Welcome to Roseville, the 7th studio album by Har Mar Superstar. Sean Tillmann’s latest collection of songs is career defining culmination of life and musical experiences that were heavily influenced by 70s AM gold artists including Todd Rundgren, Elton John, Carole King, David Bowie, Paul McCartney, Genesis, Hall and Oates, Meat Loaf, Dory Previn, and ELO. The album came together in the late months of 2020 and is the first true collaborative effort of the whole touring band. It was distance recorded by all of the members in their home studios and the band’s home base, Mid City Studio, in Minneapolis.

It has been described as an “existential homecoming” that chronicles Tillmann’s return to life as a Minnesotan over the last 5 years. Most of the album was produced by bandmates Aaron Baum and Ryan Mach. John Fields (Jonas Brothers, Andrew WK, Har Mar’s 2004 album “The Handler”) returned to Team Har Mar producing “Solid Ghost” and “Hearts Have Misspoken”, and Ryan Olson (Poliça, Gayngs, Swamp Dogg) dropped in to produce “Patchwork Prisms”. Texas musical legends in the making Kam Franklin (The Suffers) and Jackie Venson (one of the greatest guitarists alive) popped by to elevate “Another Century” into a soul duet masterpiece. Denver Dalley (Desaparecidos) and T. Macey Taylor (Bright Eyes, Jenny Lewis, Amanda Shires) appear on “Where We Began” which they helped write on the road while supporting Afghan Whigs a few years back. The band is Nelson Devereaux, Jake Baldwin, Adam Hurlburt, Ethan Elseth, Aaron Baum, and Ryan Mach, and everyone had a hand in co-writing to help make this album a united, genre hopping masterpiece. The whole album is a cohesive journey designed to be listened to front to back, but each track is strong enough to stand on its own

TRACK LISTING

01. Solid Ghost
02. Where We Began
03. Another Century (feat. Kam Franklin & Jackie Venson)
04. Hello, Mr. Sandman
05. Sleight Of Hand
06. Patchwork Prisms
07. Neon Aglow
08. Hearts Have Misspoken
09. Burn The Page
10 .Hit And Run
11. You’re Not Alone 

A much acclaimed recording artist who released his Mercury Prize nominated debut, Here Be Monsters on Heavenly Records in 2001, in recent years his has gained acclaim for his songwriting for a variety of artists.

The album, which follows Furnaces, his 2016 album for Polydor, sees Ed Harcourt add another new string to his multi-faceted musical bow. Something of a left-turn after its busy, big-screen, somewhat under-appreciated predecessor, it sees the supremely versatile singer, writer and all-round instrumentalist bravely eschew vocals and lyrics and create a soft-spoken yet emotionally loquacious group of piano-led instrumentals, as if sound-tracking an as yet invisible film, or responding to today’s ferocious shouting match of a planet with a mesmerizing, meditative calm. “The world that we live in, we’re exhausted by the internet, social media, the sheer barrage of news and vomit being rained down us on a daily basis. You can’t avoid it, and it’s tiring. So this record came from taking a step back – it’s something that’s trying to be beautiful. My hope is that people might choose to swim amongst this music when it all gets too much.”

Talking about the gestation of the album, which was written and recorded at his ‘Wolf Cabin’ studio in Oxfordshire Harcourt said, “I knew I wanted to buy a new piano. Eventually I found this 1910 Hopkinson Baby Grand, which is exactly the same make and era as my grandmother’s piano which I started learning on and wrote my first three records on. I felt at home again. I needed a break from singing and lyrics so I began writing instrumental music. I grew up listening to and playing Debussy, Satie, Mozart, Grieg, as well as modern composers like Max Richter, Philip Glass, Arvo Part. I also loved Warren Ellis (with whom Harcourt worked on the new Marianne Faithfull album) and Nick Cave’s score for The Assassination Of Jesse James… 

TRACK LISTING

1. Diving Bell
2. Wolves Change Rivers
3. Duet For Ghosts
4. Empress Of The Lake
5. Keep Us Safe
6. Faded Photographs
7. For My Father
8. For My Mother
9. Beneath The Brine
10. There Is Still A Fire
11. Circling Red Kites
12. Whiskey Held My Sleep To Ransom

Making his debut with the Mercury Prize-nominated Here Be Monsters in 2001, Harcourt has released music under his own name that blends raw emotions, impeccable songwriting and visionary flights of imagination. A succession of ten rich, enthralling albums have followed that first spark of his, including the intoxicating addictive Strangers in 2004; 2013’s breathless Back Into The Woods which was recorded in just eight hours; and Furnaces which compellingly and entreatingly envisioned family ties confronted by the small matter of the apocalypse. After that LP in 2016, Harcourt then moved to explore the instrumental sphere with recent soundscape albums Beyond The End and Monochrome To Colour.

While recognisably bearing all the hallmarks that have made him such an admired and prolific songwriter, one of Britain’s most cherished yet inventive music creators, Ed’s new record, El Magnifico, also finds him striving for something new. It is an Ed Harcourt record, but one with a desire to seek fresh reward.

With his body of work to date, it would be foolhardy for Harcourt not to lean on his artistic foundations, not just as a solo artist, but as an acclaimed music-maker in a variety of guises. His creativity has stretched beyond his own impressive catalogue too. Consistently inspired by the power of collaboration, as a writer, producer and, often, one-man backing band, he has aided the musical visions of the likes of Afghan Whigs, Lissie, Jamie Cullum, The Libertines and Marianne Faithfull, plus has worked with an array of fast-rising new talents. He has also engaged closely with filmmakers, scoring movies and documentaries and is a member of the gloriously louche, sonically hard bitten rock trio Loup Garoux.

With that array of creativity fizzing behind him, Harcourt enjoys a spectrum-spanning number of outlets of expression, ensuring his bountiful creativity and cascading of ideas always find an appropriately unique home. And ‘El Magnifico’ is the beneficiary of this immense scope and musical insight. 

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: Classic, swooning ballads written with Harcourt's unmistakeable melodic ear and wry lyrical style. there are as many moments of brittle restraint as there are jubilant celebration. It's a beautifully sequenced and wonderfully produced wonder.

TRACK LISTING

1. 1987
2. Into The Loving Arms Of Your Enemy
3. Broken Keys
4. Strange Beauty
5. The Violence Of The Rose
6. Ghost Ship
7. Deathless
8. Anvils & Hammers
9. My Heart Can’t Keep Up With My Mind
10. At The Dead Of The World
11. Seraphina
12. El Magnifico

Haunting and other-worldly new record from Ed Harcourt, his ninth studio album and second release on Point Of Departure following 2018’s ‘Beyond The End’.

Recorded at his own Wolf Cabin studio in rural Oxfordshire between January and October 2019, this beautiful 12-track album was written and produced entirely by Harcourt. It features Clive Deamer from Portishead on drums on three tracks, and Gita and Amy Langley on violin and cello respectively

The new album is full of rapturous outreach. It was made with an interesting blend of instrumentation, ancient and modern. There’s a 1910 Hopkinson baby grand piano and also a dulcitone, a 19th-Century oddity where hammers strike an array of tuning forks.

A much-acclaimed recording artist who released his Mercury Prize nominated debut ‘Here Be Monsters’ on Heavenly Records in 2001, in recent years Harcourt has gained acclaim for his songwriting for a variety of artists. He’s co-written songs with Marianne Faithfull, Lisa Marie Presley, Paloma Faith, Sophie Ellis-Bextor and Orbital’s Paul Hartnoll. He’s featured on albums with Mark Lanegan and alongside an intercontinental array of musicians, from Egypt and Tanzania to Argentina and Russia (this global cast featuring on the 2019 album ‘Beyond Music: Same Sky’). Moving from bands to the big screen, Ed has written for several soundtracks, including the recent superhero comedy Supervised and the 2014 drama Like Sunday, Like Rain.

TRACK LISTING

First Light
Ascension
Drowning In Dreams
Her Blood Is Volcanic
Only The Darkness
Smiles For You
Death Of The Siren
After The Carnival
Last Rites
So Here’s To You, Hally
Childhood
King Raman
Monochrome Into Colour

For Ed Harcourt’s sixth studio album, the previously Mercury Prize nominated artist spent just six hours in Abbey Road with three pianos, a guitar, a string section (including Ed’s wife Gita), and a bottle of Wild Turkey.

Legendary photographer Steve Gullick was at the historic studios, and his shot from the control room has become the record’s cover art.

Think Tom Waits piano ballads, guitars haunted by Jeff Buckley, and a glimmer of ‘69 Love Songs’ sentimentality.

One of the reasons for the recording time constraints is that Ed was busy writing songs for the likes of Kristina Train (with Van Dyke Parks) and Paloma Faith, and also for Lisa-Marie Presley’s debut album (with Richard Hawley). He’s also been busy as Faber’s director of music for Beck’s Song Reader project, and recording tracks for the Rogue’s Gallery sea shanty album featuring Tom Waits, Keith Richards and more.

STAFF COMMENTS

Andy says: Some really beautiful, poetic and always melodic songs here. So talented.

HARD FEELINGS is the new collaborative project between Joe Goddard (Hot Chip) and Amy Douglas. For all intents and purposes, ‘HARD FEELINGS’, the self-titled debut album released on Domino Recordings, is “an opera of sad bangers.” Loosely conceptual without being a full concept album, the material is the ultimate immersive cinematic experience for your feet and ears, seated fluidly at the intersections of New Wave and Synthpop-inspired Pop Music and full on Dance majesty.

New York City’s Amy Douglas has made her reputation across the worlds of house and disco with her distinctive voice and stellar songwriting ability. She has worked with such artists as Luke Solomon, The Crooked Man and Horse Meat Disco, and she wrote ‘Something More’ for Roisin Murphy on her recent album ‘Roisin Machine’.

Joe Goddard is also synonymous with the electronic music world, widely-known in the front ranks of British producers, creating a sounds from across his panoramic musical life, from house, techno and disco to UK garage, R&B and electro-pop. Joe forms one fifth of the UK electronic-pop powerhouse Hot Chip whilst, alongside Raf Rundell, he is one half of The 2 Bears.

TRACK LISTING

Love Scenes
Dangerous
Running Out Of Time
You Always Know
Take You Down
About Us
Holding On Too Long
Sister Infinity

Hard-Fi are the product of their suburban West London environment; the sound of twenty-something gun-slingers on the minimum wage. It's the sound of a band weaned on the heady concrete glamour of The Clash, Dexys, Curtis Mayfield, and Happy Mondays. In love and in debt - the raw materials required to soundtrack a life of box-fresh Adidas, Berwick Street vinyl, and the black economy. This track was originally release as their debut single and has been unavailable and much sought after since.

The title says it all: "Living For The Weekend" is a hedonistic blast of guitar riffs and synth stabs, documenting the grinding out of nine-to-fives in pursuit of that Friday night clubbing buzz craved by a whole generation of British society. For Hard-Fi the setting is Staines, tipping a nod to the town's infamous night club Cheekees, but this is a song for anyone in any town. As front man Richard Archer sings: 'Oh yeah, I look around me and I can see. This room is full of people like me. All living for the weekend'.

Double Denim deliver another split release, and one that's got a lot of our customers in a bit of a lather.

On side A there's "Eye Contact" by Hard Mix, aka Noah Smith from Greenville, South Carolina considered to be the birthplace of the chillwave sound, which this track slots neatly into. Hard Mix produces blissed-out soundscapes from tiny slices of old Motown records. "Eye Contact" throws those snippets together in a downbeat style - very dreamy.

Flip it for "Remedy" by the Nottinghamshire-born and Manchester-based Darren Williams, aka Star Slinger who’s previously collaborated with Teams on a 12″ EP release on Mexican Summer. Slinger samples and splices micro-snippets from old R&B records and regenerates them into electroid pop gems. "Remedy" is a gloriously upbeat and summery jaunt that will chase the winter blues away. One for fans of Phoenix, Teengirl Fantasy, Delorean etc.

Hard-Fi return with the anthemic new single "I Shall Overcome".

"Once Upon A Time In The West" is a 12-track tour-de-force of genre-hopping beats, stomping Motown undercurrents, indie purr and rapid-fire delivery, it boasts the lead single "Suburban Knights" plus 11 other blistering tracks. Having upped the ante from 2005's debut, they've remained raw and relevant with personal anthems set against a backdrop of sonic triumphs – proving their status amongst the UK's biggest and best.

For Fans Of… Charles Bradley, Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings, Lee Fields.

Bobby Harden & The Soulful Saints are proud to announce their debut album, “Bridge of Love.” The album’s ten original compositions are presented in sparklingly-clear stereo sound and run the soul gamut, from grits-n-bricks R&B (‘Played a Fool by You’) to throw-back psychedelia (‘One Tribe’), svelte seventies pop (‘One Night of the Week’) and some seriously sophisticated ballads (‘Wounded Hearts’, ‘Bridge of Love’).

Together they document Bobby’s life journey in song. Through youthful self-doubt in the opening track ‘It’s My Time’, to confirmation on the exuberant finale ‘Raise Your Mind’, Bobby proves that faith and hard work can pay dividends. “Life is a joy when you free your soul.”

Throughout the album, Harden’s voice is tailored to perfection by the almost impossibly dexterous Soulful Saints, and further dressed to the nines by an accoutrement of Latin percussion, full-on horns, high-flying backing singers and even a string quartet. This comes as no surprise as The Soulful Saints have performed live and recorded together with acts such as Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings, Charles Bradley & His Extraordinaires, Lee Fields & The Expressions, The Budos Band, Mark Ronson, Antibalas, The Impressions, & The Wu-Tang Clan.

TRACK LISTING

1. It’s My Time
2. One Tribe
3. Feels So Good
4. One Night Of The Week
5. Wounded Hearts
6. Played A Fool By You
7. Bridge Of Love
8. Butterfly
9. Runnin’ (To Get To Your Love)
10. Raise Your Mind

Aldous Harding releases her third album, Designer. Designer finds the New Zealander hitting her creative stride. After the sleeper success of the internationally lauded Party, Harding came off a 100-date tour last summer and went straight into the studio with a collection of songs written on the road.

Reuniting with John Parish, producer of Party, Harding spent 15 days recording and 10 days mixing at Rockfield Studios, Monmouth and Bristol’s J&J Studio and Playpen. From the bold strokes of opening track ‘Fixture Picture’, there is an overriding sense of an artist confident in their work, with contributions from Huw Evans (H. Hawkline), Stephen Black (Sweet Baboo), drummer Gwion Llewelyn and violinist Clare Mactaggart broadening and complimenting Harding’s rich and timeless songwriting.

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: Another stunning LP from Harding here, being a favourite in the shop, we're no newbies to her own brand of rhythmic country-tinged melodic indie, but this time around we get the Welsh input from Huw Hawkline and Steve Baboo, both acts i'm well accustomed with from my time in Cardiff, and both perfectly fitting in to Harding's musical world. Beautiful stuff.

TRACK LISTING

1. Fixture Picture
2. Designer
3. Zoo Eyes
4. Treasure
5. The Barrel
6. Damn
7. Weight Of The Planets
8. Heaven Is Empty
9. Pilot

Igniting interest with her eponymous debut album released just two years ago, Auckland’s Aldous Harding has become known for her sinister torch songs, gentle laments and eerie odes delivered with a charismatic combination of hubris, shrewd wit and quiet horror.

