Bristol’s Remotif makes his highly-awaited debut on space•lab with his wormhole of a new EP, ‘Substation Fever’. Kicking things off on the A side, the title track enters the scene with spacious, organic drums, building in energy as we tunnel through its course; travelling from the cool, oxygenated air of a forest-scape into dazzling, far-reaching intergalactic realms.
Next up, ‘Substation Fever’ gets a dreamy reimagining courtesy of Leeds legend and space•lab regular, Adam Pits. Channelling the energy of Remotif’s original into a hazy, blissed-out cloudscape, this track was made for accompanying early morning sunrises where orange-hued dashes of light reflect off the surface of gently rippling water.
On the flip side, ‘Hi Tek Lo Life’, crackles with the fluctuating electrical impulses of a TV without signal or a radio between channels. Flecked with corroded vocal samples and billowing synthlines, this is a track that explores the inbetween - the moment when connection is almost lost, but not quite. There is a beauty in the roughened-edges of these partially obscured details.
The final track of the EP, ‘The Signal Prevails’ is perhaps an answer to its precursor. Opening out onto trip-hop-esque terrain, this track follows the path set out by a blurred-out, echoing vocal as it deftly works its way through narrow, winding pathways of powerful 90s-style breaks.
A much-loved DJ regularly making an appearance on space•lab’s lineups, we are delighted to now showcase Remotif’s skill in the studio with this mind-opening new EP.
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Timo Kaukolampi, frontman for Finnish electronic rock group K-X-P and tireless sonic wanderer, is releasing his second solo album, this time on Optimo Music. Exquisitely rendered, shadowy, curiously claustrophobic and even occasionally paranoid, Inside The Sphere is an album wholly deserving of its name.
A sense of paranoia is one of the threads through this glittering, winking electronic maze. Kaukolampi says “I came up with this metaphysical concept of the “sphere”. When you are manipulated you are ‘Inside The Sphere’. It’s like this dome of ‘undue influence’ that you don’t know exists around you. It’s a bit like the inside of a cult.”
Indeed, it’s amazing the effects achieved with a few sparse electronic textures, the odd smattering of studio trickery, and two or three well-placed synthesizer parts. Though the result might sound ostensibly simplistic, Inside The Sphere is an album of reduction rather than addition. The rhythmic and textural scaffolding is based around what’s not there, rather than what is. Take ‘VCS3’. At first listen, it seems forged from a few synth lines and a simple percussion part – so far, so simple. But listen closer, enter the sphere, look behind the mask – notice the slightly detuned drones, the chattering percussive textures, that distant swell of bass, the way the central fugue shifts and mutates somehow statically, like a barber’s pole.
Might we be listening to an album within an album, a more complex song cycle hiding within the folds of an ambient electronic album? This ties in with another of Kaukolampi’s thematic frameworks – that of the mask. He references Oscar Wilde’s quotation that “Man is least himself when he talks in his own person. Give him a mask, and he will tell you the truth.”
Inside The Sphere is not a one-note album. For every moment where a clammy ambient space enters, a buttery analogue bassline is there to fill it. This clash seems to be the album’s engine room, its power supply.
Timo references devotional and choir music as an influence on this album. The paranoia and foreboding is tempered by these headier aspects. Kaukolampi mentions “empty and hollow spaces” in relation to several of the songs. Perhaps this is the very space behind the mask, where outward disguise merges with inner reality. Perhaps inside the sphere is not always such a bad place to be.
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Avishag Cohen Rodrigues is an artist and musician based in New York. She broke out to the Tel-Aviv underground scene at age 18 with the guitar drum duo Laila. Since then she has been playing electric guitar with Ryskinder, Sloppy Jane, Cumgirl8. She has a forthcoming solo project where she plays too many of the instruments. She is currently an MFA candidate at Columbia University in the Sound Art Department.
In 2019 she released her first EP “One Winter One Hunter” with Baby Satan Records (Berlin). She has opened for major acts such as Dirty Beaches, Better Oblivion Community Center, Mac DeMarco, Psychic Ills, Deerhoof, Cloud Nothing, Night Beats, Wire, The Shivers.
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High Roller Records, reissue 2023, blue jay/ white splatter vinyl, ltd 250, 425gsm heavy cardboard cover with 5mm spine, poster, insert, mastered and partially restored by Patrick W. Engel at Temple of Disharmony
High Roller Records, reissue 2023, black vinyl, ltd 250, 425gsm heavy cardboard cover with 5mm spine, poster, insert, mastered and partially restored by Patrick W. Engel at Temple of Disharmony
High Roller Records, reissue 2023, olive green/ aqua blue mixed with red splatter vinyl, ltd 300, lyric insert, poster, mastered for vinyl by Patrick W. Engel at Temple of Disharmony
"Come, Sweet Death" wechselt zwischen Brutalität und sich windenden Single-String-Melodien, die einen in die goldenen Zeiten des schwedischen Death Metal zurückversetzen!
Man sagt, dass je mehr sich die Dinge ändern, desto mehr bleiben sie gleich. Wenn es eine Sache gibt, die stabil geblieben ist, obwohl wir im Jahr 2023 leben, dann ist es, dass wir schwedischen Death Metal lieben. Dieser Stil hat sich in den letzten 35 Jahren zu einem unsererFavoriten entwickelt.
Irgendetwas am Gitarrensound macht einfach Lust, jede Veröffentlichung zu verschlingen, die als "inspiriert von frühen Entombed und Dismember" beschrieben werden kann. Das Gute daran ist, dass es eine unglaubliche Fülle von Bands gibt, die aus dieser Quelle schöpfen. Das Schlechte ist, dass dieser Reichtum dazu führt, dass viele Bands nicht mehr zu unterscheiden sind, weil sie sich so sehr ähneln.
