With 'Death Jokes', for the first time since the project's incarnation in 2006, the spiritual reflections and meditations of Amen Dunes are turned away from himself, and out sharply towards the world. The album is also a drastic turn musically and thematically, rooted in the electronic music of raves and of rap music he grew up with but never imagined himself able to make, playing like a scathing electronic essay on America’s culture of violence, dominance, and destructive individualism.

The work on 'Death Jokes' began just weeks before the first word of the pandemic came in the winter of 2019; it was completed three years later as we began to emerge from the worst. The album's meaning morphed as the pandemic went on, first a reflection on our attachment to form, and to ourselves, and then shifting into a solemn indictment of our culture’s blind spots as we misjudge and attack, veiled self-centeredness and self-importance masquerading as morality.

TRACK LISTING

1. Death Jokes
2. Ian
3. Joyrider
4. What I Want
5. Rugby Child
6. Boys
7. Exodus
8. Predator
9. Solo Tape
10. Purple Land
11. I Don’t Mind
12. Mary Anne
13. Round The World
14. Poor Cops 

Following their critically-acclaimed UK Top 20 album “As Days Get Dark”, Arab Strap return with their 2nd long player for Mogwai’s Rock Action Records with the excellent titled “I’m totally fine with it - don’t give a fuck anymore”. Almost 28 years after their debut, Arab Strap have never sounded more essential, and this new record is a fierce testament to their laser focus on wider horizons. Written and performed exclusively by Malcolm Middleton & Aidan Moffat, and finessed with longtime collaborator Paul Savage, the album furthers the band’s transformation from swooning, slow-core romantics to raging, alt-pop chroniclers.

TRACK LISTING

1. Allatonceness
2. Bliss
3. Sociometer Blues
4. Hide YOur Fires
5. Summer Season
6. Molehills
7. Strawberry Moon
8. You’re Not There
9. Haven’t You Heard
10. Safe & Well
11. Dreg Queen
12. Turn Off The Light

Live albums are often a ‘hit or miss’ affair but ‘Live Oblivion’ 1 & 2 buck that trend, Recorded across 2 nights in 1974 at the Hollywood venue The Whisky A Go Go. The group were finishing off a huge US tour that had roared down the east coast then across the Midwest and by the time they hit LA, as Brian recalls “we were all absolutely performing at our height. So I decided that I really needed to record the band live at that point”. Utilising the Wally Heider Mobile Truck, the scene was set for one of the greatest jazz-fusion live recordings to be made. The show opens with a hyper fast version of Beginning Again due to drummer Steve Ferrone being almost an hour late and running high on adrenaline, Brian remembers thinking “I don’t even know if I can play it that fast!” Fortunately, he and the Oblivion Express including stellar vocalist Alex Ligertwood rise to the challenge and the result is akin to some frenetic jazzy drum & bass but also pushes the group onto another level altogether for the rest of the show. Across both volumes there are no fillers and the highlights are many - Bumpin’ On Sunset, Freedom Jazz Dance, and Inner City Blues are all stunning, but especially the epic version of Maiden Voyage which Mos Def sampled on his 1997 'If You Can Huh! You Can Hear', and both DJ Mitsu in 2004 and 2017 Crimeapple both dipped into Live Oblivion to sample that fire for their own projects.

Auger, in the original liner notes opines how live recordings can often have drawbacks but "I hope that spirit shines through" Live Oblivion 1 & 2, 50 years on from being committed to tape, certainly achieve that and much more. 

TRACK LISTING

1. Beginning Again
2. Don't Look Away
3. Bumpin' On Sunset
4. Truth 

Live albums are often a ‘hit or miss’ affair but ‘Live Oblivion’ 1 & 2 buck that trend, Recorded across 2 nights in 1974 at the Hollywood venue The Whisky A Go Go. The group were finishing off a huge US tour that had roared down the east coast then across the Midwest and by the time they hit LA, as Brian recalls “we were all absolutely performing at our height. So I decided that I really needed to record the band live at that point”. Utilising the Wally Heider Mobile Truck, the scene was set for one of the greatest jazz-fusion live recordings to be made. The show opens with a hyper fast version of Beginning Again due to drummer Steve Ferrone being almost an hour late and running high on adrenaline, Brian remembers thinking “I don’t even know if I can play it that fast!” Fortunately, he and the Oblivion Express including stellar vocalist Alex Ligertwood rise to the challenge and the result is akin to some frenetic jazzy drum & bass but also pushes the group onto another level altogether for the rest of the show. Across both volumes there are no fillers and the highlights are many - Bumpin’ On Sunset, Freedom Jazz Dance, and Inner City Blues are all stunning, but especially the epic version of Maiden Voyage which Mos Def sampled on his 1997 'If You Can Huh! You Can Hear', and both DJ Mitsu in 2004 and 2017 Crimeapple both dipped into Live Oblivion to sample that fire for their own projects.

Auger, in the original liner notes opines how live recordings can often have drawbacks but "I hope that spirit shines through" Live Oblivion 1 & 2, 50 years on from being committed to tape, certainly achieve that and much more. 

TRACK LISTING

1. Freedom Jazz Dance
2. Happiness Is Just Around The Bend
3. Maiden Voyage
4. Second Wind
5. Whenever You're Ready
6. Inner City Blues
7. Straight Ahead
8. Compared To What 

‘Beyond This Place’ is Kenny Barron’s second album on Artwork Records.

On the heels of his GRAMMY-nominated solo album, ‘The Source’, Kenny Barron brings together a multi-generational quintet featuring some of the most acclaimed musicians of their time.

Along with Kenny Barron (13-time GRAMMY nominee, American Jazz Hall Of Fame), ‘Beyond This Place’ features saxophone’s rising star Immanuel Wilkins (“Divinely inspired jazz” - The New York Times), Jonathan Blake, one of the most accomplished drummers of his generation, Kiyoshi Kitagawa, Kenny Barron’s longtime double bassist, and Steve Nelson, one of the most highly regarded vibraphonists in the world.

TRACK LISTING

1. The Nearness Of You
2. Scratch
3. Innocence
4. Blues On Stratford Road
5. Tragic Magic
6. Beyond This Place
7. Softly As In A Morning
8. Sunrise
9. Sunset
10. We See
11. You've Changed 
12. Dewdrop 

Yaya Bey unveils her latest studio album Ten Fold via Big Dada, available on standard black LP and translucent red indie LP.

New York-bred R&B vocalist Yaya Bey conjures a comprehensive self-portrait on her new studio album, Ten Fold.

Where her previous works were earnest and mindful, Yaya’s new LP is definitive, harkening back to aspects of her past while examining the future of the world that surrounds her with a stream-of-conscious intentionality.

Over rapturous production from Corey Fonville of jazz group Butcher Brown, Karriem Riggins, Jay Daniel, Exaktly and Boston Chery, Yaya delivers a free-spoken masterpiece that speaks to the intricacies of persevering through a year punctuated by grief and loss, life-altering milestones and everything in between.

TRACK LISTING

1. Crying Through My Teeth
2. The Evidence
3. Chrysanthemums
4. Sir Princess Bad Bitch
5. East Coast Mami
6. Chasing The Bus
7. All Around Los Angeles
8. Slow Dancing In The Kitchen
9. So Fantastic (feat. Grand Daddy I.U.)
10. Eric Adams In The Club (feat. Exaktly)
11. Me And All My Niggas
12. Iloveyoufrankiebeverly
13. Career Day
14. Carl Thomas Sliding Down The Wall
15. Yvette's Cooking Show
16. Let Go

Words are not to be taken for granted. Especially when they’re being bellowed, full blast, by a broad-shouldered poet with the brimstone fire of a preacher and the honesty and wisdom of a layman, over ground-shaking live beats and between anthemic blasts of melody and rousing riffage.

Words matter. History matters. People matter. And BIG SPECIAL matter.

For BIG SPECIAL - Joe Hicklin (vocals) and Callum Moloney (drums) - their sound is one that comes from vital, frustrated young working-class voices that don’t always get heard on the scale they should do. It’s a frustration that comes to the fore through a voice that is at times coarse and raw, but sensitive, desperate and soulful at others. Hicklin's brimstone-fired voice marches from guttural punk barks and serrated spoken word to soaring soul and back again, arriving siphoned from their forebears, crushed under the weight of history, and retooled for a new generation. It’s wrought, raw and angry at a world lacking options, the thinning of the common understanding between the social classes of England, exasperation at repeating cycles, and the feeling that you’re watching your own life unfold from the outside.

These are songs that channel that voice you hear when you look in the mirror and see your true self – fight songs for a world gone wrong.

TRACK LISTING

01. BLACK COUNTRY GOTHIC
02. I MOCK JOGGERS
03. DESPERATE BREAKFAST
04. SHITHOUSE
05. THIS HERE AIN’T WATER
06. MY SHAPE (BLOCKING THE LIGHT)
07. BLACK DOG / WHITE HORSE
08. BROADCAST: TIME AWAY
09. ILL.
10. MONGREL
11. BUTCHER’S BIN
12. DUST OFF / START AGAIN
13. TREES
14. FOR THE BIRDS
15. DiG!

Celebrating 45 years of Blancmange, Everything Is Connected (Best Of) is the first collection to be curated by Neil Arthur, tastefully blending a mixture of hits and personal favourites. Originally from the UK’s post punk DIY scene, Blancmange found success in 1982, long player ‘Happy Families’ selling Gold in the UK, and its 3 singles becoming international hits. They went on to have 7 Top 40 hits and 70 weeks in the UK album charts. Long-standing admirers include Moby, John Grant and Honey Dijon, who states that “British synth pop was hugely influential in the burgeoning house music scene and Blancmange was a big part of that.”

TRACK LISTING

LP:
Side One
1 Living On The Ceiling
2 Waves
3 Blind Vision
4 Don’t Tell Me
5 The Day Before You Came
Side Two
1 What’s The Time?
2 Distant Storm
3 Mindset
4 Reduced Voltage
5 Some Times These

CD:
Disc 1
1 Sad Day (Original Version)
2 I’ve Seen The Word
3 God’s Kitchen
4 Feel Me
5 Living On The Ceiling
6 Waves
7 Game Above My Head (12 Inch Version)
8 Blind Vision
9 That’s Love, That It Is
10 Vishnu
11 Don’t Tell Me
12 The Day Before You Came
13 What’s Your Problem
14 Lose Your Love
15 Why Don’t They Leave Things Alone
16 Drive Me
17 I’m Having A Coffee
18 The Western
19 Just Another Spectre
Disc 2
1 The Fall
2 Last Night (I Dreamt I Had A Job)
3 Jack Knife (Red Shift EP)
4 What’s The Time?
5 We Are The Chemicals
6 Anna Dine
7 Distant Storm
8 I Smashed Your Phone
9 Not A Priority
10 Mindset
11 This Is Bliss
12 Clean Your House
13 Commercial Break
14 Some Times These
15 Reduced Voltage
16 Take Me
17 Again, I Wait For The World
18 Wish
19 Empty Street 

Along with Bikini Kill, Bratmobile spearheaded the riot grrrl revolution of the early 1990s, battling the long-standing dominance of men within the punk rock community to help empower a new generation of female musicians and fans - Comprised of singer Allison Wolfe, guitarist Erin Smith, and drummer Molly Neuman, Bratmobile made their debut at 1991's International Pop Underground convention; after a handful of singles--with members spread out between California, Washington, and Maryland, recording was a logistical nightmare--the trio finally released Pottymouth in 1993

TRACK LISTING

1. Love Thing
2. Throway
3. Stab
4. P.R.D.C.T.
5. Cherry Bomb
6. Some Special
7. Fuck Yr. Fans
8. Polaroid Baby
9. Panik
10. Bitch Theme
11. Richard
12. Cool Schmool
13. Juswanna
14. Untitled
15. Kiss And Ride
16. No You Don't
17. Queenie

One of the finest groups of the late 50s, the Jazz Lab was co-led by the inimitable horn players Gigi Gryce and Donald Byrd. Although the group worked extensively from February to September of 1957 it broke up shortly after. However, all their albums together have become jazz classics, among them the group's first LP, presented here.

"Gigi Gryce and Donald Byrd's innovative, but unfortunately short-lived Jazz Lab Quintet recorded several sides during 1957, seven of which were released on this excellent LP. Jazz Lab makes for an excellent introduction to the hard bop catalogue." - 4.5 STARS AllMusic (Stephen Cook)

TRACK LISTING

1. Speculation
2. Over The Rainbow
3. Nica's Tempo
4. Blue Concept
5. Little
6. Niles
7. Sans Souci
8. I Remember Clifford
9. Smoke Signal

On Parenthesis, I, Josienne Clarke has not only embraced her past but has also redefined herself in the present, presenting a body of work that is shimmering, warm, intimate, and at times, profoundly heart-wrenching. Throughout her career, Clarke has been both a Rough Trade-signed artist and a BBC Radio 2 Folk Award-winner, two opposing poles that neatly sum up her inability to be pigeonholed. Parenthesis, I is a masterful journey through her personal and musical evolution, drawing influence from folk greats Nick Drake and Sandy Denny, as well as more contemporary artists like Julia jacklin, Courtney Marie Andrews, Anaïs Mitchell and Lucy Dacus.

TRACK LISTING

1.  Friendly Teeth
2.  Spherical
3.  Fear Of Falling
4.  Do You Know Now
5.  Looking Glass
6.  Forbearing
7.  Most Of All
8.  Double-Edged Sword
9.  Firecracker
10.  Dead Woman’s Bones
11.  The Calm
12.  Parenthesis, I
13.  Magic Somehow

New Album From The Most Danceable Post-Punk Pop Band In The UK.

It’s like something has exploded!

CRUMBS have been incubating this, their second album, for a few years now. Who knows how they kept all the energy in check. It must have been like sitting on a volcano. The songs burst out with pure pop fire, sending splinters of guitar, sharp lyrics and snatches of the catchiest backing vocals.

The rhythm section (Jamie and Gem): it’s like Delta 5 meeting Le Tigre in a dark alley in Leeds, fusing blindly and completely, and then forcing its way into the back entrance of a venue, sending volts through the limbs of the unwitting punters, forcing them to dance. This is TIGHT.

And as the lights come on and the indie kids throw themselves around, Ruth’s vocals sweetly assault their ears with anger, joy, political intelligence - and all around, Stuart’s guitar, sometimes twangly-melodic like the B52s, sometimes sweet and ringing like a memory of Scars, sometimes furious and feeding back, keeps you alert and thirsty for more.

These songs do NOT outstay their welcome. Starts and ends are cut hard: no pre-echo, no wistful, drawn-out regretful fade-outs. CRUMBS have imbibed the key lessons taught by The Gang Of Four and The Au Pairs: never let the energy dissipate. But there is more than anger here. The band have smuggled a pop sweetness into the disciplined shapes of their angular songs. You’re Just Jealous has sharp edges, but it’s generous too.

TRACK LISTING

1. You’re Just Jealous
2. Stab Alley
3. Dear Deirdre
4. Diy Sos
5. Rest In Pieces
6. Let’s Not
7. 4291
8. Call Now
9. What’s It Means
10. Sad Snoopy
11. Mambo No.6
12. Too Many Creeps 

Arisen to renewed stardom after going contagiously viral on TikTok, with his fascinating aura and apparently braggy attitude, Pino D'Angió marked the history of Italian dance and disco music with this sharp and ironic record that still fills the floor today as it did in the 80's.

