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With a signature sound signified by lockstep rhythms & a deep grasp of soul and funk, Orgone has built a reputation over the past 2 decades as being one of the tightest, fieriest live bands in the country & a top notch crew in the studio. On their new album Lost Knights, Orgone offer up a collection of heavy-duty psychedelic funk-rock anthems created to be played loud and raucously. The release features lead vocal contributions from Orgone's ever expanding extended family of some the finest soulful singers on the West Coast - Terin Ector, Jamie Allensworth, Phil Diamond, with special appearances from Jesse Wagner (The Aggrolites) and Kelly Finnigan (Monophonics). A first of sorts, for the band, in featuring an all male fronted lineup on an album.The tough, punchy, & hard hitting production highlights a body of work both "head banging"-ly satisfying and eminently groovy. Opener "Working for Love" rolls out the gate with a crunchy drum break and slams into a heavy guitar and bass riff behind Ector's call to loving arms & irresistible singalong chorus. The rest of the album thunders on with Funkadelic-style guitar and gloriously gritty hammond organ percolating through timely songs of protest, brotherhood, unity, reverence & loss. Instrumentals "Samson" and "Crusader" round out the record, highlighting the trademark Orgone sound; instantly classic & dusty, at times chunky, at times sprawling; always on point. Lost Knights is ultimately a fun record- an expansion of a profound part of the band's DNA, their exploration of the cosmic haze between early Westbound catalog, 70s garage rock, skateboards, & the muscular power of a metallic crimson `68 Chevy Camaro. With racing stripes...

Demon Music is proud to bring together a selection of popular and exciting classic Northern Soul Anthems on a new 2LP thirty-three track collection. These are the original recordings by some familiar names and one or two that may have passed you by.

As the Sixties came to a close and the initial success of labels like Atlantic and Motown began to wane, there remained a dedicated fanbase of Soul devotees who would rather be out on the floor than wearing flowers in their hair. They continued to seek out new and previously overlooked releases, many on small labels that had never enjoyed chart success, making surprise hits of a few in the process.

Northern Soul could easily have passed into music history as a fad, something on the fringes of mainstream popular music; instead its popularity has remained and even grown. It is no longer the preserve of venues in the north of England (who had always attracted coachloads of devotees from across the nation), with Soul clubs opening in Europe, Asia, Australia and even - in perhaps the ultimate example of "coals to Newcastle" – America

Every few years Northern Soul enjoys a resurgence in popularity and welcomes a new generation of younger fans, keepers of the faith. This collection is for those with a passing interest and fans both old and
new - music fashions may change but the quality, the infectious excitement and the urge to get up and dance has endured in these fantastic records.

Following his trio debut ‘Triptych’ last year, trumpeter Matthias Lindermayr presents his duo record ‘Sequence’ with long-time companion and ECM Recording Artist Matthieu Bordenave on tenor saxophone.

In contrast to its technical title, ‘Sequence’ is a very lyrical record, sacral at times. Like two figure skaters, the voices gracefully glide along and whirl around in perfect synch, always sensing where the other one is going. A fitting comparison also, as the recording session was equally exhausting, due to the level of concentration required to perform this music.

The minimalist line-up and the hyper-focused playing gives the album both a breath-like purity and solemn depth.

It’s the desire to celebrate their sonic bounty that first got Oberst and the band excited about
the idea of comprehensive reissues. But this wouldn’t be a Bright Eyes project if a moment
devoted to appreciating the past weren’t turned into an opportunity to connect with the future.
That’s where the companion EPs (on Opaque Gold vinyl) come in. Or as Oberst puts it, “the
supplemental reading” for the primary reissues: one six-track EP per reissued album, each
featuring five reworked songs from that album. “My thing was they had to sound different from
the originals, we had to mess with them in a substantial way.” Plus one cover that felt “of the
era” in which that particular albums was made - a song that meant something to the band at
the time. To help the EPs come alive in the fullest way, Bright Eyes called in lots of old friends,
like Bridgers, M. Ward, and Welch and Rawlings, as well as new ones like Katie Crutchfield of
Waxahatchee.
‘Fevers And Mirrors’ is pressed on Merlot Wave coloured double vinyl.

Pauline Oliveros' Accordion & Voice is available on LP for the first time since it was originally released in 1982. Cut at Golden and pressed at RTI for maximum fidelity.

Pauline Oliveros was an electronic music pioneer, accordionist, composer and educator who resided in Kingston, New York. Her instrument was tuned in Just Intonation and she often included it in her meditative improvisational music. Her music is not meditative in the sense that it is intended for listening to while meditating, rather each piece is a form of meditation, such as her aptly titled Sonic Meditations.

A central figure in post-war electronic art music, Oliveros is one of the original members of the San Francisco Tape Music Center (along with Morton Subotnick, Ramon Sender, Terry Riley, and Anthony Martin), which was the resource on the U.S. West coast for electronic music during the 1960s. The Center later moved to Mills College, where she was its first director, and is now called the Center for Contemporary Music. Oliveros often improvises with the Expanded Instrument System, an electronic signal processing system she designed, in her performances and recordings.

“Accordion & Voice was the first of my recordings as a soloist. I was living in an A-frame house in a meadow just below Mount Tremper at Zen Mountain Center. I had a wonderful view of the graceful saddle mountain top. When away on a performance trip I would imagine the mountain as I played Rattlesnake Mountain. I followed the feelings and sensations of my many experiences of the mountain - the changing colors of the season, the breezes and winds blowing through the grasses and trees. Horse Sings From Cloud taught me to listen to the depth of a tone and to have patience. Rather than initiating musical impulses of motion, melody and harmony I wanted to hear the subtlety of a tone taking space and time to develop. The tones linger and resonate in the body, mind, instrument and performance space. My thanks to Important Records for bringing these pieces to be heard again.” ~ Pauline Oliveros, 2007

Die schwedischen Progressive-Rock-Legenden The Flower Kings und ihr langjähriger Labelpartner InsideOutMusic werden 2022 eine umfangreiche Wiederveröffentlichungskampagne starten, bei der der gesamte Katalog der Band auf CD und Vinyl in remasterten Versionen neu aufgelegt wird, wobei viele der Alben zum ersten Mal auf Vinyl erhältlich sein werden. Den Anfang machen 'Back In The World of Adventures' von 1995 und 'Retropolis' von 1996, die beide in der Besetzung Roine Stolt, Tomas Bodin, Michael Stolt, Jaime Salazar, Hasse Fröberg, Ulf Wallander und Hasse Bruniusson erschienen. Sie werden als Ltd. CD Digipak & Gatefold 180g 2LP+CD & LP-Booklet erhältlich sein, beide mit remastertem und teilweise neu abgemischtem Audiomaterial und erweitertem Artwork und Fotomaterial aus dieser Zeit.

Introducing the 'Saltpond City Band'. A buoyant 8-piece outfit hailing from Ghana, blending soulful highlife and percussive funk in their new album 'Boko A Ko', forthcoming on Meet Me There Records.

The Saltpond City Band was initially formed by the legendary Ghanaian highlife musician Ebo Taylor and is now led by his son, keyboardist and lead vocalist, Henry Taylor.

The album 'Boko A Ko' is a blend of highlife, funk and afrobeat, woven into a refreshing take on traditional Ghanaian highlife. With the core of the band set deep in the highlife experience, Taylor and company deliver a combination of driving horns, fluid percussion and earthy vocals. The album features Ebo Taylor himself on 'Mennbo Wobi', which also showcases Ghanaian flute extraordinaire Dela Botri adding fine elements of melodic escape.

The forthcoming album is set to be released on the brand new label 'Meet Me There Records' (MMTR). MMTR is a community-based project aiming to put the artist first. With profits split 50:50 between artist and label, 25% of the label profits will go directly towards the building of a recording studio in the local community of Dzita in West Ghana, Wornana Studios, which will become one of the first accessible recording studios in the Volta region.

