Old Friends New Friends was pieced together during the pandemic as Frahm used the time to arrange his archives, conscious of the sheer number of recordings he’d accumulated. Having selected his favourites, he realised how, when he listened to them together, they offered “a different spectrum of freedom for me. I forgot that some tracks are ten years old, some two, and they’re all played on different pianos. Instead I remembered how, as a fan, I love albums like this. With a lot of my records there’s a point where you feel, ‘This is the centrepiece,’ but here I wasn’t really worrying about that. It still feels like my universe, though, and I’m proud that all these things which I never found a way to unite before now work together. It’s like I tossed flowers indiscriminately into a vase and then realised it looked exactly right.”

One can only guess how difficult it may initially have been to narrow down candidates for public consumption from the wealth of choices, because even selecting highlights from Old Friends New Friends is a challenge. Nonetheless, among its almost 80 minutes of music are the fluid ‘Rain Take’, in which his instrument’s glistening ripples are married with the distant sound of a deluge outside; ‘Wedding Walzer’, a Satie-esque piece so intimate Frahm’s pedal-work threatens to overshadow its delicate melody; the unexpectedly touching ‘Then Patterns’, the exquisitely graceful ‘Acting’, and the redemptive, radiant ‘The Chords Broken Down’. Clearly, these are much more than outtakes, something Frahm has no trouble explaining. “Often tracks that don’t make it onto an album are the ones with the most boldness and bravery.”

Frahm has other reasons to release this record, too, among them a craving to protect his legacy in an era where ‘bonus material’ is in constant demand. “The nature of the mind – and a hard drive – is that you forget a lot of stuff,” he says, “and I hate the idea that somebody might browse through my things trying to find something I’d forgotten. I’ll probably burn everything before I go, but these are pieces I wanted to put out. So this is an original ‘Nils Frahm’, so to speak, not somebody curating a leftover meal.”

Furthermore, Frahm felt an urge to clean the slate before making his next move. His debut, Streichelfisch, was released 16 years ago, and not only has his solo output since then been prolific but he’s also engaged in large amounts of collaborative work with friends like Ólafur Arnalds, Peter Broderick, F.S. Blumm, Library Tapes and Anne Müller. “My intuition,” he says, “is that it’s easier for me to start over if the body of work from the last ten years or so is organised enough that I never need worry about it again. It’s time to forget about the past, but in order to never think about it again I have to address it first.”

Whether or not it’s prudent to add to the significant amount of music he’s released in recent years, Frahm’s unconcerned. “History tells us people sometimes pick up on records years later and still like them, so hopefully my music isn’t bound to any specific date. If people hear this for the first time in, say, 20 years, they won’t worry about when it came out, or whether something else also came out the same year. And anyway: who knows? Maybe at some point down the line I won’t release any albums for five years!”

As for how he feels letting the music loose into the world, Frahm simply chuckles. “It’s like if your kids finally move out when they’re 23, and you realise, ‘Shit, this could have happened years ago!’”

TRACK LISTING

1. 4:33 (a Tribute To John Cage)
2. Late
3. Berduxe
4. Rain Take
5. Todo Nada
6. Weddinger Walzer
7. In The Making
8. Further In The Making
9. All Numbers End
10. The Idea Machine
11. Then Patterns
12. Corn
13. New Friend
14. Nils Has A New Piano
15. Acting
16. As A Reminder
17. Iced Wood
18. Strickleiter
19. The Chords
20. The Chords Broken Down
21. Forgetmenot
22. Restive
23. Old Friend

A collection of nine reworks crafted by fans and selected by Nils himself form the ‘Screws Reworked’ re-issue, also featuring his original ‘Screws’

The 2012 album 'Screws' by Nils Frahm, was the result of inspiration from his fans and friends while he recovered from an unfortunate accident, which saw him fall from his bunk bed located directly above his studio, which resulted in a broken thumb. These nine intimate recordings were offered to fans to download for free and in return fans thanked Nils by sending him their audio and visual reinterpretations.

Fascinated by the results, Nils then publicly asked his fans to submit their reworks or any form of art that was inspired by the release and all these submissions have been collected since on a dedicated website: screws.nilsfrahm.com. It gave birth to the 'Screws Reworked' project from which Nils selected nine reworks to feature on a special edition re-issue which also includes his original ‘Screws’.

Helios, Bug Lover and Plasma Rüby are amongst Nils’s final selection for ‘Screws Reworked’, housed in an inner sleeve a visual rework created by Adam Young aka Saturnine.

“Whenever you have to decide between two things, you end up favouring one over the other. In the case of this record, I had to choose nine out of hundreds of songs – but I didn’t want to follow this logic, I didn’t want the songs to compete against each other. I never liked music competitions, neither when I was a kid playing classical music contests nor today when the best album of 2015 is awarded. Having been in the situation to pick my own tracks for my own records, I knew that the only way to manage this tough job is to concentrate on the cohesiveness of listening to the songs all together. Screws Reworked should sound like a record, not like a random collection of tracks.

The motivation to make such a record came with the release of Screws in 2012 as a gift to my listeners. I thought about it as a starting point for people to make their own interpretations of the songs. The feedback was overwhelming. A couple of months later, we counted over 300 contributions. Without going through a selection process, they were all available only online until now. It seemed essential to make it a real record as I imagined how happy it must make those who would find their names – in most cases for the first time – on a real record.

Now is the time to thank you all for your numerous and beautiful contributions. In case you don’t find your track here, please don’t think it stands behind the others. This record means, in fact, that some of the most beautiful songs couldn’t be included as they simply weren’t ‘good neighbours’ and because there is only one rework for each of my original compositions. However all of you opened your hearts and minds and shared your uniqueness with us and I feel incredibly blessed by each and every single rework of Screws. Thank you!” – Nils Frahm.

TRACK LISTING

Disc 1 Disc 2
1. You 1. You (Bug Lover Rework)
2. Do 2. Do (Databoy78 Rework)
3. Re 3. Re (Helios Rework)
4. Mi 4. Mi (Soul Channel Rework)
5. Fa 5. Fa (Fred Yaddaden Rework)
6. Sol 6. Sol (Ruhe Rework)
7. La 7. La (Sebastian Freij Rework)
8. Si 8. Si (Plasma R?by Rework)
9. Me 9. Me (Analogue Dear Rework)

A legendary artist at a legendary location: Tripping with Nils Frahm captures one of the world’s most sought-after live acts performing at one of Berlin’s most iconic buildings.

When Nils Frahm kicked off his world tour at Funkhaus Berlin in January 2018 to bring his highly acclaimed studio album All Melody to the stage, an ambitious journey was just to begin: Over the next two years, Frahm played more than 180 sold-out performances, including the Sydney Opera House, LA’s Disney Hall, the Barbican in London, Hamburg’s Elbphilharmonie, and several big festival stages around the globe. Yet the stunning setting of Funkhaus Berlin, renowned for its vintage grandeur and outstanding acoustics, and also home to Frahm’s magnificent studio where All Melody was recorded, had occupied a unique place in the artist's heart.

In December 2018, Nils Frahm eventually returned to Funkhaus Berlin to host another set of four shows, tickets sold out within hours. Frahm’s friend and film director Benoit Toulemonde — a collaborator since 2011 — captured the concerts on film, only using handheld cameras, and employing techniques he had mastered for the famous concert series La Blogotèque, which featured some of the world’s most popular artists.

Tripping with Nils Frahm is an illustration of Nils’s lauded ability as a composer and passionate live artist as well as the enchanting atmosphere of his captivating, and already legendary Funkhaus shows: An extraordinary musical trip – rare and exclusive, close and intimate, bringing a unique concert experience to the screen.

"It was about time to document my concerts in picture and sound, trying to freeze a moment of this period where my team and I were nomads, using any method of travel to play yet another show the next day. Maybe tonight is the night where everything works out perfectly and things fall into place?

Normally things go wrong with concerts, but by combining our favorite moments of four performances, we were able to achieve what I was trying to do in these two years of touring: getting it right!

When you hear the applause on the end of the film you should know that I was smiling happily, being a tad proud and feeling blessed to share these moments with you.
Much love, Nils"

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: The ever prolific Frahm brings his unbelievable live act to recorded media. Though 'Spaces' was very much an in-studio distillation of the timbres and feelings expressed on-stage, it could never have captured the live energy and spine-tingling sonic euphoria that 'Tripping With..' does. A superb and all-encompassing powerhouse of a live LP.

TRACK LISTING

01 Enters
02 Sunson
03 Fundamental Values
04 My Friend The Forest
05 The Dane
06 All Melody
07 #2
08 Ode – Our Own Roof

Fans of the Berlin based Nils Frahm are by now familiar with his beguiling live shows where more often than not fellow touring artists are encouraged to join Frahm on stage – the likes of Rachel Grimes, Rob Lowe of Balmorhea as well as label colleagues Peter Broderick and Ólafur Arnalds have all obliged with fascinating results. It will come as no surprise then that Nils Frahm, an accomplished composer and producer who signed to Erased Tapes in 2009, has extended his collaborative live musings to encompass the recording studio, working for the first time with noted cellist and fellow Berliner Anne Müller to produce "7 Fingers".

With their first collective release Frahm and Müller have built a world where modern classical and electronica collide creating an ‘intoxicating and delicious’ collection of songs. Primarily a pianist Nils Frahm provides evidence with "7 Fingers" that he can effortlessly turn electric throwing in loops, samples and glitches to accompany and showcase Müller on cello. Anne Müller, a renowned musician noted for her work with the Wolf-Ferrari-Ensemble, Phillip Boa and recent tours with Agnes Obel, proves an amp musical partner for Frahm. As the recognition continues to grow for Nils Frahm’s previous solo piano works Wintermusik and The Bells, 2011 sees a new side to this young talent as he embarks on a detour into strings, symphonies and glitch beats alongside the estimable Anne Müller.

After releasing Nils Frahm’s two-track solo synthesiser EP ‘Juno’ in a highly sought after 7” edition, Erased Tapes now re-release the original Juno tracks with guest reworks by Border Community's modular synth wizard Luke Abbott and Warp veteran Clark. Both known for their like-minded use of analogue synthesisers in their music, it makes them the perfect artists to rework the originals. Similar to Frahm’s online project ‘Screws Reworked’, where he invited fans to download his solo piano songs to reinterpret them with their own medium of choice, it’s far from being the typical remix EP.

‘Peter Broderick loved the sound of this synthesiser so much, he asked me to record some solo sketches with it. This is what I came up with. I didn't use any overdubs or punch-ins. See it as a synthesiser solo performance.’ – Nils Frahm

The cover photograph was taken by Peter Broderick and is a result of an unexpected double exposure between his image and the one taken by the camera’s previous owner. Dedicated to his dear friend, the Juno tracks carry the titles ‘For’ and ‘Peter’ and were recorded and mixed by Nils Frahm in his Durton Studio in Berlin.

Nils Frahm reveals new ‘Solo’ album and the ‘Klavins 450’ piano project on the world’s first Piano Day!

Berlin-based composer Nils Frahm has fast become know as a prolific performer and recording artist with the piano at the core. Piano Day is an official body created by Nils and his closest friends, and will house various exciting, piano-related projects. The first project revealed by the Piano Day team is the building of what will be world’s tallest piano: the Klavins 450.

As the life-long dream of David Klavins, it even exceeds the currently largest upright piano there is, the Klavins M370. Situated in Germany, Tübingen, 1.8 tons in weight, 3.7 meters high, its longest strings are about 10 feet in length. And it was on this piano that Nils recorded eight improvised piano motifs in one sitting, which form his new ‘Solo’ album – available for free download on the world’s first Piano Day on the 88th day (March 29, 2015) from www.pianoday.org. Once recorded, Nils began to think of ways to release the album as a gift to his fans, similarly to his 2012 release ‘Screws’, and that’s when Nils came up with the idea of Piano Day.

With a target of 100.000 euros to reach, Nils eases his fans into sharing their money for the project with this free release. All direct donations and a portion from any record sales will go to the Klavins 450 project until the target has been hit.

LINER NOTES:
Situated in Germany, Tübingen, 1.8 tons in weight, 3.7 meters high: the Klavins M370 is probably the largest upright piano there is. Its longest strings are about 10 feet in length.
This colossus was initially built to evaluate a useful maximum size of the piano. Driven by the assumption that pianos could sound better, David got to work in 1985 and finished his instrument 2 years later. Back then I was 5 years old, having no idea how much I would fall in love with it.
When I finally met David Klavins and his enormous piano 27 years later, in the very beginning of 2014, I arrived with empty hands. I didn't know what music, what songs I was about to record in the next 3 days.
Every piano has unique features and certain strengths. Some have more, some have less of them, but there is no bad piano out there, although I do moan about them almost all the time. Some simply hide their secrets better than others. These thoughts made me start to write music when I am with the particular instrument, the tape running.
The 8 pieces featured on this album were selected out of hours of improvising, happy hours as I recollect. The joy of playing and listening to the sound of the instrument made me play slower and slower, softer and softer, as almost every new note was destroying the immense beauty and sustain of the previous note. I was preparing the instrument with parts of my felt collection, carefully tuning mic positions with the help of my dear friend and recording gear wizard Matthias Hahn and simply playing whatever came to my mind. In conversations about this I am still struggling for words in order to praise David’s instrument. Words simply don’t do it justice, so listen for yourself. With lots of love, Nils Frahm.

TRACK LISTING

01. Ode
02. Some
03. Circling
04. Merry
05. Chant
06. Wall
07. Immerse!
08. Four Hands

Berlin-based contemporary composer Nils Frahm has built a steady reputation for his intimate, poignant piano recordings, yet they so far only showed a fragment of what to expect from a Nils Frahm concert. Frahm’s heart lies in improvisation, in the magic of a moment where, inspired by the space and the audience, his fingers can create new compositions loosely based around his familiar melodies.

Spaces is an ode to the joy of live performance. It expresses Frahm’s love for experimentation and answers the call from his fans for a record that truly reflects what they have witnessed during his concerts. Breaking the convention of a traditional live album, Spaces was recorded over the course of two years in different locations and on various mediums, including old portable reel-to-reel recorders and cassette tape decks. These moments were later pieced together in his Durton Studio and referred to by Frahm as a collage of field recordings rather than a live album. It Includes surprise moments such as the sound of him banging a toilet brush on the piano strings to create a dub-sounding track. The decision to select takes that have people coughing and cell phones ringing show that his audience is an integral part of every performance. In his own words:

"What I love most about playing in front of people has something to do with a certain kind of energy exchange. The attention and appreciation of my audience feeds back into my playing. It really seems as if there is a true and equal give and take between performer and listener, making me aware of how much I depend on my audience. And since the audience is different every night, the music being played will differ too. Every space I performed in has its own magic and spirit." – Nils Frahm.

Spaces was mastered by the gifted hands of Mandy Parnell.

Nils Frahm, born in 1982, had an early introduction to music. During his childhood he was taught to play piano by Nahum Brodski – a student of the last scholar of Tschaikowski. It was through this that Nils began to immerse himself in the styles of the classical pianists before him as well as contemporary composers. Today Nils Frahm works as an accomplished composer and producer in Berlin. In early 2008 he founded Durton Studio, where he has worked with Peter Broderick and Dustin O’ Halloran amongst other fellow musicians. As the curator of the Swedish boutique label Kning Disk’s Piano Series, Peter Broderick invited Nils to record a new album of piano improvisations – the result is "The Bells", which will now be released on the London-based cinematic music label Erased Tapes in the UK, Ireland and North America.

Perhaps the most stunning aspect of what on the surface appears to be an entirely pre-planned and composed body of work comes with the discovery that these pieces were in fact improvised. These two friends share a common affinity in that they now be released on the London-based cinematic music label Erased Tapes in the UK, Ireland and North America. Perhaps the most stunning aspect of what on the surface appears to be an entirely pre-planned and composed body of work comes with the discovery that these pieces were in fact improvised. These two friends share a common affinity in that they both possess an absolute mastery of melody, composition and performance – able to deliver with devastating effect. The modest Mr. Broderick states ‘I remember thinking to myself as I lay there stunned, that I could spend ten years trying to write an amazing piece of piano music, and still it would never be half as good as these improvisations!’ Recorded in a rented, beautiful old church in the heart of Berlin over two nights, Nils ‘just played’ with the occasional instruction from Peter ‘I spouted “Make a song using only the notes C, E, and G”, or "Make a song that you could imagine me rapping over the top of" (Track 8 – ‘My Things’). At one point I was even inside the piano, laying on the strings, asking him to make a song called "Peter Is Dead In The Piano". The resultant work "The Bells" shares the same excitement and air of playfulness. In contrast, his debut release "Wintermusik" consists of three piano led pieces, coloured with occasional celesta and reed organ parts.

Most recently Frahm and Broderick re-interpreted Pink Floyd’s "Is There Anybody Out There?" for MOJO’s covermount CD "The Wall Rebuilt!". According to MOJO ‘Hamburg-born pianist Nils Frahm spent the last few years creating wondrous, haunting music. Together they accentuate the orchestral qualities of Pink's lament, the track's sense of paranoia amplified by the choral resolution of this version". For a musician this early in his career, Frahm displays an incredibly developed sense of control and restraint in his work.

Nils Frahm, born in 1982, had an early introduction to music. During his childhood he was taught to play piano by Nahum Brodski – a student of the last scholar of Tschaikowski. It was through this that Nils began to immerse himself in the styles of the classical pianists before him as well as contemporary composers. Today Nils Frahm works as an accomplished composer and producer in Berlin. In early 2008 he founded Durton Studio, where he has worked with Peter Broderick and Dustin O' Halloran amongst other fellow musicians. The three instrumentals, which make up his debut release "Wintermusik" are piano led pieces, coloured with occasional celeste and reed organ parts. The record’s equal measures of sorrowful refrains and uplifting passages, combined with a real intimacy that makes for an album you'll want to return to again and again. The songs were originally intended as a Christmas present for friends and family, hence its winter release via London-based cinematic music label Erased Tapes.

"I just wanted to be honest about everything, from my musical influences to my story," muses Neal Francis. After years of dishonest living - consumed by drugs, alcohol, and addiction - such sincerity is jarring from the 30-year-old Chicago-based musician. Liberated from a self-destructive past and born anew in sobriety, Francis has captured an inspired collection of songs steeped in New Orleans rhythms, Chicago blues, and early 70s rock n' roll. There is a deep connection between Francis's childhood - his obsession with boogie woogie piano, his father's gift of a dusty Dr. John LP - and the songs he's created. The result is an astonishing collection of material without parallel in the contemporary funk and soul scene.

The influences are unmistakable: the vocal stylings of Allen Toussaint and Leon Russell; the second line rhythms of The Meters and Dr. John; the barroom rock 'n' roll of The Rolling Stones; the gospel soul of Billy Preston; the roots music of The Band. Francis pays tribute to the masters but has his own story to tell: "It's the life I've lived so far." After playing his first live show in November 2018, Francis was signed by veteran agents Joshua Knight and Phil Egenthal of Paradigm Talent Agency. 2019 brought a North American tour supporting Australian band The Cat Empire as well as radio play on KEXP, KCRW's The Morning Becomes Eclectic, and BBC Radio 6. Francis and his four-piece band performed at festivals such as Summer Camp and the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival and shared the stage with The Meters and Lee Fields & The Expressions. Francis continues to tour relentlessly to promote his own music. "I'm doing this to fulfill a drive within myself, but also to pay tribute to the gifts I've been given. And it comes from a place of immense gratitude. I've been given so much in my life, especially in the last two years, that this feels like a bonus

TRACK LISTING

1. This Time
2. She’s A Winner
3. How Have I Lived
4. These Are The Days
5. Changes, Pts. 1 & 2
6. Lauren
7. Can’t Live Without Your Love
8. Put It In His Hands

Neal Francis, best known for his killer live sets packed with revelatory blasts of funky soul, R&B and off the rail piano jams eases over to the smoother side of funk with this Star Creature maxi 12". The A Side features a *classic* remix from fellow Windy City wonderkid and house music royalty, the one and only Derrick Carter while the B side slides into the boogie zone with a mid-tempo, modern soul stomper. Limited to 300 copies, mastered for vinyl by Dietrich Schoenemann and cut loud at 45 - This smoking hot double header is simple a must!

