't Geruis is a discreet musician from Belgium, working in the field of ambient, with a grainy and organic texture deriving from lo-fi recordings/samples. "Bain D'Étoiles" is his third solo release on a label, after 2 albums on Lost Tribe Sound and several self-released digital albums.
This album is about searching for wonder. Stories that give a sense of adventure. a vague memory of a discovery, something that lurks in the forest.
Linda Fredriksson (they/them) shares their debut solo album "Juniper" on We Jazz Records, 29 Oct 2021. Linda (of Mopo and Superposition) has been working on the compositions heard on the album for several years, composing them mostly on guitar, keys and by singing. Only later have they been arranged for the band heard on the album, including Fredriksson on saxes and various instruments, Tuomo Prättälä (of ilmiliekki Quartet) on rhodes, moog and piano, Minna Koivisto on modular synth, moog and OP, Olavi Louhivuori (of Superposition) on drums, and Mikael Saastamoinen (of OK:KO and Superposition) on bass, plus featuring the Swedish artist Matti Bye on piano.
At heart, "Juniper" is a "singer-songwriter album", performed by an instrumental jazz band. The end result is unique, personal, and as Linda themself puts it "quiet and introspective". The first single from the album is "Neon Light and the sky was trans", "a song from the shining streets – the beginning of something new", featuring field recordings of rain falling down behind the window of Linda's Helsinki working space.
It's a fitting introduction to an album full on wonders and carefully crafted secrets ready to be discovered. "Juniper" is a world unto itself, and Fredriksson describes the process as one of isolation and of learning slowly to do new things. After the demo stage, the songs were taken to the full band, but what's on the record often stays true to the minimal nature of the early demos. Linda credits their co-producer Minna Koivisto as a key ally in the process of maintaining the demo sessions' fragile beauty on the actual finished record.
With regards to instrumentation, those who have heard Linda Fredriksson in Mopo and Superposition are likely to be surprised by their credit listing including not only alto and baritone saxophones, plus bass clarinet, but also guitar, Rhythmic8 synths, ambience recordings and drum programming. Linda describes the way of finding new sounds through their beloved old guitar as follows: "It's an old acoustic guitar that has been hit by a car and is literally full of holes, but that makes the sound just perfect for this album and you can hear the instrument on 'Pinetree song' and 'Lempilauluni' (Finnish for 'My Loved Song')."
In fact, Linda began their music-making with guitar and vocals, and the debut of the hole-filled vintage acoustic guitar makes perfect sense here, while also describing the album's immediate sound perhaps better than any other individual instrument used. The influence list for the album name checks the likes of Feist, Neil Young, Susanne Sundfør, Alice Coltrane, Pharoah Sanders, Eric Dolphy and Fever Ray, yet the number one inspiration for Fredriksson prior to making the album was "Carrie and Lowell", the 2017 album by Sufjan Stevens. Different as the albums are in terms of instrumentation and general scope, it's fascinating to draw parallels between them by listening to the quietness and immediacy of the music. "Nana – Tepalle" also relates to the world of "Carrie and Lowell" in being a dedication to a lost family member, Linda's grandmother (she is featured in the digital single artwork).
Throughout the album, Linda plays their saxophones in a way that is serving music first and foremost. The musician's ego, so often at the forefront in jazz, takes a backseat, and the songs themselves remain. Linda thinks as a composer, utilising their instrument where and how necessary, not presenting "chops". "It's sometimes hard to play simple," they say, "but I tried to follow my instinct about what the songs need. The mood rules here, any solos or improvisations happen around that at all times."
"Juniper" can still be heard as a jazz album, but perhaps one reminding that the word doesn't need to mean any one thing in particular. At its best, jazz music is highly personal and "of the moment", both true on "Juniper". The album has been made in two different studios, three homes, two summer cottages and four working spaces. It was recorded with professional studio equipment but also with an iPhone and on a basic built-in laptop speaker. With that, "Juniper" stands as a remarkable musical diary of a creative musician and composer during the early 2020's.
