Za Talent is a fresh alias from regular collaborators Jonny Nash and Suzanne Kraft. While their previous outings were unashamedly ambient and horizontal in nature, this 12" for Animals Dancing is deliciously dancefloor-focused - even if there trademark rich chords and glassy-eyed electronics do feature prominently. On the A you'll find "Telex", a quirky chunk of laidback electro smothered in fax machine electronics, bubbly melodies and punchy drum machine hits. Flip for "The Whale", where intergalactic police sirens weave in and out of spacey electro motifs, gently pulsing electronics and a rhythm track that can't decide whether it's broken, jazzy or just plain weird. It is, though, really rather good.

TRACK LISTING

A1. Telex
B1. The Whale

She may be making her first appearance on NuNorthern Soul, but Zeynep Erbay is no newcomer. A classically trained pianist who took a turn towards the dancefloor while at university, the Turkish DJ/producer earned her first release on Compost Records way back in 2007 after taking part in 2006’s Red Bull Music Academy programme. Since then, her career has been on an upwards trajectory, with releases on Fools Gold and Soul Clap Records confirming Erbay as a genuine rising star of underground electronic music.

On the Healer EP, the Istanbul-based producer showcases the more atmospheric, sun-kissed end of her productions, taking a turn away from synth-powered, disco-leaning club tracks towards something more suitable for al-fresco events, sun-down sets, and sofa-bound listening sessions.

Inspired by a poem inscribed on the back cover of the EP, Erbay’s two original instrumental tracks simply ooze with emotion. The poem tells the story of a whale searching for her family while helping others along the way, which acts as a metaphor for our wider search for belonging and acceptance.

This aural narrative unfolds firstly across ‘Heart of a Healer’, a slowly unfurling stunner in which emotion-rich chords, gentle electronic melodies and Erbay’s poignant and picturesque piano motifs, gently rise above a chunky dub disco bassline and mid-tempo, triple-time drums.

Delving further, the effortlessly emotional, life-affirming composition ‘Healer Whale’, where Erbay’s impeccable piano playing ushers in languid, jazz-flecked drums, dubby bass, sumptuous synth-strings and colourful, slow-moving chords.

On remix dutires, NYC-based Italian Danilo Braca, who also mastered the release, provides a fine club-focused fix of ‘Heart of a Healer’, laced with crunchy machine drums and undulating TB-303 acid lines. NuNorthern Soul regular Marshall Watson handles ‘Healer Whale’, first delivering a fine ‘Remix’ version that effortlessly blurs the boundary between dub disco and Balearic nu-disco, before serving up a shorter, ambient ‘Reprise’ version.

STAFF COMMENTS

Matt says: It might be pissing it down in the UK right now - but we're in peak season Balearic! Phil Coopers' NuNorthern Soul can always be relied upon for the paradisiacal vibrations and this new one by Zeynep Erbay is no exception. Hammocks at the ready!

TRACK LISTING

A1. Heart Of A Healer [Original]
A2. Heart Of A Healer [Danilo Braca Remix]
B1. Whale Healer [Original]
B2. Whale Healer [Marshall Watson Remix]
B3. Whale Healer [Marshall Watson Reprise]

Nika, the 25-year-old behind Zola Jesus’ creative incarnations, is a singer, sole songwriter and producer.

Written on Vashon Island, WA and mixed in Los Angeles, CA by Dean Hurley, ‘Taiga’ follows the widely celebrated albums ‘Versions’ (2013) and ‘Conatus’ (2011). This is Nika’s fourth fulllength album release.

In regards to the album title, Nika explains, “Taiga is the Russian name for the boreal forest. For me it feels very alive… very expansive. It represents a feral, untapped world that could happily exist without us. There are taiga forests in Northern Wisconsin where I was raised, and also in Russia where my ancestors are from, so it also feels very native.”

Liberated in the present and connected to the past, this album is a transition for Zola Jesus. Masterful layers of composition are bathed in familiar atmospheric vocals but a new sensibility is deeply present.

‘Taiga’ is at once challenging and accessible and is undeniably branded with what Nika terms a “piercing ambition.” Such encompassing purpose, she explains, would be impossible without a newfound sense of artistic self. The album is a declaration of that purpose; one faced with jarring clarity in both its content and production. Nika summates, “For me, it feels like my true debut, because it is the first time I have felt so open and liberated.”

TRACK LISTING

1. Taiga
2. Dangerous Days
3. Dust
4. Hunger
5. Go (Blank Sea)
6. Ego
7. Lawless
8. Nail
9. Long Way Down
10. Hollow
11. It's Not Over

There is a way a voice can cut through the fascia of reality, cleaving through habit into the raw nerve of experience. Nika Roza Danilova, the singer, songwriter, and producer who since 2009 has released music as Zola Jesus, wields a voice that does that. When you hear it, it is like you are being summoned to a place that’s already wrapped inside you but obscured from conscious experience. This place has been buried because it tends to hold pain, but it’s also a gift, because once it’s opened, once you’re inside of it, it can show you the truth. Zola Jesus’s new album, Arkhon, finds new ways of loosing this submerged, stalled pain.

On previous albums, Danilova had largely played the role of auteur, meticulously crafting every aspect of Zola Jesus’s sound and look. This time, she realized that her habitual need for control was sealing her out of her art. Arkhon sees Zola Jesus’s first collaboration with producer Randall Dunn (Sunn O))), Earth, Mandy soundtrack, Candyman soundtrack) and with drummer and percussionist Matt Chamberlain, whose prior work appears on albums by Fiona Apple, Bob Dylan, and David Bowie. Arkhon runs the spectrum from songs whose weight lies in their bare simplicity, like “Desire,” an elegiac piano composition about the end of a relationship that was recorded acoustically in a single take, to towering, groove-oriented tracks like “The Fall” and the tight, interlocking percussion and samples of a Slovenian folk choir in “Lost,” which propel narratives of collective despair and mutual comfort in kind. Through these turns, Arkhon reveals itself as an album whose power derives from abandon. Both its turmoils and its pleasures take root in the body, letting individual consciousness dissolve into the thick of the beat.

Despite the darkness curled inside reality, there is power, too, in surrendering to what can’t be pinned down, to the wild unfurling of the world in all its unforeseeable motion. That letting go is the crux of Arkhon, which marks a new way of moving and making for Zola Jesus.

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: Zola Jesus' music has always been uncompromising, and had a distinct identity all of it's own, but on 'Arkhon', Danilova mixes her distinctive compositional style with a number of collaborators, resulting in a fractured, visceral hybrid of modern industrial music and abstracted synth-pop.

TRACK LISTING

1 Lost
2 The Fall
3 Undertow
4 Into The Wild
5 Dead And Gone
6 Sewn
7 Desire
8 Fault
9 Efemra
10 Do That Anymore 

For over a decade, Nika Roza Danilova has been recording music as Zola Jesus. She’s been on Sacred Bones Records for most of that time, and Okovi marks her reunion with the label.

Fittingly, the 11 electronics-driven songs on Okovi share musical DNA with her early work on Sacred Bones. The music was written in pure catharsis, and as a result, the sonics are heavy, dark, and exploratory. In addition to the contributions of Danilova’s longtime live bandmate Alex DeGroot, producer/musician WIFE, cellist/noise-maker Shannon Kennedy from Pedestrian Deposit, and percussionist Ted Byrnes all helped build Okovi’s textural universe.

With Okovi, Zola Jesus has crafted a profound meditation on loss and reconciliation that stands tall alongside the major works of its genre. The album peaks of tragedy with great wisdom and clarity. Its songs plumb dark depths, but they reflect light as well.

ARTIST STATEMENT:

Last year, I moved back to the woods in Wisconsin where I was raised. I built a little house just steps away from where my dilapidated childhood tree fort is slowly recombining into earth. Okovi was fed by this return to roots and several very personal traumas.

While writing Okovi, I endured people very close to me trying to die, and others trying desperately not to. Meanwhile, I was fighting through a haze so thick I wasn’t sure I’d find my way to the other side. Death, in all of its masks, has been encircling everyone I love, and with it the questions of legacy, worth, and will.

Okovi is a Slavic word for shackles. We’re all shackled to something—to life, to death, to bodies, to minds, to illness, to people, to birthright, to duty. Each of us born with a unique debt, and we have until we die to pay it back. Without this cost, what gives us the right to live? And moreover, what gives us the right to die? Are we really even free to choose?

This album is a deeply personal snapshot of loss, reconciliation, and a sympathy for the chains that keep us all grounded to the unforgiving laws of nature. To bring it to life, I decided to enlist the help of Alex DeGroot, who has been the only constant in my live band and helped mix the Stridulum EP back in 2010. It will be released on Sacred Bones, the closest group of people I’ll ever have to blood-bound family.

TRACK LISTING

1. Doma
2. Exhumed
3. Soak
4. Ash To Bone
5. Witness
6. Siphon
7. Veka
8. Wiseblood
9. NMO
10. Remains
11. Half Life

For over a decade, Nika Roza Danilova has been recording music as Zola Jesus. She’s been on Sacred Bones Records for most of that time, and Okovi marks her reunion with the label.

Fittingly, the 11 electronics-driven songs on Okovi share musical DNA with her early work on Sacred Bones. The music was written in pure catharsis, and as a result, the sonics are heavy, dark, and exploratory. In addition to the contributions of Danilova’s longtime live bandmate Alex DeGroot, producer/musician WIFE, cellist/noise-maker Shannon Kennedy from Pedestrian Deposit, and percussionist Ted Byrnes all helped build Okovi’s textural universe.

With Okovi, Zola Jesus has crafted a profound meditation on loss and reconciliation that stands tall alongside the major works of its genre. The album speaks of tragedy with great wisdom and clarity. Its songs plumb dark depths, but they reflect light as well.