Glücklicherweise gelingt es lmperishable mit "Come, Sweet Death", aus der Masse herauszustechen, was nicht zuletzt daran liegt, dass sie sich von den üblichen Merkmalen des Genres lösen. Und in gewisser Weise ist das keine Überraschung, denn die Bandmitglieder waren oder sind an Vampire, Portrait, Nominon und Dr. Living Dead beteiligt! Wie Sie vielleicht schon gemerkt haben, hat die Band vieleEinflüsse aus der Stockholmer Szene, insbesondere von Dismember, was nicht zu leugnen ist
Lande Hekt continues her poignant musical introspection with two singles ‘Pottery Class’ and ‘Axis’. Bittersweet ‘Pottery Class’ captures the feeling of yearning for someone and longing for a space to share with that person. In the song, Lande reflects: “we could move to the city, go to shows and join a pottery class / But you’d always be overwhelmed by everything that moves too fast / I don’t care where we live, I just want you back.”
Second single, ‘Axis’, conveys wistful and fleeting thoughts of loneliness and the desire for freedom, transforming elusive feelings into concrete experiences: “Late nights keep me down but it’s different from how it used to be / Birds fly past the window and Lola wishes she was free.” After spinning in a hazy stream-of-consciousness amongst hypnotic guitar-driven instrumentals, Lande resigns “It’s always the bad days that keep me from pushing forward.”
Beatservice are delighted to present the debut album from the irrepressible Norwegian outfit, b0ka, with 13 genre-surfing tracks lovingly presented on the gloriously pop-centric 'Forever, My Friend'.
Friends since as far back as kindergarten, the b0ka players released a selection of highly regarded singles between 2013 and 2016, with their music arriving via prestige imprints including Eskimo, Paper Recordings, Diamond Club, and their own b0ka Recordings. They've since pursued a diverse range of projects, including Lakehouse, OJKOS, Bjørnar Sira and Den Kosmiske Overorden, with their expansive sounds routinely winning admirers throughout the global music community. The pandemic-induced lockdowns allowed the band an opportunity to re-visit long lost b0ka projects: reviewing dusty hard discs before funnelling the best morsels into the Sagrada Jukebox mixtape earlier this year. It was during this journey of sonic rediscovery that the masterfully diverse 'Forever, My Friend' was ushered into existence.
Drawing on all-manner of far-flung influences and brilliantly assembling the components with a pop-ready sophistication, this is spectacular work from b0ka, marking their return to release action in breathtaking style.
Das Album ist dem Geschmack, der Ästhetik und der „Ethik“ gewidmet. Und so kam es: Im Laufe eines Jahres wurden die Geräusche von Restaurants und Weingütern aufgenommen, ebenso wie die Stimmen derer, die in diesen Lokalen arbeiten. Wir hören u.a.
das Klirren von Gläsern, die Geräusche von Braten in Öl, Weingießen, sowie die erzählenden Stimmen von Köchen und Winzern auf Italienisch, Spanisch, Französisch, Englisch und Japanisch. Die Songs auf dem Album erzählen Geschichten von Rezepten, kulinarischen Vorlieben und Geselligkeit.
The debut album from London's finest, Hak Baker - 'Worlds End FM' represents the war in Hak's mind, the culture war on the streets of London and the individual battles of his community - from his mother to his brother to his best friends. In a year that will see Hak perform alongside Pete Doherty at The Royal Albert Hall, Jamie T at Finsbury Park & his own headline UK & Germany tours, the campaign has already garnered support from Rolling Stone, NME, Clara Amfo, Steve Lamacq, Jamz Supernova & partnerships with Dr Martens, Fred Perry, Fender, FIFA & Hugo Boss to name a few. Previous highlights include performing on Later with Jools, Glastonbury 2022 (Other Stage), the first artist ever to play at the BBC's new Eastbank site, selling out two Village Underground shows & been championed by the likes of Clara Amfo, Jack Saunders, Sian Eleri, Tom Ravenscroft, Jo Whiley, Huw Stephens & Charlie Sloth.
Blackened thrash veterans LEGION OF THE DAMNED slay on new studio album The Poison Chalice The LEGION slays again! Dutch thrash veterans LEGION OF THE DAMNED have once again entered into an alliance with the devouring depths of black and death metal and unleash another angry beast, The Poison Chalice, on May 26, 2023 via Napalm Records. The shredding monster delivers the most delicious pitch-black brew and tortures dark souls into demonic underworlds. Founded in 1990 as Occult, the thrash machine around founding members Maurice Swinkels and Erik Fleuren was reborn as LEGION OF THE DAMNED in 2005. On The Poison Chalice, the band unites with Fabian Verweij as second guitarist besides Twan van Geel and hails together with bassist Harold Gielen performing as a five piece for the first time ever on a studio album. Conquering the European charts for decades, the LEGION crowned itself at #17 in the Official German Album Charts with predecessor Slaves Of The Shadow Realms (2019). For almost 35 years, they have formed their aggressive signature sound from the most horrific ingredients of thrash and death metal, combined with brutal blackened influences, resulting in one of the most defined and unique sounds in the scene. The Poison Chalice comes to life by spreading its eerily beautiful wings within the first few seconds, then dives headfirst into a hellishly furious storm before the second song ""Contamination"" absolutely kills. In classic LEGION OF THE DAMNED manner, there is no escape as the track relentlessly drives into the abyss. The album spreads brutal and ice cold thrash soundscapes through relentless attacking drums and incredible guitar harmonies from both lead guitarists, underlined by angry bass lines. Infectious thrash treasures such as “Progressive Destructor”, and the almost seven-minute berserk “Behold The Beyond” break necks with hammering guitar riffs and bloody double bass infernos. “Beheading of The Godhead” delivers what the song title promises, before the past 48 minutes of hate closes with a final deep gulp from “The Poison Chalice” - leaving no one behind. Together with producer Erwin Hermsen, the band has closed the gates of the underworld in Toneshed Studio and demonstrates that they remain the unchallenged masters of brute and unrelenting death-thrash metal in 2023
“Come, Sweet Death” alternates between brutality and winding single string melodies that brings you back to the golden age of Swedish Death Metal! They say that the more things change the more they stay the same. If there’s one thing that has remained stable despite living in 2023 is that we love Swedish Death Metal. The style has become a favorite of ours over the past 35 years. Something about the guitar tone just makes you want to devour any release that can be described as “Inspired by early Entombed and Dismember”. The good thing is that there’s an incredible wealth of bands that draw from that well. The bad thing is that said wealth leads to a lot of bands becoming indistinguishable due to how same they are. Thankfully, Imperishable’s “Come, Sweet Death” manages to stand out from the pack, in no small part due to breaking away from the genre’s usual trappings. And in a way this is no surprise since the band members were or are involved in Vampire, Portrait, Nominon and Dr. Living Dead! As you might have already gathered, the band draws a lot from the Stockholm scene, more specifically Dismember, that is undeniable. What’s really interesting though is that they draw from their later, and more melodic influenced era as much as from the early days. Imperishable, like their peers effortlessly blends the aggressive buzzsaw riffing with leads brimming with melody, which most modern bands in the style avoid in favor of pure aggression. Said blend can be seen throughout their debut album, though it can be felt more on the longer tracks, like “Teeth of the Hydra” and “Fangs”, where the band has more room to develop their ideas and mix grinding Death Metal with NWOBHM-inspired leads and riffs. In short: Imperishable has great songs, great melodies, well-arranged structures and still is brutal, just like the great old bands were. And the production is spot on for this release. It is good to hear a band experiment beyond the confines of the original old school Swedish Death Metal sound. “Come, Sweet Death” is an extremely promising release, and a small breath of fresh air in an otherwise stale scene. Imperishable’s love for the more melodic aspects of the style make them worth keeping an eye on now and in future.