STAFF COMMENTS

Matt says: One of two highly anticipated 12"s on Star Creature this week. Chi-town royalty adds his trademark bump n shuffle to Neal Francis' "BNYLV". The original - a lively boogie-funk number also sounds slick. Bound to be a highly collected unit from this much cherished label.

TRACK LISTING

1.BNYLV (Derrick Carter Remix)
2.BNYLV (Original Instrumental Version)

Chicago singer, songwriter and pianist Neal Francis is ATO Records’ newest signing. After returning home from touring on the back of his 2019 debut album Changes, Francis went through a breakup and found himself living in a church, where he ended up writing a series of new songs about honesty and resilience.

“I’m owning up to all my problems within my relationships and my sobriety,” he says. “So much of it is about coming to the understanding that I continue to suffer because of those problems. It’s about acknowledging that and putting it out in the open in order to mitigate the suffering and try to work on it, instead of trying to hide everything.”

Francis and his bandmates recorded In Plain Sight entirely on tape - and mostly in that same church - and the resulting songs are dreamlike and reflective, anchored in the rock and soul sound that has led critics to compare him to legends like Allen Toussaint and Dr. John. In PlainSight was mixed by the Grammy-winning producer Dave Fridmann (The Flaming Lips, Tame Impala, MGMT).

TRACK LISTING

1. Alameda Apartments
2. Problems
3. Can’t Stop The Rain
4. D’Artagnan
5. Prometheus
6. Sentimental Garbage
7. Asleep
8. BNLV
9. Say Your Prayers

Since selling out the Concert Hall at the Sydney Opera House in 2010, Neil Gaiman and Four Play String Quartet have been firm friends and collaborators. They have toured the world together, released a New York Times best-selling book & record together, sold out Carnegie Hall together and most importantly, recorded a new album together, Signs of Life. Reflecting the fact that Gaiman and FourPlay have each, always refused to be pigeon-holed in their creativity - together, they have created something remarkable and unique.

Signs of Life is a gorgeous, ground-breaking and genre-bending collaboration between an iconic author and a unique musical ensemble. Part songwriting, part poetry, part story-telling; allencompassing, all-engaging, all beautiful.

TRACK LISTING

SIDE A
1. Clock
2. Möbius Strip
3. Bloody Sunrise
4. The Wreckers
5. Song Of The Song
6. Credo
SIDE B
7. Neverwhere
8. Poeb First Read On January 26th, 2011 At The
Sydney Opera House
9. The Problem With Saints
10. In Transit
11. Sings Of Life
12. Oceanic (CD ONLY)

'Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds' is the eponymous release from the solo project of the former Oasis legend, and the first after his acrimonious split from the aforementioned band. Working in both London and Los Angeles between 2010 and 2011, with frequent collaborator Dave Sardy serving as co-producer, Gallagher utilized the talents of now bandmates Jeremy Stacey (drums), Lenny Castro (percussion) and Mike Rowe (keyboards) for the album.

STAFF COMMENTS

Andy says: Oasis for grown-up people! Excellent songs, none of the baggage.

TRACK LISTING

1. Everybody’s On The Run
2. Dream On
3. If I Had A Gun…
4. The Death Of You And Me
5. (I Wanna Live In A Dream In My) Record Machine
6. AKA... What A Life!
7. Soldier Boys And Jesus Freaks
8. AKA... Broken Arrow
9. (Stranded On) The Wrong Beach
10. Stop The Clocks

Back The Way We Came: Vol 1 (2011-2021) is a Best Of celebrating the first decade of Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds.

This double album, curated and compiled entirely by Noel, includes tracks from the three Number One albums (‘Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds’, ‘Chasing Yesterday’ and ‘Who Built The Moon?’) and the three acclaimed EPs (‘Black Star Dancing’, ‘This Is The Place’ and ‘Blue Moon Rising’) - plus 2 previously unreleased tracks including the brand new single ‘We’re On Our Way Now’.

The album is available on limited edition deluxe formats featuring a bonus disc including previously unreleased acoustic versions, remixes, instrumentals and an unheard demo.

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: Though the RSD version of this one follows one day later, you can have the chance to grab this retrospective / summary of the first ten years of Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds project on a variety of formats NOW. Including all of the releases thus far and providing a great overview for new fans and old hands alike.

TRACK LISTING

Double Vinyl Tracklisting
Disc 1
Side A
1. Everybody’s On The Run
2. The Death Of You And Me
3. AKA … What A Life!
4. If I Had A Gun …
5. In The Heat Of The Moment
Side B
1. Riverman
2. Lock All The Doors
3. The Dying Of The Light
4. Ballad Of The Mighty I
Disc 2
Side A
1. We're On Our Way Now
2. Black Star Dancing
3. Holy Mountain (Remastered)
4. A Dream Is All I Need To Get By
5. This Is The Place
Side B
1. It's A Beautiful World
2. Blue Moon Rising
3. Dead In The Water (Live At RTÉ 2FM Studios, Dublin)
4. Flying On The Ground

Double CD Tracklisting
Disc 1
1. Everybody’s On The Run
2. The Death Of You And Me
3. AKA … What A Life!
4. If I Had A Gun …
5. In The Heat Of The Moment
6. Riverman
7. Lock All The Doors
8. The Dying Of The Light
9. Ballad Of The Mighty I
10. We're On Our Way Now
Disc 2
1. Black Star Dancing
2. Holy Mountain (Remastered)
3. A Dream Is All I Need To Get By
4. This Is The Place
5. It's A Beautiful World
6. Blue Moon Rising
7. Dead In The Water (Live At RTÉ 2FM Studios, Dublin)
8. Flying On The Ground

Deluxe 3CD Tracklisting
Disc 1
1. Everybody’s On The Run
2. The Death Of You And Me
3. AKA … What A Life!
4. If I Had A Gun …
5. In The Heat Of The Moment
6. Riverman
7. Lock All The Doors
8. The Dying Of The Light
9. Ballad Of The Mighty I
10. We're On Our Way Now
Disc 2
1. Black Star Dancing
2. Holy Mountain (Remastered)
3. A Dream Is All I Need To Get By
4. This Is The Place
5. It's A Beautiful World
6. Blue Moon Rising
7. Dead In The Water (Live At RTÉ 2FM Studios, Dublin)
8. Flying On The Ground
Disc 3
1. It's A Beautiful World (Instrumental)
2. If I Had A Gun … (Acoustic Version)
3. Black Star Dancing (Skeleton Key Remix)
4. Black Star Dancing (12" Mix Instrumental)
5. The Man Who Built The Moon (Acoustic Version)
6. International Magic (Demo)
7. Blue Moon Rising (Sons Of The Desert Remix)
8. The Dying Of The Light (Acoustic Version)
9. This Is The Place (Skeleton Key Remix)
10. This Is The Place (Instrumental)
11. Black Star Dancing (The Reflex Revision)
12. Be Careful What You Wish For (Instrumental)

Deluxe Box Set Tracklisting
Standard LP
Disc 1
Side A
1. Everybody’s On The Run
2. The Death Of You And Me
3. AKA … What A Life!
4. If I Had A Gun …
5. In The Heat Of The Moment
Side B
1. Riverman
2. Lock All The Doors
3. The Dying Of The Light
4. Ballad Of The Mighty I
Disc 2
Side A
1. We're On Our Way Now
2. Black Star Dancing
3. Holy Mountain (Remastered)
4. A Dream Is All I Need To Get By
5. This Is The Place
Side B
1. It's A Beautiful World
2. Blue Moon Rising
3. Dead In The Water (Live At RTÉ 2FM Studios, Dublin)
4. Flying On The Ground

Bonus LP
Disc 1
Side A
1. It's A Beautiful World (instrumental)
2. If I Had A Gun ... (acoustic Version)
3. Black Star Dancing (skeleton Key Remix)
Side B
1. Black Star Dancing (12" Mix Instrumental)
2. The Man Who Built The Moon (acoustic Version)
3. International Magic (demo)
Disc 2
Side A
1. Blue Moon Rising (sons Of The Desert Remix)
2. The Dying Of The Light (acoustic Version)
3. This Is The Place (skeleton Key Remix)
Side B
1. This Is The Place (instrumental)
2. Black Star Dancing (the Reflex Revision)
3. Be Careful What You Wish For (instrumental)

Etched 7"
1. She Taught Me How To Fly

Deluxe 3CD
Disc 1
1. Everybody’s On The Run
2. The Death Of You And Me
3. AKA … What A Life!
4. If I Had A Gun …
5. In The Heat Of The Moment
6. Riverman
7. Lock All The Doors
8. The Dying Of The Light
9. Ballad Of The Mighty I
10. We're On Our Way Now
Disc 2
1. Black Star Dancing
2. Holy Mountain (Remastered)
3. A Dream Is All I Need To Get By
4. This Is The Place
5. It's A Beautiful World
6. Blue Moon Rising
7. Dead In The Water (Live At RTÉ 2FM Studios, Dublin)
8. Flying On The Ground
Disc 3
1. It's A Beautiful World (Instrumental)
2. If I Had A Gun … (Acoustic Version)
3. Black Star Dancing (Skeleton Key Remix)
4. Black Star Dancing (12" Mix Instrumental)
5. The Man Who Built The Moon (Acoustic Version)
6. International Magic (Demo)
7. Blue Moon Rising (Sons Of The Desert Remix)
8. The Dying Of The Light (Acoustic Version)
9. This Is The Place (Skeleton Key Remix)
10. This Is The Place (Instrumental)
11. Black Star Dancing (The Reflex Revision)
12. Be Careful What You Wish For (Instrumental)

'Council Skies' is the highly anticipated fourth studio album from Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds. This 10 track album includes the new singles 'Pretty Boy' and 'Easy Now'.

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: There's no arguing that while the Gallagher popularity preference has shifted a little more recently towards Liam, it was older brother Noel's post-Oasis work that was the most refined, with the High Flying Birds hitting the perfect balance of melody and thoughtful songwriting. 'Council Skies' is the perfect illustration of Noel's sound, beautifully produced and nicely presented INCLUDING bonus 7".

TRACK LISTING

Vinyl Tracklisting
Side 1
1. I'm Not Giving Up Tonight
2. Pretty Boy
3. Dead To The World
4. Open The Door, See What You Find
5. Trying To Find A World That's Been And Gone Pt. 1

Side 2
1. Easy Now
2. Council Skies
3. There She Blows!
4. Love Is A Rich Man
5. Think Of A Number

Bonus 7”
1. We're Gonna Get There In The End
2. Pretty Boy (Acoustic)

CD Tracklisting
1. I'm Not Giving Up Tonight
2. Pretty Boy
3. Dead To The World
4. Open The Door, See What You Find
5. Trying To Find A World That's Been And Gone Pt. 1
6. Easy Now
7. Council Skies
8. There She Blows!
9. Love Is A Rich Man
10. Think Of A Number
11. We're Gonna Get There In The End

Deluxe CD + Extra Disc Tracklisting
Disc 1
1. I'm Not Giving Up Tonight
2. Pretty Boy
3. Dead To The World
4. Open The Door, See What You Find
5. Trying To Find A World That's Been And Gone Pt. 1
6. Easy Now
7. Council Skies
8. There She Blows!
9. Love Is A Rich Man
10. Think Of A Number

Disc 2
1. Don't Stop...
2. We're Gonna Get There In The End
3. Mind Games
4. Pretty Boy (Instrumental)
5. Dead To The World (Instrumental)
6. Council Skies (Instrumental)
7. Think Of A Number (Instrumental)
8. I'm Not Giving Up Tonight (David Holmes Remix)
9. Think Of A Number (Pet Shop Boys Magic Eye 12" Remix)
10. Pretty Boy (Robert Smith Remix)
11. Council Skies (The Reflex Revision)
12. Flying On The Ground (Radio 2 Session, 08.09.21)
13. You Ain't Goin' Nowhere (Radio 2 Session, 08.09.21)
14. Live Forever (Radio 2 Session, 08.09.21) 

Noel Gallagher takes some time out from feuding with shirty brother, Liam to put together a brand new full-length album with his High-Flying Bird cohorts. We kick things off with the decidedly 'D'You Know What I Mean'-y percussive scree, backed with distant shouting, thundering bass and growing shadowy reverbs on 'Fort Knox', obviously setting up a grand and extended entrance piece. From there we move into the stabbing horns and distorted bass of 'Holy Mountain', perfectly displaying his keen ear for melody, and almost irritating ability for penning a ruthless earworm. From there we move into the sleazy rock and roll of 'Keep On Reaching', owing as much to classic rock as it does disco with the harmonising backing vox and effervescent synth-brass. 

'She Taught Me How To Fly' presents a truly diverse set of influences, from dreamy synths to the airy ducked bass and dusty snappy percussives, providing a perfect balance between Noel's brilliantly robust compositional techniques and the more avant construction of mesmeric Krautrock or psychedelia. 'Black & White Sunshine' couldn't possibly be any more geared towards Oasis' fans, with that legendary vocal harmony NG does so well making an appearance, as well as the three-chord progressive lift we've heard once or twice before. 

What is most impressive is that the High Flying Birds have managed to step away from the considerable shadow that Oasis cast, whilst still retaining the melodic elements that made it resonate with so many people.   

TRACK LISTING

CD TRACK LISTING (STANDARD & DELUXE)
1. Fort Knox
2. Holy Mountain
3. Keep On Reaching
4. It’s A Beautiful World
5. She Taught Me How To Fly
6. Be Careful What You Wish For
7. Black & White Sunshine
8. Interlude (Wednesday Part 1)
9. If Love Is The Law
10. The Man Who Built The Moon
11. End Credits (Wednesday Part 2)
(Bonus Track) Dead In The Water (Live At RTÉ 2FM Studios, Dublin)

LP TRACK LISTING
A SIDE
1. Fort Knox
2. Holy Mountain
3. Keep On Reaching
4. It’s A Beautiful World
5. She Taught Me How To Fly
B SIDE
6. Be Careful What You Wish For
7. Black & White Sunshine
8. Interlude (Wednesday Part 1)
9. If Love Is The Law
10.The Man Who Built The Moon
11.End Credits (Wednesday Part 2)

Noel's second studio album finds his song-writing in supremely fine fettle, but then you'd expect that from the master-craftsman. This time he has self-produced and included a song which actually pre-dates Oasis, and one from the aborted Amorphous Androgynous sessions. There' a slightly funky vibe left-over from said collaboration and whilst most of the album is choc-full of Noel's classic sounding melodies (albeit with some fairly obvious cribbing) "The  Right Stuff"and opener "Riverman" are the most unusual cuts here, one a spacejazz freakout , the other a seventies acoustic groover inspired by a night out with Morrissey (namecheckin' fact fans!) The remainder of the LP isn't too dissimilar to Noel's debut, but perhaps with a more discernable bottom-end as  gloriously displayed on Noel-by-Numbers  (and therefore superb!) lead single "In The Heat Of The Moment", and the one-of-the-best-things-he's-ever-done follow-up "Ballad Of The Mighty I". All in all, a splendid record.

STAFF COMMENTS

Martin says: He's still got it!

TRACK LISTING

1. Riverman
2. In The Heat Of The Moment
3. The Girl With X-Ray Eyes
4. Lock All The Doors
5. The Dying Of The Light
6. The Right Stuff
7. While The Song Remains The Same
8. The Mexican
9. You Know We Can't Go Back
10. Ballad Of The Mighty I

"Source - We Move" finds Garcia reinventing her Mercury Prize-nominated album, "Source", through new collaborations with several artists and producers including; Dengue Dengue Dengue, Georgia Anne Muldrow, DJ Harrison and Moses Boyd. The reworked tracks retain the inspiring musicianship and blend of jazz and other influences found on the original, whilst also moving in a more beat-driven, electronic direction.

Perfect for DJs exploring more slower and sensuous moods, these lavish and highly musical grooves remind me of nights spent at Mr. Scruff and Eyes Down; with a spaciousness that allows turntablists and MCs to perform at will. The electrical innovation works incredibly well with Garcia's source material which should appeal to hip-hop heads, beat diggers, jazz nerds and soul boys alike. Mega stuff this, check it! 

STAFF COMMENTS

Millie says: Now this is truly gorgeous, these remixes are paired back versions from her 2020 album Source and but it’s like discovering her music all over again. With remixes from the likes of Kaidi Tatham, Georgia Anne Muldrow and Moses Boyd these tracks are just so smooth.. it’s super limited so don’t sleep!

TRACK LISTING

1. La Cumbia Me Está Llamando Feat. La Perla (Kaidi Tatham Remix)
2. Together Is A Beautiful Place To Be (Nala Sinephro Remix)
3. The Message Continues (DJ Harrison Remix)
4. Inner Game (Blvck Spvde Remix)
5. Boundless Beings Feat. Akenya (Georgia Anne Muldrow Remix)
6. Stand With Each Other Feat. Ms. MAURICE, Cassie Kinoshi And Richie Seivwright (KeiyaA Remix)
7. La Cumbia Me Está Llamando Feat. La Perla (Suricata Remix)
8. Source (Dengue Dengue Dengue Remix)
9. Pace (Moses Boyd Remix) 

Garrie’s album "The Nightmare Of J.B. Stanislas" became a cult album in the truest sense of the word which has been re-released several times, and rightly so. Gradually, a new generation of music fans and musicians came to appreciate Garrie's work, he was collaborating with the likes of Duglas T. Stewart (BMX Bandits), Norman Blake, Francis McDonald (both Teenage Fanclub) and Gary Olson (The Ladybug Transistor) and releasing critically acclaimed albums in recent years. The latest find from the Nick Garrie cosmos is a session he recorded in Portugal at the beginning of the millennium: "Summer Nights - The Lost Portuguese Session".

In the final year of the sixties and in the final year of his teens, Nick Garrie made an album that should be regarded as one of the great classic albums of the decade: 'The Nightmare of J.B. Stanislas'. It's packed full of smart, romantic, melodious baroque-pop story telling songs with killer string and woodwind arrangements.

Back to 2017 and now there is a new album by Nick Garrie. It's a thing of great and rare beauty. It's still very much the same Nick Garrie who made that incredible 1969 debut and the 2009 album too, but this time round it's Nick Garrie in a more reflective mood.

Suffering from burn-out during Air's 2010 tour, Nicolas Godin was looking for inspiration to reignite his passion for music. He watched a Bruno Monsaingeon documentary about Glenn Gould playing Bach. Godin was immediately attracted to this mysterious and inaccessible universe, which he wanted to explore when he got home to Paris.

Having made a statement with Air, Godin wanted to go back to the classical world, to grow up musically; to renew himself. Even at this stage in his career he took new piano lessons. He decided to start recording Bach pieces, “but not to make a Bach record with modern sound, I didn’t want to make a Wendy Carlos record; she’s already done it brilliantly in the 70s. The problem is how to do something new, because everything has already been done! But when I heard Glenn Gould talk about how to explore and transform the past, this was exactly what I was reaching for.”