Produced by John Parish (PJ Harvey, Sparklehorse) in Bristol, a world away from her New Zealand home, Party introduces a new talent to the stark, dramatic realm where Kate Bush and Scott Walker reside. As well as contributions from Parish, Perfume Genius’s Mike Hadreas also lends vocals to the aforementioned ‘Imagining My Man’ and album closer ‘Swell Does The Skull’.

TRACK LISTING

1. Blend
2. Imagining My Man
3. Living The Classics
4. Party
5. I’m So Sorry
6. Horizon
7. What If Birds Aren’t Singing
They’re Screaming
8. The World Is Looking For You
9. Swell Does The Skull

Aldous Harding announces details of a new studio album, the follow-up to 2019’s acclaimed Designer.

For Warm Chris, the New Zealand musician reunited with producer John Parish, continuing a professional partnership that began in 2017 and has forged pivotal bodies of work (2017’s Party and the aforementioned Designer). All ten tracks were recorded at Rockfield Studios and includes contributions from H. Hawkline, Seb Rochford, Gavin Fitzjohn, John and Hopey Parish and Jason Williamson (Sleaford Mods).

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: Warm Chris takes the songwriting foundation laid down on 'Designer' and warps it with a more noticeable veer towards arty alt-folk minimalism. there are bits of the clanging indie of Barnett or tender spoken-folk segments of Neil Young but presented in a voice that's enduringly, all her own. Beautiful as expected.

TRACK LISTING

Ennui
Tick Tock
Fever
Warm Chris
Lawn
Passion Babe
She’ll Be Coming Round The Mountain
Staring At The Henry Moore
Bubbles
Leathery Whip

* Exclusive interview with Françoise Hardy
* Liner Notes by Kieron Tyler
* First time available in the US
* 180-gram vinyl housed in a deluxe Stoughton jacket

Between 1963 and 1966, Françoise Hardy released one French-language album per year. Each, strictly speaking, was eponymously titled, and each was collected from a series of contemporary four-track, seven-inch, picture-sleeve EPs - pop music’s main format in France, known as le super 45. In them, we see the maturing of one of the decade’s most singular talents - a pop singer with the heart of a chanteuse, a singer-songwriter in an age before such a thing was known, and a style icon who valued privacy and modesty. Remastered from the original tapes, we present the first five Françoise Hardy albums in their original French format, on deluxe LP and CD.

Like her 1962 debut, the cover of the following year’s 'Le Premier Bonheur Du Jour' had Hardy staring enigmatically at the listener. On the album itself, the sound had changed in line with Hardy’s solidifying vision and voice; where 'Tous Les Garçons Et Les Filles' was produced by a series of collaborators who struggled to understand her style, 'Le Premier Bonheur Du Jour' gave fans the most significant insight so far into the identity of Françoise Hardy.

In 1963, at a time when Serge Gainsbourg was tentatively dipping a toe into pop and the term yé-yé was only just being coined, Hardy was a rare thing: a singer-songwriter with heaps of her own material but not a folk singer in any sense. Hers was pop music that took the weight of chanson on its shoulders. Here, "Comme Tant D’Autres” says, “I know well that life is short, and I’ve been around” - hardly “She loves you, yeah yeah yeah.”

For the tracks on 'Le Premier Bonheur Du Jour', Hardy was produced by arranger Marcel Hendrix. As well as her own compositions, “L’Amour D’Un Garçon” saw Hardy adapt Burt Bacharach and Hal David’s "The Love Of A Boy.” In a contemporary interview, she said she would not perform songs where there was no sense of the words touching her intimately. “A song - it is your own story, or it is nothing,” she said.

It was another year before Hardy’s records were issued in Britain and another year before she started to brush up against the likes of Bob Dylan, The Beatles, and The Stones, but life was changing for the 19-year-old.

Her unique sound would take her far, despite admitting now that she “had no ambition. At the beginning, my ambition was to record something. I thought anything outside France was an impossible dream, but I did what I could to make it come true. It was like a current that carried me.”

It's 1973 and French music, fashion and style icon Francoise Hardy is going through some changes. Expecting a child and in a state of transition, she changes label and joins WEA in search of new blood and new songwriters for her latest LP. Setting her heart on Michel Berger, the two hit the studio together and their collaboration soon results in a cult album, an instant classic in French music and an enduring part of chanson history, "Message Personnel". One of Hardy's most celebrated LPs, this collaboration with Michel Berger sees the vocalist abandon the carefree Ye-Ye of her youth to concentrate on sweeping ballads packed with emotional impact. Sumptuous and sincere, "Message Personnel" has influenced generations of French songwriters, not least the likes of Air and Tellier.

Frances Castle is the illustrator/owner behind the Clay Pipe record label and The Hardy Tree is her on- going musical project. Common Grounds was started during the first 2020 lock down - when time moved very slowly and travel away from home became impossible.

The album was recorded at home by Frances, then mixed to tape with Ed Deegan at Gizzard Analogue Studios in East London. Ed plays drums on three of the tracks.

“Like many others with nowhere else to go, I walked the streets of my neighbourhood for exercise and well-being. I rambled like I might in the country side; stopping every now and then to take in the view, or notice something I’d missed before. I took to looking up local streets in historical newspapers, and read reports of mysteries and crimes that had happened here in the past. I researched the names of the people who had lived in my flat before me, viewed old census returns from the surrounding area, and noted the birth places and livelihoods of past residents. I began to see the ghosts of these people on my walks, and notice the things that they had left behind; shapes of ancient tram tracks creeping under the tarmac, an old gas street lamp in an alleyway, a tiny metal sign indicating a culverted river. I spent my evenings writing and recording the music on this LP, and then the following day would listen to the rough mixes as I walked, the music began to soundtrack the walks, and the walks began influencing the type of music I was creating.” - Frances Castle, 2022

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: A beautiful mix of plaintive, swooning instrumental wooze and folky, off-kilter ambient business. I've been a big fan of Clay Pipe and The Hardy Tree specifically for some time now, and I think Common Grounds is without a doubt the most beautiful HT outing yet. A meditative and evocative journey.

TRACK LISTING

1. A Garden Square In The Snow
2. The Spire Of St Mary's
3. St Saviour's Through The Railings
4. Shop Fronts And Parked Cars
5. The New River Path, August
6. Railway Tracks
7. Mist On The Playing Fields
8. Face At The Window, Seaforth Crescent
9. Up On The Hill

Presented here is Francoise Hardy's debut studio album released in France in December 1962 by Disques Vogue.

Originally issued with no title, except for her name on the cover, the album became colloquially known by the title of its most successful song, Tous les garcons et les filles.

This sensational album compiles the twelve original French versions from her first three EPs. Hardy would also record ten versions of the songs in Italian, English and German. Four of the Italian versions are included here as bonus tracks.

This iconic LP combines rockabilly, folk, jazz and blues, and has been noted for its simplicity, featuring a minimalist jazz percussion, bass, acoustic and electric guitar sound palette.

TRACK LISTING

Tous Les Garcons Et Les Filles
Ca A Rate
La Fille Avec Toi
Oh Oh Cheri
Il Est Tout Pour Moi
J'ai Jete Mon Coeur
Quelli Della Mia Eta
L'eta Dell'amore
Oh Oh Cheri
Le Temps De L'amour
On Se Plait
Ton Meilleur Ami
Il Est Parti Un Jour
J'suis D'accord
C'est A L'amour Auquel Je Pense
Ci Sto
E All'amore Che Penso 
Il Tuo Migliore Amico
Una Ragazza Come Le Altre

Behold! Yes, Blue Butterfly, one of the absolute stunners on the revered Selected Sound label is finally available for all the beat-heads. Heavyweight library funk with a psychedelic touch, the super in-demand Blue Butterfly from *deep breath* Hardy's Jet Band, Orchestra Klaus Wuesthoff, Jan Troysen Band and Orchestra Gary Pacific - was originally released in 1971. Incredibly ahead of its time, it's been rare and sought-after for decades.

For many aficionados, this is the best Selected Sound release. Loaded with fuzzy wah-wah guitar, deep flute-lines atop soulful psych-rock breakbeats and huge organ action, its uncompromising funk will blow you away. Sampled for many hip hop beats and dropped by well known rare groove DJs around the world, one jewel in particular from this glorious German vault needs little introduction. The intro to Orchestra Gary Pacific's mesmeric "Soft Wind" rides the illest, crispest drum break you've perhaps never heard - like, the drum break to end them all - alongside a smooth, deep bass line from the heavens. It featured notoriously on the beloved Dusty Fingers comps of the 90s and was brilliantly sampled by Pacewon for his eternal "Sunroof Top". Just listen and be dazzled.

Beyond this mini-masterpiece, the other killer tracks offer brilliance in abundance. Hardy's Jet Band take control of the full A side, and it's full of dynamic psych-funk bombs. Hard, "big city" industrial groovers. In particular, the initial one-two of "Sorry, Doc!" and "Wind It Up" provide thrilling funky-blues rock instrumentals showcasing relentless guitars, flutes, sax and organ, the latter containing gorgeous, hypnotic breakdowns; these tracks just slay. The title track, "Blue Butterfly" is a real deep strut of a track with fantastic soloing from guitar and flute over crisp drums whilst the highway banger "What You Call To Be Free" certainly sounds a lot like unbridled, rhythmical liberty.

On the flip, the ghost-riding "Lady In Space" is a string-drenched acid-western foxtrot. Yep. “Pop Happening” by Jan Troysen Band is a heavy, druggy psych-fuzz organ groover whilst their slow beat-organ-flute gem "A Blue Message" is a gorgeous psych floater conjuring deeply strange frontier lands. Preceding their monster "Soft Wind", the soulful, uptempo groover “Ghetto Gap” by Orchestra Gary Pacific contains solo piano and flute whilst closing out the set is the free-and-easy samba beat of "So Far".

Founded in the late 60s by German composer and musician Klaus Netzle (who recorded under the alias Claude Larson for Sonoton) Selected Sound began as a production music company specialising in jazz, orchestral and electronic recordings. You can’t miss those early LPs in their iconic glossy metallic copper sleeves with minimal German typography. Serious, classy stuff.

The audio for Blue Butterfly has been remastered for vinyl by Be With regular Simon Francis whilst Richard Robinson has handled reproducing the glossy metallic (iconic) original Selected Sound sleeve. Essential.

TRACK LISTING

A1 Hardy's Jet Band – Sorry, Doc! (3:12)
A2 Hardy's Jet Band – Wind It Up (2:52)
A3 Hardy's Jet Band – Safari Track (2:58)
A4 Hardy's Jet Band – Look At Me (2:27)
A5 Hardy's Jet Band – Blue Butterfly (2:44)
A6 Hardy's Jet Band – What You Call To Be Free (3:03)
B1 Orchestra Klaus Wuesthoff – Lady In Space (2:26)
B2 Orchestra Klaus Wuesthoff – Big Beat (2:45)
B3 Jan Troysen Band – A Blue Message (3:31)
B4 Jan Troysen Band – Pop Happening (2:29)
B5 Orchestra Gary Pacific – Ghetto Gap (2:43)
B6 Orchestra Gary Pacific – Soft Wind (2:07)
B7 Orchestra Gary Pacific – So Far (1:38)

What kind of band would choose a double vinyl, gatefold LP for their first release? The Hare and Hoofe. Their eponymous first release consists of two discs. Disc One rounds up their ‘hits’ so far – 2018’s smash hit White Blindness, the space gregorian chant that is Voyager, and the pastoral tale of Appledore Fayre. The second consists of their rock opera, The Terror of Melton. Time-travelling scientists. Giant laser-eyed robots. A rock opera to end all rock operas…

Pitched somewhere between The Who, The Stooges, ELO, Sparks, Pink Floyd, Voivod, Pete Townshend, Brainiac, Bowie and Judas Priest, The Terror of Melton is a headspinning, ambitious journey. In turns stomping, tear-jerking, full-on rocking and dreamlike, it will transport you. Prog Magazine’s Dom Lawson described it as “absurdly entertaining and deliciously weird… An unmissable trip for fans of the fuzzy and farout”. 2018 saw the band recording a BBC6Music Marc Riley session before even releasing a physical record. In addition, they’ve had plays on Stuart Maconie’s Freak Zone. The band have also gained a monstrously good live reputation, playing an instantly legendary set at Hastings’ Beatwave festival, as well as headlining Tannerfest, Pitch Fest, playing with Focus and The Fierce and The Dead, and the John Snow Society’s annual celebration of the eminent epidemiologist.

Some describe them as ‘educational psych’, others prefer ‘polytechnic beat’, still more as ‘a seventies garage band’. There’s certainly primeval drums, fuzz bass, lashings of guitar and synth noises from another planet. Formed from a gang of friends from Folkestone, Hoofe members have played in groups including The Heliocentrics, The Priscillas, Ye Nuns, Jail Cell Recipes, The Frank Sidebottom Oh Blimey Big Band, Chalet and Hyperglo.

TRACK LISTING

DISC ONE The Statements
Side One
White Blindness
Appledore Fayre
Voyager
Side Two
Lady Lovibonde/Goodwin Pavane
Lionel Mettle

DISC TWO The Terror Of Melton
Side One
Fanhare
I Was A Scientist (1892)
Did I Dream? Pts. 1-4
Side Two
The Terror Of Melton
The Ballade Of Layser Manne
Chromium Dioxide And The Crazy Data
Hanfare
Cold Blows The Whistle, Lonely Night

Recorded in a one bedroom flat in the depths of UK lockdowns, the songs on ‘Honeymoon Suite’ are a blend of love, grief, anxiety, resilience, danger, heartbreak and hope. Part pop record, part electronic soundscape, part interior still life, ‘Honeymoon Suite’ will be released on Hand Mirror, the label Harkin founded in 2019 with her wife, the poet Kate Leah Hewett.

Speaking about the video, Harkin said "I was a big fan of Pastel Castle's work and felt like this song would be a perfect fit. I wrote and recorded it during lockdown in a flat with no outdoor space. My brother loaned me a Nintendo Switch and I found solace in games with large maps to explore. Songwriting and gameplay can both have the power to transport and the video Pastel Castle has created takes me on a beautiful and perilous quest."

Adding to this, Pastel Castle commented "The video for 'Body Clock' is a piece of frame-by-frame pixel art animation, which I had the best time making here at my little home studio in Leeds. Many days were focused entirely on tailoring the movement of Katie's Sprite / Avatar to align with the mood of the track. I'm very happy with our collaboration and feel inspired now to go on a bit of an adventure of my own."

The album marks a significant shift for an artist who had previously built a career around collaboration. In addition to her own bands, Harkin has been a touring member of Sleater-Kinney, Wild Beasts, Flock of Dimes, and Kurt Vileand Courtney Barnett’s Sea Lice. She performed backing vocals for Dua Lipa on Saturday Night Live. She dueted with comedian Sarah Silverman on 'Tiny Changes: A Celebration of Frightened Rabbit's The Midnight Organ Fight'. Her studio work includes contributions to Waxahatchee’s 'Out In The Storm'. Outside of the music world, Harkin has composed for Turner Prize-winning artist Helen Marten and British comedian Josie Long. She even has a Saturday Night Live sketch named after her (Fred Armisen’s 2016 ‘Harkin Brothers Band’).