TRACK LISTING

1. Doma
2. Exhumed
3. Soak 
4. Ash To Bone 
5. Witness 
6. Siphon 
7. Veka 
8. Wiseblood
9. NMO
10. Remains
11. Half Life 

“Seven yers ago, it was winter break at university in Madison, Wisconsin. There was a snowstorm that covered the city with a still white haze. Not a single person in the streets. I was sitting on my bed with a cheap keyboard and a computer, screaming into the void. I barely remember writing the songs. It was a chaotic point in my life. I had no time to think about process or intent. It was a purge. I do remember taking a break from recording, bundling up, and walking through the barren streets while listening to the demos I’d made. The world, at once, felt clear. After writing and producing what would become the Stridulum EP, I contacted a new friend, Alex DeGroot, to come over and record my vocals. He was studying audio engineering and had more knowledge and gear than I could dream of. He helped mix Stridulum, too, because all I had was a pair of headphones. (Since then, Alex has stuck by me, as a live bandmate, technical director, co-producer, mixer, and engineer.) These songs were a huge leap of faith back then. It was my first time singing without layers of distortion, echo, and reverb. It was the first time I peeled back the layers to find out what was at the core. I’m still on that path today, seeing how far I can push myself into unknown places, whether through clarification or destruction. It’s like Stridulum’s still here with me, underneath it all. Still, it’s surreal to think that this record, made by a 19-year-old girl sitting on a bed in a freezing old house in Madison, would make its way into strangers’ ears seven years later.”

-Nika Roza Danilova, June 2017

Collects the early Zola Jesus EPs Stridulum and Valusia in a single volume for the first time.

TRACK LISTING

1. Night (3:37)
2. Trust Me (2:01)
3. I Can’t Stand (4:10)
4. Stridulum (4:22)
5. Run Me Out (3:19)
6. Manifest Destiny (3:16)
7. Poor Animal (4:27)
8. Tower (3:58)

With this previously unreleased 1963 score for Jindlich Polák’s "Ikarie XB-1", Finders Keepers present their third dedicated soundtrack by Zdeněk Liška. Beautifully remastered from the original tapes with the full cooperation of the National Film Archive in the Czech Republic. In a climate where previously lesser-known off- kilter master composers such as Vannier, Kirchin and Axelrod have become widely revered, it is perhaps the perfect time for discerning listeners to advance above the feeding trough and seek out this truly pioneering and revolutionary Eastern European composer.

TRACK LISTING

Ikarie XB-1
Surveillance On Standby/Alpha Centauri
A Small Stone In Space
Sunflower For A New Star
The Backwoods Of The Universe
Silver Ball (Věra In Cameo)
E.V.A. Will Teach You
The Tigers Breath
The Dark Star
Do Not Eat The Fruit
The Awakening
Voyage To The End (Of The Universe)
The White Planet

Psychedelic tinged, electonica / pop from this hotly tipped young Welsh band. Hints of Gorkys, Spiritualized and Super Furry Animals in their mellower moments!

Brighton's cool Puma Strut label brings us this mellow hip hop tune (vocal and instrumental mixes) from this Californian based crew. Fresh rhymes, fresh beats and cuts by Westafa.

A vivid portrayal of Zaltsman’s direction, My Luv delivers 4 hard hitting club tracks, with rhythmic percussion and heavy basslines throughout. ‘The hook’ remaining a staple of this release, the tracks are all equally useful in peak time club scenarios as they are for after-hours listening.

The stripped back, bouncy ‘Moving’ features the vocals of London based poet and musician, James Massiah. An eerie synth runs throughout, complimentary to the vocals and choppy drums. The lead track, 'My Luv', is an out and out club-weapon. Chopped up vocals and a deep dark sub bass. This has seen a Summer of being deployed by some of the best DJs in the scene, taking advantage of its ‘obnoxiously long’ breakdown, before descending into chaos.

Complimenting these two tracks, 'Page 365' is a more sensitive body of music, engaging listeners with a strong bassline hook, before progressing into a more heavy hitting club track, with a large focus on groove, taking influence from the UK Funky scene. Finally, the most club-driven track from the record. 'Flatspot' is dominated by its forceful bassline and rolling percussion. This is out and out designed for peak-hour fun.

TRACK LISTING

A1. Moving
A2. My Luv
B1. Flatspot
B2. Page 365

Simona Zamboli's first album on Mille Plateaux "Ethernity" is a piece of haunting music - vibrating, pulsing and cutting through the concrete and the chaos at the same time. Hushed and intimate in places, whilst in others, ruthlessly destructive, the album is a journey through trans-reality, not only as a melancholic drama, but also as a travel to alien worlds, hence as a necessity of an electronic intervention. "Ethernithy" is radical fictioning in a non-expressive, non-melancholic and ultrablack sense. Profound music demands blackness, not silence. When we speak of communication or mediation, the reference is always that of the mystical tradition of the via negativa; mediation and communication always imply the dissolution of sender and receiver, leaving not only the message that is the gulf or abyss, but a perception out there, which senses should be able to recognize and even love.

In this way the album conveys all these primal and ancient emotions in a cybernetically enhanced manner; smothered in a dissolute darkness that only the deepest recesses of space and reveal... 

TRACK LISTING

Side 1
1. Bless (interlude) (2:14)
2. Dream But Be Careful (5:50)
3. Noise Hub (6:11)

Side 2
1. Take Me Somewhere (5:30)
2. A Lightning Bolt Strikes The Mountaintop (3:40)

Side 3
1. Compossibility (7:04)
2. Let It Drain From You All (3:46)

Side 4
1. Russian Galaxy (4:29)
2. Trittico (feat Transgressorcorruptor) (4:22)
3. Ethernity (3:47)

We're absolutely delighted to announce the reissue of Ouroborindra on the Ghost Box Records label.

Ouroborindra was first released in 2005 on CD-R, and now re-issued on CD and, for the first time, on Vinyl. Eric Zann was an alias for the more experimental work of Jim Jupp, aka Belbury Poly and Ghost Box co-founder.

Inspired by early 20th century cosmic horror fiction, Ouroborindra sets out to conjure up it's own awe inspiring and chilling imagery. It's drone music with melodic elements, stitched together with synthesizers, samples, found sound and effects.

Another exceptional reissue from the consistently excellent Ghost Box.

TRACK LISTING

1. It Is Narrow Here
2. Threshold
3. Ouroborindra
4. Dols
5. The Obsidian Pyramid
6. Voolas
7. The Human Chord

Under the alias of Zanov we find the works of French electronic pioneer Pierre Salkazanov, who had started playing guitar in the 1960s in a Shadows styled band, Les Ambassadors. Instrumental rock was not enough for Salkazanov, he was always looking for evolution, so when a meeting with French synth player Serge Ramses (of "Secret" fame) got him into the world of synthesizers he just dived deep into the bourgeoning world of electronic music. He got himself an EMS VCS3 and started producing works into a 4-track Teac tape machine. French music was at its best, it was the time of Jean Michel Jarre, Didier Bocquet, Richard Pinhas and Heldon, Alain Meunier... Even Gong's Tim Blake was living in France at that time. By the time of his second LP, Moebius 256 301, issued also on Polydor in 1977, Zanov had already gathered a small collection of gear, including an ARP 2600 and an ARP sequencer, his old VCS3, an RMI Harmonic and a PS 3300. Again under the influence of both first and second generation of Berlin school musicians the LP will appeal to fans of Klaus Schulze or Tangerine Dream, but they will also find a big deal of Zanov's own personal sound on it, since as the musician himself reckons he had little contact with other peers of his generation, so besides a general love for the electronic gear used and the sounds you could make out of them the creative ideas behind his works were all his own. On his second album a richer sound is found, not only due to the use of the new gear, since some of its tracks where recorded using only his old EMS, but also due to his won experience after having taken his works to the life stages in the Golf Drouot boite, the Lase Olympia venue (on the basement of the famous Olympia), the Paris Planetarium or those for planned one month tour (of which in the end only four dates were accomplished). Zanov's three albums met with unanimous critical acclaim for the sound quality as well as for the originality of this very personal universe. We offer the first ever vinyl reissue of Zanov's Moebius 256 301 under license from Pierre Salkazanov himself and with his cooperation, in a limited edition of 500 copies that reproduce its original artwork, come with remastered sound and an 8 page insert with liner notes and photos courtesy of www.audionautas.com plus one bonus 7" with previously unreleased on vinyl format material.

Zac and Louis are back as Zanzibar Chanel, inaugurating the slightly obscene Pig Sweat imprint with the fresh dancefloor pressure of "Killer", unreleased classic "Big Bone Bitch" and a whacked out edit offered by fellow ex-Melbournite Bell Towers. After a hallucinatory snatch of Peppa Pig, our hosts get down to business, working 8-bit sequences into a basement weapon par excellence. The funk of the 'jazz club' is all but forgotton as ZC pay homage to Prescription classics on a cheap and trashy studio set up. Drifting, swelling pads almost to lift us up to the heavens, but the scuzzy aethetic keeps things down low and dirty. Switching to the flip, ZC treat us to the first vinyl outing of their slamming, stomping, voguing classic "Big Bone Bitch". Giving NYC's Ballroom scene and Chi-Town's Dance Mania catalogue a fresh and modern twist, the crew top a squelching b-line and rattling drum groove with some life affirming, sleazy and totally ridiculous lyrics - it's one hell of a party. Bell Towers drops by on the B2 to treat us to his interpretation of their Gok Wan groover, laying down a Fingers Inc-inspired backing before sending those vocals through the chopper - did I mention it was party time?

TRACK LISTING

A1. Killer
B1. Big Bone Bitch
B2. Big Bone Bitch (Bell Towers Edit)

When Frank Zappa’s Orchestral Favorites was eventually released in 1979 as part of fulfilling his contract with his contentious former label, the album was dumped into the world along with several other titles without the legendary musician’s permission or quality control. It did not include liner notes or credits and the artwork and audio wasn’t approved by Zappa who publicly criticized it as not being up to his standards. As a result of not receiving any promotion, it was quickly relegated to the bargain bin shortly after its release.

Four decades later, in celebration of the long-beleaguered album’s 40th anniversary, the Zappa Family Trust is righting this wrong and presenting Orchestral Favorites with the audiophile detail and respect it deserves to commemorate the historical event that took place at UCLA’s Royce Hall in September 1975 where the compositions were recorded. 