'Boko A Ko' is already receiving praise from highly acclaimed artists and DJ's, but is also an example of what else is to come from MMTR and is paving the way for new and unexplored talent that is coming out of the Ghanaian and West African music scene.

Nachpressung des Albums von 2015. Obwohl er vielleicht nicht so bekannt ist, hat sich die sinnträchtige, deutlich amerikanische Musik von Kenniff zu einem allgegenwärtigen Sound gemausert, der im Radio, in Filmen, im Fernsehen und in Werbung von Apple, Facebook, Google und anderen auftaucht. Aufgenommen über drei Jahre hinweg fungieren die Songs auf seinem neuen Album ,Sometimes" wie ein Tagebuch, das die kurzen Momente am Tag dokumentiert, in denen Kenniff sich für Trost und unendliche kreative Möglichkeiten dem Klavier zuwandte. Kenniff schrieb und nahm alles auf dem Album selbst auf, mit der Ausnahme von ,A Word I Give", das eine Kollaboration mit dem japanischen Pianisten Ryuichi Sakamoto ist, der die Musik von GOLDMUND einst als ,so, so, so wunderschön" beschrieb. In einem Interview mit NPR diskutierte Keith Kenniff seine Vorliebe für Musik aus der Zeit des Bürgerkriegs und ihre Möglichkeit, ,in nur wenigen Noten solche Geschichten" zu erzählen. Auch die Improvisationen auf ,Sometimes" schaffen es, trotz ihrer technischen und kompositionellen Einfachheit, tiefgründig zu sein. Subtile Details und Dynamiken drücken das aus, was sonst nicht zu artikulieren wäre. ENG Though he may not be a household name, Kenniff's evocative, distinctly American music has become quietly ubiquitous in the past few years, often appearing on NPR, in films, on TV, and in ads for Apple, Facebook, and Google among others. Recorded over the course of three years, the material on his new album Sometimes functions as a journal, documenting brief moments in Kenniff's day when he could turn to the piano as a source of solace and unending creative possibilities. Kenniff wrote and recorded everything on the album with the exception of the track "A Word I Give", which is a collaboration with preeminent Japanese pianist Ryuichi Sakamoto, who once described Goldmund's music as "...so, so, so beautiful." In an interview with NPR's Weekend Edition Keith Kenniff discussed his appreciation of Civil War era music, and it's ability to covey "...so much story in so few notes." Similarly, these improvisations manage to be richly evocative despite their technical and compositional simplicity, using subtle details and dynamics to express what might otherwise be inexpressible.

Part of The Optic Sevens 4.0 Reissue Series.
Limited to 1000 copies worldwide. Please check your allocation with your sales rep.
Pressed on Red Vinyl.
Includes postcard and poster. Non-Returnable.
The Monochrome Set were something of the unsung heroes of the post-punk world; they fitted into absolutely no category whatsoever and their puckish take on spaghetti western soundtracks meets lounge jazz via the twisted lyrical imagery of vocalist Bid was as singular as it was unique.
Comprising a couple of ex-Ants in Andy Warren and Lester Square, with singer / guitarist Bid and drummer JD Haney, their filmic, playful material found favour with many, including John Peel although they failed to match this with commercial success.
The Jet Set Junta was originally released on Cherry Red in 1983 with its urgent, ringing guitars surrounding Bid’s lyrics telling of dodgy arms dealings and armoured limos as Lester Square’s Ennio Morriconetwang bends and reverbs as a counterpoint.

AOW is a new collaborative project from Dan Ghenacia and Tolga Fidan emerging from a new period of creativity and inspiration for the Lisbon-based artists.

Long time friends and fellow lynchpins of the European house and techno scene, Ghenacia and Fidan started working closely together through 2020 and 2021 while sharing studio space at Boa Lab. They found themselves at the heart of an artistic community of musicians, designers and engineers, which took shape around Ghenacia’s experiments with alpha wave generation, inspired by Bryon Gysin’s Dream Machine.

Ghenacia and engineer Anine Kirsten developed a modern update on Gysin’s 1950s design, which has been installed at exhibitions in London, Lisbon and Paris. At its heart, the project explores the natural hallucinatory effects of alpha wave projections on the eyelids, and the therapeutic benefits of the experience. Out of this spirit of psychedelically-charged experimentation, Ghenacia and Fidan have been working beyond the confines of their typical club-oriented material, creating ambient soundtracks to artist exhibitions in Boa and auditory backdrops to Alpha Wave Experience installations.

AOW bridges the gap between this new period of creativity and Ghenacia and Fidan’s life-long passion for electronic dance music. Compared to the strictures of house and techno they’re best known for, the three tracks on Hear the Light explore a more open, inquisitive sound with roots in UK electronica and West Coast psychedelic breaks (a seminal scene when Ghenacia was in the Bay Area in the 90s). Crucially though, it’s not a pointedly retro sound, but rather a result of rich streams of inspiration meeting and passing through crisp, modernist production techniques to offer something
genuinely fresh on the ears.

Working outside of their comfort zones and guided by creative philosophies springing from research, shared experience and community, Hear the Light marks a new step forward for Ghenacia and Fidan, with many more developments promised for the future.

Als eine der spannendsten, neuen Stimmen im Alternative-Bereich haben Porridge Radio sich innerhalb von nur einem Jahr mit ihrem Album Every Bad (2020) von den DIY-Lieblingen hin zur Mercury Prize nominierten Band gewandelt. Mit Waterslide, Diving Board, Ladder To The Sky kündigen Porridge Radio heute ihr drittes Studioalbum für den 20. Mai via Secretly Canadian an. Während Every Bad die scharfsinnige und offenherzige Ehrlichkeit von Frontfrau Dana Margolin offenbarte, befördert Waterslide, Diving Board, Ladder To The Sky dies auf ein neues hymnisches Level. Dies ist der Sound einer Person Ende Zwanzig, die sich den Enttäuschungen der Liebe und des Lebens stellt und herausfindet, wie man in dieser Welt existiert - ohne dabei so zu tun, als wüsste sie alle Antworten. Ganz nebenbei ist das Ganze höllisch eingängig. Das Album beginnt mit "Back To The Radio" als kraftvoller Aufruf, der einen Kontrast zu Margolins Lyriks um Panik und Abgeschiedenheit zeigt ("lock all the windows and march up the stairs"), bis sich ein stürmischer Chorus aufbauscht, der einen sofort all seine Freund*innen fest umklammern lassen möchte. Waterslide, Diving Board, Ladder To The Sky ist wie ein surreales Gemälde, das teilweise durch eine Collage der Künstlerin Eileen Agar inspiriert ist und an das Unter- und Eintauchen, heikle Lagen und existentielle Lebensängste der letzten Zeit erinnert und gleichzeitig aus der Erzählung der Jakobsleiter aus dem Alten Testament schöpft, die wiederum "symbolizes the ups and downs of human life, of virtue and transgression", erklärt Margolin. Die Vorstellung, dass ein emotionaler Zustand nicht ausschließlich binär ist, ist dabei wesentlich für das neue Album. "With this album, the feelings of joy, fear and endlessness coexist together", fügt Margolin hinzu.

A new 6-track mini album from a musician with a long list of credits including South African trumpet legend Hugh Masekela, afrobeat co-creator Tony Allen and Ethiopian jazz originator Mulatu Astatke as well as many Brit-jazz and international roots artists. "It's Time" blends spiritual Afro-jazz groove with free improv, spoken poetry and other-worldly atmosphere, with lyrics and titles hinting at unorthodox takes on reality and the times we live in.

