Repress!
Wewantsounds presents this reissue of Billy Brooks' much sought-after album 'Windows Of The Mind', released in 1974 on Ray Charles' Crossover Records. It includes one of the most famous samples in hip hop history in the form of 'Fourty Days' which forms the backbone of A Tribe Called Quest's 1990 anthemic "Luck of Lucien". Newly remastered, the reissue comes with original artwork.
Seit 25 Jahren gehört das Berliner Duo zu den Pionieren und führenden Vertretern des emotional-melodischen House & Techno und legt nun mit "Dear Future Self" sein neuntes Album vor, geschrieben und produziert auf seinen globalen Touren von Neuseeland bis Berlin, mit Künstlerkollabos aus Island, Südafrika, England und Deutschland. "Das ist unser cluborientiertestes Werk bislang, viele der Songs wurden in den letzten 18 Monaten rund um den Erdball live getestet. Von wunderschönen Sonnenuntergängen am Strand bis zu Fabrikhallen, von grossen Festivals bis zu kleinen Clubs, nur die wirklich essentiellen Tracks schafften es auf das Album", so Booka Shade. Ein weiteres Must-Have für die zahlreichen Fans, das die sich immer weiter entwickelnde und verfeinernde Palette von Booka Shade um ein Juwel erweitert. Zusätzlich belegt das Duo seine Innovationsfreudigkeit mit dem "Dolby Atmos 3CD Audio Blu-ray" Format, für dessen Mix Kraftwerk-Mitglied Fritz Hilpert verantwortlich zeichnet, der bereits für seinen Surround Mix von Kraftwerks "3D - Der Katalog" 2017 für den Grammy nominiert wurde.
A memorable name with an outstanding cover, Fuzzy Duck is a classic slice of underground London art rock and melodic psychedelia. Originally released on MAM in 1971, it’s truly a musical force of infectious riffs and fiery solos, sharp tempo changes, a tight rhythm section and heavy, Hammond-drenched grooves. With echoes of Spencer Davis Group, early Grand Funk and Vanilla Fudge, it comes on like a heavier Soft Machine or Caravan. No wonder Fuzzy Duck’s cult appeal has endured.
The album features Mick Hawksworth (Five Day Week Straw People, Andromeda) on bass, acoustic 12-string, electric cello and some of the vocal duties, and also Roy “Daze” Sharland (Crazy World of Arthur Brown, Spice) on organ and electric piano. Accompanying those two were Paul Francis on drums and percussion, and Grahame White on guitars and the rest of the vocals.
Originally released in an edition of 500, Fuzzy Duck became legendary all over the world through a holy trinity of scarcity, personnel and its sheer brilliance.
The album kicks off with a heavy, bass-fuelled, Hammond rocker titled “Time Will Be Your Doctor”. This is pure hard-edged blues rock, brilliantly played. Its drum break intro was sampled by DJ Premier for Gang Starr’s “Mostly Tha Voice” on 1994’s legendary Hard To Earn. And we can hear its personality all over Harvey and Thomas Bullock’s Map Of Africa.
Rollicking highlight “Mrs. Prout” follows. At nearly 7 minutes long, it incorporates more psych-leaning guitar and drawn-out keyboards à la Ray Manzarek with the band effortlessly switching from jazzy rhythm section to a progressive one. That magnificent instrumental jam that starts half-way and continues through to the end is a true wonder.
“Just Look Around You” is propulsive folk-rock with a soaring, proto power-pop chorus, backed by frenetic organ and heavy bass high in the rich, intoxicating mix. Back comes the heavy, strung-out psych to both close out side one with “Afternoon Out” and kick off side two with “More Than I Am”. Both tracks are improvisational winners that stylistically nod to the late sixties and “More Than I Am”’s guitar hook, catchy organ and memorable chorus would’ve surely made it a great single.
