were finished by mid afternoon without any problems. Throughout the late afternoon and early evening the band toiled over scant overdubs with limited keyboard facilities and a distinct lack of musical ability. The recordings immediately came to life however, when Colin Swan and Geno Buckmaster’s stage-honed tight harmonies were added, there was no time for vocal overdubs, and the mixing was completed by midnight. Tired and worn out, the band ventured out into the cold night air happy with the days work, clutching the precious reel to reel tape.
Two weeks later the band came back with a friend producing, and recorded the three final tracks featured on this album which have a more rounded slightly less raw sound. All three were completed in an afternoon. Almost two years later they re-recorded some of these songs, and along with a handful of new songs from the pen of Buckmaster and Swan, recorded their ‘Blow Up’ debut album at Rendezvous Studios in Sydenham, South East London, released on Whaam! Records in August 1984.
So what you have here are the roots of some of these great songs. A few didn’t make it to the first album those that did, as you will hear, stayed reasonably faithful to the original arrangements.
The Broadway Recording Sessions take you right back to where it all started!

Residing at the base of Mount Yōtei on Japan’s geologically wondrous island Hokkaido - with it’s volcanoes, hot springs and national park - Masaki “mfp” Konagi is no stranger to natural beauty. Having resided in L.A. and Melbourne in the past, mfp (or mindfullpeace) settled in this natural haven as the place to set down some roots and create.

Having begun his musical journey over a decade ago, including an appearance on Gilles Peterson’s “Brownswood Electr*c 2”, we are proud to announce his debut full length album “Natural Law”.

Drawing on long time collaborators and friends from his travels, mfp has pulled on his foundation in hip-hop and pushed its boundaries to breaking point, embodying the true ethos of the genre as an ever expandable principle.

Featuring Melbourne stalwarts Simon Mavin (Hiatus Kaiyote) and ALIEN (Piette Aillion) plus Sydney’s Natalie Slade (Eglo), funk maestro sauce81 and hip-hop hero Stan Smith, mfp’s productions ebb and flow, building and releasing pressure, exploring discord and harmony through electronic polyrhythms and diverse explorations in slaps, swirls, lopes and kicks.

Masaki has also opened the very first organic food store in the area - Pyram Organics & Plants - embodying his, (and our) ethos in food and music as a way to bring ecological awareness to reconnect with nature and our planet for sustainable living.

Control is the incredible debut album from Sydney based vocalist Natalie Slade, produced by Hiatus Kaiyote's Simon Mavin and featuring contributions from other members of the Grammy Nominated group.

Combining Soul, Jazz, Folk and RnB, Natalie's timeless vocals dazzle across 10 stunning tracks, perfectly complimented by rich, live instrumentation and Mavin's vibrant production. The album is classic to its core, whilst taking a fresh and energetic approach to a long tradition of Soul/RnB long players. Familiar broken rhythms and jazz heavy motifs, notorious with Hiatus Kaiyote's writing and arrangement style are present, reminding us throughout that we are in the hands of true masters. The result is a kaleidoscopic reimagining of sounds and styles from an exciting new vocal talent.

Recording began after a chance encounter between Natalie and the Hiatus keys player Simon Mavin, resulting in a writing session that quickly escalated into a full blown album project. The chemistry was clear and the creativity flowed. Spontaneous recording sessions ensued, with visitors to the studio jumping in to play on tracks, the levels of musicianship on the album never fall short of stunning and Natalie's poetic and enchanting song writing shines throughout.

The album kicks off with an energetic flash on 'Cloud Cover', an arpeggiating bass line bubbles over skipping drums and aquatic synths. The title track 'Control' puts it's foot on the gas with a driving synth bass, broken beats and soaring vocals. 'Colour' see's Natalie pouring out her heart to the universe over a fluttering mellotron whilst the beautiful 'There Is Light In Everything' gives her a chance to show off her vocal prowess. Control is a truly unique and dynamic debut album from two masters of their craft, we hope you enjoy it just as much as we do

Recommend for fans of Hiatus Kaiyote, Rosin Murphy, Fatima, Yasmin Lacey, Khadja Bonet.

