In case you haven’t heard, D’Angelo is back. The prodigal son of soul and funk dropped his new album online in December 2014, with no fanfare, no hype and no upfront announcement. The soulternet lit up like a Christmas tree. For one so talented 15 years seems like too long a time to wait between albums (we've had to wait so long 'Black Messiah' has been described as “the black 'SMiLE'”), but D'Angelo had demons to slay, issues to resolve, yada yada yada... (for 15 years!?). Anyway, he's back now, reborn, refreshed and sounding as wonderful as ever. The album cooks up a gumbo of the greats - a dash of Marvin, a sprinkle of Minneapolis, some P-funk pepper and Sly salt, all simmered together to make 'Black Messiah' the tastiest real-soul stew around right now. Essential!

TRACK LISTING

Side A
1. Ain't That Easy
2. 1000 Deaths
3. The Charade
4. Sugah Daddy
5. Really Love

Side B
6. Back To The Future (Part I)
7. Till It's Done (Tutu)
8. Prayer
9. Betray My Heart
10. The Door
11. Back To The Future (Part II)
12. Another Life

D'Angelo's debut album breathed new life into the mid-90s soul / R&B scene, taking inspiration from 70s soul classics, but reinvigorating the sound with hip hop swagger. Recorded using vintage instruments the album ushered in the more organic neo-soul sound, moving away from the crisp electronics of the late 80s / early 90s new jack swing era. Includes the smash hit "Brown Sugar" (has there been a better love song to Mary J?), a cover of Smokey Robinson's "Cruisin'", or the bluesy "Shit, Damn, Motherfucker". A perfect after hours soul seduction album.

This is the first time 'Brown Sugar' has been reissued since 2006!

TRACK LISTING

A1. Brown Sugar 4:22
A2. Alright 5:15
A3. Jonz In My Bonz 5:56
B1. Me And Those Dreamin' Eyes Of Mine 4:46
B2. Shit, Damn, Motherfucker 5:14
B3. Smooth 4:18
C1. Crusin' 6:28
C2. When We Get By 5:48
D1. Lady 5:47
D2. Higher 5:27

'Voodoo' hit store shelves on January 25th 2000, just a few weeks after the New Year celebrations to end them all. But the first great album of the new millennium was born in the 1990s, and its muggy grooves capture the sound of premillennial anxiety. The album is the product of perfectionism, obsession and paranoia. 1995’s debut 'Brown Sugar' had already strategically positioned D’Angelo - born Michael Eugene Archer and Virginia-raised to a Pentecostal preacher father - as the next Hendrix-like deity in black music, after Prince and maybe Lenny Kravitz. But since its release, D’Angelo had become distracted by weed and weightlifting, he’d been shaken by the deaths of Tupac Shakur and The Notorious BIG and debilitated by sophomore pressure. In the interim he’d fathered two children, switched managers and jumped to a new record label.

Though inspired by the birth of his children and trips back to Virginia, 'Voodoo'’s roots are in 1960s, 70s and 80s funk and soul; a nostalgic nod to the ideas and inventions of black music trailblazers powered by avant-garde hip-hop and jazz-influenced rhythms. D’Angleo’s aim, he said, was to reclaim R&B. He wanted to be like Sly Stone, George Clinton and Al Green. And most of all, he wanted to be like Jimi Hendrix. Where does a potently focused young man go to remake 'Electric Ladyland'? New York’s Electric Lady studios, of course: in the same rooms in which Hendrix and Stevie Wonder reinvented music decades earlier, and on the same equipment too. In an era in which soul musicians were obsessing over all things synthetic, D’Angelo was looking to the warm sounds of the past. Electric Lady’s Studio C became D’Angelo’s brand new creative laboratory.

TRACK LISTING

Playa Playa
Devil's Pie
Left & Right
The Line
Send It On
Chicken Grease
One Mo' Gin
The Root
Spanish Joint
Feel Like Makin' Love
Greatdayndamornin' / Booty
Untitled (How Does It Feel)
Africa

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

TRACK LISTING

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

Salvo De Luca, a dedicated enthusiast of house and disco music who goes by the moniker DA LUKAS, has delivered a stellar 4-track EP of Funky-House/Disco-Boogie on Groove Culture. The EP's standout track, 'Satisfy Your Soul,' is currently making waves as one of the most played tunes in clubs globally, even finding its place in the latest set by French DJ Folamour for Boiler Room in Australia.

Additionally, the EP features a new project by Da Lukas named 'Supergood,' available exclusively on vinyl. This funk-infused cosmic delight promises to get you grooving to its unique and captivating vibes.

TRACK LISTING

A1. Satisfy Your Soul
A2. Let Your Body Be Free
B1. Supergood
B2. Music Turns Me On

Brazilian-born, LA-based Gabriel da Rosa is a bossa nova and samba artist who puts his own twist on traditional Brazilian music.

Gabriel currently DJs across a variety of venues in Los Angeles and is consistently introducing Brazilian music to wider audiences. ‘É o que a casa oferece’ was made in collaboration with producer Pedro Dom (Rodrigo Amarante, Seu Jorge) and mix engineer Mario C (best known for his work with Beastie Boys).

Gabriel travelled around the world before landing in LA where he met Peanut Butter Wolf. The two bonded over their shared love for Brazilian music, and this led Gabriel to start writing more songs inspired by his heritage.

‘É o que a casa oferece’ is Gabriel’s debut album on Stones Throw. It pays homage to his Brazilian roots, but also brings a contemporary edge to the music Gabriel grew up listening to.

TRACK LISTING

1. Bandida
2. Indiossincrasia
3. Jasmim Parte 1
4. Interlude (That’s A Shame)
5. Jasmim Parte 2
6. Batuque
7. So You Can See Me
8. Dona Chica
9. Cachaça

No hold barred old skool hardcore on the excellent Household Name label.

Springing from Manchester, drawing on musical influences from around the globe, with strains of the urban and psychedelic, Da Vida explore the spaces between recognised categories of political, social & spiritual realities. Words and rhythm combine with electronic and acoustic textures to confront the distinctions between order and disorder, male and female, the mask and the face.

'Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction' deals with the transforming affect of technology on music and the arts in general. Thirteen pieces span genres of Chicago blues to hip hop, industrial and avant garde and feature Manchester hip hop artist MC Crystalize and South African vocalist Joyce Moholoagae. Inspiring, provocative, challenging.

Amy Dabbs puts her heart and soul in the breaks anthem ‘Everything Alright' feat. Aika Mal’ on her Heist debut EP.
Bonus: A tantalizing 140BPM Dam Swindle remix

Berlin based Amy Dabbs has already impressed, with releases on Aus Music, Shall not Fade and her own Dabbs traxx, a monthly residency on Rinse FM and an active tour schedule that's won her fans from dancers and DJs alike; with Special Request, The Blessed Madonna, Jaguar and Cinthie all waving the flag for this up and coming artist.

Right from the start, you know you’ve got an anthem on your hands with ‘Everything alright’. The gorgeous vocals by Aika Mal give you that right amount of emotive, ravey energy and come wrapped in a package of solid breaks and mesmerizing chords. With a hint of acid and a couple of meticulously crafted breakdowns you’ll be fist-pumping along with this track before you know it.

The Dam Swindle remix drops the tempo a little bit, but with its 140BPM, warm broken beat and UK bass flavours, the duo delivers a curveball of a track with a lot of crossover appeal. They went for a more stripped back approach that combines introverted percussion with bouncy keys that complement the vocals perfectly for an altogether irresistible remix.

‘Crush’ is a signature Amy Dabbs tracks, with driving 909 percussion, female vocal chops, ethereal pads and classic strings. It’s a warmhearted affair laced with Amy’s feelgood DNA. On the flip you’ll find ‘Eleven eleven twenty two’; a classic deep house track with subtle hints of UKG in its sampling and bass. The pads and leads are moody and the skippy percussion gives this track the kind of energy you’d welcome when pulling an all-nighter.

Rounding off the EP, we’ve got the EP title track ‘Only Breaks Can Love Your Heart’; another showcase of Amy’s knack to make house aficionados dance to drum and bass. There’s a certain contrast in pace – raging drums versus dreamy chords that makes you feel at ease listening to a fast-paced track like this. The vocals are equally hazy with a subtle 90’s and 00’s RnB feel. Bassface guaranteed on this one!

STAFF COMMENTS

Matt says: Anthemic, future-proof bass hybrids from rising star Amy Dabbs. Touching on garage, bassline, DnB and techno styles in her own sugar-coated, hyped-up manner.

TRACK LISTING

A1. Everything Alright Feat. Aika Mal
A2. Everything Alright Feat. Aika Mal (Dam Swindle Remix)
A3. Eleven Eleven Twenty Two
B1. Crush
B2. Only Breaks Can Love Your Heart

Barcelona's Max Guardans reveals more gems from his Tibi Dabo project. Meticulously crafted tech house movements with a real musicality and depth, the producer is making serious waves across the global dance village.

"Isla" opens up with the title track - an intricately and delicately arranged track which reveals the symbiosis between the various elements as the encapsulating pad and bass progression slowly envelops the track. "Mothball" is an even gentler excursion into deep tech house abandon. Perfectly placed bleeps and vox riding a soft groove and deeeep bass. Almost reminds me of vintage Matthew Herbert but there's shed loads of the producer's own personality at show here.

"Brain The Cut" keeps to the now established formula of wrapping sexy vocal cuts and intricate perx in highly stimulating pads and atmospheres; making for a very transcendental experience. This one in particular shows off the producer's expert sound design and rhythmic prowess. Finally, "Arp 8" reduces the BPMS and works with a broken beat groove; glassy synth shards dripping down the track as another warm bass and emotive vox smother the track in soul and feeling. Most recommended shizzle from this Crosstown Rebels star. 

STAFF COMMENTS

Matt says: Crosstown Rebel's Tibi Dabo should please fans of Four Tet, Dj Koze, Craig Richards and Carl Craig. A beautiful handle on electronic production. One to watch.

TRACK LISTING

A1. Isla
A2. Mothball
B1. Brain The Cut
B2. Arp 8 

Tibi Dabo unveils his long-awaited full-length ‘Vista’ on Crosstown Rebels, with the kaleidoscopic nine-track album showcasing his diverse and rich sound palette.

‘Vista’ is a perfect fusion of futuristic synths and compelling house grooves, all of which are masterfully designed and full of character. Following three well-received singles, the full-length is a complete sonic statement that explores deep house, leftfield sonics and widescreen cosmic vistas.

Opener ‘Water Is’ layers up fresh sound sources and playful melodies on nimble basslines that soon make you move. ‘Somewhere Beach’ is then a silky groove layered up with diffuse pads and aching synths that convey real romance, while ‘Licht’ is another masterful display of original drum programming with bursts of cosmic synth and elastic bass. ‘Useless Ideas’ then gets deeper on more low-key drums and bass. Instead, the focus is on the deft percussion and well-treated vocals that swirl and smudge around the mix to a woozy late-night effect.

The elegant ‘Mundo’ channels the machine soul of early Detroit techno, before ‘Mangabeira Manifesto’ featuring Dudu Bongo layers up wonky drums and bass with curling, soft acid sounds and a playful vocal line. ‘Triple Frontier’ picks up the pace and heads out on a high-speed cosmic house journey, all before ‘Overture’, another far-sighted astral trip with starry melodies and rich, rubbery bass, closes the package in fine style.

An expressive and adventurous yet coherent long player with a range of moods, feelings and grooves taking you to all corners of the house world, ‘Vista’ showcases Dabo’s most in-depth project to date and an album which provides the perfect platform for him to display his rich sonic universe.

TRACK LISTING

A1. Water Is
A2. Somewhere Beach
B1. Licht
B2. Useless Ideas
C1. Mundo
C2. Mangabeira Manifesto Ft. Dudu Bongo
D1. Triple Frontier
D2. Overture 

Richmond, VA-based songwriter Lucy Dacus is the latest addition to the renowned Matador Records roster.
Lucy Dacus's No Burden is full of surprises—sharp lyrical observations, playful turns of musical phrase, hooks that'll embed themselves in your frontal lobe for days. But the most surprising thing about this album might be the fact that it's a debut; it has a keen sense of self about it, and it nearly glows from the self-possession held by the woman at its core.

The 21-year-old Dacus grew up in Richmond; she was adopted at a young age, an experience that informed her curious, openhearted songwriting. "When my parents were explaining what adoption was—which was very early on in my childhood—they always said that my birthmother thought I was worthwhile even though she couldn't be my mom," she says. "And so from essentially infancy, I was taught that life was innately worthwhile because a bunch of people had worked together to set me up with one.”

Dacus started playing around Richmond while in college, opening for local acts and eventually meeting Jacob Blizard, a guitarist who invited her to make a record for a college project of his. No Burden, which originally came out in February on the Richmond label EggHunt Records, opens with the forthright, almost brutally honest "I Don't Wanna Be Funny Anymore," the last song Dacus wrote before the album's day-long recording session at Starstruck Studios in Nashville. Dacus delivers scalpel-sharp observations about resisting pigeonholing over chunky guitars, ticking off ideals of femininity and youth until the track's not-quite-resolution.

These themes extend to the lyrics of songs like "Strange Torpedo," a whirling portrait of a friend whose "bunch of bad habits" who, Dacus sings, has "been falling for so long… [and hasn't] hit anything solid yet." "I've been that friend watching a loved one do what they know is bad for them and not understanding why," says Dacus. The song offers a simple message: "I love you, why don't you love you? You're the one in your body so you get to choose what to do with it, but if I were you I'd treat me differently.”

The rest of No Burden, which was produced by Collin Pastore, puts Dacus's voice center stage, allowing the glinting poetry of her lyrics to shine even more brightly. "Trust," which Dacus wrote in late 2013, showcases her alone with her guitar, her faint vibrato floating over strummed chords as she sings of self-redemption. And the diptych "Dream State…" and "…Familiar Place," which revolve around Dacus repeating "Without you, I am surely the last of our kind/ Without you, I am surely the last of my kind," capture disappointment and loss in a jaw-dropping way; the music trembles around her while her voice stays steady, anticipating whatever might come next.

No Burden is a forthright, disarmingly catchy statement. And while it's a sterling debut, it only hints at the potential possessed by this passionate, thoughtful young woman.

Lucy Dacus is done thinking small. Two years after her 2016 debut, No Burden, won her unanimous acclaim as one of rock's most promising new voices, Dacus returns on March 2 with Historian, a remarkably assured 10-track statement of intent. "This is the album I needed to make," says Dacus, who views Historian as her definitive statement as a songwriter and musician. "Everything after this is a bonus."

Dacus and her band recorded the album in Nashville last March, re-teaming with No Burden producer Collin Pastore, and mixed it a few months later with A-list studio wizard John Congleton. The sound they created, with substantial input from multi-instrumentalist and live guitarist Jacob Blizard, is far richer and fuller than the debut — an outward flowering of dynamic, living, breathing rock and roll. Dacus' remarkable sense of melody and composition are the driving force throughout, giving Historian the immersive feel of an album made by an artist in full command of her powers.

STAFF COMMENTS

Millie says: Dacus' light Americana leanings of the superb No Burden are sidelined slightly for her grander, more expansive new outing, Historian. Though her smouldering guitar work and unmistakable voice are ever present, they are skillfully woven into an intricate and all-encompassing web of orchestration, grandeur and beauty. This is a stunner, and every bit the successful follow-up.

TRACK LISTING

Night Shift
Addictions
The Shell
Nonbeliever
Yours & Mine
Body To Flame
Timefighter
Next Of Kin
Pillar Of Truth
Historians

This new gift from Dacus, her third album, was built on an interrogation of her coming-of-age years in Richmond, VA. Many songs start the way a memoir might—“In the summer of ’07 I was sure I’d go to heaven, but I was hedging my bets at VBS”—and all of them have the compassion, humour, and honesty of the best autobiographical writing. Most importantly and mysteriously, this album displays Dacus’s ability to use the personal as portal into the universal.

“I can’t hide behind generalizations or fiction anymore,” Dacus says, though talking about these songs, she admits, makes her ache. That Home Video arrives at the end of this locked down, fearful era seems as preordained as the messages within. “I don’t necessarily think that I’m supposed to understand the songs just because I made them,” Dacus says, “I feel like there’s this person who has been in me my whole life and I’m doing my best to represent them.” After more than a year of being homebound, in a time when screens and video calls were sometimes our only form of contact, looking backward was a natural habit for many.

If we haven’t learned it already, this album is a gorgeous example of the transformative power of vulnerability. Dacus’s voice, both audible and on the page, has a healer’s power to soothe and ground and reckon.

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: While 'No Burden' and to a lesser extent 'Historian' dealt with undoubtedly serious events with a certain levity, 'Home Video' hits as hard as is possible while still retaining Dacus' melodicism and wit. 'Thumbs' gives me genuine shivers every time I hear it, and the rest of the LP isn't far behind. An absolutely stunning LP, again vying for high up the Barry EOY list.

TRACK LISTING

1. Hot & Heavy
2. Christine
3. First Time
4. VBS
5. Cartwheel
6. Thumbs
7. Going Going Gone
8. Partner In Crime
9. Brando
10. Please Stay
11. Triple Dog Dare

Contemporary folk multi-instrumentalist Rachael Dadd is set to release her new album “Flux” on Memphis Industries on the 8th November 2019. Produced with Marcus Hamblett (Villagers / Laura Marling), “Flux” is a response to external and internal tides: the flow of life uprooted; a protest against the flow of recent political history and a diary of the flow within the intimate space of home.

Collaborators include multi-instrumentalist Emma Gatrill (Willie Mason / Matthew and the Atlas), drummer Rob Pemberton (Emily Barker / Low Chimes), bassist Jim Barr (Portishead) and vocalists Kate Stables (This Is The Kit) and Rozi Plain. Flux follows Rachael’s highly acclaimed album “We Resonate” which came out on Talitres and Sweetdreams Press, and a string of international releases on Broken Sound, Lost Map, Sweetdreams Press and Angel’s Egg. Living half her time as a travelling musician in Japan, witnessing how other people create things, connecting with other cultures and landscapes; all this is a furnace for Rachael’s innovative song writing, which has seen her gain a reputation as a pioneering and thought provoking artist, unafraid to push the boundaries of folk and pop.

