Easy Eye Sound present this double sided 7" by Hermanos Gutirrez - a two-piece band formed of the brothers Alejandro and Estevan Gutirrez - of "Low Sun" and "Los Chicos Tristes (El Michels Affair Remix)", featuring Jensine Benitez

With its bold percussion - much more prominent than on previous Hermanos Gutierrez records - "Low Sun" captures a darker, more eerie tension between the brother's two guitars.

"Los Chicos Tristes" has been remixed by Leon Michels, better known as El Michels Affair, and introducing vocals from Jensine Benitez, the new take on the beloved ambient instrumental adds more prominent drum beats and a spoken word introduction by Benitez, giving the song an intense, cinematic twist. Subtle organ notes, vocalizing, and Hermanos' intertwining guitars lead the remix into a darker, more mysterious place while staying true to the duo's intimate sound that has won them millions of fans across the globe.

TRACK LISTING

1. Low Sun
2. Los Chicos Tristes (El Michels Affair Remix)

The band, Franny and I produced it ourselves in my living room with no adults present. It's all acoustic, not an electric lick on the album... banjos and mandos and string basses and stripped-down drums. I put a ton of work into the tunes and I'm pretty proud of this batch. Had a little help from my old co-writing pal Jaida Dreyer on a couple, also wrote a good one with my screenwriter buddy, Brian Koppelman. Lots of gambling songs and lots of minor keys. And my band guys absolutely killed it too, they're all badasses.

I'm dedicating the record to my old compadre, Ian Tyson, who passed away a few months back. I've named the album for him as well. 'El Viejo', or 'the old one' is what our mutual friend Tom Russell took to calling him in later years. The title track is a pretty special one for us.

We had a blast making this thing, and we hope you enjoy it too." - Corb Lund

TRACK LISTING

1. The Cardplayers
2. I Had It All
3. Was Fort Worth Worth It?
4. Out On A Win
5. Redneck Rehab
6. El Viejo (for Ian)
7. When The Game Gets Hot
8. Girl With The Stratocaster
9. It Takes Practice
10. Insha’Allah
11. Old Familiar Drunken Feeling

Making his debut with the Mercury Prize-nominated Here Be Monsters in 2001, Harcourt has released music under his own name that blends raw emotions, impeccable songwriting and visionary flights of imagination. A succession of ten rich, enthralling albums have followed that first spark of his, including the intoxicating addictive Strangers in 2004; 2013’s breathless Back Into The Woods which was recorded in just eight hours; and Furnaces which compellingly and entreatingly envisioned family ties confronted by the small matter of the apocalypse. After that LP in 2016, Harcourt then moved to explore the instrumental sphere with recent soundscape albums Beyond The End and Monochrome To Colour.

While recognisably bearing all the hallmarks that have made him such an admired and prolific songwriter, one of Britain’s most cherished yet inventive music creators, Ed’s new record, El Magnifico, also finds him striving for something new. It is an Ed Harcourt record, but one with a desire to seek fresh reward.

With his body of work to date, it would be foolhardy for Harcourt not to lean on his artistic foundations, not just as a solo artist, but as an acclaimed music-maker in a variety of guises. His creativity has stretched beyond his own impressive catalogue too. Consistently inspired by the power of collaboration, as a writer, producer and, often, one-man backing band, he has aided the musical visions of the likes of Afghan Whigs, Lissie, Jamie Cullum, The Libertines and Marianne Faithfull, plus has worked with an array of fast-rising new talents. He has also engaged closely with filmmakers, scoring movies and documentaries and is a member of the gloriously louche, sonically hard bitten rock trio Loup Garoux.

With that array of creativity fizzing behind him, Harcourt enjoys a spectrum-spanning number of outlets of expression, ensuring his bountiful creativity and cascading of ideas always find an appropriately unique home. And ‘El Magnifico’ is the beneficiary of this immense scope and musical insight. 

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: Classic, swooning ballads written with Harcourt's unmistakeable melodic ear and wry lyrical style. there are as many moments of brittle restraint as there are jubilant celebration. It's a beautifully sequenced and wonderfully produced wonder.

TRACK LISTING

1. 1987
2. Into The Loving Arms Of Your Enemy
3. Broken Keys
4. Strange Beauty
5. The Violence Of The Rose
6. Ghost Ship
7. Deathless
8. Anvils & Hammers
9. My Heart Can’t Keep Up With My Mind
10. At The Dead Of The World
11. Seraphina
12. El Magnifico

The A Side of course is just one of the biggest tunes from the grunge era and is given a Jazzy Funky Groovy version by Blue Mode of Nirvana's Biggest Hit. It turns out that they were influenced by everything from the Gap Band to Louie Louie and a fair smattering of 80's indie and this production by Chip Wickham mixes together a Swinging '60's Blue Note Vibe with the Acid Jazz sound and brings it bang up to date with the Nu-Jazz Experience. First time on 45 and is already a DJ favourite after being included in the Paul Murphy set "Jazz Room" on BBE Records.

Side 2 is a Boogaloo Latin Jazz version (produced by Paul Murphy Live in the studio in Budapest when he was living there) of the Lonnie Smith track "Hola Muneca" beloved of the Acid Jazz era DJ's and previously released on a now impossible to find 7 inch single that goes for crazy prices.

TRACK LISTING

1. Smells Like Teen Spirit
2. Hola Muneca

Swedish singer, multi-instrumentalist and composer El Perro Del Mar announces her first album in 8 years "Big Anonymous", out Feb 16th 2024 on City Slang. The musical path taken by this shape-shifter artist encompasses a spectrum: doo-wop redux, mystic ballads, electronic dance, ecstatic love songs, film soundtracks, dance scores, global pop, and more. With this record, she goes places where few dare to venture: dialogues with the dead, musings on her own mortality, and reflections on the inner darkness that she's inherited. It's gothic, crepuscular, moody- and magnificent. And in the end you might just find it uplifting. She does.

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: 'Big Anonymous' is a journey to be undertaken in one fell swoop, moving cohesively between grand gothic ambience, choral majesty and imposing fractured glitch. Though there are pieces that sound undeniably impactful alone (In Silence for example is a life-alteringly affecting piece regardless of context), within the album as a whole, every impeccable part has its place and comes together flawlessly.

TRACK LISTING

1. Underworld
2. Suburban Dreams
3. Cold Dark Pond
4. In Silence
5. The Truth The Dead Know
6. Between You And Me Nothing
7. Please Stay
8. One More Time
9. Wipe Me Off This Earth
10. Kiss Of Death 

Agrio is a duo from Madrid, Spain and using a "what if..." methodology they write instrumental songs that they send later to a revolving cast of their talented and generous friends so they can add their magic. With this in mind they sent music to MARK LANEGAN, Enablers frontman PETE SIMONELLI & to SCOTT MCCLOUD from Girls Against Boys, Soulside and so much more.

'El Amigo Americano' is the result of these collaborations, 10 tracks of some of the most beautifully striking music around. The work with Mark Lanegan and Pete Simonelli were originally released as two vinyl EPs and Scott McCloud as a digital EP.

EP 1 - EP one 'La Murga Ep' with Mark Lanegan was their debut on Feb. 2020 EP2 - followed it that same autumn with The Thin Man EP featuring Pete Simonelli (Enablers). Both were originally released on vinyl via the San Francisco based label Broken Clover Records. These records sold out fast. EP 3 - "Repeat to Infinity EP" (digital only), with Scott McCloud's (Girls Against Boys, New Wet Kojak, Paramount Styles) on voice and guitar. The three EP's are compiled together on one LP as "El Amigo Americano".

La Murga Ep* + The Thin Man Ep** + Repeat To Infinity EP*** = EL AMIGO AMERICANO

The album is mastered by John McBain (Monster Magnet, Wellwater Conspiracy) Agrio is David Flores and Jorge Fuertes with Mark Lanegan, Pete Simonelli and Scott McCloud.

TRACK LISTING

1. Nike Italy France
2. Dj's In Heaven
3. People Used To Dream
4. A Mayores
5, Nomeolvides
6. A Drink Of Poison Water
7. Cisnes
8. The Scales Of Embrace
9. Waking

Music For Dreams are proud to announce the release of Jacob Gurevitsch’ new album El Terreno. It is the fourth LP from the Danish guitarist with the Spanish guitar,whose world of misty, Mediterranean romance is charming listeners all over the world.

El Terreno is named after the neighborhood in Palma, Mallorca, in which Gurevitsch wrote it over the past couple of years. The tranquility and beauty of this setting is reflected in the music: eight songs of Gurevitsch’ Spanish guitar meandering through the cobblestone streets, idling on town squares frozen in the afternoon sun, drifting on the perfumed evening air.

Two special guests feature on the album. On ‘For Your Love’ the legendary Cuban jazz trumpetist Arturo Sandoval is invited to play along. And on ‘Santa Teresa’ the esteemed Danish rock singer Annisette lends her characteristic smoky phrases to the drama. Throughout the album, Gurevitsch’ Spanish guitar is accompanied by a band of drums, percussion, bass and keyboards.

The release of El Terreno comes after Jacob Gurevitsch’ national tour, which sees him play two sold out nights at DR Koncerthuset on November 1 and 2.

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: A selection of drifting airy melodies and ambience-rich wooze from the Danish Guitarist. Brilliantly paced and ram-packed with exactly the sort of ethereal breeze we'd expect from yer' man JG.

TRACK LISTING

1. November Night
2. Everything I Wanted
3. Santa Teresa
4. Morning View
5. For Your Love
6. El Terreno
7. Villa Longa
8. Luna Love

El Buho's fifth studio album may be his most personal yet. Strata draws from Robin's attempts to grapple with the tension of experiencing happiness, joy and gratitude in our daily lives with loved ones or through sharing music while the world falls apart around us. This dynamic of trying to live in the moment and enjoy the privileged life we have yet in the back of your mind there is an overwhelming sense of dread that the world will never be the same and, as climate change really starts to hit home, there are incredibly difficult times ahead. It is about our attempts to find a place of peace, balance and fulfillment between these powerful strata above and below us.

This is an album heavy with intimate and personal music that moves between personal joy and the anguish of our modern world. Timini is dedicated to Robin's second son Oscar who earned the nickname Petit Mini (Little Mini) which became 'Timini'. The track was inspired by the rustling wind and shaking leaves as Robin walked home from the hospital the evening after Oscar's birth, writing the whole track in one exhausted and emotional sitting. Gentle Breeze was inspired by the feeling of a warm early summer's afternoon with the family at home. Beautiful simplicity.

On the other hand, Alarma de Emergencia is a cumbia for the endless alarm that has been ringing, unheard across our planet for decades. Fuel Fandango singer Nita's beautiful lyrics to its sister track Cenizas de Agua reference the need to "open our hearts, look for our own reflection and break the silence" While on Brujería Bomba Estereo frontwoman Li Saument implores us to sanar (heal) and limpiar clean above Robin's trademark floating flutes and an organic dem-bow beat.

Meanwhile tracks like Piañuco show a new direction, blending the deep bass and unique rhythms of amapiano music with huayno folk melodies, featuring a whole host of musicians, including over 50 saxophone lines, meticulously recorded by argentine saxophonist Leandro Guffanti and his students in Barcelona. The album ends with Ley de Origen where we see El Búho reunited with his long-time collaborators Minük (Corazon de Rubi, Mirando El Fuego) for another moving and delicate song this time mixing Alumnis and Marcus' beautiful vocals with a deep, warm sub bass and percussion and marimbas from Colombia's pacific coast.

TRACK LISTING

1. Floating Islands
2. Cenizas De Agua (feat. Nita) [feat. Nita]
3. Gentle Breeze
4. Brujería (feat. Li Saumet) [feat. Bomba Estéreo]
5 .Piañuco
6. Timini
7. Alarma De Emergencia
8. Llanto De Los Cerezos
9. Ley De Origen (feat. Minük) [feat. Minük]

The seventh release on M.A.D Records - label bosses Make A Dance are back.

The El U Vee E.P sees the London duo serve up an eclectic mix of influences from across the board. ‘Cool Girls’ opens with italo arps, gated snares and seductive vocal samples. Title track ‘El U Vee’ follows, blending house heat with a dash of Latin spice. This is a love-song body groover.

Flip it over and find the percussive basement jam ‘Oh Yeah’, before ‘No Way Out’ rounds off the EP with an acid tinged, new beat blend of M.A.D.ness.

STAFF COMMENTS

Matt says: The Make A Dance crew can always be relied on to bring the party vibes and this new 12" is no exception. Skilfully straddling between house, disco and breaks, DJs will get bare dancefloor milage out of all four tracks. TIP!

TRACK LISTING

A1. Cool Girls
A2. El U Vee
B1. Oh Yeah
B2. No Way Out

First new sounds from Futuropaco in five years. Futuropaco, a.k.a. Justin Pinkerton from Oakland, California creates colourful psychedelic music - a pan-cultural cratedigger’s delight that welcomes in a wide range of elements - from afro-beat and post rock to Italian library music and heavy psych. The title translates to “The Glass Fortress” and is a reference to the fragility of the superpowers of the world, such as the US: “As we witnessed in the height of the pandemic and it's after effects, it doesn't take much to take down one of these entities that hide behind the facade of power and indestructibility. One tiny crack can trigger an unstoppable catastrophe.” says Pinkerton of the album concept. “Though Futuropaco songs are instrumental I tend to channel my feelings about politics and the world through them. Unfortunately, the world can be a terrible place at times, so there is a sort of dark, at times angry, theme to these songs. But, instead of writing lyrics to convey those feelings, I just let the music do the talking." But despite (or perhaps because of) its underlying dark inception, Justin’s new album is a terrific ride, from the first notes of earth-shaking opener “Muro Vuoto” to the mysterious and dreamy closer “Omicidio Per Soldi”. Not a second is wasted on this record, every vinyl groove is packed with ideas and sounds that demand attention, whether they originate from Justin’s vintage Moog synthesizers, his Turkish Saz, fuzz guitars or flute layered on top of Pinkerton’s meticulously crafted, yet bone shaking drum fills. You could spend hours analysing what’s going on musically, but that’s beside the point - the nine tracks offered here are simply an invitation to surrender yourself to the head-spinning grooves and mesmerizing timbres. A truly unique psychedelic experience, and this is just volume 1!

Originally released in 1991, ex:el was the third studio album by 808 State, and the last to feature founding member Martin Price. The album contains guest vocals from Bernard Sumner of New Order in the single ‘Spanish Heart’, and Björk with ‘Qmart’ and ‘Ooops’, paving the way for early concepts of modern electronic music. The release comes as a limited-edition 140-gram blue vinyl.

TRACK LISTING

Side A
San Francisco
Spanish Heart
Leo Leo
Side B
Qmart
Nephatiti
Lift
Side C
Ooops
Empire
In Yer Face
Side D
Cübik
Lambrusco Cowboy
Techno Bell
Olympic

Wewantsounds is delighted to release 'Sharayet el Disco' a selection of Egyptian 80s Disco and Boogie tracks curated by Egyptian DJ Disco Arabesquo from his vast collection of cassettes. Most tracks have never been released on any other format and are making their vinyl debut with this set. A journey through the funky sound of 80s Egypt, Sharayet El Disco (which can be translated by "Disco Cassettes") features Simone, Ammar El Sherei and more obscure names from Cairo's cassette culture. The audio has been remastered for vinyl by David Hachour/Colorsound Studio in Paris and the LP features artwork by young Egyptian graphic designer Heba Tarek and a 2-page insert featuring artwork of the original cassettes plus insightful liner notes by Moataz Rageb.

