PNFG is thrilled to be taking you all on a road trip to Greater Manchester where we will unlock the vinyl releases of one of the early nineties best kept secrets - Raintree County sounding every bit like they hailed from a city 200 miles further north and from 10 years earlier

They released one LP and one EP in their short life. Both stunning examples of guitar based pop. We will bring you a double album featuring both albums, tastefully remastered and housed in a brand new Gatefold Sleeve with cover art from Fraser Taylor.

TRACK LISTING

Little Blue Book
Goodbye Galveston
A Nice Time At The Disco
Faithless
Summer Skip
Take
Mad Dog
Sweet Everything
Everybody Knows
Wind, Rain, Tornado
Here It Comes
Wild Honey
Looking For
Sunblind
Another Sunday Morning
Roadsong

Soulful, intimate and expansive all at once, Jordan Rakei’s third album, "Origin", cuts straight to the point. The melodies are brighter, the sound is bigger and the vision behind it more finely-tuned. Switching up from the highly personal and intimate portrait he painted with 2017’s "Wallflower", which was a way of grappling with his experience of anxiety and introversion, "Origin" is overtly inspired by dystopian visions of our future - notably Charlie Brooker’s Black Mirror, Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale and David Lynch’s Twin Peaks. 'I’m worried that we’re losing a sense of connection,' explains Jordan, with many of the album lyrics exploring technological growth, and how it affects our sense of humanity. For example, new single "Say Something" is 'about speaking up for what you believe in; a call to arms for future humans to stand up against the AI systems which govern a now-dystopian world. It follows recent single "Mind’s Eye", which envisions a future world where malfunctioning tech implanted in the human body has flooded the users mind with projections of chaos. He meditates daily, something he adopted partly in response to his issues with anxiety, and something which has shaped his worldview and informed his writing and production process.

On "Origin", Rakei has scaled up his ambitions, and is more confident in the way he goes about achieving them. Making tracks that speak more confidently, in brighter colours, and which deal with something bigger than himself. He channeled the classic songwriting and musicality of his heroes Stevie Wonder and Steely Dan, striving to surprise and delight with the form of his work, and always infusing it with the same effortless swing and human feel that he fell in love with listening to A Tribe Called Quest, Pete Rock and 9th Wonder.

STAFF COMMENTS

Millie says: Rakei returns with his new sublime album, exploring themes of a technological and a dystopian future while producing the best jazz groves around topped with soulful vocals. Absolutely gorgeous stuff!

TRACK LISTING

01. Mad World
02. Say Something
03. Mind’s Eye
04. Rolling Into One
05. Oasis
06. Wildfire
07. Signs
08. You & Me
09. Moda
10. Speak
11. Mantra

GRAMMY-award nominated Jordan Rakei is a renowned multi-instrumentalist, vocalist, producer, and songwriter who, over soon-to-be-five studio albums, has been on a wide-ranging journey that explores the outer reaches of his inner psyche, traversing themes of emotional evolution, personal growth and family with unwavering sincerity. Always positioning himself in and amongst the bigger questions in life, he has navigated his musical journey with passion and precision, unveiling something new about himself through his songwriting at every turn. The Loop is by far Rakei’s most cohesive and evolutionary work to date following an impressive career of previous releases, each of which have demonstrated his natural curiosity and capabilities in exploring new sounds.

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: Another stunningly assured, confidently presented outing from soulful jazz-tronica hero Jordan Rakei. The Loop sees his once minimal sound blooming into a grand, orchestrated statement that's as bold as it is heartfelt. There are as many brittle, tender progressions as there are cinematic swells and rich Bonobo-like grooves.

TRACK LISTING

1. Flowers
2. Freedom
3. Friend Or Foe
4. Royal
5. Trust
6. State Of Mind
7. Hopes And Dreams
8. Learning
9. Cages
10. Forgive
11. Everything Everything
12. Miracle
13. A Little Life

Multi-instrumentalist, vocalist, producer, and songwriter Jordan Rakei returns with his fourth studio album, "What We Call Life’". Diving even deeper into his sound world, merging electronic with acoustic, and rugged grooves with ambient atmospheres, to create something richer, more detailed, and more textural than before. Rakei, already a practitioner of meditation and mindfulness, was curious about the potential of using therapy for further self-discovery. During the process, he began to learn more about his behaviour patterns and anxieties, and addressed his long-standing irrational phobia of birds – a fear often associated with the unpredictable and the unknown, and something explored in the album’s creative direction and visuals.

‘What We Call Life’ is Jordan Rakei’s most vulnerable and intimate album to date. Its lyrics concern the lessons that the New Zealand-born, Australia-raised, and London-based artist learned about himself during therapy, a journey that began two years ago when he started reading about the ‘positive psychology’ movement. These themes manifest on songs like lead single “Family”, which Rakei says is “the most personal” he’s ever been with his lyrics. “I wanted to hit my vulnerability barrier and be really honest. It’s about my parents’ divorce in my mid-teens but still having love for them no matter what,” he explains.

Artwork was created by Canadian-born, Los Angeles-based visual artist Justin Tyler Close (who has worked previously with the likes of Laura Marling), who resonated with the themes on Rakei’s album. The image was created in a remote photo shoot, with Rakei sending images over the internet that were projected onto a sheet and photographed by Close. The melancholic images reflect the title of the record, a question that Rakei would sometimes ask himself during a period of his childhood in which he suffered a great deal of anxiety: Is this what we call life? Rather than accepting defeat, the title is today a commentary on the more happy, confident, and assured person and artist that Jordan Rakei is today

STAFF COMMENTS

Millie says: Jordan Rakei fourth album is highly anticipated here at Piccadilly, the album explores themes worn close to Rakei’s sleeve. Personal and moving, the track ‘Family’ is so beautiful and soulful.

TRACK LISTING

A1. Family
A2. Send My Love
A3. Illusion
A4. Unguarded
A5. Clouds
B1. What We Call Life
B2. Runaway
B3. Wings
B4. Brace
B5. The Flood

Ralfe Band are based around the talents of British songwriter Oliver Ralfe. Here they have created a magical, inventive and atmospheric soundtrack, with enchanting melodies and beautiful instrumentation including piano, guitars, mandolin, accordion, strings, brass and electronic elements.

The first Ralfe Band single from the forthcoming ‘Son Be Wise’ album, the follow-up to their acclaimed album and soundtrack to the Warp film ‘Bunny And The Bull’.

New single ‘Come On Go Wild’ is a madcap Bossa nova sure to brighten your ears and bring a smile to your face.

For fans of Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy, Beirut, Villagers, Andrew Bird, M.Ward and Sufjan Stevens.

TRACK LISTING

Come On Go Wild
Horse To The Hinterland

‘Son Be Wise’ is the follow-up album to Ralfe Band’s acclaimed album, and soundtrack to the Warp film, ‘Bunny And The Bull’.

‘Son Be Wise’ features guest vocals from Alessi’s Ark and Piney Gir.

The album was recorded with Rob Ellis (PJ Harvey, Anna Calvi) and Andy Ramsay (Stereolab).

Blending euphoric folk pop, whispering ballads and inspired instrumentation, this album will appeal to fans of Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy, Beirut, Villagers, Andrew Bird, M. Ward and Sufjan Stevens.

TRACK LISTING

Ox
Barricades
England My Darling
Oh My Father
Magdalena
Come On Go Wild
Kings And Queens
Dead Souls
Hidden Place
Ladder
Cold Chicago Morning
Boy With An Old Tin
Drum

Meditative, melodic and quietly intense, Oly Ralfe’s debut solo album casts a spell, enveloping listeners as it conjures its shifting moods. The piano is key to Oly’s love of music, featuring on many Ralfe Band songs, and the instrumental Notes From Another Sea is Oly’s first album based entirely around the piano.

As Ralfe Band, Oly has released three studio albums and composed the soundtrack to Bunny and the Bull (Warp Films / Film 4). Ralfe Band have toured extensively and performed multiple sessions for BBC 6 Music and BBC Radio 2. Oly is also an award-winning filmmaker, and recently illustrated the novel A Field Guide to Reality by Joanna Kavenna (Quercus), his drawings described as ‘beautiful and affecting’ by the Times Literary Supplement.

TRACK LISTING

The Bridge
A Forest In The City
On My Train
Hear Me Yourself
Melusine
Glider
Lantern Waltz
Which Is The Brighter
The Swallow Sleeps All Winter
Wanderers
Beqaa Road
All Our Rooms
Night Raven
Hill Queen

Consistent funk operator Ralo is back with a brace of tunes that will shake your bones loose. First up is 'Broken Way', a magnificently jumbled rhythm made from languid bass and kicks, peppered with organic percussion and heated through with soft synths. It's atmospheric and real, like the overheard soundtrack to a party happening in your kitchen. 'Djembe' then brings out some brassy horns to take things to the next level. They jump out of the low-slung drums and add jazz, soul and colour that cannot be ignored. Gledd and Monsieur Van Pratt step up on the flip with cultured reworks that turn things up to 11.

TRACK LISTING

Broken Way
Djembe
Broken Way (Gledd Remix)
Djembe (Monsieur Van Pratt Remix)

Syncretic marks the debut full-length from Australian duo Bhairavi Raman, a Western and Carnatic violinist, and Nanthesh Sivarajah, a mridangam player and versatile percussionist. Both artists share a Tamil heritage, a current that hums across the album. Raman, from South India, and Sivarajah, from Sri Lanka, draw lines that connect Western practice and Carnatic tradition. This hybrid is central to Raman’s approach as a violinist, an instrument itself caught between East and West since the late 18th century. Her playing folds history, lineage and experimentation into music that acknowledges inheritance while gently rewiring its circuitry.

Expanding on traditional music can be a precarious practice, but Syncretic never feels heavy-handed. Raman and Sivarajah exercise measured restraint, letting the Carnatic framework breathe even as it is refracted through contemporary tools. Delays, looping, subtle layering and synthesized harmonies tilt tradition into a new light without disguising it.

Even within a contemporary framework, Raman’s rigorous Carnatic training under gurus Sri S. Varadarajan (India), Sri Murali Kumar (Australia) and Sri Gopinath Iyer (Australia) is unmistakable. She captures the spiritual and emotional essence of each raga: on Seven, the playful raga Bahudari becomes both centrepiece and conduit, while on the traditional piece Thunbam Nergayil, drawn from a Tamil poem, we hear a deeply personal iteration, a weeping euphony of mixed emotions hitting all at once. Tradition here is absorbed, expanded and reframed.

Sivarajah’s command of the mridangam, honed by his gurus Sri Jambunathan (Sri Lanka), Sri Balasri Rasiah (Australia) and Sri T. R. Sundaresan (India), is central to his original composition Guardian. He sustains tradition while extending it through layering and sound-spatialisation. The mridangam here functions as both a structural and ornamental force, mapping continuity between inherited form and contemporary sonic architecture.

Syncretic resonates as a space where Tamil heritage, diasporic memory and contemporary practice coalesce. Culture, like sound, circulates, transforms and persists. Tradition is not an archive but living material, a soundworld that lingers in the ears and the imagination.

TRACK LISTING

1. Awakening
2. Elemental
3. Unfolding
4. Thunbam Nergayil
5. Seven
6. Guardian
7. Kindlin

Much about “Beat Bop” is shrouded in mystery. Who really produced it? Why was Jean-Michel Basquiat relegated from rapper on the track to drawing the cover and labels? What are they actually rapping about for most of the ten-minute length? These questions, however, are all part of the enigma and rich legend surrounding a song that is an undisputed piece of true hip-hop genius. The combination of graffiti artist Rammellzee and rapper K-Rob is a potent one, with each MC adopting a persona - hustler and B-Boy respectively - that they maintain against an unusual swirling backdrop that must be one of the best instrumentals ever committed to wax.

The original Tartown Record pressing was limited to 500 copies, a mere test pressing in the eyes of the assembled artists, with scarcity further driven by Basquiat’s rising rep in the art world. Those few hundred copies - and a subsequent re-release on Profile Records (the same label where K-Rob played out the rest of his brief career) - punched well above their weight in terms of lasting influence.

Consider the early vocal tones of the Beastie Boys (who also sampled the track), or the huge part it played in the sound of Cypress Hill and B-Real. His voice is almost homage to Rammellzee’s on “Beat Bop”, while they also lifted the chorus of “Shoot ‘Em Up” and even a sample of ‘Cypress Hill’ from the track too. It’s unsurprising - this is a multi-layered, complex song that reveals a little more of itself each time you play it but remains damn funky. This reissue boasts the vocal and instrumental versions in full, as well as both the full cover and label artwork from the original Tartown Release.

TRACK LISTING

Beat Bop (Vocal)
Beat Bop (Instrumental)

Ramona Lisa was an early alias of Chairlift's Caroline Polachek. This is Polachek’s first self-produced solo record. Completely composed in MIDI, it is a concept album of love songs that are nature allegories, and vice versa, which Polachek calls "Pastoral Electronic Music". The making of Arcadia was a year¬long process that began and ended in an empty studio in Rome's Villa Medici and while on tour with her band, Chairlift. The record was made entirely on a laptop without instruments or external microphones - all vocals were sung directly into the computer, making use of hotel closets, quiet airport gates, and spare dressing rooms. Although the album was created on a laptop, the result is a lush and uncannily tangible world of warm textures, reminiscent of analog tape processes rather than a hard drive. Virtual oboes and organs interweave with synthetic insects and quivering sine waves, animated by Polachek's vocal at it's most delirious and intimate yet.

TRACK LISTING

1. Dominic
2. Arcadia
3. Backwards And Upwards
4. Arcadia Reprise
5. Izzit True What They Tell Me
6. Getaway Ride
7. Wing Of The Parapets
8. Avenues
9. Lady's Got Gills
10. I Love Our World
11. Hissing Pipes At Dawn

Sweetheart is the first Cassie Ramone album in ten years, a crowning glory for a singular artist who has forged a unique path through the underground. Breaking out in the late 00s with the revered Vivian Girls, to her current status as a traveler on the heartworn highway, Cassie Ramone has survived and thrived. Sweetheart is Ramone’s greatest recorded statement to date: focused songwriting shot through with American tragedies, distorted guitars and tear-stained fretboards.

Recorded with collaborator Dylan White in Richmond, VA in the latter’s Valley Structures barn studio between December 2023 and March 2024, Sweetheart is Ramone’s songwriting rendered direct but with a sweeping cinematic quality. Smeared with reverb and scintillating like stars in the pitch black night, these songs fulfill the promise of Ramone’s songwriting prowess. Ranging from heart-stealers like I’m Going Home or Joy to the World to the riotous guitar scree of the titular Sweetheart, Ramone’s songwriting here is raw and direct, bolstered by White’s perfectly balanced instrumentation. White’s work on Sweetheart blows up Ramone’s songs to epic proportions, with waves of shoegazed guitars crashing and cresting with emotion. As a result, Sweetheart fits effortlessly in with the best of Ramone’s work with Vivian Girls and The Babies.

With the emotional vulnerability at its core, Sweetheart is Cassie Ramone emerging as one of the most honest and vital songwriters of the underground. Sweetheart, released on White and Ramone’s new CD-R Records, builds on Cassie Ramone’s legacy as a DIY pioneer. With Vivian Girls, Ramone and her bandmates forged a distinctive sound from 80s Punk, Shoegaze and 60s Girl Groups, delivering it with a dedication to world-building and Do It Yourself pragmatism. CD-Records and this first release are a continuation of Ramone’s mission to maintain creative and aesthetic control over her art, communicating directly and honestly. Sweetheart may also be the best record of her career.

Formed in Forest Hills, NY, in 1974, this quartet of quintessential punk forefathers blitzkrieged out of NYC's legendary CBGB scene and into world fame with three loud, lean, hard, and fast albums before the Sex Pistols even took their first shot. Besides basically inventing punk rock, Joey, Johnny, Dee Dee, and Tommy outlasted almost every one of their legions of followers, delivering their signature pop and garage-flavoured chainsaw sound for over 20 years, through a string of infamous albums and 2,263 concerts together. Spanning 1976-1995, this new collection features 20 classic tracks, including "Sheena Is A Punk Rocker," "Rockaway Beach," "Rock 'N' Roll High School," "I Wanna Be Sedated," "Pet Sematary," and "Blitzkrieg Bop."

Following the Ramones 40th anniversary reissues campaign; the first three albums by Ramones will be reissued on vinyl with the remastered audio from the 40th anniversary releases. 1977 saw Ramones release two great albums in the same year, and Leave Home was the first to be released in January of that year, as the follow-up to their eponymous debut album. This 30-minute opus of buzzsaw rock introduced fans to classics like “Pinhead” “California Sun,” and “Swallow My Pride.” This release will feature the 2017 audio from the Leave Home 40th Anniversary Edition – remastered by original Leave Home album engineer/mixer Ed Stasium.

Ramones compilation compiled by Johnny Ramone. This limited edition version, includes a bonus disc, live in London, featuring eight previously unreleased songs.