2xLP: Wide Spine, pressed on Gold Nugget vinyl with spot gloss printing on cover

About:
Free Nationals are best known as Anderson Paak's live band, until now. Band members Kelsey Gonzalez (Bass), Ron "Tnava" Avant (Keyboard/ Vocoder), Callum Connor (Drums) and José Rios (Guitar) have graced the stage at Coachella, opened for performers such as Beyoncé and completed World Tours alongside J.Cole, Bruno Mars - the list continues. Paying homage to the musical legends that paved the way before them; Free Nationals means The first people of America, Indigenous to the land before Columbus came. Staying Indigenous to the funk, Free Nationals pay tribute to inspirations such as Stevie Wonder, B.B. King, Herbie Hancock and Al Green by incorporating musicianship while pioneering musical euphoria for a new generation.

ALTA’s debut release, 'Reasons' is the product of many long nights making music together in a back room at Hannah and Julius’ Brunswick home. It was self-recorded over 10 months, from January 2018 to November 2018, using midnight sessions, tape delay effects and a literal room full of wall to wall synths to carve out a world all their very own. "It's a collection of songs written together in our home studio - No cowriters or anything, just us two experimenting making the music,” says the band.

The album was later mixed by Seekae’s George Nicholas in Sydney and mastered by Grammy-winning engineer Chris Gehringer at Sterling Sound (Rihanna, Janelle Monae, Chvrches).

Thematically, the album’s title alludes to the sense of complacency that often sets in when people start making excuses for themselves.
“It’s this internal thing,” Julius explains, ‘always coming up with reasons why things did or didn’t happen, or reasons why someone else did something. Often it’s self-preservation but it’s also bullshit.”

‘Push’ follows on from previous singles ‘Figured Out’, ‘Back On It’ and ‘Twisted’, which have just under 2 million streams on Spotify since their release and are receiving global attention, with spins on BBC Radio 1 and praise from the likes of The Line of Best Fit and CLASH.

At streaming, ALTA have seen huge support locally and internationally, with their 2019 releases featuring in Spotify’s New Music Fridays, Indie Arrivals, The Local List, Just Chill, Front Left, New Dance Beats and The Office Stereo, plus Best Of The Week on Apple Music.

Melbourne fans will witness ALTA performing tracks from Reasons for the first time ever at Northcote Social Club on Saturday 5 October. Tickets are on sale now via Northcote Social Club’s website.

Reasons is an intricate and emotional body of work that will see ALTA step out from Melbourne’s underground scene, and into the international limelight. Pre-order your copy today.

Like a homage to smoke-filled vaults, aging billiard rooms and crumby packets of pork scratchings in the Working Men's Clubs of days gone by, Todmorden-by-way of-Europe trio Syd, Jake and Giulia are about to fling open the doors of their own millennial social hub with the fresh post-punk of infectious debut single, 'Bad Blood' / 'Suburban Heights.'

'We grew up in northern towns trying to get in to pubs in social clubs because that's all we had. The name is an ode to that,' explains Working Men's Club's 17-year-old singer and guitarist, Sydney Minsky-Sargeant. 'Our surroundings and their differences has influenced us a lot on these tracks.'

Joined by guitarist-vocalist Giulia Bonometti, 23 and drummer Jake Bogacki, 18, the trio have always had a clear sense of their whereabouts; quite simply, they wouldn't even exist without multi-nationalism. Meeting at college in Manchester, Syd and Jake are from Todmorden and Hebden Bridge, but their families hail from Poland whilst Giulia moved to the UK from Lake Garda, Italy. 'The songs are based on the culture of walking round Manchester every day then going back to the countryside each night and how the contrast of going back into the hills made us sane,' Syd tells.

Working Men's Club are wise beyond their years as they seemingly offer words of wisdom, to be repeated like some kind of break-up mantra, until everything's ok; 'Be happy when the sun shines / Be happy when the sun rains / You know you should do the same.'