TRACK LISTING

1. Afaf Rady - Tany Tany
2. Dr. Ezat Abou Ouf & El Four M - Genoun El Disco
3. Simone - Merci
4. FIrkIt El Ensan - Donia El Arkam
5. Firkit El Asdekaa - Eklib El Sheriet
6. Al Massrieen - Hezeny
7. Eman El Bahr Darwish - Mahsobko Endes (El Arwam)
8. Firkit Americana Show - Youm Wi Lilah
9. Lebleba - Ana Alby Har Nar

Jodorowsky’s visionary metaphysical western El Topo, which became an art house sensation in 1971 after the film received the enthusiastic endorsements of John Lennon, became a landmark cult film classic, credited with launching the midnight movie madness indie cinema revolution of the 1970s.

The music was composed by Alejandro Jodorowsky with additional input from conductor John Barham. The soundtrack was recorded at Abbey Road Studio and originally released by Apple Records in 1971.

Bobby's 2019 tour ended in New York City and he had two days off before flying home to Finland. Leon invited him to the Diamond Mine to record some music. Bobby had been talking about wanting to stretch out lyrically and write about more esoteric subject matter, Leon was game. They recorded "Reasons" in one session which put the chemistry between the two on the world stage and sparked the idea of doing a full length album together. More than halfway through the recording process, they have decided to treat us to another two-sider of the new material.

On the A side, "Whatcha Know" Bobby explores death and the human experience, putting his philosophical ponderings into his music. Michels' production and overall ethos is the perfect complement to Bobby's desire to stretch out his sound. EMA provides a gorgeous backing track that compliments Bobby's style and simultaneously broadens its scope.

The B side "Losing It" is a dramatic and moving number that Bobby sings in Spanish and English. A gorgeous guitar riff is countered with eerie sound effects that crescendo when the drums come in. Bobby professes he's "Losing It" over a love too strong and El Michels Affair's production turns the whole affair into a saga that thunders through speakers.

TRACK LISTING

Whatcha Know
Losing It

When Leon Michels and El Michels Affair released their fi­rst record, Sounding Out The City, in 2005, it was hard to guess what was next for Michels and his then-introduced, now-patented “cinematic soul” sound. Now, four EMA studio albums and scores of tribute and remix projects later all while producing for some of the biggest names in the industry Michels has trademarked his sound, with each project taking audiences somewhere new and pushing the boundaries of what he is known for. The man is a river, not a lake and this time he takes his golden touch into the realm of hip-hop laying down a musical bed for one of the greatest to ever rhyme into a microphone: Black Thought of The Roots crew.

Releasing on Big Crown Records, the LP is called Glorious Game and it is a remarkable debut partnership in more ways than one. Michels provides his bottom-heavy, soul-tinged production for Black Thought who gives us some of the more personal and transparent verses we've ever heard from him. Michels and Black Thought have been in each other's orbit for a while now. The two fi­rst met in the 2000s when Thought was fi­rst getting familiar with the contemporary soul scene. "Out of that whole world, Menahan Street Band was probably my favorite," recalling the funk and soul group Michels was a founding member of back in 2007. Fast forward a few years and musicians from that collective Dave Guy on trumpet and Ian Hendrickson-Smith on sax are now full time players with The Roots. This connection eventually led Leon and Thought to doing a few fundraising events around NYC and Philly together. "Before long, Black Thought was coming around the studio and would jam with us from time to time," Michels explains. "Then, fast forward to 2020 and COVID lockdowns, he just hit me up out of the blue, wanting me to send him stuff to write to. We both were looking to stay busy."

Being that Black Thought is the co-founder and emcee for, hands down, the best live-band group in hip-hop. Michels took a decidedly different approach to this project and instead of sending recorded tracks of live compositions, he pulled out the sampler and sampled himself and some records from his collection. "I'm a big fan of soul music," as if Michels has to remind us. "And part of hip-hop's appeal to me has always been the sample-based production".

For Glorious Game, Michels would make wholly composed and recorded soul songs in his studio, sample himself, then chop and/or loop up his sounds and create instrumentals for Black Thought. On some tracks he took a more traditional hip-hop approach, starting from samples of other people’s music but then adding live instrumentation on top. But for the most part, it's him reinterpreting his own compositions into something new.

The result is an organic feel of loop-based tracks that breathe and fluctuate enough for Black Thought to ‑ex on. "What I write about is determined by the equation of the producer's energy and my energy," Black Thought says. "It's about where we meet." So armed with Michels sampled and re-sampled soul cinematics, Black Thought rhymes through personal memories and distinctive.

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: With Michels laying down scattered soul-infused hip-hop beats, and the legendary Black Thought on vocal duties, this was always going to be a superb outing, but it's the ease with which these talented producers work together that is really refreshing. Forging an entirely new sound through their respective, distinctive voices, 'Glorous Game' is even more of a triumph than expected. Brilliant.

TRACK LISTING

Side A
1. Grateful
2. Glorious Game Feat Kirby
3. I’m Still Somehow
4. Hollow Way
5. Protocol (feat. Son Little)
6. The Weather
Side B
7. That Girl
8. I Would Never
9. Alone
10. Miracle
11. Glorious Game (Reprise)
12. Alter Ego (feat. Brainstory)

Fingier Records was established in 2020 as a group label of Acid Jazz Records to showcase the Latin American productions of Argentine producer Kevin Fingier It has produced a series of sell-out and collectable 7” singles, with some going for hundreds of pounds on collector sites.

This compilation brings these singles together onto one LP, with graphics and photography on a sleeve to match the sound and style of Fingier Records. Features the vocals of Diane Ward, Jo-Ann Hamilton and Gerri Granger, Brazilian singer Jose Dias and Senegalese vocalist/percussionist Abdoulaye Badiane, backed by the all-star Kevin Fingier Collective.

TRACK LISTING

Why Don’t You Go Home
September
Don’t Wanna Cry No More
Cocktail De Medianoche
El Basement
Rua Nova Barao
I Love Without A Love
Latin Dynamite
Um Brilho Novo
Kairo Bancou Moulu
Sunglasses After Dark
Addis Abada

Recommended If You Like: Godspeed.. , Explosions in the Sky, Sigur Rós, This Will Destroy You, Do Make Say Think, Mogwai, Lymbyc System, Tycho, Ratatat, Positive/uplifting instrumental loopage ‘n riffage.

Valley of Fire is El Ten Eleven's most thematically committed record, merging personal anecdotes with the larger ecosystem of the sound. While the album was inspired by organic beauty, its seven songs are still rife with El Ten Eleven's trademark technical flair. This is their 13th record, and it's clear El Ten Eleven have evolved with a cadence similar to the changes time has made to The Valley of Fire itself. The trials of age and experience have ushered in something altogether new. “El Ten Eleven is proof that live looping and programming can rock; and that instrumental tracks can captivate and hold a room’s attention as well as any vocal-led group.”

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: It's always a pleasure to hear an El Ten Eleven LP, I've been a big fan since the starting notes of 'My Only Swerving' from their 2004 debut and 'Valley Of Fire' is probably the closest in post-rock grandeur and melodic beauty to the early days of ETE. Stunner.

TRACK LISTING

1. New Year’s Day
2. Not Even Almost
3. Volsens
4. Two Views Of A Secret
5. White Domes
6. Days Of Our Lives
7. Valley Of Fire

The second instalment from London Odense Ensemble digs deeper into the group's vision of what modern psychedelic jazz should sound like. Cut from the same sessions as Jaiyede Sessions vol. 1, released last summer, vol. 2 presents a more nuanced approach to the material. On this set the ensemble focuses on shorter, layered pieces - travelling from deep spiritual jazz grooves to gorgeous free-flowing minimalism to full-on acid jazz. There's echo-drenched flutes being absorbed into layers of analog synth pads and guitars, bossa beats and double bass sequences merging with electronics. It’s an intoxicating mélange of sounds and styles, spanning wide temporal and geographical distances. London Odense Ensemble came together when two of the finest exponents of London's flourishing jazz scene, flautist and saxofonist Tamar Osborn and keyboard specialist Al MacSween, came over to Denmark to explore new sounds with Causa Sui's Jakob Skøtt and Jonas Munk, as well as local bass player Martin Rude. For two days the group laid down grooves and ideas and experimented in the studio, and later the best segments were edited and mixed by Jonas Munk, who took a somewhat liberal approach to the mixing process, often dyeing the material with external effects and synthesizers. Jaiyede Sessions are the kinds of records that defy genre-terms, yet have its own instantly recognizable fingerprint. It carries a unique shared vision between the players of what modern psychedelic jazz sounds like. bios: Tamar Osborn: Saxophonist, composer and multi-wind instrumentalist is the creative force behind modal jazz ensemble Collocutor (On The Corner Records). She is a member of the Dele Sosimi Afrobeat Orchestra, performs and collaborates regularly with Sarathy Korwar, Jessica Lauren, Emanative, Ill Considered and DJ Khalab. Al MacSween: Keyboard player & founding member of Kefaya. Collaborations include American jazz legend Gary Bartz, Syrian qanun master Maya Youseff, London Community Gospel Choir, Palestinian jazz singer Reem Kelani & kora player Kadialy Kouyate. Martin Rude: Multi-string instrumentalist & lead singer in Sun River & Edena Gardens with members of Papir & Causa Sui. Jakob Skøtt: Drummer in Causa Sui with a slew of side projects on El Paraiso, including Chicago Odense Ensemble, as well as being responsible for the label’s visuals. Jonas Munk: Guitarist in Causa Sui & studio wizard on most releases on El Paraiso. Also works with a wide palette of electronic music.

The second volume of El Búho's "Tributaries" remix compilation series brings together 14 more remixes from UK born producer and remix extraordinaire Robin Perkins aka El Búho. Building on 2018's first volume, the evolution of the producer's sound and influences becomes clear. The album is threaded together by reinterpretations of traditional music in a new electronic-organic context. Be it Galician, Estonian, Colombian, Irish, Garifuna, Reunionnaise or Frenchfolkmusic, El Búho makes his own unique tribute to the originals, bringing them into his owlish universe.



The album mixes club-ready bangers with beautiful and moving interpretations, easily making sense both in your living room or behind the decks. We are treated to a wide delta of influences, styles and sounds, moving between the slow, psychedelic electronic cumbia take on Chadian group Pulo NDJ's Dabadji Am Alcorama across the Atlantic to the upbeat, dancefloor fire remix of Garifuna Collective Ideruni, from an anthemic version of No Más Velorio by Colombia's Plu Con Pla to a refreshing, driving remix of up and coming Reunionnaise producer Eat My Butterfly.



Tributaries offers both a nod to the past, paying tribute to traditions andfolkmusic around the world, and a vision of the future, carving out new channels and directions, transporting the flows of the past into the future.

Members of Papir & Causa Sui travel through new musical realms. 3 musicians with their own compass: Martin Rude & Jakob Skøtt have shared a wide range of musical quests: from Causa Sui’s “Bitches Brew of Stoner Rock” crossing the folk meditations of Sun River and arriving most recently as members of the pre-fusion electric dealings of the London Odense Ensemble. Papir guitarist Nicklas Sørensen is not merely adding a new layer to an established duo, but his presence to the party have brought it into more meditative dwellings.

These pieces move slowly, evolving like the slow growth underneath the ground. Whereas Causa Sui & Papir have always excelled at blistering panoramic and often sundrenched sounds, Edena Gardens take a dive inwards and downwards rather than outwards. But there’s also an electrically charged ecstatic rawness to the dealings. Like Æther, the 10 minute opener’s 2 guitars-and-a-drum kit improv, finding it’s way from tumbling drones into monolithic slow riffage. Elsewhere, we find trails of electronic vapors, misfiring bursts of noise and slow drones stretched out. Edena Gardens is a thing to be experienced first hand - it’s not for everyone, but those who decide to stay are greatly rewarded. It’s a debut unlike any other record on El Paraiso, perhaps unlike any you’ve ever heard. Welcome to Edena Gardens. 

TRACK LISTING

1. Aether
2. Sliding Under
3. The Canopy
4. Hidebound
5. Now Here Nowhere
6. Iod
7. An T-eilean Dubh

Last album recorded by Colombian rock pioneers Los Speakers in 1968 after leaving behind its affinity with yéyé and go-go music.

One of the most brilliantly whacked-out psych LPs to emerge from South America. Originally self-released on their own Producciones Kris label, this is an almost impossible to find cult record.

The first LP released by Lima pianist Alfredo Linares under his own name is brimming with tropical hits from the mid-sixties (including a Frank Sinatra classic.)

"El Pito" comprises guarachas, guaguancós, jazzy descargas and, obviously, contagious boogaloos, including an outstanding version of the J. Sabater anthem. The album was finally released in the summer of 1967, and 'El Pito' and 'Strangers in the Night' made it into most of the charts. MAG released other similar LPs that same year by artists such as Coco Lagos, Tito Chicoma and Carlos Muñoz. Critics were quick to praise the new sounds on "El Pito", which brought listeners up to date with the tropical sound developments in the United States, to which Linares added touches of jazz.

Pipiolas is a duo of two radically charismatic people. Paula had her heart broken, which was the motivation she needed to start writing songs. She thought of Adriana. She remembered that people used to say they looked alike. That their voices had similar textures. That they fit together well. And so, she proposed an adventure to her. Vau Boy provides the instrumentation and the production, giving life to their songs. The A-side opens with "Club de los 27". Like a less bizarre, more punk version of "Bohemian Rhapsody". While "Domingo raro" is an anthem that explodes with euphoria. The B-side has the techno-pop of of Narciso" and the bedroom soul-pop, melancholy of "Un poco triste"

In recent years London has become an epicenter for experimental, visionary jazz. On this unique session, two of the finest exponents of the London jazz scene, Tamar Osborn and Al MacSween, join forces with members of the celebrated Danish psychedelic underground - Jonas Munk, Jakob Skøtt and Martin Rude – to create a heady sonic brew. On this first volume of material there's everything one could hope for in such a collaboration: sonically it summons the free flowing euphoria of Alice Coltrane and Pharoah Sanders' work in the late 1960s and early 1970s.

But there's also a focus on rhythmic energy and vitality that calls to mind the grooviest krautrock or electric period Miles Davis, as well as a healthy dose of electronic experiments. Throughout these five tracks the quintet paints with a colourful palette. Tamar Osborn shifts between baritone sax and flutes. Keyboardist Al MacSween doesn't just stick with the tried and true electric piano - an instrument which he masters - but showers these tracks in analog synths and effects as well. Add to that the fact that Jonas Munk took a somewhat creative approach when editing and mixing these pieces – with effects boxes wired in, occasionally giving the mix a dubby, ambient atmosphere.

Similar to Munk and Skøtt's main project, Causa Sui, digging into the past becomes a vehicle to open up the future. What the quintet has created in these sessions is something quite unique.Bios: Tamar Osborn: Saxophonist, composer and multi-wind instrumentalist is the creative force behind modal jazz ensemble Collocutor (On The Corner Records). She is a member of the Dele Sosimi Afrobeat Orchestra, performs and collaborates regularly with Sarathy Korwar, Jessica Lauren, Emanative, Ill Considered and DJ Khalab. Al MacSween: Keyboard player & founding member of Kefaya.

Collaborations include American jazz legend Gary Bartz, Syrian qanun master Maya Youseff, London Community Gospel Choir, Palestinian jazz singer Reem Kelani & kora player Kadialy Kouyate.Martin Rude: Multi-string instrumentalist & lead singer in Sun River. Doubles as stand-in bass player in Causa Sui. Jakob Skøtt: Drummer in Causa Sui with a slew of side projects on El Paraiso, including Chicago Odense Ensemble, as well as being responsible for the label’s visuals.Jonas Munk: Guitarist in Causa Sui & studio wizard on most releases on El Paraiso. Also works with a wide palette of electronic music.