Where her self-titled first record is infused with the expansiveness which birthed it - written and recorded while touring the globe - ‘Honeymoon Suite’ is an entirely different affair. The album was written in the same room in which Harkin and her wife ate all their meals, held their virtual wedding reception and attended a funeral over zoom. As Harkin describes it, ‘Honeymoon Suite’ is “a ship in a bottle of that time”.

The album takes its title from the couple’s affectionate nickname for the flat they found themselves living in after relocating from their then-home in Hudson, New York, where Harkin’s wife was working as a live music promoter until the pandemic was declared. When it became obvious that they would both be out of work indefinitely, they joined many others heeding the call of their home nations to repatriate. In addition to that frenzied move back to the UK, the couple’s planned wedding also took a hard left turn. They had intended to hold a wedding for 150 in September 2020. Instead, they got married in a small, outside ceremony in front of their bubbled parents and siblings. They were married in the Derbyshire village of Eyam, coincidentally famous for quarantining itself during The Bubonic Plague. The flowers in the image on the album’s back cover are their wedding bouquets. “I followed a YouTube tutorial and made our bouquets out of the wedding flowers our friends sent us. We didn’t take a honeymoon and still haven’t. Instead, the flat in Sheffield became our honeymoon suite.”

The album’s DIY ethos continued through its artwork. “Kate took the cover photo and designed the layout. She also designed our original wedding invitations so it felt apt.”

The album also marks Harkin’s first forays into self-producing, a journey she began immediately after her move back to the UK. At that time, her best friend, cinematographer Ashley Connor, asked her to create the soundtrack for an experimental short film she was making for Sam Abbas’ quarantine movie ‘Erēmīta (Anthologies)’. “I’ve worked in all manner of studios and assumed many different roles in music making. I had thousands of flight hours but I had still never been the pilot. Owning the role of producer was more of a mental block than anything else, but circumstance dissolved that intimidation. Working on Ashley’s soundtrack early in the pandemic gave me the confidence to continue producing my own solo work. I won a grant from the PPL Momentum Accelerator Fund which would cover the mixing and mastering if I could be self-sufficient in recording. It felt like the quest I needed to push me into discovering this new direction.”

In terms of instrumentation, ‘Honeymoon Suite’ is more electronic than Harkin’s previous work and this too was for largely practical reasons. “Kate took a remote call centre job when we first got back. This meant we were in the same room, her taking customer service calls and me working on the album. The flat was also above a pub, so I had to record strategically. I’d program drum machines and synths in the day, record guitars in the evenings over the din of the pub-goers, and I’d squeeze vocals into the quiet weekend mornings.”

Indeed, most of the tracks on ‘Honeymoon Suite’ emerged out of synth drones, a refuge for Harkin during the weeks at a time that she didn’t feel like bursting into song. “The album’s glitches and degrading samples reflect the limitations of the digital intimacy we were all relying on during that time as we literally phoned it in.”

Harkin freely admits that the enormity of the task was no walk in the park for the first time producer. “Being my own mirror was ego-crushing at times; I knew these songs deserved extra gusto that I had to outsource.” That’s where the brass by Nate Walcott (Bright Eyes) and Aaron Roche (Lower Dens, Sufjan Stevens, Anohni, Flock of Dimes), slide guitar by J.R. Bohannon (Torres) and backing vocals by Sophie Galpin (Soft Lad, Self Esteem) came in, sent down the wire from their respective homes. It was even mixed and mastered remotely (mixed by Jeff T Smith in Leeds and mastered by Guy Davie in London).

As Harkin puts it, “for me, this album was a rabbit hole and escape hatch. It’s a very vulnerable record. There are no performances - I made it alone. Releasing it into the world feels like an extension of the solitary process and remote collaboration which created it. I hope it travels far and wide.”

TRACK LISTING

1. Body Clock - 3.27
2. A New Day - 3.34
3. Here Again - 3.39
4. Matchless Lighting - 4.33
5. (Give Me) The Streets Of Leeds - 3.16
6. Mt. Merino - 3.07
7. Talk Of The Town - 2.55
8. To Make Her Smile - 3.13
9. Listening Out - 5.17
10. Driving Down A Flight Of Stairs - 11.20

Two legends from different worlds collide in what promises to be a seminal album of songs about London.

Composer/saxophonist John Harle and singer Marc Almond collaborate on ‘The Tyburn Tree - Dark London’ - an album of contemporary songs about the darkest sides of London’s history - from the Tyburn gallows to Jack the Ripper, and from settings of the words of William Blake to a unique take on the nursery rhyme ‘London Bridge is Falling Down’.

Following Marc’s much lauded guest appearance on Harle’s ‘Art Music’, this is an album full of driving rhythms, emotional impact and theatrical story telling of the highest order. Along for the ride are noted soprano Sarah Leonard and great London poet and author Iain Sinclair who reads from his own texts. But it is the voice of Marc Almond that is the spiritual medium from which appears the ghosts of ‘Dark London’.

“Marc is a true artist and true performer - showing total openness and vulnerability alongside an experimental, non-judgmental view of Art, and in ‘The Tyburn Tree’, London has found its Anti-Hero”. - John Harle

“We all know that Marc Almond can sing but it still comes as a shock to hear his thrillingly drawn-out climax to Harle’s “The Arrival of Spring”, emoting words adapted from William Blake with operatic oomph.” - The Independent.

‘The Tyburn Tree’ has been in gestation for two years - Almond is the primary lyricist, having researched the subject matter and gradually formed his own take on ‘Dark London’, creating lyrics that have both historical relevance and an ear-catching quirkiness. Alongside this John Harle has been writing music that proves him to be at the height of his powers - after a canon of work that includes his “O Mistress Mine” for Elvis Costello, and as composer of the theme to BBC1’s Silent Witness, he has matched Almond’s lyrics with some punchy, compact and bitter-sweet songs full of emotion, percussive shock and humour. ‘The Tyburn Tree’ promises to be a concept album of cult-status.

For Fans Of: The Flying Stars Of Brooklyn NY, Durand Jones & The Indications, Como Mamas, Eli Paperboy Reed, Naomi Shelton & The Gospel Queens.

Things are looking up for The Harlem Gospel Travelers, who return here with a new album, a new lineup, and a new lease on life. Produced by Eli Paperboy Reed, Look Up! marks the group’s first full-length release as a trio, as well as their first collection of totally original material, and it couldn’t have come at a more vital moment.

The music still draws deeply on the gospel quartet tradition of the ’50s and ’60s, of course, but there’s a distinctly modern edge to the record, an unmistakable reflection of the tumultuous past few years of pandemic anxiety, political chaos, and social unrest. The songs are bold and resilient, facing down doubt and despair with faith and perseverance, and the performances are explosive and ecstatic, fueled by dazzling vocal arrangements punctuated with gritty bursts of guitar and crunchy rhythm breaks.

Born out of an non-profit music education program led by Reed, The Harlem Gospel Travelers—singers Thomas Gatling, George Marage, and Dennis Bailey—released their debut LP, He’s On Time, to rave reviews in 2019, with Pop Matters hailing the album’s “musical transcendence” and AllMusic praising it as “dreamlike and joyous.” The record charted on Billboard, earned the Travelers high profile fans like Elton John (who invited them to appear on his Rocket Hour radio show on Apple Music), and landed them festival slots everywhere from Pilgrimage to Telluride Jazz.

TRACK LISTING

1. Look Up!
2. Hold On (Joy Is Coming)
3. God's In Control
4. Help Me To Understand
5. Nothing But His Love
6. Fight On!
7. Hold Your Head Up
8. That's The Reason
9. Let Me Tell You
10. God Will Take Care Of You
11. I'm Grateful

Bev Lee Harling returns with her first solo recording in almost a decade. She won the hearts and musical minds of DJs across the board with her 2012 debut LP, Barefoot In Your Kitchen, which BBC 6Music's Gilles Peterson made his Album of the Week. Now the gifted singer, violinist and composer returns with twelve beautiful pieces of music that tell a very personal story of the years since.

Having swapped the busy streets of North London for the calmer shores of Hastings in Sussex to bring up her young family, it's fair to say that Bev's priorities might have changed somewhat over the past few years, but the music was never far away. Her new environment, and musical family (including multi-talented partner and album co-producer Frank Moon) added plenty of fresh inspiration to her recordings, and we're very excited to share her new album, entitled Little Anchor, with you this Autumn.

The album is in some senses a travelogue, a 9 year journey of a creative womannavigating the landscape of parenting. Each song is a snapshot taken at a differentlocation in time, in a world where finding balance between creative freedom and motherhood is still a struggle, from the uplifting and euphoric Beautiful Life, to the heavy and harassed Only Got A Minute.

Between the unexpected joys of parenting, grappleswith mental health and feelings of inadequacy, and fighting for every second ofcreative time while slowly accepting a life very different to the one that existedbefore, this unedited family album emerged bursting with quirky childhoodmemories, dark musings and celebrations of musical passion and legacy.

Each song carries breakthrough personal moments in rebuilding strength as an artist, as a person, as a parent. Even down to a very emotional moment with Ray Davies of The Kinks, during a songwriting retreat, where album closer This Violin String, a deeply personal ode to her recently departed mum, was written…

"Everyone turned up writing on guitars and piano and I just had my battered old violin. I felt totally out of touch with my former confident musical self and had zero confidence in what I was doing after an intense period of car crash parenting. I wrote it, performed it on the same day and then sobbed my guts out in front of a bunch of total strangers (sorry Ray!). Something shifted for me in the act of being quite so vulnerable though and I found my mojo again in writing solo with my violin."

The personal nature of this record is self-evident, it bursts through every note and word in each song. We're very excited to be able to share such a special album,afresh foray into the always unpredictable, experimental and playful world of Bev Lee Harling.

TRACK LISTING

1. Dirty Dragonfly
2. Beautiful Life
3. Is It OK?
4. If I Told You
5. Man Under My Bed
6. Lay Down In The Tall Grass
7. Only Got A Minute
8. Nights At The Circus
9. Going Back Home
10. Ghost Swimming
11. Tears On Your Heart
12. This Violin String

A milestone in the history of ambient/electronic music, this legendary 1976 album has been unavailable for nearly 10 years. Now remastered and including three previously unreleased tracks.

TRACK LISTING

1. Welcome
2. Atmosphere
3. Vamos Companeros
4. By The Riverside
5. Luneburg Heath
6. Sometimes In Autumn
7. Weird Dream
8. Almost
9. Les Demoiselles
10. When Shade Was Born
11. Trace
12. Aubade

Harmonia was a Krautrock supergroup, containing Roedelius and Moebius from Cluster and Michael Rother from Neu! Recorded and released in 1975, this was a perfect combination of the sounds of the two bands, ESSENTIAL!!!

Ned Raggett's review for Allmusic opens: "A touch more immediate and song-oriented than its predecessor, but no less enchanting and lovely to hear, Deluxe again features the trio experimenting with a variety of approaches, most particularly including vocals here and there for the first time."

TRACK LISTING

1 Deluxe (Immer Weiter)
2 Walky Talky
3 Monza (Rauf Und Runter)
4 Notre Dame
5 Golum
6 Kekse

Previously available as part of the Harmonia - Deluxe box set, this album features live material and studio recordings showing them at their best.

TRACK LISTING

Tiki-Taka At Harmonia Studio In Forst (1975)
Live At Onkel Pö In Hamburg (1975)
Proto-Deluxe At Harmonia Studio In Forst (1975)
Live At Farbrik In Hamburg (1975)

The legendary Harmonia's first release in 31 years. While it's a live recording, there's no gig atmosphere - simply the sound of a band locked into a groove. "Live 1974" is a gig recording capturing Michael Rother (NEU!), Dieter Moebius and Hans-Joachim Roedelius jamming with that typical impassive euphoria. It is more in the vein of their first album "Musik Von Harmonia": imagine the humming seascape pieces from "Neu! 75" augmented by the gently chattering rhythm patterns of Cluster's "Zuckerzeit". A recording that sounds as fresh as any work of their Krautrock influenced peers of today - Aphex Twin, Fujiya & Miyagi and Secret Machines come to mind. The five lengthy tracks here have an enveloping momentum that makes them feel like they could, or indeed should, go on forever.

Musik Von Harmonia is the debut album from the highly influential Krautrock/Kosmische Musik group Harmonia. Harmonia, was formed by the addition of Neu! guitarist Michael Rother to Cluster, the duo of Hans-Joachim Roedelius and Dieter Moebius. They recorded the album from June to November 1973, in Forst Germany.

Ned Raggett's review for Allmusic opens: "The debut Harmonia album is at once a product of their source bands and a fine new twist on them, resulting in music that captures what for many is the Krautrock ideal..." He adds "...it's at once playful and murky, steady and mechanical, a supergroup of sorts who easily achieves and maintains such a seemingly overstated status by embracing a variety of approaches that work wonders."

STAFF COMMENTS

Darryl says: Sublime Krautrock album, and one of the best in my humble opinion, from the combined talents of Michael Rother from Neu! and Moebius and Roedelius of Cluster fame.

TRACK LISTING

1 Watussi
2 Sehr Komisch
3 Sonnenschein
4 Dino
5 Ohrwurm
6 Ahoi
7 Veterano
8 Hausmusik

After a taster EP in 2008, Mark Pritchard returns with the first long player under his Harmonic 313 guise. "When Machines Exceed Human Intelligence" that the ex-Global Communications man is keeping up with the current musical underground, because we get everything from wonky-hop to dubstep, bassline and grime here, combined with his love for Detroit influenced techno, acid house and a more 80s sounding electronic palette. He's just one of those producers who knows how to lay down the best beats, bass and keyboard combinations to get the crowd rocking. Includes tracks featuring Phat Kat, Elzhi and Steve Spacek.

Harmonious Thelonious is the solo project of the Düsseldorf musician Stefan Schwander. His works combine American-influenced minimal music with African rhythms and European melodies.

"I was busy experimenting with noisy rhythms when Bureau B asked me if I would like to release an album on their label. I was aiming for a more industrial sound; backwards cymbals, loops generated from non-musical sources such as slamming doors, and had the feeling that this would align nicely with Bureau B’s own story." Stefan Schwander’s new album Plong is something of a hybrid in the discography of Harmonious Thelonious, drawing on his existing strengths plus a sense of adventure in a mix of all his musical predilections. Dipping into the music, Middle Eastern elements can be heard on "Original Member Of A Wedding Band" and "Mumba", whilst tracks like "Höhlenmenschenmuziek" are characterized by more pronounced bass structures. Tuned down xylophones, evocative of ritual drums, sub bass and electrifying basslines catalyse the idiosyncratic sound of Plong: hypnotic, danceable, irresistible. A powerful head of steam builds across the nine tracks, with subtle changes in harmony ("Geistertrio Booking") or unexpected cameos such as a new wave bassline on "Abu Synth" shaking things up before the album hurtles onward with renewed force. Take "Interpretation de reve" as a case in point – floating sequences and themes sweep ashore in wave after wave of melody; analogous to dreams which enter the subconscious in episodes, their apparent randomness gradually shifting into a correlative pattern. "Totentanz" closes the album in a homage to the Basle club of the same name, a place which played a decisive role in Schwander’s musical socialisation: "I was lucky enough to see bands like Liquid Liquid, Gun Club, Jonathan Richman and a very young Aztec Camera there".