Godin began a period of transformation, “taking parts of Bach’s scores, then creating new parts,” he recalls. “Sometimes only thirty seconds of Bach’s original music was left behind. But I want people to listen to Contrepoint without noticing that it’s Bach. And in the process, I discovered that I had made a solo record! But it’s more of a tribute to all the great composers that have inspired me. Making a record about Bach leads to all composers who have listened to Bach.”

Working in tandem with co-songwriter, arranger, keyboardist and Bach specialist Vincent Taurelle at AIR’s Studio de l’Atlas in Paris, Godin ended up with eight pieces. The end result is 'Contrepoint', a dazzling experience that conjoins Godin’s former habitual musical fusions with classical forms, taking the listener on multiple adventurous journeys, often within each song, with counterpoint just one of its many landmarks. It’s remarkably varied in tone and rhythm, splicing genres with a bold, punchy and yet sensual and sweeping feel, with a variety of enticing lyrical narratives, and a starry international cast of guests, such as French vocalist Thomas Mars (from Phoenix), Brazilian singer Marcelo Camelo, Italian author Alessandro Barrico, New Zealand guitarist Connan Mockasin and the choir from Macedonia’s FAME'S Project. But the unifying force of Contrepoint is Johann Sebastian Bach. Each album track uses a Bach piece as its source, before jumping off to all manner of new places. Glenn Gould is also in the mix, though more of a spiritual guide than compositional. The predominant influence on 'Contrepoint' is Godin himself, composing at a new-found level of inspiration, both structural and emotional. 

TRACK LISTING

1 Orca
2. Widerstehe Doch Der Sünde
3. Club Nine
4. Clara
5. Glenn
6. Quei Due
7. Bach Off
8. Elfe Man

Nico Gomez, a Belgian orchestra leader of Dutch roots, has long been a favourite with Latin fans, record diggers, DJs, and collectors alike

His blend of bossanova, latin jazz, and easy listening always turns up a few choice nuggets and surprises; what is perhaps most remarkable is that it was recorded in Europe. Back in 2013, Mr Bongo re-issued Nico Gomez's sought-after 'Ritual' album from 1971, and now we follow it up with another jewel from his catalogue his 1972 album 'Soul Of Samba'. For this re- issue, we have opted to present it with the cover art originally used on the Trio Records version released in Japan. In the Netherlands and Belgium, the album was released with different cover art under the title 'Bossa Nova’, on Omega International and International Bestseller Company records, respectively. We loved the beautiful psychedelic design of the Japanese version and wanted to use it for this re- issue. 'Soul Of Samba' features several euro-bossa-jazz favourites such as the catchy 'Rio'; which was a firm DJ choice cut at jazz dance nights, including Brighton's 'Jazz Rooms' in the 90s. It also featured in Rainer Trüby's classic ‘Glücklich' compilation series which explored European-Brazilian-inspired music. The beguiling ‘Aquarela', with its engaging latin shuffle, entices feet to the dancefloor and is not one to miss. 'Agua’ has a lazy-quirky latin-funk feel with breathy-stoned vocals floating in the background. The album additionally features numerous breezy latin, Brazilian, and easy listening joints, some of which are ripe for sampling.

TRACK LISTING

Aquarela
Tristeza
Desafinado
Agua
Orpheu Negro
The Girl From Ipanema
One

Over 23 minutes of fresh music by Nick Grey and English guitarist Nicholas Davis. 'Silvery guitar lines, distant drum poundings, warm vocals and chords meandering like a milky stream floating on the bed of the moon.' "Les Eaux Territoriales" is the first volume of Nick's mini-series "Unclear Perspectives"; each volume of the series will be centered around one or several specific instruments and will revolve around its own original musical axis and its own set of collaborators. Nick Grey is a member of the collective 48 Cameras, (which have collaborated with prestigious artists such as Charlemagne Palestine, Gerard Malanga, Michael Gira or Paul Buck), and his other projects include a new full length album named "Thieves Among Thorns" (out on Hand/eye early 2006) and a yet-unsigned EP. Nicholas Davis is a talented improv guitarist from the UK, and Nick's full-time collaborator. This is highly recommended, warm and delicately beautiful music.

A collection of self-penned songs and astute cover versions : as usual Nanci Griffiths has released an album of real depth, emotion and humanity. The lyrics touch on all her passions and come from the heart. Songs of the past and Vietnam's legacy, poignant songs of her home and family; it's one of her most satisfying releases.

There are many Ninas – so many iterations and incarnations; so many images, moments, voices and songs; so many faces with mouth ripped open, an array of faces that now spans five decades. The same is true in the video for her new single “16 Tons.” Nina Hagen is a legend – “the Godmother of punk rock, ” activist, fictional character, phenomenal performer, Jesus disciple, extraterrestrial emissary and Brecht connoisseur. Nina is the beginning and the end. She breaks down walls and begins again , keeps on and never stand sstill. Nina is many, and yet there can only be one of her. The woman who fell to Earth cannot be replicated.

Nina Hagen, the most beautiful, and most strident hell-raiser to toe the line between punk and pop, East and West and outta space that Germany has ever produced is finally back. On 09.12.2002 her new album Unity will be released on Grönland Records. It is her first album since Volksbeat in 2011. The time was more than ripe.

The 12 songs on Unity take us on a wild journey through a densely woven musical jungle full of chirruping, buzzing and chittering. Country twang sung over spacey synth grooves and rock pop playing over dub and sexy slow funk. Some songs tell of biblical miracles, others are feisty political tirades, and then there are covers: a country classic, a Sheryl Crow hit and even a Bob Dylan song with German lyrics (“Die Antwort heißt ganz allein der Wind”) – really something that only a larger - than - life songstress can dare to do. Unity plays with a multifaceted mélange of textures, samples and everyday sounds. Amidst this rich foliage of sounds and themes there is, of course, that voice; in the wink of an eye it transitions from operatic to demonic, hitting insane high notes then plummeting to awe - inspiring deep bellows, as if she is trying to inter fuse the sexes. Nina Hagen screams and hisses, belts out lyrics and performs recitatives, rasps and reverberates in electronic distortions. She launches into musical dialogues and soliloquys. It is as if her voice is echoing in to our time from another world.

In short, Unity is a piercing, warm - hearted and varied Nina Hagen spectacle. She is as prolific at 67 as she has ever been. And because she has never wasted time playing it safe or easing people into things, the album takes of f at full speed. “Shadrack” is shimmering half - sung, half - rapped power pop rock with a driving beat. It tells a Bible story that ends with the line: “That was a goodnight story for the soul about God’s kindness.” Nina Hagen, who has been a member of the Protestant Reformed Church since 2009, quotes a pop spiritual from American composer Robert MacGimsey that tells the story of three Hebrew men who God saves from a fiery death. From men walking in flames the album launches into Women of World, a feminist punk reggae anthem of solidarity, which was conceived with Jamaican singer Liz Mitchel and new wave icon Lene Lovich; a song with a message we may have heard often, but one that cannot be repeated often enough: “It’s all for one and one for all.”

With her first single release “16 Tons ,” Nina Hagen has taken on a heavy burden: “You load 16 tons, what do you get? / Another day older and deeper in debt.” It is her version of the old American country-folk classic about Kentucky miners who se lives consisted of work ing themselves to the bone and overcoming constant hardships. Nina Hagen sings of the inescapable desperation of daily life – “muscle and blood and skin and bones” – in her deep, commanding and ominously vibrating voice. It features country twang updated for the year 2022 and recorded with plenty of erratic reverb, unwaveringly forward - moving groove and bone - dry electric guitars. “16 Tons” transports the filth and soot - laden socially critical mining song out of the year 1947 and into the year 2022. This song has been waiting for Nina Hagen. She lends the in some way s spookily topical lyrics the gravitas of an echo chamber for the centuries. “Unity” is a collaboration with funk visionary George Clinton. It is a wonderfully light ly flowing and cosmically glistening dub number that pays homage to the Black Lives Matter movement. The two of them wrote the song as an immediate response to the death of George Floyd. The synthesizer melodies swing like gentle waves to stuttering hi-hats while Nina and George sing against hate: “Positive vibrations surround the world’s nations!” The song “Atomwaffensperrvertrag” is explicitly political. In it, Nina Hagen remix es two sampled excerpts from speeches (one she gave in 2009 at the United Nation Freedom Festival at Brandenburg Gate and a UN speech from US politician Dennis Kucinich), creating a pulsing tour de force with country guitars, jumbled voices and frantic percussions.

One thing has not changed since the beginning of her career. Nina Hagen is radical. She tries new things. She speaks her mind. She knows no limits, whether a rtistic or ideological. Entertainment and very earnestly meant messages still go hand in hand for her. Yes, there are indeed many, yet there is only one Nina Hagen.

TRACK LISTING

Shadrack
United Women Of The World
Unity
16 Tons
Atomwaffensperrvertrag
Gib Mir Deine Liebe
Venusfliegenfalle
Redemtion Day
Geld, Geld, Geld
Die Antwort Weiss Ganz Allein Der Wind
Opne My Heart (Dinner Time)
It Doesn`t Matter Now

Great mix of down country and twisted rock 'n' roll from this ex-Royal Trux man.

While Nick Hakim’s sophomore album, "Will This Make Me Good", was the release of a blockage that came out at the height of the pandemic as everyone was struggling to stay grounded, his forthcoming album "Cometa" sees the artist on the other side of that emotional roller coaster as he transcends to the next realm of his musical universe. Instead of tuning the world out and turning inward, Hakim invites the listener to embrace a newfound sense of clarity that he’s found. Since he was transitioning into the life of a nomad throughout 2021, the album was recorded between recording studios and domestic spaces throughout Texas, North Carolina, California, and New York. To build the foundation of this intricate soundscape, Hakim teamed up with his longtime collaborator, producer/mixing engineer Andrew Sarlo.

"Cometa" is truly a collaborative effort and the highlight for Hakim is having so many special guests from his community that play supportive roles–this talented roster of peers includes Alex G, Isaiah Barr, and DJ Dahi. Hakim refers to the bassist Kyle Myles as the glue that has held his musical life together for the past decade along with the pianist Jake Sherman, drummer Vishal Nayak, and guitarists Joe Harrison and Dylan Day. “Happen” includes Abe Rounds on drums and Alex G on piano, and “Slid Under” features Helado Negro on synths. Hakim’s younger brother, Danny Hakim, wrote the chords for “Perfume,” a sweet song about falling in love with someone’s scent, which he also plays acoustic guitar on.

TRACK LISTING

1 Ani
2 Happen
3 Vertigo
4 Feeling Myself
5 M1
6 Only One
7 Perfume
8 Something
9 Slid Under
10 Market

In 2017, Hakim’s debut album, the critically acclaimed ‘Green Twins’, announced the singersongwriter as an idiosyncratic talent, making music that resists genre classification.

You could work a song of his into an HBO original series, as ‘Insecure’ did; you could smoke to it and wonder about your ego; you could slow dance with the person you love—it’s not versatility, so much as a lack of boundaries and a strong sense of intuition. In between albums, musical ideas still came and he worked with his peers, some including Onyx Collective, Anderson .Paak, Jesse and Forever, Lianne La Havas, and Slingbaum, but there came a time for Nick to dive into his own songwriting again, and ‘Will This Make Me Good’ is the result of this.

TRACK LISTING

All These Changes
Wtmmg
Bouncing
Let It Out
Qadir
All These Instruments
Drum Thing
Vincent Tyler
Crumpy
Lacjkl;ajclaj
Gods Dirty Work
Seeing Double
Whoo

Solo debut from guitarist/vocalist from Neurot Recordings' North Carolinian pastoral psych specialists U.S. Christmas.

A Great River has that Southern melancholy feel in common with Hall‘s band, and joins the ranks of highlight Neurot solo outings from Scott Kelly and Steve Von Till (both Neurosis) in its appreciation of classic folk, from Bob Dylan, whose influence shows up prevalently throughout, to a more stripped-down look at the brilliance of arrangement that has found a home in Wovenhand‘s David Eugene Edwards.

Foremost, the album is honest. Recorded in a single night last March, its “first album” feel is undercut by psychedelic flourish and the emotional depths Hall brings to the surface, and while there are still avenues of progression to be explored, a song like the Townes Van Zandt cover “Kathleen” remains the beautiful and lush work of a singer-songwriter beginning what will hopefully be a long journey.

It is a reflection of a lifetime spent with the echoes of Dylan, Young, Petty, Springsteen, and Van Zandt.

It draws from the rich musical history of America, the melancholy of Appalachia, and harnesses the "electric vacuum roar" of guitar slingers past and present.

Slowdive singer and songwriter’s third solo album, which was originally released in November 2012. It is a stunning record and one which, upon its release, underlined the claims that Neil was one of the finest and most underrated British songwriters of recent times. It’s also a very special release in the Sonic Cathedral catalogue; the shoegaze label licensed the record from Jack Johnson’s Brushfire imprint for the UK and Europe and it was the start of a relationship that also gave us the Black Hearted Brother album in 2013 and, ultimately, brought about the reformation of Slowdive in 2014. But Palindrome Hunches is a very different beast.

Both stately and understated, this moody and mesmerising collection of peculiarly British folk songs was made with the Band of Hope, a Wallingford, Oxfordshire based collective consisting of Ben Smith (violin), Drew Milloy (double bass), Paul Whitty (piano) and Tom Crook (guitar). Together with producer Nick Holton, banjo player Kevin Wells and backing singer Aimee Craddock, they recorded the album to tape over a few weekends in the music room of their local junior school.

“At first we were going to record in a studio, but everything seemed too clean,” said Neil at the time. “We just went through the songs and recorded them live without very much rehearsal. We wanted to be spontaneous and simple and to keep the little mistakes that sneaked in.” This goes a long way to explaining the album’s humanity and intimacy, and also why it has had a quiet life of its own over the past decade, gradually growing in stature alongside Neil’s more high-profile activities with Slowdive; copies of the 2012 original and even the 2017 repress currently fetch up to triple figures on Discogs.

The stunning opener ‘Digging Shelters’ was used to devastating effect in the posthumously released James Gandolfini movie Enough Said – a fitting home for a song that rubs shoulders here with ruminations about love and loss such as ‘Tied To You’ and ‘Spin The Bottle’ and, on ‘Wittgenstein’s Arm’, an Austrian pianist who had his right arm amputated in World War I and lost three of his brothers to suicide. The wordplay of the title track is almost light-hearted in comparison; “I wanted to write a song that was the same forwards and backwards, but it didn’t quite work out,” explained Neil, adding that he also chose ‘Palindrome Hunches’ for the album’s title because “I like the idea of things being reversible”. A couple years later, by reforming his old band, he proved that. And now, ten years on, it’s the perfect time to rewind to this understated, underrated classic.


Praise for Palindrome Hunches on its original release:

“Nope, it ain’t shoegaze as it's been codified and re-codified. But why be disappointed in someone following his muse to a logical conclusion when that path was always the one he walked on?” – Pitchfork

"An exquisite set of dark folk music” – The Times

“Draws from the same understated, reflective well as John Martyn” – MOJO

“‘Tied To You’ doesn’t merely evoke Nick Drake but withstands the comparison – evidence of the songs’ quality” – Financial Times

“Halstead’s songs breathe the sort of honesty and goodness that’s harder and harder to find in the iTunes age” – The Independent

“Given the chance, they could be songs that continue to enchant for many years to come” – The Line Of Best Fit.

TRACK LISTING

Side A
1. Digging Shelters
2. Bad Drugs And Minor Chords
3. Wittgenstein’s Arm
4. Spin The Bottle
5. Tied To You
Side B
1. Love Is A Beast
2. Palindrome Hunches
3. Full Moon Rising
4. Sandy
5. Hey Daydreamer
6. Loose Change

2018 Reissue – Remastered From Original Tapes, Carefully Reproduced Original Art.

Released in 1976, Distinctive Themes / Race To Achievement is legendary arranger Nick Ingman exploring the two distinct ideas of “impressive themes varying in style from ‘Basie to Elgar’” and “a study in the pressure and rewards of achievement”.

Distinctive Themes is a veritable indulgence of variously-tempoed, full orchestra, big band workouts, from relaxed swing to more propulsive themes. The progressively building “Expanding Markets” is a true highlight, with its rolling pianos, contemplative electric guitar solos and moody horns over skipping beats. The dramatic “Against The Odds” is another stand-out.

Race To Achievement is all rugged funk with stabbing chords and strutting horns and it’s probably our favourite side. Of course we have to acknowledge the fantastic “Tense Preparation”, sampled by Prince Paul and Dan The Automator for Handsome Boy Modeling School’s seminal “Magnetizing” with Del Tha Funky Homosapien. But the whole side’s range from tense underscores to fast and punchy chase themes makes this is a gem of the KPM catalogue.

As with all ten re-issues, the audio for Distinctive Themes / Race To Achievement comes from the original analogue tapes and has been remastered for vinyl by Be With regular Simon Francis. We’ve taken the same care with the sleeves, handing the reproduction duties over to Richard Robinson, the current custodian of KPM’s brand identity.

TRACK LISTING

Happy To Be Alive
Basie 77
It's Easy
Expanding Markets
Land Of Opportunity
Against The Odds
Ooops!
Pride In Purpose
Winner Takes All – Opening
Winner Takes All – Closing
The Road Forward – Opening
The Road Forward – Closing
Trademark, Tense Preparation
Light Preparation
Under Pressure
Speedway
Double Quick
Made It
Pick Up
Accolade

Using broader concepts, ‘Dreamer’ is “more introspective, because it's about things that I’ve been through over the last few years,” she says. The album is an intimate journey through snapshots and memories of Nabihah’s life. Exploring personal identity and grief through the soft-focus lens of melancholy, the album is not one specific sound. Her left-field lo-fi aesthetic twirls itself throughout as she manages to skate between tracks without ever sounding disjointed. Apart from four of the songs which have live drums on them, Nabihah wrote, recorded and produced the album herself. Incorporating the harmonium and sitar in her music for the first time, instruments reflective of her Pakistani heritage, it’s Nabihah’s rawest and most personal work yet.

STAFF COMMENTS

Mine says: Though not a million miles away sonically from her 2017 debut album ‘Weighing Of The Heart’, Nabihah Iqbal's second long player ‘DREAMER’ does sound like the London based musician, producer and DJ has taken on a new creative direction, deconstructing her trademark sound of electronic shoegaze and dreamy synth-pop into its core elements. While sounding more mature and confident than its predecessor, the record also shows more vulnerability, as if past struggles (among them stolen equipment and a family emergency during the pandemic) have left her visibly exposed. The ethereal, otherworldly opener “In Light” is followed by a catchy dream pop number, the aptly titled “Dreamer”, before “This World Couldn't See Us” introduces more electronic elements and spoken vocals without interrupting the sonic theme of melancholy that is undisputedly making its mark throughout the entire the album.

‘DREAMER’ sounds like it was written by someone who feels just as at home at an intimate gig as at a rave, but it manages to combine Iqbal's influences so effortlessly that the album flows and never strays from what it set out to do, despite featuring tracks as wildly different as the introspective, stripped back “Lilac Twilight”, the haunting, beatless “Sweet Emotion (Lost In Devotion)” and the anthemic, trance influenced “Sky River”; one of the songs on the album that showcases her love for dance music. Awash with ambient synth pads, reverb laden guitars, textured melodies and big beats, ‘DREAMER’ manages to please both stargazers and night-time ravers. A truly beautiful record by an artist who is at a creative peak in her career.

