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For a number of years now, A Guy Called Gerald has largely made music only for himself. But this special EP is borne from Gerald’s unique and long-lasting friendship with Analog Room founders Mehdi Ansari, Siamak Amidi and Salar Ansari. They first met in 2013 when Siamak booked Gerald to play his Analog Room party in Dubai – a leading underground light in the UAE’s then emergent scene. Away from the glossy VIP hotels and expensive bottle service parties
typically associated with Dubai, Analog Room only deals with quality bookings of the caliber of Move D, Roman Flügel, Moritz Von Oswald and the likes. Gerald immediately fell in love with the party. Its strict music-first, no-nonsense policy appealed to him and he’s returned many times over the years.

By then, of course, A Guy Called Gerald’s musical legacy was already assured. The Manchester icon is best known for his 1988 hit single Voodoo Ray – the touchstone of his hometown’s dawning acid house scene. As well as being an early member of 808 State, Gerald embraced breakbeat and jungle, ran his own Juice Box Records label and worked with the likes of Columbia, Perlon, K7! and many other vital labels. His skills on everything from synths to keys, samplers to
drum machines stood him apart then – and still do today.

“This release is based on a real friendship,” Gerald explains. “I feel part of the Analog Room family. Back in the early days, that’s how it was. These days, it’s like, ‘Oh, you’re famous, let’s do something.’ I’m not interested in that. I’m not interested in being a celebrity or living that life. I’m the same as I was 30 years ago, all I care about is the music. With Mehdi, we have spent hours jamming in private in Dubai, we have partied together. We’ve vibed together for so long and he’s shown me new parts of the world I should be making and playing music in, away from the trendy scenes in other places. So this is an exclusive just for him.
I’m not looking at doing anything else with anyone, and the music is just about celebrating individuality rather than trying to fit in anywhere.”

When Iranian-born Mehdi decided to start Moozikeh Analog Room – which translates from Farsi as “the music of the Analog Room” – Gerald was one of the first artists he asked to release on the label. It might have taken some time for Britain’s Dirty Little Secret to materialize, but boy it’s been worth the wait.

Says Mehdi, “The magic comes through proper relationships and friendships.
That’s why Analog Room worked. It was a great room, an amazing sound system, with amazing artists doing their thing. Bookings were so on-point because we had agents around the world, on the dancefloors, spying up artists who were killing it,
and Gerald was one of them. He was a perfect fit from the first gig and our friendship grew from there. He’s always been very kind to me. We have this common language of music without any bullshit, and that is where this EP comes from.”

The EP is a mixture of different things. Some of it is unreleased material from the vaults revisited, some of it is brand new. It opens up with the devastating Old Skool – a writhing, physical track with naughty bass. The drums hark back to Gerald’s early days of making jungle but reimagined through a modern perspective. As the synths spray about the mix and the percussion bounces atop the jostling drums, muttered vocals draw you in deeper. Sugoi is an experimental
track that fuses ambient synth design with the spacious and eerie atmospheres of jungle. Nimble drums get you on your toes as the spangled synths twist and turn in all directions. It is a thrillingly original, impossible to define track.

Flash Fight is built on a captivating rhythm that sits in the area where house, techno and jungle intersect. It is warm and cavernous, physical yet elegant as it bounces on rubbery kicks and lithe synths roam in and out of earshot. Perfect for those sweaty, cozy back rooms, it’s another masterclass from Gerald. Closing out the EP is False Religion, a deep-rooted house track with elastic drums and
haunting, wispy pads. As a subtle acid bassline rises and falls way down below,
Gerald’s own mystic whispers leave listeners hypnotized.

Following on from Analog Room co-founder Salar Ansari’s debut release on the label, this EP is a statement of intent. More releases will follow from some of Analog Room’s most frequent international guests, but only when the time is right. Moozikeh Analog Room is a label of love, one that is focused on putting out the best possible music at all times rather than chasing hype.

A timely reminder of why A Guy Called Gerald is one of the world’s most enduring electronic artists.

For our fifth release, P&f Recordings is pleased to welcome Berlin-based musician, producer, and DJ, Alex Kassian.

Over the past few years, Kassian has made a name for himself in Berlin and beyond as a solo act, as well as with his project Opal Sunn, via a clutch of well received, dancefloor-focused 12s. But on our first release of 2021, Kassian swaps the techy pulse of the German capital for a sound that’s altogether more melodic and atmospheric.

Side A kicks off with 'Leave Your Life (Lonely Hearts Mix)' which began as a way for the producer to realize some of his early—and so far unrequited—dreams of playing in a rock band.

Next up he delivers 'Leave Your Life (Dance Mix)', which ups the energy and echoes some of the production that made the musician’s 'Oolong Trance' (Love on the Rocks) one of 2020’s best club tunes.

On the flip, the gorgeous 'Spirit of Eden' unfurls like a lost Lyle Mays classic, but with a mesmerizing loop that keeps the song’s feet placed firmly on the dancefloor.

Concluding the EP is a bass-heavy remix from none other than U.S. dub legend Bill Laswell. 'Eden’s' melodic focus is underpinned by a propulsive groove and filtered through Laswell's trademark sonic dynamics.

The EP, comes packaged in a full-color jacket from Parisian artist Alexis Jamet with OBI strip.

Chìsake Algonquin: to chant; to conjure; to cast a spell; this generally involves a shake-house, or shaking tent, in which the conjurer goes into a trance; the conjurer then has an out-of-body experience, going into the future to predict coming events, or into the past; as well as going into any locality in the universe to seek out someone or something generally practiced for ancestral divination.

The unaccompanied flute pieces within this album are adaptations of Anishinaabeg shaking tent chants. The Anishinaabeg also known as Anishinaabe are a group of culturally related Indigenous peoples that reside in areas now called Canada and the United States. They include the Odawa, Saulteaux, Ojibwe (including Mississaugas), Potawatomi, Oji-Cree and Algonquin peoples. The word Anishinaabeg translates to "people from whence lowered". The Anishinaabeg origin myths describe their people originating by divine breath.

The shaking tent or conjuring lodge was the setting for a divinatory rite performed by specially trained shamans otherwise known as Chìsakewininì. During the shaking tent ceremony the Chìsakewininì would construct a special cylindrical framework typically of birch or spruce uprights planted in the ground with respective wood hoops to bind it together. This created a tensile structure of which birch bark, deer skin, or cloth was used as a covering. Rattles of caribou and deer hooves, or cups of lead shot, were tied to the frame. The floor was usually softened with freshly cut spruce boughs. The vertical axis of the shaking tent represents the realm of mediating beings, while the horizontal axis the earth or world of humans. The Chìsakewininì would enter the shaking tent at night and once inside would not be visible from onlookers. The singing of chants and drumming would summon the Chìsakewininì's spirit helpers, whose arrival was signified by animal cries and erratic tent shaking. During this transcendent state, the Chìsakewininì could dispatch these spirit helpers or Manidò to distant regions to answer questions from the onlookers about the most auspicious places to hunt, the well-being of a distant relative, and what would happen in the future.

The chants were usually sung using vocables before, during, and after the Chìsakewininì entered the shaking tent. Like many other similar divination ceremonies, singular or collective, the opening chants begin lyrically. They gradually turn to more reductive abstract structures midway and then end in lyrical chants. This symbolizes the performer and listener leaving the external literal world, entering a more abstract state of mind, and then returning. Traditionally all songs were carved on birch bark for record-keeping with mnemonic pictographs or other marks for future use. Tally mark clustering, sometimes used for song-keeping throughout the Anishinaabeg, is used for this album's track titles and numerical sequence.

The album intro begins with the shaking of a necklace of otter penis bone, fish spine, bear teeth, elk teeth and deer hide, gifted from Algonquin Elder Ajawajawesi. It is meant to focus the listener's attention before the flute pieces begin. The warble or multi-phonic oscillation prevalent in the middle tracks traditionally represented the "throat rattling" vocalization of the tonic note or sometimes known as the horizon of which the melody floats off of. Due to the repetition of multi-phonic oscillation the performer will breathe erratically creating an altered state correlating with the Chìsakewininì ceremonial actions. All songs are repeated seven times to signify the seven sacred directions: east, south, west, north, above/sky, below/earth, and center.

"Everyone has their own memories and associations with the great songs of the classic films of the 80s and 90s! AT THE MOVIES put the Corona-related time in quarantine to good use and put their soft spot into action, creating unique new interpretations of these classic Soundtrack hymns. The initial spark for this project was ignited by Chris Laney (PRETTY MAIDS), who chatted about the idea with his musician colleagues Allan Sørensen (PRETTY MAIDS, ROYAL HUNT) and Morten Sandager (PRETTY MAIDS, MERCENARY) as well as Björn ""Speed"" Strid (THE NIGHT FLIGHT ORCHESTRA, SOILWORK) and AT THE MOVIES was born. Metal-Heavyweights such as Pontus Norgren (HAMERFALL), Pontus Egberg (KING DIAMOND, WOLF) and Linnéa Vikström Egg (KAMELOT, THERION) as well as illustrious guests such as Ronnie Atkins (PRETTY MAIDS), Jacob Hansen (producer of VOLBEAT, PRIMAL FEAR) and Bruce Kulick (ex-KISS) completed the project, from which the albums ""The Soundtrack Of Your Life"" with Vol.1 (eighties) and Vol.2 (nineties) emerged. Featured are evergreens such “No Easy Way Out”, “Maniac”, “St. Elmo's Fire "", ""The Power Of Love "", ""The Heat Is On"", ""The Neverending Story"", ""The One And Only "", ""(I Just) Died In Your Arms"", ""(You Drive Me) Crazy"", ""Heaven Is A Place On Earth "", ""Crush "", ""I've Been Thinking About You"" and ""Venus""- all catchy tunes that you know and love, in a new, exciting and fascinating metal outfit. "

Punchline: Enjoy this first single "Waiting For A Star To Fall" from swedish allstar band AT THE MOVIES, doing unique cover versions of their favourite movie songs. Taken from their upcoming album "The Soundtrack of Your Life - Vol. 2" and with members from Pretty Maids, HammerFall, King Diamond, The Nightflight Orchestra, Therion and more! 1. SINGLE - 12.11.21 „Waiting for a star to fall“ 2. SINGLE - 19.11.21 „Last Christmas“ 3. SINGLE - 10.12. „(I Just) Died In Your Arms“ 07.01.22 on album release day): - „Heaven Is A Place On Earth“ FOCUS TRACK: „(I Just) Died In Your Arms“ "Everyone has their own memories and associations with the great songs of the classic films of the 80s and 90s! AT THE MOVIES put the Corona-related time in quarantine to good use and put their soft spot into action, creating unique new interpretations of these classic Soundtrack hymns. The initial spark for this project was ignited by Chris Laney (PRETTY MAIDS), who chatted about the idea with his musician colleagues Allan Sørensen (PRETTY MAIDS, ROYAL HUNT) and Morten Sandager (PRETTY MAIDS, MERCENARY) as well as Björn ""Speed"" Strid (THE NIGHT FLIGHT ORCHESTRA, SOILWORK) and AT THE MOVIES was born. Metal-Heavyweights such as Pontus Norgren (HAMERFALL), Pontus Egberg (KING DIAMOND, WOLF) and Linnéa Vikström Egg (KAMELOT, THERION) as well as illustrious guests such as Ronnie Atkins (PRETTY MAIDS), Jacob Hansen (producer of VOLBEAT, PRIMAL FEAR) and Bruce Kulick (ex-KISS) completed the project, from which the albums ""The Soundtrack Of Your Life"" with Vol.1 (eighties) and Vol.2 (nineties) emerged. Featured are evergreens such “No Easy Way Out”, “Maniac”, “St. Elmo's Fire "", ""The Power Of Love "", ""The Heat Is On"", ""The Neverending Story"", ""The One And Only "", ""(I Just) Died In Your Arms"", ""(You Drive Me) Crazy"", ""Heaven Is A Place On Earth "", ""Crush "", ""I've Been Thinking About You"" and ""Venus""- all catchy tunes that you know and love, in a new, exciting and fascinating metal outfit. "

The soundtrack to Oscar winning movie “Juno” is well known for its indie rock theme, featuring artists such as The Kinks, Belle & Sebastian, Sonic Youth, Mott The Hoople, The Velvet Underground and Cat Power amongst others. The soundtrack – which was certified platinum in the US – has not been available on LP since the original pressing in 2007, it will be pressed on neon green vinyl.


[b] a2. My Rollercoaster [Juno Film Version] - By Kimya Dawson







[j] a10. Sleep [Instrumental] - By Kimya Dawson

Clear Orange Vinyl w/ bone splatter. Limited edition of 300. Linernotes written by Josh Homme. Originally released on CD in 2001 on Josh Hommes own Rekords Rekords-label and now on vinyl for the first time! 20th anniversary! Remastered for the vinyl release. There must be something in the sand of sweltering Palm Desert, a California town that has birthed Kyuss and Queens of the Stone Age, as well as Fatso Jetson. Like Kyuss/QOTSA, Fatso Jetson built a name for themselves by putting their own unique spin on the Sabbath sound, but unlike their counterparts, larger than life singer/guitarist Mario Lalli's true love lies in both jazz (Thelonious Monk, Eric Dolphy) and experimental rock (Frank Zappa, Devo). On paper, this conglomeration of different styles sounds like the perfect recipe for a train wreck, but it somehow all comes together on disc, as evidenced by the trio's 2003 offering, Cruel & Delicious. Issued on old pal Josh Homme's label, Rekords Rekords, the trippy songs perfectly fit the feel of the album's cover (a sun-bleached photo of a long stretch of desert highway), especially such standouts as the saxophone free for all "Drinkin Mode," the melodic "Light Yourself on Fire," the bouncy instrumental "Heavenly Hearse," a barely recognizable cover of the Devo obscurity, "Ton O Luv," and the jazzoid freak-out, "Pig Hat Smokin." Cruel & Delicious is an enjoyable slice of hard rock, well off the beaten path

The classic debut LP by Dub Narcotic Sound System, originally released on K Records and unavailable on vinyl for 25 years. The oddball indie-funk collective Dub Narcotic Sound System was spearheaded by vocalist Calvin Johnson, the former frontman of the legendary Beat Happening as well as the founder of the famed K Records label. Named in honor of Johnson's own Olympia, WA-based basement studio Dub Narcotic, the project was begun in 1994 with a rapid-fire series of funk-, rap-, and reggae-influenced singles including "Bite," "Fuck Shit Up," "Booty Run," and "Shake-a-Puddin'"; from the outset Johnson was the group's sole constant member, although over the course of subsequent releases, including the EPs Industrial Breakdown, Ridin' Shotgun, and Ship to Shore, the revolving lineup grew to include Olympia scenesters like Lois Maffeo as well as Larry Butler, Todd Ranslow, and Brian Weber, all three members of the hip-hop unit Dead Presidents. The first Dub Narcotic Sound System full-length, Rhythm Record, Vol. One: Echoes From the Scene Control Room, appeared in 1995; later efforts included 1996's Boot Party and 1998's Out of Your Mind. Sideways Soul, a collaboration with Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, followed in 1999. Trouser Press wrote that "when not delving deep into the usual sorts of ambient studio trickery, the songs hit a '60s R&B stride, bathing in the stoned soul picnic ambience with uplifting spirit."

