‘Blood Moon’, M. Craft’s third full length album, is very much a score for seclusion. Inspired by witnessing the titular lunar event twice during his time as a desert resident, ‘Blood Moon’ began life in a studio in nearby Los Angeles as a series of unstructured, experimental piano pieces.

Constructed from those piano recordings with additional percussion from another temporary desert dweller, Seb Rochford (Polar Bear) and occasional orchestration, ‘Blood Moon’ is a stunning fusion of freeform instrumental explorations and properly pure songs.

TRACK LISTING

New Horizons
Blood Moon
Chemical Trails
Afterglow
Midnight
Love Is The Devil
Me And My Shadow
Morphic Fields
Where Go The Dreams
Love Is All

The debut 12 from M Sexton delivers four cuts of soulful house steeped in live musicianship and dusty sample work. From the shuffling energy of “In My Heart” to the hypnotic depth of “Feelings Can’t Explain,” and the screaming gospel of “Savin’ Me” to the tension-filled funk of “Club Mozambique,” this record bridges classic soulful house and old-school production with modern finesse.

TRACK LISTING

A1. In My Heart
A2. Feelings Can’t Explain
B1. Savin’ Me
B2. Club Mozambique (Party Break)

Two years and one pandemic after his previous release, the Italian, London-based solo project M!R!M is back with a new full- length album. Inspired by the synth pop classics, as well as from cold and dark waves, multi-instrumentalist Jack Milwaukee has been releasing material on labels such as Fabrika and Manic Depression until his first record on Avant! ''The Visionary'' back in 2020. On April 22 his fourth LP ''Time Traitor'' will be released and we’re excited to say this is Milwaukee’s most personal job to date. If you are familiar with his work, you know the DIY/lo-fi approach of his first recordings was already gone with his previous LP but these new ten recordings dig even deeper, drawing the outlines of a fantasy world lost within the foggy memories of a collective childhood. Possibly locked in his bedroom for the necessary time, Milwaukee has been able to recreate an imaginative realm of 80’s FM suggestions, scattering a number of acoustic clues from different parts of this parallel, yet so familiar dimension. It’s almost like M!R!M is sending us a message in a bottle with each of these new tracks and each message tells a different story.

Post Fight has a punchy pop-punk riff drove by solid synthwave beats, Faultless Pitch hosts a mellow, funky bass line over a solemn drum gate, Desert Love screams italo like nothing else and it was indeed composed four-handed with fellow artists Nuovo Testamento, Say Nothing features SDH singer Andrea Pérez’s backing vocals to invoke a dream-like scenario. There is even a Turquoise Days' Grey Skies cover that is just one more perfect example of Milwaukee's ability to take a single item from the suitcase of the past and make it extremely current in a handful of minutes. All this is adorned by semi-instrumental postcards with suggestive names such as Moody Moon, Peninsula and Goodnight Galaxie that will guide you through this journey across M!R!M sound-&-memory experience.

TRACK LISTING

1. Moody Moon
2. Faultless Pitch
3. Exile
4. Post Fight
5. The New House
6. Grey Skies
7. Say Nothing
8. Desert Love (feat. Nuovo Testamento)
9. Peninsula
10. Goodnight Galaxie

M'Bamina — an ensemble of musicians from Congo, Cameroon, and Benin, who arrived in Italy in the early Seventies. Settling between northern Italy and the Pavia area, they began performing in small clubs and community events, bringing with them a vibrant rhythmic heritage: African polyrhythms, call-and-response vocals, funk-infused bass lines, and Caribbean or Afro-Latin colours absorbed along their musical journeys. Their raw, contagious energy on stage quickly drew attention.

The recording sessions of this album — held in Turin in 1975 — produced a remarkably warm and direct sound. The music feels almost live: grooves rooted in African tradition, but open to funk-rock structures and modern arrangements. It is a natural fusion, never forced. Tracks move between tribal rhythms, funk basslines, light electric guitars, congas and Afro-Latin percussion, with call-and-response vocals and melodies that echo both Congolese tradition and the lineage of Latin jazz. Not by chance, one of the album's most striking tracks, Watchiwara, reinterprets a Latin standard through M'Bamina's own rhythmic language.

TRACK LISTING

1. Kyrie Paien
2. Wendo
3. Malonga
4. Bakoko
5. Messe Noire
6. Benguela
7. Ayewa
8. Watchiwara
9. N'Zoumba
10. African Drums

'A Necessary Escape' is the new M83 Soundtrack to the forthcoming film 'Dakar: Race Against The Desert'.

This will be the 4th album soundtrack released by M83 and was recorded in both France and the US by M83's leading man, Anthony Gonzalez, along with regular M83 contributors, Joe Berry & Clement Libes.

The film 'Dakar: Race Against The Desert' will be released digitally by Universal Pictures on the 12th May and the film will get its World-wide cinematic premiere on the 26th June at the MK2 Bibliotheque in in Paris. The film, which is directed by the French actor/director Jalil Lespert, follows the World famous Dakar Car Rally - an event that for 45 years has been the ultimate test of resilience, skill and endurance in the world of Motorsports. Spanning 9,000 kilometres, the race lasts for 14 gruelling days over harsh desert terrain. With unprecedented access, this film dives into the world's toughest race, following legends like Sebastien Loeb, reigning champion Nasser Al-Attiyah, and pioneers Carlos Sainz and Stephane Peterhansel. It also spotlights rising stars like Mason Klein.

* 'Dakar Chronicles' is the film's title in French version.

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: There are few artists better suited to soundtrack work than M83, and 'A Necessary Escape - Dakar Chronicles' sees Anthony Gonzalez forge his crescentic electronic swells around some beautiful albeit intense footage of endurance car racing. Not sure I would have called this one, but it works *perfectly*.

TRACK LISTING

A Necessary Escape (Part 1)
Strike Machine
First Steps Upward
Members Of The Universe
Human Deceleration
Solid State Ricochet
Echoes
Atlas Imperial
Artificial Infinity
To Our Guided Voices
A Necessary Escape (Part 2)
A Necessary Escape (Part 3)

M83 mastermind Anthony Gonzalez released Digital Shades Vol. 1 in 2007 as a compendium of unused ambient tracks for diehard fans to enjoy rather than letting these works disappear into the void. It was a way to breathe life into songs that normally would not see the light of day as well as a vehicle for Gonzalez to explore areas of musical creativity separated from the pop-leaning M83 studio albums. Gonzalez credits Brian Eno’s ambient collections as a primary inspiration for the creation of the Digital Shades series. Now, more than a decade later, M83 has returned with the latest installment of Digital Shades - one that adopts a grander nature and seeks to transport listeners to another time and place entirely. DSVII is influenced heavily by early video game soundtracks, ‘80s sci-fi/fantasy films and analog synth pioneers such as the aforementioned Brian Eno in addition to Suzanne Ciani, Mort Garson and John Carpenter.

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: I have to admit to being mildly (not mildly) confused when I saw the video for 'Temple Of Sorrow' but then remembered, this is pretty much what Gonzalez does. Massive, operatic instrumental music, euphoric dream-state rock and absolute ego dissolving lysergic 'tron. Mental, but thoroughly brilliant.

TRACK LISTING

Hell Riders
A Bit Of Sweetness
Goodbye Captain Lee
Colonies
Meet The Friends
Feelings
A Word Of Wisdom
Lune De Fiel
Jeux D’Enfants
A Taste Of The Dusk
Lunar Son
Oh Yes You’re There, Everyday
Mirage
Taifun Glory
Temple Of Sorrow

Over the span of two decades, M83 has firmly established himself as an artist whose work transcends mere escapism in favor of full-on worldbuilding. Whether it be via his celebrated studio albums, film soundtracks, or compositions for stage productions, Gonzalez has proven that nothing surpasses his ability to perfectly encapsulate a specific time, emotion, or sense of place. This has led him to become a GRAMMY-nominated musical juggernaut who has headlined Los Angeles's famed Hollywood Bowl, wowed audiences across the globe, and sold over a million units of his 2011 album, Hurry Up, We're Dreaming.

For Gonzalez, Fantasy's direction and aesthetic were immediately clear. "I wanted this record to be very impactful live," he says. "The idea was to come back with something closer to the energy of Before The Dawn Heals Us. The combination of guitars and synths is always in my music, but it’s maybe more present on this new record than on the previous ones."

Gonzalez also sought to continue a trend that has become more prominent in his recent albums. "I wanted to be more present lyrically and vocally" he states. "I thought if I could achieve that, this album will be more personal than those that came before." To capture the exuberance of his dazzling live performances, Gonzalez altered his typical recording process. “I would usually write the demos and then go to my producer to start working on an album," he details. "But this time was a little different. I just wanted to feel the energy of other musicians. The feeling of musicians playing together is something that was missing a bit."

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: I've long been a fan of M83's cinematic synth-led heft, and 'Fantasy' couldn't have been a more perfect reprisal of Gonazalez' inimitable style. While vocals have been present sparingly in M83 albums before, they are more necessary here than ever before lending a gauzy shoegazing majesty to proceedings. A perfect return, and a significant progression from what has come before.

TRACK LISTING

1. Water Deep
2. Oceans Niagara
3. Amnesia
4. Us And The Rest
5. Earth To Sea
6. Radar, Far, Gone
7. Deceiver
8. Fantasy
9. Laura
10. Sunny Boy
11. Kool Nuit
12. Sunny Boy Part 2
13. Dismemberment Bureau

Aptly titled M83, this album served as the French electropop outfit’s debut release in 2001 on Gooom. Recorded as a duo by founding members Anthony Gonzalez and Nicolas Fromageau, the album was described by Pitchfork as “how it feels to live inside a triumphal music box.” The track names can be read in order to describe a boy/girl meeting at a party. Taken in tow with the sampled movie dialogue throughout, the album serves as a poignant soundtrack for the simplest of scenarios.

Four years on from the Grammy nominated, critically acclaimed release Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming (featuring platinum selling single “Midnight City”), French electronic act M83 re-issues their first three albums in addition to two digital EPs featuring remixes and B-sides from those albums. After several years of being out of print, M83 (2001), Dead Cities, Red Seas, and Lost Ghosts (2004), and Before the Dawn Heals Us (2005) will be released August 25th, 2014 on Naïve Records.

M83 has become a household name amongst music lovers due to extensive success across many formats. Since Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming, not only has M83’s Anthony Gonzalez scored two films: Oblivion (featuring Tom Cruise) and You and the Night (directed by his brother Yann Gonzalez), but his music has been used across a plethora of movies, television shows and commercials, most recently in films The Fault In Our Stars, The Vampire Diaries, and 22 Jump Street. Huffington Post even reported, “few recent albums have had a bigger impact on movie music than M83’s Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming.” At radio, M83 reached #1 on the CMJ charts, #1 at Commercial Specialty, and #5 in Commercial Alternative Radio, while receiving rave reviews from publications across the world, including Pitchfork, Spin, Entertainment Weekly, XLR8R, Filter, and countless others.

TRACK LISTING

1. Last Saturday
2. Night
3. At The Party
4. Kelly
5. Sitting
6. Facing That
7. Violet Tree
8. Staring At Me
9. I’m Getting Closer
10. She Stands Up
11. Caresses
12. Slowly
13. My Face
14. I’m Happy She Said

Over the span of two decades, M83 has firmly established himself as an artist whose work transcends mere escapism, opting instead for true worldbuilding.

Whether through his acclaimed studio albums, cinematic soundtracks, or stage compositions, Anthony Gonzalez has proven that no one matches his ability to perfectly encapsulate a specific era, emotion, or place.

On 'Fantasy', the spine-tingling moments so characteristic of M83 are aplenty. M83's music has always spoken to dreamers, to those who, like him, strive for something beyond the confines of our modern existence. With 'Fantasy', M83 once again demonstrates his innate ability to seamlessly shift from scoring life's greatest triumphs to soundtracking its deepest defeats.

TRACK LISTING

1. Water Deep
2. Oceans Niagara
3. Amnesia
4. Us And The Rest
5. Earth To Sea
6. Radar, Far, Gone
7. Deceiver
8. Fantasy
9. Laura
10. Sunny Boy
11. Kool Nuit
12. Sunny Boy Part 2
13. Dismemberment Bureau

The iconic and essential album 'Hurry Up, We're Dreaming' by French band M83, released in 2011 and featuring the global hit 'Midnight City', will celebrate its 15th anniversary in 2026.

The album was nominated for Best Alternative Music Album at the 2013 Grammy Awards and was ranked among the 200 best albums of the decade by Pitchfork in 2019. 

TRACK LISTING

1. Intro
2. Midnight City
3. Reunion
4. Where The Boats Go
5. Wait
6. Raconte-Moi Une Histoire
7. Train To Pluton
8. Claudia Lewis
9. This Bright Flash
10. When Will You Come Home?
11. Soon, My Friend
12. My Tears Are Becoming A Sea
13. New Map
14. OK Pal
15. Another Wave From You
16. Splendor
17. Year One, One UFO
18. Fountains
19. Steve McQueen
20. Echoes Of Mine
21. Klaus I Love You
22. Outro

M83 is one of the most influential electronic artists of the past two decades, known for his singular ability to merge synth-driven emotion with cinematic scale. From 'Hurry Up, We're Dreaming' to numerous film and soundtrack works, his music consistently bridges pop culture and auteur cinema.

With 'Resurrection', M83 delivers his second soundtrack of the year, following 'A Necessary Escape'. Composed, performed and recorded by Anthony Gonzalez, the album is the original score for Bi Gan's visionary science- fiction film, selected in Official Competition at Cannes 2025 and awarded the Prix Special du Jury.

Released on M83's new label Other Suns, 'Resurrection' unfolds across 10 instrumental pieces + 2 silent film bonus tracks, blending ethereal electronics and orchestral textures. Focus track 'Sullen Passage', featured in the film's trailer, stands as a luminous, emotional signature moment.

TRACK LISTING

1. Spinning Fury
2. Clamor Of Time
3. A Scent
4. From Bright Lights
5. Spectres
6. Transfiguration Overture
7. Serpentine
8. Resurrection
9. Sullen Passage
10. Spinning Fury (Part 2)
11. Fantasmers (Silent Film Part 1)
12. Fantasmers (Silent Film Part 2)

Ma Haiping's "Mind Reader," on SCAN Records, the new label from Detroit legend SCAN 7, is an EP that extends his Detroit futurism aesthetic, reimagining techno as a vehicle for paranoia and prophecy in the algorithmic age. It's a tense, synth-driven meditation on surveillance and synthetic reality. "Mind Reader" suggests our devices aren't just watching - they're thinking. The standout, "Sensitive Period" (with Shanghai Ultra), pulses with restraint, while "No Exposed" explores icy isolation. Classic 808s and funky basslines nod to Drexciya, but Ma's voice is unmistakable: cerebral, tactile, and deeply attuned to the present moment's fractured frequencies.

STAFF COMMENTS

Matt says: Whistle wetting tracks for fans of Detroit electro and techno here as the iconic Motor City duo, Scan 7 kick off a new label. Ma Haiping on the attack across 3 mainframe wrecking trax.

TRACK LISTING

1. Mind Reader
2. Sensitive Period
3. No Exposed

Afro-Finnish band Maajo return with their third album, "Water of Life," a fluid celebration of various influences. Supported by two preceding singles, "Better Days" and "Unelmissani," the album is the group's first release with the Brooklyn, NY-based tastemaker label Wonderwheel Recordings. Maajo's signature Afro-Balearic sound meets late eighties new age and fusion, with touches of modern soul. The addition of two band members, Waina and Gilbert K, as well as featuring artists Issiaka Dembele and Ismaila Sané, has rooted the album's stories in a diverse range of backgrounds, featuring vocals in no less than six different languages.

Gilbert K's drum grooves pay tribute to the late Tony Allen's legendary heritage and the percussion experiments on a more melodic and atmospheric tip. Cold synth pads and 303 squeaks blend with warm guitars, fretless bass, and Issiaka Dembele's sublime kora harps and balafon mallets. "Water of Life" shows a band at its maturation point, reaching the cross-cultural coalescence of Finnish-African sound that's ready for the dancefloor or home-listening.

