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THIS IS A RECORD STORE DAY 2019 EXCLUSIVE, LIMITED TO ONE PER PERSON.
This release is a double A side 7” single, comprising of previously unreleased versions by Dave Fridmann of the singles ‘Sovereign Light Café’ and ‘Disconnected’ from Keane’s fourth studio album ‘Strangeland’. It will be released on limited edition green vinyl, has brand new artwork exclusive for Record Store Day and comes with a digital download card.
This release is a double A side 7” single, comprising of previously unreleased versions by Dave Fridmann of the singles ‘Sovereign Light Café’ and ‘Disconnected’ from Keane’s fourth studio album ‘Strangeland’. It will be released on limited edition green vinyl, has brand new artwork exclusive for Record Store Day and comes with a digital download card.
THIS IS A RECORD STORE DAY 2019 EXCLUSIVE, LIMITED TO ONE PER PERSON.
Banoffee Pies drop their annual Record Store Day insert with BPRSD004. “Hello from the children of Planet Earth.” The A side sees a waterslide of sounds with break beat infused minimal techno track from KOKO. For the dance with drums. The B side comes with a somber serving of UK feelings from Embezzlement Society. With “Sobriety” A slow motion reflection with emotive speech. For the lounge. Give love, make dance, be peace like Starfish. Kiss, Banoffee xx
Banoffee Pies drop their annual Record Store Day insert with BPRSD004. “Hello from the children of Planet Earth.” The A side sees a waterslide of sounds with break beat infused minimal techno track from KOKO. For the dance with drums. The B side comes with a somber serving of UK feelings from Embezzlement Society. With “Sobriety” A slow motion reflection with emotive speech. For the lounge. Give love, make dance, be peace like Starfish. Kiss, Banoffee xx
THIS IS A RECORD STORE DAY 2019 EXCLUSIVE, LIMITED TO ONE PER PERSON.
This release marks 20 years of Wah Wah 45s as a record label, and to celebrate they have tempted internationally renowned producer, videographer and film-maker Kutiman to the fold for this one-off RSD special. ‘So Long’ sees the man famed for his Thru You videos and Netflix documentary Presenting Princess Shaw, delivering some deep psychedelic, orchestral soul. On vocal duties is none other than Wah Wah 45s family member, Honeyfeet front woman and member of the Afro-Celt Soundsystem, The Breath and so much more -Gaelic powerhouse, Rioghnach Connolly. Remix duties come courtesy of another family member, Gene Dudley, with his first production for a couple of years, taking Kutiman’s composition into string laiden Balearic dance floor territories. “So Long” will be Wah Wah 45s’ third ever 10-inch release, with another specially designed custom sleeve courtesy of our in-house designer Animisiewasz.
This release marks 20 years of Wah Wah 45s as a record label, and to celebrate they have tempted internationally renowned producer, videographer and film-maker Kutiman to the fold for this one-off RSD special. ‘So Long’ sees the man famed for his Thru You videos and Netflix documentary Presenting Princess Shaw, delivering some deep psychedelic, orchestral soul. On vocal duties is none other than Wah Wah 45s family member, Honeyfeet front woman and member of the Afro-Celt Soundsystem, The Breath and so much more -Gaelic powerhouse, Rioghnach Connolly. Remix duties come courtesy of another family member, Gene Dudley, with his first production for a couple of years, taking Kutiman’s composition into string laiden Balearic dance floor territories. “So Long” will be Wah Wah 45s’ third ever 10-inch release, with another specially designed custom sleeve courtesy of our in-house designer Animisiewasz.
THIS IS A RECORD STORE DAY 2019 EXCLUSIVE, LIMITED TO ONE PER PERSON.
In celebration and support of Record Store Day 2019, KT Tunstall releases an exclusive 7” titled EXTRA WAX. The grey coloured and numbered 7” featuring tracks John The Conqueror and Throw Down Boy, which initially appeared on deluxe physical release of latest album WAX, in addition to cover of Violent Femmes – Blister In The Sun released for the first time! Grey 7”, numbered outer sleeve
In celebration and support of Record Store Day 2019, KT Tunstall releases an exclusive 7” titled EXTRA WAX. The grey coloured and numbered 7” featuring tracks John The Conqueror and Throw Down Boy, which initially appeared on deluxe physical release of latest album WAX, in addition to cover of Violent Femmes – Blister In The Sun released for the first time! Grey 7”, numbered outer sleeve
Copenhagen's unstoppable Balearic heroes Music For Dreams team up with Fyraften Musik for a mega reissue of Kojo Antwi's highlife disco anthem "Hini Mi". Recorded in Denmark in 1986 by the then up and coming afro pop singer Kojo Antwi from Ghana, the tunes were issued in limited numbers as he was leaving Denmark on the hunt for wider international acclaim. Though a popular favorite on cassette in Ghana his debut album was only released in small numbers in Europe and never achieved the same attention. The tracks selected here showcases Kojo’s transition from the highlife sound of the Classique Vibes to the more drum machine driven highlife disco on ‘Hini Mi’ aswell as the deep, computerized reggae on ‘Emeribi Be Ba’. Remastered and cut on a 45rpm 12” this reissue brings the songs to new levels in terms of fidelity.
The two first tracks on his release are a document of the first solo recordings Kojo Antwi did and some of the most intriguing African music recorded on Danish soil (perhaps anywhere). The A-side ‘Hini Mi’ was done together with Solomon, Osibio and Danish saxophonist Michael Nielsen (who had record with ghanese super star Pat Thomas a year earlier in Togo) in 1986 in Custom Sound Lab in the heart of Copenhagen. Fusing the 80s highlife reggae sound of the Vibes with an uptempo disco/house beat of that era creating a unique song that became a hit in Ghana but unfortunately never got the recognition it was due here. The second track on this EP ‘Emeribi Be Ba’ – a slow computerized reggae song - was together with Hini Mi part of Kojo’s debut album. The album was released twice first on Kojo’s own imprint (which was shelved) and later on the German burger highlife label Kame records. For some reason which for some reason is also very scarce. The final track on the EP ‘Miribe-Bom’, lifted from the second Classiq Vibes album recorded in 1985, ranks amongst some of the finest mid 80s highlife and shows were Kojo was coming from musically.
The two first tracks on his release are a document of the first solo recordings Kojo Antwi did and some of the most intriguing African music recorded on Danish soil (perhaps anywhere). The A-side ‘Hini Mi’ was done together with Solomon, Osibio and Danish saxophonist Michael Nielsen (who had record with ghanese super star Pat Thomas a year earlier in Togo) in 1986 in Custom Sound Lab in the heart of Copenhagen. Fusing the 80s highlife reggae sound of the Vibes with an uptempo disco/house beat of that era creating a unique song that became a hit in Ghana but unfortunately never got the recognition it was due here. The second track on this EP ‘Emeribi Be Ba’ – a slow computerized reggae song - was together with Hini Mi part of Kojo’s debut album. The album was released twice first on Kojo’s own imprint (which was shelved) and later on the German burger highlife label Kame records. For some reason which for some reason is also very scarce. The final track on the EP ‘Miribe-Bom’, lifted from the second Classiq Vibes album recorded in 1985, ranks amongst some of the finest mid 80s highlife and shows were Kojo was coming from musically.
STAFF COMMENTS
Patrick says: Oi Kenny, slow down a bit! Not content with the Balearic-folk of a Prins Emmanuel LP and the AOR excellence of Okinawa Delays, Mr Bager's Music For Dreams team up with fellow Danes Fyraften Musik for this reissue of Kojo Antwi's Afro-disco masterpiece "Hini Mi". All those people who went daft for Tabu Ley Rocheau's "Hafi Deo" need to take note, this proto-house Afro heater is every bit as good. Chuck in a killer digi-reggae cut on the flip and a Highlife hit and you've got a record of the week on your hands.
After leaving Soft Machine in 1969 Kevin Ayres returned from composing new songs in Ibiza to London to record sessions that eventually became his classic debut album "Joy Of A Toy". It's his characteristically eccentric mix of lyrical ballad ("Lady Rachel"), the psychedelic ("Stop This Train (Again Doing It)" with a mad organ solo from Mike Ratledge) and on "Song For Insane Times" true progressive rock with the Soft Machine providing the backing track. This remastered edition now features six rare tracks including the long lost session featuring Syd Barrett on guitar on Ayers's aborted debut single "Religious Experience (Singing A Song In The Morning)".
"You & Me" is Kevin Barker's debut album, released by Gnomonsong. Though it's his first solo release under his own name, Barker's no newcomer to the scene - he's spent the last few years recording, touring, and collaborating with Devendra Banhart, Joanna Newsom, Vashti Bunyan, Vetiver, Antony and the Johnsons, and Espers, to name just a few. Essentially acting as everyone's favourite sideman, Barker has influenced and helped create a sound with which this generation is happily familiar. During his college days, Barker became interested in the finger-style guitar playing of John Fahey and Bert Jansch and began to record under the name Currituck County. This solo project (sometime a duo with Vetiver / Espers drummer Otto Hauser) recorded albums for Teenbeat Records, Troubleman Unlimited, and the UK's Track and Field Organisation. Now Barker has assembled an unbelievable group of musicians for "You & Me". The album features Pat Sansone (Wilco), Joanna Newsom, Jonathan Wilson (Elvis Costello, Jenny Lewis), Eric Johnson (Shins, Fruit Bats), and Otto Hauser (Vetiver, Espers). Full of sunny, rural country rock, "You & Me" recalls the rustic grooves of The Band and The Grateful Dead, the heady melancholy of Roy Harper, and the golden harmonies of CSNY.
Violinist, singer, and composer Kishi Bashi releases his new album. The album entitled “Lighght” (pronounced “Light”) continues and expands the sound of his critically acclaimed debut, “151a” - which earned Kishi Bashi the *title* of “Best New Artist” by NPR. Since the profoundly successful release of “151a” two years ago, Kishi Bashi has toured relentlessly, captivating audiences across the globe with his loop-based live show, and fostering a groundswell of devotees. “151a” was crafted over a four-year period while Kishi Bashi was touring and recording with Regina Spektor, Sondre Lerche, and of Montreal (where he was a full-time member and co-producer). In late 2012, after the success of “151a”, Kishi Bashi decided to focus solely on his own music and began composing the new material which has become “Lighght”. “Lighght” takes its title from the one-word poem by minimalist poet Aram Saroyan.
As Kishi Bashi explains, “The poem’s blatant assault on literary convention and classical form was attractive to me.” It is apparent that such an approach informed the new album, which has both broadened and redefined his classical foundations. “Though I have studied classical composition, I prefer to take an unconventional path when it comes to creating and thinking about music,” says Kishi Bashi. Though violin remains his primary instrument and songwriting muse, Kishi Bashi has expanded his palette to include more diverse and nuanced instrumentation. Bright and soaring avant-pop songs are prevalent, as are Eastern-tinged arrangements, gentle ballads, Philip Glass inspired improvisations, and more than a few moments that flirt with 70s prog (in the tradition of ELO or Yes). If this sounds jarringly kaleidoscopic, that’s because it is. But it works. Listen and see.
As Kishi Bashi explains, “The poem’s blatant assault on literary convention and classical form was attractive to me.” It is apparent that such an approach informed the new album, which has both broadened and redefined his classical foundations. “Though I have studied classical composition, I prefer to take an unconventional path when it comes to creating and thinking about music,” says Kishi Bashi. Though violin remains his primary instrument and songwriting muse, Kishi Bashi has expanded his palette to include more diverse and nuanced instrumentation. Bright and soaring avant-pop songs are prevalent, as are Eastern-tinged arrangements, gentle ballads, Philip Glass inspired improvisations, and more than a few moments that flirt with 70s prog (in the tradition of ELO or Yes). If this sounds jarringly kaleidoscopic, that’s because it is. But it works. Listen and see.
On ‘Introducing Karl Blau’, released by Bella Union, the enigmatic vocalist charts a new vision of country music. A Northwest indie hero, Blau channels darkness and hope in a cinematic collection of Nashville country hits from the 60s and 70s.
Produced by Tucker Martine, the record features performances by Jim James (My Morning Jacket), Laura Veirs, Jon Hyde, Eli Moore (Lake), Steve Moore (Earth, SunnO))), among others.
It all started with cutting a 7” single, a cover of the 1969 Tom T Hall hit ‘That’s How I Got To Memphis’. Blau, whom Martine had come to know from sessions with Laura Veirs among others, asked if he could try singing it. “I knew what a special artist Karl was, but I had no idea what a powerful interpreter of songs he was,” Martine says. The collaboration, pairing Blau’s deeply sonorous voice with Martine’s warm, modern arrangements, recast the Nashville hit in a new light. “He was able to communicate the essence of the song in such a moving way that we started dreaming of making a whole record based around our excitement for that collaboration.” The result was the single and, now, ‘Introducing Karl Blau’.
digital download code.
Produced by Tucker Martine, the record features performances by Jim James (My Morning Jacket), Laura Veirs, Jon Hyde, Eli Moore (Lake), Steve Moore (Earth, SunnO))), among others.
It all started with cutting a 7” single, a cover of the 1969 Tom T Hall hit ‘That’s How I Got To Memphis’. Blau, whom Martine had come to know from sessions with Laura Veirs among others, asked if he could try singing it. “I knew what a special artist Karl was, but I had no idea what a powerful interpreter of songs he was,” Martine says. The collaboration, pairing Blau’s deeply sonorous voice with Martine’s warm, modern arrangements, recast the Nashville hit in a new light. “He was able to communicate the essence of the song in such a moving way that we started dreaming of making a whole record based around our excitement for that collaboration.” The result was the single and, now, ‘Introducing Karl Blau’.
FORMAT INFORMATION
Coloured LP Info: The LP format is pressed on blue vinyl and includes adigital download code.
Though born, raised and even presently living in the 'smallness' of Northwest Washington's Skagit Valley, Karl Blau's sound could be described as a melting pot of the world's last 50 years of cultures, styles and periods. That said, in "Nature's Got Away", Blau sings less with the world in mind. Instead he invites you, the listener, into his fold - into his village. Then as a tribe member, you are beckoned to sit by the fire and hear accounts of travel, tales of the town, and even partake in the spiritual lore unique to you the autochthonic.
Sequestered away in rural bliss, 90 minutes north of Seattle on the Washington state coast, Karl Blau has been making records for 20 years but never with European distribution. So, when Bella Union released ‘Introducing Karl Blau’ in 2015, it shone a belated and deserved light on “one of the great hidden treasures of music,” claimed album producer Tucker Martine.
However, given ‘Introducing’s specific agenda - a set of gorgeous, lush cover versions drawing mostly on vintage Nashville’s country-soul with Blau concentrating on his rich, reverberating voice - his latest album ‘Out Her Space’ is so different that it could be titled ‘Reintroducing Karl Blau’.
‘Out Her Space’ features Blau’s own material, production and multi-instrumental skills and forges a gorgeous, languid and hook-infested gumbo of soul, funk, some jazzy blowing and Afro-pop, to arrive somewhere else entirely. Or as the Secretly Important blog says of Blau: “He manages to find what’s unique about a genre and throws it against the wall like a fist full of wet noodles; over and over, until what’s stuck is a unique genre amalgam.”
The album also testifies to Blau’s studio skills, as he captures the glimmering, humid depths of those sweltering southern influences, despite his north-western heritage. But then Blau has engineered and produced a heap of records for himself and others, often at his home in Anacortes, releasing records on Washington’s favourite indies K and Knw-Yr-Own, as well as through his own Kelp Lunacy Advanced Plagiarism Society subscription service.
Coloured LP includes MP3 Download Code.
However, given ‘Introducing’s specific agenda - a set of gorgeous, lush cover versions drawing mostly on vintage Nashville’s country-soul with Blau concentrating on his rich, reverberating voice - his latest album ‘Out Her Space’ is so different that it could be titled ‘Reintroducing Karl Blau’.
‘Out Her Space’ features Blau’s own material, production and multi-instrumental skills and forges a gorgeous, languid and hook-infested gumbo of soul, funk, some jazzy blowing and Afro-pop, to arrive somewhere else entirely. Or as the Secretly Important blog says of Blau: “He manages to find what’s unique about a genre and throws it against the wall like a fist full of wet noodles; over and over, until what’s stuck is a unique genre amalgam.”
The album also testifies to Blau’s studio skills, as he captures the glimmering, humid depths of those sweltering southern influences, despite his north-western heritage. But then Blau has engineered and produced a heap of records for himself and others, often at his home in Anacortes, releasing records on Washington’s favourite indies K and Knw-Yr-Own, as well as through his own Kelp Lunacy Advanced Plagiarism Society subscription service.
