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Ella Fitzgerald was an great American jazz singer, sometimes referred to as the "First Lady of Song", "Queen of Jazz", and "Lady Ella". She was noted for her purity of tone, impeccable diction, phrasing, timing, intonation, and a "horn-like" improvisational ability, particularly in her scat singing. Louis Armstrong, nicknamed "Satchmo", "Satch", and "Pops", was an American trumpeter and vocalist. He was among the most influential figures in jazz. His career spanned five decades and several eras in the history of jazz. Together Ella & Louis recorded various songs. On this 3 LP in a gatefold sleeve the complete “Ella & Louis”& “Ella & Louis Again” albums (30 tracks). All these tracks were recorded in Hollywood in 1956 & 1957 with on most tracks Oscar Peterson on piano, Herb Ellis on guitar, Ray Brown on bass. Buddy Rich played drums on Ella & Louis. Louie Bellson drums on the “Ella & Louis Again” tracks. This Classic Albums Collection is a must have for music lovers.

Unavailable for over three decades, we are happy to reissue this garage rock's essential gem, originally released in the early days of Greg Shaw's Bomp! label. Bomp! Records of Burbank, California was likely the most significant American independent record label of the 1970s. It was the first in this country to recognize and actively support the punk rock and new wave revolution with its releases, at a time when both America's vast regional disparity and an extremely conservative record business had deemed this new, strange idiom anathema. In its first five years Bomp! the label wore its heart on its sleeve with a series of fascinating, unpredictable, and memorable 45 RPM releases. And the whole was brainstormed by Greg Shaw, likely the only maverick alive at that time who could have created and populated such a scenario. The winter 1976 issue of Who Put The Bomp (Greg Shaw's fanzine) had featured a detailed report on the Boston scene, with favorable mentions of two future Bomp! acts. Willie 'Loco' Alexander was a local legend, the storied former lead singer of the Lost, and his 1975 single 'Kerouac' (reissued on Bomp!) was a suitably eccentric, Dylan-ish ode to the beat maven. DMZ was a more predictable proposition, sporting obvious glam roots and an eccentric but dedicated rock & roll fan in lead singer, Jeff 'Mono Mann' Conolly. Wearing his heart on his sleeve, Conolly and crew went for a chaotic and intense hybrid of Dolls, Stooges and most of the Nuggets bands, so Bomp! the label was a natural choice. With killer cuts like 'Busy Man' and 'When I Get Off,' their Craig Leon-produced 1977 EP captured the DMZ zeitgeist considerably better than the album they would later record for Sire.

Remastered vinyl of the original album which came out on CD only in 2005. Limited to 200 copies on classic black vinyl. This is an album that’s as alive as any could be. Indeed, far from sounding like the last desperate set of half-baked ideas from a once vital band (hello Oasis?) Artists Cannibals Poets Thieves is more like a debut album from a bunch of teenage upstarts: free from cynicism, fired with worldly wonder and chock full of ideas. This is certainly a different outfit from that of 1998, when they first wowed us (via John Peel, naturally) with the utterly essential sprawling noise that was The Things We Make. Long since stripped down by a series of resignations from a five strong collective to a taut three piece featuring founding members Chris Olley, James Flower and Chris Davis, the music has simplified considerably. Gone are the soundscapes of old, and in their place we have a series of sharp basslines, swirling keyboards, cutting guitar lines and the passionate hollering of frontman Olley. Opener All I Really Want From You Is Love is a perfect introduction to proceedings – a truly wonderfully distorted slab of indie rock, recalling early Jesus And Mary Chain in both its fuzz and, crucially, its wonderfully crafted tune. Next, Nowhere To Go But Home sounds like New Order if they’d emerged from Detroit in 1966. Tonight (I Wanna Make It Out) follows likewise with the best bassline Peter Hook never plucked. Throughout, Six By Seven manage to sound so natural, so refreshing free of the flab and introspection that a band on its last legs would usually succumb to. And whilst the momentum is momentarily lost as the drum machine makes an appearance to fashion the Suicide-esque trawl of Stara Paris Rescued Me, it’s not long before Just Get It Down muscles things back on course with a whispered Olley diatribe perched on top of more raw cacophony, before we reach the bitter end via the Depeche Mode-on-smack You Know I Feel Alright Now. Tracklisting:

Recorded in 1975 as part of the "Cookhouse Five Sessions" by Minneapolis based funk band 94 East featuring superstar Prince.

3 Feet High and Rising is the debut studio album by hip-hop trio De La Soul, and was released on March 3, 1989. It marked the first of three full-length collaborations with producer Prince Paul, which would become the critical and commercial peak of both parties. It contains the singles, “Me Myself and I”, “The Magic Number,” “Buddy,” and “Eye Know”. The album title came from the Johnny Cash song “Five Feet High and Rising”. It is listed on both Rolling Stone’s 200 Essential Rock Records and The Source’s 100 Best Rap Albums. When Village Voice held its annual Pazz & Jop Critics Poll for 1989, 3 Feet High and Rising was ranked #1. It was also listed on Rolling Stone’s The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.

Released amid the 1989 boom in gangsta rap, which gravitated towards hardcore, confrontational, violent lyrics, De La Soul's uniquely positive style made them an oddity beginning with the first single, “Me, Myself and I.” Their positivity meant many observers labeled them a “hippie” group, based on their declaration of the “D.A.I.S.Y. Age” (Da. Inner. Soul. Yall). Sampling artists as diverse as Hall & Oates, Steely Dan and The Turtles, 3 Feet High and Rising is often viewed as the stylistic beginning of 1990s alternative hip hop (and especially jazz rap). 3 Feet High & Rising was chosen by the Library of Congress to be added to the National Recording Registry for its cultural significance and general excellence.

This special boxset release of De La Soul’s 3 Feet High and Rising includes twelve 7” custom singles pressed on splatter vinyl and housed in custom sleeves, housed in a box that includes a 7” pinup and a double-sided 7” slipmat, and is available first at record stores as part of RSD Black Friday. "

CULTED return in trademark force with five wild psych-bangers from luminaries Simple Symmetry, Thomass Jackson, Orchid, Ayala, and Multi Culti boss Thomas Von Party teamed up with Oltrefuturo. All killer, no filler.

Bank NYC is very excited to present the definitive statement of Collector, "No Prospects". Collector is the solo guise of Jason Campbell, resident of Newcastle, Australia. Since 2014, Campbell has been channelling the industrial malaise of his hometown through his unique take on heavy electronics. After a series of releases on global-spanning labels such Steel City Dance Discs (UK), Nice Music (AUS), Clan Destine (SCO) & Night People (US), the debut long-player for Bank NYC finds Collector embracing true album form for the first time in his discography. Across eight pieces, Collector delivers a bleak sonic narrative via a hardware-only approach to production: Analog drum machine patterns are intricately intertwined with menacing synth lines, and driving bass is met with the unrelenting clatter of tightly-sequenced field recordings taken straight from the heart of local industry.