"A fascinating collection of mostly instrumental live and studio material recorded by the original Mothers of Invention, complete with horn section, from 1967-1969, Weasels Ripped My Flesh segues unpredictably between arty experimentation and traditional song structures. Highlights of the former category include the classical avant-garde elements of "Didja Get Any Onya," which blends odd rhythmic accents and time signatures with dissonance and wordless vocal noises; these pop up again in "Prelude to the Afternoon of a Sexually Aroused Gas Mask" and "Toads of the Short Forest." The latter and "The Eric Dolphy Memorial Barbecue" also show Frank Zappa's willingness to embrace the avant-garde jazz of the period. Yet, interspersed are straightforward tunes like a cover of Little Richard's "Directly From My Heart to You," with great violin from Don "Sugarcane" Harris; the stinging Zappa-sung rocker "My Guitar Wants to Kill Your Mama," and "Oh No," a familiar Broadway-esque Zappa melody (it turned up on Lumpy Gravy) fitted with lyrics and sung by Ray Collins. Thus, Weasels can make for difficult, incoherent listening, especially at first. But there is a certain logic behind the band's accomplished genre-bending and Zappa's gleefully abrupt veering between musical extremes; without pretension, Zappa blurs the normally sharp line between intellectual concept music and the visceral immediacy of rock and R&B. Zappa's anything-goes approach and the distance between his extremes are what make Weasels Ripped My Flesh ultimately invigorating; they also even make the closing title track -- a minute and a half of squalling feedback, followed by applause -- perfectly logical in the album's context." - All Music.

Rarely heard Tanzanian gogo music meets slick electronic production, for a borderless but powerful fusion sound. Tanzania’s Msafiri Zawose has been one of the biggest slept-on musical forces from the region, but all that is about to change with the imminent arrival of a new album that will redefine the boundaries of gogo music. The Wagogo people are Msafiri’s traditionally nomadic tribe from the center of the Tanzania, known for their musicality and made famous by Hukwe Zawose - Msafiri’s father, who toured the world as a part of Peter Gabriel’s Real World roster in the 80s and 90s. The album has been produced in collaboration with Sam Jones from Sound Thread, whose recent works with Orlando Julius and remixes for Mugwisa International and Sarabi have been rapturously received.
The tracks remain profoundly ‘gogo’ with traditional instruments and singing, but are infused with an organic electronic aesthetic. This is an afro-futurist journey that takes in dub, Balearic, ambient and electronic vibrations alongside Zawose’s hypnotic playing and emotive, plaintive vocals.

STAFF COMMENTS

Patrick says: Hypnotic, percussive and trance inducing grooves from Msafiri Zawose here. Fusing traditional rhythms and melodies with buzzing synth bass, off kilter mallets and fx abuse, the Tanzanian musician has created a killer LP which should find favour with the more exotic fringes of the disco/Balearic communities.

Zaya is a nomadic traveler currently residing in the Arab Emirates. ‘No Words’ is a collection of ideas worked on over a three year period with the occasional swapping of ideas with his best friend in rainy Manchester. A sun-kissed collage of hazy bedroom guitar instrumentals and blissed-out passages of psychedelic? rock..

STAFF COMMENTS

Andy says: If only Whyte Horses, with their beautiful way with melody, were to ever release an instrumental LP......waiiiiit a minute!!!

TRACK LISTING

SIDE A
1. Lost Souvenir
2. Triangular Dreams
3. Interlude 01
4. We Made It
5. Interlude 02
6. Long Way To Get There
7. Tripoli
SIDE B
1. Lonely Jewel
2. Interlude 03
3. Taste Of Gold
4. Interlude 04
5. Thought I Told You
6. Had To Go

This Brazilian library funk beauty is the soundtrack to Carlos Imperial's 1975 film of the same title. Echoing European soundtrack maestros such as Roy Budd and Ennio Morricone, but with a Brazilian swagger, Ze Rodrix's score is a sublime gem that needs rediscovery.

Rich in 70's soundtrack cool, the score is packed with orchestrated jazz, chase scene- funk, breaks, psychedelic freakouts and plenty of drama. The loose and quirky break- beat jazz- funk of 'Assalto' feels almost tailor- made for today's hiphop production aesthetic. The opening drum break of 'Esconderijo' is a sampler's dream and has already been reinterpreted by the Turkish Rapper Anil Piyanci, as well as Brazil's DJ Caique.

Carlos Imperial wrote liner notes and was an actor, filmmaker, television presenter, and media figure. His film 'O Esquadrao da Morte' is a violent heist movie starring Beto Bandeira, Claire Chevalier, and Baby Conceicao; in the vein of exploitation films and gritty, raw B- Movie cinema of the day. Both the film and album share striking, macabre artwork by artist Benicio. The instrumentalist, arranger, and singer- songwriter Ze Rodrix has worked with the cream of Brazilian music, having written songs covered by the greats, including Quarteto Em Cy, Ronald Mesquita, Elis Regina, Karma, and Celia, to name just a few. His written arrangements have graced the music of Luli Lucinha E O Bando and Helio Matheus. He was a member of the iconic group Som Imaginario and played piano and synthesizer on Secos & Molhado's classic 1973 album.

Mr. Bongo are super pleased to make this dusty treasure available again. It is a wonderful soundtrack score that more than holds its own with its European and American counterparts of the era.

TRACK LISTING

1. Esquadrao Da Morte
2. Um Homem E Um Homem E Um Homem 
3. Chorinho Pro Tio
4. Tema De Amor
5. Bolero De Mangaratiba
6. Motoqueiros 
7. Mundo!
8. Assalto
9. Esconderijo
10. Rhumba

Brazil Classics 4: The Best of Tom Zé Massive Hits, comes in a limited Brazilian Blue gatefold edition.

Here’s what you have in store: Household appliances and tools in arrangements with horns, strings, “prepared” guitars (punctuated by grunts, screams and other wild percussion), all melded with eccentric metaphorical lyricism.

TRACK LISTING

A1. Mã
A2. O Riso E A Faca
A3. Toc
A4. Tô
A5. Um “oh!” E Um “ah!”
A6. Ui! (você Inventa)
A7. Cademar
A8. Só (solidão)
B1. Hein?
B2. Augusta, Angélica E Consolação
B3. Dói
B4. Complexo De Épico
B5. A Felicidade
B6. Vai (Menina, Amanhãde Manhã)
B7. Nave Maria

Brazil Classics 5: The Hips of Tradition, comes in a limited Amazon Green edition.

Here’s what you have in store: Household appliances and tools in arrangements with horns, strings, “prepared” guitars (punctuated by grunts, screams and other wild percussion), all melded with eccentric metaphorical lyricism.

'Estudando O Samba' is an incredibly unique concept album from the one and only Tom Ze, originally released by Continental Brazil in 1976 - a tough one to find at a good price in its original form now. ‘Estudando do Samba’ (or ‘Studying The Samba’) is a post-Tropicalia studio experimentation laiden with layers of hypnotic percussion, effects & samples that deconstructs the ‘samba’ form. Recorded during what was arguably his most creative period. David Byrne found the record in Rio in the late 90’s and included several songs on his Tom Ze collection for Luaka Bop a few years later. At that time Tom was not recording or touring much; playing low-key shows in Sao Paulo and contemplating a move back to Irara to work at a service station owned by one of his cousins. Byrne’s project helped to reignite his career and he hasn’t looked back since.

TRACK LISTING

Ma
A Felicidade
Toc
To
Vai (Menina Amenha De Manha)
Ui!
(Voce Inventa)
Doi
Mae (Mae Solteira)
Hein?
So (Solidao)
Se
Indice

Inspiring and crisply produced pop punk blitzreig bop with a clean, punchy guitar sound, driving rhythm section and uplifting, clenched fist lyrics delivered through hip hop influenced vocal harmonies. The sound is a little harder than their previous two lps and probably benefits from that.

Rachel Zeffira’s new single ‘Break The Spell’ is set for release. Its B-side will be a remix of her previous single ‘Here On In’, a Tom Furse (The Horrors) Extrapolation.

Both ‘Break The Spell’ and ‘Here On In’ are taken from Zeffira’s debut solo album ‘The Deserters’.

Rachel Zeffira's debut solo album 'The Deserters' is both beautiful and beguiling - a rapturous tour de force that recalls the baroque pop of John Cale and the hazy experimentation of My Bloody Valentine.

Fans of everyone from Bat For Lashes to The Horrors will find something to enjoy here.

The artwork features photos from celebrated fashion photographer Yuval Hen.

The album was written and produced entirely by Rachel and was recorded at Miloco’s The Pool and Abbey Road Studios alongside engineer Ben Thackeray.

Born and raised in New Jersey, Ardio Zemog delivers the goods for the next Obia Records release. Soulful harmonic percussion filled tracks with a whiff of Latin. Passed on from generation to generation people inherit their ancestral spirits and devotional practices to create vibrations that lift our souls. Ardio Zemog takes on the skin of Obiaman for a sonic trip through connected spirits both young and old. The main cut “Generations” takes the dancer and listener on a wholesome state of well-being. Soothing percussion rhythms with a solid signature bassline drives the listener into a never ending feeling of bliss, the youngest generation has spoken.

Followed by “Yeochu” a deeper more mature arrangement of drums characterizes the unseen spirit from the father figure. A message of analogue synth stabs and pads deliver a blessing followed by hypnotic piano riffs. Instructions and spiritual advice are given for those who are able to open up.

“Nights in Leblon” behold the oldest wisest spirit of them all. A breathtaking deep harmonic pad layered by countless drum percussion. The presence of ever evolving synth stabs and piano chords define the tracks rhythm and timbre.
To finish the EP Wendel Sield takes us on a completely different ancestral path. Flipping the script on “Nights in Leblon Acidic Rework” with a solid tb-303 acid line layered with tr-505 drums. The rework focuses on playful rhythm and minimal usage of elements. Surprisingly the record takes on a different harmony mid tune what makes the track ideal for DJs who like to switch it up during their sets.

STAFF COMMENTS

Matt says: Straight up tribal deep house business in a similar vein to Ron Trent or Joe Clausell. "Yeochu" sounds a lot of like Henrik Schwarz's remix of Code 718's "Equinox".

TRACK LISTING

Generations
Yeochu
Nights In Leblon
Nights In Leblon (Wendel Sields Acidic Rework)

Fronted by the talented and articulate "Gleavey Twins", this is motorized modern day ska with a distinctly northern flavour, drawing its influences from Two Tone, Jamaican ska, Motown and possibly even The Fall. Propelled by driving rhythms, a brilliant, exuberant brass section and a unique, ascerbic vocal style, this is a rare treat from a criminally overlooked outfit.

Wonky beats and woozy melodies, pitched vocal cuts and mournful strings. Rhythmic fragments of melody breathe in and out, punctuating the start-stop breaks. On the flipside, Malik Ameer features on a Thatmanmonkz remix, and turns the whole affair into a slamming rhythmic hip-hop stormer. Perfectly punctuated rhythms and rhymes float above the remixed original. Top stuff. 