TRACK LISTING

1. In Light
2. Dreamer
3. This World Couldn’t See Us
4. Sunflower
5. Lilac Twilight
6. Gentle Heart
7. Sky River
8. Sweet Emotion (Lost In Devotion)
9. A Tender Victory
10. Closer Lover

Five years on from 2001's "Space Is Only Noise", prolific, precocious and boundary pushing producer Nicolas Jaar returns with his second full-length LP, the expansive, experimental and uncompromising "Sirens". If you've followed his career thus far, you'll be well aware that Mr Jaar is an eclectic kind of chap. Equally adept at stripped back club bangers, minimalist electronics, intimate torch songs and droning avant garde compositions, Jaar has been carving out his own niche from day one. Over the course of past eight years, Jaar has gradually honed his sound, borrowing samples, phrases and rhythms from jazz, blues, soul, folk and latin traditions, before manipulating them beyond all recognition as he applies his unique production aesthetic. Dreamy, deep and experimental, Jaar's records sound like nothing else. "Sirens" finds the producer pushing all the way through to the other side, fusing precise electronics, full spectrum frequencies and a full gamut of styles into a thematically assured, sonically adventurous game changer. Smashing glass punctuates buzzing feedback, prepared piano rings out while cumbia rhythms elicit a subtle sway. "The Governor" and "Three Sides Of Nazareth" pogo away with a no wave snarl while "History Lesson" is a hallucinogenic detour into doo wop. Despite its stylistic indeterminacy, "Sirens" maintains a thematic and sonic narrative which leads us from start to finish. Near on indescribable, but entirely excellent, this breathtaking example of adventurous composition and scientific sound design stands alone in the world of modern electronica.

STAFF COMMENTS

Patrick says: Challenging, unique and sonically breathtaking, Nicolas Jaar's return to the long format is every bit as good as I hoped. Indescribable and mindblowing.

TRACK LISTING

LP.
Mirrors
Killing Time (LP Version)
Sirens
Wildflowers
The Governor (LP Version)
Leaves (LP Version)
No (LP Version)
Three Sides Of Nazareth (LP Version)
History Lesson (LP Version)

CD.

Killing Time
The Governor
Leaves
No
Three Sides Of Nazareth
History Lesson

Even from his earliest edits and deep but different club tracks on Wolf + Lamb, it was clear that Nicolás Jaar was a special talent, and once he'd arrived at his Essential Mix in 2012, he'd more or less mastered dance music. Since then, he's turned his attention to noise experiments, film scores, politico-punk and some inspired production work for other artists, most notably FKA Twigs second LP 'Magdalena'. 

Written and produced between 2017-2019, 'Cenizas' sees Jaar in introspective mode, leading us through deep waters and seductive darkness for a little under an hour. Almost entirely fluid, the thirteen tracks bleed from one to the next, occasional snatches of latin rhythm, sleek clarinet or jazzy keys disrupting the moody electronics and crepuscular vibrations. At times beautiful and beatless, incorporating elements of drone, modern classical, latin, jazz and electronica, this LP flows like a film score and captures the otherworldly atmosphere of his aformentioned Essential Mix perfectly. There's no one out there who sounds like him, and few who operate at his level. 

TRACK LISTING

A1. Vanish
A2. Menysid
A3. Cenizas
A4. Agosto
B1. Gocce
B2. Mud
B3. Vacíar
C1. Sunder
C2. Hello, Chain
C3. Rubble
D1. Garden
D2. Xerox
D3. Faith Made Of Silk

Nat Johnson is the former singer, songwriter and guitarist of Monkey Swallows the Universe - a Sheffield based five piece band who released two critically acclaimed albums earlier in the decade, toured the UK with Richard Hawley, the Long Blondes and Camera Obscura, were profiled in The Sun and the Guardian, played a host of festivals and performed live sessions for the likes of XFM, 6music and Radio 4's Loose Ends. Since the band split in 2008 Nat has embarked on what has so far proved to be a very fruitful solo career with her single for Thee Sheffield Phonographic Corporation "Dirty Rotten Soul" which is on the album and made Single of the Week by Steve Lamacq on 6 Music. Now with her debut album all recorded Nat has assembled a new backing band The Figureheads (featuring MSTU co-founder Kevin Gori, Chris Loftus of Fury of the Headteachers and Neil Piper of Champion Kickboxer) for a series of gigs throughout the Summer and Autumn - all leading up to the release of debut album "Roman Radio" on the 19th of October preceded by the double 'A' side single "Wonderful Emergency" c/w "Don't Worry Baby".

“One of the best debut albums of all time” – Rolling Stone

Come Away With Me, released in 2002 by a young, unknown singer on a traditionally un-pop label, was a unique blend of jazz, blues, country, folk and pop – and lifted off beyond imagination. To date, the album has sold nearly 30 million times, and has garnered multiple awards, including no less than eight Grammys®. This coming February marks this landmark album’s 20th anniversary and, to celebrate, Blue Note/UMe has worked with the artist and her team on a special collection that will reveal for the first time the full story of the making of this now-classic album.

4-LP & 3-CD DELUXE EDITIONS INCLUDE:
New remastering of Norah’s legendary debut album
22 unreleased tracks: demos, session outtakes, alternate versions & mixes
Norah’s earliest demos—the tracks that got Blue Note’s attention, and the demos she recorded for the label—some of which were released on the promo-only EP First Sessions
The full previously-unreleased original version of the album—including 11 unreleased cuts—produced by Craig Street and now newly-mixed by Tony Maserati, with alternate versions of well-known tracks and unheard performances
Premium packaging with an extensive booklet featuring new liner notes by Norah, rare session photos and detailed track annotations

ALSO AVAILABLE:
Newly remastered standalone 1-LP includes original gatefold packaging and brief liner notes from Norah, exclusive to this release
Newly remastered 1-CD jewelcase with liner notes from Norah
Dolby Atmos release of The Demos, First Sessions EP, and the Allaire Sessions

TRACK LISTING

Standard Tracklisting
1. Don’t Know Why (Side A)
2. Seven Years (Side A)
3. Cold Cold Heart (Side A)
4. Feellin’ The Same Way (Side A)
5. Come Away With Me (Side A)
6. Shoot The Moon (Side A)
7. Turn Me On (Side A)
8. Lonestar (Side B)
9. I’ve Got To See You Again (Side B)
10. Painter Song (Side B)
11. One Flight Down (Side B)
12. Nightingale (Side B)
13. The Long Day Is Over (Side B)
14. The Nearness Of You (Side B)

Deluxe CD Tracklist
CD 1 | Come Away With Me - 20th Anniversary Remaster
1. Don’t Know Why
2. Seven Years
3. Cold Cold Heart
4. Feelin’ The Same Way
5. Come Away With Me
6. Shoot The Moon
7. Turn Me On
8. Lonestar
9. I’ve Got To See You Again
10. Painter Song
11. One Flight Down
12. Nightingale
13. The Long Day Is Over
14. The Nearness Of You
CD 2 | The Demos / First Sessions Outtakes / First Sessions EP
1. Spring Can Really Hang You Up The Most
2. Walkin’ My Baby Back Home
3. World Of Trouble
4. The Only Time
5. I Didn’t Know About You
6. Something Is Calling You Tabla Version
7. Just Like A Dream Today
8. When Sunny Gets Blue
9. What Am I To You
10. Hallelujah I Love Him So
11. Daydream
12. Don’t Know Why
13. Come Away With Me
14. Something Is Calling You
15. Turn Me On
16. Lonestar
17. Peace
Tracks 1-11 Previously Unreleased
Tracks 12-17 Previously Released As The Promo-only First Sessions EP
CD 3 | The Allaire Sessions
1. I’ll Be Your Baby Tonight
2. I’ve Got To See You Again *
3. What Would I Do
4. Come Away With Me*
5. Picture In A Frame**
6. Nightingale*
7. Peace*
8. What Am I To You*
9. Painter Song*
10. Turn Me On*
11. A Little At A Time
12. One Flight Down*
13. Fragile
* Alternate Version
** Alternate Mix
All Tracks Previously Unreleased Except “I’ll Be Your Baby Tonight” And “Picture In A Frame”
Original Recordings Produced By Jesse Harris, Todd Horton, Norah Jones, Jay Newland, Arif Mardin, & Craig Street
20th Anniversary Super Deluxe Edition: Produced By Eli Wolf

Super Deluxe 4LP Tracklisting:
LP 1 | Come Away With Me - 20th Anniversary Remaster
Side A
Don’t Know Why
Seven Years
Cold Cold Heart
Feelin’ The Same Way
Come Away With Me
Shoot The Moon
Turn Me On
Side B
Lonestar
I’ve Got To See You Again
Painter Song
One Flight Down
Nightingale
The Long Day Is Over
The Nearness Of You

LP 2 | The Demos
Side A
Spring Can Really Hang You Up The Most
Walkin’ My Baby Back Home
World Of Trouble
The Only Time
I Didn’t Know About You
Side B
Something Is Calling You Tabla Version
Just Like A Dream Today
When Sunny Gets Blue
What Am I To You
Hallelujah I Love Him So
Daydream

LP 3 | First Sessions EP
Side A
Don’t Know Why
Come Away With Me
Something Is Calling You
Side B
Turn Me On
Lonestar
Peace
Previously Released As A Promo-only CD

LP4 | The Allaire Sessions
Side A
I’ll Be Your Baby Tonight
I’ve Got To See You Again *
What Would I Do
Come Away With Me *
Picture In A Frame **
Nightingale *
Side B
Peace *
What Am I To You *
Painter Song *
Turn Me On *
A Little At A Time
One Flight Down *
Fragile
* Alternate Version
** Alternate Mix
All Tracks Previously Unreleased Except “I’ll Be Your Baby Tonight” And “Picture In A Frame”

Original Recordings Produced By Jesse Harris, Todd Horton, Norah Jones, Jay Newland, Arif Mardin, & Craig Street

20th Anniversary Super Deluxe Edition: Produced By Eli Wolf

Following the release of his sophomore album, Noah continued to write and record, unlocking a new level of himself as an artist and songwriter.

Rife with fluttering guitar melodies, inviting vocals, and homey imagery of the northeast on the verge of changing seasons, it represents a massive turning point for him. Kahan’s relationship with his career was altered, his conviction for storytelling and a pursuit of a more organic sound that aligned with the folk music of his upbringing had firmly arrived.

Elado’s original edit of this Bollywood gem has brought immeasurable joy to dance floors around the world for the past 2 years, RNT now double down on the love with this official 7’ remix package. The familiar Gulab Jamun rework graces the A side, and on the flip we have the dubby acidic treatment of Elado’s brand new 4 A.M. mix. And in homage to the artist Nadim Khan, the original CD artwork as been repurposed for a slick custom jacket. Tu Tak Tu Tak Tutiyan…RNT LOVES YOU!

TRACK LISTING

A1. Tu Tak Tu Tak Tutiyan (Elado’s Gulab Jamun Rework)
B1. Tu Tak Tu Tak Tutiyan (Elado’s 4 A.M. Mix )

An early devotee of shoegaze and the dreamy melancholia of bands such as Mazzy Star and Sparklehorse, Khouri began her career as an acoustic singer-songwriter in New York, selfreleasing her first EP ‘A Song to the City’. Returning to London, she was eventually discovered by producer John Parish (PJ Harvey, This is the Kit) and began writing songs for what would become her first LP, ‘The Salted Air’ released in 2017. The album earned plaudits from the likes of MOJO and Drowned In Sound, was celebrated by Q (Feb 2017 Critics Choice) and selected as one of Rough Trade’s Albums of the Year 2017. In the past year, Khouri has toured in the UK and Europe and has shared the stage with artists such as Low, John Parish, Aldous Harding, H. Hawkline, Howe Gelb, Adrian Crowley, and many more.

Self-produced and recorded in London in between touring commitments, Khouri’s latest offering was mixed by Alan Weatherhead (Sparklehorse, Julien Baker) and is a powerful return from her acclaimed debut. If her debut ‘The Salted Air’ were an allegory for displacement, in ‘A New Dawn’ Khouri has found the shore and displays a quiet, newfound confidence. The title track, which premiered on CLASH in August, opens with droning harmonium, cascades of tremolo guitar and mermaid-like backing vocals.

‘To Sleep’ sees violinist Basia Bartz doubling Khouri’s nylon string guitar in a pizzicato set against swelling harmonium, piano and flurries of guitar delay. Penned as “a lullaby she wrote from the point of view of a younger self” in a war zone, Khouri deals with the sounds of shelling by singing herself to sleep: “Teach me / A melody / So I can hum myself to sleep”. The beautifully arranged EP highlights Khouri’s talent for creating songs that feel both vast and intimate, as her sumptuous vocal takes centre-stage with poignant lyrics set against delicate atmospheric soundscapes.

TRACK LISTING

1. A New Dawn
2. To Sleep
3. The Hours

Another Life is the second album by singer-songwriter Nadine Khouri. Recorded in London and Bristol with producer John Parish (PJ Harvey, Dry Cleaning) the album extends a collaborative partnership that began with Khouri's acclaimed 2017 debut The Salted Air.

Her debut The Salted Air was hailed by MOJO as "A thing of dark possessed beauty" in their four-star album review, celebrated by Q as a Critics Choice record, and selected as one of Rough Trade's Albums of the Year in 2017.

By now Nicola Loporchio aka Nico Lahs has a discography that has become respected and sought after among DJs and music lovers in dance music across the globe.Whether it be deep, atmospheric, jackin' or jazz-flecked deep, it's all firmly rooted in house music tradition, something that Nico Lahs masters with ease. With releases on labels like Moods & Grooves, Delusions Of Grandeur, Ovum, HotMix, Adeem plus many more, he shows no sign in slowing down either.

"Ancestors Call" is a musical story told in two parts. Filled with melodic and spiritual elements, sitting somewhere between Ron Trent, Kyle Hall and Joe Claussell.

Part 2 dives deeper and adds additional layers of melody that tie the whole release firmly together. With Nico Lahs talented songwriting, his evolution is endless and bright...

"Ancestors Call" is something you listen to from start to finish, each song building a musically expansive story. That said, all four jams here are gonna get even the stiffest of nightclub patron shuffling around inna eyes-wide-shut revelry; the chakra-aligning rhythms and moods certain to rouse the spirits of the weary and inject life into the dancefloor... Recommended! 

STAFF COMMENTS

Matt says: Dreamy and oozing class, Nico Lahs drops a spiritual four tracker of dizzying quality. Reminiscent of Ron Trent's Electric Blue series - the merger of electronic elements of human expression is both elevating and transportive. A shimmering holographic world of beauty.

TRACK LISTING

A1. Dancing Stars
A2. Ascension
B1. Astral Pla(t)s
B2. Love Sets You Free

Nick The Knife re-established Nick as a solo artist after Rockpiles final album (and the only one issued under the groups name!) Seconds of Pleasure.

The release comes with 3 previously unavailable tracks that featured on both the CD and the bonus 7” single that comes with the LP.

Rockpiles Terry Williams and Billy Bremner made contributions, but Nick also transitioned towards his new band Noise to Go by bringing back old friend Bobby Irwin, introducing bassist James Eller and Paul Carrack.

The album features Nicks version of Heart (Bremner had sung it on the Rockpile album) as well as an eclectic survey of pop music styles from power pop to doo-wop. My Heart Hurts, penned with then-wife Carlene Carter, was the lead single. This reissue includes demo versions of Heart and Raining, Raining as well as the rarity (recorded around the same time) I Got a Job.

STAFF COMMENTS

Andy says: Nick's first album after Rockpile split up features the excellent "Too Many Teardrops".

TRACK LISTING

Burning
Heart
Stick It Where The Sun Don't Shine
Queen Of Sheba
My Heart Hurts
Couldn't Love You(any More Than I Do)
Let Me Kiss Ya
Too Many Teardrops
Ba Doom
Raining Raining
One's Too Many (And A Hundred Ain't Enough)
Zulu Kiss
Heart (Demo) (Bonus Track)
Raining Raining (Demo) (Bonus Track)
I Got A Job (Bonus Track)

Nick Lowes Abominable Showman was recorded with his post-Rockpile touring band Noise to Go. Following the blueprint of Rockpile, the band also featured a second lead vocalist in erstwhile Ace frontman Paul Carrack.

The release comes with 2 previously unavailabletracks that are featured both on the CD and the bonus 7” single that comes with the LP.

They had been featured on the Lowe-produced Paul Carrack album Suburban Voodoo (as well as on this albums duet Wish You Were Here). This unit could play hard driving rock & roll and soulful pop music, all in evidence here from the opener (and concert favorite) Raging Eyes to the full on pop-soul of Time Wounds All Heels. And the band barnstormed the USA opening for the likes of The Cars and Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers which yields the bonus EP of live tracks from Clevelands Agora.

STAFF COMMENTS

Andy says: Heavily in the New Wave zone, Nick's 1983 album features the excellent "Raging Eyes".

TRACK LISTING

We Want Action
Raging Eyes
Cool Reaction
Time Wounds All Heels
Man Of A Fool
Tanque-Rae
Wish You Were Here
Chicken And Feathers
Paid The Price
Mess Around With Love
Saint Beneath The Paint
How Do You Talk To An Angel
(What’s So Funny ‘Bout) Peace, Love And Understanding? (Live) (Bonus Track)
Crackin’ Up (Live) (Bonus Track) 

One of three new 7"s out on Golden Lion Records and it's a UK reggae bonanza featuring two absolute legends from our home soils.

Nick Manasseh owns The Yard, Ladbrook Grove; and has been pivotal in the London scene since the 1980s. Earl Gateshead originally gained momentum in Bradford's West Indian Centre before gaining a residency in Soho which he pilotted for 20 years before working at Plastic People and going on tour with Dr. Alimantado and Big Youth.

Manesseh wields a the 'reggae flute' (or melodica as it's more commonly known) on "Lion's Paw"; a creeping slice of jungle dub somewhere between Pablo, Perry and Tubby with ancient percussion and plenty dub delay.

On the flip, Earl Gateshead showcases some impressive lyrical direction on the track, "Dirty City"; which, as well as containing a supremely infectious chorus, includes some delightfully introspective and insightful lines as it moves through a steady roots groove populated with shimmering psychedelic elements. 

Maximum vibes up inna Todmorden areee-ah! 

 

STAFF COMMENTS

Matt says: Proper reggae royalty on this GLS 7". Manesseh with his storied London soundsystem history and Gateshead with his celebrity tour DJ credentials. Both collide inna soundclash stylee on the highly collectable Golden Lion series.

TRACK LISTING

Nick Manasseh - Lion's Paw
Earl Gateshead - Dirty City

Following on from 2020's debut album 'Are You Happy Now?', Manchester's Nile Marr returns with Self Care, the first track off his sophomore LP 'Lonely Hearts Killers'.

"I wanted to this one to feel different to my previous album. Songs came out quickerand I mostly recorded it at night in the Mill, I just tried to go with the late night vibe" says Marr.

"I got back into listening to all the bands that made me want to write songs in the first place, like the Lilys and Neil Finn. I guess the whole album was trying to focus on song writing, and because I couldn’t play live during lockdown, I focussed more on song writing rather than ‘I know this works at our live shows', so I feel like this one differs in every wayfrom my previous album".

For fans of Broken Social Scene, Big Star and Elliott Smith

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: Nile Marr is back! This time sees him partially eschew the soaring britpop indebted groove of 2020's 'Are You Happy Now?' in favour of a more distinguished and broad palette of sounds, veering towards west-coast sunshine pop and jangling, grand stadium rock.

