Aigul Akhmetshina is the fiery young mezzo taking the opera world by storm. In her debut album Aigul, the illustrious young opera singer Aigul Akhmetshina finds her voice in the role of Carmen and traces a path through her own remarkable journey. Her story is one of determination and perseverance against the odds, starting in a rural village in the mountains of Bashkortostan. She left home aged 14 to pursue her singing career. Despite facing rejection from a conservatory in Moscow, where she was told she lacked the right voice and appearance, at the age of 27 Aigul has already etched her name in history. She has become the youngest artist ever to take on the title role of Bizet’s Carmen at both the Royal Opera House and the Metropolitan Opera, both of whom have created new productions around her. Performing the role all over the world, Aigul feels an affinity with the character.

LA-based trio ASHRR return with another sunkissed dose of cosmic new wave and indie electronica laced with psychedelic hues in the form of ‘Sway’. This time they’re joined by internationally renowned DJ and ESP Institute imprint manager ‘Lovefingers’ on remix duties, who supplies three genre-bending experimental dance gems perfect for summer terraces, pool-side parties or the dance floors of Pikes Ibiza. Lovefingers’ ESP Institute has dropped releases that have found their way into the bags of dance-floor heavy-hitters from Harvey to Weatherall and Moodymann to the legendary David Mancuso. His take on ASHRR original showcases dubbed-out oddities and psychedelic left turns in signature style. In addition to the Lovefingers remixes, ASHRR returns with their very own ‘ASHRR Soundsystem Version’ offering up a tripped-out feel-good cut for the dance floor.

STAFF COMMENTS

Matt says: ASHRR continue to make their mark with another 12" single graced by a stellar remix talent. "Sway" is a dubby-disco delight with coastal leanings, which Lovefingers manages to accentuate even further across his three varied versions. Top drawer stuff for boats and beaches.

TRACK LISTING

Sway (Lovefingers Rimini Remix)
Sway (ASHRR Soundsystem Version)
Sway (Lovefingers Lechuza Dub)
Sway (Lovefingers Skeleton Dub)

Less than a year after her album Through and Through, Baby Rose returns with Slow Burn, a collection of songs that explode her sonic palette from progressive R&B into a rawer, richer and more sprawling lens of American music. Here, Rose asserts herself as not only a once-in-tenlifetimes vocalist, but as a formidable songwriter connecting the dots where Muscle Shoals meets psych, psych meets jazz, jazz meets Americana, and the right players bring it all together. Produced by BADBADNOTGOOD, Rose and the band found an instant but seemingly endless well of inspiration; what started as an introduction became a day, became a song, became a night, became Slow Burn. Baby Rose was already a powerful position player — she can share the stage with Robert Glasper without breaking a sweat, or close an epic film like Creed III, for which she performed the closing credit song, with steely confidence. When Rose first met with BADBADNOTGOOD the idea was to say hello, get acquainted, see what a collaboration could, over time, potentially become. But the connection was instant, and together they put down lead single “One Last Dance” in just that first meeting. It was Rose’s first freestyle vocal, and it snapped crucial pieces of her vision into focus. “I’ve known deep down there were new spaces and sounds that I could rise to,” Rose explains. “I’ve always been into different sounds that bring in those rawer textures.” And so while the speed of their collaboration thrilled and surprised Rose, the potential and the end results did not. “We moved quickly,” she says, “and it really was a faucet. Once we got ‘One Last Dance’, it became clear everything was going to flow.”

The songs on Slow Burn were inspired in part by Rose’s experiences driving between her family’s home bases: the noise and chaos of DC and the quiet, Carolina countryside. Rose would crank music and let her mind drift, making room for the internal monologues and imagined dialogues you might not otherwise dare to hear. There’s a dreaminess in those moments, and they smolder on Slow Burn: memories lose their realities, feelings replace happenings. Slow Burn’s title track, for example, sets soft, ambling drums against Rose’s lyrical repetitions, as she traces those recollections—some lives, some felt— with patient, insistent desire.

The standout “One Last Dance” arrives disguised as a love song, but is actually an ode to a lost friendship, and an imagined dream of one more day like the old days. Reality blurs with feeling again, vocals layer into lullaby, and BADBADNOTGOOD’s bassist Chester Hansen brings that dreamlike quality to a sneaky, cautious but loving undertone. In fact most of the songs on Slow Burn have that stealthy, shadowed feel, like they’re arriving on tiptoe: intimate but a little dangerous, tender but a little mysterious. As complete and compelling a work as this is, Slow Burn points to a bigger, higher ascent in Baby Rose’s future. “I feel boundless,” says Rose. “It’s one thing carrying the weight of the emotion I’m going to bring as a vocalist and lyricist, but now I feel like I’m the head on a body with all these players and artists and other limbs. I’m in love with that process. When you have the right energy and the right synergy,” she says, “all that’s left is to trust yourself.”

TRACK LISTING

1. On My Mind
2. Slow Burn
3. Caroline Feat. Mereba
4. Weekness
5. It’s Alright
6. One Last Dance

Celebrating the 30th Anniversary of Beastie Boys’ multi-platinum Ill Communication album, this limited-edition deluxe reissue is a rare version of the album that was originally released as a limited run in 2009. Long out-of-print and sought after by fans and collectors, it features lenticular cover art and includes a bonus LP with 12 bonus tracks (remixes, B-sides and rarities), all housed in a rigid slipcase and pressed on 180g vinyl.

TRACK LISTING

Disc 1
Sure Shot (Side A)
Tough Guy (Side A)
B-Boys Makin' With The Freak Freak (Side A)
Bobo On The Corner (Side A)
Root Down (Side A)
Sabotage (Side B)
Get It Together (Side B)
Sabrosa (Side B)
The Update (Side B)
Futterman's Rule (Side B)
Disc 2
Alright Hear This (Side C)
Eugene's Lament (Side C)
Flute Loop (Side C)
Do It (Side C)
Ricky's Theme (Side C)
Heart Attack Man (Side D)
The Scoop (Side D)
Shambala (Side D)
Bodhisattva Vow (Side D)
Transitions (Side D)
Disc 3
Root Down (Free Zone Mix) (Side E)
Resolution Time (Side E)
Get It Together (Buck-Wild Remix) (Side E)
Dope Little Song (Side E)
Sure Shot (European B-Boy Mix) (Side E)
Heart Attack Man (Unplugged) (Side E)
The Vibes (Side F)
Atwater Basketball Association File No. 172-C (Side F)
Heart Attack Man (Live) (Side F)
The Maestro (Live) (Side F)
Mullet Head (Side F)
Sure Shot (European B-Boy Instrumental) (Side F)

The Swedish stallion comes correct once again with another clutch of mash-ups. This time turning his hand to the poppier end of the spectrum, as Tailor Swift, Peggy Gou and many more are given the Beatconductor treatment.

Pre-orders advised!

STAFF COMMENTS

Matt says: He's been keeping bar DJs on trend and Karen's at bay for over a decade now, Beatconductor can mashitup like no one else! This one's gonna be a big one, the ultimate get-out-of-jail-free card; as it features the monolith that is Taylor Swift.

TRACK LISTING

Side 1
1. Fallin'
2. Sugar And Spajs

Side 2
1. Tell Me U Luv Me
2. Peggy Swift

The mighty Becker & Mukai return with a tidal wave of sonic highways with new album 'Spirit Only', this time travelling outside of their East London studio bunker to Japanese mountains, with pit stops in Mali and Trinidad & Tobago

TRACK LISTING

1. Spirit Only
2. Sunshine Demagogue (feat. Daniella Croston)
3. Wild Away
4. Kinoku No Kioku (feat. Yama Warashi & Fimber Bravo)
5. Moon High
6. Ni Vu Ni Connu
7. Meditative Blip (feat. Alexis Taylor)
8. Toumado (feat. Kadialy Kouyate)
9. Azores Part 2
10. Deja Vu (feat. Alexis Taylor)

A nice n deep, doozy double here from Benedict who pairs warm, sultry house grooves with soulful, Sade-esque vocals and slightly spiritual leanings. Reversed strings, scintillating keys, warm bass and hugging pads, all adding to that sexy n sumptuous, after hours flavour.

STAFF COMMENTS

Matt says: Interesting one. Benedict released just four records between '94-'95. Then nothing until now. Thirty years later he's switched his machines back on and stroked out this effortless slice of deep house pleasure. A very mysterious cat indeed.

TRACK LISTING

A. Something
B. Something Else

A twelve-track collection of “cassette-ified” lo-fi psych-pop, ‘Wobble’ is the eleventh studio album from Black Market Karma and their first on Fuzz Club. Hailing from London and now residing on the South Coast, BMK’s prolific output is fuelled by band-leader and multi-instrumentalist Stanley Belton who writes, performs, records, produces and up until now self-released everything from his own live-in ‘Cocoon’ studio. Pooling influences from 60s pop and psychedelia, crunchy hip-hop break-beats and lo-fi electronica, ‘Wobble’ is the first of a two-part album series and is due for release July 26th 2024.

The album’s title is a reference to tape wobble / wow and flutter, subtle fluctuations in pitch characteristic of analogue recording equipment. Where once seen as a limitation by older generations, for others they evoke a welcome sense of nostalgia and that’s what Belton sought to excavate here: “Sonically, I wanted the album to feel like a collection of discarded and worse for wear instruments came to life, refurbished themselves and started to play. The sound is an attempt to give form to the often formless feeling that is nostalgia. With songs attempting to crystallise a feeling known as ‘fernweh’. A kind of longing for a place and time you’ve never experienced, be it in this world or another.”

“As formats evolved these characteristics were slowly phased out but with this album I was aiming to put them back in through different methods of sound degradation”, Belton says, “reaching for a sweet spot where the sound had a lo-fi flavour but with the punch of a higher quality recording.” Drums are recorded live, run back through guitar amps and pedals and sampled. Vintage guitars are totally warped by effects, with lead bass melodies being run through overloaded Vox guitar amps. All topped with heavily saturated vocals, mono synths, electronic flutes, mallet sounds and a bunch of other instruments and the sort of creative experiments that over a decade spent enjoying total freedom in your own ever-growing DIY studio allows for.

TRACK LISTING

1. Mushy Conscience
2. Oozer
3. Lead Laces
4. Waterbaby
5. Sonic Broth Soul Taster
6. Puddle Eyed Sponger
7. Going On Easy
8. Thin Wild Mercury
9. The Din Of An Ending
10. Olive
11. The Death Throes Of Nuance
12. Stepping Loose

Blur celebrate the one-year anniversary of their 'Live At Wembley Stadium' shoW. 'Live At Wembley Stadium' is a collection of songs captured across two unforgettable nights in the summer of 2023 - the biggest shows of the band's 30+ year career to date - which saw Damon Albarn, Graham Coxon, Alex James and Dave Rowntree perform to over 150,000 fans at Wembley Stadium, Blur's first time ever to play the iconic London venue.

TRACK LISTING

3 X LP Tracklisting
Side 1
St Charles Square
There’s No Other Way
Popscene
Tracy Jacks

Side 2
Beetlebum
Trimm Trabb
Villa Rosie Stereotypes

Side 3
Out Of Time
Coffee & TV
Under The Westway
End Of A Century

Side 4
Sunday Sunday
Country House
Parklife
To The End

Side 5
Oily Water
Advert
Song 2
This Is A Low

Side 6
Girls & Boys
For Tomorrow
Tender
The Narcissist The Universal

*Note: Triple Vinyl Format Omits “Lot 105” To Ensure Best Quality Playback On Side Six.

Double Vinyl Tracklisting
Side 1
St Charles Square
There’s No Other Way (Saturday)
Popscene (Saturday)
Beetlebum

Side 2
Trimm Trabb (Saturday)
Villa Rosie (Saturday)
Coffee & TV
Under The Westway

Side 3
Out Of Time (Saturday)
To The End (Saturday)
Parklife
Song 2
This Is A Low (Saturday)

Side 4
Girls & Boys
Tender
The Narcissist
The Universal

2 X CD Set
CD1
St Charles Square
There’s No Other Way
Popscene
Tracy Jacks
Beetlebum
Trimm Trabb
Villa Rosie
Stereotypes
Out Of Time
Coffee & TV
Under The Westway

CD2
End Of A Century
Sunday Sunday
Country House
Parklife
To The End
Oily Water
Advert
Song 2
This Is A Low
Lot 105
Girls & Boys
For Tomorrow
Tender
The Narcissist
The Universal

David Bowie’s groundbreaking debut album is set for a vibrant revival with a reissue on both CD and coloured vinyl, boasting exclusive tracklists to tantalize fans old and new. Critics of the time commented; with the NME praising Bowie’s fresh sound as “all very refreshing” and hailing him as “a very promising talent.” Melody Maker lauds the album as “a singularly rewarding collection” with “excellent” production, while expressing surprise that Bowie hadn’t yet made a bigger impact on the pop scene. Meanwhile, Disc & Music Echo raves about the album, describing it as “a remarkable, creative debut album by a 19-year-old Londoner” and declaring Bowie as “a new talent that deserves attention.” With such illuminating reviews, this reissue promises to reignite Bowie’s early legacy and introduce his visionary artistry to a new generation of listeners.

TRACK LISTING

2CD Tracklisting:
CD1
Uncle Arthur
Sell Me A Coat
Rubber Band
Love You Till Tuesday
There Is A Happy Land
We Are Hungry Men
When I Live My Dream
Little Bombardier
Silly Boy Blue
Come And Buy My Toys
Join The Gang
She’s Got Medals
Maids Of Bond Street
Please Mr. Gravedigger

CD2
Rubber Band
The London Boys
The Laughing Gnome
The Gospel According To Tony Day
Love You Till Tuesday
Did You Ever Have A Dream
When I Live My Dream
Let Me Sleep Beside You
Karma Man
In The Heat Of The Morning
London Bye Ta-Ta
When I’m Five
Ching-A-Ling
The Laughing Gnome (Vocal Take 1/Mix 1)
Sell Me A Coat
Space Oddity (Love You Till Tuesday Version)


Standard Version (2LP Green) Tracklisting:
*Exclusive Bonus Track – Sell Me A Coat*
A-Side:
Uncle Arthur
Sell Me A Coat
Rubber Band
Love You Till Tuesday
There Is A Happy Land
We Are Hungry Men
When I Live My Dream

B-Side:
Little Bombardier
Silly Boy Blue
Come And Buy My Toys
Join The Gang
She’s Got Medals
Maids Of Bond Street
Please Mr. Gravedigger

C-Side:
Rubber Band
The London Boys
The Laughing Gnome
The Gospel According To Tony Day
Love You Till Tuesday
Did You Ever Have A Dream
When I Live My Dream

D Side:
Let Me Sleep Beside You
Karma Man
In The Heat Of The Morning
London Bye Ta-Ta
When I’m Five
Ching-A-Ling
Sell Me A Coat

Indie Version (2LP Cloudy Green) Tracklisting:
*Exclusive Bonus Track – The Laughing Gnome – Vocal Take 1/Mix 1*
A-Side:
Uncle Arthur
Sell Me A Coat
Rubber Band
Love You Till Tuesday
There Is A Happy Land
We Are Hungry Men
When I Live My Dream

B-Side:
Little Bombardier
Silly Boy Blue
Come And Buy My Toys
Join The Gang
She’s Got Medals
Maids Of Bond Street
Please Mr. Gravedigger

C-Side:
Rubber Band
The London Boys
The Laughing Gnome
The Gospel According To Tony Day
Love You Till Tuesday
Did You Ever Have A Dream
When I Live My Dream

D Side:
Let Me Sleep Beside You
Karma Man
In The Heat Of The Morning
London Bye Ta-Ta
When I’m Five
Ching-A-Ling
The Laughing Gnome (Vocal Take 1/Mix 1)

A vibrant kaleidoscope of sound, colour and emotion, British multi-hyphenate James Alexander Bright's new album 'Cool Cool' is set for release on 26th July via Athens Of The North. A dynamic set of urgent funkers, gentle soul ballads, head-nodders, fuzzy folkers and straight-up disco bangers span 10 songs that soundtrack fertile daydreams, esoteric dancefloors, languorous reflection, and wild excursions in nature and beyond.

James' voice, pitched somewhere between Eddie Chacon, Beck and Michael McDonald, takes a confident lead on this new record. Whether tenderly caressing on the title track's beautiful soul minimalism or deployed passionately on boogie machine 'Straight Line'; it's an immediately recognisable signature. Impressive multi-instrumentalism sees him perform on guitar, bass, keys, programming, percussion, production and myriad quirky effects; across song subjects that cover searching for truth, imagining the distant future, teen nostalgia, relaxation exploration, aspirations of freedom, and classic tales of love and romance.

"'Straight Line' started out as a wonky homage to 80s & 90s radio", says James. "It's based on the memory of meeting someone you want to stay up all night listening to music with". Disco highlight 'Your Love' is"based on the feeling of love and chasing it. It has a certain kinetic charm but holds a melancholic note also". Similarly, on soulful paean to romance 'Fall For You' James explains"You know when you've loved. To love is a magical thing whether it's an experience, an object, or a person; we've all loved and lost".

