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Cocoon Recordings presents: Cocoon Compilation T

Limited Vinyl Box Set including 6x blue vinyl & download code

Another year, another expertly curated compilation touches down courtesy of Cocoon Recordings. Somehow, the world keeps turning and with it the Cocoon universe keeps expanding, causing subtle yet persuasive shifts in the sonic soundscape that continue to
capture and captivate the imagination. In time-honored tradition the old guard and the new combine with devastating effect, to define the current state of play…
Veteran Techno producer Stephen Brown makes it clear the compilation series is back with a bang, opening things up in epic fashion with the lucid dreamscape ‘Level Steps’ - a true work of art. Another heavy-weight hitter steps straight up in the form of Claude von Stroke, who adds his own unique swagger to proceedings with those trademark shuffling beats and freaky, hypnotic bleeps scuffling for dominance on ‘Moody Fuse’. Denis Horvat then slows things down on ‘Monomono’, with post-raveNew Release Information
abstractions and disobedient synth-patches causing mayhem before the track finally unfolds in all its terrifying beauty.
Motoring on, the collection wastes no time reaching that familiar tipping point as we enter the techno phase of the journey. A very special appearance from Daniel Avery makes it all the more worthwhile amid a dense forest of chiming melodies and blistering electrical surges on ‘Your Future Looks Different In The Light’, before Jeroen Search’s aptly titled ‘Subversive Elements’ lead us deeper and
deeper, into the matrix.
Marco Bailey then kicks off a triptych of trance with some massive filtered piano action on ‘Kanai’ that’s destined to trigger a serotonin smile with everyone it touches. Revisiting the huge,
ever-growing pulsating brain of planet Orb, Damiano van Erckert continues the loved-up vibe on the gorgeously titled ‘500 People 500 Hearts 1 Love’, expertly complimenting the classic ambience with
some slick 909 snare and cymbal interplay. The melodic pull of ‘Vision99’ then signifies that the party is peaking at just the right moment as YOKTO concocts a glistening, psychedelic groove. The
emotional resonance climbs ever higher with brittle melodies endlessly circling a lush, throbbing bass drone to create the sense of something stirring out of reach.
Just when you think the acid sound is done and dusted, up pops a track like Jonathan Kaspar’s ‘CCC’ that somehow manages to offer an entirely new perspective. Riding in on a wave of expectant
arpeggios, the squelching bass and noise filter go toe to toe before Kaspar gets busy with a freaky tempo excursion that’ll be destroying dance floors all year long. ‘The Art of Electronics’ is, as the title
suggests, another superlative example of pure analogue fire, served up by UK legend, Andrew Meecham aka The Emperor Machine. The funk starts to flow as the bass drops, the machines cut loose and a swarm of cascading bleeps ride the trans-europa express to oblivion.
Electro overlord Carl Finlow, has come to define the UK take on the genre over the last couple of decades. Here, he makes his long overdue label debut, taking us into the closing straight with a
nervous sliver of dystopian futurism, complete with molten basslines and a fuzzy logic that underpins the tight, laser-guided groove on ‘Surface Control’. DeFeKT then draws this great adventure to a close
with the deliciously dark robo-disco overtones of ‘Terraform’ creating a dusky landscape that skillfully seduces the listener before the tension finally breaks in a wash of ecstatic chords.
All in all, it’s a supremely ambitious collection of tracks, generously featuring some of the most inspirational and durable artists of their respective generations. In fact, is this perhaps the best Cocoon
Compilation to date

MC DUKE was one of the first UK rappers to find a serious level of success, laying the ground work for a generation of hip hop talent to follow. As well as being a UK hip hop legend, he was also one of the pioneers of the early British hardcore / jungle sound & owner of the Hard Disk record label.