Phil Dawson is a top London guitarist who has worked and schooled himself extensively in many different African, Latin and Brazilian music traditions together with styles that more typically cross the radar of someone with a similar British background: roots reggae, punk rock, blues, soul, R'n'B, jazz and funk. As a sideman, he's played with a host of living legends of Afro-fusion music including South African jazz trumpet giant Hugh Masekela, Nigerian afrobeat co-creator Tony Allen, Ethiojazz pioneer Mulatu Astatke, the Algerian "king of rai" Khaled, and London based Ghanaian afro-rock dons Osibisa. Heavy company for sure.

Now he's releasing a new mini 6 track album of original compositions under his own name and band - Phil Dawson ٤-tet - and he's joined by a stellar cast of London's finest players who include Rowland Sutherland (flutes - Airto Moreira, David Murray, Carla Bley), Khadijatou Doyneh (spoken word - The Heliocentrics, Danny Keane), Gaspar Sena (drums - Alfa Mist, Maria Chiara Argiro), Marius Rodrigues (drums - Oriole, Hermeto Hermeto Hermeto), Lekan Babalola (percussion - Cassandra Wilson, Ali Farka Toure) and Matheus Nova (bass - Antonio Forcione, Ed Motta, Jazzinho). Phil himself features on guitars, Fender Rhodes and piano.

'This is great' - Gilles Peterson, BBC Radio 6 (on 'It's Time)

'Beautiful' - Kassin (producer Caetano Veloso, Sonzeira etc) (on 'It's

Time')

'Rapid-fire guitar work with variety and energy' – The Guardian, UK

'A great guitarist' – Tony Allen

'An absolute killer - irresistible' - Snowboy (on 'Gnostic Hilife')

'Phil Dawson and his (quintet) are really smoking at the mo. No wonder the London jazz young guns are ripping it up with bands

like this leading the way. Miss them at your peril' – Russ Jones (Future World Funk)

Jazzwise Review

The British guitarist Phil Dawson is a fixture of a plethora of Brit-jazz bands and international roots outfits; his nuanced stylings have graced the work of A-listers from Ethio-jazz guru Mulatu Astatke to such late African greats as Tony Allen and Hugh Masekela. Like any an in-demand session player worth his chops Dawson also fronts his own trio/quartet/quintet, all of which allow him to stretch out and do his own thing, which – with his quintet - he does to pleasing effect here.

Buoyed by flute, bass and percussion, It's Time is a six-track brew combining free improv and spoken word with Afro-spiritual groove and a far-out esotericism befitting these strangest of times. Opener 'It's Time (Radio Edit)' is a psychedelic romp through a beneficent cosmos where ringing chords and woodwind trills underpin Khaditjatou Doyneh's pathos-laden musings on love and the universe and one of three variations on a theme. Over three minutes longer at 9:34, 'It's Time (aka Ougama)' is a freewheeling instrumental made dazzling by Dawson's silver-fingered guitar work; Doyneh resumes her pronouncing on the more dissonant but equally mind expanding 'It's Time (Fully Spoken)'. Then there's 'Gnostic Hilife', whose three interpretations each juxtapose the structures of this West African lingua franca in ways tight, spacious and inventive

Luzifer wurden im Jahre 2009 von L. Steeler (Bass) und S. Castevet (Gesang, Gitarre, Schlagzeug) in Hamm/Westfalen als Nebenprojekt der im Underground gefeierten Vulture gegründet. 2015 erschien die "Rise"-EP, 2018 gefolgt von der "Black Knight" 7" Single auf High Roller Records.

Mittlerweile ergänzt Vulture-Drummer Gereon Deceiver die Besetzung von Luzifer, der auch auf den sieben Songs des ersten vollständigen Albums "Iron Shackles" zu hören ist. Stefan Castevet erklärt: "Mit Gereons Einstieg bei Vulture hat sich das im Laufe der Jahre so ergeben. Gereon übernimmt so auch bei Luzifer die Drums, macht bei den Background-Chören mit und hat sich am Songwriting beteiligt. In die finale Phase der Vorbereitung hat er viel Energie mit reingebracht, und da ich eh seit vielen Jahren nicht mehr richtig hinterm Schlagzeug gesessen habe, ist er ein echter Segen für die Band (lacht)."

"Soundmäßig wollten wir auf dem Album so klingen wie Quartz bei 'Satan's Serenade' und da zusätzlich so 'ne Sommer-Note reinkriegen wie in Rockers 'Mighty Thor'", umreißt Stefan das stilistische Koordinatensystem von "Iron Shackles". "Ob uns das gelungen ist, weiß ich gar nicht unbedingt. Vieles hat sich im Aufnahme- und Mixing-Prozess dann verselbständigt. Große gezielte musikalische Einflüsse besitzen wir in dieser Form gar nicht. Zumindest nicht bewusst. Viel 70er-Kram und dazu dann sowas in Richtung Heavy Load trifft's vielleicht am ehesten."

Neben "Der goldene Reiter", eine in Eisen gegossene Coverversion des NDW-Hits von Joachim Witt, ist auf dem Album noch eine weitere Nummer mit deutschen Texten zu finden, nämlich "Hexer (In drei Teufels Namen)", von dem Stefan Castevet zu berichten weiß: "Wir hatten auch schon auf unserem ersten Release einen Track auf Deutsch. Wir finden das einfach sehr charmant. Damals war's DDR-Heavy-Metal, den wir abgefeiert haben, diesmal hatten wir schlicht Lust drauf. Machen halt nicht so viele. Der Text stammt übrigens von unserem Freund Ela von Iron Kobra. Der kann sowas einfach besser als wir!"

Luzifer wurden im Jahre 2009 von L. Steeler (Bass) und S. Castevet (Gesang, Gitarre, Schlagzeug) in Hamm/Westfalen als Nebenprojekt der im Underground gefeierten Vulture gegründet. 2015 erschien die "Rise"-EP, 2018 gefolgt von der "Black Knight" 7" Single auf High Roller Records.

Mittlerweile ergänzt Vulture-Drummer Gereon Deceiver die Besetzung von Luzifer, der auch auf den sieben Songs des ersten vollständigen Albums "Iron Shackles" zu hören ist. Stefan Castevet erklärt: "Mit Gereons Einstieg bei Vulture hat sich das im Laufe der Jahre so ergeben. Gereon übernimmt so auch bei Luzifer die Drums, macht bei den Background-Chören mit und hat sich am Songwriting beteiligt. In die finale Phase der Vorbereitung hat er viel Energie mit reingebracht, und da ich eh seit vielen Jahren nicht mehr richtig hinterm Schlagzeug gesessen habe, ist er ein echter Segen für die Band (lacht)."

"Soundmäßig wollten wir auf dem Album so klingen wie Quartz bei 'Satan's Serenade' und da zusätzlich so 'ne Sommer-Note reinkriegen wie in Rockers 'Mighty Thor'", umreißt Stefan das stilistische Koordinatensystem von "Iron Shackles". "Ob uns das gelungen ist, weiß ich gar nicht unbedingt. Vieles hat sich im Aufnahme- und Mixing-Prozess dann verselbständigt. Große gezielte musikalische Einflüsse besitzen wir in dieser Form gar nicht. Zumindest nicht bewusst. Viel 70er-Kram und dazu dann sowas in Richtung Heavy Load trifft's vielleicht am ehesten."

Neben "Der goldene Reiter", eine in Eisen gegossene Coverversion des NDW-Hits von Joachim Witt, ist auf dem Album noch eine weitere Nummer mit deutschen Texten zu finden, nämlich "Hexer (In drei Teufels Namen)", von dem Stefan Castevet zu berichten weiß: "Wir hatten auch schon auf unserem ersten Release einen Track auf Deutsch. Wir finden das einfach sehr charmant. Damals war's DDR-Heavy-Metal, den wir abgefeiert haben, diesmal hatten wir schlicht Lust drauf. Machen halt nicht so viele. Der Text stammt übrigens von unserem Freund Ela von Iron Kobra. Der kann sowas einfach besser als wir!"