Our Starry Universe returns with it’s first release of 2022, the mesmerizing Mother Oak from Dan Wainwright & Elle Redding. The album is out on 12” vinyl and digital 22nd April.
An Acid House/Cosmic concept album featuring Elle’s spoken word on Dan’s production, Mother Oak is about the life cycle of an oak tree from the perspective of the tree. “As we dreamed up a rough outline of the story, the music was created to personify the seasons and the emotions that were to come through Elle’s words.” Says Dan.
It’s a deep listening experience. The kind of record one should listen to in one sitting on vinyl while you are staring at the lyrics on the back cover. “…it all just fell perfectly into place as Elle typed the story. It all came to life really quickly and was an emotional experience for me to enjoy something so beautiful as her creativity and it’s an honour to have that combined with mine.” Says Dan.
He continues… “We made an album that carries meaning and wisdom and at the same time conveys our wonder, awe and joy that we both experience by being in nature and feeling connected to the forever changing cycles of our planet.”
Dan Wainwright is a prolific producer in the underground with releases on Night Noise, Tici Taci, & Sprechen as well as a seemingly constant slate of releases on his own imprint Oddball Recordings.
Note vinyl rel date is later. 10 Year Anniversary Reissue. 2LP / 2CD featuring the album proper & demos of each song + rarities. Colored clear vinyl, includes digital download. Recommended If You Like: The original ‘151a’ release, of Montreal, Regina Spektor, Andrew Bird. They say that you spend your entire life writing your first album, piecing every formative moment, scribbled turn of phrase, and thematic epiphany into a fantastical collage. Multi-instrumentalist K. Ishibashi (aka Kishi Bashi) disproves that old adage. The title of Kishi Bashi’s 2011 debut album,‑151a, is a riff on the Japanese phrase‑“ichi-go ichi-e,” roughly translating to “one time, one place.” That’s exactly what this debut is: A singular time, an inimitable place, a launchpad for bigger and better things to come. “It’s a play on words that translates as a performance aesthetic of having a unique performance in time, with imperfections, and enjoying it while you can,” Ishibashi‑told NPR at the time of the album’s release. “The saying reminds me to embrace my mistakes and move forward.” From the deconstructed Beach Boys-esque doo-wop of “Wonder Woman” to the menacing marriage of Eastern Hues and Western operatics of “Beat the Bright out of Me,”‑151a‑is a mediation between opposing drives, offering possible reconciliation but never promising it. The album’s emotional wellspring, “I Am The Antichrist To You” was reimagined in 2021 when it was featured on the animated sci-fi sitcom‑Rick and Morty, introducing Kishi Bashi to a new generation of awestruck fans. Kishi Bashi uses‑151a‑as a vehicle to explore his cultural background. Using Japanese refrains as a compositional and textural device (the polyrhythmic grandeur of “Bright Whites”; the gleeful surrealism of “It All Began With a Burst”), Kishi Bashi celebrates his heritage with earnestness. Japanese phrases and couplets are sung as the response to Kishi Bashi’s resplendent calls, offering listeners a conversation that dovetails with the album’s themes of love, sentimentality, and self-discovery. Today, the “one time” and “one place” that151a‑inhabited seems further than ever, almost broaching celestial realms of time and space. But, rest assured, with each listen, the world that Kishi Bashi built springs back to life. The world of‑151a‑never left—it was just waiting to be rediscovered.
There is a tendency within modern electronica to pigeonhole and categorise, to package music into easily digestible formulae. In direct revolt comes Dutch artist Satori and his new album Dreamin’ Colours, released globally April 22nd, 2022, on renowned imprint Crosstown Rebels. Recorded at the esteemed Sonic Vista Studios in Ibiza, the nine-track LP has been greatly anticipated off the back of its proceeding’s singles: Yellow Blue Bus ft. Laska, Lalai ft. Ariana Vafadari and most recently Gin Song.