TRACK LISTING

1. Jaiyede Suite Pt. 1
2. Jaiyede Suite Pt. 2
3. Sojourner
4. Enter Momentum
5. Celestial Navigation

A legendary event in the incredible 60-year history of the Rolling Stones is being released in full for the first time on Friday, April 29th. Live At The El Mocambo marks the first official appearance of the group's two famous secret concerts at the 300-capacity Toronto club in March 1977.

It features the Stones' full set from the March 5 show, plus three bonus tracks from the March 4 gig, newly mixed by Bob Clearmountain. Only four of the performances found their way onto the Love You Live album that followed in September 1977, which was dominated by tracks captured on the band's 1975 and '76 tours, with the full set having never been heard before.

As the Stones took to the stage of the “El Mo,” a fixture of the Toronto music scene since the 1940s, punk and disco were both rearing into full view, supposedly ready to see off a band who had already been at the top of their game for 15 years. Over two nights, in an intimate space in one of their favourite cities, they were about to make that prognosis look foolish indeed.

The gigs became reality after the El Mocambo was identified as the potential home for a secret booking. A radio contest was organised in which the prize was tickets to see Canadian rock heroes April Wine, supported by an unknown band called the Cockroaches. Guess who they turned out to be...

On the nights, naturally, April Wine were themselves the opening act, and so it was that the Stones rolled back the years to the exhilarating club incarnation of their early years. Against all the odds, the band produced two nights of exhilarating music that they still talk about in Toronto, and in Rolling Stones legend, to this day.

It was a setlist for all seasons, from Muddy Waters' 'Mannish Boy' and Bo Diddley's 'Crackin' Up' to staples such as 'Let's Spend The Night Together' and 'Tumbling Dice,' and back to the blues with Big Maceo's 'Worried Life Blues' and Willie Dixon's 'Little Red Rooster.' There was the live debut of 'Worried About You,' not heard in studio form until 1981's Tattoo You, and more highlights from 'Honky Tonk Woman' to 'Hot Stuff.' Forty-five years on, this is a trip back to the intensity of the Crawdaddy Club in the Stones' earliest days, as revisited by the greatest rock 'n' roll band in the world.

After 3 albums based purely on synthesizers, the danish duo take a leap by adding live drums & guitars to their latest album. A natural step, considering that Jakob Skøtt, one half of the duo, spends his time drumming in Causa Sui, as well as a slew of jazz-infused projects on El Paraiso. All basic tracks were recorded in an improv session at Jonas Munk’s studio in Odense, capturing both synths and drums live.

The expansion of drums adds a natural 70’s groove, maintaining a spontaneous vibe that also soaks into the analogue synths of modular wizard Kristoffer Ovesen. The improvised sessions were later honed, edited & layered, bringing forth the best of both spontaneous ideas, as well a multi-dimensional approach bringing a new depth to Videodrones extensive cinematic undercurrent of sounds. With the addition of echo & reverb drenched guitars, the duo is tapping into sounds in new realms yet strangely familiar. After The Fall may conceptually nod it’s head towards a gloomy state of affairs, but akin to the italian post-apocalyptic movies of the 80’s, doomsday never felt this heady and funky before

TRACK LISTING

1. Void Facer
2. Scorpio
3. Frygtens Time
4. Irgendwo - Irgendwann
5. Inferno Verde
6. After The Fall
7. Wasteland Interceptors
8. AR Amarelo 9. Blaster
10. Finale

Calexico's Joey Burns and John Convertino return with their luminous 10th studio album, El Mirador; a hopeful, kaleidoscopic beacon of rock, bluesy ruminations and Latin American sounds.

Convening at longtime bandmate Sergio Mendoza's home studio in Tucson, Arizona, the ensemble recorded throughout the summer of 2021, crafting one of their most riveting and whimsical productions to date. Convertino, who now resides in El Paso, and Burns, who relocated to Boise in 2020, channeled cherished memories of Southwestern landscapes and joyful barrio melting pots into an evocative love letter to the desert borderlands that nourished them for over 20 years.

“El Mirador” features gossamer vocals from Guatemalan singer-songwriter Gaby Moreno, while Spanish rocker Jairo Zavala brings his signature bravado to “Cumbia Peninsula.” By working with friends and recurring collaborators, Calexico also highlights the unique social and linguistic intersections at the US-Mexico border and the magnificent possibilities of a borderless world.

El Mirador stands both as a lookout point and beacon in the dark; an opportunity to search inwards, ponder our connections to the Earth and its people, and hopefully illuminate a path forward. After decades on the road Calexico's music remains boundless and romantic, still gazing upon the horizon in search of their next adventure.

STAFF COMMENTS

Laura says: Wonderful new album from Joey Burns and John Convertino. Although still infused with Latin American influences, the last few release from Calexico have taken a 'poppier' route. On this album though, they hark back to dusty desert blues of their earlier releases. Shimmering through the baking Tuscon heat, you can almost feel the sun on your back.

TRACK LISTING

A1. El Mirador
A2. Harness The Wind
A3. Cumbia Peninsula
A4. Then You Might See
A5. Cumbia Del Polvo
A6. El Paso
B1. The El Burro Song
B2. Liberada
B3. Turquoise
B4. Constellation
B5. Rancho Azul
B6. Caldera

RIYL: Explosions in the Sky, This Will Destroy You, Do Make Say Think, Mogwai.

Defying expectations is standard operating procedure for El Ten Eleven. Seriously, who would expect two instrumentalists to create such a large and complex sound? But thanks to inventive arrangements and a masterful use of looping, Kristian Dunn (bass/guitar) and Tim Fogarty (drums) developed a pulsating sound full of atmospheric intensity. They’ve also crafted an incredibly durable career, and the duo credit the ongoing interest in their debut album as the foundation for that success. The music of El Ten Eleven has been embraced by fans of many genres - from math rock, to jazz, to lo-fi hip-hop. The duo's sound is sharply evocative in mood and feeling, yet simultaneously abstract and meditative.

The combination of these qualities has stimulated the imagination of the group's fans, and gives space for listeners to assign their own value and meaning to the sounds. "I'm aiming for emotional impact when I come up with songs," Dunn explained. "Does it move me? Does it make me feel something? Sometimes it doesn't. Sometimes it's technically interesting but it doesn't make me feel anything. But I don't want music that's interesting. I want music that's emotionally resonate." 

TRACK LISTING

1. New Year’s Eve
2. Meta Metta
3. The Time Knife
4. Isn’t Everything Enough?
5. Sixteen Circles
6. A Reflection Of A Reflection

This album begins with El Goodo’s most famous song ‘Feel So Fine’ and includes the radio smash hits ‘I Saw Her Today’ and ‘Information Overload’.

As The Sunday Times wrote back when – This album mixed by the Super Furries' Cian Ciaran has an incredibly sure touch in romping through 1960s (and occasionally later) pop sounds, whether early Beatles, Joe Meek meets Morricone, the Monkees or The Velvet Undeground. As the album progresses, El Goodo calmly assimilate these influences and make the sounds their own on a superb set of songs"

SFA’s young-buck buddies El Goodo are here to prove you know of at least two Welsh bands who can kick ass, and in the hearts of some of our worlds, save rock-n-roll. - Children of the Coal.

The Welsh five piece release an album filled with summery psychedelic harmonies and spaghetti western rhythms: a match made in vintage heaven – PopMatters.

TRACK LISTING

1) Feel So Fine
2) Aren’t You Grand
3) Don’t Worry Marie
4) I Saw Her Today
5) Information Overload
6) Talking To The Birds
7) Pete
8) I Can’t Make It
9) Be My Girl
10) Oh, To Sleep
11) I Only Dream

Mega rare 1974 jazz funk rock album recorded by Argentina's top jazzmen Pocho Lapouble, Ricardo Lew and Adalberto Cevasco (also members of Quinteplus, Jorge Lopez Ruiz's band and Gato Barbieri's group among many others).

Includes the irresistible fast-paced funk rock track 'Se Acabó el Recreo' and the ethereal 'Todo en Su Medida y Armoniosamente' and 'Haceme Shaft', featuring Patricia Clark on vocals and unexpected moog arrangements.

First time reissue, with remastered sound and original artwork.

El Camino was produced by Danger Mouse and The Black Keys and was recorded in the band’s then-new hometown of Nashville during the spring of 2011. The Black Keys won three awards at the 55th annual GRAMMY Awards for El Camino – Best Rock Performance, Best Rock Song, and Best Rock Album – among other worldwide accolades. In the UK, the band was nominated for a BRIT Award (Best International Group) and an NME Award (Best International Band). The week of release, the band performed on Saturday Night Live, The Colbert Report, and the Late Show with David Letterman, and later that year, went on to perform their first Madison Square Garden show.

Rolling Stone, which featured the band on their cover around the release, hailed El Camino for bringing ‘raw, riffed-out power back to pop’s lexicon,’ and called it ‘the Keys’ grandest pop gesture yet, augmenting dark-hearted fuzz blasts with sleekly sexy choruses and Seventies-glam flair.’ The Guardian said, ‘They sound like a band who think they've made the year's best rock'n'roll album, probably because that's exactly what they've done.’

In the newly written liner notes for El Camino (10th Anniversary Deluxe Edition), David Fricke says:
The story of the Black Keys' seventh album, named after an automobile, long out of fashion and featured nowhere in the artwork, begins on a sidewalk in the middle of a blizzard. On the afternoon of January 9, 2011, singer-guitarist Dan Auerbach and drummer Patrick Carney stood on the pavement outside the Bowery Hotel in New York City, saw the weather turning vicious, looked at each other and came to the same decision: They had to get off the road.

The night before, the duo scored another first in a season getting crowded with them: The Black Keys' debut appearance on Saturday Night Live, performing ‘Howlin' for You’ and ‘Tighten Up’, the breakout singles from their latest release, Brothers. Two days earlier, Brothers – the Keys' first Top 5 album, released in May 2010 – became their first Gold record, passing a half-million in sales thanks to heavy FM rotation and a near-year of gigging, now set to run deep into 2011 including a prestige slot at Coachella and victory laps in Europe and Australia.

The Keys "tried to settle down" after cancelling the tour, Carney says. But that didn't last. "I said, 'We should just make another record.' And I asked Dan if we should get Danger Mouse" – the hip-hop and modern-rock producer, real name Brian Burton, who worked on the Keys' 2008 record, Attack & Release, and co-produced ‘Tighten Up’. Auerbach and Carney did not have any new songs, but as the drummer notes, "Most of our records – we don't have material when we start. Brothers was made up in the studio."

In the UK, the record gave the band their first top 10 hit, and in the US it debuted at #2 on the Billboard Top 200. The band was also the #1 most played artist at Alternative and AAA radio formats for 2012 in the US. The album’s first single, ‘Lonely Boy’: reached #1 on the Alternative and AAA charts; it also entered the top 10 at Rock radio. The second single, ‘Gold on the Ceiling’, also reached #1 on Alternative radio and the third single, ‘Little Black Submarines’, reached the top 3 at Alternative radio.

El Camino has been certified Double Platinum in the US; Platinum in the UK, Belgium, France, Ireland, and the Netherlands; Triple Platinum in Australia and New Zealand; Quadruple Platinum in Canada; and Gold in Austria, Denmark, Finland, Italy, Mexico, Norway, Spain, and Switzerland. Of the album’s singles, ‘Lonely Boy’ was certified Double Platinum in the US, nine-times Platinum in Canada, Triple Platinum in Australia, Platinum in New Zealand, and Gold in Denmark and the UK. ‘Gold on the Ceiling’ was certified Platinum in the United States, Australia, and Canada. ‘Little Black Submarines’ was certified Platinum in the United States. The Black Keys also were nominated for an MTV European Music Award in 2012.

TRACK LISTING

DISC 1: EL CAMINO (2021 REMASTER)
Side A
1. Lonely Boy
2. Dead And Gone
3. Gold On The Ceiling
4. Little Black Submarines
5. Money Maker
Side B
1. Run Right Back
2. Sister
3. Hell Of A Season
4. Stop Stop
5. Nova Baby
6. Mind Eraser

DISC 2: LIVE IN PORTLAND, ME.
(PART 1)
Side C
1. Howlin’ For You
2. Next Girl
3. Run Right Back
4. Same Old Thing
5. Dead And Gone
Side D
1. Gold On The Ceiling
2. Thickfreakness
3. Girl Is On My Mind
4. I'll Be Your Man / Your Touch
5. Little Black Submarines

DISC 3: LIVE IN PORTLAND, ME.
(PART 2)
Side E
1. Money Maker
2. Strange Times
3. Chop And Change
4. Nova Baby
5. Ten Cent Pistol
Side F
1. Tighten Up
2. Lonely Boy
3. Everlasting Light
4. She’s Long Gone
5. I Got Mine

DISC 4: BBC SESSION
Side A
1. Howlin’ For You *
2. Next Girl *
3. Gold On The Ceiling *
4. Thickfreakness *
5. I’ll Be Your Man *
6. Your Touch *
Side B
1. Little Black Submarines *
2. Dead And Gone *
3. Tighten Up *
4. Lonely Boy *
5. I Got Mine *

DISC 5: ELECTRO-VOX SESSION
Side A
1. Dead And Gone *
2. Gold On The Ceiling *
3. Howlin’ For You *
4. Lonely Boy *
Side B
1. Money Maker *
2. Next Girl *
3. Run Right Back *
4. Sister *
5. Tighten Up *

* Super Deluxe Editions Only.

There has always been a Reggae in­uence in the music of El Michels Affair. From their cover of “Hung Up On My Baby” done in a Reggae style, to the general sound and approach that permeates Leon’s production style. While recording Bailey’s 2020 Ekundayo album, they did some straight forward reggae tunes inspired by different eras alongside some modern R&B tracks that would sit more comfortably next to Frank Ocean than Jacob Miller. It is this same notion that old and new can live so comfortably together that birthed the idea of Ekundayo Inversions.

Traditional dub came out of reggae in the late 60s and early 70s when pioneers like King Tubby and Lee Perry started taking the multi track recordings of songs and running them back through the board adding effects and additional instrumentation. These recordings are called “dubs” or “versions” and are typically instrumentals with ­ourishes of vocals from the original tracks.

El Michels decided to use the blueprints left behind and make something using the in­uences of today. He wound up straying so far from the traditional format that it didn’t seem right to use the word ‘Dub’, hence Ekundayo Inversions. All the songs are tied together by WhatsApp messages between Leon and Liam that perfectly narrate the story of this record and their working relationship.

One of the highlights on Ekundayo Inversions is a guest appearance from the legendary Lee “Scratch” Perry on the “Ugly Truth” version. L$P switches between singing and talking, proclaiming his powers one minute and playing with the track’s title the next. On “Awkward take. 2” Leon takes one of the most experimental songs from Ekundayo and actually straightens it out. A track that once seemed to be ­oating in space has now been anchored by the addition of drums and bass. “Faded”, a version of “Paper Tiger”, is given the full EMA treatment with the addition of emotive horns over an uncomfortably sparse rhythm track peppered with Liam’s voice drenched in delay and echo.

“Champions” features a verse from Black Thought of The Roots and halfway through, El Michels sends the rhythm section 50 years back. At the end of the day, Ekundayo Inversions is a testament to how strong the original songs are. Whether they’re in a R&B style, reggae style, stripped down to their bare bones, or loaded with production, the songs will move you.