The Ramones (Johnny, Joey, Dee Dee and Tommy) sounded like nothing else when their self-titled debut came roaring onto the scene in 1976. Even so, original drummer Tommy Ramone did do a pretty good job describing the band’s primal sound when he penned the quartet’s press bio that same year. “The Ramones all originate from Forest Hills and kids who grew up there either became musicians, degenerates or dentists. The Ramones are a little of each,” he observed. “Their sound is not unlike a fast drill on a rear molar.” This year marks the 40th anniversary of Ramones, recently named the “Greatest Punk Album Of All Time” by Rolling Stone, and certainly one of the most important and influential albums of all time. This 29-minute masterpiece helped launch the punk rock scenes in both America and Britain, and also went on to inspire countless other artists for generations to come. To celebrate the Ramones’ lasting impact, Rhino has created the ultimate tribute to the band’s landmark debut 

Following the Ramones 40th anniversary reissues campaign; the first three albums by Ramones will be reissued on vinyl with the remastered audio from the 40th anniversary releases. Ramones – Ramones is one of the most important and influential albums of all time, with Rolling Stone naming it the Greatest Punk Album Of All Time. The album was a pioneer of the punk rock movement, with the band inspiring punk legends such as Sex Pistols, Buzzcocks and The Clash. It features one of the most famous rock songs in history with Blitzkrieg Bop - which constantly appears in many greatest songs of all time lists. This will feature the 2016 remastered audio from the 40th Anniversary Edition of Ramones. 

TRACK LISTING

Side 1
1. Blitzkrieg Bop
2. Beat On The Brat
3. Judy Is A Punk
4. I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend
5. Chain Saw
6. Now I Wanna Sniff Some Glue
7. I Don’t Wanna Go Down To The Basement

Side 2
1. Loudmouth
2. Havana Affair
3. Listen To My Heart
4. 53rd & 3rd
5. Let’s Dance
6. I Don’t Wanna Walk Around With You
7. Today Your Love, Tomorrow The World

Following the success of last year’s 40th anniversary edition of the Ramones’ debut album comes a deluxe version of the group’s follow-up, Leave Home. Originally released in January 1977, this 30-minute opus of buzzsaw rock introduced fans to classics like “Pinhead” “California Sun,” and “Swallow My Pride.”

The deluxe edition will be produced in a limited and numbered edition of 15,000 copies worldwide and comes packaged in a 12 x 12 hardcover book. In addition to the music, the set also features stories about the band by legendary former manager Danny Fields, as told to renowned music scribe Michael Azerrad, as well as details about making the album by Stasium . The first disc features two different mixes of Leave Home, opening with a remastered version of the original stereo mix. The highlight is the new 40th anniversary mix of the full album, created by Stasium from the original multi-track tapes. The second disc is overflowing with more than two dozen rare and unreleased recordings. It begins with rough mixes for 15 tracks recorded for Leave Home at Sundragon studio in New York. The final disc features an unreleased recording of the band’s concert at CBGB’s on April 2, 1977

Following the Ramones 40th anniversary reissues campaign; the first three albums by Ramones will be reissued on vinyl with the remastered audio from the 40th anniversary releases. Ramones released its second album of the calendar year (and third overall) on November 4, 1977, capping off one of the biggest years in the history of punk with Rocket To Russia. Among the band’s best-loved albums, it features classics like “Sheena Is A Punk Rocker” and “Rockaway Beach” along with their signature covers of “Do You Wanna Dance?” and “Surfin’ Bird.” It’s also the last album ever recorded by all four founding members, as drummer Tommy Ramone left soon after to focus on writing and producing. This will feature the 2017 audio from the 40th Anniversary Edition of Rocket To Russia - remastered by original Rocket To Russia album engineer/mixer Ed Stasium.

Prodigal son of the ESP Institute, Juan Ramos, rises from the cesspool of a world gone mad with 'Agua Del Cenote', his fifth release with the label. Whilst many artists are following their inner light to bring us some much needed joy amidst these rotten times, Juan (being the little shit that he is) follows an inner demon and delivers listeners and dancers a demented clusterfuck of sadistic chaos. The title track opens with what sounds like a butane torch and we metaphorically freebase into oblivion. Our perception of reality unravels, writhing in abrasive textures smeared across a low-slung, mid-tempo erotic thump. Everything feels blurry and distant, as if we’re swimming through an underground aquatic tunnel, in a panic, searching for an invisible band of spirits whose tune summons us into certain annihilation. Following this is a remix from a decorated lord of 20th Century electronics, Harald Grosskopf AKA The Synthesist. Harald wipes away grit and lethargy to reveal elements hidden deep within the mix as well as softens Juan’s sense of terror by building up to an optimistic layer of added synth. We’d love to offer some relief with the balance of the EP, however, the remaining two tracks paint complimentary hues in the same cerebral palette. 'Let It Go (Freaks Only)' veers closely to House in terms of tempo and gestalt, utilizing a vocal sample from Third Generation (Kerri Chandler) and a healthy dose of sub bass, but Juan hardly apologizes for his masochistic tendencies and certainly never relents into an uplifting mood. Closing the EP, Juan serves an antidote of sorts with 'Cuko', as if suggesting a way out of the swamp, but leaves it up to the listener’s intuition to not only see the carrot, but actually follow it into the light, thus completing the quest.

STAFF COMMENTS

Matt says: Deep mushroom chug from Juan Ramos perfectly in sync with the bumper harvest we've been experiencing. Facing your inner demons in the 5th dimension - this will empower and untangle your chakras!

TRACK LISTING

A1. Agua Del Cenote
A2. Agua Del Cenote (Harald Grosskopf Synthesist Mix)
B1. Let It Loose (Freaks Only)
B2. Cuko

Juan Ramos steps in for the inaugural release on Manchester-based label Bent Hedonism, following a standout set at the Derby Brewery Arms last November.

Across four tracks, Ramos explores a vivid tension between softness and intensity; fluid, tactile house music that moves effortlessly between warmth and bite. Lush, emotive passages sit in sharp contrast with tougher rhythmic frameworks, resulting in productions that feel both inviting and quietly confrontational.

Rooted in dancefloor functionality yet pushing toward the avant-garde, the EP balances colour, restraint and forward momentum, tuned for low-lit basements and industrial spaces worldwide.

STAFF COMMENTS

Matt says: A new label and club night emerges out of the Strange Quarter here in Manchester. Bent Hedonism show plenty of promise on their inaugural vinyl outing. Straddling the dark recesses of house and EBM, with plenty of pump and very little pomp; Berliner Juan Ramos lays out the foundations of the label nicely - tough drums, lashings of acid and pure up-all-nite energy. Perfectly pairing tension with release for those long, drawn out sessions of unadulterated hedonism. One to watch!

TRACK LISTING

1.Show Me 06:33
2.Free Elevation 05:19
3.Psy Op 06:49
4.Hum 06:22

“A solo record works best when you feel like you’re opening a window into somebody’s life, experiencing the things they’re going through or thinking about, places they’re seeing, through their eyes. At its best, you find a universality in it.” - Lee Ranaldo

Lee Ranaldo and his family were among the lucky Manhattanites left relatively unscathed by Hurrican Sandy in 2012, but for a week, they had no electricity, running water or heat. He did, however, have an acoustic guitar and, as has been the case of late, some new songs began spilling out of it, reflecting a prolific period imbued with eerie uncertainty. · Ranaldo had finished work on his last album, Between The Times And The Tides’, before Sonic Youth went on hiatus in the Autumn of 2011. The record followed an informal period of songwriting, borne of acoustic guitar fiddling and more direct lyrics from a poet known for emotive abstraction. His plans to record a low-key acoustic album soon evolved and many friends (Steve Shelley, Alan Licht, Nels Cline, Jim O’Rourke, Bob Bert, John Medeski, wife / artist Leah Singer) dropped by to conjure a vaguely psychedelic pop-rock sound that served Ranaldo and SY fans well.

A core unit came together, getting tighter after some roadwork, and soon Steve Shelley (Sonic Youth), Alan Licht, and bassist Tim Lüntzel became The Dust. The band dug in at Echo Canyon West through the winter, evolving a new set of songs with a decidedly more group dynamic. Yet even though he was tracking new songs with the band (plus the always-welcome Medeski), Ranaldo wanted to present songs that were even more personal and adaptable to various live contexts.

The songs on this album are darker, longer, and more intense than those of its predecessor, which was comparably upbeat. Despair and rage ripple through its atmosphere, but are held at bay, never quite able to touchdown. Ranaldo lives near Zucotti Park, which was HQ for NYC’s Occupy Wall Street movement. He has visited Occupy encampments in Toronto, São Paulo, and wherever else he can, often bringing his kids with him so they can witness left wing, non-violent democracy in action. Unlike his last record’s ‘Shouts’, there is no specific tribute to OWS, but there is a yearning for some real, societal shift. “Every time I wait for the revolution to come,” Ranaldo sings on ‘Home Chds.’ “Every night I think it?s here and then it?s gone.”

At the same time the songs on ‘Last Night On Earth’ reveal a guarded optimism. The term ‘hope’ has been politically co-opted and devalued but it’s a key element on ‘Last Night On Earth’. Ranaldo sings of land and water and love and certainty - external life forces that can turn on us at any second - from an exploratory, inviting place of coexistence.

Lee Ranaldo is a founding member of Sonic Youth, now in 32nd year. Although songwriting and performing with his band The Dust (Steve Shelley, Alan Licht, Tim Lüntzel) is his current focus, Lee also premiered a new work, ‘Hurricane Sandy Transcriptions’, for Berlin-based string ensemble Kaleidoskop (with Lee on guitar) at the Holland Festival in June 2013, with more performances to follow in spring 2014. Lee continues to perform experimental events with partner Leah Singer as well. Their recent live performances have been large scale, multi projection quadraphonic sound & cinema events, with Lee performing suspended electric guitar phenomena.

STAFF COMMENTS

Andy says: Lee Ranaldo surprised with the classicist nature of his debut album in 2012. Here he stretches out, getting darker and deeper, with some inspired guitar playing and moodier songs. It's excellent.

Sonic Youth guitarist Lee Ranaldo puts out his first proper, song-oriented studio album this March. Recorded with longstanding Sonic Youth producer John Agnello, the album is a shimmering and melodic tapestry of rock sounds.

Ranaldo’s trademark alternate-tuning guitar work is at the forefront, but it is amplified by brilliant leadwork from Wilco’s Nels Cline on every track.

The all-star line up also includes Sonic Youth’s Steve Shelley on drums, Alan Licht on guitar, and John Medeski on keyboards.

There are also cameos from original Sonic Youth drummer Bob Bert and producer and instrumentalist Jim O’Rourke.

‘Between The Times And The Tides’ is equal parts smart, confident and loose in a manner that recalls some of our favourite rock ‘n’ roll projects …yet sounds like a fantastic new band that was apparently being assembled right under our noses.

With lyrics plumbing Ranaldo’s childhood and adolescence, it’s a fascinatingly approachable song collection from one of rock’s greatest guitarists.

“Sonic Youth’s Dark Horse finally emerges into a role that plenty of SY fans wish he’d embraced earlier. '60s and ‘70s Los Angeles rock is a fine reference point for Ranaldo's music, even with the chiming guitars that are strictly New York” - Village Voice

STAFF COMMENTS

Darryl says: I know what you're thinking - a Lee Ranaldo solo album, experimental and difficult - but you couldn't be further from the truth. ‘Between The Times And The Tides’ is packed full of melodic gems, with angular chiming guitars aplenty, as you'd expect from the Sonic Youth man. Highly recommended!

“If you live long enough, you see a lot of people drift in and out of your life,” says Lee Ranaldo, explaining one of the loose themes linking the adventurous pieces that compose his and collaborator RaülRefree’s electrifying new album: that of the ineffable course of time, and the lives that pass in and out of one’s own.

In a remarkable career that has seen him flourish as a songwriter, a singer, a guitarist, a noisemaker, a poet, a visual artist, a producer, and more, Ranaldo has seen many fellow quixotics – from his bandmates in Sonic Youth to this most recent collaboration with RaülRefree, whose restless career had taken him from hard-core bands in his youth, to the vanguard of a new movement redefining flamenco. One of the most renowned producers in southern Europe, his collaboration with Rosalíaon her debut album has shaped both the modern sound of flamenco and her new found stardom.

Following their collaborative work on 2017’s Electric Trim which saw Refree in the guise of producer and the subsequent tours supporting that album, they went back into the studio but the duo quickly realised they weren’t recording a new Lee Ranaldo solo album, but rather their first as Lee Ranaldo and Raul Refree – “the beginning of a new partnership, a new configuration’”, Ranaldo says. “We’re a two-headed machine,” adds Refree. “We’re both talking about everything. We don’t always agree on everything, but every song, every piece, every sound you hear comes from two people talking about it.”

TRACK LISTING

Alice, Etc
Words Out Of The Haze
New Brain Trajectory
Humps
Names Of North End Women
Light Years Out
The Art Of Losing
At The Forks 

Electric Trim was recorded in New York City and Barcelona in collaboration with producer Raül ‘Refree’ Fernandez and extends the work of Ranaldo's solo canon, the most recent being his 2013 album, Last Night On Earth.  

Through his collaboration with Fernandez, Ranaldo moves into some rich new sonic territories and production techniques, experimenting with electronic beats and samples alongside live players

Ranaldo is a co-founder of Sonic Youth, a visual artist, producer and writer. In addition to Fernandez, he worked with several special guests on Electric Trim, including Sharon Van Etten who sings on six of the tracks and duets on ‘Last Looks’ and Kid Millions (aka Man Forever) as well as longtime friend and collaborator Nels Cline (Wilco). In addition, the album features Ranaldo’s band The Dust (fellow Sonic Youth member Steve Shelley, guitarist Alan Licht, and bassist Tim Luntzel).  

Ranaldo collaborated with award winning New York author Jonathan Lethem (Motherless Brooklyn / The Fortress of Solitude) for lyrics on six of the songs and the American artist, Richard Prince, who previously painted the sleeve for Sonic Youth’s 2004 album Sonic Nurse, created the artwork for the album.

TRACK LISTING

Moroccan Mountains
Uncle Skeleton
Let’s Start Again
Last Looks (with Sharon Van Etten)
Circular (Right As Rain)
Electric Trim
Purloined
Thrown Over The Wall
New Thing

In Virus Times is an acoustic instrumental piece by Lee Ranaldo. Composed during the pandemic, In Virus Times will be released as a 1-sided LP with an etching on Side B.

The cover is a beautiful photo by Lee’s friend, the great Brazilian photographer Anna Paula Bogaciovas. Originally released as one track as part of a collaboration with Lucien Jean for Le Presses du Reel, the music was featured on a mini CD that accompanied a book that featured 2 short stories.

In Virus Times, released by Mute, sees the track transformed into 4 pieces and is available on Limited Edition 12” Transparent Turquoise Vinyl with an exclusive poster designed, signed and individually numbered by Lee Ranaldo. The poster design is based on an electron microscope photo of the Covid-19 molecule.

TRACK LISTING

A1 In Virus Times - Part 1
A2 In Virus Times - Part 2
A3 In Virus Times - Part 3
A4 In Virus Times - Part 4

A year long project that took the band from San Francisco to Los Angeles, New York, New Orleans and Jamaica, Life Won't Wait has highlights that are as varied as they are rewarding. "Bloodclot" is a punk anthem as brawny as any ever recorded, replete with Lars' lyrical nods to Lee "Scratch" Perry and the Ramones. "Warsaw" and "New Dress" explore world-scale class struggle and out-and-out warfare. Of the two songs actually recorded in Jamaica, "Hoover Street" is a poignant addict's lament with sweet soulful vocal assists from Hepcat, while the title track features Tim and Lars sparring with dancehall kingpin Buju Banton against a canvas of urgent old school ska.

Self-produced, culled from life experience, and played live in large measure, Life Won't Wait is as ambitious and independent as it gets.

TRACK LISTING

Intro
Bloodclot
Hoover Street
Black Lung
Life Won't Wait
New Dress
Warsaw
Hooligans
Crane Fist
Leicester Square
Backslide
Who Would've Thought
Cash Culture
Cocktails
The Wolf
1998
Lady Liberty
Wrongful Suspicion
Turntable
Something In The World Today
Corazon De Oro
Coppers

Without any reminiscing about their former band Operation Ivy, Matt Freeman (bass) and Tim Armstrong (guitar/vocals) blast through their debut without any hints of ska or blatant Clash plagiarizing. On the contrary, this album rips through 15 tracks of high- energy punk that's accompanied by heavy bass leads and Armstrong's permanently slurred vocals.

And to top it all off, the lyrical content deals with urban blight and the lifestyle of being a public nuisance. With this trademark sound, Rancid provides the perfect soundtrack for any car chase that includes massive property damage; is it a wonder MTV wouldn't touch this? -Mike DaRonco

TRACK LISTING

1. Adina
2. Hyena
3. Detroit
4. Rats In The Hallway
5. Another Night
6. Animosity
7. Outta My Mind
8. Whirlwind
9. Rejected
10. Injury
11. Climb In (The Bottle)
12. Trenches
13. Holiday Sunrise
14. Unwritten Rules
15. Union Blood
16. Get Out Of My Way

Rancid - the legendary Bay Area punk rockers are back with their 10th studio album, Tomorrow Never Comes on Epitaph Records

Emerging from the blue- collar swamps of Berkeley, California, Rancid has now been a living, breathing punk rock band for over a quarter century.

Back in 1991, after the demise of their much beloved and still influential first band, Operation Ivy, founding members Tim Armstrong (vocals, guitar) and Matt Freeman (bass, vocals) decided to do the impossible -- start an even better band. Thus, Rancid. Signing with Epitaph Records, the band released their first album, "Rancid," in 1993. Shortly thereafter, Lars Frederiksen (vocals, guitar) joined the band and they went on to release incredible records from "Let's Go." (1994) to their classic - platinum selling "...And Out Come The Wolves." (1995). Drummer Branden Steineckert joined the band in 2003, cementing the line-up that rocks out till this day.