An ethereal, swirling body of work, Dreamin’ Colours is rich in texture, colour and imagination. Satori stretches himself out through languorous, mystical explorations of both the digital and the analogue elements of music, the result a beautifully conspired collection of world music, steeped in electronic and Balkan roots, and straddling a multitude of genres from blues and indie electronic to opera, folk and beyond.
Colourful Dream begins proceedings, taking the form of a gently-building opener. From the pluck of a guitar string to hypnotic flute-like elements, we soon arrive at the enchanting world of Lalai ft. Ariana Vafadari. Recorded in a four-hundred-year-old water well, it showcases the transcendent sound with which Satori has become best known, meandering through rustling hats and tribal-like drum patterns whilst the dulcet tones of Ariana shimmer softly throughout.
Tuti ft. Kalima takes on a harder edge, with gritty drum patterns opening into melancholic chords early on. Kalima’s vocals add an emotive touch to the piece, paving the way for Moj Dilbere: a euphoric cut that feels tribal and reflective in one.
We land at a similarly ethereal soundscape on The Gin Song ft. Mybaby, as star-like synths pulse alongside punchy percussion before Yellow Blue Bus ft. Laska takes its place. It begins with real-life ambience, made up of sounds recorded live in Ibiza as a bus passes and birds chirp merrily in the background. This swiftly gives way to a guitar-flecked bassline, opening neatly into the vocal offerings of both Satori and Laska.
Troublemaker ft. El Mundo retains an inherent melodic quality, progressing through poignant strings and whispering kick-hat combos. Powerful and poignant, the mesmeric sounds of Ora Dea and Moshe meander subtly into Lonely Boy (Redux) ft. Hugo Oak. The closing saga brings things to a wonderfully subdued finish, rounding off the album on a wholeheartedly calming note.
Although raised in the Netherlands, where commercial electronic music is of course king, on Dreamin’ Colours it is undeniably Satori’s Balkan heritage that layers his production with dreamy, ethereal, Eastern European influences. The album’s overriding voice lies in his exultant celebration of Eastern European music, weaving vibrant threads of its earthy, melodic, rhythmic sounds into his thick musical tapestry. Written during the pandemic and driven by the ache of separated love, the album is, Satori says, his most personal yet.
From holding down an eighteen-month residency at Heart, Ibiza to having nearly four-hundred-thousand listeners on Spotify each month, Satori is a truly worldwide artist in today’s electronic music scene. Having been championed by Damian Lazarus early on in his career, he has emerged as a must-see live act for fans from all corners of the globe. November 2021 marked the start of his USA tour, where his Maktub concept adorned some of the country’s most iconic clubbing institutions, whilst his discography speaks for itself, with a plethora of acclaimed releases on labels including Crosstown Rebels, Sol Selectas and DGTL Records to name a few. As Dreamin’ Colours introduces him to an ever-growing audience, Satori remains one of the most exhilarating, untamed and truly authentic forces in music.
After producing Bendik Giske’s wonderful Cracks from last year, André Bratten returns with his own music, and the first volume of his Picture Music series, his most accessible and melodic music to date. The title is taken from a compilation on legendary German label
Auf ihrem 4. Album "Black Miracles And Dark Wonders" präsentieren MISERATION aggressiven und technischen Melodic Death Metal, gemischt mit schönen Harmonien sowie ruhigeren Elementen und bombastischen Filmmusik-ähnlichen Passagen, die für ein abwechslungsreiches Album sorgen.
Thematisch dreht es sich auf dem Album um verschiedene Götter und gottähnliche Kreaturen, Mythen und Geschichten, die von den sumerischen, jüdisch-christlichen, nordischen und anderen alten Kulturen inspiriert wurden.