"'Cool Cool' is the most stripped back song I've ever written,"he confesses."Recorded in one afternoon with no special effects or production tricks, it feels quite timeless". In contrast the uninhibited 'Aguas Blancas' flexes with exuberance. James explains"It's a homage to one of my favourite beaches on the island of Ibiza. I was imagining being there as I made this. What's not to like about big waves, a buzzing beach shack bar, and nudity?".

As always with James' music, what started as a solo endeavour organically morphed into more of a family affair. Initially written and recorded at his home studio in the rolling hills of the Hampshire countryside, the tracks on 'Cool Cool' were completed in sessions with regular collaborator Peter Lyons in East London and Linkwood at Athens Of The North in Edinburgh. Old friends and new contribute vocals (Kerry Leatham and Katharine Alice), drums (Gillan McLaughlin and Joris Feiertag), and synths (Reuben Vaun Smith on 'Aguas Blancas'), plus collaborations with Wolverhampton electronic duo Letherette on 'I Feel Alive' and Ugandan/Nottingham singer-songwriter and guitarist Daudi Matsiko on 'Hear'.

James says"Some of these people I was in bands with as a kid, which is a pretty magical thing. I've been a fan of Letherette for years so it was a buzz when I asked Andrew to work on some tracks together and he was really into it. When Daudi shared a guitar part he wasn't sure what to do with on his Instagram stories, I messaged him to say "I'll make a track out of this!" and that then became 'Hear'".

The past six years has seen James release a veritable treasure trove of music: 'Mallorca' and 'Strange Folk' EPs, debut album 'Headroom', joyous second 'Float', an album of collaborations and reworks with cosmic Americana-disco DJ/producer duo Flying Mojito Bros, and a new project with Groove Armada's Tom Findlay as Bright & Findlay.

James balances music alongside the creative duality of a job in illustration and the responsibilities and constraints that come with raising a young family. Utilising any spare moment to write and record new ideas, his creative output under various projects had been relentless. Turning his back on apathetic major label offers in his early 20s, he's released through cult DIY label Tape Club Records, German stalwart !K7 Music and now with Scottish tastemaker Athens Of The North, presenting an evolving vision of a sound that has touched on everything from outsider art-rock to machine funk, mystic folk to experimental jazz.

TRACK LISTING

1. Straight Line
2. Your Love
3. Fall For You
4. Cool Cool
5. Catch My Breath
6. Aguas Blancas
7. I Feel Alive (feat. Letherette)
8. YSYSYS
9. Fuzzy Yellow Magic
10. Hear (feat. Daudi Matsiko)

Tetsu Shibuya, better known as simply Tetsu or Brisa is a Japanese producer and DJ known for works on the iconic Japanese Jazzy Sport imprint, King Street sub-label Nite Grooves and his own Brisa Music. Leading the EP is title-track 'Stir', in collaboration with Turbojazz Brisa delivers a classic slice of deep house built upon layers of bright stab sequences and loose organic percussion. Detroit's beloved Jon Dixon turns his hand to 'Stir' next, encapsulating the soul of his hometown in reshaping fragments of the original composition. The original of 'Reverie' opens the B-side, laying down a broken rhythm, low-pitched vocal hooks and elongated bass grooves for a more bruk tinged feel. Byron The Aquarius then extracts the core of 'Reverie' and spins it into bumpy, subtly nuanced house workout. Lastly the third original 'Flux' rounds out the release, shifting deeper in funkinfused realms with a playful plucked bass groove and heavily swung drums.

TRACK LISTING

Stir (feat Turbojazz)
Stir (feat Turbojazz) (Jon Dixon Remix)
Reverie
Reverie (Byron The Aquarius Remix)
Flux

This is the soundtrack to Get Carter (1971), the all-time classic British gangster flick starring Michael Caine and directed by Mike Hodges. It became the bridge by which jazz musician Roy Budd successfully expanded his horizons to film music, with a score brimming with moments of his genius.

To commemorate the 50th anniversary of the film's opening, we drew on the original Japanese (1971) and British (1998) OST releases to put together an expanded edition of the OST - including a bonus disc featuring various different outtakes and bits of dialogue.

This is the 3rd installment in Beatball's series of Roy Budd Classic Soundtrack Scores, packed with a jazzy (and groovy) score done in Budd's signature style, as well as key lines of dialogue for you to relive the scenes from the film!

TRACK LISTING

Get Carter Intro
Dialogue “is There A Mr. Carter In The Room?”
Main Theme - Carter Takes The Train
Dialogue “do You Know A Man Called Albert Swift?”
Looking For Someone
Dialogue - The Race Track
Something On My Mind
Dialogue “who Killed Frank?”
Gettin' Nowhere In A Hurry
Dialogue “tell Me About The Girl”
The Girl In The Car
Dialogue “i Fancy You”
Love Is A Four Letter Word
Dialogue “you're Lucky. They Kill As Well”
Living Should Be This Way
Dialogue “all It Takes Is One Call To The Police”
Manhunt
Dialogue “drink Up: Eric”
Goodbye Eric + Dialogue
Dialogue “i Want You To Listen Very Carefully”
Hallucinations
Goodbye Carter!
Get Carter (alternative Mix 1)
Plaything
Dialogue "stay Away From The Car"
Hallucinations (alternative Vocal Mix)
Dialogue "do You Wanna Go To The Toilet, Albert?"
Gettin' Nowhere In A Hurry (instrumental)
Love Is A Four Letter Word (alternative Mix)
Manhunt (alternative Mix)
Dialogue "you're A Big Man"
Get Carter (alternative Mix 2)
Gettin' Nowhere In A Hurry (alternative Vocal Mix)
Hallucinations (instrumental)
How About You
Get Carter (7" Single Version)

woooahh there playboy, let's slowww things down a little - get a bit lOoSe..

La Rama is one of those labels we go nuts for here at Picc HQ. Understated Canadian dance music made with love, sentiment and shunning and notable trends for something authentic, rock solid, and made to last. The equivalent of a good pair of shoes...

Bunzinelli drops the second essential release on the label here with four tracks which stradle cosmic, EBM and fresh-as-you-like night club trickery in one succinct package. Excited? You should be.

Immediately causing one Jason Boardman to purchase a copy upon hearing about 3 bars, "Call In Blue" is the club weapon you've always wished you had. Built around a beat n bass structure as impenertrable as an army bunker, these narcotic vocal chops are layered overhead in an effort to channel pure shamanic energy into the dance. Serious, if you're not wiggling to this after 30 seconds I doubt there's any circulation to your hips. Breathtaking, incredible, and coming in at under 110BPM to boot!

"Godspeed" follows, a EBM-infused chugger charged with electrostatic and creeping forward with a tectonic force. "Nova" mixes said energy with a baggy flavour, keeping Andrew Weatherall and Baldelli fans equally engaged with with a mid-session roller that'll have the floor in a coital throb.

Finally, Bunzinelli lets loose with a 130BPM techno rocket from inside the bunker. Machine gun snares and more of that highly charged electrical energy coursing through its stems. Sure to blast away all but the most ardent rave goblin come the witching hours of the morning....

Bunzinelli has been personally involved in serving sonic treats to the world via his label and mix series Chambre Noire. He was also part of the team behind Cosmic Tones which in 2019 released "Montreal Pleiades" featuring his first musical outing alongside local major players Priori, Dust-e-1, URA, Temple's M. Salaciak & R. Weng (the wizard behind the first DJ Medallion release on La Rama Records).

Trust me, if your job is to make a mass of people move in unison, you need this tool in your arsenal!

STAFF COMMENTS

Matt says: Unparalleled club tool that due to its restrained tempo should find favour across a variety of tribes. That A1 track man, "Call In Blue" - literally unmissable if you play in nightclubs.

TRACK LISTING

A1. Call In Blue
A2. Godspeed
B1. Nova
B2. Yellow Feeling

The date was March 6th, 2023. Bill Callahan strode onto the stage at Chicago’s Thalia Hall, flanked by Matt Kinsey on guitar, Dustin Laurenzi on alto sax and Jim White on the kit. They all were feeling good, and it seemed like the crowd was also. But that wasn’t all. They had some special surprises planned... take it away, Bill....

“This is a live album that was taken from the tour for 'YTI⅃AƎЯ'. Songs tend to mutate after they’ve been recorded. These songs were mutating faster than usual. Like whatever happened to Bruce Banner in the lab - I knew these songs were about to get superpowers. As far as I was concerned, this change needed to be documented.

The best thing about documenting something is that it gives the creator permission to move on should they wish to move on. I usually prefer to move on.

These songs were recorded in Chicago, America’s heart. And at one of the best clubs in the country - I try to only work with venues that are not entangled with LiveNation/Ticketmaster. Thalia Hall, baby. Stay free.

The date was mid-point in the tour, so I knew we’d be as hot as we were
going to get. Not too green, not too brown.

There was the thought, 'let’s take this op to make it something special'.
So we took advantage of Chicago’s easily accessible players - we got
Nick Mazzarella to add alto sax to one song, and from the opening band, Pascal Kerong’A to sing on a song, and Nathaniel Ballinger on piano on one song - and I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to invite Joshua Abrams and Lisa Alvarado to play on 'Natural Information'.

The hardest part of making the record was cutting songs out - it
could have been a triple album. But I don’t know, maybe the show should have been this short?”

- Bill Callahan

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: There are few artists with more live and recording experience under their belt than Bill Callahan, and 'Resucitate!' is a superb collection of some of the choice cuts from Callahan's performance Chicago in March '23. The band are in fine form, brilliant setlist and all presented in this gorgeous double LP or CD package for your enjoyment. Lovely!

TRACK LISTING

1. First Bird
2. Coyotes
3. Keep Some Steady
4. Friends Around
5. Partition
6. Drover
7. Pigeons
8. Everyway
9. Naked Souls
10. Natural
11. Information
12. Planets

The journey to creating 'Wild God’ began with sweeping epic ‘Frogs’. The first lines Cave penned for the album were powerfully evocative, referencing the first murder in the Bible, Cain’s slaying of Abel. He wrote, “Ushering in the week he knelt down and crushed his brother’s head in with a bone/It’s my great privilege to walk you home.” This striking couplet became the opening lines to the song, and set the tone for the imagery and themes that followed.

Cave says, “The sheer exuberance of a song like ‘Frogs’, it just puts a big fucking smile on my face.”

TRACK LISTING

A1. Frogs
B1. Frogs (Instrumental)

Almost 35 years on, The Chameleons return once again, to one of Manchester’s most iconic venues, playing the original set they played that evening...

The atmospheric post-vocalist/bassist Mark Burgess began with the Cliches, guitarists Reg Smithies and Dave Fielding arrived from the Years, and drummer John Lever (who quickly replaced founding member Brian Schofield) originated with the Politicians. After establishing themselves with a series of high-profile BBC sessions, the Chameleons signed to Epic and debuted with the EP Nostalgia, a tense, moody set produced by Steve Lillywhite which featured the single 'In Shreds.'.... The quartet was soon released from its contract with Epic, but then signed to Statik and returned in 1983 with the band's first full-length effort, Script of the Bridge. What Does Anything Mean? Basically followed in 1985, and with it came a new reliance on stylish production; following its release, the Chameleons signed to Geffen and emerged the following year with Strange Times. The dark, complex record proved to be the Chameleons' finale, however, when they split following the sudden death of manager Tony Fletcher; while Burgess and Lever continued on in the Sun & the Moon, Smithies and Fielding later reunited in the Reegs. In 1993, Burgess surfaced with his proper solo album Zima Junction. He and his band the Sons of God toured America the following year.

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: There's no mistaking The Chameleons, and they're in fine fettle here, smashing through a perfectly performed set of classics and sounding every bit the band we remember at Manchester's iconic Ritz.

TRACK LISTING

LP & 7" Tracklist:
Silence Sea & Sky
Pleasure & Pain
Here Today
Intrigue In Tangiers
Singing Rule Britannia
Return Of The Roughnecks
Perfume Garden
Less Than Human
Nostalgia
Second Skin
One Flesh
Home Is Where The Heart Is
PS Goodbye
In Shreds
A Person Isn’t Safe

7”
Looking Inwardly
Don’t Fall

CD Tracklist:
Silence Sea & Sky
Pleasure & Pain
Here Today
Intrigue In Tangiers
Singing Rule Britannia
Return Of The
Roughnecks
Perfume Garden
Less Than Human
Nostalgia
Second Skin
One Flesh
Home Is Where The Heart Is
PS Goodbye
In Shreds
A Person Isn’t Safe
Looking Inwardly
Don’t Fall

Cowgirl runs a conveyor-belt of future classics; their well-crafted melodies wrapped in walls of wailing guitar fuzz. Running the gamut of garage rock to power pop, Cowgirl's music shimmers with an inherent pop shine. Renowned for their explosive live shows, Cowgirl have shared the bill with The Flamin’ Groovies, King Khan & The Shrines, The Sadies, Mozart Estate, Kelley Stoltz and Tess Park.

Cut Offs is the follow up to 2021’s self-titled debut. Recorded again with Euan Hinshelwood (Cate Le Bon/A. Savage/Devendra Banhart) at Vacant TV studios in London and tracked straight to tape in one weekend; Cut Offs displays the same ability to craft propulsive high energy rock and roll songs as their debut. 

TRACK LISTING

1. Against The Night
2. Wake Up
3. Fading Lights
4. Adeline
5. Out Of Place
6. Nobody Cares

Crack Cloud has always been something beyond a rock band: both profound and grand, vaporous and elusive.

The first iteration of Crack Cloud was formed nearly a decade ago as a proxy-rehab outlet on the fringes of Calgary. Over time, two EPs and accompanying visual pieces were produced out of the residence known as Red Mile. By 2017, several members had relocated to Vancouver, working out of harm reduction centers and low-barrier shelters. Sobriety, self-reformation and the idealism of their work further formed an ethos for Crack Cloud. It was during these years that the band produced their astounding 2020 album ‘Pain Olympics’. At once, their vision became expansive, cinematic.

Now, ‘Red Mile’ is a bit of a homecoming. Members have returned to Calgary. But Calgary/home has become a liminal space, a place of flux. After a decade of personal and collective growth, what does home even mean? ‘Red Mile’ is, for them, something like samsara: a return and a rebirth.

‘Red Mile’’s sound breathes expansive energy into the circuitous, street bound sonics of Crack Cloud’s prior material. Fizzling synths intertwine with chiming pianos. Songs layer like Russian nesting dolls; one may find a Ramones chorus set within a desolate Western prog soundtrack only to watch it erupt into a joyous anthem. Real-ass guitars — alternately lilting, scuzzy and soaring — ring out across wide sun-bleached spaces. In 2024, the cumulative effect is (in rock instrumentation terms) naturalistic. Any whiff of embalmed nostalgia is absent. Even the close of the album – a winding, alllllmost Jerry Garcia guitar noodle that leads us out of ‘Red Mile’ – is delivered without sentimentality.

Principal songwriter Zach Choy’s lyrics are cutting but merciful, with a sharp self awareness that never slides into self-satisfaction. Crack Cloud as artists are critical — and ultimately as forgiving — of themselves as they are the melting world around them. The songs balance an easy charm and cathartic power: affirming life without denying death.

Recorded predominantly between the outskirts of Joshua Tree California, and Calgary, Alberta, this record is informed by a bittersweet mélange of old and new. The sprawling, novelistic structures of their previous albums are condensed and sharpened, while maintaining their refusal to delve into superficiality. Through playful melodies and elliptical guitar soliloquy, they deliver a final product of exceptional depth and distinctly unprecious warmth. Crack Cloud have produced a mature, vital work that interrogates the platitudes of the rock-n-roll lifestyle, but ultimately exalts its sacredness.

‘Red Mile’’s de facto thesis statement “The Medium” is itself a rock song meditation: an ode to the form and its practitioners. This genre that — typical, repeatable, corporatized as it can be — somehow still has the power to help us live through life. We see the dusty sentiment of “I love rock and roll” exhumed, taken apart, and stitched back together. It’s a song guided by faith — if the medium helps us proclaim our love today, it’s worth protecting from derision tomorrow. We live in an era where music seems to love hitting its head against the wall. Crack Cloud’s ‘Red Mile’ is the sound — the feeling! — of the bricks giving way.

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: Though there are little nods here to the musical greats of the 70's and 80's, that Cure Guitar tone for example, or The Ramones' vocal snarl, it's never anything but classic Crack Cloud. They've got an uncanny ability to make you think you know where it's going and then drastically veer into the weird and wonderful. Never was that more evident than on the brilliant Red Mile.