Donovan Woods was curious: What if he re-recorded Both Ways, his acclaimed 2018 record that won him a Juno Award for contemporary roots album, and distilled its 12 songs to their bare essence? An “acoustic reimagining,” if you will. “We started from scratch,” he says, from the instrumentation to his vocals to a fresh understanding of the heartache and regret that underpinned those songs. “There are no recording elements carried over from that album. It’s all brand-new.” Woods ended up with The Other Way, his album that brims with inspired interpretations of Both Ways that are intimate yet startling in their urgency. Released on May 3, 2019 on Meant Well, this release is a reminder of why the Canadian artist has become such a sought-after songwriter whose work has been recorded by Tim McGraw (“Portland, Maine”) and Lady Antebellum’s Charles Kelley (“Leaving Nashville”), with Spotify streams approaching nearly 90 million. You’ve always been able to hear and connect with Woods’ words. But an odd sensation washes over you when the varnish is wiped off of Woods’ songs. Somehow the lyrics burrow with even greater resonance and then linger like little smoke rings. For a producer, Woods enlisted ace guitarist Todd Lombardo, who produced Woods’ song “Portland, Maine” in 2015 and wrote and played most of the guitar parts on Kacey Musgraves’ Grammy-winning Golden Hour. Woods gave Lombardo artistic license not only to change the chords and song structures but to overhaul the arrangements with acoustic instruments and Lombardo’s luminous guitar work as the centerpiece. “I think this album draws out the pain and the darkness of these songs,” Lombardo says. “The record is about loss and failure and feeling like you fucked it up, and there’s no mistaking that. You hear every single word – and feel it, too.” Coming on the heels of “Go to Her,” Woods’ first song of 2019, The Other Way is so revelatory that it makes you wonder why he didn’t try this approach sooner. “It’s always been an interesting idea to me, especially when you’re an artist like me who inherently disappoints some people anytime your sound gets bigger,” Woods says. “But a really good song is a good song in any arrangement. It’s like a beautiful hardwood floor. You can put any furniture in there, and it’s going to look good.”
Rob Grant präsentiert sein atemberaubendes Debütalbum ”Lost At Sea”.
Grant hatte nie den Plan, Musiker zu werden. Er hat keinerlei musikalische Ausbildung genossen. Noten lesen kann er nicht. Aber wenn er sich an ein Klavier setzt, geschieht etwas Magisches. Die Noten strömen aus ihm heraus und es entsteht eine Komposition nach der anderen.
Als Vater der internationalen Ikone Lana Del Rey hat er eine ganze Reihe von Talenten eingeladen, an der Entstehung des Albums mitzuwirken.
Seine Tochter Lana Del Rey ist als Autorin und Produzentin tätig, während Jack Antonoff, Luke Howard, Laura Sisk und Zach Dawes an der Produktion beteiligt sind.
Sein Album inklusive der Tracks ”Hollywood Bowl” und ”Lost At Sea”, mit Vocals seiner Tochter Lana Del Rey, erscheint am 09. Juni und ist vorbestellbar auf CD und Vinyl.
Fredfades is finally ready with his second album as a solo artist. The producer and DJ and has remained active as a musician ever since his debut single in 2008. Since he released his debut solo album 'Warmth' six years ago he's ben diving into a bunch of different genres and cross-ing musical landscapes such as ambient, hip-hop and house, which has led to releases and productions across labels like his own Mutual Inten-tions imprint, as well as bigger labels like Stones Throw, Fresh Selects and Jakarta Records. This sonic voyage has resulted in ‘Caviar’ - an album that tells the story of a producer who's ready to let go of his youthful love and indulge himself to electronic music.
Fredfades name is more often seen on foreign club posters than back home in Norway. This has colored the musical expression of the Oslo-born multi-artist, and on ‘Caviar’ he is gathering inspiration from every corner of the world where he has traveled. You can clearly hear the inspi-rations from the sounds of Rome, Manchester, South-Africa, Detroit, New York, Berlin, Paris and the Balearic ocean, which are all well repre-sented throughout the album's eight tracks. If you close your eyes and put your ears close to the speakers you will hear loons, running water, African percussion instruments, roaring saxophones, bit-crushed samples, moaning women, TB 303’s, bottom-heavy basslines and recordings of whales communicating at the bottom of the ocean. Everything seamlessly put together for Fredfades’ own sonic world view. The album features a bunch of talented friends of Fred, such as Telephones or the vocalists MoRuf and Kristian Hamilton.