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: What a truly stunning set of songs this is, swimming in dubby atmospherics while still retaining the groove and soul of the originals. Some of the pieces are a little bit more in the downbeat realm, before we get the smooth as silk R&B and dubby cuts that bring things back to the (decidedly relaxed) dancefloor. A superb selection of versions, perfectly at home with the orignals, while remaining resolutely distinct from them.

TRACK LISTING

SIDE A:
1. Conquer & Divide
Feat. Black Thought
2. Amazing Woman
3. Angel Face
4. Walk With Me
5. No One Else
6. King

SIDE B:
1. Ugly Truths Feat. Lee Scratch Perry
2. I Love NY
3. Superstar
4. Awkward (Take 2)
5. Lucky Man
6. Faded

THIS IS A RECORD STORE DAY 2021 EXCLUSIVE AND WILL BE AVAILABLE INSTORE ON SATURDAY JULY 17TH ON A FIRST COME FIRST SERVED BASIS, LIMITED TO ONE PER PERSON.

IF THERE ARE ANY REMAINING COPIES THEY WILL BE MADE AVAILABLE ONLINE AT 6PM ON THE SAME DAY (SATURDAY JULY 17TH).

"Afro-cuban : that term which set the world on fire, from rumba to bolÈro, mambo to cha-cha-cha, before salsa, that 70's spicy sauce, took over from the others. But to speak truely, since the mists of times (of slavery), both Africa and Cuba aim to vamp that umbilical cord. The most recent example, CubAfrica, a record born from the reunion of a master from Africa and this very living institution from Cuba, during a show around Albi (in the south of France) where they were both headlining in spring 1996. Manu Dibango's sax melted perfectly with the rural music of Eliads Ochoa and his Cuarteto Patria, here's the beginning of an idea. Talking about latino music, Manu Dibango has a history with it. First, during the early 60's, from Douala to Abidjan and Paris, he was surrounded by as much cuban tempos as afro, and a lot of descarga, this typical afro-cuban jam sessions with a spicy jazzy touch, which were back in the circumstances back in the days. Later on, in the 70ís, invited in Puerto Rico by the Fania All Stars, this dreamy salsa big band at its highest, Manu dressed his anthemic hit "Soul Makossa", for a show (and then a record) of anthology. There was nothing more natural for him than diving again in the cuban bath. This time, he crossed the sound barrier with this Cuarteto Patria, a standard combo in the cuban music, founded 60 years ago and handled by EliadËs Ochoa, this master of trËs the ancestral cuban guitar, in 1978. He just achieved another magic meeting, the one of Buena Vista Social Club' record, next to Compay Segundo, Ruben Gonzalez and Ry Cooder. In Paris, back from Albi, an idea started to tickle Manu, EliadËs and... Gilbert Castro, boss of CelluloÔd-MÈlodie. They high fived each other, been agree on the repertoire and then get to Davout studio the day after. They tweak the arrangements right at the studio with the help of Ernesto "Tito" Puentes and Hughes de Courson, Lambarena' producer. In two days, everything's almost ready. Jerry Malekani, Manu's guitar player will add a few things to it. CubAfrica is a seductive guided tour around the garden of latinos' classics, with that Creole' smell. Latinos but not only cuban, this record is a walk toward mexican Cielito lindo or Cerezo Rosa, this french sweet made by AndrÈ Claveau and spiced by Perez Prado. A repertoire that even newcomers are able to hum, due to such a patrimonial status, spread by Cubans and their African partner in crime, round-shaping sounds for a spontaneous result: the black continent and the Caribbean island aren't on the edge of losing the bond between them."

Fresh off of their 2020 offering Adult Themes, El Michels Affair is back with a new full-length release. Titled Yeti Season, this newest album has everything we've come to expect from EMA’s patented cinematic style of instrumental soul music. Where Adult Themes inspired a soundtrack to an imaginary film, Yeti Season brings us to a different place in time with new inspirations. Taken with Turkish-styled funk and an almost Mumbai-esque take on soul, El Michels Affair offers us a different kind of drama and imagination with Yeti Season. If you've been following along, this shouldn't be viewed as too far a departure for El Michels Affair.

The first single off of Yeti Season showed their hand back in 2018. A double-sided banger, that release brought the musical textures to the fore that dominate this record. The first song, titled "Unathi," is fully realized with the beautifully haunting-yet-hopeful vocals of Piya Malik, formally of 79.5 another Big Crown artist. Singing in Hindi, Piya's ethereal voice is telling us to work and strive together toward progress.

Even if you don't understand her language, you can still hear the urgency of purpose, creating a lasting vibe that sits on top of it all. Leon Michels explains that Piya had a vital influence on this record: "When Piya started singing in Hindi, she had a different voice, a different tone. I knew we had to do something together." And so Piya appears on three other songs on Yeti Season: "Zaharila," "Murkit Gem," and "Dhuaan." Each providing particular signatures to the album. "Zaharila" is a building and changing love song punctuated by blaring trumpets, driving drums, and Piya's pleading lyrics. While the more upbeat "Murkit Gem" opens with a fuzzed out, Wu-Tang-esque baseline that buoys Piya's stylings. The psychedelic guitar and Piya's changing tones and textures singing about an all-consuming love are what pushed "Dhuaan" on to the second single from Yeti Season.

There is also a vocal appearance from Shannon Wise of The Shacks, yet another Big Crown artist. Her song called "Sha Na Na," lies more in the familiar EMA vein: melodic, hypnotic, soulfully visual. But between Shannon's airy singing, the jumpy baseline, moody vibes, the active drum lines, it sounds like a pensive walk home after a strangely dramatic night. So what is Yeti Season? It could be more of a feeling than an actual place or time of year. It's a heavy album as evidenced by the signature musicianship and dramatic vocal expressions. But it's also a hopeful record, with phrasings, textures, and chord changes that hint at something better or fuller coming our way. You hear it in songs like "Ala Vida," with its stabby, pulsing chords laying a bedrock for EMA's bright, atmospheric horn lines. Or even in "Fazed Out," which leaves you with a feeling of determination, a striving for resolution even though the driving, march-like song structure should accompany some conquering army.

This persistence has to come from the fact that Leon Michels and company finished this record during the lockdown. It was a tough and troublesome time. But look at what has come of it: Yeti Season a record of high and heavy drama, but also one of hope and promise. It may take a year like 2020 behind us to find hope in a winter big footed creature like a Yeti, but that's where we are.

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: Another brilliantly rich and beautifully soulful suite from El Michels Affair here, flitting between eastern psychedelia and filmic grooves into more beat-driven downbeat territory. It's all wonderfully produced (as is the way with EMA) and presents a hypnotic and alluring repeat listen.

TRACK LISTING

A1. Unathi
A2. Sha Na Na
A3. Ala Vida
A4. Fazed Out
A5. Murkit Gem
B1. Lesson Learned
B2. Dhuaan
B3. Perfect Harmony
B4. Silver Lining
B5. Zaharila
B6. Last Blast

El Perro del Mar releases her new EP FREE LAND on 20 November 2020 on limited edition hand numbered 12” vinyl via Memphis Industries. “FREE LAND” is about deconstruction and construction. It’s about resisting giving in. It’s about freedom of creativity and freedom of thought. It’s also an appraisal of the free artist as a well as a reclaiming of creative integrity in an over-commercialized world. The EP includes a collaboration with Devonté Hynes of Blood Orange who lends his vocals to a cover of Black Sabbath’s song “Changes” (“Alone in halls”).

TRACK LISTING

1. Enter
2. Life Is Full Of Rewards
3. White On White
4. Free Land
5. Alone In Halls (feat. Blood Orange)
6. Dreamers Change The World
7. EXIT

Something different from Causa Sui. While Causa Sui have always had one foot in heavy psychedelic rock, they've had the other one deep in a wide variety of esoteric styles. On this new double LP set, that other dimension of the band is being explored full-scale. ”Szabodelico” paints with a colourful palette, both compositionally and sonically - digging deep into an assortment of cultures, eras and sounds with a true crate-digger mindset. Throughout their 15 year life-span Causa Sui has always been about seeking out new directions, exploring the past and the present in a way that's unique at each step of their subtle progression - forging new paths into an existing map. ”Szabodelico” feels like discovering a small room under the stairs of your own house: familiar, yet new and exciting. Their latest vision is an elegantly zoned-out version of itself: a turn inward. Anti-bombastic, yet rich with ecstatic harmonics and dynamics. The band stringed together a long series of sessions in 2019 and early 2020 in their studio in Odense, often prioritizing playful first takes and good vibes rather than clinical perfection.Sparsely dubbed and mixed with a natural, full bodied flavour by Jonas Munk during the summer of 2020, each track has its own aesthetic. There's no simple equation to sum up the 13 individual parts of the album, but as a whole it creates an entity that's as complete as each of its parts. From the windblown opener ”Echoes of Light”, to the closing slow-motion epic ”Merging Waters” you'll find yourself asking where did the time go? The answer of course is: Szabodelico. 

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: There have been little doubt for me that Causa Sui were one of the most talented outfits in the heavy psych field, but it never really clicked for me until these slightly more melodic, almost desert-rock pieces hit the speakers. It's a baffling mix of surf, psych and pop with a progressive edge, but without losing the frenetic inventiveness they've displayed up until now. Wonderful.

TRACK LISTING

1. Echoes Of Light
2. Gabor's Path
3. Sole Elettrico
4. Under The Spell
5. Vibratone
6. Laetitia
7. Szabodelico
8. Honeydew
9. Lucien's Beat
10. Premonitions
11. Rosso Di Sera Bel Tempo Si Spera
12. La Jolla
13. Merging Waters

RIYL: Explosions in the Sky, Sigur Ros, Do Make Say Think, Mogwai, Russian Circles, Minus the Bear.

Experiencing an unexpected tragedy or loss often provokes a period of self-reflection, a time to contemplate one’s own place and purpose in the world. That was true for El Ten Eleven’s Kristian Dunn. When a beloved family member passed, Dunn found his own reflections on life emerging in the music he composed. Those expressions led to the creation of Tautology a sonic meditation on the arc of human life, composed in three parts.

Over the course of three discs, Tautology is, in Dunn’s words, “a representation of life from the teenage years, through middle-age, until the end of life.” The sounds on the album echo Dunn’s own experiences, veering from aggressive metallic riffs to blissful ambient soundscapes. And while there are shared melodies and harmonies through all three records, each one has its own distinct qualities: Tautology I, which represents adolescence, is angsty, aggressive and occasionally depressive; Tautology II is head-noddy and mid-tempo, and represents middle age; while Tautology III, quiet and ambient, represents one’s golden years.

Tautology is not a typical rock album, and El Ten Eleven are not a typical rock band. For seventeen years the instrumental duo of Dunn (bass/guitar) and Tim Fogarty (drums) have flourished outside the accepted norms of rock orthodoxy, releasing eight full length albums and four EPs, and performing over 750 live shows. Utilizing inventive arrangements and a masterful use of looping, El Ten Eleven create a sound much bigger than the sum of its parts. Joyful Noise Recordings will digitally release each of Tautology’s three discs, individually and in sequential order, beginning May 1st, with a physical 3LP release on September 18, 2020.

Dunn explains there’s no right or wrong way to listen to Tautology, suggesting that a deep dive into the full project will yield rewards. “I think someone could listen to any one of the discs by themselves and have a really great experience—even if they didn't know about the others. But if they do want to go deeper, I think there will be a lot of interesting stuff to discover. It works symbolically and it all connects. I think this is the best record we've ever done.” 

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: Having been at the forefront of two-man post-rocking for some time now (their self titled debut was, and still is one of my favourite albums), it was a delight to see this triple LP covering all the ground they've touched on in the past 10 years or so. Starting off a lot more driven and gradually rolling towards tender, shimmering post-rock,this is a true impression of just how varied El Ten Eleven can be. Lovely.

TRACK LISTING

1 Entropy
2 With Report
3 Jejune
4 Moral Dynamite
5 Division
6 Lassitude
7 Besotted
8 Shimmer
9 Nocturne
10 The Silent Bell That Rings
11 Half Mast
12 Queen’s Gambit
13 Growing Shorter
14 Farrago
15 Caducity
16 You Are A Piece Of Me, You Are A Piece Of Her
17 Aubade
18 Shimmered
19 Let's All Go Out Like Francis
20 Senescent
21 All Of This Bliss Doesn’t Come Without A Price

There's really no other place like San Diego. The weather's balmy all year, there's 70 miles of the finest coastline California has to offer, it has one of the most ethnically diverse populations in the US and - most importantly - it's currently THE epicenter for heavy psychedelic rock. Bands such as Earthless, Astra and Radio Moscow have paved the way for an astounding number of bands, creating a tight knit community of musicians. On this session Denmark's Jonas Munk (Causa Sui) joins forces with San Diego native Brian Ellis (who's not only a prime mover in the psychedelic scene, but has also been active in California's jazz and funk circuits for several years), and an assemblage of prime musicians from the area, including members of Astra, Psicomagia, Monarch, Radio Moscow and Sacri Monti. The result is an intoxicating brew that's hard to put a label on. Fueled by the furious drumming of Paul Marrone, and led by Jonas Munk's fuzzy lead guitar and the multicolored keys of Brian Ellis, there's an unmoored, floating quality to the music the large ensemble was creating at these sessions. It's the kind of record you can put on and just let it wash over you. The closest references would be Miles Davis circa Bitches Brew, Hendrix at Woodstock, or perhaps Can at their most blazing and levitational. The music flows like an electric river of vintage keys, percussion and fuzz guitars. And it's glowing with life. Vinyl comes in gatefold sleeve with art by Alan Forbes and liner notes by Jonas Munk. For fans of Causa Sui, Earthless and Psicomagia this set is not to be missed!

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: Another lysergic eastern-tinged psychedelic melting pot from Jonas Munk and Brian Ellis, plus 'Ensemble'. We get slow, shifting meditations topped with soaring free-jazz percussions and woozy, hypnotic guitar in absolutely classic Causa Sui fashion. Brain-meltingly psychedelic and a hugely absorbing listen.

TRACK LISTING

1. The Wedge
2. Pauly's Pentacles
3. Munk's Dream
4. Electric Saloon
5. Bucket Drips
6. Larry's Jungle Juice
7. Stone Steps 

An incomparable world of bug-eyed, harmony-rich folk-pop-psych-alt-country-rock lies in wait for intrepid listeners as the best Welsh band the world nearly forgot, El Goodo, return with only their fourth album in a 20-year career, Zombie. 

The result of a rapid-fire period of easy-come recording at the legendary Rockfield Studios in the company of experimental producer, Tim Lewis (aka Thighpaulsandra, a Julian Cope collaborator and former member of Spiritualized), El Goodo’s 13-track long player gathers loose ends from the band’s stop-start lifespan, as well as brand new songs exploring parenthood, losing parents and – tangentially – Spanish surrealist film.

Featuring over 20 musicians – including core members Pixy Jones (lead vocals/guitars/keys), Elliott Jones (drums), Jason Jones (vocals/guitars) and Andrew Cann (bass) – the album welcomes contributions from Sweet Baboo/Stephen Black (Clarinet, Bass Clarinet, Flute) and Welsh Music Prize-nominee, Eugene Capper (violin/slide guitar). The Grey Tower itself is assembled of 17 players, finessing the ride between bright, sun-dappled hippy pop and intense, squally fuzz with saxophone, harmonica, heavy strings and a Baldwin Electric Harpsichord.