The three vocalists take centre-stage on the album: Waina hails from Zambia and sings in Nyanja, English and Finnish; a renowned musician in Zambia for over two decades who now calls Finland home, Waina wrote a song that reached the finals of the 2020 Afrimusic contest. Gilbert K primarily sings in his native Mauritian Creole while comprising part of the percussion line. He made his way to Finland by way of South Africa and China, eventually winning the Voice of Finland show. Gilbert K has played with such legends as Tony Allen, Andy Summers, Diana King, and Suzanne Vega. Ismaila Sané is from the Casamance region of Southern Senegal and sings in Wolof (a widely-spoken language in West Africa) on "Ndekete," and in Jola (a smaller language in Casamance) on "Èwàn".

Maajo is a sonic, linguistic, and cultural melting pot that has come together in Tampere, Finland, like a tropical breeze from the cold north. Their musical explorations lead from equatorial soundscapes to the woods and moods of their native Scandinavia. African influences, electronic beats and organic rhythms, ethereality and the sounds of nature all make up the patchwork sound of Maajo.

Not only is Maajo's music a way of travelling to faraway places, the songs themselves have travelled all over the globe. Maajo has evolved from a sample-based electronic music project to a full-sized band, including African vocalists and musicians. The group has put out two full-length albums and three EP's on Queen Nanny records, in addition to a release on German label Permanent Vacation. Maajo has received the remix treatment from artists such as Luke Vibert and Call Super, and has toured festivals and clubs internationally. The band has built a dedicated international following having been championed by the likes of Gilles Peterson (Worldwide FM), Tom Ravenscroft (BBC Radio 6), and Tim Sweeney (Beats In Space), while they've been featured by KEXP (Song of the Day), Resident Advisor, Ransom Note, and Pan-African Music.

"Water of Life" is out on Wonderwheel Recordings October 14th, 2022, both digitally and as an exclusive, limited-run 2xLP.

TRACK LISTING

1. Water Of Life (feat. Waina)
2. Unelmissani (feat. Waina)
3. Ti Mamzel (feat. Gilbert K)
4. Better Days (Kumba) [feat. Waina & Gilbert K]
5. Ndékété (feat. Ismaila Sané)
6. Makosaa
7. Èwañ
8. Exhaling Mountain Mist
9. Mandzi Ya Moyo (feat. Waina)
10. Balafon Compagnement
11. Lesa Fye (feat. Waina & Gilbert K)

Maanta Raay are a riff-casting, power trio from Nashville, Tennessee. Their self-titled debut is released by No Sabes Records and comes from the heavier side of psychedelia. While the influences are apparent — Leigh Stephens (Blue Cheer), Jaki Liebezeit (CAN), Daphne Oram, Randy Rhoads, James Jamerson, Ron Asheton — the record’s interstellar overdrive vs droned-out tempos, musi-quinox arrangements, sometimes garage rawness (members include ex-Quadrajets, Immortal Lee County Killers, and Modern Convenience) and unleashed layers of sonica, all testify that the band’s mission is to make it new. The emerging band, featuring Mason Hadley (b), Carlos Ortiz (d), and Chet Weise (g/v), has already shared bills with the likes of Earthless, Boris, Minami Deutsch, Melvins, and Napalm Death. Experience the RAAY live or try them out on headphones to hear a band in search of the next sound, just like Weise sings, “Golden teachers teach a lesson/ the universe can be a VHS left unwound / but sunlight reaches Earth in just eight minutes.

TRACK LISTING

1. The Night Rider
2. Lost Satellite
3. Maanta Raay Theme
4. Om Revver
5. Peace Cruiser
6. Ancient Future
7. Uforchid
8. Cosmic Mircowave Background

Announcing Maara’s new album Ultra Villain, a deeply personal, narrative-driven record that explores desire, heartbreak, obsession, and the freedom that comes with choosing yourself.

Written from a place of hard-won self-trust, the song marks a shift toward clarity. “I realized people can only meet you where they’ve met themselves.”

Written and Produced by Maara Louisa Dunbar
Additional Production and Mixing by Francis Latreille and Patrick Holland at Jump Source Studios
Mastered by Noel Summerville
Cover Art by Dodleyz
Design by Jesse Osborne-Lanthier

TRACK LISTING

A1. Glimmers Of Hope
A2. Burn Up
A3. Ultra Villain
B1. Obsessive Compulsion
B2. Dangerous Games
B3. NV-0
B4. I’m The One You Want
C1. The Chase
C2. Gloves Off
C3. Dirt
C4. Kiss The Ring
D1. Might Jump…
D2. A Moving Blur
D3. Come Home

The music of Alex Maas has always mesmerised. Now, on his soul-baring solo debut Luca, the Texan and Black Angel's singer journey is taking an equally hypnotic detour along the wild trails of his indigenous homestead. Driven by the force of nature, each phase of life is celebrated through songs of love, hope, human connection whilst navigating perils of modern society and tentatively facing the darkness. 

TRACK LISTING

1 Slip Into
2 The Light That Will End Us
3 Special
4 Been Struggling
5 500 Dreams
6 What Would I Tell Your Mother
7 All Day
8 Shines Like The Sun (Madeline's Melody)
9 American Conquest
10 The City

Official Mr Bongo reissue of the ultra-rare Nigerian disco-boogie, ‘Viva Disco’, album from 1980. Originally released on the Afrodisia label, this one is unknown to even the most knowledgable collectors out there.

Tunde Mabadu recorded two albums in the 70’s - ‘Viva Disco’ and ‘Bisu’ as Tunde Mabadu & His Sunrise. Perfect examples of golden-era Nigerian disco & boogie that still hold their own today.

TRACK LISTING

Alabosi
Disco Press Funk
Amupara Ko Ma Dara
African Parowo
Angelina - Sugar Daddy
Viva Disco (Instrumental)

Mac Blackout, a.k.a Chicagoan Mark McKenzie has been on the fringes of the Chicago music scene for two decades now, whether blasting brains in scuzz-punk bands The Functional Blackouts & Daily Void or as wild-eyed frontman for glam-punks Mickey. While his solo recordings as Mac Blackout have traditionally followed along the same path of KBD-infused, sci-fi punk rock, his new instrumental solo album (and first for Trouble In Mind), "Love Profess" offers listeners a new side. "Love Profess" is Blackout's first solo album in seven years, the result of - in his own words: "...years of artistic growth and preparation. Five years ago I shifted my focus from music to visual art, embarking on a creative and spiritual journey, finding new and evolved artistic visions through many mediums." Indeed as his art career has blossomed, the creative musical ideas & a budding interest in free jazz & avant garde music have flourished & guided his output toward something altogether different; stripped down minimal pop songs & analog synth excursions laced with a healthy dollop of free jazz & avant-musical expression.

Blackout says "This break from solo music creation resulted in years of internalized ideas, unexpressed energy, and the calling to explore new creative directions musically." These creative directions converged at the beginning of 2020 as Blackout began to record "Love Profess". From the opening exultation of "Wandering Spheres", longtime fans know they're in for something completely different; a rapturous wave of saxophone blasting forth gives way to a pensive electronic pulse and a tinkling of synthesized bells. "Forever" and "Call For Love" tick and drone like something off of Suicide's second album, the former's sweet melody & electric handclaps peppered with melancholy, while the latter's slinky rhythm makes you move. "Magic Hour 2020"s meditative drone closes out Side A, setting up Side B opener "The Virus"; an aural odyssey that transports the listener to "Revolutionary Tide"s righteous shuffle, with Blackout's sax blasting out like a call to arms. The album's title cut come near the end of Side B, with it's metronomic pulse and synth washes acting as a soothing balm, while the tender ballad "Dear Mom" closes us out.

Blackout says "2020 has been unlike any time in history. With these hard times comes great emotion, reflection, and realization. This album is an instrumental reflection and chronological portrait of the period in which it was created, January through July 2020. I hope you find solace, artistic friendship, inspiration, rejuvenation and the power to make positive change through this work of art for years to come." Indeed the entire album feels very much like an offering, with its tender & open expressions & reflections allowing a palpable passion to creep through. We can only hope it can guide us to a better tomorrow. 

TRACK LISTING

1. Wandering Spheres
2. Forever
3. Call For Love
4. Magic Hour 2020
5. The Virus
6. Revolutionary Tide
7. Love Profess
8. Dear Mom

Australian DJ and producer James Mac joins forces with France based Vall for their Afro House rework of Aaliyah’s 2001 hit ‘Try Again’. This follows their debut hit single together 'The Boy Is Mine' which remained the #7 highest selling record on Beatport overall for 3 months. The vinyl includes official remixes from house music legend David Penn, French producer Holseek and Sydney based DJ/Producer on the rise Ben Miller, as well as the Sasson Remix of ‘The Boy Is Mine’.

TRACK LISTING

A1. Extended
A2. Ben Miller 4am Afro Dub
B1. David Penn Remix
B2. Holseek Remix
B3. The Boy Is Mine (Sasson Remix)

James Mac has had a breakthrough year with recent single’s, ‘Try Again’ & 'The Boy Is Mine', topping the charts and receiving support from the likes of Keinemusik, Cloonee, and Armin van Buuren. His new single, 'Breathe', continues to highlight his gift for creating immersive House Music with powerful vocals. The package also features his collab with Lazarusman – ‘Manifest’ and on the flip we have the 2 previous single’s as an added bonus.Act Fast!

TRACK LISTING

A1. James Mac - Breathe (Extended Mix)
A2. James Mac & Lazarusman - Manifest (Extended Mix)
B1. James Mac & Vall - The Boy Is Mine (ft. Rosalie) [Extended Mix]
B2. James Mac & Vall - Try Again (Extended Mix)

By its nature, folk is ephemeral: tricky to define, hard to preserve and even more difficult to resurrect. But folk culture is all around us; sitting in our churches, swinging from our pubs and dancing through our streets, patiently waiting to be discovered, appreciated, saved and cherished.

In The Lost Folk, Lally MacBeth is on a mission to breathe new life into these rapidly disappearing customs. She reminds us that folk is for everyone, and does not belong to an imagined, halcyon past, but is constantly being drawn from everyday lives and communities. As well as looking at what folk customs have meant in Britain's past, she shines a light on what they can and should mean as we move into the future - encouraging us to use the book as an inspiration, and become collectors and creators of our very own folk traditions.

This ‘Colour It In’ reissue will be pressed on two-sided zoetrope vinyl. It features the original album alongside the seven bonus tracks that were added to the Special Edition in 2008, one of which is their take on Richard Hawley’s ‘Just Like The Rain’.

TRACK LISTING

1. Good Old Bill
2. X-Ray
3. All In Your Rows
4. Latchmere
5. About Your Dress
6. Precious Time
7. O.A.V.I.P.
8. Tissue Shoulders
9. Happy Faces
10. First Love
11. Mary
12. Lego
13. Toothpaste Kisses
14. The Real Thing
15. Just Like The Rain
16. Colour It In
17. Sore Throat
18. Diamond Solitaire
19. Bicycles 

This new edition of ‘Given To The Wild’ features the original album tracklist and will be pressed on double orange translucent vinyl, complete with new gatefold packaging. This is the first vinyl press since the original run sold-out shortly after release.

TRACK LISTING

1. Given To The Wild (Intro)
2. Child
3. Feel To Follow
4. Ayla
5. Glimmer
6. Forever I've Known
7. Heaven
8. Pelican
9. Went Away
10. Go
11. Unknow
12. Slowly One
13. Grew Up At Midnight

To celebrate the 10th Anniversary of their UK #1 album ‘Marks To Prove It’, The Maccabees have curated a expanded edition of the album. Featuring the studio album, B-sides, acoustic tracks and more!

TRACK LISTING

2LP Tracklisting:
1. Marks To Prove It
2. Kamakura
3. Ribbon Road
4. Spit It Out
5. Silence
6. River Song
7. Slow Sun
8. Something Like Happiness
9. WW1 Portraits
10. Pioneering Systems
11. Dawn Chorus
12. Nimm
13. Koya
14. The Truth
15. Something Like Happiness (Acoustic)
16. Kamakura (Acoustic)
17. Marks To Prove It (Acoustic)
18. Spit It Out (Acoustic)
19. Marks To Prove It - Maida Vale Session Track 2025

Zoetrope Tracklisitng:
1. Marks To Prove It
2. Kamakura
3. Ribbon Road
4. Spit It Out
5. Silence
6. River Song
7. Slow Sun
8. Something Like Happiness
9. WW1 Portraits
10. Pioneering Systems
11. Dawn Chorus

CD Tracklisting:

CD1 - Marks To Prove It:
1. Marks To Prove It
2. Kamakura
3. Ribbon Road
4. Spit It Out
5. Silence
6. River Song
7. Slow Sun
8. Something Like Happiness
9. WW1 Portraits
10. Pioneering Systems
11. Dawn Chorus

CD2 - B-sides, Acoustic Versions & Maida Vale Session:
1. Nimm
2. Koya
3. The Truth
4. Something Like Happiness (Acoustic)
5. Kamakura (Acoustic)
6. Marks To Prove It (Acoustic)
7. Spit It Out (Acoustic)
8. Marks To Prove It - Steve Lamacq 23rd June 2025 Maida Vale Session Track

CD3 - Glastonbury 2015:
1. Wall Of Arms - Glastonbury 2015
2. Feel To Follow - Glastonbury 2015
3. Young Lions - Glastonbury 2015
4. Love You Better - Glastonbury 2015
5. Kamakura - Glastonbury 2015
6. Something Like Happiness - Glastonbury 2015
7. Latchmere - Glastonbury 2015
8. Precious Time - Glastonbury 2015
9. Can You Give It - Glastonbury 2015
10. Marks To Prove It - (with Jamie T) - Glastonbury 2015
11. Spit It Out - Glastonbury 2015
12. No Kind Words - Glastonbury 2015
13. Pelican - Glastonbury 2015
14. Grew Up At Midnight - Glastonbury 2015

David Bowie was the original influencer. For five decades, his songs helped shape the landscape of popular music. But what did he listen to? Which artists, songs and albums did Bowie tune in to throughout his life?This book, the first of its kind, reveals more than 100 artists that made it onto Bowie’s turntable.

David Bowie: Music Lover is a compelling mix of personal insight and expert commentary, jointly written by Bowie’s lifelong friend, collaborator and listening companion, Geoff MacCormack, and Jérôme Soligny, author of the seminal Rainbowman, who knew Bowie for 25 years. From Classical to Britpop, Electronica to Delta Blues, the book explores Bowie’s eclectic playlist, redolent of the decades he lived through but also of his deep interest in all genres and eras of music. It’s a story that begins with Little Richard on Bowie’s childhood Dansette record player, and ends with Kendrick Lamar, a go-to listen during the recording of Blackstar, released just two days before he died.

An indispensable guide for Bowie fans and all Music Lovers.

A blend of song, piping and instrumental music that brings together the best aspects of the Gaelic tradition and benefits from the super sound quality of the Greentrax label. MacDonald is an excellent piper and the high, clear vocals of Margaret Stewart are a perfect compliment to his dexterous skills.

A eulogy to a band and a millennium, the year 2000’s collaborative Macha Loved Bedhead has been remastered from the original analog tapes and finally makes its way to the mother format. Recorded long distance by Wichita Falls-born brothers Matt and Bubba Kadane and Josh and Mischo McKay, this five-song, 34-minute EP combines gamelan, slowcore, and a cover of Cher’s 'Believe' pecked out on a touch tone phone into a seamless meditation on life at the end of the American century.