Seeing Rancid live is a life changing experience and steady touring is in the plan for 2023. The band will tour Europe in June and the rest of the world soon after.

Through it all, Rancid has remained fiercely independent, never losing their loyalty to community or each other. Their music confronts political and social issues, while balancing personal tales of love, loss, and heartbreak with attitude. Rancid gives their listeners a community where everyone can belong. By carrying on the traditions and spirit of the original punk rock bands that came before, Rancid has become a legend and inspiration to punk bands that have come after. They are the living embodiment of East Bay punk. And if you don't know all this by now -- you're not playing their music loud enough!

TRACK LISTING

Tomorrow Never Comes
Mud Blood & Gold
Devil In Disguise
New American
Tomorrow Never Comes 
Don't Make Me Do It
It's A Road To Righteousness
Live Forever
Drop Dead Inn
Prisoners Song
Magnificent Rouge
One Way Ticket
Hellbound Train 
Eddie The Butcher
Hear Us Out
When The Smoke Clears

Solo album from the co-founder & singer/songwriter of Baby Lemonade, Mike Randles.Melodic, acoustic, finely crafted songs.

New Mahogani Music twelve inch just in time to fill those stockings! Randolph is a bass player from Detroit, and as well as having two albums out on Still Music has featured on Jazzanova's "Funkhaus Studio Sessions". He has released on Still, Sonar Kollevtiv, KMS and Planet E. Here's he's joined by two of deep house's finest ambassaders, Charles Webster and Dez Andres, for a fresh EP of beatdown soul and bumpety house music for Moodymann's iconic label. "Not Gonna Let" kicks things off, remixed by Charles Webster. Murky, thick and heady, this is eyes-down, introspective soul music with just enough umph for slow, sexy dancefloors. Randolph hasn't creditted any extra vocalists on the 12", so we can only assume that it's him giving us these powerful, yearning passages. The OG puts Randolph's skilled bass work (along with his vocals) into focus. The funky, syncopated B-line complimeting the steady beatdown drums perfectly as Randolph's vocal smoothly slots in. On the flip, Andres gets to work on the track - turning out one of his stylishly executed, bumping slow house jams - fresh outta the MPC baby! Finally, short interlude / outro, "Peace" concludes with slick licks and soulful vocals jamming it out in a call and response style. No drums, just pure licks and vocals! Excellent stuff! More historic music from the motor city. Don't sleep. 

TRACK LISTING

A1. Not Gonna Let - Charles Webster Mix
A2. Not Gonna Let
B1. Not Gonna Let - Dez Andres Mix
B2. Peace

Electro don Carl Finlow dropped 'Convergence' under his Random Factor alias back in 2005. It was a definitive showcase of the talent that continues to stand him out two decades on and is completely devoid of samples. Every note is carefully crafted as part of an emotional electro-pop classic that track gained legendary status thanks to Craig Richards, who has made it a regular in his sets at Fabric and Houghton Festival. John Tejada injects glitchy textures and stuttered vocals into his rework, and this reissue includes a subtly remastered version with improved fidelity and brand-new artwork by Finlow himself.

TRACK LISTING

Side 1
1."Convergence"
2. "Convergence" (Craig Richards RRRRemix)

Side 2
1."Convergence" (John Tejada Remix)
2. "Convergence" (John Tejada Dub)

First released back in 1998, Random Factor's Too Fast Into The Future returns to wax and serves as a reminder of just how far UK mainstay Carl Finlow was already thinking ahead. The album was also a standout moment in the Leeds-based 20/20 Vision label catalogue that threads house, techno and electro into something more unsettled and brilliant. 'Lead Me Blind' and the title track fold processed vocals into stark machine rhythms, while 'First Principles' and 'When Daylight Fades' remain DJ touchstones. There is tension in every bar and introspection rubbing against dancefloor drive. Decades on, it still bangs.

TRACK LISTING

Side 1
1. First Principles
2. Lead Me Blind

Side 2
1. Broken Mirror
2. Forgotten Places

Side 3
1. Too Fast Into The Future
2. When Daylight Fades

Side 4
1. In Visible Light
2. Fantasy Forms

Randomnumber is the alias of musician Matt Robson, based in Catmobile's home town of Leeds. "Towards The Forlorn Society" is his debut full-length, and at just under an hour, it's an epic, emotive work. Matt realises more fully the depth of a style that has been maturing and progressing since his early noisecore releases on FFR records and his critically acclaimed work for both Rocket Racer (Tristeza, Accelera Deck etc) and Mogwai's rock action. From the furious rhythmic intensity of "The Instances" and "If It Escapes And Gets Out, Then What Do You Do?" to the more brooding, melancholy tracks like "Still Treading The Same Lanes As Last Year" and "All Things Become History", Randomnumber has imbued his music with soul and emotion. Although his music is primarily driven by layers of intricate beats, it also incorporates finely tuned melodies rarely heard in the genre.

The meeting of Alieu and Randomized Coffee gives light to this new project, in which the Roman duo tackles a production that skillfully links Mediterranean influence to ancestral Africa in a patchwork woven of typical African ethnic elements to those of house and electronica in a "groovy" body that enhances the classical side of the African country in a modern musical mood and rhythm.

The story tells about the day before an arranged marriage ceremony.

Masanneh is a handsome and well-known man in his village of the Mandinka Tribe, born and raised in the village of Kudang, near the river that flows through the entire country; the Gambia. Many in the village believe him to be charismatic and generous, others

believe him to be a venal materialist devoted to money. Masanneh decides to consult Cherno Jallow, a wise Marabout, to figure out how to deal with his future. He therefore moves westward to the village of Bondali, in Foni, where before practicing his work as a skilled trader he talks to Landing Sawo, the district chief, from there he hears the sound of a Kora played by Jali, while across the road he sees a beautiful woman Mariama Gomez passing by.

TRACK LISTING

1. Mariama (Extended Version) [feat. Kora Hero]
2. Mariama (Dub Version) [feat. Kora Hero]
3. Mariama (Radio Edit) [feat. Kora Hero]

RandomNumber, aka Matt Robson, creates what has been described as 'Northern Wrongbeat', a mesh of emotive, brooding harmonies drawn and quartered by complex, beat-heavy rhythms. It's digital music with a human heart at its centre. Robson's hyperactive beat mechanics and alchemical sound manipulations are bound together with a keen sense of melody shaped by his many years of playing in the Leeds alternative music scene, most notably as drummer for Hood. With this background of the band dynamic, Robson has rallied hard against stereotypical laptop clichés, and imbues his own shows with a keen sense of energy and punk attitude, using two unsynchronized laptops and a tabletop of controllers and effects.

Randomnumber aka: Matt Robson is perhaps best known for his drumming skills for the English band Hood. Matt has since branched off to further his experimenting with beats in an electronic vein, not too much unlike his ex-bandmates gone electronic the Remote Viewer.

‘Potential’ is the new album from Brooklyn, NYbased musician James Hinton, aka The Range.

‘Potential’ uses as its backbone a series of vocal samples that Hinton has found in the forgotten corners of YouTube, introducing us to unknown artists expressing themselves unfettered by the constraints of industry, lost in the infinite potential of an audience unknown.

A documentary about the people he has sampled, entitled ‘Superimpose’ and directed by Daniel Kauffman, will be released this spring.

TRACK LISTING

‘Potential’
Regular
Copper Wire
Florida
Superimpose
Five Four
Falling Out Of Phase
No Loss
Skeptical
Retune
So
1804

‘Strings EP’ (comes With Indies Exclusive Vinyl Only)
The Magic
True Value
Flag
Naught

On Mercury, Hinton builds on the techniques he established on his critically acclaimed 2016 LP Potential, seeking to create human connection in the Internet age through sampling vocalists from the corners of YouTube, Instagram, and Periscope. “I feel like I can find ways to express myself in ways that I’m too shy or unable to do in the real world,” Hinton says of the process. Mercury is moody, transportive, and undeniably rave-infused, and although it is indebted to IDM mainstays and grime pioneers, the album finds Hinton pushing himself outside the constraints of any one specific genre.

TRACK LISTING

1. Bicameral
2. 1995
3. Urethane
4. Ricercar
5. Not For Me
6. Relegate
7. A Tree Day
8. Balm
9. Cantor
10. Every Good Thing
11. Violet

Hania Rani is a pianist, composer and musician who splits her life between Warsaw, where she makes her home, and Berlin where she studied and often works. She has written for strings, piano, voice and electronics and has collaborated with the likes of Christian Löffler, Dobrawa Czocher and Hior Chronik, and released an album with her Polish group tęskno last year. She has performed at some of the most prestigious venues in Europe - from the National Philharmony in Warsaw, to Funkhaus in Berlin, to The Roundhouse in London (where she made her debut at the Gondwana 10thanniversary festival last October) and at festivals such as Open'er, Scope Festival and Eurosonic. Her compositions for solo piano were born out of a fascination with the piano as an instrument, and her desire to interpret its sound and harmonic possibilities in their entirety and in her own way. "I think I am the same as an artist and as a person. Music is my way of communication and I see the art, the music as a whole thing, with no borders, divisions, or even genres."

Esja is her debut solo album and for Rani it is her first, real, personal statement as an artist. "No hiding behind the "collaborations" or "projects" anymore. For the very first time, finally - just me, as I am".

Recorded at Rani's apartment in Warsaw (the piano room has a beautiful reverb and the space has become part art studio and part sound laboratory for Rani) and at her friend Bergur Þórisson'sstudio in Reykjavik, Esja is a series of beautiful melodic vignettes. Sensual, sensitive, rhythmic, atmospheric, free but harmonious, beguiling and hypnotic, collectively they project a sense of unlimited space and time.

TRACK LISTING

1. Eden
2. Sun
3. Hawaii Oslo
4. Pour Trois
5. Biesy
6. Luka
7. Glass
8. Today It Came
9. Esja
10. Now, Run 

Ghosts is the sound of an ever-evolving artist and, just as the album’s title suggests she passes repeatedly and gracefully between musical worlds: as composer, singer, songwriter, and producer. This album builds on Rani’s earlier successes Esja and Home with an expanded yet still minimal setup of piano, keyboards, synths (most importantly her Prophet) and features more of her mysterious, bewitching voice. Its spirit is warm, beckoning one into an ambitious double album that unfolds at an exquisite pace, informed by her revelatory, exploratory live performances.

Ghosts is also an album of collaborations as Rani is joined by Patrick Watson, who breathes unearthly life into the ethereal ‘Dancing with Ghosts’. ‘Whispering House’is written and recorded with her friend, Ólafur Arnalds and casts a peaceful, ineluctable spell; and Portico Quartet’s Duncan Bellamy contributes vital loops to ‘Don’t Break My Heart’ and ‘Thin Line’.

Rani’s lyrics are partially inspired by a two-month residency in a small studio in Switzerland’s mountains, where Rani was working on the soundtrack On Giacometti for a documentary about the renowned Swiss artist. “Where I stayed was once an old sanatorium in an area which used to be very popular, but now there are huge abandoned hotels where the locals say ghosts live. I mean, it's kind of a local belief system – these ghosts even have names! – but once you're deep into nature or some abandoned place, your imagination starts working on a different level.”

“The edge of life and death,” Rani summarises, “and what actually happens in between: this was what really interested me. Even singing the word ‘death’ was quite a shock. It’s such a weird word to say out loud, and people are afraid of it, which I found extremely interesting. Most of the songs probably still talk about love and things like that, but Ghosts is more me thinking about having to face some kind of end.”

If Rani’s debut Esja was about exploiting her principal instrument, and Home saw her take steps towards a fuller expression of her art, Ghosts is where she unites her varied interests on what might even be considered her first ‘real’ album. Drawing upon a fondness for diverse artists like Enya, The Smile, James Blake and Pink Floyd – not to mention her admiration for her guests – and evoking Stina Nordenstam’s delicacy, Keith Jarrett’s flair, Kate Bush’s artistry and Pink Floyd’s probing inclinations, it combines a lifetime’s musical experience in one miraculous, cosmic world. Say hello, then, to something quite unlike anything you’ve ever heard. It’s the sound of HANIA RANI.

For fans of Nils Frahm, Melanie de Basio, Björk, Kate Bush, Ólafur Arnalds and Portico Quartet

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: Hania Rani's music has up until this point been very much in the ambient / modern classical vein, with beautiful instrumental textures and Rani's voice perfectly merging together into a blissful bath. It's on 'Ghosts' however that we really hear how dynamic and inventive her sound is, with synthesised textures and beautifully produced turns.

TRACK LISTING

A1. Oltre Terra
A2. Hello
A3. Don’t Break My Heart Feat. Duncan Bellamy
A4. 24.03
B1. Dancing With Ghosts Feat. Patrick Watson
B2. A Day In Never
B3. Whispering House Feat. Olafur Arnalds
C1. The Boat
C2. Moans
C3. Thin Line Feat. Duncan Bellamy
D1. Komeda
D2. Utrata
D3. Nostalgia

This album is about memories. About a feeling of nostalgia and longing, both beautifully comforting and devastating. It is an attempt to transform an unspoken sensation of the past to a solid object serving the future, an urge to remember and hold onto moments that we can't keep forever. On the 6th of October 2023, the release date of her third solo album ‘Ghosts’, Hania performed a very special album release concert with a string ensemble in a uniquely special location - Witold Lutosławski's Concert Studio at the Polish Radio in Warsaw. Over the years, the spaces of Polish Radio have become an important part of Hania’s life - both privately and professionally.

Visiting for the first time as a student of Chopin University of Music and returning to make her first recordings in late 2018, just before the release of the debut album ‘Esja’. It was also in these studios that Hania recorded her Live from Studio 2 video and EP. But whereas that featured a much-loved solo performance, for this very special recording from the larger Studio 1, Hania is joined by her regular collaborator Ziemowit Klimek on double bass and moog as well as a luxurious eight-piece string ensemble featuring Karolina Gutowska violin Jan Pietkiewicz violin Marta Piórkowska violin, Paweł Czarny viola, Tomasz Rosiński viola, Dobrawa Czocher cello, Marianna Sikorska cello, Mateusz Błaszczak cello.

Beautifully mixed by Greg Freeman in Berlin the music takes on a new life as Hania’s ethereal vocals, beautiful playing and exhilarating compositions are brought fully to life by the beautiful sweeping strings of the expanded ensemble. The concert is included here in its entirety with the addition of one beautiful extra performance – the title track ‘Nostalgia’ a beautiful interpretation of a much-loved piece from the Ghosts album taken from her concert at the Roundhouse in London.

TRACK LISTING

A1. 24.03
A2. Thin Line
A3. Dancing With Ghosts

B1. The Boat
B2. It Comes In Waves

C1. Don't Break My Heart
C2. Komeda

D1. Utrata
B2. Nostalgia 

Hania Rani announces "On Giacometti" a tender meditation on the life and art of Alberto Giacometti and family.

"On Giacometti" is a collection of beautiful recordings inspired by the renowned artist and family and features some of Rani's most profoundly delicate compositions to date. Invited by film director Susanna Fanzun, to score her forthcoming documentary on the legendary artist Alberto Giacometti, Hania Rani took herself to the Swiss mountains to compose in blissful isolation. As Rani explains eloquently below the compositions are based on improvised melodies, simple harmonies and structures and inspired by the silence of the mountains as Rani returns to her main instrument, the piano. The results are beguilingly reminiscent of her beloved debut album Esja, but with subtle extra layers of synthesiser, and on two tracks cello from friend and long-running collaborator Dobrawa Czocher.

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: I'm a big fan of ambient and modern classical music, and Hania Rani is one of my more recent artist discoveries, and one of my absolute favourites. Tender prepared paino pieces a-la Frahm, echoic room sounds and shimmering reverb. Soft strong sweeps and pad-like swells offset the more frantic piano pieces with panaceas of calm. Stunning.

TRACK LISTING

1. Allegra
2. Spring
3. Stampa
4. Struggle
5. Morning
6. In Between
7. Knots
8. Dreamy
9. Storm
10. Time
11. Mountains
12. Annette
13. Alberto

Recorded between the iconic Abbey Road and Polish Radio studios, Hania Rani’s original music for Joachim Trier’s Cannes and Golden Globe winning, Oscar and Bafta nominated ‘Sentimental Value’ is a deeply intuitive collaboration, composed before a single frame was edited.

For Hania Rani composing for the most recent film by Joachim Trier was nothing less than a true joy and a real artistic adventure. As she explains: “It doesn’t happen often that I’m asked to work on a film by a director whose work I know so well and which resonates with me so naturally. What I understood while working with such an intriguing mind and intelligent artist as Joachim is that the role of a film composer is to wander along with the director, hand in hand, rather than follow one another. The collaboration should be a partnership - evenly balanced and able to invigorate people on both ends - otherwise it will always feel superficial, imposed, and timid”

Intriguingly Hania worked on the score for Sentimental Value without an edit in hand; instead, she was given a carefully written script and the freedom of her own substantial imagination. “This way of composing suits me perfectly, as I’m not the type of composer who works comfortably with particular scenes, slightly immune to functionality in music in general. I prefer to ponder sound in separation from the image. It enables me to fabricate more abstract sequences that are not yet expressed in the film and to bring a new context to the existing narrative. Music as an inherent counterpoint - this sounds more intriguing to me”.