TRACK LISTING

A1 Lonely Hearts Killers
A2 The Rush
A3 Self Care
A4 You Pull Me In
A5 Birdsong
B1 Eyes Like Deer
B2 Skin
B3 Late Night Champion
B4 Two Words
B5 The Easiest Game
B6 Run The Last Mile

McSweeney started writing his Americana-tinged, folksy solo material while teaching English in Italy, following the break-up of his first band, Faded. Upon returning to his native Sheffield, he continued to write songs inspired by the likes of Low and Papa M, and was invited to record some tracks by a local studio. McSweeney became a fixture on the local live circuit, with his intense, brooding live performances. Following a self-released album last year, he now releases his debut single on Kids. "Postcards", one of the stand-out tracks on the album, showcases McSweeney's extraordinarily powerful voice. His deep vocals resonate over a maudlin yet uplifting backdrop with an emotional depth that recalls the quiet menace of The Bad Seeds. Reference points also include Lou Reed, Leonard Cohen, Will Oldham, King Creosote maybe even Richard Hawley, and strangely Tracey Chapman! A stunning single.

Lyrics that deal with the contrasts and contradictions of life to romantic melodies as hopeful as they are melancholy, McSweeney’s finely crafted songs have been championed by his peers as well as across national radio and mainstream and specialist press. Since the release of his last album, Cargo, McSweeney has made increasingly big waves on the English folk scene picking up main stage festival appearances and collaborating with the likes of Jon Boden and Fay Hield.

March 2017 sees the release of McSweeney’s fourth album, A Coat Worth Wearing, the second release for new imprint Hudson Records. Produced by award-winning folk producer Andy Bell and building on the success of its predecessor, A Coat Worth Wearing shows a marked development in Neil’s sound and approach. Its nine songs were conceived as a piece and subsequently recorded together, largely in full-band live-takes, over seven days in the beautiful Welsh countryside. McSweeney has toured extensively throughout the UK as well as in mainland Europe on his own and as support for the likes of Richard Hawley and Bellowhead. He will continue to tour around the release of A Coat Worth Wearing then throughout 2017 and beyond.

TRACK LISTING

Old Glory Blues
Forlorn Hope
Danse Macabre
Land Of Cockaigne
Atlantis
Strangers Of Maresfield Gardens
Waving Not Drowning
Night Watchman
The Call

Neil McSweeney is a critically acclaimed singer / songwriter from Sheffield. He’s toured with Richard Hawley and been played across BBC national radio. He’s recently collaborated with the bright young things of the English folk and Americana scenes including Lucy Farrell, Matthew Boulter and Sam Sweeney as well as more established artists such as Brooks Williams.

For fans of: Neil Young, Richard Thompson, Grant Lee Phillips

This is the third solo album release from Neil McSweeney following Remember to Smile (2006) and Shoreline (2009). Neil has also released singles though London based Kids Records and earlier in 2013 he released a The Seventeen EP through his own January Records label.

Cargo presents a series of walking songs each recounting the thoughts, deeds or words of an imagined traveller. The album features a range of musicians including BBC Folk award winners Sam Sweeney (Bellowhead) and Lucy Farrell, label-mate Matt Boulter, double-bass master and ace producer Andy Seward (Kate Rusby, Phil Selway of Radiohead).

TRACK LISTING

1. Bulldozer
2. Be Your Own Dog
3. Happiness
4. San Miniato
5. New Year’s Day
6. Sapling Bough
7. Snow Blind
8. Into The Sound
9. Slowly Sets The Sun
10. Cargo
11. Stop Digging

Natalie Merchant’s Paradise Is There: The New Tigerlily Recordings is a collection of all-new recordings that revisits Merchant’s multi-platinum solo debut, Tigerlily, originally released in 1995 following her departure from 10,000 Maniacs. 

Tigerlily was described by the New York Times in 1995 as ‘an anomaly in a music scene in which reckless female performers reign supreme’. The album sold more than five million copies worldwide and featured the popular hit singles ‘Carnival’, ‘Wonder’, and ‘Jealousy’. Paradise Is There presents the songs as they have evolved over the past two decades of live performance. Joining Merchant on the album, which she produced herself, are her long-time band members Gabriel Gordon (guitar), Jesse Murphy (bass), Uri Sharlin (piano & accordion), and Allison Miller (drums), as well as a string quartet – Scot Moore (violin), Shawn Moore (violin), Marandi Hostetter (viola), and Stanley Moore (cello) – plus Sharel Cassity (saxophone), and guest vocals by Simi Stone, Gail Ann Dorsey, and Elizabeth Mitchell.

“Tigerlily is the most significant album I’ve made because it defined me as an independent songwriter after 12 years in 10,000 Maniacs,” Merchant explains, “It also created a bond between me and an audience that has supported and sustained me for 20 years. I decided to make the Paradise Is There album and film for them, to honor the journey that we, and these songs, have all taken. Songs have new life breathed into them every time they are sung. Time has changed them as much as it has changed me.’” She continues, “I wanted to record these songs again because it seemed unfair to confine them to the way that they were performed in the studio in 1995. They are so versatile, whether I strip them bare or enhance them with strings, and they lend themselves so well to re-arrangement. There are several songs from Tigerlily – ‘Carnival’, ‘Wonder’, ‘Beloved Wife’, ‘River’, and ‘Cowboy Romance’ – that remain at the core of my live shows. They still have relevance to me and, by the response they receive, I can tell that they still resonate with my audience,” Merchant says. “I’ve spent a full year preparing this album and film, and the process gave me a chance to take the measure of everything that’s happened because of Tigerlily. The distance this music traveled once it left my hands is humbling, and I am moved by how many lives it has touched along the way.”

Merchant’s career began in 1981 when, as a college student, she joined the seminal alternative rock band 10,000 Maniacs, which signed to Elektra Records in 1984. As lead vocalist, lyricist, and sometimes pianist, Merchant released six critically acclaimed studio albums with the band, including the platinum-certified In My Tribe (1987), Blind Man’s Zoo (1989), Our Time in Eden (1992), and MTV Unplugged (1993). She left the group in 1993, and in 1995 released her multi-platinum solo debut, Tigerlily, followed by the platinum Ophelia (1998) and Motherland (2001). In 2003 she independently released an album of traditional and contemporary folk music, The House Carpenter’s Daughter, which also coincided with the birth of her child. For the next seven years she lived quietly in New York’s Hudson Valley devoting herself to family and community, while taking opportunities to collaborate with other musicians and strengthen her commitment to activism and philanthropy.

In 2010, Merchant returned with a thematic double album, Leave Your Sleep, her debut for Nonesuch Records. For this meditation on childhood and mothering Merchant set 19th- and 20th century American and British children’s poetry to music. She also collaborated with award-winning children’s book illustrator Barbara McClintock for a picture book based on the album. In 2014, Nonesuch released Natalie Merchant, her sixth solo album and first of entirely original songs in 13 years, which the New York Times called a ‘set of dark, brave, thoughtful and serenely startling songs’ and the Daily Telegraph praised for the ‘intelligence of her writing, and piercing character studies that thicken with each musical brushstroke’. Merchant remains dedicated to a wide array of social justice and environmental causes. Recently, she spearheaded the making of the protest concert film Dear Governor Cuomo (2013) with New Yorkers Against Fracking, actors Mark Ruffalo and Melissa Leo, and filmmakers Jon Bowermaster and Alex Gibney, and she directed and produced SHELTER: A Concert Film to Benefit Victims of Domestic Violence (2014).

STAFF COMMENTS

Andy says: Her finest hour, even better than 10,000 Maniacs. Possibly! Either way: superb songs, gorgeous voice. Brilliant.

TRACK LISTING

1. San Andreas Fault
2. Beloved Wife
3. Carnival
4. River
5. The Letter
6. Where I Go
7. I May Know The Word
8. Seven Years
9. Cowboy Romance
10. Jealousy
11. Wonder 

Nonesuch Records releases Natalie Merchant’s Keep Your Courage, her ninth solo studio album and first of new material since 2014’s self-titled record. An eclectic album, produced by Merchant, it features two duets sung with vocalist Abena Koomson-Davis (Resistance Revival Chorus), contributions from the Celtic folk group Lúnasa and Syrian virtuoso clarinetist Kinan Azmeh, and horn arrangements by jazz trombonist Steve Davis. There are lush orchestrations throughout by seven composers including: Gabriel Kahane, Stephen Barber, Colin Jacobson, and Megan Gould. Keep Your Courage comprises nine original songs by Merchant as well as an interpretation of ‘Hunting the Wren’ by Ian Lynch of the Irish band Lankum. The vinyl LP edition of Keep Your Courage includes four bonus tracks from earlier albums, previously unreleased on vinyl.

Merchant writes in her album’s liner notes, “The songs contained within this album were written and recorded during the global pandemic that began in the winter of 2019 and is in its fifth wave as I write, in the autumn of 2022. It has been, and continues to be, a period of great flux and fear on every level: global, national, communal, familial, personal. But this is not an album about the coronavirus or the chaos it caused. For the most part, this is an album about the human heart.” She continues, “The word ‘courage’ has its root in the Latin word for heart, cor, and we see it over and over in many languages: le coeur, il cuore, o coração, el corazón. This is a song cycle that maps the journey of a courageous heart.”

Over her forty-year career Natalie Merchant has attained a place among America’s most respected recording artists. She has earned a reputation for being a songwriter of quality and a captivating stage performer and has distinguished herself as a social justice and environmental activist. Merchant began her musical career as the lead vocalist and lyricist of the pop music band 10,000 Maniacs and released one platinum, two double-platinum, and one triple-platinum records with the group: The Wishing Chair (1985), In My Tribe (1987), Blind Man's Zoo (1989), Hope Chest (1990), Our Time in Eden (1992), and 10,000 Maniacs MTV Unplugged (1993). Merchant left the group in 1994 and has subsequently released nine albums as a solo artist with combined sales of seven million copies: Tigerlily (1995), Ophelia (1998), Natalie Merchant Live (1999), Motherland (2001), The House Carpenter’s Daughter (2003), Leave Your Sleep (2010), Natalie Merchant (2014), Paradise Is There (2015), and Butterfly (2017).

TRACK LISTING

Side A:
1. Big Girls (feat. Abena Koomson-Davis)
2. Come On, Aphrodite (feat. Abena Koomson-Davis)
3. Sister Tilly
Side B:
1. Narcissus
2. Hunting The Wren
3. Guardian Angel
Side C:
1. Eye Of The Storm
2. Tower Of Babel
3. Song Of Himself
4. The Feast Of Saint Valentine
Side D:
1. Spring & Fall: To A Young Child (2023 Remaster)*
2. Butterfly (2023 Remaster)*
3. Giving Up Everything (2023 Remaster)*
4. Frozen Charlotte (2023 Remaster)*

*Vinyl Only Bonus Content

To say a lot has happened to Nathan Micay since the release of ‘Blue Spring’ four years ago is an understatement. Since the Canada-native turned Berghain-regular made the short jump from Berlin to Copenhagen after the pandemic, he’s been holed-up in a derelict studio complex to immerse himself in consecutive acclaimed soundtracks: multiple seasons of HBO/BBC award-winning drama ‘Industry’, the upcoming post-Trump feature ‘Reality’ starring Sydney Sweeney, and the highly anticipated HBO Original Documentary 'Time Bomb Y2K. His meteoric rise in the world of scoring has forced a break from the DJ circuit, but new tracks have debuted as VIPs through the sets of respected DJ peers Peach and Avalon Emerson, with clips from this album already closing-out festival stages to packed crowds. Having sharpened his proverbial sword he returns with his most ambitious offering yet. ‘To The God Named Dream’ takes inspiration from classic RPGs to present a haunted library record for the large language age. No longer solely gearing his music for clubs has proven a revelation for Micay. The result is a record equally at home in earphones as a PA. From the title down to every detail of the artwork, ‘To The God Named Dream’ represents a cursed library record, possessed by an interdimensional intelligence ripping though the sleeve. The vinyl art contains an original multiplayer board game, designed by LUCKYME® to accompany the album. “Jumanji meets Hellraiser.”

TRACK LISTING

1. My Sweat Dries With The Heat
2. You Can’t Win But You Can Lose
3. If Wishes Were Fishes We’d All Cast Nets
4. Fangs
5. This Is Killing Your Gainz
6. To The God Named Dream
7. The Death Of FOMO
8. Hexagon Of Death
9. It’s Recess Everywhere
10. When The Centre Doesn’t Move You’re In It’s Path
11. Don’t Wanna Say Goodbye
12. Fangs (Avalon Emerson’s Re-Chip Remix)

Some wonderful piano solos and epic arrangements are the suprise ingredient on the new solo album from Spock's Beard vocalist Neal Morse. An assured and quality recording.

In collaboration with Nick Mulvey, Sharp’s Brewery is making music that will protect British coastlines from plastic pollution and reduce single plastic usage, in a music industry first. The Cornish Brewery and the Mercury Music Prize nominee have today released the first track pressed onto a record made from recycled plastic, which has been washed up on Cornish beaches.

Sharp’s Brewery and Nick Mulvey announced the first of its kind collaboration with the launch of the track, titled In the Anthropocene. Lyrically the song explores themes of responsibility and freedom in this time of urgent ecological and social crisis (and opportunity), aka ‘the Anthropocene’.

Proceeds from the track, including from sales of the limited-edition record pressed onto recycled plastic and digital streams*, will go to Surfers Against Sewage to help protect the Cornish coastlines from pollution, including plastic waste.

The launch of this innovative new ‘ocean vinyl’ comes after last year’s signing of ‘Keynvor’, the music artist’s name given to the Atlantic Ocean, by Universal Music.

The music industry is blighted by sustainability challenges from tackling single-use plastic cups at gig venues to unsustainable vinyl production practices. The new campaign from Sharp’s Brewery, and the first playable track made from recycled ocean plastic aims to give music lovers the chance to own something that’s made out of ‘single use’ plastic, that they’ll treasure forever.

Nick Mulvey, Singer-songwriter: ‘’I've always loved the wildness of the Cornish coast and it feeds something deep in me every time I'm there. My music is about knowing who - or what - we are, right at the core. Aliveness itself, conscious. These times of urgent global crisis are demanding we re-examine ourselves and the world and raise ourselves, individually and collectively, to match the Earth, this wonder-organism from which we are not, and never have been, separate.

Hugo Tagholm, CEO of Surfers Against Sewage: ‘We are excited to be partnering with Sharp’s Brewery again to raise vital funds to protect our coastlines from plastic pollution and other environmental hazards. Keynvor, as a musical artist, and the new ‘ocean vinyl’, which uses plastic pollution and turns it into something positive, is a powerful way to help us raise money and continue to spread our message.’

10th anniversary product suite for Nick Mulvey’s debut album, ‘First Mind’.

“Nick Mulvey’s debut is a charmingly simple and rarely produced album full of beautiful melodies, extensive guitar skills and exotic ryhthms – it feels like the missing soundtrack for the beginning of a perfect summer.” NBHAP

“A total package of pop hooks, instrumental genius and gorgeous rhythms, Mulvey presents us with an intelligent record that demonstrates his passion for sounds outside of insular scenes.” THE LINE OF BEST FIT

“‘First Mind’ is captivating, full of intricacies and influences that should see it celebrated as one of the great albums of 2014.” CLASH

TRACK LISTING

LP1 - Side A
First Mind
Fever To The Form
April
Juramidam
Cucurucu
Ailsa Craig
LP1 - Side B
Meet Me There
Nitrous
Venus
I Don’t Want To Go Home
The Trellis
The World To Me
LP2 - Side C
Nitrous (single Version)
House Of Saint Give Me
Juramidam (Charlie Andrews From Fever EP)
Look At Miss Ohio
River Lea
Vetiver
LP2 - Side D
We Are Never Getting Back Together (BBC)
Hold On We’re Going On Home (BBC)
Venus Demo (Will Ward)
The Trellis (Will Ward, Trellis EP)
Juramidam (Live From Cambridge)
April (Live From Cambridge)

To arrive at this album, the acclaimed artist and songwriter has come a long way – both experientially, musically and philosophically. Musician, composer and producer, Nick’s work pushes boundaries in songwriting and sound, music both traditional and experimental, acoustic and electronic. A founding member of the award-winning British collective Portico Quartet, he left in 2011 to concentrate on his own material. Once solo, he released the Mercury Prize nominated debut album First Mind in 2014, and 2017’s celebrated Wake Up Now, along with a number of EPs. On New Mythology, our shared humanity becomes common sense and this humanity and the natural world are enmeshed. The possibility of flourishing futures becomes real. The album explores the vulnerability of the everyday human experience; becoming a father, sickness and death, navigating the pandemic, but also Nick’s journey to compute the scope and scale of his feelings: an attempt to embody the personal all the way to the planetary – and grasp their true inseparability. ‘Star Nation’, and ‘Begin Again’ - released during the pandemic - both sow the seeds of this interconnected space.

New Mythology was recorded during the pandemic in Paris with renowned producer Renaud Letang [Manu Chao, Feist, Connan Mockasin] at Studio Ferber – which miraculously remained open whilst the city was in lockdown. Nick also credits his friends and family, teachers past and present who’ve helped him arrive at this point – from mentors like the Polynesian ambassador and elder Aunty Ivy, the life’s work of Thich Nhat Hanh, Thomas Berry’s collection of essays evening thoughts and Mac Macartney’s book The Children’s Fire. Further inspiration Nick credits to his beloved homeland of Britain, his ever deepening kinship to the land, ancestors and the living world. Now, Mulvey finds himself at the precipice of change and is ready to share his raw musings with the world.

TRACK LISTING

1. A Prayer Of My Own
2. Star Nation
3. Mecca
4. Brother To You
5. Shores Of Mona
6. The Gift
7. Sea Inside (Third Way)
8. Causes
9. Another Way To Be
10. Mona
11. Interbeing Part 1
12. Begin Again (Love You Just The Same)

Following the all-area smasher "Pinball" and super classy "EchoLow" Black Acre orphanage for sonic outsiders welcomes a true pioneer in the form of legendary DJ N-Type. "Dark Matter" is a departure from the DNA scrambling rippers we've come to expect without sacrificing any of N-Type's trademarked impact. Here he gets all Edgar Alan Poe on the beat as etheric winds slice into the sub and our nocturnal narrator depicts ghostly happenings. The heavyweight bruiser kick / snare tag team anchor the impossibly subtle midrange growl as bongolian tribalist procussion keeps the riddim rolling. Sprinkle some arpeggiated synthetic angel dust over the mix and you've got an original take on a well-practiced classic form. On the flip we unearth the long requested often speculated over "HP Sauce". This long awaited lost dub reeks of the sheer rudeness that kicked off modern dub music, lazer bass rips deep wounds into the rugged halfstep riddim and ultra low-end dabbling squeezes oxygen outta the dance. DJ support from Hatcha, Caspa, Walsh and Mary Anne Hobbs.

With a requisite crackle, hum and drone, you’re fixed to slide into the disrupture in stereo that is guitarist Bill Nace and — well, THIS is a nice surprise — Bill’s got his own record out this time.

Sweet — in the past 15 years or so, Bill’s been a trusty improv partner to so many: Steve Baczkowski, Chris Corsano, Paul Flaherty, Greg Kelly, James Twig Harper, Samara Lubelski and Thurston Moore, plus - with Kim Gordon – in Body/Head, to name but a handful.

Bill’s appeared on probably more than 50 albums — but other than a few solo cassettes way back in the day, Both is his actual solo LP debut. It’s been a long time coming, and just like we hoped, with the Nace approach to electric guitar waxing front and center, sound and countersound, it’s a blast.