TRACK LISTING

1. Every Lil' Bit
2. Every Lil' Bit (Thatmanmonkz Remix Feat Malik Ameer)

The Zephyr Bones’ psychedelic rock expands in a precise and determined sophomore album. A warm and accessible record that speaks about love, self-affirmation, loss and hope.

RIYL: Tame Impala, King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard, Spacemen 3, TOPS.

A quicksilver track that glides on a buoyant bassline and glistening melodic interplay, “No One” is the sound of joy. While it’s easy to pigeonhole it as a dreampop track, there’s undoubtedly hints of psych, funk and Kraut all nestled in there, The Zephyr Bones blurring the lines with ease in this intoxicating track that shows growth in their sonic heft without losing their feathery lightness.
Beats per Minute

"No One" opens up like a traditional indie dance track, with sparkling guitars and a vibrant synth lead reminiscent of a cut from The Strokes or Tame Impala. But it progresses in a fascinating way, bringing in a crunchy psychedelic guitar solo and a funky instrumental breakdown at the end. This track has a variety of sounds, but it's prog rock more than anything, as the dynamic instrumentation sticks out the most. Every layer here is not only an excellent piece to the larger puzzle while also being technically impressive on its own. Despite these nods to the more experienced rock nerd, what's the most fascinating is how accessible the tune really is. The wild drum beats, dense synth layers, and lightning-quick guitars demonstrate the true cerebral chemistry of the group. The sheer musical talent doesn't hurt either.
Earmilk

When The Zephyr Bones first burst into the scene they crushed everything that got in their way. Their music slapped us like a wave when it reaches shore. It took us by surprise and left us asking yearning for more. They coined their style “beach wave”. All this became a first album titled Secret Place, something like the sonic coordinates of a sunny place with a soundtrack of guitars with reverb and intoxicating melodies. You can’t tell whether you’ve been there or not, but you definitely want to go back.
In Neon Body they are the same people, but it hits differently. Their melodies and suggestive guitar riffs are on point. They are able to take you back to places. You will never finish these 10 tracks in the same place where you were when you first hit play. Speaking of The Zephyr Bones is speaking of pure freedom. And yet, in this second album we get to know them in a different way, more determined and with a renewed intensity. The landscape has also changed and now the tone reminds us of the twilight, and in some songs you can even feel the reflection of neon light on your skin.

But let’s not lose the point. What matters here are the songs, and in this album you can find pretty damn good ones. “No One”, the first single, is an excellent entry into the universe created in Neon Body. Addictive and irresistible, it will instantly get you dancing and singing along. “So High” is a dizzying and fast-paced first track. By the time “Verneda Lights” arrives, you have fully surrendered to Brian Silva (vocals, guitar and synthesizers), Jossip Tkalcic (guitar and vocals), Marc López (drums) and Carlos Ramos (bass). “Sparks” shines with its own light: it is a controlled fire until the final part of the song makes everything burn again. “Plastic Freedom” goes all-in with an infallible riff. “Velvet” is as elegant as its title suggests, and “Rocksteady” hits the bullseye again with a chorus that hits like a poisonous dart. “Neon Eyes’’ lifts you up with heavenly back up vocals and “Afterglow” keeps you with your feet on the ground – Why? Because begs you to dance. And then comes “Celeste V”, a song that speaks about loss that puts an end to the recording. 

TRACK LISTING

1. So High
2. Verneda Lights
3. No One
4. Afterglow
5. Sparks
6. Neon Eyes
7. Plastic Freedom
8. Rocksteady
9. Velvet
10. Celeste V

The stunning fifth album by Edinburgh's psychedelic magicians, The Zephyrs, their first release for five years. Originally tipped by Mogwai's Stuart Braithwaite, The Zephyrs have recorded for Mogwai's Rock Action label, Spain's Acuarela label and Setanta, and now sign to Club AC30 for "Fool Of Regrets". Starting as a solo album for Stuart Nicol, the recordings soon embraced the other members of the band and "Fool Of Regrets" began to take shape at Diving Bell Lounge studio in Glasgow, produced by Michael Brennan and Marcus MacKay, with a set of friends and guest players - Mogwai's Barry Burns contributed Richard Manuel-esque piano, Lisa Jen Brown, in the middle of a Gruff Rhys tour added backing vocals and Gruff Rhys sang harmony; and Mary MacMaster (contributor to Sting's recent 'early music' project) played harp. The Zephyrs do a beautiful and seemingly impossible thing - they manage to combine the epic grandeur of Mogwai with the country-rock of Gram Parsons. The songs flow with a psychedelic, somnambulant ambience - country music in slow motion.
For fans of Low, Mojave 3, and Grandaddy.

It has now been repressed for the 1st time, this 2023 pressing is limited to 500
copies on transparent 10" eco-vinyl with unique colour swirls. Zero 7's debut album 'Simple Things' sold over a million copies and was nominated for the Mercury Music Prize and the band as Best Newcomer at the Brit Awards. The album featured singers Sia, Sophie Barker and Mozez. 'When It Falls' followed with the same guest vocalists along with Danish singer Tina Dico. Their third album 'The Garden' was nominated for a Grammy Award with singers Jose Gonzalez and Sia. Two further albums 'Yeah Ghost' and a best of 'Record' completed their time with Atlantic Records.

TRACK LISTING

1. Home (Alternative Mix)
2. Somersault (Danger Mouse Remix Ft. MF DOOM)

Zero 7 were formed in 1997 by producers Henry Binns and Sam Hardaker. In 2001 their debut album "Simple Things" was released selling over a million copies to date and was nominated for the Mercury Music Prize. Zero 7 were also nominated as Best Newcomer at the Brit Awards 2001. "Simple Things" peaked at no.28 in the UK album chart and spent 89 weeks on the chart. Stateside, the album hit no.4 on the Billboard Dance / Electronic album chart and stayed on that chart for 52 weeks.

Singles taken from the original album included ‘I Have Seen’ featuring Mozez, ‘Destiny’ featuring Sia & Sophie Barker, "In the Waiting Line" featuring Sophie Barker and "Distractions" featuring Sia. The LP has been out of print for almost two decades and second-hand copies of the original pressing are changing hands on Ebay and Discogs for upwards of £100!

STAFF COMMENTS

Andy says: Beautiful, lushly produced downtempo grooves topped with sweet melodies, somewhat akin to French masters Air but with soul and jazz flavours, this is a timeless classic, and every home should have one!

TRACK LISTING

LP:
I Have Seen
Polaris
Destiny
Give It Away
Simple Things
Red Dust
Distractions
In The Waiting Line
Out Of Town
This World
Likufanele

CD:

Disc 1:
I Have Seen
Polaris / Destiny
Give It Away
Simple Things
Red Dust
Distractions
In The Waiting Line
Out Of Town
This World
Likufanele
End Theme

Disc 2:
Simple Things (KFOG Session)
Destiny (KFOG Session)
In The Waiting Line (KFOG Session)
Monday Night
Spinning
Salt Water Sound
Distractions (Version Idjut)
In The Waiting Line (Dorfmeister Con Madrid De Los Austrias Dub)
End Theme (Herberts Chop Dub)
Distractions (Block 16 Mix)
Destiny (Photek Remix)

The Garden is another timelessly classic album from a seminal electronic band and an essential soundtrack to any laidback listening.  Zero 7 were formed in 1997 by producers Henry Binns and Sam Hardaker. In 2001 their debut album Simple Things was released selling over a million copies to date and was nominated for the Mercury Music Prize. They released their third album The Garden in 2006 it also peak at no 4 UK album chart spending 7 weeks in total there. It has sold over 125k copies. In the USA, it entered the Billboard Dance/Electronic chart at #2 and stayed in the Top 20 of that chart for 5 weeks. Singles taken from the album include Futures featuring Jose Gonzalez, Throw It All Away and You’re My Flame both featuring Sia

TRACK LISTING

CD1:
Futures
Throw It All Away
Seeing Things
The Pageant Of The Bizarre
You’re My Flame
Left Behind
Today
This Fine Social Scene
Your Place
If I Can’t Have You
Crosses
Waiting To Die

CD2:
Dreaming
Thistles
Carolina
Futures (Acoustic Version)
Seeing Things (Extended 12” Version)
Left Behind (Live Session)
Today (Live Session)
Dreaming (Live Session)
You’re My Flame (Live Session)
Crosses (Live Session)
The Pageant Of The Bizarre (Live Session)

LP1:
Futures
Throw It All Away
Seeing Things
The Pageant Of The Bizarre
You’re My Flame
Left Behind

LP2:
Today
This Fine Social Scene
Your Place
If I Can’t Have You
Crosses
Waiting
To Die

This vinyl only "When it Falls" re-issue will mirror the original release, cut over 4 sides and using the original artwork but now pressed on heavyweight 180g vinyl. Cutting is by engineer Kevin Metcalfe using his original cutting notes. The vinyl LP has been discontinued and second-hand copies of the original pressing are changing hands on Ebay and Discogs for upwards of £100!

"When It Falls" was a Top 10 album, peaking at No. 4 in the UK album charts and spent 24 weeks in total in the charts. It has sold over a quarter of a million copies. Stateside the album entered the Billboard Dance / Electronic chart at #3 and stayed in the Top 20 of that chart for almost thirteen months.

Singles taken from the original album include “Home” with Tina Dico on vocal duties, “Warm Sounds” featuring Mozez. Sia and Sophie Barker also feature on the album, on tracks “Somersault”, “In Time” and “Speed Dial No. 2”.

"When It Falls" is a timelessly classic album from a seminal electronic band and the essential soundtrack to any laidback summer chilling.

This Special Edition release artwork will have a premium, luxury feel as it reworks the original artwork but this time using a metallic foil blocked finish. 

STAFF COMMENTS

Matt says: I'd just moved to Manchester when this came out and it soundtracked its fair share of bleary-eyed morning afters. Now back in all its former glory you too can re-live a slow Sunday morning with the curtains closed shut, safe in the bussom of this wonderful album.

TRACK LISTING

Warm Sound 
Home
Somersault
Over Our Heads 
Passing By
When It Falls
The Space Between
Look Up
In Time 
Speed Dial No. 2
Morning Song

Zero 7’s 4th album Yeah Ghost from 2009, spans everything from dance pop to acoustic folk and everything in between it's an idea-splattered work of genius that even includes a quartet of instrumental tracks derived from their experimental side projects and sampled, overdubbed and rebuilt from scratch. From the evocative intro 'Count Me Out' to the album's shuffling, twitchy closer 'All Of Us' - via the haunting 'Solastalgia' and 'Ghost sYMbOL' avant-garde electronic and distorted vocals - it's Zero 7 as you've never heard them before. 'Destiny' this aint. One thing that remains consistent though is the roll call of up-and-coming talent on vocal duties, including singer ESKA Mtungwazi. The Londoner, whose collaboration credits include Matthew Herbert and Bugs In The Attic, appears on 'Mr McGee', 'Medicine Man', 'Sleeper' and 'The Road' & folk singer songwriter/ painter / filmmaker Martha Tilson for Pop Art Blue.