Harmonious Thelonious comes off with an exceptional work in the genre of electronic music, successfully embracing the physical power of a club night soundtrack whilst exploring the dramatic depths of sonic worlds to create an intensive listening experience in total solitude.

STAFF COMMENTS

Patrick says: Durian Bro and Dusseldorf sorcerer Stefan Schwander gets industrial and middle eastern on this Bureau B LP, translating his usual sonic manipulations into a hypnotic set of trance dancers for the alternative club kids. I'm gonna buy like 5 copies of this!

TRACK LISTING

A1. Original Member Of A Wedding Band
A2. Höhlenmenschenmuziek
A3. Geistertrio Booking
A4. Abu Synth
A5. Mumba
B1. Young Kong
B2. Interpretation De Reve±
B3. The Roller
B4. Totentanz

For number 93 in the Brazil45 series, Mr Bongo present two favourites from the Harmony Cats. A female vocal quintet (who later became a trio) from Sao Paulo. They formed in 1976 and were most prolific in the disco period. ‘Harmony Cats’ Theme’ from 1976 is probably the group best known track outside of Brazil. Owing a lot to Rhythm Heritage’s version of ‘Barretta’s Theme (Keep Your Eye On The Sparrow)’ it’s wonderfully spacey breakbeat and percussive production with lush, floaty vocals makes it a real crossover classic record. ‘Seja Como Nos (De Pe No Chao)’ is instantly recognisable. Tucked away on the b-side of their 1979 single ‘Tem Dinheiro Nisso’ on Young Records, it is a beast of a cover version of The Jacksons’ classic ‘ Shake Your Body (Down To The Ground)’. Nothing subtle or sophisticated here. Just a song of pure disco joy, enhanced with awesome Brazilian production and the Cats’ trademark vocal arrangements. A get-of-jail-free card for any DJ that finds themselves stuck with an empty dancefloor, but also one that will put smiles on the faces of the more discerning leftfield club crowds.

STAFF COMMENTS

Matt says: Nice, late 70s Tropicalia-styled moments which are much more appropriate to play than their original incarnations. I've heard The Jacksons-penned, "Seja Como N S" out and about in town, so some upfront DJs out there know what's right.

TRACK LISTING

1. Harmony Cats’ Theme
2. Seja Como N S (De P No Ch O)

Harmony Rockets is a Mercury Rev side project which has been gigging again in New York this year. "Paralyzed Mind of the Archangel Void" consists of ONE track, which runs to 41:40 minutes, recorded live at the Rhinecliff Hotel in upstate New York in 1995. It was initially released in 1995 as a limited edition of 500 copies, then a limited re-release on CD in October 1997 on Big Cat.

The album starts out sweetly enough, then builds and builds, until finally arriving at a sublime conclusion. Said Jonathan: 'Basically, what it is, is most of Mercury Rev, that you see up there (stage), we're trying to kill a Friday night in the mountains, got really wasted and wandered down to a local Civil War bar. Yeah, just made up on the spot'. The line-up for this recording: Jonathan Donahue, Grasshopper, Adam Snyder, Jason Russo, Jimy Chambers, Suzanne Thorpe, Mark Marinoff .

It's like the first time TAD's "Gods Balls" twatted our tweeters, the first time Pissed Jeans webbed out our woofers, and when we first discovered the skronk-spazz of Wanghead, Scratch Acid, Samhain and Blood Circus all boiled into one exploding pussball. Nasty, horrible, dirgy, brilliant, scary lyrics…and the real grime under the fingernails of the US underground.

Bella Union are thrilled to release the long-awaited debut solo album Albion by Harp, the adopted name of Tim Smith, formerly the singer and principal songwriter of Texan legends Midlake, who is joined by his wife, Kathi Zung.

The road to Albion might have been long and winding, and bumpy to boot, but the music Harp has created is steeped in sublime melody, mood, drama and detail, its ten songs and two mood-matching instrumentals framed by a mesh of acoustic/electric guitars, soft shades of keyboards and Smith’s gorgeous voice; in other words, the quintessence of what drew people in the first place to his work with Midlake.

But Albion has starker, darker hues than Smith is typically renowned for, which lifts Albion to new heights in his canon; likewise, the level of personal revelation. These are songs about the human condition, from love - both lost and found – to faith, anxiety to joy, fear to acceptance, all couched in a highly distinct poetic language.

Since leaving Midlake, Smith has performed just once, with Lost Horizons (at London’s Festival Hall in 2018), the collective co-founded by Bella Union boss (and former Cocteau Twin) Simon Raymonde, after Smith had contributed vocals and lyrics to “She Led Me Away” for the collective’s 2017 debut Ojalá. Smith subsequently went on to contribute vocals and lyrics for the track “Grey Tower” on Lost Horizons’ second album, In Quiet Moments. Those were all-too-rare sightings of Smith, but Albion’s day has come, and in a manner of speaking, in many aspects of his life, Smith has finally come home.

STAFF COMMENTS

Andy says: Tim Smith, genius song writer, from Midlake's golden, 'Van Occupanther' period FINALLY returns. It's been 12 long years but he's delivered an absolute classic. Apparently he became smitten with The Cure's 'Faith' and all things UK alt 80s, and so has combined those epic, lush production sensibilities with his own sometimes folk, sometimes Medieval and sometimes Celtic melodies. Add a touch of Roy Harper and echoes of early 70's folk/prog,(only in feel though, these are still proper "pop" songs) and the result is a deep, doomy but beautiful, melancholy, magical, masterpiece.

TRACK LISTING

1. The Pleasant Grey
2. I Am The Seed
3. A Fountain
4. Daughters Of Albion
5. Chrystals
6. Country Cathedral Drive
7. Shining Spires
8. Silver Wings
9. Seven Long Suns
10. Moon
11. Throne Of Amber
12. Herstmonceux

"I've had it in my mind to present a new edition of my 1971 record Stormcock to the world for some years now. It seemed a shame that one of my best loved albums was hanging around as an inferior package when compared to the prowess of its original 12 inch LP forebear. I've spent a long time thinking about it, and how I might go about returning it to being one of the brightest lights in my canon. The release of this new edition marks the fruition of those thoughts.

There are a few good reasons for this update and re-release. The first is that the cd packaging has never remotely been able to achieve what was possible with the original album art. Secondly, the transfer of what was a very dynamic record on vinyl to a cd with a 44.1 sample rate format just didn't seem to come across properly.

Another good reason is that there has been a lot of interest in this record in recent years. It has never lost it's place in the music pantheon, and as time goes on it seems to be gaining in stature. It's become wholly appropriate that it should have the kind of new presentation we have now given it. In digitally re-mastering it I have attempted to take off some of the distortional effects and digital noise brought over by the transfer from tape/vinyl to cd. Apart form that very little has happened to it. I now believe it to be an altogether better audio experience. (see blog entry for tech info).

Stormcock was born in 1969 as I began to stretch my wings. I'd been there a few times before, but this time I gave myself the space to go deep..and stay there. Hors D'Oeuvres is perhaps the lightweight in the collection, but after all, it's the starter...

The Same Old Rock records my opposition to continued dependence on the cheap opium of convenient mass religion. Humanity as hostage to superstition is a position which infuriates me. To allow superstition to control your life, as the world burns, is careless.

One Man Rock And Roll Band.. Welcome home oh Johnny Soldier, we treat you here just like they treat you there.. is a sad fact, and is an indictment of this kind of society. Are queues for tattoos with 'love' on one hand and 'hate' on the other a sign of old age?

Me And My Woman.. what IS our destiny? Does it matter? Is it bound up with 'our' planet? In my opinion, yes. We are now out on a cultural limb that's taking us steadily further away from the planet. The average human misses the reality of the planet entirely. 40 years ago, there were tens of thousands of people asking serious questions about the state of the environment. It's only a few miles thick. It can be changed very quickly. Surely, hindsight isn't our only view.... is it? Hopefully not.. but what is for sure is that our environment is all we have. At the time there were establishment figures who were certain humans were having no effect at all on the planet's environment. This of course will eventually be true!

Pete Jenner and I turned out a great record. Seems like a thousand years ago now. Though I very rarely listen to my own records I would definitely say that my personal highlight on the record is Jimmy Page's guitar solo on 'The Same Old Rock.' My opinion has not changed since the day he put it on there. Absolutely brilliant. The string arrangement on 'Me And My Woman' is by David Bedford." - Roy Harper

STAFF COMMENTS

Andy says: Incredible, deep, heady, roving record. Four MASSIVE songs, one with Jimmy Page on and another, "Me And My Woman", probably the greatest thing in Roy's canon.

TRACK LISTING

Hors D’Oeuvres
The Same Old Rock
One Man Rock And Roll Band
Me And My Woman

'Up To The Glass' is a delicate exploration of finding yourself in your twenties against a backdrop of love, self-acceptance and loss. Morgan Harper-Jones explores her emotions through confessional narratives and soaring dream-pop soundscapes on her debut album. Quickly becoming one of the UKs most exciting new voices, featuring four tracks in the global #1 Netflix film 'Love At First Sight' at the end of 2023 at reaching #8 in the global Shazam charts.

“My favourite moments in other people’s songs are where it feels like someone has just reached through the speaker or headphones and grabbed my hand and said: ‘Hey don’t worry, you’re normal – I feel that too.’ I hope above anything else that my songs can be that for someone else too.”

The idea that writing & distilling my own (sometimes overwhelming) emotions and experiences into a 3 minute moment might bring someone some comfort, help someone feel or express something, understand themselves more deeply or just feel like they aren’t alone is really the most important motivation for me to share what I’m writing.” - Morgan Harper-Jones

TRACK LISTING

1. Swimming Upstream
2. Boombox
3. Leaves
4. Alone With You
5. Main Character
6. Forever For Now
7. Lose A Tooth
8. Joshua
9. Little Avalanches
10. 2D
11. Amelia
12. Easy

Ben Harper releases his eagerly anticipated, fiercely personal soulful album, Bloodline Maintenance. The album is preceded by the single “We Need To Talk About It” which, propelled by Harper’s blisteringly funky guitar, defiantly addresses the wounds of slavery through a sharp-edged call-and-response with gospel backing vocals and pounding rhythms augmented by the distinctive sound of the African talking drum.

“This whole album is really soul music reinterpreted with a lap steel,” Harper says. “I believe strongly that music has this great capacity for communication like a sonic newsprint. And I’ve always believed that the music I write has a place in the choir.”

The new album is a work largely inspired by the loss of a long-time friend and the lingering influence of a mercurial and charismatic father, Bloodline MaintenanceE sees Harper performing the majority of the instruments on his own, spanning guitar, bass, drums and an eclectic assortment of percussions including a plastic toy snare. His 17th studio LP – and first since 2020’s instrumental Winter Is For Lovers –and the first non-instrumental solo album of new songs since 2016. The new album is further fuelled by Harper’s signature lap steel, supercharged through a powerful Dumble amplifier creating a truly unruly tone that Harper describes as “a sort of a merging of Robert Johnson and Jimi Hendrix.”

“It was like I was moving forward and venturing into places I had never been before,” he says. “Taking everything I’ve learned from every other record and kind of setting fire to it all and starting over. And I knew the sounds I was hearing in my head were so unorthodox that I had to do most of it myself.”

Applying the inventiveness of hip-hop to longstanding paradigms of soul, blues and jazz, spinning it all forward into a reconfiguration of a new black Americana, Bloodline Maintenance continues Harper’s long history as one of his generation’s most potent protest singers. Persecuted by local authorities for being a communist, his grandfather moved his family west where their music store, the Folk Music Centre and Museum in Claremont, CA, proved a vital hub in a thriving Southern California folk scene. There Harper learned guitar as a child, playing his first official gig at the age of 12. By the time he was 21, he was touring with blues legend Taj Mahal. The years that followed have seen Harper amass international critical applause and a worldwide fan following, winning three Grammy® Awards (out of seven total nominations) for his own genre-traversing body of work while also producing acclaimed albums by Mavis Staples, Rickie Lee Jones, The Blind Boys of Alabama, Natalie Maines, Ziggy Marley, and others. An inveterate collaborator, Harper has also recorded with a diverse span of artists ranging from John Lee Hooker, Charlie Musselwhite, and Jack Johnson to Ringo Starr, Keith Richards and, most recently, Harry Styles, contributing his signature guitar work to the latter superstar’s chart-topping new album, Harry's House.

TRACK LISTING

1. Below Sea Level
2. We Need To Talk About It
3. Where Did We Go Wrong
4. Problem Child
5. Need To Know Basis
6. It Ain’t No Use
7. More Than Love
8. Smile At The Mention
9. Honey, Honey
10. Knew The Day Was Comin’
11. Maybe I Can’t

Wide Open Light Is a family of songs I’ve written. I’ve selected them with the care one might put into a personal photo album. To that effect, I’d call it a sonic family photo album, each track a close relative to the next. The story behind this record is simple. I have been writing songs now for over 30 years. It’s what I long to do, love to do, and at times feel I need to do, and hope to continue doing until the ink runs dry and the notes fade. But for now, Wide Open Light. Deliberately minimalist, the songs themselves do as much of the heavy lifting as the production. (produced by myself, and my longtime collaborators Danny Kalb and Jason Mozersky) Featured guests on the album include: Jack Johnson guitar, vocals on ‘Gone For Good’ Shelby Lynne vocals on ‘8 Minutes’ Piers Faccini vocals on ‘Wide Open Light’.

TRACK LISTING

1. Heart And Crown
2. Giving Ghosts
3. Masterpiece
4. 8 Minutes
5. Yard Sale
6. Trying Not To Fall In Love With You
7. Wide Open Light
8. One More Change
9. Growing Growing Gone
10. Love After Love
11. Thank You Pat Brayer

2 classic tracks from the JW Theme Music vault collection that have been sampled by Danger Mouse for his collaborative project with MF DOOM “The Mouse & The Mask”.

"Thoughtful Popper" is a smooth, cool, retro, orchestral, Latin-jazz funk (phew!) instrumental with laid back grooves, catchy riffs and sultry bluesy flute and violin melodies.

"Chamber Pop" is a retro, groovy and mysterious orchestral jazz-funk film score instrumental with beguiling violin and flute melodies and mellow moments.

STAFF COMMENTS

Matt says: Real heads library funk here. Sampled by Danger Mouse and MF DOOM. These two originals are an absolute decadence of orchestral grooves with lush instrumentation and skilled drumming their driver. Nice presentation too. What's not to love?!

TRACK LISTING

A. Thoughtful Popper
B. Chamber Pop

Produced by Fussell and co-founder Alana Pagnutti and mixed by Joel Ford (Ford & Lopatin, Yes/And), Honey Harper & The Infinite Sky features the premiere of The Infinite Sky, a stacked backing band consisting of longtime bassist and contributing writer Mick Mayer, pianist John Carroll Kirby (Solange, Steve Lacy), Spoon keyboardist Alex Fischel, guitarist Jackson MacIntosh (Drugdealer, Jessica Pratt), pedal-steel player Connor Gallaher (Black Lips, Calexico), and TOPS drummer Riley Fleck.