On 180 grm audiophile black vinyl and is stickered to say this. This six-song, half-hour CD the band’s affecting a more rural, lonesome-sounding tone and a moodier, more deliberate pace; the more traditional feel meshes well with Anton Newcombe's twisting of country-gospel lyrical clichés into rock & roll attitude. The Brian Jonestown Massacre is a psychedelic rock band originally from San Francisco, California, led by guitarist/singer Anton Newcombe. Since 1995 The Brian Jonestown Massacre has released numerous albums, first for Bomp! Records, the label which gave them their start, and later for TVT and Tee Pee. BJM has been essential in the development of the modern U.S. garage scene, and many LA and SF musicians got their start playing with Newcombe, including Peter Hayes of The Black Rebel Motorcycle Club

SNK composer Masahiko Hataya reprises his role in KOF '95 while being joined by composers Akihiro Uchida and Pearl Sibakiti.
As a Generation Series releases, the KOF95 soundtrack will feature newly remastered analog and digital tracks, as well as a booklet containing archival artwork and liner notes by former development team members.

SNK, Brave Wave Productions and Limited Run Games are proud to announce that THE KING OF FIGHTERS 2002 - The Definitive Soundtrack is coming to CD and Vinyl this year.

KOF 2002 was composed by Masahiko Hataya and Yasuo Yamate as part of the SNK SOUND TEAM. As a Generation Series release, the KOF 2002 soundtrack will feature newly remastered analog and digital tracks, as well as a booklet containing archival artwork and liner notes by former development team members.


b A2 | 2002 30 sec (30 Seconds Title)


b A2 | 2002 30 sec (30 Seconds Title)

As the debut title of SNK’s most iconic fighting game franchise, KOF ‘94, composed by Masahiko Hataya as part of the SNK NEO Sound Orchestra, laid the groundwork for the KOF series’ beloved music.

As a Generation Series releases, the KOF94 soundtrack will both feature newly remastered analog and digital tracks, as well as a booklet containing archival artwork and liner notes by former development team members.

Wiseblood is one of the most well-known Corrosion of Conformity albums and was released in 1996 as the fifth studio album by the American heavy metal band. The album charted on the Billboard Top 200 Album Charts and peaked at #104. The history of Corrosion of Conformity in modern heavy music is highly significant, not least due to guitarist Pepper Keenan’s formation of all-star project Down, along with Pantera’s Philip Anselmo and members of Crowbar.

Wiseblood includes the tracks “Drowning in a Daydream”, which was nominated for Best Metal Performance at the 40th Grammy Awards, and “Man Or Ash”, on which Metallica’s James Hetfield provides backing vocals.

Wiseblood is available on black vinyl.

Imagine deserted volcanic wasteland, freezing winds and the all-embracing darkness of the longest winters on this planet: The obvious inspiration for rather vicious and somber tunes for lonely evening hours that the biggest part of Iceland’s heavy music scene is known for. Who would even dare to think of tales about brave warriors and mystical creatures coming from such an island? Power metal seemed like a fairytale until 2017 when Reykjavík based sextet POWER PALADIN (originally founded as PALADIN) rose in quest of carrying out their uplifting tunes and finally proving everyone wrong. On an island known for its musical doom and gloom, they are the midnight sun. “Iceland has such a great representation of extreme metal. We didn’t feel we had much to add to that scene so why shouldn’t we do the complete opposite?” the band recall their origins. A truly wise decision! Their first live performances and demo releases were of such good reception that they were booked for Iceland’s main underground festivals, Eistnaflug and Norðanpaunk, and subsequently played at one of the country’s biggest music events, Iceland Airwaves, in 2019. Highly praised as a “standout” act by The Reykjavík Grapevine, POWER PALADIN kept crafting material at Windfyre Studios, composing their 9-track strong debut album titled »With The Magic Of Windfyre Steel«. The opus is a historical landmark for both the group and Atomic Fire Records, being the label’s first full-length release since its recent founding. “We actually started to write some of these tunes in the very beginning of our band history and captured them over the course of about two years at various places: at Ingi’s bedroom, at Atli and Bjarni’s workplace, at a cabin outside Reykjavik etc.”, POWER PALADIN say about their approach to songwriting and recording. And while self-producing such a splendid album has been no easy quest, it almost reads like a part from Joseph Campbell’s »The Hero’s Journey«:“So we went through a whole lot of trials, but that’s why we’re even happier and prouder of this record now!” Mixed by Haukur Hannes at Mastertape Studios (AUÐN, DYNFARI etc.) and mastered by Frank de Jong at Hal5 Studio (BLEEDING GODS etc.),
” they explain. The group’s love for fantasy games and books from authors such as Brandon Sanderson and Joe Abercrombie doesn’t remain unnoticed either: James Child (Astral Clock Tower Studios) translated that inspiration into the album’s adventurous artwork. »With The Magic Of Windfyre Steel« gets the listener's attention immediately. Air guitar-provoking lead single 'Kraven The Hunter‘, a track that’s frequently been aired via Iceland’s radio stations prior to the album’s release, peaking at position #1 of X-977’s chart, sets the right tone for this 51-minute venturesome ride. A ride that ranges from songs in the vein of the opening track like 'Creatures Of The Night' to rather aggressive bangers such as the second single 'Righteous Fury' and 'Ride The Distant Storm'. In the end, critics might say that “only a ballad is missing” to deliver all ingredients for a great heavy metal album. But does a power metal saga whose first chapter has just been written need one at all? Well, we will find out in chapter 2...

Imagine deserted volcanic wasteland, freezing winds and the all-embracing darkness of the longest winters on this planet: The obvious inspiration for rather vicious and somber tunes for lonely evening hours that the biggest part of Iceland’s heavy music scene is known for. Who would even dare to think of tales about brave warriors and mystical creatures coming from such an island? Power metal seemed like a fairytale until 2017 when Reykjavík based sextet POWER PALADIN (originally founded as PALADIN) rose in quest of carrying out their uplifting tunes and finally proving everyone wrong. On an island known for its musical doom and gloom, they are the midnight sun. “Iceland has such a great representation of extreme metal. We didn’t feel we had much to add to that scene so why shouldn’t we do the complete opposite?” the band recall their origins. A truly wise decision! Their first live performances and demo releases were of such good reception that they were booked for Iceland’s main underground festivals, Eistnaflug and Norðanpaunk, and subsequently played at one of the country’s biggest music events, Iceland Airwaves, in 2019. Highly praised as a “standout” act by The Reykjavík Grapevine, POWER PALADIN kept crafting material at Windfyre Studios, composing their 9-track strong debut album titled »With The Magic Of Windfyre Steel«. The opus is a historical landmark for both the group and Atomic Fire Records, being the label’s first full-length release since its recent founding. “We actually started to write some of these tunes in the very beginning of our band history and captured them over the course of about two years at various places: at Ingi’s bedroom, at Atli and Bjarni’s workplace, at a cabin outside Reykjavik etc.”, POWER PALADIN say about their approach to songwriting and recording. And while self-producing such a splendid album has been no easy quest, it almost reads like a part from Joseph Campbell’s »The Hero’s Journey«:“So we went through a whole lot of trials, but that’s why we’re even happier and prouder of this record now!” Mixed by Haukur Hannes at Mastertape Studios (AUÐN, DYNFARI etc.) and mastered by Frank de Jong at Hal5 Studio (BLEEDING GODS etc.),
” they explain. The group’s love for fantasy games and books from authors such as Brandon Sanderson and Joe Abercrombie doesn’t remain unnoticed either: James Child (Astral Clock Tower Studios) translated that inspiration into the album’s adventurous artwork. »With The Magic Of Windfyre Steel« gets the listener's attention immediately. Air guitar-provoking lead single 'Kraven The Hunter‘, a track that’s frequently been aired via Iceland’s radio stations prior to the album’s release, peaking at position #1 of X-977’s chart, sets the right tone for this 51-minute venturesome ride. A ride that ranges from songs in the vein of the opening track like 'Creatures Of The Night' to rather aggressive bangers such as the second single 'Righteous Fury' and 'Ride The Distant Storm'. In the end, critics might say that “only a ballad is missing” to deliver all ingredients for a great heavy metal album. But does a power metal saga whose first chapter has just been written need one at all? Well, we will find out in chapter 2...

Imagine deserted volcanic wasteland, freezing winds and the all-embracing darkness of the longest winters on this planet: The obvious inspiration for rather vicious and somber tunes for lonely evening hours that the biggest part of Iceland’s heavy music scene is known for. Who would even dare to think of tales about brave warriors and mystical creatures coming from such an island? Power metal seemed like a fairytale until 2017 when Reykjavík based sextet POWER PALADIN (originally founded as PALADIN) rose in quest of carrying out their uplifting tunes and finally proving everyone wrong. On an island known for its musical doom and gloom, they are the midnight sun. “Iceland has such a great representation of extreme metal. We didn’t feel we had much to add to that scene so why shouldn’t we do the complete opposite?” the band recall their origins. A truly wise decision! Their first live performances and demo releases were of such good reception that they were booked for Iceland’s main underground festivals, Eistnaflug and Norðanpaunk, and subsequently played at one of the country’s biggest music events, Iceland Airwaves, in 2019. Highly praised as a “standout” act by The Reykjavík Grapevine, POWER PALADIN kept crafting material at Windfyre Studios, composing their 9-track strong debut album titled »With The Magic Of Windfyre Steel«. The opus is a historical landmark for both the group and Atomic Fire Records, being the label’s first full-length release since its recent founding. “We actually started to write some of these tunes in the very beginning of our band history and captured them over the course of about two years at various places: at Ingi’s bedroom, at Atli and Bjarni’s workplace, at a cabin outside Reykjavik etc.”, POWER PALADIN say about their approach to songwriting and recording. And while self-producing such a splendid album has been no easy quest, it almost reads like a part from Joseph Campbell’s »The Hero’s Journey«:“So we went through a whole lot of trials, but that’s why we’re even happier and prouder of this record now!” Mixed by Haukur Hannes at Mastertape Studios (AUÐN, DYNFARI etc.) and mastered by Frank de Jong at Hal5 Studio (BLEEDING GODS etc.),
” they explain. The group’s love for fantasy games and books from authors such as Brandon Sanderson and Joe Abercrombie doesn’t remain unnoticed either: James Child (Astral Clock Tower Studios) translated that inspiration into the album’s adventurous artwork. »With The Magic Of Windfyre Steel« gets the listener's attention immediately. Air guitar-provoking lead single 'Kraven The Hunter‘, a track that’s frequently been aired via Iceland’s radio stations prior to the album’s release, peaking at position #1 of X-977’s chart, sets the right tone for this 51-minute venturesome ride. A ride that ranges from songs in the vein of the opening track like 'Creatures Of The Night' to rather aggressive bangers such as the second single 'Righteous Fury' and 'Ride The Distant Storm'. In the end, critics might say that “only a ballad is missing” to deliver all ingredients for a great heavy metal album. But does a power metal saga whose first chapter has just been written need one at all? Well, we will find out in chapter 2...

Canadian Deathcore pioneers DESPISED ICON celebrate their 20th anniversary in 2022, so it’s about time to re-discover the beginnings of the band! The group’s debut album “Consumed By Your Poison” (2002) and their sophomore album “The Healing Process” (2005) are now available again via Century Media Records, both on limited coloured 180g vinyl with new vinyl mastering as well as a bonus CD and also as Jewelcase CD with selected additional bonus tracks from the band’s 2008 DVD-show. “Consumed By Your Poison” is actually available for the first time ever on vinyl and “The Healing Process” comes with alternate, previously unreleased mix/mastering Yannick St-Amand. Deathcore at its very best!

Canadian Deathcore pioneers DESPISED ICON celebrate their 20th anniversary in 2022, so it’s about time to re-discover the beginnings of the band! The group’s debut album “Consumed By Your Poison” (2002) and their sophomore album “The Healing Process” (2005) are now available again via Century Media Records, both on limited coloured 180g vinyl with new vinyl mastering as well as a bonus CD and also as Jewelcase CD with selected additional bonus tracks from the band’s 2008 DVD-show. “Consumed By Your Poison” is actually available for the first time ever on vinyl and “The Healing Process” comes with alternate, previously unreleased mix/mastering Yannick St-Amand. Deathcore at its very best!

After a life-threatening illness, Dagobert Böhm returns with a collection
of dreamy pieces between folk and jazz
On it, Böhm's sensitive guitar lines are complemented by Fender Rhodes, vintage
synthesizers and discrete electronic beats. Guests like Karl Seglem on
Saxophone, Knut Hem on dobro as well as pedal- steel and percussion virtuoso
Ómar Guðjónsson add further impulses.'Within a Dream' is not supposed to turn
the world of music upside down. It's just supposed to make it a little more
beautiful - more dreamlike, if you will.