Thematically, "No Prospects" navigates the downfall of Newcastle's BHP Steelworks at the end of the 20th century. Acknowledged widely as the largest de-industrialisation event in Australian history, the closure of the Steelworks in 1999 marked a dramatic cultural shift where blue-collar vocations were vanquished due to an economic slump, and were consumed by the trending cosmopolitanism seen in adjacent cities. "No Prospects" draws on Campbell's family lineage in the Newcastle's steelworks, providing a rich, personal context to an industry that both gives and takes away. The sharp intensity of the album is sustained by dramatic shifts in pace: the devestating slow burners of 'Two From Five' and 'Ricochet' are instinctually offset by the frenetic 'CFT' and 'Workers Club Collapse', which showcase Campbell's no-nonsense approach to shaping an almost club-ready breed of modern industrial techno. Although diverse across both sides, cohesion is found in Campbell's toolkit of samples that are unmistakably Collector. The album's eponymous track, 'No Prospects', serves as an introspective centrepoint - a largely arrhythmic excursion shrouded in familiar brooding, textural drones, and underpinned by the chug of machinery on the brink of collapse.

Although forever indebted to the spirit of local electronic outcasts, Bloody Fist Records, Collector's "No Prospects" is a remarkably distinct statement straight from the heart of Australia's Steel City. The complexity of arrangements speak to Campbell's long association in experimental music communities, whilst the persistent feeling of dread conveys a uniquely regional story of decay and futility. Pure Novocastrian industrial electronics.

very dope.

With this EP an attempt is made at documenting the vibrant action happening during the late 1970s and early 1980s in the Pioneer Valley area of Western Massachusetts, US. The story is richer than the snapshot we present here, and a more detailed account is to be found in the accompanying book that can be purchased separately.

The Five Colleges in Hampshire County congregated a vast student population that inevitably interacted with the towns in the area. Bars, music and record stores, live music and a lot of experimentation and free thinking. Hampshire College, especially, promoted new approaches to teaching, subjects that might be considered radical by some even today, although a more favourable context would now surely exist for openly debating such topics as American Indians, Kayak Design, Black Oral Tradition, Food Management, etc. And the music? The immediate "punk effect" motivated the creation of numerous bands, many short lived, others evolving into New Wave / Power Pop territory, eventually crossing into Post-Punk experimentation. What is captured in "Noho EP" is a more electronic disposition, favoured by the existence of EMS gear and other equipment at Hampshire College and University of Massachusetts. We chose to focus on a group of musicians who, for a time, played together in different combinations under the loose umbrella of the Tekno Tunes label and the structure around it.

These musicians come from very different backgrounds and the nucleus portrayed here consisted of Christopher Vine, Elliott Sharp, James Whittemore and Nicholas Brown.

Of the several line-up changes The Scientific Americans went through, it was actually only the duo of Chris Vine and Jim Whittemore who recorded "Among Bodge Watt". Never before released, it is a companion piece to their track "El Salvador" available on the 1981 ROIR tape-album "Load & Go!". The Sci Ams were founders of the Tekno Tunes label and also created the Tekno Tours "concert promotion agency", under which name they exposed local audiences to bands such as The Stranglers, The Slits, Pylon, Pere Ubu, The Psychedelic Furs, The Bush Tetras, Steel Pulse, etc. Their own sound kept progressing but at its best there's a solid dub undercurrent, pretty obvious in "Among Bodge Watt".

Human Error was born out of a collective jam by Chris Vine, Elliott Sharp, Jim Whittemore and Nick Brown. Elliott Sharp had moved to Northampton in August of 1978 and naturally became involved in the local music scene, hooking up first with Whittemore at a hi-fi audio store where he worked at the time. Basement jams followed stimulating conversations, and other musicians joined the sessions. "Clandestinator" sounds gorgeously loose, an effortless groove coming from a quasi-dub set-up. Nothing here seems calculated, the music just flows, contagious and irregular as the handclaps in the mix.

The Higher Primates later evolved into a "proper" band but started as Nick Brown's solo project. The Primates only ever released a (now sought-after) 7" single in 1980 (on the Tekno Tunes label, precisely). Both tracks on "Noho EP" were recorded the following year and never released until now. "Auto Music in the Disco Dub Style" is self-explanatory, with a steady, mid-tempo TR808 beat running through, supporting synth squelches, echoes and reverbs, a fat bassline, dissonant melodic lines and odd vocal snippets. Kind of a DJ tool when the concept was barely in place. The more uptempo "Teresa Variations" adds a Fender Jazz bass and Selmer sax to the electronics. It actually sounds more "Disco", even with the robotic, unintelligible vocals. On top of this, the vibe is sealed by the overall Radiophonic Workshop analogue strangeness applied to a dance beat.

Duke Ellington teams up here with bassist Ray Brown in a set reminiscent of Duke's work with Jimmy Blanton three decades before. In addition to the four-part "Fragmented Suite for Piano and Bass," the duo plays five standards (including "Pitter Panther Patter" from the Blanton days and three other Ellington-associated tunes).

After five long years, Balance and Composure return with Too Quick To Forgive--newly signed to Grammy-nominated producer Will Yip's label, Memory Music, the alt-rock darlings sound more assured and adventurous than ever across two vulnerable tracks. Too Quick To Forgive is a reflection on personal perseverance in the wake of confrontation, told through two distinctly different scenarios. "Savior Mode" finds frontman Jon Simmons baring his soul in a way that is unparalleled in their discography, while "Last To Know" is an emotionally-resonant highlight that leaves a lasting impact well after its final notes play out. Simmons' vulnerability and emotional delivery across both tracks cut through with unflinching precision courtesy of Andy Slaymaker (guitar), Matt Warner (bass), Erik Petersen (guitar), Dennis Wilson (drums), and who the band considers their 6th member--producer Will Yip. In the fall of 2022, the group got together at his Conshohocken, PA studio, Studio 4, with a few ideas that Yip helped turn into these otherworldly tracks. "It was all magic," Jon says. With a renewed sense of purpose, Balance and Composure will return to the stage for a series of Too Quick To Forgive release shows in some of the biggest rooms they've ever played.

For more than twenty years, +/- Plus/Minus has stood as a captivating fixture in the indie rock scene, defying simple categorization while blending futuristic odd-time signature pop with electronic elements and traditional rock instrumentation. The band's origins trace back to the friendship of childhood friends Patrick Ramos and James Baluyut, who would go on to play with 90s New York indie stalwarts Versus. Following the (temporary!) dissolution of Versus in 2001, Ramos and Baluyut welcomed seasoned drummer Chris Deaner, hailing from the Austin music scene, into the fold This fruitful collaboration led to the creation of five full-length albums, several EPs, a video compilation DVD, and extensive tours across the United States, Europe, and Asia, alongside acts including Death Cab For Cutie, The Wrens, Mates of State and more.

LAKE's 2009 album Let's Build A Roof KLP213, produced by Northwest legend Karl Blau, is sweet, funky and nostalgic - a paragon of psychedelic pop. Originally, this landmark album had overlooked sonic anomalies now corrected by REMASTERING. Five bonus songs have been added to the DIGITAL ALBUM, creating a whole new Let's Build a Roof.Let's Build A Roof is LAKE's most popular album with many fan favorites, though every track is unique. After extensive touring in 2009, LAKE entered Dub Narcotic Studio (Olympia, Wash.) to record fresh with their live energy. In the studio they were able to fill out their jingly pop aesthetic, enhanced with the vintage sounds of instruments available at Dub Narcotic and the local community. Blazing synth solos, timpani, flutes, saxophones, cello, and marimba, are just some of the featured sounds on Let's Build a Roof.Some of the album's most requested songs: "Madagascar," a dubby, slow-groove track; "Christmas Island" a surfy Phil Spector-sounding song used as theme music for the television in show Adventure Time; and "Don't Give Up", an upbeat motivating dance song with Blau performing the hook on harmonized saxophones; "Gravel" is the first single and has that a driving intensity that we can all deeply relate to - trying to keep up.