Within the first few moments of the self-titled new album, Honey Harper & The Infinite Sky deliver a dashed-off statement on the trappings of country music. Despite the high level of conceptualization that went into its creation, the record embodies an irresistibly loose and groove-heavy sound that hits with an immediate impact. While previous album Starmaker was touted as “country music for people who don’t like country music,” Honey Harper & The Infinite Sky is “country music for everyone.”

TRACK LISTING

1. Reflections
2. Ain't No Cowboys In Georgia
3. Broken Token
4. One Thing
5. Tired Of Feeling Good
6. The World Moves
7. Boots Mine Gold
8. Hard To Make A Living
9. Lake Song
10. Crystal Heart
11. Heaven Knows I Won't Be There
12. Big Sky

Born William Fussell in 1989 in Adel, Georgia (a small town near the Okefenokee Swamp) Harper’s family quickly relocated to Hollywood, Florida where he immersed himself in the arts more readily available in southern Florida: disco and country music. His father was an Elvis impersonator who introduced him to Waylon Jennings, Patsy Cline and Hank Williams and his mother watched ‘Grease’ with him every month introducing him to his lifelong style icon, Olivia Newton John. At the age of 10, Harper’s family returned to Georgia, this time to the suburbs of Atlanta, where he would spend his teenage years performing in both church choirs and punk bands. On the day of his eighteenth birthday, Harper left home, beginning his journey to become the Starmaker celebrated in his album’s title.

The name ‘Starmaker’ is inspired by the Joni Mitchell classic ‘Free Man in Paris’, which is an ode to the stresses of having to play the game of the music industry. Co- written with his wife, Alana Pagnutti, the album is not a commentary on Mitchell’s words but it explores similar ideas about fame, fortune and failure. “I'm the starmaker,” he offers. “These songs are primarily about my journey to create them. The album as a whole, is about my relationship with my wife and loved ones in the search of this success and fame.”

The majority of songs on ‘Starmaker’ embrace contradictions and dichotomies in both subject matter and style. Love and sadness, melancholia and happiness, success and failure, come in and out of focus. ‘Something Relative’ is an elegantly simple ballad about a friend of Harper’s that died of an overdose. The sparse picked guitar contrasts the flowing, melodic strings as Harper hopefully sings about his lost friend. ‘Tomorrow Never Comes’, a Big Star meets The Eagles turned Krautrock instant classic, speaks to the early days of Harper and his wife’s long-distance relationship; the happiness of finding someone you love tarnished by the eventuality of having to say goodbye. In Dido Building Carthage, a tragic story of love and suicide is contrasted with the hope of building a new empire. The juxtaposition is mirrored in the surface of Tuner’s painting where classically-painted figures appear and simultaneously fade into a looser, more abstract handling of the landscape.

TRACK LISTING

Green Shadows
In Light Of Us
The Day It Rained Forever
Something Relative
Tired Tower
Suzuki Dreams
Vaguely Satisfied
Someone Else’s Dream
Tomorrow Never Comes
Strawberry Lite
Starmaker

Featuring Jimmy Page, ‘Jugula’ was originally released in 1985 and reissued as ‘1984 (Jugula)’.

Remastered and reissued on 180gm vinyl packaged in deluxe gatefold sleeve with original cover art and printed heavy inner sleeve including lyrics, comprehensive new notes and images.

All remastering was done by Roy Harper and John Fitzgerald at Lettercolm Studio in Timoleague, West Cork, Ireland. Artwork redesign by Harry Pearce at Pentagram.

TRACK LISTING

Nineteen Forty-Eightish
Bad Speech
Hope
Hangman
Elizabeth
Frozen Moment
Twentieth Century Man
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Never shy about using the most intimate and personal autobiographical details in his songs, Harper is one of the most genuine of songwriters. He has recorded several albums of great quality and beauty and "Bullinamingvase" is one of his finest. With an original vocal delivery and a sympathetic acoustic guitar style, Harper never crosses that line that divides the heartfelt from the bitter and mawkish. The halcyon summer feel to much of this work still has the timeless quality that can stand comparison with the best of music of the period.

"The major event on the record, One of 'Those Days In England', is a collection of reminiscences. The legend of Excalibur in the first line. The last of the willow leaves at the top of the tree hanging on into January. 'Alfred had me made', the words written in anglo-saxon around the Alfred Jewel. More precisely 'AElfred mec heht gewyrcan' Alfred ordered me to be made. The Alfred Jewel is housed in the Ashmolean Museum at Oxford (England) and I visit it regularly when I can for emotional sustenance. In the light of the events of his lifetime, Alfred must not only be considered as the founder of the British Navy, but more importantly as the founder of the English language. Had it not been for Alfred's victory over the Danes in the late ninth century, it would perhaps be conceivable that one fifth of the world's population would now be speaking some kind of Danish dialect. I really love this album. It's always been one of my real favourites. I've always thought that the long version of 'One Of Those Days In England' is a touchstone of my long affair with my own culture. All in all, the album has the pastoral feel of the nature of my life at the time. Having said that, it also has a lovelorn edge in 'Cherishing The Lonesome' and angst in 'Naked Flame'. There's also sufficient reference to the nature of the times in lines such as 'You and me sister we're gonna plant a bomb in a street to change law and order', and 'You and me brother wrapped up in silence brooding for better breathing spaces'; both of which unfortunately still seem set to demand attention in global culture for the foreseeable future. Perhaps the reason I always think of it as a gentler album is the subtle ushering in of the realisations embodied in 'These Last Days', which are not so much resignation to a certain maturity as recognition that negotiation in life is paramount to community." - Roy Harper

Remastered audio reissued on 180gm vinyl.

Packaged in deluxe gatefold sleeve.

TRACK LISTING

One Of Those Days In England
These Last Days
Cherishing The Lonesome
Naked Flame
Watford Gap
One Of Those Days In England (Parts 2-10)

Originally released in 1967.

Produced by Shel Talmy.

Orchestral arrangements by Keith Mansfield.

Remastered audio reissued on 180gm vinyl.

Packaged in deluxe gatefold sleeve.

Printed heavy inner sleeve including lyrics, extra notes and images.

Artwork redesign by Harry Pearce.

TRACK LISTING

Freak Suite
You Don’t Need Money
Aging Raver
In A Beautiful Rambling Mess
All You Need Is
What You Have
Circle
Highgate Cemetery
Come Out Fighting Ghengis Smith

‘Folkjokeopus’ was originally released 1969 and produced by Shel Talmy.  

Remastered and reissued on 180gm vinyl packaged in deluxe gatefold sleeve with original cover art and printed heavy inner sleeve including lyrics, comprehensive new notes and images.

All remastering was done by Roy Harper and John Fitzgerald at Lettercolm Studio in Timoleague, West Cork, Ireland. Artwork redesign by Harry Pearce at Pentagram.

TRACK LISTING

Sergeant Sunshine
She’s The One
In The Time Of Water
Composer Of Life
One For All
Exercising Some Control
McGoohan’s Blues
Mañana

‘Sophisticated Beggar’ was originally released 1966.

Remastered and reissued on 180gm vinyl packaged in deluxe gatefold sleeve with original cover art and printed heavy inner sleeve including lyrics, comprehensive new notes and images.

All remastering was done by Roy Harper and John Fitzgerald at Lettercolm Studio in Timoleague, West Cork, Ireland. Artwork redesign by Harry Pearce at Pentagram.

TRACK LISTING

China Girl
Goldfish
Sophisticated Beggar
My Friend
Big Fat Silver Aeroplane
Blackpool
Legend
Girlie
October Twelfth
Black Clouds
Mr. Station Master
Forever
Committed

Few survivors from the golden age of British folk rock have kept their reputations intact. Among the survivors there is one figure whose body of work, comprising 23 studio albums and almost as many live and compilation releases, has come to stand for a particularly single-minded form of integrity. That man is Roy Harper.

Now officially ‘retired’, and living in a secluded corner of Ireland, Harper has recently been hailed as a key influence by a much younger generation of devoted starsailors who instinctively recognise his innovations. The likes of Fleet Foxes, Joanna Newsom and Jim O’Rourke are avowed fans, and in previous decades he has enjoyed public endorsements and tributes from the likes of Led Zeppelin (Roy is immortalised in ‘Hats Off To Harper’ from Led Zeppelin’s ‘III’), Kate Bush, Pink Floyd’s Dave Gilmour and many more.

Beginning with 1966’s ‘Sophisticated Beggar’, Harper’s music has consistently rattled the cage of received ideas. His versatile, poetic sensibility was employed in a wide range of song styles from romantic love songs to late night mantras to blackly comedic throwaway numbers.

‘Stormcock’ (1971) is generally regarded as a masterpiece: a sprawling but focused suite of four lengthy tracks which explored the inner space of Abbey Road Studio to rhapsodic effect; like ‘Astral Weeks’ refracted through the pages of OZ magazine. Led Zeppelin’s Jimmy Page added guitar, disguised as S Flavius Mercurius.

In 2005 Harper was awarded the Mojo Hero Award by the staff of Mojo magazine. The award itself was presented by long-time collaborator and friend Jimmy Page. In 2013 Harper received the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards Lifetime Achievement Award.

TRACK LISTING

Hors D’Oeuvres
The Same Old Rock
One Man Rock And Roll Band
Me And My Woman

14 songs featuring Roy Harper's collaborations with the likes of Kate Bush ("You"), Jimmy Page, David Bedford, Dave Gilmour and Paul McCartney amongst others on an excellent US compilation.

With his unique voice and style Roy Harper has been a declaimer and entertainer throughout his long career. In 1972 he starred in a bleak, contemporary film with Carrol White called "Made", releasing the music he composed for the picture's soundtrack in 1973 under the title "Lifemask". It's one of his most satisfying albums, full of great songs, passionate and dramatic with startling use of echoplex and multi-tracking.

STAFF COMMENTS

Andy says: Includes the incredible tracks "Highway Blues" and "South Africa".

TRACK LISTING

Highway Blues
All Ireland
Little Lady
Bank Of The Dead
South Africa
The Lord’s Prayer

Long awaited re-issue of Harri Stojka Express’ “What a Funky Night”, originally released in 1983. The Austrian producer/guitarist took everyone by surprise with this huge boogie-disco-funk meteorite, due to his previous releases, which were mostly jazz-rock-fusion orientated records.

Previously only pressed in Austria and Spain, Mothers I’d Like To Funk present to you an official re-issue of this lost funk anthem, and the flip side features a stoned, marijuana themed reggae tune to boot - winner! 

STAFF COMMENTS

Matt says: A nice curio from Australia. This double headed nugget contains a jubilant, party-ready bedroom boogie bomb & a lilting disco-reggae joint indebted to the world's favourite weed.

TRACK LISTING

A1 What A Funky Night
B1 Marihuana

The Harriets are a Leeds-based alternative pop and rock four-piece, fronted by lead vocalists Daniel Parker-Smith and Ben Schrodel. They are joined live by Jess Womack on keys and Ryan Bailey on drums. With accomplished songwriting, unmistakable three-part vocal harmonies and a live show that lifts the soul, they are making waves in the UK music scene. 

The Harriets hit the summer of 2020 with their first full-length album: HOPEFULS. HOPEFULS sees the band riding high. On the strength of the single 'Cafe Disco' the band was shortlisted for Glastonbury Emerging Talent and Record Store Day Unsigned. Multiple radio plays on BBC 6 Music prompted a slot at a BBC Introducing Showcase, co-curated by DJ Tom Robinson. Now the band round up its highly accomplished songwriting into a nine-song collection of colourful, heart-swelling pop tunes.

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: A lovely suite of jangling melodies, semi-spoken but perfectly tuned vocals and huge melodies. Brilliantly danceable and well written throughout. Gorgeous stuff.

TRACK LISTING

1. Cafe Disco 03:24
2. Trip To The Moon 03:43
3. Darlin' 03:27
4. Have Fun In Your Workplace 04:41
5. Rules For Travelling 03:33
6. Johnny 04:38
7. Come Home 02:38
8. Fall Out Of Grace 03:45
9. The Boy You Knew 02:09

Repro of this sought after 1969 reggae LP. Includes 10 classic tracks featuring top Jamaican session players such Val Bennett, Winston Wright, and Gladstone Anderson.

TRACK LISTING

1. Sitting On Top
2. Been So Long
3. Close To Me
4. Long Time
5. Standing In
6. Have Some Mercy
7. The Girl's Alright With Me
8. You Really Got A Hold On Me
9. I'm Not Begging
1.0 It's All Right

Xander Harris, former sidekick to vampire slayer (and sometime fondler) Buffy has gotten out of the stake-wielding game and brought us his 6th album, this time on Mogwai's own Rock Action records. Very much a horror/library sort of affar (no doubt inspired by his illustrious past), comprising of silky-smooth synth sweeps, heavy on the low-pass and saturated to the high heavens. Tracks like 'The Eye In The Triangle' wouldn't sound out of place on a Pye Corner Audio album, meandering but without being too wispy to really make an impact. 'Predator State' is more along the cold-wave lines, lots of delay and swirling pads, ambient and harrowing. Arpeggios swirl in the background before slowly coming to the fore before the groove kicks in, understated but ridiculously effective. 'Buckle Bunny' is probably the most obvious dance number on the LP, with Krauty sequenced synths, 1-2-1-2 percussives and majestic melody lines. The whole album is a perfect example of restraint and melody, understated enough to really shine but with a melodic sensibility that really stands out. Brilliant from beginning to end. 

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: RIYL : Pye Corner Audio, Horror soundtracks, John Carpenter et al. Groovy but dusty synthetic soundscapes, grooving analogue percussives and shimmering arpeggios work together to make this a stunning and enthralling listen.

Musician/composer Justin Sweatt, aka Xander Harris, was in the process of working on an ambitious double LP when he was struck by a car riding his bike in New Orleans. The accident could have been much worse, but Justin has still been de-commissioned for several weeks/months while he heals from an injured shoulder and a concussion. A 9 to 5er with benefits and vacation time might be inconvenienced by this but would recover and life would begin as it had before. For an independent musician who works part-time and relies on his or her hands to work and create art, something like this can be life-altering.

Villains of Romance is leaner than first envisioned, but that gives the record a vital nature. At 9 tracks just under 50 minutes it’s another exploration of life through the eyes, heart, and mind of Xander Harris. The tracks follow the dystopian vibes of Termination Dust, but with touches of dark pop strewn throughout. From hazier fare like “Bleeding Meridians” to techno banger like “First Taste of Hate” to the gothic beauty of “Individual Outs”, Sweatt outdoes himself. There is even a collaboration with singer Nicolas Nadeau on the lilting and gorgeous “Wither Lace”.

TRACK LISTING

1. Bleeding Meridians
2. First Taste Of Hate
3. Individual Outs
4. Stranger Danger
5. Where’s Your Villain
6. Mall Walk
7. Feral Stare
8. Wither Lace

15 duets recorded in 1992 with Emmylou Harris and bluegrass vocalist Carl Jackson revisting the Country roots style of the late fifties early sixties.