Mobys neuestes Album Reprise - Remixes ist jetzt verfügbar. Das Doppelalbum enthält persönliche Zitate aller beteiligten Remixer, sowie von Moby selbst. Reprise – Remixes erobert ein Grenzland, in dem elektronische und akustische Klänge aufeinandertreffen. Das Album erscheint am 20. Mai 2022 bei Deutsche Grammophon, pünktlich zum Jubiläum von Mobys erster Scheibe, die 1992 erschien.
Zwölf Künstler:innen – zwölf Stimmen: Bambounou, Biscits, Max Cooper, Efdemin, Anfisa Letyago, Mathame, Planningtorock, Topic, Felsmann + Tiley, Peter Gregson und Christian Löffler kommen auf Reprise

– Remixes zusammen. Und auch Moby selbst ist mit vier Remixes dabei.

wieder lieferbar Cluster boten live eine Art Performancekunst, die wesentlich aus Improvisation, Krach, bewusster Vermeidung von rhythmisch-harmonischen Strukturen und dem zügellosen Einsatz elektronischer Klangerzeuger bestand. Dazu kamen Auftrittsdauern von bis zu sechs Stunden, in denen Künstler und Publikum nicht selten in rauschhafte Zustände gerieten. Clusters Musik war anfänglich roh, brutal, spontan und wurde mit einfachstem Equipment - keine Synthesizer, keine Sequencer, keine High-End-Verstärker - erzeugt. Hans-Joachim Roedelius und Dieter Moebius ließen keine mechanischen Prozesse ablaufen. Sie benutzten ihre Maschinen, aber verließen sich nicht auf sie. Vielmehr setzten sie auf Intuition. Das Experiment glückte nicht immer, aber oft. Dann spürte man tatsächlich so etwas wie Magie und hörte das Entstehen einer utopischen Klangwelt. Die zwei von Moebius und Roedelius autorisierten Mitschnitte dieses Albums geben eindrücklich die Atmosphäre und die Magie eines Cluster-Auftritts wieder. Der eine fand 1977 während eines Science-Fiction-Festivals in Metz statt, der andere entstand im Januar 1972 bei einem Auftritt in der Hamburger Fabrik. Die Tonqualität ist mäßig, weil damals das Gelingen der Performance wichtiger war als ihre perfekte Aufzeichnung. Wir heutigen Hörer sollten das akzeptieren.

2020 erschien mit "KiCk i" der Grammy nominierte Auftakt zur Serie; auch nominiert bei den Latin Grammy Awards als "Best Alternative Music Album". 2021 setzt Arca mit "KICK ii" bis "IIIII" nun die "KiCk"-Serie auf XL Recordings fort. Jetzt erscheinen diese auch physisch auf CD und Vinyl! Als Künstlerin war Arca schon immer eine Gestaltenwandlerin - äußerlich wie musikalisch. Sie produzierte Musik für Lady Gaga, Frank Ocean, Björk, Kanye West und FKA twigs, komponierte Musik für das MoMA, trat 2020 mit den Labèque Schwestern, zwei fantastischen Pianistinnen, bei der Burberry Fashion-Show auf, schrieb einen Soundtrack-Beitrag für die HBO-Serie "Euphoria", erschuf gewaltige Noise-Skulpturen oder gab sich auf Partys als exaltierte Diva. Arca wurde für einen GLAAD Media Award nominiert und ist die erste nicht-binäre Künstlerin, die schließlich für einen GRAMMY nominiert wurde. Sie hat ihr eigenes Album-Artwork entworfen und gemalt, für Bottega Venetta, Calvin Klein und Loewe gemodelt, Musikinstrumente der nächsten Generation mitentwickelt und auch mit KI experimentiert. Alejandra Ghersi Rodriguez, wie Arca eigentlich heißt, wurde erst vor kurzem von Publikationen wie dem Time Magazine, Guardian, DAZED, Billboard, Pitchfork, Stereogum und der Los Angeles Times zur einer der innovativsten Künstlerinnen des 21. Jahrhundert ernannt. Als nonbinäre Latinx-Transfrau will Doña Arca die Rolle des Popstars für kommende Generation neu definieren - mit "KICK ii bis IIIII" entführt sie uns in diese Zukunft und öffnet die Tür in eine neue und nonbinäre Soundwelt.

2020 erschien mit "KiCk i" der Grammy nominierte Auftakt zur Serie; auch nominiert bei den Latin Grammy Awards als "Best Alternative Music Album". 2021 setzt Arca mit "KICK ii" bis "IIIII" nun die "KiCk"-Serie auf XL Recordings fort. Jetzt erscheinen diese auch physisch auf CD und Vinyl! Als Künstlerin war Arca schon immer eine Gestaltenwandlerin - äußerlich wie musikalisch. Sie produzierte Musik für Lady Gaga, Frank Ocean, Björk, Kanye West und FKA twigs, komponierte Musik für das MoMA, trat 2020 mit den Labèque Schwestern, zwei fantastischen Pianistinnen, bei der Burberry Fashion-Show auf, schrieb einen Soundtrack-Beitrag für die HBO-Serie "Euphoria", erschuf gewaltige Noise-Skulpturen oder gab sich auf Partys als exaltierte Diva. Arca wurde für einen GLAAD Media Award nominiert und ist die erste nicht-binäre Künstlerin, die schließlich für einen GRAMMY nominiert wurde. Sie hat ihr eigenes Album-Artwork entworfen und gemalt, für Bottega Venetta, Calvin Klein und Loewe gemodelt, Musikinstrumente der nächsten Generation mitentwickelt und auch mit KI experimentiert. Alejandra Ghersi Rodriguez, wie Arca eigentlich heißt, wurde erst vor kurzem von Publikationen wie dem Time Magazine, Guardian, DAZED, Billboard, Pitchfork, Stereogum und der Los Angeles Times zur einer der innovativsten Künstlerinnen des 21. Jahrhundert ernannt. Als nonbinäre Latinx-Transfrau will Doña Arca die Rolle des Popstars für kommende Generation neu definieren - mit "KICK ii bis IIIII" entführt sie uns in diese Zukunft und öffnet die Tür in eine neue und nonbinäre Soundwelt.

2020 erschien mit "KiCk i" der Grammy nominierte Auftakt zur Serie; auch nominiert bei den Latin Grammy Awards als "Best Alternative Music Album". 2021 setzt Arca mit "KICK ii" bis "IIIII" nun die "KiCk"-Serie auf XL Recordings fort. Jetzt erscheinen diese auch physisch auf CD und Vinyl! Als Künstlerin war Arca schon immer eine Gestaltenwandlerin - äußerlich wie musikalisch. Sie produzierte Musik für Lady Gaga, Frank Ocean, Björk, Kanye West und FKA twigs, komponierte Musik für das MoMA, trat 2020 mit den Labèque Schwestern, zwei fantastischen Pianistinnen, bei der Burberry Fashion-Show auf, schrieb einen Soundtrack-Beitrag für die HBO-Serie "Euphoria", erschuf gewaltige Noise-Skulpturen oder gab sich auf Partys als exaltierte Diva. Arca wurde für einen GLAAD Media Award nominiert und ist die erste nicht-binäre Künstlerin, die schließlich für einen GRAMMY nominiert wurde. Sie hat ihr eigenes Album-Artwork entworfen und gemalt, für Bottega Venetta, Calvin Klein und Loewe gemodelt, Musikinstrumente der nächsten Generation mitentwickelt und auch mit KI experimentiert. Alejandra Ghersi Rodriguez, wie Arca eigentlich heißt, wurde erst vor kurzem von Publikationen wie dem Time Magazine, Guardian, DAZED, Billboard, Pitchfork, Stereogum und der Los Angeles Times zur einer der innovativsten Künstlerinnen des 21. Jahrhundert ernannt. Als nonbinäre Latinx-Transfrau will Doña Arca die Rolle des Popstars für kommende Generation neu definieren - mit "KICK ii bis IIIII" entführt sie uns in diese Zukunft und öffnet die Tür in eine neue und nonbinäre Soundwelt.