“They were so solid. They meant what they said, they did what they did… here’s two guys, a guitar player and a harmonica player, and they could make it sound like a whole orchestra.” – Taj Mahal
“It was perfect. What else can you say?” – Ry Cooder
Nearly sixty years after they first played together, Ry Cooder and Taj Mahal, longtime friends and collaborators, reunite with an album of music from two Piedmont blues masters who have inspired them all their lives: GET ON BOARD: THE SONGS OF SONNY TERRY & BROWNIE MCGHEE, on Nonesuch Records.
With Taj Mahal on vocals, harmonica, guitar, and piano and Cooder on vocals, guitar, mandolin, and banjo – joined by Joachim Cooder on drums and bass – the duo recorded eleven songs drawn from recordings and live performances by Terry and McGhee, who they both first heard as teenagers in California.
Explaining where Terry and McGhee took him musically, Cooder says, “Down the road, away from Santa Monica. Where everything was good. ‘I have got to get out of here,’ was all I could think. What do you do, fourteen, eighteen years old? I was trapped. But that first record, Get on Board, the 10” on Folkways, was so wonderful, I could understand the guitar playing.”
Taj Mahal adds, “I started hearing them when I was about nineteen, and I wanted to go to these coffee houses, ‘cause I heard that these old guys were playing. I knew that there was a river out there somewhere that I could get into, and once I got in it, I’d be all right. They brought the whole package for me.”
Taj Mahal and Ry Cooder originally joined forces in 1965, forming The Rising Sons when Cooder was just seventeen. The band was signed to Columbia Records but an album was not released and the group disbanded a year later. The 1960s recording sessions, widely bootlegged, were finally issued officially in 1992. GET ON BOARD is Taj Mahal and Ry Cooder’s first recording together since then.
Harmonica player Sonny Terry and guitarist Brownie McGhee, both originally from the southeastern United States, had active solo careers as well as collaborating with some of the most celebrated musicians of their time. But they were best known for their forty-five-year partnership, which began in 1939 and included mesmerising live performances around the world and numerous acclaimed recordings.
Their Piedmont blues style became popular during the folk music revival of the 1940s and ’50s, centered in New York City’s flourishing club scene for jazz, boogie-woogie, blues and folk music. Terry and McGhee traveled in the same circles as Woody Guthrie, Pete Seeger, Leadbelly, and Josh White, among others in a rich mix of writers, actors and musicians. As a new generation emerging in the 1960’s drew inspiration from folk and blues, Terry and McGhee toured the world as the foremost exponents of the acoustic music of the Piedmont. They were named National Heritage Fellows in 1982 in recognition of their distinctive musical contributions and accomplishments.
“You got the south on steroids, when you got the music of the south, the culture of the south, the beauty of the south, through Brownie and Sonny,” Taj Mahal says. He describes McGhee as a “solid rhythm player. To really play behind the harp like that. He would set stuff up. He wasn’t making many notes. Sonny had all the notes, running around. But Brownie, he laid it down.” Cooder adds: “This thing of squeezing the thumb and first finger and a little bit of the second finger, which I still do. I’d forgotten where it came from. That’s what Brownie did. I saw him do that and said, ‘I think I can do that.’”
Taj Mahal calls Terry “a wizard harmonica player”. Cooder says, “Sonny had incredible rhythm for one thing. Making sounds with his voice and the harmonica so you couldn’t tell quite which was which. He was good at that.”
“We’ve been doing this a while,” Cooder says. “Perhaps we’ve earned the right to bring it back. Taj Mahal concludes. “We’re now the guys that we aspired toward when we were starting out. Here we are now… old timers. What a great opportunity, to really come full circle.”
Legendary privately pressed 1979 LP from Scotland. This illusive, super rare and sublimely wonderful percussion album is like no other. Hypnotic, celestial, even cosmic and ambient in parts and totally unique in all ways, it was played by a group of 11 girls with an average age of 14. The group included Evelyn Glennie, who was destined to become one of the world’s greatest percussionists. This is her first ever record.