TRACK LISTING

1. You And New Plastic
2. Never Underdose
3.Hey Goodbye
4. Only The Bodies Survive
5. How Are Your Windows?
6. Believe

Travis Stewart aka Machinedrum reasserts his GOAT status with another brilliantly innovative album effortlessly traversing tempos and musical styles as only he can. “3FOR82” comprises 12 high-intensity, ruminative tracks that thread the needle between his past, present and future selves. His first studio album since 2020’s “A View of U”, “3FOR82” features an incredible cast of collaborators including Tinashe, Duckwrth, Mick Jenkins, Jesse Boykins III, KUČKA, AKTHESAVIOR, Tanerélle, deem spencer, Deniro Farrar and Topaz Jones.

Between drum & bass, hip-hop, jazz, R&B, dazzling beat switches and a singular ear for sonics, Machinedrum adopts a rich, prismatic approach to collaboration, building on the uptempo vocal manipulations that won him acclaim in electronic communities, notably on 2011’s breakout LP Room(s) and 2013 opus Vapor City.

Recommended if you like… Flume, Mura Masa, Four Tet, Jamie xx, Nia Archives

TRACK LISTING

Side A
A1. ORACLE (feat. Aja Monet)
A2. RESPEK (feat. Topaz Jones & Ezri)
A3. WEARY (feat. Mick Jenkins & Jesse Boykins III)
A4. H0N3Y
A5. HEAL (feat. AKTHESAVIOR & Deniro Farrar)
A6. ILIKEU (feat. Duckwrth)
Side B
B1. U_WANT (feat. KUČKA)
B2. BLESSD (feat. Deem Spencer)
B3. RISE (feat. ROZET)
B4. ZOOM (feat. Tinashe)
B5. KILL_U (feat. Tanerélle)
B6. GODOWN (feat. Jesse Boykins III)

Machinedrum returns with his definitive new album “A View of U” featuring an incredible cast of collaborators including Freddie Gibbs, Sub Focus, Chrome Sparks, Father (Awful Records), Mono/Poly (Brainfeeder), Tigran Hamasyan, Tanerélle, Jesse Boykins III and Rochelle Jordan. Distilling his signature fusion of IDM, UK rave, jungle and bass culture blended with myriad US regional hip-hop and club music styles. it’s a potent and masterfully executed fusion, evoking a pace, warmth and groove synonymous with his modern classic “Vapor City” (2013).

Recommended if you like… Squarepusher, Lone, Jamie xx, Flume

TRACK LISTING

A1. The Relic (feat. Rochelle Jordan)
A2. Star (feat. Mono/Poly & Tanerélle)
A3. Kane Train (feat. Freddie Gibbs)
A4. Wait 4 U (feat. Jesse Boykins III)
A5. Sleepy Pietro (feat. Tigran Hamasyan)
A6. Spin Blocks (feat. Father)
B1. Idea 36 (feat. Chrome Sparks)
B2. Believe In U
B3. 1000 Miles (feat. Sub Focus)
B4. Inner Eye
B5. Ur2yung

Electronic music’s Renaissance man Travis Stewart, better known as Machinedrum, drops ‘Vapor City’ his first full-length offering since his critically heralded ‘Room(s)’ in 2011.

Conceptually based on recurring dreams he has had for years about an unknown metropolis, Stewart has finally crafted a fully formed soundscape which doubles as a map into this imaginary universe. “‘Vapor City’ is an album inspired by a dream city,” explains Stewart. “A collection of different songs each representing different districts in the city.”

Combining the speed of skittering jungle / juke rhythms with enveloping half speed basslines, atmospheric pads, lush piano chords and disembodied vocal samples, he's created the perfect backdrop for a trip through his invisible city. Opener (and single track) 'Gunshotta' twists old school jungle and ragga vox with a post-dubstep emotive soul and electronic depth. Hardcore shifter 'Infinite Us' combines rough beats with sparkling synth spirals with rising notes, while 'Don’t 1 2 Lose U' reimagines old school R&S rave with 2013 digital kit, juke rhythms and that post-Burial, post-Blake emotion. Taking a bit of a breather in the BPMs 'Center Your Love' offers a swooning female vocal and Boards Of Canada style detuned keyboard lines at the centre of rolling head-nod break. Heavily treated yearning vocals over a rolling junglist rhythm make 'Rise N Fall' another outstanding cut here, with 'U Still Lie' bringing an 80s electro ballad feel to the proceedings, and closer 'Baby It’s U' offering R&B suffocating under the crunch, crackle and rumble of current alt-step production sounds.

The perfect counterbalance to the wave of harsh stadium-friendly no-brain EDM bro-step that passes for 'dance music' these days.

The definitive oral history of Scottish postpunk, from Glasgow to Edinburgh, the Postcard label and Fast Product Description.

The immense cultural contribution made by two maverick Scottish independent music labels, Fast Product and Postcard, cannot be underestimated. Bob Last and Hilary Morrison in Edinburgh, followed by Alan Horne and Edwyn Collins in Glasgow helped to create a confidence in being Scottish that hitherto had not existed in pop music (or the arts in general in Scotland). Their fierce independent spirit stamped a mark of quality and intelligence on everything they achieved, as did their role in the emergence of regional independent labels and cultural agitators, such as Rough Trade, Factory and Zoo.

Hungry Beat is a definitive oral history of these labels and the Scottish post-punk period. Covering the period 1977-1984, the book begins with the Subway Sect and the Slits performance on the White Riot tour in Edinburgh and takes us through to Bob Last shepherding the Human League from experimental electronic artists on Fast Product to their triumphant number one single in the UK and USA, Don't You Want Me. Built on interviews with Last, Hilary Morrison, Paul Morley and members of The Human League, Scars, The Mekons, Fire Engines, Josef K, Aztec Camera, The Go-Betweens and The Bluebells, Hungry Beat offers a comprehensive overview of one of the most important periods of Scottish cultural output and the two labels that changed the landscape of British music.

The 1st clash of the necks from polymath guitarists MacKay & Walker, taped live at Chicago’s own Whistler bar for release on the Whistler label. Reissued by Drag City ‘cause of these dudes’ uncanny alchemy and their constant, ever-melding flow. It’s an imperative: there’s not enough records around with such intense properties! Coincidentally, it came out 10 years ago. Big deal! Drag City would have done it when it was only 9 years old too – they just got busy, okay?

TRACK LISTING

1. It Takes A Quilt
2. Rickshaw Waltz
3. Gold Season
4. Land Of Plenty
5. Promise Me
6. Blues For Arthur
7. Silver Cup

Fountain Fire is Bill MacKay’s second solo album on Drag City. The Chicago-based guitarist’s continued sonic journeys in conversation with himself follow a travel-worn map written in his own hand. Bill has followed the trail from familiar confines to unknown places, catalyzing a style equally enamored with the traditional and the avant-garde to make his most expansive and forceful music to date.

You can hear it in the opening track; as the lava and lakes of “Pre-California” simmer to boiling, Bill assembles a bridge of guitars, layering beams of rumbling acoustic, distorted electric, and arcing slide parts. By leaping boldly from fixed points, he makes synergetic discoveries in mid-air. This is the MacKay writing style in its most evolved state thus far, following serpentine paths within the patterns, lunging in and out of tonality with instinctive flair and a stoic sense of inevitability, forging a sonic mosaic that breathes and grows organically as it fills the space of a song.

Yet there is far more here than straitlaced sonic captures of picker’s prowess and captivating harmonic motivation. Bill’s pieces are informed by meditation and memory, impressionistic as cinematic miniatures, inspired as much by filmic and literary passions as by sure-playing hands, and always rooted with deep soul and steady intention.

As the pieces move in and out of focus in enticingly hallucinogenic fashion, Bill throws another element into play: a pair of stark and emotionally-charged vocal numbers that cause the hair to raise on the listener’s neck, etched as they are with a haunting and eerie beauty. Alongside the ever-shifting flows of instrumental color running through Fountain Fire, these moments shine blindingly, like mirages in the desert. The fire in the album title is a continuity in Bill’s life — part of his genealogy, his living history, his astrology, the scorching effect of the overdriven slide in the penultimate “Arcadia.” It is also a sigil for the chaos around us.

Bill says: “While the record definitely reflects the turbulence and urgency of the times we’re living in, it also takes an autobiographical look back at the upheaval that characterized the nomadic rambles of my formative years. I learned to adapt to this constantly shifting landscape. Grasping the unfamiliar became second-nature, and the impressions made by the unknown rapidly entered my art. The bittersweet sense of fleeting time & place became a hallmark. Now is more of a time than ever to dramatize what matters to us through our art.”

TRACK LISTING

1 Pre-California
2 Birds Of May
3 The Movie House
4 Man & His Panic
5 Welcome
6 Try It On
7 Arcadia
8 Dragon Country

Sisters Mary and Betty Weiss, together with twins Mary Ann and Marguerite Ganser, were schoolgirls when they formed the Shangri- Las in 1963, and had a meteoric rise to fame with songs like 'Leader of the Pack' and 'Remember (Walking in the Sand).' Their career was cut short for reasons largely beyond their control, derailed by the machinations of Mafia-linked record executives, and heartbreak and tragedy followed. Historian Lisa MacKinney marshals an impressive array of new evidence to tell the Shangri-Las' story, dispelling many myths and long-standing mysteries along the way. Equally importantly, Dressed in Black radically rewrites the accepted narrative of the Shangri-Las' place in rock history. As young women, they were permitted little agency within a male-dominated industry that viewed teenagers as fodder to be manipulated and exploited by producers, songwriters, and label owners. This has long served as an excuse for critics to deny the musical input of the group members, to trivialize the Shangri-Las as a 'girl group,' and to assign their work a lesser rank in the canon of 'authentic' rock and roll. MacKinney's achievement here is to foreground the Shangri-Las' considerable abilities, and establish the centrality of their performance of their songs to the group's underappreciated artistic achievement. This is not to deny the critical role in the group's success of the legendary writer/producer George 'Shadow' Morton, but MacKinney's clear-sighted account reveals Morton as part of a complex ecosystem of musical relationships. He crafted highly emotional material specifically for the Shangri-Las because he knew they had the skills to make his mini-operas both believable and enthralling. The group members channeled personal anguish into their extraordinary performances, which are central to the songs' impact-no less so than for such classic singers as Ella Fitzgerald and Elvis Presley, who also relied on producers and songwriters for their material. The Shangri-Las' impassioned delivery elicited a massive response from their audience of fellow teenagers at the time and has continued to connect profoundly with audiences ever since. MacKinney backs up these arguments with in-depth analysis of key recordings, and makes a powerful case that their achievements warrant a far more prominent place for the Shangri-Las in the history of popular music.

It’s the summer of 1996, and Andy is stuck in a dead-end admin job at a Soho picture library. His dreams of becoming an indie rockstar are over, but luckily, he’s found the Next Big Thing through promoting gigs in Camden: a Norwegian three-piece who sound like ABBA meets Nirvana. Plan B is simple, live the dream vicariously by managing them.

And when a record company shows interest, a door opens into an exciting new world. The only things standing in his way are a total lack of music industry know-how and his scary boss at work, who disapproves of his extracurricular activities. However, as the clock ticks towards his 30th birthday, success proves elusive.

Everyone else seems to be making it, rival bands, ex-bandmates, his old band manager, even the record shop where he once worked has become famous. Andy fears he’ll never escape the day job to live his daydream. But he also knows that in music, there’s always tomorrow.

Blending influences from classical, film and electronic music, Angus MacRae's extensive musical output encompasses solo albums, concert performances, and award-winning scores for theatre, film, ballet, television and contemporary dance. His has scored internationally touring dance productions, Olivier Award winning shows heard across London's West End and on Broadway, and acclaimed films screened at international festivals. Drawing on themes of memory and imagination, his immersive solo work transcends its classical roots to create transportive, elegiac compositions of unflinching emotional honesty. Spanning three albums and a number of EPs, his work has reached a global audience.

Vivarium, his third full length studio album, is an otherworldly journey through the lost worlds of childhood imagination. A blend of intimate piano, soaring strings, ethereal voices and haunting electronic textures, Vivarium evokes what the artist describes as "a series of bell jars to be traveled between." Reflecting on the album's genesis, MacRae shares: "I spent years trying to capture the emotional resonance of my childhood imagination. As a child, the world felt as magical, mysterious, and boundless as my dreams. In time, fragments of music emerged that seemed to recapture that feeling—a glimmer in the dark, an echo of the magic, fear, and mystery of those early memories. Through Vivarium, I hope to offer a portal back into those worlds."

This exclusive double vinyl release also includes Bell Jar, an evocative bonus track on Side D, featuring a collaboration with acclaimed New York clarinetist Michael Winograd. In this new composition, MacRae reimagines themes from the album, weaving in Winograd's improvised melodies to create a fresh, expressive piece that brings a touch of Klezmer soul to Vivarium's ethereal soundscape.

TRACK LISTING

1. Imaginarium
2. Ardarroch
3. Amulet
4. Single Cell (feat. Rick Leigh)
5. Memory Sea
6. Diffracted
7. Flame
8. Hysteresis
9. Make Haste
10. Lighthouse
11. Fair Passage
12. Nightjar
13. Bell Jar (feat. Michael Winograd)

A heavenly voice couched in spellbinding Country & Western ballads, with a devastating emotional delivery: Holly Macve is a fantastic addition to the Bella Union family and her album ‘Golden Eagle’ is one of the most remarkably assured debuts of this or any other year, especially given that she’s only 21 years old.

“Words are my main love,” she declares. “I love songs that tell stories and take you somewhere else. I’ve always been drawn to that old country sound with its simple and memorable melodies. I enjoy music that feels timeless, that you don’t know quite when it was recorded.”

The bulk of ‘Golden Eagle’ was recorded in Newcastle at the home studio of producer Paul Gregory (of Bella Union labelmates Lanterns On The Lake), with extra recording in Brighton and London. Throughout, ‘Golden Eagle’ remains beautifully spare and delicate, putting Holly’s goosebumpraising voice centre stage, beautifully controlled yet riven with feeling.

On stage she’s a magnetic presence; it’s not just voice and songs. Audiences who caught her supporting the likes of John Grant, Villagers and Benjamin Clementine - incredible company to keep at this early stage - were doubtless stopped in their tracks. ‘Golden Eagle’ is surely going to have the same effect.

STAFF COMMENTS

Laura says: This album would sit comfortably alongside the traditional honky-tonk / country of Patsy Cline as easily as it would more contemporary artists such as Gillian Welch and Laura Marling. The song structures follow a 'classic' country format, but the simplicity and stripped back nature of the recording (often just guitar or piano and vocals) allows for Holly's incredible, vocals to weave their magic and create a really wonderful, timeless album.

TRACK LISTING

White Bridge
Corner Of My Mind
Heartbreak Blues
Shell
All Of Its Glory
Timbuktu
Fear
No One Has The Answers
Golden Eagle
Sycamore Tree

Having been declared by Lana Del Rey as "one of the most beautiful singing voices in the world," Holly Macve returns with her 3rd album 'Wonderland'

Released on her own imprint 'Loving Memory Records' Wonderland is Macve's most opulent, cinematic, luxurious album yet and confirms Macve's status as one of the UK's most exciting songwriters.

When singer- songwriter Holly Macve wrote her third album Wonderland , it coincided with a period of profound transformation - but not in any way she could have imagined. "It's been a time of real change in my life," she shares. "Moments of extreme highs and extreme lows, it's just kind of been chaos." Now taking ownership of her journey in every possible way, optimistic that the future is finally looking a lot brighter. "I think that 'Wonderland' is meant to represent the next chapter in my life, which is me being unashamedly myself," she says,"and just appreciating being alive."

Co-produced in part by Dan Rothman (London Grammar) the album also features her collaboration with Lana Del Rey, released late last year.

TRACK LISTING

Wonderland
Best Of Your Heart
Suburban House (ft Lana Del Rey)
Beauty Queen
Colour Them Gold
To Be Loved (By You)
Cold Water Canyon Avenue
1995
Time Is Forever
Almost A Miracle
San Fran Honey
Dreamer

Brilliant live recording taken from the controlled chaos of a performance at the Opera House in Toronto on March 17th 2004 (St.Patrick's Day!). Takes in all of your faves and adds extra heat and atmosphere...