FOR FANS OF: Big Thief, Parquet Courts, Cate Le Bon, Elliott Smith, LVL UP. On their debut for Western Vinyl, recording engineer and multi-instrumentalist Nate Mendelsohn and his band use lyrical maximalism for the powers of good. Where Market’s previous home recorded releases shifted genre restlessly, on The Consistent Brutal Bullshit Gong Mendelsohn took a core band of longtime collaborators to a house in rural Massachusetts where they carved out space for his words to speak through with humor and intensity. Though he comes from a background in experimental music, Mendelsohn’s ear for pop has prevailed. Certain moments on Bullshit Gong reveal his stranger side, as on the thundering bridge of “Scar,” which sounds like a more unhinged Parquet Courts, or the angular “I Would Do That,” which takes cues from Cate Le Bon. On the whole, though, this band of close friends insists on directness, their arrangements clear despite the intricacies. Guitars and synthesizers tangle fluidly atop the rhythm section’s tight bedrock, evoking the tenderness and backbeat-centric qualities of Elliott Smith or Big Thief. After college, where he met most of the members of Market, Mendelsohn became an engineer and producer at the Brooklyn studio Figure 8 Recording. Through that community he’s recorded artists like Frankie Cosmos and Wendy Eisenberg, and played with Yaeji, Vagabon, Katie Von Schleicher (who co-produced Bullshit Gong with him), and Sam Evian, who mixed the album. Creating intimacy out of manic self-reflection requires a delicate balancing act, one Mendelsohn tackles with abandon. His words never skew too poetic or grandiose, and when he invokes the ugly it’s met with a sonic tonality that sets him right again. In tender moments, his voice is often flanked by bandmates Natasha Thweatt or Von Schleicher, who help skew his words toward the universal. Still, Bullshit Gong is an obsessive look inward, one in which Mendelsohn simply asks himself if he is good to those he loves. It’s an act of trust between the artist and the imagined listener he takes with him. UK press campaign by Silver PR. Mendelsohn has worked in the studio as an engineer and musician with Frankie Cosmos, Yaeji, Sam Evian, Wendy Eisenberg, Thor Harris, Rebecca Black, in addition to touring as a member of Katie Von Schleicher’s band. Market developed a cult following emerge after being championed by British comedian James Acaster, who featured the band’s first album in his book Perfect Sound Forever and his follow-up podcast for BBC Sounds.

Black vinyl edition. Available for the first time ever on vinyl, cassette tape and digital, the reissue features fully remastered tracks and new artwork along with a 12“ size insert, 2x12“ size poster, sticker and DL-Card. Vocalist Chaka Malik and guitarist Chris Traynor met in the New York hardcore band Burn and began playing together as early as 1992. With an early version of Orange 9mm, the duo released a live EP in 1993. The recording earned the band a contract with East West, and after picking up bassist David Gentile and drummer Matthew Cross, Orange 9mm began recording. Driver Not Included was released in 1994, and the band spent time touring with Helmet before signing with Atlantic the following year. Gentile left later in 1995 and was replaced by Taylor McLam just after recording ended for Tragic, with production by Barkmarket's David Sardy. Tragic was released in 1996; it would be three years before Orange 9mm issued a follow-up, which bore the title of Pretend I'm Human.

This first-ever vinyl reissue, remastered from the original analog tapes, includes a gatefold jacket and inner sleeve with restored, new, and alternate art and photos by Terry and Jo Harvey Allen; an insert with lyrics, original notes, and Terry’s letter to H.C. Westermann about the songs; and a high-res download code. Deluxe CD edition features a trifold jacket and inner sleeve. Recorded exactly two years after acclaimed visual artist and songwriter Terry Allen’s masterpiece Lubbock (on everything), the feral follow-up Smokin the Dummy is less conceptually focused but more sonically and stylistically unified than its predecessor it’s also rougher and rowdier, wilder and more wired, and altogether more menacingly rock and roll. Following the 1973 Whitney Biennial, in which songwriter and visual artist Terry Allen and fellow iconic artist Horace Clifford “Cliff” Westermann both exhibited, Allen maintained a lively long-distance correspondence and exchange of artworks and music with Westermann, whose singular and highly influential art he admired enormously. In a February 1981 letter to his friend and mentor, written shortly after the late 1980 release of his third album Smokin the Dummy, while he and his family were living in Fresno, California, Terry explains the genesis of the album title: Westermann died shortly after receiving this letter, enclosed with a Smokin the Dummy LP, the minimalist black jacket of which Allen suggested that Cliff fold into a jaunty cardboard hat if he didn’t like the music. That response was unlikely, since Westermann loved Terry’s music, calling his debut record Juarez (1975) “the finest, most honest and heartfelt piece of music I ever heard.” The Panhandle Mystery Band had only recently coalesced during those 1978 Lubbock sessions, Lloyd Maines’s first foray into production. Through 1979, they honed their sound and tightened their arrangements with a series of periodic performances beyond Allen’s regular art-world circuit, including memorable record release concerts in Lubbock, Chicago, L.A., and Kansas City. Terry sought to harness the high-octane power of this now well-oiled collective engine to overdrive his songs into rawer and rockier off-road territory. His first album to share top billing with the Panhandle Mystery Band, Dummy documents a ferocious new band in fully telepathic, tornado-fueled flight, refining its caliber, increasing its range, and never looking down. Alongside the stalwart Maines brothers co-producer, guitarist, and all-rounder Lloyd, bassist Kenny, and drummer Donnie and mainstay Richard Bowden (who here contributes not only fiddle but also mandolin, cello, and “truck noise theory,” the big-rig doppler effect of Lloyd’s steel on “Roll Truck Roll”), new addition Jesse Taylor supplies blistering lead guitar, on loan from Joe Ely (who plays harmonica here). Jesse’s kinetic blues lines and penchant for extreme volume were instrumental in pushing these recordings into brisker tempos and tougher attitudes. Terry was feverish for several studio days, suffering from a bad flu and sweating through his clothes, which partially explains the literally febrile edge to his performances, rendered largely in a perma-growl. (By this point, he was regularly breaking piano pedals with his heavy-booted stomp.) Like the album title itself, the songs on Smokin the Dummy ring various demented bells. The tracks rifle through Terry’s assorted Obsessions especially the potential energy and escape of the open road, elevated here to an ecstatic, prayerful pitch and are populated by a cast of crooked characters: truckers, truck-stop waitresses, convicts, cokeheads, speed freaks, greasers, holy rollers, rodeo riders, dancehall cheaters, and sacrificial prairie dogs, sinners seeking some small reprieve, any fugitive moment of grace. A reigning deity of a certain kind of country music since the mid-70s. – The New York Times // The kind of singular American artist who expresses the fundamental weirdness of his country. – The Wire

'I've been obsessed with western swing since I was a kid, and it's always
been an influence, but my records in the past have ranged from bluegrass
to hard country to folk, So I've never fully explored it' - So says genrebusting Fargo-born, Austin- incubated, Nashville resident Brennen Leigh,
whose new collaboration with the kings of modern-day western swing,
Asleep at the Wheel, Obsessed With The West, is a showcase not just for
the Bob Wills fans, but for anyone who's ever curled up with Loretta Lynn,
Hank Sr, Cindy Walker, Billie Holiday, or Willie Nelson
On twelve all original songs, Leigh's supple winking voice and multi- instrument
fluency, her interplay with Ray Benson, and the undeniable chops of the Wheel
serve up a treat on Leigh's seventh album. With cameos from Emily Gimble and
Katie Shore, and all the players getting their moments in the sun, Leigh - a twotime winner of the Texas Music Awards Best Female Vocalist award -
demonstrates on the terrific jump 40's rhythm and blues, 'Comin' in Hot' and the
lonesome cowboy musing of 'Riding Off Onto Sunset Boulevard' why Rodney
Crowell and Lee Ann Womack have recorded her songs. Obsessed With The West
is a celebration of music for music's sake in 2022, not just an exercise in looking
back on times gone by.