FORMAT INFORMATION
Coloured LP Info: Limited edition red vinyl.Coloured LP includes MP3 Download Code.
Listening to Karl Blau's albums and trying to describe what you hear is like walking through a local farmer's market and describing all the vegetables grown in that area. The common thread running through Blau's records is a love felt for homegrown music. Most anyone can sense the passion this cultivator has for his trade. In a world of instant access to musical cultures near and far, Blau overtly mirrors African musical influences with hints of blues, soul and rock steeped in l'herbe de Northwest and he calls it "Zebra". This striped burro was birthed in the trusty analog setting of Dub Narcotic Studios in Olympia, Washington. For "Zebra" Blau explored the frontiers of folklore, adding one instrument at a time (drum, guitar, bell, keys, saxophone, flute, piano) in an organic process of response to this confluence of sounds. A restless thinker, Blau is adept at imaginative and sweet songs about education, work, love and society. Blessed with an expressive and gentle baritone, Blau asks the eternal question: 'what's next?' Every generation has its own revolution and we need heartfelt music now as much as ever.
THE PICCADILLY RECORDS ALBUM OF THE YEAR 2018.
PICCADILLY RECORDS EXCLUSIVE:
For a limited period only, buy either the vinyl or CD of 'Childqueen' and get a free 3 track 'Outtakes' CD bonus disc.
Kadhja Bonet’s second album, Childqueen is something of a Hero’s Quest. In the opening Procession, above a muted drummer’s march, an unseen oracle announces to you, the listener: “every morning is a chance to renew, a chance to renew.” This is your first clue, setting you upon a path not to treasure, nor a grail, nor even a long lost love, but highest of all, what Kadhja has christened the “childqueen,” that innermost self that you were truthfully and instinctively before the press of the world came crushing in.
As with her 2016 debut The Visitor, the songs on Childqueen are never casual, never ditties. Instead they invite us into a world not wholly our own, a half-mythical atmosphere where past and future meet in a parallel, yet faraway, present. The lyrics and melodic lines nudge us along a path of self-discovery— or act as breadcrumbs along her own path. Everything that you hear on Childqueen was written, played, produced, and even mixed by Kadhja, who has always produced all her own music, insisting on a total vision that is nearly as difficult to co-create as a dream. The result is a soundscape the listener sinks into, a sound that combines softer enchantments with an ever-listenable experimentalism, unplaceable in genre and decade from beginning to end.
Patrick says: In an era of mass-information, instant gratification and branded identity, Kadhja Bonet is a glorious enigma. An artist who’d rather let the music do the talking, the LA-based multi-instrumentalist lives outside the spotlight, at her happiest when her hands are busy and her mind is active, striving to create something honest and beautiful. Harking back to the psychedelic soul of Minnie Ripperton and Terry Callier’s Woodstock jazz, Kadhja crafts deep and dreamy vignettes, evocative episodes which perfectly fuse the pastoral and the personal. Delicate chimes, swooning strings and airy flute drift atop woozy grooves, joining Bonet’s multi-tracked vocals to form a hazy sonic web. Warm timbres and analogue textures lend the LP a vintage feel, echoed in the faded rainbow of the sleeve.
Recommended if you like:
Minnie Ripperton, Solange, Laura Misch.
Coloured LP includes MP3 Download Code.
PICCADILLY RECORDS EXCLUSIVE:
For a limited period only, buy either the vinyl or CD of 'Childqueen' and get a free 3 track 'Outtakes' CD bonus disc.
Kadhja Bonet’s second album, Childqueen is something of a Hero’s Quest. In the opening Procession, above a muted drummer’s march, an unseen oracle announces to you, the listener: “every morning is a chance to renew, a chance to renew.” This is your first clue, setting you upon a path not to treasure, nor a grail, nor even a long lost love, but highest of all, what Kadhja has christened the “childqueen,” that innermost self that you were truthfully and instinctively before the press of the world came crushing in.
As with her 2016 debut The Visitor, the songs on Childqueen are never casual, never ditties. Instead they invite us into a world not wholly our own, a half-mythical atmosphere where past and future meet in a parallel, yet faraway, present. The lyrics and melodic lines nudge us along a path of self-discovery— or act as breadcrumbs along her own path. Everything that you hear on Childqueen was written, played, produced, and even mixed by Kadhja, who has always produced all her own music, insisting on a total vision that is nearly as difficult to co-create as a dream. The result is a soundscape the listener sinks into, a sound that combines softer enchantments with an ever-listenable experimentalism, unplaceable in genre and decade from beginning to end.
STAFF COMMENTS
Millie says: This precious album ‘Childqueen’ is entirely created by Kadhja Bonet from start to finish. Her beautiful vocals are submersed in a lovely swoony softness. It’s unlike anything I’ve heard, her style is truly unique and a joy to listen to.Patrick says: In an era of mass-information, instant gratification and branded identity, Kadhja Bonet is a glorious enigma. An artist who’d rather let the music do the talking, the LA-based multi-instrumentalist lives outside the spotlight, at her happiest when her hands are busy and her mind is active, striving to create something honest and beautiful. Harking back to the psychedelic soul of Minnie Ripperton and Terry Callier’s Woodstock jazz, Kadhja crafts deep and dreamy vignettes, evocative episodes which perfectly fuse the pastoral and the personal. Delicate chimes, swooning strings and airy flute drift atop woozy grooves, joining Bonet’s multi-tracked vocals to form a hazy sonic web. Warm timbres and analogue textures lend the LP a vintage feel, echoed in the faded rainbow of the sleeve.
Recommended if you like:
Minnie Ripperton, Solange, Laura Misch.
FORMAT INFORMATION
Coloured LP Info: Limited coloured vinyl.Coloured LP includes MP3 Download Code.
“The newly signed, genre defying Kadhja Bonet has announced the release of her debut The Visitor. On the album, Kadhja – pronounced “kod-ya” – invites us into a world not wholly our own, where past and future meet in a parallel, yet far lovelier, present. In anticipation of the release, Gorilla vs. Bear has shared the first track “Honeycomb”. Now available for streaming and free download, the song drifts listeners into a timeless, unplaceable realm of Kadhja’s own making. Fat Possum and Fresh Selects, two respected labels from different genres, have joined forces to bring us this transcendent debut – available in full on October 21.
The Visitor opens with an awe you’d expect from the golden age of cinema. In its half-mythical atmosphere, “Earth Birth” offers keys and choirs science-fictionally echoing down from deep space. This overture fades and Kadhja’s voice velvetly emerges on “Honeycomb” with a timelessness sending listeners scrambling to find her nearest genre. After running through classical, jazz, soul, folk, and even psychedelia, you find it ultimately impossible to comfortably place her. This is all by Kadhja’s design. For if she were “folk” it would only be the folk of some future aeon, a thousand hears hence. If her rich instrumentation of strings and wind strikes us as a “classic,” it’s not because it harkens to any past era, but because Kadhja paints perennial imagery that could as much be now as then as any other time.
Kadhja stays pretty mum – if not a little mysterious – about her own life story. She insists that her audience convene with her on imaginative and musical planes, instead of through byword associations with any scene or venue, be it in Los Angeles or on the beaches of Rio De Janeiro. What we do learn and should know about Kadhja is her early and formal training in classical music quarters, where she mastered violin and viola, learned flute and guitar, and gained the sharp compositional talents that frame every note and curve of The Visitor.
All writing and arrangement— except for the Jaco Pastorius melody put to her words on Portrait of Tracy— is entirely of Kadhja’s creation. While calling in friends like Te’amir Yohannes Sweeney for drums, as well as Low Leaf, Peter Dyer, Randal Fisher, and Itai Shapira for harp, synth, flute, and bass, Bonet still plays a good half of the instruments herself, including guitar, violin, flute, and the backup vocals that fill up the skies of her music. Kadhja also produced The Visitor, though with much of its mixing and engineering handled by her assistant producer Itai Shapira, one of the few souls trusted behind the curtains of her musical process.
The Visitor is an opus unpolluted by the mixed advice or overproductions that plague other albums. It plays through like one individual’s lucid dream in what is sometimes an all-too-dreamless musical landscape. Once we hear it, we recognize it as something that’s been harder and harder to find in the last thirty or forty years, though so badly missed. Kadhja has humbly learned from her predecessors while following their signs ever forward.”
The Visitor opens with an awe you’d expect from the golden age of cinema. In its half-mythical atmosphere, “Earth Birth” offers keys and choirs science-fictionally echoing down from deep space. This overture fades and Kadhja’s voice velvetly emerges on “Honeycomb” with a timelessness sending listeners scrambling to find her nearest genre. After running through classical, jazz, soul, folk, and even psychedelia, you find it ultimately impossible to comfortably place her. This is all by Kadhja’s design. For if she were “folk” it would only be the folk of some future aeon, a thousand hears hence. If her rich instrumentation of strings and wind strikes us as a “classic,” it’s not because it harkens to any past era, but because Kadhja paints perennial imagery that could as much be now as then as any other time.
Kadhja stays pretty mum – if not a little mysterious – about her own life story. She insists that her audience convene with her on imaginative and musical planes, instead of through byword associations with any scene or venue, be it in Los Angeles or on the beaches of Rio De Janeiro. What we do learn and should know about Kadhja is her early and formal training in classical music quarters, where she mastered violin and viola, learned flute and guitar, and gained the sharp compositional talents that frame every note and curve of The Visitor.
All writing and arrangement— except for the Jaco Pastorius melody put to her words on Portrait of Tracy— is entirely of Kadhja’s creation. While calling in friends like Te’amir Yohannes Sweeney for drums, as well as Low Leaf, Peter Dyer, Randal Fisher, and Itai Shapira for harp, synth, flute, and bass, Bonet still plays a good half of the instruments herself, including guitar, violin, flute, and the backup vocals that fill up the skies of her music. Kadhja also produced The Visitor, though with much of its mixing and engineering handled by her assistant producer Itai Shapira, one of the few souls trusted behind the curtains of her musical process.
The Visitor is an opus unpolluted by the mixed advice or overproductions that plague other albums. It plays through like one individual’s lucid dream in what is sometimes an all-too-dreamless musical landscape. Once we hear it, we recognize it as something that’s been harder and harder to find in the last thirty or forty years, though so badly missed. Kadhja has humbly learned from her predecessors while following their signs ever forward.”
Arguably the finest Jamaican soul singer of his generation, Ken Boothe burst onto the international stage when his sublime rendering of Bread’s melancholic "Everything I Own" topped the UK charts in the autumn of 1974. Within months of this success, the native-born Kingstonian returned to the national listings with the captivating “Crying Over You”, which made number 11 later that year. To coincide with the release of the latter, Trojan Records released this album, "Everything I Own"; a supremely soulful collection that featured his two international hits alongside a number of sublimely produced songs, cut in both Jamaica and the UK. Unavailable on vinyl since ‘74, this essential LP is now available on the format for which it was created, with the use of the original analogue masters and artwork ensuing complete authenticity. A must for all Ken Boothe fans and those who like their reggae sweet and soulful.
FIRST 750 NUMBERED COPIES PRESSED ON
ORANGE VINYL
FORMAT INFORMATION
Coloured LP Info: 180 GRAM AUDIOPHILE VINYLFIRST 750 NUMBERED COPIES PRESSED ON
ORANGE VINYL
Left Ear's procession of perfection continues with a long-awaited reissue of Kingsley Bucknor's Nigerian synth winner "Just U And Me". After cutting his teeth playing with Fela in the 70’s and releasing two Afrobeat LPs on his own, Kingsley travelled the globe before landing in London. Booking into Audiovisual studio in Chelmsford, Kingsley laid down 6 distinctive electro-funk tunes inspired by both African rhythms and music he’d heard through his travels in the States and in Europe. Originally issued on Kinglsley’s own KAB records in ’85 and according to Kingsley the release was well received at the time, but due to constraints of international marketing the record remained mostly unknown outside of his homeland. Fast-forward to 2017 and the stage is set for a new global audience to appreciate the distinct sound of KB. Musically, the set offers nods to MJ's 'Off The Wall' (check out the upbeat boogie of 'Someone Is Talkin' & Shoutin'), West End classics and Ashford & Simpson, while retaining that stretched and spangled sound you only find in African disco...
Kate Bush's 50 Words for Snow follows Director's Cut, a dramatically reworked collection of catalog material, by six months. This set is all new, her first such venture since 2005's Aerial. The are only seven songs here, but the album clocks in at an hour. Despite the length of the songs, and perhaps because of them, it is easily the most spacious, sparsely recorded offering in her catalog. Its most prominent sounds are Bush's voice, her acoustic piano, and Steve Gadd's gorgeous drumming -- though other instruments appear (as do some minimal classical orchestrations). With songs centered on winter, 50 Words for Snow engages the natural world and myth -- both Eastern and Western -- and fantasy. It is abstract, without being the least bit difficult to embrace. It commences with "Snowflake," with lead vocals handled by her son Bertie. Bush's piano, crystalline and shimmering in the lower middle register, establishes a harmonic pattern to carry the narrative: the journey of a snowflake from the heavens to a single human being's hand, and in its refrain (sung by Bush), the equal anticipation of the receiver.
FORMAT INFORMATION
2xLP Info: Double heavyweight vinyl.
For those who purchased much of Bush's earlier catalog because of its depth, quality, and vision, Aerial will sound exactly like what it is, a new Kate Bush record: full of her obsessions, lushly romantic paeans to things mundane and cosmic, and her ability to add dimension and transfer emotion though song. The set is spread over two discs. The first, A Sea of Honey, is a collection of songs, arranged for everything from full-on rock band to solo piano. The second, A Sky of Honey, is a conceptual suite. It was produced by Bush with engineering and mixing by longtime collaborator Del Palmer.
During her early career, Kate Bush released albums regularly despite her reputation as a perfectionist in the studio. Her first five were released within seven years. After The Hounds of Love in 1985, however, the breaks between got longer: The Sensual World appeared in 1989 and The Red Shoes in 1993. Then, nothing before Aerial, a double album issued in 2005. It's taken six more years to get The Director's Cut, an album whose material isn't new, though its presentation is. Four of this set's 11 tracks first appeared on The Sensual World, while the other seven come from The Red Shoes. Bush does have her own world-class recording studio, and given the sounds here, she's kept up with technology. Some of these songs are merely tweaked, and pleasantly so, while others are radically altered. The two most glaring examples are "Flower of the Mountain" (previously known as "The Sensual World") and "This Woman's Work." The former intended to use Molly Bloom's soliloquy from James Joyce's novel Ulysses as its lyric
FORMAT INFORMATION
2xLP Info: Double heavyweight vinyl.
The legendary and unimitable Kate Bush is proud to announce the breakout release of some of her most Iconic work as part of her massively anticipated 2018 reissue campaign. This includes the breakout re-release of her fifth, and arguably most commercially successful studio album ‘Hounds of Love’. The album includes the lead single and number on hit ‘Running up that Hill’, and also other hit singles such as ‘Cloudbusting’ and ‘Hounds of Love’. The Studio Album has been fully remastered by Kate and James Guthrie.
The legendary and unimitable Kate Bush is pleased to announce the breakout release of some of her most Iconic early work as part of her massively anticipated 2018 reissue campaign. This includes the breakout re-release of her second album ‘Lionheart’ which chronicles the young teenage Bush’s writing career, the period where she composed most tracks from the title. The Studio Album has been fully remastered by Kate and James Guthrie.
FORMAT INFORMATION
LP Info: 180 gram heavyweight vinyl.
The legendary and unimitable Kate Bush is proud to announce the breakout release of some of her most Iconic early work as part of her massively anticipated 2018 reissue campaign. This includes the breakout re-release of her third studio album, the 1980 number one hit ‘Never For Ever’. The iconic album was the first ever album by a British female solo artist to top the UK album chart, as well as being the first album by any female solo artist to enter the chart at number 1, whilst the title includes hits such as ‘Babooshka’ and ‘Breathing’ . The Studio Album has been fully remastered by Kate and James Guthrie.
FORMAT INFORMATION
LP Info: 180 gram heavyweight vinyl.
The legendary and unimitable Kate Bush is releasing Kate Bush Remastered in Vinyl I, a compilation of some of her most Iconic early work including her chart topping debut album ‘The Kick Inside’ which contains one of her biggest hits, the UK number one hit ‘Wuthering Heights’. The Boxset also sees new reissues of her hit albums ‘Never Forever’ , ‘Lionheart’ and also her 1982 album ‘The Dreaming’, which was produced entirely by Bush and is often characterized as her most uncommercial and experimental release. This hugely anticipated release sees her early catalogue completely newly remastered by Kate and James Guthrie for the first time in a 180g Heavyweight vinyl package.