Toronto’s Mad Iris has been playing live in the local underground scene since 2023, blending noise rock, punk, and shoegaze into a sound that honors influences like Sonic Youth, Pixies, and the Breeders. Their self-titled debut album covers desire, obsession, longing, and grief, taking place in basements, night buses, and gas stations, with gum stuck to desks and drinks spilled on sticky floors. Throughout the record, distorted vocals crash and ascend in unison with thrashing drums, plump basslines, and staticky guitar overdrive, lurching between restraint and eruption.

A Mad Iris song teeters on disaster, shifting from gritty feedback to intentional sloppy haze, like the sound of a tape machine overheating. Strong, sparkling production is complemented by a wall of noisy visuals: videos that emulate a worn VHS tape, scrapbook show flyers, and alleyway photoshoots. “Our visuals are an integral part of the band’s style,” says bassist Ela Hinatsu, who shares lead vocals with guitarist Kaiya Rosie, often on the same song. With a deliberate sound, style, and presence, Mad Iris goes beyond being a band, becoming more of an art project.

Opening track, 'Silver Nails', sets hushed, breathy vocals floating over a screechy guitar line, played by Patrick Muldoon, before collapsing into distorted, whiny grit and greedy screams, ending the track with a guitar solo from producer/mixer Ximuna Diego, who, with his own musical expertise, is the secret to Mad Iris' signature distorted sound. The album oscillates between sweet and bitter, pretty and dirty, lust and shame. 'Poor Baby' is soaked in self-pity and pointed blame, building from scratchy dual vocals and warm analogue tones into a fever pitch, led by drummer Josh Pryce. 'Goldfish' opens with buzzing guitar riffs and addictive drums, as bittersweet vocals cut through muddy noise. The song strips the intensity and cattiness of other tracks, framing loss in a bright, chaotic context, with vocals weaving between jangly hooks.

On record, Mad Iris is raw, unpolished, and intimidatingly cool. Off-stage, they’re grounded and self-aware. As Pryce puts it, “We’re just four friends hanging out and making music together. There’s lots of playful love in it.” That chemistry drives their energetic debut.

TRACK LISTING

1. Silver Nails
2. Poor Baby
3. The Confession
4. Daisy, Don't Take My Baby
5. Employee of the Month
6. Goldfish
7. The One I Wrote For You

M.A.D. is a collaboration of the Funkroom DJs and producers Moxx And Digilog. After having contributed single tracks for YOSHI005 and WWM003 they subsequently announced their first EP together as M.A.D.

Their "Sanset EP" consists of four drum-oriented house / techno hybrids which, through their cutting-edge production, stand the test of time and work very well with contemporary dancefloor-minded club music alike. That no-way does these track justice - sheer perfection when it comes to grinding techno grooves and tapping into the feral primal energy that only the best can do.

Coming on stronger than a Rolex Punisher - check! 

TRACK LISTING

A1. Sanset
A2. Magnus
B1. Sentimentalist
B2. Banause Von Die Kultur

Reformed and back to their primitive best Mad Parade were once one of the "heavy hitters" of the early 80's Southern California Punk scene. "Bombs And The Bible" is their most aggressive, angry and blistering punk rock recording for years. Forget about the poor quality of the insert this is genuine old skool punk.

Straight from the depths of LA comes Madcap, the new breed of street punks. In the spirit of early Rancid, Anti Flag etc. " Stand Your Ground" possesses the punk rock fury and sing along anthems that makes this an instant classic and another great release from Side One Dummy.

‘Shinbone’s Revenge’ is the follow up to Christian’s last album “Whatever Best Serves’ released in 2023. Christian is the founder member of The Earlies, has been Liam Gallaghers keyboard player and is currently the keyboard player in the newly reformed Oasis. Again Christian is joined by ‘The Enemy Chorus’ an ensemble of friends and cohorts this time including Little Barrie (Primal Scream/The The/Liam Gallagher/John Squire) The album is scorched with the psychedelic funk rock heat of Booker T and Brian Auger, the punchy brass arrangements of Chicago Transit Authority and Tower of Power, and the kosmische motorik wonders of Can, Cluster and Harmonia.

“I can honestly say I’ve never heard anything he’s played” - Liam Gallagher.

“The only other keyboard virtuoso who can hold a candle to Christaian wears a cape and performs on ice sometimes, he’s great but I’d go for this chap every time personally” - Marc Riley. 

TRACK LISTING

SIDE 1
1 - Twice As Thick
2 - The Skins
3 - Stoops Uprising
4 - Discorporate
5 - Shinbone's Revenge

SIDE 2
6 - In The Sump
7 - Our Living Breath
8 - Jimmy Satan's Knife
9 - Bury The Bodies
10 - Stars And Vermin

When Maddslinky released his debut album "Make Your Peace" in 2003, it radically influenced the fledgling musical mind of a then teenaged Oliver Jones, aka Skream. Fast forward a few years, and when Skream and Maddslinky crossed paths they knew they had to make a track together. No surprise then that there are big basslines involved and the tune blows up on the dancefloor. "50 Shades Of Peng" is taken from the upcoming "Make A Change" album. The track has already been getting constant spins by the likes of Benji B on BBC 1xtra and Mr Scruff on dubplate and now Tru Thoughts do the honorable thing and release the track on one side of 12" vinyl (cut at 45rpm of course).

The flipside features one of those handy Serato Control Tone things for you more computerised DJs out there.

In September 2024, Rob J Madin reached out to us with a collection of instrumental covers he had created. Immediately drawn in, we loved both the musical approach to these covers and the fact he tastefully selected these tracks to cover. Following up, we asked Rob, an accomplished musician, if he had any original compositions in a similar style.

The result is "MONSTRO", six instrumental slabs of jazz-funk heat! Produced primarily in Rob's attic studio in Sheffield. Rob showcases his talents on guitar, bass, keys, and percussion, with each track built around iconic drum samples. Listeners can expect spacey synths, silky electric pianos, and irresistible hooks. Think BADBADNOTGOOD meets Mildlife with a side plate of Herbie Hancock.

From the kick-your-door-down energy of "Callisto Disco" to the slow-burning allure of "Heartbreaker" and optimistic sunny day feel of "Cherryade" to the fully grown earworm synth lines of "Bouquet Garni". In addition to four original songs, the collection features two cover versions from that initial SoundCloud link: Michael Miglio's "Never Gonna Let You Go" and Rupa's "Ayee Morshume Be-Reham Duniya." Both are rare early-80s gems, wonderfully reimagined by Rob.

TRACK LISTING

1. Bouquet Garni
2. Never Gonna Let You Go
3. Cherryade
4. Callisto Disco
5. Ayee Morshume Be-Reham Duniya
6. Heartacher

In 2010, Madlib launched an ambitious series of releases known as the Madlib Medicine Show, which allowed the prolific producer to release new material on a monthly basis. The series touched on all the genres Madlib digs, and that’s just about any genre you can consider - from Jazz to Rock, Soul to Disco, myriad African music, Brazilian and Reggae. On the 11th instalment in series Madlib returned to his hip hop roots with Low Budget High-Fi Music. Featuring a run-down of regular Madlib collaborators who provide the Beat Konducta’s foil, it also included a hint of what was meant to come on the never-realized second Jaylib album, with a previously unreleased J Dilla collaboration.

TRACK LISTING

Side A.
1. Sounds Of The Studio (Prelude)
2. Hold Up
3. Handmade Hustle (Instrumental)
4. Start Sumthin' (93033) (Feat. Roc C)
5. Thoughts Of An Old Flame (Skit)
6. Minze (Come Closer)
7. Louder (Blast Your Radio Theme)
8. The Ride (Nightcoastin' Instrumental)
9. O.G. Pt. 1 (Whirlwind Mix)
10. O.G. Pt. 2 (Underwater Mix)
11. Stageridin' (First Demo Double Image Mix) Pt 1

Side B.
1. Stageridin' (First Demo Double Image Mix) Pt.2
2. Love_Hate (Instrumental)
3. Smoke Break (Whodat_) / Interview #4080
4. Embryo Thought (Instrumental)
5. The Adventures Of Soul Bra And Docta Dick'em Excerpt
6. Cheaters (Episode #3) (Feat. Poke)
7. Mic Check (Smoke Break II)
8. Real Talk
9. The Sound Of Champions (Instrumental)
10. Charlie Hustle
11. Girls (Prelude) / Same

The sound of Blue Note had been embedded in hip-hop thru sampling & remixes since its early days but Madlib raised the bar when the DJ, producer, rapper & multi-instrumentalist invaded the Blue Note vaults for his 2003 masterpiece Shades of Blue, a visionary album featuring remixes & reimaginations of classics by Donald Byrd, Bobbi Humphrey, Ronnie Foster, Bobby Hutcherson, Wayne Shorter & more.

This 2-LP Blue Note Classic Vinyl Edition was mastered by Kevin Gray and pressed on 180g vinyl at Optimal

Gil Evans to Miles Davis…. Holger Czukay to the ensemble known as Can….Jean Claude Vannier to Serge Gainsbourg on Histoire de Melody Nelson. That’s the only way to explain the specificity of Four Tet and Madlib’s collaboration, in this special album that showcases a two-decade long friendship that has resulted in an album that follows Madlib’s classics like Quasimoto’s The Unseen, Madvillainy and his Pinata and Bandana albums with Freddie Gibbs.

“A few months ago I completed work on an album with my friend Madlib that we’d been making for the last few years. He is always making loads of music in all sorts of styles and I was listening to some of his new beats and studio sessions when I had the idea that it would be great to hear some of these ideas made into a Madlib solo album. Not made into beats for vocalists to use but instead arranged into tracks that could all flow together in an album designed to be listened to start to finish. I put this concept to him when we were hanging out eating some nice food one day and we decided to work on this together with him sending me tracks, loops, ideas and experiments that I would arrange, edit, manipulate and combine. I was sent hundreds of pieces of music over a couple of years stretch and during that time I put together this album with all the parts that fitted with my vision.” Kieren Hebden AKA Four Tet.

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: There's no denying that both Madlib and Hebden are two of the most renowned musicians on the scene, and 'Sound Ancestors' does exactly as you'd expect, cementing their reputations and collaborative capabilities with a rich and soulful fusion of IDM and shuffled beatplay.

TRACK LISTING

A1. There Is No Time (Prelude)
A2. The Call
A3. Theme De Crabtree
A4. Road Of The Lonely Ones
A5. Loose Goose
A6. Dirtknock
A7. Hopprock
A8. Riddim Chant
B1. Sound Ancestors
B2. One For Quartabê/Right Now
B3. Hang Out (Phone Off)
B4. Two For 2 -For Dilla
B5. Latino Negro
B6. The New Normal
B7. Chino
B8. Duumbiyay

MADMADMAD’s EP 'Overload' is a thrillingly chaotic, genre-warping ride —think Mr Oizo on acid— that fuses fuzzy basslines, jagged guitars, and analog synth delirium into a dancefloor-ready collage of sound.

From the Kraftwerk-tinged pulse of 'Overload' to the acid-soaked, breakneck energy of 'The Way' channeling The Chemical Brothers or Gesaffelstein, the record constantly shape-shifts while maintaining a raw, propulsive core.

Tracks like 'Mezcal' drift into hypnotic, minimal grooves reminiscent of Aphex Twin, while 'Tout le Monde' and 'Turn It Up' inject playful, off-kilter funk inspired by Tom Zé, Prince, ESG, and Beck.

The title track closes on a high with a gritty, disco-infused groove nodding to early Daft Punk.

Across the EP, MADMADMAD embrace disorientation as an artistic statement, drawing inspiration from Dadaism to mirror the overwhelming, information-saturated chaos of modern life.

Listening to MADMADMAD can be delightfully disorienting, and that quality extends to the band’s collagist, CRT-infused and homemade visual art that accompanies their music. “History goes in cycles, and we feel there’s a correlation with what happened a century ago, when everything was so chaotic and people had a hard time making sense of what was going on in the world,” Benji explains while describing how the band takes cues from the 20th century’s Dadaist movement. “It feels like we’re at that moment again—where it’s quite hard to make sense of everything with so much information every day. There was quite a lot of confusion back then after the first world war and a global pandemic, and the response of the arts was to reflect the nonsensical place the world was at. We feel heavily influenced by that.”

TRACK LISTING

1. Overload
2. The Way
3. Mezcal
4. Tout le Monde
5. Turn it Up
6. Big Fizz

MADMADMAD have taken another left turn in their fascinating discography with this new EP, diving deep into the sounds of mutant disco and early electronic music to great effect. “We wanted to go back to our dancier roots,” Matt states. “We strayed away from the chaos of the last album and were looking to embrace simplicity; bringing it back to the essence of just bass and drums. We wanted to embrace a pared-down version of what we’ve been doing these past few years.”

TRACK LISTING

1. Small Talk
2. Hey!
3. Run
4. Spin Wave

Madmess are a band who know the value of doing things the hard way. Having established themselves among the outliers of Porto’s fertile, close-knit underground music scene, by 2017 it was clear that they had the potential to go much, much further. London, and its bigger, more merciless leftfield circuit beckoned. In a city full to the brim with bold and brilliant bands, the bar was significantly raised. Risks were many, but so too were opportunities.

Now, after years of slog – gruelling gigs, punishing recording sessions, not to mention a momentum-sapping pandemic – bassist Vasco Vasconcelos, drummer Luis Moura and guitarist Ricardo Sampaio, have emerged the other side with Rebirth, a debut album of rare intensity, released via Hassle Records. Their stripes earned, their teeth well and truly cut, it’s a record worthy of all that hard work, crushing riffs colliding with sweeping waves of overwhelming noise for a listen both beautiful and brutal.

As the pandemic eased in late 2020, at least temporarily, the band found time to escape to Foel Studios in the Welsh countryside, formerly used by iconic psych rock forebears Amon Düül and Hawkwind among others, to start work on their new LP. They were intent to build on the solid foundations they’d set with their EP the previous year. “We tried to do something more complete, more punchy,” says Sampaio. The sessions ended up being more intense than they were anticipating – the band record everything live, and when you’re playing the kind of complex epics that populate Rebirth there’s not much margin for error. “The shortest track is eight minutes, and they’re almost all more than 10,” says Sampaio with a wince. “The songs on this album are really complex, there were some stressful times, some harsh moments, but we managed to get through it.”

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: A hefty collection of grooving guitar riffs and fluid time signatures, at once both incendiary and brain-meltingly loose, Madmess are a band who know how to construct a song. Epic, hugely inventive and wonderfully deep.

TRACK LISTING

Side A
Albatross
Mind Collapse

Side B
1. Rebirth
2. Shape Shifter
3. Stargazer

Enjoy a Madness career-spanning overview with 'Hit Parade'; a 15-track highlights LP, featuring 13 UK Top 40 hits including 'Our House', 'It Must Be Love', 'Baggy Trousers', 'Lovestruck', and the No.1 single 'House of Fun'.

Pressed on classic black vinyl, the fully illustrated inner sleeve contains new liner notes with various band members and long-time producers Clive Langer and Alan Winstanley, in conversation with renowned author and journalist Paul Sexton.

Firmly established as national treasures and as one of the UK’s most cherished and beloved bands, Madness are adored by their loyal and huge following. Their consistently sold-out shows illustrate their enduring qualities resulting in their popularity continuing to grow and grow. 

TRACK LISTING

1. Baggy Trousers
2. Our House
3. It Must Be Love
4. One Step Beyond
5. House Of Fun
6. Night Boat To Cairo
7. My Girl
8. Embarrassment
9. Wings Of A Dove
10. Mr.Apples (Toerag Mix)
11. Michael Caine
12. Driving In My Car
13. Never Knew Your Name
14. Lovestruck
15. NW5 (Radio Edit)

Celebrate every era of Madness with 'Hit Parade'; a definitive 45-track collection, spanning 1979-2024. Containing their biggest hits and best loved tunes; this compilation includes 27 UK Top 40 hits such as 'The Prince', 'It Must Be Love', 'Baggy Trousers', 'Embarrassment', 'Lovestruck', and 'House of Fun' . A number of the mixes/edits are featured on a Madness compilation for the first time.