TRACK LISTING

SIDE A
1. Crack Of Life
2. The Medium
3. Blue Kite
4. Lack Of Lack

SIDE B
5. Epitaph
6. I Am (I Was)
7. Ballad Of Billy
8. Lost On The Red Mile

Dinked Edition Bonus CD:
1. Wretched Ways - US38Y2446309
2. Down The Drain - US38Y2446310

Adored alt-pop duo Cults announce their fifth studio album TO THE GHOSTS out July 26 via IMPERIAL. The NY-based duo compromised of multi-instrumentalists Madeline Follin and Brian Oblivion, confidently and clearly perfect their vision with the cinematic new album.

To the Ghosts was meticulously crafted; the earliest ideas dated back to the pandemic when they wrote music on weekdays from 10am-5pm with no deadlines or distractions. The album was written and recorded in Brian’s apartment; in 2022 they traveled to Los Angeles to collaborate with longtime producer and trusted creative confidant Shane Stoneback, because “nobody can read our minds like he can,” jests Madeline. To the Ghosts was co-produced by Cults & Shane Stoneback, mixed by John Congleton, and mastered by Heba Kadry NYC.

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: Hazy emotional pop pieces, swimming with soul and bolstered with tastefully applied modern production techniques, Cults' fifth LP is their most dynamically rich yet. Wistful, hook-laiden and brimming with melodic beauty.

TRACK LISTING

SIDE A
A1. Crybaby
A2. Left My Keys
A3. Onions
A4. Crystal
A5. Leave Home
A6. Eat It Cold

SIDE B
B1. Honey
B2. Knots
B3. Behave
B4. Open Water
B5. Cells
B6. You're In Love With Yourself
B7. Hung The Moon

Decoy is the 1984 album by the famous jazz musician Miles Davis, re- corded in 1983. Robert Irving III on keyboards took over the role that Miles had assumed with a true sense of harmony and only a rudi- mentary mastery of synthetic sounds and movements. Irving shared the responsibilities of directing with the trumpet player’s nephew Vince Wilburn, Jr., but Al Foster continued to lead the tempo. John Scofield drew the funk of bassist Darryl Jones in the direction of chromatic abstraction. The two tracks that he cowrote with Miles are fragments of solos, “That’s What Happened” reprising the beginning of his solo on “Speak” (Star People).

Decoy offered a good balance between the dominant funk that sub- sequently took over and the jazz tradition, reflected by Scofield’s angularities, Marsalis’ freedom of tone, and the breadth of Miles’ playing that had recovered its full power.

TRACK LISTING

Side A
1. Decoy
2. Robot 415
3. Code M.D.
4. Freaky Deaky

Side B
1. What It Is
2. That's Right
3. That's What Happened

Killer, retrotastic journey into the original BLEEP sound by Dawn Of The Underground. As authentic as you like, it encapsulates that '88-'91 vibe: sub-woofer tweaking, dark, jacking machine funk. Originally pioneered in Sheffield by artists such as Unique 3, Nexus 21, Nightmares on Wax and Original Clique.

All the delicious tropes are included and correct - deep square bass tones, eerie leads, manipulated vocal samples, occassional breaks; Dawn of The Underground have faithfully recreated the addictive sounds of the era; which somehow manages to still sound vaguely futuristic some thirty years after its original conception.

STAFF COMMENTS

Matt says: Essential record for fans of that original Sheffield bleep sound. Dawn Of The Underworld give you those Jive Turkey feels with five tracks that absolute nail this classic UK rave prototype style.

TRACK LISTING

A1. The Anniss Effect (Reincarnation Mix)
A2. Warped Sequences
B1. Arena
B2. Arena (Spartan Mix)
B3. The Anniss Effect (92 Revived Original Mix)

For more than two decades, Dr. Dog have maintained a shared devotion to the unruly alchemy of making music. When it came time to create their eleventh studio album, the Philadelphia-bred band adopted an entirely new way of working together, embracing a multilayered process designed to foster a deeper synergy among its five members (bassist Toby Leaman, lead guitarist Scott McMicken, rhythm guitarist Frank McElroy, keyboardist Zach Miller, and drummer Eric Slick). After beginning that journey with a close-knit session at Leaman’s uncle’s cabin in the Pennsylvania woods, Dr. Dog steadily made their way toward the joyfully unfettered psych-rock of their new self-titled LP.

Mixed by multi-Grammy-winner Matt Ross-Spang (Jason Isbell, Drive-By Truckers), Dr. Dog finds McMicken taking the helm as producer for the first time in the history of the decidedly egalitarian band. True to the eclectic spirit that’s always animated the band, Dr. Dog’s 11 tracks shift from soul to surf-rock to symphonic pop with an exuberance made all the more powerful by their revitalized creative energy. “There isn’t really a concept or cohesive idea that unifies this collection of tunes,” says McMicken. “In the end it’s about us being together, doing the work, and showing up as our truest selves.” Their first fulllength since 2018’s Critical Equation, Dr. Dog reveals a band – over twenty years into their storied career – growing together and evolving, fully committed to the singular work of dreaming up songs that brighten the mind and expand the soul.

TRACK LISTING

SIDE A
Authority
Lost Ones
Fat Dog
Talk Is Cheap
What A Night’ll Do
SIDE B
Tell Your Friends
Still Can’t Believe
Fine White Lies
White Dove
Handyman
Love Struck

This 3-disc, Indie Exclusive clear vinyl deluxe edition comes packed in a foil stamped rigid slipcase with the original album packaged as a 2xLP set in gatefold. The 3rd LP is packaged in a separate jacket. Each record comes with a 28-page book that is given the spot gloss treatment throughout (also available on standard black vinyl) .

Southern Rock Opera is the third studio album by the American rock band Drive-By Truckers, released in 2001 - Originally released as a double album covering an ambitious range of subject matter from the politics of race to 1970s stadium rock, Southern Rock Opera either imagines, or filters, every topic through the context of legendary Southern band Lynyrd Skynyrd.

New West Records is proud to present a remixed and remastered deluxe edition LP featuring a re-sequenced record as well as a third disc with multiple bonus tracks including a song "Mystery Song" that was recorded one night in Birmingham. Lead Singer, Patterson Hood explains, ""Birmingham" and "Moved" were originally part of Act I on original CD release.

This is the first vinyl version to feature "Moved" and we felt that "Birmingham" would be the best other song to move without messing up the story element of Betamax Guillotine. We moved them here to keep the vinyl sides within time of maximum high fidelity. (Under 23 minutes per mastering guidelines). In the process of re-mixing the original tracks for the album. We stumbled upon a mysterious track that was recorded late one night in Birmingham. None of us have any memory whatsoever of recording it. The song itself was never even written down, just made up on the spot while the tape was rolling. We're calling it "Mystery Song." It's actually a keeper."

TRACK LISTING

1. Days Of Graduation
2. Ronnie And Neil
3. 72 (This Highway's Mean)
4. Dead, Drunk, And Naked
5. Guitar Man Upstairs
6. The Southern Thing
7. The Three Great Alabama Icons
8. Wallace
9. Zip City
10. Let There Be Rock
11. Road Cases
12. Women Without Whiskey
13. Plastic Flowers On The Highway
14. Cassie's Brother
15. Life In The Factory
16. Shut Up And Get On The Plane
17. Greenville To Baton Rouge
18. Angels And Fuselage
19. Birmingham (Remixed/Remastered)
20. Mystery Song (Unreleased Bonus Track)
21. Moved (Remixed/Remastered)
22. Don't Cockblock The Rock (Live At The Earl - Atlanta, Ga - November 24, 2001)
23. Zip City (Live At The Earl - Atlanta, Ga - November 24, 2001)
24. Road Cases (Live At The Earl - Atlanta, Ga - November 24, 2001)
25. 72 (This Highway's Mean) (Live At The Earl - Atlanta, Ga - November 24, 2001)

Selector Series are back with more holy grail goodness, this time in the form of early 80’s boogie from Detroit.

Gene Dunlap was born and raised in Detroit, Michigan. He began his music career at age four when his father taught him to play the drums, honing his craft at Detroit Mumford High School. He went onto perform with Roy Ayers before releasing two solo albums in 1981, It’s Just The Way I Feel & Party In Me.

Party In Me, the title track from the LP backed with Take My Love was only released as a 12” promo in 1981. Now rare & in demand, if a copy can be found on the second hand market it will set buyers back more than £100.

Remastered using the original tapes and reissued for the first time since it’s release 43 years ago, fans can finally own a slice of classic boogie from the master drummer.

TRACK LISTING

A1. Party In Me
B1. Take My Love

One of the key 45s in the output of Prince Jazzbo's Ujama label during the digital era of the late 80s - originally reissued via NYC's Deadly Dragon some 15 or so years back - gets a much needed new cut & press via Death Is Not The End's 333 series.

The late Earlando Neil aka Early B first started performing on soundsystems in the late 1970s, often appearing with his young apprentice Wild Apache, later known as Super Cat. It was alongside Cat that he is credited as a key driver behind the popularisation of the King Majesty and Killamanjaro stables in the early 1980s, following which he had a string of hit records for the likes of Harry J's Sunset imprint, Ossie Thomas' Black Solidarity and Jah Thomas' Midnight Rock label amongst many others.

Following a run of stellar LPs in the mid 1980s Early B's output began to wane as the sound of digital production began to take precedence, but not without firing off one the most killer shots ever recorded on a computerized rhythm for Jazzbo's Ujama in 1987. Reportedly the first time around for the hallowed Replay version, Imitator's subject matter takes aim at the new kids on the dancehall block ripping off the veterans, while he simultaneously pays hard-earned dues to the dancehall's foundation deejays such as Jazzbo himself, U-Roy, Big Youth, Dennis Alcapone, King Stitch, Trinity & Dillinger.

TRACK LISTING

1. Imitator
2. Imitator Version

Newly signed to Ninja Tune without having released a single track. This five-track EP marks Ebbb’s first output. Emerging from the vibrant, avant-garde London live scene that spawned black midi and Black Country New Road – and despite being together for barely a year – the band have already landed on something truly singular. Fusing pulsing rhythms, immersive electronic production, sparkling melodies, layered vocal harmonies and beats that veer from ambient to industrial, the result is an idiosyncratic hybrid of sounds. One that the group describes as “Brian Wilson meets Death Grips”. But while the EP might be experimental, loose and unpredictable, it’s also deeply considered, taut, and absolutely flab-free.

TRACK LISTING

1. Himmel
2. Answered
3. Swarm
4. Torn
5. Seamlessly

Whisper it quietly, but Andrew Meecham’s ninth album as The Emperor Machine, Island Boogie, may well be the long-serving producer’s strongest set to date. Of course, all his albums ripple with vintage synth sounds, colourful lead lines, dub-flecked electronic disco grooves and lashings of cosmic intent, but this one just feels a little more special.

Island Boogie is certainly special. Meecham’s “most personal” full-length to date, it was inspired by his experiences at the Rotation Garden Party – a beloved micro-festival promoted by a group of friends (including sometime Bizarre Inc and Chicken Lips partner Dean Meredith), renowned for the quality of its custom-built Klipschorn soundsystem. “The album’s title sums up the vibe that you get from Rotation,” he explains. “It may be held in a landlocked venue but it gives a wonderful sense of isolation – it is an audiophile paradise.”

Meecham road-tested rough versions of the album’s eight tracks at Rotation 2023, with the feedback and dancefloor reaction guiding the sound and arrangement of the final mixes. Fittingly, Meecham will return to the event to showcase the album at Rotation 2024 this July. Given the inspiration he’s drawn from previous editions of the festival, that will be a very special occasion.

Musically, Island Boogie offers the most fully functioning and expertly constructed expression of The Emperor Machine sound yet, a style Meecham describes as “electronic cosmic disco-boogie”. It’s a sound that takes cues from early ‘80s NYC punk-funk and dub disco, vintage electro, proto-house and left-of-centre synth-boogie, but one that’s instantly recognisable to those who have followed Meecham’s career over the last three decades.

Island Boogie also sees Meecham continue his blossoming working relationship with Severine Mouletin, whose stylish and distinctive vocals previously graced his popular ‘Dance Por Amor’ and ‘Your Own Style’ singles. Here Mouletin features on four tracks: the acid-flecked retro-futurist wave-boogie of ‘La Cassette’ (featuring additional percussion by Rupert Brown); the infectious, bleep-sporting headiness of recent single ‘Devoilez-Vous’; and the squelchy analogue synth-funk of ‘Wanna Pop With You’ and ‘Vas-y-Le Chat’.

Meecham also finds space for a cover of Fox’s 1976 pop-rock classic ‘S-s-s-single Bed’, one of the Stafford-based artist’s all-time favourites. His version, featuring headline-grabbing lead vocals by Michelle Bee and guitar from Dave Atherton, re-imagines the track as a subtly Chic-influenced slab of infectious electro-pop rich in kaleidoscopic synth sounds, sing-along choruses and shuffling drums.

The instrumental foundations of the classic Emperor Machine sound come to the fore on the album’s three other cuts. There’s the jazz-funk-flecked warmth of the LP-opening title track; the sparse squelches, bleeps, TB-303 style bass and brightly coloured electronics of ‘Walk The Dog’; and the exotic, slow-motion cosmic electronica of ‘Cha Murrah Etem’, a warm but poignant affair dedicated to his late father. Heady and intoxicating, with hints of Balearica and digital reggae, it offers a fittingly beautiful and tactile conclusion to Meecham’s most expressive and accessible album yet. 

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: The Emperor Machine (Andrew Meecham) is known for creating a beautifully Balearic fusion of funk, synth-pop and Scandi disco, so it's no massive surprise that that's part of what's on offer here. That's doing it a disservice though, because 'Island Boogie' is exactly the sort of rhythmic, synth-forward disco that turns a man into a disco appreciator. Believe me, I was that guy. Brilliant, propulsive beachtime groovers.

TRACK LISTING

1. Island Boogie
2. La Cassette Feat. Séverine Mouletin
3. Dévoilez-Vous Feat. Séverine Mouletin
4. Walk The Dog
5. S-S-S Single Bed Feat. Michelle Bee
6. Wanna Pop With You Feat. Séverine Mouletin
7. Vas-y Le Chat Feat. Séverine Mouletin
8. Cha Murrah Etem
9. S-S-S Single Bed Feat. Michelle Bee (Radio Edit) 

The Fossils label has been unearthing more musical treasure for its fifth outing, and this one takes you directly to the Middle East for some twisted disco-funk with red hot grooves courtesy of Fava Luva & Dr. Professor. The source of the tunes is obscure and unknown but the pair bring plenty of their own goodness with additional layers of live instrumentation really bring them to life. 'Lahatz' is steamy and full of sensuous vocal magic and cosmic synth work that will get the floor into action, while 'Kerem' is even more topical and exotic with its rich array of strong melodies and downtempo beats making for a woozy and wonderful trip.

STAFF COMMENTS

Matt says: Hot n smouldering, psychedelic disco-funk romps from the Middle East that'll get any barn dance bucking.

TRACK LISTING

Lahatz
Kerem

In the late 1960s, Mick Fleetwood, Peter Green, John McVie, and Jeremy Spencer laid the foundation for what would become one of the most storied and successful bands in rock history, Fleetwood Mac. Now, Rhino is celebrating the band’s transformative early days with a compilation that features 19 essential tracks.

The new collection spans a prolific five-year period that began in 1969 after the band signed with Reprise Records. It includes songs selected from seven studio albums: Then Play On (1969), Kiln House (1970), Future Games (1971), Bare Trees (1972), Penguin (1973), Mystery To Me (1973), and Heroes Are Hard To Find (1974). Those albums fueled Fleetwood Mac’s early popularity in the U.K. and catapulted them into the Top Ten with singles like “Oh Well – Pt. 1” and “The Green Manalishi (With The Two Prong Crown).” Both tracks are included in the collection along with fan favorites like “Rattlesnake Shake,” “Station Man,” “Sentimental Lady,” “Spare Me A Little Of Your Love,” and “Remember Me.”

TRACK LISTING

LP1 Side 1
1. Oh Well (Pt. 1) - 3:24 Then Play On 1969
2. Rattlesnake Shake - 3:30 Then Play On 1969
3. The Green Manalishi (With The Two Prong Crown) - 4:37 Then Play On 1969
4. Jewel Eyed Judy - 3:19 Kiln House 1970
5. Station Man - 5:52 Kiln House 1970

LP 1 Side 2
6. Tell Me All The Things You Do - 4:15 Kiln House 1970
7. Sands Of Time (single Version) - 3:04 Future Games 1971
8. Future Games - 8:18 Future Games 1971
9. Sentimental Lady - 4:36 Bare Trees 1972

LP 2 Side 1
10. Sunny Side Of Heaven - 3:11 Bare Trees 1972
11. Bare Trees - 5:05 Bare Trees 1972
12. Spare Me A Little Of Your Love - 3:48 Bare Trees 1972
13. Remember Me - 2:46 Penguin 1973
14. Did You Ever Love Me - 3:44 Penguin 1973

LP 2 Side 2
15. Hypnotized - 4:49 Mystery To Me 1973
16. Emerald Eyes - 3:35 Mystery To Me 1973
17. Heroes Are Hard To Find - 3:36 Heroes Are Hard To Find 1974
18. Angel - 3:55 Heroes Are Hard To Find 1974
19. Prove Your Love - 3:58 Heroes Are Hard To Find 1974

Large group session featuring deep spiritual modal jazz and new age ambient synthesizer pads.