“Country Boy” quenches the thirst for rhythm and melody, only the lyrics and vibe are wonderfully creepy. The sudden cut of the groove and the drop into a more sinister tempo will make you stumble, before the band pick up speed and toss you back again into the opening jam, this time with a badass organ to ride you home. The final, fully fleshed out track is the majestic “In Our Time”, which oscillates between endless organ-driven boogie and heavenly, genuinely moving vocals. Just stunning.
Infamous instrumental cut “A Word from Big D” rounds out the album. Yes, that’s the band jamming with duck quack sound effects accompanying the music. “Ducking vocals” as the sleeve says. You know, just in case the whole “duck” theme had passed you by. It’s an appropriate closer for what sounds like an album that must have been *a lot* of fun to record. It’s definitely fun to listen to.
Mastered by Be With’s chief sound duck Simon Francis and cut with glee by the veteran Pete Norman, this reissue of Fuzzy Duck’s one-and-only LP sounds as mighty as it should. That unforgettable sleeve artwork has been carefully restored and the records pressed by the wonderful Record Industry in the Netherlands. Essential.
Les Ya Toupas is a band formed in 1976 by Bopol Mansiamina (Bass - Success Mode, 4 Stars ..), Manuaku Waku (aka Grand Zaiko Wawa) and Ray Lema (Piano, Organ and Guitar) Between 1976 and 1978, they recorded several 7inches including the famous title “Je ne bois
pas beaucoup” (1976) compiled on the series of Sofrito (Tropical Discotheque ) in 2011. In 1978, they recorded this unique and unclassifiable instrumental album, Les Ya Toupas du Zaïre, produced by Gérard Akueson (founder of Akue Records and Abeti's producer). The LP is composed of minimalist Afro Jazz rhythms and Deep Funk grooves that are close at times to a tropical trance, all played by musicians who used to offer more classic Rumba rhythms.
It is their only album before the departure in 1979 of Ray Lema for the United States and then France. Ray Lema's departure follows a violent disagreement which opposed him to the dictator Mobutu then in place in Zaïre. Let's not forget that the album was released in 1978 and can be seen as their last musicial project
HIGHLIGHTS First ever reissue of "Kabwlú", a very hard-to-find album released by Discos Fuentes in 1965. The mysterious Los Picapiedra (which translates as The Flintstones, inspired by the 1960s American cartoon show), was a short-lived studio group with one albumto their name, "Kabwlú", mixing 'folkloric' and 'modern' elements with calculated 'caveman' humor. It is very musically diverse; not only are there the requisite genres that could be found on similar Colombian teenage-oriented groups' records of the time, such as cumbia, gaita, rock, twist and pachanga, but there is also a smattering of surf, doo-wop, Latin jazz, guajira, ska, and calypso. But what makes the whole thing so special is the odd, off-kilter arrangements, spooky tunings, rudimentary clanging percussion, invented 'cave' language, prominent twanging electric guitar and many zany sound effects. Several of Los Picapiedra's songs became very popular in Colombia as well as Venezuela and especially in the 'rebajada' (slowed down) version as played by the 'sonidero' sound system DJs in Mexico, such as "La Hossa". Presented in its original artwork and pressed on 180g vinyl. Part of Vampisoul's reissue series of classic Fuentes LPs. DESCRIPTION While Discos Fuentes was known for recording all sorts of interesting sounds from traditional folkloric Colombian music to the latest popular international styles, every once and a while they would put out a "novelty" record, perhaps to exploit a passing fad, and at times the label would green-light something strange or even outlandish. Many of those left-field releases have their merits and have subsequently become collectors' items over the years. One such case is the mysterious Los Picapiedra (which translates as The Flintstones, no doubt inspired by the 1960s American sitcom cartoon show), a short-lived studio group with one album to their name, "Kabwlú" (an unpronounceable, invented "caveman" term that is also untranslatable, but seems to have been the 'traditional rhythm' of Los Picapiedra's 'homeland'). What