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The legendary and unimitable Kate Bush is releasing ‘Kate Bush Remastered in Vinyl II’, the second vinyl boxset of her massively anticipated reissue campaign, which includes the chart topping studio albums ‘Hounds of Love’, ‘The Sensual World’ and ‘The Red Shoes’and hit singles such as This Woman’s work and Rubber band Girl . The Boxset is newly remastered for the first time by Kate and James Guthrie, whilst it comes cased in 180g heavyweight vinyl and maintains its original artwork.
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The legendary and unimitable Kate Bush is releasing ‘Kate Bush Remastered in Vinyl III’, which spans the work of her later musical career and includes albums such as ‘Ariel’ and ‘Director’s cut’ right up to her most recent release - 2011’s ’50 Words for Snow’. This Massively anticipated release includes newly remastered versions of every track and comes packaged in 180g Heavyweight vinyl, retaining all of the Album’s original artwork.
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The legendary and unimitable Kate Bush is releasing the fourth and final Vinyl Boxset of her eagerly anticipated reissue campaign’ Kate Bush Remastered in Vinyl IIII’ , which sees many rarities which were previously unavailable in Vinyl until now including an entire disk of cover versions. This Boxset has no breakouts thus every release is exclusive to the boxset, whilst these new vinyl editions are cased in a premium 180g Heavyweight package.
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The legendary and unimitable Kate Bush is releasing her CD Boxset I Studio Albums which sees a compilation of some of her most Iconic early work including her chart topping debut album ‘The Kick Inside’ which contains one of her biggest hits, the UK number one hit ‘Wuthering Heights’. The Boxset also sees new reissues of her hit albums ‘Never Forever’ , ‘Lionheart’ and also her 1982 album ‘The Dreaming’, which was produced entirely by Bush and is often characterized as her most uncommercial and experimental release. This hugely anticipated release sees her early catalogue completely newly remastered by Kate and James Guthrie for the first time on CD, with the individual studio albums retaining their original artwork, whilst the external cover art work takes a fresh perspective and combines redesigned elements from the originals.
Kate Bush is proud to present her CD Box II Studio Albums, boxset which spans the work of her later career and includes albums such as ‘Ariel’ and ‘Director’s cut’, right up to her most recent release - 2011’s ’50 Words for Snow’. This Massively anticipated release includes newly remastered versions of every studio album track, whilst the box comes exclusively with the Live Album ‘Before the Dawn’ in its original mastered form, and also much sought after 12” Mixes Rarities. The boxset comes in a CD package which creatively retains all of the album’s original artwork, whilst the exterior of the box sees a new artwork design reflecting the dynamics of the boxset’s classic and contemporary contents.
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FREE SHIPPING This item has FREE UK shipping!
The legendary and unimitable Kate Bush is releasing the breakouts of some of her most Iconic early work as part of her massively anticipated 2018 reissue campaign. This includes the breakout re-release of her fourth studio album, 1982’s ‘The Dreaming’. The album was produced entirely by Bush and is often Studio Album has been fully remastered by Kate and James Guthrie.
FORMAT INFORMATION
LP Info: 180 gram heavyweight vinyl.
The legendary and unimitable Kate Bush is proud to announce the breakout release of some of her most Iconic early work as part of her massively anticipated 2018 reissue campaign. This includes the re-release of her chart topping debut album ‘The Kick Inside’ which contains one of her biggest singles, the UK number one hit ‘Wuthering Heights’ , notably written and produced in Bush’s teens. The Studio Album has been fully remastered by Kate and James Guthrie.
FORMAT INFORMATION
LP Info: 180 gram heavyweight vinyl.
The legendary and unimitable Kate Bush is proud announce the breakout release of some of her most Iconic work as part of her massively anticipated 2018 reissue campaign. This includes the breakout re-release of her seventh Studio album which includes singles such as ‘Rubberband Girl ‘ and ‘Eat the Music’ and ‘The Red Shoes’. The Studio album is considered to one of Kate’s more collaborative pieces, with features from artists such as Prince, Eric Clapton and Jeff Beck. The album has been fully remastered by Kate and James Guthrie.
FORMAT INFORMATION
2xLP Info: 180 gram heavyweight vinyl.
The legendary and unimitable Kate Bush is announcing the breakout release of some of her most Iconic work as part of her massively anticipated 2018 reissue campaign. This includes the breakout re-release of her sixth Studio album which includes hit singles such as ‘The Sensual World’ and ‘This Woman’s Work’. The Studio Album has been fully remastered by Kate and James Guthrie.
FORMAT INFORMATION
LP Info: 180 gram heavyweight vinyl.Guitarist Ken Camden returns for his third solo album, continuing his explorations to seek out new techniques and sounds from the electric guitar. By utilizing both a steel slide and e-bow technique, Camden has moved into micro-tonal territory to bridge the textural gap between guitar and synthesizer while examining their inherent differences.
The palette is further broadened by introducing an organic vocal sampling machine described as a Vocaltron. Much like a Mellotron, vocal samples (contributed by Emily Elhaj and Angel Olsen) are chromatically organized in half steps from the lowest note to the highest possible. Each set is specific to the contributor's range and each note is unedited to keep all original characteristics of that particular individual's voice. This organized organic information adds a contrast to the electric guitar and synthesizer arrangements on the album.
The development of all of these systems gives Dream Memory a diversity throughout its tracks while maintaining an atmospheric bond that weaves the ideas into a thematic whole.
The palette is further broadened by introducing an organic vocal sampling machine described as a Vocaltron. Much like a Mellotron, vocal samples (contributed by Emily Elhaj and Angel Olsen) are chromatically organized in half steps from the lowest note to the highest possible. Each set is specific to the contributor's range and each note is unedited to keep all original characteristics of that particular individual's voice. This organized organic information adds a contrast to the electric guitar and synthesizer arrangements on the album.
The development of all of these systems gives Dream Memory a diversity throughout its tracks while maintaining an atmospheric bond that weaves the ideas into a thematic whole.
Hailed as one of the most innovative and intimate documentaries of all time, Kurt Cobain: Montage Of Heck is the only fully authorised portrait of the famed music icon. The highly anticipated soundtrack album, comprised from various early and raw cassette recordings made by Kurt alone, allows a rare, unfiltered glimpse into Cobain’s creative progression from early song snippets and short demos to musical experiments and ultimately, pieces of songs or lyrics that eventually appeared on later Nirvana albums.
The 31 track deluxe soundtrack showcases tracks from the documentary including spoken word, demos and full songs
The 31 track deluxe soundtrack showcases tracks from the documentary including spoken word, demos and full songs
Ever since his debut album Dolls of Highland was released on Sub Pop in 2016, Kyle Craft has been a critic's dream. Based in Portland, he serves up all the observational, storytelling talent with none of the attitude that so often comes with male singer-songwriter territory. “I've found my place,” he says. “I'm not one of those people that approaches music for anyone other than myself. My favorite part about music is when it's just me and a notebook.” Speaking of, his second forthcoming album Full Circle Nightmare is entirely autobiographical. Sonically, thematically, lyrically, it's a huge leap forward from his 2016 release.
The title Full Circle Nightmare refers to a moment where Craft saw his life for what it is and told himself to be satisfied. “But that's nightmarish to me,” he laughs. He described his debut record as: “like walking down this long hall of bizarre characters and surreal experiences, moving through the spider web of love and loss.” This album is when you get to the end of that hallway, turn around and see all the stuff you've been through, then walk through the door, close it and start a new chapter in an even crazier hallway. A straight-up rollicking rock'n'roll album, it traverses all the different nuances of the genre; from the bluegrass twang of 'Exile Rag,’ to the gothic style of 'Gold Calf Moan,' it's a timeless piece that could exist in any of the past five decades.
In terms of contemporary peers, Craft likes to stay in his own lane. He's an old soul who sticks to his tried and tested influences. Social media is not his game - it's just not interesting to him. He's not fussed about preaching his politics or discussing the status quo either. “I don't really like writing a time piece. I don't wanna get trapped in the 'Donald Trump era of Kyle Craft,' you know? I'm a very off-the-grid sort of person. As much as I am traveling across this giant place sometimes I just feel so outside of it. Also, I'm not necessarily a stand-up citizen so it's hard for me to say: here's Kyle Craft's America, ladies and gentlemen.”
The ironic thing is that Full Circle Nightmare sounds exactly like Kyle Craft's America. That is what he's built for us: the story of one man's trials and tribulations to find his passion and voice for art and creativity in this vast opportunistic country. Where did he find it? Among the historic riches of America's most honest sounds.
The title Full Circle Nightmare refers to a moment where Craft saw his life for what it is and told himself to be satisfied. “But that's nightmarish to me,” he laughs. He described his debut record as: “like walking down this long hall of bizarre characters and surreal experiences, moving through the spider web of love and loss.” This album is when you get to the end of that hallway, turn around and see all the stuff you've been through, then walk through the door, close it and start a new chapter in an even crazier hallway. A straight-up rollicking rock'n'roll album, it traverses all the different nuances of the genre; from the bluegrass twang of 'Exile Rag,’ to the gothic style of 'Gold Calf Moan,' it's a timeless piece that could exist in any of the past five decades.
In terms of contemporary peers, Craft likes to stay in his own lane. He's an old soul who sticks to his tried and tested influences. Social media is not his game - it's just not interesting to him. He's not fussed about preaching his politics or discussing the status quo either. “I don't really like writing a time piece. I don't wanna get trapped in the 'Donald Trump era of Kyle Craft,' you know? I'm a very off-the-grid sort of person. As much as I am traveling across this giant place sometimes I just feel so outside of it. Also, I'm not necessarily a stand-up citizen so it's hard for me to say: here's Kyle Craft's America, ladies and gentlemen.”
The ironic thing is that Full Circle Nightmare sounds exactly like Kyle Craft's America. That is what he's built for us: the story of one man's trials and tribulations to find his passion and voice for art and creativity in this vast opportunistic country. Where did he find it? Among the historic riches of America's most honest sounds.
STAFF COMMENTS
Barry says: Sliding guitars, tinkling pianos and the percussive sound of saloon doors opening in a hurry, tastefully hinting at classic Americana anthems, but tempering them with a melodic and progressive sensibility rarely heard in classic country rock.
Kevin Cummins' career as a photographer began just as Punk emerged in Manchester. He'd been inspired by influential bands like Iggy and the Stooges along with a nucleus of people who nearly all went on to form bands - and he was perfectly placed to document what was to become one of the most significant movements in music and cultural history.
Kevin Cummins understood from an early age that there’s no fire without smoke. He used his photography to create a mythology around Manchester’s music, from which icons could emerge, but only once all eyes were looking. Our latest collection of photo postcards feature images that are not only up close and personal snapshots of Manchester’s world-renowned punk scene but in large, they are the reason for it.
Watch our interview with Kevin about this set here
Contains 31 litho printed postcards including images including:
Iggy Pop, The Clash, Buzzcocks, Sex Pistols, X-Ray Spex, Warsaw, Jayne County, The Slits, The Fall, The Damned, The Adverts, The Boomtown Rats, The Drones, Howard Devoto & Linder Sterling, Siouxsie Sioux, Sham 69, The Ramones, Penetration, Patti Smith, Marc Bolan, Magazine, John Cooper Clarke, Television, The Negatives, Slaughter and the Dogs, The Pretenders and The Jam...
Presented in a hand finished box – made in Manchester.
Kevin Cummins understood from an early age that there’s no fire without smoke. He used his photography to create a mythology around Manchester’s music, from which icons could emerge, but only once all eyes were looking. Our latest collection of photo postcards feature images that are not only up close and personal snapshots of Manchester’s world-renowned punk scene but in large, they are the reason for it.
Watch our interview with Kevin about this set here
Contains 31 litho printed postcards including images including:
Iggy Pop, The Clash, Buzzcocks, Sex Pistols, X-Ray Spex, Warsaw, Jayne County, The Slits, The Fall, The Damned, The Adverts, The Boomtown Rats, The Drones, Howard Devoto & Linder Sterling, Siouxsie Sioux, Sham 69, The Ramones, Penetration, Patti Smith, Marc Bolan, Magazine, John Cooper Clarke, Television, The Negatives, Slaughter and the Dogs, The Pretenders and The Jam...
Presented in a hand finished box – made in Manchester.
Including for the first-time ever on Vinyl - 3 LP : the 1962 double live album Cotton Eyed Joe remastered.... + the 1963 home recordings album Green Rocky Road remastered - 4 CD : same albums + 1CD of unreleased home recordings including a mesmerizing take on "God Bless The Child" - 52 PAGE BOOK with scans of KAREN DALTON PERSONAL ARCHIVES (writings, photographs, memos) disclosed here for the first time.
DIGITAL DOWNLOAD CARD
Press about ‘Cotton-Eyed Joe’ (1962/2007) and ‘Green Rocky Road’ (1963/2008)
"All the informality of someone thinking aloud, which suits her signature vocals perfectly. In overdubbing, she seems to consider tempos and time signatures almost as restricting as a real studio. A particularly personal statement, a career marker"
"Like a lost book of the Old Testament. Less like a folk record and more like a warp in the space-time continuum. The most beautiful and harrowing album you'll hear this year. The results are startling. Her rendering of "Katie Cruel" on In My Own Time has been hailed as definitive but she improves it here. Bewitching." "Proving her masterly command of both the material and the audience" "Using her uncluttered fingerpicking and keening phrasing to a reimagine a pair of lesser known Ray Charles numbers to devastating effect" "Sounds great. The set captures a side of Dalton that her original releases never could. Such a personal statement it's far more challenging"
"An invaluable treasure" Pitchfork 8/10.
FREE SHIPPING This item has FREE UK shipping!
DIGITAL DOWNLOAD CARD
Press about ‘Cotton-Eyed Joe’ (1962/2007) and ‘Green Rocky Road’ (1963/2008)
"All the informality of someone thinking aloud, which suits her signature vocals perfectly. In overdubbing, she seems to consider tempos and time signatures almost as restricting as a real studio. A particularly personal statement, a career marker"
"Like a lost book of the Old Testament. Less like a folk record and more like a warp in the space-time continuum. The most beautiful and harrowing album you'll hear this year. The results are startling. Her rendering of "Katie Cruel" on In My Own Time has been hailed as definitive but she improves it here. Bewitching." "Proving her masterly command of both the material and the audience" "Using her uncluttered fingerpicking and keening phrasing to a reimagine a pair of lesser known Ray Charles numbers to devastating effect" "Sounds great. The set captures a side of Dalton that her original releases never could. Such a personal statement it's far more challenging"
"An invaluable treasure" Pitchfork 8/10.
FORMAT INFORMATION
Ltd Box Set Info: Packaged in Ampex studio tape style cardboard box (size: 12.8x12.8x1.1)FREE SHIPPING This item has FREE UK shipping!
"The Root"
This song was written by me and a woman named Morgan Nagler. Her band, Whispertown 2000, opened for the Breeders. I am singing this and playing all the instruments. Morgan is singing harmony. We recorded this in LA in different places and I took it to Electrical Audio in Chicago and Greg Norman mixed it down. This song was recorded and mixed analog and mastered DMM.
"Range On Castle"
This song is also written by me and Morgan. Morgan takes the lead and sings this one. I sing the harmony. I play all the instruments except the drums. Lindsey Glover played the drums on this one. We recorded it in LA.
Now we mixed this one to a CD and used the CD to make a 1/2" tape. Then we gave the 1/2" to Ryan at Sterling and he mastered DMM. Vaughan Oliver/v23 designed this cover.
This song was written by me and a woman named Morgan Nagler. Her band, Whispertown 2000, opened for the Breeders. I am singing this and playing all the instruments. Morgan is singing harmony. We recorded this in LA in different places and I took it to Electrical Audio in Chicago and Greg Norman mixed it down. This song was recorded and mixed analog and mastered DMM.
"Range On Castle"
This song is also written by me and Morgan. Morgan takes the lead and sings this one. I sing the harmony. I play all the instruments except the drums. Lindsey Glover played the drums on this one. We recorded it in LA.
Now we mixed this one to a CD and used the CD to make a 1/2" tape. Then we gave the 1/2" to Ryan at Sterling and he mastered DMM. Vaughan Oliver/v23 designed this cover.