Eschewing the upstart leanings of previous releases "Blue Note" and "Wishing Well", this latest single finds Harrisons in full-on, floor-filling disco mode, but in a down-to-earth, working class hero kind of way. We ain't talking Scissor Sisters here. Lead track "Monday's Arms" deals with that Monday morning feeling and the overwhelming drudgery of working life. It's something these lads know plenty about - until recently, they laboured as builders by day. Built on a solid disco groove, it brings 90s baggy bang up to date, with a chant-along chorus to boot.

The latest project from Half Cousin songwriter Kevin Cormack.

A psychedelic celebration of decay, Harry Deerness manifests a ghostly script for a half-finished, half-started film; a beautifully intricate composition of lost and found sampled cassette material loosely bound with accordion, keyboards and the sounds of breaking down.

Harry Deerness is an ambitious, immersive sound-collage assembled principally from the contents of an unmarked collection of cassette tapes, procured from an anonymous source by Cormack on a trip to Orkney.


“I know a girl. She’d been helping a man in his house - either as an official carer or caring relative, I’m not entirely sure. He used to be a musician. She gave me a couple of bags of cassettes from his place as she was clearing up - I used these tapes in making the ‘Harry Deerness’ album.

She likes to draw the people she visits and write down some of the conversations afterwards - ultimately she’d like to make an audiobook of everyone’s stories, so I encouraged her to start a blog as a means to get her ideas down.

She feels a little uncomfortable about it all though so would rather go under the name Marro, to ensure herself and her subjects somehow retain their anonymity..”

Kevin Cormack, August 2011.

This LP brings together a collection of rare and unreleased dubs from the studio of Harry J. Players of instruments include Carlton and Aston 'Family Man' Barret, Robbie Shakespeare, Earl 'Chinna' Smith, Vin Gordon, Tommy McCook etc.

With over thirty albums Hartford has an impressive discography and "Gum Tree Canoe" is a gem - a collection of some of Hartford's most endearing performances backed by an all-star crew of acclaimed instrumentalists including Sam Bush and Jerry Douglas.

Matt Hartless is a British-Irish musician performing and recording mainly as a soloist and with his backing band, The Matchstick Ghosts. Writing music and having had lessons in Piano, Trumpet and Violin at an early age; Matt took to music more seriously when having drumming lessons and teaching himself to play the guitar at around fifteen/sixteen. As he went into his A-level years at school, Matt formed his first band, a covers band called 'The Swag' where he sang and played lead guitar with some childhood friends. They only had a few gigs then everyone went their separate ways to university.
Matt became a lot more interested in recording his music after starting a music degree at Salford and forming a few bands with fellow students. The most prominent of these was 'Freed By Mice.' After a few gigs in Salford, Manchester and Sheffield, Matt went home to finish writing and record his first full solo album, 'Our Last Days In The Sun' upon which Freed By Mice guitarist Joe Leonard contributed a solo.
Freed By Mice soon went on hiatus and Matt formed The Matchstick Ghosts to play songs from his album. As his second university year wore on, Matt started to write again, but with a much darker and more experimental sound. In April 2013 Matt released his first single, 'Friend Synthetic' adapted from the Freed By Mice days (but written long before) with a launch gig in Manchester.
Problems with finding a regular bassist meant that the band was often set back and making any progress was difficult, so during May and June, Matt focused again on his solo work and at Salford University's studios recorded the majority of 'Victory,' the second album. He employed a lot more of the university's facilities, especially effects programs and hardware to create an amalgam of man and machine before mixing the whole album with friend and Matchstick Ghosts drummer, Kit Warren.
During the next few months Matt played many small acoustic gigs in and around Manchester with his nylon string guitar and occasionally with piano when there was one to hand. After two gigs in Sheffield, The Matchstick Ghosts finally solved their bassist conundrum, at least for the near future, in Sheffield based Jacob Harrap.
Victory was released on the 4th of October on Matt's label, Weird Affection Records.

Influences:

Radiohead, Sigur Ros, Elbow, The Specials, Streetlight Manifesto, Louis Barabbas, Frederic Chopin, Duke Ellington, Erik Satie, Porcupine Tree, Muse, Dry The River, Joy Division, Gogol Bordello, Hybrid, Jean Michel Jarre.

Raised by pioneering parents on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, NYC, Odetta’s milieu was a “colorful culture of artistry,” that included early exposure to community activism, renegade film screenings, poetry readings and trips to CBGB's. Inchoate punk and hip hop were aural wallpaper, as were the 45s spinning in the household jukebox featuring her dad’s extensive collection of soul and afrobeat records, as well as her Appalachian mother’s classic country selections. A classically trained violinist with a penchant for back-porch banjo, Odetta combines these variegated sounds of her childhood with her personal passion for folk music and the musicological legacy of Alan Lomax.

Lomax is writ large on Old Rockhounds... at least in spirit anyway. Odetta plays all the instruments on this and her debut 222, which made problematic the changeovers between songs when playing live. Field recordings the singer had collected on her travels were utilized to make such transitions seamless, and so successful was that intermingling of songs and soundscapes that they’ve transitioned into the recording process. It makes for a strangely intimate listen: tingly and a little tipsy: an album for twilight, sitting within the nocturnal hinterland between dusk and somnambulance - candlelit and confidential - a time for stories and secrets.

So far, so old skool. And yet, Old Rockhounds Never Die also embraces modernity without ever sounding incongruous. The mix of manipulated 21st century beats and the musical traditions of centuries meet at a crossroads and consummate their curiosity without inhibition. It’ll probably not surprise anyone listening to the album then that its a co-production. Odetta writes and performs all the songs while her partner Jack Inslee is in the background bringing the digital dark arts. Experimenting with found sounds & foley, the two have developed a sonic vernacular built around playing around with a-typical instruments. Hartman explains: “Many of the beats on the album were recorded in the kitchen: the snare sound is actually a running faucet, or if you hear these glockenspiel bells that's actually a set of kitchen bowls. Other percussive elements include scissors, a pepper grinder and keys on the radiator.”

TRACK LISTING

1. Old Rockhounds
2. Cowboy Song
3. You You
4. Widow's Peak
5. Sweet Teeth
6. Auto
7. Honey
8. Smoke Break
9. The Ocean
10. Spit
11. Freedom
12. Misery
13. Dettifoss
14. Carbon Copy
15. (Still Alive)

Self-described as "cowboy soul, future folk", NYC/DC artist Odetta Hartman’s sound is both traditional and modern; that modernity often featuring through the spacey and fragmented production of her partner Jack Inslee.

'Swansongs' is a dynamic and powerful reflection of love andambition, hopeful, energetic and at times chaotic but always captivating.Following her debut mini-LP '222' and 'Old Rockhounds Never Die', which saw her touring herunique performance style, part Jack White rock and roll folk blues, part electronicexperimentations, with the likes of Let's Eat Grandma, Cosmo Sheldrake and Skullcrusher, shereturns with her strongest set of songs to date - another fever dream of a record including theexperimental pop of 'Goldilocks', the dramatic string lead 'Dr. No.'

TRACK LISTING

1. Rise Above
2. Goldilocks
3. Good Socks (Happy)
4. Winter Constellations
5. Wacky
6. Mudlark
7. Mother / Child
8. Chaos / Magic
9. Dr. No
10. Shea
11. Pictured Rocks
12. Ode 222 You

ill Records are proud to present the latest project from HART. The Sheffield-bred, Bangor-based producer continues her run of releases, following on from the Little Black Book EP, which emerged in 2020.

While Moon Jazz follows in similar footsteps to its predecessor, this latest offering is a more jazz focused affair. The album explores the point where the contemporary and the classic coalesce, as vaguely obscure vocal samples, wandering basslines and woozy horns, blend with electronic elements and hip hop-tinted drum patterns.

HART's aim for the album was to examine the relationships between people, art, feelings and moods, which she achieved through experimentation within the jazz realm and the formation of a storyboard of samples.

As much as the album is grounded in the worlds of jazz and hip hop, there is still a rich variation of sound that cuts across the entire listening experience. From the short burst of undiluted jazz strains on the intro and the looming bass / pitched down vocal amalgamation on Struttin', to the multi-layered beauty of Vocabulary and the obscenely laid-back vibe of Cruisin, this is an album that showcases the full breadth of HART's dexterity behind the boards.

And while the trend in 20-minute albums and minute-long tracks continues unabated in hip hop, here we find a call back to the sprawling soundscapes of years past. At 13 tracks deep, with some of those running beyond the four-minute mark, this is a project that sits firmly outside traditional beat tape territory and affirms its status as a full-bodied work of art.

Five singles off Moon Jazz have already been released into the world, music videos for which you can find below, and all created by HART herself. The album is now available to own on vinyl, and will be released digitally 30/10

TRACK LISTING

1. Moon Jazz Intro
2. Struttin
3. Scotch N Carrot
4. Key Tickler
5. 504
6. Vocabulary
7. Sugar Tea Time
8. Off On
9. Nature's Rhythm Interlude
10. Cruisin
11. Tone Fidelity
12. Jazzman
13. Elevate
14. Memory Ft Violentlyill
15. Moon Jazz Outro

Ruins, monuments, and ancient sites of worship are multi-sensory experiences – at once residues of the sacred, the parchment on which the passage of time has been inscribed and templates for imaginative reconstruction, spaces in which to invest and immerse, to trade your bearings for an inexhaustible state of transition.

Over the course of three albums, Steve Von Till has, under the guise of Harvestman, provided the sonic analogue, casting his net for what might have been and yet still be. Both a personal meditation and a tuning fork for the most ancient and enduring of resonances, his latest album, Music For Megaliths, further expands his journeys along the sonic ley lines that run between folk, drone, psychedelia, the ‘kosmische’ outposts of krautrock and noise: not as an act of eclecticism, but of divination, giving voice to an underlying continuity that binds them all.

Recorded over a period of several years in the dawn hours of creation, Music For Megaliths is an aggregation of moments and recordings that have allowed themselves to spell out a greater whole. Utilizing repetition, manipulation and modulation, it’s a hallowed frequency dial that ranges across the pulse-regulated drone of The Forest Is Our Temple, revving up like a generator powered by arcane currents, the blissful gaze of Ring Of Sentinels, Sundown’s ominous waves of interference and White Horse’s rite of dissolution and regeneration, nomadic and devout. Music For Megaliths is a crossing over, whose multiple routes are testament to a singular and sensuously dilated vision.

Released periodically on three of 2024’s full moons – April 23rd’s Pink Moon, July 21st’s Buck Moon and October 17th’s Hunter Moon – the three-album cycle, “Triptych”, is (Steve Von Till from Neurosis) Harvestman’s most ambitious undertaking yet.

Guest musicians including Al Cisneros of Sleep / OM who plays bass on one track for each LP, of which he will also mix a dub version on the B-Side of each LP. Dave French of Yob, Sanford Parker and Wayne from Petbrick all make appearances.

It’s a dream diary narrating a passage through Summer Isle where Flying Saucer Attack are wafting out of a window, a distant Fairport Convention are being remixed by dub master Adrian Sherwood, celestial scanners Tangerine Dream are trying to drown out Bert Jansch and Hawkwind are playing Steeleye Span covers, all prised out of time yet bound to its singularity.

TRACK LISTING

Psilosynth
Give Your Heart To The Hawk
Coma
Psilosynth (harvest Dub)
How To Purify Mercury
Nocturnal Field Song
Mare And Foal

It has taken 20 years for Mick Harvey to resume his project of translating Serge Gainsbourg’s songs into English and this is the long-awaited continuation (Volume 3) of the series - ‘Delirium Tremens’.

The intervening years have, of course, been full of activity and dozens of releases, including four solo albums and several albums as a member of Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds and in collaboration with PJ Harvey.

‘Delirium Tremens’ brings us another wide crosssection of Gainsbourg material. From 1976’s ‘The Man With The Cabbage Head’ (L’homme a tete de chou) all the way back to early songs such as ‘Deadly Tedium’ (Ce Mortel Ennui) and ‘Coffee Colour’ (Couleur Cafe) from the late 1950s and early 1960s, as well as a selection of five songs from the TV special ‘Anna’ which starred Anna Karina with the female parts here executed with enormous charm by Xanthe Waite, who has been joining Harvey on his recent shows.

The album is rounded out by a beautiful rendering of the late period Jane Birkin duet ‘The Decadance’ (La Decadanse) where Harvey is joined on vocals by his wife Katy Beale.

Mick Harvey is set to release a double collection of his two Serge Gainsbourg albums, ‘Intoxicated Man’ and ‘Pink Elephants’, through Mute.

‘Intoxicated Man’ (1995) and ‘Pink Elephants’ (1997) are Mick Harvey’s interpretations of the songs of legendary singer, songwriter and poet Serge Gainsbourg and are the first major works translating Gainsbourg’s influential work from French to English. The collection will include two unreleased tracks, ‘Dr. Jeckyll’ and ‘Run From Happiness’.

Originally Harvey embarked on the project as a result of his own curiosity about the songs and particularly the lyrics. At the time of the original recordings Gainsbourg was little known outside classic works such as ‘Je T’aime… Moi Non Plus’ (‘I Love You… Nor Do I’), ‘Lemon Incest’, ‘Harley Davidson’, ‘Initials B.B.’ and ‘Bonnie & Clyde’. On this collection these classic works are presented alongside some of Gainsbourg’s lesser known compositions.

The vocal parts originally sung by Gainsbourg’s muses Jane Birkin, Brigitte Bardot and daughter Charlotte Gainsbourg are here sung by longtime collaborator Anita Lane. Guests on the albums include Bertrand Burgalat, Warren Ellis and David McClymont.

The reissues follow Mick Harvey’s 2013 album, ‘FOUR (Acts Of Love)’, which was the former Bad Seed and PJ Harvey collaborator’s sixth solo studio album, and the follow up to 2011’s ‘Sketches From The Book Of The Dead’.

Harvey Milk is a sludge/noise rock outfit formed in the early 1990's from Savannah, Georgia. Harvey Milk disbanded around 1997. Due to increased popularity while the group was no longer active, the band reformed (around 2008).
Harvey Milk's "A Small Turn of Human Kindness," is the difference between watching a movie like Irreversible vs. watching a movie like Independence Day Both good films, however the first stimulates a foreign mixture of emotions that require you to sleep it off, whereas the latter concludes with you feeling comfortable with the fact that you're a lazy, wasteful, culturally sequestered American who has sat through this fucking movie way too many times in his/her life!
So, I think you get the idea, "A Small Turn of Human Kindness," is as dense and as heavy temperamentally as it is musically. The seven songs so subtly bleed together that the listener has no choice, but to view the entire album as a linear orchestration with a singular ebb and flow. A rising and falling action, refined to hell and back..

The awesome 1992 debut album from one of the most unique and compelling female artists of the past 20 years. A powerful, groundbreaking set, "Dry" serves as an introduction to Harvey's fierce, blues-tinged guitar and highly visual lyrical angle that picks at the scabs of female iconography. On these raw, angry songs she's joined by musicians Stephen Vaughan (bass) and Robert Ellis (drums, vocals, harmonium). Includes classic songs "Sheela-Na-Gig", "Dress" and "Oh My Lover". Essential.