For Hania the biggest challenge of the score was its gravity - or rather its visibly elusive nature. The story told in the film oscillates around three characters and the motionless presence of the house, yet the relationships between all these personalities are not fixed, but in progress. Those subtle qualities were at the center of her attention and became the core topic of numerous discussions with Joachim about the music, the film, and the philosophy behind Sentimental Value. “I wondered how to express such translucent virtues in this score; that’s why a great deal of the process was embedded in exercises of mediation and translation. In order to avoid directness, I decided to impure the sound with a succession of small sonic gestures - whether re-arranging, re-orchestrating, revisiting, stretching the duration, or simply recording in a new acoustic environment. The mediated sound and expression allowed me to model a soundscape that inhabits both the old and the new, much like the house, which holds within itself the past, present, and future”.

In September 2024, Hania went to Oslo and spent a couple of days in the main film (the family home in Oslo) with her sound engineer, Agata Dankowska. The film crew was away in France to shoot another scene for the project, so they were allowed to freely explore the space - both visually and sonically. They made field recordings in the building, capturing the sounds of objects and furniture found in the apartment, and they also managed to record a couple of piano pieces. The house plays a significant role in the story, silently witnessing the tangled trajectories of its residents. “To explore its interiors so closely inevitably reminded me of getting to know a real person, with all their vulnerable parts and secrets. And although most of the recordings were not supposed to become part of the final soundtrack, I felt that this visit gave me access to another, far more intimate layer of the film, which immensely informed my composing process afterwards and reshaped my relationship with the project. There was a real sense of immediacy that felt exciting, instinctive, and simply incredibly special.

TRACK LISTING

1. Sentimental Value
2. The House
3. Childlike
4. Lighter And Lighter
5. Riksarkivet
6. Agnes
7. Rachel
8. Speaking To The Past
9. Gustav
10. Nor

Five years after the first volume, Analog Africa returns with a second compilation highlighting Ranil y Su Conjunto Tropical, one of the greatest practitioners of Peruvian Cumbia Amazonica - 'Galaxia Tropical' features 14 songs with a guitar groove you won't forget, underlying Ranil's extraordinary output as singer, bandleader, record-label entrepreneur and larger-than-life personality.

Born in 1935 as Jorge Raul Llerena Vasquez, Ranil's story begins in the Peruvian Amazon, where the sounds of the forest mixed with stray radio waves from Colombia, Brazil and Ecuador. He quickly understood that breaking into Peru's music industry -- especially as an artist from "the end of the world" -- would be no easy path. He decided to start his own label, Producciones Llerena, something unheard of in this part of the Peruvian Amazon.

With a rotating cast of brilliant musicians by his side, Ranil crafted a sound that locals lovingly called "llullampeo" -- imaginative, unpredictable, and fabulously unrestrained. His percussionists wove grooves that have not resurfaced in the region since, and the 14 songs presented here remain some of the most vivid document of that fearless, free-spirited, often psychedelic ensemble.

TRACK LISTING

1. Galaxia Tropical
2. Bahia
3. Inka
4. Tres Cienaguero
5. Con Ranil Por Supuesto (Interludio 1)
6. Gitanita
7. Albores De Mi Selva
8. Cumbia Del Torero
9. Llora Venus
10. Serenata (Interludio 2)
11. Pueblo
12. Mambo En Espana
13. Lindo Atardecer
14. Andalucia

'Girls Fiesta' is a notable album by Ranking Dread, released in 1978. It is celebrated for its vibrant mix of dancehall and reggae styles, featuring energetic rhythms and engaging lyrics that reflect the lively Jamaican party scene. The album showcases Ranking Dread's unique vocal delivery and charismatic presence, which helped solidify his place in the dancehall genre.

Ranking Dread was as much of a myth and enigma as he was a music man and badman. But today he remains the connoisseur’s Dee Jay, admired for his slick style and delivery and compared to other noteworthy DJ’s of the time, can be seen as crucially under-recorded, having only released 4 albums and a handful of singles in his recording career. 'Girls Fiesta' is Ranking Dread’s first album, originally released in 1978 and contains some tough Linval Thompson rhythms taken from various Linval productions, most notably his 'Love Is The Question' album.

TRACK LISTING

1. God Blessed The Children
2. Natty Dread Is A Struggler
3. Poor Man
4. Girls Fiesta
5. Africa
6. Natty On The Rock/Death Trap
7. Sister Lorna
8. Kirlburn Lane
9. Marijuana Soul
10. Ranking Ting

Writer and critic Amy Raphael has interviewed some of the world's most iconic musicians, including Courtney Love, Patti Smith, Bjoerk, Kurt Cobain and Elton John. In 1995 she wrote the critically-acclaimed Never Mind the Bollocks: Women Rewrite Rock, which included a foreword by Debbie Harry. More than two decades on, the music business has changed, but the way women are regarded has not.

In this new book, A Seat at the Table, Raphael interviews eighteen women who work in the music industry about learning to speak out, #MeToo, social media, queer politics and the subtleness of everyday misogyny. Featuring interviews with: CHRISTINE & THE QUEENS, IBEYI, KATE TEMPEST, ALISON MOYET, NADINE SHAH, JESSICA CURRY, MAGGIE ROGERS, EMMY THE GREAT, DREAM WIFE, NATALIE MERCHANT, LAUREN MAYBERRY, POPPY AJUDHA, KALIE SHORR, TRACEY THORN, MITSKI, CATHERINE MARKS, GEORGIA, CLARA AMFO

Ella Raphael is blessed with an amazing voice, filled with warmth and emotion; it’s engaging, like an old friend telling tales and spinning stories. Mad Sometimes is her debut album, release via Fire Records.

Brought up in London, surrounded by sound, listening to Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan, Etta James, while encountering Queen, The Beatles and the Stones from her Dad’s collection, Ella’s musical journey continued in Australia where she met many other musicians, and ended up sailing with would-be pirates, singing in the bow of their boat and deciding that music was the path for her. Charmed by the music she has discovered on further travels across the US and Europe, she refined that eclectic mix, adding Love, Serge Gainsbourg, Karen Dalton, Vashti Bunyan, Catherine Riberio And Alpes, the original masters of Tropicalia, exotic 50s guitars and the more esoteric sounds of The Beatles.

Writing outdoors, freedom has always been a virtue to Ella, penning songs that are at once aching and brittle, then elated and celebratory; she has perfected a sound that’s as wide-ranging as her influences and experiences, music that’s as beautiful as its surroundings, using the intricacies and subtle nuances of sound to channel both light and dark into her music.

On her first LP, the sound comes from a stylish mix of lap steel, mandolin, guiro, congas, synthesisers, a shruti box and stringed instruments played by Ella, Eyal Samson, Uzi Ramirez, Ron Ephrati, Guy Mintus and Amir Sadot.

TRACK LISTING

A1. See You Through
A2. Mad Sometimes
A3. Let The Light In
A4. Good Eyes
B1. Tangled Love
B2. All In
B3. Late
B4. Somber
B5. Outro

Sicilian Saxophonist, flutist, composer and arranger Nino Rapicavoli is one of the unsung heroes in the world of Italian soundtracks of the 1970s. A musician with a solid background in jazz as well as a long-time member of Italy’s state-owned RAI TV orchestra, Rapicavoli has only a handful of library albums to his name, but each is of the highest quality. This Divagazioni (Ramblings) is probably the best of the lot, an album that mixes jazz, easy listening and a pinch of prog with that exclusively Italian taste for eccentricity.

TRACK LISTING

Side A:
1. Territoire
2. Premier
3. Metafora
4. Diritto
5. Erea

Side B:
1. Fidele
2. Istinto
3. Altimetria
4. Autogeno
5. Corpus

‘Fragments’ is the brand new EP from Bournemouth band, Rapids! Written in the band’s cramped and claustrophobic rehearsal space during the Winter of 2010, ‘Fragments’ perfectly soundtracks the daily struggle of life in a sleepy coastal town. With its gushing honesty and striking maturity, Rapids! prove with this EP that they are strong candidates for people's Ones To Watch lists in 2011

‘Fragments’ is the sound of a band discovering its true identity; peeling back layers of bouncy math-pop beats and angular guitar hooks, leaving at its core a body of work that swirls with deep intensity and primal emotion. Musically, ‘Fragments’ scrapes and slides like tectonic plates between the glistening melodies of Foals and the raw drive of The Joy Formidable, whilst frontman Matt Holliday emits powerful and heartfelt declarations that leave you feeling like you’re sat in a self-help group with The National’s Matt Berninger taking register.

The band recorded in three separate studios during the making of the EP, keen to perfect their newly formed sound. The job fell on the shoulders of producer/mixer Dave Eringa (Manic Street Preachers, Idlewild) to collect up the fragments and blend them into one. As the name suggests, each song breaks away into its own bundle of fiery angst. But it’s when pieced back together that ‘Fragments’ reveals its true force, with each peak and trough taking you on a journey through a troubled mind.

TRACK LISTING

1. Littleblood
2. House Of Sand And Fog
3. Statuesque
4. Comets
5. Nameless / / Faceless

The Rapture was formed in the spring of 1998 by Vito Roccoforte and Luke Jenner. With a keen ear focused toward visionaries such as PiL, Television, and Chrome, the band quickly formed a reputation across the country, among “those who know” for its energetic, often chaotic live sets; Jenner jumping about like a stilted prat on steroids, while the rhythm section pushed out its patented brand of “sonic deathfuck groove.” Two records were recorded that fall: an 8-song LP released on the seminal San Diego art punk label, Gravity Records, and a single released on Sonny Kaye’s Gold Standard Laboratories. Following these two releases, the band took its make-it-fucked-up philosophy on the road, touring with Sunny Day Real Estate, Gogogo Airheart, and Nuzzle. In May of 1999 the band relocated to New York City. Matt Safer, a recent arrival from Washington DC, took over the bass roles. With a more solid lineup than ever before, the band dove into an exploration of dance and pop music, adding Chic, The Byrds, The Happy Mondays, and Timbaland to their previous influences. On the EP that followed - 2001’s 'Out Of the Races and Onto the Tracks' - The Rapture nailed their iconoclastic brand of wildly energetic rock drawing as much from dance music as post-punk.

TRACK LISTING

1.Out Of the Races and Onto the Tracks
2.Modern Romance
3.Caravan
4.The Jam
5.The Pop Song
6.Confrontation

Since The Rapture burst onto the scene with the astonishingly good "House Of Jealous Lovers" back in 2002, everyone and their dog has rediscovered early 80s punk-funk and slavishly copied the likes of the Gang Of Four for their own (often second rate) bands. With angular guitar shards, shouty vocals and funky bass and drums becoming one of the ubiquitous sounds of the mid 00s, the returning Rapture had to come up with something pretty good to even get noticed. Luckily for us "Pieces Of The People We Love" is not only pretty good but also fantastic and should re-affirm our faith in the New York outfit's songwriting ability, proving that they're more than just skinny jeans and cool haircuts. Essential!

Originally released in 2011 and ultimately the swan song of the band’s core lineup, In the Grace Of Your Love marked a reset for The Rapture and a welcome return to DFA, the label that helped them make their instantly seminal debut, Echoes. The momentum and success of those years led to a major label roller coaster ride that dumped them right back where they started, scars to show but now free to push beyond the boundaries of expectation.

Guiding them there was the late, great Philippe Zdar, one-half of French dance duo Cassius and producer for the likes of Phoenix and the Beastie Boys. Zdar’s enthusiasm and technical prowess are audible within the record’s first 30 seconds: “Sail Away” is the Rapture gone widescreen and radiant, a five-minute long exhale with disco drums.

There is, of course, plenty of fodder for the dance kids - “How Deep Is Your Love” still slams barroom dance floors in New York City, “Miss You” is a bit of irresistible minor-key mischief - but overall the feeling is one of slowing down, taking stock, searching for meaning and love in more right places than wrong.

Ergo, its finale: “It Takes Time To Be a Man,” a charmingly honest, piano-plonked song about taking responsibility and helping others. It sounds like absolutely nothing else in the Rapture’s catalog and yet also perfectly ends it. Credits roll, time goes on, records still mean everything.

TRACK LISTING

Side A
1. Sail Away
2. Miss You
3. Blue Bird

Side B
1. Come Back To Me
2. In The Grace Of Your Love

Side C
1. Never Die Again
2. Roller Coaster
3. Children

Side D
1. Can You Find A Way?
2. How Deep Is Your Love?
3. It Takes Time To Be A Man

After his ‘Destination There’ EP and digital-only album on Flying Lotus’ Brainfeeder, Ras G steps back to RAMP with his signature speaker popping, extra-solar instrumental hip hop with new album ‘Down 2 Earth’. Residing in the left coast, Ras is godfather to the post-Dilla instrumental hip hop movement, releasing various vinyl releases on his own Poobah label as far back at 2005, which were instrumental in the formation of the L.A. beats scene way before a Flying Lotus beat had a sniff of PVC. His dusty beats and booming bass humps are still standing tall in an often-stagnant field. ‘Down 2 Earth’ is his rawest most straight up hip hop release to date, sewing together dub soundsystem culture into a ‘Donuts’ style beattape format.

TRACK LISTING

Vinyl Tracklisting:
A1. D2E Intro
A2. Hey Baby!!!!
A3. Diiirrrtttty
A4. (((Shrooms)))
A5. I Love The 90s Hip Hop
A6. Crenshaw Bus
B7. One 4 DB - I SEE
B8. That's Fly
B9. Filth Factor 98
B10. Leave!!!!!!!
B 11. Bobby Speak
B12. Black Dusty Radio
C13. 40 Bus
C14. 303 Vs Tell-Lie-Vision
C15. Peace (Saalaam)
C16. Change
D17. Crush On A Earthling
D18. Interlude
D19. Fatcat
D20. Interlude
D21. Harlem Negus Wild

CD Tracklisting:
1. D2E Intro
2. Hey Baby!!!!
3. Diiirrrtttty
4. (((Shrooms)))
5. I Love The 90s Hip Hop
6. Crenshaw Bus
7. One 4 DB - I SEE
8. That`s Fly
9. Filth Factor ’98
10. Leave!!!!!!!
11. Bobby Speak
12. Black Dusty Radio
13. 40 Bus
14. 303 Vs Tell-Lie-Vision
15. Peace (Saalaam)
16. Change
17. Crush On A Earthling
18. Interlude
19. Fatcat
20. Interlude
21. Harlem Negus
Wild

Rat Columns is the mutable musical project of David West, an artist as prolific as he is diverse in his output. West is the driving force behind the groups Rank/Xerox, Liberation and Lace Curtain, he was also a member of Total Control, and most recently debuted a solo album proper.

Whether its forward-facing punk or turning his hand to crafting sleek prisms of pop, West’s credentials check out. Rat Columns is no exception, always central to his vision and returned to many times since its inception in Perth almost a decade ago. Over the years the band has morphed and continued with an array of different friends from the USA and Australia, always finding David West dancing through the long shadows at its core. Working with many distinguished underground imprints including Blackest Ever Black, Adagio 830, Smart Guy Records and RIP Society, Rat Columns have left in their wake a trail of 7”s, EPs and two full length albums. Now a third album, entitled ‘Candle Power’ is cued for release through Upset The Rhythm.

Recorded in Guildford, Western Australia, with the Perth crew of West, Amber Gempton, Louis Hooper and Chris Cobilis, ‘Candle Power’ sees the band's universe of chiming guitar pop explode into new worlds of colour and shade. It’s an album as happy to walk home in the rain as it is to reel dizzily through daylight. It’s melancholic lilt tempered by a quietly-sung optimism. ‘Candle Power’ tunnels further than ever before down the pop mainline, cutting in with moments of soul, disco and experimental plots. West is a magpie-like musician, unafraid to assemble songs from a motley collection of influences and ideas. He weaves songs together with a deft hand and an acute grasp for the memorable yet momentary.

A drumroll sputters to life kicking off the album with first track ‘Someone Else’s Dream’, a bittersweet remonstrance of bounding brightness underscored by West and Gempton’s shared vocals. It’s a song about an inability to let go of the past, sounding defiantly sunny amidst the vivid keyboards, guitar jangle and resolute beat. This knack of teaming up decidedly heartrending subject matter with some of the most affirming music imaginable is a trait well understood by fans of 80’s independent music and it’s safe to say that whilst being a fan himself West can still breathe new life into this approach. “I trail off like Sunday bells, unwanted” sings West on the equally introspective ‘She Loves The Rain’ whilst xylophones and shimmering patterns of guitar interlock in blithe harmony. ‘Time’s No Vessel’ also plays a part in reinforcing this method. Against a dreamy guitar refrain that’s pure Johnny Marr, West laments that he knows “time is no vessel for our love, it’s a dark cloud that rains down from above”.

‘Blinded By The Shadow’ marks an about turn for the album, seeing the record start to flex its motorik muscles with a sequenced bassline and rock-solid drumbeat. The song’s title is sung in a call and response manner that drifts over the dance floor hypnotically. Handclaps, violin and tambourine join a host of percussion to further enhance the captivated groove. ‘Is This Really What You’re Like?’ takes on a similar focused shuffle only with a more minimal demeanour. Whilst, ‘Candle Power II’ takes the disco to the other side of the tracks with its shimmering synths, violin drones and uniform beat. It’s at once mesmeric and meandering, zoning in on the ephemeral theme of the album, acknowledging its sense of transience. The difference between letting go and moving on.