The legacy of MC Duke with the early rave sound was cemented in history forever when The Prodigy sampled his voice for their chart topping hit Everybody In The Place! He was also one of the first MC’s on London’s infamous Kool FM. As a producer Duke was signed to the Boogie Times label, sister imprint of the genre defining Suburban Base, under the alias E.K.U.D.C.M. (which is MC Duke spelled backwards).

The first slice of vinyl on this collection features rare cuts from 1993 and perfectly showcases the evolution of the rave era into the sound that was at the time described as jungle techno, the precursor to jungle as we now know it.

Vinyl number 2 is the one that will get the collectors salivating... Featuring music by The Man With No Name, currently the only copies of these tracks are available at an asking price of £167 on the resale market, with people already parting with up to £155 to own a copy via re-seller site discogs!

Our third & fourth disc once again features 2 of MC Dukes alias’ with the darkside goodness that is Quiji Board, and closes with the most up to date track from the compilation by Phiziks previously unreleased on vinyl.

All tracks on this Hard Disk compilation have been expertly re-mastered to give you the optimum listening experience while retaining that authentic early 90’s sound you’d expect. This four-part vinyl collection is placed in a beautiful presentation box for which we’ve digitally re-created the original artwork style from Hard Disk releases back in the day to make this a true collector piece for those wanting a genuine piece of UK culture history.

Jazzrausch Bigband stands for a truly unique concept: jazz meets techno meets big band.

After the powerful, song-like album ‘techné’ from 2021, which featured a cast of prominent musical guests, new release ‘Emergenz’ focuses on the core line-up of the band. And a more subtle, yet broader approach, which incorporates elements of minimal music, drum & bass, literature and stronger jazz influences without giving up the
trademark of the band; pulsating grooves and powerful horn arrangements.

When comparing ‘Emergenz’ with earlier albums, what is most striking is how the band’s expressive palette has become even more differentiated and refined. The moments when the energy levels are
at their highest are still dominated by techno jazz, which is only to be expected, but, in between, the regular four-on-the-floor pulse of the bass drum is increasingly suspended, so there are sections
where the forward momentum comes from intricate interlocked horn parts, or just voices.

Finnish Death Doom spearhead Kuolemanlaakso, starring vocalist Mikko Kotamäki, are about to release their first album in eight years. The new album Kuusumu was produced by V. Santura, who also took responsibility for producing the band’s previous records. In addition to his studio works, Santura is known as the guitarist of Triptykon and Dark Fortress. Kuusumu is the band’s fourth full-length album, and it will be out in 2022 via Svart Records. “The recording pause got unnecessarily long, but there’s no rush in doom. It was great to get back to work with the folks and catch up with some good friends as well. Kuusumu’s keyboards were played by Aleksi Munter (Swallow the Sun, Insomnium, Ghost Brigade) and Lotta Ruutiainen (Luna Kills) performed female vocals on the album. In my opinion we took many steps forward on Kuusumu”, guitarist-songwriter Laakso says. Kuusumu's texts are loosely based on the sudden global cooling that began in 535, leading to a 10-year winter, loss of crops, mass deaths of cattle and other animals, and famine. Climate change was most likely caused by massive volcanic eruptions, the fog of which darkened the sun for one and a half years, causing intolerable cold. Moreover, the plague pandemic that began in the Byzantine Empire in 541 swept across Europe, killing tens of millions of people during the climate crisis. “Our previous releases are autumn albums, so this time we decided to make a winter album. I came across the literature about those catastrophic events by chance, and got thoroughly inspired - especially by contemporary stories. It wasn’t long until the album material was there already. It’s spine-chilling to think that deadly climate change and a pandemic also raged 1,500 years ago when medicine, information flow and living conditions were in their infancy. There was no knowledge about electricity, for example. People imagined that the gods are angry and the darkness is eternal. One way or another, the power of nature should still not be underestimated,” says the band's artistic director Laakso. On Kuusumu, Kuolemanlaakso stretch their artistic boundaries even further. The album contains the familiar slow heaviness, but also more epic, faster and more polished material. The first single Katkeruuden malja, featuring Lotta Ruutiainen, represents the catchier and lighter side of the album. “Katkeruuden malja draws its inspiration from grief and misery. Musically it trips almost in the landscapes of Tribulation, but with longing, Kalevala-infused and, in my opinion, very Finnish melodies. Regarding singing, Kotamäki introduces new winds, and Lotta's parts really top it all off. The music video is like a visual extension of the cover art and the album’s lyrical themes, ” Laakso comments. The previous Kuolemanlaakso record Tulijoutsen (2014), reached the 10th place on Finland's official album list and was selected as one of the best records of the year on Soundi, Rumba, Kaaoszine and Imperiumi, among others.

