Kelman Duran introduces LA’s Holodec to his Scorpio Red label with a debut album of flickering R&B torchsongs and ambient trap-soul that aches in a very special way. RIYL Dawuna, Burial, Junior Boys, MssingNo, claire rousay, Joy O, Triad God, Sampha…
The smouldering ’All Dogs Come From Wolves’ is a definitive statement by a quietly gifted artist who operates inside the long shadow of late ‘90s US R&B and the space where it intersects ambient, neo-classical, and the weightless bass interzones of contemporary UK club music. Bare boned and bathed in a dusky Californian half-light, the album’s 11 songs feel unnervingly stark yet full of tongue-tip sensuality, making a virtue of negative space and atmosphere with a lo-fi soundtrack-like quality that evokes the idea of nostalgic reflection as the route to the future; “a reminder to look to the past to remember where you’re from, to see where you’re going.”
Holodec's been assembling rugged dancefloor constructions for years now, teetering between 2-step, jungle, nu-rnb, and vaporous ambient forms, but rarely has he been as pointed or full-bodied as he is on ‘All Dogs Come From Wolves’. It's an album that can't possibly be cleaved from the place where it comes from, documenting LA's immigrant experience (Holodec is Asian-American), and finding thematic common ground with Space Afrika's "Honest Labour", absorbing prismatic reflections of footwork, rnb and hip-hop instead of trip-hop and dub techno.
Holodec croons soulfully over muted piano motifs on 'Tiles', evoking the spirit of Sampha or Dawuna, but with a gaseous glamor that's unmistakably Californian. The mood carries into 'The Wild', utilising wistful pads and saturated noise but refusing to let his music sink into the background. If you feel yourself drifting, there's inevitably a voice, a womp, or a stifled drum sound to drag you back into its presence. 'Bounce' is rhythmically heavy, but still somehow smudged around the edges; beats don't so much pump as fray, the closer you listen the more you hear it falling out of time and just out of space. It's more like a memory of neon-hued dance forms than a replication of the thing itself.
Even at the album’s rudest, the flinty jungle drums of ‘Black Market’ still remain desiccated, just out-of-reach, suggesting not telling, in a way that makes the album’s other highlights such as the vaporous R&B voice note of ‘And My Angel Dies Too’ or the shivering baroque figures of ‘Spirit’ so unusually seductive with their nuanced grasp of inference and a reserve of humility.
Finally the two main protagonists of the current live electronic movement and founders of our fair label Carl Cox and Christopher Coe have stepped up to the plate with this truly innovative and uncompromisingly live collection of techno tunes that defy categorization and are certain to land us fair and square on the dancefloors of the underground clubs of the world!
What can we say.. This EP just bangs! Improvised, recorded live and straight to 2 track in one day, this 4 tracker comes straight from the machines of Carl and Christopher’s collaborative studio in Australia and onto wax!
It is with great delight that we can present this collaboration straight after the release of Carl’s first solo album in 10 years.
This is a statement of definition from the boys, they have planted their feet firmly in the live scene with this edgy, experimental and jackin’ collection of beats!
The mindset is real.
Aller Ende Anfang releases their first Various Artists EP, encompassing 5energetic tracks opening up a spectrum from breaky to straight, from powerful to dreamy. Side A pushes forward with flickering breakbeat electro by Icelandic Jadzia, whereas Bielefeld Murder Boys deliver a hard-hitting remix of Lord Pusswhip's "SVEIGÐ". Newcomer Unwucht strikes with a total rave hit, rounding out this driving side of the record.The more pensive side B opens up with "Splinters", an experimental and surging piece by crouds, which is accompanied by an ethereal and melodic breakbeat jam by aspiring Hungarian artist LAU.
Color Vinyl[19,96 €]
In November of 1982, I went into the studio with Government Issue to record what was to be their first full-length album. Up until that time, they had only released the Legless Bull 7”EP, and the tape they recorded early 1982 would take over a year and a half to be released as the Make An Effort 7”EP. The members of G.I. excelled at driving each other crazy and there was a lot of arguing, but still we had a great session at Inner Ear and we managed to track 20 songs in one day. From the beginning the band had been divided on what to record, and it was only after much debate that they decided to leave off the material they had recorded with the earlier line-ups and only put out 10 new songs.