Vice Squad are a UK Punk Rock band who’s first single releases included the classic ‘Last Rockers’ 7” in 1981. This was followed by the landmark albums ‘No Cause For Concern’ in the same year and ‘Stand Strong Stand Proud’ in 1982 which were both released on EMI. Since then Vice Squad have delivered short sharp songs with incisive political lyrics and a dash of humour spat out over a thunderous rhythm and machine gun Rock ’n’ Roll guitars. Their latest releases are the EPs 'Born In A War' and 'Ignored To Death V2' taken from the forthcoming album ‘Battle of Britain’ set for release on their own Last Rockers label in May 2020. The band have become 100% DIY since forming Last Rockers Records in 2009. In keeping with the DIY ethic the previous albums were recorded in the band’s own ‘Sci Fidelity’ studio South London and the new album ‘Battle of Britain’ continues this with the band maintaining full artistic control with the benefit of global distribution via Cargo. Their last album ‘ Cardboard Country’ was launched on the back of a very successful Pledge campaign raising funds for the Shelter homeless charity in line with the album title which was inspired by 'Cardboard City', the name given to the settlement of homeless people living in cardboard boxes near London's Waterloo station. Vice Squad is fronted by raucous voiced singer/guitarist Beki Bondage who was famed for being a teenage champion of Animal rights long before the current popularity of veganism. Vice squad’s song ’Humane’ was one of the first ever Animal Rights songs. Beki has been featured on the front cover of a number of influential music tabloids such at Melody Maker, NME, Sounds, Record Mirror and Smash Hits. After a hiatus, Beki formed a new version of Vice Squad in 1997 featuring longstanding members of her post VS outfit The Bombshells and they have released several quality albums of powerful punk songs that have been very well received across the world. Vice Squad are considered one of the most influential punk rock bands of all time, paving the way for other female Punk and Rock singers and influencing male performers such as Dave Grohl of Nirvana and Foo Fighters fame who was introduced to Vice Squad via his sister’s record collection. The first rule of Punk is there are no rules and Vice Squad ably illustrate this with ‘Battle of Britain’. Written, Recorded and Mixed by Beki Bond and Paul Rooney in their home studio. The 13 track album opens with the blistering ‘Ruination’ which cuts through the bullshit of small time promoters and blaggers with consummate swagger and melody while ‘I Dare To Breathe’ is an amphetamine driven anthem to paranoia. ‘When You Were 17’ is almost-tender and tells of first tattoos and under age booze whilst the more chilling ‘Ignored To Death’ rails against isolation and homelessness. The explosive ‘Born In A War’ rages along like a missile ravaging a third world country and warns ‘See how they treat refugees? That’s how they’ll treat you and me’. Elgar’s ‘Nimrod’ reworked with a pulsating industrial bass segues into title track, 'Battle Of Britain' where Beki's vocals soar like a Spitfire over the crunching de-tuned riff and spit fury over the hypocrisy of putting war memorials before people. The dystopian ‘Poverty Face’ hits you with the opening line ‘Disinheriting the meek, slyly killing off the weak’ and is counter balanced by the more upbeat ‘How The Other Half Lives’. ‘No Evil’ is a relentless attack on the normalisation of the suffering and death of billions of animals for the meat industry. Battle of Britain's hard hitting collection of anger and riffage pulls no punches in covering topics from austerity and factory farming to the pernicious influence of the Mainstream Media - ‘Led by lies lambs to the slaughter, tax exiles say who you vote for’. Brexit, fake patriotism and cognitive dissonance all get a good kicking too. The penultimate track, 'You Can’t Fool All Of The People' mixes baritone guitar with violin and Celtic rhythms climaxing in an epic James Bondesque heavy guitar/orchestral blend and breaks every rule in the Punk Police hand book whilst pleading for unity against a rigged political system. ‘Pulling Teeth’ with its ominous riff and hilariously frustrated lyrics ‘Dithering jibbering solid as jam, is it fair I’m both the woman and the man’ closes the album in manic style

Vice Squad are a UK Punk Rock band who’s first single releases included the classic ‘Last Rockers’ 7” in 1981. This was followed by the landmark albums ‘No Cause For Concern’ in the same year and ‘Stand Strong Stand Proud’ in 1982 which were both released on EMI. Since then Vice Squad have delivered short sharp songs with incisive political lyrics and a dash of humour spat out over a thunderous rhythm and machine gun Rock ’n’ Roll guitars. Their latest releases are the EPs 'Born In A War' and 'Ignored To Death V2' taken from the forthcoming album ‘Battle of Britain’ set for release on their own Last Rockers label in May 2020. The band have become 100% DIY since forming Last Rockers Records in 2009. In keeping with the DIY ethic the previous albums were recorded in the band’s own ‘Sci Fidelity’ studio South London and the new album ‘Battle of Britain’ continues this with the band maintaining full artistic control with the benefit of global distribution via Cargo. Their last album ‘ Cardboard Country’ was launched on the back of a very successful Pledge campaign raising funds for the Shelter homeless charity in line with the album title which was inspired by 'Cardboard City', the name given to the settlement of homeless people living in cardboard boxes near London's Waterloo station. Vice Squad is fronted by raucous voiced singer/guitarist Beki Bondage who was famed for being a teenage champion of Animal rights long before the current popularity of veganism. Vice squad’s song ’Humane’ was one of the first ever Animal Rights songs. Beki has been featured on the front cover of a number of influential music tabloids such at Melody Maker, NME, Sounds, Record Mirror and Smash Hits. After a hiatus, Beki formed a new version of Vice Squad in 1997 featuring longstanding members of her post VS outfit The Bombshells and they have released several quality albums of powerful punk songs that have been very well received across the world. Vice Squad are considered one of the most influential punk rock bands of all time, paving the way for other female Punk and Rock singers and influencing male performers such as Dave Grohl of Nirvana and Foo Fighters fame who was introduced to Vice Squad via his sister’s record collection. The first rule of Punk is there are no rules and Vice Squad ably illustrate this with ‘Battle of Britain’. Written, Recorded and Mixed by Beki Bond and Paul Rooney in their home studio. The 13 track album opens with the blistering ‘Ruination’ which cuts through the bullshit of small time promoters and blaggers with consummate swagger and melody while ‘I Dare To Breathe’ is an amphetamine driven anthem to paranoia. ‘When You Were 17’ is almost-tender and tells of first tattoos and under age booze whilst the more chilling ‘Ignored To Death’ rails against isolation and homelessness. The explosive ‘Born In A War’ rages along like a missile ravaging a third world country and warns ‘See how they treat refugees? That’s how they’ll treat you and me’. Elgar’s ‘Nimrod’ reworked with a pulsating industrial bass segues into title track, 'Battle Of Britain' where Beki's vocals soar like a Spitfire over the crunching de-tuned riff and spit fury over the hypocrisy of putting war memorials before people. The dystopian ‘Poverty Face’ hits you with the opening line ‘Disinheriting the meek, slyly killing off the weak’ and is counter balanced by the more upbeat ‘How The Other Half Lives’. ‘No Evil’ is a relentless attack on the normalisation of the suffering and death of billions of animals for the meat industry. Battle of Britain's hard hitting collection of anger and riffage pulls no punches in covering topics from austerity and factory farming to the pernicious influence of the Mainstream Media - ‘Led by lies lambs to the slaughter, tax exiles say who you vote for’. Brexit, fake patriotism and cognitive dissonance all get a good kicking too. The penultimate track, 'You Can’t Fool All Of The People' mixes baritone guitar with violin and Celtic rhythms climaxing in an epic James Bondesque heavy guitar/orchestral blend and breaks every rule in the Punk Police hand book whilst pleading for unity against a rigged political system. ‘Pulling Teeth’ with its ominous riff and hilariously frustrated lyrics ‘Dithering jibbering solid as jam, is it fair I’m both the woman and the man’ closes the album in manic style

For fans of Tall Heights, Sufjan Stevens, & Indie Folk! Steadily building their artistic style and audience for the past seven years, New Jersey based alternative folk band Cold Weather Company carries a diverse sound, rich with harmonies and instrumental builds. The band combines the various writing approaches and influences of its three members, Brian Curry, Jeff Petescia, and Steve Shimchick, to create unique arrangements with intricate layering. Over the past few years, the band has earned over eight million cross-platform digital streams and supported acts such as Tall Heights, Jamestown Revival, and Juke Ross. On their fourth full-length album, Coalescence, Cold Weather Company continues to expand their acoustic-forward, alternative folk sound into new territory. With delicate additions of synths and electronic instruments, as well as a broadened palette of horns, percussion, strings, and harmonies, "Coalescence" explores each song down to its smallest sonic niche. Conceptually, the album revolves around growth by highlighting our capacity to better ourselves and our connections through introspection and reflection. Often occurring cyclically, especially in nature, the idea of growth also inspired the release process for the album which will be split into three parts, each representing a different conceptual facet. "With their spot on songwriting and boisterous melodies, Cold Weather Company is set to follow in the alt-folk leaning sounds of Avett Brothers, Ben Howard George Ezra

Hip-Hop lost one of its most talented wordsmiths when Fred The Godson passed away due to complications with COVID-19 last year. However, his family has continued his legacy by launching the nonprofit Fred The Godson Foundation, as well as releasing some of his most sought-after music on vinyl and CD. Ascension is the first posthumous release with all new material from the South Bronx emcee. The tracks were handpicked by Fred's brother Russ and they are a prime example of the creative high he was on just before his passing. The collection of songs includes production from The Heatmakerz and guest spots from G Mims, Guap Sinatra, M City, Reef Hustle, Bandz Dinero and more. This album is a celebration of Fred's life and so, fittingly, the LP dropped digitally on his birthday, February 22. On the same day, New York City officials unveiled a new street name in the South Bronx honoring the respected lyricist: Fredrick "Fred The Godson" Thomas Way. A lot of artists make street music, but only a handful have ever received a tribute with street signs

It’s likely that Dave East was both ready and willing to lock in for a full-length Harry Fraud produced album well before he heard Fraud’s work with Jim Jones (The Fraud Department) and Benny the Butcher (The Plugs I Met 2). But it’s just as likely that the synergy and flawless execution of those projects couldn’t have hurt East’s inclination. Fraud shows up for East on HOFFA the same way he did for Jones and Benny, finding a sturdy balance between moody synth lines, obscure rock samples, and ’90s-hip-hop drum patterns to act as an idyllic backdrop for East’s hand-to-hand street-life memories, basketball references, and straight-faced acknowledgment of the way drugs have affected his own family. Fellow barsmiths Jim Jones, G Herbo, Benny the Butcher, and Curren$y round out the features, but longtime Dave East fans might be most excited to hear a new verse from Kiing Shooter, the Queens-hailing Dave East associate who passed away in 2020 following complications from COVID-19.

Sie können auf eine treue, langjährig erspielte Gefolgschaft zählen und sind aus dem Metalcore-Bereich längst nicht mehr wegzudenken: Die seit 2003 aktiven Abräumer aus dem australischen Byron Bay veröffentlichen mit "Reverence" ihr sechstes Studioalbum und damit den Nachfolger zum umjubelten Langspieler "Ire" von 2015. Der setzte die Messlatte für kommende Aufnahmen ziemlich hoch, doch die fünf Brachialrocker aus Down Under meisterten die Hürde mit links. Ganz nach dem Motto: Wer Wind sät, wird Sturm ernten. In den Worten von Frontmann Winston McCall stellt sich das so dar: "'Reverence' ist das ehrlichste und persönlichste Album, das wir je erschaffen haben. Es wurde durch Schmerz, Opfer und Überzeugung geboren, mit dem ultimativen Ziel vor Augen, nicht nur das auszudehnen, wofür Parkway Drive musikalisch stehen, sondern auch, wer wir als Menschen sind." Kurz: Auf den zehn Stücken herrscht Nackenhaare-Aufstellgarantie! Genrekonventionen spielen dabei eine untergeordnete Rolle.

Wendell Harrison was born in Detroit in 1942 where he began formal jazz studies for piano, clarinet and tenor saxophone. At 14, while still in high school, Harrison started performing & recording professionally with artists such as Marvin Gaye, Grant Green, Sun Ra, Hank Crawford … and many others.
In 1971, Harrison began teaching music at Metro Arts (a multi-arts complex for youth) where he also connected with Marcus Belgrave, Harold McKinney and Phil Ranelin…soon after they formed the (now legendary) Afro-centric TRIBE record label and artist collective. TRIBE used the Metro Arts complex as a vehicle to convey a growing black political consciousness. Wendell Harrison also published the very popular TRIBE magazine, a publication dedicated to local and national social and political issues, as well as featuring artistic contributions such as poetry and visual pieces.
In 1978 Harrison and McKinney co-founded REBIRTH, a non-profit jazz performance and education organization, in which many notable jazz artists have participated. Around the same time Wendell Harrison also created the WENHA record label and publishing company, which released many of his (now classic) recordings as well as those of other artists, such as Phil Ranelin, Doug Hammond and Reggie Fields (The Real ShooBeeDoo).
In the early 1990s, Wendell Harrison was awarded the title of “Jazz Master” by Arts Midwest. This distinction led Harrison to collaborate with fellow honorees and gave him the chance to tour throughout the United States, Middle East and Africa. Even to this day Wendell Harrison's recordings for the TRIBE, WENHA and REBIRTH labels have a large worldwide fanbase.
It is on WENHA that Harrison released the opus: DREAMS OF A LOVE SUPREME (1980), which we are presenting you today.
DREAMS OF A LOVE SUPREME is a monster album that features an all-star line-up that includes Phil Ranelin (Freddie Hubbard, Solomon Burke, Mulatu Astakte) on trombone, Harold McKinney (Tribe) on Keyboards and Roy Brooks (Yusef Lateef, Chet Baker, Mingus) on percussion. Although you can hear the 80ies creeping in with a smoother sound, more synths, and disco/R&B vocals… this remains a very spiritual (and soulful) jazz record. The record’s an irresistible blend of soul jazz combined with funky electric instrumentation…a groovy sound which is very much of its time, yet overtly timeless and as relevant today as it was back when it was initially released.
Tidal Waves Music now proudly presents the first ever vinyl reissue of ‘Dreams of A Love Supreme’ since its release in 1980. This official reissue is now available as a deluxe 180g vinyl edition (limited to 500 copies) and comes with an unreleased bonus track.

hanks to their first-class training in funk and soul while playing in James Brown’s Band, Fred Wesley and Maceo Parker were the obvious choice when it came to participating in George Clinton’s P-Funk empire – the Godfather of Soul had had an enormous influence on Clinton anyway.

In 1977, Clinton and Bootsy Collins produced "A Blow For Me, A Toot For You", the début album by Fred Wesley & the Horny Horns – an ensemble with Wesley on the trombone, Parker on the tenor and alto saxophone, as well as Rick Gardner and Richard 'Kush' Griffith on the trumpet. The majority of the numbers are by Clinton and Collins, so it is not really surprising that much of the LP is pure P-Funk.

The album begins rather gloomily with a remake of Parliament’s "Up For The Down Stroke", and the influence of Parliament is also unmistakable in the other numbers. With regard to the instrumental numbers, "Four Play" fuses funk and jazz, while Wesley’s atmospheric "Peace Fugue" reflects the CTI sound of the 1970s. Actually "Peace Fugue" is the work which least sounds like Clinton on this LP. "A Blow For Me, A Toot For You" scarcely ranks behind Parliament’s "Mothership Connection" or Funkadelic’s "One Nation Under A Groove" and is certainly more than just a recommendable LP, which every funk lover should get to know.

Part of the joy of collecting soul music is searching for and discovering lesser known gems. Phoenix, AZ, might not be known as one of the main American cities for black music despite spawning artists such as Dyke & the Blazers and Eddie & Ernie, but the city holds a cult status among rare soul collectors thanks to the small output of labels like Artco, OK&T, Poorman’s and Raina.
One of the state’s well kept secrets is Bobby Barnes, who had a small number of 45 releases on local labels. All strong tracks which really deserved wider recognition than they got.
The 14th S4R release contains two previously unissued songs, from 1977 and 1984 respectively, recorded for the Raina label with Lawrence Carroll producing and arranging.
”Super High On Your Love” is in my opinion his best song - a super soulful floater type of modern soul dancer. The flip is an alternative, extended version of “I’ve Had My Share”, to my ears superior to the original with a sparser backing and keyboards replacing the guitar. Two truly sublime sides!

Twang, Hmmm, click, thunk.



When XTC finally downed guitars after the recording and release of “Wasp Star”, their last album to date, one of Andy’s ideas about what to do next, was to become a songwriter in the traditional sense, writing songs for others…



It was something he had been asked to do throughout the XTC years, but never had the time.



Songs were written. Songs were sent. Sometimes speculatively, often specifically requested, many tailor-made for an artist's requirements, but then choppy waters could still lay ahead. Even where everyone seemed to think that newly written song A would be wonderful if recorded by singer B, whose manager C had initiated the request via music publisher D for album E on record label F…



Well, you begin to see the potential problems of such an approach – almost a quarter of the way through the alphabet and not a note recorded beyond Andy's original demo. That’s without detailing the sort of horrendous politics that makes a fresh batch of alphabet spaghetti of any of the above as they interact.