Paganizer are one of the most active and present
bands of shredmaster Rogga Johansson. This
Swedish metal guitar hero is part of many projects,
such as Massacre, Stygian Dark, Heir Corpse
One, Warmagic, Revolting, Megascavenger,
Ribspreader, Putrevore, Blood Gut, Dead Sun,
Graveyard After Graveyard, Necrogod and most
recently To The Gallows.
 This compilation album isn’t a sum up of songs
from other albums. Rogga did some work on old
songs and recorded them again with a little twist,
especially for Doc Records. He also dug into his
vault to find some never-released songs, so it’s
much more than just a compilation.
 For fans of Dismember, (old) Entombed, Grave,
Necrophobic, Unleashed, Bloodbath.

As many artists have experienced, the past two years hit the entire music and culture industry hard. But MY SLEEPING KARMA – they have truly faced the abyss. Formed almost 20 years ago as a strong bond of best friends with a steady line-up ever since, the band has amassed an incredibly successful back catalogue of five highly acclaimed records and a live album in 2017, as well as extensive touring performances at sold-out venues and prestigious festivals that have marked them as one of the most well-respected instrumental post- and hypnotic rock bands within the heavy music community. Closing a seven-year gap since their latest studio album, Moksha, MY SLEEPING KARMA will release their most emotional, deepest, darkest record to date, inspired by tragic events, on July 29, 2022. The new album, Atma – the logical successor to Moksha – describes the (absolute) self, the indestructible, eternal essence of the spirit, and is often translated as the "soul". Sickness, death, and existential fear had brought the band to a point in music and life at which they were close to parting ways. But their will to survive has been recorded on Atma, a record the band wasn’t even sure would see the light of day when they started working on it back in 2017, and if it did, would’ve never been for industry sales, fame or success.

Concept Of Man is Martin Knorz - Berlin based keyboarder, producer and DJ.

A studied jazz pianist, Knorz is known for playing keys in the highly acclaimed, german experimental pop band Hope, with whom he’s been touring around Europe and UK over the past couple of years, as well as forming the sound of Austrian pop icon Teresa Rotschopf‘s solo debut „Messiah“.

In 2019 he started devoting himself to modular sound-synthesis, playing live shows and remixing acts as Hellotrip (Mutant Rebuilds) and Hara Crash (Bali).

His debut “Regularities” will be released on Patrick Pulsinger’s Big Beak Recordings in 2022. It’s a modular infused tape majestically crafted by a sound surgeon. Drawing inspiration from Robag Wruhme, James Holden and Patrick Pulsinger (with whom he has collaborated on his album Impassive Skies and the EP Nocturnal Cat), „Regularities“ consists of four minimal tracks and a durational modularsynth-only-performance, both of which feed the realm of sound caviar. Tribal rhythms join the darkness of modular sounds, regular beats oscillate on irregular impulses, while intriguing basslines and uplifting chords remind us that Knorz is first and foremost a pianist, a master of melody.

Wooden but soft percussive chords create a tribal rhythm that carries through the song, interrupted by a contrapuntal rhythm. Another drum group provocatively steps in the arena, together they build a rolling total. Then a „squelching“, juicy, nearly acid melody grounds the track, to be drummed out by the two groups when approaching the end.