New Jersey-born Ali Berger is a drum machine specialist and low-key US dance music standby, now based in Pittsburgh after spending the 2010s in Boston and Detroit. His catalog of original music runs deep, with over 60 releases on his Trackland label and EPs on imprints like Spectral Sound and Sequencias, all resulting from a lovingly-cultivated studio approach which respects improvisation as a spiritual practice.

Here with this sublime release on Scissors and Thread, Ali shares a multitude of sounds and atmospheres across the five tracks. As Ali himself puts it “This record collects tracks from the last three years, plus 0221 (Serious Mix) which is from 2018. There's a full cross-section of production techniques represented here, from one-take jams to multi-tracked compositions, but through it all there's a deep melancholy which (I hope) is tempered by enough groove to be uplifting. Maintaining emotional balance takes constant, caring attention; music is a part of that process for me and these tracks reflect that.”

This balancing of melancholic atmospheres and groove is evident throughout - Rhythm & Simplicity is a low key thoughtful banger for the more discerning dancefloors, while A New World To Forget also exhibits a deep love of cultured house music and analog drum machines. Tape Jam pt 2 is the perfect mix of improvisation and pure groove, put down in a rough and gritty fashion. 0221 (Serious Mix) merges a breakbeat with pads and synths that give off a balearic sunrise vibe, while Motion Anthem wraps up the EP with a tougher groove coupled with wistful melodies and oceans of feeling.

Co-founded by Detroit natives Rahill Jamalifard and Lenny Lynch, Habibi got its start in Brooklyn in 2011, earning early raves every- where from Pitchfork and NME to All Things Considered and The New Yorker, who praised the band for infusing “the Colgate-white glisten of sixties-girl-group pop with an uncensored edge.” Dreamachine, Habibi’s mesmerizing new record releasing on Kill Rock Stars, marks a major sonic evolution for the band, rising beyond the critically acclaimed five-piece’s garage rock roots to arrive at a singular swirl of analog and digital elements that underpin their search for spiritual and physical transcendence. Produced by Tyler Love and longtime collaborator Jay Heiselmann and featuring MGMT multi-instrumentalist James Richard-son, the collection draws on a mix of post-punk, experimental pop, and vintage disco, calling to mind Tom Verlaine, Diana Ross, Kate Bush, and Kim Deal, all filtered through the band’s shared love of Middle Eastern psych music. The songs here are their own distinct worlds, each an immersive quest in pursuit of something greater, and the band’s performances are relentless and hypnotic to match, driven by lush synthesizers, sinewy guitars, and a muscular rhythm section. The result is a record as fearless as it is enthralling, an alternatingly fierce and joyous work that ascends to new heights as it reckons with desire and escape, love and surrender, rebellion and reality.

Zobol - Retrofuturism EP is a nostalgic yet forward-looking release that invokes past visions of the future.

It features five original tracks, ranging from upbeat and energetic to more ambient and introspective. Each track is a storytelling journey, exploring different aspects of Electro and Braindance.

Crafted with both analog and digital machines while enhanced by modern production techniques, it epitomizes the main concept of Retrofuturism. The result is a series of warm, melancholic soundscapes where the past meets the future.

Introducing "The Architecture of Oppression Part 2" - the highly anticipated follow-up to Jake Ferguson's critically acclaimed debut album - Part 1. Ferguson is recognised as the ‘other half’ of The Heliocentrics, producing his solo work under the moniker, The Brkn Record. Effortlessly merging the realms of music and activism, he has created a groundbreaking album, which is set to be one of the most important bodies of work that illustrate ongoing systemic racism this side of the millennium. Ferguson takes the listener to a world where artistry and social consciousness intersect. Crafting an array of captivating soundscapes and themes. This album showcases the vocal talents of both established artists and hidden gems discovered through Ferguson's day-job as a former charity CEO and community activist. While Part 1 served as a rallying cry to dismantle oppressive systems, Part 2 offers a compelling soundtrack of a Pro-Black world reclaiming its destiny. This thought-provoking art piece invites listeners to envision alternative paths while avoiding the pitfalls of past paradigms. Unlike a broken record, this The Brkn Record album keeps pushing boundaries— By enlisting the voices of The Global Majority, The Brkn Record creates a platform for genuine expression through sound. Renowned for his production skills, Ferguson has captured the admiration of industry heavyweights including Nas, Madlib and Kanye West. However, rather than seeking popular features, he chooses to amplify the authentic perspectives of the talented youth he collaborates with in Hackney. One such initiative supported by Ferguson, Account Hackney, introduced him to two gifted artists showcased on this album – Great Okosun and Yolanda Lear. ‘This album serves as a visceral demonstration of my anger at the racially founded status quo in this country and globally. The continued oppression of people on the basis of their race is beyond evil, its common place and needs to end. Simple as.’ The album also sees Ferguson joining forces with award winning laureate Anthony Joseph and legendary hip-hop MC Percee P - their dynamic and thought-provoking lyrics seamlessly intertwine with expertly produced musical landscapes. "The Architecture of Oppression Part 2" is not just an album; it is a transformative journey that challenges the listener and wants you to ‘feel’. It’s Art. A musical experience that inspires, compels, and empowers. Over to you!

"Listen to This." As the original working title for Bitches Brew, the instruction and invitation resonates to this day as the best way to approach a record that shattered conventions, altered music history, and, more than five decades after its original release, still sounds far ahead of its time. The aural Mount Rushmore of jazz fusion, Bitches Brew is rightly ranked by virtually every significant outlet among the 100 greatest albums ever made in any genre. Sewn together with vibrant colours, voodoo textures, and ethereal moods, the 1970 landmark emerges with supreme detail on Mobile Fidelity's definitive 180g 33RPM 2LP set.

Sourced from the original master tapes and pressed on 180g vinyl at RTI, this numbered-edition version of Bitches Brew joins the audiophile ranks of other essential Miles Davis sets reissued by Mobile Fidelity. Having established new possibilities for studio-recording techniques, the record can now be experienced to maximum degree by way of a pressing that widens and deepens the soundstage, opens up separation between instruments, and broadens the dynamic range. If ever a jazz album can be said to have gone to outer space and back, this is it.

Davis conceived Bitches Brew by having the musicians stand in a semi-circle, where he pointed at them with vague directions for tempo, solos, and cues. The collective improvisation and interplay spawned a galaxy of melodies and grooves later spliced together by producer Ted Macero. On this reissue, these creations take shape with utmost realism. Compositions stretch across black backgrounds and paint abstract canvasses on par with those of Axis: Bold As Love and Abraxas. Juxtaposed percussion, loose jams, and melodic segues explode with impressionistic verve.

And "verve" defines Bitches Brew. Gathering a Hall of Fame-worthy lineup of musicians and tweaking it according to his desires, Davis follows through on his idea to "put together the greatest rock and roll band you ever heard." Central to his proposition is the presence of two (and sometimes three) drummers and two bassists, a tactical move that thrusts rhythms into central focus. Akin to the futuristic album cover art, the drum-driven suites head toward distant universes and uncharted territories. At once hypnotizing and grooving, they chart maverick adventures with quixotic rock, funk, and R&B elements.