Despite being known as more of a progressive and edgy DJ that haunts down a lot of indie and private press electronic music, Fredfades has cultivated a more elegant and controversial output in his own music. His progressions often consist of dwelling jazz chords from electric pianos or mellow sub-filtered synth patches that creates space where he can unleash rowdy basslines, rhythm sections and leads just as confident and captivating as the man himself. On the jazzy ‘Tenerife 1994’ you can hear a tribute to one of Fred’s greatest heroes in music: Pharoah Sanders, while on ‘My Heart Is On The Edge’ and ‘Summer of Love’ the energy and euphoria is boiling over and directs your mind towards the summer raves which Fredfades is known to throw down in Oslo.
On the LP covers backside Fredfades is posing with a Korg Wavestation in front of the block where he grew up in the suburbs outside Oslo, while the front cover is showing an airbrushed illustration of Caviar from sturgeon - ‘From block to Beluga’. The black vinyl contains magic grooves created by an electronic musical convertite, with the power to transport the listener from a perpetual winter to the 90s warm dance floors and the 'Second Summer of Love’.
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Info: Filled with equal parts nostalgia and curiosity, sitar leads the way through lo-fi hip-hop beats, synths that blur between ambient and chillwave, and cameos from instruments such as shakuhachi and cellotar. Deeply personal and inspired by Khosla's grandparents’ slideshows of their travels in North India, and littered with frequent snippets of family reminiscences and field recordings; Vignettes is an accomplished debut for Khosla, with an impressive vision and maturity that belies their 22 years. (Jim Hickson, Songlines Magazine)
Welcome reissue/remaster of British Nirvana's surprise 1996 album, which revived songs written back in the Sixties but never released.
Taking its title from one of those songs, Orange And Blue has all the idiosyncrasies you'd expect from the minds of Patrick Lyons-Campbell and Alex Spyropoulos but done with a nineteen-nineties spin.
And its story of how it all came to be, as with all things Nirvana ? is not so straightforward and detailed inside the liner notes.
Introducing a new scintillating, transatlantic collaboration from Names You Can Trust and Loboko, a new group created in the fertile ground of modern New York City's melting pot. The band's debut recording features the young Congolese vocalist and guitar virtuoso, Yohni Djungu Sungu, alongside Soukouss-Stars legend and master bassist in his own right, Ngouma Lokito. The group is rounded out by drummer and co-founder Morgan Greenstreet (himself a contributor to NYCT and Combo Lulo's debut recording, amongst others). He, along with Yohni, helped spawn the group's few but raucous NYC live appearances with various members throughout a couple year period before 2020.
Built upon those influential jam sessions, Loboko took two original compositions to the studio in an effort to document some of the traditional Congolese music they have been cooking up. Rooted in a now ubiquitous guitar-driven sound of African soukous that have permeated the greater Caribbean music landscape for up to six decades, Loboko's take on the ethnic Baluba rhythm, mutuashi, adorns the single's A-side as "Kanyunyi." The B-side stand-out "Ekenge" draws from the Seben style. It's a familiar sound to those sound system aficionadas, an intoxicating guitar combination that has reverberated from the heart of the Congo, through a wave in France's popular African music industry, and into the discerning selections of Colombia's Pico culture. Loboko's original take on these rhythms is quite unique in 2023, eschewing any modern production crutches for the raw pedigree of an electrified trio, and ultimately represents a clear window into the group's authentic live performances.
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Wah Wah 45s hail the much anticipated return of one of their most beloved artists. Way back in 2006, the label first unleashed the anthemic "Modern Sleepover" by two man, smooth music loving outfit Talc. The song - an ode to a tortured love affair between a computer and its owner - with its shades of Zapp, Steely Dan and The Doobie Brothers - found favour with Djs and tastemakers from across the board from Bill Brewster to Gilles Peterson. Such was the cult status of the tune, that it spawned a sequel, naturally entitled "Modern Sleepover Pt.2: Robot's Return" which has recently had something of a renaissance thanks to an inclusion by legendary Detroit DJ and producer Moodymann on his "DJ Kicks" compilation.
Sixteen years and two albums later, and having seemingly put the project to bed for good, Talc (much like the robot) return for one final and very special release. This brand new 12", as well as featuring the sought after "Modern Sleepover" pairing together on vinyl for the first time, also includes the rarely heard Michel Legrand cover "De Gui Ding", previously only available in Japan (where Talc enjoyed a huge underground fanbase) as well as two stunning remixes from our old friend, The Reflex.
The Frenchman was the obvious choice to rework Legrand's 1964 camp jazz classic, and on his first mix delivers an uplifting disco friendly, vocal led take that should raise a few smiles on the dancefloor. His second mix is more of a late night affair with more of a deep, dubbier, house feel. Something for everyone then on this essential release, complete with gorgeous artwork from our award winning in-house designer Animisiewasz.
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Moments! Not just a music company but also a series of events under thesame name, releasing only outstanding works by musicians performing atthose events. When the award-winning producer, and an internationallyacclaimed DJ, Guy Mantzur, started a new enterprise, Moments, he had highgoals for a new endeavor. Since then, every label's release has pushed theenvelope.
According to numerology, eleven is the first of the Master numbers, and theeleventh release is nothing short of pure mastery. Tel-Aviv-based ChicoShuella, better known as Chicola, is one of the jewels in the crown of theIsraeli DJ scene. With a couple of decades under his belt and a stellarreputation, his debut brings a special touch to the label's exciting catalog.
Chico's debut on the label brings a three-track concept that takes theaudience on a twenty-minute journey. The opener, Dear Kobe, a collaborationwith Yoav, is a masterful work based on abstract emotions and spacy synthwork. The second track, Every Pain Got A Name, speeds up the tempo andreaches for the psychedelic atmosphere breaking the rules of the genre. Theclosing song is an ambient version of the middle piece, focusing on narrativelyrics and grandiosity.
Moments! Every second counts.
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Redshape's visits to Running Back are a welcome recurrence and a soothing reminder that techno and house can still come in several shapes and sizes. Related and referring to earlier acid studies on Release Me and to a certain extend on Rise, the masked man continues to find new approaches to the 303 canon with Acid Leak.
True to form, the seasoned producer choses groove over governance, lets batteries leak and strikes a chord or two with old lovers and new votaries of the classic club techno titans of the nineties - strings included.