Following the first of the 'SHIFT LTD' capsule collection by Xhin is an EP by Kirk Degiorgio with a remix from John Beltran. Full-bodied tracks fill in every frequency corner – 'The Nearness of Flames' as a headspin stomper, while 'Acid Symphony' weaves an acid line into a rich tapestry. Ambient producer John Beltran reimagines the original with a sunrise touch.
Kevin Devine is taking a leaf out of the books of emo darlings like Chris Cabbarra of Dashboard Confessional and Jonah Mantranga. A set of simple, six stringed, heartfelt melodies and his shivering and stirring voice. Now "Travelling the EU" features three new songs from Devine, including his interpretation of "You Are My Sunshine", cruising the continent for all you punk-rock romantics out there.
With its pillowy synth-pads and rich textures, the soundtrack to Volume Two seamlessly wanders through the 80s world of ‘Stranger Things’, breeding an unthreatening serenity with a gentle shift toward a darker mood. Floating between sweeter moments which temporarily blossom amidst the danger and decay, Volume Two is the second part of the ‘Stranger Things’ score, reaching climactic highs as the series comes to an end.
This soundtrack is instantly reminiscent of works by John Carpenter (‘Halloween’, ‘The Thing’), Tangerine Dream and Vangelis (‘Blade Runner’), whilst also delving into the ambience of Aphex Twin and more modern composers such as Cliff Martinez (‘Drive’, ‘Solaris’).
This soundtrack is instantly reminiscent of works by John Carpenter (‘Halloween’, ‘The Thing’), Tangerine Dream and Vangelis (‘Blade Runner’), whilst also delving into the ambience of Aphex Twin and more modern composers such as Cliff Martinez (‘Drive’, ‘Solaris’).
STAFF COMMENTS
Barry says: Having been entranced with Stranger Things, reading this tracklist is like a 'skip to the end' recap of the latter half of the series, listening obviously makes it all the more enthralling. Moody synth ambience, throbbing saw waves and eerie sweeps. Unsurprisingly brilliant.FORMAT INFORMATION
2xColoured LP Info: The vinyl for Volume Two is pressed on clear coloured vinyl, with a red blob on the first disc and a black blob on the second and is housed in a thick 425 gram heavyweight gatefold sleeve. A printed insert is included which features additional artwork and credits.
Dixon and Stein return for the latest addition to their overwhelming spate of excellence over the past couple years. Following on from the first series waas never going to be easy for anyone involved, with it's 80's buddy-movie hauntology vibe being perfectly accentuated by Survive's less shadowy alter-ego on soundtrack duties, but series 2 has lived up to that expectation in every way. I know, that episode was pretty ridiculous, but you don't have to listen to it do you.
We kick things off with the haunting melancholy beauty of 'Walkin In Hawkins', perfectly capturing the eerie ambience of the city streets after the discovery of an analogue hell, hidden behind a bit of your local school. It's a moment we're all familiar with i'm sure, but Dixon & Stein manage to make its duality seem alluring, pressing forwards with paddling apreggio's and swelling pads. Pieces like 'Eulogy' and 'On The Bus' talking things slowly forwards, opening the filters into an edgy benzoed bliss.
As we move onwards, things shift from a resolved optimism, into the inevitable downturn of a threatened society, with pieces like 'Descent Into The Rift' and 'Escape' providing a darker edge to things, moving towards the inevitable crescentic audiovisual finale. It's a brilliant companion to the programme, and just as much a divine pleasure in it's own right. Impeccable.
We kick things off with the haunting melancholy beauty of 'Walkin In Hawkins', perfectly capturing the eerie ambience of the city streets after the discovery of an analogue hell, hidden behind a bit of your local school. It's a moment we're all familiar with i'm sure, but Dixon & Stein manage to make its duality seem alluring, pressing forwards with paddling apreggio's and swelling pads. Pieces like 'Eulogy' and 'On The Bus' talking things slowly forwards, opening the filters into an edgy benzoed bliss.
As we move onwards, things shift from a resolved optimism, into the inevitable downturn of a threatened society, with pieces like 'Descent Into The Rift' and 'Escape' providing a darker edge to things, moving towards the inevitable crescentic audiovisual finale. It's a brilliant companion to the programme, and just as much a divine pleasure in it's own right. Impeccable.
STAFF COMMENTS
Barry says: Brilliant pulsing synths, eerie atmospheres and soaring, crackling pads. An equal amount of pastoral, suburban meanderings, and supernatural, hellish drive. Stunning stuff once again.
Kevin Drew is the frontman of Broken Social Scene, solo recording artists, and co-owner of independent music company Arts & Crafts. His 2007 solo debut, Spirit If..., was widely loved for unearthing the affirmative grooves and experimental pop songwriting churning at the heart of indie vanguards Broken Social Scene. Darlings, his first solo recording since, showcases Drew's more mature pop sensibilities and his earnest and playful lyrics soaring over hook-laden songs like first single “Good Sex”.
In the tradition of post-Velvets Lou Reed or post-Genesis Peter Gabriel, Darlings shows Drew stepping out to create a breakthrough personal statement of true artistry. Darlings was recorded at the Banff Centre in Alberta with Graham Lessard and then taken to a house in Northern Ontario with Dave Hamelin (The Stills, Eight and a Half) for final recording and mixing. The album also features longtime collaborators Charles Spearin and Ohad Benchetrit (Do Make Say Think, Broken Social Scene) along with Dean Stone (Apostle of Hustle). Darlings was co-produced by Kevin Drew, Graham Lessard, and, for the first time, Dave Hamelin.
In the tradition of post-Velvets Lou Reed or post-Genesis Peter Gabriel, Darlings shows Drew stepping out to create a breakthrough personal statement of true artistry. Darlings was recorded at the Banff Centre in Alberta with Graham Lessard and then taken to a house in Northern Ontario with Dave Hamelin (The Stills, Eight and a Half) for final recording and mixing. The album also features longtime collaborators Charles Spearin and Ohad Benchetrit (Do Make Say Think, Broken Social Scene) along with Dean Stone (Apostle of Hustle). Darlings was co-produced by Kevin Drew, Graham Lessard, and, for the first time, Dave Hamelin.
"Imperial Horizon" by Kevin Drumm is a further examination into sustained tone as most recently heard on his previous Hospital Productions benchmark album, "Imperial Distortion", stretching out minimalism to unreached heights of serene ambient. Lulling electronic drones slowly transform over the course of the hour plus piece in constant flux, echoing both an existential terror and Zen calm. Mutations grow so quietly only the body opens to identify this change while the mind closes. The ephemeral and seeming lightness of the tones hang with taut balance in contrast to the method in which they are overlapped and rotated with deadly weight. How wildly divergent emotions rise, hover, and fall using so little is a mystery that only Kevin Drumm can provide. While you may not find an answer, you can certainly get lost in the question.
Kelly Finnigan's debut solo album for Colemine Records represents the culmination of his 15 years of experience - in the studio as a songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, engineer, producer - and touring the US and Europe as a singer, musician, and band-leader. The content within reflects his dedication to expression through the rich American music traditions of soul, gospel, doo-wop, and R&B. The subject is love. Its ecstasies and heartaches. Love sought, found, betrayed, lost, and rediscovered. The result is a marvelous collection of songs and performances that run the gamut from whispering tenderness to roaring appeals; from lean and mean to lush and lovely. And always, always, manifestly honest, and undeniably soulful. With Finnigan guiding these songs from their conception all the way to the record pressing plant, the new release provides the singular voice missing from soul music: a visionary that writes, records, performs and produces his own material.
A new edition, part of the Faber Social's Greatest Hits series -- books that have taken writing about music in new and exciting directions for the twenty-first century.
In Girl in a Band Kim Gordon, founding member of Sonic Youth and role model for a generation of women, tells her story. She writes frankly about her route from girl to woman and pioneering icon within the music and art scene of New York City in the 1980s and 90s as well as marriage, motherhood, and independence.
Filled with the sights and sounds of a changing world and a remarkable life, Girl in a Band is a moving, evocative chronicle of an extraordinary artist.
In Girl in a Band Kim Gordon, founding member of Sonic Youth and role model for a generation of women, tells her story. She writes frankly about her route from girl to woman and pioneering icon within the music and art scene of New York City in the 1980s and 90s as well as marriage, motherhood, and independence.
Filled with the sights and sounds of a changing world and a remarkable life, Girl in a Band is a moving, evocative chronicle of an extraordinary artist.
Swiss group Klaus Johann Grobe have been at it since 2012, and as they prepare to release their third album "Du Bist So Symmetrisch" (and third on Trouble In Mind), the group continues to defy description & blur the lines between electronic pop, dance music, synthesis & kosmische. "Du Bist So Symmetrisch" follows the inevitable path laid out by their previous album (the Basel Prize-winning "Spagat der Liebe"), incorporating the slinky, jazz-fusion-laced grooves populating late night clubs and braiding them together with the band's own blend of mutant electro-funk.
Driven by an organic, metronomic beat aligned with synth, chant-like vocals, and a monstrous funky bass, the music aims towards a certain kind of hypnosis, particularly as the sleeping pill echo-heavy vocals cycle over the locked grooves the pair throw down. "Du Bist..." begins with the cascading arpeggio of a synth, edging into view, before lurching into the placid dancefloor groove of the first single "Discogedanken". While the band invariably feels more at home in the club, Klaus Johann Grobe certainly aim towards the more dance-orientated arena of German music (see "Der König" or "Von Gestern"), aligning the metro pulse of Klaus Dinger and Kraftwerk's later techno work to more biological factors - like moss growing on the mainframe.
Driven by an organic, metronomic beat aligned with synth, chant-like vocals, and a monstrous funky bass, the music aims towards a certain kind of hypnosis, particularly as the sleeping pill echo-heavy vocals cycle over the locked grooves the pair throw down. "Du Bist..." begins with the cascading arpeggio of a synth, edging into view, before lurching into the placid dancefloor groove of the first single "Discogedanken". While the band invariably feels more at home in the club, Klaus Johann Grobe certainly aim towards the more dance-orientated arena of German music (see "Der König" or "Von Gestern"), aligning the metro pulse of Klaus Dinger and Kraftwerk's later techno work to more biological factors - like moss growing on the mainframe.
FORMAT INFORMATION
Coloured LP Info: Limited indies-only blue vinyl.
Hailed as Africa’s answer to Stevie Wonder, Ghanaian multi-instrumentalist Kiki Gyan was a musical wunderkind who by 1975 had risen from the lowly status of high school dropout to being ranked eighth in a poll of the greatest keyboardists in the world (occupying the rarefied air of the top ten with heavyweights like Steve Winwood, Billy Preston, and Stevie Wonder) as well as becoming an in-demand session player in the top recording studios of London - all before his twenty-first birthday.
Out on his own, he produced a series of highly ambitious disco records aimed at positioning him as an international star, but weighed down by the excesses of the era, Gyan saw his meteoric rise matched by an equally swift fall back into obscurity. Loved dearly by his contemporaries and sorely missed since his death in 2005 the story of the life of Kofi Kwarko ‘Kiki’ Gyan is one often told with warning by his friends to the new generation of aspiring Ghanaian popstars.
Soundway Records now collects the best of Gyan’s work as a frontman and solo artist, featuring an array of electrifying disco grooves that still sound contemporary (and in some cases futuristic) decades after their initial release.
Out on his own, he produced a series of highly ambitious disco records aimed at positioning him as an international star, but weighed down by the excesses of the era, Gyan saw his meteoric rise matched by an equally swift fall back into obscurity. Loved dearly by his contemporaries and sorely missed since his death in 2005 the story of the life of Kofi Kwarko ‘Kiki’ Gyan is one often told with warning by his friends to the new generation of aspiring Ghanaian popstars.
Soundway Records now collects the best of Gyan’s work as a frontman and solo artist, featuring an array of electrifying disco grooves that still sound contemporary (and in some cases futuristic) decades after their initial release.
Keiji Haino & SUMAC
American Dollar Bill - Keep Facing Sideways, You’re Too Hideous To Look At Face On
Thrill Jockey
SUMAC, the trio of Aaron Turner (ISIS, Old Man Gloom, Mamiffer), Nick Yacyshyn (Baptists, Erosion) and Brian Cook (Russian Circles) present their first collaboration with Japan’s cultural provocateur Keiji Haino.
Japan’s fearless multi-instrumentalist and cultural provocateur Keiji Haino has made a career out of his freeform musical improvisations and diverse collaborations. Whether deconstructing American blues to a few rogue notes hanging across chasms of empty space in his solo endeavours, sparring with the nebulous fringes of psychedelia in Fushitsusha, or teaming up with musicians like Faust, Boris, Jim O’Rourke, Stephen O’Malley, John Zorn and Peter Brötzmann for fleeting aural experiments. Haino’s work is never preplanned or structured but rather a completely spontaneous exploration of chemistry, texture and dynamics.
SUMAC’s tenure is much younger than Haino’s, though guitarist / vocalist Aaron Turner has covered a similarly large swath of musical territory across numerous projects and collaborations, from the sedated drones of recent projects with Daniel Menche and William Fowler Collins to the modern compositions of Mamiffer and all the way back to the restless evolutions of post-metal stalwarts ISIS. With his cohorts Nick Yacyshyn (Baptists, Erosion) on drums and Brian Cook (Russian Circles) on bass, Turner has dissolved
the rigid forms of heavy music, searching for a balance between disciplined precision and unhinged musical barbarism, crafting music that vacillates between meticulously detailed instrumentation and uninhibited forays into oblique abstraction.
Throughout the course of its hour-plus length, ‘American Dollar Bill’ pushes and pulls at the strictures of metal and bends the stylistic formalities of improvised music to create a sonic purge unencumbered by convention.
FORMAT INFORMATION
2xLtd LP Info: 2xLP pressed on virgin vinyl, packaged in a wide spine jacket printed on uncoated stock with custom slipcase also printed on uncoated stock withmetallic ink and free download card.
Keiji Haino /Jim O Rourke/ Oren Ambarchi
Now While It's Still Warm Let Us Pour In All The Mystery
Black Truffle
Following on from last year’s acclaimed ‘Imikizushi’ (BT 07), ‘now while it's still warm let us pour in all the mystery’ is the fourth release from the established power trio of Keiji Haino, Jim O’Rourke and Oren Ambarchi, recorded in January 2012 at their yearly concert at SuperDeluxe, Tokyo. While the trio’s two previous double LP releases featured sprawling, side-long performances, the music here is presented in six shorter pieces, each one displaying a different side of the trio’s interactions, from holy minimalism to cave-man rock.
The record begins with the trio joined by special guests Charlemagne Palestine and Eiko Ishibashi, conjuring ghostly tones from wine glasses as an accompaniment to Haino’s angelic vocals. This ten-minute piece, which moves from near silence and the sound of onstage footsteps to a stunning passage of clean guitar work from Haino, is steeped in the same mysterious atmospherics as Haino’s great folk-drone project, Nijumu. When Haino turns to the flute on the LP’s second track, a performance that clearly demonstrates the importance of the special concept of space and silence (ma) that Haino has developed from traditional Japanese aesthetics, O’Rourke and Ambarchi transform into the delicate and probing rhythm section of a classic 70s fusion side.
When the trio return to the crushing free-rock of their last two records, O’Rourke’s heavily effected bass rolling alongside Ambarchi’s tumbling rhythms as Haino’s guitar squeals and slashes above them, their performances display a new purposefulness and concision. Now truly operating as a band after a number of years of playing together, the pieces here feel like instant rocks songs, O’Rourke and Ambarchi instantly locking into solid riffs over which Haino alternates between jarring no-wave chords, intense soloing and his signature vocalisations. When the trio slow down and stretch out, the rhythm section plods like an abstracted Crazy Horse on the brink of collapse, and Haino elicits long, mournful solos reminiscent of the first classic Fushitshusha double live LP.
(Perhaps more accessible than the trio’s previous recordings because of its range and concision, ‘now while it's still warm let us pour in all the mystery’ exudes the dark, alien quality of Haino’s greatest recordings and testifies to the strength of the musical bond that has developed between these three players. Francis Plagne, Jan 2013.
The record begins with the trio joined by special guests Charlemagne Palestine and Eiko Ishibashi, conjuring ghostly tones from wine glasses as an accompaniment to Haino’s angelic vocals. This ten-minute piece, which moves from near silence and the sound of onstage footsteps to a stunning passage of clean guitar work from Haino, is steeped in the same mysterious atmospherics as Haino’s great folk-drone project, Nijumu. When Haino turns to the flute on the LP’s second track, a performance that clearly demonstrates the importance of the special concept of space and silence (ma) that Haino has developed from traditional Japanese aesthetics, O’Rourke and Ambarchi transform into the delicate and probing rhythm section of a classic 70s fusion side.