That is what ‘Candle Power’ as an album is reaching for, it is enamoured to the fleeting. That flicker of recognition between one choice and another. ‘Northern Soul’ chases its own heartbeat through lush, sweeping synths and hushed refrains, it’s a heartfelt song in hot pursuit. ‘Dream Tonight’ concludes the album with its propulsive drum machine, searching keyboard lines and effusive bassline. It’s a tour de force of pristine pop akin to New Order in its ability to capture this mercurial feeling, to listen through the music. “You could dream tonight, try to keep an ember alight” West sings repeatedly through the song, before it dissolves into something once there. There’s an elusive beauty in the most short-lived moment and with ‘Candle Power’ Rat Columns breathe warmth across the coals to live in their glow a moment longer.

TRACK LISTING

01. Someone Else’s Dream
02. She Loves The Rain
03. Blinded By The Shadow
04. Time’s No Vessel
05. Is This Really What You’re Like?
06. Candle Power II
07. You Don’t Have To Try
08. Northern Soul
09. Dream Tonight

"Classics" remains resolutely instrumental, but they have however introduced a wealth of new sounds, from acoustic and slide guitar through to sleigh bells and cello. Having laid out their blueprint with "Ratatat", their vastly improved production and writing makes "Classics" a refinement of their art.

Ratatat are Mike Stroud (Ben Kweller, Dashboard Confessional) and Evan (co-founder of the Audio Dregs label and better known as the artist E*Vax). Mike left on tour, he was always leaving on tour but he had to, had to play music, had to make a living. Evan was often left alone to cook up new beats and make CDRs. He would mail them to Mike on the road, and he scattered them amomgst a thousand or so people around the world. People took to the sound, the buzz began. At the time they were called Cherry and everyone wanted to hear more, or better yet sing for them, but this was never going to be the case. Then Paul Banks from Interpol got a demo. He took to the sound, but he never asked to sing for them. He asked them to open for his band on the West Coast.

Despite its title, Ratboys’ new album 'Singin’ to an Empty Chair' is not defined by what’s missing. Rather, it’s the beginning of an important dialogue with a close loved one, vocalist Julia Steiner finds herself estranged from. The music on the band’s sixth studio album – its first for New West Records – fills the space that person left behind with 11 songs showcasing Ratboys at the peak of their powers — twangy, effervescent, as confident as they’ve ever been, and perhaps more emotionally interrogative than ever before. The four-piece Chicago band followed up 2023’s highly acclaimed 'The Window' by reconvening with co-producer Chris Walla to begin tracking at a rural Wisconsin cabin before taking the songs to Steve Albini’s famed Electrical Audio studios in Chicago and later to Rosebud Studio in Evanston, Illinois. The results veer from bubbly power-pop on 'Anywhere' to irresistible post-country on 'Penny in the Lake', along with heart-piercing ballads like 'Just Want You to Know the Truth' and an exhilarating detour into the extraterrestrial on 'Light Night Mountains All That', which Steiner dubs the band’s mammoth “wormhole jam". 'Singin’ to an Empty Chair' also marks the first Ratboys album written since Steiner began therapy, which the singer/lyricist credits for the clarity found across the album’s unflinching examinations of relationship and self. Fittingly, as the album begins by extending a hand into the void, it concludes with a scene of serenity – all while weaving candid honesty, humor, chaos, and whimsy along the way. “It's not all doom and gloom,” Steiner says. “The experience of making this record definitely gives me hope for whatever happens next.”

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: Uplifting, poppy power punk that could easily have been one of the more bouncy acts on Fat Wreck Chords in the early 00's. Feel-good, melody rich punk.

TRACK LISTING

1. Open Up
2. Know You Then
3. Light Night Mountains All That
4. Anywhere
5. Penny In The Lake
6. Strange Love
7. The World, So Madly
8. Just Want You To Know The Truth
9. What’s Right?
10. Burn It Down
11. At Peace In The Hundred Acre Wood

Ratcatcher provides two new cuts for the esteemed Peach label, with hot-to-trott remixes from Leon Vynehall and Benjamin Damage. "Somehow" is a sleek, sub-heavy slow house jam, delicately pairing syncopated percussion with deep synthetic textures and catchy vocal snippets. "Motion" does away with the vocals and layers up sizzling white noise sweeps and techy stabs to create a pitchblack throbber for late on into the session. Leon Vynehall unloads some tough breaks onto "Somehow", turning the drum palette and overall aesthetic into summat a bit more crunchy and aggressive. Benjamin Damage tears "Motion" a new arsehole as he delivers a forward propelled nu-techno jam complete with rumbling kicks and discordant rhythmic artifacts.
Support from: Mike Huckaby, Trevino, Maya Jane Coles, Jonas Kopp, Nikola Gala, Norman Nodge, Joris Voorn, Lorca, XXXY, Vince Watson, South London Ordnance, Eats Everything, Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs, Shenoda, Iron Galaxy, Atjazz, Randomer, Komon, Physical Therapy, Doc Daneeka, Braille, Thefft.

TRACK LISTING

A1. Somehow
A2. Motion
B1. Somehow (Leon Vynehall Translation)
B2. Motion (Benjamin Damage Remix)

Celebrate 10 years of Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats’ explosive debut album with this special anniversary edition. Featuring the timeless hits that launched their meteoric rise, including the unstoppable 'S.O.B.', this release honors the raw soul, vintage grooves, and powerful vocals that captivated fans worldwide. Revisit the record that redefined modern soul-rock and introduced a band whose music continues to move hearts and dance floors everywhere. Includes a bonus disc of demos!

TRACK LISTING

1. I Need Never Get Old 
2. Howling At Nothing 
3. Trying So Hard Not To Know 
4. I’ve Been Failing 
5. S.O.B. 
6. Wasting Time
7. Thank You
8. Look It Here 
9. Shake
10. I’d Be Waiting
11. Mellow Out
12. Wasting Time (Demo)
13. Howling At Nothing (Demo)
14. Trying So Hard Not To Know (Demo)
15. A Little More Too (Demo)
16. Late Night Party (Demo)
17. I Need Never Get Old (Demo)
18. Thank You (Demo)
19. Look It Here (Demo)
20. Feelin It (Demo)
21. I’d Be Waiting (Demo) 

Nathaniel Rateliff has written and recorded his first solo record since the explosive debut of his work together with The Night Sweats. And It’s Still Alright, is an intensely personal 10-song album of vibrant country-blues, badland ballads, ornate Americana and jazz-inflected R&B. Rateliff’s warm baritone, ranging from gently hushed to a guttural howl, imbues these superbly drawn character studies with raw, naked emotion.

And It’s Still Alright was produced by Rateliff, Night Sweats’ drummer Patrick Meese and James Barone of the indie band, Beach House and primarily recorded at National Freedom in Cottage Grove, Oregon, the studio formerly owned by the late Richard Swift (who produced both Night Sweats recordings). While Rateliff, Meese and Barone handled much of the album’s instrumentation, several friends make contributions including Night Sweats’ guitarist Luke Mossman; bassist Elijah Thomson (of the indie band Everest); keyboardist Daniel Creamer (of The Texas Gentlemen); steel guitarist Eric Swanson (touring musician for Israel Nash) and renowned string arranger Tom Hagerman (of the instrumental vocal ensemble DeVotchKa), whose delicate orchestrations beautifully complement the album’s deep emotional terrain.

And It’s Still Alright’s many highlights include album opener “What A Drag,” which sketches a vivid portrait of a disconnected relationship, “Tonight #2,” a haunting, end-of-the-world waltz, “Time Stands,” detailing an epic, desperate struggle for love and the elegiac "Rush On," a heart-breaking requiem for Swift.

Unguarded and unflinchingly real, Nathaniel Rateliff’s And It’s Still Alright expands on the sounds and styles he’s used to great affect across both his band and solo careers.

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: Drifting acoustic ballads and Rateliff's trademark gravelly drawl work in perfect union his latest outing, 'And It's Still Alright'. An intoxicating and heady listen, and a brilliant way to unwind after a long day.

TRACK LISTING

1. What A Drag
2. And It’s Still Alright
3. All Or Nothing
4. Expecting To Lose
5. Tonight #2
6. Mavis
7. You Need Me
8. Time Stands
9. Kissing Our Friends
10. Rush On

Renowned international composer Maja Ratkje is a founding member in two of Norway's most respected improvisational units - Spunk & Fe-Mail. While her solo work on the Rune Grammofon release "Voice" is without the electronic and instrumental elements of Spunk and Fe-Mail, "Stalker" finds Maja merging elements of her other projects into her solo endeavors.

The best act I've ever seen at a festival" Paul Thomson, Franz Ferdinand. Rats On Rafts have joined forces with legendary underground Dutch punk band De Kift - Zaandam punk vs Rotterdam punk! A playful revisioning of each other’s music which began at Metropolis Festival in 2013. The record brings together songs from Rats On Rafts critically acclaimed second album ‘Tape Hiss’ and De Kift’s huge catalogue. The two bands locked themselves up for a month to record a completely analogue album. Together they will play this material live on tour. Instantly recognisable as Rats ‘Last Day On De Zon’ is shot through with brass - enter De Kift. Dark, dub infused ‘Meggy’ sees Rats bringing their explosive and unrelenting rolling crescendos. ‘Sleep Little Links 2 3 4’ is uplifting with the addition of brass whilst folk tinged ‘Dit Schip’ sees them bring further depth to the collaboration. Energetic and raw, the spirit of their festival performances prevails throughout. De Kift have released music for three decades with father Heijne only retiring in 2013, brothers Marco & Ferry Heijne and cousin Pim remain alongside co-founder and drummer Wim. The nine piece brass ensemble have released eleven albums, collaborated in theatre, film and various media projects which has seen them win a number of Dutch awards across film and music. Both formats have unique sleeves made from recycled LP/CD sleeves, with the front and back cover printed and stuck on to the recycled sleeve. The band have assembled and fulfilled each one themselves. 

TRACK LISTING

1. Last Day On De Zon
2. Voorbij
3. Brass Poison Face
4. Dit Schip
5. Powder Monkey
6. Melk En Benzine
7. Moonlight Flit
8. Meggy
9. Swan Song
10. Sleep Little Links 2 3 4 

The third album from Dutch punk-laced noiseniks adds new maturity and a conceptual feel that pulls the extremes of their sound together. A psychefuelled journey into the id punctuated with rhythmic kabuki modal mood swings, thunderstorms, digital beeps, traffic noise, and just plain old beautiful cacophonous reverb-drenched sound when needed.

The ‘third chapter’ refers to the last five years that the Dutch band have spent creating their “difficult” third album. Each song spins a yarn; there are plagues, dreams, wind and fire, ‘mythical’ characters, and the search for the secret government warehouse. Lead single, Tokyo Music Experience, resonates with a conveyor belt-propelled modal guitar, reflecting the halcyon days of Japanese super-productivity; a mesmerising mantra, infected with news bulletin on-thehour bleeps underlining its time-sensitive nature; a pristine super-commercial anthem to drive loyalty and reinforce solidarity with the party!

Having been described as creating “underground noise with a bracing, warped pop appeal” (Mojo), their new album is a coming-of-age post-classic with a unique worldview - inspired by Van Dyke Parks (Song Cycle) Scott Walker (3 & 4), Moondog (Elpmas), White Noise (An Electric Storm) and Beach Boys (Smile).

If their previous effort (Tape Hiss) was their very own sketch of a sketch for an incomplete concept album, a noisy reaction to their previous life, then ‘Excerpts From Chapter 3..’, with all its interlaced intricacies, is the realisation of their transition from punk-spiked-pop to psyche-pop protagonists. Evolving, testing, infectious...

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: This wild and superb outing from Rats On Rafts shows that the bands playful spirit and whimsical melodies don't have to give way when things get serious. A brilliantly deep and eminently enjoyable third outing.

TRACK LISTING

Side A
1 Prologue: Rain
2 A Trail Of Wind And Fire
3 Second Born Child
4 Tokyo Music Experience
5 The Rise And Fall Of The Plague
6 Another Year

Side B
7 Fragments
8 The Disappearance Of Dr. Duplicate
9 Excerpt Taken From Chapter 3
10 Where Is My Dream?
11 Part One: The Long Drought
12 Part Two: Crossing The Desert
13 Epilogue: Big Poisonous Shadows

Bonus Dinked Edition 7":
1. Tokyo Music Experience (Single Edit)
2. Osaka

Rats on Rafts descend further into the brooding wasteland on their new album ‘Deep Below’, a darker, slower, eroded sound from the Rotterdam band. Highlighting different shades within the monochrome landscape compared to their previous, more colourful albums: they dive deeper into their psyche, questioning our relationships with nature, religion and each other. Echoes of The Cure, Cocteau Twins and Slowdive seem present yet so many different influences make up an album that only they could create. It sees Rats on Rafts coming of age whilst raising their heads from the underground.

Forever drifting into new territory, ‘Deep Below’ is certainly their darkest and most cohesive work to date. True to their analogue recording process, the tape machines, reverbs, echoes and vital new ingredients: the Soundcraft 1s mixing desk (Used by Lee Perry) and the eerie sounding Eminent String Ensemble synth all amplify the authentic sounds of the 1980’s without sounding like a relic.

‘Japanese Medicine’ is a haunting minor chord piece driven by debris of icy chiming guitars, galloping drums and waves of lush synths. lyrically it gathers memories of teenage friendship, littered with cigarettes, life-changing records, punctuated with the dark thoughts and the demons they summon up. Though the band have kept the songs relatively slow-paced and sparse, deeper ruminations of mortality and alienation creep through the cracks. ‘Nature Breaks’, the most propulsive song on the record, thematically locks into this notion, as Fagan meditates on human impulse in the face of abject survival, and how those situations often unlock one's true self.

You may conclude Rotterdam’s Rats on Rafts relationship with the past is complicated. ‘The Moon Is Big’ (2011) ‘Tape Hiss’ (2015) and ‘Excerpts From Chapter 3’ (2021) are truly gripping analog timestamps of a band refusing to give in to the supposed ‘progress of the world’ instead forging their own way each time. ‘Deep Below’ is Rats on Rafts’ most minimalist work since their 2011 debut. Where the latter album was fuelled by a brash bravado, these recordings meditate on sentiments of doubt, loss, and ageing.

TRACK LISTING

1. Afterworld
2. Japanese Medicine
3. All These Things
4. Hibernation
5. Voiceprint
6. The Day Before
7. Deep Below
8. Nature Breaks
9. Sleepwalking 

Liverpool’s hard-hitting slaves to truth and beats that bounce in rhythm to both the good times and the bad, RATS. Fearless, occasionally fierce and frequently tender, the rousing rabble come together to create Rule The World. Cheerfully claiming a sense of early prominence as their breakthrough single Patsy Decline, in 2021, drew curious audiences to their lively live shows, the band’s upfront and upbeat mix of unflinching lyrical honesty and crossover rock, R’n’B and ska soundtracks modern, inner city Britain. With frontman and lyricist, Joe Maddocks picking up quick comparisons to Jamie T and The Streets’ Mike Skinner and the band grabbing an early, life-affirming slot to support Liam Gallagher at his Royal Albert Hall show in 2022, the winding path to a full album has been patiently navigated. Taking over two years to properly commit the fun and fury of their fizzing live shows to tape, RATS returned late last year with notorious live favourite, Section 60, to coincide with another run of sold out UK-wide live dates. “It’s a mix of our individual characters coming together,” says drummer, Alan Phillips. “You’ve got the Lowell’s dub and ska, you've got Joe’s sharp, almost hip-hop lyrics, then there’s Mikey and Chris with their infectious, indie-ish guitar riffs. It's a mixture of all kinds of different tunes within us.”

TRACK LISTING

1. Rule The World
2. You And Me
3. Turn It Around
4. Hard To Find
5. Liar
6. Section 60
7. Feeling Right
8. Sirens
9. Don't Give Up
10. 10 Missed Calls
11. Lost And Found
12. Over The Bridge
13. Graham's Song

NYC author/writer/actor Larry "Ratso" Sloman has collaborated with some of the most dynamic figures in pop culture from Bob Dylan, Lou Reed, John Cale and Leonard Cohen. Ratso also wrote the best-selling memoirs for Howard Stern, Anthony Kiedis and Mike Tyson. Now at 70, Ratso announces debut LP Stubborn Heart. Ratso explains, “If you would have told me when I was covering Dylan's Rolling Thundertour for Rolling Stone Magazine that forty-four years later, I would be releasing my first album I would have laughed and asked for a hit of whatever it was you were smoking. Guess I’ll take that hit now.”

For the last forty-four years Larry “Ratso” Sloman has forged an impressive career as a writer of books, lyrics and most recently screenplays. Credited with writing features on Lou Reed, George Harrison and Leonard Cohen for Rolling Stone, Sloman was also personally invited by Bob Dylan to join his 1975 Rolling Thunder Revue as the tour's official scribe, which led to Ratso's first book On The Road With Bob Dylan (dubbed by Dylan as "The War and Peace of Rock and Roll”). On tour he was given the moniker “Ratso” by Joan Baez for his disheveled appearance. Ratso has collaborated with Howard Stern, Anthony Kiedis, David Blaine, and Mike Tyson on their best-selling memoirs. He was asked by Leonard Cohen to preface On Tour with Leonard Cohen and Ratso's biography of Houdini will soon be a major-motion picture.