is interesting about the record is that it is very musically diverse; not only are there the requisite genres that could be found on similar Colombian teenage-oriented groups' records of the time, such as cumbia, gaita, rock, twist and pachanga, but there is also a smattering of surf, doo-wop, Latin jazz, guajira, ska, and calypso. But what makes the whole thing so special is the odd, off-kilter arrangements, spooky tunings, rudimentary clanging percussion, invented 'cave' language, prominent twanging electric guitar and many zany sound effects. Much like its namesake American cartoon The Flintstones, "Kabwlú" trades in creative anachronism, mixing 'folkloric' and 'modern' elements with calculated 'caveman' humor that works on many different levels. For instance the title tune seems to have been inspired by the pachanga craze and recalls the vibe of Ray Barretto's massive 1962 hit, 'El Watusi', but it has a certain joyful simplicity and rock-solid underpinning that elevates it beyond mere novelty or exploitation - and argues for its timely reissue for today's audience. The band was a studio invention that had no major significance in Medellin's live music activity. However, several of Los Picapiedra's songs were very popular in Colombia as well as Venezuela and especially in the 'rebajada' (slowed down) version as played by the 'sonidero' sound system DJs in Mexico, such as "La Hossa". Pablo E Yglesias (aka DJ Bongohead, Peace & Rhythm) Additional research by Luis Daniel Vega
Ltd. White Label
Limitierte White-Label-Auflage mit exzellenten Remixes von Gerd Janson und Abel Ray zu "What Do We Care" aus Moscomans brandneuem Album "Time Slips Away", das dieser Tage parallel erscheint. Insbesondere Gerd Janson transformiert den Track in einen ansteckend-catchy Synth-Pop-Ohrwurm mit hohem Suchtfaktor.
Middle Name Dance Tracks Vol 1 is the second release from Sampology’s new imprint. The Middle Name Dance Tracks project reflects standout live & club nights in Brisbane of recent years, where there has seen a steady cross pollination between the club and soul/jazz communities. The blurred line between these two musical worlds has delivered an array of diverse and joyful events for both artists and avid music fans.
This project is a collaborative creative effort between Sampology, Megan Christensen and Sam Stosuur. The recording process was live in nature with Megan on piano and keys, Sam Stosuur on bass/bass synth and Sampology on MPC drums and programming. Having live conga & timbale from Brisbane based Latin percussion staple Gus Cereiji glues the groove together. These sonic choices were inspired by listening to NYC early 80s disco labels, especially Prelude 12" releases, which balanced drum machine & synths as well as live studio musicians. Vocals on 'Only Joy' were recorded by Kerry Raywood. Vocals for 'Bless' come from Brisbane jazz vocalist Merinda Dias-Jayasinha. The combination of the Middle Name Dance Tracks trio and the additional Brisbane artists offers a specific music palette that’s live in essence, dancefloor in orientation, and magical in delivery.
Middle Name Records Dance Tracks Vol 1. artwork was created by artist Sue Poggioli, Sampology’s mother who also created the artwork for the 2016 Natural Selections EP.
Wu Hen is the sophomore album from Peckham visionary Kamaal Williams -- an invitation to elevate to a higher state Cinematic strings from Miguel-Atwood Ferguson and virtuoso saxophone from Quinn Mason are textural additions that make for a deeper, multi-layered experience than previous releases.
Bringing groove back to the forefront, Wu Hen oscillates between celestial jazz, funk, rap and r&b reinforced with the rugged beat-heavy attitude of grime, jungle, house and garage - a self-styled fusion Kamaal describes as Wu Funk.
New players on this record include LA’s Greg Paul on drums (of Kalayst Collective), Rick Leon James on bass, Quinn Mason on saxophone alongside vocal features from cult rapper Mach-Hommy and Kaytranada collaborator Lauren Faith. Multi-talented renaissance musician Miguel Atwood-Ferguson (who has worked with Ray Charles, Flying Lotus, Dr. Dre, Mary J. Blige, and Seu Jorge) contributes signature strings, which add vivid colour and rich depth, evoking vintage David Axelrod.