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: He's not shy of a new album is he, our Greg? Anyway, The Glass Frog partially eschews his more ambient fare for the group ensemble style of flowing jazzy jams and solos akimbo. Lovely stuff, and a further cementing Foat's deserved reputation as one of the eminent musicians of this generation.

TRACK LISTING

1. Sea Of Tranquility
2. The Glass Frog
3. Foals Of Epona
4. Novilunium
5. Clusters
6. My Love Has Green Eyes
7. O Sacrum Convivium!

French lullabies and traditional folk songs dating as far back as the 14th century, adapted with contemporary arrangements and faint tape manipulations in Dublin, Ireland.

Imagine Serge Gainsbourg, John Martyn and Gábor Szabó squeezed on a small stage in the early hours of a smokey backstreet Parisian jazz club, slowly hypnotising the audience into hypnagogic hallucinations.

Growing up, Kevin Fowley split his time between living in France and Ireland. He listened to French lullabies sung by his mother in one room, while his father would be playing Donegal tunes on the fiddle in another. “I’m lucky to have been brought up bilingual and bicultural,” he says. “What I find interesting is that I usually think in English, but if I intentionally start thinking in French, a markedly different side of my personality comes through, encouraging different thought patterns.”

And this is apparent on his beautiful record of French lullabies À Feu Doux, which encompasses musical elements from both worlds, as it seamlessly glides across folk, jazz, and a rich yet shimmering in between sound. Varnished and exposed is the feeling that floats through À Feu Doux like a gentle gust of wind creeping in through the open window at night. Real night time music. 

TRACK LISTING

Side A
1.Ne Pleure Pas, Jeannette (6.50)
2. Á La Claire Fontaine (9.53)

Side B
3. Le Coq Est Mort (2.42)
4. Aux Marches Du Palais (5.20)

Super deep house issht from Cologne's Good Call (We Play House / Legend of Gelert) on Burnin Music.

The We Play House Recordings / Legends of Gelert / Frank Music artist serves up a classy 7-track LP that spans the sub-aquatic groove of ‘Prince Of Deep’ to the spacious funk of 'What Matters’ and the wobbly electro groove of ‘Let The Others Drink The Ocean’.

There is a sublime atmospheric acid on ‘Rapid Transit’, rugged Detroit synth washes and soulful, dreamy vocals on ‘The Participator’, bouncing deep house and soaring pads on ‘Memory Identity’ and, finally, a colorful synth workout on ‘Speramus Meliora’.

RIYL: Andras Fox, Jose Rico, Eden Burns, Roy Comanchero, Luv*Jam (and the whole Dream House / Crow Castle Cuts axis). 

TRACK LISTING

A1. Prince Of Deep
A2. What Matters
A3. Let The Others Drink The Ocean
A4. Rapid Transit
B1. The Participator
B2. Memory Identity
B3. Speramus Meliora

Precious gems mined from a wall of vinyl. Cut, polished and mounted for maximum love

TRACK LISTING

A1. Strange Games
B1. Niagara Falls

One of Poland’s most innovative and singular electronic producers, Hatti Vatti, lands on Belgian giant R&S Records with a new instrumental album filled with unparalleled and experimental jazz electronica. Having released three other full-length albums, most recently 2017’s ‘Saum’, Hatti Vatti aka Piotr Kaliński returns with the breathtaking freeform sounds of ‘Zeit’. Featuring Rafał Dutkiewicz on drums, Paweł Stachowiak on bass and Piotr Chęcki on saxophone, the nine-track long player brings together a collection of eclectic compositions that defies genre classifications, with echoes of the Japanese ambient scene, krautrock, jazz and dubby UK-bass. Prepare to be dazzled with this collection of absorbing and left of centre productions from the label that brought the likes of Aphex Twin, James Blake and Gabriels to international acclaim.

TRACK LISTING

1. FROGS
2. ZWIERCIADŁO
3. UENO
4. ZEIT
5. BRIDGE
6. MAKE SENSE
7. LICHT
8. FLAGI
9. KYO

Beautiful and evocative and recorded in his home-town of Liverpool between March 2016 and June 2017, the album is the culmination of four years of hard work. Equal to his finest moments, Adiós Señor Pussycat will undoubtedly only further cement his reputation as one of this generations greatest songwriters.

Since a self-imposed hiatus in 2008, Michael Head has been working with a fluid concept of an ever-rotating band format to provide a flexible platform for the range of his new live and recorded works.

‘Under the guise of Michael Head & The Red Elastic Band in 2013, they released their sought-after debut EP, Artorius Revisited, and followed this with a double A sided 7”, Velvets In The Dark / Koala Bears in 2015.

A soulful and poetic genius, fate, bad luck and circumstance and often conspired to deny him his rightful dues. Loved and lauded by fellow artists and critics alike, he started out in the early 1980s with The Pale Fountains, with whom he recorded a brace of acclaimed albums, Pacific Street (1984) and …From Across The Kitchen Table (1985). He subsequently formed Shack with his brother John and went on to record five albums over almost twenty years including the much loved and acclaimed Waterpistol and HMS Fable in 1999 which saw the band briefly flirt with chart success and hailed from the cover of the NME as “our greatest songwriter”

He also released, what is often regarded as his classic album, The Magical World Of The Strands under the name of Michael Head & The Strands in 1997, and with Shack currently on hiatus he has been performing under the Red Elastic Band guise for the past few years.

The album features the following musicians:
Michael Head - Vocals & Acoustic Guitar
Steve Powell - Electric & Acoustic Guitars
Phil Murphy - Drums
Tom Powell - Bass Guitar
Nina - Piano
Dan Rogers - Electric Guitar
Rod Skipp - Cello
Dewi Tudor Jones - Violin
Helen Tonge - Viola
Martin Smith - Trumpet
Andy Diagram - Trumpet
Simon James - Saxophone
Steve Powell, Joanne Head, Phil Murphy, Mary McCombs - Backing Vocals
Michael Head, Phil Murphy, Karina Townsend - Percussion

TRACK LISTING

1. Picasso
2. Overjoyed
3. Picklock
4. Winter Turns To Spring
5. Workin' Family
6. 4&4 Still Makes 8
7. Queen Of All Saints
8. Josephine
9. Lavender Way
10. Rumer
11. Wild Mountain Thyme
12. What's The Difference
13. Adios Amigo

Signed to Virgin Records, debut single “(We Don’t Need This) Fascist Groove Thang” attracted a lot of attention in March 1981, and a BBC Radio 1 ban. Recorded in Sheffield and London, debut album “Penthouse And Pavement” was released in September 1981 and was certified Gold the following year, and also contained the singles “Play To Win”, “Penthouse And Pavement”, and “The Height Of The Fighting”.

TRACK LISTING

PAVEMENT SIDE
1. (We Don't Need This) Fascist Groove Thang
2. Penthouse And Pavement
3. Play To Win
4. Soul Warfare

PENTHOUSE SIDE
5. Geisha Boys And Temple Girls
6. Let's All Make A Bomb
7. The Height Of The Fighting
8. Song With No Name
9. We're Going To Live For A Very Long Time

Released in April 1983, second album “The Luxury Gap” featured the Top 5 hits “Temptation” and “Come Live With Me”, as well as “Crushed By The Wheels Of Industry” and “Let Me Go”. The album was certified Platinum in February 1984 for sales of over 300,000.

TRACK LISTING

1. Crushed By The Wheels Of Industry
2. Who'll Stop The Rain
3. Let Me Go
4. Key To The World
5. Temptation
6. Come Live With Me
7. Lady Ice And Mr Hex
8. We Live So Fast
9. The Best Kept Secret

Since releasing her joint LP 'These Days' with long-time friend and collaborator Daniel Casimir on the jazz re:freshed imprint in 2019, Hirst has been working on her first solo album scheduled for release in early-2024. Funded by PRS Foundation's Women Make Music and the MOBO Help Musicians Fund, Hirst's new music is set to be a jazz re:freshed family affair. 'Magic' features Richard Spaven on drums, Sarah Tandy on piano and Tomorrow's Warriors StringTing. It is produced and arranged by Casimir who also plays electric, upright and synth bass on the recording.

A celebration of inspiring stories of the women around her, 'Magic' pays homage to their robust capacity to rise to any challenge, including motherhood, a journey which Hirst embarked upon herself, making the track all the more poignant. As Hirst shares: "Since having my own child in between writing and releasing this record, I've realised motherhood itself isn't magic, rather there is magic in being a mother. Performing 'Magic' now brings a deeper level of understanding for me. When you give birth to a child you too are reborn." Hirst urges listeners to invoke their own sense of magic, underpinned by the notoriously underground UK musical heritage ofDrum'n'Bass, Spaven fully in his element, piercing through the pensive string melodies and euphoric harmonies overarching Hirst's ethereal tone.

Hirst and award-winning bassist Casimir released their debut album 'These Days' in 2019, described as'a masterpiece' by The Wicked SoundandCLASH as 'deft and soulful'andsupported by Jazzwise and Jazz FM. In 2022, Hirst appeared in the AppletonEstate Jamaica Jazz Sessions, recorded a live session at Abbey Road Studios and produced the jazz re:freshed OuternationalShowcase at SXSW, adding a string of successful podcasts to her bow for Afropop and Manchester Jazz Festival. Earlier this year, Tess shared the first glimpse of her new material at Brick Lane Jazz Festival.

TRACK LISTING

1. This Is Her
2. Rules Based Order
3. It Doesn't Matter
4. This Love
5. A Seed
6. Reckoning
7. I'll Keep
8. Magic (feat. Richard Spaven)

The album features an array of guests including Depeche Mode's Dave Gahan, Midlake's Tim Smith, Isobel Campbell, and Ed Harcourt, amongst others.

Commenting on the album, Marshall says... "During a time when the world seemed to teeter off its axis, and I grappled with personal illness and losses, music became my lifeline once more. Like a soothing medication, each note and lyric offered a glimmer of hope in the midst of darkness. Collaborating on the tracks felt like a shared journey through the universal language of music, allowing me to find my voice amidst the chaos. The title, On The Edge Of A Lost And Lonely World, felt deeply fitting then and continues to resonate now, embodying the essence of this profound musical exploration. I truly believe this album represents my finest work yet, a testament to resilience and the power of art to illuminate even the darkest of times."

TRACK LISTING

1. The Beginning Ft Carl Hancock Rux
2. Too Many Rivals Ft Tim Smith 
3. The Immortal Ft Ed Harcourt
4. This Holding Pattern Ft James Cox
5. Brother Ft Dave Gahan
6. Born To Be Ft Peter Hayes
7. Keep Me Safe Ft Rachel Fannan
8. Dark Side Of Your Window Ft James Allan
9. Love You More Ft Isobel Campbell
10. The End Ft Madman Butterfly

Michael Kelland Hutchence was the co-founder, lead singer, and lyricist of the rock band INXS from 1977 until his death in 1997. The band sold over 50 million records worldwide and was inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame in 2001. A decade or so after Michael’s death a number of unreleased ideas surfaced in a tape locker in London. This was material Michael’s IP company had financed and that he had been developing for his solo endeavour. In going through the ideas, it became apparent this would be something worth exploring, starting with “Friction” and what became “ One-Way”. Producer Danny Saber (Rolling Stones, Ozzy Osbourne, Madonna, Seal, etc...) began the process of producing finished masters. The result is this Limited-Edition Red vinyl picture disc with the aforementioned “One Way” and B-side “Save My Life”. This is a true piece of musical history and will forever solidify Michael Kelland Hutchence as the brilliant singer/songwriter he is.

TRACK LISTING

One Way
Save My Life

It's fair to say that the inclusion of Iganda's sole 7" single "Mark Of Slavery" / "Slow Down" spread across the first two volumes of the "Midlands roots explosion" series, has not only greatly raised the profile of the band, but also sent the price of the original release through the roof.

TRACK LISTING

Mark Of Slavery
Slow Down

Inland Knights’ reputation for delivering groove-centric, melody-driven tracks has made them household names in the house music community. This collaboration not only serves as a nod to their contributions but also introduces their sound to a new generation of listeners through the vinyl revival.

The tracks selected for this special vinyl re-issue are 'The Game,' 'Deep In Original Mix,' and 'Slumming It.' These selections are celebrated pieces within the house music scene, known for their groovy basslines, compelling melodies, and polished production, embodying the essence of Inland Knights’ impact on the genre.

Adding a contemporary twist to the re-pressing, Housetown Records has also enlisted Jake Childs to provide a special remix, enhancing the release with his innovative touch. Childs, whose releases on Drop Music have garnered significant acclaim, brings a fresh perspective to the project, promising a unique listening experience that honors the legacy of the original tracks while pushing into new sonic territories.

STAFF COMMENTS

Matt says: Modern terrace standards from Inland Knights who achieve maximum canter across four techy house numbers. Very big in Ibiza right now!

TRACK LISTING

A1. Slummin It
A2. The Game
B1. Deep In
B2. Jake Childs - Deep In Rework

GAMM heads down under with prolific producer Inkswel aka Inxxxwel (on this project) for a tasty 7" crammed with deep hip hop, funk, soul and overall jazziness.

You'll hear reminiscence of Dilla and 90's R&B on the opening track 'Chill' and a kinda 90's Jersey house / R&B track (pitched down) on the B Side track, 'Hanna-Mi-Dia' (feat vocals from Blu & Ta'Raach). There's a smooth and sexy, head nodding bump to both productions that's truly tasty!

If you're an adventurous hop-hop or soul head...this should tickle your ears :)

STAFF COMMENTS

Matt says: Inkswell plugs into some vintage rap shit which I'm ashamed to say I'm not sure I'm familiar with. Both sides are super strong, with a kinda funky, Nas-esque jam on side A; and a more smooth rollin' West Coast flavoured joint on side B. Answers on a postcard pur-lease!

TRACK LISTING

A. Chill 
B. Hanna-Ma-Dia

As Alex Izenberg was piecing together the sweeping, psychedelic opuses on his full-band debut Alex Izenberg & The Exiles, the Los Angeles artist was focused on a simple goal: making something built to last. At the heart of his songs are bold ideas that take inspiration from the heady musings of philosopher Alan Watts, the multi-layered storytelling of King Crimson, and the imagistic vistas of Fleet Foxes. While the subject matter may feel esoteric—“My unconscious named the tongue/Of the lights of closed eyes” goes a characteristic lyric—Izenberg and his band let the music drift pleasantly to earth. The melodies are romantic and warm, and the arrangements are invitingly expansive, making expert use of a new ensemble formed around the strongest songs of his career.

TRACK LISTING

1. The Gospel Of Exiles
2. An Obscured Odyssey
3. The Wraith Behind Our Eyes
4. Drinking The Dusk Away
5. Dreams Of Déjà Vu
6. Threaded Dances
7. Only The Moon Knows
8. Pareidolia
9. United States (of Mind)
10. Apophenia
11. As The Dawn Serenades The Dark

Jose James has showcased his rich and graceful baritone voice through a series of unpredictable projects that have blurred the lines between traditional and contemporary jazz, soul, funk, rock, house, and other genres. Now, with a new collaboration on the "Saturday Night" remixes with Grammy winner Louie Vega, Jose proves his versatility and variation in his unique vocal ability, able to adapt to all types of grooves with ease. "Saturday Night" is a feel-good summer song penned by Jose James himself and seasoned songwriters/Grammy winners Talia Billig and Kaveh Rastegar, who have worked with Moby, Aloe Blacc, and Bruno Mars, to name a few. Taking it to the clubs, as we say in nightlife, Jose takes us on the dancefloor once again all around the world! Enjoy the Louie Vega remixes with long versions of each interpretation and the hot guitar dub on Vega Records, with license courtesy of Rainbow Blonde Records! 

STAFF COMMENTS

Matt says: Typical Louie Vega business here as he devotes whole sides of vinyl (that means extra bass, extra fidelity, maximum buzz!) to one artist's track. Four vibrant versions (gotta catch 'em all!) like those vintage house doublepacks of yesteryear. The kids won't gerrit! But your Defected / Southport Weekender crowd will find lots of wiggle room here.

TRACK LISTING

A. Saturday Night (Louie Vega Remix)
B. Saturday Night (Louie Vega Remix Instrumental)
C. Saturday Night (Louie Vega OG Remix)
D. Saturday Night (Louie Vega Remix Guitar Dub) 

forgive too slow, Avant Garde artist julia-sophie’s deeply personal debut album is testament to her ability to transform adversity into raw beauty, combining her traditional songwriting roots with her own take on experimental electronica. It features her intimate voice backed by warm and precise electronic sounds whose free spirited explorations give body to the carefully written personal songs

julia-sophie comes off the drama of her 2010s rock band, Little Fish, which was signed to a major label. The surreal experiences (like being flown to Las Vegas in helicopters with a bag of slot machine money or given limousines for the day to go shopping), along with having to work in environments where she felt unsafe, drove her decision to leave the fame game. She turned down the offer to emigrate to America and engage with the machinations of the system as it did not feel “true or congruent with who I was”. Instead, she focused her attention on her hometown (Oxford, UK).