Ratso has paid his dues in the tower of song, having written the lyrics for over thirty tracks with Rick Derringer (McCoys) and ex-Velvet Underground founder John Cale, including "Dying on the Vine," which became Cale’s signature solo song (inspiring not one, but two novels). Ratso has also acted in films as diverse as the award-winning short The Black Balloon, the horror film Satan’s Little Helper and has a large role in Martin Scorsese's upcoming Netflix documentary on Dylan's Rolling Thunder tour, out in April.

What hasn’t Ratso done? His own album. At 70, Ratso is releasing debut album Stubborn Heart, produced by his close friend Vin Cacchione (of Soft Black and Caged Animals) at his studio in Bushwick, Brooklyn. Stubborn Heart blends a classic songwriting approach with a contemporary sophistication. The album features Ratso singing on eight originals (including songs that were co-written with John Cale) and what he describes as an “audacious” Bob Dylan cover, along with the generous talents of his friends Nick Cave, Warren Ellis, Sharon Robinson (Leonard Cohen’s co-writer, producer and back-up singer), Yasmine Hamdan, Imani Coppolla and more.

Reminiscing on the album Ratso says, “Everything about this project was fun. And it was always about the songs. They had been lying dormant since 1984. They deserved a life.” Each track carries a significant and often astonishing history. For instance, the John Cale collaboration "Dying On The Vine," was originally conceived in hotel room off Sunset Blvd. whilst trading lines with Tom Waits and Chuck E. Weiss, whereas Sharon Robinson was convinced to sing on the record in exchange for Ratso writing the aforementioned Leonard Cohen preface for free, described by Ratso as an “old school barter.”

Stubborn Heart is an album that is fittingly autobiographical, harking back to various stages of Ratso’s accomplished career and life, sung by a guy who witnessed the counter-cultural explosion of 1970's NYC and birthed forty years later within the DIY confines of Brooklyn. His Rolling Stones fan club card long gone, Ratso’s now a card-carrying member of the American Association of Retired Persons but he’s determined to ride this new career wherever it takes him. “Maybe I can be the Jewish Susan Boyle,” he muses. “The oldest best new artist ever and if that doesn’t pan out, I can always perform on subway platforms. Hey, I can get in for half-price!”

TRACK LISTING

1. I Want Everything (ft. Yasmine Hamdan)
2. Our Lady Of Light (ft. Nick Cave)
3. Caribbean Sunset (ft. Imani Coppola & Paul Shapiro)
4. Dying On The Vine
5. Living In Moonlight
6. Matching Scars
7. Listen Little Man
8. Stubborn Heart
9. Sad Eyed Lady Of The Lowlands

Rattle are Katharine Eira Brown and Theresa Wrigley, they formed in 2011 after meeting on the live circuit whilst both playing in other bands. Katharine was a guitarist who had recently started playing drums in the band Kogumaza, whilst Theresa was the drummer in Nottingham band Fists. They’ve since released two long-players, 2016’s self-titled debut album Rattle (Upset The Rhythm / I Own You) and 2018’s Sequence (Upset The Rhythm) to much critical acclaim in the music press, and with James Acaster discussing the debut on his BBC Sounds podcast Perfect Sounds!
Rattle have honed the four songs that make up ‘Encircle’ by playing them live over the last few years, adapting and stretching them into endlessly inventive new shapes, playing with the concept of time and expectation. ‘Encircle’ was recorded at Foel Studios, Wales, produced and mixed by Mark Jasper, and mastered at Liminal Audio by Shaun Crook. The stunningly colourful artwork was created by Martha Glazzard, who was also responsible for Rattle’s other mesmeric covers.

‘All Burning’ opens the album, a live favourite of cyclical tumbling and evolving wordplay. ‘All Burning’ was built up gradually layer by layer with Theresa’s cumulative snare work and Katherine’s urgent calls for action: “hold your doctor, hold your daughter, hold your horses”. If ‘All Burning’ represents fire, then it’s accompanying 12-minute long track on Side 1, ‘Argot’, is informed by the air. ‘Argot’ is a song about uncertainty, with Katherine singing wordlessly across the majority of the track. “I prefer to sing wordlessly often because it feels a bit more expressive and universal” asserts Katherine. The track feels truly epic with a satisfying release that comes with the eventual introduction of the bass drum and snappy hi-hat section.

Side 2 also pairs a shorter song with a long-form composition. ‘Ritual’ is worked up from a simple snare drum pattern which becomes more and more overlapped into an elliptical form of waltz. Katherine considers ‘Ritual’ as “very earthy song - lots of low lying mist on the ground swirling around and the drums coming together to summon something”! ‘Ritual’ was inspired by a visit to the ruins of Boleskine House so multi-dimensional themes and occult practice loom large. ‘Your Move’ is a step-up gear change with the band wanting it to feel like the tape had suddenly started to spin faster, urging movement, venturing action. Clocking in at over 15 minutes, ‘Your Move’, is mesmeric and boundless, hypnotic in its minimalism of doubled-drums and almost tribal vocal cycles.

With ‘Encircle’ Rattle have grown again, these songs are alive with elemental power. They build-up and disintegrate, existing in two places at once, embracing the nuance, tracing the circle’s edge. These are modes of song as pure gesture and eternal imagination, refined in mirrors after midnight.

Rattle has performed at The Barbican, London and toured the UK with Animal Collective and Thurston Moore Group and Europe with The Julie Ruin and Protomartyr, and performed with Hot Snakes, Bill Orcutt Quartetand Codeine.

TRACK LISTING

01. All Burning (5:23)
02. Argot (12:01)
03. Rituals (5:24)
04. Your Move (15:36)

Nottingham based drumming duo RATTLE release their eponymous debut LP via Upset the Rhythm. Rattle focus almost exclusively on drums and more drums, beneath a delicate overlay of vocal harmonies and percussive effects.

Formed by Katharine Eira Brown (also of Kogumaza) and Theresa Wrigley (also of Fists), Rattle began as an experiment in crafting rich songs and melody using drums and voice alone. Their music weaves and intertwines post-punk, minimalism and experimental rock, through off-kilter rhythms, patterns and counter melodies. Their live performances are at once hypnotic, monastic and danceable, having entranced audiences at Supersonic Festival, Dot to Dot, throughout the UK during a recent tour with Witching Waves and in Europe with Zea (Arnold de Boer from The Ex). 

The duo formed quite by accident in Nottingham in 2011, where Katharine and Theresa knew each other from playing in other local bands. Katharine was a guitarist who had recently started playing drums in the band Kogumaza and Theresa is the enthralling drummer from Fists. They originally met up to skill swap guitars and drums but soon enough they found they were having more fun with a double drum set-up and started making the sound of their first song “Boom”, which became a blueprint for their new band’s sound. As Katharine explains; “It seemed obvious right from the start that nothing else was going to be required in terms of instruments.”

When it came to recording the album it made absolute sense to bring in their regular live sound engineer Mark Spivey (also of Kogumaza) who has been working closely with the band from the beginning. Live, he adds additional effects and manipulations from the sound desk and these techniques were transferred over to a studio setting at The Big Mouse House, in Sneinton, Nottingham (in the studio owned by Tony Doggen, of Spiritualized and coincidently where Jake Bugg recorded his new album). A lot of time and attention was taken to get the best sound possible from the drums in the room. As Mark explains: “We wanted the record to be and sound very real, and to sound like what it is, which meant (by definition) that it needed to sound unlike anything else.”

Having mostly played in experimental or avant-rock settings Rattle first discovered that they could make their awkward audiences dance with opening track “Trainer (Get You)”, which was specifically designed to make the listener move in some way. Whereas other songs embrace different moods, for example “Starting” has a sense of urgency and a repeated lyric phrase that becomes a mantra, and “Click” is more soothing and meditative. The high hat and cymbal hits in “Sorcerer” have a sword-fighting feel and “Stringer Bell” is more of a cocktail song from a 1950s city apartment.

Often starting by picking out the ghost notes from the drums to develop a melody, the song then reveals itself in rounds and harmonies with layer upon layer of rhythm and vocal, lending a choral feel to some of the tracks. Rattle effortlessly blend the avant-garde with irresistible melodies and hypnotic drum beats, using rhythm and harmony to create a refreshing sound that is utterly new - a pretty rare feat these days when we’re saturated with so much music. Their live shows conjure all the magic and excitement from their exhilarating creative process, allowing the audience to share in the very special bond between the duo as they dazzle with their drumming skills.

TRACK LISTING

01. Trainer (Get You)
02. Starting
03. Click
04. Boom
05. Thunder
06. True Picture
07. Stringer Bell
08. On Balance
09. Sorcerer
10. Elegant In The Mouth
11. Dulling

RATTLE is an ongoing musical project concerned with experiments in rhythm, metre and tension. Katharine Eira Brown and Theresa Wrigley make up the duo from Nottingham, who with just drums and occasional vocalisations weave an expanse of percussive vortices. Their songs swirl and envelop with all the physicality and drama of another world pulling together around its own shifting centre of gravity. The drum beats phase and sidestep, they trade accents and overlap, providing a suitably alive terrain for the vocals to explore similar tendencies of pattern.

Rattle’s debut album was released in 2016 through Upset The Rhythm / I Own You and was greeted with much critical praise, this often singled out their hypnotic minimalism and ecstatic regard for the dance floor. The following six months saw Rattle support Animal Collective on their UK tour before heading out around Europe with The Julie Ruin.

Rattle used these opportunities to try out new material and unconsciously began writing their next album. Brown recalls that “hearing our drums in these larger venues, with amazing sound, made us excited about how beautiful and magic the drums sounded, we were quite spellbound by how they were able to fill a venue so completely.”

‘Sequence’ was written in much the same way as their debut, with the duo facing each other over their shared palette of drums, allowing songs to develop naturally and suggest their own direction. However, Brown and Wrigley were more confident of what they wanted to achieve with this follow up, having already proven the concept watertight through their debut and subsequent concerts. They knew they could wrestle songs out of the silence with such a setup, so afforded themselves greater time to explore extended, long-form composition. ‘Sequence’ is composed of four tracks, each clocking in around 10 mins or over and focused squarely on a deeper resonance with the creative act, illustrative of how ideas build from scratch, of how music can grow out of repetition. Recorded at JT Soar in Nottingham with Phil Booth and Mark Spivey (Rattle’s live sound engineer), the album developed out of these four points, with Rattle honing their sound with detail. Everything was stripped back to just the drums and Brown’s voice. Percussion flourishes were deemed unnecessary, overdubbed layers of vocals were kept to a minimum. As a result, this quartet of songs are more meditative and aware than previous efforts, with the duo’s attentions spent tapping into each track’s potential, mapping out expeditions in tempo and making much of the journey over destination.

‘DJ’ is the first part of the album to unfold, its insistent, rotating beat slowly morphs into an avalanche of shimmering cymbals, before a plateau of echoed rim shots cools all to the core. Throughout, Brown’s wordless singing tethers the song to its atmosphere, an effect similarly employed to perfection in ‘Disco’ which follows. ‘Signal’ unfurls as an odyssey of rhythm, it’s tumbling beat, punctuated by shivers of hi-hat bluster and mesmeric tom fills. “Put your ear to the ground, it’s an incredible sound” confesses Brown in her most telling lyric from the album, leaving you convinced that Rattle are somehow channeling all this music from a quiet, elemental other-place. ‘The Rocks’ concludes the record with sparse assurance, it’s an exercise in magnified scope and altered states. Wrigley and Brown divide duties across all these tracks, with the cadenced, dynamic shifts of hi-hat and cymbal being Theresa’s domain, whilst Katharine holds down the toms and snare. Brown notes that “each song can be seen as representing a different drum in my set up”. ‘DJ’ is an exploration of her snare, whilst ‘Disco’, ‘Signal’ and ‘The Rocks’ are based around the floor tom, rack tom, and bass drum respectively. All of this is complemented further through the production interventions of Mark Spivey, who wanted to capture Rattle’s huge live sound on tape for this album with all its incurred dub-delay trippiness, taming and melding.

‘Sequence’ is a liminal album, thoughtfully crafted with themes of transition and realisation at its heart. It feels like a trance or ritual if you give yourself to the recording. It urges you to step outside and listen deeper. Rattle are seeking out a vivid array, an order from the noise, a pattern that unlocks the next. This album is the nurturing of intention and when we walk to its beat we arrive anew. 

TRACK LISTING

01. DJ
02. Disco
03. Signal
04. The Rocks 

Jon Rauhouse brings back the glory and artistry of the instrumental LP with this collection of pedal steel guitar and Haiwaiian guitar gems. You may know him from his recent collaborations. His playing has been a fundamental part of recent recordings by Neko Case, The Waco Bros and Calexico. The arrangements and the musicianship on this album will put to shame any and all dillettante rockers, and with the backing talents of Calexico, and for those who just need the sound of a human voice, guest vocalists Neko Case, Sally Timms and Kelly Hogan - what more could you need?

A compilation of atmospheric live recordings on a double LP. Twelve serene ambient and IDM tracks by German producer Rave Angst, who let his modular system and Roland TB-303 on the loose. The vibe is moody and production is crisp with lots going on to keep your brain busy. It really feels like we're entering Rave Angst's soul - he definitely did not hold back as this is deeply emotional and - let's face it - often apocalyptic sounding music. The unsettling melodies on the album are strangely held together by metallic sounding rhythms but only just... Rave Angst really challenges the listener on this album. It's all high quality stuff with "A Boy Called Extacy", "Sunday Morning Self-Medication Acid" and "Paralyzed (Dub)" being our personal favorites. "Exist" is a massive recommendation for anyone into mid 90s Aphex Twin and early Plastikman. Essential stuff.

TRACK LISTING

• 01 1994 Video Version
• 02 Mes Nuits Sont Plus Belles Que Vos Jours
• 03 Sunday Morning Self Medication Acid
• 04 Rave Angst
• 05 Cyco
• 06 Constraint No 3
• 07 Angst Dub
• 08 Fader Clich
• 09 Nyctophonia Edit
• 10 Paralyzed Dub
• 11 A Boy Called Extacy
• 12 My Illusion Edit

Stamp welcomes a stalwart of the London club scene to its fold under a new alias: Raven Daze.

On this 12" we have two expertly crafted edits sprinkled with a little extra magic on top: The perennial US dancefloor classic 'Ring My Bell' and an instrumental of his own Ghanaian disco sampling track 'Feeling About You'...

Limited hand-stamped copies!

STAFF COMMENTS

Matt says: Raven Daze Stamps out a couple of tasty tweaks. Didn't realize I needed a Mousse T-esque house refix of "Ring My Bell" - but I do now! "Feeling About You" keeps up that tropical disco energy with an instrumental tweak on a well known track that's on the tip of my beak. Answers on a @ please!

TRACK LISTING

A. Ring My Bell
B. Feeling About You 

West Lothian electronica supergroup Räven Musen are back with 'Peppermint Soldier', their first full length album.

Räven Musen are Steven Anderson (Letters From Mouse) and Frazer Brown (Dohnavùr). Following on from 2020's debut EP, 'Secrets of Snow Diving', Steven and Fra bring you Peppermint Soldier to mark WFR's second birthday, and the label's 50th release.

Peppermint Soldier focuses on both artist's individual strengths, with Steven's affinity for cloudy melodies and twinkling modular electronics, and Frazer's trademark dusty grooves and weathered hook lines. These strengths are particularly evident in the lo-fi euphoria of "Editare Rosie", the frantic paranoia of "3300 War', and the marriage of crunchy loops and woozy synth in 'The Hill'.

There's something for everyone within Peppermint Soldier, and the album signifies the growth of Steven and Fra as producers (their popularity as Letters From Mouse and Dohnavùr respectively is testament to this), and also highlights the rapid ascension of Werra Foxma since their inception in June of 2020.

TRACK LISTING

1. Philadelphia Spectrum 04:32
2. Those That Do 04:05
3. Editare Rosie 04:43
4. Kilo Bravo 06:00
5. 3300 War 05:55
6. Ten Years And One Day 04:24
7. The Hill 04:31
8. Ceramic Hearts 04:16

Dr. Seuss (Theodor Geisel) and Chuck Jones, the genius behind Warner Bros.' classic animation, collaborate to bring Dr. Seuss' beloved Christmas story to the screen--How The Grinch Stole Christmas. The green and small-hearted Grinch hates Christmas, and he desperately wants to make all the Whos in the town of Whoville as miserable on Christmas as he is. He tries every underhanded trick he can think of to steal the every material vestige of the holiday, but he can't remove the spirit of Christmas from the hearts of the Whos. Now available in a festive green vinyl, this soundtrack brings all the holiday spirit and nostalgia of the classical film to your turntable!

TRACK LISTING

Side A
1. Opening
2. Trim Up The Tree
3. Tomorrow Is Christmas, It's Practically Here
4. Welcome Christmas
5. I Must Stop Christmas
6. You're A Mean One, Mr. Grinch

Side B
1. You're A Mean One, Mr. Grinch (Reprise)
2. A Quarter Of Dawn
3. Welcome Christmas
4. Finale

Waveshaper Media present “Electron Music / Shore Leave , a new LP by former Pere Ubu synthesist and electronic music trailblazer, Allen Ravenstine. The LP is comprised of two EPs (1 per vinyl side), the first two parts in Raventine’s new Tyranny of Fiction series. Waveshaper Media first came into contact with Ravenstine when they interviewed him in 2012 for their modular synthesizer documentary I Dream Of Wires.