TRACK LISTING

LP Tracks:
Disc 1
1. Count Me Out
2. Mr McGee
3. Swing
1. Everything Up (Zizou)
2. Pop Art Blue
3. Medicine Man

Disc 2
1. Ghost SYMbOL
2. Sleeper
3. Solastalgia
1. The Road
2. All Of Us

CD Tracks:
1. Count Me Out
2. Mr McGee
3. Swing
4. Everything Up [Zizou]
5. Pop Art Blue
6. Medicine Man
7. Ghost SYMbOL
8. Sleeper
9. Solastalgia
10. The Road
11. All Of Us
12. E Sgwers (demo Version)
13. Methods
14. Ghost SYMbOL (Klang Version)

Zero Down are a three piece punk outfit hailing from LA and are the latest additions to the Fat Wreck roster. The members possess a sterling punk rock resume, having spent time in bands like Strung Out, Down By Law and Pulley. With some slower moody pieces and the usual high standard of Fat Wreck sound this is a brilliant debut.

Featuring South Lancashire's most adept Etheric Noblemen...
All compositions have been radionically tapped in real-time from the infinite sonic wisdom of the cosmos and dimensions beyond. Magnetically captured by the divine technological wonders of VHS and its equally majestic audio equivalent - the C90 Cassette Tape.
For the listeners' full enjoyment, safety and peace of mind - full assurance is given that during the process of duplication any physical tape material has been shielded from rogue malicious extra-dimensional entities, and from any real-time psionic black magick interference (or any variant or overlaid magnetised psi-programming)
Recorded at Cerberus Development Laboratories 2014/15

Vocal appearances by:  Elizabeth Six & Don Lovedog. 

Compiled and edited by Ste Spandex. Additional Musings by Anturio.

Includes unlimited streaming of Shadowcasters via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

STAFF COMMENTS

Matt says: The Cerberus space ship rockets onwards! This stupendously good star cruiser is like Manuel Gottsching or Ash Ra beamed deep, deep into a wormhole and coming out sometime close the very end of the known current universe. You know how the new Hubble is gonna show you light from the very beginning of time, well this is the sound vibrations transmitted at the very END of time and captured now, without any red shift. Get ya head 'round that pop pickers.

First-ever official vinyl reissue of Ziad Rahbani's mythical Lebanese Disco 12" "Abu Ali" originally issued in Lebanon in 1978. An ultra-rare and highly collectible album praised by diggers and DJs all over the world (copies exchange hands for £600), it will get its first official reissue by Wewantsounds.

TRACK LISTING

1. Abu Ali
2. Prelude (Theme From Mais El Rim)

Los Angeles-based bonehead savants Zig Zags are no-nonsense ’80s style thrash with a magpie eye for deepfried pop culture detritus. These guys give so few fucks while they are out ripping faces that it’s tough to say much about them that hasn’t been said before—they shred so that we may raise beers in non-ironic salute to their Voivod worship, to a world in which young heshers subscribe to New Wave of British Heavy Metal and practice early Slayer solos while watching daytime TV, to waking and baking as you watch the world burn. Running Out of Red is the soundtrack to getting high and driving around in your shitty car in your small town, occasionally getting laid…occasionally getting laid out at the local liquor store by an older dude. Gang vocals: check. 1-2 pit beat: on lock. Shredder solid state guitar heroics: ripping, and so should you, the bong is packed and I think there’s still pizza in the fridge. I can smell your pants from here, dude.

TRACK LISTING

1. They Came For Us
2. No Brains No Balls
3. The Sadist
4. Total Recall
5. Lizard
6. Sin Eaters
7. Giving Up The Ghost
8. Can?t Afford The Basics
9. My Lighter
10. Meat Man
11. Afraid Of The Dark
12. Night Of The Knife

AMAZING new album from LA’s Zig Zags..honing their skills to create a fierce brew of US hardcore skate punk and UK Nwobhm ..like the first wve of US thrash from 83.. get on it!! “Everyone puts photos of Sid Vicious up on Instagram. The other night I watched ‘D.O.A’, the documentary about The Sex Pistols, first and only U.S. tour. In it - Sid's a mess, he and his annoying girlfriend. And they're the only ones who get interviewed! Maybe John Lydon and Steve Jones (not to mention the drummer) didn't want to participate. Maybe Nancy made Sid do it. But it whatever the case, I didn't wanna watch it. The rest of the band is crushing! They sound just like the record! As a musician in a touring band, I can't stand Sid Vicious.

He’s cartoon character with a Swastika shirt, nodding off while everyone else loads the gear. I don't care if it's punk - you still gotta be able to play.” - J. Maheu, lead vocals and guitar for Zig Zags 8 years, 7 singles, 3 albums, 3 bass players, 2 drummers and God knows how many shows later - Zig Zags has continually evolved, mutated, transitioned and transformed, rising again and again, like a phoenix emerging from the flame. The addition of the newest member of our triumvirate - multi-instrumentalist, designated bassist (and longtime Zig Zags sound engineer) Sean Hoffman - recalls those golden moments past, when destiny stepped in...like when Neil Peart joined Rush or Bob Rock teamed up with Metallica. In short - the circle is now complete, the cornerstone has been set and the winged serpent rises - once again. Some say it’s luck, but really, it’s about patience.

A band is like a relationship. You have to know when to push, and when to hold back. You gotta listen and you gotta learn. We look to the masters. Like Henry and Glenn, we’ve gone from drinking hooch to pumpin’ iron. We quit smoking. Two of us are married, for chrissakes! After 2017’s brutal European tour, which left us coughing blood and taking names, we sought out Lemmy’s Doctor (Feel Good), who diagnosed us with,”Rock’n’roll Pneumonia”. Like Lemmy, we were pushing too hard. And if you push too hard you’ll end up in an apartment above The Rainbow Room, playing video poker on Christmas Eve (which is also your birthday)...but that’s another story.

TRACK LISTING

01. Punk Fucking Metal
02. Killer Of Killers
03. Fallout
04. No Way Out
05. Ms 45
06. The Shout
07. Why I Carry A Knife
08. They'll Never Take Us Alive
09. Nothing To Do
10. God Sized

A super limited coloured vinyl reissue of Batman Begins, the first film soundtrack in the batman trilogy. A first time ever coloured vinyl release for this much admired and innovative Hans Zimmer and James Newton Howard score

• A limited edition of just 500 copies WORLDWIDE
• Gatefold sleeve double album
• Orange Vinyl

TRACK LISTING

SIDE 1
1. Vespertilio
2. Eptesicus
3. Myotis
4. Barbastella
SIDE 2
1. Artibeus
2. Tadarida
3. Macrotus
SIDE 3
1. Antrozous
2. Nycteris
3. Molossus
SIDE 4
1. Corynorhinus
2. Lasiurus

Some things take time to happen, some things perhaps take a bit longer than they should but, finally, we are delighted to present an issue of the iconic, and sought-after, Brazilian album 'Alucinolândia' by Zito Righi e Seu Conjunto from 1969.

The trippy, surrealist 60s cover design with hands holding eyeballs is somewhat confusing. Rather than the stoner acid rock record that the art may suggest, 'Alucinolândia' is actually a quintessential 60s gem, mixing samba, MPB, bossa nova, quirky organ-led mod-jazz groovers and easy-listening crooners with a relaxed cool swagger.

Zito Righi aka Isidoro Righi, the Brazilian saxophonist, instrumentalist, conductor and composer brought together an illustrious cast for this masterpiece, including the much-loved vocalist Sônia Santos. Sônia delivers a masterclass on the album's opener, and maybe its crown-jewel 'Poema Ritmico Do Malandro'. The song is fierce and driving with an enticing funk intro that bursts into a Samba / Batucada workout. A real monster that works magic on the dancefloor. Sônia would later re-visit this track in 1971 on a recording for Copacabana Records, which Mr Bongo released as part of the Brazil45 series. The Brazilian songwriter Roberval penned three tracks on the record, including another highlight and the far too short 'Birimbau'; a catchy Brazilian jazzy-samba dancer at its finest. Other musicians include the drummer Fernando who also recorded with the greats Dila & Guilherme Coutinho.

The fact the record was released in 1969 meant it was probably a bit out of step with its contemporaries in comparison to the works of artists such as Os Mutantes, Gilberto Gil et al. The core of 'Alucinolândia' is that of a more optimistic early to mid-sixties party feelgood vibe rather than the angsty, psychedelia, and rebellion of the Tropicália movement. Over 50 years since its release, the work can finally be judged on its own merit; and what a beauty it is.

TRACK LISTING

Poema Ritmico Do Malandro
Somos Todos Irmãos
Once In A While
Birimbau
Primeira Conjugacao
Bye Bye
Love Is Here To Stay
Isnt' A Dream
Sou Feliz Aqui
Adeus Amor
Alvorada
Hert

When Elena Colombi launched the Osàre! Editions label in the autumn of 2019, she explained that the label would become home to bold, daring, future-facing music rooted in experimentation and free-spirited musical abandon. These are all descriptions that could apply to the label’s latest release, a retrospective album of little-known works by Greek musician and producer Thanasis Zlatanos.

Many will not have heard of Zlatanos, or Nekropolis, the band he fronted alongside dear friend and regular collaborator Trygve Mathiesen, yet the music he made during the 1980s was otherworldly, intergalactic and undoubtedly alluring. These songs and instrumentals made extensive use of analogue synthesizers and lo-fi drum machines, as well as Zlatanos’s trusted Gibson Les Paul guitar and his own distinctive voice.

Stylistically, the musician and producer refused to settle on a specific sound, preferring instead to create inspired, often mind-altering pieces that join the dots between wave music, skewed leftfield pop, ambient, prototype electronic and Madedonian folk music. Operating for much of the period from a crumbling house earmarked for demolition, Zlatanos kept up a daily music-making vigil that resulted in a vast vault of music, most of which has remained unissued since the 1980s.