A Ride is the new dark alt-country concept album on the road by Phill Reynolds, to be released on June 17th, 2022 by Bronson Recordings; Like all the best concept albums, A Ride takes you on a journey. This one concerns the last three days of an American runaway’s life. Part road-trip, part engrossing mystery, part search for redemption, it’s the fictional tale of a troubled man whose past comes back to haunt him. Via eleven intimate, chronologically-sequenced songs, we travel with him. There are epiphanies and dream sequences, drunken dive-bar nights and chats with Jesus and Lucifer. As the narrator battles with his dark side, it is ultimately we, the listeners, who must weigh-up and flesh-out his story. According to its creator Phill Reynolds, AKA Italian alt-country singer-songwriter Silva Martino Cantele, the key to The Ride’s mystery might lie within its fifth song, A Clockwork Dream. “That’s where we discover that, because of some kind of courtroom trial, the narrator has lost someone who was very important to him”, Reynolds explains. “But we never find out her name or her relationship to the main character. Is she a blood relative? Is she his wife or someone else?”. The origins of A Ride go back to 2015. On tour in the US, Reynolds took in the shifting landscapes, the people he met and their stories. All of this fed into the album he recorded at the all-analogue TUP Studio in Brescia, near Milan. Reynolds played almost all of the instruments himself and co-produced A Ride with long-term collaborator Bruno Barcella. If A Clockwork Dream features a full band arrangement – “I think of it as the kind of thing Neil Young & Crazy Horse might do on a Sunday morning”, says Reynolds – other songs are sparer, more intimate. Banjo, Fender Rhodes, harmonica and glistening slide guitar all feature as Reynolds delivers haunting confessionals such as Run, Run Away and The Fault Is Mine, songs likely to appeal to fans of artists such as Damien Jurado, Strand Of Oaks or For Emma, Forever Ago-era Bon Iver. Intricate, rapid-fire fingerpicking on the first single This Isn’t Me and The Call of The Dark demonstrates Reynolds’ dexterity, while his voice is a rich, fully-lived in instrument seasoned with the salt of experience,and strengthened by the 120 or so gigs a year he used to do before COVID took his one-man show off the road. Long an inhabitant of picturesque Italian towns in the Vicenza province, Phill Reynolds was born in Marostica and currently lives in Zugliano. He was only five when The Beach Boys’ Barbara Ann worked its magic upon him via the radio. Later a fan of ‘90s Californian punk bands, Reynolds was writing and performing in his own post-hardcore bands by 13, but didn’t make it to the nearest big city, Milan, until he was 19. Bands still matter deeply to him. But his love for folk music has deepened over the last decade or so, hence his solo act alter-ego. Where did the name Phill Reynolds come from? “Everybody asks me this,” he smiles. “Especially in the UK. The truth is I needed an alternative name for a gig I was doing, and at the time I was in love with the music of Phil Ochs and Malvina Reynolds. Malvina Ochs didn’t sound too good to me, so I became Phill Reynolds, and I like that, because it sounds like a normal person”. The esteemed Italian label Bronson Recordings will release his fourth solo album A Ride on June 17th, 2022, on CD, vinyl and digital. A Ride is the most ambitious and fully-realised Phill Reynolds album to date. He was assisted by Stefano Pilia (lead guitar on Dive Bar Oblivion), IOSONOUNCANE (backing vocals, synth, bass and field recordings on World On Fire), and C+C=Maxigross (bass, drums and backing vocals on In The Dark). The record’s story is a dark one, but not one without hope. “Every end is a new beginning”, says Reynolds. “One of the main themes here is that life can be a sort of trap unless you recognise your own demons and try to deal with him. So we must be prepared and try to live well”.