If 'Bad Blood' is the day, 'Suburban Heights' is the night. Recorded with Alex Greave at The Nave in Leeds, steady riffs from Syd's fingers tap-dance on the strings alongside Jake's skill in working a jagged snare. Meanwhile Giulia's heavenly disco 'ooohs' recall Donna Summer feeling the love whilst cutting right to the contentious subject of gentrification. 'Suburban Heights refers to how apparent it is that cities are expanding to hold more people and buildings are rising, they're morphing into these dystopian party towns,' tells Syd.

Already with shows supporting The Wedding Present and Brian Jonestown Massacre behind them, Syd says it's only the beginning; 'Those shows were great experiences and ones we'll have for life. We love making music and we're so grateful for what we've achieved so far; hopefully there'll be plenty more to come.'

Vanishing Twin is songwriter, singer and multi-instrumentalist Cathy Lucas, drummer Valentina Magaletti, bassist Susumu Mukai, synth/guitar player Phil MFU and visual artist/film maker Elliott Arndt on flute and percussion; and on this album they have made their first artistic statement for the ages.

Some of its great power comes from liberation. The album was produced by Lucas in a number of non-standard, non-studio settings. 'KRK (At Home In Strange Places)' summons up the spirit of Sun Ra's Lanquidity and Broadcast And The Focus Group Investigate Witch Cults Of The Radio was simply recorded on an iPhone during a live set which crackled with psychic connectivity on the Croatian island of Krk.
The magical Morricone-esque lounge of 'You Are Not an Island', the blissed-out Jean-Claude Vannier style arrangement of 'Invisible World' and burbling sci fi funk ode to a 1972 cult French animation, 'Plane`te Sauvage', were all recorded in nighttime sessions in an abandoned mill in Sudbury. The only two outsiders to work on the recording were '6th member' and engineer Syd Kemp and trusted friend Malcolm Catto, band leader of the spiritual jazz/future funk outfit The Heliocentrics, who mixed seven of the tracks (with Lucas taking care of the other three).

Vanishing Twin formed in 2015 - their first LP, Choose Your Own Adventure, which came out on Soundway in 2016; followed by the darker, more abstract, mostly instrumental Dream By Numbers EP in 2017. The band explored their more experimental tendencies on the Magic And Machines tape released by Blank Editions in 2018, an improvised session recorded in the dead of night, offering a glimpse into their practice of deep listening, near band telepathy, and ritually improvised sound making. These sessions formed the basis of The Age Of Immunology.

* Mirae Arts presents Hush Residence. We are joined by old friends and new comrades from the Kantō underground.

* C-Kay is co-founder of the Tokyo-based collective Space Baghdad and resident DJ of Constant Value. C-Kay is typically busy shaking dance floors with her hypnotic DJ sets, but also producing music for experimental labels such as Subsist Records and Constant Value Records.

* Saraam is a Tokyo-based sound artist, performer, and DJ under the Constant Value banner. Saraam is also a resident of the yearly Tokyo Festival of Modular.

* Katsunori Sawa and Damaskin return to Mirae Arts in their usual noisy disguises.

* Hush Residence is a compilation featuring four experimental techno tracks from Katsunori Sawa, C-Kay, Damaskin, and Saraam. Mastered by James Plotkin.

* Artwork illustration is done by Sydney based architect, Patti Bai.

* Vinyl pressed at the highly reputable Gotta Groove Records, Cleveland, Ohio.

* Comes with polybag packaging

With a celestial voice that's been streamed over 3 million times thanks to acclaimed features with The Kite String Tangle, Golden Vessel and label mate Sampology, Brisbane-based artist Tiana Khasi (Kah-see) shares her debut EP, 'MEGHALAYA', out 29 March via Soul Has No Tempo.

The Sampology-produced debut is a rich tapestry of styles and influence, with inspiration drawing from themes of self-empowerment, family and heritage, collaborating with contemporary musicians while studying jazz. ''Meghalaya' is both geographic and spiritual. It's a place I creatively resort to seeking affirmation of my identity and for true holistic inspiration. I wanted to create a body of work that honestly showed where I was at musically and personally. I felt the growing pains of being a young woman, mixed race/Australian born and studying jazz. I was neither here nor there.'