Kamaal rose to prominence with the hugely acclaimed Yussef Kamaal alongside drummer Yussef Dayes and a catalogue of 12”s for imprints such as MCDE, Eglo, and Rhythm Section as Henry Wu that became essential DJ tools. In 2018 he launched Black Focus Records with the Kamaal Williams debut The Return, which charted in the UK and saw sold out shows and festival appearances across Europe, North America and Asia.
Swiss jazz bliss! We Release Jazz is very, very, VERY happy to present its sixth release (following Ryo Fukui’s Scenery and Mellow Dream, Le Cercle Rouge’s soundtrack by Eric Demarsan, Stuff Combe 5 + Percussion, and Marc Moulin’s Placebo Live 1971) coming straight from its beloved hometown of Geneva. Boillat Thérace Quintet’s self-titled album is available for the first time since its original limited private pressing in 1974 and comes as a vinyl LP as well as a digipack CD* (with 3 never-heard bonus songs). Full of prolific and inspired local clusters and boosted by the recently launched Montreux Jazz Festival, the Swiss jazz scene was vibrant and inventive in the 1970s, notably in the region surrounding Lake Geneva. This is precisely where jazz activist and brilliant pianist Jean-François Boillat and wind instrument master Raymond Thérace formed their quintet whose dazzling debut album was recorded in 1974. An absolute Lemanic gem of the soul-jazz/modal kind, the self-titled album includes superb covers of Freddie Hubbard’s “Straight Life”, Keith Jarrett’s “In Your Quiet Place”, and Rahsaan Roland Kirk’s “Sweet Fire”, plus groovy original compositions from the Boillat-Thérace crew. Helvetian fun facts: the velvety “1224” is dedicated to Geneva’s public transport line Tram 12, and one exquisitely funky track on the album is named after the famed yet elusive (and locally legendary) Swiss Marmite: “Cenovis”! This is reissued in conjunction with Boillat Thérace Quintet’s My Greatest Love featuring Benny Bailey (1975), also available via We Release Jazz. *The CD version includes 3 bonus tracks (Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter, and Claude Engel covers), never released before.
More Swiss jazz bliss! We Release Jazz (Ryo Fukui’s Scenery and Mellow Dream, Marc Moulin’s Placebo Live 1971…) is madly happy to unleash another reissue from Geneva’s very own Boillat Thérace Quintet. The My Greatest Love album features none other than bebop and hard-bop legend Benny Bailey and is available for the first time since 1975 on vinyl LP as well as digipack CD. Galvanized by the creation of the Montreux Jazz Festival in the late 60s and lively local scenes, jazz music was healthy and booming in Switzerland in the 1970s. One band that beautifully captured this energy was Jean-François Boillat and Raymond Thérace’s Boillat Thérace Quintet whose self-titled debut and impressive Montreux appearance set the tone for quality Helvetic jazz in 1974. Following this first excellent impression, the Boillat-Thérace ensemble connected with American trumpeter Benny Bailey and recorded the magnificent My Greatest Love in May and June of 1975. The modal, hard bop and soul-jazz gem includes first-class takes on Freddie Hubbard’s “Gibraltar”, Kenny Dorham’s “Blue Bossa”, and Jimmy Heath’s “Gemini”, plus deliciously funky originals from the Geneva crew, including the upbeat “Le Colin” and the swaying fan-favorite “Prompt” and its thrilling solos. Bailey is on trumpet and flugelhorn, Boillat on Fender Rhodes and piano, Thérace on saxophone and flute, Roger Vaucher on Fender bass, Eric Wespi on drums, and Rogelio Garcia on percussion and tenor saxophone…heavy sessions and deep vibes! This is reissued in conjunction with Boillat Thérace Quintet’s self-titled debut album (1974), also available via We Release Jazz.