Working with producer Cooper Crain, Bill constructed Both with the ribs of composition protruding from his improvisational electron pool, pulsing with energies black and shiny, finding lots of sound and music in the process. The listening experience is only faux-monolithic — you can take it all in as a big noise thing if you want, but it’s much more rewarding to lean in and observe the variety of colors and spaces in the playing, how it breaks along discrete lines into alternating currents. The small details, like the crunch of contact between fingers and strings, the hum of the amp in a resting moment, the rhythm implied in a waveform and then pursued, all build up into melodies, climatic detours and underlying emotional expression before wiping into silence again. A real encompassing vision of what to do with a guitar in this day and age. Plus, you got cover artwork by Daniel Higgs.

TRACK LISTING

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5
Part 6
Part 7
Part 8

The legendary N.A.D. follows up the aptly titled "Electro EP" with the punishing "A Day in May", a scorching hot four track technofunk monster that marries the Detroit and Kalamazoo techno traditions with classic UK techno. Absolutely exceptional high-octane material destined to set any dancefloor on fire. Do not sleep!

STAFF COMMENTS

Matt says: Fuckin' love that twangy electroid goodness that NAD exude. Much like B12, John Shima, Nu Groove and much of the Network roster - their synthesis skills and ability to create highly kinetic electronic grooves is second to none.

TRACK LISTING

A Day In May (Instrumental)
What Race The Cyborg
Assemblages
Singer Of Siren Songs

Heavenly Recordings release a 20th anniversary vinyl of Nada Surf’s classic album Let Go. This is the first time Let Go has appeared on Heavenly vinyl.

Let Go was the third album by the New York trio Nada Surf (Matthew Caws, Daniel Lorca, Ira Eliot). By the time it was released on Heavenly in the summer of 2002, the band had already witnessed a good deal of the highs and lows of the music industry, having had a breakout MTV hit before being dropped by their US label and having to go back to 9 to 5 jobs. Sessions were entirely self-funded, with the band paying the producers in dollar bills earned from the merch table at their shows.

When a cassette of the album initially arrived at Heavenly, it was with no preconceptions, just a “you’ll like this” nod from a mutual friend. And they were right. Let Go is a power pop masterpiece - all soaring melody and closing time melancholy. It quickly became the soundtrack to day and night in the office and on release picked up glowing reviews from Q (“melodic… mature… intelligent… wistful” 4*), Rolling Stone ("Nada Surf show enough smarts and panache to leave most of their Nineties-rock peers eating hot dust” 4*) and Entertainment Weekly (“a comeback effort that grows more popular with each spin”).

Twenty years on, Let Go is getting its first ever vinyl release on Heavenly. This new cut reinstates the UK tracklisting over four sides of vinyl (previous pressings were over three sides with one side left blank - us neither).

TRACK LISTING

A1 Blizzard Of ’77
A2 The Way You Wear Your Head
A3 Fruit Fly
B1 Blonde On Blonde
B2 Inside Of Love
B3 Hi-Speed Soul
C1 No Quick Fix
C2 Killian’s Red
C3 Là Pour Ça
D1 Happy Kid
D2 Treading Water
D3 Paper Boats 

Here to remind us that music is not just an audible experience, Minneapolis/New York’s Nadine make melodies that transcend acoustics. Their debut album oh my is collection of sophisticated modern pop songs that resonate in the gaps, the space between deadlines and timelines.

More akin to poetry set to music, Nadine is all about exploring feeling. Whilst most poets revel in the personal, Nadine's process is collaborative whose core is singer Nadia Hulett (part of the loose collective Phantom Posse) and Julian Fader and Carlos Hernandez (both of Ava Luna). The trio's practice is marked by their commitment to playfulness, curiosity, and fluidity.

Nadine's songs have one foot standing firm in pop, but ebb and flow with exploration and experiment. Polyphonic melodies swing and gambol, instrumental layers take generous flourishes and unexpected turns with an ear to the wondrous and occasionally weird, crafting jazz-tinged lounge-pop all held together by Hulett’s characteristic vocals, strong with a sincerity and gentleness that holds the listener. Let go of old ideas. Listen for tricks of the light. What does it feel like?

TRACK LISTING

Side A:
#53
Nook
Ultra Pink
Plinth
Not My Kinda Movie
New Step
That Neon Sign

Side B:
Pews
Contigo
Little Self In The Garden
Can’t Be Helped
Peace In The Valley

Here to remind us that music is not just an audible experience, Minneapolis/New York’s Nadine make melodies that transcend acoustics. Their debut album oh my is collection of sophisticated modern pop songs that resonate in the gaps, the space between deadlines and timelines.

More akin to poetry set to music, Nadine is all about exploring feeling. Whilst most poets revel in the personal, Nadine's process is collaborative whose core is singer Nadia Hulett (part of the loose collective Phantom Posse) and Julian Fader and Carlos Hernandez (both of Ava Luna). The trio's practice is marked by their commitment to playfulness, curiosity, and fluidity.

Nadine's songs have one foot standing firm in pop, but ebb and flow with exploration and experiment. Polyphonic melodies swing and gambol, instrumental layers take generous flourishes and unexpected turns with an ear to the wondrous and occasionally weird, crafting jazz-tinged lounge-pop all held together by Hulett’s characteristic vocals, strong with a sincerity and gentleness that holds the listener. Let go of old ideas. Listen for tricks of the light. What does it feel like?

TRACK LISTING

Side A:
#53
Nook
Ultra Pink
Plinth
Not My Kinda Movie
New Step
That Neon Sign

Side B:
Pews
Contigo
Little Self In The Garden
Can’t Be Helped
Peace In The Valley

Nadja’s latest full-length offering Labyrinthine, recorded during the pandemic and concurrently with their Southern Lord album Luminous Rot, finally sees a CD release on the band’s own label, Broken Spine.

Labyrinthine explores themes of identity and loss, monstrosity and regret, extreme asceticism, the differences between labyrinths and mazes, taking inspiration from Haruki Murakami’s Killing Commendatore, Ursula K. LeGuin’s The Tombs Of Atuan, and Victor Pelevin’s reinterpretation of the story of the minotaur and Ariadne, The Helmet Of Horror.

While this might be Nadja’s heaviest, doomiest album to date, it is unique in the band’s extensive catalogue as each track features a guest vocalist: Alan Dubin, legendary American vocalist from O.L.D., Khanate currently Gnaw; Rachel Davies, vocalist and bassist from the British band, Esben & The Witch; Lane Shi Otayanii, a Chinese multi-media artist and vocalist in Elizabeth Colour Wheel; and Dylan Walker, American vocalist from grindcore / noise band Full Of Hell. Nadja has released numerous albums on many different underground labels—Alien8 Recordings, Daymare Records, Robotic Empire, Hydrahead Records, Gizeh Records, and Important Records, to name a few. The duo has toured extensively around the world, including performances at such festivals as SXSW, FIMAV, Roadburn, Donaufest, Le Guess Who, Incubate, and Unsound, and has shared the stage with such artists as Earth, OM, Khanate, Tim Hecker, Ben Frost, and Godflesh.

Mixed by DAVID PAJO (Slint, Tortoise, Will Oldham and more..) Nadja is a duo of multi-instrumentalist Aidan Baker and bassist Leah Buckareff—active since 2005—and making music which can be described as ambient doom, dreamsludge, or metalgaze. Nadja’s signature sound combines the atmospheric textures of shoegaze and ambient/electronic music with the heaviness, density, and volume of metal, noise, and industrial. For their new album, Luminous Rot, the duo retain their overblown/ambient sound, and explore shorter and more tightly structured songs reflecting their interests not only in metal, but post-punk, cold-wave, shoegaze, and industrial. 

Thematically, Luminous Rot explores ideas of 'first contact' and the difficulties of recognising alien intelligence. This was in part inspired by reading such writers as Stanislaw Lem and Cixin Lui -- in particular, theories on astro-physics, multi-dimensionality, and spatial geometry in "The Three Body Problem" -- as well as Margaret Wertheim's "A Field Guide To Hyperbolic Space," about mathematician Daina Taimina's work with crochet to illustrate hyperbolic space and geometry.

The album was recorded between their home studio, Broken Spine Studios, or Nadja’s live rehearsal studio, both in the district of Lichtenberg, Berlin. Luminous Rot marks the first album mixed by someone else, who in this case was David Pajo. The band comment, “as big fans of Slint, we thought he might fore-front the more angular, post-punk elements of our music - the mix is quite different from our previous albums. But, as usual, we had James Plotkin (Khanate, OLD, etc) master the album as we trust his ears and aesthetic, as he's mastered numerous records of ours.”

TRACK LISTING

1 Intro
2 Luminous Rot
3 Cuts On Your Hands
4 Starres
5 Fruiting Bodies
6 Dark Inclusions

Nadja is a duo of Aidan Baker & Leah Buckareff alternately based in Toronto & Berlin. The duo makes music that encompasses experimental/drone, ambient, shoegazer, & doom metal.

Originally available as a very limited mail-order only CD in 2008, this was Consouling Sounds first release. It contains a re-recorded version of 'Absorbed in You' (which originally featured on the long time sold-out split album with Methadrone), and the new track 'The Bungled & The Botched'.

This disc provides a monolithic yet melodic assault of epic proportions.

Marissa Nadler lays the listener - and herself - on the line with ‘July’, her sixth full-length album in nearly a decade.

Recorded at Seattle’s Avast Studio, the album pairs Nadler for the first time with producer Randall Dunn (Earth, Sunn O))), Wolves In The Throne Room). Dunn matches Nadler’s darkness by creating a multi-coloured sonic palette that infuses new dimensions into her songs.

Eyvand Kang’s strings, Steve Moore’s synths and Phil Wandscher’s guitar lines escalate the whole affair to a panoramic level of beautiful, eerie wonder. The results are astonishing and occasionally reminiscent of David Lynch.

The eighth album from Marissa Nadler, For My Crimes, is the sound of turmoil giving way to truth. The songs stare down the dark realization that love may not be enough to keep two people together through distance and differing needs. By asking these difficult questions about her relationships, Nadler has found a stronger sense of self and a sharper voice as both a songwriter and a vocalist, culminating in her most evocative entry in an already impressive discography. 

Following the release of 2016’s acclaimed Strangers, Nadler’s relationships were put to the test as she left the Boston area on tour. She wrote throughout 2017 about this tension, and ended up with three times as many songs as she needed. But after reviewing the demos with her co-producers Justin Raisen and Lawrence Rothman, Nadler wrote a flurry of tight but no less intense new songs in the week before arriving at Rothman’s Laurel Canyon studio, House of Lux, in early January. She considered it a challenge to herself, applying new strategies and structures to the craft of “slow music” she’s honed over the last 15 years. From that group of songs came nearly all of the singles on For My Crimes, some of the most indelible of Nadler’s career.

The opening title track is classic Nadler: a sweeping, vaguely Southern drama of voices, strings, and acoustic guitar, that walks the fine line between character song and personal indictment by metaphor. “For My Crimes” spawned out of a songwriting exercise in which Nadler wrote from the perspective of someone on death row, but the song casts a dark shadow over an album that turns marital conflict into inner reflection. Helping Nadler dig down into the song’s remorseful soul is her old friend Angel Olsen, who serves as a distraught echo from beyond in the chorus.

“Blue Vapor” has an intoxicating raw energy luring you in, somewhere between Springsteen and a grunge band playing MTV Unplugged back in the day. It feels at once tight and improvisational, balancing on little more than Nadler’s steady strumming and vulnerable harmonies with Kristin Kontrol (of Dum Dum Girls), until the heavy, purposeful style of Hole drummer Patty Schemel conjures chaos in the second half. This slow burn feeling is all too appropriate for a song centred around repeating patterns and creeping numbness in a relationship. “Blue Vapor” names that strange ambivalence and turns it into a chant that hangs in the air long after the song ends.

Dreaminess and eeriness have often been two sides of the same coin in Marissa Nadler songs. Where “For My Crimes” and “Blue Vapor” come from her dark side, the album has plenty of moments that twinkle in their sadness and sentimentality. “I Can’t Listen to Gene Clark Anymore” is one of those highly specific songs you’ll get if you’ve ever lost a favourite band to your own broken heart. It sways perfectly in its bittersweet-ness, like a slow dance you never want to end. After the strings swell and the bass pedals kick in, Nadler coos, “Cause I remember/The songs you sang/To me when it was you/I was falling for.” Later, closing track “Said Goodbye To That Car” turns a final odometer reading into a rhythm for a catchy, wistful hook: “1-1-9-6-5-7, and the engine blew/“1-1-9-6-5-7, and I thought of you,” Nadler lulls, harmonizing with herself. It’s an ingenious way to capture the end of an era in one small moment, and she moves as delicately as you would handling an old photo with her sweet oohs.

Bolstering the intimacy of these songs is the strong feminine energy that defined their recording. Between Rothman’s fluidity with both gender and genre (as heard on his 2017 album The Book of Law), and Raisen’s track record of successful collaborations with strong women (Olsen, Kim Gordon, Charli XCX), Nadler felt empowered to explore without judgement in the studio. With the exception of a single saxophonist, every player on the album is a woman of notable pedigree and distinct style, many of whom have played with Nadler over the years. In addition to the cameos by Angel Olsen and Kristin Kontrol, Sharon Van Etten sings backup on “I Can’t Listen to Gene Clark Anymore” and “Lover Release Me.” Mary Lattimore joins on harp for “Are You Really Gonna Move to the South,” while the great experimental multi-instrumentalist Janel Leppin plays strings throughout the record.

These women and others helped make For My Crimes as dynamic as it is intimate, but Nadler’s mesmerizing voice—stripped of nearly all reverb—is what sits at the center of these songs. You can hear the emotional range of her performances more than ever before, from the spectral harmonizing of “Are You Really Gonna Move To The South” to the cheeky boredom of “All Out Of Catastrophes,” two other highlights. As a singer, she has never sounded more confident than she does here.

Adding to the album’s deeply personal feeling is its abstracted artwork, featuring Nadler’s original oil paintings. Though Nadler is a graduate of the Rhode Island School of Design and a semi-retired art teacher (she has one student left—a 95-year-old named Doris), For My Crimes marks the first album cover bearing one of her paintings. 

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: Nadler has never failed to tickle the feels with her own brand of gothic acousticry, slowly morphing from quiet folk ballads into grand, echoic anthems. Layering Nadler's haunting vocals on top of each-other to great effect and underpinned with a spine-tinglingly haunting instrumental sensibility, this is without a doubt, her greatest work. Beautiful.

TRACK LISTING

1 For My Crimes
2 I Can't Listen To Gene Clark Anymore
3 Are You Really Going To Move To The South?
4 Lover Release Me
5 Blue Vapor
6 Interlocking
7 All Out Of Catastrophes
8 Dream Dream Big In The Sky
9 You're Only Harmless When You Sleep
10 Flame Thrower
11 Said Goodbye To That Car

‘The Path Of The Clouds’, Marissa Nadler’s ninth solo album, is the most stylistically adventurous, lyrically transfixing, and melodically sophisticated collection of songs in her already rich discography. Gripped by wanderlust while suddenly housebound at the start of the pandemic in 2020, Nadler escaped into writing and came back with a stunning set of songs about metamorphosis, love, mysticism and murder. Blurring the line between reality and fantasy and moving freely between past and present, these 11 deeply personal, self-produced songs find Nadler exploring new landscapes, both sonic and emotional.

While she’s always been a brilliant guitarist, Nadler challenged herself to expand her palette for ‘The Path Of The Clouds’, experimenting with synthetic textures that make the album feel untethered from time and space. A majestic grandeur sweeps through songs such as ‘Elegy’, shooting the listener into the stratosphere as synths swirl and entwine with Nadler’s celestial mezzo-soprano. Nadler also learned to play piano during the pandemic’s isolation and she composed many of the songs on the album on keys rather than guitar, which further contributed to their exploratory feel. These songs are unmistakably Marissa Nadler’s, but they sound free to go places she’s never gone before.

Nadler tracked the skeletons of the songs at home and then sent them to some choice collaborators, including experimental harpist Mary Lattimore and Simon Raymonde, the Cocteau Twins bassist and her Lost Horizons collaborator. Multiinstrumentalist Milky Burgess, having recently worked on the soundtrack to the film ‘Mandy’, adds intricate melodic power throughout the album. Jesse Chandler, Nadler’s piano teacher (as well as a member of Mercury Rev and Midlake), plays winding woodwinds and plaintive piano to luminous effect. Fellow singer-songwriter Emma Ruth Rundle contributes a slinky guitar solo on ‘Turned Into Air’, while Black Mountain’s Amber Webber steps in as a vocal foil to Nadler, a ghostly apparition in the distance of ‘Elegy’.

Seth Manchester, known for his work with Lingua Ignota, Battles and Lightning Bolt, mixed the album at Machines with Magnets in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. Manchester added dimension to the songs’ atmospheric beauty with screeching feedback and distorted guitars. Stripped of the ethereal reverb that often swaddles her resonant vocals, Nadler’s delivery now stings and pierces with newfound immediacy and confidence.

As a songwriter, Nadler is as direct and urgent as she has ever been. There’s no coded language amid the bleak lows and exalted highs of songs like ‘Elegy’, ‘Lemon Queen’ and ‘Storm’. Memories are painted with highly detailed imagery and Nadler, also a visual artist, uses that eye not only to tell a story but to transport the listener there.

‘The Path Of The Clouds’ showcases the power of an artist at the peak of her powers nearly 20 years into an acclaimed career as a songwriter and singer. Coming a long way from the spare dream folk of her earlier work, she has remained inspired and continues to evolve, open to new ideas and directions.

TRACK LISTING

Bessie Did You Make It
The Path Of The Clouds
Couldn’t Have Done The Killing
If I Could Breathe Underwater
Elegy
Well Sometimes You Just Can’t Stay
From Vaport To Stardust
Storm
Turned Into Air
And I Dream Of Running
Lemon Queen

For more than 12 years Marissa Nadler has perfected her own take on the exquisitely sculpted gothic American songform. On her seventh full-length, Strangers, released 20th May on Bella Union , she has shed any self-imposed restrictions her earlier albums adhered to, stepped through a looking glass, and created a truly monumental work.

Today Nadler has shared “Janie in Love”, one of her most texturally rich songs to date and one that updates her signature sound with some of the most prominently featured drumming of her career. Her talent for powerfully juxtaposing the ominous and the beautiful is on full display. 

In the two years since 2014’s elegiac, autobiographical “July”, Nadler has reconciled the heartbreak so often a catalyst for her songwriting. Turning her writing to more universal themes, Nadler dives deep into a surreal, apocalyptic dreamscape. Her lyrics touch upon the loneliness and despair of the characters that inhabit them. These muses are primal, fractured, disillusioned, delicate, and alone. They are the unified voice of this record, the titular “strangers.”

Once again partnered with July producer Randall Dunn (Sunn O))), Earth, Black Mountain) Nadler has created an album equal in sonic quality to the apocalyptic lyrical tone that covers its 44 minutes. In places her voice and guitar play off subsonic synths, while elsewhere, a pulsing drumbeat launches the songs off into an intense, confrontational place. 

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: Following 2014's 'July' is this outstanding offering from Marissa Nadler. Seamlessly segueing between melancholic off-kilter pop and plucked acoustic anthems without skipping a beat, this is an accomplished and startling stylistic journey, and a formative expansion of Nadler's already breathtaking musical palette.