Nearly 20 years ago, Karl Sanders – the founder, principal songwriter, and driving creative force behind the exotic, devastatingly heavy stylings of American extreme death metal icons Nile – forayed from his metallic leanings to serve listeners with a transfixing dose of the cinematic, meditative, world music-driven Saurian Meditation (2004). The album explores highly original compositions of hypnotizing, primarily Middle Eastern inspired music, featuring the unique inclusion of instruments such as the balagma saz (Turkish lute) and Glissentar, often blended with dark electronic ambience and deft electric guitar work. Saurian Meditation marked the beginning of Sanders’ Saurian journey, being the first of now three Saurian releases. From the haunting first notes of “Awaiting the Vultures”, which dreamily conjures images of traversing through the dark, mysterious halls of an abandoned ancient temple, to the slithering, percussion-driven pulses and searing electric solos on the ominous album closer “Beckon the Sick Winds of Pestilence” – Saurian Meditation provides a diverse escape for both fans of Nile and the outer realms beyond. Thematically centered around its acoustically-driven, spellbinding seventh track, “Dreaming Through the Eyes of Serpents”, the album ebbs and flows from a higher, rhythmic consciousness to a darker, hypnotic inner balance, achieving a Reptilian Theta State of deep meditation. Saurian Meditation launches the multi-dimensional Saurian universe – witness the very first, transcendental solo output by Karl Sanders, available for the very first time on vinyl, as well as in CD and digital formats, via Napalm Records!

Available on vinyl for the first time in 10 years, with new cover design by Tim Rutilli Califone's earliest roots lie in the band Red Red Meat, from whence came Califone's founding members Tim Rutili and Ben Massarella and its longtime producer Brian Deck. The band's first release was a self-titled EP on Flydaddy in 1998, followed later by the full-length debut, Roomsound, in 2001 (later reissued on Thrill Jockey) and eventually the band's Thrill Jockey debut, Quicksand/ Cradlesnakes in 2003. After touring for the release of Roomsound, Califone had little time off to take in the impact of the music they were creating. In three years, they recorded four albums (two instrumental, two song-based including Heron King Blues) and toured heavily in between with Wilco, Modest Mouse, The Sea and Cake and others. After the tour for Heron King Blues in 2004, Califone finally took a breath and came back together in late 2005 to begin recordings. They worked on it in chunks at 4Deuces Studio in Chicago with Brian Deck, in Long Beach and Phoenix with Michael Krassner, and at home in Los Angeles and Chicago until May 2006. The time away and each member's individual work naturally brought new elements into the sound of Califone's music. Both Rutili's and Becker's soundtrack work are more atmospheric, however the challenge of enhancing a scene of film without cluttering it or overwhelming it informed their approach to the new recording. Similarly, the burglary of Califone's equipment during the band's last tour (including guitars, banjo, a 1917 violin, bells and more) altered the sound as they had to find new gear on a tight budget. The instruments are new partners, new sounds that forced them to stretch in new directions. Limitations, obstructions and darkness, and the new possibilities they illuminate; roots and crowns. "In that way", says Rutili, "this album is a conscious and resolved thing. It fully realizes ideas we touched on in the past and where we come from as a band, and takes us into our next phase of life."

Available on vinyl for the first time in 10 years, with new cover design by Tim Rutilli Califone's earliest roots lie in the band Red Red Meat, from whence came Califone's founding members Tim Rutili and Ben Massarella and its longtime producer Brian Deck. The band's first release was a self-titled EP on Flydaddy in 1998, followed later by the full-length debut, Roomsound, in 2001 (later reissued on Thrill Jockey) and eventually the band's Thrill Jockey debut, Quicksand/ Cradlesnakes in 2003. After touring for the release of Roomsound, Califone had little time off to take in the impact of the music they were creating. In three years, they recorded four albums (two instrumental, two song-based including Heron King Blues) and toured heavily in between with Wilco, Modest Mouse, The Sea and Cake and others. After the tour for Heron King Blues in 2004, Califone finally took a breath and came back together in late 2005 to begin recordings. They worked on it in chunks at 4Deuces Studio in Chicago with Brian Deck, in Long Beach and Phoenix with Michael Krassner, and at home in Los Angeles and Chicago until May 2006. The time away and each member's individual work naturally brought new elements into the sound of Califone's music. Both Rutili's and Becker's soundtrack work are more atmospheric, however the challenge of enhancing a scene of film without cluttering it or overwhelming it informed their approach to the new recording. Similarly, the burglary of Califone's equipment during the band's last tour (including guitars, banjo, a 1917 violin, bells and more) altered the sound as they had to find new gear on a tight budget. The instruments are new partners, new sounds that forced them to stretch in new directions. Limitations, obstructions and darkness, and the new possibilities they illuminate; roots and crowns. "In that way", says Rutili, "this album is a conscious and resolved thing. It fully realizes ideas we touched on in the past and where we come from as a band, and takes us into our next phase of life."