South African disco 12” originally released in 1983, the start of the country’s ‘bubblegum’ era. Adaye was a once-off studio project featuring members of Stimela, the SA supergroup formerly known as The Cannibals and at the time also recording under aliases like the Street Kids and Kumasi. As Adaye they roped in singer Al Etto and went into the studio with Heads Music boss Emil Zoghby, who shares songwriting credits with Ray Phiri on the only track they released: ‘Turn It Up’ - an eight-minute slice of guitar funk throbbing to a disco beat. Remastered from the original tapes and reissued on DJ Okapi’s Afrosynth Records.
While the ongoing global pandemic means our chances to gather and dance beneath deep blue skies are likely to be limited, there’s never been a greater need for warm, positive and life-affirming music. NuNorthern Soul has decided to do its bit by offering up a brand new 'Summer Selections' sampler that’s packed to the rafters with magical musical treats lifted from some of the label’s most potent forthcoming releases.
The EP begins with something rather special from Canadian producer Igor B: a gentle, sunrise-ready soundscape rich in languid hand percussion, bubbly synthesizer lines and glistening guitars. Entitled 'Deep Breath', the track is just one of the many highlights you’ll find on his forthcoming debut album, “Stranded Seaside”.
There’s a similarly tactile and immersive feel to 'Early Morning Ferry' by George Koutalieris, a Greek producer whose debut album 'Stop, Look, Listen' will be released by NuNorthern Soul later in the year. On his contribution to 'Summer Selections Two', Koutalieris wraps lilting, sun-soaked guitar solos and soft-touch electronics around a chunky groove that doffs a cap to the more laidback end of the 1970s West Coast rock spectrum.
Next up, long-time friend of the family Chris Coco delivers a stunning interpretation of 'Dinum', an overlooked neo-classical/ambient fusion track by Faroe Islands-based producer Kristian Blak’s Yggdrasil project. Coco’s simmering, string-drenched re-imagining is featured here as a teaser of NuNorthern Soul’s reissue of the 2014 track in the autumn, which will also feature a mind-blowing 10-minute rework by Mike Salta – an artist who is also featured on 'Summer Selections Two'.
This time round you’ll find Salta collaborating with Mortale on the starry, EP-ending ambient bliss of 'Bells of Burgibba', a deliciously drowsy mixture of twinkling electric piano motifs, chiming lead lines and woozy pads taken from the forthcoming “Celestial Hike EP”. It paddles in similar sonic waters to label boss Phil Cooper’s stretched-out, slo-mo Balearic dub of new signing Faint Waves’ 'Aphrodesia', a teaser of the artist’s “Islands In Time EP” which can be found elsewhere on 'Summer Selections Two'.
No NuNorthern Soul label sampler would be complete without a contribution from BJ Smith, an artist who has been with the imprint from its earliest days. Smith returns to the imprint with another reminder of his uncanny ability to deliver ear-catching cover versions that re-cast classic cuts as loved-up rays of Balearic sunshine. This time round Smith takes us on a huggable shuffle through Prefab Sprout’s 'All the World Loves Lovers', re-imagining it as a future Balearic anthem and a summer 2020 sing-along. It’s not only a sneak peak of what we can expect from 'Dedication to the Greats Volume 3', his first covers collection for nigh on six years, but also a life-affirming highlight of an EP that oozes musical positivity from start to finish.
Multidisciplinary NYC artist Gavilán Rayna Russom launches her own label Voluminous Arts, dedicated to highlight electronic and experimental artists whose work challenges fixed categories of genre and categorization. Her aim is to create a platform for multidisciplinary work and events. The inaugural release being her second solo album as Gavilán Rayna Russom 'Secret Passage', following up last years 'The Envoy, an homage to the East Side Rail Tunnel in Providence, Rhode Island, and the friendships she made there.