TRACK LISTING

1. Un Concerto Da Strapazzo
2. Una Notte Da Impazzire
3. Signorina
4. Okay Okay
5. Perdoni Tenente
6. Me Ne Frego Di Te
7. Notte D'amore
8. Mannaggia Rock & Roll
9. Donna In Costruzione
10. Ma Quale Idea

British artist Douglas Dare announces the release of his fourth album Omni. Seen by Douglas himself as a bold rebirth and embrace of the electronic, Omni is all at once a throbbing, avant-garde, queer, dark and cinematic record imbued with a love of rave culture and sense of fearless storytelling that’s deeply evocative. Omni will be released on May 10 via Erased Tapes. To mark the announcement, Douglas today shares the first taster of the record with ‘Mouth To Mouth’, a pulsing, synth-laden track that begs to be played loud. ‘Mouth To Mouth’ sees a collaboration with label mate Daniel Brandt who appears on production duties, with beats supplied by Rival Consoles. Speaking on the track, Douglas says, “life, death, fate and orgies; this is the heartfelt club track I always wanted to write.” Since 2013, Douglas has blurred classical, chamber-pop, folk and avant-garde to dazzling effect, with a startling voice that can stop you in your tracks. It’s why he’s played with luminaries like Nils Frahm, Perfume Genius and Ólafur Arnalds, and was selected by David Lynch and The Cure’s Robert Smith for their respective cultural festivals in Manchester (MIF) and London (Meltdown). But Douglas’s fourth album, Omni, is a fresh awakening. Encouraged by Erased Tapes founder Robert Raths, he decided to step away from acoustic instruments, especially the piano he grew up playing, and swapped them for synths and drum machines. His new music has much in common with Arca and the late SOPHIE, two artists for whom self-expression meant liberation. “I got to hang out in the studio with her,” says Douglas of the latter musician, “the way she made music made a big impression on me.” And yet Omni is steeped in the kind of deft storytelling, sweeping strings, elegant contrasts and fairytale atmosphere that marks Douglas out as a crucial and singular voice. It’s not often you hear a strutting electro banger that could have been straight out of 90s Soho, with vocal loops inspired by US experimentalist Meredith Monk. For Douglas, Omni is about reconciling all those different sides of himself – the songwriter, the raver, the lover, the observer. It’s a hugely queer record: seductive, sexy, lusty, untethered from the genre binary. “It’s even got sailors on it!” laughs Douglas. “You don’t get more queer than that.

The complete 1959 Miles Davis album 'Kind of Blue', one of the most influential Jazz albums of all time, presented here as a 2LP set in its original mono and stereo versions.

TRACK LISTING

1. So What
2. Freddie Freeloader
3. Blue In Green
4. All Blues
5. Flamenco Sketches
6. So What
7. Freddie Freeloader
8. Blue In Green
9. All Blues
10. Flamenco Sketches

Dehd kicks off 2024 by announcing their fifth studio album, Poetry, due this May via Fat Possum Records.

Following the whirlwind success of Dehd’s fourth album Blue Skies and hit single “Bad Love”, they first gathered at Kempf’s off-grid Earthship in Taos, New Mexico where they chopped wood to stay warm and wrote songs during the daylight. They then travelled to a cabin on the Puget Sound to set up their second writing camp where surrounded by chilly waters, time was marked only by the movement of the tides. “Eating, Sleeping, Breathing, Living - our only purpose was to write,” Kempf recalled. This was the first time the band travelled to distinctly notable locations to write and inspire themselves. Leaving Chicago proved to be a watershed moment.

They finalized the songs that became Poetry back in Chicago in the warehouse they’ve called home for nearly a decade, where they rehearsed and wrote their entire catalogue. Friend and producer Ziyad Asrar, who co-produced all three Whitney albums, co-produced the album alongside the band’s Jason Balla at Palisade Studio.

It's the one all the massive have been waiting for! Part 2 of the Salford sage - DJ Absolutely Shit's 'Memoirs Of A Crust Monster'. More hyped up tear outs, soundsystem ruffage, and bass 'n breaks love songs from our Hell's Angel-dodging beat freak.

Kicking things off with glowing neons and super-charged subs is 'Higher', a modern jungle monster decorated with classic hip-hop samples and a well known diva vox squealing through the melee.
A serious 'watch your bassbins' track - RL HQ have safety tested this on the most robust car stereo systems and so far have yet to avoid any cabinet damage - proceed with caution!

'Lost In Space' rolls outta the speaker stacks with a b-boy swagger and loose breaks. A tribute to classic breakdance electro galvanized with Ab Shit's intricate trademark production chops. You'll want to crack out your finest red Puma classics and a slick tracksuit for this one.

Onto 'Out On Love' and between you and me, someone needs to call the social service for samples - as it's unlikely you'll ever witness a more blatant case of sample molestation. Squeezing every last drop out of a catchy piano lick, TV snippet and drum break; the track really does highlight the unrivaled programming prowess of our Irlam renegade who's taken SP1000 trickery to its absolute zenith.

'Money Talks' sees our cheeky ragamuffin dictate a life affirming sunrise over Pomona - pre-gentrification of course; a thousand smiles and memories of old Mancunia shimmering in the early morning industrial haze. And an abject slight at those who put profits above people - another poignant ode to our changing cityscape driven by the most addictive boogie-based groove and clattering Linn drums.

Spine-tingles and fanny flutters guaranteed ALL DAY on this one cru!
Look out for the full 16 track album due on C90 cassette and digi download coming very soon...

RL x

TRACK LISTING

A. Higher
A2. Lost In Space
B. Out On Luvvv
B2. Money Talks

Frosted has pulled off a big one here as they snap up the one and only Chicago house gangster, long-time vinyl advocate and BBQ king, DJ Sneak. His debut on the label goes big, as the man often does, with 'Beat Generation' showcasing his mastery of drum loops and smart filters. It's unrelenting and funky in its own low-key way then a Horns mix brings some extra fun. 'Fair & Square' has an old school feel with sweet little guitar riffs stitched into the arrangement next to yelping vocal as the dusty drums roll on. 'Mother Of Funk' has a deeper feel and will lock you into its warming embrace.

TRACK LISTING

Beat Generation
Beat Generation (Horns Mix)
Fair & Square
Mother Of Funk

Both Tymon Dogg and Richard Dudanski had musical roots playing in The 101'ers with future Clash singer/guitarist Joe Strummer. All three shared a deep love for southern Spain, due perhaps to the influence of the Romero sisters, Paloma (later "Palmolive" of The Slits) and the artist Esperanza, who were among the first Spanish punk refugees in London. Tymon's career began with beguiling interactions with Apple Records, The Moody Blues and future Led Zeppelin members John Paul Jones and Jimmy Page before he discovered his true musical self as a punk / folk experimentalist, opening shows for the likes of The Slits, Raincoats and Pop Group and becoming the longest-running musical foil in Strummer's career, continuing into The Clash and Mescaleros. Similarly, Richard played in Basement 5, Public Image Ltd, The Raincoats and others before following Esperanza back to Granada...which subsequently became second home to Tymon and Joe.

Spain is not without its own punk heroes, and chief among them was Granada's Antonio Arias, another pal of Joe's and leader of Spain's musical heroes, Lagartija Nick, which also included Dacoits members Juan Codorniu and JJ Machuca. Antonio sings the albums two Spanish-language songs. while Tymon sings the other nine...and there's an instrumental, "Mongols", which the band considered too epic as a stand-alone instrumental to mess with! Tymon sings three songs from his past: "The Wheel Of Life And Death" has been heard before as a live bonus track on the expanded reissue of "Battle Of Wills", "Conscience Money" was heard in a very different version on the impossible-to-find "Made Of Light" album, and an embryonic take of "Something To Prove" turned up the even rarer 1989 solo album, "Relentless". If you imagine the playful elasticity of "Sandinista!" recast into a more straightforward record, with Tymon taking the lead on something more than that album's "Lose This Skin", you're halfway there. Guests include Killing Joke bassist / famed producer Youth and Dr Robert from The Blow Monkeys. 

TRACK LISTING

01 Wheel Of Life And Death
02 Cruel Mind
03 Casida Del Herido Por El Agua
04 Something To Prove
05 Brother Of Genghis Khan
06 I Don't Wanna Be Poor
07 Nadsat
08 Chimney Sweep
09 Conscience Money
10 Give Us A Jesus
11 Turning Of The World 

Limited Edition Gatefold 180gm Double Vinyl edition of 250

All profits from the release are donated to mind.org.uk

The third Emperors New Clothes album recorded and produced in 1996 by Trevor 'Underdog' Jackson, rejected and ridiculed by the bands original label, the album sat unheard for decades and unreleased in its original intended format anywhere till now.

A gloriously twisted mix of jazz, post-rock, dub, no wave, noise & abstract beats played by a live five piece, the album sounds as strangely relevant today as it was wildly ahead of its time in 96.

In founder member Luke Hannam's own words.

"Just two months before the recording took place at the chapel studios in Lincolnshire ENC went through a major line up change with Leo Taylor recruited on drums and David Bateman added on guitar & additional programming, Ian Girdlestone on decks & tape looping and the two founding members Andy Knight- Sax, electronics, flutes, programming, keys & percussion and Luke Hannam on Bass.

The band had come along way from its earliest days as a three piece in the late 80s based in the northeast . ENC were always an unusual band formed around Andy's deep musicality and knowledge of free jazz and experimental music and Luke's love of intense groove and dark post punk. They were an unlikely pairing in someways but they lived closely and supported each other for years.

The 'Surreal Estate' project began as the third album loomed into view. Trevor Jackson who had contributed some fantastic remixes on previous material was hired as producer with Corrine 'The Sea' Pennington as an engineer. The band headed to their Brixton arch and set about making the most adventurous music of their career. The tracks that's you hear on this album were mostly recorded during extensive sessions at The Chapel residential studios in Lincolnshire followed by various additional session in London and also at Trevor's home studio. Recording sessions are funny things, stuff works, stuff fails, bands implode, and sometimes great albums get made, stability never makes the best music and this album probably proves both are true.

My memories of these sessions are pretty vivid, we worked through the night creating our own private universe playing music as freely and intensely as we could. Andy provided, as he always did a sense of otherworldly concentration, I always found him like a man in the centre of a storm building circles and cycles, spinning patterns of sound rhythm and melody. Leo was a relative newcomer at the time but as afar as I was concerned produced beats so intense, so perfect, they pulled my bass into line … visceral and exact. David Bateman listened and carefully spun delicious guitar parts finding space where others thought there was none to be found … it was beautiful to watch and when I listen I can see him in the shadows immersed in the music. Ian's loops and analogue textures found their perfect embrace with Andy's subsonic samples and electronic depth charging …. The whole thing lurched like an obscure On U sound recording colliding with Sun Ra in Trevor's hip hop universe".

TRACK LISTING

1. Trainpiece
2. Cinema Green
3. Twister
4. Strange Charm
5. Tarang
6. Dub Tune
7. Gamelan Melodica
8. Lalit
9. Boogie Electric
10. Guitar Comet
11. More Bodies

The complete iconic Bill Evans LP Sunday at the Village Vanguard, featuring Scott LaFaro on bass, and Paul Motian on drums. Contains perennial versions of Solar, Gloria's Step, and Alice in Wonderland.

This edition also offers an exclusive collector's item consisting of a replica of the exceedingly rare Japanese 7" single (Riverside SR-3033), containing Evans' readings of My Foolish Heart and Polka Dots and Moonbeams.

TRACK LISTING

1. Gloria's Step
2. My Man's Gone Now
3. Solar
4. Alice In Wonderland
5. All Of You
6. Jade Visions
7. Jade Visions (alternative Take)
8. Bill Evans Trio
9. Bill Evans Trio

Keeley Forsyth is a singer, composer and actress from Oldham, UK. A frequent presence on primetime TV since the mid-'90s, over the past few years she has forged an unusual parallel career as a unique and uncompromising new presence in contemporary music. Described by Pitchfork as “arid and beautiful”, by Uncut as "astonishing" and The Sunday Times as "one of the most remarkable in years”, Keeley's debut LP 'Debris' (2020) and follow-up 'Limbs' (2022) drew unanimous critical praise, prompting comparisons with Nico, Beth Gibbons, Aldous Harding, Nick Cave, Anohni and even Scott Walker. It's often stated that no one else is making music quite like this.

The bleak and foreboding landscape surrounding Keeley's North Yorkshire home seems to inhabit her third LP, 'The Hollow'. The moors, visible from her studio window, impact upon a music that feels made of these places: windswept, rain-soaked and blinking through the low-lit landscape. The album's title derives from discovering a long-abandoned mining shaft whilst out walking - the past lurking within and haunting the present we now occupy. A connection to time that places us within it, facing what is gone and what may come. But also, perhaps that time has no concern as to whether we're here or not.

Keeley's unique elemental voice again sits centrally within this world-building. Her cathartic reflections are exorcisms in song. We hear an artist making sense of her life, willing to expose vulnerability without ever appearing weak. Working again with producer Ross Downes, the LP features Matthew Bourne and Colin Stetson, Forsyth sought to expand both her voice and music. Taking aspects of sacred music, minimalist post-classical, dark ambient, film and theatre soundtracks, she layers her vocals into chamber choirs, applies pitch shifts and other digital processing, moves from clear articulate intention to mumbled numb utterances.

Composer Mihály Vig's score to Bela Tarr’s film 'The Turin Horse' is reimagined as a pressurised outpouring, recasting the everyday within a mythical light of survival and hope. On ‘A Shift’, Mal Finch's protest song ‘We Are Women, We Are Strong ‘, originally sung by wives and daughters in support of the '80s miner’s strikes, is recontextualised in solidarity for an experience of creative labour.

A sought-after collaborator, Keeley is currently working towards new projects with Ben Frost, Teho Teardo, and Matthew Bourne. She has provided vocals for Louis Carnell; remixed both Gazelle Twin and Quin Quis; has soundtracked Maxine Peake’s directorial debut; and is currently developing a stage and studio project with Ben Frost and writer Robert MacFarlane.

A magnetic live performer able to create an immersive almost ritualistic experience, Keeley recently received a standing ovation at Unsound and supports the LP with shows at Bristol New Music, Rewire festival and London's ICA.

TRACK LISTING

Side A
1. The Answer
2. The Hollow
3. Come And See
4. Eve
5. Turning
6. A Shift
Side B
1. Slush
2. Drag Me Down
3. Do I Breathe
4. In The Corner
5. Horse
6. Creature

Brand new album from electronic titan Kieran Hebden who continues his futuristic creation of sound across eight elegant and fantastic tracks. Utilizing a now well versed palette which seems to effortlessly merge organic instrumentation and hybridized vocals into digitally processed pastoral soundscapes. All the usual Hebdenian traits are audible on album opener "Loved" - from his well loved live drum breaks to the slightly melancholic piano lines. Quickly ushering in a more liminal experience, "Gliding Through Everything" is a crystalline waterfall that reimagines H2O as a 4D particle cascading through your fingertips. "Storm Crystals" quickly soothes with twangy mallets, downbeat groove and healing tones; the moment you quietly settle into your seat, expectations met and suitably zoned in for the rest of the LP. Hebden concludes side A with the accelerated pace of "Daydream Repeat"; which doesn't drift too far from themes explored throughout the side but ups the bpm and buoyancy.