Originally intending their collaboration with a dedicated producer to be a double-album, a new sense of purpose and direction instead guided them to a drum-tight clutch of tracks that just fits on two sides instead of four. As well as recording Zombie direct to tape, El Goodo dug around in Lewis’ rich archive of analogue equipment at his Aeriel studio in Carmarthenshire, including a rare Univox early synth used by Joe Meek in the recording of his 1962 game-changer Telstar (now used by the band on I Can’t Leave). The result of their journey is a rich tapestry of valve-powered sound, recalling the White Album, Scott Walker, The Troggs, Gene Clark, the Beach Boys and numerous other ‘golden-age’ sonic explorers.

Named after Lewis’ sadly-departed dog, Zombie – etched in the band’s memories and nasal passages as a vegetable-loving creature, with noxious after effects - the album’s title follows in El Goodo’s tradition of naming albums after animals, succeeding 2009’s Coyote and 2017’s, widely-acclaimed, By Order Of The Moose.

Forming in the late 90s, El Goodo (named after the Big Star song, Ballad Of El Goodo) emerged with intent as not only a support band for Super Furry Animals on their 2006 Love Kraft UK tour, but also as label mates as the Furries released the band’s self-titled debut on their Placid Casual label in 2005. Haphazardly piecing together records using faulty equipment in a crumbling village hall in their sleepy hometown of Resolven, the next 15 years has seen El Goodo blip contentedly on the radar as a gently persistent musical jewel cherished by knowing audiophiles. Their association with the Furries persists as Zombie is released on Cian Ciarán and Dafydd Ieuan’s Cardiff-based, Strangetown Records. 

Big Crown Records is proud to present Adult Themes, the latest full length offering from El Michels Affair. This album takes the band’s “Cinematic Soul” aesthetic literally and sends the listener on a journey through a whirlwind of moods and energies. With their 2005 debut album Sounding Out The City, EMA spearheaded an instrumental funk / soul movement that inspired a slew of bands and even lead to the creation of a few independent record labels. El Michels has since lent his signature sound to artists from Adele to Dr John, Lana Del Rey to Aloe Blacc, and a who’s who list of others. In 2016 he co-founded Big Crown Records and has since produced the lion’s share of its output. A short stint as the touring band for Wu Tang Clan in 2007 led to the cult classics Enter The 37th Chamber (2009) and Return To The 37th Chamber (2017). Adult Themes marks the long awaited, highly anticipated return to an album of original compositions from El Michels Affair.

In 2017 in between producing, playing, and recording on other artists’ records Leon Michels began creating compilations of short interludes intended to be sampled by hip hop producers. Some of these wound up becoming songs by Jay Z & Beyonce, Travis Scott, and Don Toliver. These minute-long snippets were inspired by the dense moody work of ‘60s composers like David Axelrod, and Francois de Roubaix, as well as Moondog’s brand of classical jazz. Michels was having so much fun creating these instrumental / orchestral nuggets that he decided to expand on some of the ideas and create what would become the soundtrack for a movie that has yet to be made, an imaginary film entitled “Adult Themes.” The album plays like the colors on an artists pallet. Songs like “Rubix” and “Villa” are densely orchestrated with the hard-hitting drums that El Michels Affair is known for. On “Life of Pablo”, Leon’s son makes his first appearance on record and intros a song with an epic arrangement and a moving mood. “Hipps” is a drum heavy ballad that could’ve easily fit on EMA’s debut record, Sounding Out the City. Other compositions like “The Difference” and “Kill The Lights” are bare, melodic mood pieces with sparse drums and sophisticated chord movement. All of these tunes come together to make perfect backgrounds for dialogue and action. One of the beautiful things about instrumental music is that the listener can decide what the narrative is. With Adult Themes El Michels Affair has created a “choose your own adventure” in musical form.

TRACK LISTING

1. Enfant
2. Adult Theme No. 1
3. Kill The Lights
4. Villa
5. Adult Theme No. 2
6. Life Of Pablo
7. Adult Theme No. 3

SIDE B:
1. Rubix
2. A Swift Nap
3. Hipps
4. Munecas
5. Adult Theme No. 4

Hanni El Khatib, the definitive purveyor of visceral, blues-wracked, punk-spiked, soulwarped, knife-fight rock n’ roll who artfully blends serrated guitars with his love for hiphop, releases his fifth album FLIGHT, produced by and recorded with long-time friend Leon Michels (El Michels Affair, Lana Del Rey, Rick Ross, Travis Scott, A$AP Rocky, and Eminem).

From 2010 until 2017, when he released his previous albums, there was the usual cycle that consumes most working musicians: make an album, tour it, return home, rinse and repeat. And with it came the predictable pitfalls that ensnare too many artists - It is a dream until that one night when it isn’t any longer, and despite his gratitude for his fans, El Khatib found himself wracked by depression and anxiety. It became readily apparent that if he didn’t make drastic changes to his lifestyle, there might not be a life to speak of. So he quit drinking, stopped touring, and took an indefinite hiatus from the studio. But eventually, the desire to create songs slowly returned.

What would eventually become El Khatib’s fifth studio album, the virtuosic but characteristically raw FLIGHT, began as spontaneous experimentation. The finished result is a rollicking sampledelic opus that recalls the beautiful chaos that the Dust Brothers created on Paul’s Boutique and Odelay. It’s the type of thing that Dilla and Madlib would’ve created if they had come up on The Cramps.

TRACK LISTING

1. CARRY
2. GLASSY
3. ALIVE
4. COLORS
5. STRESSY
6. ROOM
7. LEADER
8. GEM
9. HARLOW
10. DUMB
11. HOW
12. DETROIT
13. PEACE

Kanaan from Oslo, Norway is back with their 2nd album in 2020. Following the impromptu Odense Sessions with Causa Sui guitarist Jonas Munk released in February, Double Sun is a different beast all together: Treading the same path as their 2018 debut Windborne, Double Sun is a studio effort in the best sense of the word. Perfectly balanced on the edge of dynamic improv, throbbing beats sizzled in scorching fuzz and topped off with deeply layered soundscapes. This album sees Kanaan reach a new plateau. Kanaan presents a unique perspective to psychedelic rock, painting with a wide palette that includes jazz and post-rock. Double Sun devotes as much energy to sonic colour as it does to groove and energy. The spirit of experimentation is everywhere: From the savory, pastoral sounds of opening track Worlds Together, to the soaring exploratory paths of the two-part title track. In the creative process, Kanaan dived deep into the possibilities of the studio, adding intricate layers and twists and turns to these tunes: acoustic guitars, percussions & synthesizers embrace and enhance the Norwegian modern day version of a power-trio. T

TRACK LISTING

1. Worlds Together
2. Mountain
3. Öresund
4. Worlds Apart
5. Double Sun Pt. 1
6. Double Sun Pt. 2

Mythic Sunship played three shows at the 2019 edition of Roadburn - ”Changing Shapes” documents the most ferocious and courageous of the three. It follows 2018's ”Another Shape of Psychedelic Music”, where the band incorporated saxophone player Søren Skov, and ventured deep into uncharted sonic territory, somewhere in between fuzzed out space rock and free jazz. A sound that's both challenging and deeply engaging. As the festival described the album before the show: “The kind of album people talk about years afterward. The kind of album that isn’t for everybody, but for those whom it touches are never quite the same again.” ”Changing Shapes” is a continuation of those ideas, not just a live performance of previous material (only two tracks from ”Another Shape...” are featured on this set). Søren Skov joins the band again here as the five-piece burns through a handful of lengthy pieces in front of an ecstatic audience. It's an immersive listen, from the curious opening notes of ”Awakening”, to the relentless roar of ”Ophidian Rising”. ”If Mythic Sunship aren’t the shape of psychedelic music to come, it’s in no small part because there are so few out there who could hope to match what they do.” -The Obelisk ”It’s the sound of a band that have fully found their mojo and can just hammer out these sonic slabs that are devoid of cliche and scream originality.” -The Fragmented Flaneur ”They grind out massive riffs and tribal beats like a soundtrack to the apocalypse...This is psychedelic music unlike you’ve heard before.” -Complex Distractions 

TRACK LISTING

1. Awakening
2. Elevation
3. Way Ahead
4. Olympia

Jonas Munk & Nicklas Sørensen team up for a genre-defying record that explores American minimalism, psychedelia, and electronic music both vintage and contemporary. On a foundation of interlocking guitar and synthesizer patterns, the duo constructs lengthy pieces that are experimental yet welcoming in nature, precisely executed yet with room for soaring improvisation. Always Already Here pays homage to the masters of classical minimalism (Steve Reich, Terry Riley) and the pioneers of electronic music and kosmische (Brian Eno, Manuel Göttsching), still it doesn't sound derivative or retrospective. The type of hypnotic bliss Munk and Sørensen strive for is distinctly timeless. Always Already Here came to life during a handful of intense sessions in Munk's studio in Odense, Denmark. However, from a larger perspective the record seems to be a culmination of several years of collaborating.

From 2010-14 Munk recorded & produced 3 full-length albums for Sørensen's band Papir. In the period 2015-17 the two collaborated on Sørensen's 2 solo efforts ”Solo” and ”Solo 2”. During the same period they have occasionally performed live as a duo, playing semi-improvised shows based around guitars & synthesizers. These live shows have assuredly influenced their collaborative work with an explorative, animated quality which is especially apparent on the album's free flowing, zen-orientated B-side. Always Already Here ties together several musical threads: academic pattern-music, psychedelia, avant-garde sound exploration as well as a highly melodic sensibility. It's a multi-layered, colourful album that demands full sonic immersion

TRACK LISTING

1 Shift
2 Patterns
3 Here
4 Magnetic
5 Tide

In recent years Southern California has proved to be fertile ground for heavy psych, prog and free rock. The amount of excellent bands growing out of the San Diego soil is simply unparalleled. Among the youngest generation of these bands are the five-piece Monarch, a band rooted in psychedelia and experimental prog, with a view towards broader horizons. There's something refreshing about Monarch's take on psychedelic rock: they aren't afraid to weave allman brothers-esque dual guitar lines with synthesizers and saxophone. They can be heavy, but there's an unmistakable panoramic quality to their compositions too, reflecting the rich and diverse environment they've grown up in, with dazzling pacific coastlines, mountains and desert highways.

Compared to their debut album, ”Two Isles” from 2016, Beyond The Blue Sky is a more complex record. The three year journey has led the band through several separate recording sessions and ended up going all-analog at Audio Design studios. It’s an album that’s meticulously crafted and with sights set on new musical territory. Their songwriting has matured and each track feels like a mini-epic, travelling unexpected routes before reaching their sonic destination. Nowhere is this more apparent than on the album's centerpiece, the three-part Beyond The Blue Sky/Phenomena/Counterpart, where Monarch manages to fuse all their influences into one mammoth composition. It's an album to drive off into a careless summer sunset and beyond 

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: A heady collection of grooving guitar jams, heavy AF percussion and drippingly psychedelic vocals that only the balmy climes of California could bring about. Fully immersive and addictively euphoric jams.

TRACK LISTING

1. Hanging By A Thread
2. Divided Path
3. Pangea
4. Beyond The Blue Sky
5. Phenomena
6. Counterpart
7. Felo De Se

"Hasta El Cielo" is Khruangbin's glorious dub version of their second album "Con Todo El Mundo". The full album has been processed anew along with two bonus dubs by renowned Jamaican producer Scientist. The band’s exotic, spacious, psychedelic funk aligns with the dub treatment particularly well. Indeed, keen fans won’t find this a surprising release. Dubs of tracks from their first album "The Universe Smiles Upon You" appeared on limited vinyl releases of "People Everywhere" for Record Store Day 2016 and "Zionsville" on the BoogieFuturo remix 12”. The especially eagle-eared will have caught a dub of "Two Fish And An Elephant" playing over the credits of the track’s celebrated video.

'For us, Dub has always felt like a prayer. Spacious, meditative, able to transport the listener to another realm. The first dub albums we listened to were records mixed by Scientist featuring the music of the Roots Radics. Laura Lee learned to play bass by listening to "Scientist Wins the World Cup". His unique mixing style, with the emphasis on space and texture, creates the feeling of frozen time; it was hugely influential to us as a band. To be able to work alongside Scientist, a legend in the history of dub, is an honor. This is our dub version of "Con Todo El Mundo.”' - Khruangbin

Formed of Laura Lee on bass, Mark Speer on guitar, and Donald “DJ” Johnson on drums; Khruangbin’s sounds are rooted in the deepest waters of music from around the world, infused with classic soul, dub and psychedelia. Their 2015 debut album ‘The Universe Smiles Upon You’ was heavily influenced by 60’s and 70’s Thai cassettes the band listened to on their long car journeys to rehearsal in the Texan countryside. 2018’s follow up ‘Con Todo El Mundo’, which received hugely positive critical reactions and radio play around the world, took inspiration not just from South East Asia but similarly underdiscovered funk and soul of the Mediterranean and the Middle East, particularly Iran. 

STAFF COMMENTS

Emily says: Khruangbin’s deep, meditative grooves enjoy a generous helping of delay and spring reverb, with two bonus tracks mixed by none other than dub legend Scientist. This time the meandering guitar lines shimmer in the background while the bass and drums take centre stage. Sure to expand the corners of your mind and warm the chambers of your heart.

TRACK LISTING

LP
A1. With All The World
A2. Sisters & Brothers
A3. Mary Always
A4. Four Of Five
A5. How I Love
A6. Sunny’s Vision
B1. A La Sala
B2. The Red Book
B3. Order Of Operations
B4. Hasta El Cielo

7"
A1. Rules - Scientist Dub
B1. Cómo Te Quiero - Scientist Du

Chemistry Lane debuting on cult label Mai 68 (formed by the band of same name...).

"Mirrored Wall" exudes the kinda funky, electronic disco that Phenominal Hand Clap Band, Gramme and Crazy P all count as their bread and butter. The vocals in this instance are much more yearning, leaning themselves to a nocturnal indie-dancefloor swaying with youthful abandon.

"El Acusador" on the flip combines alluring, eastern scales, tight n funky live drums and plenty of analogue swells and SFX. It's picturesque, evocative and immits a kind of rigid, urban futurism that bands like Interpol and more recently Drahla both do. I like it! 

 

TRACK LISTING

A. Mirrored Wall
B. El Acusador

Causa Sui's three volumes of Summer Sessions are back in print! This time on the band's own label, on individual LP's for the first time since they were first released in 2008 and 2009. Re-packaged in El Paraiso’s signature style. Originally the Summer Sessions were intended as a side project for the band – a chance to explore their love for other genres such as American free jazz, krautrock, 1970s soundtracks, as well as the psychedelia and detuned stoner-rock that characterized Causa Sui's first two albums.

But these three albums came to define the band, and have become become modern classics of psychedelia and progressive rock since their were initially released ten years ago. In a scene often characterized by loyalty to a specific period, there’s something refreshing about Causa Sui’s eclectic approach. With several guest appearances by Coltrane-devotee Johan Riedenlow on sax and electronics wiz Rasmus Rasmussen, Causa Sui venture far beyond stoner-rock platitudes. Take the grandiose opening statement for example – the 24 minute ”Visions of Summer” taking up the entire A-side: here new and old sounds dissolve in a mindbending excursion that recalls Future Days-era Can, breezy tropicalia or Herbie Hancocks Mwandishi group, as much as it sparks associations to Kyuss or Hendrix.