The Cults Percussion Ensemble was a group formed by percussion teaching legend Ron Forbes in the mid 1970s. The ensemble must have one of the best group names of all time. To many it will immediately come across as something sinister, a touch spooky and possibly a bit dramatic too. They are certainly two of those but the use of the word “Cults” here is easily misinterpreted. Cults, in this case, is the suburb of Aberdeen.
The average age of the students was just 14. They came from a few of the schools in the area, including the Cults Academy, Ellon Academy, Aboyne Academy, Inverurie Academy and Powis.
My original copy of the album came from Spitalfields market in London. I loved the music the second it started, because it reminded me of Carl Orff and peculiar library. So I started to investigate it further, and eventually, thanks to the highly tuned world of percussion, was given the address of Ron Forbes. I got in touch with him and now we have this, a formal release of something quite lovely that was only previously available very briefly in 1979 at concerts when the young girls performed.
The music here is really quite unique, with a celestial swirling hypnotic quality. The blend of glockenspiels, xylophones, vibraphones, marimba and timpani drums is quite intoxicating and can recall the shimmering warmth of the desert sun one minute (“Baia”) or freezing glacial ice caps the next (“Circles”). The Ensemble perform with an effortless tightness and deftness of touch, building textured layers with recurring percussive motives which appear simultaneously dense and yet sparse, almost sounding like modern sampling. In fact, while struggling to find a musical comparison, during the pulsating introduction to "Percussion Suite" I found myself recalling "Gamma Player", a piece of soulful Detroit techno minimalism from Jeff Mills (Millsart - “Humana” EP 1995) with its rhythmic percussion layered with complex emotion. Weirdly enough, other tracks on that EP also prominently feature xylophone and tuned percussion, although obviously synthesised and programmed, a good 20 years after the CPE first recorded.
Sleevenotes also include a letter from Ron Forbes:
“I decided to form a percussion group to provide an outlet for my percussion pupils to play music specially written for them. The group soon became well known in the region and as a result of winning the outstanding award at the National Festival of Music for youth on three occasions, they were invited to play at other festivals within Europe, one being in Erlangen in Germany - hence the Erlangen Polka - and Autun in France - hence the Autun Carillon. During these visits we were often asked if we had any recordings and so it was decided to make an LP”.
Thanks to Ron Forbes and Trunk Records, more people can now enjoy the simple hypnotic musical charms of the Cults Percussion Ensemble
“A lush, ornate, and elegant celebration of the oft-maligned pleasure of pure surface-level beauty”. Pitchfork
London independent imprint Lo Recordings are excited to announce that they will release a vinyl version of the ‘Symbol’ album by the late Japanese electronic pioneer Susumu Yokota on the 8th of April 2022.
Originally released in 2004, the special limited edition reissue comes in a newly designed and beautifully packaged gatefold sleeve with liner notes by Ben Eshmade and Tsutomu Noda.
The prolific Yokota rightly saw this album as his masterwork. An incredible kaleidoscopic patchwork of samples from classical recordings by the likes of John Cage, Meredith Monk, Prokofiev, Debussy, Ravel and Tchaikovsky are brought together and lovingly transformed in Yokota’s inimitable style to create what Pitchfork described as an "ecstasy album”
Each track is a firework of temporality, as ideas collide and briefly hold together in the fragile moment before decaying and decomposing. Sampling, the re-imagining of music, is very much the instrument of Yokota. Within the restricted seconds of a digital sample you hear a recording from a certain time, you hear the room, you hear the dust on the cello bow, and you can just about sense what the musician was feeling that day.