She started recording lo-fi pop in her garage, using an old laptop, wonky microphones and hitting whatever was around for beats. Candy Says grew to be more of a collective than a band, and eventually co-wrote a film score for indie film Burn Burn Burn and recorded a cover of Running Up That Hill for the Netflix film Close (starring Noomi Rapace).

Julia-Sophie soon started recording songs with her friend B, who had a studio stacked from wall-to-wall with analogue recording gear, vintage synths and drum machines. She decided to self-release and the music reached audiences beyond her expectations, including support from BBC Radio 6 and a feature in The Quietus.

forgive too slow is Julia-Sophie’s debut solo album, and concerns relationships and the struggles we go through when we “forgive too slow” and can’t break out of patterns from the past.

The songs narrate her story of self-destruction (“numb”), love (“falling”), and loss (“telephone”). By the end, embers are still burning and there is no telling if Julia-Sophie has found peace, but we do get a sense that she has gotten closer to the core of her being and is finally living authentically.

TRACK LISTING

1. 2:00am
2. I Was Only
3. Lose My Mind
4. Numb
5. Falling
6. Comfort You
7. Just Us
8. Wishful Thinking
9. Better
10. Telephone

1983 post-punk / reggae masterpiece from Khartomb becomes the eighth release on Jason Boardman's indispensable BiD label! Khartomb's masterpiece "Swahili Lullaby / Teekon Warriors" was influenced by contemporaries of the time The Slits & The Raincoatsand and was originally released on 7" on 23rd June 1983. A Balearic secret weapon now available for aficionados everywhere with local lads Synkro & Talking Drums bolstering the release outstanding reworks to boot.

Despite initial interest following their Peel Session & support from Melody Maker and Zig Zag the band were unable to capitalise & "Swahili Lullaby / Teekon Warrior" remains their only vinyl release until now.
40 years later, the tracks have been exclusively licensed by BiD alongside the previously unreleased Pat Nevin favourite "Daisy High". 

"Swahili Lullaby" is an under the radar post punk jam with killer drums, dubby bassline and spidery guitar, topped off by a haunting melancholic vocal.

"Teekon Warriors" is a deep ode to the fallen, dope drums, angular guitar, tribal drums and a sweet vocal.

"Daisy High" was dubbed by John Peel as 'Subversive MOR' who are we to disagree? A haunting, flute peppered slow jam with a bossa feel & a sick guitar lick.

Synkro's Balearic Dub of "Swahili Lullaby" takes the original version and sends it to a transcendental spiritual realm, creating a future classic for sunrises and sunsets for the next millennium. The Talking Drums Redub of the same track tweeks, extends & amps up the dub pressure to maximum psychedelic levels.

Support from JD Twitch and Essential Space. 

STAFF COMMENTS

Matt says: JB lifts the lid on a truly inspired slice of John Peel championed, post-punk-reggae from London. The story is as delightful as the music - and credit to Before I Die for sourcing something that's both a true curio and highly listenable. If the "Spiky Dread" compilation were to issue a second volume - this would have to be on it!

TRACK LISTING

A1. Swahili Lullaby
A2. Teekon Warriors
A3. Daisy High
B1. Swahili Lullaby (Synkro's Balearic Dub Mix)
B2. Swahili Lullaby (Talking Drums Redub)

We’ve always been careful not to call Balmat an ambient label, because we like having the freedom to move, to drift, to morph. But with our 11th release, we turn our ears—proudly, blissfully—to a strain of ambient at its most timeless. The appropriately titled Dreams & Whispers comes from Warsaw’s Bartosz Kruczyński, who has recorded under a number of guises, Earth Trax, as well as his own name. Over the years, he’s touched upon deep house, breakbeats, acid, techno, electro, IDM, and more; often, the throughline running through a given album is simply the refusal to remain in any one place for long—well, that, and his unusually nuanced ear for harmony and texture.

Those qualities come to the fore on Dreams & Whispers, which might be the most focused encapsulation of Kruczyński’s atmospheric sensibilities to date.. Across 14 stripped-down tracks for shimmer and pulse, Kruczyński evokes overlapping styles in ambient—warm vibraphones, taut arps, massing strings, lonesome delay chains —but always with his own twist. Fitting the album’s title, the album is loosely divided into two distinct moods: The A-side, “Dreams,” is charged with subtle movement, rhythms spreading out like rings around skipped stones, while the B-side, “Whispers,” plunges into a zone of shadows and hush. The two complementary moods flow into one another like the faces of a Moebius strip, yielding an album that’s intuitively shaped and rich in emotion.

TRACK LISTING

A1. Dream I
A2. Dream II
A3. Dream III
A4. Dream IV
A5. Dream V
A6. Dream VI
A7. Dream VII
B1. Whisper I
B2. Whisper II
B3. Whisper III
B4. Whisper IV
B5. Whisper V
B6. Whisper VI
B7. Whisper VII

A full artwork vinyl edition of this much hyped Kwengface track; with the hugely popular Joy O x Overmono version added for good measure. A fierce UK drill cut with razor sharp lyrics and killer delivery. Joy O and Overmono give it a bass n breaks rub-down which takes it directly to the clubs and festivals. 

Cut loud on a limited 12" with full artwork.

This one will fly out so get those orders in quick! 

STAFF COMMENTS

Matt says: An absolute genius pairing that finally sees a vinyl release. Kwengface's biting drill track "Freedom" is transformed into a festival-friendly stadium-slayer via the deft hand of Joy O and Overmono.

TRACK LISTING

A. Kwengface X Joy Orbison X Overmono - Freedom 2
B. Kwengface - Freedom

Alex Andrikopolous AKA Lex (Athens) released his brilliant debut album Waving in 2022 on Leng and he now returns with an EP combining fine remixes of tracks from Waving alongside two new previously unheard cuts.

The remixes are undeniably special. Fittingly, the EP begins with the first of these, a sensationally sun-soaked revision of one of Andrikopolous’s most Balearic moments – previous single ‘Punta Allen’ – by former Nuphonic fusionists and FAR label founders Faze Action. The Lee brothers’ take is one of those sunset-friendly workouts that wraps glistening guitar licks, steel pan style motifs, Lex’s gorgeous lead lines, hazy electric piano solos and life-affirming keyboard riffs around rolling nu-disco beats and a new rubbery bassline courtesy of Robin Lee himself. It has the feel of a pool-side anthem in the making.

Just as potent is the typically quirky and hard-to-pigeonhole revision of ‘Prezend’ by Manchester maverick Ruf Dug. Here he offers up a genuinely revolutionary rework, re-imaging the track as a sparse-but-colourful fusion of vintage acid house bass, saucer-eyed piano riffs, dubbed-out synth sounds, jacking lo-fi drum machine beats and squelchy TB-303 tweaks. While fresh and undeniably contemporary, the remix has an alluringly nostalgic, retro-futurist vibe.

Clustered around these two top-notch revisions is a pair of previously unreleased Lex originals. He joins forces with regular collaborator Locke once more on ‘Libre De Amor’, an infectious chunk of, low-slung dub disco marked out by weighty bass, jammed-out electric piano motifs, spacey pads, intergalactic effects and mazy synth solos. Dotted with additional percussion hits and echoing female vocal snippets, it’s one of the pair’s most potent dancefloor workouts of recent times.

To round off a rock-solid EP, the Athens-based veteran blurs the boundaries between stripped-back, late-80s house nostalgia and nu-disco. ‘Super Awake’ boasts cowbell-sporting Chicago house beats and acid house inspired bass, on to which he’s layered all manner of colourful synth sounds, jangly piano stabs and spacey electronics. Throw in some typically immersive chords and progressively more psychedelic TB-303 motifs, and you have a genuinely triumphant conclusion to a formidably floor-focused EP.

TRACK LISTING

A1. Punta Allen (Faze Action Remix)
A2. Libre De Amor (w/Locke)
B1. Prezend (Ruf Dug Remix)
B2. Super Awake

The first new album from Lilacs & Champagne in nearly a decade. Features members of Grails, Om, Holy Sons, Zombi, and NickeL Plated.

Nearly a decade after their last album, Lilacs and Champagne picks up right where that record, Midnight Features Vol. 2: Made Flesh, left off. With bizarre excursions into pillowy, sentimental made-for-TV music – and children's choirs incanting the blackest dread-filled music the band has conjured to date Fantasy World is both transcendent and traumatic.

Despite sharing two founding members of Grails (multi-instrumentalists Emil Amos and Alex Hall) Fantasy World only peripherally resembles their core group. Lilacs & Champagne have exaggerated their early record's implications and accelerated their mercurial rearranging of music history by deftly incorporating live instrumentation and samples with equal amounts of deference and disregard. Previously existing primarily in a realm adjacent to instrumental hip-hop (J Dilla, Clams Casino, Madlib), Fantasy World exposes Lilacs & Champagne's deeper lineage as playful tape-collage culture jammers in the vein of legendary sound satirists, Negativland and Severed Heads.

It embraces the effect of a child entering a dollar store: the immediate euphoria felt upon discovering the seemingly endless aisles piled impossibly high with novelty toys, utensils, party decorations, and toiletries eventually gives way to the overwhelming realization that they're actually just a tourist in a perilous mountain of colourful garbage. From those mountains, Lilacs & Champagne mold monuments to curiosity and confusion. 

STAFF COMMENTS

Ashley says: There isn't an Emil Amos project I don't love. Grails, Holy Sons, Watter, Om, I love them all. Obviously I was over the moon that sleazy b-movie outlet Lilacs & Champagne are returning, and bring with them another glitzy mix of found-sound glitchy electronica and lounge-adjacent horror pop. It's as mad and brilliant as it sounds.

TRACK LISTING

1. Ill Gotten Gains (2:49)
2. Rude Dream (3:13)
3. Fantasy Land (2:19)
4. Melissa (2:37)
5. Betraying Yourself (2:44)
6. Ready Rubbed Blue (2:03)
7. Evil Has No Boundaries (2:42)
8. No More Sherry (2:59)
9. Gentle Man (2:31)
10. Leprotic Phantasies (2:06)
11. 144 York Way (2:40)
12. Last Frontier (2:16)
13. Dr. Why (3:14)
14. Ordinary Man (4:08)

Kitty Liv has fired up music lovers around the globe from a very early age, co-fronting family band ‘Kitty, Daisy & Lewis’ selling over a quarter of a million records. The band toured the world numerous times, gaining fans by the likes of Amy Winehouse, Mark Ronson and Coldplay. She is now gearing up to storm an even broader fan base with a solo album project that marks a completely different direction for her.

As a songwriter, producer and multi-instrumentalist, Kitty is resonating with a more expansive set of her influences, from Erykah Badu and D’Angelo to Al Green and blues legend Howlin’ Wolf, to produce a body of personal songs that evoke the primal depths of Soul, Gospel blues & Rock and Roll. There's a deeper vocal riding over the songs, almost channeling her demons. Kitty has been developing her ideas over several years and is currently capturing some stunning performances in the studio.

Born and bred in Camden Town, Kitty lives and breathes music, founding Durham Sound Studios and collaborating with other musicians and artists, to capture magical moments on sparkling analogue recordingE gear. When someone has been playing music, recording and writing from the age of seven, it’s only a matter of time before they take a quantum leap into a new paradigm.

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: Kitty Liv's 'Easy Tiger' follows on from her huge success in Kitty, Daisy & Lewis with an album that swims with soul and melody, landing somewhere between Bluegrass and lounge music. It's perfectly paced throughout, with build-up of tension and huge crescentic builds fading into brittle country ballads and tender campfire folk.

TRACK LISTING

1. Sweet Dreams
2. Neck On The Line
3. Comin' Up
4. Nothing On My Mind (But You Babe)
5. The River That Flows
6. The Sun And The Rain
7. The Doctor
8. Lately
9. Passing You By
10. Keep Your Head Up High

A rollercoaster of a release, forthcoming debut album Scream If You Wanna Go Faster covers everything from the highs of being pinball champions to the lows of having to deal with rubbish jobs and managers, inviting all-comers to jump aboard and throw those hands in the air like you just don't care

The Loose Women juggled gigging every weekend in 2023 with their 9-5 jobs, somehow finding time to write and record the album, and then still managing to make it to the pub for a pint or two to celebrate.

"We blasted it out in two lots of long weekend sessions to keep the energy high and fast paced, just like our live gigs," say the band of the experience. "Thanks to the fuel of an array of Pot Noodles and medicinal drugs we created a Loose Articles extravaganza bedazzled with big riffs, footy whistles and cowbells to keep you on your toes!"

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: Snappy indie-pop, blazing synth lines and grungy guitars all beneath snarling, cleverly written vocal lines. This and the jagged punky aesthetic form the basis of the brilliant debut album from Dipped In Gold (RIP) alumni, Loose Articles. Bold, raucous madness.

TRACK LISTING

Mr Manager
Are You A Welder?
Want
Unpaid Intern
I've Nearly Made It
I'd Rather Have A Beer
Pinball John
It's Art
Guitars, Cars, Knickers And Bras

Rock solid collection of Los Hermanos tracks pressed on fresh, high quality vinyl. Including the amazing hi-tech jazz anthem, "Central Nervous System" which was previously only available on a heavily warped record! "Remember Detroit" sees the strings converge for one of those soaring Los Hermanos flight paths. "Path Of Tranquility" takes us deep into introspective digital rainforests, while "Two Feet Up" utilizes suspended strings, concentric arps and slamming beats to create a heads down peak time Dee-troit techno belter! Don't sleep on this UR fans...

STAFF COMMENTS

Matt says: Personal favourite for me this one... mainly cos I used to have to mix out of "Central Nervous Systems" after two mins as the warping would get worse as the record went on! Finally available on perfectly pressed 12" and sounding as good as ever.

TRACK LISTING

A1. Gerald Mitchell - Two Feet Up
A2. Los Hermanos - Remember Detroit
B1. Los Hermanos - Central Nervous Systems
B2. Los Hermanos Detroit - Path Of Tranquility

Completing Kranky's chronologically reverse reissue program of the earlier loscil albums on vinyl, the 2001 debut album is issued on the format for the first time with the addition of three bonus tracks from the same sessions that produced the original release.

‘’Triple Point was my first full length album under the loscil name, and it was my first with kranky - a relationship now 25 years old. This reissue is as much about celebrating that relationship as it is about the music. I am extremely grateful for this journey. Arguably, none of it would have happened without this release.’’ 

TRACK LISTING

Side A: 1. Hydrogen. 2. Ampere 3. Pressure 4. Zero
Side B: 1. Discrete Entropy 2. Fuel Exergy 3. Enthalpy
Side C: 1. Conductivity 2. Vapour 3. Third Law*
Side D: 1. Steady State* 2. P Motion* 3. Absolute
*bonus Tracks

Who doesn't love a good edit, some nice Balearic, and especially some mystical Balearic edits? Well, that's just what we have here from Matsoaka who taps into several worldly flavours on this new six tracker courtesy of Magic Wand. 'Parlband Utmed Kusten' starts slow and steady, wet and dubby. 'Jah Banana' is a supremely horizontal and sun-kissed beach groove and 'Alligator' cuts loose on glistening melodies and playful chord vamps. Gentle breakbeats power the seductive 'Shish Balearic' and 'Asian Dance Groove' closes out with loose, percussive rhythms and funky guitar rifts. A truly global sonic trip.

STAFF COMMENTS

Matt says: Magic Wand have always risen well above the rest of the edit wheat and chaff, employing skilled splicers and exclusive source material. Matsoaka maintains their high watermark across five previously rarely heard nuggets from around the world. All infectious in their own way and possessing boat loads of beach party fun.

TRACK LISTING

Parlband Utmed Kusten
Jah Banana
Alligator
Shish Balearic
Asian Dance Groove

TMTCH stumbled into existence onstage at the Alternative Country Festival, Electric Ballroom, Camden on Easter Sunday in 1984; after a long afternoon busking and drinking in a Hammersmith subway. They knew three chords and a hundred songs all of which sounded a bit the same, a frenzied skiffle that was exciting to jump around and drink snakebite to. If they thought about longevity at all, a lifespan of 40 days seemed most likely. It’s forty years later and they are still running. Since those early days, and without much of a game plan other than always stepping onward, TMTCH have released around 20 albums plus many side projects, bootlegs, curios and an unknown number of T shirts. They’ve toured constantly, whether in dingy pub backrooms or Grand Ballrooms and Festival Stages. From Cairo to Reykjavik and all points in between, the TMTCH roadshow has shambled and thrilled through the decades, always passionate, always literate, occasionally dishevelled.