Wing Wing is an exemplary excursion into the special and unmatched Redshape zone that rejoins rock and dental drillers, while Acid Flow counterpoints the titles track's opulence with a dub version - both hit like a streak. The curveball and icing on the cake is Frantic. Hi-tech-jazz in technique and -soul in attitude, it feels like a late contender to the quintessential Deepest Shade of Techno compilations. Four to the floor!
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Often dubbed reggae's answer to the Buena Vista Social Club, the notorious Jamaican collective prove that they are still on top of their game with a new album, which journalist David Katz already declaring it was "their best one yet".
In addition to the usual cast of Inna de Yard legends, this new album features the pristine vocals of '70s icon Johnny Osbourne and '60s memorable duo Keith & Tex. Thirteen songs of pure emotions, exceptional musicality and authenticity gathered on a riveting album which promises to be a firm favourite amongst reggae lovers and general music fans alike.
Often dubbed reggae's answer to the Buena Vista Social Club, the notorious Jamaican collective prove that they are still on top of their game with a new album, which journalist David Katz already declaring it was "their best one yet".
In addition to the usual cast of Inna de Yard legends, this new album features the pristine vocals of '70s icon Johnny Osbourne and '60s memorable duo Keith & Tex. Thirteen songs of pure emotions, exceptional musicality and authenticity gathered on a riveting album which promises to be a firm favourite amongst reggae lovers and general music fans alike.
While the hook line for this new local trio would have to be that bassist/leader Brenda Sauter used to be a member of the later-'80s incarnation of the famous Feelies (and it's notable offshoot, The Trypes), even if you didn't worship at the altar of that group (and especially if you did!), Wild Carnation is a revelation. While
the persistent, pumping beat and hard-played jangle guitars of most of the tracks here emanate from her previous band and from their forerunners, the Velvets (especially), Television,and the Byrds - Sauter's beguiling voice is perfect for the ultra-appealing pop hooks the group writes as well as the thoughtful lyrics she composes.
Way back in the 1990s, a young Delmore stumbled into now defunct NYC nightclub Wetlands (during the sadly also now defunct, NYU Independent Music Festival), just as WILD CARNATION were about to begin their set.
Having lived in NYC / Brooklyn / Hoboken the previous decade, where countless mesmerizing gigs by THE FEELIES, YUNG WU, TRYPES, and SPEED THE PLOUGH had been experienced, it was the chance to see Brenda Sauter fronting her new group that drew Delmore in. A few songs into their set, it was apparent, however, that this trio was more than a Feelies offshoot project, despite melodic similarities, and Brenda's cool vocals / presence.
WILD CARNATION played raw, loud and fast (and occasionally out of control), with Richard Barnes distorted, jangly guitar lines perfectly colliding with Brenda's propelling bass notes, while Chris O'Donovan
kept it together, while pounding the living hell out of his drums. It was a garagey, indie rock mess, more reminiscent of Hib-Tone / Chronic Town era REM, and emergent New Zealand bands like The Bats and The Clean, than The Feelies.
Delmore was smitten, and determined to sign them, despite the fact that the Delmore label did not yet exist.
In 1993, Wild Carnation's debut 7", "Dodger Blue" b/w "The Lights Are On (But No One's Home)", taken from raw home demos recorded the previous year, became the second Delmore release. A full length album was then commissioned, and an evolving Wild Carnation holed up at Mix-O-Lydian recording studios with engineer Don Sternecker (The Feelies, Speed The Plough, Wake Ooloo) to record their debut full length, Tricycle, released in 1994.
On Tricycle, the pastoral quality of their most beautiful ballads was captured perfectly, while retaining enough of the rawness of the live experience. Waves of critical acclaim followed, from now defunct publications (CMJ Jackpot! Raygun, Trouser Press) followed, including this one by Jack Rabid of The Big Takeover, written for All Music Guide:
"While the hook line for this new local trio would have to be that bassist/leader Brenda Sauter used to be a member of the later-'80s incarnation of the famous Feelies (and it's notable offshoot, The Trypes), even if you didn't worship at the altar of that group (and especially if you did!), Wild Carnation is a revelation. While the persistent, pumping beat and hard-played jangle guitars of most of the tracks here emanate from her previous band and from their forerunners, the Velvets (especially), Television,and the Byrds - Sauter's beguiling voice is perfect for the ultra-appealing pop hooks the group writes as well as the thoughtful lyrics she composes.
Trading the occasional Feelies drone for sugar-sweet melodies (yes!) and utilizing the pretty ring of the guitars to maximum effect, songs such as Wings are the perfect pop confectionery, too honeyed and
delightful to miss capturing your bending heart and too consistently insistent and edgy to be wimpy, kind of like Reckoning-era R.E.M. It's all so well captured with pristine production, with balls to match the heart, too!
And though the 12 tracks are largely cut from a similar mode, all seem special just the same on their own.
A truly shining, first-rate effort, along with Lotion's and Nyack's early EPs and the last Flower LP, the best release to come out of a New York group this decade, and exceptionally crafted at that! Do not miss."
Das berühmt-berüchtigte jamaikanische Kollektiv, das oft als die
Antwort des Reggae auf den Buena Vista Social Club bezeichnet
wird, beweist mit seinem neuen Album, das der Journalist David
Katz bereits als "ihr bisher bestes" bezeichnet hat, dass es
immer noch auf der Höhe der Zeit ist. Neben der üblichen
Besetzung von Inna de Yard-Legenden sind auf dem neuen
Album auch die unverfälschten Vocals der 70er-Jahre-Ikone
Johnny Osbourne und des unvergesslichen 60er-Jahre-Duos
Keith & Tex zu hören. Dreizehn Songs voller purer Emotionen,
außergewöhnlicher Musikalität und Authentizität sind auf einem
fesselnden Album versammelt, das sowohl bei ReggaeLiebhabern als auch bei Musikfans im Allgemeinen zu einem
festen Favoriten zu werden verspricht.