Following her highly praised "An Antworten EP" on TAL, Tentenko releases “The Soft Cave” on Couldn’t Care More. The Tokyo Wonder Girl further expands her unique universe of electronic music with four stunning tracks between oddly beguiling iridescence ("The Wave") and deliberately raw technoid clanging ("Stalactite"), developing a twisted yet very playful version of Experimental Techno, Breakbeats or whatever it is ("The Fish Stone"). Exciting stuff for Warp / Modern Love / Sähkö aficionados and everyone who dares.
All you need is Lava. Lava is all you need…
Disco’s most erotic walking, talking light show Sexy Lazer makes his debut on Riotvan with three delightfully cosmic oddities and odysseys. At points sleazy, at other points sparkling, forever loaded and coded with space, each of the three originals promises full immersion and escapism.
Zone out to the woodwind wonderment of ‘Fluting In Space’, freak out to the synth-powered bliss of ‘Future’ and totally trip out to the much darker and pensive Black Strobe-like ‘Jing Jang’. Meanwhile on the remix front label co-boss Panthera Krause gets his prowl on with the swampy, sweaty tropical twist on ‘Future’ while Axel Boman gets his dub on with his take on ‘Fluting In Space’.
Three stellar originals, two star-gazing versions, one beautiful trip into the deep unknown. Show some lava!
A surefire Afro-Funk classic, long treasured by collectors across the globe, the fantastic self-titled LP from Ghanaian singing/percussion sensation Sidiku Buari nevertheless remains a criminally hard-to find gem. We're honoured to present the first ever officially licensed vinyl reissue of this undoubted masterpiece. Limited to just 500 copies.
Originally released on RCA in 1975, this is, quite simply, a ridiculous record. This super-rare album boasts an all-star cast of top funk instrumentalists playing alongside Buari as he blends heavy African rhythms with American soul-funk grooves. The arrangements and the playing are incredibly tight and the album is stacked with killer tracks including "Advice From Father" (sampled brilliantly by Kenny Dope) and "Ku Ka Maria", with its intense, neck-snapping breaks and funky drumming from legend Bernard 'Pretty' Purdie. Purdie is in the pocket for the entirety of this stunning LP - the drumming is just straight out of hand; so varied yet so precise.
It's not hard to fathom why these tracks have always been huge on the b-boy/breaking scene. Other standouts include the wonderful disco-tinged afro monsters "Karam Bani" and "Iro Le Pa" plus the cool laidback groove of "Them Yebtheyet".
With access to the original analogue tape transfers, Simon Francis' stellar mastering elevates the sound throughout and, as ever, it has been pressed at a reassuringly weighty 180g.
WHEN YOU'VE FINISHED LOOKING AROUND THE WEBSITE, YOU CAN FIND US ON THESE SOCIAL CHANNELS
10 brand new recordings from the legendary Jamaican singer and longtime Massive Attack collaborator, Horace Andy, produced by Adrian Sherwood.
Midnight Rocker has been approached in a similar fashion to the late-career quality that Sherwood coaxed out of Lee "Scratch" Perry with the Rainford and Heavy Rain albums, assembling a crack team of players and spending many months perfecting performance, arrangements and mixing. The result is a remarkable suite of tracks that sparkle with superb musicianship, carefully crafted production and Horace’s beautiful vocals.
The material includes revisiting and updating a few classic Horace Andy songs such as “Mr. Bassie”, but the bulk of the tracks are brand new compositions with contemporary messages, such as “Watch Over Them” and “Materialist”. The pair have also versioned “Safe From Harm”, a much-loved early single by the group that Andy is most associated with – Massive Attack.
“On-U Sound are very proud to present a truly wonderful album with one of the all-time great singer-songwriters in the rich history of Jamaican music, Horace Andy. This is a true gold star performance, and I’m very proud of it.” Adrian Sherwood.