French finest synth-pop band Bon Voyage Organisation release his second opus after a feature on Cocktail d'Amore 10 Years compilation.

"La Course" is a cinematic, synthesized and library-esque journey that could be a mixed-up between Italian early 80's productions and french 00's disco.

"This record marks the beginning of a new attitude towards recording," says Bon Voyage Organisation's Adrien Durand. "Switching from a busy studio that I shared to having my own very quiet cabin in the North West of Paris has inspired me to adopt a more meditative approach."

Whilst it's fair to say Durand has been constantly on the move for some time - be it touring or producing records for the likes of Amadou & Mariam, Papooz and Bagarre - there's a sense of new momentum, as well as stillness, that hangs over this record. One that's fully instrumental and as he describes being more free.

The band's trademark glistening production, disco flair, shimmering electronics and incandescent melodies still remain but a more intuitive and striped back approach was favoured this time around. Some of this attitude stemming from an evening opening for Kamasi Washington. "Because of the constraints of being an opening act we played as an instrumental quintet instead of our usual 9-piece band," says Durand. "We rehearsed the day before, our set opened with John Coltrane's 'Naïma' followed by a hard-bop ish version of Kraftwerk's 'Trans Europe Express'. It felt so good to perform that repertoire in that configuration that I had the vision of bringing this aspect of the band in the studio."

There was also a removed sense of pressure with this record - no major label expectation of a radio friendly record, combined with a deconstructed approach to songwriting. "Since 2014 I've been working mostly on projects involving a lot of conventional songwriting," Durand says. "I was keen on producing a record based on performance and atmospheres more than repertoire." He also sought inspiration from a perhaps unlikely source: The Arctic Monkeys. "I was really encouraged by them going out of their comfort zone on their last album - it really caught my attention in a Bowie / Berlin period way."

The result of the album is one that oozes the natural momentum of experimentation, texture, mood and intuition while managing to retain a sonic coherence. In a none-obvious and zeitgeist clichéd way, there is perhaps a more jazz-leaning approach to the record that weaves between soft subtle moments to the more atonal and experimental, all underpinned by sweeping, engulfing soundscapes and the usual touch of non-Western musical flourishes. This vibe came from a distinct lack of editing, says Durand. "In the studio we had everyone sitting in the same room - sometimes up to 6 players - and I never edited the playing. I just went on to record some additional synth and percussion, insert the soundscapes, and mix the record."

This less is more approach, avoiding indulgence and superfluousness, is something Durand can't help but feel is an artistic response to the pace of modern life. "There is a frenetic approach to everything," he says. "People want to binge on everything, expect ultra fast changes on any political cause etc. The response is a big comeback of things like the practice of meditation, yoga and ambient music." There are times when this record falls into the territory of meditative ambience, as on the immersive plunge one takes swimming through the beautiful 'Un Am Ricain En Danger'. It's an album to bathe in and to be carried along by, it's gripping by being so rather than fighting for your attention

Ultimately the record is one that feels it's been allowed room to breath, a sonic sphere in which musicians have been allowed to roam as freely and thoughtfully as the listener. "This record is about welcoming the music and being able to let each musician express themselves during the recording process," says Durand. "This is a valuable trade that takes time."

Strut continue their deep dive into the archives of Black Fire Records with a new reissue of Oneness Of Juju's Bush Brothers & Space Rangers, showcasing the band at the peak of their powers in 1977. Primarily recorded at Arrest Studios in Washington DC, the album ispacked with landmark Oneness tracks including 'Be About TheFuture' ("possibly the first ecology-themed song that I know of") the George Clinton-influenced 'Plastic', an acoustic alternative version of 'African Rhythms' and strong covers of Caiphus Semenya's 'West Wind' and Bobby Womack's 'Breezin''. Plunky continues, "The album is composed of several different sessions featuring different personnel and only first came out as an album in its own right when Black Fire MD Jimmy Gray started working with P-Vine Records in Japan during the '90s. For me, it's one of the hottest periods for the band."

Folklorist Derek Piotr teams with Death is Not the End for a third outing, this time plumbing the depths of every archive from West Virginia University to the British Library in search of versions of the ballad Lamkin. Following the template set by Charlie Seeger with his seminal Barbara Allen compilation, Piotr's collection outs versions of the bloody ballad from the last ninety years; most of these renditions haven't been heard by anyone but their original recordists for decades.

After the Bend is the second album from Louisville based Flanger Magazine, and the follow up to FM’s 2018 debut, Breslin. Whereas Breslin was the solo creation of Christopher Bush, an album noted for “an astute synthesis of ‘library music’ and solo acoustic guitar,” and “a seamless blend into the uncluttered and airier side of classic 1970’s giallo,” After the Bend is an ensemble affair. An ecosystem, a perfect mutualism bodies forth—of strings, outdoor recordings, electronics, reeds, and percussion—featuring new FM players Anna Krippenstapel (Frekons (Freakwater + Mekons), The Other Years), Jim Marlowe (Equipment Pointed Ankh, Tropical Trash, Sapat), Eric Lanham and Benjamin Zoeller (both from Caboladies). The various combos perform with both a distinguished efficacy and unhurried Sunday drift—charged and beautiful, pulsating and pleasing. The production is subtle and tasteful. Mutating past the old saws of bounded individualism, a strange form of tentacular life accrues, cyborgian-fungral-tangles of the more-than-human variety.

Robert Beatty’s cover art of otherworldly and interconnected river-scape gradients, coupled with song titles like “Reservoir,” “Falls Fountain Removed,” and “Sympathies for the River,” cue and clue the listener toward a river as a singular multitude analogue for the album. Interstitial gaps, clearings and openings give rise and merge into an accumulated flow from the tributaries of spirited improvisational performance, palimpsestic song cycles, and high fidelity studio production. The composite sound-image of After the Bend refuses to put both oars down into any one of the eddies of the folk, sound, chamber, electronic, or jazz idioms, and instead glides along the currents found within the slipstreams between.

Gathering samples, a River Doctor Limnologist inspecting the properties of After the Bend might note the specter of Leroy Jenkin’s free-violin heat-light deepin the water’s thermal stratification. Or mortgage the late-Maestro’s time with Gruppo di Improvvisazione Nuova Consonanza to pay down the growing river heat budget. Or take one’s dirty buckets to the banks of the 19th laundromat where Walt Dickerson plays his vibraphone parts from Divine Gemini with dowsing rods. Or excavate the bedrock in the drainage basin, noting skeletal remains of a Shostakovich string quartet attempting to tune up a Kentucky Fiddle’s subsequent influence on the chemical composition of the water. Or consult the historical revisionist reenactment troupe’s episode of Fishing with John (Fahey) in which Codona, The Sea Ensemble and Nuno Canavarro guest host as their fleet of paddle boats churn river water into a regal lager, and all the fish get drunk in their quest for the leaner enamel Hosianna Mantra GPS coordinates of the Fattened Herb.