Conceptually, Davis described Bitches Brew as "a novel without words" and "an incredible journey of pain, joy, sorrow, hate, passion, and love." The vast psychedelic expanses of warped echoes, liquid reverb, and tape loops confirm such ambitious contrasts of light and dark, fear and hope. Yet the most absolute characteristic of this watershed effort lies in how it resists definitive interpretation and encourages free thought — the very principles with which Davis conceived the everlasting beauty and fascination that remain Bitches Brew.

Kingston-upon-Hull outfit The Black Delta Movement's new ‘In Acetate’ EP is a companion piece to the band’s recently released ‘Recovery Effects’ album.

Serving up eight tracks of immersive, groove-heavy psych-rock, The Black Delta Movemen’s second album ‘Recovery Effects’ was released in April 2023 and is already on its second vinyl pressing. Nearly five years in the works, it found band leader Matt Burr recruiting Little Barrie’s Barrie Cadogan, Lewis Wharton and Tony Coote to play on the record and The Heliocentrics’ Malcolm Catto on production duties.

The incoming ‘In Acetate’ EP is made up of three previously-unreleased tracks from those sessions (‘(This Is) Slow House’, ‘The Landgrab’ and ‘303’) and two remixes courtesy of UNKLE and Ill Japonia – aka Taigen Kawabe of Bo Ningen, who TBDM did a short Dutch tour with earlier this year.

"ANNO DOMINI picks up Black Sabbath’s story in 1989, two decades and multiple lineup changes into the band’s groundbreaking career as metal originators. At the time, membership had solidified around riffmaster and founding member Tony Iommi, legendary drummer Cozy Powell (Jeff Beck, Rainbow, Whitesnake), singer Tony Martin, and longtime Black Sabbath collaborator and keyboardist Geoff Nicholls (Quartz, Bandy Legs).
The group originally released Headless Cross in 1989 on I.R.S. Records, the first of five albums Sabbath recorded for the label. Praised by fans and critics alike, the band’s 14th studio release produced three singles: “Devil And Daughter,” “Call Of The Wild,” and the title track. Bassist Neil Murray (Whitesnake, Gary Moore) joined for the “Headless Cross Tour” and stayed to record Sabbath’s next album, 1990’s Tyr. Named for the Norse god of war, the album explores similar mythological themes in songs like “The Battle Of Tyr” and “Valhalla.” On “The Sabbath Stones,” the band channels Old Testament fire and brimstone into a classic bruiser.
In 1992, following a successful world tour, this incarnation of Black Sabbath was put on hold when the band reunited temporarily with Ronnie James Dio. Two years later, Martin and Nicholls were back in the studio with Iommi to record 1994’s Cross Purposes. The band was completed with the addition of founding Sabbath bassist Geezer Butler and drummer Bobby Rondinelli of Rainbow.
The Tyr-era Black Sabbath lineup reunited in 1995 when Powell and Murray returned to record Forbidden. It was the band’s 18th studio album, and its last for nearly 20 years.
Contents:
Vinyl box set includes:
• Newly Remastered Versions Of :
- Headless Cross
- Tyr
- Cross Purposes
• Brand New Remix By Tony Iommi Of Forbidden
• 1989 Headless Cross Tour Replica Concert Book
• 40 Page Book with Photos, Artwork and Liner Notes
• 1989 Headless Cross Replica Colour Poster"

A band who have justifiably been championed across the world, Tokyo’s Melt-Banana have been responsible for some of the most complex punk rock ever made … that far outshines ninety-nine percent of most other bands out there. The band once described their live show as “Shooting machine gun and laser beam, chaos in order.” And I think that pretty much sums them up. — Olli Siebelt, BBC No wave without the self-conscious pretension, avant garde composition compressed into one-minute-or-less bursts, urgency, intricate destruction, pure glorious abandon. Melt-Banana play the same way that Repulsion, Naked City, The Ruins, or The Boredoms all make you want to scream and dance and kill your neighbors. This is not music that we are conditioned to accept. This is you delirious with joy scraping your five senses off the floor. —Matthew Moyer, Ink19 Melt-Banana are in a league of their own. There are other extreme hardcore bands out there who are experimental and unique but Melt-Banana are more than that. They area giants amongst infants. Masters amongst pupils. Kings amongst serfs. Nobody can do what they do and nobody can adequately use words to describe them. —Jeb, Crass Menagerie

Upchuck are experiencing a moment. The Atlanta punk collective just came off multiple tour runs with their good friend Faye Webster. Their Ty Segall-produced second album Bite The Hand That Feeds, with all its buzzsaw guitars and high-speed rippers and headbanging sludge, arrived in October. Later this year, they’ll make appearances at multiple festivals including Coachella. In the midst of relentlessly barreling ahead, the band and their label Famous Class are taking a beat to revisit how they got here. After working with Segall on Bite the Hand That Feeds, the band floated the notion that they wished they could hear what their collaborator could do with the songs on their 2022 debut album Sense Yourself. Holed up in his studio over Christmas with COVID and nothing else to do, Ty Segall began toying with Sense Yourself, sifting through folders of unlabeled stems to find the best guitar parts, emboldening the drum sound, and bringing greater clarity to KT’s vocals, all while bolstering the urgency of the band’s overall attack. With Segall’s new mix, Upchuck’s intense and righteous debut now impossibly overflows with even more fuzz and fury. In Segall, they found a kindred spirit whose studio approach made sense for just how hard they wanted this music to hit. “When we first went to record with Ty for Bite the Hand That Feeds, Mikey and I walked into the guitar room and Ty said, ‘Don’t touch the EQs.’ We looked at the amp and everything was on 10 except the master volume,” Hoff said. Previously, the band had been encouraged to capture the unvarnished sound of the studio. They’d toured with Segall’s band Fuzz, so everybody had the same goal while recording together: Capture the electricity of their intense live set. The band’s shows have a reputation for coming unglued, and there’s no greater document of that than Sense Yourself’s iconic album artwork. With no text, it’s a candid photo of a moment from a show shot on film without editing: blood streaked across KT’s face as they shout into the mic. In the middle of their EP release show, KT was in the pit as a fan started crowd surfing inside a shopping cart. A loose piece of metal near a wheel caught the singer right near the eyebrow and blood was everywhere, an instant piece of iconography snapped by probably every camera phone in the room. When Hoff revisits the message of this first album and Upchuck’s first songs, he thinks back to the year before the band even started when he and KT were hanging out. “We were sitting around talking for eight hours like ‘fuck, that's fucked up, that's fucked up.’” Upchuck became a vehicle for these five people to process how fucked up everything it is—to digest these formative hours-long conversations and put them to bludgeoning, intense rock music. The music is also fun as hell, and that’s part of the point. “There's a lot we need to do as people and a lot of things we need to fix in society but also like come on man like have your fun, wild out, have your drink,” KT says. “But be on your shit at the same time. Check your folk.”

'The Singles Collection (The Spinefarm Years)' is a new luxurious compilation of singles by the legendary Finnish doom/death metal band Swallow The Sun. It focuses on the Spinefarm era of the band, which is to say their first six releases - five full-length albums and the 'Plague Of Butterflies' EP.