The fully illustrated inner sleeves contain new liner notes with various band members and long-time producers Clive Langer and Alan Winstanley, in conversation with renowned author and journalist Paul Sexton.

Firmly established as national treasures and as one of the UK’s most cherished and beloved bands, Madness are adored by their loyal and huge following. Their consistently sold-out shows illustrate their enduring qualities resulting in their popularity continuing to grow and grow.

TRACK LISTING

1. The Prince
2. One Step Beyond
3. My Girl
4. Night Boat To Cairo
5. Baggy Trousers
6. Embarrassment
7. The Return Of The Los Palmas 7
8. Grey Day
9. Shut Up (Single Edit)
10. It Must Be Love
11. Cardiac Arrest
12. House Of Fun
13, Driving In My Car
14. Our House
15. Tomorrow's (Just Another Day)
16. Wings Of A Dove
17. The Sun And The Rain
18. Michael Caine
19. One Better Day
20. Yesterday's Men (Single Edit)
21. Uncle Sam (Single Edit)
22. Sweetest Girl (Single Edit)
23. (Waiting For) The Ghost Train
24. The Harder They Come (Live At Madstock 1992)
25. Lovestruck
26. Johnny The Horse
27. Drip Fed Fred (The Conspiracy Mix)
28. Shame And Scandal
29. Girl Why Don’t You
30. Sorry (Radio Edit)
31. NW5 (Radio Edit)
32. Dust Devil (Radio Edit)
33. Sugar And Spice (Radio Edit)
34. Forever Young (Melt Music Radio Edit)
35. My Girl 2 (Radio Edit)
36. Never Knew Your Name
37. How Can I Tell You (Radio Edit)
38. Misery
39. La Luna
40. Mr.Apples (Toerag Mix)
41. Can't Touch Us Now
42. Bullingdon Boys
43. C'est La Vie
44. Baby Burglar
45. Round We Go (Single Version)

Relive the early years of Madness with 'Hit Parade Vol. 1 1979-1986'. This 23-track 2LP set remembers the early years of Madness; containing a selection of their biggest hits and best loved tunes. It includes 23 UK Top 40 hits such as 'One Step Beyond', 'Embarrassment', 'My Girl', and 'Night Boat To Cairo'.

Beautifully packaged in a deluxe, gatefold sleeve, this 2LP collection is pressed on translucent red vinyl. The fully illustrated inner sleeves contain new liner notes with various band members and long-time producers Clive Langer and Alan Winstanley, in conversation with renowned author and journalist Paul Sexton.

Firmly established as national treasures and as one of the UK’s most cherished and beloved bands, Madness are adored by their loyal and huge following. Their consistently sold-out shows illustrate their enduring qualities resulting in their popularity continuing to grow and grow.

TRACK LISTING

1. The Prince
2. One Step Beyond
3. My Girl
4. Night Boat To Cairo
5. Baggy Trousers
6. Embarrassment
7. The Return Of The Los Palmas 7
8. Grey Day
9. Shut Up (Single Edit)
10. It Must Be Love
11. Cardiac Arrest
12. House Of Fun
13. Driving In My Car
14. Our House
15. Tomorrow's (Just Another Day)
16. Wings Of A Dove
17. The Sun And The Rain
18. Michael Caine
19. One Better Day
20. Yesterday's Men (Single Edit)
21. Uncle Sam (Single Edit)
22. Sweetest Girl (Single Edit)
23. (Waiting For) The Ghost Train 

Experience the modern era of Madness with 'Hit Parade Vol. 2 1992-2024'. This 22-track 2LP set relives the more modern, contemporary years of Madness; containing a selection of hit singles, fan favourites and much-loved tunes. Including 'NW5', 'Shame and Scandal', 'Sorry', 'Drip Fed Fred', 'Mr Apples' and the Top 10 single 'Lovestruck'.

Beautifully packaged in a deluxe, gatefold sleeve, this 2LP collection is pressed on translucent blue vinyl. The fully illustrated inner sleeves contain new liner notes with various band members and long-time producers Clive Langer and Alan Winstanley, in conversation with renowned author and journalist Paul Sexton.

Firmly established as national treasures and as one of the UK’s most cherished and beloved bands, Madness are adored by their loyal and huge following. Their consistently sold-out shows illustrate their enduring qualities resulting in their popularity continuing to grow and grow. 

TRACK LISTING

1. The Harder They Come (Live At Madstock 1992)
2. Lovestruck
3. Johnny The Horse
4. Drip Fed Fred (The Conspiracy Mix)
5. Shame And Scandal
6. Girl Why Don’t You
7. Sorry (Radio Edit)
8. NW5 (Radio Edit)
9. Dust Devil (Radio Edit)
10. Sugar And Spice (Radio Edit)
11. Forever Young (Melt Music Radio Edit)
12. My Girl 2 (Radio Edit)
13. Never Knew Your Name
14. How Can I Tell You (Radio Edit)
15. Misery
16. La Luna
17. Mr.Apples (Toerag Mix)
18. Can't Touch Us Now
19. Bullingdon Boys
20. C'est La Vie
21. Baby Burglar
22. Round We Go (Single Version) 

After a disparate couple of years which saw the band at their most polarised and fragmented, Madness reunited in an industrial unit in Cricklewood at the beginning of the year, where Suggs, Mark, Chrissy Boy, Mike, Lee and Woody realised that what united them was always bigger than what divided them. Emerging re energised and reinvigorated with a fresh bounce in their nutty step, the result was their most harmonious recording experience to date. For the first time ever, a brand new album came into the world that they were all completely agreed on. Theatre Of The Absurd Presents C’Est La Vie is the band's inaugural foray into self producing, working alongside engineer and mixer Matt Glasbey (Ed Sheeran, Maisie Peters, Rag’N’Bone Man).

A very special prologue running through the album is supplied by Emmy and BAFTA Awards winning Martin Freeman. A longtime fan, the relationship formed with the band when Madness’ manager found Martin in a meet and greet queue and introduced him to the members.

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: Despite all the signs that the great Madness were to be no more, they've returned! We've once again been blessed with the upbeat horn stabs and cheeky vocals that made them such a well-loved institution in the first place.

TRACK LISTING

1 Prologue: “Mr Beckett Sir…”
2 Theatre Of The Absurd
3 If I Go Mad
4 Baby Burglar
5 Act One: "Surrounded On All Sides..”
6 C’est La Vie
7 What On Earth Is It (You Take Me For?)
8 Hour Of Need
9 Act Two "The Damsel In Distress..”
10 Round We Go
11 Act Three: "The Situation Deteriorates..”
12 Lockdown And Frack Off
13 Beginners 101
14 Is There Anybody Out There?
15 The Law According To Dr. Kippah
16. Epilogue: “And So Ladies And Gentlemen..”
17 Run For Your Life
18 Set Me Free (Let Me Be)
19 In My Street
20 Fin.: “Ladies And Gentlemen..” 

Album Launch - Live Q&A featuring members of the band - Night & Day Cafe, 5:30pm Friday 17th November 2023.

To celebrate the release of their new album, we are delighted to welcome Suggs and Mike from Madness to Night & Day, for a live Q&A.

Doors - 5:30pm
Q&A - 6pm - 7pm

Tickets for this event are available exclusively from Piccadilly Records as LP/CD Ticket bundles or standalone tickets.

** Please note, physical tickets will not be issued for this event, all names will be on the door. Please bring your order confirmation, either printed or on your phone, to gain entry.**

NB: NIGHT & DAY CAFE IS AN 18+ ONLY VENUE. ID WILL BE REQUIRED.

After a disparate couple of years which saw the band at their most polarised and fragmented, Madness reunited in an industrial unit in Cricklewood at the beginning of the year, where Suggs, Mark, Chrissy Boy, Mike, Lee and Woody realised that what united them was always bigger than what divided them. Emerging re energised and reinvigorated with a fresh bounce in their nutty step, the result was their most harmonious recording experience to date. For the first time ever, a brand new album came into the world that they were all completely agreed on. Theatre Of The Absurd Presents C’Est La Vie is the band's inaugural foray into self producing, working alongside engineer and mixer Matt Glasbey (Ed Sheeran, Maisie Peters, Rag’N’Bone Man).

A very special prologue running through the album is supplied by Emmy and BAFTA Awards winning Martin Freeman. A longtime fan, the relationship formed with the band when Madness’ manager found Martin in a meet and greet queue and introduced him to the members.

TRACK LISTING

1 Prologue: “Mr Beckett Sir…”
2 Theatre Of The Absurd
3 If I Go Mad
4 Baby Burglar
5 Act One: "Surrounded On All Sides..”
6 C’est La Vie
7 What On Earth Is It (You Take Me For?)
8 Hour Of Need
9 Act Two "The Damsel In Distress..”
10 Round We Go
11 Act Three: "The Situation Deteriorates..”
12 Lockdown And Frack Off
13 Beginners 101
14 Is There Anybody Out There?
15 The Law According To Dr. Kippah
16. Epilogue: “And So Ladies And Gentlemen..”
17 Run For Your Life
18 Set Me Free (Let Me Be)
19 In My Street
20 Fin.: “Ladies And Gentlemen..” 

This collection highlights You Can Dance, Madonna’s first ever remix collection. Celebrating 35 years this year, You Can Dance has sold more than five million copies worldwide and is still the second best-selling remix album of all time. The collection also pays homage to “Everybody,” Madonna’s first single. Each remix was newly remastered for the collection by Mike Dean, who produced Madonna’s two most-recent studio albums, Rebel Heart (2015) and Madame X (2019). Along with those rarities, this album also introduces the “Offer Nissim Promo Mix” of “Living For Love” as its first official release.

TRACK LISTING

1. “Everybody” (You Can Dance Remix Edit) +#
2. “Into The Groove” (You Can Dance Remix Edit) +#
3. “Like A Prayer” (Remix/Edit)
4. “Express Yourself” (Remix/Edit)
5. “Vogue” (Single Version) +
6. “Deeper And Deeper” (David’s Radio Edit) +#
7. “Secret” (Junior’s Luscious Single Mix)
8. “Frozen” (Extended Club Mix Edit)
9. “Music” (Deep Dish Dot Com Radio Edit)
10. “Hollywood” (Calderone & Quayle Edit) +#
11. “Hung Up” (SDP Extended Vocal Edit)
12. “Give It 2 Me” (Eddie Amador Club 5 Edit) °+
13. “Girl Gone Wild” (Avicii’s UMF Mix)
14. “Living For Love” (Offer Nissim Promo Mix) *+
15. “Medellín” (Offer Nissim Madame X In The Sphinx Mix) – Madonna And Maluma
16. “I Don’t Search I Find” (Honey Dijon Radio Mix)

* Previously Unreleased
+available Digitally For The First Time
# Available Commercially For The First Time

Madonna’s paradigm shifting Like a Prayer scandalized the world upon its release 35 years ago. It is her fourth studio album and has sold over 15 million copies worldwide, and produced 6 singles, and four top ten hits, “Like a Prayer,” “Cherish,” “Express Yourself,” and “Keep it Together.” The silver edition release is the latest reissue in the series of Silver Editions of Madonna’s catalogue as we continue to celebrate 40 years of her illustrious career.

TRACK LISTING

Like A Prayer
Express Yourself
Love Song
Till Death Do Us Part
Promise To Try
Cherish
Dear Jessie
Oh Father
Keep It Together
Spanish Eyes
Act Of Contrition

Madonna's eagerly anticipated new album 'Confessions ll'.

The new album is the continuation of the iconic counterpart 'Confessions on a Dance Floor'.

Madonna sums up her new record best by quoting the first few lines of her song, 'One Step Away', “People think that dance music is superficial, but they’ve got it all wrong. The dance floor is not just a place, it’s a threshold: A ritualistic space where movement replaces language.”

Madonna adds “When Stuart Price and I first started working on this record, this was our manifesto”.

We must dance, celebrate, and pray with our bodies. These are things that we've been doing for thousands of years — they really are spiritual practices. After all, the dance floor is a ritualistic space. It’s a place where you connect—with your wounds, with your fragility. To rave is an art. It's about pushing your limits and connecting to a community of like-minded people. Sound, light, and vibration Reshape our perceptions Pulling us into a trance-like state. The repetition of the bass, we don’t just hear it but we feel it. Altering our consciousness and dissolving ego and time.

TRACK LISTING

Tracklisting:
1. I Feel So Free
2. Good For The Soul
3. One Step Away
4. Bring Your Love
5. Danceteria
6. Read My Lips
7. Everything
8. Love Without Words
9. Bizarre
10. School
11. Fragile
12. My Sins Are My Savior

Tracklisting w/ bonus tracks:
1. I Feel So Free
2. Good For The Soul
3. One Step Away
4. Bring Your Love
5. Danceteria
6. Read My Lips
7. Everything
8. Love Sensation
9. Love Without Words
10. Bizarre
11. School
12. Fragile
13. My Sins Are My Savior
14. Betrayal
15. The Test
16. L.E.S. Girl

Madonna’s 'Confessions on a Dance Floor' is not only one of the most celebrated albums of the 21st century but continues to be an influential reference within pop and dance music. Originally released in 2005, the record features 12 seamless club tracks including the global hits 'Hung Up', 'Sorry', 'Jump' and the deep cut favorite 'Get Together'. For the first time, the full continuous mix has been pressed on 2LP silver vinyl and carefully adapted to its groundbreaking technical specifications, while preserving the album's club flow as Madonna originally intended. The dance floor is calling, no time to hesitate.

TRACK LISTING

1. Hung Up
2. Get Together
3. Sorry
4. Future Lovers
5. I Love New York
6. Let It Will Be
7. Forbidden Love
8. Jump
9. How High
10. Isaac
11. Push
12. Like It Or Not

'Veronica Electronica', an eight-track companion to 'Ray of Light', was originally envisioned by Madonna as a remix album in 1998. The project was ultimately sidelined by the original album’s runaway success and the parade of hit singles that dominated the spotlight for more than a year. 'Ray of Light' went on to sell over 16 million copies worldwide and earned Madonna four GRAMMY® Awards, including Best Pop Album.

More than 25 years later, that long-rumored concept finally comes to life. The collection features newly edited versions of club remixes by Sasha, BT, and Victor Calderone, along with the original demo of 'Gone, Gone, Gone' - a previously unreleased recording produced by Madonna and Rick Nowels.

TRACK LISTING

1. Drowned World/Substitute For Love (BT & Sasha Bucklodge Ashram New Edit)
2. Ray Of Light (Sasha Twilo Mix Edit)
3. Skin (The Collaboration Remix Edit)
4. Nothing Really Matters (Club 69 Speed Mix Meets The Dub)
5. Sky Fits Heaven (Victor Calderone Future New Edit)
6. Frozen (Widescreen Mix And Drums)
7. The Power Of Good-Bye (Fabien’s Good God Mix Edit)
8. Gone, Gone, Gone (Original Demo Version - Previously Unreleased)

Having moved forwards emotionally from the wilds of dystopian stalking and associated hobbies, Madonnatron have instead been found frolicking through the green pastures of gangsta pimps, Hindu God wars, Cyber Men invasion, loveless nightclub hook-ups, modern Italian Nabokov, and revered screen goddess Elizabeth Taylor. Think of them as post-punk lab rats in the Secrets Of Nimh, feasting dubiously on back-dated episodes of Top Of The Pops. With notorious roaring guitars, chanting vocals and rabid drums they audibly glow in the dark, are strong-armed, and will probably bite you.”