In Rayna’s words:
“I grew up in Providence, Rhode Island in the 1970’s and 80’s. The booming jewelry and textile industries of the previous decades had pulled out by that point. The Italian mob ran most details of the day to day operations of the city. As kids coming up in that environment, before the internet, me and the people I hung out with didn’t know anything else and we worked with what we had to entertain ourselves. We found places that had been forgotten by market interests and made them spaces of creative community building. One of the most special of these places was the East Side Rail Tunnel. Running for almost exactly one mile beneath the city’s streets, the tunnel and nearby Crook Point Bridge were unsupervised autonomous zones where I tasted the possibilities of a world without surveilance. The tunnel was particularly important in my creative development because not only was it a marginal zone apart from monetized spaces of creative consumption, but it also had specific experiential properties. It had a bend in it which meant that when you got to the middle of it you were in complete darkness, and I learned quickly that when you spend enough time in complete darkness you start to hallucinate, which I liked. The acoustics were also remarkable; long natural delays and harmonic-reinforcing reverberances. Making any sound in there added layers of acoustic effects which made noises physical and fluid and, combined with the complete darkness, absolutely dissolved boundaries between internal and external experience. I started hanging out there when I was 14 and continued to return there regularly until development, gentrification and policing eventually made it inaccessible. By the mid ‘90s it was sealed off with progressively more impenetrable barriers. Nowadays it looks very different. This music is about some of the significant experiences I had in this beautifully neglected place and the people I had them with.”
Presenting Shirley Scott’s deeply personal album, ‘One for Me’ - a defiant tribute to the music she always desired to create but was shrouded by the demands of her vibrant career. Thoughtful curation of the band, tracks, and completely self-funded, this project set off on an innovative trajectory supported by Harold Vick on tenor saxophone and Billy Higgins on drums. Originally released on the revolutionary artist-owned label, Strata-East Records, in January 1975, this unique project will be available to enjoy again on Arc Records from 15th May 2020.
The impetus for this record was a real desire for Shirley to express herself more freely and create something for herself, taking back the power she’d seemingly relinquished throughout her career. Maxine Gordon, Scott’s close friend, and executive producer on the original record, expresses thatthey often had intimate discussions about how Scott was being told what to play, what to wear, how to look and how to speak in public for many years. Having had enough of these restrictions, she created this record to please no one but herself.
As Scott expresses on the back of the original LP sleeve:
“All of the music recorded in this album is both personal and very purposeful to me, because it is the first step toward honesty about what and how I want to play. I’ve done a lot of other albums, a lot of different ways for a lot ofdifferent people and now, with the help of the Creator, in whom all things are possible, I have done one for me too.”
Having self-raised funds to make the record, with complete control over the masters, and with her dream band together, Scott recorded at Blue Rock Studio in November 1974. Harold Vick, often referred to as one of the “unsung tenor saxophonists” of his time, was cherry picked to bring Scott’s vision to life. Throughout his career, he released records on Blue Note, RCA as well as performing and recording with a string of legendary artists such as Ray Charles, and Aretha Franklin. Completing the dream trio was highly sought out drummer Billy Higgins, who is the most recorded drummer in the history of Blue Note Records, having played on 45 Blue Note albums. The key to their success was that Higgins tuned his drums to fit with the organ’s bass sound which, of course, Scott played with her feet.
Scott was also known as “Little Miss Half-Steps,” a name given to her by tenor saxophonist George Coleman, (who wrote a composition by that name in her honor) - she regularly played with both George & Harold. Coleman is known to have admired Scott’s half-steps (when you play two adjacent keys on the organ or piano) and their close bond and mutual respect is solidified on this record through a track titled ‘Big George’ - specifically written for Coleman.
“Queen of the Organ”, Shirley Scott was born in Philadelphia in 1934 and lived there most of her life until her early death in March 2002 at the age of 67. Having mastered the piano at an early age, Scott switched from piano to organ at the tender age of 21. Scott had a legendary recording career as a leaderwith 45 albums mainly released on Impulse and Prestige and is often remembered for her work with Eddie “Lockjaw” Davis and Stanley Turrentine.Boasting a thriving career as a musician and composer, Scott progressed to a professor at Cheyney University in her later years. She was a treasured mother and grandmother, and a cherished friend of music scholar, Maxine Gordon, who’s honour it is to collaborate with Arc Records on shining a new bright light on this monumental body of work.