Still, songs are like children. A songwriter gives birth to them, feeds them, watches them grow before sending them out into the world. So it’s unfair to abandon them as orphans just because their first experience outdoors might be a traumatic one of being cold shouldered.

As a loving parent, Andy brought them all back together, re-Andy-fied them and buffed them up in his home studio, et voila! Here is the first selection of song siblings that resulted from all of this work, four brothers and sisters, happily reunited and presented as a family group aural snapshot for your entertainment and delight.



The story has a happy ending after all. It is almost as if The Sound of Music, had been set in Swindon.



If only we all failed so well…

Bathurst is pleased to announce the debut album 'All One' by The Motion Orchestra.

The group formed in 2017 in Hamburg as a studio project and outlet for lead writer and bandleader - David Hanke (Keno, Renegades Of Jazz) to explore his Neo-Classical and Jazz sensibilities in a new setting.

Comprising of the US-based Andy Sells on Drums, with Germans Alexander Bednasch on Double-Bass, Mark Matthes on Violins, and David Hanke on electronics and production, as well as a one-off guest appearance from other long term Hanke collaborators - Tristan de Liege on clarinet (for the track 'Maylight'), David Nesselhauf on electronics (for the track 'All One') and Ingo Möll on additional Bass (for the track 'Everything We Are').

Strangely, when considering the intimacy of the album the group has never actually fully met in person, with live recordings taking place over 4 years across studios in Seattle, Los Angeles and Hamburg. With Hanke and Matthes contributing the majority of the writing and arranging, the wonderful musicianship of the group as a whole is obvious to hear in the record, which expertly showcases the performers rare understanding of musical space and compositional balance, yet still allowing for flashes of individual brilliance.

As the first tracks were arranged it became clear that The Motion Orchestra occupy a musical space that sits aside from their obvious stylistic influences, instead bearing a compositional style that deftly fuses the orchestral and electronic worlds more akin to that of modern cinematic composition than most commercial releases. Matthes' lush string arrangements are a beauty to behold, layered elegantly upon the muscular and oftentimes swinging rhythm section low end, all the while Hanke's cerebral sound design and production elements interplay with all throughout, providing an eclectic array of wonderful foils and musical partners to the palette.

With only a small clutch of singles and tracks being released so far they have already turned the heads of Huey Morgan on BBC 6Music and Bandcamp Weekly, as well as closing in on 500,000 streams on Spotify. Exploring themes as time and space, transience, life and death – their music is delightfully relevant, timeless and contemplative in comparison to much of today's disposable music culture.

''All One' is a collection inspired by the notion that everything comes from the same source, the same starting point. And throughout its play time it builds out this concept from the reserved, poignant strings and ambience beginnings of opener 'From Dust', through to the delicate pitter-patter rhythm and memorable melodies of 'Threadspin', before picking up in tempo and dynamics ahead of the epic penultimate track - Sonorous' and its piano chord harmonics, tasteful bass notes, and swirling jazz drum patterns. Indeed by the last notes of title track 'All One' there is a real sense of having mentally journeyed some distance to arrive exactly where you are for the listener. It's a truly atmospheric audio experience that is constantly engaging and inspiring both feelings and thought throughout.

Perhaps the mastermind of the project - David Hanke, sums it up best himself:

"It begins where it ends. Turning these subjects into sounds, creating an emotional sound journey with a deeper note is the idea."

The second release in January to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Frank de Groodts career as a recording artist is a re-press of his legendary Sonar Bases 4 10 double 12 . Exactly 21 years ago, in January 1997, Frank elevated to electro stardom with this astonishing combination of dark electronica and electro beats.

Frank at the time lived just outside the city of Amersfoort, which is where he was born and lives again these days, some 30 minutes northwest of Utrecht. His first ever release in January 1994 was a techno EP on U-TRAX, as Pieces of a Pensive State of Mind. Later that year, he released his first 12"-es on Djax records as The Optic Crux, and he continued to keep making up artists names in the following 25 years, like Fastgraph and The Operator. He is also one half of the live outfit Random XS (together with DJ Zero One), collaborated with Arno Peeters (a.k.a. Spasms) as Urban Electro and with Detroit's Dennis Richardson as Ultradyne. And that s not even all of his alter egos.

The sound of these eight unique tracks called for a new moniker back in the nineties: Sonar Base (ironically misspelled on the original release as Sonar Bass). All track on this re-press have been remastered for maximum impact. The double vinyl goodness kicks off with Earth Probe, that very subtly creeps towards us, before it kicks in with a rather obese bassdrum. As if Frank wanted to ease his listeners into his then new sound, this track basically is in techno/acid style, but has the slower tempo that characterizes the rest of the electro tracks of this release.

Immediately following, is the unrivaled beauty of Welcome To Sonar Base #4, a track that slowly builds up before it takes us on a deep space journey at two thirds. The 11 minute Sonar Base #5 has been a DJ favorite for 21 years, reaching out to both electro and techno lovers, while Sonar Base #6 is the type of ultra-pure electro that really puts your woofers to the test.

Arrival At Dwell Probe is another one of our favorites, with superfine beats, desolate voice samples and deep and moody synths. Very musical, truly a top piece that will leave you totally unprepared for Blunted. This track has the rolling type of hiphop-style beats that mix well with LL Cool J's Mama Said Knock You Out, but of course has the space-station atmosphere that makes it unmistakably a Sonar Base track.

The fast pace and merciless beats of Intergalactic Anecdote rush us to the finale: Sonar Base #10, a worthy closing track, with deep bassdrum patterns and melancholic strings that also please fans of broken beats. It stops and goes and keeps demanding your attention, making you wanting to go back again to the first track disc and start your Sonar Base trip all over again.

The third release on U-TRAX in 1993 was also a third debut, this time by Natasja Hagemeier and Jeroen Brandjes. Early in their career, they used several artist names, but became most commonly known as The Connection Machine. With their debut mini-album The Dream Tec Album they more or less described their style: dreamy techno. It became an instant Dutch techno classic and U-TRAX is proud and delighted to offer a fully remastered re-release, including three never before released bonus tracks (one of which is digital-only).

Natasja and Jeroen resided in Utrecht back in the 90s. In 1991 they assembled all their ideas and recorded the track "24 Hours" with DJ Paradize. Soon after this experience, they started to buy their own gear, all strictly MIDI (which wasn't too obvious in those days). In their early recording years, they had three producer-names (Syndrome, The Connection Machine and Bitch&Bites), that were all collected under the The Utroid Machine Missions umbrella, which was used for their debut on U-TRAX.

All tracks on The Dream Tec Album are The Connection Machine's earliest works, from the 1991/1992 years.

"An Overflow of the Mind" is a beautiful, dreamy track with almost divine sounds and strange voice-samples that serves perfectly as an introduction to their entire repertoire.

Their first production was "24 Hours", and what a brilliant one it is! A well-known jazz-musician talks about a "24 hour party going on", on top of a sinister and trancey rug, woven of sampled sounds from pioneers in electronic music and nailed down to the floor with a deep pounding bassdrum. At the time they made this track, 141 bpm was unbelievably fast...

"Evilish Cosmos" is all about a very sad and personal emotion, so everything we say about it will be absolutely wrong. Just listen to the meandering piano line, distorted voice samples - and feel it.

The first bonus track on this release is "Recognized Pain", which was intended to be part of the original The Dream Tec Album. It had appeared on the Phuture Classical Section C cassette in 1993, on the famous Drome Tapes label that formed the roots of U-TRAX. It truly is an amazing track: pure sonic terror with haunting rhythms, psychedelic synth lines and shards of voice samples that make the listener feel slightly uncomfortable.

"X_Manray" is many electronic music lover's favorite track. It is sooo deep that it is hard not to get hypnotized by it. Warm strings are coupled with deep beats that show up and disappear every now and then. Could serve perfectly to start off any DJ's set, as long as she or he has the guts.

Though "Braindrain" is probably the most danceable track on this album, it is carefully designed to tease the listener. Everything in this track drops in too late and every tone, melody or loop last exactly a few bars too long. Designed as a DJ-teaser and so it is.

The second bonus track, "Cafe d'Anvers", is another previously unreleased work, of which unfortunately no master recording was saved. All that is left, as far as we know, was an old VHS Hifi tape from the U-TRAX Archives. And that is where this bonus track was taken from. Mastering engineer Thee J Johanz managed to restore the quality of the recording somewhat, while at the same time maintaining its dark, clubby sound, a tribute to the famous club of the track's name in Antwerp, Belgium.

"Dream Affected Dream" is one of the most recent productions on this album. It was recorded with CNN playing live on top of it. At this exact moment, CNN was having an interview with David Koresh, the leader of the infamous Branch Davidians sect from Waco, Texas, while they were under siege by an armed police force. Natasja and Jeroen were just ready to record Dream Affected Dream, and spontaneously decided to mix in the audio from CNN. Not very long after that, the cult members set fire to themselves. A very strange and oddly funky track, that also serves as a time-document.

The final track is another bonus track. Like Cafe d'Anvers, "Voight-Kampff" is taken from on old U-TRAX VHS Hifi tape and masterfully mastered into a lovely relaxed dreamtech piece. Very suitable to start the Sunday after a long night of clubbing. This track is available for free to buyers of the complete digital album only.

Original release date: July 1993.

Drummer/producer Teppo "Teddy Rok" Mäkynen shares two unreleased cuts by his alias The Stance Brothers on We Jazz Records. The 7" color vinyl single goes by the title "Commercial Music", as both tracks are originally commissioned for promotional purposess. The tough-as-nails A-sider "Hard Deal" is an old-school Stance groover made for the Finnish clothing brand Samuji's men's Spring/Summer collection 2015. Stance fans will recognice the signature Teddy Rok groove which cooks and rocks, and displays nice depth as well. The drum break is pure fire like only Teppo can deliver. "Dwayne's Shuffle", known to local Finnish jazz aficionadoes as the opening theme of the popular Yle Radio 1 "Jazzklubi" show is slightly more mellow offering, yet the full swing and intensity is right there in the pocket. The crunchy guitar and minimalist vibraphone melodies carry the tune way beyond your average radio show jingle into a full existence of its own.

"Commercial Music" by The Stance Brothers is released by We Jazz Records on color 7" vinyl single, delivered with heat-pressed old school labels and a stylish plain brown sleeve.

Sheila was reborn in Detroit as one of George Clinton's fiercely funky Brides of Funkenstein. More than simple sex appeal and sass, Sheila sang on the seminalNever Buy Texas from a Cowboyas well as P-Funk hits like "Atomic Dog," making a name for herself alongside P-Funk collective greats. After this mothership connection, Sheila toured with Rick James in 1981 as an original Mary Jane Girl, wrote for Clinton's solo records in the mid '80s and even made a soul connection with Bruce Willis -- who inspired the singer to do her own thing. She then departed the P-Funk stratosphere for another planetary dimension, recording with Aurra, Civil Attack and Public Enemy.

"Attitude" and "Keep On Doing" presents Sheila doing what she does best raw funk and soul

Sheila in featured article: Wax Poetics issue #2 (due out in September)

Member of Brides Of Funkenstein, Parliament/Funkadelic, George Clinton, Aurra, Civil Attack

Limited pressing of 300 copies

45rpm 7" record in Silk-Screened Jacket

Habibi Funk presents a selection of works by Algerian-born, Amazigh artist Majid Soula. Majid’s music blends the best of Arab-disco, highlife and groovy funk into something wholly unique.

Born in Kabylie, Algeria - a place that remains fundamental to his career - Majid Soula is a self-made musician, artist and producer. With no formal music education, Majid’s tenacity has led to a career that is still blossoming. His synths, driving drums, guitar & strong lyrics make a unique sound. A strong proponent for the rights of the Amazigh, he has a band that to this day plays shows, most linked to cultural events of the Amazigh diaspora in France, as well as in Belgium, Russia the UK and Sweden. He was part of a new wave of widely popular and successful Kabyle artists in the 1980s, such as Ait Menguellet, Lounès Matoub, Takfarinas, Idir and many more.

Habibi Funk as a label is dedicated to re-releasing music from “The Arab World”, but this release shows how reductive this term can be, as the countries from North Africa and West Asia being summarized under this term include a vast number of languages and identities. Obviously, headlines sometimes come with limited space, and one can’t avoid using terms that paint a half-finished picture. That being the case, however, we are even more happy that Majid Soula liked our idea to work on a release of a selection of his music with us. The tracks here are incredible and need to be introduced to a new generation of listeners.

For Majid Soula music is more than just entertainment. He considers himself an activist through music, and foremost a “chanteur engagé”, as he says of himself: „I take my inspiration from the daily life of my people and I share all their aspirations, mainly the official recognition of Tamazight as a language, culture and identity.”

He still works on new music in his small home studio in Belleville and occasionally plays concerts for the Amazigh community of the city.
We sincerely hope that for you reading this and listening to Majid’s album, his music will have the same revelatory feeling it had on us, and that this will be part of a momentum that will allow Majid to keep on working, playing, and sharing his message for many years to come.

"Of the records Ayler made during 1964, the LP New York Eye and Ear Control...is probably the most important link between the epoch-making collective improvisation Free Jazz by the Ornette Coleman double quartet, and John Coltrane's Ascension. Apart from that, it is—in my opinion—one of Ayler's very best recordings. New York Eye and Ear Control owes a large part of its success to the contrasting temperaments of the three musicians used by Albert Ayler in addition to his trio, namely, trumpeter Don Cherry, trombonist Roswell Rudd and alto saxophonist John Tchicai. Don Cherry improvises in broad melodic lines or places sharply accented staccato passages. Roswell Rudd interposes fragmentary flourishes in the highest register, or growl sounds and glissandos in the manner of the old tailgate trombonists. John Tchicai presents the polarity of a slightly 'cool,' linear style and offers motivic linkage by insistently repeating melodic patterns. All three inspire Albert Ayler to a breadth of expression which is too often missing in his improvisations with smaller groups. There is less limitation to his sound-span playing, more contrast, more punch and rhythmic accentuation, and with quick response Ayler takes motives from Cherry, Rudd and Tchicai, transforms them
into his own musical idiom, and in turn gives a new direction to the flow of ideas." - Free Jazz by Ekkehard Jost

"The music is fiery but with enough colorful moments to hold one's interest throughout." - Scott Yanow, All Music Guide

"...a valuable window into the music's early history as well as what might have happened outside record dates, more than one is usually privy to." - Clifford Allen, AllAboutJazz

Marshall McLuhan’s famous edict ‘the medium is the message’ has never been more apt than with regard to modern remix culture. Although the idea of the remix goes way back to the Jamaican dub pioneers and New York disco remixers of the 1970s, the form didn’t truly come into its own until the acid house explosion of the 1980s, when remixers’ credentials often subsumed — and sometimes surpassed — the original source material. Some, among them our lost friend Andrew Weatherall, used remixing as a springboard into multiple other directions, and became auteurs in their own right.