Side B slows us back down, ready for the second half of the trip; emotive guitar lines picked from the ether as angelic vox are gently smudged and diced before our ears - a sonic trademark the producer has previously used on tracks such as "Love Cry" and "Baby". "31 Bloom" bounces out of the mainframe at another slightly increased tempo, glitched arpeggios and highly sequenced piano fragments beautifully coalesced into a moment of transcendental ascension. Penultimate track, "So Blue" allows us a moment of reflection, stark elements imparting such strong emotions - there's few producers who can squeeze so much human feeling out of their machines. Finally, "Three Drums" concludes in suitable form - a slowly spiraling semi-orchestral fury into a white hot, retina-scorching sun'; almost hallucinatory in its saturation yet carried along at a languid pace; allowing the listener to unwind into a paradisical dream state of Hebden's own creation.

Have to say he's done it again. It's nicely succinct and sequenced to perfection, with the four tracks on each side perfectly 

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: I've always been a massive fan of the ol' Four Tet, and while I think the more recent outings share characteristics with the glitched melodies and syncopated percussion of Pause or Rounds, it's a far more relaxing affair in all, owing a lot more to ambient music than the dancefloor-focused outings of the past. 'Three' is possibly his most focused and enjoyable work to date, and that's really something for a man with such a stellar discography.

TRACK LISTING

01 Loved 4:03
02 Gliding Through Everything 4:08
03 Storm Crystals 6:40
04 Daydream Repeat 6:09
05 Skater 4:16
06 31 Bloom 5:52
07 So Blue 5:30
08 Three Drums 8:16

Introducing the much anticipated 7'' vinyl featuring two standout tracks from Sami Galbi. Face A is "Dakchi Hani," a poignant post-breakup anthem blending raï influences with contemporary rhythms, offering a humorous take on navigating emotions. Face B showcases "Rruina," a powerful follow-up track that delves deeper into darker, club-oriented sounds, pushing the boundaries of Swiss-Moroccan raï-chaabi fusion. Seamlessly transitioning from the raw synths and bouncing rhythms of "Dakchi Hani" to the tension-filled atmosphere of "Rruina," this vinyl promises a captivating journey through Sami Galbi's musical evolution. With each track tailored for the dancefloors, this vinyl release is poised to explode with energy wherever it goes.

TRACK LISTING

A. Dakchi Hani
B. Rruina

‘Mayday’ is the third LP by Montreal-based artist, Myriam Gendron. It follows her earlier, critically acclaimed albums, ‘Not So Deep As A Well’ (2014) and ‘Ma délire - Songs of love, lost & found’ (2021). Myriam began exploring the complex folk traditions of Quebec (and beyond), with ‘Ma délire - Songs of love, lost & found’, which combines traditional and original songs with arrangements that make space for avant-garde musical interludes by such folks as guitarist Bill Nace (Body/Head) and renowned jazz percussionist Chris Corsano.

‘Mayday’ presents an even more syncretic fusion of the elements Myriam uses to create her sound. Most of the songs are original, sung in both English and French, and they blend traditional and avant elements with abandon. She is often accompanied on this album by the guitarist Marisa Anderson and drummer Jim White (Dirty Three, Xylouris White), whose work provides a quietly aggressive sort of free-rock base. Additional players include Montreal bassist Cédric Dind-Lavoie, Bill Nace and saxophonist Zoh Amba.

‘Mayday’ is a thoroughly thrilling effort that manages to create new vistas of sound while maintaining a feel that is both intimate and familiar. The music here certainly possesses a richly serious tone, but Myriam Gendron (like Leonard Cohen) is able to infuse her darkness with a subtle, powerful light that reminds us that even the most pitchblack night is but a transitional state.

TRACK LISTING

1. There Is No East Or West
2. Long Way Home
3. Terres Brûlées
4. Dorothy’s Blues
5. La Luz
6. La Belle Françoise (pour Sylvie)
7. Lully Lullay
8. Look Down That Lonesome Road
9. Quand J’étais Jeune Et Belle
10. Berceuse

Be Strong Be Free debuts a new series here, Mellow Magic Worldwide, which will offer up a series of DJ weapons that have been produced by "worldwide studio buds." The first one opens with some superb tackle from Gold Suite whose brilliant 'Crush' is a slow-burning 80s jam and emotive rollercoaster that has made a real impact during road testing experiments. On the flipside is the mysterious Mancunian Visions Of Eden who debuts on vinyl with a lush deep house jam 'When It Has Past' that has a subtle Balearic charm. Lastly comes Murrin who heads up the Puca Sounds label and co-runs Berlin party Fandango. His 'Maybe Tonight' is a late-night cosmic delight.

TRACK LISTING

Gold Suite - "Crush"
Visions Of Eden - "When It Has Past"
Murrin - "Maybe Tonight"

Dub & Sound International returns for a third time and this one welcomes legendary Jamaican trombonist Vin Gordon who is rightly 'Digging The Vibes.' The title track kicks off and pairs his playful patterns with a Dubsetters rhythm and some nice sunny and soothing melodies from Trommie aka Don Drummond Jr. After the horn-led, organic and unhurried instrumental comes a dub that is fleshed out with a little more echo and is a sublime bit of roots. A second version adds another perspective to the original and we already look forward to hearing more from this project.

TRACK LISTING

Digging The Vibes
Vibes Dub
Vibes Riddim

New Heavy Sounds are always on the lookout for new bands that are looking to push the boundaries of what is considered as inhabiting the ‘heavy’ or ‘metal’ spectrum’. Stuff that pricks up the ears, a bold new voice within a maelstrom of genres and sub-genres. We believe we have found such a band. New York-based GUHTS (pronounced ‘guts’) declare themselves to be an ‘avant-garde post-metal project, delivering larger than life sounds through, deeply emotional music’. We are thrilled to be able to deliver that statement in the form of their debut album ‘Regeneration’. By their own admission, GUHTS' musical style is influenced not only by iconic metal bands like Gojira, Cult of Luna, YOB and Deftones, but more unconventional acts like Bjork, Subrosa, Isis, Julie Christmas, and even PJ Harvey. It’s undoubtedly heavy, with a strong feminist streak, it’s cathartic and weighty, a formidable debut for such a new band.

Founded in 2020 as a passion project by Scott Prater (Witchkiss), and Amber Burns (Witchkiss) and then Dan Shaneyfelt (Black Mountain Hunger), GUHTS became its members’ main focus following the release of their first EP 'Blood Feather' which itself received rave reviews from the likes of Decibel Magazine, Invisible Oranges, The Obelisk, Cvlt Nation, and more. Brian Clemens Sleaping Dreaming) & Daniel Martinez (Nefariant) joined GUHTS in 2022 and the band swiftly started booking tours and making plans to record 'Regeneration'. Since then GUHTS have been steadily making a name for themselves with their powerful live performances., sharing stages with the likes of Yob, Cave in, Marissa Nadler, plus appearances at the Maryland Doom Fest, Crucial Fest and Ohio Doomed and Stoned Fest. ‘Regeneration’ is set to cement their status as one of the coolest and most interesting bands on the scene.

Of the album, vocalist Amber says. "Regeneration" symbolizes the power of self-renewal, often overlooked. Embracing it means shedding old layers and welcoming new beginnings. Without this, life stagnates and is “sustaining”. Through regeneration, change becomes empowering, allowing new facets to emerge. It's a courageous, transformative process, inspiring others to overcome fear and embrace change. The album embodies the human spirit's resilience and capacity for growth. Musically ‘Regeneration’ is a powerful and intense series of songs, topped off by some seriously powerhouse and expressive vocal performances. It’s slow-moving chords, moving like sheets through sludge. High guitar lines above, ranging from piercing and shimmering to nasty. Drums pound but not without groove. There are strings, pianos and synths widening the palette. Atmospheric sludge, Metalgaze, maybe, but there’s also that link to the New York Noise lineage from The Velvets and Sonic Youth, becoming a type of post-hardcore in the process, while gaining a connection to metal partly due to the sheer heaviness. A raft of creative experimentation that pushes beyond the realm of post-metal. And then of course, the very first thing that hits you is Amber Gardner's unbelievable, hypnotising vocals - as scary as a banshee while also intimate and persuasive. Amber means it for sure and almost dominates the proceedings. Her lyrics are eclectic, thoughtful. Immersed in women's narratives frombooks like "Women Who Run With the Wolves" or works like "On Our Best Behavior" by Elise Loehnen. Amber advocates stepping beyond comfort zones, believing it's transformative for individuals and vital for Earth's future. Hokey occult rock it is not. In short ‘Regeneration’ is a bold and startling debut, that will reward and enthral listeners the deeper they delve into its many layers.

TRACK LISTING

White Noise
Til Death
The Mirror
Handless Maiden
Eyes Open
Generate
The Wounded Healer
Burn My Body

Five Ways to Say Goodbye marks Harvey’s fifth solo album, featuring an introspective blend of originals and covers brimming with wistful acoustic rock gems. The vinyl includes Harvey's translated reworking of Marlene Dietrich's 1950s ode to Berlin, 'A Suitcase in Berlin' ('Ich Hab' Noch Einen Koffer in Berlin'), which was released as a standalone single in 2023, hinting at the forthcoming album.

In true Mick Harvey fashion, the album pays homage to fellow Australian musicians with covers of songs by Ed Kuepper - 'Demolition'; Fatal Shore - 'We Had an Island'; David McComb - 'Setting You Free'; Lo Carmen - 'Nashville High'; and The Saints - 'Ghost Ships.' These tracks sit alongside a cover of Lee Hazelwood's 'Dirtnap Stories,' and Harvey's rendition of Neil Young's 'Like a Hurricane.’

Following on from the collaborative album Phantasmagoria in Blue with Amanda Acevedo, who also lends her voice to 'Dirtnap Stories' on this record, Five Ways to Say Goodbye adds to Mick Harvey's extensive repertoire, affirming his significant contributions to music.

TRACK LISTING

1. Heaven's Gate
2. We Had An Island
3. Demolition
4. The Art Of Darkness
5. Setting You Free
6. Alone With The Stars
7. Nashville High
8. Ghost Ships
9. Dirtnap Stories
10. When We Were Beautiful & Young
11. A Suitcase In Berlin
12. Like A Hurricane

Originally released in April 1997, First Rays Of The New Rising Sun, was the first album prepared under the direct supervision of the Hendrix Family. Drawing together seventeen songs whose creation spans from March 1968 through to Jimi’s final sessions at Electric Lady Studios in August 1970, the album marked the last graceful gesture by the innovative artist Jimi Hendrix. Features “Dolly Dagger,” “Angel,” “Ezy Rider” and “Freedom.” This release is a new, all analog edition mastered from the original 1/4" mixes by Bernie Grundman and pressed on 140-gram black vinyl.

TRACK LISTING

Side A
1. Freedom
2. Izabella
3. Night Bird Flying
4. Angel
5. Room Full Of Mirrors

Side B
1. Dolly Dagger
2. Ezy Ryder
3. Drifting
4. Beginnings

Side C
1. Stepping Stone
2. My Friend
3. Straight Ahead
4. Hey Baby (New Rising Sun)

Side D
1. Earth Blues
2. Astro Man
3. In From The Storm
4. Belly Button Window

Danish electronic pop act Hess Is More presents CÆKE. After several orchestral and experimental adventures, Hess Is More is once again back to where it started, as Mikkel Hess’ (more or less) solo venture through the borderlands of pop music. Gone are the sprawling ensemble works. The sound of CÆKE is minimalist, spacious and mellow. Piano, drum machines and vintage synths assemble a curious DIY space for Hess’ voice to wander… pensive and unhurried, with strange, eccentric poetry.

In honest Hess-ian fashion, the maturity of the sound is offset by a tendency for the childish, the curious… a subversive lightheartedness, which traces back to Hess’ early works. Take the chorus to ‘I Love My Life… Again and Again’, laid above an innocuous drum machine beat: “I Love My Life/I Fuck My Wife/Again and Again”. The ironies and pleasantries flow into a larger mood of mellow existentialism, with which Hess greets the oncoming seriousness of life as a father. Much has happened since Hess’ began the project in the early 00’s. CÆKE represents a return to the basics, but the basics have changed. Life has changed. The world has changed.

CÆKE is Hess finding the melody of a new life. One that makes room for both seriousness and carefreeness, the introspective and the outward, the living room and the dancefloor. 

TRACK LISTING

1. I Love My Life (again And Again)
2. Are You Sleeping?
3. You And Me And Them
4. Walk Me Home
5. You Don't Dance (Extended Version)
6. Halløj, Kan Du Høre Mig?
7. Always There
8. Sometimes You Get Lucky
9. I Love My Life (again And Again)
10. Are You Sleeping?

In his 15+ years recording as How To Dress Well, LA-based musician Tom Krell has played with the concept of what we hear and how we communicate in order to create music that exists somewhere between celestial transcendence and an outsider approach to what pop music can be. In Krell’s musical world, the weight of a sample comes from his history with it, the meaning of a lyric fragment is stretched and distorted, its core skirting universal interpretation in favor of specificity.

I Am Toward You is the first new How To Dress Well album in six years, with some of his noisiest, most free, and most poetic music to date. Krell opens the second decade of his career with an album that delivers on the hallmarks of his best work. When creating the album, Krell was in search of not a fresh start, exactly, but instead a return to the open-hearted, uncynical approach to music making that he adopted as a kid, and carried through the release of his haunting breakthrough debut, 2010’s Love Remains, when he was making music in relative anonymity with little external pressure.

Krell alongside returning and new collaborators CFCF, Chris Votek, Joel Ford, Josh Clancy, Trayer Tryon (Hundred Waters), Brian Allen Simon (Anenon), and Aaron Charles Read began work on what would become I Am Toward You in 2020. He sifted through hundreds of snippets he’d recorded in the preceding decade, finding inexplicable samples and snatches of audio that began to cohere into an album that stripped back the density of previous albums to create a collection of songs that oscillate between the present and the past as if it’s happening all at once. A memory from 20 years ago holds just as much weight as something that happened yesterday. Each song, too, is linked to the larger world: these tracks are in constant dialogue with not just each other, but the environments in which they were made. It feels like a diaristic approach to how we can find new perspectives on our own lives, as informed by the way Krell transformed himself in the nearly six years between the release of The Anteroom and the release of I Am Toward You.

TRACK LISTING

1. New Confusion
2. Contingency / Necessity (Modality Of Fate)
3. Crypt Sustain
4. No Light (feat. Anarthia DLT)
5. Nothingprayer
6. On It And Around It
7. Song In The Middle
8. Gas Station Against Blackened Hillside
9. A Faint Glow Through A Window Of Thin Bone (That’s How My Fate Is Shown)
10. The Only True Joy On Earth
11. A Secret Within The Voice

Having amassed numerous accolades and achievements, the electrifying DJ and producer I. JORDAN (they/them) is set for a huge year with their debut album, I AM JORDAN, due for release on 10th May 2024. Thanks to this extraordinary forthcoming album, complemented by consistently breathtaking visuals and creative concepts, Jordan is poised to breakthrough to the mainstream in 2024. Championing trans and non-binary voices, they have enlisted Aries Moross as Creative Director (Kylie Minogue, Spice Girls), and track collaborators include rising stars such as DJ and producer TAAHLIAH, and the star of Sex Education, Felix Mufti.

TRACK LISTING

1. When Lights Flash
2. Casino High
3. Real Hot N Naughty
4. The Countdown
5. Butterlick
6. Reification And Pathetic Fallacy
7. People Want Nice Things
8. Round N Round
9. The Woodpecker
10. 7 Degrees Of Despondent
11. Close To You
12. Rapt Finis

Roughly 23 years ago we rented a house at the sea to do an art experiment. The novel and expansive environment combined with a healthy dose of momentum helped us find that ever sought after FLOW state and the songs that became known as ‘Morning View’ have since become indelible and deeply important parts of our lives. This album helped propel our little art experiment called ‘Incubus’ into a way of life and here we are today, some 23 years later about to introduce a new/next phase of it’s existence. ‘Morning View xxiii’ is a re-recording/re-think of the 2001 album and is the result of our desire to honor this burgeoning legacy but also reimagine it as musicians who have been lovingly performing these songs night after night for the last 23 years.