In early 1983 Dischord was strapped for cash, meaning that we could only work on one release at a time. Since all of our money was tied up with the manufacturing of Minor Threat’s Out of Step 12” EP, the G.I. record would have to wait. A new DC label, Fountain of Youth, expressed an interest in releasing Boycott Stabb, so it was decided to do a ‘split-label’ record. In this case, Fountain of Youth put up the money and we let them use the Dischord Records name to help with context and distribution. It has since been reissued on a number of different labels and formats, but after coming across the master tapes and hearing the songs that had been left off, we thought it would be cool to release the complete session, and to finally release the record on Dischord proper.
In going through the tapes, I discovered that most of the outtake songs were never mixed, so earlier this year I took the recordings back into the studio. Hearing the separated tracks amazed me. Such great playing and songs! With the technological advances in the recording world made multi-tracking and overdubbing so common, it’s easy to forget that studios could also be used as something more akin to a photo-booth, capturing what was happening at that very moment. Most of the early Dischord sessions were essentially ‘live’ recordings, so the bands had to be able to play, and because the budgets were minuscule, they had to get the songs down in short order. G.I. stepped up on both counts. -Ian MacKaye, August 2010
Black Vinyl[18,45 €]
In November of 1982, I went into the studio with Government Issue to record what was to be their first full-length album. Up until that time, they had only released the Legless Bull 7”EP, and the tape they recorded early 1982 would take over a year and a half to be released as the Make An Effort 7”EP. The members of G.I. excelled at driving each other crazy and there was a lot of arguing, but still we had a great session at Inner Ear and we managed to track 20 songs in one day. From the beginning the band had been divided on what to record, and it was only after much debate that they decided to leave off the material they had recorded with the earlier line-ups and only put out 10 new songs.
In early 1983 Dischord was strapped for cash, meaning that we could only work on one release at a time. Since all of our money was tied up with the manufacturing of Minor Threat’s Out of Step 12” EP, the G.I. record would have to wait. A new DC label, Fountain of Youth, expressed an interest in releasing Boycott Stabb, so it was decided to do a ‘split-label’ record. In this case, Fountain of Youth put up the money and we let them use the Dischord Records name to help with context and distribution. It has since been reissued on a number of different labels and formats, but after coming across the master tapes and hearing the songs that had been left off, we thought it would be cool to release the complete session, and to finally release the record on Dischord proper.
In going through the tapes, I discovered that most of the outtake songs were never mixed, so earlier this year I took the recordings back into the studio. Hearing the separated tracks amazed me. Such great playing and songs! With the technological advances in the recording world made multi-tracking and overdubbing so common, it’s easy to forget that studios could also be used as something more akin to a photo-booth, capturing what was happening at that very moment. Most of the early Dischord sessions were essentially ‘live’ recordings, so the bands had to be able to play, and because the budgets were minuscule, they had to get the songs down in short order. G.I. stepped up on both counts. -Ian MacKaye, August 2010
Carolina’ is the Brazilian virtuoso Seu Jorge's debut full-length album from 2002. Originally released under the title ‘Samba Esporte Fino’, its release and subsequent international acclaim dovetailed with Seu Jorge’s ascent into movie stardom. He is probably best known outside of Brazil for his work on Wes Anderson’s 2004 film 'The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou’, in which he played a starring role and his Portuguese covers of David Bowie records were a highlight of the soundtrack. Having initially found fame thanks to his standout performance as Knockout Ned in the revered movie ‘City of God’. ‘Carolina’ would cement his global fame and launch an illustrious musical career that has earnt him a Grammy nomination.
Co-produced by Mario Caldatto of Beastie Boys and Planet Hemp fame, the album presented a vibrant, contemporary combination of samba and funk, backed by guitar, bass, drums, percussion, and horns. It kicks off with one of Seu's most loved tracks 'Carolina', an anthemic feel-good classic with timeless energy, ending in a sing-along crescendo. Other highlights included the Brazilian-Funk of 'Mangueira' reminiscent in places of Tim Maia with its 80s inspired vibe, and the catchy jazzy-samba of 'Tu Queria' which always ignites the dance floor.
Die Pioniere der elektronischen Popmusik sind zurück und feiern mit ihrem 14. Studioalbum “Point” ihr 40-jähriges Bestehen.