Forged in the white-hot heat of post-acid house Britain, these Heavenly remixes are perfectly weighted with respect and irreverence, the remixer in each case carefully chosen to add heft to the song (as on Al Breadwinner’s dubwise reworking of Mattiel’s ’Guns of Brixton’— the pairing more a game of chess than a best-of-three arm wrestle).

Although Heavenly was founded in the wake of huge upheavals in electronic music, it was still imbued with its own curious parallel life. I’ve always thought of Heavenly as one of the UK’s alt-pop labels; a place where brilliant pop bands live and record, if the general public would only realise. Some of them have ended up in the real, actual charts (Saint Etienne, Doves), but that’s missing the point about Heavenly, who are, like Factory and Fast Product before them, pop music’s conscience.

There is no sense of order to this compilation and we make no apologies. It’s the Heavenly way. Think of it as a present from Loki, the Norse god of mischief. You’ll find a smattering of older tracks: album openers Saint Etienne are taken on a Poseidon Adventure with Underworld, who inject ‘Cool Kids of Death’ with typically manic energy. Elsewhere, ’90s Brum duo Mother add dancefloor pzazz to Espiritu’s innate glamour on an all-funked-up reworking of ‘Los Americanos’, and Mark Lusardi’s remix of Moonflowers’ ‘Get Higher’ is an early Heavenly classic.

On ‘Terracotta Warrior’, a perfect, psyched-out, Mancunian union is created betwixt Jimi Goodwin and Andy Votel, whilst Goodwin cohort Simon Aldred, in his Cherry Ghost guise, receives a proper Tamla-Motowning from Richard Norris (aka Time & Space Machine) on an inspired cover of Cece Peniston’s glam-house hit, ‘Finally’.

There are several of Heavenly’s current darlings here too. One of the most exciting young British prospects, Yorkshire’s Working Men’s Club, effectively remix themselves, as Minsky Rock — WMC’s Syd Minsky-Sargeant and producer Ross Orton — cleave ‘X’ into a riotous industrial racket. Jagwar Ma’s Jono Ma takes the Kraftwerkian leitmotif on ‘Automatic’ and drives the Australian jazz-funkers Mildlife down an electro-convulsive psychedelic tunnel (thankfully no-one was harmed during the making of this remix); Sheffield’s DJ Parrot and Jarvis Cocker deliver one of the outstanding remixes of 2018, turning Baxter Dury’s ‘Miami’ into a lovelorn minor opera; and, making its first appearance on vinyl, David Holmes’ Unloved project is taken on a panoramic Welsh waltz thanks to Gwenno.


There may well be no rhyme, nor reason, to how these compilations have been put together, beyond the fact that they are assembled with love, an innate understanding of the power of great pop music, and a skilled marriage of song and remixer — but does one really need anything more than that for an album to make sense? I’d suggest not.

It is with great joy that we present the Mr Bongo edition of Marcos Valle's 1983 self-titled masterpiece. A pure vintage that features the ultimate Brazilian-boogie cult-classic ‘Estrelar’ and iconic 80s cover art that sees a gloriously sun-drenched Marcos dressed in a pink v-neck t-shirt surrounded by a generous selection of deadly-looking neon cocktails.

The album was produced by the legendary Lincoln Olivetti and Marcos' brother Paulo Sérgio Valle. It showcases a real who's who of Brazilian music at the time, with stellar performances from vocalists and musicians such as Rosana, Serginho Do Trombone, Robson Jorge and Oberdan Magalhães to name but a few. This was Marcos’ second album, after having moved back to Brazil from his time living in Los Angeles, and that US influence is evident through its prominent boogie, soul and funk sounds. It also features collaborations with the US singer-songwriter, composer, pianist, keyboardist, and record producer, Leon Ware, who co-penned three tracks including 'Estrelar'. To complete the album there are tracks such as 'Fogo Do Sol', which is pure AOR / Balaeric vibes, and tracks that are more MPB and pop-inspired, making a well-balanced track list for both home-listening pleasure and dancefloor business.

What could we do to give one of Marcos' most celebrated albums the treatment it deserved and produce the most definitive re-issue possible? The answer was to enlist the services of Miles Showell, Abbey Road Studios Mastering and lacquer-cutting engineer and all-around audio-magician, to cut a special half-speed master edition. Miles had previously worked his half-speed magic on our Arthur Verocai album re-issue, and once again we are totally blown away by the richness which Miles has brought out in his mastering technique. He has enhanced the listening experience and taken this wonderful album to another level.

To celebrate the release we have pressed up several vinyl versions; both standard master, and Miles' half-speed mastering editions on Black vinyl, alongside special limited edition Rose and Mint-Green coloured vinyl variants that were inspired by the audacious-looking cocktails on the cover - sheer 80s excess!

Charismatic trombonist and pianist Malcolm Jiyane debut album as frontman is more than merely one individual’s breakthrough. Workshopped and recorded within two days in Johannesburg, UMDALI stretches the idea of what it means to improvise within the context of jazz.

Operating from the fringes of the South African jazz scene, the enigmatic yet charismatic trombonist and pianist Malcolm Jiyane delivers a major contribution to the canon -- one shaped around dedications to key figures in his personal and professional life. Several years ago, Jiyane was dealing with the death of a band member, the birth of a daughter and the passing of his beloved mentor Johnny Mekoa, founder of the Music Academy of Gauteng, which Jiyane attended from a young age. These life-altering events give shape to the music’s emotional register and its thematic concerns.

In Black Music, his book of essays and critiques, Amiri Baraka makes the point that jazz musicians, be it in the construction of solos or in other aspects of composition, always draw on the works of their contemporaries or elders. How much outsiders pick up on that is really dependent on how au fait they are with the music. In this album, Jiyane finds comfort in this well-trodden path. Two songs make for great examples. Umkhumbi kaMa, a jazzfunk track celebrating the creative force as inhabited by women, the motif to Herbie Hancock’s Ostinato (Suite for Angela) is a clear reference, connecting in one swift move, not only the musical traditions of the Black Atlantic but also the struggles and triumphs of women across space and time. On the same note, the free-form Solomon, Tsietsi & Khotso, conjured in the same jam session that yielded SPAZA’s UPRIZE!, appears here in a more fleshed out form as Senzo seNkosi; a tender dedication to Malcolm Jiyane Tree-O bass player Senzo Nxumalo.

Jiyane’s path to the realisation of his debut album as frontman is more than merely one individual’s breakthrough. Workshopped and recorded within two days in Johannesburg, UMDALI, not unlike Miles Davis’ landmark Kind of Blue, stretches our idea of what it means to improvise within the context of jazz.

Composer duo Kaae & Batz release hazy electronica single and announces new album L.U.S.H on vinyl. Kaae & Batz, the duo behind the Netflix series Bordertown’s score, is ready with a new album. The first single “Into the Void” is released 15th September, while the album L.U.S.H lands 29th October both digitally and on vinyl on Copenhagen- based record label StereoRoyal.

The album is a collection of reflective and melancholic cinematic tracks with clear references to jazz and neo-classicism where organic elements merge with electronic textures and emotional vocal samples. The album is teased with the first single “Into the Void (Part 1)” – a dark and hazy dystopia accompanied by beautiful piano chords. The album came to life on a 14-day trip to Istanbul and the majority of the tracks, including the first single “Into the Void”, are created entirely from samples and programming.

Kaae & Batz has previously released two albums, Basement Tales (2015) and Mosaic (2019), as well as composed scores for several international film productions which have garnered attention and critical acclaim in the industry. The story about childhood friends Kaspar Kaae (CODY) and Brian Batz (Sleep Party People) dates back to their teenage years in Bornholm where they were both born and raised. They went to high school together, cultivated their shared interest in music, and played together in bands. These years became the cornerstone of their friendship and musical collaboration.

With L.U.S.H, Kaae & Batz shines a light on Danish electronica. The album is released 29th October on a limited-edition LP (180g) and on all streaming platforms.

Morrice is no less than a pioneer of Portuguese techno, churning out high-octane bangers and rave-tinged rollers alike from his hometown of Porto since the mid 90s. Lucky for us he didn't slow down, and his fresh offerings are as enticing as ever - we got our hands on some of the finest crop of Morrice's characteristically deranged, sonic techno and 'Back on Tracks' was born.

One can hear the realness of a legend-worthy path in dance music in every tough beat and in every bass line twist and turn: the opener 'Dirty Smack' is a raw, no-frills mutant banger that will throw even the most bashful raver into a frenzy, reminding us all why we miss dancing together so much. 'Stress Will Kill You' is a tense, paranoid techno roller featuring a super effective lead over an economic but super banging technoid beat&bass. 'Synth Lies' is another trip recalling Midwest movements and exuberant composers like Poindexter.

On the flip, you'll find the soulful depths of a warm 'Doctor' as well as the wonderfully Detroitian-via-Douro dream of 'Acorda', all silky pads and stabs. The record closes with a 'Dirty Smack' remix by Paraíso regular Violet who infuses the original with broken rhythms and percussive highlights.

Pink Vinyl
It is with great joy that we present the Mr Bongo edition of Marcos Valle's 1983 self-titled masterpiece. A pure vintage that features the ultimate Brazilian-boogie cult-classic ‘Estrelar’ and iconic 80s cover art that sees a gloriously sun-drenched Marcos dressed in a pink v-neck t-shirt surrounded by a generous selection of deadly-looking neon cocktails.

The album was produced by the legendary Lincoln Olivetti and Marcos' brother Paulo Sérgio Valle. It showcases a real who's who of Brazilian music at the time, with stellar performances from vocalists and musicians such as Rosana, Serginho Do Trombone, Robson Jorge and Oberdan Magalhães to name but a few. This was Marcos’ second album, after having moved back to Brazil from his time living in Los Angeles, and that US influence is evident through its prominent boogie, soul and funk sounds. It also features collaborations with the US singer-songwriter, composer, pianist, keyboardist, and record producer, Leon Ware, who co-penned three tracks including 'Estrelar'. To complete the album there are tracks such as 'Fogo Do Sol', which is pure AOR / Balaeric vibes, and tracks that are more MPB and pop-inspired, making a well-balanced track list for both home-listening pleasure and dancefloor business.

What could we do to give one of Marcos' most celebrated albums the treatment it deserved and produce the most definitive re-issue possible? The answer was to enlist the services of Miles Showell, Abbey Road Studios Mastering and lacquer-cutting engineer and all-around audio-magician, to cut a special half-speed master edition. Miles had previously worked his half-speed magic on our Arthur Verocai album re-issue, and once again we are totally blown away by the richness which Miles has brought out in his mastering technique. He has enhanced the listening experience and taken this wonderful album to another level.

To celebrate the release we have pressed up several vinyl versions; both standard master, and Miles' half-speed mastering editions on Black vinyl, alongside special limited edition Rose and Mint-Green coloured vinyl variants that were inspired by the audacious-looking cocktails on the cover - sheer 80s excess!

"As one of the instigators of the UK 2-Step sound that paved the way for the seminal movements in Dubstep and Grime, Zed Bias, aka Maddslinky, is a true pioneer and stands as one the Godfathers of the UK Bass scene. With a prolific career spanning more than two decades, we’re honoured to welcome him into the Unchained family with his debut release on the label.

His powerful 4-track EP echoes both cutting edge modern electronic as well as the nostalgia of UK dance history. All tracks wander into upper BPM territory and sonically span very wide ground; whether this be “Beijing”, a track sure to carve itself a place in classic anthem history; or “Doen�a Tropical”, a tune which draws new broken-beat boundaries around the 160bpm ethos.

Two tracks feature collaborations with Strategy and Bugz In the Attic’s G Force - both music defining legends in their own right.

Spanning both the Drum’N’Bass universe and thought-provoking left-field bass, we hope this fresh release has you covered from club to couch."

Mammoth WVH is the debut, self-titled album of Mammoth WVH – the band created by Wolfgang Van Halen. This collection includes the chart topping and now Grammy nominated "Distance” as well as “Don’t Back Down,” “Epiphany,” “Mammoth” and more.

This stunning debut is one of hands down one of our highlights of the year and is still available on a lovely Black Ice Transluscent vinyl.

Wolf began to embrace his voice, inspired by everyone from his father, to bands like AC/DC, Foo Fighters, Nine Inch Nails, TOOL, and Jimmy Eat World. In addition to writing and singing every song on the self-title debut album, remarkably Wolfgang plays every instrument.

Mammoth WVH will be touring Europe extensively in 2022 supporting Scorpions in Germany and headlining shows in Paris, London or Zurich.

Manchester's jazz scene has produced some of the UK's brightest and most original jazz groups. Now with its eighth releaseMatthew Halsall's Manchester based Gondwana record label shines a light on another of Manchester's well kept musical secrets, the expansive, brilliant piano trio GoGo Penguin.
Featuring pianist Chris Illingworth, bassist Grant Russell and drummer Rob Turner (all still in their twenties), GoGo Penguin, draw on a heady brew of influences from Aphex Twin to Brian Eno, Debussy to Shostakovich and Massive Attack to EST. GoGo Penguin who have already developed a growing cult following in the North West as well as turning in storming performances at the Gateshead International and Manchester Jazz Festival's first came to Halsall's attention when he heard them at a friends night (Norvun Devolution) at the Roadhouse in Manchester. He was immediately drawn to their sublime collective empathy and the seamless fusion of jazz, classical and electronica influences in their music. 'I was blown away the first time I heard them, for me tracks like Last Words and HF are modern anthems and I knew immediately that I wanted to release their music". I am very proud to welcome them to the Gondwana label"

GoGo Penguin met whilst studying music at the RNCM in Manchester. After doing frequent gigs together with various other bands and musicians they started jamming together and started creating new music. They had no specific sound in mind, but just wanted to be free to create freely and honestly. The new band quickly became a vehicle to combine all the best bits from the music they where influenced by and loved. Individually Illingworth brings a lyrical and melodic style influenced heavily by classical piano music and electronica. Turner brings a driving modern style of drumming influenced by jazz, electronica, ambient, classical and dance music. Russell brings a gritty energetic double bass style influenced by the likes of Charles Mingus but also more modern electronic producers. The band's modus operandi is to have one of them bring an idea to rehearsal. Then there's a lot of experimentation, they try out as many different ways to play the piece as they can think of, until it begins to sound like something they all like.
It is their unique ability to synthesis and develop each others melodic and harmonic ideas while drawing on music from classical to electronica that makes GoGo Penguin's music so enthralling and their debut album such a powerful opening salvo from a powerful new voice in UK music.

So you thought U-TRAX was all about fancy, state-of-the-art, absolutely undanceable, hard-to-understand, semi-intelligent techno Well, you're absolutely right, but this U-TRAX-release is just not!

Produced by German Heinrich Tillack, these TICK TRAX VOLUME 1 are just the good old way of making techno. Raw & uncomplicated, in the tradition of the Chicago underground.

Heinrich is a bit of an enigma. Having released some 12"s on Detroit's Plus 8 Records (as Sysex), Force Inc. Music Works (as Absolute) and Disko B (as Festival) and his own label Jakpot (both as Festival, as well as Co-Jack, together with Olivier Bondzio aka Hardfloor), he more or less disappeared from the face of the earth. It is said that he is a developer of children's apps for mobile phones nowadays.