Forty years of recording has spawned a vast back catalogue, well represented here by songs from each album, style and era; a tapestry of human stories and vibrant characters. So there are the fast sprints like early folk hoedown ‘Ironmasters’, the frantic shanty ‘Raising Hell’ and the amphetamine punk blues of ‘Going Back to Coventry’. Then there are the waltzing folk ballads, from their impassioned version of the anti war standard ‘Green Fields Of France’ to the bitter regret of ‘The Bells’ and the righteous testimony of ‘Our Day’. Elsewhere there are anthems galore; ‘The Crest’ a swirling gaelic chant, ‘Rosettes’, a fast marching assault of drums, fiddles and mandolins; historical epics such as ‘Ghosts Of Cable Street’, ‘Shirt of Blue’ and ‘The Colours’; romantic ballads like the wistful ‘Parted From You’ and ‘Island in The Rain’.

All the eras are here; from the wiry lo fi of the first album, through the eighties into full blown MTV ready multi trackers with vast charging drums; the initial simplicity of their recipe deepening and darkening. And then on through the nineties, noughties and tens; always the double pronged vocals drifting between harmony and unison, always the celtic, folk and country tones vying for attention, the emotive fiddle, the top end mandolin above the thundering rhythm section. On through bouffant hair, spiky hair, dyed hair, thin hair and hats; on through Grunge, Baggy, Madchester, Rave, Britpop. On through the Miner’s Strike, Poll Tax, New Labour, Iraq and Brexit. On through marriage, children, loss and revival. Forty years at the working end of rock and roll is a feat achieved by very few bands. It requires tremendous chemistry, a deep catalogue; both panoramic and miniature, a vital and irrepressible energy, all of which is on resplendent display in this sprawling 3 disc compilation. But most of all it requires an intense resilience, something that TMTCH possess in spades. Forty years on the run; was ever a band so aptly named? 

TRACK LISTING

Ghosts Of Cable Street
The Eye
Wishing Well
Raising Hell
Bounty Hunter
Going Back To Coventry
Sirens
Nightbird
Shirt Of Blue
A Place In The Sun
Island In The Rain
Singing Elvis
The Lion And The Unicorn
Smugglers
Gold Rush
Night Ferry
The Crest
Rain, Steam And Speed
Our Day
King Street Serenade
Beast Of Brechfa
Kingdom Of The Blind
Rivertown
Great Expectations
Company Town
Devil On The Wind
Red Rocks Of Spain
Scavengers
Overseas
Rosettes
The Bells
Billy Morgan
A Map Of Morocco
The Colours
Parted From You
Green Fields Of France
Ironmasters
Walkin’ Talkin’
A Night To Remember
Red Kite Rising

Short, sharp, and wilfully abrasive, Earth A.D. was originally released in December 1983.

Personality Edits is back with a third thrilling offering and this time out it is Nordic warrior MorkyMork and Tottenham's Tony Tobiason who deliver the goods. 'All Engines Go' kicks off and is a wildly percussive, textural groove with toms, crashing snares, raw hi-hats and plenty of FX all budding the energy before a mad saw tooth basslines spray about the mix to raise the roof. On the flip is 'Bleep Bleep', which is another wild sound with uptempo breaks and bleeps sounding like nothing else out there. Drop these and the crowd cannot fail to lose their heads.

STAFF COMMENTS

Matt says: Frenetic and percussive, wonky disco jams that should appeal massively to fans of The Idjut Boys.

TRACK LISTING

All Engines Go (MorkyMork Edit)
Bleep Bleep (Tony Tobiason Edit)

Morrissey's live album, Beethoven Was Deaf, which was recorded during the Your Arsenal tour in Paris '93, has been remastered at Abbey Road Studios and is now reissued for the first time since its original release in 1993. 

TRACK LISTING

1. You're The One For Me, Fatty
2. Certain People I Know
3. The National Front Disco
4. November Spawned A Monster
5. Seasick, Yet Still Docked
6. The Loop
7. Sister I'm A Poet
8. Jack The Ripper
9. Such A Little Thing Makes Such A Big Difference
10. I Know It's Gonna Happen Someday
11. We'll Let You Know
12. Suedehead
13. He Knows I'd Love To See Him
14. You're Gonna Need Someone On Your Side
15. Glamorous Glue
16. We Hate It When Our Friends Become Successful

Ninth album from this long-running New Haven group.

The band’s first true double album. “Walking After Dark” is released on black double-vinyl in a full color gatefold jacket & includes an insert with artwork & lyrics by member Dan Greene.

The current lineup of New Haven’s long running Mountain Movers (guitarist/vocalist Dan Greene, bassist Rick Omonte, guitarist Kryssi Battalene, & drummer Ross Menze) have been playing together for over a decade now, making their recorded debut on a slew of singles released from 2011-2013, but it wasn’t until 2015’s “Death Magic” (released on New Haven label Safety Meeting) that the potential of that iteration of the group became clear; Mountain Movers are a force of nature. The camaraderie & sensitivity to each others playing has only grown over time, crystallizing on the group’s trio of albums for Trouble In Mind; 2017’s eponymous “Mountain Movers” served as a reintroduction of the group to a larger audience, while 2018’s “Pink Skies” raged like a group confident in its strengths, and 2020’s prescient “World What World” - written & recorded before the world shut down - slightly shifted focus away from the jams & back toward the weight of guitarist/songwriter Dan Greene’s poetic tales of magical realism. The band’s ninth album “Walking After Dark” finds a happy medium between both aspects of the band’s strengths; Greene’s lyrical compositions and the group’s long-form improvised jams.

To those that are tuned in, that feeling of communion is evident in the Movers’ playing. The members swap & cycle effortlessly through instruments without missing a beat, utilizing the downtime of lockdown to write & record every jam in their practice space. Those piles of tapes would eventually get edited & sequenced into “Walking After Dark”, a tour-de-force double-album that balances fried, stony brilliance with outré excursions of experimental serenity.

Consider the opening track “Bodega On My Mind” that ambles in like a road-worn traveller, its lysergic folk strums peppered with acidic lead lines from Battalene’s Telecaster, eventually giving way to “The Sun Shines On The Moon, where the group’s sizzling guitars are buoyed by Omonte’s pillowy bass & Menze’s percussion. From there on out, tracks like “Factory Dream” give the listener a taste of The Movers’ modus operandi here; a mixture of (more) traditional song craft interspersed between long-form, improvised pieces of modern psychedelia. The group shuffles through instruments; synths, drum machines, auto-harp, various forms of percussion (and whatever else was laying around) as well as the trad guitar/bass/drums configuration to craft a suite of songs that - while not necessarily similar in composition - feel unified in their overall sonic scope. Tracks like the 14-minute “Reclamation Yard”, whose deep-space electronic pulse is juxtaposed against side C opener “See The City”s persistent acoustic strum that showcase similar ideas of the ‘spirituality’ of losing ones self in repetition, but executed differently. In many ways “Walking After Dark”s duality feels like a merger of “On The Beach”-era Neil Young & the collective freak-outs of Amon Düül, taking inspiration in the ‘incorporeality’ of free music and lacing it with Greene’s hazy, haunting lyricism and is an exciting step forward for a band that’s already a few steps ahead.

TRACK LISTING

1. Bodega On My Mind
2. The Sun Shines On The Moon
3. Factory Dream
4. My Holy Shrine
5. Reclamation Yard
6. See The City
7. In The Desert, In The Flood
8. Night Birds In The Trees
9. We Are All Flowers
10. Ice Dream

For its next outing, the Friends & Relations label has curated a mini best-of EP that serves up a quartet of tunes that have been unavailable on wax until now. Side A opens with 'Senza Parole,' featuring a weird and wonderful vocal sound and some loose hand claps under Italo-infused disco-funk drums. 'Let Me Be The One' is a nice tripped out and slow motion 90s downtempo jam and 'Funkbraska' is an homage to French Touch with filtered synth loops fizzing with sugar goodness over a characterful bassline, and last of all is 'Love + Hate', another low slung house groove that oozes cool and has a fantastic bassline propping it up.

STAFF COMMENTS

Matt says: Deep house don Nebraska throws some dice at the edits game, offering up some intriguing excursions in electro-disco, downbeat and late 90s filter house.

TRACK LISTING

Senza Parole
Let Me Be The One
Funkbraska
Love + Hate

It’s been three years since Glasgow musical collective NIGHTSHIFT’s last album (“Zöe”, 2021) & aside form an odds & sods tape compilation “Made Of The Earth”, the group has remained relatively quiet on the recorded front. Newly regrouped into a quartet, the band has readied their proper follow up to “Zöe” & their third album “Homosapien”, again for Chicago’s Trouble In Mind Records.

Recorded & mixed in the band’s rehearsal space by members Chris White & Rob Alexander, “Homosapien” started to take shape in Summer 2023. Writing had begun prior, but due to a crucial lineup change, the band had to start again. Thankfully, once they regrouped, the assembly and recording of the new set of songs was fun and relatively quick. Notably, the band has lost some members, gained a new member & shuffled some roles; former drummer Chris White (Spinning Coin) is now on guitar. His distinctive playing delivers a

countrified energy that is central to the album, leading the song structures into more succinct and colorful places, matching the upbeat and playful nature the band has always drawn strength from, only more so now under his stylish approach. Primary vocalist & keyboardist Eothen Stern (also of 2 Ply)’s lyrical gifts illuminate the group’s output with an optimistic urgency that is unmatched. On ‘Homosapien’ she wears her heart on her sleeve, but even in the song’s darkest moments, the words create a sense of hope and potential. She doesn’t shy away from politics or contemporary love languages and finds humor, earnestness, and critique at every turn. Andrew Robert Doig continues to play bass (Dancer/Robert Sotelo) and provides occasional lead vocals on tunes like “Together We Roll” & “Mellow Baby”.

Newest member & drummer Rob Alexander (Tarantula/Radio Banter) allows for a second new development in the band dynamic. Replacing Chris (his longtime friend from childhood) is no mean feat. Thankfully his drumming is an avalanche of skillful technique with a glorious abandon that swerves it away from the academic and absolutely into a wild and tactile performance that lifts the sound of the album (he also plays accordion and tin whistle). Friend & colleague Ray Aggs (Shopping, RAGGS) also contributes fiddle to “Sure Look” & “Phone”.

NIGHTSHIFT’s newest songs were born out of some genuinely existential times (birth, death and love all played a very real part in the gestation of the new record). Songs like first single “Crystal Ball”, “Cut” & “Side Effects” all touch upon struggle created by an ever encroaching fascist government (exacerbated by Brexit) & the effects austerity has upon their people. Other songs like “Sure Look”, “Phone” & “Crush” deal with matters of the heart while “Your Good Self” & “Together We Roll” take on self-preservation & community. It’s a great irony that the band are sculpting their most succinct and tuneful music yet from this potential chaos, but it’s this unexpected quality that drives them onwards into a dizzying universe. 

TRACK LISTING

1. Crystal Ball
2. Sure Look
3. Together We Roll
4. S.U.V.
5. Your Good Self
6. Cut
7. Side Effects
8. Phone
9. Y.T. Tutorial
10. Mellow Baby
11. Crush

Big thanks to a certain Mr. Gilles Peterson who first alerted Paul Murphy, Head of Jazz Room Records to this Spiritual Jazz meets Bebop gem when he played the track "I've Known Rivers" on his show on BBC6 MUSIC. Paul immediately took steps to contact Mr. Noviello with a view to release this previously unknown (to him anyway) hidden delight.

It's Frank Noviello's debut album and a mixed bag of Jazz Standards and highly original covers and originals. Randy Westons's "High Fly" has a really grooving arrangement, Vocal Bebop in the original "Tribal Dance" and the highlight in the Gary Bartz/Langston Hughes Spiritual Jazz outing "I've Known Rivers". If you're known to glide in and around to that Mark Murphy bag then this is hip to the trip for you!

TRACK LISTING

1. If I Were A Bell
2. High Fly
3. Some Other Time
4. Tribal Dance
5. Autumn's Call
6. I've Known Rivers

An incredible, uplifting joint from New Zealand soul artist Arjuna Oakes. His second release on the Albert’s Favourites imprint overflows with the clear enjoyment of the band featuring legendary Nathan Haines. We’d say there’s a reasonable nod to D'Angelo’s essential Spanish Joint within these grooves.

The b-side delivers a vinyl exclusive – a downtempo, moody little number with an emotional drive that is deeply compelling – one to get lost inside.

TRACK LISTING

A1. The Love That I Feel
B1. Mallet Groove

Toy Tonics presents the first EP by Paul Older. Italian hero of vinyl diggers and maestro of rare edits. Paul is known for doing some of the sickest versions of rare jazz funk and Italian disco around. Played by every important DJ of the scene.

4 mad tracks based on recording of real musicians and bands from the Sonoton catalogue that he reworked legally and created vibrant versions for the dancefloor. This is amazing organic dance music. Live bass, drums, guitars and keyboards... played in a Afro-American vibe turned into modern house and indie dance that will put every dancefloor on fire.

STAFF COMMENTS

Matt says: Toy Tonics keep up to their consistently high standards, introducing the work of Italian Paul Older. It's that stylish mix of disco and house that the label do so well, executed in full force by this new addition to their roster. Impeccable.

TRACK LISTING

A1) Guapita
A2) Keep On
B1) I Like It, I Wanna It (Extended Version)
B2) Loop Story

Coloured vinyl repress of Penguin Cafe album Rain Before Seven… A sense of optimism infuses Penguin Cafe’s fifth studio album, not the braggadocious, overconfident kind, but more a blithe, self-effacing optimism in keeping with the national character. Even when all signs point to the contrary, it operates within the certainty that things are going to be alright. Probably.

The title comes from an old weather proverb with the rhyming prognostication — fine before eleven — hinting at a happy ending, irrespective of the science: “I found it in a book and I'd never heard it before,” says Arthur Jeffes, leader of Penguin Cafe. “It has faintly optimistic overtones and I quite like it. It's fallen out of usage recently but it does describe English weather patterns coming in off the Atlantic.”

From the widescreen reverie of opener ‘Welcome to London’ with its cheeky nod to Morricone to ‘Goldfinch Yodel’, the self-described “Maypole banger” at the denouement, there’s a welcome sense of sanguinity, always with an undercurrent of exotic rhythmic exuberance. Playfulness pervades, with a titular nod to A Matter of Life... from 2011, the last album title that concluded with an ellipsis. That Penguin Cafe debut is the bridge between the legendary Penguin Cafe Orchestra, led by Arthur’s father Simon Jeffes, and the much- loved descendent, led by Arthur.

“Stylistically it's really satisfying to get back to playful rhythms and instruments,” says the younger Jeffes, who kept the group’s debut from 12 years ago in mind when writing the new album. “Certainly when starting out, I became aware that we’d stopped using quite a few of the textures that had been there at the beginning—and it was certainly there in my dad's earlier stuff. So there's a lot of balafon and textures from completely different parts of the world, musically and geographically: ukuleles, cuatros and melodicas that you can hear.”

Encouraged by co-producer Robert Raths, the rhythmic elements of Rain Before Seven... have never been more to the fore and, at times, even hint at the electronic. ‘Find Your Feet’, for instance, is underpinned with more than just a pulse. Mixed by Tom Chichester-Clark, it brings to the musical melange what Arthur describes as a “near electronic feel”. He adds, excitedly: “There are elements of fun here which we haven't really done with the last three records.” Another ebullient highlight is ‘In Re Budd’, dedicated to the late ambient godfather Harold Budd, who Arthur discovered had died on the day he’d been writing the celebratory ear worm with a deceptively tricky syncopation. Played on an upright piano with some “prepared” felt to accentuate the bounce, Jeffes feels a track with an Afro Cuban Cafe vibe would appeal to Budd’s contrariness.

Cream print of the Piccadilly Records logo on a coffee coloured tote bag.

Based in Sheffield, POHL is a stunning and brutal noise rock duo, featuring former Hey Colossus axeman Will Pearce on guitar/vocals, and drummer Dr Linda Westman of Toronto-based death metal two-piece, Old Hope. This July the band releases their debut album Mysteries; a sonic tome which draws as much from MF Doom as it does doom metal. It’s a swirling, cosmic onslaught of heavy motorik riffs and offhand musings about everything and nothing in equal measure.

New single ‘The Whale’ summons the glorious thunder pop of Torche, the pithy lyricism of Karp and the DIY derring-do ethos of Guided by Voices. As guitarist/vocalist Will Pearce explains: “I suppose you could say that Mysteries is an album about grief. How we live with grief, and how we overcome it. When you’re trapped in the belly of the beast, and all seems lost - how do you come back from that? All I can say is that sometimes you eat the whale, and sometimes the whale eats you."