All of these full-lengths are represented with two songs (the singles) each on 12" singles, while the EP is included in its entirety on the same format, all of them including the original singles artwork and new liner notes provided by the band itself. The booklet pages and
lavish press photos in poster size were made especially for this boxset.

Two versions are available: a limited edition of 300 will come in variously coloured vinyl, and the remaining 700 will offer black
vinyl. In total, a limited and numbered edition of 1000 units which includes certificate of authenticity.

"Swallow the Sun is one of those bands that has created a notable amount of music over the years while remaining true to their
own unique sound. They have managed to consistently innovate their thoughtful voice while maintaining their originality." - Ghost
Cult Magazine

avigating vibrant influences of Latin-jazz, Tropicália and joyful grooves; multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, singer and producer Inês Loubet presents her utterly gorgeous debut album ‘Senga’. The album covers Inês’ experiences over the past five years, originating in Portugal, travelling through Brazil, before finding home in London.

Previously, Inês co-wrote and performed on Caravela’s album 'Orla' on None More Records, which was praised by the likes of Gilles Peterson and The Line of Best Fit. Her music has been played on Jazz FM, BBC 6 Music, BBC Radio 3, NTS and Soho Radio. A relentless live performer, she’s played alongside Brazilian legends Gilberto Gil & João Bosco, graced the stage of The Royal Albert Hall, Union Chapel, and O2 Shepherds Bush, around UK and international tours.

The album explores a range of profound themes including nature, travel, grief, unconditional love, separation, family dynamics, and the nuanced experience of womanhood in contemporary society. Dedications to the music, philosophy and revolutionary history of samba (‘Sambo Mesmo Sem’), everyday observations of joy (‘Guri’), and motivating generational change for the better (‘Sab Sabim’); glide across romantic harmonies and the Brazilian rhythms at the melodic heart of the album.

“I started writing whilst living in Salvador da Bahia, Brazil, in February 2020”, says Inês. “I was shy and hadn't written fully composed tracks before then. During lockdown I received support from The Arts Council’s DYCP, started making demos, gained confidence and started playing them live”. In October 2022 Inês was presented with the Drake YoLanda award and went to Giant Wafer studio in Wales for three days, before recording the final vocals at her home studio and mixing and mastering in Porto, Portugal.

Inês is joined on the album by a band of close friends. Percussionist and long-time collaborator Jansen Santana from Salvador da Bahia brings the soul of the drums, the tambor. “I always have the Bahia drums present in my mind when I write a new composition. I studied Latin percussion at University and then lived in Salvador absorbing all that heritage and knowledge”. Playing four different stringed instruments on the album, Greg Sanders is a long-time friend and collaborator from London “I met him in a samba band in 2015 and he was the first person I ever showed my songs to and played with”. The band is completed by Ruta Sipola on flute, Jake Burgess on tenor sax, Peu Meurray who recorded a lot of the percussion and lead vocals, and bassist Julio de Castro from Sao Paulo. “I was blown away by his bass playing, his swing and creativity, his ton of experience and professionalism but also his voice - he's an amazing singer and I believe that adds a lot to the magic”.

Inês concludes, “Last year, I had a show in London and I asked everyone in the audience to write down what they felt when they listened to the music. These are some of the things they wrote: wholesome, refreshing, lifted, moving, joyful, happy, nostalgic, warmth, force, goosebumps, emotional, togetherness, transported, rooted”. ‘Senga’ captures all of these feelings and more in a memorable first impression from a highly talented musician.

The next release on Nastia's imprint NECHTO introduces Stanislav Tolkachev's latest offering, 'NECH024.' A pioneer of the Ukrainian techno scene, Tolkachev's journey into techno began in the early 2000s in Dnipro, Ukraine. Renowned for his atonal modular sound, he continues to showcase his mastery of synths in this upcoming release with dozens of timeless tunes under his belt.

Having a longstanding connection with Nastia and the NECHTO label, Tolkachev's collaboration with the label has been in the making for years. Nastia's unwavering support during difficult times has fostered a genuine friendship between them, paving the way for a much anticipated release.
The tracks, recorded approximately five years ago in his studio in Kyiv, are live recordings made using analog modular synthesizers and FM groovebox, adding a touch of hooliganism and romance to the mix.

Having patiently awaited the perfect moment, Tolkachev now unveils the five tracks, characterised by his signature minimalistic, synth-led and atmospheric sound.

"Recorded and produced by friend and frequent collaborator Mo Troper, Who’s A Good Boy is equal parts scrappy and starry-eyed in its sonic makeup. Album opener “The Flake” sets the stage with fuzzy guitars crashing in and Ramirez’s relaxed vocals placed front and center, as a result, the track feels like throwing on a warm blanket. And look no further than the album’s charming lead single “We Both Won,” a jangly earworm with the hypnotic refrain of “Don’t worry about me” lingering long after the track ends, serving as further proof that Bory has found the recipe for the perfect pop song and knows how to deliver it in two minutes flat. At every twist and turn of Who’s A Good Boy there’s something new to be discovered, making it one of the most exciting debuts you're likely to hear in a long time.

"Warm but guarded, intricate and muted, reminiscent of the Shins and David Bazan and especially Elliott Smith." -Pitchfork
"Whether it's the pastoral "Feel The Burn" or the splendid, reverb-drenched "Five-Course Meal", Who's A Good Boy debut full-length project shows some major potential for Bory to earn the title of Next Big Thing in the genre." - UPROXX

For accomplices, Kinsey chose his ace rhythm section from WSL - bassist Hadrien Feraud and drummer Gergo Borlai - and a bold newcomer named Patrick Bartley Jr. on alto saxophone. Kinsey speaks of his group: "Gergo and Hadrien are one of the finest, most indemand rhythm sections playing today. They also have a deep understanding of this music since they both grew up with it - Gergo since he was just five! Patrick is a brilliant improviser who has a deep knowledge and love of straight-ahead jazz but is just as into Japanese video game music. He's what it means to be a musician in 2023 - taking everything you like and allowing it all to unabashedly flow out."