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: There are moments in 'Flux' of such whimsical beauty that hark back to the early days of American psychedelic folk, with plucking guitars and Dadd's gorgous vox. It's the more soulful pieces here that really impress, soaring and weaving in equal measure, providing a fascinating but cohesive listen. Lovely stuff.

TRACK LISTING

1. Arrows
2. Cut My Roots
3. Beacon
4. Two Islands
5. Language Of Water
6. Animal
7. Palaeontologist
8. Super Moon Machine
9. Knot
10. Two Coiled Springs
11. Connected To The Rock

Wildly creative free-form songwriter Rachael Dadd releases her brand new studio album ‘Kaleidoscope’ via Memphis Industries and follows 2019’s 'Flux', which was released to much acclaim and which she was touring when the pandemic struck.

Like so many people disconnected from their communities and struggling through the lockdowns, Rachael Dadd turned inwards, seeking escape through music and connection through song writing, and her hope is that when people listen to ‘Kaleidoscope' “they will feel held and find space to breathe, grieve and celebrate.”

“This album is a lot more honest and personal than ‘Flux'” she shares, “but I feel the songs are universal as they are largely rooted in truth and love. If I had to pick a favourite album it would be this one because of the magical rekindling of human connection when me and my band got back in a room together again. All that magic went into these songs."

Co-produced "intuitively, boldly, and playfully" by Rachael and Rob Pemberton (The Staves, Emily Barker, Maja Lena), ‘Kaleidoscope’ includes musical collaborators such as Maja Lena (Low Chimes), long-time collaborator Emma Gatrill (Willy Mason), Alex Heane (bass), Charlotte West (synths), Alex Garden (strings) and ‘Flux’ producer Marcus Hamblett (Villagers, James Holden, The Staves), giving the record "just the right colour combination, just the right pattern of shapes, plenty of space where needed and finally landing in a sound world that feels fresh and open and true” reflects Rachael.

Japanese aesthetics absorbed from her time spent living there are subconsciously woven into Rachael’s songs. "I first stepped foot in Tokyo in 2008, sparked by the adventure of such a rich and different culture and later on I lived on a small island and experienced an appealing and balanced way of life: the aesthetics, the art and the traditions,” she recalls. “There was a lot of caring for each other, a lot of gentleness, and a lot of simple living in harmony with nature. Japan left its cultural mark on me and is now part of my inner world and I’m sure this comes out with the words and music I write”.

“But overall” Rachael explains “this is an album of homecoming and reconnecting to my own truth, to my community here, to the earthy land that I love and to the sky that I know.”

TRACK LISTING

Side A
Children Of The Galaxy
Footsteps
Moon Sails
Ox
Ghost
Side B
River Spirit
Heads Down
For Honey And Ray
White Snow
Swift
Join The Dots

Dinked Edition Bonus CD
The Bridge (feat Kate Stables – This Is The Kit)
Fronds
Crystalizing In Time
Fences (feat Rozi Plain)

Like his mythological namesake, Daedelus – otherwise known as Alfred Darlington – is an inventor, a creator of sonic labyrinths combining sounds from an eclectic palette into an innovative genre all his own. To celebrate its 15th anniversary, Daedelus is repackaging his seminal debut Invention in a 2XLP package with the complimentary EP The Quiet Party (including appearances from Madlib, Yesterday’s New Quintet and Busdriver) in a color vinyl masterpiece. Containing the track Experience, known in part as a sample in Madvillain’s accordion, Invention is a genrespanning opus that marks the start of what has become an illustrious career. As Pitchfork writes, “Daedelus’ debut album manages to find common ground between 21st century electronics and the string arrangements of yesteryear. He never obscures one with the other, nor allows one to shine through at the other’s expense. The disparate elements are in harmony and at the command of Daedelus’ personality.”

TRACK LISTING

1. Playing Parties
2. Pursed Lips Reply
3. Astroboy
4. Adventress
5. Elegy (At Last)
6. Muggle Born
7. Aplomb
8. Experience
9. Loded
10. Quiet Now
11. Minor Detour
12. Perchance A Bit
13. Soulful Of Child
14. Thus The Whirligig
15. Quiet Now (with Busdriver)
16. Pursed Lips Reply (with Sach)
17. Playing Parties (YNQ – The Stars Remix)
18. Madlib Bonus Beats
19. Muggle Born (High Priest ESP Remix)
20. Girls (feat. Abstract Rude And Busdriver)
21. Girls (Instrumental)
22. A Touch Of Spring

Like his mythological namesake, Daedelus - otherwise known as Alfred Darlington - is an inventor, a creator of sonic labyrinths combining sounds from an eclectic palette into an innovative genre all his own. With 'The Light Brigade', Daedelus returns to Flying Lotus’ Brainfeeder, a fitting home for the Los Angeles electronic pioneer. The album recalls the Crimean war of 1853-56. The music was written and recorded before the recent troubles broke out in the region, a turn of events which lends an air of requiem to the album.

Opening with 'Until Artillery', an elegiac voice invokes the conflict as glorified in Lord Alfred Tennyson’s infamous poem, backed by electronic swells that build into a poignant climax, contrasting the simple melodies that are the distinction of the album. 'Onward' is a haunting lament; layered, melancholy vocals provided by previous collaborator Young Dad wind their way through treated pianos and deep textures creating a mournful ballad of noise. In 'Shot And Shell', a cavalcade of fingerpicked guitars are embedded in warm synths, and closing track 'Country Of Conquest' is a heartbreaking string composition that recalls Shostakovich.

'The Light Brigade' is a musical interplay of light and dark, soft and heavy, beautiful and frightening. The ghosts of war reverberate into the present in this deeply moving meditation on mortality.

In 1982, DAF (Deutsch Amerikanische Freundschaft) released fifth album ‘Für Immer’, their third in the space of a year and half, then promptly split up. Despite the band’s meteoric career, the Düsseldorf twosome left its mark, creating bare bones pulsing electronic music that delighted in both stiff dancefloor experimentation and homoerotic tease.

Though the album is overall moodier than the previous two, it still has its share of lighthearted numbers, such as a rerecording of the band’s first single, ‘Kebabträume’ (initially issued when DAF still used guitars), or ‘prinzessin’, which comes dangerously close to a love song - or at least what passed for a love song in 1982 Düsseldorf.

TRACK LISTING

Im Dschungel Der Liebe
Ein Bisschen Krieg
Die Götter Sind Weiß
Verlieb Dich In Mich
Geheimnis
Kebab Träume
Prinzessin
Die Lippe
Verehrt Euren Haarschnitt
Wer Schön Sein Will, Muss Leiden

Way back when (approx 12 years ago), in those glory days of dingy basements and gaffa taped trainers, a whole new genreration of dancers were taking a journey of musical discovery at the the invitation of one Erol Alkan and his banging clubnight Trash. Electroclash, nu-disco, post-punk, punk-funk, nu rave, techno, there was a fair bit of techno, and indie cuts all rubbed shoulders, pogoed and made out in the middle of the dancefloor, getting totally fucked up as Erol threw them into the blender. This series sees the Phantasy man showcase his ear for a tune and hand for a killer rework with retrospective series of his best reinterpretations.
On the A-side, Erol rips apart the abrasive electro snarl of Daft Punk's "Brainwasher" and stitches it back together with a series of rib rattling breakbeats, gloomy keys and tremulous bass. Hard hitting, head-fucking electro tackle which predated the current breaks revival by a decade. Flip it for an Erol rework of Chilly Gonzales' "Never Stop". This dancefloor mauler works from a standard electro set up of kick+snare+hats before dropping into bleepy keys, pitched down vocal flips and a rampant electrodisco bassline. 'Ave it!

Alive 1997- Live recording from Birmingham, November 1997 45mn of non-stop live mixing, featuring Daft Punk’s standard tracks (Da Funk,Rollin’ & Scratching) along with thise techno-electronic electronic explosions unique to Daft Punk.

TRACK LISTING

Side A
1. WDPK, Pt. 1 (Live In Birmingham)
2. Da Funk (Live In Birmingham)
3. Rollin' & Scratchin' (Live In Birmingham)
Side B
1. Rollin' & Scratchin' (Live In Birmingham)
2. WDPK 83.7 FM, Pt. 2 (Live In Birmingham)
3. Alive (Live In Birmingham)

Daft Punk's “Alive 2007” set, which won 2 Grammy Awards in 2009 (Best Electronic Album and Best Electronic Single categories) is now released on vinyl for the first time (a double vinyl with triple gatefold sleeve).

Recorded at Paris Bercy on 14th June 2007, Daft Punk's first homecoming concert for 10 years, "Alive 2007", captures the otherworldly live experience that the revolutionary robot-clad duo began at Coachella, USA in 2006. Opening with a "Robot Rock" teaser, before crashing into the track itself, the set works its way through all those DP anthems you love, including "Technologic", "Around The World", "Burnin'", "One More Time", "Da Funk", "Too Long" and "Human After All" - they even do a version of "Music Sounds Better With You"!.

The French duo head down to the discotheque with some mixes their mates have made for them - The Neptunes, Slum Village, Boris Dlugosch, Basement Jaxx, Cosmo Vitelli, Gonzales and many more.

"Discovery" was originally released in 2001, five years after those Daft Punks blew us all away with "Homework" and the world was a very different place. "Homework" had been the shot of adrenaline that club culture needed, prompting the golden age of filter house, with a legion of imitators following their lead. But the French duo hadn't spent the interim resting on their laurels, instead they'd dug deep into their record collections, exploring the productions of Thomas' father (Daniel Vangarde, who hit the charts with Ottowan's "D.I.S.C.O.") and honing their songwriting skills. They'd also spent a fair bit of time in the workshop making two very snazzy robot costumes which have become their uniform ever since. And when they were good and ready, they unleashed "Discovery" (or Disco Very) on the world. Opening with the massive hands in the air "One More Time", the album soon heads into a sampledelic melting pot of 70s disco grooves, reinterpreting the likes of Edwin Birdsong, Cerrone, Sister Sledge, George Duke, Tavares and Barry Manilow!!! This time around though, they'd taken a step back from the dancefloor, instead creating a pop gem that'd work in a club, on the radio, in an armchair or  anywhere really, that even contained proper songs. Perfect in its conception and execution this was the album that turned them from house music's golden boys to global megastars, and rightly so.

TRACK LISTING

Side A
1. One More Time
2. Aerodynamic
3. Digital Love
Side B
1. Harder Better Faster Stronger
2. Crescendolls
3. Nightvision
4. Superhereos
Side C
1. High Life
2. Something About Us
3. Voyager
4. Veridis Quo
Side D
1. Short Circuit
2. Face To Face
3. Too Long

Homework In January 1997, Daft Punk released their critically acclaimed debut album multi -platinum Homework, featuring the hit singles Around the World, Burning and Revolution 909 plus Da Funk Album of 1997 by many in the music press.

TRACK LISTING

Side A
1. Daftendirekt
2. Wdpk 837 Fm
3. Revolution 909
4. Da Funk
5. Phoenix
Side B
1. Fresh
2. Around The World
3. Rollin' & Scratchin'
Side C
1. Teachers
2. High Fidelity
3. Rock'n Roll
4. Oh Yeah
Side D
1. Burnin'
2. Indo Silver Club
3. Alive
4. Funk Ad

To continue the celebration of the 25th Anniversary of their critically acclaimed Homework album.

Includes remixes from I:Cube,Roger Sanchez & Junior Sanchez,Motorbass, Dj Sneak, Masters At Work, Todd Terry,Slam, Ian Pooley.

TRACK LISTING

CD Tracklisting:
1.Revolution 909 (Roger Sanchez & Junior Sanchez Remix)
2.Around The World (I:Cube Remix)
3.Burnin’ (Ian Pooley Cut Up Mix)
4.Around The World (Motorbass Vice Mix)
5.Around The World (Kenlou Mix) (Masters At Work)
6.Burnin’ (Slam Mix)
7.Around The World (Tee’s Frozen Sun Remix) (Todd Terry)
8.Burnin’ (Dj Sneak Main Mix)
9.Around The World (Mellow Mix) (Masters At Work)
10.Around The World (M.A.W Remix)
11.Revolution 909 (Revolution Accapella)

Vinyl Tracklisting:
Side A
1.Around The World (I:Cube Remix)
2.Revolution 909 (Roger Sanchez & Junior Sanchez Remix)
Side B
1.Around The World (Motorbass Vice Mix)
2.Burnin’ (Dj Sneak Main Mix)
3.Revolution 909 (Revolution Accapella)
Side C
1.Around The World (Kenlou Mix) (Masters At Work)
2.Around The World (Mellow Mix) (Masters At Work)
Side D
1.Around The World (Tee’s Frozen Mix) (Todd Terry)
2.Burnin’ (Slam Mix)
3.Burnin’ (Ian Pooley Cut Up Mix)

On its 2005 release, "Human After All" was Daft Punk's first new studio album in four years, and their third album proper to date following up to 2001's "Discovery". Thomas Bangalter and Guy Manuel De Homem Christo recorded the ten tracks in just six weeks in their home studio in Paris in late 2004. Initially confusing the critics, who expected another pop album in the vein of "Discovery", "Human After All" instead delivered a rough and ready collection of extended dancefloor tracks with an emphasis on the "Punk" that informed the whole mid noughties wave of electro releases.

The music is diverse and fresh whilst retaining their trademark Daft Punk sound (vocoder vocals, keyboards playing 70s guitar riffs etc), this time with a more spontaneous and direct quality to the recording. A mix of guitars and machines, "Human After All" takes us from the hardcore P-Funkin' tech-thump of "Brainwasher" and "Television Rules The Nation" to the pumping "Technologic" and "Steam Machine". The highligh however comes with the moments of calm amidst all the stormy electronics, the heartbreaking "Make Love" and "Emotion".

After more hype and fanfare than I can remember, Daft Punk finally deliver "Random Access Memories". On the previous trilogy of records they've changed the music world and heralded new eras and scenes. From the jacking filter house of 1997's "Homework", an album which set the blueprint for the whole French touch scene, to the pop majesty of 2001's "Discovery", a sampledelic journey through the kaleidescope of 70s disco and funk, to 2005's "Human After All", the rough and abrasive record that in hindsight heralded the new wave of French electronic producers. They are rightly regarded as the leading electronic musicians of their time and not only have they recorded a hype worthy record, they've delivered a classic.

Drawing inspiration of the sounds of the 70s and 80s, "Random Access Memories" serves up bouncing disco (Worldwide summer smash "Get Lucky" and "Lose Yourself To Dance"), prog jazz ("Giorgio by Moroder" and "Touch") and West Coast AOR ("Instant Crush", "Beyond" and "Fragments of Time"). The influences are similar to 2001's "Discovery", but rather than samples, the album instead features an all star roster of collaborators from all over the musical world recorded live in studio sessions.

Those expecting an album of easy dancefloor hits will be disappointed, Daft Punk have never simply retrodden uninspired paths and have instead turned out an expansive and exhaustive journey through an era before house music, where sentiment and nostalgia is preferred over beats. But don't fear, the dancefloor won't be neglected entirely, album closer "Contact" is probably a hint of what they might have in store for us on the soon-come remix disc!

STAFF COMMENTS

Patrick says: The massive and eagerly awaited new album from Daft Punk, does not disappoint. This is their fourth album and first in over eight years. Working on a theme of 70s disco, influenced by movie soundtracks, the album is full of catchy summer sounding hits.

TRACK LISTING

1. Give Life Back To Music
2. The Game Of Love
3. Giorgio By Moroder
4. Within
5. Instant Crush
6. Lose Yourself To Dance (Feat. Pharrell Williams)
7. Touch
8. Get Lucky (Feat. Pharrell Williams And Nile Rodgers)
9. Beyond
10. Motherboard
11. Fragments Of Time
12. Doin' It Right
13. Contact

2023 marks the 10th anniversary of Daft Punk multi Grammy winning hit record Random Access Memories including Get Lucky, Instant Crush, Lose Yourself To Dance and featuring Pharell Willams, Nile Rodgers, Julien Casablancas, Paul Williams, Panda Bear and Todd Edwards.

To celebrate this milestone a special expanded edition will be released including 35 minutes of unreleased music (Demo and Studio Outtakes).

TRACK LISTING

CD Tracklisting:
CD 1:
1. Give Life Back To Music
2. The Game Of Love
3. Giorgio By Moroder
4. Within
5. Instant Crush
6. Lose Yourself To Dance
7. Touch
8. Get Lucky
9. Beyond
10. Motherboard
11. Fragments Of Time
12. Doin’ It Right
13. Contact
Bonus CD
1. Horizon Ouverture
2. Horizon (Japan Cd)
3. Glbtm (Studio Outtakes)
4. Infinity Repeating (2013 Demo)
5. Gl (Early Take)
6. Prime (2012 Unfinished)
7. Lytd (Vocoder Tests)
8. The Writing Of Fragments Of Time 8:17
9. Touch (2021 Epilogue) 3:00

Vinyl Tracklisting:
Side 1
1. Give Life Back To Music
2. The Game Of Love
3. Giorgio By Moroder
Side 2
1. Within
2. Instant Crush
3. Lose Yourself To Dance
Side 3
1. Touch
2. Get Lucky
3. Beyond
Side 4
1. Motherboard
2. Fragments Of Time
3. Doin’ It Right
4. Contact
Side 5
1. Horizon Ouverture
2. Horizon (Japan CD)
3. GLBTM (Studio Outtakes)
4. Infinity Repeating (2013 Demo)
5. GL (Early Take)
Side 6
1. Prime (2012 Unfinished)
2. LYTD (Vocoder Tests)
3. The Writing Of Fragments Of Time
4. Touch (2021 Epilogue)

Following the release of the critically acclaimed ‘Random Access Memories 10th Anniversary Edition’ earlier this year, Daft Punk unveils a new iteration of their GRAMMY-award winning Album of the Year. This version strips away all drum and percussive elements from the album, giving listeners the ability to dive deeper into the layers of instrumentation on each track.