The breadth of and width of Zlatanos’s distinctive approach is laid bare on Retrospective, a compilation album prepared by Colombi and the artist himself that draws on tracks from his numerous albums, those by Nekropolis – whose sophomore set “The New Europeans” was banned in Norway – and his epic archive of previously unheard material.

The artist’s singular but wide-ranging musical vision is free for all to see across the 13 tracks stretched across the vinyl version of the album (digital buyers also get a further four superb cuts). It veers attractively from the ghostly, traditional-meets-futuristic new age electronica of “The Crystal Sight (Excerpt)” and the doom-laden coldwave throb of “Master Chameleon”, to the undulating, soft-touch creepiness of “Surreal Moment”, the Vocoder-laden operatic poignancy of “The New Barbarians” and the squally guitar solos and effects-laden electronics of “The Light”.

Words from the artist___:
"I live in the Internet. Visits from outer space make me compose. I breathe here. I am the master chameleon, the psychedelic clown. I am not here anymore, neither in the picture, nor the reflection. Our bed is a boat that takes us tomorrow without us.

Here is an album of dreams and digital emotions. Analogue recordings made with a Prophet, a Moog Rogue, a tape recorder and a Gibson Les Paul guitar.

As far as I can remember I have always been in a recording studio. I listen to, understand and live my life through songs and music. I have worked alone and with friends such as Trygve Mathiesen. Although I am a guitarist, I continue to work with synthesizers on music that blends elements of Macedonian folk music, recordings from the streets and embryonic electronic sounds.

Some of my albums have been critically acclaimed, others banned by radio stations. For years I worked on endless recording sessions in a crumbling house that should have been torn down. The music on this retrospective compilation was recorded at various points between 1982 and the present day. Some of the compositions first appeared on previous albums, while others have never been released before. They were sat on tapes waiting for a saviour. Now that saviour has arrived and they can be free.

For further proof of Zlatanos’s unique sonic approach, check the startling contrast between the bass-laden slacker pop headiness of “No Expectations” and the spacey ambience of “The Dead Don’t Remember”. Considered together, the selected pieces and those elsewhere on Retrospective forms a snapshot of a genuinely unique and visionary musician, composer and producer. It’s a celebration of someone whose work has previously been overlooked."

TRACK LISTING

Master Chameleon
Nor The Reflection
Without Us
Psychedelic Clown
The Crystal Sight (Excerpt II)
Deformed 
Surreal Moment 
No Expectations 
The Crystal Sight (Excerpt I) 
The Dead Don't Remember 
The New Barbarians 
Macedonian 
The Light

(Experimenteller Elektronik-Underground DDR 1989) Bureau B presented a compilation of experimental, electronic music from the GDR's underground cassette scene in 2017 under the title "Magnetband" and now the Hamburg label is following up this thematic focus with the release of "MEZ 31,00" by Dieter Zobel aka Didier Leboz, recorded in 1988 and originally released on Thomasius' Kröten Kassetten label in 1989.

Cosmic Sounds is a collaborative concept album, based on the signs of the Zodiac and originally released in 1967 by Elektra Records. Mort Garson, who is known for his collaborations with Doris Day and Glen Campbell, was asked to compose the psychedelic rock music and record it together with producer and The Limeliters co-founder Alex Hassilev. Different session musicians were brought in to contribute to the recordings, including most notably Moog synth guru Paul Beaver and narrator Cyrus Faryar.

TRACK LISTING

Side A
1. Aries - The Fire-Fighter
2. Taurus - The Voluptuary
3. Gemini - The Cool Eye
4. Cancer - The Moon Child
5. Leo - The Lord Of Lights
6. Virgo - The Perpetual Perfectionist

Side B
1. Libra - The Flower Child
2. Scorpio - The Passionate Hero
3. Sagittarius - The Versatile Daredevil
4. Capricorn - The Uncapricious Climber
5. Aquarius - The Lover Of Life
6. Pisces - The Peace Piper

The second of May’s pair of ace new Deep Distance LPs, sees a second studio full length from Brighton based kraut / kosmische juggernauts ZOFFF.

Described recently as "the finest purveyors of kosmische heaviness on the planet right now" by Shindig! Magazine, the band release their eagerly awaited follow up to the quickfire sell out of “ZOFFF I” in 2017 (separated by an equally hastily sold out live album on Drone Rock recs); “FFF” is released first week of May and again is expected to move out quick style.

Over to Ben Graham for a few words: “ZOFFF are all about light and shade, and the dynamic movement from the subtlest curlicues of gentle sound to the full raging storm of sonic attack, and back again. On their second studio album ‘FFF’, the south coast psychedelic five piece serve up six tracks of improvised instrumental experimentation that blend seamlessly into a consistent whole: a trip, if you will, from First Faltering Feelings to Final Full-blown Freak-out.

'Ye' assembles around a lonesome trumpet overture, before the drums and dirty fuzz guitar kick in and we're off, with no messing around and no ambient noodling: direct to the cranium and the groove with high-energy space rock reversing the polarity and shaking out the ghosts. 'Vav' takes it up another notch: tense and urgent, it climaxes in Coltrane-like sheets of sound over double-time drumming, before 'Har' arrives at a relatively gentle pace, dub-like sonic action swooping and fluttering over a rock-solid beat until the bass takes over and the direction becomes clear: FFForward!!!

Side two starts with the appropriately titled 'Dig'. All the elements are in balance and the band are firing at Full Force. 'Ca' kicks off with horn, static and splash, a classic slow burn taking us up to the final eleven-minute climax of 'Zeta'. This surprisingly exploratory piece doesn't just aim to go out with a bang but takes time to set up new possibilities and juxtapositions, opening new doors right to the end where other lesser bands would already be packing up the scenery.

Recent years have seen ZOFFF reaping acclaim and blown minds wherever they've appeared.

Their live album, (2017’s KOZFEST MMXVI baring striking testimony to this), with psychedelia an increasingly devalued term, ZOFFF remain the connoisseur's choice. That's ZOFFF with three Fs by the way. We wouldn't want you to forget now…”

The LP is released as a (clear) vinyl only pressing of 300 on Deep Distance, the go-to London label for kraut flavoured kosmische with a sold out back catalogue of 60/60 releases including Cavern of Anti-Matter, JD Emmanuel, Colin Potter and many others… 

Supernatural Cat is the label run by Malleus Rock Art Lab, artistic collective featuring two members of the psychedelic doom trio Ufomammut. After a busy 2012, the label seems to have been laying low. However, little did we know, behind the scenes they have been busy working on the vinyl release of ORO and preparing to unleash two new musical projects – the first of which we can proudly unleash today...

Enter Zolle, self-proclaimed rednecks, on the loose and ready to run amok with the release of their self-titled debut album, an ode to yokel ways of living.

They might not take themselves so seriously but don't be fooled, their music is no hayseed dixie, brace yourself for a ferocious, rampant record of thunderous riffs and robust drum blasts.

Zolle are - Marcello (Lan of Morkobot) playing meaty riffs and Stefano who beefs things up on drums and xylophone. The duo commenced work on their debut album throughout the summer of 2012, and in just two months they had the music ready to commit to tape.

Their self-titled album was recorded in September of the same year by Michelangelo Roberti at Mizkey Studio (MoRkObOt) and mastered by Giovanni Versari (zu, Morkobot, OvO, One Dimensional Man).

It was played almost live, with overdubs reduced to the bone. The drums are of considerable proportion and made of copper and the amplifier an old digital model of the '50s which makes for a mammoth sound. Urlo from Ufomammut and Roberto Rizzo of Quasiviri/Runi add a little synth seasoning to flesh out the album also.

The resulting album is mightily heavy, the short songs are direct and song titles are entrenched in references to redneck living. For example 'Mayale' is a play on the Italian word for pig [Maiale] but is written like 'Maya' to reflect the sacred image of the Mayan pig face adorning the album's cover. Similarly, 'Heavy Letam' is suggestive of 'Letame' which means manure in Italian – not to mention being an anagram of 'heavy metal'.

Zolle may be a no-frills band but there is much more to them than meets the eye. They are far from restrained and their debut album will definitely give you something to chew on.

TRACK LISTING

01 - Trakthor
02 - LeeQuame
03 - Forko
04 - Mayale
05 - Man Ja To Ya!
06 - Melicow
07 - Heavy Letam
08 - Weetellah
09 - Trynchatowak
10 - Moongitruce

Relapse Records proudly presents ZOMBI's new album, 2020. Their first new album in 5 years, 2020 showcases the songwriting prowess that has pushed the duo of Steve Moore (synthesizers, guitars, bass) and A.E. Paterra (drums) to evolve throughout their storied, 20 year career. ZOMBI has strived to build upon and expand their sound with every release. Now more than ever, the band stays true to their ethos. From the pulse-pounding, dramatic opener "Breakthrough & Conquer", to the melodic bass whirls found in "XYZT", 2020 proves to be ZOMBI's most riff-intensive album. At first a soundtrack of driving musical euphoria, 2020 takes a sharp turn into uncharted waters - "Earthscraper" is reminiscent of a space where sounds of sludge and doomlike-riff crushers dominate the soundscapes. Synthwave and neon crescendos are furloughed in favor of Blue Oyster Cult inspired progressive epics. A truly therapeutic loop of immersive instrumental rock, 2020 might just be ZOMBI's most ambitious album yet.

TRACK LISTING

1. Breakthrough & Conquer
2. Earthscraper
3. No Damage
4. XYZT
5. Fifth Point Of The Pentangle
6. Family Man
7. Mountain Ranges
8. First Flower
9. Thoughtforms

Fifteen years in and Zombie Zombie are going way back, the cinematic French synth trio's sixth studio album 'Vae Vobis' veers away from the science fiction overload of their 2017 opus 'Livity' to plunge their music deep into the Middle Ages. Joined by soprano singer Ange`le Chemin and Francois & The Atlas Mountains' Laura Etchegoyhen as part of the Doomed Angels choir on vocals, lyrics are sung in Latin, drawn from the proverbs of the Dutch humanist Erasmus.

"We wanted to remain mysterious, to send cryptic messages" the pair say, "to dive back into a language from another time, like the copyist monks of the Middle Ages".

Recorded with Laurent de Boisgisson at Studio One Two Pass It in Bagnolet, the result is something akin to a reverberating doom orgy. Previous work has always lent itself a cinematic edge - reaching its culmination in the form of two film soundtracks, for French films Irreprochable and L'Heure De La Sortie respectively - but here the sense of atmosphere and the scale of the sound has been blown up yet further. The choral arrangements hint at the work of David Axelrod or Ennio Morricone, with chanted syllables ominously arcing over the top of the likes of Lacrymosa bouncing analogue synth work and Consortium's portentous swirls of gothic sound.