With Love,
Brandon Boyd.

TRACK LISTING

1. Nice To Know You
2. Circles (3-7-2024)
3. Wish You Were Here
4. Just A Phase
5. 11 Am
6. Blood On The Ground
7. Mexico
8. Warning
9. Echo (2-8-2024)
10. Have You Ever
11. Are You In?
12. Under My Umbrella (4-4-2024)
13. Aqueous Transmission

New from Jan Jelinek - a 36-minute language and sound collage devoted to the dark forces of phishing. Strange but f*cking great!

"Social Engineering" brings together thirteen text fragments from so-called phishing emails. Using speech synthesis, they are spoken, sung, and/or transformed into abstract textures. The result is a 36-minute language and sound collage devoted to the dark forces of phishing.

TRACK LISTING

1. Social Engineering 1 (The Narrative Of The Heritage)
2. Social Engineering 2 (A Mystery Wants To Be Disclosed)
3. Social Engineering 3 (ALERT!)
4. Social Engineering 4 (A Mystery Wants To Be Disclosed, Progressed Version)
5. Social Engineering 5 (The One-off Opportunity)
6. Social Engineering 6 (Medical Frivolities)
7. Social Engineering 7 (A Vague Allegation & The Concrete Blackmail)
8. Social Engineering 8 (This Is Not A Joke! 1)
9. Social Engineering 9 (Sad Self-optimization)
10. Social Engineering 10 (Incoherent Translation Algorithms)
11. Social Engineering 11 (BUSINESS)
12. Social Engineering 12 (This Is Not A Joke! 2)
13. Social Engineering 13 (The Polite Threat)

A bubbling swamp curse of unholy rhythm, Jim Jones All Stars is the latest project from garage‬ godfather Jim Jones (Thee Hypnotics, The Jim Jones Revue). It features The Jim Jones Revue‬ members Gavin Jay and Elliot Mortimer, drummer Chris Ellul from (The Heavy), veteran punk‬ blues guitarist Carlton Mounsher (The Swamps), and a full horn section (Tenor Saxophonist‬ Stuart Dace and Baritone Saxophonists Tom Hodges and Chuchi Malapersona).‬

After a midnight offering at the real crossroads in Clarksdale, Mississippi, the band made the‬ pilgrimage to Memphis, Tennessee to record with Memphis Magnetic founder Scott McEwen‬ (JD McPherson, Nick Waterhouse) in May of 2022.‬‬

Produced by John Getze and mastered by Grammy Award winner Randy Merrill, the resulting‬‭ LP 'Ain’ No Peril' is a thick, greasy slab of Rama lama rhythm and blues that highlights some of‬ Jones's most inspired songwriting ever and features guest appearances from vocal powerhouse‬ Nikki Hill and Oxbow’s Eugene S. Robinson.

“When you’re recording within spitting distance of the Mississippi River, there’s something about‬ that heavy Memphisair that changes the way that you hear the groove and grind,” says Jim‬ Jones. ‘Ain’t No Peril’ captures that feeling and bathes in that magic.”

TRACK LISTING

1. Devil's Kiss
2. Gimme The Grease
3. It's Your Voodoo Working
4. Your Arms Will Be The Heavens
5. I Want You (Any Way I Can)
6. Hot Sauce
7. Troglodyte
8. Chingón
9. You Got The Best Stink (I Ever Stunk)
10. Ain't No Peril
11. Drink Me
12. Evil Eye

'All My Heroes Are Cornballs' is the third studio album by renowned Baltimore rapper JPEGMafia, released on September 13, 2019, follow-up to the album that really launched his career, 'Veteran' (2018). JPEGMAFIA handled the production, mixing and mastering in his home studio. The album features guest appearances from Abdu Ali, Helena Deland and Buzzy Lee, as well as additional vocals by Refined Sugar, Vegyn and Young Emoji. 'All My Heroes Are Cornballs' is an avant-garde, experimental hip hop, and punk rap album, and draws influences from experimental pop, glitch hop, ambient, noise and industrial music. It has a smoother and more melodic sound than its predecessor, employing uncommon song structures, extensive sampling, and a variety of vocal techniques such as rapping, screaming and singing. Thematically, the album is personal, introspective, and presented in a stream of consciousness form, touching on the Internet culture, prejudice, political issues and JPEGMafia's newfound fame

TRACK LISTING

1. Jesus Forgive Me, I Am A Thot
2. Kenan Vs. Kel
3. Beta Male Strategies
4. JPEGMAFIA TYPE BEAT
5. Grimy Waifu
6. PTSD
7. Rap Grow Old & Die X No Child Left Behind
8. AlI My Heroes Are Cornballs
9. BBW
10. PRONE!
11. Lifes Hard, Here's A Song About Sorrel
12. Thot Tactics
13. Free The Frail
14. Post Verified Lifestyle
15. BasicBitchTearGas
16. DOTS FREESTYLE REMIX
17. BUTTERMILK JESUS TYPE BEAT
18. Papi I Missed U

New album by the successful duo Steve Kilbey (The Church) and Martin Kennedy Interest and profile of Steve Kilbey has been raised considerably over the past year due to the church re-forming touring and issuing 2 new albums Steve’s solo albums are all getting a complete make over and the fan clubs are ablaze with rumours and gossips regarding forthcoming releases.

Reviews & Advertising in vive le rock record collector classic rock R2 The Big Takeover. Embark on a mesmerising journey with the third and culminating chapter of the highly acclaimed trilogy by Steve Kilbey and Martin Kennedy. Building on the success of Jupiter 13 (2021) and The Strange Life of Persephone Nimbus (2022), their latest epic, 'Premonition K,' unveils a sumptuous and organic

sonic landscape, delving into the dark and enigmatic realms that exist between the boundaries of life and death. This album, a testament to their musical synergy, encapsulates a darkly beautiful soundscape, drawing inspiration from diverse sources, ranging from the haunting tones of Roger Waters' Final Cut to the shadowy depths explored by early 1970s Black Sabbath. Steve Kilbey, best known as frontman of legendary Aussie post-prog rockers The Church, infuses each track with an emotional resonance and sense of mystery. Martin Kennedy co-pilots this sonic odyssey with Steve Kilbey, weaving an intricate musical bed for Kilbey's lyrical dreamings. Drawing from his twenty years of soundscaping with All India Radio, Kennedy adds layers of sonic complexity, at once warmly familiar and mysteriously strange, creating an immersive experience for the listener. Together, Kilbey and Kennedy invite you to break out the ouija board, turn off the lights, and immerse yourself in the mysteries of 'Premonition K'.

TRACK LISTING

Side A
Breaking The Fourth Wall
NDE
The Doctor
Nowhere
My Better Half
That's Gotta Hurt
Side B
Whispered Voices On Tape
The King
The Contender
The Ouija Board
Menace In The Past
The Song That Wrote Itself

GRAMMY award-winning, multi-platinum rock band Kings of Leon are coming back big with their 9th full-length studio album, Can We Please Have Fun. As the title suggests, it’s a document of one of this era’s great rock & roll bands cutting loose, trying new things, and, yes, having some fun. Recorded at Dark Horse studio and produced with new collaborator Kid Harpoon (Harry Styles, Florence + the Machine) the album sees a new side of Kings of Leon. On the new album, the band harkens back to their gritty origins while simultaneously finding new gears. It’s the sound of a band unified in vision and purpose, freed from any expectations, and the album the band says they’ve always wanted to make.

TRACK LISTING

Side A:
1. Ballerina Radio
2. Rainbow Ball
3. Nowhere To Run
4. Mustang
5. Actual Daydream
6. Split Screen
Side B:
1. Don’t Stop The Bleeding
2. Nothing To Do
3. M Television
4. Hesitation Gen
5. Ease Me On
6. Seen

As Knocked Loose chipped away at what would become their third album, they felt the pressure from all sides. Internally, there was the need to challenge themselves as songwriters while retaining the merciless intensity and unflinching honesty that have always been their calling cards. Externally, there was a whole new set of eyes on the hard-touring Louisville quintet, following a banner year in which they’d brought their underground-seasoned sound to some of the world’s biggest stages, finding themselves the unlikely viral darlings of both Coachella and Bonnaroo.

The creative process was arduous, with the band writing close to 40 songs across a span of four years before locking in the 10 tracks that make up new LP You Won’t Go Before You’re Supposed To. But in the end, vocalist Bryan Garris, guitarists Isaac Hale and Nicko Calderon, bassist Kevin Otten and drummer Kevin “Pac Sun” Kaine honed a diverse, cohesive and savagely intense album that both sums up the massive strides they’ve taken during their decade as a band, and asserts their boundless potential going forward.

TRACK LISTING

1. Thirst
2. Piece By Piece
3. Suffocate (ft. Poppy)
4. Don't Reach For Me
5. Moss Covers All
6. Take Me Home
7. Slaughterhouse 2 (ft. Chris Motionless)
8. The Calm That Keeps You Awake
9. Blinding Faith
10. Sit & Mourn

After crisscrossing the nation for the last half-decade looking for a home, Pokey LaFarge found himself in Mid-Coast Maine. Upon arriving, the Illinois- born singer/ songwriter/ actor pursued a major life change, working 12-hour days on a local farm--a turn of events that catalyzed an extraordinary burst of creativity and redefined his sense of purpose as an artist. Rhumba Country was initially shaped from material that emerged while LaFarge was deep in work on the farm. "I'd be pushing a plow or scattering seeds, and the songs would just come to me," he recalls. "It was tremendously inspirational and made me realize that apart from singing, farming is perhaps the oldest human art form." While farming, LaFarge began dreaming up a kaleidoscopic sound informed by his love of music from far- ranging eras and corners of the globe, including mambo, tropicalia, rocksteady, and mid-century American rock-and-roll. "The songs that naturally come to me are upbeat and make you wanna dance or at least bop your head--they're all very colorful," says LaFarge. "I used to think of my music in dark blue, but now I see it in technicolor." Co- produced along with Chris Seefried and Elliot Bergman and recorded in L.A., the resulting Rhumba Country is an invitation to come together to celebrate life and love.

TRACK LISTING

One You, One Me
For A Night
Run Run Run
Like A Sailor
Sister Andre
So Long Chicago
It's Not Over
Home Home Home
Made To Be Loved
You Make My Garden Grow

Laibach’s classic album from 1987, 'Opus Dei', has been remastered and redesigned.

The album that first brought Laibach to a mass consumption audience, with their unique interpretations of Opus' ‘Live is Life’ and Queen’s ‘One Vision’, and heavy rotation on MTV’s alternative shows and ITV’s The Chart Show. Produced by Rico Conning, it stands as a defining statement of intent and prophecy that the band continues to uphold nearly 40 years later.

The album, remastered from the original tapes, includes an extensive 16-page booklet with new text by Alexi Munroe and photos from the time. The album cover artwork has also had a distinctive redesign that draws on the original and pushes it forward.

The CD box set includes an additional CD of 16 live tracks from the Opus Dei touring that happened between 1987 and 1989.

The original vinyl edition has been unavailable for over 20 years.

TRACK LISTING

LP Tracklist:
1. Leben Heißt Leben (Opus Dei)
2. Geburt Einer Nation (One Vision)
3. Leben-Tod
4. F.I.A.T. (Let It Be)
5. Opus Dei (Life Is Life)
6. Trans-national
7. How The West Was Won
8. The Great Seal

CD Tracklist:

CD1:
1. Leben Heißt Leben (Opus Dei)
2. Geburt Einer Nation (One Vision)
3. Leben-Tod
4. F.I.A.T. (Let It Be)
5. Trans-national
6. How The West Was Won
7. Opus Dei (Life Is Life)
8. The Great Seal
9. Geburt Einer Nation (One Vision) [Eine Richtung Und Ein Volk Version]
10. Leben Heißt Leben (Opus Dei) [Marche Funèbre Version]
11. Geburt Einer Nation (One Vision) [3. Oktober – Kraftbach – Version]

CD2:
1. Leben Heißt Leben (Opus Dei) [Live From London, Queen Elizabeth Hall, 1987]
2. Geburt Einer Nation (One Vision) [Live From Somewhere In Europe/US, 1987-1989]
3. Leben-Tod (Live From Somewhere In Europe/US, 1987-1989)
4. F.I.A.T. (Let It Be) [Live From Paris, Espace Ornano, 1992]
5. Trans-national (Live From Somewhere In Europe/US, 1987-1989)
6. How The West Was Won (Live From Somewhere In Europe/US, 1987-1989)
7. Opus Dei (Life Is Life) [Live From Somewhere In Europe/US, 1987-1989]
8. Leben Heißt Leben (Opus Dei) [Live From Berlin, Quartier Latin, 1987]
9. Geburt Einer Nation (One Vision) [Live From Berlin, Quartier Latin, 1987]
10. Leben-Tod (Live From Berlin, Quartier Latin, 1987)
11. How The West Was Won (Live From Berlin, Quartier Latin, 1987)
12. Geburt Einer Nation (Vienna, Messepalast, Kaiser Franz Josef Reitschule, 1988)
13. Leben-Tod (Live From San Francisco, The I Beam, 1989)
14. Trans-national (Live From San Francisco, The I Beam, 1989)
15. How The West Was Won (Live From San Francisco, The I Beam, 1989)
16. Opus Dei (Life Is Life) [Live From San Francisco, The I Beam, 1989]

Mary Lattimore and Walt McClements are two of contemporary music’s most renowned innovators. Each has managed to expand the perception of their instrument’s capabilities.

Lattimore’s inventive harp processing and looping has brought the instrument to a new audience. Her prolific run of celestial solo albums and evocative film scores have redefined the instrument in the modern consciousness. Her genre-agnostic collaborations include work with Kurt Vile, Steve Gunn, Jeff Zeigler, Meg Baird, and Thurston Moore. McClements, who tours as a member of Weyes Blood, is an acclaimed composer in his own right, sculpting glacial atmospherics from the accordion.

The Los Angeles based duo became quick friends on overlapping tours, sharing both a drive to push the sonic possibilities of their instruments and roots in North Carolina.

Mary Lattimore and Walt McClements’ debut collaboration, ‘Rain on the Road’, blossomed out of that time spent on the road together, capturing the liminal existence of touring life in deeply cinematic compositions.

Recorded in the cozy setting of McClements’ apartment during a rainy December in LA, ‘Rain on the Road’ unfurls as a series of sonic vignettes, rolling landscapes hewn from longform improvisations for harp and accordion. Embellished with additional instrumentation such as the shimmering constellations of hand bells on ‘Stolen Bells’ that glisten like lights on wet pavement, or the stately piano figures on ‘The Top of Thomas Street’; their pastoral pieces manage to paint vivid images.

TRACK LISTING

1. Stolen Bells
2. The Poppies, The Wild
3. Mustard, The Blue-Eyed Grass
4. We Waited For The Bears To Leave
5. Nest Of Earrings
6. The Top Of Thomas Street

Hot on the heels of releasing new single Legendary Tippers in January, Les Savy Fav are back with their first new album in 14 years! Oui, LSF is out May 10th.