For those in the know, Allen Ravenstine has been one of the most creative synthesizer players of the past forty-plus years. Ravenstine started out in the mid-1970s experimenting in his Cleveland apartment with an analogue EML 200 synthesizer, eventually creating a piece in 1975 that became known as “Terminal Drive”. While he had no intention of releasing his compositions, word got out about the kind of sounds he was experimenting with, which led to an invitation to join pioneering avant garage group Pere Ubu for the recording of the group’s first 45, “Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo.” He soon joined Pere Ubu full-time, bringing to the band’s sound unpredictable textures, effects, bleeps, squalls, pulsating washes of sound—whatever he felt could enhance the soundscape of the band’s performances and recordings. 

STAFF COMMENTS

Matt says: Magnificent piece of new digital exotica from a true stalwart of the synth. These soundscapes are really special; with a purity and transparency that immediately connects you with the various units utilized. Sometimes this style of album kinda misses the mark, whereas here, Allen Ravenstine is right on the money. A triumph!

TRACK LISTING

A1. Far Go
A2. Firefly
A3. Going Upriver
A4. 110 In The Underpass
A5. 5@28
B1. Shore Leave
B2. In Search Of Memory
B3. Pink Dusk At The Point
B4. Ninety Miles To The Spanish Harbor
B5. Flèche D’Or (Golden Arrow)

The culmination of twelve monthly 2016 singles from the acclaimed Danish duo. The Raveonettes have completed their RAVE-SOUND-OF-THE-MONTH which began at the start of 2016 where the band would upload a freshly recorded track on the last Friday of every month throughout the year. The 'anti-album' features a collection of new tracks that aren't bound by the constraints of the format. (2014 album Pe'ahi reached #5 on Billboard's "Heatseekers" and received praise from Mojo, NME, Boston Globe. They've issued seven albums since 2003, via Columbia, Vice, and their own Beat Dies imprint, all charting Top 20 in Denmark.)

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: As far as following the standard 'Record 12 tracks, master 12 tracks, release 12 tracks' format goes, the Raveonettes have failed miserably. Having recorded and released one of these tracks every month over 2016. As far as creating an exciting and dynamic collection of tracks go however, they have smashed it. Synthy grooves, melodic choruses and intricate breakdowns and the ever-beautiful interwoven vocals of Wagner and Foo.

TRACK LISTING

1. This World Is Empty (Without You)
2. Run Mascara Run
3. EXCUSES
4. Junko Ozawa
5. Scout
6. Won't You Leave Me Alone
7. Where Are You Wild Horses
8. A Good Fight
9. This Is Where It Ends
10. Choke On Love
11. Fast Food
12. PENDEJO

The Raveonettes’ Sharin Foo and Sune Rose Wagner are excited to announce the release of their new album Observator.

Throughout their impressive career, the Danish duo has explored sonic territories ranging from lush pop songs to reverb-drenched soundscapes and continually celebrated life through songwriting. All of these forms are evident in Observator, sumptuous and beautiful in its sound, but bleak and sad at its heart.

Pe_ahi (/pe____hi_/ pay-ah-hee; is a place on the north shore of the island of Maui in the US state of Hawaii. It has lent its name to a big wave surfing break, also known as Jaws. During off season the spot is taken over by meth fuelled crazies and people are advised to not venture out there.

Immersed in the surf-history of Southern California, where both Sharin and Sune reside, the album incorporates various elements from this culture into every song both lyrically and musically. The result is their most complex, intricate and autobiographical work to date.

Twenty years ago, The Raveonettes made their debut with Whip It On, the first part of a twin mini-album release. The original CD-version featured an ad for the accompanying second offering called Chain Gang of Love, due later that same year.

The first mini-album was 8, three-chord songs in Bb Minor and the second was supposed to feature 8 other songs in Bb major. That never happened. But it's happening NOW. On side 2 of the 20th anniversary vinyl edition of Whip It On, we proudly release Chain Gang of Love - The OG as it was originally intended. Enjoy!

Here’s a new installment in Upset The Rhythm’s split LP series, that’s previously seen Gary War, Purple Pilgrims, Please and Spin Spin The Dogs swap sides most recently. This record teams up like-mindedly loopy, art-damaged Londoners Ravioli Me Away and Dog Chocolate. Inspired by an evening when both bands performed at London’s DIY-hub Power Lunches this LP came together through mutual appreciation, as well as gastronomic necessity.

Ravioli Me Away are a dangerously ambitious and delusional all-girl jazzy, post-pop-punk, hip-funk outfit with a stylistic theme spanning all past, present and future human cultures and subcultures. Consider vintage Bananarama played with twice the sass and urgency, only reflected in the eyes of a much overworked and downright exhausted Julie Burchill on acid. Featuring members of Plug and the aforementioned Spin Spin The Dogs, Ravioli Me Away don’t shy away from the impeccable vocal melodies and clattersome hooks you’d expect. ‘Mic Check’ is as hypnotic as it is sparse with plaintive keyboard touches and interplaying vocals that gambol across the drum machine. ‘Cat Call’ is a triumph of questing basslines and eerie synth blushes, locked down by Sian’s charismatic choruses and Alice’s asides inbetween, “When you leave the house and you turn around the corner you might see something you’d rather you hadn’t, who knows what it could be? You never know, take it from me!”

Dog Chocolate are an elasticated, punk quartet based on the principles of self-propulsion and having too much fun. Jono plays a couple of drums, Matthew plays a guitar and a load of pedals, Rob plays another guitar and sings selected songs whilst Andrew sings most the songs and plays impressionistic blasts of keyboard when he’s not. Having been active in a number of other bands including Yeborobo, Limn, Gasp! Cracking Eggs, Esiotrot, and Moulsecoomb Sword Gang, all four members are also frantic doodlers and illustrators. This over-spill of creativity can be seen on their side of this split LP, entitled ‘Or’, which sees the band sprint through ten tracks of barely-controlled chaotic glee. Never dwelling for long, Dog Chocolate treat us to songs about pregnancy, poisoned eyes, public transport and cakes. Their observational, often candid lyrics match their nonsensical attitude to their music too, which tumbles and chases pitchshifted guitars through thick forests of feedback and blasting drums. “Tony’s umbrella, Tony’s umbrella, it’s made of aluminium and replica leather” deadpans Rob on their anthemic retort to the possessive brolly owner before Andrew joins him to whip it up into a frenzy. It all leaves you convinced in the old adage that if you put a bar of dog chocolate next to bunch of bars of normal chocolate, it might look the same but it ain't the same, because you know it was made by dogs!

‘Dog Chocolate / Ravioli Me Away’ makes for a winning split LP, showcasing London’s glorious underground. When the menu arrives this tasty, who needs three courses? Limited to 500 copies on 180g black-n-green vinyl with printed insert and dual sleeve.

TRACK LISTING

SIDE A: RAVIOLI ME AWAY – Ravioli Me Away
01. Mic Check
02. Hit By Love
03. Cat Call
04. Runaway Train

SIDE B: DOG CHOCOLATE - Or
05. I Wanna Give Birth
06. Give Chance A Chance
07. Dog Chocolate Theme
08. Cake Mistakes
09. Tell Too Much
10. Tony’s Umbrella
11. Poisoned Eye
12. Strange Train
13. Abilities
14. Foot Problems

Daybreakers keep it rolling in 2026 after two essential Vick Lavender samplers, this time back east with some DATs from the Jersey boys “Raw Tunes” Little to nothing is known about those two. We will keep it that way and let the music do the talking.

Medlar sends us a less anonymous remix straight from the Cayman Islands too... Hard hitting deep house perfect for the peak time, What more do you expect from us at DAYBREAKERS?

TRACK LISTING

A1. Can’t Believe It
B1. Touchdown
B2. Touchdown (Medlar Retouch)

A kingpin player of Miami's Cuban music scene, Ray Fernandez, brought together his 'court' for this sensational Afro-Cuban funk triumph. Largely a family affair, the album features his wife, two sons and a range of other talented musicians including Rickey Washington on saxophone, father of the contemporary jazz maestro Kamasi Washington. Originally released in 1973 on Manuel J. Mato 's iconic and collectible Sound Triangle Records, Ray & His Court is a dose of Miami heat fuelled by a Cuban fire, taking in salsa, soul, funk, calypsoand Afro-Cuban rhythms.

A kaleidoscopic album that draws influence from a range of different genres and scenes blended together in true Ray Fernandez style. Side A, showcases an array of traditional Latin workouts including the addictive enticing opener 'La Senorita Lola' and the pulsating 'Lo Sabia' with its punchy horns and Ray's wonderful, quirky bubbling organ groove. The tantalising 'Venimos Acabando' and bouncing organ stabs of 'El Alacran' are two further tickets to get a dancefloor vibing.

The B-side then steps things up, slipping a hit of heavy-weight Miami funk into the mix. Take the DJ favourite 'Cookie Crumbs' with its fiery bassline, tripped-out voiceovers and breakbeat drums. Or the amazing, memorable and truly unique funk instrumental 'Soul Freedom' with some mighty fine bass clarinet work courtesy of Gary Gottfried . Also featured is a seductive organ- led Cuban funk rework of Bobby Hebb's 'Sunny'(are there any bad versions of this song?), with a sumptuous female vocal that combine to serve up a seductive take us this muchloved classic.

'Ray And His Court' is a brilliant blend of Afro-Cuban gems and Miami funk heat from an influential group on Miami's Latin music scene. A majestic and magnetic classic where every track is a surefire winner.

TRACK LISTING

La Senorita Lola
Lo Sabia
Venimos Acabando
El Alacran
La Pena Pa'Goza
Cookie Crumbs
De Eso Nada Monada
Sunny
Soul Freedom

Gemma Ray takes an unexpected detour from her acclaimed psych-soul and torch song oeuvre with a hard-edged experiment in cinematic electronica.

Epic despite its underlying simplicity and groove, ‘Gemma Ray & The Death Bell Gang’ blends the funereal and the sinister with tenderness and yearning, with a dash of automaton-pop and a Dada-esque playfulness for good measure. Front and centre are Gemma’s trademark stirring voice and harmonies.

Released on eco-mix and splatter coloured vinyl formats, with download card and exclusive pull-out poster by British painter Deryk Thomas (Swans, Angels of Light).

The record was recorded at Tempelhof Flughafen in Berlin and features collaborations from sound designer Ralf Goldkind (Fantastichen Vier, Mona Mur), lap steel player Kristof Hahn (Swans), and syncussion by Andy Zammit (Jon Spencer).

Accompanying videos for the singles ‘Come Oblivion’, ‘Howling’ and ‘Procession’ by animator Lucy Dyson (Paul McCartney, Beyonce, Courtney Barnett).

TRACK LISTING

No Love
Procession
Be Still
Howling
Come Oblivion
Tempelhof Desert Inn
I Am Not Who I Am
The Point That Tears
All These Things
Blowing Up Rocks

Black LP w/insert. Out Passed Nowhere is the debut solo album from Oliver Ray. Unfurling like a long stretch of road leading out past the edge of town, the album takes the listener to uncharted destinations beyond the edges of the map. Centered around Ray’s songwriting, the album finds him backed by a kaleidoscopic array of guest performers from the Bay Area, Tucson, and the NYC music communities. Ray’s transcendent tunes are brought to life in stunning wide screen detail by members of Patti Smith, Howe Gelb, and members of Sugar Candy Mountain, Giant Sand, and The Myrrors. Working in collaboration with producer David Glasebrook, the two created a unique sonic landscape for each song; throwing genre conventions out the window, they focused on capturing distinctive, emotionally resonant sounds.

Each song has a distinctive flavor, but like the pieces to a puzzle they add up to more than the sum of their parts. The guitar explorations of Ol’ Coyote sit side by side with the dusty folk of Setting Sun, the psychedelic swirl of Best Game in Town, the darkly orchestral Tower and the Star, and the ambient tone poem Edge City. The resulting album is a songwriting tour de force set amidst a swirling sonic landscape that recalls Bob Dylan or Cass McCombs as much as Brian Eno and Mark Hollis.

Out Passed Nowhere is a captivating statement from an artist in his prime. Although it may be his solo debut, Ray has been playing music and writing songs for decades, and this album stands as a testament to all those miles of road traveled; all those hours spent with pen to paper; all those songs sung and yet to be sung. Highly anticipated solo debut from Oliver Ray. Press coverage on recent releases includes reviews and features in Paste, Brooklyn Vegan, Essentially Pop , Various Small Flames + more.

TRACK LISTING

1. Ol’ Coyote
2. Ready
3. Best Game In Town
4. Setting Sun
5. Bye Beautiful
6. Tower And The Star
7. Queen Of Never
8. Wise Blood
9. Edge City

Seattle MC Porter Ray comes correct on his Sub Pop debut with a mesemeric and multi-layered set of spectral, sub-driven hip hop. "Watercolor" is a snapshot of Porter’s life and the lives of his friends growing up in Seattle. The album captures a specific time period, before things began rapidly changing around their neighborhoods, and it delves into the experiences that shaped Porter, the situations he and his friends survived, and how they overcame the adversity they faced. Porter’s influences – including hip-hop classics like Nas’s Illmatic, Common’s Be, and Mos Def & Talib Kweli’s ...Are Black Star – shine through in both the beats and production, and his deeply personal lyrics. Porter was born and raised in and around Seattle’s Central District/Capitol Hill/Columbia City/Beacon Hill neighborhoods. He wrote short stories and poetry before he began writing rhymes in middle school and early high school, and started recording music towards the end of high school. "Watercolor" follows a string of acclaimed, self-released mixtapes -- Electric Rain, Nightfall, Fundamentals, BLK GLD, WHT GLD, RSE GLD -- all of which have been available as free downloads via Bandcamp. Featuring world beating singles “Sacred Geometry”, “Lightro [Looking for the Light]”, “Arithmetic” and "Bulletproof Windows", the album also includes performances from Jus Moni, Debra Sullivan, and Chimurenga Renaissance. "Watercolor" was recorded in various studios in Seattle, mostly mixed by Erik Blood (Shabazz Palaces, THEESatisfaction, Tacocat), with a few songs co-mixed by Vitamin D (Macklemore, Abstract Rude, Black Sheep). Watercolor was produced by B Roc, with additional songs produced by DJ El Grande, KMTK, and Tele Fresco.

TRACK LISTING

1. Waves
2. East Seattle
3. Bulletproof Windows Ft. Nate Jack
4. Past Life Ft. Cashtro + Black
5. Everybody [Interlude] Ft. Fly Guy Dai [Shabazz Palaces] 
6. The Mirror Between Us Ft. JD + JusMoni 
7. Sacred Geometry Ft. Cashtro + The Palaceer
8. Arithmetic Ft. Infinite + Stas Thee Boss
9. Navi Truck
10. Lightro [Looking For The Light]
11. Dissolving In A Daydream
12. My Mother’s Words Ft. Debra Sullivan
13. Beautiful Ft. Aslan T. Rife + The Palaceer
14. Sacred Geometry [CONSTELLTION MIX] Ft. Cashtro + The Palaceer *LP Bonus Track
15. Vanilla Coke *LP Only Bonus Track
16. Sacred Geometry [Instrumental] *LP Only Bonus Track
17. Brothers [Instrumental] *LP Only Bonus Track
18. Arithmetic [Instrumental] *LP Only Bonus Track

"A Life of Its Own" is a soul and R&B album, that might just become as timeless as a Bill Withers' LP. The first single "Love Ain't The Same" enjoyed success, winning the "Song of the Year" at the Estonian Music Awards in '22. Straight to B-rotation on Jazz.fm, "No Greater Love" was released secondly. Rita Ray's sophmore album blends orchestral strings arranged by Miss Ray herself. Add a touch of Rhodes, Clavinet and a vintage sound that's authentic yet contemporary. The production duties were taken on by Future Classics. "A Life of Its Own" will be out on CD, vinyl and digitally via Funk Embassy Records.

Since her début "Old Love Will Rust" in 2019, Rita Ray has enjoyed a steady rise on the contemporary soul scene. Her songwriting, voice and grand productions in studio as well as live setting are a thing of beauty. While spurring comparisons to the likes of Aretha Franklin, Bill Withers and Duffy, one can safely say she's found her unique aesthetic. The small-town damsel's got a way to make you go through joy and pain. It was recognized by the Estonian Jazz Awards, handing over the "Young Jazz Talent of the Year" accolade to Rita in 2021. The crown jewel of Estonian R&B and soul, with her first-class band, is guaranteed to provide a journey on tape or before a crowd.