TRACK LISTING

1. Goodnight Little Empire
2. Bone Dumb Grunt
3. Liminal
4. Super Hands
5. Sweet Serena
6. Flesh Pond
7. Sucker Punch
8. Blue Pill
9. Nightmare In Silver
10. Elizabeth Taylor
11. Venus & Rahu

From the new track’s opening “I Ain’t Your Baby,” the Nashville singer, songwriter, downtown scene slayer, and most-wanted fiddler signals a reclaimed confidence and bold evolution, telling women’s stories - including her own - that build on the strength of her “nervy” (NPR Music), 2017 Jack White-produced debut. Lillie Mae led a sequestered childhood touring in a motorhome with her musician parents, constricted by religious boundaries. In her adolescence she busked from RV parks to the Rio Grande, swept through Nashville clubs, and achieved Top 40 country status in her sibling group Jypsi, but on Other Girls, a new side of herself emerges with more to say than ever before. She embraces personal triumphs on “I Came For The Band (For Show),” breathes new perspective into “Terlingual Girl,” a song she wrote as a 19-year-old in the South-Texan desert, and professes brave truths as heard in “You’ve Got Other Girls for That.” After a vagabond past, crossing paths with hundreds of musicians, she limits the cast of Other Girls to just her brother, sister, and a few trusted collaborators. Lillie Mae will debut songs from Other Girls live this summer, as she supports the Raconteurs across the west coast. She will also join Robert Plant on tour, both opening for him and playing in his band. 

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: Other girls is a brilliantly written mix of classic country chord structures and the slightly gloomy reverb and poignant minor key changes of modern folk, all brought together with deft production and a stunning vocal performance from Lillie Mae. Stunning stuff.

TRACK LISTING

1. You've Got Other Girls For That
2. At Least Three In This Room
3. Some Gamble
4. Crisp & Cold
5. I Came For The Band (For Show)
6. Didn't I
7. Whole Blue Heart
8. Terlingua Girl
9. Love Dilly Love
10. How?
11. A Golden Year

Wewantsounds is delighted to announce the reissue of Norio Maeda's cult classic "Rock Communication Yagibushi" released in Japan in 1970. The album has since become a Japanese Jazz Funk cornerstone and is now highly sought-after on the international DJ scene. The album reinterprets 14 traditional Japanese folk songs into jaw-dropping Jazz Funk instrumentals featuring killer arrangements by Maeda that would fit perfectly between David Axelrod and Lalo Schifrin. One of the most prolific Nippon arrangers, Norio Maeda on a par with Yuji Ohno and Kentaro Haneda and this album has long been on many collectors' wantlist. "Rock Communication Yagibushi" is reissued internationally for the first time, with newly remastered audio, original gatefold artwork and new liner notes by Paul Bowler

TRACK LISTING

1. Yagibushi
2. Tsugaru Jongara Bushi
3. Hanagasa Ondo
4. Otemoyan
5. Sado Okesa
6. Soran Bushi
7. Kinbira Ships
8. Asadoya Yunta
9. Hokkai Bonuta
10. Mt. Bandai Aizu
11. Edo Nihonbashi
12. Tairyo Utaikomi
13. Donpan Bushi
14. Kuroda Bushi

'Magic, Murder and the Weather' is the fourth studio album by Magazine, and their final album until the band’s reformation in 2009. It was originally released in June 1981 by Virgin. The album is brittle and cold with a strong production from Martin Hannett. Pressed from the 2000 remastered recordings, with a photo inner sleeve featuring an interview with John Doyle.

Enduringly credible, Magazine have always been the connoisseur’s choice and frequently name checked by some of the most gifted musicians of recent years including Radiohead, Morrissey, Jarvis Cocker, U2, Johnny Marr and MGMT. NME.com went so far as to included Magazine in a poll as one of the most influential bands of all time. Magazine’s front man, Howard Devoto co-formed Buzzcocks with Pete Shelley after the pair had seen The Sex Pistols in early 1976 and promoted the now legendary Manchester Lesser Free Trade Hall gigs. Devoto left in 1977, after the seminal ‘Spiral Scratch’ EP had been released, and created Magazine. Their first record was the post-punk anthem ‘Shot By Both Sides’. Leading the vanguard of post-punk, Magazine’s sound focused on the double barrels of Dave Formula’s swirling keyboards and John McGeoch’s ahead-of-its-time innovative guitar work, underpinned by Barry Adamson’s pulsing yet deviously irregular bass-lines. Atop of which came Howard Devoto’s lyrics. Aloof, articulate, tersely ironic and about as pliable as a garden rake. Too literary for the mass pop environment. Too poppy for the literary landscapes beyond it. Doomed to exist in that tiny, undersubscribed hinterland where artful wordplay meets the crunching riff.

TRACK LISTING

1. About The Weather
2. So Lucky
3. The Honeymoon Killers
4. Vigilance
5. Come Alive
6. The Great Man's Secrets
7. This Poison
8. Naked Eye
9. Suburban Rhonda
10. The Garden

Magdalena Bay is now famous for their sweeping, high-concept pop epics 'Mercurial World' and 'Imaginal Disk', but it was the duo’s charming, self-proclaimed “mini songs” that first captured our hearts and imaginations back in 2019. Mica and Matt traversed more of pop music’s history and conjured more brilliant ideas and undeniable hooks in these sub-two minute bangers than the average pop group musters in their entire career. The duo then compiled these irresistible tiny tracks into immaculately sequenced “mini mixes” that rank among the most beloved releases of the 2020s, and a beguiling prequel to the pop dominance that was to come from Mag Bay. 

TRACK LISTING

1. Intro
2. Afternoon In Heaven
3. El Dorado
4. Turning Off The Rain
5. U Wanna Dance?
6. Nothing Baby
7. Mine
8. Live 4ever
9. I Don't Want To Cry Anymore
10. Sky2Fall
11. Body
12. Woww
13. Hideaway
14. Sky2Fall (Reprise)
15. Slug Song
16. EXO
17. 2 Wheel Drive
18. Top Dog
19. Tonguetwister
20. Wandering Eyes
21. Slug Song (Reprise)

Few artists are at once artful and savvy enough to transcend the endless scroll, but over the past 18 months, LA-based indie-pop duo Magdalena Bay have used social platforms to dispatch their music, and what you might call their philosophy, in hypnotic, ephemeral bursts. A long trip through their feeds produces music videos in miniature, irreverent pontifications on the state of the music industry delivered via home video VHS aesthetics, and existential meditations on everything from International Women’s Day to the clone craze of the early aughts to the indefinite lifespan of plants. To Mica Tenenbaum and Matt Lewin, reality can be unmade, manipulated beyond all recognition; their project is as much musical as it is an experiment in pop persona and visual aesthetics. On October 8th, Magdalena Bay will release their debut full-length LP, Mercurial World, via Luminelle. Entirely written, produced, recorded, mixed and mastered by the duo, Mercurial World proposes an abstract theory of time and explores the staggering “what ifs” that make up the human experience. Approaching reality as a construct allows Magdalena Bay to enact their own, one that is committed to nothing but expanding the possible. Even the album’s sequencing hints at the eternal: the first track is titled “The End,” the last is “The Beginning,” forming a perfect loop when you listen to it straight through. 

TRACK LISTING

1. The End
2. Mercurial World
3. Dawning Of The Season
4. Secrets (Your Fire)
5. You Lose!
6. Something For 2
7. Chaeri
8. Halfway
9. Hysterical Us
10. Prophecy
11. Follow The Leader
12. Domino
13. Dreamcatching
14. The Beginning

Few artists are at once artful and savvy enough to transcend the endless scroll, but over the past 18 months, LA-based indie-pop duo Magdalena Bay have used social platforms to dispatch their music, and what you might call their philosophy, in hypnotic, ephemeral bursts. A long trip through their feeds produces music videos in miniature, irreverent pontifications on the state of the music industry delivered via home video VHS aesthetics, and existential meditations on everything from International Women’s Day to the clone craze of the early aughts to the indefinite lifespan of plants. To Mica Tenenbaum and Matt Lewin, reality can be unmade, manipulated beyond all recognition; their project is as much musical as it is an experiment in pop persona and visual aesthetics. On October 8th, Magdalena Bay will release their debut full-length LP, Mercurial World, via Luminelle. Entirely written, produced, recorded, mixed and mastered by the duo, Mercurial World proposes an abstract theory of time and explores the staggering “what ifs” that make up the human experience.

TRACK LISTING

1. The End
2. Halfway
3. Mercurial World
4. Hysterical Us
5. Prophecy
6. Dawning Of The Season
7. Secrets (Your Fire)
8. Follow The Leader
9. You Lose!
10. Domino
11. Something For 2
12. Dreamcatching
13. The Beginning
14. Chaeri

Explosive garage punk from Sweden. Mixing up 60s freak beat and snotty punk anno 1977, The Maggots manage to create a fresh sound of their own full of fuck you attitude and fuzz galore.

For number 84 in the Brazil 45 Series, Mr Bongo headed to the North of Brazil with these dancefloor monsters by Magalhaes and Os Panteras.

'Xango' by Magalhaes is taken from his 'E Sua Guitarra' album, from 1986, and originally released on Gravasom Records. A stunning, driving Lambada track with haunting vocals and a compelling gusto energy. It has been gaining popularity over recent years with DJs and is a sure-fire, get-out-of-jail dancefloor saver.

On the flip, we find another biggy from Os Panteras, 'Lambada Pauleira'. Also released on Gravasom Records, but a year later in 1987. It is best known for Joutro Mundo's fine re-edit of the track, but here we have it in its original form and with all its quirky brilliance. It is easy to see why, over the years, it has been a staple of some of Brazil's finest DJs' sets, such as Augusto Olivani (aka Trepanado).

TRACK LISTING

Magalhaes E Sua Guitarra - Xango
Os Panteras - Lambada Pauleira

A beautiful comeback record of sorts for Marc Rigelsford’s MAGIC ARM project. The 45 is a taster for his own privately released, and utterly fabulous “Dance Mania” full length, currently available via his bandcamp page.

Recorded in isolation in a former whiskey distillery, “Dance Mania” is “Magic Arm whittling and distilling sound down to pure forms, a collage of songs, mood pieces, drones, found sounds and stirring instrumental passages”. The two tracks here are lifted from the album, with its A side, the majestic “Good Views Near North” having already attained 6music airplay.

The songs’ treated piano opening offers no hint to the beautifully incessant, kinda’ motorik groove that then takes over- wonderfully skewed and quite otherworldly perhaps. The groove then changes tack again as it closes with cellos and strings aiding further it’s general ‘out there’ mood. It’s a beautiful piece and by releasing it on 45, one would hope to push Marc’s music out a wee bit further, certainly it’s a thrill for Feral Child to release it and it’s flip, the more electronic, and equally fabulous “432” is just great too.

"These shows will astonish you. I had tears of joy in my eyes". This was the standout line from a Five Star review by The Guardian newspaper of the live shows by The Magic Band - a collection of extraordinary musicians drawn from the lineups that were brought together over the years by the legendary Captain Beefheart. Tribute bands and ghost bands are usually a decidedly poor relation to the real thing, but The Magic Band are different, as the tracks on this album prove. Recorded at the UK shows during 2004, the material bursts with new life, and the band achieve a near-impossible task - not just playing the notes as they are on the records (hard enough in itself in some cases) but playing them convincingly enough to send a sold-out London audience into ovation after ovation. These are the players who were inducted into the Captain's secret musical universe, and who transformed his unique ideas into works of unfathomable and inimitable beauty, and live in 2005 they did that same thing again.

Magic Carpet, an exquisite blend of sitar (Clem Alford) female vocals (Alisha Sufit) guitars (Jim Moyes and Alisha Sufit) and tablas (Keshav Sathe) - one of the very few early examples of Eastern progressive psychedelic folk. This is a compilation of new material including a 20 minute raga CD bonus track. The Ptolemaic Terrascope magazine hailed them saying, 'Gorgeous melody, bittersweet lyrics, an unmistakable unique blend of voice and instrumentation - undoubtedly as collectable as their debut'.

Magic Castles are back with new album ‘Realized’, a set of lush psych-rock reveries from Minneapolis songwriter Jason Edmonds, blending late-60s folk-rock warmth with shoegaze shimmer. Newly signed to Fuzz Club, ‘Realized’ takes Magic Castles’ music to a newfound level of clarity, whilst still retaining that same, long-harboured analogue warmth only made possible through an array of vintage amps, guitars and transistor organs. ‘Realized’ consists of nine dreamlike, melody-led trips that unfold in waves. Equal parts hazy nostalgia and widescreen modern psychedelia, centring dreamy, heavily-layered arrangements and floating vocal harmonies.

TRACK LISTING

1. Hey Alright
2. Abandoned Mansions
3. Samata
4. Mary Anne
5. Space Manual
6. Got Me Waiting
7. Summertime Fingertips
8. Don't Go
9. Realized

Minneapolis psych-rockers Magic Castles are back with a new LP, “Sun Reign”, making an exciting return after founder and songwriter Jason Edmonds’ suffered a near fatal car accident in November 2019. Magic Castles are well-versed in the ways of psychedelically-inclined folk-rock. Edmonds’ smooth vocal harmonies float above the guitars, creating a lush, almost Byrds-esque soundscape. The layered arrangements incorporate Farfisa organ, synths, and dreamy string arrangements.

Sun Reign is the band’s fourth release on Anton Newcombe's label ‘A’ Recordings Ltd. Ironically similar to BJM, the Magic Castles have been plagued by lineup changes over the years. Due to this and other factors, in 2016, Edmonds, a single father, decided to take a short hiatus from regular live shows and touring to focus on his family. During that time, (2016-2019) Edmonds, an introverted multi-instrumentalist, continued to record new material in his studio, and also record with a new band at Neil Weir’s studio Blue Bell Knoll, in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The results of these sessions are the current release, “Sun Reign”

TRACK LISTING

1) Sunburst 
2) Lost Dimension 
3) Ode To The Wind 
4) Asuras 
5) World Of Time 
6) Valley Of Nysa 
7) Magna Mater 
8) Surmise 
9) Gates Of The Sun 
10 ) Relax Your Mind

This Seattle band features John Atkins (764-Hero) and Joe Plummer (Black Heart Procession) and are recommended if you like Quasi, the Replacements, 764-Hero and the Blues Explosion. They reach to stretch the elastic of modern indie-pop music while adding an appreciative nod to the SST-era of punk rock when Husker Du and the Minutemen were kings. Aggressive where it needs to be, loose when it should be, the Magicians second self-titled album matures and furthers what was started on 2001's "Girls" and shows that the band's got plenty more to offer.

‘Badly Written Songs’ is, of course, a tongue-in-cheek title. It comprises a carefully structured and well-produced array of songwriting, topped and tailed with live instrumentation, commanding vocal performances and high-end production: the result of years of sound engineering and music production experience. Since the last album, Ross Hillard has continually honed his skills whilst earnestly crafting this sophomore long player. As well as developing a range of audio plugins, Ross also manages recording sessions at his own Paddocks Recording Studios: huge live spaces boast cutting-edge technology, integrated with distinguished analogue kit. The studio is complemented by a collection of prized microphones, together with a fully-restored vintage Raindirk mixing desk.

The opening track and first single from this album is the positively-anthemic gem entitled ‘Good Morning Sunshine’. It tells a forward-looking story promoting the merits of getting back into the driving seat of life. It’s propelled further by superb jazz-inspired drums and live horns that build up to an exhilarating crescendo. Featuring the vocal talents of Sophia Marshall, the story she paints is supported by a wonderful, darkly humorous cartoon video. An animated cadaver hilariously acts out her notions of positive living.
Other tracks also destined for a single release include: ‘Loving You’. It’s a song written around love lost. A bouncing house composition lays the foundations for Sophia Marshall's beautiful vocal that narrates the many facets to be found in loving another person. ‘Better’ again echoes jazz-inspired drums behind Sophia's vocals, drawing attention to how so many people are lost on their devices, missing out on the awesome world around them. A catchy chorus chants the notion behind this song, i.e., that you ‘could be better!’ This single is also supported by another fantastic video featuring the same comical, deceased character introduced through the ‘Good Morning Sunshine’ video.