TRACK LISTING

1. Guzzle Blood
2. Limo Scene
3. Void Moon
4. Mischief Night
5. What We Don't Want
6. Legendary Tippers
7. Dawn Patrol
8. Somebody Needs A Hug
9. Racing Bees
10. Don't Mind Me
11. Oi! Division
12. Barbs
13. Nihilists
14. World Got Great

Debut soundtrack from Ian Lynch of Lankum / One Leg, One Eye, produced by John ‘Spud’ Murphy (Lankum, ØXN)

All You Need Is Death’ is the soundtrack to director Paul Duane’s cosmic folk horror film. The film blends Irish folklore and musical traditions with nerve-wracking horror where songs that have never been heard before open the door to a powerful, ancient evil.

It follows near universal acclaim for the latest Lankum album ‘False Lankum’, including the topping of numerous Albums Of Year Lists worldwide (incl. The Guardian, Uncut, Loud & Quiet, The Quietus, Mojo (‘Folk Album’) and the Irish Times and sold out shows around Europe throughout 2023 and widespread critical praise for Ian’s debut solo album as One Leg, One Eye ‘And Take The Black Worm With Me’ (on Nyahh Records).

TRACK LISTING

1. Hung By Wire
2. The Unravelling
3. Feed The Swarm
4. Deceptive Transceiver
5. The Hunt
6. Tráthnóna Beag Aréir
7. Severed From The Light
8. Máirseáil Chrapchosach
9. Day Of Wrath And Doom
10. A New Dawn, An Old Song
11. Nestedodd Enabler
12. The Descent
13. Hypnagogic Transmission
14. Old God Rising
15. Weaxan Driblet
16. Old God Rising - Malthusian

They’re back! This time the Finnish seers Mahti venture even deeper into the unknown on their third release Musiikki 3, assisted by the creativity of English musicians Richard Dawson and Sally Pilkington.

The music reaches for space and roots at the same time bringing forth Mr. Dawson's earthy guitars and angelic voice while Ms. Pilkington weaves ethereal layerings with her synths and joins occasionally the choir.

Hannu Saha conjures ancient Karelian spirits with his kantele while Muumu, Lehtibabba and Mätky mesmerize the listener with their unique mix of electro, rock and noise.

The end result is an album full of Musiikki unlike you've never heard before!

“These ancient musicians played their ‘mahti’… and the sound they produced was called ‘musiikki’”

Hannu Saha - string kanteles ,Tomi Leppänen - sequencer/drum brain/synthesizers , Jussi Lehtisalo - noise/vocals, Teemu Elo - guitar/synthesizers, Richard Dawson - guitar/vocals , Sally Pilkington - keyboards/vocals

This is the first vinyl issue for what is arguably Roy Montgomery’s finest solo album, originally released in 1996 on CD. The original album has been enhanced with two newer tracks that constitute side 4 of the album.

From the original press release:
Few recording artists have aligned the quantity and quality of their releases as well as New Zealand singer/guitarist Roy Montgomery has in 1995. Beginning with kranky's release of the soundtrack for an imaginary film That That Is...Is(Not) by Roy's duo Dissolve early in the year, a series of superb albums and singles have been issued by a variety of labels across the world. Each one of them is a must have. Most recently, the Drunken Fish label released a collection of pastoral drones entitled Scenes From The South Island, singles have appeared on the Roof Bolt and gyttja labels, and further singles are scheduled with Ajax, Siltbreeze and others.

Temple IV is the first solo recording by Roy Montgomery on kranky. The album was recorded by Roy on a 4 track tape deck and then thickened up with monophonic moog. The tracks on the album are thick with interwoven guitar lines and moog drone, inspired by the Guatemalan rain forests and the mysterious ruins of the temple and ruins Roy visited there. Roy Montgomery spent the past year in New York, Chicago and London before returning to New Zealand. While in the UK he played live with Flying Saucer Attack and collaborated with spoken word performer Kirk Lake. A brief tour across the United States in September saw Roy performing before enraptured audiences in New York, Boston, Chicago, Detroit and Los Angeles.

The long overdue recognition of Roy Montgomery as a crucial figure in New Zealand's musical history as a member of The Pin Group, Shallows and Dadamah, is now augmented by his new recordings. Temple IV will serve to extend and deepen that appreciation.

TRACK LISTING

A1. She Waits On Temple IV
A2. Departing The Body
A3. The Soul Quietens
B4. The Passage Of Forms
B5. Jaguar Meets Snake
C6. Above The Canopy
C7. Jaguar Unseen
D8. The Light Is Heavy The Rain Is Soft*
D9. I Will See You There*

*bonus Tracks

Hailing from varying parts of the North of England  and now based in Manchester, set behind a backdrop of haze with the mid 20s coming knocking, Nightbus (Olive, Jake and Zac) found common ground in their mutual taste in music. Amongst those late nights and the hedonism that comes with them, partnered with somewhat of a compulsive nature, The question of; what next? Rang around.

In summer 2022, a desire to collaborate and make their own music was almost telepathically manifested. Evidently their sound is a testament to the scenes, eras and bands that have inspired them to make music that would stand out in an ever-expanding alternative scene.

TRACK LISTING

Exposed To Some Light
Average Boy

In 1994, UK ambient pioneers O Yuki Conjugate recorded their landmark Equator album. To mark the 30th anniversary of this musical milestone, many of the same personnel – Roger Horberry (co-founder of O Yuki Conjugate), Dan Mudford (ex-Sons of Silence and co-creator of the Shaun of the Dead soundtrack), Joe Lamb (ex-Sons of Silence) and Malcolm McGeorge – came together to make New Meridian, reflecting the range of influences they’ve picked up over the intervening years.

Generously described as “almost like normal music”, the eight tracks of New Meridian feature instrumentation ranging from classic analogue to actual wooden logs. The result takes you on a rain-drenched, open-top ride from Electronica Avenue to the drone caverns of Uranus, with various Fourth World ambi-dub diversions along the way. File under: duress.

TRACK LISTING

A1 Dark Blue Trees 00:03:07
A2 Spiral Jetty 00:04:38
A3 Cold Stars 00:05:04
A4 Hiraeth 00:04:56
A5 Left Home 00:04:57
B1 Below Mono 00:05:43
B2 Fogou 00:06:32
B3 The Chasmic 00:09:40

Notably the release includes standout single "Bloom" which has been certified platinum in the U.S.A, Canada, Australia, Italy & the Netherlands.

It melds earthy instrumentals to create a perfect backdrop for the band's trademark harmonies that have garnered them a dedicated audience and over 1 billion streams across their catalog.

TRACK LISTING

1. Bloom
2. Woodland
3. Featherstone
4. Halcyon
5. Willow Tree March
6. The Mortal Boy King
7. A Maker Of My Time
8. Leopold Street
9. When Our Legs Grew Tall
10. Paint
11. Kiss The Grass

A native of Toronto, Tess Parks moved to London, England at the age of seventeen where she briefly studied photography before deciding to focus on music.

Tess made an impression on industry legend Alan McGee, founder of Creation Records, albeit the timing of their meeting could hardly have been less ideal; McGee was no longer involved in music and Tess was due to move back to Toronto. After moving back to her hometown in 2012, Tess formed a band on the advice of McGee and less than a year after their meeting, he returned to music with his new label, 359 Music.

Tess became one of his first signings and released her debut record ‘Blood Hot’ in November 2013 to excellent reviews. One reviewer described her as “Patti Smith on Quaaludes”. Others have mentioned her “gauzy psychedelic sound” and“smouldering voice”.

Alan McGee himself said: “She’s only 24 and is already an amazing songwriter... she just doesn’t quite know she is yet ... her most beautiful quality is her lack of ego. Tess is an amazing lady”.

‘Blood Hot’ is inimitably confident. It’s slow and psychedelic at times, while being loud and ready to fill a stadium at others. There isn’t a moment on the album that isn’t relatable or that doesn’t ring to the tune of a timeless classic to be talked about for years to come (the same way people discuss The Velvet Underground or My Bloody Valentine records today).

Her cult-like following has turned into a movement. And Tess is gladly leading us all back into that space within ourselves, both deeply personal and entirely universal. Incredibly relevant yet timeless.Cool and anti-cool. An enigma that doesn’t need solving. Tess Parks is as she’s always been. Her best work is already out there. And her best yet is still to come.

TRACK LISTING

Side 1:
Somedays
Gates Of Broadway
When I Am Young
Refugee Camp
Stick Around
Open Your Mind
Side 2:
Walk Behind Your House
Goodnight Love
This Time Next Year
Life Is But A Dream
Love Around.

Very Tall marked the first recorded collaboration between Oscar Peterson and Milt Jackson, a masterful stroke by producer Norman Granz in bringing the two together. Both highly regarded and successful jazz figures by 1961, Peterson had recorded innumerable albums with his own trio and backing such stars as Louis Armstrong, Lester Young, Ben Webster, and Billie Holiday, to name just a few, and Jackson had played with most of the great names in modern jazz and had been a founder of the Modern Jazz Quartet with John Lewis.

Very Tall features Milt Jackson as an added member of the legendary Peterson Trio with Ray Brown and Ed Thigpen, and Jackson brings to the session two of his own compositions - Heartstrings, and Reunion Blues. The repeated Heartstrings bonus track is from an earlier session of Jackson's own.

TRACK LISTING

1. On Green Dolphin Street
2. Heartstrings
3. Work Song
4. John Brown's Body, "Battle Hymn Of The Republic" (Traditional)
5. A Wonderful Guy
6. Reunion Blues 
7. Heartstrings

It’s two years since CONNECTIVITY (2021) smashed into the top 40 and debuted at #1 in the UK download chart, propelling the fiercely independent voice of GRACE PETRIE from critics’ choice to the main stages of major festivals across The UK and Ireland, Australia and Canada.

For a seasoned road dog who spent almost 15 years clocking up tours with the likes of Billy Bragg, Frank Turner and Hannah Gadsby, the COVID lockdowns were like a cage for Petrie and when restrictions lifted, she hit the road harder than ever, armed with her most searing and successful record to date, and determined to make up for lost time. Sell-out headline tours across the UK, Australia, Canada and New Zealand followed, with audiences from Melbourne to Toronto mesmerised by the ferocity of her socially urgent lyricism and the barnstorming power of her live show. But travelling the globe hasn’t diminished her laser focus on the political issues plaguing the UK, with two more Prime Ministers, endless blunders and evermore division seen since she last swapped microphone for pen and paper.

Now the songwriter is back - stronger, older and a whole lot angrier than ever before. As right wing ideologues trade in suspicion and cynicism, tearing communities apart against a backdrop of crumbling public services, the ordinary folk of Britain continue to suffer the consequences of corruption and individualism.

From within this maelstrom of despair comes BUILD SOMETHING BETTER - the new, uncontainable album from Grace Petrie.

Recorded raw and unflinchingly with folk-punk legend Frank Turner in the producer’s seat, BUILD SOMETHING BETTER is a return to blistering protest form for Britain’s most relevant political songwriter, a decade after being hailed as “a powerful new voice”, (The Guardian) and “a millennial’s Billy Bragg” (Huffington Post). In a world that seems to make less sense than ever, these are songs made to both holler along to from the crowd barrier and to tear up with on a lonely latet night train. A record for everyone whose broken heart beats for, and whose boots stomp in time with, the hope a brighter tomorrow.

“An effervescent charm-bomb of a performer” - The New Yorker.

TRACK LISTING

1. The Best Country In The World
2. The House Always Wins
3. King And Country
4. Meanwhile In Texas
5. Next Episode Starts
6. Start Again
7. Earthwire
8. Cynicism Free
9. If I Were To Outlive You
10. English Culture
11. Fixer Upper

Vancouver duo Potatohead People (aka the duo of Nick Wisdom & AstroLogical) make their long awaited return to Bastard Jazz with their 4th album, 'Eat Your Heart Out'. Jumping off on the clean & musical production sensibilities that they have become heavily fetishized for over the last decade, the album finds the duo further stepping out from the shadow of the boards and stepping into the spotlight as vocalists, songwriters, players and musicians standing strong in their own respect.

TRACK LISTING

1. The Formula
2. Keepin'; It Kool (feat. Kendra Dias)
3. Last Nite (feat. Redman)
4. Angelwings (feat. Shafiq Husayn & Ivan Ave)
5. Distant Luv (feat. Kapok)
6. Follow Your Heart
7. Come Home (feat. Abstract Rude, T3 & Kapok)
8. Paradise (feat. Diamond Cafe)
9. Secret Mission (feat. Frank Nitt & Reggie B)
10. Everything U Need (feat. Kendra Dias)
1.1 For The Soul (feat. Moka Only)

Precocious Neophyte is the shoegaze/dreampop project of South Korean singer songwriter Jeehye Ham.

After gaining recognition both in the Korean indie scene and abroad as vocalist/guitarist of Vidulgi OoyoO (shoegaze/post rock) and guitarist of JuckJuck Grunzie(noise/psychedelic), Ham relocated to Chicago where she began experimenting with home recording. In 2019, she released an EP comprised of intimate acoustic compositions under the name Sophysoon.

With Home in the Desert, Ham embraces the solitary action and lo-fi aesthetics of home recording to create a fuzzier, more expansive sound, inspired by the organized noise of bands she grew up with in Korea's indie scene. Home in the Desert, written and recorded in her apartment between 2021-2022, developed out of Ham's attempts to envision how skeletal guitar lines might sound when performed live at ear-splitting volumes by a full band. “I never expected that I would make loud music again, but one day I took my guitar out and started jamming on my own.“

As its title suggests, Precocious Neophyte's debut release negotiates the impossible longings for perpetual spaces and times of home. In doing so, Ham fills unstable distances with what KEXP calls "ethereal vocals and soaring melodies," and cradles the insecurities of isolation in overdrive warmth and many layers of distorted guitars.

TRACK LISTING

1. From My Tiny Room
2. My Electronic Idol
3. Traveler
4. AIWA
5. Yasik (Midnight Meal)
6. Girls On The Bed
7. Korean Lesson 7 At Home (Where Is Michael?)
8. Golden Eyes
9. Dreaming Alone Or Together (Bonus Track)
10. My Electronic Idol (Alternative Mix)

Queen Rock Montreal presents Freddie Mercury, Brian May, Roger Taylor and John Deacon at their most excitingand exhilarating. As Brian May puts it, this is Queen “live and dangerous.” Queen were on all-conquering form when they returned to Montreal, Canada for the fourth time in November 1981 to play two hugeconcerts at the 18,000-seat Forum. This pair of Montreal concerts marked an historic moment for Queen. After their massive success in the 1970s, the band entered the 80s bigger than ever, with the hugely successful The Game album producing their two biggest ever US singles in Another One Bites The Dust and Crazy Little Thing Called Love (both Billboard No.1’s), followed by theUK No.1 single Under Pressure. Queen’s return to Montreal came afteralmost two years of touring, including their very firsttours of South and Central America, which saw the band playing two nights at Sao Paulo’s Morumbi Stadiumtomore than 150,000 devoted fans. As a result, when the band arrived in Canada in November 1981 they were in electrifying form. “Montreal is one of our favourite cities, it’s a great audience there, very full of energy,” says Brian May. “We’d played this particular venue, The Forum, several times before, and it was always full of really enthusiastic people giving us a lot of energy back.”

The original concerts,which took place on November 24 and 25, 1981, were truly ground-breaking. They were arranged specifically to be filmed for a full-length concert film to document their live show. Director Saul Swimmer planned to shoot them using state-of-the-art Double Anamorphic 35mm footage, which allowed it to be projected on a gigantic, five-storey high screen.Backstage tensions between the members of Queen and Swimmer could have caused problems, but instead they propelled the band to new heights.