Bill MacKay and Drag City are delirious with pride to announce the discovery of a new territory: Locust Land, a record which seeks to reflect the nerve-shredding consciousness run amok in our world today - and somehow allay it with sound. Bill"s music is a visceral crackling where it meets the air, and Locust Land can"t help but reflect its era more than any other in his discography. It"s been five years since the release of Fountain Fire - but in the interim, Bill has barely stopped moving, collaborating with artists across the spectrum, including cellist Katinka Kleijn, banjo player Nathan Bowles and keyboardist Cooper Crain. He"s also contributed to recordings by Steve Gunn, Ryley Walker, Bill Callahan & Bonnie Prince Billy (Blind Date Party), and Black Duck (on their self-titled record featuring Douglas McCombs and Charles Rumback). Forget five years - how"d he even get Locust Land squeezed out of his temporal lobes? Bill"s sense of music as art is constantly modulating - lifting off from where it is found and naturally migrating to some other place. Sometimes, that"s elsewhere - others, it"s simply to be found deeper inside the starting point. And so, the action of moving on informs the landscape of Locust Land. This manifests in several different ways. A restless energy and urgency is repeatedly felt - in the driving momentum of "Keeping in Time," "Glow Drift," and "When I Was Here" - while a dogged persistence radiates from the tone colors and percussion of "Oh, Pearl." Mating a dirge-like desolation with sparkling guitars, "Radiator" adds darkness and depth. The sense of searching, displacement and longing in vocal tracks "Keeping in Time," "Half of You," and "When I Was Here" speak literally to the tumult of current vibrations. Within the arrangements, there"s also departure from previous norms - in addition to the brilliant guitar work for which he is known, Bill plays a variety of keyboards, from piano to organ to synth, extending his music with the available voicings, while enriching the sound field without abandoning his signature brevity. For fans of his singing, and following in the recent tradition of Fountain Fire as well as his collaboration with Nathan Bowles, Keys, Locust Land expresses with an increased vocal presence - and heightened engagement, with Bill"s words and melodies drawing us closer. Also different: on his previous solo recordings, Bill played every sound. Here, he has invited other illustrious Chicagoans to join him: Sam Wagster (The Father Costume, Mute Duo) plays bass on three songs, two of which feature the percussion playing of Mikel Patrick Avery (Natural Information Society, Jeff Parker, etc.). Additionally, Janet Beveridge Bean (Eleventh Dream Day, Freakwater) adds otherworldly vocal textures to the elegiac "Neil"s Field." Whether played alone or with companions, this music projects the strength of a universal collective. Even with a piece that might earlier have passed for blissful pastorale, Bill displays some declamatory motives. The reverie which opens the album, "Phantasmic Fairy," embodies both transcendent and desperate moods, with Bill"s ineffable slide guitar playing afloat, with organs and synths, in a dream state suffused with a sense of foreboding - a requiem, perhaps for the days of unencumbered bandwidth? On the other side of the album, the strength to continue to hope appears in the lifting melodicism/exoticism of the album-closing title track, leaving the listener with the sense of having achieved a hard-won space - a place of personal contemplation and dissent, one that everyone on the planet deserves to visit every single day on earth. With cover art also by Bill MacKay (the third of his albums on Drag City to feature his work), Locust Land stands as a thoroughly personal statement from Bill to everyone everywhere.

Bill MacKay and Drag City are delirious with pride to announce the discovery of a new territory: Locust Land, a record which seeks to reflect the nerve-shredding consciousness run amok in our world today - and somehow allay it with sound. Bill"s music is a visceral crackling where it meets the air, and Locust Land can"t help but reflect its era more than any other in his discography. It"s been five years since the release of Fountain Fire - but in the interim, Bill has barely stopped moving, collaborating with artists across the spectrum, including cellist Katinka Kleijn, banjo player Nathan Bowles and keyboardist Cooper Crain. He"s also contributed to recordings by Steve Gunn, Ryley Walker, Bill Callahan & Bonnie Prince Billy (Blind Date Party), and Black Duck (on their self-titled record featuring Douglas McCombs and Charles Rumback). Forget five years - how"d he even get Locust Land squeezed out of his temporal lobes? Bill"s sense of music as art is constantly modulating - lifting off from where it is found and naturally migrating to some other place. Sometimes, that"s elsewhere - others, it"s simply to be found deeper inside the starting point. And so, the action of moving on informs the landscape of Locust Land. This manifests in several different ways. A restless energy and urgency is repeatedly felt - in the driving momentum of "Keeping in Time," "Glow Drift," and "When I Was Here" - while a dogged persistence radiates from the tone colors and percussion of "Oh, Pearl." Mating a dirge-like desolation with sparkling guitars, "Radiator" adds darkness and depth. The sense of searching, displacement and longing in vocal tracks "Keeping in Time," "Half of You," and "When I Was Here" speak literally to the tumult of current vibrations. Within the arrangements, there"s also departure from previous norms - in addition to the brilliant guitar work for which he is known, Bill plays a variety of keyboards, from piano to organ to synth, extending his music with the available voicings, while enriching the sound field without abandoning his signature brevity. For fans of his singing, and following in the recent tradition of Fountain Fire as well as his collaboration with Nathan Bowles, Keys, Locust Land expresses with an increased vocal presence - and heightened engagement, with Bill"s words and melodies drawing us closer. Also different: on his previous solo recordings, Bill played every sound. Here, he has invited other illustrious Chicagoans to join him: Sam Wagster (The Father Costume, Mute Duo) plays bass on three songs, two of which feature the percussion playing of Mikel Patrick Avery (Natural Information Society, Jeff Parker, etc.). Additionally, Janet Beveridge Bean (Eleventh Dream Day, Freakwater) adds otherworldly vocal textures to the elegiac "Neil"s Field." Whether played alone or with companions, this music projects the strength of a universal collective. Even with a piece that might earlier have passed for blissful pastorale, Bill displays some declamatory motives. The reverie which opens the album, "Phantasmic Fairy," embodies both transcendent and desperate moods, with Bill"s ineffable slide guitar playing afloat, with organs and synths, in a dream state suffused with a sense of foreboding - a requiem, perhaps for the days of unencumbered bandwidth? On the other side of the album, the strength to continue to hope appears in the lifting melodicism/exoticism of the album-closing title track, leaving the listener with the sense of having achieved a hard-won space - a place of personal contemplation and dissent, one that everyone on the planet deserves to visit every single day on earth. With cover art also by Bill MacKay (the third of his albums on Drag City to feature his work), Locust Land stands as a thoroughly personal statement from Bill to everyone everywhere.

Following his debut EP ‘En clair-obscur’ and a series of singles earlier this year cementing his place as a rising name in the world of cinematic soul & funk, Hamburg’s finest cinematic soul artist ‘The Offline’ announces his debut album 'La couleur de la mer'.

Reminiscent of film scores from the 60s and 70s, The Offline worked with co-producer Tim Liztenberger to channel the influence of film composers such as Francois de Roubaix and Brian Bennet, creating his own soundtrack on ‘La couleur de la mer’. Inducing images of manorial, fog-swept villas at the sea's edge, silhouetted sailing boats and cigar-chomping villains attempting to thwart the mission of an imaginary hero, the record is a masterfully composed sonic journey. Experimenting with themes and atypical song structures, the music moves from dramatic cues to fragile romanticism. It incorporates psychedelic spaciness, retro soul and hip-hop sensibilities informed by The Offline’s extensive record collection and crate-digger status.

“Ever since I was a child, I was fascinated by the soundtracks from the 60s and 70s, and I always wanted to make an album in the film score direction. I wrote about 30 demos, kicked half of it and stuck to the ones that felt right in the dramaturgical structure of the ‘movie'. Interestingly the main theme was set early on while writing the album, which made the writing process much easier.”

Aptly named, ‘Thème de la couleur de la mer’ opens proceedings, establishing the core motifs of the record. Haunting flutes and xylophones lead the way into Khruangbin-esque guitar lines, which sit against a hip-hop canvas that returns on boom-bap head boppers like ‘Quelque chose reste’. Retro soul revival takes precedence on deep cuts like ‘Un bout de chemin’, with wah-gated guitars interacting with emotive cello lines and symphonic string & horn sections.

The Offline came to life when composer and photographer Felix Müller travelled the Atlantic coastline in the south of France with his analogue camera, capturing beach life on film. After coming back to Hamburg, he started writing songs as the sonic counterpart to the analogue visuals. His Debut EP ‘En Clair-Obscur’ includes five tracks that capture the essence of his journey and the feeling of a cool summer soundtrack.