Pearce, who played with Hey Colossus on their 2019 album Four Bibles and 2020’s Dances/Curses is thrilled to be teaming up once more with former bandmates Joe Thompson and Chris Summerlin and their Wrong Speed Records imprint. Recorded at the band’s own Cool World studio and mixed by serial collaborator and producer Wayne Adams,

Mysteries is many things, often all at the same time. Veering from biblical allusions to fragmented Burroughsian cut-ups, it is at once mystical, profane, sacred, and scatological. Profoundly stupid, perhaps? Or just stupidly profound… either way, Mysteries demands your attention.

Pye Corner Audio shows off his love of acid on the first of two EPs for Emotional Response that drop simultaneously. This first one is his debut on the label and comes with a gorgeous cover that perfectly encapsulates the sounds within. 'Dust Acid' is a sparse cut with dusty drums and meandering basslines that slowly sink you in, then 'Magnetic Acid Two,' which like all of these was recorded live, is another expertly reduced brew of murkiness with plenty of frayed edges and vintage analog sounds. 'Wanna Show U Acid' is a late-night acid dream and 'Magnetic Acid Four' shuts down slightly more bite. Four timeless backroom cuts, make no mistake.

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: Two stunning EP's of PCA acid mayhem. We've heard a little of his acidic excursions under the 'Head Technician' moniker, but this time has all of the bristling tension and building groove of classic 'cid with PCA's more recognisable saturated tape hiss business. 'Wanna Show You Acid' is particularly reminiscent of the Black Mill Tapes days. Amazing.

TRACK LISTING

Dust Acid
Magnetic Acid Two
Wanna Show U Acid
Magnetic Acid Four

Two revered dance music institutions come together here as Pye Corner Audio steps up to Emotional Response with his debut EP for the label. What's more, it is a two-parter with the first half also available now. This one from Martin Jenkins finds him making an homage to the acid house he has always loved with opener 'Stegan Acid' starting with slow grocers and foggy moods run through with subtle 303 modulations. 'Magnetic Acid Three' is another deep and stripped-back sound with rumbling drums and bass coloured with soft acid contours and 'Thermionic Acid' gurgles a little more as the icy hi-hats cut through a mutant deep techno swamp. 'Magnetic Acid One' is one final meditation on acidic house depths.

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: If anything, this is the more sonically downbeat of the two offerings, contrasting the perky hands-in-the-air acid of 'Acid 1' with a slightly more dubby set of slow-building crackly numbers and weird blissed-out crackle. They're both brilliant, and quite different to what he's done before. A perfect addition to Emotional Rescue.

TRACK LISTING

Stegan Acid
Magnetic Acid Three
Thermionic Acid
Magnetic Acid One

Dutch House maestro Dennis Quin makes a welcome return to PIV this July with his ‘Treat You Right’ EP, comprising four originals, one of which features LA’s Cheshy on vocals. Over the past ten years Amsterdam’s Dennis Quin has moved from strength to strength and has become globally revered and respected for his raw and powerful productions, racking up releases on Cécille, Ibadan, Dungeon Meat, Eastenderz and of course the leading light of his hometown scene, PIV, where he returns with his latest EP.

Up first on the package is the original mix of title-cut ‘Treat You Right’ which sees Dennis team up with Los Angeles based Cheshy, delivering a composition that personifies the quintessential House sound, crisp 909 drums, fluttering stab sequences and a bumpy bass hook run in unison with Cheshy’s soulful vocal stylings, cinematic strings and shimmering synth lines. ‘Impressions’ follows next and showcases a different aesthetic with a swinging low-slung rhythm section, jazzy leads, marimba lines and bouncy subs to create a more Parisian deep house feel.

Further showcasing Quin’s dynamism as a producer ‘Touched’ then shifts up gears to a saturated skippy drum groove, vacillating synth stabs, a heavy dose of low-end drive and hypnotic vocal chants. Lastly to round out the release, Dennis offers up a ‘Classy Dub’ of the title-track, as the name would suggest stripping out a large portion of the vocals and reshaping the structure of some of the original elements and stirring some additional jazzy elements into the mix.

STAFF COMMENTS

Matt says: Bumpety, highly swung house beatz here that lovers of Prescription, Kaoz Theory, Cajual etc should dig. Nicely done, I'm feelin' that "Treat You Right" track especially.

TRACK LISTING

A1. Treat You Right Ft Cheshy (Original Mix)
A2. Impressions
B1. Touched
B2. Treat You Right Ft Cheshy (Classy Dub Mix)

The guitar is tuned open and sings through a cranked old Fender amp, the melodic bass rolls, drums pound and the lyrical trade-off between Kaia and Caithlin is capable of puncturing a grapefruit size hole through the heart.

Without a doubt, Look Now Look Again is the definitive Rainer Maria album to own.

With the aid of Smart Studios' Mark Haines (Poster Children, Son Volt) and Elliot Dicks (Joan of Arc), Rainer Maria's second album has become a Polyvinyl classic and set the standard against which the band will always be judged.

To celebrate 25 years of Rainer Maria’s Look Now Look Again, the essential title is now available on a fresh pressing on Pink Stripe w/ Brown Splatter vinyl — matching the iconic cover

TRACK LISTING

1. Rise
2. Planetary
3. Broken Radio
4. Feeling Neglected
5. Breakfast Of Champions
6. The Reason The Night Is Long
7. Lost, Dropped And Cancelled
8. Centrifuge
9. Melting!

Red Hot Chili Peppers released their seventh studio album, Californication. The album was produced by Rick Rubin and marked the return of guitarist John Frusciante - his first recording with the band since the 1991 album Blood Sugar Sex Magik.

Californication has since become the band's best-selling album, driven by the success of three hit singles: "Scar Tissue", "Otherside", and "Californication". The album has sold over 15 million copies globally, and is a multi-platinum record in the UK.

To mark the 25th anniversary of this landmark album, a limited edition double vinyl is being released - with one LP pressed on red vinyl and one LP on ocean blue vinyl.

Stefan Ringer serves up his finest ATL house bounce on this stellar link up with Jazz musician and fellow ATLien Marquinn Mason, pushing their sound into new unchartered territories. Journeying through House, Broken Beat and even a lil' Latin Jazz, the two talents compliment each others styles beautifully. The EP joyfully creates a new dynamic, without skipping a groove or missing a beat. Impossible to ignore on Stefan's step by step instructional call to the dance floor on title track 'Bounce Lesson', a definite delight for the dancers. That bounce then rattles through the EP's other two tracks 'alltogethernow' and 'Lead Walk', where the grooves get even looser, deeper and more bugged out.

For those unfamiliar, Stefan Ringer is a pillar of Atlanta's electronic music scene and is a long time collaborator with house music OG and NDATL label boss Kai Alcé as well as with Ash Lauryn and Ben Hixon. Under his previous Rekchampa moniker he has released a number of classic EP's through the infamous Peoples Potential Unlimited label.

TRACK LISTING

1. Bounce Lesson
2. Alltogethernow
3. Lead Walk

The company and orchestra of Cabaret, including Self Esteem and Jake Shears, perform a very special live performance at the BBC’s Maida Vale studios.

TRACK LISTING

Side 1
Wilkommen
Don't Tell Mama

Side 2
I Don't Care Much
Cabaret

Shop Assistants formed in Edinburgh in 1984 and quickly gained a cult following, playing with kindred spirits the Pastels and the Jesus & Mary Chain and gaining positive coverage in fanzines and the music press

Their Shopping Parade EP and Safety Net single both hit the top of the indie charts and charmed listeners with their unique melodic blend of punk rock and 60s pop.

The band signed to Geoff Travis' new Chrysalis Records imprint, Blue Guitar, in 1986 for the release of their debut album 'Will Anything Happen'. The album has since become a cult classic and is an essential listen for fans of indie, dreampop, and shoe gaze. Stand-out songs include the lead single 'I Don't Wanna Be Friends With You', 'All Day Long', and 'Somewhere In China'.

Out of print for over a decade, vinyl copies now fetch impressive prices amongst collectors. This new reissue features the album newly remastered from the original tapes by Phil Kinrade and cut by Barry Grint at AIR Mastering.

TRACK LISTING

LP Tracklisting
1. I Don't Wanna Be Friends With You [2024 Remaster]
2. All Day Long [2024 Remaster]
3. Before I Wake [2024 Remaster]
4. Caledonian Road [2024 Remaster]
5. All That Ever Mattered [2024 Remaster]
6. Fixed Grin [2024 Remaster]
7. Somewhere In China [2024 Remaster]
8. Train From Kansas City [2024 Remaster]
9. Home Again [2024 Remaster]
10. Seems To Be [2024 Remaster]
11. After Dark [2024 Remaster]
12. All Of The Time [2024 Remaster]
13. What A Way To Die [2024 Remaster]
14. Nature Lover [2024 Remaster]

CD Tracklisting
Disc 1
1. I Don't Wanna Be Friends With You [2024 Remaster]
2. All Day Long [2024 Remaster]
3. Before I Wake [2024 Remaster]
4. Caledonian Road [2024 Remaster]
5. All That Ever Mattered [2024 Remaster]
6. Fixed Grin [2024 Remaster]
7. Somewhere In China [2024 Remaster]
8. Train From Kansas City [2024 Remaster]
9. Home Again [2024 Remaster]
10. Seems To Be [2024 Remaster]
11. After Dark [2024 Remaster]
12. All Of The Time [2024 Remaster]
13. What A Way To Die [2024 Remaster]
14. Nature Lover [2024 Remaster]
15. Looking Back [B-Side]
16. All Day Long (Slow Version) [B-Side]
17. I Don't Want To Be Friends With You [Instrumental Demo]
18. After Dark [Instrumental Demo]
19. A Million Miles From Home [Instrumental Demo]
Disc 2
1. Looking Back [Rough Mix]
2. Caledonian Road [Rough Mix]
3. What A Way To Die [Rough Mix]
4. Fixed Grin [Roundhouse Version]
5. Train From Kansas City [Roundhouse Version]
6. Before I Wake [Roundhouse Version]
7. All That Ever Mattered [Rough Mix]
8. Seems To Be [Live In London 03/10/1986]
9. Nature Lover [Live In London 03/10/1986]
10. Something To Do [Live In London 03/10/1986]
11. Switzerland [Live In London 03/10/1986]
12. Home Again [Live In Deinze 05/10/1986
13. It's Up To You [Live In Deinze 05/10/1986]
14. Safety Net [Live In Deinze 05/10/1986]
15. Fixed Grin [John Peel Session 11/11/1986]
16. I Don't Wanna Be Friends With You [John Peel Session 11/11/1986]
17. Ace Of Spades [John Peel Session 11/11/1986]
18. Before I Wake [John Peel Session 11/11/1986]

Allying strong words and minimal electronics, Sleaford Mods’ second ‘proper’ album (or sixth if you go back through the early CD-R efforts) the self-released Divide and Exit was not only Andrew Fearn and Jason Williamson’s most effective artistic expression to that point, it also truly captured the taste of a land souring by the day.

This reissue offers a chance to fully appreciate a band hitting their artistic stride while acknowledging and commiserating that many of the dark forces that inspired its creation linger on. Once again though it is possible bathe in the hopeful anger that underpins Sleaford Mods’ blasts of outrage and electro.

“Where our previous album Austerity Dogs barked a directionless yet solid form of anger, Divide and Exit then carried this basic form of class consciousness,” says Williamson of the vision behind the record, both musically and lyrically.

“After the release of Austerity Dogs we realised we had seemingly created a formula,” he adds. “Andrew just took the formula and ran with it and his music started to sound much more compact and urgent.”

“Listening to it now, Divide and Exit is perhaps the most punk record we have done,” says Williamson, reflecting on how Sleaford Mods felt out ahead, covering fresh ground alone at the time, before going on to inspire a raft of post-punk-infused artists to follow their lead in the album’s aftermath. “Each song falls out of the last like an extension or whatever. There wasn’t anyone in the country doing what we were doing at that point, it feels like it was 30 years ago, but it’s only been 10. Mad as fuck.”

TRACK LISTING

Air Conditioning
Tied Up In Nottz
A Little Ditty
You're Brave
Strike Force
The Corgi
From Rags To Richards
Liveable Shit
Under The Plastic And N.T.C.
Tiswas
Keep Out Of It
Smithy
Middle Men
Tweet Tweet Tweet

Blue Day is a compilation album by English shoegaze band Slowdive. It was originally released in 1992 and compiles the first three Slowdive EPs:

TRACK LISTING

1. Slowdive
2. Avalyn 1
3. Morningrise
4. She Calls

SIDE B
1. Losing Today
2. Shine
3. Albatross

Just For A Day is the 1991 debut album by English shoegaze band Slowdive. The production on Slowdive’s debut commenced shortly after they convinced Alan McGee, head of Creation Records, the band had enough songs written for a full-length album. Slowdive actually did not. The group hurriedly began writing songs in the studio, experimenting with sounds during the process.

TRACK LISTING

SIDE A
1. Spanish Air
2. Celia's Dream
3. Catch The Breeze
4. Ballad Of Sister Sue
5. Erik's Song

SIDE B
1. Waves
2. Brighter
3. The Sadman
4. Primal

Just before they disbanded, Slowdive put out the album Pygmalion in 1995. It was by far their most abstract album, coming from sugary pop on Just For A Day and the mature, experimental Souvlaki. Slowdive began to incorporate more elements of ambient electronica on Pygmalion.

TRACK LISTING

SIDE A
1. Rutti
2. Crazy For You
3. Miranda
4. Trellisaze Side

SIDE B
1. Cello
2. J’s Heaven
3. Visions Of LA
4. Blue Skied An’ Clear
5. All Of Us

Souvlaki is the second studio album by Slowdive, originally released in 1993. The album contains synthesizer contributions from Brian Eno on “Sing” (which he co-wrote) and “Here She Comes”. Wonderful tunes, captivating lyrics, and excellent cover art. It’s just perfect in all terms

TRACK LISTING

SIDE A
1. Side One
2. Alison
3. Machine Gun
4. 40 Days
5. Sing
6. Here She Comes

SIDE B
1. Souvlaki Space Station
2. When The Sun Hits
3. Altogether
4. Melon Yellow
5. Dagger

Sprints ‘The Back Catalogue’ sees their early work collected together for the first time. The band’s 2020 debut single The Cheek won them early support from BBC 6music legend Steve Lamacq, DIY and NME among others. 2021’s ‘Manifesto’ EP saw the band develop sonically and politically, with title single ‘Manifesto’ quickly becoming a fan favourite. This marked the beginning of a fruitful working relationship with Gilla Band’s Daniel Fox producing. Driven by experience, tough political climates and social and economic uncertainty - their music is honest, often politically charged and authentic. Sprints’ vital, visceral next step came with 2022‘s ‘A Modern Job’ EP to critical acclaim, including widespread radio and streaming playlisting for lead single ‘How Does The Story Go?’. ‘The Back Catalogue’ marks the end of one chapter in Sprints story and beginning of the next. Charting the rise of the band from their formation in 2019 to the present day, it takes listeners on a journey through the highs and lows of elation to anxiety at trademark breakneck speed. 

TRACK LISTING

1. Drones
2. Swimming
3. The Cheek
4. Ashley
5. Manifesto
6. Modern Job
7. Delia Smith
8. I'm In A Band
9. How Does The Story Go?
10. Little Fix

Slow Air is the fourth album by Still Corners. Evoking the atmospheric sounds Still Corners are known for, Slow Air continues the band's journey with an album full of tension and brooding all the while wrapped in a reverb laden dream. Written in the hill country in Austin, Texas, Slow Air nods towards a classic sound with emphasis on the guitar, both acoustic and electric, combined with the alluring and ghostly voice of Tessa Murray.

TRACK LISTING

1. In The Middle Of The Night
2. The Message
3. Sad Movies
4. Welcome To Slow Air
5. Black Lagoon
6. Dreamlands
7. Whisper
8. Fade Out
9. The Photograph
10. Long Goodbyes

This is the highly demanded second edition of System Olympia's first release "Dusk & Dreamland" EP.
Originally pressed by a small Italian label in an unknown number of copies, this EP was the first appearance of System Olympia's very own blend of funk, melancholy and female sensuality that defined a whole new department in the Italo / nu disco scene.
Features two new original tracks never pressed on vinyl before, "Girl On Girl" and "Signal Your Love", and a new edition of the cover art illustrated by Pip Carter. Essential record for your home collection, club nights, late night car rides and bedroom entertainment.

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: A sleek, sultry collection of dusky disco ballads and shimmering synth swells, some of it so impeccably produced that it grabs you right by the brain, and doesn't let go, while some of it sounds like it's been recorded onto a VHS and then pressed back on vinyl, in Italy, in the 1970's. All of it is brilliant. 11/10

TRACK LISTING

A1. Call Girl
A2. Lamb
A3. Close To My Nebula
A4. Girl On Girl
B1. Night Rise
B2. 8
B3. Yoon
B4. Signal Your Love

To celebrate the 40th anniversary of the celebrated Talking Heads and Jonathan Demme’s concert film Stop Making Sense, the set will be re-released as a 2LP and 2CD/Blu-ray set this summer.