“We were very, very hyped up, some of the tempos are really fast, there’s a lot of really incisive, angry playing,” says May.

Queen Rock Montreal features a rawer version of the band who had released Bohemian Rhapsodyhalf a decade earlier, showcasingtheirunparalleled musicianship, soaring vocal powerand unstoppable live energy.“There’s no one on the stage apart from us,” says May.

Says Taylor: “It's fascinating to now realize how free we were on stage in 1981. It's a four piece, just the four of us in Queen, and to see Freddie. It's like being on stage with the band because the cameras are very high quality for the time. I've never seen anything that makes you feel quite so involved with the performance.”

From Freddie Mercury’s opening cry of “Hello Montreal… long time no see. You wanna get crazy?” through to the thrilling climactic one-two of We Will Rock You and We Are The Champions, the energy rarely lets up – and even then only for signature ballad Love Of My Life. The powerful vocal acrobatics of Mercury, May’s dazzling six-string pyrotechnics, Deacon’s rock solid heartbeat bass, Taylor’s unstoppable rhythmic display, and not to mention the unique combination of all four voices – Queen Rock Montreal shows the total cohesion and individual strengths of four musicians who were, as Brian May says, “at the top of our game”.

TRACK LISTING

2CD

CD1
1. Intro
2. We Will Rock You (Fast)
3. Let Me Entertain You
4. Play The Game
5. Somebody To Love
6. Killer Queen
7. I'm In Love With My Car
8. Get Down, Make Love
9. Save Me
10. Now I'm Here
11. Dragon Attack
12. Now I'm Here (Reprise)
13. Love Of My Life


CD2
1. Under Pressure
2. Keep Yourself Alive
3. Drum And Tympani Solo
4. Guitar Solo
5. Flash
6. The Hero
7. Crazy Little Thing Called Love
8. Jailhouse Rock
9. Bohemian Rhapsody
10. Tie Your Mother Down
11. Another One Bites The Dust
12. Sheer Heart Attack
13. We Will Rock You

3LP

SIDE A
1. Intro
2. We Will Rock You (Fast)
3. Let Me Entertain You
4. Play The Game
5. Somebody To Love

SIDE B
1. Killer Queen
2. I'm In Love With My Car
3. Get Down, Make Love
4. Save Me

SIDE C
1. Now I'm Here
2. Dragon Attack
3. Now I'm Here (Reprise)
4. Love Of My Life
5. Under Pressure

SIDE D
1. Keep Yourself Alive
2. Drum And Tympani Solo
3. Guitar Solo
4. Flash
5. The Hero

SIDE E
1. Crazy Little Thing Called Love
2. Jailhouse Rock
3. Bohemian Rhapsody
4. Tie Your Mother Down

SIDE F
1. Another One Bites The Dust
2. Sheer Heart Attack
3. We Will Rock You
4. We Are The Champions
5. God Save The Queen

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

TRACK LISTING

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

The fledgling Stereo:type label is back with a sizzling second release and it is the UK's Risk Assessment at the buttons. Once again here his sophomore vinyl outing is all about soul drenched and peak time disco cuts with plenty of passion and character. 'Welcome' has all the funky loops and neat keys you need to get you going, 'I Hear Music' is a real stomper with freaky guitar riffs and '5 O'Clock In The Morning' brings some big diva vocals and plenty of lush strings. Last of all is the steamy hot disco funker 'Disco Night' with its slick filter work and rich bass. Another delicious EP, then.

TRACK LISTING

Welcome
I Hear Music
5 O’Clock In The Morning
Disco Night

With two albums, an EP featuring vocalist Shiran Tzfira, and five highly collectable 45s under their belt, Sababa 5 have established themselves as trailblazers in the global grooves scene alongside the likes of Altın Gün, Yin Yin, and Misha Panfilov. Garnering support from esteemed DJs and institutions such as BBC Radio 6, Radio Nova, Songlines, and Star Wax, the band’s innovative fusion of diverse musical influences continues to captivate audiences worldwide.

“Bezani” transports listeners on a sonic journey with its electric synths and percussion-fueled 6/8 rhythm. Drawing inspiration from early electronic sounds and Persian folk, the track creates a mesmerizing atmosphere that pushes the boundaries of genre blending.

On “Ashkamoni”, Sababa 5 showcase their versatility with a rockier feel infused with a rocksteady swing. The track’s captivating melody builds dynamically, while the lead guitar and synth engage in enthralling solos, demonstrating the band’s exceptional musical prowess.

Sababa 5’s collective experience backing a wide variety of international artists has no doubt driven their tight sound and ability to seamlessly fuse genres. With influences ranging from the world renowned Funk Brothers, Wrecking Crew and Daptones, to Middle Eastern psych, the band effortlessly blends diverse musical elements into their distinctive sound.

“Bezani” and “Ashkamoni” mark another milestone in Sababa 5’s musical journey, further solidifying their reputation as innovators in the world of psychedelic groove. Fans and music enthusiasts alike can expect to be enthralled by these latest additions to the band’s impressive repertoire.

TRACK LISTING

1. Bezani
2. Ashkamoni

Craft Music's Good For Dance series continues with its second instalment and this one has been curated by none other than DJ Craft himself. Joining him are talented pals Schmoltz, Bogdan Ra, Romain FX, and Outra, also known as Joutro Mundo. These deep diggers are celebrated for their prowess in unearthing hidden gems and transforming them into dancefloor anthems and that's what they do here as each artist brings a unique flavour to the mix. Schmoltz's 'Luv The States' is a peak-time percussive disco jam, Bogdan Ra brings some slap-funk drums and glossy Italo synths and 'Tell Me Why' has crunchy drums and jagged synth stabs before a camp closer in 'Colosso'.

STAFF COMMENTS

Mine says: Disco and italo lovers rejoice! If the clips are anything to go by then this record is going to be a lot of fun (and most definitely good for dance)! Brilliant stuff from Schmoltz and co.

TRACK LISTING

Schmoltz - Luv The States
Bogdan Ra - Italocombo
Tell Me Why (RFX Edit)
Colosso (Outra Edit)

Blur Records brings some eclectic magic to its next release and it's one that gets the New Year underway in essential fashion. Venerated Russian DJ and producer Scruscru is behind the beats and goes deep into everything from disco to jazz, starting with 'Alright, Alright' which is a bust of disco goodness with lively bass. Things get slow and sensuous with 'Twilight Voyage' which comes with a touch of nostalgia then Dwaal features on 'Breezy Noon' and blends downtempo bossa and Afro rhythms. More slow disco delights come from 'Nostalji' with Jehan and then 'Kno 2morrow' gets jazzy with some classy melodies to close things down.

TRACK LISTING

Alright, Alright
Twilight Voyage
Breezy Noon (feat Dwaal)
Nostalji (feat Jehan)
Kno 2morrow

The Moon Is In The Wrong Place is an upbeat, yet poignant narrative on grief and resilience from Shannon & The Clams. Woven from the threads of devastating loss and communal ties in the aftermath of profound loss – the sudden passing of Shannon's fianceé just months before their wedding – this record unfolds as the Clams' most introspective to date. With Dan Auerbach's production, the album delves deep into themes of heartache and healing, and showcases the band's trademark wry psychedelia, energetic nostalgia, and flourishes of retro beauty. It's a tribute to the power of art and community to triumph over tragedy, and a milestone in Shannon & The Clams' venerable oeuvre.

TRACK LISTING

CD TRACKLIST

1. The Vow
2. The Hourglass 
3. Big Wheel 
4. Oh So Close, Yet So Far 
5. UFO
6. What You're Missing 
7. Real Or Magic 
8. The Moon Is In The Wrong Place 
9. So Lucky
10. Dalí's Clock
11. Bean Fields
12. In The Grass 
13. Golden Brown 
14. Life Is Unfair

VINYL TRACKLIST

SIDE A

1. The Vow
2. The Hourglass 
3. Big Wheel 
4. Oh So Close, Yet So Far 
5. UFO
6. What You're Missing 
7. Real Or Magic 

SIDE B

1. The Moon Is In The Wrong Place 
2. So Lucky
3. Dalí's Clock
4. Bean Fields
5. In The Grass 
6. Golden Brown 
7. Life Is Unfair

When this album was recorded live at the Newport Jazz Festival in 1960, Nina Simone had just had her first Top 20 hit with "I Loves You, Porgy", but the "Porgy" found here is actually a continuation of Gershwin's original version of the story.

Other highlights include "Flo Me La", an African work chant, and "Little Liza Jane", an African American folk song. A truly great live performance from one of the most original voices in 20th century music.

TRACK LISTING

1. Trouble In Mind
2. Porgy
3. Little Liza Jane
4. You'd Be So Nice To Come Home To
5. House Of The Rising Sun
6. Flo Me La
7. Nina's Blues
8. In The Evening By The Moonlight
9. Brown Baby

"Music is a gift and a burden I’ve had since I can remember who I was. I was born into music. The decision was how to make the best use of it.’"

Recorded during a tumultuous period in the 1960s, “Rebellious” is a compilation album that captures Nina Simone at the height of her artistic prowess. Soul, with its roots in gospel and R&B, is an integral part of Nina Simone's musical identity. The album serves as a powerful soundtrack to the civil rights movement, capturing the zeitgeist of the era and inspiring generations to come.

TRACK LISTING

1. I Loves You Porgy
2. Little Girl Blue
3. Mood Indigo
4. In My Solitude
5. Nobody Knows You When You're Down And Out
6. Exactly Like You
7. Children Go Where I Send You
8. African Mailman
9. Blue Prelude

Simple Symmetry are back on Calypso for a second offering but this time around it's in a different format. They've enlisted remixes of tracks from their Sorry We Did Something Wrong album which first landed back in 2021 as a self-released project, which won over many fans with a sound that went way beyond the club and now gets repurposed for the dancefloor with extended and club versions. The Horsemen Of Housing & Commercial Services rework of 'Che Che' is a dark disco classic, Smaghhe & Cross rework 'Rounded With A Sleep' into something taught and trippy and Inigo Vontier layers in plenty of darkness, grit and grime to his take on 'I Must Not Fear'.

TRACK LISTING

Side 1
1. "Che Che" (Extended Version)
2. "Che Che" (The Horsemen Of Housing & Commercial Services Rework)
3. "Oh Lord Feat. Abramov" (Club Version)

Side 2
1. "Che Che" (Odopt X__ B__ Remix)
2. "I Must Not Fear" (Inigo Vontier Remix)
3. "Rounded With A Sleep" (Smagghe & Cross Remix)

Less than two weeks after “These Boots Are Made for Walkin’” made it to the top of the charts, Nancy was back in the studio working on the follow-up. With a newfound confidence and a fresh batch of songs, How Does That Grab You? is a snapshot that captures the fun, creativity, and genius of an artist embracing her moment. The album includes the sparse masterpiece “Bang, Bang,” the Boots-esque “How Does That Grab You, Darlin’?” and Nancy & Lee Hazlewood’s very first duet, the proto-psychedelic “Sand.”

Equal parts strong, sultry, and savvy, Nancy Sinatra has long been ahead of her time—both in her choices as an artist and as a businesswoman. Unapologetically, she established her own path early on and paved the way for decades of female artists to come—all while firmly maintain- ing control over her career, her image, and her music. In 1965, Nancy Sinatra changed the face of music, fashion, and culture.

TRACK LISTING

Not The Lovin’ Kind
The Shadow Of Your Smile
Sorry ’bout That
Time
Sand
Crying Time
My Baby Cried All Night Long
Let It Be Me
Call Me
How Does That Grab You, Darlin’?
Bang, Bang
The Last Of The Secret Agents? (non-album B-side)
If Things Don’t Start Picking Up (session Outtake)

In January 2023, Tom Skinner and his ensemble performed material from his recently released album Voices of Bishara at London club “mu”— a venue founded by the curators at Brilliant Corners and named after the seminal Don Cherry live album. The set was augmented by a rendition of Tony Williams’ “Red” and three pieces by Abdul Wadud, whose 1977 self-released solo cello album, By Myself, was a primary inspiration for Voices of Bishara.

The soloists featured on the album — Shabaka Hutchings and Nubya Garcia— are replaced in Skinner's live ensemble with saxophonist Robert Stillman (who also plays with Skinner in The Smile) and saxophonist / flutist Chelsea Carmichael. The extended rhythm section of Tom Herbert (double bass) and Kareem Dayes (cello) round out the lineup, with Skinner on drums. It’s clear from the jump that this band’s aim is to excavate the deep corners of this material, kicking the set off with a 15-minute rendition of Skinner’s own composition “Bishara” that employs the same relationship to rhythmic and tonal freedom found in the Abdul Wadud cello work that inspired it. That aesthetic connection is even more clear by the time the group moves into their 20-minute exploration of Waded’s “Oasis,” the stunning centerpiece of the set.

Hearing Skinner’s compositions - flexed and stretched with extended improvisation, and in context with works by Wadud and Williams - both places them and this band firmly in the creative music continuum they honor, and provides us with an unobstructed view of where that continuum is leading us.

TRACK LISTING

1. Bishara
2. Red 2
3. The Journey
4. The Day After Tomorrow
5. Oasis
6. Camille
7. Happiness

Austrian artist and music producer, Soap&Skin presents the original score from the film Des Teufels Bad (The Devil’s Bath), directed by Veronika Franz and Severin Fiala. Anja Plaschg is central to this cinematic project as she also appears in the leading role in this feature film, in the period drama which premieres at Berlinale in February 2024. The Devil’s Bath gives a voice to the invisible and unheard women of the rural past; it portrays the harshness of their daily lives defined by religious dogma and taboos which still resonate down the ages. A film based on historical court records about a shocking, hitherto unexplored chapter of European history. Soap&Skin about the process of writing the music for a period film: « Veronika, Severin and I quickly agreed that we wanted historical timbres, i.e. a sound world that refers to the period, not necessarily to Austria, and also points to the present. For example, I incorporated a historical flute from Armenia called a duduk played by played by Veronika Vitazkova and worked with Matthias Loibner, who is dedicated to this wonderful instrument called hurdy-gurdy. This time I used my own voice spherically for Agnes’ inner voices, for example with a scream that keeps recurring as a protracted tone.» Deep, haunting and disturbing, the music gives flesh and blood to this psychodramatic film.

TRACK LISTING

A1. Mooreiche, Moosige
A2. Schmetterling
A3. Lenz
A4. Rattengift
A5. Schlauch
B1. Depression
B2. Freispruch
B3. Hinrichtung
B4. Gedächtnis

In 'Cape Forestier', Angus and Julia Stone express their extraordinary journey through heartfelt songs, emphasizing the universal language of music that feels like home to them. The concept of home has evolved beyond a physical place for Angus and Julia, becoming a deeper connection that grew from their shared musical experiences. Julia reflecis on how creating music brings them peace, acting as a common language that transcends the complexities of life.

The duo's musical journey has taken them across the globe, from childhood beginnings to record deals in London, collaborations with Rick Rubin in LA, and the establishment of a studio in the hinterlands of NSW

'Cape Forestier' serves as a narrative from the hearts and minds of Angus and Julia Stone. Each song unfolds as a different page in their storybook, covering themes from love stones to societal observations. Regardless of labels like folky, acoustic, or indie-rock, the siblings prioritize authenticity over stylistic choices.

The album features tracks like 'Cape Forestier,' 'Losing You,' 'The Wedding Song,' and 'County Sign,' each showcasing the duo's inherent musicality. Angus and Julia Stone acknowledge that this is their most stripped-back album, returing to their roots whlle incorporating the branches of experence gained over the years.