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: It's Daft Punk's MASSIVE 'Random Access Memories' but without the drums, which I thought was at least 70% of their whole thing. Imagine my joy then when this actually ends up being a totally worthwhile, refocused look at one of the most meticulously crafted sounds of the past few decades.

TRACK LISTING

CD Tracklisting:
1. Give Life Back To Music (Drumless Edition)
2. The Game Of Love (Drumless Edition)
3. Giorgio By Moroder (Drumless Edition)
4. Within (Drumless Edition)
5. Instant Crush (Drumless Edition) (feat. Julian Casablancas)
6. Lose Yourself To Dance (Drumless Edition) (feat. Pharrell Williams)
7. Touch (Drumless Edition) (feat. Paul Williams)
8. Get Lucky (Drumless Edition) (feat. Pharrell Williams And Nile Rodgers)
9. Beyond (Drumless Edition)
10. Motherboard (Drumless Edition)
11. Fragments Of Time (Drumless Edition) (feat. Todd Edwards)
12. Doin' It Right (Drumless Edition) (feat. Panda Bear)
13. Contact (Drumless Edition)

2LP Tracklisting:
Side A
1. Give Life Back To Music (Drumless Edition)
2. The Game Of Love (Drumless Edition)
3. Giorgio By Moroder (Drumless Edition)
Side B
1. Within (Drumless Edition)
2. Instant Crush (Drumless Edition) (feat. Julian Casablancas)
3. Lose Yourself To Dance (Drumless Edition) (feat. Pharrell Williams)
Side C
1. Touch (Drumless Edition) (feat. Paul Williams)
2. Get Lucky (Drumless Edition) (feat. Pharrell Williams And Nile Rodgers)
3. Beyond (Drumless Edition)
Side D
1. Motherboard (Drumless Edition)
2. Fragments Of Time (Drumless Edition) (feat. Todd Edwards)
3. Doin' It Right (Drumless Edition) (feat. Panda Bear)
4. Contact (Drumless Edition)

Tron: Legacy Reconfigured is a remix album of music by Daft Punk, originally released 5 April 2011. The album features remixes of selections of the Tron: Legacy film score by various contemporary electronic musicians such as M83, Avicii, Boys Noize, Moby, Paul Oakenfold and many more. Tron: Legacy Reconfigured charted in several countries and peaked at number one in the Billboard Dance/Electronic chart.

TRACK LISTING

LP1 - Side A
Derezzed - Remixed By The Glitch Mob
Fall - Remixed By M83 VS Big Black Delta
The Grid - Remixed By The Crystal Method
Adagio For TRON - Remixed By Teddybears
LP1 - Side B
The Son Of Flynn - Remixed By Ki:Theory
C.L.U. - Remixed By Paul Oakenfold
The Son Of Flynn - Remixed By Moby
End Of Line - Remixed By Boys Noize
LP2 - Side C
Rinzler - Remixed By Kaskade
Encom Part 2 - Remixed By Com Truise
End Of Line - Remixed By Photek
LP2 - Side D
Arena - Remixed By The Japanese Popstars
Derezzed - Remixed By Avicii
Solar Sailer - Remixed By Pretty Lights
TRON Legacy (End Titles) - Remixed By Sander Kleinenberg

Daft Punk featured often in the formative years of Jockey Slut magazine (including their first front cover). This tribute to the duo collates all the interviews and photos from the seminal magazine - covering their early days on Soma up to the release of Discovery. Further articles cover the rest of their tenure as one of the globe’s most furtive, influential electronic acts right up to their unexpected split in February 2021.

- Their first ever interview, for Jockey Slut in 1994.
- Oral histories on their early years on Soma and the making of Homework and Discovery.
- Their first unmasked cover shot and interview for Jockey Slut in 1996.
- A Fax interview from Jockey Slut in 1995 including their doodles and handwriting.
- Long reads on Human After All, Random Access Memories and their Coachella performance.
- Vintage features from writers including Alexis Petridis, Emma Warren and Ben Cardew.
- A History of Roule records and the duos' extra curricular activities.
- Exclusive Interview with Tony Gardner, the man behind the robots.
- Daft Punk in film: Interstella 5555, Electroma and Tron.
- Daft Punk was playing in my house - an exclusive interview with LCD Soundsystem's James Murphy.
- An exclusive interview with Pedro ‘Busy P’ Winter and Together’s DJ Falcon.
- Daft Punk superfans.

The book has been a labour of love since the band split but we are finally ready to share it with the Disco Pogo community and beyond.

Absolutely essential, all time classic DC hardcore / punk album, now remastered by Ian Mackaye. This was their debut album, recorded in 1986. As well as the original album tracks, this release also includes two tracks recorded at the same session as the album "Another Wrong" and "My Dog's A Cat", along with four previously unavailable live recordings. Quality!

After only three months of playing shows, Dag Nasty went into Inner Ear Studios with Ian MacKaye. "Dag With Shawn" was recorded on Halloween Day 1985 and features the original line-up of the band with Shawn Brown on vocals.

Initially songs from this session were to be released as a four-song 7" on Dischord, but shortly after the recording Shawn left Dag Nasty and the tape was shelved. In early 1986 the band re-recorded the entire album with new vocalist Dave Smalley and released it as "Can I Say".

This original session has only been previously available as partial out-takes and unauthorized bootlegs and, until now, has never been released in its complete form. This recording, taken from restored master tapes, offers a unique view into the early development of one of DC’s most influential bands.

Shawn went on to form the much loved Swiz and Dag Nasty went through several more line-up changes over the years, including another vocal switch when Dave Smalley was replaced by Peter Cortner.

Dag Nasty, the legendary Dischord band are back and as good as ever with their first release in a decade. Once again it features band members Dave Smalley, Brian Baker plus bassist Roger Marbury and drummer Colin Sears. Credited with helping to originate the 'emo' sound and influencing many of today's top selling punk bands, they remain very influential to many with their blend of aggressive hardcore and melodic punk.

The Daggermen all went to Rede Secondary School in Medway, Kent. It was a school for those that failed their 11 plus, or who passed it but decided to go there anyway (as Jon pretends). Being in some of the same classes we became friends and found we liked the same music; The Who, The Small Faces, The Kinks, The Beatles and The Jimi Hendrix Experience. We started going to Carnaby Street, wearing Beatle boots and generally being a bit Moddy. Dave’s older brother, James Taylor, played organ in The Prisoners and we’d listen to cassette tapes of them along with other local band, The Milkshakes as we bounced on the trampoline during P.E. After watching both bands play live in local venues such as the M.I.C. club in Chatham we formed The Daggermen, working out who was going to play which instrument as we stood next to the now demolished school sports hall. No one can quite remember who thought of the name, The Daggermen (it was me) or how comes Jon was playing bass on a guitar in the band at the very start and then Terry took over when we started gigging (it was because he had a real bass guitar and a car). But the next thing was that we were supporting The Prisoners both in Medway and places such as the 100 Club in Oxford Street. Then, one sunny day at around the age of 17, I bumped into Billy Childish walking across a field. I formally introduced myself and told him that he should definitely come and see our band that night because we were “fucking brilliant”. He did turn up and bought us a tray of whiskies whilst we were on stage, a sure sign that he had liked it. This led to him and Russ Wilkins, bass player in The Milkshakes alongside Billy, asking us if we wanted to record an E.P. for Russ’s label, Empire Records. This was our first ever recording called Introducing The Daggermen which was made in a brick arch under Rochester bridge that we rented for £2 a week to rehearse in and lovingly referred to as ‘The Hole’. We got ourselves a “manager” (our mate, Vic Templar) and started playing up and down England, drinking as much as possible in the van on the way to each gig, often paralytic by the time we went on stage. Our musical style was a sort of mixture of punk and mod and we played covers such as ‘Heatwave’ (The Who’s version) and ‘Get Ready’ by the Temptations, along with Dave and Terry’s originals. Then came a change of line up when Jon resumed his position as bass player and Terry left for America. We started wearing military jackets thanks to Jimi Hendrix and made our first long player, Dagger In My Mind (I got the title off an episode of Star Trek, although I remembered it wrong and it should have been ‘Dagger Of The Mind’). The album was produced by James Taylor and Allan Crockford of The Prisoners at Woolly Studios on the Isle of Sheppey in 1986. This line-up played together for a couple of years up and down the country (also with a few gigs in France) before we called it a day and sailed off into the future in bands such as The James Taylor Quartet, The Kravin’ “A”s, The Solarflares and Billy Childish and The Buff Medways. As energetic youths we had a lot of fun and I am very proud to have been part of The Daggermen. We hope you enjoy these recordings, now all gathered together for the first time. Sincerely yours, Wolf Howard, Cafe Mozart, Chatham 

'Good Time' is the debut album from Austin, TX noise-pop band DAIISTAR, due out September 8th via Fuzz Club. Creating a narcotic blend of noise and melody, the band takes their inspiration from the neo-psychedelic era of the 80s and 90s and pull it into the future with modulating synthesisers, heavy guitars, bouncing bass lines, and spiralling hooks. 'Good Time' was produced by The Black Angels' Alex Maas and engineered by James Petralli of White Denim.

Made up of Alex Capistran (guitar/vocals), Nick Cornetti (drums), Misti Hamrick (bass) and Derek Strahan (keys), DAIISTAR formed in the spring of 2020, just weeks before the pandemic started. "To us, these songs were a glimmer of light", Capistran says: "Starting a band at the peak of the pandemic to some might seem ill-timed, but to us it was a way to escape for a moment. There was something to look forward to and we kept our heads in the future. These songs guided us through some dark times and hopefully they can do the same for you. GOOD TIME is here."

TRACK LISTING

1) Star Starter
2) LMN BB LMN
3) Repeater
4) Tracemaker
5) Purified
6) Say It To Me
7) Parallel
8) Speed Jesus
9) Heathens Gate
10) Velvet Reality

Daisies is a co-release presented by K and Perennial. From the minds that brought you CCFX, "What Are You Waiting For?", and Daisies "2" comes the 3rd release from the purveyors of the electronic paisley underground, "Cherries". Originally self released on the prolific JGAP label, now widely available on wax through Perennial and K Records. This avant pop project features Olympia, WA performance artists Chris McDonnell (CCFX, TransFX) and Valerie Warren. Along with frequent collaborator David Jaques (CCFX, CC DUST) co-producing. Recorded by the band and Cooper Rosenthal, this release continues the Olympia tradition of singular artist blazing trails for others to soon follow. Look for the video for single "Everybody's Moving to London". Also Available From Daisies: "What Are You Waiting For?". Recommended if you have a love for quirky, electronic, one-of-a-kind pop music. In particularly Lemon Jelly and Air France. Big tip!

TRACK LISTING

1. Everybody’s Moving To London
2. 2020 Perfect Vision
3. Lights Dancing On The Screen
4. Out Of The Blu

Following her triumphant album 'Version Girl', Rhoda Dakar is back with another fabulous cover of ''I Don't Mind', originally recorded by Buzzcocks. As always the beautiful artwork has been created by Sheffield's finest Pete McKee.

TRACK LISTING

1. I Don't Mind
2. Dub Don't Mind

Rhoda Dakar is back with her first solo album in seven years with Version Girl, a collection of reggae and ska covers by artists and songwriters she admires. Rhoda Dakar began her musical career as lead vocalist with all female 2Tone band, The Bodysnatchers. They only ever released two singles, 'Let's Do Rocksteady' and 'Easy Life'. After a year together they split and Rhoda went on to guest with The Specials in Europe and the USA, having featured on their second album, 'More Specials', for which she won the first of her seven gold records. After their demise, and before joining Jerry Dammers' new project, she recorded The Bodysnatchers' first original song, 'The Boiler', a harrowing tale of date rape, which was inevitably banned. The Special AKA spent the next two years recording 'In The Studio', spawning a top ten hit with 'Free Nelson Mandela'.

TRACK LISTING

1. The Man Who Sold The World
2. The Man Who Dubbed The World

Rhoda Dakar is back with her first solo album in seven years with Version Girl, a collection of reggae and ska covers by artists and songwriters she admires. Rhoda Dakar began her musical career as lead vocalist with all female 2Tone band, The Bodysnatchers. They only ever released two singles, 'Let's Do Rocksteady' and 'Easy Life'. After a year together they split and Rhoda went on to guest with The Specials in Europe and the USA, having featured on their second album, 'More Specials', for which she won the first of her seven gold records. After their demise, and before joining Jerry Dammers' new project, she recorded The Bodysnatchers' first original song, 'The Boiler', a harrowing tale of date rape, which was inevitably banned. The Special AKA spent the next two years recording 'In The Studio', spawning a top ten hit with 'Free Nelson Mandela'.

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: Dakar takes these classics and gives them all a deep makeover into grooving Reggae, laid-back ska and swooning Lovers Rock reworks. Topped with Dakar's perfectly fitting vocal accompaniments.

TRACK LISTING

1. Version Girl
2. Stop Your Sobbing
3. Everyday Is Like Sunday
4. What A Wonderful World
5. Hangin’ ‘Round
6. Song To The Siren
7. Walking After Midnight
8. The Man Who Sold The World
9. Comme Un Arbre
10. As Tears Go By
11. Love Hurts
12. Peace, Love And Understanding 

Rhoda Dakar began her musical career as lead vocalist with all female 2Tone band, The Bodysnatchers. They only ever released two singles, 'Let's Do Rocksteady' and 'Easy Life'. After a year together they split and Rhoda went on to guest with The Specials in Europe and the USA, having featured on their second album, 'More Specials', for which she won the first of her seven gold records. After their demise, and before joining Jerry Dammers' new project, she recorded The Bodysnatchers' first original song, 'The Boiler', a harrowing tale of date rape, which was inevitably banned. The Special AKA spent the next two years recording 'In The Studio', spawning a top ten hit with 'Free Nelson Mandela'.

TRACK LISTING

SIDE A
1. What A Wonderful World

SIDE B
1. A Wonderful Version

Collaborative release by British cinematic instrumentalists Dakota Suite with the Japanese "brutal orchestra" Vampillia.The origin of this collaboration began two months prior to the Fukushima disaster in Japan.. The Sea Is Never Full marks another momentous release for Dakota Suite. Together with Vampillia they have sculpted a truly epic record spanning musical styles from ambient and experimental to post-rock and neo-classical. Suffice to say, the result is nothing short of a breathtaking emotional impact.

Now based in the township of Castlemaine, Central Victoria, the Australian artist returns self-assured and firmly settled within the dense eucalypt bushlands. Dal Forno grapples with ideas of home, disorder and insomnia in the swift pop structures of her DIY/post-punk forebearers such as Young Marble Giants, Virginia Astley and Broadcast. Three years since the launch of her label, Kallista Records, dal Forno finds stability in Castlemaine (pop. 6,750), her third home city in as many albums. After nearly a decade of moving, recording and touring out of Berlin and London, Come Around embodies a newfound solitude born of/in elemental pop hooks and enlightened songwriting.

The title track, “Come Around,” offers the best example of this confident, fresh candor. It’s an elegant invite into dal Forno’s sharp new focus beckoning old friends, relationships and audiences into her resettled home: ‘And it’s not every day that I’ll want you beside me here and I’ll say / Come over here and be around.’ This meandering pop hit strikes between the melodic simplicity of Anna Domino and YMG and the arrangement hooks of The Cannanes and Movietone, capturing dal Forno at her most welcoming with arms wide open.

Other tracks like “Mind You’re On” recalls the bass driven heft of dal Forno’s previous work but where past albums projected the pastoral idyll from the urban jungles of Berlin and London, the lyricism and production on Come Around embody her current lived experience in the Australian regions where space, strong bonds and solitude are in high supply. As she sings on “Side By Side:” ‘It's been some years since I’ve seen this place / Kiss on my neck / Sending shivers it’s good to be back.’ Returning to rekindle relationships with people and places and joining in trysts amidst the foreboding badlands cuts through the whole record, as on “The Garden of Earthly Delights,” a cover of The United States of America’s 1968 track: ‘Luminous petals / Dissident Play / Dancing by night / Dying by day.’ There is joy if you look for it but, as dal Forno warns on “Caution”: ‘I sell caution word of you.’ Mistrust and doubt are not completely vanquished.

Having embarked on such a radical physical and creative journey since the last record, dal Forno lays bare the passing of time and the oscillating waves of energy and ennui that go with it. This is plain to see on “Stay Awake” and instrumentals like “Deep Sleep” and “Autumn,” which gives rise to anxiety and insomnia in her new sunburnt home: ‘Stay awake all the time in the endless heat / Find it hard to relate in amongst the weeds.’ Yet “Slumber” offers a glimmer of respite sitting within the chaotic circus of production that channels Kendra Smith, General Strike and The Flying Lizards. This track, a duet with English artist, Thomas Bush, searches for solace in the arms of another: ‘My Dear there’s so much to be done / I never finished what I start am / I’m losing / I should be rushing out the door, but you say slumber.’

Nothing is left unsaid on Come Around. Having finally found limitless time and space, dal Forno does well not to waste any sceric of it. Are you around? Then come around. 

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: Carla Dal Forno brings us another meticulously crafted selection of off-piste electronic numbers, this time straying even further into slo-mo dub territory she's been known to inhabit on previous offerings. Richly produced and wonderfully evocative, and skilfully straddling a variety of genres.