'Nuketown', the first single from the forthcoming release, is out now following global premieres with Complex UK & London's Worldwide FM. Upon hearing early mixes, Gilles Peterson handpicked the track to feature on his most recent compilation, Brownswood Bubblers Thirteen, via Brownswood Recordings. Touted by local tastemakers and HypeMachine blog Purple Sneakers as "the debut single we didn't know we needed", 'Nuketown' has found airplay with national stations triple j & Double J, placement in Spotify's Just Chill playlist, rotation with Sydney's FBi Radio, and enthusiastic support from community radio and online media around the country and beyond.

"A flawless example of the kind of music we can expect from Tiana going forward. [Nuketown] creates something completely original, drawing elements from jazz but never chasing a particular sound or vibe. Everything comes naturally, taking you on a journey with the instrumentation matching the ebbs and flows of Tiana Khasi's sweet vocals. It serves as an exemplary debut for the young artist, and can only mean better things are on the horizon." - Complex UK

A keystone artist in her hometown whose live reputation precedes her via her work fronting local jazz/hip-hop collective Astro Travellers, Tiana Khasi's voice has been praised as "elegant" (Life Without Andy), "most dope" (Audiosteez) and "as venomous as it is honey-sweet" (Happy). A trained jazz vocalist, Tiana's unique sound is heavily influenced by her Samoan and Indian heritage, and has seen her support Jamaican-American "TrapHouseJazz" sensation Masego, Swedish soul artist Fatima and acclaimed Australian collective 30/70.

Metric Systems is the name of a covert project of over 20 years duration. It has moved across multiple continents, under multiple names. The 8 songs that make up 'People in the Dark' were recorded between 2000 and 2016 in various locations across Sydney, Melbourne and New York. The bright-eyed sci-fi fascination of Australia's Clan Analogue collective intertwines with the more sinister facets of modern technology - echoed voices pepper the album like fragments of a surveillance tape collected by our digital panopticon. A pervasive sense of paranoia and unease winds its way through these 8 tracks that move between techno, downtempo and more abstract strains of electroacoustic experimentation. Fittingly housed in a striking sleeve by American photographer Trevor Paglen, whose MacArthur-winning work revolves around these same themes of omnipresent surveillance and data mining.

'People in the Dark' opens with the wordless vocals of 'Your Room', drifting over the unspooling synthesizer sequence that seems to swell and recede from the foreground like the ebb and flow of a lapping tide, lapsing into dreamy ambience before the drums come back in. The smartly programmed drums are the focus of 'Chinatown Warehouse', whose hip-hop swing gives a distinct 'nod factor' to the otherwise hazy mechanics of the track. On 'Laika', a 303 line weaves its way across the subdued mid-tempo groove, gently recalling the ambient-acid of Susumu Yokota's 'Ebi' project. The penultimate track, 'Stellarwind' starts with a dark, foreboding drone before shining pads arc over like a glimpse of light through the track's murky darkness, the tension between these two poles moving together as the song unfolds.

This record reflect just a small selection from a large archive of recorded materials. All songs written and produced by Kate Crawford and Bo Daley.

Andy Rantzen, Sydney, Australia.
This one is a special for us as we love dub and lo-fi music and also love the experiments of Andy Rantzen like "Rain in the Morning, Sun in the Afternoon / Dark Sea".
The more interesting part of the story is, that both tunes are written and recorded nearly 20 years ago by Andy - 1999-2000. But definitely still hot and vibing our sweet and sour DIY motto. We like!!!
A must in your collection!

Way back in 1967, an animated superhero cartoon was released into the world. It was created by Grantray-Lawrence Animation and was based on a web-spinning, crime fighting blue and red dressed character that had originated in1962, in Marvel Comics by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko. This amazing series (that we're not allowed to mention the name of for legal reasons) ran on ABC TV in the USA, then Canada, then a few years later started to spread its web further, running here in the UK throughout summer holidays, after school and possibly early mornings at weekends in the late 1970s. The series then got released on VHS video (and probably Betamax too) in the mid 1980s and still continues to spin its animated magic around the world through further broadcasts, YouTube and DVDs.