Das berühmt-berüchtigte jamaikanische Kollektiv, das oft als die
Antwort des Reggae auf den Buena Vista Social Club bezeichnet
wird, beweist mit seinem neuen Album, das der Journalist David
Katz bereits als "ihr bisher bestes" bezeichnet hat, dass es
immer noch auf der Höhe der Zeit ist. Neben der üblichen
Besetzung von Inna de Yard-Legenden sind auf dem neuen
Album auch die unverfälschten Vocals der 70er-Jahre-Ikone
Johnny Osbourne und des unvergesslichen 60er-Jahre-Duos
Keith & Tex zu hören. Dreizehn Songs voller purer Emotionen,
außergewöhnlicher Musikalität und Authentizität sind auf einem
fesselnden Album versammelt, das sowohl bei ReggaeLiebhabern als auch bei Musikfans im Allgemeinen zu einem
festen Favoriten zu werden verspricht.
The Joshua Jaswon Octet is a Berlin-based contemporary jazz ensemble, featuring a broad cross-section of exceptional young musicians from Europe's leading jazz scenes. Lead by the London-born saxophonist and composer, the ensemble released its debut album Silent Sea in October 2020, which was selected by BBC Music as one of the best jazz recordings of 2020/21 and received 4 and 5 star reviews across the UK and international media. Polar Waters draws out the distinct musical personalities of each member of the Octet into the group's collective sound was a part of the ensemble's natural evolution from its first record and something that has developed through extended time living with and performing the music. Jaswon focused on exploring the fluidity of roles, sound colours and textural combinations in the ensemble and how this related to both the collective and individual.
Morgan Wallen veröffentlicht sein mit Spannung erwartetes zweites Album „Dangerous“. Der Künstler schrieb die Songs zum größten Teil selbst und wurde in dieser Zeit zum ”am schnellsten aufsteigenden jungen Star des Landes” (Variety). Morgan sagt über sein Album „Ich wollte auch, dass die Lieder mehrere Lebensphasen ansprechen und mehrere verschiedene Klänge haben, je nach meinen Einflüssen und je nachdem, was mir Spaß macht.“ Das Doppelalbum spiegelt somit den unverkennbaren Sound, den Wallen und Produzent Joey Moi auf seinem Platinum Debüt-Album „If I Know Me“ geschaffen haben, wider. Als Vorgeschmack auf „Dangerous“ sind bereits 8 Songs erschienen, darunter die Single „Somebody‘s Problem“ sowie die beiden aktuellen Country-Radio-Singles von Wallen - Top 3 ”More Than My Hometown” und Top 30 ”7 Summers”. Außerdem ist die Country-Album-Version der 3X Platinum Diplo-Kollaboration ”Heartless” enthalten. Künstler wie Ashley Gorley, Shane McAnally, Eric Church und Jason Isbell wirkten bei „Dangerous“ mit. Außerdem sind selbstverständlich Morgan’s engste musikalische Vertraute Hardy, Ernest und Ryan Vojtesak dabei. Wallen ist der Künstler des Country Genres mit den meisten Streams auf allen Plattformen, welche sich auf weit über 3 Billionen belaufen. Außerdem wurde er im November 2020 mit dem CMA Award als „New Artist of the Year“ ausgezeichnet.
Closing Time foreshadows the distinctly lyrical storytelling and original blending of jazz, blues, and folk styles that
would come to be associated with Waits. It is on this debut album that Waits performs enduring classics of his career
“Ol’ 55” (famously covered by the Eagles), the heartbreaking “Martha” and the gentle acoustic folk of “I Hope That I
Don’t Fall In Love With You”. Reissued for the first time as a double LP to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the
landmark debut with newly half speed mastering at Abbey Road Studios
Closing Time foreshadows the distinctly lyrical storytelling and original blending of jazz, blues, and folk styles that
would come to be associated with Waits. It is on this debut album that Waits performs enduring classics of his career
“Ol’ 55” (famously covered by the Eagles), the heartbreaking “Martha” and the gentle acoustic folk of “I Hope That I
Don’t Fall In Love With You”. Reissued for the first time as a double LP to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the
landmark debut with newly half speed mastering at Abbey Road Studios
Like the winged half-man/half-bull that dominates its outrageous cover, Cleveland Eaton's Half And Half is a mutant bass-heavy monster that absolutely slays. Incredible jazz-funk from 1973, it's been largely overlooked for decades, and unfairly so. This is just sensational music - a crate digger's delight. It's super funky throughout, with lots of layers, jazz breaks for days, dripping with style and gritty class. This is the first reissue of what has been a hard to find record for many years; it's long overdue. Joyous music for mind, soul and body.
Cleveland Eaton was a revered bassist who played an active role in the backing of Count Basie, the Donald Byrd Quintet, The Ramsey Lewis Trio, Terry Callier and Minnie Riperton; amongst many, many others. Half And Half was the first album released under his own name, initially released as a private press record on his - awkwardly named - Cle An Thair Records. It was then picked up by Gamble & Huff for Gamble Records. Varied, string-adorned and with stupid funky grooves, it's just exceptionally good.
Whilst Half And Half is treasured for its famously brilliant interpretations of gold funk-soul standards, Eaton proves an imaginative composer in his own right. Indeed, the album opens with a striking original; the earthy, laconic jazz-guitar-funk fusion of "Keep It Funky". Cleveland and co. do exactly that. Up next is a properly moving cover of Aretha Franklin's eternal "Day Dreaming". The flute and guitar combo truly achieve celestial greatness here. "Here Comes Funky Lou" rides a bassline from the Gods and a driving soul-jazz groove allows the track to go off in all sorts of directions. Serene guitar soul of the breezy variety one moment, crazy hectic violin-driven wig outs the next, courtesy of Ed Green who played with Dorothy Ashby and Alice Coltrane.
His blistering two track salvo of Stylistics covers to close out this A-Side of A-Sides will leave your jaw dropped, and they're likely the reason you're here for this. And why not? "Betcha By Golly Wow", which uses a bed of acidy synths and harmonica to create a unique atmosphere, is on some next level business. Melancholic, wistful, beautiful. "People Make the World Go Round" is so good, dripping in wonderful horns and ace percussive breaks, it could even be regarded as the definitive version. Seriously!