TRACK LISTING

1. Side By Side
2. Come Around
3. The Garden Of Earthly Delights
4. Stay Awake
5. Autumn
6. Mind Your On
7. Slumber (ft. Thomas Bush)
8. Deep Sleep
9. Caution

Dal Forno beckons a bold new era in her peerless output pushing her dub-damaged DIY dispatches to the limits of flawless dream-pop. In a transformative move towards crystal clear vocals and sharpened production, "Look Up Sharp" is an evolutionary leap from the thick fog and pastoral stillness of her Blackest Ever Black missives, "You Know What It’s Like" (2016) and "The Garden EP" (2017). Three years since her plain-speaking debut album, the Melbourne-via-Berlin artist finds herself absorbed in London’s sprawling mess. The small-town dreams and inertia that preoccupied dal Forno’s first album have dissolved into the chaotic city, its shifting identities, far-flung surroundings and blank faces. "Look Up Sharp" is the story of this life in flux, longing for intimacy, falling short and embracing the unfamiliar. Dal Forno connects with kindred spirits and finds refuge in darkened alleys, secret gardens and wherever else she dares to look.

In her own territory between plaintive pop, folk and post-punk dal Forno conjures the ghosts of AC Marias, Virginia Astley and Broadcast through her brushwork of art-damaged fx and spectral atmospheres. The first half of the record is filled with dubbed-out humid bass lines, which tether stoned hazes of psychedelic synth work as on ‘Took A Long Time’ and ‘No Trace.’ These are contrasted with songs like ‘I’m Conscious and ‘So Much better’ that channel the lilting power of YMG and are clear sequels-in-waiting to dead-eyed classics like ‘Fast Moving Cars.’

The B-side begins with the feverish bass and meandering melody of ‘Don’t Follow Me,’ which takes The Cure’s ‘A Forest’ as its conceptual springboard. It’s the clearest lyrical example since ‘The Garden’ of dal Forno’s unmatched ability to unpick the masculine void of post-punk and new wave nostalgia to reflect contemporary nuance. Look Up Sharp reaches its satisfying conclusion with ‘Push On’ - dal Forno’s most explicit foray into an undiscovered trip hop universe between Massive Attack and Tracey Thorn. The album’s last gasp finds personal validation in fragility: ‘I push on / I’m the Place I’m Going,’ a self discovery lifted by reverberant broken beats and glass-blown vocals.

Adding further depth to Look Up Sharp are the instrumentals, which flow seamlessly between the vocal-led pieces. ‘Hype Sleep’ and ‘Heart of Hearts’ drink from the same stream as The Flying Lizard’s dubbed-out madness and the vivid purple sunsets of Eno’s Another Green World. While ‘Creep Out of Bed’ and ‘Leaving for Japan’ funnel the fourth-world psychedelia of Cyclobe’s industrial-folk into the vortex of Nico’s The Marble Index.

Conceived as a whole, Look Up Sharp is a singular prism in which light, sound and concept bend at all angles. A deeply personal but infinitely relatable album its many surfaces are complex but authentic, enduring but imperfect, hard-edged but delicate. A diamond. Look up sharp or you’ll miss it.

TRACK LISTING

1 No Trace
2 Hype Sleep
3 So Much Better
4 Leaving For Japan
5 I'm Conscious
6 Don't Follow Me
7 Heart Of Hearts
8 Took A Long Time
9 Creep Out Of Bed
10 Push On

Pearl blue cassette comes wrapped in colour printed J-cards and with colour sticker inlays. Artwork designed by Carla dal Forno. Photo taken in Yorkshire Grove, Hackney. “Everything begins and ends at exactly the right time and place, look...” Carla dal Forno presents ‘Top Of The Pops,’ a self-released cassette disclosing six songs of sultry pop devotion. This late-Spring cassette of cover songs gets the wider autumnal release it deserves, showcasing the full range of dal Forno’s virtuous taste, style and production in her distinct post-punk, pop (but) minimalist sensibility. Not without cheek, the wink-and-a-nod blue film bawdiness of ‘Lay Me Down’ (Renee) and ‘Give Me Back My Man’ (B52s) are complemented by the earnest ballads of ‘A Silver Key Can Open A Lock Somewhere’ (Liliput) and The Fates’ ‘No Romance.’ Kiwi Animal’s ‘Blue Morning,’ which over the last year has grown with every live performance, finally gets a recorded release. This cosmic inner dialogue of love lost is matched only by the penultimate track, ‘Summertime Sadness’ which is the best example of how devastatingly personal a pop song truly can be. It’s all emphasised by dal Forno’s sparse production which, as with each of these six songs, brings her au fait vocal interpretations to the fore. 

TRACK LISTING

1. Lay Me Down
2. Blue Morning
3. A Silver Key Can Open A Lock Somewhere
4. Give Me Back My Man 
5. Summertime Sadness

"You Know What It’s Like" is an album for inbetween days, and occupies inbetween states: plain-speaking pop, disorientated by dub. Psychedelic folk delivered with (post-)punk economy. Drifting in space while still tethered to the ground. Astral tones blurred with earth sounds: wood, bone, breath, skin, dirt. Ending and beginning, dying and becoming. Longing for adventure and an unquiet life. Struggling to get out of bed. This is Carla dal Forno’s debut solo album, following time in cult Melbourne group Mole House and an earlier association with Blackest Ever Black as a member of F ingers and Tarcar. Her voice is an extraordinary instrument: both disarmingly conversational and glacially detached. It has something of the bedsit urbanity of Anna Domino, Marine Girls, Antena, or Helen Johnstone - stoned and deadpan - but it can also summon a gothic intensity that Nico or Kendra Smith would approve of. This voice is the perfect embodiment of dal Forno's emotionally ambiguous songs: their lyrics rooted in the everyday, observing and exposing a series of uncomfortable truths. This voice asks difficult questions of singer, subject, and sung-to. And of course there are no simple answers. Singles "Fast Moving Cars" and "What You Gonna Do Now?" weigh up claustrophobia against loneliness, inertia against acceleration, doubling down versus taking off; the title track acknowledges the provisional nature of love and 'real' intimacy, then decides to brave it anyway. By the time we arrive at the startlingly sparse "The Same Reply", the impermanence of all things is something that can no longer be tolerated, and the sense of dejection is absolute. The vocal-led pieces are interspersed with richly evocative instrumentals, like Eno’s "Another Green World" reimagined in shades of brown and blue. Smothered in tape-hiss and reverb, the seasick synthesizer miniatures "Italian Cinema" and "Dragon Breath" channel the twilit DIY whimsy of Flaming Tunes and Call Back The Giants. "DB Rip"'s drum machine and bassline are pure Chicago house, but then its dark choral drones nod to Dalis Car's dreams of blood-spattered Cornwall stone. "Dry The Rain" drinks from a stream of eldritch, home-brewed moon musick that runs through Coil, In Gowan Ring, Third Ear Band, even the Raincoats’ Odyshape, and into the woods.

TRACK LISTING

1:Italian Cinema
2:Fast Moving Cars
3:DB Rip
4:What You Gonna Do Now?
5:Dry In The Rain
6:You Know What It's Like
7:Dragon Breath
8:The Same Reply 

Reissue of the album from 1998 that started it all for dälek, this time wth six bonus tracks. The physical includes a 12pg booklet with liner notes by John Morrison and new art from Mikel Elam & Paul Romano.

When Dälek’s debut, Negro Necro Nekros arrived in the Fall of 1998, hip-hop’s aesthetic and commercial conventions were in a state of upheaval. While mainstream rap had more or less completed the process of full integration into mainstream pop culture, underground hip-hop had mounted an aggressive opposition movement in response.

Forged in the fires of the East Coast underground music scene in the 90s, Experimental Hip Hop pioneers Dälek has spent decades carving out a unique niche fusing hardcore Hip Hop, noise and a radical approach to sound. From the very beginning, Dälek came out the gate, following in the footsteps of their predecessors Public Enemy while drawing from influences as varied as My Bloody Valentine and German experimentalists Faust, Dälek have succeeded in adding completely new textural and structural dimensions to rap music. Since 1998, they’ve released seven studio albums and countless EPs, singles and collaborations.

TRACK LISTING

1. Swollen Tongue Bums
2. Three Rocks Blessed
3. Images Of .44 Casings
4. The Untraveled Road
5. Praise Be The Man
6. And Hell Is Coming With Us
7. Pelt I’s To End (Demo Instrumental)
8. Gates Of Dawn (Instrumental)
9. Praise Be The Man (Remix)
10. Cement (Demo Instrumental)
11. Sweetwood Sound Session 404

Dälek, “the subversive indie hip-hop outfit” (Pitchfork),present their eighth album, ‘Precipice’, via Ipecac Recordings, now available to independent retailers on gold vinyl. Forged in the fires of the East Coast underground music scene of the late ‘90s, experimental hip-hop pioneers Dälek have spent the past two decades carving out a unique niche fusing hardcore hip-hop, noise and a radical approach to sound. Their brutal sonic temperament pushes rap music’s capacity for noise and protest to exhilarating conclusion.

Following in the footsteps of Public Enemy while drawing influences from My Bloody Valentine and Faust, Dälek have succeeded in adding completely new textural and structural dimensions to rap music. Predominantly the work of Brooks and Manteca (aka Mike Mare), ‘Precipice’ was recorded and mixed by the two band members at their Dead verse Studios in Dälek’s hometown of Union City, N.J. Tool’s Adam Jones guests (guitar / synth) on ‘A Heretic’s Inheritance’. The band have supported Tool on tour previously.

The album’s cover was created by Paul Romano(Mastodon, Withered) with interior packaging featuring the art of Afrofuturist painter, Mikel Elam. The band have toured with and supported a wide range of acts in the hip-hop, rock, metal and experimental genres, including KRS One, Tomahawk, The Melvins, Grandmaster Flash, Jesu, Dillinger Escape Plan, Pharcyde, RJD2, De La Soul, Flying Lotus, The Bug, Mastodon and Fantomas, among many others.

TRACK LISTING

1. Lest We Forget
2. Boycott
3. Decimation (Dis Nation)
4. Good
5. Holistic
6. The Harbingers
7. Devotion (when I Cry The Wind Disappears)
8. A Heretic’s Inheritance
9. Precipice
10. Incite

The Daleks - “I started the group In the summer of 1977 after listening to Rattus Narviticus about 100 times on a church youth club holiday. Slimy Toad's brother, Nicky, who co wrote "I'm a cunt" with me, had it on tape cassette. I remember we used to turn it right up in the middle In the middle of Ugly...because Hugh Cornwall shouted "it's only the fucking rich that get to be good looking". And all the church leaders would have a right go at us. That was it. Had to start a band! Up until 1979 just I had a guitar although we had a drummer a singer and a bass player that were going to get their instruments it never happened. I had loads of the songs already written by the time the first other member with an instrument joined. Mark Adams (Bass), who later joined Case.

Then Woodie joined and things started to move quickly with Gaz joining (the original singer. Nicky Fitzgerald, Slimy Toads brother, bailed out when it started to become a real thing. Then Dean replaced Mark Adams.” - Eddie Turtle 2021. “I was at school south of London in Caterham in the late '70s and used to hang out in Goodness Records each afternoon spending all my paper round money there. I'd seen 'The Daleks' sprayed on a wall in the town and got chatting to Eddie one day, they were looking for a drummer - The general consensus locally was that he was a great songwriter. I think the band name came from the end of Remote Control by the Clash - 'gonna be a Dalek... I obey!' There was quite a few line-up changes before the record, it was me that suggested Gaz as a front man. He'd just been expelled from my school for dying his hair and looked the part... yellow creepers to boot! It was him that did the artwork for the record sleeve and got all our mates to get photo booth pictures done. We all made the pilgrimage to Broadcasting House at the BBC to take John Peel a copy. Gaz spoke to him from the phone on reception (while he was in the middle of a show).

I only heard one side of the conversation but it went something like 'It's Gaz from the Daleks from Croydon, we've brought you our record to play... it's fuckin' brilliant!'” - Woodie Taylor 2021 Strictly Rockers Following the demise of The Daleks in the early 80’s, Gaz the lead singer and front man of The Daleks, was quick to form a new band, Strictly Rockers, with two local Croydon reprobates Ian and Steve. Gaz and Ian wrote the songs and Steve provided the distinctive percussion. The 3-piece band was born, Gaz was again lead vocals but now sported a bass guitar. Running off the back of the punk rock era the band exploded with collection of up-beat anti establishment songs, the exception to the theme being the classic track 'I Miss You'. The trio played a variety of different venues in the Croydon area, with their favourite haunt being the “Star” in West Croydon where they played regularly. Probably their most memorable gig was with UK Subs, and the infamous Charley Harper.

Strictly Rockers' popularity was short lived, and within 18 months the trio had gone their separate ways. L.A.M.F. ViaVess “When Gaz and Roland left, I felt that we would have been successful if we'd stayed together, so, thought I'd call us Virgins of Success, shortened to V of S. Then I thought what about giving it a mysterious twist so ViaVess was how the initials sounded when you said V of S, so that became our "shortlived" name. It was a very short-lived band (3 or 4 months and I was then off following the Meteors full-time).” - Eddie Turtle 2021

TRACK LISTING

1/Rejected (Single)
2/Man Of The World
3/This Life
4/Daleks
5/Suicide
6/Rejected (1979 Demo)
7/Stand By Me (Strictly Rockers)
8/Tiny Town
9/One Small Mind
10/I Got You (Strictly Rockers)
11/You Wouldn't Know (ViaVess)
12/Transfixion (ViaVess)
13/(I'm Not In Love With The) Rude Girl (ViaVess)
14/I'm A Runt (Eddie Turtle)
15/Miss You (Strictly Rockers) 

Tyler Daley is the acclaimed and highly renowned Manchester artist now surging into his autonomy with his debut solo EP 'Son of Zeus'.

With humble beginnings in Manchester's scene, Daley's influence merges a nostalgic love for pirate radio with a mix of musical inspirations journeying through roots reggae, street soul and R&B whilst modernising his sound through his love for hip hop and UK rave music.

With an impressive roster of collaborations including notable features like Ghetts, Goldie, Shy FX and Bugzy Malone to name a few, his unique artistry plays on his pioneering stature and longevity in the game. Leaning on this wisdom to create a fresh, uncompromising sound, Daley has combined his knowledge with his cutting-edge aptitude for music in his new EP.

Paying homage to the multitude of success he's seen through his eclectic journey as one half of the universally loved Children of Zeus, Tyler Daley's new EP fuses his signature sound with a clear personalisation that offers a raw and transparent depiction of his artistry and musical prowess.

Having travelled the world touring and selling out shows everywhere from KOKO London to South Africa and Dubai, the EP is a self professed tale of balancing a crazy life and equally crazy career. Daley describes the EP as "that soulful Zeus sound, a blend of dusty low-fi soul, hip hop and R&B for the sophisticated blunt heads and vibe seekers".

TRACK LISTING

1. These Cards
2. Been Trying
3. All I Need
4. Small Circles
5. Never Look Down
6. 4SoLong
7. When You're Lonely

For the first time, Jon Michaelides allows his Dalham project more space to breathe in two new long tracks of sky-scraping, world building ambient (or is it) techno.

Dalham is the long term of project of Suffolk born Londoner, Jon Michaelides.
Here he discusses “Fünf” (his fifth release, natch), which is subtitled “The Past Is a Foreign Country”: “There have always been “ambient” tracks on previous albums but they have in some ways served as a bit of peace and respite from the more busy percussive tracks. The purchase of some effects units triggered the decision to use delays and reverbs during the composition process much more and an entirely ambient record seemed the best vehicle for this. I was simultaneously attempting, and not for the first time, to fully grasp the concept of special relativity and so a record about time and space, focussed on the manipulation of time (delay) and space (reverb) was born.

“Some of the phenomena associated with this theory, for example the relativity of simultaneity, lead to the questioning of the nature of reality and at times a sense of disconnect with much of what was happening in the concrete world. Coupled with the desire to revisit the past, where certain friends and family are still alive and well, this set the emotional tone for these two extended tracks. Fünf is a journey to acceptance. Not only is the past a foreign country, but our passports have been revoked and we won’t be returning.”

It’s interesting that Jon uses the term “ambient”: ”I guess I call it ambient because it doesn’t have any ‘beats’ but yes, it is still very rhythmic.”

For many, these compositions will sound too intricate and complex to be termed “ambient”, but as ever, we find it difficult to find the words to describe the unique music that Jon makes. A true individual, there is literally nobody else that sounds like Dalham.

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: Dalham's 'Funf' is a wonderfully realised selection of crystalline synth walls and cavernous reverbed spaces, bringing to mind a juxtaposition of the evocative soundtrack work of Drokk or Survive mixed with the ambient swells and catatonic heft a-la Jon Power / Blanck Mass. Another amazing CiS release.

'An Ambassador For Laing' is the debut album by Dalhous. Arriving in the wake of their recent 10", Mitchell Heisman, it's due to be released by Blackest Ever Black in May 2013. The Edinburgh-based duo of Marc Dall and Alex Ander work with intricately stacked percussion, dubwise bass and a rich harmonic tapestry of processed voices, keys, harp, vibraphone, guitar, woodwind, strings and synthesiser - every sound re-sampled to the nth degree then subjected to subtle automation and rigorously fine-tuned over a period of many months. From the mesmerised pastoral drift of 'Anger Sees Red' and 'Dwelling By The Meadow' to agitated arabesques like 'The Physical Body' and the self-titled 'Dalhous', the resulting pieces explore dreamlike but treacherous terrain. Eleven questions in a world of blue

TRACK LISTING

CD:
1. He Was Human And Belonged With Humans
2. The Physical Body
3. Anger Sees Red
4. Bolder And Lighter Than The Beat From A Wing
5. Who's Here, You're Here, I'm Here…
6. Dalhous
7. The Cruel Practice Of Art
8. Dwelling By The Meadow
9. Eros, Love And Lies
10. A White, White Day
11. Dreamers Of Decadence

LP:
A1. He Was Human And Belonged With Humans
A2. The Physical Body
A3. Anger Sees Red
A4. Who's Here, You're Here, I'm Here…
A5. Dalhous
B1. The Cruel Practice Of Art
B2. Eros, Love And Lies
B3. A White, White Day
B4. Dreamers Of Decadence

Following the massive buzz a round the label's last release, Hobbes Music kicks off 2018 with a heavy slice of warehouse techno backed with deeper electro flavours, a second double-A-side 12" outing by the anonymous DALI.
You may remember DALI (NB all caps in the spelling) released a debut 12" around this time last year. Support came from Ben UFO, Laurent Garnier, Domenic Cappello (Sub Club), John Heckle, Chris Duckenfield, The Revenge, Tom Findlay (Groove Armada), Sean Johnston and XDB (among others) and a repress happened swiftly, with Laurent Garnier and Avalon Emersonalso supporting most recently (on WWFM and at Berghain, respectively). DALI has a passion for analogue synths, abstract, hypnotic dance music and all things psychedelic. Don't bother looking her up on the net, social media etc. DALI is eschewing all that, to let the music do the talking for now.