Svart Records are proud to release the long-awaited full length album "SÁLA" by Kati Rán in May 2024

If the most profound treasures are often the most deeply buried, the journey to uncover them is vital process of discovery. Five years after the 15-minute single “Blodbylgje” signaled the birth of a new, more primordial, and immersive vision after the dissolution of her band L.E.A.F., Nordic dark folk artist Kati Rán has expanded on its oceanic theme for her long-awaited full-length album, “SÁLA”. Embarking on a far-reaching musical and personal travelogue, it’s a reawakening of both the feminine narratives submerged and fragmented within Norse mythology, and the enduring, healing powers held within.

Named after the Old Norse word for ‘soul’ and ‘sea’, “SÁLA” is an act of ‘soul retrieval’, the shamanic art of trauma recovery, be it illness, death, heartbreak or loss, and the reintegration of a splintered self. Across its 13, wide-ranging, elegantly unfolding tracks, the album is an embodiment of different feminine voices and perspectives – from the Norse nine daughters of the sea, or ‘billow maidens’, through various historical and fictional figures to the late-night voices we hear in our most liminal states – all with tales to tell, riddles to solve, challenges to be accepted and guidance to offer. It’s a multiplicity that, like the ocean itself, belongs to a vast, restless dynamic: a matrix of mysteries, unfathomable depths and ever-shifting currents, accumulating into an elemental, regenerative source of power.

Recorded in a barn in Húsafell, Iceland – home to glacier ice caves and a rare lava stone marimba rediscovered for the track “Stone Pillars” – as well as Finland, Norway and at home in Kati’s native Netherlands, “SÁLA” is as much chronicle of Kati’s own perspective-shifting recording process as it as a pilgrimage through different viewpoints and internal states. That itinerate urge is also reflected in the use of different languages, ranging across Norwegian, Old Norse, Icelandic, and, for the first time, English, her combination of ancient texts, historical reimagining’s and unguarded personal reflection backed up by deep research into the most resonant recesses of Nordic lore.

Spun throughout every thread of “SÁLA” is a sense of communion - with the power of stories to offer moral guidance and the thrill of the unknown; with the element of water, recreated across the album both in field recordings and the agelessly organic nature of the music itself; with the archetypes whose qualities we are called upon to embody at our most critical moments; and with the internal hidden realms forever whispering at us from the far edges of our consciousness.

Appropriately, it’s a collaborative venture too. As well as working closely together with Finnish producer Jaani Peuhu, there are contributions from across the musical spectrum, including extreme metal vocalist extraordinaire Gaahl, the Icelandic female choir Umbra Ensemble, renowned Norwegian jazz musician Karl Seglem, Björk and Brian Eno contrabassist Borgar Magnason, members of pagan folk acts Völuspá, Gealdýr, Heilung and Theodor Bastard and even Napalm Death’s Mitch Harris on vocals.

For all the many sources “SÁLA” draws from, the result is a singular, intimately transformative rite of passage, and a retuning of the heart to the reverent continuity of the sacred. It will take you from the opening title track’s chest-pounding rhythmic pulse emerging from a traditional Norwegian bukkehorn (recorded by Karl Seglem), a galloping horse-rider and Kati’s glacial, velveteen chant, through “Kólga’s” recounting of female persecution through the ages borne on the most gossamer-light yet unbreakable of timbres and “Stone Pillar’s” gently percolating, deep wells of abandonment and incantations to recovery. “SÁLA” closes with the track “Sátta” - Old Norse for ‘peace’ and ‘reconciliation’ – ending the album as it began with the bukkehorn, as it weaves rich drones and experience-stamped poems and prayers, Kati’s vocals the most sensitively tuned of emotional barometers. An album made in dedication, and in thrall to, its own sense of destiny, “SÁLA” is, as all quests must ultimately be, a homecoming.

Album introduction written by Jonathan Selzer.

Svart Records are proud to release the long-awaited full length album "SÁLA" by Kati Rán in May 2024

If the most profound treasures are often the most deeply buried, the journey to uncover them is vital process of discovery. Five years after the 15-minute single “Blodbylgje” signaled the birth of a new, more primordial, and immersive vision after the dissolution of her band L.E.A.F., Nordic dark folk artist Kati Rán has expanded on its oceanic theme for her long-awaited full-length album, “SÁLA”. Embarking on a far-reaching musical and personal travelogue, it’s a reawakening of both the feminine narratives submerged and fragmented within Norse mythology, and the enduring, healing powers held within.

Named after the Old Norse word for ‘soul’ and ‘sea’, “SÁLA” is an act of ‘soul retrieval’, the shamanic art of trauma recovery, be it illness, death, heartbreak or loss, and the reintegration of a splintered self. Across its 13, wide-ranging, elegantly unfolding tracks, the album is an embodiment of different feminine voices and perspectives – from the Norse nine daughters of the sea, or ‘billow maidens’, through various historical and fictional figures to the late-night voices we hear in our most liminal states – all with tales to tell, riddles to solve, challenges to be accepted and guidance to offer. It’s a multiplicity that, like the ocean itself, belongs to a vast, restless dynamic: a matrix of mysteries, unfathomable depths and ever-shifting currents, accumulating into an elemental, regenerative source of power.

Recorded in a barn in Húsafell, Iceland – home to glacier ice caves and a rare lava stone marimba rediscovered for the track “Stone Pillars” – as well as Finland, Norway and at home in Kati’s native Netherlands, “SÁLA” is as much chronicle of Kati’s own perspective-shifting recording process as it as a pilgrimage through different viewpoints and internal states. That itinerate urge is also reflected in the use of different languages, ranging across Norwegian, Old Norse, Icelandic, and, for the first time, English, her combination of ancient texts, historical reimagining’s and unguarded personal reflection backed up by deep research into the most resonant recesses of Nordic lore.

Spun throughout every thread of “SÁLA” is a sense of communion - with the power of stories to offer moral guidance and the thrill of the unknown; with the element of water, recreated across the album both in field recordings and the agelessly organic nature of the music itself; with the archetypes whose qualities we are called upon to embody at our most critical moments; and with the internal hidden realms forever whispering at us from the far edges of our consciousness.

Appropriately, it’s a collaborative venture too. As well as working closely together with Finnish producer Jaani Peuhu, there are contributions from across the musical spectrum, including extreme metal vocalist extraordinaire Gaahl, the Icelandic female choir Umbra Ensemble, renowned Norwegian jazz musician Karl Seglem, Björk and Brian Eno contrabassist Borgar Magnason, members of pagan folk acts Völuspá, Gealdýr, Heilung and Theodor Bastard and even Napalm Death’s Mitch Harris on vocals.

For all the many sources “SÁLA” draws from, the result is a singular, intimately transformative rite of passage, and a retuning of the heart to the reverent continuity of the sacred. It will take you from the opening title track’s chest-pounding rhythmic pulse emerging from a traditional Norwegian bukkehorn (recorded by Karl Seglem), a galloping horse-rider and Kati’s glacial, velveteen chant, through “Kólga’s” recounting of female persecution through the ages borne on the most gossamer-light yet unbreakable of timbres and “Stone Pillar’s” gently percolating, deep wells of abandonment and incantations to recovery. “SÁLA” closes with the track “Sátta” - Old Norse for ‘peace’ and ‘reconciliation’ – ending the album as it began with the bukkehorn, as it weaves rich drones and experience-stamped poems and prayers, Kati’s vocals the most sensitively tuned of emotional barometers. An album made in dedication, and in thrall to, its own sense of destiny, “SÁLA” is, as all quests must ultimately be, a homecoming.