When the trio return to the crushing free-rock of their last two records, O’Rourke’s heavily effected bass rolling alongside Ambarchi’s tumbling rhythms as Haino’s guitar squeals and slashes above them, their performances display a new purposefulness and concision. Now truly operating as a band after a number of years of playing together, the pieces here feel like instant rocks songs, O’Rourke and Ambarchi instantly locking into solid riffs over which Haino alternates between jarring no-wave chords, intense soloing and his signature vocalisations. When the trio slow down and stretch out, the rhythm section plods like an abstracted Crazy Horse on the brink of collapse, and Haino elicits long, mournful solos reminiscent of the first classic Fushitshusha double live LP.
(Perhaps more accessible than the trio’s previous recordings because of its range and concision, ‘now while it's still warm let us pour in all the mystery’ exudes the dark, alien quality of Haino’s greatest recordings and testifies to the strength of the musical bond that has developed between these three players. Francis Plagne, Jan 2013.
Exile On Mainstream Records are responsible for putting out a wide variety of releases over the years, and more recently their catalogue couldn't be more eclectic. From the psychedelic doom of Obelyskkh and the math-rock/sludge of Beehoover to the glacial compositions of A Whisper In the Noise and the celestial drone of Darsombra - to name a few. The label also released the powerful collaborative work of Wino and Conny Ochs, and of course their respective solo albums. In 2014, Exile On Mainstream will venture into sonic territory unknown for something very special indeed…
Inspired by sufi-music, mali-blues, western low-fi pop and avant-garde, Kristian Harting composes songs using his guitar, voice, circuit-bending and effects-pushing to create sounds that are gritty and noisy yet beautiful and pretty - culminating in diverse electronic and acoustic trips. He positions his attitude and approach as “a spiritual journey as well as a physical one", Harting continues to embellish, "it is my way of communicating freely and truthfully and articulate the ever-changing waves of confusion, emotions, ideas, people, power and surroundings, that is my life.”
Exile On Mainstream are proud to release Kristian Harting's profoundly personal debut solo album "Float" which channels this approach into a genre-bending form, exorcising the demons he had to battle in his most recent past. In a very personal approach the title refers to what he describes as survival-strategy in a period of his life characterised by an extreme personal, emotional and financial turmoil, so chaotic and exhausting that it almost devastated him: “I had to be like water. Just float. Not think, not try to organise nor control the chaos, the perpetual beats to my chest and slaps in my face. I had to be like water or I would break. Just float around and away. Not crack like a rock or blow out like a fire. It was a spiritual journey. A test.”
The work on this album was a free harbour where he could unload the harvest from a furious sea by creating, playing and arranging each part on his own – writing, producing, recording, mixing – finding his own true place. By listening to the intimate recording you can feel the tensions inside it's creator, grabbing, shaping and channeling true emotions into music – an archaic approach but representing what Kristian believes music is made for. Whilst these songs come from a chaotic, dark and desperate place, for Kristian, they remain full of hope and love…“My wish is that anyone listening to them will feel this too.”…he sums up the attitude behind the release.
Exile On Mainstream urge you to give this music a spin and find yourself drawn into one of the most emotional and challenging albums the label has ever put out, opening a new world, even for them. Label owner Andreas Kohl remarks "the ever changing wish to explore new territories, geographically and musically brought us here and we are truly celebrating one of the finest moments in the label’s history with bringing you this album. Enjoy."
Inspired by sufi-music, mali-blues, western low-fi pop and avant-garde, Kristian Harting composes songs using his guitar, voice, circuit-bending and effects-pushing to create sounds that are gritty and noisy yet beautiful and pretty - culminating in diverse electronic and acoustic trips. He positions his attitude and approach as “a spiritual journey as well as a physical one", Harting continues to embellish, "it is my way of communicating freely and truthfully and articulate the ever-changing waves of confusion, emotions, ideas, people, power and surroundings, that is my life.”
Exile On Mainstream are proud to release Kristian Harting's profoundly personal debut solo album "Float" which channels this approach into a genre-bending form, exorcising the demons he had to battle in his most recent past. In a very personal approach the title refers to what he describes as survival-strategy in a period of his life characterised by an extreme personal, emotional and financial turmoil, so chaotic and exhausting that it almost devastated him: “I had to be like water. Just float. Not think, not try to organise nor control the chaos, the perpetual beats to my chest and slaps in my face. I had to be like water or I would break. Just float around and away. Not crack like a rock or blow out like a fire. It was a spiritual journey. A test.”
The work on this album was a free harbour where he could unload the harvest from a furious sea by creating, playing and arranging each part on his own – writing, producing, recording, mixing – finding his own true place. By listening to the intimate recording you can feel the tensions inside it's creator, grabbing, shaping and channeling true emotions into music – an archaic approach but representing what Kristian believes music is made for. Whilst these songs come from a chaotic, dark and desperate place, for Kristian, they remain full of hope and love…“My wish is that anyone listening to them will feel this too.”…he sums up the attitude behind the release.
Exile On Mainstream urge you to give this music a spin and find yourself drawn into one of the most emotional and challenging albums the label has ever put out, opening a new world, even for them. Label owner Andreas Kohl remarks "the ever changing wish to explore new territories, geographically and musically brought us here and we are truly celebrating one of the finest moments in the label’s history with bringing you this album. Enjoy."
Kraut-jazz-rock produced by JJ Whitefield (Poets of Rhythm/Whitefield Brothers). The long-standing band’s third album. Featuring Marja Burchard (Embryo). Download card for WAV files included. It’s been over ten years since Karl Hector and the Malcouns’ Sahara Swing saw release on Now-Again in 2008. The album swung with influences from across the African diaspora and set the stage for a cult, but influential following. Hermes designer Christophe Lemaire picked tracks from Karl Hector and The Malcouns as amongst his favorites in the Now-Again catalog, and included them on his Where Are You From anthology. Festival promoters intrigued by the possibility of resurrecting the careers of once forgotten African mavericks – from Ghana’s Ebo Taylor to the progenitors of Zambia’s Zamrock scene – brought Hector and crew across Europe playing festivals for ecstatic fans.
Producer JJ Whitefield even founded an Afro-Rock band, Johnny!, with Taylor’s son Henry. Unstraight Ahead, their sophomore release from 2014, found the band exploring territories even outside of the expansive scope of Sahara Swing: West African sounds of Ghana and Mali met the East African sounds of Mulatu Astatke’s Ethiopian jazz, tied together with the groove heavy experimentalism of The Malcouns’ 70s Krautrock godfathers: Can, of course, but also more obscure and equally adventurous groups like Agitation Free, Ibliss and Tomorrow’s Gift. “We look to Middle Eastern funk and psychedelic fusions, and to various ethnic records for sound and phrasing,” Whitefield stated at the time of Unstraight Ahead’s release. “We’re trying to combine the global experimentalism of Krautrock with the backbeat of funk.” Non Ex Orbis, the band’s third studio album, digs deeper into the Krautrock history embedded deep in the soil of their native Munch - three of the most influential bands of the 1970s experimental German rock scene spurng from there: Amon Düül, Popol Vuh and Embryo.
Influenced by these musical heroes, Whitefield shapes a sound that takes the experimental approach of the classic Krautrock era and slides between beat-heavy drone and spacey, prog-rock suites. Marja Burchard, daughter of Embryo mastermind Christian Burchard, fronts the group on keyboard, vibraphone and other-worldly vocals. Al Markovic joins longstanding Malcoun Zdenko Curilija to round out the ensemble. Non Ex Orbis, read by Whitefield and the band as Out Of This World, symbolizes an innocent way of composing and improvising music, free from the influences of our contemporary environment, preserving a childlike way of hearing sounds in their unfiltered purity. “Some will classify this as a retro, but for the band it simply is a form of creating, Whitefield states. “We’re drawing from an established musical vocabulary which was popular at a time in Germany, when underground musical culture had its creative peak”.
Producer JJ Whitefield even founded an Afro-Rock band, Johnny!, with Taylor’s son Henry. Unstraight Ahead, their sophomore release from 2014, found the band exploring territories even outside of the expansive scope of Sahara Swing: West African sounds of Ghana and Mali met the East African sounds of Mulatu Astatke’s Ethiopian jazz, tied together with the groove heavy experimentalism of The Malcouns’ 70s Krautrock godfathers: Can, of course, but also more obscure and equally adventurous groups like Agitation Free, Ibliss and Tomorrow’s Gift. “We look to Middle Eastern funk and psychedelic fusions, and to various ethnic records for sound and phrasing,” Whitefield stated at the time of Unstraight Ahead’s release. “We’re trying to combine the global experimentalism of Krautrock with the backbeat of funk.” Non Ex Orbis, the band’s third studio album, digs deeper into the Krautrock history embedded deep in the soil of their native Munch - three of the most influential bands of the 1970s experimental German rock scene spurng from there: Amon Düül, Popol Vuh and Embryo.
Influenced by these musical heroes, Whitefield shapes a sound that takes the experimental approach of the classic Krautrock era and slides between beat-heavy drone and spacey, prog-rock suites. Marja Burchard, daughter of Embryo mastermind Christian Burchard, fronts the group on keyboard, vibraphone and other-worldly vocals. Al Markovic joins longstanding Malcoun Zdenko Curilija to round out the ensemble. Non Ex Orbis, read by Whitefield and the band as Out Of This World, symbolizes an innocent way of composing and improvising music, free from the influences of our contemporary environment, preserving a childlike way of hearing sounds in their unfiltered purity. “Some will classify this as a retro, but for the band it simply is a form of creating, Whitefield states. “We’re drawing from an established musical vocabulary which was popular at a time in Germany, when underground musical culture had its creative peak”.
Reduced
Brand new album from acclaimed London-based musician and visual artist Keaton Henson.
Includes first single ‘Alright’, a wonderfully emotive song, showcasing Keaton’s trademark fragile vocals accompanied by a sparse piano performance and a lush string arrangement.
Includes first single ‘Alright’, a wonderfully emotive song, showcasing Keaton’s trademark fragile vocals accompanied by a sparse piano performance and a lush string arrangement.
STAFF COMMENTS
Millie says: Keaton Henson returns with his new album Kindly Now, his discography consists of the early folk albums then progressing to piano and cello led instrumental scores and then followed an electronic album under the name of ‘Behaving’. It was a welcomed change of direction full of diverse creativity; however Kindly Now has strong remnants of a combination of his progress and new style which is greeted with open arms. Gentle strokes of acoustic guitar matched with trembling voice for heart-throbbing lyrics, this one might just break your heart.
A highly personalised sociopathic gem delivered as a futuristic rewriting of how music works, a melodious breeze with a tail wind of venomous din. A ten-track album, her tenth studio set.
Enveloping the juxtaposition of the concept of ‘dark sunshine’, a brooding solo record creating with friends to expand her off-kilter sonic vision; a squally, squeaky mix of discordant beauty.
Feedback and phasing gyrate from simply strummed normality, imagine Dinosaur Jr and My Bloody Valentine cranking up a Dylan couplet. Messing with both extremes of the sonic spectrum: atonal and arrhythmic, a unique sound and a glorious return to form for one of alternative rock’s true innovators.
“Sometimes the most subversive thing I can do musically is adhere to standard song structure, sometimes the creepiest chords are the ones we’ve heard before, twisted into different shapes, and sometimes a story is lived a thousand times before we can ride it like a roller coaster. Nothing wholly unfamiliar is gonna make you look twice. When you can describe a record as being “deceptively” anything, you’re hinting at the sociopathic nature of music. Something I love. Imagine truly buying your own sunshine and charm, but also your darkness and violence; the two sides of your psychology showing each other off in relief. Songs can do that...we can’t, really. Darkness we’ve seen.” Kristin Hersh, July 2018.
“She's still as powerful a presence as she ever was.” Pitchfork
“The prodigious output and commitment to quality is pretty staggering, but then Kristin Hersh is a very, very special musician.” The Quietus.
Enveloping the juxtaposition of the concept of ‘dark sunshine’, a brooding solo record creating with friends to expand her off-kilter sonic vision; a squally, squeaky mix of discordant beauty.
Feedback and phasing gyrate from simply strummed normality, imagine Dinosaur Jr and My Bloody Valentine cranking up a Dylan couplet. Messing with both extremes of the sonic spectrum: atonal and arrhythmic, a unique sound and a glorious return to form for one of alternative rock’s true innovators.
“Sometimes the most subversive thing I can do musically is adhere to standard song structure, sometimes the creepiest chords are the ones we’ve heard before, twisted into different shapes, and sometimes a story is lived a thousand times before we can ride it like a roller coaster. Nothing wholly unfamiliar is gonna make you look twice. When you can describe a record as being “deceptively” anything, you’re hinting at the sociopathic nature of music. Something I love. Imagine truly buying your own sunshine and charm, but also your darkness and violence; the two sides of your psychology showing each other off in relief. Songs can do that...we can’t, really. Darkness we’ve seen.” Kristin Hersh, July 2018.
“She's still as powerful a presence as she ever was.” Pitchfork
“The prodigious output and commitment to quality is pretty staggering, but then Kristin Hersh is a very, very special musician.” The Quietus.
FORMAT INFORMATION
Coloured LP Info: Silver coloured vinyl LP is for Indie stores only.
Kristin Hersh
Wyatt At The Coyote Palace
Kristin Hersh came to prominence in the late 1980s as the leader of the Throwing Muses before launching a solo career emphasizing her acoustic guitar.
“Wyatt at the Coyote Palace” is a beautifully presented hard cover book of essays and Lyrics with two CDs included. It gets its name from an abandoned apartment building behind Kristin’s studio that her son Wyatt spent the majority of this recording session exploring.
Photographs and artwork by Dave Narcizo and Kristin Hersh. Lyrics for each song stories
and essays by Kristin Hersh to accompany each track.
“Wyatt at the Coyote Palace” is a beautifully presented hard cover book of essays and Lyrics with two CDs included. It gets its name from an abandoned apartment building behind Kristin’s studio that her son Wyatt spent the majority of this recording session exploring.
FORMAT INFORMATION
Book & CD Info: Deluxe Format of Wyatt At The Coyote Palace Includes:The full studio album on 2CD'sPhotographs and artwork by Dave Narcizo and Kristin Hersh. Lyrics for each song stories
and essays by Kristin Hersh to accompany each track.
This 1974 release by Keith Hudson is something of a lost gem - with his gravelly vocal style gaining more and more prominence in recent years. Housed in some sunshine cover art, 'Entering The Dragon' with the man Keith bringing an abrasive edge to the proceedings that probably sounded quite startling in its day, now acts as a sign-post to the dancehall/hip-hop evolutions that were to come.
With particular highlights including 'Will You Come Out Tonight', 'It Was When Friends Started to Talk About You' and 'Rage Of Love', Keith Hudson's classic is available for everyone to enjoy on 180 gram vinyl.
This expanded version more than doubles the length of the original set with the addition of a whopping 17 bonus tracks dating from 1971-1976, creating a patchwork overview of Hudson’s work along the way.
With particular highlights including 'Will You Come Out Tonight', 'It Was When Friends Started to Talk About You' and 'Rage Of Love', Keith Hudson's classic is available for everyone to enjoy on 180 gram vinyl.
This expanded version more than doubles the length of the original set with the addition of a whopping 17 bonus tracks dating from 1971-1976, creating a patchwork overview of Hudson’s work along the way.
"Love Time" is Korean alto player Kang Tae Hwan's debut release; his trio includes Makoto Kawabata (Acid Mothers Temple) and percussionist Ichiraku Yoshimitsu (known for his work in Omoide Hatoba). More minimalist than free jazz "Love Time" centres on Hwan's long circular tones. Active since the 1970's Hwan has recorded for Japanese Victor and DIW labels.
Hell Yeah keep the killers coming, via a weighty 12" featuring fresh interpretaions of Kito Jempere's ace "Sea Monsters" album last year. This second batch of reworks sees accomplished musician Jimi Tenor, Miskotom and Max Essa work their magic before a 7", also taken from the album, lands later in summer.