The 5 tracks on this 12" are centered mostly around the 909 drum machine and the 303 bassline synthesizer. While two bulky techno tracks feature on side A, the flipside is completely dominated by acid tracks, most of them receiving high praise when they hit the dance floors in the mid 90s.

More recent techno heroes also know how to appreciate these vintage tracks, like Dutchman Danny Wolfers, aka Legowelt, who had this to say about 'Pump Track' on his Facebook page: "Such a fun track, how it stops and starts, almost falls apart. It's mentally challenged simplicity with a giant hall rave vibe... total dance floor control track. On the super cult U-TRAX, one of the coolest Dutch labels from the 90s!"

Original release date: Fall 1994.

"In Vivo" is the result of the photographic work of Klavdij Sluban at the Fleury-Mérogis Young Offender Institution (France) from 1995 to 2016 Beds in addition to his work from Izalco prison, located in El Salvador, from 2008 [visiting rooms] connected to the music of Gareth Davis.

Gareth Davis is an artist, composer and musician living in Amsterdam. He plays clarinet(s), the result of a somewhat impulsive purchase whilst window shopping in Covent Garden, London, around ten years before the turn of the century. The serendipitous location of a rather wonderful (and equally important, rather cheap) second hand record shop less than 10m from the bus stop required for seven years of schooling, combined with delivering newspapers on a daily basis, lead to a somewhat eclectic, dusty and generally unclassified taste in music.

The result. Activity covering sonic art and contemporary classical music through rock, improvisation and noise with collaborations that have included the premiering of new written pieces by composers such as Bernhard Lang, Peter Ablinger, Toshio Hosokawa and Jonathan Harvey, soloist with orchestras including the SWR Symphonieorchester, Warsaw Philharmonic and Orquesta de la Comunidad de Madrid, performances with groups and performers ranging from the Neue Vocalsolisten and Arditti Quartet through to improvisers Elliott Sharp and Frances Marie Uitti, electronic artists Robin Rimbaud and Merzbow and multimedia work with artists including Christian Marclay and Peter Greenaway.

"In Vivo" is his second solo release after to have recorded a bunch of collaborative albums with artists such as Scanner, Machinefabriek, Steven R. Smith, Kleefstra Brothers, Frances-Marie Uitti, Merzbow, Adain Baker, Duane Pitre and more...

Klavdij Sluban, winner of the European Publishers Award for Photography 2009, of the Leica Prize (2004) and of the Niépce Prize (2000), main French prize in photography, is a French photographer of Slovenian origin born in Paris in 1963.

He develops a rigorous and coherent body of work, nourished by literature, never inspired by immediate and sensational current affairs, making him one of the most interesting photographers of his generation. The Balkans, the Black Sea, the Baltic Sea, the Caribbean, Central America, Russia, China and the Antarctic (first artistic mission in the Kerguelen islands) can be read as many successive steps of an in-depth study of a patient proximity to the encountered real.

His images have been shown in such leading institutions as the Metropolitan Museum of Photography of Tokyo, the Maison Européenne de la Photographie in Paris, the Rencontres d’Arles, the Museum of Photography in Helsinki, the Fine Arts Museum in Canton, the Musée Beaubourg, the Museum of Texas Tech University. His many books include East to East (published simultaneously by Actes Sud, Dewi Lewis, Petliti, Braus, Apeiron & Lunwerg with a text by Erri de Luca), Entre Parenthèses, (Photo Poche, Actes Sud), Transverses, (Maison Européenne de la Photographie) and Balkans -Transit, with a text by François Maspero (Seuil). Since 1995, Sluban has been photographing teenagers in jails. In each prison he organizes workshops with the young offenders to share his passion. First originated in France, in the prison of Fleury-Mérogis with support of Henri Cartier-Bresson during 7 years, as well as Marc Riboud and William Klein punctually. This commitment was pursued in the disciplinary camps of Eastern Europe –Serbia, Slovenia, Ukraine, Georgia, Moldavia, Latvia – and in the disciplinary centres of Moscow and St Petersburg as well as in Ireland. From 2007 to 2012, Sluban has been working in Central America with imprisoned youngsters belonging to maras (gangs) in Guatemala and Salvador. In 2015, he started photographing imprisoned teenagers in Brazil. In 2013, the musée Niépce showed a retrospective of K.Sluban’s work, After Darkness, 1995-2012. In 2015/16, he was awarded the Villa Kujoyama Residence in Kyoto, Japan. K.Sluban is member of national and international jurys, such as prix Niépce, prix de la Jeune Photographie de Niort, prix Leica, All About Photo…

BOSS BY NAME, BOSS BY NATURE. The five heroes finally follow up the Steel Box 45 (Goner) with Cash 'Em In. A disgustingly catchy yet charming ode to the lost art of picking up one lucky person and, well, chucking them over a bar. Might as well, right? Sonically, this is still hitting that sweet spot between early UK punk and glam rock n roll, and once you've flipped both sides you'll be getting ready to cash someone in yourself (and don't worry, Cal from The Chisel pops up to provide full instructions). Featuring members of Fucked Up, Rixe, Chubby and The Gang and The Chisel. The 7" is limited to 450 copies on white vinyl and comes in a fold out poster sleeve with artwork from Tin Savage.

Out Of Print On Vinyl For A Decade And A Half Mobb Deep’s “Free Agents” Hits For RSD Black Friday In A Never Seen, Never To Be Repeated Colored Vinyl Pressing. 5000 pressed worldwide. First released in 2003 on CD and LP. Out of print on vinyl since the mid-2000s. Mobb Deep redefined East Coast hip hop in the early 90s with their release “Juvenile Hell” and the break-out follow up “The Infamous.” As the group moved into the 2000s and parted ways with their long-time label, Loud, they released “Free Agents” as a celebration of their moving on to … well, free agent status. With Havoc handling production on all but 3 cuts and only two guest appearances (one being from long-time Queensbridge associate Big Noyd) “Free Agents” is uncut, undiluted Mobb Deep all the way through. The reaction from fans was solid catapulting the record to peak at number 21 on the Top 200 with a top 5 position on the R&B/Hip Hop charts. Out of print for well over a decade, this chapter in Mobb Deep’s legacy is back in effect for RSD Black Friday

Argentine producer Pedro Canale returns from a three-year sojourn with his long awaited third album. Originally coming out of Buenos Aires's famed digital cumbia scene, Chancha has notoriously broken way outside those boundaries to forge unprecedented mergers between Brazilian rhythms, Paraguayan harp, Andean mysticism and the solitude of Argentinian folklore - all processed through his own futuristic style of postdubstep.

Chancha's sound is without question truly unique and instantly recognizable to the point he has become a key reference point for an entire crop of artists that have begun to carry his genes.

Hailed by the Washington Post, the New York Times, Pitchfork, NPR and countless others, Chancha Via Circuito defies even the shrewdest of marketing geniuses. On one hand, he is something of a cult artist within micro-circles of electronic music, having been invited to perform at Montreal's MUTEK as well as the Roskilde and Vive Latino Festivals. At the same time, Chancha's music has found broad appeal outside of the avant-garde, most notably his magnificent remix of Jose Larralde's "Quimey Neuquen" which was heavily featured in 2013 as part of the final season of the critically acclaimed television series Breaking Bad. Fans of the show undoubtedly remember Walter White burying his millions in the desert, soundtracked by the wide and gentle grooves of Chancha Via Circuito.

Amansara is a natural progressing of Chancha's special strain of electronic South America. Lead single "Coplita" features the haunting vocals of previous collaborator Miram Garcia, while "Sueno En Paraguay" merges Andean folklore sounds with bleeps and blips and pounding drums in a way that sounds completely natural and ordained. "Jardines" features the driving vocals of Lido Pimienta merging with heavy synths, percussion and bells into an unforgettable track, while both "Tarocchi" and "Guajaca" ramp things up into deep, electronic dancefloor inna rainforest territory.

Art for Amansara comes from Argentinian psychedelic folklore painter Paula Duro who has crafted the look of all of Chancha's previous releases.

With Magma, Faust was one of the most important of all the European groups of the 70's. Compiled from "lost" and unreleased material, originally released as "Munich & Elsewhere" on the 10th Anniversary of their disbandment (including prophetic pre-dub mixing) as well as most of the unreleased "Faust Party 3" LP. Intense, eccentric, hypnotic, a true timeless classic. Finally out as a double LP, 71 Minutes is the second in our series of reissues of Faust. 180 gram vinyl.

The second and, as later would turn out, also the last release in Heinrich Tillack's critically acclaimed Tick Trax-series. The first Tick Trax-release by this talented producer from Braunschweig (Germany) was released as Volume 1 on U-TRAX in 1994 (cat. no.: 13 UTR SYS 1). It was a very successful record, however a bit too 'rough' for U-TRAX. Therefore, Volume II is launched on the U-TRAX sublabel Phoq U Phonogrammen, that has a more raw approach to techno, acid and electro.

Heinrich is a bit of an enigma. Having released some 12"s on Detroit's Plus 8 Records (as Sysex), Force Inc. Music Works (as Absolute) and Disko B (as Festival) and his own label Jakpot (both as Festival, as well as Co-Jack, together with Olivier Bondzio aka Hardfloor), he more or less disappeared from the face of the earth. It is said that he is a developer of children's apps for mobile phones nowadays.

This second Tick Trax release has 6 tracks, all in the distinctive raw Chicago-style that Heinrich uses only in his Tick Trax-identity. For minimalists, the CR-78 orientated beats on 'Samba Track' (from '93!) will be the track to go for. For heavy pounding floor fillers you can rely on 'Heavy Weight Track' and 'Super Heavy Weight Track'. Our personal favorite is 'Rush Track', another minimal track, but heavy and dark at the same time. The power is the drive in this one!

Original release date: October 1995.

'There is a sense of mirth rising within me as I riddle these notes down. I'm here at the Cube Cinema in Bristol with John Stevens from Qu Junktions in the garden talking music, while Rhodri Karim whizzes through setting up gear for Matana Roberts and Kelly Jayne Jones. They are in situ for three days for another playthecube.

All the while I lounge back and time-travel back to Dec '17, picturing the times we all shared with the musicians you hear in these
recordings. To slow things down a wee touch is such a powerful gesture, it feels. Ali and Jamie Lindsay (from the Cube) where so gentle in setting up the framework for Tartine de Clous and Neil to
join in and and spend five epic days and nights with us. Showing old and new films, talking, singing tight together around a table and then en masse with the Bristol Sacred Harp group, everything weaved around the Microplexian complex. The ad hoc series playthecube is inspired by olden-day folks stopping by settlements to sing, jest and make love for a hazy period, as well as urban fairytale jazz residencies and the desire to jig up the connections that frizzle between The Cube's curious volunteer workforce, visiting artists and our audiences when you have a little more time on your hands.

Over the two nights, Tartine de Clous, Alasdair Roberts and Neil McDermott entertained plenty. The computer capturing the music at the back of the auditorium and the exquisitely placed hanging mics, like flowers at a fête, all added to the recording angel ritual. On the first evening every breath, every track and each chair inch mattered; they shuffled things round and, on the second evening, the suite of song swept the crowd and the musicians together into a fine fettle.

To have this album and to hear these songs is to taste the stews we ate, the stories we swapped, the technology we manipulated and the people we touched. The cubic circles rippled and we all loosed a little, and the way I figure it, you can hear it.'

Legendary Utrecht DJ and producer P.A. Presents (Peter Aarsman) returns with his first new release since 2000 with this vintage techno stunner, Swirling Gas. This EP also marks the first new music on U-TRAX in more than 21 years, kicking the label s comeback into a higher gear.
Peter ironically is the only artist on U-TRAX that actually is born and bred in the city of Utrecht. Even more irony lies in the fact that he hasn t lived in the city (or stadsie in Utregs, the local dialect) for the past 25 years.
Peter knew he wanted to be a DJ since he was ten years old, in a time when this was still a very unusual career to dream about. Long before house music had landed in Europe, Peter was fiddling around with disco and italo 12 -es and all those years of training is what made him the superior DJ that he still is today. In terms of skills, flair, energy and feel for the dance floor, there are probably not a lot of DJs that can rival with Peter.
While the era of house of techno of the late 80s and the 90s brought him countless DJ gigs, his reputation didn t cross the city borders much, until he bought his first gear and started producing techno music himself. Again, his DJ background proved helpful with producing his tracks, as most of his tracks are dancefloor orientated and usually have an impeccable timing.
Peter debuted with the mini-album Salicylic Acid on U-TRAX in 1993, followed by the Flight Stimulator EP a year later. Both are classics today, but neither brought him as much fame as his 12 Entangled did on Deviate, a record label that was started by a couple of our friends from Utrecht a year prior to U-TRAX. Entangled made it to many charts and compilation albums, including Carl Craig s mix CD as part of !K7 s DJ-Kicks series.
Besides two releases on U-TRAX and three 12 -es on Deviate, Peter recorded a full length album for the latter label. Unfortunately, before the album ever saw the light of day, Deviate closed their doors and the tracks remained on the shelves for the next 17 or so years. These tracks still sound surprisingly fresh and original today and we are super excited to be able to release some of them on this Swirling Gas EP!
The title track Swirling Gas obviously gets its name from the documentary sample that the track kicks off with. The almost heartbeat-like electro rhythms, layered choruses and dreamy synths will give you goose bumps all the way to the soles of your feet.
Raw is quite another thing, but way more complicated and sophisticated than the title suggests. An in-your-face electro bass drum pattern supports layer after layer of additional rhythms, some even touching on salsa, and then big fat layers of pulsating synths take you away into deep space. A unique track that will instantly reward the DJ that has the guts to play it for her/his audience.
Drum Magic on the flipside is exactly that: a magic techno trip built around complicated syncopated drum rhythms, which should serve the adventurous DJ well as a foundation for mixing all sorts of weird stuff on top of. We can t wait to see videos appear with creative mixing ideas.
Final track Freaky is opening with some heavy pounding, yet jumpy beats before it opens up into a bit of a space trip around the 3 minute mark. Though the track has a touch of the Basic Channel sound, its echoing synth tones are very distinct and will light up any venue, no matter how big.
All tracks have been revamped and edited into more current lengths by DJ Zero One, blessed by DJ White Delight and mastered by Thee J Johanz. Label art by Bonk Artwork.