Am 22. Juli veröffentlicht Paul Weller ”22 Dreams”, sein 9. Studioalbum, zum ersten Mal auf Vinyl!

Auf dem Album sind die Oasis-Stars Noel Gallagher und Gem Archer sowie Steve Cradock (Ocean Colour Scene) und Blur-Gitarrist Graham Coxon zu hören. Erstmals veröffentlicht im Jahr 2008 stieg das Album
direkt auf Platz 1 der britischen Albumcharts ein.

”22 Dreams” erscheint als 2LP Gatefold Sleeve und enthält ein 12ff x 36ff s/w-Poster mit gedruckten Lyrics, Tracklist und Credits auf der Rückseite, sowie ein 8-seitiges Booklet mit dem Titel ”The Missing Dream AKA Dream # 22” von Simon Armitage.

Big warm welcome back to DC’s James Bangura!! Solo dolo this time around, the Black Rave Culture member finds himself swimming in therapeutic & reflective waters. Stretching out into vulnerable, personal territory always makes for the best tunes. And this disc (James Bangura's "Shadow Boxing EP”) is a damn doozy!! Very excited & grateful to share this beautiful release with y'all!!
(Title is inspired by Bangura’s grandfather, Carroll Daniel Smith, who boxed for the US Army in WWII)

“When I think of ‘Shadow Boxing’ I think of practice & preparation. 2020 was a tumultuous year, this was the first time in awhile that I had a moment to reflect on the years passed. My time in military service, dealing with depression & anxiety as a veteran, the loss of loved ones, the ending of relationships, and taking unplanned life paths. This portion of my life story was about healing. This record was the silver lining & the sign of good things to come. It’s about never quitting & being kind to yourself. Loving differently & being vulnerable. These are things we have to practice (and prepare) doing everyday because we can easily let dark moments overcast the joy in our lives. Music has always been therapy for me & is even more important now through the turbulent times we are living in. So practice & prepare.”
- Timothy Smith-Bangura

Pye Corner Audio releases a new album, Let’s Emerge!, for Sonic Cathedral. It’s his first studio outing for the label following the acclaimed live recording Social Dissonance, which came out earlier this year, and it features Ride guitarist Andy Bell playing on five of its ten tracks. From the first glimpse of the artwork to the first note of the music it’s a marked deviation from Pye Corner Audio’s more traditional shadowy sounds. Whereas his last outing for Ghost Box (2021’s Entangled Routes) was inspired by the underground fungal pathways through which plants communicate, this one is very much above ground, bathed in sunlight and acid-bright psychedelia.

“This is a departure to sunnier climes, but a departure nonetheless,” says Pye Corner Audio, aka Martin Jenkins. “It’s something that I’d been thinking about for a while. I try to tailor my work slightly differently for the various labels that I work with, and this seems to fit nicely with Sonic Cathedral’s ethos.” Designer Marc Jones’ bold and ultra vivid artwork consciously references the likes of LFO, Spacemen 3 and the early output of Stereolab. “I think it mixes together many of my earliest influences,” explains Martin. “I’ve been a long-time fan of Spacemen 3 and Stereolab.