Startisha introduces Naeem as a restlessly creative artist with an impressionistic, genre-bending album. As a complete work, Startisha exemplifies artistic daring and emotional intelligence while exploring new ideas and sounds, and philosophically excavating the artist’s histories. Startisha may be loaded with impressive collaborations and left-field sounds, but don't get it twisted—this music comes straight from Naeem's heart, representing the journey he's taken to get to this point as well as what lies in the future for him.

Baltimore-hailing Naeem Juwan has spent much of the last decade stretching his creative legs in a variety of ways: he's hit the road with artists ranging from the Avalanches and Bon Iver to Big Red Machine and Mouse on Mars, took part in a 37d03d residency in Berlin, and was selected as the music resident in 2019 for New York's Pioneer Works space. Through it all, he's been building the songs that make up Startisha, a record a half-decade in the making that featured Juwan pulling from creative circles all across the U.S. to craft a truly unique document of sound.

After studio sessions in Philadelphia and New York, Juwan decamped to Minneapolis and holed up in Justin Vernon's home studio, where Startisha continued to come together with contributions from Vernon, Ryan Olson (Gayngs, Polica), Swamp Dogg, Velvet Negroni, Francis and the Lights, and regular collaborators Amanda Blank and Micah James. The guest spots came together "very organically. I originally didn't want any features at all. Over time, meeting people and sharing the record with them, things just kind of happened."

For Juwan, the challenge inherent in Startisha was to “write songs from a personal place, and to write love songs – both things I’ve never done before.” The album kicks off with a gorgeous cover of the Silver Apples classic "You and I," reinterpreted for today's fraught times. He describes “Stone Harbor” as “a simple love song to my boyfriend, written in and name after the shore town he and his family spend their summers, Stone Harbor, NJ.” On “Simulation,” the album’s first proper single, Juwan offers a kind of treatise of creative resistance on art and culture. “I had been reading a few books, such as Trickster Makes This World: Mischief, Myth, and Art, and they helped me solidify feelings I’ve had all of my life about surviving a society of institutions that presents fictions as fact, and often use these fictions to diminish my worth, or to convince me to join their gangs. So I wrote this song to remind myself, and hopefully everyone that hears it, that nothing is real, and our greatest defense in this life is our own creativity, and finding great faith in whatever sigils and icons we choose to guide us.”

TRACK LISTING

A
01/ You And I
02/ Simulation (feat. Swamp Dogg, Justin Vernon)
03/ Let Us Rave (feat. Velvet Negroni)
04/ Woo Woo Woo (feat. Amanda Blank, Micah James)
05/ Us
B
06/ Stone Harbor
07/ Right Here
08/ Startisha
09/ Tiger Song

‘There are dreams that I still remember. Although it has been decades since I had those dreams, they continue to pulsate, circulating their pellucid blood, vital and fresh as if dreamt just last night’. Singing bowls, bronze bells and gongs resonate through the mindful layers of Japanese percussionist and ambient producer Kazuya Nagaya’s music. In Zen Buddhism, bells are believed to wash away the cares of the mortal world, as the listener follows the resonance of the bell into the silence and stillness within all beings. It is a penetration into the depths of one’s self.

Nagaya’s music is rooted in Buddhist (Zenzhu) philosophy and sensibilities unique to Japan. Concurrently, his work and interests are also contemporary and traverse a broad spectrum of cultures. ‘There are dreams that I still remember. Although it has been decades since I had those dreams, they continue to pulsate, circulating their pellucid blood, vital and fresh as if dreamt just last night. There is one thing I have known all along. Someday I will have to face the messages from my unconscious. I will have to decipher their meaning and change my life accordingly. The messages from my unconscious are like a knocking on the door of my mind. For many years the sound reverberated, but I payed it no attention’

Nagaya started out to pursue his talents in literature and is also an award-winning writer and a connoisseur on Japanese Literature, Buddhist Folktales and Zen Philosophical Works. These interests breathed life into his music, and the sensibilities and philosophical views which he developed during his literary years are now reflected in most of his music today. He spends half the week teaching courses at his University in Tokyo, and the other half composing and writing in his home in the Japanese Alps, where he resides with his wife, and many adopted cats and dogs. ‘Dream Interpretations’ was composed at a difficult time in Nagaya’s life. While he worked, he listened closely to the sound of the knocking that reverberated from the paths of his unconsciousness and transformed that into music. In other words, this music is his dream interpretation.

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: A beautifully rich and hypnotic combination of traditional Japanese percussion, Buddhist bells and ambient beauty ripple through Naguya's work, which remains in motion without ever feeling hurried. Not entirely ambient, but thoroughly relaxed and wildly transcendent. Just listen.

TRACK LISTING

1. Thanatos
2. Mother Wading In The River
3. Dream Interpretation I
4. Tibetan Philosopher
5. Wolfman's Dream
6. Dream Interpretation II
7. Heathen
8. The Book Of Sunken Memory
9. Dream Interpretation I (Old Theatre Mix)

When it first slipped out in 2015, Manabu Nagayama’s ‘Light & Shadow’ passed most people by. Yet it’s a genuinely overlooked gem a musically expansive and uplifting Japanese deep house workout that first featured on a promo-only compilation back in 2015. A softly spun slab of slow-building brilliance full of fluid piano motifs, heady hand percussion, the track effortlessly sashays between heartfelt dancefloor melancholia and tactile deep house positivity. One DJ to see its potential was Rush Hour co-founder Antal Heitlager, who asked Masalo to remix it. Over ‘a few years’, Masalo worked on the revision in bursts, tweaking it and subtly altering the arrangement until he was happy. The results are undeniably impressive, elevating an already excellent track to whole new levels. DJs seem to agree, too, with Masalo’s fine remix becoming something of an underground anthem following the release of a limited number of white label test pressings earlier last year.

Taking the spiritual end of deep house as his inspiration – and happy memories of attending events while visiting Japan – the Dutch-Japanese producer has delivered a slowly-building epic that subtly ratchets up energy and excitement throughout, while effortlessly eking out every last drop of emotion from Manabu’s piano-laden production.

Extensively road-tested at the Brighter Days parties he runs with long-time DJ partner Kamma, Masalo’s remix settles into a chugging groove before introducing Manabu’s tactile hand percussion – a staple of spiritual deep house cuts – and melancholic piano refrains, as well as his own lilting chords and cascading synth sounds. By the time the original’s bouncy piano riff drops midway through, you’ll be lost in the music. Fittingly given the quality of Manabu’s original, it’s a revision that showcases the track’s best elements while gently lifting it to new heights.

STAFF COMMENTS

Matt says: Beautifully rich, emotive and textured deep house here - it's the Japanese formula alright, but we haven't grown tired of it yet! Masolo is on hand to elevate it to spiritual realms. Yep, we're onto a winner.

TRACK LISTING

Light And Shadow (Masalo Version)
Light And Shadow (Original Version)

First ever vinyl edition of this milestone album, cut at 45rpm in a double LP edition for maximum analogue fidelity. Housed in a heavy tip-on gatefold sleeve with UV gloss, strike-though matte varnish and embossed finishing.

Since their first album in 1995, Japan's Nagasi Ni Te has created an enchanting and deeply personal sound world woven from folk, psychedelia, and rock along with wistful melodies and gentle arrangements. Centred on Shinji Shibayama (Hallelujahs) and Masako Takeda's partnership, the group has created intimate, emotionally resonant music that floats and breathes with an ease that can only come from a sort of telepathic chemistry.

Nai Palm releases this deluxe reissue of ‘Needle Paw’ via Brainfeeder Records.

Naomi ‘Nai Palm’ Saalfield is the composer, guitarist and tour de force frontwoman of three time Grammynominated group Hiatus Kaiyote.

Nai and her group have been co-signed by Erykah Badu, accompanied by Q-Tip, and sampled by Drake, Kendrick Lamar and Anderson .Paak.

Upon its original release in 2017, Pitchfork gave ‘Needle Paw’ an 8.0, saying of Nai, “her performance as vocalist, producer, arranger, and musical director confirms her talents - and, in her interpretive care, reaffirms listening as an act of love.”

For fans of Erykah Badu, Moses Sumney, Little Dragon, Jordan Rakei, Nick Hakim.

“On her solo debut, Nai Palm abandons her band Hiatus Kaiyote’s expansive future-soul aesthetic in favor of acoustic intimacy; it is, above all, a testament to the power of the voice.” - Pitchfork (8.0).

“‘Needle Paw’ is a sea of vowel runs and stressed syllables, interwoven throughout angelic backing vocals and gospel-like notes.” - Billboard.

TRACK LISTING

Wititj (Lightning Snake) Pt 1
Atari
Crossfire / So Into You
Haiku
Mobius
Molasses
Have You Ever Been (To Electric Ladyland)
Atoll
When The Knife
Blackstar / Pyramid Song / Breathing Underwater
Borderline With My Atoms
Homebody
Wititj (Lightning Snake) Pt 2

Something never heard before from man of the moment Nikki Nair (or anyone else, for that matter): Whimsical glitchpop-blues with Nikki singing full vocals for the first time on record - lamenting the 9-to-5 struggle, yearning for summer & getting fucked up on the beach.
The idiosyncratic, strangely addictive original comes with a banging remix from Stockholm avant-techno ledge Peder Mannerfelt going full chaotic evil mode, warping Nikki's vocals into a menacing call to arms for the modern hedonist.
Nikki Nair's latest single arrives on Stockholm label Studio Barnhus.

STAFF COMMENTS

Matt says: And the award for crazed pop genius 7" record of the week goes to Nikki Nair! Batshit bonkers, but catchy as hell! If your melon needed twisting anymore Peder Mannerfelt is on hand with fidgety techno refix!

TRACK LISTING

A1.Cant't Wait
B.1 Can't Wait (Peder Mannerfelt Remix)

Geins't Naït returns to Offen, this time he enlists Scanner (living experimental electronics legend , Robin Rimbaud) to join him in his land of loop. These two veterans have clocked up many combined decades of experimentation between them, and this their first jointly composed material, has the feel of wisdom at work. It's a huge pleasure for Offen Music to release this special record.

TRACK LISTING

A1. Slow
A2. 65
A3. 63
A4. Slo1
B1. Miki
B2. Gilles
B3. OB

Surrender yourself into Naked Lights’ dark and intense orbit! From the first few seconds through to the end, On Nature is intensely addictive and welcomely unpredictable. Shades of post-punk, dub, even anarcho-punk are thrillingly blended into wholly futuristic shapes that defy easy categorization.

The cross-talking guitars speak their own thorny language, the atmosphere is wide-focus and carries a subtle tang of danger, and it’s topped off with unique vocals that are as in-your-face as they are intriguing and foreign. An altogether refreshingly vital listen, Naked Lights’ On Nature comes courtesy of Castle Face Records.

TRACK LISTING

1. New Carrion
2. Pictus
3. On Nature
4. Nicht Leiden
5. Hedges
6. Mechanical Eye
7. Blue Ink
8. Mostly Bag
9. Pool On A Platter
10. Clock Support
11. Silouette
12. Barrel
13. Peep Hole
14. Trepanning
15. Undo

An abrasive mix of the explosive and the melodic, the level of agression hints at a powerful live performance where the full naked spectacle can be appreciated.

Tight dynamic guitar driven songs from this local four piece who met at a Queens Of The Stoneage gig. There's an obvious influence from Josh Homme and co., but the songs are by no means derivative.

Vivien Goldman-style dubby post-punk synth pop.

With a handful of twitching insta-sketches, each addled with late-nite D.I.Y. quiver, the duo’s side-hustle sprouted in classical easy/cheap fashion [see the demo tape on their Public Nipples imprint for evidence].

As “global” concerns slowed, compatriots Michael Zamora (a superbly slanted multi-instrumentalist late of BAD BAD) and Alejandra Alcala (the region’s one true bass supervisor, also of bright lights BLUES LAWYER and PREENING) joined Sermeńo & Jordan as additional exposed flesh.

In full form, Naked Roommate has not only become a must-see, ever-evolving live act, but architects of Do The Duvet, one of the most intriguing and inspired recordings to come out of 2020’s American subterranea.

Do The Duvet proffers leftfield hijinks via punk execution, answering all the questions posed by questionable post-punk revivalism with sour lemon sneering and cherry-sweet smiles. It’s a fever dream, really…A flailing, sparking wire of hyper-compressed rhythms (breathing and synthetic), devolved guitar work and minced electronic compost. The resultant congealed groove is suitable for club situations and/or living space pulsations alike. Either way, the landlord is pissed.

Jordan’s beat programming, presumably inspired in part by recent obsessions with unjustifiably discarded electro sounds, manages to elicit physical response without veering into genre clichés like decay dance or Armageddon rave.

Instead, movement is prompted by sheer playfulness and high humour: see the sleepily sampled City sax on “Fondu Guru” or the comically taut bassline from “Credit Union”, itself a dreamwork born straight from a lovingly held-tight 99 Records 12”.

Thematically, Do The Duvet bounces between dissections of bourgeois trickery, the absurdity of domestication and the recognizable insanity of living in this particular age.As narrator, Sermeńo’s vocal presence is time-capsule great: a commanding grand-slam performance, alluring yet switchblade-dangerous in terms of wit and gaze. So totally wonderful.

What do you really own, anyway? What if your home does not even exist? Why not simply Do The Duvet and answer these queries yourself?
Mitch Cardwell 

TRACK LISTING

01. Mad Love
02. We Are The Babies
03. Fondu Guru
04. Credit Union
05. Je Suis Le Bebe
06. Fake I.D.
07. Fill Space
08. (Do The Duvet Pt. 2)
09. Repeat
10. (Re) P.R.O.D.U.C.E.

LuckyMe are very proud to present ‘Youth Mode’, the debut release from Naked.

Naked are an Edinburgh-based group consisting of Agnes Gryczkowska, Alex Johnston and Grant Campbell, who mix cold, neon-lit beats, glacial bass and guitar sculptures, filtered under hypnotizing and ephemeral vocals.

Their music speaks to a post-millenial, post-digital urban ennui - non-belonging and the pure, absolute loneliness of crowds. It is about the interaction of accelerating technology and the inherent sense of a terminal decline between the physical and hyper real - between man and machine, our bodies, senses and the industrial substances and digital technologies we surround ourselves with.

Deluxe EP with printed / debossed sleeve and digital download card.
Recently produced tracks for Mykki Blanco. Forthcoming album produced by Jacques Greene.

For fans of Mogwai, FKA Twigs, Salem, Optimo, The xx.

"Tapestry" is the first LP from Namas; a modern jazz band from Rennes, Brittany. It is a self-produced piece mixing the traditional sound of a trio with a slightly modern hip-hop-informed mindset. A nocturnal and thoughtful album influenced both by the London jazz scene and pictorial art.

This debut is an incredibly strong statement - showcasing the band's skilled musicianship alongside intricate and frenetic arrangements that keep the listener hooked throughout. Not only that, whoever has mixed the project has done a great job of creating space and dynamics on the record - it almost feels like you're sat right there, in front of the musicians. A stunning record! Look forward to hearing more from this troupe.

STAFF COMMENTS

Matt says: Strong styles from this trad-ish trio with an adventurous mindset - maintaining the dedication and rigor of pure jazz whilst injecting it with refreshing modernism.

TRACK LISTING

A1. LGFI
A2. Adim Adim
A3. 777
A4. Half Moon Light

B1. Kamalodo
B2. Pedrocha
B3. Catamandelo
B4. Outro

"His songs sound like memories, as familiar as they are foreign. I’m addicted to this record.” - Cate Le Bon. In a time rife with alienation, Magic Touch, the third album by the ubiquitous and mysterious Jack Name, offers the comfort of contact. With a body of work that ranges from the catchy to the cacophonous, Name has earned the reputation of a musician who’s difficult to define. For over a decade, he’s been a fixture in the Los Angeles underground. His songs have appeared on albums by U.S. Girls (Heavy Light, 2020) and White Fence (Family Perfume, 2012); he’s produced recordings for Cass McCombs and collaborated with Ariel Pink; and his experimental music has been performed at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles.

Magic Touch reveals yet another side of Jack Name. While it’s every bit as intricate as his previous releases, 2014’s Light Show and 2015’s Weird Moons, here he’s done away with the dense production of his earlier work to make a record that feels stark, personal, and effortlessly natural. With Magic Touch, Name brings his lyrical and conceptual focus away from the dream worlds of his first two albums and back to Earth: a simpler place, or so it seems, where humans are falling in and out of love, struggling with loneliness, reaching for connections to each other, and, for better or worse, affecting each other. In a year like 2020, it’s a place that feels familiar and far away all at once. The almost subliminal story arc of Magic Touch reminds us that touch itself is magic.

TRACK LISTING

1. Karolina
2. Do You Know Ida No?
3. Having A Good Time
4. A Moving-on Blues
5. I Came To Tell You In Plain English
6. Dudette
7. Losing My Way
8. Empty Nights
9. Kick-around Johnny
10. Sacred Place

David Nance, Omaha veteran of warble and hiss, returns with Negative Boogie, his new concoction of chug, throb and greasy swagger. On this album, Nance trades in his beaten up Tascam 488 for the bullet-proof, glass walls of A.R.C. Studios. What exactly is the negative boogie? Well, it’s a bit like Canned Heat but with Pere Ubu’s queasy rhythms and someone playing five finger fillet with Swell Maps. Ensconced in his ivory tower and soundproof rooms, Nance reached for unlikely weapons to tear down his own lofty experiment. He had his pick of rare guitars, cowbells, steel drums, vintage amps, Crazy Horse microphones, mellotron, and the restless but indefatigable rhythm section of Kevin Donahue and Tom May.

They started at sunrise and recorded fifteen songs by midnight. Maybe it’s his Midwestern work ethic, maybe he’s a sonic cheapskate. Maybe it’s just the sound of negative boogie. These songs stab and flow into one other like a perfectly orchestrated classic. They are drenched with Nance’s most biting and comic lyrics to date, peaking on “D.L.A.T.U.M.F. Blues (Don’t Look At This Ugly Mother Fucker Blues)”. And ripping through the entire thing is the cracked power he yanks out of the guitar, a veritable The Good, The Bad And The Ugly of riffage. This is a departure for Nance. It’s bigger and grander but it’s far from easy music. It’s his Plastic Ono Band, his For Your Pleasure, his fever dream of Rocket from the Tombs. But this of course is only a press release, written by a team of robots using words programmed to seduce you. Did it work?

With an intuitive understanding of melody and dynamics, Nancy Elizabeth brings a refreshingly Northern turn of phrase to her debut album, "Battle And Victory". The Lancashire-born singer's down-to-earth songs are brought to life by her warm and unaffected voice. Unpretentious but effortlessly ambitious, Nancy turns the retro, less-is-more aesthetic of the current acoustic revival on its head. Not content with writing and singing all the songs herself, the 23-year-old also plays most of the instruments, including guitar, khim, Indian harmonium, Appalachian dulcimer and bouzouki, amongst many others. The album was recorded in a 17th Century white stone cottage in the remote Welsh countryside, and a village hall outside Manchester, resulting in an intimate, uncontrived gem of a record. Using a minimum of recording equipment, the heartfelt honesty of her songs is revealed, extending to grander, more complex arrangements when the occasion calls, and bringing in friends to add cello, horns and percussion. While her work is never in thrall to any particular artist or genre, Nancy's music calls to mind aspects of artists as diverse as The Incredible String Band, Talk Talk and Led Zeppelin.

After surfacing online with an unknown identity Nancy has been described as a musical auteur, a provocateur, a surrealist, both male and female, a mysterious necromancer, in the same sentence both classy and trashy, weird and wonderful, Sgt Peppers for degenerates.