The California based Tito Jackson is supported on his debut Blues album 'Under Your Spell', now in 180 Gram, cream coloured limited quantity vinyl, by an array of superlative special guests, including George Benson, Joe Bonamassa, Marlon Jackson, Eddie Levert, Kenny Neal, Bobby Rush and Stevie Wonder, who all add their special talents to the proceedings
"Love One Another" is the perfect antidote for today's times of doubt and trepidation, as the vocals of Tito, along with Marlon Jackson, Bobby Rush and Kenny Neal soar above the musical bed of melodies that feature the sweet sound of Stevie Wonder's signature harmonica style.
Song-writing duo and Hall of Famers Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff, who penned worldwide hits for The Jacksons and the O'Jays, came out of retirement to write "All In The Family Blues" for Tito. The track features Hall Of Fame legend, Eddie Levert.
As a friend and admirer of BB King, Tito plays tribute in his cover of King's classic, "Rock Me Baby" honored with BB's daughter Claudette King joining in. Tito Jackson's innate abilities as a singer, songwriter, guitarist, producer and arranger shine through brilliantly, creating a spectacular record that is destined for airplay and rave reviews in a number of formats. Continuing on the path set for Jackson when he broke into the music business as a member of the legendary Jackson 5, Tito continues to grow as a musician and performer.
UK Independent Record Stores Only Tracks: Checkered Flag / Smash Up On Highway One / Stack My Money / Drip Drop / The Cat With 9 Wives / Turn You On, Turn Me On / Rockabilly Riot / Off Your Rocker / Who Cares? / Rockabilly Banjo
Repress!
R.A. The Rugged Man is one of the most fascinating figures in hip-hop history. His career spans decades, and defies simple narratives. The Rugged Man has been an up-and-coming star, an industry outcast banished and forgotten, an underground cult hero, an independent success story, and an influential master of the art form.
Now, R.A. The Rugged Man is back with ""All My Heroes Are Dead"", a brand new album that stands as his best work to date. “So many of the greats are gone, and the legends who made it out alive are cast aside,” R.A. explains. “Society left our heroes and their culture for dead. We have to dig that greatness out of its grave, and bring it back with an angry vengeance.” "All My Heroes Are Dead" features an all-star lineup of hip-hop heavyweights, including Atmosphere, Chuck D, Ghostface Killah, Immortal Technique, Vinnie Paz, Ice T, M.O.P., Kool G Rap, Brand Nubian, DJ Jazzy Jeff, Chris Rivers, Onyx, Inspectah Deck, A-F-R-O, Masta Killa, and more.
Nico Stojan set up Ouie with his friend and longtime collaborator Acid Pauli as a conduit for the unique and wonderful music they and their friends have become synonymous with. This latest release reaffirms the magical quality the label has cultivated, this time in the form of a teamwork between Nico and David Mayer. 'Fling' kicks off powerfully - a shuffling, organic groove leads the way before synth pads, jazzy piano riffs and a big breakdown amp up the atmosphere. 'Safari' employs a similarly swung, live feel to the groove, before dropping in a breakbeat to take things to the next level. The track builds tension as synths are layered and layered, resulting in a mystical leftfield bomb.
As we emerge into the Now with a fresh perspective and renewed vigour, Red Laser Records usher in a novel epoch of Manctalo movements for our post-COVID enjoyment.
Entrusting piloting duties to four well decorated RL commandos, the EP serves to remind us all that despite everything that's happened, we can still find solace in red lasers, smoke machines and high-powered strobe lights.
Splitting open the collective dancefloor inertia is Kid Machine's 'Only Machines Allowed'.
A cybernetic b-boy jam straight outta the planet MEGOH circa 4044. Guided by electrified vocoder lines and a plutonium-grade, armoured groove this impenetrable battle rocket should issue the much needed power boost to get your body kinetics firing again when they release the e-barriers to hedonism.
Returning star fleet lieutenant Count Van Delicious has been collecting entities from the outer galaxies since his appearance on RL EP 9 ('Dark Fruit' w/ Senor Chugger).