When it arrived in September 1984, Stop Making Sense was an artistic and commercial triumph. The film had people dancing in theatre aisles, and the soundtrack sold over two million copies. Just last year, the Library of Congress added Stop Making Sense to the National Film Registry in recognition of its cultural, historical, and aesthetic significance. The inspiration for Stop Making Sense came when director Jonathan Demme saw Talking Heads perform during the band’s 1983 tour for Speaking in Tongues. Afterward, he approached them with the idea of making the show into a concert film. They agreed and worked together over the next few months to finalize the details. Ultimately, Demme filmed three shows at Hollywood’s Pantages Theater in December 1983 to create Stop Making Sense.

TRACK LISTING

Vinyl Tracklisting:
A1 Psycho Killer
A2 Heaven
A3 Thank You For Sending Me An Angel
A4 Found A Job
A5 Slippery People
A6 Cities
B1 Burning Down The House
B2 Life During Wartime
B3 Making Flippy Floppy
B4 Swamp
C1 What A Day That Was
C2 This Must Be The Place (Naïve Melody)
C3 Once In A Lifetime
C4 Big Business / I Zimbra
D1 Genius Of Love
D2 Girlfriend Is Better
D3 Take Me To The River
D4 Crosseyed And Painless

CD Tracklisting:
CD1
1 Psycho Killer
2 Heaven
3 Thank You For Sending Me An Angel
4 Found A Job
5 Slippery People
6 Cities
7 Burning Down The House
8 Life During Wartime
9 Making Flippy Floppy
10 Swamp
CD2
1 What A Day That Was
2 This Must Be The Place (Naïve Melody)
3 Once In A Lifetime
4 Big Business / I Zimbra
5 Genius Of Love
6 Girlfriend Is Better
7 Take Me To The River
8 Crosseyed And Painless

Blu-Ray - As Above

Long serving Star Creature vet Temu offers up sone extended versions and new additions to his fledging Tugboat volume. Electro-funk / boogie / modern funk versions of some well known hits (the clues in the titles!) - all given that squelchy, wavy, box bedroom jam vibe from the man like T. 

Limited import copies. 

STAFF COMMENTS

Matt says: Loose Joints, Kraftwek, The Jones Girls, Kano and more are given a stylish and tasteful, boogie-based renovation by Star Creature stalwart Temu.

TRACK LISTING

Side 1
1.Love Dancing
2.Robots
3.Ready Or Not

Side 2
1. Rule The World
2. Funk Over Egypt
3. Can't Hold Back

Two jazz-funk heavyweights get the chop on this Semi-Secret 12 inch hailing from the north of England. 'Int milk brilliaaaannnt!?

Ultra Heat Treated for maximum punch.

Can you guess what it is yit?! 

Limited copies, cop now or cry later. 

STAFF COMMENTS

Matt says: Brilliant new diversion from this well seasoned Manchester-based surgeon. No more clues will be given at the moment!

TRACK LISTING

A. No Love Lost
B. F.M

It’s fair to say Wallace is one of those rare producers that has already amassed quite the reputable back catalog in a very short space of time. Let alone in 2023 having already released two albums and a handful of Eps with labels such as Rhythm Section, Mule Musiq and CWPT, he’s become a go-to producer for many DJs. To some it may seem like he’s at the beginning of his career but Wallace has been producing for over 10 years refining his sound.

On Loop label boss Moxie has been an early supporter of his, not only championing him in her DJ sets but also having him feature heavily on her NTS show. The pair are thrilled to be finally putting this release out into the world, showcasing why Wallace really is, the real deal.

The whole EP is filled with tons of percussion and rhythm, pulling the listener in. Tanzanite & M’bira in particular are undeniable groovers. Red Velvet on the other hand is something you might expect to hear played at 5am Fabric room 1, whilst Violet is a treat only for the vinyl heads and shows off how versatile Wallace really is as a producer, offering something on a slower tip.

Speaking of the release, Wallace says:

The A-side of Tanzanite is inspired by time spent in Africa when I was young. My dad used to make animal programmes & one time I tagged along for his jaunt around South Africa and Namibia. The 'M'bira' track uses the instrument of the same name which he picked up, when out there & the title track is inspired by a gem stone park we visited in Cape Town. The B-side takes inspiration from recent clubbing experiences. In this way, the EP is juxtaposed from the joyous, open air, playfulness of the A to the moodier, darker feel of the B.

*Early support coming in from Liv Wutang, Yu Su, Erol Alkan, Dr Banana, Kamma, Bradley Zero, Richard Sen, Axel Boman, Tom Ravenscoft, Dar Disku & more..

STAFF COMMENTS

Matt says: Rising star Wallace continues his flawless streak with four club ready weapons that contain contagious levels of tribal percussion, lysergic effects and explosive house energy.

TRACK LISTING

A1. Tanzanite 
A2. M'bira
B1. Red Velvet 
B2. Violet 

...tick tock, rappa tap tap, glitch bloop ’n roll — here come ol’Wand back, they’re coming down slowly. The denser they get, it appears, the simpler they fly. And now . . . five years after a Laughing Matter, baby — who are “Wand” this time? With Vertigo, what hath Wand spawned?

It’s multichromatic, that’s for sure, but its too soon to tell, we’re too close to see. The way cells are replaced and all new again? That’s it. Now they are ten and all new again (see Ganglion Reef, 2014), but in the sample set of the time between — this time/the time of the quintet Wand of late, of Plum and Laughing Matter — they’ve undergone the complex -2+1 dimensional restructure, coming out a quartet (Evan Backer, Evan Burrows, Robbie Cody, Cory Hanson). Two original members, if you’re keeping a chart. We’re not judging you!

So, new-ish, in new ways anyway. But don’t . . . the new Wand’s built upon the exalted altars of old. There’s flashes of sentiment and tension, nudity and evasion, theatrical elevation, giant pieces chunked throughout alongside little bits of things. Allowing for slippage, it’s all one: the far horizon drawn in, nearer than ever before, allowing the chance for greater integration, if you stay open. And so they did. Vertigo is the sound of feet lost, regained, lost again, equilibrium in soft focus, a swaying feeling, more automatic and associative: in time, direct.

Determining to work backwards (or at least insideout) this time, Wand recorded everything in their own studio; pieces cut from improvisations and reshaped, writing from within the performance, without the woodshed. Unconsciously, in the shadow of themselves, and turning round and round (and round), they kept finding that empty space and playing what it implied. Everybody took on a new position in addition to the old one. It was intuitive, strangely ego-less . . . going somewhere they’d never been and not knowing what they were doing, but committing and recommitting, unafraid to eject in a constant positive forward momentum.

TRACK LISTING

1. Hangman
2. Curtain Call
3. Mistletoe
4. JJ
5. Smile
6. Lifeboat
7. High Time
8. Seaweed Head

Alexis Taylor – front man of celebrated indie-electro band Hot Chip – joins the eclectic Paris-born DJ and producer Pilooski (real name Cédric Marszewski) on a remix of Weller’s recent single ‘Flying Fish,’ while British drummer, producer and engineer Richie Stevens of virtual band Spacemonkeyz reimagines the track ‘Nothing.’

TRACK LISTING

A: Flying Fish – Alexis Taylor & Pilooski Remix
B: Nothing - Richie Stevens Smudge Remix

Originally released on Island Records in June 1969, this re-issue faithfully
eplicates the original UK release and is pressed onto high quality 180g vinyl. A collaboration between David Vorhaus, Brian Hodgson and Delia Derbyshire, White Noise's 'An Electric Storm' is the very epitome of a cult album.

Its capitalized rear sleeve message told prospective listeners all they needed to know: MANY SOUNDS HAVE NEVER BEEN HEARD BY HUMANS: SOME SOUND WAVES YOU DON'T HEAR BUT THEY REACH YOU. 'STORM TECHNIQUES' COMBINE SINGERS, INSTRUMENTALISTS AND COMPLEX ELECTRONIC SOUND. THE EMOTIONAL INTENSITY IS AT A MAXIMUM.

Derbyshire and Hodgson worked for the BBC Radiophonic Workshop. Vorhaus, a student at North London Poly, attended a lecture by them and wanted to fuse his ideas with their pioneering sound capabilities. By blending electronics, tape loops and vocals with live percussion, future sounds of the strange are embedded here Hawkwind, Tangerine Dream and avant garde noise collagists Throbbing Gristle all owe a debt. The vocals, delivered by three unknowns (Annie Bird, John Whitman, Val Shaw) are like untutored folk singers offering lullabies to the unknown, against beds of cries of ecstasy and pain distant thunder, car crashes and more.

While the first side offers moments of Beach Boy harmony and lightish relief ('Here Comes The Fleas' for example), phase II of the album 'The Visitation' and 'The Black Mass: An Electric Storm In Hell' is a bleak, chilling and exhilarating listen. White Noise's 'An Electric Storm' was the sound of the underground, a soundtrack to an unmade turn- of- the-70s horror film; a secret collection for insiders that continues to unnerve well into the 21st century.

TRACK LISTING

1. Love Without Sound
2. My Game Of Loving
3. Here Come The Fleas
4. Firebird
5. Your Hidden Dreams
6. The Visitation
7. The Black Mass: An Electric Storm In Hell

X CLUB. is the production duo of Ben Clarke and Jesse Morath. Founded in Brisbane / Meanjin Australia’s warehouse scene and exported to London and beyond, their music is inspired by early 90s techno all the way through to future-facing drum’n’bass, with X CLUB carving out a space entirely of their own thanks to their authentic and eclectic take on high impact dance music.

With releases on labels such as Steel City Dance Discs, SPANDAU20 / CROWDS, 99CTS Records and Stay On Sight, X CLUB. have seen their records reach global audiences with frequent touring across the UK, Europe, North America, Asia and Australia.

"New World Expression" by X CLUB. is the third release on their own label Hide The Junk, and finds the pair leaning more into house music than ever before, but still with the same distinctive X CLUB. edge. These tracks have been key moments to their sets over the start of 2024, going from demos in the studio to on the road club test in a matter of days, to being pressed onto fresh 12” wax for their most loyal fans within a matter of weeks. This EP is tried and tested house & techno that fans and DJ's alike have come to know and expect in X CLUB.

STAFF COMMENTS

Matt says: Peak time chest thumpers for those who like a fast techno romp. X Club have quickly concocted their own high energy formula which is addictive, energizing and quickly immerses you into their unique techno-pool. A record I imagine, is getting absolutely hammered by DJ Rush right now...

TRACK LISTING

A1. New World Expression
A2. 1000 Faces
B1. This Subwoofer Addiction Is Getting Out Of Hand
B2. You’re On My Mind All Day

Zy The Way hails from Taiwan and are a jazz ensemble that interlaces their dynamic sounds with ancient Chinese poetry compiled by Confucius. They also bring in more contemporary compositions which results in an utterly original sound and great gateway to some of the world's oldest literary works. They recently finished a debut full-length album and now the single 'Blue Collar' from it comes on limited edition vinyl. The track tells the ancient tale of young scholars in love with a powerful narrative and moving melodies. The one and only DJ Spinna steps up on the flip to offer his own classy deep-house remix.

TRACK LISTING

Side 1
Ten Acres

Side 2
Ten Acres (MdCL Remix)

Spanning the tracklist of the original album, the fresh, exciting, and utterly surprising reinterpretations create new content for longtime Talking Heads fans and introduce a new generation to the magic of the music. The brilliant selection of artists recontextualizes 'Stop Making Sense' in popular music and culture, with a focus on generational and stylistic breadth.

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: A baffling collection of some of the biggest names in pop music today 'cover' tracks from The Talking Heads and redesign them to fit in with today's musical trends and production aesthetic. It's brilliantly done, and shines a light wonderfully on the brilliant original compositions while giving their concepts room to breathe.

TRACK LISTING

1. Miley Cyrus - Psycho Killer
2. The National - Heaven
3. Blondshell - Thank You For Sending Me An Angel
4. The Linda Lindas - Found A Job
5. Él Mató A Un Policía Motorizado - Slippery People
6. Paramore - Burning Down The House
7. Dj Tunez - Life During Wartime
8. Teezo Touchdown - Making Flippy Floppy
9. Jean Dawson - Swamp
10. The Cavemen - What A Day That Way.
11. Bad Bad Not Good (Feat. Norah Jones) - This Must Be The Place (Naive Melody)
12. Kevin Abstract - Once In A Lifetime
13. Toro Y Moi (feat Brijean) - Genius Of Love
14. Girl In Red - Girlfriend Is Better
15. Lorde - Take Me To The River
16. Chicano Batman (Feat. Money Mark) - Crosseyed And Painless

A continuation of the extensive research project initiated last year between Sound Metaphors, Transmigration and surviving eye-witness/historian Ray Castle. An in depth analysis of the dancefloor landscape that developed in Goa during the 80s' and early 90's well before "Trance" became the unfortunate dirty word it is today. Before "trance" was even a genre, Goa was brewing a scene with unparalleled aesthetics, with a constant influx of dedicated collectors and DJs coming and going to this tropical underground dancefloor haven, filtering through vast amounts of emerging electronic music of the times and distilling only the finest of "Special Goa Music". Here is another compilation of our chosen most impactful tracks that would have been soundtrack to a very special and pure moment of freedom in dancefloor culture before the bastardisation of what we now know as "Goa Trance". A highly sought after selection of New Beat, Proto Techno, early Progressive/Trance, Industrial, EBM and House Music. Featuring photographs of the events presented in a double LP gatefold with poster and liner notes by Ray Castle himself. Re-mastered at Manmade mastering in Berlin. A generous body of research essential to any well rounded record collection.

TRACK LISTING

A1. Shikasta - Self Indulgence
A2. Dance 2 Trance - Freaks
A3. Smoke Machine - It's Anything You Want It To Be, And It's A Gas 
B1. Eden Transmission - I'm So High
B2. Fatal Error - Fatal Error
B3. Scarecrow - ROE
C1. Industrial - The Gauntlet
C2. Eat Static - Almost Human Abduction Mix
C3. Pulse 8 - Radio Morocco (Mix 2 Youth Dub Mix)
D1. HNO3 - Doughnut Dollies
D2. Digital Connection - Heatwave (Hotter Mix)
D3. Axel F - Geronimo (Special Instrumental Mix)

Lowell George was the guitar virtuoso, vocalist, and songwriter for Little Feat. In this collection of 25 songs, artists such as Elvis Costello, Ben Harper and Dave Alvin interpret and perform his diverse catalogue.

George, born in Hollywood, California, was a member of Frank Zappa’s Mothers of Invention before leaving that band and forming Little Feat with Bill Payne. Lowell’s tenure in the band was for seven years until his death, and during that time they released eight albums.

While George died in 1979, his legacy lives on through this album. Sweet Relief, the organization who provide financial assistance to all types of career musicians and music industry workers who are struggling to make ends meet, have come up with a gem.

TRACK LISTING

Trouble - Mike Viola
Cold, Cold, Cold - Joachim Cooder
Long Distance Love - Elvis Costello
Heartache - Bedouine
I've Been The One - Bhi Bhiman
Rock 'n' Roll Doctor - Miles Tackett
Be One Now - Lady Blackbird
Love Needs A Heart - Madison Cunningham
Easy To Slip - Jonah Tolchin
Dixie Chicken - Eleni Mandell and Milo Jones
Roll 'Um Easy - Ben Harper
Lafayette Railroad - Larry Goldings
6 Feet Of Snow - Jack Shit
Cheek To Cheek - Gaby Moreno
Two Trains Running - Chris Seefried
China White - Chris Stills
A Apolitical Blues - Dave Alvin
Feats Don't Fail Me Now - Sugaray Rayford
Sailin' Shoes - Taylor Goldsmith
Spanish Moon - Inara George
Rocket In My Pocket - Sam Morrow
Willin' - Jonathan Wilson
Teenage Nervous Breakdown - The Bird And The Bee
Crazy Captain Gunboat Willie - Andras Jones
20 Million Things To Do - Gus Seyffert

They're back! And they've brought some local Aussie legends to join em on a cosmic-outback-bush-boogie doof party; with four epic, dub-olicious, psych rock, Afro disco jams. There's two rambunctious percussive funk heaters from label regular, JB Edits, whilst Space Jockeys hit the high octane hi-nrg throttle, and Barney In The Tunnel melts our minds with the slo-mo cosmic-balearic wriggler, "New South Whales" - sure to be a winner fans of Harvey, Kelvin Andrews and Moonboots. Magic. 

Support in from JD Twitch (Optimo), Charles Webster and Lex, Rob Da Bank, Horse Meat Disco and many more.

STAFF COMMENTS

Matt says: Ever the modern stable of creativity. The Sosilly cartel boost their modest discography with, in my opinion, their hottest record yet. Already big in Warrington and beyond!

TRACK LISTING

01 Space Jockeys - Time Captains Kingdom Dub
02 Barney In The Tunnel - New South Whales
03 Jb Edits - Snakeskin B Boys
04 Jb Edits - Super Mamas Jam