Other tracks, such as the frenetic Rip Tide (vol. 2), heads into straight up free jazz territory with Riedenlow going absolutely bonkers on the sax. But this set also allows plenty of room for savory, atmospheric pieces such as the sun-drenched ”Venice by the Sea” (vol. 3) or the Morricone-esque ”Cinecitta” (vol. 2). Praise for Summer Sessions: Causa Sui, psychedelic/desert-space rock band from Denmark, effortlessly takes the prime trimmings of almost every element rock has to offer and propagates a sensation of their own...It’s almost impossible to not appreciate the groovy jazz-rock bass lines of Jess Kahr, the endless expressive jazz styles of drummer Jakob Skøtt, and most importantly the extravagant lead guitar and keyboard work of Jonas Munk...These enduring works of art must be beheld by the likes of rock enthusiasts and/or anyone wishing to seek what psychedelic-rock has to offer.

For a modern psychedelic/jazz-fusion/jam rock album, Summer Sessions is as essential as it gets. Sputnik Music. Formed in the late summer of 2004, this Danish four-piece unashamedly reference such esteemed cosmic talents as Blue Cheer, Amon Düül II and Ash Ra Tempel. Yes, it's another improv quest for the heart of sonic enlightenment, but they do it with a conviction, dexterity and drive that few modern bands possess. -Mojo.This is space music, that flows as a lysergic trip with poetic flights that remind us of the cosmic couriers, and also derives from the most free-jazz contaminated by rock music.

TRACK LISTING

1. Sun Prayer
2. Rip Tide
3. The Open Road
4. Cinecitta
5. Tropic Of Capricorn

Causa Sui's three volumes of Summer Sessions are back in print! This time on the band's own label, on individual LP's for the first time since they were first released in 2008 and 2009. Re-packaged in El Paraiso’s signature style. Originally the Summer Sessions were intended as a side project for the band – a chance to explore their love for other genres such as American free jazz, krautrock, 1970s soundtracks, as well as the psychedelia and detuned stoner-rock that characterized Causa Sui's first two albums.

But these three albums came to define the band, and have become become modern classics of psychedelia and progressive rock since their were initially released ten years ago. In a scene often characterized by loyalty to a specific period, there’s something refreshing about Causa Sui’s eclectic approach. With several guest appearances by Coltrane-devotee Johan Riedenlow on sax and electronics wiz Rasmus Rasmussen, Causa Sui venture far beyond stoner-rock platitudes. Take the grandiose opening statement for example – the 24 minute ”Visions of Summer” taking up the entire A-side: here new and old sounds dissolve in a mindbending excursion that recalls Future Days-era Can, breezy tropicalia or Herbie Hancocks Mwandishi group, as much as it sparks associations to Kyuss or Hendrix.

Other tracks, such as the frenetic Rip Tide (vol. 2), heads into straight up free jazz territory with Riedenlow going absolutely bonkers on the sax. But this set also allows plenty of room for savory, atmospheric pieces such as the sun-drenched ”Venice by the Sea” (vol. 3) or the Morricone-esque ”Cinecitta” (vol. 2). Praise for Summer Sessions: Causa Sui, psychedelic/desert-space rock band from Denmark, effortlessly takes the prime trimmings of almost every element rock has to offer and propagates a sensation of their own...It’s almost impossible to not appreciate the groovy jazz-rock bass lines of Jess Kahr, the endless expressive jazz styles of drummer Jakob Skøtt, and most importantly the extravagant lead guitar and keyboard work of Jonas Munk...These enduring works of art must be beheld by the likes of rock enthusiasts and/or anyone wishing to seek what psychedelic-rock has to offer.

For a modern psychedelic/jazz-fusion/jam rock album, Summer Sessions is as essential as it gets. Sputnik Music. Formed in the late summer of 2004, this Danish four-piece unashamedly reference such esteemed cosmic talents as Blue Cheer, Amon Düül II and Ash Ra Tempel. Yes, it's another improv quest for the heart of sonic enlightenment, but they do it with a conviction, dexterity and drive that few modern bands possess. -Mojo.This is space music, that flows as a lysergic trip with poetic flights that remind us of the cosmic couriers, and also derives from the most free-jazz contaminated by rock music.

TRACK LISTING

1. Eugenie
2. Red Valley
3. Lonesome Traveller
4. Santa Sangre
5. Venice By The Sea 

Causa Sui drummer & El Paraiso visual designer Jakob Skøtt unleashes his most personal vision to date. His one-man-band formula of synths, drums and effects serve him as well as ever. From the avant-electro grooves of Amor Fati (2014) to his ambitious pre-fusion cosmic jazz sessions of All the Colours of the Dust (2016), this latest set is Skøtt at his most ripe: The grooves are deeper, more stripped down to its essentials, yet maintaining the vibrant seamless mix of airy timing, drowning drones & sludgy synth riffs. The album was recorded a few months after Jakob experienced a brief, yet painful spontaneous leak of brain fluid. Instrumentality draws on that corpal experience in it’s titles and artwork, as well as works it’s musical muse. It’s music that constantly dives inwards - ever repetitive, yet constantly moving. From micro movements in Skøtt’s poly-rhythms, to the 5 song cycles diving to the depths of the splintered nerves reconnecting with their natural flow. Sometimes lost but never without a sense of purpose. Welcome aboard.

Something truly radical happened to the European classical music tradition in the years after the Second World War. At a time when the revolutionary principle of 12-tone composition instigated by Schoenberg was beginning to be regarded among young composers as passé, some had witnessed the horrors of war and for them in particular, the need to make a definitive break with the past and the conventions and conflicts which sprang from it was paramount. Across Europe, composers like the young German Karlheinz Stockhausen, the Romanian-born architect IannisXenakis, and the Frenchmen Pierre Schaeffer and Pierre Henry were among those who began to seek out new ways of organising sound. Some looked to science for inspiration. If, to society at large its logic held out the promise of a new civilisation unsullied by such dark forces as nationalism; might it not do the same for the arts? These composers constructed their music according to differing philosophies, systems, formulae and beliefs. What they had in common was a hunger for new sounds and soundscapes that might celebrate the rejuvenation of civilisation and point to a future where war had no place. No composer had a greater appetite for revolution than Stockhausen, who was embarking on a quest that would occupy him for more than half a century, and which would take in a whole gamut of constantly re-defined objectives - among them "point music", "spatial music" and "multi-formula composition". His early electronic compositions such as the Studies were painstakingly and meticulously constructed using magnetic tape, to be followed over the ensuing decade by the works which ranked among the masterpieces of electronic music, Gesang der Jünglinge (Song of the Youths) and Kontakte (Contacts). All of these unprecedented early electronic works are included in this 3 CD box set presentation 

TRACK LISTING

Disc: 1
1. Étude Aux Chemins De Fer
2. Étude Aux Tourniquets
3. Étude Violette
4. Étude Noire
5. Pathétique
6. StudieNr. 1
7. StudieNr. 2
8. Gesang Der Jünglinge
9. Diamorphoses
10. ConcretPh
11. PoèmeÉlectronique
12. Voile D'orphée (Veil Of Orpheus)

Disc: 2
1. ÉtudeConcrète
2. Nr. 5 Zeitmasse (Time-Measures) For Five Woodwinds
3. Avant "L'artisanatFurieux"
4. Commentaire I De "Bourreaux De Solitude"
5. "L'artisanatFurieux"
6. Commentaire Ii De "Bourreaux De Solitude"
7. "Bel Edifice Et Les Pressentiments", Version Premiere
8. "Bourreaux De Solitude"
9. Apres "L'artisanatFurieux"
10. Commentaire Iii De "Bourreaux De Solitude"
11. "Bel Edifice Et Les Pressentiments" Double
12. Kontra-Punkte
13. Zyklus
14. Refrain

Disc: 3
1. Kontakte (Contacts) (For Electronic Sounds)
2. Orient-Occident
3. Artikulation
4. Cartridge Music
5. Aria With Fontana Mix

Futuropaco’s debut album is the shape of things to come: it’s a wet, enigmatic cocktail of part 1970’s Italian library music, part krautalicious beat-galore and part riff-driven heavy psych. Justin Pinkerton, from Oakland, California, is the one-man army behind the opaque merge of seemingly different forces: from mad fuzz guitar breakdowns à la Morricone at his most intense, to the syncopated drum learnings of Can’s Jaki Liebezeit, Justin weaves a blanket of sound that’s simply loaded with deep vibes: From heavily modulate Moog synths, gentle glockenspiel through amplified echo-perplexion.

You almost forget that Justin’s main instrument is actually the drums - if it wasn’t for the superb loaded-yet-understated grooves tying everything together in an intricate tangle. With a background as drummer & composer in famed psych-rockers Golden Void (Thrill Jockey), Justin also works as a full time film composer for library and commercial music. Futuropaco is the meeting between his two passions: It’s a vivid sonic dream where abstraction melts with the strict, focused approach of cinematic cues. It almost makes you forget the murky future of America these days, which was the catalyst for this album and it’s title. Imminent dystopia never felt this grounded, bright and uplifting. Freedom Fuzz!

Comprising of Laura Lee on bass, Mark Speer on guitar, and Donald “DJ” Johnson on drums, Khruangbin’s sounds are rooted in the deepest waters of world music infused with classic soul, dub and psychedelia. Their 2015 debut album "The Universe Smiles Upon You" was heavily influenced by 60’s and 70’s Thai cassettes the band listened to on their long car journeys to rehearsal in the Texan countryside. "Con Todo El Mundo" takes inspiration not just from South East Asia but similarly underdiscovered funk and soul of the Mediterranean and the Middle East, particularly Iran. The sultry and humid grooves of their debut are alive and well, enhanced by a little extra funk, the lightly spiced flavours of Middle Eastern pop and maybe a little strung out Americana a la Cowboy Junkies. The hefty breaks on cuts like "Lady & Man" and "Maria Tambien" have that "Jungle Fever" toughness, while the woozy "August 10" and "Como Te Quiero" are classic examples of Khruangbin's languid style. "Shades Of Man" colours the trio's palette with a little country soul, while "A Hymn" preaches a gospel out of Death Valley. The perfect sophomore offering, "Con Todo El Mundo" retains all the tasty ingredients of the original and blends them with a new batch of exotic flavours.

STAFF COMMENTS

Patrick says: Shop faves Khruangbin continue their stroll through mellifluous melody with sophomore offering "Con Todo El Mundo", swapping the Thai tonalities of their debut for some distinctly Middle Eastern flavours. Every bit as languid and lovely as their debut, this new LP is different enough to show progression whilst remaining reassuringly familiar.

TRACK LISTING

1. Cómo Me Quieres
2. Lady And Man
3. Maria También
4. August 10
5. Cómo Te Quiero
6. Shades Of Man
7. Evan Finds The Third Room
8. A Hymn
9. Rules
10. Friday Morning

Welsh psych-pop band El Goodo return with their long, long awaited third album By Order Of The Moose, due out on Cian Ciaran’s (Super Furry Animals) Strangetown Records. Recorded over the course of 8 years in an old derelict cinema in their home village of Resolven, the album is a continuation of where the band left off in 2009 with their previous effort Coyote. Wielding the wide open spaces of spaghetti westerns with the close melodic harmonies of girl groups and the good humour of Nuggets inspired garage rock’n’roll, El Goodo takes you on a trip through their fascination with 60s music.

Comprised of brothers Elliott (drums, percussion) and Jason Jones (guitar, vocals), Pixy Jones (guitar, vocals, keyboards), Lewie Sewers (guitar), Matthew Young (keyboards) and Andrew Cann (bass), El Goodo (named after a Big Star song) are a band enthralled by the past. They recorded the album on a 16-track with a small collection of faulty equipment, creating a collection of melodic pop songs, embellished with strings, brass, sitars, harmonicas, xylophones and vocal harmonies (and then seemingly covered it all with dust), that you’d expect to find on some forgotten 60s record that someone has stumbled upon in their attic.
Elliott saw the words “Loyal Order Of Moose” carved into stone on the side of a building in Neath and they all liked the sound of it for the album title. They changed it slightly to By Order Of The Moose. As Pixy explains; “I’ve always thought of it as "The Moose" is some evil guy who wears a moose head hat and controls people’s minds, making them do evil things. In reality though it means nothing, we just liked the way it sounded.” Jason, who made the intricate cover illustration, seems to have interpreted the title to be more of a circus, depicting a Wild West ringmaster, wild animals and acrobats.

From the first recording in November 2008 with the track “When”, the album took eight years to complete. Initially thinking it would only take them a few months, they set out to record at The Music Box in Cardiff. Two years later they decamped back to their village, to the Resolven Miners’ Welfare Hall.
The first single “It Makes Me Wonder” is their interpretation of a 60s girl group song. Pixy describes bringing the song to the band; “On the demo I sampled the drums intro of “Be My Baby” by the Ronettes. Matty commented that the drums sounded good, how did I get that sound? I told him that I played it in the kitchen on various saucepans and he believed me.”

The similarly titled opening track “Sit & Wonder” was an attempt to do something like Zager & Evans’ “In The Year 2525”, but it didn’t turn out like that. The lyrics were based on war films like Come And See, Ivan’s Childhood and Red Dawn. “So It Goes” was meant to be like a Marty Robbins cowboy song but ended up being more like a Nuggets track. “Susan and Bill” is a touching tribute to his parents.

TRACK LISTING

1) I Sit And Wonder
2) It Makes Me Wonder
3) September
4) Sail The Ocean
5) So It Goes
6) 5 In The Morning
7) Heavy On My Mind
8) Susan & Bill
9) When
10) It's All Over
11) Lay It On My Honey
12) As You Said Your So Longs

Shining sounds from the dawn of the Sun Ra Arkestra. "El is A Sound of Joy" was recorded in 1956 and appeared the following year on the very first Saturn LP, Super-Sonic Jazz. Incredible is the fact that saxophonist Charles Davis, here providing the soulful baritone anchor line (counterpoint to Ra's formidable left hand), remains in the front-line of today's Sun Ra Arkestra directed by Marshall Allen. Shuffle swing breakdown jets leisurely, casually, masterfully, painting lush, post-modern impressions of ancient future worlds, of space, of time … of Chicago's elevated trains … Reaching for the sky, for Joy …. The “Joy” coda dovetails magically into the intro theme of "Black Sky And Blue Moon," before downshifting into another dimension of romantic outrospection. We follow The Nu Sounds, aka Cosmic Rays, on a faraway journey to the land of late-50s Chicago singing groups, the Arkestra supporting with quiet grace, pulsing in Nubians of Plutonia mode. An uncanny blend of antique blackness and bright satellites, ethereal voices perfectly in tune; thanks to Ra's disciplined coaching (plus Modern Harmonic's expert re-mastering), their sweet dynamics and exact harmonics are crystal clear. Flute solo from Marshall Allen. Hearts swelling like the full moon, ripening in the darkness to the point of bursting.

The Wedding Present release a four track instrumental EP called ‘Home Internationals’ on the El Segell del Primavera record label.

‘Wales’ is taken from The Wedding Present’s recent and critically acclaimed album ‘Going, Going...’ while the other three tracks have been specially written and recorded for this release.

David Gedge was inspired by the challenge of writing a number of instrumental tracks for ‘Going, Going...’ and decided to use ‘Wales’ as the starting point for an EP of further instrumental pieces.

Freed from the restriction of a lyrical narrative the music frequently becomes more experimental and delves deeply into David’s love of pop, rock and film scores for inspiration.

“Going, Going... is a remarkable album. A joy from start to finish” - Louder Than War.

The EP was also inspired by the ‘Home Internationals’ which was an annual football competition between the United Kingdom's four national teams: England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland (the last of whom competed as Ireland for most of the competition's history).

It started in 1883 and is the oldest international football tournament in the world. The competition ended in 1983 after 100 years.