Uniting cosmic tones and lovely notes, unique sound collages and electronic noises, Muzak pour ascenseurs en panne ("Muzak for Broken Lifts"), Brigitte Barbu's first album, explores a dreamy universe, at the crossroads of electronica and the 70s’ post-tune-in/drop-out, echoing shadows of the peculiar doppelgänger; Pépé Bradock. Ça Plane pour Brigitte Barbu…
Resonant guitar notes, odd sounds, electronic hallucinations, and unexpected warm synth layers all gather together in Brigitte Barbu's first enigmatic album. Recorded and mixed during a reclusive one-week residency in a very special studio, under the benevolent cubic radiation of "Our Lady of the Ark of the Covenant,” using a computer, synthesizers, and various string instruments, giving birth to this resolutely unique album. The guitars were sharply disciplined, propelling strings into strange and hypnotic limbos, somewhere between a weightless journey through time and a fresh science lab experiment.
A perky cosmic album running away from rules and gravity.
"I wanted to compose an ethereal abstract Hip-Hop LP" says Brigitte, "with guitar as a brainwashed instrument, mirroring machines and computers, even if surely far from being unplugged". So much for that… With a real introspective dimension, the record stands out for its pure whimsical mood. The artist had strict rules for composing: “Each track is based on the association between a title chosen for its consonances, an open tuning, a random tempo and frequencies chosen for their supposed effects, real or imagined, on the mind, body & soul.” For example: Taro Patch -> Whale -> 93,75 BPM or Dobro -> Bear-> 118,125 BPM, Air Resistance -> Open Em -> Panther-> 480 BPM etc.
Brigitte surgically framed an electro-acoustic compendium, finding its atmospheric mothership… Brigitte Barbu, referring to a special interlude from a vintage release "Escalope de Dingue” (Fool’s Cutlet), explains that Muzak pour Ascenseurs en Panne is in fact a custom tribute to family, friends, triggered cosmonauts, René Clément and the card game where the winner is the bearded monarch nonchalantly stabbing himself in the head. It’s a lot!
Embarking on a journey from Italy to Anatolia and from Africa to the Americas, Nelson of the East soars over imagined landscapes in his debut, motion picture- inspired album, Kybele. Plug in your headphones, drown out the world, and set
out on a mystic voyage of Earth through the lens of Kybele, the Anatolian goddess of wild nature.
With the world in flux and isolation taking its toll, musical escapism has become a much needed pastime for today’s armchair adventurers. Treating recorded sound as a vehicle of time travel, Milanese artist Nelson of the East (N.O.T.E) takes listeners on a journey through kaleidoscopic soundscapes with his debut album Kybele released on Tartelet Records.
Skillfully weaving the sounds of East and West, the nine-track LP fuses Turkish and cosmic influences with a strong electronic backbone into an otherworldly soundtrack of our time.
“The feeling that passes through the record isn’t straight. It changes, it turns, it is never predictable. Never being able to predict which landscape you arrive at next or where the music is taking you is key to enjoying the sound journey,” says Nelson. “
Named Kybele after the Anatolian goddess of nature, fertility, mountains, and wild animals, the record is a continuous saga that takes from the Berlin-based artist’s own adventurous spirit. Following his previous EP releases Night Frames and Phase Alternating Lines, Nelson explores new territories on Kybele.
The album opener, “Explorer,” is an exhilarating build up to what could be a 80s sci-fi movie, showcasing Nelson’s knack for cinematic moods. “Draw Me,” speaks to the artist’s intention of making a “snare album,” with an irregular, dominating beat untethering it from time or boundaries. “What I realize while I was writing the rhythm part is that the more you keep a beat simple the more difficult it becomes to make it interesting. So I just put down some rules to follow. For example, using swing as smoothly as possible, or using lot of syncopated sequence over the straight 2-4 groove,” says Nicolas.