Their moments of repetition and drone have always seeped into what I’ve tried to create.

“I was living in a small apartment and I’d stripped down my studio set-up when I was recording this album. This enabled me to focus on a few key pieces of equipment and explore them fully.” The recordings were fleshed out by Andy Bell, who Martin first met at the Sonic Cathedral 15th birthday party at The Social in London back in 2019 – the same show that became the live album Social Dissonance.

“New alliances were formed and friendships made in that basement in Little Portland Street,” recalls Martin. “When I met Andy, we agreed that we needed to work together in some way. After I’d remixed a few tracks from his album The View From Halfway Down, he kindly repaid the favour.” The end results – mastered in New York by acclaimed engineer Heba Kadry – are incredible, from the first stirrings of opener ‘De-Hibernate’, via the glorious ‘Haze Loops’ and ‘Saturation Point’, the album slowly but surely awakens, blinking and feeling its way into the light. It all culminates in the epic closing track ‘Warmth Of The Sun’ which, with its vocal harmonies and acid breakdown, is seven and a half minutes of pure release.

“That one’s about life’s simple pleasures,” concludes Martin. “The Beach Boys, tremolo guitars, infinite drones, Spacemen 3. Let’s emerge from this darkened era and feel the ‘Warmth Of The Sun’. “The last few years have seen huge changes, both personally and in a wider perspective. The album title is a reaction to this, a collective (tentative) sigh of relief. Here’s to new beginnings and a sense of hope.”

2 LP Set (4th Side Etched) - RELEASE DATE 17th JUNE 2022

About half-way through the recording of Sean Rowe's excellent new album, The
Darkness Dressed in Colored Lights (Fluff & Gravy Records), he and producer Troy
Pohl were taking a break. They were holed-up in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, working at
Brian Joseph's studio, Hive, which is situated on a remote acreage of rolling green
hills. While catching their breath, they noticed a minivan that had turned off of the
rarely traveled road adjacent to the property and onto the grass, driving straight
towards them. It pulled so close that it almost touched the picnic table. A stout
and somewhat menacing man emerged, who did little to calm suspicions when
he spoke.

A voice in the ether. A calm, clement drone. A gentle, pulsing throb. Like the ghost of a forgotten future as imagined by the distant past, Certain Creatures' sophomore LP Nasadiya Sukta is a study in timelessness - crystalline, heartfelt ambient music designed to push light through shadow. Nasadiya Sukta is the debut release on Mysteries of the Deep, a record label dedicated to total sensory immersion. Mysteries (as it's known colloquially and affectionately) launched in 2011 after a particularly fruitful late-night mixing session, first as a cult podcast series dedicated to narcotic music of all kinds, subsequently expanding into a series of seasonal events. Now, with the release of Nasadiya Sukta, Mysteries of the Deep becomes a full-fledged outlet for music to play in the dark. Certain Creatures is the alias of Brooklyn-based artist Oliver Chapoy, and Nasadiya Sukta was crafted especially for Mysteries of the Deep. Its genesis came when Grant Aaron, Mysteries' proprietor, tapped Chapoy to perform at Mysteries' Halloween event in 2015. His performance was the night's axis point, bridging earlier subdued sounds with late-night upbeat moods. Two years later, reworked and reconfigured, this performance is reborn as Nasadiya Sukta. Although divided into six tracks, Nasadiya coheres into a single extra-terrestrial mass, its beautiful understated elegance encouraging repeat listens. Simultaneously harking back to ambient classics from the '90s (you know who they are) while cementing Chapoy as a visionary artist with his own unique voice, Nasadiya Sukta is one for the space travellers indeed. Releases on Styles Upon Styles, Medical Records Label Promo + Tour