TRACK LISTING

A. Leviathan
AA. ElectricSheep

West Germany, 1968. Like everywhere else in the Western world, the young generation is pushing for radical change, still suffering the after-effects of the Second World War. Many stream out of the lecture halls and onto the streets.

Some into the underground. And some into the practice basements, in search of the soundtrack of the movement. The unique and adventurous sounds that German bands like Can, Neu!, Amon Düül, Popul Vuh, Tangerine Dream, Faust, Cluster or Kraftwerk produced back then, now known as Krautrock, are considered a blueprint for modern rock music.

And the stream of their creative admirers and continuators has been constantly widening since the first fans like David Bowie and Iggy Pop: whether Blur, Aphex Twin, Sonic Youth, Radiohead or the Red Hot Chilli Peppers. In Neu Klang, Christoph Dallach interviewed its pioneers, including Irmin Schmidt, Jaki Liebezeit and Holger Czukay of CAN; Neu!'s Michael Rother; Dieter Moebius of Cluster; Klaus Schulze of Tangerine Dream; Karl Bartos of Kraftwerk, Brian Eno and many others. Their answers combine to form an oral history that points far beyond the individual band histories: on the one hand, into the past, to Nazi teachers, post-war parental homes, free jazz, terrorism, LSD and extremely long hair; but just as much into the future, to global recognition, myth-making, techno or post-rock.

Dallas Acid are a synth-heavy dreampop trio from Austin, Texas and the first new signing to All Saints Records in a number of years. Having previously collaborated with Laraaji on the acclaimed ‘Arrive Without Leaving’ album from 2018, their unique mix of minimalist electronic music with a big ballad sensibility creates gorgeous, utterly compelling soundworlds.

“Majestically immersive sound spaces in which to float, wonder, move and trance” - Laraaji

The sky-gazing wonder of Linda Beecroft’s vocals on the title track recall the breathy intimacy of Mazzy Star, yet draped with almost symphonic banks of synthesizers blinking into infinity, expertly operated by Christian Havins and Michael Gerner, redolent of the deepest end of classic kosmische music.

Other tracks such as the instrumental ‘Circuit Jungle’ touch upon the Fourth World experiments of Jon Hassell with a mixture of Moog abstractions and FX-drenched acoustic percussion. At other points they touch upon the rain-drenched soundtracks of Vangelis and other more mysterious, electronic arthouse film scores.

For fans of Peaking Lights, Mercury Rev, Cocteau Twins, Laraaji, Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith, Spiritualized, Moon Duo, Laurel Halo, Panda Bear.

TRACK LISTING

The Spiral Arm
Vacker
Circuit Jungle
Zavana
I Fågelns Sång
Silk Rain
Emaljets Hav

Lucrecia Dalt channels innate sensory echoes of growing up in Colombia on her new album ¡Ay!, where traditional instrumentation encounters adventurous impulse and sci-fi meditations on atemporality in an exclamation of liminal delight.

Dalt’s introspective approach to composition, last surfaced on her entrancing 2020 album No era sólida, refracts across ¡Ay! in a subconscious spectrum of the music genres she absorbed as a child. Treasured sounds and syncopations of bolero, mambo, salsa, and merengue rooted in Dalt’s early surroundings awaken on ¡Ay! and give glow to the album’s contours. The intuitive melodic structures of this music, processed by memory and modular synths, led Dalt to a mirage of her creative origins and the album she has always wanted to make.

¡Ay! is a tincture of rich acoustic textures filtered through the warmth of Dalt’s signature machinic distortion, diffused of easily-defined edges as previously explored on No era sólida and her 2018 album Anticlines. Here, vivid incantations of upright bass, wind ensembles and brass form shimmers of harmonic motif, distilled across radiant rhythms. Dalt worked closely with friend and collaborator Alex Lázaro to cultivate new shapes and colors for slowed down tumbaos and bolero percussion patterns. Together they deconstructed the traditional drum kit into serpentine expansions of congas, bongos, temple blocks and timbales, all of which they tuned to dance among Lucrecia’s lucid vocal processions.

Into this hallucinatory crossing of time and space, Dalt projects a sci-fi mythology rendered through theoretical exchanges with philosopher Miguel Prado. Their mutual interest in consciousness and atemporality summoned the tale of a metaphysical odyssey, cast by Dalt through silken lyrics in her native Spanish tongue. The lush musical world of ¡Ay! offers a soft but obscure landing for an alien entity called Preta, who has gathered a body in the hydrosphere from evaporated dead skin. We follow her first experiences of containment and composure as she navigates our geology and earthly markers of love and time, in contrast with her state as a timeless entity.

Through Dalt’s soaring vocals, the intimate monologues of this ethereal being oscillate with the album’s vibrant instrumental arrangements. ¡Ay! stages a rare encounter between tropical rhythms and sci-fi storytelling, where Dalt devises her amorphous character to explore love without the expected cliches of romantic genres. Dalt brings lightness and humor to the arc of this melodramatic tale, once again shedding the restraints of convention to break boundaries into abstract, fragmentary relics.

¡Ay! is an interjection through which Dalt enters a new dimension in her work – one which connects her legacy of electronic revelations with the moment she reaches a panoramic view of her musical source. In sound and spirit, ¡Ay! is a heliacal exploration of native place and environmental tuning, where Dalt reverses the spell of temporal containment. Through the spiraling tendencies of time and topography, Dalt has arrived where she began.

On behalf of Lucrecia Dalt and RVNG, a portion of the proceeds from this release will benefit Fundación Mareia, an interethnic, Chocó, Colombia-based organization led by women promoting Afro-centered emancipatory education around black feminism, decolonialism, and community, and encouraging activism, protection of nature, an ancestral care.

TRACK LISTING

A1. No Tiempo
A2. El Galatzó
A3. Atemporal
A4. Dicen
A5. Contenida
B1. La Desmesura
B2. Gena
B3. Bochinche
B4. Enviada
B5. Epílogo

Another chapter in the ever evolving story of Karen Dalton. These are home recordings, taped by Joe Loop, as was the double live album, "Cotton Eyed Joe", released last year. The "Green Rocky Road" consists of recordings made by Karen herself at her Boulder home on reel-to-reel. It sounds like the album Dalton would have made in 1963 had she been given the opportunity then. Here are the first takes of "Ribbon Bow", "Katie Cruel" and "In The Evening".. and a more complete testimony of Karen's repertoire on banjo.

Karen Dalton was a remote, elusive creature. A hybrid of tough and tender with an unearthly voice that seemed to embody a time long past. As is often the case with such fragile beings, she instinctively understood that the only way to survive the harshness of the world around her, was to keep herself hidden. So it comes as no great surprise that she rarely sang in public or ventured into the unnatural setting of a recording studio. Only twice, for 1969’s It’s So Hard To Tell Who’s Going To Love You The Best and then again for 1971’s In My Own Time, was she coaxed from her habitat into the studio. Other times she made music in casual settings, sitting around a kitchen table or wood burning stove with her friends, singing and playing until daybreak. In 1966, Carl Baron brought his reel to reel over to her remote cabin in Summerville, Colorado and recorded one of those exquisite musical evenings. Karen and Richard Tucker were rehearsing for a gig when Carl hit the “Record” button. The result is a 45-year-old tape, carefully exhumed, documenting Karen at her most raw and unfiltered. On it are Fred Neil and Tim Hardin songs we’ve never heard Karen give voice to before, as well as traditional songs she uncannily makes her own, including a devastating version of ‘Katie Cruel’, that is so powerful, it is as if the ghost of Katie Cruel seeped into her blood. This recording is a window to her Summerville cabin opened, allowing us to eavesdrop on Karen Dalton at her most pure and unaffected.

TRACK LISTING

1. Reason To Believe
2. Katie Cruel
3. Cotton Eyed Joe
4. Green Rocky Road
5. Don't Make Promises
6. Other Side To This Life
7. God Bless The Child
8. Little Bit Of Rain
9. While You're On Your Way
10. 2:19 Train
11. Misery Blues 
12. Mole In The Ground 
13. Shiloh Town 
14. Hallelujah

Karen Dalton’s 1971 album, In My Own Time, stands as a true masterpiece by one of music’s most mysterious, enigmatic, and enduringly influential artists. Celebrating the album’s 50th anniversary, Light in the Attic is honored to present a newly remastered (2021) edition of the album on LP, CD, cassette, and 8-Track.

All audio has been newly remastered by Dave Cooley, while lacquers were cut by Phil Rodriguez at Elysian Masters.

A newly expanded booklet—featuring rarely seen photos, liner notes from musician and writer Lenny Kaye, and contributions from Nick Cave and Devendra Banhart—rounds out the CD (32-pgs) and LP (20-pgs) packages.
The Oklahoma-raised Karen Dalton (1937-1993) brought a range of influences to her work. As Lenny Kaye writes in the liner notes, one can hear “the jazz of Ella Fitzgerald and Billie Holiday, the immersion of Nina Simone, the Appalachian keen of Jean Ritchie, [and] the R&B and country that had to seep in as she made her way to New York."

Armed with a long-necked banjo and a 12-stringed guitar, Dalton set herself apart from her peers with her distinctive, world-weary vocals. In the early ‘60s, she became a fixture in the Greenwich Village folk scene, interpreting traditional material, blues standards, and the songs of her contemporaries, including Tim Hardin, Fred Neil, and Richard Tucker, whom she later married. Bob Dylan, meanwhile, was instantly taken with her artistry. “My favorite singer in the place was Karen Dalton,” he recalled in Chronicles: Volume One (Simon & Schuster, 2004). “Karen had a voice like Billie Holiday and played the guitar like Jimmy Reed.”

Those who knew Dalton understood that she was not interested in bowing to the whims of the record industry. On stage, she rarely interacted with audience members. In the studio, she was equally as uncomfortable with the recording process. Her 1969 debut, It’s So Hard to Tell Who’s Going To Love You The Best, reissued by Light in the Attic in 2009, was captured on the sly when Dalton assumed that she was rehearsing songs. When Woodstock co-promoter Michael Lang approached Dalton about recording a follow-up for his new imprint, Just Sunshine, she was dubious, to say the least. The album would have to be made on her own terms, in her own time. That turned out to be a six-month period at Bearsville Studios in Woodstock, NY.

Producing the album was bassist Harvey Brooks, who played alongside Dalton on It’s So Hard to Tell Who’s Going To Love You The Best. Brooks, who prided himself on being “simple, solid and supportive,” understood Dalton’s process, but was also willing to offer gentle encouragement, and challenge the artist to push her creative bounds. “I tried to present her with a flexible situation,” he told Kaye. “I left the decisions to her, to determine the tempo, feel. She was very quiet, and I brought all of it to her; if she needed more, I’d present options. Everyone was sensitive to her. She was the leader.”

Dalton, who rarely performed her own compositions, selected a range of material to interpret—from traditionals like “Katie Cruel” and “Same Old Man” to Paul Butterfield’s “In My Own Dream” and Richard Tucker’s “Are You Leaving For The Country.” She also expanded upon her typical repertoire, peppering in such R&B hits as “When a Man Loves a Woman” and “How Sweet It Is.” In a departure from her previous LP, Dalton’s new recording offered fuller, more pop-forward arrangements, featuring a slew of talented studio musicians.

While ‘70s audiences may not have been ready for Dalton’s music, a new generation was about to discover her work. In the decades following her death, a slew of artists would name Karen Dalton as an influence, including Lucinda Williams, Joanna Newsom, Nick Cave, Angel Olsen, Devendra Banhart, Sharon Van Etten, Courtney Barnett, and Adele. In the recent acclaimed film documentary Karen Dalton: In My Own Time, Cave muses on Dalton’s unique appeal: “There’s a sort of demand made upon the listener,” he explains. “Whether you like it or not, you have to enter her world. And it’s a despairing world.” Peter Walker, who also appears in the film, elaborates on this idea: “If she can feel a certain way in her music and play it in such a way that you feel that way, then that’s really the most magical thing [one] can do.” He adds, “She had a deep and profound and loving soul…you can hear it in her music.”

TRACK LISTING

Something On Your Mind
When A Man Loves A Woman
In My Own Dream
Katie Cruel
How Sweet It Is
In A Station
Take Me
Same Old Man
One Night Of Love
Are You Leaving For The Country
Something On Your Mind (alternate Take)
In My Own Dream (alternate Take)
Katie Cruel (alternate Take)
One Night Of Love - Live At Beat Club, Germany, April 21, 1971
Take Me - Live At Beat Club, Germany, April 21, 1971
Something On Your Mind - Live At The Montreux Golden Rose Pop Festival, May 1, 1971
Blues On The Ceiling - Live At The Montreux Golden Rose Pop Festival, May 1, 1971
Are You Leaving For The Country - Live At The Montreux Golden Rose Pop Festival, May 1, 1971
One Night Of Love - Live At The Montreux Golden Rose Pop Festival, May 1, 1971

● Definitive edition of Karen Dalton’s 1971 Masterpiece. Non-Returnable.
● Two 180-gram, 45 RPM LPs cut from new 2021 transfers and pressed at RTI, featuring bonus tracks from the original album sessions
● 12” 180-gram, 45 RPM EP: Live at The Montreux Golden Rose Pop Festival (May 1971), newly remastered (2021) and previously unreleased in any format. B-side includes a beautiful etching of Karen, illustrated by renowned artist Jess Rotter.
● Previously unreleased 7” single: Live at Beat Club, Germany (April 1971)
● Repro of 1971 French edition 7” single: Something On Your Mind b/w One Night Of Love
● Both 7” singles pressed at Third Man Pressing and housed in old-style tip-on jackets
● 20-page booklet featuring unseen photos and liner notes by Lenny Kaye, plus contributions from Nick Cave and Devendra Banhart
● Replica Playbill for Montreux performance
● CD of all tracks
● Housed in a special, expanded trifold jacket
● Limited to 2,000 sequentially foil numbered copies worldwide
● Includes a 18”x24” fold-out movie poster of the acclaimed documentary film Karen Dalton: In My Own Time, illustrated by artist Matt McCormick

Karen Dalton’s 1971 album, In My Own Time, stands as a true masterpiece by one of music’s most mysterious, enigmatic, and enduringly influential artists. Light in the Attic is honored to celebrate the 50th anniversary of In My Own Time with the definitive edition of this monumental classic.
Featuring Dalton’s interpretations of songs like “Are You Leaving for the Country,” “When a Man Loves a Woman,” “Katie Cruel,” and her posthumously recognized signature performance, “Something On Your Mind,” will be available in a variety of formats, including a bonus-filled, 50th anniversary Super Deluxe Edition, which expands exponentially upon Light in the Attic’s 2006 reissue of the album, co-produced by Nicholas Hill.

The 50th Anniversary Super-Deluxe Edition features the newly remastered (2021) In My Own Time album, presented on three sides of 45-RPM, 180-gram vinyl pressed at Record Technology Inc. (RTI), with the fourth side showcasing alternate takes from the album sessions. The Super Deluxe package also includes the previously unreleased audio from her rare, captivating performance, Live at The Montreux Golden Rose Pop Festival, May 1st, 1971. This is the first time this audio has been made available in any physical format — presented on 180-gram 12-inch vinyl, pressed at Third Man Record Pressing, and featuring a stunning etching of Dalton by acclaimed artist Jess Rotter on the B-Side. Accompanying the bonus record is a replica playbill from The Montreux Golden Rose Pop Festival, 1971, meticulously arranged and compiled from vintage source material by Darryl Norsen. In addition to the bonus 12”, the set contains a CD of all tracks included in the package and two 7-inch singles, featuring previously-unreleased live recordings captured at Germany’s Beat Club in 1971, both pressed at Third Man Record Pressing and housed in tip-on jackets. All audio has been newly remastered by Dave Cooley, while lacquers were cut by Phil Rodriguez at Elysian Masters. A 20-page booklet—featuring rarely seen photos, liner notes from musician and writer Lenny Kaye, and contributions from Nick Cave and Devendra Banhart—rounds out the package, which comes housed in a special trifold jacket, individually foil-stamped and numbered in a strictly limited worldwide edition of 2,000 copies.

The 50th Anniversary Super-Deluxe Edition also includes an 18”x24” fold-out movie poster of the acclaimed documentary film Karen Dalton: In My Own Time, illustrated by artist Matt McCormick. Directed by Robert Yapkowitz and Richard Peete and executive produced by Light in the Attic, Wim Wenders and Delmore Recording Society, the film chronicles the life, music, and legacy of Dalton and features interviews with family, friends, collaborators, and a variety of artists, including Peter Walker, Nick Cave, and country singer Lacy J. Dalton. Angel Olsen lends her voice to the film as the principle narrator, reading aloud from Dalton’s personal journal.

The Oklahoma-raised Karen Dalton (1937-1993) brought a range of influences to her work. As Lenny Kaye writes in the liner notes, one can hear “the jazz of Ella Fitzgerald and Billie Holiday, the immersion of Nina Simone, the Appalachian keen of Jean Ritchie, [and] the R&B and country that had to seep in as she made her way to New York."