"Rid Of Me" was PJ Harvey's second album, circa 1993, but her first for major label Island. The set features the same line-up as the "Dry" sessions (Polly doing vocals, guitar, violin, cello and organ, Stephen Vaughan on bass and Robert Ellis on drums, vocals and harmonium), but the extra money shows in the much slicker production to the album's predecessor. Recorded by Steve Albini, this forceful sophomore effort veers from hoarsely quiet to ferociously looming in one beat.

The twelve tracks featured here were chosen by Polly herself, and span her career from early versions of songs from "Dry" to songs from her seventh album "Uh Uh Her" which was released in 2004.

If "Dry" was raw and "Rid Of Me" tight and slick, then 1995's "To Bring You My Love" moves further away from PJ Harvey's debut album, offering a fuller electro-acoustic sound from her expanded nine-piece band (more if you count all the instruments Harvey plays herself). The outfit shift effortlessly between solo voice and guitar to a full on collage of sound that rips right through you. Includes the brilliant "Down By The Water".

TRACK LISTING

1. To Bring You My Love 5:32
2. Meet Ze Monsta 3:29
3. Working For The Man 4:45
4. C'mon Billy 2:47
5. Teclo 4:57
6. Long Snake Moan 5:17
7. Down By The Water 3:14
8. I Think I'm A Mother 4:00
9. Send His Love To Me 4:20
10. The Dancer 4:06

The album contains 14 tracks sourced from existing duets, songs that previously were not duets, translations from Spanish and a sprinkling of original compositions. Thematically it explores the perennial themes of mortality, love and mankind’s search for meaning as well as an enthused engagement with the enigmatic and mythical. Harvey and Acevedo met several years ago in Mexico City, but it was during 2020/21 that the project burst into life, as ideas were exchanged across the oceans and through the ether. The resulting collection of songs is lush and sweeping in its emotional content and is full of nourishment for the imagination and the senses.

TRACK LISTING

1 Creators Of Rain
2 Indian Summer
3 I Lost Something In The Hills
4 Song To The Siren
5 Milk & Honey
6 Love Is A Battlefield
7 Al Alba
8 The Decadence Of Lust
9 Phantasmagoria In 2
10 The Blue Unicorn
11 She Won’t
12 Trapeze
13 The One & Only (Phantasmagory)
14 You’ve Got Me Singing

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

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

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

TRACK LISTING

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

Originally released on 29th April 2013, Mick Harvey’s sixth studio solo album Four (Acts of Love) is being reissued on clear vinyl, alongside 2011’s Sketches From The Book Of The Dead, with Delirium Tremens and Intoxicated Women set to follow in mid 2023.

Four (Acts of Love) is a contemplation on romantic love - its loss, re-awakening, its tumultuous struggle and its place in our universe. The album is a song cycle, divided into 3 Acts, featuring original compositions by Mick Harvey alongside a song by long time collaborator PJ Harvey (Glorious) and interpretations of The Saints’ The Story of Love, Van Morrison’s The Way Young Lovers Do, Exuma’s Summertime in New York and Roy Orbison’s Wild Hearts (Run Out of Time). Recorded at Grace Lane, North Melbourne and Atlantis Sound, Melbourne, Four (Acts of Love) features regular collaborators Rosie Westbrook on double bass and JP Shilo on guitar and violin.

TRACK LISTING

A1. Praise The Earth (Wheels Of Amber And Gold)
A2. Glorious
A3. Midnight On The Ramparts
A4. Summertime In New York
A5. Where There's Smoke (Before)
A6. God Made The Hammer
A7. I Wish That I Were Stone
B1. The Way Young Lovers Do
B2. A Drop, An Ocean
B3. The Story Of Love
B4. Where There's Smoke (After)
B5. Wild Hearts
B6. Fairy Dust
B7. Praise The Earth (An Ephemeral Play)

It has taken 20 years for Mick Harvey to resume his project of translating Serge Gainsbourg’s songs into English and following the release of Volume 3 - ‘Delirium Tremens’ in June, Mick Harvey has now announced the final in the series, Volume 4 - ‘Intoxicated Women’.

‘Intoxicated Women’ contains many duets and songs written by Gainsbourg, mostly during the 1960s, in a period where he was focusing his songwriting on singers such as France Galle, Juliette Greco and most famously, Brigitte Bardot.

Here Harvey has enlisted the talents of guest singers Channthy Kak (Cambodian Space Project), Australian singers Xanthe Waite (Terry, Primo), Sophia Brous, Lyndelle-Jayne Spruyt and Jess Ribeiro and the German chanteuse Andrea Schroeder plus a special appearance by Harvey’s son, Solomon.

Mick Harvey’s acclaimed One Man's Treasure, originally released in 2005, is a collection of original tracks alongside covers of tracks chosen for Mick’s personal connection with each track. These covers include First St. Blues by country-pop singer Lee Hazelwood, Tim Buckley’s The River, and Mother Of Earth by Jeffrey Lee Pierce of The Gun Club. The creation of One Man's Treasure unravelled spontaneously, the majority of the album was recorded at Harvey’s home studio with him explaining, “It was something I was doing to entertain myself.” After receiving words of encouragement from Mute’s Daniel Miller, Harvey subsequently finished One Man’s Treasure at Atlantis Studios in Melbourne, using his time there to add instrumental and mixing refinements.

The second album included is Harvey’s Two Of Diamonds, released in 2007. Following the positive reaction to One Man's Treasure, Harvey was reinvigorated to record a new album. This time his band accompanied Harvey: Rosie Westbrook (double bass) and fellow Bad Seeds James Johnston (organ and guitar) and Thomas Wydler (drums), along with guest musicians Rob Ellis from P.J. Harvey's band (piano/drums) and Julitha Ryan (piano) of Melbourne’s Silver Ray. In true Mick Harvey fashion, Two of Diamonds is an eclectic collection of songs: obscure classics combined with original Harvey compositions, including ‘Out of Time Man’ which featured prominently in various TV Series including Breaking Bad, Orphan Black and The Tourist. Arrangements were kept straightforward, in a deceptively effortless manner, for an emotionally powerful punch, passionately delivered from the heart.

TRACK LISTING

A1 First St.Blues
A2 Come Into My Sleep
A3 Louise
A4 Demon Alcohol
A5 Man Without A Home
B1 Planetarium
B2 The River
B3 Hank Williams Said It Best
B4 Bethelridge
B5 Will You Surrender?
C1 Photograph
C2 I Don't Want You On My Mind
C3 Sad Dark Eyes
C4 Come On Spring
C5 Mother Of Earth
C6 Blue Arrows
D1 Everything Is Fixed
D2 A Walk On The Wild Side
D3 Little Star
D4 Slow-Motion-Movie-Star
D5 Out Of Time Man
D6 Home Is Far From Here

Originally released on 2nd May 2011, Mick Harvey’s sixth studio solo album Sketches From The Book Of The Dead is being reissued on clear vinyl, alongside 2013’s Four (Acts of Love), with Delirium Tremens and Intoxicated Women set to follow later in 2023.

Sketches From The Book Of The Dead is Mick Harvey's first fully self-penned album; the 11-track album was recorded and mixed with David McCluney at Atlantis Sound, Port Melbourne with additional recording at Harvey's own Grace Lane music room. The record sees Mick Harvey (playing most of the instruments) joined by Rosie Westbrook on double bass and J.P. Shilo on accordion and violin, with Xanthe Waite contributing occasional ethereal backing vocals. Containing an extraordinary investigation into a rarely scrutinised area of the human condition, Sketches From The Book Of The Dead is a truly unique piece of work.

TRACK LISTING

A1. October Boy
A2. The Ballad Of Jay Givens
A3. Two Paintings
A4. Rhymeless
A5. Frankie T. & Frankie C.
B1. A Place Called Passion
B2. To Each His Own
B3. The Bells Never Rang
B4. That's All, Paul
B5. How Would I Leave You?

Waves of Anzac / The Journey is Mick Harvey's first soundtrack release in over 10 years. The album features two recent soundtracks to powerful subject matters recorded by Mick Harvey. The first, Waves of Anzac looks at Sam Neill’s personal family history interwoven with the history of the First World War and the Anzacs through to the modern era while the second, The Journey, is a four-part composition released in support of #KidsOffNauru, a campaign working for the child refugees and people seeking asylum who find themselves in offshore detention.

Waves of Anzac is a 10-track score, created for the ABC documentary on forgotten war stories and lives lost, a personal history by the actor Sam Neill (Jurassic Park, The Piano) set against a contemporary increasingly divided political backdrop. ‘Why Anzac? with Sam Neill’ (Dir. KrivStenders, 2015) is named for the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (Anzac) who served together in the Gallipoli Campaign, their first engagement in World War I and continued as a military unit until after WW2. The film is a look at this pivotal point in our shared history, and the impact it still has on a personal and on a geopolitical level. Harvey recently examined this period via the prism of a fictional soldier/poet for his collaboration with Christopher Richard Barker, The Fall and Rise of Edgar Bourchier and the Horrors of War.

The Journey is a four-part composition, recorded with The Letter String Quartet, in support of people seeking asylum who have found themselves in Australia’s offshore detention program. The piece was composed as a study of the hardships endured by the detainees on Nauru, Manus Island and Christmas Island before and during their internment and as an expression of hope for a humane outcome to their plight. 

TRACK LISTING

CD:
1 After The Bomb
2 Turkish Theme
3 Waves Of Anzac
4 Archives
5 First Anniversary
6 The Lovells
7 The Somme
8 Poppies
9 In The Archives
10 The Cemetery
11 Modern War
12 Vietnam
13 Crete
14 Back At Kiatora
15 Waves Of Anzac (Reprise)
16 The Arch
17 Return To Anzac Cover
18 1000 Years On
19 The Build-Up
20 The Aftermath
21 The Ladies Room
22 The Journey Part 1 – Conflict
23 The Journey Part 2 – All At Sea
24 The Journey Part 3 – Capture (Not Real Refugees)
25 The Journey Part 4 - Hope

LP:
A1 Turkish Theme
A2 Waves Of Anzac
A3 First Anniversary
A4 The Somme
A5 Archives
A6 Poppies
A7 The Lovells
A8 The Cemetery
A9 Modern War
A10 Vietnam
B1 Crete
B2 Back At Kiatora
B3 The Arch
B4 Return To Anzac Cover
B5 The Journey Part 1 – Conflict
B6 The Journey Part 2 – All At Sea
B7 The Journey Part 3 – Capture (Not Real Refugees)
B8 The Journey Part 4 - Hope

Vinyl reissue of 1993 collection of demos written and recorded at Polly Harvey’s home in 1991-1992.

It includes eight demos of songs from the album, Rid of Me, released earlier in that year along with six demos of additional songs.

Reissue is faithful to the original package, with vinyl cutting by Jason Mitchell at Loud Mastering.

TRACK LISTING

A1 Rid Of Me 3:42
A2 Legs 3:47
A3 Reeling 2:59
A4 Snake 1:56
A5 Hook 4:31
A6 50FT Queenie 2:48
A7 Driving 2:38

B1 Ecstasy 2:56
B2 Hardly Wait 2:48
B3 Rub 'Til It Bleeds 5:10
B4 Easy 3:16
B5 M-Bike 2:43
B6 Yuri-G 3:53
B7 Goodnight 4:17

All About Eve — Original Music, composed by double Mercury Music Prize-winner PJ Harvey.

The 14-track album contains 10 original pieces of instrumental music, as well as two new songs written by Harvey and sung by Gillian Anderson and Lily James.

The physical release also includes demo versions of ‘The Sandman’ and The Moth’, performed by PJ Harvey.

On composing this score, Harvey says, “I have always loved stories, and so to compose music to support and enhance a story being told is a challenge I enjoy. I also love the freedom that working instrumentally can give me without the constraints of song form.”

“For All About Eve I chose to work with my long-time collaborator James Johnston as he has a soulfulness and sensitivity to his playing that inspires me. I also worked with Kenrick Rowe who has a versatility to his drumming I knew I could experiment with until I found what was right.”

All About Eve is the stage adaption directed by Ivo Van Hove.

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: It's become more and more clear that PJ Harvey can easily put her mind to anything she deems necessary, and with great effect. The soundtrack for this adaptation of All About Eve is even more evidence, with perfect cues and touching sentimaentality oozing through every note. A beautifully performed and perfectly written piece. In-situ or not.

TRACK LISTING

Becoming
Shimmer
The Sandman
Waltz
Descending
Lieben
Ascending
Cadenza
The Moth
Träume
Arpeggio Waltz
Change In C
The Sandman (Demo)
The Moth (Demo)

3CD
The definitive collection of PJ Harvey B-Sides, rarities and non-album demos.
59 tracks, 14 previously unreleased, spanning 3 decades.
Artwork features rare and unseen archive photography.
3CD version features 12 page booklet

6LP Box
The definitive collection of PJ Harvey B-Sides, rarities and non-album demos.
59 tracks, 14 previously unreleased, spanning 3 decades.
Artwork features rare and unseen archive photography.
6LP Box features 180g black vinyl housed in printed inner-sleeves.