Opening Side B, War's gigantic "Slipping Into Darkness" is tightly tailored to Eaton's funky flute fusion arrangement whilst the insistent "Missing You" is a swaggering horn-heavy version of Luther Ingram's track from the Dilla/Ghostface-linked LP, I've Been Here All The Time. The creeping, screeching guitar-drenched original "John's Groove" features more fantastic horn lines and neck-snapping percussion whilst "The Love Gangster", written by Bill Wyman and Stephen Stills for his seminal Manassas LP, contains a heavy break with slick drums high in the mix and fuzzy guitars.
The album closes with two more Eaton originals. Written with Johnny Guitar Watson, "Lie" is one hell of a funky string and guitar-driven gem whilst the wild, celebratory "Ah Movin' On" cleverly quotes "Wade In The Water" (which he'd recorded with Ramsey Lewis in 1966) folding it into his new free-jazz composition. A message to his old boss, perhaps, as a sign-off?
We've worked on this reissue for 3.5 years, spending the whole time making it sound super sharp and looking as perfect as it possibly can. An absolute must-have for fans of soulful jazz-funk, Half And Half was mastered for vinyl by Simon Francis and cut by Pete Norman at Final Tweak. The bizarre artwork, mutant beast and all, was restored at Be With HQ over many painstaking months! Hopefully, this new edition, a real labour of love, should bring Cleveland Eaton into the homes and record boxes of many more people.
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Last delivered 3 years ago available to reorder, subject to availability
A stone’s throw from the church where Desmond Tutu organised the escape of the most wanted antiApartheid activists of Soweto, BCUC rehearses in a shipping container-turned-community restaurant,
where their indomitable outspokenness echoes in a whole new way.
Like its elders, Bantu Continua Uhuru Consciousness sees its music as a hedonistic trance, but also as a weapon of political and spiritual liberation.
Bantu means people, Uhuru means freedom - the 7- pieces band led by vocalist Jovi Nkosi rekindle the freedom of awareness, giving contemporary voice to the ancestral traditions of indigenous peoples.
Jazz sounds of 1970s and ‘80s productions replaced by hip-hop in!uences and punk-rock energy, taking the listener on an intriguing epic journey.
With only a few releases under their belt, BCUC took the world by storm with their mesmerising performances, winning crowds at festivals such as Glastonbury (West Holts), Roskilde, Dour, Worldwide, Womad, Fusion and Sziget to name a few, while collaborating with legends like Femi Kuti and Saul Williams.
‘Millions Of Us’ is their first full-length album and most ambitious work to date - distilling their magic on record, summoning mainstage festival-energy and stewing down, casting spells for the intimate
audience. Recorded in Soweto, post dubbed and mixed in London the album is the coming together of this unique band and London’s On The Corner Records, a label that has been traversing underground
sounds worldwide.
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Wait, what? A new Quince? Call the newspapers! It has been YEARS since the Dutch techno producer from Utrecht found the peace of mind to actually release something.
In fact, the Anthology of Interest EP on the illustrious NOWHERE series is his first proper record in eight years. His daytime job as a medic kept him rather occupied. You might remember those times when there was a pandemic around? We missed Quince, even though his sound is rather timeless.
Fluid Detroit infused techno with pulsating rhythms, alluring keyboard stabs and sultry basslines, like on Ghost In The Machine and the extremely funky The Butterjunk Effect.
Opening track Meanwhile has that hazy peak time feel you love so much while dancing with your eyes closed. But the winner of this very versatile EP may just be Space Pilot 3000. A futuristic and jumpy electro-track where the worlds of Drexciya and Juan Atkins collide in a blinding orange supernova. Can someone call a doctor!
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Jansky nehmen uns auf ihrem zweiten Album LP2 mit zurück in die Kindheit im elterlichen Garten Es wird wieder wärmer waren die abschließenden und dabei ungeahnt vorhersagenden Worte von Janskys Erstlingswerk LP1. Hier setzt der Nachfolger LP2 als klangliche Emanzipation an.
Das modulierende Delay der gezupften Akustik-Gitarre zwitschert, während das Atemholen der gesummten Melodien dem Rauschen der Blätter gleicht, und verortet klangmalerisch an den Fuß eines Baumes, der textlich erklommen wird. Eine surreale Flucht, begleitet von zerschnittenen Perkussion-Kollagen und verwobenen Streicher- und Saxofon-Arrangements, über die Blätterkrone hinaus.
What’s Mu about? Mu is about everything: Songs about heartbreak and parting share the album with songs marvelling at the scale of the universe. Mu is a concept from Zen and Chan Buddhism that means: “nothingness” and also, “pure awareness.” The awareness at the source of all things. In Hannah’s words: “There is so much life in every moment. Endless patterns, algorithms and instances repeating and changing and adapting. Spiralling outwards from the source. What source? The source.” In search of the source, Hannah has composed and arranged an undefinable, cinematic album that leads the listener on a winding path through her imagination. Sonically as well as thematically, Mu is an album of extremes and lofty ambitions. Fragile and delicate vocal and violin textures contrast with crunchy noisescapes and brooding synthesizers. Hannah’s commanding voice shares the spotlight with a string section and is backed by spacious production featuring many acoustic instruments. Sonically, producer Nick Herrera has brought a reassuring chunkiness to this unplugged palette, in particular the head nodding drums that anchor Hannah’s celestial musings. Like a film soundtrack or a symphony Mu is best listened to and understood as a whole - it circles back to themes and refrains and re-examines them. Sometimes a song is a song, sometimes it’s a soundscape dreaming of a song. “When making this album, I had a specific concept for how I wanted the music to sound. I don’t mean in terms of genre… it was more of a visceral, sensory concept which I knew I could only realise by allowing myself to experiment and create simultaneously, believing in my rough ideas enough to grow them, to weave them into stories. I began allowing myself to enter and remain in a very heightened state of awareness, which is a state I have continued to pursue and learnt to enjoy ever since. I let my mind dissolve into blackness each day. From there the most wonderful colours can appear. I have decided to call the album “Mu” to signify the empty chasm I allowed to hold within me whilst these songs were born.”