Armed with a long-necked banjo and a 12-stringed guitar, Dalton set herself apart from her peers with her distinctive, world-weary vocals. In the early ‘60s, she became a fixture in the Greenwich Village folk scene, interpreting traditional material, blues standards, and the songs of her contemporaries, including Tim Hardin, Fred Neil, and Richard Tucker, whom she later married. Bob Dylan, meanwhile, was instantly taken with her artistry. “My favorite singer in the place was Karen Dalton,” he recalled in Chronicles: Volume One (Simon & Schuster, 2004). “Karen had a voice like Billie Holiday and played the guitar like Jimmy Reed.”

Those who knew Dalton understood that she was not interested in bowing to the whims of the record industry. On stage, she rarely interacted with audience members. In the studio, she was equally as uncomfortable with the recording process. Her 1969 debut, It’s So Hard to Tell Who’s Going To Love You The Best, reissued by Light in the Attic in 2009, was captured on the sly when Dalton assumed that she was rehearsing songs. When Woodstock co-promoter Michael Lang approached Dalton about recording a follow-up for his new imprint, Just Sunshine, she was dubious, to say the least. The album would have to be made on her own terms, in her own time. That turned out to be a six-month period at Bearsville Studios in Woodstock, NY.

Producing the album was bassist Harvey Brooks, who played alongside Dalton on It’s So Hard to Tell Who’s Going To Love You The Best. Brooks, who prided himself on being “simple, solid and supportive,” understood Dalton’s process, but was also willing to offer gentle encouragement, and challenge the artist to push her creative bounds. “I tried to present her with a flexible situation,” he told Kaye. “I left the decisions to her, to determine the tempo, feel. She was very quiet, and I brought all of it to her; if she needed more, I’d present options. Everyone was sensitive to her. She was the leader.”

Dalton, who rarely performed her own compositions, selected a range of material to interpret—from traditionals like “Katie Cruel” and “Same Old Man” to Paul Butterfield’s “In My Own Dream” and Richard Tucker’s “Are You Leaving For The Country.” She also expanded upon her typical repertoire, peppering in such R&B hits as “When a Man Loves a Woman” and “How Sweet It Is.” In a departure from her previous LP, Dalton’s new recording offered fuller, more pop-forward arrangements, featuring a slew of talented studio musicians.

While ‘70s audiences may not have been ready for Dalton’s music, a new generation was about to discover her work. In the decades following her death, a slew of artists would name Karen Dalton as an influence, including Lucinda Williams, Joanna Newsom, Nick Cave, Angel Olsen, Devendra Banhart, Sharon Van Etten, Courtney Barnett, and Adele. In the recent acclaimed film documentary Karen Dalton: In My Own Time, Cave muses on Dalton’s unique appeal: “There’s a sort of demand made upon the listener,” he explains. “Whether you like it or not, you have to enter her world. And it’s a despairing world.” Peter Walker, who also appears in the film, elaborates on this idea: “If she can feel a certain way in her music and play it in such a way that you feel that way, then that’s really the most magical thing [one] can do.” He adds, “She had a deep and profound and loving soul…you can hear it in her music.”

TRACK LISTING

1. Something On Your Mind
2. When A Man Loves A Woman
3. In My Own Dream
4. Katie Cruel
5. How Sweet It Is
6. In A Station
7. Take Me
8. Same Old Man
9. One Night Of Love
10. Are You Leaving For The Country
11. Something On Your Mind (alternate Take)
12. In My Own Dream (alternate Take)
13. Katie Cruel (alternate Take)
14. One Night Of Love - Live At Beat Club, Germany, April 21, 1971
15. Take Me - Live At Beat Club, Germany, April 21, 1971
16. Something On Your Mind - Live At The Montreux Golden Rose Pop Festival, May 1, 1971
17. Blues On The Ceiling - Live At The Montreux Golden Rose Pop Festival, May 1, 1971
18. Are You Leaving For The Country - Live At The Montreux Golden Rose Pop Festival, May 1, 1971
19. One Night Of Love - Live At The Montreux Golden Rose Pop Festival, May 1, 1971

Karen Dalton's 1969 Capitol debut is finally back in print! Light in the Attic is thrilled to present a brand new edition of this heart-wrenching & bluesy introduction to the intoxicating world of Dalton and her deep well of musical secrets.

World-weary and filled with the blues, Dalton’s unsurpassed interpretive depth and emotional range were like no other. Recorded for Capitol in 1969, It’s So Hard To Tell Who's Going To Love You The Best spans generations of classic American songwriting–covering classics by Lead Belly, Fred Neil, and Tim Hardin. While no longer with us in the physical, Karen’s growing musical presence is stronger than ever and worthy of re-examination by both the converted and the uninitiated alike. This new re-release serves as the definitive, all-analog version of Dalton’s stunning debut, featuring remastered audio from the original Capitol masters, the original 1969 artwork in an expanded gatefold jacket, unseen photos by album photographer Joel Brodsky, and an essay interviewing Karen’s friends and music collaborators, from album producer and bassist Harvey Brooks to musician Peter Stampfel of the Holy Modal Rounders.

TRACK LISTING

1. Little Bit Of Rain
2. Sweet Substitute
3. Ribbon Bow
4. I Love You More Than Words Can Say
5. In The Evening
6. Blues On The Ceiling
7. It Hurts Me Too
8. How Did The Feeling Feel To You
9. Right, Wrong Or Ready
10. Down On The Street

In 1962, Karen summoned Richard Tucker to join her in Colorado, extolling the healthier lifestyle, and plentiful gigs at Boulder folk club The Attic. Upon his arrival, the pair solidified their personal and professional relationship, riding horses in the mountains, and performing as a duo at parties and venues throughout Denver and Boulder. Stories of the spell they conjured – and rumours of tapes! – have circulated among friends and musicians who witnessed them, but until now, no recorded evidence had turned up. Shuckin’ Sugar is the glorious result of three reel to reel tapes that miraculously found their way to us in November, 2018; which featured two complete shows from The Attic in January ‘63, and a benefit concert for The Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) recorded the following February. Their gigs would often include brief solo sets from Karen and Richard, in addition to the duets, and all seven solo songs of Karen’s found on the three reels are included here, as well as five duets, sequenced as close to how it all went down as humanly possible. To describe the record would take a poet, but all I can say is that unveiling a missing chapter in the Karen Dalton story – with six songs we’ve never heard her sing before – is cause for celebration in Delmore’s world.

“From her opening, jaw-dropping lift-off with early blues standard “Trouble In Mind,” the unique otherworld Karen conjured springs into vivid life. Playing to audiences inevitably bound to the era’s formalities and traditions, Karen instinctively pushed the envelope, straying into uncharted territory beyond the established borders. She must have bewildered many who came to see her in those winsome Peter, Paul and Mary times." From the liner notes by Kris Needs

TRACK LISTING

Trouble In Mind 
If You're A Viper
When First Unto This Country 
Shiloh Town 
Shuckin' Sugar Blues 
Everytime I Think Of Freedom 
Ribbon Bow 
Blues Jumped The Rabbit 
Lonesome Valley 
When I Get Home 
In The Pines 
Katie Cruel

Warm launch their new reissue label RE:WARM on Record Store Day by heading south of the equator with a New Zealand 7” double-header.

Dalvanius and the Fascinations’ “Voodoo Lady” from 1977 which originally was swept aside as a b-side takes over one side. A perfect slice of south pacific disco to set any dance floor alight. Whilst on the flip, Golden Harvests’ AOR vocal gem “I Need Your Love” from 1978 will immediately get stuck in your head wherever you might go.

Over the past eighteen months’ Warm’s Ali Tillett and Micky Browne have been discussing records and sharing insights into each other’s record collections. Off the back of this RE:WARM is born as an outlet to showcase music from both their collections that they felt deserved to be revisited and shared with the world as a lot of it had previously been overlooked or worse still, undiscovered.

Both having collected records for twenty years or more, their influences and ever-growing collections range from Folk, Jazz, Soul, AOR, Disco, Funk, House, Balearic and much more in between. So over the months and years to come expect every musical stone to be unturned on their quest to reintroduce friends, Peers and contemporaries to some of their favourite over looked gems, all lovingly repackaged and presented with stunning new art work and original photos.

For their inaugural release to launch the RE:WARM label on record store day 2020 they have gone all the way to the Southern Hemisphere for a New Zealand double header.

First up on the A side is Dalvanius & The Fascinations phenomenal track, Voodoo Lady. On first release this track started life as the B-side of the lead track “Checkmate on Love” but later moved to the A side with a slightly longer Disco Version. This version is more recently starting to appear in collectors want lists and on auction sites around the world.

On the flip is Golden Harvest with their AOR-Disco anthem, I Need Your Love. One of those tracks for premium dancefloor moments of joy and hands in the air excitement. This one started life on the independent N.Z label Impact in 1977 and later in 1978 got the Warner Bros treatment for Neighbouring Australia and was later to be included on their only album Golden Harvest – Golden Harvest.

TRACK LISTING

A1: Dalvanius And The Fascinations - Voodoo Lady
B1: Golden Harvest – I Need Your Love 

A short while removed from his acclaimed Brothers Fowl album, released in late 2012, Dam Mantle returns as part of the Free Association collective with a new three-track 12” on NOTOWN Recordings.

A loose collective of musicians from his Glasgow home, this EP showcases, according to Tom Marshallsay AKA Dam Mantle, ‘a small glimpse of what's been getting made in the studio recently. There's quite a few other folks who feature on some of these tracks, so it's a demonstration of the collective attitude behind all this’.

The EP is a glimpse of the moods being explored in his live sets, where his diverse productions converge in a fervent sonic assemblage. The A side gives two heads-down hip shakers which explore a diverse sound palette, while the flip-side adds urgency and steady syncopation with a streak of dark intent and an anticipatory glimmer.

Since the release of his Brothers Fowl album, Dam Mantle has been busy ‘mainly playing records and putting on parties, living life, working’. In addition, he’s spent a bit of time working on collaborative projects, mainly as General Ludd, releasing via the Mister Saturday Night banner, the NYC promoter and label.

TRACK LISTING

A1. The Free Association - Heavy Velvet Affair
A2. Dam Mantle Feat. Baker - Simultaneous Fall
B1. Dam Mantle - The Underlying Issue

Oh my, what is this? The alien globule of Damaged Bug’s errant planet has circled the sun and re-enters our orbit where last year’s Cold Hot Plumbs left off. Urgent falsetto morbidities detail Damaged Bug’s most rhythmically adventurous offering yet, syncopating lush landscapes with moon-shot death rays. Witness in horror the tractor beam pull of Slay The Priest - a breathless sprint through unfamiliar enemy territory - erratic laser beam synths dredge the lake, hard panned double drums resurrect dead heartbeats - load thy crossbow, friend, this night is long and we appear beset on all sides. The Bug is back and more hideous than ever - join us in a gawp at its iridescent shell, its alien mandibles…and the guts streaming from the wound. 

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: John Dwyer steps into his Damaged Bug moniker once again for a synthy freak-out of psychedelic loops and twisted melodic interludes.

TRACK LISTING

1. Structure Image Approach
2. Bog Dash
3. The Cryptologist
4. Slay The Priest
5. Ugly Gamma
6. Rick’s Jummy
7. Gimme Tamanthum
8. No One Notice The Fly
9. Bunker Funk
10. Mood Slime
11. Liquid Desert
12. Heavy Cathedral
13. Unmanned Scanner
14. The Night Shopper

John Dwyer has a surprise… While everyone eagerly anticipates the next Oh Sees record, he’s been working tirelessly in his synth laboratory, hand-crafting a followup to last year’s neon-noir Damaged Bug debut - one that shakes up the snow globe considerably.

If 'Hubba Bubba' was a brush with a robotic exoskeleton on deep-space patrol, 'Cold Hot Plumbs' visits the alien world that sent it into the cosmos. Lush, textural and psychedelic, the songs breathe with a otherworldly sadness and heart. Barbed, sophisticated arrangements flower in every direction. The vintage-perfect sound palette would be window dressing if not for the songs themselves: fresh, vital, and above all catchier than the flu. 'Cold Hot Plumbs' is a strange, beautiful, and oddly infectious addition to Dwyer’s oeuvre, and not one to be missed.

TRACK LISTING

1. Exactly What You Think
2. What Cheer
3. The Mirror
4. Jet In Jungle
5. Der Mond
6. The Frog
7. Cough Pills
8. Structure Image Exterior (Edit)
9. Grape Basement
10. Very
11. Cone
12. Deep Bore Drill Worker
13. Mega Structure
14. Transmute

Recorded at home in the fall of 2013 with a variety of synthesizers, drum machines and assorted handmade electronics, 'Damaged Bug' is Oh Sees mastermind John Dwyer’s latest bit of cracked pop alchemy. The project is the cure to the ailment of too much guitar for too long. Fizzing and sputtering like a glowing, temperamental cockpit control panel, Dwyer bunkered deep in a blinking laboratory, penning songs about the long arc of our travels across space and time. Propulsive beats and synthetic veneers coat laser-guided melodies reflecting off shiny metal surfaces while instrumental interludes pop in and out like breaks in the asteroid belt.

A far-out side of our main man—nocturnal, hard-wired, and chrome-plated. Hubba Bubba features original artwork by Deirdre White.

Since his introduction in the 60’s, Roger Damawuzan has lit stages on fire, whether it be with The Rickers Orchestra or with The Melo-Togo Orchestra (taking home 2nd place for the first National Festival of Tologese Music). His first 7" vinyl "Wait For Me" is a holy grail for diggers all around the world. It was such a hit that Togolese music is and will forever be stamped by Roger Damawuzan. He was principal in introducing Gazo, Akpesse and Kamou rhythms to modern day soul music. Relentless and unstoppable, Roger Damawuzan is now making a comeback with a heavy funk 7 inch!

This release contains an unreleased single from the album "Seda". Such a force of nature, this album could have been only captured, if not mastered, by one studio. Such mission was accomplished by the legendary studio OTODI (Office Togolese of Disks) by utilizing solely analog equipment to translate and to breath all of Damawuzan’s soul into this album. Roger Damawuzan could have been supported by only one group. Led by Peter Solo, the members of the Vaudou Game and Lomé’s most talented musicians are at Damawuzan’s disposal for this new record. 

STAFF COMMENTS

Matt says: Tologese fire from one of the country's well regarded music proponents. Unequivocally funky and infectious!

TRACK LISTING

Fine Fine
Red Light

Since his introduction in the 60’s, he has lit stages on fire, whether it be with The Rickers Orchestra or with The Melo-Togo Orchestra (taking home 2nd place for the first National Festival of Tologese Music).

His first seven-inch vinyl, “Wait For Me,” is a holy grail for diggers all around the world. It was such a hit that Togolese music is and will forever be stamped by Roger Damawuzan. He was principal in introducing Gazo, Akpesse and Kamou rhythms to modern day soul music. In Avépozo - a few kilometers from the capital, Lomé. Though Tropicana Hotel has been closed for years, the many European tourists who were lucky enough to visit have not forgotten the nights that Roger Damawuzan set ablaze throughout the years. Indeed, in their collective memory is nostalgic of his flaming spirit and the rawness of his rigorous funk. He is timeless: since 1987, the Tropicana is no longer but Damawuzan roars on.

In response to requests from his studio and his label, “Tropicana Sounds”, which, during 80s, was responsible for releasing his work, Damawuzan also gave his expertise and was a major influence on the evolution of hip-hop and Tologese electro. Relentless and unstoppable, Roger Damawuzan is now making a comeback with SEDA. Afro. Soul. Funk. Vaudou. This album may be described, but it cannot be explained. Only through listening to this disk at a high volume will one completely understand, at its full scope, Roger Damawuzan’s emotions, his complaints, his cries, and all his evisceration when he takes the mic.

Such a force of nature, Roger Damawuzan could have been supported by only one group. Led by Peter Solo, the members of the Vaudou Game and Lomé’s most talented musicians are at Damawuzan’s disposal for this album. The bass thunders in his honor, the brass escorts his arrival through the drums' rhythmatic steps, and the guitars riff so perfectly to serve as the ideal bedrock. Such a force of nature, this album could have been only captured, if not mastered, by one studio.

Such mission was accomplished by the legendary studio OTODI (Office Togolese of Disks) by utilizing solely analog equipment to translate and to breath all of Damawuzan’s soul into this album. In Mina, Roger Damawuzan’s native tongue, SEDA means “listen.” And this is neither advice nor a suggestion - it’s an order!

STAFF COMMENTS

Paul says: Funky fresh music from Tonga. Already in my record bag! Perfect for the oncoming warmer months. Loving this...

TRACK LISTING

Need My Money
Why Why
See Your Face
What Time Is It ?
I'm Crying

Paris
Fine Fine
Juliana
Shut Up
Mama

Epitomising the very best of their hometown’s unparalleled musical heritage, Dames Brown are fully-fledged members of the extended Defected family following the release of slick, funk-filled record ‘What Would You Do?’ and features on a number of the label’s vocal house hits. The Detroit trio continuously impress with their exquisite releases, striking lyricism and a hefty dose of house authenticity across their outputs. Now Athena Johnson, Teresa Marbury and LaRae Starr step out to properly introduce themselves to the wax lovers, with Detroit musical icon Amp Fiddler on production duties. Releasing ‘Introducing Dames Brown’ on 7”, this package also includes the Instrumental, as Detroit’s finest deliver a taste of what’s to come on their forthcoming album, capturing funk, house and soul from across the spectrum.

STAFF COMMENTS

Matt says: Second single from the next superstars of disco-funk. This one ACTUALLY sounds like the JBs! With Amp Fiddler on production, it's nice to see Detroit soul kickin' and back on the map with serious intention.