TRACK LISTING

Scotland
Northern Ireland
England
Wales

La Mambanegra (The Black Mamba) is a powerful latin music orchestra. Its venom is made of 70s NYC Salsa and elements of Jamaican and Colombian music, Funk and Hip Hop. Made up of some of Colombia's finest players, La Mambanegra are the advance guard for the rebirth of Salsa, twisting the genre into the 21st Century. Inspired by the story of an anonymous and mythical hero of the Barrio Obrero, a popular neighborhood of Cali, who had a series of fantastic adventures in California, La Habana and New York, this band brings a new concept of Salsa and Latin Music to the world. But, La Mambanegra are more than just salsa. Indeed, their leader Jacobo Vélez prefers to believe that they inhabit a genre all of their own. He calls it 'break-salsa', on account of the band's easy assimilation of hip-hop, ragga and knife-sharp funk. Hailing from the Colombian salsa capital of Cali, this nine-piece have been grooving hard for four years now, their polyrhythmic, horn-heavy and thoroughly modern sound quickly earning them a devoted following across South America and beyond. Their full-throttle live shows overflowing with the absolute commitment of each band member. In Vélez, they have an exuberant, passionate leader for whom the music is an essential life force. "Salsa is sweat, sex, liquour and Pielroja cigarettes," he announces. "It's the gasoline that turns my heart on."

Hanni El Khatib’s first idea for his Savage Times project was to do something he’d never done before. Instead, he ended up doing …well, everything he’d never done before. He’d be playing new instruments, writing in unfamiliar new ways, opening himself up to an unrelenting stream of ideas and dedicating himself totally to pure musical instinct. And the result? 19 best-of-the-sessions songs, as well as the kind of creative revelations that only happen when you quit looking around and start looking ahead.

Originally, he’d hoped to explode the lingering idea that he was simply a blues-rock guitar player, but that’s why Savage Times touches on everything from garage rock to punk to disco, hip-hop and even some unexpected solo-guitar self-portraiture. But on the way, he also exploded his own idea of what he could do—even maybe who he was, or would be. Savage Times was an experiment as well as an experience, that touched on some of the most personal, social & political elements to date.

TRACK LISTING

1. Baby's OK
2. Gonna Die Alone
3. Born Brown
4. Paralyzed
5. Miracle
6. Mangos & Rice
7. Come Down
8. No Way
9. Mondo And His Makeup
10. Gun Clap Hero
11. Black Constellation
12. So Dusty
13. Till Your Rose Comes Home
14. Hold Me Back
15. Savage Times
16. 1AM
17. Peep Show
18. This I Know
19. Freak Freely

"The Fitzgerald", Richmond Fontaine's sixth studio recording, is a quiet departure from the raucous, visceral send-ups and live shows that got the band compared to the likes of the Replacements and Whiskeytown. Written when singer / songwriter, Willy Vlautin was holed up for two weeks in a Fitzgerald Casino hotel room in Reno, Nevada, the album is a stark collection of songs about the people who live in the shadows of a casino town. If you think Springsteen's "Nebraska" as written by a young Tom Waits on a acoustic guitar, you'll be close.

Written and produced by El Perro Del Mar & Jacob Haage, the 10 original songs of ‘KoKoro’ are her most ambitious and musically adventurous to date, yet no less emotionally direct, covering themes that speak to both big and small matters of the heart. With the state of the planet - musically, politically, environmentally - on her mind since the birth of her son, Assbring sees ‘KoKoro’ as not only an album but also as an aesthetic and political movement of sorts. She explains: “‘KoKoro’ is about the vulnerability and the strength of the heart. What the heart is exposed to, both internally and externally. The heart cannot be protected. Not from pain, not from happiness. Not from love, not from corruption. I've been thinking a lot about issues such as ‘who am I if the social norms, expectations and pressures I carry were to be stripped away? Hard? Soft? Or maybe both? In a time that seems to go backwards humanistically and morally, seeking to put up walls rather than tearing them down, I realized I wanted to make a borderless album that belongs nowhere but has a universal voice and a universal heart.”

With soundscapes that echo of Thailand, Sumatra, India, Ethiopia, and China, the orchestration of ‘KoKoro’ is unlike any of El Perro Del Mar’s previous releases, a direction only hinted briefly on the ‘Pale Fire’ LP highlight “I Was A Boy.” It features the Chinese string instrument Guzheng, the Japanese Shakuhachi flute, various other Asian flutes, Arabic strings, Dulcimer, and rhythms influenced by Ethiopian music. Assbring explained, “One of my absolute clearest aims was to distance myself from the kind of common Western sound of today” in an effort to “find a new way to write relevant pop music with references and influences that feel fresh.” ‘KoKoro’ was inspired by legendary singers like Pakistan’s great Sufi exponent Abida Parveen and Nahid Akhtar, India’s Asha Bhosle, Ethiopia’s Yeshimebet Dubale, Cambodia’s Sinn Sisamouth, and South Korea’s Kim Jung Mi, as well as Ethiopian musician Enimut Kindie, Javanese gamelan music, and Chinese guzheng music. The album was recorded with multi-instrumentalist Andreas Söderström, bassist Johan Berthling, drummer Mattias Bergqvist, who has collaborated with First Aid Kit, and wind multi-instrumentalist Per “Ruskträsk” Johansson, who has collaborated with Robyn, José González, among many others.

The first single “Breadandbutter” is about finding a means to communicate and find solidarity among people, while other songs on ‘KoKoro’ implore for self-reflection and self-improvement across friendships, relationships, and life at large in an effort to reach enlightenment. Capitalism’s arguably toxic effect on the human spirit is addressed on “Ding Sum,” where El Perro Del Mar sings, “Pics of girls and ads of boys / Hit you, hit you as you go / There's a notice for your heart / To want a bit of what they got (Gimme it, gimme all!) / Listen, you got robbed / But it’s not your fault.”

Last year, El Perro Del Mar reissued her self-titled, critically acclaimed debut album in celebration of its 10 year anniversary, earning praise from Pitchfork for “the way it stripped girl-group pop songs down to their barest essentials and used them to express immense inner sadness.” HBO’s ‘Girls’ featured its single “God Only Knows (You Gotta Give To Get)” in the closing credits of an episode in Season 4. More recently, El Perro Del Mar released covers of the Red Hot Chili Peppers’ “Breaking The Girl,” which was recorded for her 2012 album ‘Pale Fire’ but not included, and Prince’s “I Would Die 4 U” in honor of what would have been the late legend’s 58th birthday. For the former, she partnered with Fred Armisen to direct its music video, who praised her “romantic and dreamy music” in an interview with Rolling Stone.

TRACK LISTING

1. Endless Ways
2. KoKoro
3. Breadandbutter
4. Clean Your Window
5. Ging Ging
6. Kouign-Amman
7. A-Bun-Dance
8. Hard Soft Hard
9. Ding Sum
10. Nougat Mind

Hiperasia marks the return of one of Spain's most noted producers after achieving international recognition with his first album Alegranza (2007) and his sophomore mega hit Pop Negro (2010). "I started Pop Negro in 2008..... I've even forgotten some of the lyrics! Things have happened to me since that record which have left more of a mark on me than that album..... everything I record gets released, and it's been that way since I was young; I'm lucky of course, but it also enslaves you".

The immediate impression on the listener to Hiperasia is its abrupt, almost violent, enhanced, futuristic sound. ¨I thought of making music that pushes itself. I like music that seems to move inwards, from its sides towards its own centre. As if it were actively trying to become mono but some force, which is usually something prominent like a 808 or a voice, expands to push those sounds sideways¨. Thus from a simple song based around one or two ideas, you will find intrusions - "Tutti frutti", as Pablo explains: "We can throw bombs in, firecrackers - sounds, other songs which poke through for a moment.... whatever you want".

TRACK LISTING

1. Rotu Seco
2. Comix
3. Pizza
4. Sega
5. De Bugas
6. Parte Virtual
7. Stena Drillmax
8. Abdi
9. Muchos Boys
10. Hiperasia
11. Pelo Rapado
12. Mis Hits
13. Zona Wi Fi 

Western Saharan musician / activist Aziza Brahim's new album 'Abbar el Hamada' ('Across the Hamada'), is a commanding and compassionate musical statement about, and for, the tumultuous age in which we live. Raised in a Saharawi refugee camp in the Algerian desert, and living in exile for more than two decades (first in Cuba and currently in Barcelona), Brahim's life and music embodies both the tragedies and hopes of the present-day migrant and refugee experience. As walls and borders are again being raised though-out Europe and other corners of the world, Aziza Brahim's passionately sung poetic defiance, is especially timely and profound.

On 'Abbar el Hamada', Aziza has consciously extended her reach deeper into the sounds of contemporary West Africa. This move has been reinforced by the introduction of Senegalese percussionist Sengane Ngom and drummer Aleix Tobias into her band, and the return of Malian guitarist Kalilou Sangare. Bassist / arranger Guillem Aguilar and guitarist Ignasi Cussa, also return from her previous band. Recorded in Barcelona in the summer of 2015 with producer Chris Eckman (Bassekou Kouyate, Tamikrest), 'Abbar el Hamada', is a wholly persuasive example of Brahim's pan-musical vision and is her most compelling and varied album to date.

From the pulsing desert rock of Calles De Dajla, to the Afro-Cuban inflections of La Cordillera Negra (evoking 70's recordings by the Super Rail Band) through the dusky elegance of El Canto Del La Arena and the raw balladry of Mani (featuring Malian blues-master Samba Toure on guitar), the music and lyrics on 'Abbar el Hamada' masterfully reflect the restless, imaginative search for home, explicit in the album's title. Hamada is the word used by the Saharawi people to describe the rocky desert landscape along the Algerian / Western Saharan frontier where tens of thousands of their people are stranded in purgatorial refugee camps. 

First solo album from Papir guitar player Nicklas Sørensen! While there’s certain similarities with the oeuvre Nicklas has created with Papir it quickly becomes apparent that this is something quite different. “Solo” begins and ends with the instrument the Copenhagen native fully masters by now: the guitar. Throughout the album his main instrument is being explored as a generator of otherworldly, esoteric sounds as well as a compositional tool and - perhaps most importantly - a transmitter of pristine, cascading melodies.

There’s a peaceful, savory quality to the record that manifests a musical maturity. With help from the rhythm section of Papir as well as Causa Sui’s Jonas mun (who also recorded the album in El Paraiso Records’ new studio) Nicklas has created a wide, shimmering sound that seems to allude to a multitude of different styles and traditions. Considering that Nicklas is best known as a hard rocking guitar player with a knack for improvisation it’s perhaps surprising that his inclination for pattern-based minimalism, blissed-out ambience and experimental british “oceanic” music from the 1980s and early 1990s dominates throughout this set. This is the kind of record that rewards repeated listens - each listen revealing new layers in the architecture of the sound. “Solo” is an affable, slowburning album where each component is given its own space and place to gently unfold and work its magic in the mind of the listener. 

TRACK LISTING

1. Solo 1
2. Solo 2
3. Solo 3
4. Solo 4
5. Solo 5
6. Solo 6

EL VY is the collaboration between Matt Berninger, vocalist and lyricist of The National, and Brent Knopf, the Portland musician and producer best known for his work in Menomena and his more recent band, Ramona Falls.

Their debut album, Return To The Moon, is a project Berninger and Knopf have been thinking about for years. Their friendship spans nearly a decade, starting back when The National and Menomena played small half-empty clubs along America’s west coast. Feeling an immediate musical kinship, the pair kept in touch, Brent sending Matt occasional rough sketches of music and Matt responding with ideas and lyrics. Finally, in the winter and spring of 2014-115, they got together to make an album.

Return to the Moon sounds exactly like you'd hope a collaboration between these artists would: Berninger's darkly funny, lyrical storytelling and his immediately identifiable sense of melody offset by Knopf's playful, architectural arrangements and inventive production.

On his 2011 debut Will The Guns Come Out, Hanni El Khatib tried something he’d never tried before—making a bedroom-style recording of his stripped brand of rock‘n’roll mostly for the sheer joy of making it. For his ferocious 2013 follow-up Head In The Dirt, he tried something new again, enlisting Dan Auerbach as a producer.

But after Head In The Dirt’s release and almost a year of relentless touring, Hanni knew he needed to go past ‘unpredictable’ all the way to ‘unprecedented.’ He needed isolation, time and the chance to experiment. So after 30 days locked in hand-picked L.A. studio The Lair, the result is the album Moonlight—the rarest and most welcome kind of album, made at that perfect point in life where confidence, experience, and technique unite to help an artist do anything they want.

That’s why it starts with a song that sounds like a Mobb Deep beat under a Suicide-style synth drone and ends with an ESG-meets-LCD Soundsystem gone italo-disco song about life and death. That’s why it collides crushing crate-digger drumbeats that’d be right at home on a Can LP or an Eddie Bo 45 with bleeding distorto guitar, bent and broken barroom piano and hallucinatory analog flourishes.

"Engine-revving dose of filthy, leather-clad blues." - NME

"A shit-kicking garage greaser with badass hooks." - SPIN

"Stripped- down garage rock with crunching guitars and kiss-off cockiness." - GQ

"This is desert-burned blues rock boosted by punk, soul and hip-hop" - ROLLING STONE

Mixed by Rob Schnaph and produced by John Avila (Oingo Boingo), ‘III’ is available in all formats, including day-glo orange vinyl, via ATO Records.

It’s the band’s third Mariachi album, this time approaching writing from a different direction. For ‘III’, Mariachi El Bronx dusted off old sequencers, synths and an ARP.

Certain tones echo through this 10 song album - the feel of a band coming into their own, extending the proverbial middle finger to tradition (and backing it up 100%).

Split 7” flexi issued by “Nuevo Anochecer” sessions in Madrid. These sessions are devoted to the minimal synth, italo-cosmic and the strangest synthpop.

El Ultimo Vecino: synthpop band from Barcelona, heavily influenced by New Order and the Madrid “movida” (early eighties techno music)

Futuro: italo-cosmic instrumental duo, whose references are Short Wave Mystery, Savage or Edgar Froese.

TRACK LISTING

Futuro - Nella Foresta
El Ultimo Vecino - Riscas (Version Volada)

The Free Fall Band are five very young timeless pop creators bursting with melody and sublime choruses. They appeared out of nowhere three years ago from the Maresme. They quickly gained recognition: finalists of the Demoscópicas de Mondo Sonoro or at the Villa de Bilbao (where they were the winners of the Pop Rock category in 2011) azzaldia de Donosti, Faraday, popArb… a series of achievements that led them to record their debut album, produced by Miqui Puig and released on LAV Records (co-released with Buenritmo).

The record sums up The Free Fall Band perfectly: echoes of The Beatles, Jonathan Richman, The Shins, The Zombies…fun and emotion in equal measure, carefully assembled arrangements and a youthful image.

2013 has put them at the forefront of national pop, thanks to landmark moments such as their performance at the Primavera Sound Festival and supporting Rodriguez in Barcelona. Before the year is out they will play at BAM and will also take part in the Primavera Sound Touring Party that will take them all around Spain.

This next step is a mini album of covers (their first record on El Segell Del Primavera) that includes covers of The Strokes, Violent Femmes, New Order, Booker T & The MGs and Jonathan Richman.

Their second album is planned for the beginning of 2014.

TRACK LISTING

‘Love Vigilantes’ (New Order)
‘The Modern Age’ (The Strokes)
‘When We Refuse To Suffer’ (Jonathan Richman)
‘Green Onions’ (Booker T & The M.G.s)
Violent Femmes Medley

Apparently, despite the rumours, pre-fusion acid jazz-rock is alive and well, living it up in Southern California, USA! Psicomagia is the joint forces of leading members of noted prog and stonerrock outfits Astra & Radio Moscow. The band is serving up a mixture of the same essence that Soft Machine, Tony Williams Lifetime & Magma pioneered during that magical period just seconds before progressive electric jazz was grabbed by the institutional jazz scene. A formula, thought lost until this day, when seemingly out of the blue, the relentless force of Psicomagia appeared.