TRACK LISTING

A1. Good Morning Sunshine
A2. Better
A3. Coming Back
A4. SFS
A5. Loving You
B1. Was This Love
B2. All I Ever Wanted
B3. Thinkin’ Bout
B4. Exit

On the brink of finding the success that his talents merited, Magic Sam died aged 32 in 1969 just weeks after his classic track "All Your Love" had been included on the Blue Horizon hit compilation "How Blue Can You Get?" an album that brought Muddy Waters and others to the notice of the rock buying public for the first time. This is a great selection of his best work.

Magic Source is back with an exclusive 2 tracks single filled with their special rootsy cosmic funky touch.

Led by producer & notorious tape operator Björn Wagner (of Mighty Mocambos, Bacao Rhythm & Steel Band and Mocambo Records), the group follows up to the release of their 2nd LP last year, "Voyage Spectral". This time again, the German band dives into the tropical and international aspects of disco and funk music, always using 100% organic production and recordings material.

On this two track single, you’ll first find blazing and unexpected covers of “Voodoo Ray”, the classic acid-house track by A Guy Called Gerald, with special vocals by Mounam & Gizelle Smith. Following up to this already dancefloor classic, comes “Interplanetary Bounce”, a new and exclusive composition from the band also tailored to make you move, with its boogie touch and heavy breaks. Unmissable! 

STAFF COMMENTS

Matt says: Taking cues from Psychederek's cover of "Pacific State", we get another Manchester acid house anthem given a jazz-funk twist.

TRACK LISTING

A. Voodoo Ray
B. Interplanetary Bounce

Magic Tuber Stringband act in communion with the natural world around them. Highly skilled players and writers, the trio are leaders within the burgeoning Avant-Folk world. Growing up in Appalachia studying the folk traditions of the region in tandem scientific and observational work in nature, their music appears to weave in and out of the fabric of the landscape. The ensemble continues to stretch the parameters of acoustic instrumental expression with masterful flourishes of dense, textural arrangements, subtle minimalist gestures and deft improvisation.

'Heavy Water' addresses the impact of nuclear production on the environment and the communities within, a musical evocation of destruction and resilience, an embrace of dissonance and tension within moments of transcendence. The inspiration for Heavy Water is rooted in fiddler Courtney Werner’s work as an ecologist in rural South Carolina. Werner explains: “The town of Ellenton, South Carolina was the largest of the towns displaced in 1952 by the U.S. federal government to build the Savannah River Plant, which produced radioactive materials for U.S. nuclear weapons during the Cold War. The former site of Ellenton was dedicated to the extraction of ‘heavy water,’ whereas other areas of the plant focused on manufacturing weapons-grade plutonium and tritium within nuclear reactors. Heavy water is chemically altered to be denser than normal water and is incredibly expensive and time-consuming to synthesize, requiring 52 gallons of river water to produce one fluid ounce. Its denser properties made it valuable for use within the nuclear reactors on the site.”

'Heavy Water' is more than a collection of songs. It is a work whose compositions are entirely modern. Played on traditionally folk acoustic instruments, it defies expectations and emotionally addresses the pain of lives human, flora or fauna irrevocably changed by dominant forces and defiantly persevering.

TRACK LISTING

1. Death Of Ellenton
2. Marker Of A Drowning
3. Sound Of A Million Stars
4. Woodpeckers
5. Scintillation
6. Blooms In The Rapids
7. Tribute To The Angels
8. Where The Place Becomes Forgetting
9. Wintering Grounds
10. Soft And Pliable
11. Dog-Headed Man

With tales of infinite space, otherworldly escapes, hazy dreams and Weird Feelings that weave together the supernatural and the visceral; Magick Mountain are a power trio with colossal riffs, entwining harmonies and fistfuls of wild, distorted energy. They are quickly carving out a place for themselves at the vanguard of an exciting new movement of high octane garage-rock bands, and now they prepare for their first full length release.

Taking its title from the album’s very opening utterances, ‘Weird Feelings’ surges forth, brimming with tales of fantastical worlds, ancient mythology and mystical metaphors. Yet for all its surrealist imagery and dramatic sonic escapades, at its heart ‘Weird Feelings’ is an album about real life and the truth of its creators. The vivid stories and symbolic references create parallel meanings, blurring real feelings and fantasy worlds.In the band’s own words, the album is “a kind of bastardisation of tales and beliefs, blending together past, present and future.”

Amidst minimal lyrics that are often mantra-like and hypnotic in their repetition, Magick Mountain document the passing of time, both scientifically and philosophically, and simultaneously battle demons of both the mental and mystical kind.

Recorded in an unhurried and reflective way over the course of 18 months, the album is comprised of instinctive moments captured at home, in rehearsals, and limited hours in recording studios with producers Margo Broom and James Kenosha. The rushes are kept raw and free-flowing, with the band making a conscious decision to resist the temptation to overproduce. The resulting recordings see the easy-going, natural creative chemistry between the three musicians reverberate gloriously through every kinetically-fueled note. They carry the listener with them on heady adventures of melodic fuzz building to breakneck speed solos that feel as though they could fall apart at any second, but never do. Throughout the exhilarating twists and turns, Lins and Tom’s dual vocal strike forges the way, with their voices often blending to become one. Lins takes the mid-register and Tom sings the higher, falsetto parts - a technique that nods to some of the garage-rock greats who have influenced their sound, but also gives Hudson’s vocals a distinctly different edge to his previous musical outings.

TRACK LISTING

1. Bart Cobain
2. Zodiac
3. Cherokee
4. Brown Bread
5. Stranger Danger
6. Colossus
7. Dream Chaser
8. Infinity X2
9. King Cobra
10. The Shitty Beatles
11. The Creeper

"The group Magizter formed in Malmö, Sweden in the early 90s, and mainly consisted of former members of the Hungarian industrial band Das Kapital, of which some managed to flee to Sweden from the communist regime before the fall of the Soviet Union.

Gyula Szilagyi, who was the first to make his escape via train through Berlin in 1987, recalls: “it was a few weeks before mandatory military service would begin, and our passports should have been turned over to the authorities”. Risking deportation and prison, he was granted asylum in Sweden after some months in Stockholm.

Szilagyi and the rest of the band were all part of the underground scene in Budapest, of which some had been under surveillance by the secret police since their teens. It was a tight knit community where anti-communist and illegal literature was distributed, and many bands shared mutual members.

The track “Das Kapital” was produced in Malmö in 1993 by Szilagyi and fellow Magizter member Zoltan Lengyel, in a home studio overlooking the Möllevång Square, were Szilagyi had moved after some years working at the glass factory in Orrefors. He had managed to save a few performances by Das Kapital recorded on cassette, of which one served as sample material for the Magizter track; an homage of sorts to a group involuntarily disbanded.

The cassette sampled here was recorded in 1986 during a live concert at the university-affiliated venue Ráday Klub, where Das Kapital performed alongside the British industrial act Left Hand Right Hand (who had formed from the Sheffield band Zahgurim).

On the eve in question, Szilagyi remarks: “we used a guitar that we had made ourselves to resemble a Kalachnikov rifle. During the concert at Ráday Klub the guitar was destroyed using a drill machine. It made a powerful sound effect”

A remix of the remix is offered by Vienna-based Heap, who with his own productions as well as his work with the Neubau label is building a bridge towards the new era of European industrial music." 

TRACK LISTING

A1. Das Kapital (remix 93)
B1. Das Kapital (remix 93 - Heap Version)

God this is absolutely...lovely. Acoustic guitars, a sweet soft, dreamy voice, but, sorry to be muso, it's the production that gets you. There's swirls, echoes, space and light atmospherics, Moogs and Mellotrons, disturbance and dubbiness. It all washes around the glowing gorgeous songs of Even Johansen. The sleeve is lush and enhances the magical effect. The High Llamas' Sean O'Hagan does the strings. I know little else about this supremely talented Scandinavian. If you like Jeff Buckley, Air, Radiohead or Elbow you're in for a treat. It could be your surprise album of the year!

The House of Tomorrow EP celebrates 30 years in 2022. The House of Tomorrow EP marks the first release introducing vocals by Stephin Merritt.

Cast your mind back to notable landmarks of 1992. Outside the Twin Cities, Mall of America opened to the public. Frank Gehry’s enormous golden fish sculpture, El Peix, welcomed Barcelona Olympians. And The House of Tomorrow, a four-song 7” on a small indie label, ushered in a new era for The Magnetic Fields. When Susan Anway, who sang on early albums Distant Plastic Trees and The Wayward Bus, left the group, Stephin Merritt stepped up to the microphone. “This was my first time singing on record,” he recalls. He sought to sound simple, subtle, and unobtrusive, à la the Japanese concept of shibusa. “But now, listening back, I hear a little too much vocal influence from the Jesus and Mary Chain. (I really should move to Scotland. I belong there.)”

Likewise, the arrangements and production of The House of Tomorrow felt less polished overall than on its predecessors, even as the band’s sound was evolving. “I wanted to have rock instrumentation, plus cello (so ELO without keyboards), but everyone was tracked separately so there was no question of sounding like we were playing together,” explains Stephin. Instead, he chose to highlight the artifice. Voilà! “The drums are like Tusk only more so, the cello sounds like a synth, and the guitars might as well be programmed.” The House of Tomorrow rose in stature upon re-release on compact disc in 1996, with a new addition, “Alien Being” (previously relegated to the flip of the “Long Vermont Roads” single), boosting its modest track list from four songs to five. The limits of technology had stymied plans the first time: “You can’t fit five two-and-a-half–minute songs on a 7” record, even at 33rpm.”

From World’s Fairs and Disneyland to Tex Avery and Hanna-Barbera cartoons, visions of the home of the future have long been popular. Although this new vinyl edition of The House of Tomorrow includes an etching of Buckminster Fuller’s visionary D.I.Y. Dymaxion House, Stephin laments the sluggish pace of architectural innovation. What is his dream home? “I want to live in Barbarella’s spaceship, with my neighbors being the Jetsons, floating defiantly over Edinburgh Castle.”

Never before released as a 12”, this 30th anniversary remastered edition of The House of Tomorrow is available on opaque spring green vinyl (as well as basic black). But don’t press Stephin to discuss the color’s charms, please. “I had a sickly pea green bathroom in my East Village tenement, and I never got over it,” he reveals. “It’s okay on plants, but everywhere else, the browner it is, the less I hate it. My favorite shade of green is brown.”

TRACK LISTING

Side A
1 Young And Insane
2 Technical (You’re So)
3 Alien Being
4 Love Goes Home To Paris In The Spring
5 Either You Don’t Love Me Or I Don’t Love You
Side B
Etching……..

“The couple that slays together, stays together: Looch Vibrato and Aggy Sonora, like the moniker of an infamous killing duo, the fucking butchest band from Bordeaux. Looch, with hands like bunches of bananas and songs like flaming arrows. The lovely and tough-as-hell Aggy, crushing the kit. Heavy weird attackers from our sister country. Sludge drips—murder the guitar, usurp the amp, fry the mic, howl like beasts, melt the crowd: Magnetix. We were lucky enough to grab them on one of their rare U.S. shows, recorded in a basement in San Francisco. Here it is in all its gory glory. Let’s go tripping…” —John Dwyer

TRACK LISTING

1. Growing Up
2. Feel High (When I Die)
3. Lawn Mowers Attack
4. Mort Clinique
5. Impaction
6. Living In A Box
7. LR6
8. Rest Of My Life
9. Break Up The Fone

Based in Ireland, Magnetize has been making noise since the early 90s using tape loops, old synths and guitar stomp boxes that was initially heavily influenced by the likes of Suicide, AMM and Coil. Since that time his releases and gigs have ranged in style from blissful textures and primeval drones to dark electro/techno. "Ear Blink" is a live recording from August 2006. Over 35 minutes it builds from a bed of textural drones, through dark melodic rhythms to full-on noise assault of freaked out guitar noise and hanging sonics. An awesome racket.

For a project that has taken thirty years it would be totally inadequate to call the formation of Hypocritical Beatdown a lockdown-project. There’s a deep history and psychology in these records by Violators Of The English Language and their spin-off groups Magnets (Rap Group) and ProVerbs, that combines stage-fright, loss, pride, creative-schizophrenia, racial inequality, surrealism, personal politics, brotherhood, artistic-constipation, better judgment, love, anti-love, soul searching and much more.

The one remaining untapped energy source here is perhaps FEAR, refreshing when used correctly, but never imposter syndrome. As maligned and mutated as this British Hip-Hop might appear to be, it could not be more pure. Each member of all of the Hypocritical Beatdown crew were committed to this cause as soon as the doors opened. They rapped on stages before they had even tasted beer or lost their virginity and the curse had already taken hold in the years when these youngsters still had to be back home before dark and it has never left their bloodstreams.

That’s why this record NEEDED to be made. Completed, recorded, exorcised, committed to vinyl, rotated and liberated. Not unlike the VHS tape in a well known Japanese horror film, every listened copy, complete with its broken beats, old-school sensibilities and Marmite Mancunian accents, adds to the mystic circle… breaks the dream… some people might even like it. If you were given a chance to go back and meet your teenage self, wouldn’t you?

For you early adopters, both these albums are the first full length vinyl excursions from The Hypocritical Beatdown stable who have previously just released Rap Tapes (on cassette, obviously). They both look pretty similar, but one is on yellow ten inch vinyl released in collaboration with the amazing people at Britain's coolest pub, Golden Lion in Todmorden. And the other one is a longer 12” album with a duel-layer, interactive screen printed sleeve (in various collectible colours) that literally violates the English language when you open it. There’s a lot of attention to detail here, in all fairness it didn’t happen over night, and despite all the watermarks of a communal mid-life crisis, they don’t intend to slow down at any point soon… - Andy Votel

STAFF COMMENTS

Matt says: Fascinating archival dig by Andy Votel, revisiting early incarnations of The Violators Of The English Language and later Hypocritical Beatdown crews. Really interesting to see how that first wave of American hip-hop would influence kids in northern satellite towns. We'd all be watching Transworld Sport and trying to skateboard too... happy, pre-internet times when finding subculture and identity was an all-encompassing but thoroughly rewarding pass time. There's a integrity and innocence in these recording which really add to their charm.

TRACK LISTING

A Side - Magnets:
1. Get Ready Go
2. Panic 
3. Double Dragon, Adverb Remix
4. Paps At The Lido 

B Side - Pro-Verbs:
1. One Two
2. Pure Hip Hop
3. Science And Diction 
4. Smear 

The Magnificents are finally ready to unleash "Year of Explorers", their long-awaited second album - to precede that, the fellers are 'dropping' a cheeky little sneak preview, the "Ring Ring Oo Oo EP". The EP showcases the sound The Magnificents have meticulously crafted with esteemed producers Damian Taylor (Bjork, Unkle) and John Cummings (Mogwai). Whereas the first LP was fuelled by raw punk power and electrifying synth-laden excess, the sophomore release promises a more measured approach to songwriting, a result of touring with the likes of Trans Am, the Beta Band and Mogwai. The Magnificents' redoubtable knack for dreaming up dancefloor-friendly melodies remains very much a priority. As an extra treat, the EP features a cheeky Mogwai remix of live favourite "Blueprint", now re-titled "Greenprint".

The remaining members of Magnolia Electric Co. joined forces with Will Johnson to record their two songs from the 2009 collaborative album Molina and Johnson. Also includes the previously-released Magnolia Electric Co. cover "The Big Beast."

Will Johnson is the Texas songwriter in Centromatic, South San Gabriel, and a current member of the 400 Unit with Jason Isbell. Johnson released his 10th solo album Diamond City in April 2025, and was part of the 2009 collaborative album Molina and Johnson, a record for which a tour was canceled due to Molina’s struggles with alcohol.