TRACK LISTING

A. Introducing Dames Brown
B. Introducing Dames Brown (Instrumental)

Star Creature's Italian boogie buffalo Giovanni Damico comes fresh for the label with, I have to say, a pretty tantalizing new sound. Though still rooted in that vintage boogie sound (Linn drums and slap bass a plenty...) "Watch Out" jolts out with a confident urgency. Dazzling keyboard licks, meticulously programmed drums and a frenetic b-line combining perfectly with Damico's empowered vocal. "Nowhere" is a creeping synth disco track, reminiscent of Sylvester's more electronic and sultry numbers. "Night Time" opens with bright synth bursts before dropping into a raw boogie groove littered with space echo detritus. Then the fun loving vocal drops urging you into party mode. "Voodoo" irreverently cruises into full on space disco moods - recalling Arpadys & Sauver Mallia's soaring epics. Finally, "Cowbell (Eeh Aah Eeh)" is a tropical disco flavoured beast that has end-of-night qualities written all over it. Majestic flute, fluttering muted Strat licks, galloping percussion, this baby got it all...

Brilliantly diverse modern boogie flavours for the discerning dancer and jock! Highly recommended! 

STAFF COMMENTS

Matt says: One of my favourite signings of the Star Creature camp, Giovanni Damico can always be relied upon for summat fresh. "Watch Out" takes the boogie template into dazzling new territories - a highly syncopated offering with space-age sfx but with that vintage drum programming and untreated soulful vox that's synonymous with the genre. Sure to be a true classic of the scene that's so far undiscovered.

TRACK LISTING

Side 1
1. Watch Out (4:54)
2. Nowhere (5:49)
Side 2
1. Night Time (5:04)
2. Voodoo (5:07)
3. Cowbell (Eeh Aah Eeh) (4:31)

Yet another bedroom boogie bonanza from the good folks at Star Creature who've enlisted the Italian stalion, Gionvanni Damico for their latest 7". The well decorated producer has already graced labels such as Lumberjacks In Hell, Bordello A Parigi, Kalakuta Soul and Faces with his slick and star-studded, fresh boogie sound!

Lead track, "Ashes" rev's outta off the grid with ruged vintage drum hits, picked guitar lines, Strat chops and plucked bassline. Cue Damico with an inspired vocal, sung in half Italian, half English and a catchy as covid chorus synth refrain. It's stripped back, it's quirky, it's sexy; it's everything your late nite disco needs!

"Milky Way" unpacks reverb heavy drums, vocodered vox and retro-future sci-fi leads for a cosmic funk system meltdown with lashings of Italo flavour!

Full picture sleeve, limited import copies. Move quick!

STAFF COMMENTS

Matt says: Really strong release from the perma-funkin' Star Creature mob. Inspired city pop stylings with 'nuff Italo / boogie references for extra pleasure. You know what to do!

TRACK LISTING

1. Ashes
2. Milky Way

As always high quality House Music by Chez who teamed up with Leroy Burgess on A1 "Your Love". A2 is a great remix of "Your Love" by Dj Aly. On B1 it's Chez Damier with a very soulful track called "Soul Minimal", reconstructed by Stephan Hoellermann and as grand final on B2 it's Chez Damier and Ron Trent with the stunning "My House

TRACK LISTING

A1. Chez Damier Feat. Leroy Burgess - Your Love
A2. Your Love (Dj Aly RMX)
B1. Chez Damier - Soul Minimal (Stephan Hoellermann RMX)
B2. Ron Trent & Chez Damier - MY House

"June 2017, France. It’s 40° both inside and outside. At Studio Black Box, in the Haut Anjou, it is as if you were there, in Madagascar. And when the tape recorders start rotating, the musicians’ imagination feeds off the guts of their music : Malagasy bush, tropical heat, red dirt, sand, drought, corn, cassava, cockcrow, mooing zebus, lambahoany (fabric), leaf hut, fotaky house (mud), dust, portable generator, music, rhum, bodies frantically dancing whether in the dark or under the blazing sun…Tsapiky.

The album shall be named "Valimbilo". Bilo is a disease which strikes one’s mental health, depression is what western societies call it. When one is diagnosed with « voany bilo », a precise medical treatment is engaged and performed without doctors, nor medicine. To vanquish bilo, one has to use music. The sorcerer solely decides upon the “good” day (the day which gathers the most positive aspects of the astrological conjuncture) to operate: the extended family hosts a ceremony ruled by many taboos, which can last up to a few days, and in which only one remedy is applied in high dosage : some Tsapiky.
They are “doctor” musicians whom talent is source of the cure.
They play for the patient, who has to be facing the orchestra : all of their attention is focused on the bilo, dancing in the sick person’s body : It has to be awaken, seduced, surprised and attacked from every angle before it is pressured, pressured until KO, until it can’t take the it anymore, stuffed with music. Then the patient is relieved, discharged, and the ceremony is over.

During the entirety of the ceremony, the patient picks a person who helps him/her get the bilo out of his/her system, this is what we call “valimbilo”, literally “husband/wife of the bilo.” "

TRACK LISTING

01. Malay Nama
02. Aomby Mazava Ioha
03. Kalitaky
04. Bekapamaky
05. Fiaina Sarotsy
06. Tsy Miroro
07. Relela
08. Mivaliky Tany Toy

The Damned blazed a trail when they became the very first British punk band to release a single(New Rose) on 22nd October 1976, which was swiftly followed by the release of the very first British punk album, their classic debut long-player ‘Damned Damned Damned,’ originally released by Stiff Records on 18th February 1977.

Now, to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the band’s dramatic breakthrough, a very special Art Of The Album deluxe edition of that incredible debut.

Featuring fully remastered audio & new sleevenotes recalling the story of the band’s conception and the album’s creation. Comprehensively researched and written by legendary punk writer John Ingham, these new sleevenotes cover in-depth the story of the album & the period in which it was written & recorded, the key players in its creation, the craft and instrumentation, the impact upon release and its legacy 40 years later. Via exclusive interviews with original band members Dave Vanian, Captain Sensible, Brian James and Rat Scabies, John Ingham (best known for writing the first ever review of The Damned and the first ever interview with The Sex Pistols - both in UK music weekly ‘Sounds’ in 1976) is perfectly placed to recount the early hedonistic days of the band in this definitive release of one of the most influential albums of all time..

STAFF COMMENTS

Martin says: Chaotic, messy, exhilarating ultra rock'n'roll picking up where the Stooges and MC5 left off (the album includes a cover of the Stooges' 'I Feel Alright'). The machine gun blast of 'Neat Neat Neat' opens in wonderful, menacing fashion, the album careering insanely on from there, but the highlight has to be the utterly amazing 'New Rose' - the first, and one of the greatest U.K. punk singles ever released.

TRACK LISTING

01. Neat Neat Neat
02. Fan Club
03. I Fall
04. Born To Kill
05. Stab Yor Back
06. Feel The Pain
07. New Rose
08. Fish
09. See Her Tonite
10. 1 Of The 2
11. So Messed Up
12. I Feel Alright

46 years after releasing the ground-breaking debut, “Damned Damned Damned”, The Damned return with “DARKADELIC”, their twelfth studio album. The album, from the band that launched punk and invented goth, once again innovating and expanding upon their unique universe. The “The Invisible Man” track is a showcase for Captain Sensible’s riffadelic guitarwork and David Vanian’s snarling baritone vocals. “DARKADELIC” barrels along from there and features some of The Damned’s sharpest song writing and genre-bending performances reaching peaks with other tracks such as “You’re Gonna Realise” and “Beware of the Clowns”, drenched in classic horror movie references, nods to swinging 60’s London, and a refined palette of musical influences. The Damned will indeed paint the world DARKADELIC in 2023.

TRACK LISTING

1. The Invisible Man
2. Bad Weather Girl
3. You’re Gonna Realise
4. Beware Of The Clown
5. Western Promise
6. Wake The Dead
7. Follow Me
8. Motorcycle Man
9. Girl I’ll Stop At Nothing
10. Leader Of The Gang
11. From Your Lips
12. Roderick

• With a well-received new album “Darkadelic” in the shops, the Damned continue to build on their legendary status.

• This month as well as finally releasing the “David Vanian And The Phantom Chords” album as a 2LP set we are delighted to also offer “The Best Of The Damned”.

• This album was originally released back in 1981 and pulled together the classic singles that the band had made for the label like ‘Love Song’, ‘Smash It Up’ (Parts 1 and 2)’, ‘I Just Can’t Be Happy Today’, ‘History Of The World Part 1’, ‘Hit Or Miss’, their Christmas single ‘There Ain’t No Sanity Clause’ and ‘Wait For The Blackout’. Not only are these now seen as gold-standard Damned tracks but also map out a musical development where they moved from their punk roots to crafting melodic pop songs that also took them into the charts. Better still, when originally pressed up in 1981 the album cannily also included those earlier classics punk classics ‘New Rose’ and ‘Neat Neat Neat’. There’s even Captain Sensible and the Softies’ version of ‘Jet Boy, Jet Girl’ that appeared on the flip of ‘Wait For The Blackout’ in 1982.

• You don’t mess with a classic so we have reissued the album just as it looked back in 1981, complete with inner sleeve and blackmail label lettering. Saying that, fans of the Damned both old and new will need no encouragement to add this to their collection. 

TRACK LISTING

Side One
1. New Rose
2. Love Song
3. Neat Neat Neat
4. I Just Can't Be Happy Today
5. Jet Boy, Jet Girl
6. Hit Or Miss
7. There Ain't No Sanity Clause
Side Two
1. Smash It Up Parts 1 & 2
2. Plan 9 Channel 7
3. Rabid (Over You)
4. Wait For The Blackout
5. History Of The World Part 1 

• Iconic indie folk pop duo from Galaxie 500 return with a dreamy collaboration with atmospheric Japanese guitarist Kurihara.

“With its meditative tempos and enveloping guitar work by Michio Kurihara—‘it’s like this golden net,’ Naomi said of his gorgeous, versatile playing—A Sky Record offers shelter from the squall. If it has the glow of a long-delayed reunion between friends, that’s not accidental: Kurihara hasn’t traveled outside of Japan in some time, so Damon and Naomi hadn’t recorded with him in nearly ten years. When they finally made it back to Japan in November 2019 for a brief tour, they were elated to book some time with Kurihara at the aptly named studio Peace Music.

“In those long stretches of quarantime, the tracks they returned from Japan with had distinct moods but not yet any lyrics. (Kurihara works best when trying to conjure a specific feeling or natural image—after all, he did once make a solo record, Sunset Notes, on which every song was based on a different sunset he’d witnessed...) How to write about the pandemic? How to not write about the pandemic? Naomi first struck upon the appropriate tone when re-reading the journals of one of her favorite abstract painters, Charles Burchfield. She arranged this found language into the lyrics of the iridescent ‘Season Without Time,’ which also became a tribute to a friend that she and Damon had lost in the last year.

“From there, the floodgates opened. The wistful and watery ‘Midnight’ (electrified, towards the end, by the slow screams of a Kurihara solo) conjures Naomi’s nostalgia for youthful summers spent at Jones Beach, while the gentle current of ‘Sailing By’ pays homage to those ritualistic BBC Shipping Forecasts and the waltzing, quintessentially British theme song from which it takes its name.”

TRACK LISTING

1. Oceans In Between
2. Between The Wars
3. The Gift
4. Sailing By
5. Split Screen
6. Season Without Time
7. Midnight
8. Invincible
9. How I Came To Photograph Clouds
10. The Aftertime

“Grey day celebration music for meshed afternoons; eleven strums and songs to savor as you wander till spring. Did Damon & Naomi dream them? Did I? Will you?” - Andy Zax

People talk about Damon & Naomi as if they’re the raw infrastructure that remained after Galaxie 500 fell apart, a steel skeleton stubbornly standing after an earthquake. But when the pair began a new project, they weren’t adjusting so much as starting from scratch. By the time they released More Sad Hits, they had grown enough as musicians and songwriters that they didn’t need to lean on stark sincerity and reverb-drenched emoting. Instead, they reigned in their sound, favoring acoustic over electric, building more complex and specific textures, and exploring smaller sonic spaces. If Galaxie 500 was ahead of its time, Damon & Naomi are prescient in their own way, firmly rooted in the early ’90s but hinting at things to come. The project provided a necessary platform for the pair to focus, hone and build on the groundwork that they laid for themselves, peeling away layers to reveal a shy closeness that Galaxie 500 never could.

The pair’s latest project, Fortune, is an LP released in tandem with Naomi Yang’s video piece of the same name. She refers to the work as “a silent movie,” though the visuals are so bound up in the music (and vice versa) that it’s more of a long-form music video, a visual poem set to the metronome of a textural score. She conceived of the piece to explore conflicting feelings surrounding her father’s recent passing; Yang was suddenly burdened with a massive archive of his artistic work (her father was a photographer), as well as the ongoing aftermath of flawed parenting. Her use of the term “fortune,” then, is tinged with sardonicism but also with nostalgia-portraits from the 1940s and ’50s painted by protagonist Norman von Holtzendorff’s father (also recently deceased, and who also left his archive in Norman’s hands) feature prominently. An ongoing tarot card motif ties in another facet of the suddenly slippery term “fortune,” using Damon & Naomi’s now familiar brand of close, acoustic warmth to explore the past’s bearing on the future: “I want to be over / To touch and be gone / Forget this amnesia.”

Fortune-as a film or an album-is itself an expressive portrait, but doesn’t adhere to any obvious narrative; rather, it’s a comfortable space that the viewer can move in and out of, dreamlike and immersive. The eleven new songs don’t require visual accompaniment-Damon & Naomi have constructed the sequence to communicate through sound alone-but at upcoming performances the duo will be presenting them live as a soundtrack to Yang’s “silent” film.

TRACK LISTING

1. The Seeker
2. Amnesia
3. It's Over
4. Reflections
5. A Shining Dream
6. Shadows
7. Towards Tomorrow
8. Sky Memories
9. Hurt House
10. The North Light
11. Time Won't Own Me

Damon & Naomi have always been a bit more ahead of the curve than is good for them. Galaxie 500 ended before slowcore was a thing. Their psychedelic duo albums with Kramer came out while the Elephant 6 collective were still in high school. They toured the country with an acoustic guitar and Indian harmonium years before there was a New Weird America to receive them. And they made their lushest, most analog album before the vinyl revival. 2007’s Within These Walls came out on CD only, and is only now ten years later being released for the first time on vinyl — the way the duo intended it to be heard.

Conceived as a DIY tribute to the great “mood” albums of Sinatra’s
Capitol years, the album was recorded with real strings, real horns, real drums, and a very very real electric guitarist named Michio Kurihara. It’s a chamber record with ebow and wah-wah, featuring some of the most emotional songs of the duo’s career. “Lilac Land” opens the album in a somber mood, which never lets go. The string section — Helena Espvall, Margaret Wienk, and Katt Hernandez — underscore Naomi’s dark lyrics and melodies. The horns — Bhob Rainey, Greg Kelley, and Kyle Bruckmann — answer with wit and even a bit of joy, but they’ll never win the arguments here.

This album was meant to cast a mood from start to finish, like Sinatra’s classic In The Wee Small Hours, or No One Cares. The album closes with two of its best known tracks: “The Turnaround”, a sweet love song with harmonies; and “Cruel Queen”, a ballad that draws on Damon & Naomi’s respect and knowledge of English folk rock. Sung to a traditional tune, Naomi’s crushing tale of a family gone wrong will keep you guessing till the end, and leave you watching the needle on the outgroove like Frank staring into his glass of rye.

TRACK LISTING

1. LILAC LAND
2. THE WELL
3. ON THE AVENUE
4. WITHIN THESE WALLS
5. RED FLOWER
6. DEFIBRILLATION
7. STARS NEVER FADE
8. A SILVER THREAD
9. THE TURNAROUND
10. CRUEL QUEEN

Signed to Danger Mouse's '30th Century Records' and released via Columbia in the UK, this is the debut solo album from Vampire Weekend drummer Chris Tomson. A 10 track album, produced by Pat Carney (Black Keys), including the singles "Death Wish" & "Tell The Truth". 

'This book is a must for everyone interested in illuminating the idea of unexplainable genius' - QUESTLOVEEqual parts biography, musicology, and cultural history, Dilla Time chronicles the life and legacy of J Dilla, a musical genius who transformed the sound of popular music for the twenty-first century. He wasn't known to mainstream audiences, and when he died at age thirty-two, he had never had a pop hit. Yet since his death, J Dilla has become a demigod, revered as one of the most important musical figures of the past hundred years.

At the core of this adulation is innovation: as the producer behind some of the most influential rap and R&B acts of his day, Dilla created a new kind of musical time-feel, an accomplishment on a par with the revolutions wrought by Louis Armstrong and James Brown. Dilla and his drum machine reinvented the way musicians play. In Dilla Time, Dan Charnas chronicles the life of James DeWitt Yancey, from his gifted Detroit childhood to his rise as a sought-after hip-hop producer to the rare blood disease that caused his premature death.

He follows the people who kept Dilla and his ideas alive. And he rewinds the histories of American rhythms: from the birth of Motown soul to funk, techno, and disco. Here, music is a story of what happens when human and machine times are synthesized into something new.

This is the story of a complicated man and his machines; his family, friends, partners, and celebrity collaborators; and his undeniable legacy. Based on nearly two hundred original interviews, and filled with graphics that teach us to feel and "see" the rhythm of Dilla's beats, Dilla Time is a book as defining and unique as J Dilla's music itself. Financial Times Music Book of the Year 2022

Best known for his work with MU330 Dan Potthast has made quite a name for himself with these oddball, quirky stripped down songs. Strong melodies, intelligent lyrics, and great musicianship. Fans of Weezer, MU330, and anything inbetween will go crazy over this.

Dan’l Boone is Charles Ballas (Formant), Neil Hagerty (ex-Royal Trux, Howling Hex), Nate Young (Wolf Eyes, Regression) and Alex Moskos (Drainolith). The crew convened in Denver, CO to work on the forthcoming Drainolith record and decided to make another record at the same time. Everyone involved seemed pretty dedicated to experimentation and pushing the music forward.