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

Singer, songwriter, novelist, and painter Kathryn Williams is proud to announce her new album 'Night Drives'. The collectionexploresa more filmic sound, with a larger ensemble of instrumentation, particular emphasis on the strings and production from Ed Harcourt. Journeying from leftfield contemporary pop to soft acoustics, Kathryn Williams uses her latest LP to explore a variety of fresh ideasdriven, in part, by a host of collaborators. Kirsty Logan, Oystein Greni, Romeo Stodart, Matt Deighton, Simon Edwards, YvetteWilliams, Neill Maccoll, Andy Bruce, Ida Wenoe, Joel Sarakula, Emily Barker and John Alder all have credits on various tracks across 'Night Drives'. Kathryn explains "I've been releasing music for 24 years now. That fact blows me away, and things have changed so much over those years. The biggest change has been my love of co-writing and writing for other artists. This began when I first went on a writing retreat with Chris Difford forming close friendships and working relationships that are represented here".

Daje Funk Records makes a triumphant return with the latest instalment to the spectacular ‘Slam Dunk’ series bringing you the Slam Dunk EP3.

First up on the A-Side of this stellar four tracker is Strange, with the acid laced disco burner, ‘Keep On’. From the intro of delicious 120bpm beats with added ‘Bongonaise’, the cleanest of guitar riffs leads to a hot disco bass with stabs of Rhodes keys lovingly applied. Just when you think you have it all worked out, the acid rug pull is a masterstroke. ‘Keep On’ has a classic (but often elusive) disco vibe with a wickedly acidic twist. ‘Strange’ will rule the summer, guaranteed. Any questions?

For A2, the considerable production chops of Ezirk are on full display with ‘Erotik’ - an 80s funk inspired taxi ride through rush hour traffic to the best cocktail bar on the planet. It’s infectious, demanding fist bumps and virtual high fives. It’s a melody that sets all the possibilities of a great night out through wielding the ultimate synth power. And that breezy sax? Heaven. Put the needle down and let it take you!

On the B Side, we start with label co-owner and master of the groove, De Gama and his carefully crafted ‘Higher’. The tempo is dropped right down here, with De Gama showing his darker and funkier side. Like a joint Gil Scott Heron and Robert Plant fever dream, ‘Higher’ is an intricate lecture in immaculate beats, unimaginable concepts and chord progressions. Serious grooves. Very serious.

Rounding things off on the B Side and closing the EP is ‘R.O.C.K.’ by Hungary’s The Magic Track. These boys know how to deliver a chugger from the MT workshop. You expect them to lure you in, and ‘R.O.C.K.’ does just that. One minute you’re in church, the next in a heaving club with retro beats, thumping bass and driving piano filling the air. The Magic Track are selling magic dreams and you’re buying. The whole bag.

The Slam Dunk EP 3 slam dunks with such force it shatters the backboard. Get it in your record boxes for the summer, and let it stay there!

Ehrlicher, epischer Doom der Marke Candlemass, Solitude Aeturnus und Trouble aus Deutschland steht als kommender Release der italienischen Metal-Schmiede Cruz Del Sur an.
Echte Drums und echte Gitarren; keine "Plug-Ins" oder "Schummeleien", die Band wollte den Geist der Auftritte einfangen, ohne sich auf Technik zu verlassen. Aufgrund der weltweiten Pandemie wurde das Album in verschiedenen Sessions von Herbst 2019 bis Sommer 2020 aufgenommen und landete schließlich in den Händen von Dennis Koehne für Mixing und Mastering. Koehne hatte mit WHEEL bereits an ihrer Coverversion von Roky Erickson's 'Night Of The Vampire' gearbeitet, die auf ihrem selbstbetitelten Debütalbum von 2010 zu finden war. Die neuen Songs konzentrieren sich mehr auf eine gute Struktur und eingängige Refrains. Der Sound ist viel härter und druckvoller als noch beim Vorgänger 'Icarus'.
'Preserved In Time' erscheint wahlweise als CD im Jewelcase oder LP (Black Vinyl).