Kicking the party off we have legndary Finnish musician Jimi Tenor, a man who has released on Warp, collaborated with Tony Allen and occasionally plays sax with Kito Jempere Band at live gigs. He flips "Puzzled" into five minutes of stripped back and moody electronics with plenty of his own flute frolicks. Busted drum sounds, spooky sci-fi synths and scattered hits make it woozy late night transmission that is utterly absorbing. If you've kept an ear on the sounds coming out of Pleasure Unit and Balearic, you'll already be acquainted with Lithuanian outfit Miskotom. Here the husband and wife duoreimagine "Ampa" as a beatdown bit of deep house with trudging drums staying low and shimmering synths drifting out in all directions. Crunchy hits bring a subtle sense of funk and reverb drenched vocals bring a heavenly feel to the soul drenched grooves and summery keys.
Then comes Max Essa, the Japan based Brit who is a regular on Hell Yeah as well as the likes of Is It Balearic? and Aficionado. His first remix is a huge one that is sure to soundtrack many a boat party this summer. It's a gorgeous rework of 'Ampa' that puts achingly blissful vocals front and centre as low slung bass and slowly turning drums sink you into a pan-pipe laced reverie. Secondly, Essa offers a Dub Reprise that removes the vocals and places all the focus on his churning drums and new age grooves.
Kicking the party off we have legndary Finnish musician Jimi Tenor, a man who has released on Warp, collaborated with Tony Allen and occasionally plays sax with Kito Jempere Band at live gigs. He flips "Puzzled" into five minutes of stripped back and moody electronics with plenty of his own flute frolicks. Busted drum sounds, spooky sci-fi synths and scattered hits make it woozy late night transmission that is utterly absorbing. If you've kept an ear on the sounds coming out of Pleasure Unit and Balearic, you'll already be acquainted with Lithuanian outfit Miskotom. Here the husband and wife duoreimagine "Ampa" as a beatdown bit of deep house with trudging drums staying low and shimmering synths drifting out in all directions. Crunchy hits bring a subtle sense of funk and reverb drenched vocals bring a heavenly feel to the soul drenched grooves and summery keys.
Then comes Max Essa, the Japan based Brit who is a regular on Hell Yeah as well as the likes of Is It Balearic? and Aficionado. His first remix is a huge one that is sure to soundtrack many a boat party this summer. It's a gorgeous rework of 'Ampa' that puts achingly blissful vocals front and centre as low slung bass and slowly turning drums sink you into a pan-pipe laced reverie. Secondly, Essa offers a Dub Reprise that removes the vocals and places all the focus on his churning drums and new age grooves.
STAFF COMMENTS
Patrick says: There's a lot to love about this latest Hell Yeah release, not least Max Essa's supremely summery remix and audacious dub reprise. Elsewhere Miskotom turn Kito Jempere's OG into a blissful Balearic house heater, while Jimi Tenor trips "Puzzled" into a fractal blast of crepuscular electronics.
Kathryn Joseph released her debut album "bones you have thrown me and blood I've spilled" in January 2015; what started as an album "kickstarted" by dedicated fans has quietly and organically become a much loved, critically acclaimed album of 2015 and in June became the winner of Scottish Album of the Year (the longlist included Young Fathers, Belle & Sebastian, Mogwai and Paulo Nutini)
Prior to her debut release Kathryn Joseph was regarded one of Scotland's best-kept secrets; prodigiously talented and criminally underrated her voice possesses the other-worldly quality comparable to Ms Newsom and Björk; but she is by no means of an ilk. Better compared with Anthony Heggarty; she is an artist in every way; unique and soulful, and at the core a beautiful unnerving truth.
Kathryn Joseph's debut album "bones you have thrown me and blood I've spilled" paints a delicate moving, at time visceral but always intricately beautiful description of her life until now. Lyrically compelling and sonically stunning, her album evokes a stark, cinematic journey. Written in a period during which life took Kathryn between northern bothies, east coast beaches, the forth bridges and ultimately the east end of Glasgow where she recorded the album.
It was captured predominantly live in just a week by Scottish music industry veteran Marcus Mackay at the diving bell lounge (Frightened Rabbit, Snow Patrol, Trembling Bells, Alasdair Roberts, Sparrow and the Workshop).
Kathryn's on record, and sometime-live collaboration with Marcus offers an unmissable, heart heavy and gut wrenching but understated performance. Those lucky enough to catch her at one of her rare performances are sure to be captivated, moved and perhaps a little disturbed.
Prior to her debut release Kathryn Joseph was regarded one of Scotland's best-kept secrets; prodigiously talented and criminally underrated her voice possesses the other-worldly quality comparable to Ms Newsom and Björk; but she is by no means of an ilk. Better compared with Anthony Heggarty; she is an artist in every way; unique and soulful, and at the core a beautiful unnerving truth.
Kathryn Joseph's debut album "bones you have thrown me and blood I've spilled" paints a delicate moving, at time visceral but always intricately beautiful description of her life until now. Lyrically compelling and sonically stunning, her album evokes a stark, cinematic journey. Written in a period during which life took Kathryn between northern bothies, east coast beaches, the forth bridges and ultimately the east end of Glasgow where she recorded the album.
It was captured predominantly live in just a week by Scottish music industry veteran Marcus Mackay at the diving bell lounge (Frightened Rabbit, Snow Patrol, Trembling Bells, Alasdair Roberts, Sparrow and the Workshop).
Kathryn's on record, and sometime-live collaboration with Marcus offers an unmissable, heart heavy and gut wrenching but understated performance. Those lucky enough to catch her at one of her rare performances are sure to be captivated, moved and perhaps a little disturbed.
Kathryn Joseph released her debut album "bones you have thrown me and blood I've spilled" in January 2015; what started as an album "kickstarted" by dedicated fans has quietly and organically become a much loved, critically acclaimed album of 2015 and in June became the winner of Scottish Album of the Year (the longlist included Young Fathers, Belle & Sebastian, Mogwai and Paulo Nutini)
Prior to her debut release Kathryn Joseph was regarded one of Scotland's best-kept secrets; prodigiously talented and criminally underrated her voice possesses the other-worldly quality comparable to Ms Newsom and Björk; but she is by no means of an ilk. Better compared with Anthony Heggarty; she is an artist in every way; unique and soulful, and at the core a beautiful unnerving truth.
Kathryn Joseph's debut album "bones you have thrown me and blood I've spilled" paints a delicate moving, at time visceral but always intricately beautiful description of her life until now. Lyrically compelling and sonically stunning, her album evokes a stark, cinematic journey. Written in a period during which life took Kathryn between northern bothies, east coast beaches, the forth bridges and ultimately the east end of Glasgow where she recorded the album.
It was captured predominantly live in just a week by Scottish music industry veteran Marcus Mackay at the diving bell lounge (Frightened Rabbit, Snow Patrol, Trembling Bells, Alasdair Roberts, Sparrow and the Workshop).
Kathryn's on record, and sometime-live collaboration with Marcus offers an unmissable, heart heavy and gut wrenching but understated performance. Those lucky enough to catch her at one of her rare performances are sure to be captivated, moved and perhaps a little disturbed.
Prior to her debut release Kathryn Joseph was regarded one of Scotland's best-kept secrets; prodigiously talented and criminally underrated her voice possesses the other-worldly quality comparable to Ms Newsom and Björk; but she is by no means of an ilk. Better compared with Anthony Heggarty; she is an artist in every way; unique and soulful, and at the core a beautiful unnerving truth.
Kathryn Joseph's debut album "bones you have thrown me and blood I've spilled" paints a delicate moving, at time visceral but always intricately beautiful description of her life until now. Lyrically compelling and sonically stunning, her album evokes a stark, cinematic journey. Written in a period during which life took Kathryn between northern bothies, east coast beaches, the forth bridges and ultimately the east end of Glasgow where she recorded the album.
It was captured predominantly live in just a week by Scottish music industry veteran Marcus Mackay at the diving bell lounge (Frightened Rabbit, Snow Patrol, Trembling Bells, Alasdair Roberts, Sparrow and the Workshop).
Kathryn's on record, and sometime-live collaboration with Marcus offers an unmissable, heart heavy and gut wrenching but understated performance. Those lucky enough to catch her at one of her rare performances are sure to be captivated, moved and perhaps a little disturbed.
Kathryn Joseph releases her new album From When I Wake The Want Is, via Glasgow’s Rock Action Records. The follow up to 2015’s acclaimed debut Bones You Have Thrown Me And Blood I’ve Spilled, which was named the Scottish Album of the Year, this album is a captivating set that documents both life’s traumas and their resolutions. Produced by Marcus Mackay, who also worked on her debut album, 'From When I Wake The Want Is' mixes new songs with material gathered over the past ten years to create an intimate and often devastating portrait of Joseph’s world.
Coloured LP includes MP3 Download Code.
STAFF COMMENTS
Barry says: Echoing piano and dusty atmospheric washes with touches of jazzy percussion make for a beautifully mournful but immersive backdrop for Joseph's evocative vocal touches. A stunningly fragile but brilliantly immersive listen.FORMAT INFORMATION
Coloured LP Info: Heavyweight clear vinyl.Coloured LP includes MP3 Download Code.
Second full-length from NY’s K-Holes.
Featuring former members of Golden Triangle and Black Lips.
The K-Holes sound is not of the grinning, gregarious panderer. Nor is it of the bored or atease. Rather, it’s the sound of escape.
“This is music that inspires the behavior of heathens: topless dancing, violent sacrifice, Bacchanalian orgies, and New Year’s cleansings” - LA Record
“Throw-you-down-on-the-floor-over-a-chalkdrawn- pentagram-with-a-head-full-of-mescaline music” - Qro Magazine
“It's real noisy and then there’s some sax” - Vice
Featuring former members of Golden Triangle and Black Lips.
The K-Holes sound is not of the grinning, gregarious panderer. Nor is it of the bored or atease. Rather, it’s the sound of escape.
“This is music that inspires the behavior of heathens: topless dancing, violent sacrifice, Bacchanalian orgies, and New Year’s cleansings” - LA Record
“Throw-you-down-on-the-floor-over-a-chalkdrawn- pentagram-with-a-head-full-of-mescaline music” - Qro Magazine
“It's real noisy and then there’s some sax” - Vice
Under the guidance of the outrageously talented Ghanaian force of nature Kweku Sackey, aka K.O.G, and the whirlwind of energy that is Jamaican rapper Franz Von, the Zongo Brigade deliver infectious, high-energy West African grooves via Sheffield, drawing on Afrobeat, soul, funk, rock, hip hop and reggae which has fast gained recognition in London and all over the UK.
K.O.G’s signature mix of high-energy songs, raps, operatic vocal effects, along with the hard-hitting patois raps from the spirited Franz Von and a dedicated band of serious musical badmen, has led the band to perform on some of the biggest stages including Glastonbury, Reading and Leeds Festivals and numerous clubs and venues around Europe.
Deeply rooted in stories from Africa, the album draws on love, peace and social issues. K.O.G & the Zongo Brigade’s motto “Unity in Diversity” stems from Kweku’s African origins and also embraces the eclectic mix of nationalities which make up the band.
With a backdrop of unmistakeable African rhythms that include electric brass, thunderous percussion and sharp-edge guitar, ‘Wahala Wahala’ takes possession of the body as the words excite the mind. Racism, rejection, inequality, exile - the subject matter is always serious but the delivery irresistibly upbeat and rhythmic, guaranteed to get the feet moving because in every pain, there is also joy.
K.O.G’s signature mix of high-energy songs, raps, operatic vocal effects, along with the hard-hitting patois raps from the spirited Franz Von and a dedicated band of serious musical badmen, has led the band to perform on some of the biggest stages including Glastonbury, Reading and Leeds Festivals and numerous clubs and venues around Europe.
Deeply rooted in stories from Africa, the album draws on love, peace and social issues. K.O.G & the Zongo Brigade’s motto “Unity in Diversity” stems from Kweku’s African origins and also embraces the eclectic mix of nationalities which make up the band.
With a backdrop of unmistakeable African rhythms that include electric brass, thunderous percussion and sharp-edge guitar, ‘Wahala Wahala’ takes possession of the body as the words excite the mind. Racism, rejection, inequality, exile - the subject matter is always serious but the delivery irresistibly upbeat and rhythmic, guaranteed to get the feet moving because in every pain, there is also joy.
The totally prolific K15 returns to WotNot after more killer releases on Eglo & Wild Oats, a collaboration with Henry Wu, and remixes for Nubya Garcia, Colm K (on Tiff's Joints) and WotNot's own William Florelle, not to mention the beautiful record earlier this year under his Culross Close alias.
We're all creative but somehow, being 'creative' has become a class within itself, often defined and measured by the whims of popular culture and monetary gain, which leads us to devalue what we create if we are not successful by those metrics. We are all creative, we all use our experience, talent and feeling to shape and we should "Be Glad We Create Anything".
This EP holds onto this mantra tightly throughout, reflecting both the meditative and joyful effects of unimpeded creativity. The title track begins with K15's signature introspection, deep washes of jazz-inflected textures before exploding into a rapturous syncopated synth groove. B1 "Communion" explores the spiritual angle with a devotional piano cadence over bouncing drum pattern, with interlocking bass and synth rhythms adding to the hypnotic mood.
Wrapping up the release is a warm, deep-soak hip hop instrumental titled "You're Alive (There's Still Time)", a message to self but also a beacon of hope to those who have maybe not created as much as they would have liked, or have strayed from the path the intended to take.
We're all creative but somehow, being 'creative' has become a class within itself, often defined and measured by the whims of popular culture and monetary gain, which leads us to devalue what we create if we are not successful by those metrics. We are all creative, we all use our experience, talent and feeling to shape and we should "Be Glad We Create Anything".
This EP holds onto this mantra tightly throughout, reflecting both the meditative and joyful effects of unimpeded creativity. The title track begins with K15's signature introspection, deep washes of jazz-inflected textures before exploding into a rapturous syncopated synth groove. B1 "Communion" explores the spiritual angle with a devotional piano cadence over bouncing drum pattern, with interlocking bass and synth rhythms adding to the hypnotic mood.
Wrapping up the release is a warm, deep-soak hip hop instrumental titled "You're Alive (There's Still Time)", a message to self but also a beacon of hope to those who have maybe not created as much as they would have liked, or have strayed from the path the intended to take.
Eagerly awaited debut album from Nottingham, UK teenage alt-rock trio Kagoule
Produced by Ross Orton (Arctic Monkeys - AM) at 2Fly Studios in Sheffield
Tipped by Rolling Stone as "The Artist To Watch in 2015"
“They’re part of a new wave of British bands (remember bands?) making a rock noise (remember rock noise?) that includes Royal Blood, Drenge and Southern... It is indeed a cause for celebration, if you happen to enjoy being whomped about the head by more than mildly momentous guitar, bass and drums, delivered with some of the feral power of Pixies.” – THE GUARDIAN
“Nottingham three-piece Kagoule are making a play for our hearts and minds and they’re treading a battle-path worn by the Pixies to get there. A perfect blend of melody and brutality.” – NME
" A fun little bummer of a record." – ROLLING STONE
Produced by Ross Orton (Arctic Monkeys - AM) at 2Fly Studios in Sheffield
Tipped by Rolling Stone as "The Artist To Watch in 2015"
“They’re part of a new wave of British bands (remember bands?) making a rock noise (remember rock noise?) that includes Royal Blood, Drenge and Southern... It is indeed a cause for celebration, if you happen to enjoy being whomped about the head by more than mildly momentous guitar, bass and drums, delivered with some of the feral power of Pixies.” – THE GUARDIAN
“Nottingham three-piece Kagoule are making a play for our hearts and minds and they’re treading a battle-path worn by the Pixies to get there. A perfect blend of melody and brutality.” – NME
" A fun little bummer of a record." – ROLLING STONE
'This North London band go full thrust with powerful tracks and strong melodic vocals. Despite meandering through their mid twenties, their sound has been described as old school rock soul burnt at the edges with a fresh and new perspective, hard hitting rhythms, jazzy keys, riff laden guitars and soaring vocals.'
Balearic pinao-house cut "Love Saves The Day" has been one of our biggest sellers of the early summer, and now NeedWant dish up an equally tasty remix 12". Mario Basanov’s 'Vocal Remake' is a perfectly timed disco shaker, that combines funky guitar licks with an 80s inspired synthy bassline all to a summery and uplifting backdrop. Kathy’s vocal is cut up to perfection with eventually Mario letting the chorus shine. On the dub he takes things direct to the dancefloor with squelchy bassline and punchy kick drum with a piano break that will have hands pointing upwards. Soulclap need little introduction being one of the hottest production / DJ at this moment in time. From the Wolf & Lamb camp, they have impressed with their repertoire of musical abilities whether it be re-editing a pop classic or a deep house workout, they seem to have a magic touch. Their house take on "Loves Saves The Day" delivers in its simplicity. Drums and dubbed out vocals create the perfect heads down groove for sunny afternoons as well as long dark nights.