TRACK LISTING

1. Love Ain't The Same
2. No Greater Love
3. So Sweet
4. Ms. Steal-Your-Man, Pt. 1
5. Ms. Steal-Your-Man, Pt. 2
6. Sing It With Love
7. Needless To Say
8. Please Wait For Me

Bootlickers of the Patriarchy was written about Senator Susan Collins and her infamous press conference after the Kavanaugh/Blasey Ford hearings It's about women who succeed from undermining the success of other women or choose to gain success from exploiting the oppression of other women. This is a character who has taken many forms throughout history, the kind of woman who seems perfectly content playing Gamma to the Alpha male. "Bootlicker" is my direct challenge to the notion of 'women supporting other women,' and the falsehoods and unrealistic expectations that comes with a statement like that." "I wrote the song to be played in two different arrangement styles, the first half being slow and haunting and the second going balls-to-the-wall rage. I was re exploring a lot industrial/proto industrial music I had listened to as a teenager in the 90s and used some elements of synth/drum machine sounds to convey all that anger, panic and darkness." // "Well, why not do a cover of your influences as a B- side? I was obsessed w/ the Ministry album 'With Sympathy' when writing tracks for my upcoming album. It is the record Al Jourgenson has stated multiple times that he's ashamed of most, which is saying a lot considering this man's autobiography. I teamed up with my friend Heather Elle of Flossing, formerly of post punk bands Bodega and The Wants for this collaboration. It's my first official recorded track where I'm playing guitar, so as the saying goes, it's never too late to pick up a new instrument and get totally lost in it."

TRACK LISTING

A1. Bootlickers Of The Patriarchy
B1. I'm Not An Effigy

'My 21st Century Blues' is Raye part two - it's Raye on her own terms - it's the Raye of old, but reloaded.

These are songs made by Raye, for Raye, but within that they're for everyone who has faced and overcome adversity. they're also anthems for other women in the industry, or stuck in a cycle of misogyny.

TRACK LISTING

1 Introduction
2 Oscar Winning Tears
3 Hard Out Here
4 Black Mascara
5 Escapism
6 Mary Jane
7 The Thrill Is Gone
8 Ice Cream Man
9 Flip A Switch
10 Body Dysmorphia
11 Environmental Anxiety
12 Five Star Hotels. (feat. Mahalia)
13 Worth It
14 Buss It Down
15 Fin

Four-time GRAMMY Award-nominated global superstar RAYE, is releasing her highly anticipated sophomore album 'THIS MUSIC MAY CONTAIN HOPE'. The album, set in 4 “seasons” with each side of the vinyl being a different season, takes listeners on a sonic journey that begins with darkness and ends with light.

“Music is medicine. I’ve always said that, and I guess I’m in the process of making medicine for myself that I can share with the world. I want us all to say to ourselves that it’s going to be all right, and I’m going to have faith in the seeds that I’ve planted beneath the snow. I wanted to create something that is a hug or bed or soft place for that person who needs it.” - RAYE

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: Stunning neo-soul swooners and huge orchestral swells, perfectly rendered vocals with insightful, athletically delivered lyrics. It's an impressive feat of production and concept but most of all, it's beautifully evocative and absorbing.

TRACK LISTING

TBC

Brighton-based, Welsh instrumentalist Gwenifer Raymond is set to announce her third studio album to be released September 5th on Canadian label We Are Busy Bodies. Last Night I Heard the Dog Star Bark is a hybrid of the ancient and the futuristic where the arcane etchings of occult folk horror fuse with the unfathomable equations of the cosmos. A big bang, yes, but also an atom cleaved. On her latest album, this celebrated new champion of the finger-picked guitar looks upwards, outwards. somewhere beyond. Now the landscape is mapped – its knotted woodlands, its aurora-crowned mountains, its tangled undergrowth – Gwenifer Raymond hears the stars call.

Last Night I Heard the Dog Star Bark is a natural evolution for such an intensely questing, personally excavating artist. The album is Raymond’s first since 2020’s Strange Lights Over Garth Mountain, which drew widespread acclaim for its repurposing of Mississippi blues and John Fahey’s intricate Americana to embody Raymond’s roots in rural South Wales and her interests in folk horror and the avant garde, a new form dubbed Welsh Primitive. Now, on her forthcoming album, Raymond finds herself conjuring the work of pioneering rocket scientists, the words of fictional hobo prophets and the concepts of mathematical infinity.

Having toured Europe, the US and Canada with the likes of Michael Chapman, Michael Hurley, The Handsome Family, Lankum, Charlie Parr, Richard Dawson, Ryley Walker and Squid, and played festivals including WOMAD, Green Man, End of the Road and Transmusicales in France, Raymond began recording Last Night I Heard the Dog Star Bark; exploring textures and following threads alone in her flat’s home studio, trying to get a sonic grip on a world spinning out of control.

Sci-fi and scientific readings provided a strange, objective clarity. One key reference was Tom O’Bedlam, an insane homeless mystic from Grant Morrison’s comic book series The Invisibles who sees holy words in street signs reflected from the city’s wet concrete, hidden meanings within the modern chaos. “The world seems to have been taking on an increasingly surrealistic tilt,” Raymond says, “and ol’ Tom makes more and more sense.”

“I’ve always been a big sci-fi reader,” she says, listing Phillip K Dick, Kurt Vonnegut and Ray Bradbury amongst the authors she read avidly as a child from her parents’ extensive sci-fi collection. Raymond would go on to complete a PhD in Astrophysics at Cardiff University, before moving to Brighton to become an AI and video game programmer.

Midway through writing her third album, then, she was drawn to the pulp sci-fi corners of Brighton market, picking up and devouring second hand tomes of strange science and the mystique of eternities. “A bunch of the stuff I was reading had these themes about the nature of infinity, and tying this into concepts about the afterlife,” she says. “Those thoughts were running in my mind a lot, especially when I was creating some of the droney sounds that book-end the album. The album enters from the cosmic void and exits through the galactic plane. Maybe you’re exiting out of hyperdrive into some strange planet where the album lives, then you zip out to find whatever is next.”

At times, ladies and gentlemen, she found herself floating in space. The opener ‘Banjo Players of Aleph One’, for instance, is built on a celestial drone – its Gibson Mastertone banjo an off-world presence, purchased second-hand from a widow looking to pay for her husband’s funeral. “I had this image in my head of him somewhere very distant, playing the banjo on the cliffs of Mount On,” Raymond says. Hence the reference to Aleph numbers, a mathematical concept often used to describe the size of infinite sets, and by Rudy Rucker in his novel White Light to outline levels of the afterlife. “I’ve always felt a strong pull to the world of the weird, and I don’t think there’s a lot weirder than infinity, the product of a division by zero,” this atheist astrophysicist muses. “We all get divided by zero eventually.”

‘One Day You’ll Lie Here But Everything Will Have Changed’ has a more serene star-gazing feel, Raymond’s slide guitar tones resembling comets filling the night sky with warping, criss-crossing threads. The title track – a Tom O’Bedlam quote – is a frenetic blues that bends and twists like space-time. And lead single ‘Jack Parsons Blues’ is a passionate fingerpicking dervish full of Arabian flair and flamenco fury, named in honour of a 1940s Californian rocket scientist who helped found NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory and was also a friend of L Ron Hubbard and acolyte of Aleister Crowley.

“I’ve long been obsessed with Jack Parsons,” Raymond says, recalling reading Fortean Times articles about him as a teenager. “He lived in this vast old mansion which he shared with a whole cast of oddballs and shysters. He also came to an abrupt end, blowing himself up in his home lab. For all his faults, I find him to be a sort of romantic character – full of boundless zeal and ideas. He was both a scientist and an embracer of the weird and esoteric. He’s oddly inspirational.”

Converts to Raymond’s brand of Welsh Primitive will find plenty to clutch at their ankles here too, with tracks evoking mythical Welsh goddesses (the prairie-wide ‘Dreams of Rhiannon’s Birds’) and Raymond’s childhood woodland discovery of gruesome animal remains (the frantic, exotic ‘Bleak Night in Rabbit’s Wood’), played on a devil-haunted guitar.

A kissing cousin of Lankum’s mutant folk, the furious, gothic and wonderfully wild ‘Champion Ivy’ sounds like Hell’s hoedown, while ‘Bliws Afon Taf’ (Welsh for ‘Taff River Blues’) is more pastoral and tumbling, wrapping the listener in spider threads of gossamer guitar. At Raymond’s blessed fingertips, the earthly meets the stellar on some far-off event horizon, and you can barely see the join. 

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: Gorgous, dark folk music that's got more than a little hint of Alexander Tucker or John Fahey and moves beautifully between frenetic fingerpicking and slow, bucolic fireside balladry.

TRACK LISTING

Side A
Banjo Players Of Aleph One
Jack Parsons Blues
Bliws Afon Tâf
Bonfire Of The Billionaires

Side B
Dreams Of Rhiannon’s Birds
Last Night I Heard The Dog Star Bark
Cattywomp
Bleak Night In Rabbit’s Wood
One Day You’ll Lie Here But Everything Will Have Changed

Welsh musician Gwenifer Raymond’s 2018 debut album, You Never Were Much of a Dancer, introduced a new voice on acoustic guitar, receiving 5 stars in The Guardian, big spreads in MOJO and UNCUT, and airplay on multiple BBC programmes. This led to months of touring on the European festival circuit. Her latest, Strange Lights Over Garth Mountain, finds Raymond ranging into unexplored experimental territory, drawing from her Welsh roots.

In her own words : My new album, 'Strange Lights Over Garth Mountain', has eight songs in it. All were recorded in a basement flat in central Brighton, locked-down amidst a global pandemic. I recorded them myself and neither I, nor any of the songs saw said outbreak coming. Coronavirus may have dictated the circumstance under which the album was recorded but it did not otherwise inform any of the compositions that run through it; like I said, we didn't see it coming. Growing up in Wales was not a theme strongly present in my first record (perhaps not too surprising in an album of 'American Primitive'), but I feel as though my memories of that time have started to insinuate themselves in the tunes here.

In my opinion, landscape does a lot to shape a community's folk music; from my childhood I recall tall, spooky trees, black against the grey sky, breath misting in cold air, and I have tried to take something of Welsh folk horror to make my own 'Welsh Primitive'. Whilst this isn't the only theme present in the album, childhood memories do form the background for a couple of tracks: coal trains steaming along the foot of our garden, rattling the glasses on the kitchen table; and the titular 'Strange Lights...' dancing above the peak of the mountain which loomed over the house where I grew up. Dead men also feature prominently, as well as personal tragedies and the madness of touring. It's possible this album is leaning more into the left-field than the first - the songs are longer and more 'compositional' for lack of a better word, rather than deriving so heavily from the folk and blues traditions, though, they're still there - all of those dead men are hard to shake. Some parts go fast and others go slow. Sometimes I play more aggressively than I intend to and other times I play exactly as aggressively as I intend to. I still say it's punk music and I have no idea what key the last tune is in.For Erik Satie, Master Wilburn Burchette, and Ruben the dog.

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: At points taut, but brilliantly emotive throughout, 'Strange Lights...' is an album full of rhythmic twists and unbelievably skilful and effecting performances.

TRACK LISTING

1. Incantation
2. Hell For Certain
3. Worn Out Blues
4. Marseilles Bunkhouse
5. Gwaed Am Gwaed
6. Ruben’s Song
7. Eulogy For Dead French Composer
8. Strange Lights Over Garth Mountain 

As one-third of seminal band Cocteau Twins, Simon Raymonde helped to create some of the most beautiful and memorable albums of the '80s and '90s - music that continues to cast a spell over millions. This is the story of the band, in his words. Beginning with Simon's remarkable childhood and exploring his relationship with his father, Ivor Raymonde (the legendary producer, musician and arranger for acts such as the Walker Brothers and songwriter for artists including Dusty Springfield), the book will journey through the musician's rise to prominence and his time with Cocteau Twins and This Mortal Coil.

It will also chart the successful career he has forged running his own label, Bella Union, for the past twenty-seven years, discovering and developing globally renowned artists like Beach House, Fleet Foxes, Father John Misty and John Grant. And the narrative will lead us back to the present day, reflecting on Simon's most recent experiences in the music industry - all while going deaf in one ear. A must-read for music fans, this is the incredible tale of Simon's life and legacy.

Simon Raymonde recorded his solo album, ‘Blame Someone Else’, while still in Cocteau Twins. Fellow Twins Elizabeth Fraser and Robin Guthrie appeared on ‘Blame Someone Else’, as did late-period member Mitsuo Tate. But Cocteau Twins were no more by the time it was out. Originally issued in October 1997, it became the first release on Bella Union, a new label run by Robin and Simon. And now by Simon alone. Circumstances change and ‘Blame Someone Else’ unexpectedly arrived in a world where Cocteau Twins were in the past.

Twenty-five years later, ‘Blame Someone Else’ is now being released under the name ‘Solo Works 96-98’, appearing on vinyl for the first time, and with the additionof the three bonus tracks from 1998’s Japan-only edition.

“It was begun in 1996 at a time of turmoil with Cocteau Twins,” says Simon of the album now. “At the time, I was unsure if I should make the album but my bandmates were extremely supportive, their encouragement helped me get the record finished. It took me 25 years to feel comfortable with these songs being available again. We all have hurdles to get over before we can feel ready to let go of certain things. Today, I feel that the first-ever release on Bella Union should once again be an active part of the label’s history, if only to bookmark these first 25 years.”

TRACK LISTING

It’s A Family Thing
Love Undone
The Seventh Day
In My Place
Supernatural
If I Knew Myself
It’s Raining Today
Muscle And Want
Worship Me
A Fault Of Mine
Days
Tired Twilight
Summer's Blue
Left Untouched The Flowers Grow
Let Love In

Rayographs have carved out their own distinctive sound which taps into a dark shimmering psychedelia: blue like petrol, kaleidoscopic with flecks of colour throughout. The songs have an odd timeless quality that yearn for absent cinematic visuals. Swooping, atmospheric vocals, stream-of-consciousness vignettes encased in 60s garage hooks. A heady and eclectic mix of sonic, visual, and literary influences contribute to the Rayographs’ sound, notably The Pixies, David Lynch, 60s Psychedelia, Can, Angelo Badalamenti, Patti Smith, Francesca Woodman, Shellac, Nick Cave, Derek Jarman, Raymond Carver and Eugene O’Neill. This melting pot of ideas has resulted in a sound rich in imagination with a blues tinge, that has become galvanised in studios and on stage, quietly and carefully honing their craft to produce a body of work that is uniquely their own.

Rayographs self-titled debut album was recorded by legendary underground producer John Hannon at a studio in a farm in Essex. The record is dense in its variety, shifting from urgent riffs in "Marazion" to the nightmarish, hollowed out 60s pop of "Space of the Halls", to the somnambulistic looped narrative of "Falconberg Court". "Providence, Rhode Island" is a song for Francesca Woodman, "Cartwheels" about Nan Donohoe, an Irish traveller In between the songs display the poetry of individual experience. This lyric from "My Critical Mind", could be said to sum up the album, 'there is no order of things, just a sequence of illuminated events embedded in memory'; as if the stories depicted are both conscious and unconscious revelations undulating both within and below the songs, timeless in their universality but at the same time deeply personal in their biographical fortitude.

'Invoking the restless blues spirit of proto-riot grrrl heroines in the mould of Patti Smith as well as the dreamy tremblings of The Breeders, (Rayographs) provide demure elegance in a sea of grubby punks, with pummelling rhythms strewn with forlorn, waif-like voices and surging progressive chords'. NME.

STAFF COMMENTS

Laura says: After a couple of great singles, Rayographs bring us their debut album. A collection of post-punkish, psyche-tinged songs, that draw on a whole host of influences that start at Patti Smith, and follow through to The Breeders, Throwing Muses and beyond. Moody, dramatic, and well worth a listen.

The swirling cloud of deranged noise emanating from the highly radioactive inner core of RAYON BEACH has once again reared its head up, bucking wildly and shattering the iridescent thunder of the heavens into shards of wonderfully damaged sound. After the inescapable fallout from their debut Memory Teeth 12-inch EP in 2010, they have rightfully emerged with their first proper full-length LP, dragging the trembling scraps of electronic punk slime through a kaleidoscopic garbage can and out into the light, where they can cook properly in the blinding Texas sun. But whereas on their first record the band was still carving out their slithering sound, melting from one mellifluous life form into another over the course of those first six treacherous tracks, here they’ve found their footing on their first LP, clenching a roughly pristine throb and riding it out into a sizzling pinnacle of modern punk precision.

Oakland band Rays return with their second album, You Can Get There From Here, their first release since their eponymous Trouble In Mind debut in 2016. You Can Get There From Here represents a turning point for the band, angling their scrappy, post-punk fury into a more refined & melodic pop sensibility, drawing inspiration from UK DIY pop & punk like Dolly Mixture, Cleaners From Venus & Television Personalities. Songs like "Fallen Stars" & "The Garden" temper their sonic crunch ever so slightly, relying more on the harmonic wallop of a solid hook than the sheer volume of guitars.

This is urgent, chiming guitar pop that clangs with a sonorous melancholy & a ramshackle grace. Rays can still lay it down with the rest of 'em; tunes like "Subway" & "Work of Art" shuffle & stumble forward, skirting chaos in a flurry of strums, recalling antipodean groups like UV Race or Dick Diver who cull inspiration from idiosyncratic UK greats like Mark E. Smith or Robyn Hitchcock. The new album finds the core group of Stanley Martinez, Eva Hannan, Troy Hewitt & Alexa Pantalone augmented by new member & keyboardist Britta Leijonflycht, whose synth flourishes add melodic embellishments, sonic heft or psychedelic swirl where needed. 

TRACK LISTING

1. Fallen Stars
2. The Garden
3. The Big One
4. To The Fire
5. Veterans
6. Yesterday’s Faces
7. Around The Town
8. Anti-Hand Man
9. Subway
10. Work Of Art
11. Ray Johnson
12. Before Sunrise 

The second single from their self titled second album is "America", and it's an anthem in the making.

Razorlight are back with this cracking first single from their eagerly anticipated second album.