There are bangers to be found within the caverns too. “Nusquam et Unique” admittedly isn't your average 122 BPM floor filler but moves forward with an ominous dubby propulsion while vocoder vocals cut menacingly through. Ring Modulus meanwhile veers between minimal and maximal as it shudders along its more subtle gridlines.

The ubiquitous vocoders are pushed to their limits on the album, while sax, trumpet and percussion come and add further colour.

TRACK LISTING

1. Introitus
2. Vae Vobis
3. Nusquam Et Unique
4. Ring Modulus
5. Aurora
6. Lacrymosa
7. Dissolotum
8. War Is Coming
9. Lux In Tenebris
10. Modus Operandi
11. Erebus
12. Consortium

This great collection of beautifully crafted songs has long been hailed as one of the best albums to emerge from the Sixties. And yet "Odessey & Oracle" was overlooked by both the media and public when it was first released back in 1967. It may have been because The Zombies had passed their peak in terms of chart success and were being overshadowed by the Beach Boys and The Beatles. Nevertheless their album - with its swirly psychedelic cover and miss-spelt title (it should have been "Odyssey"!) - began to attract more attention. Eventually, one of its stand-out songs, the soulful and funky "Time Of The Season" got to Number 3 in the US Billboard singles chart. Yet that was in 1969, two years after the group had split up, frustrated at their lack of recognition. The strident piano playing of Rod Argent and of Colin Blunstone's richly melodic vocals imbue these confident lively pop songs with a special quality that makes this special 40th anniversary CD package all the more satisfying and attractive. The 2 CD set, which includes both Mono and Stereo versions of the classic album, plus 6 bonus tracks, includes a detailed booklet, which includes an interview with leader Rod Argent, and reminiscences of 'Swinging London' and the live music scene in the golden era of 60s psychedelia.

The ever-prolific ZOMBI return once again with a brand new classic rock covers album! ZOMBI & Friends, Vol. 1 sees the band faithfully covering tracks ranging from The Doobie Brothers, to The Alan Parsons Project, Dionne Warwick, and Neil Diamond! ZOMBI & Friends, Vol. 1 features guest appearances from members of The Sword, Trans Am, Pinkish Black, Zao and more!

TRACK LISTING

1. Guilty
2. Suspicions
3. I Can't Tell You Why
4. Sirius-Eye In The Sky
5. Take You Back (Street Corner Song From Rocky)
6. Takin It To The Streets
7. The Captain Of Her Heart
8. Deja Vu
9. You'll Never Find Another Love Like Mine
10. America

Among discerning listeners, anticipation for new Zomby material is now high but outside of him teasing fans with a few out-takes via the internet, there hasn't been much to go by in recent times. That was until the end of last year when hauntingly beautiful new track 'Natalia's Song' appeared unannounced in a Burial and Kode9 mix for Radio 1. Catching people off-guard, it served to pour fuel on the fire and leave all anticipating what was to follow. Having signed a worldwide deal with 4AD, that wait is over. ‘Natalia’s Song’ has being afforded a proper release as a single and is also included on this, his second album, 'Dedication'. A wholly different record to its predecessor, Zomby returns from his hiatus with typical style. It is both a dark and absorbing listen that engulfs the listener, running between sparse electronics, techno hooks and minimal piano riffs. Making up for lost time, 'Dedication' continues to put Zomby at a distance from his peers. By the time they’ve caught up, he’ll no doubt be somewhere else entirely.

ZOMBY, one of the UK’s most enigmatic electronic producers, underscores his already illustrious succession of releases with his latest EP “GASP!" ZOMBY’s ability to effortlessly shift aesthetics across his career has firmly stationed him as a producer that can’t be boxed, and “GASP!" sees him altering his often jungle-driven sound yet again, furthering him as a sonic chameleon among an ever-increasing landscape of musical similitude.  In his signature spirit of cryptic variety, “GASP!" explores another tectonic revision in ZOMBY’s style. A shift forward indeed, the compact, 3-track EP is a relentless, hardware-driven behemoth of beats and breaks that fit somewhere between a chugging steel factory and a darkened dancefloor.

TRACK LISTING

A1. GASP!
A2. ZKITTLEZ
B1. ZPRITE

Zomby's enjoyed an illustrious career thus far. His "Where Were U In '92" immediately saw the producer rocket into our stratosphere while collaborations with Burial have ensured his credentials and desirability throughout the underground. Last year's "Ultra" album saw him exploring new territory - stark, barren lands of low-life microcosms, radiation scorched landscapes and varying levels of gravity and pressure - making for a completely alien and otherworldly listen. Plummeting even further into said environment is "Mercury's Rainbow", an album totally befitting for interplantary exploration. Apparently created between 2008-2009, it was actually conceived more as an Eski-concept album, paying tribute to one of girme's most iconic artists and sounds. Innovating the structure with a bewildering, modal style, shimmering is a 3-dimensional world, it recalls fellow space explores Seekers International; whilst shunning said act's pursuit of interstellar dub and reggae in search of something altogether more supernova in its creation.

'While it’s difficult to say with certainty, if Mercury’s Rainbow was issued at the same time it was created, it may have arguably altered the course of UK grime instrumentals in much the same way Wiley’s original template coined a whole new genre, essentially making it the last word in grime futurism, proper.' (Boomkat).

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: Stark hi-octane arpeggios and bit-crushed chugs meet street-level kick-slinging, crackling videogame refrains and icy, progressive utopian futures. Fearless, and fantastic.

TRACK LISTING

1. Mercury's Rainbow 02:05
2. Choke 02:05
3. Poison 01:51
4. Static 01:40
5. Delvaux 03:28
6. Silver Ocean 02:19
7. Immersion 01:52
8. Waterfall Of Ice 03:01
9. Rigamortis 02:06
10. Whirlpool 02:14
11. Tet5uo 02:48
12. Solar Ashes 03:44
13. Horizon 03:02
14. Patina 01:31
15. X Ray 03:06
16. Atoms

"Zorch demonstrate how good 'weird' can be." SPIN.

The debut full length by Austin duo Zorch is the end result of nearly 5-years worth of material similarly collected, then shredded, condensed and completely remolded into a solid whole. It sounds like two hyperactively creative minds finding ways to cleverly merge together effervescent synth blips, blue-eyed soul vocals, gang-chant backups, blurting EDM bass lines, frenetic drums, hazy psych-drone and even the proverbial kitchen sink taking leads here and there. Each song sounds like it could've been crafted out of samples from several different decades of pop culture history, though it's entirely the work of two exceptional musicians.

If Zzoorrcchh sounds like a photomosaic looks, it's because there is similarly a meticulously organized logic to it all. When Zac Traeger (keyboards, omnichord, vocals) and Shmu (drums, omnichord, vocals) first started playing together in 2008 while studying music in college in Boston, the pair would improvise and record many hours worth of ideas. Some of these songs are direct descendants of those jams; the duo picking out pieces of those recordings, re-organizing and reworking them multiple times and in various studio settings while also adding on and creating new ideas. Demo versions of some of the songs on this album were previously released, only to again be redone a couple of times over for the album. And, Zorch even previously offered up all of the basic audio tracks from early EPs for fans to remix their own versions.

The band are just as intensive about its live shows, often playing upwards of 20 shows during the 4 days of SXSW. Zzoorrcchh kicks off fittingly by easing listeners into their world with a slow fade-in to whirling synths, a stately piano loop and countless layers of sounds comprising "My Joy is Explosion." The minute-long tune immediately segues into the blissfully hyper celebration of life, "We All Die Young." Here, Shmu's rollicking drum pattern that might make Neil Peart's head spin drives Zac's frantic synth arpeggios while several layers of voices sing, "what a day, let's celebrate it/ I want to feel elated." Elsewhere, on "This Is The Way It Goes" neo-rave staccato chords sounding like computer error tones, marimbas and pounding toms meet cheerful vocals singing the song title's seeming lament. "Inopportune Sailing" starts off like a repetitive, perky chiptune from an imaginary 80s video game that morphs into a full-fledged living pop-soul jam. It sounds like Zorch actually beat Daft Punk to the punch at making their own organic recordings sound like vintage song samples. "Zut Alors", a longtime fan live favorite lyrically pokes fun at conspiracy theories of reptilian overlords with the refrain, "giant surprise/ We are lizards disguised/ And we're controlling your lives/ With trilateral spies."

The album is a wild auditory amusement park that gets more and more exciting with each visit. Early support/features confirmed with Pitchfork, Spin, Magnet, Alarm, Consequence of Sound, MSN and much more.

TRACK LISTING

1. My Joy Is Explosion
2. We All Die Young
3. Its Kind Of A Deal Where…
4. This Is The Way It Goes
5. Mutwa
6. Zut Alors
7. Inopportune Sailing
8. Cosmic Gloss
9. Oceans Dawn

John Zorn. Rituel * Une Crise de Nerfs * Prière Empoisonné * L’heure des Sorcières John Zorn returns to his original instrument with a new volume of organ improvisations recorded at his infamous Weekend in Paris in April 2017. The organ at the Grand Salle Pierre Boulez is one of the most powerful and versatile in France, and Zorn approaches it with great sensitivity and wild abandon. Includes both the full 40 minute concert recording, and over 30 additional minutes of Zorn alone at the manuals in rehearsal the same day.

Zorn’s compositions for a cappella voice are some of his most sensual and sublime creations. This CD presents his two books of Madrigals scored for six female voices. Beautifully performed by his long time ensemble the “Sapphites” the music is even more varied and challenging than his previous masterpieces The Holy Visions and Shir Hashirim, touching upon minimalism, tonal and atonal counterpoint, textural experiments and more. Inspired by the visionary poetry of 19th century British Romantic Percy Blysse Shelley, a charming lyricism and subtle spirituality rides through the music from first note to last. 

Sacred Visions presents two Zorn masterpieces touching upon the mediaeval world. The Holy Visions is a Mystery Play in eleven strophes concerning the life, work and philosophy of 12th century composer, healer and visionary mystic Hildegard von Bingen, and is one of Zorn’s most beloved and acclaimed works for voice. Here is it coupled with Zorn’s latest string quartet The Remedy of Fortune, six tableaux depicting the changing fortunes of romantic love, which was inspired by the work of 12th century troubadour Guillaume de Machaut and receives a precise and passionate reading by the brilliant JACK quartet. Two brilliant modern compositions drawing on mediaeval spirituality, both sacred and secular! 