The series was notoriously low budget, with animated errors everywhere and numerous scenes, sequences and backgrounds being re-used all the time, often across the same episode. Even a certain spider logo on a costume would appear with six legs, then eight legs later on, then back to six again in the same show.

Series One opened with a newly written spider theme, a classic, hooky song all about doing whatever spiders can, and had, as Big George (RIP) once pointed out to me, a set of session singers falling slightly out of time with the backing track after the first verse. Series One also featured background music by jobbing composers Bob Harris and Ray Ellis but these cues and master tapes are now believed to be lost.

After Series One the company Grantray-Lawrence went bankrupt, so the amazing spider series (that we're not allowed to mention for legal reasons) was taken on by producer Steve Krantz. He brought in new talent, including animation director Ralph Bakshi who later went on to turn a Robert Crumb strip cartoon into the feature Fritz The Cat. Krantz also slashed the already cripplingly small spider budget, and brought in the idea of using economic library music. Here, thanks possibly to an independent sync agent (it has been suggested that a company called Music Sound Track Services may have been the one) production turned to the KPM catalogue. This was one of the few really established library catalogues around at the time with a modern edge, it was full of fabulous, modern dramatic music tracks - often all on the same LP. But more importantly all the tracks were far longer than the one minute musical cuts that many of the fledgling USA library companies were issuing at the time. Not only would this KPM music be efficient, affordable and very easy to use, it would also mean syndication worldwide would not be held up by any future musical issues. Krantz produced two amazing spider series (that we're not allowed to mention for legal reasons), and both were smothered with KPM music. In fact barely a spider second goes by without music playing in either the background or foreground.

For many years I - and many nostalgic others - have been thinking about putting this vinyl album together. For many enthusiasts this really is formative music - a junior foray into hip swinging crime jazz and esoteric musical grooviness. I've also read on line accounts by DJs from WFMU on the trail of original spider master tapes, and there's even a whole forum dedicated to Spidey-Jazz'. Then recently I was looking at an old spider tracklist and realized that several of my favourite KPM cues were there including Syd Dale's Hell Raisers' and Walk And Talk', both from one of the most elusive and desirable KPM albums of all time (yes, you just try and find yourself a copy of KPM 1002 right now), so I decided to push on and get the album made.

So, what features on this Spider-Jazz Lp Well it's music from the amazing TV series we are not allowed to mention for legal reasons, BUT, not music from Series One. No, but it is all from Series Two and Series Three. From looking at archival cue sheets, over 50 tracks from various early KPM 1000 series albums were used across episodes. I've distilled this down into one exciting and enthralling LP, and if this works a further Spider Jazz album may well swing in to production. If you're interested (and I'm sure you may well be) cues here came from KPM1001, KPM1002, KPM1015, KPM1017, KPM1018 and KPM1043 and were composed by master library composers of the era - Dale, Hawkshaw, Hawksworth, Mansfield etc.

And if you are listening over there in the USA, you may well recognize many of the cues here not just from the amazing TV series (that we're not allowed to mention for legal reasons) but also from classic 1960s and 1970s NFL highlight shows that we are allowed to mention.

Do you like Love songs After spending a lifetime spent avoiding this subject in song, Joel Sarakula finally admits that he does. On his new album "Love Club" Sarakula relives the golden age of Soulful and Romantic Pop music and connects it with a modern aesthetic. While a deeper message of love and peace flows through the record, Joel Sarakula is no old fashioned hippie: ",Love Club' is about connecting to reality and re-framing the idea of romantic love and loss in the present, loveless age ". Featuring eleven songs touching all genres from disco to blues, from soul to soft-rock, Joel Sarakula's "Love Club" is a profound pop statement.