Despite their modesty about their talents, they are of everything good and natural about song writing, as they seem to constantly capture the essence of honest music. Angus and Julia recognize the charm of their innocence in earlier records. However, they also acknowledge their present curiosity and naivety in the face of the world's mysteries, traits evident in 'Cape Forestier'. Through their unspoken connection, they continue to speak the same language, reaffirming the timeless and universal power of music in their lives.

TRACK LISTING

1. Losing You
2. Down To The Sea
3. My Little Anchor
4. Cape Forestier
5. County Sign
6. City Of Lights
7. No Boat No Aeroplane
8. The Wedding Song
9. I Want You
10. Somehow
11. Sitting In Seoul
12. The Wonder Of You

The woven lyrics and singular songwriting style heard in Sunset Rubdown invoke a mythological world, where magical narratives and tiny metaphors give shape to ordinary objects in the room; sometimes beautiful, sometimes beastly. The moniker was first born to bear the solo bedroom recordings of Spencer Krug, but has since evolved into a full-fledged band, involving the vital contributions of fellow Montreal residents Jordan Robson Cramer, Michael Doerksen, and Camilla Wynne Ingr.

Now enter Sunset Rubdown’s third full-length record, ‘Random Spirit Lover’, featuring twelve songs that bleed in and out of each other, mixing portents with theatrics, confusions with conversions. The dark glamour of the music beneath the half-baked revelations in rhyme creates a tone of high drama, blown-out and overt, but the stage is wild and the roles aren’t clear, so the sincerity of the work and the spontaneity of the recordings can't help but shine through the formality of structure. In short, listening to ‘Random Spirit Lover’ is like watching schoolchildren in a dress rehearsal for the annual Easter play. And though they aren’t old enough to know the occasion is anything more than pastel-painted eggs and edible bunnies, they wear the fake beards with confidence and style.

‘Random Spirit Lover’ was recorded in early 2007 at Breakglass Studios in Montreal with Jace Lasek (also of The Besnard Lakes) and Dave Smith. A prolific and talented musician, Krug is also a member of Frog Eyes and Wolf Parade, and, in the fall of 2006, he collaborated with Dan Bejar of Destroyer and Carey Mercer of Frog Eyes to form Swan Lake, recording their first album for Jagjaguwar called ‘Beast Moans’. Jordan Robson-Cramer is currently the brain behind Magic Weapon as well as a member of Miracle Fortress, and Michael Doerksen produces his own solo work under the name of Deep Sleepover.

TRACK LISTING

1. The Mending Of The Gown
2. Magic Vs. Midas
3. Up On Your Leopard, Upon The End Of Your Feral Days
4. The Courtesan Has Sung
5. Winged / Wicked Things
6. Colt Stands Up / Grows Horns
7. Stallion
8. For The Pier (And Dead Shimmering)
9. The Taming Of The Hands That Came Back To Life
10. Setting Vs. Rising
11. Trumpet, Trumpet, Toot! Toot!
12. Child-Heart Losers

Multi / triple Platinum, multi / triple Gold laureates Dutch duo Tinlicker release their third studio album, ‘Cold Enough For Snow’, on [PIAS] Électronique, accompanied by an album tour.

Tinlicker are an electronic music act formed in 2013, consisting of Micha Heyboer (drums, keys) and Jordi van Achthoven (drums, keys).

The ‘Cold Enough For Snow’ album features Placebo’s Brian Molko, Editors’ Tom Smith, Circa Waves, Boxer Rebellion’s singer songwriter Nathan Nicholson (known for work with Joris Voorn, Claptone, Duke Dumont), Australian singer Cloves and South African singer songwriter Julia Church.

Having conquered London’s Roundhouse last year, the duo return to the UK, to the legendary

TRACK LISTING

1. Glasshouse (feat. Julia Church)
2. Staring Down Sunset (feat. Nathan Nicholson)
3. Nothing To Lose (feat. Circa Waves)
4. Blowfish
5. This Life (feat. Tom Smith)
6. Slipstream (feat. Julia Church)
7. Who I'm Not (feat. Cloves)
8. Revolution
9. Crossroads (feat. Nathan Nicholson)
10. In Your Eyes
11. Nowhere To Go (feat. Brian Molko)
12. Strawberry (feat. Nathan Nicholson & Metropole Orkest)
13. Pretender

Aerials live, dials tuned, Transmission Towers broadcasting. On either side of the river Mersey, transcendental communications are traded back and forth. Two late-night revellers, one firing messages filled with music, the other returning them laced with lyrics. The result, a dopamine hit of oddball machine soul, melded with a highlife, Afrofuturist touch. Wonky and murky yet deeply emotional, Transmission One, is a debut album that also marks the first release on Luke Una’s É Soul Cultura label, encompassing expertly the off-kilter atmosphere the label sets to orbit.

A synthesised landscape with a Northern charm, Transmission Towers marry the musical worlds of two artists that last collaborated over a decade ago. 10 years have passed, lives have been led, but a gravitational pull has placed Mark Kyriacou and Eleanor Mante back in each other’s spheres on opposite sides of the city of Liverpool. Energised with a newfound desire to strip it all back to the sounds that influenced their formative years in the late ‘80s and ‘90s - astral travelling, intoxicated on Motor City techno, Black Dog IDM and mystical Sun Ra.

Mark half Irish, half Greek Cypriot, Eleanor half Nigerian, half Ghanian, the music contained within is an alchemy of those roots and the pivotal acts that buried deep into their minds. A cosmic contrast, part machine-made, part distinctly human. Take the opener ‘UP’, an ESG-channelling, sci-fi punk beatdown or the polychromatic hyperspace anthem ‘Roller Skater 23’.

Transportive throughout, you ride the solar waves, pace and emotion ebbing and flowing. Tracks like ‘Go Slow Heart’ and ‘Cosmic Trigger’ step to a slower beat but hit with a punch. The former, a slo-mo blast of celestial tenderness, the latter an otherworldly, chugged-out lunar excursion, micro-dosing on whacked-out Wah Wah and Eleanor’s ethereal vocals. Beaming love letters to space and back, ‘Sparse’ marries the organic with the artificial, pianos and percussion circling around synth pads and broadcasting bleeps.

Elsewhere, vibrations move faster. ‘Mega’ strikes, fusing sonic tribalism with psychedelic swirls, as ‘Everything’ sweeps you up in its extra-terrestrial new wave grip. Synth stabs and basslines fizzing from every angle.

Demos of Transmission Towers music surfaced on Luke Una’s radar, making him stop in his tracks. Something magical was emerging, perfectly aligned with the E Soul guardian’s tastes. Guidance followed, quickly turning into conversations about Transmission One becoming the first release on Luke’s own label.

Escapist and futurist yet grounded and relatable. Transmission One is synthesis meets sentiment with a deep, spine-tingling soul at its core.

TRACK LISTING

1. Up
2. Roller Skater 23
3. Planetary Alignment
4. Go Slow Heart
5. Cosmic Trigger
6. Mega
7. Everything
8. Sparse
9. One
10. Affirmation Of Love
11. My Shadow (CD Only)
12. The Universal Drift (CD Only)

NEW LABEL ALERT!!!

Tropical Pop arrive on the scene to serve peak-time refreshment to the stale dancefloors of the world.

Bursting with flavour, artificial sweeteners and a whole load of E numbers, these cuts deliver totally tropical disco pump and tangy technoid madness - teased, tweaked and transformed for maximum sugar rush.

LIMITED EDITION - ILLICIT INGREDIENTS

Feel the fizz, folks.

TRACK LISTING

A. Lilt
B. Rubicon 

From the ashes of Moss Icon, Universal Order of Armageddon blasted out of Annapolis, MD in a fiery maelstrom of punishing riffs, syncopated breakbeats, and terrifying shrieks. Compiled here are the complete Gravity, Vermin Scum, and Kill Rock Stars recordings, remixed and remastered from the original session tapes, and housed in a deluxe gatefold jacket with a chunky 24-page book packed with photos, notes, and iconography from their 1993-’94 run. Armageddon IS now.

TRACK LISTING

1. Visible Distance
2. Switch Is Down
3. Stepping Softly Into
4. Clear Set
5. Benedict
6. No Longer Stranger
7. Symptom
8. Flux
9. Desperate Motion
10. Longer, Stranger
11. The Entire Vast Situation
12. Painfully Obvious
13. Four Measure Start
14. City
15. Mud
16. Close To Far Away
17. Fence Song
18. Four Measure Start(Live On WFMU)
19. Mud(Live On WFMU)
20. No Longer Stranger(Live On WFMU)
21. Close To Far Away(Live On WFMU)
22. Symptom(Live On WFMU)
23. Painfully Obvious(Live On WFMU)
24. City (Live On WFMU)

Unwed Sailor’s ninth full length album over a 25 year Career. Founding member, Johnathon Ford, has played bass for Damien Jurado (Sub Pop / Secretly Canadian), Pedro the Lion (Barsuk / Polyvinyl), Rosie Thomas (Sub Pop), and other artists Tulsa, Oklahoma’s Unwed Sailor have been on a tear over the past few years. Following a quiet phase through much of the 2010s, they re-emerged with the aptly titled Heavy Age (2019), and two more full-lengths, Truth Or Consequences (2021) and Mute The Charm (2023), that chart a remarkable evolution of their bass-led, pop-leaning post rock. On Underwater Over There their ninth LP overall – a current of 80s goth and jangle-pop runs beneath a litany of memorable hooks and compositional left turns, creating a propulsive and intricate world of sound.

The band worked collectively on all elements of mixing and production to craft a meticulously layered environment, while maintaining an air of spontaneity and experimentation across the set. Early standout, “ Final Feather ”, drifts through varying landscapes of airiness and haze on a high-neck bass hook, while the hum of voices adds a contrast of angelic comfort.

Bearing influence from New Order and The Cure in particular, its balance of gravitas and shimmer is the result of founding member Johnathon Ford ’s intuitive writing method: the lead bass line comes first, followed by supporting melodies, drums, guitars, keys, and final detailing.

Dusty” is a prime example of this process, as Ford’s powerful, low-end groove anchors a full-spectrum array of guitars, bells, and arpeggiations along with Matt Putman ’s energetic drum section. Its fluid pacing provides a perfect establishing shot, with shifting moods that gather into a coda guided by David Swatzell’s harmonized, glittering guitar riffs – a sunrise after a moonless night. In quick succession, “Blue Tangier” widens the aperture with a pounding percussive refrain, vibrant bass tone and an unforgettable, fuzzed-out melodic motif.

Sprawling center piece, “Junko”, is a loose callback to 2003’s The Marionette and The Music Box, its deliberate stride and interwoven melodies evoking the hands of a mechanical clock, and the anticipation of something long-awaited but nebulous. It drifts effortlessly from innocence to intrigue, expands into a mesmerizing howl, and vanishes abruptly into mist. While honouring their forebears in winks and nods, Unwed Sailor remain totally inimitable in their approach and style, twenty-five years into an acclaimed career. The band’s clear vision for Underwater Over There has yielded some of their most indelible work, and their inventive, passionate approach gives a strong sense of plenty more beyond the horizon.

TRACK LISTING

01. Dusty
02. Blue Tangier
03. Final Feather
04. Junko
05. Peculiar Way
06. Antoinette
07. Skylight
08. Underwater Over There
09. Bend The Ai

Following the kaleidoscopic adventure of Villagers’ fifth album Fever Dreams, award-winning Dublin singer-songwriter-instrumentalist-dramatist Conor O’Brien returns with the intimate inventory, That Golden Time, set for release on May 10th.

After the band-centred sessions of its predecessor, That Golden Time’s solo-centric core was not forced on O’Brien by lockdown. “For me, That Golden Time has an internalised voice, so much so that I almost found it impossible to let anyone else in,” he says. “It’s probably the most vulnerable album I’ve made. I played and recorded everything in my apartment, and finally, towards the end, invited people in.” Invites went out to, among others, Irish legend Dónal Lunny [Planxty, The Bothy Band] on bouzouki, American songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Peter Broderick on violin, and a group of players that O’Brien had first seen performing in a tribute to one of his great loves, Italian composer Ennio Morricone, who added soprano vocal, viola and cello.

The understated poetry within That Golden Time is effortlessly carried by gorgeous melodies and sublime instrumentation. In “No Drama”, as the narrator pleads for respite from the vicissitudes of life, O’Brien equates an orchestral swell with an appeal for quiet beauty and peace. “Behind That Curtain” is a rare moment of musical discombobulation as a solemn, soulful ballad hands over to a jazzy coda, “It’s the sound of deafening alarm bells inside your head,” remarks O’Brien. Exploring these themes further, there is also a secondary image of a coin on the artwork (an Irish twenty pence piece) to which O’Brien explains: “The types of physical currency change throughout time, but the essential power relationships and bartering principles persevere throughout the cosmetic changes.”

As the album comes to its conclusion with “Money On The Mind”, we find a moment of serenity with a ray of hope. The very last line, softly crooned, is “My money’s on the mind, truth be told,” a shout-out to the resilience of the human spirit. The moth might be disorientated, but it swerves the flame to live another day.

TRACK LISTING

1. Truly Alone
2. First Responder
3. I Want What I Don’t Need
4. You Lucky One
5. That Golden Time
6. Keepsake
7. Brother Hen
8. No Drama
9. Behind That Curtain
10. Money On The Mind

The collaboration between renowned drummer Jim White and acclaimed guitarist Marisa Anderson is a natural union of two of the most intuitive players and listeners working in music.

Jim White is known for his groundbreaking trio, Dirty Three, as well as duo Xylouris White. His list of collaborations is vast and includes artists such as Nick Cave, Bill Callahan, Cat Power, Marnie Stern and Warren Ellis. Jim just released his debut solo album, ‘All Hits: Memories’.

Marisa Anderson, known primarily for her solo work, in demand collaborator who has worked with Tashi Dorji, Sharon Van Etten, Yasmine Williams and Michael Hurley. She has released records with William Tyler and Tara Jane O’Neal.

White and Anderson are each highly sought after collaborators in no small part because of their mastery, versatility and highly expressive playing. Their sophomore album, ‘Swallowtail’, finds the duo completely attuned to each other, fluidly moving as wind and water. They avoid preconceived movements, instead focusing on their musical conversation. As Anderson puts it: “The ideas aren’t the music, they are the pathway into the musical possibilities.”

Their skilful interplay creates an effervescence throughout the album. The ebb and flow to the duo’s motions bring a sense of serenity and ease to spontaneous transitions, each swell and retraction sounding as free as it does inevitable. White and Anderson’s preternatural alchemy as a duo allows each fleeting gesture to feel featherlight and stirring while maintaining an inquisitive spirit. Their music is an enchanting and illuminating.

TRACK LISTING

1. Aerie
2. Bitterroot Valley Suite I: Water
3. Bitterroot Valley Suite II: Tree
4. Bitterroot Valley Suite III: Wind
5. Peregrine
6. Aurora

Hardly Art debut by Brooklyn-based artist Nick Llobet, aka youbet, follows their 2020 debut album on Ba Da Bing! Records.

A lovely album of layered melodic pop-rock arrangements fusing rock and electronic instrumentation with Nick Llobet’s poignant, witty, and vulnerable lyrics.

Nick Llobet (they/them) was ready to throw in the towel. Llobet, who grew up in South Florida, learned to play guitar at a very young age, dabbling in everything from classical, blues, classic rock, and flamenco. They’d spent much of their early 20s searching for their voice as an artist and as an individual, as well as for a musical community. Llobet would eventually move to Brooklyn, but after three years of looking for a hopeful artistic breakthrough, they spent much of their time in seclusion, consumed by social anxiety and imposter syndrome—and they were considering abandoning songwriting completely.