Mit der Debut-Single „Bostich“ eroberten Yello die afro- merikanischen Dance-Klubs von New York . Danach ging ihr Sound – eine Collage von Musik aus aller Welt – um die Welt. Alben wie „You Gotta Say Yes To Another Excess“ (1983), „Stella“ (1985), „Pocket Universe” (1997) und „Toy” (2016) waren Bestseller. Die Evergreens „The Race“, „Oh Yeah“ und „I Love You“ tauchen noch heute ständig im Kino auf. Laute und stille Stimmen wie Shirley Bassey, Billy Mackenzie, Stina Nordenstam und Fifi Rong haben im Yello-Studio gesungen.
Das am 28.08. erscheinende, von Boris Blank und Dieter Meier höchst persönlich produzierte Studioalbum “Point” besteht aus 12 Titeln, deren typische Yello-Klangbilder einen jeden Fan und Kenner sofort
aufhorchen lassen. Die Singles “Waba Duba”, “Out Of Sight” und “Spinning My Mind” sind darauf ebenfalls zu hören.
Brussel's beat smith DC SALAS is back on the block - the Robert Johnson block that is! His 3rd release for LIVE AT ROBERT JOHNSON is also his 20th official release so far - so we have two things to celebrate spread over Diego Cortez Salas' powerful four-tracks EP called »Voces«.
Let's start with the title track: »Voces« is a call to alarm right from the beginning with its stabbing synth bass line and sirens. Add a couple of drum breaks and a heavy beat - et voilà: You have the first of four tunes to jump up and down to. Et oui, Salas surely knows how to build tension in a track - even in a voiceless track named »Voces«.
Next up is »The Lights« - and oh boy does Salas turn them on! These are quite trippy lights with a sound that could easily come from a twisted didgeridoo … The beat of »The Lights« is (of course) groovy as f*** - excuse our French. So let's turn on »The Lights«!
B-side opener »Metallic Glow« does just that: The track glows in bright metallic from the first second and features plenty of crazy sounds to do a crazy dance. Did we mention the groove? No? Well … just listen.
For »Safe Pace« Diego pulls out beautiful percussive elements and the 303 thus surfing on a not-so-safe pace to be honest: The last track of »Voces« is as fast and demanding as all the others.
DC Salas again managed to build four really solid stompers here to set any dancefloor on fire - without using any voice or vocal - these are REALLY SERIOUS SOUNDS you all should listen and dance to. NOW.
What Mom Jeans have proved themselves capable of in the past 2 years is nothing short of fantastic. Growing from ordinary college students to national touring artists in a matter of months, the indie rock quartet has been on a trajectory most bands could only dream of. The DIY touring route quickly had to fall by the wayside, as 200, sometimes 300, kids were showing up to house shows in basements across the country. Often, the band wouldn’t make it through more than a few songs before police had to come shut it down. Now, you can find them in venues of increasing size around the states, as one of the most sought after acts in their genre. On a constant stream of buzz, pressing after pressing of their debut hit “Best Buds” (2016) has sold out and the fans cannot get enough of the music they have been putting out. Music that takes influence from predecessors such as Modern Baseball and The Front Bottoms, but adds that new flavor that sets them into a league of their own, The Mom Jeans craze is just beginning.
Alcazarized is the second studio album by Swedish nu-disco group Alcazar, originally released in 2003. It was the first album to be released as a four-piece, after singer Magnus Carlsson joined them. The album features “Funky Feet”, a track that ABBA recorded but never officially released, and “This Is The World We Live In”, which is an adaption of both Diana Ross “Upside Down” and Genesis “Land Of Confusion”. In addition, “Love Life” was written by Pet Shop Boys Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe.
Alcazarized is available on vinyl for the first time as a limited edition of 750 individually numbered copies on gold coloured vinyl and includes an insert.
If one single song is indelibly associated with Johnny Cash, it has to be I Walk The Line - the song that landed him his first American hit in October 1956. But for many, Cash is defined by a single line from Folsom Prison Blues. “I shot a man in Reno, just to watch him die…”
confirmed Cash as a hard-living, fast-shooting guy (Don’t Take Your Guns To Town; Bonanza!) and also saw him identifying with prisoners and prison life. The ‘Man in Black’ had become a friend of Presidents and pop idols; a man whom stars like Bono and Bob Dylan deferred to; a legend courted by fans such as Quentin Tarantino and Johnny Depp.
And though a lot has been written about Johnny Cash since he died in 2003, questions remain about how this man came to dominate the world of popular music - but here, in your hands, are sixteen reasons why…