Legendary Utrecht DJ and producer P.A. Presents (Peter Aarsman) returns with his first new release since 2000 with this vintage techno stunner, Swirling Gas. This EP also marks the first new music on U-TRAX in more than 21 years, kicking the label s comeback into a higher gear.
Peter ironically is the only artist on U-TRAX that actually is born and bred in the city of Utrecht. Even more irony lies in the fact that he hasn t lived in the city (or stadsie in Utregs, the local dialect) for the past 25 years.
Peter knew he wanted to be a DJ since he was ten years old, in a time when this was still a very unusual career to dream about. Long before house music had landed in Europe, Peter was fiddling around with disco and italo 12 -es and all those years of training is what made him the superior DJ that he still is today. In terms of skills, flair, energy and feel for the dance floor, there are probably not a lot of DJs that can rival with Peter.
While the era of house of techno of the late 80s and the 90s brought him countless DJ gigs, his reputation didn t cross the city borders much, until he bought his first gear and started producing techno music himself. Again, his DJ background proved helpful with producing his tracks, as most of his tracks are dancefloor orientated and usually have an impeccable timing.
Peter debuted with the mini-album Salicylic Acid on U-TRAX in 1993, followed by the Flight Stimulator EP a year later. Both are classics today, but neither brought him as much fame as his 12 Entangled did on Deviate, a record label that was started by a couple of our friends from Utrecht a year prior to U-TRAX. Entangled made it to many charts and compilation albums, including Carl Craig s mix CD as part of !K7 s DJ-Kicks series.
Besides two releases on U-TRAX and three 12 -es on Deviate, Peter recorded a full length album for the latter label. Unfortunately, before the album ever saw the light of day, Deviate closed their doors and the tracks remained on the shelves for the next 17 or so years. These tracks still sound surprisingly fresh and original today and we are super excited to be able to release some of them on this Swirling Gas EP!
The title track Swirling Gas obviously gets its name from the documentary sample that the track kicks off with. The almost heartbeat-like electro rhythms, layered choruses and dreamy synths will give you goose bumps all the way to the soles of your feet.
Raw is quite another thing, but way more complicated and sophisticated than the title suggests. An in-your-face electro bass drum pattern supports layer after layer of additional rhythms, some even touching on salsa, and then big fat layers of pulsating synths take you away into deep space. A unique track that will instantly reward the DJ that has the guts to play it for her/his audience.
Drum Magic on the flipside is exactly that: a magic techno trip built around complicated syncopated drum rhythms, which should serve the adventurous DJ well as a foundation for mixing all sorts of weird stuff on top of. We can t wait to see videos appear with creative mixing ideas.
Final track Freaky is opening with some heavy pounding, yet jumpy beats before it opens up into a bit of a space trip around the 3 minute mark. Though the track has a touch of the Basic Channel sound, its echoing synth tones are very distinct and will light up any venue, no matter how big.
All tracks have been revamped and edited into more current lengths by DJ Zero One, blessed by DJ White Delight and mastered by Thee J Johanz. Label art by Bonk Artwork.

The third release on U-TRAX in 1993 was also a third debut, this time by Natasja Hagemeier and Jeroen Brandjes. Early in their career, they used several artist names, but became most commonly known as The Connection Machine. With their debut mini-album The Dream Tec Album they more or less described their style: dreamy techno. It became an instant Dutch techno classic and U-TRAX is proud and delighted to offer a fully remastered re-release, including three never before released bonus tracks (one of which is digital-only).

Natasja and Jeroen resided in Utrecht back in the 90s. In 1991 they assembled all their ideas and recorded the track "24 Hours" with DJ Paradize. Soon after this experience, they started to buy their own gear, all strictly MIDI (which wasn't too obvious in those days). In their early recording years, they had three producer-names (Syndrome, The Connection Machine and Bitch&Bites), that were all collected under the The Utroid Machine Missions umbrella, which was used for their debut on U-TRAX.

All tracks on The Dream Tec Album are The Connection Machine's earliest works, from the 1991/1992 years.

"An Overflow of the Mind" is a beautiful, dreamy track with almost divine sounds and strange voice-samples that serves perfectly as an introduction to their entire repertoire.

Their first production was "24 Hours", and what a brilliant one it is! A well-known jazz-musician talks about a "24 hour party going on", on top of a sinister and trancey rug, woven of sampled sounds from pioneers in electronic music and nailed down to the floor with a deep pounding bassdrum. At the time they made this track, 141 bpm was unbelievably fast...

"Evilish Cosmos" is all about a very sad and personal emotion, so everything we say about it will be absolutely wrong. Just listen to the meandering piano line, distorted voice samples - and feel it.

The first bonus track on this release is "Recognized Pain", which was intended to be part of the original The Dream Tec Album. It had appeared on the Phuture Classical Section C cassette in 1993, on the famous Drome Tapes label that formed the roots of U-TRAX. It truly is an amazing track: pure sonic terror with haunting rhythms, psychedelic synth lines and shards of voice samples that make the listener feel slightly uncomfortable.

"X_Manray" is many electronic music lover's favorite track. It is sooo deep that it is hard not to get hypnotized by it. Warm strings are coupled with deep beats that show up and disappear every now and then. Could serve perfectly to start off any DJ's set, as long as she or he has the guts.

Though "Braindrain" is probably the most danceable track on this album, it is carefully designed to tease the listener. Everything in this track drops in too late and every tone, melody or loop last exactly a few bars too long. Designed as a DJ-teaser and so it is.

The second bonus track, "Cafe d'Anvers", is another previously unreleased work, of which unfortunately no master recording was saved. All that is left, as far as we know, was an old VHS Hifi tape from the U-TRAX Archives. And that is where this bonus track was taken from. Mastering engineer Thee J Johanz managed to restore the quality of the recording somewhat, while at the same time maintaining its dark, clubby sound, a tribute to the famous club of the track's name in Antwerp, Belgium.

"Dream Affected Dream" is one of the most recent productions on this album. It was recorded with CNN playing live on top of it. At this exact moment, CNN was having an interview with David Koresh, the leader of the infamous Branch Davidians sect from Waco, Texas, while they were under siege by an armed police force. Natasja and Jeroen were just ready to record Dream Affected Dream, and spontaneously decided to mix in the audio from CNN. Not very long after that, the cult members set fire to themselves. A very strange and oddly funky track, that also serves as a time-document.

The final track is another bonus track. Like Cafe d'Anvers, "Voight-Kampff" is taken from on old U-TRAX VHS Hifi tape and masterfully mastered into a lovely relaxed dreamtech piece. Very suitable to start the Sunday after a long night of clubbing. This track is available for free to buyers of the complete digital album only.

Original release date: July 1993.

Utrecht label U-Trax welcomes 90s legend P.A. Presents for an enhanced re-release of his first two releases on this label, namely "Salicylic Acid" and "Flight Simulator".

Ironically P.A. Presents aka Peter Aarsman is the only artist on U-TRAX that actually is born and bred in the city of Utrecht. Even more irony lies in the fact that he hasn't lived in the city for 25 years and has only recently returned home. He was an early player in the hip hop and boogie scenes and long before house landed in Europe he was playing disco and Italo which helped establish him as a truly vital DJ talent. The two reissue EPs presented here marked his production debut back in 1993, both of which are hugely sought after and pricey techno records on second hand markets. In 2019 he returned to the music scene with two new EPs on U-Trax in the the form of Swirling Gas and Sax Madness and new releases are planned for 2020.

The release kicks off with 'Mesopmorph', an effervescent, nostalgic cut with a deeply buried techno rhythm that eventually takes over in tribal style. 'Pop' is a brilliantly tense and dense track wired up with fizzing synths, chattering claps and haunting effects as well as pending drums, then 'Theme' is cosmic industrial, with powerful hits and metallic sounds married to searching laser synths.

'Vera S' is classic 90s techno with mad vocal sounds and frantic synth lines darting about the mix, then things grow deeper and more heady on the stripped back intergalactic journey that is 'Flight Simulator.' The timelessness continues on the dancing analogue drums and hi hats of the classic Detroit styled 'Experiental' and 'A Gasp' before 'Vexillum' brings more warm solar winds and molten techno grooves whist 'Long Metal' closes out with pounding kicks, skewed synths and real sense of space travel.

These are essential early techno tracks that sound as fresh and relevant now as ever and come with remastering and restoration from Thee J Johanz.

Pressed on 2x12" 180 grams grey marbled vinyl.

As current lead vocalist and co-songwriter of the hugely successful modern progressive metal band HAKEN, ROSS JENNINGS needs no introduction in some circles, having released 1 ep, 1 Live album and 6 full length studio albums of consistently high quality with the band, HAKEN have been climbing that mountain with grace and gusto, albeit on the fringe of mainstream rock and metal. In 2019 HAKEN won ‘Best UK Artist’ at the annual PROG awards, with their latest release ‘Virus’ reaching #2 in the UK rock charts and entering the US Billboard Hot 100 at #52.

On the back of this release ROSS JENNINGS set out to write, record and self-produce his debut solo effort ‘A SHADOW OF MY FUTURE SELF’ with an ambition to become a new household name and keep mainstream classic rock alive and well.

Between the 60s and 80s, Albert Verrecchia played a major role in Italian pop music and on the European disco and Afro-cosmic scene, both under his own name and under the monikers Albert Weyman and Albert Prince. He was the keyboardist of legendary Italian-French r'n'b band I Pyranas, served as a session Hammondist for singer and TV star Raffaella Carrà, and produced the disco trio Belle Epoque as well as the debut album of singer-songwriter Alan Sorrenti. Among his many incarnations, in the early and mid-70s he also composed a few soundtracks for Italian genre cinema, including for movies such as the poliziottesco Roma drogata, la polizia non può intervenire (Hallucinating Trip, 1975, Lucio Marcaccini) and the erotic drama Tecnica di un amore (1972, Brunello Rondi).

The score he wrote in 1975 for Il tempo degli assassini (Season of Assassins, a film about a gang of criminal youths who terrorize the city of Rome in the already violent 70s) is certainly his most accomplished work in the genre. Conceived for a small ensemble, it was written almost entirely on the spot in the recording studio. Verrecchia himself played the Moog, and his dynamic and percussive approach to the instrument resulted in a style midway between funk and proto-disco. A modern rhythmic style - or Ritmico Moderno, which is the title chosen by CAM for the LP containing the soundtrack and released two years later as part of a promotional library music series only distributed to film professionals and radio and TV programmers (CML series, cat. no. 131). One is led to wonder whether it was thanks to that LP that, in 1977, three pieces from the soundtrack found their way into another film about youth gangs, the Spanish Perros callejeros (Street Warriors), written and directed by Jose Antonio de la Loma. On a side but important note, there's the added bonus of popular 70s and 80s entertainer Sammy Barbot singing on Gang Leader alongside female vocal group Baba Yaga. What a pity that Verrecchia's career as a film composer ended here!

"Released in October 1971, Frank Zappa’s “200 Motels” was a miraculous feat, a cinematic collision of the venerated musician and composer’s kaleidoscopic musical and visual worlds that brought together Zappa and his band, The Mothers, Ringo Starr as Zappa – as “a large dwarf” – Keith Moon as a perverted nun, Pamela Des Barres in her acting debut, noted thespian Theodore Bikel, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, and an incredible assortment of characters (both on screen and off) for a “surrealistic documentary” about the bizarre life of a touring musician. The 2LP set : We are pleased to present the original soundtrack, a double-album set featuring all original packaging including the booklet & poster and a brand new remaster by legend Bernie Grundman at Bernie Grundman Mastering. Pressed on 180g black vinyl by Optimal Media in Germany.
In celebration of “200 Motels” golden anniversary, Zappa Records, UMC and MGM have assembled a definitive Super Deluxe six-disc box set of the beloved, yet hard to find, soundtrack. Fully authorized by the Zappa Trust and produced by Ahmet Zappa and Zappa Vaultmeister Joe Travers, the monstrous 200 Motels 50th Anniversary Edition brings together the original soundtrack, newly remastered by Bernie Grundman at Bernie Grundman Mastering, along with a staggering amount of unreleased and rare material unearthed from FZ’s Vault, including original demos, studio outtakes, work mixes, interviews and movie ads, along with newly discovered dialog reels, revealing an early audio edit of the film. Also included is a wealth of never-before-heard audio documentary material surrounding the project.
The six-disc set will be housed in a 64-page hardcover book in a handsome 12” x 12” slipcase. The packaging replicates the original booklet updated with revealing new liner notes from Pamela Des Barres, Ruth Underwood and Joe Travers, as well as Patrick Pending’s essay from the 1997 reissue, and is chock full of motion picture artwork, stills and images, from the film and its making, many which have never been seen before. This must-have collector’s release will also include a custom “200 Motels” keychain and Do-No-Disturb motel door hanger and a full-size replica of the original movie poster. Years in the making, all the audio was meticulously identified and transferred over several years as Travers dug through the Vault to create a new high resolution 96K/24B digital patchwork stereo master from the original analog tapes. The Vault material was mastered by John Polito in 2021. We are pleased to present the original soundtrack on 2 compact discs featuring all original packaging including the booklet & poster and a brand-new remaster by legend Bernie Grundman at Bernie Grundman Mastering. *Existing orders still stand."

When SAGA brought out their 14th studio album “House Of Cards” in February 2001, their fans realised only a few bars into the opening track ‘God Knows’ that, following the highly successful predecessor “Full Circle” (1999), the band had come up with another offering in their very own great tradition. ‘God Knows’ features all the classic SAGA attributes, from Ian Crichton‘s unique riff and solo guitars to Jim Gilmour’s frequent synchronous keyboard parts and frontman Michael Sadler’s haunting melodies. These thumbprints also apply to the subsequent ‘The Runaway’ with its lyrics about the novel fascination of the internet, as well as the progressively rocking ‘That`s How We Like It!’ and ‘Always There’ with its acoustic guitar parts. After being long out of print, “House Of Cards” will return on vinyl as an exquisite Heavyweight 1LP Gatefold Edition

New Zealand dreampop luminaries French For Rabbits have dedicated nearly a decade to creaming warmly detailed and expansive music together. Their third, prophetic, LP The Overflow is set for release via Reckless Yes (UK), AAA Records (NZ/Aus), and A Modest Proposal (Italy) is described by the band as their most “immediate and honest” record to date. The Overflow draws on the influence of contemporary artists Laura Jean, Hannah Cohen and Hundred Waters alongside the storytelling of folk and rap music, and even references 90’s cultural touch points such as Moby, Enya and The Lion King. Whilst its inspirations are diverse-the result is a singular album that is confident in its delivery. The album follows on from their elegantly stated second LP The Weight of Melted Snow and their 2014 break-out Spirits, which received millions of streams, and song placements everywhere from the Vampire Diaries to Netflix’s Never Have I Ever TV series. On their new album, the group, led by Brooke Singer, sweeps forward with their most dazzling body of work to date-from the introverts’ anthem ‘The Outsider’ to the unfurling end-of-the-world statement piece “Nothing in my Hands”. Written and recorded mostly in 2020 in Wellington, the songs on The Overflow cover a wide range of topics, with the common threads of introversion and anxiety woven throughout. Yet, on first listen, you could be forgiven for mistaking the album’s subject matter for something lighter and more upbeat, resplendent with featherlight vocals and delicate layers

Repress in soon, note new price. For Fans Of: The Gaslight Anthem, Jawbreaker, Bouncing Souls, The Lawrence Arms, Bayside. Still a red-hot release more than 10 years later, Chamberlain Waits is now back in stock! Here’s what we had to say about the release when ­rst issued in 2010: After releasing an especially lauded EP and touring much of 2009, The Menzingers have been dubbed a “Band You Need To Know” in 2010 by Alternative Press and now they have a brand new full length proving why. Chamberlain Waits may very well be the most important record released so far by Red Scare and on it The Menzingers combine many of the genre’s styles (punk, hardcore, folk) to make for an undeniably infectious hybrid of hits. Produced by Matt Allison at Atlas Studios (Alkaline Trio, Less Than Jake, Lawrence Arms), this new album is destined for great, great things.