TRACK LISTING

3CD:
Disc 1
1. Dry – Demo (Previously Unreleased Demo)
2. Man-Size – Demo (Previously Unreleased Demo)
3. Missed – Demo (Previously Unreleased Demo)
4. Highway 61 Revisited – Demo (Previously Unreleased Demo)
5. Me-Jane – Demo (Previously Unreleased Demo)
6. Daddy
7. Lying In The Sun
8. Somebody's Down, Somebody's Name
9. Darling Be There
10. Maniac
11. One Time Too Many
12. Harder
13. Naked Cousin
14. Losing Ground
15. Who Will Love Me Now
16. Why D’ya Go To Cleveland (Previously Unreleased)
Disc 2
1. Instrumental #1
2. The Northwood
3. The Bay
4. Sweeter Than Anything
5. Instrumental #3
6. The Faster I Breathe The Further I Go (4 Track Version)
7. Nina In Ecstasy 2
8. Rebecca
9. Instrumental #2
10. This Wicked Tongue
11. Memphis
12. 30
13. 66 Promises
14. As Close As This
15. My Own Private Revolution
16. Kick It To The Ground (4 Track)
17. The Falling
18. The Phone Song
19. Bows & Arrows
20. Angel
21. Stone
Disc 3
1. 97°
2. Dance
3. Cat On The Wall – Demo (Previously Unreleased Demo)
4. You Come Through – Demo (Previously Unreleased Demo)
5. Uh Huh Her – Demo (Previously Unreleased Demo)
6. Evol – Demo (Previously Unreleased Demo)
7. Wait
8. Heaven
9. Liverpool Tide
10. The Big Guns Called Me Back Again
11. The Nightingale
12. Shaker Aamer
13. Guilty – Demo (Previously Unreleased Demo)
14. I'll Be Waiting – Demo (Previously Unreleased Demo)
15. Homo Sappy Blues – Demo (Previously Unreleased)
16. The Age Of The Dollar – Demo (Previously Unreleased)
17. The Camp
18. An Acre Of Land
19. The Crowded Cell
20. The Sandman - Demo
21. The Moth - Demo
22. Red Right Hand

LP Box:
LP1 - Side A
1. Dry – Demo (Previously Unreleased Demo)
2. Man-Size – Demo (Previously Unreleased Demo)
3. Missed – Demo (Previously Unreleased Demo)
LP1 - Side B
1. Highway 61 Revisited – Demo (Previously Unreleased Demo)
2. Me-Jane – Demo (Previously Unreleased Demo)
3. Daddy
LP2 - Side A
1. Lying In The Sun
2. Somebody's Down, Somebody's Name
3. Darling Be There
4. Maniac
LP2 - Side B
1. Harder
2. Naked Cousin
3. Losing Ground
4. Who Will Love Me Now
5. Why D’ya Go To Cleveland (Previously Unreleased)
LP3 - Side A
1. Instrumental #1
2. The Northwood
3. The Bay
4. Sweeter Than Anything
5. Instrumental #3
6. The Faster I Breathe The Further I Go (4 Track Version)
7. Nina In Ecstasy 2
LP3 - Side B
1. Rebecca
2. Instrumental #2
3. This Wicked Tongue
4. Memphis
5. 30
LP4 - Side A
1. 66 Promises
2. As Close As This
3. My Own Private Revolution
4. Kick It To The Ground (4 Track)
LP4 - Side B
1. The Falling
2. The Phone Song
3. Bows & Arrows
4. Angel
5. Stone
LP5 - Side A
1. 97°
2. Dance
3. Cat On The Wall – Demo (Previously Unreleased Demo)
4. You Come Through – Demo (Previously Unreleased Demo)
5. Uh Huh Her – Demo (Previously Unreleased Demo)
6. Evol – Demo (Previously Unreleased Demo)
LP5 - Side B
1. Wait
2. Heaven
3. Liverpool Tide
4. The Big Guns Called Me Back Again
5. The Nightingale
6. Shaker Aamer
LP6 - Side A
1. Guilty – Demo (Previously Unreleased Demo)
2. I'll Be Waiting – Demo (Previously Unreleased Demo)
3. Homo Sappy Blues – Demo (Previously Unreleased)
4. The Age Of The Dollar – Demo (Previously Unreleased)
5. The Camp
LP6 - Side B
1. An Acre Of Land
2. The Crowded Cell
3. The Sandman - Demo
4. The Moth - Demo
5. Red Right Hand

11 track collection of demos of all songs from the debut studio album Dry by PJ Harvey, available for the first time since 1992, and previously unreleased as a standalone album.

Features brand new artwork with previously unseen photos by Maria Mochnacz.

TRACK LISTING

LP
Side A
Oh My Lover (Demo)
O Stella (Demo)
Dress (Demo)
Victory (Demo)
Happy And Bleeding (Demo)

Side B
Sheela-Na-Gig (Demo)
Hair (Demo)
Joe (Demo)
Plants And Rags (Demo)
Fountain (Demo)
Water (Demo)

Dry is the debut studio album by English singer-songwriter and musician PJ Harvey, originally released on Too Pure Records on 30 March 1992. The album was recorded at The Icehouse, a local studio in Yeovil. Critically lauded both on release and retrospectively, the album contains the singles “Dress’ and ‘Sheela-Na-Gig’

Back in print for the first time in almost 20 years, Beggars Archive on behalf of Too Pure Records is pleased to announce the re-issue of Dry on vinyl. The album was remastered by the original producer “Head” and has been replicated to the original version as much as possible. 

Pitchfork – “On her debut, Polly Jean Harvey matched Patti Smith’s incandescence with Bessie Smith’s lasciviousness, outplayed everyone on the British indie circuit, and became an instant star - 9.2”

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: Available on vinyl for the first time in 20 years, PJ Harvey’s ‘Dry’ was a kick in the spine for indie music of the time, and remains as uncompromisingly raw and sonically hulking as it did back then.

TRACK LISTING

Oh My Lover
Oh Stella
Dress
Victory
Happy And Bleeding
Sheela-na-gig
Hair
Joe
Plants And Rags
Fountain
Water

PJ Harvey's tenth studio album 'I Inside the Old Year Dying' marks her first release in seven years, following UK #1 album 'The Hope Six Demolition Project'.

On this album, which was recorded with long-time creative collaborators John Parish and Flood, PJ Harvey builds a sonic universe somehow located in a space between life’s opposites, and between recent history and the ancient past. Scattered with biblical imagery and references to Shakespeare, all of these distinctions ultimately dissolve into something profoundly uplifting and redemptive.

STAFF COMMENTS

Liam says: Blimey, it's a biggun! At this point, what's there left to say - IT'S PJ HARVEY!!! With all the exquisite melodies, intricate production and stellar lyrics we've all come to expect from her, there's so much to unpack here and there's no doubt the rewards will be vast!

TRACK LISTING

1. Prayer At The Gate
2. Autumn Term
3. Lwonesome Tonight
4. Seem An I
5. The Nether-edge
6. I Inside The Old Year Dying
7. All Souls
8. A Child's Question, August
9. I Inside The Old I Dying
10. August
11. A Child's Question, July
12. A Noiseless Noise

Reissue on vinyl of the fourth PJ Harvey studio album Is This Desire?. Produced by PJ Harvey with Flood and Head, and originally released in September 1998, Is This Desire? features the singles ‘A Perfect Day Elise’ and ‘The Wind’. Reissue is faithful to the original recording and package, cutting by Jason Mitchell at Loud Mastering under the guidance of longtime PJ Harvey producer Head.

TRACK LISTING

Side A

Angelene
The Sky Lit Up
The Wind
My Beautiful Leah
A Perfect Day Elise
Catherine

Side B

Electric Light
The Garden
Joy
The River
No Girl So Sweet
Is This Desire?

Collection of unreleased demos of every track written for the fourth PJ Harvey studio album Is This Desire?, including demos of ‘A Perfect Day Elise’, ‘The Wind’ and ‘Angelene’. Audio has been mastered by Jason Mitchell at Loud Mastering under the guidance of longtime PJ Harvey collaborator John Parish. Features brand new artwork with previously unseen photos by Maria Mochnacz.

TRACK LISTING

Angelene - Demo
The Sky Lit Up - Demo
The Wind - Demo
My Beautiful Leah - Demo
A Perfect Day Elise - Demo
Catherine - Demo
Electric Light - Demo
The Garden - Demo
Joy - Demo
The River - Demo
No Girl So Sweet - Demo
Is This Desire? - Demo

Reissue on vinyl of the eighth PJ Harvey studio album Let England Shake. The album was produced by PJ Harvey, Flood and John Parish and originally released in February 2011. Let England Shake features the singles ‘The Words That Maketh Murder’ and ‘The Glorious Land’ and was the second album in the catalogue to win the UK’s Mercury Music Prize. Reissue is faithful to the original recording and package, cutting by Jason Mitchell at Loud Mastering under the guidance of original co-producer John Parish.

Collection of unreleased demos of tracks written for the eighth PJ Harvey studio album Let England Shake, including demos of ‘The Words That Maketh Murder’, ‘The Glorious Land’ and ‘The Last Living Rose’. Features brand new artwork – the cover is a drawing by Polly, and the package also includes previously unseen photos by Seamus Murphy. Mastering by Jason Mitchell at Loud Mastering, under the guidance of longtime PJ Harvey producer John Parish.

TRACK LISTING

1LP
Side 1
Let England Shake - Demo
The Last Living Rose - Demo
The Glorious Land - Demo
The Words That Maketh Murder - Demo
All And Everyone - Demo
On Battleship Hill – Demo
Side 2
England - Demo
In The Dark Places - Demo
Bitter Branches - Demo
Hanging In The Wire - Demo
Written On The Forehead - Demo
The Colour Of The Earth - Demo

1CD
Let England Shake - Demo
The Last Living Rose - Demo
The Glorious Land - Demo
The Words That Maketh Murder - Demo
All And Everyone - Demo
On Battleship Hill – Demo
England - Demo
In The Dark Places - Demo
Bitter Branches - Demo
Hanging In The Wire - Demo
Written On The Forehead - Demo
The Colour Of The Earth - Demo

"Rid Of Me" was PJ Harvey's second album, circa 1993, but her first for Island Records.

The set features the same line-up as the "Dry" sessions (Polly doing vocals, guitar, violin, cello and organ, Stephen Vaughan on bass and Robert Ellis on drums, vocals and harmonium), but the extra money shows in the much slicker production to the album's predecessor. Recorded by Steve Albini, this forceful sophomore effort veers from hoarsely quiet to ferociously looming in one beat.

Reissue is faithful to the original recording and package, cutting by Bob Weston at Chicago Mastering under the guidance of Steve Albini.

TRACK LISTING

Side A
Rid Of Me
Missed
Legs
Rub ‘Til It Bleeds
Hook
Man-Size Sextet

Side B
Highway ’61 Revisited
50ft Queenie
Yuri-G
Man-Size
Dry
Me-Jane
Snake
Ecstasy

Collection of unreleased demos of every track written for the fifth PJ Harvey studio album Stories From The City, Stories From The Sea, including demos of ‘Good Fortune’, ‘A Place Called Home’ and ‘This Is Love’. Audio has been mastered by Jason Mitchell at Loud Mastering under the guidance of longtime PJ Harvey collaborator Head. Features brand new artwork with previously unseen photos by Maria Mochnacz.

TRACK LISTING

Side A
Big Exit - Demo
Good Fortune - Demo
A Place Called Home - Demo
One Line - Demo
Beautiful Feeling - Demo
The Whores Hustle And The Hustlers Whore - Demo

Side B
This Mess We’re In - Demo
You Said Something - Demo
Kamikaze - Demo
This Is Love - Demo
Horses In My Dreams - Demo
We Float - Demo

Repress on vinyl of the ninth PJ Harvey studio album The Hope Six Demolition Project. Originally released in 2016, it features the singles ‘The Wheel’, and ‘The Community Of Hope’.

TRACK LISTING

Side A
The Community Of Hope
The Ministry Of Defence
A Line In The Sand
Chain Of Keys
River Anacostia
Side B
Near The Memorials To Vietnam And Lincoln
The Orange Monkey
Medicinals
The Ministry Of Social Affairs
The Wheel
Dollar, Dollar

Collection of ten unreleased demos written for the ninth PJ Harvey studio album The Hope Six Demolition Project, including demos of ‘The Wheel’ and ‘The Community Of Hope’. Features brand new artwork with cover art based on a drawing by Polly Jean Harvey, plus previously unseen photos by Maria Mochnacz and Seamus Murphy. Artwork is overseen by Michelle Henning with Rob Crane. Mastering by Jason Mitchell at Loud Mastering, under the guidance of long time PJ Harvey producer John Parish.

TRACK LISTING

Side A
The Community Of Hope
The Ministry Of Defence
A Line In The Sand
Chain Of Keys
River Anacostia
Side B
The Orange Monkey
Medicinals
The Ministry Of Social Affairs
The Wheel
Dollar, Dollar

Reissue on vinyl of the 2006 collection of PJ Harvey sessions with the late BBC Radio 1 DJ John Peel, spanning recordings from the start of her career in 1991 up to 2004.

Reissue is faithful to the original recording and package, with cutting by Jason Mitchell at Loud Mastering under the guidance of longtime PJ Harvey producer John Parish.

TRACK LISTING

Side One
Oh My Lover – Peel 29.10.91
Victory - Peel 29.10.91
Sheela-Na-Gig - Peel 29.10.91
Water - Peel 29.10.91
Naked Cousin – Peel 2.3.93
Wang Dang Doodle - Peel 2.3.93

Side Two
Losing Ground – Peel 5.9.96
Snake – Peel 5.9.96
That Was My Veil – Peel 5.9.96
This Wicked Tongue – Peel 10.11.00
Beautiful Feeling – Peel 10.11.00
You Come Through – John Peel Tribute 16.12.04

10 track collection of previously unreleased demos of all songs from the third studio album by PJ Harvey – To Bring You My Love – from 1995. Includes demo versions of the singles ‘Down By The Water’, ‘C’mon Billy’ and ‘Send His Love To Me’. Audio has been mastered by Jason Mitchell at Loud Mastering under the guidance of longtime PJ Harvey collaborator John Parish. Features brand new artwork with previously unseen photos by Maria Mochnacz.

TRACK LISTING

Vinyl:
Side A
To Bring You My Love - Demo
Meet Ze Monsta - Demo
Working For The Man - Demo
C’mon Billy - Demo
Teclo - Demo

Side B
Long Snake Moan - Demo
Down By The Water - Demo
I Think I’m A Mother - Demo
Send His Love To Me - Demo
The Dancer - Demo

CD:
To Bring You My Love - Demo
Meet Ze Monsta - Demo
Working For The Man - Demo
C’mon Billy - Demo
Teclo - Demo
Long Snake Moan - Demo
Down By The Water - Demo
I Think I’m A Mother - Demo
Send His Love To Me - Demo
The Dancer - Demo

Reissue on vinyl of the sixth PJ Harvey studio album Uh Huh Her. The album was self-produced and originally released in May 2004. Uh Huh Her features the singles ‘The Letter’, ‘You Came Through’ and ‘Shame’. Reissue is faithful to the original recording and package, with cutting by Jason Mitchell at Loud Mastering under the guidance of longtime PJ Harvey producer Head.

TRACK LISTING

Side One
The Life And Death Of Mr. Badmouth
Shame
Who The Fuck?
The Pocket Knife
The Letter

Side Two
The Slow Drug
No Child Of Mine
Cat On The Wall
You Come Through
It’s You
The End
The Desperate Kingdom Of Love
The Darker Days Of Me & Him

Collection of unreleased demos of written for the sixth PJ Harvey studio album Uh Huh Her, including demos of ‘The Letter’ and ‘Shame’. Features brand new artwork with previously unseen photos by Maria Mochnacz. Artwork is overseen by Maria with Rob Crane. Mastering by Jason Mitchell at Loud Mastering, under the guidance of longtime PJ Harvey producer Head.

TRACK LISTING

Side One
The Life And Death Of Mr. Badmouth - Demo
Shame - Demo
Who The Fuck? - Demo
The Pocket Knife - Demo
The Letter - Demo

Side Two
The Slow Drug - Demo
It’s You - Demo
The Desperate Kingdom Of Love - Demo
The Darker Days Of Me & Him - Demo

Collection of unreleased demos written for the seventh PJ Harvey studio album White Chalk, including demos of ‘When Under Ether’, ‘The Piano’ and ‘The Devil’. Features brand new artwork with previously unseen photos by Maria Mochnacz. Artwork is overseen by Maria with Rob Crane. Mastering by Jason Mitchell at Loud Mastering, under the guidance of long time PJ Harvey producer John Parish.

TRACK LISTING

1LP
Side A
The Devil - Demo
Dear Darkness - Demo
Grow Grow Grow - Demo
When Under Ether - Demo
White Chalk - Demo
Side B
Broken Harp - Demo
Silence - Demo
To Talk To You - Demo
The Piano - Demo
Before Departure - Demo
The Mountain - Demo

CD
The Devil - Demo
Dear Darkness - Grow Grow Grow - Demo
When Under Ether - Demo
White Chalk - Demo
Broken Harp - Demo
Silence - Demo
To Talk To You - Demo
The Piano - Demo
Before Departure - Demo
The Mountain – Demo