One day, while commuting through Penn Station en route to their partner’s family home in Virginia (that would also lead to the crucial purchase of a secondhand Tascam cassette recorder), they noticed Patti Smith sitting alone, waiting for a train. The typically shy Llobet decided to approach the icon, who was, in turn, delighted to see that Llobet was carrying a guitar. At the end of their interaction, Smith offered some parting wisdom: “She wished me luck and said, ‘Practice hard, Nick.’” Llobet took her advice to heart, and this chance encounter kicked off a personal and artistic rebirth.

They started performing as youbet, a play on their last name, and began “changing [their] vision for what a song could be.” youbet’s debut, Compare & Despair, a delightful gem of a record that showcases Llobet’s propensity for freewheeling whimsy and emotional intensity. In May 2019, inspired by a song-a-week writing group that produced Compare & Despair, Llobet started a second club in which contributors would upload that week’s song to a private Bandcamp. Invigorated by this small musical collaboration, the feedback, and the accountability, Llobet wrote 18 songs throughout the duration of the club, twelve of which became Way To Be.

After this songwriting marathon, Llobet spent 2020 focusing on instrumental guitar work and political engagement. By the summer of 2021, they were ready to revisit the Way To Be tracks. Over the next year-and-a-half, Llobet worked on the record relentlessly, refining the lyrics, recording, and arrangements from their apartment. Llobet self-produced Way To Be and describes the process as an enormous, labor-intensive undertaking that felt akin to “making a whole film.” Along the way, Llobet was joined by collaborators, including Julian Fader (Ava Luna), Adam Brisbin (Buck Meek), and Daniel Siles.

Across Way To Be’s 12 delightfully off-kilter tunes, Llobet uses wordplay and tongue-in-cheek humor to obliquely explore dysfunctional relationships, regret, self-confidence or the lack thereof, queerness, and self-discovery. Fuzzy at the edges and filled with playful, kinetic arrangements, Way To Be is a bridge into the entrancing world of youbet. You won’t want to leave.

TRACK LISTING

1. Carsick
2. Way To Be
3. Nurture
4. Seeds Of Evil
5. Alive To You
6. Do
7. Deserve
8. Lost
9. Peel
10. Trauma
11. Vacancy
12. Still

Recording technology was completely revolutionized in the 80s by the multitrack recorder, with the popularity of 24-channel SSL consoles sweeping the world. Japanese pop music created during this wave of digital improvement is now recognized worldwide as ""City Pop."" Techno Pop was another offshoot born of the same revolution.

Precise, computer-controlled beats produced by groups like Yellow Magic Orchestra (YMO) introduced a different type of sound to the masses. By now, these works have been brought into the international limelight and continue to be a major influence on today's music.

At the center of Tokyo’s Techno Pop scene was ALFA/YEN Records. The label left behind an impressive body of work, but much of it wasn't made widely available... until now!

This new, definitive compilation focuses on the music archives of the YEN Records catalog, available for the first time exclusively at Light in the Attic. This is a true celebration of Japan's Techno Pop scene of the 80s, reissued with the intent that future generations, internationally, will be able to discover, enjoy, and appreciate ALFA/YEN and its significant contributions to the sonic landscape of the 80s and beyond.

TRACK LISTING

1. SEOUL MUSIC - YELLOW MAGIC ORCHESTRA
2. ZOOT KOOK - SANDII
3. Sakisaka To Momonai No Gokigen Ikaga One Two Three - You An’ Me Orgasmus Orchestra
4. Drip Dry Eyes - Yukihiro Takahashi
5. SUKI-SUKI-DAISUKI - Jun Togawa
6. Parallelisme - Miharu Koshi
7. Bikkuri Party No Theme - Haruomi Hosono & Yukihiro Takahashi
8. Sakasa Kenjin Eagas - Apogee & Perigee
9. Yumemiru Yakusoku - Haruomi Hosono
10. ROCK - Hajime Tachibana
11. Riot In Lagos - Ryuichi Sakamoto
12. Radarman - Jun Togawa
13. Platonic - Haruomi Hosono
14. BEAT THE RAP- Super Eccentric Theater
15. Rap Phenomena - YELLOW MAGIC ORCHESTRA
16. LEXINGTON QUEEN - Ryuichi Sakamoto
17. Chanel No #5 No On The Rock - Sheena
18. Beach Girl - TESTPATTERN
19. FLASHBACK - Yukihiro Takahashi
20. Automne Dans Un Miroir - Tamao Koike
21. Ascending - INTERIOR

Jon Savage's second eclectic voyage through Post-Punk era Electronic music, Disco, Experimental & Proto-Techno 1978-82.

Re-mastered with care & attention from the very best available audio sources for maximum listening pleasure..

This compilation is selected and curated by renowned cultural commentator, writer and film-maker Jon Savage. Amongst many highly revered projects Jon has produced the definitive work on Punk Rock in “England's Dreaming” and the documentary & book “Teenage” The Creation of Youth, 1875 - 1945. He is also the biographer of Joy Division & author of the top 10 Sunday Times best seller "This Searing Light, The Sun & Everything Else" The Oral History Of Joy Division in 2019. His new book The Secret Public: How LGBTQ Resistance Shaped Popular Culture (1955-1979) is published in in 2024.

TRACK LISTING

A1 Dee D. Jackson-Automatic Lover 4:07
A2 Telex - Moscow Diskow (Original 12" Version) - 5"20
A3 Soft Machine - Soft Space 8"56
B1 Qondile-African Dawn 2"54
B2 Gaz Nevada - I.C. Love Affair 6"30 (Original 12" Mix Version)
B3 I Signori Della Galassia - Archeopterix 4"00
B4 Cerrone - La Secte De Marrakech Suite 4"33
C1 John Foxx-Burning Car 3”15
C2 Thomas Leer & Robert Rental – Monochrome Days 4”01
C3 Cabaret Voltaire-Red Mask 6”54
C4 Caution – UFO 5"30 (Original 12" Mix Version)
D1 Martin Rev - Nineteen 86 4"36
D2 Pascal Comelade - Sequence 1 2"55
D3 The Flying Lizards - An Age 2"31
D4 Throbbing Gristle - Beachy Head 3"39
D5 Terminal City -Mugin For Unknown 5”40

Highlighting a time when the burgeoning Ghanaian diaspora across Europe and North America was utilising new music technology and recording techniques. A period of movement, emigration and innovation.

The dawn of the 80s saw an increase in emigration following a period of political upheaval at home, with many Ghanaians moving to Europe - especially Germany - to find work. Musicians recording both at home and abroad began to blend highlife with outside influences, taking inspiration from US disco and boogie, European new wave and Caribbean zouk and soca, reflecting new surroundings and cementing musical connections forged in London, Hamburg, Toronto and New York.

Ghana Special celebrates this key period of musical innovation and cultural
exchange that redefined the parameters of Ghanaian music and accelerated the cultural exchange between West Africa and Europe.

TRACK LISTING

1. The Godfathers - Ebe Ye Yie Ni
2. Pat Thomas - Gye Wani
3. Pepper, Onion, Ginger & Salt - M.C. Mambo
4. Andy Vans - Adjoa Amisa
5. George Darko - Kaakyire Nua
6. Rex Gyamfi - Obiara Bewu
7. Starlite - Anoma Koro
8. Abdul Raheem - Alaiye
9. Jon K - Asafo
10. Kwasi Afari Minta - Barima Nsu
11. Marijata (feat. Ata Kak) - Otanhunu
12. Gyedu Blay Ambolley - Apple
13. Dadadi - Jigi Jigi
14. Charles Amoah - Fre Me (Call Me)
15. Ernest Honny - New Dance
16. Bessa Simons - Sii Nana
17. Nan Mayen - Mumude
18. Nana Budjei - Asobrachie

Unavailable for over 20 years, ‘In The Beginning There Was Rhythm’ was Soul Jazz Records’ first foray into post-punk and punk-funk in the UK, capturing the groundbreaking, seminal groups that crossed the divide of punk and dance music for the first time.

First released in 2001, this album is fully remastered, remade and presented once more in its entirety and features A Certain Ratio, Cabaret Voltaire, Throbbing Gristle, The Human League, The Pop Group, Gang of Four, The Slits, 23 Skidoo and This Heat.

This album comes as a CD and as a double black vinyl edition with download code complete with two bespoke inner bags containing extensive sleevenotes and original photography.

As Muzik magazine noted on its initial release, ‘In The Beginning There Was Rhythm’ is a choice selection from the fertile post-punk period when bands thought nothing of combining politics and philosophy with imported dance rhythms and edgy industrial angst.

Most of the bands featured come from the then bleak postindustrial North of England - Manchester, Sheffield, Leeds as well as Bristol and London - and yet all show a fascination with Black American rhythms and an experimentation in sound that was completely unique at the time.

TRACK LISTING

1. A Certain Ratio - Shack Up
2. 23 Skidoo - Coup
3. Gang Of Four - To Hell With Poverty
4. The Human League - Being Boiled
5. The Slits - In The Beginning There Was Rhythm (Early Version)
6. This Heat - 24 Track Loop
7. Throbbing Gristle - 20 Jazz Funk Greats
8. The Pop Group - She Is Beyond Good And Evil
9. Cabaret Voltaire - Sluggin' Fer Jesus
10. 23 Skidoo - Vegas El Bandito
11. A Certain Ratio - Knife Slits Water

Efficient Space continue with their very highly regarded compilations. And this looks like another classic..

A humanity-reminding suite of miracle moments, Someone Like Me unites a geographically unbound cast of real people in pursuit of a meaningful connection. Taping their lived experience in economic studios in quiet English counties, Pacific Northwest woodland retreats and the big city bustle of Sydney and Los Angeles, these kindred spirits rendered sheer beauty in the process. Custom pressed folk songs of love, loss and the lord saviour.

Illuminating minor works from seasoned players such as former Syndicate Of Sound chart-topper Sharkey and late-era Canned Heat lynchpin James Thornbury, the collection simultaneously honours the fleeting amateurism of hobby musicians. With their one shot at tangible vinyl, freshman Lynne Ann Kingan realised her loose bubblegum rocker on campus time, while U.S. Navy recruit Fred Potts cut his unconditionally serene ballad remotely stationed on a Spanish naval base. Spartan production continues to reign with Jon Betmead’s hair-raising gospel, howling into infinite space, and Goldrust’s stripped back garden hymn.

Throughout the hour-long reflection, faith has an intermittent yet revelatory presence, most overtly with the divine choral soul of Seventh-day Adventist quartet Remnant. More subtly, Gary Ramey and Jim Kennedy both turned to song in their spiritual quests, offering their all to a universal power. An irrefutable compilation cornerstone, the National Office For Black Catholics showcased Charles Murphy’s lionhearted account of the Black experience at a 1971 concert. Five years earlier, high school seniors The Superwomen would use their hauntingly angelic harmonies to address racial inequity with a breathless take on ‘Lowlands’.

Reaching the furthest corners, Someone Like Me secures the inaugural licence of three homespun masterpieces. Discovered by fluke in the digital haystacks of Youtube and Soundcloud, Jim Huxley’s bedroom pop earworm melds peacefully into Charlie Webster’s synthesized reverie. Meanwhile, Hollywood’s John Agostino introduces us to the bizarre world of tax scam records, with the artist only now learning that his tender psych-folk demos were leaked via a 1977 bootleg.

Compiled and lovingly restored by armchair digger Mikey Young (Eddy Current Suppression Ring/The Green Child), Someone Like Me pays due service to seventeen rarefied journals of truth and devotion. Adorned with visual artist Chris Fallon’s figure and flora dream extractions, the uniting songbook is further detailed by expansive track-by-track liner notes and a forward from San Franciscan poet Rod Roland.

TRACK LISTING

1. Sharkey - Someone Like Me
2. Lynne Ann Kingan - If You Love Me - Hate Me
3. James Thornbury - So Tan
4. Jim Huxley - Only A Song
5. Charlie Webster - Snodland
6. The Bob Hughes Band - You Broke My Heart
7. Goldrust - Going Yesterday
8. Jim Kennedy - You Are The Reason
9. Jon Betmead - Marie Elene
10. Charles Murphy - The Foot That's Holding Me Down
11. Remnant - I Will Set You Free
12. Fred Potts - Following Rainbows
13. The Superwomen - Lowlands
14. Robison Kaplan Ltd. - Don't Say Goodbye
15. Gary Ramey - You Are His
16. John Agostino - Loss Of Love
17. Ritchie Tierney - Please Stop Breaking Me Down

It goes without saying that the legendary Lou Reed was a true rock ’n’ roll pioneer. From The Velvet Underground’s debut in 1967 all the way through the end of his days, Reed sang truth from his heart. He lived life to the limit—and then some. The Power of the Heart is a tribute to Reed’s freedom of expression with covers spanning his groundbreaking years with the Velvets into his majestic solo career. Each track is a glorious extension of the Rock ’n’ Roll Animal’s soul, ever adventurous and avant-garde. The Power of the Heart: A Tribute to Lou Reed kicks off with a legend in his own right, Keith Richards, reimagining the Velvets’ classic, “I’m Waiting for the Man.” Richards’ rendition instantly invites you on board this unforgettable ride.

In stark contrast, “Perfect Day” is somehow even more melancholy than the original given the Rufus Wainwright treatment, featuring sparse fingerpicking and gentle harmonies. Joan Jett and the Blackhearts deliver a version of “I’m So Free” that would have even Lou rockin’ in his grave. It’s thrilling to hear these songs reinterpreted and sung by such heavyweights; you can even hear as Lucinda Williams channels the spirit of Lou with her take on “Legendary Hearts.”

Other tracks include a punk-drunk, loved-up duet by real-life lovers Angel Olsen & Maxim Ludwig with “I Can’t Stand It,” and Rickie Lee Jones’ reimagining of “Walk on the Wild Side,” both whimsical and enticing with her whispery vocals, stripped-down percussion, and a piano fit for a late-night lounge. This tribute album truly defies genre, but its throughline, in the end, is its heart: a deeply thoughtful collection of songs that shaped a generation, each paying homage to a man whose body of work still sings.

“To me, Lou stood out. The real deal! Something important to American music and to ALL MUSIC! I miss him and his dog.” – Keith Richards.

“Lou seemed fearless to me, like he’d rather die than be a people-pleaser. I took inspiration from that.” – Rosanne Cash.

“Lou Reed is my earliest influence, my introduction to punk rock, and the soundtrack to the beginning of my romance with Maxim.” – Angel Olsen.

“Lou Reed has been gone now for many years. He’s one of the few people whom I miss as much now as when he left. There are so many instances where I wonder what he would say or what he would think. His general aura would always lend something really unique to the room. Thank God he left his great music and recordings. His personality is sorely missed. Love you, Lou.” – Rufus Wainwright.

TRACK LISTING

I'm Waiting For The Man - Keith Richards
I Can't Stand It - Maxim Ludwig & Angel Olsen
Perfect Day - Rufus Wainwright
I'm So Free - Joan Jett And The Blackhearts
Sally Can't Dance - Bobby Rush
Walk On The Wild Side - Rickie Lee Jones
I Love You, Suzanne - The Afghan Whigs
Coney Island Baby - Mary Gauthier
Legendary Hearts - Lucinda Williams
New Sensations - Automatic
Magician - Rosanne Cash
The Power Of The Heart (bonus Track Cd Only) - Brogan Bentley