Originally released in 2005 on Cooper's Hipshot Cd-r label, and reissued here for the first time on vinyl, Spirit Songs deserves to be regarded as a true rediscovered gem, remixed and remastered by Mike Copper himself!

Spirit Songs comes as a highly organic form of Ambient-Folk-Blues with Cooper reordering material to create an immersive listening experience. A stream of cut-up lyrics inspired by Thomas Pynchon's writing slide across multiple electronic layers and masterfully fingerpicked acoustic guitars combining into a moving tide. This is deeply inspired music from a unique artist: Mike Cooper the so called "icon of post-everything music” a true sound explorer constantly pushing the boundaries of genres and styles, Folk, Blues, Free Improv, Exotica, Ambient, Electronica...

"Spirit Songs.. a glorious marriage of all three of Cooper's previous musical strategies; creating a stunning hybrid. The album contains 10 songs performed on finger-picked acoustic and electric lap steel guitar,
often looped and treated in real time, with Cooper singing lyrics in a quietly meandering, semi-improvisatory manner that recalls a more polished Jandek. The style of songwriting is immediately recognizable as blues, but an intuitive, idiosyncratic form of folk-blues, with Cooper narrating laments over matters personal and global, gentle universalisms that double as political messages. All of this occurs over a loose rhythmic framework provided by various noisy loops, with cracks, scratches and pops, echoes and distortions skipping out from every refrain. It's a gentle cacophony with subtle undercurrents of beauty and sadness, effortlessly nostalgic but still very rooted in the now. I think that Mike Cooper can genuinely call this style his own; I've never heard anything remotely like it, and it works beautifully, highlighting both song and singer, as well as the happy accidents resulting from the intersection of structure and chaos."- Pitchfork Review.

Alleviated Records is proud to present the Dovie Cote' EP as well as to present his first release with us & we hope you enjoy it as much as we enjoyed working on it. Starting of the EP with "My Desire" a future classic with warm and soothing vocals by Dovie. ''Change Lanes'' offers a urban-soul-funk style in the tradition of groups like Slave, Cameo or The Ohio Players. We hope you enjoy these selections at the club and at home for a long time to come. Musically Yours...

In 1958 the painter Isson Tanaka (22 July 1908 – 11 September 1977) moved to Amami Ōshima, an island in the Ryukyus. There, in self-chosen isolation, he committed himself exclusively to his art until his sudden passing in 1977. In 2018 Seiha Kurosawa, Kanako Azuma and Hideki Umezawa visited Amami Ōshima to create a video installation about Tanaka’s insular life. The work, entitled “Dokkyaku” (tr. The Lone Visitor), shifts between the texture and materiality of Tanaka’s paintings in relation to the natural world of Amami Ōshima and its people. The video invites viewers to understand—poetically—the artist’s sensitivity to nature and the expressivity of his works.

During his stay on Amami Ōshima, Hideki Umezawa recorded a lot of natural sounds to recreate a sort of simulated ecology of Tanaka’s mind – or: of the painter’s mind. On this long playing record these recordings are blended with electronically generated sounds. Next, Andrew Pekler, who has never actually visited Amami Ōshima, upon hearing Umezawa’s field recordings creates - in the spirit of Isson Tanaka - a complementary dreamscape of the island’s phenomena. Of what could be.

This is a work that doubts between site specific and creative imagination. With sounds echoing between the anecdotic and the imaginary. It is a sensitive and highly stylized interpretation of a world that Isson Tanaka had also carefully studied. A painter at work; a way of seeing. So, after Christophe Piette’s ‘Six Tableaux de Quelpaert’, released by Edições CN in 2019, we again moore an island in the nautical footsteps of a painter. While Piette drew a story through – among other things - recording dialogues at his island home, at the restaurant table, et al. Pekler and Umezawa paint their pictures in a more musical fashion. Where natural sounds evaporate into electronic clouds of imagination.

Hideki Umezawa (b.1986, Gunma) is Japanese artist / composer. He won 1st prize at Luc Ferrari’s international competition – Presque Rien Prize 2015 (France), and the Contemporary Computer Music Concert 2015 (Japan). “Dokkyaku” was originally created for "Fukami – Une plongée dans l'esthétique japonaise", an exhibition at Hôtel Salomon de Rothschild in Paris, France as part of ‘Japanismes 2018’.

Andrew Pekler (b. 1973, Samarkand) works with techniques of digital sampling and analog synthesis to re– contextualize found sounds and archival musical materials. In addition to numerous album releases, Pekler has also produced a number of video, installation and web-based works, as well as music for theater, dance, and film.

Ajak Kwai is a name well known to the airwaves, stage, and broader Australian music community for her powerful performances and strong messages that call for inclusion and celebration of the diversity found throughout Australian society. Originally hailing from a small town of Bor (pronounced ‘bohr’) on the Upper Nile in what is now South Sudan, music has always been part of her life.

Alongside sharing political messages through her music, Ajak Kwai is also a radio broadcaster in Melbourne on both PBS and 3CR. Her shows give a voice to the local African community so that they can tell their stories through music and spoken word, and her music selections focus on songs that have changed the world in a positive way. She challenges bias in our society and reminds politicians to be accountable for their language and actions.

Performing in English, Arabic, and her native language, Dinka, Ajak Kwai’s music draws upon South Sudanese funk and blues influences and brings together elements of traditional music alongside more contemporary gestures. The result is something notably unique and powerful.

Ajak Kwai is joined by a band of exceptional standards, including musicians Matthew Erickson, Kanyakumar Shome (Silent Jay, REMI, The Bamboos, Cat Empire, Sampa the Great), Kofi Kunkpe, Maria Moles (Jaala, Jonnine (HTRK), Mildlife), Gabriela Georges and guests Boubacar Gaye (Ausecuma Beats) and Allysha Joy (30/70).

Ajak Kwai’s previous release and fifth album, ‘Let Me Grow My Wings’, was featured as RRR album of the week, feature Album on 2ser, and saw widespread support across community radio. Ajak Kwai has been an ambassador of the Melbourne International Arts Festival for three years and her sets have been highlights at festivals including WOMADelaide, Bluesfest, Brunswick Music Festival, A Festival Called Panama, Dark Mofo, Port Fairy Folk Festival and Woodford Folk Festival.

Kaluki Music head Pirate Copy makes a long-awaited debut on Hot Creations this November with the three-track You Need It. Collaborating with rising vocalist Hattie Snooks, the release includes two remixes courtesy of US legend Harry Romero and Spanish mainstay Miane.

The title track takes the form of a driving, 4x4 house cut, packed full of punchy percussion and resonant kick-hat pairings. Built for the dancefloor, Hattie Snooks’ enigmatic vocals whisper beneath a minimal-laced bassline, before Harry Romero’s remix arrives. The US stalwart serves up another no-nonsense offering, as a hard-edged bassline melds with flecks of acid throughout. Rounding off the release is Miane, whose tribal-leaning offering is sure to light up many a nightclub this year.

Manchester’s Pirate Copy is a leading artist in today’s electronic music sphere. His discography boasts releases on some of the scene’s most revered imprints, including Sola, Relief, Elrow and Moon Harbour to name a few, whilst his own label, Kaluki, has become a bastion for contemporary house since its inception fifteen years ago.

Harry Romero is a well-established figure on the worldwide music circuit, with recent productions landing on Crosstown Rebels, DIRTYBIRD and many more besides. Ibiza’s Miane is fast becoming a talked about talent in the industry, thanks to several appearances on major labels including Repopulate Mars, Toolroom and Moon Harbour.

Freestyle Records in association with Rare Sounds USA present a stellar repress of Speedometer's 2003 debut LP This Is Speedometer.

Originally released on Clive Johnson's Blow It Hard (started after the demise of the well-loved weekly Soho club night of the same name, and home to the New Mastersounds first releases alongside choice cuts from JTQ and others) This Is Speedometer showcased the sounds of one of the UK's premier acts in the deep funk scene of the early noughties for the first time on the long player format.

Starting out back in 1999, Speedometer started out as an instrumental quartet gigging in small clubs in the Southeast of England, paying homage to classic funk tunes by artists such as The Meters and The JB's. The band soon expanded and began writing original material, adding the highly regarded horn section and vocalists in 2001, which enabled them to deliver the powerhouse deep funk sound on display here. In addition to their own albums, singles and live shows, Speedometer have backed many US funk & soul legends including Sir Joe Quarterman, Eddie Bo, Marva Whitney, Sharon Jones & Lee Fields and more.

Now coming up on 20 years since it's original release, you can now marvel at Speedometer's classic, original soul-funk sound thanks to a sparkling new cut. Dig in!




d 04: Just Keep On (Doin the Do) feat. The Speedettes

Digital Afrika return to the fray with this incredible EP for ASW. Featuring the original Gnawa plus it’s acoustic source recording as performed by Radouan Naim in Morocco PLUS two truly excellent remixes from the legendary Jose Marquez and Melbourne’s own TEYMORI (Amin Payne).

The original source recording for this track was laid down in Planet Essaouira and recorded by Zhonu “Nui” Moon (Digital Afrika ) on one of his many cultural trips to his ancestral home land. The studio is situated on the Moroccan coastal town of Essaouira , a cultural hub for the Berber (indigenous Moroccan) traditions.

This enigmatic town , popularised by the beatniks and bohemians of the 60ʼs, most famously by Jimi Hendrix and The Rolling Stones , has a mystique all its own as well as a long musical history.

“Gnawa” in Berber language literally translates as “Trance“ music , and is traditionally performed in “Lilas” musical ceremonies accompanied by dance that can go on for days .. where the purpose is to produce trance-like states of being where different types of healing or catharsis can occur ..

The recording was then brought back to Melbourne, Australia. Where the Digital Africa team applied its electronic Afro-house touches , while keeping true to its original North African aesthetic.

And here we go again. After making his self-titled label debut in 2019 followed up by the super limited cassette tape "Sport EP" in 2020 Mint Huus is finally back on Cheezy Crust Records - and he's back on vinyl!

Exploring "Odd Radio Circles" we see Mint Huus catering an array of four cuts, once again covering and exploring a spectrum of superbly driving, high quality electronic club music of a timeless quality which is nothing short of a truly epic manifestation of the German artists production standard and value which is up to par with the genres greats.

Sparse, yet melodic, bouncing, yet dreamy from the very start the Mainz / Germany-based producer effortly amalgamates a highly functional Electro foundation, beautifully arranged vintage retro synth layers and ever bubbling Acid modulations to further carve out and create a distinct sonic realm and niche which, due it's innate drive and well comforting depth, is set to excel way beyond the confined boundaries of the Electro genre and gain praise and recognition on many dancefloors all around the globe.

Auntie Flo returns to Highlife! Paying homage to a time well spent in Korea. Delicate and atmospheric sound design from the DMZ. With thanks to our pal Akimbo for granting permission to feature the chuggy remix of High Flight.

WRWTFWW Records is absolutely honored to announce the release of Kenji Kawai’s complete soundtrack to Mamoru Oshii's 1993 superb political thriller science-fiction mecha anime PATLABOR 2: The Movie, available on vinyl for the first time ever and housed in a beautiful heavy gatefold sleeve with obi, as well as on digipack CD. Both versions come with liner notes by the great Masaaki Hara.
A true soundtrack maestro, Kenji Kawai is behind the legendary soundscapes of cult animes and movies such as Ghost in the Shell, Avalon, Ring, Ip Man, and Seven Swords among numerous others. PATLABOR 2: The Movie (Original Soundtrack) is one of his most experimental offerings, an outstanding palette of emotion-filled ambient atmospherics and percussion mastery breathing beautifully through Kawai’s minimalism meets modern classical approach. His symphony of moods paints a delicate picture of urban isolation, a central theme in the movie, but doesn’t hide hints of hope for a joyful future.
PATLABOR 2: The Movie (Original Soundtrack) is an ideal companion to Kenji Kawai’s Ghost in the Shell soundtrack, already available on WRWTFWW Records.

KiNK is back with number six on his sometimes experimental, often exemplary, but always exciting Sofia outfit. The driving force of Clap On 2 are the tropes of acid and its numerology (101/202/303/). The opener Disco Spectrum shows why the sound rose from the shards of smashed mirror balls in Chicago – updated and optimized for today. Turbo – nomen best omen – takes it even further, faster and fiercer, while the theme song completes the pogo picture. Finally, Almond Break lulls you into a false sense of security (think yoga camps, namaste cults, kale drinks and Balearic sunsets), before it turns into a pagan ritual to complete this acid test. Remember: wo wants to own the future needs to conquer the past!

SOFIA: Founded by Strahil Velchev and Konstantin Petrov, Sofia is not only the physical location where this music was made, the city where they met and developed as artists, but also a paradox that is reflected in the art and music that comes from the place. Beautiful and ugly at the same time, clean and dirty, brutal as well as romantic, it’s a place where aesthetically seemingly incompatible styles come together in a twisted, yet unifying form. The photographs for the sleeves are made by influential local selector DJ Valentine, effortlessly capturing the local reality.

Hot on the heels of their landmark remix of ‘Lost My Love’ by Kenny Cox, DJ Amir and Re.decay return to BBE Music with a rework of Maulawi’s ‘Street Rap’, plus a new version of Fito Foster’s ‘Salsa’ by DJ Dez (aka Andrés) featuring Amp Fiddler. Originally issued as the opening track on Maulawi’s self-titled 1974 album by Detroit’s Strata Records, ‘Street Rap’ is a slept-on jazz/funk classic. As part of his role as curator and archivist of the Strata catalogue, DJ Amir discovered the original stems for the track and was happy to discover they had survived the years well. “I thought we could really do something different with this song” say Amir. “Like making it more of a mid-tempo ‘four to the floor’ groover. Also, I wanted us to play with the original vocals a bit for the updated version. This is by far our favourite remix!” Previously serving as DJ for Slum Village and releasing on Moodymann’s Mahogani Music simply as Andrés, DJ Dez Andrez is part of the fabric of Detroit’s unique and eclectic music scene. But few people know that Dez’s father is Cuban music hero Humberto “Nengue” Hernandez, a highly respected percussionist and vocalist who starred in the 1988 motion picture ‘Salsa’. “So I reached out to Dez because I knew his father sang and played on the Fito Foster song “Salsa’” says Amir. “I have had the stems of the song since the beginning of my license deal with Strata. I thought it would be a great homage to have Dez remix his father’s music. Plus, Dez was definitely excited to do so!” For his remix, Dez called upon Detroit legend Amp Fiddler to play additional keys and piano on the remix, while Dez also added additional percussion to compliment his father’s, like a time-travelling jam session going back almost 50 years. Staying true to his Cuban roots, Dez’s remix brings a contemporary twist to this timeless track.