FORMAT INFORMATION
12" Info: Comes in plain black sleeve.
The hugely anticipated debut album from one of the most hotly tipped bands around at the moment, hot on the heels of two great pop singles: "I Predict A Riot" and "Oh My God". Fans of their releases so far won't be disappointed the album ebbs and flows nicely between jaunty energetic pop reminiscent of Super Furry Animals quirky pop, and gentler more reflective moments.
Ata Kak's cassette 'Obaa Sima' fell on deaf ears when it was self-released in Ghana and Canada in 1994. The music on the recording - an amalgam of highlife, Twi-language rap, electro-funk and disco - is presented with the passion of a Prince record and the DIY-bedroom-recording lo-fi charm of early Chicago house music. The astute self-taught song craft and visionary blend of sounds and rhythms has made the album a left-field cult favorite among adventurous listeners worldwide. Awesome Tapes From Africa founder Brian Shimkovitz found the tape in 2002 in Cape Coast, Ghana - one of only a few ever pressed - and later made it the inaugural post on the Awesome Tapes From Africa blog. Hundreds of thousands of downloads, YouTube views, music video tributes and remixes, as well as years of mystery regarding Ata Kak's whereabouts, culminate in this remastered release featuring rare photos and the full back story of one of the internet age's most enigmatic musicians.
FORMAT INFORMATION
LP includes MP3 Download Code.
SK Kakraba is master of the gyil, Ghanaian xylophone made of 14 wooden slats strung across calabash gourd resonators. The buzzy rattle emitted with each note comes from the silk walls of spiders' egg sacs stretched across holes in the gourds, called paapieye in Lobi language. The gyil's earthy sound can be heard in parts of Upper West and Northern Regions of Ghana, as well as C'te d'Ivoire, Burkina Faso and beyond, where it goes by other names. The characteristic buzzing timbre might sound odd to foreign ears. But this distortion is just one of the beautifying sensibilities crucial to SK's gyil music, which he learned as a child from elders in his Lobi community in the far northwest reaches of Ghana. Although the gyil is sometimes played in pairs and with drum and bell, SK lives in Los Angeles these days and plays alone quite often. Songs of Paapieye surveys a deliberate snapshot of SK's hereditary Lobi repertoire heard through the lens of a stripped-down, and sometimes spare-sounding, solo gyil. The album focuses on a selection of SK's favorite song cycles, funeral dirges, improvised interpretations on traditional songs and original compositions - and combinations thereof.
Kalbata invites Perlon-contributor Maayan Nidam for a superbly ambidextrous two track EP on his Brush & Broom imprint. Both are known to be highly versatile artists, and when joining forces in the studio the results are equally kaleidoscopic. "The Town" drops you into a wormhole of clicking woodblocks and percolating rhythms, your freefall accompanied by trippy fx, bouncy beats and hints of Prelude-style synth vamps. Surely a sound from the neon swamp, this is one for the research chems crowd. Flip it and the weirdness continues via the deep and dark techno voyage of "Chrome Moon", a moody groover with constant movements of metallic underlays and industrial overtones. More to come from this newly-formed duo so keep em peeled!
STAFF COMMENTS
Patrick says: Holy Sheeeeiitt! Kalbata gets collaborative with Mayaan Nidam here and hooks up a radioactive roller for the 5D party people. Twisted fx, Morse code bleeps and a rhythm section that just won't quit. If you like it darker, you'll dig on the B-side, but I'm all about the neon baby!
Reduced
Kaleidoscope
Faintly Blowing (Alt. Unreleased Version) / Jump In My Boat (Unreleased Track)
Kaleidoscope Sounds
THIS IS A RECORD STORE DAY 2018 EXCLUSIVE, LIMITED TO ONE PER PERSON.
Following hot on the 50th Anniversary celebrations for their debut legendary album 'Tangerine Dream', Kaleisdoscope Sounds present two previously unreleased never heard before tracks out the bands personal archive. The A-side is the title track from the band's second album: 'Faintly Blowing', released April '69 although this versions is an early version of the track dating back record some 20 monthsealier to August '67 & the summer of love and features a different and more upfront guitar and vocals. The b-side 'Jump in my Boat' is an entirely previously unreleased studio track from the band from 1968 and one of a series of recordings the band dug up recently whilst searching through Peter Daltrey's loft. This version is Take 4. Both tracks have been beautifully remastered by the sonic psychedelic pioneer that is Pete Kember of Spacemen 3 who also remastered the bands debut album from Kaleidoscope Sounds last autumn.
Following hot on the 50th Anniversary celebrations for their debut legendary album 'Tangerine Dream', Kaleisdoscope Sounds present two previously unreleased never heard before tracks out the bands personal archive. The A-side is the title track from the band's second album: 'Faintly Blowing', released April '69 although this versions is an early version of the track dating back record some 20 monthsealier to August '67 & the summer of love and features a different and more upfront guitar and vocals. The b-side 'Jump in my Boat' is an entirely previously unreleased studio track from the band from 1968 and one of a series of recordings the band dug up recently whilst searching through Peter Daltrey's loft. This version is Take 4. Both tracks have been beautifully remastered by the sonic psychedelic pioneer that is Pete Kember of Spacemen 3 who also remastered the bands debut album from Kaleidoscope Sounds last autumn.
Kalev is a five piece band based in London. They produce dark electronic guitar music, made with pounding rhythms and white noise. The band has come from the rethinking of Stockholm Syndrome, a Lichfield-based post-punk band set up while the members were half way through high school. Kalev have a wide range of influences, including: At the Drive-in, Nirvana, Squarepusher, Tool, Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds, Radiohead, Led Zepplin, Kraftwerk, The Micronauts, The Doors, Joy Division, Aphex Twin and Depeche Mode.
FORMAT INFORMATION
CDS Info: The CD single includes "Cutting At Nothing (GoodBooks Second Edition)", "Meat Vise (Live)" and the video for "Cutting At Nothing".
Finnish songwriter, producer, multi-instrumentalist and tram driver Jaakko Eino Kalevi follows up on the global exposure of his essential Beats In Space release with a glorious LP of oddball pop songs-not-songs. Vivid, sensual and technicolour, the self titular LP sees the musician meld elements of disco, new wave, R&B, house, dub, pop and prog into a record that’s adventurous, original and full of charm. "JEK" opens the LP in emotive synth-soul form before fan favourite "Double Talk" bathes us in drifting new wave beauty. "Deeper Shadows" fuses pastoral prog melodies with a slick Timbaland style R&B groove and dub production, while "Say" and "Night At The Field" update "More Songs About Buildings And Food" for the modern listener. On "Mind Like Muscle", Destroyer, The XX and John Cale get nice and intimate in Jaako's mind, before he takes a leaf out of Ariel Pink's book for "Don't Ask Me Why". The final three tracks on this kaleidoscopic listening experience take in the leftfield disco of Arthur Russell, Laurie Anderson experimentalism and Jean Michel Jarre's "Souvenirs De Chine" to round off a career defining LP.
STAFF COMMENTS
Martin says: Jaakko Eino Kalevi's output has drawn comparison with Aerial Pink's, but that would be a little misleading. There is irony in the music, but not just that; he undeniably loves the crisp, faultlessly crafted blend of soft rock, electronic pop and Euro-disco he is affectionately sending up. Perhaps it wouldn't be Finnish if it weren't shot through with a hint of melancholy, but that only adds to its strange charm.
In this age of constant connectivity, switching off has become one of the great luxuries of modern life and it’s one of the reasons Jaakko Eino Kalevi has called his new album ‘Out Of Touch’. He explores what he calls this “essential, blissed out” state on his second album for Weird World as he meditates, in classic Jaakko fashion, on the merrygo- round of the daily grind.
THIS IS A RECORD STORE DAY 2014 EXCLUSIVE, LIMITED TO ONE PER PERSON.
"A World Of Peace Must Come is his masterpiece. That was fantastic." - Brian Wilson
"'Be Still' is the only song I've ever heard that made me want to be a better person." - Brian Barr, The Seattle Weekly
"The only other artist as pure as him is Captain Beefheart." - Bill Bentley
Stephen John Kalinich was born in Endicott, New York and grew up in Binghamton. In his early teens, he stared writing poems and articles about World Peace. He first came to California around 1964, fell in love with it, and promptly transferred from Harper College in upstate New York to UCLA.
Kalinich found himself immersed in the vibrant anti-War culture of late 60’s California, often writing songs and poems against the War. He found a musical partner and kindred spirit in Mark Lindsey Buckingham. They cut a demo for a track called "Leaves of Grass," inspired by the famous Walt Whitman poem "Leaves Of Grass", and Kalinich started taking demos around.
In the mid 60s, it was either at Brother Records or while pumping gas that Kalinich first met the Beach Boys. He hit it off with Brian, Carl and Dennis right away. As the first artist signed to the Beach Boys new label Brother Records, Carl Wilson produced a record for him. His first songs that saw release were "Little Bird" and "Be Still," which he wrote with Dennis and were released on the Friends album. His relationship with Dennis would lead to a number of further collaborations and Kalinich / Dennis Wilson co-writes, including: 20/20 - "All I Want To Do," Hawthorne, CA - "A Time to Live in Dreams", Pacific Ocean Blue - "Rainbows," and Bambu - "Love Remember Me.”
A World of Peace Must Come was recorded at various LA studios and Brian's house in Bel-Air in 1969. The tapes were promptly lost, not to be heard again until our discovery of them in 2008. Following the CD-only reissue in that year, this is the first time this timeless snapshot of an era and an ethos will be available on vinyl for Record Store Day 2014.
* Long lost psych poetry album by legendary Beach Boy song-writer
* Co-produced by Brian Wilson in Los Angeles in August 1969
* Booklet featuring liner notes by Beach Boy archivist Alan Boyd, unseen photos, archival material, and full lyrics
* Record Store Day exclusive featuring hand-numbered “tip-on” jacket.
* Pressed on “ORANGE” wax for Record Store Day
"A World Of Peace Must Come is his masterpiece. That was fantastic." - Brian Wilson
"'Be Still' is the only song I've ever heard that made me want to be a better person." - Brian Barr, The Seattle Weekly
"The only other artist as pure as him is Captain Beefheart." - Bill Bentley
Stephen John Kalinich was born in Endicott, New York and grew up in Binghamton. In his early teens, he stared writing poems and articles about World Peace. He first came to California around 1964, fell in love with it, and promptly transferred from Harper College in upstate New York to UCLA.
Kalinich found himself immersed in the vibrant anti-War culture of late 60’s California, often writing songs and poems against the War. He found a musical partner and kindred spirit in Mark Lindsey Buckingham. They cut a demo for a track called "Leaves of Grass," inspired by the famous Walt Whitman poem "Leaves Of Grass", and Kalinich started taking demos around.
In the mid 60s, it was either at Brother Records or while pumping gas that Kalinich first met the Beach Boys. He hit it off with Brian, Carl and Dennis right away. As the first artist signed to the Beach Boys new label Brother Records, Carl Wilson produced a record for him. His first songs that saw release were "Little Bird" and "Be Still," which he wrote with Dennis and were released on the Friends album. His relationship with Dennis would lead to a number of further collaborations and Kalinich / Dennis Wilson co-writes, including: 20/20 - "All I Want To Do," Hawthorne, CA - "A Time to Live in Dreams", Pacific Ocean Blue - "Rainbows," and Bambu - "Love Remember Me.”
A World of Peace Must Come was recorded at various LA studios and Brian's house in Bel-Air in 1969. The tapes were promptly lost, not to be heard again until our discovery of them in 2008. Following the CD-only reissue in that year, this is the first time this timeless snapshot of an era and an ethos will be available on vinyl for Record Store Day 2014.
FORMAT INFORMATION
Ltd LP Info: * First time reissued on vinyl* Long lost psych poetry album by legendary Beach Boy song-writer
* Co-produced by Brian Wilson in Los Angeles in August 1969
* Booklet featuring liner notes by Beach Boy archivist Alan Boyd, unseen photos, archival material, and full lyrics
* Record Store Day exclusive featuring hand-numbered “tip-on” jacket.
* Pressed on “ORANGE” wax for Record Store Day
The storming Danse Club Records are back with another big house classic that comes complete with remixes from Dutch tech-house hero Lauhaus, label bosses Brodanse plus Bass Culture alumni John Jastszebski, whose version is vinyl-only. Kalisha's original is a classic house beat released on N Sync Inc back in 1992, but it still sounds hugely on-point. With garage-inflected beats, grainy, catchy percussion and pristine chord stabs, it is an ebullient jam that brims with personality.
Originally composed between 1981 and 1984 and initially appeared only on tape in two different editions, the proposed material from Kalma for this work confirms his pantheistic vision of the ethnic sound that had already emerged in 1978 with the masterpiece Osmose. The deep consciousness of the compositional techniques of Indian ragas it's mixed here with embroidered electronic textures on which flute and sax explore the most secret archetypal elements of nature. In this way Kalma offers to the listener a personal idea of sacred music with luminous and oneirics tones but always dialoguing with a highest cosmic conception of things. With a clever use of effects, harmonium, delays and exotic percussions Kalma becomes the creator of soundscapes from the endless myriad shades.Such a fusion of western avant-garde and eastern traditione approaches the frech musicien to other big names of the international panorama as Popol Vuh, Angus Mclise or Laszlo Hortobagy. The master comes from original 1/4’’ analog tape from the 80’s.
The borders between London’s musical tribes have always been porous. For Yussef Kamaal, the sound of the capital – with its hum of jungle, grime and broken beat – has shaped a selftaught, UKtipped approach to playing jazz. In the states, the genre’s longrunning to-and-fro with hip hop – from Robert Glasper to Kamasi Washington – has reimagined it within US culture. On Black Focus, Yussef Kamaal frame jazz inside the basssaturated, pirate radio broadcasts of London.
Taking inspiration from the anything-goes spirit of ‘70s jazzfunk, on albums by Herbie Hancock or the Mahavishnu Orchestra, it’s a loose template with plenty of room to experiment. The pair, made up of Yussef Dayes and Kamaal Williams (aka Henry Wu), have had little in the way of formal training. Instead, their musical tastes – and approach to playing – are indebted to Thelonious Monk’s piano as much as the drum programming of Kaidi Tatham.
“It's all about the drums and the keys,” Williams says. “Not to take anything from anyone else, but that's where it all originates from: the chords, the rhythm of the chords and the drums.” Born out of a oneoff live session to perform Williams’ solo material for Boiler Room, it soon became a project in its own right. Coming together as Yussef Kamaal, they played a series of live shows where little more than a chord progression would be planned before taking to the
stage.
Bringing that unspoken understanding to the recording sessions (engineered by Malcolm Catto of The Heliocentrics), the unplanned, telepathically spawned grooves retain the raw energy of their live shows. “It's not so much about complete arrangement, it's more about flow,” Dayes says. “A lot of the tracks are just made spontaneously – Henry will be playing two chords, I'll fill in the groove and we'll just leave the arrangement naturally.” Both hail from South East London, crossing paths in 2007 as teenagers playing their first pub gigs around Peckham and Camberwell. Dayes drums for cosmicallyinclined, afrobeat outfit United Vibrations, while Williams – on top of drumming and playing keys in different incarnations over the years – has made waves with his solo, synthdraped house 12"s for muchfêted labels like 22a and Rhythm Section.
Moving in the same circles but never playing together previously, rhythm underpins an innate musical understanding. As Williams explains, “The way we approach it is all about the energy and the feeling. We just get in there and we feel it out.” Drawing influence from all corners of London’s shapeshifting musical makeup, the sound of Black Focus is distilled – or focused – down to the core interlock between drums and keys.
Taking inspiration from the anything-goes spirit of ‘70s jazzfunk, on albums by Herbie Hancock or the Mahavishnu Orchestra, it’s a loose template with plenty of room to experiment. The pair, made up of Yussef Dayes and Kamaal Williams (aka Henry Wu), have had little in the way of formal training. Instead, their musical tastes – and approach to playing – are indebted to Thelonious Monk’s piano as much as the drum programming of Kaidi Tatham.
“It's all about the drums and the keys,” Williams says. “Not to take anything from anyone else, but that's where it all originates from: the chords, the rhythm of the chords and the drums.” Born out of a oneoff live session to perform Williams’ solo material for Boiler Room, it soon became a project in its own right. Coming together as Yussef Kamaal, they played a series of live shows where little more than a chord progression would be planned before taking to the
stage.