Spearheaded by multi-instrumentalist & producer Brian Ellis's roaring saxophone, constantly interplaying Tyler Daughn's franticly screaming organs and synthesizers, the soul of Psicomagia is in the endlessly permutated busts of energy of the two. The relentless heart, however, is kept going by drummer Paul Marrow (Radio Moscow), who carves out a constantly brooding and shifting rhythmic base along with the heavy, travelling bass of Trevor Mast. Together they balance a line between an insanely tight and rhythmic notion of progress, as well as transgressing each instrument's carved path on this cataclysmic journey of musical events. Imagine, on top of that, 2 poets, repeating obscured mantras, rumbling bells and gongs and you're getting closer to playing your own Jodorowskydoes- jazz movie playing in your head via Psicomagia.

If Psicomagia sounds like a thing of the past, it's simply because they have inherrited a unique quality lost in music today: grabbing onto a wide array of genres, and permuting them into their own distinct musical landscape. Roaring with the same neverendless energy of SoCal brothers Earthless, Psicomagia forges a path like that of a time travel: it opens up a dimension thought lost in music – reshaping a new possible outcome of progressive rock, building their own present time. It is beound doubt that Psicomagia is not a pastice retro band – they are the real deal. True to original formula, the album is produced with a grace and warmth maintaining a full dynamic range. Mastered on analogue tape by Causa Sui's Jonas Munk.

Hanni El Khatib is back with his second album ‘Head In The Dirt’ produced by Dan Auerbach of the Grammy Award-winning band The Black Keys. Hanni El Khatib’s breakout debut ‘Will The Guns Come Out’ led to all kinds of success – not least having his music licensed to HBO and Showtime television series, and adverts for Nike and Captain Morgan. In 2012, however, he showed up to record his second album with just the clothes on his back — no guitar, no fancy almost-finished demos, and only about three weeks time to get from start to finish. While on tour, he'd met Dan Auerbach of The Black Keys in a Paris bar. After some whisky, they decided to partner up in Auerbach’s Nashville studio. The idea was to erase everything Hanni had become comfortable with and to make an album out of only raw instinct and inspiration. The result is ‘Head In The Dirt’, in which Hanni El Khatib makes the entire history of rebel music his own over eleven tracks. There are cut-to-the-bone rhythm ‘n’ blues songs (‘Save Me’) and overcranked Stooges-style stompers (‘Family’). There are bottomless Black Sabbath riff-outs (the back half of ‘Pay No Mind’) and dubbed-out garage rock tunes (‘Nobody Move’) that call up the spirits of the Clash and the Equals. His ‘Low’ is just one Andre 3000 remix away from a club anthem, ‘Penny’ is a stick-in-your-head pop hit, and ‘Sinking In The Sand’ is a freak-out headbanger.

The fourth studio album from Sweden’s El Perro Del Mar, released on Memphis Industries.

The chiming cymbals, bewitching vocals and downtempo disco vibe of ‘Walk On By’ promise an album of spellbinding intro- and extrospection. Airy, translucent synths meld with languid, otherworldly sounds, making this album soft and hazy, but never forgettable.

From her early DIY releases on the Gothenburg scene - including collaborations with Jens Lekman - through to 2009’s ‘Love Is Not Pop’ album, and recent work with Lykke Li, Gruff Rhys and Chad Valley, El Perro Del Mar aka Sarah Assbring has woven sophisticated late night tales of love and loss. With Assbring returning to the producer’s chair, ‘Pale Fire’ is her most seductive work yet.

Hip hop pioneer El-P returns with ‘Cancer4Cure’, his first full solo album in five years.

The album features Interpol’s Paul Banks, Outkast associate and Atlanta native Killer Mike, Nick Diamond of Canadian indie band Islands, and eccentric rappers Mr Muthaf*ckin’ eXquire and Danny Brown.

Musically, the record takes another leap forward from El-P’s 2010 instrumental workout ‘Weareallgoingtoburninhellmeggamixxx3’, deploying menacing synths, fist-pumping beats, bottomless bass, live instrumentation and earworming melody, and generally setting the standard for hip hop production higher than ever.

TRACK LISTING

1. Request Denied
2. The Full Retard
3. Works Every Time (w/ Paul Banks Of Interpol)
4. Drones Over Brooklyn
5. Oh Hail No (with Mr. Muthafuckin EXquire And Danny Brown)
6. Tougher Colder (w. Killer Mike And Despot)
7. True Story
8. The Jig Is Up
9. Sign Here
10. For My Upstairs Neighbor
11. Stay Down (With Nick Diamonds Of Islands)
12. $ Vic/FTL (You And Me)

Pan is the first solo effort from Jonas Munk released in his own name. Jonas Munk is a musician and producer from Odense, Denmark who has been active in a wide range of musical styles for the past decade. In the European psych-rock community he is mostly known as the guitarplayer in the respected stoner/jazz/krautrock-outfit Causa Sui as well as related projects such as Chicago Odense Ensemble, a joint session project featuring members of Causa Sui, Chicago Underground Collective and Tortoise, which resulted in a 2LP released in 2011.

Outside of these circles Munk is best known as a producer of electronic music, most recently with a full-length collaboration with German synthmeister Ulrich Schnauss. Munk also holds a masters degree in philosophy with a thesis on music and consciousness. Pan simultaneously betrays his connections to the European stoner-rock community and the world of electronic ambient music – this album combines ideas from both worlds, while the result really doesn't belong in neither of them. With Pan's motoric analog synthesizer patterns and its warm, fuzzy drones the influence from 1970's German synthesizer- and new age music, such as early Kraftwerk, Ashra and Popol Vuh, is apparent from the first note. But there's also definite traits of American styles running through this album – from the flowing optimism of Alice Coltrane and Terry Riley to the modern-day psychedelia of Comets on Fire and Bardo Pond. While large parts of Pan has been programmed on electronic equipment there's a jam-like quality emanating from album's seven tracks.

The album reflects the idea of giving up rationality and control with the purpose of letting the music flow towards it own ends. The compositional ideas are incredibly simple while still carrying a certain depth. Soundwise Pan is all about analog machines, 30+ year old synthesizers, detuned guitars and heavily cranked vacuum tube amplifiers weaving together in fuzzy, pulsating glory. The title Pan refers to the ancient Greek word meaning all or everything.

TRACK LISTING

1. Orca (8:11)
2. Blue Dawn (2:36)
3. Current (8:36)
4. Senses (3:23)
5. Pan (2:34)
6. Schelling (7:33)
7. Sea Of Orange (7:31)

”The Choko King” is Jono´s third album since 2009, but the recordings are from the period between 1995 and 2008, some of which predates his first album by four years. ”The Choko King” offers an open door into Jono´s surrealistic musical universe and is a rare gift to his increasing number of fans and anyone interested in the workings of a truly eccentric and artistic mind. The album has been meticulously assembled from home recordings, demos, rehearsal tapes, live and studio recordings and made into a completely new work by Jono himself.

Jono El Grande is a self-taught composer, musician, conductor and prankster and remains an outsider on the far margin of the Norwegian experimental music scene. He released his debut mini album ”Utopian Dances” in 1999, a collection of absurdist instrumentals recorded at home using not much more than a workstation synth. 2003 saw the release of ”Fevergreens”, an album that drew upon classic progressive rock, film music, easy listening and a variety of pop idioms and featured a nine piece orchestra. The Wire noted that ”the vitality of his writing keeps just the right uplifting balance between sweetness and acidity” and called it ”a pleasant surprise”. Next up was ”Neo Dada” (2009), an album brimming with musical adventure, odd turns, weird combinations of sounds and instruments, complex signatures and a good portion of pure joy, all mysteriously sugared with infectious melodic hooks. ”Neo Dada” represented something of an artistic breakthrough and received great reviews everywhere. This was followed by ”Phantom Stimulance” in late 2010. The sleeve paintings are by acknowledged Norwegian artist Christer Karlstad and shows the Choko King, intentionally misspelt to point to the megalomaniac´s hybris: to choke on what you desire the most.

”The Choko King” also comes as a limited, numbered vinyl edition of only 300 copies with ”insanely nerdy details” on each track by Jono himself.
The CD edition has a 14 minute bonus track.

El Rego is a true legend of African Soul Music. Here for the first time on album are 12 of his greatest recordings from the late 60s and early 70s hand-picked by Daptone Records.

Afro-soul collector / DJ Frank Gossner had spent years combing West Africa tracking down 45s by Theophile Do Rego (aka El Rego) before finally meeting him face to face in his home in Benin. From that relationship came this album. The music of El Rego varies astoundingly in style and rhythm: traditional rhythms of Benin played with modern instruments, John Lee Hooker-esque blues, Fela Kuti inspired afro-beat, afro-cuban claves, and straight-up James Brown style funk. However, there is a common musical thread that runs throughout. The music has a raw soulfulness and a unique flavor that can be attributed beyond the sound of Benin, to the sound of El Rego himself. There is a timelessness to the recordings that ties all of the traditions that inspire them directly to the grooves that were dominating the radios and jukeboxes of the early 70s. The record is teeming with breaking drums and twanging guitars, twisting basslines and undulating percussion. But most importantly. the rhythms are all crafted by a man that not only performed, but also owned nightclubs and had an intimate understanding of the importance of dancing.

Jono El Grande is a self-taught composer, musician, conductor and prankster and remains an outsider on the far margins of the Norwegian experimental music scene. He released his debut mini album ”Utopian Dances” in 1999, a collection of absurdist instrumentals recorded at home using not much more than a workstation synth. 2003 saw the release of ”Fevergreens” (RCD2031), an album that drew upon classic progressive rock, film music, easy listening and a variety of pop idioms and featured a 9 piece orchestra. The Wire noted that ”the vitality of his writing keeps just the right uplifting balance between sweetness and acidity” and called it ”a pleasant surprise”.His previous album ”Neo Dada” (2009) was a masterstroke; brimming with creative ideas, odd turns, weird combinations of sounds and instruments, complex time signatures and a healthy dose of pure musical joy, all mysteriously sugared with melodic hooks that would stick to your brain like any annoying pop tune. As far as musical form and content goes, this can be said to continue with ”Phantom Stimulance”, his fourth album. It´s put together to celebrate Jono´s 15 years as a composer and performer and 10 years as a band leader, but it´s not a mere compilation. Recorded in Athletic Studio, home to great analogue recordings by Supersilent, Motorpsycho, Scorch Trio and countless others, it´s a collection of new versions of stage favourites and previously unreleased songs as well as a brand new song.Jono lists movements like Rock in Opposition and the Canterbury Scene and artists and composers like Frank Zappa, Stravinsky, Magma, Henry Cow and Gentle Giant as inspirational sources but has established his own signature with his latest releases and stage shows. Instrumentations and arrangements have become more adventurous, he has picked up the electric guitar again and successfully added a rougher edge to the ensemble sound.

TRACK LISTING

Borrelia Boogie
Utopian Semi-Waltz
La Dolce Vidda
Phantom Stimulance
Rise Of The Baseless Press-bay Toy
Pongery In Evention
Beggar To Beggar
Moon-stricktly In Love With A Figment Foetus
Negation / Penetration
Double-edged Triplets
The Goat

Few artists can combine uncomfortable with catchy; paranoiac with head-nodding; morbid with springy. It's hard to scare the sh!t out of you while simultaneously keeping your foot moving. Rapper, producer and Def Jux founder El-P knows how to get to parts of the brain others can't. As a solo artist and frontman for seminal hip-hop group Company Flow or producer of Cannibal Ox, Cage, Mr. Lif, Aesop Rock, NIN, Beck, The Mars Volta (and many, many more), an El-P production can drive you to hide underneath the bed, punch a wall and nod your head all at the same time. Which brings us to Weareallgointoburninhellmegamixxx3 (Gold Dust, August 3rd 2010), the sort of, kind of but not really follow-up to his past two mixes of the same name previously released at live shows.

It's another unique release in the artist's catalog. In the tradition of Company Flow's Little Johnny From The Hospitul (1998), El's own Collecting The Kid (2005), and more recently "Weareallgoingtoburninhellmeggamixx2" (2007), Hell3 is a fully realized suite of instrumentals that continues to exemplify the producer's versatile, otherworldly, futuristic and wholly original sonic worldview.

Given this format, Hell3 both sounds similar to and nothing like anything you've heard before. "Drunk With a Loaded Pistol" starts off woozy and deranged before evolving into a warning alarm/drum attack. "Time Won't Tell" opens as a soundtrack for the apocalypse followed by the layering of guitar-driven pop over boom-bap drums. As the album title implies, El-P creates a dark, dystopian sonic universe filled with ominous basslines and thumping, punishing drums.

TRACK LISTING

01. Take You Out At The Ball Game
02. Whores:The Movie
03. Meanstreak (In 3 Parts)
04. DMSC
05. Drunk With A Loaded Pistol
06. Time Won’t Tell
07. Secret Police Man’s Ball
08. I Got This (El-P Remix) Redux
09. Jump Fence, Run, Live
10. He Hit Her So She Left
11. Driving Down The Block (El-P Remix) Redux
12. Honda Redux
13. How To Serve Man (Stripped)
14. Contagious Snippet (Wilder Zoby Feat. El-P)
15. Eat My Garbage 2

El Condorez are a three-piece band based here in Manchester. Currently picking up great reviews and a recent 'single of the week' accolade on XFM Manchester. They are being compared to rock legends like Led Zeppelin, The Who, and The Faces.

El Perro Del Mar is the alter ego of Sarah Assbring. Her second album is an opus, chock full of non-traditional folk songs that explore the world at large. She's joined at times on the record by members of the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra and the Gothenburg Symphonic Choir.

Chaabi has its roots in the Andalusian music of Moorish Spain, spreading to North Africa with exiled Jewish and Moorish communities; but it really took off in the music schools, parties and bars of occupied, post-WWII Algiers, where its Andalusian, Middle Eastern and North African lineage infused with the Mediterranean soundtrack of that era — chanson, jazz, snatches of tango and a little boogie-woogie. "Abdel Hadi Halo And The El Gusto Orchestra Of Algiers" was recorded on the tilting fifth floor of the Conservatoire d'Algiers, in a room overlooking the sea on one side, and the Casbah on the other: the orchestra was recorded 'live' in full flight — all together, in continuous takes. For our recording, the Orchestra included four singers — joined in chorus by the voices of the entire orchestra — and five-man banjo, percussion and violin sections. The scale and organization are thrilling; the music is swirling and improvisatory, surging from the haunted to the bluesy, the devotional to the knees-up.

Young local five piece's first recorded CD. Elements of funk, punk, indie and garage rock add to this ever growing sound. Not yet the finished article, but getting there in leaps and bounds.

A collection of songs, which switch between art-punk and avant-garde, from this Washington DC duo. For fans of Gang of Four / Trans Am.

Resistencia Records produce some of the most interesting recordings coming out of Spain today and the new album from Manuel Luna and his group La Cuadrilla Maquilera is no exception. They trace the evolution and perform the traditional music of Southern Spain. On this release Luna mixes the expressive timbres of several Mediterranean types of guitar (guitarra mayor, tenor flamenca, octavilla and guitarro) with accordion, tambourine and violin over a groundwork of popular percussion and double bass. The effect is a remarkable balance between tradition and contemporary.