Magnolia and Johnson Electric Co. (featuring Will Johnson along with original Magnolia Electric Co. members Mike Brenner, Jason Evans Groth, Michael Kapinus, Mark Rice, and Pete Schreiner) convened in Texas earlier this year to record new studio versions of both Molina’s and Johnson’s songs, much in the vein of the 2018 Goshen Electric Company collaboration between Magnolia and Oaks.

The sessions were recorded and mixed by Johnson's longtime collaborator Britton Beisenherz and mastered by Magnolia mastering engineer Matthew Barnhart. Iconic artwork by Will Schaff graces the cover, whose artwork has now been inextricably linked to Jason Molina's songwriting.

TRACK LISTING

1.Wooden Heart (3:20)
2.Twenty Cycles To The Ground (3:01)

THE PICCADILLY RECORDS ALBUM OF THE YEAR 2005

On the heels of Magnolia Electric Co's recent live album on Secretly Canadian, the raw and incendiary "Trials and Errors", comes what is perhaps Jason Molina's most fully realised studio project yet. Recorded live-in-the-studio by Steve Albini, it captures the simpatico chemistry of Molina's touring band, crackling with connective electricity that can only be generated by the mutual experience of the road. On the writing end of the equation, the song cycle is a conscious step forward for Molina in songwriting approach and intent. Most of the songs were written and arranged on the band's recent relentless touring of Europe and North America. The eight songs that make up "What Comes After the Blues" are all of a piece that should be heard in one sitting, in sequence. As with other Molina projects, a spectral lyrical theme lurks in the shadows of the songs. All the songs are loosely based on the Hank Williams song "I Saw the Light".

STAFF COMMENTS

Darryl says: A previous Piccadilly Records album of the year back in 2005. Recorded live in the studio by Steve Albini giving a raw edge to Jason Molina's hearbreaking country-rock sound that drips in winter melancholy.

About halfway through Magnolia Electric Co.'s latest long player, "Josephine", there is a noticeable shift in weight. It's a release of some sort - the kind that comes when you give up holding back the tears. It's a heavy kind of freedom coming to the forefront, an empowering sadness. And when chief Electrician Jason Molina delivers the line 'an hour glass... filled with tears and twilight from a friend's dying day', the mood becomes clear. The band is back on its heels, yes, but they are going to fight back in the only way they know how. Molina's concept album is an honest-to-God effort on the part of Magnolia Electric Co. to pay tribute to the life and spirit of fallen bassist Evan Farrell (R.I.P. December 2007), as the ideas for "Josephine" were being pieced together. Molina said each tune is a good faith attempt to make real Evan's hopes for the record. And in doing so, Evan's spirit becomes part of the concept. The loss of "Josephine" becomes the loss of Evan. Molina's familiar lyrical allegories are still in tact. But here, in what is no doubt the strongest set of songs Molina has written since the inception of Magnolia Electric Co., those classic themes take on new meanings. Molina has approached the universal loneliness before, but never in such a focused, directed manner as found on "Josephine". Molina, Magnolia Electric Co. and legendary recording engineer Steve Albini have put it all to heart. Evan Farrell, Jason Molina and the band are on different journeys now - but maybe somehow, somewhere parallel. This is heartbreak at ten paces, to be sure.

TRACK LISTING

1. O! Grace
2. The Rock Of Ages
3. Josephine
4. Shenandoah
5. Whip Poor Will
6. Song For Willie
7. Hope Dies Last
8. The Handing Down
9. Map Of The Falling Sky
10. Little Sad Eyes
11. Heartbreak At Ten Paces
12. Knoxville Girl
13. Shiloh
14. An Arrow In The Gale

Celebrating twenty years since its release, Magnolia Electric Co.’s 'Hard to Love A Man' has been expanded and available for the first time on vinyl. This anniversary release of the band’s first EP includes three additional tracks: remastered demos of '31 Seasons in the Minor Leagues', previously titled as 'Tonight I’m So Down', and 'Lonesome Valley', recorded at Echo Park Studios in Indiana during the 'Hard to Love a Man' sessions, as well as 'One Thin Dime', recorded during the Black Ram sessions at Sound of Music Recording Studios in Richmond, Virginia.

‘Working class rock’ is a phrase used frequently to describe The Magnolia Electric Co. Categorically, the band has secured their place amongst like-minded icons such as Bob Seger, CCR, Tom Petty and Bruce Springsteen, but it's not merely an aesthetic description. Magnolia backs it up with their work ethic. Amazingly, The Magnolia Electric Co. will have been on the road eight months by the end of 2005. This fact is most apparent to the band members themselves having been away from their homes and their loved ones for such extended periods of time. Hence the significance of the title track.

When Jason Molina assumes the perspective of the one he left behind on 'Hard To Love A Man' and sings: “It was hard to love a man like you / Goodbye was half the words you knew / While you were waiting for me not to call / I sent my love,” the loneliness and guilt of separation is painfully obvious. The wounded feminine voice of Jennie Benford, coupled with Jason Groth's sweeping guitar and Mike Kapinus' mournful organ dramatically reiterate this sentiment. Mark Rice and Pete Schreiner deliver their signature tight and tasteful rhythm and Nicole Evans adds a new and dynamic voice. While 'Hard To Love A Man' and live set favorite, 'Werewolves Of London' were recorded with Steve Albini at his Electrical Audio Studios, the rest of the tracks were recorded during a brief five day visit home in Indiana at Echo Park Studios with Paul Mahern, whose engineering resume includes The Blake Babies, Lisa Germano and John Mellencamp. As we watch Magnolia grow, Jason Molina doesn't have to coach us through another one, letting the inmates run the asylum. The Magnolia Electric Co. cast no doubt by putting their business in the street.”

TRACK LISTING

1. Hard To Love A Man
2. Bowery
3. Doing Something Wrong
4. 31 Seasons In The Minor Leagues
5. Werewolves Of London
6. 31 Seasons In The Minor Leagues (Tonight I'm So Down) (Demo)
7. One Thin Dime (Black Ram Session)
8. Lonesome Valley (Echo Park Full Band Demo)

For the first time on vinyl and returning from a long time out-of-print, Secretly Canadian is proud to re-present The Sojourner Box Set from Magnolia Electric Co. The four LPs that comprise The Sojourner Box Set are from four distinct recording sessions that Magnolia Electric Co. undertook following the release of their debut studio album, What Comes After The Blues.

From these, sophomore album Fading Trails was born. But the four sessions, in full, chart the celestial map of Magnolia Electric Co.: its constellations and shooting stars, its Americana stompers and lean folk dirges. And, of course, the center of gravity that is Jason Molina’s mournful, incomparable voice. The session known as “Nashville Moon” was recorded by Steve Albini at his Electrical Audio studios in Chicago, Illinois.

The session known as “Sun Session” was recorded at the legendary Sun Studios in Memphis, Tennessee. The session known as “Black Ram” was recorded by David Lowery at his Sound Of Music studios in Richmond, Virginia and features an entirely different cast of characters including Lowery, Rick Alverson, Andrew Bird, Molly Blackbird, Miguel Urbiztondo and Alan Weatherhead.

The session known as “Shohola” was recorded by Jason Molina alone, with a guitar and microphone. With LP covers drawn from original box illustrations and with the original box’s poster included, this LP edition of The Sojourner Box Set delivers for the most ambitious and robust Magnolia Electric Co. release to date.

TRACK LISTING

Nashville Moon
Side A
1. Lonesome Valley
2. Montgomery
3. Don’t Fade On Me
4. Hammer Down
5. No Moon On The Water
6. Nashville Moon
Side B
7. What Comes After The Blues
8. Don’t This Look Like The Dark
9. North Star
10. Bowery
11. Texas 71
09 North Star (3:55)
10 Bowery (3:38
11 Texas 71 (4:17
12 Down The Wrong Road Both Ways (3:21

Black Ram
Side A
1. In The Human World
2. The Black Ram
3. What’s Broken Becomes Better
4. Will-O-the-Wisp
5. Kanawha
Side B
6. A Little At A Time
7. Blackbird
8. And The Moon Hits The Water
9. The Old Horizon

Sun Session
Side A
1. Talk To Me Devil, Again
2. Memphis Moon
Side B
3. Hold On Magnolia 

Shohola
Side A
1. Steady Now
2. Spanish Moon Fall And Rise
3. Night Country
4. Shiloh Temple Bell
Side B
5. The Spell
6. Take One Thing Along
7. The Lamb’s Song
8. Roll The Wheel

A magus is a wizard…a sorcerer. Magus, the band, is certainly interested in such things (who isn’t), but the name is especially apt due to the band’s approach to alchemy, the blending of rock, gothic, proto metal, and psychedelic styles to create a sound that is, ultimately, unique. Part of that uniqueness comes from the instrumentation. While guitar is often a dominant instrument of the rock oeuvre, the Fender Rhodes generally plays a supportive role. Not so here, where Jessica Weeks’ deft use of the keyboard dovetails with Greg Weeks’ more standard six-string approach. Not standard is the band’s sound. Doomy yet inspirational, dour yet vibrant, the duo’s tunes map sinister realms whose subjects span metaphysical creatures to enigmatic portals. You know, the typical stuff that rubs elbows with a magus.

Formed in late 2024, Magus sprung from a desire by both artists to experiment with darker, heavier sounds. Long enamored of artists like Flower Travelling Band,, Black Sabbath, and Deep Purple, the duo
delved deeply into trance like riffs and euphoric solos to create the backbone of what has become their debut album, 'Music for Mandrax'.

This thirteenth Language of Stone offering features grounded, metronomic grooves, organic, lugubrious synth lines, and tandem vocals (supplied by both Weekses) that, in total, weave a heavy, trancelike spell sure to entice fans of bands as disparate as Sabbath is to Pink Floyd. Recorded at Weeks’ Hexham Head studio (to analog tape, of course), the band enlisted long-time counterparts Jesse Sparhawk (bass) and Ben McConnell (drums) to round out their sound and lock down the grooves that propel the album. Mixed by Brian McTear and Amy Morrisey at Miner Street in Philadelphia, the band’s fully realized vision came to fruition, which left only the album art to contemplate.

The band, wishing to further the gothic aesthetic of their sound, enlisted fashion designer and artist extraordinaire Hogan McLaughlin (Game of Thrones) to create the starkly beautiful line drawings of the front and back covers. The duo travelled to Salem, MA to complete the package with Courtney Brooke Hall, who shot the moody and evocative photographs that grace the gatefold release’s inner panels.

TRACK LISTING

1. Through Darkened Glass
2. Very Heavy Greening
3. Wet Skull
4. The Magus
5. Exodus
6. Music For Mandrax
7. Return To Earth
8. The Middle Way

When five-time Grammy award winner Taj Mahal intersects with The Phantom Blues Band, it’s one of those rare joints that hits you before you even know you’ve been hit. They walk in, plug in, and the whole room shifts. Studio assassins, road lifers, groove keepers and somehow still hungry. They are an internationally renowned Two-Time Grammy Award winning group.

Taj Mahal’s fearless, open-hearted spirit still shadows the whole thing with that genre-hopping joy. He leads you down the road with a history lesson and the Phantoms carry it with honor to the Griot. Mahal sings and plays harp as he fronts an all-star lineup of legendary musicians with the three ringleaders for the Phantoms--Johnny Lee Schell, the soulful gunslinger with tone for days, Tony Braunagel keeps the whole ship steered straight and on time, every time, and Larry Fulcher, the anchor, the heartbeat, the quiet storm on bass. Additionally, Jon Cleary, with that unmistakable New Orleans piano swagger, Mick Weaver, a session master who’s playing slides in with an undeniable velvet magic, and in the horn section, Joe Sublett on sax and Les Lovitt on trumpet bring the orchestration into the full view of this genre.

This band doesn’t ‘back” anybody. They lift you up, carry you, and dare you to rise higher. On this record they slide through blues, soul, R&B, and island color with the ease of men who’ve lived every bit of it. This is deep-groove, grown-folks music from a band that still plays like the night is young.

‘Time’ is their new release on Resonatin’ Records / Thirty Tigers and celebrates over thirty years of making this uplifting inspiring and aspiring music together.

TRACK LISTING

1. Life Of Love
2. Wild About My Lovin'
3. Crazy About A Jukebox
4. Time
5. You Put The Whammy On Me
6. Talkin' Blues
7. Sweet Lorene
8. Ask Me 'Bout Nothing (But The Blues)
9. It's Your Voodoo Working
10. Rowdy Blues

Following a run of sought-after releases on cassette from artists including Anthony Naples, Xvarr and E Ruscha V, Good Morning Tapes switch to vinyl for their latest offering by Mahbunzi Nahgo Pihndi ("All the Healing Green Leaves of the Forest”) aka Brian Close, one half of New York avant-garde duo Georgia:

“This record is an extension of a foray into trance ritual music. It is structured as a companion for film, meditation, vision seeking & sound rest. It is by nature a nature worship record, combining acoustic percussive improvisation, sensory foley, vocalized staccatos, and a specific brew of physical / metaphysical sound relations... mind hush / thought flush / spirit rush / sun rise. Inspired by an initiation ceremony of the Bwiti / Fang people of Gabon. This collection relays a fragmented branch of timings of this ceremony and proposes other paths for the sacred (Mougongo) instrument.
Recoded + Restructured + Reflected as a time capsule, with fullest respect / blessings to breeze the Bwiti understandings through the current climate." 

STAFF COMMENTS

Matt says: Perilously dark neo-shamanism here that kicks off a new spellbook of sonics. Quite terrifying in parts - I advise caution when consulting with The Other whilst on entheogens.

TRACK LISTING

1. Awating
2. Bwicoming

Superbly named reissue specialists Souffle Continu treat us to a wonderful re-release of Mahjun's seminal second self titled LP on Saravah, originally released in 1974. Recorded with a little help from legendary Brazillian percussionist Nana Vasconcelos, this LP is a lysergic mastepiece as other worldy as its trippy sleeve. Across short interludes, dreamlike compositions and extended trips into the furthest reaches of human consciousness, the ensemble transform their leftist prog folk into wild outernational pyschedelic fusion. If you're looking for some sounds to take you on a mind altering journey, try the fourteen minute "La Ville Pue" on for size.

Strut revives a lost recording from the archives in January with a 2002 collaboration between acclaimed South African folk singer Vusi Mahlasela, singer songwriter Norman Zulu and Swedish jazz / soul collective Jive Connection.

The links between South Africa and Sweden have long been strong with Sweden one of the most supportive European nations in the struggle against apartheid; the government helped to fund the ANC for decades and Mandela visited the country on one of his first European stops following his release from prison in 1990.

Sotho folk singer Vusi Mahlasela, dubbed “The Voice” Of South Africa, performed at Mandela’s inauguration in 1994 and has enjoyed his own long relationship with Sweden, regularly embarking on cultural exchanges and forging a strong bond with the Jive Connection band, featuring guitarist / bassist Stefan Bergman and Little Dragon drummer Erik Bodin within its line-up.

Although touring regularly, the collaboration has rarely been documented beyond a lone studio album in 1994. This “lost” recording, discovered in the archives of producer Torsten Larsson, also features songwriter / vocalist Norman Zulu and showcases their natural musical chemistry together. Vusi’s songs have traditionally addressed the struggle for freedom and the need for reconciliation and, here, his lyrics are as powerful as ever, ranging from parables (‘Prodigal Son’) to an unflinching lament on child abuse (‘Faceless People’). Jive Connection vary the soundtrack, bringing in hints of reggae, jazz and post-punk alongside traditional township arrangements.

Face To Face is mastered by The Carvery. Artwork features unseen photos from the album sessions along with full lyrics. Produced in association with Torsten Larsson. 

TRACK LISTING

1. PRODIGAL SON
2. UMZALA
3. FACELESS PEOPLE
4. INKOMO
5. FACE TO FACE
6. THEMBA LAMI
7. INTOMBI YE MBALI
8. PUSH
9. ABANTU ABANGANA BUSO
10. ANASTACIA
11. B4 THULULALELE
12. ROOTS
13. STILL
14. SON OF PRODIGAL SON