Joel Sarakula has travelled the world in search of his muse, experiencing everything from being a victim of Caribbean carjackings to performing in the remote fishing villages of Norway, via the dive bars of Europe and the US. It was the hodge-podge musical tapestry of England's capital that finally drew him to a settling point, in the wake of seemingly never ending run of shows. With personal tastes that span from the more avant-garde to soul and pop greats like Sly Stone, Todd Rundgren and Hall & Oates, there are clear nods to contemporaries like Unkown Mortal Orchestra, Erlend Oye and Toro Y Moi in terms of ambition and style.

With his last two albums "The Golden Age" and "The Imposter" collecting strong radio plays at BBC Radio 2, BBC 6, BBC London, XFM Joel Sarakula has been play-listed nationally in Europe including Flux FM, WDR 5, Radioeins, Bayern 2, Deutschlandfunk and Deutschland Kultur Radio in Germany as well as in Benelux and Italy and Spain. He is a regular fixture on the live festival and club circuit in the UK, Europe and internationally including appearances at SXSW, Primavera Sound, Glastonbury, The Great Escape, Liverpool Sound City, Scala London, Tallinn Music Week, V-ROX (Vladivostok) and Reeperbahnfestival Hamburg.

"Love Club" is Sarakula's bold and unashamedly emotional next step. In essence the album is a homage to the soulful singer & songwriter artistry of the Seventies filtered through a darker contemporary lens - fitting for these uncertain times. "I always shied away from generic love songs," the Sydney, Australia born songwriter admits, "but on this record I embraced the subject wholeheartedly... and intellectually, looking at themes of love, lust, loneliness and everything in-between." Take the first single "In Trouble", co-written with Michele Stodart of The Magic Numbers, as the best example for Joel Sarakula's unique, and honest approach to making music. "We Used To Connect" questions the changing nature of relationships in our social-media addicted world: 'We used to connect in the real world too, now the touch of your hand is a digital cue'.

"Coldharbour Man", on the other hand, examines the identity of the song's narrator and the artist vs. fan dynamic all wrapped up in a disco love song: "There's a lot going on in this particular track. I feel my writing has grown emotionally...", explains Joel Sarakula. "Just best to listen yourself and make up your own interpretation!: 'We met in a song come to life like some fantasy cliché, though I'm known for my moves in the dark you flooded sunshine on my day'. Then there's "Baltic Jam", capturing romantic love and loss in authentic 70s confessional singer & songwriter style and of course "Dead Heat", a song about how there is struggle in the most perfect relationship pairings as the match is so even: "I recall an ex-girlfriend of mine... when we first met, we thought we hated each other but we eventually flipped that emotion and realised we had a deep passion and love for each other, there just was a lot of underlying sexual tension!" : 'It's a battle we could only win, if we lose. We'd be stronger if these lonely ones became two'.

More than a year in the making, Joel Sarakula recorded "Love Club" in various studios around London and Berlin capturing soulful performances from his many musical comrades on vintage analogue equipment. "This record has truly been a labour of love. Recording and privately sharing these performances amongst my collaborators started to feel like a bit like a club - I guess that lead to the album title! I was surprised how much I actually enjoyed the 'love-making process' and I look so much forward to playing these new songs on stage with my band." We can't wait, Joel Sarakula.