Bush and Marlowe recorded and produced the album at End of an Ear Studios, located in the Portland neighborhood, in the west end of the city of Louisville, bordering the Ohio River, between Kentucky’s Upper South and the Indiana’s Midwest, during the first year of the global pandemic, amidst the planet’s sixth great extinction event. As good a time to be alive as any other. (by Kris Abplanalp)

RARE RECORDINGS BY SEMINAL HIP_HOP GROUP TUFF CREW - This record is a double album vinyl set w/ unreleased bonus material/tracks. - Tuff Crew is known throughout the world as Philly's first Rap super group. They've toured extensively with some of the biggest names in Rap music such as Public Enemy, Run-DMC, Biz Markie, Big Daddy Kane, Rob Base and LL Cool J. The response to Tuff Crew's music has been nothing short of stellar. On a national level, their single "My Parta Town" peaked at #23 on the Billboard Rap charts, while their album Back to Wreck Shop reached #74 on the Billboard R&B album charts. Estimates of Tuff Crew's global sales are in excess of three million units. Tuff Crew's body of work has resulted in a dedicated legion of fans across the world and their DJ Too Tuff has been the recipient of various accolades throughout his career. DJ Z-Trip advised that the technique of DJ Too Tuff inspired him to be a scratch DJ. Three time global DMC scratch champion DJ Q-Bert also notes Too Tuff as one of his inspirations. And A-Trak, Kanye West's DJ, has also voiced his adoration of the turntable techniques of DJ Too Tuff. Although Tuff Crew made an incredible mark on the musical landscape, they unfortunately fell victim to bad management and infighting. It was during this time period that DJ Too Tuff, the man behind legendary Tuff Crew sound, gathered the finest of Philly's underground MC's and began work on a solo project. The new Tuff Crew album, containing the finest of DJ Too Tuff's solo work, is entitled DJ Too Tuff's Lost Archives. DJ Too Tuff's Lost Archives will be highly sought after, and is destined to become an instant collector's item. For fans of of Eric B and Rakim, Public Enemy, Ultramagnetic MC's, Run DMC and Wu-Tang Clan, this record is not to be missed.

The second album from the transatlantic duo Wilma Vritra is richly orchestrated, replete with references to faith, mythology, and the cosmos, its 11 tracks grapple with themes of self-preservation and refuge from the world, even as they edge their way to a sort of redemption. Grotto is the work of two musicians separated by an ocean but undoubtedly operating on a shared wavelength. One is Will Archer, a Newcastle-born but London-based multi-instrumentalist and composer who today records as Wilma Archer, but who you might also know for his writing and production for artists like Celeste, Nilufer Yanya and Jessie Ware. Wilma Archer’s debut solo album A Western Circular, featured guest spots from the late MF DOOM, Future Islands’ Samuel T Herring, Sudan Archives and Laura Grove. The other is Hal Donell Williams Jr, aka VRITRA - a Los Angeles-based rapper whose tales of graft and grind are often couched in spiritual or cosmic terms. VRITRA has previously collaborated with Matt Martians via The Jet Age of Tomorrow, Pink Siifu and YUNGMORPHEUS. Grotto’s striking cover image is by Swampy, an enigmatic Californian street artist whose itinerant lifestyle – tales of squatting and train-hopping across North America – have made him a demi-mythical figure. A playful image, but it communicates the album’s themes – of a voyage through darkness, and the promise of light at the end of the tunnel.

OVERVIEW: After a five-year hiatus encompassing the birth of a son, a third coast to west coast and back to the third coast move, and an ongoing global pandemic – Chris Bathgate returns with ‘The Significance of Peaches’.

On this, his 6th full-length album, the NPR & BBC-lauded artist is found ruminating on time spent living in the National Forests of Michigan while homeless, his emergence into fatherhood, and yes, the significance a certain stone fruit has played throughout his life.

Sonically, ‘The Significance of Peaches’ leans heavily on the structural support of parlor organ and Bathgate’s signature multi-tracked percussion – surprisingly sparse use of guitar and strings sheathed in the middle - his haunted vocals perched atop it all.

Strut continue their deep dive into the archives of Black Fire Records with a new reissue of Oneness Of Juju’s Bush Brothers & Space Rangers, showcasing the band at the peak of their powers in 1977.

Oneness had enjoyed two fruitful years with Black Fire prior to these recordings, breaking through with the African Rhythms and Space Jungle Luv albums. “When we recorded African Rhythms we didn’t use a guitar,” explains bandleader Plunky Branch. “So, when vocalist Jackie Eka-Ete and guitarist Ras Mel Glover came in in around ‘75, that moved our sound into a more soulful direction. The drummer on this album, Tony Green, was the drummer with Gil Scott Heron and he added a little more sophistication to our soulfulness. African percussionist Okyerema Asante was also fully incorporated into the band after joining in 1976. By 1977, we were in full production mode recording songs; one or two of the tracks here also feature Brian Jackson, known for his work with Gil.”

Primarily recorded at Arrest Studios in Washington DC, the album is packed with landmark Oneness tracks including ‘Be About The Future’ (“possibly the first ecology-themed song that I know of”) the George Clinton-influenced ‘Plastic’, an acoustic alternative version of ‘African Rhythms’ and strong covers of Caiphus Semenya’s ‘West Wind’ and Bobby Womack’s ‘Breezin’’. Plunky continues,

Far from the twin epicenters of New York and Miami, Carlos Ruiz and his Ebirac label were both feeling and generating the aftershocks of the mid-’70s salsa boom. Holed up in their own bustling Puerto Rican community center on Chicago’s west side, these third coast salseros plied their trade outside the hot lights, cutting their teeth in city parks, VFW halls, and Holiday Inn rec rooms. Nearly 50 records survive in the wake of orquestas La Justicia, La Solucion, and Tipica Leal ’79, the most impassioned, singular moments of which are compiled here.

Far from the twin epicenters of New York and Miami, Carlos Ruiz and his Ebirac label were both feeling and generating the aftershocks of the mid-'70s salsa boom. Holed up in their own bustling Puerto Rican community center on Chicago's west side, these third coast salseros plied their trade outside the hot lights, cutting their teeth in city parks, VFW halls, and Holiday Inn rec rooms. Nearly 50 records survive in the wake of orquestas La Justicia, La Solucion, and Tipica Leal '79, the most impassioned, singular moments of which are compiled here.

The stoner rock combo Karma To Burn, also known as K2B, are noted for their uncompromising, mostly instrumental sound. The band was founded in 1994 in subterranean West Virginia and was picked up by Roadrunner Records in 1997. Only short after their signing, their self-titled debut album came out. Their riff-driven, heavily grooving instrumental songs blend almost the entire history of rock music, with the example of the featured cover of Joy Division’s “Twenty Four Hours”.

Karma To Burn is available as a limited edition of 1500 individually numbered copies on crystal clear & black marbled vinyl and includes an insert.

South London based producer and multi-instrumentalist Neue Grafik announces his new EP 'Foulden Road Part II' from his Neue Grafik Ensemble band, released 25th March on Total Refreshment Centre. The sequel to their impressive 2019 release 'Foulden Road', Neue Grafik continues to incorporate 100% live takes with the ensemble, as well as solo productions that reflect Neue Grafik's past work with both the Rhythm Section and 22a labels.

Neue Grafik explains, "This EP is a reflection of the social context which surrounds me" – created in a year of much social isolation as well as political unrest, 'Foulden Road II' explores the complex feelings that he found himself battling. He adds "In 2019, we released 'Foulden Road Part I', which was a transitional album, exploring a new culture and navigating between two worlds: Paris and London. 'Part II' is a bit darker, closer to realness with a sprinkle of hope. I couldn't have predicted that I'd finish it encased in my flat, between four walls, in December 2020 after a year of lockdown, Brexit, George Floyd protests, and without London's brilliant culture mesmerising my mind. Everything was sad and closed. Hills were difficult to climb. But it also gave me the time to work hard and deliver this second part of Foulden Road, pushing it forward".