Another thing Nelson achieves in this album is ambience, or the “motion picture touch” as he calls it. Tracks like the wild and obscure Culto, with its Anatolian nuances and middle eastern-sounding scales are made by layering synths to achieve an orchestral effect.
Other tracks capture the musician’s penchant for African and Brazilian grooves, like the Saudade mix of Burning Palm. On the B side, the Italo-flavored Phase Lines comes through with shimmering synth and electronic drums complete with hazy vocals delivered by DJ Rayne and Nelson himself. Yahuda dives into dark, melancholic electro with a Detroit feel not far from the sounds of the great Drexciya.
The album closes with ZETA, a track that could easily double as an obscure cinematic composition. The nine-track LP is strictly limited to 300 copies, pressed on 180g vinyl with artwork by The Emperor of Antarctica. No repress.
In the late 90’s, east-side LA was in the throws of a post-indie explosion; a network of stoned bands ranging from neo-psychedelia to pseudo-country overran Spaceland (our generation’s Troubadour) and the local Silverlake Lounge. I was playing freakbeat records twice a week in dive bars, half of Spacemen 3 was crashing at my house (my drop-out roomate was Sonic Boom’s tour drummer) and it was during this blur that I met Raymond Richards, a clean-cut all-American pedal steel guitarist playing in Mojave 3 (the country-tinged side project of 4AD shoegaze royalty, Slowdive). I was instantly swept off my feet, head over heals in love with Raymond's weeping tone—the most chill-inducing, emotionally responsive dialog I’d had with music since discovering Satie as a child—it was then and it is now, truly haunting. After a year of personnel trials, my roomate and I stole Raymond for our own band, and not only did he smother our songs with his enchanting steel, he was virtuosic with a variety of atypical instruments such as baritone guitar and theremin, he utilized them all. The band was short-lived—I joined Ariel Pink, Raymond fled to Portland and me subsequently to New York City—but in founding the ESP Institute years later, there was always a recurring mental note; we must make Raymond’s pedal steel album. I had managed to wrangle his blessed performance on a remix for Project Club’s El Mar Y La Luna, but it took almost a decade until I once again wore the producer hat and we began working on The Lost Art Of Wandering, a title borrowed from Sam Shepard’s Stories. Spiritually candid, expansive yet enveloping, this is the strung-out, visceral country music that simply radiates from Raymond. Each song is his set of coordinates in a vast open terrain, holding a sentimental familiarity, a truthful longing for the simple comforts that diffuse life’s complications, a place to get lost. –Lovefingers
Following hot on the heels of his acclaimed 2nd album 'Solar Nights' German producer Tim Bernhardt, AKA Satin Jackets, returns to bring some much needed warmth to the winter with the release of the 'Golden Cage' EP.
Featuring three brand new instrumental tracks, the EP sees Bernhardt venture into more introspective territory, eschewing the more upfront pop direction of recent collaboration with Panama, 'Electric Blue', for something softer and more intimate.Â
Easing us into the EP, ''offee and Feels' is both classic Satin Jackets and aptly titled. A comforting blend of warm synth pads, gently unfolding arpeggios and plaintive guitar all wrapped in soft gauzy textures, 'Coffee and Feels' is just the thing to kickstart your day on a mellow autumnal morning.
'Meridian Gateway' meanwhile delivers the kind of optimistic yet wistful melodies that Bernhardt has time and time again shown himself to be a master of. Built around a series of poignant piano notes the track gently unfolds and reveals itself, shimmering like the first frost of the year catching the morning's rays.
Closing the EP we have 'Mercury Moments' which injects the susurration of distant voices into the mix of sparkling melodies, echoing chimes and finger clicking rhythms to stunning, emotive, effect.
Whilst 'Solar Nights' showcased Bernhardt's skill at crafting thoughtful left field pop music and coaxing the best out of lyricists and singers alike, the 'Golden Cage' EP reveals he's still a dab hand when it comes to crafting dreamlike nu-disco, as warming as a mug of gluhwein in midwinter.