Raised in conservative North East England, Nancy acted in ways that seemed out-of the-ordinary - combined with abnormal physical features, “Nancy” was both a punchline & label throughout the songwriter’s formative years.

Beginning as a DIY form of escapism, a pop music obsession began. It’s these past lives & vivid influences that are reimagined and regurgitated to create a cocktail of lo-fo cabaret sass contorted with art-dream-pop deformities - an invitation to a fantasy world to get lost in.

TRACK LISTING

1.English Leather
2. Can't Get Ride Of You
3. Would You Be My Judy
4. Ruby
5. Moonlight
6. Driftwood
7. I Caught Feeling
8. I Hate Rock N Roll
9. Black Choral Bells
10. Sweet Like Sugarcane 

While Nao's previous project propelled the singer-songwriter into a new stratosphere with its cosmic, coming-of-age themes, the songstress is now entering a brand new chapter with ‘And Then Life Was Beautiful’ - where ‘Saturn’ untangled the knots of late twenties soul-searching, ‘And Then Life Was Beautiful’ goes a step further by setting out a clarified sense of purpose. Now a mother of a young daughter, NAO is more confident in herself and her voice than ever. A pandemic album, written and recorded throughout never-ending lockdowns, the project celebrates life’s ups and downs, reaching out a hand to guide listeners through what hurdles may confront them next. It includes previously released tracks ‘Antidode’, featuring Nigerian superstar Adekunle Gold, ‘Woman’, featuring Lianne La Havas, which she recorded with her new-born daughter strapped lovingly to her chest, as well as ‘Messy Love’, a stunning offering loaded with strummed guitar grooves and drum rhythms rooted in 90s R&B.  

Other notable stand-out tracks include ‘Wait’, a stripped-back track which takes an intimate look at how you make mistakes to develop a relationship, and ‘Postcards’, highlighting a gorgeous vocal interplay of NAO and serpentwithfeet, who features alongside her on the track. For ‘Good Luck’, R&B crooner Lucky Daye jumped on board.

She says: “Life isn’t perfect; we still go through ups and downs, but it can be beautiful as a whole. I do think it’s a hopeful album, in an honest way – it’s not shiny or all ‘isn’t this great!’ and ‘party party party.’ But it’s hopeful in that through every rough patch, every dark patch or struggle we always come out again. That’s what life is. You keep going. But most of all you try and step into a place of gratitude so that you can see life in all of its beauty.”

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: A silky smooth mix between soaring synth pop and grooving R&B, wonderfully bringing together Nao's gorgeous vocals and a distinctly modern mash-up of styles into a cohesive and jubilant whole.

TRACK LISTING

1. And Then Life Was Beautiful
2. Messy Love
3. Glad That You’re Gone
4. Antidote (feat. Adekunle Gold)
5. Burn Out
6. Wait
7. Good Luck (feat. Lucky Daye)
8. Nothing’s For Sure
9. Woman (feat. Lianne La Havas)
10. Better Friend
11. Postcards (feat. Serpentwithfeet)
12. Little Giants
13. Amazing Grace

“I think my music provides space for me to say the things I can’t always say in real life.” says Virginia native songwriter and multi-media artist Corrinne James. “That’s what I love about song writing—There’s room in music for all of the conversations that can’t exist in reality.”

Her modern folk production and poetic song writing links the sounds of classic folk artists like Joan Baez and Steeleye Span to a 21st century context. James wrestles with guilt, purpose, and jealousy through vivid narratives in the songs that make up her vast self-releases.

On the title track for Concession Stand Girl that opens the EP, James sings the inner monologue of an unappreciated ticket-taker at a high school football game. James plucks a sparkly banjo and sings details of the concession stand girl’s relationship to each of the spectators who must go through her to enter the game. “Although seemingly insignificant, the concession stand girl must interact with each spectator as they enter the football game. Despite being unable to physically see the game, inside of her head she narrates her relationship to the people at the game.” The track “Anywhere Else” sits in contrast to the rest of the EP, being the only song where James plays guitar instead of banjo.

The last song written for the EP, “Anywhere Else” describes the tense emotions that come from comparing yourself to others in the eyes of your partner. “The protagonist is convincing herself, as well as her partner, that she could leave at any moment. She doesn’t want to be taken for granted anymore.” “Big Blue World” is a touching closer to the EP, where James sings about finding her way back to the place that feels most like home. James examines the fleeting nature of ambition and asks what really creates the feeling of contentment. Describing the song’s lyrics James says, “You can achieve everything you want, but sometimes it doesn’t feel like anything compared to just feeling at home and feeling who you are deep down.”

TRACK LISTING

1. Concession Stand Girl
2. Momma
3. Anywhere Else
4. Big Blue World

Nap Eyes’ latest full length, ‘Snapshot Of A Beginner’, is proof that sometimes the late bloomers bloom brightest. Eight years and four albums into it, the artistic arc of Nap Eyes finds itself tracing a line alongside frontman Nigel Chapman’s daily tai chi practice. Those first years and albums are the cold mornings in the park: the measured movements, the joint aches, the self-doubt. With each new release, an incremental and invigorating step forward. And with the end of each album and tour, a return to the beginner’s practice. And now, ‘Snapshot Of A Beginner’ - Nap Eyes’ boldest, most concentrated and most hi-fi album to date - a study of that repeated return and all that it can teach you.

Almost all the songs of Nap Eyes are whittled into their final form from Chapman’s unspooling, 20-minute voice-and-guitar free-writing sessions. Each member - drummer Seamus Dalton, bassist Josh Salter or guitarist Brad Loughead - then plays a crucial role in song development, composing around the idiosyncratic structures and directing the overall sound and feel of the songs. Until now, that final song construction and recording has been mostly done live in a room. But for ‘Snapshot Of A Beginner’ the band went to The National’s neuvo-legendary upstate NY Long Pond Studio, working with producers Jonathan Low (Big Red Machine, The National) and James Elkington (Steve Gunn, Joan Shelley), the latter of whom also did pre-production arrangement work with the band.

It took Nap Eyes a long time and a long practice to reach this artistic zen but one gets the feeling throughout ‘Snapshot Of A Beginner’ that this balance is going to hold.

Previous album ‘I’m Bad Now’ was described by Uncut as “as much a modest masterpiece as ‘Spring Hill Fair’ [by The Go-Betweens] or ‘Tigermilk’ [by Belle and Sebastian].”

TRACK LISTING

So Tired
Primordial Soup
Even Though I Can’t Read Your Mind
Mark Zuckerberg
Mystery Calling
Fool Thinking Ways
If You Were In Prison
Real Thoughts
Dark Link
When I Struck Out On My Own
Though I Wish I Could

Nap Eyes return with an allusive, ambitious third album, elevating to a new sonic clarity, depth and wavelength of succinctly stinging, guitar-centric rock and roll.

They are all Nova Scotians by raising and temperament but acclimated to life on an Atlantic peninsula linked narrowly to the rest of North America. ‘I’m Bad Now’, which follows enigmatic frontman Nigel Chapman’s quest for selfunderstanding, is their most transparent and personal to date and constitutes the third chapter of an implicit, informal trilogy that includes ‘Whine Of The Mystic’ (2015) and ‘Thought Rock Fish Scale’ (2016).

While Nigel composes songs in their inchoate form at home in Halifax, Brad Loughead (lead guitar), Josh Salter (bass) and Seamus Dalton (drums), who live a twelve-hour drive away in Montreal, augment and arrange them, transubstantiating his skeletal, ruminative wafers into discourses that transcend. The band provide ballast and bowspirit to Nigel’s cosmical mind, this album lending itself to a new sonic clarity, depth and range to match his effortless melodies and extraordinary writing.

TRACK LISTING

Every Time The Feeling
I’m Bad
Judgment
Roses
Follow Me Down
You Like To Joke Around
With Me
Dull Me Line
Sage
Hearing The Bass
White Disciple

Universally credited as the band that invented grindcore, it's no exaggeration to say that Napalm Death are one of the most important acts in metal history

Earache Records' third ever release (MOSH003), classic debut album 'Scum' had an immediate, seismic impact in 1987 and its influence can still be felt far and wide today. To celebrate its 35th anniversary, this essential album is repressed with limited edition Blue and Pink colour sleeves. An absolute 'must have' for any heavy metal collector.

Pressed from the original master tapes, the album has been specially recreated using 'fdr' – full dynamic range mastering - allowing the music's nuances to shine through and giving the classic album a more ferocious and dynamic sound, enabling the listener to immerse in the full audio heaviness like never before.

TRACK LISTING

Multinational Corporations
Instinct Of Survival
The Kill
Scum
Caught In A Dream
Polluted Minds
Sacrificed
Siege Of Power
Control
Born On Your Knees
Human Garbage
You Suffer
Life?
Prison Without Walls
Point Of No Return
Negative Approach
Success?
Deceiver
C.S.
Parasites
Pseudo Youth
Divine Death
As The Machine Rolls On
Common Enemy
Moral Crusade
Stigmatized
M.A.D
Dragnet

Anthony Naples fifth full length LP “Orbs” is a moody portal of shoegazed and slo-mo songs suspended in thin air. The album doesn’t reassemble the A.N. sound from the ground up, so much as enhance and expand its scope in all directions. Samples and instruments meld together into new languorous and liquid forms that with or without the beat of drums, shift with the gentle movements of time.

TRACK LISTING

A1. Moto Verse
A2. Orb Two
A3. Morph
A4. Silas
A5. Gem
B1. Ackee
B2. Scars
B3. Strobe (second Single
B4. Tito
B5. Unknow

THIS IS A RECORD STORE DAY 2021 EXCLUSIVE AND WILL BE AVAILABLE INSTORE ON SATURDAY JULY 17TH ON A FIRST COME FIRST SERVED BASIS, LIMITED TO ONE PER PERSON.

IF THERE ARE ANY REMAINING COPIES THEY WILL BE MADE AVAILABLE ONLINE AT 6PM ON THE SAME DAY (SATURDAY JULY 17TH).

July 17 will see the much-treasured analog synthesizer suite Chronology by Pakistani-American composer and drummer of the cult trio Dawn of Midi, Qasim Naqvi, finally receiving a worldwide vinyl release on Record Store Day 2021. Originally conceived only digitally in 2016, Chronology was Qasimís first release of electronic music. Having been in the world of improvised and classical music up to this point, it seemed only fitting for Naqviís inaugural electronic music album to be made exclusively on a malfunctioning synthesizer ó an old Moog Model D. Leaving the abundant options of a computer behind. Transparent vinyl

Pakistani-American composer Qasim Naqvi will release his debut album for Erased Tapes on May 3rd. 'Teenages’ captures the sound of electronics living, breathing and mutating of their own accord – almost autonomously – with only subtle, sparing but perfectly-judged and masterful guidance.

This album is one singular synergy between Qasim and his machine within a broader milieu of sound, also explored by contemporaries Sarah Davachi, Alessandro Cortini, Caterina Barbieri and also the forefather, Morton Subotnick. At points tonal, textural and rhythmic, over six evolving and growing audio organisms, the album flourishes upwards in stages, from initial micro-sonics to something bigger, brighter and anthemic.

This is Naqvi’s first non-soundtrack release, having previously established himself as a renowned composer for dance, theatre, film and installation-based art, not to mention his role as drummer in lauded trio Dawn of Midi. According to Naqvi, “my past releases like ‘Chronology’, ‘Preamble’, ‘Fjoloy’ and ‘Film’ were made to accompany visual mediums. The music was always written to enhance another form. ‘Teenages’ is the first album with its own motivating force. It’s a live multi movement work that I recorded for myself.”

With ‘Teenages’, Naqvi summoned all the material on an analog modular synthesizer – a voltage-controlled sound generating system comprised of multiple modules. Naqvi built this synth over the course of two years and amassed a collection of works for this album.

“I’ve always been drawn to the power of un-amplified acoustic music. And for me modular synthesizers are a natural progression forward from the acoustic realm into the electric. It feels like an orchestra comprised of very unusual instruments, and their orchestration and vibrational properties lie in the patching and flow of voltages through a system.

They’re also unstable and they rarely play the same thing twice in any exact way. It’s almost organic and human. It was really important for this album to capture that kind of uninterrupted behavior.”

Capturing a live feeling without the aid of heavy studio production was an important component to this release: “Even though this is ‘electronic music,’ I didn’t want to rely heavily on a computer with an array of plugins, loops and samples, or exhaustive editing as part of the writing process. I wanted to treat this work like a live piece of music and have the natural behavior of the machine shine through and sound huge, like an orchestra of electrical signals.”

Gently stuttering like a time lapse-video of a seed sprouting up from the earth, ‘Intermission’ sets the scene, before musical motifs begin to emerge on the dancing, bubbling bassline of ‘Mrs 2E’, which possesses a playful, infantile quality, like a newborn animal learning to walk after birth.

More bouncy, skewed bottom-line squelch appears on the jittery, buzzing ‘Palace Workers’, which seems to evoke life in the form of amplified insect or bat noises, with a melody that eventually unfolds into something akin to a fractal rendition of ‘Oxygene’. By ‘No Tongue’ more traditionally identifiable musical signifiers begin to emerge, with a bright and melodic synth line evoking the new blooms of spring, whereas ‘Artilect’ takes a more ominous drone tone, insinuating the dark, potential threat of artificially augmented biological intelligence.

Like a coming-of-age, the album culminates on title track ‘Teenages’ – a dynamic, technicolour symphony that was recorded in one take, with no overdubs or edits. In the year leading up to ‘Teenages’, Naqvi created a series of shorter works. These stepping-stones eventually became the first 5 tracks of the album and were part of a larger process, leading to the realization of the title track. “I wanted to show the stages of development that lead to the main act. All of these tracks share the same D.N.A., even though they seem distantly related.” Explains Naqvi.

The pieces heard prior to ‘Teenages’ chronicle both Naqvi’s understanding of writing for this type of instrument and the growth of the instrument itself: “I started with just a few modules. And naturally things had to be layered and pieced together but as the synthesizer and its components grew over time, I was able to create broader and more complex strokes in the moment. And by the time I got to ‘Teenages’, it was possible to create a robust, large-scale piece spontaneously. This is very much an experiential album for me because it was borne out of my direct experience of learning the instrument. And as the synthesizer grew over time with more components, it matured. At times I felt like it was even rebelling against my instructions or surprising me with what felt like its own choices.

When everything was finished and I was thinking about track titles, this idea of artificial intelligence came into my head; a machine that reacts to your impulses and is capable of giving you something different from what you ask, and even defying you. It felt like different stages of growth and adolescence, and that lead to the album title, ‘Teenages’.”

Deeply rewarding on close listening, Naqvi has created an inspiring and synapsestimulating new masterwork, within the analogue/modular cannon.

TRACK LISTING

1. Intermission
2. Mrs 2E
3. Palace Workers
4. No Tongue
5. Artilect
6. Teenages

With an output that has been described as, ethereal, epic and anthemic, Mancunian electronica band narcissus were tipped for big things in the mid-noughties, having signed a publishing deal on the back of some genre-bending demos and following a series of amazing live events including a 'D-percussion festival/band on the wall' double header.

The quartets' reputation was further enhanced with the release of a single 'The Window' through Manchester indie label Northern Ambition, the label was also responsible for Stephen Fretwell's early output.

Unfortunately, the collapse of narcissus' publishing deal during the recording of their debut album led to a parting of ways but time and fate have brought the band back together.

With an album already recorded, narcissus went back into the studio late 2018 and recorded a brand new track ‘burning candles’ finally released on new Manchester record label 42’s Records

TRACK LISTING

Side A Burning Candles
Side AA Flashing Blue Lights

Last time out Lil Static added a little extra energy and a whole lotta bass to Kraftwerk classics 'Numbers' and 'Computer World 2', and here they flip the script a little, taking a ganja leaf out of the 5 Borough Breaks playbook with a sampledelic 7". Giving much props to Q-Tip and his press pause production method, the label slap Illmatic classic "One Love" on the A-side, then switch vibes  on the flip for the original sample, evocative jazz opus "Smilin' Billy Suite" by The Heath Brothers. Hot!

TRACK LISTING

A. Nas - One Love
B. The Heath Brothers - Smilin' Billy Suite

3rd studio album from platinum selling artist and Brit Award winner Kate Nash.

TRACK LISTING

1. Part Heart
2. Fri-end?
3. Death Proof
4. Are You There Sweetheart?
5. Sister
6. OMYGOD!
7. Oh
8. All Talk
9. Unconventional Girl
10. 3AM
11. Rap For Rejection
12. Cherry Pickin'
13. Labyrinth
14. You're So Cool, I'm So Freaky
15. Lullaby For An Insomniac

Heavy, as steel tank and spiced with ever changing tones and atmospheres. This is a document of the true power in sound and noise. In the hands of Mats Gustafsson, Dror Feiler and Lasse Marhaug, sound and noise is getting vital again. Three true masters of the unknown territories of their acoustic and electronic equipment. A modern power trio. This is the debut album by this new band.

Texas’ genre-bending rock ‘n’ roller Israel Nash presents his latest long play, Lifted. It is a modern day hippie-spiritual, a tonic for those needing to put aside the mess of the daily grind. With luscious beds of strings, horns and well adorned towering walls of sound, Lifted finds Nash continuing his tradition of creating a sonic experience of feeling that is at once both vast and intimate - soaring and untamed at times, placid and sincerely personal at others. Inspired by methods pioneered by John Cage, Nash randomised sounds and music and rearranged them according to the I Ching (The Book of Changes). Utilising these recording and tracking techniques help create a sonic and very present picture of Nash’s Texas Hill Country home and his life. Accompanied by his longtime band, with arrangements by Jesse Chandler (Mercury Rev, Midlake), horns by members of Austin’s cumbia/funk compadre’s Grupo Fantasma, and strings from Kelsey Wilson and Sadie Wolf of indie pop’s Wild Child, Nash, alongside co-producer and engineer Ted Young (Kurt Vile, The Rolling Stones), presents an album that soars as a masterwork of American roots songs, meticulously crafted and gently sprinkled with life meaning and multi-hued rock and psychedelia.

TRACK LISTING

1. Rolling On (Intro)
2. Rolling On
3. Looking Glass
4. Lucky Ones
5. Sweet Springs (Intro)
6. Sweet Springs
7. Spiritfalls
8. Northwest Stars (Out Of Tacoma)
9. Hillsides
10. The Widow
11. Strong Was The Night
12. Golden Fleeces

Hailed as a “master of sonic textures” by Rolling Stone and “folk-rock visionary” by Uncut, Israel Nash first rose to fame in Europe, where he built a loyal following with a series of critically acclaimed albums that landed him a deal with the renowned Loose Music label. As American audiences began to catch on, the Missouri native relocated to Dripping Springs, Texas, where he built his own recording studio on a ranch and embraced a more spacious, psychedelic sound that landed somewhere between Neil Young and Pink Floyd. Produced by Kevin Ratterman (My Morning Jacket, Ray LaMontagne), Nash’s newest record, the rousing Ozarker, finds him returning to his Midwestern roots, embracing the heartland rock he grew up on with larger-than-life guitars, anthemic melodies, and rich character studies.

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: Nash's psychedelic folk-rock takes a little left turn on his latest LP 'Ozarker'. Swapping out the simmering melodies and low-key Americana for something a lot more majestic and Midwestern. Huge melodies and stadium choruses abound.

TRACK LISTING

1. Firedance
2. Can't Stop
3. Roman Candle
4. Lost In America
5. Ozarker
6. Midnight Hour
7. Travel On
8. Pieces
9. Shadowland
10. Going Back