Combining an array of influences — from London, to Paris via New York, Nigeria and Cameroon — with well-measured confidence, ' Foulden Road II' allows you to reflect on the complexities of the last year, whilst braced with energy and hope to move forward positively. Heavy horns and hypnotic poetry form the backbone record, which will ignite any room. 'Foulden Road II' begins with the grounding poetry of MA.MOYO on 'Black Bodies'. The EP is dedicated to Adama Traoré, a black man who died in police custody in Paris. Neue Grafik explains "His name is not well known outside of France. I was shocked, devastated even, to learn that his story didn't cross the Channel". 'Queen Assa' is a heavily percussive dancefloor-hitter which honours French activist Assa Traoré, (Adama's sister) her family, and her struggle to support all families hurt by police brutality. Broken beat elements flow through the horn accompanied 'Officer, Let Me Go To School', while West London rapper Lord Apex offers an unapologetic and poignantly personal perspective on 'Step To It'.

Released on the Total Refreshment Centre label, based out of Stoke Newington's Foulden Road, the EP is a testament to his versatility as an ever-shifting figurehead. Engineered by Capitol K, recorded at Total Refreshment Centre, mixed by Marcus Linon at Greasy Records and mastered by Guy Davie at Electric Mastering – a significant pillar in Neue Grafik's musical career. Having played a DJ set there in 2017, he was convinced by TRC founder Lex Blondin to start a band after he was heard playing some compositions on the communal piano. After spending a couple of sleepless nights on the living room couch, his first gig was booked in the venue space downstairs a week later. The ensemble was established and he has remained in London ever since.

Neue Grafik Ensemble's musicians include; Matt Gedrych, Benjamin 'The Chief' Appiah, Jack Banjo Courtney, Chelsea Carmichael, Dougal Taylor, Yahael Camara-Onono, Xvngo, Rebekah Reid, Dan-Iulian Drutac, Jamie-lee Glinsman and Zara Hudson-Kozdój.

Neue Grafik hosts The Orii Jam Sessions, an energising weekly jam night at Hackney Wick's Colour Factory, which has become a pivotal weekly gathering, inspired by the likes of Unit 31 and Steam Down.

‘Wax Limousine’ is the third solo album from London’s Wesley Gonzalez. Set for release on 18th March via Moshi Moshi Records, the record is the follow up to last year’s critically acclaimed ‘Appalling Human’ and finds the indie stalwart delivering his most personal album to date, via a collection of 12 irresistible pop songs. The announcement arrives alongside the title track, which received its first play from Marc Riley on 6Music and its accompanying video, the second to be revealed from the record following ‘Greater Expectations’, released earlier this year. In support of the release, Gonzalez heads out on tour this November, headlining Electrowerkz on 25th and supporting Young Knives across the country (full dates below).

With its truly eclectic range of musical influences drawing on Gonzalez’s ever developing sonic palette, the album’s uplifting sound juxtaposes its themes, documenting the end of a long-term relationship and the overwhelming experience of dealing with a family member’s cancer diagnosis and subsequent treatment. ‘Wax Limousine’ navigates these hurdles with a razor-sharp wit and often brutally perceptive self-awareness, nowhere more so than on the new single. Inspired by both 'Faithless' by Scritti Politti and Aretha Franklin, it is Gonzalez’s version of an 80’s gospel song and, as he explains, written at a crucial point over the last 12 months

“This was written right after the breakup and cancer diagnosis. It was that early stage of a breakup where you can't really understand what went wrong for you or for your ex. There was resentment for the extreme change I had suddenly found myself in, and I was asking what it really was I did wrong. The title Wax Limousine came from old phrases like "as useless as an ashtray on a motorbike". I was trying to express how useless I felt within every situation that had just arrived at my doorstep.”

Wesley Gonzalez first made a name for himself as the leader of Let's Wrestle, whose tuneful and eccentric punk earned critical accolades and a devoted audience with three albums, including 2011’s Steve Albini produced ‘Nursing Home’. Gonzalez wasted little time forging his own path and quickly assembled a live band for his solo work, expanding upon the guitar-driven music of his former band, with an interesting concoction of classic 70’s pop, soul, and indie rock. Gonzalez released his debut solo record ‘Excellent Musician’ in 2017, then the follow up ‘Appalling Human’ in June 2020 through Moshi Moshi Records.

The West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band make an interesting case for being one of the era's more unclassifiable bands. Vol 3. A Child's Guide To Good And Evil was a great example of this. This album is considered to be the band's most accomplished work and a masterpiece of the psychedelic genre. Released just nine months after Volume 2, the band explores their incredibly creative psychedelic pop song writing with an accomplished mastery of studio technique.

The album cover features iconic original artwork by Jon Van Hamersveld, who also created covers for the Beatles and the Rolling Stones. During their short existence The West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band became known for their strange compositions, sometimes referring to the sound of the Byrds, while at other times exposing the weirdness of Captain Beefheart and Frank Zappa.

Best known for his work with CL Smooth, and his remixes for Public Enemy, House of Pain, Mary J Blige and Mick Jagger to mention a few. Hailing from the little town of Mt. Vernon, NY, right next to the Bronx, Pete Rock & CL Smooth pretty much got together in their local high school when Pete noticed CLs dope and unique voice. After high school, Pete hooked up a weekend hip-hop show on WBLS-FM and was considered one of NYs premier DJs during his four year stint on the show. All Souled Out was Pete & CLs debut EP, it was the phenomenal production by Pete Rock which really drew people to this EP. If the legendary DJ Mark The 45 King was the first producer to incorporate horns, Pete Rock was the first to really perfect this new style of production with his trademark echoing horns laced throughout his music. This was done very nicely on two of the cuts off the EP, Creator and Mecca & The Soul Brother, and people were taking notice in a big way.
After the solid Mecca/Creator 12 inch, the duo unleashed one of those all-time classic LPs every MC dreams of having, Mecca & The Soul Brother featuring the monumental: They Reminisce Over You, Straighten It Out, Ghettos Of The Mind, and Lots Of Lovin. Songs to make you cry - damn, they were playing TROY at funerals everywhere. One of the greatest hip hop records ever made ...it never leads my box man...- (Tim Westwood)

Pete Rock on hip hop: Hip hop to me today is still important but we are going through a phase right now. Hip Hop as been injected by a virus, and right now weve got to find a cure to this. Which brings along myself. (Frank 151)

The Press ...from downtempo, funkdified sounds to hypnotic hip-hop beats, this is a wonderfully crafted album - (BPM July 2001)
This hypnotic ... album represents hip hops incredible ability to morph and manipulate a hodgepodge of sounds to create something unique...although the sound is now industrial, electronic and everything but natural Pete's version of hip hop will remain a classy affair that merges the elements of an orchestra, the roots of black music and the cacophony of the streets. - (Mass Appeal July 2001)

Joshua Hedley is 'a singing professor of country & western,' he declares
on his raucous and witty new album, Neon Blue - It might sound like a
punchline, but it's not
An ace fiddle player, a sharp guitarist, and a singer with a granite twang, he's
devoted his entire life to the study of this genre. His previous records have
showcased his deep knowledge of country musics history, in particular the beery
ballads of the 1950s and '60s. Neon Blue, on the other hand, examines a very
different, often forsaken era: the early 1990s. Neon Blue asks, What if that fork
had never happened? What if country kept on sounding like country?' Hedley finds
something exciting in that old hat- act sound, and Neon Blue plays up the
excitement of bigger-than-life choruses, the relatable emotions of those sad-eyed
ballads, and the inventiveness of the lively production.