'Malombo music is an indigenous kind of music. If you listen to it, you can feel that it can heal you, if you’ve got something wrong. It’s healing music.'
Lucky Ranku
"Lucas ‘Lucky’ Madumetja Ranku (1941-2016) was one of the greatest African guitarists of his generation. He first made his name with the Malombo Jazz Makers – the successor group to the legendary Malombo Jazzmen, formed in Mamelodi township by guitarist Philip Tabane, drummer Julian Bahula and flautist Abbey Cindi. When Tabane left the Jazzmen in 1965, Bahula and Cindi called on Lucky to replace him, and the Malombo Jazz Makers were born. Building on the popularity and success of the original Malombo Jazzmen, the Malombo Jazz Makers become immensely popular, touring widely, winning numerous jazz competitions, and recording two successful albums for the Gallo label.
The deep and hypnotic Down Lucky’s Way was their third album. Recorded in 1969, it was the first Malombo Jazz Makers album to feature additional instruments, and the first to feature Abbey Cindi on soprano saxophone as well as flute. But more than anything else, Down Lucky’s Way is a transfixing showcase for Lucky Ranku’s sui generis guitar virtuosity. Quite different from their previous recordings, the album shifted the Jazz Makers’ sound toward hypnotic, extended compositions, layered by organ bass and guitar overdubs. Of all the Malombo Jazz Makers recordings, Down Lucky’s Way is the deepest of mood, and the richest of vision.
However, through one of the erasures that are ubiquitous in South African musical history under apartheid, it seems that the record may not ever have been properly issued. Original copies are outrageously rare – only a few are known among collectors. When we asked Lucky about the album, he was unaware it had ever been released, and had never seen a copy. Perhaps it was pulled; perhaps it was pulped; perhaps Gallo simply took their eye off the ball. Nobody knows, but it is not impossible that the apartheid authorities were involved, for by 1969, the Malombo Jazz Makers were well known to them.
Julian Bahula’s introduction of malopo drums to the music of the original Malombo Jazzmen was a moment of crucial political and cultural radicalism for South African jazz. Traditionally used by BaPedi people for healing, the malopo drums of Malombo music re-centered jazz
around indigenous sounds and culture, and over the next decade, the Malombo Jazz Makers became deeply involved in political opposition to apartheid. Their recovery of indigenous sounds made them the musical standard bearer for the Black Consciousness movement, and they toured South Africa clandestinely with the writer and anti-apartheid activist Steve Biko. They also broke apartheid laws by playing with the white rock group Freedom’s Children, sometimes appearing on stage in masks or made up with UV paint to avoid detection by the authorities; they appeared regularly at the rule-bending Free People’s Concerts organized by David Marks, where Marks’ clever exploitation of a loophole – mixed audiences were prohibited from attending ticketed concerts where anyone was being paid, but the law said nothing about private functions played by artists for free – meant people could come together in defiance of apartheid laws. The notorious Special Branch would raid their concerts; Lucky remembered police storming an auditorium, throwing smoke bombs.
Eventually the political situation became too dangerous, and the band were being actively sought by the police. Though Abbey Cindi remained in South Africa, both Julian Bahula and Lucky Ranku went into political exile in the UK, where Bahula founded the group Jabula with Lucky and former members of Cymande, Steve Scipio and Michael ‘Bami’ Rose. With Jabula, Julian and Lucky worked tirelessly for the anti-apartheid movement, raising funds and awareness all over Europe and in the US. They played with Dudu Pukwana’s Spear in the joint formation Jabula-Spear, and worked together in Bahula’s Jazz Afrika formation, and Bahula organized the first Concert for Mandela in 1984 (it was Jabula that supplied the chorus for The Special A.K.A.’s hit single ‘Nelson Mandela’). Lucky also played and recorded with Chris McGregor’s South African Exiles Thunderbolt group. After the fall of apartheid, they both remained living and working in the UK. In 2012 the South African government awarded Julian Bahula the Gold Order of Ikhamanga for his cultural work during the struggle against apartheid.
Until his death in 2016, Lucky continued to play with countless groups and musicians. putting together the band Township Express with Pinise Saul, and leading his own African Jazz Allstars. The influence of his playing on the international perception of South African township music was immense, and he was held in the highest regard by his peers – ‘Lucky was a guitarist who could bring any house down’, said Michael ‘Bami’ Rose.
But despite his continuous presence on the UK live circuit over four decades, Lucky Ranku never recorded an album as leader. And so as well as restoring an important lost piece of South African musical heritage, Down Lucky’s Way is a precious opportunity to hear one of Africa’s foremost guitarists stretching out, in focus and in his element."
First issue since 1969 of the Malombo Jazz Maker’s unknown third album.
Liner notes featuring interviews with Julian Bahula and Lucky Ranku.
Fully licensed from Julian Bahula.
“The crown prince of comedy.” That’s how Richard Pryor was introduced at The Redd Foxx
Club—and how he was known throughout the world. Was he also a righteous fool? No
doubt. Was he a king among kings? That, too. And did he sire generations to follow in his
comedic dynasty? You’re goddamned right he did. “'Craps' (After Hours)” finds Pryor at
perhaps his most carnal, deeply ruminating upon (when not absolutely enjoying) all the ways
fleshly pursuits from fighting and fornicating to drinking and drugging distract us, destroy us,
and make us utterly human. Along the way, we get classic Pryor character studies, from the
men enjoying the stage that was a Saturday night police lineup to the unfailingly polite white
clientele of the whorehouses in his childhood environs, fathers ready to defend their
daughters’ long-since departed honor, preachers enlivened by their personal relationships
with God, tricks plying their trade while lying through their teeth, and, of course, Wino &
Junkie, those staples of the streetcorner. Perhaps the most astounding thing is realizing that,
in 2023, not a moment of these records feels out of date or distant; it’s all right there, the
troubles of our times, unfolding then as they unfold now. At least then we had Richard Pryor
to guide us through.