Cookin' On 3 Burners are Australia's foremost organ trio joining the dots between funk, soul, boogaloo & jazz. Long time partners Lance Ferguson (guitar), Ivan Khatchoyan (drums) and Jake Mason (organ) have taken their home brew of soulful Hammond get down everywhere from jazz festivals to after hours bars and clubs. Their top notch reputation led to them supporting Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings in Sydney, jamming live with Breakestra and becoming THE in demand band south of the equator. With a musical CV that includes names like Joe Bataan, Alice Russell, Mark de Clive-Lowe and The Quantic Soul Orchestra, as well as the world beating outfit The Bamboos, it's not surprising this latest CO3B album has generated huge interest even prior to its' release. Their first Freestyle album 'Baked, Broiled or Fried' featured the group in a hardcore funk groove but on 'Soul Messin' sees the sound, feel and influences widened further with some quite magical results. Versatile singer Kylie Auldist (Tru Thoughts Recordings) opens proceedings on the deep funk groove of 'Push It Up' but it is the Freestyle 45 'This Girl' (FSR7057) that provides the mellow, beautiful and incredibly catchy vocal highlight of the entire collection, shimmering horns ride over this laid back, future deep soul classic. We don't yet know what Gary Numan will make of CO3B's version of his 80's synth pop hit 'Cars' (CD only) but Jake Masons organ playing (including simultaneously supplying the super funky bass lines via his Hammond foot pedals and left hand) takes this track in a direction no one was expecting! Drummer and top notch singer Fallon Williams provides his gritty, searing voice on 'Hole In My Pocket' and 'Seen Through Your Disguise' sounding very much like US soul legend Robert Moore and the band display their versatility whilst doffing their caps in the direction of The Meters on the numbers 'Dog Wash' and 'Piranha' The down tempo, moody album closer 'The Proving Grounds' (CD only) once again shows the groups expanding musical textures and rounds off 'Soul Messin' the bands most varied and accomplished recording so far.

Recent Mark Lamar Live Session on Radio 1

"This Girl" has been Freestyle's top selling single of 09 so far !

Following releases on labels such as Greco-Roman, TTT and Templar Sound, Dro Carey (Eugene Ward) returns to the scene with his new offering, the industrious yet delicate track 'Queensberry Rules' featuring the vocals of KUCKA, taken from his Dark Zoo EP, out now via Australian label Soothsayer.
Where his previous releases have been firmly focused on the smoke-riddled clubs, Queensberry Rules sees Dro Carey traverse new territory. Working with KUCKA and Collarbones' Marcus Whale on the track, 'Queensberry Rules' sees the Sydney producer creating a unique pop sound, however maintain the gritty DNA that he is so distinctively known for.
As Dro states ''Queensberry Rules' are the set of rules that outline the general code for boxing matches. It's a document about fairness and sportsmanship in a pretty violent activity. That immediately struck me as a great title for a demo. Working with KUCKA and Marcus Whale (of Collarbones) as a co-writer, I think their lyrics perfectly hit upon the sense of irony that I wanted the song to have.'
The track was the first official taste from his Dark Zoo EP which sees Ward push the limits even further within his musical explorations. Whether it's the pop moments of 'Queensberry Rules' and 'Dark Zoo' where he employs the vocals of both KUCKA and FKL respectively to elevate the sonic sensory overload to new levels, to the brooding club explorations that are 'Grow Lithe' and 'Hidden Halls'; the EP is his musical coup d'état from the outset - simultaneously sinister, restrained and intoxicating.
We are absolutely thrilled to present this little gem on Vinyl. This special vinyl release also includes not only the single, but two remixes from heavy weights Mall Grab and Cassius, and a very special new track titled 'Under' which is and will always only be available on the vinyl release of this. Dive in!

* Emerging from the shadows are the thrills and chills of Royalston's new album the People on the Ground' LP out 30th October on Med School - the experimental sister label of drum & bass empire Hospital Records. For his second album, Sydney-based DJ and producer has ripped apart the rulebook with fifteen eccentric and exciting electronic tracks.
* The People on the Ground' LP explores through the obscure yet brilliant sounds of one of Sydney's most talented exports for a haunting and hypnotic take on drum & bass. Title track features the captivating vocals of Hannah Joy and moves through melodic, piano foundations before catapulting into a euphoric whirlwind of sounds and styles making way for mania to come.
* There are the sudden, schizophrenic switch-ups of Give Me the World' and I Saw the Face of a Person' that highlight Royalston's unpredictable style. His game of guesswork keeps things exciting and exhilarating throughout with influences of techno, house and trance all enticingly tangled into dirty drums and deep bass. The Wrath of Mr Sparkles' and Don't Give Me Up' are not to be taken lightly, unrelenting and unrestricted to any musical parameters.
* Royalston has also enlisted a number of artists to join in the fun and games. Welcoming back Victoria, from pop group MA, cousin and fellow drum & bass producer Pearse Hawkins, Sydney-based singer Emily Harkness and emerging UK hip-hop artist Lyflyk.
* When he's not writing drum & bass Royalston pursues his other passion of illustration, which he's made full use of in this project, with the intricate detail in his music replicated in the artwork he solely designed.
* The "People on the Ground" LP accelerates Royalston from his previous album "OCD", whilst keeping to his unorthodox approach to production mashing and merging genres into one crazed counterpart.