Here he announces his return with an end-credits epic, an #inabiteveryoneelse theme from this young vet on a pants-off permo-buzz, up-scrolling through technicolored c64 visuals and deploying his now trademark zoopa-arps, euphoric synth stabs and thunderous low end shudder to deadly effect.
Meanwhile, Ste Spandex continues his cybernetic realignment surgery, dissecting a well circulated disco meme and adding voluptuous gender-neutral enhancements that'll be getting the next generation of androids frisky, despite their lack of reproductive organs. Fizzling synths, spherical repetition and a multi-dimensional mix of high voltage rhythms leaving that vocal line permanently downloaded in your memory cloud. No sharing necessary.
Scottish deep space observer Ernesto Harmon provides some cosmic ruggedness to close off our mission. Reinforced & galvanised low-end rhymix coalescing with humanoid synth expression and an infinite, carbon-free energy source keeping momentum plateaued through the morning after the night before. There's no off switch baby!
For astral travellers seeking solace in the new Now, EP12 kindly acts as an upgrade to your possibly dormant dancing system as you stumble out into the new nocturnal environment. Hopefully reminding us that the simple act of moving alongside one another in a pitch black, laser-guided club space hasn't changed that much...
Limited press, with artwork which could be the next top selling NFT, we urge our RL family to bag this collectable chronicle from the Red Laser Corp.
Originally released by Victory Music in 1991, Tin Machine II is the second and final studio album by Tin Machine. After this album and the supporting tour, frontman David Bowie resumed his solo career.
Tin Machine II’s reputation has only increased over the years. Uncut magazine placed the album on their list of 50 Great Lost Albums (their list of great albums not currently available for purchase), calling the album “extraordinary”.
As with all Bowie albums, there are plenty of strong tracks here to make this a must have. Opening track “Baby Universal” is pure Bowie. He re-recorded this track in 1996 for his 1997 album Earthling, but the track was not released on the album. It was eventually released in 2020 on the Bowie EP Is it Any Wonder?. The first single “You Belong in Rock n’ Roll” was released ahead of the album and peaked at No. 33 in the UK. The second single “Baby Universal” achieved success on the Modern Rock chart in the USA, where it reached No. 21, and the third and last single “One Shot” became an even bigger hit, reaching No. 3.
RELEASE: 17-7-2020
• 180 GRAM AUDIOPHILE VINYL
• INSERT
• SPECIAL SPOT VARNISHED SLEEVE
• SECOND AND FINAL STUDIO ALBUM BY THE SUPERGROUP TIN MACHINE, ORIGINALLY
RELEASED IN 1991
• TIN MACHINE = DAVID BOWIE, REEVES GABRELS, TONY SALES & HUNT SALES
• LIMITED EDITION OF 5000 INDIVIDUALLY
NUMBERED COPIES ON SILVER COLOURED VINYL
SIDE A
1. Baby Universal
2. One Shot
3. You Belong In Rock N’ Roll
4. If There Is Something
5. Amlapura
6. Betty Wrong
The album’s cover (which was censored for its original USA release!) was created by Edward Bell, who had previously worked with Bowie in making artwork for Scary Monsters. The MOV cover features a spot varnish finish.
Music On Vinyl gives Tin Machine II its first vinyl re-release since the 1991 original, and it’s pressed on coloured vinyl for the very first time. The initial pressing is a limited edition of 5000 individually numbered copies on silver coloured vinyl.
Motown Collected brings together the biggest names in the rich history of this legendary label. From very early singles to the artists that made Motown a household name for decades to come and the cross-over pop success of the late 70's and 80's. Featuring legendary artists like Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder, The Supremes, Jackson Five, Smokey Robinson and The Commodores, as well as gems from the likes of Marv Johnson, Barrett Strong, The Marvelettes and Tom Clay and pop superstars Rick James, Michael Jackson, Diana Ross, Lionel Richie and Debarge: just a selection of the 33 incredible tracks featured on Motown Collected.