Album introduction written by Jonathan Selzer.

Nearly twenty-five years after disbanding, Gastr del Sol have unpacked their archive, stringing together an alternative view to their genre-melting 1993-1998 run.
This assembly of previously uncollected studio recordings and beautifully captured unreleased live performances forms a spacious ode to the flux that was their métier;
a further set of reinventions that continue to alter the manner in which we hear music, and literally everything else!

“Depas strikes a fine balance between raw energy and subtle melodic hooks.” (DMY) “Throughout the pounding track Midnight Ride, the Italian beat smith expertly blends lush synths with intricate rhythmic components and gritty bass.” (EDM com)

“Depas' approach to techno is a veritable melting pot of influences, blending sounds from the 80s and 90s with contemporary symphonic and cinematic elements.” (Magnetic Mag)

Following his recent ‘Rave The Planet’ EP at the end of February, Milanese hard techno producer Maike Depas is back with a brand-new release on well-renowned label The Innovation Studio. His newest EP is named ‘The Age Of Chaos’ and features a five-track banger arsenal – including a special remix by Italo-American producer Matasism, which was also included in his recent BPtich Control mixtape.

“This EP is the result my own experience throughout an inner dystopic reality, where energy-ridden sounds and epics all collide into a very personal version of the hard techno legacy I’m devoted to.”

‘No Redemption’ is a proper big-room belter, with explosive drop divided by a big break and a statuesque vocal that feels like a claim: “Techno is my only drug”. Same goes for ‘Tesseract’ and it’s rave-like atmosphere and hypnotic hook. ‘Dystopia’ is pure groove and makes the listener dive into a distorted and futuristic metaverse, while ‘Cyber Attack’ and its remix include synthetic vocals tha aim to symbolize an artificial imposition: man against machine, fiction against reality.

‘The Age Of Chaos’ will be available from April 19th via The Innovation Studio.

After a hiatus of five years, The Pearlfishers, Glasgow"s finest, return with their ninth album for Marina - most probably their best and most immediate one so far. Driven by main man David Scott"s exceptional songwriting and sophisticated arrangements, Making Tapes For Girls is a goldmine of pop gems - full of witty & colourful lyrics about the affirmative & healing power of music and pop escapism. The title track evokes memories of those days of compiling a C-30/60/90 for your loved one or secretly adored one: "I didn"t know how to say the right thing / So I left it to Joni and Paul...". Those mix tapes that came straight from your heart & soul - "the nub of it, the truth of it, the "you" of it." It is another Pearlfishers classic in the vein of My Dad The Weatherfan and Even On A Sunday Afternoon and also David Scott"s nod to Terry Hall"s The Colour Field.

After a hiatus of five years, The Pearlfishers, Glasgow"s finest, return with their ninth album for Marina - most probably their best and most immediate one so far. Driven by main man David Scott"s exceptional songwriting and sophisticated arrangements, Making Tapes For Girls is a goldmine of pop gems - full of witty & colourful lyrics about the affirmative & healing power of music and pop escapism. The title track evokes memories of those days of compiling a C-30/60/90 for your loved one or secretly adored one: "I didn"t know how to say the right thing / So I left it to Joni and Paul...". Those mix tapes that came straight from your heart & soul - "the nub of it, the truth of it, the "you" of it." It is another Pearlfishers classic in the vein of My Dad The Weatherfan and Even On A Sunday Afternoon and also David Scott"s nod to Terry Hall"s The Colour Field.

We are delighted to bring you the follow up to the successful 'The Bristol Punk Explosion (1977-1979) album released in November 2023 - a twelve-track compilation entitled 'The Bristol Punk Explosion Vol 2 (1977-1981).'The sleeve notes are written by Tim Williams author of the 1977 Loaded Fanzine. Tim talks about the transition from Soul to Punk, the demise of Prog Rock and the fashion culture that sat seamlessly alongside the music. There are three previously unreleased tracks never before available on vinyl. The Cortinas were the first. They played the Roxy Club, released two singles on Mark Perry and Miles Copeland's Step Forward label, graced the front cover of Sniffin' Glue and recorded a Peel Session. Taking their cue, bands like Social Security (the first band on Heartbeat Records), The Pigs (whose 'Youthanasia' single was released by Miles Copeland's New Bristol Records), The Media, 48 Hours and Private Dicks gave Bristol one of the strongest provincial early punk scenes. The area of Barton Hill gave us The X-Certs, who by 1978 could already pull audiences of five hundred into Trinity Hall. Though we did not realise it at the time, they effectively bridged the gap between the late 70s Bristol scene and what our American cousins like to term the UK82 bands. In time bands from the suburbs of Bristol started to appear on the scene, Misdemeanor (who were managed by the late Dennis Sheehan U2's tour manager for thirty plus years), Apartment from Downend (whose photo adorns the front cover) and Noiz Boiz from Weston Super Mare, the seaside town just down the road. This compilation is designed to give all fans of Punk a snapshot of what Bristol Punk was all about during that period. We close side Two of the album with The X-Certs Clash infused /reggae single 'Together' and follow it with one of Bristol finest Roots reggae bands Talisman and their single 'Wicked Dem'. The punky/reggae party had truly started as we move into the 80's Bristol Stylee! Bristol Boys Make More Noise!

This One Is For The Party is the final studio album by The Trammps, originally released in 1984. The Trammps, hailing from Philadelphia, were a prominent fixture in the disco scene of the 1970s. Consisting of Earl Young, Harold Wade, Jimmy Ellis, Robert Upchurch, and Stanley Wade, they were known for their infectious grooves and energetic live performances.

The Trammps earned their place in music history with hits like “Disco Inferno” and “Hold Back the Night”, but also “Shout” and “Move” became disco classics. 40 years after its original release, the tracks of This One Is For The Party continue to fill dance floors at parties and their influence can be heard in modern dance and pop music. The album also features a guest performance by the Dutch female group Mai Tai on “I Don’t Know (One For The Party)”.

Die besten Songs aus den kultigsten Woddy Allen Filmen.

Black/White Swirl Vinyl, limited to 200 copies. Hannover based band RESOLUTIONS is back with their sophomore album "Monster Mirror" out May 24th, 2024 via End Hits Records, marking their 10th year as a band and the newest addition to the End Hits Records roster. Starting in 2013 and after releasing their demo, several 7"s and 2016's "Weightless" album while playing hundreds of shows across Europe, RESOLUTIONS return with 10 catchy songs combining elements of alternative and melodic punk rock bands from the 90s and 2000s. Growing through discomfort while aiming on keeping their sound true to songs and records they love, the five piece band created 10 highly energetic songs that formed a uniquely sounding album with lyrics focussing on the aspect of self-reflection and the lacking urge of constant 24/7 self-optimization in the world's current living pace. This very same discomfort pushed RESOLUTIONS to step out of their to date comfort zone of the genre's almost stereotypical trusty three chords and gruffy vocals to perform on a clean but powerful recording which was done by Alex Sickel at Tiny Pond Studios, who worked with the band already on their first LP - "Weightless".? "Monster Mirror" calls for fans of bands with somewhat dark and (over-) thoughtful lyrics, yet accessible and driving melodies like HOT WATER MUSIC, ALKALINE TRIO and JIMMY EAT WORLD.