Roland Tings is Melbourne's jack-track anomaly with a penchant for acid coastlines and nebulous rhythms. Still fresh off 12 releases for 100% SILK and Club Mod, the Melbourne producer dropped the stunning 'Who U Love' EP with us last spring, to critical acclaimand in anticipation for his debut whoch is finally here now. and what we are truly excited to present. Forged by Melbourne's forward-thinking nightlife institutions, Tings made his debut with the Milky Way EP on 100% SILK - the enigmatic dance imprint founded by Not Not Fun's Amanda Brown. Having laid the groundwork of a raw-satin aesthetic inspired by that of Larry Heard and Robert Hood, his sound was solidified on the Club Mod-released follow up Tomita's Basement, featuring remixes from Future Times' Maxmillion Dunbar and Junior Boys' Jeremy Greenspan. Functioning as club-ready oddities with neon finesse, his releases thrive as rhythmic visions pushing dancers into his very own modular oasis. Having toured across much of Australia and Europe, he's backed up headline club shows with appearances at MONA FOMA and The Meredith Music Festival as well as support slots for the likes of of Tim Sweeney and Juan Atkins for Modular's Sydney Festival showcase. Now riding with a tight community of Australian producers enjoying recognition around the world, Roland Tings' custom texture continues to fold into a vibrant late-night fabric accessed around the world and you will see this reflected by the goodness and versatility of the 8 tracks on this vinyl.

We call them the rat pack of our beat scene. With all diversity in sound, the three producers are unified in their love for dope beats and high-proof drinks, both catered and consumed with style and expertise.

Suff Daddy, the globetrotting gin connoisseur and minimoog player with domiciles in Berlin, Düsseldorf and Sydney. He has released three solo albums and has worked with artists like Miles Bonny, Fleur Earth, Ta-ku and Elzhi. After a one year stint in Sydney, he returned to Berlin this spring.

Brenk Sinatra, the Wien-Kaisermühlen homeboy, Westcoast rap fanatic and producer of the forthcoming MC Eiht album. Last year Brenk released the critically acclaimed S3 album together with US singer Miles Bonny and has laced beats for an armada of MCs from both sides of the Atlantic.

And last but not least Dexter, the Stuttgart based trip maker and platinum producer with a day job as a pediatrician. This June Dexter released his second solo-album 'The Trip' a homage to the psychedelic rock era and one of the most innovative and genre bending hip-hop albums of 2013.

All three first met at the Hi-Hat Club, the producer series that we started a couple of years ago with the goal to push and celebrate the art of beat making. With their respective volumes 'Suff Draft' (Suff Daddy), 'The Jazz Files' (Dexter) and 'Chop Shop' (Brenk Sinatra) each of the guys put the instrumental hip-hop thing on a new and different level. None of their beats need a MC to be complete, they are full songs in their own right.

The official birth date of the Betty Ford Boys was the 2012 Beat BBQ in Cologne where Dexter, Suff and Brenk performed together for the first time. Right after the now legendary gig, that was ended by police forces Suff Daddy left for Sydney so that most the recordings for the Betty Ford Boys debut album took place in the cloud. Right after his return to Berlin, the Boys jumped on the bus and played their first club tour which finished with a gig at the Splash Festival.

On August 30th, the Betty Ford Boys release their first album 'Leaders Of The Brew School' on Melting Pot Music. The record combines the best of three worlds and has a surprisingly chilled Westcoast vibe. It's perfect summer music, it's edgy and relaxed at the same time and keeps you thirsty for more ....