Bringing that unspoken understanding to the recording sessions (engineered by Malcolm Catto of The Heliocentrics), the unplanned, telepathically spawned grooves retain the raw energy of their live shows. “It's not so much about complete arrangement, it's more about flow,” Dayes says. “A lot of the tracks are just made spontaneously – Henry will be playing two chords, I'll fill in the groove and we'll just leave the arrangement naturally.” Both hail from South East London, crossing paths in 2007 as teenagers playing their first pub gigs around Peckham and Camberwell. Dayes drums for cosmicallyinclined, afrobeat outfit United Vibrations, while Williams – on top of drumming and playing keys in different incarnations over the years – has made waves with his solo, synthdraped house 12"s for muchfêted labels like 22a and Rhythm Section.
Moving in the same circles but never playing together previously, rhythm underpins an innate musical understanding. As Williams explains, “The way we approach it is all about the energy and the feeling. We just get in there and we feel it out.” Drawing influence from all corners of London’s shapeshifting musical makeup, the sound of Black Focus is distilled – or focused – down to the core interlock between drums and keys.
STAFF COMMENTS
David says: The purists might argue that this isn't strictly jazz, I'm happy to argue back. It might use elements of broken beat and house on its journey but jazz is the final destination.
Dave Aju, Alland Byallo, Kenneth Scott and Marc Smith joined together as Kamm. The quartet have created a six track EP / mini-album called 'Kick Drunk Love' for Marcel Vogel's Amsterdam based label Intimate Friends. Taking influences from early 90s Mo'Wax era laid-back beats, the EP features a mixture of samples and live instrumentation. Barrite, Byallo and Scott contribute vocals, with Smith on guitar, Byallo on trumpet and Scott on Moog synth.
'Sidewalks' opens with the sound of bird song and children playing in the distance setting the scene for squelchy Moog, shimmering keyboard chords, loose claps, trumpet and wonkoid rhythms. 'Where's Ralf?' offers more of those wet claps but over a simple 4/4 kick. 'No Grace' swings in tumbling 3/4 time as the track slowly uncoils. On the flip 'Pigmy' goes straight for the Detroit beatdown niche. There's polyrhythmic kalimba style sequencing on the more up-beat 'Stage Left', while the EP closed with the drunken 'Leaving', a woozy wobble through a haze of beats, horns and synth washes.
'Sidewalks' opens with the sound of bird song and children playing in the distance setting the scene for squelchy Moog, shimmering keyboard chords, loose claps, trumpet and wonkoid rhythms. 'Where's Ralf?' offers more of those wet claps but over a simple 4/4 kick. 'No Grace' swings in tumbling 3/4 time as the track slowly uncoils. On the flip 'Pigmy' goes straight for the Detroit beatdown niche. There's polyrhythmic kalimba style sequencing on the more up-beat 'Stage Left', while the EP closed with the drunken 'Leaving', a woozy wobble through a haze of beats, horns and synth washes.
'The only people for me are the mad ones, mad to live, mad to talk, mad to be saved and desirous of everything' - Jack Kerouac, 'On The Road' (1957). If 'On The Road' lead characters Sal Paradise and Dean Moriarty were modern day beatniks, they would find spirited company in Kanaku y El Tigre, a Peruvian collective who release their sophomore album (and first internationally), 'Quema, Quema, Quema', on Strut / Tiger's Milk.
Back in 2010, their debut album 'Caracoles' brought Kanaku's creative duo Nico Saba and Bruno Bellatin considerable success in Peru with a set of quirky songs inspired by American folk. Five years on, 'Quema Quema Quema' has a whole different atmosphere - euphoric, unapologetically feel-good hooks littered with electronic jitters, ghostly delays, serene Hawaiian slide guitars and a chorus of other-wordly vocal harmonies.
Featuring 10 songs including two sung in English, 'Quema Quema Quema' is led by the tortured, Impassioned vocals of lead singer Nico Saba and the musical relationship between he and Bruno is key. 'With the new album, we have focused consistently on the melody and the song despite a multiinstrumental approach,' explains Bruno. 'We have always shared this process of dreaming up ideas - we both bring light and darkness into the room and use each other as creative mirrors.'
'Quema Quema Quema' features some illustrious guest vocalists adding to the Kanaku palette: Almodovar actress Leonor Watling (star of 'Talk To Her'), Peruvian singer-songwriter Pamela Rodriguez and Cecimonster frontman Sergio Saba.
Their strong musical partnership stems from the '90s, when, in their early teens, they were kicking the dust together in a punk band in downtown Lima. Now in their late 20s and both now bilingual having lived for periods in the UK and the States, their sound owes much to western music forms. Despite being very different characters with near opposite tastes in music, as life-long friends, they see the fruits of their creative partnership as a mutual appreciation living life charged, intense and always ready to 'Burn, Burn, Burn'. The lyrics of lead single, 'Si Te Mueres Manana' encapsulate the Kanaku philosophy: 'if you die tomorrow, make sure you you've done everything you ever wanted'.
To complement the fluid production and sonic oddities peppering 'Quema Quema Quema', Argentinian graphic artist and cartoonist Ricardo Liniers brings his unique childlike surrealism to the album artwork.
Back in 2010, their debut album 'Caracoles' brought Kanaku's creative duo Nico Saba and Bruno Bellatin considerable success in Peru with a set of quirky songs inspired by American folk. Five years on, 'Quema Quema Quema' has a whole different atmosphere - euphoric, unapologetically feel-good hooks littered with electronic jitters, ghostly delays, serene Hawaiian slide guitars and a chorus of other-wordly vocal harmonies.
Featuring 10 songs including two sung in English, 'Quema Quema Quema' is led by the tortured, Impassioned vocals of lead singer Nico Saba and the musical relationship between he and Bruno is key. 'With the new album, we have focused consistently on the melody and the song despite a multiinstrumental approach,' explains Bruno. 'We have always shared this process of dreaming up ideas - we both bring light and darkness into the room and use each other as creative mirrors.'
'Quema Quema Quema' features some illustrious guest vocalists adding to the Kanaku palette: Almodovar actress Leonor Watling (star of 'Talk To Her'), Peruvian singer-songwriter Pamela Rodriguez and Cecimonster frontman Sergio Saba.
Their strong musical partnership stems from the '90s, when, in their early teens, they were kicking the dust together in a punk band in downtown Lima. Now in their late 20s and both now bilingual having lived for periods in the UK and the States, their sound owes much to western music forms. Despite being very different characters with near opposite tastes in music, as life-long friends, they see the fruits of their creative partnership as a mutual appreciation living life charged, intense and always ready to 'Burn, Burn, Burn'. The lyrics of lead single, 'Si Te Mueres Manana' encapsulate the Kanaku philosophy: 'if you die tomorrow, make sure you you've done everything you ever wanted'.
To complement the fluid production and sonic oddities peppering 'Quema Quema Quema', Argentinian graphic artist and cartoonist Ricardo Liniers brings his unique childlike surrealism to the album artwork.
New Ray K on cult label E-Beamz. One of the lo-fi house OGs that's broke out and found fame outside of the genre - namely on Arcane; here he returns to his roots for a four track cruncher for the vape generation. "Needless To Say" gets split across two parts. The first part is a steady climb, tumbling toms and ratcheting stabs creating a sense of excitement and tension; leaving what's around the corner purely to our imagination. Part 2 seems to up the tempo and the deepness in equal measure; straying away from the obvious and expected to plummet heads down into the speaker stacks for an amphetamine-fuelled fist-pumper of the highest order! I can feel the sweat flicking across the dancefloor now! "See Outside" offers from shimmering, reflective beauty, a contrast to the jagged and full throttle energy of side A, this revels in a seductive charm that'll get people moving closer to each other on the dancefloor. "Ray" concludes by cleverly matching Guy Called Gerald's "Voodoo Ray" to mechanized, slow-n-steady cerebral beats, flipping the mood of the original entirely and coming out with summat pretty heady and narcotic. Ace!
A meeting of like minds surfing the sonic highways to tonal oblivion.
These four castaways on Sonic Island (this may be too much) have delivered an album that evokes the long lost and revered genre “Drug-Rock” a true mind melt of acid abandonment! Tab-era Monster Magnet, Sessions Era- The Heads… purely visceral and pummelling workouts of a krautrock and pschedelische (surely the most overused term of now..but finally in its right place) from these masters of the art.
Lets not beat about the burning bush here, this is an original Monster Magnet member and three of the Heads… this is pedigree not to be overlooked.
Tune in, Turn on, droned out!!
Mutually appreciated riffs, drones and tones floated across the oceans (via the internet). Conceived by Simon Price, Wayne Maskell, and Hugo Morgan and their US conspirator John McBain.
They’ve created a modern masterpiece, straight from the off, the album feels like it has been hurled from riff valley, laden with trips aplenty.. catch a sonic wave here fellow psychonauts!!!
(Liquid aural lava, it will encase your brain with a sike glazed crust.)
Mastered by John Mcbain for full sonic immersion, and cut at 45rpm to enable a further immersion into the molassess when sped down to 33rm… this works so well, that the CD comes as a double with CD one a 45rpm (normal) master and CD 2 the treacle trap murk of it slowed to 33rpm.. the come down stretched further… a psychedelic morass..all encased in a sike glazed crust of quality packaging.
Wig out and get your oblivion set, strap this on and soar into space.
DIVE DEEP AND FLAME ON!
These four castaways on Sonic Island (this may be too much) have delivered an album that evokes the long lost and revered genre “Drug-Rock” a true mind melt of acid abandonment! Tab-era Monster Magnet, Sessions Era- The Heads… purely visceral and pummelling workouts of a krautrock and pschedelische (surely the most overused term of now..but finally in its right place) from these masters of the art.
Lets not beat about the burning bush here, this is an original Monster Magnet member and three of the Heads… this is pedigree not to be overlooked.
Tune in, Turn on, droned out!!
Mutually appreciated riffs, drones and tones floated across the oceans (via the internet). Conceived by Simon Price, Wayne Maskell, and Hugo Morgan and their US conspirator John McBain.
They’ve created a modern masterpiece, straight from the off, the album feels like it has been hurled from riff valley, laden with trips aplenty.. catch a sonic wave here fellow psychonauts!!!
(Liquid aural lava, it will encase your brain with a sike glazed crust.)
Mastered by John Mcbain for full sonic immersion, and cut at 45rpm to enable a further immersion into the molassess when sped down to 33rm… this works so well, that the CD comes as a double with CD one a 45rpm (normal) master and CD 2 the treacle trap murk of it slowed to 33rpm.. the come down stretched further… a psychedelic morass..all encased in a sike glazed crust of quality packaging.
Wig out and get your oblivion set, strap this on and soar into space.
DIVE DEEP AND FLAME ON!
FORMAT INFORMATION
2xCD Info: 1000 First pressing 2CD in deluxe spot varnish thick card gatefold sleeve.
Jonathan Kane's fat-bottomed grooves take your breath away, make you lose your mind? Well, it's the holidays, and Jonny can give as well as he can take, so here's his gift to you, boys and girls. It's a classic, "The Little Drummer Boy", done in his inimitable style, with layers of guitars, snow-drift-deep bass and you'd better believe there's drums. Hop into this sleigh; it's jacked-up, tricked-out, it's got 850 horses and not a restrictor plate in sight.
First ever vinyl release of this unique, dark and sparse, tribal, minimal synth, drone, trance, new age recording from the mysterious Kano. Previously only issued as an obscure cassette back in 1986 which is now much sought after. Runes is much darker and brooding compared to its new age peers of the era. Drums, metalophone, synths and more leads you on a deep inwards trip via damp, cold and foggy caves to the ancients. Runes is an extraordinary musical experience. Kano, described as ’a trance musician from Colorado’ on the original release, was Don Campbell in real life and the Runes cassette was eventually issued under his name too.
FORMAT INFORMATION
Ltd LP Info: Ltd to 1000.
Offen sends out another probe.
Karamika - a studio creation from George Thompson (Black Merlin) and Gordon Pohl AKA Dussuldorfs engineer supreme(Musiccargo / Kunstkopf / The Isolators…). This their second long player is a record full of mind games. Sounds leak from fractal-like holes, and are sedately trodden back into the cosmic fabric of the album. The noise of post cruise carpet.
Karamika - a studio creation from George Thompson (Black Merlin) and Gordon Pohl AKA Dussuldorfs engineer supreme(Musiccargo / Kunstkopf / The Isolators…). This their second long player is a record full of mind games. Sounds leak from fractal-like holes, and are sedately trodden back into the cosmic fabric of the album. The noise of post cruise carpet.
Reduced
Kareem Kool on Arcane US, the Brooklyn based label run by Edgar Rojas-Masferrer. With a low key but highly specialist artist roster, this is one label to watch if your after the less obvious cuts from the current house spectrum. Kareem Kool contribution is nothing short of inspired, with a sound that meets somewhere between Apron's frazzled aesthetic, Hieroglyphic Being's fearless experimentation combined with an ear for angelic, heavenly and transportive sounds and textures. If the first three tracks don't win you over, then "Town", concluding should crush even the most iron-wrought of hearts, destroying the listener with painfully emotive blasts of yearning melodies, white noise bursts and mechanical rhythms. Genius.
Former Trouw booker and Life And Death kingpin Job Jobse launches a new label De Vlieger, inspired by the desire to release music by some of his nearest and dearest. The first EP offers us a collection of six short songs by synth pop dreamer Karel. Born from the same outsider energy as Bill Nelson, Ariel Pink and John Foxx, Karel's mournful but moving bedroom compositions convey maximum emotional with minimal fuss.
"I will always remember the first time I saw Karel live. Jumping and flying across the room. One moment hanging from the ceiling, the next taking a plunge into the night. His feet in the air and his head in the clouds.
A desire to release music from friends had always been there, but only when I witnessed Karel's unique energy and his ability to write a perfect pop song in just a few lines, this desire took its first form. The results are six synthwave songs that are low on fidelity, but high on feeling. Recorded between 2016 and 2018 at his home studio, using three synthesizers and a drum computer."
- Job Jobse
"I will always remember the first time I saw Karel live. Jumping and flying across the room. One moment hanging from the ceiling, the next taking a plunge into the night. His feet in the air and his head in the clouds.
A desire to release music from friends had always been there, but only when I witnessed Karel's unique energy and his ability to write a perfect pop song in just a few lines, this desire took its first form. The results are six synthwave songs that are low on fidelity, but high on feeling. Recorded between 2016 and 2018 at his home studio, using three synthesizers and a drum computer."
- Job Jobse
STAFF COMMENTS
Patrick says: Killer synth pop here from Karel on Job Jobse's new De Vlieger imprint. Cutting through the tape hiss like a lo-fi Knife with an Ariel Pink songbook, Karel comes correct with a fine set of outsider anthems.
Karen O says: “After making music for the past twenty years and embarking on making this record with Danger Mouse I knew a couple things: one was that the spirit of collaboration between us was going to be a pure one, and two was that the more I live the less is clear to me. When you create from a blurry place you can go places further than you’ve ever been. I think we both were excited to go far out.”
Coloured LP includes MP3 Download Code.
LP includes MP3 Download Code.
STAFF COMMENTS
Barry says: Half way between the glitter-laiden dancefloor of a sweaty disco club and a smokey jazz-lounge, 'Lux Prima' is the perfect balance between downbeat electronics and pitch-perfect production courtesy of legendary producer and musician DM, and Karen O's undeniably enchanting vocal prowess. They are both in top form here, and this will undoubtedly go down as some of the best work from either of them. Lovely stuff.FORMAT INFORMATION
Coloured LP Info: Indies exclusive red vinyl, gatefold LP jacket + fold out poster.Coloured LP includes MP3 Download Code.
LP includes MP3 Download Code.
This is a great brooding, bluesy rocker. Despite them both having very distinctive vocals, they work really well together, to create a kind of off kilter haunting ballad that you could well imagine on the soundtrack to a David Lynch film. It's actually from a short film presented by fashion house Kenzo - a full on music/film/fashion colab.
STAFF COMMENTS
Laura says:FORMAT INFORMATION
Ltd 7" Info: Just found a couple of copies of this!next 100
Thanks for posting about it. It’s here until next Friday May 3rd btw. https://t.co/PgaFhSvpPe
Wed 24th - 8:58
Wed 24th - 8:58
It’s great isn’t it?! Glad you liked it and hope your wish comes true.🤞🏻 https://t.co/ZPlM8ry6f5
Mon 22nd - 5:55
Mon 22nd - 5:55
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