“It’s like Lucas with ‘Episodes I’, ‘II’, ‘III’, make ’em all at once. We were making two records at once: The Drainolith and the Boone. It became apparent right away that the Boone was going to be waaaaay more avant than the Draino.” admits Moskos. “So I was like I want to do some scratching on there. But we are all really paranoid about sample clearance, so I did all my cuts with Wolf Eyes and Howling Hex wax.”

“Nate played a variation of his Regression rig and did a lot of postprod with Charles, setting up midi networks and complex trigger chains. Neil mostly played his double neck and sang. The golden voice. But he played clarinet as well. Charles played electronics and did on the fly sequencing, if I remember correctly. Which I don’t often do.” recalls Moskos.

“Moskos played Krumar string synth and bongos too. I call him Krungo Canuck.” adds Charles. · “To create music by reverting to zit-popping thrash you must believe that the prognosis is so dismal that it takes time to hear them retain enough for your face before summary dismissal.” says Hagerty cryptically over the phone into Charles’ voicemail box.

Neil and Nate really ran things at the sessions at Uneven Studios. There were lots of electronics that Young would set up and Hagerty would give some direction. Hagerty had various lyric sheets and scores that the group worked with but once the record started to take shape Young became very involved in plotting out the flow of the record. “I’d come downstairs into Charles’ basement and Nate and Neil would be making competing diagrams that represented the record. I was so lost,” says Moskos.

High Voltage Rock N Roll, Fresh of the US run with Uncle Acid available for the first time on Double LP. Supercharged psychedelic space rock that could have been made in the 70s available for the first time on Double LP. When this first came out Pitchfork hailed Danava as true leaders, calling them “the sole working owners of this sound, an almost glam-rock, Hawkwind thing” and Guitar World lauded their “chaotic psych-metal brew.”

This is rock n roll to the core and definitely not your parents kind of party.

RIYL: Earthless, Ted Nugent, Yes, Kyuss, Red Fang, Nebula, Uncle Acid and The Deadbeats

To Complete the holy trinity of DANAVA LPs, Danava Hemisphere of Shadows… Limited coloured vinyl first (re)pressing on Riding Easy. Housed in a thick 24 pt Reverse Board jacket and pressed by RTI. This has been recut and is a brand new much louder pressing than the previous.

One of the early signings that helped put Kemado Records, this is their third LP released in 2011. From their initial appearance on Kemado's famed Invaders comp, Danava turned heads with a bombastic 70's sound that melded blazing psych-metal with glam-rock flair. Upon the release of the band's self-titled debut EP in 2006, Pitchfork hailed Danava as true leaders, calling them "the sole working owners of this sound, an almost glam-rock, Hawkwind thing" and Guitar World lauded their "chaotic psych-metal brew."

" …. the latest album from Danava, the sound evokes the days of Deep Purple's Fireball and Machine Head, but who has been paying attention to their most recent albums? Not including Deep Purple fanatics, there isn't much to speak of in terms a fan base beyond their classic albums…. Hemisphere of Shadows evokes the early days of heavy metal and prog rock, with the creativity of new musicians and the songs often push the boundaries of "craziness" in terms of what is produced. Songs like "The Last Goodbye" with its epic mind-shattering organ solo near the end of the song, as well as the synth sounds of "Dying Into Light" don't remind me of anything else that happened in 1970's heavy metal/rock. ….." 8/10 Metal Archive.

TRACK LISTING

1 Shoot Straight With A Crooked Gun
2 White Nights Of Murder
3 The Last Goodbye
4 I Am The Skull
5 Riding Hood
6 The Illusion Crawls
7 Hemisphere Of Shadows
8 Dying Into Light

DDM deal in a heady brew of post punk, futuristic funk and electronic minimalism. DDM are a frenetic two piece comprising Kevin Disco (of Radar) and Matt Howze (ex-Treadwell). This is their debut eight song full-length, a blend of minimalist dance, early electronica and 60s soul. The chaotic dancey drumming is much like a fusion of Clikitat Ikatowi and ESG, while the multilayered loops of pulsating synth sounds similar to Suicide and noise guitar creates the backdrop.

The cheekiest band in the land is back with ROCKMAKER, The Dandy Warhols' 12th studio album.

Produced and recorded by the band at their studio/funhouse The Odditorium in Portland, OR, ROCKMAKER sees the "Bohemian Like You\" hitmakers celebrate their 30th year together with a sprinkle of glitter on their grime. Accompanied by guests Debbie Harry, Slash, and Pixies' Frank Black, The Dandy Warhols wrangle paranoia, untangle anxious discontent, and lust after life while the dance grooves go deeper, heady drones get weirder, and riffage fit for bong rips hammers. ROCKMAKER is the Dandy's clearest statement yet, at no sacrifice to their outre leanings. This is the sound of outsider alt-psych fixtures looking in as the walls come down.

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: A soaring, grungy maelstrom of riffs and groove from Courtney and co, still very much full of the youthful fire that made them such a household name on the briliant 'Dandy Warhols Come Down'. Brilliantly dynamic, fiery rock and roll.

TRACK LISTING

1. Doomsday Bells 
2. Danzig With Myself (Feat. Black Francis) 
3. Teutonic Wine 
4. The Summer Of Hate 
5. I'd Like To Help You With Your Problem (Feat. Slash) 
6. The Cross / Root Of All Evil 
7. Alcohol And Cocainemarijuananicotine 
8. Love Thyself 
9. Real People 
10. I Will Never Stop Loving You (Feat. Debbie Harry)

Ami Dang fuses sitar, voice and electronics to create East-meets-West, ambient-via-trance music. Dang draws inspiration from South Asian and Middle Eastern folktales and you can hear the distant winds of foreign lands drift through her music.

Galvanized by the Western interpretations of these stories, "Parted Plains", unfolds as a new sort of soundtrack for a yet-to-be written folktale that is neither Eastern nor Western, not traditional or contemporary but somewhere in between and perfectly suited to the cross-cultural, meta age we currently occupy. 

For fans of Mary Lattimore, Laraaji, Suzanne Ciani.

TRACK LISTING

Raiments
Bopoluchi
Make Enquiry
Stockholm Syndrome
Sohni
Auberjinn
Love-Liesse
Conch And Crow
Souterrain

'An The insanely-prolific (as well as simply, insane) Danger Boys are most likely no stranger to your ears. In the past few years, the Neapolitan duo of (Raffaele Arcella) Whodamanny and (Enrico Fierro) Milord has churned out innumerable releases (both as solo artists and with their projects The Normalmen and Mystic Jungle Tribe, of which the duo comprises 2/3) that have infected dance floors the world over.

Here, the duo inhabits their latest incarnation/incantation: Danger Boys. The result: a postapocalyptic, post-punk, disco-not-disco masterpiece that sounds like a record you dug out of a dusty flea market bin in Mexico City in 1982 - or maybe 2082 - hard to truly say.

The EP starts off with the spaced-out chugger, Monsters From the Future - which drags you into their bizarre universe, before ratcheting up the tempo for the rest of the EP.

Next up is Mind Control Musique, which delivers an insanely catchy chorus sung in a non-existent language.

THEN - the B-side - where Danger Boys opt to sing in Spanish for two versions of Gringo Tropicana, a track which is already becoming a staple of numerous prominent DJ’s summer festival sets (including Bradley Zero, Yu SU, and Artwork, to name a few).

TRACK LISTING

A1.  Monsters From The Future
A2.  Mind Control Musique
B1.  Gringo Tropicana
B2.  Tropicana Suite + +

Unbelievable to think that this is Danger Mouse’s first hip-hop album proper since the 2005 collaboration with MF Doom (“DangerDOOM”). Not only that, it’s the first and only time The Roots’ Black Thought has worked with anyone else!

Brian Joseph Burton has, of course, been keeping busy. 2011 and 2019 saw acclaimed collabs with Daniele Lupi and Karen O respectively, whilst production duties with Gnarls Barkley and Gorillaz have seen him achieve platinum success and global adoration.

With Tariq Trotter (Black Thought) we find the producer’s freewheeling and uplifting yet gritty production paired beautifully with the rapper’s relentless, chorus-free lyrical deluge. Visceral boom-bap with myriad samples moulded into an anthemic, underground and intoxicating concoction that fans of old school hip-hop are gonna go nuts for. Black Thought’s razor sharp flow and insightful observations keep you hooked, multiple listens revealing their lyrical genius whilst the plethora of other celebrity guest vocalists also turn out award winning, stellar performances. Danger Mouse’s beat tapestries rival Madlib and Apollo Brown’s – the two comparable beatsmiths that jump to mind when I first heard the record. Yet don’t be thinking that Brian’s ripping anyone’s style – these unforced yet rugged instrumentals seem to burst out of the MPC with their own vivacity. As soon we heard it we knew it’d be one of the best hip-hop albums of the year.

STAFF COMMENTS

Matt says: The long awaited return of Danger Mouse and with The Roots' Black Thought plus a host of other rap celebrities he's only gone and turned out what might possibly be hip-hop album of 2022. Authentic boom-bap, conscious lyrics, well dug samples - this one's got it all for that old skool hip-hop fanatic. Check!

TRACK LISTING

Side 1
1. Sometimes
2. Cheat Codes (Explicit)
3. The Darkest Part (feat. Raekwon And Kid Sister)
4. No Gold Teeth (Explicit)
5. Because (feat. Joey Bada$$, Russ, And Dylan Cartlidge) (Explicit)
6. Belize (feat. MF DOOM) (Explicit)
Side 2
1. Aquamarine (feat. Michael Kiwanuka)
2. Identical Deaths
3. Strangers (feat. A$AP Rocky And Run The Jewels) (Explicit)
4. Close To Famous Explicit
5. Saltwater (feat. Conway The Machine) (Explicit)
6. Violas And Lupitas (Explicit)

Originally released on Lex Records in 2003 it has been out of print for a number of years and is now being reissued to coincide with the release of Born Again. Featuring guest appearances from tha Liks , J- Zone , Prince Po , and the Pharcyde.

TRACK LISTING

1. Born-A-MC
2. Ghetto Pop Life (Intro)
3. Ghetto Pop Life
4. Omega Supreme (Who?!)
5. What U Sittin On?
6. The Only One
7. Take Care Of Business
8. That Brookyln Shit
9. Yoo-Hoo!
10. Copy Cats
11. Don't Do Drugs
12. Medieval
13. Bush Boys
14. Here We Go Again
15. I'ma Doomee
16. Knuckle Sandwhich

Reissue of the debut album from these New Jersey oddballs. Deeply rooted in American folk and gospel music, the Famile offers a twisted hybrid of early Talking Heads, Carter Family, Half Japanese and the Shaggs.

Danielson can move from the 'proto minimalist eccentric gospel', to 'prog metal dread' to 'music hall choir' to 'indie rock one man band' in one fell swoop. The vision in his music and recordings is astounding. This two CD set covers the best of the first 10 Years Of Danielson, The Danielson Family and Br. Danielson from 1994 to 2004. It contains rare live and session recordings as well as studio performances from across the years, all within a beautiful 2CD package.

Brilliant Light, the follow-up to 2015’s award winning album ‘What Kind Of Love’, features 18 songs over two CDs/LPs. Swift Street is the first song to be shared from Brilliant Light. The song is deeply personal to Danny George Wilson who co-wrote it with Polly Paulusma and Carra Bacon. “Swift Street is the house where my mother grew up’’, Danny tells us.“The song is about 3 different photographs – one of me and my brothers playing in a billy cart in the driveway, the second is of my grandfather aged 14 standing with his mother outside his childhood home in Aberdeen – he left for Australia after the Second World War. The third is of my folks in the garden of the house in Swift Street before they left to live in London. Each photograph takes a verse. I was nervous about my mum hearing it, but she loves it.’’

TRACK LISTING

Disc: 1
1. Waiting For The Right Time
2. Bring Me To My Knees
3. It Hit Me
4. You'll Remember Me
5. Swift Street
6. Consider Me
7. Coley Point
8. It's Just A Game (That We Were Playing)
9. Never In The Moment
10. Gotta Get Things Right In My Life

Disc: 2
1. Waiting For The Wheels To Come Off
2. Don't Walk Away
3. Hey Don’t Lose Your Nerve
4. Everything We Need
5. Let The Water Wash Over You (Don't You Know)
6. Long Distance Tears
7. The Circus Made The Town
8. Flying By The Seat Of Our Pants

Bonus Album: 'Photogene' (Indies Exclusive 3CD & 3LP Editions Only):
1. Brixton Market
2. Cathedral Rocks
3. Jeffrey Street
4. Tomorrow's Another Day
5. Herne Hill
6. Sunblinded
7. Granville Arcade
8. The Effra Coffin
9. Just A Game Reprise
10. Gonna Be Alright
11. Columbia Road Market

Brilliant Light, the follow-up to 2015’s award winning album ‘What Kind Of Love’, features 18 songs over two CDs/LPs. Swift Street is the first song to be shared from Brilliant Light. The song is deeply personal to Danny George Wilson who co-wrote it with Polly Paulusma and Carra Bacon. “Swift Street is the house where my mother grew up’’, Danny tells us.“The song is about 3 different photographs – one of me and my brothers playing in a billy cart in the driveway, the second is of my grandfather aged 14 standing with his mother outside his childhood home in Aberdeen – he left for Australia after the Second World War. The third is of my folks in the garden of the house in Swift Street before they left to live in London. Each photograph takes a verse. I was nervous about my mum hearing it, but she loves it.’’

TRACK LISTING

Disc: 1
1. Waiting For The Right Time
2. Bring Me To My Knees
3. It Hit Me
4. You'll Remember Me
5. Swift Street
6. Consider Me
7. Coley Point
8. It's Just A Game (That We Were Playing)
9. Never In The Moment
10. Gotta Get Things Right In My Life

Disc: 2
1. Waiting For The Wheels To Come Off
2. Don't Walk Away
3. Hey Don’t Lose Your Nerve
4. Everything We Need
5. Let The Water Wash Over You (Don't You Know)
6. Long Distance Tears
7. The Circus Made The Town
8. Flying By The Seat Of Our Pants

Bonus Album: 'Photogene' (Indies Exclusive 3CD & 3LP Editions Only):
1. Brixton Market
2. Cathedral Rocks
3. Jeffrey Street
4. Tomorrow's Another Day
5. Herne Hill
6. Sunblinded
7. Granville Arcade
8. The Effra Coffin
9. Just A Game Reprise
10. Gonna Be Alright
11. Columbia Road Market

‘Los Campeones en Vivo’ finds Danny and The Champions of the World high in the mountains of Asturias in Spain. A document of a magical night in 2018, a ragged, sweaty and emotional performance captured on tape and now available on a double CD through Loose Records. It encapsulates and celebrates the band’s ongoing mutual love affair with Spain… which has seen the band play to thousands at the famous Azkena Festival and to packed venues across the country.

“The people arrived out of nowhere and they danced and sang along all night...they blew us away. It was without doubt a night to remember, impossible to forget. It was beyond what any rock and roll band should rightfully expect"

TRACK LISTING

DISC 1
1. Let The Water Wash Over You (Don’t You Know)
2. Consider Me
3. Never In The Moment
4. This Is Not A Love Song
5. Stay True
6. Waiting For The Right Time
7. It’s Just A Game (That We Were Playing)
8. Coley Point
9. Brothers In The Night
10. Every Beat Of My Heart

DISC 2
1. Gotta Get Things Right In My Life
2. Remember Me
3. Clear Water
4. (Never Stop Building) That Old Space Rocket
5. Everything We Need
6. Long Distance Tears
7. Restless Feet

‘Stay True’ is the fourth album from Danny & The Champions Of The World. It's also Danny George Wilson’s eleventh album which includes six long players from the much loved Grand Drive plus a solo outing (as Danny George Wilson) entitled ‘Famous Mad Mile’. Danny has been touring the world and making critically acclaimed records for nearly 20 years now, the first Grand Drive release was on Loose back in 1997.

‘Stay True’ was recorded this year over five days at North London’s Reservoir Studios with Champs bass player Chris Clarke (ex Rockingbirds) and Danny at the helm. Danny describes the scene: “catching sleep on the control room sofa, recording deep into the night, friends and musicians dropping by, inspired by the great soul, country and rock n roll of Stax, Muscle Shoals, The Band, Dan Penn & Spooner Oldham, Dion DiMucci, Van Morrison…Ronnie Lane meets Ronnie Spector!”

Five years after its completion, Munster is very proud to present the third and final full length by Danny & The Nightmares, described by Daniel Johnston as his "best album ever!"

It had been close to a year since they had gotten together to play music. The Nightmares set up in Danny's garage and pressed record. Danny had a couple of ideas for songs. After those were played through, a few more songs came forth. When the music was over and they listened to play-back, they realized they had recorded a core of songs to constitute a new album. Never knowing which end of the compass they might bend in any particular night of playing, Danny and the Nightmares recorded everything. Over the years they recorded on micro-cassettes, reel to reel, boom boxes, and a four track recorder. This time they had recorded on a digital machine. Over those years they had kept it close. They played and recorded at the Haunted House, or in Danny's garage. With snickers and grins, they knew they had a strong enough set of songs to elaborate on what they had recorded. They toted the machine to a string quartet. As they stood outside, they smiled while listening to the strings layering the songs.

Danny and the Nightmares then returned to a couple of unfinished songs that weren't sitting still in the balance when they had submitted what was to become "Freak Brain". With the capacities of the new machine, they also decided to rework a couple of songs that had already been released, and struck in the excitement, recorded a couple more new numbers. In more spells of revelry came another album, the "Death of Satan".

It has been five years since the album was completed. Daniel has mentioned it in interviews while promoting his solo career, stoking the curiosity of some his fans. The distracters claim that Danny and the Nightmares are not good for Daniel's image. Conversely, some fans have claimed that what he does with Danny and the Nightmares is like an 'alter ego' to his other work. It is tough to argue with his lyrics, "My friends really are the best in me." That is pretty much what it is, three friends that Rock 'N' Rolled when they could. If the album is good enough for them, well, they are obliged to share it. Danny and the Nightmares is "dead". The Death of Satan is their third and final full length album