Zorn’s string quartets are some of the most important modern contributions to the canon and a new Zorn quartet is truly a cause for celebration. His sixth quartet is inspired by the hermetic Angelic actions of John Dee and his mystical medium Edward Kelley and contains some of the most intense contrapuntal writing he has yet achieved. Replete with the procedures of distillation, calcination, crystallization, sublimation, purification, rotation as well numerology, prayers, canons, contrapuntal complexity and the ghost of a familiar fugue, this music is part séance, part science, and all Zorn—in short, a trip through an alchemist’s laboratory! Performed here by Zorn’s own Quartet, this is the definitive recording of this important and powerful string quartet, already considered a modern classic. Also included is Zorn’s mystical response to the ancient Newgrange sacred site in Ireland, a beautiful and evocative setting of Amergin, one of the oldest Celtic sacred texts, written for three female voices.

Drawing upon traditions as varied as Messiaen, Xenakis, Ligeti, Bach, Tournemire,Ives, Korla Pandit and The Phantom of the Opera, Zorn’s organ improvisations are transcendent, inspiring, ecstatic experiences, offering a direct line to the workings of his rich compositional imagination. Performed at St. Paul’s Chapel at a time when the organ was undergoing extensive reconstruction, the limited number of stops available to him focused his imagination to new heights, resulting in Zorn’s most revelatory recital to date. The second volume documenting these legendary organ recitals is a transcendent experience filled with moments of passion, tenderness,
fragility and extraordinary power.

Zounds are an English post-punk band from Reading, Berkshire, formed in 1977. Originally they were part of the cassette culture movement, releasing material on the Fuck Off Records label, and were also involved in the squatting and free festival scene. The name of the band is derived from the old English "zounds", a contraction of "God's wounds", referring to the crucifixion wounds of Jesus Christ, formerly used as a mildly blasphemous oath. The band met up with fellow anarchists Crass when, legend has it, their van broke down on the road. They made their way to nearby Dial House, where Crass were based, who helped them with repairs. The two bands became friends, and although musically very divergent, they shared many common political views. Zounds shortly afterwards released their first EP, ‘Can't Cheat Karma’, on the Crass Records label in 1980. The EP featured possibly their most well-known track ‘Subvert’, a call to arms against the grind of daily life. The release of this EP and association with Crass led to an increase in the band's profile in the embryonic anarcho-punk scene, touring with both Crass and Poison Girls. They split in 1982 but reformed in 2007, and remain active today.  

Penny continues; “Zounds could have made a fine pop group, but they were far too socially sassy to fall for that one. No, their committment to radical political change, so abundantly clear in their lyrics, set them apart from the commercialism that had so blighted the likes of The Clash and other punkish pretenders. Having been drawn from the ranks of hippy bands like Here and Now, Zounds encouraged dissent and personal change, and, at their own cost, to pursue and promote them as ideologies. Can't cheat karma? No, nor ever beat it. Zounds were hip to this fine point. Want a better life? Then make it for yourself. Ain't no one gonna help you out on that one. Find your own way, it's the only way there is”.  

First released on 7” vinyl, limiting the sound, the new series has been remastered for 12” by Alex Gordon at Abbey Road Studios, allowing them to be heard as never before. This, plus enlarged replicas of the original covers, brings new gusto to their already radical sound.

TRACK LISTING

War
Subvert
Can’t Cheat Karma

Zu are an Italian instrumental / experimental music band from Rome.

Zu release their brand new full length via Ipecac Recordings, entitled ‘Cortar Todo’, recorded in the countryside near Bologna, Italy, in the summer of 2014.

The album features some very special guests including keyboard player Joey Karam (The Locust), Italian guitar maverick Stefano Pilia (who plays regularly with the likes of Mike Watt, David Grubbs and Rokia Traore) and, perhaps most unexpectedly, a field recording of an indigenous Shipibo medicine man recorded by Zu bass player Massimo during his travels around the Amazon.

The band have previously toured with Mike Patton as Zu / Patton Quartet.

For Fans of John Zorn, Mike Patton, Noise.

“... combining the abstractions of Sonic Youth with the out-there explorations of the best free jazz” - The Times

If any album could conjure up the revolutionary spirit of Jamaica in the mid 1970’s, Tapper Zukie’s invincible M.P.L.A. set would surely be a fighting contender. The coming together of great rhythms and meaningful lyrics in a time of unrest in the country seemed to have made the album all the more urgent and relevant. As time would tell it would also prove to be a lasting success, not only with the hard core reggae fans but also their punk counterparts. Who embraced its militant themes and crossed the album over to a whole new audience.

Tapper Zukie (b. David Sinclair, Kingston, Jamaica.) had already returned from a trip to London England by the mid 70’s. Initially sent with help from his parents, brother Blackbeard and producer Bunny ‘Striker’ Lee to remove the youth from his troublesome ways on the streets of Kingston, Jamaica. He had performed some live shows in London and made some recordings for Larry Lawrence, that produced his debut ‘Jump and Twist’. Alongside other recordings that would emerge as his ‘Man A Warrior’ set. But feeling homesick he had returned to Jamaica in 1974 to work with Bunny Lee.

His work would consist of arranging sessions and colle¬cting payments to bodyguard, the now very successful producer. His frustration of Bunny Lee’s reluctance to record him led him cutting ‘Judge I Oh Lord’ for producer Lloydie Slim. Bunny Lee’s then recording of Tapper’s ’Natty Dread Don’t Cry’ and its subsequent release aboard, led to an altercation between Tapper and producer. The police had to be called and an offer to provide the singer with a set of rhythms put this matter to rest. The eight rhythms and a further two from Jo Jo Hookim and Ossie Hibbert alongside some free studio time at King Tubby’s Studio would result in the M.P.L.A album.

The rhythm provided by Jo Jo Hookim was a Channel One studio cut by The Revolutionaires based on Little Richards ‘Freedom Blues’ and provided the backdrop to M.P.L.A. The Ossie Hibbert rhythm again cut at Channel One based on The Royals ‘Pick Up The Rockers’ would provide the backdrop to Tapper’s ‘Pick Up The Rockers’. These and the remaining Bunny Lee rhythms, were all cut in a one hour session, at King Tubby’s Studio. ’Don’t Get Crazy’ cut on a rhythm based on the Joe Frazier rhythm to Tony Brevett’s ‘Don’t Get Weary’. ‘Go De Natty’ cut on Cornell Campbell’s ‘Please Be True’, originally a cut to Alexander Henry’s ‘Please Be True’. ‘Stop The Gun Shooting’ runs over Horace Andy’s ‘Skylarking’.’Ital Pot’ cut on Johnny Clarke’s version of Burning Spear’s ‘Creation Rebel. ‘Marcus’ see’s Tapper professing over Johnny Clarke’s ‘Poor Marcus’ .’Chalice To Chalice’ pulls on Johnny Clarke’s ‘Give Me a Love’,’ Don’t Deal With Babylon’ answers Junior Ross and The Spears ‘Babylon Fall’ and ‘Freedom’ rides on the great rhythm of Junior Ross and The Spears ‘Liberty’.

An outstanding album cut by one of Jamaica’s finest DJ’s and producers the mighty Tapper Zukie. We hope you enjoy this now timeless set.

TRACK LISTING

1 Pick Up The Rockers
2 M.P.L.A.
3 Don’t Get Crazy
4 Go De Natty
5 Stop The Gun Shooting
6 Ital Pot
7 Marcus
8 Chalice To Chalice
9 Don’t Deal With Babylon
10 Freedom
11 Pick Up The Dub*
Source: Tappa Zukie ‘Pick Up The Rockers’
12 Dub M.P.L.A.*
Source: Tappa Zukie ‘M.P.L.A.’

US poet Ellen Zweig combines experimental spoken word with ambient, fourth world minimalism for the first ever release of key 70s and 80s works Fiction of the Physical.

In the 1970s, Ellen Zweig was a young poet experimenting with poetry as performance. Her presence in New York’s Downtown scene, even during a period of such creative and artistic fertility, represented an astute and profoundly expressive voice. By 1980, and her two pieces “Network of Letters” and “Sensitive Bones” (both collected here on Fiction of the Physical), Zweig had introduced and perfected a technique she named the “human loop”, directing multiple performers to repeat a single poetic phrase over and over as they recorded to tape. Inevitably, the loops phase in and out of synchronisation over time, creating a sonic collage of drifting, rippling syllabic waves that rise and fall with natural tides. The text becomes performance, and in turn it becomes dreamily and hypnotically abstracted from the written word.

An astonishingly singular collection, created from a unique creative vision, Fiction of the Physical offers few reference points. Zweig intentionally disrupts of fourth wall convention and applies of spoken word as a musical device, a pioneering early female voice in underground avant garde scenes. Even her veil of “ambient music” is made porous enough to allow challenging and atonal sonics into the tapestry.

TRACK LISTING

1. Sensitive Bones
2. Act Of Watching
3. Network Of Letters
4. If Archimedes 

"My name is Stephen Evans and I am the bass player from the band Twisted Wheel. I have played in many bands before joining Twisted Wheel, most of which you will have probably never heard of.

I've always loved the process of writing and recording music, and during the last few years I have compiled quite a large collection of songs. The idea of ZX+ was to write and record songs under rules and guide lines, whether it be time restraints, conceptual ideas, or any other unusual restrictions that do not accompany the freedom involved with writing. I especially liked the songs which resulted from the idea of time restraints, with their unusual structures, and production techniques that were used to disguise mistakes and rushed recordings. The combination of these factors made for a very interesting sound, one entirely different to the songs I would usually write. After the idea of writing songs with rules got a bit boring, I decided to try and write some songs that had similar structures and production techniques to those written under time constraints, without the idea of time constraints preventing me from improving them. I recorded about 30 songs with this idea in mind, and picked the best ones for this album.

I love vinyl, and I still consider it the best way to listen to music. Holding the sleeve of the record, marvelling at it's artwork, reading the notes, watching the record spin - these are all physical aspects of listening to music that are being lost through the way in which digital has taken over the listening experience. This album is only available on vinyl, I hope you enjoy it."

40th Anniversary of the groundbreaking and chart topping album. Includes "Legs" and "Sharp Dressed Man."